Author's Notes: Okay, so I'm posting this chapter directly after the prologue simply because I changed nothing in the prologue from Timeless Eternity. Like I said, the plot hasn't changed. This is the first chapter that has been edited, though not a lot. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1
I still remember how it happened; how I became a part of this world, with them. It was one odd and unusual meeting, surely, but it did happen. And from where these events lead, I cannot turn back.
The night was calm, at first, or as calm as a city night could get. Wind blew, sweeping the obvious effects of humans littering across the roads. The occasional drifter could be seen rifling through a dumpster. The noise made was soft, but there, yet still didn't explain the quick thudding that could be heard. In the alleyway across from the town's main street, a male figure ran as fast as he could. It wasn't obvious from whom he was running as the other steps seemed calm, almost leisurely in pace. Both sets of footsteps merely blended into the night until—
"Dammit!"
—a shout was heard, damaging the illusion.
A gun shot sounded as the man that yelled fell forward. A shorter male, this one with black hair pointing straight up with a sharp contrast of white across the center, walked slowly towards him and kicked away the gun lying near his hand. The short figure wore baggy black pants with a sleeveless black shirt and a white bandana low on his forehead. The long black leather coat he wore reached all the way to his ankles so that he almost blended in with the night. He stood no taller than 5'2".
When the light from a passing car passed the pair, a childlike face was highlighted. The fact that it was the shorter male with the innocent visage served to reaffirm the old quote, don't judge a book by its cover. Having this seemingly angelic face often caused his…prey, for lack of a better word, to doubt him. The mistake was easily remedied by their death. No one yet has underestimated him twice, seeing as they weren't given that second chance. He was a bounty hunter and he always got his kill. Nowadays, all that was needed from the bounty was some kind of proof; a dead body sufficed.
The hunter moved towards the man he had shot down, intending to collect the wallet and go to the police station, but instead stopped mid-step. Standing in the alley quietly, he spoke, seemingly to himself. "Come out, I know you're here." He raised his gun to shooting level and aimed at the shadows.
A dark silhouette stepped out from directly behind him and smirked. The figure seemed able to use the darkness to hide much of himself as the hunter couldn't get a good visual. "How are you, Hiei?" asked a voice deep enough for said hunter to assess the person's masculinity.
The hunter, thus called Hiei, turned quickly, gun still raised, and took in the other's dark clothing. Hair that appeared blonde to him, and bright lime-green eyes were the only visuals of color that he perceived.
Wanting to ask who the male was, he blinked when the words, "What the hell are you?" spilled from his mouth instead. But instinct told him it was the right question to ask, so he allowed it to stand. Instinct was very useful when it came to keeping him alive.
"What am I?" the stranger repeated with an emphasis on 'what', his smirk widening so that very white teeth were showing. "I think the real question is what are you; or more, what do you want to be?" His eyes flashed to an almost golden color before returning to their odd lime shade.
The hunter frowned at the cliché question he had been asked since a young child, yet somehow knew that the meanings behind the two were not the same. "What do you mean?" he questioned.
A dark chuckle escaped lips hidden in darkness before, "You'll find out soon enough." The man stepped back into the shadows and disappeared.
"What the hell?" Hiei questioned aloud blinking at where the…person had stood a few seconds ago. "What in the hells is going on?" he asked to the world at large.
Suddenly, a phone rang, causing the short bounty hunter to spin with his gun raised and ready, before realizing it was his own. He flipped it open, already knowing who it was. Scowling down the now empty alleyway, he answered, "What is it?"
"Sociopath, where are you?" the elderly voice on the phone demanded.
"Nowhere," he answered shortly, expecting the retort.
"Smartass. Get over here, now. I've got a job for you." The phone flipped shut.
"Damn," he cursed apathetically. There went his bounty. There was no way he could stop by the police station first. Instead, he left the man for some poor sap who needed the cash. Kuwabara would be furious. Heh, that thought almost made his deviation worth it. Smirking, he exited into the streets.
&&&&&&&&&&
The earlier scene of the night didn't place much of a lasting effect on the hunter as it wasn't the first time something like it had happened. For years Hiei had trained with his mentor Genkai - who he was going to see - to sense and fight supernatural begins: demons, angels, and all those in between. He had yet to come face to face with a member of any group, but could always sense them. Though, that was more natural talent than anything.
Genkai was just beginning to allow him "on-the-job" training, despite his nagging her for years. Now that he had met one, he could understand why. That creature he met tonight exuded little more than power without any obvious signs of trying. Not to say Hiei was scared. No, on the contrary, he welcomed the challenge. You never knew how strong you were until you tested it against someone stronger.
After sprinting for a mere five minutes, Hiei arrived at his mentor's dojo from the other side of town, not even winded. His greeting when he arrived? "About time you got here." He scowled at his teacher's terse greeting.
"Crazy bitch," he stated calmly before immediately getting down to business. "What do you have for me?"
The short woman, even shorter than him, with faded pink hair entered her dojo without responding. Completely used to this treatment, Hiei simply set his normal scowl to his face before following. Genkai lost her shoes at the door, as was the custom, while Hiei continued through without stopping.
"What is it?" he demanded, ready to leave despite his just arriving.
"I have information that you need to hear." She entered the kitchen then and made herself a cup of tea, allowing her student time to stew. When she reentered the room, one of his deepest glares was set into his face. She sat, eyes closed, calmly sipping her tea - though she had to be laughing at him on the inside - as he became angrier. Patience was not his strong suit.
"Would you get on with it!"
"Quiet, Hiei." Sharp brown eyes quickly silenced the forthcoming automatic retort. She sipped her tea again. "This is about your parents."
The statement caused the hunter to pause for a second. Recovering quickly, he then responded, "What's there to know? They left me, went off and got killed, and here I am."
Genkai shook her head and took a sip of her tea again. "No, Hiei, that's not what happened."
"What do you mean? You're the one who told me." Eyes narrowed in confusion and suspicion at his always trustworthy mentor, the only person he ever let his guard down around.
"I lied."
Hiei's eyes widened a fraction at the calmly made statement before settling into the placid mask of nonchalance he used during his bounty hunts, one he was sure his teacher couldn't see through. "Tell me."
"Why?" she asked, implying her reason for dishonesty. Knowing this, he nodded shortly. "Because it had to be done." The frown he wore grew deeper in his confusion. "You couldn't know before the appropriate time."
"Couldn't know what?" His voice was filled with mainly confusion now.
She fixed him with a look, eyes locked on his own, and spoke, "Your parents were a werewolf and a vampire."
&&&&&&&&&&
Footsteps were heard rushing down the stone hallway. Though, if the person walking cared to glance around, 'hallway' would not have been the word chosen to describe the area. It more resembled a tunnel, a sewer tunnel, to be exact. Either way, the feet continued to move at a slow jog. When they made it to the end of the hall, their owner immediately went to his knees in an expedite bow before standing again.
"Sire," he spoke breathily, blonde hair clinging to his forehead, which was wet with perspiration.
His leader sat in a chair that seemed almost regal in the dirty sewage waters. He had short black hair that seemed to almost shine in certain lighting and mocha colored eyes with yellow lining around the irises. He wore black ragged pants with an equally black and tattered tank. On his feet were black army boots. He sat upright in the polished wooden chair with his legs open, staring at his follower, and nodded his assent to speak.
"My king, she has revealed."
A slow, wicked grin spread across his sire's face until both entire rows of his teeth seemed to show, all of them canines.
Simultaneously, in another part of town, another being, this one with ice blue eyes, was reporting the same information to his own master. Moving quickly, the owner of the blue eyes seemed to flash through the Victorian-styled great room and into the intricately furnished office of his master. The spy stared unblinkingly into his master's amazing emerald eyes that easily portrayed his many years of experience and wisdom, if one dared look. In the messenger's opinion, the only time those eyes were more beautiful was when overtaken with blood lust, or…any other kind of lust.
This green-eyed master sat in a richly padded chair behind a carved oak desk covered with multiple loose papers and an unused lamp. He wore a long-sleeved white button-up shirt with frills around the neck and wrists. The top two buttons were left undone, revealing a pale strip of flesh, managing to blend wonderfully with the rest of his dark leather attire: a black vest, pants, and boots. All of these elements combined easily accentuated the master's natural beauty. The flowing river of crimson red hair falling over his shoulders even managed to bring out the brilliant green of his eyes even more.
He watched his servant as the blue eyes held his gaze even as the head in which they were embedded lowered slightly in a type of bow.
"Master, the one called Genkai, she has told him," The report was spoken softly as a devious yet amatory smirk crossed the master's face.
The time had come.
I said in the prologue that the idea for this came from Underworld and "Vampire Games" by hcolleen, but as I got more into it, Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series seemed to get ingrained in there as well. Not much, but there are a few instances.
Yes, so, review and tell me if you like it. If you were a reader of Timeless Eternity, let me know if you like thisversion better.
