Writing Underworld - Redemption

[Guest KairuHibiki]

Demons... Vampires, Werewolves, whatever lurked in the shadows and preyed on the innocent. That was something Kairu had hunted ever since his City was destroyed by them, ever since they killed everyone in the small town he was from. So when he heard news that a demon had been responsible for over two dozen gruesome deaths on an old subway, Kairu almost instantly packed up and left. The subway was located in the middle of San Mateo, California. Not many attacks had been heard of there, but things were different. They had gotten bolder, sometimes seen by many people.

"Whoever came up with that name should be drug into an alley and shot in the head..." Kairu thought to himself as he packed. Suddenly, there was a knock at his door. Turning, a smile lit on the mans face. "Hello, honey." Kairu said to the woman leaning against his door frame.

Grace smiled, running her left hand through her shoulder length black hair, flipping it a bit and smiling at Kairu before walking over to kiss his lips sweetly.

"Are you ready to go, Kairu?" She asked in a serious tone that showed her strong nature.

The black clad man nodded to her, smiling softly, "Yeah, I just have a few more things to check here before we leave..." He said, making sure everything was ready.

The dark-haired woman smirked, "Yes, I know, dearest... you did make sure to bring Night vision this time, right? Can't have another mishap like last time... I can't always be saving you... Next time you're on your own." She said, her tone calm and cold

Once more, the Dragon nodded, "Ouch, honey... Yeah, but come on... The Night vision goggles were right there in the bag before we left..."

Grace rolled her eyes at Kairu before leaning over to kiss his cheek, "Still, I gotta make sure." Came Grace's soft spoken reply.

The bald man nodded at her reply, "I know, love... I'll be more careful..." came his solemn words, still kind of struck about how she was toward him tonight. He could understand though. Her little sister, one she cherished, was slain by these creatures they hunted. That event had changed her a lot... she was more cold, more serious. She had distanced herself from Kairu a lot since then, but he knew she loved him just as much as before. And he would stand by her no matter what. In his reminiscences about the past, he remembered what Grace had said when Kairu promised they'd find the one responsible:

"When I find her murderer, they will scream her name a thousand times before the end..."

Kairu could only nod slowly... he had never heard her sound like that, it frightened him somewhat. In any event, he wouldn't let anything happen to her, he'd die first. Once everything was ready, the two of them headed out into the darkness of night... The hunt had begun.

They walked along the streets of San Mateo, heading toward the subway where the attack had been reported. Shortly after they had left, a storm had blown in, causing a torrential downfall of rain from the darkened sky. Grace, who was clothed in a black bra, the clasp held secure at the back, a pair of curve fitting blue jeans, and combat boots, was immediately drenched, her short cut hair matting itself to her smooth face. Kairu removed his hooded trenchcoat, it started off as a basic duster trench, of which later Kairu had modified to include a shroud hood that normally covered his face, and he draped it over his fiancee's shoulders, the hood falling over her head, protecting her from the rain. She glanced over at him, and for the first time in a few weeks, she gave him a warm smile before looking back the way they walked. Kairu walked slightly behind her, now clothed in a dark black silk shirt, the neck coming up higher than normal. It had four blousing ties down the front of his chest, and emblazoned on it was a picture of a white dragon. Ironic was that fact, since that was what he was. Additionally, he wore deep ebony combat pants and a pair of calf high combat boots. Strapped to his back was a object wrapped in black velvet cloth. His weapon of choice, a silver bladed nodachi. The weapon itself was as tall as he, almost dragging along the ground behind him.

A half hour they had walked before finally reaching the Subway. They gave each other one last glance before descending down the stairs. At the bottom, Grace removed Kairu's trench, handing it back to him. He quickly put it on and they walked along, the shallow glow of the fluorescent lights illuminating the underground expanse before them like a tomb, silent and cold.

"Looks like the Vampires and Lycans were definitely here..." Kairu whispered almost silently, looking out from under the shroud to observe the destruction from the most recent "war" that had taken place. The walls had cracks from where bodies were slammed against them, the blood splatters on the walls clear evidence of this. However, no bodies were ever found, which was usually the case. Both Vampire and Werewolf always removed the bodies of their fallen. Kairu had walked a few steps away, crouching down near something. Grace looked around as well, finding many casings from bullets fired off in the battle. She glanced at the wall to her right, seeing many bullet holes, a few of which had an unusual substance oozing from it. Silver in color.

Kairu had glanced up in time to see her about to touch the substance, and he hurried over to her, grabbing her wrist gently. She looked over at him to see he was shaking his head slowly, his deep brown eyes telling her that the stuff was highly toxic. The two of them made a habit of not talking much when on a hunt, since both Vampire and Lycan ears were far superior to normal ears. In most cases, they didn't need words to convey what they wanted to say as they usually knew what the other was thinking or feeling through each others eyes. Grace nodded to Kairu and he motioned for her to follow him. They walked back to where Kairu was crouching only moments ago. Once more he knelt down, his right hand pointing to a dried spat of blood, his hand continuing out to follow the speckled drops of blood leading away toward one of the subway tunnels.

[I]"One of them escaped... Or was carried off..." [/I] Kairu mentally spoke, looking into her eyes. She nodded, knowing what he was thinking. Kairu stood and removed the velvet wrapped sword from his back, unraveling the blood red twine tied at the top and bottom of the blade and removing the sword, then pocketed the wrap. He slung the blade up on his right shoulder nonchalantly. He looked at Grace once more, their eyes locking for a moment. He couldn't remember the last time they had just stared into each others eyes. He missed that. As they stood there, Kairu again copied her face to memory; every curve, the shape of her lips, the way her eyes sparkled even in dim light such as this. Even after all that had happened, she had not lost that light in her eyes that brought a smile to him every time he saw it. Even though her eyes had grown darker from lack of sleep, she still carried in them that fire Kairu always loved to see in her.

She was first to break eye contact as she started walking toward the darkened tunnel, Kairu still standing where they were for a moment before following her. He could see in her also that right now, even though she loved him, revenge was higher on her list. He understood that, and he would help her as much as she would allow, which more often that not, wasn't much.

They began their trek into the dark tunnels of the subway. Kairu reached into his coat and withdrew a pair of night vision goggles, handing them back to Grace who slowly put them on, flicking the switch on the right hand side. The lenses flared to life with a soft green glow. Kairu kept walking along quietly, his eyes adjusting to pitch black darkness with relative ease. He was uneasy in this place, he could smell death on the air, and in his mind, he had the nagging feeling that something terrible would happen before the end of this night. Try as he might, but he couldn't push the feelings away. He had learned to trust his feelings a long time ago, but even then, he had never gotten a feeling like this.

[I]"The one who killed Grace's little sister is here... I can feel it from my very core..." [/I] Came Kairu's silent thoughts. The thought sent a chill up his spine. If it was indeed true... The dark clad man shuddered at the next thought... That one of them would not be walking away from this. Kairu knew though that she would. Even if it meant sacrificing himself to make sure of it. One last thought crept into his mind before he emptied his mind.

[I]"It ends tonight... Tonight, she will finally be free of her nightmare..."[/I]

Soon, they came to an opening in the side wall of the tunnel, leading further under ground. Very cautiously, Kairu and Grace made their way down the man-made tunnel. The tension increasing in the two hunters as they came closer and closer to the cavern below. As they exited from the cave, they found themselves in what appeared to be an old decrepit building. Probably buried years ago by an earthquake. Grace removed the goggles from her eyes, hooking them to her waist as she looked around. The expanse of the run down building they were in glowed a dim blue from an unknown light source. It made Grace slightly uneasy as she slowly started ringing her hands and glancing around rapidly with her eyes. They were in the den of the beast... for all she knew, the Lycans could be watching them, even now. She shook her head slightly as Kairu walked over, placing his left hand gently on her arm, his eyes asking her if she was alright. Her eyes met his and she nodded slowly.

[I]"I'm alright... just got a little shook up..." [/I] Her eyes called back to him. He nodded in response, placing his hand lovingly against her cheek before turning back around to observe their surroundings.

What wasn't collapsed in on itself, was either blocked by debris or locked. Together, they found two ways to go. One was a path to the north, another was to the east. Grace turned to face Kairu, her hands motioning that they should split up. Kairu didn't like the idea... But he saw little choice this time. Suddenly, that same foreboding feeling washed over him again. He locked eyes with Grace once more, his eyes begging her to be careful. She nodded and then they went their separate ways.

The path the slender woman entered was little more than a hallway leading down to another, much larger room. The light in here was more than adequate for her to not require the Night Vision. She slowly and quietly walked along the hallway, stepping over or moving around fallen pieces of the building scattered along the corridor. On each side of the hall, she passed several doors on each side. Some broken, some blocked. There were a few however that were open. She glanced into each room she could as she went, never finding anything more than a few spiders, insects, debris, and sometimes the remains of a "meal". She crept closer to the corner, and the closer she got, the more distinct the noises were. They were faint at first, like the sound of bugs crawling across the floors, or mice in the shafts. But the closer she got, the more the sounds developed till she was positive that they weren't bugs or mice. Grace stopped at the corner, her heart racing in her chest, her breathing slightly heavy, yet silent still. Leaning her head a tiny bit around the corner, she saw what had been making the sounds... it was a Lycan den... and a fairly large one at that. Just there alone by what she could see, Grace counted over fourteen Lycans. Some were in their wolfen state, whereas other maintained their human appearances. Then, her eyes caught him. Sitting on a chair at the far end of the room.

[I]"It's him!!! It's Kevara's murderer!!!" [/I] She mentally shouted, her anger starting to rise very quickly as her pulse began to beat in her ears. [I]"Tonight you shall finally be able to rest, my dear sister..."[/I]

Without a second thought, she reached down into her right boot, producing a small silver tanto from inside and violently rushed off towards him. the blade out to her side. The dark-haired Lycan Grace was rushing towards stood up, an insane fanged smile on his grizzly features. He recognized her. The rest of the Lycans, thirty in total, rushed from all directions at the rage driven female, all aiming to protect their master from harm. Those that got close to Grace found the edge of her blade ripped across their throats, the silver searing their flesh like a flame against wax. She reached the one responsible for her sisters murder, nearly leaping into his outstretched arms, her body slamming against his, her head just barely passing over his shoulder. For a moment, time stood still as she plunged the tanto straight up under his rib cage, piercing his black heart with the sharp silver weapon. He let out a howl of extreme pain before bringing his head down, biting gruesomely into her right shoulder, her scream muffled by the other howls in the chamber. She stumbled backwards, gripping her lacerated shoulder with her left hand, the blood pouring down in a steady, thick stream, coating her hand and her right side in an instant. She slumped to the floor, her head spinning from the crimson substance leaving her body.

[I]"It can't end like this... Not when I'm this close..." [/I] That was the last thought to run through her head before it all went dark...

Meanwhile, a few minutes earlier...

[I]"I had to of picked the more difficult path of us two..." [/I] Kairu muttered in his thoughts, looking back to the hell he just went through navigating that wretched corridor. Most of it had collapsed in on itself making it very difficult from him to progress further, but eventually he did. He stopped for a moment, looking around in the darkness from under the shroud concealing his face. In the distance he heard something, like someone banging on something. He couldn't make it out, but it kept going, sometimes stopping for a few sparse seconds before starting up again. He gripped the hilt of his nodachi tightly in his right hand, his nerves on edge. The long blade eased forward slightly from off it's place of rest against his shoulder from the grip, slowly resting back down as the shrouded one relaxed his grip, He didn't like the feelings he had, they had intensified for a moment earlier but eased down, now that same feeling of dread returned.

[I]"Something isn't right..." [/I] Came Kairu's thoughts, his senses were at high alert, he should be able to sense anything that came within twenty yards of him, yet he felt nothing. He glanced skyward for a moment, [I]"Please let her be alright..."[/I]

He started walking once more, the sound he heard earlier had stopped. There was nothing of real notice as he traveled along. One thing of notice however was that the building itself had ended, and now he walked along through what appeared to be an underground cave, the walls of thick granite and rock a clear difference from the buildings interior. Suddenly, the sound started again, only this time it was much closer.

[I]"Wait..," [/I] Kairu thought, listening carefully to the sound, [I]"That's... Gunfire...?"[/I]

He ran forward through the darkness, deeper into the chasm. He rounded a corner quickly, the blade of his sword gently grazing the rock. As he rounded the bend, he saw a flush of light and figures standing there, shooting wildly at some unseen foe. He slid to a stop and stepped to the side, spinning his body as he did so, his back slamming against the rock. Very slowly, he peeked around, seeing three darkly dressed men, one with long white hair. Vampires.

[I]"It can't be... He's dead... I killed him myself..." [/I] Came the thoughts to Kairu's mind. Slowly, the shooting had stopped and the one Kairu paid the most attention to turned around. All the color in Kairu's faced drained, leaving him white as a ghost. "...Seth..."

The one called Seth turned to Kairu's direction and with a quickness, Kairu pressed himself flat against the rock, hiding himself from view. The white-haired man glanced around, sniffing the air carefully.

"Someone is here..." He spoke, his voice deep but clear. "Show yourself! Or you'll meet the same fate as the rest here!"

Kairu snickered to himself, [I]"Time to end this once and for all..." [/I] He mentally said as he stepped from around the corner, walking into the torch lit room for all to see, his face still concealed under the large hood.

"A mortal..." Seth grunted in disgust, then his tone changed to a more inquisitive one, "A mortal...? Here...? Who are you whelp?" He growled at Kairu, who stood silent, his hand tensing around the hilt of the great katana again.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" The Vampire yelled violently.

Kairu shifted his feet slightly before replying, "Heh... what is it, Seth? You don't remember an old friend...?" Came Kairu's gentle, but defiant voice. His left hand reached up, grabbing hold of the hood and slowly pulled it back, revealing his face for the first time since he stepped down into this accursed place. "I'm hurt, Seth..," Kairu muttered sarcastically. "You don't remember the family you killed, and the one lone survivor, a mortal, who killed you?" His tone was venomous, the words cutting through like ice.

Seth barred his sharp fangs, speaking through clenched teeth in a growl, "Kairu... I haven't forgotten the pain you caused me..." Seth then tilted back his head, showing his neck, a long fingernail tracing a deep, jagged scar that went halfway around his throat before returning his gaze to the dark clad man. "Looks like I'll finally get to rip your body open for this long time injury, boy..." He sneered. At once, all three Vampires aimed their guns at Kairu and began firing rapidly. Kairu ducked down slightly and sprinted away to cover, leaping forward to crouch behind a large rock, the bullets zinging past, chipping away small and large chucks of his cover.

Something in Kairu's mind told him to run out now, and just as he felt that, his ears caught a sound, a distinct clank as of something metal connecting with the ground.

[I]"They're reloading!" [/I] Kairu mentally yelled and he sprang forth from his hiding place. One last bullet was fired at Kairu, and in a split second, the dark clad man brought the great katana overhead, swinging down with great force. The silver blade connected with something, the bullet, splitting it in two, each half veering off to pass either side of his body, imbedding themselves into the wall behind him. Wasting no time, Kairu shot forward toward the trio, readying the Nodachi for an attack, his right hand gripping the hilt near the hand guard, the left gripping near the pommel, the blade tip skimming just above the rocky ground to Kairu's right side. Just as he neared, the Vampire in front of the rushing man raised his weapon. A millisecond before the shot was fired, Kairu sidestep-sprang to the left, the bullet grazing his face right below his right eye, a thin line of blood trailing down from the wound. Once beside the Vampire, Kairu swung the blade of the great katana straight up, severing the undead bloodsuckers hands from his wrists. He then brought the blade across his front, the left side and swung the sword like a baseball bat, the edge of the blade connecting with the back of the Vampires neck and cutting through like a warm knife through butter, cleanly removing the vampires head. As the body fell, Seth and the last Vampire aimed their guns at Kairu. The black clad man grabbed the body of the fallen Vampire by the back collar and hoisted it up, using it as a shield. The bullets impacted the body, sending it into a ridged dance, blood soaking the floor as the body shield was literally being disintegrated by hot lead.

Kairu shoved the body forward, colliding it with Seth and knocking him over. Kairu then took a small step forward, just barely ducking the next bullet fired. Taking another step forward, Kairu lifted his right leg, bringing it slightly over to his left side before kicking forward and out to his right, connecting solidly with the gun, knocking it away to his right. Taking this opportunity, Kairu thrust the long blade through the Vampires abdomen, the blade pointed up. With a grunt, Kairu wrenched the great katana up, splitting the vampire in two. Just as the blade exited through the top of the Vampires head, Kairu brought it down to the left, connecting with Seth's gun and knocking it down as he was about to shoot the swordsman.

Kairu jumped a few feet away as Seth stood up and tilted his head to one side quickly, the bones in his neck popping loudly before looking straight at Kairu.

"Why don't you just die... Like the pathetic mortal you are!" Seth growled angrily, raising the gun to fire again. The black clad man shifted his head slightly to the right, the bullet whizzing by and slamming into the rock behind him. Kairu rushed forward, aiming to run the blade deep into Seth's heart, but the white-haired Vampire was far more intelligent that his fledglings. He brought his gun up, using it as a deflector, the both of them locked together, their arms raised above their heads pushing against one anothers weapon. Suddenly, they both brought up their right foot and slammed it into the others chest, sending both of them flying away from each other, slamming against the ground. Seth's gun flew toward Kairu, and Kairu's great katana flew toward Seth.

Both got up and simultaneously reached down for the others weapon, sliding it back to their respective owners and standing. As they stood, Seth immediately fired his gun, catching Kairu in the left shoulder. Using the spin from the shot, Kairu continued around, bringing the nodachi outwards parallel to the ground and stopping after he made a complete revolution, staring into Seth's eyes.

"You lose..." Kairu muttered breathlessly. Seth said nothing, only fell to his knees, his head then falling down and rolling away from Kairu's cut.

The black clad man then feel to his knees, impaling the great katana into the ground as he did so. He clutched the wound in his left shoulder, trying to keep pressure on the wound with his right hand. He sat there for a few moments, resting, gaining back strength when he heard a scream, not just audibly, but mentally as well.

Kairu stood once more, ripping the nodachi from the ground and running full speed back the way he came, yelling Grace's name.

_______________________________________________________________

Grace stood once more, the wound in her shoulder stiffening her arm. She stumbled backwards, the remaining Lycans closing in, excited by the scent of human blood. Human blood that was swiftly morphing into something else. Their leader, still alive and thriving, with her tanto buried in his chest, rose to his feet and laughed, pointing to the full moon, visible through a jagged crack in the wall. Grace looked up, feeling the pain of the bite rippling through her body. Then she clamped her fingers down on it to stop the bleeding and felt her spinal cord ripple as if it had been cracked like a whip. Instantly, she felt hands clamp down on her body and she found herself staring deep into her enemy's eyes. They were a wild milky blue, taunting her with every movement.

"You'll be with your sister soon. Will you scream for release like she did?" Came the cackle of the Lycan leader

"......Give her back." Her voice was flat, dead, devoid of energy.

"Who?" He stepped closer, his ears not quite hearing what she was saying, nor his mind comprehending her demand.

"Kavera. The sister you killed for your own pleasure. . ....Give her back."

She gazed up at him, seeing blue, then white, then finally just lightning. The hands on her body were viciously slashed away, and the moon took over her senses completely, enveloping them in a rushing mist. Her body changed without warning, but instead of taking on the form of the loup garou, Grace's form altered itself completely and her DNA split into an entirely different family. Instead of the lupine clan, her body chose that of the feline, and the change was almost instant. Her feet slammed into the pavement, swiftly becoming claws, her jeans and bra ripping away to reveal a densely furred body of white with blue stripes. Her eyes flickered between ordinary hazel and blue while her mane ruffled up and hardened into spikes. Two huge wings, shaped like a hawk's tore free from her scapulae, knocking back any remaining Lycans unlucky enough to be close by. Her front paws lifted from the ground as she reared onto her hind legs, tail lashing back for balance. The feathers of her wings were metallic, covered with a dull sheen, yet sharp enough to slice through the toughest hide.

Her mouth opened wide, displaying over 200 recurved teeth set in a jaw that would lock with the slightest provocation. A bright purple tongue, a bold statement against the white of her fangs. Grace's opponent changed as well, charging forward as a human and hitting her body as a werewolf. Grace's roar shook the building from center to circumference. A flash of white and blue fur, a sinking of teeth, and the carcass of her enemy hit the ground, drained of blood and devoid of life. The hybrid between the tiger and angel whirled around to stare at the remaining werewolves. They grouped together warily, but she had already leapt at them, throwing herself upon them like a whirlwind. Her claws snatched up the closest thing. The head of a werewolf. Iron and silver sank itself deep into the skull, meeting the brain stem, severing it completely. She leaned down and locked her jaws on his neck, then whipped up. Then down again, slamming his broken body into the concrete.

Grace had her revenge. The entire clan of thirty-five Lycans were brutally slaughtered in their own territory by a berserker hybrid. Their remains scattered about, some not even discernible as once being alive.

Shortly after, Kairu slid around the corner, seeing the carnage that had taken place, fearing the worst when he saw the white, winged tiger-like creature coated in blood standing alone, it's back facing him. The tiger could smell him, his fresh blood from his wounds and it turned around savagely, glaring at Kairu with ice blue eyes.
Kairu stood there, transfixed by those eyes, then the realization hit him like a sledgehammer.

"G... Grace...? ... Honey...?" He softly questioned, stabbing the nodachi into the ground beside him and taking a few very slow steps forward, keeping eye contact at all times. The Winged Tiger roared at him, growling deeply, causing Kairu to stop.

"Kitten..." He whispered. But right now she was beyond his words. Suddenly, the tiger charged at him with blinding speed, her sharp taloned paws slamming into his shoulders, knocking him down and pinning him to the ground painfully while also leaving three large, deep claw marks across his chest. The white tiger hovered over him, growling violently before lurching forward and bitting viciously into his already wounded shoulder. Kairu screamed out in pain as she twisted and jerked at the wound, his blood coating her mouth and the side of his face in it's scarlet color. Feeling his time was close, he fought the pain to whisper on more thing mentally to the woman inside the tiger mauling him.

"Grace... Kitten... If you can hear me... I want you to know... I love you..." After completing the message, it all went dark...

The tiger pulled away slightly, looking down at her prey, the words bouncing around inside her head. She stepped off his body, still watching him. Her eyes no longer showing the blood lust they had before. The Tiger Angel took a few small steps up next to the mans battered form, gently nuzzling his cheek with her nose, but he did not move. She sat before him, her head raising to the heavens to let out a loud roar then placed her head against his chest. Her form starting to change, getting smaller, losing the white fur. The wings retracting back inside her. Once it was done, she lay there nude, her head still resting on Kairu's chest, sobbing softly.

A hand reached up, and started caressing her hair. Grace lifted her head slowly, her eyes still a deep ice blue. Kairu lay there his eyes partially open, smiling weakly down at her, whispering softly. "It's alright, Kitten... It's finally over..."

She helped him sit up, his wounds causing him great pain, his left shoulder starting to stiffen. He looked at her and removed his coat, once more wrapping it around her like when they first came here. She buttoned it closed and then helped Kairu up, slinging his good arm over her shoulder, holding on to him tightly and slowly made their way back to the surface... Out from the Underworld...