Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto.
A/N: I decided to make separate side stories involving important demons and angels. It'll make the plot of Ice Angel more sense. This story is about the origins of Konoha and explains how both Haine and Blue, the demons of Water and Fire, were involved and explains a little bit more about the going-ons in Heaven. Enjoy.
She coughed out blood, splattering the ground. Harsh pants rasped her lungs horribly, as though shards were in her throat, scraping it raw.
"Ku ku ku."
The battered demons laughed, grinning despite their approaching deaths. The dog demon gave them a glimpse from the corner of her eye, the blue finally returning to its proper state. The abominations before her did not pose a threat, at least no more.
Her blood coated fangs made sure of that. Perhaps that was the reason why her throat fell so raw.
"Why the laughs? Or are you so happy that you're dead?" she asked, not really wanting to know the answer. Her voice came out raspy and a bit wheezy, hurting to speak. But her composure did not show her suffering. No rather, it was rather cold, looking down at the two fallen demons.
"We got quite a blow in. That's sufficient to give up our lives, you lowly dog of the church."
SPLAT!!
"Watch what you fucking say, piece of shit," she hissed through clenched teeth, dragging the tip of her scythe through the demon's skull. Still, the abhorred laughter lingered, etching into her subconscious for later torment.
A cough rose from her chest, making her sputter wildly before settling at last. More blood coated her fingers, evidence of inner bleeding and perhaps serious injuries. But not fatal ones. No, she could never allow herself be killed by the likes of these mongrels.
She would pull the trigger herself.
Sighing, Blue no Kaji, Fire Dog of Hell, moved away from the bodies, leaving them for the crows.
---
Fire Country, hell on earth. In a way, it was very fitting for her to call this land her own. Ever since Moni, the White Wolf of Space, entrusted each of the last six Elementos parts of the world, they each kept it whole, protecting the land despite the constant war among the humans that lived here. After all, nothing matter but their mistress's orders and they all followed her faithfully.
That's why Blue hadn't gone ahead and just blast this place back to infinity. The God above knew full well that there wasn't any chance of peace, yet. Or soon. Humans were known for their pride and especially for their lust for power. They'll continue to fight until the last one killed himself.
So the dog demon protected them, albeit silently from the shadows, making sure no creature from the very same shadows emerged and wreaked havoc on them.
That was why she tolerated them. And often, that was why she seek their help in times like these.
"I really don't know what to say, lassie," the old woman shook her head. "Everything you come visit us, you're more battered than the last. What are you, a ninja?"
That was meant as a joke, but the two both knew what it truly meant. Especially during these times of war.
Blue smiled. "Maybe," she said mysteriously. She winced when the woman applied yet another layer of salve to a large wound on her back before wrapping it with gauze.
Usually, she would avoid the human villages, in case of any demons watching and believing she had any ties with the people. But sometimes there was occasions when she needed the expert dressing from an experienced healer.
It was the only reason why she allowed herself near any humans. Being the fire element, she had only two ways of healing : by the normal, natural means or facing the sun and letting its rays reach her. But such a task absorbed a lot of chakra and spirit energy.
Right now, unfortunately, she needed both. There was some ominous spirit energy around, some dangerously close to human villages. Not only had Blue promised Moni that she will protect her humans, she hated any demon on her territory.
Once she felt the last dressing finished, Blue stood and began to redress. "Thank you very much, baa-chan," she said. "I'll be going now."
"Already? But I've only stopped the bleeding!" the old woman protested. "Stay awhile, child. At least until you've fully rested and had a meal in your belly. Please, stay."
The dog demon sighed, rubbing the back of her neck in a wistful manner. She knew this would happen, especially when dealing with a kind hearted human as this healer.
"I cant really. I only came back to get fix. I cant intrude on your hospitality much longer," she tried to explain, a really hard feat while keeping the truth secret.
"You make yourself sound like a broken weapon," the old woman scolded. "You're still a human being, child, despite what your leaders make you to be. Stay, at least for tonight."
Blue meant to shake her head when a loud growl impenetrate the air. The old woman gave a smirk as the dog demon blushed in embarrassment. There was no escape now.
"Don't worry. I had a feeling you were coming, so I've already started on your favorite dishes." She chuckled at the girl's frustrated expression. "Don't worry lass. It's only for tonight."
Blue didn't give any sign of agreeing. But there was nothing she could do without compromising her mission. It was bad enough with the Bijus running amuck; the humans did not need to know what else stalked them, besides themselves. Especially with their new gifts.
The dog demon simply could not comprehend just what possessed God to give these humans the power of manipulating chakra. Sure, the talent had been given to a minimal amount of humans but surely He has foreseen the damage such gifts has brought. She could also understood His need and desire to give His beloved children another means to fight back than to be hopelessly destroyed once again. But couldn't He see that even with this new power, they are only dying quicker? That they are more of a target to their own impurities than ever?
No, she thought bitterly. He didn't. no one knew exactly what went through the Creator's mind, not even those closest to him.
Blue ate with the old healer and her husband, humoring them with false stories of her exploits and travel. Like always, she did not say exactly what her occupation was, nor did she make any compromising remarks. And it was fine with them, enjoying the company of their young visitor, who brought with her nostalgic memories of when their own children were alive.
"My Ella," the old woman would say, "would be around your age, were she still with us."
To which Blue would smile empathetically. Though she appeared young as a human, the Fire Element was older than the world and had already her own experiences of being a mother.
And has already lost a child.
Overall, this short visit, this moment of unnecessary peace, made her long to be with her brethren once more. She wanted to be in a pack again, not off of her own protecting humans.
"This is necessary, Blue-chan."
She waited until the old couple had fallen asleep, their breathing even and their signature at ease in their beds. She wrote them a note of thanks and left a sack of ryo on the table. Though they hated to accept her charity, the old couple had no choice and has long ceased mentioning it. Now they simple allowed the demon to express her gratitude in the only way she knew best - giving money.
Blue quietly stalked through the sleeping village, the scuffs of her shoes barely making a sound against the gravel ground. At the border, she broke into a run, her form shifting to reveal a four legged creature. Its blue fur shone black in the night, its blue eyes shining like fire in the dark. Fourteen tails, their ends shaped like feathers of wings, lingered behind, shifting through the air as the dog ran by the woods.
At a break in the trees, the dog demon gave a howl of tribute to the moon, before beginning the hunt.
Come out, you little bastard, she growled menacingly.
The demon cackled. I was beginning to think you didn't care for my presence on your land, Kaji-sama, the beast mocked.
Blue snapped her jaws in a laugh. You are so weak you didn't deserve my immediate attention. In fact, you are not even worth my time.
Insulted, the demon burst forth from its hiding place. It was an aeria, a bid of Hell and follower of the Sin of Greed. The body was warped and mangled, as though someone had taken a hold of it and simply twisted. Flesh hung from the gnawed bones that were its wings, and wicked teeth slashed into blue fur, ripping the skin open and inflicting yet another wound on the fire demon.
Pathetic!
Blue snapped her jaws on the curve of its mangy neck, closing slowly though the molted flesh. Black, rotten blood spurted from the flesh but the demon refused to drink, letting it simply flow from her mouth and fall into the depths of the night below.
The aeria struggled, snapping its beak and digging its teeth further within the dark fu, fighting pain with pain. Its skeletal wings flapped in the dog's face, the smell of rotten flesh only furthering her grip of its neck.
Then, the aeria began to laugh.
Die, Kaji-sama.
Nothing, the number of times Blue has been beaten, crushed, and pulled apart, can compare to the pain of having holy water injected directly to her veins. In her confused state, it gave the flock opportunity to attack, swarming the dog demon and biting her fiercely.
She snapped and thrashed, shooting herself within the air. Her paws burst into flames, burning some of the aeira flock.
Do you actually think, she panted, that this will be enough to kill me!
The flames surrounding her, forming the image of a giant phoenix. The aeiras squawked horribly and tried to flee, burning to a crisp. From above the sky, the fire demon fell like a meteor to a nearby clearing.
---
"Ahhh!" A boy jumped back, startled and yelping from the side as the fire dissipated. He covered his face as a wave of hot air scalded him, followed by the sudden brush of humidity as the air cooled abruptly. He coughed, the dust stinging his eyes and leaving the taste of dirt in his mouth.
The boy peeked through his fingers, eyes blinking as the smoke cleared to reveal the largest dog he has ever seen. Blue fur and multiple of tails, it did not look like any canine known to him. Parts of its body were bandaged, though many were torn and red with the blood of new wounds.
Hiruzen Sarutobi has seen a lot in his short life; the bloody battles of war, the grief of losing a loved one, the dangers of being a child of a ninja clan. He had more experience of war in his short six years of life, the oldest and longest living within the clan. But this, this was new to him.
The dog had began to move, shifting where it laid on its side, paws slipping as they tried to get a grip on the ground, smoke filling the spots as the flaming claws raked the ground. It managed to lift itself up before falling on its side, giving out a pathetic wind and groaned of frustration.
Hiruzen made his way slowly to its side, carefully not to spook it or do anything to make it attack. He thought it a Summon, one of the Fuinjutsu animals that aided the nins in battle. But it was strange. Usually a Summon poof-ed back to their world when it got injured and this one was very injured. But if it wasn't a Summon, then just what in the world was it?
"Nice doggie," he murmured, moving closely. He had his hands spread wide before him to show he meant no harm. It stopped moving at the sound of his voice, stilling to listen.
Hiruzen deliberately slowed his steps, quieting his breathing and doing all his power to make himself less of a threat. "Nice doggie," he said again. "I'm not going to hurt you. Nice Mr. Dog."
Close now so that it was right beside it, he saw that it was a very unnatural dog, with its blue fur and bright blue flaming eyes, furthering his suspicion of it being a Summon. Not to mention it had been on fire earlier…
Hiruzen spread his hands on the dog's side, feeling the taunt muscles beneath. He was an idiot for doing this, far from his clan's borders and farther from yelling range of help, the boy had absolutely no knowledge how to care for a Summon, much less an uninjured one. But he couldn't just leave it here, alone and horribly dazed from its wounds.
Its blue eyes stared at him hotly, its breath almost nonexistent. It barely moved, watching as the young boy inspected its injuries, taunt as a wire and ready to snap. Fangs gleamed as the dog moved its jaws, ready to strike if the boy made one wrong move.
Their gazes clashed, Hiruzen truing to tell the beast with his eyes that heas a friend, not a foe. That he was here to help.
"Nice doggie," he said again lightly. "Very nice doggie." His touch were light, brushing over the wounds until the pads of his fingers were wet with blood. He registered some bite wounds, cuts made from a curved blade and most of all, fatigue. But he knew there was probably more, given as the dog was liying on its side. Also there was the manner of the bandages it had. He moved as lithely as he could, avoiding the patches of molten ground made by the flaming paws.
Its eyes watched. Not once did they blink, growing intense as though the creature was burning with fever. Probably it was. The flesh underneath his hands had felt fairly warm.
Hiruzen moved away from the head, stopping only when he was sure the dog wasn't going to snap at himm. He saw some black liquid pouring through the mouth, mixing with the puddle on the ground. Black lips were drawn over white fangs, as if daring the boy to come closer.
The boy dared not, feeling as though he had already overstepped the bounds the demon had placed. He did, however, lifted a blood soaked hand for it to sniff.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Mr. Dog," he whispered, watching as it nosed his palm, taking the scent of him and its blood. "I will not hurt you."
The dog snorted, laughing. Foolish little lamb. Its jaws closed down and a child's scream echoed through the forest.