"Hya!" Taiga waved her sword. Striking at the air.

"C-careful! Don't break the TV!"

Taiga ignored him, stepping back, striking a pose and slashing again. Ryuuji sighed, and he took in the pile of DVD's on the table. Sometimes this girl's ability to obsess eclipsed his own (not that he'd ever call his diligence against uncleanliness an obsession). "Ryuuji!" Snapped out of his thoughts, Ryuuji looked up. "Get me a drink, I'm thirsty!"

He sighed. "Well maybe if you took a break..."

Taiga turned on him, aiming the tip of her sword at the only other person in the room. "I'm not stopping! I have to do this for Kitamura!" She turned back on the TV, watching as a female samurai cut down a demon, after a (more like "the", Ryuuji was finding this oddly common) dramatic pause.

He got up. "Fine, fine, but we don't even know if it's true."

"Shut up!" She put her sword in the matching holster. Ryuuji just sighed. One little overheard remark about Yuusaku liking samurai movies and this was the result. He was just about to traverse the doorway between the room and kitchen when. "AHHH!"

"Taiga!" He turned around just in time to see Taiga fall, landing partly on the table, the DVDs and her lower body landing on the floor.

"Dammit." She growled as she forced herself back to her feet, oblivious to any pain. "I'm not stopping. I'm not stopping until I'm a beautiful and deadly samurai!"

"Thank goodness you're not going for graceful..."

He valued his safety too much to utter that aloud. She placed her Bokken back on her waist. She was trying to master what Ryuuji had called the Fatal Draw: The moment a Samurai would draw their blade and an opponent would fall down dead.

Ryuuji made a mental note to keep well out of her way.

She drew her sword again, this time managing to keep her footing. She frowned, taking a look around before-"Taiga! What are you?!"

Taiga jumped onto the table, lightly pushing the remaining DVDs to the floor with her foot. She smiled triumphantly, she'd found a perfect spot.

(Ryuuji had long since learned be to cautious of anything Taiga thought to be a good idea)

Taiga started swinging her sword again, leaving Ryuuji to sigh. It was his job to tidy up the DVDs. He quickly bundled a bunch of them into his arms, before organizing them.

"Hyaa!" He could sense Taiga taking another pose. She seemed determined to copy every one she'd seen thus far...and you'd think someone who used a sword like she did would already know which pose was the most battle suited. He looked through the movies he held one by one, everything seemed in order-

Wait, this one had a prequel, where was it? He stood up, looking through the spread mess that was the DVD's.

"Orya-uaaah."

Taiga stumbled in place, snarling as she forced herself back into a firm footing. Ryuuji took a look at her face, and as foolish as it was, maybe this was a time for more of Taiga's violent nature to come forward. It made her less clumsy. "Maybe it'll help if you picture something that annoys you?" Her gaze slowly turned on him, her eyes darkening. "What?" She growled, turning away and slashing at the air again. He knelled before the pile, analysing the cases one by one. "Gotcha.", he stood up, taking in the cover as he turned around. They should have spent more time on designing-

"Oryaa!"

"Huh?" He looked up "WHOH!"

He ducked, the sound of the passing blade telling him it'd been a good idea. For the second time in his life he'd evaded decapitation by a wooden sword.

...by the same person.

...by the same sword.

God he hoped this plan worked.

Taiga, her back once more to him, slashed a few more times as she continued stepping backwards, clearly imitating something from a movie. She didn't look back, as she drew closer and closer to the edge of the table-"AHHH!"

"Taiga!" He lunged, DVD forsaken as he held out his arms, letting the clumsy swordswoman fall right into them. He heard her low growl, but paid it no mind. If he had to choose between an angry Taiga or comatose one..."Don't you think you might be a bit clumsy for this?"

She glared at him. "You're no help." She pushed away from him, walking away across the table. "I'm practising in solitude. A barking dog like you'll only distract me."

"I'm a 'barking dog' now?" She didn't look back at him, instead all he heard as the sound of the door opening and closing. He sighed. "Where'd I put the medical kit?" He opened the door to the veranda, even double-glazed windows would not dampen the sound of Taiga's screams.

There were none. Ryuuji waited minutes, then handfuls of minutes, then an entire hour, but no scream came. He looked to her living window, seeing the light was still on. "Maybe she stopped?" He went about his business, taking a load of laundry out to the washer. Yet another thing Taiga generously added to his life, additional laundry. He really did wonder how one girl went through so much clothing...

His expertise got the clothing in the washer and the machine humming in a moment, and he made his way back into his room. So rare he got the night to himself, now what should he do with the silence...

-click-

"Hmm?" He turned around. Taiga's window slid open, but it was pitch black within. "Taiga?" He cautiously stepped to the edge of his veranda. "Taiga? Are you-AH!" He narrowly caught an object which had been thrown at him, quickly realizing it as a Bokken. "She has two?" He looked up, awaiting whatever was to come next.

"On your guard, dog. Your time has come."

"Tai-?"

Finally, she emerged.

A Samurai.

She jumped from the window, her sights set on him. Her hair billowing in the wind, her eyes glowing in the night, her sword high above her head, even made of wood, seemed to howl for blood.

Deadly.

He raised his sword, meeting Taiga's slash with a pitiful parry. His sword was knocked from his hand and she slammed into him, sending both of them crashing to the floor. His arms splayed, he could only look up at Taiga, kneeling over him as she held her sword to his neck with a victorious grin. In her bright Kimono, littered with cherry blossoms as her hair danced gracefully. She knew she'd done it...

Beautiful.