"Perhaps there is a need for the dark lord...But there is no reason at all for you to become the dark lord."
"They were born at the same time as Dracula's demise. They are inheritors of Dracula's dark powers."
"From here. I will set off to fight against my own fate…"
"So…it has awakened…"
"You…you have a dark power within you…"
"Finally...I clearly understand...everything. I am...Dracula.
"Ugh!"
Somewhere within a bus heading to a certain city in Japan, a young foreign man in his twenties, who has apparently lived in Japan since his childhood, with natural white hair, wearing a similar colored fur coat, black shirt, blue jeans, and white boots that would have looked bad worn by others aside from him, suddenly wakes up from a deep slumber.
"Dammit…I can't believe I'm still remembering those…Although, I guess it's not so bad having those memories remind me of who I really am…"
"Okay everyone, we are now about to enter the city where most of the world's brilliant minds gather; the city where technology is always at its peak; the city of science; none other than Academy City!" said a female voice that came from a speaker within the bus.
Academy City—a city of science and the most technologically advanced place in the world. As the city's name suggests, it is a city of several schools and institutions of higher learning from kindergarten to university level that learn side-by-side along with the scientists who research on psychic powers and higher technology, the latter being one of the primary reasons for its establishment. It is the most advanced city in the world and its technology is said to be 30 years ahead of the world.
Academy City is composed of 23 districts, called School Districts, which are simply numbered from one to twenty-three and each of these districts have a specific purpose.
"I still can't believe I'm going to this place that seemed right out of a sci-fi novel…then again, I'm not one to talk since the recent years of my life are just as strange" muttered Soma to himself.
Academy City is enclosed by thick walls all around it. To enter or leave the city, you must first go through the proper procedures, then through one of the entry points.
As soon as the bus Soma is riding gotten past the entry point, something struck the white haired boy.
"Gbh?! Wha-?! What…is this…?"
Soma is struck by some kind of pressure that somehow feels like very small needles stabbing into all of his pores simultaneously. Although it doesn't feel painful to him, it does feel uncomfortable.
As soon as Soma recovers from the shock the entry to the city gave him, he saw something or rather someone along with other people and buildings that seem to shimmer and look so thin that if a strong wind blows, they'd probably get blown away.[1]
As the bus strolls through the city, he can see some of these buildings pass through other buildings. But these other buildings don't look as thin as the others. In fact, it's not just the buildings, even the people passes through other people. While Soma is mesmerized and at the same time puzzled by this scenery, the someone he saw first, someone who looks the same as the other people yet also different. This glasses wearing, long-haired girl with pretty huge breasts, is now sitting next to him and looking at him straight in the eyes. Being at the back of the bus, no one noticed the girl appearing out of thin air next to him.
The girl who has suddenly appeared next to him now seemed to have a more physical form. Soma also noticed that his surroundings aren't shimmering anymore. He now can't see any people or building passing through one another. The pressure he felt earlier was also gone now. And as he looks around him and outside the windows, his eyes seem to adjust more and more like he just woke up and finally, the discomfort he felt earlier is now gone and it's as if the foreign feeling the city first gave him has finally dispersed. He now feels more comfortable. As he indulges himself in this short-lived delight, the girl who appeared next to him finally broke his train of thoughts by speaking first.
"Ummm… mister… you can see me earlier can't you? Including the others," said the girl in a cute yet shy voice.
"Ahh.. yes, yes. About that…mind telling me about that? Your name also. By the way I'm Soma Cruz"
"Oh! Please forgive my rudeness. I was just shocked to see someone who is able to perceive that realm," said the girl with teary eyes. "My name is Kazakiri Hyouka. Ummm..Cruz-san was it? I would like to tell you about that but not here. Also, I can't right now. Please forgive me, but I'm taking my leave now. Should we meet each other again by the next time I manifest in this realm I would explain to you what you just saw. And when that moment comes, please tell me what you can," said Kazakiri with a smile before fading away like dust blown away the wind.
Being caught off guard by a smile from a beautiful shy girl made Soma blush as it somehow reminded him of his childhood friend Mina Hakuba. Aside from that, he was surprised to see Kazakiri vanish without a trace on such a short notice. Having recovered, he pondered to himself.
"What was that? Weird…Anyway, I wonder where Julius-san and Yoko went? They said they're going to meet up with me somewhere in the city…Maybe they are still making negotiations with Academy City…"
Julius Belmont is a descendant of the legendary clan of Vampire Hunters, the Belmont clan. Noted as the most powerful Vampire hunter ever, although he did get some help, he defeated the Dark Lord, Dracula, once and for all and stopped his resurrection cycle. This lead to the count getting reincarnated to its current self, Soma Cruz—the inheritor of the powers of the polar opposite of the Almighty.
Yoko Velnadez, on the other hand, is also a descendant of another legendary clan, the clan of sorcerers—the Velnadez clan. She is a member of Neccesarius and a very powerful Sorcerer at that.
Both Julius and Yoko made secret arrangements with Laura Stuart, the Archbishop of the Anglican Church and the leader of Necessarius, to negotiate with Academy City regarding Soma's safety.
Academy City agreed to hide Soma for the following conditions:
Soma will attend A Certain High School in Academy City that the higher-ups will assign.
Soma will live in a student dormitory in District 7.
Soma will be exempt in any activities regarding the Power Development Curriculum except for the written exams.
Any breach in Neccesarius' security with Soma and his identity will not be a responsibility of Academy City, instead, the other students' safety will be taken as top-priority over his safety, and that Soma Cruz may be expelled from the city depending on the damage he might cause in the city.
Seriously, I can't believe I still have to study for tests. On top of that, I'm back to second year of high school. I'm even qualified to go to any university outside of Academy City, or I could just work. Then again, Academy City's curriculum is said to be so advanced that college subjects may have already been mastered by Elementary or middle-school students…sigh…
As Soma thinks about this, the bus finally came to a stop. They were instructed out of the bus and was told that faculty members of the school they'd attend to in the city are outside their bus and are waiting for them.
"Hmm… I wonder where Tsukoyomi Komoe-san is? It says here that she'll approach me right away as soon as she sees me..," said Soma as he goes down from the bus.
"Ummm…Soma Cruz-chan was it? You're Soma Cruz right?" asks a short, pin-haired girl, who is roughly at 135 centimeters of height[2].
"Yes, that's me. What do you want little girl?" Soma said with a smile while lowering himself to the height of the girl.
"Wha?! Tha-that's rude! While it is true that I am quite small, I am a teacher, you know. I am also much older than you. It would be best for you to keep that in mind. A-Anyway, *coughs* my name is Tsukoyomi Komoe. I'll be your new homeroom teacher and I'm here to drive you to your dorm." said Komoe, the small teacher, in an irritated way while pouting her lips.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Hey, why are you not saying anything Soma-chan? Did you not hear what I just said?"
"Tha-that so? Then I'll be in your care then Komoe-sensei. My name is Soma Cruz. Although I have my foreign origins, I have lived here in Japan since I was little. I am male. I came here to transfer in a high school in Academy City. My age is…" said Soma with all color seemingly leaving his face and an overly polite smile while scratching the back of his head
"Wa-wait! What's with that overly polite smile? And why are you going pale? Are you having heat stroke or something?! Let sensei get you a cold drink first, 'kay?" said a frantic Komoe as she runs to the nearest vending machine to get a cold drink.
Having remained in his position, Soma thought, 'Seriously?! That's going to be my homeroom teacher?! She looks so young?! What is with this place?! First shimmering people and now this?! What the hell?! Is this place an undercover Castlevania after all?!'
After clearing the misunderstanding with the small teacher, Komoe then drove Soma to his new dorm in District 7. There, Komoe said that his dorm mates aren't home yet because they are still at school, the same school he will be attending. Komoe also said to him that although his new neighbors may go crazy from time to time, he can assure that they will be good people. Also, since he is going to begin his new school life the next day, Komoe said that he can rest for the rest of the day, and that Komoe will pick him up tomorrow.
After setting up his things and eating, Soma then decided that he should take the day off and sleep for the rest of the day so that the seal on his powers may be able to reinforce itself.
Right before coming to Academy City, Yoko Velnadez, Julius Belmont, Genya Arikado, several members of the Hakuba shirne, and Laura Stuart herself performed a seal on Soma's dormant powers. The seal indefinitely reinforces itself by taking in the mana in the surroundings, and in the presence of leylines, the power of the world, and uses it to strengthen the seal and lock it with a random, more complicated, magic array. With Soma's powers sealed, he cannot freely tap into the well of vast dark power within him but only the ones it leaks, but that's enough for him to forcibly break the seal even if he doesn't want to. A living body's natural response to restraints is to escape from it. That's why even if he doesn't want to, he will subconsciously break through the seal with the leaking powers. That's why he needs to be unconscious. Although Soma's powers is too strong to completely seal away, the Archbishop said that the leaking powers could be used by the seal to strengthen itself, but that's only applicable when he is unconscious as his leaked powers will be too strong for the seal to use and will instead eat the seal away, little by little.
With this thought in mind, Soma has decided to sleep the rest of the day off to allow the seal to reinforce itself as much as possible.
The next day, he is woken up from his slumber by a knock from his door—it was Komoe-sensei. Komoe waited for him to get ready so that they can go to school. As they arrive at the school, he can feel numerous stares coming from all around him. He can even hear a girl saying, "Kyaah! A Bishie!" and other numerous screams.
After arriving in Komoe's classroom, she immediately introduced Soma Cruz to her whole class. Being guided to his seat by the window, he can, again, feel numerous stares coming from all around him. He then noticed a certain black spiky haired boy looking uncaring about what's happening, well barely uncaring. If it wasn't for what the black spiky haired boy is troubled with.
"Crap crap crap crap crap…..my food…how am I gonna live by this week with just potatoes? Curse that gluttonous nun! Her very un-nun like behavior is sending my finances down the drain! Maybe I should hand her over to the Amakusa or the Anglican church, but wait, I can't afford to trouble others. Then again, this poor Kamijou-san has been very troubled with that glutton for a long time now so I guess it's okay…sigh…good thing Kanzaki and Itsuwa are coming to visit…or was it the whole Amakusa?" weakly muttered by the spiky haired boy to himself as his forehead touches his own desk which was only audible to Soma for having superhuman senses.
I guess I shouldn't bother this guy. Looks like he's got a lot of shit going on with him.
Lunch break comes and Soma is immediately surrounded by people. Asking him many different questions. Some girls even asked whether he has a girlfriend or not. Of course he honestly said no, [3] which made the girls quietly squeal to themselves which made him wonder what's wrong with them.
As he finishes his convenience store bought lunch, he then approached the spiky haired boy earlier.
The reason for this is that he heard the term "Anglican church" from the boy's monologue earlier. He also remembered that he was supposed to meet up with Julius and Yoko who is a member of Necessarius of the Anglican church.
"Ummm…mister, you looked troubled earlier." Said Soma as he approached the boy.
"Don't worry about that guy nya~. Those things are just everyday stuff to him nya~" said a blonde spiky haired boy who is wearing sun glasses even indoors.
"Yeah, Tsuchimikado is right. That bastard Kamijou's filled with misfortune. Though a lot of his so-called 'misfortune' involves girls, which can't really be called "misfortune" when you properly think about it! Kamijou, you bastard, don't tell me you've got a new one!" said a tall blue haired guy with piercings, who seriously gives off an aura that he is quite powerful, while clenching his fist in annoyance to the so-called Kamijou.
"What the hell is it now Aogami?! Why the hell did your response escalate quickly into one about girls?! Also, how many times do I have to say that I'm not collecting girls! What am I? Some kind of harem manga protagonist?!" said Kamijou who is clearly annoyed of Aogami's statement.
"Are you insulting us you bastard? Having several foreigners, a couple of ojou-samas, and a few other random girls fawning over you isn't called having a harem?! What does a harem mean to you huh, you bastard?! Having more than 10000 girls[4], each having superb battle qualities at your disposal? Although with you, we can see that becoming possible! You might even already have a seductive goddess and some kind of thought being!"[5] said both Tsuchimikado and Aogami in a synchronized manner.
"Okay, I'll admit that a lot of them are quite intimate with me, but there's just no way this Kamijou-san can have that many girls fawning over me, much less one girl! There's just no way with my luck!" immediately retorted Kamijou with tears in his eyes.
"Okay, that attitude of yours is pissing us off. We know you are really misfortune-filled but we can't tell if you are faking it or you are just fucking damn pessimistic! Hearing you say that is like being punched in the gut by someone with superhuman strength who is a part of a group of less than 20 of that someone's kind![6]" said Tsuchimikado while clenching his fist.
Just as the three of them are about to brawl, Soma cut in their conversation by saying, "Umm…excuse me, sorry to interrupt but I just want to say that having a harem is actually pointless. Although you may have many girls around you, once you choose one, it's pretty much over. So having a larger number just gives you variety…nothing more. If else, it will give you a harder time to choose…" said Soma in a voice that although not very loud, was heard by the entire class.
"Hmmm… that's right. Having one you truly love is better than many that you can't pick from" said a guy in the background.
"Yes, it all, in the end, comes down to one. Having many would just make the choice harder.." said another guy.
Immediately after the background voices, all the guys including Tsuchimikado, Aogami, and Kamijou, immediately nodded repeatedly in unison.
Now that the commotion has subsided, having actually forgotten what he was supposed to do in the first place, Soma Cruz brought out his hand to the trio.
"My name is Soma Cruz. Pleased to meet you."
"I'm Tsuchimikado Motoharu" said Tsuchimikado as he shakes Soma's hand.
"You can just call me Aogami Pierce like everyone else [7]" said the guy called Aogami as he too shakes his hand.
"Hi, I'm Kamijou Touma" said Kamijou as he reaches for Soma's hand. And as his hand grabs hold of the other's…
The high pitched sound of breaking glass rang out.
Author's notes:
[1]Due to Soma still adjusting with the city (and his leaking powers) he was able to, for a moment, simultaneously see the Imaginary Number District and the physical plane. You can expect to see this again in the future.
[2]Due to his heightened physical abilities, he was able to estimate Komoe's height
[3]Mina isn't his girlfriend here. I made it that no progress was made between him and Mina after DoS.
[4]The Sisters
[5]Othinus and the Will of the Whole Misaka Network
[6]Saint
[7]His name, as far as I know, hasn't really been stated yet.
I hope you guys liked it. This is actually my first work so there are bound to be flaws.
If you've read the chapter properly, especially Kamijou's earlier dialogue, you might be able to guess what happens next chapter :D.
Still not gettin' it? How about a preview? :D
"You. What are you, an existence so vague even in the magic side, doing here?"
"I don't know what you're talking about…"
"You won't get away from me!"
She's fast! Black Panther!
Nanasen!
Valmanway!
