Disclaimer; I do not own Soul Eater or the characters used in my story. Well, except for Ash and Xavier.
So this is the first fanfiction I have posted and I plan on finishing it. Anyway, on with the story. Enjoy.
Huntress and Kishin
Prologue
Hunting, an activity and a matter of survival. Ash is considered as a master. As a wanderer she tracked all sorts of prey living in forests. She occasionally participated in hunting competitions; catching the target prey. She always came first. Most complete the hunt within five hours or more. Ash completed her hunts within three hours or less.
Then of course she met Xavier; a mystic white eagle that is the size of a horse. Instead of slaying him, Ash targeted every hunter within the boundaries of Xavier's home; Adelbar Forest.
She warns nearby villages not to come.
Of course, no one listens.
Chapter One
Ash jumped from tree to tree chasing an idiot warrior who believed he could kill her. How many others were there? The huntress lost count after forty.
"Was it worth it?" Ash asked him as she landed on a fallen log in the warrior's path. "Did you honestly believe you could kill me?"
"You aren't human!" he panted.
"Thank you," Ash smiled sweetly. "I'll take that as a compliment. Now onto business," she aimed her arrow at him. "This is the price for trespassing."
"Wai-"
Ash didn't listen to the warrior and shot him. The arrow went through his head; he stared at her wide eyed and with his mouth open. His body turned black then evaporated and the only thing left behind was the warrior's armour, weapons and soul.
"Well, that is quite an impressive looking soul," Ash commented then went to go pick it up, not bothering with the weapons and armour. "I haven't seen one like this since that assassin broke my arm. Oh wait, the assassin's soul was larger."
Ash left the scene and tracked down her eagle, Xavier. It didn't take her long to find him. Xavier was taking a nap under the sunlight on a nest he created out of fallen branches, leaves and vines. The solar rays bounced off his feathers, making him look even more majestic than he already was.
The huntress whistled for him to awaken. Xavier is a stubborn bird and often refuses to awaken even if Ash has a soul to offer him.
She sighed. "This soul belonged to a warrior," she explained. "If you aren't going to devour it then, it will be a waste."
The eagle opened his sapphire eyes. "Are you sure you do not want it?"
"It's yours, dear friend," she smiled.
"Generous as always," he got up then ruffled his feathers and stretched his wings. Xavier is an incredibly rare breed of bird. For one, he has white feathers, and he can turn into a long sword with a mirror blade.
He approached the huntress who held out the soul. The eagle plucked it from her hand and it disappeared into his light gold beak.
"How was your nap?" Ash asked then took a seat on a nearby stone.
"Quite restful," he told her. "Although, my wing is still sprained from the attack by the twin witches. I will need to rest more until I can fly once more."
"Well it's not like any more skilled assassins will be stopping by for a visit anytime soon."
"Do you miss your family?"
Ash raised an eyebrow. "Where did that come from?"
"You have lived in this forest with me for three years. Don't you ever want to go back to your village? Perhaps to see friends and family or maybe even start one?"
Ash played with the ends of her dark blue hair. "Who would want to start a family with a huntress who kills trespassers on sight? Of course when I was sixteen, the young men who weren't married asked for my hand. They didn't want me to leave. But I wanted to. So I traveled around for two years, learning more about animals of the wild, developing my hunting skill and win competitions. Then, I met you. I saw how hurt you were, I couldn't bring myself to kill you. Once I killed the other competing hunters, I warned people not to come into this forest. If not, they would die. Despite my warnings, they still come. I swear the ground of this forest is covered in treasure, weapons, armour, jewelry and books."
"Perhaps that is why people come here. Not for me but for all the things that are left behind."
"Or they want my head on a pike. Do they honestly think I'm afraid of them?"
"But I think you should start decreasing your kill rate."
She looked at the white eagle with her dusty gold colored eyes. "Why is that?"
"If you continue this, Death will send his warriors to find us. That will mean you will be killed. That will also mean the end of my life as well."
Ash thought for a moment. "There is something I have noticed these last few weeks."
"What might that be?"
"The animals. For some reason they haven't been as active. I am beginning to think that it is because of all the junk that is lying around."
"Then maybe you could do something about it?"
"Of course I'll do something about it. I'll just stash everything then pay the trespassers to leave within twenty four hours."
"And if they don't leave within that time…?"
"Then they become prey," Ash ran her hand through her hair. "I'll get started right away," she got off the stone. "I'll see you later Xavier."
"Of course."
Ash left her eagle to start cleaning up the mess in the forest she lives in. She first went to her hut to place her bow and quiver back. It's not like she will be hunting anytime soon. Well, not today.
So the first thing Ash will need to do is find a cave or abandoned den to stash everything. She knew a den that is well hidden and it will serve as an excellent hiding spot. The entrance to the den is covered by vines and bushes.
While on her search for just about anything, Ash tripped over a chest.
"Ugh," the blue haired huntress groaned. "How did I trip over that? Not matter," Ash pulled the moss covered chest out of the ground. "at least this is one thing less."
Ash gingerly carried the chest back to the den where all the other treasure would be stashed. She placed the chest back against the furthest wall. After all, who knows how many other things are buried under vines and moss?
As she exited the treasure den, Ash saw a group of birds flying away overhead. They were heading east. That would mean that trouble was west. And so, Ash took off in that direction, stupidly tripping over something else.
"This just isn't my moment," she thought and looked at what she tripped over. How convenient, a bow. Ash picked it up along with the quiver lying nearby. Ah yes, this bow belonged to a mounted bowman. Xavier ate his soul and Ash let the beautiful horse run free.
"Things would be so much easier with running along the trees," Ash said aloud and strapped her newly found toys to her back. She climbed the nearest tree and began her free running from there.
She sensed the soul of a witch and another soul, it felt familiar. Either way, she will figure out why a witch is here. The familiar soul might be a human soul she encountered before.
The witch moved quickly he admitted. He can sense that the witch is using her power to increase her speed. Can they even do that?
"Asura! Get off the clouds, I need you now!" Asura's weapon, Vajra snapped.
Asura quickly side stepped to dodge the witch's attack, but not before the attack dug through three layers of his clothing. Great, now how is he going fix this?
"Is there a problem, warrior of Death?" the witch landed on a broken tree. "Tell me if I'm wrong but you usually are a lot quicker in ending the lives of my kind."
"She isn't wrong," Vajra told Asura.
"Be quiet," Asura tightly gripped the weapon with a shaking hand.
"It has been fun; playing with you but I'm afraid I have more important things to do," the witch raised her hands in the air and her magic was pulsing out of her. No wait, Asura was wrong. The witch is actually sucking the life out the forest. "Excellent, this forest is full of life. At this rate I will-"
Asura pointed Vajra at the witch but before he could shoot, an arrow went through her throat. It landed at Asura's feet. He jumped back, a little surprised and scared. Who shot that arrow? Not many people can sneak up on a witch; much less shoot one in the throat.
"Wow," Vajra commented. "That's quite the marksman skill. Maybe we should go see who shot that."
Asura didn't respond. He was too busy staring at the blood soaked arrow.
Ash crouched on a branch and aimed at the witch. She was fighting a man wearing a red jacket, black pants and long white scarves covering his face. She heard of someone who had this exact description but she couldn't recall what the name was.
"I just need an opportunity now," Ash thought.
Her wish was granted when the witch landed on a broken tree. She raised her arms in the air and was… absorbing energy from the wildlife around her!
Ash didn't wait a moment longer. The huntress shot the arrow. It sailed through the air and through its target. The energy stopped flowing into the witch. She stood there for a moment before she turned black and disappeared; leaving behind her purple soul.
"That was easier than expected," Ash thought then jumped off the tree to collect the soul.
When Ash grabbed the witch soul, her eye caught the man the witch was fighting. He had parts of his black hair sticking out of the bandages. His hair had white streaks that looked like vertical eyes and he had three vertical eyes on his scarves. The only thing he seemed to be carrying is a vajra.
"Who might you be?" Ash asked as a wind picked up and caused her hair to move along with it.
The man flinched at the question. He tilted his head up. "Were you the one who killed the witch?"
"I asked my question first. I would appreciate it if you answered first."
"My name is Asura and my weapon is Vajra," he answered quickly.
Ash placed a hand on her hip. Why does his voice sound familiar? Asura… why does that sound familiar?
"Are you one of Death's eight warriors?" she asked.
"Well, there's me and Asura. So that makes two of us," Asura's weapon answered then reverted into his human form; a young dark gold haired man wearing noblemen clothing. "Care to answer my partner's question now?"
"Yes, I did kill the witch. She was taking the life of this forest which is something I could not allow to continue."
"Do you live here?" Vajra asked.
"I do actually."
"Might we know your name?"
"It's Ash," she beckoned them. "I'll let the two of you spend the night in my hut."
"How generous."
"Is that even a good idea?" Asura looked at his partner. "I mean, we only just met her…"
Ash sighed. "Fine, how about if I show you the way to the main road. You can follow it and it will lead you to a nearby village. There, you can spend the night in a tavern. Does that sound better Asura?"
Asura didn't meet her eyes. "Yes. That will be fine. So as long as-" his head snapped towards Ash's direction. "I know you! We grew up in the same village together!"
Vajra stared at Asura in surprise.
"Now I know why you sound familiar," Ash said in realization.
So, this was the first chapter of many. Let me know what you think!
