She was definitely a boastful one, the silver haired girl in the rather form fitting blue armor, her and seemingly the demon slayer, Kurosawa-dono, quite confident in their finely honed skill and their apparently extensive knowledge in combat. It seemed to Asuka quite a few of these women were her equal, for the ronin never really considered her skill above anyone, and never did Asuka boast so proudly of herself to a public audience, but she wasn't one to judge others either for their actions. To each their own she would always state boldly, for even if you were the most powerful and feared samurai in all of Japan, you carry the same as any other combatant, a heart of honor and an attitude of valiance. These were the words of wisdom spoken to her by a fellow female swordswoman, a far better one than she Asuka presumed. [i]Despite her displeasure towards my leaving, I am certain Natsumi-sensei would be proud of me for undertaking such a daunting task, indeed she would be.[/i] 

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[i]"Do it again!" The loud bark of the stern woman clutching a bokken firmly in her bandaged hand shook the young girl to no avail, coercing her to avert her eyesight away from her sensei's cold glare. "Did you hear me, you whipped pup? Come at me with everything you have again! Let's see if you can best me this time hopefully!" Her piercing words, they drove something in Asuka's heart, a fire blazing inside that was threatening to explode through her veins and drive her forward into rage. She clutched her bokken tight, the handle, worn from so many practice duels, marring her palms with rancorous slivers. Her eyes narrowed to match the vicious stare of Natsumi's and from her lungs she unleashed a fearsome battle cry, charging headlong to the hardened woman, yet....she was foolish. In seconds, Natsumi-sensei vanished from Asuka's line of sight and the most excruciating bout of pain resonated violently through her back, tossing the girl to the dirt below.

"Hmph! Pitiful!" Natsumi snarled to her battered pupil, struggling to her feet with skin riddled with cuts and bruises of varying severity. "You will learn there are two key principles to the art of "Kazeryu no Tsurugi", speed and perception. You must strike with the ferocity and the speed of a divine wind, but you must also anticipate your enemy's every attack, know when and where his sword shall meet you, realize that he is dead before he even draws his blade. Your speed however is about the same as a mountain turtle! And as for your perception of my attacks, you might as well just lie down and let me finish you off!" Such venomous vocabulary that was uttered from her teacher, but these were the harsh methods of Natsumi-sensei, the woman who made Asuka into who she was....a samurai. "Now on your feet! You will not rest until you have landed a sufficient number of blows on me."[/i]
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More had arrived later on to assist the honorable Princess, some mostly kunoichi, mistresses of the shadows who utilized silence and deception in their beautiful and deadly art. To consider anyone who practiced the sacred and secretive art of ninjitsu a filthy and loathsome rat was utterly despicable to the ronin. Just as samurai, they too have honor and dignity, and from her past experiences upon the blood soaked theatre of war, Asuka has definitely had her fare share of run-ins with ninjas, sometimes barely escaping with her life. However, the most peculiar of sights upon this vast array of females was that of a fair miko. A woman of such grace and purity had counted herself amongst this group of warriors, who at one point or another have taken numerous lives, be it a mortal or a demon. Her beauty was quite radiant as well to Asuka, a blossoming flower of such rare color the ronin considered the priestess amidst these other women, not to say that they were fairly attractive as well. "If there is one thing we will need on this journey, it would be the blessing of the gods." She uttered to herself in a whisper, her eyes observing the young woman as she humbly accepted the Princess' hand. However, her eyes were soon averted when her ear was caught by the boisterous shouting of Kaede-dono.

 "Oh no....I don't like the sound of that, that I don't." It seems she wished to challenge the mirth of that boastful woman Noriaki, and how else than rallying the Emperor's personal guard to be her troops in this rather indignant conquest. "Pardon me, but I don't believe we need to be riling forth any hostilities, that we shouldn't, especially so early before our journey is to take place." Poised, the ronin stepped forward from the crowd, her eyes set upon Kaede-dono and the ever bragging Noriaki-dono, yet her face was still the same demure and calm. "I know I may speak for some when I say Noriaki-dono has made some rather boisterous claims, that I do, but inciting violence to prove such claims feels a tad excessive in all honesty."