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Great success! Kenji was winning once again, and he had the opportunity to end it right here and now, if he didn't squander his time. Quickly, he retrieved his Yawarakai-Te and masterwork katana, both luckily near his feet, and settled his stance before stepping toward the knight, intent on relieving it of its breastplate before it could recover from paralysis.

Kenji had been resting for the night at this village within Totomi, bound for home. At the time of the attack, he'd been out taking a walk, enjoying the moonlight. It was peaceful and serene, a lovely evening for some fresh air. Then he heard the screams. Cries of the townspeople and wild battle cries from bandits filled the air around him. The village was under attack!

The shugyosha had no intention of letting this stand. It was a risk, fighting so many brigands without backup (for he wasn't entirely aware of the local daimyo's presence just yet), but for those who could not defend themselves, he would fight as hard and long as he needed to. Tearing his swords from their sheathes at his waist, Kenji steeled himself and rushed the nearest group of bandits, flourishing his iron and steel in a swift dance of precision cuts. If successful with his initial attack, he'd settle into a balanced stance and begin picking off the thugs two by two; if not so successful, he would back off in a defensive stance and counter those who came at him until the group was dispatched.

This was not exactly going as Kenji would've hoped, though that fact would not hinder him. Relying on his instincts and adrenaline, he rolled out of the way again and, bracing his makeshift weapons over his head, kicked to his feet. He intended to use the momentum of his rise to slam both sheathes down on the nearest piece of the knight's armor as he could. If successful, he'd follow through by attempting once more to disarm the knight of his most righteous nodachi.

Not much that he can do about that, unfortunately... The problem is, what becomes of Okehazama?

Kenji once again literally rolled with his momentum, backrolling to his feet with his scabbards in his hands. The moment he was standing again, he kicked off and lunged at the unarmed knight, putting great strength into a flurry of swings specifically targetting the knight's armor joints and helmet. He intended to strip the being bare and render it defenseless.

As Kenji recovered and stopped on his feet, he took note of the weapon in the man's hands. It was a truly beautiful nodachi, a true master-crafted sword... He whistled at its apparent craftsmanship, wondering if it was human-made or demon-made, or perhaps created by another kind of being altogether. He had no time to ponder this thought further, however, and set the chest down to draw his swords, settling into a defensive stance. With no legs, tripping or lower attacks would not be options. Instead, Kenji determined his best bet would be to test this knight's abilities by making it attack first, readying himself to parry, block or evade as needed.

Kenji did his best to suppress the growing pain in his head, particularly his forehead, which may or may not be bleeding. He wasn't really sure. Grunting, he attempted to force the crawler off of him by rolling fast and hard to one side while its foot was in the air, then take advantage of its lost equilibrium by slicing and dicing its body.

The crawlers seemed to have been intimidated by Kenji's rousing success, though he did not think of letting it get to his head. He was in battle with eight monsters still, ones who were beginning to charge again. He'd thinned their numbers, now he needed to finish them off.

Wisely, the merc would not recklessly charge the oncoming enemy, but instead continue moving around fluidly, using his earlier tactic of reversing and counterattacking crawlers that attempted to strike him, and being mindful not only to avoid walking into walls, but of getting surrounded. If it seemed as if he was about to be surrounded, he'd take the nearest escape route and put distance between himself and the sea monsters.

Taking a moment to settle down, but maintaining readiness and awareness, Kenji began walking toward the other end of the room toward the Daimyo's chest. He kept his swords out, ready to strike anything that came at him at a moment's notice.

Three monsters, two swords... This could be tricky, and end horribly if Kenji make a poor choice. At the same time, playing it safe could end in him getting sundered from one side, as he could only handle two. He decided to make a move that he considered equally safe and risky: pick one of the charging monsters and rush them with his swords, intending to cut himself a path out. In the worst case scenario, he theorized, he would only end up harmed by one while the other two would come up short. In the best, well...

With little warning, Kenji found himself restrained and close to being impaled. He would not let this be the way he died. Not here, alone, in a long-abandoned castle. Summoning his might and will, he kicked out the legs of the undead on his left arm, then used its lack of stability to yank it in the way of the blade coming for his stomach. If successful, and he didn't have a new belly piercing, Kenji would proceed to hack away at the three undead as best as he could in order to free himself.

When the foreigner turned his attention to the lady of the wood, Kenji decided to remain silent for the time, observing their exchange with keen interest. The man seemed to hold himself with an air of confidence and superiority, as if he were a nobleman, though it could be misinterpretation; they were strangers, after all, and had only been in eachother's company for maybe two minutes. Of course, the same could be said of the woman, who turned around the foreigner's reversed question.

Kenji tucked his hands into his hakama pockets, continuing to watch and listen, and occasionally glancing over at the falcon out of interest.