Chifuyu and Iris still do their daily practice swings to hone their technique. Ariel joined in since she decided she has to greatly improve her swordsmanship. Kagura joins in as well so she isn't left out. Chifuyu has his own blade while Ariel still has her Alter Blade. Since nobody besides them and the Hunter Agency President knows about her weapon's power, she has to naturally keep it under wraps.
"Hahahaha. Yo guys, check this out."
"Oh, is that the new issue of Hunter Monthly?"
"Yeah, and look at who's on the cover."
"Pff."
"I'm gonna hurl..."
Hunter Monthly is a magazine featuring Hunters, as the name implies. They're mainly used as models and to promote other brands. The person in question on this month's cover is none other than Shoyo looking like an absolute stud. Chifuyu and Kagura die of laughter just looking at it, Ariel almost throws up the food she just ate, and Iris doesn't even know what to say.
"Heh. Wonder if I could be on this one day."
"Please don't Chifuyu... I might make fun of you for as long as 30 days."
"Yeah, please don't go out there looking like this idiot."
"It's only funny when it's someone you know."
"True. Well if you actually wanna be on it, we can maybe get some duo poses."
"Hey, I like your idea. 'Up and coming stars. Chifuyu and Kagura make a splash!'"
"Ugh..."
Chifuyu and Kagura start making silly poses together while narrating potential headlines. Ariel is detached from the topic.
"Would you wanna be in this magazine, Iris?"
"Eh? Me? No way..."
"You and me both."
Although it's for different reasons, they both do not wish to be in this Hunter magazine.
"Well, let's go, Ariel."
"Yeah."
"See you later! Iris and I will hold down the cafe until you two get back."
"We're off."
Today is their first shift on patrol. Hunters are given designated routes when patroling and areas to look out for. This has been the norm for a long time now so it's natural for civilians to see Hunters walking around with weapons by their waist or on their back. A lot of Hunters also opt to patrol in their cars. There are also lookout posts when certain areas are highly suspicious. Odd jobs will just be patrolling in 2 man teams for 3 days out of the week until they gain more members. This week it's Chifuyu and Ariel.
There's an open hunt for a vampire in their area who's gone off the deep end. A report from a 4th Rank Hunter who fought it and barely escaped with his life states it clearly hasn't fed in a long time. It's confirmed to have claimed 2 lives, both from groups walking the streets at night. With no discretion at all, it attacked a single victim from groups that both had more than 3 people together and ran off with the corpse. Clearly abnormal behavior with no care about being reported by the eyewitnesses. It's described to be a male, over 6 feet tall, with narrow slanted eyes, and short gray hair.
The thing is with vampires who've gone so long without feeding on any blood at all is that not only do they go off their rocker, but they stay in that state for an uncertain period of time. The amount of blood needed to return them to their senses is arbitrary. Who knows how many victims they may claim. At the very least, they're guaranteed to slip up sooner rather than later. Hunters are briefed on vampires seen in their district any day there's an update through email. If a Hunter has a run-in with a vampire, they're required to write a report on it. In fact, Hunters have to make reports on their activities weekly.
If they find particular buildings or such suspicious, they have clearance to check them out. When providing proof that they're Hunters, they simply show a digital Hunter ID. To ensure nobody's impersonating a Hunter, the IDs have an encrypted code which are immediately tracked if some super hacker ever tries to copy it.
Ariel flexes her physical prowess by scaling a building that Chifuyu has to use the ladder to climb. She enjoys rubbing in her superhuman strength, she's definitely enjoying the patrolling.
Nothing much happens in the first 2 days, which is to be expected. But on the 3rd day, Ariel notices they're being followed by someone. It was clear as day to her, she felt a definite looming presence watching over her with an insatiable appetite. Ready for a fight, Chifuyu and Ariel lured their guest to an abandoned warehouse.
"So it was the mad vampire on the loose, like I thought."
Entering the building after them was a tall figure with a hoodie on. Taking it off revealed a vampire with deep bloodshot eyes, pulsing veins all over, and drool drilling down his mouth. He matched the description of the vamp that lost his sense of self and has been killing humans with no concern of being seen.
"He really does look crazy..."
"Demon Lord Ariel... And... The half-human, half-vampire boy. Oh man, I'm picking up a crazy good smell from you. Your blood must be quite appetizing. I wonder how it tastes..."
"This guy's a loony Ariel."
"Tell me about it. I've seen more than enough of my kind who've been driven to this."
"Ahh... The blood of a Vampire Lord must be just as good, I can't wait."
"This sure is convenient, the vamp went ahead and showed himself to us so we can go ahead and take care of him."
"You can beat him alone, right Chifuyu?"
"You got it... Wait, what?"
"Here he comes."
"Half and half feast!!"
"Woah."
Lumging at him, Chifuyu evades the vampire with a limbo-like dodge. Gripping the hilt of his blade, he prepares for the vampire's next attack. Looking to his side, he notices Ariel is gone. She jumped atop one of the warehouse shelving to enjoy the fight.
"Go Chifuyu, go! You can do it, Chifuyu! Do your best! Gooooooo, Chifuyu!"
As if she's a cheerleader, Ariel starts rooting for her partner's victory as if this is some type of event. Chifuyu gazes up at her with an annoyed expression.
"Teh. You want a show huh? Well, I'll give you one. This is the debut of Chifuyu Kyotani's first vampire fight!"
Getting into stance, he puts his thumb on the crossguard of his blade, ready to draw it at any second.
"Hahahaha, I'm gonna enjoy ripping you apart!"
"Spoiler alert, I'm gonna kick your ass!"
"Erm... You gotta work on your one-liners, Chifuyu."
The vampire rushes Chifuyu and begins an onslaught of attacks. Chifuyu trained against Shoyo: the strongest Hunter for half a year, so although he never landed a hit on him, dodging the brainless swings from this low-ranking vamp shouldn't prove difficult. After evading every few attacks from the vampire, Chifuyu lands a nonfatal slash across his opponent's body. As Shoyo taught him, he shouldn't go for a vampire's vitals too early in a fight until he gains more experience, otherwise he could get punished for it dearly.
This is Chifuyu's first real fight against a vampire attempting to take his life, and he's handling it well. But the vamp is losing patience. He has a clear motive to drink the blood of a half-human, half-vampire. Already being in a state of insanity, he's incapable of thinking and fighting rationally. His attacks get even more ruthless and carry immense power, one strike from it could break Chifuyu's bones.
'Crap. His attacks are getting wilder and more unpredictable by the second.'
The vamp is exerting so much physical strength that the muscles and his arms are tearing. His punches crack the concrete ground and leave huge dents in the steel walls. Like a wild animal, the vampire grunts heavily after throwing each blow. Chifuyu hasn't been able to land a hit in several seconds now, he's on the defensive in fact.
The desire for his enemy's blood continues to grow as the fight goes on.
Chifuyu is getting overwhelmed. Most Hunters, even those with more years of experience would feel the same when faced with this ferocious presence. His screams reverberate in the warehouse, making his mad roars even more intimidating. This doesn't seem like a vampire anymore, but a wild beast with the only desire to devour the prey in his sights. When it comes down to it though, this is the true essence of a vampire.
Chifuyu can't predict his attacks. The vampire doesn't care where he makes contact, because anywhere he does will deal major damage. Chifuyu tries to go ahead and finish the fight, going for his enemy's head. This was a mistake. Not only was the slash not strong enough, but the vampire also caught it in his arm. A deadly punch is aimed at the boy's face, if it makes contact it's taking his head off. He blocks it in time with his left forearm but still gets sent flying.
Sat down with his back to the wall, he looks down at his arm which he is unable to move. Both of the bones in his left forearm, the radius and the ulna had been snapped. Holding in the need to yell in pain, Chifuyu slowly gets himself up. He sees his sword on the ground near the vamp and starts internally panicking. Though this vampire is a low-ranking one, his insanity due to blood deficiency and extreme urge for blood is momentarily allowing him to surpass his physical strength threshold. This is an unexpected first fight. Charging in for another attack, Chifuyu stands there breathing heavily unable to move. Before the vampire can make contact, Ariel intervenes, kicking him across the warehouse.
Not noticing Ariel in front of him, Chifuyu continues to stare at the ground heaving for air. Looking at his eyes, Ariel grabs Chifuyu's head with both of her arms. Bringing him down to her height, she delivers a startling headbutt that plays back from 3 different angles. It succeeded in bringing Chifuyu back to his senses.
"A-Ariel..."
"You back with me, partner?"
"Yeah, thanks."
"Fear's natural Chifuyu. But let's save it for an actual strong opponent. This one's not worth your fear. You're far stronger than this guy."
Chifuyu takes a deep breath in and out.
"You're right. I got overwhelmed for a bit there, but I'm back. I'll finish this now."
"That's what I like to hear."
"Raaaaaaaaaah!"
"Oh, look who's back."
"I'm off!"
Chifuyu and the vampire are both running toward each other. Dodging his lunge, he barrels to his blade and retrieves it. Chifuyu only has one arm to use, so he must be decisive. Side-stepping every one of the vamp's attacks, he keeps a steady eye on his movement waiting for an opening. The vampire attempts to grab a hold of his prey but instead gets both of his arms slashed off. Chifuyu goes for another attack but his opponent retreats. After regenerating his arms, the vampire starts breaking apart the vacant shelves and throws the pieces with all of his force. Evading everything that comes his way, the vampire charges back at Chifuyu who puts the hilt of his blade sideways in his mouth and does several one-handed backflips to escape his reach. Halting his movement just as the vampire got in front of him, Chifuyu got a clean slash right across his abdomen which spills blood until it heals.
The grunting, fierce yells, and menacing appearance of the vamp are no longer intimidating Chifuyu. Feeling truly threatened now, he attempts to flee the warehouse but is stopped by Ariel.
"And where may you be going?"
"Argh... Raaaaaaaaah!"
Not even capable of speech anymore, the mad vampire runs toward a cluster of steel beams and starts swinging one of them around, destroying everything in the warehouse.
"Is he trying to bring this place down now? Chifuyu, put a stop to him!"
"On it."
Initiating a charge, Chifuyu plans to deliver the final blow. The vampire swings the steel beam horizontally but Chifuyu spins over it, not letting his momentum stop at all. Coming back again, this time the swing of the steel beam has a slightly upward path. Timing it just right, Chifuyu leaps on the steel beam and uses the force of the swing to launch himself into the air. Following suit, the vampire jumps with the intention to rip his prey apart. Already having his right arm cocked back, Chifuyu waits until his enemy is within reach and lets his arm flow forward. A precise slash beheads the vamp, thus ending the fight. The winner falls on a pile of steel beams though, unable to stick his landing.
"Oww..."
"And the winner is Chifuyu Kyotani!"
"Heh. Couldn't have done it without you. You're the best, Ariel!"
"I know right?"
Helping her partner up, they walk toward the exit together.
"I can heal this, can't I?"
Chifuyu's referring to his broken left forearm.
"Yep, just imagine healing your injuries. Your blood will take care of the rest. After a while, you'll be able to heal yourself subconsciously."
"For some reason, I'm not looking forward to that."
After doing what Ariel said, Chifuyu's injuries are promptly healed. He moves his left arm around and can't help but still be surprised. Since he used his regenerative ability, Chifuyu has taken on his vampiric form.
"Haven't seen you in your vampire form since the trial."
"Guess so. Woah, I'm getting hungry all of a sudden."
"As you should be. You've never had any blood before this after all and you just healed yourself. Don't worry though, just a bit will last for a while."
"Yeah, since I'm a half-vampire right?"
"Right."
Unbuttoning her uniform, slipping it off, and revealing the trapezius area underneath her shirt, Ariel offers Chifuyu her blood. This is one of the reasons why they were allowed to stay in Shioto and not be executed during the trial: by drinking each other's blood.
"Please be gentle."
"I feel like I've heard those words before. Well, here goes nothing."
Biting into Ariel, a charmed smile comes about on her face. She's never had her blood drunk before, she could get used to the feeling. Although vampires can't drink each other's blood for nourishment, a lot still engage in this activity because of the pleasure derived from it.
"Thanks for the meal."