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((Lao- when I pushed the wakizashi away, i pushed it away from your body to open your stance up. That and you didn't say what hand you were holding the waki in any ways))

Finally the man stopped a bit back from the crowd, leaning down and putting his hands on her shoulder and she froze in shock at the weary looking man before her. " Onee-san, you look weak. Thank you for saving me but you should not have come in your condition" looking back over her shoulder hoping no one had followed them.

Tsai was in fact looking rather weak and it worried her. He had given so much to keep her safe. He had gone without food so she could eat even in her weakened condition, avoiding villages not knowing what was going on other than their village being burned.

Letting Tsai lean on her shoulder, she quickly tried to move them away further from the crowd. He had used his last reserves getting her from that fight "You did well Hoshimi-chan, I will tell you that I only wish I could've gotten to you quicker" She shook her head as she hobbled slightly from teh fight he was much heavier than she and weakened already, she was out of breath from the fight and damned lucky she hadn't gottten killed herself and he was telling her she had done well.

Moving him quietly into an alley and looking around as she gripped onto the staff "Just wait here, I will find someone to help us" the man already closing his eyes as he tried to catch his breathe. Hoshimi on the other hand was scanning the crowd looking for someone strong enough to help them out as well as keeping an eye out for trouble.

Espa saw it coming, her mind touching his briefly. Her left hand moved in a small circle and caught the elbow holding the wakizashi. Moving her head own a bit, she ran her left hand along the length of his right (the one that held the wakizashi) and guided it over her head and behind his back. Her right hand was in motion as soon as his right arm was tucked behind his back and a fast palm strike to his bicep.

The move was fluid. She used his force against him again and now had him trapped and at her mercy.

((Lao, Matt and I are re-enacting everything since I have a poor perception of left and right. This has been medically documented that I have trouble with left and right, just so you know. ^^; ))

(( Honestly... I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to be doing, but I suppose I'll do SOMETHING... ))

[Continued from page 9...]

"Tenacious little creatures..." Hikaru mumbled to himself as his hands slid down the length of his arms and across his chest, trying to brush off the clinging spirits which caused him to shine like a watchtower beacon amidst the crowd of peasants. The act was pointless, but instinctive to having a cloud of insect-like things clinging to your garments and refusing to let go... though, in the end, it didn't matter either way, as they soon faded from existance and their light extinguished as they went.

It took just a moment for his eyes to adjust back to the normal lighting of the streets, and for the crowd around to become a bit less than a blur to him, though that came quickly enough, and the Kaikou boy's attention rivited itself upon his younger sister and the escort that she was making off with. Apparently she had skipped a few too many of her classes at the Light Temple, if her magic manifested itself in such an uncontrolled manner...

"Kenji, tsutau," the boy said curtly as he dismissed all of those around him with an air of indifference and, instead, started after the direction the Kunoichi had taken the priestess-in-training.

Kenji did just that, casting a quickly condecending glance to those who had involved themselves in the incident before turning about and marching after the Kaikou boy through the crowded marketplace street; stopping to take the reigns of each of their horses in hand as he passed between them, and pulling the two animals along beside him with a slight tug to guide them.

(( ...moving... to where, I know not... Just not here... maybe with the other two over there, maybe to the Tavern... ))

"I didn't know that was the term for it. I always called it "push hands" but meh, whatever," Espa said," but yeah, if you want to bring a stronger force next time, I'll bring mine and we can have us a righteous brawl. Does that sound like fun to you?"

Espa smirked and pushed the rogue leader away from her violently. The crowd was starting to disperse and Espa slipped the toe of her boot under his wakizashi and flipped it up. She bent slightly to catch it.

"And until we meet again, I keep this," she smiled.

The rouge smirked at her. That souned like fun, but he had more important things- tending to his men. He simply stored the thought in his mind for next time, and smiled at her brightly. "It's a deal. I can always get a katana or something better. Just for the record, I'd like to know the name of the one who bested me, for the day. I'll start with mine- Evan Kensington, captain of the Vagabonds." He bowed to her in a respectful way, but not too respectfully. "And who might you be, miss?"

He was a westerner. One who seemed to be knowledgable in both the language and weaponry of the east, and who seemed to be more jovial than he first appeared.

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Lao heard the cry of despair as his teacher passed out from exhaustion. He simply would not let this happen, especially now. She seemed adamant not to listen to him, though the conversation had been spoken in clear eastern, so as not to be confusing. At least, he hoped not. In any case, he was beginning to get frustrated. He stepped back for a few steps and continued to smile, not showing anything but his usual benevolence.

"Forgive my lack of manners. I'd like for you to just listen for a while, if that's not too much. One should know a situation before reacting in such a manner, no? I'd like to talk- just to talk. That's it. I'll start with my name- Lao Fei Zhu. The man you call "brother" for some reason is my sifu. You already know his name, from what is still ringing in my ears," he added with a laugh.

"Apparently, every one of us has a bit of explaining to do- why not do it in the Temple over there? I'm sure we can still get along, if we tried. Wanna give it a shot?" He smiled honestly and openly, trying to show that he was nothing to fear at the moment.

She looked at him untrustingly as he began to speak only to watch as a whip came out of nowhere and wound itself around his neck and threw him to the ground. She didn't waste any time and slowly drug her teacher and friend away from the insane man who would not leave her alone since she had met him towards the woman who seemed to have everything under control. "Help me please"her small frame almost collapsing under the much larger man's weight.

"My orginal intention was to assist the young lady you are approaching. She screamed out for help since she didn't know who you were and were advancing on her. So I helped again," Espa explained, letting the girl in close to her," My apologies for the misunderstanding but until she says otherwise, you are a threat."