Chapter 588: Otsuki Haruna and Victor Alucard. 2
Haruna was feeling strange. 'He's doing this for me...?'
An unlikely thought, an act that was difficult to accept, something she thought she would never feel before in her life. Haruna had always been independent, even before her father was killed, and was considered to be very mature for her age.
But despite being mature, she was still a child, after all, and a kind child who had never experienced how cruel the world was.
Something that changed when her father was killed in front of her... An event that marked any child's psyche, no matter the child's race.
The vision of her father killed by a Youkai Oni as she watched helplessly, tormented her.
From that fateful day, she acquired a strict mindset.
'The weak will be eaten, and the strong delight in their flesh.' That wasn't a thought a 12-year-old girl should have, but it happened.
Reality was cruel, and that vision didn't let her forget it.
Revenge changed people... And she was no different.
Her father died because of a conflict between a faction of Youkai, a typical act that was happening all over Japan at the time; disputes between Youkai were normal.
Especially among the three great Clans.
Kitsunes Youkais, Oni Youkais, and Ryujin Youkais.
She wasn't special, and every child born in that turbulent time had some kind of loss in their life.
She wasn't special… She didn't consider herself special.
The world was a cruel place. She learned this fact that day when she woke up to reality. Even if she was born with talent and potential, that, even by Youkai Kitsune standards, was extremely monstrous.
Haruna knew that if she faltered, the world would swallow her up.
'Only the strong are correct.' The mindset of the supernatural world changed the gentle Haruna and awakened her potential.
From that day on, she never stopped. She trained in the Clan's art and mastered it all in less than 10 years, a feat considered impossible even by Kitsune Youkai standards.
For god sake, it took even Yoichi 400 years to master everything he learned.
Although the difficulty levels were different, considering that teaching something that had already been created was different from creating something from scratch. Yoichi created the style of martial arts that Haruna used today; it can be said that he had talent on the same level as Haruna for creating something so unique.
But the merit of learning everything in less than 10 years should not be overlooked. After all, Haruna not only learned martial arts from Yoichi, she has taken it to a completely different level that not even Yoichi was able to understand.
And he was the creator of her martial arts.
Upon getting stronger, what did Haruna do? She went after her revenge.
She killed the Oni Youkai that killed her father... The fight was hard; she understood how this man could kill her father, but... He wasn't that strong...[Or was she too strong?]
She couldn't tell since she never had anyone to compare herself to. When she finished her training and felt she was strong enough, she went looking for revenge.
And she fulfilled her revenge, but she didn't feel satisfied.
And in accomplishing her goal, she felt satisfaction, then dissatisfaction, and… emptiness.
She felt like she had no purpose.
Did she regret going down that path? Of course not, the blood of her kin was shed, and that debt could only be paid in blood.
Standing with a bloodied Katana with her feet on the body of the Oni Youkai she killed, she looked around and saw an Oni Youkai child with features just like the man she killed.
History repeated itself.
That was the conclusion she had when looking into the eyes of despair and fear of the child who was the son of the Oni Youkai.
She saw herself in that child and knew that child would walk the same path and do the same thing as her in the future.
And soon, she realized the problem.
'This will never end.'
'History will repeat itself again.'
'This cycle of hate and revenge will never end.'
She wasn't some idealist who believed that through words, everything could change; she was too realistic for that.
She knew that a monstrous amount of strength was needed to break this cycle. She needed to become unstoppable.
After all, supernatural beings only respected strength.
Because there was peace, the next war would happen; peace was just a preparation for the next war.
As an intelligent woman who read about human wars, she understood history, she understood the past, and consequently, she understood her duty.
'I shall become the being who controls this peace.'
Only when someone took the reins of this conflict would the Youkai stop killing each other. Only when a supreme leader rose to power would the gods stop exploiting the Youkai.
You don't break the circle of hate and revenge.
You control it!
You become the tyrant who exercised rule and enforced peace!
You take responsibility for guiding your race!
That is the duty of the supreme leader.
'Don't look back… Keep walking… Don't stop… Because if you stop, you'll grow old, you'll grow weak, and you'll die.' Remembering the lessons her grandfather taught her when he trained her in martial arts.
A dogma of motivation, a lesson for her to remember when she lost her purpose.
She made a decision.
She wouldn't stop walking, she didn't know if her path was right or not, but even so, she would walk that path.
She made up her mind! By her own free will! By her own determination! She would continue to walk.
Everything and everyone must submit to her and become part of her Hyakki Yagyō!
'There is no room for stagnation in my Hadō.'
"Child, do you hate me?"
"...."
"Answer me." Her obsidian eyes regarded the child coldly.
"Y-Yes." He responded with fear, but the gleam of hatred was seen in his eyes.
"Do you want revenge?"
"..." There was no response, but the look in his eyes told her everything she needed.
"Child, you will enter my Hyakki Yagyō."
The child opened his eyes wide, not expecting such words from the woman.
"My name is Otsuki Haruna." Haruna took the Katana she killed the child's father with and threw it at him.
"Stay close to the woman you want to kill just so you can find my weaknesses and have an opportunity to kill me."
The child looked at the Katana with a trembling body.
"Take it."
"..." Body shaking, the child slowly took the bloodied katana.
"Train and get strong. Then, when you're strong enough, you'll try to kill me with the same Katana I killed your father with." Haruna spoke in a hard tone that didn't allow for refusal, as if she had declared the child's fate.
"..." The child's body trembled visibly.
"But until then... You will help me unite all of Japan's Youkai under my flag." Haruna ignored the child's shocked look and turned around.
"Don't let me down, boy." Those were the last words the boy heard from Haruna before falling unconscious.
From that day arose the legend of the fox of the Moonlight, Otsuki Haruna, and her mighty Hyakki Yagyō, which grew to equal the Hyakki Yagyō commanded by the servant of the goddess Inari.
Where Haruna went, she fought all of the Hyakki Yagyō, challenging the Clan leaders.
With each challenge, her army grew. With each confrontation, she gained allies.
Haruna learned from her mistakes with the son of her father's killer, who was now one of her commanders. She realized that keeping her enemy alive was the answer; she couldn't kill everyone who went against her. After all, she couldn't rule a land without people.
But she wasn't stupid either; those she thought would harm her future as ruler, beings who bathed in blood, Youkai who couldn't contain their basic instinct, would be eliminated.
She didn't want monsters; she wanted proud citizens.
The bloodbath caused by Haruna changed the entire history of the Youkais, and today in the present, she has achieved her ambition, and the Youkais have been united, while the gods have lost complete control of the Youkai.
Only the 'Tengus' were under the control of the gods, and all of Japan's Youkai were under Haruna.
Of course, not everything was rosy. Such an abrupt change caused conflicts, but absolutely no one dared to provoke Haruna, her power was unquestionable, and her leadership was absolute.
Haruna achieved peace, united the Youkai, and created a Faction.
Haruna had always been independent; she was a woman who was raised in war, and ever since she gained strength, few people cared about her, one of those people being Kuroka or her grandfather Yoichi.
She was just so strong. Her talent, potential, and power took her to a stage where only monstrous beings like vampire Counts could handle her.
Even the very Youkai she led didn't look at her as a woman or with genuine concern.
She was a terrifying monster that changed all of youkai history.
Because of this, she was taken aback.
A man who met her only a few times was worried about her...? Was worried about her feelings?
Even if she understood the reasoning behind it, she couldn't understand the feeling.
Looking at the man in front of her, looking into his honest gaze, a gaze that held no falsehoods.
Bandup.
Her heart released a beat that echoed through her entire existence.
If before Victor had her interest and curiosity, now he had her full attention.
She wanted to understand those sweet feelings... She wanted to understand him.
Who was the man standing in front of her?
Yes, she knew the rumors, she knew the things that were said about him, she'd seen the little interactions he had with his allies, but... Was that all?
Haruna felt that no, beings were not so simple. All she knew about Victor were small interactions and rumors, information she didn't know if it was legitimate or not.
She needed to know more. She needed to understand. She needed to get to know him better. She needed to understand every aspect of the being known as Victor Alucard.
'He's right... That was a hasty decision.' She finally understood what he wanted and why he spoke those words.
'He was worried that I would make such an important decision without knowing him better… Does he know about my race trait? That's likely. After all, he has a subordinate who is a Youkai Kitsune.' Haruna's heart melted in sweetness as she understood that he was only worried about her.
Now, it all made sense, every word he'd spoken at the meeting.
She understood everything now.
"Very well… I will forget about this matter."
'For now...' Without Haruna noticing, her gaze became lifeless like a black hole.
And that sight made Victor's smile grow wider, not in a distorted way, but in a kind, bright way.
A smile that took Haruna entirely by surprise.
'Was he so happy that I understood him? Seriously, what is this, man? Is he not supremely kind?'
"I am glad you understand, Lady Haruna."
Haruna was delighted with the gentle tone she heard from Victor. It was like a melody from a song she liked a lot, and her heart was beating like crazy now.
Unconsciously, Haruna's nine tails were swinging much more than before, creating an illusory effect for everyone who saw their movement.
"But… This request has nothing to do with the duel." Victor added with a predatory smile.
"…Oh?" Her eyes came to life, and the lifeless black hole eyes disappeared, to Victor's disappointment.
'She awakened and is on the way. Now, I just need to nurture this seed.' Victor was in no hurry since the time he spent with Haruna could be counted on his fingers, a much shorter time than he had with Aphrodite.
And he didn't want that. He wanted to know her, to know who she was, to know her motivations; he wanted to know what kind of woman Otsuki Haruna was.
And more importantly... He wanted to fight her!
"To be honest, I wanted to fight you from the first time I saw you."
That sweet feeling attacked again in her belly and rose towards her heart. She was delighted to know that he thought the same as her, and she loved the expression on his face when he spoke about the fight.
"The feeling is mutual, Victor-dono." She grew a smile that showed her sharp teeth, a smile very similar to Victor's.
"In that case, we will fight after this meeting is over." Victor didn't want to waste any more time.
"That is acceptable." She nodded and closed her eyes as she tried to control her expression and her feelings. After all, the meeting wasn't over yet.
She took her fan and opened it in front of her to hide her expression a little.
The moment she opened her eyes, she saw that Victor had a neutral face, but not completely emotionless like before. Instead, a small smile could still be seen on his expression, proving how pleased he was.
"Let's go back to one of the important matters..." Victor looked at Haruna with a serious look.
"Senjutsu and Ki." Victor's eyes gleamed with interest.
Haruna assumed a serious expression as well.
"Can you teach it to me?"
"That is possible, but..."
"Do you want me to teach you? My subordinate, nekomata Kuroka, is quite versatile in this art too. To be honest, I don't have much time to manage my faction and train you."
That was something that bothered her a lot. She wanted to train and enjoy this new energy, but she barely had time, and she couldn't ignore her faction either since they were still in a delicate period.
"Managing the faction is not a problem, and my group will be staying in Japan for a while until the plans we have made are completed. In the meantime, my Maids can help with the management of everything; they are extremely competent."
"... Of course, important work that is considered secret by your faction will be managed by my Maids only with your permission."
"Hmm..." Haruna looked at the Maids, evaluating each one, and nodded her head satisfied. With just one look, she could see how competent they were; the discipline in them was enviable.
An achievement of Kaguya that put discipline in these women.
'If Kuroka could be just like them... Haah...'
"Genji?"
"Important work can be done by me, that's not a problem... And to be honest, I want more hands to manage household paperwork. As Lady Haruna knows, Youkai are not very organized in that regard."
"...." Haruna narrowed her eyes.
Genji broke out in a cold sweat and quickly spoke:
"Something that should change over time, of course. That kind of procedure takes time to change, and these months we just spend time creating discipline and separating our ranks."
Haruna nodded, satisfied. She knew that these domestic problems take time to be fixed.
"…Any reason to choose me personally?" Haruna asked in an attempt to make the man change his mind.
"I want you, simple as that. There is no further reason," Victor spoke with a serious expression that sent pleasant shivers down Haruna's spine.
Haruna took a deep breath and smelled the heady scent coming from Victor, the scent of desire from the male in front of her. An animalistic desire for possession, and a battle instinct, he wanted her...
In more ways than one, he wanted her. He wanted to fight her, he wanted her for himself, he wanted to get to know her.
… And the best part? He had qualifications for that.
Victor Alucard had her interest, and she liked his protective personality, which embodied the concepts she valued so much.
Honor, kindness, and commitment. He was an honorable warrior and a family man.
He was qualified.
That pure desire made her twitch her legs a little, the man in front of her was screaming that he wanted to claim her, and she didn't find that unpleasant. In fact, she liked it a lot.
"…Okay" She couldn't refuse since he spoke those words. In fact, she didn't want to back down.
....
