Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Shinigami, or any of the tailed demons but I do own Kaori Izanami and Kiken so that's just as good, right? O.k maybe it's not...

A/N: I was inspired to write this fic whilst I was watching Ghost Rider (which is an awesome movie by the way) so any similarities are on purpose. Hope you like it! .

Every decision you make has a consequence. When you make decisions without thinking you ain't making the choice. The choice is making you. - Ghost Rider

Incubus Container

Chapter 1: This is how it started

It snowed nonstop for three days straight. Drifts collected in corners and covered fences. A bitter wind howled across the land and whipped through the trees, driving snow into every crack and crevice of a small farm-like cottage in a secluded area of a tiny village in the Land of River.

Since an autumn tint of gold was visible in the eastern part of the sky, signaling to the world the sun had awoken, a small twelve year old girl with low dark red, almost brown pigtails and innocent olive eyes; had been moving about restlessly in her snug wooden house.

During the winter it was common for living creatures to contract ailments. Being sick or injured was something just about everybody went thought at least once in his or her lifetime. It didn't't matter if they were human, animal, or something of an utterly different nature, no one was spared. At times even plants lost their health and had to take time to recover.

But the severity of disease greatly differed amid the circumstances.

It could be something simple such as a cold or the flu, something that causes you to feel like your going to die, but you know that one way or another it would eventual dissipate. Whenever these illnesses occur they are only a minor interference with the person's daily life and can usually be cured with simple antibiotics and respite.

However, there are the few situations in which the disease is extreme enough that there is no cure available. And you just have to sit by and watch idly as the loved one slowly but surely withers away and then are taken beyond by Shinigami.

Kaori Izanami just happened to be in one of these morbid situations. She being the person watching helplessly, and the 8 year old Canis lupus lupus curled bundled up in the west corner of the one roomed house, being the loved one slowly withering and awaiting Shinigami's arrival.

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Everyone in the village knew of the young Izanami girl who lived in a cottage in the middle of the woods.

Not because of the fact that her parents had been slaughtered during the war and despite the begging of the villagers, refused to move out of the drafty wooden house enclosed by trees. Nor was it the fact that she had managed to live on her own with only the help of the large wolf that was constantly at her side.

The reason was in fact, because of the relationship she had with animals.

Animals big and small naturally took a shy to the young girl. One could bring the most cantankerous animal there was to her and it, like all the rest would immediately welcome the girl to pet, groom, or treat the animal as if she were it's mother.

One could say that to animals she was opiate, to them her aura was as alluring as the smell of pollen to a bee.

She would walk through the forest that surrounded her house often and she would treat all kinds of injured inhabitants, both harmless and dangerous, without hesitation.

When it came to animal medics her hands were more resilient than those of trained professionals.

There was barely an injury she couldn't't or wouldn't't heal.

Being that Kaori wasn't't a ninja all her treatments came from the various herbs and plants that grew throughout the woods. She had acquired a vast amount of knowledge of the herbs and could concoct a remedy for nearly anything.

As you can see when it came to curing animals she was near omnipotence. Which of course was a blessing and a curse as well as ironic.

Because though she would happily heal any injured animal that came across her path, the one animal she was closest to was the one animal she couldn't't.

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Kaori sighed as she sat on the cold wooden floor and gently stroked the silver haired wolf's head.

The large animal whimpered slightly in pain as it nuzzled her hand amiably.

She could hear the young wolf wheezing heavily as it tried desperately to breath through it's swollen lungs.

The pig tailed girl stared gloomily over at the huge grandfather clock.

8:58. Meaning the sun had already set and that the only thing lighting the world outside was the moon.

Averting her eyes back to the doggish animal she could see him visibly shiver. She wasn't't sure whether it was from the sickness or the draft but she didn't't want to take any chances.

"I'll be right back," she stated smiling sadly at the wolf as she stood up.

The grown wolf lifted his head slightly and watched as his owner walked across the creaking wooden floor to the front door but made no move to follow her. Instead he whimpered again began licking his paws that had swollen considerably due to his ailment and prevented him from walking. Damning him to the corner unless he either bared with the pain and walked himself or his olive-eyed companion moved him.

The door groaned as the strong wind forcefully blew it open as soon as she turned the freezing knob. Cold swept through the house nearly putting out the fire and the maroon haired girl flinched as it stung her eyes and hands.

She looked back once more at the sickness laden animal in the corner then stepped timidly into the frosty winter air and shut the door behind her.

The bell that she wore around her neck and the ones on the lone braid in front of her pigtails jingled eerily in the silence.

She sighed again and looked mournfully at the ground.

It would only be a matter of time before she was on her own again.

Glancing up at the leafless trees of the woods she marched off the porch and into the pallid substance that covered the ground. She shivered as she sunk into the whiteness till the frost nearly reached her bare knees. Slowly, she began lifting her feet and making her way to the back of her house where she kept the firewood.

Crossing her arms she rubbed the fabric of her striped green sweater, trying ineffectively to keep the some of the warmth that the icy air was quickly stealing away.

The wan light of the orbed moon was the only thing illuminating her path as she reached the back of the cottage and began slowly piling wood from the large stack to her arms. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as the wind blew her hair forward exposing her bare neck to the cold causing memories of the furry pile shivering on the floor to flash through her mind. She quickened her pace and when she finally had all the lumber she could carry, she started back toward the front.

Suddenly, her silver bells ceased the low tinkling noise, she could no longer feel the cold sweeping against her neck, and her hair fell back over her shoulders.

'Where did the wind go?' she asked herself quietly.

Quickly, the female whipped around and her olive eyes scanned the bare trees as she felt herself being watched.

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DING... DING... DING... DING...(Is that the sound it makes? Never mind who cares.)

The noise continued as the large pendulum inside the grandfather clock in the corner swayed back and forth as it signaled the arrival of 9 p.m.

In the opposite corner a large wolf stiffened.

Ears perking up he lifted his head from his paws and sniffed the drafty air of the wooden house.

Due to his illness his sense of smell wasn't't as sharp as it could be but he could detect slight traces of a peculiar scent. His fur stood up and his eyes narrowed slightly as he shifted his vision to the door.

The wolf sniffed the air once more and his lips curled back into snarl and a low growl crept out.

Whatever this scent was, who or whatever it was coming from, gave him a strange feeling of commode.

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"Kaori Izanami... "

The green and pink clad girl's eyes widened at the mention of her name. Looking around frantically she tried to locate the source of the silky voice.

"I'I've been watching you very closely. You have quite a way with animals don't you," the voice stated more than asked.

Kaori jumped and dropped the kindling wood in her hands as she turned her head slightly to see the person the voice belonged to right behind her, practically talking into her ear.

She stared at the person. It was a boy, a lot taller than herself with dark blue hair and what appeared to be black eyes. He was wearing a plain white button down T-shirt and a pair of black pants. In his left hand he was holding a single scarlet apple.

"Uh I-I guess," she finally replied as she snapped back to her senses and stepped a few feet away and faced him, he was way to close for comfort "Um. Can I help you?"

Kaori had met or at least seen everyone in the village. But she definitely hadn't't seen this boy before and he didn't't look as if he'd be related to anyone in the village. Not to mention the weird aura emulating from him. It was dark, creepy, and seemed to scream trouble.

He chuckled and smirked at her reaction "Yes. I think you can actually. I've come to understand that the little wolf back there in the house is pretty close to death, right?" he asked, his voice was laced with amusement and the smirk never left his face for a second.

Her eyes narrowed slightly "Yeah... but how did yo--"

"What if I told you I could help him?" he interrupted completely ignoring her question and taking a bite out of the apple in his hand.

"H-help him? How?" she inquired skeptically.

"How?" he reiterated the question "How is irrelevant. Just tell me. If I could make him better... give him his health back, to put it simply. Would you be willing to make a deal?"

The twelve year old paused for a second as she pondered the proposition. She could sense the obvious danger in making a deal with a strange boy who suddenly appeared in her backyard offering to preform a miracle. But the thought of losing her best and only friend was seriously clouded her judgment.

"What do you want?"

The teenager in black didn't't look at all surprised that she was cooperating. He knew she would be willing to help him if she had the right motivation. And this illness was the perfect inspiration to get her desperate enough to succumb.

"Well, Kaori. I also have a pet that is... sick." he replied "A cat, actually,"

"And? If you can heal Kiken, how come you can't just heal your cat?"

His expression turned serious "It's just not that simple. You see, Nekomata is no ordinary cat, and this is no ordinary disease," He took another juicy bite from the fruit in his hand.

Kaori blinked. As he took that last bite of the apple she could have sworn she saw a pair of fangs poking from his gums.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" she asked cocking her head to the side and furrowing her brows 'Where is he going with this?'

"I want you to give me your soul," he answered bluntly.

"What?!" her eyes widened.

Her soul? What did her soul have to do with helping a sick cat? And how in the world do you give someone your soul?

"By tomorrow your little inu will be healthier than ever. And you will have your whole life ahead of you," he stated simply eating more of the apple "It's your choice."

With that he reached into his pocket and pulled out a somewhat old looking scroll and unraveled it slowly.

"All you have to do is sign," he handed the scroll to her.

Reluctantly she took the scroll from his outstretched hand and scanned it.

It wasn't't very long and from the looks of it, most of it wasn't't even in English. In fact only one word was in English. The one printed next to a blank line at the bottom that read Signature.

"So if I sign this... Tomorrow Kiken will be- oww," she was cut off as her thumb rubbed against something sharp at the top of the scroll.

Kaori watched motionless as a single drop of blood fell from her thumb. It almost seemed to fall in slow motion as it splashed onto the document right on the line meant for the signature.

The animal lover felt her stomach clench tightly as if something horrible was about to happen .

"That'll work just fine," his smirk broadened as he rolled the paper back up.

Suddenly, the sky lit up, and just for a second Kaori could have sworn she saw the boy's appearance change completely.

It was then that she realized that she had absolutely no idea who he was or what that document might have said. She could have just sold herself into slavery for all she knew. Already she was beginning to regret her possibly life changing decision.

She searched the boy trying to read the entertained expression he held on his face.

"Just who are you?" she choked out.

Chuckling to himself he answered her before taking yet another bite of the apple. "Most know me as Shinigami, but you... can just call me Kuragari,"

Her eyes widened with fear and she began slowly backing away.

Shinigami? The death god? Suddenly, the full force of her actions weighed down on her and the red head stumbled slightly as she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

The smirk never left his face as he watched her daunt reaction with amusement.

"Look here, Kitten. This is my cat, Nekomata,"

He held out his hand and Kaori stared blankly at the object that materialized within it with a puff of smoke. It certainly didn't't look like any cat she had ever seen before, that's for sure. To her it looked more like a large pickle jar with some sort of enigmatic black and purple gas swirling within it.

"So you want me to take care of that?" she inquired stupefied.

If taking care of a jar of gloom would inspire him to heal Kiken, she wasn't't going to complain.

"Sort of," he replied advancing toward her slowly as he continued "As you can see this is not my cat itself. But it's spirit. Like I told you before, he has sort of an 'ailment' and can no longer sustain his own body. He had another container but it was... consumed. And he seems to have taken a shy to you. It's rare that he would actual react to a human. I suppose he always did prefer young girls... Well anyway that's why it had to be you,"

Her eyes widened for the third time that night "W-what had to be me?"

His smirk turned into an all out smile "The Nibi's new Jinchuuriki." In one swift motion he had unscrewed the lid from the bottle and shoved it to her stomach.

Her head shot up toward the sky and her vision darkened. Suddenly, she found herself staring blankly into a pair of enormous florescent yellow eyes with black slits for pupils peering at her through the darkness. Just one of those humongous eyes could have rivaled the biggest house in the village. Her hands flew to her ears as the sound of loud hissing echoed in her head.

Then a spasm of pain shot through her body starting with the spot on her stomach where the bottle was lodged creeping to the rest of her body like a river.

If she could have she would have screamed in agony. But her lungs as well as her entire body was constricted and felt as if they were on fire.

The dark red haired girl wasn't't able to see what was happening to her. But if she had been she would have seen blackness spread from the jar to her body turning her skin and hair the same ashen color. Her mouth remained open as she tried to voice her yells and a strange feeling wrenched at her gut.

On her stomach a swirl with kanji written around it appeared and on both her shoulder blades three curvy scratch-like marks appeared. The two closest to her neck were the largest and the ones farthest away from each other on her shoulders were the smallest. A pair of huge, black angel wings sprouted from her back and a third eye opened in the middle of her forehead. The bells she wore, jingled simultaneously and the dark green ribbons holding her pig tails fell lifelessly to the ground.

Then, somewhere, amidst the pain spreading throughout her body and the loud meowing coming from the large pair of eyes, she could make out Kuragari's smooth voice.

"The day I need you, I'll come and get you," he said slowly yet more seriously then she had heard him before "Until that day forget about friends... Forget about family... Forget about love,"

Abruptly, everything stopped. The meowing. The pain. The blackness dissipated from her skin and it returned to it's original pallid color and the kanji melted away into her naval. The wings descended into her back and the extra eye closed and disappeared.

The only things that remained were the claw marks on her collarbones and the edges of her red hair remained black.

She heard a SLOSH, as something hard hit the cold snow.

Her head fell down and she stared at the now empty pickle jar lying in the snow. Surprisingly, all of the white substance around it melted away and it lay in a puddle of dirt with steam coming out.

The last thing she remembered before she was engulfed by darkness was Kuragari leaning in and putting his hand on her chin forcing her to look into his eyes that were then glowing crimson.

She could feel his surprisingly hot breath on her ear as he forced a shiny uneaten apple into her hand and whispered darkly.

"You belong to me now, Kaori Izanami."

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A/N: Well there's chapter one. I hope it puts everything in context okay 'cuz I'm not too sure if it did. If it didn't't feel free to ask questions. I did a lot of research to find information on the Nibi and all the other tailed demons so I think it's pretty accurate. Just about everything in this story is related to the stuff I found, including the Nibi being the death god's pet. You know I noticed that in all my stories none of the girls start out living in the Leaf Village. Except in Bored. But that's only because it's about my friend Karina... Maybe my next story will start out in Konoha... O.k I'm done with my rambling, hope you enjoyed it. (The story I mean not the rambling. I know nobody likes that.) R&R and I'll love you forever.

TTFN, Kitty

Incubus: noun. A nightmare; any burdensome or depressing influence. (Some people might use this word to describe me. Except for the last part. I'm not depressing. At least I hope not...)

P.S. By the way as you probably already noticed I didn't't specify the disease. That's because I don't have a dog let alone a wolf so I don't know any diseases they can get. I don't think it really matters what he has though. But if you do know a disease that's like the one he has message me and I'll add it in. .Kitteh