"Ah, I see... so the stray devil over there ambushed you on your own bed... Then you killed it and dumped it in the middle of nowhere so no one would see a big, scraggly manspider... Hmm." Serafall noted, looking at the creature on the other side of the glade. She came over after realizing that something had happened over the last few days, the mana from Issei's transformation being one such beacon for the supernatural world, and the dead spider demon an obvious victim of her anger. It didn't suit her appearance in Serafall's opinion, the younger girl only having a day or two to get used to her new powers herself. That she was very obviously another magical girl, except one that actually was a magical girl in concept if not in appearance, transformations included, was mildly irritating to her who could only be a magical girl in appearance. Not much she could do, she supposed.
"Well, to be exact I killed it after putting it here, but yeah that sounds about right," Nobunaga replied, responding for Issei. The two of them went over what had happened over the last few days, whether it would be the magic circle near the fountain that had given her (Issei) her powers in the first place, and the events that unfolded, what led to the altercation during dawn, and many others. Nobunaga gave her the sanitized version of the events that unfolded, having already given Issei's parents the bones of her capabilities and not wanting someone who could become an enemy in the future to know every little detail. Their conversation especially made her sure to avoid any particularly obvious hints regarding her presence within Issei's body, something that she made sure Issei did with her parents.
"Wow... and that all happened in your third day with these powers? You really are a magical girl, Issei, even if your methods are a bit more mundane than most." Serafall replied, comparing the younger girl's circumstances with the magical girls she watched in her anime collection. "Although, I do have to admit that having to go through all of that could be more than a little painful for most people, especially kids like you. There was a real risk for both you and your parents' lives, you know. You're a real clever kid to go through all of that." Serafall shook her head to emphasize her point.
"Ah, no, no. There's need for you to do that, Miss Leviathan. I just did what I had to. Really." Nobunaga waved her hands to dissuade Serafall from feeling too down on herself, despite knowing very well that she still felt scared shitless of the creepy crawly from the early morning that was very much dead by now. Thinking on it clearly, she still didn't know what the thing was in the first place, having referred to it as an it or beast or monster for the entire discussion, and Miss Serafall didn't seem to mind or care much about her terminology to begin with, so she thought to ask what it was in the first place. "By the way, Miss Serafall, what is that thing, anyway? I know it's a demon of some kind but what is it exactly?"
Serafall thought it over a bit, then took a stick on the ground next to her and began poking on the dead devil, which had already began deteriorating under the sweltering heat, ripping open another rotting hole that Nobunaga was sure to be kept together better than the rest of the base. Issei wanted to vomit at the sight, but the action didn't faze Nobunaga much at all, leaving only a faint sense of nausea, for now.
"Like I said before, these monsters are stray devils. They were human beings who were converted into devils using evil pieces, betrayed or abandoned their masters and fell into greater depravity." Taking a piece of the corpse, she continued. "The heavy influx of demonic and dark energies corrupts a traitor devil's body into something totally inhuman, and slowly morphs them into abominations like these. Although, I'm pretty sure most of them would have some semblance of their former human form, like their face or torso, but none of that's readily apparent with stuff like this." She chuckles momentarily. "It's an interesting thing, you know. Our researchers have looked into everything relevant that would explain why or how people could just turn into these beings when they lose control of their powers. Which is why I'm especially surprised to see that you have... Eh? Issei-kun?" She blinks.
She was interrupted by her musings by the sounds of choking and something squishy hitting the floor, and looked back at where the other girl would have been. Her eyes widen, and suddenly she remembered that the girl, while seemingly more mature and reserved than any other child of their grade level, was still a child and would not be mentally prepared to see a rotting corpse being ripped apart, pus flying all over the place and with maggots chewing on the flesh. She rushes into action, practically flying over to where Issei was currently barfing the rest of her morning meal. "Ah, I'm so sorry Issei, I forgot you were still a kid a-and I—"
"No... I know... bwarrgh... what you mean. *gulp* It was my fault... being so squeemeeesh—-" Issei's eyes crossed, her mouth wide open while still vomiting the rest of her morning meal, and bits of her dinner. Nobunaga wouldn't have let such an act faze her normally, but the biological needs of her host's body was higher than her capacity to simply ignore what she was seeing.
Letting the younger girl clean herself up, she took a water bottle from the inside of her bag and gave it to Issei who appreciated the effort. A moment passed afterward, and Serafall begins to think that maybe she could've cleaned the mess up on her own while waiting for Issei to arrive earlier. She might not be as good as a tracker as she could be, but she'd have remembered where she'd put a cadaver, right? Calming down a bit, Nobunaga continued, making a gesture to catch Serafall's attention.
"That's... Thank you for the information, Serafall, I really needed that. That should give me just about all I need for a basic crash course, right?" Nobunaga finally said, as she waits for Serafall to make her own response.
"Ah, yes. Just about I think, at least for angels and demons. I don't normally give impromptu lessons to just any random newbie, so you should feel privileged, Issei-san! I don't know why your parents named you such a manly name for a girl, but that part doesn't matter!" The last sentence gave Serafall a brief moment of pause while looking at Issei's face, noting the brief flash of pain going through her face, and wondered what that meant. She elected to ignore it for now, as whatever might happen, it could potentially cause strife between her and her new friend. "In any case, I think you have a lot of potential, kid, so I wish you luck! Are you sure you don't want to join my peerage?" Well, she did ask politely, and her hand was facing her in the same angle as earlier, but...
"I'm sorry, Serafall, but I can't. You know how different I am now to my parents right?" She sighs. "I'm practically a different person from their old daughter (son), and I don't want to cause an even deeper divide between us." With a forlorn look, she takes her hat off to her chest and clutches it tightly. "Turning into this most of the time is hard enough on its own, but at least I'm still human. This, might turn me into a different person again—I think it's practically the only thing keeping me related to them, okay?" Issei said this, by the way. Nobunaga pretty much knew what Issei was feeling, and agreed with her. So she told her the right words to minimize the possibility of offending the other girl, something she didn't really need to worry about at that point.
Serafall considered what Issei was telling her, and understood exactly what the other girl was saying. She took a moment to reflect, to put herself in Issei's shoes, and suddenly it all made sense. She almost lost her life and her parents with her confrontation earlier, and who said she could just get used to such a transition? If Sona simply wasn't her little sister anymore after taking the name Leviathan, she wouldn't have taken the damn position in the first place.
Seeing Issei's depressed emotional state was starting to pull her heart strings enough on their own, so she walked closer to the other girl and gave the girl a hug. Issei was controlling the body at this point, moved by Nobunaga's words spoken through her enough to start shaking herself. "I'm sorry for not considering your own emotional state, Issei. I'm really sorry for that. Let big sister give you the chance to let your emotions out." She let herself get closer to the slightly older girl, and embraced her. Tears didn't fall this time, she had enough of those this week.
Serafall was content to let this go on forever, but suddenly she remembered what she was supposed to be doing that day. Tapping the younger girl on the back, who acknowledged her interaction, she gave her excuse. "I'm sorry Issei, but I really need to go now. I'll be discarding the body as cleanly as possible, so if you'll excuse me." She released the hug, Issei's embrace being surprisingly light. Her face was warm, satisfied. She wasn't as scared anymore.
Quickly burning the corpse to ashes, she cleaned up the rest of the ashy mess, putting them in places not all too obvious to the rest of the world. Stray devil cleanup was pretty easy all things considered. Being done with all that, she waved goodbye to Issei.
"Goodbye Issei! Till next we meet!" Serafall said, her face full of mirth. Issei followed after, her hand waving at Serafall. "If you ever meet my little sister, make sure to mention me, okay? I won't be here all the time, but I think I could come by every now and then!"
"I will!" Issei responded, certain that she'd finish that promise someday. Serafall smiled, and she went off, flares flashing behind her as she disappeared. Nobunaga dropped her hand, looked at where the corpse was earlier, and began running back home. She paused, let Issei take control, and slowly went through the door.