(Third Person POV)
[9 Years Ago]
In the Zenin Estates, two young girls with short hair were walking by the fields.
"Sister." one of them said, "If we're out for too long, Father will get mad at us."
"It's fine, Mai." the other said as she held her hand, "It won't take long."
They made their way to a small stone pillar, crouching down and moving some rocks out of the way. They found some small pouches that were filled with stones and jewels.
"This isn't right." Mai said as Maki was adding more stones to them, "If Father finds out about this hidden stash, who knows what will happen."
"It's going to be fine if you keep your mouth shut." Maki said with a frown
"But sister, you're being too risky!" Mai exclaimed
Suddenly, the sound of a throat clearing was heard and the two girls jumped up in surprise.
"Eek!" Mai said as they turned around
They saw a young tall boy wearing a black kimono standing a few feet away from them, his arms crossed as he had a serious expression on his face.
"Kaito!" Maki said as she hid the pouches
"Brother....!" Mai said as she stood up
"What are you doing?" Kaito asked, looking at the pouches, "Something I shouldn't know about?"
Maki looked to the side, a frown on her face, "W-Well....."
"Always with the troublemaking." Kaito said with a sigh, "Father was looking for you. Finish up here and let's go back."
"Why did he want to see us?" Mai asked, "Is he going to yell at us again?"
Kaito shook his head, "No."
Kaito showed no emotion in his eyes, which unsettled Mai completely. His voice was calm yet almost inhuman, something that the twins didn't like.
Mai looked down, "I see....."
"You stupid girls!!" a voice was heard
Kaito turned around to see their father walking up to them, "Father."
Ogi stopped in front of Kaito and looked at his daughters, "What is the meaning of this?" He asked, "What are these girls doing by themselves out here, Kaito?"
"They were playing." Kaito's response was immediate
"Playing?" Ogi looked at the girls, who were holding each other hands with nervousness, "Such failures they are as Sorcerers and they have time to play?! One of them has no cursed technique, and the other is a failure in using her own technique. If you didn't have it already, I would have been completely ashamed of my children."
Mai looked down as she held back tears, clearly hurt by them.
"There is no time to play!!" Ogi shouted, his arms crossed, "You girls will have to go through grueling-"
"I will take over for them." Kaito cut him off, "Their harsh training."
"What?" Ogi looked at him, "What are you saying?"
"So long as I can keep up and be raised up as the Sorcerer you wished for, you have no need to worry about them." Kaito said, "They are still young, they can-"
He was cut off by Ogi's backhand smacking his cheek hard, nearly staggering him. The twins gasp in shock as they saw the bright red mark on their brother's cheek.
"Kaito!" Maki exclaimed
"Silence." Ogi warned
Kaito looked at his father, saying nothing.
"A little brat dares tell me what I should do." He said, "Construction...Blazing Courage. Simply because you have those two techniques, it does not put you above your Father, boy."
"I simply wanted to-" Kaito started
Ogi cut him off by not just backhanding him again, but by punching him in the stomach. Kaito fell on his knees, not a sound coming out of his mouth as Ogi slammed his foot on the back of his head.
"Know your place." Ogi said with an angry look, "The only reason our family is held back in the Zenin's eyes is those two girls behind you. And you wish to take their blame?! They are failures!!! If you defend them, you will be one as well! And that is not what my son should strive for!!!"
"I am sorry." Kaito simply said, "I will take whatever punishment you have for them."
"We will resume our training then." Ogi said, grinding his foot on the back of his head, "You will not stop until you cannot move, do you understand? I will ensure that my son knows his place in this world."
"Yes...." Kaito said as his face was pressed against the dirt, "I understand."
Ogi stepped away and turned around, "And get rid of those girls." He said, "I don't want to see them."
As he walked away, Kaito casually got up, patting his kimono of any dirt he had. He didn't seem to be affected by his father's physical abuse.
"Kaito." Maki said softly
Kaito didn't look back at them, "Girls." His voice was calm and serious, "Go back to your quarters. You're done playing for today."
Maki stepped forward, "Are you-"
She was cut off by the sound of laughing. The twins looked over to see their older cousin, Naoya Zenin skipping towards them.
"Kaito-kun~~" She said as she hugged Kaito, "I am backkk~~"
Kaito didn't react to this, "Naoya...."
Naoya pulled away from him, noticing the marks on his cheek, "W-What's with you?" He said, "What's with those marks? Did someone hit you?"
The twins watched as their cousin was patting their brother's cheek, being unsettled by her demeanor.
"Nothing happened." Kaito said
Naoya scowled, "Did Ogi hit you again?!" She exclaimed, "Kaito-kun, let me handle this. I will make sure that feels pain like-"
"Stop it." Kaito walked past her, "It is fine."
Naoya looked back at the girls, having not noticed that they were there, "Oh, the twins." She said before looking back at Kaito, "Kaito-kun! Wait!"
She ran over to him and grabbed his hand, "Let's go and spend some time in my room~" She said, "It'll be fun, I have this board game and-"
"I have training." Kaito said seriously, "I have no time to play around."
"I must train."