A chilly night isn't something to be afraid of. However a pack of blood thirst vampires was something to be scared of. A girl, maybe a little over eighteen years of age, darted in and out of alleyways as the angry yells of her captors reached her ears. Taunts and promises of pain were all she heard from them but she didn't care for them at the moment. Her focus was on the only place she knew she would be safe from her persuaders. Making a hard right she hissed out in pain as her bare shoulder scraped against rough brick. Too close. Her lungs were burning, her legs were numb, fingers raw from clawing her way through obstacles, and she still had about a block and a half of running before she was safe.
"Get her! Get the huntress!" The leader of the pack yelled, they were closer than she last remembered them being and the fear that ran through her was enough to jolt her back into reality and put on another boost of speed. Ragged puffs of air went into the night as she pushed her body far beyond its intended max. A conversation from before flashed though her head as she charged on through the night.
"You can't do this Rachel! It's far too dangerous." A small blond yelled at her as she packed her bag. Rachel's hair was in a neat ponytail, she was wearing a well fitted tee, a nice pair of jeans, and Nike's shoes. It was a rather casual look that she liked to portray even though she was a member of a high ranked team: The Raiders.
"I know its 'dangerous' Casey. That's why I have to do it. A normal team member won't do it." Rachel soothed her friend as she stuffed the last few clothes into her backpack. Moving to the door she clasped her hand on her informant's shoulder and gave a gentle smile. "Don't worry about me Casey… it's just another job and afterwards I get some vacation time." She pointed a look at her bag that held everything for her 'vacation'. "Some nobles are going to a party and they are a little paranoid so they want a Hunter to escort them. That is all."
Walking down the tan hallway Rachel was followed by Casey; who was still trying to convince Rachel not to go.
"Rachel I have a bad feeling! Please, I'm begging you! Anyone else but you. I don't want you to get hurt…." Her voice trailed off as they reached the door of the front office. Rachel gave the informant a skeptical look and stopped for a moment.
"Is there something you haven't told me?" Rachel asked her with a 'look'. A look that searched deep into her friend's eyes for any sign of warning. Casey looked away and fiddled with her hands. Since Rachel got no response she left, not hearing her friend yell out 'Rachel Kiryu, come back!'
The pounding of footsteps brought her back to focus and she beat herself mentally when she saw how close the vampires had caught up to her. The party the nobles had gone to was a trap. Those people were invited to be killed, people moved onto the dance floor in record time and it took all of Rachel's strength and gunpowder to get them out of there in one piece. They escaped into a black car which sped them off as Rachel drew the hit men's attention. A bullet had hit her in her left calf, her pants were torn from running through woods, and her shirt was soaked with blood seeping from her shoulder. God damnit!
A black iron gate appeared in her vision and she nearly cried out in pure joy as she used the last of her energy to make a mad dash for safety. Her plan was put to an end as a bullet ripped through her right thigh. At first Rachel didn't know what had happened. She went from looking at the promising gates to crashing onto pavement as searing pain washed off in waves from her leg.
"Get her now!" A voice growled as hands yanked her up. All she could do was hiss and swing her arm back to elbow her captor in the face. There was a blow to her ribs from someone's leg and another blow from a fist that connected with her face. Her vision fuzzed for a moment as she was yanked up again.
Then she was dropped rather quickly. Without any sense of coordination she crashed onto the pavement again with a yelp. Grunts and shouts were fading in and out of her hearing as her body was starting to shut down on her. In one last attempt to reach safety she crawled towards the sleek black gates. Kiryu's did not crawl… but she was in so much pain, and she was scared for her life. Yes she was fearless most of the time, but she didn't want to die. Her brother needed her, the Hunter's needed her, and she didn't want to die and leave them like she had been left.
She didn't want them to be alone.
She didn't want to die alone.
"Ahhh." She moaned out as she wrapped her hand around the gate, she was so close! Her torso collapsed to the ground for the third time that night and she knew then that she wouldn't make it. Her line of sight was fading into black, she was bleeding from a variety of areas, and she was sure her body was pushed too far to recover. "Fuck!" She yelled out as her fist pounded into the ground beneath her. With her teeth gritted in pain she shoved herself onto her back so she could look at the stars. For a brief moment she wondered what happened to the vampires chasing her, but the pain and sorrow in her bones cut off the train of thought.
Her shirt was stained red, her jeans ripped, her black hair was matted, her shoes were worn down, the gun on her hip was warm still from all its action, and her silver-blue eyes were dimming. This was the famous Rachel Kiryu of The Raiders… broken and down for the count. Closing her eyes she finally let herself fall into the black away from the pain and fear.
When Rachel opened her eyes she didn't expect to see a worried nurse standing over her. The old woman had gray hair tied into a neat bun and her face was care-worn. The frown on her face didn't suit her appearance at all and it made the huntress sad.
"Why do you look so worried old woman?" Rachel asked in a raspy voice. Her throat instantly protested the action from happening again. When the girl brought her hand up to her neck she took notice of the I.V.'s in her wrist. Fluid was dripping from a bag into the tubes connected to her skin. "What is going on? Where am I?" She tried to sit up but was pushed down before she got halfway.
"Now you'll want to stay down dear. You've been shot twice and you're in no condition to be moving. The headmaster wanted me to take care of you instead of call an ambulance. Shame though really. You need professional help." The nurse gave her a look over and smiled sweetly before turning to leave.
"Wait, what time is it?" Rachel strained out the question just as the nurse reached the door.
"It's almost sundown." She answered before leaving. Rachel took a deep breath as she waited a moment to make sure the old lady wasn't coming back. Then she sat up and pulled out the needles in her wrist and arm. There was a bandage around her shoulder and gun wounds which she changed quickly with new bandages. Then she grabbed a clean uniform from a clothing closet. The clothes must have been for kids who got tore up like she did. Changing quickly she found her gun, strapped it to her waist under the pants of 'her uniform', and slipped out of the building quietly.
It took a few moments but finally she found her brother, his silver hair was hard to miss. With a grin she half ran half limped over to him. When he spotted her he took his glare off of the girls gathered around some kind of gate area and directed it towards her. It had no effect however, because as his sister she was used to such a look. Instead of flinching she enveloped him in a hug.
"I've missed you Zero. I'm sorry I came to see you in such an unfortunate way." She told him apologetically as she let go to look into his eyes. "You shouldn't glare so much; it will cause you to have wrinkles around your eyes."
"Don't talk to me about my appearance. What in the HELL were you thinking, running to a school of vampires SOAKED in blood! Are you crazy Rachel? Did you want to die?" He hissed at her in a low voice as he pulled her to the side non to gently. Her lips curled downwards in pain, but other than that she didn't show an emotion.
"On the contrary brother, I wanted to live. That's why I ran here; I knew you'd give me cover fire. Running here was the only option I had Zero! You saw those vampires, they outnumbered me too greatly." She told him in desperation to prove a point. Zero's face twisted into an unknown emotion.
"No Rachel, I didn't see. It wasn't me who saved your hide." He told her as he shoved his hands angrily into his pockets. Rachel's face fell.
"If it wasn't you who saved me Zero, then who saved me?" She asked him as she suddenly became serious.
"No one important." He told her as he moved back to the gate. Yuki, Zero's friend, was overrun with screaming girls but that was quickly changed when her brother glared at them with heated eyes. With an irritated huff she stomped her way up to her brother and stood beside him. Some of the girls gave her an odd look, which she understood. She was new, someone unusual.
When the wooden gates opened wide nobles appeared into line of sight and the girls went crazy! Sure they formed neat rows but their screams became louder than Rachel thought was possible. Zero and Yuki were used to this but Rachel wasn't, so she changed it. Rising her head she let out her own bone chilling glare and the eyes she caught became silent. Soon the entire female population followed until there were no yells.
"Go to your dorms before curfew or prepare for the consequences." It was a simple enough statement that the fan girls had heard enough times, but this time Rachel's voice held an edge to it that hinted at something more than normal discipline actions. The crowd dispersed quickly and she could almost hear the tension leave the nobles and her brother.
Zero and Yuki moved on to lead the nobles down the path to their classes and Rachel followed them silently. Not too closely but close enough to keep them in eyesight. A warm hand dropped onto her shoulder and her hand snapped quickly to her hip. She didn't hate vampires like her brother but she was very cautious around them at all times. The huntress whipped her head around to look at a rather tall, broad noble. He had orange hair but surprisingly is didn't look dyed.
"Please take your hand off your gun, if I wanted to hurt you I wouldn't have bothered saving you from those low lives before." He said gently as he removed his hand slowly. Not once had they dropped their pace in walking down the path.
"You saved me from those vampires?" She asked him disbelievingly.
"Yes."
"How, they were traveling in a pack. At least eight of them were on my trail by the time I reached the gate."
"I'm not a normal vampire, Huntress. My name's Kain. Kain Akatsuki and you are?" He asked her holding out his hand.
"Rachel Kiryu, huntress of The Raiders, but you might remember me better as Zero's little sister." She told him as she shook his hand firmly.
"I knew there must have been a reason you held close to the same smell as him. That's what drew me too you, I was sure he was dying, I was gonna finish him off myself… no offense." He told her as he glared forward at the back of her brother's head. She laughed gently and this shocked the orange haired man.
"Don't look so surprised, I know my brother better than anyone else. I know he is an ass to all vampires. However I would prefer you didn't kill him. We are family after all." Rachel reasoned to him as he relaxed. Rachel finally let her hand drop off the holster of her gun.
"I'm surprised you're not trying to kill me like all the other hunters." His honesty shook Rachel and she gave him a sideways glance. She didn't know why she was talking to him, but it must have had something to do with him saving her ass.
"Not all hunters are out to kill Vampires. Some of us work at creating peace between the species. The Raiders are a group of hunters made up of skilled, well trained, well-tempered hunters that protect and guard nobles and purebloods." She explained to him. "Must seem a little weird considering my background, which you and the others must know of… not many people haven't heard of it." The last part was muttered darkly but she quickly quipped back up. "However I'm willing to let people prove themselves."
"Your different than you brother, and that's good." Kain told her as he clapped her on the shoulder. They were at the class but before he entered he stopped and turned to look at her. "Will we have a chance to talk again Rachel?" The question was simple but Rachel couldn't give him a definite answer.
"I don't know Kain, but I hope we do. You're a very kind person, thanks for covering my ass back there with those vampires last night." She said with a bow of her head.
"Few days ago."
"Excuse me?"
"You've been out for three nights, but you're welcome none the less. It's good to see you're making good recovery." He said before disappearing into the building.
"Interesting." She muttered to herself as she made way for the headmaster's office. It was time to see Cross.
She ran up the steps of the building and when she knocked on the door to Cross's office it was flung open and she was pounced on by an over-excited hunter. He was blabbering on about how happy he was that she was safe and alive and it took about ten minutes before she could pry him off of her and breathe properly.
"I ask you to restrain yourself headmaster, I am still healing." She told him as she rubbed her thigh where she'd been shot. Cross sobered up quickly and moved to let her in. Once she was he closed the door and offered her a seat which she took silently.
"What happened to you Kiryu? This mission was just an escort mission." Cross folded his hands on top of his desk and gave her a quizzical look.
"Well I guess I should start from the top?"
Cross gestured for her to start.
The car pulled up to the party and Rachel hopped out and opened the door for the young couple she was escorting. The two weren't young like teens but they had just had a child and when they found a babysitter they jumped at the idea of going to a get together with some friends. The huntress groaned when she could hear the music pumping from outside the rented club.
"Thank you for escorting us Hunter." The woman said gleefully as she skipped up the steps of the building, her husband only gave Rachel a light nod, showing his on gratitude. They all went into the thumping music and as time passed the couple shared drinks, stories, and laughs with friends. All the while Rachel was keeping a close eye on her surroundings. She noted exits, windows, ledges, and emergency kits. You never knew when things would turn and it was best to know ways out.
Another hour passed and the couple started dancing to a slow dance. Rachel allowed herself a small smile as she watched them dance, completely at ease with everything around them. The young girl wished she could have the same comfort, but she didn't and there wasn't any reason to dwell on such thoughts.
That was when the screaming started. There were gunshots at the door entrance and Rachel danced into action, grabbing her couple she dragged them up the stairs and out the window to an old stairwell. She called the car and ordered it to pick them up back. Shoving them into the car she ordered the driver a route and dashed back into the building. People were running and screaming. In the mess she got shot in her calf and fell to one knee. Hissing she drew her gun and returned fire. Two people fell to her feet and she glared at the obvious leader of the pack.
"Catch me if you can I'm the ginger bread man!" Her taunt hit some kind of nerve and she dashed into the alleyway. She could hear them follow her and she grinned as she made her way to the school…
The two hunters sat there once she finished her report in complete silence. Cross's eyes were narrowed as he glared holes into his desk. He was deep in thought and the young girl dared not to disturb him.
"This is odd. Why would a random pack of vampires attack a get together? This was a simple couple, nothing special about them, they hold no political power." Cross listed off all the possible reasons for attack.
"What if the attack was personal?" Rachel asked him. Cross looked at her in awe.
"Possible." He stated. "Not enough information to draw a definite conclusion however. I'll have people look into it." He said as he got up.
"Wait… what? I'm on this case I'll do it." Rachel told him as she stood up. Cross gave her a sad look, as if she'd been sentenced to death.
"Rachel… the board as dismissed you onto leave because of your injuries. No doubt that whoever caused this attack will want you dead for killing his men." Cross told her sadly as he watched her become angry.
"I didn't kill them! Only two how could he know it was me?" She asked him.
"There was a leak once you blew up the party."
"What kind of leak."
"Files. Case and mission files…. Your files." Rachel's face paled as she fell back into her seat.
"A hunter ratted me out to those guys?" She asked him in disbelief. Cross nodded his head. "Who?" She asked him in a low growl. Cross looked away and Rachel knew instantly it wasn't good. "Who was it Cross?"
"Are you sure you can handle it?"
"WHO IS THE RAT?" She demanded angrily as she got back to her feet quickly. The chair skittered back and hit the wall.
"Casey Adams."
Everything stopped to Rachel. The ticking of the clock, the headmaster's words, even her own heart seemed to stop for a moment. The one person she trusted sold her out to blood suckers. She could feel Cross shaking her, trying to get her attention, but her whole body felt numb. Suddenly her body reacted and tears streamed down her face. The one person she cared for that deeply without being family, the girl she'd told everything from family to boy problems with, the woman who helped her and gave her shelter was the same person who set out her death warrant.
Her feet moved as she ran out of the office. She didn't know how long she'd been in his office as they talked about things but it wasn't sunset anymore. It was dark and without looking where she was going she ran down trail after trail until she was sure she was lost but even then she didn't stop. Rachel didn't know why she felt this way. Her brain tried to rationalize things but her heart over powered her. It was breaking in a way that it had never broken before. Her trust had been shattered in her face and now she was struggling to see what she'd done to deserve this.
When someone grabbed her from behind she reacted faster than she thought. Her fists pounded into the person's chest and she tackled said person to the ground and was about to unleash another wave of fists when hands caught hers and stopped her. Screaming out in anger she bit at the hands. In an instant she found herself on her back being pinned. The she started to hear things. A voice…
"Rachel… stop fighting me you're…. Rachel please stop it's…. You're ok…. It's ok." Only fragments were coming to her but the voice sounded so calm and so warm. It took a long while till it clicked, it was Kain. Letting out a choked sob she felt herself slowly falling apart as tear streamed down her face. "Rachel, its ok. Its ok, everything is ok. Tell me what's wrong." Those words became on mantra as Kain unpinned her and pulled her into his lap. The heat he produced drew Rachel to put her face to his chest and just cry. Fuck her pride, her name that held her status and everything else that would deem this dishonorable. She was broken and she needed someone to let her cry on their shoulder.
The noble sat there on the ground and just held her to his chest, his arms around her defensively. He had smelled her out here in the wood area of the school and hoped to have another chat with her, but clearly something happened while he was in class. The huntress that had spoken with him was not the same one he was holding. This was her broken image, the raw Rachel that was stripped of all defenses.
"She lied to me." It was barely a whisper but Kain's sensitive ears caught it. He leaned down to where his face was as close to her's as he could get it.
"Who lied to you?" He asked softly, almost afraid if he spoke any higher he would send her into another fit.
"Someone I trusted, someone I thought cared for me. It turned out that the mission I was given, she knew that if I went I would be hunted down and killed. She didn't care. She betrayed me and everyone that ever trusted her." Rachel buried her face into his chest even harder. Even if the tears had stopped she didn't want to let go, not yet, not with the way she was. It was almost as if she hoped the heat from the noble would glue her back together.
"I'm sorry." Kain whispered to her as he tightened his hold around her. He shifted to where her face was hidden in the crook of his neck so he wouldn't crush her as he pulled her close. "I don't know who this person is that hurt you, but you're safe here. I promise you." He told her as he ran a hand through her hair. It was a dark black color, soft as silk, and went to an inch past her shoulders.
"You swear on your life?" She asked him. It was muffled by his collar but he smiled lightly and pressed his face to her hair and took a deep breath. How he loved her smell.
"Better. I swear on my immortality." He promised her. He could feel her smile on his neck and for a long time they sat there in silence, content for the moment.
End Chapter One
Ok I know I've got some explaining to do for the whole being gone for a long time. But I got my butt handed to me by my life and all my past stories died. My inspiration for them went 'Poof' so I got rid of them. If/When I get nspiration back I will re-write them even better than before. Forgive me for any errors/mistakes in grammer for I'm still a work in progress. Hints and tips are enjoyed! Thank you!