A/N: Why another new story? X(

Well, this has been stewing on document manager for a long time, the first thing I've ever uploaded and written actually. Its 'life' reached 1 day some time ago already, but I didn't really want to delete it... And now, its 'life' is approaching zero again. I wondered what I should do with it... so I've decided to just use Halloween as an excuse and just upload it ^^; (since I couldn't even finish writing a Halloween K-on special...sigh) So this is not a horror, the summary and genre speak for itself.

Reminder this is AU, set in a land that's a mix of ancient Japan and medieval Europe. Women don't have the privileges as we do now; unless they are of special rank or special occupation, they are usually overlooked. Actually, think of this as the typical RPG land, a mix of various time periods and cultures...

So, I have no idea what genre to put this...

Warning: Violence? Meh.

Disclaimer: I do not own K-on. Good thing I don't. Look what I turned it into...

C-C-C-C-C

Prologue – Hunted

C-C-C-C-C

"You, guard the princess well! Make sure they get to the castle unharmed! The rest of you, follow me!"

The soldiers unsheathed their swords, raising them into the air. With a deafening roar, they ran fearlessly, following their leader with nothing but honor and loyalty.

The guard, who was ordered to protect their master, quickly rallied the remaining troops, determined not to disappoint their young but capable general.

The Kotobuki family was supposed to meet with the ruling family of the neighboring state to sign a truce; yet, instead of a peaceful meeting, Lord Kotobuki was ambushed and cruelly murdered. The young general, filled with grief and guilt, had immediately disposed of the assassin and successfully led the princess away. Despite the princess's tearful protests, he volunteered to stay behind to hold back the enemy forces, to buy the princess time to escape while knowing all too well that this was a suicide mission.

The guard silent prayed for the brave general's survival; after all, should he perish, the oujo-sama would be even more devastated.

General Akiyama Sakuno dashed forward, deflecting a side slash skillfully. He ducked under another strike and swung his own katana with all of his power.

He flinched as the enemy's scream pierced his ears; he fought the urge to vomit as blood splattered thickly over his haori. He backed away, leaning against a tree tiredly, but he was still holding his katana, his guard never wavering.

His stormy grey eyes took in his surroundings, flickering from one corpse to another.

Unfortunately, the general was the only one left. Sakuno winced, hissing in pain as his haori darkened. One of the enemies had caught him unawares and managed to score a slash at the unprotected part between the armor plates.

He looked up into the sky, panting and trying to regain his breaths. The battle had continued from sunset to the dead of the night; the full moon now shone eerily up in the dark, cloudless sky. Perhaps he had been fighting for too long, or perhaps he had lost too much blood already, the moon appeared to be veiled in maroon color.

Sweat dripped down from his dirt-smudged cheek; his long raven hair, originally tied in a high ponytail, now cascaded down his back. The general could not find the half-mask he usually wore to cover his rather effeminate features; it must have fallen off during the battles. One of his sleeves was torn, revealing a pale, slim arm, covered in blood. He carefully took off the heavy armors, ripping a part of his hakama pant and trying to staunch the blood flow.

No one's here, so it doesn't matter if I take off my haori now, right...?

He gasped in shock when several pairs of yellow eyes suddenly glowed in the shadows. A massive gray wolf slowly padded out into the opening, and opened its jaw. Something dropped onto the ground softly, and rolled until it stopped a few meters in front of him.

It was the severed head of the lord who had betrayed them.

Sakuno's knees almost gave away; he could not tear his eyes from the horrified expression on the head. True, the enemy had ordered Lord Kotobuki's death, but this grotesque sight was just too much.

Werewolves. There were three of them, their huge muzzles all covered in blood. Of all the nights to run into them. Sakuno's arm trembled in fatigue as he sheathed his katana.

"Oh? Giving up, are you?" It growled in amusement, a human-like voice drifting out of it mouth unnaturally.

The other two wolves advanced hungrily. Sakuno could almost smell their revolting breaths.

But it was not the first time he had encountered werewolves. Sakuno exhaled deeply, trying to calm himself down.

When one of them was close enough, he dove forward, driving a silver tanto into its eyes, impaling its brain. The werewolf whined in agony, shuddering in great spasms, and then collapsed on the ground.

Dead.

Using the momentum and element of surprise, he dove for the next one, stabbing several enchanted kunais into its chest. Warm blood spilled over his hand as he drove them deeper and deeper.

Once it got over its shock, the remaining wolf pounced, trying to get him away from its packmate. He rolled away, whimpering as the wound on his stomach ripped even wider, staining the already crimson haori an even darker red.

The wounded wolf teetered for a bit before crashing heavily onto the forest floor, also dead. The remaining one roared in rage.

"You, a mere human like you, an ordinary man without any power, how dare you-" It pounced towards him again, this time with greater precision and force. Just before it reached the downed general, something shot out of his hands, piercing through the wolf's throat.

Stumbling and gurgling, the werewolf literally choked and drowned in its blood.

Sakuno got up shakily, holding a hand to his stomach, trying to stop the blood flow. He really was lucky that these werewolves appeared to be rather 'new', not fully controlling their powers yet - otherwise the injured Sakuno couldn't have been able to handle them so easily.

"I'll have to thank Azusa for this," he looked at the weird conception in his hand, a contraption that shot long, harpoon-like silver darts. The petite kunoichi had given him her own invention several days earlier before returning to her clan. Azusa had promised that it will come in handy should he ever run into a werewolf.

Werewolves, huh. He looked at the fallen creatures apathetically. It wasn't the first time he had slain these creatures, but it was the first time he had done so alone. Usually Yui would be beside him, paralyzing the creatures in place with her powerful spells. Air-headed or not, Yui certainly was a fearsome priestess. Sakuno smiled fondly. Yes, without Yui's enchanted silver daggers, he would've been long dead.

Now, in my current state, how do I catch up to the others? I hope Mugi is alright, he staggered slightly as more and more blood leaked out from between his fingers. I must get to her. Azusa is back with her people, and Yui is staying with her sister. Right now... Mugi is all alone. Lord Kotobuki...

Just thinking about the kind lord made his eyes glisten with unshed tears. He had loved the man who was like a father to him. But now, the lord was dead, because he, the general and the bodyguard, did not sense the trap ahead of time.

Once Sakuno had been terrified of blood. Once he had a completely different life ahead of him. But werewolves had murdered his parents, forcing him to become the person he was now.

This is getting bad, his knees trembled weakly, his hand covering his wound. I've lost too much blood...

Suddenly, a terrifying howl pierces through the night. Sakuno froze.

How could he have forgotten? There was still the leader of the pack, the alpha-

Before he could even turn around, something slammed into him, trapping him against the tree. His head cracked against the bark; nausea overwhelmed his vision with rippling patterns, blurring his sight.

A powerful paw held him at place, preventing him from sliding down. He stared at the massive wolf dazedly – it was certainly a werewolf leader. Unlike the usual gray wolves, this alpha had short, almost spiky ochre coat. Its eyes were the color of the moon, yellow tainted in red.

His body was quickly becoming numb; he had no more strength and no more weapons. Yet, the wolf had yet to do anything, gazing at him mockingly.

Hackles rose on the back of his neck.

"I don't have much time to live," Sakuno coughed, blood staining his lips, "If you want to eat me, just-"

"Oh, no resistance? None of those pathetic human attempts to beg for your life?" The wolf's lips curled into an ugly sneer, its sharp, snow-white fang glinting under the moonlight.

Then, an amazing thing happened – the werewolf slowly shrunk in size until a humanoid shape now stood in front of him. The paw that was holding him was now a small human hand with elongated nails– still holding him upright with a strong grip.

With his vision impaired, he couldn't really see what the werewolf looked like after the transformation. All he could tell was that the werewolf was lean, with short, spiky sandy brown hair, its long bangs covering its eyes, and it's wearing some sort of sleeveless attire. But only humans-turned-wolves could this werewolf must have been a human once too. Yet, only pure werewolves could become an Alpha, so what -?

"Do you have nothing to live for?" The voice asked softly, yet still retained an animalistic edge.

Images of his dearest friends flashed across his mind. Friends who grew up with him. Friends who were just like family to him. Friends who knew him for who he really was.

Mugi, his master, the princess he had sworn to protect-

Yui, his friend, the priestess who had always cheered him up-

Azusa, his partner, the kunoichi who he trusts his back to –

No, he must save them. Sakuno gritted his teeth resolutely, even though his consciousness was slowly slipping away from him.

"I...don't want to die," he managed to gasp out, his raven bangs covering his moistening eyes, "There's still so many things I want to do, I need to do… but," he coughed again, wheezing, "if my friends can be protected…in exchange for my life, I'll gladly give it up."

"Oh? How so?"

"Do not…chase after the Kotobuki princess…"

The humanoid shape shook, probably chuckling. Sakuno did not even have the strength to be angry.

"Hn. That's a lot of demand coming from a dying girl."

Sakuno's eyes went wide, her brain regaining temporary alertness. How-?

"You look surprised," the werewolf growled in glee. "Even within all this bloodshed, even within such delicious aroma of blood, I can smell you immediately. That's why I did not kill you right away. A girl dressed as samurai… how interesting, General."

Akiyama Mio bit her lips, her heart pounding furiously fast. I'm going to die anyways. It doesn't matter if my real identity's found out or not-

"And if your scent's not convincing enough… well, no man could be this beautiful," the werewolf smirked, using its other hand to stroke her long, raven stresses. "And this is evidence enough for me," one simple slash with its long nails, Mio's haori was cut open, revealing pearly white skin marred by blood. The werewolf slowly dragged its nail over her bandaged chest, slicing the confines open and half-revealing her ample breasts.

Mio gritted her teeth, ashamed, yet powerless to stop the creature, who chuckled again at her blush.

"…will you…let them go? Will you…not go after them…?" She stammered tiredly. Even now her mortification wasn't enough to block the pain from her wound.

The werewolf leaned closer, its hot breath mingling with hers. "What do I get in return? You don't have anything to offer me… unless, you're offering yourself?"

She ignored the implications. "I… already said…instead of them…I-"

Her words were swallowed as the werewolf smashed its lips with hers. The sudden action caused her to open her mouth; instantly a searing tongue entered the cavern, exploring every corner and twirling with her own. She found herself shaking, and it wasn't because of her injury either. The electrifying pleasure overwhelmed all the other senses, even pain, and she found herself responding to the hungry kiss, unconsciously wanting more of this thrilling feeling.

Giving her a playful bite, the werewolf pulled away, smirking. Her mouth was still tingling, and it felt strangely devoid of warmth. She panted, her face still flushed from both exertion and humiliation. She didn't understand what had just happened; even now, she had to fight the urge to close their gap again. She could still feel its warm breath.

"…that's one leap of faith you're taking here, girl… I might just devour you and go after that princess anyways."

Now, in such close distance, Mio was finally able to see the werewolf's eyes.

Amber. And unlike its cold, predatory voice, there was something else in its eyes, something human-

"…you won't…" Mio whispered. Her wound throbbed in pain again, even more so than before. Her brain finally shut down and mercifully allowed her to drift into darkness.

The last thing she heard was the werewolf's soft response.

"You don't know what you just got yourself into, girl."

A/N: And I don't know what I wrote way back in August lol.

Once again, any kind of feedback is fine. I'd really appreciate it!

Happy Halloween! I'm dressed as a black cat btw...not because I wanted to but ugh, my friends made me. Anyways, off to grab some candies (or some honey apples, those things are godly) XD

I hope you enjoyed this prologue thing!

Some Background Information:

The pure werewolves are simply wolves with great intelligence and are capable of human speech; they are usually larger than tigers, and they travel in packs. Sometimes they stand upright, hence the term 'werewolf'. They can only be killed when injured in the throat or stabbed through the heart or brain by silver or enchanted weapons. They are the strongest under full moon. They can live for a very long time.

Only bitten humans who turned into werewolves can transform. They are usually weaker than the pure werewolves, but their human forms are stronger than a normal human. They follow pure werewolves in utter submission - it was said only the pure-bloods have the power to lead and control a pack of bitten humans, but no one has the proof.