Years following the Chapter Black incident, one of the seven human psychics - Kaname Hagiri, codename "Sniper" - grew up to become a mercenary, working for both humans and demons. He built a steady, simple, easy life for himself, wanting to stay under the radar as well as exercise and improve his supernatural abilities, but all of that becomes flipped upside down when he's captured and enslaved in an underground youkai fighting arena, Carne Vale. Pit against ridiculously powerful demons and monsters, his only chance of survival may come in the form of a prissy, spoiled diva who seems more interested in entertaining her fans than actually winning matches. Even if his enemies can't claw his eyes out, he may do it himself.

Hagiri x OC
Rated T for graphic violence, language.
Eventual shipping, but romance isn't the story focus.

Feedback is loved! :D And enjoy!


CYANIDE SALIVA
Chapter 1: Predator - Prey


The dead ground seemed to crunch quietly under her boots as the young female walked along. Her long golden blonde, turquoise-tipped hair was pulled into loose twin tails, adorning each shoulder with a cascade of curled locks. Her flawless skin was nearly porcelain white and her face was soft and feminine, betrayed only by the bold and intimidating hues of her sharp, toxic purple eyes. Her slender frame, clothed in a frilly black and white lolita dress, gave her the overall appearance of a human-sized doll. Strapped to her back was a sleek guitar, painted with a glossy black and yellow finish, an instrument fit for a rockstar. Gentle and delicate, or so she looked, but Raikitsu wasn't at all what she appeared to be.

As her black, knee-high boots ever so lightly pressed against the youkai earth, she caught a most arousing scent. A fresh koi demon had surfaced from the nearby lake, daring to trod its fishy body onto dry land, and its precious scent reminded her just how much she would love to sink her teeth into its flesh. Quickly moving forward, both the water and her prey came into view, and she maneuvered around the thinning trees to flank the koi. Closer and closer she inched toward her meal, until she grew very still and very silent.

THWACK!

Her amethyst eyes widened suddenly as she watched the koi stumble backwards, its head flying back as if it had been shot. Her hunger was quickly replaced with anger as the creature staggered to the ground and finally slumped into lifelessness. Her hands clenched tightly, as did her teeth, and looking over to where this "shot" had come from, she saw a humanoid figure quickly approach to inspect his kill. As it got closer, she realized by his scent that he wasn't humanoid... he was human.

Eager to replace her meal, she leapt forward, happily ready to strike him down instead. Her movements were augmented, her speed vastly enhanced by her spirit energy, and she had crossed twenty yards within the blink of an eye. However, she was forced to skid to an early stop as, even quicker than she, the human male had whipped around with his hand directed at her, poised in a curious manner. His pointer and thumb were held firmly together while his three remaining fingers stretched straight out. She thought perhaps it was some defensive sort of meditation, or a summoning of special energy, until she noticed a small rock wedged between his finger and thumb.

Her brow twitched in both irritation and confusion. "You're... gonna flick a stone at me?" Her voice was just as feminine as her appearance, though saturated with an arrogant tone.

The human failed to faulter in his position. "That's what I did to this guy." he spoke matter-of-factly, his own purple eyes gleaming into hers, almost challenging her to make a move.

She was almost taken aback by this human's reaction. The only humans she had ever dealt with were weak, nothing more than sheep fodder for the wolves. This one seemed to think he was on par with a highly ranked demon. "You mean the guy that was going to be my lunch," she hissed, then stood up straight and turned her head to the side, closing her eyes as she crossed her arms. "which, by the way, do you know how long it's been since I've eaten? Hmm? What are you even doing here, anyways? You have your own world to stick to."

"Not that it's any of your concern," he said with a sigh before lowering his lethal pebble-wielding hand, "but I came for fish-head here. Guess he made the wrong people mad. That's it."

Slowly her head turned back to him, her brow now raised instead out of curiosity. "Oh? So, you're some kind of what, mercenary?" He was easily a head taller than her, with messy black hair, a red jacket over a white t-shirt and dark denim jeans. His positioned hands had been protected in thick fingerless black gloves. Definitely didn't look like he belonged here, that was certain, but he wasn't exactly... you know, not attractive. Demon or not, she was still a female.

"Of sorts," he replied, turning to his fallen victim. Pulling a knife from his pocket, he flicked it open and jammed it into the koi's neck, then proceeded to saw and hack until the creature's head had been severed. With a couple shakes to rid his hand of gooey, green blood, he stood up and began to walk away.

"Wh-where are you going?!" Rai demanded, stomping after him.

He replied non-chalantly, not even stopping or glancing over his shoulder. "To get my pay. That's the gig."

"So you're just gonna leave me here?!" With a growl, she ran ahead of him and spun around, blocking his path. "And what about my meal? The one that you stole?"

Without missing a step, he just turned to walk around her. "I'm sure you'll find some other small, defenseless creature to maul."

"That's not the point!" Again she ran ahead of him and this time, stepped to either side as he tried to walk past her. His face, his demeanor, his voice, it was all so... so non-chalant, so utterly uninterested, and it drove her crazy. Did he even see her? As far as humans went, she was gorgeous! Even by most monster standards she was above average in attractiveness. Why wasn't he in awe? Flirtacious? Nervous? Charismatic? Charming? Anything?!

He stopped and rolled his eyes, before looking to her. "Would you leave me alone? Or get to the point?"

He did it again! She wanted to punch him. Just a quick, sudden, suckerpunch to that face of his. That entirely apathetic, unamused... rather handsome face. "The point is, you owe me lunch." She said a bit more softly, though it was still demanding. "So how about after you drop off that head, you use that money to take me somewhere nice."

For a moment he hesitated, and for the first time, his lips began to quiver into what could have developed into a smile. "Ah. Okay. Yeah, look, I don't do dates. If you're going to hunt like an animal, you go by animal rules. I got it first, so it's mine. Tough luck, miss." And without another thought, he walked right around her and kept on his way.

That wasn't at all how that was supposed to go. Raikitsu always got what she wanted. But she didn't get the prey she wanted, nor a compensation meal (aka, a date), and both because of a single being. A human being, no less. This wasn't over.


Well, that was annoying, the male thought to himself as he trotted along, carrying a small sack over his shoulder. Within it was the freshly severed head of some low ranking demon who did... uh, something particularly dastardly. Enough for someone to pay for his swift death. Now that Hagiri thought about it, did his 'client' mention his reasons for wanting such a lame creature dead? Probably did, he renounced with a shrug. If so, he didn't remember. It wasn't his business. He wasn't payed for sympathy, after all.

The kill was easy enough. Hell of a lot easier than the bullshit he usually had to go through. A single pebble was all it took, and he mused how long it had been since a job had been so simple.

But then that irritating snob showed up, definitely not the first time he's had to deflect irritating individuals, but she was so... pushy. And arrogant, goddamn. Bent out of shape all because she had decided on a whim to attack what happened to be his target? She called that demon her prey, but in reality it had been his prey all along. He was the one who had staked out that rancid lake, waiting and waiting for the ugly aquatic creature to drag itself out into the open.

What threw him off the most about the whole incident was the she-demon's bizarre request for, well, basically a date. A date. A date. What in the actual hell. If his face was as expressive as his thoughts, he may have laughed in her face! First and foremost, he did not date. It wasn't really his scene. Secondly, and probably just as important, he would never get near a thing so cocky and rude and prissy. He was already cynical towards women in general, but girls like that - demon or not - made his skin crawl. He wouldn't touch that demanding, high-maintenance bitch with a ten-foot pole. But fortune seemed to smile upon him; she didn't seem to follow him, and hopefully he would never have to see that pouty little face again.

He had finally reached the edge of the plains, having walked through the rustling sickly-seafoam grass, and could see the river bend up ahead. That meant the safehouse was near, though his main concern lay with the motorcycle he'd stowed away there. He couldn't have driven right up to his prey, nor could he have just left it behind in the forest or a wide-ass-open field, but he couldn't complain. It wasn't that bad of a walk, and the exercise was always nice.

As he approached, he spotted a wooden cart tipped over and broken, with a weepy little demon pitifully slumped next to the wreckage. Various wares and fruits were scattered around them. It almost made him want to try and give the poor guy a sympathetic look as he passed... Almost.

"E-excuse me, sir!"

Damn.

Hagiri reluctantly came to a stop and glanced over. "Yes?"

The wispy little thing jumped up to his feet, nervously rubbing his hands together. "If you a-aren't busy, sir, could you a-accompany me into town?"

The raven-haired male cocked a brow. "Why?"

"Why? D-don't you know?"

The rest was all a blurry instant. The demon's grin, the sudden pain shooting down his spine and enveloping the back of his head. The world began to spin around him, and his knees hit something hard - was it the ground? - then his chest and head followed. He needed to get up, why couldn't he get up? He heard that ratty bastard cackle, then lean down over him.

"This is a dangerous area, ahahahaha!"

His head hurt. The ground was hard. This freak was laughing. And his world quickly went black.