5 Chapter 5

(A/N: Power is how big the attack's effect is and how far it can pierce through buildings or people. Damage is just damage.)

I looked on as the clan head and my father entered the room. As soon as they did, my mother bowed to the clan head and spoke, "Thank you for saving my son Kenji," she said sincerely, causing my father to scoff.

'So he's the one who shot the Red at my father. This old man is more dangerous than he looks,' I thought as I looked at the aged figure of the clan head. I had known before passing out that it couldn't possibly have been Satoru who had done it, but I had been unable to think through the situation until now. It made sense that the current clan head would be someone with the clan's cursed technique. With that in mind, another thought came to the surface, 'Was he the one to heal me?'. However, I was dragged out of my thoughts when the man spoke.

The clan head gave my dad a dangerous look before turning back, "Maintaining balance in the clan is my job, after all," he said to my mother, "I am also the supreme judge, jury, and executioner of the clan,"

I could see my father's anger rising, his immense pride didn't deal well with getting shown his place beneath his brother. My mother also saw the anger simmering beneath the surface but chose to remain silent. Then, the clan head shifted his gaze to inspect me. He gazed at me with those eyes that seemed to be judging my worth, however, this time, I saw a hint of approval in his hard eyes.

A hint of a smile appeared on his face as he spoke to me, "How are you, son? I've never been the best with reverse cursed technique," My interest was peaked when he mentioned that he had been the one to heal me, but I didn't dwell on it too long.

"I'm feeling perfectly fine, sir," I said with a respectful inclination of my head toward the clan head.

He nodded at my show of respect and said, "If only my own son had the same amount of respect as you, but we can't choose our family," with a short, humorless chuckle, "But, I hear that you are talented and are able to pick things up pretty quickly. Is that right?"

I wasn't exactly sure what the best play would be here, but I knew whatever I choose to say, I would have to seem like an important asset to the clan's future, "Yes, I have picked up swordsmanship quickly, or so I have been told. I simply suggested that we switch to hand-to-hand combat so that I can round out my abilities before I awaken my cursed technique and switch to training that. My suggestion is what triggered my father's outburst," I stated simply.

The clan head sighed when I spoke, then turned to his brother, "Your pride has gotten in the way of your rational thoughts ever since we were children. If your pride is so important, then I hereby banish you from the clan until you are able to exorcise three special-grade curses," The silence after his pronouncement was deafening.

It was clear what everyone was thinking at that moment, 'I don't know if he can do this. This might actually be a death sentence,'. Nobody voiced this thought, but I could see it shine through clearly in my father and mother's eyes. It had been clearly demonstrated to me over the years that my parents had no great love for each other. I was mainly a result of my father's plan to create a powerful child, and my mother only agreed because she had a vision that it would work. When watching how they interact with one another, one would think that they are casual acquaintances rather than husband and wife.

After about a minute of dead silence with no sign of the situation improving, the clan head roared, "RIGHT NOW!"

That caused me, my mother, and my father to jump. With one last glare shot at everyone in the room, my father stalked out of the room. Once he was gone, my mother spoke while pulling me closer to her in either a show of affection, protection, or both, "Who will train my son now?"

"With Gojo at Jujutsu High, I can train the boy and see for myself if he is truly talented," The clan head said with that same hard light in his eyes, "Meet me at dawn in the training ground,"

"Shouldn't he be taking it easy for a couple of days," My mother argued, holding me tighter, but due to her weak body, it felt more like an extra layer of clothes than a protective embrace.

I got a pointed look from my new mentor, causing me to turn and try to convince my mother, "Mom, I'm okay. After all, Uncle Kenji healed me back to tip-top shape. I am perfectly fine and ready to get back to training,". I could see she was still on the fence, so I dealt the finishing blow, "How can I grow strong enough to protect you if I don't learn?"

I had taken a risk by playing the more family card, calling the clan head my uncle may have backfired despite it being factually accurate. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, but other than a slight narrowing of his eyes, he choose to turn a blind eye to my comment. The highly competitive and hierarchical structure of clans made it difficult for the family card to land, but it seemed that my uncle had seen my tactical use of it and allowed it to slide. After all, if he contested my use of the term, then that did neither of us any good.

I let the question hang in the air, my young voice adding to the emotional effect of my words, "Okay, fine," she relented, "But make sure to take it easy. I love you, you are my one and only baby,"

"I love you too, mom," I said, giving her a light squeeze as I hugged her.

- - - (Chapter End) - - -

Shorter chapter than usual, but I just wanted to get this one out. The story will start to pick up a bit more soon.