Everyone who looked at Mamoru Chiba would see nothing but a regular male high school student, with average grades, physically fit and slightly awkward around girls.
Only his closest friends knew that inside, Mamoru wasn't quite as cool and laidback as he appeared to be. Ever since his parents died in a car accident, he had been forced to live on his own. It had been a hard time, especially the first couple of years.
Mamoru had managed to cope with it until know, but then there were the dreams… bizarre dreams that had begun to haunt him some years after his parents' death. Whatever he could recall after waking up was nothing more than a puzzling assortment of images which hadn't made a lot of sense to him.
But recently, it had become worse. One of his most common visions, a middle-aged man wearing old-fashioned, European clothing, had become more and more frequent and… it had started talking to him. And the last week, the words he had said had been clearer than ever.
"Mamoru," the unknown man said to him… Yes, he spoke directly to Mamoru, He somehow knew that. "The time has come… we don't have much time left. You have to find the heir of Belmont. She will need your help once the time is right…"
He couldn't make heads or tails of it. He talked to one of his teachers about it, who had a degree of philosophy. Unfortunately, the man was unable to help him, as interpretation of dreams wasn't exactly his specialty. He still advised Mamoru not to tell too many people about this, as having such dreams was considered a bad omen among superstitious people.
He confused his closest friends by spending more and more time in the library. He wanted to find out as much as possible about the short images he saw in his dreams… an old, spooky castle… a flock of bats… a strange-looking spear… and of course the man who spoke to him. But all he had been able to find out was that the clothing the man wore was commonly worn in several countries of Europe, at the end of the 19th century.
Mamoru somehow felt that something important was going on, something that he was the center of. It annoyed him to no end that he was unable to figure out the reasons behind this. Focussing on his studies had become increasingly difficult for him, and it showed in his grades. He still wasn't ready to give up yet, so he spent half the week inside the library, trying to learn more about the pictures his dreams were showing him.
It was during this time that he noticed something unusual going on in the library, something that distracted him a bit from his research. Students who commonly visited the library began to spread rumors about supernatural activities that were happening in the building. They were talking of books that disappeared, only to reappear a couple of days later… and sometimes, they reappeared in a completely different part of the library. Also, a couple of boys swore they had seen some of the index cards in the registration office of the library FLOATING AROUND. And somebody apparently had whispered behind his hand of people who had disappeared while visiting the library at night…
One day, as Mamoru was once again doing some research on old castles in Europe, he happened to overhear a conversation between two fellow students at the table next to his.
"You heard about this? Kensuke said that one of his classmates came to the library this other evening – he forgot a book of hers while studying late – and he saw a girl sitting on that table over there, all alone."
"So? What's so weird about that, man?"
"He said…" Here the boy lowered his voice to a whisper so that Mamoru had to listen closely to understand his words. "He said that he was able to see right through her."
The second boy's opened his mouth in awe. "You're not saying…"
"Yes! Our school might have its very own GHOST!"
Mamoru had to snort at that. He knew these boys. They were ready to believe anything, but a couple of strange stories weren't able to convince him that there was a ghost in the library.
Floating books on the other hand…
Mamoru watched in surprise how several books of various size were slowly floating out of between two of the high bookshelves, made a wide turn and disappeared behind another shelf.
For a moment, he believed he was simply overtired and that the dreams were maybe coming to him while he was awake… but when he took a look at the other boys, he saw that they were as astonished as he was.
One of them raised a shaking finger. "Did… did you see that, dude?"
"I told you this place is haunted," his friend gulped. "Let's get out of here…"
The other one nodded, and they left the room faster than Mamoru had ever seen them move.
After they were gone, a soft giggle filled the room.
Mamoru stood up. "Hello? Is anybody there?"
The giggling continued, but the voice begun to sound weaker. Was whoever had been laughing leaving?
Mamoru jumped to his feet, trying to follow the giggling voice. When the giggling stopped, he looked around, hoping to find some clue on where the source of the voice might have disappeared to.
"Over here," an amused voice said from his left. He jolted around, causing another giggle. He quickly followed it… and found himself in one of the farthest corners of the library, an almost empty reading room which was rarely visited by anyone. There was a single bookshelf standing at the other end of the room, opposite of the door, which was only half-filled with books.
On top of the bookshelf, a girl with short, blue hair was sitting, wearing a female version of the school's uniform. She was also transparent… Mamoru was able to see the wall behind her. She was giving off a soft glow of blue light.
"Sorry if I startled you," she said in the same soft voice that had giggled before. "But I wanted to play this little prank on them for several days now." She smirked. "Funny thing… I never even thought of playing pranks on anybody back when I was alive. I suppose it's in the nature of ghosts…"
Mamoru slowly approached the bookshelf and looked up at her. "So you really are…"
"Deceased? Dead? Not among the living?" She shrugged and smiled sadly. "I'm afraid so. You know about how part of the library's north wing collapsed because the beams had become too old and worm-infested?"
Mamoru remembered that incident all to well. Mainly because it had caused the death of a female student who had been studying late at night when it happened. "So you are the girl…?"
"That's right," she nodded. "I am Ami Mizuno. And for some reason, I became a ghost instead of going on to the afterlife."
"So… there IS a heaven and hell?" Mamoru asked, pulling up a chair to sit down. He felt a bit bewildered. Here was a rare chance to speak to someone who already died.
"I don't know," Ami shrugged. "I might have found out if I hadn't become… this!" She gestured down at her transparent body.
"I'm sorry for what happened to you," Mamoru said, hoping he had chosen the right words. What else was he supposed to say? My condolences?
"It's not too bad, I guess," Ami said. "The worst thing about this is that I'm stuck to the place I died in… I can freely roam the library, but never can get out. Could have been worse, I think… at least I have a lot to read." She raised her hand, and one of the books came floating up to her and opened by itself. She sighed. "Too bad I can never make use of anything I learned while I was here…"
Mamoru's eyes went wide. "How did you do that?"
"Oh, that?" She smiled. "That's easy. Something I picked up right after becoming a ghost. I can't touch solid matter of any kind, but I can manipulate it, using… some sort of power." She flexed her hand a bit. "I have no way of describing this, but I guess it's natural to me like breathing is to you."
"Is that all you can do?" Mamoru asked.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure there are a couple of abilities I have yet to discover… I still haven't read all the books the library has about this."
"What… what if I go to the city library for you?" Mamoru suggested. "I can hide some books here for the night so you can read them, and I'll pick them up the next day."
"You'd do that?" Ami asked. "You're the nicest person who spoke to me ever since I died…" She then laughed. "Well, actually, you're the only person who spoke to me."
"You got any friends you'd like to meet? Or family? I can tell them, if you want…"
"No! No, I haven't…" Her voice was souding sad all of a sudden. "I never had any good friends… and my parents are already dead."
"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that," Mamoru said, looking at the ghost girl sympathetically. "My parents are dead, too… died in a car crash."
Ami smiled at him. She raised out her hand to his own, and for a moment, it almost felt as if she touched him. "Looks like we've got a few things in common," she said. "Like hanging out in the library by ourselves for a long time…" She snickered at his surprised expression. "Don't be surprised, I've watched you a couple of time," she said. "You always look as if you are searching for something you can't find…"
Mamoru nodded. "You're right, there is something… but I'm not sure I want to talk about it."
"Well, okay, but if you need someone to talk to… you know where to find me."
He smiled back at her. "I think I'd like that." He then looked at his watch. "Oh man, this late already? I need to go Ami… don't worry, I'll be back."
The ghost-girl laughed at him. "I'm not going anywhere, so take your time."
They gave each other another nod, then he left the room. She floated back up to sit on the bookshelf and leaned back against the wall.
'He's cute,' she thought. 'Not the kind of boy I'd want to be my boyfriend, but cute nonetheless. And seems pretty nice. Maybe ghosts can have friends after all…'
Over the next few days, Mamoru was still a frequent visitor to the library… not because of his research, but instead to visit the friendly ghost. Quite often he brought her books that were not available in the library, and in return, she helped him with his studies. More importantly: She gave him some distraction from his disconcerting dreams. Maybe Mamoru just imagined it, but it seemed to him as if the dreams were coming quite less frequent than before he met Ami for the first time.
Sometimes, they would just sit and talk. She told him about her former life and he told her about his dreams.
"Hmmm… did that man ever say anything else?" she asked one day when they were once again sitting in the backroom of the library.
Mamoru shook his head. "No, it's always the same, then his image vanishes… and I usually wake up after that."
"Have you ever tried talking to him?"
That question took Mamoru by surprise. "How would that work? It's just a dream!"
"So? Some people say dreams are just an extension of our consciousness. I've read reports from people who managed to affect their own dreams by training their concentration."
"I don't know… even if I could do that, it wouldn't mean anything. It's not as if I'm really contecting a real life person."
"But what if somebody does try to contact you this way?" Ami asked.
He thought about it for a moment, then he shook his head. "No, just no! Sorry, but I just don't believe in stuff like that."
"Just as you never believed in ghosts?" She winked at him. "Believe it or not, there are more things on Earth than mankind can ever explain. Am I not proof? I always tried to analyze everything back when I was alive, but now I know there's far more out there than the human mind can comprehend."
Mamoru scratched his head. "Well… I don't know… I guess I'll need to think about it."
When Mamoru walked back home to his apartment, he was in deep thought. Ami's words made him see his dreams from a completely different angle. What if there WAS a reason behind this? What if he could find out more? And most importantly: Did he even want to find out?
"Mamoru Chiba?"
Mamoru almost didn't notice where he was walking. He almost had bumped into a dark-haired man who might have been called handsome by his female schoolmates. He was wearing an expensive suit and carried a large suitcase and a long, wooden box. "Um, yes? Can I help you?"
"Excuse me… my name is Genya Arikado. We haven't met before, but there is a matter of upmost importance that we need to discuss."
Mamoru blinked in surprise. He was being addressed by a man he had never seen before in his life and who wanted to talk to him because of something really important? "Eh… can't that wait until tomorrow? It's late and I'm kind of tired…"
"I am afraid we don't have that much time," the strange Mr. Arikado said. "They are looking for you."
"They? What do you mean? Who are you? And who are you talking about?"
Arikado looked around like a chased man, then he opened his suitcase and pulled something out, something long and thin. It almost looked like a walking stick. "It can't be helped… here, take it!"
"What's this?" Mamoru asked in surprise. The stick was dark red and artistically crafted. He didn't have to be an expert to see that this item must be worth quite a lot of money.
"Your grandfather entrusted me with this before he died. I swore to return it to your family as soon as it was needed. Now is the time. I can't explain… Just keep it with you all the time, and it will protect you. Never give it away and make sure you don't lose it!"
"Wait a minute! You can't just…"
"They're close. I can sense them… quick, go that way! I will try to get their attention. With some luck, they won't find you yet…"
"Huh? What are you saying? Who wants to find me?"
But Arikado had already closed his suitcase and was running down the street. Nervously, Mamoru looked around, but was unable to see any other person. He then looked down at the red shaft in his hand.
"Well, that was weird…"
"And he didn't even tell you what this thing is for?" Ami wondered. It was the next day and Mamoru had brought the strange rod to the library. As Arikado had told him, he had never left it behind ever since he had given it to him.
Mamoru shook his head. "No. I never knew my grandfather owned anything like that… to be honest, I never met him." He looked down at the rod in his hands. "I'm sure he's talking of my grandfather on my mother's side… I've never heard her talking much about her family, except that she has Spanish ancestors."
"I wonder…" Ami murmured, floating slowly around in circles while tapping her finger against her ghostly chin. "A Spanish lineage… and the man in your dreams wears European clothing…"
"Excuse me, but could you not do that…" Mamoru murmured. He had to twist his head to keep up with Ami's movements. She stopped in mid-air and giggled.
"Oh, I'm sorry… I tend to do that when I'm thinking. But don't you think it's a strange coincidence?"
"I'd rather know who this guy was… and who he meant when he said that somebody's after me," Mamoru muttered. He breathed hard and put the stick on the table. The idea of being chased by an unknown enemy wasn't exactly pleasant, no matter if it sounded like something right out of a detective novel.
"Well, I know for one thing that this rod looks quite beautiful," Ami smiled, using her powers to levitate the rod in front of her. "And for some reason… it looks familiar."
"What, you've seen it in a book before?" Mamoru asked.
Ami shook her head. "Not in a book… but these decorations do look like I know them. And this strange feeling it's giving me…"
"Feeling?" Mamoru frowned.
"I told you these things are hard to describe. Well… I can somehow tell that there's something special about this thing. And something within me feels there's a connection between it and you… and me… and… somebody else."
"You'll have to excuse me if I say that this sounds kind of vague."
"Hey, I'm still new at this, okay? But maybe we can…" She stopped in mid-sentence. Mamoru also looked up.
A man had entered the room. Usually, no one ever came into this backroom, so they could talk to each other in peace and quiet… but this man's gaze wandered right over to Ami, as soon as he came in.
Mamoru's first thought was: 'Oh crud! How am I gonna explain this?' His second thought was: 'What's a guy like that doing in a high school library?'
The man was large and muscular, his dark skin contrasted with his unruly, sandy blonde hair. He wore nothing but some torn pants and a leather vest. And the strangest thing of all: He didn't seem to be disturbed at all by Ami's appearance. He held out his right hand in a demanding gesture.
"Let's make this easy for everyone. Give me that thing, spook, and I won't have to hurt your boyfriend."
Ami blushed as good as a ghost could. "H-he's not my boyfriend!" she squeaked.
"Whatever. He's coming with me… and you give me that stick, if you don't want to make me mad."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Mamoru shouted. He reached into his school bag and pulled out his cellphone. "Leave or I'll call the police."
The man grinned. "Cute," he snorted. Then, his hand shot out in a speed that belied his massive frame and snatched the phone out of Mamoru's hand. One squeeze of his bear-like hand, and the phone was nothing more than a twisted pile of electronic garbage. "You were saying?" the man snickered.
Then he grunted when a chair was flung at his head. With a snarl, he glared at Ami, who used her ghost powers to throw books and furniture at the brute.
"Leave him alone! I can keep this up all day and you can't hurt me! So go away!" she shouted.
"Annoying little pest…" he grunted. Then he smirked. "Good thing the vampire bitch gave me something just in case something like this would happen."
He reached into his pocket and took out a large crystal that looked like a flame was burning within. With one swift move, the man threw the crystal at Ami… and just before it hit her, it cracked apart, a huge plume of fire came bursting forth and engulfed her. Ami cried out… she hadn't felt any pain ever since she died, but this was almost enough to make her pass out. With a soft groan, she drifted down to the floor.
"A magical flame crystal," the brutish man laughed. "Hurts even spirits like you. Now, little man, I don't have all day, and my employers are waiting… so if you would just be a good boy and come along nice and easy…"
Mamoru looked at the rod, which had clattered to the floor when Ami was hit by the fire. Arikado had told him that it would protect him, but… would it really work? And could he make it to the item in time before the muscular man reached him?
Before he could make up his mind, someone else entered the room. It was Arikado, holding the same wooden box he had with him the evening before. "Surrender, lycanthrope!" he commanded and opened the box, revealing a long sword, which he took in his hand. "I can't let you or Carmilla get your hands on the spear, Ortega… or the boy!"
Ortega growled in a voice that seemed to be more guttural than before. "Alucard…" he snarled. "You just had to show your pretty face sooner or later. But it won't be as pretty anymore in a couple of minutes." And with a roar, he transformed in a fearsome half-lion form.
Arikado met the lycanthrope with his sword. Mamoru watched them with awe as they exchanged sword strikes and claw swipes in a horrific dance of life and death.
"Grab the spear, Mamoru!" Arikado yelled while dodging a powerful blow of Ortega. "It will protect you!"
His words confused Mamoru even more. Spear? What spear? Then his gaze fell upon the red rod. He slowly approached it. Could it be…?
He picked it up… and gasped when it lit up in a red light. In a flash, the rod changed shape, turning into a long spear with a sharp, masterfully crafted tip. The Alucard Spear had felt that its current master was in danger and took on its true form.
While Mamoru was still astonished at the sudden change of the weapon, he didn't notice that Ortega had shoved Arikado backwards and used the chance to leap at the seemingly defenseless boy. "Carmilla never said she needed you alive!" he roared and prepared to sink his fangs into the human boy's flesh…
But then, without any warning, a huge icicle came bursting from the ground, blocking his path. Ortega's eyes widened before he crashed into the icy obstacle. In a shower of icy sparks, he stumbled to the ground. Shards of ice were biting into his skin.
Mamoru looked up to see Ami floating next to him. Her right hand was outstretched and was glowing in a bright light. She panted heavily.
"How… how did you…?"
"I… I don't know," Ami muttered. "I… I just did."
"The power of the Belnades clan," Arikado commented. "Intriguing… I never expected to find a surviving descendent of Sypha in this country." He then shook his head. "Survive, what am I talking about? She's a ghost…"
Ortega climbed back to his feet, his fists trembling with fury. "Don't you think this is over, you…"
"On the contrary, Ortega!" Arikado said, pointing the tip of his sword at the lion-man's neck. "This battle ends right now!"
Seeing that he was outnumbered yet again, Ortega gave off a snarl of frustration and turned around, leaping out of the next window.
Arikado lowered his blade. "Well, now that this is taken care of… I think there are a lot of things the three of us should talk about."
"I don't understand at all…" Mamoru blurted out. "Where did you come from? What is this spear? And how is Ami able to do what she just did?"
"It's because you two belong to two century-old families, two of the families that have always helped the Belmonts in their battles against the forces of darkness. Ami is a Belnades… a bloodline that always had great magical powers. And Mamoru is a Lecarde… the only family that is allowed to own my very own creation… the Alucard Spear!"
"The… the Belmonts?" Mamoru stuttered. He quickly looked at Ami, only to see that she was as bewildered as he was. "Then… my dream… it's all true?"
"Oh, it most certainly is true," Arikado said. "As I said, we have a lot to discuss. First of all, let me properly introduce myself… as you might have heard, my true name is Alucard… and I am the son of Count Dracula."
Mamoru and Ami exchanged another astonished look.
"Well, now I know there are far more amazing things out there than just ghosts," Mamoru said.
