Lady Hanabi nods to the guard, swivelling her full attention to Shaakira.

"There we are. Quick and harmless, as it should be. Please, enter. Welcome to Saffron Village." She steps aside and sweeps an arm inward, invitational to the village. "I caught your companion's name. Akeeta is a good name. I'm afraid that your own name, however, escapes me."

Ajairu stamps his hooves, his mane flaring brightly. The ponyta swivels and briskly stamps to the exterior of the wall and whinnies, its flame-tail lashing about in agitation. Hanabi pauses and studies this behavior, her eyes narrowing slightly. Her demeanor shifts. A samurai's steed was a smart beast- and this Ponyta was particularly timid on top of that training. If he was alerting to danger, Yasashi believed it.

"Danger!" She declares loudly, moving to Shaakira in the course of a few swift strides, positioning her heavily armored body as a shield from potential harm as she surveyed the surrounding area. Her eyes, ever hawklike, seemed as if they were piercing straight through the world itself as her gaze followed the horizon line in a north-south sweep. "The girl may enter-"

Her words were stopped short; to the near south, the resounding crash of cart and Tauros alike being thrown asunder filled the air.

"I want archers on those towers! This is no samurai assault, I want longspears on the double! Ajairu, Go!"

Her orders rang out loud and clear, resonating above even the chaotic din of civilian panic in the area and the howls of whatever creature lied in that direction. The two guards immediately hastened themselves relaying her orders, as others took their place at the western gate. The fiery horse let out a cry, the flames on its body flickering and brightening further as it lithely ran in a slow circle- then was a blur of flaming motion racing towards the south. Yasashi spared a look to Shaakira as she began to run in the same direction as the pony.

"If you can't fight, get inside!" She barked to the young girl, before focusing on her sprint; the woman herself was surprisingly light in her armor, and the extreme fitness of her lifestyle carried her with immense haste.

[hr]

The Persian thrashed under the rain of deft blows Ryuji laid upon it, and while Mori's foreboding presence cast a shadow over the creature, it hardly seemed intent to back off- especially with the strange grip the bird's eyes held over it. In a burst of movement, the alpha pokemon hurled itself forward and out of Ryuji's hail of blows to viciously slash its claws across one of the guards torsos, the direct blow of the beast's claws crushing the lighter armor with ease and allowing the Persian to turn aside- a shadow of movement following its initial attack almost perfectly, the darkness of its shadow flowing over the crushed guard and performing a secondary attack, Assuring* a kill even as the Persian turned its focus aside and flicked its tail in annoyance, seemingly little hindered by the wounds sustained by the naginata strikes. Other guards maneuvered around, trying to recuperate and regroup...

The Persian roared at Ryuji, the soundwaves of its cry visible in the air as the red glow of its eyes flashes. In that same instant, Ajairu appeared, flaming hoofprints left in its wake, in a blitz of speed eclipsing the Persian's own arrival; the flames on its mane bursting into a greater inferno as the, comparatively, small horse crashed into the Persian's side with a conflagration of flame. The immense roar was cut short, but the Persian hardly flinched under the blow. It whirled about, throwing the Ponyta away from itself even as the Gem atop its head flared brighter- and in a sweeping of its head a beam of energy cut through the air, sweeping past Mori in the sky, and slashing through the ground in pursuit of Ajairu as the horse scrambled to its feet and raced away in another blur of movement. The beam arced across the flaming horse, sending it sprawling across the ground with a pained whinny.

In that moment, the Lady Hanabi appeared from the western side of the village's walls. In the span of a breath her eyes took in the scene, and discerned Ryuji as more than a simple warrior. She temporarily shelved her concerns over Ajairu as the Persian roared once again, posturing powerfully, her sprint  carrying her between the Persian and the South Gate; flanking the creature with Ryuji as the guards flowed past her and regrouped within; her orders were passed amongst them once inside, though time would be needed for the formation to assemble.

"Ronin!" She called to Ryuji, using the general term for a wandering warrior. "You strike well! Let me be the shore, and you the waves; We will break this beast upon me!"

With a hand on her katana, she shifted her stance and drew the blade into both hands; the heavily armored warrior's eyes were aware of her surroundings but focused on the Persian. With her feet rooted here, her armor bright and gleaming, and her blade in hand she gave one the impression that she, more so than the wooden structures around her, was the wall of this city.

She was attentive and ready, prepared to co-ordinate with Ryuji in an instant.