[JFCMHT]A Simple Misunderstanding

[Nick]

Aimi, Mo, and Fuhen had been travelling for quite awhile together. Multiple weeks, in fact. Had the ninja and the samurai not had cargo and kept their own paces, they probably could have made the same trip in close to half the time, but instead they were bound by the cart they carried, and the civilian travelling with them. It couldn't be helped, as they were beyond human in their fitness, and Mo was in the springtime of her youth, still much room to grow, and much time to get on their level, and of course, she was still grieving. As much as she was able to find some joy in her travelling companions bickering back and forth, or the stories told over campfires, it was easy to see the death of her sister, Ro was fresh on her mind.

"And that's when I says to 'im..." Fuhen said, nearing the end of a story. "That's yer daughter, not yer wife!" To which he laughed uproariously at his own joke, and Mo politely giggled. The giggling didn't last long, however, as something shined above the horizon, with the sun starting to dip down behind it, and the girl pointed, taking a deep breath. "There it is..." she said, almost taken aback by the sight, and while Fuhen seemed confused at first, when he followed her gaze to the tower peeking up over the horizon, he too started to gape. "Whazza? Oh... Wow..."

It truly was a beautiful sight, at least one tower as tall as a mountain, and as they continued down the trail, more peeked into existence that were also massively tall. Such structures were almost unheard of outside of tall tales of ninja cities, or ancient ruins only discovered by the most intrepid of adventurers, and to see them in person, left Fuhen speechless, and Mo speechless for probably being homesick after all this time. "That's nae somethin' ye see every day, is it?" He asked his skeleton pal, a smile stretching out across his face. "I cannae wait t'see it up close!"

[Golnax]

Aimi saw the towers before either Fuhen or Mo did. In the past few weeks of travel, he'd taken to walking several paces ahead of the other two for a multitude of reasons. Being even more physically capable than Fuhen was, the constantly slow walking pace that Mo had them on was practically agonizing. At times he thought the muscles in his legs were deteriorating from lack of use! So walking ahead of them was just good for his health. What's more, Fuhen liked to talk. A lot. Aimi himself wasn't shy about filling the air with his voice, but their froggy companion told story after story and was just so... social. He always seemed to have something to talk about and the jounin suspected that anytime he wasn't talking he was simply giving his voice a rest so that he could talk more later! Additionally, walking ahead of the other two made the entire group safer. If he was the first response to any sort of threat, not that they'd had any on their journey, Mo's cargo would be kept safe.

So naturally being astride of the other two (and his skeletal clone, still dutifully pulling the cart for the three of them) he would see the first glint of the gigantic tower as it crowned over the horizon. The shine of it made him squint his eyes, the midday sun doing wonders to blind him. As he walked forward he lifted his hand up to block the rays and as the sheer size and scope of their destination became apparent to him, he had to stop in his tracks and just... stare. Mo had mentioned before how their destination was one of high towers, but she'd neglected to put emphasis on just how big these towers were! Back in Kirigakure, the Mizukage tower stood as the tallest building within the village and had several stories to it, but it paled in comparison to the first tower he'd caught size of which reached up towards the sky like the tip of a spear aiming to pierce a hole into the heavens! It was by and large the largest building that the jounin had ever seen.

As Mo and Fuhen came up behind him, expressing their own bewilderment at the sight, Aimi lowered his hand. "No... not every day," he confirmed, turning his head from side to side to look at the two of them. Fuhen looked excited. Mo looked nostalgic, and slightly heartbroken. His clone stopped the cart about three paces behind them. "Well... let's get going," he said, beginning his march once more, leading the way towards the now clear destination of the City of Heavenly Towers.

[Nick]

It seemed that they were nearing the end of their trip, finally, after all this time. After the initial outburst of shock and awe, Fuhen at the very least seemed overtaken by the sight of the towers slowly peppering their way into existence, forming the holy city of towers. As they got closer, more and more details could be made out, such as the vast number of towers in the large city state, and the high walls surrounding it in what could be presumed from all sides. Smaller houses belonging to what appeared to be a farming community resided outside of the walls, along with a handful of towers, figures standing inside of them and peering out.

As they walked down the road, it turned from dirt to stone, harder on the feet but easier on the wheels of the cart, and as they wandered closer still those in the farming community would stop and stare. Some would wave in a friendly fashion, and others would simply look concerned. "Oh, eh... Mo..." The Frog started, bending down to lean in closer to the woman they'd been escorting. "Is there anythin' we need t'know about this 'ere city o' yours?" He gently scratched the side of his face, and Mo turned back to address him, waving at one of the farmers. "As with all countries, there are many nuances. Just... Mind your manners, and leave the talking to me. Try not to start any fights. And Aimi... Could you pull the cart yourself? I don't think my country would appreciate... That."

The Frog looked a little saddened by the implication that he was always out to start fights, but he left it alone. Finally they would approach a set of large gates, which could likely be opened to let a large number of soldiers in or out all at once, but also contained a more reasonably sized door to allow what were likely guests and merchant carts through. A lone spear-wielding guardsman stood next to the door at rough attention, as though he had just been roused from falling asleep on his feet, likely from a guardsman in the tower to his right calling out that people were on their way.

"State your business." He called out as they got close enough that yelling was not necessary. "I am Mo, of the clan Kokuu. I have returned from my pilgrimage with... with my sister..." She faltered for a moment, but gestured to the cart. The guard raised a brow, recognizing her accent as one of a local, but glanced from her, to the two strange men with her, and then to the cart. "I'll have to inspect the cart." He said, and Mo nodded, stepping to the side as the guard approached. She looked away as he lifted the cloth that covered her sister, and he grimaced at the sight. "Stay here. I need to make a report to the captain." And with that, he jogged back towards the gate, knocking on the door, and being allowed inside, leaving them alone for only a few moments.

[Golnax]

As the trio transitioned from dirt to stone and from forested plains to civilization, Aimi was taken a back by what he saw. The sight of people living outside of high walls was not one unfamiliar to him, but the scene before him couldn't have been any more different from the Untouchable Disctrict outside of Kirigakure! There it was a dank swamp, covered in mist and filled to the brim with low shacks masquerading as houses, populated by a dilapidated people who were destitute, addicted to drugs or perhaps worse; sadistic ninja looking for an easy target. Here... everything was bright and clean looking. The people looked healthy and in most cases productive. There were children running around that he could see were well fed and well dressed, as though their parents could afford to take care of them! The gleaming towers high above them shone like beacons of positivity, and even the city guards who eyed the trio and their cart suspiciously gave Aimi the distinct sense of protection as opposed to oppression. He was, in a word, culture-shocked and couldn't help but look all around.

He practically didn't hear Mo when she requested that he pull the cart. "Sorry, what?" he asked, looking back on the two of them with a confused look upon his face. Mo gestured towards the skeletal clone pulling the cart behind them and it clicked for Aimi. That was the reason they were getting strange looks from some. He'd noticed the looks before, but he assumed they were meant for him, believing that these people must have known his lineage by the painted spots on his forehead and the color of his hair. Now he realized that these people probably weren't aware of what a shinobi was, and so had no way to contextualize a walking skeleton beyond being a reanimated corpse! "Oh... right," he said, letting the other two walk ahead of him while he lagged behind to get to the cart.

Standing in front of his own skeleton, the Kaguya let out a sigh and reached out to place a hand on his own skeletal shoulder. "Thanks for the help along the way," he said, again essentially to himself, getting no answer before he removed his hand and thrust his palm directly onto the solar plexus of the clone with enough force to dismember the skeleton then and there! It's head, parts of the spine, rib cage and arms all went flying back in separate pieces into the cart, making a loud clattering sound on the wooden box that Ro resided in while everything from the waste down simply fell to pieces in a pile on the road. There were some cries of shock, but Aimi ignored them in favor of bending down and picking up the bones and tossing them into the back into a semi-neat pile before standing up, grabbing the cart, and walking on.

In no time at all they were before the gate and being approached by the gaurd, who eyed the shirtless ninja suspiciously before inspecting the cart. "Whose are these, then?" he asked, nudging the skull with the butt of his spear and looking at Aimi, who replied, "Hm? Oh, those are mine," before the guard inspected the coffin and left to go and get the captain. Aimi watched him go, saying to his travelling companions, "I don't think he got the joke..."

A few minutes later, a door to the side of the large gates opened up and out stepped a woman dressed in ornate armor with a long red cape flowing behind her. The guard who had inspected the cart was with her, following behind and like him she too had a spear in hand. Her face was hard and full of suspicion at first, but as she eyed Mo her face softened and the hard line that was her mouth turned into lips. "Mo..." she said, focusing on the wayward would-have-been slave and stepping right up to her before embracing her hard, clasping her hands - spear and all - behind the young woman's back who did the same in kind, Mo resting her head upon the captain's shoulders.

"It's so good that you're home! We thought you dead, or worse!" the woman said, breaking the embrace and looking down at Mo who once again had tears in her eyes, though there was a smile on her face. "I would have been, had it not been for these two," Mo said, letting out a sniffle and gesturing towards Fuhen and Aimi. The captain gave both of them men a hard look before looking back at Mo, reaching up and gently wiping tears off of her face. "Welcome home, child," she said, pulling Mo's head in for another embrace and looking back to her male companions once more. "Thank you both for returning my niece to me. Her mother will be happy to have her home again, at least..." She trailed off, eyeing the cart that Aimi was still holding on to.

[Nick]

As the woman in the armor appeared, Fuhen couldn't help but stare. Another beauty who looked like she could kick his ass? Were all the woman in this city lovely looking people who knew how to fight? This place was called the 'holy' city of towers, and while Fuhen only really knew about the goddess Takiyasha, and some Varashu knowledge, if they kept up this trend, he might be convinced to find religion. He wanted to introduce himself, ask her out to dinner and 'entertainment', but as she began speaking to Mo, he remembered where he was, and held his long tongue.

It seemed she was a little unsure of her words, like she was picking them carefully, as she addressed Aimi and Fuhen. She was most certainly thankful for the safe return of Mo, but as her eyes went to the cart, there was a tinge of venom in her voice, distrust, even. The armored woman stepped towards the cart, gently lifting up the cover and taking a peek inside. At first the look on her face was incredulous, she couldn't believe it. Perhaps there was some horrible prank being played? Then anger flashed over, before it turned back to a hard look, like it had been when she first stepped out of the gates.

Gently setting the cover back down, the captain turned back to the guard at the gate, and shouted "Take this cart to be prepared for funeral rites." And then she turned to the tower and shouted up at the guard atop that. "You're on sole guard until he returns!" Both men saluted smartly, the man on the ground moving to take the cart, giving Aimi a weird glance after his previous joke, before getting up and into it and dragging it through the gates, and the man on the tower did his utmost to look very awake.

The commander seemed to mull something over in her head for a moment, before turning back to the travelling trio. "You three, come with me, I need a full report on what happened with Ro." Before turning away and following the cart through the gate, leaving everyone else to follow. Mo looked shocked, what had been a gentle, warm reunion suddenly turned into all business. Had she done something wrong? Fuhen turned to smile at Aimi and Mo, patting each of them on the back once, clearly excited at the prospect of visiting the holy city, before starting to walk off through the gate.

[Golnax]

As the captain came to inspect the cart, Aimi set it down and stepped away, rolling his shoulders and throwing his head from side to side in order to stretch out his muscles. He hadn't been carrying the cart for very long, and it hadn't been much of a burden to him while he had carried it, but he could tell that if he had been the one pulling that for the entire journey, he would have had a very sore upper back! Regardless, he stepped away from the cart and was glad to be rid of it. The burden wasn't truly his to carry after all. The captain shouted her orders and the man from before came to get the cart, telling Aimi and his company that they were to accompany her into the city.

The order gave the jounin a very visceral sense of 'you can't tell me what to do'-itis.

Being from a country where ninja were not just the top dogs to anyone who didn't own them but were in fact celebrities in their own right simply for BEING shinobi, it was a bit jarring to say the least to have some stranger from a foreign nation telling him to do something and actually expecting him to follow along. His face told the whole story of his internal thoughts though, his mouth down turned into a frown and his eyebrows upturned in the center, as if to ask 'is that right?'. It wasn't until Fuhen turned and gave him that goofy, excited look that Aimi snapped out of his little petulant funk and reluctantly took a step forward to follow. It was basically going to be like reporting for a mission back home, he reasoned to himself.

Through the gates the trio was lead, and once inside Aimi was once again hit with a sense of culture shock. Everything was just so... bright. And visible. And clean. The roads that they steppe don were clean and evenly paved, the buildings, those in between the towers anyways, were practically symmetrical. Everything seemed to have this... shine about it. And the smell! In Kirigakure, there was the distinct smell of swampland damped down by the constant fog with just the barest tinge of iron in the air from all the blood being spilled... well, basically all over the place in one fashion or another, be it a training ground or just in one of the districts. Here things smelled earthy and... weirdly warm. As they walked, Aimi couldn't help but swivel his head from side to side, looking at this thing and that. He didn't have too long of a walk before they reached their destination.

A small building along the side of the main road, perhaps 100 yards away from the gate that they had just passed through, stood guarded by a pair of guards, one male and one female who both gave a smart salute to the captain as she approached, who saluted them in turn. One of them stepped forward and opened up the door as the captain walked forward, placing his spear against her shoulder and leaning it back so that the spearhead didn't scrape against the door frame. Aimi followed in after her, giving the bright outside world one last look before descending into the shade of the guard post in order to conduct some shady business, he had no doubt.

Inside they were lead through a couple of small corridors and to a room, the captain opening the door and gesturing for them to step inside with a curt, "In," as a prompt, once again giving the jounin among them a case of 'make me'-betes. He gave her a glance as he passed her by, looking her dead in the eyes and meeting a gaze that was equally hard to his own. Once all three of them were inside, she would follow after them and shut the door behind them. The room was obviously an interrogation room of sorts, not the intense kind with chains and wall fixtures, no, but the more civil kind with a table and chairs - two one one side, one on the other. The captain moved over and sat down in the lone chair. Aimi opted to stay standing behind the other two, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Let's start this over again, from the beginning," the captain said, obviously all business and having a job to do, even if it did involve family. Aimi noticed how professional she was about this whole affair as she continued to speak. "How exactly did you come to be in the company of Mo, and what exactly happened to Ro?" she asked, giving the froggy samurai and the pale-headed jounin a hard look.

"Aunty, I can explain, they-" Mo tried to explain, before being cut off by her aunt harshly. "I was addressing them, Mo," she said, her words stern and her tone iron. She did not take her eyes off of the two men present. Aimi kept his mouth shut, smartly, thinking that the chipper-natured frog should be the first of them to speak.

[Nick]

Fuhen wasn't well versed enough in his bone-laden friends cultural differences to know what was going on inside of his head. As far as Fuhen was concerned, he was likely just as excited to see the strange place as him, and was simply showing it differently. As they stepped through the city gates and into the city proper, the Frog's head was on a constant swivel, looking around, up and down, appreciating the architecture that seemed to try and reach up to the heavens! He felt a tonal shift, however, as she commanded them into the guardpost. What had seemed like a joyful reunion now felt like the times he'd been arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct, and tossed in a cell for the night, but this time he didn't have the exciting night beforehand.

He gave a look like a child scorned, but stepped inside as commanded and without complaint. To call him a rebel or a follower, neither would really be fair. Instead, Fuhen simply liked to go with the flow of life in most cases, and while he often challenged things, if there was no real reason to, it worked out better to let them flow. The room they were in had a certain cold feeling in it, and while the Frog certainly couldn't put his finger on it, it was because this was a place where minds were mercilessly broken until the person on his end of the table gave whatever the person on the captain's side of the table wanted.

While Aimi opted to remain standing, neither Fuhen nor Mo had the same reservations and sat down next to each other in the chairs. Mo had asked them earlier to let her do the talking, which was why he was shocked to hear the captain interrupt her, and he made no attempt at hiding the look on his face as she said she was addressing the samurai and ninja duo instead. Fuhen looked from the captain, to Mo, and then to Aimi, pointing a finger at his chest and mouthing "Me?", before nodding his head vigorously and turning back to the captain.

"From the beginning...?" He asked, and Mo groaned. She knew what was coming from their weeks of travelling together.

"Okay! So you see... It all started over a year ago in a little cold country called Fur. Beautiful place, beautiful people, strange sweet alcohol that tastes like lemons..." Mo elbowed him in the side. "Ow! Right right right. So anyway, Fur Country, big festival goes on each year now, in fact I think the next one is coming up soon, I'm going to try to go agai-" He was elbowed again, harder this time. "Ow! Okay, okay, just the facts! " The captain gave the pair of them a hard look, causing Mo to gulp nervously. "So Oi's doin' my thing, I'm partially an entertainer, y'see, and this 'ere grumpy feller gets all impressed and says 'Wow you're so strong, fast, and handsome, could you please teach me your swordsmanship skills?' And I say 'well of course!' because you see I like to help people out where I can, almost can't help meself, y'see. So anyway I teach him some of what I do with my big ol' basket o' swords, we have a few drinks together, and boom, we're the best of friends!"

Fuhen looked back at Aimi and smiled warmly once more, reminiscing on the good times. The captain cleared her throat, getting his attention, "What does this have to do with what happened to Ro, and how you met Mo?" She asked, accusatorily, to which the Frog put his hands up in a placating gesture. "Okay, so... Fast forward to about ehh... Three weeks ago?" He said, questioning his own measurement of the passage of time, looking from Mo to Aimi again for some kind of confirmation, before continuing the story before either of them had a chance to answer. "I wanted t'go out on a ship to another country from River, that's where Oi'm from, y'see, so I hopped on a boat and off sailin' we went! Captain booked me a nice cheap fair, said meals were included too so I couldn't complain! But the food was pretty bad, they used that eh... hardtack stuff, really sticks to your lungs rather than yer ribs, yanno?" Another elbow was thrown under the table. "Feck! Okay, okay! So anyway, we was sailin' along, and the first night o' the trip I felt somethin' was off, yanno? And I heard somethin' I didnae like the sound of, so I wandered on down where the captain said I shouldnae, and what do I find except people bound up in chains! Not all civil like, like prisoners or some such, but folks bein' taken as slaves! Transported through River, can ye believe it? Ah've got half a mind t'show the bastard dockmaster what for when we get back! Why, if this sorta thing don't sto-" Mo was getting ready to throw another elbow, but this time, the captain interrupted. "If you do not hurry up and get to the point, you'll be left in a cell all night."

Once more, Fuhen looked hurt, but it was different this time. He hadn't realized he was in such a serious situation, he thought he was among the family of friends, and once more, he threw his hands up, palms out. "Alright, alright, sheesh! So some o' the folks were bound up in chains against the walls, but some o' them, like our lovely Mo here, and her lovely sister Ro, were locked up inside o' a cage! Bein' the naturally helpful person I am, I of course had to free them, so's I did, an' o' course I got a few spare blades to me name, so I handed them out, and we had ourselves a bit of a mutiny on board to deal with the bastard slavin' scum... But..." His voice trailed off, the memories of the battle weren't the greatest, as battles tended not to be. He hadn't actually seen Mo's sister cut down, but the thought of it played in his head a few times regardless, and had played a few times more during their trip. "Ahem... So... Part way through the fight, we's be sein' another ship off in the distance, and then who comes hoppin' on board but the feller I met in Fur Country about a year ago? Nobody!" He turned and smiled at his pale, mostly naked friend. "An' so he helped us fight off the last o' the slavin' bastards, but... Well... Ro was one of a few casualties. She fought bravely, she did! Any o' the folks on the ship will attest to that, oi'm sure! Nae better than fightin' fer the freedom of yourself and others, aye...?"

In fact, more than just the folks on the ship would attest to that. The bar they had visited in Fire Country would likely have tales of her bravery told third hand at this point, after Fuhen had told his many stories about the battle on the ship. "And that's how we met Mo and Ro! Mo asked us t'help escort her and her sister back home for a right proper funeral o' sorts, and we had a few difficulties here and there, but nary a hair on Mo's head has been harmed!"

[Golnax]

It'd been a mistake to let Fuhen talk first. As he began his rambling, the jounin couldn't help but give him a sort of... look. The kind of gaze that spoke volumes, that asked many a question along the lines of 'what in the hell are you doing?' His eyes darted to the frog from the moment that he mentioned Fur country, which he had to agree with the captain seemed like an irrelevant piece of information to the situation at hand, made all the more irrelevant by the horrible impersonation of Aimi! The Kaguya couldn't help but slowly turn his head and cock it sideways as Fuhen, the look upon his face only intensifying as he couldn't believe the blatant words that were being put into his mouth a year after the fact! As much as Mo was trying to keep the raven haired samurai in check with her elbow, Aimi had an urge to give him a hand up against the back of his head for that terrible presentation of his personage!

Fortunately, that part of the tale didn't last for very long and with some prompting from both Mo and her aunt, Fuhen got back on track and eventually arrived at the point, telling the story in a colorful but factual fashion. After he was done speaking, the captain simply stared at the lanky samurai for a while, her hands held up in front of her and her elbows propped up on the table with the shaft of her spear resting against her left shoulder. After a quiet moment in the small room passed she turned her gaze to Aimi. "Are you able to confirm this story?"

"More or less," the Kaguya said, turning his face towards the captain. "I'm a shinobi and was in the middle of a mission when the ship harboring Mo and Ro came on the horizon. I noticed a scuffle, I came aboard, helped to end the scuffle. By the time it was over, Ro was dead and I was able to convince the captain of my ship to left these two come aboard with me so that we could deliver her sister and her here, home." He finished and stood with his mouth drawn in a hard line, unable to fathom why Fuhen couldn't have been more curt about the matter as he'd just been.

The captain looked at the white haired jounin for a moment before looking back to Fuhen and then to Mo. She leaned back in her seat and placed her hands flat on the table in front of her. "Ro was one of the most talented spearmen that this city has ever seen. She was a proud, capable warrior who was more than able to handle herself in a fight. She and Mo had seemingly cut all contact with us about a month ago and we had declared them missing a short time after. Your story would seem to line up with this, however... I simply can't believe that Ro would have been cut down on some slaver ship. You're both hiding something from me!" she declared.

"They're not!" Mo protested, outrage in her voice as she pushed back form out of her chair and stood up at the table, slamming her hands down. The captain was quick to follow suit, pushing back in her chair and standing up at practically the same moment as Mo. "They're telling the truth, all of it! Ro and I were captured and had been starved, she was weak and she died bravely! Why would you think they'd lie to you about this!?" she demanded, angry tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Aimi stood still but tense, prepared to intervene if necessary but not seeing a reason to... yet.

"Is there any proof of their claim?" the captain asked. "Do they have anything that proves that they didn't kill Ro themselves? Hm? This one admitted to being a shinobi, after all," she said, gesturing to Aimi offhandedly. "We're aware of their type - deceptive, tricky, always hiding something! I have absolutely no reason to trust either of them about the death of one of the finest warriors that this city ever had, my niece!"

"I'll stake my honor on it in a duel!"

That earned a pause from the fiery tempered city captain. Tensions had been steadily rising in the room between the two of them as their voices had been raised, but now the air seemed to ring with the declaration that the young woman had made. Aimi looked back and forth between the two of them, unsure of what exactly had just transpired but recognizing that some sort of shift had occurred.

"You have one chance to take it back, Mo," the captain warned.

[Nick]

Fuhen nodded emphatically as his story was corroborated by Aimi, but a look of shock filled his face as the captain called the three of them liars! He fully understood the incredulousness in Mo's voice, and had she not spoken up first, he would have been in the same position. A serious look filled his face as the twp argued back and forth, until... "I'll stake my honor on it in a duel!" The words hung in the air like fruit waiting to be swiped at by a ninja, and Fuhen's eyes widened.

It was entirely possible that Aimi was not well versed in the code of honor that most minor countries abided by when it came to their warriors, but Fuhen who had spent his entire life in a state of what some might call hero worship of the great samurai of old had no chance to miss out on the importance of this. While each country was sure to be a little different in how they handled the specific rules, the reality of a duel was something not to be taken lightly. The Frog himself had never been challenged to a duel, as even when he meddled in affairs serious enough to warrant it, they were usually quite explosive and sudden. A proper duel on the other hand was more than what most could handle.

Of course, where he was from, and samurai were primarily from other countries as mercenaries, duels were quite simple, ways to handle disputes in a public fashion, and most of the time went to first blood. Most took these sorts of challenges to beyond first blood, some using point based systems that would declare a winner on skill alone, where others went to the second worst outcome, a duel to the death. Beyond that still, those who did not die in duel but still lost were often stripped of their titles, their lands, their rights as humans, disgraced in front of any gods or masters they may have. A duel was not a pretty thing.

The Aunt gave her a chance to take it back, and Fuhen opened his mouth and began speaking. "Mo, ye shou-" But he was interrupted and ignored. "No." And it was the conviction in her voice that made him understand. She already stood to lose more than her life from this confrontation, her honor had already been challenged, and if she did not return the challenge, then she had lost. "You cannot bully your way through this one, Yui." She said, taking her hands off the table and standing up straight. "I will not take it back. It is my right to challenge you, and this duel will happen, on your honor, or mine."

The captain, Yui, had likely never been addressed like this before, and it seemed for a moment she was speechless that this was more than a momentary lapse of judgement. "Very well then. The duel shall be tonight, at Mistress Akari's dojo, I'm sure she wont mind us sparring there one last time." The tension in the air did not ease up, and the two stared each-other down. Fuhen looked to Aimi, first as if asking for something, before looking apologetic instead. "Well, it looks like our contract hasnae ended, aye?" The river country native said aloud, readjusting his basket of swords, and standing up finally, having been the last one to remain sitting in the room. "We said we'd get ye home safely, and here ye are, not even at yer home yet, and already stirrin' up more trouble."

The Frog let out a heavy sigh, moving a hand to scratch at the back of his head. "We're exercisin' our right as Mo's servants and bodyguards to declare ourselves her second."

[Golnax]

"We what?"
"You what?"

The twin questions had been asked at nearly identical times, both the captain Yui and the Kaguya jounin turning their heads to look at the samurai who had spoken up. Mo, too, looked at Fuhen with a strange look of confusion that seemed to be stuck dawning on her face, still caught up in the moment as she was. She likely hadn't even considered the two of them standing in as a possibility. Aimi most certainly hadn't been. Up until the frog had spoken, he'd been observing the scene unfolding with a respect that bordered on reverence. He was from a ninja village, it was true, but one look at him would have told anyone with the knowledge of shinobi to tell that he was no ordinary ninja. He was not generally deceitful, he did not use tricks, he hardly hid anything from anyone. He was open and honest and perhaps most perplexingly for someone of his ilk - honorable. Mo's display, her challenge on the stakes of her honor, had been admirable to him to say the least. He estimated Yui to be the more experienced warrior by far, and yet Mo showed such a dedication to the honor of her dead sister that she was willing to fight a superior warrior for that honor. The long haired juonin wouldn't have ever dreamt of stepping in between the sort of selfish claim that someone else made.

Fuhen, on the other hand, apparently would. And dragged Aimi into it to boot!

Aimi took a step forward to stand next to Fuhen properly, looking the taller man in the face as he spoke. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Why would you do that?" he asked, nay, demanded to know. "What makes you think that you can step over Mo's personal authority on this matter? We got her and her sister back safe, we're not -"

"Accepted," came Yui's response, her voice raised so that she was talking over Aimi, who snapped his head to the left to look at her with a dangerous expression worn upon his face. Aimi couldn't see it, the look upon Yui's face. He didn't understand what it meant. He only saw the face of the captain who was settling negotiations of an honorable duel without his input. He didn't see the relief in her eyes, the familial concern leaving her face as she jumped, practically leaped, at the chance to not fight her only remaining niece, but instead a pair of strangers that she likely wouldn't hold back against. "The location and time remain the same," she said, stepping around the table and lowering her face to compose herself better. "In the meantime, you three will be kept in custody until the appointed time and brought to the location once a pair of suitable opponents have been found."

Yui walked to the door of the interrogation room and opened it a crack, barking out, "Guards! Arrest them!" before opening the door fully and stepping to the side in order to allow a pair of guards to enter the room. Aimi stood and looked back at Fuhen, a bubbling rage building up in the features of his face. "What the hell did you just get me into?" her snarled.

[Nick]

Fuhen didn't exactly look proud. His usual goofy look gone, and replaced with one of what might be considered fatherly concern or disappointment, an almost weary look that said he wasn't happy about his decision, but it was one that needed to be made. "What have you done...?" Mo asked, the shock of Fuhen's profound proclamation still weighing too heavy on her to gauge if she was upset or not. The look on his face remained, accepting it as Aimi berated him heavily for his decision without consulting the Kaguya first.

His breath was held, and finally let out when Yui accepted his request. While it was true that the code of honor most countries abided by allowed him to put himself in the ring in his 'masters' place, specifics varied from place to place, and while some didn't allow it at all, some required both parties to approve of it. The first time he'd heard of this particular code of honor was in a play that followed a samurai around in his travels, and while he couldn't remember the name of the country it was in, not stepping in for your master in a duel could have led to the dishonor of the servant.

As the guards were called, Fuhen made a placating gesture, his palms open towards Aimi, and he unclasped his basket of swords, holding it out for one of the guards to take. "Ah'm sorry pal, really." He continued holding his hands out as the guards took his blades, playing along and walking with them. "Mo's been through enough..." To which Mo had no reply, she seemed stunned still, her eyes down at the ground, watching her feet pick her up and move her. "And if'n we dinnae stand up for what's right, who will? Mo's very brave to have come this far, but it takes more than bravery to fight for somethin' like this." He looked down at her and gave a weak smile.

"This is more than an insult to her honor, Aimi." He looked back up at him, the small frown back on his face. "It's an insult to the both of us, and more importantly, an insult to our friend!" There was almost a bit of pleading in his voice, begging that his companion would understand. Fuhen had seen Aimi in action more than once, and if the ninja wanted, he could easily kill all the guards around them and book it out of the Holy City of Towers before Fuhen could say 'please.' Their walk wouldn't be far, as they arrived in a different section of the same building, and the three of them were put into a cell together. "If'n ye won't do it for any other reason, do it for me as a friend, aye?"

[Golnax]

It was true that Aimi could have killed the guards as they walked towards them - hell, before they had entered the room, really. He probably could have killed the captain, the guards, and anyone else who stood in his way as he made his way out of the holy city. That wouldn't have been hard. What was much harder for him was to keep his cool, to restrain his body, to not act in the way that he'd been trained to in the event of being captured. After all, he wasn't on a mission here officially by Kirigakure. If he did anything, anything at all, that could cause an international incident, he knew without a doubt there would be hell to pay. He just had to keep in mind that while he was under arrest, it was only a temporary situation that was only a thing in the first place because of an honorable duel.

Of course, there was also the matter of him being under arrest for no reason, which he was none too pleased about.

"Who are you to say what is and isn't right about this situation!?" Aimi demanded to know as one of the guards came up to him and reached out to grab his arm. The Kaguya reflexively pulled his arm out of the guard's grasp, his hand balling into a fist, before he let out an exasperated sigh and reached down to unbuckle his belt, pulling it off from around his waist and handing it over to the guard and turning towards the door with said guard, now holding his equipment, not far behind. "It's all fine and dandy for you. You're a samurai! From a small country no less, it's not like there are that many consequences for you for engaging in random duels!" Aimi complained as they were marched off to their cell. As they approached, the guard felt he had the gumption to reach out and give the Kaguya's back a push, as if he were moving too slow.

Aimi reeled around and looked at the guard, who didn't look too much older than Fuhen did, and gave him a baleful glare before raising his hand up and putting his finger directly into his face. "Touch me again, and you don't get your hand back," Aimi warned through gritted teeth before reaching out without turning and grabbing a hold of the cell door by the bars and practically ripping it off of it's hinges, the old metal clasps complaining loudly at being treated such. It was possible that he'd just broken the lock, frankly, and didn't notice nor care. Regardless, he turned and stepped into the cell begrudgingly while keeping his hand on the door, waited for Fuhen and Mo to be pushed in with him and then slammed the cell door shut behind them. He never took his eyes off of the guard while doing so.

Exasperated, Aimi turned and looked over at Fuhen and Mo both, placing his hands on his hips. He faced Mo and gave her a hard look. "Whoever your aunt sends to duel me is probably going to die, you know that don't you?" Before giving her a chance to answer, Aimi snapped his head over to Fuhen and said flatly, "If that happens, the blame is on you, not me. I don't need the higher ups at Kirigakure breathing down my neck for this!" With a scoff the Kaguya walked past the both of them and made his way to a corner of the cell as of yet unoccupied, leaning his shoulder into it and crossing his arms over his chest while glaring at the wall and breathing heavily. He needed to calm down. Like it or not, he was going to be fighting someone in a few hours and he needed to be clear headed for that. He needed to quell his anger and foster his charity. Like it or not, he was up to fight for Mo's honor.

[Nick]

Well that was a good point. Who was he to decide what was right and wrong? Every country had their laws, regulations, ways they chose to handle things, and beyond every country, it seemed every city, every captain of the guard, every soldier had their own way of interpreting the laws. Unfortunately, this often came to abusing the laws. But that was it, wasn't it? Who was he to say that it was abuse...? He'd always had a strong sense of justice, right versus wrong, but was he wrong to consider that maybe he knew better? It was a gut feeling, and if there was anything Fuhen had learned he could trust in his life, it was his gut. That didn't mean that his companion had to trust it, though.

"Aimi..." The Frog started, a small smile creeping on his face as he fumed. "You know, out here, you're a nobody..." He said slowly, carefully, hoping he would pick up what Fuhen was hinting at. "Only thing ye've told 'em is that yer a ninja, not from where, and I dinnae see one o' them fancy headbands on ye..." He made a motion of his hands chasing after each-other in a spiral, before turning back to Mo, who had tapped him on the shoulder.

"Why?" She asked simply, somewhere between anger, grief, and disbelief. Fuhen shrugged. "If'n I didnae stick up for me friends when they needed me, I wouldnae have many friends, would I?" It was a personal answer, and while it was partially the truth, there was something more beyond that. He felt he needed to set a precedent. The world was set out before him, and if he didn't defend his stance now, as a wandering ronin, when would he?

[Golnax]

Aimi slowly turned his head and looked over at the raven-haired ronin, considering what he'd said carefully. His words were like a great bell and every time that it rang, a bit of fog was cleared from his mind. Yes, it was true that he'd told them that he was a shinobi... but he had in fact not said where he was from. They didn't seem to recognize the markers of a Kaguya right off the bat. They likely didn't even realize what such markers would be, he realized. As long as he didn't tell them where he was from, that he didn't tell them who he represented just by being out there, that he did as little 'ninjaing' as possible... exactly what reputation would he have with these people as far as being infamous goes? None, he realized, and that gave him a bit of security, of cushion so to speak.

"... I won't be nobody here by the time this is all over," he stated simply, his tone less hard than it had been before but still very much unhappy with the current situation he found himself in. He turned his head to stare back at the wall, waiting for however long it would take for them to meet their duelists....

Hours passed.

The sun had long since set over the horizon, it's light long since faded in the closed off room that was now illuminated by candles held on iron sticks on the wall. Aimi stood in the same spot he had been for all of that time, watching wax drip from a candle onto the floor. It was soothing, relaxing really. His temper had vanished and he was now focused and prepared to fight. He blinked and turned his head slightly at the sound of an opening door. Two guards stepped towards the cell, two different guards from earlier, and opened the door up. "Mo, you and your defenders are to be escorted now."

Mo, unfortunately, was asleep with her head resting on Fuhen's shoulder. It looked like it would be up to the poor samurai to wake her from her slumber and tell her the good news!

[Nick]

"In my experience..." The Frog said, taking a seat on a bench up against the opposite wall, where Mo joined him. "I can't go anywhere and be a nobody by the time I leave..." There was sort of a bittersweet tone to his voice as he said that. It was true, in just about every country he'd visited, something happened to prevent him from going about his way as though it were just another trip. He'd go one place to work towards collecting a bounty, and he'd end up staying an extra six months to assist someone in a civil war.

When Aimi moved from his sulking to a quiet meditation, or sleep, Fuhen couldn't really tell, he took a deep breath and relaxed himself as well. If he let himself get too excited, then it would be harder to produce adrenaline for the fight to come. He closed his eyes as well, and tried to get some rest in, if the fight was to happen tonight, feeling sluggish right beforehand. It didn't take long, then for him and Mo to doze off.

It had only been a couple of hours when he was woken up by the sound of jangling keys and the cell door being opened. Fuhen simply nodded to the guard, and reach an arm across his chest to shake Mo awake gently. She shot awake, quickly looking around, clearly startled in the midst of a dream. For a moment he considered asking her about it, concerned for the mental wellbeing of his friend, but he stayed silent instead, somber for the actions about to come. He stood up and followed the guard, looking over his shoulder to give a reassuring look to Mo that things would be okay. The Frog wasn't so sure of this himself, but the perception was key.

They were marched down the streets, a pair of guards in front of the trio, and another pair behind. The streets weren't busy, but it felt much more crowded upon the realization that eyes were on them. Such things were usually very public spectacles, and while the captain of the guard had called their destination a dojo, Fuhen had a feeling that there was more to it. They were marched deeper into the city, but still far from the center when they reached a district where the towers began to go up higher, and they were marched inside of a particularly short, tubular one.

The building was a marvel of engineering in its own right, the the outside seemingly perfectly circular, and while the main floor was one giant open floor, it had few retaining pillars to keep it from collapsing in on itself. Fuhen had stopped, assuming this was where the duels were to be, but Mo kept walking, and as he looked at her from behind, the guards behind them pushed at him to keep going.

"Mo?" He asked as they began to walk up a winding staircase, past one floor, past two, and so on. "This is a 'holy city' right?" Fuhen had never been hugely religious, but he certainly had friends that were, the prime example being Gendo, his fat monk friend with whom he had once saved the world with. But he was a member of the vorashu religion, which kept stock in gods of the directions on a compass, this was something different, and while he had seen Mo silently pray to herself, he hadn't broached the subject much. "Before we begin, d'ye think ye could give a prayer? Eh... Not jus' fer us, but fer whoever we're about t'fight."

The first part of the request made sense, but as he continued, Mo seemed genuinely shocked that he would want prayer for his foes. Nonetheless, she nodded, and as they continued up the stairs, she began to speak. "Oh, goddess..." She began, thinking about what to say. "Please pardon my bodyguards and their actions today. It is my fault that they are in this situation..." Fuhen gave her an almost disapproving look, he didn't like that line. "They care too much about the fate of this servant to let her fend for herself." She paused for a few moments, thinking of how to continue, more floors passed. How many flights of stairs could there be? Were they going to the top floor? "Oh, goddess..." She started again. "Keep your thoughts with whichever poor men stand between sir Aimi and sir Fuhen, for as merciful and kind as they can be, I fear their opponents will not realize that nothing is more dangerous than a good man." A smile returned to the Frog's face.

The top floor indeed. Finally they reached a ladder leading up to a trap door, and it was then that Fuhen understood. Climbing up slowly, the door was opened to reveal the flat roof of the dojo, upon which were only four other figures. An older woman, likely somewhere in her sixties or older, stood beside Yui, and off to the side was a man and a woman, quietly conversing amongst themselves until they realized that the guards had arrived with their combatants. Not only the four on the roof were of relevance, however. Looking up and around, the trio would find that the roofs on all sides of them were packed with people looking down, ready and waiting for the duel about to occur, chattering and filling the air around them with a cacophony.

"Silence!" The older woman called, and the crowd followed suit like a wave, tuning themselves down, her voice piercing through all other sounds, clearly used to hushing people. As she continued to speak, her voice carried clear and resolute. "Today I have the honor of hosting a duel, not only for personal honor among warriors, but for the entirety of the Holy City, a trial by combat!" There was a short pause, but it was not one intended to let people clap or cheer, instead to let the gravity of the situation set in. "This duel is between two of my past students, Mo of Clan Kokuu, and Yui, also of clan Kokuu. Mo's bodyguards have invoked their rights as her servants to act as her seconds, and as such, two of my students have volunteered to second for her, as well."

She made a sweeping motion towards the man and woman who were on the roof. The man waved heartily to the crowd, the woman raised a hand to signify she understood she was being signaled, but little else. "Mo, you're to stand beside me during the fight." This was much quieter, clearly meant to only be heard by those on the roof with them. The guards parted, and she walked over, and had a conversation that couldn't be heard with the old woman, before the two smiled at each other. Yui did her best to look disinterested. "Please, take your positions, and let the fighting begin on my signal!"

The guards urged Fuhen and Aimi into particular spots on the roof, a few meters away from the edge, and the man and woman took up their positions across from them. The man was quite large, and had a large smile on his face, clearly pleased to be allowed in this most sacred of rites. He held two spears, a short one in his left hand, and a long one in his right, and he stood across from Aimi. Fuhen turned towards his kirigakure fellow. "Ah'm sure ye'll be fine, but eh... Fer what it's worth, thank ye. Fer everything."

[Golnax]

Being paraded through the streets was, oddly enough, a relatively new experience for Aimi. He'd been to festivals before in Kirigakure and he was obviously not shy by any means, as one look at his choice in attire would tell you, but the fact that he was specifically being held out in the open by an entourage of armed guards troubled him on some level deeply. He was a ninja, after all, and though he was not the stealthiest of shinobi he knew better than to intentionally draw attention to himself unless the situation called for it. To have the eyes of dozens, if not a couple hundred, people on him as he was lead through the clean streets of the city was not just a foreign feeling to him but one that evoked a very deep seeded paranoia, bordering on embarrassment. He looked up at the people on the streets and on roof tops, and although he had no idea what they might have been talking about his gut told him that the topic of conversation of himself, and he just wasn't sure why that bothered him so. All of the tension that he'd spent the past few hours relieving himself of slowly began to come back to him as his unease grew.

The dojo itself was, unsurprisingly, a tower, and he like Fuhen thought at first that the first floor would be where their encounter for Mo's honor took place. A quick look around the empty room, however, confirmed that it would not be. The jounin's head turned upwards towards the ceiling of the room, a brief thought of how many flights of stairs they'd have to climb before reaching their adversaries entering his mind before he dismissed it. At least they were out of the eye of the public. Up the stairs they were lead and while they moved, Fuhen requested Mo to recite a prayer. This caught Aimi's attention and he looked over at his two companions with a stony, almost sour look upon his face. Religion was a non-existent part of his life. He simply didn't have the time or the luxury to afford it. After all, what tool bothered praying to it's owner, who might as well have been a god? He turned his head back towards the stairs and tried to ignore what it was that Mo was saying. To be given the title of 'sir' was also a new one to Aimi, and try as he might to ignore it it felt fundamentally wrong on him. For Fuhen? Sure, it fit. He was a samurai. But Aimi was a shinobi of Kirigakure. Like religion, he wasn't afforded the luxury of a title beyond his rank as a ninja. He even outright rejected the long, convoluted introduction that he'd been taught to give to anyone he met in Kirigakure, for what did it mater who he belonged to at the end of the day so long as he could still fight for the village?

Despite it all, Aimi couldn't help but add a little something of his own in his own mind after Mo had finished. 'May your goddess have mercy on our enemies, because I won't.'

The top of the tower served as their battlefield of choice, or rather of choosing as the choice had been entirely removed from the three of them. Mo and Fuhen went up the ladder first while Aimi stood at the bottom with the two guards at his back. He had to admit that the temptation to simply spring up the ladder and up through the trap door in a single bound was tempting, but as the guard behind him gave him a push he simply scoffed and started to climb. Once he emerged from the tower now below him, he immediately looked upwards and saw that, as down in the streets, they were being observed. This time by dozens upon dozens unabashedly. He stood up and looked around, turning his head from side to side and meeting the eyes of as many strangers as he could. Part of him relaxed a bit at the crowd, side by side with the same feeling of discomfort he got from being an open spectacle against his will. This relaxed part came with a thought, simple and pure. 'Ah. So it's not so different from Kirigakure after all. Seems these people enjoy bloodshed as much as anyone else back in the village.'

It was only when the older woman began to speak, presumably the dojo master (later confirmed by her own words as she announced the two who were not Yui and herself as her students), that he brought his attention back to the roof top on which he stood. The wind blew this high up not so much because of weather but because of sheer altitude. Aimi glanced at the edges of the circular roof and found that there were no borders, no rails, no restraints. As clear of a sign as any that this duel was to be taken seriously, or else suffer the consequences. Silently the Kaguya measured up the two opponents that he and Fuhen were to face, trying to measure out who was the stronger of the two and if he should show any real concern about either of them. For his life, though, he simply couldn't tell. They both looked like capable warriors, each carrying at least one spear, and they seemed confident enough. Perhaps they would be worthy of his full skill...

Aimi and Fuhen were both lead to their designated areas and the two adversaries were put in theirs. Aimi was facing the smiling man with dual spears while Fuhen faced the woman, much shorter than anyone else there but holding on her shoulders a pike, her arms held up and hooking over the extremely long polearm with the business end pointed in the direction of her fellow student. She had red hair and a look on her face that at first glance seemed disinterested, but upon closer inspection one would see that her eyes were dead set upon Fuhen and moving nowhere else. As the samurai spoke, the long-haired ninja turned to him, pausing for a moment before shuffling his cheeks and lips around, turning his head, and spitting off the side of the roof. "Don't talk like you're about to die. It's unbecoming," were his only words of advice before he turned to the old woman and called out, "Are we to fight without any weapons?"

"Traditionally, spears are used in such duels only," the dojo master called out.

"Zur Holle with your traditions. We're both swordsman, we'd be at a disadvantage using a spear. Give me back my sword if you want me to participate in this fairly," Aimi barked, earning him some jeering from the crowd who had heard him.

"Speaking of a fair duel," Yui said, speaking up over the crowd and taking a step forward. She lowered her spear and pointed the head at the jounin. "The use of any sort of ninpou is forbidden in this duel! It is a fight for honor, and I will not see it sullied by the use of your ninja tricks!" she declared, earning her cheers from the locals and an equal amount of booing at Aimi who stood stoically and narrowed his eyes at the captain of the guard. "I resent the implication that I would cheat in this 'honorable duel', despite understanding why you make it. My sword!" he called out once more. The dojo master nodded and one the rear guards who had lead them through the streets stepped forward, carrying their equipment. Aimi frankly hadn't noticed because he was too distracted by those on the street.

The guard brought Fuhen's case of swords over and drew one, handing it to the samurai handle first. The guard didn't even walk over towards Aimi to hand him his sheathed blade, instead tossing it across the roof top and letting the ninja catch it midair. Aimi tossed his weapon of choice from his right hand to his left, holding onto the sheath and bringing it down to his hip, now as ready as he needed to be in order to engage the dual wielding spearman across from him. He needed only to wait for the dojo master's signal to begin the duel.

[Nick]

"Hashaw." The frog responded, mimicking his friend and spitting off the roof, his glob obviously much larger as it sailed over the edge of the roof and landed in the street a long ways below, likely gumming up some poor merchants cart. "Ah'm more worried about you, ye sorry sack." The Frog said with a smirk towards his friend. "Yer talkin' to the invincible, magnificent ronin... Iyashii Fuhen! Defender of Fire Country! Victor of the festival of Fur! Son of a fisherman!" A big smile filled his features, and he thumped his chest lightly with each title, before turning to his opponent.

He thought for a moment he might introduce himself, but realized he'd already done so, even if it was for the sake of Aimi. He bowed down low out of respect for his opponent, and whether or not Aimi followed suit, his combatant would as well. Fuhen would turn slowly to the guard offering him a single sword, quirking his brow, before taking the blade, stabbing it into the ground in front of him, and reaching out to grab the entire basket. The Frog reached his hand inside, and dug out the little wooden spear that had come to him in his time of need, before doing what he rarely got an opportunity to do before a fight... Throw away all of his swords.

Up and up into the sky the blades all went, and halfway to their peak the swords broke free with more momentum than the case, spreading themselves out. "Two steps back." He warned the guard, who looked confused for a moment, but quickly followed the instruction as the swords began to plummet to the ground, tip first, embedding themselves all over in the roof. There was a mixture of sounds from the crowd. Whispers, gasps, all manner of things.

"Duelists ready!" It wasn't a question, it was a command. The start was coming. The large man with two spears who stood before Aimi visibly tensed up. "Yes, sensei!" He called out anyway, maintaining his smile. "Begin!"

The moment the duel was called, the man with the dual spears launched forwards, the longer one tucked under his arm, and the smaller one unabashedly pointed towards the ground. It appeared that some of the best of the best had been chosen for this competition, as the man's speed was a fearsome thing to behold. As the two would get closer, the man would carry his momentum forwards, twisting his body and swiping at Aimi with the long spear, turning it into a full spin, coming back around and extending his shorter spear out in a powerful thrust towards the nearly naked man.

[Golnax]

'...Iyashii?' Aimi asked himself internally, wondering if this was the first time that he'd heard the samurai's full name. He was pretty sure that it was in fact the first time. He would have wondered why he'd never bothered to ask before then if it weren't for the fact that he knew, not so deep down, that he hadn't needed to know what his full name was, nor had he previously cared to know. It was also amusing to the Kaguya that the frog had chosen to use the word 'invincible' to describe himself, when he was pretty sure that out of the two of them he had a stronger claim to that particular title. He didn't have the time to ponder on it for very long, though, before Fuhen acted by grabbing onto all of his swords from within the case and tossing them up into the air. Aimi couldn't help but smile. 'Fuhen you amphibious bastard,' he thought to himself as swords rained down onto the roof around them. 'You just made this an unfair fight for the two of them!'

Not a moment after the last sword had fallen the dojo master was declaring the duel begun and Aimi's opponent rushed forward, making the first move of the altercation himself. The man's speed was impressive, equaling Aimi's to be sure, but not as of yet surpassing it. As he swung his long spear around in a circle, the Kaguya simply moved his left hand from the sheath of his blade to the hilt, angling it upwards and drawing it partially from it's sheath so that the blade would meet his spear and block it. From that strike alone, Aimi was also able to gauge the relative strength of his opponent. While it was difficult to know whether or not he'd been holding back at all, it was safe from the Kaguya to assume that if the spearman's strength was not equal to his own, it likely came close to it.

As the thrust from the small spear came, Aimi's response was to duck down underneath it, his hair flying upwards as he crouched down and the shaft of the spear pushing through his long locks. Once crouched, Aimi would fold his right arm up and thrust his elbow forward, putting all of his strength and body weight into the attempted strike to show that he wasn't messing around! Should the strike prove successful, his opponent would likely be sent flying backwards a few meters from the impact of the strike! It was a simple technique, but one that would likely prove effective should it stick. Aimi was confident that the blow would at least knock the wind out of the man.

Should the strike land, Aimi would then weave to his right and stand back up, thrusting his longsword back down into it's sheath as he stood up. From there he would leap forward perhaps 5 meters and land upon one of the katana blades that Fuhen had left stuck on the roof top, standing upon it's pommel with the balls of his left foot. Standing up straight, he'd turn his head to look at his opponent, ready for what might come next.


Fuhen's adversary, meanwhile, chose to take things much slower than her dueling partner. Rather than rush forward, she strode towards the samurai casually, her arms still hooker around the pike she carried and her gaze still locked upon the froggy foreigner. Was she perhaps anxious to begin? Wary of what the Frog might do after seeing his initial display of swordsmanship? It was difficult to say, for she gave off no immediate tells one way or the other as she stepped into the vicinity of blades and made her way through them slowly towards the man.

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Iaido • Block]
D-Rank Kenjutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 8 Speed
A technique developed out of need to protect himself from other weapon users, Block is simple in its use, but highly effective when used right. By partially drawing their sword, the user of this technique is able to use the back of their blade to block incoming weapon attacks should they time it correctly. The user must be careful when using this technique, should the attacker have a high enough strength, this technique could very well shatter the user's weapon.

[Mugen • Standing Path]
C-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
A technique that allows the user to stand on a sword stabbed either vertically or horizontally on a surface, this maneuver allows the user to stand on a stabbed sword without losing balance along either the hilt or pommel of the blade. This technique could be used to set up other techniques, to dodge low attacks, or can be used to put the user in a more favorable position during combat.

Jutsu TrainedShow

[Strong Fist Style • Requiem]
C-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 15 strength
A counter strike technique, the user will wait for an opponent to strike at them before ducking below the strike and quickly ramming their elbow into the opponents' stomach with all of their strength, throwing their entire body weight into it and sending the opponent flying backwards.

400/400

[Nick]

The spinning blow against Aimi's blade would rattle both weapons, the collision causing a pressure wave of dust to fly off around them before the battle continued. With the thrust stabbing through the nearly naked man's long locks, the large fellow he was fighting almost didn't see the counter-attack coming. Almost. As his elbow shot forwards, the longer spear was able to be brought forwards, meeting his elbow before the strike, but the sudden nature of the defense made it not quite so stalwart. A deafening crack came, before the man was sent flying backwards as intended, his shorter spear digging into the roof to slow his movement to a stop.

Where Aimi thought he might have had the wind knocked out of him, instead the man began to laugh. His voice was deep and booming, though there was a certain calm nature to it all the same. "They said to be prepared for a strong opponent, but I truly wasn't sure if I should believe them!" he called out towards his opponent, a large smile on his face still, clearly enjoying this. "Such a unique style! We have nothing like it around here..." The large man righted himself, looking up over Aimi for a moment, before hurling his short spear almost directly straight up, until it disappeared beyond vision. "I am Daichi, of clan Fuyu! It will be an honor to duel you, foreigner!" Now only armed with his longer spear, he began a steadfast advance, holding the spear high like one might hold a boat oar in preparation to row. His movements weren't as fast this time, more careful and considered, and as he approached Aimi, he would make the rowing motion that seemed appropriate to the stance, making a wide sweep towards the blade he was standing on, attempting to throw him off balance.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Fuhen took his own short spear, tucked carefully under one arm, turned to the side with his other hand outstretched to his opponent. "Ye'll have t'forgive me..." Fuhen started as he too began a slow advance on his opponent, curiously testing her out by matching her pace, giving away very little about himself. "Ah've only started learnin' the spear about a week ago, if'n ye've got any tips..." He chuckled a bit at the thought. This was a duel, he realized, and while not explicitly stated that it was to the death, the lack of any explicit stating otherwise held bad foreboding. As they got closer, Fuhen began to circle around to his right, before stabbing forwards with the short weapon, extending his body out along with it. It was a test, once more, and assuming she dodged the initial thrust, he would quickly turn it into a sweeping slice, attempting to catch her in the side.

[Golnax]

Now there was a surprise for the Kaguya. Not only had the spearman countered his own counter, but he seemed to have an instantaneous respect for the Kaguya and his skills from just a single display. Aimi had heard before of warriors who were well versed enough to get to know their foes from but a single exchange in blows, but never before had he felt anything resembling that... until now, of course. He watched as the man tossed his shorter spear high up into the sky, his eyes following it for as long as they could before it vanished from view and he brought them back down to look at his opponent. He made a mental note of the spear, assuming that it was inevitably going to come back into the fray before long. As his opponent introduced himself, a feeling of instantaneous liking of the man came over Aimi and he found himself actually cracking a smile, despite how grumpy he'd been on the way here! It was so rare to come across an opponent who was actually enjoying the fight. Normally they were just fighting for their lives or sparring against him, fueled by adrenaline or calculated risks. This man, however, felt as though he was having fun!

As the swipe came for the blade on which he stood, Aimi let it happen. The sword was knocked out from underneath him and while he began his short freefall through the air towards the roof, the Kaguya extended his right leg and planted his foot firmly upon the hilt of the man's long spear, using his weight and momentum to pin it down onto the roof under the arch of his foot. At the same time, he hunched his upper body forward and reached out with his right hand, grabbing a hold of the end of the hilt of the katana that had been sent spinning by the man's strike and bringing it around in a wide swipe, aimed to sever the man's spear in half! Regardless of what happened, Aimi would look at Daichi and reply, "Aimi Kaguya, a pleasure I'm sure."

Across the roof, as Fuehn circled to his right his shorter stoic adversary would circle to the left, keeping pace with him and weaving through the field of swords as was necessary. "Tips? Sure, here's a tip," she said, her voice quite sharp and begrudging sounding. As Fuhen made his thrust forward, she responded in kind by simply twirling her pike around her shoulders, the blade fanning out behind her while the butt of her weapon came around and met Fuhen's spear with enough force to knock it out of the way! Not stopping there, she spun in the opposite direction as her weapon and changed the angle of her grip on the pole, simultaneously stepping away from Fuhen as well as stabbing the head of her pike into the roof. With the head embedded deep into the framework of the building, the short woman held a tight grip on her weapon and jumped through the air, sailing over several swords and sliding down the length of her 3 meter long polearm until both of her hands were held on tight to the end of her weapon and her feet were once again planted firmly on the rooftop, her efforts causing the hilt of her spear to bend in a large C shape before she simply let go of it, sending the long hilt on a crash course with the top of Fuhen's head!

"Stop asking for hand outs and fight like you mean it!" she snarled, standing at the ready to react as necessary to whatever Fuhen did.

Jutsu UsedShow

[Mugen • Catching Blade]
C-Ranked Kenjutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 20 Instinct
A defensive technique used to stop opponents from taking advantage of the user's own swords, should an opponent throw a blade of any kind at the user, using this maneuver, the user can simply catch the blade by the handle and use it themselves. The user is able to catch weapons out of the air that are aimed towards or around them as long as they have (Speed + Strength) /2 equal or greater than the objects speed. The number of swords per post the user can catch is equal to the user's (Taijutsu + Instinct) /2. The user may use this maneuver with any blade with a handle, as well as arrows and bolts.

[Nick]

Daichi seemed to be increasingly invigorated with every ongoing second. It was clear that the man was enjoying this to his fullest extent, happy to be thrust into the midst of combat with the strange sword wielding stranger, and it showed as he didn't let up on the man. With their brief exchange, when Aimi landed atop of the large man's spear, he adjusted his grip, his right hand flattening out to hold the spear up on its own merit, whilst the left hand flashed up faster than the katana, smashing just in front of the right, causing the spear to spin around the right hand, both saving it from being sliced in twain as well as sending it spinning under and then back over dangerously towards the Kaguya.

With the spear spinning through the air, he seemed to separate himself from it, before jumping straight up, and a loud whistle indicated that the short spear was returning, which he proceeded to catch mid flight, but only loosely so, letting it continue its journey back towards Aimi, who would likely be shocked to find that the high flying spear was coming down directly atop his head despite the fact that they had both moved since it was thrown! Whether it managed to hit, or miss, Daichi would catch his longer spinning spear out of the air, unless it had been knocked away, performing a similar sweep and stab maneuver as when they had first engaged.

---

Fuhen let go of the light smile he held on his face as the woman's tone made it clear there wasn't much room for joy in this occasion. His expression turned to one of more sadness, instead. As she turned, dodged, and jumped away from his attack, Fuhen's eyes followed her with the utmost precision. The Frog's mastery of his own body had also taught him to be better at reading the body movements of others, and while he was far from perfect at predicting his opponents, he had a certain fascination with watching muscles tense and relax through various actions, and it was incredibly intriguing to see two people performing the same action, and each one using different muscles for it.

"Isnae a handout." The Frog concluded calmly as she began to bend her spear shaft. His own spear tip dropped down low to the ground, sweeping in a circle around him, digging up some of the stone, as well as dust and debris on the rooftop, flinging it towards the woman as her own spear began to rocket towards him. The dust cloud would disguise his movements, but he would make a low jump and roll around to her side, popping out of the cloud of dust, and thrusting the short spear towards her three times in quick succession. "A master learns more from teaching than from doing."

Combat LogShow

* Kushou・Watered Silk
B-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
The user of this technique will strike the ground with one end of their weapon hard, dragging it in a line. This will fling a cloud of dirt, rock and dust up into their opponent’s eyes as if the user had thrown it. The use of one end of their weapon in this enables the immediate return of the opposite end for a follow up strike at either a blinded opponent or an opponent that is quite predictably dodging the debris.

[Golnax]

It was a rare treat for the Kaguya to come across an opponent who was anywhere as nearly proficient in taijutsu as he himself was. The exchange had been brief thus far, the movements happening much quicker than those of the two younger combatants across the way from them, but from the slight exchange the jounin had learned not to underestimate his spear wielding foe! It was the shift in the positioning of his hand that gave it away. Such a subtle, short, quick movement that ended up changing the entire direction of his attack that let Aimi know that this man was as familiar with his spear as he himself was with his sword! In response to the swipe coming from the opposite direction, Aimi swung his sword from left to right and parried the oncoming blade of the spear, his head turning upwards to follow his opponent as he jumped up in the air.

As he'd predicted before, the shorter spear had come back into play from above! It very briefly occurred to Aimi that the man might have planned his positioning on the roof so that the spear from above would come down to meet him but he had no time to properly think on it as his opponent was upon him! Reacting quickly, Aimi brought his drawn sword to his left, lifting the blade up and 'hooking' the guard of a nearby katana in it before yanking it up from out of the roof and shooting it skywards towards his opponent, pommel first, his wide swing bringing his sword in contact with a second katana which he sent flying upwards in exactly the same manner all before leaping backwards through the air two meters backwards and landing atop the pommel of another blade. There was a clear, if not subdued, smile on his face. The jounin was enjoying the challenge!

---

The obvious line of attack from the frog was overly obvious and as he flung dirt at the short redhead she brought her right arm up to cover her eyes, only long enough to feel the dirt strike her sleeve before she swiped her arm down. Her hard eyes looked from side to side before she caught sight of the lanky samurai again, her body tensing up and springing into action as she saw him making a move to strike at him. As he thrust his short spear towards her, she dashed forward, heading directly for her wobbling pike and outright leaping through the air with both arms outstretched in order to grab a hold of it with both of her hands! Using her own momentum, she swung her legs around and brought the heels of her feet on an impact course with the back of Fuhen's head!

"I'm not a master and neither are you, amateur! Fight!" she barked, the feisty spear wielder bringing her feet back in contact with the roof whether her legs made contact with their intended target or not and pulling her pike out from the roof and thrusting it forward towards Fuhen, her hand only loosely gripping the hilt of her weapon so that the long pole could slide from her grip. As it came to the pommel, her hand shifted so that the palm of her hand was pressed against the butt of her spear, thrusting her arm forward to give it a last little 'oomph' in her attack!

Jutsu UsedShow

[Mugen • Hilt Spear]
C-Ranked Kenjutsu Maneuver
The user smacks the hilt of their blade with a powerful strike which releases the blade inside the sheath to launch forwards, either sending the sword flying forward pommel first or spinning the blade around, aiming down to stab into the first surface it comes across. The user may use this technique from multiple angles to form multiple ways of attacking. The distance that the sword can travel is equal to the user's Strength in meters and strikes equal to the user's Strength.

[Mugen • Standing Path]
C-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
A technique that allows the user to stand on a sword stabbed either vertically or horizontally on a surface, this maneuver allows the user to stand on a stabbed sword without losing balance along either the hilt or pommel of the blade. This technique could be used to set up other techniques, to dodge low attacks, or can be used to put the user in a more favorable position during combat.

[Nick]

"What school did you study under, Sir Aimi?" The large man asked even as his spears worked together, the shorter one working in a defensive fashion, knocking aside the flying blades, while the longer one was used for offense, keeping the pressure on Aimi as best as he could, pushing him back with powerful sweeps and devastating thrusts. "I should like to meet your sensei some day!"

While his actions were focused, and if any of his blows landed they would likely be very dangerous, if not inherently deadly, there was something off about the way he fought. It was hard to place a finger on, but everything from the way he stepped into his attacks to the way he worked with both of his spears would likely come off as odd to anyone who knew what it was like to fight properly with a spear. All the same, his onslaught would continue, no longer attempting to take the blades out from Aimi's feet, and instead keeping his short spear tucked in close and ready, whilst the long one shot up for powerful blows generally aimed towards his stomach.

---

The woman wasn't making this easy. If Fuhen was being honest with himself, he was trying to delay the inevitable, and he hated how easily she noticed that he wasn't fighting to his fullest capabilities. He figured if he waited long enough, maybe she would tire herself out, and he could force an incapacitation rather than a kill. The exact rules of the duel hadn't been laid out before him, but if first blood wasn't declared from the very beginning, it seemed much more likely that these were duels till one party could no longer keep fighting.

He took a deep breath as she yelled at him to fight once more, and he steeled himself. Her thrust seemed almost sloppy, but there was hard earned technique in the ability to do so. However, as Fuhen followed her movements, he saw an opening that made the strike seem too obvious to be as simple as it seemed. As she thrusted forwards, he bent over backwards, the spearhead would sail over his body, but his body would keep going, his hands planting themselves on the ground, while his feet came up, pinching either side of the spear at the apex of her attack, her palm on the end of the shaft would likely be the least stable position for it to be in, and as such he would attempt to yank the spear from her grip, completing a somersault, and if successful, her spear would find itself buried in the ground behind him, and the Frog would once more stand before her. Not wasting any time, now, he would rush forward with his own short spear, getting in close to her before making a powerful stab towards her midsection, something that if successful would leave her sprouting a shaft from her solar plexus.

[Golnax]

The rooftop crowds cheered on the combatants while the judges, guards and Mo stood on, watching on baited breath. Aimi could hear the cheers and jeers of the crowd over the pad of his feet, the swish of his sword, the sound of rushing air as his opponent's spear came at him, and yet it all seemed much further away, much quieter, than the simple question that Daishi had posed him. As the spearman pressed his advance with thrusts and sweeping blows of the long spear, the jounin could tell something very telling; the man wasn't using a single serious technique. Aside from the subtle change in his grip earlier and the tossing of the spear, he hadn't really used any specific maneuver against him this entire fight. Only basic gestures of combat that left the Kaguya wondering whether or not the man was holding back or not.

As Daichi's attacks came, Aimi would step backwards onto pommel after pommel, making small jumps as was necessary and turning his body from side to side in order to avoid the potentially 'dangerous' head of the spear, all the while gauging his opponent. "No school, self taught... mostly," Aimi replied, the irony of the technique he was performing being used in the presence of the man who had taught/inspired it in the first place not lost on him. However, irony or no, the jounin felt that it was time to ramp this fight up a notch. Force his opponent's hand, so to speak.

After dodging a particularly narrow thrust of the man's spear by twisting his body, the nearly naked ninja continued his spin, dropping off of the pommel of Fuhen's sword and moving towards the ground, his long white hair fanning out around him as he did. Before his feet touched the roof top, his left hand thrust out and grabbed a hold of the katana that he had previously been standing upon, pulling it out from the roof and swiping it upwards with such speed and force that it caused a gush of cutting air to rush forward, ripping a gash into the roof of the building and aiming to cleave Daichi in two! He wasn't finished there, though. It was his turn to go on the offensive! With his left arm still held up in the air, Aimi brought his right hand blade around with the same fearsome speed that he'd used to draw the katana and replacing it into roof beside him before rushing forward and grabbing ahold of yet another katana and swiping it through the air with the same sort of attack as before - but with much more devious intent. For it was Aimi's turn to test his opponent's spacial awareness; if Daichi avoided the cutting blow, the thin slice of air would move over the roof towards Fuhen's opponent, the feisty redhead! After all, there had been no rules against attacking the other opponent.

---

Fuhen's flexibility was on full display as he bent over backwards to avoid her attack, and his adaptable skill was on point as well as he reached up and grabbed a hold of her pike with his feet! Sensing that she would not easily wrench the weapon from his grip, the short combatant decided instead to at upon an opening that she saw within the frog's behavior! As he went to pull her spear away from him, she simply let go of it entirely and ran forward, allowing Fuhen to bend over and thrust the head of her pike into the roof behind him. While he was doing that, she sprinted forward and jumped through the air, extending both of her legs forward and aiming to perform a drop kick directly into the ronin's back! If the kick proved to be a success, she would throw her arms up over her head after coming into contact with the roof below, fling her legs up and jump to get back onto her feet, rushing forward towards her pike in order to retrieve it before the frog could get his bearings! All the while, unknowing of Aimi's attack that may or may not be directed at her!

Jutsu UsedShow

[Mugen • Running Path]
C-Ranked Taijutu Maneuver
Prerequisite: Mugen • Standing Path
Using this maneuver, when on a sword handle by using Mugen • Standing Path, the user is able to run from sword handle to sword handle that is near them as long as the blade is stabbed into the ground. With this technique the user is able to bend down and pick up any stray swords nearby as well.

[Iaido • Dragon Strike]
A-Ranked Kenjutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: B-Ranked [Iaido • Dragon Strike]
The user steps forward with the front leg while unsheathing the blade in a horizontal attacking motion across the body. So swift is this technique that it is akin to a "flash", being impossible to see unless the opponents' Instinct is greater than or equal to the user's Speed. This slash creates a thin wave of nearly invisible air which cuts whatever it comes into contact with with 3/4 the user's Strength and travels up to a distance equal to the user's Strength in meters

[Nick]

Aimi appeared to be playing a game with young Daichi, and so Daichi was clear to play along, engaging in what would look to outsiders almost like a coordinated dance. The men were both wicked fast, both horribly strong, and both well versed in the ways of their respective martial arts. "I see I've already met the teacher, then!" He called out between thrusts, parries, and dodges, "It is a shame you were born amongst the ninja, I'm sure you would have thrived as a samurai." His face took on an almost bitter edge, betraying his usual smiling visage.

The man was immediately suspicious as Aimi began to make his sweeping attack. He was not close enough to be hit by such a swing at this range, and so his spears came up in an "X" just in time for the gust of air to slice through the sky, stopping at his crossed spears, and clearly damaging the longer of the two. He threw the longer spear to the side, and looked for Aimi's next maneuver. His slim eyes went wide, and his body shifted into what almost looked like a run, though in fact his feet dragged along the ground, making sparks, as his mouth opened. "Look out!" He cried towards his companion, pointing his spear in her direction, and holding his free hand up towards the sky...

It had been a relatively clear and cloudless day, and yet despite that when his hand turned towards the sky, thunder crashed and a lightning bolt flew free from the heavens to land on his palm, electrifying his body, before shooting off at ridiculous speeds towards the wind blade Aimi had sent out. The two collided, and in a somewhat contained explosion, a cloud of dust blasted through the field, knocking aside several swords from the blast point. He breathed heavily, and turned his gaze back towards Aimi, his eyes steely, clearly quite upset. "Such dishonor." Was all he said this time as his free hand dropped back to his side, the lightning that struck it had clearly done serious damage to him, leaving a series of streaks running up his arm and a burnt hand. "Perhaps if you'd had a teacher you'd have learned your honor before your skill..."

He made another move with his feet, dragging them along the ground, sparks kicking up from the contact points. His spear turned skywards, and another rumble of thunder before another strike of lightning, onto the spear this time, which would in turn be flung towards the Kaguya, as if Daichi had deflected it out of the sky like an arrow. The bolt of lightning would fly towards Aimi at great speed, and Daichi would be right behind it, almost using it as a kind of cover, keeping himself in line with the lightning bolt until just before it would make contact, suddenly darting out to the side and striking alongside of it with a spear sparkling with electricity, almost like a second lightning bolt.

---

Fuhen was unable to complete his somersault, as the woman came running at him mid maneuver and kicked at him. The redhead couldn't have weighed much, but her kick made contact and nearly knocked the wind out of the Frog, sending him tumbling back through the field of swords. He rolled carefully to control and avoid injury, ending by sliding along the ground in a crouched position. He saw her aiming to retrieve her spear, and took off at full tilt to try and stop her from reclaiming the weapon. That was when lightning struck.

As thunder roared across the sky, the audience who had chosen to partake as onlookers either gasped in surprise or murmured amongst themselves. It was clearly some kind of secret technique that they were at least familiar with via rumors, and when it collided with Aimi's wind blade and destroyed both of them, he saw his opening as his opponent was temporarily distracted, along with the cry telling her to look out. His spear extended in size a bit as he pulled it back into the stance that Mo had taught him not but a few days before, and a light pink aura began to fill the air around Fuhen, his chakra leaking out, like petals falling from unseen trees...

Whether or not she was able to retrieve her spear before he got to her wouldn't matter too much. Blocking thrusts was a fools game, and that was exactly Fuhen's plan. He made a clever feint with his odd spear, spinning it around and thrusting once to lead her into a dodge, and a second time he would thrust short of reaching her, before the spear would extend on its own. If successful, the blade would pierce through her flesh with ease, and with a flick and twist of his wrist, he would pin her down to the ground.

JutsuShow

The Clumsy Tumbler
A-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Despite his clearly supernatural physical abilities, Fuhen was not always so. As a child his long, gangly limbs and gigantic body made him quite awkward and clumsy, and as such he suffered many falls. Now a man, used to his body, and also used to the concept of falling, he has become preternaturally adept at all manners of tumbling, and also picking himself back up when a tumble simply isn't possible. This means that even if thrown with excessive force beyond that of terminal velocity, he is able to turn it into a roll and correct himself to minimize damage, so long as he has momentum and isn't simply thrown straight into the ground. Just as well, should a fall be inevitable, kipping up has become second nature.

* Kushou・Folding the Fan
C-Ranked Taijutsu Stance
Prerequisite: [Sword Weapons] concentration
A supplementary stance of the Kushou style, Folding the fan involves pulling back the user’s polarm and using only a portion of its length in order to engage briefly in shorter range with opponents. This sacrifices the user’s range advantage, but also allows them to more properly deal with those who get inside their range. This allows the use of a polearm weapon like a sword weapon.

Zantou • Flowing Cut
D-Rank Kenjutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: Zantou • Effect Focus
A simple sword technique, this allows the user to alter the direction of their blade mid-cut. This can be used to work around a block, or simply to act as a powerful feint and strike all in the same motion without stopping. Either way, this makes the user incredibly unpredictable in a fight.

Zantou • Planting Cut
D-Rank Kenjutsu Manuever
Prerequisite: Zantou • Effect Focus, Zantou • Flowing Cut
Before or during any slash the user performs they immediately grip the back of their hilt and execute a frontal thrust with a twist to the handle, angling it downward so that it pierces through the target downward; Once it has, it lodges the blade into the ground, pinning the target unless they can break free of the blade which, depending on placement of the blade, is difficult. This is often used as a lead up to an execution move, but is rarely deadly by itself.

[Golnax]

As anticipated, Aimi's opponent had been able to block the strike that had been aimed at him. Sacrificing one of his spears in the process didn't seem to bother the man as he threw it to the side without a care for his weapon, perhaps viewing it more as a tool rather than a part of himself. What came next was anything but anticipated, though. In response to his secondary attack aimed for the redhead, the man seemed to summon forth lightning itself and sent it on a crash course with his cutting air, cancelling out his blow and sending a few swords flying across the roof top, tumbling as they went. The technique was not without it's cost, though, Aimi saw. As his honor was called into question, the Kaguya's gaze was drawn towards his wounded arm and recognizing it as a clear and distinct advantage that he had over the man. He doubted that his arm was going to heal quickly, as his might have done.

Aimi's eyes rose to meet the steely gaze of his opponent, and as he raised his short spear up towards the sky Aimi slowly sheathed his blade, taking his hand off of the grip entirely and letting his arms fall relaxed at his side as he prepared for whatever was coming next. Electricity still raced through Daichi's body as was plain to see by the sparks flying from his foot, and as he sent his bolt of lightning forward and dashed onward himself, it suddenly hit the jounin; 'Is this not considered ninjutsu here?' he wondered briefly, considering that bias from the judges had prevented the cancellation of the match then and there, but he doubted that it mattered either way. As the bolt of lightning came for him, Aimi stepped to his left and turned his body sideways in order to avoid the potentially harmful streak of electricity - only to find his back flanked by Daichi himself!

This, however, was not terribly surprising to the experienced jounin. He'd fought many opponents in his life, and the sort of straight forward fighter that Daichi was spoke volumes about his pride as much as it did his skill. Using some flashy ability, literally, as a means of a distraction was not something that the Kaguya was unfamiliar with in the likes of such opponents, and so as the spearman came rushing forward with his spear in hand, ready to impale his opponent, Aimi simply continued to spin around, sliding his right foot backwards between Daichi's legs and twirling his body around the man before reaching out and grabbing a hold of the back of his head, his fingers curling and gripping his hair. In a mighty yank meant to forcefully stop the man's momentum and thus further harm his neck, Aimi pulled his opponent's head backwards before slamming it straight down, forcing Daichi off balance and smashing his face into the roof below, his legs being swept out from under him!

Quick to keep his advantage pressed, Aimi, crouched as he was over Daichi, lifted up his foot and planted it firmly upon the man's burnt arm before planting the other on his back. He stood up straight and drew his sword, aiming it's tip down at the back of the man's skull and planting his left palm on the pommel of his blade. "You and I come from very different worlds," Aimi said, as respectfully as he could from the position he was in. "Where I'm from, in that misty hell, honor is questioned after the fact. It is secondary to results, to getting the job done. You lost your focus, and that's why you've lost this fight."

---

Across the way, independent of what was happening between Aimi and Daichi, a race was happening between Fuhen, in pursuit, and his opponent. A race that would end suddenly as air and lightning collided together, creating dust in the air and sending blades flying in all directions - and most importantly, drawing the short spearwoman's attention away from her goal of getting back to her pike. Her head snapped over to where the lightning had struck, her eyes wide and her expression one suddenly of concern - for herself or for Daichi, it was impossible to say. Regardless, it was all the opening that Fuhen needed to finish this fight. His spear thrust forward, extending as it was want to do, and struck true, the spearhead piercing through his opponent's calf and embedding itself in the roof below her, leaving the shaft of the spear in her leg.

With an agonized cry her eyes slammed shut, her body crumpling in on itself as she fell to one knee and her hands clutched at her bleeding leg. She screamed in pain and in rage and now sat defeated, whether she would have wanted to believe it or not. The fight for her was over, as it was her team mate and companion. Aimi and Fuhen stood over both of them, victorious.


The call for an end to the fight did not come from the judges, though. "Stop!" came the voice of Yui, who rushed forward towards the two combatants with a look of panicked fear on her face. Aimi looked up from Daichi and over towards the captain of the guard, then over towards the judges, then back to her. As the dust settled the world outside of the rooftop began to crowd its' way back in. The sounds of agonized citizens, crying out in awe, shock, anger, disgust and woe at the defeat of their two champions evident upon the ears of the Kaguya. The guards who had escorted Aimi, Fuhen and Mo up to the roof and carried their weapons came rushing forward after Yui, spears of their own in hand. Seeing them approach, Aimi removed the tip of his sword from the back of Daichi's skull but did not step off of him, instead bringing his sword up and hanging it on his right shoulder as he looked at Yui. "I think this duel is finished, don't you?" he asked in a tone that wasn't quite mocking, not quite pleading. The Kaguya had not wanted to fight in the first place, and now that the fight was over and the fun of facing a worthy opponent was fading, the reality of why they had been dueling was coming back into focus just as much as the cheers and jeers of the crowd: Mo's fate, by the terms of the duel, had been decided.

Jutsu UsedShow

[Strong Fist Style • Rejection]
C-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 15 Strength
A counter grapple technique, the user waits for an opponent to strike at them before stepping out of the way. Once the user has successfully dodged the attack, they will extend their arm forward and grab a hold of the targets' face. The user then takes a step forward and forces the opponents' head downward, slamming it into the ground below.

[Strong Fist Style • Spin]
D-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
A simple close range evasive maneuver, the user waits for an opponent to attack them before moving their dominant leg behind the opponents' back leg followed by the user's other leg as they spin their body around the side of the opponents', ending with the user facing the opponents' back. This technique is used to make an opening for the user to attack the opponent.

[Nick]

Could it really be over?

Honor was of the utmost importance among samurai, and duels for the honor of their masters, or perhaps in this case, their motherland. What would become of the two who lost this duel today? Would their families deign to forgive them? Would their masters shun them, if not out of spite, out of necessity? Certainly the meaning behind these things was different for every country, and Fuhen was far from familiar with the implications this might have in the Holy City of Towers, but such things rarely bade well for the losers.

As his opponent was pinned to the ground, his hand was already reaching for a nearby sword on the roof, ready to provide a swift decapitating blow to provide a merciful end to this duel when a stop was called. His fist clenched tight around the handle of the blade, giving a moment to see if it was really over, when one of the guards rushed over to him and his partner, seeing to her injury. He released the hold on the spear first, momentarily considering pulling it from her leg, before realizing that would likely hurt her more, and possibly lead to her bleeding out. He left it in for the medics to deal with. Then he released his grip on the sword stabbed into the ground.

Blood and adrenaline still rushed through his body in a roar, but with his hands free of weapons now, he looked around at the rooftop crowds that surrounded them. Momentarily he wondered what they thought of him, a foreigner in their land, clearly a lowborn at that, challenging their warriors to a duel. As he did so, his mind began to clear, and before he even realized it, his blades began to pull themselves out of the roof, one at a time, before levitating back to the massive sheath he had handed off earlier. The battle was over. Weapons no longer needed to be drawn. The crowd murmured and gasped at the strange sight.

"The duel has been called to a stop by one of the originators of the duel!" The elder woman called out loudly, her voice carrying along high winds that would reach the ears of all present. "The victors are clear. I trust that no further actions need be taken." It was not a question, and she did not wait for a response, instead simply walking across the roof. As she did so, she gave Aimi and Fuhen both a look. It was not one of anger, or disapproval, but rather of curiosity. It was likely she had been made abreast of the situation before being asked to host the duel, but it stood to reason that not all information was available to her.

She proceeded to scold her students, each in different ways, for their various mishaps.

"Ye fought well!" Fuhen cried out over the winds and the stir that had come over the crowd. "I hope t'meet each o' ye in better circumstances!" Neither of the duelists responded to him, and rather than waiting for a response, he walked up to Mo, and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a hug. There were words to be said, but right now, this was enough.