I usually don't start stories without having the whole plot in mind, but for this story I really had no idea where I was going when I started. I honestly making it up as I go along. ^_^*
Oh yes, Dante's getting older, so expect some stronger language. Boys, tsk. ^_~
Knight-Lancer: Yes, I did mess up in the last chapter and describe Alastor instead of Force Edge. Thank you for pointing it out for me!
Lil Chibi Kuri: Wish granted, Kuri will make a mini appearance. ^_^
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Chapter 6: Fight or Flight
It's been three and a half years since the night Dante had received his father's sword and revealed his secret to Rob. Both boys were now fifteen years old, and had given up their pranks for more…'worthy' pursuits. Dante had immediately been extremely pumped up to go demon hunting, but unfortunately Brenz had other ideas.
"Dante, I don't care WHOSE son you are, I'm not letting you around the grounds at night with a sword. I'd cost me my job and whole slew of questions you and I both don't need. I'll keep it in my office."
However, things did no go as Brenz wished. In the next couple of months, devil sightings had become more and more frequent in the area, to the point that Brenz feared the general public might start to investigate. Brenz, not without misgivings, decided to let the boys train and take care of the smaller, less harmful devils in the area. Dante quickly became very enthusiastic and well trained with the sword, while Rob fought using martial arts which he had been taking classes in since he was very young. Along side the two would lope Blade, who quickly grew from puppy to a fierce, though gentle hearted, monster. Time passed in this fashion and the years went by, a strong bond of comradeship developing between the three friends.
This night, as the two teenagers and the dog ran through the woods like shadows, seemed the same as any other. Tonight they hunted a flying bird like devil that Brenz said was called a Puia. Dante leapt from tree branch to tree branch in the woods, brushing pine needles out of his face and hair as he went. Flying devils were a serious pain in the ass. He'd seriously thought about getting some guns in the future, though Brenz would probably flip out. Below and slightly behind him he could hear Rob and Blade, while somewhere ahead of him he could sense, sort of 'feel', the Puia. He swatted pine needles out his face and hair as he took a leap above the trees for a higher look. Damn, where was that thing?
Suddenly the woods beneath him exploded as the Puia tore up at him from beneath. Dante, still in midjump, whipped out Force Edge and swiped at the birdlike form. The Puia veered off and screeched at him from above as he dropped to land on the forest floor. Rob and Blade appeared next to him.
"You okay?" Rob asked, scanning the sky. Blade growled as the Puia circled overhead.
Dante nodded. "Yeah. This sucker is just pissing me off though. He's impossible to reach."
Rob dodged a feather missile it sent down. "Tell me about it. Maybe we should get it to come to us instead though."
"What to you mean?" Dante managed to actually reflect a missile by using Force Edge as a bat, and the Puia warked angrily as it came back.
"Yo ugly!" Rob called up to it suddenly. "What's the matter, you chicken? Too much of a wuss to come down here and fight?"
Dante blinked. "Are you being serious?" Rob had stupid ideas a lot. But, Dante noticed, the Puia actually seemed a little pissed off. It was worth a try. "Yeah birdbrain, come on! What, was your mother a chicken too?"
Rob looked at Dante. "You need work." Blade growled an affirmative. "Though it does seem to work!" he called rolling out of the way and the Puia swept into the glade. Now within striking distance, the three friends went to work. The Puia swatted at Dante with a wing only to have Blade leap unto its back and sink his teeth into the devil bird's neck. It shrieked in pain and flung the dog off, flailing in fury and agony. Rob ran at it from the front, ducked its sharp beak by hitting the ground, and gave it an uppercut kick to the head. The devil reeled, now half blind, and sank to the ground as Dante stood over it with Force Edge.
One cut took care of it, and it's remains faded into the ground.
"Whoo, not a bad night," Dante said brushing the hair out of his and holstering his sword.
"Not bad at all." Rob looked at his watch. "And if we hurry back we can grab some food before the cafeteria shuts down." The boys said goodnight to Blade and ran off to deposit their weapons and clothes and get some snacks.
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Meanwhile, in the dimensional depths of the Underworld….
There was a game in progress. A ruthless game of strategy and cunning, where mercy was left to the weak to be trampled. Two devil lords were currently participating in this vicious and calculating game of wits and power.
"Checkmate!" Bolverk announced smugly as he angled his bishop. "That's 9 out of 10 games for me, my lord." The skeletal figure grinned.
Rafangorok, a high level devil with the body of a muscular man with jagged bone spikes emerging from his skin, gave him a sour look and harrumphed. "Cheater," he muttered under his breath.
"My lords." A low class demon messenger appeared by the door of the room. "There have been reports of many demons going missing in a certain area. The forest in question used to be highly populated with devils, yet now there are few left. There has been some question by our locals as to whether an investigation should be made."
Rafangorok reset the chess board. "What sorts of demons have been disappearing?"
"Nothing large or of standing, sir. A few Puiae, some Canis, and some demon squirrels."
Bolverk snorted in contempt. "Vermin and trifles. It's probable just some renegade demon hunter that's trigger happy in the woods."
Rafangorok nodded. "Send a Sin Scissors if you want, to take care of the problem. We'll see how our little menace fares with it." The messenger saluted and left the two to another game.
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The next day at the orphanage, Dante and Rob were hanging out in a lobby like room, talking about how wickedly they took that Puia the other night. Dante, sitting at the piano, plinked out Mary Had A Little Lamb on the keys. He really liked music, but the piano was too old fashioned. He would have liked to jam on a guitar or some drums, but he made do with the piano since it was all they had.
"Dude…I'm so bored," Rob said slouching on a couch, hat over his eyes. "There's been no game recently, though I guess we should be happy about it. I just wish they'd let us off campus more often." While the orphanage did take trips into town often, its children were not allowed to go unaccompanied. And while they did sneak out quite often, it wasn't the same as freedom.
Dante stopped playing. "Tell me about it. Just three more years man. Then we'll be eighteen, free to do whatever we want. Free lancing mercenaries. We can work our way from town to town doing the odd devil hunter for cash. Bad ass wanderers, that's us." He looked up suddenly. "Hey, we could go find Kuri. I heard she was planning on taking a walk today in the woods." He grinned mischievously at Rob.
Kuri was one of the new girls in the orphanage who had been transferred in a few months ago. She was around their age and Rob was nuts about the girl. Dante's didn't think she was too shabby either. "Sweet!" Rob said jumping up. "Let's go." The two boys headed off towards the woods across the backyard.
After a few minutes they were crunching among the fallen autumn leaves. Attracted by the noise and their scent, Blade bounded out from behind a rock and wagged his tail. Dante patted his head. "Sorry boy, but we've got a girl to catch. We'll visit you tonight." Blade gave a gruff snort and jumped back into hiding. "Touchy," Rob commented.
Dante was about to reply when he sensed a devil presence. He stopped and started into space. A devil at this time of day? Rob gave him a funny look.
"What's wrong? You're zoning out on me."
"There's a devil somewhere around here," Dante said quickly. "I'm sure of it. And it's a strong one too." Rob tensed up and scanned the surrounding area. Both boys jerked as a young girl's scream split the tense silence.
"Kuri!" Rob whispered, then bolted ahead into the woods.
"Rob wait!" Dante called, then ran and caught up with him. "We don't have any weapons!"
"Damn it Dante, that was Kuri! She could be dying out there!" Rob panted back savagely.
Suddenly the boys skidded to a halt as before them they saw a girl in a silver sheet and khaki shorts with her back pressed against a tree and a terrified look on her face. Ten feet away from her, hovering in the air, was a strange apparition. A ghostly figure of a hideous woman in a fluttering black tunic cackled in a high pitch voice while flexing the enormous pair of scissors in its hands. "Eheheheheeheheeee!" it cried.
"Kuri!" yelled Rob. The girl gave them a startled look of terror.
"Rob! Dante!" she cried and ran stumbling over to them. Rob caught her as she tripped. The Sin Scissor rolled in the air and laughed at them. Rob pulled up Kuri, looking into her frightened and confused brown/green eyes. "Listen Kuri," he urged, "You have to get out of here. Go straight to Brenz and tell him what happened, alright? Go. Go!" He gave a push in the direction of the orphanage. The stumbled away a few steps and turned back as the boys faced the monster. Dante glanced at her. "We're covering for you! Do what he says!" he snapped. Kuri tightened her lips and fled back through the woods towards the campus.
Dante and Rob looked darkly at the Sin Scissor that click its scissors at them. "What should we do?" Rob asked. "We don't have any of our weapons, and we told Blade to stay at the rock…"
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Dum dum dum… The boys are in quite a predicament. ^_^ Tune in next time for the exciting conclusion! (well it's not really the conclusion, but it's darn tooting exciting!)
Dante: Did you just say "darn tooting?" ¬_¬
Next Chapter: Fight or Flight Part 2
Oh yes, Dante's getting older, so expect some stronger language. Boys, tsk. ^_~
Knight-Lancer: Yes, I did mess up in the last chapter and describe Alastor instead of Force Edge. Thank you for pointing it out for me!
Lil Chibi Kuri: Wish granted, Kuri will make a mini appearance. ^_^
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 6: Fight or Flight
It's been three and a half years since the night Dante had received his father's sword and revealed his secret to Rob. Both boys were now fifteen years old, and had given up their pranks for more…'worthy' pursuits. Dante had immediately been extremely pumped up to go demon hunting, but unfortunately Brenz had other ideas.
"Dante, I don't care WHOSE son you are, I'm not letting you around the grounds at night with a sword. I'd cost me my job and whole slew of questions you and I both don't need. I'll keep it in my office."
However, things did no go as Brenz wished. In the next couple of months, devil sightings had become more and more frequent in the area, to the point that Brenz feared the general public might start to investigate. Brenz, not without misgivings, decided to let the boys train and take care of the smaller, less harmful devils in the area. Dante quickly became very enthusiastic and well trained with the sword, while Rob fought using martial arts which he had been taking classes in since he was very young. Along side the two would lope Blade, who quickly grew from puppy to a fierce, though gentle hearted, monster. Time passed in this fashion and the years went by, a strong bond of comradeship developing between the three friends.
This night, as the two teenagers and the dog ran through the woods like shadows, seemed the same as any other. Tonight they hunted a flying bird like devil that Brenz said was called a Puia. Dante leapt from tree branch to tree branch in the woods, brushing pine needles out of his face and hair as he went. Flying devils were a serious pain in the ass. He'd seriously thought about getting some guns in the future, though Brenz would probably flip out. Below and slightly behind him he could hear Rob and Blade, while somewhere ahead of him he could sense, sort of 'feel', the Puia. He swatted pine needles out his face and hair as he took a leap above the trees for a higher look. Damn, where was that thing?
Suddenly the woods beneath him exploded as the Puia tore up at him from beneath. Dante, still in midjump, whipped out Force Edge and swiped at the birdlike form. The Puia veered off and screeched at him from above as he dropped to land on the forest floor. Rob and Blade appeared next to him.
"You okay?" Rob asked, scanning the sky. Blade growled as the Puia circled overhead.
Dante nodded. "Yeah. This sucker is just pissing me off though. He's impossible to reach."
Rob dodged a feather missile it sent down. "Tell me about it. Maybe we should get it to come to us instead though."
"What to you mean?" Dante managed to actually reflect a missile by using Force Edge as a bat, and the Puia warked angrily as it came back.
"Yo ugly!" Rob called up to it suddenly. "What's the matter, you chicken? Too much of a wuss to come down here and fight?"
Dante blinked. "Are you being serious?" Rob had stupid ideas a lot. But, Dante noticed, the Puia actually seemed a little pissed off. It was worth a try. "Yeah birdbrain, come on! What, was your mother a chicken too?"
Rob looked at Dante. "You need work." Blade growled an affirmative. "Though it does seem to work!" he called rolling out of the way and the Puia swept into the glade. Now within striking distance, the three friends went to work. The Puia swatted at Dante with a wing only to have Blade leap unto its back and sink his teeth into the devil bird's neck. It shrieked in pain and flung the dog off, flailing in fury and agony. Rob ran at it from the front, ducked its sharp beak by hitting the ground, and gave it an uppercut kick to the head. The devil reeled, now half blind, and sank to the ground as Dante stood over it with Force Edge.
One cut took care of it, and it's remains faded into the ground.
"Whoo, not a bad night," Dante said brushing the hair out of his and holstering his sword.
"Not bad at all." Rob looked at his watch. "And if we hurry back we can grab some food before the cafeteria shuts down." The boys said goodnight to Blade and ran off to deposit their weapons and clothes and get some snacks.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, in the dimensional depths of the Underworld….
There was a game in progress. A ruthless game of strategy and cunning, where mercy was left to the weak to be trampled. Two devil lords were currently participating in this vicious and calculating game of wits and power.
"Checkmate!" Bolverk announced smugly as he angled his bishop. "That's 9 out of 10 games for me, my lord." The skeletal figure grinned.
Rafangorok, a high level devil with the body of a muscular man with jagged bone spikes emerging from his skin, gave him a sour look and harrumphed. "Cheater," he muttered under his breath.
"My lords." A low class demon messenger appeared by the door of the room. "There have been reports of many demons going missing in a certain area. The forest in question used to be highly populated with devils, yet now there are few left. There has been some question by our locals as to whether an investigation should be made."
Rafangorok reset the chess board. "What sorts of demons have been disappearing?"
"Nothing large or of standing, sir. A few Puiae, some Canis, and some demon squirrels."
Bolverk snorted in contempt. "Vermin and trifles. It's probable just some renegade demon hunter that's trigger happy in the woods."
Rafangorok nodded. "Send a Sin Scissors if you want, to take care of the problem. We'll see how our little menace fares with it." The messenger saluted and left the two to another game.
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The next day at the orphanage, Dante and Rob were hanging out in a lobby like room, talking about how wickedly they took that Puia the other night. Dante, sitting at the piano, plinked out Mary Had A Little Lamb on the keys. He really liked music, but the piano was too old fashioned. He would have liked to jam on a guitar or some drums, but he made do with the piano since it was all they had.
"Dude…I'm so bored," Rob said slouching on a couch, hat over his eyes. "There's been no game recently, though I guess we should be happy about it. I just wish they'd let us off campus more often." While the orphanage did take trips into town often, its children were not allowed to go unaccompanied. And while they did sneak out quite often, it wasn't the same as freedom.
Dante stopped playing. "Tell me about it. Just three more years man. Then we'll be eighteen, free to do whatever we want. Free lancing mercenaries. We can work our way from town to town doing the odd devil hunter for cash. Bad ass wanderers, that's us." He looked up suddenly. "Hey, we could go find Kuri. I heard she was planning on taking a walk today in the woods." He grinned mischievously at Rob.
Kuri was one of the new girls in the orphanage who had been transferred in a few months ago. She was around their age and Rob was nuts about the girl. Dante's didn't think she was too shabby either. "Sweet!" Rob said jumping up. "Let's go." The two boys headed off towards the woods across the backyard.
After a few minutes they were crunching among the fallen autumn leaves. Attracted by the noise and their scent, Blade bounded out from behind a rock and wagged his tail. Dante patted his head. "Sorry boy, but we've got a girl to catch. We'll visit you tonight." Blade gave a gruff snort and jumped back into hiding. "Touchy," Rob commented.
Dante was about to reply when he sensed a devil presence. He stopped and started into space. A devil at this time of day? Rob gave him a funny look.
"What's wrong? You're zoning out on me."
"There's a devil somewhere around here," Dante said quickly. "I'm sure of it. And it's a strong one too." Rob tensed up and scanned the surrounding area. Both boys jerked as a young girl's scream split the tense silence.
"Kuri!" Rob whispered, then bolted ahead into the woods.
"Rob wait!" Dante called, then ran and caught up with him. "We don't have any weapons!"
"Damn it Dante, that was Kuri! She could be dying out there!" Rob panted back savagely.
Suddenly the boys skidded to a halt as before them they saw a girl in a silver sheet and khaki shorts with her back pressed against a tree and a terrified look on her face. Ten feet away from her, hovering in the air, was a strange apparition. A ghostly figure of a hideous woman in a fluttering black tunic cackled in a high pitch voice while flexing the enormous pair of scissors in its hands. "Eheheheheeheheeee!" it cried.
"Kuri!" yelled Rob. The girl gave them a startled look of terror.
"Rob! Dante!" she cried and ran stumbling over to them. Rob caught her as she tripped. The Sin Scissor rolled in the air and laughed at them. Rob pulled up Kuri, looking into her frightened and confused brown/green eyes. "Listen Kuri," he urged, "You have to get out of here. Go straight to Brenz and tell him what happened, alright? Go. Go!" He gave a push in the direction of the orphanage. The stumbled away a few steps and turned back as the boys faced the monster. Dante glanced at her. "We're covering for you! Do what he says!" he snapped. Kuri tightened her lips and fled back through the woods towards the campus.
Dante and Rob looked darkly at the Sin Scissor that click its scissors at them. "What should we do?" Rob asked. "We don't have any of our weapons, and we told Blade to stay at the rock…"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dum dum dum… The boys are in quite a predicament. ^_^ Tune in next time for the exciting conclusion! (well it's not really the conclusion, but it's darn tooting exciting!)
Dante: Did you just say "darn tooting?" ¬_¬
Next Chapter: Fight or Flight Part 2