Hiro stays back from the others, knowing his talents lie in places other than diplomacy. He instead stands with his arms folded across his chest, watching Haruto treat with the ragged men. He notes the chinks in their armor and their lack of spear heads as well, but Haruto mentions it before himself; moreover, the other man knew of their clan and their ways, something Hiro was ignorant of. However, as he watches he catches a flicker of movement from the corner of his eye; his head jerks sharply upward towards the cliff, and he catches sight of the falling pebbles. He unfolds his arms and summons the winds around him again.
"Laugh if you wish," Hiro says to his companion, "But something is haunting these crags, and I have a suspicion it is not their men. I wouldn't be so certain about sheathing your weapons, if I were you." Hiro motions to where he spotted the motion on the crags, as well as the disrupted pebbles that fell from there. "We are not alone here."
Haruto's gaze follows Hiro's eyes. "Lovely. I suppose that's why we're scouting ahead." He looks back to the other group of soldiers. "Come to think of it, why are you out here if it's become so dangerous as of late?"
"Moekami no Kaori?" The man looks to be in thought, but he nods. "I recall hearing of it. Near Mount Yogan, no? You still have a few days' journey, then." When Hiro comments on the movement, the soldier's eyes also move to follow his gesture, but there's nothing there now. He looks more wary, but turns back to answer Haruto. "We were giving chase to a, ah, a thief. They stole from my lord's stores of food and drink, and we gave chase into the mountains."
The man is a poor liar, but not an ambitious one. He and his men were chasing something, you'd guess, but not a simple thief. For one thing, why send so many after one burglar? For another, given his talk of the mountains' danger, why would a thief run here?
"So you brought over a dozen soldiers, well-armed, to chase a thief who fled into mountains even you are wary of the danger of. For the crime of stealing food."
"Excuse my bluntness, but you are either incompetent, or a liar. I'm inclined to assume the latter, given your experience and seeming skill."
"You were not chasing a thief," Hiro says bluntly, his eyes still focused on the ridge above them. "But you were chasing something. What was it?"
"No need to provoke them," Haruto chastises Yasei. "We're trying to speak as civil men." He looks back to the commander. "But it is considered bad form to lie to someone you're trying to have a peaceful conversation. We mean no harm, there's no reason for deception."
The leader hangs his head, and you catch the ghost of a smile as he does so. "Forgive my impertinence, I did not wish to offend." He raises his head and takes a breath before continuing. "In actuality, we are giving chase to what may be oni spirits. I didn't want to offend your man, there." He nods to Yasei. "My apologies for the deception, however. The theft did occur, but there was a band of thieves, and the witness claimed they had demonic forms unlike those of a man. I'm not sure I believe it myself, but my lord demanded I bring a band of men to hunt them down and return the spirit to his manse."
He snorts out a breath of air and rubs his jaw. "We've been up here for nearly a week, now. Yesterday we were ambushed by some brigands--regular men, but wild and desperate--and I lost a few good soldiers and we were worn down. I fear returning to my lord without a demon's head, but we're running out of food and my men are run ragged already." He shakes his head. "I hate to speak ill of my lord, but this mission seems a fool's errand. You say you saw something behind us," he says, looking at Hiro, "but the only things haunting these crags are angry men with nothing to lose. There may have been oni here once, but I have yet to see one now." He sighs. "I only hope that my honor isn't the death of my men."
"Do you hear that?" Hiro says, cutting the man off at the end of his sentence. "A blade being drawn from it's scabbard," he mutters, glancing up to the rocks. "There!" he shouts, spotting the hooded figure before he disappears behind the cliff's edge yet again--he notices what appears to be a beak, but doesn't comment on it at the time. Before the figure appears his hand shoots out and the winds whip violently towards where Hiro spotted the figure. "Show yourselves, cowards!"
"No need to have worried. We're proud of our heritage and power, but everyone knows true oni are treacherous sons of-" he says, but cuts off as his head whips around a split second before Hiro.
He hefts his tetsubo, though hesitantly.
"I do not remember tales of oni with beaks, though maybe my education was lacking..."
"Many are known shapeshifters," Haruto says, one hand moving toward his katana, but not drawing it yet. He had sworn not to draw until his lift was threatened. "But that sounds more like a tengu than an oni..."
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"Tengu or oni, it definitely is observing us. We should proceed with care..." says Ryushi as he grabs his bow even tighter.
The young Higashiyama turns towards the leader and says "Fear not returning to your Lord without success. If there is indeed a demon here, we will help you defeat it." His smile shows confidence, and the rushing feeling of a battle to come bolsters his spirit.
A lengthy moment goes by after Haruto's shout, during which everyone readies for battle--preparing to draw weapons, readying those already in hand. The soldiers gather into an unsteady but passable formation, with the leader stepping forward and actually sliding his blade back into its scabbard. Still, he steps into a wide stance, and his hand on the hilt suggests he's ready to draw it quickly for his first strike.
One more second of silence passes, and then there's a birdlike screech as a dozen-odd figures leap down from the cliff above, weapons in hand. Most wear heavy cloaks or robes to keep out the wind and chill, hoods drawn up about their heads; those who don't have visible armor, if only rough leathers and thick cloth. As they land, it's easy to see that all possess long black beaks sprouting from an avian face, and their feet look as those of a bird as well. It isn't hard to place them : tengu.
Even as one of the tengu lands next to him, the leader of the soldiers draws his blade in a lightning-fast slash, giving a powerful shout as he does so. The blade slashes through the creature that landed closest to him, and one of its arms drops to the ground as it clutches at a suddenly open wound deep across its chest. So fierce is the attack that even the other creatures are taken aback, screeching in fear and surprise.
"Tengu!" Yasei shouts, and charges at one.
With a roar, he swings his club, and then uses the momentum from the miss to drop it on the Tengu's head.
Haruto flashes forward, his blade coming out in the same motion, and charges straight in to the nearest tengu. "Sometimes I hate being right..."
Hiro's body jerks forward with a sudden burst of speed as he sprints forward and crouches low in the same motion, using his momentum while sliding forward to bring his elbow about and smash it into the face of the nearest tengu; as he does so, his body continues to spin as he pivots on his back heel and scythes his other foot around with a spinning back kick towards the nearest standing enemy. All the while, the winds churn about his body, buffeting his foes and throwing debris about with the ferocity of his strikes.
Yasei eyes the veteran's attack, and notes that while it's similar to some more formal techniques, his form suggests nothing more than a dedication to the art of drawing the blade. So skillful is he that it accelerates and strengthens his slash, and the raw energy he pours into the shout is fearsome indeed.
The onispawn launches his own attack, and while the swing on the end of his charge doesn't miss, he uses its momentum to swing back around and catch the tengu in the ribs, raising a sickening crunch. Haruto also dashes forward with a slash, drawing feathers and blood from his target, and Hiro kicks forward to hit one of the creatures with a pair of powerful blows, dropping it to the ground.
Several of the crow-like humanoids screech out and attack the soldiers, figuring to find easy prey among the haggard men. The warriors prove their mettle, however, and their discipline outshines their fatigue: they quickly form ranks and fight back, and only one man among them falls. They rally and counterattack, and one of the tengu goes down under the assault of a few soldiers.
"Stand fast! Your skill outweighs theirs ten fold! You have the strength of will to fight through anything!" Haruto pushes forward at the head of the pack, his blade carving through the feathered aggressors.
Moving on quickly from his fallen target, Hiro dashes across the battlefield--meeting anyone who assaults him during his dash with a vicious kick--and attacks another of the tengu. He brings his fist down towards the creature's face, trying to strike it directly between the eyes as his control of the winds lends force to his blow.
As Yasei's tetsubo thuds into the ground after the last strike, he does a half spin and sends it crashing with maximum force into the nearest Tengu's midsection.
Haruto slashes once more at the tengu before him, and though his blade misses, his words fill his allies with strength and determination. Hiro leaps forward, and though one tengu slices at him along the way, he dodges that blow, but his own counterattack misses. At the end of his dash, however, he lands a powerful punch that drops another of the creatures to its knees, where it quickly collapses further. Ryushi leaps forward as well, his powerful jump giving him the strength to drop another tengu with a slash of his blades. Yasei, for his part, brings his mighty tetsubo around in another smash, and his enemy falls with a sickening crunch.
The leader of the soldiers raises his blade and engages another of the birdlike creatures, and he draws a line of red across its chest. Meanwhile, the soldiers and the tengu engaging them keep up their pitched fray, but no decisive blows seem to land. The tengu facing Haruto tries to fend him off with a slash of its short blade, but the Amatatsu deftly steps back, and the weapon passes by harmlessly. Hiro, however, is pressed to block a sudden attack from another of the creatures--perhaps still slowed by his wound from the fight with the bandits, he's unable to outright dodge, and must bring up his hands at the last moment to block against the tengu's arm.
Hiro catches the tengu who attacks him with a block, then knocks it back with his knee before slamming his wind-wrapped fist into its rib cage.
Haruto closes in and attacks another tengu, keeping up the assault to keep the pressure on their attackers.
The four heroes lay about them with their weapons, fists and blades and clubs, and more and more of the tengu fall at their feet. The soldiers in their cluster are emboldened by the success of the warriors, as well as their words, and they strike down the enemies as well. The last stands still, and it turns to face the soldiers' leader. For a long moment, they stand motionless; then, in the blink of an eye, the tengu raises its blade, and its head flashes clean from its neck. With a sudden bloody gurgle, the battle is over.
The soldiers give a cheer despite their weariness, and the leader gives a slight smile as he bends over to clean his blade. He sheathes the katana with a smooth motion and turns to the warriors, and gives a bow. "My deepest thanks for your assistance. You have done myself and my lord a great service on this day, and quite possibly saved the lives of my men."
The man reaches up with one hand and absently brushes some blood from his beard, and he frowns at the dark red on his fingers. "I do not know your purpose in traveling to Moekami no Kaori, but I wish you fortune and the favor of the spirits with whatever your task may be. Should you enter the lands of Okuda in the future, do not hesitate to call on Nakahara Hiroki." So saying, he gives one more bow, dons his helmet, and turns to command his men to move out.
Hiro simply nods and rolls his shoulder, his arm wrenched a bit during the battle. "We ought to keep moving, get to the castle. We've spent enough time here already."
Haruto absently cleans his blade, careful wiping the blood and viscera from the steel. "It was a pleasure to fight with a good man like yourself," Haruto says. "I hope that we are able to meet again under more... peaceful circumstances." As the friendly warriors depart, he nods to Hiro. "Indeed. Let's keep moving. The sooner we get to the castle, the sooner we can stop worrying about more ambushes like this one."