Spiritua: Wow, I was so bored I wrote this early. You're probably reading this about a month or so after I wrote it. Haha. Well, this fic is Ritus Luna. I've been planning it for quite a long time, but I want to finish a couple of fics before I dive into this one. This fic is gonna be absolutely HUGE. As in, over 100 chapters, huge. Probably 105-110, but not entirely sure as of yet. And another thing. Your votes will pretty much decide the pairings. More about that at the end of Chappa 2.

One thing I hate about is the summary restrictions. I'm always just a few words over. Ughh. Therefore, the summary couldn't even begin to do this story justice. So now that you've opened it, give it a try. Please?

And yes, this first chapter is short, it's kinda the prologue in a way. And bear with it, the rest of the fic is not nearly as confusing.

Chapter One

It was dark that night. The sort of dark that haunted even the most fearless of beings, and sent all those of lesser emotional stature fleeing to their dwellings. It was a new moon, and the darkness was absolute, not even the stars daring to peep through the malevolent cloud cover to shed light upon the land. One would have to be absolutely insane to venture out on such a ominous night...

Yet a single figure crept through the trees. It's footsteps were so soft, they redefined the term 'silent', and it crouched low, it's torso defying gravity with a graceful ease. One wouldn't do justice to the figure's pace to call it a jog; rather, it seemed to be gliding, without the telltale bob of a normal run, and at too quick a speed to be considered completely natural. A cloak obscured the figure's body completely, hiding it's identity and even it's gender, a cloak so black that it blended perfectly with the surrounding darkness.

This was the hunter, or so was it's duty that night. Hunt, locate, kill if necessary. Though, now that the hunter considered it, the term 'bounty hunter' would better suit it, for it was not necessarily a being, but an object that sent the dark figure into the woods that night.

The hunter did not hesitate as it passed by a small woodland house, its lights unusually bright as if to ward off all the demons or evil beings that roamed in such darkness. The house did not worry the hunter; even if they spotted it, a movement among the trees, by the time they could blink and confirm their suspicions, the hunter would be gone once more. That was the last house on the way into the woods, and there were none heading out.

So why would he be all the way out here? That's what the silent figure wanted to know. What more did the woods hold for him? He didn't intend to bury it, did he? Surely he knew better than that. Though he knew not the bounty hunter by name, or vague identity, he knew that the object in his possession was sought after by beings more powerful than himself.

The hunter paused, its cloak swirling to a stop around its legs. Keen eyes scanned the surrounding area, zooming in occasionally on a suspicious-looking spot. This being could see clearly, far better than almost any other being when confronted with the total, smothering darkness. Yet when its search yielded no reward, the being pulled its hood back ever-so-slightly, lifted its nose to the stagnant air, and inhaled as deeply as its lungs could hold. After a moment, piercing eyes snapped open.

He had been through there, not too long ago. At the bounty hunter's former pace, it should catch up to him in no time. Excellent. It took off once more, cloak flaring out behind it for a moment before the it settled into the smooth, gliding gait it had previously moved at. The being knew not why the object in question was so important, nor where the hunter was, nor even its own identity. All it remembered was its immediate past, it's superior telling it to find the one whose scent matched the cloth he revealed to it, a stab of resentment at being treated like a bloodhound, and setting off after the one in question. And the hunter didn't wonder on the matter, as something told it that knowing the truth would only hurt it.

Occasionally, during the long stretches of effortless tracking where the scent was thick, its mind wandered, and in those minutes, a revelation bobbed on the edge of its consciousness. Always, eventually, its mind would stray too close, and a stab of nameless pain would jolt through its mind, though whether the pain was emotional or physical was beyond the hunter's power to tell. Always, when this happened, the hunter would recoil, back into its instinctive tracking.

Suddenly, a rustle was heard. The hunter stopped short, all its senses alert. It was on the edge of a clearing, still hidden by the deepest of shadows. And in the center of the clearing crouched another figure. A man, middle-aged, tall, with hair of light cobalt, and a package tightly in his hands. Even through the roughly-wrapped cloth, the hunter could see a faint cobalt glow. The bounty-hunter had succeeded.

Gliding forward, it drew its weapon to do what it was sent to do. A quick, clean kill, hopefully. It wanted no sound to be made, no dying scream to attract attention to the deed that had been done until the hunter was far from the crime scene.

When half the distance had been closed, the man whirled to face the hunter. Its eyes widened in shock.

Without hesitation, the hunter swung its weapon at the man's neck. It all happened within seconds, so fast that the man could only watch in horror as his deathblow was delivered. Then the wind from the swing blew the hunter's hood from it's head.

The man's eyes widened further still, in horror. "Ra-"

And then it was over. The man's broken body lay in the clearing, and within seconds, both the hunter and the package were gone.

Spiritua: Yes, that was very vague, very nonspecific, and very confusing. As it should be. And due to some confusion from those I've showed this too already, the dead person is Regal. Not Yuan. :P