With a sharp exhale, Kyuubi swam up from the watery entrance of the Temple and looked around with a gasp. The inside of the Water Temple was a sight to behold. Its walls were crafted entirely of blue marble and gold, which sparkled slightly thanks to the torches that were scattered about.
The Temple truly kept to its namesake; water filled the Temple all the way up to the ledge that Kyuubi climbed onto, making the massive tower in the center of the vast room look like and island. "It's beautiful." He whispered. Sakura hummed in agreement before she stated,
"But it's going to be a hassle getting through here with all this water..." Kyuubi looked around for a moment before he thought he saw something underneath the water. He abruptly stuck his head underneath and looked around, seeing that the tower was even taller than it looked and that there were many paths underneath the liquid.
"Is that where we should go?" Kyuubi asked. Suddenly, Sakura shrieked and the young demon brought his head above the water just in time to see a blue tektite jumping towards them. "I don't feel like fighting..." He growled, putting the Iron anklets back on and stepping into the cold water. The tektite landed where Kyuubi had been a second ago, looking around as if confused.
Kyuubi had to wait until he finally landed on the ground and looked around, blue eyes landing on the passageway to the right. "Let's get started." He murmured before he slowly walked over into the brick-hewn passage.
The demon hadn't walked for five minutes when he gasped at the sight of familiar brown hair. "No way..." Kyuubi blinked before he turned a corner and saw Hoshi's elder brother, god of lightening Rokubi No Raijuu.
However, the weasel-god looked haggard: blood was slowly drifting into the water around them from the cuts and scratches on his skin, he was breathing heavily, that much was clear even with the strange device covering his mouth.
"Rokubi-sama?" Sakura called over. Rokubi flinched, slowly tilting his head up towards the noise. But his tired eyes narrowed and a growl reverberated through the water, soft crackles of electricity sparking from the brunette. "Okay, he seems mad." Sakura meeped. All at once, Rokubi lunged towards Kyuubi, growling and narrowing his red eyes.
"Rokubi!" Kyuubi coughed out as the weasel-demon had a firm grip on his throat. "Stop! What is wrong with you?" Rokubi kept on his attack until he saw something that made him gasp,
"The Light Collar? But that could only mean... Kyuubi?" He let go and stood back up, long enough for the younger demon to be able to stand and get his bearings.
"Yes, it's me." Kyuubi shook his head but then asked, "Rokubi, what was that all about?" Rokubi panted heavily before saying,
"It's nothing, I just thought that you were..." He stopped talking abruptly before he signaled upwards and swam up. Kyuubi took off his anklets and quickly followed until they reached a floor that was void of any water. Rokubi removed the metal device from his mouth explaining, "Sanbi made it so that I can breath underwater with this." The brunette sighed deeply before he spoke,
"You've seen it, haven't you? Crystal-Water Domain completely frozen!" Kyuubi nodded,
"Yes, I was hoping that you all, the gods I mean, were doing something about and..." Kyuubi trailed off as he saw Rokubi closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Rokubi?"
"It may sound selfish of me, I realize this. But..." Rokubi's eyes watered, "I have to find Sanbi! I know he's in this Temple somewhere, my heart knows it and I can sense his chakra..." Kyuubi waited a moment before he spoke again,
"I was told that Sanbi has been missing... You say he's in the Temple?" Rokubi nodded again before he turned around, facing a door. The two demons walked in, immediately saw a group of clam-like creatures with spines on their backs. They turned slightly and opened their mouths, revealing a soft, fleshy inside. "What are they?"
Abruptly, the clams shut their mouths before jumping towards Kyuubi and Rokubi. Just as Kyuubi extended his now blue claws, Rokubi gestured for the younger to step aside. When Kyuubi moved, a stream of electricity crackled around the brunette before several bolts of lightening showered the room, obliterating the clams.
"Rokubi-sama..." Sakura gasped in awe, Kyuubi was just speechless. Rokubi brushed his hair back before he sighed,
"I'm sorry, but we really don't have time to be distracted by such small things like this." Kyuubi nodded, he understood the urgency of the situation and was bout to say something when he saw a small pedestal holding a scroll of paper.
"Hey..." Kyuubi began, reaching for the scroll and unrolling it, "It's a map of the whole Temple."
"Leave it to Sanbi." Rokubi chuckled, "But I'm grateful, this will really help." The brunette walked over and indicated three areas in the Temple, stating,
"There are places inside this Temple that can make the water rise and fall." Then he looked at Kyuubi, "We should stick together here, I know that if we try hard enough, we can find Sanbi and break the curse on his Temple." The vermillion-haired demon smiled and nodded,
"You even have to ask?"
"How do we change the water level, Rokubi?" Sakura asked. Rokubi silently walked over to a carving in the wall. It was an engraving of the Royal Family. He pressed the top of the divided circle... then the left part... then the right. Immediately, the water in the Temple sunk down, as if disappearing.
"Wow..."
"Yes, Sanbi deliberately made sure that his Temple would be the most puzzling, beautiful masterpiece in all of Kon." Rokubi sighed, running his hands across the walls as he remembered when Sanbi first started working on this sacred place.
"If I have to build them myself, I will. But there has to be a means of defense just in case something happens to the Chakra of Life." Sanbi spoke, in his shark-form, as he watched over the ancient demons of Kon preparing his vision for a Temple.
Rokubi scratched at one of his ears with one of his hind legs before he asked, "Do you really think that such a day will come that this will be completely necessary?" Sharp black eyes turned towards Rokubi before the shark-god sighed,
"I wish it wouldn't but with our 'king' being so fond of leaving things to destiny, we have to take all precautions, Rokubi."
"Rokubi-sama." The brunette was taken from his thoughts by Kyuubi's voice calling out to him, "We're kind of at an impasse." Rokubi looked and saw that a large stone had blocked their path. The lightening-god chuckled,
"Just wait, this is just a small fraction of what Sanbi placed in this Temple. Come on." Rokubi began pushing the stone. Kyuubi immediately went over to help. In no time, the stone had been removed and they found a room that led to a swirling pool of water.
"Another dead-end?" Sakura asked. It sure seemed that way until Kyuubi dunked his head under the water and saw that there was another passageway underneath the swirling liquid.
"There's another way through." Kyuubi announced as he brought his head up. "I'll go on ahead to see where it goes." Rokubi nodded before Kyuubi put his anklets back on and sank down into the water. After getting his bearings, he walked through and found that there was a small chest in the passage that contained a wonderful small key. "Great. This again." Kyuubi growled before he took of his anklets and swam back to Rokubi. After they had gotten back together again, they left the room.
"What should I use it to open?" Kyuubi asked, looking at the key as they walked back to the main area of the Temple. At first, Rokubi was quiet as he looked around before he saw something and spoke,
"Why not there?" Kyuubi looked and saw that the large tower that stood in the center of the main room had a locked door. Without so much as a second thought, Kyuubi opened the door and they all went inside.
In the tower, there was another carving that Rokubi used to raise the water up one level and Kyuubi found another hidden passageway to go through. Said passageway contained more of the evil clams and gray, spiky enemies that kept Kyuubi busy for a few moments until the last of the monsters was defeated and Kyuubi got another small key. After he floated back up, they left the tower.
"Was Sanbi's plan to make whoever comes inside this Temple so irritated that they would just leave?" Sakura whined, "Because that's how I'm feeling right about now..." Kyuubi chuckled softly as they moved towards another locked door. Rokubi brought out some of the small keys he had collected while he was down here and opened the door.
Kyuubi stopped his chuckling when he realized how saddened the weasel-god looked.
They were now in a room filled with statues that were decorated with circular-carvings. The ledges in this room were of all different heights and the exit was on the highest ledge of all. "What are we going to do?" Kyuubi asked, looking over to Rokubi. Rokubi was shivering slightly, not from cold or the situation, but from something unknown. "Rokubi?"
"Remember..." Rokubi began, "When you saw me so injured, Kyuubi?" Kyuubi nodded as he remembered the enraged look in the brunette's eyes. "It was because of what's in that room. There is a very dark entity in this Temple, Kyuubi." Rokubi grabbed Kyuubi and quickly performed a few hand-signs. In a flash of lightening, Kyuubi found the three of them on the highest ledge next to the new door. "Stay close to me you two." Rokubi warned. Kyuubi and Sakura gulped, the prior nodding. The door was opened.
Rokubi walked into the next damp room, noticing that there was a chest sitting there. But he quickly realized...
"Kyuubi?" The lightening-god looked around quickly, not seeing Kyuubi and Sakura anywhere.
...He was alone.
Kyuubi blinked as he broke through a faint mist into a large clearing. It was like he had walked into a whole new place outside of the Water Temple, there was a layer of water, about ankle-deep, covering the ground. A skillfully crafted stone doorway stood behind Kyuubi as a small island with a lone, struggling-at-life tree. The whole place was bathed in a thick, muggy glow.
Kyuubi gasped, looking around, "Where's Rokubi?"
"He was just behind us!" Sakura commented. Kyuubi shook his head and ran forward, trying to see if he could find a way out of this place. He ran all to way over to the small island, splashes of water following his steps, before he looked around and ran another way.
The young demon stopped for a second, just a second, to try and see his surroundings better before he tried bolting away again. His reflection on the water's surface was, however, strange for two reasons.
One, it was darker; more like a shadow.
Two... it didn't follow Kyuubi.
Kyuubi had to stop for a quick breather when he had run all around the clearing, trying to find a way out. "Don't over exhaust yourself, Kyuubi." Sakura chided.
There was a chuckling.
"Alright, alright," Kyuubi sighed, standing up slowly, "You don't have to laugh at me." Sakura gulped,
"I didn't... laugh..." Kyuubi looked at the fairy with a questioning look before the chuckling rang through the room again.
"Who's there?" Kyuubi asked, getting annoyed of all the noise. The voice just kept on chuckling and, if anyone had looked back to the area besides the island, they would have noticed that the reflection of Kyuubi was gone. The voice kept on chuckling before a voice sang out,
'The fields will rot...
The waters will too...
The destruction of Kon comes true...
Fires burn,
To trap us here...
Kill our families...'
Kyuubi's claws extended as the young demon began growling. Kyuubi felt so enraged at that moment, because whoever was making the noise was taunting him, because they wouldn't show themselves... But mostly, because they were making a mocker of the beautiful song that Rokubi had taught him when he first met Hoshi. "Show yourself, damn it!" He growled out.
"As you wish." The voice spoke from behind Kyuubi. The vermillion-haired demon swallowed softly before turning around slowly. Sakura gasped before he did, he was in too much shock at what he saw.
Long hair down to their waist, much like his own, only an inky black.
Long claws, much like his own.
A black version of the Kyuubi No Kitsune cloak was draped around him.
Pale, almost grey, dead-looking skin anointed by whisker-like marks on his cheeks.
And eyes of red. Not like his crimson, but more like Madara's vile red eyes observed Kyuubi with a smiling, taunting, expression. This stranger even had a gray fairy floating by his head. Kyuubi was confused and scared, some amalgam of the two, but he cleared his throat enough to ask,
"Who... what are you?" The figure smiled that contradicting smile but was silent before the fairy at his side laughed,
"Stupid demon boy..."
"Shut your mouth!" Sakura yelled back, the other fairy calling back,
"Make me, you worthless excuse of a fairy!" Sakura held her tongue at that scathing remark, hiding behind one of Kyuubi's ears. Kyuubi growled,
"You have yet to answer my question."
"Must I?" The doppelganger replied, "You should know who I am like a tree knows every leaf on their branches. Speaking of leaves, how did it feel when you killed the Mother Tree and Hachibi No Hachimata?" Kyuubi flinched, memories of that horrid day flooding back until he bit them back with a,
"They've both been revived. But not that that's any of your business, who are you?" The figure chuckled, scratching behind one of his ears.
"Hm, and Sanbi No Same thought you were a great warrior, but you can't even figure out what's right in front of you... It's not wonder that he's vanished. He probably knew that there was no way that Kon could be saved by a weakling like you." Kyuubi was finding it very hard to keep himself calm every time this person spoke. He clenched his hand into a fist, the claws biting slightly,
"I will ask one more time... Who are you?" The figure smiled again before stating,
"I'm you." Kyuubi shook his head.
"No, you're not. I'm me, I plenty well know that." The other Kyuubi chuckled a bit,
"That's true. Well then, let me explain this a little better for one as simple as you.", he hummed for a moment, "Ah, okay. I am you. But I'm more of a manifestation of your honest thoughts and feelings... along with your darkest thoughts and whims. I guess you can call me Yami Kyuubi." He held out a hand and the grey fairy landed on it. "And this is Yami Sakura."
"It's not a pleasure." Teh fairy stated. Kyuubi was still confused about what this... thing was doing here and why he couldn't leave. So he asked,
"Where's Rokubi?"
"That whore?" Yami Kyuubi scoffed. "I already dealt with him. Though he teleported out of here like a coward before I could finish him off." The doppelganger's claws extended before he smiled, "I would much rather spend some quality with my... lighter self?"
"I want to leave now." Kyuubi commanded softly. Yami Kyuubi smirked.
"But I don't want you to." Kyuubi got into a fighting stance, figuring that this thing wasn't going to let him out without a fight. "Perfect." At once, Yami Sakura rushed over and knocked Sakura away from Kyuubi.
"Sakura!" Kyuubi yelled but was abruptly cut off when he had to try and block Yami Kyuubi's attack. Kyuubi pushed the offender away before he tried a few attacks of his own. To his great dismay, Yami Kyuubi cackled as he reflected every one, making all of them useless.
"I know all of your moves!" The dark demon laughed, "Hell, I know everything about you!" Kyuubi hadn't bothered to listen and lunged one of his claws towards his enemy. Without any sound besides that of rustling fabric, Yami Kyuubi had jumped up and landed on Kyuubi's arm.
"What?" Kyuubi blinked in shock before Yami Kyuubi executed a back flip that resulted in a sharp kick to Kyuubi's face. The vermillion-haired demon fell back with a wince and whimpered a bit despite himself as he felt a thin stream of blood dripping down his face from a new cut on his cheek.
Yami Kyuubi smirked when Kyuubi looked towards him, holding up one of his feet to show the sharpened claws on his toes, now stained red. Kyuubi tried to stand up straight but was immediately knocked down by his enemy. Yami Kyuubi had so much strength, it seemed, and Kyuubi could only struggle as he tried to escape.
But Yami Kyuubi only smirked before he leaned his head down... and lapped up the blood from the wound he had just made. Kyuubi yelped before he managed to kick Yami Kyuubi away. Both demons stood, facing each other. But then Yami Kyuubi licked at his lips, asking,
"What's wrong? Someone like you should be used to that type of thing, am I right?" Kyuubi shook his head,
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Of course you do!" Yami Kyuubi laughed, "It wasn't that long ago that you entered the Shobura Mountain Crater in order to get to the Fire Temple." Kyuubi gasped. "Oh, you think about it all the time. How Shisa's body felt against yours, the excitement, the pleasure that he brought to you... How you would do anything to feel it all again."
"Quiet!" Kyuubi growled, rushing the shadow again, just to get into another slash of claws that produced nothing but noise. When they separated this time, Yami Kyuubi asked,
"How did it feel?"
"What?"
"When you single-handedly brought Kon into this spiral of destruction? Huh?" Kyuubi yelled, charging the other and managing to get him to the floor before the darker kicked him off and stood again, continuing, "You knew that you couldn't do a damn thing to defeat Madara but you still stuck your nose into everyone else's business! Why?" Kyuubi tried to use his Demon's Bow to shut the shadow up but Yami Kyuubi blocked the arrow with his shield-charm and kept on, "Because you were lonely. No one wanted you since you had killed the Forest-god and you just wanted to be accepted into something."
"Kyuubi, don't listen to hi-Ah!" Sakura tried calling over but Yami Sakura had pulled one of her wings, shutting her up.
"Honestly, what do you think you are? Some brave, heroic demon who is going to save Kon?" Yami Kyuubi started as he kneeled down to pick Kyuubi up off the ground by his hair. "Ha, you're a filthy, disgusting mutt and no one is going to ever love or acknowledge you as other wise. Not even Hoshi..."
"SHUT UP!" Kyuubi sobbed out.
"Oh yes, I wonder how Hoshi will react once he figures out what you did with Shisa... I bet he'll be crushed." Yami Kyuubi and Yami Sakura laughed for a moment, enjoying Kyuubi's misery. Then there was a deep growl. "Hm?" The shadowy demon let go of Kyuubi and looked at how a small flood of reddish-orange chakra seeped from him. "Hey, what's with..." Kyuubi jumped up and performed a Volcan Slam on Yami Kyuubi, the force and strength of the attack sending the dark demon for a loop.
Kyuubi silently ran towards his doppelganger and performed another attack on him, hitting with great force. "Can't you block it?" Yami Sakura asked.
"No!" Yami Kyuubi growled, "This is the one thing I don't know when it comes to Kyuubi!" Yami Kyuubi charged towards Kyuubi and slashed at his chest, leaving a deeply cut wound, but Kyuubi was too infuriated to feel it. He simply poured all of his chakra into his claws and prepared for an attack. Yami Kyuubi smirked. "Winner take all, is it?"
At once, both demons charged at each other, determined that one of them would fall. There was the sound of claws colliding before silence filled the room. Both fairies gasped as they watched the scene. Kyuubi staring down at Yami Kyuubi, the prior's claws in the latter's chest. Yami Sakura yelled before she shattered into tiny pieces. Yami Kyuubi coughed heavily, a black substance splashing onto Kyuubi's feet, before he chuckled a bit. Red eyes looked into Crimson as he spoke,
"You can kill the manifestation, Kyuubi. But the darkness will still be with you. The fodder of your nightmares, the origin of all of your doubt, the reminder of your fears. I'll always be..." Yami Kyuubi coughed as he pointed a weak finger towards Kyuubi's chest. "Right here."
With a smile and a sigh, Yami Kyuubi fell to the ground, shattering into a pile of black-shaded glass.
"Oh gods..." Rokubi bit his lip as he looked around, still searching, "Where could they have gone? I..." He trailed off when he heard the door open, and gasped, "Kyuubi!"
Kyuubi walked slowly, limping and breathing heavily into the room. His eyes were almost closed, he was so exhausted. "Kyuubi, gods, what happened?" Kyuubi walked forward until he was right in front of Rokubi. Then, silently, he collapsed into the brunette's arms and fell into an exhausted sleep filled with shadows of fear and monsters of uncertainty.