Invite: Open.
Character Sheet: If you have an official one, you can link, but I don't mind if you just post the character's name, looks and background.
Setting: Modern day.
Fandom: Yes. Also, Kenshin characters are more than welcome, but keep in mind that Aoshi and Saito are taken.
House Rules: Swords are the only weapon. Any kind of sword. Also, except for Saito and Aoshi (controlled by me), all characters are under the age of 18.

Description: The members of a small sword dojo struggle to survive the attacks from the former co-owner and his large following of satsujin-ken sword wielding assassins.

Notes: Saito's evil. Muahahahaha. Also:
Bokuto - Practice sword.
Shinai - Practice sword made of bamboo.

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((Grey's my main. http://z1.invisionfree.com/forums/roleplay...hp?showtopic=12 ))

"Men!" she yelled, swinging the bokuto down onto an invisible attacker. She continued in her forms, Aoshi watching carefully for any mistakes. She made only a few, stopping where she'd began.
"Good. Remember your right foot, though. You're leaving it too far out."
"Sorry. Thank you, sensei," she quickly said, bowing. He gave her a head-nod, standing from the bench and watching as she threw the bokuto to him, catching it.
He turned towards the rack, quickly yelling out, "Practice is over!" as he set the bokuto in its place.

((First RP... Don't be going crazy if I somehow do a lot of things wrong...
Character: Drake Misamura
Used to third person writing, so I'm using it. Feedback please.))

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Drake sat and watched the dojo full of people training their forms. He was always interested in the new techniques and styles which every dojo seemed to have. As he continued to watch the students train, he began to get bored of just watching and not doing anything. Standing up, he felt like starting a practice spar with a student, if possible, just to test his or her abilities. As he looked around for a fair competitor, he heard a man yell, "Practice is over!"

Turning to look at who had yelled, presuming it was the dojo owner, he wondered what would happen next.

((I\'ll make sure to point out anything that could help, if I see anything. If. ^_^ ))

Aoshi looked over at the young man who had watched during practice. Was he looking for a place in the dojo? A spar? He didn\'t look like one of Saito\'s lot. He turned towards the man, walking over, uttering a politely consise, \"Hello. Did you want something, sir?\" Grey looked over curiously as she helped the other students put their practice swords away.

Drake noticed that the man he heard yell for the students to stop was also watching him. As he had expected, the man had walked over to him to ask a question, which seemed too formal for him with the 'sir' at the end. "Oh. Not much. Just looking at new techniques here and there."

"So I take it your the owner of this dojo?" He knew this was a pointless question to ask, but decided to see where it would take him.

"Yeah. If you're looking for membership, or for a challenge, I could arrange that."

((Bah. Crappy post. But it is late. ;-; ))

Drake looked around yet again and noticed a girl looking over to where they were. He was interested in sparring with her, for she seemed different from the other students here at the dojo.

Drake pointed to her and told the man, "I would like to challenge her."

((Not much really to say.))

Aoshi looked over at Grey, nodding. "Good choice, she's our best student. Grey!" Her head veered over, looking at him. "Come on, you've got a challenge. Bring him a bokuto, too."
"Yes, sensei," she said, reaching out to get two bokuto off the shelf and walking over and holding the bokuto to the man. "Three points alright with you, sir?"

((Is it a dull or 'sharpened' bokuto?))

Drake watched as he called the girl over for the challenge. "A bokuto?", he thought, "I've never used that before..." Before he could think further, the girl named Grey had come back and was handing him the bokuto.

"Three points? That's fine with me." He grabbed the bokuto, dropped his sword in the corner of the dojo, and walked out to an empty space in the floor.

((Awww... Fight. I haven't participated in one of these for a long time...))

((Dull. And yay for fights. ^_^))

Grey walked out a certain distance from Drake, facing him and bowing. After she did this, Aoshi spoke, "Begin."
Grey quickly ran forward, bokuto held out in front of her. She yelled a kiai, swinging sideways at him.

((Kiai are those things you yell in martial arts, right? Anyways, I hope I don't god-mod.)

As Grey bowed, he felt that he was also implied to bow back at her. Getting back into position, he waited for the signal to start. Right as he heard "Begin", he saw Grey quickly dashing towards him. "She's fast", he thought. But not fast enough.

Backing up, he parried her side-strike and backed up again. This time, he went in for an 'uppercut' with his bokuto.

((No, actually you did good. And yes, kiais are yells.))

Grey eased back, stopping with her foot after the bokuto passed and lunging at him. "Close, close," she thought in her head. "Gotta keep on my toes, or this guy'll nail me..."

((I always seem to god-mod after like ten posts. xb So you moved back and are lunging at me now? I didn't really get that post, but oh well.))

As expected, the girl in front of him had dodged his strike. "She is fast...", he thought, "But now to test her will." Drake quickly spun behind Grey and prepared to strike.

((My posts are getting shorter... And I just gave an opening for an attack.))

Grey spun as fast as she could, trying to hit him in the side before he could hit her in the back and score the first point.

((I think posts normally get short during fight scenes. Mine are horribly short. >_< And you can have her get hit if desired.))

((I know, but I try not to rush things. Are we allowed to grab the other person's bokuto?))

Right as Drake was about to strike, he noticed that Grey had spun around him to get the first point. After he had gotten struck by the other's bokuto, he stood up and walked away. "You are pretty fast. It would be a crime for me to underestimate you again." He turned and held out his bokuto. "Ready?" He dashed for her, his speed increased. "She won't be able to dodge this.", he thought. As he got close, he gave a swift sideways slash, maybe a bit too fast for her level...

((I don't think so.))

Grey watched as he approached, eyes going wide as she tried to jump back in time but getting struck in the ribs. She held back an 'ow,' moving back to her place and raising the bokuto, taking a more defensive stance.

((I thought so. Heh. I've never used points in sparring before.))

Drake stood back in his regular position and watched as Grey re-gained her posture. "You alright?" he asked, as he entered an attack stance. "If so, lets resume." He dashed up again for another strike. This time he would repeat the exact strike he did before, just to see how she would respond.

"Yeah, I'm good," she responded, keeping her eyes set and mind focused as she watched, quickly bringing her bokuto down on his, parrying and stepping in towards him, swinging the bokuto horizontally at him.

((Sorry this post took so long. I'm watching a movie on TV xD))

"Faster?" he thought, "No, something else is different." Drake narrowly blocked the strike by swinging his bokuto to his side. "Is that all you've got?" he whispered. He always had pride when he felt he had an advantage. Easing off and backing up, he swung his sword around his hand to the point where he was holding the sword completely upside-down. Picking up his hand and swinging it to his side, so that the tip of the "blade" pointed at Grey.

Drake dashed at Grey yet again, swinging out his arm when he got close.

Grey ducked to the left, but she wasn't quick enough, the strike from before slowing her down as the bokuto struck her arm. She quickly jumped back after it did, trying not to show any sign of pain. "Good hit," she responded, panting as she walked back to her place and trying to resist the urge to rub her arm. Exposing a weakness was the last thing she'd allow herself to do.

Drake regained his posture. "Thanks." he whispered in response. "So one more hit and it's over, eh?" he thought, "This is too fast for my taste, but oh well." He looked at Grey for a second before beginning his advance. To the normal eye, no one would notice that she was in fact in pain. But he had trained himself to be able to spot these things, thanks to a woman he had met back in the last village he had visited. "You can go ahead and rest, if you want. I won't strike you in your arm or ribs again."

Drake grabbed his sword regularly again and went in for the final blow.

Grey parried the blow, trying to shove the sword away, but she slipped due to the power in the attack, moving to regain her footing, hoping she wasn't too vulnerable for too long.

As his blow was parried, Drake tripped backwards a little. "Not bad," he said, waiting for Grey to regain her posture, "but try hitting me now." He was getting bored again and wanted to see if she could score another point against him. It wouldn't of been fun for him to strike her while she was vulnerable, either.

Grey looked at him for a moment, before immediately complying, lunging forward with the bokuto held upside down to her left, both hands holding it parallel to the ground until she plunged it, trying to 'stab' him in the chest. She had a feeling he would dodge, and was partially waiting for it.

((So he could, or he could not and trip her up somewhat.))

"What's this?" Drake thought. His opponent seemed to be learning from his previous moves... But something was different about her strike. If he chose to dodge, he could be stricken. If he didn't, he would get stabbed in the chest. If he blocked, she could parry or dodge and strike. What to do, then? This was the conundrum Drake had faced. But then, wasn't this what he wanted?

Drake quickly parried the blow with his own bokuto and dodged under Grey's weapon, ready to strike her from below.

Grey quickly brought the bokuto's handle down, trying to hit it on Drake's head.

Right as he struck Grey in the stomach, Drake felt a hard force hitting his head. It seemed that she indeed struck him for the second point, but it was just that he got one extra point from before, which alloted him the victory.

Grey stood there, holding a hand out to him. "Good match... though, I think I might have overdone that last one, sorry about that."
"Aa. Good match," Aoshi said, moving towards them. "Do either of you need a doctor?" he asked, glancing over the both of them.

Drake, like his usual humanity-hating self, refused to shake his opponent's hand, even though she had hit him twice out of the three times which would of make her the victor. As the other man walked up to him, Drake replied, "Nah. I'm good. But maybe I'll stick around a bit longer. Say, what's your name again?"

"I'm Grey," she quickly said. "And sensei's name is Aoshi." She moved towards the bokuto rack, putting hers up. She was starting to regret not wearing padding.
"Not going to introduce me?" came the voice at the door. She turned, stepping back somewhat as the tall, dark haired man walked through, entering the dojo. "Fine, forgive my former student's rudeness. My name is Saito Hajime."
As Grey's hand quickly reached to the rack of katanas, he grinned. "Owner of Hikaido Itto Dojo."

((At least, if I recall correctly, that's the style he uses.))

Drake listened in as she said her name and the dojo owner's name. Grey and Aoshi? Those names sounded strange to Drake at first. He followed Grey to the rack and put up his bokuto as well. Before he could speak, a man had entered the door. He claimed to be Saito Hajime, owner of some sword style called the Hikaido Itto. Drake felt a bad presence coming from this man, as he reached over to grab his sword.

Behind Saito, a few more people approached. One moved to stand right beside him; Grey and Aoshi had long known the boy to be Saito's favorite student and right hand man.
"Long time no see, Grey," Merrick said, eyes focused on her as he stepped forward, but Saito's hand caught him.
"Don't be anxious, Merrick."
"Of course not, Saito-sama," Merrick quickly said, backing up. Aoshi looked upon the show with a hidden disgust.
"Interesting how you have them all trained like little guard dogs."
"Not unlike you, Aoshi-sama," Saito snapped back amusedly, taking no care in the sharp reminder of Aoshi's old shinobi unit. "But, alas, I digress."
"What do you want?" Aoshi asked, watching carefully.
"You. Dead. It'd help, Shinomori." He merely stood there, tone unchanged as the words rolled off his tongue. "Oh... and look, you've got a new guy," he said, looking over at Drake.

Drake overlooked the conversation between Saito and Aoshi. It was all just a meaningless conversation to him, an uninterested bystander.

"It seems I've been caught in the midst of yet another plot... I'm getting tired of these." He had thought this throughout the conversation, up to the time before Saito had made a remark about him. Turning to the man in the doorway, Drake simply replied, "I'm just here to watch," he grabbed his sword again and put it back onto his back, "but I might as well leave if I were to get in the way of this..."

He turned away began walking for the doorway Saito had been blocking. "Now move."

((I'm not going to leave this thread; I'm just moving my character to the door.))

"Of course," Saito said, moving aside and stepping towards Aoshi, Merrick and the other students following close behind.
"Saito..." Aoshi whispered, kodachi already in his hands.
"Pleading won't work, Shinomori," he said, raising the katana with his left hand, parallel to the ground. He put his right hand against the tip, preparing his attack until Grey moved between the two.
"... You think I mind getting rid of you?"
"Yes, I do," she shot back, holding tight to her katana. She knew battojutsu; she'd learned it through Mitori practice, after watching a wanderer in a match against Aoshi-sensei. But her attack was nothing but a ruse. As she crouched into the battojutsu position, she knew full well that it was nowhere near the speed of that wanderer, and nowhere near enough to stop Saito.
And she knew he knew; but it would give Aoshi a moment to strike back. And that was all that mattered.

Drake moved pass the crowd of sword holders, out of the dojo. "Hm. That's sure a lot of 'em." He stood against the outside wall of the dojo, waiting for the crowd to enter before he could watch what would happen next. There was no intention for him to be in this battle, and he respected that, but a fight was always a fight. And Drake always participated in fights.

Saito quickly lunged forward, and Grey attempted to draw, but Aoshi shoved her down, slamming back into the wall. "Now!" he screamed, trying to ignore the pain, Grey quickly drawing the katana and forcing Saito to jump back, pulling the katana along with him, Aoshi crumpling to the floor.
"Aoshi!" Grey quickly yelled, kneeling next to him.
"Get the fuck out of here," he whispered, clutching the wound.
"Why? Why did you do it?"
"I'm not... going through that again..." he struggled to stand, the wound gushing blood. He fell back against the wall, panting for a moment. "Go."
"You honestly think we'll let her go?" Merrick interjected, cutting between the quiet exchange between the two. "Saito's said it, I'll repeat it. None of you are leaving here alive. And now that you're pretty much out of the way... she's our main priority."
He stepped forward, Grey edging back. Aoshi moved in front of her, holding out a single kodachi, using his other hand to try to stop the bloodflow.

The crowd at the door was slowly entering the dojo, and yelling could be heard from where Drake was standing. "I wonder what's going on in there." He turned and looked through, only to see someone on the floor bleeding severely with someone else behind. "I guess this is my cue to enter..." Pulling out his buster sword, he immediately cut through the man standing at the furthest back of the crowd, hoping to get some attention.

The others spun, having disregarded Drake as a threat before this. They quickly drew their swords, focusing on him.
Aoshi, on the other hand, had his own problems. He slammed back into the wall, struggling to get up. Grey quickly ran in front of him. "Don't! Just stay down!" she yelled, raising her katana towards Saito as she held Aoshi with the other arm, trying to shake him; he was quickly falling unconscious.

"Ah. So the weaklings have come to defend their master... Pitiful."

Drake was now trying to play a game of intimidation, for he knew he stood no chance against all of these goons at once. In his mind, he was already playing through the different tactics available for him to get to the other side of this crowd. They did not particularly interest him as much as the fight on the inside part of the dojo. Having enough confidence to begin his attack, he decided to intimidate his enemies once more, just to see their response.

"So, who shall be my first victim?"

"You'd best not take these 'victims' so lightly," one boy said, stepping forward. "We're Saito's men! Come on, act like it!" he yelled to the others, and they stood straighter, swords raised as a few stepped forward.

"Ah. A leader."

Drake quickly dragged his sword from off the ground and swung it at the man, attempting to cut through him.