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Tamao had continued on into the village, not actively searching for anything, but merely letting her instincts guide her steps. She turned as she felt someone rush at her. Was it an attack? No, she didn't sense any bloodlust or anything like that. Then what? She went into a slight defensive stance as the young man appeared near her, crouched down t one knee. She regarded him silently for a moment, trying to follow his assumption. He thought she was one of the Seven Swordsman? "I am a follower of the sword, but I have no allegiance to this village. I am merely a traveler, seeking to master the path of the blade." She reached down and grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him upright once more. She was no one that needed to be bowed to.
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Tamao remained silent for a moment as she watched Saikou begin to walk off, depressed. Several thoughts ran through her mind, and then an idea struck her. Striding forward, she caught up with him almost instantly, her hand reaching out to tug on his shoulder. He wasn't very strong now, she could tell that much easily. But what of his potential. She would find out. Perhaps he would be a worthy opponent in the future? So after grabbing his shoulder again, she decided to challenge him, take his measure. "Weak fighters use their words. Now, draw your blade and let it speak of your strength!" She still had yet to draw her own blade, was she that confident, or was there something more to this battle?
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(And I'll have to call it quits there for now.)

Tamao looked off into the distance at the mention of Drago and his blade of hatred, Tokijien. She had crossed blades with the Sannin once, that had been the first truly insurmountable obstacle she had faced. She only vaguely remembered it, just that he had been amazingly fast and strong. A worthy goal to work toward for her own. Looking back to Saikou, she saw he had drawn his blade, and introduced himself. She bowed her head in return. "And my name is Suzumi Tamao. There is no more need for words, let your sword speak for you!" At that, she finally drew her own chosen weapons. From where it was not apparent, they just appeared in her hands. They were a pair of curved falchions, one black and one white. She held them casually, but her posture was sound for the coming battle. They were held at her sides, ready to swing up to block a strike or to slash to the sides to defend her flank. But she did not attack, not just yet. No, she was watching, waiting for something.
(+184)

"Hmm, interesting." Tamao saw Saikou shift his posture out of the one style, and into another. He was still young, it was hard to tell if studying similar styles so soon into his growth was a boon or a curse. They would soon find out, however. When she saw him moving into an attack stance, even though he was at a distance, she began to measure her options. At that distance, there were several sword related options he could be pursuing. His sword wasn't in it's sheath, so it would not be a simple act of battoujutsu. Nor, from his footing, would it be a rapid charge. No, he would attack from where he stood. She was proven right, as she felt the air pressure shift when he swung his sword in a quick slash. Nothing truly visible presented itself, so it had to be a wind based attacked. Similar to the Blades of Wind from Hidden Sand. Similar, yet different. But the same measures would prevent either. For an instant, her swords flickered, and grew shorter, a little more plain. But no less useful. Even as the wind attack was rushing toward her, she slashed out with her own blades, causing the wind attack to be split in two. The lesser half continued on it's way to tear at her cloak, while the greater half was amplified and sent back to the place where Saikou had been a moment before. With that done, she turned to face him, her blades returning to their opposing hues as she readied herself to see what he had to show next. She would attack, eventually, but first she needed to take his measure, so she didn't attack with a force beyond him.
(+293)

Tamao could feel the approach of several more of the same attack come toward her. She braced for impact, but they didn't hit her. Instead, they hit all around her. A moment later, they merged and formed a twister which began to pull her up into the air. Throughout the ordeal, she still remained in her same posture, still waiting. Even when Saikou almost seemed to merge with a translucent dragon, also floating high in the air, she waited. Only when he held back his attack did she finally decide to take her turn. Once again, her blades flickered. Now, instead of her two blades, she wielded one colossal blade. It seemed incredibly heavy, the moment it formed, it started falling down, and taking her with it. Down, even through the whirlwind holding her aloft. She began to plummet like a rock, but while in freefall her blade flickered again, becoming a slender katana. The blade crackled with flames for a moment, and then those flames shifted to create a pair of wings upon her back. Soaring back up, she rose to face Saikou once more, hovering in place. She flew closer, flying through the air as easily as running along the ground, her blade held out and to the side as she closed with Saikou, to let their blades cross.
(+222)

Tamao swung her blade at the same time as Saikou, meeting him strike for strike. When he moved to leave the dragon, she let him, flying out herself a moment later, her flaming wings moving her just quickly enough to avoid the snap of the cerulean dragon's maw. She performed a wingover maneuver as she angled down and soared to a stop on a rooftop one building away from Saikou. Once she had landed, her blade shifted, now turning into an ornate black blade, looking like a cross between a rapier and a longsword. Her gaze was drawn to the dragon for a moment, then she turned to face Saikou. She held her blade at the ready, and then rushed to leap from her building to the one he stood atop of, her blade at the ready. Her tattered cloak flapped in the wind, and her mask was just as emotionless as ever.
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Tamao rushed forward to meet Saikou, her blade at the ready. She didn't pause or give any sign of hesitation when she saw his blade producing fire. She was tempted for a moment to switch back to her Nietono no Shana, and match fire for fire, but instead she decided to remain with her Ichthus. She lashed out with a rapid horizontal slash of her own blade, parrying Saikou's slash. The flames still scorched her a bit, but she was still definitely in the fight. Even as she was finishing her first swing, she pivoted on one foot, turned away from Saikou and continued the slash, now sweeping it under her arm to thrust toward Saikou's blade, to knock it even further off course.
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Tamao felt her own strike parried and let a faint grin come to her face, under her mask. Not bad. She finished her spin, and shifted her grip on her blade, bringing it swinging back the way it had just come from, back to meet Saikou's spinning flame. She showed no hesitation at getting close to the fire formed from Saikou's blade, there were ways to minimize the damage fire could cause. One, was to not hesitate when dealing with it. The longer you were exposed, the worse it got, so if you charged in to cut it off right away, the danger would be only minimal. So that is what she did. She rushed in close and swung her own blade powerfully, to bat at Saikou's sword, and arrest the progress of his fire attack. The fire would still affect her, she wasn't immune to it. But with a brief enough exposure, it wouldn't have much of an opportunity to do much damage. Never mind the fact that with so much fog in the air, her clothes were just slightly damp, as a slight, very slight, added protection.
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