Dark altered his wings for a dive to the tower that lay below, the silent guardian of the castle that now lay in ruin was all that remained of the once magnificent stone structure rushing up to meet him.

Sending another message to Wiz via the mental link that they shared, the jet black wings gave a powerful stroke pulling the vampire out of the dive to land gracefully on the sill of a window at the top of the tower.

Once upon a time the window was filled with ornate stain glass, but that had been destroyed in a battle long since past, and what had remained had been ravaged by the sands of time.

His connection to the fuzzy creature was odd to say the least; it was like Wiz was an extension of his body. He was grateful that he had found the rabbit imposter, he had missed being in the sky after he had been wounded and unable to fly under his own strength…

With a weary sigh, Dark sat on the sill and leaned against the wall on which it was attached, Wiz transforming into his normal form and making himself comfortable in his masters lap with a soft "Kyuu".

Dark absent mindedly fiddled with the gold locked that hung on a chain around his neck. It appeared to be an antique, the finish old looking, but it was also well cared for. Ornate cursive on the front was in the form of an "R", which was surrounded by vines and what appeared to be roses.

Breaking his gaze off the beautiful locket, Dark closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall behind him.

-x-

The two hunters trudged through the forest, arguments long forgotten. The taller strode ahead of the other, a smirk plastered on his face as he mumbled to himself.

The other gave a small sigh in annoyance, directing an inconsequential glare at the others back, who remained oblivious all the same.

"Krad, please stop proving your insanity. We both know that you are and reiterating it gets tiresome." The taller continued on, paying no heed to the snide remark.

Now, if there's one thing that Satoshi hates, it is being ignored. He tends to overreact to such scenarios. This incident would prove no different from the others.

Krad soon found himself on his back with a miffed Satoshi straddling his hips. Despite the provocative position the two found themselves in, all he could notice was the throbbing pain in his head and the dull ache in the back of his knee. He grimaced and tried to sit up, but found it impossible to do so.

Satoshi, looking as calm as ever, stared Krad in the eyes. He slowly brought his own face closer to that of his victim.

Krad's eyes widened considerably when he noticed just how close his companion was. He immediately stopped struggling, opting instead to stiffen and release a small gasp.

Faces only inches apart, Krad closed his eyes, and Satoshi smirked, bringing his hands up to Krad's pale neck.

Throughout the forest, coughing, hacking and general sounds released when one is strangled could be heard.

-x-

Dark jolted from his sleep, his head swinging to look out the window. The forest was quiet, with the exception of a faint…

Dark was unable to interpret the odd sound, so he passed it off carelessly. It wasn't as if anyone had followed him, right? No one had seen him…

Dark's eyes widened in realization as he gripped the locket still in his grasp, only to visibly relax after.

Even if those hunters tried to follow him, they couldn't reach the top of the tower. Especially not faster than he could simply fly back to his castle. Besides, the entrance had been sealed long ago by a magical barrier.

-x-

Krad rubbed his neck gently, still wheezing after the throttling Satoshi had given him. Satoshi, on the other hand, simply crossed his arms and leaned against the tree, not bothering to offer a hand to Krad, who was still lying on the ground.

Picking himself up, Krad coughed twice before brushing his long white coat off and sneering at his attacker.

Satoshi shrugged himself off the tree and walked on, leaving Krad to pick up all the equipment he dropped.

Stuffing everything into random slots and bags, Krad scurried after his vicious partner who had stopped a few yards ahead. Looking ahead, he noticed the rather large stone wall. Said stone wall was, thankfully, attached to the tower they have been searching for.

Walking briskly past Satoshi, Krad headed for the most obvious entrance – the front door.

Wary of the simplicity of the situation, Satoshi lagged behind, obviously willing to Sacrifice Krad to whatever lied beyond the door.

Krad tried to open the door, but as soon as he touched it he was repelled and thrown at an alarming speed into some nearby bushes. Krad in turn said a few words that children were not permitted to hear, and proceeded to sit up.

Now, Satoshi was not one to easily crack a smile, but seeing a disgruntled Krad with several twigs and leave poking out oh his hair and clothing was just too funny not to smirk at, and smirk he did.

Walking up to the door, Satoshi quickly set to work. It was a strong barrier, with many different layers that if handled wrong could kill the one trying to take it down, but for someone like Satoshi who was a member of a long line of Sorcerers and hunters, it was child's play.

Once the final layer had been dispersed, Krad stood along side his companion, slowly opening the door so it wouldn't give the tell-tale creek, drawing a dagger in the process.

The only thing that lay ahead of the couple was a staircase….

…An old, decrepit staircase with hundreds, if not thousands, of stairs.

Curses were heard.

-x-

Dark slowly lifted himself off the windowsill, shaking his head in a vain attempt to rid himself of the dreamy daze he had fallen into.

Walking to a bookshelf, Dark casually ran a finger along the spines of the books, searching for something specific. Finding it, he gently tugged it from its place and blew the dust off the cover, coughing as it flew off and surrounded him.

Taking a seat on the window sill again, he took one last look at the surrounding area before looking down to read. As distracted by the troubles in his he never noticed the intruders enter from below.

-x-

Krad was, for once, silent as the pair approached the top of the stairs. Despite the daunting looks of the staircase, it proved to not be as high as they had originally imagined. Thank any entity above!

Krad had only tripped twice and broken three steps, which was much better then the average for him. Satoshi would almost have been proud, had he really cared at all. Despite the fact that Krad was graceful and fluid in battle, everywhere else he was a klutz.

Satoshi leaned against the wall next to the door and motioned with his head for Krad to open it. Crossbow and bow at the ready, the two commenced their operation, with step one; launch a surprise offensive attack against unsuspecting vampire.

The door flew open as Krad kicked it and Satoshi moved in.

Gazes swept over the entirety of the tower room, only to find it empty.

Of course, there was furniture, which had obviously not been cared for recently, for it was moldy and dusty, practically falling apart.

Lowering his crossbow, Satoshi took cautious steps into the room, Krad close behind. Running his fingers over an old broken mirror, Satoshi and Krad failed to look above them, much to the enjoyment of the hovering vampire.

Unfortunately, for said vampire, the book was falling from his grasp.

He tried to regain his grip on the object, but only managed to make the situation worse…

…by dropping said thick volume on The Ancestry of Vampires onto the elder hunters head.

Satoshi quickly spun around to see his companion clutching his head, an old book lying on the floor nearby. Readying his crossbow, the boy looked up and locked gazes with a smirking Dark, who cheekily waved before swooping down towards the window.

Satoshi, seeing his plan, aimed the crossbow and fired, the silver bolt hitting the winged demon in the side. Dark veered off course and hissed, clutching the bleeding wound as he roughly landed on the floor.

Dark stumbled backwards into the wall, leaning heavily against it. Satoshi kicked Krad lightly on the ankle to get his attention. Recipient of the tap looked up, grabbing a vial of Holy water and crept closer to their prey.

Dark looked up and saw the offender stalking closer, backing him literally into a corner. The vampire soon realized that his only escape was to fight, since flight was no longer an option, which was only made worse by the fact he didn't have his saber.

Launching himself forward, Dark caught the other off-guard and wrapped his arms around his waist, forming an all out tackle.

Krad yelped in surprise and Satoshi released another bolt from his crossbow, barely hitting the intended target, only grazing his cheek. Dark launched himself into the air again, growling at the pair.

Canines elongated and eyes wild, he no longer looked as if he held any humanity. Satoshi began to load another bolt as Krad jumped up and grabbed the demon's leg, pulling him down.

Being caught unaware, Dark tumbled to the floor, bringing his attacker with him. Banging his head against an old wooden beam on the way down, Dark was bordering unconsciousness. As darkness swarmed his vision, he asked the obvious question.

"….why…?" It had come out much weaker then intended, but that much was to be expected.

Satoshi faltered for a moment, "Because we were hired by the villagers to hunt you down."

Dark winced and brought a hand to his side, using the other to hold himself up.

"Not… me… Argentine… Something in a cave… North of here…" Dark flapped his wings and suddenly leaped to the window and took off, leaving both Krad and Satoshi speechless.

Satoshi lowered his weapon. "Well… damn."

-x-

Daisuke poked around in the study, trying to hide his worry over Dark, but failing miserably. The guilt had weighed in on him not an hour after the other had left, and Riku herself had disappeared, leaving the boy alone for the past night and day.

Lazily tending to an old vase of roses, he didn't notice the white blur until it landed gracelessly on his head. Daisuke tried to look at what had decided to nest in his hair, figuring it must be Wiz.

"Kyu!"

Wiz was usually with Dark though…

"Kyuuuuu!"

…and Wiz sounded frantic… Daisuke jumped up and reached for the little creature.

"Wiz! Where is he!?" The rabbit turned and jumped from the boys grasp, bounding away into the main hall. Daisuke quickly followed, gasping at what he found.

Dark, unconscious and bleeding on the floor.

"Dark!"

-x-

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