บท 27: Stance
"Mind if I make a suggestion...?" asked Vahn, looking around Issei's room, his gaze settling on things like his multiple figurines of scantily clad anime girls, the spine of a magazine sticking out from under his mattress, and a waste bin near his computer station, filled with crumpled tissues.
"Sure, what's up...?" asked Issei, opening his closet to reveal even more figurines and various boxes as he retrieved a spare futon from within.
"Before you bring a girl here, you might want to change your decor a bit," stated Vahn. "I'm no expert, but I can't imagine too many girls would feel comfortable or confident you have their best interests in mind if they saw this..."
"Mmm...you have a point..." conceded Issei, joining Vahn in looking around his room. He wouldn't have humored the idea of reorganizing even a week prior, but now that he had become a Devil and the likelihood of him having a harem had increased from null to possible, there was merit in making his room a place girls could feel comfortable.
Deciding to shelve the idea for later, Issei plopped the futon Vahn would be using onto the ground as he asked, "So, what's the plan? I take point, and you provide support?"
"You're not the only one who wants to become stronger," reminded Vahn. "Also, you won't be fighting monsters."
Before Issei would ask what he meant, Vahn held up and gripped his left hand into a fist. The moment he did so, a crimson Magic Circle appeared a short distance away, spinning in the air random axes until Kiba, followed a moment later by Koneko, appeared.
"We meet again. Good evening, Vahn, Issei," said Kiba, offering his usual friendly smile.
"Nn...Master..." muttered Koneko, her gaze locking onto Vahn before she left Issei feeling immensely envious as she approached and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling his diaphragm.
Cupping the back of Koneko's head, Vahn cradled and caressed it as he looked between Kiba and Issei, settling on the latter as he stated, "Since the Stray Exorcist you faced wielded a sword and a gun, I requested Kiba to serve as your sparring partner. Even my body tenses up when facing an enemy with a weapon, and I have much more experience than you. Facing him will help you overcome or push through that fear, allowing you to fight more effectively."
"Makes sense," conceded Issei, nodding. A not-so-small part of him felt that it wasn't fair for Vahn to get to explore and spend time with Koneko while he was stuck with Kiba, but since the former was doing him a solid by not only allowing him to use the Corridor but securing him a sparring partner, he kept his admittedly petty indignation to himself...
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After making arrangements to make it look like they were sleeping soundly, just in case his parents came by to check on them in the middle of the night, Vahn transported everyone to the starting zone of the First Stratum's Seventh Floor. They had discovered Checkpoints further in, but since there was more space at the starting and end zones, they were the best places to set up camp and move about comfortably.
"Alright, we'll see you—two in a day or two..." said Vahn, stalling mid-sentence as Koneko, wearing her gym uniform, abruptly crawled up his back and onto his shoulders, hugging his head as she said, "Let's go..." with a hint of urgency in her tone.
"Take care, you two," said Kiba, maintaining his smile as he raised his right hand and waved at Vahn's and Koneko's departing figures. Issei sported a slight frown at the sight, but when Kiba turned to him and asked if he was ready to begin, his expression became one of spirited determination as he punched his right fist into his left hand and answered, "Let's do this!" with vigor...
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With Koneko guiding him using her extrasensory perception and superior Nekoshou senses, Vahn didn't even need to confer with his map to locate enemies. It was actually pretty distracting having it in the periphery of his vision all the time, so since they weren't deliberately trying to explore new regions, he had it turned off, enjoying the experience of having a girl ride his shoulders despite the heat on the back of his neck.
"This is new..." remarked Vahn, standing before a vine-covered stone gate at the end of a long, hedge-maze-like corridor. Doors and gateways were common in the Corridor of Intertwined Fates, typically granting access to Checkpoints or spacious rooms inhabited by conspicuous treasure chests, but this was his and Koneko's first time coming across a door with a black cat symbol on the facade, reminiscent of her hairpins.
As there was text on the gate, indecipherable to Koneko but perfectly legible to him, Vahn read aloud, "Beyond lies the domain of the Secret Boss, Black Cat's Fragmented Memory. Restrictions...a minimum of two people and only Vahn Mason and Toujou Koneko may enter..."
"I don't like this place..." said Koneko, squeezing Vahn's head tightly as she asked, "Can we go someplace else?"
"Yeah, of course," responded Vahn, curious about what lay beyond the door but not so much that he was willing to risk Koneko's peace of mind to enter. He did, however, ask Sis to take note of its location on the map, just in case they wished to return later...
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"Have you gotten...bigger...?" asked Vahn, staring at Koneko's chest as she straddled him in the tub he produced from his Inventory and filled using a large blue gemstone that produced warm water when supplied with Magical Energy.
"Nnnnn...Koneko-nyan told Master she would focus on growing quickly..." confirmed Koneko, rolling her hips slowly from front to back so as not to disturb the water too much as she rubbed her most intimate place against Vahn's.
"And that's something you can just choose to do...?" asked Vahn, aware that a Devil's appearance was influenced by their desires and self-image, but seeing it in practice was a bit...disconcerting.
"Is something wrong...?" asked Koneko, tilting her head to stare at Vahn with a curious expression.
"Mmm...it might sound strange considering how much my appearance has changed in the past week, but it makes me feel weird knowing that you're changing yourself for me..." explained Vahn.
"Then...should I stay as I am...?" asked Koneko, dropping her impassively cutesy act.
Shaking his head, Vahn responded, "Sorry...I'm just being weird. As long as it's something you want to do, I won't stop you..."
Staring intently at Vahn's face for several seconds, Koneko surprised him by proposing, "I could maintain my outward appearance and just change my insides...there are a lot of Devils who maintain cute appearances, but most of them are in the Peerages of perverts..."
"Well, I'm not a pervert..." contended Vahn, adopting a slight pout that caused a faint smile to develop across Koneko's face as she noted, "It's okay to be a little perverted. Just don't end up like Issei..." before shifting back to the opposite end of the tub and using her feet to stimulate his not so little brother.
"I would never become like Issei..." affirmed Vahn, his gaze lowering to Koneko's feet as she made skillful use of her arches and toes to caress what Rias playfully anointed his Devil-Slaying Longinus. It wasn't nearly as stimulating as some of the things he had experienced, but since baths were a time to relax, he allowed himself to enjoy it while using the big toe of his right foot to return the favor...
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Though Kiba and Koneko offered to teleport him back to the club room once they exited the Corridor, Vahn politely declined their offers since he felt it would be weird if he didn't show up for breakfast. Kiba informed him they could use Devil Magic to make it so that Issei's parents didn't recall he had ever dropped by, but since Vahn wasn't comfortable with messing with people's heads, he enjoyed his meal with the Hyoudou family before he and Issei set out for the Academy.
"Hey...thanks again for last night...I'm envious that you got to spend the entire time with Koneko-chan, but I really appreciate you lending me the Corridor and helping with my training..." expressed Issei, walking with his hands behind his head and his brown book bag dangling from his left as he stared into the distance at nothing in particular.
"You're welcome," responded Vahn, choosing to leave it at that instead of saying that Issei didn't need to thank him. He considered the members of Rias's Peerage his found family, so while Issei had some...predilections he didn't approve of, Vahn wouldn't shy from lending him a hand.
"Issei-san...?"
Garnering both Issei's and Vahn's attentions, a petite, demure-looking girl with long blonde hair, a distinctive ahoge, and large green eyes tentatively called out to the former. Her clothing, consisting of a white, turquoise-trimmed veil and a dark teal nun outfit with a white lace collar, tiny blue ribbon, and broad sleeves with white and gold trim, made it apparent that she was affiliated with the Church, so while it was their inaugural meeting, Vahn immediately extrapolated that the girl was Asia Argento, aka the girl that Issei wanted to save.
Recovering from his initial stupor, Issei's expression rapidly transitioned from surprise to relief before quickly settling on reticence as he avoided Asia's gaze and muttered, "Asia-chan...I'm glad you're okay..."
"Thank you..." responded Asia, adopting a sad smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she turned her attention to Vahn and questioned, "And who might you be, kind-looking sir? A friend of Issei-san's? My name is Asia Argento."
"Vahn Mason," replied Vahn, deciding to get straight to the heart of the matter as he adopted a serious expression and asked, "Are you in danger, Asia-chan?"
Surprised by Vahn's words, Asia blinked several times, her eyes wide and round before she adopted a forced smile and replied, "Thank you for your concern, Vahn-san, but I don't want to get you or Issei-san involved in my problems..."
"Asia..." muttered Issei, his expression morphing into a frown as he balled his hands into fists and asserted, "We're already involved. And it's obvious the people you're involved with are just using you, so you should run away and come with us. We can protect you...!"
Though she greatly appreciated what Issei was saying, causing her eyes to glisten with moisture, Asia forced an even more prominent smile as she expressed, "Thank you, Issei-san, but I don't want to cause you any more trouble or see you get hurt. I'm not sure what path led to you becoming a Devil, but I can tell you're a good person. Thank you for agreeing to be my friend, even if only for a short while. It made me very happy."
"As—"
"Are you an idiot?" asked Vahn, interrupting Issei, who was also beginning to tear up.
"Vahn-san...?" asked Asia, taken aback by the firmness of his tone and the content of his question.
"If you're not happy or other people are using you, enduring it, even if it's to protect others, is never the solution," growled Vahn, a glimmer of gold appearing in the depths of his eyes as he asserted, "Even if it's difficult or places other people in jeopardy, you have to oppose those who would use you to serve evil ends. Allowing them to do as they please only motivates them to do worse in the future..."
Taking a step back due to Vahn's intensity, Asia wanted to argue with or try to dissuade him but found herself unable to. The absolute certitude of his words cut straight through her, so while she didn't want to get others involved or see people hurt because of her, tears began to swell in Asia's eyes, drawing significant attention from those going about their business as she abruptly started bawling, dropping onto her butt and allowing her tears to flow freely as, despite her brave front, she wasn't prepared to die...
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