Hoshi: Hey all! We are back!

Kage: Excited?

-crickets chirping-

Hoshi: We expected as much.

Kage: This is a new story for you all! A vampire-licious yaoi romance story between Ryou and Bakura!

Hoshi: Unfortunately, Ryou isn't in the story yet, but we promise he will show up by the second or third chapter.

Kage: So here's the first chapter! Rated only for violence so far, but we'll try not to censor everything as much as in the last stories. We really like it better when it's as good as we typed it to start.

Hoshi: Which really isn't saying much.

Both: Now...ENJOY!

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Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Bakura ducked next to a large rock, eyes rolling to look up at the sky. "Geez, do they have to be so dramatic? Why on earth would the vampires even use a machine like this?"

Kochi shushed him. "Bakura! We need to be quiet! They only have the machine there to distract us."

The two peeked over the rock to look at the large metal device that was stomping towards them. It sort of resembled a fifty-foot egg, with huge clawed feet and a venom gun near the midsection. Something this large and odd-looking coming towards you would terrify most normal humans, but not Bakura. He had been trained his whole life to deal with the strange and horrifying. After all, he was a vampire hunter, and the vampires were a whole lot smarter than people gave them credit for. There was no telling what kind of strange weapons and elixirs that their scientists were inventing even right now. They had to be prepared for anything.

"Whatever. Let's just get in, kill the vampire, and get out," Bakura hissed. Kochi was about to protest, but the whinette had already taken off in the direction of the palace.

"Augh, Bakura!" Kochi whispered in frustration. She followed him behind a trail of rocks, to a gap in the field. On the other side of the monster, dozens of guards were marching in front of the gates. Kochi slapped herself in the forehead. "Great, now what, genius?"

"Hmm…" Bakura scanned the area. "We need a way to take out the monster, or at least distract it, and move the guards."

"Why not try tactic 8?" Kochi volunteered.

"Ah, the old diversion tactic!" He rubbed his hands together. "Cool. You go be the diversion."

"No way," Kochi protested, shaking her head. "I was the diversion last time. It's your turn, frosty head."

Bakura rolled his eyes at her childish insult, climbing up onto a bush. He got down on his haunches, prepared to leap out. Then he turned to look at Kochi. "Hey, I happen to like my white hair. And besides, it's better than blue." He flicked a lock of her navy hair before jumping into the open grass.

Kochi's face puffed up. "At least mine is well kept! Not like that huge mop!"

Bakura laughed. "Yeah right! At least I don't look like I'm wearing a large insect on my head!"

Kochi brushed back her bowl-shaped hairstyle, eyes glinting in annoyance. "I told you that I wanted it long! That dumb stylist is an idiot! I told her that I wanted it to 'shine like a beetle'! And she cut it like that!"

"Who'd want their hair to 'shine like a beetle' anyway?" Bakura teased, jumping onto the back of the egg-machine. He pulled on his warrior claws and dug a hole in the hull right to the center, where he ripped out the battery. The machine fell to the ground, emitting small sparks here and there. The whinette hopped down, brushing off his shirtsleeves. "Personally, I think glossy hair is irritating. Reflects too much light. Looks too greasy."

It was astounding how they could still keep up a normal argument through this whole façade. By now, the guards had noticed them, and were stomping madly in their direction. Kochi rolled her eyes.

"Good job at the diversion, Bakura. Now they've noticed both of us."

Bakura waved the charging guards off like they were nothing important. "Big deal. We killed the machine, the guards will be easy."

The two jumped about eight feet straight up in the air, and came crashing down on the heads of two or three of the guards. Instantly, they got to their feet. Several of the guards drew their swords. Kochi did as well. However, Bakura preferred to hack and slash at the guards with his warrior claws. The two completely tore the men apart, ripping their limbs off and shredding them to within an inch of their lives. After about ten minutes, the fight was completely over. Kochi and Bakura stood over the bleeding and unconscious guards. Being vampires, the only way to kill them was to stake and burn them. Bakura walked over to a tree and attacked it with his claws. He returned carrying about forty or fifty wooden stakes, the huge pile stacked on his thin arms. The whinette dropped them on the ground in front of his partner, who rolled her eyes.

"Well, let's get stabbing"! Bakura laughed, grabbing a few stakes from the pile.

The two walked around the dying men, pausing every few seconds to stab a steak into one of their hearts. Every time a steak went in, the vampire would make a loud choking noise, their eyes rolling back in their head. This would kill them instantly, but the only way to make sure that they were completely disposed of was to burn them in a fire. After about half of the men had been staked, Kochi left to go gather some firewood. She wandered off into the forest, her sword poised and ready to slash at anything that stood in her way. Bakura snorted under his breath.

"Too melodramatic, that one," He sighed, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "And easily distracted. It's a shame. She's such a good fighter."

The whinette picked up more of the steaks and started throwing them into the chest plates of the guards, rather than kneeling down and stabbing them. This seemed to work just as well, and was more efficient. Bakura smirked. He threw three stakes at a time, letting out a grunt as he did so. Each one met its mark perfectly. He grinned in amusement. Having good aim with a steak was second nature by now, due to all the times he'd needed to use them. After all, killing vampires was more than just his job, it was a way of life for the teen. His entire existence was focused around taking out the lead vampires in the opposing clans, him being the son of the clan leader. He'd spent tireless hours training, learning to fight off the bloodsuckers. The entire clan respected him as one of their best warriors. His records showed that he'd killed more vampires in the past two years than the rest of his family combined. It made him proud to know that he was such a deadly enemy to vampire-kind.

A loud scream jerked Bakura from his thoughts. In less than two seconds he was on his feet, running in the direction of the forest. He strapped on his warrior claws as he moved, his eyes scanning the area for the source of the cry. Suddenly, he came to a clearing. His heart pounded in his chest. There was no doubt that Kochi had made that noise. He wondered if she'd been captured.

"Come out!" He shouted, standing tall. "I don't want to have to kill you!"

Rustling behind him caught his attention. He spun around, coming face to face with a black haired vampire, who was holding Kochi around the neck. The man looked back at Bakura, his eyes bright and full of interest.

"Don't want to have to kill me?" He wondered, mock fear lacing his voice. "Well I'm terribly sorry I hid then! Surely the noble son of the Encorés clan will spare me?"

Bakura snarled at him, watching Kochi struggle against his arm. "Let her go."

The man tilted Kochi's head, exposing the arteries in her neck. "Aw, c'mon now," He said, his lips brushing the soft skin. "I'm not going to hurt her. I'm just a little thirsty, that's all."

Kochi trembled against his grip, all strength leaving her. Bakura spit on the ground in disgust.

"Yeah right," He sneered. "You'd just love to have another one of our people on your side. How do I know you're not going to infect her with that venom of yours?"

The vampire grinned, revealing pearly fangs. "I was only out looking for a snack, and your friend just happened to be unlucky enough to walk by. Why would I change her when I could save my venom for someone stronger?"

The gleam in his eye told Bakura clearly what he was going to do, but even that didn't prepare him for it. The man lunged, his teeth aiming for his neck. Bakura slashed him in the stomach, tearing through the flesh and leaving a gaping hole in his midsection. However, this didn't delay the vampire for even a second as he sunk his fangs into the artery by Bakura's jaw.

'No! No!' Bakura screamed in his head, feeling the venom start to flow into his bloodstream. He was not going to let himself be turned into a vampire! With a grunt, he tried to jab his claws into the side of the man's head, but his attack was blocked easily. The loss of blood and paralyzing effect of the venom was rendering Bakura completely weak. He could barely lift his arm. The man was drinking too much. He could already feel his consciousness fading.

"Bakura!" Kochi cried, her voice vague and fuzzy, as if it were coming out of a badly tuned radio. She gripped her sword and jumped on the man, stabbing it right into the top of his head. A choking sound came from the vampire. He opened his mouth, Bakura's blood dripping onto the ground. His fangs were jerked out of the teen's neck as he fell to the ground. With a loud grunt, Kochi pulled a steak from her belt and stabbed it into his chest. She watched the color leave the man's face as his body shut down. He was dead within seconds.

Next to her, Bakura fell to his knees, clutching the bite marks in his neck. He coughed up some blood, his stomach feeling like it was full of acid. Kochi gasped and knelt by his side.

"Bakura?" She asked timidly. "Are you – "

Before she could finish her sentence, the teen collapsed to the ground. His body trembled violently. Shock and fear crossed Kochi's face as his brown eyes met her green ones.

"I'm fine," He choked, a grin forming on his lips. "It takes a lot more than that to bring me down."

Without warning, the entire world around them faded. All the trees, the grass and bugs, even the dead vampire just simply evaporated, replaced by an enormous plain of springy grass. Several other warriors were currently taking down a simulation projector. They hauled the large metal box off of its stand and slowly carried it back to the castle, passing Bakura's father and several other clan leaders on their way. Bakura got to his feet, his face turning red as he saw his father walking towards him. He stood firm, Kochi also straightening up. They looked at their leaders in expectation.

"Alright," Harrun Bakura grunted. "I'm quite disappointed. You two did well with fighting the guards. However, I am less than pleased with your dealing with the vampire. Especially you," He added, pointing to Bakura with his cane. "I would have expected better of you, Bakura. You got distracted. If this were a real life situation, you could be lying unconscious on the ground right now, almost a vampire yourself."

Bakura nodded, his face flushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, father."

Harrun smiled, looking at the two warriors fondly.

"On the other hand…" Their spirits brightened at this. "Out of everyone who took the challenge today, you two showed the best combination of team fighting." He laughed, roughly messing up Bakura's hair. "And you didn't die! Quite an accomplishment compared to some of the others."

The two teens laughed, feeling a bit better. Harrun tapped his cane on the ground.

"Yes, yes. I'll send you two off with a B. You've done a fair job for today."

He turned and started to walk off, waving at the two as he left. Kochi turned to Bakura, her face glowing.

"A B!" She exclaimed. "That's not too bad at all! I heard that Moji and Kendo got a D on their final!"

Bakura nodded, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. "That's another two merits on our records," He added. "A few more and we'll be able to go on Elite ranked missions!"

Kochi cheered. "Why don't we go and check out the board? You know, just to see what we might get to do?"

The two took off at top speed, a race suddenly breaking out between them. Bakura shot through the halls of the castle, unintentionally knocking people over in his wake. Kochi was more careful about passing through, but that didn't slow her down. It was a close victory as she touched the wooden frame of the message board first. She fell to the ground, panting, her eyes shining in satisfaction.

"I won," She said from the floor. "Now read what it says."

Bakura rolled his eyes, turning to look at the piece of parchment that was tacked up. "Elite Missions:" He read. "A rank only, a stealth and attack mission to assassinate the Aikuun King. Woah!" He exclaimed, turning to his friend on the ground. "Killing the King of the Aikuun vampire clan? That'd be incredible!"

Kochi nodded, getting to her feet. She read the part that Bakura had and snickered.

"What?" Bakura wondered.

"The Aikuun clan?" She giggled. "Isn't that the one with the really cute prince?"

Bakura whacked her over the head. "Baka. Don't go falling in love with people you have to kill."

Kochi snarled at him and walked away, feeling slightly hurt. Bakura looked at the words written on the board again. "Assassinate the Aikuun King."

"That one," He confirmed quietly. "That's the first mission I'm doing when I become an A rank."

With a grin, he walked off in the direction of his room, thinking about what he'd said to Kochi. He was right though. She shouldn't be fawning over any vampire, no matter how good looking they were. After all, they'd probably need to kill him someday. He let out a sigh, feeling ready for a well-deserved rest. Warrior claws in his hand, he climbed the stairs to his bedroom, no where near as prepared for tomorrow as he thought he was.

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Hoshi: So what'd you think?

Kage: Cool? Good? Okay? Crapish on a level even I can't understand?

Hoshi: Tell us! Give us suggestions for future chapters! We don't care! We just want the reviews!

Kage: TELL US ANYTHING! TELL US ABOUT YOUR DOG! SOMETHING ICKY YOU STEPPED IN LAST WEEK! ANYTHING! AHHH! -crashes into wall which was randomly placed there and not actually connected to anything-

Hoshi: -lifts unconscious Kage up- Remember, we wuv you! Read and review!