A Heart's Desire

"It's a good thing today is a Saturday. You really put me through the wringer last night, Vahn~" remarked Rias, sporting a contented smile as she sat across from him in the club room, her right leg crossed over her left as she held a saucer with her left hand and sipped tea with her right. Ordinarily, she would sit beside Vahn, but since she had him to herself the previous night, she allowed Asia and Koneko the privilege.

"Ara ara, you're going to make the rest of us jealous~" hummed Akeno, joining Grayfia in setting out breakfast and ensuring everyone's cups were filled with their preferred drink. Koneko enjoyed her coffee black, Asia had tea, and since he wasn't particularly fond of bitter things, Vahn enjoyed a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

"Is there a need to be jealous...?" asked Vahn, catching Akeno a little off guard as he stared at her and offered, "Let's team up when we enter the Corridor later. There's a place I want to take you, and I can give you just as much affection when we take a break..."

"It looks like today is my lucky day. I'm looking forward to it~" hummed Akeno, cupping her right cheek and blushing from a mix of merriment and expectation.

"Uuuuueeh...I wanted to be the one to explore with Vahn-sama..." pouted Asia, puffing her cheeks slightly until Vahn gently caressed the top of her head, causing her ahoge to squirm like a living organism as he assured, "I will team up with you the next time."

"Asia has become sly..." muttered Koneko, disappointed that she wouldn't be the one to accompany Vahn but not noticeably so. They almost always explored the Corridor together, and when he stayed at her apartment, she had him all to herself. It was only natural that Akeno and Asia be afforded the same opportunity.

"It's fine to be a little selfish occasionally," affirmed Rias, closing her eyes and smiling as she sipped from her tea cup. She and Sona had returned to the Underworld the previous afternoon to discuss formalizing their status as Vahn's fiancees. Afterward, her mother offered her and Sona advice on efficiently managing a harem, so if Vahn hadn't taken the initiative himself, she would have privately encouraged Akeno and Asia to be at least a little bolder.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind~" hummed Akeno, causing goosebumps to spread across Vahn's body as she narrowed her violet eyes and licked her lips while gazing at him predatorily. She had only shared him up until then, so she was greatly looking forward to them having some time alone and getting to know each other on a more profound level...

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"Mmm, so this is where you wanted to take me...but to think there would be a door only the two of us could enter..." remarked Akeno, sporting a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she stood cross-armed before the door bearing the symbol of Baraqiel, circled by the wing of a Devil and a Fallen Angel.

"We don't have to enter if you don't want to," said Vahn. "I just want to—"

"Where's the fun in that?" asked Akeno, unhesitantly placing her left hand in one of the two hand-shaped grooves on the door as she stated, "Life is a journey, and love is the vehicle that sees you safely through it. I've been meaning to speak to you about my past, and my instincts tell me this door will make things much clearer."

"Then...no matter what we encounter on the other side, I will be here to support you..." assured Vahn, snaking his left hand around Akeno's lower back and resting it on her waist before inserting his right into the second groove. The moment both their hands were in position, the door promptly dissolved into motes of light, revealing a second gate reminiscent of the entrance to a traditional Japanese estate. It was large, red, comprised of wood with a smaller entrance next to it, flanked by high walls, and with a ridged overhang covered in dark blue tiles.

Recognizing the gate or, more accurately, the name written across its headboard, Akeno closed her eyes and sighed. Meanwhile, Vahn, staring at the same headboard, tilted his head and read aloud, "Himejima Prison Complex...?" before looking to Akeno, surnamed Himejima.

Noticing Vahn's gaze, Akeno smiled and explained, "It's much larger than the gate in question, but this appears to be the entrance of the Himejima Clan Estate, where I lived for a time as a child."

'Then why is it called a prison...?' Vahn asked himself, outwardly supplying a nod as he felt it would be better to have Akeno explain things at her own pace.

"Look behind us..." said Akeno, prompting Vahn to look back, his eyes widening in surprise as the long passageway leading up to the entrance was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was an expansive forest and a long line of crimson torii gates leading down a winding stone staircase, intermittently marked with ancient stone lamps and shrines.

Preempting Vahn's question, Akeno remarked, "The moment the first gate disappeared, our surroundings changed. You should check to see if you're able to use that System of yours to transport us outside."

With Sis confirming it was possible, Vahn nodded and explained, "We can leave whenever we want, but the rules are the same as outside. We either need to return here or find a Checkpoint."

"Then, shall we head inside~?" asked Akeno, taking a step forward with the intention of blasting open the gate. At least, that was her intent before she crossed a thin stone border on the ground, her perspective suddenly shifting, the gate appearing larger, and the crimson hakama of her Shrine Maiden outfit dropping to the ground due to being several sizes too large.

"Ara ara~?" hummed her Akeno, the pitch of her voice much higher than normal as she looked down at herself and then back to Vahn, the sudden and rather drastic disparity in their heights requiring her to crane her head quite a bit as she unconcernedly remarked, "It seems I have regressed to the age I was when I initially fled this place. How curious..."

"This is how you looked when you were younger? You're seriously cute..." remarked Vahn, his expression one of awe as he opened his System shop at Sis's suggestion to acquire Akeno a replacement outfit and underwear. She was currently even more petite than Koneko, so while the upper half of her Shrine Maiden outfit could be converted into an impromptu kimono, it was better to simply replace it.

"Ufufu...thank you for the compliment~" hummed Akeno, narrowing her eyes in a way that created an incongruency with her current appearance as she held up and spread out the replacement thong Vahn had just given her, teasing, "But you could get in a loooot of trouble handing these kinds of panties to a young girl..."

"Why...?" asked Vahn, tilting his head slightly as he pointed out, "Besides, even if your appearance changed, you're still you, right? I don't think your preferences changed just because your appearance did."

"Well, you're not wrong," confirmed Akeno, shedding the remainder of her baggy clothes and staring at Vahn with a mischievous look as she slipped on the replacement thong. His lack of common sense gave her an almost overwhelming urge to tease him, but since she didn't want to awaken any problematic proclivities in him, she ultimately decided against it...

'Mmm...it does look a little strange...' thought Vahn, tilting his head slightly as he watched Akeno dress. She was presently nearly a head shorter than Koneko, and though her breasts and butt hadn't disappeared altogether, he felt he could understand what she meant as she didn't really fill out the replacement undergarments.

"Well, then, shall we attempt this again...?" asked Akeno, punctuating her question by tightening the tasuki(sash) that kept her scarlet hakama from sliding down and her sleeves tied up.

"Do you think I should change as well...?" asked Vahn, demonstrating what he meant by shrinking down to match Akeno's height, causing her violet eyes to sparkle and a broad, spine-chilling smile to blossom across her face.

"You have to show this form to Rias later," stated Akeno, grasping Vahn's hand with her right and pulling him along as she approached the entrance and placed her left palm against it. Her appearance had changed, but her Demonic Power hadn't decreased in the slightest, allowing her to send the oversized doors flying inward, revealing what they protected.

"Ara..." muttered Akeno, joining Vahn in raising her gaze at the five-story building in front of them. It resembled a traditional Japanese palace, but its proportions were better suited to giants than humans. A very large and well-maintained courtyard separated them from its entrance, and on both sides, long, slope-tiled buildings with very tiny windows could be seen, a hundred meters in length and connecting to the main building at their far ends. Vahn had never seen anything like it, but Akeno recognized it as the structure of an old Japanese prison, albeit with the palatial building at the end reminiscent of the Himejima Clan's central manor.

Interrupting Vahn's and Akeno's perusal of the prison, a group of figures with paper talismans over their faces, wearing a hybrid of traditional Shinto robes and militaristic prison warden outfits, emerged from various blindspots, one of them shouting, "Death to the accursed child...!" while gathering to form an encirclement.

"I think I understand the purpose of this place..." said Akeno, closing her eyes and adopting a particularly scary smile as she raised her left hand, crackling with golden lightning as she stated, "It's to allow people you're close to a chance at catharsis. I could be mistaken, but we'll figure it out once I've had a chance to release some pent-up emotions..."

Punctuating her words, Akeno unleashed a particularly powerful burst of lightning from her left hand, controlling it to chain between the bodies of the talisman-faced prison wardens, targetting and scorching their hearts. She would never be able to do such a thing in the real world, not that she wanted to, but since the Corridor had provided her the opportunity, she had a lot of deep-seated anger and frustration against the Himejima Clan to work through...

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"Here it is...my home..." muttered Akeno, guiding Vahn to a particularly secluded section of the prison complex, reminiscent of a small Japanese villa at a glance, but the windows were smaller and secured with gridded metal and wood slats, just like the entrance.

Seeing Akeno place her palm against the entrance, Vahn expected her to blow it away like she had many others. Instead, following a tense silence, she moved her hand to the large and ancient-looking lock preventing the door from being opened, destroying its internal mechanisms with lightning before pulling it free with a tug. As for the reason...

"Akeno-chan...?" asked a young Japanese woman who looked remarkably similar to Akeno's mature self but with shorter hair, light brown eyes, and a comparably modest physique. The resemblance was uncanny, so Vahn wasn't too surprised when...

"Kaa-chan..." muttered Akeno, briefly clenching her jaw as her violet eyes moistened. She knew the person seated before her at a low table wasn't her real mom, but after looking at Vahn and seeing him smile and nod, she couldn't help but startle the lookalike by tackling her.

"Ara ara~? Someone is in an affectionate mood. Ufufufu~" hummed the woman, embracing Akeno's body and taking a moment to nuzzle her head before looking to Vahn, asking, "And who might you be? You don't seem to be a member of the Himejima Clan. Are you someone Baraqi-kun brought to be Akeno-chan's friend...?"

Though he also understood that the woman before him wasn't Akeno's mother, Vahn adopted his best smile and ignored his discomfort to offer a courteous bow as he answered, "My name is Vahn Mason, ma'am. Akeno and I are—"

"He's my boyfriend," stated Akeno, causing the woman, Himejima Shuri, to startle slightly, her gaze shifting between Vahn and Akeno before settling on the latter as she bemusedly asked, "This handsome little fellow is your boyfriend? I guess what they say is true. Children mature faster with each generation. Ufufufu~"

With the phantom of her mother embracing her the same way her actual mother used to, complete with her aroma and warmth, Akeno increasingly struggled to keep her tears at bay. The faux Shuri panicked slightly at this and did her best to console her, but the more she tried, the sadder Akeno became until, no longer able to contain her emotions, she broke down and sobbed, inconsolably, for the first time in many years...

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