Chapter 75: Kuroka

Beta read by Shigiya

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-Underworld-

To say that I was shook would be an understatement.

"Eh… nya?"

"..."

No, speechless was a better description. I first came to the underworld after hearing that Sirzechs had new information about the whole Naberius family crime and matters involving Koneko and Kuroka. A long awaited moment, having taken years to make the slightest progress. Yet the moment I arrived and faced Lucifer himself, even he admitted that there were obstacles that stopped him from completely freeing Koneko and her sister from their past. Freeing Kuroka from her status as a SS-rank criminal meant facing a literal king of hell — one of, if not the oldest Devil still alive till this day and age.

Now to think as I was in the middle of trying to think up a solution, the person who was at the center of it all just came before me as a cat who I didn't even realize was a supernatural creature if Vritra hadn't said anything.

"Kuroka…" I whispered with squinted eyes, this Nekoshou, despite knowing her past and innocence, was not someone I could just trust immediately. She survived outside the Devil's reach not just by hiding, but also killing those who came after her.

"Pinpon! Nice to meet you Hikigaya Hachiman!" She said cheerfully, keeping a large smile on her face despite still being bound under Vritra's control.

Did she hear the conversation between me and Sirzechs? Not that there was much to hide or anything, but it would make it easier for me to explain if that was the case. But I still had a few questions to ask…

"What are you doing here?"

In the middle of nowhere, used to stand the manor of Naberius, the home which drove her into a murderous rage and forced the girl to kill her King just to protect her sister. Though it made sense for her to return to this place, it certainly wasn't a good idea when she was still seen as a dangerous criminal to the masses.

"Heeee, don't make such a scary face. I just had some minor business to take care of. I sensed a powerful devil and a dragon coming here, so I grew a little interested. Nyan~" I ignored the wink she gave. "Didn't think you would recognise me so easily. I made sure to hide all traces of Senjutsu — so how did you do it? Are you a member of the Gremory group? You certainly don't smell like a Devil."

Was this seriously a question she asked without knowing the obvious answer to? I gave her my best deadpan face and answered the initial question first, "Since when do cats in the Underworld have two tails?"

"Ah… I forgot about that!" She exclaimed, genuinely shocked at that revelation.

Was she an airhead?

"As for your second question, no, I'm 100% human… maybe."

"Eh, what do you mean by maybe?" She looked at me confused.

I shrugged, "Don't think too much about it, it's a bit complicated to begin with."

"... You're weird."

"Says the Nekoshou, wearing a black kimono with nothing underneath while stalking the literal Lucifer inside his territory." I didn't need to check or touch the girl to know she wasn't wearing any underwear — since her rather revealing kimono showed me enough to let me know. "No, my bad, you're not weird, probably just an airhead."

"You know I can crush your skull into paste if I wanted to right now, right?"

"I don't doubt you."

Hoo, she didn't even use any 'nya' there, guess my words were effective after all.

"Humph, I wouldn't have been found out anyways if I didn't come next to you. I know Senjutsu, people like me can detect you with just a slight variation in the flow of your spirit." She explained, giving me more insight on her powers. Then again, this wasn't new information, it just served as confirmation about how useful this power was.

"So like a radar?"

"Yup! I can also gauge how strong a person is compared to myself, yours is a bit confusing, though. As I sense two different auras but only see a single soul. Your chakra is all over the place I must say."

She most likely saw my connection with Vritra and how we fused into a single soul. The chakra part I had no idea how it affected my body, she worded it as something that wasn't positive.

"Man, Senjutsu sure sounds busted."

That made her puff up her chest in pride, though that almost made her bountiful breasts pop out of her kimono.

"We can also control the flow of spirit and can reinforce both the interior and exterior of our bodies, or disturb the spirits of all the surrounding trees, make them bloom, or make them wither-nyan♪. Senjutsu is a skill that manipulates the flow of life, after all. We can disturb our opponent's spirit, and inflict damage to their life-force by cutting it. Because the methods for repairing the disorder to one's life-force is limited for the magic of demons and the sorcery of magicians in comparison, this attack method almost always results in death-nyan♪"

That sounded like she could bypass my Gears armor and directly affect my body, a very scary notion.

"Alright, onto the main topic at hand," I pressed on. "I don't know what you heard between me and Sirzechs, but even if you didn't, it doesn't matter." I retracted the tendrils, watching the girl intrigued by what others would consider extremely foolish. Aside from that, the other reason was also because how my hold on her basically made the scene look so very wrong — especially with her clothing — was not helping the situation. "Look, I am not your enemy and don't want you to think so as well."

"..." She tilted her head, watching me amusedly.

Did she not believe me?

"I know about your past, I know about the incident with the Naberius family and all the torturous experiments you had to go through just to keep your sister safe. With your senses, I know for certain you heard the conversation between me and Sirzechs, so you must realize that I only want the best for both you and Koneko." I said calmly, even going so far as to put my hands up for her to see that I wasn't planning anything suspicious.

Not every encounter with an enemy or criminal needed to start with a conflict, I was already forced into similar cases in the past and none of them ended well for me. My first attempt at reasoning with Sétante, but it didn't end well. Kokabiel was a lost cause, to lost in the past and so were most of the Strays who were overwhelmed by there powers. But the very thought of having to fight Kuroka made my stomach churn in distaste and challenged my will in following through. I couldn't do so to someone who sacrificed so much for Koneko and her safety, who I also considered as a sister.

"You're really a nice guy by trying to help me, nya. But I'm afraid you don't understand how Devil society works as a whole, you may be strong but even that isn't enough."

"You don't know unless I try, I agree that my methods may seem outlandish and naïve from your perspective — but it can work out. What have you to lose here? Nothing. I am the one taking the risk, all I ask you is to wait and give me a chance." I knew my chances of succeeding were abysmal, but it wasn't completely zero.

To my surprise, Kuroka laughed.

"Hehehe, no wonder Shirone likes you nya! You're so sweet, it almost makes me want to take you and make cute powerful dragon kittens!"

Wait, what? Did I accidentally hear wrong?

"Honestly I was hoping to meet the Red Dragon Emperor, if he's anything like Vali then our babies would be quite strong and adorable nya~!" She said coyly, walking close to me while touching my chin. "I wanted to leave you to Shirone, as her big sister I can't exactly steal you, can I? But then again, the Black Nekoshou having kittens with the Black Dragon King does sound very fitting, don't you think so~? Who knows, maybe I will share you with Shirone~?"

She really was quite attractive, having clothing that barely hid her assets with that sultry tone of hers. A stark contrast to how Koneko would usually behave, though she did become a bit more playful when using Senjutsu. Nevertheless, this wasn't the time for such plays, so I grabbed her hand and made sure she wouldn't run away. "You don't believe me do you?"

She continued to smile, "A bit hard to do so when everyone else failed." Now it was her turn to get serious. "You and I are enemies, what reason do I have to believe you?" She slipped away from my grip, almost as if having a certain force push away my hand. "You don't happen to know where Ophis is per chance?"

Ophis? My body tensed, the only reason someone would search for the Dragon God was either they desired her power or she disappeared from their sight. At this moment, only a single group needed her powers more than anyone else.

"You're part of the Khaos Brigade." I stated, making this situation even more tricky. If I did succeed in removing her status as a criminal from her past killing of her king, she would regain it soon after people were to discover her connection to the terrorist group.

"Of course, nya! I came to check up on Shirone and you after Ophis-chan disappeared from our base… again. I've tracked her scent all the way to the Underworld and you have some of it as well."

So she left, now came the question where could that girl be wandering around. It was clear that Ophis lacked a lot of common sense and knowledge about the world, she could get easily manipulated by many if given the opportunity.

"You guys were using her as a power source and nothing else. Your Hero Faction has done nothing to help the world with the power gained and are just full of hypocrites dreaming about world domination." I said directly, uncaring if my words sounded harsh.

"You must really hate them nya, though I am not part of that group in particular." I sighed in relief from hearing that. "But that still does not make us allies. My boss has dreams and goals he wants to accomplish, and for that we need Ophis not just for her power. If you don't know of her location then I don't need to stay here, but I will come back for Shirone, she belongs with me."

That didn't dissuade me the least bit, anyone from the Khaos Brigade had an agenda which needed the power of an infinitely strong Dragon God to accomplish. Whatever it was, it couldn't be safe.

"I gave you the courtesy of setting you free, the least you can do is come back with me. You'll get to meet your sister and no one will harm you in as long as I'm here."

She pondered, tilting her head sideways before saying, "Nope! I have my own goals and plans, I want to trust you but I can't yet. I know you're not a bad man, I've seen how happy Shirone is — but I'll take her with me nonetheless."

"Not like Rias or anyone in her group would let you. Heck, even Koneko will not want to leave."

"Ara-ara-ara-ara, what are you saying-nya? She's my little sister. I have the right to love her. A high-class devil like the Gremory girl doesn't have that privilege."

"...You're wrong" I said, knowing that despite her role as the elder sibling, she still didn't have the right to take away Koneko's choice of life. I could see where she was coming from, her trust in Devil society having practically been burned to ashes at this point, it was logical for her to want to take Koneko away from such an environment. I saw where she was coming from and no amount of convincing would change her opinion grounded in years of dealing with being chased by the Devils.

"Devils have their faults but so do humans and any other race in existence. Rias is not like the others, I used to doubt her just like you but now know how much she cares about her peerage and Koneko."

"Caring enough to throw away her real name?" Kuroka rebutted, this time with a slight tone of anger hidden in her voice.

"..."

I didn't know how to respond to that. For the most part, I didn't know why she had to change her name in the first place. It was one of those times I couldn't help but sigh at Rias' past judgement.

"Though for now, I've got other things to take care of… we'll meet again!"

"Wait!" I tried to stop her, having the same tendrils wrap around her arms like before. But to my shock, that instant, I was seized by an indescribable sensation! What was this, this feeling of having been transported to another space? Even though the scenery hadn't changed, it was like the air and mood had changed or something…

[Delete Field!]

Out of instinct, I activated my other ability and found myself freed from whatever she did. By then, Kuroka was already too far away from me too far to use my tendrils to capture her.

'Space manipulation!' Vritra spoke in my head, his tone intrigued by what just happened.

"You can control space and time?" I shouted, unprepared by just how powerful and diverse her power was. I was unprepared for such a thing, if she decided to attack me within that split second of time then I would have been heavily injured.

"Ara, you're stronger than I expected! But no, I didn't go as far as learning how to control time, but I have fairly picked up on how to control space. If I use the essentials of barrier techniques, it's relatively easy, after all. I could also easily cover this entire forest with a barrier and isolated it from the outside world-nyan. That's why even if we do flashy things here, it won't leak outside and devils from outside won't come in. You're going to get pleasantly killed here by me and say goodbye-nya~!"

"You do realize that speech sounds very villainous and evil, right?"

"Not as evil if I had my way with you!" She gave me a goodbye kiss before disappearing into the forest.

"..."

I sighed, rubbing the back of my head whilst thinking about everything that just happened. I didn't know if it was a good thing that she was here in the first place, she did mention not being a member of the Hero Faction, so that raised more questions. Did she come here by herself to search for Ophis, or was there someone else?

"You're not going after her, partner?"

Given my current speed and agility, there was a fair chance for me to at least tail Kuroka for a bit more. I didn't know about the extent of her strength and power, or whether she would fight me if pushed far enough. That space manipulation ability made me very wary as well.

"... No, she made her choice. I can't exactly tie her up and drag the girl back to Koneko and just explain the situation before both sisters embrace in a tear-jerking scene with the setting sun in the background. But that doesn't mean I'll give up, I'll prove her wrong regardless and give Koneko her sister back."

"As you wish, I would have stopped you anyways. Senjutsu is very tricky to deal with, and though you wouldn't have necessarily lost in a straight fight, it would still be no different than fighting blindly against a powerful opponent."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Are you saying there is a counter to her Space magic?"

"Indeed, this ability is quite commonly used by powerful foes and gods, she's bending space with pure energy. If that part is lacking then the spell will fail. You haven't forgotten what our power does, right?"

I laughed, wanting to facepalm myself.

"Right, I'm an idiot, how could I have forgotten such a simple fact?"

"No, you're just tired, stressed and didn't know the mechanics behind space manipulation. But at least now, you won't be surprised when you face it again."

I agreed with him, it gave me the idea to research more on Senjutsu, Youjutsu and Touki. I've been skipping out on the latter since these last few months and needed to continue my training.

Looking back at the rubbles, I sighed before teleporting away back to the castle.

{Break}

Arriving at the castle, I found the hall where everyone had gathered to be empty. There was no trace of Rias, Akeno or even Sona around. Even the cars had disappeared much to my chagrin.

So how was I supposed to go to Rias' house? I barely knew the roads in the Underworld and felt awkward walking through the giant castle to search for Sirzechs' office and ask for a cab ride.

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait for long before I was greeted by a person standing all alone in front of the hall.

It was Grayfia.

"Hikigaya-sama, I've been waiting for your return." She said while bowing. "Sirzechs-sama had some duties to look into so he won't be accompanying you I'm afraid."

I waved those words away.

"No problem, I know he's a busy man by having taken the role of Lucifer. And I don't mind it, not like it's a big deal or anything — we can talk another time."

The maid nodded before gesturing me to follow along, I complied. As we walked through the halls, I asked about the others and Grayfia gave me a detailed summary of what happened during my absence. Apparently, most of the group had returned to their respective homes with Sona bringing her peerage to the Sitri mansion with Rias doing the same. Raynare and Kalawarna went to visit their homes in the Fallen Angels part of the Underworld whilst Xenovia went along with Rias' group to settle down for the day.

"Tsk, bunch of traitors, couldn't even wait for an hour."

'Younglings these days, they have no patience.'

Damn, I sounded old.

"There is no need to fault them, Hikigaya-sama. Lady Gremory and Lord Gremory were the ones to urge their daughter to come back as soon as possible. Left with little choice she reluctantly left, though not before I assured her that I would take care of your arrival as well."

"Ah, thanks a lot, Grayfia-san, I appreciate your help."

For a split second, I saw her lips twitch upwards with what could only be described as a smile.

"There is no need, it is my duty after all."

A few minutes later, we reached another side of the castle where I had my words stuck in my throat by the site ahead of me. There was only one way I could summarize it.

So much gold!

At least a dozen carriages attached to a certain demonic breed of horses aligned in the back of the castle. All of them looked like they were made from the most precious of material and coated in gold. Just how much money did these people own!? This was just plain ridiculous at this point.

"I've taken the liberty to prepare a few vehicles for you, so please board whichever pleases you."

"..."

They all looked about the same with the only difference being the types of precious stones, even the Gremory mark on top of each of these carriages was made of the same red ruby. Starting to feel nauseous from the witnessed wealth, I got inside the closest one.

The insides were just as luxurious, velvet couches with blue curtains around the window. It certainly differed greatly from the modern limousines we took from the station. This one captured the medieval aesthetic and feel. The seats were comfortable enough, so I waited for the thing to start moving.

Click!

"Eh?"

The door opened again, with another person coming to sit inside with me. It was Grayfia again, she sat right next to me.

"Umm… you're coming along as well?" I didn't know why I was feeling nervous at this moment, something about this woman just made it hard to relax.

"It is my duty to accompany you till the Gremory mansion, I can't send you off by yourself, that would be extremely disrespectful and will taint my honor."

"... You don't need to do th—"

"Please enjoy the journey, Hikigaya-sama." She cut me off with a smile that looked very scary to me.

I gulped and shut myself up.

This ride couldn't end anytime soon.

{Break}

(An hour later)

To say the ride felt the most uncomfortable moment of my life would be an understatement. For some reasons, now of all times I was starting to have flashbacks of my past life.

Dealing with a certain ice queen who was extremely blunt at times. An air of haughtiness and disregard for the general population around her. Those were a few of the feelings he kept getting with her, this woman whose face remained perfectly stoic and silent the entire ride. That air of coldness around her, like an ice queen many feared to approach. Even the entire maid outfit didn't reduce that effect around her.

"Are you nervous with me?" Grayfia was the first one to speak, glancing at him from her seat.

"A bit, can't say our past interaction has been the best."

"No, you did wonderfully. Your first instinct was to protect Rias-sama and even defend her choice. The belief you had in her ability and strength to winning the Rating Game was the key factor which provided her the support she desperately needed. In fact, it would be better for me to apologize instead, for I failed in my duties as the house maid in that regard."

I gave her a confused face.

"Apologies? For what? The last thing I want is for Lucifer's wife to suddenly ask for forgiveness for basically nothing. You did your job while I just stayed by the sidelines."

From the corner of my eyes, I could see the woman smile.

"Sidelines? Now that's a bold claim, I'm sure boh Rias-sama and Akeno-sama will claim otherwise, your presence changed their lives in more ways than one."

The same could be said for me, without meeting them, I would have probably remained as a regular student sleeping in class and just minding my own business. Then again, with Vritra's piece inside me, I would have been dragged to the supernatural world regardless. Quite sad now that I thought about it, but that was how the world operated and the only thing I could do was adapt.

"Now that I think about it, why didn't we just take a car there? Would have been faster."

"Unfortunately, all vehicles are unavailable and were sent for maintenance."

For some reason, I heavily doubted that was the case. A freakishly wealthy family didn't have a car to spare? Most likely Grayfia arranged this, but for what reason I didn't know.

"I have heard from Sirzechs-sama that you're planning on helping the wanted criminal Kuroka to prove her innocence?" She asked.

I wasn't surprised she knew that, given how she was Sirzechs' wife and he most definitely shared a lot with her.

"That is very foolish."

"... May I ask why?" Grayfia couldn't have said that just because she did not believe Kuroka was innocent. I was curious about what the woman would say.

"Whether she did it with good intentions or not, the fact remains that her actions have caused the death of a King and head of a Pillar Clan."

"Something she was forced to do in order to keep Koneko safe. And I'm sure Lucifer already gave you enough details of what the Naberius family were performing. Many of his experiments were beyond horrifying and sick."

"That I know off." She agreed with my words. "But that still doesn't change what she did. The Underworld is different, we respect power over reason, strength over facts and anything that benefits us tends to slip through the cracks. While Sirzechs is the strongest Devil, he faced many tribulations and barriers in his time as a Maou. Yet still there are people who go against him, what do you hope of achieving by talking to Bael? He is known for his old ways, stubbornness and cunning nature. What you're doing is basically serving yourself to a predator on a silver platter."

"Are you worried about me?" I asked jokingly, but it seemed she didn't see it like that and nodded her head.

"I do, you represent too much for Rias-sama and her Queen. If anything were to happen to you, then they'd be devastated. If to keep them from meeting such a fate I must freeze you for life, them I'll happily oblige."

The cold feeling in the air made a chill run up my spine. Nevertheless, I stood my ground and didn't show any facial changes.

"You know, such an attitude would have really helped when Rias dealt with Riser." I said dryly. "Where was this bravado? This threat of freezing him if he did something bad? Rias could have easily killed herself if something of that were to happen or if her peerage got taken advantage by him. Even if he's proven to have changed, what if he hadn't?"

I glared back, not willing to show any weakness and stand my ground. My point were valid in my opinion. It was laughable how she acted such a way with me given how none of this was shown during the meeting with Riser.

In the end, she relented. "There were many factors to take into consideration. As a representative of the Maou I couldn't have shown my bias, this would have affected Sirzechs-sama negatively and I can't allow that to happen."

"..."

"Why are you willing to go so far?" I heard her question and pondered.

"Because I believe it is my duty in a way. I have power now, something I never desired but know how important it is in this world. I can use Vritra's gear to change the lives of many if I desired and I chose to help those few who now are no different than family. And as Vritra said many times, it's the responsibility of the exceptionally powerful to help the less fortunate."

She scoffed, yet still having that smile on her face. "What a twisted sense of nobility… but I can't say I don't admire it."

"..." The moment I heard the first part of her words, I couldn't hold it and started laughing — much to Grayfia's confusion.

"Have I said something funny?"

"No," I shook my head, feeling a wave of nostalgia hit me. "It's just those words you've mentioned, at least the first part, I would usually say that same thing to someone else."

"And this person might be?" She got intrigued, inching forward slightly, yet that move was enough to showcase her cleavage at its fullest.

I ignored them by looking outside before answering her question.

"That person was… still is someone very special to me."

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 3 other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post monthly commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.