Chapter 1656 Precociousness

After a fortunately uneventful bath, Vahn was helping brush Asuna's inordinately long hair while telling her about some of the events that had transpired within the Realm. She was well aware of the fact that it would one day become her home, and, even if he tried to keep it secret, she could always tell when he had just returned from a visit. Thus, in order to satiate her seemingly endless curiosity, even just a little, Vahn talked about his time within the Realm and even showed her a few of his more interesting memories.

Seeing fantastical scenes of Vahn walking on the surface of stars, battling against mountain-sized dragons, and even rearranging the night sky at his whim always caused Asuna's eyes to shimmer with intrigue. It was one of her favorite pastimes, and, though she was becoming increasingly aware of her own body, she enjoyed having Vahn pamper her while wearing nothing but a camisole and a pair of animal print panties.

Though she was still experimenting with her style, Asuna had committed to trying to establish a 'gap' in her appearance. She liked to dress in 'cool' and 'serious' clothes whenever she was outside, but, whenever they were in private, her default was to wear cute and slightly childish clothing. They were far more comfortable than other kinds of clothing, and, though he didn't see her as a woman just yet, Asuna enjoyed the giddy feeling she got whenever she walked around in with nothing but a top and her panties on. As for why she decided to wear panties with a print, she knew Vahn was very perceptive, so, even if he didn't proactively look, it was impossible for him not to take notice...

Asuna had come to realize that one of the caveats to having abnormally high perception was that your eyes were generally drawn to small and otherwise overlooked things. In her case, she actually found it easier to remember things like the designs of a person's buttons or the pattern sewn into their clothing than the people themselves. This was in spite of her having a very high perception, to the point of being able to recall the number of eyelashes a person possessed but not their name.

Since she had viewed his memories thousands of times, Asuna knew Vahn perceived the world in a way that others would struggle to even comprehend. There were very few things that escaped his notice, and, if she reviewed memories related to her, it always brought an amused smile to her face whenever she noticed even the thread count of her panties and the pores of her skin were visible in high definition. It didn't matter that Vahn wasn't really looking at her the way she wanted him to, as, regardless of his intentions, he knew her body and its dimensions better than anyone...

With that thought in mind, a smile spread across Asuna's face as she tilted her head back, hitting Vahn's stomach as she looked up at him and asked, "What do you want to do next? I don't really feel like watching a replay of my battle right now and I can tell you are tired. Since it is just the two of us right now, why don't we lay in bed the rest of the day and just read manga...?"

Though he knew Asuna just wanted to cuddle with him while Fenrir was away, Vahn also wasn't in the mood to do anything due to his mental fatigue. Thus, after a brief moment of consideration, he returned a smile and answered, "Sure. Before we head up, however, you'll need to wear something more appropriate. Don't think I'm unaware of you're little scheme..."

Hearing Vahn's words, Asuna felt her pulse quicken, but, by using her Ki to limit the flow of blood to her face, she was able to prevent a blush from coloring her cheeks. Instead, she adopted a confused expression as brought her arms closer to her body, marginally increasing the gap between her neck and the camisole's fabric. If a normal person were to tilt their head just a bit, they would be allowed a full view of her burgeoning assets, but, as if she was unaware of this face, Asuna asked, "Why do I need to change? You've already seen me naked like...six-thousand-nine-hundred-and-seventy-two times..."

Showing a comparable amount of control over his own facial expressions, Vahn just continued to stare into Asuna's eyes as Sis stated, (*It seems like she is accounting for all the times she has been naked within your domain, knowing you always had her in your perception. Clever girl.*)

Realizing he was being cornered by a twelve-year-old, Vahn could only suppress a sigh as he shook his head in mild exasperation. This was the downside to being mentally and spiritually drained as it put him into a state where he really didn't feel like arguing with people. There was also the simple fact that her words were the truth, and, prior to her abrupt kiss, he had never regarded her antics as anything more than curiosity and experimentation...

As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn recalled all the times he had been roped into doing things he probably shouldn't have back in the Nasuverse. The most prominent example was the time when Mordred had orchestrated the events leading up to Mash's confession. He could have put a stop to the escalating events at any time, but, much like how he allowed Arika and Theo to gradually shave away at his defenses, Vahn always found it difficult to say no to the people he pampered...

Undoubtedly as a result of his long silence, Asuna stopped pretending, her face showing a genuine expression of concern as she hesitantly asked, "Vahn...?"

Hearing the demure utterance, Vahn blinked back to awareness, his expression softening slightly as he almost habitually leaned down to give the concerned girl a kiss. Fortunately, he realized what he was doing before he could complete the action, changing trajectory to kiss Asuna's forehead before smiling as he said, "I am unable to argue against your point. However, now that you are in the midst of blossoming into a woman, I have to be more strict with you. I understand you have a lot of urges and curiosities...these are perfectly natural. When you get a bit older, I'll be sure to help you address all of these things...for now, it would put my mind at ease if you focused on something other than trying to circumvent my sensibilities..."

To punctuate his words, Vahn gently embraced Asuna's body, holding her close for a few seconds before letting her go and stroking her head. She became very quiet in the wake of his words, and, though there was conflict in her eyes, the most noticeable emotion visible in her countenance was guilt. This, in turn, made Vahn feel a little guilty, but, knowing Asuna was slowly descending into a very precocious phase of her life, he wanted to avoid things getting out of hand as they had many times before.

Feeling calm and comfortable energy flowing into her mind, Asuna quickly recovered from her brief moment of reflection, an expression similar to a contented cat replacing her previous melancholy.

After thinking about it, Asuna realized she had been pressuring Vahn quite a bit ever since Eva and the rest had departed. Her battle with Nagi only exacerbated the anxiety she had been feeling as of late, so, after her previous 'confession', her mind had been racing to come up with ways she could appeal to the boy she liked. She even felt giddy thinking about joining him in the bath, and, though this had been the case for a long time, Asuna knew she wasn't behaving normally at all...

Remembering the 'guidance' her Mother had given her, combined with the fact she already had her first period more than a year ago, Asuna knew the principal cause for her behavior was the fact she was going through puberty. She had thought the effects wouldn't really influence her decisions that much, but, now that she thought back to the last few months, Asuna realized she had been actively pushing the other girls to leave so she could keep Vahn to herself...

As realization dawned upon her, Asuna felt a considerable amount of guilt, but, rather than show it on her face, she continued to squint her eyes slightly as the comfortable energy from Vahn's hand seemed to wash over her, cleaning the impurities in her body and mind. Then, after calming herself down and organizing her somewhat chaotic thoughts, Asuna opened her eyes fully, a radiant smile spreading across her face as she stated, "I'll put on some pants."

Having sensed the various changes occurring in Asuna's mental state, Vahn couldn't help but lightly chuckle in response to her words. He didn't actually blame her for how she had been behaving, as it was pretty normal for someone of her age. Still, that didn't mean he could just let her get away with everything, as, without any restrictions, Asuna's 'condition' would only grow worse with the passage of time. The last thing he needed was a deliberate repeat of the incident that had happened nearly a year prior, where, in an attempt to surprise him, Asuna used the State of Nothingness to sink into the ground while he was washing Eva's hair.

Though Vahn was generally able to sense Asuna's presence, he tried to humor her by momentarily shifting his attention elsewhere. As a result, he was equally as surprised as Asuna herself when she emerged from the ground with her face between his legs. She had intended to come up in front of Eva to try and startle her backward, but, missing her exit point several centimeters, Asuna emerged to find herself face-to-face with something she had only stolen glances at previously.

If it was just looking, it wouldn't have been much of a problem, but, due to her surprise, Asuna was unable to maintain the State of Nothingness. As a result, for a very brief moment, her body became solid, trapped from the neck down with her face less than two centimeters away from a place where she had no business being. From that moment on, she became overly conscious of being anywhere near his front side, often choosing to remain behind him until it was time to wash her hair.

Vahn had done his best to disregard the incident at the time, asking Eva, Theo, and Arika to do the same, but, as the principal offender, Asuna hadn't forgotten. It was an incident firmly cemented in her mind, and, ever since then, her intrigue regarding a certain part of his body had been growing a little too quickly. She had even transitioned from snuggling up at his side to habitually sitting in his lap and outright reclining against his body while she read books. In fact, she looked for a number of excuses to sit in his lap, and, shortly after the initial incident, she 'spontaneously' developed a habit of walking around in her panties.

When Eva, Arika, and Theo had been present, it wasn't such a big deal since Asuna tried to behave whenever they were around. She was also sensitive to being teased, so, whenever they noticed she was being 'mischievous', the other girls would immediately call her out, quickly coming Asuna into a swift retreat. Now, however, the only thing to prevent Asuna from getting out of hand was Vahn himself, as, due to her 'unique' perspective on things, Fenrir was generally okay with everything so long as it didn't cause him genuine stress.

Hearing Asuna readily acquiesce, Vahn felt like he had avoided the worst-case scenario, a feeling of relief washing over him as he watched the young girl scamper away to grab something to cover her bottom. Unfortunately, when he reached the bedroom shortly thereafter, his smile promptly froze, as, demonstrating just how 'clever' she was, Asuna shimmied out of her panties before donning the thinnest silk pajamas she owned. Then, with the characteristic grin of someone who had completed a prank, Asuna turned around to face him, asking, "Anything else~?" with a twinkle in her eye.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Clever girl...','The bathroom incident','I would say she never learns but I fear she is actually learning too quickly...')

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