Chapter 26: Breakfast of Champions: Coffee, Pastries, and Seals

Chapter 26: Breakfast of Champions: Coffee, Pastries, and Seals



"So..." Haruto drawled, his words muffled by a big bite of the crème-filled pastry I whipped up as a 'thank you for waking up so early and entertaining me' snack.

He sprawled on the long cream-colored couch, wedged between Daiki-head tipped back, mouth open, clearly nodding off-and Nao, who looked thoroughly disgruntled, dressed in satin pajamas and house slippers as he nursed his black coffee with slow, tired sips.

After swallowing, Haruto continued. "Just to clarify-am I dead, or is it really this early?"

Right. It was Saturday morning, and the sun hadn't even stretched its arms yet before I called all five elders, plus my parents, to my studio-a room they custom-made for me based on a design of mine (they truly do spoil me). I knew it was early, and it could have waited, but I was excited-and this was important.

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[A/N] Image of Satoshi's Studio

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Haruto's sarcasm hung in the air as I walked a fresh tray of pastries over to Akira and Masaru, who were studying the paintings and books lining the shelves across the back of the room. Some books had been gifts from the elders and extended friends and family, while others were my writing.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Akira eyed the pastries, snatching one, then two, then three, while Masaru took only one and quietly returned to leafing through a scroll of tactics I'd recently "theorized": The Art of War. Mom and Dad stood beside the piano, yawning, eyes half-open, their bodies so close they might as well have been Siamese twins. From the looks of it, they had quite a long night. Setting down the tray, I picked up two identical scrolls and handed one to Haruto.

"You had us come over here this early because of a scroll?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, sleep still crusted in the corners of his eyes.

"Yes," I replied, handing him a small needle. "If you could, please put a drop of blood on the scroll."

That got everyone's attention. Daiki's eyes blinked open, half-lidded, watching, observing. Haruto didn't bother asking why; he was more than used to my out-of-the-box request. Sticking his thumb with the needle, he let a drop of his blood fall onto the scroll. Green wisps of chakra enveloped his hand, instantly healing the small prick.

"Now send your chakra into it," I instructed.

He complied, infusing the scroll with his chakra.

"Perfect. Thank you-no, you can keep that. Just the needle," I added as Haruto tried to hand me the scroll instead of the needle. I took a step back, glancing around at everyone. "As you all know, Akira-sama has been teaching me Füinjutsu over the past year, but this morning, I had a breakthrough in my research."

"You have?" Nao pushed his glasses up, suddenly more awake.

I nodded. "Fūinjutsu, at its core, is an art form. Every brush stroke, every connection, every character comes together to create art-art that has an effect. With that in mind..." I let my thumb brush over the scroll in my hand. "I created a two-way storage seal."

Silence settled over the room.

Then, "Hold up. Wait a damn minute. That was too abrupt," Akira said, arms crossed, eyes laser beams. "Come again?"

"These two scrolls are linked," I explained, motioning between Haruto's scroll and mine. I turned to my desk, set the needle down, and picked up a book. I infused chakra into my scroll, and the book vanished.

Then I looked back at Haruto. "Anything stored in this scroll..."

Haruto's gaze dropped, his expression brightening.

"...can be accessed by that scroll," I finished.

Haruto blinked, then focused his chakra into the scroll. A small poof of smoke and the book I'd just stored appeared in his hand.

The room fell into stunned silence. Eyes widened. Mouths gaped. Whatever sleep remained evaporated in an instant.

"What. The. Fuck?" Haruto just about yelled, his voice echoing across the room. Nao would have frowned at the outburst if he wasn't so stunned.

Nao shot up, "How in the-oops." Droplets of his coffee splashed on the gray carpet below.

"Unfortunately, it should just be ten cubic meters for now."

Nao looked aghast. "Unfortunately?"

Akira mirrored his expression. "Just?"

"Honey..." Mom looked at me, eyes tinder. "That's a lot of space."

"... I suppose," I replied. I was actually trying to make it at least one hundred, but that goal

was a dead end-at least for now.

"See?" Nao whispered to Haruto. "This is exactly what I was talking about."

"That's enough for a small armory," Dad added.

"You could stock a field medic's kit with enough bandages, antidotes, and medical herbs to last for months—or carry enough rations and water to keep a squad sustained for weeks behind enemy lines," Akira said. "And that's not even mentioning that it can be accessed at two points simultaneously." She gave me a look. "How long does it take to make a set,

Satoshi?"

Satoshi. Not "boy." I had long since evolved from a noun to a proper noun.

"About five minutes for a set, though the time should decrease as I practice."

I have long since discovered that Apollo's talent in art, now a part of me, extended to more

than just drawing, painting, or sculpting. Art was ambiguous—it was in every movement, every brush stroke. Art was incorporated into every facet of human life-from the flow of

taijutsu to the arc of a thrown kunai.

Everyone's eyes honed onto mine.

"Well, who needs sleep when we've got new shit to test?" Haruto said with a grin.

"Yup," Daiki got up from his seat, already walking out the door.

"I'll change and meet you all at the gate in twenty-no, ten," Nao said, his slippers sliding

across the floor as he rushed out.

Akira lingered a moment longer, giving me an approving nod before she also slipped out.

"Mind if I borrow this?" Masaru asked, gesturing to The Art of War tucked under his arm.

"Not at all. Hopefully, it's a decent read."

He gave a slight nod. "It is." And with that, he followed the others out.

As fast as they came, they disappeared, and it was just me, Mom, and Dad in the studio.

This was just the beginning. They'd see soon enough.

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[A/N] I had this planned for a while now, but I believe I saw someone who also had a similar

seal idea a couple of days ago: Dark_B3rry