LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 24: Trust
"Wouldn't you rather sleep in a sleeping bag...?" asked Vahn, not minding too much but feeling weird with Koneko straddling his lap, her upper body nestled with his shirt.
"Nn...this is good..." responded Koneko, punctuating her words by licking the center of Vahn's chest.
"Well...if you say so..." muttered Vahn, caressing Koneko's back through his shirt before closing his eyes and leaning his head back. Koneko liked sitting on his lap, so when it came time for them to rest, he purchased a comfortable lens-shaped lounge chair from the Shop, allowing her to sit and occasionally squirm atop him as he focused on restoring his stamina and relaxing his mind using his Aura Conversion and Meditation Skills.
Noticing what Vahn was doing, Koneko closed her eyes within his shirt and focused on breathing, the beating of his heart, and the flow of energy within him. This was the actual reason she wanted inside of his shirt, well, one of them, and the longer he breathed, the more synchronized their two respective auras became.
'It's different, but he's definitely using Senjutsu...' noted Koneko, inhaling several deep breaths of Vahn's calming aroma. Ordinarily, she would find the notion of him using Senjutsu disgusting, but the way he used it was so natural; it made her feel calm and safe just being near him. It was strange, but it reminded her of napping on a tree branch or basking in the sun on a cool Spring day...
Catching Vahn a little off guard, Koneko, rather abruptly, asked, "Will you come to save me like you did last night in the future...?"
"I will try..." responded Vahn, unable to offer any guarantees but certain he would never stand by and watch harm he could prevent from befalling her.
"Even if I become a monster...?" asked Koneko, sensing Vahn's concern and desire to protect her, sentiments that compelled her to lick his chest and rub her face against him.
"I won't let you become a monster..." asserted Vahn, unsure what Koneko was talking about but determined to help her through whatever it was, for both her sake and Rias's.
"I believe you..." muttered Koneko, her tongue becoming notably rougher as what appeared to be a tail covered in white fur unfurled out of the gap between her cotton shirt and bloomers. Vahn noticed this but pretended not, presuming it was what Koneko was referring to when she mentioned becoming a monster.
'She must be self-conscious about it...' concluded Vahn, closing his eyes and caressing Koneko's back. Something soft and ticklish grazed against him beneath his shirt, but he didn't ask what it was or question why she had started to produce a low, purring sound.
"Rub my butt..." said Koneko, causing Vahn to, once again, open his eyes. Various questions entered his mind, but when he noticed her cat-like tail swishing behind her, looking fluffy and agitated, he eventually complied, finding it much smaller than Rias's but still extraordinarily soft and, as he squeezed it, very springy.
"I don't know why, but you make me want to be perverted..." revealed Koneko, leaving Vahn a little speechless as she dragged her sandpaper-like tongue across his left peck before adding, "You can grab me harder. I'm tough, remember...?"
"Sure..." responded Vahn, putting more strength into his hands, causing Koneko's tail to reactively flicker and straighten out as she issued a faint, nasally grown that caused his cheeks to tint red. Fortunately, other than squeezing her butt, that was the only request Koneko made of him as she spent nearly an hour licking the center of his chest until it became tender and raw...
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After their two-and-a-half-day stint in the Corridor, Vahn and Koneko returned to her apartment, very real cat ears adorning the sides of her head as she looked at him and suggested, "Let's take a bath."
"A bath bath, and not a shower...?" asked Vahn, perking up slightly as he was far fonder of baths than showers. Rias preferred the latter, however, so ever since he moved in with her, that was all they had taken. He wasn't complaining, as he greatly enjoyed his showers with Rias, but he missed sinking into a warm bath and allowing the tension to leave his body as just his mouth and rose remained above the water's surface.
"Nn...let's go..." responded Koneko, peeling off her top, using her toes to remove her feet from her shoes, and then stripping off her bloomers and underwear, leaving her in just a bra and socks. She didn't need his help in the slightest, but she had Vahn undo the clasp of the former before taking a seat on her bed, unhurriedly sliding her hands down her calves to peel off her socks while monitoring his reaction.
"Do you like it when I look at you...?" asked Vahn, tilting his head slightly.
"I do..." confirmed Koneko, taking a moment to lean backward onto her elbows, pulling her feet up onto the bed and spreading her legs wide as she asked, "Do you like looking at me?" with her white tail curled up and covering her crotch in a way that somehow gave the impression of being lewder than if she had just presented it openly.
"Nn...you're very cute..." confirmed Vahn, his expression and tone flat as he added, "But I think you need to grow more before we can do anything more than we have. I don't want to hurt you..."
"Nn...Lady Rias also warned me that it was probably too early..." revealed Koneko, placing her right hand on her diaphragm and caressing her lower abdomen with her left as she closed her eyes and muttered, "But my body is burning, and my chest and tummy feel...hungry. I think I might be going into heat..."
Responding to Vahn's confusion, Sis dutifully explained (Heat, or estrus, is a regular period of sexual receptivity and fertility experienced by many female animals, particularly mammals. Miss Koneko appears to be what is known as a Nekomata, a species of cat Youkai that has gained increasing popularity in Japanese media. Cats in the Northern Hemisphere typically go into heat between March and September, so it's not entirely out of the question she is experiencing something similar after her transformation.)
'Is there anything I can do about it...?' asked Vahn, quickly adding, 'Other than the obvious...'
(Hmm...well, she is clearly in pain...) remarked Sis, sharing Vahn's vision of Koneko staring at him, the upper half of her face red and her breathing becoming increasingly labored as the tip of her tail twitched and curled as she gripped it with both hands and pulled it toward her chest.
Realizing what Sis was suggesting, Vahn, his gaze never leaving Koneko's, asked, 'Is that even possible...?'
(Similar to a Devil, your power and form are influenced by your desires, Vahn. If you acknowledge that she's in pain and sincerely wish to alleviate it, there's no reason for it not to work.) explained Sis.
"I see..." muttered Vahn, making Koneko think he was responding to her admission of going into heat. When he subsequently approached her, she felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest, her legs spreading as far as the bed's surface allowed as Vahn replaced her left hand on her abdomen with his right. To her surprise, rather than feeling more excited, the yearning in her body abruptly vanished, replaced by a feeling of calm as Vahn, sporting a rapidly flushing face, smiled and stated, "Let's wait a while longer..."
"What did you do...?' asked Koneko, tilting her head curiously.
"I took away your pain and transferred it to myself..." revealed Vahn, his smile cramping and tiny beads of sweat appearing on his forehead as he wondered how Koneko had been able to restrain herself at all. Thankfully, the pervasive heat he was experiencing was only temporary, allowing him to retain his composure as his body rapidly expelled the excess heat from his pores.
"I see..." responded Koneko, reminding Vahn of himself from a moment prior before she adopted a faint smile, adding, "You're a good person..."
"I try to be," confirmed Vahn, nodding. Then, as it felt like the right thing to do, he picked Koneko up in a bridal carry, causing the faint smile on her face to become marginally more pronounced as she nestled her forehead against his chest, closed her eyes, and muttered, "I will eat a lot and grow as quickly as I can..."
"I look forward to it..." responded Vahn, not sure how else to respond as he felt like it was inevitable that he and Koneko would have sex. Rather, if Rias had her way, she was just one of seven girls he would share his heart with. Fortunately, at least for now, Koneko was very compact, allowing her to fit in with room to spare...
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"Good morning, you two. Was your evening fruitful?" asked Rias, beaming as Vahn and Koneko arrived at the club room via the latter's teleportation magic.
Before Vahn could answer, Koneko surprised everyone present, including him, Rias, and Akeno, by firmly stating, "I'm going to marry Vahn and have his babies."
"Good. I was hoping you might..." affirmed Rias, adopting an expression reminiscent of a proud mother as she got up from her desk, approached, and embraced both Vahn's and Koneko's heads, whispering, "It's always been my dream to have a big family..." before releasing them.
"I never expected Koneko-chan to get the jump on me," remarked Akeno, cupping her right cheek and adopting a narrow-eyed, seductive smile as she contended, "I'll need to try harder if I don't want to get relegated to the position of third wife or mistress..."
"We can sort things like that in the future," said Rias. "For now, Vahn and I need to conduct our morning ritual, so please give us at least ten minutes of undisturbed privacy."
"Of course. Have fun, you two~."
"Nn..."
With Akeno and Koneko departing after their affirmative responses, Vahn abruptly found himself alone with Rias. In response, she sat on the edge of her desk and pulled up her feet rather than leaning against it, her legs forming an m-shape with wide arches as she playfully hummed, "Time for you to charge my batteries, big boy..."
Though he was confused by Rias's words, Vahn felt he had a good idea of what she wanted from him, compelling him to approach and draw her hips flush against him before moving them to the Corridor, turning ten minutes into sixty-five...
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"It might be a little late to be asking this now, but where exactly does Vahn fit into the equation between Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels...?" asked Issei, leaning back with his left hand for support and an onigiri in his right as everyone sat in a circle, taking a break from exploration to eat and recuperate their stamina.
"Why do you ask...?" asked Rias, similarly curious about Vahn's origins but no longer concerned about them. He was kind, had exceptional potential, and, as far as she was concerned, he was fated to be her future husband-consort. Where he came from didn't matter nearly as much as where they were headed together.
"No real reason," responded Issei. "It's just that I remember you saying that Akeno-san was a Queen, Kiba-kun is a knight, and Koneko-chan is a Rook. You never said what Vahn was, but when I asked, he mentioned he was still human. I guess I'm just confused about how a human can be so powerful or have access to a place like this."
"It's because I'm not from this world..." answered Vahn, causing Issei's eyes to widen while everyone else took it in stride, barely reacting in the slightest but paying close attention as he explained, "The world I'm from was similar to this one, but there were a lot of differences. For one, while there were countries like the United States and Japan, there was nothing like Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels. How I came to be in this world isn't something I can explain, but as far as where I fit in is concerned, I'm right where I'm meant to be..."
With Vahn directing his final few words at her, Rias's expression softened into a narrow-eyed smile. Had they been alone, she might have pounced on him right there and then. Instead, she made a mental note to give him an extra-special reward once they retired to their room for the night. More accurately, she and Akeno would be rewarding him together...
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