Moon Hunters
By
David Olson
It was 5:30 AM on a Monday morning. Zetsu Yamanaka did not wish to get out of bed simply because he was too tired. His brother, Virgil, poked Zetsu's cheek and said "C'mon bro. We gotta go to school. Think of it this way, after this school day, its one less school day ahead of us and besides there's only two weeks left. Might as well make the most of it, right?" Zetsu asked in his pillow "Virgil?" Virgil replied "Yeah?" "Do you realize that you never shut up? To me, it sounded like you were talking just to hear yourself." Virgil slapped his brother's back really hard. "That should've woken you up." Zetsu punched Virgil across the cheek. Both brothers stopped and heard stomping. "Oh man! It's Dad!" The door opened. The father asked "Virgil, why is your brother not out of bed? He needs to take a shower and get ready for school." Zetsu groaned. "Fine, I'll get up! Darn school…Why does it have to be on a stupid Monday…" Virgil chuckled. "I'm all ready for school father!" The father replied "Ah excellent. I'm driving you boys today." 30 minutes later. Zetsu yelled "Father, I'm ready for school." Virgil said aloud "Finally!!!" Zetsu glanced at Virgil. "Are you ok? You seem…nervous or something." Virgil replied quickly "Nope nope everything is absolutely A-OK!" Zetsu shook his head "Whatever. Say, where's Dad?" Their Dad replied "Right here, right here. Um, something unexpected happened. You two are walking." Virgil said "Huh? Why?" Dad said "You two are walking with this young, beautiful lady." Dad stepped aside. Virgil thought 'Yes!!! How perfect is this!!! I get to walk with her! Rinoa Inko, The girl of my dreams!' Zetsu took a quick look at his brother. He thought 'Was this expected? Oh well, makes no difference to me.' Zetsu spoke up. "Rinoa, my brother and I feel honored that you have decided to walk with us." Rinoa smiled. "Sure anytime!" Rinoa, Virgil, and Zetsu headed towards school. "Have a good day boys!!! I love you!" the boy's father yelled to them. Zetsu and Virgil turned around and waved. Virgil asked "So…How old are you Rinoa?" Rinoa looked at him and before speaking Zetsu said "Virgil, don't be so rude to ladies. It's rude to ask women for their age no matter how old they are." Rinoa chuckled then gasped. "Oh my gosh! What is that?" Zetsu said "Wait here, you two." Zetsu walked to something that looked human. "Hm…Very interesting…" Zetsu stood up and started walking towards Rinoa and Virgil but then heard a ding. "Hm?" He bent over and picked up a silver bullet and also saw a rifle. He put the bullet in his pocket. "Virgil, come here and look at this." Virgil walked to Zetsu. Zetsu pointed at the corpse of what was a human. "Look at this. What do you think did this?" Virgil rubbed the back of his neck. He sighed then spoke "I don't know. This looks like Farmer Uzumaki, Poor guy. He was the head of my religion group also." Zetsu glared at the corpse. "It's times like this that I'm glad I'm an atheist. Anyway, what really got me interested are these teeth marks on his ribs and the puncture holes in his neck. Do you think we have a cannibal in this town?" Virgil said "I don't know that. If we do have a cannibal, don't you think he would have eaten the whole body? Besides, humans aren't fast enough to dodge shotgun bullets so it was something else that killed him but this town has a lot of weirdo's so, a number of things could've happen to him. And what I do know is that we must get to school. So let's go." So, the trio went to Gaia High School. During 1st period, Zetsu thought all about the corpse and the silver bullet. "Zetsu!" called the teacher. Zetsu stood up and answered "Yes, Ms. Kido?" "What is 25 divided by 50?" Zetsu thought about it for a moment. "0.5" Ms. Kido nodded. "You may sit. Good job and you can do a better job by not staring at the floor and day dreaming." Zetsu said "Yes Ma'am!" -After school- Zetsu saw Virgil talking to Rinoa. He walked up to them and said "Virgil, let's go home. Rinoa, it's been a fun day with you but we got stuff to do." -Halfway home- Zetsu said "Let's go see if Uzumaki's corpse is still there." Virgil nodded. They ran to the site of the corpse but found nothing. Only bones were left. "Zetsu, maybe someone saw us here and thought we should be here because bodies don't decay that fast within seven or eight hours." Zetsu nodded. "You boys must stay away from this. Please." Zetsu and Virgil turned around and saw it was the farmer's son, Sasuke. Virgil asked "Sasuke, what happened here? And more importantly where's your dad's body?" Sasuke thought for a bit then said "I don't really know…Some strange men came and took his body. One of the guys looked at me and said 'What should we do about the boy?' Then, they walked away but however I did get bit by something last night. Sorry guys. I really don't feel good today." Virgil said with a smile "It's OK Sasuke. Thanks for your help!" Sasuke looked at the brothers with a sad look "Please be careful. Those men were very creepy and I sensed something evil from them." Zetsu nodded. "Trust us. We will get to the bottom of this. Do we have your permission to look around your crops?" Sasuke nodded. Zetsu and Virgil looked around for a couple hours. Suddenly, the boys heard a ringing. Virgil put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "It's Mom. Hello? Hey Mom. Not much. Zetsu and I took a detour home and we found some-" Zetsu shook his head no then whispered "Don't tell Mom or Dad what we found. This will make them worried then we will not be able to do this investigation any further if they interfere." Virgil nodded. "We found a dead cat and I wanted to poke it with a stick to see what would happened. Yes Mom I know that was disgusting and weird but I like poking dead animals. It's fun because it's like poking Mom I'll stop being weird and stupid. I love you too. Bye! Mom says 'Come home soon.'" Zetsu said "I'm not leaving until I get more clues about what happened here. –Sunset- Virgil yawned and his stomach growled. "I'm hungry, Zetsu. Let's go home and grab some grub." Zetsu heard his own stomach growl. "Not yet…We need more clues." Virgil sighed and started walking home. Zetsu decided to look at this later at night. –At home- "Do you boys have any homework?" Virgil and Zetsu shook their heads. –Later that evening at 9:30 PM- Virgil was getting ready for bed when he saw Zetsu loading his BB rifle and BB pistol. Virgil sighed "Please tell me you aren't thinking of going out there this late and plus it's a school night Zetsu. Mom and Dad are going to kill you if they catch you not in bed. Let's just investigate tomorrow." Zetsu looked at him and laughed. "That's why you aren't getting a girlfriend, because you can't grow a pair and go investigate with me. Now, load up your guns and come with me. Tonight is when we can really use these babies! Oh yeah, bring your knife in case we happen to run out of BB's." Virgil sighed "Whatever but if we get grounded or something, you're doing my share of punishment." Zetsu looked at Virgil. "Tonight, I am proud to call you my brother." Virgil rolled his eyes. "Are we sneaking out the front door or back door?" Zetsu replied "No. I don't feel like getting caught by Mom or Dad tonight and getting grounded." and pointed to their bedroom window. So, the boys snuck out and headed to the crops. Once they were there they heard whispers and it sent a chill up Virgil's and Zetsu's spine. "Zetsu…" Virgil whimpered. "I felt it too. Some thing is here that doesn't want us here." Out of nowhere, they heard a growl. Virgil pulled out his BB pistol. "Virgil." Zetsu said "Don't be scared. If you see something move, shoot it. Right now, its shoot first, think later." Virgil shot at something and they heard something yelp. "Hm…You boys…shot our comrade." Said a deep, creepy voice. Zetsu pulled out his rifle. "Reveal yourself evil creature." The brothers heard footsteps walking towards them. Then, they heard a snap and staff with a flame came from the ground and a man with a black coat and hood asked "What are you two doing here?" Zetsu said with a smirk "We should be asking you the same thing. Isn't it late to be walking around in these crops with your dog? After all, Farmer Sasuke wouldn't like that." Virgil started to shake with fear. The black-coated figure said "Hm, your friend is shaking. Maybe you two should go home before either one of you gets hurt." Zetsu shook his head. "Sorry. I never did learn to run from anything." Virgil yelled "Zetsu, we should go because now I'm extremely scared." Zetsu didn't reply. "You are quite stupid. Fine, if you don't know the meaning of running away then I'll have Sasuke teach it to you." Zetsu asked "What did you do to him?" The black coated man said "Before I answer that remember this name: Joyrock. That is my name." Virgil saw a figure stumble towards them. "Guys…R…Run Away! Please!" "Sasuke!" Virgil whimpered. Zetsu glared at Virgil and shook his head. Joyrock looked at the sky. "Transformation begins now." He snapped his fingers and the moon appeared. Sasuke looked at the moon. "AH! GUYS….R…RUN NOW!!! PLEASE!!! I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU!!!" Zetsu pointed his rifle at Sasuke. Virgil said with tears in his eyes "Zetsu no! He's our friend!" "And that, Vergil, makes you weak. He was our friend. Now he is our enemy and a distant memory in the back of my mind." Zetsu said scornfully. Sasuke growled, yelled, and howled. Joyrock laughed. "Now gentleman, I give my first ever completed creation: a Werewolf!" Zetsu shot his rifle. The Werewolf looked at Zetsu with its yellow eyes and gray fur. It stood on his hind legs and growled. It clenched its fist and tried hitting Zetsu. He dodged and tried shooting the werewolf. Zetsu glanced at Virgil "You know, whenever you feel like, you can join me." Virgil pointed his pistol at the werewolf but it ran side to side and scratched Virgil on his cheek. "VIRGIL, DUCK! IT'S GOING TO BITE YOU!" Virgil fell on his back. Zetsu thought to himself 'Darn, this is a shotgun bullet. If only I brought that…' And out of fear, Virgil grabbed his knife and stabbed the werewolf. The werewolf jumped up and started whining. Zetsu smirked. "So much for your 'completed creation'. Thing died from a knife." The werewolf looked at Zetsu and pulled the knife out from its stomach and threw it to the ground. Joyrock shook his head "Now, my creations don't die that easily." Zetsu ran to the werewolf with a clenched fist but the werewolf hit an uppercut on Zetsu. He fell to the ground and the werewolf started to run towards Zetsu but it stopped dead in its tracks. A silver knife pierced its chest. Joyrock laughed. "So the cowardly one decided to kill it? I love it!" Virgil whispered "Sasuke, please forgive me." Zetsu got up and brushed himself off. He looked at Joyrock. "Hmph, please tell me that was not all. I really hope you got more." Joyrock laughed "You're just looking to get killed. You'd be a very good werewolf." Zetsu smirked "Mark my words, I will never be one of those freaks. Not Virgil or I." Joyrock said in a creepy voice "Mark my words boy, destiny may or may not be on your side. We shall see. Meet me here tomorrow night. I wish to challenge you and your brother again." His voice went back to normal "May I have your name please?" Zetsu glared at him "Yamanaka. Zetsu Yamanaka." Joyrock nodded and waved. "Until then, Zetsu Yamanaka, adieu." Joyrock disappeared. Virgil grabbed his knife from the corpse and both brothers went home. They snuck in without getting in trouble and went to bed. -2nd hour class- Virgil sat down in his desk and put his head down. Someone tapped his shoulder and he looked up. It was his friend and Zetsu's best friend, Dante Shigo. Dante sat next to him "Man, you look beat up. What's with the scratch on your cheek?" Virgil thought 'Should I tell the truth or should I make something up?' then he said "I slipped." Dante laughed "Ha! You are a klutz but don't worry I do my share of stupid things too." Virgil smiled. –After school- Zetsu and Virgil waited outside for Dante. Virgil asked "How long does it take to wait for Dante? This is getting boring!" Zetsu said "If you don't want to wait for him, then leave." Then, a girl was yelling to the brothers "Hey guys!" Virgil smiled ear to ear. "Rinoa!!! HI!!! Ok Zetsu, I'm staying." Zetsu looked at Virgil with a smile "You like her, don't you?" Virgil blushed then begged Zetsu not to tell. Zetsu chuckled "All right. I promise." Rinoa caught up with the brothers. Rinoa, Virgil, and Zetsu talked about their day and who the brothers were waiting for. "Rinoa, can I tell you something? And try to believe us please. We couldn't believe what happened last night." Virgil asked. Zetsu glared at him and wanted to shut him up but it was too late. Rinoa said "Ok, I'll try to be open-minded about this." Virgil looked at Zetsu and said "C'mon Zetsu, she deserves to know. She found the corpse with us." Rinoa thought 'I knew this had to do with the corpse. I've got a bad feeling about their story though.' "HEY GUYS!!!" Zetsu, Virgil, and Rinoa turned around and it was Dante. Zetsu said with a smile "You showed up at the right time." Dante had a puzzled look on his face. "Right time?" Virgil walked up to him and said "Remember 2nd hour? When I told you I slipped? Well, I didn't actually slip. I was going to tell what actually happened last night but I didn't think you would believe me." Dante chuckled "Ha ha. Well, tell me what really happened then." Both Zetsu and Virgil told the story about Joyrock and Sasuke's transformation and death. Dante said with a smile "Hm, Joyrock eh? Never heard of the guy but if we got Werewolves running about in Gaia, then we got trouble and the police aren't going to do anything about it. They'd all get slaughtered if they made an attempt." Virgil said "If the police can't do anything then Zetsu and I can't do anything about it but we're going to try." Dante replied "Well, I can't have you guys dying on me so what the heck, I'll join. Tonight, Joyrock said, right? I'll bring my BB guns and video camera." Dante and Zetsu pounded each other's fist. Then, Dante and Virgil did high-5 then Virgil looked at Rinoa. "Are you Ok, Rinoa?" Rinoa was still thinking about all they said. "Hm, well, if you asked another girl they'd probably think you're the craziest nuts around but because you guys are friends, I'll believe you." She said with a smile. Virgil thought 'Yes!' Zetsu asked "Do you want to join us tonight?" Rinoa nodded. Virgil thought 'ALL RIGHT! THIS IS MY LUCKY DAY AND NIGHT! I CAN BE A HERO IN RINOA'S EYES THEN AFTER TONIGHT, TOMORROW SHE'LL BE ALL OVER ME AND WANT TO GO OUT WITH ME!!!' "Here, call me when its 10:00, that way my parents will have passed out and I can sneak out." Rinoa gave her cell phone number to Zetsu and Virgil. "All right, we'll call you when its time. Heh, Joyrock won't know what hit him." –At 9:50 PM- Zetsu and Virgil were loading their weapons. Virgil asked "What do you think tonight is going to be like?" Zetsu replied "It's going to be one of those nights where all you can think about is yourself and no one else. Virgil, don't think about protecting Rinoa unless she needs back-up because if she doesn't need it and you go act like a 'hero' then you're asking, no, you're begging to get killed." Virgil nodded. -10 minutes later- "It's time." Zetsu said. Virgil dialed Rinoa's number and Zetsu dialed Dante's number. They both came to the brothers' house. Both guests had their BB guns and Dante brought the video camera as he said he would. All four went to the crops. Dante found the perfect spot for his camera. Zetsu said "The four of us are waiting, Joyrock." Then, a man in a black robe appeared. "Two more people are willing to die. Zetsu, you humans are the most stupid race of all the world." Virgil yelled "What do you mean 'you humans'? You're human too! I think…" Joyrock said "No, not tonight. Tonight, I am what I aimed to be. You and your stupid friends wanted to see something frightening and incredible, well, you'll see it." The moon appeared. Joyrock howled. His transformation was almost like Sasuke's except it looked like he was used to this. No howling, yelping, or whining in agony. "Now, all you idiots get to die tonight!" He jumped to Dante and punched him across the cheek. Dante fell to the ground and said "Ow…" Joyrock leaped over to Rinoa and scratched her across the face. Zetsu pressed the trigger on his BB gun and shot Joyrock using silver metal BB's. "What was that? Is a mosquito trying to bite me?" Rinoa and Dante both said at the same time "It talks?!" Virgil yelled "It's getting him to shut up and die that's the trick." Zetsu fired again and shot Joyrock in the arm. "Ow, that actually hurt." Dante got up on his feet, pointed his pistol towards Joyrock, but then noticed Virgil shaking and a growling sound coming from him. Dante ran over to Virgil and asked "You Ok?" He then noticed Virgil's eyes were yellow. Virgil stood up and bolted towards Joyrock and hit an uppercut on Joyrock. He stood up with his teeth bearing and looked at Virgil then with a surprised look on his face he said "Wow, how'd your eyes get like that?" Then, he noticed Virgil's scratch was glowing a little bit. "The scratch of a Werewolf is but one way to transform. Virgil, you're yearning to transform aren't you?" Virgil side-stepped and punched Joyrock across the face. Joyrock kicked him in the stomach really hard then punched him across the face. "You better think twice before attacking me like that again, boy. The way your acting and the way your attacking. You now have the personality of a Werewolf. Oh ho! Zetsu! I like your brother!" laughed Joyrock. Zetsu yelled "Virgil, what's gotten into you?!" Then thought 'He's never acted like this. Oh no! He can't be transforming into one of those bastards!' Joyrock looked at Virgil in the eyes. "Let me bite you. Let me turn you into what I have turned into. All this power feels great. Trust me, Virgil; this is the life you want." Virgil walked towards Joyrock and stood before him. He closed his eyes and everyone yelled "VIRGIL WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Joyrock bared his teeth and it was secreting saliva. Zetsu bolted towards his brother and the enemy. Virgil tackled Zetsu to the ground and punched him in the forehead, across the cheek, and in the stomach hard. Zetsu passed out. "ZETSU!!!" cried Rinoa. Dante yelled to her "Rinoa, we gotta run! This is a fight we can't win! Here, take Zetsu home and I'll deal with Joyrock and Virgil. That's all we can do now!" Rinoa nodded and ran towards the passed out Zetsu "C'mon. Let's go!" and she ran with all the speed her legs could take her with Zetsu on her shoulders. Dante looked back and whispered "God speed, Rinoa. God speed." Dante turned towards Virgil and Joyrock. "So, you're turning my best friend's brother into what you are? Am I right?" Joyrock said in a cocky voice "Well, aren't you the smart one!" Virgil started running towards but then Dante fired a silver BB between Virgil's eyes. "MY CREATION!" Virgil passed out. Dante glared at Joyrock. "You think its fun to do that? It's not. I'll be done here if you can answer these questions: Will there be other Werewolves running around here in the city?" Joyrock changed back to his human form. "I don't know. There could be, there couldn't be. But, that's for me to know and for you to find out." Dante asked "Were you going to kill Virgil?" Joyrock laughed "Only if he did something bad. But now I must go. It was fun meeting you and thank you for the fight. I will be taking Virgil." Dante pointed his pistol at Joyrock and walked towards Virgil's body. "Oh, no you won't. He's going home to his family." Joyrock laughed. "Family? What family? He's half of a werewolf now there is no such things as family to us. That's all but a bitter memory. But if you want him that bad, then I suppose I can try to claim him the honorable way. I won't bite or scratch." Both put up their fists. Dante ran towards Joyrock but he jumped and punched Dante in the forehead and kicked him in the stomach. Dante fell to the ground and vomited blood. "That…that was a really good kick you did on me." He got up and ran towards Joyrock and hit Joyrock across the face as hard as he could. "My turn! And it'll be worthwhile!" laughed Joyrock. First, he bolted towards Dante punched him really hard in the back of the neck, second, he punched Dante really hard in the stomach, then finally, he punched him in the forehead and kicked him across the face. Dante was out cold. "Here, this'll be something to remember me by. Remember never to challenge me while you're in your human form." Joyrock scratched Dante on the cheek. Then, he walked up to Virgil and disappeared.
–Sunrise- Rinoa was walking home "Man, the lecture I'm going to get from my parents…" then she saw Dante lying on the ground. "DANTE!" She ran towards his body and, luckily, he was just passed out. Rinoa was shaking him violently. "Are you ok? Dante, can you hear me? Please wake up!" Dante put his left hand up to his forehead and made hit slip all the way down. "What…what time is it?" Rinoa replied "Time for school." Dante quickly got up and yelled "Oh shit!!! I can't go to school. Not with this stomach and head ache and my video too!" Rinoa called her Mom and told her where she was, who she was with, and what her mom needed to do. Rinoa's mom was there in minutes. Dante grabbed his video camera and got in Rinoa's mom's car. Dante did not go to school that day but Rinoa did and while she was in school she did not see Zetsu all day. 'I hope the poor guy is all right.' Zetsu was in a wreck. He lied to his parents, he lost his brother, and to make matters worse, there is a bad man running around Gaia. Zetsu had to make a plan. He needed Virgil so his parents could stop getting so worried and he missed him. Sort of. He'll have to do a lot of sneaking out and staying out late if he had to find his brother. Zetsu was sitting on his bed, in his boxers, thinking about what Virgil was going through. 'I have to sneak out again. This is not good. Joyrock could be anywhere in the town…Or the world.' He said to himself "I have to start at the source of all this…the old farmer's crops. (Author's note: Since farmer Uzumaki and Sasuke are dead, no one owns their crops anymore. Just a side note.)