Quests

Vampire Hunter D/ RG Veda Crossover

Chapter One: Meetings in Dark Places

It had been quite some time since he'd entered the forest, and already he was tired of it. Behind him, his horse snorted in unease; sensing something was not right about the place and instinctively trying to leave. But he held the reins tightly with his right hand (while his left hand mouthed off, as usual).

"D, I really have a bad feeling about these woods! We should never have set foot in here!" Left urged, trying to make his host understand the feelings of darkness and evil that permeated the very air they breathed.

"You said that about twenty minutes ago. If whatever it is that is in this forest had wanted to kill us, it would have by now…..So calm down and shut up." D muttered, irritably. The thought had occurred to him to simply cut his own hand off and be done with the irritation, but then that would leave him handicapped (and a maimed vampire hunter would not last very long; this he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt). Before Left could say anything more, the bright edge of a sword came swinging their way from nowhere, forcing D to draw his sword and block the blow aimed at his head.

"Who are you? From what tribe do you hail? Have you come by Taishakuten's orders to follow and kill me?" a stranger's voice asked, as the powerful owner of it glared into D's cool blue eyes.

"I am known as D, I am alone, and unless you are a vampire, I have no qualms against you." D replied, answering all of the questions in one felled swoop.

"As I'd said before, your tact needs work." Left's mental voice muttered, getting almost a rolling of eyes from D before the other swordsman withdrew.

"I apologize, then. I have been on edge since I entered the forest. I didn't hurt you or your mount, did I?" the swordsman asked, as he sheathed his sword and gave D a curious look.

"No." D stated, simply.

"But it certainly shortened my life." Left grumbled, in the back of D's mind. The other man breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Good. But you certainly are an odd looking fellow. And you'd said your name was D?" the other man asked. D nodded.

"What are you doing so far into Mahyah Forest? I thought the vampires and vampire hunters mainly stayed towards the outskirts and away from this part of Tenkai." The man said, his curiosity now beginning to edge its way into his voice.

"Tenkai? Mahyah Forest? D, I think we're in deep this time!" Left stated, not surprised when D ignored him.

"I could ask you the same question…..Something told me to come in here…...What it was, I don't know." D said, now starting to feel somewhat (and oddly) at ease with the stranger.

" The reason I came in here was to find the child of a vanished race. A stargazer had told me where to find her…….and that her name is Ashura." The man replied, as he started to walk back in the direction he'd come. Without even being beckoned to, D started to follow; unaware that with those first steps, his place in destiny was being decided.

"You haven't told me your name yet, stranger. What name do you go by?" D asked, as he walked alongside the other warrior.

"I am known as Yasha, and am the leader of a tribe going by the same name. I bear the sword, Yamato, as proof of leadership." The warrior said, calmly, not in the least bit perturbed that D had not known who he was, and taking it into account that news probably didn't reach the outskirts (where he assumed D had come from).

"I see. That would explain why the foliage roundabout withdrew from around me the moment you charged. And why the trees are kept at bay now." D stated, as he nodded to the sword.

"Indeed." Yasha replied, then went silent as they both neared the center of the forest. Before them, the stump of a huge tree stood silently; exuding a dark presence that almost stifled the pair.

"There's something here…..something strong and dark. Can't you feel it, D?" Left asked, actually sounding more than a little afraid at this point.

"Yes. I feel it…..and it is something I have never felt before. This isn't the presence of a vampire, I know that much." D silently replied, a little startled now, since even Left didn't know what it was they were sensing.

"Kuyou had told me that there is a monster at the heart of this forest…..Could she have meant the child?" Yasha murmured, mostly to himself, as he gazed up at the remains of the tree and gasped when a heartbeat was heard from the center of it.

"Probably. We won't know until we get a closer look." D said, ignoring Left's adamant protests to the contrary. With a nod, Yasha unsheathed his sword again and swiped at the tree, shattering it into a million pieces. Seconds later, a bright light shone from the inside of the tree, and a baby took form before them.

"Who goes there?" a voice asked, coolly, as a spirit appeared behind the baby. It was the sight of the spirit that caused a chill to run down D's spine, and made his blood run cold; this was what he had sensed before entering the forest!

"I may have to agree with you, Left….I think I have just taken a few steps too many!" D thought, ignoring Left's rather angry 'I told you so' and listening as the spirit continued its' questioning.

"Thou who hast broken the seal and awakened me, and thou who witnessed it. Ye who both called me out of slumber….in what manner dost thou come?" the spirit again asked, as it looked from Yasha to D and back again; its amber eyes widening slightly when it sensed what kind of creatures were before it.

"My repose has been violated. Name thyselves, oh ye who disturbed my rest. What reason didst thou have for breaching my seal?" the spirit once again asked. This time, Yasha responded.

"My name is Yasha, and this is D. I have come to free you from your deep sleep." Yasha replied, confidently. The spirit fairly snorted in contempt at that.

"Free me? Fools. You have released an evil onto this world that will turn it into a living hell. For I am Ashura." The spirit sneered, before disappearing into the baby, and the baby itself floated down into Yasha's waiting arms.

"So, that is Ashura." D murmurs, as he gazes down onto the seemingly innocent face of the slumbering baby. Yasha nods grimly.

"Yes. This is the one who will eventually kill me….at least, according to Kuyou, anyway." Yasha replied, as he carefully adjusted his grip on the sleeping child.

"I take it this 'Kuyou' is very accurate in her predictions?" D asked, sounding a little on edge as he spoke (much to Left's surprise).

"You can trust your life to her predictions. She knew Ashura was here, and even knew that I would meet you, even though she didn't reveal too much about you." Yasha stated, as they started to walk out of the forest.

"I see……." D trailed off, not liking where this was going.

"I told you, D, that entering this forest had been a bad idea! Why don't you ever listen to me?" Left asked, angrily, as D and Yasha emerged into the sunshine.

"Like it or not, I'm committed to this now. And it seems I was foreordained to have some part in the events to come……" D replied, looking up as a rider on a white horse rode madly towards him and Yasha.

"I hate it when you say that." Left grumbled.

"Deal with it." D retorted, irritably, as he returned his attention to the rider and Yasha, watched the latter hand the baby to the rider, and then quickly mounted.

"Hold on tight and don't you drop her!" Yasha shouted, as he took the reins from the startled youth's grasp, then turned and looked at D.

"Are you coming, D? It sounds as though we could use your help." Yasha stated. D nodded slightly.

"Lead on." D responded, as he got onto his own horse and rode after Yasha as he galloped hell-for-leather away from Mahyah Forest….and towards an uncertain future.

Author's Note!

Yes, I realize that is an oddball crossover, but I started on this for the heck of it. I also thought it would be kind of neat to see how Ashura would interact with someone like D (who would understand better than almost anyone what it is like to be alone, hated, and unwanted). Who knows? Maybe this fic will have a happy ending (we can hope, right?)

Let me know what ya'll think, okay?

Gemini14