Chapter Text
“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!” Julius mumbled, throwing paper after paper behind his shoulder, his eyes darting left and right and trying to find what he needed. “Shit, shit, shit, shit!”
He kept repeating the word, sometimes swapping it for crap, but the more he did so, the messier his side of the archives became. Papers were scattered everywhere, folders wide open on many tables, piles of books and older documents that rarely saw the light of day anymore… And yet Julius Belmont failed to find anything about what he wanted; Castlevania, the castle of Dracula, or at least information about it regarding its physical form. Julius did seal half of that accursed castle in the eclipse, which he had documented successfully, but that was five whole years ago and now that he needed to review older notes, there were none besides those very recent events.
The Belmont looked panicked, and completely out of his element, something that his coworker didn’t fail to notice when she passed by the archives and saw a very disheveled vampire hunter trying his darndest to find something that didn’t exist. The witch took a sip from her cold brew, swirled the plastic cup in her hand a couple of times just to listen to the ice cubes clash against one another, just before she spoke up her concerns.
“You know, one more hour in here and I will be thinking that you need more sleep and vacation time than Alucard. Let’s not reach that point, hm Julius?” Yoko said sympathetically, patting his slumped shoulder as the man sighed. “Now, now. What got you all down and made you shout shit and crap over and over again?”
“Do you remember how I am now in charge, as the eldest Belmont of my era, in keeping the Belmont Crypt and the archive with up to date information?” Yoko nodded, that is all Julius needed. “Great, well, I didn’t!”
“You… Didn’t. Aha, how so?” She took another sip from her coffee, gesturing to her elder with the straw protruding from the cup. “Last I remember, we both filed in the info about both the eclipse and Celia’s castle. Where is the problem?”
“That I forgot the most important part Yoko! The real thing! The physical castle!” Combing back his hair and fixing his messy low ponytail, Julius stood up and straightened his clothes. “Is it in need of repairs? Has it undergone any changes? Does it need watchmen due to suspicious activity? Those are questions we should know the answers to as a Belmont and a Belnades, but we do not, and I do not think we can teleport straight to Romania.”
“Well… We… COULD.” Yoko waved her free hand, motioning at herself as if to say; ‘Remember Julius, witch, I can do magic’, but in the end she just shook her head. “But I know what you mean, can doesn’t mean should.”
“We both have students that depend on us… We cannot just up and go, hell’s knows for how long. So what solutions are there? We could… Maybe send someone?” Julius scratched his beard, following Yoko slowly back to the file drawers, re-organizing them to tidy up his mess. “But who?”
“Do you think Hammer would go if we paid enough?” Yoko asked, mainly jokingly, evident by her followed up laughter and shake of her head. “I am joking. Surviving the eclipse and wars are not enough qualifications to be sent undercover to Romania, plus he is just a human without any training, doubt the boss would even allow us to propose it.”
“Yoko, Hammer would go if you just asked him to, but I do agree with the rest of your pitch… Hmmm…” after finishing tidying the papers he messed up, Julius started walking outside the archive room, the younger witch following suit. “How about Soma? He is capable enough, survived the castle twice, a much more dangerous castle than the one physically remaining. He has come to terms with his whole Dracula reincarnation troubles, he sounds perfect.”
“He knows magic, the power of domination, and to fight with weapons!” Yoko grinned and took a sip from her coffee, enjoying the caramel swirled goodness with a hum. “You forget though, one very big obstacle in your plan on sending Soma over to Romania.”
“Hm?” Arching a brow, Julius inserted a coin in the hallway vending machine, grabbed a cold canned coffee and took a sip from it as he scouted his brain trying to remember. “Which obstacle? Soma has finished with any outside of Agency responsibilities as far as I know, he works for us, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
The witch laughed, finishing her sweet drink and throwing away the plastic container it was. “You don’t get it? Really?” She rolled her eyes, obviously thinking that Julius would have understood what she was addressing by now. “I meant Alucard. Alucard is a big factor in whether Soma goes to Romania, or not. May I remind you, dear Julius, that even if Soma is an adult Alucard is his primary guardian, caretaker, legal person and also boss? I doubt he will allow you to just send Soma to Romania, all willy-nilly, without any second thoughts.”
“Then what do you suggest I do? Ask Alucard himself?” Pinching the bridge of his nose, Julius groaned in frustration and waved Yoko away as he walked to the training grounds. “You know what, I will go do my field practice with the kids, I will think of something afterwards. I am not giving myself a headache in the middle of the damn shift.”
Crossing her arms, Yoko Belnades shook her head and returned to her own work responsibilities inside the Agency. But as she started grading some papers regarding the ‘Basic Theories of Magical Properties’ she had taught her students a month ago, it was as if a lightbulb lit up above her head. The thing Julius said popped up in her mind, asking Alucard! Of course! Their boss was always busy, that was true, but he wasn’t needed at the Agency 24/7! Alucard simply decided to be around just to be around, although Yoko knew it was for more reasons than just that, so asking him wouldn’t be completely out of the picture!
Proud with her thought process, Yoko pushed the exam papers aside, propped her heels up on her desk and grabbed her phone. Scrolling a bit through contacts, she finally found Alucard’s, which was saved under ‘Boss’ just so she didn’t have to explain why she had someone called ‘Adrian Tepes’ calling her every time she was out in public. With no hesitation she pressed the call button, and the speaker, not wanting to ruin her phone with sweat and make up. She hummed and looked at her nail while the phone rang, and at the fifth ring it was finally answered, with the stern male voice she so adored coming from the phone’s speaker.
“This is agent Genya Arikado speaking, how may I help you?” Alucard’s voice was low, steady as always, very professional and leaving no room for anyone to second guess its authority.
“Alucard, it is me, your lovely witch from downstairs!” Yoko chimed, all cheerful to hear her boss still alive and well, not that there was any doubt about the first part, but surely there was a lot of doubt about the latter. “How are you doing? What are you up to?”
“Work.” Without so much as a breath taken, Alucard replied rapidly to her second question, Yoko listening and catching up the mumbling of someone in the background. “I am doing quite well though, thank you for asking. Would you mind if I put your call on speaker? I have some papers to sign through, and I could use both hands.”
Yoko could hear the shuffling and she just hummed as she waited, and when she heard the sound of being put on speaker she cleared her throat. “So, papers, are they important?”
“As important as ever… You sound excited, did something happen? Are you planning something, Yoko?” The man on the phone asked, suspicion rising in his voice, one that the witch couldn’t possibly avoid as a nervous laugh left her. “I knew it… The answer is no.”
“But you haven’t even heard the question yet! Come on, Alucard pleaaaase!” She deflated as she frowned, almost pouted at how easy her boss, and friend, had rejected her offer without even hearing her out first. “When have I ever-”
“Many times. Both you, and Julius frankly, have gotten me and the Agency into trouble many times with your reckless ideas.” With no hesitation, Alucard interrupted her, signing another paper off and putting it on the completed stack as he replaced it with another contract that needed his signature. “But…” he sighed and rolled his eyes. “I will hear you out, just to be fair, and to give you the benefit of the doubt.”
Yoko felt the rush of justification go through her, as she stood up and started walking around her desk, her heels clicking almost musically against the tiles. “So, me and Julius, or better put it Julius and I, we discovered an issue that we have with the archived information about your father’s castle.”
“I fail to see what I can do about that… If there is an issue at hand that concerns you and Julius nevertheless, it should be solved by you two, no?” Arching his brow, almost painfully so, so much in fact that Yoko could see it, Alucard sighed and closed his eyes. His pen stopped scratching the paper it was signing, his chair sliding across the floor as he stood up and looked at his phone, which he picked up in his hold. “Yoko, what exactly do you have in mind? You know I cannot intervene directly with yours or Julius’ schedule, not on the spot that is. If you want information about the castle, the best solution I can offer is asking me questions, although considering how many years I also have to visit, I won’t be much of a help either.”
“Well I was just thinking…” Yoko paused, making a mental note that Julius would scold her afterwards. “Why don’t you go? It will be a chance for a small break, it will give you some relief to see your old home, you know…” Yoko hoped he did.
Alucard didn’t reply, he glanced at the phone and then at Soma, who had stopped doing his paperwork and had already perked up his head when the question was dropped. He was mouthing ‘please say yes’ over and over again, even clapping his hands together, eyebrows furrowed and lips smiling in a pleading stretch.
The head of the Agency didn’t know what to say.
On one hand, going there himself alongside Soma could prove beneficial. He could see that the castle and Belmont crypt were intact, and note anything worthwhile, sending it right back to Yoko by the end of their trip before they even landed back in Japan. On the other hand, it was a far away trip, he was not really homesick after two delves into the cursed version of that castle, and he surely didn’t want to leave his work behind, knowing very well how easily it could pile up in the blink of an eye.
“I will… Call you back about that… It is an offer I cannot outright accept, or refuse. Give me some time to process it.” Alucard hung up the call, feeling Yoko’s anxiousness from his side, even if it was unspoken. “Soma, you have work to do, you know.”
The white-haired young adult just sighed, rolled his crystal eyes and stood up, going right next to Arikado and crossing his arms. “Arikado!” he said loudly, with a pout, pressing his lips together as the agent rolled his eyes at him. “Hey, rude, I am just talking to you!”
“You are not talking, you are shouting at me… But I know what you are going to say. You want to go to Romania, don’t you?” The question was quickly replied to with a rapid nod. “Well, of course you do, it would get you out of your never-ending pile of paperwork.” The dhampir nodded over at the young one’s desk, almost oozing with papers that he had to sign and report to, mainly due to previous missions.
“It is not just because of my paperwork.” Soma explained, trying to keep his voice down as he visibly looked offended for a moment, as if he could do something like that; even if he totally would. “I promise!”
Sighing, Arikado decided to yield and give Soma a chance to prove that it wasn’t just because he wanted to skip work. If the boy gave him an actual reason… Then… “If you tell me a reason you want to go, to the castle of your many nightmares, albeit a much more normal form of it, besides skipping work… Then I will call Yoko and tell her we will go, alright?” He saw Soma instantly opening his mouth, to which Arikado pressed an index finger against. “No, not now, after work.”
As he had promised, Arikado had stopped at a place for them to sit and eat something after work, as an opportunity for them to talk as well. Soma chose Mcdonalds, because of course he did, and Arikado complied, not having the energy to think of anything better himself or argue about the fast food chain being a horrible after-work place to eat. As they grabbed their orders and sat down to eat at a corner table, which granted them at least a little peace and quiet, Arikado saw Soma dip a fry in his milkshake before eating it, proceeding with the young man clearing his throat and looking at the agent across from him in a very serious manner… Something that really didn’t fit the atmosphere at all, and even made Arikado snicker a bit under his breath.
“Heyyyy! I have been collecting my thoughts, trying so hard to come up with reasons to do the trip, and you laugh at me?” Soma sighed dramatically and ate another one of his fries, noticing Arikado’s small smile across his pale features, which admittedly made him smile back. “I will forgive you, because I know how tired you are.”
“How graceful of you, if only more people had your kindness, Soma.” Arikado shook his head but chuckled, crossing his legs and taking a sip from his black cold brew, deciding on a coffee rather than a soda because he knew he’d have to stay up all night typing out reports on his laptop. “So, did you successfully think of a reason besides ditching workload?”
“Actually…” Soma relaxed his body, smiled genuinely and placed his milkshake down after having a quick sip from it. “I did.”
The agent could tell that he was being sincere. He didn’t know if it was Soma’s eyes that gave away that he was serious about this, or his expression that screamed about innocence and determination, but Arikado knew at that moment that he had lost. He didn’t say anything, he just took another sip from his coffee, placed it next to Soma’s drink and joined his hands together on the table. He treated this as a serious meeting, and he noticed Soma straightening his back before talking, after a nod was gestured towards him.
“I want to see the castle, the place that you grew up in, if that’s alright with you Arikado. I want to see the local drinks and deserts, the forest you told me so many times that you loved vanishing into to forget and try to feel free…” closing his eyes, Soma took a deep breath, trying so hard to not step on a landmine. “I just want to see, with my own eyes, what my soul yearns for… I feel nostalgic whenever I think about it. I think your father would want to visit too… Maybe he misses his home, or maybe he misses the memories he made with you.”
Opening his eyes he met with not the normal black eyes Arikado had, but the golden hue he was so used to during their private moments. They were wide and shocked, blinking with uncertainty. Soma got scared that he crossed a line, but the dhampir closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose, and when they opened again they were once more affected by the glamor spell. Relaxing, and understanding he did nothing wrong this time, Soma smiled and reached across the table, managing to catch Arikado’s free hand in his, the one that the agent didn’t use to loosen his tie just slightly.
“Arikado… I am sorry… I shouldn’t have-” Soma got interrupted by the agent squeezing his other hand around their joint grasp. “Arikado?”
“Don’t apologize. Not when there is absolutely nothing to apologize for.” With a small smile, the agent nodded and half-lidded his eyes. “Very well, your reason was more than adequate enough, I will call Yoko later to let her know that we are going to Romania. You better pack some long sleeved shirts and jackets, it is not the most warm climate there.”
Excited, Soma took another fry in his mouth and grinned after he properly ate it. He didn’t want to show bad table manners after Arikado had given in to his wants after all, or else the agent might have taken back his decision. On their ride home, Soma was practically shaking with excitement, and when they parked and entered their apartment he rummaged through the dhampir’s stuff to hand him his phone. Rolling his eyes the agent made the call to Yoko, listening to the witch being ecstatic and relieved at his change of heart, but not without a bit of teasing by how easily Soma could affect his decisions. The tickets were booked merely minutes after the phone call, and Alucard was prepared to face past demons once more… But this time, much like many others, he was not alone, and for that he was glad.