Disclaimer: Vampire Hunter D is the property of its creator, Hideuki Kikuchi. I do not own D or any of the characters related to the novel series.

Warning: This story is rated R for language, violence, adult situations, and sexual content. Reader digression is advised.

Author's Notes: Special thanks the VHD Yahoo! Posting Board for their information on D, his sexuality, and so on and so forth. Special thanks also goes to Psi Yamaneko for her insights on D, his personality, sexuality, and ideas for this story; like the names. Sorry, but Forest wasn't going to play the victim this time, Psi.

I dedicate this story to Akemi and Psi, D's a dish, and we all know it.

Morgan had her own blood smeared all over her body. Her golden hair was even crimson in places from various, already healed injuries. They could hurt her over and over again, and she would heal to take the punishment anew.

He struck at Anne, senses open yet focused on nothing.

The vampire drew her whip back to strike, but D angled his blade and twisted sharply and repeatedly in alternating directions. The vampire's blue eyes widened as D jerked back sharply and her whip came spinning out of her hand. He simply reached up and caught it.

"Magnificent," Circe breathed, toying with one of her blood red curls between her nimble fingers.

Anne tugged sharply at the whip, trying to yank it from D's hands. Instead, he wrapped it around his hand and gave it a sudden tug to the side. It flew from her hands and hit the ground.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Yin-Xi start to usher Circe out of the room.

"My lady, I must get you out of here," the Asian vampire said in her soft voice as she shepherded the voluptuous noble out of the room.

Circe's hungry garnet eyes passed over Morgan's writhing body hungrily. "But my lost weapon .&nsp;. . We have to get her, my tigress," Circe said firmly.

Anne snarled as she took to the air to swoop down at D. D turned to the side and thrust his sword up. He felt flesh and bone give as it tore up through her body. Blood trickled down the blade in crimson rivulets as Anne's crimson eyes looked down at him.

"D, they're getting away! That bitch is getting away!" Morgan screamed, her voice somewhere between sobbing and growling with rage.

D said nothing as he jerked his sword up through Anne's body. The vampire jerked, her hands twitching wildy. With a twist, her head fell off her shoulders.

D lowered his sword; Anne's body hardly weighed anything. He drew the sword out and shook off the blood. The sweet, coppery scent inflamed his nostrils but he suppressed it as he strode over to where Morgan was bound.

She was twisting furiously, the silver cutting into her wrists and ankles. "She's getting away, D! Let me the fuck out of here before she gets away! I have to kill her! D, get me out of here!" the blond vampire cried, her eyes welling up with bloody tears.

D unlocked the bondage. Morgan slumped forward, her body still repairing the damage that Anne and the others had inflicted to it. Automatically, he caught the vampire. Morgan was sobbing softly, bloody tears trickling down her cheeks.

"I have to go after her. I can't let her get away. I'm not her weapon . . ." Morgan babbled as D held her.

D looked around, uncertain on how to act. Her blood scent was strong and her body was firm and supple at once. Her skin was cool beneath his finger tips, her body pressed against his.

Oddly, she was affecting him more than Circe had with all of her skilled caresses and bloody kisses.

"You're too injured to go after her. Yin-Xi would only kill you," D stated as he gently set her to her feet.

Morgan moved her hair to cover herself. As D watched, she briskly wiped the tears from her eyes and collected herself. She turned her back to him, her legs wobbling slightly as she did. Her back, buttocks, and upper thighs were covered in cris-crossing whip lashes that were sealing as D watched.

"That chick kicked my ass as if it was nothing. She didn't even get a scratch on her and she beat the living shit out of me. It was like she wasn't even trying," Morgan stated tonelessly, her face marred by a scowl.

D said, "Come, I'm going after Circe. You can't stay here."

"Well, I'm coming with you," Morgan retorted, spinning around to face him, her chin set in a stubborn line.

D met her golden eyes and simply nodded.

They had to find Circe before she attacked Lichpin.

"Fucking bitch."

Those two words, over and over again. As soon as D had gotten Morgan back to her vehicle, she had started the curse as a mantra. He watched as her hands trembled with impotent anger as she searched through her armory for just the right weapons.

Truthfully, he loathed the idea of using firearms on a vampire. Most of the time it was a waist of time and money. However, Morgan tended toward more destructive weaponry; destructive enough to make Lelia Markus blink in surprise.

D respectively turned his back as Morgan showered. She had surprised D with the small shower unit installed in her vehicle. It seemed to have everything. Even the blood storage unit that kept it at a precise 98.6 degrees. Her whole world was wrapped up in this armored relic of old.

"Why don't you take a peek? I mean, it's not like you've haven't seen it before. Hell, you even held her. Don't tell me you don't want to look. Hell, join her. I don't think she'd mind too much. I think she likes you, D. But then again, women do sort of fall for you left and right, at least with this one you don't have to worry about ripping out her throat," Left Hand provoked, snickering as he did.

D ignored the parasite as it continued, "Strong vampire in distress. Circe messed her up really good. She needs a strong shoulder and a hard body, don't you think, D? Or you might have to kill her. What's she going to do after Circe's dead? No reason to hunt her kind anymore. Could you kill her D?"

D gripped his hand into a fist, cutting the symbiote off. He loathed the fact that it could voice most of the facts in his head. Left Hand knew him that well and seemed to enjoy taunting and tempting him with things he'd never take. Loved showing him what he was and what he'd never be as well as what lines he could cross. D hated him for that at times and was thankful at others.

Sometimes, whether it knew it or not, reminded D of why he did what he did in the first place. Between Morgan's cursing and the gentle roar of the shower, D lost himself in thought.

The village.

Giles. Shannon. Donovan.

They were in danger.

They were wasting time. He should have left Morgan and gone after Circe. He had angered Circe by killing three members of Belle Morte and from his experience with other Nobles, she wasn't going to take the insult lightly. She'd take it out on the village that hired him.

He was about to leave when Morgan placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned to see the vampire standing there, dressed in a black tank top and a pair of pants that had pockets placed at every conceivable angle. She had a shoulder holster with an unfamiliar pistol. It wasn't as heavy or clumsy as the guns that were popular in this time. She had a knife tucked into her boot. Strapped to her back was a long, slender wooden sword. Sharp enough to cut human skin and balanced just like a metal sword. A sword that had died ages ago with the culture that had created it.

"Fucking bitch," Morgan hissed, her hands busy with the task of braiding her wet hair.

"You've already established that, honey," Left Hand commented as Morgan flicked her braid off her shoulder.

D told her, "We're wasting time. Circe's probably already attacked the village."

"For her sake, I hope she hasn't," Morgan hissed, her eyes glowing with a furious light.

Circe was furious. The village was empty. The villagers had taken refuge and she couldn't find them. The redhead screamed her displeasure at the world, her power whipping around her like a wild storm. Windows shattered, doors rattled, and wooden planks were yanked off their foundations in her wake. Her eyes were glowing like unholy coals: fire bright.

Beside her was Yin-Xi, calmly stood beside her sire as Circe had her tantrum. The Asian vampire's hair blew around her face as she impassively watched. Circe screamed louder, shouting up to the sky as she shattered a rooftop.

"Where the hell are they, Yin-Xi?" Circe snarled, facing her servant.

Yin-Xi serenely answered, "The hunter is the best money can buy, My Lady. He is experienced in handling these matters. He probably has them hiding scattered around the countryside." Circe snarled again, gnashing her fangs. She placed her hands on her curvy hips and stomped her foot. Yin-Xi remained impassive, her hand resting on her sword.

The two stood in silence for countless moments. In the distance, Circe heard glass falling to the ground from her tantrum, tinkling like bells. She heard the whines and agitated stomps of the cybernetic horses in the Livery Stable.

She didn't hear the two silent sets of footsteps coming their way.

A gunshot broke the silence as Circe's shoulder erupted in hot, blazing pain.

She looked down at the bloody ruin of her bare shoulder as the jewel like flesh of the wound repaired itself. She looked up and smiled.

Her wayward child was standing there with the dhampire.

Morgan lowered her pistol. It was her old service pistol. The Glock 17 with its high-powered .9mm rounds and its illegal clip that held 17 bullets instead of the regular 13. The one she had when Circe stripped everything from her only to damn her. Morgan found the irony hilarious.

"You shouldn't have done that," D reprimanded her, his pale blue eyes narrowed as he glanced down at her.

Morgan shrugged and replied, "Hey, I wanted her attention."

"You have succeeded in getting it," D stated as Circe looked at them with those burning crimson eyes.

Morgan smirked and said in a soft voice, "Oh, I'm not done yet."

Circe's hair blew around her as the Noble gathered her power. She called out, "Kirsten, are you going to join me?"

"How about no and go fuck yourself, you blood sucking bitch," Morgan suggested cheerfully, flipping her sire the Bird.

Beside her, D made a sound resembling a groan. Morgan wondered if he ever laughed. Or smiled even. She found herself wanting to survive this just so she could find out. For curiosity's sake.

Circe laughed and replied, "Since you two slaughtered my Belle Morte, I'm going to use you to replace them. True, I'm going to have to find another witch and werewolf, but I believe I can break you two. Besides, I'm trading up from Swan and Anne in more than just aesthetic beauty."

"Fucking bitch," Morgan growled as she took to the air, diving toward Circe's cackling form. She drew the bokken from its sheath on her back. She angled it with the point down, aiming right between the bitch's lopsided tits.

D drew his sword as Yin-Xi drew hers. The Chinese vampire stood there, watching him thoughtfully, strands of her raven hair blowing across her doll like features. The steel gleamed in the pale moonlight as they faced each other.

To his surprise, Yin-Xi bowed her head respectfully.

D returned the gesture. They rose together and started to circle each other. Their steps were feather light and in perfect unison with one and another. D watched Yin-Xi, searching for movements that would hint at the direction she would attack. D noted that she was doing the same.

She lunged first. Both of her blades spun through the air gracefully, singing as they did. D dodged the movement and countered both of them with his longer sword. The sound of steel scraping steel filled the air as they looked at each other before springing apart.

The second pass, D was the instigator. She had to use both of her swords to block his attack. She spun out of the way, sliced with her left hand, and pivoted back to strike again with her right.

D countered by shoving up her left wrist with his left hand and used his sword to block her right. He jumped back. Yin-Xi followed, taking to the air and spinning down at D with a fierce kick. He dodged the blow with a spin and struck back with his sword.

D angled it at the hollow of her throat. Yin-Xi looked at him with endless sloe eyes, her hair falling around her face. She settled to her knees, tilted her head up toward him, arching her throat, and offered her swords up to D.

"You won, Hunter. My life, as it is, is yours," she said in her serene voice.

D took her swords from her and planted them into the ground. He studied her offered throat as it rested against his blade. She closed her eyes and clinched her fists against her thighs, waiting for D to finish it.

Circe's wild laughter broke the honorable combat. Both vampire and dhampire turned to look. Something like hatred flashed through Yin-Xi's eyes as she looked at her sire.

"She has no honor. She abuses her power and is sick," Yin-Xi hissed as Circe laughingly dodged Morgan's blows. The blond vampire was getting more and more flustered. She was getting clumsy, her anger getting the better of her.

D asked, "Why do you serve her?"

Yin-Xi closed her eyes, bloody tears escaping them. "Because I wasn't strong enough to fight her. Not like Morgan with her anger and brash ways."

Suddenly, Morgan screamed as Circe's power crashed upon the blond vampire. Morgan fell to the ground. Circe walked over to Morgan, the air shimmering around her. She projected the energy like a weapon at the blond. Morgan arched up with a cry, her fingers digging into the dirt around her.

D withdrew Yin-Xi's swords from the ground. He handed them back to the vampire. She had honor. He couldn't kill her. She represented everything his father stood for; she just didn't have the power to escape her situation and yet she kept her honor in spite of it. He had to respect her for that.

"Take your life up again, Yin-Xi. Strike back against her. Don't allow her to strip your honor any more than she already has," D told her as Yin-Xi took her swords with a determined look.

Yin-Xi hissed, "I won't allow her to destroy another's life."

"Then help me kill her," D stated, looking down at her.

Yin-Xi bowed again, a full bow this time. She rose to her slight height and looked up at D. She replied, "My blades are yours until you see fit."

"Thank you," D replied as he brought his sword up again and rushed at Circe.

Morgan screamed as pure agony ripped through her body. She arched her body, trying to escape the pain. She glared at Circe as she continued to rip more power through Morgan.

At the corner of her eyes, Morgan saw D and Yin-Xi rush at Circe.

Circe picked up Morgan's discarded bokken. With a leering grin at Morgan, she spun around. She thrust out with a snarl.

Yin-Xi's eyes widened as she gave a tiny cry. She bowed over the wooden blade, holding it. Her raven hair fell around her face as she jerked back. The sword had impaled the vampire's heart. Yin-Xi's swords clattered to the ground. Blood trickled from her rosette mouth as she looked up at Circe.

"You betrayed me, you little slut," Circe hissed as she twisted the blade, making Yin-Xi arch in pain.

Yin-Xi managed to rasp, "I am free of your dishonor."

"Pretty words from such a pretty mouth. Too bad I had to kill you, but such disobedience needs to be punished," Circe purred as she jerked the sword from Yin-Xi's heart.

Morgan stood up as Circe turned to D, who had caught Yin-Xi. He held the dying vampire in his arms as he glared up at Circe. Circe laughed as she shook Yin-Xi's blood from the wooden sword.

"Sad that I killed her? Why, because she had honor?" Circe laughed as she threw her head back. Yin-Xi's beautiful swords with their silk sashes gleamed in the moonlight. Morgan studied them thoughtfully, almost hypnotized by them.

D lay Yin-Xi's petrified body on the ground. He had closed the Chinese vampire's eyes. He bowed his head respectfully before turning back to Circe, his own sword drawn.

Circe laughed as she hit him with a wave of her power. To Morgan's surprise, D didn't fall. Instead, he met it head on. It whipped his wavy raven hair back and his eyes gleamed like jewels. He continued to slowly advance at Circe.

"Your time is over. Go back to the darkness that which you crawled out of," D growled at Circe.

Morgan dove for the swords.

"Hey, D, remember, the nympho fuck bitch is mine," Morgan hissed as she grasped a sword in each hand. She grinned fiercely as she lunged at Circe.

The Noble turned to face her, but she couldn't deflect Morgan's lunge. The sword in Morgan's left hand went through Circe's stomach. The vampire jerked back, her red hair falling around her. She put her pale hands on each side of the blade to force it out.

Morgan stood to her full height and twisted the blade just as Circe had done. She smirked as she met the vampire's garnet eyes. Circe looked at her with a wide-eyed look of shock. Morgan felt a sick thrill because of it, making her body tingle.

"You stole everything from me. My life. My baby. The man I love. Then you damned me to this Hell. Well, Circe, payback's a bitch," Morgan said in a soft voice, almost giggling.

Circe cried, "I gave you immortality!"

"I didn't want immortality! You just wanted me to be your newest toy and then when you got tired of me, your weapon. Well, turnabout is fair play, isn't it?" Morgan asked sweetly.

Then she kissed Circe, tasting the cool blood on the vampire's lips. A kiss of death. The kiss that had damned her eons ago.

"Do you know why I changed my name to Morgan?" Morgan asked in that same saccharine voice.

D watched, his intense eyes narrowed with worry.

Circe spat, "I will have you!"

Morgan twisted the blade again, causing Circe to scream. She continued, "Chris had a thing for Celtic mythology. There was only one of the Celtic goddesses I could remember. She was the Morrigan, their Goddess of War and Death, and I swore to myself that I would be your death."

With that, she slashed with her right hand. She felt the blade cut through flesh and bone. Morgan watched as Circe's head fell to the ground. She drew the blade out, causing the body to fall with it.

She stood there, looking at the dead body.

It was over. She had done it.

Strangely, she felt empty and lost.

She didn't feel that much better. Chris was still gone. The baby was still dead. She couldn't live her life again. And she was still a vampire.

All she had done was get her revenge and end her one purpose.

She fell to her knees, sobbing.

D knelt down beside Morgan as she started to weep. He gently wrapped his arms around her as she cried. She cried for Chris. She cried for the baby she had lost. She wept hopelessly.

"I killed her and I don't feel that much better," Morgan gasped, clinging to D.

D softly pushed her away to look at her at arms' length. He reached out to brush a bloody tear from her face. He looked at her intensely as he held her shoulders.

He told her, "You protected someone else from what happened to you. You couldn't save yourself, but think of all the others like you. You saved others from the pain you once felt. That is worth something."

"But it still hurts," Morgan whimpered.

D sighed, "And it will continue to hurt, but the pain will soften. I'm sure Chris would want that."

Morgan flung herself in D's arms again, clinging to him desperately. D let her, gently stroking her hair. After a while she quieted and her grip on him lessened, but yet they still held each other.

She looked up at him with wide eyes the color of honey. D blinked as her hand reached out to caress his cheek. She tilted her face up toward him as she watched him, her lips slightly parted.

D turned away from the kiss and gently moved Morgan's hand away.

"You're acting in grief," he told her softly.

Morgan gave a shaky laugh, "I bet a lot of women do that to you."

"Babe, you have no idea," Left Hand snorted. D closed his fist over it.

D stood up, bringing Morgan with him. "Come, the sun'll be up soon. You need to find shelter."

"D, the bounty's yours. Thank you for helping me. For everything," Morgan said softly as they walked away.

Together.

Shannon was beaming at D. At Circe's petrified head laying on her desk. The same head that Donny kept gleefully poking with a pencil. The rest of Belle Morte's bodies had been deposed of. For some strange reason, D himself had disposed of Yin-Xi's body. Not that Shannon minded, it was one less thing for her to do.

The town was back to normal and starting to thrive again.

All because of the man before her.

"You did exactly what I asked. You saved us, thank you," Shannon said with a bright smile.

Donovan grinned and gave D the thumbs up. "Man, that kicked ass!"

"Donny!" Shannon scolded, reaching out to smack her brother upside the head. Then she turned back toward D. She reached into her safe under her desk and brought out the bounty. She pushed it toward D.

She smiled and sighed, "I wish it was more but . . ."

"It's fine. I'm glad I could help," D replied as he took the box and tucked it under his left arm.

Shannon asked, "Are you going to stay here for a little while? Mr. Wyndom-Price wishes you would. As do Donny and me."

"Cuz you kick ass," Donovan said approvingly.

Shannon snapped, "Language!" She smacked Donovan upside the head again.

D shook his head, causing his raven hair to fly around him. He answered, "I have to leave. There are other places that need my assistance."

"Well, thank you again and take care," Shannon brightly said with a grin.

Night was falling as D rode his horse hard. He was approaching another town and would stay to get rested for the night. Then he would leave again. He was heading toward Western Europe, toward what use to be England, which had now fused with France due to the war.

He was sitting at a rear table at the local inn, in full view of the bar and the door. Sounds of conversation and music swirled around him. Soon enough, the conversations' topics turned to the tall, silent man in black sitting alone. Strangely, no one picked him out as a dhampire and D was grateful for it. However, there was the familiar buzz of him being a vampire hunter as well as the speculation of his skill.

The innkeeper's daughter, a pretty young woman with curly chestnut brown hair and sparkling hazel eyes, delivered D's meal to him. She idly chatted with him, girlishly twirling one of her curls around her finger. She bent down to pick up D's tankard to refill it, giving him a view of her nicely curved hind end and the swell of her breasts as she stood back up.

She grinned, winked, and turned back to the bar, giving her rump a saucy shake as she did.

D was oblivious to it.

He knew the girl wanted him. Almost every town he encountered a woman such as her, who's scent of lust perfumed the air as she tried to seduce him. And at almost every town D gently turned down each girl that went through the all too familiar ritual. For their own sakes.

As he had told Circe, he would not endanger the life of an innocent human in return for a few fleeting moments of physical pleasure.

D sensed someone behind him. Vampire. His hand itched toward his sword as he remained perfectly still.

"Man, what a little slut. 'Can I get you a drink? Let me bend down so you can see my tits and ass,'" a familiar female's voice said behind D.

Strangely enough, D felt his spirits rise as he turned around to face Morgan.

Morgan grinned at him before rolling her eyes. "Can we say desperate?"

D asked, "What are you doing here?"

Morgan rolled her eyes and sighed, "Not, 'Hi Morgan, it's good to see you again.' but, 'What are you doing here?' Sheesh, D, most women like a guy who's quiet, but you need to be a bit more outspoken." Then she sat in the chair across from him with a friendly smile. She rested her elbows on the table and then rested her chin on her fists as she studied D.

D blinked. He had a feeling that Morgan would always bemuse him, whenever they crossed paths. While D chose to meet the darkness in his life with quiet, dignified stoicism, Morgan met it head on with a rebellious sarcasm and a tongue sharper than her fangs. D figured that everyone dealt with their lives in their own way. He had his and Morgan had hers, even though Morgan constantly confused him.

Morgan then answered his original question. "Passing through. There's a coven of witches summoning demons up north that I'm going to take a hand at. There are worse things than vampires I noticed. Like slutty waitresses."

The girl had returned with D's cider. She gave Morgan a cross look. D noted that she didn't bend to show off her assets again. Morgan waved cheerfully at the girl. The girl spun away, her curly hair swinging angrily around her.

D asked, "Was that necessary?"

Morgan chuckled and tapped the side of her nose. She answered, "Hey, if I hadn't have she would have tried to climb you like a tree and ride you like a stallion in a few hours. I saved you from being molested, and let me tell you being molested isn't as fun as it sounds."

D blinked again, torn between being confused and smiling at her rapid fire quips.

He managed to say, "Thank you, I think."

"Hey, maybe she wants to jump you instead!" Left Hand offered jollity, breaking off into hoarse guffaws.

Morgan rolled her eyes and retorted, "D, your parasite is a real pervert."

"I know. I apologize," D replied, feeling heat rising to his cheeks. Was he blushing? He was blushing. That was an odd sensation. He ducked his head down over his meal, thankful for the wide brim of his hat.

Morgan asked, "So, where are you off to?" "England. There's a Noble there with a high price on his head. I've already been contacted as well as several other groups of hunters," D explained as he looked back up at her, sure that his cheeks had cooled and the blush had left them.

Morgan stood up and walked to his side. D blinked as he looked up at her. She smiled down at him and winked. "I've got to go. Daylight will be coming soon and I have to get as far as I can before the sun comes up. I had to see you though, once I knew you were here."

D's eyes widened at her confession. He looked into her eyes and she into his. Things seemed to freeze for a moment between them.

He remembered what Morgan felt like in his arms. How she looked at him without fear or repulsion. She didn't taunt him for his heritage or demand that he give into the vampiric part of him.

He knew that they would meet again. That much was certain. They were heading in the same direction, just taking separate paths. Those paths would cross again and again. He realized that he would look forward to seeing her, hearing her laugh.

"I wish you luck," D told her softly, breaking the moment. He realized if he hadn't had said anything, then that kiss that he stopped in Lichpin would have taken place right now. Morgan still needed time to heal, to let go and put the past behind her.

Luckily, time was something they both had.

Morgan grinned lopsidedly at him and took a step back. "Well, until next time, D." With a tiny wave, she disappeared into the den of the crowd, leaving D alone.

As, always, he ultimately was.

However, knowing that from time to time that someone would break the lonely path he tread made him smile just the tiniest bit.

"Until we meet again, Kirsten," D whispered as he watched her long banner of blond hair fade away.

Left Hand snorted, "You know, you could call her back. No need to torture yourself like that. It might be a hundred years until you see her again, but then again, what's a hundred years to a guy that's still a . . ."

D closed his fingers over his palm and started to eat.

May you put yourself at peace, Morgan. I hope to see you again.