Mother temporarily entrusted us to someone else so that she could be with that man. She didn’t go after that man so that she could abandon us, she did so because she wanted that man to acknowledge me and Shirone.”
In regards to this, Magari-san had also told me about it
[Fujimai…among the Nekomata, she was a child who excelled in senjutsu. But, although she was good at it, she was a kind and gentle child who didn’t like fighting.] …In any case, she wanted the man that she loved to acknowledge the daughters between them…. That was why she continued to follow him. Kuroka knew everything about her parents so very clearly. Even though she was normally smiling and quite laid-back, she knew about such things so thoroughly…. “…You already understand this so well, so why didn’t you tell Koneko-chan about your mother?”
“It’s precisely because I know that I don’t tell her. …If I talk about our mother, then it definitely involves our father, right? Shirone…is very weak. Although she’s very strong, she can also be quite weak…”
Kuroka — hugged me and whispered
“…Please Sekiryuutei-chan. …I want to keep living here with Shirone in peace. Of course I’ll also make amends for all of the trouble that I’ve given you so far, and I’ll also fight against the threats that may come in the future with you. But, aside from that…I just want to live on normally in peace and quiet…”
This bad cat was always so mischievous, but now that she was in my arms, she seemed so delicate and so small. I quietly held her in my arms, and then said
“Yeah, I understand. If you like, you can stay here as long as you want, also—”
I readily asserted
“No matter if it’s you or Koneko-chan who gets threatened, I’ll rise up to fight. Because we’re family who are living together.”
After hearing my words, Kuroka—. “Ahaha, that’s really something that you can say as a high-class Devil. …Then, I’ll stay by your side. As your family.”
After frivolously saying that, Kuroka added in a rather charming manner—. “Please let me stay like this for a while.”
After speaking to Kuroka, I decided to go take a bath to relax and change my mood, so that was why I came to the large underground bath. Because our house had become so large, we even had a large shared bath, and being able to privately enjoy it by myself at night was a rather pleasurable thing. Being able to have a mixed bath with the girls is nice too though. I really welcome it! Occasionally, we even help each other wash our bodies (of course, the girls always say ‘me too’, so it becomes quite hectic). It’s the best! But I still have to say, in such a large bath, it’s also great when I can enjoy it all to myself! At public baths and hot spring resorts, it’s very rare to encounter a situation like this where one person can have it all to themselves. So when there’s such a large bath in my own house, sometimes I want to enjoy it alone! I really just want to occupy the centre of the bath, or even have a swim, even though it isn’t very courteous. I just want to relax for a moment. Well, it’s nice to change my mood before something major happens. Although there were a lot of people who lived at my house, I roughly knew what time everyone took a bath. At this time, there shouldn’t be anyone else here to take a bath. I neatly took my clothes off in the dressing room, and began to hum a tune as I walked towards the large bath, and then sat under a shower head. After noticing that the shampoo was completely used up, I had no choice but to reach over to grab the shampoo from the adjacent wash area—. “…Here you go.”
A bottle of shampoo was placed into my hand accompanied by someone’s voice. “Ah, thank you!”
After I replied like that—. I suddenly came back to my senses and looked to my side — a completely naked Koneko-chan was standing there! I hadn’t felt her presence at all, and that’s why I thought I was the only person here! I should have paid more attention to the dressing room! Her small oppai were laid bare before my eyes! Koneko-chan shyly murmured
“…I was originally in a corner of the bath, where I wouldn’t have been seen…. And then I heard Ise-senpai humming as you came in here…”
I-I see! Koneko-chan was so small, and she was also in a place that was invisible from the entrance, so that’s why I didn’t notice! After saying that, Koneko-chan went back into the bath again. So she got up just to give me the shampoo huh. It feels a bit awkward…. I quickly washed my head and body down and then sank into the bath, a slight distance away from Koneko-chan. There was an awkward air between the two of us…. After I made up my mind, I began a conversation with Koneko-chan. “…Koneko-chan, the game is quite soon isn’t it?”
Koneko-chan looked at me with earnestness. “Yes, I am Rias-neesama’s [Rook] and also her family. So that’s why I’ll definitely allow her to win.”
And then a sense of determination began to fill her pupils. “I’ll also defeat Kuroka-neesama.”
But, once she said up to there, she revealed a complex expression. “…Although I’ve reconciled with Kuroka-neesama, I can’t say that all of the grudges between us are gone. To erase all of the thoughts that I had back then…is indeed impossible. But Kuroka-neesama is still the same gentle Kuroka-neesama as back then, and just knowing that is enough.”
She was talking about how Kuroka killed her former master. Koneko-chan already understood that it was done for the sake of protecting her. But the fear that she felt back then was genuine. Koneko-chan truly felt afraid of her sister, of a Nekomata’s power. Koneko-chan clenched her fists and said
“…The fear, sadness, loneliness and despair that I felt back then…is something that Rias-neesama and everyone else helped me to dissolve little by little…and to completely overcome it — in order to surpass my past self, I have to defeat Kuroka-neesama fairly.”
The fear that she felt back then — only by facing Kuroka and fighting against her could she overcome the past and eliminate it. In order to surpass her past self—. “Hmm, if Koneko-chan has made up her mind, then I’ll be rooting for you. Though I’ll also have to cheer for Kuroka as well.”
Koneko-chan laughed quietly and then said
“Yes, please be sure to cheer for Kuroka-neesama as well. …But, I hope that you’ll be able to cheer for me a bit more than her.”
After that, we fell into a brief silence again. The first to speak up was Koneko-chan. “…Do you know about what happened with father and mother?”
—Hmm. …Koneko-chan is asking me about her parents huh. I — nodded without making any excuses. Koneko-chan looked up at the ceiling as she said
“Kuroka-neesama has always been quite vague on what kind of people they were…. But even if she doesn’t tell me, I more or less understood. …In any case, that’s the kind of people they were, and that’s why Kuroka-neesama doesn’t want to tell me, but I had somewhat realised that already.”
“Koneko-chan, but your mother—”
I wanted to at least tell her about that, but Koneko-chan — shook her head.