Disclaimer: I do not own "Hareluya II Boy" or any of its characters or concepts. It belongs to Umezawa Haruto. Nor do I own Kraven the Hunter who belongs to Marvel comics. No profit is being made from this story.
Author's Notes: Kraven's appearance here is based on his Marvel Legends action figure. Some of his dialogue is borrowed from episodes of the "Marvel's Spider-Man" cartoon.
Hibino Hareluya cracked his knuckles and grinned at the sight before him; a gang of battered and bruised punks laying on the ground and groaning in pain. He'd seen it many times before but it never failed to amuse him.
It was the usual story, he had beaten up a few of them who were causing some kind of trouble, they had gathered up the rest of their gang and gone after him for revenge while he was minding his own business. Naturally that just meant they had all gotten the same treatment that the first few had.
"When will you losers realise that none of you stand a chance at beating Ore-sama?" His grin broadened as he added, "keep trying though. Ore-sama would get bored otherwise."
Not that these small fry were much excitement, but better than nothing he thought.
Hibino got back onto his motorcycle and drove away. He was completely unaware that he was being watched.
Crouched on a rooftop like a gargoyle was a shadowy figure. His eyes gleamed with anticipation as he smiled unpleasantly.
"Such strength. Such power. Hibino Hareluya, you will be my greatest trophy yet" he said quietly.
With that he stood up and leaped away to another rooftop. Within seconds he had disappeared into the night.
The following afternoon Hibino met up with Makoto Ichijou and Yamana Michiru in an empty classroom. Both of them looked over from their conversation as he strolled in.
"Yoh Ichijou, Yamana" he called.
"Yoh" she called back with a cheerful smile.
"You seem in good spirits Hibino" Ichijou commented.
"Ore-sama had a good time last night" he replied. "Some punks jumped me and I took them down."
Yamana gave him a surprised look. "Are you okay Hibino?"
Hibino laughed. "Of course. Those losers weren't even a warm-up."
"You should be more careful" said Ichijou. "I heard that something was seen prowling around the city last night. Some people think it was a lion."
"You shouldn't believe everything you hear" Hibino replied. "Anyway now that Ore-sama's here we can go and get some okonomiyaki."
"Sorry Hibino. Natsumi is redecorating and I promised I'd help her with it" Yamana replied. "I'll come around later."
"I'm on hall-cleaning duty" said Ichijou. "I'll come around later as well."
Hibino shrugged. "Suit yourselves. More for Ore-sama."
After stuffing himself at the okonomiyaki restaurant Hibino headed home to the church where he lived with his father, the priest Harebane.
"Oi old man! Ore-sama's back!" Hibino exclaimed as he strode through the doors.
"Hello son" Harebane replied calmly. The elderly priest was standing on a stepladder and dusting one of the stained-glass windows. "How was school?"
"It was boring as usual" Hibino replied. "Ore-sama is going to go and take a nap."
"Wait" said Harebane. "A man dropped by earlier and said this was for you." He handed over an envelope. Hibino accepted it and then bounded up the stairs while Harebane resumed dusting.
In his room Hibino flopped onto his bed and looked curiously at the envelope. He tore it open and took out a piece of paper. On it was written;
A weakling like you is no Ore-sama. If you wish to prove me wrong, come to Yoyogi Park. Come alone, unless you are a coward.
Hibino's eyes burned with rage. He leapt to his feet, crumpled up the paper and tossed it away.
"I'll show him" he growled as he stomped back downstairs. Once outside he got on his motorcycle and drove off. Having gone around to the back of the church to continue his tidying, Harebane didn't hear a thing.
Hibino brought his bike to a halt at the entrance to Yoyogi Park. Although he was still furious at whoever had dared to mock him he had regained enough composure to notice something odd.
There was no-one around. Except for him the park looked to be deserted.
Where is everybody? This park is one of the most popular places in Tokyo. It should be packed.
Then he noticed that the gates were closed. There were several posters saying the park had been closed because of reports a lion had been seen roaming it.
"What? Ichijou was right about that! Well it's not stopping Ore-sama!"
He vaulted over the gates and strode forwards down a bike path. Large trees towered over him, their leaves blocking out the sunlight and leaving him in shadow.
"Ore-sama's here! Come out!" he yelled.
"I knew you could not resist my challenge" a voice replied. It was accented but understandable. "A true hunter learns the weaknesses of his prey before the hunt begins and your pride is such a weakness."
"What are you talking about?"
A figure leapt from the trees and landed on his feet. He was a heavily muscled Western man with black hair, a thick moustache and a beard. Around his neck was a leather cord with animal teeth hanging from it. He wore an odd fur vest styled to look like a lion's face with an actual lion's mane attached to the back. The vest was open, displaying his broad chest. Black leather straps were wrapped around his forearms and around his biceps were leopard-print armbands. Around his waist was a black utility belt with numerous pouches on it. From the front and the back of the belt dangled a brown loincloth. Brown leather breeches and black boots completed his outfit.
Hibino couldn't help himself. At the sight of the costumed figure he burst out laughing. "HAHAHA! You look ridiculous! HAHAHA!"
The man shrugged. "A mere peasant cannot comprehend the majesty of my garb."
Hibino stopped laughing, his rage coming back full force. "Who the Hell are you?"
"I am Kraven, the greatest hunter the world has ever known! Over the years I have roamed the jungles of the world, stalking the most dangerous creatures alive. When I learned of your exploits Hibino-san I had to come and see for myself if what I had heard was true and I was not disappointed. I bribed certain officials to close this park so we will not be disturbed. You will be an excellent hunt."
Hibino had heard enough. "You dare talk about Ore-sama as an animal to be hunted! Ore-sama will teach you!"
He charged forwards but Kraven merely jumped back up into the trees. With a mocking laugh he leaped away.
"You won't get away!" Hibino yelled as he ran after him.
That's right fool. Follow me Kraven thought. You think me the quarry but soon enough you will learn which of us is the hunter and which is the prey.
Ichijou and Yamana had finished their respective tasks and had gone to the church to see Hibino. Ichijou knocked on the door to his room.
"Hibino, it's us" he called. "Come on, open the door."
There was no answer. He pushed the door open and they both looked inside to see that Hibino was missing.
"Damn that jerk" Ichijou growled. "He knew we were coming around and he still just goes off somewhere by himself. That inconsiderate…"
"Ichijou wait" said Yamana as she noticed a crumpled-up piece of paper on the floor. She picked it up, smoothed out the paper and read it. Her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Hibino's in trouble!"
"What?"
She handed him the paper and he also read it.
"That idiot! Someone's luring him into a trap and he's too dumb to see it!"
"We have to help him" she said.
"Let's go" Ichijou agreed as they ran from the room.
Hibino stopped running as Kraven again jumped down and landed in front of him. All around them were lush green trees.
"Good, finally realised how futile it is to run" said Hibino. He grinned fiercely and started to approach his foe. "Now Ore-sama will… AAGH!"
He yelled in surprise as a noose suddenly tightened around his ankle and he was yanked up into the air so that he was hanging upside down from a tree by a rope around one foot.
Kraven laughed. "Come now Hibino-san, I thought you'd be a worthy challenge. A gazelle fawn would be harder to trap than that."
"You think little tricks like this will stop Ore-sama?" Hibino snarled. He reached behind his back and seemingly from thin air he pulled out a spade. Curling his torso upwards he jabbed the spade up and it cut through the rope. He dropped like a stone and landed hardon his back but immediately sprang to his feet and spun around to face Kraven.
Hibino brandished the spade and charged but stopped as he heard a low thwack. He turned to his left just in time to see a volley of wooden bolts hurtling towards him. With a swing of his spade he knocked them all out of the air.
"Not bad" said Kraven. "Perhaps you will be some sport after all."
Hibino's only reply was a roar of rage as he charged again and again Kraven leapt back up into the trees. He swung from branch to branch like a gibbon as Hibino chased after him bellowing in fury.
Ichijou and Yamana had arrived at the park gates. Like Hibino they had been surprised by the absence of visitors to the park. Ichijou studied the warning posters.
"A lion in the park! Maybe Hibino didn't go in after all. Even he's not that dumb."
"Do you really think so?" Yamana asked, her tone making it clear it was a rhetorical question.
"No" he admitted. "Maybe I should go in alone…"
"I'm not leaving" she replied firmly.
He realised that trying to argue would be pointless. "All right" he said. "Let's find Hibino and get out of here."
They climbed over the gates and looked around. There was no sign of Hibino or anyone else.
"Hibino! Hibino!" Ichijou called as he walked up to the tree line.
Yamana started to follow but stopped as she spotted something hidden in the grass in front of him. She called, "Ichijou stop!"
But it was too late. As his foot came down a concealed net flew up from the ground, folding around him and lifting him up into the air. He was left dangling from a tree by a rope that went up into the branches.
"Ichijou! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine" he called back. He struggled against the net but it was no good. "It's too strong. I can't break it."
"Hold on" said Yamana.
She hurried over to the tree and quickly found the counter-weight hidden behind it. She untied the rope that held up the net and it fell to the ground with a thud.
"Thanks" said Ichijou as she helped him to his feet.
"It's okay." She looked curiously at the net. "This isn't meant to catch a lion."
"No, it's too small" he agreed. "This is meant to catch people. Hibino's in bigger trouble than we thought. We need to find him fast."
Hibino grinned as he chased Kraven out of the trees and into an open field. To their left was a lake, its crystal-clear waters reflecting the blue sky like a mirror.
"Ha! No more trees to swing from now. Time for Ore-sama to kick your ***!"
He charged and brought his spade down in an overhead blow. Kraven blocked the attack and sent him flying with a push kick. He hit the ground and rolled to his feet as Kraven lifted the spade and snapped it over his knee.
"It has been a good chase but now it is time for the hunter to claim his prey."
He pounced like a leopard and began throwing kicks and punches. He was incredibly fast but Hibino blocked or dodged every attack Kraven sent his way. He then responded with his own flurry of powerful blows.
For a while they seemed evenly matched as they fought back and forth across the field. Then Hibino managed to slip under his guard and land a solid uppercut to his midriff followed by a knee to the face. He stumbled back and Hibino moved in to finish him off.
But as he did so he did not see Kraven pulling a small capsule from a pouch on his belt and crushing it. He brought his hand up and blew a cloud of yellow powder into Hibino's face. Before he could stop himself Hibino inhaled some of the powder. He staggered back, coughing and spluttering for a few seconds. Then his eyes closed and he fell heavily to the grass.
"A good hunt Hibino-san, but it ended the only way it could have, with my victory" Kraven gloated. "Now I will take you back to my museum, where you will become a fine addition to my collection."
"Hibino!"
He turned to see Ichijou and Yamana as they emerged from the tree-line.
"Get away from him!" Ichijou yelled.
"I admire your loyalty to your Alpha but I have no interest in you" said Kraven. "Leave now if you value your lives."
"Get Hibino out of here. I'll hold him off" said Ichijou.
With that he raced forwards and leaped into the air. Kraven raised his arms in time to block a flying knee strike aimed at his head but he was still forced back a few steps. He straightened up and glared at his foe.
You are about to learn a painful lesson whelp. If you get in the way, you become the prey!"
He attacked savagely, his fingers curled like claws to deliver slashing blows. Ichijou managed to dodge the first two but then Kraven drove an elbow into his chest that sent him reeling back. He managed to steady himself and came on with a barrage of punches but Kraven easily blocked each one.
This could be trouble.
While Ichijou and Kraven fought, Yamana ran over to Hibino and began dragging him towards the trees. She looked over at the fight and stopped as she saw that Ichijou was barely able to keep up with Kraven. It was taking all of his speed to dodge the hunter's attacks while Kraven seemed to be barely even trying.
"Ichijou!"
For a moment she hesitated, unsure what to do. Then she glanced over at the lake and smiled as she had an idea. Yamana quickly dragged Hibino over to the lake and managed to haul him upright.
"Sorry about this Hibino" she said. With that she let go of him and stepped back, letting him fall backwards into the lake.
SPLASH!
Hibino was jolted awake and started thrashing about screaming, "Help! Ore-sama is drowning!"
"It's okay Hibino. The water's shallow" Yamana called.
Hibino stopped thrashing and stood up. "What's going on? Ore-sama was fighting that dumb-looking guy and then…"
His words trailed off as he saw Kraven knock Ichijou to the ground with a mighty haymaker. Just as the hunter was about to finish him off he saw Hibino and his jaw dropped.
"Impossible! That powder can knock out a rampaging rhino for hours!"
Hibino laughed. "It takes more than that to beat Ore-sama."
He reached behind his back and pulled out his baseball bat. Before Kraven could react he leaped forwards and swung it in a powerful blow that lifted his foe off his feet and spun him around in mid-air before he crashed to the ground where he lay groaning weakly.
"Ha! Nobody beats… Wait a minute, why is Ore-sama soaked?" He glared down at Kraven. "This is your fault!"
He began whaling angrily on the hunter. Ichijou and Yamana hurried over and held his arms.
"It wasn't him Hibino! I had to drop you in the lake to wake you up" Yamana explained.
"Ah yes" Hibino said as he calmed down and lowered the bat. They all looked down at Kraven. Fortunately they had been able to stop Hibino before he did too much damage but the hunter was still a black and blue mess.
"It serves the dumb*** right anyway" said Hibino.
"Well he's all right" Ichijou whispered to Yamana.
"He really is" she agreed.
A few days later Hibino, Ichijou and Yamana were visiting Tama Zoo. Following Kraven's defeat all of the animals in his private collection had been sent there.
"Look at that" said Yamana with a joyful smile. She pointed at a group of giraffes that were feeding on the leaves of a tree. They were housed in an open enclosure that gave them plenty of room to wander around and trees that provided them with food and shade. Other animals, such as zebras, ostriches and antelopes were roaming around close by.
"They're amazing" she said.
"They sure are" Ichijou agreed. "After being locked up in cages by that maniac this must seem like paradise to them."
"Yes very nice" said Hibino dismissively. "But Ore-sama wants to go on that Lion Bus. It'll be more fun to see them up close."
"Just make sure you don't get out of the bus Hibino" said Ichijou.
"Do you think Ore-sama would do anything that stupid?"
"Well you did go into the park when there was supposedly a lion roaming it."
"Are you calling Ore-sama stupid?" They glared at each other, fists clenched and hackles raised.
"Hibino, Ichijou, look" Yamana called.
They turned and saw that all of the animals had wandered over and were looking at them curiously. Bemused by the sight they both calmed down and backed off.
"I guess we're as interesting to them as they are to us" Ichijou mused.
"Of course. Ore-sama is going to rule the world. They recognise my greatness" Hibino boasted.
"Whatever you say Hibino" said Yamana cheerily. "Now shall we go on the Lion Bus?"
"Yeah!" Hibino answered as he punched the air enthusiastically.