"Alright, I think that's enough."
Swiftly crossing the street to stand in between the two battling students, a six feet four inches towering blond figure calmy stated the end of the festivities. His tall figure, his shining white Byakugan under the dimly lit heavens of the moon and his traditional black robes spoke figures about his authority and status as a captain of the law enforcement division of Shirogakure.
But that did not deter Akihiko nor Haru from performing a showcase of staredom. Both were somewhat unwilling to stop there, seconds away from giving their last attempt at beating the hell out of each other.
During a few seconds that seemed like minutes to everybody else, no one moved nor said anything. Whilst both Haru and his blond opponent were both lost in their thoughts and giving each other the death gaze, Ichinosuke was in fact evaluating both of their battle abilities in his mind.
As Akihiko's elder brother, he was quite satisfied with his progress. Akihiko was actually not really a genius, and there are indeed a few monsters in his class who could beat him within a few breaths time. But his display did indeed prove that he has been working hard, and that he didn't shame his household.
But although he didn't know the name of the other kid his brother fought, Ichinosuke could tell that he was barely a freshman. Even for a genius of the main family, the battle prowess he displayed after a mere month of practice was truly exceptional.
In his opinion, there should not be much suspense with the upcoming freshmen interclass battle. Although it would not amount to anything at the academy tournament that would eventually come later that year, these results within a single month meant that anything may be possible ten months later.
Such a talented warrior would not stay unknown for long, and it would not be wise for his brother to antagonise him further.
He wasn't alone having these thoughts. Whilst they made a mess and disturbed the local residents, as a clan of warriors most were merely appreciative of the new generation's talent and vigor. In this area most inhabitants were branch members so I would be nice if their children could cozy up to these main family geniuses.
"You two, follow me to the office." Said Ichinosuke sternly. "Such a breach of our village regulations warrants punishment. The street is not some lawless place for you two to mess around."
Both of them complied quietly, and slowly the event came to an end. As all parties were interrogated to figure out the ins and outs of the matter, both of them were punished with a warning and a week worth of civil service to repair the damage to the infrastructure they caused.
When Haru finally came back home a few hours later in the evening, his parents were already aware of what happened and were waiting for him in the living room.
Haru's mother was a six feet tall woman, with mid back length white hair he inherited. Her skin was just as white, milky and spot less with two red dot marks on her forehead. Had it not been for her wide, brown eyes and her more humane appearance Haru would have probably mistaken her for their ancestor Kaguya.
As per the traditional mores of the Ōtsutsuki clan, she stood quietly by her husband with no intentions of interfering in how ever Genji intended to lecture her son. Her usual mysterious little smile was still there, unwavering.
Hisame has always been a figure clouded in mystery for Haru. She was not a person he's ever been able to wrap his mind around, and that feeling was a bit unsettling for him because she was his mother.
For both of his lives, Haru has met many such people. People that were so unreadable that one could not completely feel at ease around them. It was fine usually, but only for these people were outsiders that he never dedicated much importance to.
But in this life, Hisame was his mother. Even though he had never seen her fight himself, it was well known to the upper brass of the village that the warriors who could take on her could be counted on two hands. Haru could not figure out how could such a powerful person could have such an odd and unbefitting character. Almost as if she has been a fake person for as long as he came to this world. At least, he didn't understand her at all.
"I've heard about your little brawl, explain yourself Haru." Spoke Genji, indifferently.
Gazing towards his father, Haru focused back to the matter at hand.
"Well, sure." Haru replied in a confident, almost nonchalant tone. "Sophomore student Akihiko, along with a bunch of minions, thought that messing with me was an idea worth entertaining because I had a talk with the patriarch's daughter. There's no way I would allow them to bully me, wouldn't that bring shame on our household, father ?"
Some degree of surprise could be seen upon his father's face, as one of his eyebrows was raised before he frowned.
Indeed, in fact he is pleased that his son is not a spineless wimp. Actually he didn't intend to lecture him about his attitude and the way he answered to provocations because in his opinion his son was right. But he still wanted to hear some details so he wanted to intimidate him a bit.
Akihiko ? If I recall correctly he should be Law Enforcement Team Captain Ichinosuke's son.. He pondered. "Interesting, that explain some things. I know who his father is and we do not get along very well, but Ichinosuke is an upright person. Still, why did you chat with that Aizen brat ? She is just a pampered kid who enjoys partying. Don't entangle yourself with girls at your age it's a waste of time."
Haru found himself speechless at his lecture. Well, whatever… Though he did not speak his eye roll spoke for him.
"And what about the fight ? How did it go ?"
It was probably the topic Genji was the most interested in at the moment. He has long known Haru was talented and witty, but to match a warrior trainee of the main clan with over three years worth of training with as a one month time freshman was a glorious feat. As his father, he had great anticipation for the interclass battle. He was sure to get some face with such a good son.
Haru first began explaining the main lines of the fight out of laziness, but under his father's insistence shortly he had to include every details of it.
"What is the rasengan ? A technique you came up with ?"
"Kind of."
"Show me !"
"How about you let me rest first ?"
"Alright alright, I was a bit hasty."
Whilst father and son were kind of bickering, Hisame who's been quiet all along, finally intervened.
"I'll train you in the Shikotsumyaku from tomorrow on, Haru." She said, "You are wrong, but at your level the Gentle Fist is not suitable to face blades. And your body should be ready for it."
Haru was a bit stunned, then he realised. Indeed, Byakuya was no less hardworking and most likely not any less talented than him. Unless there was an unexpected situation he should be his main opponent a month later.
By then, his Kenjutsu proficiency would be a headache for him. At least for the current him. Although he had some solution he thought of and intended to work on during the upcoming weeks, training under one of the best Shikotsumyaku user of the clan could not go wrong.
Haru was a bit excited.
"Thank you, mother !" He bowed in gratitude.
"No need for that." She smiled.
A short while later, this little meeting came to a close and the evening resumed as normal.
In another corner of Shirogakure, things were a little different. A vaguely similar scene was occurring in the training ground of a large and exquisite house at the most luxurious part of the town.
Ōtsutsuki Goro was not in a bright mood. A one meter long white bone laid in his right hand as his immovable tall silhouette face his panting black haired son, a katana with a yellow and black hilt drenched with the drops of Byakuya's sweat was trembling in his hand.
"Whilst your skill is improving slowly, your physique is absolutely unsatisfactory. It's unacceptable for you to be so exhausted after merely two hours of training."
Even though his bloodline purity turned out to be about fifteen percent, and extremely high standard even for the children of the main family, he was born without the great yang constitution that allows the individuals with pure blood of the clan to manifest the Shikotsumyaku.
His physique was of course extraordinary compared compared to normal shinobi clans in the main world, comparable to a normal Senju physique, it was considered inferior for the elevated standard of the celestial descendants of sage Hamura. Whilst people like Haru and the others could train this way all day even at the tender age of four or five without dropping dead tired and out of chakra, he could not. In this area, he was more akin to ordinary branch members with inferior yang constitutions.
This somewhat rough assessment of his father left Byakuya's teeth gritting. His fatigue didn't help in anyway the five year-old kid manage his anger and frustration, and only the clear insight he had upon his own weakness and his father ruthlessness kept his growing hatred to make him act out of recklessness.
For a little short of a month, his father has been personally training him. Being the fourth strongest warrior of the clan, having such an experienced and knowledgeable teacher would have made any kid of the clan feel blessed, but Byakuya endured it like a curse.
Since ever he was young, he's always been treated badly by everyone. His mother who was harshly mistreated by his father at first in reprisal for the presumed cuckoldery turned all her natural motherly affection for him into an unbelievably deep resentment. She blamed upon his existence all her misery, as it was his physical peculiarities that brought upon her her husband ire and made her a walking joke among the upper class of the clan.
For his father he has always been nothing but a disgraceful stain on his reputation and it would be a stretch to say that he has never been acknowledged by his father as his son.
Byakuya's days, from the very beginning, have been nothing but hellish. Hated by his parents, and ostracised by the others, he lived a very lonely existence.
It wasn't surprising in these conditions that he had grown a humongous amount of hatred not only toward both of his parents, but also to the rest of the Ōtsutsuki clan and even the whole world.
If he was treated like a cursed existence, then he would become one. It didn't matter that things have turned around since ever he turned out to be blessed in other ways with the ceremony at the shrine of the blood.
One day, he would slaughter them all. Starting with his damned father. The mere thought of bearing his blood filled him with so much disgust that he would have almost prefered to be actually the bastard of someone else.
It was the promise he made to himself ever since that day, about a year ago. That day his father brought him to this strange man, an outsider from the main world with a four mark numeral below his left eye that looked like a monk.
Looking down at the diamond shaped mark on his right wrist, the reminder of the unforgivable act his father did to him cleared his mind back of the anger that clouded his judgement.
Steadying his breach and his body, he resumed his training with a newfound resolve. It didn't matter if he got tired or if he had a bodily disadvantage compared to the others. He had to endure, and continue, because only this way will he triumph of his fate.
And one day, eventually, he would get his revenge.