A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone. I really appreciate all the nice things you guys are saying about this story. Anyway, let's move on.

Chapter 4.

They hadn't seen one another for a whole year now. Squall was Marius's student, learning everything to know about being a vampire. When he returned to Marius that fateful night, Squall had his first taste of human blood. Marius had taken him to Deling City to hunt for his first victim. He had taught Squall how to lure in his prey and what to do while drinking from them. Squall was also very careful about who he chose to kill. He learned that as a vampire, he could read almost minds. So he used his telepathy to see what people that were criminals. He always fed on bad people. Murderers, rapists, any kind of bad person that did not deserve to live.

He also lived with the vampires in a hidden manor in the Centra. Most of Marius's dark sons and daughters lived in the manor. A lot of them really annoyed Squall. He could not have a decent conversation with any of them.

It was also crawling with werewolves. Squall had learned that the werewolves were there as guardians of the vampires while they slept during the day.
One werewolf in particular happened to be a man named Rajin. He was Seifer's best friend. Another vampire by the name of Fujin was his other friend. The three of them were always together. Squall could always see them. And when Seifer wasn't with them, he was fighting with Squall. He liked to pick on him a lot. They were always snapping remarks at each other and sometimes Marius had to get violent in trying to break them up. Though it wouldn't last very long at all.

Squall and Seifer, strangely, were a like. They were both Gunbladers. The only Gunbladers of the clan. So when they resolved their differences in sparring together. They would take their anger out on each other by using their Gunblades. Of course, they didn't actually try to kill each other. It was only a good thing that vampires had remarkable healing powers so if one of them would slash one another they would heal up quickly. Of course, they would end up having to take a very long break and go to feed to replace the blood they spilt. Things between them never grew any more violent or friendlier.

After a whole year had gone by, Marius asked Squall to do the terrible. He had requested that Squall feed on a child. Of course, Squall refused to do it. He had promised himself that he would never harm a woman or a child. Only the wickedest of men. He regretted it that he couldn't stop Marius in killing the child. Out of spite of his refusal, Marius killed the child right in front of Squall. And that made the young vampire very bitter against his maker. Things only grew worst when Marius, once again, asked him to feed on someone that Squall could never do.

Feed on a man that Squall did know, very well.

It was a very dark night. The sky was hidden behind dark clouds and they could barely see the light of the moon. Squall was once again, hunting with Marius and Seifer in Deling City's park. The city was their favorite playground. For that were where the most people were, and the most wicked. Squall was keeping his vampiric senses sharp, searching for a wicked man. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen that night. He didn't know what it was, but it was bad.

Marius suddenly halted as he stepped out from under the dark trees, just standing there with a strange expression on his face. A wicked smirk then spread out on his face as he turned to face Squall and Seifer.

"I have found the perfect prey."

Squall and Seifer just looked at one another before looking back at Marius. "Seifer, bring him here. But do not harm him. Do what you must to bring him here. But he must remain unspoiled." Marius said. Seifer nodded before slowly going off into the darkness.

Squall and Marius were now alone, under the dark trees. "Marius, what prey is this? It better not be a child again. I have told you I will not..." Squall was saying. Marius held up a hand. "Relax, my son. It is no child. I know how you are about feeding on children and women. You will see your prey soon enough."

They had to wait for almost an half an hour before Seifer returned. He had brought a man with him. A man that had made Squall tense in seeing.

The man was very tall and he had long black hair that fell over his shoulders. He had dark eyes that shined with a childish glint. His face extremely handsome. He was wearing dark brown pants and a white tank top under a dark blue blazer jacket. Dog tags hung on a ball chain around his neck. The face of the man matched Squall's very well, for it his father. Laguna Loire.

Squall stepped back in alarm as he turned a look onto Marius. "Marius, is this a joke?!" He demanded.

Marius smirked as he watched a shocked look form on Laguna's face as he looked straight at Squall. "Why? Do you find it funny?"

Laguna just stared at Squall with wide eyes, and a wide-open jaw. "Squall?! Is that you?!" He asked as he quickened his pace. Squall didn't know what to say. He just stood there in silence. Laguna was only a few feet away from him when the young vampire quickly stepped back. "Stay away from me!" He said sharply. Laguna halted, looking at Squall with surprise. "Squall, what's wrong?"

Squall just shook his head as he backed away. He saw the confused look on Seifer's face. Apparently Seifer didn't know who this man was. Squall shook his head. "Just stay from me, please."

Marius smirked as he looked at him. "Don't you like the reunion, Squall? I thought you would be happy to see your father. Of course, if you really wish it, you could always change him. He would make such a good companion for you for the rest of your immortal life."

Squall snarled in his direction, his fangs bared. "Marius! This isn't funny! I would never curse my father the way you cursed me!" He growled.

Laguna was staring at Squall in shock before his eyes darkened and he glared right at Marius. "You bastard. So this is what Ellone meant when she told me that you were responsible for Squall's death." He growled, his fists balling up. Squall looked right at him in surprise.

Marius only looked at him with a sneer. "You know, Loire. You should blame yourself. You should have been watching your son instead of watching me."

Squall looked from his father to Marius. "What's going on here?"

Marius smirked coldly. "Have you not guessed, my son?"

Laguna swore angrily at hearing that. "He's not your son, Marius Winhill! He was mine! And you took him from me! I should slay you right now!" He yelled. Squall looked at Laguna, sharply. What did he mean by that?

Seifer then hissed. "He's a slayer!" he snarled. That surprised Squall more. Marius only nodded. "I know he's a vampire slayer, Seifer. I've always known. He's a Loire. One of the most ancient families that hunted and slayed vampires. Laguna, here, has been hunting me his entire life, just like his father before him."

Squall looked at Laguna with shock. "Dad? Is that true?" He asked, quite stunned. Laguna just continued to glare with hatred at Marius. "Squall, I will explain later. But right now, you need to get out of here."

Marius shook his head. "No, Loire. Why not explain to him now? Tell him what you were really doing that night I took him from your home. We have all the time we need. Seifer and I will not kill you just yet." Laguna just glared saying nothing. Marius's eyes narrowed and his expression grew vile. "He abandoned you, Squall, that night! He was going after me! He left you unprotected just to get me!"

Laguna gave a loud growl. "I did not! I would never abandon my son! I was going after you to stop you from harming him! Don't you lie to Squall, Marius!" He yelled.

Marius only threw his head back and laughed. Squall looked at Laguna with a hurt look. Laguna had known all along. He had known that Marius was a vampire. But he had done nothing about it. "You knew all this time. You knew that Marius was a vampire. Did you know he killed mom? That he killed Aunt River and Uncle Garret? And you did nothing?!"

Laguna looked at him, a pained look on his face. "That's not true, Squall. I did try everything I could to kill him. When your mother died, Squall, I knew exactly who was responsible." He shot Marius a deadly look. "I tried to find him to kill him! Where were you hiding, Marius!" He demanded.

The vampire only grinned wickedly. "Somewhere where you couldn't find me. And now look at it, Loire. Look at what you have done. You didn't tell Squall your most ancient secret and you left him that night just to search my house for my coffin with those jokes you call friends!" He laughed harshly. "It's your fault that I got a hold of your son! It's your fault that I changed him into what you kill! Now look at this situation, Laguna Loire. Your son is a vampire and you are a vampire slayer. It's your job to kill vampires. So, why don't you try to kill him?"

A deep pained look formed on Laguna's face now. He looked right at Squall. His eyes lit in surprise when he saw Squall pulled his Gunblade, glaring towards him. Squall rushed forward and around a flinching Laguna as he held up his Gunblade, blocking Seifer's Hyperion that he had been swinging at Laguna.

With a loud clang, the blades met. "Don't you dare touch my father, Seifer!" Squall hissed as he threw Seifer right off him.

Seifer snarled at him as he went back at Squall. "If you protect a hunter, you will never be welcomed back to the clan, Lionheart! Not even Marius will be able to save you from our brothers and sisters!" He snarled. Squall snarled back as he ducked under the blade. "The name is Leonhart! And those monsters are not my brothers and sisters!" He swung back at Seifer, who backed away was the other vampire came close to slashing him.

"Laguna! Watch out!"

Laguna spun around and jumped back in time to dodge Marius's long fingernails that came slashing at him. He quickly lashed out behind him and pulled out a handgun that had been hidden under his jacket. He aimed at Marius and began to fire. Marius moved extremely fast to dodge the bullets. Laguna just kept firing at Marius until he was out of bullets. Swearing, he opened the clip and tossed the old one out.

Marius however charged again, slashing Laguna across the chest.

"Ahh!" The hunter cried out as he staggered back.

Marius rose his claws again to slash down when suddenly there was whistle in the air and a blade slashed him across the back. The vampire hissed in pain as he quickly leaped into the air, onto a tree branch. Laguna looked up to see his best friend, Kiros standing next to him. "What took you so long, damn it!" He said with a grin. Kiros held up his hand blades and grinned right back. "Ward." He simply said.

And that when a large built man appeared holding a crossbow with silver arrows. He began firing at Marius up in the tree. Marius yelled with pain as one stuck right into his shoulder. He leaped into the air and vanished. The three men turned around to watch Squall's fight.

Squall ducked under Seifer's blade and then spun in a circle to slash him from the side. Unfortunately, Seifer lashed out his free hand and caught his arm. Then he swung his Gunblade to thrust into Squall's back.

"Squall!" Laguna yelled as he started to charge.

Suddenly there was a scream and a fireball came flying out of nowhere, colliding with Seifer. Seifer went flying to the side, releasing Squall. Squall quickly took this chance to spin around and slash at Seifer. He sliced right into Seifer's right arm. "AHHH!" Seifer yelled as he staggered back and held his arm. He backed away as fast as he could. There was a murderous look in Seifer's eyes as he quickly swooped down and snatched up his gunblade. "You're going to pay, Squall! I am going to kill you!" He screamed at him before he turned and dashed into the darkness.

Squall just stood there, holding his gunblade tightly in his hand. He turned around to see who had thrown the spell and saw Ellone, standing there.

Seeing her surprised Squall but then he frowned darkly. She didn't flinch. She only looked at him seriously as she walked over. Squall turned his dead blue eyes onto Laguna, who stood right by Kiros and Ward. They were all looking at him, with serious looks.

"Squall, I'm going to ask you just this once. Did you ask Marius for this?!" His father asked in a very stern tone.

Squall glared. "No! I did not! I don't want to be a vampire, dad! Do you honestly think I want to drink blood to live?!" he then pulled a very outraged look. "What about you?! Why didn't you tell me you were a hunter?! You could have told me and this would have never happened! You knew Marius was a vampire! How long?!" He demanded.

Laguna sighed and turned away. He was quiet for a long time. "I'm so sorry, Squall. Marius was right. It is my fault. I should have told you." He lowered his head, sounding pained. "I've known all about Marius since I was 18. When I came of the age to become a hunter. My father told me what he was." He turned back to look at Squall. "Squall, I am a Paranormal Investigator, just like my father had been. And his father before him. I keep tabs on vampires, lycans, shape shifters..." He paused looking at Ellone. "Witches." He finished. He looked back at Squall. "I was going to tell you, Squall. But things just got so hectic. Vampires were killing people left and right, here in Deling City and that was why I left you and Ellone with your grandfather. I had to help the Black Magic Circle fight them."

Squall tilted his head, still looking hard at his father. "Why didn't you stop Marius that night?"

Laguna sighed as he looked at Kiros, who looked back. The black man then stepped forward. "Squall, you have to understand something. Your father did try to stop Marius. He had to meet me and Ward, here. We broke into his house to search for Marius. We were trying to kill him before he could do anything." He told him.

Laguna nodded as he looked back at Squall. "When we couldn't find him, we were hurrying back to the house to check on you. Then the house blew up." There was pain in his voice again. "I thought you were dead, Squall. I thought you had been in the house." His voice cracked then he shook his head as he stared at his son. "Ellone came to me that night you were changed. She told me that it had been Marius who killed you. She just didn't tell me how he killed you. I thought he just sucked you dry and the blew up the house with you in it. Do you know how much I was hurting that night?" He asked, his voice raising just a little.

Squall sighed as he looked away. "I'm sorry." His own voice cracked.

Laguna shook his head. "For an entire year, I thought you were dead, Squall. Until just last week when Edea came right up to me and told me that you were a damn vampire. I didn't believe her though. I thought she must have been mistaken." he said sounding very upset. He looked away taking a deep breath to try to calm down.

Ellone stepped closer. "Uncle Laguna, don't be angry please."

Laguna looked at her. "Elle, I have every right to be angry. You told me he was dead. I believed that. And then I find out that he's undead. That was not fair to me!" He said in a scolding way.

Ellone looked away. Kiros stepped closer and touched his shoulder. "That's enough, Laguna. Calm down." He ignored the look he got from Laguna. He only looked at Squall. "Squall, we managed to talk to Edea about you, since we found out about your being transformation. She won't have it that you're alive and are the enemy. But we managed to make her change her mind about you. But that is if you cooperate."

Squall looked confused. "Cooperate? With what?"

Laguna looked back at him. "I managed to talk Edea and the Black Magic Circle council to let you live. As long as you side with us, you're free to go. But that means no killing people." He told him. Squall blinked a few times. "But I need blood to live. I've only fed on people that deserves to die, Dad."

Kiros finally nodded as he stepped forward. "We understand that, Squall. And believe us, we know those people deserved to die. But the council doesn't want a vampire around that will kill to live."

Squall growled a low growl. "What am I suppose to do then? I've tried to eat to normal food but I can't. My body just won't go for just normal food."

Laguna nodded as he looked at Ward with a nod. The big man began digging into a bag at his large waist. "We know that, Squall. That's why we fixed that little problem for you." He said. Squall looked confused. "What?"

Ward stepped forward, holding up a package of blood. He tossed it towards Squall, who caught it. Squall only looked at it. "Drink it, Squall. It might not be warm as it is fresh, but it should satisfy your thirst." Laguna told him then he chucled, making Squall look up at the smirk that grew on his father's face. "Of course, if you really want it warm, you could heat it up in a microwave."

Squall rolled his eyes and shook his head. Kiros, Ward and Ellone all laughed. The vampire then smirked right back at him before he sunk his fangs into the plastic and began drain the blood.

After he drained all of it, he tossed the bag away and licked the remaining blood from his lips and fangs. Laguna and Ellone both winced at watching him doing that but Kiros and Ward didn't. They only looked at Laguna and Ellone in pity. "That's disgusting, Squall. You could have drank it when we weren't looking." Laguna said.

Squall only shrugged. "Hey, next time tell me."

The other two men just smiled and shook their heads. Laguna just looked at Squall in concern. "That just hurts me to see you like this though, Squall." He said. Squall looked at him. He could tell that his condition was hurting his father deeply. He shook his head as he stepped closer and put his hand on his father's shoulder in a comforting way.

Kiros folded his arms. "So, Squall. What's your choice? You with us or against us?"

Squall at each person before nodding. "I'm with you. I will never be my father's enemy. Marius changed me against my will and I will pay him back. He will one day regret that he ever made me into a vampire." He said darkly. Laguna smiled at him in a proud way. "You may be undead, Squall, but you're still my son. Welcome aboard." The others nodded with smiles. Squall just nodded. He had become the vampire that hunted vampires.