Edited 6/4/18

AMANOJAKU


On a winding mountain trail in the middle of summer in the Land of Fire, a sweet, cheerful voice could be heard singing a paradoxically macabre tune over the waning and waxing cries of the cicadas. The pale haired young woman adjusted her grip on the little boy clinging to her back, mindful of his numerous injuries. His coloring, in contrast to the woman's wispy white locks, consisted of a thick head of inky black snarls. And though they each had equally fair complexions, while the boy's eyes were the darkest of shades, the woman's were a startling crimson red.

"And all the corpses dance to their joyful tune of death—"

"Don't you have any songs that aren't completely…horrible?" the boy complained flatly.

Startled, hearing from him for the first time since the start of their journey, the woman's voice tapered off abruptly. Then she smiled sheepishly, the sharp points of her serrated teeth peaking out from behind her lips.

"Sorry, Uchiha-kun…" she answered, her voice soft and gentle as she spoke to the child. "What sort of song would you like to hear instead?"

With a sigh, the boy shrugged, and winced as the movement jostled his bruised and broken body. "I don't really care. Anything but that one…" He'd been listening to her clan's ghoulish ballads for what felt like days now. "Sing something girly. Romantic, maybe?"

"Ah, well…" his companion remarked in that same apologetic tone and explained, "most people find my clan's idea of romance a little strange…" She giggled and recalled, "Take my mother, for example—she was a very fierce and passionate woman. She was always so lively and put a hundred percent into everything she did. My sister takes after her a lot. That's something I really admire about them both, but it's unfortunate that she passed on her jealous nature as well…" She continued with a hint of strange humor that didn't reach her eyes, "When I was a little girl, she always told me she loved my father very much—so much, in fact, that when my sister and I were still growing in her belly…she devoured him, piece by piece."

"T-that's awful!" the boy exclaimed affrontedly, his nose crinkled with disgust. "I…I know the Hitokujaki clan devours the flesh of their enemies, but to even turn on their own…that's repulsive, Shikyo."

"Ah…yes, I know that," the woman, Shikyo sighed, sounding resigned. "But to my clan, my mother's story is the height of romance." She changed tracts tentatively, "Try to understand…she ate her lover so that they could become one—so that they would never be apart, and no one could ever take him away from her. It's quite beautiful, if you think about it…"

"That's still the worst love story I've ever heard," the young Uchiha insisted firmly.

Laughing a little sadly, Shikyo agreed, "It is quite horrible, isn't it…" She sighed, "The clan has changed a lot since the last priestess died and left me in charge. Mother tried to keep Onee-san in check, but…well, I'm sure you can guess what happened. She does take after her…"

"Such atrocities shouldn't exist in this world… You're the only sane one in your whole cursed demon clan," the boy grumbled darkly.

Still giggling, Shikyo mused, "Oh, I wouldn't say that…" She trailed off with a sigh, "But you're not wrong, Uchiha-kun. You've seen my sister for yourself. She's a monster. My clan's ambitions have gone too far this time, and I agree…we've become much too dangerous to exist. Perhaps…we should have never existed at all." Smiling a little sadly, she pointed out, "I made you a promise, after all. And I intend to keep it." At his contemplative silence, she asked, "Are you excited to be going home, Uchiha-kun?"

After another thoughtful silence, he answered, "Ichijo…my name is Ichijo."

With an exaggerated gasp, Shikyo exclaimed happily, "Ichijo-kun! What a strong, handsome name! I'm so glad you finally told it to me!"

Blushing hotly, Ichijo scoffed, "Don't get so excited, stupid… It's just a name."

"Ah, but it's a good name for such a brave shinobi like you." She beamed at him over her shoulder. "I'm happy I get to know it now. I want to say it over and over again—" In a sing-song voice, she began chanting just that, "Ichijo-kun, Ichijo-kun, Ichijo-kuuun—"

"Stop it already!" he protested, burying his face in the crook of her neck to hide the vivid redness of his cheeks. "I'm not strong, or handsome, or brave… I…" he faltered out, suddenly close to tears, "I'm just a failure who got captured… If-if you hadn't helped me escape, I'd be…I'd be…"

"Shh…don't be sad, Ichijo-kun. Shikyo is here. I'll protect you," she vowed earnestly. "I made a promise, after all. I won't let the sharingan fall into the hands of the Hitokujaki. I'll destroy them all before that happens." She began to sing in her soft cloying voice,

"Don't cry little one, I am here.

I'll make all your enemies disappear.

No need to fear when I am near,

I'll take your rainy sky, wipe it clear.

Don't cry little one, don't make a sound.

Your enemies will bleed, when I come 'round.

No one will hurt you where I am found,

I'll rip those fiends apart, drive them into the ground…"

And so on it went, and Ichijo stopped sniffling, listening intently as each verse grew more and more gruesome with promises of violence, death, and retribution upon the 'Little One's enemies. It would almost be comical if Shikyo's countenance didn't speak of the complete and utter conviction behind her words; she clearly meant every one of them. She was a very sincere person, Ichijo had discovered in their short acquaintance with each other, even if she was from a clan of insane cannibals… She had done nothing but treat him kindly and gently since they had met, even when he rudely snapped at her in distrust, or called her names. Despite her (literally) bloodthirsty family…Ichijo had found her to be a genuinely goodhearted kunoichi.

One who would betray her own clan to protect others from their evil…

Ichijo contemplated thoughtfully to himself, if their positions had been reversed, would he have enough courage to do the same…?

He wondered.

"You're not like the others," he finally said, interrupting her soft singing once again. "How…how can you be one of them, but be so…so…different?"

"Hm? Oh, I wouldn't say I'm so different from the rest…" she hummed thoughtfully. At Ichijo's irritated noise, however, she huffed a laugh. "Okay, maybe a little… It's strange but, would you believe me if I said I remembered living a whole other life before this one?"

"Another life…?" Ichijo echoed incredulously.

"That's right." Shikyo nodded, and her innate sincerity was the only reason Ichijo even gave a thought to her bizarre claim. "Compared to this life, my last one was very peaceful. I never needed to fight. Shinobi were no longer needed. And people who ate other people were locked away. Technology was very advanced, everyone had electricity—not just in the cities—and information was shared with everyone all over the world."

"That sounds…impossible," Ichijo remarked quietly.

"Right?" Shikyo laughed at herself. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm just crazy… But I can't just ignore it. When my sister brought you home, I said to myself, 'Shikyo, enough is enough. What would your first family think of you if they saw you now?'" She shook her head slowly with a morose sigh. "They'd be horrified, that's what they would think. And my little brother, he'd scream, and run away… I'd be a monster to them."

Frowning to himself, Ichijo admitted, "I don't think you're a monster…"

She grinned widely at him with her shark-like teeth and exclaimed, "Ah, that makes me happy! I'm so relieved!" More subdued, she added, "You know, you look like him—my little brother. You resemble him very closely. When I first saw you, I thought my spirit had leaked out of my ears, and I had become a ghost!" She laughed softly. "But I'm glad, just the same. You reminded me, you know…of who I once was. I…" she faltered, "…I would like to become like that girl again. Even if it's just every now and again… Is that crazy, do you think?"

Ichijo's fists tightened where he gripped her yukata, and finally replied decisively, "I don't think you're crazy."

"Ah, Ichijo-kun…truly, you're a kind person." She smiled self-deprecatingly. "You don't have to tell lies to make me feel better."

"I'm not—" he began, but trailed off with a shake of his head and sighed, "Just forget it…"

"Hey, you sound a little tuckered-out, Ichijo-kun," Shikyo noted attentively with a concerned look over her shoulder. Then she smiled softly. "Go ahead and rest your eyes. I know a song to help you sleep…"

And she was back at it again.

Surprisingly enough, despite the morbid subject matter all Hitokujaki songs seemed to be comprised of, the creepy lullaby had a sweet, hypnotic tune that had Ichijo's eyes drooping shut against his will. Shikyo had a pretty enough voice, he noted; nicer than some others he'd heard. He could barely remember the songs his mother used to sing to him before she died. He tried to remember her voice, and failed. He wondered if it was really possible to remember a past life… Then again, if he had once lived a life of peace, only to be born again in a world like this one…

Ichijo was glad he didn't remember.

He knew he wouldn't survive such a loss.


The Amanojaku (天邪鬼, "Heavenly-Evil-Spirt") is a demon from Japanese Shinto myth.
I won't say much more, because spoilers, but it's not something you'd want to run into in a dark alley, that's for sure...

It's been a good few years since I've written anything for Naruto. My writing has improved immensely since then. If you're not turned off immediately by the cannibalism (which is becoming something of a common theme in my stories, lately...) I hope you'll stay with me. I promise I don't bite, hahaha...

Okay, yeah, that was a terrible joke. Somebody, kindly shoot me.

Please let me know what you think!

—tsohg a ma I