On the following morning, the forest seemed as though it was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen as everything was quiet. The grass was covered in dew as the sun rose and illuminated the trees. Kanji stood in the training grove, his sword gleaming at his side. With keen focus, he gazed across the horizon, anticipating Hiro's approach.
A soft sound from the shrub indicated Hiro's arrival, his steps cautious and his eyes alert. His body still carried the scars from their last spar. and he was still not fully healed from the training the day before. The two both faced each other in grove, the silence between them heavy with unspoken tension. Kanji's eyes narrowed, their gaze boring into Hiro's, '' You remember yesterday's lesson?'' he asked, his voice low and dangerous.
Hiro, despite his tiredness, met Kanji's stare.'' Yes,'' he answered in a tight tone. '' I remember.'' '' But why.....?'' Hiro asked with a voice that signified both confusion and frustration. He couldn't understand why his once cheerful dad who seemed like a person who couldn't even kill a fly had just suddenly transitioned into a life-killing machine.
Kanji's expression softened, his lips curving into a knowing smirk. '' Good. Then let us begin,'' he said as he tossed the swords to Hiro. '' I know you have a lot of questions in your heart'' he continued. '' But be rest assured everything will soon be answered''.
The training session began, but this time, kanji's technique was different. rather than fighting defense all through the fight, Kanji decided to make use of a technique called Niku hagi. This was a technique born of equal parts of skill and ferocity, it was a secret art reserved for the most elite of swordsmen.
With each slap, the power of a blade is unleashed, rending flesh and shattering bone with terrifying ease. To wield Niku hagi was like a step into the realm of the gods, a power that seemed to cut through the fabric of reality itself, spilling blood and pain in its wake. with the speed of
Hiro dashed at Kanji with the speed of lightning, his blade a blur of motion, swept forward with all the speed and ferocity of a wild tempest. Kanji, his movement a study a lethal grace, met Hiro's charge with a slap that resonated like a clap of thunder.
The air seemed to shudder, the force of the blow staggering in its intensity. Hiro's sword stumbled, his footing lost amid the shockwave of pain and agony. Kanji, his face a mask of purpose, pressed his advantage, his slaps coming in quick, brutal succession.
Hiro, his body wracked with pain, struggled to regain his footing, his blade now more of a liability than an aid. Kanji's slaps, each a sledgehammer of pain, rained down upon him with increasing speed and power.
Hiro, his body now battered and broken, stumbled backward, his blade falling from his grasp as he collapsed to his knees. but Kanji wasn't ready to stop his attacks, his face a mask of stone loomed over his apprentice, his slaps striking with the cadence of a death knell. '' Stop!'' Hiro managed to gasp, his voice husk of its former self. '' please, I don't want to do this anymore.''
But Kanji wasn't ready to stop yet, with all his fury unleashed, his hands descended upon Hiro's back like a brutal executioner's axe. But as his palms met Hiro's back, something gave way, and Kanji's hands tore through the fabric of his flesh, blood spilling onto the ground like spilled milk. He reeled backward, his face a mask of shock and pain. '' Impossible, '' he murmured, his voice a whisper of disbelief. '' Did he... did he attack me without me seeing?''
The taste of iron, bitter and thick, filled Kanji's mouth. Confusion filled his heart as he searched for answers as to how he had just gotten injured mysteriously. Kanji then decided to stop the training for the day, he gazed over at Hiro, and with a softened voice, he said '' Hiro'', his words a blend of command and concern, '' Let us call it a day. The hour grows late, and we must head home.''
As he spoke, a gentle rain began to fall, dotting the ground with small, glistering pools of water. '' With a firm yet gentle hand, kanji took Hiro by the shoulder, urging him to his feet. But suddenly, Kanji's eyes widened, their shock magnified by the sudden transformation that had overtaken Hiro's body. Hiro now seemed to bore the markings of a creature that was not wholly human.
His hands, now covered in hard, shimmering scales, curled into claws, their sharpness mirroring the change in Hiro's nails. And his eye, once a human gaze, now glittered with the predatory gleam of a dragon, his eyeballs now were like that of a reptile.'' By the gods, '' Kanji breathed his voice a hollow echo in the rain-soaked grove.
Kanji took a step backward, he quickly picked up his sword that had formerly been used by Hiro. '' what...what has happened to you, Hiro?'' he asked, his voice shaking with a fear he had never felt in all his years. Hiro, his stance now rigid and alien, seemed to contemplate Kanji for a moment, his dragon's gaze unflinching. '' I do not know,'' he said, his voice unfamiliar, as if coming from a great distance. '' But I feel... different. stronger, and hungry'' he said as he stared at Kanji like a predator stalking its prey.
Kanji swallowed, his fear giving way to a cautious curiosity. '' But it is still you in there right?'' he said. But before Kanji could utter another word, Hiro launched himself into the air, his body a blur of speed and fury. His claws, glinting in the fading light of the day, reached out toward Kanji's neck, a deadly embrace that promised oblivion. Kanji, his instincts honed by years of battle, twisted aside, his blade flashing a desperate arc, soon the clash of steel and scale filled the grove.
The clash of weapons echoed through the grove, a furious rhythm that matched the pounding of Kanji's heart. But as quickly as the fight had begun, Hiro suddenly stumbled backward, his scales seeming to lose their glow. He suddenly crumbled to the ground, his body convulsing in pain. His dragon's form seemed to fade as if the change had exhausted some deep well of power within him.
Kanji rushed to Hiro's side, the tension draining from his body as he knelt beside his son. The rain, now a steady torrent, pelted their forms, washing away the blood and sweat stained their skin.