Demon Dreams: Chapter 1 - Blood Soaked Sands (private)

[Ketsueki Satou]

The lights burned his eyes, he couldn't step out into daylight. His skin was sickly pale, his glossy black mess of hair draped to his shoulders, every day it would grow back to this length. And every time he would stand in the mirror, shaving his face of the thick stubble, and snip his hair.

The feeling of the razor against his cold skin, it did'nt nerve him. The sensation of cutting skin was almost numb after so many times his skin has been cut by blades of many shapes and sizes. But he knew enough pressure, gentle strokes.

After the sink was filled with water, hairs running down the drain. The quiet background of the house creaking above his head. He started to smell the thick aroma of the coffee being poured into his cup upstairs. Grabbing his suit and tie after dressing appropriately he stepped quietly upstairs to the main hallway of His home. A docile place, a house like many others.

Entering the kitchen in a calmly manner, right to the marble counter. The lights hanging from the ceiling of the kitchen were dull a dreary, one of the bulbs flickering. But as he reached for the freshly poured cup his dead mind had stopped entire bodily movement. Who poured the cup of coffee?

His eyes wide open as his head turned to convey the room. And to the demons surprise, someone was sitting at his kitchen table. "So, you have something up you're sleeve? Poison my morning cup with something nice?" The demon picked up his brew of morning blend. Sitting at the table was a youth, a teenage boy with dirty sandy blonde hair and deep coral green eyes.

Dressed in a blood hoodie and white jeans, chewing on one of the hood strings. His voice oddly monotone. "No poison. I was too tired to put something together, so I thought I'd do something nice for you." Satou did'nt know how to respond when the young man raised his hand to show a long gash across his hand, wrapped up in bandaging cloth.

"You poured you're blood into my coffee?" He looked to the cup, if focused enough he could smell the tinge of blood in his coffee pot. "Why?" Was the first thing that popped into his head. "The old man is training you to kill things like me. Why would you help me Keiji?"

Keiji, the youthful wrapped his hand back up as he explained. "The night you found me, I was dieing. I had no memory of who I was or what was happening at the time. You gave me you're blood in an attempt to save my life, it succeeded. I lived, horrible condition but alive. Think of it as payback." He stood and headed for the hallway as he talked.

"I had hopes that my blood could sate the beast in you, hoping to save a poor girls fate." He left without hearing the demon grumble a thank you under his breath.

Taking a sip of his coffee, he could taste the boys blood in the brew, it was in the background, though for him it was stronger then the coffee now, filling his nostrils with each flare. His hands shivered from the feeling of exhilaration it gave him when he tasted blood, as if his entire body lit aflame with ecstasy. But even with all the joys of tasting blood, the need for it grew. It did'nt settle his thirst for more. So he drank, and drank. He emptied the entire pot of coffee. But it wasn't enough, he wanted more.

The throbbing in his skull, the sound of a beating heart. He could smell her. Kahako. "Why is she here?" There came a knock at the door. Keiji paced down the hallway calmly, talking as he walked. "I called her here for research! She's here to help sort out your brain a bit." He answered the door. It was also the first time he'd get to meet the girl the demon chose.

Satou stood by the kitchen door before the hallway. His head was pounding, his veins constricted with a clenched fist. His fangs slowly sliding back into smaller razor sharp canine teeth. "Warn me next time." He mumbled quietly to himself.

The House Kahako stood before was a rickety old home, it looks condemned. The mailbox full of letters. Windows smashed, unlivable. But she was called to this house, a damned household. To help her friend.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

A sharp thunk against old wood caused the man to duck to the side, holding his ear, eyes wide, as he stared at the kunai that was firmly implanted into the wood next to him. He turned to the young girl who threw it. Her eyes were fierce and angry as he glanced at the body he had been ogling moments before, realizing that it was unusually fit for a woman her age. “I’m sorry mis’um, I didn’ realize…” He quickly watched her body stiffen. She caught him looking again. He immediately bowed deeply. “Shinobi-sama, moushiwake arimasen! We don’ usually ge’ your kind down here. None who aren’ on duie. I mean’ no ‘arm by ee’ ma’am.”

Kahako’s frown deepened. Meant no harm with cat-calls like that? She tried to ignore him as best she could, but the man practically described her in every position under the sun while he followed her. “The village guard will throw you in prison if they catch you harassing women passing by. You would do well to watch your tongue,” she said sharply, bowing before going on her way. She missed the relieved sigh that passed his lips, too angry to care about him now that he got the message to leave her be. The red scarf she was currently wearing waved in the breeze as she walked further down the street. She sported a tan jacket to hide the scars and bite marks that covered her arms. Her scarf was on for the same reason.

Regardless, in this area she was still a sore thumb and she knew it. Once again she looked at her quickly scrawled handwriting before looking back up at the building she was getting closer to. This was the address the boy named Keiji said over the phone. She even repeated it back to him, because she knew this part of the village wasn’t the greatest. But the building before her looked down right uninhabited. Could her Satou actually live here?

A small, frustrated sigh escaped her lips. Sure he was an ancient evil for all to fear, but really? “Playing into the stereotype much, Satou-kun?” she spoke softly after she knocked. She knew he would hear her through the door, but whoever was with him would not. At least, not without enhanced hearing of his own. When the almost-falling-off-the-hinge door did open, Kahako’s frustrated glare turned into a calm smile when she met a teenage boy’s green eyes.

What happened only moments before disappeared to the back of her mind, “Hello, you must be Keiji-kun,” she said before he welcomed her in. He seemed to know Satou surprisingly, and, though she had her doubts at first, he was pleasant enough over their short conversation…. even if his namesake was ruined by a snot-nosed, rude coworker of hers. “I am Higa Kahako.”

She then lifted the larger of the two brown paper bags she held in her hand. “I hope you and Satou-kun hadn’t had breakfast yet. They are fresh from my oba-san’s café.” The smell of what seemed to be fresh-baked bread wafted from the bag and into the entryway of the house. Inside there were croissants, thick slices of ham, cheese, and a few different jellies.

Upon entering, Kahako did not remove her coat or scarf. When she saw the demon in the entryway, completely dressed in a nice suit she couldn’t help but smile. “And I thought I looked out of place in this part of town,” she said teasingly to him. But her eyes only expressed a sincere gladness to see the man before her. “How are you feeling Satou-kun?” she asked, walking up to him and holding out the smaller bag for him to take. Inside this bag was a simple, white, and tightly sealed Styrofoam thermos. She didn’t comment as to what was inside because from the look on his eyes he smelled it as soon as he opened the flap.

It was completely full of her blood.

Turning back to Keiji, Kahako gave little thought to the seriousness of what she just offered. “Now, where is your kitchen? I am quite hungry, and had to run to the hospital this morning for some quick business without anything to eat.”

MFT

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

The teen seemed to stare into her eyes for the briefest moment, one glance from head to toe, a light bow and a gesture for her to enter. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance Kahako-sama.Welcome to my Home. I was going to make bacon and eggs before we start with the little experiment I've been cooking up, The kitchen is past the demon on your left." He smirked. Watching as she approached Satou with ease. And headed past them into the Kitchen.

Satou's smile was warming when he laid his eyes upon her. She was always the sunshine to his dreary morning. Her joking always brought a chuckle out of him. "I try to look my best for the Boss. I'm doing alright." His shaking hand took the bag, removing the styrofoam thermos. Opening it, his nostrils flared with the delicious scent of her blood. It was too difficult to hide it, the burning was intensifying the more he stared into the dark liquid in a trance like state. Slowly he brought the cup to his mouth and drank, deeply. Quickly, drinking till there was not a drop left. He could feel it, cooling down the burning deep in his chest and throat. Ember like eyes slowly died out to a charcoal smooth grey. "Thank you." He whispered with a soft smile.

Keiji making another pot of coffee. The table was old as were the chairs and the rest of the house. "You probably thought this place quite horrid, and It is. But its just a safe house I'm letting the Satou bunk here. My workshop is upstairs, his room is downstairs in the basement." He flicked the switch for the brew to percolate. Grabbing some plates and two cups to place at the table and took out a frying pan and began cooking some slices of bacon and some eggs. "Scrambled or sunny?" He threw the question out.

"I'm good." Mumbled the demon as he sat at his table, grabbing the morning paper. "Work been rough Kahako-chan?" Satou looked up from his paper.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

“Well then, you’re doing a splendid job, Satou-kun. Color me impressed. Carry on,” she said with a slight titter. Once she handed the bag over to Satou, she followed after Keiji into the kitchen. She scanned the walls that were falling apart, surprised that anyone was living here. The scent of freshly brewed coffee carried through the room. She quietly placed her sack on the table before taking her place next to Satou. She had never lived, let alone sat in a place that was a decrepit as this. With the state of the place, she couldn’t really start with her usual pleasantries of ‘oh, what a lovely home you have,’ in order to break the ice. Her ancestors would be rolling in their grave if they knew she was here. They probably had tried to reform their ashes the moment she agreed to be Satou’s master.

"You probably thought this place quite horrid, and It is. But its just a safe house I'm letting the Satou bunk here. My workshop is upstairs, his room is downstairs in the basement." He flicked the switch for the brew to percolate. Grabbing some plates and two cups to place at the table and took out a frying pan and began cooking some slices of bacon and some eggs. "Scrambled or sunny?" He threw the question out.

“Scrambled, please,” she said softly as she looked over Satou’s arm to read snippets of the paper. Though the sentence was meant to calm her, it actually tuned her into several questions she had for the new boy. For now though, she would just read the snippets she could see from both the paper and the boy.

“It hasn’t been too bad. I recently started taking on new missions, and as usual making my rounds within the hospital. I did encounter a demon recently while in the field. Its lack of a true form makes me wonder if there are different classes to your kind.” She stretched her legs out under the table, placing her pressure on her heels before wiggling her toes back a forth. “Though... the essence around it was the same as when I am around you, so I guess that is one commonality.” Here she leaned forward, propping her chin on her elbows. She looked at Keiji’s back, studying him as she carefully weaved her first question. “It took me years to get used to being around you, Satou-kun. I wonder if others are just not as susceptible to a demon’s aura, or if you have to grow immune to it over time?” If he turned around, Kahako’s body would suggest that she was lofting on the table, but her eyes set keenly on him, watching his every move. How are you able to be so calm around my demon servant, Keiji-kun?

“What was this experiment you were talking about anyway Keiji-kun? You seemed ambiguous over the phone.” She spoke with a gentle smile on her face, but the demon would know. He would feel the edginess Kahako had around the stranger. She came here for Satou’s sake, not for Keiji’s morbid satisfaction in demonic experimentation. Satou was near and dear to her, and ironically, Keiji was currently the threat.

MFT

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

Satou slipped the comic's over to Kahako with a bit of a smirk on his lips as he reads up the weather and local news. Keiji seemed rather calm even with a pair of eyes burning in the back of his skull. He figured she would be territorial with her servant, Satou was a powerful creature, but also unstable. Anything that was a threat for him, she would obviously be there to stand with him. He knew she was the right choice for this test.

At the mention of a demon, Satou took interest. Keiji's ears perked a bit at the word. Satou was going to begin the long winded speech of what demons are about. But Keiji was going to speak first. "Demon's come in different species. It depends on its origin of birth and habitat. Some are even aquatic and live under the sea. Some take to the skies for days at a time. Ojii-sempei found one living in the mountains once, It's skin like granite. He broke one of his favorite blades over the creatures back. " He finished the eggs, sprinkled a bit of hot spices and served with a side of thick cut bacon to both himself and the two at the table, but stayed standing from the table to eat, looking at both the demon and the inquisitive girl.

The boy continued. "Demonic aura is simply chakra manifested through the demons malice for life, every demon exudes its aura as a self defense mechanism. Like a puffer fish blowing up-"He puffs his cheeks out, then exhales. "Its difficult for most normal humans to withstand a demons aura. Most shinobi trained individuals will be able to handle a demonic aura, giving if their physically and mentally capable of handling themselves. The strongest aura I've come across was the span of twenty feet. Satou's is luckily ten feet, hence why we sleep on different floors and is the base of a test for which I called you here for." He munched on some bacon.

Satou remaining calmly quiet as he continued his paper, and ate his meal with a form of polite mannerisms. Much different from when they first met, him and the innocent girl. He was brash then, unkempt. Now clean and slick, well formed. Obedient.

"When a demon sleeps, the aura is still going. Hence why when you near a place like this, average people get the spooks and leave. We're undisturbed. But before. I had a room down the hall. Five feet exactly where I slept, Satou slept below me. I've never had nightmares or many pleasant dreams. But when he moved in and I started getting horrific night terrors. Things I was seeing, such things I've never experienced before." His eyes seemed to look distant. "Such horrible things, I experienced for a couple days with lack of sleep. It did'nt occur to me at first but, I realized that while I slept, I was inside Satou's mind. I was in his dreams, His memories."

Satou looked to Kahako then. "I started remembering things. Bits and pieces, details. After a few nights here. Keiji has been running through my mind while I slept. But, he's waring thin."

If looked closer, bags under his eyes as they seemed to droop a bit with the exhausted look. "Eighty two hours.." The boy mumbled as he finished his plate alarmingly quick and placed it in the sink. "Its all jumbled up.I can't make heads or tails of things. I think the Demon toys with me, but you." He looked to the girl sitting and eating. "I wanna know what the demon will do with you running around. Maybe, just maybe. You're the one who can help him unlock his past." He paced out the room. "When you two finish talking and eating, join me upstairs." He was gone the next second without a trace of sound.

Satou ate, waiting for Kahako's reaction.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

A small pout appeared when Satou silently slid over the comic strips. Sure she could act a little immature for her age from time to time, but she did want to read up on current events too! She also caught a glimpse of Ayumu’s face in one of the articles along with a wanted poster before he flipped the page. Reluctantly, Kahako turned to her newly acquired comics and listened to Keiji speak quite knowledgably, about demons.

When he was done making breakfast, she accepted her chipped plate with a quiet thanks before taking some of the baking goods from the bag and adding it to her meal. She did take note of how… calm… Satou seemed now. Was it her blood that was helping, or was it Keiji pilfering through his mind? And when Keiji concluded the reason why he asked her here, she clearly understood.

While chewing both her food and the information Kahako grew solemn. “I want to know as well,” she said like staring off into the distance. She was thinking, and it wasn’t a few moments until she was alone with Satou did she speak freely. “It’s time, isn’t it?” she asked softly. Of course she was referring to the moment that they spoke about a few months back. He promised that she would be there when he did; to help him if she could, just as she demanded.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’m having doubts,” she said with a sad smile as she laid her utensils to rest, she turned her head to look at him. “It’s just… unnerving to think that this could be the last time we are like… well… like this.”

She would listen to what Satou had to say while she ate more of her food. This place was peaceful to her, despite Satou’s aura. Maybe that was what made it peaceful. Maybe it was the simplicity of them both eating breakfast while he read the paper and she combed the comics. In this small, dilapidated house with broken windows and moldy walls, Kahako felt… at home… at ease in this pressure. Just as she always had in the past months with him. She ate the last bit of her egg before pushing the plate away from her. “Well, we don’t want to keep Keiji waiting,” she said stretching in contempt at the filling meal “Gochisosama deshita.”

She allowed the man to clean away the plates and food, reading while he did so. When he was done, she pulled the chair away and followed him through the house onto the third floor. One the way up the stairs, she looked to his hand, remembering, as always, the first time they had met. His hands had been so large back then. Back then it seemed that they would encase and protect her from the dangers of the world. In some ways, he had. In others, he hadn't. Nobody was perfect at what they did, not even her guardian. But he did a splendid job in her eyes.

Before they both reached the final step, Kahako reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his suit. It was a slight tug, and when he turned back he would see deep green eyes that looked slightly worried. “Remember you promised you help me get situated in the adult world of addictions.” She said, seemingly out of nowhere. “When I become a full-fledged ninja you said we would go out drinking. I hope you know that one night with disgustingly sweet sake does not count in my book.” A different pout formed on her face. She bit her bottom lip, unsure of the unknown before them.

But Satou couldn’t live with an unstable mind forever, so after he spoke, she would follow him into the unknown regardless of what he said.

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

He sat paper after finishing it and took the empty plates to the sink, he seemed docile as he spoke. "It is, and I think its been long overdue. With your help I'll finally have closure, and maybe things will be easier for the both of us once this is over." He returned to her side and walked with her. As they traveled up the steps the look of the house was changing, the wooden paneling did'nt look as worn down as it did on the main floor. It looked like the entire next floor was an entirely different house.

When paused before entering the room Kahako voiced her worries, to which Satou replied by pulling her close and hugging her. "I won't forget my promises to you. Don't fret, i'll be by your side when you get shit faced and I'll also be there to help cure your hangover." He smiled genuinely.

As they got upstairs, there was a closed door. Once opened lead into a brightly lit room that was spacious of the entire top floor yet cramped with strange machines and monitors. On the walls of the young Keiji's room housed hundreds of shinobi items. From anything you could lay your hands on in Ninja shops was all about the walls and in large display cases. A wall of crossbows of different designs and shapes took up one whole case, at the very bottom, the final design was a sleek rifle like crossbow that looked more machine then anything else.

Another display case held a cloak of ghost blue with a fancy suit like vest that had utility pockets all about. a Belt with pouches underneath. A glance about one could see the large display of bottled conditioned labeled with different commonly known herbs and plants that are poisonous or had horrible effects to them.

Then there was the young teen sitting at a rather large, spacious desk with gadgets and gismos galore laying about. Tinkering with a brass colored metal gauntlet. To his side were two cots for his two patients. "Glad you two could join me!" He laughed a little bit as he waved to the beds. "Have a seat I'll be with you in a moment." He began putting the mass of stuff from his desk back onto one of the display cases.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

She accepted the hug, nodding slightly into his chest and calming with his reassurance. In return, she grabbed lightly on his lapels. He would make it through this, and he would be a better man on the other side. Not unstable, barely holding onto his sanity on a normal occasion and only just more so when she was around. When he pulled away, she set this belief in her heart. He would make it.

The third landing was quite impressive. It was a safe house done right, as Kahako would have not known such quaintness existed on the outside. Like a child in her aunt’s bakery, Kahako immediately became enamored by the display case in the corner filled with leafy greens and not-so-greens. Some of them, Kahako recognized from her studies with Kitsune, but she couldn’t quite place a name with many. But she could pick out a few. “Are those castor bean leaves?” She asked, pointing to a large, purple palm-like leaf with blood red stems. Curiosity taking hold of her, she momentarily ignored Keiji’s request and walked closer to the display case. “It is!” she said fascinated. “These usually only grow in the tropical regions of the world. With Mizu no Kuno now a frozen waste land, I was sure it would be nearly impossible to obtain these.” Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the glimpse of a red flower bearing pinkish-red berry-like pedals. “Ah! And that’s Lantana! If you boil it down with bittersweet nightshade,” she bent her knees to get a better look at the plant; balancing herself by crossing her arms around her legs to lock them, “it becomes a sweet wine that can double as a heavy poison.”

She looked up to the boy who was fiddling at his station and to Satou who had probably already moved towards one of the cots. Lifting herself, she walked over to the other cot and sat down. “It’s really hard to grow in our country, but it’s not impossible… how did you find it?” She began swaying her legs. There was something exciting about being able to discuss poisons with… well anyone. “I accidentally let the ones in my sensei’s garden die. She won’t be too happy with me when she returns.” She said, playing with the tails of her scarf a little, trying to calm her nervousness.

Once he responded to her inquiry, she asked another question. “I’m assuming since you have so many various plants, that you have something that will put us both to sleep?” She still had her guard up around Keiji, keeping a perky yet reserved attitude towards him. Simple logic told her that he was a demon hunter of some sort. If the poison and crossbows did not tell her this, at the very least his mentioning of a sempei killing a stone demon and just his overall knowledge of demons told her more about the boy than he was probably willing to admit. And because of it, she could only wonder what Keiji's intentions was towards Satou.

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

Satou spent little to no time laying down and grabbing the small styrofoam cup filled with the concoction that will help knock him out. He laid back and drank it in one go. He knew that there would be nothing else to this but a hard experience to overcome. But he wasn't afraid of the darkness. As he slipped into sleep, hearing Kahako ramble on bout Keiji's plant collection. Satou in his euphoric state could hear a pounding sound in his mind. Like a drum beating. Then the drug took its affect and the demon was out cold on the bed.

Keiji was watching Satou, his coral eyes gleaming as he scanned over some of the documents on his table before getting up and joining by Kahako, he was beginning to gain more interest in her. The way she acted, the personality. His face warmed, but quickly calming himself. There was no thought of companionship in his mind. He needed to steel himself. "You're quite perceptive to memorize plant types just by sight. Is this medical training or do you have an interest in deadly plants?" He gleamed as he pulled the jar off the shelf. He seemed rather enthusiastic when talking. "Ordered them from overseas, I also have my own greenhouse at my actual home. Also if you crush ripe lantana berries into a wine is most effecti-" He paused and scratched his chin. "Odd how I'm talking poisons. Never really got to have a conversation with someone about this sorts. Heh. But yes, Lantana." He put the jar back. "I can get any supplies I need for modest price, if you need anything you see here. Let me know." He sat back down, motioning to the bed and the small cup by the bedside.

"Its a simple potion, some herbs that help the body relax plus extracted juices from opium poppies. I put it together to help study the dreams. I couldn't get natural sleep when around him so I tried using this to force myself through the nightmares and events." When she would sit down, and take the cup for herself. He rolled over in his chair by her side. "Now, when you come to realize things are not going to seem right in his mind. Its distorted, time will not appear natural to what we experience when awake. Hours, days, weeks and months could transpire in seconds. You'll be out for roughly two hours, give or take your immune system and digestive system. I wish you luck. Be careful." He rolled back to his desk, then went to his papers to continue some other work. "If anything goes wrong i'll force you both out of sleep."
"Oh and sorry if its really bitter, I did'nt have time to formulate anything sweet because I hate sweet things."
His focus returned to his work.


Once consumed, she had roughly a few seconds to relax and lay back before passing out into a deep slumber. When her eyes closed, the darkness was there to greet her. The cold silence. She next would open her eyes to an open field of grass. Everything felt real, as though she was instantly transported to another country, a place in time that held beauty. an open field, mountains far off in the distance all around. the plains were calm, quiet. The breeze was cooling and before her stretched a simple looking rice village. It felt a sorts of nostalgia. As if she was here before but could not place a finger on it. A feeling of urgency would fill her. She could see people going about their dailies in the village from where she stood. She could see the people working the fields just off the side of the village. Suddenly the whole lot of them stopped to look up, the sound of something pounding in the air. It was faint at first, but everyone there was starting to hear it. The sounds of drums drumming, the sound of heavy beating drums coming from the mountains, from the far hills. The Ground was trembling, even from where Kahako stood.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

She caught it, the slight glimmer of his eyes before his face blanked out. He almost opened up to her, but just as quickly as the glimmer appeared, it vanished. Perception coupled with trust would give her the ability to read anyone's intentions. And there were many things she could do with the knowledge.

But Keiji still had reservations towards her even if his speech indicated she was getting somewhere. “It’s a little bit of both really.” Kahako said in appreciation. “My sensei was a chemist. Though she doesn’t specifically deal in poisons, she knows her way around the topic.” She watched him place the jar back onto the display. Her fingers were laced between each other as she looked over to Satou who seemed to have already wandered off into the land of dreams. “Since I wanted to focus on healing others, I also took to learning about poisonous plants. To know how a pathogen works and its symptoms is the first step to finding a cure. Poison is just the same.”

When he mentioned her needing anything, she looked away from Satou to smile to him. “Well, I don’t think I’ll need anything, but if you can get your hands on a sapling to replace my Sensei’s dead one. That would be great.” She chuckled lightly, “Though I should figure out how to keep it alive in the cold ground before I actually plant it.”

But alas, their chit chat soon died off as Keiji handed her the cup and explained what would happen. She would have to be careful with this. A drug like opium was highly addicting. “Don’t worry, I despise sweets as well. I will take bitterness any day.” With one fell swoop, she knocked the concoction back before laying down. It tasted like tea that had brewed for too long, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as sugar.

Soon, the feeling of drowsiness took away her conscious thought. Waking, she found herself staring at blades of grass. ‘odd…’ she thought to herself, sitting up and looking around at the world she was now in. "I have been here before," she said to herself, slowing being consumed by the dream. There was a feeling of calmness to this place. A feeling of remembrance… that couple with the need to do something… “This isn’t real.” She had to whisper to herself, but for a second she almost believed this world.

Then the drumming came. It rippled her through her core, making her feel uneasy. (Or was it the feeling of urgency?) But she had to do something. What was it? What did she have to do? She started to run to the villagers, urgency or not, maybe they would direct her towards the right path.

Before she reached the fields, Kahako paused. A thought occurred to her. Could she interact with the world? These were supposed to be Satou’s memories after all. Would she alter what he would remember if she tried to change anything? Could something as simple as stepping on a butterfly or crushing a grain of rice end up changing the man she knew? Was she only meant to watch what transpired, or pull through the muck of his mind?

The feeling of urgency would not be stopped, however, and the drumming was getting louder. It was calling her into action. Squaring her shoulders, Kahako jumped into the muddy field licking wet soil onto her boots and pants,careful to avoid the actual crops. Interaction or no, she would find out what was so urgent. “Oba-san, what is going on?” she called to a woman who had been tending to the rice. “What is this noise?”

She waited for a response.

MFT

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

The world felt as though trembling in fear. The sound of the march. The old women that had been tending to her fields. Gathering food for her fellow villagers and herself. To put food on the tables of this village. She stood now, the sound of the drummers took her breath away. Her eyes, lit with fear in them. She had the instinct as always to run from the drums. It was a warning to the village. Her eyes turned when hearing a voice. Seeing the face of someone so young. "The Demons come, run child. Run!" She screamed for Kahako to run as the women fled from the fields like she was on fire. Running to what looked like a temple of worship built of solid wood.

It was the sound of an approaching evil. An evil unlike Kahako could ever witness. From the distance of a mountain, the flames of torches lit up, the masses of hell spawn that lined the mountainside. It looked to grow and swallow the village whole. Hundreds of different shapes and sizes. Horns, tusks, fangs and claws. Eye's aglow with the thirst for bloodshed, even creatures without eyes, simply massive maw-like living things that slithered and curled along the ground. Amongst the waves of horror, Kahako could see the massive creatures in the horde lifting a giant throne of gold with a single slender individual sitting upon it, Kahako couldn't make out the figure from this distance.

As the hordes approached their size seemed to even dwarf buildings, their roars now deafening the sound of the war drum. The ground shook as though the earth would rise up and grumble underneath them. But not just the ground, but in the skies. The sun was beginning to be bloated out by an oncoming wave of flying beasts. Much like the ground troupes of the disfigured monstrosities, their counterparts in the air were in a variety of misshapen beasts.

In the village was chaos, people running to their holy place, some hid in homes. Some of the men stood to fight, either drunkenly coaxed to try and defend the village or were simply fools trying to defend those they loved and held dear to them. It was going to be a bloodbath, and what was Kahako going to do? Was she to face this alone? This horrible nightmare may just be that in her mind. But the fear felt oh so real, as well as another sensation. A presence that gave her comfort in the darkest hour. Her Companion was close by. The village?

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

She knew that the noise had to be bad news, but when the older lady did a hop, skip, and fifty yard dash for the temple, she realized that this might be really bad news. Turning back towards the hill in which she came, she could see the horde in its full, unholy glory… and paled quite a few shades. “Raiden help us,” she whispered. This was really, very bad news.

Kahako wasn’t a strategist, but she knew if 300 soldiers with one shinobi stood against 1000 men with none, the odds were seriously in the smaller army’s favor. But this… not even the strongest of her village could face a horde like this and survive. And everything felt so… real. As if she were no longer an observer, but physically transported herself into… whatever this was. Kahako balked at the thought before leaping with chakra induced legs to a high rooftop to get a better view of the world around her. ‘Can I die here?’ she wondered. If it all felt real to her now, would pain be the same way? Would a killing blow actually take to her body outside the dream?

There were so many variables, and she had no wish and no time to test any of them. "Shinbatsu-sama, give me strength..." After scanning the actual size of the horde, she looked to the village, her eyes filled with sorrow. This would be a blood bath that would only last a few moments. They didn’t need to hide, they needed to run. “Fly, you fools!” she desperately tried to yell to the men who feebly stood guard. “No one will remember this foolish bravery if you die.” Looking back to the army, she scanned to see how wide the masses were before leaping down and running for the temple.

Before making it, she felt Satou’s presence permeate the area. Why would he be here? Was he the one drawing the horde in? Looking for him while trying to save any villagers would be near impossible in the short moments before the evil consumed them all. Looking to her hand, she sighed. “Well, it’s time to test one theory,” she thought before performing a few handseals. A small, jagged fang made of water protruded from Kahako’s glove, in a quick, downward motion Kahako sliced a long gash upon her arm, letting it bleed profusely before taking her scarf from her neck and wrapping it.

No matter if this was memory or a dream, the demon inside Satou was still bound to her soul in the present day. It hungered for her blood, even if she did not know how much. Not matter what Satou she encountered here, Kahako knew that her scent and the dripping trails would lead him to her. If he was hostile? Well, she would deal with it when the time came.

Coming to the great doors of the temple, Kahako pushed them open with both arms and all her strength, ignoring the pain if there was any. “Please,” she said in a huff, grabbing her knees to catch her breath. Maybe taking blood from herself at the hospital today wasn’t the best of ideas. “We will all die if we stay here. We need to run. I am a kunoichi of Kumogakure. I have a plan that might save all of our lives if you follow me.” She looked up to the people in the room.

The nightmare was becoming more of a reality. It was getting harder to believe it was a dream. But the determination to find Satou kept her just barely grounded.

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

The world itself began to look more hellish as the army of devils and demons approached, the overwhelming stench of death began to linger down the hillside as they slowly marched, not even in a rush to destroy this small insignificant village. As the girl ran into the town to plead with the village men to pull back and flee from what would seem like an impossible battle. What few men there did not seem afraid. The looked to her, their eyes cold as tempered steel. These men were probably trained well through their lives, and resided her as retired warriors. "We need not let fear threaten here child, not with the lord watching over us. He sent his cursed child to us. Go to the Chapel!"

The farmers stood guard still, persistent, foolish perhaps? But their determination was not going to be simply swayed by some strange girl running to them and pleading them to abandon their positions. And none of them seemed to bother her when she wounded herself but were slightly taken back from the use of the girls Jutsu. Some were whispering things like "Witch" or "Sorceress". Pain shot through her arm just as it would if one cut themselves outside this hellish dream. Pain was pain, maybe death was truth as well.

When Kahako ran to the temple and opened its doors she would see hundred of women,children and even some men. All eyes filled with fear and terror, the children crying, babies whining for comfort. The temple looked like many others, but at the alter was not a god of Kumogakure origin or any other she's seen. It was of a man of long fair hair and white robes, a halo about the mans head and his arms outstretch to the people who were kneeling before it and praying in some strange foreign language. The people themselves looked much different then the people of Kahako's nation or country. Either they were foreigners from another land, or she was the foreigner in an entirely different country. But their words translated perfectly for Kahako to understand them. Only when unfocused does their words revert to a foreign tongue.

The Elderly women from before approached Kahako, a look of worry on her face. "Child, what nonsense you speak of, what is a Kuno-thing or what you said. And where is this Kumo place you speak of? Do you come from across the seas like the demon child?" She motions to a stairwell as a tall thin young man came up the stairs.Covered in dirtied garbs that were probably once pearly white, now in tatters. His hair a mess, long and frilled in split ends, his glowing red eyes piercing through the strands of hair. People back away from him. Some people right up to the walls or clung to their idol god and held their young in protective disdain as the man approached the Elderly women. Producing shackled hands. At closer look, Kahako would determine him the same age as herself.

"May god be with you child." She undoes the cuffs with an old rusted key. And the young man replies. "He abandoned me a long time ago." He barely even takes not of Kahako before leaving the temple, but he stops. Ganders to her, his soft crimson eyes staring at her, then his eyes look to her arm. He was moving closer, but the elderly women stepped between them. "No! She is not the offering demon, go, do your evil as we agreed. You will have your meal, after you sin." And with that, the soft red eyes left Kahako and continued outside the temple.


The light burned his eyes when the doors opened. His throat felt dry as dust, his hands were sore from the cuffs. Massaging his wrists as he walked, his eyes scanning the horizon as the sun began to disappear behind the clouds of hell spawn in the sky. The world coated in darkness. But he did not feel fear in his body, what began to well up was not dismay of any sorts, no, it was hunger. Greed filled him alongside the sensation of impending bloodshed. The thrill, he could hardly contain his form and composure once at the edge of town. He was radiating blood thirst, his aura like a wisp of black mist that spread along the ground. The guards who once stood to protect the village, were now leaving and fleeing to the temple to guard the people.

The old women began tending to Kahako's arm. Her withered old hands laid gently over the wounded arm. "May gods love heal all wounds." She whispered as a bright shimmering light radiated from the women's hands. The pain began to ebb away from the wound, blood clotted and began to heal. It was rather an annoying feeling then discomforting or painful, once the light faded the wound was gone, not even scar tissue. "Be careful child, you do not want blood spilled around the son of Satan, less you wish to be consumed by the vile life drinker." She spat ill words of the young man who was now facing a horde of monsters. "Why come here child, what do you think we to do in this dire time?"

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Pain rang through her arm, letting her know that there were dangers to what she was doing now and death was a very real possibility. When she looked up she saw many people in the small temple. Women, children… innocent people that would be slaughtered by the creatures that came. Yet none of them had any interest in running. Many even ignored her statement.

But the elder from before approached. Calming the kunoichi as if she were the one in an irrational state of panic. “Across the seas?” she said, looking around at the faces of others. They all looked so different from her. Their language would only translate when she focused, and the great Kumogakure was not even known to these people… then Kahako remembered. Satou had once told her that he came from a foreign country. Was this a memory of his homeland?

Kahako’s eyes followed the woman’s gesture, landing her eyes on a man she would have no recollection of. He was thin, shaggy, and malnourished. The shackles that bound his arms clinked with each step he took down the stairs. The people gave him a wide berth, of which he seemed not to mind…. or grew accustomed to long ago. "May god be with you child," the old woman muttered when she unshackled his chains.

"He abandoned me a long time ago," came his reply.

Red eyes of a predator drew Kahako in. Instinctively, she lifted her arm and took a step back, so many memories from her childhood rushed back to her. “Satou?” she whispered to deaf ears. The young man did not recognize her stepping towards her with unknown intentions. She immediately felt it. It wasn’t fear. It was her body alerting her to danger. This man… this Satou, if it was him, is dangerous. Defensively, Kahako stepped away, prepared to protect herself if need be, but the old woman intervened before she would have to. "No! She is not the offering demon, go, do your evil as we agreed. You will have your meal, after you sin." Instinctually, Kahako stepped closer to the old woman. The demon seemed to mind her, and soon those predatory eyes wandered away and out of the door.

She watched him from the doorway as the old woman reached for her arm. First, he massaged his wrists, the shackles must have been kept no him at all times. "May gods love heal all wounds." Kahako looked down shortly at the old woman’s words and watched her wound heal as if the woman used a healing jutsu. The irritating itch caused her hand to flex slightly, but she did not give it much thought, turning back to the coming battlefield before them. She watched the black mist that she had seen once before loom around him. Anyone caught in that would immediately be affected.

"Be careful child, you do not want blood spilled around the son of Satan, less you wish to be consumed by the vile life drinker." She spat ill words of the young man who was now facing a horde of monsters. "Why come here child, what do you think we to do in this dire time?" Silence answered the old lady for a time as she watched the young man’s back.

‘That’s right…’ she thought to herself. These were memories, weren’t they. Whatever was happening now had already happened. This was not her present; it was his past. Like Keiji said, maybe the demon inside of Satou was only going to let her go along for the ride. That was her role here, wasn’t it? To see if the demon would show her and Satou the truth.

“I do not know what to do in this moment of chaos.” She finally responded to the old woman. This didn’t sit well with her, though. Watching the events just... transpire. Sitting to the side while the man before them faced the horde alone. “Even with all of my training, I am afraid of what I see before me… I want to run and cower and hide… but…” Kahako paused, looking at her own hands. The slight scar of a bite mark at her wrist. It was one of many, just veiled so the old woman would not be able to see. Eyes set in determination. “He told me to stay strong. Even if his evil consumes me, I will not go back on my promise to him to remain so.” She then bowed to the woman. "Thank you for your kindness, Oba-san."

Despite the woman’s words of protest, Kahako darted out of the chapel. Running as fast as she could, she ran up to the young man, stopping some feet away from his aura. Without thinking, Kahako reached down, grabbed a small pebble, and chucking it as hard as she could at the boy’s head. “You idiot.” She yelled over the inhuman screeches. Her eyes were fierce as chakra laced her arms and legs, keeping her eyes trained on the first wave of evil that was within feet of them both. She prepared hand signs to move into her first attack. “Didn’t I already tell you that you’re not alone? Maybe all the gods in the world abandoned you, but I will not.” Slowly, she bent down, sweeping her arms up in a graceful manor. Slowly, water from the earth and the grass life around her hovered in the air, ready and willing to use at her command. She could not fight the horde, but she would trust in Satou’s strength and try to support him where it failed.

Let us not curse the darkness, let us kindle little lights...

MFT

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

As the pebble soared through the air, before it reached Satou's head it stopped. It had halted and stayed byt a few feet from hitting Satou. Everything went dead silent. The dust, the wind, all sound had ceased. All movement had ceased.
Yet, she could move, she could breath. If she looked past Satou, the horde of demons that approached had halted as well in stride. The creatures in the sky, stuck like a bunch of the ugliest marionettes.
It was only seconds of time to analyze what was happening before a child popped into existence right beside Kahako. "Damn, that would of stung a bit if that hit him. Heh." The child flicked his finger in said general direction and the rock goes flying off into space. The boy was dressed in pristine white clothing that fit him perfectly. His hair was a mess of black strands, his bright red eyes looking up at Kahako. "Oh, hey there, I see another human has popped into my brain." The child bowed to her in a polite manner. " Nice to meet you human, I am...." He paused and looked confused, he scratched his chin and turned away in thought.
"I kinda got a lot of names over the years from you creatures. Some of the languages I could never pronounced properly, this whole human jaw thing is quite annoying. Ke-tsu-eki Sa-Ta-ou...Yeah." He turned back. "Ketsueki Satou is my name so far. As is the body over there getting really angry, and very hungry." He did a swirling jesture at his older counterpart.
"Now I know you're probably freaking out in that noggin of yours about all of this right now. But I'll start our little chat with this. I don't have much time to explain all of this crazy shit that is about to happen, but I will tell you. You're here, right now. Playing the scenario from someones eyes who has been here and who has heard the voices of these people and who was with Satou at this time." The boy snapped his fingers and in front of Kahako appeared a girl, her hair was much longer then Kahako's, but she was almost spiting image of her.
The boy let her take it in for a moment. "Her name is Sukino, she was brought overseas to this continent with Satou to start a new life together. He fell in love with her and both took off across the world together. But being born with a demon inside of you doesn't really bring the best of luck. And it just so happened when we arrived to this continent, it was already ruled by a very old and powerful demon king and queen. You'll see them showing up soon. So i'll answer a few questions before I go back to my room." He giggles.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

To be suddenly cut off from the world around you is a jarring experience. It wasn’t the sound of the monsters before them suddenly being cut off or the rock she just threw at his head floating mere feet from its target that made her mind reel. It was the lack of control she had on the water that was now suspended around her. It wouldn’t move despite her best effort, and that made her powerless and panicked.

"Damn, that would of stung a bit if that hit him. Heh."

Standing next to her, a young boy with dark hair effortlessly redirected her stone away from the stationary man. She stood awed as the boy introduced himself as Satou’s counterpart. The pieces fell in place for her as he explained the situation, and why she was able to talk to others in this dream. But when the demon showed her what she looked like to others, Kahako balked.

It was the same emerald green eyes, the same dark hair that looked brown only when the light shown on it at a certain angle. Everything about the girl in front of Kahako was a mirror image to who Kahako was now, except Kahako’s hair was much shorter. “Why does she look so much like me?” she had to ask first. There were probably a thousand better questions to ask in the short amount of time she had. Reaching out to the image, Kahako watched as her fingers caused a ripple in the body before her, as if she touched still water. “And demon king and queen? There are such things?” She turned to the boy, finally getting a good look at the actual demon Ketsueki Satou for the first time.

As he answered her first questions, Kahako fully turned to him. “Of all the forms I imagined you would take in front of me,” she giggled a little rubbing her face at the oddness of the situation, “A child in a white suit was not one of them. Though I’m guessing you did so I could be more receptive to what you are telling me.” In truth, Kahako had been prepared for some horrific grotesque being much like the horde before them. Maybe even some tall human-like monster with horns and a cape. A child dressed to the nines was definitely not on her list of ‘Images Satou the Great Demon could take.’

“If we have a limited time, then, please, at least let me know this: Sukino… was she a chakra user like myself? Or will my… role, I guess I would call it… be limited to watching my friend go through all of this chaos alone?” A frown was on her face as she asked. What would cause the demon to come out of his room? What could and couldn’t she do for Satou here? “I guess I’m asking because I don’t want to tamper with your memories. I don’t want to change his past, I just want him to be able to find and remember it.”

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

The boy paced about, his long frayed black hair waved to and fro as he walked. Looking between Sukino and Kahako, he himself pondered that question. "Years I've spent wondering, maybe an ancestor of yours perhaps? Maybe that explains the reason for such fondness to come creeping up into my skull when I sleep, he tries to remember her." Panning back at the display of Satou standing against many. "Demons were an extensive threat that hid in the darkness of this world. Our lives are much like humans back in those days, we were ruled by the strong and guided by those with great leadership and intuition on how we as a species were to survive. Some followed stronger demons, others simply wandered this world reveling amongst humans. My beloved self was one of those demons, I would take what I want, and listen to no one but myself. And that drew the attention of a very powerful and old demon. One I knew personally as my former self but in my human vessel, I couldn't remember more then my own name." The demon child turned his soft ruby eyes back to Kahako. The boy snapped his fingers and a nice furnished wooden chair with a flowery pillow popped into existence behind her.

He moved forward to have her sit, as he snapped himself a identical chair for himself to sit down. "The sad part is I wish I could speak to you in my true self, but that would be impossible. My natural tongue can't produce the same noises you creatures make with your mouths, it would come out garbled or sound much like a beast ready to devour the world. And the form would be too large for this place, you're body right now would only scale to the size of what would equate to my fingernail." He held up his pinky finger, pointing to the nail. "Though soon enough you'll see what I truly look like through these dreams of mine. This is the one time Satou let go of himself, to save her." He looked to Sukino who was just a few feet away. His eyes seem to soften when looking at her. "Humans fascinate me, there is something I need to learn from them. I'm not sure what, but maybe, just maybe." Looking at Kahako with a large happy grin. "I'm hoping you could show me what I'm missing?"

Her next question was easy for him, he nodded. "Like I said, this is a new story to tell. I can change the images, the background, subplot, you name it. Sukino was a normal human, she was weak, she did not have the same strengths and training like yourself. And, in a way, that weakness is to blame for what happened to my Vessel over the years. The events you'll get to see will also be opened back up to him, he will remember things that will most definitely hurt him. Memories that may even sour his personality, Of course, you'll get first glance. And since you are the Master now, you will decide if he should remember or not. Of course I'll alter you into this little recording of thoughts, I could make you out to be his girlfriend, a lover, a companion of travel? Up to you. But he will forget of Sukino, you will take her role. And I'm so excited to see how things turn out!" The boy jumped in his seat, almost showing a childish side to him.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

As she sat in a plush chair, surrounded by the dawn of what would only be a gruesome battle, Kahako couldn’t help but feel… odd as she spoke civilly to the young Satou. How could something so old and powerful still have such a child-like innocence about them? She shook her head. “No, I don’t want him to forget about Sukino.” She looked to the image when he did, not without noticing the softening of his eyes.

Would she be blessing or cursing Satou for helping him remember? Only by finding out what happened would she know. “I do wonder if maybe it would be better that he doesn’t remember the pain. Maybe if I altered what he remembered, it wouldn’t be so harsh. But… then I think about what would happen if this was my mind… if it was my memories with Satou that I was walking through.” She looked back at the boy. “No matter how horrible our end had become, I would never want to forget about you, at least, not the important things.”

She stood then, admitting to herself that she needed to learn about both sides of Satou. She always thought that the demon was some awful monster, but… what if he wasn’t? Walking over to the boy, she crouched until she was eye level with him. “I’m glad I finally got to meet you though. You are not at all who I thought you would be.” she smiled sincerely before pulling the boy into a hug. “I will play my part as Sukino as best I can, but I as Higa Kahako will not stand aside and allow him to fight through the memories alone. Change them if you must, but please…” She hugged the demon a little tighter accepting this part of Satou, just as she accepted the human side. She saw something that akin to compassion towards the image earlier, and for now she would rescind her judgment, “by the end of it, try not to be the only one who will remember the real Sukino.” She pulled away from him, smiling and prepared for history to continue. “Because, no matter how much I look like her, I do not want to replace her precious memories in his and your mind. I want to make my own.”

[MFT]

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

As the demon child sat so patiently with this girl and looked so enthralled and delighted. His childish eyes gleamed a soft tranquil red glow when Kahako spoke so honestly about how she felt if she were in Satou's shoes. "Such a lovely a perfect answer, now I know I chose the right one." The boy gave a bit of a giggle when the girl came forward and offered an embrace to him, to speak such soft words. As he stood, he was about the height to rest his cheek against her stomach. His thin arms wrapped around her. When holding him, she could feel how malnourished his form was. Under the robes the child was gauntly thin. "What happens to you here, you will end up taking back with you. If you are harmed or even killed in his dreams. You're mind might be effected or damaged. Please be careful." He whispered the last part before letting her go and sitting back down.

"I'll try not to be a bother. I'll be around If you get in a pinch and need a break." He snapped his fingers and was gone the next second. The memory continue on.

Sukino stood before her, screaming Satou's name as she collapsed to the ground as she tried to draw closer to him. His blackened aura grew to such lengths that it past Kahako's feet and continued to expand. Bubbling chakra began to surface from the ground, forming odd shapes and textures, as if gathering together to take one massive column form. The spire of chakra began to twist and forma a massive serpent like creature, its body was made up of black vile chakra, its flesh was not skin but blackened muck, maws of demonic creatures spanned all along the massive horror. And at its top was a jaw that opened wide enough, the creature could swallow the village whole. It had no face or eyes from ones perspective, it was just a Wyrm creature the size of towers from Kahako's village.

Its cry was loud and deafening, like thousands of screaming mouths echoing yards around. Kahako was close enough that the sound vibrated her entire being, vision shaking and rattling her. Sukino was unconscious on the ground.

Satou standing in the middle of the spire of flesh, in darkness he let the demon take over. Unleashing it like this was a dangerous test of how much control he had. The creatures massive mouth opened and what looked as though it stretched out to reach the sky, a heat began to pour out as a blast of some sort engulfed the sky in flames. The demons that once soared through the air were now screaming as they plummeted in flames. Leaving the fields of grass stained in demonic burnt corpses. The air reeking of death as thousands died. The massive breath attack was soon pointed towards the ground. Again, the violent inhuman screams and the blast that shattered along the earth, burning the army thin. As hordes turned to ash. Leaving but scattered fields of flames and death. Everything was set ablaze before the towering horror.

But even with all this destruction and devastation before Kahako. The beast began to tremble and break apart into a mass of decade chakra and fade into the ground. The earth beneath her feet began to dry out and die, the ground began hard and desolate. Even the land these people once worked on was now ruined by demons blood and power.

Satou had collapsed to his knees, weakened, hungry. Everything looked blurry. His muscles felt heavy and weak. As though he couldn't move an inch from where he knelt. Even turning his head to look back at Sukino's unconscious body almost caused him to black out. But he had to get up, he could feel another presence still nearby. A looming terror, an aura much like his own. A feeling of death approaching as two human form demon appeared through the smoldering smoke and flames.

One being a male of long raven black hair and fair pale marble white skin. His eyes a golden flare as his thin yet muscular body is draped in red satin cloth. His form held some demonic traits. Two pairs of horns, the larger of the two twisting outward while the other pair were shorter and pointing down. On his back spanned two bat-like wings and devils tail swayed to and fro behind him. Be the males side was his female counterpart. a caramel skinned women with long flowing red hair and deep forest green eyes, full lips and body to match her exquisite pristine face. Her choice of clothing was even lesser then the male demon, white see through cloth that covered her like a dress but revealed every part of her. yet her form and grace showed pride in her body. She as well had the same features as the male.

Both stood before the kneeling Satou and unconscious girl not that far behind him. The male simply walked over to Satou, Knelt down and hefted Satou up by his neck till his legs dangled beneath him. Strangling him, Satou was slowly losing consciousness as the Demon spoke. "You are rather pathetic, using that much power with so little strength left. Though I should crush you now for killing my servants, you could prove useful to me, and rather fun to watch you squirm when your human play thing is toy with by another." The demon licked his lips, excited with anticipation. Satou barely got a word out before being hurled into a nearby home. The building collapsing on top of him.

Sukino was the snatched up by the women and both demons took off to the skies into the clouds of smoke disappearing without a trace.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

The shrill scream that came from her throat was not of her doing, but she could hear only her own voice as she screeched Satou’s name. She never knew, never truly understood how much Satou held back when he was around her. Now. Now came the skin-crawling truth to the small, frail boy she was hugging only moments before.

Kahako fell to her knees. Whether it was the dream forcing her to or of her own accord she did not know, but it was all the same. The… monster… before her… she expected something terrible, but it still filled her with fear. She felt the heat. She heard the screams. She smelt the burning flesh and felt the earth die around her. Kahako knew, on a primal level, one that she knew was her own, that even the water in the earth was tainted, poisoned beyond remedy.

But All Kahako could understand was the pressure. The suffocating aura that surrounded her. There were also lights. Fire, maybe… the ground blocked most of her vision. Wait…’When was I on the ground?’ she asked herself. But she couldn’t move. Kahako was exhausted and losing consciousness. Was Satou’s true Aura that daunting? But it wasn’t over. Just as the last of her vision left her, another terrifying presence fell upon her, and in her line of sight, a pair of delicate boots.
______________

There was nothing but wind now. A cold gale blew through her hair, the ends slapped violently across her cheeks. Why was she moving so fast? Slowly she opened her eyes. The land rushed by, colors swimming past her eyes. Lifting her head, Kahako looked to the thing that was carrying her. A most beautiful, yet terrible woman held onto her. She could still feel the awful pressure, but would tried not to scream. After all, the ground was very far away, and the warning the demon Satou gave was still fresh in her mind. “Where are you taking me?” she whispered weakly. She fought to stay conscious, but it wouldn’t last long unless the aura was lifted.