Chapter 137 - My SI Stash #37 - GATE: Thus I was Reborn as a Half-Orc and Tried to Civilize a Savage Bunny Tribe by konamikode (Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri) (1/2)

-Pretty much Re: Monster(no gamer though) but set in Gate, with some sneak peaks of the future added to the beginning of every chaps~

*The longest title in the stash? ♪(´▽｀)

Sypnosis: ???

Rated: M

Words: 38K

Posted on: forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/gate-thus-i-was-reborn-as-a-half-orc-and-tried-to-civilize-a-savage-bunny-tribe.8662/page-2#post-2442742 (konamikode)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 0-2 (exceptional)

For many thousands of years, our home has been connected at times to a certain plane. An untamed and wild world, it is this place where the majority of the female dominated races originate from.

The mysterious and secretive Striped Lahmia who dwell deep in the jungles of the Dragon's Jaw Isles.

The soft spoken, but deadly Queen Cobra Gorgons of the eastern desert whose potent venom can turn a humanoid into stone.

And of course, the Head Hunting Rabbit tribes of the great eastern plains.

Dangerous races one and all with an ancient history of constant, bloody struggle, but among them, the Bunny tribes are without a doubt the most prolific and successful migrants.

It is said that their homeworld was one of scarcity. A place where the works of civilization and science had never passed the point where sticks and stones were the weapons they prized. That the most queenly accommodations were the upraised huts of mud and grass where tribal leaders resided with their carefully guarded breeding stock.

Be it a quirk of their formation or a safeguard made by their foreign gods, males of any race were a rare breed with every birth being a joyous occasion to a tribe blessed with such a gift. Regardless of whether they were born of the mother's or the father's race, they were a precious existence, kept safe by the blood of their mother's, sisters, and cousins against rival tribes and the many predators that roamed their home.

An often repeated tale, when the Gate opened for the first time fifteen hundred years ago, a small group of chosen heroes and priestesses were sent to this mysterious realm.

When they returned to their tribe, they did so not with stories of gods and demons, but with a gaggle of curious canine-like males who were hunting in the area. Soon more bunnies were sent along with their new 'companions' in order to further relations with these strange, curious wolf men.

It was unbelievable to the bunny people.

Never had so many males been seen together, and by their awkwardly burgeoning dialogue, that it was normal for so many to be part of a clan. It was unfathomable to them that they were even allowed to hunt and war!

And thus, the Warrior Bunny Tribes made a life here.

Savage, simple, pure.

But it was life all the same.

-Excerpt from High Elven Loremaster Salisbury's Humanoid Species Compendium, Volume 18-

Part 1: Fire and Frost

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Prologue: Blessing

”He was quiet as an infant. There was none of the usual fuss that accompanies the rearing of humanoid pups, regardless of race. Even before he opened his eyes mere moments after his birth, I knew he was different. Blessed by the Gods.”

-Layna Frostfang regarding her Blood Son, Khornami Frostfang during his infanthood-

1st Spring

Khor

As far as I could tell, it'd been roughly a month or so since I'd been born. My eyesight was rapidly getting better as were my other senses. Much faster than a normal human infant's would develop.

It was probably a perk of 'nudging' the feeling of what I somehow knew was my development mostly towards the physical. From what I could tell during the short bouts of consciousness that began occurring more frequently as what I assumed was my mother's heartbeat grew clearer, I was given the opportunity to hedge my body's growth in several paths.

To describe the innate feeling I had of this process, I'd started with a template with minimum and maximum thresholds I could slightly nudge this way and that as a baseline.

My race? Species? Whatever it was, I knew that the base template of the creature I was going to be reborn as something strong. Maybe I wouldn't be the smartest or fastest thing out there, but I was pretty sure I'd be strong enough to eventually take on an entire pro rugby team and have a good chance of bashing my way out. That same something told me that there'd be a limit however, with the tradeoff being an increased level of mental acuity compared to the 'standard' template.

The reverse also applied in this case.

I knew that I should've been able to go one way or the other if the template wasn't… meshed? But I was locked in. Could've been that I was a nonstandard… something or another.

Regardless, I'd noticed something very curious. The 'potential' of my old body had been added on top of the parameters of this new one on top of the baseline that was already there. With just this I knew that I'd be abnormally strong and smart when I finished maturing, something bordering the top 2% of what I was going to be born as. I'd be at least as intelligent as I was before and much stronger than I'd ever had the capability of being.

But more than this, there was yet another pool of completely unspent 'points' just waiting to be allocated. I knew it to be larger than what it should be, twice that of what would normally be allowed for a new soul. The personal instincts and d_e_s_i_r_es of the unborn meant to 'customize' the body before birth.

I wondered for a long while whether I'd just bumped aside whoever it was that was originally supposed to be here, but a sense of urgency began to overtake me as 'time' passed. I didn't have to dawdle forever so I made my choice.

I was already going to be more than I was on every level. But given I didn't know what life was going to be like once I was breathing again, going a full physical build seemed like a better idea. Whatever was out there, I was going to survive long enough to enjoy my hopefully long next life.

With that thought I'd nudged my physical parameters far above what my new body would've normally been capable of and metaphorically closed my eyes to wait the death of my ego as the circle of reincarnation refreshed my mind and spirit.

Except that I didn't lose my sense of self or my memories of the life I'd had before I ended up here. The details of my original body's death were a little on the fuzzy side, but that's not really important.

What was were the blurred shapes that looked and felt like hands holding me close to a soft something followed by the voices of what sounded like speech.

That realization was relieving in more ways than one.

I was human. Or at least I thought I was.

So color me surprised when I saw the blurry, but still discernible, lightly furred face of a rabbit eared woman cooing over myself and several other bundles.

Given that was now several weeks ago, I got over the surprise. I had more pressing concerns at the moment.

Well, whatever their relation to myself, the babies were fast asleep.

There was finally a moment of peace where all the kids had nodded off and if I didn't think of something soon, nobody was going to be happy for the next hour or two.

Then a shadow slid past the light of the falling second moon, the first having set an hour ago.

”Khor? What are you doing awake?” The young woman who I believe to be my mother ghosts with silent footsteps towards the comfortable pen me and my fellow inmates were currently confined.

”Gu.” Hello mother. You're up early as usual.

The brunette colored woman with blue eyes leaned over the small pen where we babies slept, playfully tapping a clawed fingertip against my nose with a loving, hooded gaze.

Behind her I could hear the beginnings of a_d_u_l_ts and older children stirring and getting ready for the day ahead. Given I'd been able to do nothing but look around in between long naps, I can't say that I was really bored.

Seriously, there was a lot of anthropological work and theorycrafting to be done!

Besides being stuck in a pre-industrial society, the first thing I'd noticed was that the majority of the people living here were long eared females first, non-bunny males second, and male rabbits being the rarest. And by rare I meant that of the hundred or so individuals I'd seen milling around the den, I'd only seen two.

I'd wondered at first about the impossibility given that my skin was currently a pale greenish color and that I lacked the fuzzy ears of my crib mates, but there had been other children in what I think is the extended family den. The majority of them had been furred in some shape or another with most of the non-bunnies being what I believe is some sort of canid.

A wolf? Maybe a fox? I'd seen older boys fitting those characteristics running around.

I hadn't seen another person with green skin like myself, but one of the boys sharing the crib area with me is a human, I think. There's enough children of what should be different races sleeping, crawling, playing, or bawling that I'm beginning to come up with a few theories.

Firstly I can probably nix the idea that the non long eared children are adopted. It's not like these bunny ladies are going out stealing babies or something either. I'd seen plenty of pregnant women on one day, the next there'd be a new bundle placed in the pen, and soon after the missing bunny would return haggard, but happy with obvious affection for the new neighbors.

So, from what I can observe either these rabbit women pop out non-bunny infants at random or they're one of those fantasy races that can magically be i_m_p_r_e_g_n_a_t_ed and carry to term children not of their own kind.

Without shame I can admit to wondering whether I'd landed in a h_e_n_t_a_i world. What with the number of objectively exotic and beautiful women walking about in the near nude, it didn't seem all that farfetched in reality.

Seems awesome in hindsight, but I'd rather not get NTR'd or do the NTRing. Or the raping.

Simulated non-con filled with fuzzy handcuffs, panda blindfolds, and plenty of giggle worthy one liners are totally cool, but uh… yeah.

If I end up being an orc or something I'd rather not go around furthering that specific stereotype thank you very much. I'm not that kind of orc.

Heh.

Urk, yeah gotta poo.

Ma!

Silently locking eyes with her, I raise my small, chubby arms with a real sense of desperation and communicate the universal baby body language of 'up'.

”Right, right, c'mon up you go~” Despite the bags underneath her eyes, the youthful woman gently picks me up with strong, calloused hands and presses me against her c_h_e_s_t.

Ah no, I'm not hungry mother.

I turn my face away, pressing my cheek against a bountiful bosom whose cloth bindings were already halfway loosed in preparation when the bunny woman makes a small noise of confusion.

”What is it Khor? Aren't you hungry?” A sleepy, but indulging smile finds itself on her face as she lifts me higher to rub her nose against mine. ”Do you want to spend time with your Blood Mother?”

”Nnnnngu.” I grunt, scrunching my face up as best as I can in an attempt to get the message across.

”Oh. Oh. Wait just a moment child and let's save us both some time.” She titters nervously as we make our way towards the slit trenches.

I like this one more than the others. She's quick on the uptake.

-

”He's a strange one, isn't he?” My mother spoke her nonsensical gibberish of a language while bouncing me up and down her lap.

I played along, using the opportunity to exercise my legs a bit as she chatted with a scarred woman of middle age who bore a strong resemblance to the younger bunny.

Said woman snorts softly to herself, using the remains of a mangled left hand missing its two last fingers to stroke a sharp steel dagger against a whetstone. ”Of course he is different. Did you think a child blessed by the gods would be normal?”

It was a comforting noise. Something familiar that I'd grown used to in my last life whether it was preparing a blade for field use or kitchenwork.

”Of course not Blood Mother.” Ma rolls her eyes, using the same title she uses to refer to herself to the person who I'm pretty sure is my grandmother. ”He's just so quiet and measured in his actions. My first child he may be, but I've helped care for many of my clan cousins and children. He so rarely cries, and the way he watches those around him whenever he's awake. At first I'd worried he was slow of mind, but there is a deliberateness in everything he does that doesn't befit the actions of a babe.”

Ma chews her lip lightly, tugging lightly at the thin fabric hugging her b_r_e_a_s_ts with a raised brow before smiling ruefully when I turn my head with a noise she'd come to learn as 'no'. ”You see?”

”Mayhaps he is an old spirit reborn. Or perhaps he is the sum of his unborn siblings together in one container? Only the gods know my child, and it is apparent that he's been blessed by them.” Grandmother chuckles in an chiding tone before scooting over. ”It is not so rare for orc-blooded to be born without siblings, but he has fire and water in his eyes, not like yours which has too much melted snow.”

The elder bunny hovers over me at her daughter's side, presenting the dagger held by the guard so that I could equally grab the blade or the handle with my hands.

”Blood Mother! He's too young!” Ma attempts to interrupt, but doesn't move me from her lap.

Instead she bites her lip, but locks her eyes with mine with a sense of curiosity mixed with rightly felt dread.

”Well my youngest grandchild? Which do you choose?” Grandmother asks something with a fang filled smile, watching me carefully with her arms tensed as if ready to pull away the moment I went for the shiny, pointy end.

Wow. Yeah, you're a badass grandma, but pretty sure I'm not going to let you babysit my kids if I end up having any in the future.

Still, I get the idea well enough. While I'm not sure about our neighbors, but back in Korea we hold this ceremony for year old children where we give them a few toys prior to their formal naming. It's a type of fortune telling from the oldest days and the first time around I'd apparently grabbed the brush to signify that I'd become a scholar or writer of some sort.

Prophetic in some sense, but in the more immediate sense I guessed this was more along the lines of some kind of warrior tradition here.

Of course I'm going to mess with her a bit.

Regardless of her scars, Grandma was cute so I wanted to elicit a satisfactory reaction from the hardened and grinning woman.

”Blu Ma.” I stated with all the poise and authority I could muster with my infantile body while firmly wrapping my small fingers around the single large digit of grandma's left middle finger.

I love you~

I giggled as a baby would, joyfully smiling and kicking my legs while my right hand reached to join my left around the frozen digit whose partner was still carefully lifting the blade away from my body.

Her middle finger separated slightly from her index, allowing me more room to hold on even as a small, soft breath left her lungs and her eyes widened minutely.

Ever so slowly did my mother's hand leave my side to snake to the side and gently pull the dagger my grandmother gently released to her daughter's grasp away with her own tinkling giggles and smile.

”Do you see Blood Mother? How different he is?” Mother whispers, rubbing her cheek against grandma's and knocking her out of the elder woman's reverie. ”He is both sweet and intelligent beyond his years.”

”He is odd indeed.” Grandma speaks with hooded, warm eyes as she allows me to wrap my fingers around her mangled hand. The older woman leans in close, nuzzling the tip of her nose against my fingers ticklishly while humming to herself in a familiar tune Ma used when it was nap time.

”A loving heart.” The mother of my mother soothingly whispered, stroking her thumb against my fingers. ”And such strength already.” She laughs softly when her two fingers and thumb flex lightly and I do so back with all of my insignificant baby power.

”Will he be a great warrior as well as a bridge to the gods?” Mother asks, bumping her shoulder against the other woman while stroking the hair lightly dusting my head. ”He is growing so quickly…”

”Yes. He will be strong. Very strong.” Grandma replies in a hushed tone, looking deeply into my eyes.

I stare back, wondering why she looks between my left and right as many others do before putting more points into the idea that I may have different eye colors.

”Blood of my Blood, Khornami Frostfang.” Grandmother sighs, bringing her other, healthy hand around to lightly play with my own digits. ”He will be great. Of this I have no doubt my little Layna.”

”But I fear that his heart may be too large for the life that we lead.” Grandma says with heavily closed eyes, brushing her nose against my mother's neck with a silent breath.

”Blood Mother?” Mother replies questioningly.

Her excitement mixed with the tangible and acrid taste of worry spreads through the countenance of her muscled form.

The slight hint of coppery tang that follows Ma seems to strengthen for a second before fading away into the air.

Like a warning set off by a prey animal that is anything but defenseless against anything that would dare to harm her.

”He will love you. And me. He will love us all.” Grandmother laughs lightly, never looking away from me.

”He will shed blood, his and that of his foes without fear. But he will will harbor those in need and provide succor for those he wishes to protect.”

”...”

”But I fear for a future where that love is taken from him.” Grandma mutters softly, bringing her nose close with my own to nuzzle me before gently taking me from my mother's l_a_p into her strong, warm arms. ”He will take from the gods and goddesses all that they have to give my little Layna.”

”And he will burn all who he believes to have wronged him and what is his.”

---

Chapter 1: Fluffle

”Khor? He was my blood cousin, the firstborn child of my mother's fourth sister, Layna. He was older than myself by a year and I looked up to him. Smart, strong, fast, and large of both size and heart. All of us children of the Frostfang clan and the Winterwood tribe as a whole loved and sought to spend time with him.”

...

”He liked to tell us stories you know? Of your world. We didn't know it then, but tales both real and fiction crossed over the boundaries of the Gate and set themselves in our hearts warrior Itami.”

”Tell me, has the legend of the hero known as Deku been finalized? If you have time I'm sure you'd be welcome to tell the rest of the story at the tribal hearth. All of us have been waiting years for this moment!”

-Grick Frostfang regarding his Blood Cousin, Khornami Frostfang during their childhood-

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3rd Summer

Khor

What do you call a group of rabbit pups? Because it's become pretty damned relevant over the course of my peaceful village life thus far.

A fluffle.

Fluffle.

A more apt term couldn't be described for the small pen of poof poofs crawling or toddling around in search of entertainment and comfort. Little bundles of floof and cuteness, each demanding love and attention from something bigger than them.

”Khor! Khor! Play!” One such dark furred toddler stumbles forth to burrow his snout against my c_h_e_s_t and stomach happily, his yellow eyes glinting with the innocent giddiness of an untroubled child who'd just discovered his favorite playmate.

Grick was a wolfman pup, my cousin by my mother's sixth sister Karla who was currently exhaustedly taking a nap in the sunlight nearby. The youngest of three children, he was also the last to be born and the runt of the litter between himself and his elder bunny sisters who were equally as endearing as the smaller than normal wolf boy.

They were a little bit more disciplined though, having long taken to looking after their smaller brother with all the fierceness of an elder sibling all but a few minutes older than the little wolf.

”Nyo! Big brother do chores! Stay!” The firstborn and largest triplet, Trix, bumbles forth to ungracefully tackle her yelping younger brother into an impromptu wrestling match.

”Play!” The second girl, Chex, thrusts two tiny fists into the air before tumbling into the excited bundle of fur and playful biting of her siblings with a challenging bellow.

By challenging bellow I mean happy cheer.

Whatever god or gods that sent me here, nonexistent temptation of the flesh is one thing. There may be the tantalizingly sinuous, well developed, svelte, muscled, and everything in between bodies of beautiful bunny women wandering about near unclothed everywhere, but that was only a trick.

A smokescreen for the real danger.

Fire can be fought. Danger can be prepared for in advance, especially since I currently lacked the hormones to really appreciate and act on the feast fed to my eyes daily.

Now cuteness?

That's just not fair.

There is literally nothing I can do in this era to protect myself from diabetes you cruel and glorious bastards. If you wanted me to form attachments to my new life, you could've stopped at a sweet younger sister or two.

”Play, play!” The mismatched choir of bloodthirsty voices hungering for violence in the opened play area began to chant as more bodies stumbled forth in an attempt to wrestle their foes and family into the soft grass mats of our clan's den.

But no, the gods had to prey on the weakness of near every mammalian type lifeform on any planet.

Damn and bless you for making my ever expanding fluffle so cute!

I can't even think of an Oreimo reference here. It's just that damn attention grabbing.

”Nnngh…” The tired and exhausted form of my younger aunt grimaced from her freshly interrupted sleep as a single red eye drooped open with a sigh.

Agh, no! Grandma said you were pregnant again so you need to take it easy while the rest of the warriors are gone doing…

Stuff.

Putting the memories filled with sight, smells, and sounds of ritual blood paint, blade oil, and ecstatic prayers the the gods aside, I puffed myself up to my full height and quickly replaced the diaper I'd been changing with a snort.

The noise is familiar and intimidating enough for the large ball of fur, limbs, and wide eyes to stop their play fighting and stare in my direction.

I was tall for a three year old.

Large.

Much larger than any of those children born around the same time I was and bigger than even the majority of those who were twice my age.

The clan mothers who'd fed me before I'd been weaned of milk had all complained and lauded how much I ate compared to the others. Their words meshed well with the growth spurt I'd come into and seemingly never stopped experiencing so far.

Grandma and the other elders had said that it was normal.

Half-Orcs like me grew quickly when proper nourishment was available. And while I was a baby, I quite literally had my choice of food dispensers to choose from almost at my leisure.

Sure, as I grew older and started eating solids I admittedly began to miss the thick, frothy liquid provided to me as an infant, my extended family had everything necessary for a young child to grow healthy and strong.

To clarify I mean that fine dining here is pretty much nonexistent. There is plenty of meat brought back from the tribe's hunting parties. Enough for us to have a chunks of meat for everyone in the clan pottage most days of the week during spring and summer. Even in winter we had enough dried meat, legumes, and stored mushrooms for a thick, hearty stew to be served alongside slabs of brown bread.

I ate well. Peasant fare it may have been if I got the time period correct, but oddly enough peasantry ate better than most people thought in the old days. Everything we ate took time to prepare and got old after a while, but it was nutrient dense and filling.

Dark bread, beans, root vegetables, mushrooms, and plentiful meat when it was time to hunt the herds of megafauna roaming the plains.