The dojo felt heavier that evening, as though the walls themselves bore witness to the storm unleashed earlier. Silence lingered in the training yard, broken only by the faint creak of wood as Kaizen replayed his spar against Bang in his mind.
His body ached from the master's precise strikes, but the pain in his chest ran deeper than bruises. He had tasted the storm fully this time, nearly lost himself to it, and only barely dragged it back.
"You are stronger than this power. Prove it."
Bang's words circled endlessly in his head, clashing with Garou's taunt. Why choke it down? Let it breathe.
Kaizen sat cross-legged on the floor, fists resting on his knees, forcing his breath steady. But the storm never truly slept it pulsed beneath his skin, demanding release.
Footsteps interrupted his meditation. Heavy, deliberate.
Renji entered, his staff in hand. His eyes were cold, calculating.
Kaizen rose slowly, wary. "Renji."
Renji leaned against his staff, his tone biting. "You nearly lost control today. Do you even realize what could've happened if Master hadn't stopped you?"
Kaizen's fists clenched. "I held it back."
Renji scoffed. "Barely. You think restraint in the moment makes you safe? No. You're a danger, Kaizen. To this dojo. To Master. To everyone."
Kaizen's chest tightened, anger and shame boiling together. "I'm trying. Every day I'm trying to control it."
Renji stepped closer, eyes hard. "Trying isn't enough. Not when the stakes are this high. I've seen power like yours before unchecked, it always ends the same way: destruction."
Kaizen's storm flickered faintly at his words, the air tightening around him. "So what then? You want me gone?"
Renji's silence was answer enough.
Kaizen exhaled sharply, fury twisting in his chest. "You think I asked for this? You think I want to carry something I don't even understand?"
Renji's grip on his staff tightened. "Whether you asked for it or not doesn't matter. What matters is what you are a weapon waiting to go off. And weapons break the hands of those who trust them."
For a moment, the two stared at each other, the tension between them a thread ready to snap.
Then Renji raised his staff. "If you truly believe you can master this power, prove it. Not to Master. Not to yourself. To me."
Kaizen's eyes narrowed. "You want to fight me?"
"I want to test if you can control yourself when it matters," Renji said coldly. "Because if you can't… then I'll end this before it destroys us all."
The night air was cold as they stepped into the yard. Moonlight cast silver shadows across the wooden planks, the dojo eerily silent.
Renji spun his staff once, the motion crisp, precise. "No interference. No excuses."
Kaizen's fists rose, the storm stirring reluctantly. "Fine."
For a moment, silence stretched. Then Renji struck.
His staff blurred through the air, aimed at Kaizen's temple. Kaizen ducked, countering with a sharp jab. Renji redirected it, sweeping low. Kaizen leapt back, the staff grazing his ankle.
Renji pressed forward, his strikes relentless. Kaizen blocked, parried, but each clash rang with hostility far sharper than Bang's disciplined strikes. Renji wasn't teaching he was testing, punishing.
Kaizen's storm flared, feeding his reflexes, his speed. His fists lashed out, forcing Renji back for the first time.
Renji's eyes narrowed. "There it is. The power you can't hide."
Kaizen gritted his teeth, forcing the storm into rhythm, into structure. He struck with practiced combinations, Bang's lessons flowing through his body. For a moment, he felt balanced power and discipline in harmony.
But Renji wasn't Bang.
The older fighter feinted, then slammed his staff across Kaizen's ribs with brutal force. Pain exploded through him, and the storm surged wildly in response.
Kaizen staggered, eyes flashing with light. His fists trembled, aura distorting. The storm screamed for release.
Renji's voice was sharp, goading. "That's it, isn't it? No control. Just raw chaos waiting to swallow you!"
Kaizen roared, charging forward, fists blazing. His strikes came too fast, too savage, the air itself cracking with each blow. Renji barely dodged, the staff splintering under one impact.
For a heartbeat, Kaizen saw nothing but red.
Then Bang's words pierced through. You are stronger than this power. Prove it.
Kaizen froze, fist inches from Renji's throat. His body shook violently, the storm raging, but he forced it back inch by inch until the glow faded, the distortion stilled.
Breath ragged, he lowered his fist. "I… won't lose to it."
Renji stared at him, chest heaving. For a moment, silence reigned. Then he dropped the shattered half of his staff, expression unreadable.
"You stopped yourself," he admitted. His voice was low, grudging. "But don't think for a second that means I trust you. One slip is all it'll take."
Kaizen's jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
Renji turned away, his words like stone. "Prove me wrong, Kaizen. Or I'll be the one to end you."
From the rooftops above, unseen, Garou crouched in the shadows, grinning wide.
"Oh, this is rich," he murmured. "The cracks are already forming. The boy's drowning, the master's blind, and the brother sharpens his blade. All I have to do is wait."
His eyes gleamed, hungry. "A storm can't be tamed forever. When it breaks… it'll take them all."
The night wind carried his laughter as he vanished into the dark.