Zypher: Greetings everybody. I bet you all been waiting for this chapter. Anzu will get what she deserves for hurting Aqua and almost killing him. Enjoy.

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Bloody Hearts

Chapter 6

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The next morning, Yugi woke up silently and yawned. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he got up from Fenrir's side, sleeping on him throughout the night, and walked over to the bed. He smiled as he saw Aqua was breathing once more. 'At least I was able to help before he could die. I know I'm a vampire hunter but that doesn't mean a vampire who was already wounded from a battle should be hurt even more.' he thought as he lightly touched Aqua's forehead. Aqua shifted in his sleep before opening his eyes and looked to him. Yugi lifted his hand and smiled lightly. "Hi, I'm glad you're awake." Yugi whispered. He nodded and sat up from the bed.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Yugi. Yami and I met each other a while back and I stayed here to make sure you were alright for him." Yugi explained and he nodded. "Well then, I'm Aqua and it's nice to meet you, Yugi." he replied. Yugi nodded and sat down beside him. "So, what happened to make you get so many injuries?" Yugi asked.

"Well, I happened to be out one night, looking for something to eat but I was cornered by a hunter. This hunter, unfortunately, had a different aura compared to most I encountered and was armed to the teeth with holy items. I did everything I could to stop him but he was too strong. With holy water, he messed up my wings badly but I was still able to fly. With holy tipped arrows, he was able to wound me but I dodged the fatal blows. Then when I tried to leave, he brought out a holy staff and hit me hard in my arm, trying to aim for my wings, and broke it. I thought I would've died if something didn't call him away." Aqua explained and Yugi nodded, feeling bad that he had to go through such trouble just to get away from a hunter.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through such, Aqua. As much as I would hate to tell you so, I'm a hunter as well but I don't want to harm you in any way." Yugi said and he nodded. "I can trust you; I can tell by your aura that you are here for a good cause." Yugi nodded then thought about something. 'If he has almost the same level of aura that Yami does before he gained more power to be able to stand next to me, why isn't he affected?' Yugi thought. "Hey Aqua, I have something I want to ask you." he said and he looked to him. "What is it, Yugi?" Aqua questioned. "Well, I just noticed you have the same aura as Yami before he got more power from my friend and I have light aura so that not many vampires can stand next to me. Why aren't you affected?"

"The reason for that is that since I've been around him, I gained the same level of aura as him but not the power he gained so he can be next to you. This is all because of destiny. You two were destined to meet with each other and save the world from Anubis. I'm not part of the legend so I won't be affected. Depending on what happens could affect me as well because I watch out for Yami like he does for me." Aqua replied and Yugi looked to him. He hoped that nothing will happen to him or Yami. "Well, we best sit here and wait for Yami to get back. He told me that he went to the capital of vampires to get the ritual scrolls from the king. I hope he didn't get caught." Yugi said as he looked outside.

'I hope so as well.' Aqua thought.

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Diamond and the others woke up to Anzu's screaming and yelling and came from their rooms to see what was wrong. "Well, it's seems she put up a fight last night." Keara mused, seeing the door was sealed up by stone. "What do you mean?" Jounouchi asked. "Do you remember the legend Yugi's grandfather told us before he passed away?" she questioned. They nodded. "But what does that have to do with Anzu being sealed up in her room?" Malik inquired. "Because she took something dear from a friend of the vampire that will save this world. She almost took his life and Yugi got back what she stole. She must've made Fenrir angry if he sealed up the door."

"But, why would Yugi help out another vampire?" Ryou asked. "Because, the vampire he saved may be a neutral party to the legend but may be of more help than we all thought." She replied. "Well, since that has been explained, shouldn't we free Anzu before she jumps out the window, comes back in and yells at us for not helping her out of her room last night?" Vincent questioned. "Nah, leave her in there. I say we leave out of here before she does jump out a window, comes in and tries to yell at us." Diamond commented, the rest agreeing before leaving out.

"So, does anyone know where Yugi went to?" Jounouchi asked. "He might still be at Yami and Aqua's home, watching over Aqua. We'll go over there but promise me that you won't try to hurt him. He's already been through enough, especially with Anzu shooting him while he was weak." Keara murmured and they nodded.

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Yugi was now in the kitchen, taking a bottle of blood from the cooler. 'I hope Yami is alright. He said he was supposed to be back soon.' he thought as he went to head upstairs but heard a knock at the door. He placed the bottle on the table and walked over to the door and opened it, Yami's friends standing on the other side.

"Oh hello. What brings you here?" Yugi asked as he let them inside. "We came here to see if Aqua's ok. Yami never came over so we decided to come to see for ourselves." Marik responded. "He's fine now. I just came down here to get him some blood." Yugi replied as he went to the table and picked up the bottle before heading upstairs with the others. Aqua looked up when he heard Yugi come inside and looked to the others. "So, what brings you guys here? I can understand Seto and Ruby coming but as for you four, I wouldn't expect you to worry about me." he spoke, looking to Bakura, Marik, Crimson and Toben.

"Ok, let's not go into this again. We were worried about you after noticing your aura was disappearing last night. We rather not have a fellow vampire die because of some hunter's incompetence." Bakura mumbled and Aqua nodded. Yugi walked over, passing him the bottle and he thanked him. "So, does anyone know where Yami went to?" Ruby asked. "He told me he was heading to the capital to get the scrolls from Anubis. He hasn't been back since and I'm starting to worry about him." Yugi answered. "Don't worry, I'll bet he'll be back soon. He doesn't go off and get himself killed easily." Crimson said.

As soon as he said that, Yami came through the window, holding the scrolls under his arm. Yugi smiled and ran over to him, giving him a light hug. "I'm happy to see you. I thought something happened to you." he murmured. "Don't worry. I'm fine. I would've been back sooner if I didn't have so many close encounters with Anubis. He's making his way here to get the scrolls back and I bet he sensed my aura before I made it from the capital so he knows who to look for." Yami said.

"Well, we can't let him get those scrolls. What are we going to do?" Toben questioned. "We'll fight him," Yami said then looked to Yugi. "With your friends' help of course. With enough holy items, we may be able to make him retreat for a while but I know he will come back again and again until he gets them back." Yami said and they nodded. They heard the doorbell and Yugi went downstairs to open the door. "Hey Yugi, we were wondering where ya went off to." Jounouchi said. "Oh, I'm glad you guys came, we need your help." Yugi spoke as he led them inside and upstairs.

Of course, there was a little hostility between Jounouchi and Malik after seeing Marik and Seto again. "So, what's the plan here?" Diamond asked. "Since Anubis is making his way here for the scrolls, its best we confront him before he makes it to the city or else he will tear it down as he goes. We don't need to be losing more innocent lives than we should be. We'll take him on first then you and your friends can come in with the holy items to throw him off guard." Yami explained and they nodded.

"We better get going now. I'll take Bahamut and get our weapons. Yugi, you keep Fenrir beside you since you're the Prince of Light. If he senses you in the midst of battle, he will come after you so he wouldn't have any challenges when he does succeed with getting the scrolls again and conducts the ritual." Diamond announced and he nodded. "Let's get going, I can already feel him near." Seto whispered and they nodded, leaving out, Diamond heading back to the house to get their weapons.

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Anubis could feel the presence of the scrolls and started to make his way towards Yami and Aqua but was stopped when he saw him appear along with the others. "Ah, Yami. It's so nice to see you again. Too bad you won't be alive long enough. Where are the scrolls?" Anubis demanded.

"I'm not telling you. I had them hidden somewhere safe so you won't get them. We are not letting you conduct the ritual." Yami snarled as he brought out his sword from the shadows. The others brought out their own weapons and Anubis laughed. "So, you're really going to fight with me. Fine, I'll make sure you death is painful." he hissed as he charged for them. They charged into battle as well, easily doing some damage since it was eight against one but they knew he may turn out to be stronger than he shows.

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Yugi and the others watched from afar. "Man, Anubis makes himself look like a big pushover." Topaz murmured. "He may look it now but I know he has something planned and we need to make sure he doesn't aim for Yami." Keara commented. Diamond came back with their weapons as she strapped on her crossbow. "Bahamut, take me up." she said and the dragon flew up into the air and over the battlefield. She aimed for Anubis and when he finally stood still to launch another attack, she shot at him.

He roared in pain as the arrow hit his chest, just barely missing his heart and he looked up in the direction the arrow came from and growled. "A hunter! What are you doing here?!" he hissed before grinning darkly. "No matter, I'll take you down like I'm about to do with these lowly vampires!" he roared and shot a blast at her and Bahamut. He swerved out of the way of the blast and growled, shooting down for him. When he got close, Diamond jumped off his back while he tackled Anubis down.

"Nice shot." Crimson said and she nodded. "We best back up a bit. When Bahamut gets angry, he'll use Mega Flare." she murmured. They nodded as they back away towards the others. Bahamut flung Anubis off him when the other had the chance to get a hold of him in a headlock and flew up into the air. Charging up his energy, he released Mega Flare upon the vampire king. Anubis cried out in pain as the blast did a number on him but he was still standing.

"You fools! You think you can defeat me?!" Anubis roared as he shot another blast at Bahamut but he disappeared before the blast could hit. Diamond pocketed his summon materia, not wanting Bahamut to end up severely damaged before she aimed for him again, catching him in his stomach. He growled before charging at them, a giant Halberd materializing in his hands. "I will kill you all!" he roared, slashing at them but they dodged the attack as Yami split his sword in two before going to attack Anubis again. Vincent transformed into Chaos as he went to help Yami.

From the air, Malik and Diamond continued to shoot at him which made him angrier by the minute and ignored the fact he was starting to get weaker each time the holy fire rushed through his body and blood. Jou, Ryou and Kaiser rushed into battle as well, seeing as Yami and Vincent were starting to take some heavy damage from Anubis' attacks.

Keara stayed back, using her magic to heal the group and also sent holy fire to burn Anubis. Yugi watched the whole thing before calling Fenrir over. "We have to help. Come on." he whispered before he climbed onto his back. Fenrir ran into battle, dodging everyone as he came up to Anubis. Yugi unsheathed his sword and Fenrir jumped up into the air. As they got closer to the unguarded Anubis, Yugi swung for all his worth and left a massive gash on his chest. He roared once again in pain and slapped them away with his halberd. Yugi fell from Fenrir's back and landed on the ground harshly.

"The Prince of Light. He's mine!" Anubis roared as he ran towards Yugi. "NO!" Yami cried as he chased after him but knew he may not make it to him in time. "Yugi, run!" Keara called. He got up and saw that Anubis was charging towards him and didn't have time to get up and run. He was saved however as a dark figure came by and charged right into his side. "Aqua!" Yugi called as said vampire dragon came over to help him up.

"Aqua, what are you doing here? You're still wounded and Anubis may kill you." Yugi whispered. "I'm fine. I'm not going to let him hurt you or Yami." Anubis got up once more, bleeding profusely but he was still standing. His stance though showed them he was starting to lose the endurance to continue on with the number of opponents fighting him. "I thought you would've been dead by now, Aqua. I guess that hunter didn't do much to you..." Anubis whispered.

"What...do you mean?"

"I was the one to have sent that hunter to attack you. I knew you would try and help Yami with the ritual since you knew what I was planning. I wasn't going to let you ruin it for me. I guess I'll have to take care of you myself." Anubis said as he walked towards him.

"Yugi, go on. I'll see what I can do to him."

"No, I can't leave you here. He may try something to kill you."

"I like to see him try." Aqua growled. A black and red rapier appeared in his hand and he stood his ground as Anubis stood in front of him. Fenrir trotted over to Yugi and he climbed onto his back before walking back over to the rest of the group. "You really think you can hold yourself against me? I may be weakened but I can chop off your head in an instant." Anubis said.

"I think I can take you down with one arm." Aqua teased smugly before charging at him. Anubis blocked his attack before giving one of his own but he blocked it as well. "Is that all you got, Anubis? I'm wounded worse than you and I'm still strong enough to still block your halberd!" he taunted as he jumped over him and slashed at his back repeatedly before jumping away as he swung the blade to try and hit him.

"Stop jumping around!" Anubis roared as he continued to slash at him but kept missing. Aqua made a move to run past him and while Anubis was swinging his halberd, Aqua jumped and landed on the flat of the blade and letting the blade carry him, he slashed at Anubis before jumping off once more. "I guess it's time to end this." he murmured as he charged for Anubis' weakened form but the unexpected happened.

Anubis had a dagger show up in his hand and with a forceful throw; the dagger was embedded in Aqua's chest, right where his heart was. He stopped in his tracks and knelt down to the ground, rapier falling from his hand, while Anubis smirked. "Hah, let's see you survive that." Anubis whispered before he disappeared, teleporting himself back to the castle. "I'll be back though and when I do, I will kill you all and get the scrolls." His voice drifted over the wind as his presence faded. "Aqua!" Yugi cried and ran over to him. He pulled the dagger from his chest and helped him up. Keara ran over and placed her hand to his chest, sealing up the wound but even as she did, she felt no heartbeat. She pulled her hand away and sighed.

"I don't think he's coming back this time, we reacted too late."

"No, he has to come back. We can't lose him." Yugi whispered as he continued to hold onto Aqua's limp body. "We did, Yugi. I can't bring him back that easily." Keara murmured. "You have to! Please, Keara! There has to be a way!" Yugi cried. "I'm sorry, Yugi. I can't bring him back right now but I will look through every spell book I have to find a way." Yugi nodded and Yami picked him up. "Don't cry, Yugi. We'll all help with bringing Aqua back and Anubis will pay." he said and he nodded, still crying into his shirt. Yugi was very heartbroken to know Aqua had died for them. He only knew him for so long but it hurt to lose a close friend such as him.

"Come on, we can all head back to our place. By now, Anzu would've left and tried to look for us to yell in our faces why we didn't help her out of her room earlier." Diamond said as she called Bahamut and told him to pick up Aqua. They all left to head home once more, silence falling over the group for the loss of a friend.

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When they got there, they had an unfortunate encounter with Anzu. "And where have you guys been?! I've been looking for you everywhere in the city and then, when you finally come back, you bring vampires in here like they were normal people! I want to know the meaning of this!" she screeched at them. Diamond stepped up. "You know what Anzu; I had just about enough to hear with you. We just got ourselves out of tough battle with the King of Vampires of all people and we don't need you shouting at us for not helping you out of your room! For all we know, you deserve to be locked up in there until you rot to death." Diamond growled.

Anzu growled. "Well, who cares, all I know is that you better get rid of these vampires or else I'll kill them off myself." Yugi lifted his head from Yami's chest and glared at her. "Anzu, will you leave us alone?! We are all devastated because we lost a friend to Anubis! We don't need you to make it worse with your threats!" Yugi snapped which shocked them all.

"You dare speak back to me?! I am your leader and I make the decisions around her!" Anzu snarled as she grabbed Yugi away from Yami but he latched onto her arm. "I suggest you let him go right now." Yami hissed, dangerously low. She huffed. "And what are you going to do about it?" He snarled as his grip tightened and she screamed as she felt the bone in her forearm break, making her let go of Yugi. Yami moved her backwards until they were in the center of the living room.

"I had just about enough to hear with your threats. And frankly, I don't think you are suitable for a leader. First, you tried to kill off a close friend to me, a practical sibling, while he was weak then you dare steal his pendant. You make a mockery out of all hunters that I have fought against and I think you would be better off dead while Keara takes role as leader of this circle." Yami hissed before he pulled her head back and bit into her neck viciously.

The brunette cried out and tried to move him away but he just dug his fangs deeper into her neck. He drained her of all her blood before snapping her neck, letting her limp body drop to the floor. The others walked inside and saw that Anzu was dead. "I guess she really pissed him off. He would never kill anyone so brutally." Ruby murmured.

"Well, I can tell this won't be his only time. After what Anubis did, he's out for revenge." Vincent added and they nodded. "Well, let's get rid of the body before it starts to smell. Yugi, do you mind taking the vampires up to some guest rooms for us?" Diamond asked and he nodded as he led them upstairs. "What about Aqua?" Ryou asked. "He'll stay in my room. Tonight, I'll look for a spell to bring his life back. He's lucky to still have his dragon pendant so that will help us greatly." Keara replied and he nodded.

"Let's get to work." Diamond said as she took Anzu's arms. Jounouchi grabbed hold of her legs and they took her outside, looking for a place to dump the body. They all knew she doesn't even deserve a proper burial. "You know what, I have a better idea." Diamond commented as she dropped her arms. She clasped her hands together and whispered a quiet incantation. Soon a hole of light appeared in front of them and a serpent-like liquid figure came out before it solidifies into Leviathan. He looked down to them and saw the dead body. He looked to Diamond curiously. "Don't worry; I didn't do anything this time. One of our new vampire friends killed her." she explained and he nodded.

"Anyways, can you do me a favor and take her body to the ocean. She doesn't deserve a burial after what she did so she would be better off as shark bait." She spoke and he nodded as he took her body into his mouth, disappearing back into the hole of light. "That takes care of that. Let's get back inside and help Keara find a spell to bring back Aqua." Jounouchi nodded to Diamond's request as they headed inside once more.

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Back in the vampire capital, Anubis paced around the throne room. "Now, how will I get those scrolls back now? Yami and his little friends must've joined up with the hunters to keep them safe as well as use their partnership as an advantage to keep me away. I need to think of a way how I can get past them." Anubis muttered to himself before he spotted the Pyramid of Light that was still sitting on the arm of his throne and smirked.

'And I think I just found it.'

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Zypher: That shall be all for this chapter. And before it does happen, please, don't kill me for killing Aqua off! I didn't want to but for some reason, it felt so right at that point and time! Even I started crying when he died! He will come back in future chapters so he won't be gone for long. Now that I got that out, please review and I'll make sure everyone has a happy ending, except for Anubis.