Let the games begin! .
"Hu-Hunting?!" Daisuke stammered.
Riku crossed her arms, puffing her chest out and smirking at her poor, innocent victim.
"Yes. You need to be able to fend for yourself eventually, and now is the perfect time to do it…" She casually looked him over, the obvious signs of fatigue clearly expressed on his features. "… you obviously need it."
Daisuke groaned, his posture hunched and slack, articulating his displeasure at the new activity forced upon him. Hunting with Riku was sure to be difficult; she was so pushy when trying to accomplish an important task. At least with Dark, all he had to do was give 'The Eyes', and he would melt, leaving Daisuke to do as he pleased. It was his unfailing method to escape his previous training he has had.
Riku grabbed Daisuke's upper arm, dragging him out of the room and towards the main entrance at inhuman speeds. Daisuke would have had problems keeping up, but Riku was efficiently dragging him in such a way that his feet weren't actually touching the ground. In fact, Daisuke would gander the whole scene looked rather comical, like something out of a children's book.
While in his thoughts, Daisuke failed to notice the sudden intrusion of a dim light. Riku cursed under her breath and picked up her pace, aiming for the density of the trees. Daisuke just continued to let his body be dragged, mind wandering to random thoughts, his focus long gone.
Riku came to a sudden stop once they had entered the foliage, causing a startled Daisuke to flail into her back and crash land painfully on the harsh forest ground.
Sitting up and rubbing the back of his head, Daisuke tried to focus his attention onto the words that appeared to be coming out of Riku's mouth. Unfortunately, due to recent events and the results of said events, all Dai managed to do was make his self dizzy. Flopping gracelessly onto his back, he managed to garner Riku's attention finally.
Noticing his vulnerable state, Riku held back a shocked gasp. "Oh… Damn. You… damn. I'll be right back!"
Daisuke only looked towards the dense patterns of leaves above him, mumbling vague and incoherent thoughts as his head swam from blood loss.
-x-
Had one been able to see the current expression on Satoshi's face, they would cower and run for their life, because it promised pain and suffering.
Unfortunately, his aptly blonde partner remained oblivious to his impending doom and continued on normally. It wasn't until he smacked face first into Satoshi's eagerly waiting back, that he noticed anything was wrong.
"Okay, Krad. This is the last warning. If you continue singing that song, I will ensure that it does end. As well as the pathetic existence you call a LIFE!"
Krad gaped wide-eyed at his partner. He was well aware that he was pushing Satoshi's buttons, but he hadn't been aware that Satoshi could loose his calm so quickly, or that he could even hear him.
Krad had been singing under his breath after all. "…never ends…" he finished weakly.
Satoshi let out an unsteady breath, and all was quiet for once.
Resuming his determined march, Satoshi looked at the impromptu, and decidedly messy map drawn for him on old parchment. Set with Elliot's messy scrawl and Freedert's cutesy doodles of Dark and his associates for "identification, as to prevent another mishap that will result in your death".
Satoshi had all but rolled his eyes at the poor girls attempt at being vicious, but when a slipper magically appeared in her hand, he decided to actually pay attention.
Coming to the relieving realization that they had almost arrived to their destination, Satoshi decided to spare Krad from a painfully fatal fate and ignore his incessant whistling. He would have to kick him three times now. The length was getting longer.
-x-
Daisuke was barely aware of the fact someone was tugging him up, holding him up, or placing him against a nearby trunk.
"-Sigh-... you're worse off than I had thought…" Riku snapped her fingers in front of Daisuke's unfocused and dilated pupils. "Stupid Dark…"
She quickly held up the corpse of a freshly killed rabbit, the smell instantly gaining the instinctual attention of the half conscious boy in front of her.
Fangs elongated, claws grabbed and blood flowed, the messy acts of instinct causing Riku to turn her head, looking away to find something more interesting, and much less grotesque, to watch.
Noticing the lack of violent sounds, Riku turned to see a sleeping Daisuke and a dry corpse lying haphazardly on the ground at his side. Pulling out a trusty cloth, Riku gently wiped the blood off Daisuke's face. Despite the circumstances Daisuke looked even younger, and positively adorable, when relaxed.
"Silly…" She murmured almost lovingly, before pulling her arm back and thwacking the poor unsuspecting boy aside the head.
"OW!!!"
Her soft expression long gone, the elder merely glared at her counterpart.
"Time to get up, you lazy bum. You should be fine now. Stand please."
Following his orders, Daisuke used the trunk behind him to pull himself up and gain his sense of balance. Confident that he wouldn't fall over anytime soon, he cautiously stepped towards his trainer.
"Good. Since I had to accomplish the actual hunt for you, we're going to have to improvise. Rule number one is easy. Needless killing is a big no-no." Riku accompanied her lecture with appropriate hand gestures, almost causing the trainee to giggle at her expressions. "…Okay, so we shall use Wiz today"
Daisuke gaped at the girl. "Wait, WHAT?!"
Returning Daisuke's shocked look with a confused look of her own, Riku calmly restated her previous statement.
"You want me to… hunt… Wiz?" Riku nodded.
"…Oh. Okay. For a second I thought you want – WAIT. WHAT?! I CAN'T HUNT WIZ!! DARK WILL KILL ME!!!"
Riku giggled in response. "Silly boy. Dark wouldn't ever kill you, and it's not like I want you to kill Wiz off. I just want you to track him down. If you can so much as touch him, we shall call it quits for the day."
Heaving a sigh of defeat, Daisuke's posture slumped as he took tiny, dragging steps over to Riku. Riku grinned at her seemingly easy victory and whistled loudly. Not long after, the 'prey' appeared, albeit a little ruffled.
Riku crouched down to explain to Wiz what he was needed for, while Daisuke merely studied his surroundings with a bored expression, trying to hide his nervousness.
"Kyu…"
Riku stood up and faced the redhead. "He's ready. You?"
Daisuke nodded glumly and watched as Wiz jumped into some bushes. Daisuke tried to listen and follow Wiz's path, but Riku's constant chatting in the background interfered with his hearing.
"…and remember, stay downwind and be as sil-"
Daisuke cut her off. "I know, Riku. Dark has gone over that part many times."
Riku bristled at his tenacity, but otherwise said nothing, leaving Daisuke to his own mechanisms.
Stalking forward, Daisuke sighed once more before prowling in the general direction Wiz had gone.
-x-
A very groggy and rumpled Dark mumbled and dragged himself towards the general vicinity of the entrance. Vaguely wondering where Riku and Daisuke had run off too, he managed his ways down the stairs and through many winding halls until her reached the great doors.
Pulling one of said doors open, Dark poked his head out, wincing at the sunlight the hit his face. Prying one eye open, he studied the characters on his door step.
Two sets of eyes held a steady gaze back at him.
Dark's mind, still in sleep mode, took a grand total of twenty-three seconds to slam the door in their faces.
Turning around, planning to head back into bed, he tried to ignore the incessant yelling and frustrated growls aimed at his poor abused doors. It wasn't until he heard the names 'Elliot' and 'Freedert', in which he finally considered opening the doors for the vagrants on the other side.
Dragging his feet back towards the door and stifling a yawn, he casually leaned against it.
"What could you possibly want?"
Knowing full well the other two should be able to hear him through the doors, he awaited a response.
…and waited.
…and waited. When none was received, he growled, before raising his voice.
"I said, 'WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
A muffled 'what' was heard in reply this time.
Fully frustrated, the vampire wrenched the door wide open and snarled at his visitors.
"Well, that's not a nice way to treat your guests…" Satoshi stated, ignorant of the icy glare aimed at his from the occupant of said domain. "We had brought you flowers… but Krad ate them…"
Also ignoring Krad's indignant response to that, 'I did not EAT them, I merely chewed on the stems damn-it'Satoshi rolled his eyes. "Will you let us in?" Satoshi questioned, gesturing to the barrier that held them out of the castle walls.
"Why on earth would I do that? You're the reason that I am like this in the first place."
"We would like to discuss a few things, such as the creature that is frightening the village and this Argentine that you mentioned."
Dark looked at them for a moment.
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because if you don't then chances are Freedert will attack us upon arrival back to the village."
"I do NOT want another slipper to the face." Krad stated, crossing his arms and huffing.
"We want the same thing. To protect that village of humans." Stated Satoshi.
Dark Sighed, and with a gesture of his hand the barrier opened slightly, allowing the pair in.
"Thank you." stated Satoshi, walking in as if he owned the place. He was followed by Krad who whistled at the size of the massive fortress. Dark brought up the rear, grumbling things like, "Damn hunters." and "I just wanted to sleep."
-x-
Daisuke waited in the bushes, stepping slowly as he stalked his prey. The little creature was nibbling on some wild Strawberries, seemingly oblivious to his presence.
With in-human speed, he lunged….
"Kyuu!"
…And missed.
When he lunged for the rabbit, Wiz merely leapt out of the way like it was Childs play. Daisuke lunged again, but only caught air, landing face first in the dirt, Wiz having hopped on his head and bounded back to the strawberries, hiding in the foliage as a means of escape.
The red head let out a frustrated growl, getting up and dusting himself off. It didn't help that Riku was giggling madly at his efforts.
"Rikuuuu-u," Daisuke started in a whine, "Can't we call it quits yet? This is embarrassing!"
Riku leapt off of her perch on a nearby tree, smiling. "Embarrassment for you, entertainment for me." She stated with a Dark-like smirk. "Besides, this was how Dark helped me train to better my hunting skills. You're just a beginner, so don't worry too much over it yet. When Dark gets better he will take over."
"How did you meet Dark anyway?" Daisuke questioned, his bright red eyes shining with curiosity.
"Well, a long time ago our coven was nearly wiped out by some angry villagers, Risa and I got looked over because we had been out in the fields that day and hadn't been known to the villagers. Grandmother thought that everyone was killed, so she ran and ended up here where she met Dark."
"And you caught up with her?"
"No. We didn't meet Dark until after she was gone. We drifted from town to town until we came here, having heard of a vampire lord who was on the kinder side. The reason that Dark took us in was because he could tell we were blood related to our grandmother. Risa…looked a lot like her." Riku said with a sigh.
"You miss her?"
"Yes…but I miss the old Risa even more." Riku stated.
"What?" The red-head inquired, puzzled.
"You should get back to hunting. Wiz!"
"Kyuuuu!" Was the only warning when the ball of white fluff leapt out of the bushes and crashed into Daisuke.
Daisuke couldn't help but wonder who was hunting who.
-x-
"Now, make it quick, I want to get back to resting." Stated Dark, having had led the pair to his library. The ornate decorations such as the blue lace curtains and the mahogany antique furniture didn't go unnoticed by the blue haired youth, being the observant being that he was. Krad just looked around in barely muted awe.
"Who is Argentine, and what is that creature in the cave that you spoke of earlier?"
"Argentine is my Sire. As for what the creature is, my guess it is a product of Argentine's black magic. I can't give you a definite answer unless I have seen it myself." Stated Dark.
"Why can't you just fight him?" Krad questioned curiously.
"Finally!" Satoshi thought, "He asked something that would actually help."
"I can't make a move against him. As his offspring I can't attack him without putting myself in direct danger. When the sire dies, so do all of those who he has directly changed. That and the sire and children share a connection that any type of retaliation against the sire will be reflected back towards the offspring. In short, anything that I throw at him will only be reflected back at me. It would be suicide to try."
Satoshi furrowed his eyebrows, "My family has been hunters for generations and it is the first time I have ever heard of anything like that."
"That is because your job is to kill vampires, not ask them questions." stated Dark. "Have your ancestors, or you for that matter, actually have a conversation with a creature of the night?" Dark questioned mockingly.
Satoshi didn't even bother to answer, since Dark obviously knew the answer.
"So why are you telling us this?" Satoshi inquired.
"Because you asked." said the amethyst eyed man as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "I only want you to kill his puppet, anything else above that and you won't stand a chance."
"Hey, we aren't that weak!" Stated Krad indignantly, angrily cutting his hand through the air.
"Compared to him, you are. Your human and a half-ling like you wouldn't stand a chance against him. Not even I know his weakness."
Krad grew unusually silent at the 'half-ling' remark, which his partner didn't fail to notice. Instead of commenting on it he said, "Well, then, tell us more about him in case the hunters has to deal with him in the future."
Dark sighed before going to a particular shelf that held many large tomes and ancient looking books, pulling out one that was rather thin, and then letting in slam on the table the pair had been standing next to.
"That was all I was ever able to find on him. There isn't much. He is as shrouded in mystery as the bottom of the sea." stated Dark.
Satoshi immediately started to flip through the pages.
"A sorcerer?" Krad questioned, having been looking over Satoshi's shoulder.
"Yes, possibly the best one's in this side of the world. He has spells that will rip the flesh off of your bones. Make blood boil in your veins. All he has to do is think it, and unless you can counter, you will wish you were dead." stated Dark.
"Can you counter?"
"You really intend to go after him?"
"As hunters we can't let him run free. We have to at least try." Stated the young blue-eyed teen.
"You court death if you go down this path." Sated the Vampire, looking out the window that faced away from the sun.
"I have already tasted death's lips. It's difficult to stay far from her embrace for very long." Satoshi replied, pushing his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose.
-x-
Riku sighed, continuing to make way through the foliage. Somehow she had managed to loose Daisuke and Wiz. She couldn't quite understand how that had happened.
It was almost like a haze had come over her mind for a bit and then she lost them.
"Kyuuuu!"
As soon as Riku heard the rabbit, she braced herself for the impact.
WHAM!
"Oof."
Riku looked down at her chest, where Wiz had slammed into her, knocking the air out of her. It wasn't like she needed to breathe anyhow.
"How is he doing?" Riku questioned, holding the little rabbit in her arms.
"Kyuuuu!"
Wiz sounded frantic.
"Take me to him!" Riku shouted. Wiz obediently hopped out of her arms and began to lead the way.
-x-
Riku quickly ran through the forest, going at a break neck speed as she followed her master's familiar.
After a few tense moments, she came across a clearing, and saw the red-head standing on the other side, facing away from her.
Riku let out a sigh, beginning to walk towards the red-head, but then felt a pull at her skirts, looking down to see Wiz with the cloth in his mouth.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Riku called out to Daisuke, becoming worried when he didn't answer.
"Daisuke" she tried again, stepping forward a small bit.
Daisuke slowly turned and when he fully faced her, Riku gasped.
His eyes! They were completely devoid of life.
Suddenly the sky became black, a strong unnatural wind blowing about, causing the trees to bend and groan under the pressure. The air was electrified, charged with back energy.
Suddenly a lightning bolt struck the ground right behind the red-head.
"Daisuke!" Riku shouted on instinct, trying to run to him, but Wiz stopped her by tripping her with his own body.
Riku looked up a moment later, her eyes widening and the scene before her.
The dust had cleared, Daisuke at the center, but behind him was a tall young-man with flaxen hair, his black and white robes billowing in the breeze, a black iron staff in his right hand.
"Give a message to KokuYoku for me. Unless he comes back to me, this boy will die." With a wave of his hand, a blast of air sent Riku flying into a tree with enough force to cause the thick trunk to crack at the pressure.
As the darkness clouded around her vision, Riku saw a strike of lightning hit the ground, and when it was gone the one with the flaxen hair was gone, and Daisuke with him.
After that Riku saw no more.
-x-
Dark suddenly cried out, grasping his chest tightly as he fell to the hard wooden floor.
Satoshi and Krad both shouted in surprise, rushing over to him and kneeling next to the fallen vampire. They tried repeatedly to ask him what was wrong, but the vampire only stared dazedly at the ceiling, looking at it but not truly seeing it.
When Dark finally said something, it wasn't what Krad and Satoshi had hoped he would say.
"It begins."
Before either hunter could reply, Dark closed his eyes and let the endless black eternity engulf him.
DM: Yay! Another chapter to add to the count. Okay, I know that you have been hearing this a lot, but this time life has really gotten in the way. BV and I have just now started to go to college, and chances of us updating in the near future are pretty slim. We will try, but more than likely we won't have a lot of time. Anyhow, tell us if you liked the chapter or not. Thanks for reading! More thanks for reviewing!
BV: Huh… Well, I started classes YESTERDAY. …and I'm already SICK. …and going to be late this morning. Crap ahahahaha. Anyways, we will try to coordinate and write, but we're going to need time to like, you know, adjust. Heehee. Sorry! But!! Now that the main… 'plot' has begun – rest assured that we WILL try to update, and finish this.
Shout outs! Thanks to all of those who have reviewed for previous chapters as well! Thanks for adding us to your favorites list too!
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