Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

"Gil, don't," Ludwig warned, a bit nervously, as he peered into the dark cave. It was too dark to see more than a few feet in, and so far there was just barren black rock.

"Don't be so chicken, Luddy! I just want to go inside, that's all," Gilbert grinned, looking upon the pitch-dark cave in awe. "This is going to be so cool!"

"We aren't even supposed to be this far into the forest..." Ludwig tried meekly.

"Oh please, there's nothing dangerous even in this forest! Look around. They said there'd be bears and wolves, but I haven't seen anything more dangerous than a squirrel! I haven't even seen any cougars," Gilbert sighed, as if disappointed.

"Our parents strictly said not to go past where the tree get taller than our house. And these trees are huge," his younger brother frowned, looking up to what little sunlight pierced the canopy of the deciduous trees.

Gilbert turned around to give Ludwig a small scowl. "You mean our FOSTER parents! Don't say that they're our actual mom and dad, 'cause they're not. I don't care what they have to say." He faced the cave again, and this time Ludwig didn't say anything. Gilbert knew he had hit a sensitive nerve. Ever since their parents died when they were little-Gilbert was only four and Ludwig three- Gilbert had detested every orphanage and every foster program they were shuttled into. But that was five years ago. By now Gilbert was used to moving from family to family, knowing none of them would ever be what he wanted, no matter how kind they were. He only wanted his true parents, but he knew that was impossible. The current family they were staying with were decent, Gilbert had to admit, but he refused to love them at all. No one could replace his real mom and dad. However, Ludwig liked them enough, and he like where they lived too, so Gilbert refrained from acting out too much, trying to be fair for his younger brother, the only real family he had left.

"C'mon, let's go in!" Gilbert urged, stepping into the dark cave and pulling out a flashlight from his backpack. He glanced back to see Ludwig hesitating. "You aren't afraid, are you? Doncha want to see what's inside?"

"There's going to be nothing inside worth seeing," Ludwig replied, but Gilbert knew that afraid comment had gotten to him.

"Then there's nothing to be scared of," Gilbert smirked. Ludwig sighed, defeated, and followed his brother. "Don't worry, the awesome me will protect you," he added, chuckling.

"Right," Ludwig rolled his eyes. Gilbert shined the flashlight in front of them, but so far there was nothing but more rock, so he started to trudge in deeper. Ludwig followed him reluctantly. The cave went in further than they thought; it almost seemed to be a tunnel of sorts. After about ten minutes, the two were still moving forward, coming across nothing more than stalactites and stalagmites. Gilbert couldn't even find any bats, or even spiders.

"This place seems so...dead," Ludwig shuddered. "We should go back now."

"No, wait, look!" Gilbert said excitedly, taking off running impulsively, leaving his brother behind. When he finally stopped running, he used his flashlight to take a good look around and found himself in a wide chamber that was empty except for something at his feet. Gilbert had taken a step forward and accidentally kicked something that was lying on the ground. He shined his light on it...and froze. Was that...a skull? A human skull?

And suddenly he heard a eerie laugh, definitely feminine. It resounded off the walls of the chamber, so Gilbert didn't know where it was coming from. It seemed to be mocking him, and he was paralyzed with fear. What was this? He looked around frantically with his flashlight, but saw nothing.

"My, my, my, what do we have here?" the woman's voice asked forebodingly. "It's rare that anyone ever comes this far into my lair. Didn't your mommy ever tell you not to go wandering off in this forest?"

"W-who are you?" Gilbert demanded, trying to mask his quaking fear, but failing utterly. Again he searched the chamber, until his light rested on a figure he could have sworn wasn't there seconds earlier. She was a young adult, appearing to be in her early twenties, and for the most part seemed human. But her lips were blood red, her irises pure black, her skin a pale grey, and her legs...Gilbert blinked to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, but sure enough her legs dissolved into wisps of smoke below her thighs, as if she were only floating. Her hair moved in a way that defied gravity, as is she were underwater. When she gave him a menacing smile, she revealed razor sharp canines.

"Me? You come into my lair, and ask who I am? Well, my dear boy," she smirked evilly, "I am the demon Illedris."

"D-demon?" Gilbert whispered, petrified, what little bravado he had leaving him instantly. He had heard myths and stories surrounding demons, terrible monsters that preyed on human souls, but he had always dismissed them as nothing but make-believe. But now, he was certain this lady couldn't be human. This couldn't be real! He had to be dreaming or something! He dropped his flashlight, frightened, his eyes wide, as the she demon drifted closer to him.

That's when Gilbert heard the footsteps entering the chamber. He whirled around, shouting, "Ludwig, don't! Run, get out of here!" But he wasn't quick enough. Illedris caught sight of his younger brother and leered. Using her inhuman power, she disappeared into a puff of smoke in front of Gilbert, and suddenly appeared behind Ludwig, who was staring at his panicking brother in confusion. "No!" Gilbert cried as Illedris's finger lightly touched the top of the blonde's cranium. Ludwig, who never saw what was coming, lurched sideways, his eyes rolling back into his head. And just like that, he lost consciousness, and fell backwards until Illedris caught his limp form.

"D-did you kill him?" Gilbert sputtered, afraid to hear the answer, barely able to breathe.

Illedris snickered, "No, but I will. Mm...his soul looks delectable..." She caressed the side of Ludwig's cheek softly, smacking her lips. "It's been a while since I came across a soul that looks this good."

Gilbert didn't know what to do. A she demon was about to devour his little brother's soul! What could he, a nine-year-old kid, do to save him? God, he was so helpless! It was his fault, all his fault. "Don't hurt him!" he cried desperately, on the verge of tears.

"Don't hurt him?" Illedris echoed, smirking at his stupidity, "Dear boy, do you know how excruciating it is to have your soul ripped right out of your body? Well, I don't have a soul, so I wouldn't know of course, but judging from the expressions of absolute agony on my past victims' faces...I would assume that it hurts a lot."

"Th-then take my soul instead," Gilbert offered, his voice hollow and crestfallen.

His proposal made Illedris pause, and regard him carefully. "You would sacrifice your own soul for his? You do realize that you need a soul, even after death?"

"And my brother needs his soul, too," Gilbert stated evenly. "So let him go and take mine instead!"

Illedris cocked her head. "You soul isn't the same as his. This one is much more appealing," she smirked, relishing in his alarm and confusion.

"What?! What makes his soul better than mine?" he exclaimed. He came off as jealous, but in all honesty, he only wanted his own soul to be "better" so that Illedris would let Ludwig go. "I'm way awesomer!"

His outburst surprised the she demon, and she blinked, then laughed. "You are a strange mortal, dear boy. Perhaps I will reconsider your offer." She lay Ludwig down on the cold, rock floor of the chamber, and then dissolved into smoke. An instant later she reappeared before Gilbert, circling him as if she were swimming through the air. "I stand corrected," she admitted with a sinister grin, "There is something unique about your soul."

"W-what do you mean?" Gilbert stammered, chills running down his back from being so close to her.

"Hmm...you don't even know what you are, do you?" Illedris chuckled. "Alright...I'll seal your deal."

Gilbert didn't know whether he should feel scared or relieved. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, clenching his jaw. If she was going to eat his soul, he didn't want to see it happen. He hoped it wouldn't hurt as much as she had described it would, but either way he would be reduced to nothing. Illedris was right, a person needs a soul in live and death. He felt the demon's icy finger glide down the side of his cheek and down to the base of his neck. Her finger then moved across his left shoulder, tearing his shirt as she did so. Gilbert's muscles tensed. This was it. She was going to suck out his soul...

Instead, Illedris traced a circle on the bare skin just above his shoulder blade on his back. Instantly, a burning sensation came over Gilbert, as is he were being struck a hot iron brand right where she had traced the circle. "This is our bargain, dear boy, I will leave your brother's soul untouched and in return you will seal your soul in service to me for as long as you live. Speak your name, boy."

Gilbert was still in shock and pain, but it was as if his mouth spoke for him, "Gilbert Beilschmidt."

"Do you accept the deal? For your brother's soul, you will give your life and soul to me, the demon Illedris?" She spoke as if it were a formality, a essential ceremony.

He hesitated for a split second, glanced at Ludwig, who was passed out on the ground, and then nodded, "Yes. I accept." The fiery pain on his back subsided, until it disappeared completely.

"Very well," Illedris smirked. "My dear boy, the sealing is complete. Your life and soul belong to me now."

Seven Years Later

Gilbert lay still on his bed inside his small bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. It was too dark to actually see anything, since it was already one in the morning, so he waited there, listening carefully. Ludwig usually stayed up pretty late, finishing his homework, him being an excellent student and all. But Gilbert's ears picked up nothing but quiet snores, and he decided that everyone in the house was finally asleep. That's when the circle on his back began to sting a little. It always did that when Illedris wanted to talk to him. Sighing, he got out of bed, silent as a mouse, and easily snuck out the window, like he did every week. His room was on the second story of their house, but he always stuck the landing without breaking a sweat. Yeah, he was that awesome. As soon as his feet hit the ground, the stinging circle on his back faded, but he was already quite used to that small pain that the circle brought every week.

It actually wasn't really just a circle, Gilbert had learned, but it was actually an Ouroboros Mark, or at least that's what Illedris called it. It was one of her favorite symbols, she had said, and so she picked it as the seal that would lock Gilbert's soul forever under her service all those years ago. For the first few years he dreamt of that night in fitful slumber, but now he only ever gave it a fleeting thought. He couldn't change the past, so there was no use dwelling on it. The Ouroboros depicted a snake, well, it was actually a winged snake, biting its own tail, forming a perfect circle. Gilbert had spent months studying it in the mirror, and had even tried to scrub it off once when he was ten, but the Mark punished him with a painful burn, so he never tried again. At first we was afraid others would see it, and that his foster parents would be angry with him for "getting a tattoo," but Illedris assured him that no mundane mortal could see it with the naked eye.

He continued running through the dark streets under the chilly night sky, and didn't stop until he had reached the forest on the very edge of town. Once he was there he slowed his pace to a jog, not having to worry about being caught past curfew by anyone who happened to be out and about this time of night. His red eyes gleamed as he passed through a small patch of moonlight that seeped through the canopy. They always had a tinge of light red in them, since he was naturally albino, but in the past few years they had become a noticeably brighter shade, like rubies, and Gilbert suspected it was because of the deal he had made with the she demon, but he wasn't sure. Whatever was the case, at least he was awesome enough to make red eyes look stunningly attractive.

As he got deeper into the forest, his thoughts absently wandered to his younger brother. Of course, Ludwig knew nothing about his long nights out, or about the Ouroboros Mark, or about the whole soul-deal in general. When they had returned home that night seven years ago, Gilbert had told him that in the cave he had tripped on a rock and was knocked out cold, and so Gilbert dragged him all the way home. The dragging part wasn't a lie, but the tripping part, well it was a stretch. But at least Ludwig believed it, if somewhat reluctantly. The important part was that he still had a soul. A soul that truly belong to him.

In the back of his mind he wondered what Ludwig would say to him if he ever found out about his deal with the demon. No doubt he would be pissed and call him some unflattering names. Then he would probably call Gilbert out for such stupidity, making bargains with monsters, but after that...Gilbert didn't know how else Ludwig would react once that information sank it. Would he be sad for Gilbert, whose soul was no longer his? Still angry with him? Or...what Gilbert feared the most, would he be ashamed and disgusted with him for working with a terrible she demon? No matter how he reacted, Gilbert knew the whole mess was his fault; he was the one who insisted over and over again to venture inside the cave. And now he had to pay the price, for the rest of his life.

Finally, just as his thoughts were getting very grim, he reached the entrance of Illedris's lair, the cave where it all began. He proceeded to jog inside casually, as if he went into a demon's nests on a weekly basis...because he did. When he reached the empty chamber, he called, "Hey! I'm here!"

Smoke rose from one of the stalagmites on the ground and began to take the form of a woman, and when the smoke finally shaped her eyes, she rolled them. "Most mortals would greet demons in a much more...frightened manner. Aren't you afraid I may retaliate one of these days?"

"Afraid? Nah, I got over that after about two years with you," Gilbert grinned, leaning back on the rock wall of the chamber and folding his arms over his chest.

"Most mortals would be scared out of their wits for at least ten years," Illedris shrugged.

"As you can see, I'm not most mortals," he repudiated, chuckling to himself.

"And most mortals wouldn't have taken their sweet time getting to their demon's lair," Illedris continued, as if she didn't hear him.

"It's not like we're in a rush or anything," Gilbert said, "I mean, I'm not a little kid who needs to be trained five hours a night anymore."

Illedris sighed, as if he were a hopeless case. "And most mortals would have needed many, many more years to master the skills I already taught you," she forced herself to admit.

"I guess that proves how awesome I am," he laughed softly. It wasn't every night he received a compliment from his "teacher."

"I suppose I chose well, making that deal with you," she speculated, "I was afraid in the beginning that you would die in the training processes, but you lived." Gilbert had to make a conscious effort not to grimace when she said that; he remembered the first few years under her wing, and they had been painstakingly hard. At night she would drill him, almost mercilessly, but she gave him the skills he needed to become the excellent fighter he was today. "Not many people could have survived all of that," she remarked, as if reading his thoughts, "but you have a strong soul, even for someone like you."

Someone like you. Gilbert knew what that meant, and he also knew that Illedris didn't like the name spoken out loud. She had told him once, what his true nature was, but only because she knew he could not hurt her under their deal. Demon hunter.

Initially, he was shocked when she first told him, and he couldn't believe it for a long while, but after surviving Illedris's training, and mastering her techniques, he realized there was no way he was an ordinary human. Especially after she taught him his most amazing, and most powerful, ability.

"Funny, isn't it?" Gilbert said indifferently, "that you made a deal with, with someone like me. I guess you knew though, when you took a closer look at my soul." Apparently demon hunters had souls that differed from mundane mortal souls, and demons could see the variations.

"I didn't realize it at first, since you were so little, but yes, when I inspected your soul I knew," Illedris said, "And I thought having you serve me might not be such a bad a idea. Perhaps better than devouring your soul. So I put that Mark on your skin to bind you to me."

"Right." Gilbert said, none-too-lightly. Sometime Illedris like to rub his fatal mistake in his face, and he really didn't want to put with that right now. "So why did you call me here again?"

"Just a small job for you tonight," Illedris told him, "There's a demon who's just entered my territory. It might eat some of the souls I've been saving for a while. I'd like you to get rid of it. Go be...what you really are."

"Alright, that's it? What kind of demon am I working with here?" he asked as he straightened up and headed toward the opening of the chamber.

"It takes the form of an animal. Probably a vicious animal. But that's all I can tell you," she said, fading into translucent smoke as she did so, since their meeting was coming to a close. "By the way," she added, her voice echoing though she was no longer visibly present, "You should try that new weapon I told you to work on last week. You did practice, I assume?"

"No better way to test a weapon than on the real deal," Gilbert said, avoiding her question. He could imagine her rolling her eyes and giving him an exasperated look of disapproval. That was fine. If she was going to keep him bound to her forever, then he wasn't going to go out of his way to be a good, cooperative, obedient servant.

Gilbert walked through the forest at an ample pace until he finally found the place he was looking for, the open clearing. There were no trees for a good one hundred feet radius, nothing but grassy and some flowers waving in the breeze under the moon. Perfect. Fighting a demon here he had a much bigger advantage than in dense forest, since the demon could probably use the trees to climb or to hide. Now he just had to lure the beast right to him.

He cleared his thoughts and closed his eyes. This particular technique he had only just mastered, but it was still a bit difficult to do on the first try. He imagined he was looking deep inside himself, not inside his body, but more like his spirit, if that makes any sense. At first he saw only darkness, until finally he saw it, a glowing orb hovering in the nothingness. His soul was just a sphere of radiant white light, but it was one of the most important thing he had, second to Ludwig of course. Normally souls were pure spherical entities, but Gilbert's wasn't, at least not anymore. On his soul there was a small smudge of black, marring the beauty of the sun-like orb. Seven years ago that distortion wasn't there, sitting on his soul like a leech, but that was the consequence he'd have to endure for the rest of his life...and even after...

Illedris taught him everything he needed to know to be an amazing fighter, and a great demon hunter. She usually made him run errands like destroying other demons in her territory, but so far, that was really all there was to it. But Gilbert suspected that she had bigger plans in mind for him, though he never asked for fear of the answer. So many years learning how to fight had really changed him over time, and he often wondered if Ludwig had any suspicions or noticed he was different. Gilbert had always been a little arrogant, but now that he was an awesome fighter, he felt like he could do anything he wanted, except for break the deal, of course. Normally Ludwig just dismissed his brother's cockiness, but he never got tired of him, not really. Sure he would become annoyed almost every day, but they were still close, as close as brothers could be when one of them held such a secret.

One of the very first lessons Illedris had taught him was how demon hunters utilize the power of their unique souls. She had said that a soul was like pure energy, and special mortals had the skill to draw upon that energy and use it to defend themselves and hunt demons, it made them exponentially stronger than the ordinary mundane. And that wasn't all, he learned, but even more exceptional demon hunters developed remarkable abilities that were rare among their already small population. Gilbert was one of them. That's one of the reasons Illedris was ready to give him the Ouroboros Mark.

"Normal" hunters had the ability to see demons, and were capable of holding out against them, or at least the weaker ones. But Gilbert had the power to summon his soul's energy into the palms of his hands, a skill that took years to perfect. Once he was able to call upon his own energy to his hands, he could manifest it into a tangible, solid weapon. At first his inventory was limited; he could only manage to create a small knife, but after years of training, the variety of weapons he could manifest grew. It was pretty awesome.

But before he could try the new weapon Illedris suggested, he had to get the demon to come to him first. So as he closed his eyes, he dropped all his defenses and made his soul its most vulnerable, making its presence more noticeable. There was no way a beast could resist his soul, sitting in the middle of a clearing, all alone. Now he just had to wait.

He didn't have to wait very long. About ten minutes later, he heard the rustling of trees and the snapping of twigs and branches. Opening his eyes again, he smirked as he readied himself for the attack. It was still extremely dark out, but he could sense the demon's presence as if it were second nature to him. And suddenly, the monster came leaping out of the forest in front of him, snarling as it pounced. Gilbert sidestepped at the last moment, the beast's razor sharp fangs missing him only by inches. The demon landed lightly on its paws, whirling around with a hiss. Gilbert grinned, holding out his hand as a bronze shaft began to form in his grasp. The shaft elongated until it was about his own height, and from one of its ends grew a broad curved blade, completing the creation of the axe.

As the beast circled him, like a predator would its prey, Gilbert chuckled as he heaved his axe, resting it on his shoulder. "A feline demon, huh? Kesesese, this is going to be fun." The cougar demon flicked its tail angrily, barring its fangs. Then it launched itself at him, aiming to sink its teeth into his skull, and then consume his soul. Gilbert stopped its canines from piercing him by blocking with his axe. The cougar tried to bite through the bronze shaft in its mouth instead, but Gilbert's weaponry was too strong for that. Using the monster's momentum against it, Gilbert pivoted on his feet and hurled the beast across the clearing. The feline managed to stick the landing and quickly came back at him. Thinking quickly, Gilbert rolled out of the way and then got to his feet in one swift motion. He swung his axe at the demon, but its reflexes were fast. Gilbert frowned. He didn't really like the axe. It wasn't really his style.

The cougar began to circle him again, and so Gilbert let go of his weapon, and the axe disintegrated into a dust-like substance. Seeing him defenseless, the cougar tensed and was about to leap once more, when a voice called through the forest, "I think it went this way!" The sudden interruption of the silent night startled both the demon and Gilbert, but he didn't waste the moment of distraction. Ignoring the voice, Gilbert quickly summoned a double-edge sword into his hand, as the demon reverted its attention on the demon hunter.

Then many things happened at once. Just as the feline pounced once more, Gilbert heard footsteps breaking through the forest and enter the clearing. Damn, mortals weren't supposed to be out this deep in the forest! He had to end this before one of them got hurt, or their souls eaten. While the cougar was still in midair, descending down upon, Gilbert ducked just before the claws reached him, then, as the feline was above him, he quickly jabbed upwards, his blade slicing through the demon's pelt. The cougar fell to the ground, struggling to get up, but then it toppled on its side, melting into that dust-like substance.

Gilbert turned towards the mortals, there were two of them, and hoped he could come up with some story that could explain a giant, melting cat. The two mortals just stood there, gaping at him with their mouths hanging open. One of them had dark hair tied into a ponytail that fell over his shoulder, wearing a red mandarin jacket. The other had sandy-blonde hair, glasses over his bright blue eyes and wore a brown bomber jacket. Gilbert was surprised he could make out that much in the dark.

"You...you just...with your axe...then it was a sword..." sputtered the one with the ponytail.

"Dude! That's so cool!" the one with the bomber jacket exclaimed elatedly. "I didn't know there was another demon hunter living around here!"

"Wait, you know what I am?" Gilbert raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"Of course, dude! Yao and I are demon hunters too," he continued, as if it were strikingly obvious, "We were tracking that demon, but suddenly it switched courses and came here to this clearing instead."

"Really?" Gilbert blinked. He had known others like him existed of course, but he never imagined he'd meet another one.

The one with the ponytail, Yao, nodded. "Yes. We were on an assignment to kill that one, but I guess you did the job for us, aru. Thank you."

"Assignment?" Gilbert wondered what he meant by that. Did they seal their soul to a master too?

"Yeah," the other one grinned cheerfully, "For the Academy. Do you mind if we take your credit? 'Cause I really need a good grade on this one, or I'll have to pick up another assignment...and it'll probably be harder."

Grade? Academy? Now Gilbert's mind was reeling. Illedris had never mention anything about an academy. Yao seemed to read the confused look on his face. "You've never heard of the Venator Academy, have you?"

"No, never heard of it," Gilbert frowned, wondering why Illedris would have kept this from him.

"It's a secret school for people like us," Yao explained, "We take lessons to develop our skills with masters and other students. And as tests we receive assignments to prove our improvements and our fighting abilities."

"Yeah, and there are multiple classes that kinda serve as ranks, if you know what I mean. Depending on how good you are and what kind of skills you have, you get placed in the rank that fits you," the one with the glasses added. "Class A is the highest, and the lowest is Class D, but Class D is for mundanes that know our secret."

"Alfred and I are in Class A," Yao said matter-of-factly. "And honestly, with a power like that, I think you'd be in there too."

"Dude!" Alfred said suddenly, as if he had a great idea, "You should come to the Academy with us! We could use someone like you!"

Yao nodded in agreement, "I assume you're the only one around here, but if you want to, you could come back with us and we could convince the headmaster to let you test your way in. There's more like us, a lot more. You wouldn't be alone. And it's got the best education that can be offered to a hunter, aru."

For a moment, Gilbert seriously considered, but he thought about the Ouroboros Mark. Illedris wouldn't let him leave. "It sounds great and all," he sighed, "But I can't."

"Why not?" Alfred inquired.

"I, um, have a younger brother who's mundane. I can't leave him behind," Gilbert said, which was partly true.

"He can enroll, too," Yao waved off, "He'd just be put in Class D."

"He doesn't know about...me being a demon hunter."

"Venator Academy also had mundanes like that. Since the Academy is secret, we need normal students to attend as well. The demon hunters get their own building separate from the mundane part of the school." Yao studied Gilbert's face, reading his indecision. "If you need time to think about it, we won't be heading back until tomorrow at noon. You can find us at the inn at the town square, if you make up your mind."

"I...thanks, I'll think about it," Gilbert said finally. Without hesitating another moment, he turned on his heels and walked out of the clearing and into the dense forest, heading towards Illedris's cave. His thoughts were swimming inside his head, new possibilities coming to mind. He wouldn't have to keep his nature to himself anymore! He could actually talk to other demon hunters. He could go to school with people like him and show off his skills in public!

But then those hopeful thoughts faded into doubtful ones. Illedris...what would she think of it all? But what was even more troubling, would the Academy even want a student like him? Of course he would keep his soul deal a secret, but still. It was a school for those who hunted demons, and Gilbert was forever bound to serve one.

From the Author: So this is another idea I came up with for my next story, I'm not really sure what to think of it. Since my other main project right now, Destructive Desires, is coming to an end soon, I thought I try this idea and see what happens. For this story, I wanted to do something supernatural and only focus on the canon characters. I absolutely love Prussia as a character, and I loved playing with the two extremes of his personality in Double Vision, so I decided to make him the main character!

Anyway, thanks for taking time out of your life to read my little story. I'd love to hear what you think, and I'd be lying if I said reviews didn't motivate me to keep writing ;) So please review!

Thanks again~