Last Chance, Haruo 2 - (Original, Side Character!MC)
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It's been three months, but the training effort was finally wrapped up.
Going back home to face the last few months of high school before fully involving the group into the upcoming threat presented by the Le Fay Clan. A smile on the youthful face, the determination of the proudest warrior, and-
"Aki! You are late!"
A sheepish look as Akira was struck ruthlessly by the never-dull sharp tongue that was owned by the fiery lady known as Miyamoto Miyako. Miyako was the descendant of the legendary Miyamoto Musashi, the current heiress of his secret sword clan and the inheritor of his legendary magical skill with the sword.
Red hair, red eyes, red aura and red passion. Despite her tough attitude, Miyako was not being too harsh over Akira's arrival at their greeting spot after school since it was afternoon - it was just her way to make it clear she cared.
Still, nothing there told Akira that anything had gone awry, but that was to change as the others spoke up.
"Mou, Aki-kun! I would have died if you also ditched me. You know, that jerk Haruo had decided to no longer feed me his blood- the jerk!" Blan spoke up, the childish vampire rushing forth for a very onesided hug. At least the magical bindings prevent surprises...
Still, what she said about Haruo was a very unusual development, but Akira didn't see a genuine issue with that. Haruo had always complained that Blan could be too much of a pest, so maybe he got tired and thus Akira will have to drag Blan to apologize to him properly.
So far, things had been just a bit weird but-
"That's because he is not here anymore."
The flat announcement came from the last girl of Akira's 'friendly' group - Rurikovna Fedosova. 'Fede' was born from Russian parents, but her family had moved to Japan due to persecution since her parents were actually mages and Fede was a prodigy in magic. Winter was her favorite season, but she didn't shy away from the beach when it came to her 'beloved Akira'.
If there was one thing that Akira also knew was that Fede never lied, or pranked, or did anything that may be false upon the disappearance of someone. And as she said those words, something sank within Akira's mind.
"What- What do you mean with that, Fede?"
The prim and proper student shifted some locks of white hair away, her yellow eyes stoically regarding Akira.
"As of last month, Shoda Haruo had left the country of Japan."
This statement only left Akira more puzzled.
"Why?"
"I am unsure. I only know he departed together with his father for Tokyo to take a flight out of Japan, and his father returned a week later."
...
"I... What?"
"He left for some vacation, what about it?" Blan whined/asked, but it was Miyako that jumped on behalf of Akira.
"Haruo is Aki's childhood friend. Of course he would be shocked by what occurred, and since Aki was busy training, maybe he missed on that detail."
Akira was sure that wasn't possible, but Fede wasn't done talking.
"While I don't know why he left, I know that he had been shunning us a week or so before he left. By my understanding, Blanka did something to him which made him upset to us all."
"I noticed that too, but I actually didn't knew it was Blan's fault until now," Miyako remarked flatly, eyes narrowing at the vampire as the girl growled. "What did you do?"
"I did nothing wrong! I was just hungry, and Haruo thought that he could just say no- I mean, I understand that it can be bad to keep focus, but is it more important for him to do a test or for me to survive?"
"You are in the healthiest shape a vampire could get at, you bird-brained blood-sucker," Miyako snapped back, and the ensuing response stunned the entire group.
"Man, you are just like that idiot! So? What if I had to use my Charm spell to convince him to behave? It's not like he is of importance to-Ghhk!"
Blan's eyes widened as she found herself lifted off the ground... by Akira's hand as it squeezed her neck tightly on the spot.
"You fucking what?! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HARUO!?"
The hold tightened even more, which was worrying considering that some of Akira's dragon-like power was suddenly oozing all around, causing the other girls to tense up as they saw the usually calm and collected warrior break in a monstrous rage.
"S-Sorry. I didn't- I didn't-"
"AKI!"
Miyako looked genuinely concerned, one hand resting on the hilt of her prized sword but stopping short from unsheathing it until all other options were exhausted. Yet, Akira hardly appeared willing to listen, as Akira had heard more than enough to lose control... until Fede spoke up.
"Haruo wouldn't want you to kill her, wouldn't he? At least, not on his behalf... like a monster."
The sharp words uttered by the Kuudere had Akira froze up in spot, his aura vanishing as Blan was released to the ground. The vampire coughed a bit, ready to demand answers on why she had been treated like that, but all she saw was Akira bolting away from her and away from them all.
Before Blan could have gotten up from the ground, she paused at the sight of ice suddenly coating her legs and arms, freezing her stuck on the dirty floor.
"W-What are you doing, you stupid doll?!"
Fede's eyes were aimed at Miyako however, and the redhead offered a perplexed but ultimately trusting nod before turning to Blan.
"You have much to tell us, Vampire. And even more to be punished for."
Despite that fair commitment, Miyako wondered if they should have given chase to Akira, worried that he could have done something stupid but... Fede appeared truly calm on th etopic, even saying that-
"Akira needs some time off. He needs to think and contemplate as he just lost his first closest friend."
These words were enough to burn the rage within her some more as Miyako could relate to Akira a lot due to them being friendless heirs to unforgiving clans and...
The dumb vampire was not going to be able to sit once she fetched the spiked paddle to deal with her disgusting attitude.
The Gregor Mendel Chemical Institute was a private education establishment that had been founded roughly five years ago by a group of resourceful and rich chemists, scientists, and engineers that sought to create a 'new form of university'.
Albeit it was a recent addition to the world of schools, the impeccable services, the hi-tech laboratories and the fairly impressive teaching staff translated in an immediate officialization from the Czech government in allowing it to operate as a proper university. One that was keen to hand out scholarship like with my case.
As I arrived in Prague a week before the scheduled interview with the Director of the Institute, I found myself getting taught a few lessons by my dad in regard to moving around foreign city.
Since the old man had done numerous work trips, he was familiar with Prague to some extent, but he had to admit that I was lucky the institute wasn't locate in proper Prague and that it was still within civilization to not feel either burdened by overcrowding, but also I had access to the more essential services in regard to moder needs.
That being said, the week had been the last lingering pains of handling the weight of my decision. After being attacked by Blan, I had used a special amulet that Akira had given me years ago to push away any 'inhuman' creature that could try to approach me - which was effective in keeping vampires away and give me that week-long break I needed before making the trip.
The process behind being enrolled was far more different than expected: instead of waiting for the end of highschool, the institute would expedite the final exams for me and I had to go through the final year exams far earlier than the rest of the school. A difficult chore, but my hard-working paid off and I could now go to Prague.
Once in Europe and once I had adapted to my new wherebouts, I took to learn Czech while sharpening my understanding of English by testing both languages through online courses. Even as I got to the first interview to finalize my application, I was far from perfect in either, but my English was good enough to be understandable and make the process of answering complex questions far easier.
And it was through that interview that I met my current professor and the head of the laboratory I had been assigned to: Dr. Louis Morgause.
The man was a chemist from France that was extremely impeccable around the lab, but he was also known for his cordiality, good teaching skills, and overall comprehensive grasp on handling new additions to the Institute.
The very moment I shook hands with the man, I felt somewhat trusting of him, and this fully materialized within the first two weeks of working under him. I had the pleasure of meeting the various members of the faculty, mostly those assigned to our lab, but it was the tasks given to us that turned what had been a rather 'entrenched' favorite subject at school into something very fascinating.
Dr. Morgause never disappointed in giving us tasks on a weekly basis. It was never an individual task, but rather a group effort - everyone had to work properly to conjure the best grading and praises. The notion of individual grades was excluded as it 'forced people to be too self-centered' and 'denied the development of needed team-working relations to handle lab work'.
With that in mind, I worked hard to refine my skills around the rest of the team, who were all students that were mostly not local to Czechia, and I refined my understanding of languages to try and make that possible.
As these two weeks proved to be quite pleasantly exhausting on me, I also learned to take breaks (there was no 'official break time' between lessons since there was no true lesson each day) and I had this nice spot in the cafeteria where I would get myself a coffee and some snacks. Then I would walk back to resume my lengthy shift at the lab.
I was glad that food and dormitories were all included in the scholarship, thus rendering the worry of finding a job negligible for the time being- at least until I got better in speaking Czech and I could find the right timing to get a part-time job going.
As I was getting back from a lovely break during the second week at the GMCI, I was surprised to find a little girl pacing back and forth in front of a vending machine. Short blonde hair, green eyes, a pout on her face and a pretty white dress that reached down to her knees, where black socks then took the eye to her dark-blue shoes.
She took notice of me as I got closer, and she leaned away as I passed by but... stopped to see what was going on. After all, the Institute wasn't known to harbor children, so I was curious to know how one got inside. Maybe it was the child of one of the teachers, it was something I heard being a common habit among some of the researchers so... maybe that was it.
Still, I found her little struggling interesting and I checked what may be up with her.
"Do you want something from the machine?"
Despite appearing uneasy around a stranger, the little blonde nodded and I smiled.
"Which one?"
The pure and innocent smile I got as I paid for the little one's meal was worthy of losing some cents. We didn't exchange any introduction from that meeting, but I would later on learn by Dr. Morgause himself that the little girl was none other than his youngest daughter and one of his two 'favorite children'.
Artoria Morgause was indeed a most polite and uttermost adorable girl - one that harbored several secrets by merely existing.
Some about herself, some about her family, and others about... another plot trying to claim my normalcy from me.
AN
Uh-Oh, Akira is very territorial of Haruo, so expect some interesting developments in the next two chapters. I think the next one will be a full on Haruo one, and then we dive back to Akira to reveal some of the situation behind that harsh reaction.
Lastly, Artoria Morgause and Dr. Morgause are not truly tied to the Le Fay Clan... after all, Dr. Morgause has reasons as to why he never brings up the reasons behind his divorce from his very alive, very rich, and very snobby ex wife.