"Koneko… I don't know why you're rejecting the true power inside you. But if you keep ignoring it and chasing something else instead, then all you're doing… is wasting the incredible gift you were born with."

"…I'm sorry."

She sat on the ground with her head bowed, her voice barely audible. She didn't offer an explanation—only a quiet apology.

But Akira could feel it. Her refusal wasn't rooted in pride or ignorance—it came from fear. A deep, paralyzing fear buried inside her heart.

And in that moment, the memory returned.

That night… the night she could never erase.

Her sister, once kind and gentle, had lost control. Right in front of her eyes, she'd slaughtered their master in a frenzied rage.

The image of that lifeless body lying in a pool of blood, the stench of iron thick in the air, and the shattering realization that someone she'd loved so dearly could become that—it carved a wound into her soul.

That fear had taken root inside her. It never left.

She was terrified. Not just of the power… but of what it could do to her. Of what she might become.

Terrified that one day, she'd lose control.

That she'd hurt the people she now called family—Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Asia...

So she chose to suppress it.

Not because she hated it.

But because she was scared of it.

"Don't apologize to me, Koneko. No one can make that choice for you. But at the very least... don't make a decision today that you'll regret for the rest of your life."

"…What do you mean?"

"If I hadn't shown up… and things went just like they did in the original timeline—if Rias had to face Riser Phenex in the Rating Game... would you have used that power to protect her?"

She didn't respond.

But her silence was the answer.

She wouldn't have. Just like in the world he remembered.

"That's why I'm saying this—don't live with regret. If Rias loses and is forced to marry someone she doesn't love... if she has to spend her life with that man... could you live with that?"

"You might be able to hold back the guilt now... but what about years from now?"

Akira looked at her—gently, but firmly.

"That regret... it'll only grow. Even if no one blames you, you'll keep blaming yourself."

"But, Senpai… I…"

"I know. You have your reasons. Wounds. Fears. Secrets too heavy to share. But unless you tell someone, no one can help you."

After what happened with Akeno—after he'd taken away Hyoudou Issei's "luck"—Akira had started to wonder…

Could he actually unlock the classic power of protagonists everywhere?

Talk no Jutsu.

In so many worlds, even the most hardened enemies had been swayed by the power of words—most notably, Uzumaki Naruto, who shattered centuries of hatred with nothing but honesty and heart.

Maybe… just maybe…

Koneko's shoulders trembled. Her small frame seemed to shrink, no longer the tough, stoic girl she always pretended to be. For the first time, she looked fragile.

Like a little girl.

"…Senpai. If one day I turn into a monster… what should I do?"

"Why would you say something like that?"

"Because… my sister—"

And finally, the dam broke.

Koneko spoke.

She told him everything.

About her older sister, once loving and protective, who lost herself in rage and murdered their master. About how she fled, branded a criminal by the Underworld. About how she left Koneko behind… and how all of it stemmed from a power they couldn't control.

That trauma—those memories—were the reason she shut herself off.

"…Answer me one thing, Koneko. Your sister… she loved you, didn't she? Since you were little?"

"…Yeah. She meant everything to me."

Her voice shook as the memories flooded back. Back then, her sister had been her whole world—until that world shattered.

"Did you ever think… maybe she didn't go crazy? Maybe she wasn't blinded by rage. What if… she was trying to protect you?"

"…What?"

"The love between sisters—especially an older sister and her little sister—is powerful. If you were in danger… she might've given up everything. Even her soul. Just to save you."

"…But then why… why did she kill our master?"

"That's something… only your sister can answer."

Akira shook his head and offered a small smile.

Of course, he knew the truth.

In the original story, the explanation had been clear. But there was no way he could say that aloud. He wasn't a Gremory. He wasn't part of her past. If he spoke too much, the others would start asking questions—questions that could expose secrets he couldn't afford to reveal.

But then…

A new voice entered the scene. Calm. Mature. Beautiful.

"I'll explain it instead."

They both turned.

Rias Gremory stood there.

This time, she wore glasses and a more casual outfit—something elegant, quiet, and scholarly. For a second, Akira was taken aback.

The crimson-haired devil princess looked less like a noble and more like a literature major from a human university.

Refined. Intelligent. Striking in a whole new way.

"B-Buchou…"

"Koneko," Rias said gently. "I looked into it a while ago—through my brother. The family you and your sister served under… they were conducting secret experiments on Youkai bodies. There's no hard proof, but… you and your sister were likely test subjects."

"…What?!"

Koneko's whole body froze. Her eyes widened. Her skin turned pale.

The master who raised them… had tried to use them as lab rats?

If that was true…

And if she linked that to what Akira had said earlier—then suddenly, everything started to make sense.

Her sister's rage. The bloodshed. The desperate escape.

It all aligned.

But the worst part wasn't the truth.

It was the realization that for all these years…

She had hated her sister—

—because she didn't understand.

Because she had misunderstood everything.

And that truth hurt more than anything else.

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