A Demon and a Ghost walk into a bar...

[Kuzuru]

Kuzuru stretched his arms into the sky, straining the muscles of his new body. There was no more battlefield, all that remained was a playground, and the demon was going  to have his fill. Chad raised his sword and rushed at his new foe. The demon watched his new plaything charge across the field. Once again a crimson aura enveloped the demon’s fist and he adopted a fighting stance to brace against the blow. A flash of metal cut past Kuzuru as he parried the sword with the back of his hand. Enhanced with demonic force a solid punch crashed into the swordsman’s side and sent him stumbling to the ground.

“You’re outmatched,” Kuzuru said.

Chad gasped for air and scrambled away from the approaching demon. Kuzuru laughed as he stalked forward, savoring every moment of the kill. A gentle breeze danced across the field, scattering the scent of blood and grass into the air. The demon licked his lips and watched as Chad crawled to his feet. “If we met under different circumstances I’d probably think you were a swell guy,” Kuzuru said, “trust me, I can respect your work, indiscriminately killing warriors just so you could feel that rush. However, with such a strong stench of blood in the air I can’t help but wanting more, so please hold still and die.”

“I’m no where near finished,” Chad smiled, “I see you’ve finally decided to take this fight seriously Renji, but I must ask, where did your sword go?”

“Sorry sport, I’m not Renji, that pathetic excuse for a swordsman is long gone,” Kuzuru held his arms out and continued, “As for his sword, well, you’re looking at him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Okay, enough of this fucking talking,” Kuzuru lunged forward, unleashing a flurry of punches. Enveloped by a shell of demonic force, his flesh became a weapon.Every strike carried enough strength to shatter stone. Chad avoided every bone shattering blow, moving lightly across the field as Kuzuru pressured him. Attacking in between strikes Chad slashed back at the red-skinned terror catching his chest, slicing a line of blood across it. The two combatants broke their scuffle by leaping backwards. Kuzuru stumbled and fell to a knee. Lack of blood made his body feel heavy, two open wounds poured blood onto the soft grass.

“You know I’m not an amatuer,” Chad taunted, “right?”

“You speak highly of your own skill swordsman,” Kuzuru spit, tasting the venom in his own voice, “and yet you know not whom you speak to.”

The demon stood and spread his arms, standing like a man pinned to a cross. He laughed as more blood spilled from his body. “Don’t you get it? I’m not that weakling Renji, and I’m certainly not a human like you. I’m a force of goddamned nature and you’d do well to respect that!”

His tongue had barely formed the “t” in that before Chad was upon him. A quick stab skewered the demon’s chest, barely missing his heart. Kuzuru gasped at the realization of his predicament. Frantically he threw his arms forward and grabbed the hilt of his opponent’s blade. A wry smile cracked across the demon’s face, revealing rows of fangs. “You’re out of your league kiddo,” Kuzuru said.

A blooming flower of blades, Kuzuru’s body erupted. Hundreds of silvery-black blades peaked out from beneath the demon’s skin and stabbed outwards. His body turned into a beautiful lotus of blades, skewering Chad’s body like some sick magic trick. There was a moment of silence as the blades reached their maximum length, only several feet ahead of Kuzuru. The lifeless ragdoll that was once Chad Millwell sat affixed to the sudden wall of blades, pinned like a taxidermied bug. With a sudden schink the blades retracted into the chuckling demon, leaving nothing but a bloodsoaked body crumpled at his feet.

“They always fall for it,” Kuzuru laughed, “they always fall for that same damn trick.”

His world turned grey and he fell to his knees, “but, he did manage to hurt me pretty bad. This damned body isn’t as strong as it once was.”


Several days later the demon awoke in Ambrosia’s hospital. His body felt sore, but his wounds were nonexistent. Around his bed sat get well cards and baskets of well-wishes. The demon smirked, he was still in control. Renji-boy was so completely subsumed by his power that even days of unconsciousness were not enough to wrest control back from the demon. Above him the ghost girl floated lazily, her body jolting to awareness as she noticed him stirring.

“You’re awake!” she chirped, and floated to eye-level with the demon, “and you aren’t that dull samurai.”

“Yes, and you’re a ghost,” the demon grinned and sat up, “we can both be captain obvious now can’t we?”

“Well that’s rude, especially since I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Me?” Kuzuru asked.

“Yeah,” Wanda replied, “Renji himself is boring, but he’s got a tempest of souls inside him. One soul stood head and shoulders above the rest, and so I was determined to meet that soul, so who are you?”

“I’m Kuzuru, and don’t worry your incorporeal head that boring Renji is gone for good.” The demon snickered slightly and sat up in his bed.

“That detective left Renji his reward in that pouch there. He called it a ‘moogle magic pill’ he said if you eat it it’ll increase your strength temporarily.”

“Neat,” The demon said, swiping away that other gifts in order to grab the leather pouch that held the pill. With a yawn the demon climbed out of the hospital bed and stretched. Asides from a few sore and stiff spots he felt perfect. Glancing outside he noticed the moon high in the sky and began to walk towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Wanda asked.

The demon paused and kept his back to the ghost, “Not sure, somewhere far away from this hippy commune.”

“Well I’ll come with you,” the ghost said, “you seem to be a lot more interesting than Renji, and while I like it here I want to see what kinda trouble you’ll get into.”

“No can do,” the demon said and glanced over his shoulder, “I’ve got no interest in keeping you around. If you follow me I will annihilate you, and it won’t be pretty.”

Without another word the demon opened the door and walked into the night, leaving Ambrosia without a bartender.