DISCLAIMER

The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Rosario + Vampire, Rosario + Vampire Capu 2 and other products related to the R+V Series are all owned by Akihisa Ikeda and Shueisha.

Please support the official release.

Chapter 35: Face your Past

Christmas break was finally here!

Despite the jovial notes of Christmas drawing me in a good mood, there were some details about this Christmas that made me more unsettled than usual. And it just didn't stick well with my idea of holiday despite how important it was for my 'stay' in a way. Mikogami's words rang once again as we finally made our way back to the manor, dimming the overall warm welcome granted by the heat exuding from the living room's fireside.

"Your test will be explained once you arrive. There will be two letters, one for you, and one for Katsue," Mikogami had said with a solemn tone. "Each will contain instructions specific for you both to keep and the other to not know. If you fail to comply with this need of secrecy, then the test shall be considered a failure."

And that set us up for quite the complicated mess to solve. Especially when it comes to the little mind game that ensued as soon as we reached the table where the letters were waiting for us. One bore the werewolf's name, while the other mine. We sat down on the two most extreme opposites, taking a moment to read the content inside as Zip glanced over my shoulder to get a proper look of what was written on the paper. From what I could get from the overall message, we had to go to a 'magical waypoint' through a specific spell written at the bottom of the letter, make our way through some protections of the magical and also 'guard' kind, and then deal with the one that was behind Katsue's horrible childhood. It sounded quite simple, but it added a 'secret' little objective that I could only nod in agreement to.

Finally, as the magician is dealt with, retrieve his grimoire and find the spell he used to put that magical bond on Katsue's body. What to do next is up to you, but I believe you already know what to do.

That last bit left me also a bit uneasy at the idea that this could mess many things up. Part of the 'attraction' Katsue had towards me was driven by the seal as I managed to modify it to not have her suffer. Would removing it outright leave her less 'accepting' of me? Maybe. It wasn't something that could be predicted with how unusual of a case this one was. Still, it would definitely push her slightly away from me as she wouldn't feel as strongly-connected to me. It wasn't like I was 'worried' about losing any of what we had, but I felt it being a possibility that I couldn't just ignore without giving it some proper thought to it. I could mend any rupture in the bond in due time and with enough patience put into it, but that didn't make it any less… unpleasant.

It meant cracking onto the current status quo, shaking the boat to the point where there wouldn't be any boat and I would have to build it back into shape. And while I was struggling to come to terms with this, Katsue seemed to be having her own worries aroused by what was written in her paper. Zippy suggested she could circumvent the rules and personally check on it herself, but I reminded her that Mikogami had taken extra steps to make it possible for just me and Katsue to read the respective letters meant for us. While it was an idea with some merit, I just didn't want to take any risk before we actually had to face this kind of challenge. Plus, I had her swear she would remain here. While I knew the headmaster would have told us to not bring her with us, it could have been demanded indirectly due to how this was all centered around me and Katsue. The spirit was pissed, rightfully so, but accepted the deal of coming to help in case I called on her through my armlace.

We decided to think more about this after lunch as we definitely weren't ready to just go to our destination and be through with this. I didn't want to risk it like in any previous situations where we ended up overwhelmed one way or another by our foes. For the first time in a while, I wanted to take several extra steps beyond what our target might be planning and I had a couple of ideas to do so. We used the time between our arrival and lunch to actually get our stuff placed down so we could start making an effort in getting what we needed to get for our preparation. Katsue was quiet, but she listened and complied to my comments as we started to prepare the backpacks with all necessary items I believed could make the difference. I had no intention of being underprepared, but definitely approved the idea of being over prepared with what we were soon going to face. I put anything that ranged from commonly useful, rarely useful and never useful but 'you never know' in my backpack, with a couple of general antidotes, anti-paralyses and also some mana salves. Those were not exactly cheap or available with ease due to their portentous mana-restoring ability, hence why I had three of those and nothing more.

Katsue's backpack was a bit more focused on survival items like water, some quick snacks, a couple of flares and two binoculars. She also decided to get retrieve a lighter and a few combustible boxes for it as we managed to get a clear insight of where we were going through 'converting' the magical spell into coordinates and using those to determine where our target was, and it was going to be a chilling destination to visit due to a couple of unpleasant factors. It was located somewhere in the northern section of Japan, where the Siberian cold managed to reach out and drive some of the coldest weather the Japanese people could ever have the chance to be subjected to. So, we had to also get a different pair of outfits to not get frozen to death before we reached where we had to go. Luckily we had some in our wardrobes, but I added an extra 'warm' enchantment the moment the girl brought up how she had felt cold even in her werewolf form when she lived there. I didn't need to hear anymore as I knew how thick the layer of fur she had in that form was and how it was only for the best to be prepared for the chilling walk to kill the magician.

We waited for after we were done with lunch before going, getting all final steps of our planning dealt with so we weren't going to miss anything that could possibly be of use once we were at destination. Two hours later, I set up the spell and created a small rift that connected us to where the magical waypoint was and… we arrived at a cave. A rather old cave with the waypoint in a critical point of collapse. It was clear Mikogami had allowed it to be in this state so that, once we were done, it would have been used just once to return home before it collapsed on itself. To cover our traces in case of someone or something giving chase once we were through this test. The cave was illuminated with dimly-lit torches set by the walls, showing us a single path that led outside, to where our destination was.

I walked calmly through the only route, Katsue following closely behind as we slowly made our way at the entrance of the 'safe spot'. We found ourselves standing near a few snowy hills and several acres of forests covering deeply the entire region. It all felt like a massive natural maze, with only a single landmark standing out from the rest: A modest-sized old fort refitted as a castle. I could already perceive a few large but weak barriers surrounding it. At first glance I could tell those had another reason to exist beyond protection. From the magical print, it was clear they had a dual purpose: repelling intruders and calming down entities of a specific species. Since Katsue muttered something about her tribe being located nearby, I could tell it was tied to the lycan kind of 'issues'. Still, what really had me particularly unnerved was when she mentioned how she wasn't actually the only one that was subjected to this kind of treatment. It was a toll for 'support'.

The harsh climate meant little to no chance of finding many preys around or even having a hope of relying on food from the land. So, in a way to 'save the tribe', the magician himself would offer them food his automates would prepare from the reserves he brought outside the region, cook them, prepare them for consumption, and trade those with the tribe… in exchange for a percentage of women and children. In a way, he thinned out a possible rebellion by keeping their numbers small and… he used this very opportunity to get some 'gratification' out of it. It was plain disgusting, especially since children were involved in this. It was perhaps the worst crime one could commit, but I managed to keep calm and set up a spell over us to 'neutralize' the scent we had. It would make it possible to go through our trek without being blocked by any patrols of werewolves guarding the borders of their settlement, and give us a peaceful stroll instead of a tiring one that would easily alert the 'lord of the region'.

The silence was… 'eerie' at times. I guess it had to do with the fact this entire place was packed with dangerous plants and animals lurking on the sections beside the road. Those could easily attack at any moment at the slightest provocation, but as I looked around for any trouble, I noticed that Katsue was distracted as she looked around. The way her posture was arched and the way she hummed as she quietly longed at the natural sights all around told me one thing. She was feeling nostalgic about these places. This was once her home, the place where she was born and lived happily in before getting taken away by this magician. I felt the urge to ask her about it, but she didn't seem in the mood, listening to the distant howling, at the cool wind that soothingly passed by and made some leaves fly away from their branches. It wouldn't take long before we ultimately arrived at the gates, cracking onto the barriers as slowly and carefully as possible. Much to my surprise, those weren't connected to a specific user, but within a mana crystal that was held within the castle. From the input and the fact that, as we entered, I felt numerous enchantments meant to keep the place warm and hospitable, I could tell it had to be a very big crystal with an incredible lifespan This man was supposedly self-sufficient for a 'cheap caster', which meant he had the funds to actually sustain this situation regarding the food, this much comfort and… I could only dread a single reason why he could.

"Katsue?" I inquired quietly, the girl giving me a quick look. "Do you know if this man… sold some of the girls away? As slaves?"

There was no response at first, a brief confused frown appearing on her face before she pondered deeply about it.

"Why do you ask?" She asked back and I sighed.

"This place, it shouldn't be available so readily. If he got this setting running smoothly and he can still sustain the 'deal' he has with your tribe, then that means he has to have a way to make a lot of money very fast."

"And you think it's sexual slavery?"

I nodded. "It sounds to be the case. Either that or worse from that point."

She gritted her teeth in pure frustration, well-aware that some potioneers would rely on illegal ways to obtain lycan blood and body parts. This was something that was explained at school as a reason to avoid getting tangled up on anyone trying to push for 'astonishingly good monetary exchanges' that required just 'little things' out of Yokai to happen. The wandering around the castle also added a few more details to it. There were simple versions of automates that could only do the job they were created and assigned to and none of those had any duty of keeping a look around the castle as security. I could only assume the owner believed too much on the barriers and little on the chances of his 'toys' to be able to walk around with ease. As we finally arrived at where the 'big boss' was, I noticed Katsue looking quite… upset.

"This…"

"Do you want to change plans?" I offered with a genuinely concerned tone. "I could be the one attacking him directly and you could just strike from one of the windows."

…

She looked at me for a while, taking two steps closer and staring at me right in the eyes and… she leaned for a quick peck.

"Thanks, but no. This is my battle, first and foremost and I want to kill him myself."

Huffing, I could only shrug at her point. "Sure thing, but I hope you are not planning to get stuck by any trauma. I don't want to hurt you and this is hurting you in a way."

…

"Thank you. But you know the answer."

I nodded tiredly at her response. "Fine. Now, let's see what we're dealing with."

We both pushed the big doors open, revealing quite the scene.

"Come on now, there is no reason to cry, oh gorgeous girl," The magician we were sent to kill was… well, old with short graying black hair and gray eyes. And particularly obese. And magically… 'good'. I wouldn't say weak, but he was barely decent in terms of reserves. Still, what really had us enraged instantly was the sight we were bestowed with. A whimpering girl, particularly exposed, trying to break the magical chains that were forced into her. "Now, let's… oh? We have guests?"

He looked more surprised than worried, but then his eyes widened as his eyes stared at Katsue.

"My, oh my- if it isn't… Katsue-tan."

I'm going to murder you so hard that you're going to die twice.

"It's been so long and-" He stood up almost walking up towards the girl and ignoring that he was half disrobing and kind of revealing a… really pathetic thing dangling down below. I could now see why he had to force girls to be with him and I calmly walked up in front of Katsue and stood between him and her.

"Hello."

"Oh, what an… interesting addition. I suppose you are the new owner."

…

"No."

"Oh dear, I guess this isn't a courtesy visit of courtesy," He hummed tiredly. "If only things could have been different, Katsue-tan. You were… one of my favorites. A little pup that I would have spoiled into having a beautiful family."

I glanced behind, saw the disgusted look on her face rather than anything close to horrified, and I realized that she meant it when she said she really wasn't planning to let the past hold her back. My eyes were back on the morons and he frowned.

"And now, you have… him. My name is Seto Tadiyuki, I am a powerful wizard that hails from the Grand Academy of Kyoto. And I can tell that you're not a simple magician, young man."

"My name is Jacob Barrett, and I'm the one that's about to shove a leg up your rear for what you did, Seto."

Instead of showing any disgust, he merely grinned. "Ah yes, you Americans and your humor. If only you could know to respect those beyond you rather than setting yourself up for a quick death."

He sure was a bit racist and kind of redundant with all those talking trash about us 'American magicians'. But it's alright, the villainous monologue just makes things easy for us. In fact, I had already found a way to skip any fight and get straight to the point we were here for. Kill the bastard, and get Katsue's seal broken.

"I mean, if I am that 'inferior', then I wouldn't have picked up that the chains you put on that girl are faltering."

My comment came out of nowhere, but it did something that I had predicted, it turned the attention of the old bastard right at the shivering victim of his, her chains glowing a duller blue light. A frown appeared on his face as he approached, unaware that the reason that was faltering was because I 'took over' the chains themselves. As we were discussing, I had slowly stretched my shadow to reach the table where the nude girl was lying, carefully overwhelming the control the man had over the chains and enforcing my will upon them. So, as he touched the chains in pure confusion as to why they were weakening so quickly, he jumped in surprise when the chains regained power, but switched their target from the girl to him.

"W-What?"

"Katsue, he is yours," I hummed calmly and my words gave the werewolf the head start to rush up to him and give him what he deserved. Quick, mostly bloodless early on and fairly clean. A head went flying, blood erupted in a brief fountain before the headless body dropped on the floor. She arched her arm to remove some of the blood staining the limb, as if it was something disgusting and tainted to her.

I rushed up to the corpse while Katsue moved to help the now freed young werewolf while I took care of the grimoire within the man's possession. Good news was that the book was in good condition and that I found the spell which the seal was based on. The really 'intense news' was that I had to go through the process of breaking the seals on all girls that had been subjected to it, those in the dungeons of the castle. It was a long and tedious process, and one that Katsue preferred to be left last about because 'there were others that needed this more than her'. A few hours later and my reserves and our resources drained in helping the young women to be freed from the seal and receive some attention about their medical condition, it was finally the turn of my favorite wolf-girl. She braced herself as she saw how intense it was on the other girls to break free from that spell, and I made sure to add extra caution to make sure that the modified seal was broken properly, without leaving anything behind.

I sighed in relief when we were done but… I quickly realized something was off with Katsue's behavior as soon as we were done. She pushed away from me, almost upset at being near me and I absolutely freaked out. In my mind, mostly in my mind. I could only stare in surprise at that sudden rejection, but I tried to push myself to keep a serious expression as the job wasn't done yet. We also had to approach Katsue's former tribe and deal with their situation now that their previous food provider had been killed. I had a couple of ideas to solve that whole mess without setting off any bad blood between us and this specific tribe. Still, I was quite unsure how to handle the Katsue situation now that I couldn't tell what to say or do about her current mindset.

I might have avoided a boss battle, but I got a whole different mess to solve once we were back home.

The tribe leader was a bit skeptical in believing that the old fart had died, but he sure changed his mind when I brought out his head and showed proof of his demise.

He was willing to talk about what happened to those women and children taken, and I mentioned the possibility that some could have been sold due to some of the missing list still being missing. He was furious at the news, but managed to keep his calm when I mentioned that someone had taken interest in the matter and that it was a name they had heard about.

"So Mikogami-san is indeed interested in helping humans and Yokai?"

I slowly nodded. "It's not just the school. All affairs to improve those matters are being taken under consideration. The castle shall be yours to keep and use as your new home if you wish. All services are granted thanks to the independent mana crystal within its core, it's warm inside, automates deal with all chores like cleaning and preparing food, and I believe the headmaster will come to set some changes to make the whole place hospitable for you regarding the food issue."

I also added at the chance of hunting down where the sold girls were and bringing them back to safety as soon as they had the chance to find out individually who was missing. The half-turned man thanked me quietly, his pride trying to hold back that much gratitude, but eventually he bowed down to me. Only me, as Katsue wasn't around to be praised by others. In fact, due to what happened back in that dungeon, she just decided to retreat back to the waypoint and wait for me there. I would have expected her to be there to see her old tribe, but she outright skipped that notion saying that 'she didn't feel well to be around me', making it quite clear that she just didn't want me in her proximity for too long. Very painful, but I conceded this much to her. And yet it would have been helpful if she had been there as, once I was done explaining the situation and telling them how Mikogami was planning to take care of the rest himself, I was almost hounded by many young and lovely women that were without a 'mate'. My only saving grace was that most of the older females and many of the 'jealous' men smelled the scent of one of their females and some more on me already and they could tell I had 'a mate or two'.

With that whole issue averted, I was back to find Katsue sulking silently by the waypoint, giving me a grunt and a nod as we both walked up to the rift and through it back home. She swiftly bolted to her room, leaving a giddy Zip frozen mid-air as she had put through some effort to prepare something for our return. She actually made a three-floor cake with numerous layers of different chocolate. The poor girl was quick to grow depressed but still managed to inquire what happened with the girl.

"Something about her seal. I just… don't know," I weakly replied, still trying to put my head on what was going on with the werewolf. I had expected something this intense to happen, but I hadn't expected it to be 'that' intense.

I sighed at her apologetic tone at the situation, and still offered to eat two slices of the cake before having it stored in the fridge for later. Zip remained around to keep me some company as I couldn't get Katsue to leave her room. She had just shut herself away from the world and I felt incredibly worried. The dark-haired girl still accepted an offering of food when it was time for dinner, and I knew that she wasn't angry enough to skip meals. Eventually I found myself at bed alone, with Zip having to spend the night in her workshop to finish a project late at night. She had a small bed I had prepared just in case she needed to rest in there for that kind of occasion, so I was pretty much… lonely. And frustrated.

I hadn't expected things to take this kind of turn and I felt bummed about it. I felt that small inner voice chiding me for 'failing' to use the situation at my advantage and just keep a minimal compulsion within that seal. It was a horrible thought, but it was still there despite how I rejected it. Closing my eyes as I had been staring at the same ceiling for an hour now, I slowly conceded to sleep and tried to find some energy to handle the next morning. I was confident that the real mess was going to be at breakfast time, where I hoped Katsue was going to leave her room and finally interact with us. But as I slumbered quietly and enjoyed the warmth of my sheets, I felt someone shift within the room by quietly opening and closing the door of my room and… soon she was over me. Tender lips slammed onto mine and stole a ferocious kiss out of me. My eyes opened in shock as I realized who it was.

Katsue?

"Sorry," She muttered, slurring in between the sloppy kisses, almost drunk on her own desire. "S-So~ shorry~!"

She was wearing a particularly skimpy set of underwear, all-black nippleless bra and crotchless panties. Her wolf-like ears now revealed atop her head were twitching madly while her tail wagged to show how content the young woman was. This was perhaps the sluttiest I have ever seen Katsue display herself as. And it sure left me baffled and aroused at the same time due to what happened mere hours earlier.

"W-What are you-"

"I'm so- so… shorry~! I wanted to- to hold back but… but I'm too horny~. I'm too… too much. I need this, Jake. I need you… in me~!"

And then it clicked. With the seal removed, Katsue was finally able to tap into her full instincts too. While many of those in the dungeon we had freed had been influenced for months at best, Katsue… had it for longer. No matter how weakened it was ever since I entered her life, it still existed and it still unleashed the full instincts that had been suppressed for so long. In a way, that meant that her primal lustful instincts were also enabled and she could finally show proper 'dedication' to her mate. Which was me. What I had confused as her trying to push me away because she felt her attraction lessened… was actually the opposite. Her brain was just melting at that much desire striking at her logical side so intensely and suddenly. So, the reason why she went to her room and avoided contact with me as much as possible was all about that. And I was…

"Pfft-hahahahaha!" I laughed madly, pulling away from her kisses and dropping a smooch on her forehead much to her delight. "I thought you were avoiding me because you didn't love me lots due to the seal."

"What? I- Why would I not love you, love?" She lustfully pressed on, sniffing at my neck. "Please, Jake. I really need this. I need you. I want you~."

I knew this was possibly going to be the only time she behaved like this due to how kind of a 'one-time' situation that was but… I wasn't planning to waste it. And so, I gave her what she was longing for by giving her a nice filling. Cock fully sheathed in her pussy, Katsue was quickly getting drilled into oblivion while she bounced up and down as quickly as her stamina and body allowed her to. She was moaning my name for the next few hours, with her vigor urging me to be at my roughest to get her to feel the best possible. It was… peak. I could already tell, in the middle of that session, that this was the best kind of sex I was ever going to have. She was absolutely into it, giving her best shot and I was doing the same. I never felt this connected to her until that point. It all felt so freeing and… incredibly draining.

Seriously, try to fuck a horny and slutty werewolf for six hours straight and very few things could compare or go beyond that.

I was just draining my entire stamina there and I realized how much I missed those one-on-one 'all out' sessions with the girls. It definitely made me wonder if I could do something to bring them to the point of being able to go beyond their usual limits and get as much pleasure as I could from these kinds of situations. Nevertheless, I was completely spent by the time it was morning and it took us two full hours to be able to 'wake up' from what happened the night before. Katsue's belly almost looked as if she was pregnant with how much I had filled her up. She just craved for more and more cum out of me.

The next day started gloriously as Katsue calmly pulled herself from the lovely embrace we had been sleeping within, yawned while stretching and… glanced down at my awake face. A grin appeared on her face, and she was positively glowing at the overall situation we were in.

"Good morning, Jake."

My smile widened. "Good morning, mate."

Red burned on her face as she gave me one of the most precious smiles I could have ever received. I could feel my heart just explode at the sight and… I pulled her back to me so I could storm her with kisses. It sure was a good day to start late, and maybe tomorrow too was going to be a day to make it late too.

Of course, the holidays had just started, and we were going to enjoy those as much as we could for the sake of good.

AN

Next up, a serious battle. Yay.