AN: Originally written in tribute to Piromiru, the original pilot episode got some decent attention but suffered but to poor grammar and certain ms-types on my behalf. So I have gone out of my way to fix up the story a little, put in what needed to be put in and maybe change some things that needed to be changed.
Some of the reviewers were quite...aggressive about it too.
Demon Hunters: What can we say? We sound bad ass.
Under New Banners; Path of the Demon Hunter: Crime and Punishment
How long had it been since one of his kind had walked on the earth of this continent? Seen the natural wonders that the earth had to offer here? Listened to the soft whispers and painful cries of the local fauna and flora?
He didn't know and honestly he didn't care.
He had sacrificed such trivial pleasures when he chose to serve his people against the threat of demonic invasion by following the darkest of paths; undergoing the hells that his brothers and sisters in arms knew as the three bindings in order to use the flames of their enemies against them and risking mind and soul in order to hunt them down, no matter what dark hole they might hide in.
What had lured him to this land was the wide spread, sickening stench of demonic corruption. The cursed fel magic seemed to hang ever so softly in the air no matter where he went. Thankfully it was somewhat light in most areas, watered down to such an extent that it might as well have been oxygen.
For the first month or so, he had completely stuck to the right kinds of shadows, listening in on the right kind of people to learn everything he really needed to know about this strange new land. It was rather odd to see just how divided humans could become when there wasn't an external threat to force them to join together.
Honestly he didn't know that many humans since he normally avoided those few from Stormwind who came every few months or so to visit elven lands. It was easier to avoid them altogether then to put up with the mistrustful stares and hate filled glares.
Thankfully his training had made him really good at avoiding conflicts that he didn't wish to engage in. Generally it was outright encouraged that while the death and destruction of thy enemies was a good thing, running into the situation head first while screaming like a deranged madman rarely resulted in anything more than a painful death.
So he had stalked the shadows of the lands of these strange humans, learning what he could and remaining undetected. It was rather simple for the most part, until he had located a trail of fel energy that was over a decade old that was still rich enough to give him a trail to follow. This worried him quite a lot, since only a really powerful demon would be able to leave a trail that would last over ten years after it had passed through.
The trail had led him to what he would later learn was called the village of Kohona. When compared to the city of Stormwind in terms of defense, the village had outclassed the capital city by miles. If it wasn't for his unique sense of vision he would have had a great deal of trouble bypassing some of their defenses. Hell, he most likely would have been caught without being able to see the detection bubble that surrounded almost the entire village.
However, once you knew the obstacle was there it was surprisingly easy to slip past. While he had no doubt that the defenses around the village had once been maintained and triple checked daily with eternal vigilance years in the past, the signs of neglect showed up as clearly as rust on metal.
He could have stayed in the area for months solely to learn all about the kinds of ways that these humans had created with the intention of defending themselves from their enemies, learning a few new tricks in the process in order to help him in his quest to overcome his own enemies and prey.
But he wasn't here because to learn about the strange way these humans had developed over the years in a fel rich environment.
He was here for the boy.
Within the first day of his arrival he had witnessed and tracked down one of the strongest sources of demonic filth he had ever seen. It was like trying to stare into a fallen sun that blocked out all the lesser lights around it. But when he finally got close enough to it to identity it, he had been shocked to discover what could only be a demon lord of sorts sealed inside of an eleven year old boy with a sealing array that looked like a twisted version of the first binding ritual.
Witnessing the seal gave him mixed emotions. A part of him was enraged that these humans were arrogant enough to try and replicate something that was as sacred to him and his kind as the First binding ritual. That was only reinforced by the fact that it had been performed on a pre-teen of all people. There was no way that child had undergone the trials that all potential Demon Hunters underwent to prove that they could survive the First binding ritual, let alone pass it.
On the other hand he was rather curious as to how these people had managed to use a demon lord of some kind to perform the ritual in the first place. Using higher ranked demons was generally discouraged when it came to the First ritual and not just because it was nearly impossible for an adept to overcome them in the first place. The threat of the sheer level of corruption being too great for the adept to handle all in one go was high, resulting in either the potential recruit's soul being completely overcome and devoured by the demons essence or their bodies wouldn't be tolerant enough to recover, both of which would result in the failed demon hunters swift death.
While it was his sworn duty to hunt down and kill demonic threats with extreme prejudice, there were a few things that prevented him from performing such a task; such as the people who were watching the boy from the shadows. The blond boy didn't seem to know that they were there but they were almost always stalking his footsteps.
Waiting for an opening, he simply became another shadow following the pre-teens steps.
For days he followed the blonde haired human like a shadow, escaping not only his sight but the sight of the others who watched the parody of a human demon hunter as well. It was a rather educational experience.
Almost everywhere the boy went, those around him either strove to ignore him and pretend he didn't exist, took sidewards glances at him and whispered amongst themselves about the 'demon brat' when they believed that no one else could hear them or just simply glared at him with outright hostility and fear.
To be honest, he wasn't overly surprised by the behavior of these villages. Demon Hunters everywhere were treated with the same mistrust and fear by people who only saw the physical corruption without understanding or respecting the sacrifices that came with it. What did surprise him was the reaction that the blond gave those who judged him.
He smiled at them. He ignored their glares and insults. He even seemed willing to forgive a drunken man that had yelled rather hateful things at him before throwing the jug he had been drinking from at the 'demon brat'. Considering how bitter some of his own kind became because of how others treated them, it was somewhat humbling to witness such a selfless, respectful being such as the boy lugging around a demon lord clearly was.
There was a few moments of happiness, most of which occurred at some sort of food stand that sold something called Ramen. After witnessing the kindness and compassion that the cook and his daughter showed the boy, he suspected that it wasn't just the food that kept him coming back.
When the boy slept, he paid some people a visit of sorts. Knowledge was power and the people who showed the most hate were often the easiest to part with it. Tragically, those he talked too tended to suffer unfortunate and fatal accidents afterward. For example, the day after the drunken man threw the jug of whatever he was drinking, he had been found dead in his bath by his loving wife. He had slipped on a bar of soap causing his back to slam into the tap, impaling himself through the stomach. His attempts to free himself caused him to become stuck with his head under the mixture of water and blood, eventually drowning to death.
It had not been a quick or easy passing, only furthering the tragic nature of the accident that no one could have foreseen.
However, before his tragic death he had been encouraged to tell a few important but hidden truths before he met his maker. While it was somewhat bigoted considering the sources, there was enough truth mixed in with the lies to work it out. The absolute fury that had surged through his body when he found out just how arrogant these humans were might have contributed to the painful nature of the 'accidents'.
These monsters had done something that no Demon Hunter would ever do! Even the fallen ones, those who had been consumed by their corruption to the point they were nothing more than heartless demons that were exactly like those they had once sworn to fight against wouldn't have done something as cruel and heartless as this. Whatever respect he had once held for these humans was broken when he discovered the truth.
They had forced a First binding using a new born baby in order to save themselves from a demon lord and then had the fucking balls to forsake the key to their salvation by treating him as if he had chosen to do it. Doing such a thing truly sickened him to the core. The training that Demon Hunters underwent might have been considered monstrous, the corruption that plagued their bodies horrifying and even if you made it through alive the people who you protected would most likely shun you because they are afraid of what you had become; But at the end of the day, all Demon Hunters had chosen such a path of their own free will. They knew what they were getting into, knew what others would think of them and they did it anyway for the greater good of all.
These people had robbed the boy of choice, forcing him to bear the burden that they were too selfish to take for themselves then decided to hate him because it was easier than letting go of the past.
Regardless of why it was allowed to happen, the fact was that a demon lord had been sealed inside of someone and they clearly weren't getting the training that they needed to handle such a burden. It was a disaster waiting to happen and someone had to step in and do something before it was too late.
All he had to do now was wait for the slightest of openings. That shouldn't be too difficult.
…...
The night of the genin exam, in a clearing hidden somewhere near Konoha.
Naruto was thrilled!
Not only had he defeated the old man with his super-secret awesome jutsu, he had found the scroll he had been tasked by Mizuki-sensai to locate and learn a jutsu from. If he was able to learn one of the biggest (and therefore best) jutsu on the scroll, he would officially be made a genin! Once he was free of the academy he would be able to show the world just how great a hokage he would truly be and everyone would respect and acknowledge him as a human being!
So focused on the task at hand was he that he almost didn't notice the sound of someone landing on the ground behind him. That was rather strange, since Mizuki-sensai wasn't due for a couple of hours yet. Turning around where he was sitting Naruto began to say "I'm sorry Mizuki-sensai but I just got he..." only to pause in surprise at the sight behind him.
There was no one there; nothing at all. Not even a trace that there had ever been anything there or that there ever would be.
Chuckling to himself as he berated himself for hearing things, Naruto turned back to the scroll just in time to see the deep red and scaled claw held in a fist smash into his face rather hard. It was the last thing he saw that night since blackness came instantly afterward.
…...
Same place, but later.
Mizuki arrived at the place he had agreed to meet the demonic little monster that insisted that its name was Naruto, ready and more than willing to deal with the 'traitor to the village' once and for all before chasing down his accomplices. At least that was what he planned on telling anyone else from the village if they came across him fleeing Konoha with the forbidden scroll.
It was a good lie and he had been practicing it. He had uncovered the demon selling the scroll to an unknown third party in a clearing in the woods. When the boy attacked him, he had no choice but to put him down while the third party made to escape. Unwilling to let him get away, he had started to pursue him. Unwilling to leave the scroll undefended where just about anyone could find it, he had taken it with him.
If he ran into one of the 'slower' shinobi of the village, he might even be able to recruit them into helping him find the third party, aiding him in fleeing the village until they reached such a distance that they could be dealt with. Worst came to worst, he returned to the village as a hero for recovering the scroll and dealing with a traitor to the village. The plan was fool proof
But the moment he arrived at the shack in the woods he found a small but major snag in his plan.
Naruto wasn't there.
There was clearly evidence that someone had been in the clearing recently but they were now clearly gone. Mizuki suddenly felt a great deal of horrifying panic as he started to look fanatically around for the blond haired monster in disguise. If someone else had found the demon and the little bastard told anyone in the village about the 'test' that his teacher had given him in order to become a genin, his personal freedom would suddenly find itself vastly limited at best. His only prayer was if the person who had found him first were aiming to kill the demon on sight.
He was starting to consider just making a run for it now while he had a pretty decent head start going for him when the noise of something moving inside of the run down shed that was in the clearing caught his attention. Breathing a sigh of relief, Mizuki couldn't believe just how stupid he had been. Naruto wasn't the sort of person to let himself get caught by anyone during his pranks, why should this be able different?
Walking towards the shed while forcing that god damn painful 'caring teacher' smile he had been forced to pick up when he had first started teaching the little brats that went through the academy years ago, Mizuki started to calmly ask "Naruto, are you in ther.." when suddenly he was cut short by a sharp pain starting in his back, passing through his chest and impaling everything in between.
Finding himself unable to scream, the chuunin slowly looked down to see the end of a craved blade sticking out of his body. While it was covered in his blood, he blinked as he noticed that the blade itself was a bright green. A dark chuckle filled the air as Mizuki forced himself to turn his head so that he could see his attacker. The sight made his face freeze in sheer horror. He was face to face with a true demonic creature and it was currently twisted the blade he could feel running through him with a grin on his face.
"Do you know what my kind does to traitors like you?" the thing asked him. Unable to say anything as he started to choke on his own blood, only furthering the damage the blade was causing to his insides, Mizuki somehow managed to shake his head. The creature smiled evilly, its teeth reminding the doomed chuunin of a wolf's fangs. "Good. Then this next part will be a complete surprise to you. Don't you just hate it when people ruin the ending of things?"
…...
When Iruka finally managed to follow Naruto's almost non-existent trail to a clearing in the middle of the forest, he instantly froze at the sight before him.
A human body was pinned to the shed by sharped stakes, completely naked and horrible mutilated. It was next to impossible to tell just who this person had once been, since his eyes, scalp, lower jaw and even his lower regions seemed to have been torn off by some sort of clawed creature with a shit load of raw power.
As he got closer to the thankfully dead person, the chuunin teacher started to notice that underneath all the blood something seemed to be written over and over again. Pausing for only a moment, he brushed away the drying red substance and read a single word:
Traitor
All he had to do was wipe away a little more to figure out that the same word had been repeated over and over again, scaring this persons flesh with a message that was meant to be clear as crystal. Whoever this had been was a traitor, but to who and why were impossible to answer. All Iruka knew was that whoever had done this had done it within the last two hours.
Worst still, this was where Naruto's trail ended. There was just no sign of him anywhere. While some might have come to the conclusion that the dead man might have been the blond they were looking for, Iruka knew Naruto well enough to recognize that this wasn't his body; even without the defining features ruthlessly torn off it.
Softly, Iruka asked himself aloud "Naruto, just what have you gotten yourself into?"
AN: Well, here is the revised version of Path of the Demon Hunter. I hope you enjoy it.
For those of you reading Book of the Scourge, I hate to tell you this but I'm putting that on hold for the time being. I know what direction I want the story to go into but I've just lost my drive to write for it. I'll come back in time, but for now I'm thinking of writing something new.
There will be a poll for a new story. Demon Hunter will be one of the options, along with a couple of ideas for stories that I have in mind.
Other then that, I think we're done here for the time being.
Goodnight everybody and I hope to hear from you soon.
