Animus

Welcome to Animus! You can find the Tumblr page at KageShirogane.

As well, you can also find the full spiel on Animus and its disclaimers back on Chapter 1.

Thanks and enjoy the show!

February ?, 2013

A beating heart. Warmth. Mindless automation… There was nothing but darkness surrounding the lost Shadow who, although he realized he had a presence somewhere, he wasn't exactly sure of where he was or who he was supposed to be. All he could understand was that even in this visionless atmosphere, he was warm and protected. He wasn't hungry, he wasn't scared. Maybe because there was nothing around him to be seen that could scare him. He was completely void of sight, taste and smell. But he could feel and hear… and that along with the thumping, repetitive sound of a heart beating was enough to sooth him.

Though it felt like a long time had passed since he first realized his presence here, it could have only been a few days, too. He had no sense of time, except for the repetitive noise that lulled him in and out of sleep. But then… it stopped. The thumping ceased, but something told the Shadow that this wasn't the first time it had happened. Some sort of false hope told him that the beating noise would continue again… it had always continued before. But this time, it seemed quite unlikely. Though he waited and waited, the sound did not resume; and over a long period of time, the Shadow also began to feel the soothing warmth seeping away. A feeling of uneasiness took over him… and he shuffled. For the first time, he realized that he was capable of movement. This atmosphere… this dwelling… It was soft and malleable. The more he tried to move, the more freedoms he began to discover. He didn't have to be contained to where he was… Maybe there was something better beyond this place. With very little struggle, the Shadow unraveled his body and discovered a small set of pointed protrusions in front of him. These belonged to him… and whatever they were, they made quick work of the yielding walls of his confinement. Writhing and learning, the Shadow tore through until he discovered a different obstacle before him. It was rougher… denser… and as he clawed and scraped against it, he realized that the world beyond it probably wasn't going to be much warmer than the one he had already found. But he couldn't stay here… He could sense that something was wrong with this place; something eerie and suddenly unwelcoming. Thus, with as much force as he could manage, he coiled against the difficult obstacle and clawed with all his might, finding that his sharp protrusions were eventually capable of cutting through it. Indeed, it would take a while, and especially considering how unaware he was of his own size and flexibility. How much of a hole would he have to pierce until he could get through…? As he continued to dig, small chunks of wood and splinters began to fall against him, and he eventually reached a point where he was able to pass through.

Wiggling forward and out of his sturdy confinement, the Shadow was introduced to another odd texture. It was rough and grainy, but it moved without much issue. Continuing in one single direction for as long as he could, the Shadow eventually paused and curled together. He was getting colder… but for some reason, he felt like he was on the right path. The substance that he dug through was beginning to lift, and for the first time, he was able to perceive a small glint of light in the distance. Eagerly moving towards it, the Shadow dug outwards into the open world and reeled back for a moment from the blinding sunlight. It felt like this was the first time his eyes had ever been used… and at the same time, he was finally able to make sense of his own body. Surrounded by cold, white snow, the Shadow lifted a row of little claws in front of himself. They were not attached to arms, but directly to his body. Like rows of little hooked legs… In fact, there was nothing about him that seemed human at all. Turning a few times on the spot, he realized that he was proportionately very small and trailing behind him were a pair of whip-like rouge tails that dragged in the snow. There was something very unfamiliar and wrong with this body… yet he had no memory of what he was actually supposed to look like. It was a perplexing feeling, and when he tried to call out in distress, all that he could emit were small, mechanical clicks and squeaks.

Distraught by the cold air and his lack of understanding, the Shadow turned around a few more times until he suddenly found a headstone planted in the ground before him. Crawling up to it, he realized that he could at least remember how to read. Unable to speak it, he mentally read over the engraving… and found that it belonged to a Mrs. Tatsumi, 1952 to 2013…

Staring at the name provided to him, the Shadow glanced back and forth between the headstone and the hole he had just dug. When he was finally able to piece everything together, an overwhelming sense of dread took over him and he began to curl up on the spot. Shivering quietly, the Shadow contemplated over why so much of this felt familiar… but also so distant. Either way, something was undeniably wrong.

"Where am I…" he finally spoke out after what had been nearly half an hour of cold meditation. A soft cloud of warm air chased after his voice. Realizing then that he had spoken words, the Shadow quickly sat back up and pressed his hands against the ground below him. Hands…! Two, four, six, eight… Ten fingers. Ten toes… Staring over himself again, he realized that at some point, the alien body from before had disappeared and he was renewed with flesh, hair, and every human sense. It had happened without him even noticing… Still, bare and out in the open, he wasn't any less cold than he was before. He couldn't stay here…

Afraid of what would happen if he was caught like this, the Shadow quickly brought himself to his feet and began to run towards a row of street lights in the distance. The sun in the twilight sky was already beginning to fall and he would soon be without vision again unless he followed the artificial lights. As he struggled over the snow, a numbing sensation took over his lower half and soon enough he could not feel at points where his legs should have been aching. It caused him to stumble a few times, but the most unexpected fall was when he tripped over something like a thin branch and planted face first into the snow. The obstacle whipped forwards again and slapped him in the back of his head, causing him to let out another small yelp. He turned over to see what it was and discovered something odd about this new body of his. Protruding from the dimples of his lower back were the same whip-like tails from his previous body. Apparently those wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. Watching them with curious eyes, he eventually learned that he had prehensile control over these… appendages, and they swayed with soft flicks behind him. "What am I…?" he questioned, teeth chattering from the cold.

Having travelled all night, the Shadow felt intense exhaustion and cold. However, none of these sensations would be capable of putting him out of commission. He felt more alive than ever before. Pained and tormented by the weather… but alive. Through all of this, he searched for some sort of solace, somewhere warm and welcoming. He stayed hidden within the veil of nighttime and watched as a small filter of cars passed by on the road he was following. On occasion, he would find an exhaust vent passing out warm air from the back end of a building, but the air there was stale and dirty. So, he never stayed in one place for very long and easily pressed forwards. At the very least, he didn't feel hungry at all…

But he could not progress this way forever. With his body almost completely numbed by the cold, the feelings of exhaustion and illness crept up on him before he had any chance to find a more suitable place to stop for the night. Without knowing it, he had pushed himself to the point where his mind forced itself to shut down and all at once, the Shadow felt himself plummet into the snow against the edge of the road.

February 18th, 2013, Monday

Finally, a warm, familiar sensation…

Drowned in his subconscious, the little Shadow curled together and gave off a half-asleep yawn. He felt once again contained in a comfortable, soft atmosphere. No longer numb and no longer tired… but he couldn't relax just yet. Exactly how had he gone from snowy abyss to warmth so quickly? Additionally, he was beginning to notice an odd sensation of movement from where he was. Eager to understand where he had ended up, the Shadow opened his eyes and stirred on the spot. Just as he was able to get his immediate bearings, an intensely bright light turned on and illuminated where he was: the backseat of a car.

"Yo, he's up," spoke out a voice from the front seats.

The car immediately started to bank towards the side of the road and once it found a safe place to park, it stopped. The Shadow gripped his nails into the soft leather of the seats he lay sideways on, staring forwards with shrunken, unadjusted pupils. Though he was swaddled in an old felt blanket, he could feel his tails quivering with anxiety behind him. The two people in the front seat turned around to face him and curiously stared.

"Check out those eyes…" the same person from before spoke out.

The driver answered with a small nod, "No doubt about it, we've got an early birthday present for Goro, don't we?" he spoke, flipping out a cell phone, "Alright, I'm gonna call him up and let him know that this kid's alive."

"Is he though? He's just starin' at me…" the passenger spoke. Unbuckling his seatbelt so he could get a closer look, he noticed that the draped boy in the backseat was practically paralyzed on the spot. "Y'okay…? Say something."

The Shadow could barely move. Something about this environment was terribly unsettling, but the moment the car had parked and stopped moving, he felt a little bit better. "What is this…?" he asked vaguely, not sure of what to question or how to phrase it. His voice was hoarse and damaged from the cold weather. Still, the inhuman echo and buzz within his words was terribly obvious.

"We picked you up on the highway like, half an hour ago? Thought you were dead or somethin', but you had a pulse and all. Still, damn, what were you thinking? It's minus ten out there and… what, you had the idea to freeze yourself or something?" the passenger responded.

"I'm amazed I didn't freeze…" the Shadow responded, curling into himself. So these people were trying to help him… Very well then.

"Well that's obvious… Yer some kind'a demon, aren't you? Listen to yourself…" he answered nonchalantly. As if such a thing was a common day occurrence… But then again, if anyone was going to pick up a stark naked person off the side of the highway, it would probably be an unreserved oddball like these two. "I mean, it's either that, or you're mad for body modifications, man. Sick tails…"

"Demon…? Am I?" he whispered, not sounding too delighted with that term.

"Mm… Well… what's your name, then?" he asked on.

The Shadow stared down and closed his eyes, trying his hardest to remember. Inside, he thought he knew all along what his name was… but now that he was asked about it, he realized that he didn't actually know. So many of his memories were a blur… he wondered if they were even real. "K… … Ka…" he squinted, "… K… I.. don't know."

In the middle of his failed recollection, the car's driver closed off his cell phone and looked back at the two, "He's up for this, then… Sounds like you've got Goro's interest already, lil' buddy," he spoke, "I mean, unless you've got somewhere else to go."

"Who…? What does he want from me?" the Shadow spoke up. He was confused… but warm. Anything was better than going back out into the cold. Perhaps this was the solace he had been looking for.

"Goro Yagi, a pal of ours. He's into all this theological shite… You'd fit right in. Or at least, he says he'd like to see you at least once," explained the driver, "Unless all that crap on you is fake… Is it?"

"N-No… it's…" the Shadow didn't know how to explain himself to these nosey people. "… I don't know where I was before today. I can't explain why I look like this but… but a demon…? Even if I was, shouldn't you be… running in fear, or something?"

"From a half-dead thing like you? Haha…" the driver shook his head and turned the car ignition on once more, ready to head to their destination, "You give us a problem and we'll toss you out easy. Consider this a good service."

The Shadow hunkered down into his blanket and bristled a little bit when he heard the car start. The moment it began moving, his nails dug deeply into the car seat and they would probably leave a lasting dent in the leather. Why was this vehicle bothering him so much…? Still, as it pulled back onto the road and began its journey, he found that he was able to cope by closing his eyes and forcing himself back to sleep.

These people were undeniably naive about demons, weren't they? If he was really something as malicious as a demon, then what sort of nut case would be bold enough to pick him up off the streets and run their luck with him? Then again, even he wasn't sure about it… Maybe they were right, maybe they were wrong. Maybe they were taking him to someone who knew. Or maybe they were just a pack of imbeciles… that seemed most likely.

"Oi, at least try to look alive," a voice spoke out from the front of the car again, waking the little Shadow up. The car had stopped, most likely having arrived at its destination. It was the driver's voice, since the passenger from before had already opened his door and left the car.

The Shadow sat up on his elbows and squinted his eyes, adjusting to the light inside the car again. He gave off a gaping yawn, letting his jaw go slack. "Now where…?" he murmured to himself, perking up once he heard the sound of footsteps on gravel walking back towards the car. Two sets of footsteps.

"There you go, man," spoke a voice as the door next to the Shadow opened. Numerous eyes peered in and looked over him, including one unfamiliar person, "Is it like the ones you remember?"

There was silence from the newest face: a man whose short crimson hair and slick goatee defined a lot of his sharp features. It was like being stared at by the devil and the unnerving silence that he displayed didn't help either. The man stared with a stern expression, and the little Shadow nervously curled into his blanket. Covered up entirely by the fabric, the only off-putting feature he displayed were a set of glowing yellow eyes.

The crimson haired man stood back up, "So… you picked up some bum kid off the street and brought him to me because his eyes are discoloured? You could have done better by taking him to a homeless shelter…"

"Goro, man, you ain't seen the half of it…" the driver spoke, turning towards the Shadow, "Show 'im."

The Shadow's hands shook as he pulled the covers up more. Though he had only spent a short amount of time with these people, he had quickly re-learned the instinctual feeling of 'shame'. He was wearing nothing else under this blanket and didn't intend to let go of it just because someone else told him to. The very most that he could manage to do was stick his shoulders out and sway the tails to the side so that they emerged from the edge of the blanket. The moment the odd tendrils came into view, the man… Goro… immediately lost his composure.

"Are those snakes…!?" he questioned. And without a doubt, the two red tails could have looked like that without any context.

"Naw, they're attached to his back. His neck is all weird and bumpy, too… Check it, they're like little claws," the driver motioned towards them. The Shadow wasn't aware of that one, and brought a hand to his neck, feeling what the man accurately described. "And those eyes, yeah… But listen to him talk."

The spotlight grew even stronger on the little creature, and he stared between everyone with a distressed, overcrowded look. They wanted him to speak, but thankfully, he had enough to say. "Please don't hurt me… If… if any of this is wrong, I swear I'll just go… and you can forget you found me. Maybe you shouldn't have in the first place."

"Little dude, you can consider this your lucky night," the passenger from before spoke up again, a hand on Goro's shoulder, "This guy here is all about demonology and chronicle work. Bet he could tell ya exactly what you are. So…" he looked at Goro again, "What is he?"

Goro could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead and he crossed his arms defensively, "Clearly it's… it's… …" he exhaled strongly, "… going to need a touch of research…"

"Well then, are we leaving it with you?" the driver asked.

Goro quickly snapped a glare at him, "You're really asking me to just take this thing in…!? I don't know what the hell it is. This is my house, this is my routine, my schedule… my work…"

"Dude… You know as well as anyone how much free time you've got right now…" the driver reminded, "Plus, you said that you kept demons at one point. I read it all, man… You were like a freakin' spirit whisperer or some shit. I thought it was hard to believe… but, look. You were right, weren't you? This stuff really exists… I figured you'd be all 'this is my lucky break!' over finding another one."

Goro's fingers gripped into his arms as his friend tried to convince him. Inwardly, he knew that this was a miracle… and indeed an opportunity. "Then you're all staying here for a while... got that? You're not going far, neither of you. I want to know that I can call you in case there is an emergency…"

"Internet and pizza is all I need, man," the passenger spoke out with a light laugh, "I'll stay the night and eat your entire bandwidth if I have to."

Goro sighed, perplexed over how he was supposed to handle this. All of this wasn't exactly on his list of things to do… but at the same time, that list wasn't very long anyways. His friends could stay without issue… but this creature was something entirely different. Goro would be watching it like a hawk.

"Then I guess we're bunking," the driver spoke, finally getting out of his seat and walking around to see the other two. He looked in at the Shadow who uncomfortably stared back. "Well…? Come on out. In case it wasn't really made clear… we ain't gonna hurt ya."

The Shadow didn't have many other options right now… So, unless they were outright lying, this seemed like the best thing to do. Gripping his blanket close, he sat upright and pulled himself out of the car, wobbling somewhat on his shaky legs. Everyone else seemed to be so significantly taller than him… he couldn't help but keep his chin down and quietly follow. But now that he could see where he was, he realized that the car had parked into the driveway of what was most likely Goro's home. Single floored and probably unable to house more than two people at a time, there would probably be a number of people sleeping on couches tonight.

"Oh, yeah…" the passenger spoke up, "He kind've… came as he was. You don't happen to have any spare clothing for this guy, do you?"

"I don't think it'd fit but… whatever works," Goro waved a hand dismissively, leading the trio on. His eyes never left the Shadow for a moment.

When they entered the house, the Shadow stared around at his new environment with growing fascination. Goro wasn't reserved at all about his interests… From the very first hallway, you could see into a large study room that was littered with bookshelves surrounding a well-managed desk space. There were numerous sketches on the walls, and even within the kitchen there was a significant pile of old newspapers stacked and organized in a cabinet. The most outstanding of his decor choices were a series of marked off sections within his house. These areas were bordered off by ropes of hung candles and contained a slew of sketched in symbols on the walls and floor. They were like odd, intrusive little shrines. While the Shadow looked around, Goro had already walked on ahead to fetch something small enough to wear for the little boy. When he returned, he handed the articles of clothing to the Shadow who was still nervous about letting go of his blanket, and pointed in the direction of the nearest bathroom. Following his cues, the Shadow left to get changed.

Though they were just a pair of black and grey hand me down track pants and a t-shirt, they fit well enough. Big, yes, but he didn't mind it in the slightest. Thankfully, those additional appendages on his backside were not hindered by the pants. They protruded much higher than his tailbone; so theoretically, they weren't really tails at all… Either way, he could comfortably wear pants without covering them.

As he stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, though, the Shadow realized how different he was from everyone else. His golden eyes seemed to have a glow all their own, which shone out between navy blue bangs. From the base of his ears and down the sides of his neck were odd rows of bumps with small, thorn-like protrusions escaping from them. And then there were the tendrils, which he struggled to decide on whether or not to just hide them in his pant legs… Probably not. It wouldn't be comfortable at all, and these people already knew about them. What more was there to hide?

"Why don't I remember this…?" he murmured to himself, trailing his fingers down the neck thorns curiously. He didn't remember much in general, no… But something about his appearance now felt very wrong. With a gentle sigh, he folded up the blanket from before and walked back out into the hallway. Finding one of the men from before, he held out the blanket and lowered his head, "Thank you… … um…"

"Hey, he's got manners, that's a start," he replied with a wide grin, taking back the blanket, "It's Jiro. And that there is my twin brother, Yoji. And I guess you already figured out that the weirdo living here is Goro."

The Shadow nodded at the easy-to-remember names.

"You're seriously pushing your luck," Goro yelled out from the kitchen while he nosed around the fridge. "Euh… Gonna have to go grocery shopping tomorrow if you're all staying here for a while… Especially for this guy," he looked up and out into the hallway at the Shadow. "What's your name, what do you eat?"

"Yogurt," the Shadow answered, and then quickly put a hand to the side of his head and squinted his eyes. How did he remember that…?

"Wait… Is that your name, or is that what you eat?" Goro scoffed with amusement, "Some kind of demon you are… Yogurt it is, then. But seriously, what's your name?"

"He couldn't remember it in the car…" Yoji spoke up, "Made it sound like it started with a K or something, but we never got a clear answer."

Again, the Shadow nodded.

"K…? Well… You don't look much like a kappa or a kumbhanda… I'll have to look into that, though," Goro theorized, looking up and down at the boy. His eyes fixated on the golden ones staring back at him, and he snapped his fingers, "How about Kon, then?"

"Kon…?" the Shadow blinked, looking around at himself before taking some of his bangs into his hands, "Because of my hair…?"

"No, dummy, because of your eyes. Gold…" Goro answered, and then gave off a quick laugh, "Wait… your hair? I get it… navy and gold are both 'Kon' sometimes, aren't they?"

"That's an awful pun, Goro…" Jiro mentioned, shaking his head.

Amused nonetheless, the crimson haired man walked up to the Shadow and pet him a few times on the head, "Kon Kon."

Kon, feeling a little more entitled by his new name, gave off a soft smile and swayed his tails with simple delight. He was already getting pretty used to the presence of these new people. There was definitely a warm, familiar atmosphere in the house, no matter how eccentric a lot of it seemed. Still, he knew there was some sort of ulterior motive behind all of this… and now was probably a good time to ask about it. "Well… you brought me here, and I thank you for that. But… what am I supposed to do? You said that you had demons here at one point… what happened to them?"

"Hey, those are pretty loaded questions, one at a time…" Goro answered, offering a seat at the dining table for all of them to sit. "Alright, here's the deal, Kon… I'm not exactly the most well-off man in the world right now. I recently lost my full-time job due to drug abuse and I've managed to clean myself up simply because I can't afford such luxuries anymore. I'm ready to start anew, basically…" he explained, "On the side, though, I've lived as a writer, struggling to get my work published simply because my topics are considered controversial. I do, in fact, have written accounts of spiritual activity in this house. Documented demons that I studied, enshrined, and then ultimately exorcised when they no longer wished to be a part of this plane of existence. I suppose you've seen the shrines here and there… That's where they used to live."

Kon sat up straight, "And… these weren't just hallucinations? I mean… you said drugs…"

Goro hit a hand down on the table, "That was my biggest flaw. When word of my addiction spread, I could no longer be credited as a factual writer. There was nothing I could do to prove the fact that demons have existed here. See, they were never physical beings… But now, with you here… I think you see where this is starting to go."

"You want to write about me?" Kon blinked, "To… support your drug addiction?"

Goro waved a hand, "No, enough about the drugs. I honestly just want to write and make a living off of my work… Plus, aren't you curious about yourself? We could strike up a good partnership, you and me…" he reminded, "I'll give you a roof over your head, food, and knowledge. And I'll finally have a solid topic to write about. Easy, isn't it?"

The Shadow folded his hands together, "How can I really say no… Anything is better than being out in the cold…," he spoke, the end of his sentence breaking out into a small yawn.

"It'll be fine… You're practically human. You get tired, and you enjoy yogurt," Goro said with a thumbs up, "As long as you don't break my bank over it. Anyways… I hate to mention it, but I've only got one bedroom in this place. If you're all staying, then you're going to have to fight over whatever's left in the living room."

Yoji had already set himself down on a reclining chair and after hearing Goro's words, he didn't intend on giving it up. There wasn't much else except a smaller sofa that would require one to curl up in order to comfortably sleep on it, and then there was the floor. A futon could be pulled out onto the floor, at least… And since Kon was the smallest, he was going to have to take the little sofa. He would eventually find out that he was quite comfortable in the fetal position, so all was good. If Goro could manage it, he was most likely going to have to wake up in the early hours of the morning and go shopping for groceries. Something told him that he didn't have nearly enough yogurt…