The sun was starting to set and the Village Hidden in Stone was starting to quiet down and close up for the day. Nagakoto was wondering around the village, enjoying the silence. “I can’t explain it, but I just love this hour of the day. Not too many people are out on the streets, kids are asleep, and the noise is gone.” Nagakoto was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice how dark it had gotten. “Wow, it got really dark kind of quick. I suppose I should head back to the compound. I don’t want to run into any danger.” He turned around and began to head back he felt a cold chill run down his neck, a cold chill that left him paralyzed. “What is this? It is similar to the feeling I had when I exorcised my first demon, but I don’t see any…” Nagakoto was interrupted by several pulls on his pants and an innocent voice. “Excuse me, mister…. but can you please help us?”
Nagakoto looked down to see two little girls around him. They looked to be no older than the ages of Seven or Eight. “Hmmm… what are you two doing out here at time? Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Nagakoto asked to two little girls. He realized that they had managed to approach him without making a noise; he figured that it was just because he wasn’t paying any attention to his soundings. “We are trying to go to bed!” one of the girls mentioned. “But he won’t let us. We have been running for a very long time, but now we are too tired. We just want to rest.” Nagakoto became concerned for these girls and began to wonder who was chasing them. He began to wonder if he should contact the police and get the girls somewhere safe. “Come on, I’ll get you some where safe.” Nagakoto grabbed the both of the young girls hands and began to find some place where they would be safe from their pursuer. “Who is chasing you? We can tell the police and they can find him for you.” The little girls stopped in their tracks, completely frozen by their fear. “What is wrong? Why did you stopped?” Nagakoto asked them, completely oblivious to the shadowy figure that was standing behind him.
“What is wrong with you two?” He asked again. However, upon closer look Nagakoto could see that the girls were looking past him and their eyes were fixed on what ever was behind him. “And where are you going with them, monk?” A dark and distorted voice roared. The sound of it sent another chill down his spine. Nagakoto slowly turned around to see where had produced the chilling voice. It was a shadowy figure, whose body was completely covered in darkness, leaving only blood red eyes and razor sharp teeth to be seen. It was definitely a frightening sight to see, much too frightening for the little girls. “Is this the guy that has been chasing you?” He managed to ask. The little girls nodded. “Go hide…” he told the girls. He let them go and they began to run for safety. Even though Nagakoto was afraid himself he would never forgive himself if anything would ever happen to them he could never forgive himself. “So you plan on fighting me for my food? Not very smart of you, monk?” The voice bellowed again. Just by hearing the voice was enough to send him into another paralyzing fear, but he had people that were depending on him for help. “I will not….al…allow you to harm them. I will banish you to the afterlife!” Nagakoto looked back at the girls and saw the fear in their eyes. He then felt a strange type of courage run through his body, a courage that he had never felt before. This courage began to erase all fear and doubt from his mind. For and instant the mentality that he had was on par with his grandfather’s.
“Banish ME?” the voice yelled. “I hope you like fire, human?” The demon breathe out flames from his mouth directly at Nagakoto. The young Jiin ran though the fire, seeming unaffected by them flames. Once he was within arms distance of the demon he placed his hands over the mouth of the demon, effectively stopping the fire. “Perhaps you should have done your research on the Jiin Clan, Demon. Using fire on us is probably the worse tactic you can use on us. Now, BACK TO HELL; DEMON!” in an instant the demon burst into flames and vanished completely. The girls’ eyes were fixed on Nagakoto. By now his mentality was back to his shy and awkwardness. The girls immediately run up to him cheering and shouting. “Wow, you are so cool mister. We should have come to you the first time.” Nagakoto began to blush from the little girls’ praises. “Now we have one more favor. Can you please put us to sleep now? My sister and I are really tired.” Nagakoto began to wonder what these girls’ definition. “What do you mean? Don’t you have parents that do that?” he asked. The girls fawn and became a little reluctant to speak. “No, not that kind of sleep. My sister and me have been dead for a very long time. I don’t even think are parents are alive anymore. We are ready to move on to the after, mister monk.” As Nagakoto heard the girl speak he couldn’t fight back the tears. “So… you two have been dead this whole time?” he asked. The girls nodded. “Yes, long ago a giant and pretty bird burned down my village. My sister and I didn’t make it out of the village in time…” Nagakoto could see that the girl didn’t want to talk anymore and he wouldn’t pressure them anymore he would just grant them their favor. He placed a palm on each of their foreheads. Slowly the girls began to vanish, they did so with smiles and tears on their faces. Once they were gone the village was once again quite. This event reminded Nagakoto of the horrors of this world. He was ready to go to bed. | 1024 words | 1 Demon Banished & 2 Spirits Sent | 265 Ryo | 512 EXP | 51 Bonus EXP |
