"Shinobi-samaaaa!!" Came the shrill cry of a beautiful woman being dragged by her hair by a fearsome bull demon. "Save mee!"
It stood over three meters tall, twin horns curved like scythes above burning red eyes. With one clawed hand, it dragged the screaming woman by her hair like a trophy, snorting steam with every snarled breath.
The other held a powerful looking weapon that looked like the spine of a massive monster.
At the woman's scream, the bull demon froze in its tracks for a split second and turned around to face Akira Minamoto, Shinobi King of Japan. Also known as The God of Death.
"Damn you woman!" Akira cursed in his mind with all of his strength. "If you are stupid enough to get caught by a demon, then just die alone! Why do you have to drag me with you!"
Akira Minamoto stood up from the boulder he had been hiding behind, brushing off his sleeves. He was tall and lean, with pale skin, sharp black eyes, and long black hair tied back in a loose knot. A worn katana hung by his side, wrapped in faded red cord.
"Shinobi-samaa!!! You're the best!! Save mee! Pleaasee!!" The beautiful woman shrieked half in fear and half in extreme hope.
Akira's lips twitched as he held back another curse.
Damn woman! He was so close to discovering the next clue of a mysterious treasure.
Just one last temple to raid…
"Ho ho ho. A stronger human. Delicioussss…" The bull demon rumbled in a deep voice and flung the beautiful woman at a tree, knocking her out instantly.
It was on purpose, of course.
That woman was quite a powerhouse herself, and would make for a delicious snack after he had finished his main course… The young man who had a very pissed off look on his face.
"Come and be my lunch for today!" The Bull Demon charged at him hungrily, tearing up the earth beneath its hooves.
Each step shook the ground. Its massive spine-club scraped sparks as it dragged beside the beast.
Akira didn't move.
His hand gripped his katana tightly as his narrowed eyes tracked the charging demon's progress.
Slowly, the air around him grew heavier.
Trees creaked, grass flattened, and pebbles trembled, pulled downward by an invisible force.
A swirl of five-coloured energy appeared on the sharp edge of his blade.
Red flames, fierce and burning.
Blue water, sharp and flowing.
Yellow earth, solid and immovable.
Green wood, poisonous and silent.
Black iron, heavy and brutal.
All five elements merged perfectly, shining brighter with every heartbeat.
The charging Bull Demon's steps slowed. Its expression twisted from rage to confusion, then uncertainty, then fear, but it was too late to stop.
Akira's blade hummed softly.
This was his signature move, the ultimate technique he used to subdue the legendary generals, slay godlike demons, and dominate all of Japan.
The Five Element Slash.
None of his opponents had lived to tell the world just how devastating it truly was.
Akira stepped forward once… And vanished.
In the blink of an eye, reality split apart.
A massive burst of energy erupted forward, tearing the ground into a canyon-sized trench. Trees shredded into splinters, stones turned to dust, and air rippled violently in every direction.
The Bull Demon didn't even have time to scream. Its enormous body shattered instantly into countless pieces, dissolving into ash that scattered in the wind.
Behind where the demon had stood, Akira calmly reappeared, his blade already sheathed.
All was silent.
Then, slowly, he exhaled.
"That demon was much weaker than I expec-" Akira began to think to himself.
"You didn't think that your puny little attack actually killed me, did you?" Came the demon bull's mocking voice.
Akira froze in shock.
"Ha ha ha!" The demon bull laughed uproariously as it appeared in front of Akira as though he had always been there.
Thick black smoke poured from its mouth as the wound closed like melting wax. Its muscles swelled. Its horns grew longer.
"That was a cute little trick. It felt cold and hot and sticky at the same time. Are you a human masseuse? Well, massage this!" It rumbled as it swung its club with the weight of a landslide at Akira.
Akira blocked with his blade. The ground under him and the bones of his right arm shattered at the same time.
Blood trickled down his arm and lips.
"Strong." He gasped.
Much too strong for him, even as the Shinobi King!
So he did the one thing he hated most.
Soul Seal.
He whispered strange words under his breath, pressing his left palm to the air.
A black circle opened in front of him, an ancient soul seal. It shimmered like a mirror made of ink.
"Come!" he shouted grimly.
The Bull Demon's body slammed into the seal, screaming as it was dragged in. Its claws tore at the edges. Its body twisted and shrank, bones cracking, power thrashing.
It should've been enough.
But it wasn't.
The Bull Demon's soul was too big and too wild.
The seal trembled. Akira's knees buckled. His hands shook. Blood poured from his nose.
His soul cracked like glass.
And the last thing he saw was the Bull Demon's grin, still smiling even as it vanished into the seal inside his chest.
Then came the pain.
And then nothing.
A few seconds later, or so it felt to Akira, he opened his eyes.
"Waa!" Akira Minamoto, King of the Shinobi, also known as God of Death, shouted in surprise. "Yu… Yuki?!"
A teenage girl was looking down at him with an extremely worried look on her exquisitely beautiful face.
"He-hey. You know my name…? Are you okay? I'm really sorry! I didn't see you lying on on the road… That's why I stepped on you… But why are you lying down on the road in the first place? That's so dangerous… You're lucky I wasn't using a rollerblade or riding a motorbike. You could have been hurt much worse... But ah! I'm sorry! Are you hurt anywhere?" Yuki half addressing Akira and half muttering to herself.
"Yuki!" Akira gasped once more. "My beautiful wife… You're still alive! But… Why are you so young? What happened?"
"Kyaaa! Wife!? We're married?!" Yuki squealed in shock. "Does stepping on someone make them married? How is that possible…? And… And aren't we too young for marriage? Afterall, I'm only sixteen… And you look like you're of the same age…"
"Sixteen? I'm not sixteen!" Akira protested. "I am thirty five years old! But you did die earlier at twenty seven…"
"I'm de-dead?!" Yuki's face grew pale at his words.
"At twenty seven." Akira nodded and tried to sit up.
But his entire body hurt too much, so he merely sighed and gave up.
"Princess Yuki. He must be delirious. Don't listen to his words. Please step back and let me handle this." A deep voice filled with reverence and impatient determination rang out from behind Yuki.