Fanfic Archive: The Hunted
May. 28th, 2009 06:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
texchan(Written: April, 2006)
Warnings: None ... I think. >.O
Summary: D is forced to resort to a rather unusual mode of apprehending his latest quarry.
Legal Stuff: As always, this story is intended to express one fan's genuine appreciation of Vampire Hunter D, VHD: Bloodlust, and their characters. It is just for fun and not for profit. If you have any rights in the anime described here and find the posting of this fanfiction offensive or harmful, please contact me, and I will be happy to remove it.
Author's Note: Written as a writing challenge response for D / Carp.
The Hunted
Everyone in the store turned to stare at D as he paused in the doorway, silhouetted by the setting sun. The stares ranged from greedy excitement to downright distrust. Travelers were not usually welcome in frontier towns, especially this close to sunset, although most merchants made an exception in hopes of a few extra coins crossing their palms. The only thing more scarce out here than personal safety was money, and most folks were willing to sacrifice a bit of one in order to gain a little of the other.
D glanced around the room, cataloguing thousands of minute details in that one, quick look. He dismissed most of the people in the store as unimportant, filing their positions away in his mind without paying them a second thought. But, one occupant, in the back, captured D’s undivided attention. A young man, barely out of his teens -- dark hair, slight build, a thin face, just as D’s employer had described him -- shifted nervously under the cold scrutiny. Of all the people in the store, this boy, alone, didn’t meet D’s gaze, which was enough to mark him as suspicious, even if D hadn’t been hunting him.
D frowned, the barest narrowing of his eyes, and debated over his next move. This was not good. The kid, supposedly turned by a vampire two nights before, was from the next town over. D hadn’t expected to run into him here. He had come into the store to re-supply before setting out into the wilderness, and he had left his sword outside, hanging on his saddle. Not one of his finer decisions, now that he thought about it, but, heck, even a hero has an “oops moment” every now and then. Of course, D preferred to make his screw-ups when only his life was on the line, as opposed to unwittingly putting a roomful of innocent people in jeopardy.
And, then, there was the kid. He had been in the sunlight -- something that would be impossible if he had turned completely. Even from across the room, D could see the barest gleam of red in the kid’s eyes; he could see the smallest sliver of fang at the corner of the boy’s mouth. Still, D could tell -- the transformation was incomplete.
It wasn’t a long pause -- a second, maybe two. But, it was long enough for the boy to make his move. With a feral scream of rage, he shoved two bystanders out of the way and launched himself through the air toward his unarmed enemy. He had changed enough to gain almost super-human speed, which would have been more than a match for any unarmed hunter.
Any hunter except for D, that is.
D sidestepped the boy’s initial attack with a graceful, flowing movement -- so quick that the witnesses in the store, later, would swear he hadn’t moved at all. He grabbed for the first weapon he could lay hands on -- a large fish, from that morning’s catch. He twisted around, following the boy’s movement, and swung the impromptu weapon at the kid’s head. The boy dropped to the ground with a grunt when the fish connected with a solid-sounding thunk.
D sighed as he dropped the fish. He couldn’t help but be a bit unhappy with the overall outcome of this fight. Sure, he had gotten his prey. He had completed his job, and in record time, too. Plus, he had reached the kid in time to save him, which would, probably, earn him a nice, fat bonus on top of the generous fee the boy’s family had already paid. Still, D couldn’t help but cringe when he thought about how Left Hand was going to have a field day with this one. No, even worse than that -- a hundred years of field days. Sometimes, being immortal sucked.
D dropped to one knee, next to his fallen opponent. He removed a small vial from his belt and administered an antidote that, he hoped, would counteract the changes occurring in the boy’s body. Without a word, he picked up the unconscious boy and exited the store.
“Not very smart, if you ask me … leaving your sword out on the horse.”
D cringed as Left Hand’s raspy voice came to life.
“Pretty quick thinking, though,” Left Hand continued, ignoring his host’s discomfort, “I mean … victory by carp. Not many hunters have that as a claim to fame. I might just have to start spreading the word on this new reputation of yours.”
D shrugged as he tossed his still-unconscious bounty across his saddle.
“Whatever,” he replied, his tone making it clear he couldn’t care less what Left Hand might choose to do.
He mounted, grunting softly as the horse’s weight shifted beneath him, causing the saddle leather to squeak. The small sound seemed big and loud in the near-silence of the deserted street.
“Besides, I think it was a catfish. Maybe a trout. Or a bass. Not a carp.”
Left Hand groaned. “You are no fun.”
As he rode away, into the setting sun, D ducked his head, hiding his face beneath the wide brim of his hat … and smiled … just a little.
~End
Warnings: None ... I think. >.O
Summary: D is forced to resort to a rather unusual mode of apprehending his latest quarry.
Legal Stuff: As always, this story is intended to express one fan's genuine appreciation of Vampire Hunter D, VHD: Bloodlust, and their characters. It is just for fun and not for profit. If you have any rights in the anime described here and find the posting of this fanfiction offensive or harmful, please contact me, and I will be happy to remove it.
Author's Note: Written as a writing challenge response for D / Carp.
Everyone in the store turned to stare at D as he paused in the doorway, silhouetted by the setting sun. The stares ranged from greedy excitement to downright distrust. Travelers were not usually welcome in frontier towns, especially this close to sunset, although most merchants made an exception in hopes of a few extra coins crossing their palms. The only thing more scarce out here than personal safety was money, and most folks were willing to sacrifice a bit of one in order to gain a little of the other.
D glanced around the room, cataloguing thousands of minute details in that one, quick look. He dismissed most of the people in the store as unimportant, filing their positions away in his mind without paying them a second thought. But, one occupant, in the back, captured D’s undivided attention. A young man, barely out of his teens -- dark hair, slight build, a thin face, just as D’s employer had described him -- shifted nervously under the cold scrutiny. Of all the people in the store, this boy, alone, didn’t meet D’s gaze, which was enough to mark him as suspicious, even if D hadn’t been hunting him.
D frowned, the barest narrowing of his eyes, and debated over his next move. This was not good. The kid, supposedly turned by a vampire two nights before, was from the next town over. D hadn’t expected to run into him here. He had come into the store to re-supply before setting out into the wilderness, and he had left his sword outside, hanging on his saddle. Not one of his finer decisions, now that he thought about it, but, heck, even a hero has an “oops moment” every now and then. Of course, D preferred to make his screw-ups when only his life was on the line, as opposed to unwittingly putting a roomful of innocent people in jeopardy.
And, then, there was the kid. He had been in the sunlight -- something that would be impossible if he had turned completely. Even from across the room, D could see the barest gleam of red in the kid’s eyes; he could see the smallest sliver of fang at the corner of the boy’s mouth. Still, D could tell -- the transformation was incomplete.
It wasn’t a long pause -- a second, maybe two. But, it was long enough for the boy to make his move. With a feral scream of rage, he shoved two bystanders out of the way and launched himself through the air toward his unarmed enemy. He had changed enough to gain almost super-human speed, which would have been more than a match for any unarmed hunter.
Any hunter except for D, that is.
D sidestepped the boy’s initial attack with a graceful, flowing movement -- so quick that the witnesses in the store, later, would swear he hadn’t moved at all. He grabbed for the first weapon he could lay hands on -- a large fish, from that morning’s catch. He twisted around, following the boy’s movement, and swung the impromptu weapon at the kid’s head. The boy dropped to the ground with a grunt when the fish connected with a solid-sounding thunk.
D sighed as he dropped the fish. He couldn’t help but be a bit unhappy with the overall outcome of this fight. Sure, he had gotten his prey. He had completed his job, and in record time, too. Plus, he had reached the kid in time to save him, which would, probably, earn him a nice, fat bonus on top of the generous fee the boy’s family had already paid. Still, D couldn’t help but cringe when he thought about how Left Hand was going to have a field day with this one. No, even worse than that -- a hundred years of field days. Sometimes, being immortal sucked.
D dropped to one knee, next to his fallen opponent. He removed a small vial from his belt and administered an antidote that, he hoped, would counteract the changes occurring in the boy’s body. Without a word, he picked up the unconscious boy and exited the store.
“Not very smart, if you ask me … leaving your sword out on the horse.”
D cringed as Left Hand’s raspy voice came to life.
“Pretty quick thinking, though,” Left Hand continued, ignoring his host’s discomfort, “I mean … victory by carp. Not many hunters have that as a claim to fame. I might just have to start spreading the word on this new reputation of yours.”
D shrugged as he tossed his still-unconscious bounty across his saddle.
“Whatever,” he replied, his tone making it clear he couldn’t care less what Left Hand might choose to do.
He mounted, grunting softly as the horse’s weight shifted beneath him, causing the saddle leather to squeak. The small sound seemed big and loud in the near-silence of the deserted street.
“Besides, I think it was a catfish. Maybe a trout. Or a bass. Not a carp.”
Left Hand groaned. “You are no fun.”
As he rode away, into the setting sun, D ducked his head, hiding his face beneath the wide brim of his hat … and smiled … just a little.
~End