Welcome, everyone, to the third installment of the Heroic Vessel series. As you can see, this is a crossover... and doesn't only include those mentioned above. Can you name them all? In a way, this is the level of writing I should've done with HV-S01...

With the system mostly established, I'll do less explaining on what this series is about and focus more on the story. This will venture deeper into the M-rating, so do tell me if I go too far with some parts of the story. Unfortunately, because of this, those who are new should first read HV-S01 & HV-S02. Annoying, I know – I don't like doing this myself, but I intend on raising the level of my writing with each installment. Rambling on about what I've already explained will defeat that very purpose. For that, I apologize... and implore you to really, really read the prequels to this. Appreciate your understanding.

Disclaimer: All canon properties belonging to the mentioned and unmentioned materials, categories, and fandom is owned by each of their respective owners/creators. Any non-canon parts, naturally, is mine.

N.B.(s): Check out the Glossary Update below for further information regarding the background AU of this story. Also, the Character Sheet & Glossary for HV-S02 is up as a separate story in my bio. Check it out and let me know what you think!

"Chiyome-sama, please receive our offering for this year…"
"Chiyome-sama, please bless our crops, since it's going to be harvest seasons soon."
"Chiyome-sama, please grant your blessing on my unborn child. This is my beloved wife beside me…"
"Chiyome-sama…"
"Chiyome-sama…" "Chiyome-sama…"
"Chiyome-sama…" "Chiyome-sama…" "Chiyome-sama…"
"Chiyome-sama…" "Chiyome-sama…" "Chiyome-sama…" "Chiyome-sama…"

"SHUT UP!"

- Haa… Haa… Haa…

Panting, Chiyome bolted upright in her futon, bathed in cold sweat after screaming. The stillness of pre-dawn darkness meant her erratic heartbeat echoed throughout the room and inside her eardrums, causing her headache to get worse. Even though it's smack in the middle of winter, her skin was steaming from the heat of her overclocking Magic Circuits, enveloping her in disgusting clamminess.

Fortunately, she had always covered any room she's staying in, personal or otherwise, with privacy seals passed down from her preceding Kōga mentors. It wouldn't do for a guest miko to cause a ruckus in another person's temple, no? Even if she didn't respect the head priest, at the very least, she should give the gods enshrined here some face.

Incidentally, said seals also prevented any casual otherworldly interference from entering the room and affecting her while she slept. While this would remove any blessing she could potentially passively receive, she couldn't take the risk of having malicious forces spying on her – or worse, kill her in her sleep.

"Ugh…"

She pressed one palm to the side of her head, before noticing an overflowing moisture on it running down her wrist.

"I… was crying…?"

She shook her head, scolding herself to be still so childish and immature.

"Yes, you were."

"KYAH!"

The very same seals also prevented her embarrassing surprised cry from getting out.

"Tsk, tsk… Even after becoming a jōnin, you still let your guard down."

- Gulp… Gulp… Gulp…

The intoxicating scent of overripe alcoholic fruit emanated from one corner in the dark ceiling. It's so strong she wondered how she had failed to notice it before now – but it's likely this person only allowed her to smell it whenever she decided to.

"G-Greetings, Great Ancestor…" Chiyome performed a dogeza, letting her knee-length dark hair to splay all over her sweaty body like a cloak. "I was not expecting you-"

Shuten-dōji smiled from the darkness. "Spare me the formalities, child. This is naught but a familial visit; why so tense?"

Taking a sip from her oversized drinking saucer, she took a few bites of exotic fruit – pilfered from this temple's divine offering stash – and allowed her suppressed presence to permeate the room. Chiyome shivered at the sensation – despite the curse she held within her, the other party's Conceptual Weight far outweighed it. If Shuten-dōji didn't consciously suppress it in daily life, most of the onis in Mt. Ōe wouldn't be able to function normally, prohibiting their duties in assisting and serving Ibaraki-dōji, her beloved younger cousin.

After a few seconds, Chiyome gathered enough will to raise her upper body, though her sitting position remained stiff and formal. Her slitted golden right eye shone in the darkness, allowing her to view her ancestor's body in its fullest.

"Geez… using my father's eyes to look at me that passionately made me feel awkward, little child," Shuten-dōji lightly scolded, though she jumped down right afterwards. "…alright, I'll stop with the jokes. Now, mind telling me why you are sad?"

Her slender hands, similar in size to Chiyome's own, reached out and kindly wiped the traces of tears on the young girl's cheek.

"Just… Just a troublesome dream," she meekly answered, trying to shake off the legendary oni's hand without looking too deliberate or rude. "W-What about you, Great Ancestor? To visit me in this humble abode…"

"Fufufu… Don't you know? I've found a good man for you."

- …

After a few seconds, a surprised shout shook the simply-furnished room.

"E-E-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

'Who would want a woman like me?' Chiyome absentmindedly thought as she shuffled and climbed several flights of stairs towards the bath near the summit of the hill. 'After all, I'm…'

The temple she's staying in was nowhere near as grandiose as the one housing one of her Great Ancestor's remains in Takeda territory. However, she almost preferred this place due to its humble simplicity – nothing excessive, just enough to give every visitor serenity – instead of the gaudy, lavish complex in Nezu granted by the impulsive Takeda Shingen.

The memory of the busty redhead laughing to her shocked face once the building was finished was still fresh in her mind. Back then, she also distinctly remembered to have cursed her lord under her breath, causing Shigen to have constipation over the next few days.

- Ripple. Ripple. Ripple.

Soon, the refreshing sound of flowing water entered her ears.

Because it's a small place, there was no expensive private hot springs like those romantic tales for her to have. That would just be too convenient, wouldn't it? Instead, there was a far more realistic cold-water pond, where some parts of it were frozen over due to the chilly air.

- Rustle…

She disrobed her traditional sleeping yukata, letting nature take its bite on her marred skin.

Having placed seals and shikigamis all over the place, she wasn't worried on being peeped on. Well, unless the other party was as powerful as Shuten-dōji was, of course.

Unconsciously, she traced the snakeskin pattern rampaging throughout her body. It felt different to the touch compared to her normal skin, which her junior priestesses all praised for its smoothness.

If only it was perfect, instead of being divided into patches like a rice field by these reptilian marks…

This was why she had a hard time in believing Shuten-dōji's words.

Who would want a wife this ugly?

The people around her always held the same opinion every since she was born, anyway.

Unlike her, the emotion they felt wasn't 'hatred'… but 'fear'. There was no 'respect' in it; only the dilating pupils of mortal men seeing a monster.

…they were right, too.

She felt it every waking moment. Slumbering deep within her, waiting for the chance to break out of this feeble prison and rampage across Nihon like it used to.

Only this time, there wouldn't be any hero to save them all. To save her.

Because the gods were dead, and only monsters and humans roamed the land. Sometimes, the boundary between the two blurred, and she couldn't tell the difference. Such was the vile darkness in people's hearts, shown to her in its pure vileness by this accursed right eye of hers.

- Splash.

She immersed her feet first before following with her entire body, lightly shivering from the biting cold. It wasn't as bad as if a normal person would've had if they took baths in semi-frozen ponds in the middle of winter, since her reptilian parts appeared to be able to adjust themselves to more extreme temperatures, but it was enough to make her nipples and clitoris harden uncomfortably.

It was an ability she discovered when her parents looked at her in horror… as she sat happily inside the hearth, playing with coals like they were clay.

It was fortunate Nihon didn't have a rash culture where all not-understood phenomena were deemed as 'evil'. Ever since the Minamoto Clan dominated the Heian Era and became the prominent Shogunate family, the relationship between the mortals and supernatural had always been good – far better than one of the visions Orochi showed her, anyway, where she had to live in complete obscurity, including lying to her husband in that reality, just to avoid being skinned alive and made an example of.

Speaking of which, that man… She was put into an arranged marriage with him, but she couldn't ascertain whether that 'her' was happy or not. As far as she understood from those cryptic memories, they were only introduced to each other due to being in the same ninja clan. Kōga liked to keep its secrets close, and one of its ways was to intermarry between its numerous familial branches, blood-related or sworn into.

Otherwise, the only remarkable thing she remembered was this man was able to attain the status of a samurai lord. While they're a dime a dozen in this era, it didn't mean those without ability could just buy themselves into the class. Fortunately, one of the changes the Minamoto implemented was a balanced meritocracy system, within which lineage and achievements were evaluated in equal measure.

Did he accept her entirety in that reality? Or did he shun her like everyone else; lying down with her every night in disgust just like herself?

- Splash… Splash… Splash…

Most educated ladies knew how to make soap whenever they're travelling outside, since manufactured soap was difficult to handle in long journeys.

…and she was a long way from home, indeed.

The temple, like most in Nihon, cultivated its own herbal and vegetable garden, as buying consumer goods constantly from an outside producer was viewed as 'dependent on worldly items' by devout believers. In reality, even the most pious admitted the convenience of mass-produced items – it just happened the quality and quantity of them weren't able to fully replace handmade items yet.

The latter, Chiyome had seen too many of to the point she was sick of them.

They feared her; thus, they offered her items as if they're worshipping the monster inside her.

They never saw her as 'Chiyome'. To them, she was 'Yamata-no-Orochi', nothing more.

Only a handful didn't.

…well, to be honest, it was only Shuten-dōji who held that opinion, only because she wouldn't mistake her father for Chiyome.

Not her parents. Not her retainers. Not her fellow mikos and shinobis. Not her worshippers.

No one understood her as a normal human girl – not even Shuten-dōji in this regard.

- Crack.

"Who's there?!" She whipped around, one hand covering her slim breasts while the other extending fully.

Unintentionally, a dark silhouette of a monstrous snake one jō in length also shot out from the waters… almost swallowing a pale, shivering young handmaiden before Chiyome forcibly stopped it in its tracks once she realized what she's doing.

"…ah… A-Ah…"

"N-No! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

As always, before she could fully explain herself, the other party had scrambled away with a large stain near her bottom.

Chiyome's extended hand clutched only on empty air. Her lips trembled – certainly not from the cold. She hissed, slowly, ever so slowly, clenched said hand's fingers into a fist, before lowering it to its counterpart beside her thin hips.

"Haaahhh…"

The steam escaping her lips was just a tad forced.

"How beautiful."

- BANG!

This time, she really let loose, as eight identical phantom serpentine heads, each the size of the previous accidental one, struck the spot she heard the admiring comment came from. Despite their ethereal nature, it was enough to create a new basin from the crater they left behind, as the pond's water level began to recede slightly to fill in the newly-created landscape.

- [Possession].

"Whoa, there."

But there he was, nonchalantly standing on water… and still staring at her naked body.

Her face was hot, no doubt the reddest she'd ever been in her life.

"S-Scoundrel…! Avert your e-eyes this instant!" She tried to shout intimidatingly, though it came out barely more than a squeak.

All of a sudden, she remembered both her hands were at her side, instead of covering her budding breasts and naked lower mound. "A-Ahh… Ahh…!"

Still, he didn't follow her request. His amber eyes were glued to her, seeing her in all of her monstrosity and ugliness… with nothing but passion in them. "How beautiful."

He repeated his earlier compliment, which was immediately replied with a twin-headed snake – made of real flesh-and-blood, this time, though around half the size of the earlier summon – emerging right from below the water he's standing on.

"S-SHUT UP! D-DON'T LOOK OVER HERE!" Finally realizing her predicament, she wrapped her spindly arms around her sensitive parts – all still hard due to the cold and excitement mixing into an… uncomfortable feeling. "J-JUST GO DIE!"

"Ah, I can't do that. I still want to enjoy looking at you."

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

- Ting!

"…"

Something was wrong when Chiyome heard absolutely nothing. Not the splashing of water, not the crunch of bones and meat she was used to against the assassins from other daimyos who came for her…

Not even that smooth compliment which always lit a fire in her without fail.

With tears welling up on her eyes' corners, she peeked over her shoulder and in front of her several times, finding no one standing around her anymore.

- Phew…

Exhaling a relieved breath, she began to relax, even though what that young man said earlier continued to echo in her head again and again.

"H-He said I was beautiful…" she whispered, not blushing as deeply this time, though the tips of her ears were still crimson. "…is he blind? I-I'm so disfigured…"

Because of her panic, she didn't get a good look on what he looked like. The most striking was his amber eyes, not because they're a rare colour, but the emotion emanating from them was bereft of the fear and condescension the others had. Perhaps Shuten-dōji had made the most similar expression at times where she's spoiling Chiyome like a granddaughter, but that's familial love.

This was between a man and a woman.

"G-Geez… M-My heart nearly stopped that time…"

"Apologies for that."

"KYAH!"

She twirled around so fast her long hair actually created a wave from the pond's surface… which the young man summarily dodged just like he did against everything she's thrown at him so far.

This time, she didn't let her guard down and immediately reached towards the shore, careful not to reveal any more private parts than what he'd enjoyed so far, paddling frantically towards the clothes she left in a basket over there.

- Step.

However, it's clear his movements were faster than her, and the path there was already blocked by his legs.

…which meant if she wanted her clothes, she would have to bear everything to him.

She bit her lips. "Haven't you embarrassed me enough?! Scum! Scoundrel! Pervert! I-I'll scream for help!"

"I think that previous lady had done the screaming bit for you, though," he casually replied, not bothered by her threats at all. "However, I really am not what you call me. Here, I'll close my eyes."

…which he actually did. He had spread her clothes on his arms, eyes shut and looking the other way. Though she still starkly remembered the intensity he was enjoying her naked body with – meaning he'd probably be able to imagine her naked body with his eyes closed – it was an appreciated token gesture.

She formed a hand seal with her index and middle finger pressed together upright, drying her wet body, and snatched everything from his lean and powerful arms. One of the perks of being trained by the Kōga Clan was the ability to change clothes quickly under heavy duress, simulating the need to do the same whenever one went undercover. It combined physical reflexes and Magecraft to bend the clothes' seams around their body like a living being, which managed to clothe her in barely 2 seconds.

"When I say you are beautiful, I mean it," he spoke seriously, and her ninja training failed to detect any lies in his words, causing the butterflies in her stomach to make a storm. "What I don't get is why you don't see it every time you look into the mirror. I mean, it's very obvious."

"Keep your eyes closed!" She hissed, not bothering to answer him. She didn't bring her tools this time – a mistake – or else she'd stick a kunai in his throat right now. "A-And I don't care o-of your opinion! I am impure now! Who'll take responsibility?! You?"

"Naturally. I'd like to say our meeting is fated, even though I was just walking around randomly earlier." Feeling the weight of the clothes on his arms vanish, he clapped his palms together, before spreading them apart dramatically. "Trace, on."

"T-That-!"

In front of her eyes, the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi seemingly grew from his palms.

- Throb.

"Ah, I see…" she weakly muttered. "So… you are my destined partner…?"

He grinned childishly, and for once she could take a proper look at his facial features. "I don't like using that word. I feel I have the obligation to check up on you and protect you from time to time, but I'm not going to force you to be with me like most guys. Just think of me as your best bodyguard."

- Throb. Throb.

"I won't have a bodyguard who's a lecher!" She remarked, though the harshness in her voice was gone after the reveal of the sword.

He merely smiled wryly, scratching the back of his red hair with one hand.

The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and Yamata-no-Orochi were inextricably linked. Through generations, the former was always entrusted to capable people to safeguard the seal placed on the latter. While this designation could sometimes be random – the 'warrior prince' symbolizing Susanoo could come from any walks of life, as did the 'holy person' responsible for the beast – it was usually handed down to close relatives or sworn friends.

The sword was the Minamoto Clan's treasure, acquired during the Heian Era. And through one of her ancestors, Kōga Saburō – no relation to the Kōga ninja clan – Yamata-no-Orochi was incarnated inside her, resulting in what she perceived to be deformities.

This… was her fated one?

Oh, for sure she'd heard the tales. Many had repeatedly foretold this meeting to the point she was sick of it. Why didn't he appear earlier? Where was he when the divine serpent grumbled awake and wrecked her body from the pain? How could he leave her alone all this time, with bloody scars appearing on her skin – which he implied earlier was lovely – before they coalesced into horrifying pus, and eventually this snake marks and grotesque red scars?

- Throb. Throb. Throb.

"May I open my eyes now?"

"If you want me to gouge them out, then yes."

"Haha… please don't."

His easy-going answer was the prelude to him opening his eyes, and her attempt of doing exactly what she threatened.

"Chiyome-sama, who is this man?" One of the older priestesses asked while tending the ground.

"Merely some wannabe show-off," she gruffly said, not caring the man himself was right within earshot. "A vagrant, too, so we should prepare a room for his temporary lodging."

She emphasized that second-to-last word heavily, though the nun merely smiled knowingly after observing Chiyome's reddened face and demure body language. "Understood, Miko-sama."

"…please don't call me that," Chiyome wanted to correct, but the young man had already been escorted away by the middle-aged priestess, accompanied by a few apprentices who they met along the way. "That man…"

When the topic returned to the redhead, she could feel a familiar heat emanating from deep in her loins, filling her entire body once again. 'What's wrong with me? H-He… It's just the word b-beautiful! A simple praise! G-Get your head back together!' She cupped her cheeks, noticing the difference in temperature between her palms and face wasn't much.

From the back, she could see he's quite tall and well-built, though difficult to know whether he'd had military training or not. His skin was lightly tanned, not unusual for people who did physical labour – in fact, her too-pale skin also helped to convince her she's unattractive, as it's considerably different than the other girls' natural skin tone. His red hair was certainly unusual, but having met with Takeda Shingen personally many times, that busty woman's flaming red hair was more dramatic than this man's copper hues.

And, from the front…

'W-Well…! I g-guess he can be called somewhat h-handsome, huh?!'

That was the opinion of a young girl who had precisely zero romantic experience in her life.

That night, they were having a particularly lavish dinner, to the point even Chiyome was dumbstruck in surprise. The priestesses went silent for several seconds, before immediately attacking the prepared feast like it was their last, completely ignoring their teachings of never be consumed by any sins, including gluttony.

She had to admit, even if it just consisted of vegetables, the way they're cooked…

- Gulp.

Beside her, the redheaded young man smiled confidently, saying, "Do give it a taste. I gave it my all."

The risk of poison or drugs failed to register in her mind, as being the container of Yamata-no-Orochi, she was largely immune to even the most lethal doses.

But this… this food… was far more potent than any narcotics.

Foreign squashes were used as wheat substitute whenever possible. Perfectly-cooked multi-grain rice. Deep, rich vegetable stock was prevalent throughout the meal, either directly as a soup, sauce, or dried and used as flavouring. New-age tempura – a fried platter of snacks which was popular lately – were crisp beyond their expectations, while the ingredients were explosively fresh in flavour. On the side, the non-vegetarian practitioners were served with charcoal-grilled game meat and a thick substance he called 'gravy', with the addition of perfectly-sliced sashimi lined up like jewels alongside.

It was so otherworldly delicious Chiyome actually lost detailed memories of the meal, sitting in a daze while cupping the specially-curated cherry blossom tea – its own fragrance enough to force daimyos into surrender – and her lips lightly dusted in powdered sugar from the handmade monaka, itself an unusual option due to the former's extreme cost.

The meal had ingredients they had never seen before, prepared and cooked with techniques they'd never heard of, and tasted like nothing they'd ever dreamt of. Imported and rare ingredients were used liberally, and if any one of them was able to break free of the euphoria, they would've cried at the perceived cost of the meal.

Like Chiyome mentioned previously, this wasn't some sort of main temple where believers gave offerings year-round. She explicitly chose to visit this one due to its serenity, where she could spend her time leisurely before returning to Takeda territory and no one would be around to see her drowning in her own curse every now and then.

The tranquillity she sook was gone the moment he saw her naked, and the discipline she tempered herself from miko and ninja training was shattered as soon as she put the first chopstick bite into her mouth.

Finally, after several more minutes, it took Yamata-no-Orochi's mental grumbles to shake her back to awareness.

"…who are you?"

Come to think of it, she hadn't introduced herself, had she? Neither did he gave his name, too.

"Muramasa, courtesy name… Shirō."

Noticing the hesitation, she immediately rebuked… though still smiling from the lingering flavours of the meal, "If you don't want to use your real name, that's fine. I won't force you."

"But I thought you asked me to take responsibility? Of course I should reply with sincerity. That was my real name."

That brought the dazed priestesses back to life, and they began murmuring about what could possibly exist between this prized miko and the dashing newcomer. Could it be the rumoured fairy tale chance meeting? While the older generation had the decency to keep the gossip among themselves, the younger ones' voice was loud enough for Chiyome to notice, causing her to blush.

"A-Anyway! I am Mochizuki Chiyome! A visiting miko!" She huffed, though it wasn't so convincing because of the food scraps dotting her cheeks and lips. Stiffening her body to appear more formal, she composed herself before rushing to bow. "Thank-you-or-the-meal. I-shall-retire-for-the-night."

Once in a blue moon, Shuten-dōji could live without drinking alcohol for one night. She usually didn't exercise this amount of restrain, because there was too much pain to be felt whenever she's sober.

She reminisced of the era when her kind – all supernatural races, really – were at odds with humans. Sure, there were occasions where peaceful trades and live-in occurred, but not only was it exceedingly rare, the events usually didn't last past one generation.

Afterwards, the humans would always band together and kill the 'evil monsters', disregarding whatever relationship they had previously. The cycle of bloodshed continued again and again, with no tiebreaks appearing to shatter it once and for all.

To be honest with herself, she too was only alive today because of chance. A very good chance, but chance nonetheless.

It was only a flight of fancy which lead her to seriously pursue a relationship with one of the esteemed warriors of her era, Sakata Kintoki. In any other circumstances, the pessimistic thought that oni and human couldn't coexist together would've overwhelmed her judgement, leaving that bridge uncrossed.

As a result of that whim, Kintoki's blade hesitated when he had Shuten-dōji at her most vulnerable after drinking the Anti-Oni sake, before clashing with his commanding officer's blade head-on to protect her. During the drunken haze, she heard bits and pieces of heartfelt, fiery, passionate pleas to spare her crumpled self, swearing to all witnesses present he would be responsible to manage the onis' future deeds.

That wasn't the decisive sight which led her to fall in love with him, but it was certainly one which strengthened her love towards him.

…to the point she was willing to become the unofficial guardian of his bloodline after his passing.

Originally, an oni's relationship towards their offspring was at best cold, and at worst a murderous one as both parties saw each other as obstacle to attaining true power. This was the view held up until Ibaraki-dōji's mother, which led her to abuse the little girl until the blonde oni was moulded into the hellspawn she was formerly famous for.

With the secretive marriage between Shuten-dōji and Kintoki – and the pact signed by onis and humans in that very event – Ibaraki-dōji's murder was prevented, as Watanabe Tsuna was ordered to stand down so long as the de jure Mt. Ōe leader swore herself off innocent human meat.

Bandits? The Four Heavenly Kings couldn't be bothered by that – their fame had made Yorimitsu the leading candidate for the next Minamoto Clan Head position, and with it came a busy administrative and political period. Mt. Ōe's appetite for human flesh actually played into their hands if their only preys were outlaws and monsters-in-human-forms, more of a bastard than the supernatural beings they feared.

Thus, with the advent of the Minamoto shogunate by the time of Yorimitsu's descendant, Yorimoto – and reinforced by his little sister, Yoshitsune – those with supernatural blood were now rarely looked down upon and ostracized.

Still, this little, lithe descendant of hers hated herself, despite Shuten-dōji's best efforts to build up her self-confidence.

How could a young woman who endured Kōga's intensive training, as well as monotonous miko training, could have such… petty character flaw? Shouldn't her training show her what mattered in an individual was what's inside? It didn't matter the loveliness, the race, the gender, the physical form, the talent – character was what mattered most.

Somehow, even with that divine serpentine right eye, Chiyome failed to see past through the reflection in the mirror.

"Father, you're too impulsive…" Shuten-dōji complained under her breath, watching over the can't-sleep-because-too-excited Chiyome.

She had said more words in one day in the presence of that redheaded young man than she had uttered to the other priestesses in a week. Clearly, Shuten-dōij's matchmaking plan had worked.

Still, that uncontrollable father of hers was an indispensable component to this forthcoming relationship. While his rampage's reason was greatly exaggerated, there was no denying he had to be stopped, and fortunately the god Susanoo was 'passing by' to take care of that problem. Because of that, his intense emotions against that deity and his divine sword often influenced his subsequent hosts, most notably Chiyome right now.

The Kōga managed to suppress it through various rituals and mental training, but that only worked if the hosts were vulnerable enough to Yamata-no-Orochi's influence that they would spend the rest of their lives drugged and in chains. Chiyome's overflowing physical and spiritual talent meant it's a far less profitable venture to keep her locked up… which also led to this opening Shuten-dōji could utilize to matchmake them.

The oni guessed it's due to the confluence of bloodline culminating in Chiyome's body which made her such a perfect candidate. Her father was known as a fleeting being, able to inhabit those he fancied and not necessarily blood-related. The young girl frolicking about in her futon restlessly not only inherited Shuten-dōji's mystical blood, but also one of Yoritomo's concubines' inheritance, who was a mid-ranked water serpent Divine Spirit.

Such perfection also meant Yamata-no-Orochi was the closest he had been to escaping the seal placed by Susanoo. And while inhuman beings were never treated better, Shuten-dōji doubted they'd appreciate his 'grand entrance' back into the world.

Generations of work to establish a place where yōkai and human could live in harmony, destroyed just like that. Shuten-dōji might be a lazy bum, but she's also a responsible one. After all, her own blood, sweat, and tears were also included in said efforts.

"Until when are you going to continue peeping, young man?"

She could sense her sultry tone didn't affect Chiyome's potential fiancée at all, increasing her belief this choice was a correct one.

"Why are the esteemed you doing this, Shuten-sama?"

"Someone who identifies me on senses alone and keeps his composure is a worthy member of my family. Living beings always desire the best for their offspring, after all."

"I feel you are being condescending to your noble self, Shuten-sama."

Eventually, after several seconds of silence, she twirled around in place – the fact her sake plate didn't waver in the slightest clued into her own martial skill. "I am happy you are perceptive, young man. As to your question… Perhaps, you are similar to a great man I know? Just a feeling."

Unlike Chiyome, she could stare at his face for more than five seconds before turning into a blubbering, blushing mess. Indeed, he's not bad looking at all – though clearly not her Shuten-dōji's tastes.

Too kind a face, she presumed.

"I am honoured… Though who exactly do this one reminds you of?"

"That brat Yoritomo. I assume you've heard of him, little blacksmith?"

His amber eyes widened in surprise. Indeed, keeping one's powder dry would bring about the most amusing reactions. Did he think she was born yesterday? While Chiyome failed to see through the temptation of his cooking and the embarrassment of his daring gaze upon her naked body, his posture and musculature clearly indicated tough, physical work far beyond any royal chefs. From the faint scars from burns to his callouses to the traces of soot in his extremities…

He bowed. "…understood. Even so, please allow me to watch over her a little longer."

"Fufu… Make sure that devotion also applied to that blade of yours."

"Don't come closer!"

"But you're hurt!"

"I'm fine! Just go away!"

"…no."

Hearing the resolute answer, Chiyome could only glare back at the young man close to her.

Her shoulders were bare and her skirt disarrayed, showcasing her thighs and the sides of her hips, too. However, instead of being an arousing sight, it was a harrowing one as blood and pus leaked profusely from most of her orifice, notably the snakeskin patterns crisscrossing her entire body.

As if they're alive, the scales actually shifted and creaked open every now and then, dripping out liquid all the while. For a normal human being, she smelled absolutely horrible, the stench of a monster emanating from her entire body.

She already knew this man wasn't 'normal'. Thus, for him, she should be even more disgusting, right? There's no way he could stand being so near her while she's in this state.

- Pfwt.

Once again, betraying her expectations, he agilely moved to corner her with a large damp towel. Normally, such a manoeuvre wouldn't be a problem for her to escape due to her ninja training, but with her body in its weakened state, as well as her constraining clothes splayed out, meant she was practically immobilized.

"Don't move."

'Don't look at me with those kind eyes instead! L-Look the other way!' Her mind screamed in embarrassment as he brought his face much too close for comfort.

Every month during her menstruation, this would happen. She had always made preparations by excusing herself to be sensitive and miserable whenever this occurred, thus ensuring no one would be near during this phenomenon.

It stunk so bad she vomited non-stop during the first few months this happened. Forget abdominal pains; it'd be a blessing if she could feel her stomach and retain her senses at all at this time. Until today, all she could do was endure, not because what's happening to her body was unbearable – the disgusted, fearful gaze of the others were far more painful. Locking herself in was the only way she could maintain her already-fragile sanity, Yamata-no-Orochi's occasional whispers notwithstanding.

"Tss…"

Whenever the soft material touched her body, she would hiss. However, soon, she'd find it didn't stab into her bones like usual, but just some minor stings.

His eyes were just as always – completely transfixed on her, as if she's the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen in the world. Attentively, he wiped off the exuding sticky liquid to one direction only, before soaking it in the water basin he brought every now and then. The towel he's using – 'What kind of material is that? From Nanban?' – was so comfortable she hadn't realized until it was too late he's wiping her private parts too.

- Srrt… Srrt… Srrt…

"Hnn…! Mngh! Haa…"

Her nipples were shamefully hard, impossible for him not to notice. She could feel there's an additional liquid which wasn't from Yamata-no-Orochi beginning to pool under her.

"P-Please… g-gentler…" She managed to breathe out, completely failing at avoiding to sound like a rookie prostitute. This is her first experience with a man, for crying out loud! The memories her captive showed her didn't include something like this!

"Relax yourself. I'm already going as slowly as I can," he responded softly. She couldn't see his expression because she already closed her eyes, fearing he'd see her usual apathetic gaze turn into something more… different. "Spread your legs. I need to clean them, so… excuse me. Like I said beforehand, I will fully take responsibility."

A slight moment of hesitation, before she complied while blushing.

'I… I-I'm not bushy d-down there, right? I-It hasn't grown so much since I last l-looked…!'

Normally, she'd just spend a day or two being miserable like this, and then used Magecraft near a purified spring to cleanse her body. However, what it lacked was the sense of refreshment, as the one Kōga taught her was purely in its military form: use the exact amount of moisture to relieve any gunk, then move on. It atomized the should-be-cold water and forcibly inserted it in a thin layer underneath one's excretions, before expelling it altogether.

Thus, the sensation of running water or warm, hot-spring-like embrace was missing.

The water Shirō had brought was scalding hot, but cooled down just enough to be pleasantly warm by the time it reached her skin.

- …

Miraculously, the entire process didn't take long. Instead of dirtily spending a day or two in stinking blood, pus, sweat, piss, and shit – as there's no way she could go to the washroom in this period – it was over in barely an hour. The liquid in her body just… stopped, in a manner she could only dream of since the day this curse began showing itself.

She laid there, buck naked after being forcibly flipped to her knees so he could clean h-her… her chrysanthemum gate very, very thoroughly, panting and weak from her scalp down to her toes. A milky liquid continuously dripped from her pussy and ass towards the already-prepared spare towel he brought beforehand.

In her haze, she recalled him asking a passing priestess for a change of clothes. Alas, her position and state meant she missed the knowing smile of most of the temple's inhabitants when they heard of his request, as well as the exact same grin they wore when they brought her clothes over.

That was our first meeting, and after a few short months, we got married.

Too soon? Well, that's life in medieval times for you. In fact, most marriages between people of our calibre had meeting times ending in… one day. A man and woman are introduced to each other, their families also present and explaining why this 'union' will be worth it and yadda-yadda-yadda, and they get a house to live in after that day. The only real variation is how lavish the wedding ceremony is and who many potential troublemakers are invited into it.

Compared to that, I took it real slow.

Chiyome is particularly weak to praises, after all. Despite I truthfully saying she's beautiful, she keeps insisting the marks Yamata-no-Orochi left on her body is an unsightly thing. Her tone even suggests it's not just a personal opinion, but a belief formed from years of verbal and mental abuse by those around her.

Really? Are they blind and stupid? First of all, it doesn't detract at all from her looks – in fact, in my subjective opinion, it makes her more exotic and desirable. Granted, my values, a Heroic Vessel, and 'normal' humans are quite different, but still…

I mean, her other selves from another reality has a husband, right? I'm sure he finds her appealing, too…

…though I'm not sure he would've supported her endeavour to head a kunoichi cell by herself, despite it being Shingen's orders. Chauvinistic tendencies and all that, but if I were in his position, I, too, wouldn't like to place her in a position where she could get hurt… or worse.

Or does he possess more of that negative trait?

Regardless, I'm doing my best. To the point even if she receives data from that other reality, she'll still be grateful I am present in her life.

"Why… Why are you so…"

"Nosy?" I smile at the scrunching of her tiny nose and brows.

"…kind," she mutters, moving her face to one side so a normal man won't be able to hear her.

"Thank you for the compliment."

She stiffens once she realizes her small ploy has failed, and rotates quickly back to face me. "That shouldn't be one! I mean… Just now, I was… w-was disgusting! Revolting! Dirty! You… Y-You're the only one…!"

Her usage of 'kegare' just now is quite literarily impressive.

"That's what's bugging me. Why can't other people see what I see so clearly?"

"Because you're wrong and they're right?" Her pessimistic gaze turns downwards, no longer eager to meet my gaze.

"Is that what you wish to be true?"

It turns out Alaya's plan on baiting Yamata-no-Orochi inside her using the very sword he loathes works well. To be honest, I have a lot of doubts, because the 'strong emotions' Alaya was hoping to bring out could easily turn negative.

Instead, I forget a woman's body go through several oestrus cycles per year. Yeah, that simple.

The hormone imbalance, combined with the spiritual stimulation, is enough for me to win her trust… and sometimes I think too much more.

Because her attitude towards me is completely the opposite of when we first met.

Well, perhaps greeting her when she's bathing isn't such a good idea… But I digress!

From what I gather, Chiyome's actually a mild-mannered, demure girl in the mould of a classic Japanese lady. Considering her upbringing, it's no big surprise – she was the daughter of a high-ranking member of the Kōga ninja clan, who also in turn was patronized greatly by the Takeda Clan. It'll be impossible for anyone to be willing to teach her until her current rank – jōnin – otherwise, as despite the previous Heroic Vessel's effort in shaping this era, there still existed a palpable chasm between both genders.

Better? Most definitely. Perfect? Absolutely not.

It's already a great shift in history the moment Shuten-dōji didn't perish that night, instead siring descendants powerful enough to remain relevant up to this day, several centuries later. While the timeline didn't match from what I know when the previous Heroic Vessel – my junior, #15 – was dispatched, I have no doubt Alaya was at play, influencing the fleeting oni into the decisions she's made.

And now, one of her descendants lays here in my arms, naked and blushing.

Glossary Update!

M

Minamoto Clan

The current Japanese Imperial Family. Originally, their members were 'castaways' from those who were unable to inherit the throne, their chances having passed the moment their siblings grew to such a large number the royal family was unable to support them. Still, they maintained a strong relationship with the 'main branch'.

This changed during the Heian Period after their then-Clan Head, Minamoto no Yoritomo, successfully build upon what his ancestors had laid down before him and not only united Nihon, but also mediated the backing of supernatural beings. Having established a nation-wide pact among humans and them, he successfully brought back a level of Mystery lost through advancements in human science and discrimination against yōkai.

The clan dominated the first few generations of the Shogunate, as Yorimoto was succeeded by the first female shogun and his younger sister, Yoshitsune. However, mysteriously, they withdrew from all official positions just a few decades prior to the Ōnin War near the Sengoku Period. It was rumoured they integrated themselves fully to the Imperial Clan and controlled things behind the scenes, regardless of the current shogun.

Famed for their military and martial prowess, every Minamoto Clan Head was required to either master all of the arts available to them or contribute significantly towards a new technique branch, necessitating every successor to be at least as powerful than their predecessor in every area. Therefore, it's commonplace for someone to hold onto the position of Clan Head for several decades – not because of greed and pride, but due to a lack of suitable successors. The chosen successor might or might not assume their position immediately – it was at their and the current Clan Head's discretion.

It had strong connections to Mt. Ōe, the Animal Realm's mazoku, Amaterasu, and other powerful spiritual factions. Over time, humans and low-levelled supernatural beings saw them as no different than the higher deities they worshipped, despite their members and Clan Head regularly living among humans discreetly.

Mt. Ōe's lineage

A prominent oni clan descended straight from the infamous Yamata-no-Orochi himself. At the time of his defeat in the hands of the [Storm] god Susanoo, his full being was sealed into a container, while his bloodline and abilities were scattered along his eight heads across many yōkai clans. The onis in Mt. Ōe inherited the purest bloodline, as showcased by the strength of their current head, Shuten-dōji.

While in another timeline they would be exterminated down to the last member by the Clan Head of the Minamoto in the Heian Period, a twist of fate meant they joined hands instead after a long time of fighting and rivalry. Intense emotions strode the line between affection and hatred, swinging one way or the other in a fickle. With the two factions joining hands, it enabled the Minamoto Clan to dominate their battle against other noble families, culminating in Minamoto no Yoritomo's inauguration as the first shogun.