The cicadas hummed a rhythmic drone against the summer heat as Uri and Amy-chan stood in the clearing behind the old Shinto shrine. The scent of pine resin was thick, and the mountain air felt charged, as if the earth itself were breathing.
"Focus, Uri-kun, your gonna use your nature right?" Amy-chan said, wiping sweat from her brow. She adjusted her training gi, her small hands hovering near her chest. "Papa says Conquerors Energy isn't just about crushing things. It's about reaching."
Uri nodded, his dark hair damp against his forehead. "I know, Amy-chan. But it feels like a floodgate I can't quite crack."
He closed his eyes, reaching deep into the reservoir of his soul. He thought of the gap left behind in their home—the silence where his brother's voice used to be. "If you want to see what I see, Uri, you'll have to catch up to me," Levi-san had said, his back turned as he vanished into the morning mist.
Uri's fist tightened, his knuckles turning white. Suddenly, the air didn't just vibrate; it roared. A geyser of translucent, shimmering energy erupted from Uri's feet, soaring upward with such velocity it pierced the low-hanging clouds, creating a brilliant, glowing pillar that touched the very vault of heaven.
"Amazing!..." Amy whispered, her eyes wide with wonder as the golden light bathed the forest in an ethereal glow. For a moment, the world was beautiful, a silent promise of the heights they could reach.
But the beauty was shattered by a heavy, jagged pressure.
Daigo-san stepped from the treeline, his face obscured by a terrifying shadow. The air around him didn't shimmer; it curdled. The "plaguing disease" in his mind was acting up again, turning his protective instincts into a jagged, irritable weapon.
"You're making too much noise, Uri," Daigo growled as he shattered the pillar, his Conquerors Energy slamming into the clearing like a physical hammer. Amy and Uri collapsed to the floor from the sky, but Uri protected amy from the fall.
"what the hell are you doing daigo-san", uri said."Did'nt i tell you? none of this miscreancy, your not gonna train with this kid hes too dangerous".daigo said as he slapped amy. Uri's crimson glow returned, sharper than before. He stepped in front of her, his own aura clashing against Daigo's in a violent, static-filled standoff. "Stop it, Daigo-san! You're hurting her!"
"I'm keeping you safe!" Daigo roared, lunging forward.
The two collided. It wasn't just a clash of energy; it was a brutal, hand-to-hand struggle. Daigo swung a heavy lariat, his arm coated in a dense layer of Conquerors Energy. Uri ducked, the wind of the blow cracking a nearby stone lantern. Uri countered with a palm strike to Daigo's chest, the impact sending a shockwave through the dirt.
Clang!
Their forearms locked, and the world seemed to tilt. As they struggled, Daigo's mind fractured. I have to suppress him, a voice hissed in the back of his brain. If his light shines too bright, 'He' will find him. Michiru will come for the boy. I promised Levi... I promised...
"You're pathetic," Uri hissed, staring directly into Daigo's bloodshot eyes. "This is why you'll never be like Uncle Shirotora. He protected with his heart, not his fear!"
The mention of his rival snapped something inside Daigo. He swung a desperate, wide hook, but his movements were sluggish, hampered by the very disease that drove his rage. Uri caught the fist, his own red energy flaring so bright it blinded the clearing.
"I wont stop fighting even if i die.I'm going to the city, Daigo-san," Uri said, his voice trembling with both anger and pity. "And I'm going to find Levi. But I won't leave Amy-chan behind all Alone!."
The pressure vanished. Daigo fell forward, his forehead resting against Uri's shoulder. The jagged aura evaporated, replaced by a cold, hollow silence.
"The disease..." Daigo whispered, his voice breaking as he wept openly. "It makes me forget who I am. It makes me forget that you're just a boy... and she's just my daughter. I'm sorry, Uri. I'll... I'll be better. I have to be."
Uri let out a long breath, his hand tentatively resting on the older man's back. In the distance, the pillar of light he had created was gone, but the stars were finally beginning to peek through the canopy.
He looked up, meeting Uri's steady gaze. For the first time in years, the irritability was gone, replaced by a profound, soul-deep clarity.
"I am sorry, Uri. For the weight I put on your shoulders. For the fear I put in Amy-chan's heart." He turned his head toward his daughter, who was watching from the shadows of the shrine, her eyes wide. "Amy-chan... come here."
As the girl approached tentatively, Daigo bowed his head until it touched the cooling earth—a warrior's ultimate sign of contrition.
"I failed the memory of Levi-san today," he whispered. "But I promise you both... as long as this mind of mine holds together, I will be the father you deserve. I won't let my fear dim your light again. Go to the city, Uri-kun. Catch up to that brother of yours. I'll make sure this home is a place worth returning to."
Uri felt the knot in his chest—the one he'd carried since Levi left—finally loosen. He reached down and placed a hand on Daigo's shoulder, a silent acceptance of the man's vow.