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I stirred slightly, still dazed and not quite awake. I could hear voices, loud voices. I tried to tune out the ruckus –for some reason it also sounded slightly muted, as though I was hearing it from beyond something. I couldn't really make out what was being said –but the echoing noise was making my head spin.

Still, I was aware enough to notice that I wasn't tied up or anything –it felt more as though I was laying on a stony surface face-down. When I dared to open my eyes even a little, I noticed I was surrounded by something black. Beyond that, I could make out the slightly-indistinct shape of two people beyond the barrier.

Memory returned to me. I had defeated the Cloud Chunin that had outnumbered us two to one with Kai and Osamu; as we had made our way back, we had been ambushed by a Jonin. Dread and fear rippled through me. What had happened to the others? And what about Hayama-sensei? I fought not to move or do anything to portray the fact that I was awake.

I hated the Cloud ninja. Every time my life resembled something nearing peace and calm, every time I surrounded myself with people I loved, they saw fit to come along and rip away each solid foundation that I had been carefully constructing for myself. Now I was trapped in a barrier.

I got to my hands and knees, tired of playing possum. I now noticed that I didn't have my equipment with me –of course they would have disarmed me and removed my stuff. I still had my chakra and my fists. I increased the power of my fist by channeling chakra into it.

It had absolutely no effect –unless you include the fact that a fierce pain that resembled being electrocuted throughout my entire body rippled through my frame and I was flung back harshly, skidding to a painful halt in the centre of the barrier. Someone was infusing the wall with chakra, so powerful that it had burnt the skin on the backs of my knuckles. And to make it worse, I couldn't feel my chakra replenishing itself.

"You should learn to stop being disobedient," a voice said, and I scowled in that direction. I could see a faint silhouette of the man. "I see you need some more discipline."

The barrier hummed –and then I felt my chakra being sucked right out of me. I gasped as my vision began to blur as I was rapidly and drastically weakened. Lightning crackled around me, paralyzing me as I could do nothing but feel the chakra being drained out of me. My vision blurred and I fell forward and into unconsciousness again.

Wake up.

Who was that? That voice –it wasn't anyone I knew. And it chilled me down to the bone.

Wait –I had heard that voice before. It had been a throb in the back of my mind, sometimes little more than a whisper on a faint breeze, at other times (like right now) roaring through me. It was a voice that demanded control and power, a voice that I had surrendered to before once, and had been fighting against ever since.

Wake up! Great, the voice was getting even more demanding.

I opened my eyes. I was suspended in a strange and completely darkness. I could see nothing around me.

Let me loose... the voice demanded. It was soft, a tempting whisper that echoed in my mind. It was a voice, a temptation that I had given into before. Let me go and I relieve you of the pain of the chaos of this world...

Who are you? I asked it.

I am you, and you are me, it responded. Oh wonderful, now it was talking in riddles.

But how could it be me if I was me and I was right where I was now? That didn't make any sense to me.

You don't believe me. Very well, then I shall show myself to you.

A form seemed to be materializing out of the darkness, out of the nothingness. It was powerful, ancient... dangerous. It was a monstrous being. It was humanoid in shape and size, with obsidian scales rather than skin and large bat-like wings. It had six arms, each with long claws on its fingertips. Its face was fierce, with protruding canine-like fangs that stabbed down from its upper jaw. Its eyes were rimmed in crimson, and its eyes were dark and fierce. It had three eyes, one on its forehead, meaning that they formed a triangle. I trembled as I made eye contact with it.

As I faced it, I knew what it was. It was a demon. And it was the demon that was sealed away –the same being that had made me such a tempting target for the Cloud to control.

Didn't you hear me? I told you to let me out! You never had a problem with doing so before.

I resisted the call. The last time I had surrendered, I had ended up damaging a quarter of the Cloud village. I hadn't been in command at all –I hadn't even been conscious of what I had been doing. That was the reason I had been isolated, trapped in a cage and despised.

I couldn't let it out –I didn't want to hurt those that I considered my friends. This demon had caused fear within someone as powerful and dangerous as Toru. I closed my eyes, focusing on the people I wanted to protect –my friends, my comrades, my sensei, the remaining members of the family that had taken me in, had taught me to love again after my trust had been misplaced and abused. I couldn't let this thing out.

Why resist? You know that you cannot cope without me. How many times have I saved you already? You are weak –surrender your body and you will never experience the pain of the world again.

If I surrendered, who knows what damage I would cause? I couldn't give in –I'd become nothing more than the instrument that the Cloud had seen in me when they had looked at me. I might be weak, but I was training to become stronger. Losing the sensation of pain sounded tempting, but if I gave in, I would lose every other sensation in the world. I would lose the feelings of love and friendship, the feelings that came from fighting at people's sides, the pride that I felt as my jutsu grew stronger and stronger.

I would continue to be my own being, no matter how this demon tried to take over me. Even if it cost me my life, I was going to fight for them and protect them with my own strength.

I don't understand these feelings that you are thinking of, the demon said. But... your resolve is undeniable. Very well –I will follow your lead.

The demon turned into a dark mist, swirling around me. But for some reason, it didn't feel as though I was being consumed, and it didn't feel heavy or threatening anymore. Now what was happening?

I mentioned this already, didn't I? The demon's voice echoed around me. You and I share the same soul, the same body. Death for one of us means death for the other. I recognize your willpower and I will loan you my powers. Then the six arms appeared, seemingly wrapping around me, holding me in what seemed to be an embrace-like hold, and the wings curling around in what seemed to be a protective sweep.

I will watch over you, be your shield, the demon commented. A moment ago, the demon had been trying to tempt me into surrendering to it. I wasn't about to let my guard down just yet. The inner world where the demon lurked faded.

The demon looked at the young girl who had resisted its pull. It had thought that now, when she was alone, trapped, vulnerable and low on chakra, would be the easiest time to take her over and control the body that it was bound to.

But she had an unusual strength of will, despite everything that she had been through. It seemed as though the child's father had made a good selection when he had chosen to seal it within the girl who had then been newly born.

Now it was its duty to protect its host.