Pacifist

"Knock it off!"

"Am I supposed to listen to you now? Kage's not dead yet, and you're no king." A sneer accompanied his cruel response. Kyuubi growled, and the other demon let out a painful hiss as a chakra-enhanced fist slammed him down against the ground.

A large group began to gather around in the little clearing beside the caves – the entrance to their underground home – and was growing bigger by the second. The source of attraction: the fight between two of the strongest demons in their age group – Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox-demon, and Orochi, the four-tailed snake-demon. The huge gap in power was obvious by the position of the two in the fight.

Among the demons in the group was one particularly boisterous and violent tanuki-demon that just couldn't control his excitement. "Do it! Maim him!" Shukaku yelled with a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes, spittle flying from his mouth.

"No, I think he's learned his lesson," Kyuubi said calmly, not even breaking a sweat as he lifted his hand away from the snake-demon's throat. "I've won already. Come on, Orochi, get up." The fox-demon reached out to help the other demon up.

Orochi snarled and slapped the hand away, slinking away from Kyuubi through the crowd that parted for him as the Berserker marks on his body faded away. The other demons, all of them seemingly human if not for the tails sprouting from their backs – ranging from none to nine – and animal features, gathered around them grumbled at the one-sided fight and lack of violence, and slowly drifted away to stir their own mischief. All that remained from the previous big group was the one-tailed tanuki-demon from before.

"What the fuck was that, Kyuu! You could've torn him a good one! It would've taken him months to heal from that!" Shukaku, Kyuubi's bravest and most casual peer, whined. He was also the brashest and unafraid to speak his mind to the powerful fox-demon. "You know I've been dying for a snake-skin jacket!"

Kyuubi twisted around and picked the small injured fox hidden behind his tails up to its feet by its scruff. The normal fox licked Kyuubi's cheek in thanks and scampered away, clearly favouring its right hind leg that was ringed with bruises. Standing from his crouch, Kyuubi said to Shukaku with complete sincerity, "But I've already convinced him not to hurt the little fox. Besides, what makes you think I would harm him?"

The tanuki-demon huffed. "Well, you are one of the most powerful demons around, even if you're as young as us. I mean, you've been born with nine tails. Look at me, I only have one! Orochi never had a chance! Besides, that fool deserved to die; he bad-mouthed Kage-sama! Plus, you're a Ninth House Demon, and the heir at that. No one except for Kage-sama can do anything to you."

"That's enough," Kyuubi growled, eyes flashing crimson for a moment, before settling back to its normal, rare piercing blue shade.

The demon race classified themselves according to their animal characteristics, their chakra levels, and the amount of control they have over their Berserker form – the state they reach in order to access and use larger amounts of chakra. The number of tails they receive is proportional to their power – the more tails, the more powerful the demon. However, higher Houses have an easier time gaining tails than the lower ones. As well, the higher the House rank, the more control they have over their Berserker form, with the First House being the lowest, and the Ninth House being the highest. The First House consists of the small land mammals, such as the tanuki; Second, the cat family; Third, the aquatic animals, like the sharks and turtles; Fourth, the four-legged reptiles, such as the lizard; Fifth, the canine family; Sixth, the medium-sized land mammals, such as the weasel; Seventh, the large land mammals; Eighth, the snakes, or hebi; and Ninth, the foxes, or kitsune. The Ninth House is the highest in the hierarchy of demons, and the members take great pride in their status, often flaunting it to other demons. All except for the heir of the Ninth House and the one destined to be the greatest of all demons – Kyuubi.

"Even if I'm more powerful than most of you, it's not right to just toss that power around so easily. What will fighting accomplish? Someone gets hurt, and nothing is resolved. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Shukaku sneered. "I get it. You're a wuss. You just don't want to fight, blah blah blah. Pathetic." He stalked away angrily, grumbling about 'good-for-nothing demons'.

::

"Excuse me! Ojii-san! Excuse me!" Kyuubi shouted at the top of his lungs, but the elder demon seemed to have not have heard him over the bustle of the market square. In fact, none of the other vendors or demons in the crowd seemed to acknowledge his presence. Kyuubi's fox ears drooped.

After his stunt with Orochi, it seemed that none of his other 'friends' wanted to talk to him anymore – not surprising, since Shukaku told everyone what he had said in their little conversation afterwards. Kyuubi knew what they called him behind his back. Worthless. Coward. A disgrace.

Lost within his thoughts, he didn't watch where he was going and accidentally walked into someone, causing them to drop what they had in their hands. "I'm sorry," Kyuubi apologized, kneeling to help collect the spilled food items. "I wasn't watching where I was walking. Here, let me help you-" The demon took one look at him, eyes flashing briefly with something akin to disgust, and turned away, not even bothering to gather her fallen possessions.

"Hey! Hey! Your things!" Kyuubi shouted futilely, waving his arms in the air. That garnered him a few stares, before everyone resumed their normal activities, content to just ignore him.

His hands curled into fists around the avocados he clutched in his hands. His arms dropped, and the brown fruits dropped to the ground, deep furrows slicing past the hard outer shell. 'Who cares what they think?' Kyuubi thought angrily. He shifted into his original form of a kitsune and sprinted away, weaving between the monsters in the crowd.

After all, even if everyone looked like humans, their animal characteristics and personalities gave them away as cruel creatures of the dark and shadow. Even taking human form most of the time, no one forgets the original form they were born with. No one forgets what they were born to be.

Demons.

::

"You called for me, father?" Kyuubi bowed low to show his respect.

For a while, the Kage was silent, his gold glinting eyes boring holes into Kyuubi's own baby blues. Finally, he spoke. "I've heard of some rumours that give me cause for concern." His voice was a deep rumble, as threatening as his formidable demonic stature that dwarfed Kyuubi's own form by far. "You must learn to abandon this foolish idea of 'peace' and embrace the battle. You are but six years old, still a babe. You would do well to listen to my words, child."

"I am not a child!" Kyuubi protested indignantly. "Six years is a lot of time!"

Masaru fixed him with a dispassionate gaze. "You are still young. You will learn."

Notes:

Jingoku - Hell; lands south of the Five Elemental Nations where demons reside.

how does everyone like (or not like) the story so far?