Last Chance, Haruo 4 - (Original, Side Character!MC)

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"As long as I am alive, you shan't be seen as a failure of this family, Akira. Hence why you shall accept my rules and only my rules!"

Ten years ago, Pendragon Akira was subjected to this sort of speech mixed with a rant and a lecture. The old man, once the former wielder of Rhongomyniad, was Arcturus Pendragon, the last 'fullblooded British' member of the family.

The rest of the 'clan' had been shattered following the treachery of other jealous elements, and the fact that Akira's father had deemed it good to defy the patriarch of the family, it felt 'ironic' that both him and his wife, Akira's mother, had died in an accident. One that saw Akira brought under the care of Arcturus himself.

For many years, close to six or seven, Akira had the old man as the only guardian the teen could rely on. And his harsh advice hardly worked in giving the young student a chance to develop as it was proper. Akira had to rely, a lot, on others at school, with Haruo being the finest helper Akira could ask for.

Then others tagged along and then left, leaving Akira to ultimately accept that, as a living being, the chances of independence beyond Arcturus' death were pretty much close to zero.

...That was until Arcturus was around, and just before Akira spent a whole lot of time with Haruo.

Haruo was that sun in Akira's life that made things so pleasant to go through. May those be good days or the worst. He was there, giving Akira a hug, a pat on the back, a cheering smile and then... and then that changed. A lot.

Akira didn't originally believe that it was true. Haruo had been there from the beginning, he had never deserted Akira - even in the worst moments, he was there for Akira.

But as Akira was at home after the news had been given about Haruo's departure from Japan, as a week went by and the grades once so high now falling rapidly due to Akira's own assence from school, something happened.

A 'self-revelation' of sort.

Looking at old pictures while isolated from the world, Akira felt suddenly small - Akira felt like a child. Shy, confused, in pain, and, just like back then, without a proper anchor.

What once was Haruo was no longer there for Akira to claim as a saving grace. All Akira got was an album that showed the progress of decline within their bonds. It was in Haruo's smile as he started to appear less cheerful and more... forced into it. Like Akira had been back then.

And yet he stood there and gave Akira his best while suffering. He didn't have Akira's stamina, or endurance, or powers, or anything that really amounted as something to protect himself. He was mortal, he was Akira's mortal.

The draconic essence in Akira had escalated and manifested in a rare unusual manner as Akira spent that week at home.

The floor and walls showed claw-marks as Akira's hands and feet had turned into draconic things that did more harm than good.

It took a whole lot of self-control to treat the pictures' book with care, and, even then, Akira felt that the truest realization came as green eyes soon found the full reflection of the situation upon the mirror of the bathroom.

Akira's hair was hardly combed and styled short, now reaching below the shoulders, the shirt Akira wore was torn, but so were the few 'precautions' Arcturus had forced Akira to wear.

The binding hiding away the curves of the chest Akira had were now depleted enough that the feminine traits Arcturus had tried to deny were further shown.

Akira... she had matured. A lot. Her body had grown up to adulthood. She looked... fine. Could be better, but it was... her. It was her reflection - it was her and-

"THIS IS ME!"

Akira's roar, bolstered by her current altered biology, caused the mirror to crack, almost showing that one last resistance to accept the truth.

The harsh truth.

The fact that all of this was not just her grandfather's fault. She was at fault for not acting upon her feelings, not just those about Haruo but also around the others. The girls - some really loved what Pendragon Akira, her boyish mask, felt like..

The ideal 'manga protagonist'. That's what Haruo had called her in those times. And Akira had agreed many times as it was the model she had followed. And now... this had ruined her.

She was ruined - not broken, but definitely in a bad shape.

Akira glared at the shards by her feet, mocking her as she was reminded that this - whatever it was - could have been dealt with much earlier. It should have been dealt earlier.

Before Haruo had to give up on her. Before the little hope of this lie she had been forced to accept died with his departure. Before she truly felt her heart broken to pieces.

As she glared at the pieces, her hatred softened to pure self-introspection, admiration over her beauty as it had long been kept hidden. For a long time, Akira had wondered if Arcturus' efforts would have stunted her. If she would have been turned into the closest thing a girl could have as a boy with magical restrictions.

But she had blossomed. Her hair, her body, her... her feelings. Those were all real. And valid. She couldn't deny them. She couldn't deny herself and...

She couldn't stand here and punish herself by merely 'dying' in her own lair.

It took a lot of strength to pull out of her home, to avoid the usual trio that tended to hunt for her, and then find the kind owner of a clothing shop to help her fit a new uniform.

She wasn't going to quit on her last year of school, not when Haruo had chided her so much about keeping up until it was over. For her to fight for her own education.

She had skirted around that duty, and she didn't intend to skip on it any more. So, she prepared herself to embrace a change.

A harsh change for a harsh reality. She could not, despite her best efforts, expect this one thing to fix it all. But it was a start. And a first step into breaking the lie that had been her mask for a long decade.

Even if it meant breaking several hearts in the process, and making more enemies than friends because of this - this was needed... to start finding her one true path beyond her clan's duties.

The path worthy of the girl known as Akira.

Miyako was upset, and so was Blanka.

That was a fair thought in Rurikovna's opinion, especially since their most recent meeting with the real Pendragon Akira had shredded onto some basic facts they had on... her.

Blanka had, as one would expect, jumped the gun when Akira turned up to school in a girly body and with a girly uniform.

"I knew it, they turned into a girl so they could steal you from us-"

"Shut up."

The quiet but cruel response had the immediate effect of silencing the vampire.

"This is not a spell or a trick. I was born a girl, and I am done pretending. Starting from now on, I will be on my own," Akira had stated ruthlessly, further ripping into Blanka (directly) and Miyako (indirectly).

The Russian Beauty wished to include herself into that list, but she had been preparing for something like that - a whiplash of sort that would have finally answered so many questions she had about Akira. And it was all answered by her decision to come out for what she truly was, a fellow victim of expectations taken too far.

Then again, Rurikovna was not hiding her true gender, but her name had to be somewhat altered to keep herself out of the spotlight from those still hunting her family.

It was a small change forced upon her by her parents, but it made her less troubled by those looking to harm her or others tied to her.

And then there was the fact that her affection for Akira was fickle at best. Where Miyako was willing to accept a 'formal separation' from time to time and Blanka was delusional over the way Akira had perceived her, Rurikovna's love had been always kept to a minimum.

She was still hurt, but it made sense to her that Akira's desire to keep them off her back was more tied to her efforts to keep the lie going for someone else's sake made their interactions far heavier than it would be for the common 'anime protagonist'.

Rurikovna loved these shows, but she also knew that some of those were outright unfeasible. And Akira's own tale as this charming boys with three rare ladies after his heart always felt too fake and forced upon the four of them.

The only one that saved himself was, amusingly so, Haruo.

He had gotten out the last moment he could, and he won the lottery of adulthood - he had matured and he had taken the unpleasant path of departure from what was his home.

In a way, Rurikovna felt guilty over how this came to be. She didn't owe Haruo much, but he was at least the one that had given her something of a friendly comfort when Akira wouldn't.

So... in a sense, he was close enough to be seen as a friend.

It would be wrong for her to say he sought his forgiveness, but it was true she was concerned for his wellbeing. Hence why she had some familiars sent over Europe to check on his conditions. She only had his health to mind, and nothing else.

But as Miyako and Blanka fought over the notion that their love story may have been a lie, 'Rurikovna' faced the mere notion that, in a rare moment of weakness, she could think fondly of someone she felt genuinely concerned for - even though she had, as always, hurt them in the process.

AN

Akira is a girl (which is not really a surprise considering most readers in QQ called it out with ease), but there's more to it. This is not going to be a story where Akira will now stalk MC to try and turn her harem into his- oh no, she is going to first work on improving herself, finish this last threat to her survival, and then go after him with the sole goal of...

A proper monogamous relationship - if only that could be feasible as more girls will take notice of this reliable little human.