Man who work for Passion, always richer than man who work for Money.

-Mr Miyagi-


The Next Monday…

Location: Japan, Kuoh Academy

Hunter Westerdyk

I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for the bus to arrive. It took around 20 minutes each time. Similar to my old bus. But here, there were a lot more people leaving from the same place. And it was far more noisy.

"How could you!"

I turned around. And in front of me was that girl from last week.

'Ah right. I remember now. The one trying to trick me into a date for some reason.'

I'd completely forgotten that she existed. And the 'Date', something I had absolutely no intention of attending, had left my mind the second she left my sight.

"How could I- what?" I responded. There were already tears in her eyes… sad… I should make her happy… right?

RESIST!

"You lead me on! Tricked me! Am I really worth nothing to you!? Do you have no heart?!" the girl cried.

A small part of me wanted to ask for her name again. Might make her shut up. Or it might make everything worse.

'I have a Heart. But it's currently deader than Hitler'

Seeing that she might end up crying again, I decided to snip the problem in the bud. Before it became a problem.

"Apologies. I had things going on during the weekend, so I couldn't attend. I didn't have your phone number either, nor any way to contact you. So, Sorry for not showing up."

The only thing I was sorry for was having to deal with this annoyance.

The girl sniffed. "Fine. I'll forgive you. But you better show up next time mister. You broke my heart!" The girl held out her hand, and I tilted my head in small confusion. "Your Phone. I'll need it if I want to put my number in it." "Ah."

I didn't want to give her my Phone. I didn't trust her.

"Just tell me your number, and I'll put it in myself." I countered. Which she seemed to be happy with. We pulled out our phones, and I put in her number. "What do you want me to put your name as?" I asked. "My name, silly. Yuuma. just Yuuma." I nodded. And put her name down.

"Okay. Yuuma. Got your number. And Oh! There's my bus gotta go! Bye!" I sped walked off to my bus, which was pulling up in a few seconds.

'I might need to investigate this Yuuma. See if she has a Twitter account or something.'


That night…

'Nope, nadda, no-kia, no-joe.'

I frowned as I scrolled through the images of the search. 'Yuuma'. Surprisingly, Yuuma was a Japanese word, meaning Evening or Dusk as well as Kindness, Superiority, Dance, Jasmine, Love, and Son of Chief, and while she certainly looked Japanese. She also knew how to speak English fluently.

'Japanese Origins. Fluent English Speaker. Know's I speak English from the start, and know's my full name. Even saying it in our order. She wants to be my girlfriend. And can lower my emotional barrier with subtle manipulation. More than that, I'm not getting any results for any kind of online presence.'

It was a conundrum. The situation was overly convenient, too perfect in a way. It wasn't something I'd heard of happening, nor did I believe could happen, not organically at least.

No results for the school she went to either, which was certainly concerning. Could be a little known school, or a special uniform. But it wasn't encouraging.

'She's most likely some kind of scam artist, kidnapper, or hell even a human trafficker. I can't trust her. But is there some way I could take her down?'

I leaned back on my chair, scratching my chin as I thought about the situation.

I'd need proof if I wanted to get her arrested, and if I was wrong I'd spread the image of a suspicious, paranoid jerk who doesn't trust people who are trying to give me their heart.

I didn't care about immediate relationships, but I still wanted one for the future, having that kind of reputation would kill my chances.

If I continued to avoid her, that would be bad. Outright denying her would make me seem like a heartless bastard.

The best solution I could develop was to hope she lost interest, by constantly missing the dates…

No. That could be bad as well. If I missed too many, I would also gain a bad reputation. Except this time, as someone who leads people on.

I couldn't just let her down gently either. She would have far more influence with the masses, especially with her expressive demeanor and waterworks. While it was the simplest solution, it could still have drastic consequences.

'Could hire an Assassin. If I knew how…'

I recalled her figure for a moment, before mentally narrowing my eyes. She had a very petite figure, as I already observed. She was fragile, weak most likely. If a physical confrontation arose I could likely overpower her with my superior strength, size, and hopefully training. She could have a gun though, or some thugs to do the dirty work for her.

'So Suspicious of a random stranger. Who by all means has only been harmless so far. Am I really that paranoid?'

Not really. But it was fun to entertain the idea running around in my head. And if they were right, I'd get to pretend I was Batman to my family. Except I would still have my parents.

There was a possibility that she was connected to the Student Council. But it didn't seem to fit their bill. They constantly gathered together, and I'd never seen Yuuma interact with them. Of course, Telepathic communication cannot be outlawed, nor technological communication.

I glanced over at my Phone, upon which I had been back and forth texting Yuuma for a while. The next date was, once again, on Saturday. It seemed that she wanted to have an entire day to spend together.

More time to get away with a crime as well…

I would need to see just how… determined she truly is…


The Following Day…

Watching as Sanji ogled Shitori, I frowned slightly.

'A pervert. He's being rather open about his perversion. Does Shitori not notice? Possible weakness of a lacking spatial awareness…'

Shitori glanced at Sanji, but he quickly looked away.

'No. He's just used to hiding it. Still it took her a while to notice.'

I contemplated further research into the Student Council's lunchtime activities. But I could only stay hidden for so long. Furthermore, there was little about this day that would mark it as unusual, or special.

If the schedule I had created for the Student Council was accurate however, they would not return for another 40 minutes. Giving me 25 minutes to search their office…

Maybe 30… if I was lucky…


Later…

Location: Japan, Kuoh Academy, Student Council Office.

I inspected the door to the Student Council, particularly the lock, which was currently… up? Active? Engaged?

After putting on a pair of gloves, and covering my face with a mask I had bought to protect my identity, I reached into my pocket and brought out the screwdriver I had brung to school today, and used it to unscrew the door handle. Effectively unlocking the door instantly.

After redoing the handle, I entered the room.

'Aura Sense doesn't suggest anything present. Potentially Supernatural or otherwise.'

If the student council was supernatural, they didn't do a good job protecting their secret base of organization. That or I wasn't good enough at looking and was missing it completely..

I would keep Aura Sense active, just in case.

Walking silently and softly around the room, I investigated the locations of objects, the titles of books and files, everything, mentally noting them down as I did.

However, as I continued to search through the room, the chess board from earlier caught my attention.

'Two of the Chess Pieces… they feel strange.'

Leaning close to them, I could faintly sense the same aura that was within the Student Council, within two of the chess pieces.

A part of me wanted to take them, study them. However such an action would likely get me caught, instead I would need to plan out a method of taking them. If I was rash, I could be caught. Furthermore, there was a very distinct possibility that they would be able to track me if I took one so close to their return.

Checking my watch, I still had around 10 minutes to burn. So I continued my search around the room.

I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary here, except for those two pawns. And I frowned. Perhaps this wasn't their base of operations?

As my frown deepened, I mentally took stock of possibilities that I hadn't considered. Not towards what I had missed in the room, but to what the Student Council could be.

'The decorations have a much more rustic touch, furthermore, Shitori is extremely strict and formal, possibly hinting at a noble upbringing, and a preference for old decorations and practices. She could be older than she appears, possibly even hundreds or thousands of years older than I thought. Perhaps a leader of an ancient Cult? If that's the case, more modern practices and theories would be absent'

I quickly glanced around for anything that might point in that direction, however the presence of multiple modern objects, like a computer, carpet, and even the seemingly rustic furniture couldn't have been more than 2 years old.

'So, not an Ancient Cult. Perhaps some breed of Vampire?'

The brilliant light currently shining into the room, paired with the light colored curtains didn't point towards that. And I'd seen their reflections in mirrors. Although, mirrors made back in the dark ages were lined with silver, so that could explain why they didn't appear in old mirrors but could appear in modern one's? Although, they walked rather confidently on bright summer days so that wasn't likely. Furthermore, I had seen one of the Student Council members eating garlic bread earlier today, and one couldn't properly protect their insides from poison.

'Could be that the Garlic thing is a myth, but… hmm…'

Taking another look around, I noticed something that I hadn't originally considered. An utter and complete absence of Biblical symbols, particularly ones related to heaven and the bible. And that was strange. In fact, I couldn't recall a single holy symbol anywhere in the school. Additionally, none of the Student Council members went to Religion, or Church.

In fact, the only Church in Kuoh, was a rundown shack; every other Church had been demolished for other buildings to be made atop of them.

'Assuming that Shitori has more power than I realize, she could theoretically destroy all hints of God and the Bible in Kuoh. But what would she gain from doing that? Although if she and her ilk despise Religion that much, possibly as a weakness, it could mean that she's either afraid of it, or weak to it. Given the feel of their Aura, it certainly didn't feel nice and warm, but cold. If she were something like a Demon, wouldn't it make sense for her to have an Aura that felt like fire? Or Evil? Vampires would probably feel cold and dark, possibly ancient as well?'

What a conundrum…

Since I had 2 minutes left, I decided to move ahead and leave the room, not removing my disguise until I had moved to a hidden location. Once I had, I threw them in the bin, and quickly made my way away from the Student Council.

I had gained no answers, only questions to things I hadn't even asked.

Still, Progress.


Wednesday

Location: Occult Research Club

3rd

A Figure with long Red Hair watched on as Westerdyk-Kun exited the school gates, hands in pockets and moving like a silent wraith. Just as always.

"I didn't know you had your eyes on him as well." A familiar voice said behind her. The Red-Head didn't turn, instead smiling lightly, "You can't pretend we both didn't sense it. Sense him. Besides…" Turning around, the Red-Head looked at Sitri-San. "I am rather hurt that you didn't think I would figure it out myself."

Sitri-San walked up to stand beside the Red-Head, her eyes trailing on where Westerdyk-Kun had been moments ago. "He's inquisitive, intelligent, and extremely cautious. I had to use a rather powerful spell to even figure out who it was. If it wasn't for the fact that his magic hadn't awoken, I would've assumed him to be some kind of spy."

The Red-Head nodded, "Indeed. But since he hasn't, I guess you're interested in recruiting him." Sitri-San nodded in response, "Well. I guess it's a race now. Whoever can recruit him first wins." Crossing her legs, the Red-Head smiled fondly as she considered what it would mean to the victor of this little race.

A subject like Westerdyk Hunter didn't come along often after all.


Thursday

Location: Kuoh Academy

Hunter Westerdyk

As I made my way through Kuoh's hall's, I found my mind once again drifting to my research into the Student Council.

I'd checked old maps about 'Magic Leylines' but sadly, while one did indeed run beneath Kuoh, it wasn't a convergence, unlike Kyoto. If that was true, I'd need to research Kyoto for other possibly supernatural entities. See if there was a pattern.

At the same time, I'd checked for legend's of ancient battles, historic sites, even wasted 5 hours seeing if there was any way a Pentagram could form in Kuoh at it's epicenter, or as one of it's points. Sadly, all theories had came up dead. There was literally nothing extraordinary about this town's past, Except for one thing.

On the outer edges of Kuoh, specifically the abandoned areas, there were some rather prevalent ghost stories of monstrous screams and roars, flashes of light, and even disappearances. This could possibly tie back into what Shitori and the Student Council were doing, but until I had further proof, or possible ways to defend myself I wouldn't risk it. If it wasn't supernatural, I could end up dying for nothing.

Catching a flash of white hair on the edges of my vision, I was pulled out of my thoughts. However, as I looked up, expecting my fellow Introvert, instead I found myself looking at, what was disappointingly, another student who had white hair. And a member of the Student Council.

'Her name started with an M… right? Whatever, she's just like the rest.'

She obviously wasn't that good at hiding her intentions, or spying on people. Because I could instantly tell that she wanted to talk with me.

Cold fear rushed through my veins, as a horrible thought occurred to me.

'Fuck. What if they figured out I went through their shit? Are they going to kill me? Make me disappear?'

I could not have that. And a single sense of her Aura told me that I would get my ass whooped right hard by this unassuming chic. In a straight forward match at least.

Turning my head, I immediately searched for someone to talk with, and identified a lone Blonde-Haired guy in the exact opposite direction to the White Haired Chic. So I quickly walked over to him.

"Yo. My name is Hunter. What is yours?" I immediately asked. The blonde blinked several times, looking very surprised at my words, and introduction. "I am Kiba Yuuto. I have heard of you Westerdyk-San" Kiba responded, giving me a small bow as he did so.

At the same time, I noticed a surprising shift in the voice tones around us.

"What is he doing-"

"-talking to Kiba-Sama"

"Stay away from our Oji!"

All of these voices were coming from females. And even with my lack of social interaction, I instantly realized who I had just started talking to.

'Are you fucking kidding me? Is this guy the fucking Popular Kid? Out of all of the Locals I could talk to, I ended up talking to Japanese Prince Fucking Charming. What the actual Fuck?'

While I unleashed a triad of swears on the inside, I merely responded with. "Yeah. Great. Can we talk somewhere else?" Kiba shrugged, "Sure"

After leading Japanese Prince Charming away from the Student Council Member, and the whispers of the females around us. Which became even more blood thirsty as we left.

'I'd curbstomp the lot of them.' I thought with a mental scoff.

"What did you want to talk about Westerdyk-San?" Kiba asked. I looked at him, and shrugged. "Nothing. I was just…"

'I can't really tell him that I'm being followed by possible supernatural entities can I? He could be in cahoots with them…"

"-Just curious. Do you enjoy sports?" I asked out of the blue. Even though I was just about as curious about that as I was curious of how Kim Jong Un's farts smelled like. Kiba clearly didn't realize this, and responded happily. "I enjoy Kenjutsu. Does it show?"

'Kenjutsu… ah swordplay.'

"Yeah. Real slim and athletic." I answered, "What about you?" He asked curiously. "Anime, Video Games, Fantasy." I responded. Kiba tilted his head, "Really. So I guess you're just like-"

DING DONG DING DONG!

'Saved by the Bell.'


Once again, The Next Monday… Lunch Time…

"Do you have any… good hiding spots… at the bus stop?" I asked the White-Haired girl, who looked at me in slight confusion. Likely because this was the most I'd said to her in such a short period of time, even with me being here for 2 weeks now, we never talked. Although I did hand her food one time when she forgot hers.

She didn't eat a lot, didn't even make it through the entire sandwich, which, granted, was a lot more filling than commercial sandwiches, around 5x more filling. I swear she almost called me 'Ita-Sama' which basically meant 'Eater-Lord' or 'Eater-King'.

She settled for calling me 'Skinny Fat-Guy'. So I called her 'Shorty'.

I'd figured out she was deceptively strong, and violent. She'd have given me a black eye if I hadn't blocked her fist, and it still hurt.

"Why?" She responded after a moment. "There's a… girl. Who continues to ask me out… even when I don't… appear." Talking in broken Japanese was extremely annoying, if only this girl understood english.

"She is… probably… going to show up at bus stop today. So I want… a hiding spot. In Case."

White-Haired Girl seemed to understand, although she did look curious at my predicament. "Bushes." she simply responded.

"Thanks."

Hearing the bell, I stood up, gave her a nod of thanks, grabbed my shit, and made my way to the bus stop.


Shortly After…

'Huh?'

Looking around, I couldn't help but blink in continued surprise. That girl… she wasn't here.

Frowning, I double-checked the faces around me, but she wasn't here. Had she finally given up?

Checking my phone, I noticed a rather distinct lack of texts from the past… 5 days?

'So… she stopped contacting me on Wednesday. But why? No excuse? No warning? Has something happened?'

Checking her texts, there seemed to be no presence of panic, of urgency, or fear. So, my second old theory of her being a victim of something wasn't likely. But what happened to her?

'She's disappeared… just like everyone else…'

Narrowing my eyes, I tried to figure out if Yuuma had mentioned where she lived. But sadly, nothing came up. Even as I checked the news, the only thing worth my time was the sudden destruction of the old Church, but it made no mention of any corpses, burnt or otherwise.

Had something come up? Was she killed? Where was Yuuma?

I was tempted to check out the Outskirts of Kuoh, but I dismissed it immediately. I didn't have any information about what was there, and even if I did, I had no ways to protect myself from potential dangers…

'Note to self, get a Shotgun.'

If it worked on Demon's, surely it could work on some random monsters?

Because if I was going to investigate Yuuma's disappearance, I would need a weapon.


ANOTHER CHAPTER IS COMPLETE!

My reader's, I have finished another chapter of the Black Dragon Emperor. And I hope it matched your expectations.

Obviously some things happened during this chapter. Like Hunter investigating the Student Council, and subsequently catching the eyes of both Sona and a certain red-headed succubus… :]

Another event, is that Yuuma is now gone… whatever could that mean I wonder?

Perhaps if you look closely enough, you'll figure out what happened to her… Because you won't be able to use the old one as a reference page anymore, since it appears things are happening very differently.

I hope I did it well, and I hope it's going good! Since I can't really predict where or what Hunter will do… I guess that makes me like a certain fellow author… with 4 active stories…

Ain't I… Adrian?


Before I go tho, I have something to say.

I know this is a bit late, but I haven't really had the opportunity to say this until now.

As we all should know, Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, has passed away.

As a great fan of Dragon Ball, and anime/manga in general it I have seen many things that were influenced by him. Naruto, One Piece, and many amazing pieces of art and stories were inspired by him.

He spearheaded the creation of Manga, of Shonen. Without him, we would not be the same world we are today.

We have lost one of the greats, a legend. And while I have written Dragon Ball Fanfiction in the past, None of them are as good as the stories I write now.

So Long Akira Toriyama, and may you write the Manga in the Heavens where you belong.

RIP.