Tenshi sat in his position, eyes closed and his kama and sai sitting in his lap. He meditated, gathering his will for the upcoming battle, silently going through the forms he knew.
hikari no kitsune, sai traps their blade, pressing outside, while I strike their stomach with the kama, pulling upward...

Zenko heard the bandits on the other side of the north fence. He decided to take a peek over the fence, to see what the bandits would do.

The bandits wore poor quality armor and tried to lead the horses they had re captured to try and jump the fence, but any that tried soon found them selves pitched from their horse.

"Try the East." a bandit said. The cavalry galloped on.

Hideki got the signal that the bandits were coming around to the east. It wouldn't be long till they came to the south end of the town and into their trap. He then moved along the line, passing along the order to hide.

"Go, get out of sight. Wait until they start to come in before you do anything." Getting out of sight, he unsheathed his sword and checked his armor, waiting for the bandits to finally come.

Taking his cue from Hideki, Benitora ordered his men back as well.

"The bandits come. Be ready."

He gripped his sasumata tight. It had been a while since his last serious fight... and he found himself looking forward to it.

He wasn't sure if this was a good thing...

The Bandits circled toward the south and made straight for the gate. The thundering front line narrowed to pass through the gap in the fence. Seven Horses thundered past the hidden spearmen.

ooc: Dante, Lazy Engaged or Heavy engaged?

OOC: Heavy Engaged

IC:

As the horsemen galloped past, Benitora sprang up and looked to his men.

"Up! Up! Cut the rest of them off! Divide and conquer!"

(OOC: How 'center' am I? Would Matt be able to see all the individual skirmishes and such from where he is?)

Matt broke from his meditation when he heard the cries of battle. He stood up and drew his weapons, scanning to see where his enemies would be coming from.

ooc: Heavy Engaged.

ic: Hideki ran out just s little after Benitora. He was the first one up on his side, and was probably going to be in the thicker part of the fight.

"Cut them off! We can't afford to let any more through!" he shouted as his order before he began to fight.

ooc: Skirmish. initiative
Matt
Bandits
Tenshi(if myst is avalable otherwise)
Peasants
Kambei
Toku

Thje seven bandits rode to the center of town and soon found them selves surrounded by peasants with crude spears.

Matt quickly knocked an arrow, chose one of the intruders at random, and let his arrow fly.

The arrow struck a bandit in the chest, but didn't really hurt him much.

The bandit's tried to flee the encircling peasants, but Kambei was still to skilled a leader. The peasants encircled the bandits with murder in their eyes. The bandit's tried to charge the line of spearmen only to find themselves thrown from their horses.

A large mounted man bore down on Benitora, a yari leading the way. Benitora went low, thrusting up to catch the shaft of the weapon in the jaws of his sasumata, then gave a sharp twist that sent it hurtling out of the bandit's grasp.

The horseman wheeled around, brandishing his katana and grinning. In response, Benitora sank lower down, almost into a crouch, his eyes narrowing on his face of stone.

The rider charged, and with the speed of a striking mamba Benitora thrust, once, catching the man in the throat. The force of the blow threw him off his horse. The former Scorpion stepped uup to the bleeding body and thought to finish the job, but then he saw that gravity and a very sharp rock had done his job for him.