So infamously proud, he had his blade already unsheathed, the horrid blade of hewn, sharpened steel glinting ominously in the only source of light that could permeate this dark and un-sacred ground where he dared to spill blood be it of the innocent young women he seized so viciously and with such malice and ill-intent, or....the blood of his challenger who was soon to come forth, the ever infamous Wind of Death. Oh how he savored the moment when his blade would clash with Kushiami's, and how the angry woman's vengeful glare, as sharp as the weapon she wielded to him in such hatred and ill-fed rage, would penetrate through his own violent expressions of the face and stab hi, directly through the heart with that oft dreadful chill one could feel when facing off with the legendary warrior. "Heheheh!" He laughed so brazenly at the little hime's outbursts, as usual of the typical spoiled brat, weak and with no merit whatsoever. She was nothing more to the bloodthirsty creature than a yapping pup towards a full-fanged wolf. "Shut your mouth, you little pip-squeak." His snicker elevated into a growl, akin to as the wolf would return to such a yammering pup. "It's good to hear we shall have no further distractions this night, for my intentions for the Wind of Death are simple but indeed blood-stained. I want that woman to face me. Too long have I awaited for the perfect challenge, and too long has my blade been starved of blood." At that note....something became of the mentioned sword....it glowed, red, red as blood, and there was such a disturbing noise that echoed about the temple...resounding from that wicked blade. Was it...a heartbeat? Was the sword alive?
"You see my little captives. my eyes and this blade, they were given unto me by the most powerful demon imaginable, but at a cost mind you. So for the many dreadful years I've been forced to endure this living Hell you call a home, I've fed this blade many a fallen soul, and perhaps my own madness ensuing, for just as my sword, I cared not who I killed. Men, women, even children were quartered by this wretched spawn of a weapon as I but laughed and smiled at the slaughter! Oh the joy I felt murdering them all, even my own kin were not spared the torment! So as you can tell, I continue to slay, my power, no this power granted to me, increases thousandfold, and when my sword but tastes the blood of the Wind of Death....I shall become a god!" Twas true, the blood of such a powerful warrior, especially Asuka's, would give this foul being such a surge of raw energy...and with such...the chaos of those warring days would return yet again and burn this land to nothing but a waste of ashes. "By my word, here comes my woman."
Kurohebi turned from the Princess, and soon his eyes fell upon the weathered and cracked gate of stone and who it welcomed into this temple, his challenger had arrived. "My ladies, may I introduce you to the most feared and honored warrior of the warring period, the Slayer of a Thousand, the Wind of Death!" She had indeed returned, the Asuka they knew...she was nowhere to be found amidst that violent red aura of such malice and rage, such anger erupting from every orifice of the bitter woman's dreadful, dark glare of hatred...and those eyes....those fearsome eyes. "So, Kushiami-san, have you come to fight, or have you come to grovel at my feet and beg like a whipped pup for their safety?" Beg? No....Asuka had not come to beg, or more specifically, the Slayer of a Thousand had not come to beg at the feet of...a dead man. "Shut up!" That growl, so fierce. This was indeed not that cheerful ronin they knew...and some may cherished. "I have only come here for one reason and one reason alone, that I have, Kurohebi. I have come....to watch you die!" His eyes were alight again with glee as he watched the warrior draw her sword, those vengeful eyes still upon him. "Oohoho those eyes! You're angry! Good!" He cackled, a savage grin of barred ivory daggers parting his dry, cracked lips. "This fight shall last longer than a mere second then."
"Are you done talking yet?" Asuka's retort was as sharp as her sword, more than most the sharpened edge of her sakabatou, still facing her. Not yet was she the infamous killer of the past...not yet. "Have I come here to fight, or have I come here for you to bore me with your dishonest boasts? Quit yapping and let me see what the true power of the Black Serpent really is, because all I see is a pitiful coward of a man with a useless magic trick!" Kurohebi gritted his teeth, suppressing the rage Asuka was seeming to invoke from him no less with her stabbing wit and her savage remarks, but that snarl of anger....upon lieu of observing this woman dared to wield that idiotic blunt shaft of steel, returned to that ever-defiant smile. "Heh! You're not the Wind of Death yet, Kushiami. First, you have to turn around that sword to its cutting edge, but enough of this exchanging of words between us two life-takers. Let our blades talk for us. HAVE AT THEE!!"
It has begun. A surprise to Asuka, the bastard's blade was swift, but his attacks were oh so predictable and the simplest to evade. The woman however, she was a blur, a fleeting glimpse upon this battlefield, her speed again rivaling the divines, in blade and footwork. Thunderously their swords clashed and clanged, the sounds of war resonating about those ancient walls, sure to have seen more blood than what would take fold this night. But although his strikes could easily be anticipated by the legendary slayer, Kurohebi was certainly a formidable opponent to Kushiami. Still, she continued to block and evade his hasty strikes and his swift blows and jabs. She could see the battle play through her mind before even a sword was drawn. First, a form one swing to the left. She effortlessly dodged his swing. Next, a following cut towards the right. The cut barely marred her battered flesh. Finally, a flat bladed jab forward. From there, sidestep and strike! And the moment his blade rushed forward to pierce her heart, the samurai was already to Kuro's side in an instant, delivering a powerful blow to the man's neck. It would've easily decapitated him and the battle would be victorious....but, she wielded the flat of the blade instead of the sharp.
"GYUAH!!" Kurohebi yelped as the blunt of Asuka's sword struck him full force, a harsh gasp of air as he felt the immense pressure of the blow momentarily throttle him before tossing him back onto the ground. "Geh...eheheheheh....Yes....that is the true power I was expecting from Kazeryu no Tsurugi." He groaned with a bit of a pained laugh as he staggered forward, a sickening crack of the neck following suit. "Ahh...but you still persist on using that dumb blade of yours. How boring! C'mon Wind of Death, face me like a real warrior!" Still he egged the woman on, goading to dare turn her blade to the killing side, same with the wielder of the blade as well. And so....Asuka obliged him. In one quick motion, the sakabato was reversed unto itself in her hand. Now it was a sword fit for slaying.
"There, now that I have obliged your silly request, this duel can resume without hinder." She snarled presenting the sharp of her sword unto he that desired it. "Come forth to thy death, Kurohebi." Her stance she was quick to adopt, the meticulous positioning of her body, Kurohebi recognized it no less, and it sent chills through every nerve of his tattered body racked with pain. This stance....this is the stance of the Wind of Death's ryuken technique. One slice will be all she needs to finish me off, but....if the attack fails, she is left open. I can dodge it. I know I can, but Kushiami's speed.....it's worth a shot! "Here I come, Wind of Death!" So foolish was he to charge so brazenly into this attack, so brashly he sprinted with his blade. In a matter of seconds, Kurohebi realized...you could never evade the wind. "AAAGGGHHH!!!" A painful cry emerged from the bastard samurai as he beheld the horror of Asuka's swift cut to him. His arms...they were gone from him, left only with two grotesque bloody stubs. "No! NO! How could you?!!" Asuka, with one last look of disgrace upon this useless opponent, sheathed her bloody weapon and returned, "This duel is over, Gankuro. I've removed your arms from you. You'll never hold a sword ever again. Your life as a samurai....is finished."
"N-no...." Gankuro snarled, still able to rise to his feet, even after such a devastating strike had assaulted his body. "This is far...far from over, Kushiami! I will return, and when I do, it will be my blade that tastes your blood! It will be you who dies! Not I!" His threats, though they did carry a hefty wait of anxiety to the ronin, Asuka merely brushed them away. "Then return if you must, Gankuro, but know this....you will only lose more limbs.....GO!" And with that, the coward retreated, taking with him his shadowed minions which the other women were occupied with during this foul, and rather short lived fray, but not his arms for they belonged to the Wind of Death now. The Wind of Death however....was quick to fade from Asuka again...and there she was....that same lowly ronin of peace.
