When Zoro, one of the best hunters in the city, first laid eyes on the vampire, he had no idea what he was looking at. The kid could barely pass for eighteen and was leaning over the counter of a bar at a restaurant, looking very conspicuous in a bright red hoodie and an out of place straw hat resting on his back. Zoro raised his eyebrow and glanced at his partner, Usopp.
"Is this really who we're looking for?" He asked, as the waiter placed a heaping plate in front of their target. "He looks like a high school kid."
"That's what the report says," Usopp said, pausing when another waiter came to their table and took their orders. "Shame he was turned so young. He was first sighted last weekend. We want to get him out of the picture before the local coven picks him up of he joins a clan."
"You know how old he is?"
"Nope. Never seen him before." Usopp said, shaking his head. "We think he arrived in town just recently. It's a common occurrence for new vamps, especially ones that young. They want to get away from parents, friends, girlfriends… you get the point."
"Yeah," Zoro said, frowning slightly and glancing back over at the vampire. To his surprise, the kid had already finished his meal, and was currently demanding more. The blond waiter looked annoyed, but took the empty one and vanished into the kitchen, returning with another plate just as full as the first.
"How much do vampires eat?" Zoro asked, tearing his eyes away and looking back to Usopp.
"I didn't think they could eat," Usopp said. "They drink blood, right?"
Their orders came, and the two hunters turned their attention to eating for the moment. The vampire had already finished his second plate, and was waving at the blond waiter again. The waiter seemed to glare and shook his head. The vampire pouted as the waiter took the plate away.
Zoro narrowed his eyes, waiting for him to leave. Usopp seemed enthralled in his coffee rather than their mission, so the green haired man quickly turned his gaze away from their prey to get his attention. When he looked back at the vampire, was met with an empty bar stool. He was gone.
"Where'd he go?" Usopp asked, as the two of them scrambled to their feet. Zoro grabbed a handful of bills from his pocket and dumped them on the table before he and Usopp quickly left the building. As soon as the cool night air hit them they split up and circled the building.
"Shit," Zoro muttered, meeting back up with Usopp at the back of the restaurant. "We lost him. Those bastards can move fast."
"Well," Usopp sighed, sounding slightly relieved. "He's gone."
"We don't know he's gone yet," Zoro said, resting a hand on one of his hidden swords. "Keep looking. What else did intelligence get on him?"
"Nothing. We barely know what he looks like, we don't know of any alliances he's made, or even how old he is. We think he's young, but that's based off of assumptions and other vampires we've caught."
"That's helpful," Zoro muttered sarcastically, spinning when he heard a noise to his left. He narrowed his eyes, half expecting a cat to come running out of the darkness.
What he didn't expect was a pair of luminescent red eyes staring at him from the shadows of the building. He drew his sword and pointed it at the vampire, who slowly stepped out of the shadows and grinned.
"Are you guys hunters?" He asked. His voice was still cracking, indicating he hadn't finished puberty when he was turned.
"How do you know about hunters?" Zoro asked. They were a top secret organization. It was almost unheard of that even the supernatural creatures knew of them. Or so they believed.
The kid grinned again, unnerving Zoro. "You really stand out. It's not hard to spot or smell you." He said, eyeing up Zoro's sword. It made the hunter feel slightly self-conscious. He didn't know much about the social tendencies of supernatural creatures. Those he met usually ended up on the wrong end of his sword before they could chat.
Zoro raised his blade. Vampires were fast, but that was the only thing they had going for them. The vampire glanced at the blade again, and took a step back, still smiling. Zoro stopped hesitating, taking a quick step forward and striking. The vampire vanished from his sight the second the sword started moving. He appeared half a second later, crouched on the blade.
Zoro's eyes widened and he pulled back. The vampire jumped down, landing in another crouch. Zoro grabbed another sword, but by the time it was fully drawn, the vampire was gone. Usopp had his rifle out and was hastily trying to load silver bullets as he looked around in panic.
"He's gone," Zoro said, straightening and sheathing his swords. "And silver is for werewolves. Not vampires. You want wood."
"I knew that," Usopp said, giving up and letting the shells clatter to the ground before kneeling and scooping them up.
"Sure you did." Zoro said, taking a calming breath. "We should get back to headquarters and report what happened."
"Smoker's going to be mad." Usopp said. "He was very adamant we get rid of him."
"I'm sure we'll see him again," Zoro said, staring off in the direction the vampire had vanished in. The kid intrigued him. He was a vampire, but at the same time he seemed to have a semblance of intelligence in him. Most of the vampires he had taken down had never spoken. Only growled and hissed.
"Are you coming?" Usopp asked.
"Yeah. Sure." He followed his partner out from behind the restaurant and into the well-lit street. Zoro made a note of the restaurant's name, intent on returning and talking to the waiter that had served the vampire.
Luffy watched the pair of hunters leave the back alley from the top of the restaurant. He stayed away from the glowing sign. The green haired hunter looked really cool, and if he had seen correctly, had more than two swords. He wondered how he held them all. The long nose, curly haired hunter seemed interesting as well.
He jumped from the roof of the restaurant to the neighboring building, still following them. If he was right, and they were hunters, learning where their base of operations was would be crucial information. His brother, who was part of the local coven, had once told him that if they were found it would be safer for all the creatures of the night. But that was years ago. He hit the roof, laying flat on his stomach, when the green haired hunter looked up in his direction.
Still… He cautiously peeked over the edge to make sure it was safe to keep moving. To his disappointment, they stopped at an ordinary looking apartment a few blocks away. He had been in that apartment before. No secret hunter association there.
Oh well. He would keep following them.
Tell me if you like it :). This is just something I'm doing to get over me writer's block, and I've got the first 4 chapters done.