[Kamizuru Manami]

People often mistook Manami for a dancer. She was tall, visually striking, and dressed to show off her legs. They never expected Kamizuru Manami's combat style to be akin to a mountain. She was not any faster than any other ninja trained in her arts, and she certainly was not the best close combat fighter Iwagakure had ever seen, but it didn't matter. She was good at what she did. 

One strike, one block. One strike, one block. Manami held herself back from going in on Akira. She wasn't trying to exert herself: he certainly wasn't a rampaging oni girl destroying the market in the middle of the night. They were sparring in the middle of the day, but she could feel that he had been training. 

"Desire is the least of it," Manami agreed. 

A sharp elbow strike came through, and Manami blocked with her arm, aiming a quick kick to Akira's center of gravity. Distance mattered in a fight. Distance mattered in a ruler: how much distance would Akira take from this village, where he had lived and died? 

"A leader brings all of themselves to the role," Manami countered. "They have to innovate. They have to have vision."

And what would Akira bring to table? Manami wanted to find out. 

[Deleted]

It was going as well as a stack of hay on fire. Of course Akira was outclassed but that wasn't the point - she wasn't chiding him or making him feel inadequate for that, and merely provided a match equal to that of Akira's skill at the moment. Still, good, but not able to match her yet.

That was fine. Hopefully it would change in the future.

Though, to her words of wisdom, if Manami was coming to a point or a question for Akira, he didn't notice it himself. "I agree," Akira would say to her point. Those were vital things for a leader. Unless she'd come to a question, he wouldn't offer insight there. Akira's centre of gravity would be expectedly taken: the Muay Thai style required to have quite concrete stances, with temporary centres of gravity until it came to the attack. During that point, they had to plant themselves. That was the point in which you attacked back.

And for that, he sprung back and off balance. Any lesser Shinobi could have followed up and kept him on the defensive. Similarly, Akira didn't let up either - springing forward with a knee at her, his body aligned to akin a spear as his body sprung at her. "On the other hand, Kouen had too much of it and he lost his head for it." Akira hadn't been involved with that war.

But, as far as he understood - that was the same. True.

Provided she hadn't try to take him and pluck the man from his position off the ground he would land and continue a simple continuous set of jabs, interweaving some hooks for good measure as well. If she wouldn't go on the offensive... well. He would.

This was all peaceful - he had no need to hold back.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Furaingunī [Flying Knee]
RANK: C
COST: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
DESCRIPTION:
A slightly more advanced knee strike, this combines the piston like power of the Hanuman with the focused and magnified force of a knee strike. The practitioner propulses off the ground from the power of both legs, only to then extend one leg forward while twisting the hips slightly. This motion takes full use of range while maximizing the power delivered. This is effectively the same as being hit by a sledgehammer.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ

[Kamizuru Manami]

Hmmm. He was certainly pouring some aggression into this spar. She wasn't going to ramp herself up too much. She'd stay on whatever level he was putting out, but he certainly had been putting more work into this since his resurrection than he let on. It was like night and day, comparing him at the pottery wheel versus here in the dojo. She liked his Akira much better. He had energy, he had purpose. He was much more than a mere husk. 

"Kouen made mistakes," Manami said, dodging out of the way of  a hook. He was easier to read with her Mind's Eye than a standard combatant, but she wasn't going to relax her guard. She moved to the side, and aimed a kick at his side. Let's see how he handles an opponent with a little offense in them. 

"He didn't care about allies," she said. "Takara was smarter about it. She wanted public support behind her, even though her clan is one of the strongest around."

She swung around him, aiming for light kicks behind his knees. Failing that, she start aiming equally light kicks to his other side, trying to weaken his guard, and put him off balance. 

"What do you see, when you look at this village?" Manami asked.

[Deleted]

"Hm." Akira knew better than to respond with 'we all do' - he didn't need to constantly remind everybody of his eventualities and especially not Manami. She knew. The second reality was his body was taking more time to respond to her attacks than it could give him the opportunity to actually answer. Maybe in time he would be able to leisurely talk while fighting at his current level, but that was not currently so.

And the history lesson that Akira appreciated but did not need; she would lead with a kick that would have Akira bring his forearm down to attack back, simply meeting it before it could find its finishing destination and to block effectively. But that did not offer him opportunity to continue as they fought. "Because she wasn't the first pick," Akira reminded her. Toshu was the desired Tsuchikage. The support was not desired, it was necessary for her success.

Akira had to back off to make that comment. His style was not faring well against her evasive attacks, which was perfectly fine: his legs were taking a beating in order to stay true to his stance, and being light on his feet more often than not was making her attacks put him off balance, and in an even more difficult position to attack. So, a change was necessary.

"People. Clans, non-clan." Akira would step forward in one single step, clapping at her. Yes. Clapping: but he had some of the strength to back it up: a force of wind from his hands expelling toward her centre body, enough to push her off guard. Not targets, objects of sway: tools. Just people.

"I see people worth a second chance." and that: was the truth. Akira would follow up if successful with Manami to grasp her body, to try and slam her into the ground. If not: he would stand there, awaiting for her own attack.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Kaze no bāsuto [Burst of Wind]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: None
DESCRIPTION:
The user claps it's hands together with such force, that a great shock wave appears, breaking up till C-rank elemental jutsu [B-rank not included] but also can blow someone in mid-air away. When this move is used on someone's head, the opponent's brain will have such a shock that it gives not only a heavy concussion, but it can also render him deaf if the blow is applied on the ears, breaking the the malleus (or hammer), incus (or anvil), and stapes (or stirrup). If used with higher levels of strength, it can crush the opponent's head. If the Wind Blow is used on another part of the body, the opponent will find itself with damaged muscles and/or organs, depending on where the blow was landed.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ

[Kamizuru Manami]

Bingo. Manami had a technique for just this situation. When Akira went to block her leg to keep her in place, she bounced on the other foot, putting chakra into the flat of it, and then bringing it up to give herself more space. Akira could handle a hit here and there. 

"My predecessor," Manami agreed.

She had been resistant to Yutakako Takara when she had first stepped up for her call to power and rule of the people. Manami liked the change, but she never fully trusted the Yutakako. They were known for brutality and their unique customs, and they didn't like to play fair with others. All things that Manami had been working to fix in her own clan since the reign of her grandfather. And Tantetsu Toshu was the Grand Marshal. He was someone she had been looking up to since she was teenager. Now she was in his place. 

The clap she wasn't exactly expected. She could feel the force well up as he stepped forward, but this was a new technique for her. He moved to slam her down as she recovered, but she defaulted back to her training. The technique she was defaulting to wasn't exactly made for this, but it might work. She twisted as they both fell, and she held chakra in one heel, and drove it down towards Akira's shoulder to free herself. 

She breathed in and out.

"And what did those people waste their first chance on?" She asked, voice a little heavier and breathier from the exertion.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Baundo [Legato]
RANK: C.
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low.
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu.
DESCRIPTION:
If the user’s leg is being held, the user would utilize their other leg to launch themselves a little higher as the leg would come up and slam either onto the opponent’s head or the arm that he/she was using to hold the user’s leg. This is commonly used to rid the unwanted grasp of a single leg during fights.
---
NAME: Bansō [Accompaniment]
RANK: D.
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low.
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu.
DESCRIPTION:
A twist of one’s body either left of right after facing towards the side, whilst bringing the closest leg to the foe upwards. Once within an optimal position, the user drives their heel down on an opponent’s shoulder in a diagonal motion. A good hit with this can knock an opponent off balanced and a severely weakened opponent to the ground.

[Deleted]

Honestly? Akira didn't know what she meant by predecessor. They were Kamizuru and Yutakako: unless she was saying that Takara had been her boss, or Manami had also been a pick for the Tsuchikage (Which didn't really surprise him) Akira was finding less and less opportunity to breathe as he was pushing it harder than Manami was pushing hers.

The air pressed out of his lungs from one side - a simple application of body and movements, from the movement of his own bodies to stop her from trying to push his collar bone and break it. It required him to step back - if only to catch his breath. Still, he knew this opportunity could not be afforded in a life or death, but it was more of a luxury to be afforded. As a civilian. His hands would tap at the ground instead and push back to stand himself up, since she'd broke free quite easily.

"Some people haven't used their first," He'd put his hands on his hips to somehow ease the rising and falling of his chest. The flurry of punches and kicks and harder-to-action things felt much more wearing on his body. The notion of innocence was still a thing - and his phrase was for the vague. It was not definitive, it was simply a saying of mercy that could be applied endlessly. Well. Not endlessly: and Akira did not have the patience or the drive to give mercy to someone trying to kill him over and over.

"I'd consider it more of a point to do right by people in the world, even when they don't deserve it. To allow everybody their liberties even when you don't agree with them." It was a matter of personal integrity.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ

[Kamizuru Manami]

The tap on the floor was pretty universal. They used the phrase "tap out" in regular conversation for a reason, after all. Manami was starting to feel the strain, after jumping into a spar like this with little preparation. Akira was holding up pretty well, all tings considered. But what was she even considering for a dead man in the first place? Regardless, she was impressed with Akira's mostly-civilian endurance. He was living proof that anyone could become a capable shinobi, hell or high water. Not everyone wanted to be one, of course, but it was definitely possible. Even death couldn't seem to stop him. 

Hmmm. An odd follow up to her first question. She walked a few steps back, widening the space between them, as she centered her breathing. It was good to have a solid spar like this every once and a while. Kept you on your toes. Arguing political philosophy while doing it... that was a new mental exercise she was finding that she liked. 

"The democratic approach," Manami said, responding to Akira's second point. "I'd like to think that Yutakako Takara and her elections were founded on a similar principle. It does, of course, make you wonder: how much good do we do for other people, and how much of it are we doing for ourselves?"

Was it wrong to do good out of a sense of ideals and honor, instead of impact? Manami wasn't sure. The Yutakako were obsessed with custom. It made sense that Takara would find a way to turn their village's leadership into another form of ceremony. Did she do that because she felt it was necessary to give the people a voice? Did she do it so she could feel better about wanting the hat? The result was ultimately the same, but...

[Deleted]

Ultimately from this entire ordeal, Manami was having a much easier time of it than Akira. That much was truth.


Manami did offer new concepts and insights, one that Akira had thought of (not in the same way or vein of thinking) but it did reintroduce new concepts to be framed differently. Akira wasn't quite ready to begin again on another fit of attacks to the woman, so he did take his time while he stopped between sentences for a few seconds to gain his breath. All the while focused on her, the man didn't shy away from her eyes- meeting her as he spoke diligently on the subject. Or tried to, anyway.

"I'd like to think there are truly pragmatic people out there. But pragmatism is rarely pragmatic. It's colored by self interest. I'm in a dojo honing my own skills to protect others. Mostly myself. The thought counts, but it's not quite so pure in that context. Does that uh... make sense?" So in sense by saying that Takara -- or anybody for that matter -- did things purely because they wanted to do it for other people. Doing good for the true belief of good.

Well. Akira didn't believe that for a second.

Was that not an incompatible belief with his own Religion? Akira knew that he was colored as a human, and full of idiosyncratic and incompatible behaviours. But, he wanted to do right and be kind because he chose to be, no matter how flawed he felt in himself. To be truly giving as a person? That required a special someone. Someone like Jihi himself.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ

[Kamizuru Manami]

Their spar was firmly over by this point. Manami started working on her cooldown stretches as Akira talked. She hadn't been the most warmed up they started that spar, and had worked out harder than she had anticipated when she sought Akira out. A shinobi needed to be ready for anything, of course, but that didn't mean that best practices were useless. In fact, they were often more necessary because of it. You never knew when doing everything you needed was going to save your life.

"Yeah, I can follow that," Manami said. "Pragmatism and Idealism are opposites for a reason. It's not a shock that people who tend to be selfish espouse one and people who tend to think about others focus on the other."

It was clear to Manami even without her specialized senses that Akira did not hold the highest opinion of their Tsuchikage. Or, any Tsuchikage. When you examined the trajectory of his life, it didn't surprise her. It wouldn't surprise anyone. It was sometimes a silly thing to be angry about, but could she really blame him? Hmmm. For some of it? Absolutely. 

Manami always wanted to believe in benevolence. She wanted to believe that people could be good. But she knew that "good" wasn't a state of being. It was a struggle against both yourself and the people around you. 

[Deleted]

Manami was able to put into words Akira's more complex and thoughtful theory, perhaps better than what he had said himself. But yes, the same thoughts were colliding at the least - while they may not have shared the same view like for like.

Akira did stop, only because knowing that if they were to step it up a gear, any and all of Akira's self honor would be lost by being beat so easily. That, and he was already getting tired with a Judo lesson happening shortly after she had been gone.

So, there was that. He wasn't going to be leaving. "But I'm here for me right now, and for the things I believe in. The difference is that I now consider more the feelings of those around me. I'm just a cog in a wheel, I'd suppose." He was dispensible, and he had learned that lesson the hardest for being the person who thought he had become untouchable.

Nobody was untouchable.

Akira did laugh, though. "We should continue this. But I do have a lesson shortly. Perhaps you could give me the... ongoings, of your own life. I've become quite the potent ear." There was some humour left in his life as well, ans it would do him well to continue honouring that. The man had begun his cooldown stretch. Which - was actually a series of stretches that would help him get warm for him hitting the mat hundreds of times later.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ