A/N: This story just popped into my head upon having inspiration from "Tenchi Muyo", where Ryoko tells how well she basically knows Tenchi from when he was a little kid without his knowing…although seeing five-year-old Yuffie is not a new idea, I decided to try my take on it. Please read and review, would you kindly? Reviews will tell me if this is a story worth continuing.

He first saw her when she was four. She was but a sticklike little girl with short bobbed hair bouncing up to him hand-in-hand with her expecting mother. Although his corporeal body was stuck in a tree, he was still very much a sentient being, as he can still walk the ethereal plane and be aware of every little thing—such as the fact that she is due tomorrow and that a funeral shall be happening rather soon. The little girl sat in front of the shrine with her mother, praying to a statue of Da Chao that was built under his body—apparently to ensure that he would not escape under the eyes of the great god himself. "Who is that mommy?" she asked, looking up and pointing at his body, "That, Yuffie, is the statue of a demon," she said, sitting Yuffie up on her lap, "it was said that long ago, he was a fearsome ninja who showed the ghosts to the underworld so that they could go to heaven or hell.

"Eventually, he fell in love with a human priestess, but despite her love, she could not return it because he was a demon, and mainly because she was married. It was a while after he confessed his love to her and she turned him down that he killed the priestess's husband…why the demon did such a thing, nobody knows as it was said by the few who spoke with him to be a very gentle soul despite his reputation; although some say it was because his jealousy had gotten the better of him, that he could not stand seeing the priestess with her husband. Whatever the case, the demon took off with the priestess in his arms, and escaped into a forest before he was struck down by an almighty wizard after a grueling battle. The wizard was not strong enough to kill the demon, but he was still strong enough to seal him away, and so he froze the demon and cast a spell on him to seal him into a tree, where that statue is now—his arm is shot out and reaching…for what, nobody knows, perhaps it was his last bid for the love of his beloved priestess.

"It is said that after the battle, the tree grew large and thick as if the demon's presence within was making it that way and keeping it alive and safe from any who would try to cut it down—that's why after more than six-hundred years, this tree still stands, and it has that appearance of a man reaching out for something…the demon must still be trying to reach out for her even today."

Yuffie looked at the statue, and saw the form reaching out. In one moment, she looked in wonder…who was this demon who kidnapped a priestess? And what really went on in his mind when he did what he did? Was love all he sought? She could not help but feel sorry for him…to go so far for one he loved dearly, only to be taken before he could have her heart to himself. She could not help but feel sorry for the fate of the demon…he loved someone and could not have her.

"Do you think he'll ever get what he's reaching out for mommy?" she asked, "I don't know," said her mother, "I suppose the only way we can ever know the answer to that is if we ask him ourselves. However, letting him out may not be such a good idea…who knows what he's like when we let him go?" The demon simply sat on the stump unseen and unfelt nearby, listening in on the tale, and watching with sad eyes as Yuffie left…oh how he wish he were free from that tree—but alas, this spell is unbreakable…there is no way he can ever be free. And with the said priestess dead, he was unsure of what he would do now.

It would not be until the next month that he sees Yuffie returning to his tree with tears in her eyes, crying before the shrine dedicated to Da Chao. She doubled over, and started her fit of sadness. "Why mommy?" she asked, sobbing before the statue, "Why'd you have to go away? Why'd you have to die? It's not fair! Now daddy has been acting weird after your funeral, and I don't know what to do with Kairi…I just don't know what to do…"

Although he was sitting in a branch of the tree and watching her with sincere pity in his eyes for this little girl, the demon was actually not surprised that Kisaragi Mariko would die of birth complications, after she had given life to her daughter Kairi. He actually knew that she would die at age 39 way ahead of time—but being an envoy of the dead, he is not allowed to interfere with mortal life unless said mortal life was directly involved with him. He did not know any other way of comforting poor, sobbing girl, and so he brought his hand up, and gently touched her on the shoulder—she then turned her head to look around for something…she could not have felt that now could she?

"Mommy?"

The demon simply stood there—watching Yuffie. After a moment of silence, she sobbed her last sob and wiped her eyes off with her forearm, and in those few seconds he watched her, the sadness in her eyes was replaced by something. Although the demon could not describe the fire in her eyes literally, he could say one thing…there was determination in her eyes instead of sadness. At the turn of a heel, Yuffie faced the shrine of Da Chao, and got in her knees in prayer.

"Mommy, if you can hear me, then I'm going to make you a promise. I promise to stop crying…I promise to be strong and take care of Kairi…in fact; I will make myself so strong, that by the time I die, I will have made you proud of me! And if the demon is listening—don't you dare touch my mother, and if you do, I will beat you up when I die!"

Upon the finishing of her oath, a lightning bolt crashed in the background before Yuffie got up and turned to leave.

"Do you think she'll be able to keep her promise to you?" he asked, knowing who was standing behind him. "Don't worry about it," said Mariko, knowing what he had seen, "my little Yuffie is strong enough now, and I am proud of her. And don't think that I never saw you following me everywhere. I know you've been saving my life several times whenever I was unconscious, and I want to know why."

The demon looked to Yuffie's mother seeing the slight frown on her face, and sighed. "On the one hand, I suppose it was on a whim that I decided to help you—I'm not sure of the reason myself, but something about you made it worth to save you. On the other, I think it's because I took a bit of a liking to you—you reminded me of Lucrecia before she died…I'm only sorry that I am not allowed to help you this time…the gods don't seem to know that I've been helping you, which is a good thing. Are you ready for your trip to the afterlife?"

Mariko smiled at the demon. "Yuffie has already seen to that. But before I go, I was told to deliver something to you."

"A message?"

"Yes. I'm told it was from the gods. They said it had something to do with your current situation. And I know this must be a burden on you, but I have a request to ask of you before I meet with one of your colleagues."

The demon looked into her coffee-colored eyes as he received the envelope in her hands…she was very serious about this request. "Name it."

"I already feel bad for leaving Yuffie as it is…would you please keep an eye on her while I am gone?"

The demon simply started opening his letter. "Don't worry. For some reason, your family has garnered my interest starting with your mother's mother the day she first set foot into my end of the woods. She made me promise to watch over your mother, who subsequently made me promise to watch over you, just as you are doing for your daughter now. Just promise me that you'll have a safe trip to heaven like the two of them…they've been waiting for you even today, and are looking forward to seeing you."

"That's a promise I can keep." With that said, Mariko left the demon behind to open up the envelope…it was indeed a letter written in the glyphs of the gods…

"Dear Chaos,

Your crime of unnecessary direct involvement with a mortal has brought bad karma to you in your life. And because of your violation of this law, you should be sent to Hell in order to serve an eternity in prison. However, due to your long-standing employment and true loyalty with us, you shall only be demoted to the level of a human being. You shall be freed of your shackles the day a lightning bolt splits your tree in half, thus destroying your corporeal body…afterwards, it is simple—you shall take the body of one who has recently died…a nobody if you will, and you shall live the rest of your life in that body. You are not to reveal your identity unless you reveal it in the darkness—if your name reaches us from the light, then we shall wipe you from the face of the planet, and not even a binding spell can save you.

Sincerely,

Leviathan

P.S. We're giving you a second chance to redeem yourself…don't fuck it up!"

Chaos simply found himself with a glint of hope in his eyes…now he has a chance to be free!