Moons: Part of the reason this took a while? Fanfiction (or my computer, i don't know)was screwing with me!
Fanfiction: "Sorry, you have to be logged in to access this page. Login blab blab bla"
Moons: Motha (censor)!!! I am logged in! How could I be on that last page if I wasn't!?
So yeah, I was randomly logged out twice while I was working on this (and my profile) so I lost a lot of stuff I worked on typing for a long time when I pressed that save button and I had to retype it. But it's out now. I hope this makes up for the disappointment called Ch. 5
"Common sense? Worthless things like that, I would not have as long as I can remember."
~Zaraki Kenpatchi, Bleach
After a while of walking, Sora spoke up.
"Yo, Kanemaru?" "Yes?"
"You know we're both... evil, right? Me and Brom-sempai?"
"I'm well aware of that." Kanemaru replied. "I know what you're thinking. I'm a good person as well as a warrior-"
"I didn't say or think that." Sora interrupted, "Hell, I barely know anything about you."
"Oh," The bear spoke, embarrassed. "Anyway, I am a good person deep down so I can't say I agree with your religion. But Brom-dono is my friend and I respect him. That's why I walk with a villain such as him. I'll always remain loyal to him."
Setting: Years ago....
"Kanemaru! Help me!" Terrified shinobi was shaking with more fear than the young warrior had ever seen him in before. "Kanemaru!" The masked shinobi yelled again. His arm and both of his legs were bleeding heavily. It took Kanemaru a second to realize his master had summoned him to a battle in a forest.
Kanemaru looked at the attacker. A large, young man holding a katana was standing on a weird symbol on the ground. His skin was black and white giving him the appearance of a skeleton. "It's too late to save him." The man said, "He's going to die no matter what you do."
"Do something Kanemaru!" The shinobi screamed, tears stinging his eyes "Sa-" He choked. Blood appeared on his chest. Kanemaru's eyes widened. His master fell forward dead. The murderer laughed softly, like a low chuckle. Next thing he knew, he was cracking up insanely. He walked up to the corpse and snatched the summoning scroll for bears off of his back of the body.
Kanemaru backed off slowly. He was still a cub barely in his armor. Surely he wouldn't stand a chance. Without bothering to look back, he ran. He ran like hell.
It began to rain above him. Kanemaru slid to a stop by a tree and hid beneath it's roots. He buried himself as far as he could go and stayed there. He didn't know how long he stayed there for. The next thing he knew, he felt a cold hand on his fur.
He jumped. Firm hands grabbed him and held him. Kanemaru struggled, but couldn't bread free. "I'm not gonna hurt you, dammit!" The man holding him grunted. Kanemaru instantly recognized the voice.
The cub stopped squirming for a second and stammered, "Wh-what do you mean you- you wouldn't hurt me!? You killed that human didn't you!?"
"I don't have to kill animals." The man said, "And personally, he wasn't that great of a guy."
"Huh?"
"He couldn't have seriously expected a whelp like you to be able to stand a chance against me. He only summoned yah because he didn't want to go down alone. He wanted you to die as well."
"He-he!? I- he won't!"
"He would." The man said showing no emotion, "Think about it. You look like yah just gained ability to fight."
"I- I did." Kanemaru hated the truth, but he was wise even at a young age and knew he had to accept it.
The man put Kanemaru back on the ground and held out his hand. "Brom." Kanemaru put his paw in the hand. "Kanemaru." Brom smiled. "You need more experience, but eventually you'll be good enough to maybe fight at my side."
He reached into a large coat he wore. "So Kanemaru," He took out the summoning scroll carried by his victim. "How do I work this thing?" "You sign your name in blood on the scroll." Kanemaru explained. "That will make a contract that will let you be able to summon bears. But to summon us, you'll have to give blood and some off your chakra. More chakra for a more powerful bear. The hand seals are Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram. Then put you put your palm on the ground and force the chakra out to summon."
"Uh huh. Boar...Dog...Bird...Monkey...Ram" Brom muttered. He opened up the scroll and found the next blank area on the page. He held out his finger. "Do me a favor?" Kanemaru leaned forward and bit the finger causing it to bleed. "Thanks." He wrote down his name on the scroll and closed it up.
He quickly stuffed the scroll back into his coat and glared around. "Brom?" "Quiet. Someone's coming." He picked the bear cub up and ran off.
A man attacked them before they could escape. He pushed Brom, knocking him to the ground. He ran up and scoped up Kanemaru. Kanemaru wore a helmet and armor on his back, but they didn't protect his neck. The man wrapped his fingers around it, prepared to snap it easily.
Brom pushed himself up. "Who the hell are you?! What do you want?"
The attacker had strange headgear with a mask and an unscratched waterfall headband. His eyes were stranger; they were red with green where the white should be. He introduced himself, "Kakuzu, shinobi of the Waterfall Village. That man you killed back there was my partner."
"Yeah, so."
"He had a summoning scroll with him. It's worth a lot of money."
Brom smirked, "You don't grieve for your partner and just go for the expensive item. I get it. You're a man who only cares about money."
"It's the most important thing."
"Cheap bastard, I assume you want this." Brom pulled out the summoning scroll. "What if I don't want to give it to you?"
"That's why I have this." Kakuzu tightened the grip on Kanemaru's neck, starting to choke him and ready to break the neck. Kanemaru looked over at Brom. Brom would save him, right?
Brom put the scroll down on the ground and drew his katana. "The cub first." Kakuzu loosened his grip and Kanemaru thought he was going to be let free.
Instead, Kakuzu flung the bear at full force into the nearest tree. "Kanemaru!" Brom gasped, rushing over. Kakuzu moved in a flash of speed, grabbing the scroll off the ground and running off.
Brom got down next to Kanemaru. Tears were stinging the cub's eyes. "It hurts." He said, his voice just above a whisper "It hurts." "Let me see, Kanemaru." Brom scanned Kanemaru's body and felt around a little bit.
"Your right hind leg is broken." He reported, "Nothing a little time wouldn't heal. I'm not sure you'll be able to walk though."
"I don't think I can." Kanemaru told him.
Brom sighed. "Alright, I'll carry you." He picked the cub up and put him on his massive shoulders. Kanemaru held on tightly with his front paws. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Brom replied.
"I thought you were evil." Kanemaru said.
"I am." Brom told him.
"B-but, I'm a warrior. I'm not a bad guy." Kanemaru panicked, fearing he might be thrown again or maybe worse. He didn't want to stay out here in the rain.
"Whatever." Brom grunted, "I'll still help you out, and who knows. Maybe you'll be just as bad as me someday or at least help me out in battle.
"Of course, I could just abandon yah out here in the rain." He added with a sick laugh. Kanemaru looked at the path ahead again. Not like he had much of a choice but to join him.
"I want to be able to carry you, when I'm stronger." He said, changing the subject from the gruesome thought of being left in the woods. "That's my new goal. To be able to carry you, like you're carrying me."
"Good luck with that." Brom commented dryly. He was not one for goal setting.
"I never became as heartless as him." Kanemaru continued his story, "However, Brom-dono continued to carry me around until my leg fully healed. Then I worked hard and tackled any shinobi who interfered with Brom-dono's...er... rituals at full force. As I grew up, I was able to learn to battle by using size and strength to my advantage. I was eventually able to throw fully grown men and crush ribs just by stepping on them and pressing down.
"Time went on and grew to respect Brom-dono more and more despite his religion. This did not please the bears. You see, Sora-kun, bears are noble creatures with strong hearts and great honor." Sora rolled his eyes at this part, but continued to listen. "They were infuriated at the idea that one of their kind had joined a man so evil. I pleaded to them. 'There are much more wicked foes out there.' I said, 'Brom is not a sinner and fights for nether greed nor pride.'
"They told me 'Brom fights with a lust for blood. He is still a sinner.' I was shocked. I roared that Brom was a holy man, the opposite of a sinner. They said 'Brom's deity is more of a Satan than savior. He is religious, but not a holy man.' Never the less, Brom had signed the scroll and had every right to summon us. The elders of the bears ordered that if a bear was summoned by him, he was forbidden to follow orders unless of the unlikely chance that it was for a good cause.
"I ignored their law. As consequence I lost all my respect among the bears and became an outcast. No one summons me anymore except Brom-dono."
"So what happened to the other dude?" Sora asked, "Kazuku or whatever."
"I don't know what became of him." Kanemaru replied. "I'm guessing he just sold the scroll and forgot about us. Now let's speed up. If we pick up the pace, we'll be at our destination by tomorrow."
"Whatever." Sora replied. His gaze was focused on the trees to his right.
A demon was staring back at him!
The demon or whatever it was didn't go away. It looked nothing like any animal Sora had ever seen. It had giant bat-like ears sticking out of it's freakishly small head. It glided from tree to tree landing on every couple of branches on all fours. The back feet were small paws while the front were three birdlike claws. Sora thought he saw wings every other glance, but they appeared to be a trick of light. It's thin layer fur was a fiery red color with dark stripes of black and orange on it's back and large ears.
Every time Sora blinked, the creature would become transparent and slowly regain it's color and form as he stared at it. 'It's not there.' He told himself. But it never went away. When exactly had it shown up, he was not sure. It kept stalking him. Kanemaru took no notice of the being. He didn't seem to know it was there.
Hours past sunset, Brom still had not returned to them. Kanemaru decided to take a break and rest in the forest until morning. As the bear drifted off to sleep, Sora remained wide awake staring at the demon.
It was lying on its stomach, blinking at Sora. The Jashinist got a good look at its eyes now. They had two black stripes going across as what he thought were pupils. The rest of the eye was orange.
"What are you?" He asked the creature.
The creature rolled onto its back and cocked its head. "That can mean a lot of things." It said in an alien voice. "If you are referring to my gender, I am neither male nor female so you may call me an it. If my name is what you seek, it is Nighro. If you ask my title, I am a guardian of the River Styx and guide to the path to Hell." Nighro kicked its hind legs in the air as it went on. "I know you're a male, you go by the name of Sora, and you're an immortal serving under the evil spirit Jashin. I'm just curious; are you proud off your position?"
"I kinda meant are you a demon?" Sora replied, ignoring the question.
Nighro growled softly, "I suppose I am." It said flatly, "My kind go by many titles such as devils and angels of death and reapers. So as I asked before, are you proud off your position?"
"Of course I am." Sora told Nighro, "It is an honor to be immortal with Jashin-sama watching over me." His eyes moved from the demon to the ground. "So, did you by any chance come to take me to Hell?"
Nighro gave a hoot of laughter. "Drag you down to Hell!? Haha! Oh, fuck no! You aren't going anytime soon! Haha... I just need to take a break every now in then. You're an entertaining person to watch, Sora-kun~."
"I haven't done anything interesting." Sora said, confused.
"Not yet~." Nighro slurred, "Tell me Sora, when was the last time you killed someone?"
"Dunno."
Nighro cocked its head in the direction of Kanemaru. "What about 'im?"
"Do animals even count as a sacrifice?"
"If they have a soul, like this one, then yes. Jashin permits it."
"I can't. Sempai would-"
"Your sempai's not here." Nighro snickered. "You can't go long without killing. You can't resist it. He'll make sure of it. You'll always be able to remember the last time you killed someone from this day on. Now do yourself a favor and kill him."
"I don't know... I may get in some deep shit with Sempai."
"Fine, think about it. I wouldn't bother you." The four pupils in its eyes moved to its thin, sickly fur. "I think I'll give myself a bath." It moved its mouth close to one of its lifted hind legs and stuck out a long tongue to lick it 'clean'.
Sora blinked and Nighro faded to nothing and slowly came back to view again. He didn't look at it anymore and sat down on the ground.
"Kill the bear."
Sora listened to the words in his head. Blood was rushing into his head, mostly to his eyes. They started to ache.
"You have to kill Sora! Kill the bear!"
'How?'
"You may have not noticed but the bear carries a kunai pouch."
Sora saw the pouch attached to Kanemaru's right, hind leg. 'I didn't notice until now. But how do I carry it?'
"You have a mouth. Use it."
Sora smiled widely. He got down to one knee next to sleeping Kanemaru and opened the kunai pouch with his teeth. He lifted one up, tossed it up into the air, and caught it so it was sideways in his mouth.
Nighro stopped licking itself and examined Sora. "This aught to be interesting. Isn't that right, Sora-Twin?"
Twin jumped out of nowhere and landed next to Nighro. "Yes, it is."
"I see your infamous grin." Nighro noticed, putting a fanged smile of its own on. "Tell me, is that you usual, everyday, insane grin or is there really something worth smiling about?"
"Oh this is worth it." Sora's double assured.
"Did it happen?!"
"Did he lose it?!"
"He did! He did lose his sanity!"
"Damn, I was hoping to see the show alone." Nighro groaned, "Sora-Twin I do not mind, but the threesome..."
"We're sorry." The three childlike voices said altogether. "We can stay out of sight if you want us to."
"I don't care. I just want you to keep your mouths shut."
Kanemaru woke up. Someone was removing his armor. It felt like it was being kicked off by a boot. "Brom-dono?" He said with a little panic. The person didn't reply. He just continued his work. A piece of armor clashed onto the ground. The helmet was the only thing that remained on. "Sora-kun?"
Kanemaru had roared. He would only have roared in a real emergency. Brom ran at top speed to try and find him. He roared as loud as the bear, "Kanemaru!!!" His voice echoed through the forest. The bear came running to him in response. His armor was gone except for the helmet. There was a deep slash in his unprotected muzzle that reached from his nose to the metal of the helmet that was right beneath his eyes. It would probably scar him, but there were no other wounds. Just a few places where the fur was cut.
Sora came chasing after him. He jumped up and practically soared into the air. He came down with a leg outstretched to kick. Kanemaru got to his hind legs for a few seconds. Sora kicked his helmet right between the ears, forcing the bear down to all fours again. He leaped up and back-flipped to land perfectly on both feet.
The kid didn't look so sweet and innocent. His eyes were so bloodshot, there was more red than white. Dark rims had mysteriously started to appear under them. His expression seemed focused, even murderous, but nothing more. A kunai was clutched tightly by his jaw.
"Sora!? What the-" Before Brom could finish, he was knocked of balance by Sora headbutting his face. He took a few steps to regain the balance and put a hand over his now bloody nose.
'How'd he get to be so skilled!? He's as strong, fast, and nimble as some of the strongest shinobi I've faced!'
Sora was attacked by Kanemaru, but easily dodged. He came back and slashed at the bear with the kunai,
the laughter of the demons echoing in his ears, all he heard.
Moons: Cut short, I'm sorry, but I just wanted to get this chapter done with. First I want to clear up a few things.
This story will mention canon characters like Kakuzu above ('cause I have to include the dude! He's so freakin' kickass!), but they won't have any actually point in the plot at all. I'm probably not going to use him again. OCs will do all of the work here.
The name Nighro was suggested by my sister Emily, so I have to thank her for that. It's not Japanese (I believe my sister said it was Spanish) but I don't really care. It sounds cool. If you tell me what Nighro means, I'll give you a prize (ice cream). Or you can get a soda pop by just reviewing.
You liked it? You didn't like it? You want to see more demons, or screw the demons and get more action? I'll happily take any suggestions, good or bad. But now, to the video games! XD