Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Lesson
At dawn the following week, as the sun lazily pierced through my room, I sat down for breakfast. At that moment, a vaguely familiar boy entered my room – my cousin, if I remember correctly. With a slight irritation, he informed me that Jinichi was waiting for me in the training hall and quickly left, barely concealing a smirk.
"Should I catch up and give him a piece of my mind? ...Well, maybe not bother, it's better to settle things in a corner somewhere. Too bad I'd be easily spotted," I dismissed the thought, yawning and shaking off the remnants of sleep.
After a few leisurely minutes, I reached the training ground. Overall, it looked quite impressive with wooden floors, walls adorned with scrolls depicting battle scenes, a makiwara in one corner, and bamboo dummies in the center.
Nearby, there was a spacious courtyard for group training and sparring. About a dozen guys and girls in training uniforms sat on one side. In the center of the hall stood Jinichi, my older brother, muscular with unruly spiky hair and thick eyebrows, looking apathetic.
"You took too long, Toji," he said with a mild reproach.
"Sorry, you should know what recently happened to me," I chuckled. "I haven't had time to recover, dear brother."
At my last words, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Rentaro, show what you've achieved," he commanded.
Following his words, a short guy my age stood up, smiling condescendingly at me.
"I'm sorry, Toji, but today you'll have to leave the hall early."
"Well, it's getting tiresome... Every time I have to deal with these rejects. But this time it'll be much more enjoyable. Even the genius of the Zenin clan will end up in the dirt," I thought, feeling every sound and movement around me becoming clear and distinct.
"Don't overestimate yourself, idiot."
A shadow of irritation crossed his face as he decisively attacked, accurately directing his foot towards my chin. Yet, I clearly saw the direction of his strike and easily leaned my torso backward. A barrage of slow punches followed, too sluggish to reach me. It was time for my counterattack.
Rentaro didn't expect me to dodge his attacks and failed to defend against my swift and precise strike. Stunned, he fell to the floor, looking at me with surprise and anger.
"Is that all, 'genius'?" I asked with a smirk, feeling adrenaline and confidence fill my consciousness.
With evident malice in his eyes, Rentaro rushed into a new attack. Our bodies moved at a fast pace, blow after blow, in a dance of tension and strength. Onlookers gathered around us, observing the fight. After several long minutes of struggle, or rather me beating my opponent, Jinichi intervened.
"Enough," he was clearly angry. "Looks like you're not prepared enough, Rentaro. I'll have to take care of you myself."
My opponent, breathing heavily, bowed with clenched teeth and quickly disappeared behind his comrades. I, barely holding back a smile, wiped the sweat from my forehead with my sleeve and tried to calm my breathing when suddenly I felt a disturbance in the air in front of me.
A swift, unexpected blow to the stomach made me drop to my knees. I felt everything inside contract from pain. My body couldn't react; I only managed to tense my abs to mitigate the pain.
"Show respect to your opponent, Toji," Jinichi said sternly, looming over me. "Haven't I taught you that?"
"Cough-cough, go to hell, bastard..." I managed to squeeze out through a cough, trying to stand up.
A kick to the ribs sent me sprawling, and I writhed in pain, feeling every nerve in my body respond to the impact. Jinichi approached, grabbed me by the collar, and lifted me, bringing his face close to mine.
"Is this how you treat your elder?"
The hall was enveloped in tense silence, interrupted only by the sound of slaps echoing throughout the room. I hung there, feeling a burning pain spreading across my cheek, mixed with bitter emotions of anger and humiliation. The gazes of onlookers were fixed on me, filled with undisguised disdain and satisfaction.
Every look, every whisper in the hall seemed to bite into my skin, intensifying the sense of humiliation and helplessness. I stared at the floor, trying to gather the remnants of my dignity.
I was released, and I fell to the floor. Gathering the last shreds of strength, I slowly stood up, trying not to show my weakness.
"Have you learned how to behave, Toji?"
I clenched my fists and wanted to say how much I "respected" him, but I restrained myself and just nodded. There was no need to provoke Jinichi unnecessarily; he couldn't tolerate disrespect and could ensure that I could no longer clench my hand into a fist.
The remainder of the training session involved sparring with other students. After the training, I quickly made my way home, changed, and walked into the corridor, where a tall, dark-haired man passed by me. It was my father. His rare visits home were always unpredictable.
Surely, rumors about what I had done reached him. In the past, he constantly lectured me about Jinichi, who at my age defeated a second-level curse. But I surpassed him. What do you have to say now, father?
He stopped, and without even looking at me, he said:
"Don't get cocky just because you managed to kill a weak first-level curse, pathetic monkey. And don't let me catch you in my sight again."
I watched his retreating back and sighed quietly when he disappeared around the corner.
"And what did I expect? It was foolish to think I would receive recognition from him..." bitterly smiling, I stepped into the yard.
There, in the center of the well-kept garden, stood an old cherry tree, its branches covered in pink blossoms, creating a contrast with the gloomy thoughts filling my mind.
In memories, the silhouette of a woman resurfaced.
"Most likely, you're in hell. But at least you're free, unlike me...
In spring, at the age of five, realizing that I lacked not only cursed techniques but even the ability to see the curses our clan actively uses, my mother hung herself on that very tree... The only thing my father said then was to order the maid to remove the body as it was ruining the view.
"Are you planning to follow her example?" Jinichi asked, approaching from behind. "Hang yourself, like mother?"
"Everyone in the clan would be happy about that, right? Easier to disappear without a trace..."
"...Damn it. With this body, even if I put my head in a noose... it probably wouldn't even kill me," I turned towards him, a smirk playing on my lips. "And besides, it would be a shame to leave without causing a little hell on earth first."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone