Chapter 6: Futile Attempt

Making her way back to the geishas' room, Adina kept on guard, making sure no one could see the deep wound that was starting to sting.

Though she knew that it was necessary for her to keep it open to insure a safe escape, she also needed to make sure treatment for it would be available once she was a safe distance away from the camp.

Taking the short cut through the kitchens, she paused at the herb cabinet. Laquia had passed knowledge not only of their power, but also of the medicinal remedies she had used long ago.

Walking to the cabinet, Adina pulled out a few of them that she recognized by scent. Stopping suddenly, she looked in the very back. Pulling out a bluish colored herb, she took another whiff of it to make sure it was the right one.

Grabbing another herb from the storage she made her way to the stove, and mixed the two into boiling water.

Dipping a clean clothe into it, she wrapped it tightly around the wound. This specific herb mixture was the perfect solution. The bluish colored herb's purpose was to slow the processes of decay from meat, but when mixed with the other herb, it would keep a wound from healing.

This suited her just fine because an effect of the other herb was to numb the pain. Now, if indeed she needed to fight, she could easily have her blood available to push back the effects of Reico's curse long enough to defeat her enemy.

But of course, she knew she would indeed be fighting, possibly even intentionally. For, even if she were to escape, she knew that she would have to rid herself of the curse to survive.

If she could lure Reico to fight her one on one, then she could walk away without any evidence that she had been here other than the wound on her arm.

Exiting the kitchen, she snuck into the bedrooms, making her way to her bed. Laying down she closed her eyes just as Douji entered the room.

"Adina, is it true you don't feel well?" she asked in concern.

Nodding, trying to feign sick, she snuggled deeper into the blanket, saying softly, "Do you think you can take my place tonight?"

"Yes of course, I didn't have to serve anyone yet anyway. You don't have to worry about it." She told her eagerly.

Shouen entered the room, telling everyone to start the next meal. Walking over to the two of them, she gave her a questioning look.

Reading her mind, Adina quickly asked her telepathically not to say anything about the torn kimono or the bloody clothe wrapped around her arm, adding that she had taken care of it, also telling her that she would appreciate her not pointing out the blood to Douji.

Nodding to her, Shouen told her out loud that she would make her some tea and bring it to her after she was done with her duties.

After all of the others left the room, she snuck out of bed, grabbed her old traveling clothes, and stuffed it and the herbs she had collected earlier into a small bag before putting it over her shoulders.

Writing a quick note to Shouen and Douji thanking them for their kindness, she placed it under Shouen's bed covers; sure that no one would find it there but them.

Once again she crept into the hall, carefully listening to the sounds of the men entering the dinning room for dinner. So far she didn't sense Reico or Youko, though she didn't know whether to see that as a good omen or not.

Exiting through the same door that she had earlier, Adina jumped onto the roof like before, only she continued to leap on the tops of the other buildings, not making any sound.

Finally she stood on the roof of the hut closest to the camp's gate. Peering over the edge, she spied the guards about to switch posts, the perfect time to initiate her plan. Lifting the kimono's sleeve, she dug her claws into the old wound, wincing as the blood made its way down to her cursed wrist.

Doing a flip, she dived in front of a guard, instantly stopping him in his path.

"Now what do you think you're doing out here? I thought…" Swiftly, Adina cut him off by hitting the ground beside him with her energy.

"Call the other guards," she spoke in a dangerous tone, flexing her claws to his neck, "And don't make me get ruff."

Backing away from her in shock, he lifted his hand into the air and shot off a flame into the sky. Soon noise could be heard from the other guards as they hurried to answer their companion's call.

Quickly taking action, she hit him with her spirit energy, knocking him out. Before running to the other guards, she thanked the passed out form, again summoning more power.

When they collided, all hell broke out with a fight. And that was exactly what she wanted. Adina wanted the fight loud enough so that Reico would be lead right to her. Then she would end all connection with this awful place.

Just as she finished with the guards, a very large ball of dark energy swiftly came down upon her. Jumping out of the way in the nick of time, she saw the very creature she was waiting for.

"Smart little fox. I put that thing on you for less than a day, and you already found a way to fight it. I imagine you figured out how to rid yourself of it permanently?" Reico walked calmly towards her.

Adina backed up slightly, wanting to put distance between them.

"Oh no, don't tell me you went through all that trouble to get me here, and you're getting cold feet before our fight? Pitiful," he taunted.

"Come at me then. I find myself in a hurry to leave. And I cannot do that with this curse still upon me," she once again dug her claws into the still open wound, making sure the fight would not be a lost cause.

"As you wish," Reico said as he charged her, "Just don't expect me to play nice this time."

Almost upon her, he shot his energy to her, Adina blocking it with her own. Running at him this time, she leapt behind him, kicking his feet from under him, before hitting him hard with her power.

Shaking it off, Reico rolled and grabbed her ankle, letting his energy inflict pain to every part of her body.

'Our powers are too closely related,' she thought weakly as she hit him back, before moving away from him.

Standing up, he started laughing before telling her evilly, "I'm harder to defeat than you assumed, is that right? Tell you what. I'll give you one last shot. If you come quietly now, I'll spare your life and forget it even happened."

"I thought you knew already," she said steadying herself, "It's not my style give up, and besides," she continued glaring at him, "I won't give you the satisfaction of thinking you defeated me."

Her whole body started glowing all of a sudden, and the light slowly trickled through the ground toward Reico, who was powerless to stop it.

It ran through his body, shocking every nerve, until finally, like his underlings, he fell to the ground unconscious.

Allowing it to cease, Adina trembled from using so much energy as she unsteadily made her way over to him. As she couldn't sense his mind probing hers like it usually did, she thought him safe to approach.

Nearing him she paused, and right before she kneeled close enough to the body to withdraw the blood, a whip slapped the ground between her and Reico.

Turning quickly, Adina saw before her the reason she had needed to leave hastily. Youko stared at her with an impressed look on his face.

"I never expected that you'd meant tonight when you threatened escape," he said switching his gaze to his defeated companion. Continuing he said, "But with all of your hate for Reico, I thought surely that you would've killed him. You had the power, so tell me, why did you stop?"

Her eyes widened, realizing that he had been watching her the entire time, maybe even from the beginning. The question was why?

"You didn't even go to dinner, did you? You followed me from the minute I left the compound."

"You should've made sure that I was there before recklessly leaving. You didn't even think to check that you weren't being followed. But you didn't answer my question. I know that you didn't kill the demons that first attacked you upon your arrival, and now even the one that cursed you into submission. Why is that, I wonder?"

Adina answered as a melancholy look flooded her eyes, "Because unlike you and most of the demons here, I am not a bloodthirsty killer," then in a low whisper she added, "I see no fun in death."

"Then I am sorry to say that your suffering must continue, for I do indeed 'thirst' for a worthy fight," tightening the grip in his rode whip, he walked slowly towards her.

Following suit, she too stood up to fight. The wound that had before aided her with the blood necessary to use her power had healed itself when she was finishing Reico off. She had faintly noticed when the cloth she had applied to keep the wound open had flown off.

Gazing out of the corner of her eye at the mark on her wrist, which was inevitably black once again, she pulled it to her other hand before slashing it with her already bloody claws. As the hot blood was flowing over her hand, the mark was once again glowing with the color of her aura.

Youko came at her, attempting to strike her with his rose whip. Leaping away from it, she tried to hit him with her spirit energy. Cutting through it with his whip, Youko took the chance to get her unaware.

He disappeared for an instant, and Adina looked around wildly, not sure of where an attack would come from. Sensing him at her right she sent energy through the ground to make sure she wouldn't miss. Hearing a satisfying grunt from him, she ran at him to finish the fight.

He once again disappeared, and she only escaped with her life at the last minute by putting up a barrier.

"How can you still stand after being hit? I put enough energy into that to at least paralyze you," Adina asked him.

"You assume how much your opponent can take before dying, that's how you can get away with not killing. But with me, you underestimated. What I don't understand is that you won't even kill to save your own life. Regardless, you are too powerful for your own good, and that is the only reason I cannot allow you to leave."

"Odd, I thought you wanted me dead. You were definitely fighting like you do."

"Only because I knew you wouldn't take the hit."

'What? He never really intended to hurt me, at least fatally' She felt familiar chill she experienced when she first laid eyes on him. 'So he isn't the ruthless killer I first thought him to be.'

She reminded herself that no matter what, she couldn't remain there, and that Laquia was depending on her. She was once again determined not to let her down.

"I still can't stay here. I'm asking again that you let me leave."

"I'm afraid that I cannot let you just walk away from here."

"Why not? You've had your fight, haven't you? What gives you the right to keep me here?" she questioned him, dreading where this was heading.

"It is my responsibility to this tribe that you aren't a threat. Out there, in full power, you could destroy this place and its demons."

"So, we must to keep fighting? There is no other way?" Searching his eyes for an answer she knew she would never find. Nodding, she closed her eyes, before once again summoning her power. "Then let's finish this quickly."

Running at each other once again, they kept their attacks relentless, both refusing defeat.

Finally, Adina raised her energy level and shocked him more than she had ever before, inside hoping that she hadn't overestimated.

Surprisingly, when the attack dissipated, he stood there like nothing had happened. Confused momentarily, Adina watched him wondering how he had managed unscathed.

All of a sudden, she felt herself being strangled from behind, and turning her head as much as she could, she caught sight of a large tree. It looked as if it mainly consisted of vines, except for the vulnerable looking center.

She found summoning her power was very difficult, as the tree had a strong hold on her arm, slowing the flow of fresh blood. She also realized, as she fought to breath, that Youko was trying to finish the fight the easiest way he could; by making sure she didn't have the choice to struggle.

'Why is everyone in this place not willing to even let me fight back? I will not be made the victim again!'

Flexing her claws, she broke the vines that were constricted around here neck. The plant shook slightly as if it felt the pain. It tightened its grip on her, which not only made her wound bleed more, but made its own ooze.

Hissing in pain as the substance dripped into her blood system, she came to the startling conclusion that the tree's blood was an acidic poison.

Even as the stinging pain made its way through her body, her mind was still clear enough for her to destroy it. Shocking it with more force than necessary, she barely felt herself hit the ground. She found that she no longer had control over her power.

Her vision blurred worst that it had when she was being strangled a moment ago. She clutched her wrist as she felt the poison spread to every inch of her body.

Youko had watched amazed as had she continued to fight his plant. He had never seen anyone with such a strong will. As she slashed through the vine that held her throat, he remembered that the tree's fluids, as defense mechanism, was very potent, and could kill even a powerful being such as herself.

Seeing her fall to the ground, he rushed to her side, finding that despite his best efforts to stop it, he was worried that she would die. Though it had been his original intention to keep her alive, he would never have thought of going out of his way to save her.

Realizing that questioning his emotions right now was delaying time to give her the antidote, he ignored his inner conflict momentarily, and picked her up and started heading to his hut in a hurry.

Looking down at her with concern, he changed his mind and instead started leaping from roof to roof the same manner she had not even an hour earlier.

When she awoke, Adina was only slightly aware of the dimly lit room and the soft, finely made material of the bed she was laying on. She could tell by the way her head felt that she had a fever, and could barely make out any of her surroundings.

Suddenly feeling something cold touch her forehead, she jumped back, violently shivering as she shied away from the offending object. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized that someone was talking to her.

"Calm down, you'll hurt yourself if you keep moving." The voice was so soothing to her, yet with her fevered mind, she didn't recognize it. It continued, lulling her back to sleep.

"You can't fall asleep quite yet. I want to make sure the poison is out of your system before you rest," he said as he unfolded the cloth so that it not only was covering her forehead, but her eyes as well.

Adina jerked back at the sudden cold, trying to shake it off.

"It's too cold," she softly begged.

"I'll take it off only if you stay awake," he tried to reason with her.

Turning away from her for a minute, he grabbed a cup of water, and holding it to her lips, he tried to urge her to drink.

When she struggled against him again, he held her head and forced her to get the water down, telling her that if she didn't, she would become dehydrated.

As her fever declined, and her mind cleared, she vaguely recognized the place as his hut. After a while, she could even make out the smell of the plants that grew behind it.

Remembering what happened, Adina wondered why she was still alive, and found her answer as she looked down at her bandaged wrist. 'So, he actually saved my life. Why would he do that? Wouldn't it been easier on him if I were dead?'

Turing her gaze from her arm to him, she spoke in barely a whisper. "Why didn't you let me die?"

Looking up from what he was doing, he answered, "You are better use to me alive than dead. What was I suppose to do? Let you die from poison?"

"From what I used to think of you, yes. But you've turned out to be quite honorable, haven't you. Healing your enemy in their time of weakness, when you could've easily been the victor. Now maybe you can inform me Youko. Why didn't you fight to kill me?"

He was once again left slightly in awe at her boldness. He had never heard anyone talk to him like that. 'She really isn't afraid of anything, is she?'

"What makes you believe me to be your enemy? Because you fought me, or is it because I'm denying you the right to leave?"

"Perhaps a mix of both, but it is mostly because you stand in my way, and I cannot move you," she told him sitting up. Drawing her knees to her chest, she rested her chin on top of them still staring up at him.

"When will I be well enough to return to the geisha's compound?"

"You're not going back. Do you think I would trust you not to pull a similar stunt like tonight's?" he told her with a raised eyebrow.

"Then where am I going to go? You aren't going to give me to some random demon are you?" she said glaring up at him.

"Not exactly. You defeated not only my strongest guards, but also the second strongest demon momentarily here. I will have you stay here, so that I can keep an eye on you."

"Why do you need me here. You could just silently stalk me like you did earlier. It was easy enough, was it not? After all, you couldn't wait to taunt me about how stupid it was to not check and make sure that the strongest thief in Demon World wasn't following me. Because isn't that part of your job? To sneak around undetected? You must be pretty good at it to get the impressive title you possess," she angrily implied.

"You are very odd. One moment you're impressing me with your fighting skills, and the next you're annoying me with your pointless bantering. I guess that proves that the antidote worked well, doesn't it?" he said standing and walking to the door, pausing at the entrance.

"You will still work there during meal times, but you'll be sleeping here. I'm going to retrieve some extra bedding for you, so do not attempt escape. Another thing you might want to consider is changing out of those bloody clothes while I'm gone. And you don't need to worry about those perverts around here, since they are too fearful to come near my hut. You have my 'impressive title' to thank for that, " he said over his shoulder as he made his way out the door.

After sitting there wide-eyed at his words, Adina smiled slightly as she indeed changed into the extra kimono she had brought for later. 'Youko, this is not over, not by a long shot.'

A/N: I don't know about any of you, but I think that was the most entertaining chapter I've written. Adina and Youko are finally going to be in talking distance of one another, and no if you are all wondering, they will not argue like that throughout the entire story (even if it is pretty funny to read).

Anyway, I hope Youko's character seems correct to you, because even though this is a romance fic, I don't want to ruin his perfect image. So yes, everyone, you will have to deal with a bit more of emotional conflict out of these two before it gets really good.

Another thing I want to ask you is if after the story is finished (however sad a thought that might be), if you indeed want a sequel with the whole gang, and also whether you want me to go along with the series outline or my own story (which by the way, yes, I already have the storyline mostly complete).

Well enough of that boring bit of business, I hope you will all enjoyed it enough to review me and tell me what you think.

Yours truly,

Adria of the Demon Sisters

P.S.: If you have free time, you should go check out my bio on our shared account. And maybe even read some of our other stories as well.