The Witch Hunter

Title: The Witch Hunter

Author: Krystalkatz

Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance, AU

Rating: R for some violence

Pairings: Matsumoto Jun/Ninomiya Kazunari, Ohno Satoshi/Ninomiya Kazunari,

Length: Chaptered

Disclaimer: I only own the plot... Unfortunately...

 

The world was a beautiful paradise once; everyone lived in peace protected under the three kings, until one day the three kings vanished and armies of darkness rose up to take the land. The only ones trained in fighting the armies are the witch hunters, special children born with the mark, said to be the last gift of the three kings, raised in the halls until their 17^th birthday. One such hunter is known by all as the most powerful, this is his story...

Matsumoto Jun, rode into the village nervously. He refused to admit it but it was his first time out of the halls and if he had to be honest he was feeling pretty sick. The elders had sent him here to take care of a witch that was preying on the village girls. The village was fairly empty, only a few under dressed children were running around, waving wooden swords. They stopped as he passed staring wide eyed at the mark on his neck. He felt a little stupid, it was his first mission and he had no idea what he was meant to do. He dismounted from his horse and looked around dully, hoping to see some sign of the elder hunter he was meant to meet

“M-Master Witch Hunter” A voice said, Matsu turned slowly and faced a short pale man that was eyeing him nervously “You were sent about the witch?”

“Yes, sir” Matsu nodded

“They sent a novice?!”

“Is that all we’re worth?” One old lady screamed with an angry sob “Our children are being taken and they send another child?”

“I am fully trained” He said his temper flaring before he could stop himself, he bit his lip tightly, it was his stupid angers fault that he was there in the first place. The elders thought it would be a good punishment. “But there is an elder I’m meant to be meeting” He admitted

“W-we mean no disrespect, master hunter... These are terrible times...”

“I... Understand” He nodded

“Will you require a room to rest while you wait?”

“A river...” Matsu said motioning to his horse

“Behind the inn... Part way into the forest”

“Be careful, there is not only a witch in the forest, a few nights a go there was reports of a demon”

“Thank-you” Matsu guided his horse in the direction they pointed, wanting to get away from their watchful eyes. He headed into the forest glad they didn’t follow him. He led Arashi to the bank and allowed him to drink while stroking his flanks gently.

“So you’re the witch hunter?” A male voice said Matsu turned quickly wondering where it was coming from. There was a rustling in a nearby tree and a hooded figure dropped to the floor, “I never realized witch hunters could be so pretty”

"And you are?"

"Telling you my name would be pointless... But witch hunter you should be more alert" The hooded figure told him “There is a witch close by”

“That’s why I’m here,”

“They sent a kid? What did you upset someone? This is not a normal witch...” The hooded figure scoffed with disbelief.

“I can take care of myself” Matsu snapped irritated by the slightly nasally voice,

“Whatever I was just giving you a warning it’s up to you if you take it” The man said “You should not attack directly”

“Aren’t you afraid of the witch?”

He let out a laugh, “No but I am interested to see how far you get, pretty Witch hunter”

Matsu stormed off through the forest hating the hooded guy’s condescending attitude. The witch wasn’t hard to locate only about a mile into the forest. The smell of sulfur was almost over powering, as he reached a clearing he saw her, she turned her blood red eyes seeming to stare into his soul. His hand slipped on Arashi’s reins and he bolted back the way they came, as Matsu was pulled further into the clearing, all his training vanishing from his mind.

“Oh? What’s this? A witch hunter comes to kill me? But yet he falls so easily into my trap...”

Matsu let out groan as he felt her hands around his neck, a wave of magic spread out knocking her away, they fought for awhile, but he slowly realized her magic was above his own. All he could hope for was to bind her long as possible so he could get away. He was meant to have waited in the village for the elder anyway. If it wasn’t for that sarcastic guy ‘shit’ he thought snapping his fingers. The witch fell to the floor as one of his spells hit her, she groaned loudly as he tried to remember the binding spell. There was a loud crash of thunder and with a groan he fell to the floor, as she hit him in the stomach.

The witch laughed her eyes filled with deadly madness as she hovered over him her nail scratching at his face, Matsu struggled in vain, his struggles only seeming to make her happier, he momentarily wished he has listened to the guy in the cloak, as pain ripped through his chest.

“Such a pretty one... So young...“ She cackled happy when he let out a moan of pain

“Hey...” The voice called and Matsu managed to twist enough to see a short guy, about the same age as him come towards them sending a bright spark of light out of his hands. The witch was knocked away, screaming loudly. The guy came to his side and Matsu managed to get a good look at his face, and was surprised at how cute he looked, "Seriously, don't you listen to friendly warnings?" He snapped clicking his fingers together; a wall of fire rose up shielding them from the witch, Matsu realized he had heard that voice before

"What are you?"

"The person that's trying to save your life," He muttered, scratching a rune into the ground and murmuring an incantation under his breath, the fire roared loudly and reached out to the witch, circling her in its purple glow. The witch screamed loudly as the fire hit herbv , “Shit...” The kid swore glad that his shield was still standing for now “Can you move?”

“I... Think so...”

“Then let’s go...“ He snapped almost dragging him away, keeping the shield up with his hand, the witch had started attacking it now, and screaming with frustration, as it sent sparks over her body.

“Why do you stop me?” She growled “We are the same”

“Yeah, well I don’t like to share and I saw him first” He said back sending another wave of flames out at her, “Witch hunter any time you feel like helping...”

“What should I do?”

“I don’t know! They must teach you something in the halls!” He snapped as he drew another rune, and pulled a staff out of the ground “Or you could sit there and get us both killed”

Matsu glared at his tone, remembering his training suddenly as he said an enchantment over a boulder and sent it flying over at the witch, who screamed as she was also hit by lightning from the staff. “Use the holding spell... “

Matsu did as he was told the fog in his brain lifting as he remembered the spell saying it as loudly as possible, thick wires curled around the witch from nowhere, binding her arms and legs tightly a gag going around her mouth. He savior let out a satisfied grunt as the staff vanished. Matsu stared at him and then at the tied witch,

“She you were the same... Does this mean you’re a witch too?” He asked about to bind him

“I’m not a witch... Crap... Too much energy," He grunted as he fell to his knees in the dirt, his small body trembling

"You're a witch" Matsu repeated

"I've told you already, I'm not a witch... witch hunter... Now shut up I've got a headache" the man groaned rubbing his temples "Crap she was stronger than I thought..." He groaned “Are you okay?”

“You saved my life...”

“I got that part”

“But you’re a witch...”

He  sighed rolling his eyes “How many times, I’m not a witch, I’m a demon”

“A d-demon? You’re the demon?”

“Yes, me... Relax if I wanted to kill you I would have let the witch do it and saved my energy” He groaned “Are you just out of the halls?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah, pretty much” The demon nodded with a smirk “Seriously though did you piss someone off? Sending a novice for this?”

“I asked for it” Matsu admitted kicking a stone

“You have some kind of death wish then?”

“No...”

“A short temper?” He guessed laughing when he pulled a face “Guessed it right then?”

“Why did you help me?” Matsu asked looking away getting more irritated by the bratty guy he had found himself with  

“Because you were about to get killed and it would be a shame to waste such a pretty face” the demon shrugged smirking again “You should burn her... The binds won’t hold her for long”

Matsu raised an eyebrow and nodded going to perform the ritual needed, the demon bowed his head at the flames took the body, and Matsu wondered if he was upset for his own kind, but when he came back he was already grinning again.

“So am I allowed to know your name yet?”

“Before you bind and kill me?” He asked “Fine, you can call me Nino”

“Nino? That’s it?” Matsu scoffed “A tame name for a demon”

“I said you could call me Nino, I never said it was my name” Nino snapped glaring at him, and Matsu remembered he was arguing with a demon, a powerful one judging by the spells he had performed and he was still only a novice. “So witch hunter, what is your name?”

“Matsumoto Jun” He answered without thinking

“Be careful there is a lot of power in a name” Nino warned, and then tilted his head as if listening to something “I think the villagers have seen the smoke from the witch...”

“You should leave before the villagers come, there is meant to be an elder... If they find out what you are I will not be able to stop them" Matsu said without thinking,

"I have nowhere to go and I’m too drained to run" Nino sighed and then looked up at Matsu his lazy smirk returning "This is prefect... I'm coming with you"

"What?! Are you insane? You're a demon I'm a witch hunter..."

"Yeah... Didn't some of the older Witch hunters have bound demons as pets or slaves?”

"I think they did... But only the really powerful ones, no-one has been able to do that in years..."

"Well this is your lucky day; I'm bored so you get a demon pet..." The demon grinned taking out the witch hunters knife "I... Bind myself to you, Matsumoto Jun, I will serve you until your death or my own" He sighed slicing his wrist, and allowing his oil like blood the spill out. He dipped his thumb into it and then placed it on the witch hunters mark "I am bound"

Matsu blinked looking at the demons face as pain flooded into his body "Uh..."

"Relax... It will pass or it should do... I've never done this before" Nino shrugged with a grin.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Matsu gasped as the burning stopped

"I told you I was bored... Plus I don't really want to be burnt; I’m too drained to put up much of a fight... I saved your life you can return the favor, besides... Won't it look good, you having a bound demon?"

"Yeah... But did I have to get such a bratty one?"

"You could always swap me, I'm sure demons are just lining up to be bound to witch hunters"

"You were"

"I'm different..." He smirked

"Oh and how's that?" Matsu asked sitting up, the burning had left him but he felt a little sick, and had no desire to throw up in front of this bratty demon.

"I'm me... Relax... This will work out well for both of us... I don't get burnt and you get recognized as the most powerful witch hunter there has been for awhile... And I'll even sleep with you if you want..." Nino grinned, his brown eyes flashing,

"I don't want..." Matsu turned away wondering if the demon was serious or was just teasing him

"Too bad... You're pretty cute and I promise you’ll enjoy it..." Nino laughed wrapping his arm tightly to stop the bleeding, droplets of his blood burning the ground beneath him.

"Seriously, can't I break this bind?"

"Yeah.. There is a way..."

"How?"

"You have to die" Nino grinned "Or I do... And you can't kill me, or you die"

Matsu sighed, his hand half way to his dagger; he doubted if he would have killed the demon anyway, he had just saved his life after all. "Why me?"

"Because... For a witch hunter you seem... Different to the others... So here's the deal I travel with you and help you catch all the things that go bump in the night and scare mortal children..."

"And what do you get?"

"You don't let that elder you’re with kill me...”

"Right that's it? That's all you want?"

"It seems a fair deal to me" Nino shrugged "And either way you really can't argue about it, since we've already done the whole binding thing... Ah there's a group of humans on their way..."

"Should I tie you up or something?"

"Um, maybe later" The demon laughed again enjoying the blush that formed on the hunters face; wondering if really was as innocent as he was acting. "I'm bound you can prove it..."

"How?" Matsu asked bewildered, he had only just started out as a hunter and although he’d read all the texts in the hall, none had really covered demon binding as it was deemed impossible to do now. Demons were just too strong and witch hunters too weak, the gift of the kings was failing.

"Tell me do something... Anything you..." Nino broke off as a group of villagers stepped into the clearing

“Master Hunter we saw the flames... You are unharmed...Who be the boy?”

“That is no boy that is a demon...”

“I am my masters bound demon” Nino answered bowing his head with more politeness than his eyes were showing.

“B-bound demon?” The one Nino suspected was the mayor said his face paling as he looked at Nino

“As I said my lord... I was sent a head of my master to find the witch” Nino bowed again and Matsu was tempted to laugh at how easily he could lie. But then he was a demon.

“Master Hunter, is this true?”

“He is my bound demon” Matsu nodded, which was true, Nino was grinning at him his dark eyes teasing him and Matsu was determined to wipe the smirky smile of his face “Nino sit!” He snapped almost laughing when Nino fell to the floor with a hiss.

“My master has such a fun sense of humor” Nino said standing up as Matsu released him. “My master has freed your village from the witch... “

The villagers turned to stare at Matsu amazed that he had not only destroyed the witch in one day but also had a bound demon, “Mater, it is growing late, are we to move on tonight or in the morning?”

“You must stay in our village; the girls will be waking from the curse...”

He looked at Nino who gave a quick shrug, “We shall stay the night we still await the elder anyway...”

“Then I shall stay in the forest, Master” Nino gave a bow and lead “I shall find your horse”

“Thank-you”

Matsu spent the night in the inn, trying to sleep but his mind still going over all that had happened, he had left the halls only two days ago, he had fought and killed his first witch, and had somehow gained a bound demon. It all seemed too strange to be real. Maybe when he woke up he would be back in the halls he thought closing his eyes.

 

A/N: My second fic, it's a bit different from my first but I hope you'll enjoy it ^.^