The first chapter of this story was written by GrissleMcThornbody. I hope you enjoy it because it might be the only chapter written.

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"Om namo kali kapali dahi dahi swaha," a young man's voice proclaimed.

Light burst from the small thatched hut. A demon's howl pierced the gray sky, and lightning came crashing to the ground. Amid the burst of electricity stood a lone monk. His black and blue robes were tattered at the edges and draped fittingly on his stocky body. His brown bangs and rattail whipped in the gale force winds which surrounded him. His calm and collected expression spoke of his experience. Villagers stood, staring in awe at the spectacle.

"Om namo kali kapali dahi dahi swaha," the young monk repeated.

One-hundred and seven, he thought, as he felt the demonic aura intensify. He was almost done. He rubbed the blood red beads in his hands as though he was attempting to start a fire. He had been battling this demon for a little while now; the villagers had been locking horns with the creature for three months. It had been breaking their tools, eating their grain, and terrorizing them at night, making it hard for them to grow their livelihood.

"Om nam kali-!"

The demon wailed, taking the physical form of a large cat, and lunged at the monk. He raised the prayer beads of above his head, creating a barrier between the two of them. His feet sifted to a stronger stance in the dirt, and he gritted his teeth.

"Kapali dahi dahi swaha!"

With a loud crack the demon vanished into thin air, leaving only a thin wisp of smoke hanging in the air before him. A cry erupted from the crowd, and the young monk sank to the ground.

"Good monk," the village elder said, coming to his side. "How ever can we thank you?"

The young man grimaced. Hearing "good monk" reminded him a bit too much of his lecherous friend; he had always hated how much power that term gave monks to abuse those they had saved.

"Please," the young man pleaded. "Just call me Brother Haruki."

The old man smiled at him and shook his head. "I couldn't possibly, good monk," he rasped. "Now tell me how we can repay you."

Haruki sighed. He wanted to ask for food, but these people had been making barely enough for themselves. His cringed as his stomach threatened to let out a hefty growl. A small flash of blue entered his vision. He shook his head. If he didn't eat soon… The village elder was now looking at him inquisitively.

"Food would be appreciated," Haruki admitted.

"I'll have the women start preparing a feast then," the old man said. He was smiling, but there clearly stress hiding behind his eyes. Haruki could almost feel his thoughts: We owe him, we owe him, we owe him…

"There's no need for that," Haruki said quickly. In truth he was worried that it would take them too long to prepare the food. He needed something fast. "Just some rations for a weary traveler like me would be fine."

Once his small bag was filled and he had a rice ball in his belly, Haruki walked with the village elder to edge of the compound. The woods surrounding them swarmed with an odd power that the young monk hadn't noticed on the way in. It was still fairly early in the day though, so he was pretty sure he could make it to the next village before nightfall. Of course, he could never be sure there in the mountains. If he didn't leave today though, he would be another day away from finding more leads. The two men bowed to each other, before Haruki went on his way.

"I hope you find that monk you're looking for," the old man called after him.

"Thank you," he called back.

Yes, that monk, Miroku. He had to find him. He had to convince him to let him use that wind tunnel. Haruki had been on this quest for the past few weeks and still very few leads had come up. All he really knew at this point was that Miroku was travelling with a priestess, a hanyou, and a demon slayer. Some people had even mentioned two full demons being with him. Haruki scoffed at the thought.

A few hours into his hike through the woods, the sun came out, bouncing golden beams against the tree trunks. He breathed the light in like plant. The world always felt nicer when the sun was out. It seemed like the perfect time to take a food break. With a huff the young man slumped against a tree removing his satchel. He reached inside and pulled out a wrapped rice ball. He gently unwrapped it and took a bite.

A feeble whimper emanated from behind a small grove of bushes.

Haruki stopped. Then he grabbed his prayer beads and carefully studied the area from a distance. He couldn't sense any demonic aura from the area. He took one last bite before placing it on the ground and carefully approaching the bushes. The whimpering turned into a woman's crying. Sitting against one of the bushes was a young woman in a brown kimono. Dirt smudged her tear covered face, and her long black hair had been pulled into a messy bun.

"Are you alright?" the young man asked, causing her to look up at him with a pair of wide brown eyes. She was quite pretty. Had he been Miroku he surely would have tried to seduce her. "Do you need assistance?"

The woman nodded, casting her eyes towards her shoeless feet.

"I have been cast out of my house," she murmured, before looking up at him again with her hauntingly beautiful eyes. "My parents think I have been unfaithful to my fiancé." Her eyes began to swell with tears again. "I haven't, I promise, but they won't listen. You have to help me convince them."

Haruki sighed. He hadn't really ever been good at mediation, but the fact that he was a monk might do most of the talking for him. However, whether he believed this girl or not was a different matter. She seemed sincere, though there was still something slightly off about her. The young man knelt down to look her in the eyes.

"Now tell me," he said. "What exactly-"

Crack!

Haruki's head whipped around. There was the rustle of leaves from the trees, but he couldn't see an animal or anything. He grabbed the young woman's arm and dragged her up with him. His satchel sat upside down on the ground beneath the tree. The contents were dumped all over the ground, except for one thing: the food was missing. Even his half-eaten rice ball was gone. He turned to the girl who was wide-eyed with confusion. "Show me where your house is."

The two walked for what seemed an eternity to the foodless monk. With every second the threat of hunger was growing ever stronger. He had to get food; if he helped this girl, he would get food. He groaned as they continued to weave through the trees.

"Not too much further," she said.

The sun was beginning to turn orange and the light more scarce. Haruki knew enough about the wilderness to know it was not a good place to get stuck at night, even for a powerful monk. The threat of a looming demonic aura tickling the hairs of his neck didn't help.

Finally they reached a house. He presumed it must be the house she was talking about. The weird thing was that there were no people around. The plot of land which would serve as a place the grow crops was barren. The monk squinted, as a flash of blue entered his vision again. He rubbed his forehead.

"Are you alright mister monk," the young woman asked, looking up at him.

"I'm fine," he said waiving her away. "I just need something to eat."

The flashes of blue were becoming more intense with each minute. He was sure his stomach was going to growl soon. The young woman smiled at him.

"If you need food we have some inside," she chimed.

"What about your parents?" he grunted, heading for the building regardless.

"It's fine," she said. "They'll be back soon."

She was rather close behind him. The hairs all over his body were standing at full attention. There was definitely some sort of demonic presence at this place. He would have to look into it later. He stepped over the threshold of the house into the main room.

The house was empty.

There wasn't even soot in the fireplace.

Haruki's stomach growled.

He sighed and opened his eyes. The entire room was bathed in a mix of blue and red light. Red paw prints littered the entire house. Haruki turned around to look at the "woman".

Now the beautiful girl he had seen looked like nothing more than an empty husk for the feline demon which lurked in her shadow; its large eyes fixed with rage upon him. The entire being glowed red and Haruki had no doubt that it was the demon he had faced before.

"You…" he spat.

He reached for his prayer beads, but the beast struck him, sending him flying against the wall. He held out the beads and began a chant, but another paw knocked the wind out of him.

"How does it feel monk?" the demon screeched. "I hope it hurts real bad!"

The demon discarded the corpse and lifted its paw to strike again. Haruki winced and once again shied behind his beads, before he sensed another presence. He looked to the door to see a warm purplish glow slowly approach from behind the cat demon. He brought up a shield around himself as the cat struck, but his eyes stayed fixated on the purple light. Then the figure became clear.

It was a girl. She looked maybe seven or eight, and wore a satchel that was more than half her size and a pinkish kimono to match, barely covering a pair of long, graceful legs. Her hair was a wild reddish mass, and her eyes were large and set wide apart. And those eyes were staring straight at Haruki.

"Help me," he gasped, as another bat from the demon came crashing into his barrier.
The girl's eyes grew wide, as if she was startled. Then with crack of her head she pointed to herself. Me?

"No one can save you now monk," the demon hissed.

The monk groaned, slamming a fist against the ground. "Help me!"

The demon stopped, and let out a strange grumble. It looked into the doorway at the girl. Then past the girl. Then around the girl. Did it not see her?

The girl crept into the house right past the demon, and held up a finger, telling Haruki to be quiet. Then she crouched in what seemed to be a fighting stance. The purple aura grew around her. The demon turned back to monk and grinned.

"Looks like you're delusional monk," the demon taunted. "No wonder you couldn't kill me-"

With one inhuman spring the girl launched herself into the air, slamming a fist into bottom of the feline's jaw. The fearsome teeth of the creature snapped together with a nauseating crunch. Blood poured from the beast's mouth onto the floor as it reared back in agony. It slashed out blindly, but the girl avoided it.

"What was-!" It did not get to finish its sentence. The girl was already on top of it biting into its muzzle. Yellow sap-like ooze trickled from her mouth into the wounds. Haruki face contorted with disgust. The cat demon cried out in pain and twitched like a squashed bug, before dissipating slowly into the air until even the red aura had completely vanished. The monk let out a sigh.

Then she was on him. Her large now green eyes pressed against his own, and her hands clutched at his throat. Haruki's breath caught as he struggled to pull away from her. She was impossibly strong, had weird powers, and hair the same color as a flaming sunset; he had no doubt about she was.

"You're a hanyou," he choked out.

She let out a guttural noise that was almost a growl and tightened her grip on him.

"How can you see me?" she demanded.

At that moment something tumbled onto the floor behind her. They both looked. It was round and wrapped in bamboo leaves, but the leaves couldn't hide the white sticky rice ball inside. The monk's eyes grew wide, and with a new found strength he tossed the hanyou off of him. He stood, glaring with enough heat to melt the mightiest blade.

"You stole my food!"

END CHAPTER 1