The Aftermath #2
Ichimura saw and took it in, and it grieved him in his heart that he had left his brothers behind to take care of the King.
Back at the shoreline, completely opposite the sea port the royals had attempted to use to escape, on the other side of the island where the threat had come from. The Yopenheimers lay somewhat dormant and in a stat of panic as per Mark's condition.
After the 2 years of running about and hiding, he sought refuge on an unnamed island. Although he sought refuge and built himself in secret, there were conquests in which he went to gather materials. Gerald is an exceptionally intuitive mind, he collected books along the way and stored them so that he could draw inspiration from the works for any new invention he wanted to make. As with Dr. Vegapunk, one of the greatest intuitive minds out there, he too wished to delve in many areas. The first was medicine--
"I don't trust in your medicinal practices, not one bit!" Exclaimed Mark!
"I'm only doing what is best for you, and the wound you got yourself into!" Blared his father. A pandemonium erupted at sea, contrary to the thickness of grief, sorrow and anxiety befalling the inhabitants and the protectors of Kurigane Island, the Yopenheimers were up to their shenanigans.
Gerald had only recently started studying Medicine and garnered a plethora of books, perosnal entries and novels that span a variety of medicinal media and so, out of concern for his son he wanted to treat his wounds. Unfortunately, Mark experienced the first hand of Gerald, whether it be from his wrestling based punishments or to defeat from his ruthlessness with the Kuri-Kuri no mi. Saying all this to say that Mark Golben did not trust his own father, not with such a sensitive wound. He was far too brutish and so-- He fought Gerald. Waving his arms and legs making it very difficult for him to be treated, atleast he waved the limbs the best he could.
"Stop resisting! I'm not going to apply anything too technical, you got cut straight down to the bone, let me disinfect and wrap the wound!" Yelled Gerald, as the boot teetered from their struggle.
"No! Never! This isn't even about vengeance for being abandoned, you're not gentle enough to be practicing medicine!" Mark fearfully answered. Violently fraying his arms, utilizing Total Concentration Breathing to enhance his physical strength and to violently clench his muscles aroudn the slash wound to keep it shut. "I won't be able to keep this up for long, he just came back from his slaughter not too long ago but unlike me he's still ready to go." He anxiously thought.
It was quite a struggle but Total Concentration Breathing was not an technique to execute, it excites the muscles to perform at extreme levels much greater than the regular function and therefore he was bound to tire out and Gerald knew this.
So inveitably Gerald did treat him, the whole process wasn't as bad as he had initially thought.
Although Gerald may possess an imposing figure, he was surprisingly gentle when handling his son. For his first time as a "doctor" he did well.
So Mark laid in bed pouting, he removed his chest piece and was unmasked, the wound spanned a great distance and inevitably he had to adorn himself with just some shorts leaving him exposed. "That wasn't so bad, now as it?"
"If you were on the receiving end of everything you put me through you'd kind of have an understanding as to why I'm so protective of my person. Especially around you." Mark replied.
"I think you're overexaggerating some aspects of my personality, I love you. My son, I love you becaue I love you, I will deal with you with care. When were back on Floridia the way we punished you was necessary for your conditioning, had you not then you'd have never passed your indoctrination. Sadly our genes didn't quite pass into you as much as we hoped it would--" He paused. Gerald knelt down and slowly removed his helmet revealing his sheep-like appearance. His locs scruffled, but then straightened by his hand, he cleared his overhung hair from his face and wiped away the sweat that had accumulated underneath on his forehead.
Mark was intrgued.
"I won't go back to groveling at your feet, begging for forgiveness after abandoning all of you. Not again, I can only show my love for you now that we are reuinited as much as you would allow me to. I don't think you've known how gently I held you when you were born, because of my size I'm not always gonna be able to guage my strength everything smaller than myself but I have to try anyway. Really, I am sixteen feet tall-- You know how much force I can produce? Regardless, if I am not careful I could hurt you."
"I'm glad I was able to heal you, my first patient however I won't be bringing you into anymore missions from here onwards. Atleast not without your consent," he added.
"So you could tell that I was upset?" Asked Mark, widening his eyes in intrigue.
"About bringing you to help me conquer an island? Not initially, you were angsty and I assumed that was because you're a teenager. Well-- you are growing out of your teen years, the problem arose when you'd suffered that injury. I was upset and therefore finished the job on my own the very second I got you to safety. We trained together before coming here, so I had full confidence in your abilities. In theory there wasn't any way for you to lose," He paused to scratch his head, "I'm only guessing it was because of what I had you do that frustrated you."
"You're not too far off, surprisingly. You're violating Kata code just by making claims to this island, although you are
the 'Gas-Station-Hot-Dogs' afterall," replied Mark. "Don't have me conflict our heritage and your personal goals, I'm not the little boy who awed over his goat-father anymore. Don't take it a wrong way, I very much admire who you are however it's time for me to set out on my own. I can't always be nestled under either you or mom."
"I see," Gerald was a bit hurt but that was the truth. The reality he had forgotten to acknowledge since he had spent his time far away, the room fell into a tense silence. Gerald's reply subtly conveyed an almost somber feeling, his ears drooped and he reached for his helmet. "You're right. You are old enough and responsible enough to make your own decisions and choices in life, I think we have a bit more things to cover here before we leave. I doubt I'd want to venture off too soon, make yourself comfortable. I'm going to scout the island a bit more, before I return if you can, please activate
Sub-Station 1 and have the reactor core build itself. I'm going to need my lab." He added. He arose and had left.
"I hope I didn't upset him," Mark whispered to himself. He shfited himself, coming to the edge of his bed ready to get up or atleast try to. His wound was treated and bandaged however for it to heal the slash must stay closed. Any misplaced steps or added pressure could re-open his injury and lead to him being treated once again. He wasn't too happy about that but he had a bit of trust in his father and his skills, afterall his scientific inventory was magnificent.
Gerald was on the move once again, leaving the halls of the boat and resurfacing on the deck. He lept back unto the main land and ventured back to ruined Cipher Pol Base. What else could there be, on this island, for him to take? He had already claimed the souls of his enemies, atleast a majority of them.