Chapter 2: Being Born And Years Later
So to do Quickening correctly, you shroud yourself in Arcane Power...then send a burst of it to your feet before pushing off the ground with a specific footwork depending on your direction...huh. That's pretty neat.
Turns out, learning fantasy-esque powers is harder than you'd imagine. A lot of the book spoke about Arcane Power and without an equivalent of that, I couldn't really progress in the theory because I didn't have anything to make comparisons with or even see how my body would react to the energy being used in such a way.
Luckily, I found an energy deep within my mother that was slowly being funneled into me as I grew. When that energy entered me, I could control it however I wanted because it had been separated from my mom.
This was Mana.
At first, it was pretty hard to control. Especially when you're a disembodied, floating consciousness. But I got the hang of it. Purely because as the days go by, I gain more and more control over the fetus' body and I can feel more and more of what the body can feel. Why is this? Probably because every day the fetus becomes closer and closer to becoming a functioning human that can be independent of it's carrier (aka mom) with fully working bodily systems. Mainly it's nervous system developing explains me gaining more and more control.
Anyway, Mana could function in the same way as Arcane Power, so it was a massive plus for me to find it. Simulating the pathways for Quickening was a bit perilous but nothing terrible happened. I nearly lost a leg but I didn't, so it's fine, right?
[Scythe Mastery - Unnamed Style] was a bit easier to get used to. It was pretty much told me how to hold a Scythe, how to swing it and handle it in a battle, it gave me footwork which was strangely compatible with Quickening, and most of all it told me one important thing - I could add to it. Meaning that even though it was very basic right now, over time it would develop into something brilliant if I did enough.
You may be wondering how a farming tool can be used like a weapon, and I have to admit, I had the same worries at the start. But now? Not so much.
Gehrman, the first of the Hunters to fight against the Beastly scourge that afflicted Yharnam, wield a Scythe with deadly efficiency. The Bloodborne did what a normal Earth didn't - it used everything as a weapon if it meant being able to kill more Beasts. Including unconventional or just downright hard to use weapons.
Heh, even if it's an unconventional weapon, I'll make it work. I did wish for talent, after all.
The physical changes to my new body had been...drastic as well.
I'd assume that I'm nearing the time where I'm going to be birthed into the world, but that was only because my body had reached what I guessed was fully developed. I had a full head of black, wild hair, and when I made my mouth open I could legitimately see canines poking through my gums on both the upper and lower parts of my jaw. The black veins weren't as noticeable as before but you could definitely tell they were there if you looked hard enough.
I could only hope the doctors don't look hard enough otherwise I'll be fucked. Especially if I'm shipped off to Grigori.
Suddenly, I felt myself getting dragged into the fetus' body, or rather, my new body, and I felt my vision cut off, just like my other senses. All I could do was feel the wetness around me and how the muscles surrounding me were pushing me toward the cervix opening.
This...wasn't very pleasant.
. . .
Holy shit that took a long ass time! Even with me helping mom by pushing myself out it took like, 2 goddamn hours!
In agreement with my mind, my voice came out in screams/cries and the doctor with his hand primed to slap my ass lowered his hand.
...You're damned right you lower your hand. If you slapped my bare ass just now, I would have waited until I grew up a little, then I'd come back here and kick your ass! I'd remember your scent you dumbass!
Oh yeah, it seems that while my eyes were practically unable to see, or even open for that matter, my ears - despite being a little liquid-logged - could practically hear where everyone in the room was. Same goes for my nose. I could smell that there were people in this room who were either cheating on their spouses or just so happened to have polyamorous relationship with one another. How did I know this? I don't know, I just do. Something about their scents and the way they're intermingled with one another is telling of their adultery. For the record, they also have other scents intermingled with them, so I'm beginning to think that they're swingers or actually are part of an polyamorous relationship.
Anyway, I'd spent too much time contemplating useless shit, and I was currently being washed. When I say 'washed' I mean one of the midwives wiped my face with a wipe before I was presumably given to my mom.
"Hello, sweetie..." an absolutely shredded voice spoke to me, her tone filled with unconditional love, yet also a tiredness that seemed to go to her very bones. I can't blame her, I'm a big baby. "It's me, mommy...do you want a little breastfeeding? Hm~?" she asked and as much as I wanted to get away, I didn't and shameless reached for her breast.
Hey, I'm not a pervert or anything, but I know that babies need to feed quickly after being birthed. I'm a growing boy and I need nutrients. I'm not gonna say no to that just because it would require sucking a teat.
Soon I was drinking a liquid and it wasn't bad and it wasn't exactly good either. Just a neutral experience. So, in the end, I decided to go to sleep while doing this.
It was then that I realized that this would be the first time I'd slept in over a few months.
Huh.
. . .
"Haru~? Haruuu~?" My eyes twitched open as I looked up to see my mother leaning over me on one side, while Issei, my older brother, leaned over the other side. The two of them had wide smiles on their faces as I looked at them.
"...Yes?" I asked, my voice groggy and slightly hoarse. I looked to the left and at my alarm clock. 6:54 AM. Why did they wake me up at this time? And as if to answer that question, Issei pulled a present from behind his back.
"Happy birthday, Haru!" his light brown eyes shown with so much excitement, you wouldn't be blamed to think it was his birthday instead of mine. But hearing him, I finally understood - it was indeed my birthday. Today was the 2nd of April and I was born 6 years ago on this date. So, I'm 6-years-old, in case anyone was struggling to figure that out.
Sitting up, I took the present from Issei's hand, muttering along the way about how it's weird these two care more about my birthday than I do.
But seriously, it's not too big a deal. I only turned 6, you know? It's not a massive achievement.
Opening the wrapping in one fell swoop, I looked at the box only to see that it was a new gaming console, which made me smile. It's wasn't a PS4 but the sentiment definitely made it worth more than one. Turning to my brother, I smiled, "Thanks, Issei-nii. We can play on it when I get back from training tonight," I said before setting the packaging aside on my bed before whipping the covers off and standing up.
Unlike Issei who had a healthy tone to his skin, my skin was incredibly pale. An almost chalk white color that wouldn't change no matter how much time I spent in the sunlight.
Though it wasn't all that bad, honestly, the incredibly white color made my athletic body look like it was chiseled from marble or something, which had to count for something, right? Like some kind of Greek Statue. Just, you know, minus the small dick.
"What training, Haru? Didn't we agree that you wouldn't be going to Gymnastics today?" mom frowned as she looked down at me, her arms crossed and her tone of voice stern.
Hearing her, I sighed before turning to look at her directly, "I didn't agree to anything, mom. You just told me that I shouldn't go there on my birthday. I'll only go for a short session, so don't worry," I said with a finality and stubbornness that mom just huffed in the end and looked very annoyed. Probably because she knew dad would take me if I asked - he was incredibly supportive of my hobbies. Which included, but weren't limited to: Gymnastics and learning martial arts at the nearby Dojos in Kuoh Town.
The latter should be obvious as to why I'm learning them, but why Gymnastics? Because I wish to add that sort of spry, explosive power to my fighting style. Both my hand-to-hand combat and my scythe style of fighting.
Issei, being a 7-year-old child, didn't pay much attention and just looked happy that we'd be playing video games later. I usually destroyed him at them but he enjoyed the bonding time, I guess?
Slipping on a top and some shorts, I walked out the room with mom and Issei behind us.
As we entered the upstairs hallway, mom was continuing to look at me with worry and in the end, she couldn't not vocalize it, "Haru...you know you can rest, right? That sometimes you NEED to rest?" she asked, her voice trying to sound easy to understand as even after all the evidence of me being intelligent beyond my years put in front of her, I was still just a child to her. Her child.
Smiling, I looked up at mom and put my hand in hers, giving it a squeeze before replying, "I know, mom. I just feel that you can't afford to slack off if you want to be the best," I left out the part where I would say 'the best at fighting and killing the enemies in front of me' but the sentiment was still there.
I knew my brother's potential. He was an carefree idiot right now, and a massive pervert later in his life, but his potential for power couldn't be ignored. He was the current Red Dragon Emperor and he would grow to become the most powerful. He was a protagonist, after all.
So that's why I couldn't slack off now. I had to work my body to death and back. I had to polish my Acrobatic skill and apply it to my fighting. I had the talent to do it. I had the body to do it. I was a protagonist in my own right, honestly. I had cheats just like any other protagonist.
And I'd make sure to use them right. To their fullest potential.
Anyway, hearing what I said, mom smiled lovingly before looking behind and gesturing Issei to come over and hold her other, free hand. The three of us walked down the hallway, and then down the stairs and into the living room. Issei let go of mom's hand before sitting in front of the TV and watching some early morning cartoons while mom and I walked into the kitchen to see dad and another bundle of joy standing next to him.
At my appearance, the bundle of joy, a girl, quickly hid something behind her back before rushing up to me.
She had the same hair color as me, raven black, but her eyes were different from my dark red. Two black orbs looked up at me, the twinkle in them looking like stars flickering in the vast night sky. She was a real cutie.
But I guess all older brothers think their little sisters are the best, huh?
...Yep, the Hyoudou's not only had me, but also another little troublemaker. I'd guess that having me made mom realize how much she loved kids, so they had another.
As I was thinking this, my sister, Hana, glomped herself onto me like a little octopus, the card in her hand forgotten as it was partially squashed against my back. "...Onii-san," Hana said with her near emotionless voice before hanging onto me with one arm and showing me the card that had just been smashed a little into my back.
Seeing that she was about to fall, I put an arm underneath her and supported her weight, smiling as I looked at the antics of the 4-year-old in my arms. It must've been a weird sight, seeing a 6-year-old hold a 4-year-old, even with my above average height.
...If there was one problem about Hana, other than her bro-con eccentric ways, it was her apparently emotionless expression. She very much so experienced emotions, I could feel them and I could even say she feels them stronger than others, but her problem is with expressing them.
So when I looked at the card she'd made me, with her (a stick figure with chin-length black hair and black eyes) standing next to me (a stick figure with shorter black hair and red eyes), I couldn't help but smile when I saw her drawing of herself was smiling. Feeling that I had a strong hold on her, Hana let go of me with her other hand and used it to fully open her card, letting me read the inside.
What she wrote warmed my heart to the very brim and stopped the bestial thoughts in me from surfacing at all.
[Haru-nii! Happy Birthday! Don't tell Issei-niisan but I love you more, so I made you a secret birthday card! I wanna celebrate EVVVERRYY birthday of yours with you, and, and, I'll be the bestest little sister ever on them! I love you to the moon and back, Haru-nii, and I hope you have a really, really happy birthday!
From Hana!]
...Who started chopping onions halfway through me reading, huh? I'll get you, dammit!
Smiling, I leaned down and planted a kiss on Hana's forehead before whispering to her, "Don't tell Issei-nii, but I love you more as well, Hana," I laughed when I saw the happiness sparkling in her eyes and I looked up to see dad smiling at the two of us before he chuckled himself and looked back down at his newspaper.
At this point, mom started to serve up breakfast and Issei came into the kitchen, barreling in like some kind of idiot and Hana quickly hid the card before she got the chance to run out and hide it somewhere before she came back.
Sitting with my family, I actually felt a happiness I hadn't felt in a while. Or at least before this new life of mine.
It was nice.
It solidified and reinforced my resolve to double my physical and weapons training later today.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone