Summary

Modern-AU fanfic for Mobile Legends. Take a peek at the life of 17-year-old Zilong, an overachieving student at Dawn High School, his best friend the bad-boy Alucard, and many other heroes re-imagined as modern-day characters.

I hope you enjoy this first chapter! :)

Dawn High School: Chapter 1

Zilong stood on the mountain-top gazing into the twinkling amber eyes of his dream girl.

"I'll go first," she said, strapping herself to the harness of the zipline that stretched across the valley. With a confident smile she leaped off the cliff, whizzing through the air at tremendous speed, her orange hair billowing in the wind. Zilong's heart thumped wildly as he watched her disappearing into the distance.

And then it was his turn. As he glanced up at the steel cables above him, and then down at the river hundreds of feet below, his mouth went dry. Keep calm, he reminded himself. He knew he could do it if he wanted to. He could overcome his fears, just for her.

"Ready?" the guide gave a final check as he fastened the clips. He nodded, and with a deep breath, he ran and jumped over the edge, feeling himself freefalling for a moment before the harness caught him on the cable. And then he was flying; he felt the wind whipping through his hair and the adrenaline pumping through him. It really wasn't that scary after all, he was going to tell her …

RRINGGGG!

The alarm sounded, blasting his dream to bits. Zilong's eyes snapped open as he slowly came to the realization that he was in his bed. It was still dark outside, without a hint of dawn. He rolled over lazily and grabbed his alarm clock. What the heck? He groaned before closing his eyes again. It was way too early to be up.

Barely a second had passed when he was jolted awake again by a loud banging on his door.

"Zhao Zilong! Get up! Get your ass out right now!" It was the booming voice of his dad, who ran his life like a military commander. Zilong knew that if he didn't obey this instant, the consequences would be dire.

And then he suddenly remembered. He had underperformed in the last exams, slipping from his usual top two or three position in class, and as punishment, he was to rise an hour earlier every morning. With a sigh, Zilong dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom.

After he had gotten dressed in his red shirt and jeans and had finished his porridge breakfast, Zilong reached for his bag and took out his Chinese history textbook. He was supposed to spend the extra hour revising his weakest subject. Flipping open the book, he tried to concentrate on it while his mom hovered around nearby.

"Remember, don't talk to that red-haired girl," she started nagging. "I don't want you hanging out with her."

"Okay," he mumbled, trying to memorize the details of the battles during the Three Kingdoms period, the names of the generals and all that. His mom didn't allow him to date in high school, wanting him to focus on his studies, his leadership roles in the student council and activities like the marching band, where he was the drum major.

Zilong raked a hand over his thick brown hair, annoyed at the lack of freedom in his life. His mom especially disapproved of Fanny, reason being that the girl was into extreme outdoor sports and if he joined her he would break his bones. He thought his mom was ridiculous – he was a guy, for goodness's sake! But he also knew it was futile to get into an argument with her over this.

His dad dropped him off at the entrance of Dawn High School, and when he got off the car, the first person he saw at the gates was his best buddy.

"Hey," Alucard greeted him. The blond stood slightly taller at six feet, and his gray leather jacket stank of cigarette smoke.

"Hey, Alu," Zilong said as they bro-fisted. He had no idea why he could get along with someone who was the total opposite of him. Alucard was one of the baddest bad boys in school, but Zilong knew he only looked like that on the outside. Plus he knew all about Alucard's history of being abused as a child and growing up in a foster home.

One thing Zilong knew for sure: his mom would flip out if she knew he was hanging out with someone like Alucard. Just as she would with Fanny. Maybe that was precisely why he chose to hang out with the blond, because he brought out the inner rebel within him.

After putting away their things in the lockers, they strolled down the hallway, with Zilong feeling a little strange having Alucard walking alongside him towards the classrooms instead of sneaking off elsewhere as he usually did.

"You're seriously coming to class today?" he asked.

"Yeah. Only for Biology class," Alucard grinned.

"Oh… right, I forgot," Zilong smirked. He suddenly remembered that Alucard had a crush on the new Biology teacher, Miss Miya who was fresh out of college and just four years older than him. Before this, he'd never heard of Alucard being interested in any girl. And the first one who got into his radar had to be a teacher. That was Alucard for you. As long as it was forbidden, he had to get his hands on it.

They had reached the classroom, and the teacher wasn't there yet. The first period was homeroom, followed by Biology. Zilong settled himself in his usual spot at the front row right in front of the teacher's desk and Alucard sat beside him. It was unusual for the blond to take this position, but he knew it was only because of Miss Miya.

Zilong glanced around. Most of the twenty students were present. Balmond and Hilda, the male and female beefcakes of the class, were having an arm-wrestling match with some students watching and cheering behind them. Harley was playing cards with Lolita at one corner and both were laughing loudly. The ruckus was clearly annoying a small-sized boy wearing black round glasses, perched in his chair the middle of the room. The kid looked no more than ten years old. But everyone knew he had been to high school more than ten times. He sat there with his eyes glued to his phone, thumbing it furiously. Zilong could see he was getting more pissed off by the minute like a ticking time bomb. If he lost the game he was playing, Zilong knew what would happen.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP ALL OF YOUUUU!"

Yup, Diggie had finally exploded. He had apparently lost his game and was majorly pissed off. Everyone stopped what they were doing, stunned at his outburst. A crack appeared in the window.

The silence lasted for all but two seconds, and then the chaos resumed. Now Balmond was raising his bushy brows at the rare sight of Alucard, teeth bared in a combative smile. The bodybuilder's massive two-hundred-pound frame was stacked with rippling muscles. As he sauntered over, Zilong's stomach clenched in discomfort. Something was going to happen.

"Yo Alu, what's up?" Balmond sneered. "Demons finally stopped screwing your mom?"

The taunting clearly worked. Banging his fist on the table, Alucard shot up like a tightly wound spring. There was a glint of steel, and, to his horror, Zilong realized his friend had whipped out a knife from his pocket.

"Say that again," Alucard threatened, pointing the blade at Balmond's face.

Ugh, I cannot believe this, Zilong grimaced. What the hell is he doing? "Dude, put that knife away," he urged.

Alucard ignored him, tightly gripping the handle of the sharp, shiny blade. Balmond narrowed his eyes and flexed his muscles, refusing to back down.

Just then, Zilong noticed a large, plump man outside the classroom, wearing a black jacket that couldn't close around his bulging belly. He had dark circles around his eyes which made him resemble a panda, and he was ambling in a leisurely manner towards the classroom while shoving a bun into his mouth.

"Mr Akai's here," he nudged his friend urgently.

Alucard was quick to notice this, and slipped the knife back into his pocket just as their homeroom teacher stepped in.

But Balmond didn't seem to care. "Your mom -" he continued to sneer at the blond.

With a snarl, Alucard lunged at Balmond and they grappled.

"Hey, break it up, you two!" Mr Akai commanded sternly, hands on his huge hips.

The two guys didn't seem to hear him and continued fighting.

Mr Akai raised his voice. "I SAID BREAK IT UP!" he thundered, throwing his half-eaten bun at Balmond and finally getting their attention. "Damn it don't make me push you from one end of the classroom to the other with my butt!"

Zilong stifled a laugh. Mr Akai wasn't making an empty threat – he had done it before, had indeed pushed a guy from one end of the classroom to the other with his butt. The chubby teacher who usually looked relaxed, as though he sat around stuffing his face all day, was in fact a highly-skilled martial arts coach who was not to be messed with. When triggered, he was an unstoppable hurricane of a man.

Everyone hurriedly got back to their seats and Mr Akai began taking attendance. Zilong's mind turned to Fanny. She's late, he thought worriedly.

Just at that very instant, the girl rushed in from the back door and plonked herself on one of the back seats. Her eyes twinkled at him like they did in his dream, her cheeks were flushed and she was slightly breathless. She wore jeans and a sky-blue T-shirt with the words, free yourself. Zilong couldn't take his eyes off her. The last time he had gone out with her was a while ago, and they'd gone rock-wall climbing. Pouting her lips in a playful smile, Fanny swept her bright orange hair into a ponytail and put on a pair of glasses, which he knew she wore for fun. She looked so unbearably cute.

Zilong attracted girls naturally. He'd quite a number professing their love for him, sending him notes or just straight up asking him out. But he never knew what to do with them. He didn't even know what to say around Fanny.

"Well, Alucard," Mr Akai remarked. "You're coming to class more often now, and that's a good thing. Keep it up."

Zilong chortled. After he was done with attendance-taking, Mr Akai lounged behind his desk and produced a plastic bowl of noodles from somewhere. He dug his chopsticks into the noodles and slurped them down.

The bell went, and Mr Akai left the room.

Miss Miya was already waiting at the door. She was dressed very properly, her slim figure wrapped in a sapphire knee-length skirt and a white blouse with flowy long sleeves. Her long, silvery hair was pulled up in a ponytail and her metallic blue eyes made her seem cold and aloof, but Zilong knew she was just nervous. New, young teachers usually gave off that vibe.

She started the lesson. They were doing plant biology, which Zilong found rather boring, but he forced himself to pay attention. Alucard was paying rapt attention, of course, but not to the contents.

"Did you know that the largest flower in the world is a parasite?" Miss Miya asked the class.

"What's a parasite?" Alucard looked at her, brows furrowed. Zilong couldn't help but wince in embarrassment for his friend, who failed nearly every subject.

Miss Miya pursed her lips and began to explain patiently. "It's, well, something that attaches itself to a host body..."

"Can I be your parasite then?" Alucard loudly requested, casting an earnest gaze at the teacher.

A few amused snickers arose from their classmates. Zilong slapped his forehead in exasperation. "NO, Alu, that's not how you use that word."

Miss Miya was looking at her textbook, and apparently hadn't heard his question. "Sorry, what did you say just now?" she gazed intently at Alucard.

"Um, nothing."

"Something idiotic," Harley offered.

"I can help you," Diggie raised a hand.

Everything seemed to freeze for a brief moment, followed by what felt like a flash of lightning.

"Can I be your parasite?" Alucard loudly requested, casting an earnest gaze at the teacher.

A few amused snickers arose from their classmates. Zilong slapped his forehead in exasperation. "NO, Alu, that's not how you use that word."

Miss Miya was looking at her textbook, and apparently hadn't heard his question. "Sorry, what did you say just now?" she gazed intently at Alucard.

"Um, nothing."

"Something idiotic," Harley offered.

Diggie chuckled. "There, that's what he said just now."

Alucard fumed, making a strangling gesture at Diggie. "Why the hell did you do that?!"

Miss Miya tilted her head in puzzlement. "Um… may I know what just happened?"

"I just reversed time so you could hear what he said just now," Diggie grinned.

"Oh?" Miss Miya stepped back in surprise. Realizing that the class was awaiting her reply, she hesitantly tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. After a moment's pause she cleared her throat regained her composure. "Well, a parasite is an organism that lives inside the body of another organism, and sort of sucks the life out of it," she explained. "So, to your question, Alucard, my answer is no."

"Aw," Lolita said amid giggles.

Miss Miya continued the lesson, and Diggie proceeded to answer every single question, correctly. The teacher's eyes widened in amazement. "Diggie," she gasped. "You're really clever."

"No, he's just an annoying piece of shit," Alucard cursed under his breath.

"Uhmm, Let me explain," Harley announced on behalf of the class. Taking a deep breath, he said. "Diggie has this, er, condition, where every time he hits twenty years old, he would physically go back to being a baby, and he'd attend preschool, elementary school and high school all over again. And he's already gone through high school a number of times. That's why he knows all the answers."

"Really?" Miss Miya frowned, trying to process the explanation, and then a look of sympathy came over her face. "How does it feel, Diggie? It must be awfully lonely."

"See," Alucard nudged Zilong with a whisper. "That's why I like her so much. She looks stuck-up but she really has a heart of gold."

"Okay that's enough, Alu, you're making me cringe," Zilong plugged his ears.

The end of biology lesson was marked by the sounds of clapping from the back of the classroom. Zilong turned around; he hadn't noticed there was someone standing at the back, observing the lesson all this while. It was another science teacher, a senior one named Miss Alice. She wore thick make-up as usual and was decked out in a red and royal-blue dress. For some reason, Alucard hated this teacher, while Zilong simply thought she was creepy. This was because Miss Alice, or Madam Alice - whatever she was supposed to be called - had the appearance of a twenty-five year old, but she had been around in the school for at least thirty years. Which meant her real age was around fifty. And the secret to her youthful looks remained a well-kept secret. Alucard had made some crazy speculations to which Zilong had responded with 'dude what the heck'.

Miss Alice sashayed up to Miss Miya and began praising her effusively.

"Well done, Miya! Ten out of ten! That was a fantastic lesson! You managed it all superbly!" Her sugary voice sounded a little insincere, but that was to Zilong.

"Really?" Miss Miya smiled shyly.

"Yes, why would I lie? You handled it very well, even when that student talked trash to you. Oh, Miya, you are indeed a rising star in the teaching profession! Come, I'll buy you lunch!" Miss Alice put her arm around the younger teacher's shoulder affectionately.

"I wasn't talking trash to her," Alucard simmered indignantly, glaring at the senior teacher in disgust.

(End of Chapter 1)

That's all for now. Do leave a review and let me know if you'd like me to continue!

Heroes Featured In This Chapter

Zilong

Alucard

Akai

Diggie

Fanny

Miya

Balmond

Harley

Hilda

Lolita

Alice