Talk With Mom and The Girls' Motivation

"He threw a rock...and this is what happened?" Kureha-sensei looked down at the hand he was bandaging. Even with my healing factor, the hand was still basically mangled.

When I caught the rock, it had exploded in my hand, the pieces of rock acting like shrapnel and ripping and tearing apart my hand. Nevermind a rock, it was like holding a frag grenade in my hand. The bones were mostly okay, with only two of my fingers being broken, it was the flesh and muscle that had taken most of the damage anyway.

By the time I'd gotten to Ryozanpaku...well, it had stopped bleeding at least. That's a positive, right?

Nodding my head, I spoke in a hoarse voice, "He simply threw it, like he was trying to skim a rock across a body of water...and this is what happened when I caught it. He's a monster through and through," my voice was full of barely cooled anger and hatred the likes the others in the room hadn't thought possible for a 6-year-old to exhibit.

The peculiar reaction began to happen again, my skin slowly going red and the heat of my body rising. A paper fan hit my head.

"Calm down, Yu. We don't know how that...'form' effects you. You could be hurting yourself by entering it, so cool your head," Akisame's voice came from behind me. Kureha nodded his head in front of me.

"Listen to him, Yu. Your body heat is well above what is normal and it's not even half as hot as it was when you first got here. I'm surprised your body's still working. Most of the enzymes and chemical reactions in your body should have ceased to even happen at this temperature, and yet from what I can gather, you're still functioning properly..." Kureha mused and muttered as he finished the bandage on my hand.

At this point, the clinics door burst open and my mother's worried visage was shown. She scanned through the rooms occupants before her bloodshot eyes landed on me.

Even with my incredible reflexes, she appeared in front of me before I could even greet her. She pulled me in for a hug and because of my injuries, it felt like two pythons had encircled me and were trying to suffocate me.

But...these are two pythons I'd willingly die to. I hugged my mother back, hearing her sobs.

Each sob hurt more than the injuries. More than the mangled flesh, more than the countless cracks in my bones, more than the internal injuries...This is the price of being weak.

Weakness doesn't just hurt you, it hurts those around you. If I was strong enough, my mother wouldn't be crying right now. I wouldn't be in such a sorry state, either.

These thoughts circled through my head on an endless loop, fueled by my mother's sobs.

The anger I had earlier faded, replaced by cold, hard resolve and determination.

I'd been trying my hardest for the past year, training myself to the bone. But it wasn't enough. I had to push harder. I had to push further. It went beyond just having to be strong enough to protect their well-being...it was about being strong enough that I never had to worry them. It was about being strong enough that they'd never have to shed tears about me.

I felt another pair of arms hug me. They were considerably short than my mothers and I instantly realized who they belonged to.

Shouko-neesan.

She saw my injuries and began quietly sobbing as well, pushing her head into my shoulder like she was hoping her tears would make my injuries better. The tears didn't help, but the care I felt from these two women (well, a woman and a girl)...it was like an anesthetic which suppressed the hurt and bolstered my resolve to be stronger.

I guess I just can't afford to be this weak anymore, huh?

The crying lasted a while, and Akisame and Kureha gave us some privacy, so by the time they stopped, I could properly explain to mom what had happened. It was time to tell her why I was training so much.

"What happened, Yukiro?" she seriously asked, her voice firm, yet the red-rimmed eyes spoke volumes about the care she had for me, "Who hurt you this badly?" her voice went from serious to sharp and I couldn't help but smile a little at how fierce my mom could get when it came to me and Shouko.

"It..." I paused for a second but carried on after seeing her urging, no, pleading with her eyes, "It was 'him', mom. He tried to hurt Shouko-neesan, so I intervened and this is what happened," I motioned to my hand and the other injuries on my body.

At the mention of 'him', mom went pale, her eyes widening in fear. Such fear made me angry, yet I kept my calm, remembering Akisame and Kureha's words about my anger and that weird form I enter whenever I either push hard enough or get angry enough.

But, to my surprise, her fear was fleeting and it was replaced by anger. Pure rage. Her eyes once again went red, yet not from crying this time, "How dare he!" she screeched, her teeth grit, "How. Dare. He!" she spoke through her gritted teeth, her voice dripping with hatred. Shouko looked worried, yet I grabbed her hand and she calmed down a little, though she still looked at our mother with uneasy eyes. Which is to be expected. She's too young to understand the things our mother has been through.

"He's been threatening the both of you to make me get stronger the past two years or so," I said with an even voice, yet the scowl spoke about how frustrated I was inside, "I fear that this will only escalate further..." I didn't dare go any further, afraid I might jinx it somehow.

Hearing what I said, mom was knocked out of her anger and only dumbly looked at me. She brought a hand up and stroked my cheek, her eyes full of worry and apologies.

"My baby boy..." she weakly said, the fierceness from earlier having disappeared and crumbled, "You've been dealing with a lot, haven't you?" she asked, and her sadness took another increase in intensity, "All because of your weak mother--" I cut her off before she could speak any further.

"No!" I gave a stern denial to her words, "It is not because of you. It's because of 'him'!" I spoke intensely, my hatred and killing intent pouring from my words and out of my eyes, "Never, and I mean never, apologies to me, mom. You have nothing to apologies for. You brought me into this world, you raised me when you had every right to hate me...I will forever be indebted to you, and I will do everything I can to protect you. Both you and Shouko," I squeezed Shouko's hand tightly, afraid of letting go for some reason.

Hearing me, mom broke down into more sobs, the tears pouring from her eyes as she hugged me tight. From the outside, it would be hard to tell who was the child and who was the parent.

I didn't mind such thoughts and simply rubbed my mom's back and stroked her hair, calming her.

Shouko joined me in doing so, and before long, mom was looking at the two of us and smiling, "What did I do to deserve such wonderful children, hm?" she asked with a crackly voice, from all the sobbing.

Even if she didn't understand what was happening, Shouko quickly scribbled something down before showing it to mom.

[You're the best mommy!] even if it didn't have much to do with her question, it was clearly Shouko trying to support our mom. It was also a sentiment I shared wholeheartedly.

"Mhm, Shouko-neesan is right, you know, mom?" I added with a bright smile.

Mom quickly began to wipe her eyes before she looked at us with a slightly pout, "It's not good to make your mommy cry, you know?" she asked, and while it sounded like a reprimand, the happiness in her eyes showed us she was only joking, "Let's go home, okay? We can even get ice cream on the way home!" she said with a glint in her eye that spoke of her excitement.

...My mom and sister loved ice cream. It's a genetic thing because I also love it. What a family, right?

"Yaaaay!" Shouko-neesan gave a loud shout of joy as she quickly forgot about the serious atmosphere as soon as she realized mom said ice cream. Though this only made me smile. My sister's pretty cute at times.

"Okay, I'm up for that," I said, a smile on my face, though I faced my mom before carrying on, "Though I've got to go and speak to Doppo-sensei before I leave, so you can wait in the car for me, okay, mom?" I said and once my mom nodded, I went on my way to Doppo-sensei, while they exited the Dojo.

I found sensei punching a very heavy-looking sandbag and quickly bowed to him when he noticed my presence.

"I apologize but I'll be missing today's lesson, Doppo-sensei!" I said in a loud and clear voice. The thing Doppo-sensei hated the most was someone who mumbled. I really doubt I could take a karate chop to the head from him, in my current condition.

All I heard was a hearty laugh, before a rough hand was put on my shoulder, "Don't worry about it, Yu. Akisame and Kureha filled me in on what happened - You successfully stopped an attack from the Ogre! Hahaha! You've made me a proud teacher, kid!" he began laughing even louder and all I could do was dumbly stare at him.

"Eh?"

"When you're healed up, we're gonna increase the intensity of your training even further! Akisame and Kureha have agreed to do the same thing as well! Oh, and you'll have to show me that red-skinned form of yours - maybe it's a good thing! Ha! Knowing your talent, it's most likely a good thing!" he clapped my shoulder many times and I flinched every time but I couldn't help but smile.

"And here I thought you'd be slightly annoyed...I only stopped a rock, sensei," I helplessly said, but Doppo-sensei snorted before answering.

"Yeah, a rock; a rock thrown by Yujiro Hanma!" he said with a wide smile, "It's not something many people can boast about. Take some pride in it, Yu!" he ruffled my hair before going back to his bag, "Now get lost, I got training to do!"

Shaking my head at this eccentric teacher, I turned around and exited the Dojo.

I did feel two pairs of eyes on me the entire time but I ignored them. It was most likely Miu and Karla, and while I was curious to why they didn't come up to me, I knew they probably had their reasons, so I just left it.

I had ice cream to eat after all.

. . .

POV Change - Karla Kure

As I waked Yukiro leave, I turned to Miu, "We need to train more, Miu," I said with a serious face.

People usually think that I'm too eccentric and too carefree but...when it comes to my two friends, Yukiro and Miu...I'll be as serious as possible.

And seeing Yukiro so hurt...It hurt.

I was shocked even more when I found out that it was his father who hurt him that badly. Though he did seem incredibly angry when they mentioned that it was his father. I've only ever seen his mom and older sister, so maybe they have problems with each other? I don't know. Yukiro doesn't talk about stuff like that much.

"Mhm..." Miu nodded her head with a slightly forlorn expression. People usually think she's pretty naive and, well, a bit dumb but Miu's deceptively intelligent and quite perceptive.

She seems to get how serious this whole situation is.

Why is it serious? Because Yukiro is probably the strongest person in our generation, that either me or Miu have met. Even my cousin Raian pales in comparison to Yukiro, even with his Removal Technique activated. I used to think that technique used to make us Kure clan members better than everyone else but Yukiro...his physical strength is insurmountable even when I use the Removal Technique.

"Let's go find your grandfather, he could help us train. If we don't, we'll fall too far behind Yukiro..." I said with no hidden worry in my voice.

I didn't want to lose one of my first friends because I was too weak.

Miu nodded and we got up to go and find her grandfather. The thought of Yukiro coming into the Dojo covered in blood with a mangled hand...it seemed to hurt the both of us. I didn't want it to happen again.