This is a restart of this story, and Naraku has been taken out. It now takes place 8 years after the canonical death of Naraku, so 5 years after the end of the series.

Just so readers know, words in parentheses with hyphens separating the syllables are pronunciations of the word behind it. An example from the story would be:

Hakeiu (Ha-kae-yu). The version in parentheses shows the pronunciation. This is so readers don't have to e-mail me asking how to pronounce the names. That's all. Now, onto the story!

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Chapter 1: Hakeiu and Yami

In a densely wooded area near the remains of the demon slayer village stood an ominous black castle that reeked of a wicked force which made Naraku's miasma seem pleasant. Within said castle two humanoid demon males, each around Kohaku's size, faced off. They each bore a striking resemblance to one another; jet black hair, lean-muscled body, the only apparent difference was their clothes. They wore haori jackets and hakama pants; one wore a white haori with a golden 'light' kanji and also wore red hakama, while the other wore a black haori with a silver 'darkness' kanji and also wore blue hakama.

The pair of demons rushed at each other without a word. Almost silently they clashed over and over, neither having any sort of edge over the other. The kanji on each haori represented the wearer's demonic affinity. The one wearing the 'light' haori had youki that took on a rather blessed form, while the other, the darkness, had poisonous energy, much like Naraku's miasma, though more potent. As they continued to clash, it was gradually becoming apparent that either the light demon was becoming weaker, or the dark demon was becoming stronger. Whichever it was, the situation for the demon of light was not looking good. Suddenly, several moments after one clash the light demon knelt onto one knee, wounded by the dark demon. The dark demon laughed at the sight of his light counterpart's wound and mockingly asked, "Does it hurt Hakeiu (Ha-kae-yu)?"

Hakeiu growled at the dark demon and said with determination, "Yami (Ya-me), this won't even slow me down." Yami smiled wickedly at Hakeiu because of his response. After a mere few moments he replied, "Really now? We'll see." And then they were at it again. Contrary to Hakeiu's big words, the demon of light was slowing down fast. He soon concluded that he was suffering the effects of Yami's miasma. Growling again Hakeiu started to run forward but almost instantly stopped. Suddenly unable to do most anything, he barely said, "Damn it." He then fell to his knees, his head and neck perpendicular to his torso. Yami laughed and said, "Seems you're simply begging for execution. Well, don't you worry we will get there. However, I prefer to take my time."

The dark demon extended his hand, with index and middle fingers further extended while the other fingers of that hand, including thumb, curled so the tips met his palm. His energy coursed through his extended fingers, creating a deep purple-colored energy knife. Slowly he walked toward Hakeiu, savoring his apparent victory. His slow action was what ended up stealing his victory from him. Suddenly, a portal to an unknown location appeared in front of Hakeiu, and from it came a hyena demon with a very frail appearance. Said appearance was misleading however, as the demon lunged at Yami with a speed that was to be reckoned with, and its claws were able to graze Yami before he jumped out of range. The new demon kept up however, and landed two more grazing blows before running to Hakeiu's side. After examining the light demon's wound it said to him, "Regrettably while I know what can heal you I need to get you out of danger first."

Hakeiu nodded, then cringed. He could barely speak so he allowed his limited action to be his voice for the time being. Yami looked at Hakeiu, and his eyes widened while his pupils narrowed in frustration at the thought of losing his victory at the hands of some petty demon. He allowed his energy to course through his hand, and brought that hand through the air horizontally. The energy going through his hand was released in a crescent-shaped blast. Yami had a look of murderous intent in his eyes as the blast soared toward the two demons who opposed him. The demon with currently no name grabbed Hakeiu's arm and created a portal that he jumped through without letting go of the light demon. They arrived in front of a village, and the portal they came through closed before the blast of Yami's energy could get through. Back at the castle,the blast hit a wall, and instead of simply slicing through said wall, the entire thing was quickly vaporized. The castle however, was infused with Yami's demonic energy, and just as quickly as it was destroyed, the wall regenerated. Yami was seeming more like Naraku in ability all the time.

Back at Hakeiu's location, the light demon had just had a sigh of relief, though that sigh caused him to cringe from the pain that Yami's miasma caused him. The nameless demon had gone off without telling Hakeiu where. As it turned out, he was looking for Jinenji's garden, seeking a thousand-year flower, perhaps the only thing that could cure Hakeiu. Meanwhile, the light demon had started to fall uncoonscious, slowly succumbing to the poison. Someone started to approach the unconscious Hakeiu, and the demon groaned in his unconscious state.

Hakeiu's nameless savior and companion continued to seek Jinenji with no success. He was about to give up and return from his fruitless search when suddenly he smelled human blood. He knew he was on a mission but he wouldn't let himself ignore people in distress. He dashed off in the direction of the scent. His nose led him to a village under attack by a group of small fry demons. The hyena rushed into battle, slaying first an eyeball demon, then moving on to a worm that was just about to eat someone. The human he saved, however, was not as grateful as one might expect, simply running away and by doing so getting himself in more danger. The hyena sighed and killed the new threat to the man, and finally he was grateful. The remaining demons were dispatched just as quickly as the first few, and as it turned out, the village was the location of Jinenji's farm. The hyena approached the farm quickly, not wanting to waste any more time.

Hakeiu had since been taken into the village by the one who had approached him earlier. He was hidden from the other villagers, because though to the one who was sheltering him he was clearly anything but evil, it might not be so obvious to the others, and he was a demon. So the one who brought him in was going to shelter him until she could find an antidote. Little did she know, that's exactly what Hakeiu's friend was doing at that very moment.