After he almost lost control of himself, Alexander rushed to meet Claire; because of Sylvia, he was rather late, but thankfully it was the end of the world.
There wasn't any need to rush, and he sent another Vesta to let her know after the second round with Syliva after she lost consciousness for a moment.
'Phew... That feeling, the strange dream, I wonder what caused it... The fact that it was accurate is something I need to remember for the future.'
"Alex? What's the matter?" Claire's soft voice sounded, her right hand carrying a black spear with a sharp tip already stained with zombie innards.
Strangely, her idea of spending time together was as easy as hunting and patrolling. They were 2 miles north of the mall, quite close to the previous werewolf clash.
"Nothing; I thought you looked adorable in that dress." Alexander wasn't lying; her body was tight and athletic, even after her pseudo-transformation to Stage 2. He considered it more like Stage 1.5.
He called it pseudo because she was yet to take the complete leap; her abilities and mind were evolved, and with her body still locked into her former human state, today's day was a test and chance for him to discover why.
"Eh!?" Her cute lips formed a small circle as she looked at him with dark blue eyes, like a pretty brown-haired cat.
'Is it because she feels unsure? Claire isn't a fool and must know, even back then; I was just using her feelings and taking advantage... Yet even now, she hasn't complained nor lost affection towards me.'
What caused him to become curious was this dress and armour were the same as all Vesta who now had the same lewd tattoo on their crotch, causing him to peer at her lower body as she fought against zombies, hoping it would flip up to show him.
The new Vesta Emerald was the one who began to affix those engravings. However, they helped block mental interference and attacks; Alex could only see them as seductive things that boosted his desire to seed the cheeky girls.
Thankfully Opal, the orange-haired girl who created the outfits, also created a similar but less revealing dress for those who didn't wish to get the engravement or were still on the fence about Alex in their hearts and minds.
'Those two girls seem to have been transformed with Ruby and Lapis... I'll never know why they insisted on being named after gemstones, but they were happy when I gave them those titles.
He couldn't use the Vesta connection to force them to like or love him. Thus, some still felt neutral, even with slight hatred.
Claire wasn't just some zombie to Alex, a long-time companion from the martial arts club and a girl that held a crush on him far before this happened, which made him feel he took advantage of her back then, kissing her out of mere lust, transforming her into a Vesta without the proper consideration of what it meant.
"Really...Am I cute...? Sexy...?" Her fingers slid down her spear as she grasped his hand with her left tightly, brushing her thumb over the back of his knuckles and hand.
"You were cute even before the apocalypse..." Alex said with complete honesty; he was an ordinary man, sometimes his eyes would watch as she limbered up, bending down to her toes as the tight latex clung to her body, revealing the outline of her snatch and shapely buttocks.
"Hmmmm... did you ever..." Her eyes shimmered a dark red, her face becoming more sneaky, sly and playful, "masturbate over my body?"
Alex looked at her face, his eyes watching her as he could feel her slight changes, currently feeling like she was the ghoulish side of her personality, wanting to know things that her human self could have never asked.
'There's no need to lie or make it seem grander than it was.' He decided to be honest with her as his hand brushed across her abdomen, feeling her body shudder, filling with goosebumps as she gasped.
He pulled her into his chest, feeling the warmth and racing heart inside her chest, placing his lips against her soft ear, kissing it gently before whispering.
"I did, several times. My first time was after you accidentally came into the men's shower and showed me your pretty little bush and cute tits. The moment you darted off was the first time I saw you as a woman rather than a cute classmate."
"Ah!? Then..... Me...too..." Claire pouted, her eyes a mixture of blue and red, seeming to be mixed entirely as she bit her lower lip, looking away from his face with a light pink hue over her cheeks.
"Then... the next time?" Her voice chirped as if wanting to know, but she was also embarrassed and too shy to ask.
Alex began to stroke her cheeks, then released her and turned around, his body leaving her a few steps before quickly drawing his nodachi.
"Well..."
The black blade gleamed with a ferocious red light as it tore through the late night sky, the sound of flesh exploding followed by a thud as several corpses fell before them, the thin bus station wall collapsing with white light entering Claire and Alex as he turned back to her with a devilish grin.
"That time we stayed late together in the gym, it was when everyone else attended the award ceremony, and you were stretching alone in the training room. Your ass looked so good when you bent down to touch your toes...."
Claire darted forward, closing his lips, her face like a beetroot, as she understood clearly that he wasn't lying; she noticed the bulge in his pants but was too naive and shy back then to ask or make the offer she would now.
"Hmmm... stupid... men are just perverted..."
"We are? I am sure you enjoyed it when we showered or swam, only wearing small trunks..."
"Hmph... who knows!"
Her body passed him, grasping her spear, as the wind finally brushed her black silk dress, the words [Lord Alexander's Faithful Sheath] deeply imprinted, different from the confessional of the other Vesta.
'Cute girl, I hope she can let go of her worries, maybe confiding in me one day.'
Hower with the same meaning and suiting Claire more, his eyes were now fixated on her swaying buttocks that rushed into the night with a shimmering spear culling her enemies.
Alexander grasped his nodachi and chased after her as their late-night patrol date continued until the early morning sun began to rise.
It was 6:45 am, and they both walked back to the base slowly; Claire's body was slightly damp, with beads of sweat slipping down her cheeks as her blue eyes watched the path ahead, tightly holding his hands with their fingers intertwined.
"It was a fun little evening; I hope we can do it again soon." Alex joked with his magnetic voice while only feeling the hand of Claire tightening around his hand, dragging him away from the mall and in the direction of the university.
'Why are we going this way?'
"Mmm? Claire, what's the matter?"
Claire didn't respond, her steps only increasing in speed as her arm pulled him across, the signs of other humans using this place as a base now visible, but neither of them cared as she jumped over the low gate, Alex following with a simple step lifting his body into the air.
'We are going to the martial arts clubs ruin?' Alex wondered as they approached the half-ruined building, where they had met and spent many years as rivals and what seemed to be hidden admirers.
"It's here... still.... good!" She whispered, releasing his hand as she approached a crushed rack with several wooden and bamboo weapons, taking a spear into her hand and a long wooden sword into the other before turning to face Alexander.
"Here!" Her soft voice sounded as she tossed the sword to him.
The slightly musty smell of the ruined training area, slight moss and mould growing from the unprotected mats from the rain.
Alex grasped the sword, taking a slightly narrower stance than with his nodachi due to the difference in length and size. His eyes watched Claire take a deep breath, step towards him, and stand 2 metres away, her spear pointing into the air.
"I, Eclaire Fiore, challenged Alexander Damien Faust to a one-on-one duel with a punishment and reward clause for the loser and victor!"
Claire's beautiful brown hair swayed with the slight morning breeze, the red sun now causing her tanned skin to become even more alluring and beautiful as she lowered her spear, pointing the rounded tip towards his chest.
Alex nodded, feeling this was somehow fitting for them.
"What are your terms." He asked, holding the sword across his waist, narrowing his eyes as she looked towards her with a fierce and aggressive look.
She didn't speak, her hips lowering as her feet widened to anchor her form and position, those beautiful dark blue eyes shimmering like ocean jewels.
"My terms are myself and you!"
"If I win, you will treat me like Sarah, become my lover and never leave my side!" Her words were firm like she had rehearsed them countless times, as she bit her lip, almost hard enough to cause it to bleed.
'It's amusing it's not Amy but Sarah... were my feelings towards her that obvious?'
Alex shook his head; now it was not about Sarah, but rather Eclaire, a cute girl who seemed to want him to take her seriously more than he did: the memories, some vague, some vibrant, of their time together over the years.
As a man, he was attracted to her and wanted to taste her body and flesh.
As Alex, he cared for her, wanting to protect and keep her safe from harm.
But as a ghoul...
He wanted her to be his, never leaving his side and being his obedient sheath.
She was very hard-headed and like a bull when fixated on something, so he faced her head-on, like a matador with a red cloth.
"If I win... Well, find out after you lose!"
His words were spoken with a husky tone, and as he spoke, his stance became sharper, his sword sliding into an aggressive stance; Alex looked at Claire like an enemy he HAD to defeat.
In response to his words, Claire's face only showed a smile, her eyes glowing crimson for a mere flash, before she lunged forward, her feet light as a gazelle making no noise as the wooden spear pierced through the air, aiming to penetrate Alexander's neck.
