Disclaimer- I do not own the Power Puff Girls or the Elf reference. All rights go to their official owners/creators. I just own the storyline, ideas and the shadowy figure.

The sun sank peacefully into the horizon, the clouds turning different shades of gold, orange, red and purple.

The last rays of sunlight shone upon the sakura trees, in full bloom. Their petals covered the ground, like pink, delicate snow.

An intricately crafted bridge was constructed across a river, the tree's branches curving, like an entrance.

As night set in, a shadowy figure emerged from the darkness.

It passed slowly over the bridge, avoiding the shards of light still peaking over the horizon.

But, just as it reached the centre, it hesitated, turning to face three girls, dressed in beautifully woven kimonos, standing at the foot of the bridge. With skin as fair as snow, and a petite frame, standing still, the girls looked incredibly like dolls, flawless and beautiful.

One girl stepped forward, her auburn hair high up and falling behind her like a high strung cape. Her hands were tucked into the sleeves of her kimono, the shade of sakura blossoms. Her eyes were an intelligent pink, calculating and calm. Her sleeves rested on her red obi patiently. Strapped to her back was a longbow, so beautifully carved, it could have belonged to the elven king himself. A series of carved mythical symbols adorned the bows surface, causing emotions of curiosity over fear. A quiver, carved with the same symbols, containing sharp and deadly arrows, was placed securely on her back, ready to be put to use on any unfortunate victim.

"It's no use running," she spoke sharply and precisely, addressing the shadowy figure. "We'll just keep following you till you surrender."

The shadow stared at them for a moment, then pulled back its head and laughed manically.

"I'll never surrender to you!" It whispered, its voice laced with mockery, "You'll have to kill me, but, of course, you'll never do that! The infamous 'Fallen Angels' don't take a life so easily, do you? You're just a bunch of little girls!"

The girl on the left smirked, flexing her fingers intently. Rolling her shoulders, her raven braid fell onto her back, swishing like a hunting cat's tail. Narrowing her eyes steadily, her clever green orbs seemed to almost glow. Her hands went to her sides, passing over her black obi in the process. Her fingers idly caressing her beautiful wakazashis, fastened to either side of her hips. Her wakazashis were two beautifully crafted, slender blades, engraved with ancient symbols. They were shorter than regular swords, being slightly curved and one edged, a circular guard positioned at the end of the blade were the handle begins. Their sheaths were of a dark green, barely contrasting with the slightly lighter forest green fabric of her kimono.

"Care to make a bet on that?" She challenged, giving it a look of superiority.

She glanced at the archer, searching for the signal to attack.

The shadowy figure took a small step back, fear written in its form.

"We're not going to, right?" A soft voice questioned.

They all glanced at the last girl, standing hesitantly, her innocent blue eyes, reflecting goodwill and kindness, darting uncertainly from one flawless face and back. A light breeze swept through the trees, causing her long, blonde pigtails to sway slightly. Her small hands were clasped together, almost covered by her sky blue sleeves. They rested on her dark blue obi, the dark of the blue contrasting profoundly with the lightness of her hands.

She turned slightly to the others, looking at them questioningly. As she did so, moonlight shone off the tip of a spear attached to her back. The spear was silver and blue, terrifying and beautiful all at once. An opal gem passing through to glint on the other side, was embedded in the base of the arrow head, which was engraved with mystical symbols.

"We'll see." Answered the archer, solemnly, before once again turning to the seemingly faceless figure. "We've given you a choice, now make your decision. Surrender or die."

The shadow showed no sign of movement, and the archer sighed.

"Blossom, it's made its choice, what'll be ours?" The wakazashi wielder pressed impatiently.

The girl known as Blossom sighed once again, nodding in acknowledgement.

"Blossom! We can't just kill it, show some mercy!" The spear wielder somewhat shrieked.

"Yes, yes, Bubbles!" Blossom calmly stated. "I never implied my complete decision in the matter."

The one known as Bubbles nodded apologetically.

"Buttercup~" Blossom called softly, to the raven haired girl.

Buttercup nodded, slowly walking towards the shadowy figure.

Blossom then turned to Bubbles, locking stares with her for a moment, before Bubbles leaped into the river, hopping from stone to stone, until landing silently on the other side.

The shadow watched her for a moment, then focused on Buttercup as she drew her wazakashis, both hands taking the swords from their sheaths on the opposite sides of her hips, so that her arms were crossed at one point, before she drew her hands to her sides, twirling the blades for a moment. Then took hold of the handles securely again, the blades pointed behind her like over-sized daggers.

It backed away slightly, before turning and trying to run, but found its path blocked by Bubbles, solemnly drawing her spear.

It turned back to face Buttercup.

Suddenly, Buttercup sprinted forward, her braid flicking behind her, her getas clacking softly on the wooden bridge.

She then slashed out with her wakizashis, the blades singing through the air, intent on their target.

The figure ducked just in time, only to be slashed in the back, as she jumped and landed behind it, causing it to fall to the ground. But instead of blood, a black liquid oozed from its gash. It quickly but painfully got up, hissing at the pain the sudden exertion of its wound had caused.

It turned to face them, and then stretched out its hands, drawing shadows from all around it to create one dark blade, held in both hands steadily in front of it, pointed at Bubbles and Buttercup. It swung forward, its blade missing Buttercup by centimetres.

She retreated back and dropped low, as Bubbles sprang forward, twirling her spear above her head before bringing it down upon its shoulder.

The spear head cut deep into the figures flesh, before it was wrenched out by Bubbles, once again springing back. The figure then staggered back, whimpering slightly as it held its shoulder.

Buttercup shot forward, slashing out again, but this time missing and stopped abruptly behind it. Before she had time to turn, the figure took this chance to spring up, its blade swinging down upon her.

She turned in alarm, but Bubbles intervened, blocking the blow with her spear. They stayed like that for a moment, before she threw it off and jumped back.

Regaining her composure, Buttercup sped forward, her blades singing behind her. She executed a number of slashes at the shadow, each swing capturing a ray of moonlight, causing it to shine for a second.

The figure somehow managed to dodge all of the swings, and she jumped over it, landing gracefully. It didn't even have time to look back at her, for just as she jumped, Bubbles sprinted forward, apology written all over her face as she swiped forward, just missing its head. She had to drop and slide under its legs, stopping at Buttercups feet before standing again.

It turned to face them, but just as it put its foot forward, it froze. Its body went rigid, curling back slightly, turning to look at Blossom, bow in hand, fingers still on the string, poised, before falling to the ground, the arrow in its back still quivering slightly from impact.

A pool of black liquid began to pour from the body, covering the ground around it.

"You didn't have to do that, we could've taken it." Buttercup stated, slight annoyance in her voice, while sheathing her wakizashis and walking over to the body. "Nice shot though," she added, kneeling down to examine the arrow.

"I know, I just thought it'd be quicker." Blossom answered.

"True." Buttercup agreed, standing up and walking over to her.

Bubbles followed uncomfortably.

"Was that really necessary?" She asked sadly.

"Bubbles, we gave it a choice, it chose death. Fair is fair." Buttercup answered matter-of-factly.

"Plus, it's killed hundreds before we found it. Surely you know Obaasan wouldn't have sent us to find this oni if she weren't sure it was dangerous." Blossom added, giving Bubbles a reassuring look.

"Hmm…" Bubbles answered simply, smiling sadly.

"Now, where should we put the body?" Blossom questioned, staring at it thoughtfully for a second.

"How about the river?" Suggested Buttercup, picking up the figure easily.

"Good idea!" Blossom agreed, nodding her head and walking to the bank with Buttercup.

"Show some respect to the dead, won't you?! Even if it is an oni!" Bubbles exclaimed crossly.

"Why should we respect it, when it didn't respect all the people it gave death?" Buttercup answered simply, dumping the body into the river.

The water went slightly black for a moment, before discolouring again.

Bubbles shook her head and started walking away.

Buttercup placed her hands in the water, allowing it to wash away all the black liquid, then finally standing and turning to follow Bubbles.

Blossom stood there on the bank for a moment, watching the moon reflect off the water, before turning and following the others.

The moon shone brightly as the three figures melted into the darkness.

The stars glinted mischievously, telling no one of what they'd just witnessed.

Explainer- I'm just going to explain some things that couldn't have been mentioned in the story, and may not be as obvious or known to some people. (Please note that anything not explained I've left for you (the reader/s) to imagine by yourself).

Japanese terms/words:

Sakura- a cherry blossom.

Wakizashi- a type of Japanese sword usually worn bysamurai, in older times. It's smaller than its relative, thekatana, but is similar in shape, being one edged and slightly curved. (I was originally going to use thekatanain this story, but thought thewakizashiwould be more practical because it's smaller.)

Geta- a type of traditional Japanese footwear.

Kimono- a traditional Japanese garment worn by women.

Obi- a belt of fabric worn in some traditional Japanese clothing (including akimono) around the waist.

Obaasan-the wordfor grandmother.

Oni-a demon.

I'll explain why they're all dressed inkimonosand why Buttercup has long hair. (Just in case you're wondering) But first, I just want to explain that when they were talking about a person calledObaasan, it's referring to the head of their family, their grandmother, from whom they take orders.

Anyway, this story's supposed to either be set in ancient Japanese times, or a very traditional village/town/city.

The girls are wearingkimonosfor that reason (as traditional clothing, I guess), and also why Buttercup has long hair (because in old Japanese culture, women weren't allowed to cut their hair).

So I thought I'd make that true in the story.

Please review~!