Chapter 22 - Every Demon has it's Day

Ekyt was awake.
Sort of.
He could pick out the subconscious, and he knew he was in his own. He didn’t need many guesses as to ‘why’.
I’m dying.
“Hardly,” a voice returned his thoughts. Ekyt was instantly on his guard. But his guard dropped in shock. He saw himself- older, and slightly different looking- but it was him.
“Who are you?” Ekyt couldn’t help but ask. The other him flicked a match and used it to light a candle. The ‘room’ Ekyt realized he was in was less dim instantly. Around him, he saw pictures. All of his memories.
“I’m you. You already knew that. I CAN read your thoughts. But I’m going to stop,” the older Ekyt said.
“So why are you here? Or, why am Ihere, might be the better question.” Ekyt couldn’t stop looking around. On a desk of sorts, Ekyt saw a picture. He and his parents, and…Holly. All of them smiling. Holly, of course, wasn’t talking yet, she was just a puppy, but still, the site warmed Ekyt’s heart. There were other memories, too. All of them framed in this dusty office/library. There was his third birthday, a vacation at age 13, and earning his hitai-ate at age 15. Finally, it showed him getting a kiss on the cheek. Sakura was the giver, Ekyt the receiver.
And there were others. So many memories. And they all seemed good. One corner of the office, however, was darkened. Ekyt somehow knew not to go near that part of the office.. With that, he turned his attention back to the slightly older-looking him.
“I’m here, and you’re here, in your subconscious, because you just got knocked for one hell of a loop,” the older Ekyt responded. He handed Ekyt a glass of sake, then downed his own.
“So, I’m not dying. I’ve got that much- so why am I here? I got knocked for a loop, yeah, but I’ve had my bell rung so many times, why is this time different?” Ekyt wanted to know.
His older self took another drink. “Well, it’s about time you realized that you’re special.”
“Special? Come on, you invite me in, and then bullshoot me?” Ekyt snorted dismissively.
“Hey, I would have said the same thing. Boy, what a cynical wiseass I was!”
“Still are,” Ekyt corrected him.
“Whatever. Anyway, point is, you’re special. Your chakra- that’s me, partly. See, I’m the emotional you. I can show my feelings. But I hold them in, same as you. And that’s because I know what’s going to happen. And you, my friend, need to know. It’s all in this scroll.”
Ekyt took the scroll, seeing it was like a mirror image of his scroll, ShoBu. But this one was black, and sealed with the sageyo of a samurai sword. Ekyt looked at the scroll hard.
Do I WANT to open this? Do I really want to know?
Ekyt’s thoughts were pushed aside as his hands opened the scroll. The contents were only mildly suprising. But they WERE a let down.
“So I was right…” Ekyt said sadly, closing the scroll up. His older self nodded.
“More or less…it’s not too late to change that, you know. This part here, about you being alone- it’s already untrue. Right now, you have three medics trying to revive you. Sakura is pushing herself to her limits trying to save your life. This proves that your fate ISN’T set, at least not yet. You can still turn things around. You can still-”
Ekyt got up and walked over to a picture. It was of himself. By himself. In the original picture, he was with Master Sarutobi, Lee, and Sakura. But this one showed him alone. Ekyt took it off the wall and studied it closer. There was no trace of his friends. Not a single bit. The memory was so sad…Ekyt put it back, pushing back tears. His older self put a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s not over, you know. You can’t give up. For every bad memory, there’s at least one good one. Don’t you want more good memories?”
“What do they matter?! In the end, I’ll die alone! I live to serve only a few people. When they’re dead, so am I! What girl could want me? An emotional trainwreck? Who would put up with me? My own FAMILY deserted me, those bastards! Only four people stayed true to me…out of all my family…and then a few more. But who else were they going to turn to? I was the one to offer support. That’s all I am- a crutch. A convenience. Why is it like that? Why am I tortured like this?!”
Ekyt was shaking now, his hands sweating, his eyes as wide as they could go. “I’m as alone as I ever was. And I’ll die that way. I could never ask a girl to share my burden…this pain has to die with me. This anxiety, this torture, every night, every day!”
The older Ekyt put a hand on Ekyt’s shoulder.
“Don’t you think that maybe, just maybe, some girl thinks the same way? That YOU wouldn’t give HER the time of day? That she’s got problems that she’s reluctant to share? Do you really think you’re alone? Your emotions are powerful, Ekyt, and you’re stubborn. That’s why things are this way. If you wanted to, you could change everything. You could HAVE a girl, a family. But right now, you’ve got what you need to keep going. A cause. A purpose. And the more time you spend here, the less time you’re giving to the people you care about. Whether they reciprocate that care or not, you love them. Love isn’t a one way street. You can’t battle yourself. You NEED this cause, Ekyt. It’s the link to everything else you need, you want, you desire.”
Ekyt couldn’t hold back the tears any more.
“It’s like dying…every night. Scaring yourself into thinking you’re dying, or worse. What girl could want that? What VILLAGE would want that?”
The older Ekyt smiled. “I think you know the answer to that as well as I do. Now, before you go, take this scroll with you. You’re going to need it. Use it when the time is right. For now, get back to your body, before Tsunade decides you’re dead.”
Ekyt nodded, and headed toward the door in the office. On the way out, he saw a stack of magazines of, um, questionable content. Then he saw it, in all it’s orange-bound glory.
“Makeout Paradise?” Ekyt shouted, throwing the book at his older self. “I’m a PERV when I get older?!” Ekyt grinned, then ran toward the office door, and threw it open. He was falling, but somehow, he knew he’d be fine.




Ekyt sat up. Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura, all of whom had been trying to save him, were stunned.
“I’m fine. There’s no time to explain. I’m not sure I could. Right now, I-that’s it! Tsunade-sama, Orochimaru is planning something. He’s nearly immortal. And I can’t kill him, but I CAN end this invasion. But I need something from you…”
“What?”
“I need you to let me go with Yamato-sensei to retrieve Naruto.”
Tsunade nodded. What the hell? This kid was a fugitive not two hours ago. Now I’m doing whatever he tells me? But he’s never spoken like this- convincing. We’ve got nothing to lose by listening to him. And I owe him a great deal of trust.


Sarutobi was nearly out of chakra. He was panting, slight bent over from age.
“Ha ha ha! I warned you, old man! You were never a match for me! If you had only killed all those years ago!”
Sarutobi knew his time was up. But then he felt the presence of Ekyt next to him.
“Master…let me handle him.” Ekyt reached for his scroll, bit his thumb, and opened it. Then, he threw it. It unraveled at Orochimaru’s feet. The Blue Flame Chakra was alive.
“An Emotional Clone, Orochimaru. I wouldn’t have called upon him if I didn’t think you were a threat. So be honored,” Ekyt said disdainfully. The emotional clone was the Blue Flame Chakra, but it looked like Ekyt. With one swipe of it’s arm, the clone struck an approaching Kabuto. Kabuto, who rarely yelled out in pain, screamed in agony.
Without Chakaro, Kabuto, and with Sasuke distracted, Orochimaru was in trouble.
I’ve never seen anything like this! Is this a forbidden jutsu? Did he invent it? What happened?
“Swallow’s Strike Finality!”
Orochimaru narrowly dodged the clone’s attack. It was then he felt it.
“Genjutsu? You try a mere genjutsu on me? Release!” Orochimaru hissed.
“Good catch, Orochimaru. I guess you beat my genjutsu. But if you’ll look closely at your ankle, you’ll see that you got hit by my REAL attack.”
Orochimaru looked down. Four snakes had latched onto his ankles.
“Swallow’s Emotional Element: Rage!” The Emotional Clone called. THIS strike hit home. It looked like a simple punch to the stomach, but in reality, the clone’s hand was sealing tenketsu. Nearly all of them were sealed before Orochimaru broke away. He looked at Ekyt and his clone, then dove into a snake’s mouth, which whisked him away to safety.
The clone looked sadly at Ekyt.
“I have to merge with you again. When you offered the blood tribute, you put your emotions in the scroll. I have to return to your body. It’s going to hurt, but just know that you WILL live, and the pain WILL end.”
Ekyt nodded his understanding. The clone walked towards Ekyt. It didn’t stop. It just walked INTO Ekyt.



Tsunade saw the whole thing. She started towards him, but Sakura beat her over to him.
“What was that?! Are you okay?!” Sakura was nearly hysterical with surprise and worry.
“I’m fine. And that was…well, my second chakra. It’s a long story. Right now, we need to retrieve Naruto.”
“That will have to wait, Ekyt. Yamato has been injured, and can’t perform the jutsu.”
Ekyt shook his head. “The form he takes could kill Naruto, you know that! Let ME try. If I can talk him down…if not, I’ll seal the demon again, and remove it after the fight. Either way, Naruto is as close to death as I was.”
Tsunade clearly didn’t want Ekyt to go, but knew that she had a snowball’s chance in hell of stopping him.
“Sakura, you go, too. Take care of my two talented idiots.”



Naruto and Sasuke were both nearly finished. That was when Naruto’s fifth tail appeared. With a roar, he lost control of his body. He would kill Sasuke at this point. Sasuke sensed this, and used a newer version of his Chidori. It took two hands, both chirping with the energy of 1000 birds. Naruto was still fighting for control, so the attack hit. It propelled him, in his demon fox form, to the gates of the Leaf Village. Sasuke flew over in his cursed seal form and landed on top of the village’s walls.
“Fools. You can’t resist Orochimaru. That’s why I left this idiot Village.” Sasuke smirked as the stunned Villagers looked up at him. He heard a ‘tok’ next to him. Before he could turn, he was kicked off the village wall with a well-placed Dynamic Entry.
“Don’t insult the village that just kicked your @$$! How weak does that make you look?!” Ekyt shouted down. He leapt down in front of the transformed Naruto. The Blue Flame chakra was in hand.
“Blue Flame Protection Seal!” Ekyt called.
Naruto roared, knocking Ekyt off the wall. POOF! Shadow Clone!
“Blue Flame Protection Seal!” Ekyt called again. This time, he had to dodge backward to avoid Naruto’s tails. The villagers gasped in horror as Ekyt barely got away.
“Striking Shadow Snakes!” he called. Ekyt’s snakes held four of Naruto’s tails. But the fifth tail kept him away.
“The scroll…No, I’ve used it, it would kill him, he’s too unstable. There’s no choice. I’m sorry, Naruto…” Ekyt reared back and threw the ball of chakra in his hand at Naruto.
The problem here was that the chakra was connected to Ekyt. He was throwing away his emotions. And that was going to be painful. Ekyt knew it. But he also so something else. A friend dying. Ekyt had told Master Sarutobi he would protect Naruto. Even if it meant his life, Naruto was the future. Sakura was the future. Ekyt didn’t know about his own, except that he was going to protect those two. So when he released that ball of chakra, he freely accepted the pain that came with it. His body, however, did not. At least not very well. As soon as the ball left Ekyt’s hand, he staggered backwards. True to form, into the worst spot possible. Right near a pissed-off Sasuke.


Naruto felt the demon fox’s chakra recede. It slowly oozed back inside him, back behind it’s seal.
“Naruto!” Sakura immediately called on her trusty chakra scalpel again.
“You’ll be okay, Naruto!” she promised. “Hang in there!”


Ekyt chanced a glance over his shoulder. Naruto was getting medical attention. Good. All I’ve got to do is hold off a weakened Sasuke…great.
But Sasuke didn’t fight Ekyt. He stared at him.
“I remember you…you were one of the few I respected. Now I can tell…that respect wasn’t unfounded. Tell me one thing, before I’m forced to leave: I’ve been told you own the ring of an Akatsuki member. Is that true?”
Ekyt nodded. “It is. I defeated Kisame and took his ring as a reward. Let me guess: The Akatsuki have a bounty on me? You’re going to collect it?”
Sasuke shook his head. “No. I’m only interested in one member of the Akatsuki: my brother. I’m going to ask you a favor. My brother…if you meet him, don’t kill him. It’s the only dream I have left. I’ll never rebuild the Uchiha clan. I’m convinced- it will take me giving up my life to kill Itachi. If that’s the price, I’ll pay it- without hesitation.”
Ekyt breathed out, buying himself time for his response. Or, rather, buying someone else time. I made a promise, so did he…
“Sasuke…I have no intention of killing your brother. It would take a lot to drive me to that point. My goals are…well, they’re kind of private. It’s taken me 19 years to realize something most people figure out in twelve years. But don’t concern yourself with that. Concern yourself with your own goals. Such as rebuilding your clan. Not that we need more dangerous bastards around. But I hate to see people fail at their goals.”
Ekyt heard the sound of running. He snared Sasuke with a genjutsu as a distraction, while Naruto used his Rasengan, planting it right in Sasuke’s stomach. It knocked Sasuke backward- into the village. Right at Sakura’s feet.


Naruto couldn’t believe it.
“I-I did it? I brought him back! I brought him back! I kept my promise to Sakura! YES!” When Naruto turned to thank Ekyt for his help, he found that Ekyt was gone.
Sakura was grateful. “Thank you, Naruto. This means a lot to me…and probably to you, too.”
“It sure does! It took forever! But we’ve got Sasuke back!”
The Villagers flocked around, all of them surprised that the kid who had been ‘the enemy within’ had brought back the talented Uchiha boy.



In the Hokage’s office, Ekyt smiled for the first time in days.
“It’s about time he got the spotlight he deserves…no point in me being there. Those people would have given me their attention. As nice as it would have been…every dog…or fox…has his day. Today was Naruto’s day. It’s been a long time coming for him.”
Ekyt was thrilled for his friends. He, himself, of course, couldn’t share their joy. He didn’t tell himself ‘job well done’. He had done the near impossible. But it meant nothing. Or so it felt. As he pressed his hand against the window, Ekyt saw his reflection. A beaten-up young man whose view of the world was jaded greeted his tired eyes. He didn’t see success. All he saw was…pain.
“Oh well. Naruto’s having quite a run of luck. First he’s a chunin, now he’s the star of the day. (chuckles) I can’t think of anyone more deserving. I could go join them…no, that’s not my style. Besides, being this depressed, I would be the rain on Naruto’s parade.”
For Ekyt, it was back to business as usual. After a routine check-up at the hospital, Ekyt went to where the chunin exams were held.



“I’ve only been here once as a competitor. Probably the only time I will be, too. Since the building’s empty…Shadow Clone Jutsu!”
The two Ekyt’s faced off at the opposite ends of the arena. Soon, they were in close, fighting. Ekyt had given the clone half his chakra, so they could fight until the chakra ran out.



“You’re a hero!”
“Way to go, Naruto!”
“Ramen’s on me!”
Naruto couldn’t believe how much the people liked him now. All for beating one enemy.
This is what it’s like to be loved? I like it! I wish everyone could feel this! It took so long to get the Village to even acknowledge me…now, some of them like me! I’m that much closer to being Hokage!
Naruto saw Sakura tending to Sasuke. But soon she stopped that and stood next to Naruto.
“You deserve this, Naruto.”
Naruto smiled widely, finally laughing.
“Sakura-chan, I have never heard you say that to me before!” he declared happily.
Sakura ruffled his hair. “That’s because you never DESERVED it before,” she joked.
“Well done, Naruto,” came a familiar voice.
“Pervy Sage!” Naruto turned around. Indeed, it was Master Jiriaya.
“Don’t call me that, alright?” Jiraiya looked around, hoping none of his ‘specimens’ heard that.



Master Sarutobi soon left the celebration. He knew Ekyt all too well. He wouldn’t have found him if it weren’t for his crystal ball. Sarutobi felt horribly sad as he watched the boy spar.
Such a happy day for the village…but the boy has no happiness inside him. All he feels is his sense of duty…and maybe a sense of longing. Still, the way he stepped aside to make sure Naruto got the glory was…unnecessary. I need to make one last appeal to Tsunade. Then, I have to guide Ekyt into making a decision that’s going to hurt us all. But if he wants to succeed, this is the only way…
Sarutobi watched a little longer. The real Ekyt soon defeated his clone. With reverence, Ekyt looked around the room. Finally, he sat down and opened his scroll, the one that had just saved his life. Business as usual.



“I’m getting too old for this shoot!” Tsunade declared.
“Have you thought of a successor?” Sarutobi asked jokingly.
“I said I’m GETTING too old, not that I AM too old! Besides, there’s you, and there’s Kakashi. Unless you want me to put Naruto in charge!” Tsunade shot back.
“I see your point. If you are getting too old, then I AM too old. What about the Kaguya boy?” Sarutobi asked.
“He’s not the Hokage type. Although he’s everything that would make a great Hokage, he wouldn’t take the title. Not before Naruto. That would be taking his friend’s dream, and I know he’s not capable of that. By the way, will Ekyt be coming to the parade?”
Sarutobi shrugged and puffed on his pipe. “I doubt that. I haven’t spoken to the boy. I’ve only seen him. And he’s back to business as usual.” Sarutobi showed Tsunade how Ekyt went right back to training.
Tsunade chuckled. “How much better does he need to be? It’s not like he’s in the chunin exams.”
Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, in thought. “You could, of course, appoint the boy. To chunin. Or jonin, for that matter. He’s long outgrown being a genin.”
“Don’t think I haven’t considered it. I’m just not going to. Then EVERYONE will want a promotion.”
“I’m sure they are aware that the Kaguya boy is a special case. Well, I had hoped you would relent Tsunade. Truth be told, I don’t think the boy would need much convincing right now. He had other options besides staying here, others have noticed his ability. I don’t mean within the Leaf Village either. He’s garnered the attention of Orochimaru, and even the Akatsuki. And the Sand Village has already contacted me, hoping they will send Ekyt and Temari to them. I assume they’ll be asking you soon.”
“I wouldn’t let either of them go! Temari is an excellent jonin, and Ekyt is the most skilled genin I’ve ever seen!”
Sarutobi shook his head. “Tsunade, I think you should let the boy go.”
Tsunade stared at Sarutobi harshly, not sure she heard that right.
“Pardon me?”
Sarutobi looked Tsunade in the eyes.
“I think you should let him go. You won’t promote him, and he can’t learn anymore from us without that promotion. His talent is going to waste on mindless D-ranked missions meant for people nearly half his age. If the Leaf Village can’t use him, I’m sure our allies can.”
Tsunade glared at Sarutobi. “He would never leave. Never. No matter what. Even if I demoted him to academy student.”


“Big deal. It’s one step down. I’d graduate in two weeks,” Ekyt piped up, walking into the room. His mask was around his neck, so you could see his facial features. He was sporting a smile, beaming at the chaos his little joke had momentarily caused.
“You fought very well today. You should be proud,” Tsunade told him. She reached out to touch his shoulder, but Ekyt had moved away. But it didn’t seem like he had noticed, or meant to. He had his eyes fixated on the Village out the window.
“I don’t suppose I’ve miraculously become a chunin?” Ekyt joked.
“Sorry, no. You’re the most talented genin since Itachi Uchiha,” Tsunade told him proudly. She thought she would get a smile. Instead, she got a thoughtful, hardened look.
“Itachi…I wonder if…well, never mind. At any rate, I thought I should tell you in person: I feel I should resign. Leave the Village, travel, try to find a place. I’ve really got no obligations to fulfill, and there’s really no place for me. So, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if I went to work for another Village.”
Tsunade’s smile faded. “Of course I mind. You’re not allowed to go anywhere.”

“So, I’m not a chunin or a jonin…”
“No,” Tsunade replied.
“I have no family here…”
“I guess not,” Tsunade admitted.
“I’m not going to be promoted any time soon…”
“Not likely,” Tsunade had to concede.
“I’m not working with Naruto and Sakura, or any team…”
“No…” Tsunade realized what he was doing.
“Well, seems like I’m wasting my time, then. I can’t learn anymore here. I should move on. I don’t NEED your blessing to leave…but I had hoped the mutual respect was there, where if I voiced my concern to you, you would take it seriously. I misjudged you, Lady Tsunade. I guess we all have lapses in judgment.”
Ekyt jammed a straw hat onto his head and pulled on his long black coat.
“Well, I need to be going. Master Sarutobi, thank you for your time. I don’t want to rain on Naruto’s parade, so if you wouldn’t mind giving him and Sakura…and Sasuke…my best…”
Tsunade was NOT going to let this happen.
“If you try to leave, I WILL have you stopped, just like last time.”
Master Sarutobi stepped in. “Tsunade, you’re pushing him further away. Naruto may indeed be the hero of the day, but he had help getting there. The unsung heroes usually are rewarded with enough land for a grave. This hero, however, has received nothing.”
“Master Sarutobi…it’s alright. If the Fifth feels so strongly, I won’t leave the Village. But I won’t do any missions, either. I’m going back to my training, and my healing. Everyone wins,” Ekyt said pleasantly, walking out of the room.
“Wait! Damnit! Who’s going to do these D-ranks?!” Tsunade protested.
Sarutobi picked them up. “Their intended clients- the genin of the village. He’s done 500 missions, all D-ranked. That’s more D-ranks than anyone else, and nearly more total missions that anyone else. It makes one wonder- where DOES loyalty go when it is pushed away, rather than received?”



Ekyt picked out a private rooftop. There, he unrolled his scroll. But it made him wonder…if he could talk to himself for guidance when he was dying, why not now? So Ekyt instead focused his mind and chakra in a meditation-like state. Soon, he found himself in the office he was in before. He had been there only a minute when his older self, Makeout Paradise in hand, looked up from a couch in surprise.
“You learned to find me quickly enough. You must have a problem. Or I need to change my locks,’ the ‘older Ekyt’ said.
“Funny. I’m sure you saw the parade and whatnot…I don’t mind Naruto getting the attention he’s worked for. I just thought that helping save the Village might be enough to make me a chunin. Am I wrong for…well, desiring this? Is it wrong to think this way? Virtue IS it’s own reward, but would it hurt to get some visible virtues? Why do I care so much about that damn green vest?”
Older Ekyt closed his book and his eyes. “You don’t want the vest. You want the rank and the recognition that comes with it. You want someone to notice your hard work. You want something to be proud of. It’s not uncommon, and it’s not wrong.”
“Do I deserve it? Do I deserve to be a chunin?” Ekyt asked.
“You know as well as I do, don’t you. I’m wearing that green vest now. It still means a lot, even though I’ve worn it for all this time. It’s tattered from the battles I fight in your mind, the same way yours would get tattered from combat. Let me ask you this: The words of wisdom you came up with, on that scroll you wrote. The ones that apply to any martial artists. What are they?”
Ekyt thought for a moment, then responded. “A martial artist should never let his emotions take control. He should never let his anger dictate his actions. His mind should be clear and free of hatred.”
Ekyt paused.
“That’s noble and all, but no matter what, I HAVE emotions. I just don’t show them. And showing them won’t help, I’ve tried that.”
Older Ekyt got up. He suddenly looked panicked.
“Go back to your body. You’re in major trouble! Hurry!”



Ekyt leapt up. There was Itachi Uchiha. Behind him was Deidara and the giant bird that had got them both here.
“It’s time to give back that ring,” Itachi told him. Ekyt avoided his eyes. Everyone was still partying over the enormous Victory over the Sound Village, which had wielded a prisoner. Ironically, Sasuke’s capture had been the opening Itachi needed to get to Ekyt.
“I don’t think so. And I’m not going with you.”
Itachi’s Sharingan was already activated.
“Fireball Jutsu!”
The ball of fire was approaching Ekyt. Quickly, he forced himself out of the dregs of his healing trance and into combat mode…

You are not authorized to comment here. Your must be registered and logged in to comment