Chapter 264: Spar with son
(Ryoto's pov)
I arrived at the Study Chamber together with Masaru, although I was unfortunately forced to dress up.
No matter. It's not like I'm an exhibitionist. I can stand clothes, and if I was to run around naked, Yama-jii would tan me to death.
"So, Masaru, how do you want to do that?" I asked, curious about what kind of spar my son had in mind.
"Can we start with hand-to-hand? No Kido, and no Zanpakuto."
I nodded and brought both of my hands behind my back.
Was it necessary? No, but both of us knew that I didn't need to put my guard up from the beginning. Masaru, on the other hand, brought his hands up, ready to attack.
Seeing that he didn't know how to start, I made the first move.
I rushed with the intention of kicking Masaru's head, but at the last moment, I lowered my leg to do a swift sweep, surprising my son. As he lost his footing, I made a powerful kick to his torso, sending him flying.
I was aware that Masaru possessed Observation Haki, but the moment my foot touched his body, it didn't feel right... It was too hard...
I grinned as I walked up to my opponent, who was lying on the ground.
"You are over-relying on your power, Masaru. If your opponent knows how it works, it's very easy to fool it. Just like I just did."
"... Understood." Masaru took some effort to stand back up, and as soon as he was again on his feet, he was already in a fighting stance.
Good.
I nodded inwardly and rushed once again.
My attacks were fast, precise, and at times unpredictable, but despite that, Masaru was blocking my attacks and even counterattacking at times.
He has got stronger. His fists are heavy and hard, and his body is sturdy, but I know the reason for that, which made me smile.
"Armament Haki, what a surprise to 'see' it here of all places, and how long has it been."
Masaru seemed shocked but, at the same time, seemed like he was expecting it.
"Armament Haki? So that's what it's called. To be honest, I was hoping to surprise you with it, but it looks like you already were aware of this power."
"Of course, I was. I used to be able to do the same, but because of certain circumstances, it is sealed for now, but you shouldn't become overconfident in it. It's not invincible, and even a bare-handed opponent can harm you with the correct technique."
To make my point, I changed my stance to more relaxed with my palms fully open.
We exchanged some blows until I was able to land one strike to his chest with the inside of my hand.
The blow wasn't made with the intention of being destructive, but it was powerful in another way. The damage on the outside was minimal, but the impact went through Haki right through his body with great strength.
All the air escaped from Masaru's lungs, and he dropped to his knees.
"You may have a hard protective layer, but as I've said before, there are ways around it, as I just showed you."
Masaru tried to take his breath, and he quickly recovered. I somehow expected him to be frustrated with how easily I handled his Haki, but I could see him smiling.
"I knew that I didn't stand a chance in hand-to-hand combat, but I wasn't aware that the gap was that big. Let's continue!"
And so, we did, but something unexpected happened as our spar was slowly escalating. I was increasingly forced to be more and more serious.
Masaru was getting better... or at least his Haki was. I doubt that he got a chance to train it in a fight before, but the speed he is improving is tremendous.
I wasn't using my ability to predict moves or even using my own Haki, but it was still very impressive.
With the last of my strength, I reached my son, who was screaming and trying to control his Bankai without any success, so I did what was needed and threw a punch at Masaru, knocking him out and, in the process deactivating his Bankai.
I was breathing heavily, but I needed to be sure of Masaru's condition. He was drained of Reiatsu. It seemed that the flames were devouring his energy just as they were everything else, but thankfully, there weren't any injuries on his body.
Thank God or whatever higher being there is. I don't care enough right now to correct myself.
What a dangerous Bankai my son has. I couldn't even use Shunpo correctly because it was eating away my Reiatsu at a perilous rate, but what would happen if he used it until he was all out of juice. Would his Bankai deactivate, or would it use alternative fuel...
We are going to have a talk with him later but first...
I momentarily lost strength in my left leg and took a step back, trying to keep my balance, but it didn't help, and I kept going backward until I fell down. Fortunately, there was a boulder that I could lean on as I was sitting.
Finding myself in the new position, I decided to check on my wounds since Masaru was physically fine from what I observed. I'll still get him to the 4th Division to check on him.
I looked down to see my legs, and I understood why my legs couldn't support me. While both of my legs were pretty badly burned, my left leg was in worse condition. With that said, I checked around my body, and it didn't look any better. 3rd degree burns everywhere. I lost feeling in some parts of my body.
I touched my face only to realize that I didn't have my mask on. I didn't even notice when it disappeared, but it looked like it protected my face from any major injuries.
I should call Isane and Captain Unohana to treat my wounds, and Rin should know about our son's state.
And so, I sent Hell Butterfly to these three.
---
Waiting for them to come was difficult. I couldn't move too much because of my injuries, although I could probably force my body if I needed to.
Luckily, Kisuke hid some emergency lollipops around the Study Chamber, and the boulder I was leaning against was one of these hiding places. Usually, I would have one on me, but Masaru's Bankai destroyed them all. If I wasn't so worried about him, I would ground him.
Sitting and leaning on the boulder made me sleepy, but I couldn't close my eyes and rest. I needed to be awake to explain Masaru's state, so I waited and kept my eyes on my unconscious son. The whole time, I was using Observation Haki to feel any changes that could occur in him.
As I was trying to stay conscious, I felt three presences coming towards me and Masaru.
""Ryoto!!!""
Both Isane and Rin yelled out as they rushed to me. Unohana was there as well, and her eyes slightly widened seeing my condition, but she was more composed as she observed Masaru and me as she was getting closer.
"Isane, take care of Masaru... I didn't see any visible wounds, but it's never wrong to be too careful..." It was somehow difficult to talk, but it was probably because the fire dried my throat more than I noticed.
She nodded, and without any hesitation, she moved to Masaru's side as Unohana came to check up on me.
"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you just escaped from Captain Commander looking at your wounds, but obviously, it isn't the case."
She kneeled down and checked my injuries, and seeing them, she frowned.
"You don't need to sugarcoat it, Unohana. I know that I'm in pretty bad shape. Just say it if I'll survive or not." I spoke.
"You'll survive, but I won't be able to heal everything. Some of the injuries will become scars. Although I must say that not many others would be able to walk off with damage like that." She commented. I just hope that they aren't the ones on my arms or around my neck. I will already be forced to sleeves up to my elbow because of my tattoo when I return.
"I'm sturdy and stubborn. The hardest combination to kill. Besides, I can't let myself be killed before I reunite with someone very important."
Hearing me, Rin's expression softened as she was well aware of who I was talking about, but she still needed to ask some questions.
"And we are thankful for that, but can you tell us what happened. You aren't weak enough to be injured like that by just anyone. I probably know only a handful of people who could do it, but the only one to cause burns like that." Rin joined the conversation. She looked calm, but I knew she was livid and ready to kill whoever did this to me and Masaru.
And so, I explained everything that I was aware of as Unohana was taking care of my wounds.
---
END
Discord server: https://discord.gg/S4eJyhj28 /Kurit (10 chapters ahead and exclusive illustrations.)