9 Chapter 9: Koneko Toujou 2

From then on Shirone took the name Koneko Toujou, and joined their Peerage after reincarnating with one Rook Piece, enhancing her strength greatly. Since she didn't have a last name, neither as Shirone nor Koneko, but learned that everyone else had one, she decided on Toujou which simply meant Rook in Japanese.

Harry learned that the youkai are a collection of supernatural races with animal features residing in Japan, specifically Kyoto, under the Protection of the Shinto Pantheon, together with different exorcist clans based in Japan, they form the Shinto faction. And the Nekomata race was recently massacred by Devils after Kuroka killed her Pure-blooded Devil Master and after that relationship between Devils and the Shinto faction turned cold. After hearing that he felt that something about the whole situation was wrong.

His suspicions confirmed themselves even further after Koneko joined them during their lessons. She was very far behind, besides the basics of reading and writing she learned almost nothing. The Person who taught her all she knew was her older sister, who by Koneko's description was a very loving and caring Person. In contrast, the Peerage she belonged to was very cold and distant, if not abusive, including their so-called Master from the Naberius Clan.

For Harry, it sounded more like the Pure-blood devil from the Naberius Clan was using Kuroka for some purpose, and she did her best to shield her younger sister from everything. Probably Koneko didn't even realize how bad things really were because her Sister shielded her. So it was no wonder that in her Eyes her loving older Sister suddenly went mad with Power.

Kuroka probably killed the Naberius Devil because Kuroka was no longer enough, and he may have decided to use Koneko for his vile deeds next. Whatever it was he did to Kuroka, be it sex, torture, or some sick experiments, Harry would have acted similarly and protected his younger sibling no matter what.

'But why did she leave her little Sister behind?' asked Harry himself, after coming to the conclusion that something about this whole incident was wrong, 'Maybe she didn't want to raise Koneko while she was hunted down? She counted on one of the Satans intervening and protecting her! Protecting her from whom? Are there more factions?'

Realizing that he couldn't find an answer himself by just theorizing, he decided to wait a few days until it was the right time.

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*Knock, Knock* "Come in!" said the voice from the other side of the Door, before Harry opened it and stepped into a big, well-furnished Office. Behind a massive wooden desk was a Crimson-haired man sitting, currently working on a large pile of Documents. This was the Office of Sirzechs Lucifer inside the Gremory Mansion, since he was also living in his own part of the massive complex with his wife, he of course had also an Office where he usually worked from, completing his work as one of the four Satans.

"Hello, Harry! What brings you here?" asked Sirzechs with a smile as he stopped working on the documents.

Harry closed the door behind him, and sat down in a comfy chair in front of the desk with a serious look, "I came here to learn the truth about Koneko."

"What truth are you speaking about Harry? You already learned that her older Sister become drunk on her Power and killed the Master of her Peerage, then leaving Koneko behind, letting her endure the anger of many devils for killing a rare Pure-blooded one." Explained Sirzechs still with a smile but behind his eyes Harry could see that it was a false one, as he had a serious glint in them.

"Oh, really. After learning a bit more about youkai, I couldn't find anything about them getting drunk on their Power. Some kind of Youkai can go into heat, but that doesn't result in Killing anyone. Much rather their Master would have lost his Innocences. Even a panic reaction if she were in danger, which also happens to humans by the way, wouldn't make a youkai lose control, she would have just become much stronger and her senses would have heightened. But why would Kuroka be in danger from her own Peerage and Master" questioned Harry innocently as he directly stared into Sirzechs eyes.

"Sometimes you are too smart for your own good." Muttered Sirzechs, "Too much knowledge can be a very dangerous thing, Harry."

"Well since Koneko is now part of Rias Peerage, part of the family, shouldn't we be at least somewhat aware of the truth? We are already involved now!" Asked Harry still not budging and starring at Sirzechs.

The older man sighed, before replying to the younger boy, "That's true. But the others are not mature enough, or have still enough with their own issues to handle, so this should stay between us. Even you still have your Issues." Added Sirzechs.

"I won't share it with the others until I deem it necessary." Nodded Harry.

"Anything I tell you now is unofficial Information. This is a complicated case with much politics and a lot of cover-up involved. They especially tried to hide it from the four Satans, some." Said Sirzechs with seriousness no longer wearing a smile, "Did you know there are currently multiple factions in our Devil Society?"

"I guessed it." Replied Harry with a nod.

"Well this isn't really a Secret, there are technically three in total, there is the faction which some of the more liberal noble Houses like Gremory and Sitri are part of, which is called the Four Satan Faction, under the leadership of the current Four Satans. We are holding our power because we have the strongest members like myself in our faction. Next is the Great King Faction, which is involved in this mess, they are a faction of many old noble houses, under the leadership of my Ancestor Zekram Bael. They have more conservative and traditional values and are not really happy with the whole reincarnated Devil System. They are for example responsible that any reincarnated Devils are mainly Servants and similar. Their Power comes from the sheer economic Power of these ancient devil houses, and their strengths aren't too bad, but they have no one on a similar level like myself. The last Faction isn't really relevant for this discussion and is a rebel faction currently in hiding." Explained Sirzechs.

"I see. That is really a complex political situation. So the main problem comes from Kuroka being a reincarnated Devil?" asked Harry, as he understood more of the political landscape in the Underworld.

"Yes and no, that is a convenient reason to cover this whole mess up. Even massacre the whole Nekoushu Clan. What my Spies discovered was that Kuroka's Master experimented on her in order to create a Devil on the level of myself. They developed some kind of Senjutsu technique, which allowed her to Sacrify herself to permanently give someone else more Power. But she had to do it willingly. She didn't want that so they wanted to try it with her younger Sister. And the rest you already know. The exact documentation was already destroyed, so I don't have any proof. Only the words of my Spy." Replied Sirzechs with a deep sigh as he rubbed his head.

"And there is nothing you could do to help her now?" asked Harry as from his understanding Kuroka was completely innocent. Nobody should be forced to Sacrify herself to give someone else more power. She only acted in self Defense!

"No there is nothing I can do for Kuroka. I already put my foot down by saving little Koneko when they tried to make an example of her. They tried to silence her that way. Even if she didn't know anything, it wasn't a risk they wanted to take." He replied with a tired voice, "The Situation in the Underworld is completely unstable. There is only peace because the Great King Faction is kinda working with Four Satan Faction, even if their Ideals differ so much. If I push anymore, the overall Situation could turn into more turmoil and even result in a war."

Having understood how hard of a job Sirzechs has, Harry could only agree with his assessment. He never experienced War himself, but this situation was indeed better than a War even if it meant the Sacrify of one Person now. But still, there had to be something he could do, "Is there really nothing we can do to help Kuroka? She is Koneko's sister which makes her basically family."

"Right now, there is nothing we can do. Or rather I can do!" Said Sirzechs with a glint in his eyes, "But in the future, there is something you could do. If you are strong enough, nobody could say anything if you are selfish from time to time. All you have to do is to become strong enough or show enough promise. By then a few years would have passed and most wouldn't care anymore!"

'Strength… it always comes down to strength.' Thought Harry with determination, 'The world can really be unfair sometimes, but if I am strong enough I will be able to protect the People important to me.'

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