[center][b]Ryu Heisui

Dew Islet[/b][/center]

Ryu allowed his smile to fade as he focused his senses on his new opponent. He watched as she pulled out a kunai and then proceeded to put herself into a defensive posture. It seemed she was awaiting the first move. This gave Ryu enough time to observe his environment. The mist was still dense, a small breeze interchanged between the north and south direction, and the sand beneath his feet was a very fine grain. He knew these conditions would become important and he made a note to remember them when needed. Ryu, after the brief scan of the environment, took his stance. He crouched down winding up his legs for a push, and planted his sheathed sword into the ground. He took one last deep breath and began. With a quick burst of speed, Ryu pushed against the sand with his legs and his sword with his arms. The combined action was able to accelerate him to his maximum speed faster than if he would have push off normally on the loose sand. Halfway through the jump start, He pulled his sword out of the ground and began to unsheathe it. By the time he reached Natsume, Ryu had completely unsheathed Swift and had it ready to strike. With his sheath in his left hand and Swift in the other, Ryu sent an attack flying at Natsume's guarding hand. He was, of course, using the back side of his sword, because he didn't wan't to cause any damage that would need extensive medical treatment to repair.