. . . .
[ [ Quest: Survive the Ambush of Kuroka Toujou ] ]
[ [ Reward: 1 Character Card ] ]
. . . .
I stared at the system notification floating in my vision,
Kuroka tilted her head, studying me with those golden cat-like eyes. Her two black tails swished lazily behind her, almost hypnotic in their movement. The black kimono hung loose on her shoulders, showing way more skin than necessary, and she didn't seem to care in the slightest.
Koneko said nothing. Every muscle in her small frame had gone rigid, hands clenched so tight her knuckles turned white. The terror radiating off her was palpable, completely shattering that stoic mask she always wore.
I kept my hand on her shoulder, grounding her.
"What do you want?" I asked, keeping my voice level.
Kuroka's smile widened slightly, showing a hint of fang. She stopped about feet away, arms crossed beneath her chest "I'm here for Shirone, Nya. To take her where she belongs"
"No" Koneko's response came instantly, sharper than I'd ever heard her speak "I'm not going anywhere with you"
Kuroka's expression didn't change, but something flickered in those eyes. Disappointment? Pain?
"You mean to a life on the run?" I said "As a wanted criminal?"
She laughed "Such harsh words, Nya. But, I call it living freely" Her tails swished playfully as she shrugged "Shirone needs to come with me. She'll never get stronger if she keeps running from what she is. Right, Shirone?"
"I'm not running from anything" Koneko stepped forward, out from behind me. Her voice steadied with her fists clenched "I chose this path. I chose to be Buchou's Rook."
"You don't have to lie to yourself, Shirone" The playfulness in Kuroka's tone faded as she pointed at her little sister "You're a Nekoshou, Nya. Denying that only makes you weaker. I've been watching you, y'know. You're always holding back in every fight"
"If accepting it means becoming like you.." Koneko's golden eyes blazed with something I'd never seen before "then I'd rather stay weak"
Kuroka's smile vanished completely. Her tails went still.
"Like me?" Her voice came out quiet "And what am I, Nya?"
"A murderer" Koneko didn't hesitate as she spoke looking at her "A monster who killed her own master"
Silence crashed down over the forest. Even the insects had gone quiet.
Kuroka's face went blank. Then something cracked through the facade for a moment before she went back to her usual playful mode.
"I see. Is that what they told you? What Gremory fed you about your nee-san?"
"I don't need anyone to tell me anything. I was there. I saw what you did"
This was escalating way too fast. If this keeps going on, we would be going back and forth like this till next morning, and I am too exhausted to watch this happening.
I stepped fully between them, hand moving to summon Lostvayne "Koneko belongs with the Gremory peerage. She will not be going with you. So leave"
Kuroka's attention snapped to me, those predatory cat eyes locking onto mine with me in interest.
"Oh? 'Belongs'?" She tilted her head "How possessive of you, Nya. Tell me..." Her lips curved into something that might've been a smile but held no warmth "Do you really think you can stop me, Nya?"
"I am not much of a talking person. So let's decide this with a battle already"
Green-black light erupted from my hand. Lostvayne materialized in a flash, silver blade catching the dying sunlight filtering through the trees. The familiar weight settled into my palm, and I fell into a ready stance.
Kuroka chuckled in amusement "My my, So confident" When she looked back at me, her eyes gleamed in delight "You really have no idea what you're dealing with, do you, Nya?"
She raised one hand lazily. Beneath her palm, a magic circle bloomed, complex and layered.
She snapped her fingers.
Fwoosh.
White fog exploded from the ground in a perfect expanding circle. It moved fast, way too fast. I pulled Koneko back with me, with the mist swallowed us both before we could dodge it in time.
The world went hazy. White. Everything tinged with that sickly-sweet smell that burned in my nostrils.
My legs went numb.
Thud.
Knees hit dirt hard. Lostvayne slipped from suddenly nerveless fingers, clattering against a rock. Beside me, Koneko collapsed with a choked gasp, small hands clutching at her throat.
"What—" I tried to stand. Couldn't. My muscles had stopped responding to commands, like someone had cut the connection between my brain and my body.
Interesting. I can really not move, this poison is indeed potent to Devils.
"Gave up already, Nya?" Kuroka's voice drifted through the fog. Her silhouette became clearer as she approached, casual as if she was out for a walk "This mist attacks the nervous system directly, paralyzing without killing" She crouched in front of us "Most devils drop unconscious within seconds. You're both doing surprisingly well staying awake, Nya"
Koneko wheezed beside me, fighting to breathe. Her eyes were wide, terrified, more emotion on her face than I'd seen in all the months I'd known her.
Why would she be scared? Didn't she saw me beat Riser? I guess she considers her sister way too strong that she don't even thinking, that I can get us out of here.
Oh, its because my weapon is on the ground.
I tried channeling my magic. It responded sluggishly, like trying to swim through honey. Whatever this poison was, it fucked with more than just muscle control.
Kuroka reached out, cupping Koneko's chin gently "Now then, Shirone" Her other hand came up, brushing hair away from Koneko's face "Will you come with me? If you do... I'll let him live" She glanced at me. "He's quite cute, after all. Would be a shame to kill him over this"
Koneko's eyes darted between us with a conflicted expression.
"Don't—" I forced the word out through numb lips "Don't... listen..."
"Senpai..." Her voice cracked slightly.
"So?" Kuroka glanced at me before shifting back to Koneko "What will it be, little sister? Come with me, or watch him die?"
My Observation Haki flared outward despite the poison clouding everything. Searching. Scanning the entire area, pushing through the fog and the numbness and the goddamn senjutsu interference.
Nothing.
No Bikou lurking in the trees. No Vali waiting to ambush. No Khaos Brigade backup hidden anywhere within my range.
Just Kuroka.
Alone.
So it turns out she did come on her own.
"So you're for Koneko after all" I looked up at her, meeting those golden eyes.
"Obviously, Nya" She didn't look away from Koneko, as if I wasn't even a threat to her "Why else would I risk coming to Devil territory?" Her grip on Koneko's chin tightened slightly "She's my little sister. I'm not leaving without her"
"Why else?" I repeated "Maybe because you regret your actions?!"
Her hand froze.
"What do you know about regret?" The playfulness vanished entirely from her voice, replaced by something cold and brittle.
"You're right. I don't." I pushed against the numbness, forcing sensation back through sheer stubborn will "But I know Koneko's not going anywhere with you."
"Bold words for someone who can't even stand"
"Do you really think.." I channeled everything I had into breaking through the paralysis "I'd let you take Koneko while I'm grounded like a weakling in front of you?"
Darkness erupted across my forehead.
The demon mark seared into existence, spreading like spilled ink across my skin. My pupils bled black, irises disappearing into void. Darkness coiled around my body, crackling with power that had nothing to do with Devil magic.
The poison dispersed in an instant. I felt it break apart inside me, dissolved by the demonic energy flooding every cell.
I stood.
I took Lostvayne back into my hand.
Kuroka jerked backward, genuine shock breaking through her composure. Her tails bristled straight out "What... how?" Her eyes went wide "No devil can resist senjutsu poison! What did you just—"
I rolled my shoulders, feeling strength return in a rush that made my skin tingle "I'm just built different"
The darkness intensified, swirling faster around me like living shadow. This was the demon mark, Meliodas's base demonic form. While Koneko had seen a bigger glimpse of it during the Rating Game against Riser, Kuroka had zero context for what she was witnessing.
To her, I'd just broken through an SS-Class Stray's paralysis technique like it was nothing.
Her playful demeanor was now replaced by vigilance.
I moved.
Whoosh
Observation Haki guided my strike before I even consciously thought about it. Lostvayne blurred through the air where Kuroka's throat had been a fraction of a second before. She flickered backward in a burst of speed, youjutsu circle flaring beneath her feet.
"Don't get full of yourself, Nya!" She sounded almost excited despite the danger.
Purple black light exploded from both her palms. Two massive magic circles bloomed in the air above her, rotating counter to each other in dizzying patterns. Fire and lightning spiraled together, forming a twisted helix of destruction that launched toward me.
I raised my free hand. Darkness erupted from my palm, absolute void that swallowed light and heat and everything. The combined attack hit my wall of black and simply... ceased.
Kuroka's eyes widened further "That's impossible..."
I pressed forward. Lostvayne blurred through a dozen strikes, each one forcing her back, cutting off escape routes. She dodged, weaved, countered with bursts of youjutsu and senjutsu-enhanced blasts that would've torn apart a normal devil.
But I stayed ahead because I could see her intentions forming before she acted on them.
Annoyance dawned on her face as she barely avoided a thrust at her midsection "How can a devil be—"
"Stop talking, Nya" I mimicked her by cutting her off mid-sentence, blade whistling past her ear close enough to slice through a few strands of black hair. "Or You won't be able to take back your precious little Shirone with you"
That struck a nerve.
Her playful expression vanished completely. Both tails stood straight out, bristling "Fine then. No more playing around!"
Nine magic circles materialized simultaneously, three in front, three above, three behind. Each one crackled with different elemental energy, spinning and pulsing with power.
Wheels of flame spun out from the circles, each one wreathed in ghostly blue fire. They carved through trees like paper, leaving smoldering trails as they converged on my position from multiple angles.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
I moved through the gaps. My heightened senses painted the spaces between flames where I could slip through. I deflected two wheels in showers of sparks, darkness absorbed another three, and I simply dodged the rest, with ease.
Kuroka snarled, and thrust her both hands forward "Katon!"
A sphere of fire launched at me, blue flames hot enough to melt stone.
I was already gone, demon mark's enhanced speed clearing the blast radius before the fire could even lay a scratch on me. The flames scorched empty ground, nearby trees igniting instantly.
"Kazagiri!"
Wind blades screamed through the smoke. Dozens of invisible cutting edges that sliced through falling leaves and burning branches.
I dodged each trajectory half a second before they reached me. I wove between them, blade moving in efficient arcs to deflect the ones I couldn't dodge outright.
Kuroka flickered into existence behind me, hand glowing with concentrated senjutsu "Got you!"
"I don't think so"
I spun. Lostvayne's hilt cracked into her solar plexus before she could complete the strike.
"Guh!" She doubled over, stumbling backward.
I didn't give her time to recover. Darkness erupted from my left hand in a concentrated blast while Lostvayne thrust forward with my right, a pincer attack with zero escape routes.
Her eyes went wide, as she saw death flash before her eyes.
She threw up a desperate youjutsu barrier at the last second. The darkness smashed into the barrier like a hammer against glass, cracks spider webbing across its surface. Lostvayne pierced through an instant later, shattering it completely into fragments of dispersing magic.
The blade stopped an inch from her throat.
We locked eyes.
Her golden cat-like stare met my void-black gaze. Shock and disbelief warred across her expression, in genuine fear for once without any playful facade.
"You... you..." She couldn't finish the sentence.
The demon mark receded slowly, darkness dying down until only faint traces remained on my forehead, got absorbed back into nothingness. The darkness surrounding me dissipated.
I leaned down close enough that only she could hear, voice barely above a whisper.
Her breath hitched, as her eyes widened with each word that laid on her ear.
"But here's the thing" My voice now audible enough for everyone to hear "Koneko has a family now. She has Rias. She has the peerage. She has people who care about her without demanding she become something she doesn't want to be" I straightened up, retracting Lostvayne. The blade vanished in a flash of green-black light "So if you ever think of taking her back, you'll have to go through me first."
Kuroka's legs gave out. She hit her knees hard in the scorched grass, staring up at me with an expression I couldn't fully read. Fear? Respect? Confusion? All three mixed together?
I turned away, walking toward where Koneko still knelt in the dissipating poison mist. She'd managed to push herself to hands and knees, color slowly returning to her pale face.
"Come on." I offered my hand. "Let's go home."
She looked up at me. Then past me at Kuroka's defeated form still kneeling on the ground. Something complicated flickered across her features, anger and sadness and relief and maybe even concern she'd never admit to feeling.
Finally, she took my hand.
I pulled her to her feet, steadying her as she wobbled.
"Senpai..." Her voice came out quiet "You..."
"We'll talk later." I glanced back one final time at Kuroka. The SS-Class Stray hadn't moved, still kneeling among burning trees, looking utterly lost "Right now, let's just get out of here."
Koneko nodded once. Then deliberately turned her back on her sister.
We walked out of there together, leaving Kuroka alone with the demolition and whatever thoughts were running through her head.
---
The walk to Koneko's apartment passed in silence. My Observation Haki stayed active, keeping watch for any follow-up attacks or Kuroka changing her mind.
None came.
Streetlights flickered on as dusk settled over the residential area. Normal people going about normal lives, completely unaware an SS-Class Stray had just gotten her ass handed to her less than a mile away.
The ignorance was indeed the bliss.
We stopped in front of Koneko's building, a modest three-story structure with beige walls. She stood there with her hand on the entrance door, not quite opening it.
"Senpai." She didn't turn around "Can you keep it secret from Buchou?"
I raised an eyebrow, as I wondered if she can now read my mind "You want me to?"
"Yes"
"Alright. It stays between us." I agreed easily "But if Kuroka comes back, and she might, we tell Buchou immediately. Ok?"
She considered for a moment, then nodded.
She turned to face me properly. Those golden eyes studied my face like she was seeing something new.
"Senpai.." Her expression shifted, something vulnerable breaking through the stoic mask "Senpai is always training. Always trying to protect everyone. Always getting stronger while I..." She trailed off, small hands clenching into fists. "While I stay the same."
Ah. So that's what this was about.
"Koneko—"
"I want to train too." The words came out rushed "I want you to help me control my Nekoshou abilities. Make me stronger." She stopped, then said firmly "I don't want to be protected anymore. I want to stand beside you, not behind you."
I studied her for a long moment. The determination on her face was real. This wasn't about Kuroka's taunts or wounded pride. This was about her own desire to grow.
"You don't have to take your sister's words seriously. You're plenty strong already."
She shook her head firmly "It's not about her. It's about me. I've been running from what I am since...Since that night. But running doesn't make it go away. It just makes me weaker."
Couldn't argue with that.
I let out a breath, then reached out and rested my hand on her head. She tensed for a second before relaxing into the touch.
"If that's what you really want, Koneko-chan" I ruffled her hair slightly "then I'll do my best. I'll make you stronger. Even stronger than your sister"
Her eyes widened. A faint blush crept across her cheeks, barely visible in the streetlight.
"...Really?"
"Believe it!"
She nodded, leaning into the head pat for just a moment before stepping back. The blush intensified as she seemed to realize what she'd done.
"Then... thank you, senpai." She turned quickly toward the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Get some rest. You've had a rough evening."
"Mm." She paused and then turned "Senpai?"
"Yeah?"
"...You're weird. But thank you."
Then she was gone, disappearing into the building before I could respond.
I stood there for a moment, processing everything. An SS-Class Stray ambush. A fight that could've gone very differently without the Meliodas powers. A promise to train Koneko in abilities she'd been suppressing for years.
Complicated didn't even begin to cover it.
I turned, heading toward my own apartment. My mind already churned through training regimens to help someone accept their youkai nature without losing themselves, in the process.
The walk took fifteen minutes. By the time I reached my building, full darkness had settled. Lights were on in my apartment. Lady Phenex and Ravel were probably wondering where I'd been.
I'd come up with some excuse. Long walk to clear my head. Nothing technically untrue.
I was about to pull out my keys when something made me stop.
I had Character Card to claim.
I summoned the system interface with a mental command. The familiar blue screen materialized, translucent against the night.
*[Quest Complete: Survive the Ambush of Kuroka Toujou]*
*[Reward: 1 Character Card - AVAILABLE]*
My hand moved to claim it. Then froze.
Another notification appeared below, text scrolling across in bold letters.
*[SYSTEM NOTICE: Critical Update Required]*
*[System undergoing mandatory upgrade. Process will take approximately one week.]*
*[Sorry for the inconvenience. Your Character Card reward is available for immediate use, however...]*
*[RECOMMENDATION: Wait until upgrade complete for maximum benefit.]*
*[In the meanwhile: Train with your current abilities and consolidate your foundation!]*
I stared at the message.
Read it again.
One more time to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.
"What the fuck?"
The system was upgrading?
For a whole week?
"What the fuck is happening to my life?"
. . .
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