"Big fucking mistake," Tayuumi sneared as she proudly let the elbow connect, the screeching sound of her armor letting his elbow find a cranny into which it would embed, for as quickly as his elbow had landed in her armor, the armor itself began to wrap around the metal demon's arm, twisting and ensnaring him around the weak point of his joint, an attempt to pierce dozens of shadow steel blades into his arm.

But Tayuumi wasn't done yet, as then she grabbed his shoulder with her free arm, and the metal around her hand darted out, striking against Kagi, clashing steel skin and steel shadow against each other, Tayuumi pushing with all her might to break this one demon's hide.

"I am going to tear you apart from within," scowled the female demon, biding time until his skin cracked, because no matter how much of her steel shattered against his skin it would only continue to regenerate and pierce his hide.

Jade's eyes widened as she bobbed and weaved around the crane demon's attacks. She managed to avoid the slices from the bladed end of the tonfa, but got nailed in the side with the blunt end. She staggered back and materialized into view. Spitting onto the ground she smirked, "You're a worthy opponent indeed. It takes a strong demon to sense my presence. However, this just means I'll need to move a little faster." She took off faster than before, running in circles around Shinju. The repeated rotation began to create a wind tunnel tornado that surrounded the demon. As it began to pick up speed, the air inside the vortex was being funneled out through the top, leaving Shinju with a rapidly depleting supply of air.

Metal grated against metal. The constant sound of such clashed filled the ears of those around him. This was like a freaking really bad itch. Tayuumi's attack had no immediate progress, but held too long in this, and damage was going to show. It wouldn't be as difficult if this bloody bitch didn't have this shadow generation. Well, if she wanted to play rough.

Kagi picked her up. Literally, he just leaned forward, and due to her position of her hold, just lifted her up off the ground. There was one thing difference between his version of metal and Tayuumi's. While hers could form all over the place, his literally had muscles made from the stuff. This wasn't like hydrolics, this was simply metal fibers laced together in such a way to give him the strength necessary to lift her up. Now with her in the air, he drove his blade straight at her face. With her in the air, she would have to depend upon her steel, and now he was about to test just how strong it was.

Shinju let out a short, rasping breath. The very air she breathed was being drawn from her lungs by the strange tornado that surrounded her. She had to get out.

She reached forwards to try and escape, but the force of the vortex nearly tore the tonfa from her grasp. The wind was too powerful to escape that way.

Shinju gasped again. Out. Now. She looked above her. Good. She crouched... And then, as an afterthought, tossed a handful of feather darts into the vortex. A few spun back inwards, which she deflected with a painted fan which she drew from her sleeve, but the rest were caught in the tornado and were eventually hurled outwards, hopefully towards Jade and anyone standing nearby.

Finally, the crane woman leapt into the air, transforming into her bird form and flapping her wings furiously to escape above. The winds from the vortex knocked her left and right and upwards as she flew, but her air kami worked to keep her from going out of control.

As soon as she reached an appropriate height, she transformed back. She fell a few feet, then stood in the air as the kami caught and lifted her.

"You are a worthy opponent as well," Shinju replied once she had the breath. She bowed slightly. "Most humans are not so skilled." She hurled the tonfa down at Jade, blade first, hoping to hit her.

Atasu didn't even catch the hem of Hasu's furisode as she reacted with instinct alone. Twisting around like a flower bending in the breeze, Hasu allowed the swipe at her leg to pass, ducked her head gracefully as a stray bolt from Maton managed to find its way towards her, before taking a few steps back again. This time, the odor that so pleased Atasu carried the scent of stinging nettle, such a subtle shift that only perhaps those with the most clarity to aromas could detect. The scent grated on even Atasu's dulled nerves. Hasu's narrowed eyes watched the bull demon.

"Be careful who you wish to pluck, good sir. I do not wish to hurt you, but if you do that again, I will not be as polite in my warnings."

Kurama knocked to one side, Hasu's tanto gleamed in the light again. But as the tanto glinted, Hasu's body seemed to be overtaken by a sort of shadow generated from within. While her stance made no change, and she seemed as relaxed as before, there was a certain deadliness about her. The aura of goodness was gradually replaced with a bitter tang, intending to jolt a creature into awareness.

[Yay! First Fold has been entered]

Tayuumi still had one free hand, and with it she formed another shadow shield, this time much smaller considering the close quarters. With little time to just outpower him, Tayuumi placed the shield in front of her head at an angle, letting the blade connect and slide to the side, and then the shield wrapped itself around the blade as well, several shadowy tendrils spiraling themselves around his sword until they reached the hilt and locked in place.

"Toji, do something!" Tayuumi yelled at him. She was handling herself well, but this fight was dragging on much longer than it should have for her tastes.

Akira strode from where the smouldering, rotting heaps of the slain serpentine demon littered, the tableau of Atasu and Hasu in his sight. He passed by the sprawled lengths of the slain serpents expressionlessly. To his side, there was the spasmodic undulation of one stirring back into a semblance of life. His sword flicked out and severed the reanimated corpse's head. Another flick and it was clean of the beast's foul blood.

Akira's unhurried stride reached the pair just as Atasu grabbed at Hasu's leg. Hasu danced out of the way and gave her reprimand. "Be careful who you wish to pluck, good sir. I do not wish to hurt you, but if you do that again, I will not be as polite in my warnings."

"Off with you demon, before you get yourself in any greater trouble."

Akira had been addressing Atasu.

He turned to Hasu. "I am Showakiri Akira. Who might you be?" The samurai hefted his sword significantly.

OOC: Uh, you did say kill like poor old Toasty... >> <<
Don't worry, there's plenty of corpses around!

Suzume looked around, finding everyone occupied in some way or another. Tayuumi seemed to be the only one in trouble, really, so what the hell. Toji seemed too distracted to help, plus this one guy seemed to be giving everyone trouble today.

Walking over casually, not quite slowly, the demon hunter tapped Kagi's shoulder to get his attention. Suzume didn't even have his weapons drawn, so this almost seemed like the dumbest move someone could make. What this idiot said next might have dumbfounded the metal demon even more.

"Hey, uh, could you kinda give up here? Don't wanna blow your head off or anything, buddy." As dumb as that sounded, it was actually quite the viable threat. "...what, you don't believe me?"

"Grah! Where'd he come from! Why can't there be a solid corpse with legs! Y'know what? Screw it! They can fight their own fighter! I'm a messenger, not a sell sword!" Raze fumed, unceremoniously dumped back into the world of the living.

It was as if it were some sort of cosmic retribution, perhaps involving a giant hamsterball.....

Raze sat back and watched the lights attack each other.

"Um, if you haven't noticed." Kagi replied, the shook both his arms, waving Tayuumi in the air a bit. "I think she might be a little bit attached to this engagement, so I don't think I could leave anytime soon, sorry man. Also, what did you mean by this blowing up?" Kagi replied. Hey maybe if he spun around he could get Tayuumi sick or something, this was getting annoying. Maybe if this fool could blow him up, he could do something.

"Yeah and ummm.... your mom was a... well she was something." Kagi said, aiming for an insult, but he was having the worst case of the itches today, so of course his statements were a bit off.