Kyo placed his sword in it's sheathe, looking to the prepared women
before stepping near the door. "We're going to need directions...we have
no idea of where the shogunate has spread over the years. Who knows what
waits" he stated, folding his arms. Hanako once again found herself
straightening out her favorite green kimono as she said "Good
thinking,Kyo-chan. You actually DO have a mind". Nazomi snickered,
giving a smug "way to go" look while she placed her escrimas in the
safety of her sides.

Without a remark, Mikashi made his way into the city. Followed by the
two, they seemed to draw a strange aura from the presence of the market.
Shizukara winced a bit, realizing that her actions earlier hadn't been
too....discreet in the first place. "So much for being inconspicuous..."
she began, although something caught her eye before she could finish.
Behind a small crowd of commoners stood a tall figure. His eyes stood
out from the atmosphere, orbs of green piercing whatever they fell upon
with a simple inquiry. Brown hair caressed his eyebrows, swaying as he
walked to and fro from the busy district. Kyoto had never housed such
people, although he was not ordinary in the least. Kyo reluctantly
smirked, noting silently the kodaichi which rest at his side as well.

"Assassin..." he spoke. The ladies only gawked at him, expecting some
sort of explanation from his broken sentence. Albeit, Kyo simply
unsheathed his blade and ran full force toward the man. "Kyo,wait!!!"
they shouted in unison, trying to reach forward in hopes of it being a
dream. As if needing some sort of wake-up call though, the clanging of
steel echoed throughout the place.

"Who are you?" Kyo flatly questioned, holding his blade against the
stranger's hilt. The impact had driven some back, while others simply
turned and ran away from the fray. Again, a battle would occur in the
middle of the market...or so Kyo thought. Without much effort, the
perceived "assassin" jumped away from the blade. "It's not
important...you'll regret your advance, Kyo Mikashi..." he said, turning
and jumping high into the air. Nazomi attempted a counter, drawing a
kunai and tossing it straight towards his shoulder as he ascended.
However, to no avail, it was repelled by his sheathe before he
disappeared over a roof top.

Kyo followed, dashing at God-like speeds past the people until he was
out of the city. "We gotta go!!" Hanako pleaded, turning and running
full stride after the protagonist. Nazomi cursed her accuracy, kicking
up dust as she, too, chased after the prey. Kyo held his blade out to
his side, eyes scanning the trees for signs of the man. The city was
only so big, and the surrounding area would be surrounded by forest.
Sakura petals met the ground slowly, the setting a battlefield for the
two samurai now. Hanako-sama drew a ball-and-chain weapon, swinging it
as she looked around and began to concentrate. Nazomi, as if reading
her, ran ahead with both escrimas prepped for battle.

"You would dare chase me?" a voice proclaimed, flying down with it's
weapon raised above it's head. Kyo parried this, returning with a
horizontal strike afterward. "Kata Calm!" the stranger yelled, instantly
dodging the advance by side-stepping to the side gracefully. Again,
their blades returned for an acquaintance as they battled. Kyo blocked
the man's sheathe, and returned with a swift kick to his knee.
Fortunately, the attack connected and sent the man rolling for a few
feet. "Not too smart, are you?" Kyo asked, holding his blade forward and
pressing his palm against it.

Hanako smirked, revealing her cause as she looked in the direction of
the battle. With a single flick of her wrist, the spiked point of the
weapon began to speed through the trees as if it were a sonic boom. Bark
split apart, deep lacerations evident as it reigned ever so close to
target. Kyo could hear the whizzing of the thing, abruptly backflipping
into high air until he couldn't be seen. The figure knelt down, his eyes
dashing around and trying to figure the weapon location before it ended
his escape. "Kata Calm!" he spoke once again, although Nazomi quickly
intervened.

"Not this time!!" Shizukara interjected, appearing from the tree
branches in a display of flips. She seemed to be in multiple forms, all
of which landed around the man and began dashing around him. He side-
stepped, an after image left to attempt to confuse her. Hence, Nazomi
attacked it full force with her weapons. "Wrong move, m'lady..." the
shadow said, bringing his kodaichis down hard onto the back of her head.
His blade sweeped right through the body, slamming into the ground and
causing a small crater to form as he realized his error.

Hanako's weapon was now reaching it's destination, the length and
accuracy of the attack surprising her a bit. She'd practiced before,
although this time the effect was much larger. Nazomi appeared before
the confused opponent, her escrimas behind her back as she prepared her
attack. "Phoenix Sweep!!". As the name rang out, the woman jumped into
the air with all the force she could muster under her feet. Too busy to
notice the oncoming spike, the man was instantly impaled in the side by
the projectile. He let out a yell that echoed throughout the forest,
although this would be silenced.

Kyo joined Nazomi, both of their weapons flying in a flurry of swipes
as they gathered an invisible aura. The ground began to kick up fierce
winds, slashing at the man from the pure velocity and angle at which
they'd been produced. Both fighters landed upon the ground, dashing
finally towards their victim with the speed of a bullet train. Their
feet rumbled across the ground, yells incoherent as they both reached
the target. "NO!!" he yelled, swinging his sword madly in hopes of
cancelling the effect.

"Just what I'd expect from one such as you..." Kyo confessed, jumping
to the side and leaving an after image behind. Nazomi did the same,
taking the opposite direction with a smirk. All Hell began to break
loose as they then jumped back to him, unleashing a flurry of attacks
which hit him in every point of his body. Hanako appeared in the
distance, watching on as she retracted her weapon and gazed at the
attacks, although unable to count ANY of the attacks with her untrained
eye. Nazomi finally ended with a horizontal attack, while Kyo performed
a vertical upper slice with his blade. The "Cross" flashed in blue tint,
disappearing afterwards which left the man stunned.

".....". The beaten man felt the force of their descent then, the
delayed gale force winds knocking him back into a tree. He slowly slid
to the ground, and breathed heavily whilst letting his kodaichi rest on
the ground beside him. Kyo approached slowly, his eyes shimmering while
he allowed the tip to trace the ground. "What...is your name?" he
questioned, stepping ever closer. "My name...is Vaughn..." he stated,
smirking to Kyo's surprise. Nazomi felt a sudden tension rise, looking
to him. "Kyo, MOVE!!!".

Vaughn was instantly up, his kodaichi in hand as he made his way
towards Kyo. "We shall meet again!!" he yelled in a loud voice, swinging
the blade only once. A huge wave of sonic wind rushed across the plain,
tearing the ground asunder as the three were in the pathway. Kyo ran
towards it then, his body tensing even more as he prepared his sword for
one final strike towards the center of the attack. "You won't beat us
that easily!!!!!" ( echoing as the chapter ends... )