Editing Ninjas and Demons:Kida Marabi (section)

== Background ==

''"Mine is the blade that will sunder Heaven and cut through Hell! You're 1,000 years too early to defeat my Tensatsu-Ryu!"''

[[Image:Kida_ink.jpg|thumb|Kida Marabi]]

Kida Marabi is a scion of the Sojobo clan of Tengu, a tribe of Mountain tengu who pride themselves on their fighting arts, and are so named after the legendary Daitengu Sojobo, who taught Minamoto no Yoshitsune how to fight. Having been alive for several centuries, Kida developed her own sword style, called Tensatsu-Ryu (Sky Cleaver Technique), a quickdraw technique so sharp and precise that it was known to split clouds in half (a rumor circulated in local towns beneath the mountain that when storm clouds suddenly disperse, it was because of the tengu swordfighting in the sky).

Hearing of the Sojobo Tengu warriors, Koji traveled to the mountain in search of warriors to recruit into his clan. He came to the Tengu with a challenge. If Koji could defeat one of their warriors, the defeated tengu would swear fealty to the Black Tiger Clan. In return, the chief tengu bargained that if Koji lost, he would use his magic fan to blow away Koji's knowledge of martial arts. Koji accepted their terms, and was made to fight against Kida in a traditional tengu duel. The tengu, known for their perfect balance, challenged themselves by fighting atop an assortment of thin, vertical wooden poles, and the first to touch the floor loses. Koji, as a ninja himself, was perfectly suited for the task, but was at a disadvantage to Kida, who could fly, and whose Tensatsu-Ryu technique could draw blood without having to touch its prey. Seeing that it was impossible to outmaneuver his foe or defeat her sword-to-sword, he cleverly lept from pole to pole, cutting each one down until there was only one left that he stood upon. With a shrewd taunt, he goaded the proud tengu into attacking with an all-out dive, giving him an opportunity to perform a daring takedown, bringing Kida to the floor first.

As promised, Kida was taken back to the Black Tiger Clan as one of Koji's vassals. Kida honors the pact made between Koji and the Tengu clan chief, and serves Koji faithfully. As tengu are prideful creatures, she takes great pride in her fighting ability, and has great confidence that she can best anyone with a sword. Kida is almost glad to serve the Black Tiger Clan, as it is the smallest of the human clans, it offers the greatest challenge and the most opportunities to fight powerful opponents. Her ambition is to perfect her Tensatsu-Ryu such that its blade cleaves through the clouds of heaven and the fires of hell, and that all of Japan will know its might.