Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Man, that could have gone much better. Expulsion, huh? That is not something I expected to happen. While I understand the logic, it still seems strange for my family to dismiss me for breaking rules. As Adoian got off the plane, he felt fatigued and unhappy. He had just spent the last 12 hours on a plane, and while the fact that he was in Japan was exciting, the reason for his visit was anything but. It was warm outside, but the breeze from the airport made him shiver, and his already terrible attitude worsened as he proceeded through customs.

Two hours later, and after a hard conversation in which he explained in what little Japanese  he knew that he was here for college, he was finally outside. Now, the only thing that remained was to find the place his family rented out for him. It was a small apartment relatively close to the train station, which would take him to university for the next 4 years. So I should be able to get to the apartment in a few hours, and I will go to sleep. I have two weeks until college starts; I have to go tomorrow and buy some necessities and get familiarized with the route to and from school, and also the area where I’ll be living. No contact, expulsion, and so very far away from home. Will I ever see the Carpathians again? Or will I ever walk the forests that protected my ancestors for so long? I feel like I’m being very introspective. Maybe I shouldn’t have trained with her. Too late now; there is nothing I can do now. I might as well enjoy it. I’m in Japan after all.

The journey to the apartment was interesting; he went on a very busy train line, but also a quite fast one. The trains were fast here, and coming from a country where trains were not fast or reliable; it was very impressive. Adoian tried to keep to himself, but he could feel stares from some people around. Back home, people didn’t consider him very tall, but he was one of the tallest people on the train at over 180 cm tall. It did not really bother him; he was used to having people stare at him for different reasons.

After he got to his station, he started going through the streets of Tokyo until he got to a small apartment complex, where in room 203, he would find his home for the next few years. It is a decent-sized apartment with a kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms.

I really don’t know what the standard in Japan is for housing, but this place is pretty cool; it has all the appliances I could need and, well, quite a few I never used. The bathtub is a masterpiece. I’m happy that, at least if I had to go to a different country, it loves bathtubs. I just don’t like the shower culture. There’s nothing like soaking in, so let’s use it.

After taking a bath, he went straight to bed and slept until the next morning. He slept without dreaming of anything, and when he woke up, he was still tired. "I am still tired even after a night of sleep. I’m curious, what’s the time difference between home and Japan? Should I look it up?" After thinking for a bit. Why? It’s not like I can talk to anyone back home. This is going to take some getting used to. It’s not like I have a family anymore. I should try to make some friends around here. I hope I can make some.

He spent the rest of the day walking through the neighborhood and visiting different supermarkets, comparing prices to see which one would be better. After he decided on which one, he started buying ingredients so he could cook for a few days. After he put everything away, he started looking around the neighborhood to get used with the area.

Seems quiet. A good mix of ages; I guess Tokyo is a big city, so that makes sense. I’m not used to this many people, so I should try to go into more high-traffic areas of the city to get used to it. I need to go to Akihabara after all; it’s going to be crowded, but I am curious to see that famous place. Maybe I can find old game consoles and games. I have a bit of saved money, so I should be fine, but I’ll also need to look out for job postings. What can I even do in Japan as a student? I guess a part-time job should be enough, or maybe I could offer counseling. My name is Dark, so I still should be able to find jobs to help people out. But how does anyone find jobs like that? People would think I’m insane. Well, trouble for future me. There is no point in stressing right now. I have enough money for quite a while, so the budget shouldn’t be tight for at least a year.

After walking around for a few hours, he starts his trail back to the apartment. On the way, the temperature drops. He turns around but sees no one. He feels someone looking at him, but no one is around.

Come on, man, it is just the second day in this country. I’m not doing this; I’m just gonna ignore it. Its presence it’s very weak, so it probably won’t do anything, just making me feel uncomfortable. With that said, he continues his walk home without issue, ignoring whatever feeling he had just experienced.

In the following few days, he spends his time trying to figure out the best stores around and the best way to go to his new university.

On the seventh day after his arrival, he goes to Akihabara to buy some old consoles. He never had enough time to play games, but he loved playing them whenever he had some free time. Now, with no job or mandatory training, it was the best time to enjoy more of his hobbies, although he did not yet know exactly what his hobbies were.

Akihabara, my friends would be so jealous. Johnny would be green with envy; well, not that I can tell anyone where I am or what I am doing, still, being here is like, I don’t know; I hoped I’d be more excited. After exploring the place for a bit and buying a Game Boy Advance and a Nintendo 3DS. He goes and buys a few games. 

There are tons of people here; I don't like places like this. But I guess I should get used to it. It’s a big city, I know how to get to college, so that’s okay. Weird, I expected to have more encounters in such a big city. Maybe they are not as common here. Well, either way, I am not gonna get caught up in any sort of weird stuff; it’s way too dangerous for me now.

He spends a bit more time in the city and then turns back home before it gets too dark. After he got down from the train, he started feeling a chill at the back of his head; it was weak, so he didn’t worry too much. Soon after, he heard running steps, so he turned around to see a girl about his age, of medium height, with black hair and brown eyes. The girl was looking behind and didn’t pay attention ahead, so she collided with Adoian.

“Ouch, that hurt. Um, are you okay, miss?”

“We need to hurry; it’s following us,” said the girl.

“Who? The ghost? If you ignore it, it’s gonna be fine; it has a very weak presence, so as long as you don’t interact with it or don’t make too obvious moves towards it. But even if you do so, if you go further from her haunting place, it will leave you alone and then forget about you.”

“How the hell do you know about this? And are you sure?”

“Very sure I am what you would call an expert, plus did it ever hunt you or follow you?”

“Just once, and once I got about 4 minutes away, it stopped”

“Exactly, don’t worry, and just ignore it,” Adoian says without a worry. “Plus, if you are that worried, you can just wear some salt on you or have someone banish it.”

“Who exactly are you?”

“Oh, right, I am Adoian; I just moved into the neighborhood. What is your name?”

“I am Yuki. I live around the corner. But how do you know this?”

“I studied for a long time. Really, you shouldn’t worry. This ghost it’s very weak, so it will disappear by itself in up to a year, unless something tragic happens, of course. But being this weak, I don’t think it can even kill or seriously harm anyone. Let’s ask her.” Adoian turns around, leaving the girl on the ground, and goes directly to an empty bench where a silhouette stays.

“Isn’t it dangerous?” said Yuki.

“Probably not.” Then he turned towards the ghost and looked directly where its eyes should be. “Hi, so what are you doing here? You seem old. How long have you been around?”

The silhouette looked at him and said in a low voice, “A really long time; I don’t remember that much these days. I feel like it’s been enough”

“Oh, so you plan on finally leaving this world? Why do you keep staying here? Any unfinished business or hatred”

“Too long ago, I can’t remember if it was important to me once it is no longer so.”

“Then you should be on your way. There are some sensitive people here who mind entities like you. If you have nothing left to do in this world, just go.”

“How do I do that?” it said, feeling extremely tired.

“Easy, just go past your haunting ground. You are too weak for that now, so you’ll get to rest. Don’t worry, I’ve been told it doesn’t hurt at all,” said Adoian kindly.

“Thank you!” said the ghost, raising and going to the edge of its border. Disappearing into a blue mist.

“Okay, Yuki, the ghost is gone. You don’t need to be worried about it anymore.” Said Adoian to the girl.

“What the hell just happened? Will it never come back again? Are you sure?”

“100% this ghost will never come back. I am curious; how long has it been since you could see it?”

“Since I was in kindergarten.”

“Is quite a long time. They can be quite scary, can’t they? You were the only one who could see them, the uneasiness and especially the wrongness of places that have them in. It would have been weird not to be scared.” Adoian is looking far away, remembering his days as a trainee. “Oh, right, I said I am Adoian, Adoian Dark. If you have any occult issues, come to me; I’m an expert, or if you know anyone who might have these sorts of issues, send them to me. I need a job, you see, so I’ll offer consultation and maybe even help make things better.” He smiles. “You don’t look that good. Sorry, let’s go. You should eat something sweet. People usually have low blood sugar after encountering a ghost or an occult being.”

“My family owns a cafe, let me treat you for finally making that thing go away. I am Yonezawa Yuki.”

They go to Yuki’s family cafe, and there they eat some cakes. After a bit, when Yuki gets better, she says.

“Are you a tourist?”

“I am not from the area, true, but I am not a tourist either. I’m starting university life here at the U-Tokyo, and I’ll be studying History.”

“Are you a freshman?”

“Yes, I’m just starting uni.”

“We might be colleagues then”