Crimson

Chapter 5: Counter-attack

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Jin didn’t want to hear the…the…V word. It made everything seem so much more sinister, and somewhat like an evil novel from sometime in the past, for lack of a better description. Though the idea someone that was trained to kill such creatures was both a blessing and a curse. He held his ground in front of Kazuya…with any luck, if he stayed in the way, he’d leave the poor man alone. Hadn’t he had enough torture in his life so far?

The gun didn’t lower. “Kid, I advise you get out of the way of this thing…you never know what they’re gonna do. No point in wasting your life at your age…”

Jin scowled heavily for a moment; in the next, he was gently yet firmly pushed aside. Kazuya stepped forward in front of his son, and slowly approached the slayer. As he did, Jin couldn’t help but notice the growing bloodstain on the back of his shirt where he was shot a moment before.

“Get lost bakane; this has nothing to do with you.” The Slayer raised the gun slightly higher as Kazuya closed the gap between them, not pausing as he spoke. “You have no right to kill the innocent.”

Again, he spoke down to the two Mishimas, as if they were children or lesser creatures. “I think you’ve got it all wrong…you see…evil creatures such as yourself deserve to die…”

Kazuya, being Kazuya, wasted no breath on diplomacy, so to speak, with this particular foe. After all, his usual approach was silent, swift and deadly. That is what he was known for. Instead of continuing to argue, he simply lashed out with an artfully aimed slap, and knocked the weapon out of the Slayer’s hand. The attack was naturally too swift for either the Slayer or Jin to see, and was too powerful to be avoided anyway. The gun flew from the Slayer’s hand, and clattered to the broken concrete path, spinning for a moment as its momentum came to an end.

“Now,” began Kazuya, now feeling completely in control of the situation, “You will disappear.”

Needless to say, the Slayer was quite experienced with such situations; with tricky targets. As Kazuya invaded his personal space just a little too much, he whipped around with a previously concealed weapon; a wooden stake. He was fast for an amateur fighter, it was clear, but not as fast as the King of Iron Fist. His thin, black-clad arm spiked outward from his side, upward, and directly towards Kazuya’s chest. This of course was the famed only way to kill a vampire besides exposure to sunlight; a stake through the heart.

Jin cried out and made an effort to stop the confrontation, but he was too late.

Within a second, Kazuya had caught the hand, twisted it around with enough force to flip the man’s entire body over, pulled his feet out from under him, and tossed him on the ground contemptuously. As the Slayer landed with a resounding thud, Kazuya approached him, leaned down, and withdrew another ‘concealed’ weapon from a strap on his outer thigh; a short, dangerously sharp blade.

He placed a foot on the centre of the man’s chest. “My, you are a feisty little shit…”

A lump had formed in Jin’s throat with the rising sense of panic within. He forced it down with a strong gulp, took a deep breath, and tried to regain his composure. His young hot-headed nature had allowed him to underestimate this seasoned fighter, and now it was working him up into a state about nothing. It was odd, but he almost felt comfortable as the Slayer struggled uselessly beneath his powerful leg.

“How about you do some ‘study’ before leaping in head-first? If you had, then there would be two reasons not to try and kill me. How about that, ne?” Kazuya certainly didn’t mind talking down right back at an enemy that had overestimated their abilities as terribly as this one.

“How about you get the fuck off me and fight properly?” The idea of being brought down so easily didn’t taste too good to this amateur, obviously.

“How about…no?’

“How about…”

“How about the both of you shut up and call it quits?” Jin had finally found his voice. He’d seemed to find his limbs too, since he casually strolled over to the two, extracted Kazuya’s ankle, picked the Slayer up by the front of his shirt, and threw him onto his feet. “You…leave my father alone.”

The Slayer was in shock. Had he misjudged that scene so badly? Was it possible that the young man had allowed that creature to drain him of his most vital bodily tissue? He took a step back nervously. The boy was very muscular, thus strong; and the vampire was the best fighter he’d ever challenged; in fact, he’d never lost to anyone thus far, human or vampire.

Jin stepped forward again after a few seconds of uneasy silence, in an attempt to threaten the Slayer into leaving. His size was clearly enough to give the defeated fighter second thoughts as to his approach, and he began to back off toward the sunlight at the opening of the alley. A Slayer would, after many years, be revered by the victims of a vampire as a hero, a saviour. But this time he’d been scorned and beaten down by both the vampire and its ‘victim’…it was not a good situation to be in. He thought it best at this point to make his escape; he turned and began to run. But before he could manage it, something was thrown around his neck from the interior of an old building beside the alley, and he was yanked inside with a shrill cry of shock and agony.

A second after, cruel laughter met Kazuya and Jin’s ears – from the shadows at the end of the alleyway stepped five more black-clad figures; these ones didn’t look as friendly as even the Slayer.