Chapter 4
Devon was walking through Konoha, silently reliving the horrors of his preliminary match with Sumaia. He almost broke down when he pictured Sumaia's face screaming in agony. His dismal mood was not helped by the villagers' looks and whispers as he passed. 'That's him. The demon boy.' 'He shouldn't be allowed to be a chunin.' 'Do you know that poor boy he nearly killed is still in a coma?' 'It's been 2 weeks and his burns haven't subsided.' 'They keep saying he might die.' 'The Anbu should just take him out right now.' 'That monster.'
Devon found an empty ramen shop and sat down. The owner looked at him and whispered something to the waitress. The waitress looked Devon up and down as if he stole the silverware. Devon picked up a menu and decided on 2 bowls. He waited for the waitress to come over and take his order. But she never did. She either started talking with the cook or took someone else's order, all the while glancing kunai in his direction. He waited for about 10 minutes before his patience finally subsided. He had never responded to anyone's comments about him before because it usually angered him enough to the point Kaikaron could escape again. But after 2 weeks of constant shunning, whispering and backbiting, he was finally ready to risk it.
He stood up and started to say something to the waitress when the owner walked over. "Is there a problem?" Said the owner in a very snide tone. "No. There's no problem. I just wanted to know what the wait time was before I actually get service." The owner took offense and stepped a little closer. "Maybe if you're not satisfied with the service here you could try the ramen shop about 2 miles up the road. They have fast service for your kind." "What do you mean by 'your kind'?" Devon asked with an innocent tone. Devon had known the meaning of 'your kind' since he was infused with Kaikaron. He just wanted to see if he was bold enough to actually say it. The owner got in Devon's face and spoke loudly so the other customers could hear him. "The demonic kind. Murderers, rapists, rogue shinobi, your kind."
Devon could feel Kaikaron squirming inside him. "Are you really going to let him talk about me like that?! About you like that?! I'll take care of him if you let me." Devon could feel himself slipping, losing control. He closed his eyes for 2 seconds to shut Kaikaron out, and then opened them to stare at the owner very threateningly. "If I'm such a demon, then why aren't you dead yet? After all, I am a murderer right? Since you know me so well, why aren't you hanging by your neck from your store sign?" Devon could see and feel everyone's eyes staring at him, full of fear. The store owner had dropped his gaze to the floor and was slowly stepping back. "Just get out of here before I alert the Anbu." Devon smirked at his cowardice and started to leave when he heard someone behind him. "Going so soon?"
He recognized the voice and spun around into a defensive stance, kunai prepared, to meet the gaze of Sumaia's sensei. He stared at Sumaia's sensei just standing there with no weapon prepared. Sumaia's sensei held his hands out to the side and innocently smiled. "Easy. I just wanted to know if you would sit and eat some ramen with me." Devon's head tilted slightly to the side as he tried to figure out what he meant by this! This man, of all people, would have reason to hate, if not kill, him! But there he stood, acting as if Devon hadn't nearly destroyed his student 2 weeks earlier! Devon and the store owner stared at Sumaia's sensei in disbelief for about a minute! "What?" Sumaia's sensei harmlessly asked. "I'm hungry!" Sumaia's sensei walked up to the store owner and put his hand on Devon's shoulder with a wide grin. "He's going to eat with me, okay?" The store owner grinned at him, took one more hateful look at Devon, and called the waitress over. "You can take his order now," he told the waitress as he went to the back. Devon got a tear of confusion on the back of his head as he walked to Sumaia's sensei's table. He sat in the booth across from Sumaia's sensei and ordered his food.
When the food arrived, Devon just stared in disbelief at the mountain of ramen dishes sitting in front of Sumaia's sensei! Sumaia's sensei stopped eating his 14th bowl when he realized Devon hadn't touched his yet. He kind of chuckled. "You made such a big deal about the service and now you're not eating? That's kind of funny!" Devon looked into the bowl, avoiding laughing. "How is Sumaia?" Devon asked into the bowl of ramen. Sumaia's sensei stopped eating and put his bowl down. "He's not as bad as everyone keeps saying. He's more disappointed in his loss than anything else. He should be back to training in a couple of weeks." Devon sighed, relieved that Sumaia wasn't on his death bed. He looked up from the ramen and looked at Sumaia's sensei perplexed. "Why are you being so nice to me? Everyone else just writes me off as a demon child. Why not you?"
Sumaia's sensei just grinned at the irony. "Because the villagers used to treat me the same way. I understand exactly what it means to be an outcast. It's nothing you've done, but they can't see past the thing that's inside you. Your sensei told me about your demon. Have you ever tried to control the demon himself yet?" Devon stared out the window. "My father taught me a certain jutsu that I could perform to temporarily release the demon. He told me that if I actually defeat my demon in battle, then I will be able to control him from then on." Sumaia's sensei stared at Devon. "Have you tried yet?"
"You don't understand. If I win the battle, I can control the demon. But if I lose, then my demon will permanently control me! And I don't think I can defeat him. My sensei has helped with my fighting skills, but he can only do so much. I just don't think I have what it takes to defeat him…" Devon's voice trailed as he saw Kaikaron's face in the window. He shut his eyes and looked again, seeing nothing but the window.
Sumaia's sensei finished his ramen and looked into Devon's eyes. "I know some people who can help you. I'll talk to your sensei tonight. Tomorrow, meet me here and we'll start our journey." He got up and started to walk out the door. He stopped and turned back to Devon. "It takes a while to get to the Village Hidden in the Sand."