The Hunt
Years pass… People change…
Darkness laid a warm blanket over the city, marred only by the streetlamps and headlights of oblivious Humans going about their evenings. It was better this way. If Humans ever truly knew about this World surrounding their own… Well, let’s just say that Humans are prone towards self-destruction.
Besides, it made it easier for the Hunters to go about their business.
Two shadows raced through the night, silent as the grave. The grass and leaves whispered of their passing long after they were gone. It was a dance they had seen many times; the hunter and the hunted, the predator and the prey, but this chase excited them all the more. It was a complete reversal of things, a change in the natural order… Now the predator had become the hunted.
This Hunt was more troublesome than most, for a lone Bloodsucker. The Creature had this rather annoying habit of turning certain parts of his body into air whenever they tried to damage him. Somehow his Partner had managed to shine the thing with Ultra-Violet light, searing whatever skin was showing. It suddenly realized the danger it was in and ran for it. …It couldn’t flee as quickly, though, and now it was only a matter of driving it into a corner and finishing it off.
Itachi moved perfectly silently through the dead leaves that littered the ground, the cool night wind whipping at his hair. For a Hunt so deadly, the silence of the forest showed nothing of what lie behind the cold tree trunks. Kisame shot him a grim grin as they darted around a tree and he knew they were close. Where would the Bloodsucker run now that they had him cornered? Where would the disgusting monster hide now?
It had been seven years since he found out that Vampires were actually real. Seven years since he had become a Hunter, and still he found them horrible, disgusting leeches that didn't belong anywhere in this world. It had been seven long years filled with training and being taught by his Partner, Kisame.
Kisame wasn't much older then himself, but he had been doing this for much longer. Itachi still didn't know why his Partner had taken this job. He had asked, one time, four years ago, and he had just received a grin and the words, 'Because I'm a good guy disguised as a bad guy, Itachi.' A cryptic reply... And that had been the end of that. Kisame knew exactly why he had gotten into this business, knew a lot about him, actually...
But Itachi was getting distracted, and there was still a dirty Bloodsucker to be Hunted.
This one had been fond of pulling teenagers, and even some kids that were only ten years old, out of their homes with a friendly face, convincing them they would be safe away from their parents. Of course, when that friendly face mask fell off and the fangs peeked from that honest smile, it was only the cold, drained body that the parents got back. Itachi would be glad to be rid of this one.
The thought made him speed up, to the annoyance of his Partner. Kisame was good at combat and was more then capable of taking care of any Bloodsucker that crossed their path, even better at tracking some of then he was, but Kisame had always had trouble with keeping the right pace, and as a consequence he often ended up late to the actual fight.
Briefly, memories threatened to take over his mind, but he was too focused to allow such a thing. Instead he heard a small whooshing sound and then the smell of death and fresh blood hit him. Close. So close. He zigzagged through the trees in his way and saw his chance. He delivered a swift kick to the head of the Bloodsucker, throwing what had only been a flash of shadow against darkness straight into the trunk of a tree. Dead leaves rained down on the dazed body, blood coating its mouth.
"Hunter good...Hunter very good..." The thing mumbled, licking at the blood on its lips. It had been wearing a orange spiral mask, but that had fallen off before the chase had even really began. Now short dark hair hung limply over one dark eye. The other eye was covered in bandages, shielding it from view.
Itachi didn't give it a chance to move from its sitting, slumped position. Kisame's voice echoed in his mind. 'First lesson, never let the Bloodsucker get the upper-hand. Even if it looks like there is just no way they could fight back, don't let your guard down, and don't turn your back. They love that sort of thing.'
He wrapped his hand around the freezing neck and trapped it against the trunk, a classic stake waiting above the thing's chest. There were, of course, other ways to kill a bloodsucker, but in this kind of case, he preferred the kind that involved coming in as close as he could and giving the monster a chance to see just exactly what was going to happen to it.
He saw with sick pleasure fear came over the Bloodsucker's face. Good. He noticed the slight widening of dark eyes... The dry, unnecissary breath coming faster and faster. Itachi narrowed his eyes and came as close to smiling as he ever did when the Bloodsucker bared his fangs, and saw the creature raise it's claws out of the corner of his eye. He dug the stake in a little further, tearing a hole in the cloth of the Leech's shirt and allowing the tip to put pressure on stony skin. The warning got through and the claws were quickly withdrawn back to it's sides, fangs hidden behind bloodstained lips.
"Please, Hunter! Tobi is a good boy! Tobi has done no wrong!" The thing dared to try pleading with him. Itachi just pressed on the stake and was about to plunge it straight through when a cloud moved out from in front of the moon. Dim lighting threw his face in a pale wash of moonbeams. The Leech's eyes got impossibly wider and he said the one thing that could have made the Hunter pause.
"You're Uchiha Itachi! Killer! Killer of Vampires, framed killer of his own family...You have to be him! Hunter Uchiha Itachi!" The thing said exclaimed, even as the stake dug into its skin. It sounded as if it had solved a great mystery. Itachi just growled, beyond annoyed now.
He hadn't been recognized by anyone in a long time...He had to keep his identity a secret... If he didn't want to get thrown into jail. And yet, as easily as a cloud moving, this Bloodsucker had somehow known exactly who he was... The fact made Itachi feel just a tad bit violent... The stake pressed just a little deeper. The Leech seemed to get the message, because it was suddenly frantically babbling at him, waving his arms in the air in a way that would have been comical to anyone but Itachi.
"Wait! Hunter! Uchiha Itachi! I have information! Information for you! You can't kill me! I have information you want to know! Tobi is a good boy! Tobi has good information for Uchiha Itachi!" the thing wailed, looking close to tears. Itachi knew all of the emotions were fake. This Bloodsucker was infamous for being dramatic and childish until it had whoever it was talking to right where it wanted them. Itachi was not fooled. But... Information?
"What kind of information, Bloodsucker?" he hissed out, stopping the wild movements with a good twist of the stake. The Leech gained a wide, sharp, bloodstained grin on its face that would have sent chills into anyone. Except Itachi, of course.
"Information on Madara, Hunter Uchiha Itachi." The monster whispered with sick childish joy. Itachi froze at the name and withdrew the stake only slightly. This seemed to encourage the Bloodsucker greatly because it continued in a excited, hushed tone.
"Tobi heard from his Sempai that a Vampire named Sasori knows all about Madara. All about Madara! Sempai told Tobi that Sasori wasn't very faithful to Madara now! Tobi bets Sasori would tell Hunter Uchiha Itachi whatever he wanted to know! Hunter Uchiha Itachi let Tobi go now, right? Tobi a good boy. Tobi deserve to not get poofed, yes? Yes?" The disgustingly happy Bloodsucker gained a bouncy, bubbly tone as he completely withdrew the stake and moved away from the leech.
"That information seems to be useful." Itachi said simply and watched as the Bloodsucker known as 'Tobi' clapped its hands together gleefully, the hole he had created in its chest already disappearing. Itachi turned his back, listening to the monster move to make a run for it. The Leech was at least smart enough to not try its chances by attacking him.
"Thank you Hunter Uchiha Ita-" The thanks were cut off as an arrow flew into its chest. Tobi looked down at the weapon piercing its chest, comically surprised. "Tobi is a good boy!" It cried before the Bloodsucker crumbled into undead dust. Itachi shook his head at Bloodsucker stupidity, strapping the crossbow like weapon onto his back once more.
Itachi looked up at the moon, thinking. Sasori, huh? He had never heard of that particular Bloodsucker... He would have to find out about him... Would he actually believe the monster that he had just killed? Well, if it wasn't true, then he could just kill Sasori, too. He wouldn't tell Kisame, though. His Partner would just get worried about his obsession with the great Bloodsucker leader Madara and try to stop him. Speaking of his Partner...
Kisame burst into the clearing, panting and sweating. He looked at Itachi, calm and perfectly composed, as usual, and then at the small pile of dust sitting innocently beside a tree, already getting swept away by the wind. His partner cursed under his breath, growling something that sounded suspiciously like Kisame complaining that Itachi always got to them first and always got to have all the fun...
"Is there something you'd like to say, Kisame?" he asked, his tone quiet, dangerous. He watched with some amusement as the stronger, older man quickly shook his head in a breathless no. He nodded and began to walk away.
He didn't see Kisame grin and roll his eyes at his younger Partner's back before moving to catch up to him. "So... How'd the Hunt go? Not too easily, huh?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary." He commented lightly, already planning to find Sasori the next night. If what the other monster had said was true, he could find a break-through in this Sasori Bloodsucker...And he could be closer to getting his long awaited revenge...
"Well, that's good." Kisame said, unaware that Itachi was planning something that would change their lives indefinatly.
__________________________
The two Hunters walked quietly through the forest on a moonlit night, thinking all was as it should be. A shadow moved among the trees and came to rest by the pile of dust that used to be the Vampire Tobi. ...So, he had fufilled his purpose like a good little pawn... The shadow glanced back at the pair of Hunters as the dust was taken by the wind. A deep-seated pleasure hummed in it's chest before it turned and vanished again, content with the night's work.
'Soon... Very soon now.'
Years pass… People change…
Darkness laid a warm blanket over the city, marred only by the streetlamps and headlights of oblivious Humans going about their evenings. It was better this way. If Humans ever truly knew about this World surrounding their own… Well, let’s just say that Humans are prone towards self-destruction.
Besides, it made it easier for the Hunters to go about their business.
Two shadows raced through the night, silent as the grave. The grass and leaves whispered of their passing long after they were gone. It was a dance they had seen many times; the hunter and the hunted, the predator and the prey, but this chase excited them all the more. It was a complete reversal of things, a change in the natural order… Now the predator had become the hunted.
This Hunt was more troublesome than most, for a lone Bloodsucker. The Creature had this rather annoying habit of turning certain parts of his body into air whenever they tried to damage him. Somehow his Partner had managed to shine the thing with Ultra-Violet light, searing whatever skin was showing. It suddenly realized the danger it was in and ran for it. …It couldn’t flee as quickly, though, and now it was only a matter of driving it into a corner and finishing it off.
Itachi moved perfectly silently through the dead leaves that littered the ground, the cool night wind whipping at his hair. For a Hunt so deadly, the silence of the forest showed nothing of what lie behind the cold tree trunks. Kisame shot him a grim grin as they darted around a tree and he knew they were close. Where would the Bloodsucker run now that they had him cornered? Where would the disgusting monster hide now?
It had been seven years since he found out that Vampires were actually real. Seven years since he had become a Hunter, and still he found them horrible, disgusting leeches that didn't belong anywhere in this world. It had been seven long years filled with training and being taught by his Partner, Kisame.
Kisame wasn't much older then himself, but he had been doing this for much longer. Itachi still didn't know why his Partner had taken this job. He had asked, one time, four years ago, and he had just received a grin and the words, 'Because I'm a good guy disguised as a bad guy, Itachi.' A cryptic reply... And that had been the end of that. Kisame knew exactly why he had gotten into this business, knew a lot about him, actually...
But Itachi was getting distracted, and there was still a dirty Bloodsucker to be Hunted.
This one had been fond of pulling teenagers, and even some kids that were only ten years old, out of their homes with a friendly face, convincing them they would be safe away from their parents. Of course, when that friendly face mask fell off and the fangs peeked from that honest smile, it was only the cold, drained body that the parents got back. Itachi would be glad to be rid of this one.
The thought made him speed up, to the annoyance of his Partner. Kisame was good at combat and was more then capable of taking care of any Bloodsucker that crossed their path, even better at tracking some of then he was, but Kisame had always had trouble with keeping the right pace, and as a consequence he often ended up late to the actual fight.
Briefly, memories threatened to take over his mind, but he was too focused to allow such a thing. Instead he heard a small whooshing sound and then the smell of death and fresh blood hit him. Close. So close. He zigzagged through the trees in his way and saw his chance. He delivered a swift kick to the head of the Bloodsucker, throwing what had only been a flash of shadow against darkness straight into the trunk of a tree. Dead leaves rained down on the dazed body, blood coating its mouth.
"Hunter good...Hunter very good..." The thing mumbled, licking at the blood on its lips. It had been wearing a orange spiral mask, but that had fallen off before the chase had even really began. Now short dark hair hung limply over one dark eye. The other eye was covered in bandages, shielding it from view.
Itachi didn't give it a chance to move from its sitting, slumped position. Kisame's voice echoed in his mind. 'First lesson, never let the Bloodsucker get the upper-hand. Even if it looks like there is just no way they could fight back, don't let your guard down, and don't turn your back. They love that sort of thing.'
He wrapped his hand around the freezing neck and trapped it against the trunk, a classic stake waiting above the thing's chest. There were, of course, other ways to kill a bloodsucker, but in this kind of case, he preferred the kind that involved coming in as close as he could and giving the monster a chance to see just exactly what was going to happen to it.
He saw with sick pleasure fear came over the Bloodsucker's face. Good. He noticed the slight widening of dark eyes... The dry, unnecissary breath coming faster and faster. Itachi narrowed his eyes and came as close to smiling as he ever did when the Bloodsucker bared his fangs, and saw the creature raise it's claws out of the corner of his eye. He dug the stake in a little further, tearing a hole in the cloth of the Leech's shirt and allowing the tip to put pressure on stony skin. The warning got through and the claws were quickly withdrawn back to it's sides, fangs hidden behind bloodstained lips.
"Please, Hunter! Tobi is a good boy! Tobi has done no wrong!" The thing dared to try pleading with him. Itachi just pressed on the stake and was about to plunge it straight through when a cloud moved out from in front of the moon. Dim lighting threw his face in a pale wash of moonbeams. The Leech's eyes got impossibly wider and he said the one thing that could have made the Hunter pause.
"You're Uchiha Itachi! Killer! Killer of Vampires, framed killer of his own family...You have to be him! Hunter Uchiha Itachi!" The thing said exclaimed, even as the stake dug into its skin. It sounded as if it had solved a great mystery. Itachi just growled, beyond annoyed now.
He hadn't been recognized by anyone in a long time...He had to keep his identity a secret... If he didn't want to get thrown into jail. And yet, as easily as a cloud moving, this Bloodsucker had somehow known exactly who he was... The fact made Itachi feel just a tad bit violent... The stake pressed just a little deeper. The Leech seemed to get the message, because it was suddenly frantically babbling at him, waving his arms in the air in a way that would have been comical to anyone but Itachi.
"Wait! Hunter! Uchiha Itachi! I have information! Information for you! You can't kill me! I have information you want to know! Tobi is a good boy! Tobi has good information for Uchiha Itachi!" the thing wailed, looking close to tears. Itachi knew all of the emotions were fake. This Bloodsucker was infamous for being dramatic and childish until it had whoever it was talking to right where it wanted them. Itachi was not fooled. But... Information?
"What kind of information, Bloodsucker?" he hissed out, stopping the wild movements with a good twist of the stake. The Leech gained a wide, sharp, bloodstained grin on its face that would have sent chills into anyone. Except Itachi, of course.
"Information on Madara, Hunter Uchiha Itachi." The monster whispered with sick childish joy. Itachi froze at the name and withdrew the stake only slightly. This seemed to encourage the Bloodsucker greatly because it continued in a excited, hushed tone.
"Tobi heard from his Sempai that a Vampire named Sasori knows all about Madara. All about Madara! Sempai told Tobi that Sasori wasn't very faithful to Madara now! Tobi bets Sasori would tell Hunter Uchiha Itachi whatever he wanted to know! Hunter Uchiha Itachi let Tobi go now, right? Tobi a good boy. Tobi deserve to not get poofed, yes? Yes?" The disgustingly happy Bloodsucker gained a bouncy, bubbly tone as he completely withdrew the stake and moved away from the leech.
"That information seems to be useful." Itachi said simply and watched as the Bloodsucker known as 'Tobi' clapped its hands together gleefully, the hole he had created in its chest already disappearing. Itachi turned his back, listening to the monster move to make a run for it. The Leech was at least smart enough to not try its chances by attacking him.
"Thank you Hunter Uchiha Ita-" The thanks were cut off as an arrow flew into its chest. Tobi looked down at the weapon piercing its chest, comically surprised. "Tobi is a good boy!" It cried before the Bloodsucker crumbled into undead dust. Itachi shook his head at Bloodsucker stupidity, strapping the crossbow like weapon onto his back once more.
Itachi looked up at the moon, thinking. Sasori, huh? He had never heard of that particular Bloodsucker... He would have to find out about him... Would he actually believe the monster that he had just killed? Well, if it wasn't true, then he could just kill Sasori, too. He wouldn't tell Kisame, though. His Partner would just get worried about his obsession with the great Bloodsucker leader Madara and try to stop him. Speaking of his Partner...
Kisame burst into the clearing, panting and sweating. He looked at Itachi, calm and perfectly composed, as usual, and then at the small pile of dust sitting innocently beside a tree, already getting swept away by the wind. His partner cursed under his breath, growling something that sounded suspiciously like Kisame complaining that Itachi always got to them first and always got to have all the fun...
"Is there something you'd like to say, Kisame?" he asked, his tone quiet, dangerous. He watched with some amusement as the stronger, older man quickly shook his head in a breathless no. He nodded and began to walk away.
He didn't see Kisame grin and roll his eyes at his younger Partner's back before moving to catch up to him. "So... How'd the Hunt go? Not too easily, huh?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary." He commented lightly, already planning to find Sasori the next night. If what the other monster had said was true, he could find a break-through in this Sasori Bloodsucker...And he could be closer to getting his long awaited revenge...
"Well, that's good." Kisame said, unaware that Itachi was planning something that would change their lives indefinatly.
__________________________
The two Hunters walked quietly through the forest on a moonlit night, thinking all was as it should be. A shadow moved among the trees and came to rest by the pile of dust that used to be the Vampire Tobi. ...So, he had fufilled his purpose like a good little pawn... The shadow glanced back at the pair of Hunters as the dust was taken by the wind. A deep-seated pleasure hummed in it's chest before it turned and vanished again, content with the night's work.
'Soon... Very soon now.'
