Chapter 27
"Ugh…" Ryoto laid in bed. His head was pulsing in pain, his side were in agony and he swore he feel as if someone has tried to slit open his stomach. None of this pain made any sense to him and yet, he is attempting to endure it. "Maybe I should get out of bed…" he muttered.
Slowly, he eased himself up and on to his feet. The clock in his room must be fast, it claims to be two in the afternoon!
He nearly didn't believe it until his stomach roared and demanded food!
Rushing down the stairs, Ryoto raided the fridge. "Ooo look at all the meat dishes… father must have hunted well…"
"He can't take all the credit for that you know!"
He jumped a little, his cousin Rook was in the house as well! "How long…"
"For a while, sorry I didn't mean to scare you. I came here to have a late lunch. I try to hide the better cuts of meat on my siblings, at the same time… I have Oji to worry about eating that one me too… I have better chances of getting what I hunted here… your mom is a wicked gatekeeper!" Rook made his way to the fridge and pulled out various raw meats. "Wanna join me for a meal? I've been saving this from yesterday…"
Ryoto stomach roared.
"And that answers my question…"
He took a seat and watched on as Rook began to make a meal, it was rather simple with a mix of meat and vegetables served over rice. Despite how simple it was, the flavor of it was exquisite!
"Oh man, that's good meat!" Ryoto decreed. "I have to go hunting with you and father some time."
"Ooo that would be fun, I don't want to hog your dad on you." Rook laughed.
It made Ryoto pause oddly. "Why does my father take you hunting? I don't mean to sound rude, but you have two fathers. Don't you?"
Rook forced a smile. "About that. My bio dad doesn't hunt, also he was a curse energy user so he didn't have much to teach me. At the same time, he didn't know HOW to teach me. Pops… is another story. You see before he met my mom and smartened up according to auntie… your mom… that he hated humans so much… he tried to wipe them out in Japan years ago."
Ryoto froze.
"HE DID WHAT?!"
Rook nodded as he continued to eat rather casually. "Remember, I told you, your mom said that was BEFORE. Apparently, she spent some time to whip him into shape and then tried to convince my mom to accept him as a second husband. Apparently Toorus did that if they were strong enough and could take care of more than one spouse." He explained.
Rook appears to know about his mother's side of the family…
"Do you mind me asking… why does every sorcerer hate the Tooru clan?"
He forced a smile. "What reason would you like to hear?" he asked and crossed his arms. "From that I've picked up, there's every reason under the sun. If it's not one thing it's another. But their main one is they are blaming our mother's side of the family for the rise of Ryomen Sukuna." He said bluntly.
He froze to this. "Sukuna…" he whispered. "That vile sorcerer!"
Rook chuckled a little. "You don't know the FULL story of it, it's only partly true"
He went on to explain that Ryomen Sukuna was found as a child by the Tooru clan and was raised by them. However, there was an incident where he grew so desperate to stop an attack on the village, he made a deal with another sorcerer named Kenjaku. "From what I recall, he made Kenjaku promise him to remind him who the Toorus were… the problem with a binding vow is that he did remind Sukuna who the Toorus were… but twisted it. At the same time. Sukuna went insane with power, he wouldn't have been… able to tell friend from foe…" Rook appeared to have a realization about something.
"Then what happened?"
He hesitated to speak it, but sighed. "Kenjaku made him believe that the Tooru clan used him and his power for their own benefit… he hunted them down on purpose, but if anyone else got in his way, they suffered the same fate."
Ryoto was silent to this. He peered away and said. "We're… some of the last living Toorus aren't we?"
"In all honesty, it was only my mom at first, until your mom came around… and then they started to have kids… but in short, yes." Rook stated bluntly. "At the same time, you also see why other sorcerers fear us. No matter how much they try to take us down and out… we don't accept defeat easily." He said in a matter of fact tone. "The Toorus are some of the most powerful sorcerers out there. Granted, I'm not…"
"Bullshit," Ryoto snapped back. "You're the strongest I have seen! You're amazing Rook!" he protested.
"Yeah… this ALSO runs in the family, heavenly restrictions. Other clans would have rejected me right out of the gate. In fact, dad's clan has a hit out on me… they don't like monkeys in the family…"
Ryoto… felt something building in his stomach, he was pissed to hear that. "Is… that so…"
"Whoa, settle there, settle. You're still recovering!"
Ryoto was taken aback. Rook sensed he was surging? "How did…"
"Smell, sight… sometimes heavenly restrictions see a lot more than what one should be able to see. Besides, does it look like that bounty has been cashed in yet? Granted, Oji is a GREAT deterrent!"
Ryoto snickered to that, his father is massive. He doubts there is anyone in this world that would dare mess with him. Unless Ryomen Sukuna showed his face around here…
Ryoto sighed. "I still don't have curse energy down yet. I know a little of it since it mashed with the elemental power I can do… and yet when I got jumped… I couldn't bring myself to use it…"
Rook merely nodded as he heard the tale, Ryoto was disappointed in himself, and worried if he disappointed his parents too.
"If anything, I think it was the best outcome."
"Huh?"
"Consider this, what would have happened if you used elemental power?" Rook asked. "Did you have the materials needed? Did you have your hands free? What were the conditions for you to call upon it? Same goes with Divine energy. Were those you faced stronger than your output of it? I know I heard this too from Oji, if one energy is stronger than the other it will win. At the same time, if you combine divine energy with curse… it explodes unless you have the proper ratio…"
He was amazed, despite not having any sort of energy of his own, Rook explained it all perfectly to him. The seals on the rope they used would prevent him from summoning curse energy, but everything else… thinking it over, he didn't have a lot of options if at all. It's also the lack of combat experience he has… Ryoto knows he has to spar and gain experience to fight better… if only his father would help him with that.
He was silent for a moment but then asked. "What… would have happened if Ryomen Sukuna took over me?" he asked meekly.
Rook, smiled. "I'll be willing to put down a 1,000 yen, that your mother could slap him out of you!"
They both lost it. Ryoto laughed hard enough to cry, Rook nearly fell out of his chair. When they settled, both of them sighed. "Don't tell auntie I said that…"
"Not a hope in hell would I ever tell mother…"
