Anemone
There were no sounds of life in the forest that Amanita was making her way through. Just the cracks of any sticks she happened to step on. The only thing that could be seen was the enormous trees that surrounded the forest. Only one demon she knew resided in this dreadful place. Graced with an eternal darkness, and a thick fog, this forest provided the perfect camouflage for any demon lurking in the shadows. Sensing the familiar presence, and with a turn of her head, Amanita stood face to face with a grinning demon.
"Good morning Miss Glaucidia." She said in her monotone voice.
"Helloo Amanita" chirped the owl demon while hopping in her spot.
"Did you doo it?" Amanita gave the owl demon a short nod. The owl demon clapped her hands in excitement, while her talons griped the dirt.
"Excellent" the perky demon whispered. Just like Amanita, Glaucidia looked human, with the exception of her eyes and talons. Even though the female was short for a demon, one look in her golden eyes would have even a giant running. With her always mischievous and calculating mind, Glaucidia was a demon to be feared. With an evil grin that reached her ears Glaucidia disappeared into the trees. The echoes of her giggles were the only remaining sound in the quite forest. For a short moment Amanita stood in place, and stared into the space were the owl demon once stood. With a deep frustrated sigh and frown she disappears, and leaves all the glowing eyes to themselves.
Waking up in her 8 year old body was a strange experience in itself. She felt so slow and sluggish compared to her future self. Sakura could only frown at herself in discontentment.
'What can I possibly accomplish with this fragile body?' She thought to herself while looking in her bedroom mirror. There's no muscle, no decent supply of chakra, and she was too damn short to reach anything. Although, she did notice that her reflexes and chakra control were still intact. She let out a small growl.
'Damn! I have a lot of work to do.' Slowly she pushed that thought aside. First things first, she needs to go to the library and find information about that demon, Amanita Bisporigera.
'What a strange name, Destroying Angel.' Amanita Bisporigera was the name of a very poisonous mushroom. It was found in the edges of woodlands. Lots of ninjas used it. Although, the poisonous effect of the mushroom had to be sped up. Mixed with the right chemicals the mushroom did a marvellous job destroying the kidneys and liver.
'Why is a time demon named Amanita? Was it the white hair? The Amanita Bisporigera mushroom is white after all.'
The demon's name does not matter! Sakura reprimanded herself. What does matter is the library.
"Sakura-chan are you up yet? Sakura-channn?" Her mother soft voice came from outside her door. Sakura could only stare once the door opened and her mother entered. She hasn't lived with her mother in 4 years.
'I moved out when I was 15; that's when the war started.' At that time all civilians needed to be moved to a safe place. Sakura couldn't help but let out a frown.
"Nee, Sakura-chan why do you look so sad?" Her mother asked worriedly while trying to hug her.
"I'm not sad kaa-san, just sleep" Sakura responded with a fake yawn, and rubbed her eyes for a more believable effect.
"Kaa-chan, can we go to the library today?" Her mother smiled and picked her up while laughing.
"Of course we can go Saku-chan" she said while kissing Sakura's nose.
"But first, breakfast." Slowly Sakura's mother carried her down stairs towards the kitchen.
Once they finished breakfast Sakura and her mother made their way to the library.
"Okay sweetie, kaa-chan has to go buy some vegetables, once I'm finished I'll come pick." She said with a firm motherly voice.
"So don't wonder off okay." She said while patting Sakura's head.
"Pinkie promise Sakura-chan."Her mother said.
"Pinkie promise mommy" she said while hooking her finger with her mother's.
"Bye-Bye Kaa-san!" No sooner than that, Sakura found herself walking to the mystical creature section of the library.
'Hmmm…. Kappas no…, curses no…, demons… yes!' Sakura pulled out the book and read the title. 'Demon Powers hmm, this seems right.' With the book in hand, Sakura made her way towards the nearest chair. Now all seated and comfy, she opened the book and read until she found what she was looking for.
'If a demon deems a human interesting, it may mark said human with its symbol; thus making the human property of the demon.' Wonderful, that's just what she needed, to be some demons pet. With an eye roll she continued her reading.
'This mark allows the demon to communicate with its human telepathically. Also, the mark allows the demon to know where it's human is at all times. It may also be consider a form of protection. Once a human is marked, no other demon is allowed to harm the human.'
"It's like a slave marking." She said to herself with frustration.
'I wonder if a can communicate with Amanita.' Channelling some chakra to her wrist, she found it did nothing. After a few more attempts Sakura sighed and gave up.
'The book didn't say anything about the mark moving, although it did mention that demon powers could be reflected symbolically as an animal. Do hummingbirds represent time?'
Luckily, Sakura new just where she could find a book that would help her with this small dilemma. She put her pervious book down, and went to search for her new one. Flipping through the pages of her book, she came across what she needed.
'Hummingbirds: messenger, stopper of time.' Short and simple, but how could this possibly help her. With this new information at hand, Sakura went to wait for her mother outside the library.
