Bad Luck Around The Corner

[Zoe]

This is ridiculous.

How in the world did she wound up here? It was the most, fantastic idea she ever took up; being stuck in a swamp filled with nauseating creatures. She knew there were beautiful sceneries somewhere around here and just so happened to have been led by the nose and wound up here. Did that human woman during her one day trek purposely led her here? Or was she just simply not good with directions?

This is seriously…ridiculous.

She heaved a sigh, followed by grunts as she struggled to be mindful of her footings. There were roots sticking in and out. More than once had she tumbled about and more than once, was she tempted to simply use her telekinesis and just float over the damped swamp. Seriously, why is there a swamp here? Should there be a need for it?

No wait…swamps is very important ecologically…

She muttered lightly to herself, and continued to struggle her way around, trying to figure out how in the world she was going to get out of this. She was trying to not to depend on her powers, to simply gain experiences from this, whether she liked it or not. Out of slight exhaustion from anger, though it was not because of her predicament, but what just occurred to her just a few days ago.

I swear…I really detest that demon lord!

Just thinking about that silver-haired man was enough for her to rile up, emitting a slight growl. She was already a mess with mud painted half on one side of her face. No matter how much she struggled to get the pieces of grasses and twigs out of her hair, it was still a mess even in braids over her shoulder. No, she needed to calm down and think calmly about this. Standing immobilized in one spot, both legs sucked up by the swamp itself and arms crossed over her chest, she stared at her surrounding area. She wondered what she could do about it until she spotted something that moved in the water.

Hm?

Upon a closer look, her eyes widen, realizing what exactly it was. “You have got to be kidding me! This swamp is filled with water spiders?!” Her face turned blue, stricken with morbid fear of spiders. She abhorred spiders with passion and could not stand being close to one. Without a second thought, Zoe pulled herself out of the swamp and literally jumped from one swamp tree to the next, now in serious intent to get the hell out of the swamp. It was only in matters of seconds did she land on solid ground and heaved a relief sigh. Swiping the mud off her forehead despite the futile attempt, she stole another glance at the swamp and stuck her tongue out, “suckers.”

A soft tap on her shoulder signaled that there was someone else in the swamp. Instinctively, her body froze yet her scythe did not ring a warning sign. Slowly, very slowly, she turned, soon faced with a spider demon. A ear-splitting scream echoed, followed by a woman being trailed by a spider demon as she dashed from one spot to the next, “leave me the freakin’ alone! I’ve had enough!” She didn’t care if she was a warrior. She just would not fight a spider demon.

She spotted an exit in the close distance. She figured if she made the dash, she would be safe as it was a hole in the bushes. With grim determination, she jumped for it, only to realize it was actually a cliff. “Oh crud…”Oh wait, she can fly. The hustle and bustle sound behind her signaled the woman to float and move out of the way as the spider demon found itself flung over the high cliff.

“Hey, get out of the way!” She shouted, spotting someone else on the lower ground.

[Yamatoru]

Yamatoru stretched as he placed himself within the shade of the overbearing cliff. It hadn't been long since he was freed from his eternal prison and was growing with excitement and anticipation to get his revenge. Within his prison he had been meditating and getting stronger for his preparation and battle for his war. For the time being he would have to search out any remaining snake demons or any he demon he could get loyalty from. His small army at the moment possessed no real power and had weaken over time. A smirk crossed the lips of Yamatoru as he now imagined regaining his powerful army and reclaiming what was his from the demon lords.
The air smelled different here as he took in a deep breath. Exhaling, he noticed how the landscape had changed and how drastically it had changed over the centuries. Had he really been sealed for that long? He couldn't count the days and nights and could only focus on controlling his rage to have his soldiers do his bidding. There was one thing he could be somewhat proud of was the fact that his soldiers were a lot more deceptive than when he was around. It seemed to him that their nature now was to hide and not get caught or trick victims until they ate them. A crude method he had to admit but it worked for them now.
Yamatoru walked out from underneath the cliff and found himself stepping in a puddle of water. With a quickened reflexes, he found that his foot now hovered over the small puddle. He took a glimpse around and noticed this place very well resembled a swamp. He sighed heavily as he moved his foot from above the water and stood on a more dry part of the dirt. The land itself was advantageous for him and his kind and would make the perfect place for his reign. The first thing that came to him at that moment was to either attack the lord of the west or the north. He figured things might have changed over time but still hoped that the Lord of the North would still be alive.
Yamatoru's train of thought was interrupted as a feminine voice caught his attention. It had been too long since he had heard such an enticing voice and almost forgot why he was sealed in the first place. It was that beautiful princess that had tricked him into becoming bait for the god. He cursed under his breath as he wished to find her descendants and tear them all apart. The female that now showed from above him caused his eyes to widen in surprise. He had never seen such a beautiful woman in his eyes. Maybe it was the fact he had been away from them for so long but just from looking at her he was immediately hypnotized. His jaw dropped open as he looked at her from afar. The warnings were there but little did know that when the spider demon came crashing down upon him.

[Zoe]

Who would have thought that Zoe would come across a man who literally stared at her, unaware of a falling object? Even her warning shout at him did not quite faze him back into reality until reality hit him first. Floating amidst the mid-high altitude, the female zasshu stretched her legs with arms crossed over her chest, quirking her head sideway curiously. Despite her morbid fear of spiders, she actually found the scene unfolded before her eyes quite amusing.

It wasn’t everyday that she find a poor victim find himself landed by something large and as sordid as a spider demon. Usually, it was the other way around. Insects were made to be squashed by superior creatures. Yet, even she admitted that insects were ecologically important, to maintain the balance of nature.

Now, why am I concerned with ecological stuff? This is the second time I’m thinking of nature.

Intimidated by the sight of a large, squiggly spider demon, Zoe forced herself to descend to the ground and stood with a grim look, keeping a safe distance. Eying the eight-legged demon cautiously, her body behavior seemed to scream come close to me and I’ll burn you to hell. Yet, the spider demon righted himself and turned facing her, startling a small squeak out of her. She didn’t want to face this unsightly creature, but felt bad about it when the poor man she saw earlier wounded up squashed by it. Just for his sake, she might as well finish off this creature as he still hadn’t moved from the spot he fell right on.

That man, if he’s still alive, owes me something in return.

“Well. Come at me. You did chase me.” She coaxed the spider demon to come at her, but instead, it squeaked and shrilled, turning sideway. It seemed to be thinking for more than several seconds, only served to rile Zoe up, “you boneless, atrocious eight-legged monster who probably hasn’t a brain!” Perfect, the spider demon finally moved, shuffling its eight legs to great speed directed in her path.

Taking a step back, Zoe quickly admonished herself for allowing fear overcomes her mind for split seconds. She did choose to fight a spider demon just for the sake of a man she didn’t help on time. Swallowing a gulp and a flick of her wrist, she summoned a large string of fire from two fingertips. At first, it encircled her until she moved her hand with grace with slight added force. The fire rope whipped and lashed at the spider demon tightened it in its grip, squeezing a high-pitch shrill out of it. Yet, the female zasshu did not stop there. She continued to tighten the fire rope on the demon until it was enveloped in fire and snapped into two.

Satisfied that the spider demon was not alive, the fire rope dissipated followed by a hint of smoke in mid-air, leaving to Zoe released a heavy sigh. With the direct gaze of her cobalt eyes, she watched the man, realizing that it was a youkai. Was it a bad idea for her to even help? After all, scythe did not warn her of any impending danger. Perhaps this youkai wouldn’t pose much threat to her. “I hope you’re alive and well, because you owe me one.”

[Yamatoru]

Yamatoru stayed under the spider as he began to sort things out underneath. It was a rather embarrassing and awkward moment for him and it was something he definitely didn't enjoy. Hands twitching from outside the spider's body, Yamatoru kept his face in the dirt as he thought about what led to this moment. He remembered seeing a beautiful female above him and found himself transfixed. He also remembered standing below the cliff and barely noticing the dark shade that quickly fell over him.

Yes it was all because of her!

Yamatoru gritted his teeth while under the spider and opened his eyes to expose that cold slitted pupils of his. He could very well remove the spider with a simple lift of his hand but prefer to leave the demon on top as to not see the look on the woman's face. It had been too long since he had seen a woman and the desire to be near one or be with one that drove him into this embarrassing moment. He cursed himself as he listened to her attempts to coax the demon off of him. He didn't know how to react or what to say to her and wished the demon would stay on longer for him to think.

Wait why am I thinking like this? I am the Serpent King!

Yamataro said to himself as he concocted a half smirk. He was the king from long ago and still retained his power and abilities to a degree. It had seemed the releasing or awakening process didn't give him back his full strength. Didn't matter though as his power was enough for this insult of a spider demon. Yamatoru started to lift his arm to throw the spider off when suddenly it scuttled off of him and headed in an unknown direction. Lifting his head, he spotted the demon that had landed on him and grew a small frown.

The spider in front of him was nothing more than an over sized hairy thing which gave Yamatoru more of a reason to curse himself. As the battle of the two had commenced he lifted himself off the ground and dusted himself off at the same time. He would merely act as if being squashed by an insect was something he was used to as he continued to dust himself off. All the while at the time he was thinking of showing his power in front of the girl as he envisioned himself looking up and seeing her in trouble then coming in and chopping the demon's head off. It was a vision he saw too clearly as he suddenly caught himself smiling and laughing maniacally. Yamatoru closed his eyes as he straightened himself and took a glance over at the battle between the two.

The battle between the female and the demon had climaxed quickly with the female surrounding the demon in a rope of fire. It seemed that nothing could save it as it disintegrated into the putrid smoke. Yamatoru lifted an eyebrow as he listened to the thing squealed during it's agonizing death. He hated when such creatures were set on fire as such a screech was ear deafening. Yamato slowly lifted his eyes to see the sight of the female who had killed the demon. It seemed she too was looking at him with such eyes and he stared back just the same. She was a thing of beauty to him as her eyes was something he liked and her hair black as it was had a wild look to it.

Yamato kept his gaze on her as he judged the distance between her and him; as a precaution. It was only when she said that he owed her did his eye start to twitch.

Him a King owing such a meager woman?!

He thought to himself as he grew a smile on his lips. The idea of owing her almost made him laugh as started to chuckle. The idea of owing her might not have been funny to her but to him finding himself "saved" by a woman was something he couldn't handle. It was the very same gender that had betrayed him after all and yet he still hungered for it. It had seemed the females had grown bold over the centuries he had been missing.

"You have to be kidding. I could not possibly owe a woman my life." He said with a small smile. He had to admit he would've fallen to her looks quickly but past experiences had caused him to become a bit more suspicious. Yamatoru simply raised his hand and rested it on the butt of his blade as he gave the woman a rather evil smirk. "I suppose you don't know who your talking to. Perhaps you have not heard of Yamatoru Orochi."

[Zoe]

Are we having a staring contest or what?

For a second there, Zoe thought the poor victim a mute. She felt the small temptation to raise both hands and sign. It was a language she was familiar with and one that her little sister uses the most, being that she was both deaf and mute. Of course, she realized that such language couldn’t exist yet in this era. Yet, a further analysis of his behavior and the way he stared at her told her otherwise. She was being scrutinized and clearly noticed him eying the distance between she and him.

Was she that much of a threat to him?

And did she just witness the small twitch on his eye? Oh, wait. Those eyes are green and are somewhat slanted. What type of youkai was he? What is he capable of? The nagging sense of curiosity grew stronger by each second; compelling the poor woman to blurt out every question she could think of. And she did not, thankfully so. This was a tensed situation, which surprisingly, her scythe which lives inside her, did not hums in warning. Maybe it will the minute it senses his intentions? Ever since the day she achieved her level two form, she could never figure out her scythe and just what it was capable or made of. All she acquired that it was a frightening weapon with the ability to bestow judgment and negate powers. She wouldn’t be surprised if this weapon of hers had other packages she wasn’t aware of. After all, it does have a mind of its own. And, she is still a learning youkai, improving the skills she acquired and inherited, and gaining new abilities along the way.

Resting both hands on her hip, Zoe stared at the man, noticing the smile followed by a small laugh. Did she just offend him? Perhaps it would seem so. Recalling the way the other demon lord behaved around her, Zoe realized that perhaps her behavior may seem peculiar and bold. The women back in western lands were meek and obedience. She just couldn’t see herself doing such outrageous change, and was not about to conform for any single man alive.

Ah, the squashed victim finally spoke. So, he isn’t a mute.

Apparently, she did offend him. Unable to help it, she sprouted a mischievous grin at the mere thought. If this man had seen the lifestyle back where she came from, he would have eaten his words. Women were the same equal as men and are capable for anything they set their mind to. After all, she aims to be like her father, despite her mother’s dismay. Out of the blue, her scythe hummed a warning; it was subtle and soft, beckoning her to step back a step or two.

Which she did not and folded her arms over her chest instead.

“The who?” She inquired blatantly, quirking her head sideway. The slight movement he just made, cautioned Zoe. Is he that offended that he would attack? She could only hope not.

So, this man is named Yamatoru Orochi?

Slowly but surely, her impish grin softened, “well, it’s a pleasure meeting you then.” She made it quite obvious that his very name did not ring a warning or recognition. “You still owe me one.” She firmly pointed out; ignoring the fact that he was offended and men were supposedly of higher status than women. “Have a house? A bath chamber, maybe?” She was not about to take a bath in an outside environment where there is high risk of being seen. Relaxing both arms from her chest, she raised them and examined herself, realizing she was covered in mud from her too recent predicament. Suddenly, she pouted at him, deciding to ignore the obvious danger, “please?” Even if she was this ‘unguarded’, she could very well straighten up and deal with the situation easily. She was not a low-level youkai whatsoever and is clearly confident.

[Yamatoru]

"I'm impressed that you stand your ground." Yamatoru said as the rested hand on his blade lifted up and gripped the hilt. He ignored the pleasure of meetings and went straight into thinking of he reaction. He had merely thought that she knew of him and wasn't afraid of him which would have suggested, to him, that she may have some kind of power to combat him with. Yamatoru wished this was the state as he would love to get some kind of workout. Such wasn't the case as she didn't seem to recognize the name. It seems her knowledge of the past on demons wasn't as well adversed as he had thought to begin with.

Yamatoru closed his eyes as he released a heavy sigh. He would have hoped to get some kind of reaction out of her that befitted the one in his mind but such was not the case. She also seemed interested in something else and it was something that made Yamatoru look at her in surprise. She had asked him for a house or better yet a bath house. It was something he didn't expect her to say in the situation and it really did surprise him. He merely squinted his green slitted eyes in her direction and grew a small frown.


"Was she trying to trick or deceive him in a way he couldn't see?"

The thought ran through his mind as he stood there staring at her. With a movement quicker than any demon or human could see, he pulled out his sword and pointed it in the female's direction. He looked her body up and down then released a hiss under his breath. He would've immediately agreed to bringing her back to his castle but he had to test her power and strength; regrettably. He turned his blade as to create a glare from the clean blade. He hadn't seen blood on the weapon in centuries and figured it was high time for it to be stained with such, especially with that of a female.

"I shall take you to this bath house or my home should you grant me a small fight." He replied as he spun the blade in his hand. It still seemed he possessed his swordsmanship skills so that was something he was glad to recover. Yamatoru smiled as he saw her reflection in his blade. She was quite the beauty and to see her on his blade caused an inner wanting to take her. It would be hard for him to concentrate without noticing the movements and parts of her body that would hypnotize him.

Normally he would let the female start off but he wished to know how she would counter attack if she could. Blade raised to eye level, Yamatoru sped at her at a blinding speed leaving after images of himself. He ran side to side as he used it as a distraction to confuse her. The moment he would get close to her he would swing the blade at her mid section. A funny thought crossed his mind as he decided to aim for her clothing instead of her flesh. The speed of the blade was quicker than even Yamatoru gave it credit for. Yamatoru's eyes widened a small bit as he noticed that not even he could catch the blur his hand made as he swung the blade at the woman's upper section.

[Zoe]

Hm?

The surprise expression on the recent victim’s face told Zoe something. It was only after a quick analysis of her recent inquiry did she realize it sounded improper, especially in such a tensed situation, despite having her trying to make light of. Surely, he wouldn’t be thinking that she was leading him on? If that was the case, then he will find himself, flat out rejected. Going back to the western lands to take a bath was not something Zoe wanted to do; not especially when she got herself into a huge fight with a particular silver-haired demon lord.

She hadn’t even spoken with him for nearly four days in a row.

The sight of his hand resting atop the hilt of a sword screamed an impending battle. She long since noticed it, though she showed no fleeting nervousness. Instead, she grinned innocently and quite happily, “Ah, I wanted a bath, nothing more.” Already picking at the dried pieces of mud off her right finger, she appeared somewhat at ease, much too at ease. The sun’s glare off the clean blade caused those cobalt blue eyes to squint somewhat. Did the sun have to be so high in the sky? And plus, the heat was quite empowering around here. Quite a haven it must be for a bunch of snakes, spiders and other little nasty critters.

There better not be any spiders around me.

Suddenly realizing that the battle had long since begun, Zoe looked up to spot the demon coming straight at her. His speed was surprisingly fast, much too fast to be a low-level demon. So, she’s now engaged in a battle against, perhaps a high-level demon? How fun! She took a step back, now readied to move into counterattack technique. Mentally, she was thankful she wore her comfortable attire. If she had worn what the silver-haired demon lord expected her to wear, she would, no doubt fall victim to a short battle. Wearing the opened deep azure kimono, emphasizing her cobalt blue eye, she sported simple white tunic with bold orange scarf wrapped around her waist over her black spandex short which extended just slightly over her knees and a pair of red Chinese flats.

Wait a minute; why is that sword aimed straight at her upper section? Is this man lewd!? Her eyes widened in mild shock, though it wasn’t enough for her to be so still in her place as she swiftly moved a step back just in time. So, this man has the lightning speed coupled with a nice sword, eh? Let’s see if he can catch up with her instead. Even she has the agility she’s proud of, she couldn’t help thinking how fast his move was; she almost didn’t catch where his hand were. Anchoring the weight on her right foot, she bodily spun around to side-step and dropped to the ground to kick at his feet. At the very same time, four fireballs, the size of a soccer appeared in four corners around the Yamatoru. Roaring with life, crackling in bursting flames, it erupt rivers of fire, aiming straight at him.

Can you think fast?