"Ghhh…"
The white-haired boy croaked. A figure loomed over the sleeping boy, holding a stick. The figure poked the boy with the stick. The boy groaned for a split second, before returning to his silent slumber.
Not receiving an adequate response, the figure poked harder. Nothing happened. Huffing in annoyance, the figure pushed the stick up the boy's nose.
"GuhAH!"
Kotetsu woke with a shock as something hard found its way up his nose. Darkness bathed his surroundings, leaving him utterly disoriented as competing senses fought for his attention. He momentarily pushed those senses aside in favour of figuring out just what the hell was digging into his nose. With a panicked motion, he reached up with both hands to swat away whatever the thing was, finding a long something sticking out of his face. A sudden vivid image of a stick bug trying to lay eggs in his brain manifested, and he screamed.
"GYAAA-"
A hand clamped over Kotetsu's mouth, shutting off the screech that was several octaves higher than his usual speaking voice. The hard something was removed from his nose, nearly causing him to sneeze. Kotetsu's vision took several seconds to adjust to the dim light, until a head swam into view. Curly hair fell off the head in waves, surrounding a face that became familiar the longer Kotetsu squinted up at it.
"Hello, brother. Are you finally ready for that spar?"
Kotetsu's head, which had lifted slightly from the ground, fell back with a thump as Rata's voice pierced the fog of his mind.
"Uuuuugh…"
"You sound like you have a foot in the grave already. Are you hungry?"
"Ugh?"
"No, I did not bring any food. I'm sure the matron would forbid us to eat before breakfast, though. We should not ask her."
"Guh…"
"The matron? That's who manages much of the menial clan tasks, such as food, laundry, and so on. Why do you ask?"
Kotetsu was fed up with Rata answering his random moans, and tried to sit up properly.
"Ugh… no, I just… would you stop that? Give me a minute or ten, okay?..."
Rata pulled himself back to where he sat in response. Kotetsu took the reprieve to take in his surroundings, noting the lack of sun. It must be early morning, or midnight. He was kind of surprised that Touma and Taisei had left him out here, as he was sure they were supposed to keep an eye on him. What would they do if he just got up and left? Before he could think too far down that rabbit hole though, another thought crossed his mind.
"Hey, what day is it?"
Suddenly, Kotetsu was worried that he had slept for way too long again. He did not want to lose several more days to being unconscious.
"Oh, today is Tuesday." Rata absently answered.
Kotetsu felt an eye twitch at the misunderstanding.
"No, no. I mean… uh, what day was yesterday?"
"Monday."
Cursing, Kotetsu sat up and waved his hands in front of him.
"No, I mean-"
"I know what you mean!" Rata suddenly smiled, letting out a hearty laugh and clasping Kotetsu's shoulder.
"You slept through the night."
Slumping, Kotetsu breathed a sigh of relief. Before he did anything else, Rata continued.
"So… ready for our duel?"
Rata's smile did not fade as he leaned forward in anticipation. Kotetsu leaned back in turn, thinking as fast as possible to get out of this predicament.
"Well, uh, I am kinda hungry. You said something about food, right?" Kotetsu asked pensively.
"Ah, yes. Of course. You need energy before a fight." Kotetsu watched as Rata stood in one swift motion. He began to move off in a random direction, leaving Kotetsu watching from where he sat. After a moment, Rata turned back to stare.
"Well?"
Kotetsu scrambled to catch up. Before long, they were walking in step through the dark-lit forest. They continued on for a minute in complete silence. Kotetsu didn't think that Rata was the type to remain quiet, however, and so was not overly surprised when the young man spoke. What did surprise him was the topic.
"So, you are learning sealwork, then?"
Blinking away confusion, Kotetsu tried to pull his thoughts together. He had mostly pushed the previous day's events to the back of his mind. With no small amount of suspicion, he answered.
"...Yeah. Uh… I am. Why?"
Rata seemed unaware of Kotetsu's sudden shift in mood as he continued.
"I am aware of master Touma's preferred teaching methods, so I simply ask how you are handling it, that is all."
Rata's answer put Kotetsu on guard. Normally, Kotetsu was not so perceptive, but recent events had dialled his senses up to an uncomfortable awareness. Turning slightly, he spoke.
"Do you know why I am learning seals?"
He decided his best course of action was the most blunt. Rata smiled slightly in response.
"I have an idea, but I wanted to see what you knew about the Matriarch's decision first."
The two kept walking in silence for a few more seconds, before Kotetsu stopped. Rata stopped half a step later, looking back at Kotetsu's serious expression. His smile slipped as Kotetsu spoke again.
"Why are you bringing this up?"
"Well, I just said…" Rata paused, his face frozen in an expression of realisation.
Kotetsu frowned at the young man, neither speaking for the moment. His hands balled into fists in response to a sudden overwhelming anger. He hated the idea that secrets were being kept from him, and right then, he decided he disliked the notion of anyone else having control over his future. Kotetsu had successfully ignored his own dire situation up to that point, holding his emotions back to the point of delusion. However, at that moment, everything came crashing down.
From his perspective, he had just been forced to fight for three days while sleep deprived and starved. He had been tortured by a sadistic old hag whose mental logic was less clear than smoke. He had just survived a week out in the wilderness, haunted by nightmarish shadows, unable to even sleep for a few hours. He had personally lived through his mother and father's murder, and to top it all off, he had potentially killed his own brother.
"Kotetsu?"
Rata's voice barely penetrated the veil of dissociation that Kotetsu had fallen into. Rata stepped forward in concern, waving a hand out.
"Hey… are you alright?"
Kotetsu's vision tunneled in, and white lined his periphery. His ears rang, and he barely noticed his breathing grow shallow. Suddenly, his perspective shook, and he was looking into Rata's face. He saw concern and fear flash across the young man's expression.
"Kotetsu, breathe. You need to breathe. Damnit…"
A pressure shoved uncomfortably into his chest, forcing Kotetsu to reflexively inhale. The intake of air lessened the white around his vision, and he continued to take deep uneven breaths. He caught the sight of Rata's hand pulling back from his chest, and Kotetsu suddenly wondered what the young man had done to cause him to breathe. Being hit should have frozen his breathing, as he knew from experience.
An unknown amount of time later, Kotetsu had regained control over most of his body. His arms were wrapped around him in a self hug, and his back had somehow found a tree to lean against. His senses came back one at a time. The deep smell of earth, pollen, and tree sap filled his nose and lungs. The feeling of hard bark pressed against his back. The feeling of his rough woven wrappings, and their uncomfortable tightness against his skin. The sound of branches swaying in the wind, and the distant chirping of night creatures. The sight of his off-colour sandals, and his dirty dishevelled body.
In response to his tight wrappings, he awkwardly tugged on them, trying to loosen them up. Something ripped slightly, giving him that much more room, and he sagged with a sigh. That tiny amount of control over himself offered a moment of introspection.
Despite everything he'd gone through in the last few weeks, there was good mixed with the horrible. Even though much of the horrible happened with the Senju clan, If it weren't for them, he would not have found his shortcomings with Chakra control. Now, he understood that he had receded into a state of detachment, simply reacting to his surroundings with no thought or reasoning. He wanted to break that cycle and reclaim control over himself. That might be easier to consider than to actually do, however.
Pushing himself up slightly, Kotetsu took another deep breath. Rata looked at him. He stared back in turn. Before his newfound conviction could waver, he asked a question.
"Why is the Matriarch having me learn seals?"
The question was simple. Rata's eyes darted down in response.
"I only have a guess."
"Yeah, an idea, or something. You said that. But I think you know more than you're letting on."
Rata's gaze levelled toward Kotetsu.
"I, too, wish to know why the Matriarch has shown so much interest in you. Specifically, what purpose an outsider provides to her plans."
The two carefully assessed each other's motives. Kotetsu had no clue what information was important and what wasn't, and at the moment, he didn't really care.
"She knew my grandmother or something. I think… I think they were pretty bad enemies. I don't really know much about it." He cautiously revealed.
One of Rata's eyebrows raised at that information. He took a deep breath, releasing it slowly.
"Alright. I admit, I have no clue how that relates to what I think is going on. But… essentially, I believe our Matriarch is intent on using you."
Kotetsu slowly blinked.
"You think?"
A corner of Rata's mouth twisted up in a wry smile.
"Well, I am just making sure you are aware of your situation." At Kotetsu's squinting gaze, Rata raised his arms in placation.
"For most of her life, she has been working to solve a unique problem. At least, that is what I have been told. This problem is one of power and knowledge. I only have certain details, like everyone else."
Kotetsu listened intently. For the most part, he understood wanting to solve a problem if it was keeping him from understanding something, or from gaining power. After all, that was part of his resolve toward staying with the Senju clan, for now. He had a fair guess as to what the Matriarch actually wanted from him, but he had no clue how it might help with whatever this problem was.
"Everyone in the clan knows about this problem? And, what kind of problem takes your whole life to solve?"
Rata's shoulders slightly tensed.
"I am only aware of certain details, like I said. After that, I am only aware of a goal, but that is less important."
Kotetsu narrowed his eyes again.
"A goal seems pretty important, if you don't mind sharing."
Rata stared back with a blank expression. After a moment, he sighed.
"She wishes to develop a weapon. Something that would protect the Senju clan. It is a far-off goal, however, and not quite relevant to the main problem."
"But there is a connection, then?"
At Kotetsu's words, Rata's face twitched. It was subtle, but Kotetsu barely caught it in the dark.
"It is less important."
Kotetsu waved his hand around in annoyance.
"Fine, whatever. I just want to make sure she isn't planning on feeding me into some sort of meat grinder, or something."
Rata chuckled lightly. "I do not think she has any intent to bring you lethal harm, otherwise she may have already done it."
"You might think that's comforting, but it really isn't…" Kotetsu replied. Then, a thought occurred to him.
"Hey… what kind of threat would this weapon protect the Senju clan from?"
Rata smiled, disregarding the question.
"I cannot tell you."
"Why not? A threat to your people seems like a pretty big problem."
Rata's smile became forced as he suddenly turned and began to walk, speaking over his shoulder simultaneously.
"I'm getting hungry now, so let's go find that food."
Kotetsu furrowed his eyebrows at Rata's short response. He decided not to push the issue further, but he wouldn't forget so easily. Kotetsu decided that as long as the topic was not immediately relevant to him, he wouldn't fret over it. He caught up to Rata in a few steps, and the two walked in silence again for several minutes. Eventually, they came across a well-kept clearing and the familiar cooking pits, dark without their flames, when another question came to mind.
"Hey… about yesterday morning… when I came out here to try and get some food, why did everyone else react the way they did?"
Rata seemed to have returned to his previous assured state, and thought about the question.
"You mean when you were named a warrior?"
Kotetsu nodded in answer.
"It is a respected title reserved for our enemies. When we encounter someone difficult to beat, calling them a warrior is a sign of respect, and a mark." Rata trailed on as he opened a door to a shack that was almost invisible to Kotetsu until he pressed his hand against its surface. He moved inside while still speaking, his voice growing slightly muffled.
Kotetsu followed up with a simple question.
"A mark?"
Kotetsu waited several seconds for Rata's response. The young man reappeared from within the shack carrying several fruits between his arms, ducking his head beneath the doorframe in the process. He spoke while carefully closing the shack door with one foot.
"A mark, yes. A mark of recognition, someone we recognise as worthy of dying by our hands. Or so I am told, at least." Rata handed Kotetsu a shiny green apple.
A chill rose up Kotetsu's back as he heard this. The last thing he wanted was to be ganged up on by a dozen enthusiastic Senju, all beating him relentlessly until he passed away from blood loss or something. Or worse, suffering death by wooden spikes protruding from his chest. Touma's little demonstration yesterday left its mark on him, so to speak. As he was thinking these morbid thoughts, a casual observation brought another question up.
"What do you mean, or so you're told? You haven't marked someone for death, er, recognition before?"
Rata's face turned chagrin before he answered.
"...No, well… I have never given a mark, true. But that is because I have never fought someone outside of the clan before. Well, except for you, of course."
Kotetsu meandered alongside Rata while slowly chewing his apple, thinking. A slight pain in his mouth at the act reminded him of the teeth he had lost, and that in turn reminded him who had taken those teeth from him. In remembrance of that deafening punch, and the strength behind it, Kotetsu spoke.
"Why not? You seem like the kind of guy that would be sent to destroy an armed fortress…"
Rata's face twisted into something that Kotetsu didn't quite recognise. Before he could study the expression further, it was wiped away to neutrality.
"It would likely not be a good idea. Regardless, it is not for me to decide. The Matriarch decides when I am ready to take a mission."
Kotetsu just looked at Rata while they walked. Luckily, the ground was relatively flat, or else he might've stumbled from his lack of attention.
"You have never been on a mission outside of the clan? So, you've never left at all? That's… stupid."
The two walked in silence, broken by the occasional sound of chewing. After some time, Kotetsu spoke up, deciding that a change in topic might be best.
"So… What can you tell me about this big problem the Matriarch has?"
Rata finished his third fruit while Kotetsu was still picking at his first. Taking a bite into the fourth, an orange, Rata offered the last to Kotetsu, a… bell pepper. Kotetsu accepted it with clear hesitation.
"What? Want to switch?" Rata offered the bitten orange to Kotetsu, who rapidly shook his head.
"I'll just… uh, eat this later." He tucked the pepper under his robes. He watched Rata expertly peel away the orange's skin with his teeth. A moment later, the Senju began to explain.
"The problem, as I understand it, is one of technique. From what I know, the previous Matriarch and her sisters spent most of their lives attempting to fix this problem. Before I continue, how much do you know about the strongest shinobi in history?"
Kotetsu blinked. "Uh… Well, I've heard stories of really strong Hyuuga, dangerous Senju… and I guess a couple of Uchiha stories."
After a moment of consideration, he said something else.
"And the Cinders."
Rata froze for half a step, but kept up alongside Kotetsu.
"I do not know if the Cinders are considered shinobi…" Rata carefully said.
"Well, they used Chakra. Not exactly the same way as a shinobi might, but I think it's close enough."
Rata looked quizzically down at Kotetsu.
"And just how would you know what the Cinders were capable of?"
"Uh… remember my grandmother? Well, she was a Cinder…"
Rata froze for a bit longer than half a step. Kotetsu slowed, letting him catch back up.
"Oh." He shook his head rapidly from side to side, then resumed.
"Well… Essentially, the stories about the most powerful shinobi in history are mostly tied to their clan's techniques. For a Hyuuga, their mastery over the Byakugan and other hidden techniques are only a stepping stone to higher, stronger techniques. For an Uchiha, I have heard that it is similar, where mastering the Sharingan is only a small piece of the puzzle for how powerful they can become…"
He took a breath.
"...And then, there is the Senju."
He stopped talking. Kotetsu waited for him to elaborate. When he didn't speak for several seconds, Kotetsu grumbled, and took the bait.
"...And then?"
Kotetsu thought he saw a ghost of a smile pass Rata's face, but he couldn't be sure.
"Stories about the Senju talk about our ferocity, our pure strength, and our battle lust. However… I have not heard many stories about powerful Senju, on the scale of the Hyuuga or the Uchiha. Or even the Cinders, I suppose. Have you ever heard such a story?"
Kotetsu was silent for a time as he tried to think of anything. But like Rata had said, every story about the Senju he'd heard from both the Hyuuga and Uchiha seemed to lack this element. He considered that perhaps those stories were simply omitted, as he suspected the Hyuuga had done for stories about the Uchiha, as even Kotetsu had barely known about the Uchiha before meeting them. However, if Rata claimed that even the Senju did not know of any stories, then there must be something more going on.
"But… isn't Wood style your clan's ultimate power? Like the Byakugan and Sharingan, your clan has a Kekkei Genkai too…" Kotetsu thought for another moment.
"...You said that the Hyuuga and Uchiha get even stronger, beyond their bloodlines? How?"
Rata shrugged his shoulders.
"I know very little about that, to be honest. However, it does not change the fact that there are stories of powerful people surrounding their clans, especially within the last few centuries, whereas no such stories exist for my clan."
Kotetsu's shoulders slumped as he continued down that line of thinking. Even if he understood what Rata was telling him, the problem still didn't make sense.
"So… the problem is that the Senju clan can't see a way to grow stronger with Wood style? You don't know any powerful techniques that could equal what the other clans have? That seems kind of stupid."
Rata shook his head slightly. "The other clans possess something greater than their bloodlines. A Senju could, of course, grow strong with Wood release alone. It is more that, right now, we cannot easily match over time what an Uchiha or a Hyuuga could achieve by simply progressing their natural abilities."
A perplexed look crossed Kotetsu's face. Rata sighed as he continued.
"I have already oversimplified enough. Yes, A Senju could grow strong with Wood release, like how you could technically grow strong purely using a single elemental nature."
Kotetsu interjected.
"So then what's the problem? Just get stronger with Wood style. I plan on getting as strong as I can with Fire style, after all…"
Rata nodded with a slightly pained expression. He seemed to consider his next words carefully, and Kotetsu saw the moment he decided to throw caution to the wind.
"The truth is that there is a powerful technique, tied to Wood release, that could make the Senju equal to the other clans. However, it appears to be incomplete, or malfunctioning…"
Before he could elaborate any further, Rata smoothed his facial features and turned to stare ahead.
"We should speak on something else for now."
The sudden shift in Rata's tone and behaviour did not go unnoticed to Kotetsu, and he glanced around uncertainly. The forest around them had begun to lighten as morning slowly approached. He could not see anything that might have caused the sudden change, and went back to walking in silence. After a few more minutes, the two found themselves approaching the circle of wooden pillars left by Taisei's seal demonstration the previous day.
Kotetsu jumped a little at Rata's sudden voice.
"So, ready to spar?"
With a sigh, Kotetsu turned to see Rata's expectant face.
"...Sure, whatever. Though, can we not break bones this time? I'd rather not lose any more teeth, or…" He glanced down to his wrists, which he was still surprised to find healed.
Rata stared down at Kotetsu with a serious expression.
"I promise not to use such force again. Even though that is boring, I will respect your wishes. However, would you grant me a favour in exchange for something?"
Kotetsu squinted in suspicion. "What?"
"I will happily explain what I can about seals, if you will use your full strength against me again."
Kotetsu blinked in surprise. He had not expected this. Thinking about the proposal, he figured that Rata just wanted an excuse to not pull his punches. Truthfully, he had grown much more interested in seals, after coming to understand their utility. If Rata could help him progress with this training, he would gladly accept, even if that meant he had to risk a few scrapes.
With a smile, he gave his answer while shifting to a fighting stance.
"Let's do this. But, no immediate bone breaking, please."
—
Hours earlier, in the Matriarch's cabin.
A steady voice broke the silence of Mutsue's study.
"Matriarch."
The old woman slowly rose from her desk where she had been reviewing a scroll. Turning slightly, she spotted the old man kneeling in the entrance, his head nearly touching the floor. She had barely sensed him enter, a sign that he continued to improve his technique even now. She waved a hand vaguely in his direction.
"Rise, Touma. Tell me about the boy."
Raising his head, then his upper body, Touma took a moment to stand fully to attention. With the proper formalities observed, he spoke.
"He is absentminded, as you relayed. However, he grows more determined the longer he spends working on a problem. I have yet to see any clear signs that he knows more about a subject than he reasonably should, as you suggested. Despite that, I do not foresee taking longer than a week to teach him the basics of sealwork."
Touma hesitated slightly. Mutsue noticed, of course.
"What else?" The Matriarch ordered.
"He… seems to lack much of the absolute basics, such as knowing the function behind handsigns. This would not be so disturbing, if it were not for the fact that he possesses such strong Chakra…"
He hesitated, but spoke on his own initiative this time.
"...If I may elaborate more, Matriarch."
Mutsue nodded once.
"He has a sense for mental energy, somehow."
Touma noted Mutsue's lack of surprise. He did not speak on it, instead remaining silent. Mutsue folded her hands in consideration before deciding to speak.
"Is he that obvious?"
Touma nodded in response. "Yes, Matriarch."
Mutsue let a crooked smile raise one corner of her mouth. She was slightly surprised that Touma had made such a conclusion after spending a single day with the boy, but it made sense considering his background as the clan's guardian and mentor, and the depth of knowledge he must have learned while with her older sister. Rather than keep Touma at arm's reach, like she usually had, Mutsue decided to put her petty nature aside for the moment.
"That is good. It makes our next steps clear."
At that response, Touma bowed his head slightly. He was surprised when Mutsue did not immediately order him to leave. Then, he was doubly surprised when she began to explain her plan. After listening intently for the next hour, Touma felt the smallest surge of purpose return to his heart. In truth, he thought that the Senju's ambitions had died with his mate, the previous Matriarch. But now, he saw a chance to restore those ambitions for their people.
"There is still much to learn from the boy, but over time, we will peel back the Cinder's secrets. If he possesses a way to interact with natural energy and Asuras, then we will claim it for ourselves."
"I understand, Matriarch."
Mutsue walked back to her desk, seating herself after a moment. She spoke in passing, mostly to herself.
"My sisters, my mother, and countless others spent their lives toiling away on our clan's deepest problem. Back then, we lacked the knowledge to understand what we were doing wrong… I will not make that mistake ever again…"
She traced the seals along the edges of her desk, meant to obscure its contents from a casual observer. She had made them long ago, before losing most of her abilities with Wind release. Now, she could barely power them with her own Chakra, as far removed from her original elements as she was. It was a reminder of what she had sacrificed to get to this point. Flexing a hand, a red flower bloomed at the tip of her pointer finger. Mutsue stared at it for a heartbeat, before letting it fall to the table surface.
Mutsue's body had reached the same point as her elder sister, and her mother before her. However, unlike their mother, she and her sisters had planned on not merging with the great tree as her ancestors had. Now completely alone, it fell on her to bring her clan's power to fruition, and ensure that future generations would not have to suffer the stagnation she and countless others had felt for most of their lives.
Sensing Touma silently exit into the early morning forest, Mutsue flashed a wicked smile.
"Let us begin."
—
Touma moved like a ghost through the trees of his home. It took him just a minute to reach the edge of the clan's border, and he sensed something interesting before his living quarters even came into view. Slowing considerably, he carefully passed the threshold of his inner sensory seals, then crept along the treeline until he found what had piqued his senses. When the combatants came into view, he pieced together the situation quickly enough, and saw no need to intervene in the spar.
A flash of white hair errantly sped between the wooden pillars left by Taisei's earlier display, followed by a much taller, more subtle combatant. Truthfully, Touma had expected this to happen, just not so soon. The two figures collided several times but never stuck together for long. After a moment of consideration, Touma decided to sit and watch for now.
From what he could see, Kotetsu's Chakra control had improved deceptively quickly from the previous day. Touma suspected that several factors were at play, but the largest must be the boy's aptitude and determination when faced with combat.
The two continued their spar for several minutes. Suddenly, they paused completely, giving Touma a moment to hear words being spoken.
"...still doing it wrong, you're not thinking about the concept right. You need to think about stopping my strikes from getting through your body. That's how the sealing concept works. You almost had it earlier."
Rata spoke with authority, his arms moving expressively with his words. Kotetsu stood, panting, but clearly paying attention. Even though Touma knew that Kotetsu seemed to learn better by doing, he wondered how effective Rata's explanations were.
"I'm trying, I'm trying! You just hit really hard. But I really am trying to… 'visualise' the concept, or whatever. How are you supposed to visualise sealing something, anyways?" Kotetsu whined.
"It is more about knowing the boundary of your body and sealing it away from the world. Do you not feel your Chakra attempting to hold itself together?" The supercilious Rata explained.
Touma sat back with slight humour as he listened in on the budding argument. Kotetsu flexed his reddened hands while Rata spoke, waiting for a chance to speak.
"I can feel it, sort of. Every time I block one of your hits, it's like some Chakra leaks away. I try to force it to stay put, but it's just really difficult…"
Rata shook his head. Touma understood Kotetsu's problem, and he wanted to see how quickly it could be resolved.
"What are you thinking about at the moment of impact?" Rata asked.
Kotetsu thought for a moment. "I'm thinking about stopping your fist, or your kick."
Rata shook his head harder before asking, "What else? More specifically, what are you not thinking about?"
Temporarily at a loss for words, Kotetsu stood still to think. "I… am trying to stop your attack, so…"
Suddenly, Rata shot forward, fist raised right for Kotetsu's head. In reflex, Kotetsu brought his arm up right in the path of Rata's punch. In that split second, Touma watched realisation flash over Kotetsu's expression, right before his arm squished against his face from the force of the attack, and he stumbled backward several steps. His arm fell away to reveal an angry red split on his upper lip, and Touma wondered just how many more hidden bruises lie beneath the boy's clothing.
After looking down at his arm, Kotetsu's eyes darted back up to Rata's expectant face.
"I'm not thinking about my arm. So, I need to think about sealing my… arm?"
Rata's head nodded in an exaggerated motion.
"Would you like to try again, now?" Rata questioned.
"Hold on, one more thing. When I'm hitting back… the same thing happens, I lose some Chakra, and if I put my full strength behind it, I feel like I'll break myself again. Can I fix that too?"
"You tell me."
Kotetsu thought about that for only a moment before nodding his head, mostly to himself.
"Alright. I'm ready."
The two continued their brutal spar, picking up right where they left off. Touma considered the direction Rata was pushing Kotetsu, in relation to learning more about seals. Personally, he had foregone teaching the mystical concepts on two motives. The first motive was that he thought Kotetsu needed to see more substantial progress to help motivate him. And two, Touma honestly thought that Kotetsu already knew about the mystical concepts; however, that was clearly not the case. If Rata's method paid off and Kotetsu could understand something as abstract as the sealing concept, then that opened many doors to Kotetsu's lessons.
While he thought this, he understood that Rata might be a better teacher for Kotetsu in this early period. Especially if Kotetsu's pace picked up after what the Matriarch had in store for him later that day, then Rata's continued presence might be more beneficial than any of them realised.
Touma silently observed the two for a while longer. When the morning sun was clearly peeking through the trees, both boys were covered in dirt and sweat. Kotetsu had not quite managed to block Rata's attacks, but he was getting closer to understanding the sealing concept. With silence, the old man made his way up to his and Taisei's cabin, where he found his son already awake.
"Father." Taisei calmly greeted.
Touma gave a short nod in return. He peered down at the floor where Taisei was sitting, glancing around at the neat yet unsorted rows of scrolls and scratch paper. He could see a near-empty well of ink sitting beside the boy, and several unopened wells waiting to be accessed. A cursory glance told Touma that his son must have busily gotten to work studying the new material the moment he awoke, so much so that Taisei hadn't even bothered to eat.
Reaching down, Touma lifted a discarded page, his eyes following the countless scribbles. It appeared that Taisei had taken to directly copying, then modifying some of Touma's own seals, as he could see from the opened scrolls. Something caught his eye on the page he held, and he glanced down at the other pages, including the one Taisei was actively writing on. All of those pages were filled with modified versions of Touma's own seals.
"Stop." Touma ordered.
With a jolt, Taisei lifted his brush. He glanced up with attentive concern.
"You have made several errors in assumption with these seals." Touma waved the page he held.
At Touma's words, Taisei instantly turned back down, scanning his pages at a furious pace. However, upon not finding the obvious problem, he glanced back up to his father.
"What… am I missing?" He asked hesitantly.
Touma read the paper over once again before setting it down.
"You are assuming that the seal has a single functional entrypoint."
Taisei's face scrunched up at Touma's words. He looked down at the paper Touma had just been holding, and reached over to pick it up. Before he could, Touma stomped down on the paper.
"You intended this seal to filter in Earth release Chakra. However," With his foot, he powered the seal with static Chakra, then forced a small amount of active Chakra into one of the seal's characters.
"In the event that someone inputs Chakra somewhere other than the intended entrypoint, the filter becomes an attractor." With the paper stuck to the sole of his foot, he kicked it toward Taisei's face. In reflex, Taisei reached out and grabbed the paper with one hand, realising his mistake immediately afterward. He attempted to release the paper, but it refused to let go of his hand. He sat there, sheepishly staring at the activated seal.
"You forgot to account for ambiguity in your seal. Remember, the more ambiguous, the more range for mistakes."
As Touma spoke, Taisei bobbed his head in acquiescence while reciting. "And the less ambiguous, the less range for decoding…"
"Correct. You need to find the middleground, to ensure that your allies may use your seal without needing a substantial understanding, while keeping your enemies guessing at your intentions."
Taisei listened patiently, chagrined at his lapse in attention. While speaking, Touma released his Chakra in the seal, and the paper fell from Taisei's hand. In a hasty attempt to change the subject, the younger Senju spoke up.
"Father… what do you have planned for today?"
Touma considered his son before replying.
"Go retrieve Kotetsu and eat at the morning feast. Then, bring him to the boar pit."
One of Taisei's eyebrows lifted slightly at the order, but he complied. "Yes, father."
And with that statement, he rose and exited the cabin, just managing to keep the look of disdain off his face at having to interact with Kotetsu and Rata. With his son's exit, Touma took a seat at the corner table, being careful not to disrupt Taisei's orderly chaos. He rested one arm on the table, propping his chin on his folded fist.
He wondered how long it would take for the Matriarch's plan to work. He wondered how long before Kotetsu attempted to escape, or how long before he finally sensed the trap placed on his body. But most importantly, Touma wondered when the boy would figure out just how much danger he was truly in.