Shikyo Kosshi

[Matthias Drake]

Post it here. The Demon's name is still Kyuubi, by the way, regardless of your character's name.

[Guest Shikyo]

-'Kyuubi'

--Kyo (Pride) Nicknamed "Shikyo”(Death)

The thunder cracked down hard as if the lighting had shattered the night sky, only the gargantuan roars of the beast drowned it out. Rain poured down as if the spirits wept for those who were lost to the immense power that had plagued the countryside for the last four years. Hundreds of Gennin, Chunnin and Jounnin had lost their lives during this catastrophe, not to mention the countless civilian casualties. Over one hundred years had passed since Kyuubi's body had been taken from him, and now that the physical being has been created once again, he saw it fit to take his revenge out upon humanity. The people had thought that Kyuubi had been destroyed after the death of its original retainer, Uzamaki Naruto. Unfortunately, however, they were completely wrong, the Omni had simply lain dormant until the time he felt it necessary to reappear. Smoke covered the skies, as a result of the burning breath that the fox had used to lay ruin upon so many villages. Because of this, the past four years had almost been like one long night of fire and bloodshed. Finally, the spirit had made it back to the village where all his pain had started, Konoha the Hidden Village of The Leaf. The beast said only one understandable thing on its way to the Hokage's tower, and in the low rumbling voice, it came again. "You will all pay penances for what you have put me through!” The statement sent terror even into the heart of the Kage. He convened with his top ranked and most trusted ninjas, nine Jounnin and one Chunnin, in attempt to find a way to stop the demon.

A young woman not more than twenty-two years of age staggered into the village in the middle of all these horrible occurrences. Her long brown hair framed her pale face, clutching her swollen belly she feared for the child inside. She was bleeding heavily as a result of being caught in the most recent onslaught of the demons hatred, and surely did not have much longer to live. Wandering through the streets with wide spread panic filling the air she made her way to the large tower protruding from the center of the village. The young women felt she must at least try to save the child that lay in her womb, as her own life would end before the night was over. Collapsing as she entered the building, the ground rumbled below her, she pulled her self with all of her might up the stairs. Tears streaming down her face, all the while she left large puddles of blood in her wake, crying out in pain and agony as she continued to pull herself higher and higher in the tower. A young Jounnin had heard her screams from above and rushed down to her side. "MY GOD! MEDIC! I NEED A MEDIC!” the young Jounnin screamed as he lifted her up into his arms and proceeded to climb the stairs to the office of the Hokage. The doors burst open as the Jounnin, now covered with blood came in with the almost lifeless and limp body of the woman. "MY BABY! PLEASE SAVE MY BABY!” She screamed as blood began to seep out of her mouth, she was fading fast there was no doubt about it. The Kage, ordered the Jounnin to deliver the baby by Caesarian section. The operation, proceeded quickly as they pulled the child from the woman's womb. "It's a b…” ... before the young Jounnin could exclaim the excitement of what her child was, to give her one more feeling of happiness she had passed on. However, the peril was not yet over, the baby had taken blood into his lungs from his mother's internal injuries, so much so that he had but mere moment until he would be lost as well.

"I REFUSE TO LET ANY MORE OF THIS KILLING OCCUR!” The Hokage screamed with great anger, and suddenly came to the realization; there was one thing they could do to save the child. Looking to the young Jounnin who held the boy in his arms, he spoke quickly, as if the Jounnin had read his mind he nodded. "I can perform the ritual Ryoji…” The young Jounnin named Ryoji cut the Hokage off and added, "They need your' leadership to rebuild and live on. I will do the ritual myself.” Everyone in the room knew what they intended, the demon would have to be sealed into the child to both save the baby and the village from certain death. The Kage said in one final voice before dispatching the Jounnin for their part of the Ritual. "I will not have the people reticule this child as they did the last whom held the burden. You are all sworn to keep this silent; no other soul besides the ones in this room shall know the truth.” The Jounnin nodded and in a flash had left the room, leaving the Kage, Ryoji and the lone Chunnin Hitomi Asami. They prepared the ritual as the other eight Jounnin flew across the buildings towards the demon, only to stop in a large line in front of the creature. As the ritual took place, the eight Jounnin prepared there most powerful jutsu, to throw at the demon. The people watched the Jounnin do this in fear and terror scared out of their minds that if these eight did not survive there was no hope for them.

The ritual was ready and it began to draw Kyuubi's soul towards Ryoji and the child. His massive body began thrashing around and ripping large craters into the ground, as his soul was ripped from his body. Finally, as Ryoji snapped the final seal into place with his hand, the eight Jounnin felt time was right to throw all they had at the demon. As Kyuubi's soul was forced into the boy, his physical body vanished in the explosion caused by all the combined jutsu the Jounnin had thrown at it. Ryoji did everything in his power to imprint the seal upon the child's back before Kyuubi could escape. The demon tried desperately to tear his way out, making the child's small body thrash about and ripping deep lesions into the child's face as he tried to force his way out with his chakra. Nevertheless, with his last breath, Ryoji finished the seal, and fell dead as the babies body stopped trashing about. Cheers were heard in the distance as the fox demon appeared to be destroyed, and as the child lay there, it began to breathe normally as the wounds on his face began to heal. The Kage turned to look out over his balcony as he began to speak to the Chunnin, though his voice trembled slightly he did not falter in his speech. "Hitomi Asami, I entrust you with the duties of watching over this child, and keeping his secret from everyone. Until he reaches the age that he can be told what he truly is and is able look out for himself.” She nodded as she picked the child up in her arms, and spoke with a soft voice, tears running down her face. "I will do it Kage-sama, the sacrifice made by Ryoji will not be in vain.” Turning she left the room, leaving the Kage standing over the body of young Ryoji. Once more, a child was imbued with the demon Kyuubi. The people were told what they had seen was true, that the Nine-tailed demon had been destroyed.

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The air in the night sky was stale with the smell of smoke; it would sting the noses of anyone who would inhale it. The sky exploded as if some sort of fire had pierced the darkness of the night, screams of joy from far below. The smell of gunpowder flooded the air, as the demons of fire and sparks flew through the sky, their brilliant light illuminating the horizon as if day were fighting with night. People lined the streets and the rooftops, watching the beautiful display as more cracks erupted above the cheers, sending streaks across the sky. Children play holding sticks of burning light in hands waving them, as they danced in the streets. The speed at which their sparklers flew through the air made the light trail along behind it as a shimmering tail. More fireworks fly through the sky, exploding in an amazing artistic spectacle of massive proportions. All of a sudden, one of the fireworks misfired hitting another in mid air and there was an amazing demonstration of a blue and red tiger fish. It was the 13th anniversary of the destruction of the nine-tailed demon that had terrorized the citizens of Konoha and the rest of the countryside for so long. At least that is what the people were led to believe, as it was almost impossible to slay a demon, even with the Kage and the village's best Jounnin working together.

The people would celebrate every year in hopes that the creature would never return, for it was a definite bane of their existence. While it would not do a thing, they hoped by celebrating its destruction the demon Kyuubi would never return. People lined the streets eating ramen and all kinds of food, people shouting as a play went on showing that Hokage, obviously only he would appear as it was Konoha, slaying the massive beast Kyuubi. Though the Hokage and the beast Kyuubi were not the best actors in Konoha, the play would have been better had they simply put the Hokage and a normal fox in place of the actors. The joy of the people was intense even though all their thoughts were lies. They would celebrate with all they could muster on that day, and would not stop until the night turned into morning once again. The warmth of happiness of the crowd could be felt even at the top of the highest tower in the Village of the Leaf, the Hokage's tower, where a young ninja sat watching with a smile across his lips. He was amazed that the people were not at all scared that the Orange beast Kyuubi, could possibly be watching them ready to strike right now. In fact, he was watching them all; wanting to strike with intense rage but the only thing stopping him was seal on the back of the boy who sat watching them all. His eyes looked as if there were a fire burning behind them, for the deep ice blue hues seemed to glow in the darkness, as the rage increased.

The smile hidden behind a black mask, which accentuated the features of his face, it reached from his nose all the way down to his collarbones, though it hid scars that had never faded from so long ago. The shock of being imbued with the demon had turned his hair into a marble white, his bangs hung down on either side of his face while the rest of his hair was pulled back in a ponytail. His deep ice blue eyes were covered by the lenses of dark black goggles, which protected his naturally light sensitive eyes. The ninja's headband with the logo of the leaf, rest atop his brow the knot tied under his ponytail. He wore a skintight black long sleeve shirt, as well as a deep crimson vest with a white emblem, which filled the back of the vest. The emblem consisted of a blue dragon, which was winding its way around a silver black Kusarigama. His hands were clad in a pair of black and blue fingerless gloves with small red metal pieces that covered the knuckles. A pair of baggy black short covered him from his waste to his knees, kept up by a grommet-lined black belt. Finally is feet were clad simply in his favorite pair of black Anbu style boots, which never seemed to wear out. The boy sat there waiting for his friends as he began to reminisce about the truth behind the anniversary everyone was celebrating.

It had indeed been 13 years since the disappearance of the Nine tailed demon fox, Kyuubi who had torn across the continent terrorizing all the countries not just Konoha. The Kage and Nin did all they could to fight it but, in the end the body count had raised so high that the only choice left was to seal it away. The only answer that had ever worked when it came to Kyuubi was to seal it within a child that was also the only way Kyuubi had died. When the ninja who had been sealed with the Demon died, the demon did as well, but not forever. A young woman had wandered into Konoha; she was pregnant and fatally wounded in one of the attacks of the gigantic fox. She had bore one child before she her death, a boy, with the threat of death upon him as well it was decided he was the perfect candidate. However, he would have to receive more compassion than the last retainer of Kyuubi and the knowledge of the ritual would have to be a secret, known only by those who had participated in the ritual. Therefore, the ritual took place; the child imprinted with a tattoo on his back, which sealed away the tremendous destructive power of Kyuubi. The stress of the ritual on the babies' body had left him with large scars under his eyes and his hair permanently white. As the sigh across the continents across, the child was left in the care of Hitomi Asami, the only Chunnin who had witnessed the ritual, who ran the Konoha Orphanage. There she watched was to watch over the child as he grew, making sure his secret was kept safe. The Kage would look after the child from a far, and when the time was right, he would inform him of his destiny.

Asami named the child Kyo, and although many children had been orphaned in the massacre, she would treat him almost as if he were her own. As the boy grew he became more and more attached to the Chunnin who had raised him, she was like his mother. She was wonderful to the boy when any normal woman would hold a horrible hatred for him, because of what he held in his back. At times one of the children would come, make fun of Kyo for having the scars across his face, but every time that happened Asami would shoo the other child away, and care for him. Wiping away his tears, she would tell him how cute he was and replace the sadness with a renewed joy. He eventually grew closer to everyone in the orphanage and began to make friends. With all of the games he used to play with his friends, he wished to become a ninja simply to improve his practical jokes. There were times when a family adopted him, but being the prankster he was, Kyo would act up and get sent back to the orphanage. He had imprinted on the beautiful young Chunnin, she was the only family he had, raising him from birth, she felt the same way. Nevertheless, she was still a Chunnin and was sent on a mission far away, leaving Kyo alone for a year. Sure, he had friends but he would miss her, so as any child would when separated from their parent.

When Kyo was 10, the time had come that he would have to face the Hokage and learn what he really was. The mark on his back was imbued with a few more letters of Kanji, while he was told the whole story. To say the least the boy was definitely shocked to find out that he was carrying such a powerful creature within him. Never the less the boy was told his fate and that he would be watched carefully by the Hokage and Jounnin to insure his safety and the safekeeping of his cargo. Though after the Hokage heard his aspirations to become a high-ranking ninja was simply to become the most skilled trickster ever, he was rather reluctant to admit, that Ryoji had also started out his training as a ninja to become the number one trickster of the village.

The Hokage had told Kyo all about how his mother had died during birth, and he took it surprisingly well though the Hokage felt a great pain as the boy told him why he was not affected by the news.

"Asami is my mother now, no one could ever fill her shoes…. And she has shown me more love than any other ever could.”

The words the Hokage spoke next were as if a steel rod had stabbed through Kyo's heart.

"I regret to tell you Kyo, but Hitomi Asami was killed 6 months ago on her mission to the islands off the coast of Hidden Village of Kiri.”

Tears streamed down his face as he tried to bottle up the pain, he requested that he be transferred to an apartment. He could obviously no longer live in the orphanage as the woman he knew to love him so much, had passed on. Knowing that he could not have protected Asami had he been there, Kyo swore an oath that he would become a strong ninja able to protect those he loved from anything that would threaten them. From that day, forth Kyo no longer saw it fit for anyone to see the scars across his face, as the only one that could ever convince him of his not being ugly was gone. The boy took about two months to fully recover from the shock of losing his "mother” and had constant visits with the Kage to take his focus away from the pain. The Kage had even taught him to play Mahjong. As these visits became more and more frequent Kyo became a brilliant strategist and usually beat the Kage. It seemed that he hah forgotten the pain of his loss and gained a new mentor, the Kage who seemed more than happy to fill the empty spot.

He would join the Academy in the fall, a brand new student ready to learn, the Kage had seen to that. The excited young boy was a very fast learner, he excelled in almost everything he did, and his stamina among other things was very high. The Chunnin had had some questions, however, the Kage simply dismissed there suspicions by saying he had taken the boy under his wing so to speak. However, the Kage told Kyo that he was working too hard and he needed to get some friends as well as excel in the academy. It went this way for two more years, hanging out with the Kage, doing very well in the academy and spending time with his friends. The boy could not even comprehend how much different his life would have been had his secret been let out, he had read books on the last retainer of Kyuubi. One Uzumaki Naruto, the Ninjas life had been a horrid one to start but he made a name for himself and ignored all of the bad things people would say to him. The ninja had lived for a very long time, the life span was undoubtedly extended by the simple fact that the demon lived within him. The ninja was one of the most famous ones from Konoha he ranked up there with Hatake Kakashi the Copy Ninja, and the 4th Hokage the Yellow Lightning. The man had saved the village numerous times from all kinds of destructive forces, even towards the end of his life.

Living day to day with a demon trying to sway his decisions, Kyo is not a stranger to the feeling of ambivalence. However, as much as he knows ambivalence, the local arcade knows him, Kyo is a gaming fanatic. While he loves having friends he has a select few who he let get close to him, but no one was close enough to learn about Kyuubi. He loves to dance and go to raves though they are not the most prominent type of dance party in Konoha. He is a crazy cooking fanatic, he even worked at the local ramen shop, he made a mean Shoyu ramen and his gyoza was excellent. Being one of the biggest daredevil Gennin he always likes to try new and crazy things, one time he even took a swan dive off the Kages office with nothing more than a sheet to break the fall. Because of his crazy attitude his friends, gave him the nickname "Shikyo” to signify that he was not afraid of death. However, no matter how much he loved to do such things, he had to stay sharp and train hard, Kyo refuses to give up his vow to become strong enough to protect everyone he loved. On top of that, he fells the constant urge to make up for what his passenger had done to the people of this country of fire. He intends to use his powers to repay the village for what they had done for him, and honor his mother's spirit.

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To think after over a hundred years of lying dormant, he just had to get imprisoned in another body. While Kyuubi hated the idea of living within the boy, he hated the idea of lying dormant for over two-hundred years more. At first Kyuubi tried to sway the thoughts of his new vessel, feeling maybe if he could gain influence while the child was young, he would be controlling the body rather than the boy. Unfortunately, a seal stronger than the one that had held him captive before had bound Kyuubi now. This one was powerful enough to inhibit the demons influence on the child. Generally, Kyuubi was just sitting back and trying to make the best of the ride. Sure, he would give the boy advice from time to time, but mostly only to keep the kid alive. Kyuubi was a dare devil of sorts himself, but he did not approve of Kyo taking swan dives off roofs. One wrong base jumping accident would me the difference between living in a body and living in limbo. He came to terms that he and the boy were one and the same, if Kyo died so did he. Because of this, Kyuubi would heal the boy when he was injured the smaller the faster it would heal. Of course not wanting to live in a weakling he helped the boy train his body to become, more fit and mold him into another amazing ninja. However, he would never let the boy forget that they were in everything together, and that he only lived because of Kyuubi.

(166 Sentences, 260 Lines)

Edited August 7, 2005 by Shikyo_Kosshi