Daisuke ran to the fallen purple haired man, kneeling next to him and cradling the vampire head in his lap. Wiz was on Dark's chest, using his small front paws to push at the flesh in an effort to wake up his master, Kyuu-ing pathetically.
Daisuke was at a loss for what to do, nearly on the verge of a breakdown.
"I did this, it's my fault." The red-head thought as tears started to form. He had felt the pull in his heart, thinking that the pain had been due to guilt, which was partially true, the other part was that his connection with his Dark was starting to break, making him feel sick.
"Dark!" came another voice. Daisuke whirled his head to see Riku who had come from another doorway.
Daisuke was bewildered when suddenly Riku was next to him, peppering him with questions.
"What happened?! Where is he hurt?! Do you know how much blood he's lost?! Help me carry him!"
Daisuke tried to answer her questions quickly and did as he was told, lifting up Dark by his shoulders while Riku carried his feet and transporting him to Dark's chambers.
As soon as they had set Dark on his bed Riku quickly started to rush about, looking almost like a blur as she gathered bandages, water and various other materials.
Daisuke watched, but didn't actually pay attention, only looking at Dark's prone form lying on the bed and praying that his chest would keep moving up and down.
He was snapped out of his daze when Riku suddenly yanked out the shaft to a bolt that had been lodged in Dark's side, tossing it on a table and then bandaging the wound. Dark let out a weak moan of protest, pain flashing across his features before settling down again.
After all the wounds were bandaged Riku rushed out the door, returning several moments later with a pitcher of what appeared to be blood.
Daisuke was drawn to the sent like a moth to the flame, but quickly got a hold of himself when Riku slapped his hand.
"Wh-what are you going to do with that?" He questioned, finally finding his voice to speak.
"He needs to feed to get the poison out of his system from the silver." Riku stated, opening in Darks mouth and pouring the liquid in. Dark coughed a bit before drinking the crimson hungrily.
"Poison?!" Daisuke exclaimed.
Riku just looked at him and then pointedly to the bolt before nodding grimly, quickly returning to her work.
Daisuke could only stare in shock at the new revelation.
"Po…poison?!" Daisuke all but screamed at the young woman.
The girl sighed before glaring at the troubled boy. "I've already said that. Vampires are allergic to silver. Please tell me you knew…?"
Daisuke shook his head and looked at the broken body again, wincing at the blood everywhere, both from Dark and the pitcher. Dark's body began to convulse violently and Riku shrieked, quickly jumping onto the bed to hold his twitching body down.
Daisuke jumped up and placed his hands on Dark's shoulders, trying to help hold him steady. Dark's shuddering body, even in this weakened state, was much more powerful than Daisuke's and Riku's, causing them both to be thrown from the bed as Dark sat up, vomiting up the blood he recently ingested over the side of the bed, nearly choking on it before falling back down unconscious.
Riku shook her head and rapidly strode towards her masters' side, "Damn it…!"
Daisuke held his head as it throbbed in pain, having hit the back of his head on the wall, he was barely conscious himself. That is, until he heard Riku's exclamation, pushing back the haze and focusing.
Quickly following suit to stand beside the girl, he looked towards her with silent questioning.
"He rejected the animal's blood… but that was all I had on hand… he... he…" The girl trembled in quiet sobs. "He needs something, and he needs it soon!"
"What about another vampire's blood…?" Daisuke inquired quietly. Riku looked toward the boy and shook her head vehemently.
"It's too dangerous… in this state he could… he could…" Daisuke once again watched his now silent sire.
Despite her obvious annoyances with her 'master', Riku was still fond of him. He was much tamer than other vampire lords, and much calmer and even tempered, rarely lashing out and killing. In fact, she had been completely taken aback with the 'Risa incident'.
"Don't do anything stupid. I'll be right back. Watch him. If he starts having another fit, don't bother holding him down, just make sure he doesn't choke on anything…" and with that, Riku rushed from the room.
Daisuke wasted no time in looking through drawers in the nightstand in an attempt to find something sharp. Essentially giving up on the menial task, Daisuke thought quickly and j bit into his wrist nearly tearing off the flesh. Satisfied with the wound, he tilted Dark's chin back and opened his mouth.
"I'm so sorry Dark… this is all my fault…" He sighed and held the wounded wrist over the other's mouth.
The first few drops of blood fell into the awaiting cavern, Dark's unconscious form still managing to swallow it on instinct.
Seeing a need to rush, Daisuke tried to open the wound further to free more blood from himself, holding in open with the fingers from his free hand. He bit his tongue in pain, holding back the need to shout that kept arising from the depths of his mind.
Unaware oh his surroundings for a mere second proved to be dangerous, for it took no time at all for Dark's canines to latch onto the small wrist and the unconscious demon to attempt to suck the boy dry.
Daisuke shrieked and tried to pull away, but soon found it futile. For the second time in less then a week, Daisuke blacked out, his last sight being the amethyst color before the light gave way to black.
-x-
"Krad… Why must you always lead?"
Krad scoffed at the question; "Because I'm obviously superio-" he never got to finish his statement, for a heavy satchel soon collided with the back of his head. Releasing a surprised gasp and grasping his head, Krad stopped walking only to watch as Satoshi passed him by.
"Much better, don't you agree?" Krad grumbled in response and followed the other. "We've already arrived, so stop your excessive complaining."
Emerging from the dark forest, Satoshi and Krad both had to quickly cover their eyes at the sudden intrusion of sunlight.
Entering the quaint village, the pair purposefully strode to the town square where a mass of people was slowly forming; passing by the various stands that sold various items such as jewelry or meets. There was also a place to store the fishing nets, seeing as the village was close to the ocean.
Satoshi had wondered who occupied the Castle on the cliff that was visible a distance off, but were told to disregard it.
Facing the crowd, the two stopped and watched as two members of the village broke through the mass of people.
A blonde woman holding a slipper marched towards the hunters, while a young blond man tried to keep up with her, his face expressing both worry and silent laughter at the look on the girl's face.
"Freedert! Freedert! Please… I'm sure…"
The girl turned an accusing gaze towards her companion.
"Sure what, Elliot? That they had good intentions?" She angrily rebutted.
Elliot sighed and waved his hand dismissively, obviously afraid, "Fine, do-do as you please…"
The girl gave a soft laugh and smile towards him before she turned a cold glare towards the foreign hunters. Resuming her march, slipper in hand, she came to a stop inches away from their faces.
A resounding slap could be heard echoing off of the buildings and birds fled the surrounding area at the sudden intruding sound. Some of the villagers would later assert that the slap had broken the sound barrier.
Both shocked into silence, for it wasn't everyday you were slapped with a slipper, the hunters failed to notice the seething girl standing in front of them, completely oblivious to her ranting.
"…and what did he do to deserve that? He helps us, protects us! We hire you to help us with something he can't control and how do you repay us?! Why I should…!"
Elliot shook his head out of his stupor and reached forward, grasping the fuming girl in front of him, pulling her into his grasp and embracing her. "Freedert! Please, I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding..."
Freedert visibly relaxed, a small smile slowly appearing on her face as she turned and nuzzled the man's chest. Satoshi was beginning to wonder if this girl had some sort of personality disorder...
"Now, could you maybe go home and make some tea? I'll finish sorting this out, and I'll bring these two to accompany us, so be prepared for guests alright?"
Freedert nodded before she was released from Elliot's hold, slowly making her way out of the square. Elliot sighed, obviously relieved, though he looked a little worried again when he thought she mumbled something about putting poison in said tea...
"Now please, I'm sure you have some explaining to do. Riku came here half frantic early this morning, looking for some... blood…for Master Dark. As you can see, we are close to that... being, and we were more than a little shocked to hear the… damage he had suffered at the hands of whom we assumed was the two of you." Elliot said, choosing his words carefully, almost hesitant to fully admit that the village was in allegiance with a vampire.
Satoshi was the first to regain his wits about him. Rubbing his abused cheek, he closed his eyes and sighed.
"We were obviously mistaken. All the village attacks seem to imply the work of a vampire, so we naturally assumed that the vampire of that forest was behind it. After all, they are territorial creatures; it would be rare to find another dominant vampire within miles… The village never warned us of their… alliance."
Elliot flinched at the last part. Should it become well known, the village would suffer the consequences, and they were in no position to eagerly forfeit the limited supplies the already had. They had already mooched off of Dark's fortune enough, if felt wrong to take as much as they already had as it was. It was a matter of village pride damn-it!
"Yes, we didn't think Dark would be found quite so easily. We thought you'd find the real terror before you had found him."
Krad shook his head, about to speak, but was interrupted by Satoshi. "Yes, he did tell us of the general direction of the creature, but we decided we need to restock first. We've had…" -Throwing a glare towards his companion- "…a few mishaps along the way."
The villager smiled before nodding, "I understand. I am truly sorry about Freedert's little display… she is really a sweet, quiet girl, but she's very protective of her friends, and Master Dark saved her life from the terror. She thinks very highly of him…"
Satoshi nodded in understanding. "May I ask one question?"
The young blond nodded.
"Why is it that Dark is unable to help you with the creature?"
The boy's smile disappeared. "Ummm… well, he has a lot on his agenda, and… well…"
Satoshi raised his hand to silence the stuttering male before him. "No need to explain, I think I can understand."
The smile returned. "Thank you. The Master really isn't a bad person. After all, it is his fortune we are using to pay you… he was kind enough to lend us his money. As you can see, our village is very isolated. Our supplies are limited, to say the least. Now please, Freedert has most likely calmed by now, and has prepared tea for us. Follow me."
The trio soon broke away from the silent crowd and followed the path that Freedert had taken only moments before.
As they walked, Satoshi couldn't help but ponder the new things that have come with the dawn. Though, it was a bit difficult to ponder with Krad mumbling so angrily.
Satoshi quickly remedied the situation with a swift kick to the shin.
Ah, sweet blessed silence.
BV: (aka Rio) Whelp… not much to say… I am please to announce that we have the fic pretty much planned as of now, so yay! If you readers have not yet noticed, my penname has changed to Broken Vows… Anyway, please read and review. We, the authors, honestly feel better when we know we're appreciated. Okies, I'm off on a road trip to another province to attend a funeral! I hope to see reviews when I return! Make me a happy beaver!
Dark Mage: If Freedert can be that fierce with a slipper I would hate to see her with an actual weapon. Scary! Now...some R&R would be nice. Anything that you guys might want to add? We are open to ideas! Come on guys, throw us a bone!