"Unfortunately we must," Jade unsheathed her swords and got into a battle stance. The village began to gather around to watch the fight. Seats were brought out for the elders as even the ninjas in training came to watch. One of the elders stood, "ready? Begin!" Jade dissappeared in a blur and appeared over Kurama, her sword raised and slicing at his head.

OOC: Uncreative, I know, but I decided it was better to get something done. Er, I could have sworn there was a post about Nyoka attacking Kirie, but I can't find it now.

Kirakiri's reply was light as she spoke, "Really there is little we have to be wary about save for Kurama's grandather, Genkai Tanaka. Though the village has a small militia, they rely on him to help protect them against any marauding demons. He's a giant of a man and wields a pair of tetsubos, using his own version of the Drunken Boxing style rather than Tama style. Nothing that we can't handle. He even dwells on the outskirts of the village. We have far more force we can bring to bear than some wandering demon after all."

"But let's not forget the best advantage we have over him," Kirie jumped in to Raikotsu's other side, her mouth circular. "He no longer possesses Raigaki."
The redheaded ninja thought for a moment, then added. "Of course, I hear that real diligent martial arts masters only grow stronger as they get older. Let's not try to take this one in an honorable duel. We're just asking to wind up as losers doing things that way again."

OOC: C'mon, people, post! Someone must have to say something...

IC: Suzume wandered off to the sidelines of the village so he could be on his own. He wasn't exactly in entertained by watching fights, so he would just have to stay away from the makeshift arena for now. If would just be a matter of time before they finished.

"Geez, I never get to do anything in this group..." Suzume said to himself, not needing to be quiet since everyone else was watching the fight. Pulling out a whetstone and taking his double-blade off his back, Suzume sat down and began sharpening the blade. "Well, at least I can make time for a cat nap later doing this."

(OOC:Oh shit. Forgot. Sorry. Me post now!)

Garud placed himself next to Suzume and sat down. However, he didn't relax, but kept his focus. Just in case there was some complication, his summon would be ready for it. Despite the worry though, the summoner knew that his charge was able to best any opponent that came into his way.

"Give 'em hell Kurama!"

And the guardian sat back to wallow in his use of irony. Hell indeed.

OOC: Hotel. Internet. Not working. Hate.

There was a slight pause. “Oh… Uh, thanks?” He said awkwardly, snatching at the wineskin. On his third try he managed to grab it.
Beraku looked around, and saw that the other group had moved on while they talked, apparently leaving Kazu behind.
“It looks like your friends left …” He looked around, trying to think of something to add. Then it came to him, “Why don’t we go and have that drink you mentioned?”
He didn’t have any clue why, but he trusted this man more then others. It might have been because he was completely drunk, it might have been his easy-going manner.
It might have been shock. Yeah he would go with shock.
He looked at the wineskin and shook it.
“After we reach the village,” he added with finality.

Kurama looked up as Jade attacked, his eyes staring lazily through the straw of his hat. His blue irises seemed to almost quiver as the nerves increased their speed and reaction times, taking in as much of the action as he could.

It was only a slight push of his toes, but his entire body sprung back, moving himself so that the blade sliced down mere inches from his body.

Jade smirked at Kurama as she looked up at him. She dissappeared again, this time aiming a kick for his stomach. Kurama's hand went up, catching the bottom of her foot in his palm. "So forceful." Jade rolled her eyes, "you would do best to take me seriously." She aimed a slick at his face. His head rolled lazily to the side, her foot grazing his ear. "Awwww...you're cute when you're angry."

"And you're stupid for underestimating me," her blades jabbed at his face.

OOC: Collab post

Kurama's body leaned back at the hip with a strange flexibility, the swords going over his body. "No need for insults."

She pulled her blades back from the attack. "Says the one who won't fight back."

"Why should I? There is no reason for it."

"You have to defeat me, not dodge me." Kurama dodged another attack. "I figure you'll just tire out eventually, and neither of us will need to get hurt."

"First of all, defeat means put into unconsciousness. Second of all, I won't tire for a while." Kurama shrugged. "Well, then I'll be dodging for a while."

"This will not prove anything to them, besides you won't be able to dodge soon enough."

"Oh really? Why? Will you mesmerize me with some of your other...assets?"

"You laugh now, but do you honestly think I've been moving as fast as I can?"

"Well, I haven't seen much of your movement, so I can't honestly say. But I wouldn't mind a surprise or two."

"Surprise!" Jade said and dissappeared from thin air.

Kurama stopped and looked about. "Huh, where'd she go?"

"You can't dodge what you can't sense or see," her voice seemed to be coming from all directions. Kurama looked all about.

"That's a nice trick." A flash of steel came out of nowhere. His face was turned to the side as a large gash formed on his cheek, blood seeping from his new wound. A look of slight surprise came from his eyes, then they returned to their original lazy look. "Huh...a VERY nice trick."

"You had better try to block this one," a second flash, this time at his injured arm. The sword came too quickly, slicing open Kurama's old injury. There was no look of surprise this time. Just more blood, and more pain. Jade appeared in front of Kurama, "now do you see that this isn't a game?" She brought her sword up to stab at him, this time staying visible. The stab came forward, stabbing into his torso. Luckily it was non-lethal, but that wasn't the bad part. Kurama hadn't even raised a defense. He had allowed the blade to move forward. "You're right. This isn't a game." His left hand came up, and wrapped around the blade. "Let me show you just how clearly I know that." His grip tightened, blood dripping from his fingers as his skin was sliced on the edge. He pulled, wrenching the blade from his body. "Now you fight like a Genkai, I was beginning to think he wasn't in there." Jade aimed another slice at his other arm.

As the two battled Taken watched, his eyes moving incredibly fast, keeping up with each of Jade's movements, though he knew he'd be unable to move his limbs as quickly. His lips twitched for a second, and he almost went for his sword, but to step in would most likely mean sullying his blade with the blood of every member of this village. He had no urge to put the unclean blood of such pathetic wretches as the rest of these ninja on his blood.

Instead he stood back still holding Tayuumi, his smile fading into a frown.

"Kurama, if she cuts you again, I will slay you both and any who stand in my way. Your life belongs to me," he stated, an extremely rare hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Of course you can Taken. Right after he completes his mission. AAAAND, you would have to go through me first. You really think I'm going to let you kill the man who I have to guard? I don't think so!"

Garud looked over to Taken. The guardian, didn't like the thought of losing 10 000 years of work... or more importantly, a person as good natured as Kurama. The world needed guys like him. In the off chance Taken could win, Kurama would be as good as dead.

"Why don't you take up another hobby? Become a farmer or something."

Taken didn't even look back at the summoner's words. "A weak minded shugenja such as yourself would die by my blade before you could even create one of your weak creatures, do not get involved in things bigger than yourself," he replied, spitting out the japanese word for magician as though it was the vilest of insults.

"For one minute could you guys just stop arguing. He wants to kill Kurama for not fighting, you'll stand in the way, he'll try to kill you, and I'll try and kill you both for being so fucking annoying with the fighting."

Suzume was now standing directly inbetween Taken and Garud, rubbing his thumb along the second blade of his weapon, testing the sharpness. He was done with that, so he didn't really have much of a choice in what to do. Walking in on this just happened to be a bonus.

"So just watch the damn fight and see how it plays out. I don't feel like getting yelled at for the extra damage I might do." He wasn't looking at either of them, just looking at his blade. He honestly didn't want to fight them now.

...well, at least not here, anyway. Collateral damage wasn't his favorite thing to deal with, like he'd said.

Garud smiled and patted Suzume on the back. He then concentrated hard for some reason. It seemed that his body started to eminate a strange song... but it was just his humming.

"Hmm... your overconfidence will be your downfall. I'm sure your ego and arrogance will have something to do with it also. Quit now, before you get hurt."

Taken annoyed the summoner. He was a good swordsman, not a doubt about that, but he was selfish and single-minded. Whether or not Taken would incite a fight would be unknown, but the summoner was getting ready just in case. Garud kept humming the strange song.

Suzume took the pat on the back from Garud without in stride, but couldn't stand it any more when Garud went on insulting Taken. Even if he may have been pointing out facts, his tone sounded insulting enough. Before Taken could even say anything, Suzume was turning his head toward the summoner and opening his mouth.

"I was serious about what I said," the demon hunter growled "Now shut the fuck up before I actually let him kill you and not do anything."

While he did want to fight after standing on the sidelines for so long, this was a situation he wouldn't barge in on if it kept going. Both of them were too stubborn to really argue with.

"And you I won't even try to talk to. I know you'd just turn it around on me in some way," Suzume said next, turning to Taken this time. After saying that, he backed off a bit, leaving an open lane if the two actually did start something. "There you go, all the room you'll ever need for a fight. Especially with all the people around that'll get in the way."

Kurama raised his arm, the bracer on his forearm deflecting the blade. "He's always there." Jade threw a flurry of slices and kicks at him, "then why do you only choose to reveal him to me now?" Kurama's loose body moved and dodged the attacks. "Because. The Genkai in me is an ass. And I'd rather be a loveable and cuddly samurai."

"Will you be a lovable cuddly samurai to your enemy?" Jade disappeared again. Kurama stopped where he was, not even bothering to look around. "No. But you're not my enemy."

"Right now I am."

"No human is my enemy. As such, I cannot injure you willingly. But, if you insist on attacking me, I'll have to defend myself." Another flash like before, and another slice at his leg. A wound opened on his leg, filling it with pain. Slowly an idea came to mind. "If you do not attack me, you soon won't have any clean appendages left.

"Well, it just means you'll have to care for me later, won't it?" He gave his trademark smile. "If I leave you alive enough, unlike you I have no problem killing humans."

"Well, then. Bring it on." Jade didn't speak, there was only another flash, this time at his side. Kurama's eyes had closed, waiting for the attack. The moment the blade grazed his skin, he dodged away, the sword moving away from him. Jade continued her onslaught, blow after blow aimed at his body. However, her talk about killing him had been false, she had no intention of hurting him too badly. All of the blows were non lethal. Even if the blows had been lethal, it wouldn't have mattered. Kurama had gotten a pattern down. He waited for the sudden pain of his top layer of skin breaking, then dodged appropriately, moving away from permanent danger. He ended up with hundreds of tiny cuts, but none worth worrying about. Jade appeared again, slightly out of breath but without a wound. "You're learning, at least something can be said for that." She charged at him with her blade raised.
Kurama watched her closely, seeing her chest rise and fall. With a sudden lunge, he pulled his sword out, striking against her weapon. The blade glowed brightly, the light flaring out from the contact. Jade looked away from the light for a moment, locked in with Kurama with their swords clashed. "Finally the blade appears."

Kurama didn't respond. He moved his blade to clinch with hers, holding it so that he could twist and pull her swords out of her hands. Her blade flew out of her hand, but that didn't stop her from aiming a punch at his face. He allowed the punch to connect, causing a giant bump to form on his forehead.
Jade took the opportunity to unsheath her katana and charged again. Kurama ducked beneath her blade, kicking out to sweep her feet out from under her.
She tripped, but landed on her upper back and kicked back up to a standing position, swiping at him again. Kurama's clothing was now soaked and red, the hundreds of cuts bleeding greatly. "This is the end...I was wrong about you. I thought you were the great Genkai, but I must have been mistaken. I will bring shame to my name, but at least I will expose a fake."

Kurama stared at her without response. "I am no fake."

"Then prove it," Jade rushed him again, fully intending on ending the fight.
Kurama watched as she rushed him, his eyes watching her movements. As her sword struck out, his body moved to the side and his palm went out. It smacked her wrist, causing her to drop her blade. Then his fingers straightened, and at high speeds struck the back of her neck, causing her to lose consciousness. The elders stood as the crowd was in complete silence and shock. "You have perservered and fought in a way that only a Genkai could fight. You have beaten our best, and as such we recognize you as the Genkai decendant. You may stay here as long as you need for your injuries. We will present the scrolls to you upon your departure." With a bow, the elders began filing out along with the villagers, some still in disbelief.

OOC: Figured it was time to get the rest of this up.

OOC: Given the slowness things were moving with this little subplot, I went to the old fallback of sexy philosophy to move things along a little.

Having given her summary of Tanaka, Kirakiri lead Raikotsu off from the others a short way, pausing on a small ridge with him. "Tell me, what do you see?" Kirakiri said, one arm sweeping to encompass the peaceful sunlit landscape ahead.

"Opportunity." the wind demon replied after a moment's comtemplation.

"Ah, but have you ever considered that what you see may be different than how it appears?" the shapechanger replied. Your eyes, your ears and your other senses can lie to you. Anything that you see, hear or touch," Kirakiri leaned against Raikotsu ever so slightly, letting him feel the curves of her body brushing against him as her voice lowered, "may not be real."

Kirakiri spun away, the fleeting moment of contact as light as a feather, a moment so ephemeral one might question if it had ever happened. "If we cannot trust our senses, then how can we tell if anything really is there?"

She gazed out at the horizon, the light gilding her features and the wind blowing in her hair. The sunlight reflected in her golden eyes, she chuckled, "Forgive my fancy - as a shapechanger, such thoughts preoccupy me. I have a thousand faces and so I must wonder, might they all be equally false, or all equally true? Or could it be that things are less clear cut then we might believe?"

Turning to face Raikotsu she continued, "You see me now, but what your eyes see is not the true reality. I cannot wear all my faces at once. And so it could be said that no shape I take, no matter how well formed," Kirakiri made a sweeping gesture to indicate her lissome body, "is real."

"Then finally I must ask myself another question. Is it possible for something, through its actions and the actions of others, to become real?"

She padded back towards him soundlessly, "And Raikotsu, I have one final question for you." Kirakiri leaned in close to him, eclipsing the light. Close in the shadows, her eyes were unreadable and the distance filled with the subtle scent of her. Lips slightly parted, savouring the words, she asked her question.

"Am I real to you?"

Kirie spared a glance at Koyuki. "In that case, I'm going to go find a place...to vomit, most likely, and then try to salvage my sanity."
Kirie had split off from the rest of the group because she couldn't stand being around Raikotsu and Kirakiri when they were like...that. She found her own quiet place near the cliffs to ponder things out of the view of the others.
"Just when I thought things couldn't be weird enough. I mean, what's next? Koyuki confesses her feelings of lust for me after admiring me from afar for so long? After this whole atrocity is over, I'm taking a very long vacation and starting it with a steamy hot soak in a hot spring."
Kirie became lost in her daydreaming. So lost that she didn't hear her name being called until the second time it was spoken.
"Kirie."

...

One bright flash of light had occured shortly thereafter, and Kirie was suddenly missing. Whatever had happened, there was no evidence. Not even signs of a struggle. It was like she had simply vanished.