The Night

(Author’s Notes: This story was done as a Halloween contest entry for a Y-gallery Club. Enjoy~)

The Night


On the street the wind picked up orange red and yellow leaves causing them to dance in mid air for one gracious second before falling back gently to the cold asphalt. It was a cool crisp October night that was pleasant to my senses as I walked down the dark street.

I wasn’t alone. There were many children giggling happily running from door to door asking for tricks or treats. I smiled at them with a happy nostalgic smile. My childhood hadn’t been that great but I never let it get to me.

I have a rare genetic condition called Oculocutaneous Albinism. Meaning, I lack pigmentation in my skin, eyes and hair. There are many forms of Albinism, for instance, the person you know with blue eyes and light blond hair probably has it.

About 1 in 17,000 humans have some form of Albinism, but 1 out of 70 humans carry the gene. People with Albinism can have normal to semi-normal hair color/eye color depending on the amount of pigment they have.

I have white hair and red eyes but I was fortunate enough to have a normal looking skin tone. Though because I have red eyes, meaning there is no pigmentation to cover my retinas, I also have Photophobia.

Don’t mistake Photophobia for ‘fear of light’. It actually has nothing to do with fear. It’s a condition in where direct light is harmful and painful to the eyes. I wear red contacts to protect my eyes.

The same cool wind that had played with the leaves ran invisible fingers through my mid-back pure white hair. I chose to keep it that long because it reminded me of an anime character I liked.

My hand that had been in the pocket of my black jeans swept away a stray strand of hair from my face before I looked upwards to the sky. I wore a black denim jacket over a black turtle-neck sweater because I liked it, even if it was a little cold.

A shimmering of light from the manifestation of a spirit pulled me attention to the reason why I was out on Halloween night instead of partying with the other Highschoolers my age.

I am a Hunter of the Supernatural. Technically, Hunters are supposed to eliminate every supernatural being but because of the Clan of Hunters I grew up in we believe that everything has a soul, so just because they are ‘dark’ doesn’t mean they are evil.

My Master, who is my Mother’s brother Daryl, is a dirty perverted man who slacks off in every area. The reason I’m out here ‘Ghost Watching’ is because he’s too lazy to take me Hunting. I sighed and kicked a few leaves up with my black and white chucks.

That bastard forgot about me again! When I become a Master Hunter I’m gonna kick his ass all the way to Hell and back. Okay so my uncle is extremely strong…I might have to wait a few decades to be able to beat him.

When a Hunter becomes a Master Hunter they receive the weapon of their choice made of pure Orichalum. It is a black, mystic metal that can never be broken by normal means and that conducts spiritual energy like a lightning rod.

It actually takes a blacksmith with a spiritual affinity for fire to forge these weapons because of the temperature required to smith it. That and the Orichalum is extremely hard to get unless you were a Hunter that is.

When I turned five, I moved in with my uncle to be trained. All Hunters go through a process of training, usually by a member of the Clan that wasn’t your parents. Up until that point, I lived with my grandmother who was the Head of the Clan.

My parents had been killed by a Vampire when I was three, but I had been spared by that same Vampire for reasons unknown. Since I didn’t know my mother or father I hold no grudge against that Vampire. Actually I don’t really care about anything.

Sure I’m picky about what foods I eat because I have a super sensitive sense of taste but other than that I don’t really care. I only take care of my hair because if I didn’t it would be one gigantic mess and too troublesome to deal with. I have elongated canines but don’t get me wrong; I’m one hundred percent human.

Vampires are unable to use Hunter Magic and each Clan has a specific specialty. My clan’s specialty is Sealing. Sure other clans can Seal away corrosive entities but we are the only clan that can Seal anything. We can also store things in an alternate dimension through special runes.

One of my weapons is a bow. I store my bow in a rune on my left wrist and my quiver full of arrows in a rune on my right shoulder. All I have to do is concentrate and send some of my spiritual power into the rune and I can call my bow to my left hand and my Quiver on my back.

My other weapon, or rather my main weapon I should say, is a katana. All the Hunters in my clan are experts in using this Japanese sword. I use a katana but my cousin Travis uses a nodachi which is the length of two katana combined.

The sound of a terrified shriek snapped my mind out of my thoughts and I dashed off to the source of the sound. The sound of my shoes hitting the pavement caused me to mentally curse.

Hunters were supposed to be silent but I had no time to be stealthy. The evil presence I felt and was running towards felt extremely malevolent and defiantly wasn’t a ghost. My hair whipped behind me as I ran but I paid it no attention.

I called up my Spirit and pushed it into my left inner wrist and shoulder. The black sleek longbow easily slipped into my hand and the quiver slipped over my head and strapped to my back with a shimmer of blue light.

The second I rounded the corner and to the mouth of the alleyway I had already drawn an arrow and let it fly at the massive black wolf I saw there. Time was of the essence yes, but if I missed…the Werewolf would choose me as its next target.

The arrow whistled from the bowstring and slid into the beast between its ribs going straight into its heart. It howled in agony before it fell backwards onto its back. I pulled another arrow out and slowly approached the Werewolf.

When I was around ten feet away I sighed with relief as the malevolent aura disappeared and the creature shrunk to the size of a normal wolf. I sent my Spiritual energy into my bow and quiver and they disappeared in a shimmer of blue light.

My crimson eyes scanned the area but I couldn’t find the victim. I slowly walked forward and crouched in front of the dead man; poking him with one of my fingers to make sure he was dead.

I heard the sound of crying and I instantly knew where the person was hiding. I stood from my crouch and walked slowly to the side of the garbage bin that I just noticed was there. My main attention had been on the beast and not my surroundings which would have earned me a good head-slap had my Master seen me.

There hunched over with teary eyes was a young boy that appeared to be around the age of five or six. He had shaggy black hair and appeared to be Japanese.

He wore a school boy uniform which under normal circumstances might have sent off warning bells in my mind. Not only that but I could feel a dark aura from him but I could tell he wasn’t evil. It was one of my special traits.

This child was no child. He was a Vampire but since I couldn’t reveal that I could read his aura I had to pretend that he was a normal Human child. Hunters are only supposed to be able to feel if an aura, not if it was dark or not.

Humans usually didn’t have auras, only Hunters and Supernatural beings did. I could almost read a person’s soul based on their aura.

“Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you.” I said in a kind voice. He stared at me with round dark blue eyes. The boy flinched when I reached out for him but he didn’t run away. I sighed and ran the hand I had been reaching out for him through my hair.

I really hated these kinds of charades. Seriously, I’m an honest in your face person. I don’t like mind games. Meh.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to be afraid of me.” I said with a fake smile. God help me fool this Vampire.

“But you’re scary.” He said in a small voice. I smiled wider knowing I had him. I was stupid to have been blinded by false victory.

“I’m a Hunter. I’m from the Cyrwil Clan, have you heard of it?” I asked as I looked into his dark blue eyes. He nodded his head and wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve.

‘You can’t be very old for me to be able to trick you like this…’ I thought bemused. It was a well known fact that all Hunters were immune to mental probing…shit I just told him I was a Hunter, Hunters aren’t supposed to tell Humans what they are. Damn it I gave myself away!!!

“Where do you live? I’d like to escort you home.” I asked him as I reached my hand out for him to take. He reached out, took my hand, and I stood.

“Karasuchi.” He told me with a grin. Karasuchi was a Coven that was Pro-Human so they were in contact with my Clan a lot. I knew where their ‘Home’ was because I had been there a few times with my Master. Uggg just great.

“Shit.” I said and he chuckled at me.

“You know me don’t you.” It was a statement of fact rather than a question. I knew exactly who that bastard was. Akito Karasuchi, the Ravenwing second in command.

Ryuuichi and Akito Karasuchi had moved here fifty years ago from Japan, brining their Coven with them. Ryuuichi was Akito’s Bloodborne brother and Blood brother, meaning they were brothers from their human years and both sired by the same vampire.

“Of course I do, Shiro.” He answered with a smirk. I was about to tell him off when around six or so malevolent auras appeared in my senses. To say the least it was really bad timing.

“Do you feel that?” I asked in a low whispering voice. I knew he’d heard me because I heard a growl escape his throat. Werewolves, about six of them and from the strength of their auras they were Alphas.

“Hm, this should be easy enough. Why don’t you sit this one out Shiro?” He told me before he returned to his original form of a tall youth in his late teens with waist length ebony hair.

The school boy uniform was gone and in its stead was a black kimono with red trimming. The child from had been an illusion. I growled at him. I hated that he was six foot two and I was only five foot ten. He was supposed to be Japanese damn it!

His body was slender and well muscled even though they were hidden. He was slightly feminine looking, but he was Japanese after all. Compared to him I was a slightly muscular, though well proportioned, scruffy (yet still handsome) seventeen year old. My great-grandparents were from Ireland so I am of Irish decent. Oculocutaneous Albinism or not.

He was all talk though, because I knew he would let me fight this one out by myself and only step in if absolutely necessary. I was the one who needed the fighting experience, not him. It made me angry, but at the same time happy. Damn this infernal crush I have on him!

“That should be my line bastard.” I scoffed as pulled on my Spirit and pushed it into the rune on my left hipbone. The sound of a bone chilling howl caused shivers to run down my spine.

The only reason I was able to kill that first Werewolf was because I caught it off guard and I’m a damn good marksmen. There was no way I could take on a pack of Alpha Werewolves and survive with that talent alone.

Karasuchi wasn’t far from there, and I was a damn good runner but I knew I would be caught, there was no way I could outrun Alpha Werewolves. So it was make a stand and fight. The katana shimmered into place and I pulled it from its sheath.

“Alright you ugly motherfuckers, time to die.” I said steadied the sword in front of me. I may be a damn good marksmen, and a brutal hand to hand combatant but I had been trained with this weapon since I was five. This was my weapon.

The first one, the leader I assumed, lunged at me and I flew forward and sliced the creature’s head clean from its shoulders. I didn’t stop there though, because I used that momentum to slash at the second Werewolf catching it in the shoulder and causing a spray of blood to cover me.

I pulled the sword out and used that momentum to slice the third Werewolf’s throat clean open. I almost got tackled from behind by the fourth if Akito hadn’t grabbed it by the scruff of the neck like a bad puppy and threw it headlong into the side of a building.

There was no way I was going to thank him for that. The fifth Werewolf lunged at me and I gathered spiritual energy in the palm of my hand and slammed it hard into the creature’s chest causing it to fly off and land with a sickening thud twenty yards from me.

I glared at the sixth Werewolf. It bared its fangs at me and I bared mine in retaliation even though they’re just abnormally long canines compared to his razor sharp ones. The remaining Werewolves started to circle around me, growling and snarling as it did.

“You’re not so bad little Hunter, quite the feat for an inexperienced pup like yourself. Though had it not been for your Vampire companion you would have been shreds by now. ” So the first one I had taken out wasn’t the leader, if the authority in the wolf’s voice said anything.

“Well what can I say, this is my life.” I said with a smirk as I watched the grey Werewolf who had spoken.

“Do you even realize what you have allied yourself with? ” the wolf asked in a condescending voice. My eyes narrowed at the last remaining Werewolf. I could see Akito’s tense form a few feet away from me; ready to spring into action if I needed assistance. Bastard.

“A Vampire.” I answered nonchalantly with a shrug. I could feel the exhaustion from using too much of my spiritual energy in my attacks start to take a toll on me and I mentally cursed. It was another careless, foolish action that would have earned me a head-slap.

“You were protecting your sworn enemy, you admit that freely. ” The grey werewolf growled out as he stopped in front of me.

“My sworn enemy is heartless monsters like you!” I said as I lunged towards the grey wolf with a horizontal slash. Instantaneously my hand was caught by a human hand at the same time a human hand encircled my throat; cutting off my air supply. The leader was a tall man; around six foot four with well defined muscles and cold grey eyes. And…he was buck naked.

Ew. Just ew…I’d rather see Akito buck naked…awe fuck it’s not the time to be thinking about that!

“Heartless monster you say? Yet while you struggle and fight you are slowly becoming one of us. Darkening your heart by murdering-” the leader growled at me but was cut off. I saw Akito blur out of focus before he appeared behind the werewolf and speared his heart through with this clawed hand.

I fell to the ground and instantly gasped for air, clawing at my throat and coughing. Fucking bastard!

“You were careless once again Shiro.” The Japanese Vampire said in a low voice. I glared up at him but he only smiled at me.

“Don’t fucking call me that!” I growled out in a harsh whisper. Damn I hate being choked…suffocation is the worst way to go.

“You were lucky I was here.” He said as he crouched down in front of me and ran his fingers through my snowy tresses. I growled and slapped his hand away which only caused him to laugh at me.

“Awe don’t be so shy, after all I did save your life more than once tonight.” He teased with a glint in his sapphire blue eyes. Why did he have to look so handsome when he did that? I was blushing, I knew it. When his grin turned into a smirk I growled in frustration. Insufferable bastard!

“You don’t have to hide your attraction to me Shiro, I already know.”

“Shut up bastard and stop calling me that! My name is Edward not Shiro!!”


…

Happy Halloween~ ^^