A/N: Made a mistake in the previous chapter; at the end of the chapter, he is not four but instead three. I've edited it. So he's currently three, not four.
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I dashed towards Taiga at impressive speeds with a massive smile on my face, showing all twenty of my teeth. I felt the sharp breeze against my face as I jumped into the air and swung down a clumsy strike.
Taiga easily parried the strike and slammed his bokken against my side, sending me crashing to the ground. I spat out dust and felt a sharp pain in my ribs; he definitely broke some.
"Damn, you don't pull your punches, do you?"
"Get up, monkey, I don't have time for pointless chatter," Taiga replied, gripping his bokken tighter.
"Just how I like it!"
I dashed forward again, but instead of jumping into the air, I crouched low, aiming for his right knee. Taiga evaded it, moved to the side, and kicked me in the gut, sending me airborne.
Then he brought his bokken down on my back, sending me to the ground. Maki and Mai had gotten up, scared, and were about to run to me, but Miyu held them back. They could do nothing but watch in horror.
I got up slowly. My kimono was now dirty, covered in dust and a bit of my blood. My nose was broken from the impact with the ground, and was bleeding as well.
This is what I wanted for so long, the adrenaline rush of a fight. I didn't care that I was losing; the only thing that mattered was the enjoyment.
"Thank you," I said, smiling.
Taiga raised his eyebrows in confusion. Then I leapt forward again, but no matter what angle I struck from, he always countered. Each of his attack cracked a bone in my body, and I was in constant pain, yet I enjoyed it.
By this point, tears had fallen from Maki and Mai as they watched their big brother get brutally beaten. It didn't even resemble a fight anymore, but a massacre.
The sandy-colored ground was covered in blood. Mamoru got up for the twenty-third time; his left eye was swollen shut and bruised purple. His right arm was broken and hung limp at his side. If it weren't for his heavenly restriction, Mamoru would have died from his injuries.
He had to switch his bokken to his left arm, which was less dominant, making it even harder to hit Taiga. At this point, Mamoru's mind was calm, while still filled with happiness.
He was in a state of serene contentment, fully satisfied with this fight.
"Why do you keep getting back up, you persistent brat?" Taiga asked, frowning.
"Because you're trying to break me, aren't you? I don't know what Ogi said about me, but whatever scheme he put you up to is not going to work. It'll take the grim reaper himself to put me down."
Mamoru got into his stance, ready to strike again.
"Haha, such arrogance from a monkey. If it's death you desire, then so be it; your life is worthless."
"That is enough, Taiga," Miyu said.
Taiga glanced towards her with irritation. "Don't be so lenient on the boy, but if it's as you wish, then I will leave."
He walked up the stairs and headed back the way he came, not even sparing a glance at the disappointed Mamoru. Maki and Mai ran up to Mamoru, having finally been released from Miyu's grasp.
"Big brother, you're hurt!" they both shouted at the same time, crying.
They wanted to hug him but didn't want to cause him any more pain.
"I'm fine, just one visit to the medical bay and they'll patch me right up, don't... worry... about your big brother," I mumbled.
I felt a sudden drop in my energy and started struggling to stand, swaying back and forth.
"Mommy, something's wrong with big brother!" Mai gasped, her eyes going wide.
She hurriedly ran to Miyu, leaving Maki to hold me up.
Shit, I'm falling unconscious. The adrenaline crash hit, making my body feel extremely weak, and my vision slowly started to darken. The last face I saw was Maki bawling her eyes out.
'Sorry, kid.'
I woke up a couple of days later in the medical bay with my right arm in a cast and my broken nose bandaged up. Despite the Zenin Clan being very traditional, their medical technology was top-notch.
It was probably because of the number of injuries the average Zenin gets from sparring and fighting cursed spirits daily. Most of my days were spent sleeping, eating, and shitting. It was like I had reverted to my baby routine.
I sighed, glancing towards Maki and Mai, who were sleeping on the chairs across from me. They were good people; only a couple like them existed in the Zenin Clan. That Ranta kid, for example.
Speaking of members, just how strong was Taiga? I thought at first he might be part of the Hei, but I don't think someone from the strongest group of sorcerers in the Zenin Clan would want to train someone they saw as worse than trash.
So that means he has to be part of the Kukuru Unit, which would make him around pre-awakened Maki level, which was Grade Two if the Zenin Clan didn't mess with her rankings.
'Not too bad, Mamoru, already fighting people that are Grade Two at the age of three.'
I patted myself on the back, cracking a small smile. Despite getting completely washed by Taiga, I was still able to stand up again and again after his attacks. He should honestly be embarrassed that he couldn't knock a toddler unconscious.
Just then, I heard a yawn. It was from Maki. She slowly rubbed her eyes before opening them. As soon as she saw me, her eyes widened, and she quickly tapped Mai, waking her up.
Both of their faces broke into smiles.
"Big brother!" they yelled at the same time.
Both jumped onto the bed and rushed to my side. I rubbed their hair, making them laugh.
"Mai and I missed you," Maki said.
"Mhm," Mai hummed, nodding her head in agreement.
"I missed y'all too."
"You were sleeping for so long, I thought you were dead," Maki stuttered.
"Me too!"
"Haha, I would never die like that, guys. When I die, it will be in a great fight that changes the world," I laughed lightly.
"Whoa, a great fight... Can I be in it too?" Maki's eyes sparkled.
"Of course you can, even Mai can join too. It'll be the greatest art ever."
"Art?" Mai asked, confused.
"Yes, art. Fighting is one big play to me, an expression of one's will. When I fight someone, I don't see it as dangerous, but as a way to understand them. It's the rawest way to show who you are. That's why I kept getting up. I couldn't lose to something so boring, I have to go out with a bang!"
Mamoru raised his hand in the air and started laughing. Mai and Maki looked confused, not understanding everything he said or why he was laughing, but they still smiled. As long as their big brother was happy, they were happy too.
In one house of the Zenin Clan, closest to the Disciplinary Pit, Ogi Zenin sat drinking green tea. After sparring with Jinichi, he decided to reward himself.
'Tch, that drunk buffoon Naobito, too lazy to spar with me.'
Ogi sparred with members of the Hei every day and trained his body harshly for hours, but he had reached his peak decades ago. Slowly, he was declining.
No matter how much he trained, he would never grow stronger. His body had reached its limit. Sorcerers could not grow endlessly, and Ogi hated that fact. It made it worse knowing deep down that Naobito was stronger than him.
So he turned to the next best option, having strong children. They were born from him, so their accomplishments would be his. That was the idea he convinced himself of.
That plan had not gone well. His first son had no cursed energy, and his daughters were twins with low cursed energy.
You could not increase your cursed energy naturally. Whatever you were born with was what you kept until death. Because of this, Ogi had already labeled Maki and Mai as failures with no chance of reaching Grade One.
Knock knock
Ogi glanced at the door, a small smile forming as he already knew who it was. He got up and opened it. Taiga stood there and gave a slight bow.
"Did you break the brat?" Ogi asked.
"No. Miyu interrupted."
"Miyu? That's unlike her. Does she care for the monkey?" Ogi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I do not know, but Mamoru is quite intelligent for a three-year-old and very tenacious. He survived a fifteen-minute spar while I was heavily holding back, and he figured out you were behind it."
"How? Did the heavenly restriction also boost his intelligence?"
"I don't think so, at least not from what I know of."
"I see. You can leave. From now on, don't try to break him. Just spar normally. I don't want Miyu reporting anything suspicious."
"Noted."
Taiga saluted and vanished from the entrance, moving so fast it looked like he had disappeared. Ogi stepped back inside and closed the door, deep in thought, already adjusting his plan.
He wasn't going to wait until Mamoru turned five. He was going to snap the bud before it could fully blossom.