ANOTHER: THE CALL FOR BLOOD (REDUX)
A/N: Welcome to Another: The Call For Blood (Redux)! This will be a rewrite of the original story, with new elements added to build the canon of this story's world. Now, there are two reasons why I decided to make this new edition of the story; 1, I feel like I've improved as a writer since completing the original version, so I wanted to try and improve the story, and 2, I don't want most of this story's lore to be only available on the fanfiction wiki I made, so I'll add sections of the backstory here to flesh the world out.
So, with all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the first rewritten chapter of Another: The Call For Blood, Umbrella.
Chapter 1 - Umbrella
Yomiyama, Japan, May 1998
"BRING, BRING!"
As the alarm clock started to ring, it just as suddenly stopped when a knife impacted into the front of its face, sending it off the bedside table and crashing to the floor. Now, where had this knife come from, you may be wondering? Well, its original position was being secured to the underside of the nearby bed, before it had been retrieved by the hand of a young man, whose arm was still stretched out in the motion he had used to throw the blade. "Fucking hate those things!" The boy groaned, as he pushed himself off the mattress.
"Why'd the Brotherhood arrange for me to start school so soon after the school year started? It's not like I need anything they'll teach me." The boy asked himself, as he stood up straight, and stretched to crack his back, sighing when he felt his body loosen. "Sleeping on a futon, that's a killer!" He groaned, before looking to his watch. "Shit!" He stated, noticing the time. Quickly, he pulled off the clothes he had worn to bed the previous night, replacing them with the standard-issue uniform for his new school. After straightening his collar, he looked to the space beside the alarm clock, where two metal contraptions lay. "Fuck it. Better to be safe than sorry." The boy thought, rolling up his sleeves, before picking up the devices, and strapping them to his forearms. Making sure the sleeves covered the devices, the boy gave his wrists a flick, and instantly, two blades extended from within the devices. Smiling, the boy relaxed his arms, and the blades retracted into their holders.
Looking to his watch again, the boy scowled when he saw the time. "I'm never going to make it in time if I take the streets." He thought, opening his window and looking from side to side. When he was sure that the coast was clear, he stepped back, and picked up his schoolbag. "I need to if I'm going to make it." He reasoned internally, before breaking into a run, and leaping out the window. Immediately, he shot his free hand out, and clenched his fist, which caused a metal spike to shoot out. Embedding itself into a nearby rooftop, the rope attached to the spike began to retract, pulling the boy towards the rooftop. "Going up!" He thought to himself, as he swiftly shot upwards. When he reached the rooftop, the boy unclenched his fist, disengaging the spike, which retracted back to his wrist and allowed him to sail up onto the tiles due to his momentum.
Rolling back to his feet, the boy immediately took off in a run, taking care to leap between buildings whenever necessary. Eventually, he reached his destination; Yomiyama North Middle School. As he made sure to stay out of sight, the boy descended from the rooftops down to street level, before exiting the alley he ended up in, and seamlessly blending into the throng of students entering the school grounds.
Instead of following the students as they headed upstairs, the boy headed straight for the Principal's office.
A few minutes later...
"Right, if you'll follow me, please." The Principal said, as he began to walk up a set of stairs, the boy following behind him. Eventually, the pair reached the third floor, and the boy saw the sign above the door, signifying the class he would be placed in to; Class 3-3. Raising a hand, the Principal knocked twice on the classroom door. After a few seconds, the door slid open, revealing an older man with glasses.
"Mr. Kubodera, this boy has just been transferred to the school. But, due to the other classes being full, I have no other choice but to place him in yours." The Principal said, getting a nod from the other man, as the Principal placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Get your fucking hand off me, prick, before I cut it off." The boy thought to himself, flexing his wrist as he prepared to activate the blade in his sleeves, only to relax when the teacher nodded, and the Principal removed his hand from the boy's shoulder, which in turn caused the boy to relax his hand. "Very well." The teacher said, before looking to the boy. "So, welcome to the class, Mister…?" He asked, trailing off when he realised that he didn't know the boy's name. "It's Adam. Adam Robertson." The boy said, causing the teacher to nod, as the Principal passed him his file. As the teacher took it, Adam was certain that he heard him whisper, "I'm sorry", to Kubodera. However, he decided to ignore it. "Sorry? For what? I must have misheard it." He thought, as the Principal walked off down the corridor.
"Well, Mister Robertson, I believe there is an empty seat over…there." Kubodera said, before pointing to a seat at the back of the class. Nodding, Adam bowed to the teacher, then walked over to the designated seat. As he tossed his bag under the desk, Adam saw that some of his new classmates were shooting him dirty looks, especially an auburn-haired girl down at the front of the class. "Let 'em glare. I don't give a fuck what people think of me." The boy thought, as he pulled out his chair and sat down, just as Kubodera closed the door, and returned to the front of the class to continue the lesson…
Later on…
After about an hour, the bell rang to signal the end of class. As the rest of the class filed out of the room, Adam remained where he was, his book still open on the desk in front of him. "Mister Robertson, you coming?" Kubodera asked from the door. "No. I'm gonna stay and review the notes. Wanna make sure I got everything down." Adam replied, causing the teacher to nod, as he took his leave. As soon as he was alone, Adam had stood up, and walked over to a desk at the back of the room, next to the window. Now, while it was the same kind of desk as the rest of those in the classroom, this one was clearly very old, covered in numerous scratches. What really drew Adam's attention, however, was the message carved into the wood; "Who is dead?" As he ran a hand over the grooves in the desk, he stiffened when a voice behind him said, "You shouldn't be here."
Turning round, Adam saw that he was face-to-face with the auburn-haired girl who was glaring at him earlier. "Well, unfortunately, I am here, so…why shouldn't I be here, pray tell, Miss…?" he asked, trailing off at the end when he realised that the name of the girl in front of him was currently unknown to him. "Izumi Akazawa, Head of Countermeasures for Class 3-3." The girl replied, which made Adam raise an eyebrow.
"Countermeasures?" He asked, getting a nod in reply. "What Countermeasures?" "Doesn't concern you, Robertson." She spat, before nodding towards the desk Adam was standing beside. "Just…whoever you see at that desk…ignore them. Pretend they don't exist." She stated, before taking off out of the room. "What the fuck was that all about?" Adam thought to himself, as he looked back down to the old desk. Running his fingers over the words carved into the wood again, the young man eventually sighed, and left the room quickly, making sure to grab his bag on the way out.
Out in the hallway, Adam went to walk up the nearest flight of stairs, but he was surprised when an umbrella landed in front of him. Unfortunately for the object in question however, Adam instinctively threw out a leg and kicked the umbrella away from him, causing it to spin on the floor, with the tip of the object pointing away from him. Looking up the stairs the umbrella had fallen from, Adam was able to move quickly enough to catch the falling body of a young woman. Looking to her, Adam saw her slowly open her eyes to look at him.
"You okay?" he asked, smiling to the girl. Looking from him to the way he was holding her, the girl let out a gasp, before she pushed herself away from him. "W-why did you do that?" she demanded, which made Adam look to her in bewilderment. "Oh, now that's fucking gratitude!" he snarked to her, gesturing to the fallen umbrella, the metal tip gleaming brightly from a burst of sunlight. "Just saved your ass from being impaled by a fucking umbrella, and this is the thanks I get?" he said, as the girl scooped up the umbrella in question. "Thanks, I guess, but you still shouldn't have saved me." She said, causing Adam to raise an eyebrow. Before he could inquire further, however, she took off down the stairs.
"Huh. Okaaayyy…." Adam said to himself, before shaking his head to clear it. "Fuck it. What do I care?" With that, he walked down the flight of stairs that the girl had went down, and went to exit the school, only to be stopped by someone placing an arm on his shoulder. Resisting the urge to jump, Adam turned round, only to end up looking at the face of the Principal.
"Hello, Mister Robertson. Are you enjoying your first day?" the older man asked, getting a shrug from the student. "Meh, it's not too bad." Adam replied, getting a nod from the Principal, but his eyes narrowed when he saw the older man looked hesitant. "Okay, what is it? You've got something else on your mind." He asked, before the elder man sighed. "Alright, I know you've only just arrived to the school, but I've heard that you don't seem to be following the rules set forth by your class." He stated, which made Adam look to him, eyebrows raised.
"Well, with all due respect, Sir…" He said, distaste lacing his tone at the use of the term, "…it's kind of hard to follow the rules when none of the class looks at me without glaring like I'm a piece of crap on the bottom of their shoe." Sighing in response, the Principal rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Alright, I'll have a chat with Miss Akazawa, who I believe you've met already, but for now, I suggest you go home early today, Mister Robertson. Right now, in fact." He suggested, getting a nod from Adam, who went to leave. However, the Principal held out an arm to stop his progress.
"Mister Robertson, from now on, I suggest you take any advice you have or will hear from the members of your class very seriously." He said, before moving out of Adam's way. Scowling, Adam quickly nodded, and exited the building, making a beeline for the school gates.
When he was halfway across the school grounds, Adam tensed and came to a stop when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "I'm being watched." He thought, before quickly turning on his heel, and looking round, his eyes narrowing when he saw that he was alone in the grounds. Next, he looked up to the school roof, where he saw a girl staring down at him, one who had pitch-black hair and an eyepatch. "Fuck it." He said, before turning and leaving the grounds.
Once he was out of the gate, Adam ran over to the alleyway he had exited that morning, and when he made sure that there was no one around, he raised his arm upwards, and fired the grapple from his Blade, which embedded itself into the rooftop, winching him up behind it. When he reached the edge of the rooftop, he released the grapple, which retracted into his Bracer, and allowed him to sail up into the air, coming down in a roll. Taking a deep breath, he shot back to his feet, taking off in a sprint, leaping from building to building as he took the path back to his house. Eventually, he came to a stop on the roof of his residence. Hanging down from the roof, he swung himself in through his open window, landing in his bedroom.
Sighing in relief as he slid his bag off his shoulder, Adam placed it on his table, before he sat down in his chair, and rubbed his forehead. "What. A. Day." He thought, looking to his clock. "Fuck it. I could use a couple hours." He said, before placing his head on the table, and drifting off into a deep sleep…
A couple hours later…
Groaning in exertion, Adam cracked his neck, as he looked to his clock. "07:00." He said, as he straightened up. "Alright, enough dicking around. Time to go to work." He said, pulling his school uniform off, as he approached his wardrobe, opening it to reveal a simple selection of jeans on the floor, and plain black t-shirts hung up to the side, with a black jacket and hoodie hanging off of the inside of the door. Reaching past the clothes, he pushed hard on the back panel of the wardrobe, causing it to click, as it came loose. Pulling it back, he smiled slightly at the sight of his black and red robes, befitting a member of his Brotherhood. Silently, he pulled them off their hook, and began to get dressed.
As he tightened the various straps on his robes after sliding on his boots, Adam began to recall a scene from his memory, one that had taken place the day before he arrived in Yomiyama…
Beacon HQ, Scotland – Mentor's Study
"Come in!" the old man said, as he heard the door being knocked twice. As it opened, he saw the one who he expected entering, clad in his red and black robes, which caused him to smile. "Mentor." The newcomer said, placing his right fist on his chest, and bowing his head to the older man. "Shadow. Thank you for coming. I hope I'm not pulling you away from anything important." The Mentor replied, standing up. "You asked for me. Besides, I was just packing." His subordinate stated, getting a nod from the Mentor. "You about done?" he asked, causing the Shadow to shrug. "Few more things. But yeah, I'm about done." He said, as the Mentor approached him.
"Look, Adam, I know you don't think highly of me, especially after…" The Mentor said, only for the boy in question to cut him off. "Don't. Don't mention him. You're the one in charge, and I'm just a footsoldier. You made that perfectly clear when you sent him away. You give the orders, and we follow them. So, Mentor, what can I do for you?" he asked, which made the Mentor hesitate, before he sighed. "I was just making sure that you understand your objectives." He said, which made Adam nod. "Build up a branch of the Brotherhood in Japan, and eliminate any Templar threats that arise." He replied, drawing a nod from the Mentor. "Alright. Just remember, Adam…" he said, stepping closer, and placing a hand on his student's shoulder…
"Don't get attached."
Back in the present day…
After tightening the last strap on his robes, Adam looked into the wardrobe, before reaching in and withdrawing a couple of belts, which contained all of his equipment. After making sure that everything was in order, he strapped the belts onto his shoulders, tightening them for good measure. Next, he reached back into the wardrobe, withdrawing a small knife, which he sheathed into the side of his boot. Finally, he reached up behind his head, and pulled the hood of his robes over his head, the peak of it hiding his eyes from view.
Closing the secret compartment, then the wardrobe itself, Adam turned to face his open window. Taking a deep breath, he took a running leap out of the room, before quickly twisting and firing his grapple up onto the roof of his building. After he swung himself up onto the rooftop, the Assassin cracked his neck, before he took off in a run, leaping from rooftop to rooftop whenever the situation called for it…
A/N: And I hope you enjoyed this first chapter of the rewrite of Another: The Call For Blood.
I'll see you all in Chapter 2 - Dollhouse.
Madman out!
