Author's Note: Well, first let me say that I enjoyed your reviews and I thank you for them. Now let me address a few comments made, this will be the last time I do this little author's note unless a review makes a valid point that I should address.

Ok, Kiery, yes I know this has been done many times; however, I have yet to see a Squinoa Vampyr story that has been completed. Also there hasn't been one like this one will turn out, trust me.

Isis, Cassandra, I know it was short and that was the point. I like to write short introductions, it helps to draw readers into the story without giving away any of the plot yet.

Ok, so without any more comment, here is the next chapter, enjoy.

Chapter 1: The Girl in the Park

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Deling City. The City that Never sleeps! The home of the Deling Arch, Galbadia Garden, and 'Da' Deling Yankees, Unknown to the citizens of the city, there is a war being waged for their very lives. A War against good and evil, a war in which blood isn't being spilled, for that is the cause of the war, and blood is precious to both sides.

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The battle raged on as the fighters moved to attack again. The metal of their blades shining in the streetlight, their clothing blending into the shadows as they circled one another in the mixed darkness.

They lunge and parry, each deflecting the others blade, two skilled opponents fighting to the death.

One lunges with a killing blow but is stopped short by the loss of his head. His scimitar falls from his hand as his head and body hit the ground. As quickly as he had struck, his opponent and the victor moves to sprinkle holy water on the body and perform the last rights, at which point the body burst into flames and vanishes into ash.

Following that impromptu funeral ceremony, the victor moves from the site of the battle toward the street, in the process sheathing his sword in its hidden scabbard on his back.

Making his way toward the street, he had just enough time to disappear into the shadows as the first of the police cars started to show, the DC Police were fast this month. Another night, another evil destroyed, life was good for the man known only as Hunter.

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"Good morning, its 6:00 and here is a look at your overnight headlines. Yet another head without a body continues to baffles police as they search for the killer, it is believed that there is a serial killer on the loose in the Upper East Side where the beheadings have taken place. In more happy news, the President will…." The anchor didn't get a chance to finish as the set was turned off by the impatient yet smugly satisfied viewer.

Hunter pursed his lips in a small grin as he recalled what the news had said with some happiness; however the head had proven to be a problem. No matter how skilled he was with the disposal of Vampyrs, the cops always seemed to find some evidence.

"Do the damned things get up and walk away? I thought the head landed no more that 3 feet from the body." He thought to himself as he moved toward the refrigerator to get something to eat before bed. Hunting both gave him an appetite and exhausted him; today sleep would be pleasant. Being a night hunter, he was only able to sleep in the day, and that's when the nightmares started, when he was allowed to sleep that is.

Getting a half eaten ham sandwich from the fridge, Hunter made his way to the couch to listen to some 'dinner music' picking up the remote and pushing a button filled the room with the sounds of soft jazz.

Finishing the sandwich and lulled by the music, Hunter made his way to the makeshift bedroom to sleep. Laying down and closing his eyes, he enters into the dreamless sleep of the night hunter.

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Awaking with a start, Hunter awakes from his once dreamless sleep now turned feverish. Looking at the clock on his nightstand he sees that it is 5:30 in the afternoon. The sun would be setting into the autumn sky soon.

As he prepares for this night's hunt he invokes all the teachings of his teacher, Cid Kramer.

"Remember Hunter, you can't kill them when you're dead. You must use their weaknesses against them, counter to their attack. Thrust to their parry. And always, always, always, go for the head. Then you move on to the next attacker."

Kramer's words came back as the lessons flashed through his head. The hours of intensive drills, and training with weapons of both the old and new ages. The skills passed on in those lessons have been passed on since the first hunter killed the first Vampyr. Knowledge, to the hunter is meaningless, although properly applied it is the one thing that will allow him to continue to hunt.

Gathering his tools, Hunter prepares to hunt that night, moving across the city, hitting the local Vampyr hangouts.

Having gathered his tools and various items he'd need for a night hunting the undead; his katana, a vial of holy water, and several wooden stakes. He then studies a map of the city, the main nests both known and destroyed and undestroyed marked by pins. The majority of the 'hotspots' are clubs and bus stations.

Finally deciding, he heads off for the bus stations, going by way of Central Park. There were always a few Vampyrs lurking there.

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Hunter's apartment was at a prime location in the business district, the property having been in his family for years. The apartment was really just a converted warehouse with a living space and a training area. There was also a collection of items gathered from Vampyrs over the years. Some of these items dated back thousands of years.

Making his way through the city, he silently approached the park, the wind in the trees the only noticeable sound. He began stalking the shadows, staying where he wouldn't be seen.

He became alert when he heard the sounds of rapid breathing, there was someone running toward him in a panic. Looking from his place amongst the trees he saw a young girl running as though the devil were after her. In a way he was, for behind her were two Vampyrs with fangs extended. Hunter smiled when he saw this, his first kills of the night.

The girl was being chased by two young Vampyrs. Sired within the last few months no doubt, judging by the way they acted; inexperienced, cocky, and arrogant. Hunter stalked them in the shadows as they chased the girl; he waited until they had cornered her before making his move.

"Please don't hurt me," the girl begged as the two closed around her, the fear evident in her stance and her eyes. The two Vampyrs could taste the fear emanating from her and it invigorated them.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt, we're just going to take your life's blood, you know, a little 'bloody Mary' before bed, that's all," the leader said, licking his fangs in anticipation.

"Yeah, you won't miss it when you're dead," his companion agreed as they both reached for the girl. Hunter shook his head in shame; these two were almost like kiddy show freaks, and not Vampyrs. Who ever sired them must have had mush for brains. These guys were morons. Hunter decided to intervene and end their pathetic existence as quickly as possible.

"She may feel otherwise," Hunter said from the shadows behind them, causing the Vampyrs to turn toward him.

"Who the hell are you?" the leader spit out, angered at his meal being interrupted.

"Just a concerned citizen, that's all."

"Well, in that case we can both feed tonight," the underling said as he lunged at Hunter while the leader held the girl, waiting for his companion to feed.

Hunter stood his ground as the Vampyr lunged at him, he didn't move a muscle until the Vampyr was directly in front of him. When he did he quickly unsheathed his sword and in one movement separated his attacker's head from his body. He slowly stepped from the shadows, his sword gleaming in the scattered light as he approached the leader.

"Don't come any closer," he hissed, holding a small knife to the girl's neck. "I'll kill her."

"Go ahead, I really don't care, but think of it this way, you kill her, I kill you, you let her go, I still kill you. Either way you die, so let her go and accept the end gracefully, unlike your headless friend here," Hunter said as he pointed to the body laying behind him.

Seeing that there was no way out, the Vampyr dropped the knife, and sunk his teeth into the girl's neck, drawing blood from the puncture wounds, Hunter merely took out his knife and threw it directly into the Vampyr's neck, severing the veins and arteries within, spilling the life giving blood down his neck, forcing the fangs to retract back into his mouth. Reeling back in pain and shock, he released the girl, who fell to the ground, while he clutched at the knife lodged into his throat. Hunter stepped toward him, his sword resting on his shoulder. The Vampyr looked up into Hunter's blue-gray eyes and saw only his death approaching. Accepting that which he couldn't change the Vampyr kneeled before Hunter and waited as the blade swung through the air and removed his head, much as it did his friends.

Hunter kneeled and removed his knife, sprinkling holy water on the body and head and gave last rights, the body burst into dust as he did the same to the other body. Hunter moved to the girl, she was a brunette with her hair curling at the ends; she was wearing a short yellow dress that almost left nothing to the imagination, almost. He kneeled beside her and felt for a pulse, there was one; her attacker didn't get much blood, she probably knocked her head on the ground when she fell. He gently picked her up and carried her through the alleys back to his apartment, he could hunt another night, and this girl needed help.

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He placed her on his bed and went to the bathroom to gather the medical supplies he'd need. One of the lessons Kramer taught him was how to save a biting victim and prevent them from becoming a Vampyr themselves.

He returned to the girl, materials in hand and set about saving her life. Her blood had seeped from the bite on her neck and into his shirt and parts of her clothing; they'd need to be cleaned before she left. He began with a disinfectant to kill any vampyric germs, he didn't want to have to hunt her down later and kill her. He quickly dressed the wound after making sure it was cleansed with a formula that Kramer had developed. Hunted had asked him about it once and he replied by saying; 'I make good cocktails. This is one of those pleasant surprises that you can dispose of by drinking.' After that he'd shown him how to make it and then he disposed of it by drinking a glass full, needless to say he didn't die.

His 'cocktail' as he called it, was also useful in helping to revive the victim's strength once they were awake, that and it could strip paint from a wall in nothing flat. Hunter sighed as he finished putting the bandage on the girl's neck; she'd need a few hours sleep to recover the lost blood. He decided to train until she awoke; it was after all almost Sunday morning.

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Hunter managed to get in a few hours practice and meditation when she began to stir, He quickly moved to her side, but only after taking the room to a low light, she didn't need to see his face.

"Ugh," she said as she slowly regained consciousness.

"Take it easy, you've have a hard night," he said as she slowly opens her eyes.

"Who are you, where am I?" she asks in a frightened tone.

"My name is Hunter; I saved you from the Vampyrs that attacked you. You're safe in my apartment. What's your name and where are you from, why were you out so late?"

"My name is Selphie Tilmitt and I'm from Balamb. I was visiting my boyfriend, Irvine Kinneas, he invited my to a party but I got lost on the way. Then those Vampyr's attacked me and you saved me. What happened?"

"You were bit by a Vampyr, but there was no harm done, you only lost a little blood. But I will need to wash your clothes before you leave, no sense walking around with dried blood on your dress."

"Oh, yeah, you're right. But do you have something I can wear?"

"Yeah, hold on, I'll go get you a shirt and shorts."

Hunter then moved to his closet where he removed a shirt and shorts that she could wear. When he returned he found the lights back up to their normal level, making it difficult to stay in the shadows.

"Here," he said as he threw the clothes to her from the shadowy hallway.

"Aren't you going to come in? I can change in the bathroom, this is your apartment after all," she said when he began to retreat.

"No, I can't let you see me; it's safer that way, safer for you. I'll be back when you've changed. I'm going to make you something to eat."

Selphie nodded as he closed the door; once he was gone she quickly changed out of her clothes and put the blood-covered material in a pile on the desk. There she noticed a pin, it was small and of a beautiful design, one that she'd never seen before except in ancient books about demons, witches, knights, sorceresses and kings. Yet here was one that didn't appear to be ancient at all. The design was a diamond set on top of a square at the top and a triangle at the bottom, inside the diamond was separated almost in the middle into two sections. In the top section there was a marking that looked like a half arrow pointing up and down with a line drawn under it. The bottom section was a symbol similar to a cursive C.

Selphie stared at the pin, trying to remember where in the books she had seen that design, she was startled to hear a voice behind her.

"Beautiful, isn't it? That is the design of the Hunter, what they hunt is all speculation. That particular pin is the design for the Vampyr Hunter, at least that's according to some scholars."

"Why, why…"

"Why do I have it?" Hunter asked as Selphie backed away from the desk, suddenly afraid of the man before her. "You could say that I specialize in ancient myths and the occult, like the Vampyrs that attacked you."

"What are you?" she asked, trying to see his face past the hair that hid it in shadows.

"What am I? I wish I knew," Hunter replied with a laugh. "What I am is a Vampyr Hunter, that's what I do. I hunt down the night hunters and destroy them, aside from that I am nothing, a mere shadow of a person."

"But Vampyrs aren't real, that's just old superstition."

"The ones that tried to kill you were pretty real weren't they?" he asked as he picked up her clothes and left the room.

Selphie sat at the desk chair and thought over what he said; she didn't have much time to muse as he returned shortly.

"What do you want to know?" Hunter asked as he leaned against the wall, shrouded in shadows once again.

"Are you the only one?"

"There are others, but not many. There are only a handful of people chosen by Hyne to rid the planet of the undead."

"What do you want from me?"

Hunter gave a laugh before answering.

"Nothing my dear Selphie, absolutely nothing. But I do ask one thing; tell me about yourself and your boyfriend, Irvine."

"Why do you want to know about us?" she inquired.

"I may have need of help in the future, and I need to know if I can trust you, there is a war coming, and we need all the allies we can get."

"Oh, well Irvine is a sharpshooter for the Galbadian Army, I'm a student at Balamb Garden, there's not much more to tell."

"Good, Selphie I want you to take that pin and the one just like it in the drawer and give one to Irvine and keep the other for yourself. Wear it at all times, it's a sign to Vampyrs that you are protected by a Hunter, they dare not attack one who is protected. In the future I may call upon you or Irvine to assist me in my fight. Tell him the story and tell him to expect me at any time. In my line of work allies are few and far between, if I find that you or he has betrayed me to the enemy then I will personally kill you. There is a war coming, Vampyrs against Humans, with Hunters being the soldiers. You must decide which side you want to be on," he then turned and began leaving the room.

"Hunter," he stopped at her voice, "let me see your face; I want to know what you look like."

"Selphie, it isn't wise for you to see me, once your clothes are cleaned I'll take you where ever you need to go."

"Please, consider it a token of trust in return for our future help."

Hunter sighed, knowing he had to show her his face, and by doing so it endangered her life ten-fold. Reluctantly he stepped from the shadows into the light, causing Selphie to gasp.

"I know you," Selphie began after her shock wore off, "I know you, you're…"

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End chapter 1, TBC chapter 2: Hey Man!