• Kirisaki growled at the guards, and they shifted uneasily. He stared them all down with his formerly blue eyes now glowing an eerie, sickly green. They began to advance into a flanking position, with their swords pointed at Kirisaki. Zabuza did not stay to watch what happened next. He jumped sideways out the door and backed up a few yards. He heard a roar issue forth from the shrine, and the earth seemed to tremble. The other guards ran away as fast as their feet could carry them, one of them leaving a wet trail behind him. Zabuza started to smell the stench again, but it subsided as soon as Kirisaki emerged from the building. Only, it wasn’t Kirisaki. It was his height, and roughly his shape, but with odd spines sticking out at odd angles from the joints of its body, which was black and glistening like a beetles carapace. It had a strange green symbol on its otherwise black chest. It walked slowly towards Zabuza, and he made sure not to look directly at it. He felt cold fear grip his gut, and slowly pulled out his swords. The creature reminded him of everything he had ever feared, the dark, demons, Obakemanu (monsters), and especially Fire… burning, rending, merciless Fire… He wrenched himself out of that mindset. He would not allow himself to be dominated by this demon. “FIGHT ME ON THIS PLANE, DEMON, NOT THE LAND OF THE MIND! FIGHT ME THAT I MAY FREE THAT CHILD FROM YOUR GRASP!” he cried. The Demon, then, did something Zabuza half-expected. The demon threw its head back and laughed, revealing a row of black teeth. It spread out a pair of bat-like wings, and flapped up to the top of the shrine. It looked down at Zabuza contemptuously, and spoke in a voice that sounded like something straight out of a nightmare. “Who’s in whose grasp? This child keeps me and my brothers wrapped up inside of himself, it’s so cramped in there that we fight to be the one who shows hiself when he allows it. And then…” The demon grinned again and licked its claws. “Human blood is one of our favorite foods.” Zabuza had heard this before. When it drew no reaction from him, the demon looked a little frustrated. “Well, look whose tough stuff. Aren’t we the brave ones, facing me like that?” “Who are you Demon? I demand to know your name!” Zabuza retorted. “Don’t order me around!” the demon sounded almost pouty. “But, if you must know, my name is Fear.” It grinned. Zabuza started to sweat. He knew that demons usually didn’t lie about their names, and if this one was named FEAR, that meant that it must be incredibly powerful. Suddenly, a sound rang out in the woods. It was a whistle, like a bird, but much louder. Fear seemed to recognize it. “Oh no. it’s HER again. I haven’t even had my fun yet.” Suddenly, a figure burst from the treetops, and smashed into Fear. He went down silently, with his arms folded across his chest. “If Master hadn’t forbidden us from harming you, I would kill you right now.” Said Fear to the figure. The figure stood up, and Zabuza gawked openmouthed at it. Or her. She was a Kitsune, a trickster fox, dressed in a bright blue patterned kimono, and she had two fox ears sticking out of her hair. He had never seen a Kitsune before, much less one that was forbidden harm by a demon’s master. Then she spoke, and her voice nearly knocked Zabuza to the ground. “Oh, shut up you whiney b*****d. Let Kirisaki back out, before I tear your wings off like a chicken.” Fear grumbled, and slowly seemed to fade back into the form of the white-haired boy with natural blue eyes. He gasped as the air left his lungs in a rush. “Oh, right. I forgot you don’t like it when I kneel on your chest. Sorry.” She got up, and gave Kirisaki a hand. He got up, and the first thing he said was “Zabuza. I’m sorry you had to see that. He probably shook you’re fears right out of you, and rubbed them in your face, huh?” Zabuza tore his gaze from Kitsune for a moment. “Wha…oh, yeah. Yes. Something like that. What the hell was that? A demon?” “That was Fear. There are others too.” “There are MULTIPLE DEMONS POSSESING YOU?!?” exclaimed Zabuza. “No… they aren’t demons at all.” Explained Kirisaki “They’re something else…” “Well what are they?” demanded Zabuza. “They’re… they’re the Shadow Elemental’s Five Talismans. The source of all my powers and my Father’s before me. They are Wrath, Fear, Pain, Sorrow, and Death. They can’t be exorcized, because they aren’t demons. They just get… a little overexcited about their jobs. They are the source of what they are named after. Every bit of it.