Kotaro and Leo clashed wooden blades in the backyard of the Fuuma estate.
The sharp crack of wood echoed through the air as Kotaro forced Leo back with a heavy swing.
Leo slid a step, adjusted his footing, and steadied himself.
Kotaro frowned. "Seriously… even with that blindfold, I can't land a single hit on you."
Leo smirked beneath the cloth. "Thanks. I've been working on that."
Kotaro clicked his tongue and rushed again, faster this time.
Three strikes.
Left. Right. Overhead.
Leo tilted his head, stepped inside the arc of the blade, and tapped Kotaro's shoulder with the tip of his own.
"Point," Leo said calmly.
Kotaro froze, then slowly lowered his sword.
"…This is getting annoying."
From the porch, Ryuji watched in silence, arms crossed.
Aoi leaned against the railing. "He's not reacting to sight at all anymore."
Ryuji nodded. "No wasted movement. He's reading intent."
Back in the yard, Kotaro took a breath and raised his sword again.
"Fine," he said. "No holding back."
Leo straightened.
"Good," he replied. "Then neither will I."
Kotaro lunged.
And for the first time—
Leo moved before the strike even started.
Kotaro blocked the attack. "Okay—how did you do that?"
Leo chuckled. "Honestly? I had no idea that would actually work."
Kotaro lowered his sword. "What did you do?"
"Have you watched Avatar?"
"Airbender or blue people?"
"Airbender."
"Good. You almost lost my interest."
Leo tilted his head slightly. "I used my chakra."
Ryuji cut in from the porch. "Taima particles."
Kotaro rolled his eyes. "We know, Dad."
Aoi giggled. "You younger generation really use 'chakra' as slang for taima particles now."
Leo shrugged. "It's easier to say."
He lifted one hand, palm open. "I spread my taima particles around the area during the fight. When you moved, the particles moved with you. I felt the disturbance and reacted before your blade reached me."
Kotaro stared at him. "…So you turned the whole yard into a sensor field?"
"Pretty much."
Ryuji narrowed his eyes. "That's not basic sensing. That's active perception."
Aoi crossed her arms. "And extremely dangerous if you lose focus."
Leo nodded. "I know. That's why I'm practicing it here first."
Kotaro picked up his sword again, slower this time. "So… you're not blind. You're just seeing in a different way."
Leo smiled faintly. "Yeah. Sound. Air. Movement. Intent."
Kotaro raised his blade. "Then let's test it properly."
Ryuji spoke once more. "No killing blows."
Both boys answered at the same time.
"Yes, sir."
Kotaro stepped forward.
And this time—
Leo didn't wait for the strike.
He moved the moment Kotaro decided to attack.
Kotaro shifted his stance, serious now.
"Alright," he said. "No holding back."
Leo adjusted his footing. "Same to you."
The yard went quiet.
Kotaro moved first.
Not a strike—just a step.
Leo's head tilted a fraction.
Then Kotaro exploded forward.
Wood met wood with a sharp crack.
Leo slid back, barely blocking in time.
Kotaro pressed the attack, one strike after another, fast and heavy.
Leo didn't see any of it.
He felt it.
Every swing pushed air.
Every step bent the field of taima around them.
He parried once.
Twice.
A third time—
Kotaro feinted low and went high.
Leo was late.
The wooden blade smacked into his shoulder.
He stumbled back, teeth clenched.
Kotaro blinked. "Got you."
Leo laughed under his breath. "Yeah. That was clean."
They went again.
Faster.
Harder.
Leo stopped waiting for sound.
He started reacting to intent.
The moment Kotaro decided to move—
Leo moved.
He slipped inside a swing and tapped Kotaro's chest with the flat of his blade.
"Point."
Kotaro backed off, breathing hard. "That's not fair anymore."
Ryuji had stood up from the porch.
"Enough."
Both boys froze.
Ryuji walked closer, eyes on Leo's blindfold.
"Take it off."
Leo hesitated, then pulled it down.
Ryuji studied his eyes. "How far are you spreading your particles?"
"Around… twenty meters."
Ryuji's expression hardened.
"That's too wide."
Leo blinked. "I'm fine."
"For now," Ryuji said. "Active perception drains focus, not stamina. When it collapses, it doesn't fade slowly. It shuts off."
He tapped Leo's forehead. "In a real fight, that means one second of blindness."
Aoi crossed her arms. "And one second is enough to die."
Leo nodded slowly. "I understand."
From the side, Tokiko had been watching with wide eyes.
"…That was like Toph."
Leo looked at her. "What?"
"You know," she said, excited. "From Avatar. Feeling vibrations through the ground. Seeing without seeing."
Leo burst out laughing.
"Yeah," he admitted. "That was literally my inspiration."
Kotaro groaned. "You copied a cartoon?"
"A very good cartoon," Leo shot back.
Even Ryuji allowed a small smile.
But then his tone turned serious again.
"Train it. Narrow the range. Learn to shut it off instantly."
He looked Leo straight in the eye.
"Because this ability will save your life."
A pause.
"And one day, it will almost get you killed."
The yard fell quiet again.
Leo bowed his head. "Yes, sir."
Kotaro raised his sword once more, grinning.
"So… Blind Taimanin."
Leo picked up his blade.
"Round three?"
After a while both where seating in the house.
Kotaro looked at Leo. "That was good training"
Leo nodded. "Yeah, it was"
Kotaro looked at him. "So, what's tomorrow?"
Leo looked at him. "Just hanging out with the group".
Kotaro leaned back on the couch, arms behind his head.
"Good," he said. "Because if you told me we were doing more training, I was going to fake an injury."
Leo snorted. "Weak."
"Smart," Kotaro corrected. "There's a difference."
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment.
Then Kotaro glanced at Leo's still-folded blindfold resting on the table.
"You really going to keep doing that thing all the time?"
Leo shrugged. "Not all the time. Just enough to get used to it."
Kotaro studied him. "You're pushing yourself pretty hard lately."
Leo didn't answer right away.
He stared at the ceiling.
"…Yeah."
Kotaro frowned. "Something happen?"
Leo hesitated, then shook his head. "Not something I can explain without sounding insane."
Kotaro smirked. "Try me."
Leo exhaled. "Let's just say… I lost a couple of voices in my head that used to give me advice."
Kotaro blinked. "…Okay, that does sound insane."
Leo laughed quietly. "See? Told you."
Kotaro's smile faded a little. "You alright though?"
Leo nodded. "I will be."
A pause.
Kotaro nudged him with his elbow. "Hey. Tomorrow's just food, movies, and dumb jokes, yeah?"
Leo looked at him and smiled for real this time.
"Yeah. Just normal stuff."
Kotaro stood up and stretched.
"Good. Because Blind Taimanin needs a day off."
Leo grabbed a cushion and threw it at him.
"Shut up."
When tomorrow came, it was not normal.
It was not peaceful.
It was a full-blown crisis.
Ryuji sat in the driver's seat of the Fuuma minivan, one hand on the wheel, the other pinching the bridge of his nose as the McDonald's drive-through menu glowed like a cursed artifact.
"Okay," he said, calm but strained. "One at a time. We are not animals."
Sakura leaned forward from the middle row, squinting at the menu.
"Not much of a fast-food girl, but—"
Leo cut in, tired already.
"Then get a salad."
Sakura blinked. "…Wow. Rude."
Kotaro shouted from the very back seat.
"I WANT MC NUGGETS."
Ryuji pointed a finger without turning around.
"We will get to you, Kotaro."
Kotaro crossed his arms.
"You said that last time and I got fries instead."
"That was because you fell asleep," Aoi said.
"That's not my fault!"
Yukikaze popped up between the seats, head tilted like a confused puppy.
"I want a cheeseburger—no, a hamburger—no, a Big Ma—"
Rinko snapped instantly.
"If you don't pick in five seconds, you get water."
Yukikaze froze.
"…Hamburger."
Rinko nodded. "Good."
Leo turned to his fiancée.
"What do you want, Asagi?"
Asagi folded her hands politely.
"I would like a DLT."
Ryuji groaned.
"I told you, they don't make those anymore."
Asagi pouted.
"But I like the hot side hot and the cool side cool."
"That commercial is older than Leo," Sakura said.
Leo frowned. "Hey."
Tokiko raised her hand from the back like she was in class.
"I would like a Shamrock Shake."
Leo turned slowly.
"It's September, Tokiko."
Tokiko stared back.
"…And?"
Ryuji whispered to himself.
"I'm surrounded by lunatics."
Kurenai was fighting with her headband like it had personally insulted her.
"Can I get this fucking thing off—"
Aoi smacked her arm.
"Language."
Kurenai hissed. "It's trying to strangle me."
BEEP.
The car behind them honked.
Ryuji flinched.
"Okay—okay—just—give me a second—"
He leaned toward the speaker.
"Yes, hello, we're just finalizing our—"
Kotaro yelled.
"MAKE IT A TEN-PIECE NUGGET."
Ryuji snapped.
"KOTARO I SWEAR TO GOD—"
Leo leaned forward, rubbing his temples.
"Okay. Reset. I'll take control."
He pointed.
"Sakura: salad.
Kotaro: ten-piece nuggets, fries, Coke.
Yukikaze: hamburger, apple juice.
Rinko: black coffee because you hate joy.
Tokiko: milkshake that does not exist.
Kurenai: whatever doesn't come with a headband.
Asagi: something that is legally sold in this year."
Asagi raised her hand.
"…Filet-O-Fish."
Everyone turned to her.
Leo squinted.
"You scare me sometimes."
Ryuji leaned into the mic, dead inside.
"Hi. Yes. We'd like—"
The speaker crackled.
"Sir, please speak slower."
Ryuji closed his eyes.
"…I'm going to commit a crime."
Once everything was ordered
They drove through the park, sunlight cutting through the trees as the minivan rolled along. Paper bags rustled. Fries vanished at an alarming rate.
For once, nobody was yelling.
Leo took a bite of his chicken burger and leaned back.
"All things considered," he said, calm and sincere, "this was good."
Kurenai snorted, sipping her soda.
"You're only saying that because nobody got stabbed."
Ryuji glanced at her in the mirror.
"…Yet."
Tokiko poked her straw into her cup, frowning.
"Except for the robot that took our order," she said. "That thing was clearly being remotely controlled by a disabled employee."
Everyone went quiet.
Leo blinked.
"…Tokiko. What."
She nodded, serious.
"It kept pausing like it was buffering. And it said 'uhhhh' three times."
Sakura tilted her head.
"I thought that was just bad Wi-Fi."
Ryuji muttered.
"Please don't tell me we bullied a cyborg today."
Kotaro shoved three nuggets into his mouth at once.
"Best. Mission. Ever."
Yukikaze, sitting in her booster seat, held up her hamburger like a trophy.
"I named him Cupcake-on-a-Stick."
Asagi choked on her drink.
Leo froze.
"…We really messed her up, didn't we."
Rinko sighed.
"This is your fault."
Kurenai peeled the wrapper off her burger and finally got the headband off her head.
She raised it in the air.
"Freedom."
A gust of wind blew it straight out the open window.
Everyone watched it fly into a lake.
Kurenai stared.
"…I hate this family."
Aoi leaned forward, smiling.
"You know, for a big scary ninja clan, we're really just bad at basic life stuff."
Ryuji nodded.
"We fight demons better than we order food."
Leo raised his soda.
"To the Fuuma Clan. Surviving fast food since 1987."
Kotaro clinked his nuggets against Leo's cup.
"To nuggets."
Yukikaze raised her apple juice.
"To cupcakes on a stick."
Asagi smiled softly and raised her drink too.
"To nobody getting arrested today."
They all paused.
Ryuji slowly added:
"…Yet."
The minivan rolled on, full of food, chaos, and one very traumatized McDonald's employee somewhere in Tokyo.
To be continued
Hope people like this Ch and give me power stoned and Enjoy