Some dialogue contains a bit of spoilers for Tales of Symphonia. ...And it's not even a Konami game. Apologies.
Took a while to figure out how to break this sequence into chapters, but I think I picked a good enough spot. I really only wanted one fight per chapter. I dunno why, exactly.
The hallway they entered was much more modern, with tile floors and beige painted walls.
"Where is this?" Shanoa asked the question on everyone's mind.
Charlotte looked over at a nearby bulletin board, which had several fliers attached to it. "Kirameki...High School?"she read hesitantly.
Soma raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you could read Japanese."
There a short silence before the mage responded, turning back to the group. "...Neither did I."
"Our first step should probably be to leave," Alucard suggested, though it was basically a command.
"OK! I'll just go ask someone for directions..." Jonathan started, glancing around a nearby corner and spotting a girl at her locker. "Hey there," he called out with a smile. "You're pretty cute."
"What is he saying?" Charlotte (quietly) demanded to the others from their position at the corner, furtively watching the hunter.
The girl turned to him, a curious look on her face which turned to a sly smile. "You're pretty handsome."
Alucard rolled his eyes and was about to intercede when a blue-haired boy in similar colored dress as the girl rounded the opposite corner. "Hey, Katagi–" he stopped short when he saw Jonathan. The hunter's odd appearance was probably part of it.
The girl turned to look at the boy. "Oh, hey, Murasame."
Murasame, as he seemed to be named, recovered rather quickly. "Who's this?"
She looked back to Jonathan. "He hadn't said his name yet, actually."
"Jonathan," he replied with a smile. "Jonathan Morris."
"Oh? A foreigner?" the girl asked, a bit rhetorically.
Jonathan hesitated for a moment, not certain at first why they would address him that way, before it became obvious. "Heh, yeah, that's right."
"Sorry," the other boy said, waving his hand in front of his eyes. "The anime haze makes it hard to tell by looks."
Before Jonathan could respond, however, a black-haired man wearing a similarly colored suit stepped up to his side. "I apologize for bothering you," he started, looking sideways at Jonathan before introducing himself. "Arikado Genya. We're looking for the office of the headmaster. Could you direct us to it?"
"No problem," the girl replied. "If you turn around and head around that corner, then down the hallway..."
"I can do you one better," Murasame injected with a smirk, pulling out a sketchpad and drawing something quickly. "Here, you take this."
Alucard accepted the document, which appeared to be a map. He nodded. "You have my thanks." He turned to leave. "Jonathan?"
"What happened to you?" a confused Jonathan asked once they were out of earshot of the students.
"I simply took a more suitable form," the dhampir replied. "It's a simple spell."
"Jonathan, what were you thinking?" Charlotte seemed to have been waiting for a moment to interject.
The hunter blinked. "Huh?"
"You were flirting with that girl!"
"I was trying to get information and–"
Charlotte didn't seem interested in Jonathan's excuses, though, delivering a smack across the back of his head via her book.
"Why did you ask about the headmaster's office?" Shanoa asked, stepping around the lovers' quarrel.
"I supposed it would be near one of the edges of the school," Alucard replied. "It would be strange to ask how to leave the building, unless it was extraordinarily complex..."
"Ugh, school is boring...how far is this Arikado?" Soma complained. It was a bit surprising he hadn't simply taken the Black Panther soul and headed around the building himself, giving a nice 'screw you' to caring about whether anyone noticed them.
Alucard didn't bother to respond, though according to the map they should be nearing it very quickly. Jonathan nearly ran into him when the dhampir suddenly stopped before an arbitrary room, which looked to be some sort of lounge. "Whoa, why did you stop?"
According to the map Alucard had, their destination was right before them. "It seems..." He flipped the paper over and saw a note reading 'Wait for me' on the back. "...we may have been tricked."
"What, really?" Soma's expression showed great amusement at that.
"But why would he want to meet us?" Shanoa asked.
"That's what I'm wondering too..." Charlotte agreed thoughtfully.
Alucard had no answer. "I do not know. But I suppose we may as well. Perhaps he knows more than he is saying." Everyone filed into the room and sat down, except for Soma who just leaned against the wall looking very bored.
It was a surprisingly short wait; it couldn't have been more than a few minutes before Murasame appeared in the doorway. "Well met, my friends." Not pausing for a response, he looked to Alucard and Shanoa. "Now. Explain everything to me."
There was a short silence.
"What do you mean?" Alucard replied evenly, staring at the teen.
Murasame sighed. "I mean, how did you get here? The only spell I cast was to summon Go–" His voice cut off when he noticed Soma off to his side. "Oh. Well then."
Soma raised an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong with you? If you have a point, get to it."
The other boy blinked. "No...but there is certainly something wrong with you, Midorikawa..." He turned back to the others. "Tell me everything that's happened. You must've come from Castlevania, right?"
Alucard glanced down slightly, trying to assess the situation. This Murasame, whoever he was, seemed suspiciously knowledgeable about them. He did not, however, appear to be an enemy. The dhampir sighed. What more damage could they possibly do, with Aeon dead? "Very well."
"...Are you sure?" Charlotte asked from the other table where she was seated with Jonathan.
"Don't worry about me," Murasame assured. "I can explain more about myself in a bit."
"The year was 2036," Alucard began slowly. He took about half and hour to run through their 'adventures' up until this point, in some surprising detail.
Murasame's expression looked serious from the seat he had taken. "Kamiya...?" He sighed through clenched teeth. "Ok. So our white-cloaked friend Midorikawa here is running through space-time creating havoc wherever he goes. Is that right?"
Alucard simply nodded.
Murasame clasped his hands together and looked down. "Well now, isn't this fun..." He looked up again. "Now, I can help you out, but I'll need you to do something for me."
"How can you help us?" Shanoa asked sensibly.
"A sensible question. I guess I should expect no less from the Lady Kuwashima." Murasame stood. "Come with me, and I'll show you." He moved for the door.
"Wait, are we really just going to walk around out there, like this...?" Charlotte asked, referring to the group's appearance, no doubt.
Murasame turned back with a smile. "What are you talking about?" His tone was light, however, and didn't sound at all like a question. "You look fine to me."
At that moment, everyone seemed to notice that they were no longer wearing their original clothes. Jonathan and Charlotte now were wearing school uniforms matching Murasame's, while Shanoa now had on a business suit of some kind. It was not too dissimilar from Alucard's, whose outfit was the only one left unchanged.
"Hey, Midorikawa, wake up." Murasame lightly smacked Soma upside the head and he left the room. The white-cloaked teen had apparently been sleeping standing up, leaning against the wall. "Let's move out."
"Midori-who?" Soma blinked, looking around. He, too, was wearing a school uniform.
"Soma. Come with us," Alucard commanded as the others moved out of the room, following Murasame. He led them down several empty hallways and out of the building to the school's gates. Surprisingly, the street was also free of cars and he was able to head diagonally across to an unused parking lot.
"Okay. Here should be good." Murasame turned and looked to the others, who arrayed themselves before him, waiting exptectantly. "Now, everyone but Okiayu – stand back." Shanoa, Charlotte, and Jonathan did as he requested.
"Okiayu? Who are you talking about?" Soma asked, confused.
"...Stand back, Soma," Alucard said, and the boy reluctantly complied.
"I still want to know how Okiayu is," he stated, crossing his arms.
"What are you talking about?" Jonathan turned to the other teen.
"Okiayu. That name he–" Soma gestured to Murasame. "–keeps calling Arikado."
The hunter blinked, and repeated himself. "What are you talking about?"
"Are you deaf?" Soma said, sounding a bit exasperated. "Didn't you just hear him?"
"All right. Now please get in combat gear," Murasame addressed the dhampir.
Alucard narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
"I didn't hear anything like that," Charlotte agreed from Jonathan's side, though she didn't turn from watching the other two.
"You sure you're not just hearing things?" Jonathan suggested, a smirk on his face.
"Just..." Murasame started, before thinking of a different way to phrase this. He gestured dramatically. "The purpose here is twofold. Show me what you can do, and I'll answer your questions. I'm sure you'll have some more after this...'demonstation' is finished."
Alucard sighed, staring carefully at Murasame, before finally nodding slowly. There was a blinding flash of light, an artifical wind, and then Alucard stood wearing his trademark black cape along with the rest of his combat attire.
"Okay," Murasame said, nodding. He closed his eyes and began making a few strange hand gestures before an aura sprung up around him, along with a powerful wind, the area surrounding them seeming to darken slightly.
"This power... What is this?" Shanoa asked quietly. It was unlike anything the group had every sensed before. Different even from what Aeon had employed.
The seconds ticked by, seeming to take minutes before Murasame opened his eyes and stared at the dhampir before him. "Alucard. There are few opponents who could match your skill with the sword and shield. But there is one I know who I think may be able to entertain you..." He smirked. "May space grant you a meeting, and time a moment to fight. Come forth, O Fallen Angel, Traitor to Heaven!"
A sigil flashed to life in front of the teen, and a shaft of light shot down from the sky above, so bright as to be impossible to see through. When in faded, there stood before Alucard a man, probably in his early 30s, with messy auburn hair and a purple outfit that looked like an RPG character's costume.
Alucard narrowed his eyes, staring carefully at his opponent, but saying nothing. He received the same treatment. After a moment, the dhampir tried, "Who are you?"
The other swordsman closed his eyes for a moment. "Give me your name, and I shall give you mine." He smirked slightly, but it was gone quickly.
"...Alucard," the dhampir said simply.
"Kratos," was the reply.
"Kratos and Alucard," Murasame's voice came from beside them. It seemed he'd moved around to a different position at some point during the spell. "I can't think of a more evenly matched battle. Two warriors who fight in similar styles... Will you give me a good fight?"
"...Very well," came Kratos's response to the teen. "Consider it my serivce to you." He reached for his sword and shield; a blade of fire and red crested shield. Alucard looked to Murasame for a moment before drawing his own favored sword and shield. If this was a test, he'd do what he could to win; Murasame had promised to assist them, and with a show of power like this, the dhampir wondered what he could accomplish.
"I won't hold back," Kratos said simply to Alucard, before leaping towards him and brandishing his blade. Alucard responded quickly, moving his shield up to block before shoving the other warrior's weapon aside and counterattacking. Kratos countered in the same way, parrying with his own shield before jumping backwards.
Both stared at each other for a moment they moved into close combat again, sparks flying as the Alucard Sword clashed with his opponent's flaming sword. The dhampir was thankful that the sword at least seemed material enough. The last thing he needed was an unblockable weapon to defend against.
Kratos turned slightly, swinging his shield around in an attempt to hit the caped swordsman, but Alucard ducked under the swing, bringing his own sword up to attack. Kratos parried again with his sword before leaping backwards, creating space between them. The purple-clad warrior stepped into a casting stance, and a red seal flashed to existence under his feet.
"O flickering blaze, burn! Fire Ball!" Kratos thrust his shield-bearing arm forward, palm out, and three fireballs sprung forth, heading for Alucard.
The dhampir's counter was clear. "Hellfire!" From his cape, a trio of fireballs spiraled outwards, colliding with each of his opponent's and destroying each other.
Alucard had barely a moment to compose himself before Kratos was upon him again, his weapon flashing out with a ferocity and fluidity that he had never before witnessed, even in the long years of his life. A mix of the orthodox and the unorthodox, that Alucard found himself needed to fight fully just keep even.
"...Your skill with the sword is unequaled," Alucard said after they had separated.
Kratos stared evenly back at him. "I would not say unequaled."
They moved towards one another again, yet for all their attacks neither could gain an edge.
Alucard, however, had more options available to him than just swordsmanship and spellcasting. As one of Kratos's swings neared him, rather than simply blocking, the dhampir allowed his form to become insubstantial as it faded to a white mist, allowing the swing to miss before he returned from the form of mist and opened his cape. "Dark Inferno!"
Surprisingly, Kratos had not lost his balance from his swing passing through Alucard's transformation; the move, however, had left him open to Alucard's spell. The only thing that saved him from a solid hit was his instinct to raise his shield, though the attack still did blow him back several meters.
"Impressive. In all of my experience, I have not faced someone as skilled as you." Even though they fought, it was easy for Alucard to have a respect for his opponent. Not many could challenge him, and fewer still fight evenly with him.
Kratos chuckled slightly. "I might say the same."
"High praise coming from the two of you." The two combatants turned at Murasame's voice. "Perhaps more than you each might think." He tilted his head slightly as his gaze passed between the two.
Alucard and Kratos spoke at the same time. "What do you mean?"
"Aw, it's so boring when I say it straight out..." Murasame looked away, frowning, before looking back to the others. "Alucard, 400-some year old dhampir who favors the sword and shield. Kratos, a 400-some year old angel of Cruxis who favors the sword and shield." He looked to Kratos. "Anyway...I've seen enough." He bowed dramatically. "I thank you for this unduly kind service of yours. Later."
No flash of light accompanied the next transition. The next moment, they were simply in the parking lot from before, as though nothing had happened.
"What happened?" Jonathan asked, sounding quite confused. Somehow, he seemed to remember Alucard fighting with another swordsman named Kratos, even though the hunter himself was not involved, nor did he even remember being there when it happened. "Did anyone else...?"
Charlotte frowned, not sure herself. "I know what you mean, but..."
"Hey...don't worry about it." Murasame spoke from a kneeling position, looking like he was catching his breath. "Think too hard about it and the fabric of reality itself by be torn asunder."
Alucard looked down at the teen. "First, please explain what you did."
Murasame got to his feet and nodded. "I can't be too wordy about it, but it should be good enough." He paused for a moment. "Basically, I summoned a warrior from another world."
"Huh?" Jonathan gave him a strange look. "How...? Why...?" He sounded like he wasn't even sure what he wanted to ask.
"Is it like the Kurusujikuukanshouten'i at all?" Soma asked, seeming genuinely curious for once.
Murasame stared at him pointedly. "The Succubus glitch?" He shook his head and shrugged. "Not really...well, maybe. It might not be that bad of a comparsion. I might press the 'a' key on the keyboard, but with your way you'd pound it with your fist until an 'a' showed up. Or say I write the letter 'a'. The Succubus glitch would be like scribbling all over the paper, then erasing until you have an 'a' left over."
"So you have a better way to access other worlds?" Alucard said, not sure really what to make of the analogy.
"Yeah, that's part of it. It's not something to screw too much with, though. You have to stay within certain bounds." Murasame looked thoughtful. "The other part is being able to do things within the world, too."
"The fight before?" Shanoa asked.
Murasame nodded. "Exactly. Like I said though, the more you push it, the harder is to do..."
"You can cross over into other worlds...?" Charlotte said slowly. "And manipulate them? That's..."
"And I assume you could use that power to...send us back?" Alucard asked, pausing for a moment as he tried to consider how to word what exactly he was wondering.
"Yeah, I could," Murasame gave his assent. "But I'll need you to help me with something first."
Alucard narrowed his eyes. "I already did as you asked," he said simply.
"Hey, if you want to blame anyone, blame Midorikawa!" Murasame pointed at Soma. "If he hadn't gone around collected people from five hundred different time periods, I wouldn't need so much power to fix everything he did!"
"Who is Midorikawa!" Soma demanded.
"Enough, Soma," Alucard said firmly before turning back to Murasame. "So we will need to help you gain enough power, then?"
Murasame looked down. "...Right." He scratched the back of his head.
"What do we need to do?" Shanoa asked.
"...Well, I suppose I might as well just say it straight out, then." He sighed. "The girl from before, Katagiri Ayako. I need to win her heart."
There was a silence.
"...What?" Even Soma had only that to say.
"Is that supposed to an attempt at humor?" Alucard asked humorlessly.
"No!" Murasame insisted. "It's all about the goal!" He looked down, like he was trying to think of another analogy. "...I...have nothing." He looked back to the others. "Please, don't make me waste more energy making you believe me without having to convince you."
Alucard sighed through his teeth. "...Fine, but what–"
Surprisingly, the dhampir was interrupted by Jonathan of all people. "Hey, no problem! If you need–"
He was then cut off, in turn, by Murasame. "No no no no no no no! Not you! You will be not helping at all!" Jonathan looked hurt as the teen continued. "You're too similar. You'd screw up my work so far."
"Well, I can still give you advice," Jonathan offered.
"Oh!" Murasame suddenly looked up. "I've got it! The perfect analogy!" He cleared his throat. "Say we were all characters in some fanfiction novel, based on a video game. With fanfiction comes the power to bend canon, and take 'creative license', so to speak, but not for free. The closer we stay to how things are written, my power will restore, and the opposite if I use my powers to stray away." He smirked. "Does that make sense?"
There was a silence.
"...Please tell us what we can do about Katagiri," Alucard said finally.
Murasame blinked, having expected a better reaction. "...Right then." He looked thoughtful. "Well, uh, I think–"
Suddenly the sky darkened, and an ominous silence descended upon them.
"What...?" Charlotte asked aloud as they all glanced around.
"Rgh...!" Murasame fell to his knees, one hand clutching his head.
"Murasame!" Alucard said, going to his side. "What is it?"
"...Not good...!" Murasame managed to say. "I think I might have...screwed up...!"
"What are you talking about?" Soma asked, not sounding too concerned. "What's going to happen?"
The other teen gave a pained smirk as he looked over at Soma. "God Only Knows..." He paused. "Weapons ready, please..."
As though to punctuate his words, the dark clouds above flashed with lightning, threatening a squall, or at least some rain. What was slightly more attention grabbing was the figure that crashed into the ground a ways further into the parking lot, somehow landing only kneeling despite the extreme speed it had descended at.
"What was that?" Jonathan exclaimed, looking over.
Murasame got to his feet, but said nothing as he turned and slowly headed over towards the figure.
As they approached, they were able to make out the figure's appearance better; it was surprisingly similar to Alucard, with the all-black garb and silver hair. Murasame gasped when he looked up at them with turquoise eyes and a sadistic smirk Alucard would never wear.
"Who are you?" Alucard demanded.
The man stood, his smirk not faltering. "I...am the Chosen One."
Things are getting out of hand. Will our heroes + Murasame prevail? I wonder.
Trivia, for those who are so inclined...
1. (Easy) The game into which Soma and company have made their next Pitch Black Intrusion.
2. (Easy) What is the reference in the title of this chapter?
3. (Medium) Katagiri Ayako and Jonathan Morris – Murasame claims they have a similarity, but neglects to mention it. What is it?
EX. (Easy) What's up with the names Murasame is using to refer to the other characters?