HOME | DD

Description
Chapter One: Citizen Soldier

Moonlight shone through the forest, lightening in place of the blazing sun.  Shadows danced along the ground as the wind blew, shifting the sea of leaves above the forest.

The morning animals quickly escaped the darkness, returning to their homes as the nocturnal animals made their way out into the night.  They snuck through, blending in the best they could to ensure their safety.

All but one creature did this, having strayed from the darkness as it tried to return home.  A lone rabbit hopped through the night, more carefree than the other creatures.  Its dark brown fur helped it to blend into the shadows, but at a time when it wasn't sticking to them, it became visible.

Pleased by its discovery, a pitch black panther slunk around the trees, remaining silent as it maneuvered closer to its newfound prey.  Its yellow-green eyes followed the rabbit as it moved, though not with enough speed to escape it.

It was almost too easy, the furry creature absolutely oblivious it was being hunted.  The panther tensed the muscles in its hind legs, preparing to leap.  Its black lips pulled back to reveal pure white fangs, soon to be strained red, in what could easily be thought of as a grin.  Letting a light growl rumble from its throat, it launched itself forward.

The rabbit seemed to sense it was being attacked a moment too late.  It began to bolt when the panther landed behind it.  Before it could, though, the sharp teeth of the predator latched onto it.

Warm blood gushed into the panther's mouth.  Its eyes momentarily rolled back as the fluid both began to sate and increase the hunger that had been gnawing at it since it first arose.  The animal instinct began to take over, and for a moment, all it wanted to do was devour the thing that was its new food.  Then it remembering it was still living and squirming.

A furious chorus of squeaks came from the rabbit as it tried to escape from its new prison, the fear of death its drive.  That only made the panther bite harder.  It let go for a moment before clamping its jaws around the tiny animal's neck.  With one hard, satisfying twist, its spine snapped.

Content with its new kill, the panther prepared to use it to at least momentarily quell its hunger.  Before it could, though, it sensed something it should have noticed before.  Slightly panicked, it raised its eyes to meet the ones that had been watching it since it had first sprung.

The night creature got low to the ground, dropping the rabbit so it could snarl at the new threat.  It knew exactly what it was – one of the two legged hunters that patrolled the area.  The panther didn't understand why the hunters stayed around the area, but they seemed to deem it important.  Once one of them had battled one of its brethren when they were so hunger they dared attack them.  Surprisingly, the hunter hadn't killed it, but had merely made sure it would be too afraid to attack again.

This particular hunter, like most that were out in the night, almost blended in with the shadows cast by the trees and moon.  The hunter seemed to have a second skin, though not like fur, over its usually pale skin.  It was as dark as the panther's own hide, if not darker.  Almost everything was covered, most likely to help cloak it like the armored skin creatures that could shift their own color.  Another reason the panther could figure out for the hunter's second skin was to defend them from the colder nights as they neared the season where trees leaves changed to their dying colors.  A patch of its pale under skin was visible, right around the area where the hunter's sky blue eyes sat.

The panther tensed when the hunter began to make a strange noise they often used to communicate with their own kind.  The panther couldn't make any sense of its strange language, but it could tell it was in a soothing tone.

As if trying to communicate better, the hunter raised its strange paw to show something between each of its claws.  Even its paw was covered by the second skin.  When the panther saw what was being shown to it, it unconsciously stepped back.  The hunter was showing it some of the painful star-shaped rocks that could pierce skin as easily as its fangs.  It'd had a few of the same star rocks thrown at it.

When the hunter made no move toward it or to throw the star rocks at it, the panther began to ponder what would be its purpose of drawing out its version of claws.  The only logical conclusion it could come up with was the hunter was saying it could attack or leave, but if it attacked, the star rocks would meet its flesh in retaliation.

Deciding, and hoping, that this was true, the panther reclaimed the dead rabbit within its jaws and slowly moved back.  When the hunter made no move, the panther turned and ran as quickly as it could to a safe area to finally enjoy its meal.

*~*~*~

Takiro sighed as the panther took off with its rabbit, wiping at some of the sweat that had begun to dribble into his eye.  He had feared he'd actually have to fight the panther, something he hated doing.  Felines had always been among his favorite animals, panthers coming right after lions.  The idea of killing any cat seemed horrifying to Takiro.  So he was more than happy to return the shuriken to its place in his pouch.

He leaned back against the tree whose shadow he'd been hiding in, reaching up to take off the hood of his black attire.  Then he took off the black mask that was attached to the shirt he wore underneath everything.  Most people just wore the mask and forgot about the hood, but because it was getting quite cold as it approached midnight and Takiro was accustomed to the warm weather of the Wind country, he'd chosen to wear the hood as well.  Now, however, the extra layers were adding more heat than he needed, especially after a moment he'd been so tensed and anxious.

Light brown hair spiked out from underneath his face mask, falling over his eyes as the cloth was removed.  He reached up and wiped off his forehead, relaxing as the brisk night air began to cool his body.  It began to seep into his skin, making him feel both hotter and cooler at the same time.  He also began stretching his muscles, trying to rid them of their new tightness.

He had just put his mask and hood back on when he heard it – the human scream.  All relaxation and looseness he had managed to obtain vanished, replaced by the sudden spike of anxiety running through his system.

As he had been trained to do, Takiro began to race toward the source, jumping from one set of shadows to another in a way that nearly made him invisible.  He had always had a talent at doing so, making it so he hadn't had to be trained as long or as hard.  It was also why he was so good at slipping between them then, searching for anything out of the ordinary as well as the person who had screamed.

Takiro finally found one of the things he'd been searching for about half a mile away from where he'd been.  How was it that none of the other guards had come running?  They all came out at night, staying about a third of a mile away from each other, making sure nobody slipped past to the shrine.

The man that Takiro found was one of these guards on the ground.  Like him, he wore the full black attire, but he was missing the hood that he had.  Removing the mask, he saw that it wasn't anyone he knew well – Takiro had only started about a week or two ago – but he still felt a great pain at seeing a fellow protector of the shrine dead.  This man looked like he was nearly fifty, if not a couple years older, with hair a combination of purple and white strands.  His eyes matched the purple of his hair, wide with both shock and pain.  Finding the wound that had killed him only took Takiro a moment.  A kunai protruded from his chest, a small amount of blood seeping through the edges.  It made dark spots on his dark gear, nearly invisible unless the moon's rays hit it.

Still feeling pain at the lost life, he ran his hand over the man's eyes, shutting them so he looked like he was simply sleeping.  Or he would if it wasn't for the fact he was so very pale and lifeless.  His chest didn't even move.  From a distance, however, it would be easy to mistake him for sleeping.  Either way, the man had entered his eternal slumber.

Takiro closed his own eyes, giving the man a moment of silence, knowing that he deserved it for spending his life protecting the shrine.  It wasn't an easy life, and most definitely not the safest seeing as bandits often made an appearance as did the wild animals, but he had chosen to do something great in protecting the world from a power that may destroy it.

The moment couldn't last long, though, despite the man's sacrifice, because Takiro had to quickly begin his hunt for the one responsible for taking the man's life.  He also had to stop the murderer from reaching the shrine.

Although he was upset about just leaving the older man's body where it was, Takiro began a quest to the shrine, knowing he had to warn the higher ups that were in there.  If this person could kill one of the older members so quickly that he hadn't had time to warn others, then he doubted he could handle the killer.

He jumped onto the tree branches, still remaining in the shadows as he rocketed through the road of bark.  Even with how fast he was going, he took about five minutes to get to the shrine.  Usually that wouldn't feel like a lot of time to him.  Now, however, it seemed like eternity as he worried about if the killer had gotten to anyone else or if they would suddenly appear to make him their next target.  Either way, he kept his eyes peeled for something out of the ordinary as he made his way to the shrine.  It wasn't until he actually arrived to the entry of the shrine he saw anything, though.

The shrine wasn't anything anyone could see.  They could see the entrance, but not the shrine itself.  When Takiro had first begun to seek the shrine protectors to ask to join, he had been completely confused to find nothing more than a small marble table with marble pillars around it.  In the middle of the floor was a mosaic of the four great beasts – the phoenix, the demon dog, the lion, and the water horse.  In the middle of them was a great circle, created by ten other circles.  Each of them but the demon dog was connected to the circles.

And in the middle of that circle was blood.

Takiro felt sick, knowing none of the protectors would dare defile anything related to the shrine with their own blood.  He had learned that his very first day, so it wouldn't just be any old newbie.  Which meant it could only be one thing – the killer.

Panicking, he rushed to the shrine, standing in the middle of the circle.  He closed his eyes, bringing his hands together into a tiger symbol as he focused his energy to his feet.  It didn't take much concentration before the floor beneath him suddenly vanished.  There was a brief period when he was falling with some light, but then the marble returned and he was freefalling through darkness.

The distance down to the shrine was probably three miles, so for some time Takiro just let himself fall.  He'd know when he needed to begin slowing himself down because a light would appear beneath him.  Until then he simply thought over why the blood would be at the shrine entrance.  It was impossible this bandit knew where the shrine was, right?

At least, it was impossible if they were just another random bandit.  If the bandit was a person with a purpose rather than just thinking that so much protection must be guarding something great, then they may know how to enter the shrine.

Takiro sickened at the thought, but he didn't push it aside.  If he did and found out he was right, he wouldn't be braced for what was to come.  He still hoped that he didn't have to face more deaths that night.

Within a minute the light became visible beneath him.  It was a white speck quickly approaching.  Takiro moved toward the wall, focusing chakra into his feet.  They connected with the circling wall, keeping him glued to it at the same time as slowing him down.  He only did it bit by bit, knowing it could harm his body if he just came to an abrupt stop.  By the time the light was nearly at him, he was going at the speed of a sprint.  Takiro jumped off the wall, releasing the chakra at his feet.  He did a front flip as he fell, landing in a crouch position on the ground.

Almost everything around him was dark – dark floors, dark walls, dark ceiling, dark marble statues of the four great beasts.  They lined the circular room, the only place they were absent being the opening to a hall in front of Takiro.  He knew that more halls branched from the hall before him, having traveled down a few of them during his travels of the shrine.

Even from where he was, he could hear the sounds of clashing metal, echoing off the walls and back to him.  Takiro gulped, reaching into his kunai pouch.  Quickly but quietly, he made his way down the hall before him.  From the sound of it, the fighting was dead ahead.  It felt as if someone had kicked him when he realized that meant the bandit knew exactly where he was going.

He slowed to a stop when he saw a figure on the ground, slumped against the wall.  For a moment, he thought they were dead and it would be more productive running ahead, but the moment he saw that they were still breathing, if only somewhat, he crouched down beside of him.

"Who are you?"  The voice marked him as male, as well as one of the few people that the other man knew.

"It's me, Shun.  It's Takiro."  He reached up, removing both the hood and the face mask.  When the man, Shun, saw his face, he seemed to relax.  This caused him to wince, though, and reach for a kunai stuck in his stomach.  There were many others, but at the moment the one at his gut seemed to hurt him the most.  "Shun, what happened here?  What's going on?"

Dazed brown eyes met his blue eyes, though the only seemed to be able to focus for a moment.  "We were attacked, Takiro.  I don't know who the man is, but it's obvious he's after Tsubasa.  You have to stop him."  The man coughed, and after so long he reached up to remove the bottom part of his mask.  Under it was a grey beaded face, blood caked in his facial hair.  More was coming out as he continued to cough.

Fear began to build within Takiro as he waited for him to die, clenching and unclenching his hands as he watched.  It was a relief when Shun's fit finally ended.

"I'm sorry, Takiro.  I'm not sure how long I am going to hold out."  Once again the older man forced himself to focus on the younger recruit.  "You have to stop this man.  He thinks he killed all the guards outside, so you'll surprise him.  He's also tired and wounded from all his fights.  There's something….. dark about him, so be careful.  But if you can't, Takiro-" His sentence ended as he took in a long gasp, grabbing at his chest now.  A single tear rolled from his eye, proving just how much pain he had to be in.  He took in a few more deep, shuddering breaths, each time trying to gasp out a sentence, and then no more.

Takiro clenched his jaw, his fits shaking as anger at this man who dared attack the shrine building.  Despite this, he still closed Shun's eyes just as he had the first one, and he also gave him a moment of peace.  After that, though, he rose, knowing exactly what it was Shun wanted him to do.  Even if it meant his life, he would protect the world for as long as he could.

He turned to face the direction of the fighting again.  Already there was less noise, meaning he had already taken out most of his opponents.  How many deaths had there been?  How many had this man killed because of his own lust for power?

What were his chances of surviving the fight?  Takiro pondered this as he ran toward the battle.  What were the chanced that he would see his family in a few more days, when he was supposed to get his break.  His wife wouldn't find out until the usual shinobi that brought them their food came by and saw the dead.  How would she react if he was dead?  What about his two year old daughter, Megumi?  It was her birthday in another week.  Would he live to see it?

He pushed these fears out of his mind as he grew closer and closer to the fight.  If he was distracted, he made the risk of dying greater.  That wouldn't help him or any of the remaining-

The thought quickly came to an end, however, when he realized he didn't hear any noise.  "No," Takiro whispered, the cold hand of dread grabbing him.  It wasn't possible.  They couldn't all be dead.  Maybe they had just killed the intruder.  That was another possibility, right?

It took Takiro about two more minutes to get his answer, finally arriving at the end of the hall.  The hall led into another circular room, only this one was grander and the walls were covered in mosaics, each showing different events.  The only similarity about them was they all had the great phoenix.  The pictures were lit up by torches hung on the wall, giving the room an eerie glow.  Most of the time light would be shining from above, going through a small hole and onto a crystalline glass that illuminated the entire room.  When night fell, though, the only light given to the room was by the surrounding flames.  In the center of the room was a statue of a yellow phoenix twice the size of Takiro.

Usually this room would be one of most beautiful in the entire shrine.  It was, after all, the main part of the shrine.  Now, however, it had been completely defiled.  Bodies of black clothed and casually dressed figures littered the ground.  Blood stained the white marble all around, darkening the light surface.  Some were young, some were old.  About half the bodies were female, the other half male.

And every single one of them was one of those sworn to guard the shrine.  The intruder was not among them.  Every person who had died was one of the guards.

For a moment, it felt as if he'd been punched in the gut.  They were all dead.  Every last one of his brethren had been killed.  They had tried to protect the world, and for it they had lost their lives.  How was that fair?  Shouldn't they have lived?  Maybe it was just a desperate thought, but shouldn't the good guys always win?

"Finally, the moment has come."

The sudden voice drew Takiro out of his pained daze.  He turned to face the owner of the voice.  The moment he did, he felt his fists clench again.  It was the very person responsible.

The man who had killed the guards of the shrine didn't seem like much.  In fact, he looked like he was only a couple years older than his own twenty-five years.  Admittedly, he did have a well muscled figure, but his entire body was bloodied.  Blood soaked the shoulder of his dark purple cloak and some was caked in his raven feather black hair, some even in the ends of his slightly spiky ponytail.  Quite a few spots of the liquid darkened the back of the cloak, just barely sticking out among the black.

As Takiro really focused on him, he finally realized what had to have allowed him to kill his comrades.  There was a sinister, unbelievably strong dark energy coming from him.  The mere force of it almost made Takiro fall to his knees.  Fear gripped his heart, his breathing picking up as it drove him back.

The intruder's boots colliding with the floor echoed off the walls as he walked toward the shrine of the phoenix.  "Tsubasa," he said, a mocking tone just barely making itself known.  He paused at a dead body as he approached the shrine.  The man crouched down beside of it, producing a kunai from its holding place.  He dipped it into the blood of the guard, covering most of the metal with it.

He plans on summoning Tsubasa, Takiro realized.  But that should have been obvious.  He wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of killing all the guards if he hadn't been planning on doing something such as summon the phoenix.

And being the last one of the guardians of the shrine, it was his job to stop him.  Even with the strong dark aura he had, he was still injured and worn out.  That could give Takiro a huge advantage in the upcoming fight.

Using one of the main talents that had gotten him into the night shift, he backed into the shadows.  With the man's attention completely glued to the shrine, it was easy for Takiro to sneak around so he was right behind him, watching as he examined the blood on the kunai.

"It's hard to believe that it actually takes the blood of one of your own guardians to summon you.  Then again, they were the ones stupid enough to bring every part of your spirit in one place rather than the scattered state you had it in."  The intruder held it toward the light, watching as it made the red liquid glisten.  "I don't see what's so different about this blood and normal blood, but oh well," he said as he once again began walking toward the shrine.

It was then that Takiro made his move, bringing his hands together in the right hand signs.  "Earth style!  Earth pillar jutsu!" he said under his breath, focusing on the spot right under the man.  The entire ground shook, causing the man to pause.  He let out a surprised yelp as a circle of ground under him suddenly shot up.

When he noticed that the pillar was going to take him up all the way to the ceiling, the man jumped off, tucking and rolling to avoid most of the impact damage.  In doing so, he had to release the kunai so he wouldn't stab himself.  He got up from the crouched position he'd landed in, his eyes darting around.  After a few moments, they finally landed on Takiro.  Without his mask on, the peach skin of his face made it easier to see him.

He frowned when he saw him, his head slightly cocked to the side as he looked the younger male up and down.  "I thought I killed everyone.  I even made sure that I did."

Takiro scoffed.  "Apparently not seeing as I'm still alive."  Having already been spotted, he walked out of the shadows, his own stretching long before him as he walked into the light.

Now that he was seeing his opponent face to face, he wasn't entirely sure that he was as young as he'd originally thought.  His face smooth of any signs of age and only bearing marks of battle such as the scar on his left temple.  His ember eyes, however, made him seem older.    They held great knowledge and experience that only those who lived for a long life could know.  But it was impossible for someone to look so young yet see so much.  Takiro also began to doubt he was as injured as he'd first believed.  Most of his skin was unscarred, meaning a majority of the blood had to be from the people he'd slain.  The wound on his shoulder, however, was there, a tear in the sleeve letting it be known.  But neither his dark purple shirt nor his black pants had any cuts that could have wounds beneath.

While Takiro examined him, the man seemed to be looking him over as well.  Those ember eyes had turned calculating, trying to recall something as he examined his new opponent.  "I checked every area outside, which is clearly where you were the guard of since you are wearing the night guard outfit."

Takiro reached back to pull out a kunai, his eyes following the man as he circled him.  He was either very curious about how he'd missed his prey or just playing with him, because he could apparently fight very well.  "There's a reason they picked me," the guard said, turning as the man exited his peripheral vision.  "They give people the job they believe best fits them."

Something seemed to dawn on the man then.  "Ah.  That explains it then.  You must be Takiro Ushirama, the one with the talent of hiding within the shadows," he said, stunning Takiro with his knowledge. This caused the man to smirk.  "What?  Did you think I'd come in here unprepared?  I know how to do my homework."  He finally stopped his circling, turning to face Takiro.  "Which is how I know I'll take you down just as easily as I did the other-"

Before the man could even finish his sentence, Takiro shot forward, a kunai in his hand.  He slashed at the man, causing him to laugh as he stepped back.  Growling in annoyance, he spun on his heel and shot his foot out in a side kick.  This time the man jumped back so he was completely out of Takiro's range, still laughing as if this was the most interesting thing in the world.

"You're pretty speedy, aren't you, Takiro?  But you'll never beat me."  A look of amusement flashed through his eyes, making the twenty-five year old jerked in annoyance.  Then he flinched when the man appeared right in front of him.  Takiro brought up his kunai just in time to block one that in the intruder's hand.  Pain flared to life in his wrist as it strained to push back the other kunai, barely succeeding in the matter.  To get the man away, Takiro brought his leg up and kicked him back.  Rather than flying through the air as Takiro wanted, the man simply stumbled.  It was still a chance for the young guard to put some distance between them, so he did just that.

The man chased him down, causing many kunai collisions to occur.  Takiro managed to avoid taking any major cuts and even surprised himself by giving the man a cut from the chin to the cheek.  This finally caused the man to jump back, giving Takiro the distance he'd been trying to achieve.

Another laugh came from the man.  "I can't believe you actually cut me.  That speed of yours is going to be a pain to get around.  You may not be the strongest, nor are you the smartest, but you sure are fast."  A crazed grin spread across the man's face.  "Then again, where's the fun in a weak opponent?"

With that said, the man began to approach him again.  Before he could, though, Takiro completed a quick sequence of hand signs before pulling back his fist.  As he brought it down, he cried, "Earth style!  Spike path jutsu!"  His fist collided with the earth, causing cracks to form.  Chakra shot from his hand into it, traveling quickly toward the intruder.  As it did, rocks began flying from the ground like, as the name suggested, a path of spikes.  When it began to draw close to the man, he retreated, just barely staying out of its way.

After a few jumps back, the man started his own set of hand signs.  Takiro mentally cursed when he realized that they were the hand signs for a lightning ninjutsu.  Just his luck.  This opponent that had killed everyone just happened to be the element he was bad against.

"Lightning style!  Lightning barrier jutsu!"  The man crouched down to the ground, placing his hands on it.  Lightning crackled around him, forming a dome like area around its user.  When the rocks arrived at it, they instantly broke apart.

Not giving the man time to fully recuperate, Takiro shot forward, three shuriken placed between each of his fingers.  As the barrier disappeared, the young man sent those very throwing stars at their target.

The same kunai he had been using flashed in the man's hand as he shot forward.  He danced out of the way of the kunai that were just at the edge of him while deflecting those he couldn't dodge.  Within moments he was already at Takiro, jumping up to kick at his face.  When Takiro blocked, the man jumped off, doing a back flip.  While he was falling back to the ground, he was already completing more hand signs.

Biting his lips, the brunette charged forward, trying to make it to him before he had the chance to use the jutsu.  He tried to figure out if he could place what it was.  He couldn't, but that didn't slow his progression any.

"Lightning style!  Lightning pulse jutsu!"  The man brought his hands together in a loud clap, the entire shrine shaking as thunder boomed within it.  At the same time a pulse wave of lightning shot at the charging Takiro.  It hit him with such great force his entire body was sent flying back.  He could feel the lightning traveling through his veins, making it hard to move anything.  Just great.  It just had to be a jutsu that could temporarily paralyze its target.  Everything about this opponent seemed to be against him.

Instead of slamming into a wall, he hit the phoenix shrine.  Pain erupted from his back upon collision, the beak being his point of impact.  He slid down it, barely staying on his feet.  The pain dazed his brain, making it hard to focus.  Takiro felt it very clearly, however, when the forearm pushed against his throat.

"You did very well, Takiro.  For that, you will have the honor of your blood summoning the great Tsubasa," the man said.  He reached toward the cut on his cheek, bringing it back with a smear of red.  "You deserve it.  After all, you did put up the best fight, injured me, and did it all alone.  I have to applaud you on that."

Takiro reached up, trying to pull off the arm pressing against his throat.  The man didn't budge, though, smirking at his failure.  Using the same kunai as he'd been the entire time, the man pierced his stomach.  The shrine guardian was forced to bite down his lip to stop the scream that the sudden pain created.

The intruder chuckled, twisting the kunai while it was in him.  Crushing his head on the statue was the only thing right then keeping him from crying out.  "Stop toying with me," Takiro growled, hating the smirk that being in control formed on the man.

So this was the moment where he would die, his life ending by the mere choice of the intruder.  In that moment, Takiro was the book and the man the writer.  Or even a cat and mouse situation.  And it was driving him insane.

He had failed to stop the man.  He had failed to avenge his fallen brethren.  He had failed to protect Tsubasa.  Takiro had decided to give his life to protect his fellow shrine guardians, to protect the entrance at night, and protect the shrine.  And he had failed in all of that.

As a memory started to come back to him, he realized that he may not have failed completely.  There was one way that he may be able to at least protect the people of the Shinobi nations for a little longer.  It was a defense technique taught to all the guards.

Keeping this in mind, he grabbed the hands holding kunai, making sure that the man couldn't move away.  While doing this he mentally cried, Secret ninja art!  Blood curse jutsu!

It seemed to be right around then he realized what was going on, because the man tried to jerk his hand back.  Before he could, though, the blood that had begun to stain his hand turned as black as night.  It seeped into his skin, steam rising from it.  The man screamed, yanking his hand back.  It was already too late, though.  The curse set in the moment Takiro's blood had sunk into his skin.

Flailing his hand as if it would get rid of the steam, he stumbled away, letting Takiro relax on the statue.  The curse quickly spread from there.  The area where the blood had been was black, quickly thinning out as it spread up his arm.  For a moment, his entirely arm was black.  It began to return to normal at his hand as it spread more throughout his body.  The entire time steam rose from him.  If it wasn't for him being black, he would have become lost in the mist long ago.  After about a minute his entire body was black except his eyes and his hands were more of a grey.  A few seconds later, the steam began to fade, and with it the black that had traveled over his body.  By the time the steam was gone, his body was nearly back to normal.  The only difference was some of the veins were visibly black, such as the ones on the back of his hands and at his temples.  The curse had set it.

"How dare you," the man murmured.  "You cursed me, you stupid piece of trash!"  This time when he reached Takiro, he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the statue.  Once again pain flared to life on his back.  "You'll pay for what you've done.  Even when you're dead, you shall pay.  I'll make sure of it."  Using the very same weapon he had been the entire time, the man stabbed him again.  He did it a few more times before finally stopping, twisting it and pushing it.

This time Takiro couldn't stop the screaming.  He tried to push away from the pain, but he couldn't get away.  He had succeeded in partially stopping the man, but at the same time he'd guaranteed himself a terrible death.

"You are going to wish you had never been born."  As he spoke, he begin to forcibly pull the kunai higher up Takiro's body, each time he jerked upward producing another scream from the currently tortured man.  "You are going to wish you had never heard of Tsubasa."  This time when he jerked up, he also twisted, angling it like a hook.  Then he began to jerk it right back down.  By then blood had already soaked both of them.  It seemed as if the man was making sure not to cut deep, just long.  Otherwise he'd already have sliced up his entire inside by then.

He tried to sooth himself with the thoughts of what he'd done.  Takiro had saved the earth from an already powerful man getting more power.  He had done what the other shrine guardians would have wanted him to do.  Even if there had been many deaths, in the sixteen years it would take for the curse to end, there would be more people there to stop the man.

Darkness continued to pull down on Takiro as the torture continued, his screams echoing off the walls with each new jerk.  At one point, he wasn't sure when, it got to the point he wasn't sure he could scream anymore or if there was any torso left to cut.  The entire time the man cursed him, delivering promises of what he would do to the land the moment he received the power Takiro had so wrongfully kept from him.

The final threat, the one delivered right as the darkness began to close in, was the one that truly struck home.  The only thing that made him try to cling to life.

"You have a daughter, don't you?  Your little Megumi soon to turn three?"  He leaned in closer so he was right beside his ear, grinding in the kunai so it was nearly all the way in him.  "If you are going to take away my ability to host, then she'll just be my new one."

"No," Takiro whispered.  But it was too late.  The darkness had already closed in on him, pulling him down like the wild waves that came with a storm.  No! he mentally cried, trying to claw his way back to the surface.  But the darkness already had him in its grips, and it was refusing to let go.  NO!!!!!

Description
Chapter One: Citizen Soldier

Moonlight shone through the forest, lightening in place of the blazing sun.  Shadows danced along the ground as the wind blew, shifting the sea of leaves above the forest.

The morning animals quickly escaped the darkness, returning to their homes as the nocturnal animals made their way out into the night.  They snuck through, blending in the best they could to ensure their safety.

All but one creature did this, having strayed from the darkness as it tried to return home.  A lone rabbit hopped through the night, more carefree than the other creatures.  Its dark brown fur helped it to blend into the shadows, but at a time when it wasn't sticking to them, it became visible.

Pleased by its discovery, a pitch black panther slunk around the trees, remaining silent as it maneuvered closer to its newfound prey.  Its yellow-green eyes followed the rabbit as it moved, though not with enough speed to escape it.

It was almost too easy, the furry creature absolutely oblivious it was being hunted.  The panther tensed the muscles in its hind legs, preparing to leap.  Its black lips pulled back to reveal pure white fangs, soon to be strained red, in what could easily be thought of as a grin.  Letting a light growl rumble from its throat, it launched itself forward.

The rabbit seemed to sense it was being attacked a moment too late.  It began to bolt when the panther landed behind it.  Before it could, though, the sharp teeth of the predator latched onto it.

Warm blood gushed into the panther's mouth.  Its eyes momentarily rolled back as the fluid both began to sate and increase the hunger that had been gnawing at it since it first arose.  The animal instinct began to take over, and for a moment, all it wanted to do was devour the thing that was its new food.  Then it remembering it was still living and squirming.

A furious chorus of squeaks came from the rabbit as it tried to escape from its new prison, the fear of death its drive.  That only made the panther bite harder.  It let go for a moment before clamping its jaws around the tiny animal's neck.  With one hard, satisfying twist, its spine snapped.

Content with its new kill, the panther prepared to use it to at least momentarily quell its hunger.  Before it could, though, it sensed something it should have noticed before.  Slightly panicked, it raised its eyes to meet the ones that had been watching it since it had first sprung.

The night creature got low to the ground, dropping the rabbit so it could snarl at the new threat.  It knew exactly what it was – one of the two legged hunters that patrolled the area.  The panther didn't understand why the hunters stayed around the area, but they seemed to deem it important.  Once one of them had battled one of its brethren when they were so hunger they dared attack them.  Surprisingly, the hunter hadn't killed it, but had merely made sure it would be too afraid to attack again.

This particular hunter, like most that were out in the night, almost blended in with the shadows cast by the trees and moon.  The hunter seemed to have a second skin, though not like fur, over its usually pale skin.  It was as dark as the panther's own hide, if not darker.  Almost everything was covered, most likely to help cloak it like the armored skin creatures that could shift their own color.  Another reason the panther could figure out for the hunter's second skin was to defend them from the colder nights as they neared the season where trees leaves changed to their dying colors.  A patch of its pale under skin was visible, right around the area where the hunter's sky blue eyes sat.

The panther tensed when the hunter began to make a strange noise they often used to communicate with their own kind.  The panther couldn't make any sense of its strange language, but it could tell it was in a soothing tone.

As if trying to communicate better, the hunter raised its strange paw to show something between each of its claws.  Even its paw was covered by the second skin.  When the panther saw what was being shown to it, it unconsciously stepped back.  The hunter was showing it some of the painful star-shaped rocks that could pierce skin as easily as its fangs.  It'd had a few of the same star rocks thrown at it.

When the hunter made no move toward it or to throw the star rocks at it, the panther began to ponder what would be its purpose of drawing out its version of claws.  The only logical conclusion it could come up with was the hunter was saying it could attack or leave, but if it attacked, the star rocks would meet its flesh in retaliation.

Deciding, and hoping, that this was true, the panther reclaimed the dead rabbit within its jaws and slowly moved back.  When the hunter made no move, the panther turned and ran as quickly as it could to a safe area to finally enjoy its meal.

*~*~*~

Takiro sighed as the panther took off with its rabbit, wiping at some of the sweat that had begun to dribble into his eye.  He had feared he'd actually have to fight the panther, something he hated doing.  Felines had always been among his favorite animals, panthers coming right after lions.  The idea of killing any cat seemed horrifying to Takiro.  So he was more than happy to return the shuriken to its place in his pouch.

He leaned back against the tree whose shadow he'd been hiding in, reaching up to take off the hood of his black attire.  Then he took off the black mask that was attached to the shirt he wore underneath everything.  Most people just wore the mask and forgot about the hood, but because it was getting quite cold as it approached midnight and Takiro was accustomed to the warm weather of the Wind country, he'd chosen to wear the hood as well.  Now, however, the extra layers were adding more heat than he needed, especially after a moment he'd been so tensed and anxious.

Light brown hair spiked out from underneath his face mask, falling over his eyes as the cloth was removed.  He reached up and wiped off his forehead, relaxing as the brisk night air began to cool his body.  It began to seep into his skin, making him feel both hotter and cooler at the same time.  He also began stretching his muscles, trying to rid them of their new tightness.

He had just put his mask and hood back on when he heard it – the human scream.  All relaxation and looseness he had managed to obtain vanished, replaced by the sudden spike of anxiety running through his system.

As he had been trained to do, Takiro began to race toward the source, jumping from one set of shadows to another in a way that nearly made him invisible.  He had always had a talent at doing so, making it so he hadn't had to be trained as long or as hard.  It was also why he was so good at slipping between them then, searching for anything out of the ordinary as well as the person who had screamed.

Takiro finally found one of the things he'd been searching for about half a mile away from where he'd been.  How was it that none of the other guards had come running?  They all came out at night, staying about a third of a mile away from each other, making sure nobody slipped past to the shrine.

The man that Takiro found was one of these guards on the ground.  Like him, he wore the full black attire, but he was missing the hood that he had.  Removing the mask, he saw that it wasn't anyone he knew well – Takiro had only started about a week or two ago – but he still felt a great pain at seeing a fellow protector of the shrine dead.  This man looked like he was nearly fifty, if not a couple years older, with hair a combination of purple and white strands.  His eyes matched the purple of his hair, wide with both shock and pain.  Finding the wound that had killed him only took Takiro a moment.  A kunai protruded from his chest, a small amount of blood seeping through the edges.  It made dark spots on his dark gear, nearly invisible unless the moon's rays hit it.

Still feeling pain at the lost life, he ran his hand over the man's eyes, shutting them so he looked like he was simply sleeping.  Or he would if it wasn't for the fact he was so very pale and lifeless.  His chest didn't even move.  From a distance, however, it would be easy to mistake him for sleeping.  Either way, the man had entered his eternal slumber.

Takiro closed his own eyes, giving the man a moment of silence, knowing that he deserved it for spending his life protecting the shrine.  It wasn't an easy life, and most definitely not the safest seeing as bandits often made an appearance as did the wild animals, but he had chosen to do something great in protecting the world from a power that may destroy it.

The moment couldn't last long, though, despite the man's sacrifice, because Takiro had to quickly begin his hunt for the one responsible for taking the man's life.  He also had to stop the murderer from reaching the shrine.

Although he was upset about just leaving the older man's body where it was, Takiro began a quest to the shrine, knowing he had to warn the higher ups that were in there.  If this person could kill one of the older members so quickly that he hadn't had time to warn others, then he doubted he could handle the killer.

He jumped onto the tree branches, still remaining in the shadows as he rocketed through the road of bark.  Even with how fast he was going, he took about five minutes to get to the shrine.  Usually that wouldn't feel like a lot of time to him.  Now, however, it seemed like eternity as he worried about if the killer had gotten to anyone else or if they would suddenly appear to make him their next target.  Either way, he kept his eyes peeled for something out of the ordinary as he made his way to the shrine.  It wasn't until he actually arrived to the entry of the shrine he saw anything, though.

The shrine wasn't anything anyone could see.  They could see the entrance, but not the shrine itself.  When Takiro had first begun to seek the shrine protectors to ask to join, he had been completely confused to find nothing more than a small marble table with marble pillars around it.  In the middle of the floor was a mosaic of the four great beasts – the phoenix, the demon dog, the lion, and the water horse.  In the middle of them was a great circle, created by ten other circles.  Each of them but the demon dog was connected to the circles.

And in the middle of that circle was blood.

Takiro felt sick, knowing none of the protectors would dare defile anything related to the shrine with their own blood.  He had learned that his very first day, so it wouldn't just be any old newbie.  Which meant it could only be one thing – the killer.

Panicking, he rushed to the shrine, standing in the middle of the circle.  He closed his eyes, bringing his hands together into a tiger symbol as he focused his energy to his feet.  It didn't take much concentration before the floor beneath him suddenly vanished.  There was a brief period when he was falling with some light, but then the marble returned and he was freefalling through darkness.

The distance down to the shrine was probably three miles, so for some time Takiro just let himself fall.  He'd know when he needed to begin slowing himself down because a light would appear beneath him.  Until then he simply thought over why the blood would be at the shrine entrance.  It was impossible this bandit knew where the shrine was, right?

At least, it was impossible if they were just another random bandit.  If the bandit was a person with a purpose rather than just thinking that so much protection must be guarding something great, then they may know how to enter the shrine.

Takiro sickened at the thought, but he didn't push it aside.  If he did and found out he was right, he wouldn't be braced for what was to come.  He still hoped that he didn't have to face more deaths that night.

Within a minute the light became visible beneath him.  It was a white speck quickly approaching.  Takiro moved toward the wall, focusing chakra into his feet.  They connected with the circling wall, keeping him glued to it at the same time as slowing him down.  He only did it bit by bit, knowing it could harm his body if he just came to an abrupt stop.  By the time the light was nearly at him, he was going at the speed of a sprint.  Takiro jumped off the wall, releasing the chakra at his feet.  He did a front flip as he fell, landing in a crouch position on the ground.

Almost everything around him was dark – dark floors, dark walls, dark ceiling, dark marble statues of the four great beasts.  They lined the circular room, the only place they were absent being the opening to a hall in front of Takiro.  He knew that more halls branched from the hall before him, having traveled down a few of them during his travels of the shrine.

Even from where he was, he could hear the sounds of clashing metal, echoing off the walls and back to him.  Takiro gulped, reaching into his kunai pouch.  Quickly but quietly, he made his way down the hall before him.  From the sound of it, the fighting was dead ahead.  It felt as if someone had kicked him when he realized that meant the bandit knew exactly where he was going.

He slowed to a stop when he saw a figure on the ground, slumped against the wall.  For a moment, he thought they were dead and it would be more productive running ahead, but the moment he saw that they were still breathing, if only somewhat, he crouched down beside of him.

"Who are you?"  The voice marked him as male, as well as one of the few people that the other man knew.

"It's me, Shun.  It's Takiro."  He reached up, removing both the hood and the face mask.  When the man, Shun, saw his face, he seemed to relax.  This caused him to wince, though, and reach for a kunai stuck in his stomach.  There were many others, but at the moment the one at his gut seemed to hurt him the most.  "Shun, what happened here?  What's going on?"

Dazed brown eyes met his blue eyes, though the only seemed to be able to focus for a moment.  "We were attacked, Takiro.  I don't know who the man is, but it's obvious he's after Tsubasa.  You have to stop him."  The man coughed, and after so long he reached up to remove the bottom part of his mask.  Under it was a grey beaded face, blood caked in his facial hair.  More was coming out as he continued to cough.

Fear began to build within Takiro as he waited for him to die, clenching and unclenching his hands as he watched.  It was a relief when Shun's fit finally ended.

"I'm sorry, Takiro.  I'm not sure how long I am going to hold out."  Once again the older man forced himself to focus on the younger recruit.  "You have to stop this man.  He thinks he killed all the guards outside, so you'll surprise him.  He's also tired and wounded from all his fights.  There's something….. dark about him, so be careful.  But if you can't, Takiro-" His sentence ended as he took in a long gasp, grabbing at his chest now.  A single tear rolled from his eye, proving just how much pain he had to be in.  He took in a few more deep, shuddering breaths, each time trying to gasp out a sentence, and then no more.

Takiro clenched his jaw, his fits shaking as anger at this man who dared attack the shrine building.  Despite this, he still closed Shun's eyes just as he had the first one, and he also gave him a moment of peace.  After that, though, he rose, knowing exactly what it was Shun wanted him to do.  Even if it meant his life, he would protect the world for as long as he could.

He turned to face the direction of the fighting again.  Already there was less noise, meaning he had already taken out most of his opponents.  How many deaths had there been?  How many had this man killed because of his own lust for power?

What were his chances of surviving the fight?  Takiro pondered this as he ran toward the battle.  What were the chanced that he would see his family in a few more days, when he was supposed to get his break.  His wife wouldn't find out until the usual shinobi that brought them their food came by and saw the dead.  How would she react if he was dead?  What about his two year old daughter, Megumi?  It was her birthday in another week.  Would he live to see it?

He pushed these fears out of his mind as he grew closer and closer to the fight.  If he was distracted, he made the risk of dying greater.  That wouldn't help him or any of the remaining-

The thought quickly came to an end, however, when he realized he didn't hear any noise.  "No," Takiro whispered, the cold hand of dread grabbing him.  It wasn't possible.  They couldn't all be dead.  Maybe they had just killed the intruder.  That was another possibility, right?

It took Takiro about two more minutes to get his answer, finally arriving at the end of the hall.  The hall led into another circular room, only this one was grander and the walls were covered in mosaics, each showing different events.  The only similarity about them was they all had the great phoenix.  The pictures were lit up by torches hung on the wall, giving the room an eerie glow.  Most of the time light would be shining from above, going through a small hole and onto a crystalline glass that illuminated the entire room.  When night fell, though, the only light given to the room was by the surrounding flames.  In the center of the room was a statue of a yellow phoenix twice the size of Takiro.

Usually this room would be one of most beautiful in the entire shrine.  It was, after all, the main part of the shrine.  Now, however, it had been completely defiled.  Bodies of black clothed and casually dressed figures littered the ground.  Blood stained the white marble all around, darkening the light surface.  Some were young, some were old.  About half the bodies were female, the other half male.

And every single one of them was one of those sworn to guard the shrine.  The intruder was not among them.  Every person who had died was one of the guards.

For a moment, it felt as if he'd been punched in the gut.  They were all dead.  Every last one of his brethren had been killed.  They had tried to protect the world, and for it they had lost their lives.  How was that fair?  Shouldn't they have lived?  Maybe it was just a desperate thought, but shouldn't the good guys always win?

"Finally, the moment has come."

The sudden voice drew Takiro out of his pained daze.  He turned to face the owner of the voice.  The moment he did, he felt his fists clench again.  It was the very person responsible.

The man who had killed the guards of the shrine didn't seem like much.  In fact, he looked like he was only a couple years older than his own twenty-five years.  Admittedly, he did have a well muscled figure, but his entire body was bloodied.  Blood soaked the shoulder of his dark purple cloak and some was caked in his raven feather black hair, some even in the ends of his slightly spiky ponytail.  Quite a few spots of the liquid darkened the back of the cloak, just barely sticking out among the black.

As Takiro really focused on him, he finally realized what had to have allowed him to kill his comrades.  There was a sinister, unbelievably strong dark energy coming from him.  The mere force of it almost made Takiro fall to his knees.  Fear gripped his heart, his breathing picking up as it drove him back.

The intruder's boots colliding with the floor echoed off the walls as he walked toward the shrine of the phoenix.  "Tsubasa," he said, a mocking tone just barely making itself known.  He paused at a dead body as he approached the shrine.  The man crouched down beside of it, producing a kunai from its holding place.  He dipped it into the blood of the guard, covering most of the metal with it.

He plans on summoning Tsubasa, Takiro realized.  But that should have been obvious.  He wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of killing all the guards if he hadn't been planning on doing something such as summon the phoenix.

And being the last one of the guardians of the shrine, it was his job to stop him.  Even with the strong dark aura he had, he was still injured and worn out.  That could give Takiro a huge advantage in the upcoming fight.

Using one of the main talents that had gotten him into the night shift, he backed into the shadows.  With the man's attention completely glued to the shrine, it was easy for Takiro to sneak around so he was right behind him, watching as he examined the blood on the kunai.

"It's hard to believe that it actually takes the blood of one of your own guardians to summon you.  Then again, they were the ones stupid enough to bring every part of your spirit in one place rather than the scattered state you had it in."  The intruder held it toward the light, watching as it made the red liquid glisten.  "I don't see what's so different about this blood and normal blood, but oh well," he said as he once again began walking toward the shrine.

It was then that Takiro made his move, bringing his hands together in the right hand signs.  "Earth style!  Earth pillar jutsu!" he said under his breath, focusing on the spot right under the man.  The entire ground shook, causing the man to pause.  He let out a surprised yelp as a circle of ground under him suddenly shot up.

When he noticed that the pillar was going to take him up all the way to the ceiling, the man jumped off, tucking and rolling to avoid most of the impact damage.  In doing so, he had to release the kunai so he wouldn't stab himself.  He got up from the crouched position he'd landed in, his eyes darting around.  After a few moments, they finally landed on Takiro.  Without his mask on, the peach skin of his face made it easier to see him.

He frowned when he saw him, his head slightly cocked to the side as he looked the younger male up and down.  "I thought I killed everyone.  I even made sure that I did."

Takiro scoffed.  "Apparently not seeing as I'm still alive."  Having already been spotted, he walked out of the shadows, his own stretching long before him as he walked into the light.

Now that he was seeing his opponent face to face, he wasn't entirely sure that he was as young as he'd originally thought.  His face smooth of any signs of age and only bearing marks of battle such as the scar on his left temple.  His ember eyes, however, made him seem older.    They held great knowledge and experience that only those who lived for a long life could know.  But it was impossible for someone to look so young yet see so much.  Takiro also began to doubt he was as injured as he'd first believed.  Most of his skin was unscarred, meaning a majority of the blood had to be from the people he'd slain.  The wound on his shoulder, however, was there, a tear in the sleeve letting it be known.  But neither his dark purple shirt nor his black pants had any cuts that could have wounds beneath.

While Takiro examined him, the man seemed to be looking him over as well.  Those ember eyes had turned calculating, trying to recall something as he examined his new opponent.  "I checked every area outside, which is clearly where you were the guard of since you are wearing the night guard outfit."

Takiro reached back to pull out a kunai, his eyes following the man as he circled him.  He was either very curious about how he'd missed his prey or just playing with him, because he could apparently fight very well.  "There's a reason they picked me," the guard said, turning as the man exited his peripheral vision.  "They give people the job they believe best fits them."

Something seemed to dawn on the man then.  "Ah.  That explains it then.  You must be Takiro Ushirama, the one with the talent of hiding within the shadows," he said, stunning Takiro with his knowledge. This caused the man to smirk.  "What?  Did you think I'd come in here unprepared?  I know how to do my homework."  He finally stopped his circling, turning to face Takiro.  "Which is how I know I'll take you down just as easily as I did the other-"

Before the man could even finish his sentence, Takiro shot forward, a kunai in his hand.  He slashed at the man, causing him to laugh as he stepped back.  Growling in annoyance, he spun on his heel and shot his foot out in a side kick.  This time the man jumped back so he was completely out of Takiro's range, still laughing as if this was the most interesting thing in the world.

"You're pretty speedy, aren't you, Takiro?  But you'll never beat me."  A look of amusement flashed through his eyes, making the twenty-five year old jerked in annoyance.  Then he flinched when the man appeared right in front of him.  Takiro brought up his kunai just in time to block one that in the intruder's hand.  Pain flared to life in his wrist as it strained to push back the other kunai, barely succeeding in the matter.  To get the man away, Takiro brought his leg up and kicked him back.  Rather than flying through the air as Takiro wanted, the man simply stumbled.  It was still a chance for the young guard to put some distance between them, so he did just that.

The man chased him down, causing many kunai collisions to occur.  Takiro managed to avoid taking any major cuts and even surprised himself by giving the man a cut from the chin to the cheek.  This finally caused the man to jump back, giving Takiro the distance he'd been trying to achieve.

Another laugh came from the man.  "I can't believe you actually cut me.  That speed of yours is going to be a pain to get around.  You may not be the strongest, nor are you the smartest, but you sure are fast."  A crazed grin spread across the man's face.  "Then again, where's the fun in a weak opponent?"

With that said, the man began to approach him again.  Before he could, though, Takiro completed a quick sequence of hand signs before pulling back his fist.  As he brought it down, he cried, "Earth style!  Spike path jutsu!"  His fist collided with the earth, causing cracks to form.  Chakra shot from his hand into it, traveling quickly toward the intruder.  As it did, rocks began flying from the ground like, as the name suggested, a path of spikes.  When it began to draw close to the man, he retreated, just barely staying out of its way.

After a few jumps back, the man started his own set of hand signs.  Takiro mentally cursed when he realized that they were the hand signs for a lightning ninjutsu.  Just his luck.  This opponent that had killed everyone just happened to be the element he was bad against.

"Lightning style!  Lightning barrier jutsu!"  The man crouched down to the ground, placing his hands on it.  Lightning crackled around him, forming a dome like area around its user.  When the rocks arrived at it, they instantly broke apart.

Not giving the man time to fully recuperate, Takiro shot forward, three shuriken placed between each of his fingers.  As the barrier disappeared, the young man sent those very throwing stars at their target.

The same kunai he had been using flashed in the man's hand as he shot forward.  He danced out of the way of the kunai that were just at the edge of him while deflecting those he couldn't dodge.  Within moments he was already at Takiro, jumping up to kick at his face.  When Takiro blocked, the man jumped off, doing a back flip.  While he was falling back to the ground, he was already completing more hand signs.

Biting his lips, the brunette charged forward, trying to make it to him before he had the chance to use the jutsu.  He tried to figure out if he could place what it was.  He couldn't, but that didn't slow his progression any.

"Lightning style!  Lightning pulse jutsu!"  The man brought his hands together in a loud clap, the entire shrine shaking as thunder boomed within it.  At the same time a pulse wave of lightning shot at the charging Takiro.  It hit him with such great force his entire body was sent flying back.  He could feel the lightning traveling through his veins, making it hard to move anything.  Just great.  It just had to be a jutsu that could temporarily paralyze its target.  Everything about this opponent seemed to be against him.

Instead of slamming into a wall, he hit the phoenix shrine.  Pain erupted from his back upon collision, the beak being his point of impact.  He slid down it, barely staying on his feet.  The pain dazed his brain, making it hard to focus.  Takiro felt it very clearly, however, when the forearm pushed against his throat.

"You did very well, Takiro.  For that, you will have the honor of your blood summoning the great Tsubasa," the man said.  He reached toward the cut on his cheek, bringing it back with a smear of red.  "You deserve it.  After all, you did put up the best fight, injured me, and did it all alone.  I have to applaud you on that."

Takiro reached up, trying to pull off the arm pressing against his throat.  The man didn't budge, though, smirking at his failure.  Using the same kunai as he'd been the entire time, the man pierced his stomach.  The shrine guardian was forced to bite down his lip to stop the scream that the sudden pain created.

The intruder chuckled, twisting the kunai while it was in him.  Crushing his head on the statue was the only thing right then keeping him from crying out.  "Stop toying with me," Takiro growled, hating the smirk that being in control formed on the man.

So this was the moment where he would die, his life ending by the mere choice of the intruder.  In that moment, Takiro was the book and the man the writer.  Or even a cat and mouse situation.  And it was driving him insane.

He had failed to stop the man.  He had failed to avenge his fallen brethren.  He had failed to protect Tsubasa.  Takiro had decided to give his life to protect his fellow shrine guardians, to protect the entrance at night, and protect the shrine.  And he had failed in all of that.

As a memory started to come back to him, he realized that he may not have failed completely.  There was one way that he may be able to at least protect the people of the Shinobi nations for a little longer.  It was a defense technique taught to all the guards.

Keeping this in mind, he grabbed the hands holding kunai, making sure that the man couldn't move away.  While doing this he mentally cried, Secret ninja art!  Blood curse jutsu!

It seemed to be right around then he realized what was going on, because the man tried to jerk his hand back.  Before he could, though, the blood that had begun to stain his hand turned as black as night.  It seeped into his skin, steam rising from it.  The man screamed, yanking his hand back.  It was already too late, though.  The curse set in the moment Takiro's blood had sunk into his skin.

Flailing his hand as if it would get rid of the steam, he stumbled away, letting Takiro relax on the statue.  The curse quickly spread from there.  The area where the blood had been was black, quickly thinning out as it spread up his arm.  For a moment, his entirely arm was black.  It began to return to normal at his hand as it spread more throughout his body.  The entire time steam rose from him.  If it wasn't for him being black, he would have become lost in the mist long ago.  After about a minute his entire body was black except his eyes and his hands were more of a grey.  A few seconds later, the steam began to fade, and with it the black that had traveled over his body.  By the time the steam was gone, his body was nearly back to normal.  The only difference was some of the veins were visibly black, such as the ones on the back of his hands and at his temples.  The curse had set it.

"How dare you," the man murmured.  "You cursed me, you stupid piece of trash!"  This time when he reached Takiro, he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the statue.  Once again pain flared to life on his back.  "You'll pay for what you've done.  Even when you're dead, you shall pay.  I'll make sure of it."  Using the very same weapon he had been the entire time, the man stabbed him again.  He did it a few more times before finally stopping, twisting it and pushing it.

This time Takiro couldn't stop the screaming.  He tried to push away from the pain, but he couldn't get away.  He had succeeded in partially stopping the man, but at the same time he'd guaranteed himself a terrible death.

"You are going to wish you had never been born."  As he spoke, he begin to forcibly pull the kunai higher up Takiro's body, each time he jerked upward producing another scream from the currently tortured man.  "You are going to wish you had never heard of Tsubasa."  This time when he jerked up, he also twisted, angling it like a hook.  Then he began to jerk it right back down.  By then blood had already soaked both of them.  It seemed as if the man was making sure not to cut deep, just long.  Otherwise he'd already have sliced up his entire inside by then.

He tried to sooth himself with the thoughts of what he'd done.  Takiro had saved the earth from an already powerful man getting more power.  He had done what the other shrine guardians would have wanted him to do.  Even if there had been many deaths, in the sixteen years it would take for the curse to end, there would be more people there to stop the man.

Darkness continued to pull down on Takiro as the torture continued, his screams echoing off the walls with each new jerk.  At one point, he wasn't sure when, it got to the point he wasn't sure he could scream anymore or if there was any torso left to cut.  The entire time the man cursed him, delivering promises of what he would do to the land the moment he received the power Takiro had so wrongfully kept from him.

The final threat, the one delivered right as the darkness began to close in, was the one that truly struck home.  The only thing that made him try to cling to life.

"You have a daughter, don't you?  Your little Megumi soon to turn three?"  He leaned in closer so he was right beside his ear, grinding in the kunai so it was nearly all the way in him.  "If you are going to take away my ability to host, then she'll just be my new one."

"No," Takiro whispered.  But it was too late.  The darkness had already closed in on him, pulling him down like the wild waves that came with a storm.  No! he mentally cried, trying to claw his way back to the surface.  But the darkness already had him in its grips, and it was refusing to let go.  NO!!!!!