Chapter 2: Reunion
Kaname Chidori awoke from her peaceful slumber to the sounds of various birds singing their cheerful songs. From within her soft and snug sleeping bag, she breathed in the fresh mountain air.
She slowly climbed out of her tent to find that everyone was already awake and moving about. It didn’t surprise her. She never did well in the mornings and without her alarm clock, she couldn’t help but sleep in.
Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she smiled as she looked around. The morning breeze was cool and refreshing as it blew through her long blue hair. The freshly fallen snow covered the ground with a pure white frost. The massive pine trees were an awe-inspiring sight and filled the air with their fragrant scent. By contrast, tiny squirrels were busy scurrying up and about their branches.
In much the same fashion, her friends were moving about their campsite with their various chores. Kyoko and Mizuki were scrabbling eggs over a portable gas stove. Shinji and Ona-D were tending to the fire. Sousuke was... “Uh oh.”
Her smile dropped as she continued to scan the campsite, unable to find the soldier in question.
“Hey, guys, have you seen Sousuke anywhere?” Kaname asked the two boys poking sticks into the fire.
“He got up before any of us. I saw him leave the tent with a rifle in hand,” Shinji responded.
The teenaged girl slapped her forehead. “Oh, no. It’s starting already...” She muttered to herself. With that, she put on a pair of slippers and ran off into the woods, still in her pajamas, hoping it wasn’t too late.
******
The morning air was cold. His body was frigid even more so from lying in the snow all morning. But this was nothing to the battle hardened Mithril operative. His patience had paid off. He slowly and silently placed another handful of snow in his mouth to prevent his breath from fogging in the air and giving away his position. With trained precision, he lined up his target in his sights. Soon his bullet would pierce the heart of his unsuspecting victim. He carefully placed his finger over the trigger and slowly squeezed...
CRACK!
The sting of the paper fan smacking on top of his head knocked the soldier from his focus. It also alerted the large buck he’d been hunting to his position. He stared forlorn at its retreating figure as it escaped deep into the dense woods. He then turned his attention to his enraged assailant.
“Chidori? You’ve let the deer escape. What’s wrong?”
“‘What’s wrong?!’” she shouted at the confused young man. “You were going to shoot that poor, defenseless deer! What’d it ever do to you?”
“What it did to me isn’t the issue. We’re camping out in the wilderness. Gathering food is a necessity to survival. I was merely trying to secure breakfast,” he replied nonchalantly.
Kaname let out a sigh. “Sousuke, as members of civilized society, we pack food in coolers so we don’t have to hunt like cavemen! Kyoko and Mizuki are cooking breakfast for us right now.”
“So I presume you don’t want these then?” he asked, lifting up a pair of small white rabbits that had already been shot, gutted and cleaned. Spots of blood stained their pure white fluffy fur. Kaname let out a short scream and fell back on her rear end as he held them in front of her face.
“No, you butcher!” she screamed, jumping to her feet and kicking him squarely in the chin. Sousuke dropped his catch in the snow as he fell to the ground. “There’s no way we’re cooking that! Give those things a proper burial and come back to camp!” With that she turned around and stormed back to camp, grumbling the whole way. She wrapped her arms around herself, finally realizing just how cold it was and how underdressed she was.
Sousuke did as she instructed. But as he was returning back to camp, he felt an uncomfortable darkness surround him. He’d been feeling it for the past week or so. As if someone or something was following him. It left him feeling rather anxious since even his honed soldier instincts couldn’t pinpoint any particular threat. But he couldn’t shake the impending feeling of dread...
******
“Hey, let’s go for a hike!” suggested Shinji some time after breakfast.
““Great idea!” Kyoko added.
“All right! Let’s get going!”
“I don’t think so, Kaname,” interrupted Mizuki. “We all had to cook breakfast while you and Sagara were off making out in the woods!”
Kaname’s face turned bright red. “We weren’t making out!”
“Well, whatever you were doing, it’s only fair that you two stay and do the dishes.”
“It’s only fair, Kana,” Kyoko supported with a giggle.
Kaname sulked. Sousuke wasn’t really paying attention as he seemed to be contemplating something.
“See you guys later!” shouted Ona-D to his two classmates. This snapped Sousuke back to reality.
“Wait!” he suddenly yelled to them, causing them to freeze immediately. “I set some traps around the parameter of the came before I left this morning to prevent anyone from entering the camp.” He pointed to a well-hidden rope that Shinji had been just about to trip.
Kaname groaned. “I thought I told you no explosives.”
“Affirmative. These traps are completely natural.” He pointed high in the tree tops where a massive log that had been filed with a sharp point was suspended with ropes. “If this rope is tripped, the trespasser would most likely meet a grizzly end,” he said proudly.
The whole camp stared at the soldier in stunned silence. “Sousuke…” Kaname finally spoke up. “I left the camp this morning to find you. So why weren’t any of the traps sprung?”
“Oh, I suppose you were fortunate enough to exit and enter the camp at one of the few places I left open for us to safely pass through.”
The blue haired girl turned pale. “You idiot! You could have gotten me killed! Why didn’t you say something if you set up traps!?”
This causes Sousuke to start sweating. “Uh… I apologize. I guess I forgot...”
That earned him a solid slap with Kaname’s paper fan.
“Well, we’ll see you guys later!”
“Make sure those dishes are spotless when we come back!”
“Try to keep your hands off each other. Tee hee!”
Kaname muttered a few curses under her breath before turning to her companion. In a single morning he’d killed two small woodland creatures, nearly gotten her killed, and was responsible for her having to waste the day in camp and she was determined to make him suffer. “Sousuke! This is all your fault, so you can do those dishes by yourself. Take them down to the river with some soap!” she snapped.
******
The river was only a short walk away, but the water was nearly freezing, so by the time Sousuke finished his task, his hands were numb and his fingers turning blue. But given how upset Kaname was with him, and his promise to try to make her vacation as enjoyable as possible, it prevented him from protesting his assignment.
When he returned to camp over an hour later he found the blue-haired girl warming herself by the fire, wearing a thick winter coat. She seemed to have calmed down somewhat and rather than risk upsetting her again, he stayed on the other end of the camp and attempted to warm his frozen hands as best he could with his own body heat until she decided to allow him to warm up by the fire.
This did not go unnoticed by the girl. She had been staring into the flames since Sousuke had left. Watching them dance in the wind as they climbed the charred logs had an almost hypnotic effect that helped her relax her frustration. She was well aware of how cold the water would be when she sent him off, but he never once complained. She had to admit that she was impressed.
“C’mon, Sousuke. Sit by the fire before you catch hypothermia.” Wordlessly, but eagerly, he accepted and sat himself beside her. Clutching his chest, he rocked himself back and forth and breathed heavily, trying to restore his body heat.
Though he may have deserved it, Kaname felt a little guilty seeing him in this state. She knew he was only interested in her well-being, even if he did mess up a lot of things. Glancing at his silent form, struggling for warmth, she felt a strange impulse come over her. She hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth between him and the fire, but she eventually scooted closer to the boy and slowly wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his upper arms and shoulders. His body stiffened at first at the contact but soon relaxed and melted into the awkward embrace. Both of them started feeling rather warm in spite of the cold, particularly in their faces.
After a long silence, Kaname finally spoke up. “I’m sorry I got so mad at you before. Maybe I overreacted.” Sousuke said nothing. He simply continued to stare into the fire. This had Kaname feeling rather uncomfortable. “You aren’t... mad at me for making you do the dishes, are you?”
“Negative. I deserved that. I should have warned you about the traps. It was very careless of me to leave without mentioning them. I’m the one who should apologize. I really did want you to enjoy this trip. I never wanted to ruin things for you.” Feeling somewhat relieved, Kaname smiled a little and unconsciously pulled herself a little closer to him.
“It’s okay. We still have a few more days. We’ll have some fun tomorrow.” After a moment of thought, she added, “But you do seem like you’ve been kind of distracted lately. Is something wrong?”
Sousuke took a deep breath and pondered her question for a moment. She’d gotten quite good at reading him, though he generally did an excellent job of hiding his feelings from most people. It’d be pointless to try to keep it from her. “It’s probably nothing. I’ve just been having a very bad feeling lately. Like we’re being watched by something. I see no physical signs of any enemy, but I can’t seem to shake this feeling.”
Kaname frowned as she recalled something. “Actually... now that you mention it, when I was leaving your apartment the other day, I remember feeling like someone or something was watching me.”
“So you’ve noticed it too…” he whispered in response. “Whatever it is, it’s been distracting my focus. So I apologize for my actions. But I just have a very bad feeling,” he grimly admitted. To see even Sousuke feeling anxious made her even more nervous. She was now holding onto him, though more for her own security than to keep him warm. Without even realizing when she’d gotten so close, her cheek was now pressed to his shoulder and her hands tightly gripped the sleeves of his jacket.
They stayed like that for a few more minutes before they were interrupted.
“Sagara!”
Both Sousuke and Kaname jumped at the outburst and quickly parted. “We weren’t doing anything!” the blushing girl shouted in response. “I was just helping him warm up!” She looked at her friends, expecting to find them grinning at her, ready to tease the both of them. Instead what she found was fear. “What happened?” she asked, realizing that something was obviously wrong.
“We found a dead body in a cave a little ways from here!” replied Shinji, in a panicked voice.
“We didn’t know what to do since there’s no police out here, so we decided we should come find you, Sagara,” added Kyoko.
Sousuke immediately stood up, no longer showing any signs of being affected by the cold or his embrace with Kaname. “Show me,” he said firmly.
******
Sousuke shined his flashlight into the mouth of the cave but could see nothing suspicious from the opening.
“The body’s a short ways in there, but I doubt you’d be able to see it from here,” said Ona-D. Sousuke simply nodded and drew his Glock.
“You all wait here and stay together. Shout if you see or hear anything. I’ll go in to investigate the situation.” All his classmates nodded in agreement. Kyoko swallowed hard as he started his way into the deep, dark cave.
“Sousuke!” Kaname called out to him. He stopped and turned his head to face her. Worry was clearly shown on her face. “Please be careful, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be back shortly.”
After walking a short distance into the cave, Sousuke came across the body. He knelt down to check the vitals. Sure enough, the victim was dead. Sousuke continued his investigation of the corpse for clues. Male. Late 20s, early 30s. His clothing and equipment suggested he was a hiker. No weapons, save for a small pocket knife. Probably used more as a tool than self-defense. There was a small campfire and sleeping bag nearby. This suggested he was setting up to camp out in this cave. The embers were still glowing so he’d probably been killed within the last few hours.
What grabbed the soldier’s attention most, however, was the brutal way in which the man had been killed. He appeared to have been torn apart by some incredibly strong force. The power and savagery suggested the attacker was an animal, but there appeared to be no tooth or claw marks on the body. And the way many of the injuries had been in delicate pressure points and joints seemed to imply the killer was very skilled in killing arts, rather than just a mindless slaughterer.
He also noted two small holes in the victim’s neck, puncturing the carotid artery. The whole situation didn’t make any sense, but Sousuke’s instincts told him that it had something to do with the feeling of dread he’d been having all week, and that didn’t sit well with him at all.
“Ah, Kashim...” a sinister voice suddenly echoed throughout the cave. Sousuke froze and his blood ran cold. He knew that voice. But it wasn’t possible. He was dead. He’d killed him himself. “I figured I’d wait until nightfall to pay you and your friends a little visit, but it seems that you’ve saved me the trouble.” He then let out a cruel laughter that boomed off the walls.
Sousuke immediately stood up and attempted to find out where the voice was coming from. “Gauron! That’s impossible! I killed you!”
“Yeah, that’s true,” the voice agreed. “But then, when have I ever let that get in my way? Heh heh.”
Sousuke frantically scanned the surrounding area with his flashlight in his left hand in a reverse grip and his pistol in his right. He balanced his gun hand over his left wrist, so that everywhere he pointed his gun, the light would also shine. But no matter where he looked, he couldn’t tell where the voices were coming from. Normally, his honed combat instincts could help him detect an enemy, but he couldn’t feel his nemesis’ presence in any single direction. Rather, he felt a heavy dark aura surrounding him. ‘Where are you, damn it!’
“Looking for someone, Kashim?” The teenaged boy immediately spun around to find the large, burly man standing behind him. ‘How his he alive?’ ‘How did he get his limbs back?’ ‘How did he sneak behind me without me sensing it?’ These questions passed Sousuke’s mind for an instant and no more. He knew his enemy and that now was not the time for questions. He fired three rounds in Gauron’s direction, but the man seemed to disappear again right before his eyes.
“Now, is that any way to greet an old friend?” The voice was again behind him. The young mercenary turned around and squeezed a few more rounds off at Gauron, meeting with the same results.
‘Is it an illusion? Some type of hologram device?’ His questions were abruptly answered by a powerful blow from behind that sent his flying into the jagged stone wall of the cave. Sousuke gasped in pain from the impact before regaining his footing. In addition to the bruises from the impact, the sharp rock wall had also opened up several small cuts on his hands. He staggered slightly to turn around only to find Gauron already moving toward him at an incredible speed, his fist poised to smash his face. His instincts kicked in and he narrowly ducked the punch, resulting in a section of the wall behind him crumbling where his head had been. But now Sousuke was inside of his enemy’s guard and could launch a counter-attack.
He shined his SureFire flashlight upwards in Gauron’s eyes, simply hoping to stun him long enough to deal with his new-found speed. Instead he howled in agony and staggered backwards covering his eyes from the blinding photon pulse.
The light was several times brighter than the average flashlight and designed for tactical use. Shined in the eyes of an enemy, it was made to blind, stun and disorient. But Gauron seemed to be particularly sensitive even compared to normal people. Sousuke didn’t waste the opportunity and emptied the remainder of his 9mm rounds into the man’s chest. He then quickly rolled away, putting some space between them. Sousuke was sure that would finish him off, but when he faced him, he was shocked by what he saw.
Gauron clutched his chest, in obvious pain and glared at Sousuke, but he didn’t fall. ‘Is he some kind of monster?’ It was then that he finally noticed his appearance. Gauron’s face was completely disfigured with scars, almost to the point of being unrecognizable. His eyes weren’t human anymore. Instead they were a bright yellow. The insane man then opened his mouth and emitted a terrible hissing sound at Sousuke. His upper incisors lengthened into unnatural threatening points.
A horrible feeling clenched at Sousuke’s chest. It was a feeling he hadn’t known very much of in his life but he immediately recognized it. Fear. Gauron had always been a deadly opponent, but he now seemed to be something more than human and the normally steadfast soldier was completely unprepared to deal with this new threat. He’d stared death in the eye many times in the past, but something about this evil creature terrified him.
He was already out of bullets and the rest of his weapons were at camp. All he had left was his flashlight. He tried to blind Gauron once again, but this time he was prepared for it. The monster was immediately upon him and swatted the light from his hand. Sousuke countered with a swift and powerful kick to his midsection that did little more than cause him to stagger slightly. Realizing the situation was hopeless, the Mithril agent took advantage of his opponent being off balance and made a break for the entrance of the cave. In a shout of rage, Gauron gave chase. The bullet wounds had slowed him down slightly, but it took everything Sousuke had just to stay ahead of him. His only hope was that Gauron would be sensitive to sunlight and that would give him a chance to escape.
He then remembered his friends waiting for him outside the cave. He didn’t want to draw the enemy to them, but if he died, it wouldn’t be long before they met a similar fate. The best he could do was give them a warning. “Chidori! Everyone! Run back to the camp right now!”
“Sousuke, are you all right?” It was Kaname’s voice.
“Don’t wait for me! Run back to camp! Go!” His body ached from his recent injuries but he pooled his strength to stay ahead of the abomination chasing him. He could almost feel Gauron right behind him, nearly within striking distance. If he closed that distance, it was all over. Just a little further and just maybe he’d be able to escape with his life.
But as he neared the mouth of the cave, his heart sank. His classmates had all run off as he’d instructed, except for the one person he was most concerned about. Kaname had loyally stayed behind and waited for him.
“Sousuke!” There was no time to say anything more. There was no time to grab her and keep running. And there was no way to turn around and keep fighting. Sousuke did the only thing he could think to do at this point. He dived at her as he reached the entrance and tackled her to the ground. She grunted at the rough impact, but it was far better than the damage she’d receive when Gauron got a hold of her. He desperately did his best to shield her from the monster with his own body. Once Gauron had finished him, he knew Kaname wouldn’t be far behind, but it was the only thing he could still for her. He placed his head down close to hers, clung tightly to her slender frame, shut his eyes tightly and awaited his fate.
But it never came. Gauron had been so caught up in the chase, that he hadn’t noticed the mouth of the cave. He shrieked in pain as the sunlight briefly came into contact with his skin. He immediately stopped and backed into the safe cover of the stone walls.
Sousuke slowly rolled off of Kaname and they both looked at their attacker.
“Oh my god!” Kaname gasped, when she saw who was attacking them and his unnatural appearance. His skin was smoldering slightly and he was still clutching the bullet holes in his chest. But now he was simply staring at the pair with a cruel, twisted smile and evil yellow eyes.
“My, my, my. Miss Kaname, it’s nice to see you. You’re looking well,” he said sarcastically.
“And you’re somehow even uglier than last time, scarface,” she retorted as boldly as she could manage, though she said it from safely behind Sousuke’s back, peering up over his shoulder.
“Eh heh heh. As feisty as ever, I see. I like that.” He then turned his attention to Sousuke. “I knew you’d make this interesting for me. I’m so glad that you and I get to play this little game one last time, Kashim.”
“This isn’t a game, Gauron!” Sousuke sneered. “How are you still alive? I looked you in the eye as I killed you last time. No Lambda Driver could have saved you then.”
“Oh, that...” he said casually. “Some folks in China scraped up what was left of my corpse and managed to bring me back. Call it an ‘alternative medical practice’. There were a few added benefits to the process... and a few drawbacks as well...” he muttered that last part as he glanced toward the sky. “They did it on the condition that I help them out with a few things, but I decided they were a pretty boring bunch for my taste and I thought that you’d be much more entertaining. Looks like I was right. Though, I think you’d have been a much more interesting challenge if my plans to take care of that pesky little tumor that’s made you such a wimp hadn’t fallen through the cracks.” He then looked back at Kaname pointedly. Both Sousuke and Kaname knew exactly what he meant by “tumor”. “But hey, there’s no reason we can’t perform that ‘operation’ right here, eh Kaname?” he said with a sick smile and winked at her. Kaname felt a chill run down her spine and clutched Sousuke’s shoulders a little tighter. Neither Kaname nor her protector made any effort to continue the conversation. The madman could see the fear in their eyes and relished it. In Kaname’s case, anyway. Sousuke was different. Gauron wanted him to be strong, if nothing else. But perhaps just needed the proper “motivation”.
“Well... you kids run along now. But remember, Kashim. The sun will go down and sooner or later I’ll find you. You can’t run forever. In the meantime, I need to go take a little break.” With that, he seemed to fade back into the darkness of the cave and the dark atmosphere that seemed to follow him slowly receded. Both the teens let out a sigh of relief. They were safe, for at least the moment.
“Sousuke, are you alright? You’re bleeding,” she asked in concern.
”I’ll be fine. It’s not a problem.”
“What’s going on, Sousuke? Why is Gauron here and what’s happened to him?”
Sousuke shook his head. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. He then stood up straight and looked her in the eye. “I’m sorry, Chidori. I know you wanted to relax and enjoy this weekend, but I’m afraid this vacation’s over.”
Kaname wasn’t about to argue the point. She simply nodded and quickly headed back to camp with him. But both knew this encounter was far from over.
******
A/N: For some reason, this fic hasn't been nearly as popular as Family Reunion (maybe people don't care for vampires), but it's certainly more fun to write. ^_^;; Probably because there's no new characters to deal with, and so less awkward filler.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Please drop me a line if you read it. I'd at least like to know what people think of it in general.
That's it for now! Thanks.
Most people don't seem to like the idea but I thought it'd be cool to try something a little different.