The dojo courtyard was alive with motion the next morning disciples striking the air in unison, their voices raised in rhythm with the cadence Bang called out. Kaizen moved with them, fists slicing the air, legs sweeping with precision, but his focus was elsewhere. His ribs still ached, but more than that, his mind burned.
Garou's voice hadn't left him.Let go… stop holding back…
Each strike he threw felt heavier, slower, as if his body was betraying his refusal to listen.
Across the courtyard, Renji was watching him like a hawk. Every falter, every hesitation, Renji memorized.
Bang barked a command, breaking the rhythm. "Pair drills! Control your force. Technique, not pride."
Renji didn't hesitate. He walked straight to Kaizen, eyes sharp.
"Looks like it's you and me again," he said, his grin forced but his tone edged.
Kaizen nodded silently. They fell into stances.
The first exchanges were measured block, counter, step back. But Renji pressed harder with each movement, striking faster, sharper, more aggressive than Bang had instructed.
Kaizen matched him as best he could, but his ribs screamed with every impact. His body wasn't flowing; it was surviving.
Renji noticed. "There it is again," he muttered mid-strike. "You're pulling back."
Kaizen gritted his teeth. "We're not supposed to go full force."
"Don't hide behind rules." Renji's eyes flashed. "You're holding back because you're scared."
The words hit harder than his fists. Kaizen's guard faltered, and Renji's palm slammed into his chest, sending him skidding across the tatami.
The courtyard fell silent. Disciples froze mid-spar, eyes snapping toward the clash.
Bang's voice boomed. "Renji!"
But Renji barely heard him. His focus was locked on Kaizen, who struggled to his feet, breath ragged.
"You're hiding something," Renji said low, so only Kaizen heard. "And I'm going to find out what it is."
That night, Renji stormed from the dojo, his fists clenched, anger boiling in his chest. He didn't know what enraged him more Kaizen's weakness, or the way Bang seemed blind to it.
He found himself wandering through back alleys, the city quiet under the pale glow of streetlamps. That's when he heard the voice.
"Tsk. That was pathetic."
Renji spun, fists raised. From the shadows, a figure stepped forward silver hair, predatory eyes, smirk sharp as a blade.
"Garou," Renji spat.
The Fang of the Hero Hunter spread his arms mockingly. "Relax. I'm not here to break you. Not yet."
Renji lowered his stance slightly but kept his glare. "You shouldn't be here."
"Neither should you," Garou countered. "Sulking in alleys instead of training. What's wrong? That little golden boy giving you trouble?"
Renji's scowl deepened. "Kaizen's hiding something. I know it."
Garou chuckled darkly. "Of course he is. You can see it, can't you? The cracks. The restraint."
Renji said nothing, but his silence was answer enough.
Garou stepped closer, his voice smooth, poisonous. "Bang favors him because he thinks Kaizen has control. Discipline. But discipline's a mask. Underneath, he's just like me."
Renji's eyes narrowed. "He's nothing like you."
"Isn't he?" Garou leaned in. "You've seen it the hesitation, the tremor. That's someone fighting against their nature. And when people fight their nature…" He snapped his fingers. "They break."
Renji clenched his jaw. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you can do what Bang won't," Garou said, grin widening. "Push him. Force him past that mask. Make him show what he really is. And when he breaks, you'll know I was right."
Renji stared at him, conflict warring in his chest. But Garou's words burrowed deep, feeding the fire already smoldering inside.
Before Renji could respond, Garou melted back into the shadows, his laughter lingering in the alley.
Back at the dojo, Kaizen sat alone in the training hall, sweat dripping from his brow as he struck the wooden post again and again. His fists were raw, his body shaking, but he didn't stop.
You're scared, Renji's words echoed.You want to let go, Garou's whisper followed.
Kaizen's strikes grew harder, sloppier. He felt the storm rising inside, the urge to stop restraining, to unleash. His fist slammed into the post, splintering wood.
He froze, staring at the crack in the timber, chest heaving.
"…No," he whispered. "I won't give in."
But the doubt gnawed deeper.
The next day, training resumed as if nothing had happened. But the air between Kaizen and Renji was electric, thick with unspoken tension.
Bang paired disciples randomly, but when Kaizen and Renji found themselves opposite each other again, neither protested.
Their spar began slow, controlled, the way Bang demanded. But Renji's strikes grew sharper with each exchange, his eyes burning with something more than discipline.
Kaizen blocked, dodged, countered, but the weight in his chest slowed him. His body hesitated where it once flowed.
Renji pressed harder. "Stop holding back!" he snarled mid-swing.
Kaizen's guard faltered under the onslaught. Renji's fist grazed his jaw, snapping his head back.
Gasps rippled through the courtyard. Bang moved to step forward, but something in his old eyes made him pause.
Kaizen steadied himself, blood on his lip, fists trembling.
Renji lowered his stance, glaring. "If you keep hiding, you'll never stand. Show me what you're afraid of."
Kaizen's chest heaved. His fists clenched. Deep inside, the storm raged louder.
Show me… Renji's demand.Let go… Garou's whisper.
Kaizen's knuckles whitened. His jaw tightened. For one terrifying heartbeat, he considered it unleashing the storm.
But he forced it down, shaking. "Not like this."
Renji's scowl deepened. "Then you're weaker than I thought."
He turned and walked off, leaving Kaizen standing in the silence of the courtyard, disciples whispering, Bang watching with furrowed brow.
And in the shadows beyond the gates, Garou grinned.
That night, Kaizen lay awake, staring at the ceiling. His body ached, but worse was the war in his chest.
Renji was right. He was holding back. But Garou was right too the storm was real, and it was growing.
"How long," Kaizen whispered into the dark, "before it breaks me?"
His fists trembled against the sheets. And for the first time since arriving in this world, Kaizen wasn't sure if he feared failure… or himself.