Title: Hunters of Darkness - Chapter 2
Author: WingedPanther73
Pairing(s)/Characters: Weiss
Rating: PG
Summary: This was spawned by a discussion with Sybil about the prevalence of vampire cross-overs in fan-fiction.
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: Weiss Kreuz, its names and characters and "Hunters of the Night, deny these evil beasts their tomorrow." belong to Koyasu Takehito, Project Weiss, Marine Entertainment and Animate Film.
Beta Reader: Sybil Rowan
Ken was grateful for the ability to appear in public again. His face was different, but he was adapting to seeing it in the mirror. Having to monitor Yoji and Omi in the flower shop was annoying, however. Every irritation Omi experienced buffeted his soul within the golem. He knew that the girls in the shop were being assaulted as well, though they wouldn't be likely to notice what was happening.
Yoji was a separate problem. Ken could smell the pheromones he pumped into the air whenever the girls were about. It was good for business, but was extremely dangerous. They couldn't afford for Yoji to get himself arrested for seducing minors. They all doubted that Yoji could help it. He preferred a male form, and no female seemed to be beneath him.
Ken had to chuckle when he heard one girl claim that Omi's favorite flower was fresia. They all knew it was actually the corpse flower. Where was Aya?
"Must protect Aya, must protect Aya, must protect Aya..." The thought wouldn't get out of Ran's head. Not that it was helping him any. He could stare at her comatose body for hours, ensuring that no one molested her, but he didn't have the knowledge needed to wake her up. The mindless imperative, hammering at his consciousness, gave him no direction. All he had was a compulsion that offered no guidance for action. The Bates Memorial Hospital took good care of her.
Finally, he left her room to return to the flower shop. In the hall he saw a ball rolling down the corridor. It was irritating to feel his broken ribs grind against each other as he bent over to pick it up. His new injuries healed almost immediately, but the ones he'd suffered before he died remained with him. The girl who owned the ball was pathetic, but she had an equally devoted brother. He hoped this one still breathed.
The video of the zombies was mildly disturbing, but mostly boring. Ranks of reanimated young men in a warehouse. "The men you see before you all have one thing in common, they were desperate, but are now soulless soldiers." Yoji didn't really care. He hadn't found men interesting in centuries. Then again, he hadn't been female in centuries, either.
He was even less interested when he found out that the organizer of this waste of life was a demon occupying someone named Masaya Hikage. Demons were just not worth the trouble, especially if this one was just carving up down-on-their-luck men. Yoji's attention was grabbed by the delicious looking Manx. "Hikage has the entire human chess arena set up as a soul collector. He harvests the souls and hands the bodies over to a necromancer."
Omi had a rare moment of disgust, "That's horrible! They have no idea how valuable their souls are!"
"Omi, I don't even believe in souls."
"That's because you're a doppleganger, Yoji. You don't have one." He was probably right. He'd know. It wasn't surprising that the other three agreed to the mission. Alas, Manx couldn't be seduced into his arms... again. Why she wore a miniskirt if she wasn't going to accommodate him was a mystery.
Omi hoped the spells he'd woven would work to mask them from Hikage. The last thing they needed was a demon that was on guard against attackers. The fact that they wouldn't know who, exactly, Hikage was didn't help. Hopefully, the excitement of mindless death and degradation would get him to show his horns quickly.
Since Ken was the most vulnerable, they stationed him at the roof as backup. Aya was sent in as a combatant. He was the only one with both a soul and a human body, even if it was dead. They could only hope Hikage wouldn't notice that. Omi's cyber-zombie net was busily assembling mystic bombs and feeding off the lust and greed that permeated the building. At least Omi would get something pleasant from the irritation of going out, tonight.
As the men began to die, he could sense their trapped souls accumulating in the game area. It was a shame they didn't realize how dangerous the game was until they were dead. Omi made a mental note to collect them after Hikage was dealt with.
Ran stood patiently, forcing himself to breath. The fear around him was irritating. If this mission wasn't going to help pay for Aya's bills, he'd have left these fools to die from the beginning.
When the platform under him jerked to life, he almost smiled. Finally, he would have something to do. The fool before him fell easily, as did the next. Hikage's assistant suddenly decided to take over playing, and sent yet another fool to face him. As if a mace could best a staff. Suddenly, with her shrill cries of "Kill him!" in his ears, he saw the horns rising from her head. The bullet ripped through his chest.
Ran calmly turned and dispatched the wretch, Hikage's jaw dropping in shock. "I know who you are, Hikage. You cannot hide!"
The she-demon tried a couple feeble moves to stop him, but nothing could stop his purpose. He leapt to strike... and saw Takatori! "Must protect Aya, must protect Aya, must protect AYA!" The mantra screamed into his awareness, launching him at the man who had put his sister in the hospital.
The weird man who had been swaying drunkenly next to Takatori suddenly jerked into Ran's path, deflecting his attack and throwing him to the floor. His hands started flailing about, collecting Omi's enchanted darts. "Mr. Taketori, I don't believe it's safe for you to remain here any longer." Ran saw the blank, pupilless whites of the bodyguard's eyes as he guided Takatori out.
Ran's attention came back to the problem at hand when Hikage shot him. The bullet rammed through his skull. As his vision cleared, and his head reassembled, he leapt to his feet and beheaded the she-demon. "Must protect Aya, must protect Aya, must protect Aya!"
Ran charged in the direction Takatori had left, but succeeded only in watching him take off by helicopter. The pounding in his mind, and Ken around his arms, was infuriating. He had failed again!
Omi sighed. He didn't know which was more disturbing, Aya's ability to be distracted from their target, or the fact that his obsession was guarded by someone who could catch enchanted darts. Omi's darts had never missed before. He would have to make sure they never did again.
He smiled at his soul jar. He'd been able to double the number of souls in it tonight.