EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 272: Choice

Though it took some convincing—including multiple concessions on his part—Vahn managed to persuade Bonney to have her blood and marrow tested to ascertain whether she was aging properly. After what she had gone through combating her Sapphire Scale Disease, she was right to be wary of researchers and scientists. However, with access to innumerable worlds, those of the Pavilion's Research and Development Division were among the best, brightest, and ethically aware from various settings.

"Gnnuu...are you sure this gloomy-looking girl knows what she's doing?" groaned Bonney, her face set in a pained grimace as she had refused to be placed under anesthesia as a twelve gauge needle was inserted into her pelvis bone via her lower back to extract a sample of her marrow. To make matters even worse, she had to endure the procedure twice, once in her adult and once in her child form.

"My specialty is biopsychology, but I'm the second-best biophysicist in the Pavilion after Tearju-sensei..." stated the aforementioned gloomy girl, Nunotaba Shinobu, a young woman with an average build, unkempt black hair, and apathetic, nearly unblinking muted purple eyes. Before coming under the umbrella of the Dragon's Pavilion, she was a child prodigy, groomed and manipulated to assist with the creation of Mikoto's Sisters. Now, after being rescued from nearly being sold off to another research association, she was among the more dedicated junior members of the Pavilion's R&D Division.

"Ugh...when I imagined something long and hard jabbing me in the pelvis, this isn't what I pictured..." grumbled Bonney, casting an accusatory glare at Vahn.

"Some thoughts are best kept in our heads..." expressed Vahn, exhaling from his nose in exasperation but allowing Bonney to continue squeezing his hand like a vice for support.

"Alright, revert to your base form and take a moment to steal yourself while I prepare this sample for processing..." stated Shinobu, taking the syringe of Bonney's bone marrow and dividing it between several culture dishes. Some would be tested to evaluate Bonney's genetic markers and the effect various types of energy had on her cells, but the principal test was fairly simple—placing a sample into a specially prepared medium and seeing how many times the cells would divide before achieving replicative senescence and ultimately dying.

While Shinobu was preparing the samples, Bonney reluctantly reverted to her true form, shrinking to nearly two-thirds of her adult size as she sulkily demanded, "Rub my butt to distract me..."

"I'll pass..." responded Vahn. He did, however, place his hand on the small of Bonney's exposed back, using a combination of Wounds Transfer and his S-Rank Petting to eliminate her pain nigh-instantaneously while easing the tension in her body.

"You promised you would do whatever I asked for a full day..." reminded Bonney, closing her eyes and exhaling a sigh of relief as the intense pain in her back disappeared, replaced by a faint, tingling warmth.

"You're right," affirmed Vahn, nodding. "But I had previously told you we wouldn't be doing anything like that until you're much older and mentally, not just physically mature. Breaking a promise to keep a promise wouldn't make much sense..."

"You duplicitous bastard..." muttered Bonney, turning her head and facing away from Vahn in a huff. When Shinobu returned with a second syringe, however, she resumed squeezing his hand, refusing to release it until well after her second biopsy...

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"Hmm...very interesting..." muttered Shinobu, leaning back in her cozy, high-backed ergonomic desk chair and crossing her left leg over her right while perusing a crystalline data pad with Bonney's results.

"Just hurry and tell me the results," pressed Bonney, no longer in pain but harboring a slight grudge toward Shinobu for not bothering to warn or ask how she felt during the procedure. Instead, she performed it with the cool detachment of a machine.

"That was my intention," affirmed Shinobu, her tone monotonous as she revealed, "After cross-comparing your samples, there is no observable difference between the number of times your cells replicate. In essence, your median life expectancy remains the same, regardless of the form you take."

Preempting Bonney's response, Shinobu stared at her datapad, adding, "Though, your concerns weren't unfounded. The culture we had you use your power on reverted to the exact state it had been in prior. We would need more data to be certain, but I hypothesize that the forms you take are temporally speculative but entangled with your base form as a point of reference. To excessively simplify things, if you were to maintain your twenty-something transformation for ten years, then when your base form turns twenty, you would rapidly age ten times faster. In other words, your aging hasn't ceased—you've offset and compressed it."

"But it's essentially the same thing if my original form remains the same..." muttered Bonney, her expression set in a furrowed, reflective pout as she realized she would likely need to spend an extended period in her original form. She didn't mind in private, but it was extremely inconvenient most of the time as people generally didn't take children seriously. Less annoying, but more pertinently, she couldn't utilize Haki in her child form, leaving her weak and vulnerable—two things she detested greatly.

"I see no cause for concern," stated Shinobu, shrugging as she explained, "With the resources of the Dragon's Pavilion, accelerating or slowing the aging process and altering your physical appearance are simple matters. Of course, that could lead to dysmorphia and feeling out of place in one's own skin, so my professional recommendation is that you appreciate what remains of your youth without agonizing over such trivial matters. You had the fortune of being born beautiful. Don't become an ugly person trying to appeal to others or appease your insecurities. It's perfectly natural to feel them—especially around your age."

'As expected of a genius biopsychologist...she saw through Bonney's concerns at a glance...' noted Vahn, nodding approvingly in response to Shinobu's words. Bonney had a scrunched frown, but like many central figures in One Piece, she was weak to compliments and could generally tell when someone was being genuine. Shinobu calling her beautiful and encouraging her to live as she pleased were things she couldn't disagree with, so after several seconds of frustrated silence, she snorted, hopped down from the exam table she was sitting on, and pulled Vahn along with her, grumbling, "I didn't ask for your recommendation..." with a faint blush tinting her cheeks.

"Mmn...fair enough..." responded Shinobu, uncrossing her legs, shrugging, and immediately returning to what she had been working on before Vahn's and Bonney's arrival. With Tearju's assistance, she had already succeeded in stabilizing the Sister's cells to prevent them from breaking down before they turned twenty. Now, the focus of her research was the reformatting and renewal of cells subjected to accelerated aging treatments, ensuring that any clones the Pavilion sheltered in the future would similarly be able to live long, healthy, potentially even immortal lives...

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After pulling Vahn along until they were out of Shinobu's lab and around a corner in the sterile but warm-feeling corridors of the R&D Division—beige with wood-brown signage and yellow lightning—Bonney stopped, turned to face Vahn with a serious expression and fierce, determined eyes as she plainly expressed, "I want to grow up faster."

"To what end...?" questioned Vahn, resisting the urge to refuse Bonney's demand outright. He was well-acquainted with the feeling of being weak and helpless, so he couldn't blame other people for desiring more power and agency.

"So I can join up with the Revolutionary Army and beat the shit out of the Celestial Dragons before they have the chance to make even more people suffer," answered Bonney, affirming, "I'm willing to work hard and train my butt off, but just how many people do you think will be enslaved or forced to endure cruel and inhumane treatment in the time it takes me to become strong enough to oppose the World Government directly?"

Though he was tempted to point out she didn't need to be the one to topple the World Government, Vahn knew Bonney had more than a few bones to pick with them. Her desire for revenge was more than justified, so after a moment of consideration, he conceded, "If your father permits and is willing to accompany you, I will meet with the commanders of the Revolutionary Army and arrange to have them undergo special training in a place where time flows 360 times faster than normal."

"Right on! I knew you'd see things my way~!" chimed Bonney, beaming from ear to ear as she threw her hands into the air and excitedly stamped her feet while spinning in a circle. Before she could get too excited, Vahn appended, "I won't be able to accompany you, though. That means if you stay there until you become a proper adult, you won't be able to meet me or any of your friends for five years."

"Why not...?" asked Bonney, frowning deeply as she contended, "I'm sure Wendy, Carla, and Fran would come with me. And it's not like it would kill you to spend a few years with us if only five days passed outside."

"True," affirmed Vahn, nodding. "But have you considered that you would be asking Wendy, Carla, and Fran to distance themselves from their own families, friends, and loved ones? Five years may not be a long time in the grand scheme of eternity, but it would be nearly a third of your respective lives..."

"But all four of us want to become stronger...and if Kakashi comes along, I'm certain Fran would agree..." grumbled Bonney, crossing her arms and frowning in deliberation.

'Kakashi...?' repeated Vahn, albeit within the inaccessible confines of his mind. In response, Sis promptly revealed (Kakashi and Fran periodically Party and train together as they both have affinities for lightning, and her rapid improvements garnered his attention. They haven't officially started dating, but they appear to enjoy spending time together without speaking. It's very wholesome.)

'Good for them...' thought Vahn, feeling a mix of warmth and relief as he had been concerned that Fran was aiming to become a First-Grade Maid. He wouldn't have prevented it if that's what she decided, but he believed she would be much happier forming a family with someone who only had eyes for her.

"Just to confirm, other people can come as long as I can convince them, right?" asked Bonney, appending, "Because I know for a fact that I'm not the only one in the so-called youth troupe that wants to become stronger and older."

Though he exhaled in faint exasperation from his nose, Vahn nodded in affirmation, conceding, "If they are willing to accompany you, it isn't my place to undermine their resolve. However, it similarly isn't your place to pressure them into accompanying you. If they express uncertainties and you have to spend time convincing them, they aren't entering of their own accord but because they couldn't refuse your insistence."

"Why would they refuse?" asked Bonney, frowning deeply as she pointed out, "We've fought and even died together. And Wendy is always going on about how she envies the other girls in Fairy Tail for getting to spend time alone with you. This would let her even the playing field."

"I was insinuating that they would refuse," responded Vahn, his tone calm and measured as he stated, "But you have a very assertive, big-sister-like personality, Bonney. Other young girls look up to you because you behave maturely and possess a level of confidence most can only imagine having themselves. When you assert yourself, people listen. Even if it isn't always in their best interest..."

Though she maintained a prominent frown, Bonney didn't refute Vahn's words and instead lowered her gaze, reflecting upon them seriously. She was well aware of her influence on other people, and if she really wanted something from someone, very little could stop her from getting her way. Thus, while her frown deepened when Vahn suddenly caressed her head with his left hand, she didn't immediately bat it away—her mind focused on what she would be asking her friends to give up by accompanying her for at least five years...

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