Chapter Text
Kojiro crept into the factory.
The place was swarming with bloodsuckers. He tossed his hood over his head, sneaking up the second floor.
Workers were being drained here, and the boss was willing to pay Kojiro a hefty sum to deal with them.
He sighed.
Why did they always leave all the dirty work to the mercenaries? The place looked absolutely disgusting. All the machinery was destroyed, pieces of broken debris, and bodies scattered all over the floors. Another worker begged to have their life spared, but they were cornered by a vampire that looked like they hadn’t eaten in months; if their balding head and bloodshot eyes were any indication, they barely even resembled a human.
He grimaced.
Kojiro climbed on top of the railing and dropped in front of the vampire, catching it in a chokehold.
The bloodsucker gasped for breath, hissing out. Kojiro tightened his hold against their windpipe and shoved the dagger of his gauntlet into their chest.
The terrified worker yelped pathetically, a splatter of blood splashed on his face. The vampire dropped to the ground.
“Y-You’re the Green Tiger!” The worker crawled up to his knees and bowed his head to the floor, “Thank you so much!”
“Get outta here quick.” Kojiro warned him. Several bloodsuckers were closing in on them.
“‘’Less you wanna be their dinner.”
“Wait! Some of my colleagues— they—”
Kojiro didn’t let him say another word, “Where are they?”
“Hiding. Upstairs.”
Kojiro clicked his tongue. “Go,” he said. The worker nodded, scurrying off and giving the impression that he was about to piss his pants judging by his screaming.
Kojiro pivoted around the bloodsuckers and craned his neck from side to side, hearing a satisfying crack. Rolling his shoulders, he removed the cane from his back and shifted into a fighting position.
The workers were hiding in a storage room on the top floor. When he finished bashing the brains in of the vampires that jumped him he climbed up the railing, Kojiro kicked down each door and aimed his gun for any surprise bloodsuckers hiding in the shadows, waiting for his arrival to catch him on guard.
He fired three shots, reloading after the third. He dodged the vampire that lunged for him and stabbed them in the chest, lifting them up and throwing them off the rail.
Shit. He’s almost running out of ammo. He kicked the door open to the storage room on the farthest left down the hall. The remaining workers were cowering in fear in the corner, still dressed in their dirty working clothes.
Kojiro cocked his head.
They rose up from the corner and fled quickly. Kojiro wasn’t able to leave the factory until the whole building was scouted from every corner. Sometimes they liked to hide for unsuspecting guests so they could attack them. Some preferred to lurk out in the open. These bloodsuckers were savages, feeding on whoever they could find. Sometimes they fought each other over meals, and their ravaging would cause mass casualties as a result.
Before the reinforcements arrived, Kojiro preferred to get the job done first. He left through the window, ejecting the rope from his gauntlet to catch on the electrical wires. He left from the roof and flew into the night.
Now that the job is done…
“I wonder how Linda’s doing,” he mused to himself. From where he stood high above everyone else, he was able to oversee the whole city. The reinforcements gathered on their horses, rushing into the factory to assess the damage.
Kojiro took a leap of faith from the vantage point, arms spread wide. He descended into a flip, landing in the haystack below precisely.
When Kojiro rose, he dusted the hay off himself.
He took the path back to the shopping district.
The market was empty in the late evenings. Kojiro preferred it this way. During the morning it was far too chatty. Believe it or not, when he was younger he loved socializing and being in the spotlight. But the more he learned about himself, the more he figured it’s best not to express too much about himself toward others who had the leverage to use it to their own advantage.
It’s how he lost his parents.
Being hopeful and naive, Kojiro thought his kindness meant he wouldn’t meet the same fate. Little did he know how wrong he was—if he had been wiser, he wouldn’t have had to start over so many times in a place where he had a reason to reveal less about himself.
After all, a werewolf was no less good than a vampire.
Linda was an elderly woman that worked until late. When most of the merchants in the village packed up their stuff and left before the bell, she was one of the very few brave souls who stayed.
Like most of the town elders, she had seen it all already. She had the kind of tales she’d tell the kids in the city hall to make them scream in terror, and Reki was one of them. But Miya found them bland, as they’ve heard it a couple times themselves.
Kojiro would even say these people had the balls to set up shop and remain in the town’s square even after dark. When all the evil creatures were out there lurking, any sane person would want to stay home, where their candles are lit with warmth and comfort at every corner.
Or so they’d say.
Houses were getting broken into at night. Sometimes the cities would get raided, and celebrations attracted danger the most when everyone was gathered in one place blissfully unaware and celebrating life. Kojiro had seen it all, too. It had been happening for years. So skilled hunters left their homes at odd hours of the night to work until dawn and came home with enough coin for their families to eat their next meal. Although, some kept it all for themselves.
Kojiro removed his hood and replaced it with a top hat to hide his ears.
“The usual?” Linda smiled at him, wrinkles lined her cheeks and a mole stamped on her left nose. Thinning, gray hairs sprawled out from beneath her cap. She didn’t bat an eye at the way Kojiro looked like a bloody mess. Slaughtering bloodsuckers was never a clean job anyway. He’d have to ask Reki to do some thorough washing in the coming weeks.
“You shouldn’t be here after the bell’s rung, Linda,” he responded.
“You’re right, but who else will you come to during these hours?”
Knowing she was right, Kojiro lifted his basket. She filled them with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, which he’d use to cook stew Reki and Miya were dying to eat for weeks at home. Some days he’d have to make do with what they had, and the food in stock was lessening by each day.
“How are your boys?”
“Hungry for more when each day passes,” Kojiro gruffed. The boys would tug on his jacket, eager to know when he’d come home when he stepped out. They were probably getting restless after being at home all day. On some weekends, he’d take them to the town square to talk with the other children. For their own protection, they had a strict curfew to come back sometime after sundown.
Linda chuckled. “Hunting keeps everyone busy nowadays. I noticed you don’t run with the huntsmen when they march back here at dawn.”
“I don’t run with the city huntsmen.” As far as Kojiro knew, the capital sent patrols across towns to keep its civilians safe, but they’d come back with fewer members than before. Rumors had it they’d use each other as bait and wouldn’t mind resorting to friendly fire if it meant getting the job done.
Besides, all of them were weak, fragile humans who used their titles as leverage to gain power over the town’s residents. If they found out Kojiro had signed up to fight alongside them, they too would probably sacrifice him in a heartbeat. The town leader was a sick piece of shit that wouldn’t mind skinning inhuman flesh alive to hang up on display like most of the huntsmen bragged about in the taverns.
They didn’t trust anyone other than their own kind.
So Kojiro hunted for his family and for himself.
“You should also be careful out there.” Kojiro was her most frequent customer. He tried not to say much other than greetings out of common courtesy, but she naturally looked out for him. One time she had even helped tend to his wounds after a particularly nasty hunt.
He preferred to hunt alone. With no help on his side, his powers increased his strength rivaling the might of a small army, and it was why hunting at night simply worked for him when there were full moons and no one lurking about. It’s easier to transform that way.
“Take care, Linda.” Kojiro tipped his hat and walked back to his horse. Linda ducked her head. There was a reason why she was still alive after all this time. People might not know it, but she was once a huntsman herself.
Stella was by no means a quiet horse. The Fresian neighed when Kojiro stopped at the stable by the cottage deeper into town.
“Easy there, girl,” he cooed, smoothing down her mane. She was antsy. Kojiro looked around carefully. He got off Stella, leashing her to the post. After doing a full scope, he deemed the area safe.
“Joe!”
“Papa! Welcome back!”
Kojiro opened the door and he was barrelled into by two figures.
“Hey, you little brats. I hope you didn’t get into any trouble.”
“We just played outside, well, Miya wanted to since I usually just wanna hang with Shokichi but he thinks it’s boring,” Reki pouted. “Relax. We didn’t go too far from the city or anything.”
Kojiro built this cottage himself years ago. He was on a hunt when he found two baby pups captured by a group of rioting bounty hunters trying to kill them.
He had transformed instantly, then. Stalking up behind them when they least expected it, charging head first into the riot. The tears streamed down their cheeks when Kojiro faced them. A big black wolf with eyes a shade of vermillion, fangs covered in blood. The cries of the huntsmen being ripped to shreds.
He took the baby pups on his back and prowled into the night without looking back and decided to raise them. They had names, afterall.
Kojiro told them his name. They took refuge from town to town to keep themselves safe, fought and fought, and then they found a welcoming city where they built a home on the outskirts of a nearby town for the three of them to stay in.
Miya’s eyes sparkled, “You bought more food! Finally!”
“You’re lucky it wasn’t rotten this time,” Kojiro chuckled. He removed his hood.
They were telling him all about the stories the other kids told them at the city hall the other day while he boiled stew and chopped vegetables. In another life, he wouldn’t mind running the markets and selling meat he butchered personally himself, grounded spices, grown fruits and vegetables— but he didn’t want to give up hunting when the money was far better to live efficiently.
Reki and Miya helped. Well, more like Reki did as the eldest one. Miya climbed on Kojiro’s back and played around with the long braid on his back as he watched them work the iron stove.
They didn’t sleep until after they were fed. Upon checking their preserved food stock, Kojiro knew their additional supply wouldn’t last them long.
They only had late supper.
“Alright,” he announced, picking up their finished plates. “It’s time to get to bed.”
“...Are you working?” Reki asked.
“You guys know I don’t ask much of you, right?” Kojiro ruffled both their heads, ears twitched up at the praise. Sometimes they hunt with him when they need meat to roast for supper. But just like himself, he didn’t want them spending too much time out in the company of others in fear of their identities being found out. They were fast learners, so they knew what to hide when it came to going out in public and rehearsed what would happen in case something were to go wrong.
“Look after the house once I’m gone,” he added.
“Lock the doors,” Reki said.
“Turn off all the lights,” Miya echoed.
“And don’t come outside until you come back,” they both finished. Kojiro smiled at them.
“See? I can always count on you.”
“Good to see you,” Reki huffed. “Y’know it’s dangerous out there for you too, Joe. People are getting killed out there…”
“Don’t you worry about me.” He had gotten several close calls, and he understood their fear that he wouldn’t come back home the next night. For some missions he’d be gone for several days at a time. They were aware his job was similar to the town’s huntsmen, and they’d have to travel far distances to help out citizens in peril from one city to another to lessen the attacks happening in the area.
Reki’s fighting skills needed improvement, but Kojiro didn’t have much time for it.
Kojiro’s teachings helped Reki learn how to protect his younger brother in the long run. “Now go,” he said. “Get some rest.”
They hugged Kojiro one last time.
If they had all the money he could ever ask for—or at least to keep him home more often to spend time with his children— he’d be grateful and would probably give up the excessive hunting trips altogether. This part of town followed a narrow road and a little closer to the woods, isolated from all the other homes in the neighboring streets. It was a long walk to get deeper into the city but they’d make it work.
Dreams were quite bleak in this world.
When Reki and Miya scurried off to their bedroom, Kojiro checked on them one last time after cleaning up the kitchen. Miya had left his stuffed bear here. He picked it up from the table and headed upstairs to their room, finding both boys fast asleep.
Kojiro tucked the stuffed bear into Miya’s arms, and leaned over to press a kiss to their forehead.
He did the same for Reki. Then he quietly closed the door behind him.
Kojiro sat down at the dining table, alone. Elbows propped on the table and hands folded beneath his chin. He needed a moment of time to prepare.
It’s not as easy to do, quite the opposite with each hunt.
It’s time.
Kojiro left the chair and headed upstairs to his bedroom. The room appeared barely lived in with books tucked into the shelves and candles that haven’t burnt out yet on the bedside. An empty dresser and a single window in the room. His made bed he would sleep in only after his return and leave it just as he left it. He reached for his backpack hanging on the hook behind his door. He usually packed it with a few clothes alongside his weapons when he was going out for the night. There was food and a canteen filled with water he’d savor in case the trip was extended.
Kojiro pulled out a suitcase from under his bed where he kept his weapons and grabbed the gun he decided to use for tonight. He pulled on his fingerless gloves and fit his gauntlet over his wrist where a knife was kept hidden underneath.
He tugged a black bandanna around his mouth and tied it up around his neck. Lastly, Kojiro threw on his jacket, he lifted the hood over his head. He slipped into a pair of dirty boots that were covered in mud and chipping away at the soles and tossed his bag over his shoulder. He blew out the candle on the nightstand and crept downstairs, making sure the creaking wouldn’t be too loud that it’d wake up the boys upstairs.
The Green Tiger gathered his bearings, then headed out into the night.