Well you don't have to wait too long. Thanks for the ego-boosting review.
Chapter 1, PG-13 for language. It’ll probably go up to about PG-15 in later chapters for blood, but there isn’t any in this.
Chapter 1: The Girl With The Heart Of Gold, The Demon With The Heart Of A Hero, And The Serpent With The Heart Of A Chicken
A mere coincidence.
When you first see a detail to your life, immediately after it happens, that is all it will ever seem.
A random meeting, a single act, nothing important.
But yet, a mere coincidence can be the start of your destiny. Every one guiding you along the path of life.
Fate creates coincidences that weave our destiny.
In short, a coincidence is never ‘mere’. No matter what it is, in honesty, it can and usually is, the greatest thing that will happen.
The Words Of A Demon Who Has Walked Down All His Paths
A full moon shone through the pitch dark sky. In it’s light, four creatures ran. Three demons, their power only enhanced more by the white light that shone down on them. The fourth, a sin to their world. A half demon, only pure in the light of the same quality.
Behind them raced a group of creatures, much like the three, all enhanced by the moon above them. Huge, hulking oni*, their massive bulk not reducing their speed any less, merely making them fiercer.
The largest of the four who ran to survive, a long red dragon, turned to face the ogreous creatures. His orange eyes reflected the moon, as he opened his canine mouth. The symbol of fire, two roofs each with a dot on each side, burned a fierce red, as he let out a loud roar.
“Midnight Blaze!” as he let out his battle cry, white and black flames erupted from behind his gleaming fangs. The flames rushed across the ground, scaring the oni back. With a sweep of his long tail, the inugami** turned to rejoin his companions. The smallest one of them, the half demon turned to the dragon like creature.
“Thanks,” he said, his light brown coat rustling in the gentle wind that blew past them. The large, serpentine creature snorted, it’s huge cream antlers rising up on it’s head.
“Lucifer told me to guard you, that is what I do,” his face and tone showed his distaste for his job. The second largest of the four, a huge sky blue bird, let out a laugh.
“Cane, cheer up, we haven’t had this much fun since we helped that Nekomata***,” his yellow beak gleamed with the grin he was making obvious to his partner guardian. His huge blue wings beat, as his streaming tail flowed behind him.
“Subame, you know we don’t talk of her. That was a segment of my life I’d rather forget,” the last of the four, a tall wolf with grey fur looked between the two. The small fox let out a loud chuckle. He always found it funny how uptight Cane was. The black masked wolf creature let out a dry cough.
“Umm, not meaning to step out of place Mr. Subame and Cane, but maybe we should try to lose their scent? It’s not that I doubt your power Mr. Cane, but I am exhausted,” his striped tail was drooping behind him, making it clear his statement was no lie.
“Fine, you tanukis**** are so lazy,” Cane sighed, as he rose high into the air, his large red and black wings powering him up with ease. He looked around. No pools caught his eyes, where they could wash their scent away.
“HEY CANE!?” the small brown fox yelled, his bushy tail wagging behind him, “What about that pool?!” he questioned, gesturing with his ear towards a huge lake, in which a perfect reflection of the full moon above them could be seen. No lily pads floated in it, and despite the wind, the water was still, as if frozen in the celestial body’s light. A worn memorial stood by it, thick patches of green moss covering what text could have been read, and the rest worn away.
“Kitsusanoo didn’t your father ever teach you about The Pool Of the Full Moon?” his cry was wasted however, as Kit had already set off into a jog to the pool. Cane desperately tried to dive down to stop the young kitsune, but it was too late. By the time the dragon had swooped down, the pup had jumped into the waters. Kit couldn’t fail but notice the strange coldness of the water, and how he was able to stand in it. Then, a warm power ran through his short legs. The symbol on his forehead, a horizontal line with a backwards ‘L’, and a curve descending from it, and two comma like marks either side of a short line on top of it, began to release bright rays of white light, as the reflection of the moon in the waters began to ripple.
Kit began to back away, but found he couldn’t, as the waters began to pull him in. Just as his head began to sink under, an enormous amount of light burst from the pool, illuminating the land around it. Then, for young Kitsusanoo Shippo, everything went black.
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Nadine Kushina had been having an average day. She had just finished her swimming lessons, and was walking home to what she thought would be an average dinner followed by her average difficulty homework, and then an average night of listening to music while watching television.
She couldn’t have been more wrong if she had tried.
Far above her, in the sky where, when it was not a new moon, you could see a faint image of the latter in the sky, even when the sun is out, a figure appeared in a flash of light. He looked out of place above the modern city, wearing a tatty black jacket and long, brown cloth trousers, both of which were oversized. He looked around for a second, his one blue eye that wasn’t hidden by a fringe of red hair blinking in disbelief.
“Where the Forsaken Fortress am I? One minute I’m in a pool at night, and now I’m in mid air during the day?!” it the occurred to him what he had just said. He was in mid air, and he had neither the ability to fly, or to teleport. He stared down, and saw the wide expanse of the sea beneath him, it’s crystal blue waves almost taunting him. And, finally, gravity kicked in, and he began to fall.
Nadine had decided to take a break from the average, and was staring at her reflection in the water by the shore. It reflected a blonde haired girl, with blue eyes exactly like the sky the waters reflected. She sat back, her legs held next to her white shirt, as she noticed something above her.
“S**********************************T!!!!” the figure above her yelled, as it hit the water with tremendous power, forcing the water up into a tall funnel. She covered her eyes, and, as her arm slowly moved from in front of her face, she saw a boy about her age, from what Nadine could tell, desperately flailing in the water. Now she had just finished her life guard training at school, so was eager to put her new skills to the test. Nadine kicked off her white trainers, and dived into the water. She desperately swam over to the boy, thankfully he wasn’t far from the shore, and wrapped her arm around him. She swam back swiftly, admittedly slower, as the boy was surprisingly heavy, and she couldn’t understand why. When she got him to the shore, she got the shock of her life. And she’d stuck her finger in a plug socket before.
As she lay the boy on the shore, his appearance struck her hard. He was wearing clothes that went out of style in the feudal era. But that wasn’t the weirdest part. On his back, he had a huge sword, easily three quarters of her height, with a long handle, clearly designed to be wielded with two hands. Engraved near the handle of the blade, was the symbol for light, a horizontal line, with a reverse L and a curved line descending from it, a small line rising from it , with two commas either side. The sword explained why he had been so heavy, but it still wasn’t the most shocking feature. The most unique thing, in Nadine’s opinion, were the two fox-like ears that rose from underneath the thick brown-red hair on his head, and the bushy fox tail of a similar colour that he was lying on.
He sat slowly up, and shook his head and tail, the brown-red fur puffing out akin to a dog’s or a fox’s. He shook again, and it flattened down. Clearly he hadn’t noticed Nadine, who was currently so freaked out she had decided to step back slowly. She noticed the boy, or whatever he was, had begun to mutter something under his breath.
“Just great…no clue where I am…have to owe my life to some random thing…” he walked towards her slowly. She could barely see his eyes from under his fringe, and his mouth was hidden behind a long red scarf. She was backing away slowly again, as he slowly removed something from around his neck. She was turning to run, when he held out the most beautiful gem she’d ever seen. It was a deep crimson, and in the shape of a five point star.
“You’re giving this, to me?”
“Oh good, you talk, well this makes things easier, and yes, don’t you know the rules?” she leapt back, surprised he could talk full sentences despite hearing him swear when he had fell.
“Rules? What are you talking about?”
“You call yourself a demon and you don’t even know the unwritten rule of the life debt?”
“Demon, what are you talking about, I’m human?” the boy, to the best of her ability to tell, looked shocked at hearing she was human.
“Wait, you’re…human? Then, that must mean that…woah, I did it! I’m free, free fina…oh, wait, yeah,”
“Y’know you’re beginning to creep me out. What are you anyway?” she had gotten over the bizarreness of his appearance, and now had decided to find out what on earth was going on. Her hands rested on her short red skirt.
“Don’t you know a half kitsune when you see one?”
“You’re…a…demon?” she’d heard legends of demons, varying in forms from the kitsunes, fox demons who were usually gentle tricksters, to vicious oni, brutal ogres who rarely served a good purpose.
“Well, half demon to be accurate. I guess you don’t get many here in the human world, do you?” he was feeling a lot better than earlier, knowing he had landed in the human world. He was surprised how easy his quest had been frankly.
“No, so, what is this rule you speak of? And why are you giving me your gem?”
“Well those are good questions, allow me to…” he didn’t finish. His pupils became slits, as he sensed an enormous amount of demonic power behind him. Apparently he hadn’t been the only demon to be transported.
Out of the water, a huge figure rose. It’s body was a pure white, and was enormously long and serpentine. It’s neck branched off, forming eight individual heads, all moving slowly back and forth, like a cobra’s when it was preparing to strike. From behind it, eight long tails rose out of the water, writhing around, mixing the sea into a thick foam. Each of it’s head had a wide frill, and the central one had the symbol for water, a horizontal line much like the light symbol, except it had no commas above it, and it had three curved lines and no backwards ‘L’.
“I am the Yamata No Orochi! Give to me maidens, like her or I will destroy your homes with the might of the water!” the central head roared, it’s turquoise eyes gleaming in the sunlight. It’s dragon like mouth revealed rows of gleaming fangs. The boy gave the girl the star, and forced her out of the way. He pulled the huge sword from off his back, and held it in front of him. He leapt up, and prepared to strike, as the serpent watched.
It swiftly curled into a ball, and all eight heads began to whimper. The boy was caught in shock, and fell to the shore, landing roughly, before dragging himself up.
“Please don’t hurt me, I bleed easily, and I’m afraid of the sight of blood!” the boy and girl nearly fainted in shock. The creature, which had appeared almost out of nowhere, was a coward.
“Umm, a second ago, you were just asking to eat this girl, and threatening to destroy this human city. And now you’re cowering, in a ball, despite all that,”
“Sorry, I was just hungry. I was happily slithering through the demon world, when I came across this pool. It looked so inviting and still, with the full moon reflected in it, and so I decided to take a swim, I am a water spirit after all, and the next thing I know, I’m here in the human world!” Nadine stepped forwards, as the boy sheathed his sword. The name of the beast reminded her of an old Japanese legend.
“You said you’re called the Yamata No Orochi, didn’t you? Are you the one from the legend? Didn’t Susanoo slay you?”
“Susanoo? Oh no, that Orochi was my grandfather. That’s where I got the idea. Since I was here in the human world, I felt like reviving the old legend, y’know, bring back my grandfather’s name, but, well I didn’t expect anyone to fight back,” his central head had risen up. Nadine guessed he only had one mind, and that was in his central head. The boy stepped forward.
“Hmm, well y’know I can’t let you do that, best slay you, just to be sure,” he had a sly grin hidden beneath his scarf. Nadine was about to tell him that was wrong, but the Yamata No Orochi cut her off.
“Please oh please don’t slay me! If you don’t, I’ll owe you my life, and be in your service till I pay you back!” Nadine listened closely to what the serpent was saying, and it struck her. The snake and the boy were both demons, so they both followed the same rules. Life debts, whether due to owing them because their life was spared or because they saved their life. That’s probably why the boy had given her his gem. But wait, a gem didn’t equal his life, right?
“Okay then, you’ve pulled my leg. For now, just keep your heads down, and keep out of sight. And you know what happens if you don’t,”
“Yes sir, I’ll do it right away!” the snake immediately dived under the water again. Nadine merely stared on.
“So, you were giving me that gem because I saved your life? But, if I’m thinking correctly, don’t you owe me your life?” the boy nodded in response.
“Yes, I owe you my life. I’m not happy about it, just to clarify, but I do. And I’m half kitsune. By giving you that gem, I’m giving you all my power. That gem is my Star Gem, all my power’s in it. Seriously, you know nothing about demons, don’t you?”
“No, well I guess I’ll see you around,” she turned to leave, putting the gem over her neck, but the boy ran up to her.
“Afraid the rules dictate I can’t leave your side. You’ve just got yourself a demonic bodyguard girly,” Nadine sighed. If what she heard was true, stalker would be more appropriate.
“Fine, but we’ll have to make you less conspicuous. And you never told me your name, what is it?”
“I’m Kitsusanoo Shippo, but I’d prefer to be called Kit,” he had put his hands, well sleeves, as the moment he had sheathed his sword, he had covered his hands with the long sleeves of his jacket.
“Nice to meet you Kit. I’m Nadine, Nadine Kushina,”
End of chapter 1
*Oni, ogreous demons, who are usually lacking in grey matter. They are generally foot soldiers and bounty hunters in this.
**Inugami, dog spirits. Their form varies, but they are always canine overall in appearance. The reason Cane is described as a dragon like figure with a dog like head will be explained in a later chapter.
***Nekomata, two tailed cat demons. They specialise in necromancy and shamanism, the arts of manipulating dead spirits and bodies.
****Tanuki, racoon dog spirits. They, much like kitsunes, are tricksters, but their powers can not develop quite as exponentially. The tanuki was described as a wolf for a reason that will be explained alongside Cane’s dragon like form in a later chapter.
There you have it, read, review and enjoy.
Oh, and we haven’t seen the last of the Yamata No Orochi.
EDIT: Not complaining, and I'll post new chapters regardless, but I can only get better if you post reviews telling me what to work on, or what is good.
