Chapter 53: Closure
"I'm sorry you had to witness that. I'm honestly not sure what came over her. She's usually a strong and cheerful girl..." remarked Shuri, sporting an apologetic as she handed Vahn a cup of tea. Akeno had fallen asleep after unleashing her pent-up emotions, so Shuri had asked him to make himself comfortable in the residence's living room while she carried her daughter to bed and made tea.
"Thank you very much," responded Vahn, accepting the cup of oolong tea but not drinking it as he stated, "And I think she was just really happy but sad to see you..."
"Mmm...you may be right..." conceded Shuri, staring in the direction of Akeno's room for several seconds before asking, "You know, don't you? How long it's been since she and I last saw each other...?"
"I don't know the specifics, but I think it was around eight to ten years..." responded Vahn, causing Shuri's eyes to turn sad before she closed them, muttering, "I see...in other words, I've already died..."
"I'm sorry..." muttered Vahn, bowing his head apologetically. A part of him wished he could conceal the truth to allow Shuri and Akeno to be a happy family again, but he knew better than most that the only way to attain true happiness was to move forward...
"As far as I'm aware, you've done nothing to apologize for," stated Shuri, taking a seat on the same sofa but with a respectable distance between her and Vahn as she regained her smile and explained, "If you don't mind, can you tell me about her? What kind of life has she lived up until now? It concerns me somewhat that she's become a Devil, but I know there are good people among them, just as there are compassionate Fallen Angels and monstrous humans..."
"She became the Queen of the Gremory Clan's successor, Rias Gremory, an amazing and kind girl around the same age as her..." answered Vahn, hanging his head and feeling guilty as that was roughly the extent of his knowledge regarding Akeno. Most of their interactions were her serving or teasing him, so other than knowing she was called the Lightning Priestess and had a scary and mischievous side to her...he had dishearteningly little information to offer Shuri...
"I think I can understand why my daughter fell for you. You're a very honest boy, Vahn~" hummed Shuri, cupping her cheek and smiling in a near-identical manner to Akeno, making it obvious where the latter had picked up the habit.
Exhaling audibly from his nose, Vahn met Shuri's gaze and revealed, "The truth is, Akeno and I met only recently. That's why we're here. I wanted to know more about her and her past..."
"Mmm...then it may not be my place to explain her circumstances..." said Shuri, looking away from Vahn and contemplatively staring off into space for a bit before asking, "Is Vahn-sama perhaps a God...?"
"Many people seem to think so, but I'm not at that level yet..." responded Vahn, his expression cramping.