Chapter 17

The next morning, Klaud woke up and saw Vincent sleeping peacefully next to her. As she recalled the night before, she immediately became embarrassed and realized that she had just had her first sexual experience. After calming herself down, she looked back at Vincent and she realized that because of him something inside of her broke a little. (B: Not messed up my ass.) Even though she knew she shouldn't let what happened last night happened again, a part of her wanted to experience it again. She had gone too long without being in a relationship, and now that she had gone all the way with someone it was hard to stop. Just as she was trying to come to a conclusion, Vincent grabbed her hand.

Vincent: ...Mom.

Flashback

Of course, Vincent woke up the second Klaud pulled away. After he'd shown her what it means to be an adult, he'd gone back into the other dimension to finish up with ES. It just wasn't possible to hold up all his lust in a child's body, and he also hadn't had the chance to meet up with ES for a long period of time.

So after that, he'd gone back to being Vincent and slept next to an unconscious Klaud for the rest of the night. Though he felt a bit bad for taking things a little bit too far, he had at least confirmed that he felt something towards Klaud. And since he was willing to go that far with her, that meant it was the kind of feelings between a man and a woman... (or mxm/wxw, your life).

Flashback end

Klaud’s face became red once Vincent called her that, but with the way Vincent seemed attach to her, she was hesitant to move away.

Klaud: (...He's just a kid, even if he is a little bad. It's fine if this happens once in awhile. I-I'm sure he was just subconsciously trying to bond with me. We're just developing our bond, that's right! It's perfectly normal for me to be as close as possible to him. It's my duty, so it's okay if I enjoy it since he's just a kid. There's no way he has any ulterior motives...)

Now that the dutiful (broken?) Klaud had decided, she would spend more time with Vincent so that she could increase their bond. Anything that happened while she was doing her duty was perfectly alright.

Klaud: (hug) From now on Vincent, we'll always be together.

For the next year, Vincent was trained by Klaud each day and was visited several times by friends. Sophie and the others would check in on him every few months, and were surprised by his growth in strength.

Alex also came to visit him, but she would always come 2 times a week. After the incident on Vincent’s birthday, she became slightly more hesitant to be around Vincent. Of course, Vincent wouldn't have this, so he put an end to this by cornering her and giving her a sincere but standard protagonist speech about how friendship was important. It seemed to do the trick, perhaps a little too well, since before she would just hold his hand, but now, when no one was watching, she'd sneak a quick kiss which Vincent would always act surprised by. It was always pure torture to not act on his instincts when something like that kept happening to him... They never went farther than that since Vincent wasn't into little kids (unless they were legal...) and they also wouldn't be given enough time.

It seems that Klaud had become extremely attached to Vincent after their first night together, and she was now overprotective of him when it came to Alex. It seems that since Alex was closer to Vincent’s age then Vincent would find it easier to become more attached to her. Apparently her thought process forgot to add in the fact that since she was an adult while Vincent was still a child, she had no right to feel jealous...

Anyways, so Vincent’s daily life during that 1 year was basically this.

Wake up next to a refreshed Klaud

Eat breakfast

Fight Lau and Klaud (occasionally Alex who came to spar with her rival/friend/lover?)

Eat lunch

Learn tactics and knowledge about the world. Also study a foreign language.

Eat dinner

Go back to room where Klaud is waiting

Give Klaud what she asks for and release “frustration” on ES.(Mike made sure to only think about ES during that time since it would be rude to think of someone else while engaging in the act...) Lau leaves to make sure no one interrupts them.

Sleep next to unconscious Klaud.

This cycle most likely would have continued fot a while if not for the news that Sophie and her team had gone out to deal with an akuma problem and had yet to report back. There was no news about them since they left a week ago, and they should have finished their job already if they didn't encounter anything surprising. It was just supposed to be a standard exorcism, consisting of killing lvl 1 and lvl2 akumas. Vincent was worried about them after he realized they should have been back, and the second word spread about a finder, a volunteer that helps exorcists, arriving and having info about the situation of Sophie, Russell and John, Vincent made a run for the main building. Klaud didn't try to stop him and just chased after him with Lau on her shoulder since she knew that he was attached to the 3 that had brought him to his new home a year ago.

After 5 minutes, they arrived at Jack’s office where people who saw them running had told them the finder was currently at. Vincent knocked at the door before Jack’s voice told him to come in.

Jack: Ah, Vincent. I was wondering when you'd arrive. Sit down. Lora here was just about to explain the situation. If you would.

After taking a seat next to Klaud, Vincent took a look at the blond haired finder. She looked to be the same age as Klaud, but her hair looked far more dirty and her clothes were a mess. He stopped thinking about her appearance once she started talking and focused on her words.

Lora: Me and the other 2 finders of my group were supposed to keep an eye on the large force of akuma that had suddenly appeared towards the south. When we saw that they were raiding towns to try and evolve, we immediately sent word here about the situation. We continued to monitor the growing army until we finally managed to meet up with exorcists Sophie, John, and Russell. From there, we informed them of what we knew and they then mounted their assault. John used his anti-akuma weapon that grants him increased senses to monitor the akuma and make sure there were no surprises while Sophie and Russell attacked. All seemed well until John detected anomalies among the akuma. He hadn't noticed due to their non-movement, but their were 5 lvl 3s hidden among the army. They only attacked once Sophie and Russell were far enough and immediately assaulted Russell who had the most attack power. Seeing that there was no hope for him, he had his 2 teammates abandon him to bring back word to headquarters.

Vincent's brows furrowed at those words and he had an enormous amount of blood lust flowing out of him, but he knew he had to listen to the story all the way. Lora was bothered by how much blood lust the young boy could give off, but she still continued her report.

Lora: After retreating, John and Sophie made sure to cover us finders so that we would have a chance at escape. Sophie handled repelling the akuma while John made sure none of them could get the jump on us. Eventually, John and Sophie separated from us to slow down the akuma, but some got past us and while my other 2 teammates distracted them, I managed to escape. This was 2 days ago.

Vincent would have already ran for the door if not for Klaud holding him back.

Klaud: Easy boy. I'll go and see what this whole situation is about. It's too dangerous for you to go.

Vincent: I'm strong enough. (I need to go! I'm strong enough to rescue them on my own! I need to hurry before it's too late!)

Klaud: Maybe, but something unknown could be happening, and no one wants to risk the saviour of humanity before he's strong enough to stand on his own 2 feet.

Klaud whispered the last part in Vincent's ear since she didn't want Lora picking up on it.

Vincent stayed silent after that, but his mind was full of worry. It was then decided that Klaud would take 2 more exorcists with her for support. There was currently only 2 other people at the European branch who could wield innocence besides Vincent, Klaud, and Alex, but they weren't particularly strong. Vincent tried to persuade Jack and Klaud to let him take part in the operation, but his existence was just too valuable to humanity.

Vincent: (If only it hadn't been revealed that my main quest is to defeat the Millennium Earl, then I'd be able to maybe go...)

Klaud saw that Vincent was currently beating himself up over the matter, and her heart clenched in pain.

Klaud: (He's too caring for this type of world. If only it wasn't his fate, then he wouldn't be in such grief... What can I do for him!?)

Klaud had to leave immediately, and she didn't know what would happen on this mission. She was especially worried this time since she didn't want to leave Vincent all alone. It was the first time in a long time that she had someone she could call family she could return to. As she was about to leave and meet up with her group, she turned back to Vincent and her emotions took over. Since no one else was around, she quickly pulled Vincent into her embrace and gave him a kiss on the forehead. This was all she could think of in such short notice.

Klaud: I don't know why you're so attached to me, but if you still like me the same way you do now when you're older, I-I'll give you a proper one.

After mustering up her courage and saying what was on her mind, Klaud ran towards the cafeteria to see if the 2 other exorcists were ready. She had at one point realized that Vincent was awake every night, but for some strange reason(plot), she didn't seem to care anymore. She hadn't yet noticed, but it actually made her slightly happy...

Vincent stared at the running figure of Klaud as she ran away, and only after a few minutes did he realize what had just happened.

Vincent: I wonder what would happen when she finds out my real age is about the same as hers… I'm still worried. I'm going as well.

Vincent ran towards the mountain path so as to try and follow Klaud and her group in secret. On the way though, he came across a familiar face who seemed to have been waiting for him.

Alex: Going somewhere?

Vincent: Yeah.

Alex: I heard from my brother. Turns out my rival is the saviour of humanity, huh? I couldn't have asked for a better challenge. From now on, I should go with you. I have to make sure you don't get done in before I defeat you.

Vincent: *grin* Thanks Alex. Let's get going then.(Let's not take it any farther than this for now...)

After saying his thanks, Vincent kissed the girl to show his appreciation, temporarily shocking her. After she recovered a bit, they ran for the mountain path. They then followed Klaud’ group on their journey down and went on the same train as them. They made sure to purchase cloaks so that no one would recognize them.

After a day of riding, they eventually arrived at a small town where they saw Klaud and her group get off. The 2 then followed them and luckily they were going through a forest making it easier to hide.

After resting for a little bit, they continued their journey and walked for another 4 hours. Eventually, they arrived at a clearing containing the smouldering remains of a town.

Klaud: Damn akuma. They really left no one alive. I doubt Sophie’s team is still alive. Vincent's gonna be heartbroken.

Klaud was right. Vincent was currently feeling grief, but that wasn't all. He was angry, so much so that it took all his willpower not to let out any blood lust. He wanted to look around and find the army to have revenge, but Alex sensed this and hugged him.

Vincent: ...Thanks Alex.

Alex: No problem.

After staying in that position for a few minutes, they let go and went back to observing the scene. Klaud and her group were currently searching through the ruins of the town to see if there were any survivors. There weren't any. Dejected, the team went in the direction where a path of destruction seemed to have been created recently. After walking for another hour, they heard the sounds of screams and ran even faster. By the time they got there, the scene before them was already enough to make them wonder if they bit off more than they could chew.

?: Ho~, so someone finally arrived. About time, I was beginning to get bored.

What awaited them was 10s of lvl 3 and lvl 2 akumas. That wasn't the worst of it. There was also a man and a girl with dark skin and crosses on their foreheads staring down at them from up above a building. The man simply stood nonchalantly on the roof while the girl was sitting on an umbrella with a pumpkin on it. The group of exorcists knew that they were in the worst possible situation due to the emergence of these two people.

Klaud: ...Noah.