That day, so many years ago, was the day my life changed forever. Well, you could argue that it all began back on that mission out of the village to spirit away those ancient gauntlets... yes, that's better. My life changed on that mission. But now, I became aware of that change...
I really don't remember a lot about my journey from the gates to the hospital, but I was told later that I was in a strange daze. I was told I kept mumbling on and on about the "voice in my chest" and, though I appeared to be conscious, I wouldn't respond to anything that the ANBU unit rushing me to the hospital would do. What I DO remember is that I, once again, slipped into a coma, so soon after I'd recovered from my last one. This is where the real story begins.
I awoke, or seemingly awoke, in my own mind--a TARDIS, if you will. I vaguely knew that I was not actually conscious, but as to what state I was in, I knew not. To this day, I don't know whether I had briefly passed into the next life, or if I had remained on the early plane, but I do know that wherever I was, I would get back to reality. My will was strong.
As I looked around, I took in my surroundings. I was in the middle of a great plain, tall grass growing to my knees in every direction as far as the eye could see. Yellow and red flowers speckled the field, painting it with a cheerful, happy tones, matching the bright blue, cloudless sky above me. Small fauna, namely rabbits and other ground creatures, scampered across the ground, visible only by the rustling of grass as they passed through its blades. All was peaceful. All was harmonious.
Until I turned around.
Before me stood a... a... a thing. I don't know what it was! I was big... at least eight feet tall, and purple. It resembled a bug; it had enormous, insect-like wings, huge razor claws, and spikes growing out of its shoulders. It had huge, eight-inch long claws on its feet, not unlike a velociraptor's. Two jointed antenna protruded backwards from a small, slick head. Its jagged teeth were bloodied, and in its long arms it held a small rabbit, the top half of its body missing. The creature made a slurping noise, then dropped the rest of its meal, its eyes now fixed on a more worthy meal: me. Or so I had thought.</COLOR>
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"So," it said in a deathly, scratched voice. "You're the human I ended up in."
"I... uh... you're talking to me?" I stuttered, shocked both because it could talk, and that I was still alive.
"Do you see anyone else around? You aren't slow, are you?"
"I--I mean, no, I was just... you can... what ARE you?"
The creature audibly sighed, then flared its wings a little and wiggled his claws. At the time, I had no idea what it mean, but now I know that it was most likely some expression known to its kind to show annoyance, much like we humans might roll our eyes.
"My name is Youko. I'm a demon. Still with me?"[/b] he said, sarcasm lacing his voice. "Don't worry. I'm not here to try to escape and wreak havoc on everyone you know. I don't want to."
"Well that's good... uh... what ARE you here for then?"
"It's a long story, so sit down and let me begin."
I did, not wanting to question it.
"As I said, my name is Youko, and I am a demon. I was about a millennium ago in the Underworld, but that is all I will speak of that matter. Do not ask me about it again. The important parts of my history are later in my life... the first thing you'll ever hear about me happened one day a few hundred years ago while I visited the Overworld: I was attacked by another demon named Rikuko, a great lion-like demon infamous in the Underworld for hunting, and devouring, other demons. He was ultimately banned from the Underworld, doomed to forever walk your earthly plane. Rikuko nearly immediately killed me, but I was quick; I attacked when he thought I should have been dead, and as a result, I managed to grasp enough time to get up and run. He gave chase, but I was quicker than he, and I escaped with my life hanging on a thread."
Still sitting, I noticed that Youko shook his body, much like a bird would when ruffling its feathers. I assumed it was like we humans would get a chill down our spine when we think of something that scares us.
"After I recovered, I sought revenge on Rikuko. Unfortunately, I was far too weak to ever fight him and live again, and I knew this. So, I sought to become stronger, far stronger than Rikuko ever could be. I left the Underworld for a period of a hundred years, during which I learned to hunt greater and more worthy prey. I learned to kill even a Sunan Sandworm, and when even that wasn't enough, I turned to man. When in a corner, man becomes incredibly resourceful; they were an incredible prey. However, man, too, grew old, too easy. So I turned to my own kind: fellow demons. I learned to kill them, quickly, coldly, efficiently, and en masse. Ultimately, I, too, was cast out of the Underworld. With no demons to hunt, I turned back to man, specifically shinobi. Unfortunately, the first one I met was a master of seals: I was sealed within a pair of gauntlets for... I don't know how long. I can only assume it was around two hundred years. Each day, I sought my escape... but alas, there was none other than time. My only hope was the fact that with each passing moment, the seal weakened slightly. By two hundred years' time, all that remained of the seal was a weak joke of a jutsu, something I could have broken with breath blown too hard in its general direction. But I didn't escape, because I had a plan: if I could attach myself inside a shinobi, I could grow with him. I could use that person's body as a vessel with which I may grow stronger. I awaited a shinobi who I sensed to be strong enough... you. WHen you grabbed the gauntlets, I began seeping my way into your body... hence your coma."
I blinked.
"You have chakra just seeping out of your body. I took this as a sign that you may be something great... please don't prove me wrong. So. You may be wondering what that pain in your chest was just now, no?"
"I suppose that was rather obvious, wasn't it?"
"I sensed Rikuko once again. He is back... and he has found me. When I sensed him, I sought to flee your body and escape, lest he attack and kill us both, but it was of no use; I could not escape your body. You have a Lunar Seal on your chest, and it prevents my escape. So it looks like I'm here to stay, whether you like it or not."
I sighed... it was a lot to take in. I didn't quite understand how a cursed seal could bind a demon, but I didn't question it. Perhaps it was because the seal bound all the chakra in my body to it? And now that he was in me, he, too, was bound by it? Now that I think about it, that makes sense... But wait...
"But where was RIkuko then? Demons are not invisible... are they?"
"Not Rikuko, no. He was in the shinobi you stopped at the gates, like I am in you now. Wasn't that obvious?"
"But then... I need to find out who he is! I have to report him if it's an undocumented demon inside him!"
"Whatever you do, boy, do not go near Rikoku! If he senses my presence, as he surely will, he will most likely kill me! I am still far too weak to stand up to him, and if I'M too weak, you definitely are! And if the shinobi he possessed is skilled as well, we may as well throw our lives to hell!"
"Ugh... true... but I have report it, or at least make sure that Rikuko has been documented. If he has, we can find out the name of the person he's indwelled... and avoid him, I guess."
"Not a bad plan."
"Alright then... I need to wake up."
"So do it. This is your mind; you control everything here."
Youko's words faded into the distance, echoing against my mind for an eternity, until I, at last, was once again amongst the conscious.
[A-Rank: 1 hour until topic left]
I really don't remember a lot about my journey from the gates to the hospital, but I was told later that I was in a strange daze. I was told I kept mumbling on and on about the "voice in my chest" and, though I appeared to be conscious, I wouldn't respond to anything that the ANBU unit rushing me to the hospital would do. What I DO remember is that I, once again, slipped into a coma, so soon after I'd recovered from my last one. This is where the real story begins.
I awoke, or seemingly awoke, in my own mind--a TARDIS, if you will. I vaguely knew that I was not actually conscious, but as to what state I was in, I knew not. To this day, I don't know whether I had briefly passed into the next life, or if I had remained on the early plane, but I do know that wherever I was, I would get back to reality. My will was strong.
As I looked around, I took in my surroundings. I was in the middle of a great plain, tall grass growing to my knees in every direction as far as the eye could see. Yellow and red flowers speckled the field, painting it with a cheerful, happy tones, matching the bright blue, cloudless sky above me. Small fauna, namely rabbits and other ground creatures, scampered across the ground, visible only by the rustling of grass as they passed through its blades. All was peaceful. All was harmonious.
Until I turned around.
Before me stood a... a... a thing. I don't know what it was! I was big... at least eight feet tall, and purple. It resembled a bug; it had enormous, insect-like wings, huge razor claws, and spikes growing out of its shoulders. It had huge, eight-inch long claws on its feet, not unlike a velociraptor's. Two jointed antenna protruded backwards from a small, slick head. Its jagged teeth were bloodied, and in its long arms it held a small rabbit, the top half of its body missing. The creature made a slurping noise, then dropped the rest of its meal, its eyes now fixed on a more worthy meal: me. Or so I had thought.</COLOR>
"So," it said in a deathly, scratched voice. "You're the human I ended up in."
"I... uh... you're talking to me?" I stuttered, shocked both because it could talk, and that I was still alive.
"Do you see anyone else around? You aren't slow, are you?"
"I--I mean, no, I was just... you can... what ARE you?"
The creature audibly sighed, then flared its wings a little and wiggled his claws. At the time, I had no idea what it mean, but now I know that it was most likely some expression known to its kind to show annoyance, much like we humans might roll our eyes.
"My name is Youko. I'm a demon. Still with me?"[/b] he said, sarcasm lacing his voice. "Don't worry. I'm not here to try to escape and wreak havoc on everyone you know. I don't want to."
"Well that's good... uh... what ARE you here for then?"
"It's a long story, so sit down and let me begin."
I did, not wanting to question it.
"As I said, my name is Youko, and I am a demon. I was about a millennium ago in the Underworld, but that is all I will speak of that matter. Do not ask me about it again. The important parts of my history are later in my life... the first thing you'll ever hear about me happened one day a few hundred years ago while I visited the Overworld: I was attacked by another demon named Rikuko, a great lion-like demon infamous in the Underworld for hunting, and devouring, other demons. He was ultimately banned from the Underworld, doomed to forever walk your earthly plane. Rikuko nearly immediately killed me, but I was quick; I attacked when he thought I should have been dead, and as a result, I managed to grasp enough time to get up and run. He gave chase, but I was quicker than he, and I escaped with my life hanging on a thread."
Still sitting, I noticed that Youko shook his body, much like a bird would when ruffling its feathers. I assumed it was like we humans would get a chill down our spine when we think of something that scares us.
"After I recovered, I sought revenge on Rikuko. Unfortunately, I was far too weak to ever fight him and live again, and I knew this. So, I sought to become stronger, far stronger than Rikuko ever could be. I left the Underworld for a period of a hundred years, during which I learned to hunt greater and more worthy prey. I learned to kill even a Sunan Sandworm, and when even that wasn't enough, I turned to man. When in a corner, man becomes incredibly resourceful; they were an incredible prey. However, man, too, grew old, too easy. So I turned to my own kind: fellow demons. I learned to kill them, quickly, coldly, efficiently, and en masse. Ultimately, I, too, was cast out of the Underworld. With no demons to hunt, I turned back to man, specifically shinobi. Unfortunately, the first one I met was a master of seals: I was sealed within a pair of gauntlets for... I don't know how long. I can only assume it was around two hundred years. Each day, I sought my escape... but alas, there was none other than time. My only hope was the fact that with each passing moment, the seal weakened slightly. By two hundred years' time, all that remained of the seal was a weak joke of a jutsu, something I could have broken with breath blown too hard in its general direction. But I didn't escape, because I had a plan: if I could attach myself inside a shinobi, I could grow with him. I could use that person's body as a vessel with which I may grow stronger. I awaited a shinobi who I sensed to be strong enough... you. WHen you grabbed the gauntlets, I began seeping my way into your body... hence your coma."
I blinked.
"You have chakra just seeping out of your body. I took this as a sign that you may be something great... please don't prove me wrong. So. You may be wondering what that pain in your chest was just now, no?"
"I suppose that was rather obvious, wasn't it?"
"I sensed Rikuko once again. He is back... and he has found me. When I sensed him, I sought to flee your body and escape, lest he attack and kill us both, but it was of no use; I could not escape your body. You have a Lunar Seal on your chest, and it prevents my escape. So it looks like I'm here to stay, whether you like it or not."
I sighed... it was a lot to take in. I didn't quite understand how a cursed seal could bind a demon, but I didn't question it. Perhaps it was because the seal bound all the chakra in my body to it? And now that he was in me, he, too, was bound by it? Now that I think about it, that makes sense... But wait...
"But where was RIkuko then? Demons are not invisible... are they?"
"Not Rikuko, no. He was in the shinobi you stopped at the gates, like I am in you now. Wasn't that obvious?"
"But then... I need to find out who he is! I have to report him if it's an undocumented demon inside him!"
"Whatever you do, boy, do not go near Rikoku! If he senses my presence, as he surely will, he will most likely kill me! I am still far too weak to stand up to him, and if I'M too weak, you definitely are! And if the shinobi he possessed is skilled as well, we may as well throw our lives to hell!"
"Ugh... true... but I have report it, or at least make sure that Rikuko has been documented. If he has, we can find out the name of the person he's indwelled... and avoid him, I guess."
"Not a bad plan."
"Alright then... I need to wake up."
"So do it. This is your mind; you control everything here."
Youko's words faded into the distance, echoing against my mind for an eternity, until I, at last, was once again amongst the conscious.
[A-Rank: 1 hour until topic left]