Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - When Money's Worth More Than Life Itself
This story takes place in the same universe as the original Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, with a evil Kami but shortly after Bane's first encounter with the greedy, cold blooded and crude Ghoul Bounty Hunter, Kakuzu...he owes Kakuzu a ridiculously overexagerated amount of money that he destroyed by accident and if he thinks the Bounty Hunter is willing to let him forget it or, God forbid, get away with it, he's sadly mistaken and doesn't know who he's dealing with...Since Bane and friends have yet to meet Alphonse Taeger, Ryuken 'Scar' Salazar's former master, he'll be on Kami's side as they're former childhood friends and he wanted to eat Bane when they first met. He still does, actually.
Kakuzu stood in a tree, unmoving with the eyes of an alpha predator, his fist was trembling and he was scowling as he watched Bane spar with Anko, the niece of his father's childhood friend, Mitarashi Roku.
Anko was finished sparring woth Asakura and went inside, leaving him alone as he sat with a look in his face like he was ready to throw up 'It seems 'rashi-san has taken him on his first hunt...he wasn't mindful that the boy still has the mindset of a human and just thinks he's a murderer now, he'll starve next time he's so hesitant to kill'
Kakuzu turned to leave when a snapping sound caught his attention back to Asakura who was now sitting and snapping his fingers, Kakuzu saw the sparks...early sign that one already possesses and is just unaware or will later possess Fire Magic.
"What do you want from me, Bounty Hunter?" Bane asks looking at the trees as Kakuzu walked out from behind it "nothing much...unless it involves something starting with a 'm' and ending in a 'y'..."
"You're still a materialistic, psychotic miser with too much of a love for money, I see" Bane says as Kakuzu scowled "tough talk coming from a privileged little brat who has everything handed to him on a silver plate as well as a rather sinful looking mother and a deadbeat father...money is the only true constant in this world, indiscriminate and needed by both Ghouls and Humans alike, as long as the price is right"
"You're a Bounty Hunter...don't you have anything better to do, Miser?" Bane glares at him as he was regarded by the older Ghoul with a look of total disgust "Has your useless father ever taught you of a Black Bet, if he's taught you anything at all?"
Bane shakes his head as a com link came on in the Ghoul's ear causing him to snarl as he turned away from Bane "You were told not to interrupt me unless your life is in danger...or it will be, what is it?"
'I know, Boss, but those three Ghouls you told us to keep our eyes on are becoming quite a volitile mixture'
Kakuzu looked back at Bane as he shut the com off "Such a shame, a Ghoul like you with the possibly very rare ability to control Wind and Fire, two elements that complement each other so well will never reach your fullest potential with someone like Yang"
"I'm warning you, stop insulting my father!" Bane rose to his feet angrily as Kakuzu took off "How about you make me stop, hn?"
Bane pursued and attacked but he underestimates the kind of fighter Kakuzu is, he never comes unprepared as he dodges everything that coming at him, even the shadows were all easily evaded by the much better trained Bounty Hunter...he's got a reputation to uphold, just as Bane does as the man who banished Kami and saved Ghouls from a much more grim fate if Kami remained as Ghoul Lord. His thoughts on Kami's banishment was totally self-centered on Bane's part though...he wanted Kami to suffer just as he was made to suffer by the Binge Eaters whose city J'onn literally dropped him into that wasn't to far from Kakuzu's own personal residence
Kakuzu moved his mask from over his mouth, showing a rather devilish smirk as he suddenly disappeared from his sight as Bane felt a tongue touch his ear as Kakuzu chuckled yet again "Looking for me, kid?"
Bane quickly utilized the close hand-to-hand combat skills taught to him by Scar, elbowing Kakuzu across the face and jumping away from him, Kakuzu growled as it barely fazed him "What was that, a love tap?"
"You have as much skill as you did when we first met...none, I say so because you're trying too much to emulate your dear master...who happens to be no match for me" Kakuzu pointed out "One shouldn't treat his master with such disrespect, he's not your friend"
"You seem knowledgeable on that topic..." Bane quipped back as Kakuzu disappeared again...elbowing him to the side of the head which he sensed only enough to barely dodge "Of course, I'm the one he's tried to emulate his fighting style on after all, that second rate cheapskate but he's not the reason I'm here. You are..."
He pointed behind him at Kami, Yang and Roku fighting, the waves of their magic could be felt for miles "father...What's this bet you were talking about, Kakuzu-san?" Bane was captivated by the battle
'Sumātona kodomo... Watashi wa anata no koto o shiru koto ga dekimasu, Asakura-san' (Smart kid...I'd have to say that's something I can learn to appreciate about you, Mr. Asakura) Kakuzu remarked 'Shikashi, mada anata wa amarini mo īdesu... Darekaga watashi wa mada subete no mono o shinrai suru koto wa dekimasenga, ima wa kinishinaide kudasai. Akumyō takaku moraenai burakku betto wa, tokuni watashi ga haitte iru kiken'na bijinesu rain no dare no yūjin demo arimasen' (but you're still far too nice...not someone I can trust with everything just yet, but never mind that now. The notoriously elusive Black Bet is no one's friend especially in the risky line of business I'm into)
Kakuzu raised his right arm, revealing his forearm which had two think black lines just before his elbow and two at his wrist "Nice tattoo..." Bane said, not totally surprised that Kakuzu had tattoos...then again nothing about the greedy Bounty Hunter surprised him anymore
"I don't take kindly to being made fun of, so cut it out" he said harshly "This is a special tattoo given by the Crypt's silent, albeit also sightless, warden to those who wish to become the head of a Bounty Hunters' Guild...I was younger than you, nine years to be exact"
"Most nine year olds aren't even sure what that want to be...let alone having a job" Bane says "Your parents must be doing cartwheels in their graves"
"Yeah, they're still alive...they got the point that I was no longer listening on my third attempt to kill my father and my fifteenth attempt to sell my mother to the local Binge Eaters" Kakuzu chuckled a bit
"You tried to sell your mother just for money and failed fifteen times...why am I less surprised than expected to hear that?" Bane said, clearly surprised as Kakuzu said simply "I wanted the money...Kami's Grandfather, the Ghoul Lord at that time sent them off to God knows where 'for my own good' apparently...take my hand, they were too perfect why I did what I did too...I have no regrets"
Bane takes Kakuzu hand "I'm not interested in a tattoo from Shin-sama, how does he not miss and take an arm or something off?"
Kakuzu shrugged and grunted, he did not care either as he got to it for free "Ask him about the tenth and last level of the Crypt...the punishments there are worse than succumbing to the seven deadly sins, Greed is an asset however...not a sin"
"It's one of the worst sins but whatever, there's no point in telling you that" Bane said as Kakuzu gripped his hand with breaking force "Let the Black Bet begin...I wager a heart and, hm...this arm and I'd choose wisely, if I were you, I'm free to take whatever you wager if this contract is breached in any way"
Bane was smart, he's wager something that he was almost certain was useless to Kakuzu as he pulled out one of two artifacts he got from that creepy vendor in a lonely alley, a white gem which was worth a whopping two and a half million yen as Kakuzu's eyes turned to dollar signs "I wager a White Gem and my heart and soul, since I have nothing else worth wagering"
"No matter...I am your boss now, break contract and I'm free to cash in on what you bet, likewise you can do the same if I break the contract, which I won't start doin' now and there's no turning back now" Kakuzu said still smiling "...as I've been thinking of adding souls to my collection anyway recently"
"Yes, master..." Bane said as Kakuzu hit him in the nose with his palm "I am not your master, I don't run a frickin' ding dong dojo or something, do I?...I run a business in which you're never sure if you'll see tomorrow."
Kakuzu left, gesturing for Bane to follow.
Kakuzu made it to a clearing before stopping and looking around impatiently...
Kakuzu and Bane stopped as Kakuzu's patience was waring thin "Where are those imbeciles...?"
Suddenly, a blade strikes where Bane's next step would've been the two more were barely dodged, he could smell the toxins on the blade, he looked in the direction of the attacker.
He saw five figures, the ones apparently testing Kakuzu's blood pressure.
"Looks like you've found yourself a tail there, Bosu (Boss)" Hiro, a ghoul with black hair that had streaks of red going through it as it was held in a ponytail said, beside him was Anais, a younger girl than the grown men she worked for/with who had a flowing black braid and a deceptively cute disposition, Bane knew all too well that Kakuzu did not fancy anything cute around him.
Aerron was a former prisoner at the Crypt with bleached blonde hair and very light brown eyes...he had as little choice to be here as Bane did as he was on Parole with guess who doubling as his parole officer/person who will kill him on the spot if he decides to get out of hand, Kakuzu as he twirled one of the small blades that nearly hit Bane in his hand
Titus was a man with eyes narrowed to slits and an ever present grin on his face, he wielded an axe that was bigger than Bane and heavier than himself called the Death Axe, he usually never uses it unless he fully intends to kill and his cool appearance makes people underestimate just how many people he has killed, he also has no regard for life including his own why most people tend to try not to anger him or allow him to let loose for that matter "Can I let loose on this one, Boss?"
"No, he's to be your new partner...don't break him like the last thirteen please, Titus" Kakuzu said as Titus frowned at Bane before tightening his grip on the Axe over his shoulder and grinning "It seems someone has beaten me to that, I'm not too mad about it though" he seemed like a person that lies through his teeth as he wore a black band around his wrist that was a sign that he escaped death narrowly during his time in the third to last level of the Crypt and an ever present black bandana over his dreads "I look forward to working with you, Bane Asakura..." He pointed his axe at Bane who wondered "You know who I am?"
"I was at your trial...I had to see who had the balls to banish Kami" he nodded as Gaki, a Ghoul businessman with a rivalry against the headhunter Titus nudged him "You're so obsessive, Titan...the kid is clearly better than you."
Titus grit his teeth as swung his axe like a paperweight "The name's Titus and who asked your opinion, boke?" He narrowly missed taking the man's head off as Gaki distanced himself from the aggressive Titus that he should know better than to tease as he wasn't much of a good fighter as Kakuzu said "Enough...one of you are missing, where is that devil swordsman, Zabuza at?"
"He went back to base the second he heard you were coming with 'special company' as he put it" Titus rolled his eyes as he look at Bane "What wrong with the kid, he's so...clingy"
Bane stayed closer to Kakuzu and away from the others, especially Titus as he could see an evil aura around him and Titus seemed aware that he could see it 'Sorede... Anata wa sore o miru koto ga dekimasu ka?' (So...you can see it, can ya?)
"See what?" Bane wasn't even sure exactly what he was seeing surrounding the man as he replied "Don't play dumb with me...very few people can see my aura and remain standing...you're stronger that you look and I greatly like and respect that"
"Get off me, if he does bite then you have permission to snap his neck" Kakuzu said shoving the young Ghoul off him.
Suddenly Bane heard a voice call out to him in the forest, Kakuzu would prefer not to be irritated any further by Scar or anyone else, for that matter so he allows Bane to go.
"Bane, I know you're here...come out" Scar said through the forest as he walked
Bane heard Scar calling out to him and looks at Kakuzu who growled looking at him from the corner of his eye "Go...I can always come get you myself..."
"Let's make ourselves scarce, shall we?" Kakuzu says as the Ghouls nod and leave without even being sensed by the Hunter as Titus was the last to go, looking behind him at Bane 'Watashi wa mo~tsu to anata no mawari o mite iru koto o negatte imasu... Bane Asakura' (I sure hope I'll be seeing much more of you around...Bane Asakura) he soon disappeared.
With Bane and Scar...they were to go retrieve a Ghoul in hopes of stopping Kami but Scar wasn't too certain that they could trust whoever this Ghoul was as he knew exactly who it was
"Oy, Bane...J'onn-sama wants to see us" Ryuken said, though he seemed a bit disgruntled, angry even, about something concerning Kami as Bane wondered "You seem bothered by something..."
"I'm fine..." Scar scowled "Let's go..."
"If you say so..." Bane follows Scar but isn't truly sure that something isn't bothering him.
The two make it in time the following day to find a group waiting...
Hatake Yamamoto, Hiachi Yang and Sabaku Tsujin waited for Scar and Bane's arrival
"They're late..." Yamamoto points out
"What's taking this guy so long if only he knows how to get there anyway?" Tsujin says
"He's planning to make us wait...we don't have time for this" Yang says grouchily
"Have a little patience...this Ghoul on our side and not Kami's with mean a lot" J'onn says as Yang shot him a mean glare "Indeed, coming from the guy who instigated most of this mess to begin with... I'm the last person you want to tell about having patience right now"
Suddenly some can be heard humming a rather gloomy tune as Kakuzu came in...
'Subete utsukushīmono no ainotameni, anata wa sore o kattoshitekudasai!' (For the love of all things beautiful, will you please cut that out?!) Yang snarls, losing the last of his patience
Kakuzu stops singing as he enters the room, chuckling at the sight of Yang "I'd watch my temper if I were you, Whirlwind...they're on their way not far from here, whiny bitch"
"What business do you have here, Bounty Hunter?" Tsujin says as Kakuzu said "I've been getting reports of my men disappearing in the area and I plan to bury the asshole responsible personally"
"About time you got back, nii-san" Yamamoto suddenly said as Scar looked at Kakuzu suspiciously as Bane rubbed the back of his neck shyly "yeah, I just needed a little fresh air, that's all"
"Of course you did..." Kakuzu muttered as Scar said sharply "We don't have time for your games, Kakuzu...don't follow us"
"You're in no place to dictate anyone's pace here, Scar and are you telling me to leave my men out there to be killed by what they can only describe as a monster?" Kakuzu said to his face before looking to see Yang clench his fist, taking Scar's silence as an answer "I didn't think so"
Within hours, the group was in the forest and in a matter of seconds Yang and Kakuzu were at each other's throats, especially when he learned the Bounty Hunter beat his son in a Black Bet.
Yang looked as his father and Kakuzu walked inches from each other, he could almost see the negative energy between them for as far as he knew, Kakuzu tried to make a Black Bet with Yang and he cheated him...he didn't lose any money or anything else of particular worth but saw that the younger Yang was jealous of him.
At this time, Yang was just married to Tsume and Kakuzu was one of the first, probably only, to know that he was married to a mutant and Bane was still unborn but Kakuzu lost and later figured out he was cheated, he developed an intense hatred for the young Uzushio Clan member from then on but not the Clan on a whole as he's done jobs for them before...great paying but terrible liars.
As for Scar, Kakuzu even saved the fool's worthless life on one occasion from other Ghouls, but he tried and almost managed to kill the older, more skilled Ghoul along with himself. Kakuzu doesn't even know why Ryuken doesn't like or trust him...not that he cared either.
"Oy, you seem to know why he's here...what's going on?" Yamamoto whispers to Bane as he replied quietly enough that Kakuzu and Yang couldn't hear "I sort of lost a Black Bet to him, don't tell my father...he's already trying to clash with Kakuzu as it is"
"You wagered your heart and soul didn't you?" Yamamoto asked as Bane nodded "he tricked me into working for him...if I refuse, he gets what I bet but if he gets rid of me without killing me for any reason, I get one of his hearts and his right arm."
"What?...This guy never loses a Black Bet, like ever" Tsujin says "Only one loss now that you mention it, against your dad and that's because he cheated but no one know at what or how he lost"
"But why would he bet against the student of Kami to begin with?" Yamamoto asks as Kakuzu said "Why, indeed"
Yang stopped, realizing just why he had to trick Kakuzu a total of six times to beat him while Tsume was still pregnant with his son as Kakuzu said what he didn't want to believe "I care nothing for Kurosaki's little prodigal pariah or any of his past apprentices, Miss Tsume is who I want because daddy's a deadbeat"
"I'm not in the mood for you today, Kakuzu" Yang warned grabbing the Bounty Hunter by the collar as he seethed "Go ahead...hate me, hit me even...it changes nothing but don't touch me if you're just intend to say you hate me...I won't care"
"Enough...walk and hands away from each other before I make you two live to regret it" Yamamoto gets between the two and parts them as Scar said "We're almost there..."
They make it to Taeger's supposedly current home and the place looks abandoned, it was empty and Taeger wasn't around...or was he?
"This place...looks like a mess" Bane says as he looks at Scar "Was this guy homeless or something?"
Scar glared at him for insulting his former master, but part of him agreed as Bane pushed the door open and Yang said "Wow...he left everything and I mean everything and just abandoned the place"
Kakuzu shrugged and went looking around to see what happened to his men "Now that I think about it, a few hunters went missing here a few years ago too"
Suddenly Kakuzu goes into a fit of rage and punches a tree down "Salazar, come and give an explanation of what happened here!"
Everyone rushes to him to see the Ghoul shaking with rage and sadness "They were eaten and just dumped here" Yamamoto said
"For us to find..." Scar finishes for him as Kakuzu got past them "This is my last straw with that Ghoul Lord, he's going to pull in the reigns on his student by ease or force!"
"What if this isn't Kami's doing though...?" Scar says as Kakuzu glared at him with a low rage "What did you say, you little baka?"
"This isn't Kami's doing...he has nothing against Kakuzu, even up to his defection" Scar says, now positive that it was someone else's doing "I'm not defending the man, believe me but I've seen people get massacred like this before"
"This guy even left jewelry and weapons here...do you think he'd come back to this?" He pointed to the half destroyed inside of the house as Kakuzu said coldly "at least they died trying..."
Elsewhere, Kami and a hooded man were in the trees far away watching Bane and company...
"It seems they did come looking for you, after all" Kami said to the cloaked man who shrugged as the wind blew the hood off his head revealing the steely cold grey eyes and the spiky dark black brown hair of Alphonse Taeger
"There's nothing worth finding in my house...Ryuken knows that better than anyone, he's just praying that there is" Taeger wore a curious expression as he looked at everyone, stopping last at Bane and some old but never really used jewelry which was worthless to him as well
"What can I offer for you to help me get my place back as Ghoul Lord?" Kami asks as Taeger looked at the group, seeing Bane wearing a ring that belonged to him, he found Bane's scent intoxicating too as he pointed at him "Make him mine to eat and I'll make your lost rank and the Ghoul Lords' heads yours again."
'If he eats Bane, I can't have his body and power for my own...no matter, there are other ways to get what we both want...there's more than one ways to skin a rabbit, after all' Kami thinks as he says with a smile "He's yours then, but he's more powerful than he looks"
"So am I..." Taeger crouches as he smiles madly like an animal, he was becoming hungry off of Bane's scent alone "I don't know why but the mixed scent the boy has of a human and a Ghoul is sooo tantalizing"
"Bane Asakura, huh?" Taeger says with a dark chuckle "May the best hunter prevail then..."
They were ready to go back to the city, but Bane could swear he heard someone call his name although Taeger was long gone.
"I think I heard someone call my name..." Bane says as everyone wore mixed expression with both Yang and Scar worried, Yamamoto showing no emotion and Kakuzu deciding not to look Bane's way with the unbridled rage he was feeling with how J'onn's been treating even his bounty hunters just as he treats the Hunters and Guardians of the city like trash.
Kakuzu actually decides to part ways with them, then and there as he looked at Bane coldly "See ya around, folks..."
"Where the hell are you going?" Yang asks as Kakuzu's tone was razor edged "None of your concern...don't meddle in my affairs, Yang, you'll be sorry if you get on my really bad side unlike your friends the Ghoul Lords and didn't you want me gone to begin with?"
"Leave him be, Yang..." Scar said walking away "He's only thinking of himself, as always..." He said this expecting Kakuzu to snap back but got nothing.
Kakuzu looked at Scar then back to Yang before going his merry way "At least I'm straightforward about it...unlike some people you know" he shot that at both Yang and Scar simultaneously as both resisted the urge to beat him in the face with something
"This is getting a bit cliché now, don't you think, father?" Bane says looking at the medallion and ring, both pure gold with a YinYang pendant on the chain as both sighed "Shut up, Bane..."
The next day, as Bane was leaving his home on the Binge Eater side of the city, he saw Kakuzu already leaving to go give J'onn a huge piece of his mind...he chose not to bother him given the mood he left him in the day before
Bane left home in a hurry, he knew Kakuzu disliked lateness and he was rather late.
He saw Kakuzu somewhere in the air moving fast out of the Binge Eater side of the city "It's Kakuzu...I almost forgot he was a Bing Eater as well and one angry one at that, it's best if I don't bother that creep"
Bane narrowed his eyes, for a second he sensed that same power again as he made it into the forest separating the two sides of the city...it seems to be following him
"Come out...I know you're there" Bane says he enters the other side of the city, he sees the hooded Taeger, having revealed himself to the young man still wearing the Black Cloak but he couldn't sense his powers "It's safe to say that he's been silenced, but I can't be sure"
"Tell me, boy..." Taeger said "Do you know that the stolen property around your neck is worth more than your life?"
"Stop following me and how do you know about this when I took it from Alphonse Taeger's home?" Bane asks as Taeger removes his hood and growled 'Sore wa watashi no mononanode, watashi wa Alphonse Taegerdesu!' (because it's mine, I'm Alphonse Taeger!)
Taeger whips out a golden dual bladed Masamune that doubles as a boomerang like Shuriken as the hilt's dragon design glows as he pours even a tiny amount of his Lightning Magic into it then spins it.
"Holy Peanuts..." Bane begins to get nervous as he runs up a building to evade before it's even thrown as Taeger banishes the hood altogether and growls "Run, little prey...make this interesting..."
'Kaminari no hibana shuriken' (lightning spark shuriken) He throws the weapon but Bane uses his Wind Magic to keep the Shuriken from him as it spins but the wind only makes contact with the Lightning Magic
Taeger them moves closer to Bane with another attack of ice cold breath, but the young Ghoul evades him again as he runs into the city hoping to lose him as he smirked "Nice..."
Bane is very skilled in parkour, but little did he know that despite Taeger being twice his height and a 289 lb. Ghoul, he was much better than him in parkour as he severed anything he couldn't jump over with his Black Lightning Muramasa
Eventually, although Bane never stopped running, neither did Taeger and he caught up and attacked with Reien, his unique Fire Magic...not as destructive as Kami's Black Amaterasu, Taeger's blue Reien Flames were able to freeze anything while not losing it's natural characteristics of fire as he hit a passing cart and froze it while blowing Bane forward as he was cornered "First Lightning, then Ice and now freezing, burning frickin' flames...what the hell is this man?" He began to shake as Taeger walked around the cart "I don't have time to play 'run around the city' with you anymore, kid...as fun as that'd be, so come along by ease or force"
"Why the hell are you after me, did Kami send you?" Bane asks as he crawls away as Taeger spun his weapon 'Kurosaki o konomama ni shite oite, watashi ga itta yō ni, anata wa yoi kaori ga shimasu... Subete no Binge īta ga hoshī to iu dake no jikan no mondaidesu. Watashi wa kyōyū taipude wa arimasen' (Leave Kurosaki out of this and as I said, you smell good, kid...only a matter of time before every Binge Eater wants a piece and I'm not the sharing type)
Suddenly as he's about get his prey, a pest appears as Yang sends him into the air with a long distanced air uppercut "Get away from my son!" Yang didn't need to sense his powers to know that he was stronger...ridiculously, unimaginably stronger than J'onn who was stronger than Kami. He might be at Bjorn's level at least.
Taeger lands on his feet on the other side of the frozen cart before sending it flying at Yang "another familiar face...you were the brat's age last time we met, old friend"
"Taeger, you were like an uncle to me...I don't remember much about it but I know you weren't considered normal"
"Ah, you remember me...then you should know you're standing in the wrong place" Taeger's eyes went white as the electricity his body was pouring out made his ponytailed hair stand on end and his body to levitate slightly.
"This is only 70 percent of my power...don't die too quickly, apprentice of Kami" Taeger said using his Speed of Light ability which draws out almost all of his latent power, 100 percent is so strong that Taeger will die if he uses it and though anything above 50 is risky as is, he usually has to use this power one extremely rare occasions, if at all.
"Where were we?" Taeger walks towards Yang before disappearing as Yang's eyes widen and he simply falls into Taeger's arm as he reappears.
"It's about time you got serious with these two, I thought I'd never see what you're made of" a voice said as Taeger turned to see the Ghoul Kakuzu sent to meet Bane sitting on the floor close to Bane "...and I'm late, I hate being late for the fun"
"The name's Zabuza, Kakuzu's top headhunter/Bounty Hunter" Zabuzu was tall, standing even taller than Taeger as he opens a book and looking through it for Taeger's name, his bingo book which only him and Kakuzu are allowed to have as he mutters Taeger's name absentmindedly "Ah, Taeger Alphonse...it seems that you're a vet from the last Binge War and quite a handful to end up in this book"
Zabuza pulled out one of his two favorite cursed swords Samehada, known better as the Sharkskin, which was a broadsword that was able to eat magic even without touching the victim and it was made for shredding victims rather than just cutting. He placed it beside Bane and placed his hand on it's handle which was wrapped in a white cloth with a white skull on the end as it wrapped around his hand on it's own.
The next sword he got from a trip to get a Bounty in Germany, a gift from the Ghoul Lord, Bjorn Tartaron who was unsure of what he wanted as a gift for completing his given mission. The sword was usually never kept in a sheath and was wrapped in the long cloth at the handle.
Zweihänders are notoriously hard to weild and very heavy swords, usually forcing the user to hold it with both hands but it can also absorb and redirect any energy or magic with it's stunning blade, Zabuza has little experience with the sword but this was the perfect time for a trial run and he's capable of swinging it like it was a katana, something even stronger Ghouls than himself can't do.
Zabuza was mad too, according to information from the other Bounty Hunters Bane met, he was very cruel even to his partners or anyone who pushed his buttons too much as he growled "Make this fun for me, I can't have you dying too quickly now"
Taeger had his own sword, a sword that neither Ghoul could afford to touch...a blade made of a mix of the notorious Black Demonite along with two colors that aren't naturally occurring, Grey and Silver as Zabuza came in spinning and flipping like he was Yoda, a rather hard to predict and harder to dodge fighting style
Scar came up to the two as he said to Zabuza "hey, Bounty Hunter...he was my master, this is my fight"
Zabuza looked at him silently "I understand and no offense...but I doubt you can stop him on your own, either join in or find your own fight cuz I'm going nowhere without the Bounty on his head" he removed the bandages around his face to reveal his teeth were jagged and sharp to a point, an effect of holding his sword, Samehada for a much longer period.
"Y'know, I always hated you...been lookin' forward to a day like this too" Taeger said as he looked behind them at where Samehada was before Scar took it up to find Bane was gone
Suddenly, Taeger dropped to the side as he dodged an attack to kill from behind by Bane in his wolf form "so, I hadn't killed you yet...good" Wolf-Bane looked to see Taeger as he kicked him in the face "We'll meet again, Asakura-san...Scar, when you're alone"
"You're not going anywhere!" Scar ran at him with the sword, ready to strike but Taeger smirks "You still don't have what it takes to kill me, sorry" as he threw down a smoke bomb.
When the smoke cleared, Taeger was gone and Scar was shaking as the sword fell from his hand...he was mortified, as if Taeger could be right over his shoulder at any given second.
"You alright?" Bane asks as Scar doesn't say a word and just nods, they don't know that Taeger was more of his slave master than anything because he didn't want to get anywhere near the man that singlehandedly slaughtered the town he lived in and touched the only thing he had left to call family, turning his sister into a Ghoul and making him watch. Kami was a saint in comparison to him.
They made it to J'onn and the other Ghoul Lords and Scar wore the same silent expression the entire way, he was more than mildly surprised both that they came back beaten up and without Alphonse Taeger.
"You're back" J'onn said exuberantly before seeing how messed up they looked "What happened...and where's Taeger?"
Scar's eyes hardened at the sound of Taeger's name, the murderer of his family "He tried to kill us, Captain Obvious...Bane narrowly escaped with his life, we escaped because he simply didn't care about us"
J'onn gulped, he'd only seen Scar's eyes so hardened on two prior occasions, one being when he first arrived in the city clutching his sister Yukino Salazar...he was covered in blood and even Kami preferred not to approach him.
The second was he learned that Taeger was to stand trial for his murder attempts on them, Yukino was terrified with good reason as Taeger turned her into a Ghoul, making her blood-born brother watch. Scar was forbidden by Kami to get near his tormentor but Taeger was still able to exert his dominance on the two so that Ryuken couldn't touch him even if he wanted to.
"I knew this was a bad idea...after all, Taeger is a Binge War survivor more than a vet and quite a cruel sadist" J'onn said looking at Scar "Warn the other Ghoul Lords...I don't know how he got into this city without them detecting him but I'm certain he doesn't care and will do it again."
"That's actually not a bad idea...he's after Bane, but won't risk fighting a Ghoul Lord or two to get to him" Yang said "Where are your 'oh, so exhalted' colleagues, come to think of it?"
"A bar somewhere arguing or making bets of their own with each other about young Asakura would be my best guess" J'onn said "while drinking a LOT more than me or Kami, who has a greater liking for alchohol than myself already"
"Stop bringing Kami into this" Yang argued as Scar warns "Shut up, boke"
"Watch your mouth, Scar" Yang narrowed his eyes as Scar seemed to have had enough of waiting, he's already waited 90 years...he's not waiting another second "Bane will find the Ghoul Lords...I want Taeger in Hell Chains"
"What's this sellsword doing here...?" J'onn asks as Zabuza growled, adjusting the the navy/grey guards on his forearms and shins, his blue-grey sandals and his pants before leering at J'onn "Watch your mouth, little Lordling...I'm here on Kakuzu-sama's orders and I don't take orders from the likes of you."
"Not yet, you don't...remember, this isn't the Slums" J'onn said as Zabuza gripped both his swords "Sellsword...what did I say about watching that mouth of yours, Lordling?!" Zabuza began spinting at him and it took all the other Ghouls but Scar to barely hold the skinny but terrifyingly strong Binge Eater back.
The Slums, where Zabuza was raised, is the most dog-eat-dog...or Ghoul-eat-Ghoul part of the Binge Eater side of the city that is a hidden city of it's own within the city, they've been ignored since Kami was Ghoul Lord (Kami himself having no faults in this case) and is well hidden. Birth rates are low because most children are eaten and if they're abandoned, they need to survive the harsh conditions or get killed...leaving is hardly an option unless one was a genius of some kind, since the hardened criminals don't make it easy, if possible. Lives are worth less than nothing there.
'Rubō kyō, gūru to tekitai shinai so no yōna suramu kara... Anata ga yoku shitte iru yō ni kōdō suru!' (Lord Lebeau, don't antagonize Ghouls from the Slums like that...act like you know better!) Scar scolded as Zabuza's silvery eyes turned to him and he though 'I like him...he's not willing to be a pawn like the rest of them anymore...I can respect that'
Suddenly Kakuzu appeared before J'onn without anyone noticing and he didn't look happy "J'onn...you have some explaining to do, Ghoul Lord"
Bane leaves to hunt down down the Ghouls Lords, meanwhile elsewhere outside the city...Taeger was bored but not too happy about losing what he considers his perfect prey as he sat at the front of his house
Kami approached Taeger as he took one step closer "Watch your step and your tone, old friend...don't underestimate my mood"
"Well...did you get Asakura?" Kami asks as that illicited a shuddering moan of anticipation from Taeger as he picked at his lips at a certain thought "I'll have my chance...once his friends and those pesky Bounty Hunters are out of my way"
"Your secure return to the city is assured once I am Ghoul Lord again then" Kami said as Taeger nodded "Betray me, Kami and you're not the only one who'll be sorry" he said as Kami walked away
"The thought never crossed my mind...not yet, anyway" Kami said as Taeger looked at him in total disbelief since he was always pessimistic of the former Ghoul Lord as he gave a solemn "Right...and I'm the Tooth Fairy, mate"
A/N - Taeger promises to make Kami Ghoul Lord again if he gets Bane, but Kami still wants Bane's body for his own...how will this work out for the two and Bane already has his work cut out for him now that he's working for Kakuzu and isn't willing to lose what he'd lose if he chooses to avoid the job the Bounty Hunter gives him...Azazel is in the city and will take interest in Taeger as well in the next chapter...R&R
