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[Zero_Ichimura]

PLEASE READ BEFORE THE STORY!!!

Thank you so much for coming to read my manga Zero Kyuuketsuki. I hope you like it!!

I worked really hard on it so enjoy! =D

Zero Kyuuketsuki


   One night as Mizumi was walking home through the park, from the mall, she caught a

glimpse of the moon. The yellow, waning crescent seemed far more beautiful than she had

ever seen it. She stood there, mesmerized by it. She could have stayed there all night,

if the sound of someone else’s foot steps hadn’t shaken her focus. As she turned to look,

she felt hands grab her and start forcing her off the path. She struggled and fought,

finally freeing herself and ran as fast as she could through the trees. As her legs

started to ache and slow, she could hear the footsteps of the other person, gaining on

her steadily. She turned her head to look, and tripped over an exposed root. Mizumi was

sent head over heels, and finally landed face down in the grass. She rolled over to see

the shadow of a man looming over her.
   “Please, please, just leave me alone!” Mizumi began inching herself back. “Hehe, don’t

worry. It’ll only hurt for a second.” Mizumi’s back hit a tree. Panicking, she looked for

something to use as a weapon. Finding nothing, she felt despair wash over her. How could

this happen to her?
   The man reached towards her, and Mizumi noticed a set of fangs in his smile. The man

went in towards her neck, but before he could do anything else, there was a rustling in

the grass behind him. He started to turn, “Who the fu-.” A gun clicked, “Farewell”, came

a voice from behind the man. The trigger pulled and the silence of the night was

shattered.


   Mizumi awoke the next morning feeling as though last nights adventure had just been a

nightmare. “I mean really, vampires? Yeah right!” she told herself. As she finished her

morning routine and began her walk to school, her mind drifted off to her savior in her

dream. He was tall and clad in black. He seemed sad in a way that was hardly visible. The

thing that struck her as most surprising was that he had silver eyes. Chalking this up to

the ridiculous nature of dreams, she concluded these thoughts as she heard the morning

bell and made a mad dash to school.
   “Ah Mizumi-san, you made it. And just in time to meet our new student.” Nekosumi

sensei waited until Mizumi had taken her seat. “Now like I said, we have a new student.

Zero-kun, come in please.” As the door slid open, Mizumi’s jaw dropped. It was the boy

from last night!
   “Hmmmmmmmmm, who wants to show Zero-kun around?” ask Nekosumi sensei. Mizumi’s hand

shot up. “Huh.. Oh Mizumi-san you want to? Okay, Zero-kun take a seat back there with

Mizumi-san.” Zero walked over and slumped into his chair, promptly falling asleep. Mizumi

was stunned, could this guy really be the gun wielding savior she had met the night

before?


    Mizumi woke Zero up at lunch with a slight nudge on his shoulder. With a hazy

expression he looked back at her, dead in the eye. “Nekosumi sensei told me to show you

around, so let’s get going.” Zero got up and followed her out of the room.
   “So down this hallway is the gym. And over here is the door to the pool.” Mizumi

started to climb up the stairs. “Second floor is music and arts.” They walked onto the

third floor. “And this would be the club area.” Mizumi took Zero up another flight of

stairs. “Here’s the roof, it’s the best part of the school. When the sun is setting, and

the town is bathed in sunlight, it makes everything look so beautiful.” Mizumi walked

over to a bench and took out her bento. “Come on sit, are you hungry? I have plenty of

Onigiri.” Zero sat down and Mizumi handed him a rice ball, “So are you going to the

winter carnival. I want to go but I don’t have anyone to go with yet.” She looked up at

Zero intently. “No, there are far more important things to do than waste my time at a

carnival.” Mizumi dropped her gaze, “of course you’re right. Carnivals are stupid.” Zero

looked at her, and despite himself, felt bad. He put his arm around her shoulders, “Let’s

go back to class.”
   The walk back to class was totally silent, there wasn’t even the sound of footsteps

down the hallways. When they reached the door to the classroom, Mizumi touched Zero’s

arm. “ Zero, about last night... what was that thing?” Zero turned to her, “What are you

talking about?” Mizumi looked at her shoes, “nothing”. As Zero walked away Mizumi became

more and more convinced it was him who had saved her. “Yoshi” she said, her eyes alight

as she clapped her right fist into her left palm. She would follow Zero after school and

catch him in the act, fighting one of those monsters.


   It seemed like the dismissal bell would never ring. Once it finally did, Mizumi struck

up a conversation wit ha few other girls in the class. When Zero had left the room,

Mizumi excused herself and went after him. She saw him at his locker and ducked behind a

wall. He pulled out the same trench coat she has seen him wear the night before. Now she

knew she had to catch him. She followed him from a safe distance down the road from the

school, onto the train leading to the city center. Zero got off the train three stops

later and went up the stairs to the surface. As Mizumi followed she would sometimes duck

into alleys when Zero stopped to look at something.
   As Zero left the plaza, Mizumi was beginning to get alittle uninterested, “Maybe I’d

seen him before, and it really was all just a dream.” But she’d taken the time out of her

day already, might as well finish the job. She watched for at least an hour as Zero stood

on the bridge, leading into the plaza, gazing out at the sunset. Once it finally went

down, Zero moved off into a crowd of people. Mizumi lost sight of him and as she was

about to go looking for him, a hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. It was

Zero! “What do you think you’re doing? Stop following me around!” he looked so angry,

Mizumi felt she was on the verge of tears. “I’m sorry, I really am! I just thought you

were the one who saved me last night.” Zero’s eyes turned cold “I told you, I’m-.” A

woman’s scream cut off Zero’s rant.


   Like a bullet, Zero sprang out of the alley. The plaza was in complete chaos. People

were running in every direction, while mothers clutched at their children protectively. A

few men and women stood around gawking. In the middle of the plaza stood a man. He had

sunk his teeth into the neck of a girl in a school uniform. Crimson blood trickled down

her neck. The sky was dark, there was a new moon tonight and the stars were blotted out

by the clouds. The lamp posts flickered, and Zero came hurtling through the darkness. It

started to rain as Zero reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. Five shots, and all

the lights went out. To a normal human, the plaza would have been pitch black. Zero had

always had exceptional eye sight, far greater than anyone he had ever met. The vampire

had thrown away the girl’s corpse by now, and was headed straight for Zero. Zero raised

the gun, but before he could squeeze off a shot, he had the fun knocked from his hand.

The vampire threw a punch at Zero, aiming to get him square in the face. Zero twisted his

head to avoid it, grabbed the arm, and with all his might threw the vampire into the

statue in the middle of the plaza. The stone shattered under the force. The vampire lay

in the pile of rubble, coughing up blood.
   “What are you?” he asked as Zero approached. “I'm a hunter.” Zero pulled out his

second pistol and shot the vampire once in the heart. Zero picked up the first gun he had

lost, the Penitence, and holstered it next to his other, the Evangeline. He leaped up

onto the roof tops and disappeared into the night.


   THANKS AGAIN!!! I really hope you enjoyed my manga and that you’ll keep reading it as

I put out more submissions. =D

[Zero_Ichimura]

So thank you everyone for keeping up with my manga Zero Kyuuketsuki, I’m really sorry for the wait I was just being lazy. This chapter is a bit different from chapter 1 but hopefully you still enjoy it =D

Zero Kyuuketsuki Part 2
Shadows of the Night

   Zero broke through the final layer of fog as the last few grey tinges of twilight faded away. He’d had late nights before, but never like this. All his but one of his leads on Zaokotsu’s whereabouts had dried up and he was getting desperate. As he leaped across the final street and landed on the rooftop of his second floor apartment, the sun peeked out across the horizon, turning the sky a vibrant mauve. Perhaps if Zero had been better rested he would have noticed the shadowy figure watching him from the alleyway across the street. However he did not, and Zero came through the window and stumbled to his bed none the wiser. As he fell onto his bed and checked the clock, which read 5 a.m. and with a groan rolled over and fell asleep.

   Mizumi had only met Zero two weeks ago, but he was still her friend, so she worried about him. Where could he be? She wondered as for the fourth time the morning classes began without him. All thoughts of this were put aside however, when Nekosumi sensei walked into the class. Nekosumi sensei walked behind her desk and quickly surveyed the class. “Hmmmm… we’re missing Zero-kun again, well no matter. Today class we’ll be starting a new unit, the rise and fall of the roman empire.” Nizumi listlessly copied down Nekosumi sensei;s lesson, but as usual, Mizumi’s focus started to slip and she began to daydream. Her mind took her back to thoughts of Zero. Where was he Had something happened? He certainly seemed capable of taking care of himself byut what if he really was hurt? Her panic and worry for him built until she felt like she would crawl out of her skin. “Mizumi……MIZUMI!” Slightly dazed, Mizumi met Nekosumi sensei’s eyes, which had a flinty look about them. “I’ve told you time and time again, pat att-.” Nekosumi sensei couldn’t finish her sentence because just then Zero glided into class. His eyes were sleepy and unfocused and his legs barely lifted when he walked. Nekosumi sensei stopped him and tapped his head with a ruler she had picked up off her desk. “Zero-kun not only did you miss my class three times but now you’re late again, what’s your excuse?” “I didn’t feel like coming” he replied softly. “Zero-kun we’re going to have a long talk about this later.” Without any response, Zero nudged past her and sat down just as the lunch bell rang.

   It was chilly up on the roof. The sun was covered by a few roaming clouds and the warmth was chased away by the autumn breeze. Mizumi and Zero had taken to eating lunch there together. “Ano….Zero? How come you’ve been gone for so long?” Zero glanced up at her from his bento of plain white rice, “I’ve been out late the past few nights tracking down leads.” “Have you found anything yet?” Zero paused for a moment, then shook his head, “No, all of them just turn out to be dead ends. But I can’t stop trying, not ever.” Mizumi, her curiosity sparked leaned in, “Why is this so important to you?” Zero stood up and walked to the edge of the roof and slipped the fingers of his right hand through the rings in the fence. “It was twelve years ago, a week before my sixth birthday. The sky had grown dark hours ago and my family and I had just finished dinner. As we were going our separate ways  in the house I heard something move outside and the air was tainted with a sickeningly sweet aroma. I told my brother, Mosuke,  and he quickly alerted my father. Father grabbed his favored weapon, his crossbow, from a wall compartment near the stairs. He ran downstairs with my mother close behind him and they took up defensive positions near the door, poised to fight. It was quiet for a moment, so quiet it seemed like nothing was going to happen, and then suddenly the door erupted in a shower of splinters. A lone man in a black cloak, pale blond hair and emerald eyes stood there. He had a bladed chain wrapped around both arms, connected behind his back. My father fired a shot but the man shattered the arrow with his chain. ‘Ahh, Orein, Yui, how have you been?’ ‘Leave here Zaokotsu’ my father cried, ‘we won’t let you take him.’ With that, my father drew a notched dagger from his belt a nd charged. ‘Hmmph” was all Zaokotsu said, and sent his chain lancing through my father’s chest. My brother grabbed me and pulled me upstairs, but not before I saw my mother have her head torn from her neck. We finished climbing the stairs and Mosuke turned to me and said ‘Zero this way.’ Mosuke pulled back a floor board, exposing a straight falling pit. “You go, follow the tunnel, I’ll hold him off.’ ‘I won’t leave you Mosuke’ I cried. ‘Sorry brother, but this is where we must part ways.’ Mosuke pushed me down the hole, covered the tunnel back up and grabbed his pistol”

   “I followed the tunnel all the way to the nearest town, where I met up with out family friend, Katakura. I finished my training with him and then came here to avenge my family.” Zero turned back to Mizumi, who was shocked that Zero’s face showed no emotion after telling her all that.

   The rest of the day passed slowly for Mizumi. Hearing about Zero’s family made her heart ache, and she would have liked nothing more then to try to comfort him. As Nekosumi sensei outlined the homework for that night, Mizumi looked over towards Zero. His silver hair glowed from the sunlight streaming through the window and his eyes were distant, as if nothing was happening around him. Mizumi glanced at the clock in the front of the class, 3:10, only five more minute to go. The bell rang and Mizumi began to pack up her things, “Mizumi, can I see you for a moment please?” It was Nekosumi sensei. She waited until everyone had left and then turned to Mizumi, a look of concern played across her face. “Mizumi you’ve been acting very strangely since Zero-kun joined the class. Would you like me to have him move? I hate seeing your grades slip.” Mizumi, a little anxiously, replied “Oh no sensei, it’s nothing, you don’t need to move Zero.” “Well alright, run along then.” Mizumi dashed out of the class to catch up with Zero, and didn’t see a smile spread across Nekosumi sensei’s lips as she left.

   Mizumi finally found Zero walking down the road leading to the train station. “Zero-kun!” she called. Zero stopped and glanced over his shoulder at her. “Zero about today…everyone gets lonely you know. If you ever want to talk you can come to me.” “Hmmph, why would I need to talk to you? I’ve been alone most of my life. Katakura didn’t try to help me, so I dealt with my problems on my own. So stop trying to get into my heart. It was a mistake telling you anything.” With that Zero walked off, while Mizumi stood stock still, too shocked to move.

   The sun had finally set and darkness was beginning to spread across the horizon. Zero decided it was time to leave. He picked up his coat and heard his guns click together as he slid his right arm through the sleeve. He checked the street below and seeing no one around, slipped through the window. He dashed to the other side and then when he came to the edge, jumped to the adjacent roof. As he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, the only sound he made was the rustling of his coat in the wind.

   He had been out for about an hour and the sky had turned a deep purple. As he cleared another rooftop he heard a faint cry coming from his right. He quickly turned and in no time he was at a very crowded park, but not crowded by children. Zero scanned the crowd and found a girl sitting on a swing, her eyes filled with tears, surrounded by roughly sixteen men and women. On of the men advanced towards her and she screamed. The man grabbed her arm and pulled her neck up to his mouth. Before anyone had a chance to react, the man went flying into a tree, and where he had been standing a moment ago, was Zero. His arm was out to his left, fist clenched, in his other hand he held the girl protectively. “Get out of here, I’ll handle these guys.” Zero whispered in her ear. “Motsuki’s dead.” Said one of the vampires who had gone to check on the one Zero had just hit. “You’re gonna pay for this boy” said a blond girl with a heavy leather jacket, to Zero’s left. Zero looked at her from over his shoulder, “So you’re the leader huh?” “That’s right.” “Good to know, I'll save you for last.” “WHAT? You think you can take us all by yourself? Ha, go get him.”

   Zero grabbed his guns, arms crossed and bent at the elbows, and fired. Two vampires who had been advancing on him dropped dead. Zero heard a scuffle of feet behind him and flipped backwards, landing behind his attacker. He grabbed the man by the top of his head, and stepping backwards, slammed him into the ground, cracking the pavement. His guns had fallen during his dodge and he snatched them up and rolled to the side, just dodging a roundhouse kick from a female vampire. He shot her twice in the chest and holstered his guns. A man in front of Zero swung at him with his right fist. Zero grabbed his arm, pulled it straight, and broke it at the elbow. As the man howled in pain, Zero punched him in his chest hearing his sternum crack. He whirled around to see three vampires charging him, and he started to run towards them. When he got close, Zero took down the first two by jumping into the air and kicked each once in the face, cracking their cheek bones. The third tried to tackle Zero, who ducked under him and came up behind the vampire. Zero grabbed his shoulders, flipped over the man, and when he landed hurled him into a tree. Zero heard the tree trunk snap under the force and knew the man was dead. The remaining six circled around him. “Huh, this is getting old.” Zero reached into his coat and pulled out the Evangeline. He spun it on his finger, grabbed the stock and shot down three of them. “Whose next?” asked Zero. Two more charged him and Zero dispatched one with an elbow to the side of the head. The second managed to set her claws into Zero and left a deep gash in his right arm. Annoyed Zero turned on her and kicked her stomach and ribs in a swift double roundhouse, killing her on the second blow. Then Zero remembered the last vampire and managed to dodge the surprise attack. The final vampire had managed to get behind him while he fought the others. Coming out of his crouch and spinning, Zero struck the vampire with an uppercut to the bottom of his chin, feeling the bones in his neck snap from the pressure.

   Relaxing, Zero turned back to the leader, “Your turn.” The leader came out of her stupor and with a fearful look at Zero, began to run. In a flash Zero had her held up by her neck. “Where’s your boss?” demanded Zero. “I don’t work for anyone!” she said defiantly. Tightening his grip, Zero tried again. “Where is Yomikuri?” The girl coughed, tears welling up in her eyes, “Industrial district, warehouse 137.” “Thanks...seems you've used up your usefulness.” “Mercy! Please, I’m begging you to show me mercy.” Zero look into her eyes, “Mercy, you say? Fine. I will show you some kindness, the kindness of a swift death.” With that, Zero took out the Penitence and shot her in the temple. Throwing her body to the ground, Zero disappeared into the night.

Police Headquarters 6:57 pm.

   “Mumoichi! Get in here now!” Officer Mumoichi opened the door and stood at attention, “Yes chief?” “I want your report on last night’s incident.” Clearing his throat Mumoichi brought out his notes, “Sixteen civilians were found dead and terribly burned this morning in Itsuki Park. Any identifying marks were indistinguishable due to bodily condition. No witnesses have been found yet.” “I see, so it’s just like the others. Mumoichi, I’ve asked for a specialist to come in to deal with this, you’ll be assisting him in his investigation.” A man appeared from the shadows in the corner behind the chief’s desk, “Excuse me, allow me to introduce myself. I am Inspector Hideaki of Division Four, Paranormal Investigations.” Hideaki extended his hand to Mumoichi. Mumoichi didn’t like him, but he forced a smile and shook his hand, “Pleasure to be working with you sir.”


   Thanks so much for reading chapter 2 and keeping up with my manga, hopefully u enjoyed it just as much. Sorry I know I said pictures would be included and they will soon I just need to find a scanner. Again I’m so sorry this took so long I was lazy =3

[Zero_Ichimura]

Well i no its been a long time coming but here is Part 3, of my manga, Zero Kyuuketsuki, i rly hope u like it and thank u so much for ur patience everyone, thanks for loving my manga, and hopefully ull keep loving it, Enjoy =D

Zero Kyuuketsuki Part 3: Along came a Spider

Police Headquarters, 2:13 a.m

Mumoichi let out a yawn and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Hideaki had been pouring over his computer screen for hours, reading up on everything the division had collected related to the mass murder case. Resting his head on his hand, Mumoichi looked at Hideaki, "Inspector-", "Call me Hideaki please." Mumoichi blinked and straightened up in his chair, "Hideaki, do you think we could call it a day? We've been at this for hours." Hideaki minimized the window and turned to look at Mumoichi. "You can go home if you like, but im determined to figure this case out. There's just so many questions"."Huh, you really are a busy-body, eh Hideaki? What made you want to join the force anyway?" Text reflected off Hideaki's glasses as he turned to face Mumoichi, his eyes hidden by the glare of the screen."When I was young, I had everything taken away from me. My family, my home, my friends, everything. I joined the force to try to stop that from happening to anyone else"."Well...*censored*. That's pretty noble of you"."Yes I suppose it is"."I mean I only joined 'cause of my dad, he always told m-"."Pardon me Officer Mumoichi, but you are distracting me from my work, perhaps you should go home"."Oh, uh, right then, well good night Inspector". As Mumoichi left the room, Hideaki gave a slight smile, "Well, well, welll, what do we have here?"


Anxious to get to Yomikuri, Zero left at dawn, the morning air chilling his face as he glided along the roofs at the east end of the city. As he came closer to the docks, the sea air wafted dinto his nose and he breathed it in deeply, it brought back good memories. He jumped off the last building, and looked across at the fenced in shipping yard. He picked out two armed guards, and several workers going about their work. "Damn it" Zero swore under his breath. "There's too many of them to start looking for him now. I'll have to come back tonight." Without a second thought, Zero turnd back the way he'd come and headed home to prepare himself for tonight. As he approached his apartment he caught on odd scent, the scent of blood and the deep forest. He glanced around but there was no trace of anyone outside, he sniffed at the air but the scent was gone, so he proceeded into his room through the open window and started cleaning the Penitence. When he'd finished checking his guns and had put them back in his coat, Zero glanced over at the clock on the wall, and noticed it was nearly time for school. He ate a quick breakfast of his cereal, and popped his favorite snack, Ms.Kiyushi's pepppermint candies, into his mouth as he left. As he made his way to school he had a feeling someone was coming his way, and as he turned he heard a girl shout, "UUURRAAAAA". A fist collided with Zero's cheek and sent him back with the force.  Zero looked back to see Mizumi wringing out her hand, "That's for yesterday you jerk!" Zero got up without a word, dusted himself off, and started to walk away. Mizumi ran in front of him and placed a hand firmly on his chest. Their eyes locked, "What's your problem? Why is it so hard for you to accept me as your friend?" Mizumi demanded. "..." Zero just brushed past Mizumi and headed towards the school. Mizumi watched after him, bolstering her resolve, she would not let Zero go on suffering alone anymore.



Zero trudged through the hallways to his classroom and opened the door, His classmates were a buzz with chatter, making Zero silently sigh to himself, what a pain. He got to his sear and stared out the window hoping to phase himself out of the class activities. He watched of pair of blue birds flying, dancing on the gentle breeze. He had nearly gotten into the trance like state he'd been trying for when someone shook him awake. "Zero...ZERO! wake up!" It was Mizumi. "Are you already for the S
school's Athletics Competition? I've been training since last year, I think I've got a good shot at winning this year!" she said, as she danced on her toes and boxed the air. Zero just shrugged and looked back to the window, trying to find the blue birds again. When he finally found them again, perched high in a tree, Nekosumi Sensei came in. "OK class! It's time for the athletic's competition! Now I bet Shiromi Sensei a week of lunch's that we'd take 1st place this year. So get out there and win!" After changing into their gym clothes, the students from Nekosumi's class assembled outside with the other students. The events were 100m dash, 200m dash, 1000m circuit,shot put, high jump, long jump, and running long jump. The sensei would select any five of their students to compete for them. The fice Nekosumi selected for the males were Zero, Komamura, Hasachi, Yaguni, and Meiure. The females were Mizumi, Rega, Maora, Suko, and Meiure (the meiure's are brother and sister just to point out here). The day was a blur of hot sun, dust, and cheering voices. Zero came in first place for all the events he was in, but their team still only managed to get third place. Mizumi and the other girls came in fifth place, putting Nekosumi's class in third overall. "EHHHHHHHHH?!? WE LOST?!" Nekosumi was fuming at the ears as she marched her class back inside. "I told you guys to win! Now the penalty for losing is...You all have to pay for me and Shiromi Sensei's lunchs for the week!" Zero raised his hand and said, "Sensei it's your fault for making that bet". Nekosumi Sensei stiffened and everyone looked back at Zero, horrified. Nekosumi slowly approached him. "What did you say?" "I said it was your f-". Nekosumi Sensei started to batter him with her ruler "BAKA, BAKA, BAKA!" As she hit awaqy the bell rang and Nekosumi stopped, turning around with a smile she said, "class dismissed".


Zero headed back to his apartment later that day after picking up some groceries. As he came to his door he pulled out his key and unlocked the door. He stepped into his dark apartment, flicked on the lights, and started to prepate his dinner, putting groceries away as he went. When he finished, he sat down on the only chair in the apartment, flicked on the television, and started watching D. Gray-Man. When he finished off his plate of fried rice, chicken, and green peppers, he looked over to see what time it was, to find it was only 8:03 p.m. "I guess a nap couldn't hurt" Zero said to himself. Zero went to his bed, and as he drifted off to sleep, he found himself in a world of dreams. His dreams brought him to a day of his training by the waterfall near his woodland home. Zero remembered this day well. "Zero stop for a moment and come here," Kagura called to him. He waited until Zero made it over to him. "Zero you've trained tirelessly for two years, and your the best hunter I've ever seen. It's time you claim the mark of a hunter". Kagura reached behind him and handed Zero a long, black, leather coat with a symbol of a sun with a sword thrust through it on the upper back. "That is the Ichimura family crest. Wear it proudly, because you're it, the last of the Ichimura clan". Those words echoed through his head as he pulled himself awake. The clock read 1:17 a.m, perfect timing. He grabbed his coat, his guns, and a few silver shrapnel explosives just incase. It was dark that night. Clouds covered the moon and stars, everything above the street lights was pitch black. Zero enjoyed the silence of night, the darkness, he felt comfortable with it, at home. Nearing the docks, he ran a little faster, leaping off the rooftop and landing on top of the fence and jumped down to the pavement. He crept across the loading docks until he came upon Warehouse 137. A light out in front showed the two armed guards from earlier guarding the entrance. It would be simple to slip past them, but not to keep them out of the fight which would ensue. Zero glanced around and noticed a pipe leading up the side of the building, no good. Off to the left he spotted a pair of trash cans. Picking up a nearby stone, he hurled it at the nearest trash can. The resulting clang sent one of the guards running to investigate. As soon as the guard was out of earshot, Zero sprinted forwards. The remaining guard never knew what hit him, just a blinding pain as Zero uppercut him, sending him a few inches into the air. Zero grabbed him before he hit the ground. He hefted the unconscious body in behind the warehouse, then headed off to disable the other guard. He found the second guard returning from the trash cans, muttering something about raccoons. Zero, quiet as death, crept behind the man. He quickly delivered a hit to the top of the guard's head, rendering him unconscious, and then carried him over to the alley where he had put the first guard. Coming around to the entrance again, Zero swung the doorwar open, and walked into the blackness of Warehouse 137.



Zero entered the dark warehouse, the only lighting inside was that from the windows at the top of the left and right wall. There wasn't enough light to see anything inside the warehouse, but Zero's eyes soon adjusted and he could see only an empty building. Flicking the light switch on beside him rows upon rows of hanging lights lit the ground, still revealing nothing. He began to search around only noticing a few unpacked crates here and there, nothing out of the ordinary. "That bitch lied to me!" Zero muttered disgusted. He turned back to the entrance when he heard a scrap from the ceiling above. he whirled around, the Penitence leveled at where the noise had originated, but nothing there. he decided to move back to the entrance to draw his enemy out and as he turned he heard the same scrapping sound, but this time it was lower on the wall. This time however he traced where the movement was headed, not where it was, and in the corner stood his target. "So we finally meet, Yomikuri". Stepping from the shadows, Yomikuri moved slowly, yet casually, toward Zero. "Well,well, you must be that silver eyed trouble maker I've been hearing so much about. I suppose you've come to kill me then, is that right?" "Heh" Zero said a smirk crossing his lips, "That's right." "Well, come on then". Zero lunged forward, he was only a few inchs out of striking distance when a second enemy revealed himself. Leaping out of the shadow cast under the window, a dark shadow flew out, just as quick as Zero, and struck him across the cheek. Zero felt claws digging into his cheek bone and was thrown back. "Allow me to introduce my associate, Mazuko". Zero glanced at the attacker. He was different then anything he'd ever seen before. "Is that even a vampire?" Zero asked himself. The new comer, Mazuko, had darkened skin, his ears pointed, his eyes yellow, and his hair was long, almost like a mane. "You'll see, were full of surprises, silver eyes". said Yomikuri. As he spoke, the back of his coat tore outwards, revealing 4 long powerful arachnid legs. "We are the result of a failed biological experiment, executed by out masters, to increase the power of the vampire body and abilities. I can assure you, we are more then a match for a gun-totting, hunter. Take care of him Mazuko." The strange panther like man charged at Zero, his clawed fingers slashing wildly at Zero. He was fast, faster then any vampire Zero had ever encountered, and he was having trouble dodging those jagged claws. Swipe after swipe was dodged by a mere hairsbreadth, but he managed to keep far enough back. Then he caught his opening. Mazuko had moved in to close on an aggressive slash, trying to hard to reach Zero. Zero seizing the opportunity, closed his fist and sent it rocketing towards the center of his opponent's chest. Mazuko managed to get mostly out of the way of the blow, but it collided with his shoulder, rendering his left arm useless. Jumping back, Mazuko had realized that this hunter was something else and he should take this battle far more seriously. They circled each other, eyes met. they danced around each other, Zero with fist and foot, Mazuko with claw and fang. Zero again found an opening in the vampires defense, again on the now disabled left side, he struck with a right hook, landing in the mid section of the catlike vampire, making him cringe around his fist. With a quick crouch and full spin, Zero tripped Mazuko, and brought his fist bak for the killing blow. From behind him on the ceiling he heard an odd foaming sound, but had no time to react. As he tried to dodge out of the way of whatever was flying towards him, his right forearm was engulfed in a yellowish burning liquid. Zero heard his flesh sizzling, and he crouched down holding his arm in pain. "That's a highly acidic saliva that I possess. You're lucky, if it had hit you directly it would have eaten through your whole arm". "*censored*". Zero shook his arm out, and tested out his muscles in his forearm. Searing pain shot through his whole body but he was still able to use his muscles. He thrust his left hand into his coat and drew out the Penitence and the Evangeline. He dashed, sideways, straffing along the wall, a barrage of bullets sent towards Yomikuri, who was crawling along the sealing using the arachnid legs protruding from his back. Zero put the Penitence back into his coat and drew out one of the silver shrapnel explosives. They were relatively small, resembling a standard fragmentation grenade, however inside these contained large shards of deadly silver shards, which could easily cause an unhealable wound to a vampire. He pulled the pin and through it in Yomikuri's direction. Yomikuri was fast and he could have dodged the grenade itself, but Zero, aiming the Evangeline, fired a shot and hit the grenade dead center. The force of the bullet puncturing the outer layer of the grenade, caused it to explode just as it past under Yomikuri. Large amounts of green blood fell to the floor, and burned a hole in the ground. Yomikuri's lower half was completely destroyed and pieces of shrapnel stuck out of his chest and abdomen. He was dying, but not dead, making him still a threat. The half spider, turned to zero and volleys of acidic spit were shot towards him, these were much easier to avoid if they were visible unlike the first time and he easily maneuvered around them. Running towards the dying vampire, Zero again took out his second pistol, stood and fired off a quick 6 round burst, two bullets hit the chest, and one hit his back leg, leaving him hanging there unable to move. Behind him Zero could hear the rushing of feet and new that Mazuko was awake again. His left hand still aiming the Penitence at Yomikuri for the final shot, Zero dropped his right hand onto his shoulder, the Evangeline pointing behind him, and fired each gun simultaneously. Each bullet hitting its mark, right between the eyes of the vampires. The silver bullets made sure that the brain matter would not recover from the healing effects of the vampires. Yomikuri fell to the floor, Mazuko skidded to a halt behind Zero. Zero picked up the two broken bodies and hefted them towards the doorway to the warehouse, putting them where their bodies would be creamated at sun rise. Checking on his burned arm, he hurried off into the night. "He's really something isn't he Reiko?" A male figure said, as he appeared out of the shadows. A female figure revealed herself crouched next to the male."Yes, he is as skillful as the master told us he would be"."Huh, well the boss is gonna wanna hear about this anyway, he's not gonna be happy about Yomikuri and Mazuko dying on us." With that the two figures melded back into the shadows.


5:49 a.m, Warehouse District, Warehouse 137

Officer Hideaki stepped through the caution tape into the scene, looking for his partner, Inspector Hideaki. "Ah, Officer Mumoich, you made it I see." Mumoichi turned to see Hideaki standing by the pair of burned skeletons left in the morning sunlight. "What do you make of this here Officer?" Hideaki asked, indicating the charred legs of Yomikuri. "What is that? It's like nothing I've ever seen before. That couldn't be human!". "Precisely, it seems i was right in being called here, with the reports of victims dying of blood loss, cremated skeletons, and now this, this is definitely something the Bureau would be interested in. One thing is certain however, there is something, or someone, who is involved in all of these cases. Someone has either been causing or, atleast creamating, these bodies, so the question then, Officer, is who are they, and where can we find them? I think we need to return to Headquarters and compare what we know now with what we have here, perhaps there is a clue we have missed which can tie what these things are, to the past cases. Come along, Officer, there is much to be done." Hideaki proceeded to his black suddan, and Mumoichi climbed into the passengers seat as they sped off back to Police HQ.


Well to all my fans out there im so sry it toook so long, i no its been to long a wait and im sry, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it, and of course the nxt to come will becuz im bak from a long needed break of planning, and im rdy to b an even more passionate writer then i was wen i first made this, so thank u for all staying loyal to the manga =D

[Zero_Ichimura]

Hey everyone, Zero here. It's great to have you read my 4th installment in my series, and im sry it always takes so long for me to put it out, im very lazy in my writing. i worked rly hard on this one and i hope u like it, becuz im trying out a new format. Enjoy =]

Zero Kyuuketsuki Chapter 4
May the Streets Run Red

   It was a crisp, sunny morning as Mizumi walked down Okaji Road. Frost coloured the grass and a chill breeze blew through her hair. She tightened her scarf and shuffled under her jacket. As she walked she thought back to the day before. Nekosumi sensei stood before the class concluding her lectures on ancient civilizations, that day they'd been discussing ancient egyptian culture. "Now class, over the weekend I want you to pick one of the seven cultures we talked about this week, and do an oral report and prepare a diorama incorporating something about what you learned during your research. It is a group project and I'll leave it up to you who you choose to work with." As she finished her sentence the dismissal bell rang, and as usually, Nekosumi sensei was the first out the door. Mizumi started packing up and as casually as she could manage, turned to Zero, "Umm Zero, do you want to work together on the project?" Without looking up he gave her a nod, "We can do it tomorrow morning at my place." After a short conversation Mizumi got the directions and walked home happily feeling like she was finally getting a little bit closer to being a part of Zero's life. Snapping out of her flash back she noticed she had walked nearly past the street Zero lived in so she ran back to the intersection. As she turned in to the street she noticed the state of disrepair the majority of the houses were in this neighbourhood. As she walked down a white cat hissed at her and Mizumi jumped in surprise. She hurried down the street hoping to avoid the cat's wrath. Finally she came to the house where Zero said he lived and she walked up to the green door of the house. She knocked politely on the door, and tried to look as cute as she could. But to her surprise it wasn't Zero who answered the door but an old woman in a long, deep blue dress and a white stained apron over top. "What do you want?" she asked in a harsh tone. "I-I came to see Zero-kun...is he home?""Zero? You mean that silver haired boy? yeah he's here just take the steps up to the second level on the other side of the house." Mizumi smiled and bowed slightly "Thank you for your help." "Yeah what ever," the woman said, and closed the door behind her. Mizumi went over and climbed the creaking old metal stairs to the second floor and knocked on the door. "Comon in," Zero called from inside. Mizumi, feeling a little offended that he wouldn't even come to the door, slowly opened it and walked inside. The smell of beef and rice filled the room and the hallway she stepped into was fairly dark, only a light at the end illuminated where she stood. Slipping off her shoes she walked into the living room to see Zero cooking. "Oh what are you making? It smells good." "It's nothing special just some fried rice, beef, brocoli, and carrots. It's just...something my mother used to make for me when I was younger." Mizumi stood there, unsure of what to say or do, should she try to comfort him? or would he just push her away if she tried?"Zero shrugged, saying "Whatever you want is fine with me." "Well i was thinking we could do it on ancient Rome, and we could make a miniature Coliseum with little Gladiators." "Alright go get set up, I need to let this simmer for awhile so im gonna go grab a shower." As Zero left, Mizumi walked around the apartment to see how Zero lived. It was pretty messy, although she suspected that since he seemed so lazy. Try as she might there was no sign of that black coat she had seen him wear the first day they met. After doing a sweep through the apartment she sat down in the quiet, feeling to shy to get comfortable. She heard the sound of water running.As she sat there on the couch her mind began to wander. She thought of Zero, that night where he seemed to swoop down from the heavens, her savior. She thought of how her heart seemed to deepen everytime she looked in his shining eyes. She gazed off into the distance. Then breaking through her daydream, came the thought that he was in the shower right now. She couldn't shake the image from her mind. It started driving her crazy, "Maybe just a quick peak" she thought to herself. With a crafty look in her eye, and a smirk on her face she crept down the hallway. She got to the door and saw steam leaking out through the gap between the door and the floor. As quietly as humanly possible she slid the door knob and opened the door, before she could even stick her head in, she heard Zero's voice. "You're kind of a pervert aren't you?" She slammed the door and hurried back to the couch. "Damn! Damn! Damn! Why did I do that?!" she berrated herself silently. She heard the water stop and a few moments later zero came out, fully dressed, drying his hair with a towel. "You never answered my question," he said with a laugh. "Oh shut up!" she cried in embarassment, her cheeks flushed. "Alright so lets get this project done," Zero said. Mizumi cracked open a book and started writing down what was going to be covered for the oral presentation, while Zero went to the computer to print off a few pictures of Coliseum's. They worked for a few hours, and finally finishing, Mizumi gave Zero a quick good bye and rushed from the house, still feeling embarassed over being caught trying to peak at him.

   Zero finally being alone could get to what he'd been looking forward to all day. He had been starting to get lazy with his training so he decided to find a place to continue honing his skills. Since it was the middle of the day he didn't want to make a scene leaving through the window, and taking his coat and gear from the secret compartment he had hidden in the living room, set out into the chilly, november afternoon. He set off into the woods a few miles out of town and then he started to run. He searched the forest until he found what he was looking for. Before him lay a great waterfall. It thundered over the rocks and ran into a pond. From there the water flowed into a wide river, far down into the distance. It was almost exactly the same as his training ground that he had trained so hard in with Katsura. "Now let's get to work." he let down his duffle bag and pulled out all his equipment, 2 wooden buckets, a long heavy stick, large ankle weights, and a towel for afterwards. He warmed up with some jogging around the pond and then got to work. He tossed his coat onto a rock and pick up the buckets. Attaching them to the hooks on each end of the pole he set them under the water fall and got started. The first exercise was the main muscle building exercise he had done for years. Hoisting up the buckets from the ground he worked his legs, biceps, triceps, shoulders and abdomen. The water crashing down onto his shoulders and into the buckets caused weight to alter constantly training his body to compensate for sudden changes while also strengthening his muscles. He worked until he could take no more, he walked out of the water flow, emptied the buckets and jumped into the pond. He did a few lengths of swimming first then got to the resistance portion of his training. Strapping on the ankle weights to keep him on the ground, He ran as quickly as he could from end to end of the pond. The water's resistance against his legs put a great strain on his endurance but he had been doing it for years so it didn't start to tire him out for quite some time. When he finished his water sprints, he took a breather and continued on with push ups, sit ups, chin ups, and jumping jacks. He spent most of the day training himself to caught up on lost time. The alarm on the watch he had left in his duffle bag went off telling him it was time to head home. The sun was dipping towards the eastern horizon, so changing his shirt and putting on his coat, he rushed back home. When he made it back it was 6:57, and he was hoping to have a nice restful night. No such luck however, he turned on the TV to the evening news to find that his work for the night was not done. "-Police have just arrived on the scene now and are trying to enter the bank now. For those of you just joining us, the Junikai Bank has been locked down. We have managed to secure a short video feed from our camera crew on the scene before local officers were able to get all the press out of the area." The scene Zero witnessed was only possible by a vampire. Blood and body parts littered the floor of the bank, and a lone figure, shrouded in a pale green jacket, and black sweat shirt stood, feasting upon one of the last survivors. With a sigh, Zero grabbed his coat and guns and leaped out into the starless night, "A hunter's work is never done," he glowered inwardly.

6:13 pm, Junikai Bank

   The lines were short being so close to closing time. Aruhi Nakako stood behind a woman who was taking her sweet time finishing up her business with the teller. Finally, she moved and he got up to the teller. He had gone to close he and his ex'wife's account, she'd been taking money from his account for a month now and he was tired of it. After a short conversation, the account was closed and he walked towards the doorway. The man behind him approached the teller, his eyes shadowed from under his hood. He bared his teeth and long thick fangs gleamed from his smiling lips, "Haaaaaaaaaa" he have growled,half hissed. The teller screamed as he pounched on her, tearing a chunk of flesh from her neck. Screams echoed through the building and everyone dashed in a panic towards the door. The vampire pushed the lock down button under the desk and thick bars slid across all the doorways and the alarm rang out through the atrium. He leapt over the counter and began his grand feast. Aruhi was the first to die, he was tackled to the floor and torn to pieces, his bloody cries going unheard over the chaos inside the bank.

   The sirens and flashing lights of a squad of police cars and ambulances illuminated the dark city street that Junikai Bank resided on. Zero made a quick survey of the perimeter and knew getting into any main level entry way was impossible without being seen. So he took to the roof and to search for a way in. Luckily there was a roof entrance at the top, so pulling out his hunter multitool he started to pick the lock. Since it was so high up there was a minimum security on this level. He slid out the lock picking tools and managed to unlock the majority of the locks. There was one left which he couldn't get through. So he put his shoulder to the door and slammed through it breaking the steel door right off it's hinges. he hurried down the staircase, and when he got to the main floor he saw the mangled corpse of the sentry posted there to watch the roof entrance. The walls were bathed in his blood and it pooled on the floor. Zero through the hood of his coat over his head "I can't let those officers outside see my face or I'm done for." As he crept through the door, the vampire tore himself from the body he was feeding off of. "Isn't blood delicious? I've grown so attached to it, I drink it, bathe in it. It's so succulent and sweet, and when you find just the right human, it's so.....addictive," he said with a sigh. Zero's mouth set and he drew the Penitence in the blink of an eye. But before he could pull the trigger, the vampire was already gone. Zero looked all over but couldn't see him, suddenly a kick drove him to the ground as the vampire as he lunged at Zero in a shockingly aggressive style. His strikes were fast, unpredictable. Zero barely managed to dodge his blows, his eyes couldn't keep up so all he could do was try to predict where the attacks would come from. He got out the Evangeline also and began shooting with pinpoint accuracy at the vampire. Even when he hit him the bullets were practically spit out of his body. "All that damn blood has his body running like a train how the hell am I gonna kill this guy," Zero thought to himself. One of Zero's stray bullets hit one of the fire sprinklers setting them off. Zero managed to keep his footing on the water slick floor, which is more then could be said for his opponent. His speed betrayed him on the wet ground and he had trouble staing upright whenever he landed. The vampire clearly frustrated, got ever more aggressive keeping Zero on the defensive. A punch slipped passed Zero's guard and sent him flying into one of the structural pillars of the bank. Stone and dust exploded outwards from the impacts. Blood trickled down Zero's forehead from when a stone chip cut him. Zero moved the hair from his eyes, and the burning hatred in his eyes was so intense, that no amount of water could quell its flames. The vampire smiled and rushed towards him, over confidence flowing through him. Zero quickly dropped into the octagonal defense his father had taught him years ago. He could counter anything that came near him like this. As the vampire closed in, Zero dropped to one knee, his back to the enemy. As he passed by Zero, his aggressiveness left him open. Zero delivered a left elbow to his opponent, hitting him square in the stomach. As he finished that attack he was already moving for his next move. Suspended for a moment from the force of the blow, the vampire was nothing but vulnerable, and Zero seized on this opportunity. He grabbed him from the air in one sweeping motion with his right hand, and making a full turn swung him around and threw him into the teller counter. He crashed through it and well into the wall behind it. The vampire tore himself from the ground and lunged at Zero. Again, Zero countered his attack. Driving an upper cut into his stomach, the vampire paused a moment. With deathly swiftness Zero struck him in the face, first with a right hook, then a left hook. Dazed the vampire stumbled backwards and before he regained his composure a spinning back kick to his rib cage sent him skidding across the floor. Growling he surged forward, his eyes set ablaze his claws out and ready to deal Zero a killing blow. But what he hadn't realized in his haste was that the effects of all the blood he had drank had now worn off. Powerless now, he had no chance against Zero, and in that instant, when he noticed his strength was failing, he died. Zero side stepped his final charge, and with the Penitence in hand, delivered a single silver bullet into the head of his enemy. As the vampire lay dying, the regeneration keeping him alive a few extra seconds, he cursed Zero under his breath. Zero bent to pick up the lifeless body and made his way to the roof. Just before he made it there, a crash sounded behind him and the police officers flooded through the door way. They'd finally managed to break through the bars to the bank entrance. "Freeze!" shouted officer Mumoichi, his gun leveled at Zero. Zero hurried through the door and leapt up the stairs the officers hot on his tracks. As soon as he reached the roof he was cleared and disappeared into the darkness, leaving his pursuer's searching fruitlessly for him. Hideaki stepped into the bank, his eyes unreadable.


   Zero fled to an abandoned area near the city limit and left the vampires body on a rooftop for it to burn up in the sun. By tomorrow ashes would blow away in the wind and no one would ever know he'd been there.


11:27 a.m. Police Headquarters

   Hideaki sat at his computer, his eyes blank. Although he hadn't seen who it was that had killed that monster in the bank, he knew that it was just one person doing it, and that it wasn't just some gang killing people off, there was something special about all the victims. Who was this hooded figure? What was it that drew him to his victims? Or were the even victims? Maybe they were facing judgement by this vigilanty's hands. "Whatever the reasons for your actions, I will find you," Hideaki said to himself. He wrote his report and submitted it to the case file for later. One thing he had noticed though which he thought of for the rest of the day, that symbol on the back of the main's coat. A sun with a sword thrust through it. That was definitely his first real clue in this investigation, and he would pursue it until he found out exactly what it meant. He couldn't help but smile, this vigilanty wasn't perfect, he couldn't cover his tracks forever, and when he messed up, Hideaki would be there.

So hopefully that was as good as it should have been with how long it took me to do it. Im gonna b writing more often now that im going bak to skool so stay tuned =]
Zero

[Coryn Sken]

decided to finally group all of your chapters together like i suggested?

[Zero_Ichimura]

well i dont rly like havin them all together just for the sake of space

[Coryn Sken]

its just easier to organize this way.

[Vei]

waow so much to read!>.< and really good 2!!