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“One day, God went missing. The devil as well. Nothing else was effected.

“Well, not physically anyway, which is quite surpising when you store something in everything. Or that something is everything. You would think taking it out would have some pretty critical reactions.

“It certainly caused a lot of wars.

“But other than that, most things stayed the same. A whole world on repeat, now for no reason save the ones it made up itself.

“And everyday, the sun would come, and the people whom the light upon were all happy and stuff, ever basking in the assumption that nothing had happened. They would bounce around singing their songs, dancing through their fields, having their banquets and declaring their wars on each other. This was as it should be and everyone was all for it apart from the old folk, who couldn’t bounce around so much, or sing through dry throats, dance on bad backs, eat as much as they used to, or understand the need to adapt to a defensive strategy when being attacked by a garrison of 40 horses, 80 spear men, 100 archers and 200 swordsmen, all armed to the teeth in the latest of Roman weaponry.

“But even when the people ignored the old folk (especially when) they continued to find peace and joy as the days went on. Afternoons would come about with full bellies and would shortly be folowed by evenings, and even then there were good reasons to dance and bounce and pillage with all those around them.

“It was only when the night came when their happiness would be shattered.

“The night was when the Onikage came.

“That was when the dancing stopped; food held in mid-chew, when everyone rushed inside their houses to make sure each light was turned off so not one shadow could be cast. And in the dark they huddled around each other with eyes closed, tight as possible. Wtaer left outside. Mirrors covered by the oldest, grottiest rags they could find; even their fingernails were buried into the mud to prevent the shine. All to avoid the dance of a light.

“And there in the dark they waited, holding their children tight, fearing they would slip away, fearing they would fall from their grasp. Fearing the presence of the Onikage.

“It was a terrible thing for the Onikage to approach you. Even more so for your children. It was they who the Onikage came for.

“Now, no one knew why the Onikage wanted the little ones, why it took them away, but it did, any time it could, any time enough light existed to create a shadow in the darkness. “Though of course it wasn’t always children. Such spirits were too dumb to know the comparison, and could never make a decent effort to do basic research. Sometimes it took older teens, the eldest a man of twenty three, though he was never that smart in the first place. Midgets were also a regular target.

“No one knew what it did with the children either, though the evidence presented itself soon after. When the scream was heard throughout the village, no one would see the child again for three nights.

“When the child finally did return, he or she would be covered head to toe in a mix of different coloured face paints and a funny clown wig. The large, happy grins they returned with were probably due in part to the few pounds they had gained in the stomach area, as if someone had force fed them candy non-stop those past three days. Some would even be found wearing shoes that were three sizes too big for them.

“All were dead too, but that always felt obvious at that point Not a single one able to tell of the wonderful time they had apparently had with the Onikage.

“It goes without saying, though I do so anyway, that no one had a fuckin’ clue what was happening at first. Hell, the entire situation was boggling. I mean, clown wigs didn’t even exist back then! Well you could have probably made them out of straw but that’s more scarecrow than purveyor of hope and joy. All the same, it taught the valuable lesson-come-legend to always keep the lights turned off at night, all to keep away the shadow demon, and to allow the bandits who spread the initial rumours a chance to sneak in at night and pilage all day the next morning.

“And as with all demons, the village folk would rationalize its existence with their own problems. Slave traders. Runaways. That drunk who always had stories around him attacking someone but no one could never say that they themselves had been attacked, and in recent centuries: communism, drug peddling and angsty teenaged suicides at the bottom of murky lakes ‘cause they just didn’t have that courage to tear theri only friend down their forearm vertically and bring about sweet, crimson release- the little losers.

“In the end, it doesn’t take long for a demon to be thrown into myth, ‘cause that’s what humans do now they have to rely on faith. And before you know it, it’s mixed with all the other myths and left to ferment, rot and fuse with all the others. That’s as per the plan of course, but if its gets obscured deep enough, the demon gets to jaunt for eterntiy. As is the case of the Onikage, who has now been at murder for five hundred years.�

“How much of that is actually true?� Jez from the slope ahead, keeping an eye out down towards the hill where the moonlight was reflecting in the paddy field. Despite his bulk being enough to make oxen jealous, the young man was a step too far away from the fire to feel its effects and was shivering through his anorak.

“Probably none of it,� she replied, leaning back and balancing the matchbox on her nose. “There were the bits the elders told me that are kind of believable, but then there’s the contradiction that there’s no legends about keeping lights turned off at night. And then you have to take into account I made a significant portion of the whole story up as I went along, so I’m guessing… the last third bit? That was kind of true.�

Carefully pulling a match out the box, she struck it against the coarse edge of the box while keeping it balanced, her tongue ready to provide support. Staring at the spark combusting on top of the stick, she let it ebb from blue to orange then black, feeling it do nothing to cure her boredom, before tossing it into the roaring embers.

“Now, love. Y’know better than that. The elders have always shown themselves right before,� he said to her condescendingly, continuing to canvass the area with his eyes, looking for a shadow in the darkness.

“Shut up, dicktard,� she replied rudely, watching the flames as they bounced off her face, keeping her yellow painted cheeks uncomfortably warm. “I know how this goes already. I say the elders are wrong. I go out to prove them wrong. I come back the next morning with broken arm and dead demon. Rinse and repeat; Different limb each time.� She grinned under the flames as her giant companion looked at her with contorted anxiety, his face cringing in darkness as she raised her arm high into the air and dislocated her shoulder for him, letting it fall losely onto her stomach like a string-cut puppet before popping it back in again, struggling as she kept the matchbx on her nose.

“Well,� he muttered, coughing to himself. “As long as you understand, then we can stay prepared.� He was vigorously scratching the back of his head, tracing the line of short hair above where his backbone resided with enough friction to start a small fire.

“For what?� she snapped with a sharp edge to her voice, angry more out of awkward boredom than the sharp pain ringing through her right armpit. “Just because the demon may or may not probably exist doesn’t mean it’s gonna come tonight, just because we may or may not be considered ‘children’ and we may or may not have a fire.� She caught a Living Log with her feet as it roamed around its pen and tossed it to the flames just behind her head, her back never leaving the ground and her ears ignoring the screams.

“We’ve been sitting by this fire for hours, and nothing has shown up. Why are you even here anyway? You’re rubbish company unless you’re naked.� It was boarderline anger really, but for good reasons. Her favourite show was on tonight, and she had to tape it on the half broken video recorder.

“B-because I am the youngest in the clan that can take care of himself,� Jez said timidly, trying to keep his resolve. The wind picked up, pushing the flame in his direction. He didn’t look young. He was around six and a half feet tall with sexy, muscular arms that would have glinted off the fires if he weren’t wearing n anorak as thick as a trainspotter. He was more man than most lumberjacks, yet he was only a month younger she was.

“Plus,� he said, waiting in the silence for a moment to know if it was safe. “We are married and all now. Aren’t we supposed to watch over each other like this?� There was an uncertain apprehension in his voice this time. He honestly wanted an answer.

“Pfft, stupid clan and their stupid arranged marriages,� she mumbled, not giving it to him the way he wanted. “Just because we started fucking didn’t mean they had to do this to us. It’s like reading a book? Once you get told you have to read it for your final exam, you don’t want to touch it.�

Jez suddenly became fascinated in the tens of thousands of eventless grass blades surrounding his feet and brought nothing else to the conversation for five minutes. Sh did the same until she felt the grass crawling by itself.

“Listen, Tenma, I…�

“That’s all we have time for in the first half, ladies and gentlemen!� she said calmly, flipping her legs up and forward, springing herself up to a crouch. “We’ll bring you back to the stupid angst half hour special after more interesting things attack us.�

“What? Where?� Jez said now fully alert, his body instantly moving into a fighting stance, the calm leaving as the adrenaline flooded his body, ready for action. She took her time to stretch and yawn as he looked around. Always far too serious.
“Behind you.� she said as lightly as telling him the cereal was in the fridge, seeing him turn to face the nothing before him and gawking at the ground for a minute before finally catching a glimpse of it.

The Oniage must have looked kind of impressive, to eyes that sucked so bad that they didn’t even have magic installed into them as a birthright. He actually had to grab a log off the fire, to see the demon there in front of him.

Even with his eyes, which were sharper than the hawk’s and could pick out worms in the ground froma thosand feet above an active battlefield, he would only just be able to make it out. It was part of the ground, which seemed obvious now, seeing that it was a shadow, and it shifted more like a plague snake in the desert sands than an absence of light. It was still confined to the light of the flame, dancing around its changing margins.

“Want some candy?� it asked with a ghoulish, high pitched hiss. The two lovers watched as three caramel fudges rose out of the ground and fired at them. Tenma caught all three, her hands moving in a blur that surprised even her. Opening her hand to look at the delicious, caramel goodness it quickly dawned on her what had just happened.

“Hey, don’t do that!� she shouted at Jez angrily.

“Er…sorry, but I was holding the torch. I couldn’t catch them myself.� She threw them at him harshly, turning her cheek at him in rightous indignation as the third one stuck to his forehead and stayed there.
“If I want you to take control of my body. I’ll order it, understand?� she shouted though clenched teeth, a commanding tone in her voice. “Now, keep the torch focused.�

“You’re not real children, are you?� the shadow hissed again, flowing in a circle around the girl, as she closed her eyes and concentrated. “You were waiting for me when you should have been in bed.� The ground thundered and cracked around them, tearing itself up as the shadow screamed. “You weren’t even pretending to be asleep!�

“Childhood’s an illusion created by society, she groaned with annoyance. “Now zip it, freak. I need to concentrate while we catch you.�

Bringing her hands together, she began a prayer to a god only she could worship. Breathing steady for a moment, hoping that her actions would amuse the demon long enough for it to sit and watch, she carried on her silent meditation, feeling the crystal grow and break out, her eyes slowly becoming a simple brown, as the sparkling green emerald emerged from her hands.

“Children should be more innocent, more playful. They shouldn’t fight,� it continued, its voice rasping with whatever words it could, sounding like a helpful suggestion somehow. “Come play with me. And my friends. Just for ever. Just until you die.�
“Friends?� Jez mumbled. She sensed two creatures pulling themselves from the shadow that was the demon. “Tenma. He’s brought company.�

“Then handle it,� she commanded, her voice almost hypnotic now, barely any control of the body she inhabited left. It was so easy for her to hate this bit, the loss of control, the choice to sap her own free will. It remained insane no matter how many times she did it. Hearing him curse under his breath, an action she intended to tease him about all night later, she saw him stick the log into the ground and run up to the newcomers.

“Grimlock and Draynor,� he announced. “The elders will be pleased that we took care of you tonight.� She knew the names instantly. Grimlock and Draynor were two of the most mindless, snarling demons one could ever hope to meet, and two of the most famous in her clan’s recent history. It was their mindless nature that must have made it child’s play for the Onikage to control them. Draynor was a mix of rusted iron and brand new, shiny steel. It lived with a large eye that filled its body and had no head, with merely a hole on the top of its body that looked like you could insert a neck if you had the right size. Its huge, muscular forearms looked like they could destroy buildings by being near them, and yet it only had tiny legs that looked like they should have snapped long ago and even now were struggling to approach her.

Grimlock didn’t have this problem, it had the form of a study rope with pink and purple scales that crossed each other a thousand times over. With its slick, long body, it was able to dart straight towards her the instant it left the vortex of shadow, intending to pierce her with its arrow-like head. There was no need to even flinch though. An inch in front of her, the serpent rope was yanked back, snarling at her stomach as it failed to reach her smooth skin, jaws snapping as it spat acid at her, its other end being held back by Jez, who held it like he was in a tug o’ war. With no hesitation, he slammed his large fist into the easiest part of it, knocking it to the ground, before pulling it once again, twisting the demon round and whipping it into Draynor, allowing the two to tie each other up.
She grunted slightly, she didn’t notice why.

Draynor looked at its partner, seemingly annoyed that it was playing around at a time like this, and flexed its grossly misshapen muscles, causing the other demon to instantly fracture like glass, scattering onto the floor into impotent shards. Draynor looked around in horror of what it had done to its friend, howling out in fury from a mouth that did not exist. Not wanting to blame itself, it looked around for the nearest possible cause and charged towards him, its tiny feet slowly getting the job done that its arms could do in a flash. Jez was bracing himself, unsure of whether to retreat or not, his own strength being nothing compared to the demon’s.

Then, everyone stopped for her.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,� Tenma said cockily, the green emerald now covering both her hands, shards coming out in all directions like they had grown from her. Draynor looked to her with its one big eye, doing its best to turn around and showing its protests through attempted mindless violence, failing when it found its body refusing to move, the emerald shards now embedding in its legs. “And just in time too,� she stated, looking underneath her. The Onikage was there, frozen underneath her, its formless mass slowly absorbing her into the ground before it had been forced to stop.

“Excellent work, my dear. Superbly…�

“Sealing demons. Continue to not talk,� she called out, silencing him immediately. Chanting, she began a small transaction with herself, speaking words of which were so old and lost in time that not even the elders really knew what they were. She was clueless too, and would never know. They were imprinted on her at birth, by men she’d never forgive. The chant sealed demons, so that’s all that really mattered to her at this point.

Beginning with the two summoned demons, she started pest control. These types were easy to seal, and she had done it a thousand times before. It was a simple knowledge, foreseen by simply looking at them. They were the type of demon that brought themselves into this world through curses on certain objects, and slowly evolved around them, warping the original forms until there was nothing but a grotesque replacement and demon living there. Pulling her hands apart, she concentrated one at each demon. Both monsters started to sizzle away, screaming in unholy agony as they bubbled and hissed their ways into the crystals that surrounded them. Soon they were nothing but a corrupted form of what they once were, the gauntlet of an old, angry yet strong knight, now transformed with a warped, spiky bracer, and a hook that, she figured, once connected a swing to a tree, now a sharp arrowhead connected to a study, thin yet velvety rope.

How such mundane items could create such monsters wasn’t something she had time to bother with and she turned her attention to the one underneath her. This one was nothing special either really, just a moronic demon that hunted children for dumb, personal reasons. The idea of a demon having psychological issues like this made her laugh, and she pulled its entire form out of the ground without mercy, making the demon feel like it was being torn in two, its existence as much a part of the ground as the darkness and the light. It screamed immaturely, madly, like a child having its security blanket taken away.

Sighing, she prepped herself. The bit she hated most was coming now. The Onikage wasn’t bound to a material possession like the others and so, admittedly… a bit more powerful. She’d have no choice but to store it in herself for the time being. It wasn’t the first time, but each time she felt one of these things touch her soul, she wished it were the last. She groaned as it flooded into her like water, pouring into the glass that held her soul, knocking it over and refusing to clean up the mess, revealing her to all those who cared to look. She hoped Jez wouldn’t notice it and prepared for the final pull.

Then it was over, the demon froze within her soul and she let herself collapse. Just for a second though, her foot stopping her descent even before she was halfway down. She couldn’t show too much weakness. She noticed she was bleeding from the Draynor, her hands also had minor cuts on them, but she was expecting that.

“It got you? But I thought I…� Jez said, full of his usual worry.

“It had an astral form, it looks like,� she grunted, standing back up to her full height, which was about two feet less than Jez. She could see his awe as she ignored the pain and revelled in it. This was nothing. Her bloodline was the strongest in the clan and showing pain, no matter how much she wanted to tell him, was practically forbidden. The man quickly ran to pick up the gauntlet and whip, before coming back to her, a large grin on his face that he only allowed during such times.

“Well, regardless, may I congratulation on another sealing well done. I…� He stopped dead, staring at her with widened eyes as she stopped him with one finger.

“No. No, you may not,� she said jokingly, holding her stomach from the winding she had received. “I just want to lie down, and stare at dreamy rock singers for the next two hours. But before that, I want…� She stopped, now realizing he was staring at her with the more than usual seriousness look. “What?�

“You’re…you’re pregnant?!� he exclaimed, sounding like he wasn’t entirely sure if he was asking a question or stating a fact. Her eyes must have bugged wide open. He looked bigger for a second there.

“Ah, crud,� she mumbled, quickly turning to pace away. “No I’m not,� she lied.

“Why didn’t you tell me?� he asked, chasing after her. She couldn’t tell his reaction, but it was probably the usual manaction, a mix of being not sure if he should be happy, or getting ready to accept her decision to abort it.

“Because dreamy rock stars are on TV tonight,� she replied, as cockily as ever. “I figured it could wait until the morning.�

“Wait until…� he began. “Do you know what’ll happen if you seal a demon when you’re pregnant, even if it’s only been a few days? Not only will it dilute the bloodline, but…�
“I know what it does, Jez,� she shouted, wishing he would shut up and go away and not see the tears streaming down her face, seeing everything behind the façade she had kept up so weel since last night, even the angsty emo kid she now felt bubbling up within her.

He was frozen in shock. Of course, this would be the first time he’d seen her cry before. It was said that, even as a baby, she had never cried. She was Tenma, of course she didn’t damn well cry, but now… Something took the legs out from under her.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,� she heard him say, trying to reassure her as he gr
abbed her limp body and held it close to him. He might have well as have been trying to reassure himself as well. He was shivering like a shaven polar bear.

“I can’t be like this, Jez,� she stated. “Not now, my ceremony starts tomorrow. We have to…� He kissed her lightly on the top of her head, and her voice trembled to the wind.

“I know,� he sighed. “We have to get going.� He went to pull away, thinking it was what she wanted. Instead, she grabbed him and pulled him in harder, never wanting to let go. She held him tighter than he could ever hold her. She didn’t want to admit it- given the circumstances, but it felt nice to be the one being held like this for a change, with him comforting her instead of the usual way round. She felt him bring his hand to her stomach, and held hers over his.

“Stupid kid.�

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