Fiddle and the Drum

The oni known as Boruha Takashou, more commonly Shou, was strolling down the streets of the lower commons, rather casually for someone of his kind. He didn't bring up any kind of trouble so he didn't attract the attention of the police, nor did he really want to. Though the hunger for chaos bidded him to rampage through this town, to rip apart the first humans he came into contact with, and to do battle as long as possibly could before the situation either had him retreat, or simply fall into death.. to do so would simply bring about the wrong kind of attention to end his plans. "I guess the stupid ones can be satisfied with that." Shou voiced out loud, slipping his hands into his pockets.
He wasn't planning on throwing his life away, he would need the strength in order to carry out any measure of enjoyable chaos. Not to mention that he would return to the Deep, the forest that housed so many demons, lower and higher, some which were mammothly stronger than him. That run-in with the snake was something he couldn't ignore, a matter that he would have to eventually deal with, if not for his pride then for closure. The snake oni had become a hurdle in his path, something he would have to overcome if he wanted to continue.
The man looked to the sky as the sun was beginning its descent, bruising the sky a coiling purple and orange. The night would be coming soon and with that there was a decrease in the amount of people that were roaming the streets now, a precaution to the threat that the nightfall brought with it.
Shou was, more or less, aware of that threat, that demons seemed to come out more often when the sun had descended and darkness came to the land. Then again, he was a demon himself, so he didn't find any need to rush to the nearest shelter. He found that among oni he wouldn't really be bothered unless it was something that was attacking its own kind on the rampage, or something that he would provoke himself. Then again, thus far, Shou hadn't showed much compassion towards other oni of his kind. Not that he was turning his back on the demon race, such idealisms were foolish. Shou just enjoyed the sport of fight.
The oni's thoughts were interupted by the sound of light taps against the pavement of the road. They seemed to approach from behind, tossing a glance over his shoulder to see the hulking form of some monster running towards him and gaining. Shou furrowed his brow, suddenly spinning on his heel to face the thing, noting the details more thoroughly now. The huge stature of it, the fur that sprouted from every body part, the snout and mouth of jagged rows of sharpened teeth. It was the first he faced a woylf.
"Unholy flames, burst and rise!" His fist clenched, save for his index and middle finger, as he thrusted his arm out in front of him in a sweep of a motion. The area indicated by his fingers was suddenly graced by the eruption of a flamewall. The woylf passed through the thing, its fur setting aflame and yelps barking out from its mouth. It huddled to the ground for a moment, whimpering as the flames began to die out. The technique was far from perfect though, as the woylf came to stand once again, growling in the direction of the oni.
"Hmph.. unholy flames, gather and strike!" Shou shot forward his arm in its direction as soon as it got to its feet, letting loose a fyreball in the other's direction. The woylf reared its head back before snapping it forward again, letting loose a booming howl that seemed to shred the air with its own sort of energy. When he saw his fyreball dissipate on the spot of coming into contact with that energy, his eyes widened. It was upon him the next instant, a wave that slammed into his being and had him off of his feet, flying through the air before landing back hard onto the pavement of the street. The oni grunted upon contact, wincing as his back stung horribly from hitting such a rough surface. Not to mention the sensation of getting hit by a train that happened just moments ago.
Shou struggled to get up to his feet, cursing his luck. He recalled Grunty's advice to run when situations like these arose. He remembered the last time he ignored her words, in the battle with that snake oni, he left with barely his life. Would this battle before him just be another futile wear out, escaping death one moment after another?
Well, he certainly wasn't a coward. However, his techniques were weak in comparison to the woylf. Before he could give the subject any more thought, the werewolf was in front of him, Shou's eyes snapping wide, his breath getting caught in his throat. For a second it seemed as if the world slow downed to dawn on this reality, the look of primal rage and ferality in the woylf's snarling expression, one of its arms pulled back and seemed to be whipping forward now.
Claws racked into the side of his face and the force of the hit sent him off of his feet, again taking him through the air and crashing against the road once more. Blood was coming from the four deep gashes that had taken into the side of his face. Now the realization of this threat couldn't be simply ignored. Pride was something that certainly had its limits, especially when in the face of death.
As soon as his body had struggled just to push himself off of the ground, the woylf was there, its fists suddenly pummeling down onto his back and sending him back crashing into the road. The strength behind those hits were enormous, his body could barely endure such a thing. Suddenly he erupted into flames, and the woylf yelped again, pulling back as it shook its on fire hands.
The oni couldn't move though. The technique had been one only to continue pushing, to live as long as he could, to defy death in every way possible. The fire around him died, though, and he was running out of tricks.
The woylf recovered and growled lightly, looking to the fallen figure. It began to slowly step forward before it sniffed the air and looked to the side. Before it could react, there was suddenly a line of glowing light that came just to it and a glow surrounded its entire body. The woylf tried to move but growled lightly when it found its movements hindered and bound. The sound of a single pair of boots running down the street towards the woylf was the only thing Shou heard before he lost consciousness.
1109

"Ugh.." Shou moaned lightly as he stirred in his sleep, coming awake to several pains throughout his body. One of his eyes' visions was blocked from the bandages that he noticed were on his face. He tried to sit up but winced and allowed himself to fall back onto the bed that was given to him. The oni's back was the worse of it all, having been pummeled by a werewolf's fists the previous night. What a horrible opponent to get himself mixed in with..
The demon took the time now to survey his surroundings, a small room that was sparsely furnished. Upon the nightstand next to him, there was a single photo of a woman, blond hair, about twenty or so from the looks..
The door to the room opened and a dark haired man stepped through, his eyes down to a watch on his wrist before glancing up, seeming almost surprised to see the demon. "Oh. You're awake now. You know, that Woylf really did a number on you. Fortunately, all your wounds aren't something a couple of days won't fix." The man stated, and Shou took a moment to regard the bandages once more. "By the way, I'm Yon. And you're lucky I came when I did."
The oni glanced away from the man for a moment, considering it all. Facing death only the previous night, he couldn't complain at the fact that he was alive now. "Thank you." Shou came to say, looking up towards the man now. "So.. you defeated the Woylf, then? Are you that strong?" Yon was a little taken back by the comment, before scratching at his head and shrugging. "Well, it wasn't all that tough. I fight spirits, possessed or not. I'm used to it all." Yon then began to move to another part of the room, a closet. From where he was, Shou couldn't see what was in there when Yon had opened it and pulled something out. Closing it, the oni could only make out what he had taken. Some sort of staff.
"By the way, you can leave whenever you want, or you can use that bed right there to heal up. Either way, I'm headed out for a bit. Don't touch any of my shit, all right?" Yon cautioned, but then broke that tension with a smirk. "Just try to lock the door if you do step out, all right?" With that he stepped out from the room and made towards the front door. Shou heard the front door close and he had to wonder where the man was off to with a staff. Deciding not to just lay back and wonder, he threw the covers of the blankets off of him, forcing himself to get up. The wounds only bothered him slightly, and so long as he didn't over exhert himself, he would be fine.
Stepping out of the home of the Lower Commons, Shou could make out the distant figure of Yon walking down one of the sidewalks that bordered the roads. Up ahead, the human turned at a corner, and Shou quickened his pace to make sure he could catch sight of where he was going before he ended up losing him.
Those fears came true, rounding that corner and seeing nothing of the man afterwards. "Tch.." Shou cursed for allowing himself to lose trail of the other. His nose might prove more handy if there weren't so many humans around and he was within his lion form. 'Oh well,' he thought to himself. 'I've been wasting too much time just laying around, anyways.' Deciding that he knew where Yon lived, and if he wanted to pay the man a visit he could. He was interested in the human's strength, curious of the powers of someone who could have taken out the Woylf that had dominated the battle against himself.
"Weakness doesn't befit me at all.." Shou grumbled lightly to himself, stepping down the sidewalk of the Lower Commons, making his way back to more familiar territory.
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