Gold and Silver

Part VII

Demon drifted back to consciousness on a silky golden pillow. All around him were vulpix reclining on soft red cushions looking perfectly content. Across from him there had to be a mirror as a vulpix that looked exactly like him lay on an identical pillow. To his left was a raised platform on which a ninetales sat, being gently brushed by a human in odd red and white robes.

No wait, Demon thought blearily. That's Kogane over there, and…

And then he remembered.

What am I doing here?! He leapt up and ran for the door, intent on getting out of the temple as fast as possible. I don't have time for this!

A pompous-looking man blocked his path. "Where are you going? You must rest; you've suffered a terrible shock."

:Outta my way!: Demon snarled, flashing his teeth.

:I'm sorry, but we can't do that,: a dopey-looking torkoal said as it stood beside the human. :Master Daikon is right; you must rest.:

:Shut up, you stupid tortoise!: Demon hissed and rushed in to try and push his way past—

An invisible force yanked him back into the chamber.

:Mind your manners,: the ninetales scolded. :You are in my domain.:

Demon ignored the warning and prepared to redouble his efforts to escape.

:Listen to Mother,: Kogane said. :It's not like you have anything left out there. That boy was eaten.:

He froze and slowly turned to face his female double. :You…: he growled and bristled. :This…this is all your fault!:

:No, it—:

:Yes it is!: Demon howled. :If you hadn't run back to that park, none of this would've happened!:

:I—:

:I hate you!:

Demon charged her, starting up a payback attack, intent on tearing her to pieces—

The invisible force halted his rush and pinned him to the hard floor. He struggled and struggled, but to no avail. The ninetales slowly stepped into his field of view, her eyes glowing blue with the psychic power of extrasensory.

:That. Is. Enough.: she growled.

He still didn't stop trying to struggle. :Old hag!:

:How dare you disrespect Mother!: Kogane barked.

:That is enough from you as well,: Inari scolded. :He is right. It is because of you and your selfish actions that that boy is dead.:

:But—:

:Do not speak to me for the rest of the day,: the ninetales hissed. :You will not be accompanying me to the Friendly Fields for the foreseeable future. Reflect on this and hopefully you will learn something.:

Stung, the bratty little princess slunk over to her cushion and flopped down there.

The pressure of the extrasensory lifted, but before Demon could bolt the ninetales had lifted him by his blue scarf and dragged him back to her pedestal bed. Inari dumped him there and easily pinned him down with her paws. She started tugging the scarf off his neck with her teeth—

:Stop it! Don't touch that!: Demon yapped as he squirmed mightily. :That's mine!:

:There is no need to shout,: Inari said calmly. :And there is no need to fear. I won't destroy it or throw it away. I just want to clean you.:

And then the scarf was off and the ninetales was tongue-grooming him the way that he distantly recalled his mother doing.

:Aah! Knock it off, Old Hag! You're not my Mama!:

But she didn't stop, she just kept licking—slow, steady, and calm. Quite against his will Demon found himself relaxing, instinctively reacting to the soothing touch. Eventually Inari loosened her paws and he had enough wiggle room to draw the blue scarf in to his chest and cuddle it like a baby blanket.

:It hurts when a human that we love dies,: Inari told him. :I have lived a very long time, and I have outlived countless humans that I came to love dearly. But as they passed away, they wished for me to live on and be happy. I am certain that that boy would wish the same of you. So stay here and be happy with us.:

Demon closed his eyes and refused to respond.

Stupid, stupid, stupid… Stop talking like he's dead! He's not dead! He's not…

…I promise that I'll never call you Whisker Face ever again if you come back.


Fate, destiny, the whims of the gods—could be cruel just as often as it could be kind. Shion had experience with both sides of the yin-yang. Visions her mother had had led to young Shion leaving Astral Town and the temple dedicated to psychic majuu and traveling to Trinity City and the Fire Temple where she was alone, friendless, and very out-of-place. The divine gift of Kogane had given her a place in this temple that was so alien to her; when the celestial vulpix had hatched, she had chosen Shion to be her special companion and caretaker.

Shion paced the temple's underground library—the largest single room in the entire complex—deep in thought as she reflected on the days' events. Normally she would meditate on her day in her small, bare quarters and write down the results in her journal. But after her brush with death and the terrifying experience of having been in the presence of living, breathing demonic majuu intent on feasting upon her flesh, she was simply too jittery to sit still and properly meditate.

There is a reason—a meaning—behind everything that happens. There are consequences to every choice. …So what about today?

There was no doubt in her mind that Naruto's loss had something to do with his misuse of a celestial majuu. And perhaps his was a sacrifice necessary to allow her to survive and warn of the Demons return. But it didn't seem quite fair—the consequences for his actions didn't seem to match up.

It really wasn't his fault that he did what he did—he is from a culture where combat between majuu is glorified to a barbaric extreme. He didn't seem to be deliberately cruel, and was at least open to listening to how people and majuu live here in Demon Country. Only a monstrous criminal would really deserve to die by Demons feasting upon their living bodies and that boy was no criminal by any country's law.

Still, she was very relieved—a selfish relief—that he was the one carried off as lunch and she was the one who had been spared.

Does that make me a horrible person?

Sensing the turbulent path of her thoughts, Esper rubbed his head against her leg in a comforting gesture.

"Thank you," Shion said softly, rubbing between the espeon's ears. "I don't know what I would've done if you and Naty and Casey and Naito hadn't come here with me…"

"Oh, there you are!"

Shion swallowed a sigh and schooled her face into a polite expression before turning to greet Akira. He was an acolyte—a lesser member of the temple who was training to become a full priest (or priestess)—several years her senior, and a person she found…distasteful. He was handsome, but arrogant, and his combusken companion emulated him far too much.

"Am I needed for anything?" Shion asked.

"No, no," he smiled. "I merely wished to see how you were faring after staring down some Demons of the Underworld."

"Ah," she nodded in understanding while she mentally cringed.

This was not the sort of attention she wished for—she wanted to be respected as a priestess, not be known simply for surviving evil Demons.

"Also, did you hear that the police were here?" Akira inquired.

"No, what did they want?"

The older teen smirked. "They wanted to know if the temple thought it was a good idea to go down the Gateway to see if that foreign boy might still be alive. The Elders said no, of course. I don't know why they even bothered asking. There's only horrible death to be found down there. Everyone knows that."

"People like to hope," Shion shrugged slightly. "They want to believe that a child might survive instead of dying long before his time."

"Maybe," Akira replied. "At least we gain that celestial vulpix that he had in his possession. Now two celestial majuu reside here! The last time that that happened was nearly a century ago, and then they had been of different species. The Water and Grass Temples are going to be so jealous of us!" He chuckled. "The Grass Temple only has a celestial oddish right now, and the Water Temple has nothing!"

"That's nothing that we should care about," Shion frowned. "Our only concern is to serve the temple and its aims: protecting majuu and the balance of nature and promoting harmony."

"I know, I know," he snorted. "But it is an impressive thing to have two celestial of the same species alive at the same time."

Shion chewed at her lip. "What if…some of his family come to claim it?"

"Like the priests would ever give up a celestial to non-spiritual foreigners," Akira scoffed. "They'll make sure that this vulpix is too attached to the Fire Temple to ever leave. I've already heard whispers about what the rename him."

"And what about the Demons?" Shion asked. "Have you heard what is to be done about their return?"

"The Elders are meeting with the other temples tonight," he said. "They want to send word to the Rock Temple and Ground Temple in Quarry City for help from their majuu. Since the Three Guardians used earthquake to seal the Underworld off from the surface, it should work again. Don't you think so?"

"Yes, that sounds like it would be a solution." Shion brushed some white-blonde hair behind one ear. "What should we do until help comes, though? It will surely take time for help to come from Quarry City."

"Stay indoors and keep our eyes open for Demons," Akira answered. "The police will warn the city's citizens to do the same. What else can we do?"

Shion had to agree with that. "Well, thank you for sharing the temple gossip with me."

"No problem at all!" he grinned.

"…Well, I think I need to go meditate now," she said. "Good bye."

The pale-haired girl hurried from the library with Esper.

I need to go and pray that no one else will die…


Kushina tapped her pen against the countertop in a rapid-fire rhythm. The ticking of the wall clock was horribly loud and maddening. And then she cracked…again.

"Are you sure that he's okay?"

"Yes," the professor replied patiently, even though she'd asked the same question a good twenty times already. "I've looked into it as thoroughly as I can. The earthquake was barely above minor, the damage was minimal, the injuries were few and superficial, and there were no deaths. Naruto is fine. The public phone lines are just down, and they should be functioning again within the week."

The red-haired woman pouted. "…Alright."

"If you are really worried, I'll give you the time off so you can go and see for yourself," the elderly Sarutobi offered.

"No, no, I shouldn't," Kushina muttered, fidgeting with the ends of her hair. "He's getting to be a big boy now. He doesn't need his mother swooping in to fuss over him when nothing's wrong."

The old man puffed on his pipe. "Did you suggest Demon Country to him? Not many trainers from Fire Country bother to go there."

"It always looked like an interesting place to go…but there were never any gyms or battle tournaments to draw me in so I never went," Kushina grumbled. "So I dared Naruto to go. I was kind of curious about what the people there might say about Demon, too."

"Ah, I see," the professor nodded and turned back to his stack of research books and papers. "Try to relax. In a few days the phone lines will be back up over there and he'll call and you'll see that he's perfectly fine."

"Alright," Kushina nodded. "I just have this feeling…" she muttered to herself as she went back to madly tapping her pen. "A horrible feeling that he's not fine at all…"


"Eeeee!"

Naruto desperately squeezed himself deeper into the crevice to avoid the grasping claws and snapping teeth that kept trying to dig him out and eat him.

This sucks, this sucks, this sucks!

First he'd gotten Demons mixed up with that other vulpix, Kogane. Then he'd been kidnapped by aerodactyl and dragged underground, losing his goggles in the process. And now he was a hair away from being lunch.

At least he'd managed to get away and hide. The aerodactyl had kept flying until the cave tunnels got too narrow and they crashed into each other. While they were snapping at each other he'd slipped out of the straps of his backpack and found a tiny place to retreat into. The fossil monsters hadn't noticed his escape at first and spent a few minutes chewing on his bag. But once they found how bad that tasted, they sniffed around, found him, and were currently making his life very unpleasant.

They've been at this for a while…aren't they sick of trying to get me yet?

As if to answer his silent question one of the aerodactyl slipped its long, spade-tipped tail into the crevice to try and sweep him out.

I should never have come to Demon Country!