Castlevania: Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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The night club was named 'Duality', a two story night club that served both the day and night. From the outside it was a white washed building with windows un-tinted to allow for proper sunlight to flow into the building. The door to the club was nothing original, to the casual observer, a typical sheet of glass with light scratches from age. Beyond the door was a host station and coat room on the left. While on the right was a small hallway that lead to a second door way with a staircase going to the second floor against the back wall. With a small elevator system that rested next to the base of the stairs, marked for the handicapped.
During the day the second floor was brightly lit, the windows allowing the sunlight to bathe the white washed interior. Sharp angles, booths and tables covered in crisp white tablecloths with a long bar with an impressive display of liquor both local and foreign. The floor was a deep brown, easily mistaken as black with ceiling fans that lazily twirled high above, along with paintings created by local street artists hanging upon the walls with small price tags for those curious to purchase.
The first floor was the dance floor, closed off for the day part save for celebrations from weddings to business meetings. It had a matching bar, a stage for a band as well as booths and tables for those taking a break from the floor. There were more ceiling fans within the large room, the floor sharing the same shade of color though of different material given its different function. Duality catered to the business world when the sun was up leading to many corporate dealings.
Once dusk approached and the last businessman left for the day, the cleaning staff would set in, cleaning and preparing the club for its nightly guests. Turning the upright corporate go to for lunch club into the most Gothic night club in Japan. Black lights gave the white walls into the sharp blue hue that revealed detailed patterns of leaves and roses that climbed up the walls. Hidden among the foliage were images of ravens, crows the occasional distrusting cat or the judging wolf.
Julius could still recall the first time he attended the nightclub, years after he had lost his memory. He had been dragged into going as part of a Halloween party and now, years later, realized he had 'seen' Alucard that night.
The long bar was crammed with customers, every stool in use with every bartender busy stirring, shaking or mixing drinks. The lights were blacklit low, turning the floor into an ever flowing wave of black. Yet despite how dark everything was, Jay found that he could still see enough detail to get an idea what he was facing. The pointed hats of witches, the black cats and werewolves, with the occasional tight, tiny nurses' outfit standing out like a blazing star.
It was the vampires that stole his attention though. The high collars with their long cheap capes that stole his ability to move.
"Jay! Come on! Don't tell me standing outside all this time wasn't enough for you!" Francine whined as she pulled him out of his trance. By nearly sending him to the floor at the same time.
"S-s-sorry," Jay apologized as he shook out the image from his mind. 'I shouldn't have let her talk me out for this. I should have stayed home like last year.'
He was pulled towards a table next to a window showing the street below where he had been standing earlier in the evening. His reflection was even a reminder of how much he didn't want to do this, wearing nothing but his regular street clothes. Despite Francine and her friends dressed as a regular coven of 'naughty witches'.
Thank God that they brought their boyfriends and he wasn't the only one who opted out of a costume.
"Nice costume!" A slightly tipsy voice called up from around Jay's shoulder. Welcome to Japan where his European height made him stick out like a sore thumb, auburn red hair not helping...
Sigh..
"She's talking to you, Jay!" One of the boyfriends, Tai... Pai... he had yet to properly get names down called out. Gesturing behind Jay with one hand while nodding as though to say 'Yeah, you you goof' once Jay looked at him.
And because it took someone Japanese to get Jay to realize someone was talking to him, the automatic assumption that he was just some foreign tourist...
He turned around to acknowledge the young, crazy cute but he had a girlfriend, girl who had to be in the early end of high school. So probably in her late 20's because why 'would' an Asian woman want to look in the ballpark of her actual age? Trying her best to talk to him with her deeply accented English.
"You have a nice costume!" She called out over the blaring music.
"Thanks!" He answered not wanting to bother explaining that he wasn't 'in' any costume, this was just a slightly more dressed up version of his regular clothes.
"Vampire Hunter?"
Jay... really didn't have an answer for that... He had issues about vampires to start with and he didn't think there was anything on him that could be considered a 'hunter'. 'What? Why would anyone think 'this' is a Vam... Jackman... She's thinking that Hellsing movie isn't she? Only without the hat...' Realizing why she might have assumed he was in any sort of costume he put on a fake smile and bowed his head a bit. "Thank you!" he called over the noise.
They exchanged nods and as he turned to resume focusing on the group he actually came with. He found his gaze strangely locked momentarily with a stranger on the other side of the club. Amid the darkness of the room, it was only the pale skin that really stuck out. The stranger was in the deepest recesses of an alcove yet he was standing and like Jay, he towered over the masses. Enough so that it was easy to lock eyes with.
The stranger didn't smile, but there was some ghost of amusement in the corners of the strangers stern gaze. It was impossible to even humor the idea that the man 'heard' the conversation from such a distance. Yet the glance coupled with timing would argue that it 'was' heard.
'Well, for humans. But Dhampires don't count do they Alucard?' Julius thought as he recalled that strange singular moment. Perhaps Alucard didn't actively go looking 'for' Julius, but at least he knew, recognized and kept tabs.
Now Julius was going back to the club older and maybe wiser. More over he was also going to be introducing Soma to the Freelance police. 'It should be Alucard doing this, Yoko said that Alucard knows this place far better than I.' Julius thought as he approached the front door of Duality, its name already lit up and blinking in the encroaching gloom above the door. It didn't flash, instead the light faded slowly dark then came back, more the slow blink of the eye or rise of the moon than the flash of lightning.
"Oh do the introductions at Duality! Its a club in the Shinjuku area! Alucard spent time there when he had to socialize outside of the Date Building or his estate. It might help ease Soma into the introductions!"
'But we all now have to move to find him. My God poor Yoko, it must have been crushing to be contacted and find out Alucard was missing.' It was so dangerous, assigning Soma to the Freelance police and the only remaining LeCarde. But as much as Julius hated to admit it, he needed help. Not because of Soma's powers given they were sealed, but rather because they were better trained in dealing with the Dark Children. He hadn't seen Soma interact in European nations where the Dark Children more accustomed to his presence lived.
He glanced back to make sure that Soma was still with him and not lost somewhere else. Sealed and gone were two vastly different things after all, Julius could feel the sealed power. Making it hard to pin point Soma's location given the young man wasn't exactly a pile of rage as he had been for centuries. More over Soma had been strangely resigned to this trip, warning Julius that Soma was aware of more than he was letting on. Though that was certainly a fair trade off given that they hadn't discussed anything with the Dark Lord.
When Julius had shown up and suggested that Soma meet some of the other clans, it was as though Soma promptly pulled out a clipboard and checked the request off. He didn't argue or ask questions, just gave this resigned sigh instead.
He then spent the next half an hour convincing Julius that the sigh was 'not' because Julius was an 'old man who didn't have a clue how to have fun to start with'. Regardless if that was true or not, Julius had Vampire Killer and Soma wanted none of the whip.
The front of the club already had a line waiting to enter, with members of the Lolita and Gothic communities standing in an excited line. From leather to latex, cotton to black silk, there was a wide variety of people looking to get in and a long wait ahead. Which caused Julius to hope the Freelance pair were still in line and he could just pull them out. Maybe go someplace that didn't scream 'vampire wanna be' to him.
'You're about to meet Uncle Johnnys' grandson for the first time, and its going to be at a goth club,' Julius thought to himself. His eyes scanning the long lines of people who stood waiting to be allowed inside. There were no tall, natural blonds that he could see, though he was already getting the attention of the back of the line. Probably since he wasn't dressed for the club, while ghostly white drifted by him.
'Soma you snowball...' was the first thought that crossed his mind at the glimpse of white, causing him to double check annnd. Soma was walking along the side of the line not waiting with Julius.
For his part, Soma couldn't help but be amused by the sight of the people lined up waiting to get into the night club. It was a nice feeling here, a nice, almost heady blend of human and darkness that kept Soma's interest. Not the Castle, or the Estate, it was almost a human hub of activity that could be considered similar to either locations. 'I should have visited Shinjuku long before now,' he thought. Walking along, there were multiple woman and men who curtsied or bowed to him, that he acknowledged with a faint nod. Momoe and Ai weren't really into this type of stuff, but he could now say he knew 'just' enough about Lolita fashion to recognize the difference between the two communities.
The bouncer at the door unhooked the velvet rope as Soma approached, even while Soma took in the sight of the wolf etched into the glass of the nightclub. The door was opened for him, allowing him to feel the chilled air of the interior and the noise that came from the dance floor.
"The man with the brown leather coat is with me," Soma realized he 'really' should have come here before. A hostess stood with a menu in hand, in front of what stood during the day as a coat rack for CEO's. Right now in use as the register, there were a few people in latex black and glistening serving the area.
"Greetings My Lord, please allow me to lead you to your table," she called out.
'Why can't the Castle be this nice?' Soma thought in mounting amusement as he allowed himself to be led by the doe eyed, raven haired girl. The floor and walls fairly pulsed with the bass empowered beat of techno music. The door that revealed the dance floor was literally awashed in white with bubbles. 'Well that's one way to wash the floor and the guests. But I'm not stepping in there with my coat,' Soma thought as his gaze moved to the walls. Roses crawled up the wall in black light infused white with Ravens and Wolves among them. On his left the elevator stirred to life as a woman in a wheel chair was being lowered to the ground floor.
'Very nice... I think I want to play around in this place...' he mused as he distantly heard his name being called.
"Soma!" 'Wake up Vampire Killer I want to choke Soma with you,' Julius mentally grumbled as he stalked after Soma. The guy literally walked into the Club like he owned the place, had complete strangers bow to him and seemed to have no awareness of how out of place this was. Soma moved as though in his own element. Which made sense when it was Alucard, for the Dhampire was raised to always be treated as such.
Soma was not. Watching the young man walk away with the bright white of his coat consumed by the darkness of the club. It stirred that terrible feeling that Soma was drifting back to the Castle, reverting back to being Dracula. While a 'Good' Dracula wasn't a being to fear, Soma was too damaged to be a purely good Dracula. The most they could hope for was a neutral one and Alucards' absence was more important than he had originally realized.
'He's tracing Alucards' steps, perhaps this will work better than Yoko hoped for. If Soma gets close enough to pick up on Alucards' energies he could very well zero in on the man.' Julius thought to himself, though that came with its own problems. 'Though Yoko implied Alucard was a distant regular here and Soma's tracing him. He's not going to be held anywhere that would be repetitive enough to build that path for Soma to follow.' Only to remember that apparently where ever Alucard 'was' couldn't be traced. Unless somehow Soma was able to overpower that block due to their relationship.
Meanwhile, back on the second floor of Duality.
'Wait... oh that's right Julius is with me,' Soma thought as he looked around at the club floor. 'I left Julius behind. Oh he's going to kill me, I'm going to have 'just cause' as the reason for anyone killing me for the rest of my life aren't I?'
Soma turned his attention to the hostess and leaned down so she could hear him over the noise. "I have a friend I left at the front door. When you go down there, can you see to it that 'Belmont, Julius' is allowed in?"
She nodded obediently then extended her hand towards a side table for which Soma shook his head with a faint smile. "I see my table from here, thank you." He didn't wait while she stood there a little confused before walking away herself. Instead he went towards a shadowed alcove seat booth, given that he was going to have Julius and several others. The table would be better to talk to a group than the barely big enough for two table.
The floor was packed, forcing Soma to push his way past multiple heavy skirts and bypass tables that dotted the floor. It was so dark, yet electric as well racing up his spine as he walked through the night club. People all around him and there was the feeling of home bringing back those feelings of the Castle or maybe the Estate. The alcove looked inviting, giving him a solid view of the floor while sheltering him from prying eyes.
'I can see them, they can't see me, its like... probably like sitting on the throne in the Castle. I wonder if the Castle even was like this. Like actual parties... Ok Soma you sound pathetic, you can have a life out here and you're thinking about the Castle.' Once he reached the table he slipped down to the well worn leather booth seat. 'Nice seat, comfy, the table is sturdy, I bet the Castle... ARGH there I go again. Stop it Soma! I shouldn't have to banish myself to the sealed Castle just to keep this madness out of my life!' he argued internally when he caught sight of something.
'Oh look natural blond,' Soma thought as he saw a pair of non native Japanese people, essentially Western looking folks, navigate their way to the alcove. The guy was blond, tall with a trench coat and a hat that screamed 'Noire detective'. But it felt more like a defense, the way his expression played as he was confronted by strangers hinted at a lack of confidence. Perhaps the attire was more to reassure 'him' rather than anything else.
'Oh and a spunky girl,' an easily missably short young lady, with brown hair at his side, she had bunny pins on the lapels of a rather nice top and skirt set and a bag that was kept close to her side. Neither were dressed for this place, though they 'were' dressed nicely. 'Maybe they didn't know they were going to be going to a Goth club?' Soma found himself pondering as he sat there.
"Ah you're 'Soma, Cruz' right?" The guy called out in the most 'help me I don't know what I'm doing' tone of trying to speak Japanese, only to get punched in the side by the girl.
"Japan! Last name first!" She corrected in English which earned Soma's vast amusement.
He shrugged but before he could even try to answer in any language the pair began glaring at each other. More over so when he caught a glimpse of Julius finally emerging from the doorway and somehow it made sense. Of course Westerners would be looking for him, really Yoko and her brother were the only Asian blooded members of the clan that he knew off the top of his head. 'I guess its on me that I shouldn't have assumed that all the clans are multilingual.'