Chapter 4

"Well, do you see something Ren-chan?" the voice sounded in her earphone.

"No." the tanned Taimanin responded and then added. "It seems, that all demons hid or they planning something fearful."

"Should we continue to patrol further?" she heard a voice again in her earphone but this time it was indecisive.

"Yes we must continue to do this mission, I hope we'll find something, so we must be patient." as she said it she jumped onto the roof of another building and turned off the earphone, and thought 'I can't believe it! Almost three hours of patrolling the area and nothing is happening.' She decide to stop on the roof where she's jumped a moment ago, and continued her thoughts, 'It's the first time when I'm without a serious help of elders, being at the same time the leader of operation, so I can't fail Asagi-sensei. When she came to a ledge of the roof where she stopped she gazed into the dark city, but she saw nothing, only skyscrapers, and the light in them. Suddenly, she saw some silhouettes jumping by the roofs in front of her. "Come to my position Maki, I've found something".

"Roger, but don't do anything stupid." said Maki to her friend.

"I'll be on the medium distance from them so I won't lose them from my sight." She concluded and started to track those whom she saw a while ago. As she finished her talk she followed the silhouettes, which she noticed a moment ago. After a brief period of time she overtook their targets and decided to get a bit closer, but her targets have suddenly stopped. 'Have they noticed me?' Ikenami thought, but continued to move and when the distance was too small two persons turned and jumped to the side where Ikenami was. The huntress in blue outfit stopped and at the same time she dodged back as something strong hit the place where she was standing. A lot of dust and dirty surrounded the surface and she heard a slow, arrogant voice, "So it seems that someone was after us, doesn't it?"

"Hm! No matter whom it is, let's dispose them all!" another voice rang out, but this voice was rude and growling like it wasn't belonging to human. When the dust was dispelled Ikenami was already holding her short blade in a battle stance, she saw a person who was wearing a coat with a big hood that closed his head and body, and his companion was really not a human at all. It was some kind of integrated creature, it had dinosaur head big body but still was similar to human's proportions its arms was big and a bit longer then human's. The skin of this creature was fully red, he had big sharp teeth it could be seen as his mouth was opened and his head was porrected. It also had a big and massive red tail. The creature was wearing an armor which covered his body. There were steel claws on his hands and at the same time he had sharpen claws on his own hands.

"What do we have here?" growled the dinosaur person and hit the rood with his tail.

"Hm. It seems that we have a Taimanin here." Started his companion and continued immediately. "Interesting why is she all alone here?"

"Who are you?!" the huntress decide to start the simple talk trying to understand the situation where she was now.

"She is asking us who we are." smirked the creature. "What should we do to her? I think we could take her as a captive."

"I don't think so; the order is that we mustn't leave witnesses at the moment, so it's up to you." The person in the coat referred to his companion coldly and arrogantly. "I'll leave it to you, when you're finished join me, but please don't be too long, I know how much you like to play with your food." He concluded and jumped to the roof of the next building and continued his way, leaving the lass to fight a monster.

Ikenami gulped and was prepared to fight, she understood that this is not a practice battle, and even one mistake could cost dearly to her. She was worried, indeed she fought demons before, but she felt that these opponents are formidable, and it will be difficult to win such strong foes. However she was ready to fight she didn't want to fail Asagi who gave her such kind of mission.

"Ikenami Ren, please stop by the principle's room." said the voice in the loudspeaker.

"What did you do Ren?" asked Aki who was standing near to the mentioned girl.

Ikenami got up from her place and looked to her friend with a gaze of misunderstanding and confusion and answered, "To be honest, I don't know."

"I think there's no need to worry," a cheerful and merry voice went out, both turned and saw Maki, who was coming to her friends, "Ren-chan is not of those who would make troubles from nothing or just for fun."

"Well can't agree with you." Aki said with a relief sigh. "If you want we can go with you."

"No need, if Asagi-sensei calls me then it is must be something really important." The tanned girl said, left the class and headed for the principal's office.

While she was walking to the place where she was called, she went into her thoughts, why Asagi could call her; maybe it's because of the last mission, but she didn't do anything too reckless or erratic, and her attitude at school is good, not perfect, but still good. She thought a lot, but any reasonable answer of this question didn't come into her head so she inhaled and exhaled and decided to move further and leave to know everything on the place. When she reached the door of the principal, she gulped and knocked on the door indecisively, after her knock the voice rang out of the door. "Yes, come in." And she passed through the door slowly and said quietly.

"Have you called me Asagi-sensei?"

"Yes, Ikenami-san please sit down." the woman with blue hair and light green eyes said to the student as she started to continue to work with papers. The woman was about thirty years old she was in white skirt with quiet long collar a big black bow-tie. She also had a medium skirt which nearly reached her kneels. But when she got up to the shelf which was nearby it was possible to see that she wore flesh tights and the same colour as her skirt shoes. The woman could really be a top model or an actress, she was really beautiful. It was famous Igawa Asagi the principle of Gosha academy. She was the woman who could make everyone fall in love with her not eve males. Her hairstyle consisted of Grecian knot but still spiky, and two long and naughty strands. The woman was moved over the papers on her table and writing in them something, after few minutes, the door opened and women with orange hair entered it was Igawa Sakura, but this time she wasn't in her ninja outfit she was wearing the same black skirt white shirt and a black jacket above the shirt. The costume was fitting her perfectly. After her greeting, she sat onto the sofa which was on the left side of the room and the principle said:

"Ikenami-san, how do you think why I called you?" the principle asked her student.

"Honestly I thought you would tell me." Ikenami referred to the teacher. She was confused; she was keep tugging her hand with another one, and didn't find what to answer further.

The woman smiled slightly and said calmly, "There's no need to worry, it's not because of your attitude or marks. It's about your missions." The woman didn't stop to speak calmly, from the first side it made the young huntress relaxed a bit, but when the principle talked about mission she gulped and squeezed her kneels with her hands. Asagi took a folder from her table and continued. "You have only good reviews; good at study, no commentaries about attitude, and also, listening carefully and remember all comments during the mission. You have good physical characteristics, however you still opening up as huntress and there's a lot of things you must study." She was saying this while she was going through the considering of the folder. "I think we can give you a special mission. As I know you had a practice of combat with Sakura-sensei few days ago, and she told that you can try to take a role of the commander on your next mission."

"What?!" Ikenami could hold her exclamation. "Are you serious?"

"Indeed!" Sakura joined the conversation. "I think that you're ready to check yourself in the role of a pro hunter" she continued with her warm and cheerful at some places childish brand smile. "Mu-chan…" she made a misfire and then continued "I mean Yatsu-sensei was against this idea, but at least she agreed."

"What will you say Ikenami-san?" asked the principle her student, "Are you ready or you should have some time to ponder it?"

"I'm ready, there's nothing to think about it! I always wanted to be like Asagi-sensei, strong and clever. It is a perfect chance to show the fruits of my study." She still was dumbfounded that couldn't return to her consciousness, she was trembled a bit.

"Very well, we give you a chance to choose two team mates who will be with you during the mission and the teacher who will be your supporter and join when you will be in serious trouble." Asagi was speaking with Ren who started to relax a bit. "You can take two people with you for the mission, think about it clearly and write me the names and why did you choose those people."

"Very well, try to do it till the afternoon day and give the notes to me." The principle said it and then added with a warm smile, "You may be free."

Ikenami left the office and when the door closed Sakura said.

"Hey, sis? Do you think that she'll be fine?" the red haired woman said with a worry note in her voice.

"I think she will." Asagi said and sat on her place, and added "By the way it's a perfect chance for her to display herself, she is trying to be like me, but I want her to think on her own." and started to go through the papers which were lying on her table with a serious face like there was something really important that could change something. Sakura understood that the talk is over thus she decided to leave the office for now still wishing to chat and kid her elder sister a bit more and have to see some funny expressions of her, but still she decided to go and prepare for her classes.

At the same time when Igawa sisters left in the office, Ikenami went out of the office and saw her friends Aki, Maki and even Mai was there. They all came to know what was it's all about. Ikenami briefly told that she is in charge of the next mission and she have to find two members who will join the mission, but somehow the two lasses entertained on her suggestion. Ikenami couldn't resist to tenacity of her friends and gave up, Aki wanted to go on the mission with them, but the girls decide to let the boy join on their next missions. As a monitor they decided to take Yatsu Murasaki as she was their home teacher and gave strict but also serious remarks. Then she gave the paper when Sakura left the office and headed to the classes.

"So, our headquarter decided to send us to Gosha Academy as transferred teacher and student from Russian department of hunters" Tereshkov said as he read the letter and put it into an envelope.

"Huh?" Pavel made a sound, "How did they come to such a brilliant idea?"

"I don't know, but it's very good that they finally decided to cooperate with Japan, since "The Third Law" started to act more bravely." The captain said with his rude voice, and looked at his student who was lying on the bed, and chewing something. "Don't you want to know when we should meet them?"

"I thought you would tell me."

"I thought that you wanted to see that Ikenami, have you last this desire?" the captain joked and made it successfully, making the young hunter to cough.

"Why you have thought so, that I want to see her?" the teen tried to make a view that he haven't been thinking about that young huntress with a short blade. However he was honest to himself and couldn't let fly this lass out of his head.

"Well maybe because of that staring at her at that day when you wanted to help her?" the man mere answered on the question with his question.

"And even if it's so?!" exclaimed the boy, "I don't know why she came into my head! She was fighting with a perfect grace she has her style that is beautiful and danger at the same."

"Hm, beautiful?" Tereshkov asked the teen, "To be honest I haven't seen anything beautiful in these moves, she moves like you, and by that I mean…" he couldn't finish his statement as he was interrupted by his student.

"No one cares what you mean! In the questions of feelings you're a helpless invalid." The young hunter attacked.

"Did you say something small fry?" the captain retorted with worrying glance.

"Nothing." The teen muttered and decided to change the theme of their talk. "When we should depart to the Academy and who will be on our places?"

"Good questions. First we will depart after three days. Tomorrow we will have our last patrol and on the fifth day we must be in the Gosha village. And for our replacement were appointed Potapov Victor with Prokofieva Lisa."

"I have never heard these names before; do you know something about them?" Pavel asked his teacher.

"Just a bit." Tereshkov said and after a minute of thinking added, "Potapov is a master of light element, and Prokofieva is still a student like you, but has powers of telekinesis." he concluded, as he got up from the chair and said, "Enough questions, we should rest and get ready for tomorrow's patrol "The Third Law" never sleeps despite of us."

As the sky became absolutely dark they lie down on their beds and fall asleep.

The plane was flying over the night Tokyo. It was a small plane of Taimanin what was taking them on and from their missions. The plane was black that made it perfectly undetectable for ordinary eyes. The plane has stopped and the male voice said in the laud-hailer of the plane.

"We reached to our destination get ready to landing." As the voice said the cargo bay opened and the four hunters jumped off the plane and landed onto the roof of some tall skyscraper.

Murasaki raised her hand and said to the communicator. "Pilot, don't forget that you must return after six hours to the same position."

"Roger." The pilot merely answered through her communicator? And the plane started to leave to location where he came.

"Very well Ikenami, the mission is started, your orders as the team leader?" the teacher asked her student.

"First of all, we must check our communication." after a simple manipulation and check of their devices the team leader said. "Secondly we must split into groups in order to patrol bigger territory, but still we must be on the short distance."

"Very well, how will you form the team?" there was another question from the teacher.

"As I think, the most perfect division into groups is next; Mai will go with Yatsu-sensei, and Maki with me." and added as she saw that the teacher wanted to say something, "Your weapon is too heavy sensei, and if you were a beginner in our occupation it would be better to let go with you someone who has weapon for quick attacks."

The woman in white outfit which was closing her body except shoulders and an upper part of her breasts made a note for herself that this girl wasn't really bad at planning. Murasaki's weapon was a big axe that demanded a lot of powers to use it and not all hunters could use this kind of weapon, that's why she decided to be quiet. The other students nodded and the group A with a leader in the face of Ikenami went north and group B with Murasaki as a leader went south. They checked their square for patrol and left their meeting point, made an arrangement to return to their location after two hours and a half.

"Wow Ren-chan you were looking like a pro hunter." Maki said to her teammate while they were jumping from one building onto another.

"Do you think so?" Ren asked her friend not knowing what came into her head.

"Yeah, you gave your orders so cool, I was a bit astonished, I think that one day you will strong as Asagi-sensei." when Maki said this she saw that Ren turned her head away with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"L-let's focus on our mission" she only muttered. Deep inside she was very happy that she was praised by Maki, but still she wasn't sure that she could ever be able to be like one of the strongest demon hunters like Asagi Igawa, but still she practiced a lot, and tried to have combats with elders and teachers to master her skills, but her great problem was that she hasn't found her elemental power. Instead of Maki who was jumping near to her, she didn't know how to realize it. The only answer she heard was "The time will come and you'll know It.", and this nerved her a lot. But still she was glad for her friend.

They were patrolling for two hours and decided to return to their position. When they met they agreed that team A will take west direction and team B east one. After twenty minutes of patrolling Ren stopped and said:

"Maki you go there, and check this direction," she pointed to the side in front of her "And I'll go there." She pointed to her right with a big finger.

"Are you sure that separating is not a bad idea?"

"It's good but still we shouldn't disturb our distance so each of us will be able to come to help to each other."

With this statement Maki has relaxed for a bit, but still wasn't sure about that notion.

They did as they dealt, and after twenty minutes Ren found two silhouettes and warned her friend followed them.

As the hooded person left the roof, the monster has dashed with a full speed to Ikenami, and made a bold push, the young huntress dodged the strike instinctively, and she wasn't ready to face such speed from something big as this monster. She looked at the place where she was a while ago, and saw not so small dent.

"Wasn't ready to face such speed, from someone with such complexion?!" growled the demon and dashed again striking the girl with his metallic claws.

This time Ren decided to block the strike with her blade and hit the demon. Their weapons met each other with a clang and she immediately used her leg to hit his left leg, but the dinosaur parried her blade and jumped away from his opponent.

"Not bad for a young girl," he smirked and added, "but not impressive, I thought that modern hunters are very skillful and clever. But it was just my imagination."

"Don't underestimate me bastard!" Ren shouted with anger. "If you want I'll show what I can really do!" Ikenami squeezed her blade and dashed to her opponent, she took something from her bag which was on her back and through at the demon.

The demon decided to stand on his place and not dodge her attack. He threatened his hand and crushed those objects, but suddenly the smoke has closed the whole roof, and it was a perfect chance for Ikenami to strike her opponent, she hit him mercilessly, at his hands, legs, body and face. Creature's temper was at his limit and he hit the roof with his massive tail and jumped highly out of the smoke, when Ikenami was about to give him another jab. At the air he fetched a sigh and started to spit with fireballs, they wasn't to strong but at least were dangerous for human. Ren tried to dodge the fireballs and did it successfully. 'The demon that is using fire?' she thought and didn't notice how he appeared behind her and hit her at her side that made her weapon let fly and then quickly enfolded her with his hand and started to stifle her. Ikenami tried to fight back but demon's grip was strong and her tries were useless, and gave no result. Her eyes started to enroll when she heard a voice.

"Now I'll going to eat you young hunter," he just missed treat feeling that she losing her powers and was about to lose consciousness and continued, when he heard.

"Hey monster, let the girl go, now!" as it was said the monster released the huntress and jumped off from the person who was attacking him with a sword.

The girl has fell down onto the roof and started to cough heavily taking herself for her neck.

"Hey dude, who the hell are you?" the person asked the demon, with some notes of provocation. "I thought that all dinosaurs had instinct long ago."

"I will show you who will instinct soon, you've delayed my dinner so prepare to be perished for this insolence!" roared the monster to his opponent making the person and Ren to flinch.

"Hey," the person told paying Ren's attention, "Are you able to fight?"

Ikenami raised her head and saw a not so tall teen about her ages he was in tight black outfit of hunters. His shoulders were opened and his face was very concerned, the teen had dark hair with brown eyes he was well build and perhaps also had muscles under his suit. His face was round. He had gloves with metal plates and the same plates where on his boots and knees.

"Yes, I can." the lass tried to get up and took her blade still coughing slightly.

They ran at their opponent and made a cross attack but the monster blocked the attack with his claws and then push off the hunters and belched and stream of flame out of his mouth, forcing both of them to dodge it not to be burnt.

"Hey, slobbery!" the teen shouted as the flame stopped, the creature turned to the male hunter and was about to spit with flame again, when was suddenly kicked into the mouth and thrown down by Ren successful attack. "Good job Taimanin!" the dark haired teen praised her.

"Thank you." she jumped to her ally and said, you wasn't bad too and smiled slightly.

The male hunter blushed for a bit and turned his head away, wishing the ground to swallow him for this reaction.

"You, damn kids!" the monster growled "You'll pay for what you've done, no one survived from meeting with me!" And when he was about to strike again he stopped immediately. "What, I haven't finished with them yet!" the teens watched at each other with curiosity, they thought that the demon has gone crazy, but then they heard next, "This time you can relax and not to worry, but next time when we meet, I won't be so kind!"

"What do you mean?" Ren shouted.

"Oh, everything is still just a beginning." strong wind stared to blow on the roof making teens to close their face with their hands. "The merriest part is still ahead." and as the wind hit the demon he disappeared.

"Damn, he's gone." the male hunter said when the wind suddenly stopped and their enemy left.

He looked at his new ally who was looking and him with her eyes which demanded something.

"Um, did you want something?" he said as he saw her eyes.

"Who are you?" she merely asked him.

"A hunter isn't it noticeable by my uniform?"

"I know that you're a hunter, I mean who you are, maybe your name or something else?" she demanded.

The hunter didn't know what to answer, but then found a way to try to change the theme of their talk. "The beautiful lady shouldn't worry, I'm not here to harm you, better tell me hasn't you broke or damaged anything."

Ikenami decided to listen to her new acquaintanceand glanced around her body and then exclaimed:

"My communicator is broken it seems it was broken in battle!"

"Well it's really bad, isn't it?"

"What a stupid question!" she became angry, "Of course it's bad, how am I supposed to contact with my teammates?!"

"Don't worry I think everything will be fine." The teen tried to compose her.

"The better thing is to wait here for their return, there's nothing else what I can think up."

"By the way what are you doing here?" the hunter asked the huntress.

"I'm on a patrol with my team. We should find any demons presence and dispose them, but everything went wrong with the plan."

"It's a really bad idea for hunters to separate during the mission. Haven't your teachers told you this?"

"I haven't asked you for your advice," and pouted her finger onto his chest "I know that and I told my companion to come to my location I don't know why she isn't here yet."

They were arguing for about some brief period of time when they heard:

"Ren! Ren are you here?!"

"Yes!" she waved with her hand and then realized that it was a bad idea to wave with her left hand. She grabbed it with another one and turned to the teen, "See, told you that…" but she didn't have time to finish her sentence, when she founded no one behind herself.

"Ikenami-san what happen? Why didn't you respond for calls?" Yatsu said demanding answers for questions which made them worry.

"Sensei I'm really sorry, but I met a strong demon and fought him. And at least my communicator was broken."

Murasaki has glanced at her student and saw just appearing bruises and scratches on her body and in some places her blue uniform was burnt. "Fine, you will tell everything at your report when we come back!" the teacher demanded.

Ikenami nodded and they left to their location.

"Sorry that made you wait for me so long." The hunter said to the person in the armor with a helmet.

"Why so long Pavel?" the person said with a vibration in his voice.

"I helped one young Taimanin with a strong demon." said Pavel to him. "She wasn't able to defeat him alone."

"Do you realize that we'll have some unwanted circumstances, because of your stupid heroism, you have even forgotten to put on your mask!"

"Don't worry captain Tereshkov I'll think of something, so no one will know about you."

"I hope. We must return and prepare for our main mission now, another team will change us."

"Good, I can't wait to see this Gosha academy." he said to the captain and then thought 'And also meet Ikenami one more time.'