C10: Shadow Hunt

E'er o'er us She observes

Her chosen on mortal soil

And through us Her will preserves

Her coming Dark, is our toil

Yharnam was dead, its purpose corrupted and its populace scattered. Even the rats barely remained in the blood stained streets and alleys. No man, woman, or child dared remain in the accursed city, fleeing for lands beyond, where such troubles as theirs were largely unknown. Yet still something chose to stir the dead silence of those haunted buildings.

Hunting was unpleasant business, but necessary, and this one took that necessity to heart. Even as the city lay dead upon its foundations, one sought out any that remained and exterminated them with utter equanimity. Indeed, this one looked upon anything that moved as prey for the Hunt. The lone hunter strode across a bridge, corpses smoldering on either side.

A darkness formed before them, swirling and forming into something neither man nor beast. The last hunter of Yharnam drew their ax and watched as two pale eyes gleamed forth from the dark. Eyes that did not blink, eyes that possessed no pupils, eyes that made even this one feel fear. Then speech came from the dark and the lone hunter fell, consciousness violated by the unknowable words that coursed through them.

As the pale eyed dark spoke, the hunter began to change within. Where once a semblance of humanity had been, there now was only a cold and barren urge to serve the dark. The last hunter of Yharnam slowly rose, a rune now engraved upon their very soul. They knelt before the pale eyed shade and heard the will of She.

When the lone hunter stood at last, the shade had gone. But that was of little importance. Those who had disturbed the Dark Betwixt Stars remained yet living, and now a new Hunt must be undertaken. Ax in hand, the hunter of She Who Is strode forth, leaving Yharnam empty of life as the city expelled its last breath.

But they did not leave unseen. Another hunter, wearing the feathers of a crow, observed their departure from afar. The crow followed them unseen and unheard, out into the oncoming night. The hunting of hunters was a dreadful undertaking, but one the feather cloaked hunter performed without complaint.

-x-

The brackets were presented to every participant via mediums they were most used to. Those of a more medieval inclination received them on paper, while their futuristic counterparts viewed them upon various personal screens and displays. The first round consisted of no less than 28 fights, and was expected to take up the duration of a month to complete. Some matches seemed to already be cut and dried, the results apparent to any who cared to think about them for more than a moment. Others would likely take hours before a winner would emerge.

The Hunter was rather shaken to discover his match would be the first of many. The paper in his hands crinkled as his grip tightened. His opponent would probably be simple enough, he'd seen the diminutive spaceman, Olimar, about and had little doubts about his success. No, what truly concerned the Hunter was the ever present worry that his performance in the fight would be 'sub-par'. Even if the money was inconsequential, he wanted to give Cainhurst everything he could.

He glanced across the recreational hall in which most of the contestants were gathered. Most were reviewing the brackets and either joking about their matches, or had looks of concentration and worry that spoke to their dedication. Some few simply didn't seem to care, and one or two actually seemed afraid. The Hunter wondered at why those who seemed to prefer to avoid fighting were here at all. They must have something to gain from their participation, he surmised, but still. It was entirely possible that they were there merely for the entertainment of the investors. Combatants that served more as comic relief than any actual challenge.

Still, it did him no good to underestimate any of them. The Hunter cringed inwardly as he remembered the brief moments he had spent within the anomalous Kirby. That experience had left him scarred and shell-shocked long enough for the star child to blast him off the stage. If there was any fighter the Hunter was actually somewhat afraid of, it was that little pink ball. Fortunately Kirby was a good sort and didn't actually try to eat anyone else present outside the fights.

The armored form of Samus caught his attention as the bounty hunter walked within a few yards of him. Once again she had removed her helmet and her long pale hair flowed out behind her. Their eyes met and silent respect passed between them, one hunter to another, before she moved on to leave the recreation area. The Hunter glanced at the brackets, he was personally familiar with very few of the combatants, but he was still curious about their fights.

Samus would be challenged by none other than Captain Falcon in the first round, and that match promised to be either extremely short, or long and brutal. Both of them had experience, power, and durability, and he had the distinct feeling that their fight would be far more evenly matched than his own. Down the list the Hunter scanned, looking for the few other names he had some connection to.

There was Link's name, and the Hunter read that the green-clad swordsman would be facing the Dog and Duck that everyone just called Duck Hunt. With a sigh he shook his head, as random as their methods may be for selecting the match-ups, it seemed hardly fair. Link's victory seemed more solid than Samus', but the Hunter knew too little of the Dog to be completely certain.

Down the list was Palutena, her opponent – the red haired bladesman, Roy. The Hunter only knew Roy through what Marth had explained to him in one of their brief conversations, and he knew next to nothing about the goddess' capabilities. He thought about it for a moment and concluded he'd just have to see it, not that he was planning on missing any of the fights. Except for perhaps Kirby's, he didn't need more nightmares after all.

And then he saw Bayonetta's name and clenched his fist involuntarily. That woman was absolutely infuriating to him, and she knew exactly how insufferable she could be. But no matter how hard he tried to stay away from her, she always tracked him down to tease him again. He had no idea HOW she always managed to find him, even when he'd told no one else where he was going. And she had a terrible habit of appearing out of thin air with a sultry smile and more teasing words on her lips. The Hunter found himself partially wishing that the grey-skinned trainer would be able to bring the Umbra Witch down, but it was scant hope.

And finally he saw Marth's match-up, and shook his head. Another balanced match, it would seem. The prince would be fighting none other than Princess Zelda. It would be interesting to see how Link and Marth handled that particular advent inside the bounds of friendship they had. Glancing across the room he saw Link jokingly push Marth, who looked slightly perturbed. Zelda was giving the two of them an exasperated look. It seemed like the three of them were quite alright with the whole thing.

A quick scan of the bracket didn't turn up any more fights he was overly concerned with, so he pocketed the crumpled paper and stood from where he had been sitting. An unhappy squeak came from the small creature that had been half asleep in his lap. It was named Pichu, and was apparently also a contestant within the Arena, though the Hunter found that somewhat ridiculous. Still, the little creature seemed happy enough about it, and he watched as Pichu stretched, then scampered off to find another lap.

The Hunter considered the path before him, and sighed. He wanted nothing more than to go back to Cainhurst and embrace Arianna until the day he died. But that fate was not available to him at present, and he would have to fight a lot of battles if he was going to ensure that the blonde woman who had so claimed his heart was going to be safe and well. That sense of conviction arose within him once again, strengthening his resolve.

There was a week before the tournament began, and all seven of those days was going to see the Hunter doing everything he could to secure a stable future for his Arianna. From the interviews Ray had arranged, to the multi fighter battles, and even fighting in the training rings, the Hunter would not allow himself to relent from his goals.

And then his nose caught the scent of Bayonetta and he groaned inwardly. Every time she approached him his body began sending mixed messages to his brain. His devotion to Arianna was strong enough to keep him faithful, but he had absolutely no desire to test the limits of that. With a sense of resignation he walked on, waiting for the witch to waylay him.

She did not, and instead the Hunter turned a corner to see her waiting for him. She had a look in her eyes that he did not at all like. It was almost...cold, distant, and somehow inhuman. He had a distinct feeling that he should get away from her as quickly as he could, but before he could take a step a wall of black hair cut off the way behind him.

He tensed, watching her warily. The witch stood still, only her eyes moving to follow him as he shifted. The Hunter sensed the hair reaching out before it could grasp him, and he quickened away from the spot as the loop of strands cinched down upon where he had been. Something was most certainly off, and he had no idea what it was.

A strained word came from the Umbra Witch then, and he looked at her to see blood dripping from her nose. Her voice came out as a struggling gasp, as if she was fighting to speak, "H-hunter." To his incredulity her own hair began to turn on her as she fought to speak further, "Help me..!" Black strands wrapped about her throat and the Hunter lunged forward, cutting at them in an attempt to free her from being strangled.

Once the Hunter was closer, however, he could see...something, in Bayonetta's eyes. It looked almost like something had been engraved within them, something that looked chillingly like a rune. The Hunter acted on instinct and opened his Insight. What confronted him then almost caused his heart to stop. Coiled around and within the struggling witch was a pale eyed shade. Those dreadful eyes looked into his and he once again heard that awful voice within and without.

But this time was different somehow, and the force of the shade's speech was dulled as it reached him. With unerring decisiveness the Hunter grasped the darkness with one hand and cut at it with the Rakuyo held in his right. By some miracle he actually cut it, and a howl ripped through his mind, sending him to the brink of frenzied madness. Then the pale eyes shut and the darkness faded.

Both Hunter and Umbra Witch stayed where they were, breathing heavily. It took several moments for the Hunter to realize he was straddling Bayonetta's waist and he quickly stood, trying not to meet her eyes. He did not quite succeed, and he caught the look within her gaze, a look of gratitude mixed with an invitation to come back and be closer that he had been moments ago.

He hesitantly reached out to help Bayonetta to her feet and she took his hand. He pulled her up and tried to let go, but she held him there. The Hunter looked at her, trying to hide his apprehension behind a mask of curiousity. She spoke then, and he could hear in her voice a serious tone he knew better than to ignore, "You know what that ugly thing was, don't you?" Her eyes bored into him.

The Hunter tried to dodge around the issue with a noncommittal shrug, but she would not have it and her grip on his wrist tightened. Finally he gave in and shook his head, "It was a piece of...that...thing we both saw. A piece of Her." She nodded, her expression grim. Then she released his arm and her gaze softened.

She half smiled and touched his face, "It's a real pity. I'd have loved to get to know you better." She grinned at his confusion, "Oh don't worry, love. I just had a quick peek into your memories when you were getting that ugly little shade off my back." Bayonetta tossed her head and smirked, "After all, there's very few people I let ride on me." The emphasis she put on the word ride made the Hunter turn slightly red. She kissed him on the cheek before sauntering off.

Before she left however she said, "Calahan?" The Hunter started slightly, then turned to look at her, one eyebrow raised. But the witch just smiled and winked at him, "Thought so." With that last cryptic remark she swept around a corner and down the hall, leaving a confused Hunter behind.