Small Note

Sakura: I was a little depressed I only got three reviews, but three reviews is better than nothing. No one has to review, but if you do read this story please give me some type of review to let me know what you liked about the chapter. I know a lot of people have added the story to their favorites and alert list because I get the emails all the time, but I never see a review from some of the people. When I checked the story I had like 55 followers which is awesome so thank you everyone who does read. I was always getting a ton of reviews for Vampire City and I thought this story would have the same result. If you don't want to review that is fine, I know some people don't have a lot to say so they don't say anything, I'm just saying it would be nice to see what everyone thinks of my chapters. Other than that long ramble please do enjoy another chapter of Hunters Game!

Chapter Sixteen

Downtown Showdown

Never mess with a vampire's child

The younger ruler chuckled as he walked down the hall with Chan holding his hand. She was swinging their arms while talking away about the plans she and Yuugi had for the day. It had been a week since the massive fire in the vampire district and things were becoming only slightly better for the city. The rebuilding of the homes was underway and the vampire district was under heavy watch along with the palace. Until every last hunter was captured and trialed for their crimes the city would never be able to relax or be safe every again.

Even though it was unwise to leave the safety of the palace Yuugi knew that if Chan and Kotaro stayed trapped there any longer they would start to go a little stir crazy. Some people could only stay so long indoors, while at least his children could. The smallest vampires were ready to get out of the palace and do some shopping while Yuugi wanted to check on his store that had been shut down for weeks since Yami had gotten hurt. The business once belonged to Yami so there was no fear of it ever going out of business and even though Yuugi was not going to reopened it for a while he still wanted to check on it.

The two were headed to Yami's office to let him know they would be gone for a couple hours, but would be back before it began to get dark. As soon as they turned the corner to go down the hall to Yami's office they noticed Critias standing guard outside the door. It was an odd sight-seeing him guard Yami's office, but after the place had been ransacked and the attack on the vampire district, Critias always followed Yami around unless told otherwise. Timaeus normally followed Yuugi while Hermos continued his job of making sure all the guard kept their post throughout the palace. Hermos was probably off doing his job, but Yami sent Timaeus on another mission that morning, so Yuugi was guard free for the moment.

Critias smiled as they approached and opened the door for them. Once inside he closed the door back and continued to keep an eye out. Chan wasted no time in running over to her daddy and crawling into his lap. Kotaro was over on the couch reading a book keeping quiet so Yami could work.

Yami only paused for a minute to kiss his daughter's head before he went back to whatever report he was working on.

"Hard at work as always..?" Yuugi questioned as he approached the desk and lean against it. He could see Yami was still working on reports of all that was going on in the vampire district.

The King nodded, "We were held back because of what happened two days ago, but hopefully within another month we can move some families back into their homes."

Yuugi took notice of the folders at the corner of Yami's desk. He fanned them out so he could see all three. They looked like normal file folders at first, but on the front of each was a picture of a person in a mug-shot stapled to the outside along with a logo of the police department below it on the folder. A week ago they had no one in custody, but two days ago they were able to capture three of the hunters before they could do any harm to the city.

It was during a delivery to the vampire district with equipment to finish up the rebuilding of the homes that they found these three criminals. The city had been getting plenty of the supplies thanks to each portal holder, but when one crew opened up a rather large box that was supposed to be filled with supplies they found three humans with their own supplies to survive being in the box and getting out when the time was right. The shipment had just came that day and inside of going to the warehouse it went straight to the vampire district not allowing the humans enough time to escape.

Yuugi and Yami both knew the humans were getting in somehow, but it seemed they had finally figured it out. It seemed like pure luck to have found those three before they got away, however it lead to more questions than answers.

An important question that troubled Yami was were some of the portal holders helping out the hunters. Yuugi knew Mokuba, Amane, Rebecca, and Ishizu would in no way help the hunters, but the others he did not know so well. The shipment had come from America which the territory was split between Rebecca and Pegasus.

Bakura and Marik had been spending the past few days questioning the three hunters, but they would not say a word. Since they were not talking Yami was planning a meeting that day with the portal holders to get to the bottom of what was going on. That was why Timaeus was gone for the morning so he could go pick up each portal holder as they entered the city.

"So those three are still not talking?" Yuugi asked.

Yami let out a sigh and stopped his work to lean back in his chair. "No and it's been two days so I know they are probably not going to talk. I've told Bakura and Marik to keep them locked up and under heavy watch so they cannot escape. I also can't send them out of the city for them to only find a new way back inside."

Yuugi agreed with him on that point. "It's scary to know that was how they were entering the city all this time. Plus now that we know how they are getting in they are sure to work on a new way."

"That is why I must meet with the portal holders as soon as possible so we can get this mess fixed. If no more hunters can get in, we can work on getting those who are in the city out of here for good." Yami said as he looked over at Yuugi. "So what did you two need?"

"I'm taking Chan and Kotaro into the city for a little while." Yuugi said and as soon as Yami was about to object, he added, "Once Timaeus gets back from his little mission he is coming along with us to keep an eye out for any hunters."

The King knew there was no arguing with his husband. "I still wish you wouldn't go out, but I guess it will be hard to stop you."

Yuugi grinned. "It sure will, because you know what will happen if you do try to keep us here under our will."

Yami shivered at the thought. "Oh I know all too well."

Chan looked up at her daddy confused. "Daddy what is papa talking about?"

"Nothing sweetie," Yami reassured her before picking her up and putting her back on the floor. "Why don't you go sit with Kotaro until Timaeus gets here?"

The little girl nodded and ran over to her brother. Yuugi took the time to help Yami with some of his reports as they waited for Timaeus to get back. As much as it was important for both Kings to be together in any kind of meeting, Yami wanted Yuugi nowhere near this meeting since he needed to ask some tough questions of the portal holders. This was going to be a tough meeting, but one that needed to happen, so Yami could continue to protect his people both vampires and humans.

The throne room was empty except for Critias and Hermos posted at the doors to the room, a long table set up near the throne with the portal holders all sitting down, and lastly the King sitting proudly on his throne. Yami surveyed each of the portal holders that he thought he could trust with his life, but with all that was going on he could not be so sure. A few were like family to him because they were close to Yuugi, but he could not let that cloud his judgment.

Deciding it was best to get it over with Yami cleared his throat to get their attention before beginning the meeting. "I thank you all for coming on such late notices. I wish we could have held this meeting at our normal time, however due to what has been happening within this city some important issues must be discussed now."

"It was no problem at all," Mokuba informed the King, "It was not addressed in the notices what was going on, so would it be possible to discuss that first?"

Yami nodded, "Of course, but what is discussed in this room will not leave this room. The city is already in a state of panic and I do not wish for any more stress on my people." He paused to make sure they understood and once he got a nod from each he continued. "A series of murders has taken place within the city all on vampires. Given the evidence we do know that the criminals are human and also that some are not in this city legally."

There were a few gasp mostly from the females in the room. The men simply had eyes widened at the news so it was hard for Yami to tell if anyone was faking shock or not. Silence settled over the room as the information sunk in, before a brave voice spoke up.

"My King," Ishizu began once she found her voice. "I'm sorry to see these murders have occurred in your city, however how can you be sure some of the criminals are not legal in this city?"

"We have one of the criminals on camera and his face does not match anyone in the city database. Also we have plenty of fingerprints from multiple crime scenes and those prints are not in the system. There is a good amount of proof that these individuals committing the crimes are not citizens, but are recruiting some citizens to help them." Yami explained as he continued to watch each of their faces with a careful glaze. While Mokuba, Amane, Rebecca, Ishizu, Noah, Alister, Leon, and Rafael all seem to be taking the news as a surprise, there were three others who went by the names Pegasus, Dartz, and Mr. Wong that kept quiet and neutral looks on their faces. In Yami's gut something did not feel right with those three, but he would need proof if he was to prove they had anything to do with what was going on.

The King decided to try a different approach to see if he could get a better reaction from those three. "Along with the evidence we have captured three individuals who were shipped from America into this city, however they were unable to escape their container before it was opened. That is more than enough evidence to prove that there are criminals being shipped into my city illegally when I know that all containers are supposed to be checked before coming to this city."

All eyes turned to Pegasus and Rebecca, however while Pegasus remained neutral, Rebecca looked at the King in shock. "My King, we did send supplies like you requested but I made sure everything was checked out before it was shipped. I would never let criminals into your city."

Yami could tell from her voice that she was telling the truth, "I believe you Rebecca and I'm not accusing my portal holders of wrong doing just that some people have been coming into this city under all of our watch. You may not be the one, but someone who works for you could be helping these individuals."

"I assure you that no one from my company could pull something like this under my watch," Pegasus spoke up and it seemed sincere yet there was something off about the look in Dartz's eyes who was next to Pegasus. It was only for a second but he could have sworn he saw a brief glare come from Dartz to Pegasus.

Since that approach had gotten some type of reaction, Yami took a step back. "You were all handed down the responsible from your parents to be the protectors of these portals and I trust you all with my life, so believe me when I say I do not believe any of you have been letting this happen. However I would feel better if you doubled checked behind your employees or companies working for you to make sure. Just as here we will be adding extra security for new shipments and check everything that comes into our city better than before." Yami assured them to let certain holders know that no one else will be entering his city illegally.

Just before the King could move on to other important matters of the meeting, the doors to the room were thrown open surprising everyone. Critias and Hermos were on high alert, but backed off once they saw it was Timaeus.

"Timaeus what is the meaning of this? Where is Yuugi?" Yami knew the guard should have been downtown with his husband and younger children. He would never leave his post without good reason. However when Yami's eyes drifted down to Timaeus's shirt, his heart dropped. There was a large amount of blood staining his shirt.

"Sir, something has happened…"

Earlier while the meeting was taking place, Yuugi along with Chan and Kotaro at his side were walking down the streets of downtown. The children had already done a good amount of shopping, but mostly new outfits since it got boring where the same old thing. Yuugi even picked out Yami a few things since his husband only seemed to wear red and black. Timaeus was only a few steps behind with his own small bag that held a gift for his wife. Even though he was supposed to be on alert and guard the King's husband and children, Yuugi informed him it was okay to do his own shopping.

They were about to stop and take a break for lunch when Chan stopped outside a pet store. The windows showed puppies and kittens all hanging out in kennels and just the sight of them pulled at her heartstrings. "Papa, we need another dog…"

Yuugi stopped too and looked to see the dog Chan was pointing out. It was a small cream-colored dog and below the kennel it said it was a dachshund. While all the other kennels had few animals in each this dog was all by himself. The younger ruler had been very iffy after his last dog died and he did not want to go through the heartache again. However he had never stopped to think about his own children when making the decision.

"We promise to take care of it." Kotaro budded in as he too got a look at the dog.

Yuugi looked between the two and that was when the puppy dog eyes came out. He sighed before looking at Timaeus. "Watch them a minute, while I speak with the owner." He disappeared inside by himself because he knew if he took the children inside they would change their mind twenty times on a pet and in a way he liked the dog they picked out.

Timaeus stood on watch as the two little ones looked in the shop window and watched as Yuugi talked with the owner. A few minutes later he came out, but without the dog. They watched as the owner took the dog from the kennel and went toward the back of the shop.

"What is he doing?" Chan asked with a sad look in her eyes.

Yuugi smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. "Don't worry he is only moving him to the back for today. I'm going to talk with your father tonight and if he says yes we can pick up your new puppy tomorrow."

Chan and Kotaro smiled at each other before giving Yuugi a hug. After that there were no distractions as they finally reached the restaurant and went inside. They were seated quickly and a waiter took their drink order before giving them a minute to look over their menus.

The little girl looked around before spotting the sign for the restroom. "Hey papa, I'm going to go to the restroom." She said as she got up.

"Okay, but Kotaro goes with you." Yuugi informed her and gave the little boy beside him a nudge to follow his sister. Kotaro groaned and put his menu down before following his sister.

Timaeus could not stop the chuckle that passed his lips. "I figured those two loved to do things together."

Yuugi chuckled too. "Normally, but he hates waiting outside the restrooms for her. He complains that she takes too long."

"If they were older those two would have made a nice couple."

Yuugi smiled as he could see where he was coming from. "Yeah, I think there is a love between them but it has only developed into a brother and sister bond. No matter how old they are their bodies kept them held back and confused about love." He looked back down at his menu wondering if he should order something for Yami to take home.

"PAPA!"

Silence rang throughout the restaurant at the yell and all eyes turned toward the hallway that held the restrooms. Everyone watched as three individuals ran from the hall and toward the kitchen doors knocking everyone out of their way with Chan thrown over one of the guys' shoulders.

There was no thinking on Yuugi's part as he took off after the guys, while Timaeus took off out the front to cut them off in the alley next to the restaurant. However that wasn't necessary as when Yuugi broke through the back door he found not three but six guys standing in the back alley of the restaurant. All were dressed in normal clothes with their faces uncovered and in Yuugi's mind he figured they knew no one would know their faces. The one who had grabbed Chan was now holding her in front of him with one arm and with his other hand was holding a lighter.

Yuugi took a defense position as he knew quickly what this was about he just did not think they would act in a public place like that. "Drop my daughter now!" He growled out.

The one holding Chan just snickered. "I don't think so. We call the shots around here now."

A second later Timaeus joined Yuugi, but when he went to take a step toward the group, the lighter was flicked on and held slightly closer to the little girl, who tried to move away. "One more step and we light the girl up."

Yuugi held an arm out for Timaeus to step back. "It's obvious they know our weakness so don't do anything stupid Timaeus." He then looked toward the group. "What do you want?"

"Want?" The guy laughed along with all his friends. When his laugh was only a chuckle the guy continued. "We don't want anything but the end of all vampires."

At that moment the door to the restaurant reopened and Kotaro came out. "Let my sister go you bastard." He stepped in front of Yuugi and Timaeus. "These crooks locked me in the boys' bathroom and then I heard Chan cry out so I knew they went after her."

Yuugi placed a hand on Kotaro's shoulder to calm him down. The boy was super protective of his sister and if these men in anyway hurt her there would be no holding the boy back. "That restaurant was full of vampires there is no way you are getting out of here with my daughter. I'll ask again, what do you want?"

"If I must repeat myself, we want the end of all vampires however there is a certain King who is getting in our way. Our mission will never be a success unless we kill him and his family," The guy said with a sick smirk. He looked down at the little girl who couldn't take her eyes off the lighter. "The older ones will be harder to kill, but we can start here and let you witness the death of the weak link to the royal family." The lighter only lightly touched the bare arm of Chan when all hell broke loose.

Everything happened so fast Yuugi almost could not keep up. Kotaro surprised the other two vampires and the hunters by taking off at inhuman speed and kicked the lighter out of the guy's hand. He grabbed Chan's arm at the same time he was able to deliver another kick but to the guy's face this time. The hunter went flying back into the dumpster leaving a huge dent in the front of it.

The other hunters wasted no time to check on their partner as they closed in on the kids still trying to complete their mission, however the older vampires had joined in this time given Chan was safe now. While Timaeus was busy with two hunters who now held other weapons, Yuugi stood in front of his children as he glared down the other three.

They also pulled out weapons, but their weapons of choice were switchblades. Yuugi growled at them with fangs bared as he leaped at the first one. They tried to kill his little ones and they were also part of the group that tried to kill his husband. There was no way they were going to get away.

Yuugi was able to disarm the first one without getting hit by the blade and throw him to the ground, before turning real quick to kick the one coming up behind him in the stomach. However while he was busy with those two, the third hunter had went after his children.

Kotaro stood in front of his sister with a vampire growl of his own before jumping at the guy. The hunter dodged and took his own swing at Kotaro hitting him in the side with his fist. The little boy hit the ground and rolled before jumping back up. Once up his eyes widen as he saw the hunter had wasted no time at taking a swing with his knife at the girl. Chan dodged it in time, but she tripped over her own dress and fell back down.

The next hit would not miss, but before Kotaro could do anything a blur moved by him. Yuugi was in front of the girl in time to take the hit in the arm. He yelled out in shock and held his bleeding arm, but continued to try and stand as the wound started to burn with heart stopping pain. Kotaro's mind went on auto pilot as he knew what had happened as soon as Yuugi took the hit. His papa was in danger of bleeding out if he did not get help because of course the hunter's knives would be made of silver.

Out of nowhere, Kotaro had his hands on the hunter's shoulders and his fangs became buried deep in the guy's throat. He yanked back quick taking skin, before jumping away from the guy as the hunter dropped the knife and tried to cover the wound, however he would probably only have a minute before bleeding out. As the hunter dropped to the ground, Kotaro came back to reality as he ran to Yuugi.

Timaeus hurried over having finished with his two hunters, who were on the ground in pain. He stopped Yuugi from hitting the ground as he went to his knees trying to stop the bleeding through the pain. His breathing became shallow and his eyes were starting to get black spots in them. He tried to blink them away as he looked up at Timaeus.

The guard simply took off his vest and used it to cover the wound and put pressure to slow the bleeding. "It will be alright Yuugi I'll get you to the nearest hospital." It was at that moment they finally heard the sirens and Timaeus cursed at how slow they were at getting here. He looked to the little ones. "I know this was scary, but I need you two to be brave for me and let the police know what happened here. Also inform the police that all these hunters are to be bought to the palace and I don't care the fact that one is dead." He said referring to the one who had bleed out just behind him. Timaeus then picked Yuugi up careful of the wound and used the alley to take off for the nearest hospital.

Chan and Kotaro did as told as they waited until the police entered behind the restaurant where they were. A look of surprise crossed their faces as with the police officers were Bakura and Marik. The little girl wasted no time in running over to Bakura and latching onto his waist with tears in her eyes. Kotaro stood upon shaky legs and walked over to them prepared to explain all that had just gone down.

Sakura: That turned out way longer than I thought, but I wanted to end it at the perfect spot. Next chapter we will find out what happens to Yuugi….

Yumi: Review! If you skipped the ramble at the top it's okay basely we would love to see more reviews! Short and Long Reviews are welcomed!