The Beastly Encounter (Kouzai, Loolaalee)

Yami made a frustrated face at the child she was holding. The kid just wouldn't stop crying! I really need to stop taking babysitting jobs, she thought. She wasn't very good at caring for infants. Toddlers, she could do, but infants? Much harder. Yet the woman paying her to watch her kids was wealthy, and was willing to pay Yami a lot for her services, so Yami happily accepted. I need to make money somehow, right? she thought.

Finally, the baby in her arms fell asleep, probably from crying so much. Yami gently laid him down in a crib just as the older child ran up to her and kicked her in the shin. "Why you little stinker!" she said, smiling. It really didn't hurt that much, the little girl was only six. But it was funny, and the girl laughed and ran off. Yami made sure the baby was soundly asleep, then chased the girl down and tackled her, pinning her down. The girl just kept laughing, and Yami laughed too. Just then, Yami heard the sound of the front door being unlocked. She hastily stood up and pulled the girl to her feet, and ran to the crib, holding the girls hand.

The woman walked in to see Yami standing by the crib with her sleeping baby, and her little girl laughing and holding Yami's hand. The woman smiled, and handed Yami a small pouch of coins, which Yami happily accepted, then left without another word. "Phew, now I can actually pay for dinner." she said aloud, then she whistled, calling her pet dragon, Fireball, to come get her. As soon as Fireball landed, Yami grabbed her bow and sheath of arrows, and her knife belt out of the saddle bag. She felt more comfortable with her weapons on her, but the woman didn't like the idea of her children being around deadly weapons, so Yami had to leave them with Fireball. "Alrigh, boy, lets go find a place to eat." she said, climbing on his back.

She flew low, due to her fear of heights, and dismounted when she got into town. She sent Fireball off, letting him go into the nearby forest to hunt for his own dinner. Hastily, Yami threw her hood on. In a remote village like this one, it was very unlikely that she would be recognized, but one could never be too careful.

She walked into a small inn, a family owned place. "I'd like to rent a room, please, and a hot meal to eat." she said to the man, who was cleaning tables in the dining area. "Of course, ma'am. My wife is making roast duck tonight." he said, smiling, which told Yami that the dish was definitely good. She thanked the man, then walked over to a little girl, who was holding a key. "Here you go, miss!" the girl said, then ran off after giving Yami the key.

Yami walked up the stairs to her room and threw her bag on the bed. "Gosh, sometimes I wish I really did live in the castle. At least I wouldn't have to work painful jobs to get food that way," she thought. She always had a hard time holding a job for very long, because sooner or later, her employer would find out her secret, and she would be fired. That was her whole reason for coming to such an isolated town. She knew she would be able to get a job without being recognized.

Yami walked down the stairs to the dining area again, which was now filled with the aroma of roast duck. Other travelers were also seated here, so at least Yami didn't feel awkward being the lonely person in the inn. She picked a seat in a shadowy corner, preferring her isolation. From here, she pulled some papers out of her cloak pocket. They weren't special, just letters from a friend that she liked to read through whenever she was on her own.

Suddenly, her right hand began to glow white. Slowly, it began to move toward Yami's knife scabbard, out of Yami's control. She set down the papers and used her left hand to hold her right hand back. Great. The bijuu isn't happy, but why? she thought, holding her hand back. Finally, it gave up, letting her have control of her hand again. Yami placed the papers back in her cloak, looking around at the other patrons, wonder what had worried the 5-tails.

((OOC: I've decided to test out the Other Konoe. He's got two sides, his normal, good person side, and the dark side that is favoured by the Bijuu and is prone to anger.))

Konoe trudged through the muddy streets. Blood covered his hair, his armour, his hands...dripping from them like rain. He had a grimace on his face, his eyes glowed red, and in his hands were the disheveled and swinging heads of his targets. Today was a "Bijuu Day" as Konoe liked to call it. A day where he let his other half go, and that usually meant giving the Bijuu a little free reign. So Konoe used this time to do some bounty hunting. Dead or Alive the poster said, so Dead or Alive the law would get.

Although this time they were all dead. Though Konoe could've sworn he saw one of the head's eyes roll back and cough up a BIT more blood before dying when he cut it off but, that was the normal reaction to being decapitated. Konoe laughed, chuckling to himself as he watched people skirt around him, trying to avoid him and his dark glare. They didn't know he was a Bijuu, but his crazed, angry eyes said all they needed to. Konoe was not someone to be angered. At least not THIS Konoe.

Normal Konoe was kind, rational and respectable, Head General of the Imperial Army, and a shining representative of his family and their military. But Dark Konoe, or Other Konoe, was an evil, dark and angry person. Prone to murder and blood lust. Konoe only let him out on the battlefield, or in the privacy of his own training grounds, or on vacations, and even then rarely. Konoe didn't like using him, but not releasing the Bijuu would only make the pain and rage worse sometimes, so Konoe needed to oblige him.

Having the Bijuu put in him at such a young age, when he was but a boy of 6, fractured Konoe's psyche. Half of him felt rage and hatred and anger towards everyone and everything. That was the side that surfaced when the Bijuu got loose, the side that the Kyuubi liked most. And the regular side that most people saw, that hated the thought of hurting others unless necessary and disliked letting the Bijuu go as well as any notion of hatred towards anyone who didn't prompt it.

Konoe slammed open the inn door, and ignored everyone's stares. He shot a few people a death glare and they looked away, only long enough until Konoe stopped noticing. Konoe slammed the heads on a nearby table, roared for food, slammed a gold piece down on the table and kicked up his dirty feet as a hefty mug of Hellfire Brew Ale and some lamb leg was brought to him. Grabbing the lamb leg like an animal would grab its kill, he tore into it with his fanged teeth and then swallowed it down with a healthy gulping of ale before slamming the mug back down on the table. "Meat's dry," he grumbled biting into it again. Then with a grin, he spit it onto the floor and threw the lamb's leg after it. He took another swig of ale as the fumbling, fearful and apologetic bartender tripped over himself as he dashed for the kitchen to get more meet. Konoe laughed, and waited, glaring at anyone who looked for too long. In this dirty state, no one recognized him. Something Konoe would be thankful for later.

Yami was calmly eating her food when some guy covered in blood rampaged into the inn. Everybody was thrown into a panic, and Yami was no exception. She dropped whatever utensils she was holding and tried not to stare at the man's weird figure. She tried to focus on other things, like her food, or even the scar on her arm. At one point she reached into her pocket and wrapped her fingers around the necklace she had received from a close friend, trying to remain calm. Something's not right about this guy... she thought.

Finally, she couldn't help herself anymore. She opened her eyes and stared straight at the man. She gasped as she recognized some of his figure: the fangs in his mouth, not to mention the ghostly glow in his eyes. It was as if he had undergone some sort of transformation. Yami's mind flashed back to her meeting with the boy name Tsumi Buredo. He had undergone a similar transformation. She had no doubt her transformation also looked similar to that. No way. Could this guy be...?

She shook the thought aside. The chances of two jinchuuriki meeting in a small village hidden in the mountains like this one? Unlikely. It's gotta be something else. But what else causes that kind of transformation? she thought. She mentally compared his transformation to those of the other two Jinchuuriki she had met: Setomaru, the one tail, and Tsumi, the seven tails. She had witnessed beastly transformations from both of them. Yet neither of them had done this much damage. Ok, that may not be entirely true. After witnessing Tsumi's transformation, he had disappeared into the woods. Who knows how many animals he killed while he was out there, raging.

Yami realized she was staring at the man, and quickly turned away, hoping he didn't realize it yet. She wondered what would happen if they made eye contact. Her hands began to glow white again, although this time, her right hand grabbed the knife next to her plate and threw it straight at the man. Yami quickly regained control. Are you insane? Are you trying to get me killed? she thought to herself. Ooh, that would be nice. But you know as well as I do that if you get killed, I die too. No, I simply want to get his attention. Yami recognized this as the voice of the 5-tails. Oh, and that's not the equivalent to getting me killed? You fool. You know what he is. Which is exactly why I DON'T want to get his attention!

While Yami had a mental argument with herself, she realized that many of the other patrons had passed out, probably from pure terror. She tried not to look back at him. She figured that if the was one of them, making eye contact would be a BAD idea. She closed her eyes and turned away. Don't look. Don't look. she kept repeating to herself, until she was actually saying it out loud. "Don't look, Don't look"

As Konoe waited for his new food, he saw a knife whizz towards him.  With a snarl, he raised his hand, moved his head and grabbed it by the hilt as it passed by.  Then, in a quick second he slammed it down into the wooden table, glaring hard at the one who threw it, Konoe could hear the Kyuubi roar from within him.  It was a roar so violent and loud, and so full of hate Konoe was surprised no one else could hear it.

"Gobi! I sense you!" roared the Kyuubi, stirring from within Konoe's body, "I sense you, Kokuo!"  "Gobi? Kokuo?" wondered Konoe, the good Konoe.  While the Other Konoe ran free, the good Konoe was often stuck within his own mind like passenger in his own body, usually waiting with the Kyuubi.  "What is a Gobi and a Kokuo?"  The Nine Tails glared down at Konoe as if he had just insulted him, but Konoe simply returned a hardened, stone-cold look, no revealing any emotion or fear.  "Gobi is the name your people, you humans, have given the Five Tails," explained the Kyuubi, "Kokuo was the name she was given before we were banished to an alternate world.  Do you not know a thing about us Bijuu?"

Konoe couldn't bring himself to admit that he didn't.  For 15 years the Bijuu had existed in this world, but Konoe knew that not a single Jinchuriki had gotten to know any of their Bijuu on a personal level, not even Tsumi, who was the only other Jinchuriki other than Konoe to fully master his tailed beast.  The moment of clarity within his head was gone as Other Konoe had remained in control.  He stood up, still glaring at the girl who had thrown the knife, and drew his sword.  In the blink of an eye he was behind her, the power of the Bijuu giving him insane amounts of speed, as it did to all Jinchuriki when their seal was called upon.

The tip of Konoe's sword rested in the middle of the girl's back, resting between her shoulder blades.  "Give me one reason why I should put this blade through your chest?" grumbled Konoe.  Good Konoe wanted to stop him, but he couldn't.  His will wasn't collected enough and couldn't be in time to get control before the blade went through the girl's chest.  Right now, all Konoe could do was hope Other Konoe changed his mind, at which point Konoe could try to get control again...and maybe even find out more about the tailed beasts and their histories.  "So, what's the reason?" growled Konoe, the point of his blade nearly breaking skin like an oversized needle.

Yami stared straight ahead in horror. A sword pressed against her back by a normal person was a little easier to deal with. Usually she could say something about the 5-tails or something like that and they would hesitate just long enough for her to reverse the odds. But this...this was another jinchuuriki. She had no idea what she could do, and she had a feeling he already knew her own secret. She sat there in stunned silence, trying to think of something to say. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she gasped as her eyes changed from sapphire to white.

Dangit! I let my guard down for one second, and you just had to take over! she thought to herself. Yami hadn't made any progress yet in getting control over the bijuu, so occasionally, it would break through her hold and take over her body. There was nothing she could do to stop it, and on too many occasions had the beast nearly killed Yami's friends when this happened. She was actually planning on meeting with a man named Itami, who had agreed to help her learn to control the bijuu. But that meeting wasn't supposed to happen for another week.

Yami lunged forward, away from the blade. She then spun around, both of her knives drawn. "Long time no see, Kyuubi. I hope you realize that if we fight, many of these innocent people will be killed. Not that I would expect you to care. But all my time in this gentle girl has made me grow...soft. Now I don't just kill everybody. I only want to kill a select few people, mainly the ones closest to this girl." Kokuo said. Don't challenge him! He looks like he is WAY stronger than you! And who is Kyuubi? I havn't heard the names Kokuo and Gobi before either. the real Yami asked. Stop asking questions. Kokuo and Gobi are names for me, in case you are wondering. Kyuubi is him-the nine tails. Kokuo said.

Great. You are challenging a beast with four more tails then you? Way to get us killed. she said. Yami had figured out after meeting Setomaru that the more tails the beast has, the stronger they are. And the more dangerous. Setomaru had befriended his bijuu so easily, Yami envied him. She and the 5-tails weren't exactly 'friends'. Because of this, she had always had a hard time actually tapping into the beast's power, just because it didn't want to help her at all. Occasionally, it would lend her some power, but most of the time it either did nothing, or tried to take over her body completely.

Yami underwent a brief transformation. At this point, she probably looked almost as terrifying as the man standing in front of her. After looking down at her hands, she resheathed the knives, and instead water bent some water from a glass and formed it into an ice sword. "That's better. Now, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

((OOC: I apologize for not going into much detail about Yami's transformation. I'm just not sure what kind of transformation she would undergo.))

"Soft?!" roared the Nine Tails through Konoe's mouth, "Kokuo!  You were once one of the nine Bijuu!  A power beast of destruction, and a mighty warrior!  Now you are but a pet!  You have lost your dignity....allow me to help you find it!"  Konoe let our a roar that blew aside much of the tables and patrons of the bar, but the enemy stood strong.  Being a Jinchuriki it wasn't much of a surprise, she was stronger than most humans after all, that was to be expected.

With a burst of speed, Konoe dashed backwards, putting much room between him and his opponent.  "Face the wrath of the mighty Nine Tails, the Great Kurama!" roared Konoe, "A coat as orange as the harvest moon!  Whose tails cause mountains to fall and seas to rise!  Whose roar causes droughts!  Whose breath becomes fire!  Greater than the mighty Son Goku, the Great Sage Equalling Heaven!  King of the Sage Monkeys and of the Water Screen Cave!  Stronger than the mighty Gyuki!  Whose horns could piece even the armour of the gods!  I am the most power of the Original Nine!  All will bow before me, for I have not forgotten who I am!  I am a beast!  A killer!  A demon!"

Konoe let out another roar, and Konoe dropped his sword, falling to all fours.  He didn't want this to happen but...for once...he couldn't fight it.  He had never seen the Nine Tails, or Kurama as Konoe supposed he was to be called now, was not happy.  In fact this was the angriest Konoe had ever seen him without being able to suppress him.  The last time something like that happened, Konoe was a child, when the beast was first sealed.  Kurama was so angry, he rampaged, using Konoe's body to do it.  He went six tailed, ripped through the courtyard, much of the eastern wing and the stables and ended up getting into a near death match with the Imperial dragons before Owlan finally managed to calm him down and close the seal.

Now, now Konoe may just do that again, but who knows who would die this time.  How many innocents.  The only innocents last time were horses and some turtle ducks but this time...well.  The cloak of the demon fox covered Konoe, its horrible chi enveloping him.  The seal had been opened many times before, and the fox was taking advantage of that.  One tail....two tails....three.....Konoe would be damned before this got to four.  He managed to slam the breaks here, and hold the transformation and three tails, slowly waiting for himself to gain control again, but until then....the destruction would ensue.

Three Tailed Konoe, angered, his lips black, his fangs and claws long, his eyes so angry that he could kill anyone with a stare.  If only looks could kill.  Konoe let out another roar, and dashed towards the Five Tails Jinchuriki, slashing at her with his claws and chi cloak.  Please let this be over soon, please.  I don't want to hurt anyone! was all Konoe could think and hope.

Dark Yami stood strong, enduring the roar easily. She snarled at him. "I said I have grown soft. That does not mean I have grown weak. Alright, fine. We will fight here. These petty humans aren't worth anything anyway." she said. She held the ice sword in front of herself defensively, ready to block whatever attack would come next. She jumped out of the way of the claws while parrying the attack at the same time. The movement was a little clumsy. "Forgive me, but I'm still getting used to this body. The girl never willingly lets me take over. Very frustrating. I really wish she would actually start to make some progress so I could have more freedom. Unfortunately, she has yet to find a master." she said.

There are reasons as to why I have waited so long...and you know it. You know how much i'm afraid of your power! Good Yami shouted mentally. I've been meaning to ask you about that. What are you so afraid of? the beast asked her. Yami made a face, if that were possible in her mind. You know why. I know you are responsible for the death of my father. I only influenced your killing shot. You had tapped into my power through your hatred to your father after he killed your mother, even if you didn't realize I was there. I wish I had known. Then I wouldn't have had to suffer that pain all over again six years later, when that necromancy bender brought my father back to life and told me about you.

Yami had a mental argument with herself during this battle, but that didn't stop Dark Yami from attacking. She turned toward Konoe and switched her stance from defensive to offensive. She let out a battle cry, and dove toward Konoe, pointing her ice sword at his stomach.

((OOC: I'm so sorry if my first sentence is godmodding XD It just looked so cool in my mind, if you no likey I'll changey))

Konoe let out a roar from his mouth, letting out a massive shockwave, blasting the girl back, but not far.  She didn't hit anything, or take much damage, but she was out of his way, and stumbling to regain balance.  "Gooood, use my power!  Show Kokuo the power of Kurama!  When she is killed, and her true form revealed!  We shall call the others!  We shall call upon Shukaku, and Matatabi.  We shall call upon Isobu and Son Goku!  We shall call upon Saiken and Chomei!  And we shall call upon Gyuki!  And together, all nine of us shall destroy this world, and destroy this world, and that wretched 10 Tails!"

Konoe roared again, he was unable to respond, using much of his energy and concentration to try and regain his control over his own body and suppress the arrival of a fourth tail.  Four tails would be enough to level most of this village.  Six almost made him level the entire palace complex, if he hadn't been stopped, and would've allowed him to destroy a full nest of dragons.  

Konoe had no idea who these people were that Kurama, or the Nine Tails, whatever his name was now, were.  But if Konoe had to guess, they were the other Tailed Beasts.  Each of them, they were bent on destroying the world, and everything in it, especially the 10 Tails sealed within the Spirit King--cousin Owlan as Konoe called him.  What was going on?  Why were the tailed beasts so bent on destruction?

Another roar exited Konoe's mouth, and this time, he charged towards Yami at full speed.  He was there in seconds, and as he prepared to slash her, the red cloak--energy mixed with blood--began to cover his body as his skin peeled.  "LIKE HELL THAT'S HAPPENING!" roared Konoe in his head.  The preparations were ready, he was ready to take command once more.  And just as he awoke once more, the good, kind Konoe, no demon cloak or any sign of the Bijuu, his fist was inches from Yami, still in an attack form.  And all Konoe could do was stare blankly at her unable to say anything.

Yami grunted as she hit the wall. The wind was knocked out of her, and she had to wait for a moment to catch her breath. During this time, she listened to the monologue of the other guy. What in the world his he blabbering about? good Yami asked. Oh, just a little bit of a...dream, I guess. He and I, and the other 7, have all been itching to destroy you puny humans for a few thousand years. answered the 5-tails. Great. That's comforting. And by the sound of it, he wants you cooperation through the loss of my life, correct?Yes. Didn't you hear what he said? I will be released when you're killed.

Yami stared straight ahead, then quickly got to her feet. You're not seriously going to let him kill me, right? RIGHT?!?!Well, as much as I despise you, I have somewhat grown attached to you. Plus, I won't be able to get to that boy if you're dead, he will just find some way to escape, or more likely commit suicide. I wouldn't be able to feel the joy of killing those closest to you.Oh, as if you haven't done that already with the death of my parents. Kokuo Yami paused, letting the words sink in. True, I was responsible for that. And before you met that Drago kid, I probably would actually willingly let you die. But now I must kill him, and the others you have grown close to.

"Please, Kurama. Can't we deal with this diplomatically?" Yami asked, but was cut off by another roar as he charged towards her. Yami raised the ice sword, but realized she didn't have to because suddenly, he had transformed back into his normal human state. Ok...well now that that little incident is over, can I please have my body back?Fine. But only because I wouldn't be fighting Kurama if this were to continue. Its not fun this way. Yami was able to regain control over her body. She gasped as the ominous white glow disappeared, and her eyes returned to their normal sapphire blue.

She looked over at Konoe. She was about to introduce herself to him when her knees gave out and she collapsed, falling to the ground. "Woah...thats never happened before..." Yami said. At least, the beast actually willingly giving up control over her anyway. One other time had it taken control of her body because she got careless. She had to use force with the help of Drago Phoenix to regain control, and that night had brought on some...unhappy nightmares.

Yami looked up, wondering of Konoe would collapse as well. She felt completely drained of all of her energy, as if she had just won a war she had been fighting for years. Then she looked around, and laughed a little at the damage that had been done to the building. "I don't suppose you have the money to pay for this?" Yami asked. She knew that it would be impossible for her to collect anywhere close to enough money to pay back the owner.

Konoe noticed the girl stumble and fall to the ground in exhaustion.  "You're new to the Bijuu powers, aren't you?" asked Konoe, noticing that the exhaustion was brought on the extreme toll using an untamed Bijuu's powers took on the body.  It was a long since Konoe had last collapsed from over using his strength.  The incredible strength, speed and agility gained by the Bijuu transformation, not to mention the incredible healing ability, it didn't matter if your body wasn't used to handling it.

It was all the cause, especially the healing factor, of the constant and accelerated division of cells.  A natural process of the body, unfortunately the acceleration factor tires out new Jinchuriki faster, and it also shortens their life.  Not until you have the Bijuu under control do the effects go away.  And this girl was definitely a long way away from taming her Bijuu.  She was a child, what was she doing with a Bijuu?  Was she really a royal?  Were the nations truly making Jinchuriki so young still?  Konoe thought his generation was the last one made young...especially since a lot of young children died taking on the Bijuu before the nations got it right.

He did not want this to be the case with this girl.  She had potential, at least it seemed as such so far. Konoe offered his hand, and a bit of his energy.  Once she grasped his hand, he'd transfer a bit of his chi to her.  "Who are you?" asked Konoe, "And how many tails did you say you had again?"