How could such a beautiful child become this... You disappoint me. The voices pleaded for destruction, and a burning sensation crept through his body. His gaze flickered frantically about and he clawed slightly at his hair. He had suppressed it. They were gone. There was no way they would come back. She had helped him, calmed his consumed soul. But it was all for nothing. He felt like his heart was ablaze, and he clutched it tightly.
He was afraid. He would burn everything, no doubt. He had to flee. He wouldn't kill her. He stumbled through the narrow hallway and gasped for air it seemed. He threw the door open and fell to his knees outside. He couldn't waste any time. He heaved himself up and took a deep breath. Footsteps sounded behind him.
"Nasake...?" a gentle voice questioned.
The voices ignited, their whispers turning to screams.
Burn.Nasake stared at her, his eyes wide, the typical golden color of them turn to a fiery red. He extended his hand quickly, and a plume of fire burst to life.
☯☯☯☯☯☯
Nasake grinned. A bounty, a bounty with a fix for a man with an 'obsession' with fire. He huffed a bit at the thought.
Foolish... he thought snidely. An obsession... He shook his head as whispers began once more, barely audible for him.
"Quiet, all of you...!" He snapped as he continued on his way, balling up the paper and throwing it. He crushed burnt pieces of wood under his feet and kicked seared cloth to the side. His hands twitched slightly. The influence of these voices only seemed to get worse... He gulped quietly. Nasake knew he had to find that man, no matter what it took. Or he really would become a monster. He picked up his pace, his tails swaying gently behind him.
He felt his urges to burn grow and fluctuate as he made his way to a village. It was large, and bustling with activity. Children played on the tattered dirt paths, and carts were wheeled around in front of shops, selling things like fruit and antiques.
"What a strange place..." He muttered. This was his first time coming down from the mountains after he was cursed... People stared as he walked by. Some cowered while others came closer to get a better look at him. There were those he seemed to know of him, their gazes icy cold on the back of his head, spitting in his direction. Though that was the case, he didn't pay any mind to them. They were the least of his concerns, after all.
He continued on for quite awhile, keeping his hands in his sleeves. They had begun to twitch slightly, a bit eager for destruction. He shook his head frantically, hoping no one would notice. He was a bit shaky, and he kept his eyes off of people as he walked. With all of these people around, he doubted no one would notice... And he was right.
"You have quite the interesting aura..." a quiet voice mumbled from the shadows. He looked to the side frantically to see... A woman, a hood over her head. Her eyes glinted under the shadow of the hood slightly. He stepped back, taking his hands out of his sleeves. The woman smiled softly, stepping closer.
"Eh...?" He emitted quietly, taking a tiny step back. She reached her hand out and touched her hand delicately to his necklace, causing him to jump back slightly.
"Interesting..." She mumbled.
"Such strong energy coming from something so small..." She mumbled, looking up at him. His puzzlement became curiosity.
What a strange woman... A witch, maybe? he thought to himself, staring at her for a moment. The warm smile on her face was a bit off putting, but he shook his head a little. What if she could help?
"So... You can... Sense it, I'm guessing?" He tilted his head a little. She nodded, pulling her hood off. She had curly black hair that went down to her shoulders and deep blue eyes.
"My name is Saki Taiyo..." She her voice was soft and caring...
"Nasake Itsuki..." He replied quietly, as if not wanting anyone else to hear his name. She spoke up once more, looking down at her hands for a moment.
"This power of mine is off putting to most, but I suppose a man like you wouldn't be afraid, right?" She smiled as she reached her hands up and rubbed his ears.
"Hey..!" He snapped, his hand lighting fire briefly before he realized what he was doing.
Her eyes flickered from his face to his hand, which was covered in burn scars, not exactly to her surprise.
"...I'm assuming you aren't used to this fire." She muttered, causing him to huff quietly. His hand shook with a dark urge, and his mind whirled with devious whispers.
"Tell me..." Nasake mumbled, looking away for a moment before looking back.
"Curses... Can you fix curses?" He asked, his voice low. It was rather embarrassing, knowing that he let himself get tricked like this. He hadn't told anyone, but he could feel these voices eating away at his mind. He needed help, and if she could he would tell her everything.
"Curses?" She tilted her head.
"You mean you're... Cursed?" She scratched her chin a little bit before reaching her hand out. She touched the amulet gently. It was giving of a little bit of heat.
"Is this your curse?" She tilted her head a little. He nodded slightly.
"It's like... It's like it's alive... There are voices and..." He halted his speech and shook his head violently. The presence of all of these people was off putting. She smiled slightly.
"Yes, yes..." She nodded a little, making her way in front of him. She smiled back at him and gestured for him to follow. He stared after her for a moment before doing so...
☯☯☯
"Lay down here..." She had taken him to her family's shrine. Candles laid in formation in front of a picture. She hadn't told him who it was off, but he could only guess it was someone important. She had gestured towards a mat, sparsely decorated with beautiful flowers. He looked over at her for a moment. He looked puzzled, thinking that this was just going to be some ritual that would turn out to be nothing more than a few silly incantations. However, as she gestured once more, he tentatively sat down, brushing his tails to the side and he laid down.
"Shut your eyes..." She mumbled, looking down at him as she got down on her knees and placed her hands on his chest. He stared for a moment before doing so, exhaling quietly.
After a moment or two, she began to speak.
"Disperse these voices that cause him pain..." She started, her hands faintly glowing.
"Let his mind rest, be tame..." With every word, her hands grew brighter. Saki continued on with her words until the light was at it's peak.
"...And let this fire rest in peace!" She spoke powerfully, holding her hands there for a moment longer before inhaling, and letting out a long, calm breath.
"...You can open your eyes now..." She looked at his face now.
He did so, opening his eyes slowly. To him surprise, the voices had calmed, seemingly not even there anymore. He sat up quietly, glancing over at her in awe.
"It... Worked?" He looked at her, a little grin creeping onto his face. Saki smiled as well.
"Thank you..." He nodded, though he felt weak. He held his head for a moment and groaned. That had drained a lot of his energy...
"Ah, that's right... You should rest, Nasake... Here is fine, considering it might be difficult to walk right now..." He nodded a little and he sighed, slumping his shoulders and laying back down...
☯
Though he had recovered the day after from the fatigue, it seemed that he was intrigued by Saki and her family. He stuck around for a while, calmly observing, and occasionally going out with Saki for small things. He also helped out a bit with little things, like sweeping and the like... He had become so much more calm, a lot less sadistic. And this was the least he could do considering how much this had helped him. He had even been given a fan with a simple pattern of a cherry blossom tree on it for helping out so much.
Today was calm, quiet. Nasake never thought he would see himself ever doing something like this again. He was out with Saki... Picking flowers.
"Relaxing, isn't it?" Saki looked over her shoulder to see him nod. He hadn't spent time with someone like this in a while. Even before he was cursed he didn't really have anyone. He smiled slightly. Through that day, they laughed, and smiled... And it was the first time Nasake had every felt even the tiniest feeling of love for someone.
Little did he know, that ritual was more like a slowly deteriorating spell, if any thing else. Little outbursts, albeit quiet ones, of the voices began to start up again. Though every ounce of him wanted to tell Saki, something held him back.
Don't you like the carnage? The power? one voice chimed eagerly. He shook his head, though he tapped his fingers erratically. He couldn't want this.... Impossible.
As the days went by, they began to come back more frequently, and much stronger. It didn't seem like Saki noticed, but Nasake definitely did. He took a few long, deep breaths.
"Nasake?" Saki called, making her way down the hallway.
"Nasakeee?" She said once more. Just hearing her words caused his head to fill with the thought of fire. He looked back to see her turning the corner. Desperate, he stumbled through the hallway frantically, a hand on his head, pulling at his hair slightly. He really couldn't suppress this without finding that man... He cursed under his breath and ran to the door, fire flaring at his finger tips. He clutched the fan tightly in his hand as he ran... If he was going to leave, he at least wanted something to remember their kindness by.
As he made it out of the door, he tripped, pulling himself back up desperately.
"Nasake!" He heard her voice again, a lot more concerned this time. He whirled his head around. He seemed more... Antsy, destructive, his teeth were bared and his eyes were... Red. Saki took a step back.
"Nasake...?" He was hyperventilating. This urge kept him rooted to the ground. His hand twitched violently as he stared at her, the voices beckoning loudly.
Kill her! Kill her! Burn her! they pleaded. Much to Nasake's dismay, he felt his hand ignite with flames. He held it out to her, seeing faint tears in her eyes before she... Smiled. He shot a column of fire out almost immediately after.
He wasn't exactly sure about what happened, but he could feel his chest burning, seared badly by the fire. His only guess was that he had redirected it. He fell to his knees. The burning sensation was torture. Looking up into Saki's eyes for one last moment, he winced loudly in pain before raising from his knees and running away as fast as he could. The air stung at the wound, but he kept going. When he was sure she wasn't following and he was far enough away, he collasped, the fan dropping. He looked at it from his crumbled state. There were raindrops as a design instead of the tree.
You purposely lost all of that love... Pathetic... it spoke. He was confused.
"W-Who... What..." He stammered.
Because you lost that crucial bond with Ms.Taiyo, and everyone else... I'm your new Saki. Your shadow. 
