A Battle Between Flow and Instinct: Kisui Iyoku Versus Shishi Honpou

The lives up to its reputation quite well. Very rarely does one see sunshine within this domain. Its capital,, has seen a period of great prosperity since the decades after the Fourth Shinobi World War. Skyscrapers dot the horizon as Amegakure pierces through the distance. Two individuals, Shishi Honpou and Inochi Yamanaka, newlyweds continuing their search for the Black Crown Kingpins, find themselves at the border of the Land of Rain. They had been following a rumor that a potential Kingpin has stashes themselves deep within the village of Amegakure, using its sovereignty as cover for their operations. But they would find themselves behind two others; A man and woman, both of which sporting snow white hair and striking eyes. They were the patron and matron of the Iyoku Clan. They were told before in of two individuals who were also investigating the Black Crown, and Shishi has a hunch they found them.

"So you're the two that have been seeking out the Black Crown." The man's voice perks up, noting the girls' presence behind him and his wife. Surprised they were found out, Shishi approaches the man, suspicious of his intentions.

"Yeah, we are. And we've been told you're seeking them out, too. Looking to join them, or break them apart like we are?" Shishi asks, a look of suspicion drowning her usual visage. But before she could fully approach him, she feels an air of apprehension surround her, like she's being drowned in his aura.

"You're not from this time period. Your walk and posture indicate you're of Hyūga descent. You've tried to forget who you truly are but were unable to, bits of your past coming back to you at the worst possible moments. You're a spy, always paranoid and suspicious of everything around you, a natural trait for someone who has continued to break down opposition on the covert level. You've made plenty of enemies in your day, and some of them are still alive to haunt you. Your heavy walk tells me you once wore armor, very heavy armor, and at your height, it was a man's armor. You pride yourself in the strength you've built, but also in the finesse you've sharpened through years of espionage and reconnaissance." The man once again speaks, turning his gaze towards Shishi. He had read her without ever setting his eyes on her, the infinitely obsessive intellect of a man who focuses on everything around him, a trait he has second nature knowledge in from decades of experience. Shishi couldn't believe what he was saying, how he had her pegged down to the most subtle features of her being. Clinching her fists, she charges at the man with an incredible burst of speed, fast enough for if one to blink, she would have been in front of the man in no time at all. But this man was keen on her intentions and feels the attack coming in. Seeing her go for a kick, the man casually lifts up his right forearm, blocking the kick coming from Shishi's left leg, which has enough force to send a powerful shockwave that seems to disperse the rain around the point of impact. "Again." The man once again speaks. Shishi, shocked how this man casually blocked a kick that could splinter bones, regains her posture and delivers a flurry of punches and kicks towards the man, all aiming towards the singular goal of breaking him. But this man, one who has made the art of combat his art, casually ducks and weaves through each punch and kick, a nudge to the left here, a tilt of the head there, he was in no danger of being hurt. Trying to time his movements, Shishi begins performing countermovements hoping to catch him off guard, but at that moment, the man grabs one of her kicks, places his left foot behind hers, and delivers a powerful open palm strike towards her center of gravity. The impact sends her backwards, and at that moment, he releases her leg as she falls against his foot and falls flat on her back.

"You can't just think of every move you make. It slows you down. You need to let your instincts carry you. Your body already knows what to do. It evolved to fight, it was trained to fight. Don't let your body get weighed down by doubts and second thoughts. Let it do what it wants." The man speaks up. Hearing his words, Shishi places her hands on the ground just above her shoulders, and with a heave, pulls her self backwards and flips up to the ground. Taking his words to heart, Shishi clears her mind, entering a psychological state dedicated to a singular goal. In this situation, it was combat. Her mind was now in Flow. As the man nods his head, Shishi takes this opportunity and moves forwards with so much speed, the shockwave of her first step disperses the rain around them in a huge diameter, a punch at the ready aimed towards the man's jaw. Inochi couldn't even see her move. She just seemed to appear right in front of the man in the blink of an eye, same with the man's wife.

"Still not enough, but you're getting closer." As the punch seems to inch towards the man, to the passive eye, it would look like he phased through it, but in reality, his movements, completely independent in every limb, he has dodged Shishi's punch and counters back with his own, an uppercut that lands sharply against Shishi's solar plexus. With a loud grimmace, Shishi clinches her teeth, doing her best to stay in Flow as she uses the momentum of the punch to push her back and performs a spinning low kick aimed at the man's ankles. But it was no good, as the man easily lifts his feet up one at a time to dodge the kick altogether. As Shishi gets up, she performs a triple kick by planting her hand on the ground and lifting her feet up, performing three powerful kicks, but all three were blocked with the man's elbows, with very subtle, almost unseeable, thrusts of the elbow against her ankles at the apex of her kicks. Gritting her teeth at the pain, Shishi's concentration begins to break as her doubts being flooding in. If her autonomous movements weren't enough to stop him, what would? The man, seeing her doubts, closes his eyes and nods. He had won this battle. Shishi, her ankles having been fractured by the impact, steadily gets up, but finds herself unable to move on her own strength. Inochi quickly moves to Shishi's aid, propping her arm over her shoulder to give her a crutch to walk on.

"You're learning quickly. But when faced with the impossible, you still find your doubts taking over. You'll overcome your doubts eventually, and when you do, I want you to find me again, and show me what you have learned." The man speaks. As him and his wife hold their hands together, they disappear in the blink of an eye, leaving behind no trace of their existence. Shishi, taking the man's words to heart, promises to sharpen her instincts and let her body perform the movements they so naturally desire in the midst of combat.