บท 19: Complex

"Oh, my. I see the two of you getting along~" teased Rias, initially a little surprised by Koneko's presence beneath the covers but adopting a smile soon after.

Rousing at Rias's words, Koneko rose to a seated position, rubbing her right eye and causing the blankets to slide off her as she straddled Vahn's stomach. Doing so revealed that, while she was wearing the blouse of her uniform, she had removed the associated corset and skirt, providing Vahn a glimpse of her blue-striped panties.

After rubbing her eye, Koneko turned to Rias, her expression and tone flat as she said, "He smells nice. Is it okay if I sleep with the two of you again sometime?"

"Of course you can," responded Rias, quickly adding, "But not too often, okay? Vahn and I are in a period of learning about each others' bodies, so we engage in many intimate acts. We need lots of privacy."

"Nn...I understand..." responded Koneko, nodding. Before dismounting from Vahn's stomach, however, she bent down, surprising him by licking his cheek. Then, with a cat-like sway in her hips, she promptly crawled out of the tent, Vahn's gaze curiously drawn to her perky bottom before meeting Rias's grinning gaze.

"It would appear Koneko wants to be more than friends~" hummed Rias, replacing Koneko atop Vahn's stomach before adjusting her position to be a lot more precarious as she added, "Be gentle with her, okay? She's been through a lot."

Though he was a little taken aback by Rias's words, Vahn quickly nodded, his expression and tone serious as he gently grabbed her waist and firmly asserted, "I would never harm anyone you care about..."

"How reassuring..." Rias purred, her eyes narrowing as she took a moment to move her hair out of the way before bending over, her breasts forming a soft cushion between her and Vahn's bodies as she gave him a deeper-than-usual wake-up kiss...

...

'This is kind of awkward...' thought Vahn, enjoying reading his first manga in what felt like years as Koneko, who had been shadowing him since they emerged from the Corridor, sat atop his lap with the back of her head in his face, snacking on animal crackers in a small yet cozy apartment with a fragrant smell and lots of clothes strewn about. Rias and Akeno had left to look into something related to Devils, so Koneko had invited him over to peruse her surprisingly large manga collection, the majority of which were related to cooking or centered around a pair of sisters.

"I need to use the bathroom," said Koneko, providing Vahn a momentary relief as she got off his lap and did what he could best describe as a cute scurry to the bathroom. In her wake, Vahn leaned forward and scrutinized her apartment, particularly the clothes strewn about haphazardly. There were things like a sailor uniform, a modified gym uniform with a randoseru perched next to it, and even a black swimsuit better described as pieces of string with three scant pieces of cloth attached.

Emerging from the bathroom several minutes later, Koneko, noticing what Vahn was doing, tilted her head and questioned, "Is it too messy? I wasn't really expecting to have anyone over."

"I don't mind," responded Vahn, shaking his head before revealing, "I was actually curious about why you have all these different outfits. I never see you in anything other than your gym and school uniforms."

"Ah, that..." muttered Koneko, closing her eyes and exhaling a faint sigh before opening them to reveal, "A lot of my regulars are Otaku or people with photography and cosplay fetishes. I use magic to blur my face, but they like to share images of me online and with their network of perverts and freaks. It's annoying."

Frowning deeply, Vahn questioned, "Can't you refuse them?"

Following a quick shrug, Koneko made her way over to Vahn, this time crawling onto his lap face first and linking her hands and arms around his neck as she monotonously explained, "A Devil's rank, power, and life force are determined by the quantity and quality of their contracts. Most of the humans who summon us don't have much going for them in their lives, so they drown themselves in their hobbies and base desires. Some try weird things like drugging me or using hypnosis, but since I can sense if people have bad intentions, it never goes the way they want..."

Though he was still upset, Vahn's expression relaxed as he questioned, "Is that why you're so comfortable around me? Because you can sense that I would never harm you?"

"I already told you the reason..." responded Koneko, burying her face into Vahn's neck and sniffing him. Her actions caused his face to heat up a bit, but since he did significantly more intimate things with Rias, he was able to remain calm, placing his left hand on the small of her back and his right on her upper, gently caressing the latter.

"You're really weird..." muttered Koneko, turning her head slightly to sniff and nuzzle Vahn's neck as she noted, "Even though my actions make you uncomfortable, you try to comfort me...is it because Rias asked you to be nice to me?"

"That isn't the reason..." responded Vahn, leaning back so that Koneko could rest comfortably against his chest as he added, "It just feels like you need someone to comfort you..."

"I see..." muttered Koneko, briefly causing Vahn to tense as she bobbed her head and licked his neck a few times like she was grooming him. The awkwardness of the situation aside, it felt really pleasant, so while he felt like they shouldn't be doing such a thing without Rias's permission, he let her continue doing so for several minutes, noticing that her tongue was either becoming rougher or his skin was becoming more sensitive as time passed.

Shifting her weight back onto Vahn's lap, Koneko stared at him for several seconds. Vahn stared at her in turn, and for nearly a minute, neither said a word until she questioned, "Do you want to see me dress up? If it's you...I don't mind even if you touch me a bit..."

"Is that what you want to do...?" asked Vahn, curious to see what Koneko looked like in various outfits but not so curious that he was willing to have her change for him.

Nodding, Koneko honestly revealed, "I want you to look at me more...." before getting up from Vahn's lap and holding his gaze as she undid the clasps of her skirt, allowing it to fall to her ankles. Vahn was surprised to see she was wearing white panties with pink paw marks on them, but he only stared at them for a moment before meeting Koneko's gaze as she slowly removed her clothing piece by piece before trying on what he felt like were increasingly lewd outfits...

...

"Rias isn't coming back tonight...?" asked Vahn, his expression one of surprise before morphing into a concerned, slightly anxious frown as he asked, "Did something happen?"

"Quite a lot," affirmed Akeno, sporting a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she explained, "But you don't need to worry. Rias is perfectly fine. And you'll learn more about what happened tomorrow."

Though he still sported a frown, Vahn's expression relaxed after hearing Akeno's reassurances. He was aware that she had a lot going on that he wasn't knowledgeable or strong enough to get involved with, so with his evening suddenly open, he gave an affirming nod and asserted, "Then I'm going into the Corridor."

Since all the members of the ORC were present besides Rias, Kiba offered a nod of his own and expressed, "Then, if you will allow it, I would be glad to accompany you."

"I'm going..." appended Koneko, her tone leaving little room for discussion or refusal.

"I don't mind but are the two of you sure you want to come with me...?" asked Vahn, touching the back of his head as he revealed, "I'm planning to stay inside until tomorrow morning. That's like two full days."

"Sounds like fun," hummed Kiba, adopting a closed-eyed smile. Koneko's expression didn't change in the slightest, but Vahn got the impression she was similarly enthused as she produced her fingerless gloves and donned them, exhibiting her willingness to fight.

"Just make sure to return by seven-thirty. We'll have a hearty breakfast waiting~" said Akeno, wishing she could accompany the trio but needing to stay behind in case Rias needed her. It wasn't too likely, but as Rias's Queen, she needed to be prepared to answer her King's summons at any time.

"Then we'll be going," said Vahn, having largely regained his usual verve as he linked hands with Kiba and Koneko before disappearing from view, causing the smile to fade from Akeno's face and a faint sigh to escape her throat. The incident that had transpired that night was bound to affect all of them, but none more so than Vahn. A new member had been added to Rias's Peerage, and while that wasn't anything bad in and of itself, the boy, Hyoudou Issei, had required eight Pawns to be rescued from his imminent demise and reincarnated as a Devil. This resulted in his Spirit Energy and life force becoming irregular, so while she was apprehensive due to how it might affect her relationship with Vahn if he found out, Rias was currently cradling their newest member in his bed, completely naked as she did her best to stabilize the tumultuous energy in his body...

...

"Is Rias still not back...?" asked Vahn, no longer anxious after more than two days but still concerned when he, Koneko, and Kiba returned to the club room and found Akeno but no Rias.

"Her business will have ended by now, so you will be able to meet her at lunch," assured Akeno, once again sporting a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Vahn noticed this, causing his brows to furrow slightly, but since he didn't want to create tension or cause a scene, he decided not to press the matter and just wait until lunch. If Rias weren't back by then, he would demand answers.

With such thoughts in his mind, Vahn didn't enjoy his breakfast nearly as much as he usually did, his expression notably surly but not so much that he appeared angry. His mood improved a bit when Koneko gave him a pat on the head and reassured him that everything would be okay before they parted ways for their respective classes, but since he typically wore an approachable smile, it was obvious to the many girls who paid attention to him that he wasn't in a good mood. He assured them he was fine, but until he saw Rias, he was fated to remain in low spirits.

Contrasting Vahn's gloom, Issei garnered more attention than usual as he entered the classroom with a broad, bright-eyed smile. It was apparent at a glance that something great had happened to him, but since they hardly knew each other despite their desks being less than a meter distant, Vahn wasn't curious enough to ascertain the reason. Instead, after an initial eye roll, he did his best to ignore the perverted brunette who kept muttering to himself about things like carpets matching drapes, ascending the stairs to adulthood, and how Spring had finally arrived as if it wasn't already the second week of April...

...

"First off, allow me to apologize..." said Rias, hugging Vahn's face to her chest and caressing his head as she softly assured him, "It was never my intention to make you feel worried or anxious..."

"I'm just glad you're okay..." muttered Vahn, his face red as he held Rias's waist and enjoyed the sensation of being held by her.

"Thank you..." whispered Rias, resting her cheek against the top of Vahn's head. He was actually two, going on three centimeters taller than her, but since she was holding his face to her bosom, she could rub her cheek and face against the top of his head at her leisure.

"Now, let's talk about why I wasn't able to return last night..." said Rias, releasing her hold on Vahn's head and guiding him to take a seat, staring deeply into eyes as she expressed, "I don't want to keep secrets from you..." before recounting how Issei had accidentally summoned her as he was bleeding out, how she had rescued him from the brink of death, and what she had needed to do to ensure his body didn't destroy itself in the aftermath of its restructuring...

...