The dust still lingered in the air from the intense battle between Ren, Kael, and their older brother, Tsukihara. The arena was silent, save for their heavy breathing and the crackling of the energy that still buzzed in the air. Tsukihara had pushed them to their limits, but there was something that felt... off. The way he had dodged their attacks with ease, the way his strikes didn't seem as forceful as they could have been, all hinted at one thing.
They were being played.
But it wasn't until they heard the laugh that the realization truly hit.
From across the battlefield, the True Master, their father, stood in the shadows, watching the entire exchange unfold. A wide grin spread across his face, his arms crossed as he watched his sons, Ren and Kael, still panting and frustrated from the battle.
Then it came.
The laugh.
A deep, booming laugh that reverberated through the air. It was low at first, then it grew louder and more boisterous, until it could no longer be ignored.
"Hahaha!" Their father's voice echoed across the training grounds. "Oh, you two are absolutely adorable! You actually thought your older brother was trying?" He couldn't stop laughing. His shoulders shook with the force of it.
Ren's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?"
Kael's face twisted into a mix of confusion and anger. "Wait, what do you mean? He was holding back?"
Their father, Renshiro, walked forward, still chuckling, as he patted both their shoulders. "Boys, you're just so cute when you're angry. But listen to me carefully. Tsukihara wasn't trying. At all."
Ren's fists clenched. "What do you mean? That was him holding back?"
"Holding back?!" their father snorted, his laughter booming once again. "No, no! He was barely using 1% of his strength. ONE percent. He was playing with you two the whole time!"
Ren and Kael's jaws dropped in shock.
Kael, his anger slowly bubbling to the surface, turned to Tsukihara, his hands shaking. "So you've been messing with us the whole time?!" he yelled. "You were just pretending to fight?"
Tsukihara, who had been standing off to the side, trying to compose himself, suddenly shouted in a childish tone, his face twisted with exaggerated mock-innocence: "Oh, come on! I was having fun!"
Ren's eyes narrowed in frustration. "Fun?! You almost crushed us!"
"Oh, but it was just getting good!" Tsukihara shouted back, laughing. "I didn't want to stop! You guys were doing so well, I almost got impressed! I just had to slow down for you two, though—had to make it fair!"
Kael's face turned bright red with rage. "Fair?! You barely even moved!"
"I'm serious!" Tsukihara whined, crossing his arms defensively. "It's hard to fight you guys when you're so cute while struggling!" He spun around in exaggerated frustration, playing up the drama. "You should be thanking me for not destroying you, alright?!"
Ren and Kael exchanged an angry glance, their faces flushed with irritation.
"You liar!" Ren growled, gritting his teeth. "You've been making fun of us the whole time!"
"Yeah!" Kael added, his voice shaking with indignation. "This was all just a game to you?!"
Tsukihara, realizing his plan had backfired and the tension had finally reached a breaking point, burst into laughter once again. "Boys, relax!" He put his hands up as if surrendering. "You should be thanking me for giving you such an entertaining training session!"
Ren and Kael, now fully enraged, launched themselves toward their brother, their fusion powers flaring up again. "Get back here, you jerk!" Ren yelled, his body crackling with lightning.
"You're not escaping this time, you trickster!" Kael shouted, chasing after him.
Tsukihara, in his usual playful manner, began running, but not in the usual frantic way. Instead, he flipped and jumped in exaggerated motions, clearly having way too much fun. He was laughing uncontrollably as the two brothers chased him down, their power crackling in the air.
"Come on! Catch me if you can, losers!" Tsukihara taunted, glancing over his shoulder with a smirk.
Ren, now utterly furious, chased him even faster, his feet practically leaving the ground. "You're going to regret this, Tsukihara! We're going to catch you, and then we'll—"
But before he could finish his threat, Tsukihara suddenly slowed down, turning around with a feigned expression of innocence.
"Wait!" Tsukihara said in a playful voice. "I'm sorry, I was just having fun—you guys are way too fast now!" He put his hands up in mock defence. "Come on, no hard feelings, right?"
But Ren and Kael weren't about to let it slide. They were so mad they could hardly see straight.
"LIAR!" Kael screamed, throwing himself at Tsukihara with every ounce of speed and power he had left.
Ren wasn't far behind.
The two brothers finally caught up to Tsukihara, but instead of tackling him, they tripped over each other and fell face-first into the dirt.
Tsukihara, still laughing hysterically, hopped over them, landing lightly on his feet. He stood there for a moment, catching his breath.
"You guys make everything so much more fun!" he grinned, crouching down next to them. "You two are such easy targets, and you're so cute when you're angry."
The father, Renshiro, watched the entire scene unfold from the distance, his arms crossed, shaking his head in mock disappointment.
"You know," Renshiro muttered with a small smile. "Sometimes I wonder if it's a good idea to let Tsukihara teach you anything."
But then he paused and looked over at his sons, who were now both in a pile of dirt, fuming and exhausted.
"Then again… it's probably the only way to get them to learn anything at all."