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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 7: In for Diplomacy, in for a Paddle

Azazel gave me a new task, and I believe I don't need to explain how this wasn't truly good news.

Not when the bastard added some details about what I was meant to do that left me perplexed at best. Heck, I was even confused when he actually gave me 'absolute freedom' to choose what to do to get the lazy butt I was meant to bring back to work. Obviously I was limited by the fact I had to succeed and not discourage this individual into bailing from Grigori. Truth be told, I kind of knew who it was despite how unusual this possibility was but... come on, I'm not that dumb or dense. Especially when this kind of detail can make the difference for a longer life or a quick death. I was more interested in the former outcome. Now, some would ask: who the hell am I supposed to kick off their couch and get back to work?

The answer was already told by the caution advanced by Azazel, but let's just say that I had the trouble of dealing with a genderbent character, a male-to-female situation if I have to be more specific on the situation. Now, let's try to start from the very beginning: I was given this task, leaving Kuroka at home with rules of things to not do while I was out. It was mostly tied to behaviors she would entertain if left alone, specifically with Issei and co. coming around and providing her chances of amuseming developments.

That, much to her chagrin, wasn't going to happen. Or genuine punishment was going to be dispensed. The Nekoshou might be a perv, but seemed to understand that she would have to hold back to just teasing rather than entertaining some silly plans of her around the 'little dragon'. Then there was the fact she was gluttonous for milk and I had already endured a circumstance where she just drank two whole cans of drink in less than two days. I knew she was thirsty, just not that kind of thirsty.

With that issue put behind me and my burden slightly lessened by her genuine promise to 'behave nicely' at the chance of being rewarded for being a good kitty, I was off to Osaka with close to no troubles. I had to move around through some tight trains, people pressing onto one another and... I'll be honest, I had to cause a few issues to some perverts by stopping some molesters in some of those trains. It was one thing if it was fictional shit that you can just look away since it wasn't happening directly in front of you, but another was real life stuff with bastards actually causing that kind of trouble. Despite the unflattering trip, I arrived in Osaka in a timely fashion. I reached it an hour earlier than planned through some carefully-planned train-hopping.

The place was... Well, gorgeous. It was bigger than Kuoh, tall buildings filling the entire city with numerous societies, companies and even high-quality shops where people could check for Japanese but also foreign goods. I didn't exactly stop to sightsee since I wasn't exactly that kind of person. I was there for a job, one that left me exposed to a place I was unfamiliar with in a world where uncertainty can end up in a gruesome demise. So, I was swift to find my way to where I was meant to stay for a day or two, two days being the maximum of my presence in the city and the time limit in which I had to convince this agent to get their ass back to business. Speaking of which, the target's location was the room right beside one in the hotel I was meant to stay in.

Azazel had already taken care of the paperwork, leaving me to just check in, get my stuff in my room and then plot what to do about this circumstance. At the time I just had an inkling of who it could be, as I first thought of the chances of this being a non-genderbent character. I thought of Slash-Dog as a feasible possibility to consider since there were some characters that could be going 'into hiding' due to a reason or another. But as I ultimately knew that I couldn't do much without knowing who I was really dealing with, I decided to brave the storm and check who was my current target. After setting most of my bags on the bed, I carefully left my room and took a few steps to the side, stopping at the door where my destination was.

I knocked thrice, waiting a moment and hoping to get a response soon. Time passed, a solid minute went by and I knocked again, this time louder. Much to my relief, I heard footsteps, but also someone huffing behind the door as the individual didn't even bother to look through the peephole before opening the door. What I was met with was trouble. Sexy trouble, but trouble nonetheless. She was a bit shorter than Kuroka, silver-hair that reached down to her hips and went slightly lower than that, her yellow eyes glowed with power... dimmed through insomnia and annoyance. She was wearing an open gray jacket matched with gray pants, under it a low waistcoat and a green short-shirt that exposed midriff and cleavage to anyone watching.

And hello to you, Vali. Hope you're not going to be my death today.

"What?" The girl asked impatiently, angrily so.

"Azazel sent me," I replied curtly, deciding to cut the chase. "Said that you were skipping work."

Despite my calm demeanor, the young woman picked up quickly that I was going for a no-nonsense attitude. One that further frustrated her.

"I'm taking a break. Tell him that," She said flatly, moving to close the door, but stopping as I forced a palm onto it. "I said-"

"Why are you taking a break?" I pressed with a frown on my face. "If you want to have him at least consider, I should have some reasoning behind this 'break'."

Her eyes widened a fraction and I picked up confusion through her renewed tension. It was an expected behavior, I was dealing with Vali and, while this counterpart was female, she still held the guy's brooding but chill behavior. Press, but not to annoy, but to 'reason'.

"A reason? That dumbass is training me insane. I did ask to get more, but even what he is putting me through is plain madness."

...Azazel is training Vali into actually being upset for said training? Dear Lord, this timeline is truly insane.

But as I looked back into the circumstance, I realized that Azazel's reasons might be driven by what he knew through me. The fact that Rizevim was now planning to cause trouble, it is clear that he had to get Vali ready for when that confrontation happened. And for her to feel she was getting prepared for it rather than being ushered into leaving Grigori. An excessive reaction to this situation, but I couldn't blame his line of thought to reach this point. Nonetheless, I had to get Vali back on track about it. Somehow.

"Training, really?" I poked jokingly, but still kept looking serious. "You are upset about being overtrained."

A snarl came at my teasing. "As if that is just that simple! The bastard just has me fight and train as normal, focusing more on my capacities without me using... my sacred gear."

"I'm aware of who you are, Vali Lucifer. That and Albion."

Surprise flashed in her face, but it was just for a brief time. "Oh? You know about me?"

"Why would Azazel send me to deal with this circumstance without me knowing who I am dealing with?"

Her lips twitched. "Then you would do me the courtesy of telling me your name?"

I was tempted to deny her that 'courtesy', but I decided to not risk it.

"John. John Bukharin."

"And I suppose that makes you my handler, John," Vali remarked, but paused as I shook my head. "No?"

"I was told just to get you back to work, only that."

"...And I told you not."

"Because you are 'taking a break'. But apologies, Lady Lucifer, but your sleep bags suggest you're not taking any rest."

The remark drew a scowl on the girl's face. The sleep bags had been telling that she hadn't slept at all. In fact, she did look so sleepy I wouldn't be surprised if her reaction time was sluggier than usual.

"I was sleeping," She argued back.

"Then prove it. Show me your room and I will not report you

Vali let me in, turning around and walking inside while I stepped in, closing the door and taking note of the situation her room was in. The windows were closed and the covers were pulled down to prevent any light inside. The only illumination was provided by the small TV set on the wall right in front of the bed. And now I could understand why she had some sleep bags under her eyes.

"...So, your idea of 'taking a break' is to sit down in a dark room and watch TV?"

"Better than being in the open to get targeted. I'm not in the mood to be harassed but... I guess that's out of my hands now."

I perceived the jab and snorted, shaking my head as she simply went back to sit on the edge of her bed and watch the TV... while I started to notice a very interesting flaw of the cocky Sacred Gear User. The room was barely ordered, with the bed and TV being spared from the 'Vali Hurricane'. There was a pile of used clothes, a mix of panties, bras, shirts and other clothes that were all mixed one with the other.

"So, is there a particular reason why you are not cleaning your own stuff or you just love to live in trash?"

Her posture tensed, and her gaze narrowed as she stared back at me. "What?"

"Are you an adult or a child? First, you skip work because it's 'too much', but you refused to tell that much to Azazel," I replied, remembering how the message clearly said that Vali had bailed from her tasks without expressing a reason. "And now you don't even clean after yourself."

I expected a reaction, but not a violent one. I barely saw her move from her seat, shifting her body in a battle-ready posture and already rushing with a fist cocked on her side. It rushed towards me, but instead of feeling dead coming my way, I just reached out with my open palm to stop it. It felt odd to do that, it felt suicidal, but there was something inside my head, a strange 'nagging' that urged me to block it. So I did and... the situation that ensued was fairly confusing for the two of us.

The punch stung a little, but my palm was mostly fine. Which was odd. And bad. Quite bad actually. Vali looked surprised, I was a bit of that too as this didn't make sense. I wasn't trained, I didn't get any power through hard work and... then I realized that someone that has been visiting a lot in recent times had made it clear how important I was to her. And how that translated into me being protected by something.

Did Ophis really give me one of her snakes?

I would have to ask and... thank her for giving me one. Like, it wasn't even a matter of getting power for the sake of it, but I didn't mind having some sort of protection when it comes to this shit. It wasn't something that made me able to handle all kinds of threats in this world, but it sure helped keep me alive.

"H-How did you- It doesn't matter. As far as I'm concerned, this conversation is over," Vali remarked, pulling her fist out of my hand. "You should leave or-"

"I was told by Azazel that you were to return to work. You mentioned you were 'taking a break', but I will have to report that

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it? Fight me to go along with your plans?" Vali rebuked arrogantly, knowing that what happened just now couldn't exactly matter much to a serious fight. I would still lose. Badly. And die too.

"Nope."

So, I knew that I had to play dirty to win this issue through. I had a bag on me, the only one I didn't leave in my room as this one was packed with all sorts of equipment to handle any sort of 'resistance'. From serious to childish, I brought forth the tool that I knew fit the best in the situation. Much to my surprise, Vali recognized the item quickly enough to back away from being too close to me. Her body was tense, her eyes widening in dread and her expression showing the purest form of fright.

"W-What? What are you planning to do with that?"

I offered a sad smile... and then proceeded to slap my free palm with the wide side of the paddle I had recovered. It wasn't the sexual toy itself, but something that was normally meant to be used on kids that were incredibly naughty. There was no kink or shame, only punishment-giving for those that behaved horribly bad.

"If you behave like a child, then you're being treated as one when it comes to punishments," I replied politely. "You're right, I can't exactly fight you without causing us both trouble... but I was given absolute freedom when it comes to this matter, and I see this as a necessity. For your sake."

"That's never going to be for my sake, you perverted bastard! S-Stay away!"

Instead of fighting, she attempted a flight, sadly for her, Ophis' boost gave me the edge for a quick rush forward, pushing her to the bed and settling her in the right position for me to start working on her. She screamed bloody murder, but that didn't stop me from lowering her pants to reveal her naked butt and go through with the deed. A few minutes later. I was sitting on the bed, but slightly away from a very annoyed Vali as she moaned in pain onto her pillow while her left hand massaged the reddened bun closest to its reach.

She suddenly became more compliant to actually go back to training and talk about her issues with Azazel rather than skip work, thus ending my job here in Osaka. It all resolved in a single day, and I got a praise from Azazel by the time Vali was back to 'normal' even though he was left clueless on how I got through with her, with me keeping that out from the conversation as vehemently as possible and Vali refusing to bring that up ever. I thought it was it. I had done my job through some awkward solutions, but I did it. I was done with it and ready to get back home, enjoy more money and plan my survival in the next few years.

What I miscalculated with that ideal ending was Vali's genuine reaction to the paddle-spanking. While things went back to normal, a new problem emerged from that matter: I started to receive letters on a daily basis. From Vali. It was all about training and how she was doing well, fine, improving and getting stronger. Nothing hinting to any troublesome affair, and while I hesitated to see another meaning behind it, I dreaded what Kuroka pointed out when she had the chance to read the papers herself.

"I think she is trying to seduce you."

...What?

"For real?"

"I mean, flaunting her strength, showing off her weakness despite her pride..." Kuroka said truthfully, before then switching to a more amused mood. "Mastah~, I think you got yourself an admirer. Are you making a harem without telling me~?"

"Nope.."

"Oh? Does that mean you're just going to love your kitty? What if I want a friend to share you with?"

"I would say that the couch is sure lovely tonight, Kuroka," I replied flatly and she giggled at my indirect threat.

"Apologies, master. This kitty just missed you and... do you want to cuddle~?"

I didn't say no to that, but I sure had trouble digesting what I discovered through this behavior. Not a good situation, especially since Vali was seventeen at this time and like hell I was going to return any of that. I didn't reply to any letter, but Vali just continued sending them, showing no genuine issue in not having any response to those. In fact, she seemed to take pride in having that one-sided 'conversation' via letters. Luckily for me, nothing grew different in the ensuing year, but I couldn't help but brace myself for the idea that Vali was eventually going to do something about it.

And it was going to hit me out of nowhere just like her unexpected kink did.

AN

Yes, I'm aware some people wanted someone from Slash Dog, and I can assure you there are plans about it. Still, Vali is that kind of pervert... why? Is it canon? No. This Vali is a girl if you all may have noticed, and with that I mean that she had the chance of being more around a certain individual called Suzaku Himejima, Akeno's cousin. While Suzaku isn't exactly a masochist, she may have inherited her aunt Shuri's sadism. And Vali may or may not have peeped on some interesting instances about this trait being displayed. So yeah, Vali is a bratty Dragon with a thing for paddles.

And after this chapter... some fluff! And then lewd. You know the drill~!

REVIEW Q&A!

Lovegood Loves Good: Perhaps.

SimpleSimonSays: I plan to keep things simple. I might write some fights, but nothing too 'extreme' or coming out of nowhere.

YOU KUROKOSHI: That's a very interesting comparison to other stories. I hope to reach that height eventually with this story.