Chapter 17
"No, more curse behind it, little brother. You need more energy."
Just as he promised, Junpei began to practice Noranso's flesh manipulation technique. It was far more difficult than controlling blood! Taking into consideration that blood is fluid and can be manipulated more easily. Flesh on the other hand has more resistance to it, there are also different textures as well as weight to it compared to blood. Curse flesh for example that he is attempting to mold at the moment was dense and thick. It will break apart and eventually vanish if it does not get enough energy to maintain itself.
Other flesh… well… let's say he didn't want to know where Noranso obtained human flesh from. However, his older brother was far more willing to explain himself. "I was out with Tanso when we came across some human. They were illegally hunting in the woods, apparently they were capturing rare creatures and putting them in cages. There was blood on them according to older brother… human blood…"
"Poachers huh?"
"Indeed, they didn't look like the humans from around here too. Their skin was too light." Noranso explained, as he happened to be toying with a wad of it in his hands as he spoke. "They were stealing the creatures here, they had also killed some too, and people who found them. So, we believed it was best to no longer have those humans live." He said bluntly.
Strange, his curse side got the better of him. "I agree," he said bluntly. "People like that seek their own gains through the pain of others… I know that all too well, but they never turned a profit from it."
"What do you mean?"
"It's nothing, let's try this again, I think I got to put more energy into it…" he would spend hours practicing, until he could manipulate the flesh properly. However, there was also a bit of a side effect. As well as Junpei could control the flesh in hand, he found… his skin could be used as a weapon as well. In fact, he clenched his first and envisioned spikes on his knuckle… they formed!
"Whoa…."
Noranso froze as he took a closer look. "Wait, you did that to yourself? Turn back! That could hurt you!" he scolded.
Junpei did as he was told, but it wasn't painful. "It didn't hurt…" he tried to explained.
"I don't even do that!" Noranso protested. "Still, little brother. If one alters their flesh to an extent, it may not be able to turn back. I am very careful about this, it is also why I only use what I have taken from enemies."
He understood. If one messes with their own body, they may never turn it back to the way it was… he's already gone through THAT before.
"I understand, thank you big bro." he said and smiled.
Noranso smiled proudly back. "Of course little brother, anytime!"
"Are you done? I want MY turn!" protested Shouoso.
Junpei rolled his eyes as he nodded. "Okay, your turn!" he called.
#
He would spend days with them, learning their technique and abilities. He was able to understand Shouoso's power rather easily. But he also knows it takes a LOT of curse energy to alter bone. Kotsuso then wanted a turn with him.
However it wasn't that easy to learn, considering muscle is hard to come by. Not even Kotsuso keeps a surplus handy. However he taught him in a different way.
Eso however was not happy to learn that his older brother was using tonight's dinner as a lesson for Junpei.
Still, he was fascinated to see he could alter the properties of a steak, since that is technically what steak is, it's the muscle of an animal. "Will you quite playing with our dinner tonight!" Eso finally demanded.
They had turned the steaks into ropes, they made the meat turn pointed and other various things, but it got to the point where Eso was not impressed. So Junpei called for an end to the lesson. However, he was inspired.
"Eso, we get good cuts of meat, right?" he asked offhandedly.
"Suiryu brings it, I haven't gone shopping for myself yet."
"So these are good cuts… hmmm…"
"What's that look, little bro?" Kotsuso asked.
"Well, considering that we can alter the properties of meat, I was think. If we get some of the bad cuts, cheap meat in a sense, we can use this ability to make it tender and succulent. Think of it, meat is tough because of the properties and where the cut is on the carcass. However, with this…"
"We can have the best meat each and every time!" Eso announced. "You're brilliant!"
"I have my moments" But then he paused. "Wait a moment…"
He began to look at Eso oddly. "Little bro?"
"We can use your abilities on food too! But, we need a way to ensure that it's not too powerful…"
"What are you talking about?" Kotsuso asked.
"Well, let me explained. Eso has the ability to rot items correct? However, if we take down the potency of that ability and really lighten it up somehow… we can use it on our food. Have you heard of pickling and fermenting?" he asked.
They shook their heads on the idea. "Eso, we are going to do some tests and see if perhaps this can be done, if it can, it will elevate your cooking" he decreed.
Naturally, the brothers were up to anything to try. Junpei wondered if perhaps this notion would work. Only time will tell!
