There was an overall lack of air in this space. What was there was so thick it sat in the back of your throat and stayed like a thick syrupy medicine that the taste of would not fade. One could even say it burned a bit. This air. But none of this mattered to the beings that resided in this place. They did not need to breathe.

Neither did they need to take a physical form. Some remained as clouds of black, floating wherever they wished and communicating without a mouth to their brethren. All of them were of the same kind despite their severely different constructions. A dog pranced from one place to another shouting something that few of the other beings paid attention to. A crow quietly perched itself atop a cloud of black. Hanging from this cloud was a giant spider and a snake. Other strange creatures lurked about, but a few took on the form of a human, walking with little regard for the arrogant sneers of the other beings. Each had their own way of "existing."

This was especially true for three of these beings. They could be regarded as sisters, only because they came to be around the same time in the same place, but they referred to one another as that because it amused them. Well, it entertained the younger two. The eldest did not care about such things. But they were always close to one another. The youngest asking many questions, the middle acting very knowledgeable despite being only a few seconds older. The eldest ignoring them for the most part, just to occasional indulge their inquiries with what little they humbly claimed to know.

It was here where they lingered. Doing nothing. Waiting.

What were they waiting for? To be called to the realm of the living of course. They were simply demons. A human, of any world where humans evolved, could fulfill the criteria to request one of these creatures. Which was usually a sacrifice. The kind of sacrifice would call a particular demon of course. They would then create an agreement, a contract if you will, that when fulfilled the demon would receive the human's soul as payment. Simple enough. Common enough. Yes?

However, younger beings were impatient. They whined and whined and whined. They were hungry. They were bored. This has happened many times before. The demons would become restless and ask why they couldn't roam as they please. The older ones would always answer because that is how it's always been. They were warned not to try to pass without someone calling them, but these two younger ones did not listen.

It was nothing short of a miracle that they survived it. Severely weakened and physically damaged, they desperately tried to consume the nearest souls, but to no avail. No matter how hard they worked, neither with their faded powers nor with their barred teeth, they could not reach a human's true center. It was then they began to starve. Though not completely. Every time they swallowed human flesh they felt tiny spurts of energy. The most minimum of rejuvenation. But it would never be enough. Experiments had to be done. They had to continue moving, from one world to another, tasting different kinds of humans in search of real fuel.

It was an accident that the elder of the two took over a human's body. It was then she realized she had come closer to their goal. They had come closer to completion. They had come closer to eating.

With every passing victim, they understood. The more powerful the human, the more potent the meal. It was then they found themselves in a world of shinobi. In a world of humans brimming with mysterious powers. It was here they planned to become whole again.

Kakashi Takes a Deep Breath

This long explanation was something he had not expected, yet it settled well with him. The idea that there were other worlds, other spaces with other humans, dimensions that were beyond his reach, did not phase him at all. He stared at the woman before him, who had explained this all very eloquently. He was a man who accepted things as they were and reacted accordingly.

"Do you have any questions for me? I will answer them as well as I can as long as they do not exceed the boundaries of what I am allowed to divulge."

This was not an issue for him. He assumed anything beyond the creatures in the room and the people it involved was not necessary to reach his goals. He wished to speak about the one he was most concerned about, he wanted to know how to save her, and how to defeat these creatures.

"Then do you know where Mitsuru is?"

"Your w-" The woman paused and put a hand to her mouth.

She made a face as though she had almost left something slip that she should not have.

"Um. Yes." she paused again but recognized the sudden eagerness in his expression. "In a sense. Yes, I do know where she is. I know where all of her parts are."

"Her parts?"

"Yes. As I am sure Oshoku has told you, Mitsuru is not whole." she glanced at the creature sitting quietly in her wooden chair.

"Oshoku?"

"Oshoku is the name we have given her. We do not have names, but when we enter a contract, we are given one by our contractee."

Kakashi remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"O for Otoko and shoku for shokuji." (Otoko = male, shokuji = meal).

"I see. You've named them after their tastes then."

"Precisely."

"Then the younger one is…"

"Koshoku."

"Kodomo." (Child)

"Yes."

The fury emanated from the creature behind them, but Azul did not seem concerned. For that reason, Kakashi remained his calm, collected self. It likely helped that this dark-haired woman's aura influenced in such a way.

"Then can you assist me in finding all of Mitsuru's parts?"

"I cannot."

There was a single wave of cold that passed over him, but he waited. This demon was logical, not necessarily friendly, but cooperative in a way that allowed him to approach without panic or desperation.

"That is outside the parameters. I can only give you enough information that you can survive."

Survive? That was a bit alarming, but he didn't try to consider it too deeply. Not yet. His life was quite often about survival. At this moment he was being provided assistance.

"Then, why are you here? Only to help me survive?"

"We are here because we were told to be."

"We?"

"My partners and I. We came here, to this world, to this time in this world, because it is here where we need to interfere. Only enough that all of the players are not lost." she glanced around him again. "We also came for a few semi-related reasons. Unfortunately, I cannot be any clearer than that."

"I see."

"Fool."

The whisper came from behind them.

"She's tricking you. She's the same as me. You are a fool."

Kakashi had considered this. That this was another ruse by another demon all to push him further away from his goal.

"I can assure you I am not going to harm you in any way. In fact, helping you ultimately is a means of helping myself. You see."

Finally, there was movement. Oshoku flinched, flinched.

"Something has been taken from me. Something very, very important."

Faster than he could react, the demon woman named Azul was standing in front of Oshoku. They were eye level due to Azul leaning in close.

"I would like to know where that something is."

Kakashi thought it strange to see the creature that he had struggled so much to weaken and intimidate, now looking incredibly nervous. Though her lips were curled into one of her trademark smiles, she was hunched as far from Azul as she could physically go.

"With the other." the suddenly meek creature mumbled.

"Is that so?" she straightened.

Despite the calm that he had felt until this point, he recognized the menace that so naturally began to fill the room. Azul was angry. There was a feeling of blackness, dread, hopelessness that would bring you to your knees, but he stayed still. He knew if he waited it would pass. This was not directed at him.

"Then I no longer need to be here."

"Wait." Kakashi had to stop her.

Azul turned slowly. He saw redness filling her pupils. He thought for just a split second that she had the sharingan, but there were no tomoe in those eyes of her.

"Are you one of the beings that can kill her? Can you-"

"I cannot." she faced away. "Well, it is not that I cannot. I certainly can. I will not."

He didn't feel he could argue at this moment.

"I only wish to retrieve my stolen item."

"She pretends." Oshoku hissed.

The back of Azul's hand struck the side of Oshoku's face.

"Calls her a thing, an item, but its all lies."

Azul didn't hit her again. Instead, she walked towards the wall.

"Lies. She lies." Oshoku lifted her head slightly. "Foolish onee-san who fell in love with a human."

Azul disappeared through the wall before Kakashi could fully process what had happened.

Temper Tantrum

Mitsuru had come to a complete halt and waited to be noticed by the man who had provided her so much attention only a few hours before. And of course, he saw this. Her extreme lengths were finally affecting him. He had to stop and address this situation before it got out of hand.

"Mitsuru."

"Why are you like this?"

She started so quickly that for a moment he was confused, but he recovered quickly.

"Mitsuru, we cannot continue like this."

"What do you mean? I don't understand what you're talking about. Continue what? What are we?"

Again he recalled just how childish she could be and just how selfish she can act.

He stepped closer to her, and she backed away.

"So you did all of that for what? For fun? That's it?"

Somehow she always went right to the point.

"Mitsuru."

"Were you just using me?" her voice broke.

His cold demeanor shattered. He did not care if Kisame saw this. He could look all he wanted. In moments he had her in his arms, so tightly held it would have hurt if she were someone not accustomed to pain.

"No." it was a hurried whisper.

The time between his resolution to end their affair and this moment was so short it was ridiculous, but he found himself unable to fight these overwhelming bursts of emotion. These things he pushed down deep within him to face his path unwaveringly were once again exploding in his chest.

He could not hold back when he heard the quiver in her voice.

"No." he repeated, a bit more steady. "I was only…"

She huffed but didn't push him off.

"For a moment I regretted it," he admitted but continued. "But it was momentary. Please, when we are not alone, I have to focus on completing my missions."

They slowly looked at one another.

"Please."

He didn't need to elaborate. Though Mitsuru was prone to childish tendencies, she did understand what he was asking. She nodded but demonstrated her dislike of the situation with a prominent frown. With another huff, she shrugged him off and darted ahead, not close enough to Kisame that he would acknowledge her presence, but far enough that Itachi had to walked briskly to catch up.

One would think that she had almost forgotten what her goals were or that monsters were searching for her avidly now that she was able to move about freely again, what with all of the romance in the air.