Hey guys! Welcome to my story! It's been awhile since I've posted anything. After my Devilman Crybaby story, I really began pouring my time and effort in to an original story of mine. I finally got together a collection of beta readers for it, so I've been going at it pretty enthusiastically. Still, when I had this idea, I liked it too much not to write it. Please be aware, though, that I don't know how often updates of this will be coming out. I still plan on focusing on my original work for the time being. That being said, this chapter is twice as long as my usual average chapter length, so if this trend continues, each update will give you more to read than my usual routine ones. Anyway, I'm super excited to share this chapter with you guys, so I'll let you get to reading. I give to you, Venom.

There's a skip in my step as I enter the human village, my stomach growling. As I close the perimeter gate behind me, the whispers float up to reach my ears. My tongue snakes out over my lips in anticipation. Deliberately, I move slow, taking my time to walk between the houses, my eyes shifting leisurely over the people outside, and my mind wondering just how many are hiding inside. It's rather amusing that they think their pathetic homes will shelter them from any of us, but I suppose I must concede that something out of sight is out of mind. I don't exactly save any of their faces to memory, so I can't exactly go on the hunt for a specific one, and I'm much more likely to pick out something right in front of me for the sake of convenience.

I cast a wide smile out over my onlookers. "Rejoice," I smirk. Their murmuring ceases at the sound of my voice. "Matta isn't looking for humans today."

My smile grows when many of the humans visibly relax, and I tingle with delight when their relief is crushed with my next words. "I, however, am famished. Who wants to play with me today?" Eyes dart, pleading looks are exchanged, panic churns in their expressions, but no one steps forward. I mute a chuckle that threatens to slip out of the corner of my mouth and spur them on. "Come on, you guys have been doing so well! I haven't eaten any of you for the past four times! Are you really gonna break your streak?"

"I'll…"

My eyes lock onto the speaker before the syllable has finished leaving his mouth. Mm, he's younger than any of the volunteers I've had so far. Not out of his teens, I think. Shaggy black hair, thin but well muscled body, taller than me by a good measure…

"Sure." I redirect my smile so it's meant only for him. "I'll play with you."

"B-Brother, don't do it!" A small boy with equally dark hair clutches onto the volunteer's shirt, his little hands trembling. The volunteer pats his head, trying to sooth him, but not really succeeding. He tries to step my way, but the little boy continues to cling.

When I approach the duo, the elder freezes, his hand set firm on the little one's head as if to protect him. I crouch before the child and extend my hand, patient. He glances nervously from the volunteer to me, taking his sweet time before he finally reaches out to give me his hand, much to the evident terror of the tall boy.

"Do you know my name?" I ask.

"...You're the Pri-"

"Tut, tut. I mean my name, not my title."

"...Sera..."

"Uhuh, that's right. Sera and this boy are gonna have some fun together today. If he entertains me, everything will be just fine. Do you think he can do that?" After a second, the boy nods. "Good. Now run along back to your parents, or friends or whatever."

He steals a final peek at my volunteer, then dashes off as I ordered. I straighten, meeting the eyes of the tall, sun kissed boy. "Introduce yourself."

"Lonnie, is my name."

"Come on, Lonnie, let's go play!" I snatch his wrist and begin to pull, stifling a laugh when he stumbles along. As we pass the villagers to reenter the forest, the tension is practically visible in the air, keeping my smile securely plastered on my face, and my fangs gleaming for all to see.

After we leave the human residences, I keep going until Lonnie seems out of breath. Then, with a final yank of his wrist, we stop. His chest heaves with breath as he eyes me warily, unsure what to expect. I always make a point of changing it up every time, so the ones that survive to return to the village can't spoil it for future volunteers.

"Was that boy back there your brother?"

Unlike some of the others before him, he doesn't seem off put by my friendly manner. "Yes."

"He's a little cutie. Looks a lot like you! I bet he'll look pretty similar at your age."

"So, um," he changes the topic, "what are we playing today?"

I snicker. "Eager much? Well you're in luck. I feel pretty frisky today." Caution thickens in his aura, and rightfully so. If the previous volunteers have thought my games were dangerous, then this one might as well be suicidal. "I wanna play ninjas. In the castle."

His tanned skin blanches as all the blood drains from his face. "In...you mean…"

I nod, bubbly. He swallows hard. Twirling, I point him in the direction of the castle and declare, "Let's get going!" It only takes me a couple of steps to realize he hasn't moved to follow. I come to a halt, craning my head back questioningly and speaking cooly. "What's wrong, Lonnie? You aren't gonna back out, are you?" His mouth quivers in search of response, but when he comes up empty, I continue, "You know what'll happen if you do, don't you?"

He sucks in a shaking breath and states, "I was prepared to die when I spoke up."

I purse my lips, annoyed. "You know, I'm pretty hungry after not eating for nine days. You might not be enough. I might have to go back to the village to pick up an extra snack. Something small…"

He stiffens and I hide a smirk. Victory.

"I'm coming! I signed up for this, I can't back out now!"

As we make our way to the castle, I begin, "First off, we have to figure out how to get inside undetected. It's not gonna be easy. That bitch has guards bleeding out of her ass. But there's gotta be some way, you know? I mean, I get in and out undetected all the time!"

"...But doesn't that mean you know a way in?"

"Well yeah, but you have to be the one to figure it out. Otherwise I'm just doing what I do every day, and that's no fun!" I nearly step on a precariously placed twig and snap it, nimbly stepping aside to leave it untouched. "Oh, and be careful where you step. A lot of the guards use sound to detect people approaching. When we get closer to the castle, don't talk above a hiss, alright?" He nods, readily complying as I expected him to. He doesn't seem to be much of a talker. I like that.

The castle itself isn't much of a castle, if you're going by storybook standards. From what I've read, castles are supposed to be built out of stone, not mud, leaves, and sticks. It's what Matta likes, though, as disgusting as it is. It brings me pleasure to imagine destroying it in my downtime. Oh how she'd shriek to watch her beloved shithole crumble.

Stopping just out of the guards' line of vision, I turn to Lonnie, whispering, "You're up! How're you gonna get us in?"

He gulps, his neck craning to see the placement of the guards. One of them has a long, cone snout on his front and a giant stinger on his back, making for an absurdly pointed being. The other has the bulging eyes of a frog paired with the stiff brown scales of a lizard, and walks around on four hoofed feet. They're a pair often assigned to this side of the castle. Lonnie shivers and pulls back, disturbed by the malformed chimeras. "You aren't going to help me at all?"

I tap my finger against my lip, then begin picking away at it. I'd rather not, but...it's no fun if I'm just throwing him to the ants. If I don't assist him at all, he's got no chance of winning this game, and playing a one sided game is just boring. I ponder on the build of the fortress. "There's two entrances right here. The one between the guards, and a hole that wasn't fixed off to our right. It'd be more entertaining to try to get in through the actual entrance, but I guess it wouldn't be fair on your end. Try to find the hole." He stares at me for a moment and I growl, "What?"

"N-Nothing." He quickly averts his gaze and my smirk returns to my lips.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Lonnie. I'd rather gamble on even odds than play knowing I'll win. Now hurry up. If you take too long finding the hole, I'm gonna get impatient."

He creeps along behind foliage to avoid the guards as I watch. A breeze rustles by as I wait, tossing strands of white and the occasional black in my face and forcing me to move them aside. Irritated, I flick out my tongue and wet my lips. When I bring it back in, though, I pause. Tentative, I lick out my tongue again and taste the air. Did imagine it? I had thought there was an unfamiliar scent floating about, but… I try again, and again come up with nothing. Hm. Strange.

"Your Highness."

I blink, rotating my head to find Lonnie. He's inched forward in the foliage, almost out into the open, but he's right in front of the hole.

"Is...is that is?"

He points at the hole, where a couple of twigs camouflage its presence. I'd put them there when I'd first discovered the exit to prevent any of Matta's servants from noticing it. With the rickety way the whole structure was built, no one noticed that these specific gaps by these sticks were an actual hole in the domed wall.

I mime clapping and slither over to join him. "Now," I murmur by his ear, causing him to lean away, "how do you think we get in without the guards noticing?"

"Can't we just be quiet?" he grimaces, a drop of sweat sliding down his temple. The way his dark skin glistens with sweat, he's lucky neither of the ants posted at this entrance are scent oriented beasts.

"You could try it," I concede, "but just remember, if you get caught, you lose, and the loser always gets punished."

Despite his obvious anxiety, he doesn't quiver and whimper like a child. It's refreshing, after encountering grown humans that turn into babies under pressure. Yeah, this human's a nice one. I hope he wins.

"How...how confident are you in your ability...to slip away from those guys?"

"Huh? It'd be easy if I had to, but you're the player in this game. You have to get us in unnoticed."

"Aren't we both playing this game? You're a ninja, too, right? It only makes sense that you'd do something, too."

I almost slip up and laugh. Where'd this confidence come from? "What if I told you I was playing the damsel in distress?"

"...Is that fun?"

I muffle a chuckle that finally manages to escape. "No, it's not. But what is it you're getting at, asking about my escaping skills? 'Cause I'm top notch in that field, you know?"

"Can you distract them? Just throwing a stone isn't enough to draw them away. There needs to be something there, continuously making a noise, otherwise they won't leave their posts. Ants are like that, right? Rigorous about their duty?"

"Some of us, sure," I admit. "Alright, I'll do it. Then I slip away and follow you inside, yeah? That's what you were thinking?" He nods, and I nod in return, backing back into the greenery. I wink. "Wait for me inside and don't get caught."

Distracting the guards is easy. Knock a bush here, snap a twig there, crunch some leaves, and voila! One guardless entrance! Although now that I think about it, couldn't we have used this method to walk in the actual doorway? Well, whatever. It's more ninja-like to use a hidden entrance, anyway.

Once the reptilian frog and Mr. Pointy are well occupied searching for me, I slink back to our entrance and slip inside, replacing the sticks over the hole behind me. Glancing around the hall, I peek into the nearest room. Lonnie is crouched just inside, startling when I poke my head in. After peering down the hallway, I assure him, "You're good for now. The goal's my room. If you can get there and get out without being seen by anybody, you win. I'll even help you a bit. Deal?" He nods, so I inform him, "My room's one of the few underground, but the path underground is pretty close. I'll tell you the way down is not past the kitchen, so if you see any butchered creatures, just turn around and keep looking. Let's get started, shall we?"

He doesn't say anything against me, so I whirl around to check the hallway one last time…

...and lock eyes with a horrendous golden eyed mongoose.

I instantly bristle at the sight of my personal guard, motioning with my hand still hidden by the door frame for Lonnie to stay where he is.

"I see you're out of your room again, Sera," he jitters, brandishing his canines.

I bare my own fangs in response. "I was just heading back."

He clicks his tongue in that disgusting way of his that makes it sound as if he's laughing. "You know the rules, Little Highness. Your mother is waiting for you."

My eyes slit, but I know if we stay here too long, he's going to notice my toy. Adding extra venom into my voice, I hiss, "As if that mouse ever wants to see me." I strut past him towards the throne room. Maybe if Lonnie survives on his own until I get back, I'll call it his win and let him off the hook. It seems sadistic to make him endure this plus my little game. Then again, it has been a few days since I've eaten. Well, let's just say if he dies, he loses, and I'll go pick myself a different snack since he'll be gone.

Even with the mongoose trailing after me, the situation allows me to continue enjoying myself a little. Now this, this really is a gamble. I don't have any influence on whether that guy lives or dies now. It's solely up to him, and I don't know anything about him, so for all I know, the odds of his survival are perfectly fifty-fifty. For once, I'm actually grateful to this flea infested mammal for showing up.

In light of this, a smirk remains plastered on my face even when we approach the moldy food horde that doubles as Matta's throne room.

The bulging, wrinkled, stiff furred beast of a rat has her flab set down on a semi-clean throne of thrown together metals. Her grotesque protruding teeth sink into the fat of her stomach, her beady eyes as empty as her head as they lock onto me. Every time I see her, I can't help but doubt that I'm the descendant of such an ant. How could such a beautiful creature like myself have come from such a hideous thing, after all? And she makes it obvious she also wishes the relation wasn't there.

"Seeerrraaaa!" she roars. Despite the depth of her voice and the rumbling in sends throughout the room (and the ripples it sends through her layers of fat), the end of her groan breaks off with a high pitched squeal. "You left your room again!?"

"You know, I really don't appreciate being locked in there like a prisoner."

"It doesn't matter what you think! I am the queen of this colony, and you will obey my orders, you insignificant child!"

I scoff. "Some queen. You weren't even a squadron leader when you were under the real queen."

Her fuzzy lips tremble back in a nasty snarl. "SHUT UP! Go back to your room you worthless snake! Don't you dare show your face to anyone ever again!"

"I'm not gonna just sit there and starve, you know. Maybe I'll consider it if you put a pool in my room, though."

"MORIS! Take this trash back to where it belongs this instant!"

"You're calling me trash when you sit in a room like this?" I snort.

"THIS INSTANT!"

"Of course," my guard clicks, his claws closing around my arm. I wrench away with a hiss. For a moment, we glare at each other. Then I sneer and pivot, exiting the room with the mongoose on my tail. He's probably going to station himself outside my room for the next day or so once we get back. Unlike usual, though, I can't just wait it out this time. I've gotta go find Lonnie. No matter how smart or skilled he is, if I leave him for too long, he's bound to be found, and certainty like that is no fun at all.

So, when I've taken a corner the mongoose has yet to turn, I slip into the first room and slip out a secret exit. I don't wait for that furry beast's reaction and dart to the entrance Lonnie and I were at earlier, easily sneaking back inside without alerting the guards. To my distress, however, the human boy is not where I left him. I frown and begin to search.

His scent is a little hard to discern over the smell of the sun roasted mud that gives the castle its shape, but it's there, so I cautiously begin to follow his trail. Tasting the air as I go, I'm surprised to find it leads all the way to the throne room. My first thought is that he was found, but if that was the case, he'd have been brought to the kitchen, not Matta. That means...he followed the mongoose and me?

I gnaw at my lip, my fang piercing the skin. This human is pretty brave, isn't he? I continue to follow the trail, and, sure enough, it leads to the underground passage. He must have followed me until I slipped away, then found it on his own. A daring decision, sure, but a smart one, as long as he wasn't caught. And he wasn't. There is practically no ant traffic underground, since it's mostly just storage. Unless it's feeding time for Matta's food, creatures are usually only down there when they have some sort of business with me, and right now, I'm sure this is the last place anyone expects me to be.

Glancing around to be sure no one is coming, I slink down the passage. When I reach the bottom, the hallway is empty. Snaking out my tongue, I pick up his scent once again and follow it into a live food storage room. Past cages of small snack animals, Lonnie crouches behind the cage of a large lizard. A lot of the animals in the room are like that, predators to small mammals. Matta seems to thrive on consuming animals that, before becoming an ant, could have consumed her. That's why she ended up with a descendant like me.

"You," I start towards the human, startling him enough to make him fall back on his butt, "are clever." His panic seems to subside a bit when he sees that it's me, but that doesn't quench the caution in his eyes. How cute. The expression on his face tells me he has no idea how to react when I straddle him. Delicately gripping his chin between my forefinger and thumb, I lick my lips. "I could just eat you up."

"But...I haven't lost yet," he breathes, eyes wide.

I chuckle. "I didn't mean like that."

I dive in for a kiss but he pulls back, sputtering, "B-B-But you're an ant! And—"

"Human, ant, what of it? I look human enough to turn you on, don't I?"

"Yes but—"

"See? No problem, then."

"But we're both male!"

I finally stop advancing, having leaned so far forward in search of his lips that he's scrunched up against the shelving behind him. Straightening my back, I begin opening the clasps of my shirt. "I prefer males. You see, no one really wants me to take on the role of king, and that's one thing I'm not going to argue with them about. Who wants to create queens who can make better kings than you? It's stupid." I let my shirt slide off my arms, grabbing his hand and splaying his palm on my pale chest. "I'm as pretty as a female, aren't I?" I lean back down until I'm hovering just over his lips, my cold breaths mingling with his warm air. "Look at me," I murmur, tracing the tan collarbone that pokes out of his loose shirt. "Aren't I slim? And smooth? Don't you want to touch me?" My nose just barely grazes his cheek. His breath hitches and I smile. His hand slides into my silky hair, cradling my head, and I know I've got him.

Then something crashes and the entire room shakes, snapping him out of his trance. His hand quickly retracts and I sit up, eyes going up to the ceiling. I've never heard a noise like that before, even when Matta trips over her own blubber. Something must be happening.

I move off of Lonnie and snatch up my shirt, redoing the clasps as I listen to the numerous quieter batterings going on overhead.

"What's going on?" the human boy echoes my own question. Both his hair and shirt are rumpled, his brown cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. He has to be one of the cutest humans I've come across, but now's not the time to be thinking about that.

"Come with me," I order, snapping the last clasp over my heart before grabbing his wrist and yanking him roughly to his feet. The underground hallway, like usual, is empty, so I drag him out and to the farthest room at the end of the hall. Being the only room not underneath the muddy dome Matta had built, it's the only room in the basement with a secret exit to the outside. I shove aside some human artifacts, and, seeing the hole in the ceiling thinly veiled with leafs, Lonnie helps me push a chair under the exit to act as a stepping stool. I hoist myself outside first, and when I do, I'm instantly struck with the sensation I'm being watched. My eyes flit about, but no matter where I look, there's no one to be found. There's no unusual scent in the air, either. I hesitate for a moment, but then turn to help the human out of the ground.

Above ground, the banging noises from before are even louder. I grimace. "The game's over," I tell Lonnie, still looking for the source of the gaze I feel. "Go back to your village. Being here isn't gonna do you any good."

To my surprise, he doesn't leave immediately. Instead, he asks, "Is it safe?"

"How am I supposed to know? Just consider yourself lucky you haven't died already and run."

He turns to go, but again, he pauses. "But—"

"I'm hungry," I start. He clams up at those words. Glaring, I continue, "If you piss me off any farther, I'll eat you."

For a second, he's a bunny frozen in fear. Then he's off as quick as his feet can carry him. With the human gone, I take one last look around, then press against the castle walls. The noises haven't stopped. Something serious is going on, and I need to know what. I begin stepping along the wall, eyes straining to see around the curve of the mud.

All of a sudden every nerve in my body jolts to attention and I reflexively step backward, something whizzing right in front of my nose and smashing deep into the castle wall.

I react a moment later, jerking farther back with a gasp and whipping my head to the source. A thin metal line stretches from the hole in the wall deep into the trees. No one is visible. I flick out my tongue and taste the air. Nothing. Teeth clenching, I collect my bearings and rotate to face the hidden aggressor.

"Too scared to play fair?" I ask, voice dark.

"You didn't use nen."

It's a he, and he sounds young. Around my size, perhaps? "You mean that glowy stuff? I've never bothered with it. Now," my legs bend, coiling to spring, "why are you trying to kill me?"

"Most people ask how much I'm being paid, first," the boy muses. "Who was that guy you sent off earlier?"

"If you wanted to know, why didn't you follow him?"

"You seemed more dangerous."

The projectile retracts, and I narrow my eyes in the direction it flies back to. My breathing slows down in an attempt to block out any unwanted stimulus as I try to find him in the shadows, but it doesn't help. What is this creature, to be able to hide so well? My jaw winds tight in frustration, but also in...fear? Is this how prey feel when approached by a predator? But I'm not some rabbit that's going to roll over and be eaten.

I run the tip of my tongue over my fangs, choosing my words carefully. "And accurate assessment, but you don't exactly seem safe, either."

I lurch when a shape bursts out of the castle wall and dashes screaming into the forest, fury sparking inside me over the break in my concentration. The screeching ant doesn't get far, though. Just as the ant is spreading its red and black wings to take flight, a flash of white zips down from the tree above it and lands behind it, still. As the ladybug ant collapses, the cause of the kill straightens. Already on high alert, my eyes rapidly intake every minute detail of the boy.

White hair like mine but without the streaks of black and it doesn't lay flat. Eyes again blue like mine but darker. Clothes of unknown fabrics. He's not from the NGL. From head to toe he looks purely human except for one hand. The nails are too claw-like to be a human's but I don't have a guess as to what animal they're from. They're covered in the dead ant's murky blue blood.

And his attention is locked solely on me.

I'm struck with a thought that I'm about to die, and in my panic, I blurt, "What animal?"

"Huh?"

"Other than human," I rush to get out, desperate to ignore the overwhelming hostility radiating my direction. "I can't figure it out. You look human, but so do I! But I've got duel colored hair and fangs and weird eyes, and all you've got is a scary looking hand! What other creature are you mixed with?"

"I'm not an ant."

My mouth gapes open, unable to find any words as his nails shrink back to normal, turning utterly...well, human. Finally, I gasp, "Humans can do that?"

"Depends on the human. Now, any last words I should hear?"

I stiffen. "Why do you want to kill me? What did I do?"

"You're a part of this colony. Don't try to tell me you haven't been eating humans. Listen, a friend of mine is an ant, and she won't stop pestering me about how ants deserve respect even when we're killing them, but if you don't say your last words quickly I'm not going to have the patience to listen."

"You're killing me 'cause I've eaten humans? Are you kidding me?" He flinches forward and I burst, "FINE! Fine! I'll stop eating humans! There are other things I can eat, anyway!"

The boy freezes, suspicion in his eyes. "That easily?"

"What do you mean, 'that easily'?" I groan. "You're about to kill me over it! I don't want to die!"

"What about revenge?"

I blink. "For what?"

"Behind you, Hunters are raiding your colony and slaughtering every last one of your brethren without remorse."

It takes a moment for his words to sink in. "Ha….haha… Is that what's happening right now?" He doesn't show it very clearly, but a glint in his eyes tells me my laughter surprised him. "FINALLY! It's about time that filthy rat got what was coming to her! Should I go watch? But I could be killed! But wouldn't that be the gamble of a lifetime? Ooohhhh, I can already hear her shrieeeekiiiiing! AH! What do I doooo?" I've skidded to the side before I've even realized I've moved, the human boy's sharpened hand having taken a swipe at my head. "HEY!"

"Dammit, Palm's making me soft!" he curses, lunging again.

"I said hey!" I exclaim, twisting to avoid his lethal nails. "I swore off eating humans, didn't I?"

"If it was that easy to convince someone like you, you'd have sworn off a long time ago."

"Well, excuse me!" I grab his wrist to stop his jabs, but his whips his foot around and I'm forced to retract to avoid being mortally injured. I may have never bothered with nen myself, unlike some of the other ants, but instincts tell me that even a normal blow powered by nen would label me as good as dead. "No one ever told me I'd get in trouble for eating humans! How was I supposed to know to stop?"

"Doesn't…" He takes another swipe. "Matter…!"

"You try being born into a house where human lives don't matter! See if you stop killing on your own!"

My heart stops, and for a moment, I'm convinced he's sunk his hand into my chest and killed me. After a few seconds, though, I'm still alive. He's stopped, face inches from mine, fingertips pressing against the fabric of my shirt, just grazing the skin of my chest. As his eyes search mine, I realize that my heart hasn't stopped: it's hammering. It's drumming so fast that I can't tell one beat apart from the next.

I've been bested. I, a predator by blood, have lost.

"What's your name?"

His words mentally jolt me, but my body dares not move. "Sera. I'm called Prince Sera."

"Are you a king?"

Despite the situation, I nearly laugh. "As much a king as that 'queen' is a beautiful and elegant flower."

Maybe he's seen Matta before, maybe he just believes my scorn is authentic, but either way, he seems to catch my meaning. "Are you serious about giving up on eating humans?"

"If I'm not, you'll rip me to shreds." He continues to search my expression, digging for any hint of a lie in my oath. In the end, however, he lowers his hand and takes a step back.

"Killua Zoldyck."

"Pleasure to meet you," I sigh, able to breathe again.

"Come with me. Try to run, and I'll kill you. Try to attack me, and I'll kill you. Do anything that leads to the injury of me or any other human—"

"—and you'll kill me. I get the idea."

Thoughts? I'm sorry I didn't put a warning about the BL scene in there, but Sera is supposed to be a character that kind of walks the line between genders, so I wanted it to be a bit of a revelation when he turned out to be a he. If you really would rather not read that sort of thing, this probably isn't the story for you I'm afraid, but I swear I'm not just writing this to write BL! I want to do things with this story! With that out of the way, I'm curious to hear your first impressions! Is it good? Did you enjoy it? Frankly, I'm really happy with this start, so I'm really anxious to hear your guys' opinions on it. I'll be waiting!

Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!