Flavor of the Weak (Adrian)

Shou weaved between the trees, narrowly avoiding the pillars of fire that seemed to follow him wherever he want. Through gritted teeth, he lightly cursed beneath his breath, wishing for at least a little break in evading these attacks. It had been sometime since he had met up with this specific fire demon, the one he had originally encountered within Sai City of the Lower Commons. To think he'd find him out here in the forests..
"Haha! Isn't the fire grand? Only someone like you can appreciate its beauty, Shou!" The demon shouted, continuing with his chants between his sentences that would resume the onslaught of fire techniques that headed Shou's way. The red-haired oni leapt from his spot, the tree just beside him bursting into flame, and he took to the sky, landing atop a disc of flame that caught him from falling (Flight). Pushing off from that, he began to run across the skies as if it were a normal surface, platforms of flames coming to burst into being with each step he made, dissipitating whenever his foot would come to leave it.
Furrowing his brow, he focused his attention on the opposing demon that levitated into the air as well, though his method simply made it seem as if he were featherless in weight and broke those laws of gravity.
Shou came to a stop in his running as the other demon had ceased in his techniques. He panted lightly at the amount of movement he had been forced to do, but thus far he hadn't used any of his techniques.. the man he faced now didn't seem to have a limit to his stamina, though, so he was beginning to question his strategy of trying to tire his opponent out. From here, he could see his opponent hadn't even broke a sweat. "Tch.."

The oni growled lightly, drawing his arm back. "Infernal flames, gather and mold!" Shou shouted outwards, a red orb appearing within his grasp, flaring outwards into a fully conjured fyreball. He then thrusted it forward and sent the magic rushing towards the other. The opposing demon simply laughed and the crimson eyes of Shou's widened at the oncoming attack.
The blast of flames struck him head on, knocking him from the platform of fire that he had created and sent him spinning through the air, overwhelmed by the force of the attack. Before he could have known it, his side clipped the very top of a building that he hadn't been aware of before, forcing himself to come to a stop as a disc of fire erupted to catch him from proceeding through the air any further. Shou noted the piece of the building that had been chipped off, a good sized chunk falling and crashing into the ground, then glanced around rather quickly, never having dwelled to these parts of the forest before to see that there had actually been a temple here. "Tch.. humans?" The idea alarmed him as humans were never ones to be fond of the presence of demons. They were questions for later, though, as he still had the fight to attend to, running from the area and trekking across the sky towards the demon once more, despite the pain of his body from the flames.

Shou charged back to the spot as swiftly as he could but the other demon was no longer in the spot he had remembered. Cursing briefly, he looked around. Could it have been he was off the hook once more? That specific demon had a tendancy to appear and disappear whenever it pleased, always there to dwarf his abilities in the fire magic. Just another reminder of who was stronger then? "Damn.." Shou supposed he should be thankful, though he was rather exhausted of all the movement he had been forced to during the fight. Looking over the damage, he had to be a little surprised at how many trees had been burnt away and the newly formed clearings of the forest.
They weren't enough to distract him of his new discovery, turning away from the once was battle scene and to the temple that he had encountered. While it may have inhabitated humans, and though it might have been dangerous, Shou felt compelled to learn more about it. Dropping from the platform of fire, he landed against the soft blades of grass and back into the mass of trees, deciding to proceed the rest of the way on foot.

Seeing a human wasn't the most surprising thing, since the temple was an obvious indication that there was at least a physical being out here that would have been neccessary to construct such a thing. Looking to the weapons in the man's hands, though, he could see that he was a fighter.. and to be located this far in the Deep, he had to have been skilled to have survived this long.
However, the very fact that the man was human was reason enough for Shou not to strike out. After all, he only sought to fight and kill oni, demons that were hell-bent on raising destruction and chaos, hogging such things to themselves that he could have been indulging in. Of course, he wouldn't give any sort of impression to the human.. after all, they may have been of the mortal realm, some possessed a good deal of power.
"Boruha Takashou." The oni answered, his steps having come to a halt some ways from the man. The crimson eyes left the human and towards the temple. "I'm guessing you're the one who lives here?"

"Damage?" Shou had started to question, before recalling that he had collided into the building. It was a reminder of the bruise that was on his side from the contact, glancing up to where the missing chunk of the temple was now. "Ah.. sorry about that. I never knew there was a building out here this deep into the forest. Besides, not totally my fault." The oni replied, still a little on guard from the fire demon that he had just been engaging in a fight with. It was a good sign to see this human put away his weapons, though, that was one less fight he'd have to concern himself with.
An eyebrow rose at the question. The man was inviting him to eat with him? It was a polite gesture, but he was still a stranger.. besides, spirits hardly needed the same nourishments a human did. "Actually, I'm fine.. although, curious. Whats the purpose of this temple being out here?"

It wouldn't have been the promise of food that had lured him, but the fact that this building was standing tall and proud here in such a harsh environment with spirits and demons lurking around everywhere. Not only that, but the blades that this one possessed.. having been a swordsman in his previous life, it interested him to see another since it had seemed mechanical weapons had overrun the market and the press of a trigger outclassed the skill required to wield a blade.
Shou would follow the man, nodding his way as Adrian had turned to look back and see him. He figured he would voice his curiousities once they had come to a halt.

Having followed the man to the porch of the temple, the oni's eyebrows lifted lightly at the sight of the blunt that the man had retrieved from his case. Himself, he was used to the things being rolled with marijuana within their contents, though he couldn't have expected everyone to carry such things on him. Tobacco would have worked nicely either way, since rillos were flavored smokes anyways. "Heh.. you're actually in good company. I happen to be a human lighter." Shou would come to say, raising his arm and hand out in front of him as a flame flickered into being just above his palm.
With a grin on his face, he replied, "I'd be happy to have one." Especially if this human took the time to dip his cigarillos.

"Satsu, huh?" For a moment, Shou might have thought it held relation to the demon he just battled. Hearing that the man hadn't been all too skilled in the art though, that couldn't have been the case.. the demon he fought excelled in the fire arts, even over him. Shrugging, Shou simply replied, "It's my element.. I grow stronger with it everyday." The oni replied with a grin, bringing the rillo to his lips. The end of it cherried up without any flame being held against it, a little trick of conjuring a mini-fireball to get the thing started. Inhaling the smoke, he was unused to smoking tobacco, though the taste of the flavored wrap was enough to please him. Breathing in the smoke, he probably would have coughed if he hadn't been the spirit of fire, though he surely felt the difference between this and the joints of marijuana that he often carried upon him.
Exhaling his own cloud of smoke, Shou's crimson orbs returned to the human in front of him and answered his question, "I come out into the forest to train every so often.. sharpen my skills, of what I got. Hmm.. what does one do living out here, anyways?" He figured the man must have been a monk of some sorts. And therefore strong. Shou's grin only returned at the concept of a fight with a strong human.

A spirit blacksmith? Shou wasn't aware of the term, though the concept seemed probable enough, even appealing to the oni's interests. "So you're strong?" Shou questioned, seeming to get right to the point. The man suddenly called out to him to duck though he probably wouldn't have managed the reaction in time as the spear flew by the two of them suddenly, missing whatever mark the thrower had been aiming for. Shou threw a glance over his shoulder. "What..? Running away without bothering to play a little?" The oni growled lightly, his hands clenching at the fist, though the smirk on his face seemed to rebuke any ideas that might have led one to believe he was angry. "Will you be wanting in on this hunt? I'm not planning on leaving this prey untracked.."

The human offputted the oni's desires of the hunt when he used the term 'small fry'. Shou wasn't interested in fighting a weakling.. and if one had missed the opportunity of a surprise attack as simply as that, it only seemed to strengthen the man's claim. "Ogres, huh? Heh, I've had a little run-in with them before. That does sound fun." Shou stated, his fists relaxing, supposing a hunt was good as any giving the prey as much time as they needed to try and escape.
The oni noted the mask that the man placed over his face, watching as he paced and drawing his blade. Shou rose a brow. "Are you expecting something more?"

"Heheh." The demon briefly chuckled, "This world doesn't have enough guys like you, I gotta say." Shou replied to the challenge by taking a step back when the man had finished the chant in that unknown language. A shield seemed to conjure before the other and Shou wondered just how durable such a thing was. Its presence seemed to shine and glow with a radiance that Shou envied, recognizing it as a spiritual arts technique. It was a pity that the darkness within him would never allow him to achieve such a thing as it would have been a powerful tool against other oni.
His flames would do, though, never one to put down his own abilities. Shou stepped back and off of the ground, a disc of flame erupting beneath his feet, repeating the process with his other foot and he seemed to back away from the human as if ascending a set of stairs backwards. "Infernal flames, gather.." The oni reached outwards with his hand, his palm directed towards the human, a red orb manifesting just before it before suddenly flaring out and expanding in size. "And strike!" He shouted, the fyreball being let loose from his handling and towards the man.

That shield possessed a good deal of guard, it seemed. As the human rushed forward, the oni could tell that he was a lot faster than most of those within the mortal realm, but his initial backward steps gave him enough distance to be able to see an attack coming. All ready aerial and atop his platform of flame, when Adrian leapt off the ground and neared his position, the fire beneath his feet suddenly shifted to the side and the oni's body turned as well, slipping away from the spot where the sword came down upon.
After removing himself from that spot, his crimson orbs noted a mouse suddenly attaching itself to Adrian's pants and scrambling up the man's shirt. He blinked, recognizing that spirit, yet that moment of hesitation costed him the opening the human had left himself with. "Tch." Shou leapt off the fire he currently stood upon, gaining more altitude in the air to land atop a newly formed one higher up coming to be level with the treetops that spanned out a little farther away. His eyes looked down towards the human, curious to see if that spirit had been the same that he had encountered previously.

Shou would have recognized the spirit as soon as his eyes laid upon the seashell that she hung around her neck. Crossing his arms over his chest, he snickered while looking down towards the two. "That'd be Atilla, the rat kami." The oni commented, though he too figured it odd that she would have been out here in the forests, even for being the spirit that she was. The yokai that dwelled within the trees were mostly onikonjou, "Tredding into pretty dangerous grounds, I'd say." Shou stated and simply shrugged, "Kill it if you feel that neccessary."

Shou snickered at the compliment received and merely shrugged at the man's word of advice. "I don't wanna go and kill someone before I get the fun to fight them." He replied, stepping forward towards the two of them. "Hey, Atilla." The oni addressed the woman kami who was currently having something of a meal, before having a seat as well, figuring to rest a brief moment. Between the fight he held earlier with another demon and the little amount of energy he had expended against the human's shield, the oni had used more stamina than he would have cared to admit. Training his endurance would have been a priority in days to come, noting this exhaustion of using fire.

Demon? He kind of missed 'Takashou-sama', when she said it like that. "I've been in great health." The oni replied, though his eyes remained forward as the human had casted some sort of spell with that chant. More of those spiritual arts, it seemed. With the challenge issued, his gaze went to the sword instead and he rose a brow. "Eh.. the way you say it, that doesn't sound like a safe bet at all. What's got you so confident?" Shou decided to ask instead, since he probably would have only been made a fool if he reached out for the thing to suddenly have that human upon him and snatching it away.

The oni felt a refreshment in his energies, blinking before glancing over towards Atilla. "Hey.. thanks." The oni replied, smirking as his confidence suddenly returned in full force, looking back to Adrian. "You sure you wanna make a wager like that with a demon?" He snickered, leaning forward in his seated position by the temple. "All right. That don't sound too bad a deal at all to me." Shou looked to the sword that had been stabbed into the ground not two paces away in front of him. Adrian, on the other hand, was something of a distance away. Seemed like a simple enough win. "On your go?"

-"Ah.." Shou leant back once more to a more relaxed seated position, chuckling lightly. "That's neat. Too bad, though, that sword looks nice." The oni hadn't allowed his hopes to rise too much in obtaining it, figuring there might have been a trick he would have been unable to defeat. Glancing towards the rat kami, he noticed her changing into a human form. "There's a girl I've missed." Shou replied, the smirk ceasing to fade as he scooted closer towards her. Though his departures from the woman had always left something of a sour mood, he always seemed happy to see her, his attempted rape of the woman apparently a faraway thing of the past. "Thanks again for that help. Didn't know you could do stuff like that too."

"Is that right?" Shou asked, his grin implying other things but he simply shook his head a moment later at the concept. He'd tried his luck with the kami before and that hadn't gone anywhere, especially since he wasn't the type to try and attempt to take something slow. There wasn't any getting into this one's pants, her religious beliefs and devotion to Bleaus a barrier he wasn't able to penetrate. "How I'd like to penetrate.." The oni mumbled lightly to himself, before addressing Adrian. "That's nice to know. I'm not real hungry, though. Maybe I'll drop by sometime to take that offer up, though." Standing up to his feet, he figured since the fight was over and done with that his business here had come to a close too. After all, his mood was for something a little more chaotic than this sit down and talk. "Gonna head out into the forest. There's gotta be something fun to fight around here, yeah?"

He was interested in what had spurred the question, but he was all ready well on his way, not looking to get too deep before he took off. The oni paused for the moment, allowing Atilla her comment before he snickered, "Tell you what.. you're gonna need a lot more of those if humans can back up from the pit of sins they've dove themselves into." Shou stated, indicating towards the rat, the devote preacher of Bleaus. She was only one against many though. "There's always some hope, though." He said then, sounding very unlike himself. Perhaps he'd seen the kami on too many occassions and it had started to delude his sense of chaos. "But at the rate they're going.. they're fucked, frankly." Again he snickered, before beginning to walk forward. Slipping one hand in his pocket, the other giving a stiff wave in the air, he gave his farewells while walking back into the mass of trees. From there he'd take to the air.