Fan Fiction ❯ Arctic Blue ❯ Blood Red Wave Beside The Snow White Cloud ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

It was late that night, but one couldn't tell in the Underworld, when I returned. My instructor was waiting impatiently, apparently aggravated by how long it had taken me. So he immediately inquired about my journey.

"Did you get him?"

I rolled my eyes but didn't allow him to see. "It takes more than three hours to gain the trust of a man like that. He's suspicious, I can tell you that."

"Spectacular, just spectacular."

"I thought you weren't in a hurry?" I asked knowing I'd never get an answer from him because he knew I was right.

"Just go on." He said impatiently. "New problems have arisen."

"If you want this done you will have patience and allow me to do this at his pace, rather than our Lords' If he doesn't trust me he'll never go along with it. And we need him to do just that so I need him to trust me. Plus, an alliance like that wouldn't be bad to have." I added the last part under my breath. Never did I want my instructor to hear something like that from me.

"Alright, besides, we're not exactly in a hurry. Go at his pace and we'll see how quickly he takes to you."

"Thank you, sir. I will not fail."

I reluctantly walked to my quarters and, I think, my instructor noticed that, unfortunately. All I wanted, at that precise moment, was to return to Earth. Apparently my teachers had been right. Once you taste the sweet smell of the Earth and feel the warm sun beating down on your shoulders, there is nothing more you want. I agree with that, now, except for the last part because there was one more thing I wanted.

I changed and fell back onto my bed. My uncomfortable bed. Trying to sleep, I found that all of my thoughts led me back to Dante and our encounter earlier that day. Never in my entire life had I met someone like him. Beings in the Underworld were cocky but their reasons for being so were not nearly as good as his. Beings in the Underworld were smart but his intelligence was well used. And, the most obvious thing that set them apart, beings in the Underworld never could be as attractive as Dante. It was something that frightened me, this new emotion. I had never felt it before because no one where I lived could ever make me feel it. But then, after I'd gone to set Dante in a trap, I felt it. And I also felt as though my will was breaking and I could not do this. I was truly afraid of what was going to happen to me and him.

Lying on my bed, I still could not shake those thoughts of him. The thoughts that kept me awake all night imagining different scenarios of our next meeting. So, many hours later I fell asleep just to find that I soon was awakened.

As my instructor stood in the doorway, I cursed him in my mind for disrupting my new, pleasant dream images. "You'd best be waking up." He called, causing me to lift my head up to look at him.

"Yes, sir." I called back angrily.

"The portal is open, just outside of your door. Hurry up."

I narrowed my eyes as I let my head fall back on my pillow. Reading an old clock by my bed, I realized how right he was, though I hated to admit it. I jumped out of bed and walked over to the bathroom connected to my quarters, before I remembered my clothing. I had never done that before but quickly understood why, as my mind was already busy, wondering what Dante was doing at that moment when I showed my stupidity. Soon after entering the shower I exited and dressed hurriedly, wanting to return to the beautiful Earth. And I did just that. But before I entered the portal, I surveyed my surroundings. The walls of the hallway I was in were dark and dank, filling me with despair. The foul stench that hung in the air was enough to make me gag, though I had lived there for all of my life. Happily entering the portal, I found myself, once again, on the springy grass of Earth. Smiling, I ran to Devil Never Cry, wanting to see him again.

I knocked on the door again. "It's open." Dante called out.

I carefully opened the door and walked in, waiting for him to say something. Thankfully, he recognized me. "You just gonna stand there or are you comin' in?" Spoke Dante, giving me a look of half pity and half humor.

In response, I closed the door and walked slowly over to his desk. "You can sit down, you know." Apparently, he'd noticed my discomfort and thought it was full of hilarity. I, on the other hand, didn't quite look at it that way. So, I took up his offer, trying to relieve myself of any fear I had.

"So... that information you mentioned yesterday, what might it be?" He leaned back in the chair.

I was caught completely off guard. Never did I think that he'd remember someone as unimportant or as unmemorable as me, let alone my promise of information but he did. I had been telling (barely, for every time I looked at him my mind went blank and I couldn't find the words I had so carefully planned) him everything I knew about these demons, weaknesses, strengths, special powers, everything, until the phone rang and interrupted my words.

"Excuse me for a second." Said Dante, shocking me yet again, with manners I thought Hunters didn't have. After listening in to his conversation which I barely understood, I realized that it was a hunt. I waited eagerly until he hung up.

"Listen, honey, this is big." Before he could finish I unintentionally cut him off.

"What kind is it?" I asked, impatiently.

"Huh?"

"I know what that call was. So what kind of demon is it?"

He, evidently, liked that because he smiled openly at me. "Well, from what that man said, it was one of those that you showed me yesterday, in your book."

"Shit." I softly said. I know that it was my job to get him in the clutches of those demons but I just couldn't. I couldn't watch those foul creatures take this fair man.

"I've got to take care of this asshole before he destroys the city and everyone in it." Dante said as he pulled on his coat over his black shirt. "And I can't just leave you here. So you've got a few choices. I leave that up to you." He pulled the door open, letting me out before him, and locked it behind us. He walked over to his motorcycle.

I was extremely disturbed that he was going through with this despite the warnings I had told him so I stepped in. "I'm coming with you."

Dante just turned back and looked at me like he didn't approve. "Can you handle yourself?" He asked as he got on.

"Very well." Was my confident reply.

"Get on." I walked up and sat behind him. "Hold on because I'm in a hurry."

He started the motorcycle. I wrapped my arms around his waist, receiving a strange look from him, but I knew he didn't mind because he stopped breathing for a second and I saw his lips curve into a smile. Dante put his foot on the pavement and turned around, speeding off. He stopped suddenly before a huge lot of trees. "Is this it?" I asked, anxiously.

"Supposed to be." He let go of the bike and leaned back a little. I let go. Dante shook his head, for what reason I know not. At a tiny sound, Dante snapped his head around. "It's there."

I got off, allowing him to do so, as well. He grabbed his sword from the side of his motorcycle and walked over to the noise, ready for an attack. A young girl walked out of the group of the trees, looking at him. Disappointed, Dante stuck the point of his sword in the ground and leaned on it, turning to face me with eyes that were more upset than I'd seen them. I walked up to him, after I'd noticed Ebony and Ivory strapped to his thighs. To his complete shock and dismay, I grabbed the guns and fired at the girl, before she could change back. I thanked ancient deities for one of the bullets I had fired lodged itself in her head, killing her instantly.

"What the hell?" He shot, directed towards me.

Rolling my eyes, I pointed to the girl. "Look."

Dante did so, trusting that I had a reason for killing a seemingly innocent girl. But, at that moment, her body changed into that of a Johvial. He watched interestedly as its natural, body armor began to cover its dark skin. The girl's short, dark hair switched to long, light "hair" or something like hair, I wasn't quite sure. Shot, child limbs gained new length and small shoulders were broadened as the transformation finished.

"Well," Dante said. "That thing's attractive. What kind was it...?"

"A Johvial." I replied as I walked back over and handed him back his guns, Ebony and Ivory.

"Which ones are they?"

"The ones that will kill you the most quickly and mercilessly."

Dante gave me another one of his half pity looks. "Think happy thoughts, babe. Happy thoughts..." He added with a smile which led me to believe that he was, in no way, serious.

"Happy thoughts aren't going to keep any of us alive."

"'Any of us?'" He asked, returning to the motorcycle.

"Hunters. God, you've been doing this for how long? And apparently, you don't even realize that you're not the only one doing this."

"Hey! You don't have to be jumpin' down my throat. I just didn't know that you were one of us. You know, most of the time, we Hunters don't go around pickin' up information, we just kill them."

"Maybe you should start that, then. Because if you did, you'd know that they're assassins. Shifters that can change their form into anything. I believe I told you that yesterday."

He nodded. "You did. And didn't you say something about-" Before he could finish another Johvial changed its form from a blade of grass to its true self. The demon tackled him to the ground. Sensing that there was nothing I could do except wait to see if Dante would recover, I looked around for any unusual movement. Unfortunately, I found some. A third Johvial appeared, coming down from amongst the branches of a tree. Closing my eyes for a moment, I recalled the demonstration where my instructor told me of a very easy way to kill the beasts.

Well the easiest way, of course, is to kill them in a form that is not their own because that happens to leave them in a sort of weakened state. One that allows for an easy kill. But, if their armor was in place and their form was the one they're born with, my instructor said there was only one more simple and quick way to defeat them.

I looked back at Dante, to see him parrying plenty of attacks. But he'd constantly look around as the demon was changing forms with almost no break is his own.

"God dammit!" He yelled out in frustration. "Would you fuckers just play fair?"

As if it were a response, the Johvial he was "fighting" cackled and kicked Dante's spine. Smiling, the Hunter drew his gun and rolled over onto his back, firing at the demon. He dropped the gun, pulled his legs up to his chest, and pushed off of the ground with his hands, landing easily and kicking the demon's head. Alastor quickly came down to decapitate the creature. Putting the tip of the sword on the blood-stained ground, Dante cracked his neck, pleased with himself.

Immediately after I turned back around, I caught a punch to my stomach. I toppled backward, being careful not to lose my footing, and barely had time to think as the next attack followed extremely quickly. I thanked those ancient deities again for my training in the Underworld. The training that gave me a bit of an advantage in a fight with a Johvial.

Dante was watching me, obviously not helping unless things became serious, and trying to figure out if I'd be a worthy ally. Lost in that thought, the damn Johvial kicked me down to the ground. I had just enough time to roll backward, keeping myself from further harm.

"Dante!" I yelled, looking back at him, as the Johvial was very temporarily stunned. "Gun."

He tossed Ivory to me, ironically, and, taking aim in a short amount of time, I shot at a horn protruding from the demon's head. It cracked in two and the foul creature fell over. Dead.

Looking at my work, Dante walked over, getting his gun back. "Nice... but is that the last of them?'

"Should be." I whispered, more to myself than him.

His suspicious eyes glanced at me from under his white bangs. "Good to know you've got this information."

I knew exactly what it meant. He was becoming aware of my background, though, he didn't know it yet. And I was ready to do anything to keep it that way.

Climbing on his motorcycle again, Dante looked as if he was waiting for me. "What?" I asked, not knowing what he wanted.

"Well, do you have more information or do you have to be getting back?"

I nearly cringed at hearing those last few words. I didn't want to go back. I knew what would happen. It'd be just like every other day except that I was actually working. I had a job, finally, and it just happened to have seemed easy until I started. I'd get back to the Underworld, my instructor would question, I'd get furious because he'd expect for it to be done soon, and then he'd tell me I couldn't do it anymore. Something I wasn't exactly looking forward to.

"I've told you all that I know."

"Alright." Tension was thick in the air between us.

I turned and started to walk away to the location of the portal I had to take but Dante called out. "Where are you going?" Knowing he didn't want to ask that question and that I didn't want to answer it, I almost didn't. But I didn't want to break any tiny thread of trust between us.

"Home." I stated simply.

"Where's that?"

"You don't want to know."

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have asked." I don't know who felt more stupid: Dante or me.

"Well, you don't, trust me."

"Listen, do you even have a home?" My heart fell. I knew that technically I did but it didn't feel like home. Even Dante felt more like home than the Underworld and I'd only known him for two days.

"I do. But it's not home. It's just my place of residence." If my instructor ever found out my heart was turning away from the Underworld he'd destroy me. Painfully.

"You know, if I see you again... how am I supposed to get your attention?" Asked Dante, slyly. I knew what he wanted and so did he but he hid it well. So well, in fact, that it took me a second to figure it out.

"Just holler for Zoe." Regretfully, I walked back to the portal, my red, wavy hair flowing in the slight breeze I knew I'd never feel again until I came back to Earth.

I heard Dante start up his motorcycle and drive off. Leaving me with nothing but the faint sounds of the engine that were already fading so quickly. As my burning eyes fell upon the portal, I snapped my head back around, hoping to see him standing there but that was more than I should have ever hoped for. I walked through and gasped as I re-entered the Underworld. My instructor was standing right in front of me, arms crossed before his chest, with the most sour expression I'd ever seen him bear. Just seeing him there, like that, made me feel the pain I knew would be coming.