Deus.Ex.Machina Chapter 112

Koneko was running.

The hallways stretched endlessly. Black ice walls on either side. Cold bit into her skin.

She didn't know where she was going. Only that she had to keep moving.

Behind her, sothing followed. Heavy footsteps. Getting closer.

"Koneko."

She knew that voice.

She stopped. Turned.

Her master stood there. The one Kuroka had killed. His face was kind. Patient. The way she rembered from when she was small.

"Why did you run?" he asked. "I only wanted to help you."

"You were going to hurt ." Her voice ca out small. Childlike.

"Hurt you?" He smiled. "No, little one. I was going to make you stronger. Perfect. Don't you want to be perfect?"

The hallway shifted. Changed.

Now she stood in a laboratory. tal tables. Strange instrunts. The sll of chemicals and sothing else. Sothing wrong.

"Get on the table, Koneko."

"No."

"It won't hurt. Much." His smile widened. "And when we're done, you'll be powerful. Just like your sister."

A door burst open.

Kuroka rushed in. Younger. The way Koneko rembered her from that day.

"Get away from her!"

Her master turned. His expression shifted. Anger replacing kindness.

"You dare—"

Kuroka's hand glowed with senjutsu. Dark energy. Deadly.

"Run, Shirone! Run!"

But Koneko's feet wouldn't move. She was frozen. Watching.

Watching as Kuroka killed him.

Watching as her sister beca a monster to save her.

The scene shifted again.

Now she stood in Hel's temple. Suspended in that cage. Green energy wrapped around her like chains.

Loki stood below. Smiling. Patient.

"Such a small thing. Worth so much to him."

Leon appeared. Walking forward. His expression calm.

"Let her go."

"Are you sure? Do you know what it will cost?"

"I don't care. Let her go."

Loki laughed. "Very well."

Leon knelt. The sa way Kuroka had knelt over their master's body. The sa posture of sacrifice.

Green light flowed into him. Taking his power. Taking everything.

"No!" Koneko scread. "Don't! I'm not worth it!"

But neither of them heard her. Or if they did, they didn't care.

Leon collapsed. His skin turned pale. Blue. Frost spread across his body.

And Loki kept laughing.

"This is what happens, little nekomata. Everyone who saves you pays the price. Your sister beca a criminal. Your lover beca a prisoner. How many more will you destroy?"

Kuroka appeared beside Leon's frozen form. She looked at Koneko with empty eyes.

"You were always poison, Shirone. I should have let him experint on you. Would have saved everyone."

"No. No, that's not—"

"She's right."

Leon's voice. But wrong. Cold. Dead.

His frozen form cracked. Shattered. The pieces dissolved into mist.

"You're not worth it. You were never worth it."

The cage tightened. Squeezed. Koneko couldn't breathe.

"I'm sorry," she gasped. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm—"

=====

Koneko's eyes snapped open.

She gasped. Her body jerked upright.

Wrong. That was wrong. She shouldn't be able to move. She was trapped. The cage. The ritual. The—

"Easy." A hand on her shoulder. Gentle but firm. "You're safe. You're okay."

Koneko's head whipped toward the voice.

Kuroka.

Her sister sat on the edge of the bed, golden eyes filled with concern. Her cat ears were flat against her head. Her tail curled around her waist protectively.

"Kuroka?" Koneko's voice ca out hoarse. Rough. "What... where..."

"You're in Leon's house," Kuroka said softly. "In the guest room. You've been unconscious for about a day."

A day?

Koneko looked around. She was in a bed. A normal bed. Soft sheets. Warm blanket. The room was simple but comfortable. Definitely not in Helheim.

"How did I..." Koneko's mories were fragnted. Pieces that didn't quite fit together.

She rembered running. Being upset. The argunt with Leon about... about...

Kuroka.

She'd found out Leon was also dating Kuroka. Her sister. The sister who'd abandoned her.

She had run.

Then... nothing. Blank space where mory should be.

No, not nothing. There was sothing. Flashes. Images that felt more like a nightmare than reality.

A man with gray hair and yellow eyes.

Darkness.

Cold.

Being trapped. Unable to move. Unable to speak.

And then...

"Leon." Koneko's eyes widened. "Where's Leon?"

Kuroka's expression shifted. Her ears drooped further.

That was answer enough.

"What happened?" Koneko demanded. Her voice was stronger now. Sharper. "Tell what happened."

Kuroka took a breath. "You were kidnapped. By Loki. The Norse god."

The mories ca flooding back. Not all at once, but in waves.

The clearing. The gray-haired man appearing out of nowhere. Trying to run. Darkness swallowing her whole.

Waking up in a cage. Green light. Runes on the floor. The sensation of sothing pulling at her soul.

And then...

Leon's voice.

"Where is he?" Koneko asked again.

Kuroka's jaw tightened. "Koneko—"

"Where. Is. He?"

"He's..." Kuroka's voice cracked. "He's in Helheim. Loki has him."

Koneko went very still. "What do you an Loki has him?"

Kuroka looked away. "There was a soul-binding ritual. It would have trapped you in Helheim forever. Leon couldn't break it without you dying. So he... he made a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"He traded himself for you." Kuroka's hands clenched into fists on her lap. "He swore an oath to Loki. Let Loki bind his power. Accepted imprisonnt. All to save you."

The words didn't make sense at first. Koneko's mind couldn't process them.

Traded himself. For her.

"No," she whispered.

"Rossweisse brought you here," Kuroka continued. "She wanted to stay, but Leon ordered her to leave. To get you to safety."

"No." Louder this ti.

"He's powerless now. Human. Trapped in—"

"No!" Koneko's hands slamd into the mattress. The bed fra cracked under the force.

Kuroka flinched but didn't move away.

"He can't—he didn't—" Koneko couldn't finish the sentence. Couldn't make the words co out right.

Because it was too much. Too familiar.

Soone sacrificing themselves for her. Giving up everything to keep her safe.

Just like Kuroka had.

Just like their master had died because of her.

"This is my fault," Koneko breathed. "He's trapped because of ."

"No, Koneko—"

"I ran away!" Her voice rose. "I was upset and I ran away like a child and Loki took and now Leon is—"

She couldn't finish. Couldn't say it out loud.

The guilt crashed over her like a wave. Drowning. Suffocating.

Leon had saved her. Again. After everything he'd already done for her.

Teaching her. Training her. Accepting her. Loving her.

And now he was suffering. Powerless. Alone.

Because of her.

"It's not your fault," Kuroka said firmly. "Loki kidnapped you. He's the one who—"

"But I ran away!" Tears burned in Koneko's eyes. She tried to blink them back. Failed. "If I hadn't run away, if I'd just stayed and talked to you both instead of acting like a stupid kid—"

"Koneko." Kuroka grabbed her shoulders. "Listen to . This is not your fault. Loki would have found another way. Another ti. He wanted revenge on Leon. You were just... convenient."

"Convenient." Koneko laughed. It sounded bitter. "I was convenient. A perfect target. Weak. Useless. Easy to capture."

"You're not—"

"I am!" Koneko pulled away from Kuroka's grip. "I'm weak. I've always been weak. That's why you had to kill our master. That's why you beca a Stray. That's why Leon had to trade himself to Loki. Because I'm too weak to protect myself!"

The tears were flowing freely now. She couldn't stop them.

"Everyone who tries to protect loses everything," she continued. "You lost your freedom. Your reputation. Your sister. And now Leon lost his power. His freedom. Maybe his life."

She looked at Kuroka. Really looked at her. At the sister who'd sacrificed everything for her years ago.

"Why?" Koneko's voice broke. "Why do people keep doing this? Why can't you just let —"

"Because we love you." Kuroka's voice was quiet but firm. "That's why. Leon loves you. I love you. And people who love each other protect each other. Even when it costs them everything."

"But it's not fair," Koneko whispered.

"No," Kuroka agreed. "It's not."

They sat in silence for a mont. Koneko tried to wipe her face, but the tears kept coming.

"I want to save him," she finally said. "I need to save him."

"I know."

"But I don't know how." Koneko's hands clenched in the blanket. "I'm not strong enough. I couldn't even save myself. How am I supposed to save him?"

Kuroka was quiet for a long mont. Then she stood up.

"There might be a way," she said slowly. "But you're not going to like it."

"I don't care." Koneko looked up at her. "Tell ."

"You need to get stronger. Much stronger. And there's only one way to do that quickly enough to matter."

Koneko's breath caught. She knew what Kuroka was going to say.

"Senjutsu," Kuroka said. "You need to learn to use your real power. Not the suppressed version you've been using. The full power of a Nekomata."

The fear rose up instantly. Automatic. Years of conditioning.

Senjutsu was dangerous. It drove people mad. It had driven Kuroka mad—or so she'd thought.

"I can't," Koneko whispered. "What if I lose control? What if I beco—"

"You won't." Kuroka sat back down. "Because I'll teach you. I'll show you how to control it. How to use it safely."

"But—"

"Koneko." Kuroka's golden eyes t hers. "I know you're scared. I know what you've been told about Senjutsu. About . But most of it was lies."

"What?"

"Our master." Kuroka's voice hardened. "He wasn't a good person. He was planning to experint on you. To use you for his research. That's why I killed him. Not because I went mad with power. Because he was going to hurt you."

Koneko stared at her. "That's not... Rias said..."

"Rias didn't know the truth. No one did except ." Kuroka's hands trembled slightly. "I let them think I was a mad Stray Devil because it was easier than explaining. Because it kept you safe from anyone who might continue his work."

The words shattered sothing inside Koneko. Years of fear. Years of believing her sister was a monster.

"You never went mad," she breathed.

"No. I was angry. Desperate. But not mad." Kuroka reached out slowly. "And you won't go mad either. Because Senjutsu isn't evil. It's just power. And power is only as good or bad as the person wielding it."

Koneko looked at her sister's outstretched hand.

Then at her own hands. Small. Weak. Useless.

Leon was suffering because these hands couldn't protect themselves.

"Teach ," Koneko said. Her voice was steady now. Determined. "Teach everything. I don't care how hard it is. I don't care how long it takes. I need to be strong enough to save him."

"It won't be easy," Kuroka warned. "Senjutsu training is—"

"I don't care." Koneko t her sister's eyes. "Leon gave up everything for . The least I can do is face my fears for him."

Kuroka smiled. It was small. Sad. But genuine.

"Okay," she said. "We'll start tonight."

She pulled Koneko into a hug. Careful. Gentle.

And for the first ti in years, Koneko hugged her sister back.

"We'll save him," Kuroka whispered. "Together. I promise."

Koneko nodded against her shoulder.

She didn't know if they could actually do it. Didn't know if she could get strong enough in ti.

But she had to try.

For Leon.

For the man who'd given up everything to save her.

She'd face her fears. Master her power. Beco strong enough to stand beside him instead of hiding behind him.

For Leon.

====

Author's Note:

Looks like I ruffled so feathers . I know a lot of you didn't like the direction the plot went, especially with Loki capturing and humiliating Leon. I get why that annoyed people. Watching a strong character get taken down like that isn't exactly fun.

It may seem dumb to so, but for , Leon needed this., this was sothing Leon needed. He had to be knocked down a bit. He's been relying way too much on brute force, and this was ant to show that power alone won't always be enough. Sotis being strong just doesn't cut it.

It also exposed his biggest weakness: the people he cares about. No matter how strong he gets, his loved ones will always be a vulnerability. That's sothing he has to face and grow from.

And this arc isn't just about Leon either. It's also for the heroines. What happened is ant to push them too, to give them motivation and the drive to get stronger. They can't just stand on the sidelines anymore. They need to be able to stand on their own and fight alongside him.

This isn't the end of Leon's story. It's just the start of a new phase for him, and for everyone else.

If you'd like to read ahead and support , feel free to check it out: [email protected]/VashFF