Chapter 2

A Deal with the Devil

Chapter 2,

-Yu no Kuni-

(Land of Hot Water)

Kagami opened his eyes, casting his gaze about tiredly. The first thing he saw was a massive forest, lit ablaze. The forest fire encircled him except for the far side of the raging inferno, which was open, revealing a dense grassland.

An abrupt burst of flames spewed out from the burning woods making Kagami flinch in anticipation of extreme heat… but no sense of heat enveloped him. Strange…

A smokey gust of wind forced Kagami's gaze overhead and he gaped at the sheer size of the moon. It was well-lit, vast, hanging like a luxurious chandelier in the starlit sky. Listening closely to the crackling inferno and the whistling wind; he tried to control the mad grin that stretched across his face.

He was alive!

Kagami suspected that the demon was lying, playing a cruel prank on him, hurling him into a false sense of hope. But he was wrong. The demon upheld its part of the bargain. Now that just left him…

Taking a long breath, intentionally inhaling the charcoal fumes of the burning forest; Kagami savored the singing pleasure that choked at his lungs. Amusedly, he wondered how long it would take until the demon confronted him again, or if it even would.

That'd be great. A win, win situation for him, but he somehow doubted that it'd be that easy.

Just then, with his chest swelled with toxic smoke, Kagami heard movement in the burning woods. He glared into the flames, seeking out anything that resembled a human.

Something stared back, making a slight rustling noise. A twig then snapped, followed by the rapid galloping of a half-charred deer, reeking of burnt hide and flesh as it scurried past Kagami into the meadow behind. With a cold sweat dripping from his face Kagami laughed again, madder than before.

The brief time he spent while dead, made him forget what fear felt like. Gaze locked on where the deer fled, Kagami laughed once more.

"Die Konoha scum!"

Head turned midway, eyes widened in alarm, Kagami raised his hands to stop the moving body that slammed into him like a truck, momentarily knocking the wind out of him. Panic gripped his heart, couple by fear as he was slammed to the ground.

Straddled over him, snarling with tears in his wide eyes was an old man wearing loose-fit rural clothing. The old man let out a determined yell and pushed a knife- no a kunai that glinted under the moonlight towards Kagami's neck.

"Die Konoha scum!" The old man repeated, gritting his teeth as he pushed his body weight into the kunai's hilt, pressing the ancient blade closer to Kagami's throat. It loomed dangerously close to Kagami's neck, descending closer and closer with each frantic shove.

Gulping without taking his eyes off the kunai poised for his neck, Kagami pushed back to no avail. The old man's grip was tight, and his strength was overwhelming in comparison to his.

When the kunai fell just an inch away from his neck, Kagami increased his struggling and in a last-ditch effort yelled. "W-Wait stop! If it's money that you want, I can pay you back! W-Whatever it is, just name it and I'll get it for you, so don't kill me!"

As if seeing through Kagami's desolate lie, the old man's watery eyes narrowed hatefully. "I want your life, you damn Konoha shinobi have taken everything from me! That is unless you can give me back my daughter, grandchildren, and village that you torched!"

With a cry, the old man's otherwise aged face grayed a considerable amount. His eyes hardened as he spat, "I used to be a ninja too, bastard. I'm most likely going to die here tonight, and that's fine, but I'm at least going to be taking you with me to hell!"

Kagami felt his muscles turn into jelly at the old man's newfound strength. He gasped, trying to catch his breath only to shudder at the cold metal pressing against his neck. In the old man's glistening eyes, Kagami saw his own onyx eyes shimmer before turning scarlet.

In the depts of the old man's eyes, Kagami saw unconditional fear flash as he withdrew his gaze from his.

Utilizing that second pause, without thinking, Kagami pushed with a curse. The old man wheezed and flew off of him, soaring through the air before slamming into the bark of a burning tree. The echoing snap that resounded through the burning forest confirmed Kagami's unasked question.

The old man was dead, slumped against the burning tree; with fresh tears streaming down his face.

Wordlessly, Kagami glanced down at the somewhat rusted kunai the old man dropped mid-flight and then turned his gaze to his dead adversary. He was being consumed in the flames, the tears evaporating alongside his sagged skin.

A deathly scene, but nonetheless, the sight calmed Kagami knowing that the murderous old man was dead. Unable to sneak attack him.

Kagami picked himself up, moving forward a short distance to retrieve the fallen kunai. He stumbled some but fixed his footing by leaning against a hollow tree. He was exhausted from the struggle; his skin was pale, and beads of nervous sweat dripped down his face into his eyes. Despite the stinging in his eyes he watched with callous reprieve as the old man was reduced to a charred corpse.

Almost ironically, he knew that he would never forget this life-changing event in his new life. His stinging eyes, as if placing himself under self-hypnosis, absorbed the scene, carving the memory into his mind. However, unironically, he felt no such feeling of remorse or guilt weighing down on him.

With a writhed groan, Kagami considered allowing the approaching flames to consume him too, but memories of the demon's warning flashed in his head.

'From here on there's no more redo's…'

"Dammit," Kagami cursed. He clenched the hilt of the kunai and stabbed it into the tree that supported his back. Yanking the metallic weapon out from the tree, he snorted as he realized that the demon was right about this being a world ruled by the strong.

The strength that the old man possessed was downright otherworldly. With the adrenaline of his 'fight' still pumping throughout his veins, Kagami's legs moved of their own accord, sprinting towards the vast grassland.

It wasn't until the burning embers of the great forest fire were over the horizon, barely visible to the naked eye, did Kagami come to a stop. He needed to leave, he kept reminding himself.

He had just killed a man…

He didn't know how this world worked, but surely murder wasn't tolerable here?

Nevertheless, he couldn't bring himself to care; he walked halfway to the edge of a dark forest he found himself near and sat down with tired eyes.

All was quiet and peaceful, and all that Kagami could think about was how long he would have to survive in this world before the demon came for him. Stiff with soreness, he swore to become stronger, so that his life would never become under threat like that again.

A strong desire for strength got Kagami standing upright, stretching his sore limbs in the air. The demon made it clear that this was his final try at life, he wasn't- couldn't be weak if he didn't want to return back to that hellish abyss.

One old man was able to almost send him back to hell. At least until his eyes suddenly shifted colors… He raised and glared at the metal kunai, into his reflecting scarlet eyes.

They were eerily similar to that of the demon's although different at the same time. Namely in the form of the three lazily spinning tomoes in each of his eyes.

However, at that particular moment, a burst of speed approaching him from the murky forest made Kagami's eyes widen before narrowing in alarm. He stood still; kunai raised on guard.

He wouldn't be taken off guard like with the old man and deer before.

The action was for naught, however, as situated behind him kneeling was a woman dressed head to toe in black. Almost like a ninja.

Although, what made Kagami's mind freeze was her overwhelming beauty. She was by no means as beautiful as many of the Broadway actors from the states or even his previous wife, but just the sight of her initiated a feeling of delight from his body.

She had fair skin and full lips; with a rigid glower that sent shivers up Kagami's spine. He wanted to strip her down and… Kagami shook his head, now wasn't the time to be thinking such perverse thoughts. He just killed someone and needed to continue running, plus who knew if this woman was after his life for revenge or something of the sorts.

He glanced back at the forest where the kneeling woman had come from and took a slow step towards it, not turning his back to her. Her eyes followed his, but she merely tilted her head in confusion.

"Kagami-taicho…" she whispered.

Kagami's jaw clenched as she whispered his name. That confirmed his suspicions, she knew him and was after him. He gulped and narrowed his glare, tightening his hold on the kunai. He'd kill this woman too if she got in his way, nothing would prevent him from surviving.

"Who are you?" Kagami said. "What the hell do you want?"

Her cool gaze narrowed too as she stood from her kneeling position, taking a step forward.

Not liking the way she began confronting him, Kagami increased the ferocity in his own glare. A tense silence befell the pair and Kagami was the first to look away, his eyes stinging in irritation.

"Taicho…" She stated. "I expect this kind of foolishness from that brat, Inojinchi. We need to return to camp before Hot Water shinobi find us."

Kagami wanted to tell her that he didn't know what the hell she was talking about, but with a burst of speed faster than even before, she appeared behind him once again eyes focused on his raised kunai.

"K-Kagami-Taicho, the others are waiting," she said. "We're drawing attention out here; we need to hurry and regroup."

Kagami did not move or even register the concern in her voice. He was too busy fighting off the dizziness that gripped his vision. As he stood there, clenching his eyes shut in an attempt to fight off the pain, he flinched when soft hands gently cupped his chin forcing his eyes open.

Just inches apart, she whispered, "No genjutsu..."

Kagami shook his head free of her grip and stumbled about some. His vision faded in and out, and the last thing he saw was the mysterious woman's eyes turning scarlet in unease as she bent down to catch him.

End