"hey Riku, do we have any leads yet?" asked Sora, swiftly slipping into his black jacket. "not really, but I was thinking you could take the west side of T.B.R, and I'll take the east." "okay," answered Sora. "sounds good to me." and so off they went. a gentle candle light illuminates the room an amber color. Aika sits on her bed; pulling up the zipper on her left boot. a faint dampness in her hair tells of a recent shower; she gets up to brush the remaining dampness out of her hair. with one last quick glance in the mirror; and straightening of her jacket, she was out the door and on her way. I wonder where I should go tonight. she thought on her way down the hall. the last time I was in this town, I was too small to remember... the by day; sunlit hallway, was now dark, and barely aglow with moon light. she thought back to yesterday; when her and Roxas spent an hour just, lying around in her room and talking. "so what do you guys usually do for fun?" she asked. "well, at night we usually hang out at-" "at..." oh, what was it? she thought; her memory now failing her. come on, think! what was it he said? she had now made her way to the end of Thorn Vale property. the cityscape opened up before her; now in need of a direction to go in, she continued trying to remember what Roxas had said. "well, at night we usually hang out at The Black Raven." "hmmm, The Black Raven." she muttered. still unsure of which direction to take, she looked left, then right, and straight ahead; before choosing the path to the right. Sora now sits atop a gray, stone, roof; one leg hanging over the edge, and his right arm resting on his right knee. he looks out over the edge; from this view point, all the people entering and exiting the building could be seen; save for anyone using the back entrance. Sora looked down at the people with skilled eyes, searching for anything that could tip him off; but all seemed normal. seems like a peaceful night, I wonder if Riku found anything. he rose from his seat, and stood on the ledge. he checked to see if anyone was watching; there was no one, so he leaped into the air. he landed in front of the building, a little left of the door. "guess I should check out the inside too." he thought aloud. he walked over, and pushed the doors open with both arms. every day when the sun falls below the horizon; The Black Raven transforms into a nightclub. lights of all colors danced among the partyers in dazzling and sperratic patterns; from their mounts on the second floor guard rails. the loud music reverberated through the whole building; and Sora could feel the bass with his whole body. "ugh, excuse me." Sora squeezed through the crowd of dancers; eventually making it to the bar; and some breathing room. Sora leaned back against the counter facing the crowd; he looked left to see a couple making out. he looked right and saw three guys laughing together, deep in conversation. Sora let out a deep sigh before speaking his thoughts aloud. "everything seems okay, maybe I should go back outside." he stood up and walked left along the bar. it was very unusual for there not to be an attack; there's usually about one attack every week or so, and this district was due for the next one. Sora continued walking along the bar; inspecting each person carefully and skillfully. until he saw it; a young blond girl; and a man groping her neck with his mouth. he saw her wince for just a moment; in pain from a bite perhaps? quickly Sora walked over and began a conversation. "excuse me, do I know you from some where?" the girl opened her eyes to look at him; she was obviously intoxicated. "do you mind?" she said impatiently. "I'm sorry, but I really wanted to talk to you." the other man came up from his task; and stared at Sora. he was a very tall and lanky man, with a long mane of fiery red hair. his narrow eyes barely contain the glow of his cyan orbs. "look kid, we're a little busy here." Sora looked over at the girl, and saw the blood dripping from her neck. he met the strangers gaze with his own; his face stern and unyielding. "yah, I know what your doing." the stranger was a surprised by Sora's expression. could this kid be a hunter? the young blond took her partners hand, and started walking away. "come on baby, lets go somewhere more private." she gave a side glance to Sora as she and her man, walked away. Sora's mind was racing; they were getting away! but he couldn't just attack, it would cause a seen. they were disappearing into the crowds; but Sora stayed a few feet behind; so as not to lose them completely. they were headed towards the back entrance; if he could just get them outside, he could finish this without attracting too much attention. the man in question looked back over his shoulder, to see Sora, hot on his tail. then he stopped suddenly. "what is it babe?" asked his young victim. but she received no answer; he turned around, to face his stalker. at last he spoke. "so, you want to get this thing started?" Sora gasped in response. "what? no, not here!" but the hot tempered, redhead only smirked his reediness to fight. he held both arms away from his body; flames danced in his palms; left in there wake were two spiked chakrams. "what's going on!?" cried the unwanted date; but the fiery warrior ignored her cry of confusion. with a couple quick swipes of his chakrams, he spawned fire from the ground, aimed at Sora. fear, and confusion spread across the crowds; they fled in all directions, away from the ensuing battle. Sora summoned a keyblade to his hands, and blocked the fire. when he was free of the flames, his attacker was already out of sight. he scanned the room in search of his target; but he was nowhere to be seen. just then a voice was heard behind him. "over here, hunter." Sora spun around to face his opponent; he was up on the second floor. there were still a few people on the second floor, they franticly stumbled away from the fiery foe. Sora leapt towards his enemy; but his keyblade only met with guard rail. the fiery warrior was quite nimble, and was already behind him, on the first floor. Sora turned to face him once again. "stop demon!" he roared. "hey, 'I'm no demon," countered the new foe. "I'm a vampire; v-a-m-p-i-r-e. got it memorized?" "shut up, I know what you are!" the crimson rolled his eyes, and leaned forward with hands resting on his hips. "I have a name y'a know, its Axel." "thanks," said Sora sarcastically. "I'll remember that when I take you into custody." Axel replied with two fireballs. Sora swiftly dodged them, and jumped down to the ground floor. Sora roared out, as he swung his keyblade at Axel. the fiery warrior countered with a strike from his own weapon. energy sparks flew out, as the two weapons clashed. Axel pulled back, and jumped into the air; Sora bounded up to meet him, and relentlessly attacked; but Axel countered each blow with his own. one of the crowed members ran out towards the fight, and called out to his friend. "Axel, what are you doing!?" distracted; the two fighters separated, and Axel looked down at his friend as he landed. "hey, Roxas, what's up?" before anyone could say another word; a new, silver haired, sword wielding warrior crashed through one of second story windows; landing gracefully right next to Sora. "I see you found are vampire." said Riku, standing up. Roxas went to Axels side, and summoned a keyblade of his own; this one was white, adorned with black, and white, spikes; it was very different from Sora's own Oathkeeper. all four took fighting stances. Roxas spoke in a low annoyed tone. "did you even try to keep a low profile?" Axel shrugged. "eh, I just felt like having a little fun." Riku pointed his sword at there foes, and shouted "its over!" then he and Sora charged. Axel and Roxas took up defensive positions. Sora's Oathkeeper clashed violently with Roxas's Two Become One; while Riku violently slashed away at Axel's Eternal Flames. one of the remaining onlookers ran forward; a young girl. "Roxas!" she called out. "what's going on!?" both he and Sora turned to look; and his eyes met with Aika's for a moment. what is she doing here? this was the last thing they needed. but Sora was first to speak up. "just get away, its dangerous here!" Roxas saw his opening, and took it; knocking Sora down, he turned to his partner. "Axel, we need to go, now!" Riku slammed his sword hard, against Axel's weapon. "your not going anywhere!" Roxas stepped in; Riku had to break his hold on Axel to escape Roxas's attack. "lets go!" he snapped. the two vampires jumped up to the window that Riku had previously broken; Axel jumped out first, Roxas looked back at his friend one last time, as he spoke softly. "sorry." and then he too leapt out the window. Riku growled in frustration, and jumped up to tail them. Sora; now on his feet, quickly followed suit; leaving Aika alone, and confused.