Glory. Honor. Money.
These were the reasons Hideyama Nabutori arrived upon such an unfamiliar scene. The lord Akimatsu-no-Kami-Hizashi, daimyo of Hideyama's clan Akimatsu, had ordered the assassination of one Lamina Manira, ad gladium in the Wing City Arena. Given his target's recent publicity, Hideyama knew the winnings would certainly be worth the journey, even to such strange lands as these.
This was to be a duel until death, a matchup of the highest honor. Hideyama had been appointed the position of hatamoto, or personal guard, to the lord daimyo himself. While only action would tell, tales of both his arrival and expertise in kenjutsu spread quickly throughout the arena stands.

"Arriving from the West gate... Hailing from the distant lands of Toku, I present to you...Kensei Hideyama, sword saint of the east!

Aaaand from the East gate... Our very own, undefeated, Lamina Manira!!!"

The crowd roared to the mention of the second fighter, who's diminutive figure would stride from the far gates (presumably)...

Hideyama would not receive such welcome. Though he presented himself in full Do-maru armor and face mask, his fearsome appearance was all he had going for the crowd. A dash sword set of katana and wakizashi sat at his left hip, held loosely to his body by the white obi sash around his waist.
So it begins...

Casually she strode out into the ring, a wakizashi already drawn in each hand, blades glinting in the sun with each gentle swing to her little steps. This was a path she'd walked many times before.
It felt like ascension, she thought, rising up dark stairs to the roar of a crowd, before the door opened and allowed sunlight to blind her as her toes kissed the sand. Her pupils adjusted as usual, leaving only a blank dusty trail between her and the enigmatic silhouette of whoever she was to fight. She strode forward as if on autopilot before stopping a safe distance from the samurai, and now in the heat of the moment and under everyone's scrutiny, her conscious mind took over and at once she was presented with the truth of the moment. She studied everything about his opponent, from his ethnic clothing and armor to the two silken wrapped hilts of his undrawn blades. She bent into a low stance, her forward right foot leading as though she were about to pounce. With each short blade extended to either side, it was clear this was more a pose of flashy readiness than of defense. Her emerald stare remained locked on his sternum, her legs tense and ready to spring in whatever direction the hatamoto would force her in.
"I hope your conscious is clear, for you may be reaching your Pure Land soon enough. I am ready when you are."

He offered the girl a respectful bow before advancing on her position. The armored warrior strode up to what was an acceptable distance to start the duel, and then drew his sword, raising it in an upper stance with the katana diagonally back over his head, both hands upon the tsuka, ready to strike downward with unforgiving force. His right foot slid forward, evenly spreading his balance to a front stance in footing. This posture was known as daijodan-no-kamae, a position of offense. What then followed was a staredown of silence, a psychological thrill during which each opponent sized up the other and contemplated the start of the match. The crowd hushed, now fixated on the exotic warrior poised for the first blow.
And then without hesitation the samurai dashed into an attack with the full intent to kill in one cut, with little regard for his own life. The katana descended in a single stroke fueled by every bit of it's wielder's power only when Hideyama had moved within sufficient range to practically guarantee the strike's contact, which came in tandem with a very shrill kiai.
"AAIIII!"

Lamina did not try to skitter away from the attack, which had been too close and calculated for effective evasion. Instead she corrected her footing, standing upward and balanced evenly upon both legs. The smaller girl would have to face the attack head-on, thus starting the duel with a very loud clang that reverberated off the concave walls of e coliseum, and captured the audience.
She had brought both blades to bear, wielding them overhead in a crossed "X" into which the katana descended and transferred it's energy. It took both of the girls arms to hold up against the attack, some of the force of which she deflected to her left side, maneuvering the twin wakizashi to trap the opponent's blade and guide it's edge aside.
Once the inertia of the incoming blade had subsided some, Lamina stepped forward with her right foot, sliding her right wakizashi from the side of the katanas blade and into a violent rightward horizontal arc intercepting with the samurai's neck. Her left blade maintained it's hold against the left flat of the katana, now warding it from following her counter in an attempt to parry.

What an interesting technique, he thought of the young wakizashi-wielder who had scissored away his blade and followed through with a horizontal swipe, to which Hideyama leaned far backwards, allowing the little blade to swipe audibly overhead his demon-masked face with a slight whoosh.
He didn't waste any time in expedient recovery after his evasion. Once the blade had passed, the samurai realigned his posture from a backwards to a full forwards lean. With Lamina's right sword outstretched from it's swipe, Hideyama had moved his upper body toward the inside of the girl's guard. As he leaned inward, he re-angled the katana, maintaining it's contact with the left wakizashi by the blade, but arcing the hard wooden tsuka horizontally to Lamina's face, utilizing her sword as the fulcrum to an attack that delivered a full underhanded punch by the blunt end of the weapon from a horizontal angle. His left hand let go of the katana and hovered near the upper end of it's saya, allowing the right to punch forth with uninhibited force. To aid the inertia of the strike, a slight leftward twist at the hips propelled the right side of his body and consequently, the ornate, hard brass kashira fitting at the blunt end of his weapon that threatened to knock the girl out cold.

She felt mildly impressed with her opponent's technique, though she could, of course, keep up with him enough to foil his plans.
She slid her left wakizashi along the convex arc of the katana's tempered edge, bringing her blade to collide with the brass guard of the opponent's sword during it's horizontal striking motion. By moving the fulcrum to the lower end of the arcing sword, she would instead hold off his punching motion in such a way that he'd have to push past her guard to connect.
The defense was simple enough, but it had it's downside. The full force of the samurai had now transferred from the katanas hilt to the girl's wakizashi and bracing left arm. Because her arm was not going to give into the force of the larger and stronger opponent, she was forced into a half shove, half back step as Hideyama literally shoved her backwards, and she stepped to compensate and correct her footing.
From such a proximity either fighter now had to advance on the other to move back within range.