Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
Taylor POV.
"Are you sure this is—ouch!—the only way to do this?!" I exclaimed, wincing in pain once more. My ear twitched slightly as I heard the sound of the sword cutting through the air. I moved to the left before the wooden blade struck my arm with the same force. I couldn't help but let out a cry of pain.
"Yes, it's the only way," Izumi said, smiling. I couldn't see him. I had a blindfold on and had shooed all my insects away from the building, so I couldn't see him. But I could hear him. I could hear his stupid, sadistic grin as we continued training. That damn bastard—Ow! "You're thinking bad thoughts about me, don't get distracted," Izumi mocked.
"Fuck you." I groaned in pain, but I took a deep breath and focused once more. I could feel a presence and moved again, only for the blow to land on my shoulder.
"Almost, still too slow." Izumi said playfully. I just grunted.
"I still think there must be a better way to train my Observation Haki!" I grumbled, though I was still paying attention, I moved again before screaming in pain as the blow landed on my head.
"Of course there is." Izumi said playfully. I straightened up and turned towards his voice before he hit my leg hard and made me jump.
"Don't do that!" I growled at Izumi as I tried to orient myself in her direction. Izumi just punched me in the hip, making me groan in pain.
"Pay attention," Izumi said playfully.
"There is another way, so why are we doing this?!" I snapped. Even so, I focused again and tried to dodge the next attack. I failed, and now I have a new bruise on my ribs.
"Because we don't have time," Izumi said curtly. "I already explained it to you." She added, and I just sighed.
"Yeah? Maybe I'll forget after all those blows this past week!" I snapped before letting out another yell of pain as the wooden sword slammed into my cheek. I just grunted and thanked my aura. "I'm definitely not getting any better!" I muttered in annoyance.
"Oh, you are, you're just not noticing," Izumi said playfully. I just grunted once more.
"Can you stop talking so vaguely for once?" I begged Izumi, but the bastard laughed again.
"Fiiinee," Izumi said, and I just sighed in relief, only for another blow to land on my hand. I yelled in pain, especially from the shock.
"I thought we'd be talking!" I squealed in surprise. Izumi snorted.
"I'm talking, you're dodging," Izumi mocked. I could only groan in frustration, but I quickly refocused. "Alright, let's start from the beginning," Izumi said easily. "Observation Haki is like unlocking a sixth sense, allowing you to perceive the presence of others, primarily through their aura. As you know, everyone has an aura, whether it's active or not."
"It has many uses, but the main one is being able to anticipate your opponent's blows. The most important thing to remember is that every attack carries an intention and a clue, and that is reflected in their soul, in their aura. The fighting spirit, the murderous intent, or even just instincts—there are so many details, so many clues, that you just have to be able to sense them."
"Is there an easy way to learn that? Yes. Or well, I wouldn't call it 'easy,' but it would be less painful. And that would take a lot of time. A whole lot of time. You can train yourself, meditate slowly and painstakingly while trying to start sensing other people's auras and then move on from there. Is it possible? Certainly. There are many who have done it. But it takes years of hard work, and time we don't have."
"This? It's the fastest and easiest way to achieve it. It will allow you to learn the most basic uses of Observation Haki practically by force, in a short period of time. I definitely don't expect you to master it; obviously, you won't. Not even the most talented person can master Observation Haki in less than three weeks, but if you are able to achieve it, any advantage is welcome."
"Your insects can help you track people, but only if you are able to attach insects to them, and even then, if the opponent is much faster or inadvertently launches projectiles that you cannot track or see coming, it will still be a danger to you."
"Grandpa already used this training on you, so we're continuing where he left off," Izumi said playfully. In between all the talking, he hit me at least a dozen times. I could feel my bruises getting bigger.
"Fine, I understand." I grumbled ruefully. "Still, it doesn't seem like I'm making any progress." I sighed wearily. I thought Izumi was going to hit me, but the blow never came.
"Hmm, let's try something different," Izumi hummed. "You're making progress, believe it or not, but let's try something more... flashy, something you can really feel."
"Mainly, dungeon monsters don't have auras, as you know. You can use Haki on them, but not like you're reading the monster's aura, no, it's... different. So... let's try something different."
"Focus on your surroundings, focus on what you feel. Not on the noises, or the movement of the air, or anything like that. Just... try to perceive everything. As if you were trying to slowly expand your aura, or your swarm, to fill the entire room," Izumi said gently. I stopped before I could even begin to focus. I took a deep breath. I tried to follow Izumi's instructions, but... it was difficult when you didn't know what you were supposed to push.
I took one last breath before it caught in my throat. I could feel a murderous intent so strong it took my breath away. I bristled at the threat, and my body moved before I knew it. I jumped to the side as fast as I could.
Before I could relax, I felt the murderous intent behind me once more. I ducked without hesitation. Then the blows continued. I rolled to the side on the ground before leaping back and then diving to the left once more. The next blow came from below, so I tried to jump as best I could, but being airborne left me exposed, and I felt the next blow land on my ribs, sending me crashing to the ground.
"Well done, you dodged six punches before I could hit you," Izumi said cheerfully. I was on the ground trying to catch my breath, my heart pounding in my chest so hard it hurt.
"What the hell was that?!" I blurted out through gritted teeth.
"You were complaining about not making progress, so we'll do it another way," Izumi said easily. I could feel him smiling, because of course he would. "The monsters in the dungeon don't have auras; they'll only think about killing you, nothing else."
"Killing intent is what will save you, so we'll get you used to it. I'll keep hitting you with my killing intent until you can dodge 100 times in a row. Then I'll lessen my killing intent and we'll repeat it over and over."
"And once you've mastered that, we'll gradually increase the speed of the attacks, until you're able to dodge even the slightest hint of murderous intent, at whatever speed I deem necessary," Izumi said sadistically.
"Damn sadist." I growled dryly. Izumi laughed slightly.
"You wanted to move forward, didn't you? This is the easiest way, the simplest way, to achieve it, only it's very painful. Cuddlebug, you asked for it, you got it." Izumi said brazenly. I just growled, but the words stuck in my throat when I felt that murderous intent again and started moving once more.
I tried to calm my heart, I tried to calm my whole body; my body's natural response to the sensation of dying and the fear made it difficult to concentrate. I tried to push my reactions into my insects before the sword struck me several times at once.
"You were faster!" I snapped angrily.
"Don't push your reactions on your insects, learn to control those reactions yourself, you might not have access to your insects in a fight." Izumi mocked, I gritted my teeth, even so, I stopped pushing things on my insects.
The training was hell. But I couldn't say it wasn't productive. I hadn't been able to dodge 100 times in a row by the time we finished; I'd barely managed 15 consecutive dodges, but I was getting used to the feeling. Though I could do without the bruises. My whole body ached, and that idiot Izumi still had a smile plastered on his face—at least until he used Round Deer to heal me, which was a huge relief.
Especially for the rest of our day. Now that I no longer had training to distract me, and with Izumi driving his motorcycle and me riding as a passenger behind him, my mind focused on what we were about to do next: meet Annette at our house, at Iori's house. I couldn't help but squeeze Izumi's waist tighter.
"Are you happy to see me, or are you worried?" Izumi asked teasingly when we stopped at a traffic light. I huffed and pinched Izumi's waist hard; he just laughed. "We can still cancel," Izumi said gently. I shook my head, even though he couldn't see me.
"No... it's not necessary." I said, leaning back against him. "I... I promised her I'd try, and... I want to do it, not keep running away." I said weakly. Izumi remained silent.
"I'll be by your side at all times," Izumi said gently, but with incredible firmness. I could only smile.
"Thank you," I said softly, just as the traffic light changed again and Izumi accelerated once more. The drive home was relatively short, and in a few minutes, we were in front of the house. Izumi gave me a gentle push as we went inside.
"We're home!" Izumi shouted, entering with ease.
"We're in the living room!" I heard Iori's voice, and we both simply headed in that direction. When we entered the living room, we both stopped. But for different reasons.
"Mirko?" Izumi asked, terribly confused, as he looked at the rabbit heroine sitting lazily in one of the armchairs.
"Izumi." Mirko greeted boredly.
"Izumi. Rumi is our guest," Mom said as she appeared with a tray of tea. Izumi opened his mouth before narrowing his eyes suspiciously, then snorted and pointed his finger at his mother.
"I'll go cook, then I want answers." Izumi said before stopping and looking at Annette, who had stood up awkwardly while staring at us. Izumi glanced at Annette briefly, his expression almost blank and cold. "And I suppose you're Annette Hebert," Izumi said coldly. Annette flinched slightly, though, and took a step forward.
"I-it's a pleasure to meet you. And yes, I'm Annette Hebert." Annette said, clearing her throat. Izumi just looked at her, raised an eyebrow, and nodded.
"Izumi Miyamura, Taylor's husband," Izumi said simply, nodding. Then he turned and headed towards the kitchen. I just sighed.
"Hello Annette." I said softly as I looked at Annette, she straightened up.
"Taylor... it's good to see you." Annette said, her hands moving awkwardly, almost as if she wanted to hug me, but she was holding back. I just sighed softly, about to speak when I saw Iori sit down next to Mirko. I looked at the scene curiously before clearing my throat.
"Could you give us some privacy?" I asked them.
"This is my house, I'll sit here," Mom said easily.
"I'm Iori's guest, I'll be staying here," Mirko said boredly.
"I'll lie down wherever I want." Ryuma said, waving his hand as he lay on the ground.
"You're a parasite," Mom said curtly, but it didn't seem to bother Ryuma. I just stared at them in disbelief before sighing. I looked at Annette and grabbed her wrist.
"Let's go to my room," I said simply, glaring at the trio, though it had no effect on any of them. We went upstairs before entering my room—well, Izumi's room, which was now mine too. "Come in," I said to Annette as she entered the room and released her wrist. I grabbed the desk chair and pulled it out for Annette, who simply began to slowly look around.
"Is this... your room?" Annette asked softly, looking around as if trying to memorize everything. I felt slightly embarrassed but didn't do anything to stop her.
"Mine and Izumi's. I... I had a separate room from Izumi at first, but I moved to this one when things got serious with Izumi," I told her honestly. Annette just nodded as she looked around silently.
"I... I had seen the pictures around the house, downstairs. Iori... has pictures of you, of you, and... here too, there are pictures of... so many things I've missed." Annette said sadly as she clutched one of the pictures. I recognized it; it was from almost a year and a half ago, a picture from my birthday, where it was just Mom, Izumi, and me, smiling foolishly in front of a cake.
"You did." I said simply. Annette flinched slightly as she immediately looked away. I grimaced at how insensitive that sounded. "But... now you're here... we can... we can try, no... it's not too late to make new memories." I said awkwardly as I shifted from side to side. Annette sighed shakily.
"I... you're right." Annette said softly and hopefully, then stopped looking around the room and finally headed to the seat that had been awkwardly offered to her.
"I hope Mom didn't make things difficult for you," I said gently as I sat on the edge of the bed. Annette shook her head.
"Iori? No. I could see that she didn't hate me, but I'm definitely not her favorite person," Annette said with self-deprecation. "But... she's kind, even if she is a little intense," Annette said with a grimace. I chuckled under my breath.
"She is. A little bossy, but she means well," I said with a small smile. I mean, with a son like Izumi and owning a shop, I suppose she should be firm about certain things.
"I lost it!" Annette sighed. "I... I think she even just hired me to work at the cake shop." Annette said, completely bewildered. I burst out laughing.
"Yeah, she did the same to me," I said playfully. Annette just looked at me confused, and I shrugged. "Don't worry about them. I'm pretty sure that if we weren't at UA, she would have forced Ruby and the other girls to work too," I said playfully. "Some kind of test, maybe? Or she just likes forcing people to work at her cake shop. Honestly, it could be both," I said, shrugging and smiling. Annette just looked at me uncertainly.
"I'm an English teacher, I don't know anything about working in a cake shop," Annette said incredulously, and I chuckled.
"You'll survive. Mom isn't so mean as to leave you completely blind," I said gently. Annette still seemed unsure, but she nodded.
"So…" Annette said awkwardly. "How have you been?" she asked clumsily before grimacing at the awkward question. I just smiled slightly.
"Good, training hard and getting ready for the university festival," I said softly. Annette's eyes widened.
"Right, you mentioned it. You said you were going to sing and dance, didn't you? " Annette asked quickly, and I nodded. "Oh... I guess I can come see you," Annette said, sounding excited, before looking at me uncertainly once more. "If... if you don't mind, of course," she added quickly.
"It doesn't bother me," I said immediately. "Although don't expect much from me, I'm just the organizer of everything, and then I'll just be using my insects, not showing up." I warned her, and she just nodded animatedly while I sighed. "And... how was the move?" I asked her back. I winced. This was painful, goddess, we were both so clumsy. Luckily, Annette just started talking about the move.
After that, we both relaxed enough to continue chatting about everything and nothing at the same time. Things here and there, nothing really… deep, just things, but… it was nice. We chatted for a whole hour before we were called for lunch. We both went downstairs quickly and sat at the table with the others.
Izumi simply started bringing out the food along with her mother. Once everything was served, we all sat down to eat. To my surprise, Iori once again took a seat next to Mirko. Izumi noticed this too and narrowed her eyes.
"So... what's going on here?" Izumi asked, pointing with her chopsticks.
"Don't point at me with your chopsticks, it's rude," Mom said simply. Izumi just huffed and kept staring. "Rumi and I have decided to start dating," Mom said casually, as if it were nothing. I looked at her incredulously. Mom barely seemed to care about the news, but Mirko, trying to appear just as casual, was clearly a little nervous.
"Wait, wait, wait, how did this happen?! When did this happen?! And why didn't you mention it before!?" Izumi asked incredulously as he looked between Mom and Mirko.
"Does it bother you?" Mom asked gently while waiting for her son's answer.
"Bother me?! Of course not! " Izumi said indignantly. "It's about time you went out with someone, like, actually go out, not just go out one night a month to sleep with women and call them 'business nights.'" Izumi sneered. Mom shuddered and her cheeks flushed slightly.
"Izumi." Mom hissed through gritted teeth, sounding embarrassed.
"What bothers me is that you didn't tell me you were dating Mirko and didn't warn me! Do you know how proud I am of you for bagging Mirko?! " Izumi said with a wide smile.
"She didn't bag me!" Mirko grumbled as she banged on the table.
"I mean, I'll be the first to admit that Mirko is a 11/10, and I've trained with her. She has great stamina, a great catch, Mom," Izumi said playfully. To my surprise, Iori didn't say anything; her expression didn't change, but her eyes gleamed, and it seemed terribly arrogant of her. Goddess, mother and son were equals.
"Izumi!" Mirko blurted out, embarrassed. I just sighed.
"Izumi, stop bothering Mirko. Uh… Rumi? " I looked at Mirko, confused. She just grunted before sighing.
"Rumi is fine," Rumi said with a sigh.
"Stop bothering Rumi, you'll scare her." I mocked in Izumi's direction.
"Fine," Izumi said with a pout. Everyone finally seemed to calm down, or so it was until Izumi looked at Mirko. "By the way, don't think I'm going to call you 'Mother,'" Izumi said, looking at Mirko, who choked on her food in complete shock.
"I never asked you to!" Mirko snapped furiously, completely blushing.
"And I won't call you daughter." Ryuma snarled mockingly as he joined in. Mirko glared at him and slammed her fist on the table.
"And I don't want you to do it, old man!" Mirko growled through gritted teeth.
"You can call me Mommy, Rumi," Iori said calmly. Mirko choked on her breath before blushing completely.
"Mommy?!" Mirko squealed incredulously, glaring at Iori indignantly. Iori smiled slightly and winked flirtatiously at Mirko.
"Exactly, like that, but save it for the bedroom." Iori purred, making Mirko blush. I shuddered and wanted the damn earth to swallow me whole.
"Iori!" Mirko blurted out, embarrassed.
"Taming a No. 5 hero? I'm impressed, Iori." Ryuma said with a cheeky grin.
"I've never been prouder to be your son," Izumi said, completely moved, before raising his fist in his mother's direction. Iori just stared at her son, raising an eyebrow, before raising her own fist and bumping it against her son's with an amused smile.
"Iori!!" Mirko groaned, blushing furiously. Iori barely glanced at her and continued eating as if nothing had happened, just like Ryuma and Izumi. I could only shake my head. They were all the same. Those three idiots were all the same, though surely none of them would admit it. I just sighed before looking at Annette, who was blushing and very confused.
"Don't pay any attention to them, they're always like that." I told Annette as I started eating.
"Is this place always... this lively?" Annette asked uncertainly. I sighed.
"Oh, definitely. Just wait until you see how the conversations with the other girls go." I said dryly before shrugging. Ruby, Azula, Darkness, Mai, and Maki also came over for dinner whenever we had the chance; I suppose Tanya and Visha will have to be added to that list now. "You get used to it," I added easily.
"By the way, Izumi, Taylor," Mom called to us. "What's this about you going to Jeju?" Mom said coldly. Izumi and I froze before shuddering and panic erupted from us.
"It was Izumi's fault!" "It was Taylor's fault," Izumi and I said at the same time before stopping, then we glared at each other indignantly. ""You just accused me?!"" we said at the same time once again. ""How dare you?!"" we said again.
"Silence," Mom said easily, and we shuddered once more before falling silent. "Now, speak," Mom ordered. Oh shit, we were going to be grounded for the rest of the year.
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