How to Ruin a Birthday [Sousuke|Private]

[Toraono Michino]

It was amazing to watch time fly by.

A year and some change had passed since Tama’s incarceration. In that time the mad scientist had seemed to…kind of change for the better. He was back to being his old quirky self with just a bit more of an edge to his overall personality. It was painfully obvious that Sousuke would never get his old friend back without the presence of Okibi in their midst, but, the Ryuu that emerged from finding out he had a kid, dropping out of a criminal empire, and fixed back up the wounds he inflicted on his friend seemed…okay-ish. At least he no longer regarded the rest of humanity as food anymore and the ex-Kazekage was allowed to see his brighter sides.
It was safe to assume that the scientist could be released back into the public with some restrictions. Thanks to Sousuke the entire ordeal went along without much notice in the courts and Dr. Ryuu’s name was once again pinned on the ‘Call Board’ for emergency contacts at the hospital.

The best thing, at least to the scientist, was that the restriction on where he was allowed to live only said he could be nowhere near the bad parts of town. Thus, after being given back access to his old bank accounts, he outright bought a home as close as he possibly could to Sousuke’s. Normally this would be a neigh impossible feat even with the man’s permission but the upper staff of the military thought it’d probably be for the best. After all if Tama up and snapped again who else would be able to bring him back down? It certainly wouldn’t be his son.
The best thing spoken between the two in the quarter of a year was “Hey.” For the last three months Michino had choosen not to speak to his prideful father and avoided the man’s new home. In the three before that, while the scientist still lived with Sousuke, the two fought like cats and more cats with the home owners often having to step in between the two. The changes in Michino had become obvious to everyone there even as it came in slowly. The youth was going through a deeply rebellious phase as he both tried to keep up with the prestige of the Toraono clan; while trying to continue to care. To call the teenager ‘moody’ would be putting it mildly. And as if to agitate the poor child the man called his father refused to acknowledge any achievements the boy made out of sheer spite. To say they had a relationship at all would be a stretch.
Yet this didn’t prevent Michino from faithfully coming back every week, every third day, so that he could play and pretend with Sousuke and his father. In fact he had become so enamored with guns because of the game that he had gone out a month ago and bought one of the devices through a import trader. It had set him back a lot as import trading was getting harder these days but the boy nearly threw the yen at the trader when he saw the beautiful weapon. In the weeks that followed he learned how to shoot and got rather decent at it. However, being related to the damnable mad scientist that now lived down the street, Michino had decided that shooting straight was boring. Now he trained on trick shots and ways to use his new gun in ways an opponent wouldn’t see coming.

Of course that was if he ever got confident enough to actually use it on a mission. Lately he had been only doing the most basic of work as he focused in on himself and his technique. This also, unfortunately, was starting to give him more time than he knew what to do with. It hadn’t lead into anything really bad, yet, but with his body finally finishing its growth and his strength reaching a peak the yearning to fight something was getting bold.
Today the teenager moved down the familiar streets towards the house of his mentor and friend, Takahashi Sousuke, for the celebration of his seventeenth year of life. The Toraono clan had already made their wishes but, like most of his blood family, he was treated like everyone’s cousin. The kindness and caring that he got at this house was everything he had wanted in a home and was unable to get out of the man calling himself his father.

The kid was wearing his casual. A red t-shirt, dark slacks, no shoes, and medical wraps on his knuckles from the bone density training he had been focusing on this week. His hair was once again black having run the dye out but left to grow wild unlike before. His mix heritage showed more now that he did little to bother with his hair which was a strark change from before where he practically went through as many rituals as a female would in the morning. Raising up his fist he gently rapped his stone-like knuckles on the front door. Three taps. The moment his third tap finished the garage of Ryuu Tama’s house would explode violently out into the street, belching an emerald color fire to come rolling out followed by a screeching of some horrible mind bending creature. A red light, followed by a flash of lightning which caused a resounding quake of thunder to shake all the houses near by ripped forth another horrible screech that was cut off short. Walking out of his garage covered in black blood…or ink maybe…the chaos incarnate that was Ryuu Tama stepped to the end of his street and raised his bare hands to conjure a small flame from his thumb held close to his face like a lighter to light a cigarette. A green fog that slowly rolled out of his explosively open garage clearly meant he was trying to air something out of his home. His platinum blonde hair was burned short and blackened by both electrical burns and whatever else covered his lab coat. Under the coat was a casual button down long sleeve , was white, shirt tucked into a pair of dark slacks. The scientist’s feet were dressed in an foreign style professional shoe. His heterachromatic eyes turned to catch the stunned face of his son and he lifted up a hand to wave hello before casually walking over. It had been three months since they spoke last, perhaps the new found freedom and privacy would help the scientist better tolerate teenage mood swings. Besides that he had a few things he wanted to test and knew there was no way in hell he was going to be able to talk the Toraono over to his house.

“Hey, ho, what’ya know? What’s going on junior? It’s not Wednesday ye,” his word was cut off by a burp but he continued on without missing a beat, “-eet. Getting another private lesson?” The scientist took a drag off his cigarette.

[MFT|1224]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke was not too pleased to learn that Michino had spent quite a bit of yen to purchase a firearm. The simple fact was that Sousuke had spent no less than four months doing a deep dive into understanding firearms, what made them work, how to better them, and their pros and cons. Sousuke could have very well made a firearm for him. That being said, the Steward undertook a project to make Michino a holster for his weapon. He considered it to be worthy project but he also considered it to be quite worthy for Michino.

Equally curious was Mako who had taken a liking to the boy. The Masashi veteran peered out from the window from the Takahashi household and saw Tama interacting with his son. Well, this wasn't a bad thing per say if there was some sort of normal between father and son. Unfortunately there was nothing normal to be had. Mako face palmed and considered this was going to be perhaps one of the few things that could have gone wrong to go wrong. Tama ever since his return was not ... he was not the sort to really mesh well and fall into the role of being a father. Yes he did indeed save his son's life, however, that was expected of all parents to do for their child. Even Mako, who had a rough relationship with her very own daughter, would admit that yes she would do the necessary to protect her own daughter or her grandson for that matter. It was something that always struck her as odd, her grandson was in fact a very important somebody instead of a no body. Sousuke was no longer the Kazekage proper, but he still had a high position of power and carried the respect of many. Mako would walk away from the widow and call out to Sousuke. They had to act now instead of later.

***

The Steward would audibly make a mechanical sounds of frustration when he heard what his grandmother had said. Oh yes. There was always a 15% chance that Tama would appear and make a sense. That was a 15% risk they were will to take and it happened. Judori stood outside the door as Sousuke bolted out the door at maximum speed to intercept the situation. Sousuke was quick, and in this case he was quicker again. He bolted. Literally bolted. Within no less than two seconds was he present. Unfortunately he was simply not quick enough to get there before Tama spoke to his son in a very drunken and abhorrent manner. "Now. Michino. Let us proceed to the household post hate. Pronto. Quickly. Without delay."<i></i> The purple haired man would then look to Tama, his eyes narrowing. It was not hard to read him, and in the sense that Tama was ... challenged by means to dull one's better senses. "Jolt whatever is in your system out. Be mindful of your surroundings."<i></i> He spoke semi harshly to Tama. He doubted that Tama was invested in the welfare of his own son, furthermore there was perhaps little to no investment in the emotional aspect of his son either. Between the two men, it was Sousuke who was the 'adult' in all of this.

 

[Toraono Michino]

“It’s my birthday?” the teenager replied before the door swung open. He turned his head to see a somewhat panicked look on his mentor’s face before he was rushed inside. Although confused on the why it only took seconds before he realized he was being pulled away from his father. The Steward stood between a mildly inebriated Tama and the rest of his house. The Hybrid’s eyes narrowed for a moment at the request that was being made of him. Although in the long run it was probably wise for the well being of both himself and the boy it still left him annoyed simply by the thought of taking orders from the man standing in the doorway; or orders from anyone really.

Lifting the cigarette up to his lips to take a very long drag off of it before flicking it off into the street the scientist exhaled, dramatically, before lifting his hands up to form three seals and a grunt. A dull aura appeared around the man and lifted off of his body and into the air. His slightly redden eyes and dilated pupils returned to normal, his skin took back on a healthier look, and his hair grew out a little back into what most was used to. Removing a pair of scissors from a pocket in his lab coat he clipped off the burnt ends and replaced the blades before patting himself down. Dust and debris fell off his lab coat and clothing before he lifted his hands up as if he was about to be searched for weapons, quirked a sarcastic eyebrow at his friend and asked,
“Good enough for you? Or are you going to keep me from his birthday too?”

This wasn’t the first time the man had stood between the scientist and his boy. Man times this guy was the only thing that kept the father and son from tearing each other apart both verbally and physically. Since Tama had moved out of his friend’s house and into one he owned the Steward had started letting him come in less and less; especially since he had made an ass of himself during the last Pretend Wizards session. He had very nearly killed Michino’s character on purpose. All over a petty remark.
The Hybrid’s repulsive pride had made him unwelcome at the Takahashi homestead.
Yet the man had brought up a point that was hard to argue and was against everything Sousuke had been trying to do - create a relationship between the father and son. If the mad-inventor was willing to take the time away from his insanity to actually spend time with his son…it was a rare opportunity for genuine bonding. Unless of course Mr. Ryuu was up to something else.

Which he was.

“Look, man, let me in, don’t, I honestly forgot today was his birthday. Look I even went and bought him something a couple of weeks ago to get ready for it,” he reached behind his back into his trusty lab coat and withdrew from a secret pocket a small black box decorated in crushed velvet. He handed it over to be inspected and upon opening it the Steward would see a ring. It was Michino’s size, made of white gold with a large tiger’s eye in the center. On either side of the gem was the old Toraono clan symbol and opposite was the last known symbol for the Ryuu Clan. It had to of set Tama back at least a hundred thousand yen just from the quality, let alone the gem and engraving.
“Just give this to him and let him know it was from me, okay?”

It was of course a bluff and a lie. The ring he had bought the materials for and made himself. Making jewelry was nothing different than making a coffee press for him, though, the parts had set him back just a little bit. It had been crafted for the purpose of a general gift he wanted to use to lure his son into his house. From there he would easily be able to get from Michino what it was he was after for his latest ‘big’ experiment. Ever since Sousuke had started stepping in between himself and Michino getting anywhere near the teenager had become nearly impossible for the scientist. In this chance moment he needed to air out his house he caught a small opening and a chance to further his research. Trying to bite down his shame he sobered up, took the risk of lowering his standards and pride, and waited on the ex-Kazekage’s desicion.; hopefully he did enough to fool the man standing between him and that said research.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Michino was forced into the household fast enough unto which he was greeted by Judori. The bald headed former Steward looked up at the boy. "I was informed by a little bird that today is your name day." He had his hands folded behind him. Judori looked at Michino with a very stern expression on his face. "That, dear lad, in unacceptable in the extreme. Do you know why?" He would give the boy a solid moment to answer. Once Judori was done listening he would explain why. "Birthday cake." He would state very crossly, the side of his face would crack into a smile. He would lean forward and speak in hushed voiced. "I do infact love birthday cake. I in fact love birthday cake made by my wife, who makes the finest birthday cakes known to people-kind. Promise me you'll still act surprised, but you are in fact getting an ice cream crumble cake. Chocolate fudge. Chocolate cookie bits. It is quite marvelous." Judori would pull back and wink at Michino. "We're just going to wait for Sousuke to come in. He's just ... ... trying to make sure any undue harm comes. The last couple of sessions we had were quite rough. Can't say I was entirely pleased with how the scene came together, but ... well I'm trying to teach Chiyoko to play. She's coming along quite nicely in knowing which to use for when the correct time comes."

Sousuke's expression was as usual, very stone-like and rigid. It was always difficult to get a read on the man. He simply stared back at him. Sousuke was a stoic. His gaze seemed to be of a piercing nature that was looking at what was hidden in plain sight. He cannot be trusted. Sousuke frowned for a moment. It was happening again. The voices. Sometimes he was also starting to see things that weren't there. Sometimes it was a steady flame, sometimes it was smoke. Other times it was purple lightning. The frown did not last long. For someone like Tama who had known Takahashi Sousuke for a long time, it was rare for such a twitch expression to occur. There had to have been a reason for it. Whether or not Sousuke was going to talk about it out loud was something else. Sousuke said nothing but he would make a 'come with me' gesture to follow him into the household.

Sousuke would lead Tama into the household. Time is a flat circle. Everything we do will happen again and again. You know this.<i></i> Usually these remarks happened between days, but never did the two happen back to back like this. Sousuke in the moment he had heard the voice speak a second time noted the crackle of flame when the voice spoke. It was something off putting. He sniffed the air for a moment, but found nothing to cause him to be concerned about fire. He was present in the foyer with his father, Michino, and Tama now. He would nod his head. "I will go put down another place setting for one more at the table."<i></i> He announced as he walked into the household but not before pausing. He would look over to Michino. "It is your birthday today. I wish you only the best upon this day."<i></i> He spoke with genuine sincerity. "Come to the dining room in approximately three minutes and forty-two seconds, and we will be feasting you. I invited someone who I would like for you to meet. A noble of mine, Akamichi Nobu. I hope you don't mind."<i></i>

 

[Toraono Michino]

The twitch in his face was not unnoticed.

“Oh snap!” Michino would exclaim before hushing himself with a chuckle as he continued to conversate with Judori, moving to sit in the living room while Sousuke dealt with his deranged father.
It wasn’t just that Tama had known the most recent Steward for a long time. The scientist, much like his boy inside, had a keen eye. They were both known by their friends and family for a quick wit - one more approachable than the other. However seeing the frown from his stoic, robotic-like, ‘friend’ the mad man felt his heart cringe a little. The little bit of humanity that still tugged at him, keeping from becoming a full Ancient, reminded him that this man kept him from serving the rest of his eternity out under a lot of dirt and rocks. Natural concern reflected in Tama’s heterochromatic eyes for a moment before returning back to their normal state knowing that even if there was something wrong he doubt Sousuke would tell him. His time in the Takahashi household had generally set the entire family against the Hybrid and for good reason. He was shifty, destructive to both himself and those around him, and was a general pain in the ass to be around. The only person in the entire world capable of balancing him out was gone now, a wolf in the desert, and Sunagakure just had to deal with that aftermath.

But he really did hate himself for being like this.

Deciding it best to not bring up Sousuke’s twitch he followed the Steward inside the home to the smells of wonderful sweets baking in the air. His eyes flashed around and saw that the house had remained the same in seating and went to the living room where Judori and his son was waiting - the latter had already made himself comfortable in a chair. The Hybrid’s face twitched and his lips went to curl back to snap at the young Toraono but the presence of the large balding mentor made him think twice. As all-powerful as Tama genuinely was he would rather fight an angry Sousuke than dare take on the mountain of a man that stared warnings his way. Instead he stiffly walked over to where Michino sat and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey kid, I’m sorry for this last year. Guess I still got way more to learn about being a good parental figure than I’m probably willing to waste, I mean, spend time on. So, here, I hope this makes up for some of my being alive,”

He tossed the box at the kid who opened it to the exact reaction he thought. Without second thought the way too honest teenager leapt out of his seat in the way only a trained ninja could and turned on the spot to wrap his father up in a powerful hug that the scientist could not escape no matter how much he complained. Something about the moment between the two softened something up about the Hybrid’s general presence a little and if Sousuke had chose that right moment to walk in he would see the crazy fool looking down at his son the way he used to look at Okibi to spite the smirk and profanities streaming from his mouth.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Judori would look to Tama and put his hands on his hips, "I hope you're ready to eat. If I don't see a clean plate, then my wife will take that as an offense, which would then delight her mother, and the three of us would certainly not want to entertain that - now would we?" It seemed like the former Steward was casting down the gauntlet, and very much showing Tama were the line was, and why one should not cross the line. Judori had grown used to Tama's broody and mood swings but it was something he tolerated. Tolerance and acceptance were two very different things. In the case of Judori there was a very wide gap for him to fully accept Tama's nature as a whole. Did Judori know that Tama had wounded Sousuke's face? No. If he did then that finish line would have tripled. There was something about loyalty to one's liege lord that always stuck hard with Judori.

Judori watched with delight as father and son embraced as a gift was exchanged, by this time Sousuke would return to tell everyone to come to dinner. Behind stood a very large man who had to duck down through the door ways to enter. This was the aforementioned Lord Akamichi Nobu. The sparsely haired blonde hair giant clapped his hands together at the scene. "Birthdays. I love birthdays. They always do bring out the best in people."<i></i> Lord Nobu would proclaim. He would lower himself down to Sousuke's level and whisper something in his ear. The Steward would nod his head. The Steward curiously picked up on something. The exchange between father and son was something familiar, but something Sousuke had not seen in quite some time.

Okibi had been long gone, but she was still present in more ways than one. The Steward liked to think that his former ward had an effect on him to make a better person. Whether or not that was the case depended on who one asked. The machine that was a man seemed like he wanted to smile, but it never quite same to fruition. He merely stood and watched. Assumedly the events of this evening may unfold for the better. This was the first time Sousuke answered that voice that called out that crackled of flames in the background. Sousuke heard no reply, but the sound of crackling fire remained for a moment or two in the back of his head. It was unsettling, but it was something he was somewhat afraid that he would have to grow used to. "Let's all head to the dining room. The first course is already sitting upon our plates."<i></i> He spoke.

Tama and Michino would find Chiyoko and Mako sitting the farthest way they could. Mako was already drinking some drink that more than likely would have been whisky, and Chiyoko would look surprised and delighted to see Tama joining them. Judori would sit at the head of the table which would beside his wife. Tama and Michino would be sitting near Sousuke at the other end of the table, but Michino would be sitting at the other end across from Judori as this was his birthday. The first course was a hearty meat soup that tasted it had been long at work all day growing in flavour.

 

[Toraono Michino]

Eventually Michino would let go of his father and turn to grin at the mostly mechanical schizophrenic in their midst. They could both tell the man wanted to smile as it reflected in his eyes but the older of the two also saw the worry. While Tama had no idea what it was Sousuke would be worried about he immediately turned it about himself. It was rather easy to wonder why the ex-Steward would be worried with his seven-foot tall presence in the house. Of course this path of ill-thinking continued to sour on the false good mood he was trying desperately to put on in hopes to stay. He had already invested the gift; the man would not be leaving empty handed.

Everyone was shuffled into the dining room shortly after. Ducking under the frame into the kitchen the older man looked around the room and felt a pang of jealousy in his heart. The scientist wondered just how close he had gotten to this. A family at the table, a loving spouse, an adoring child…the child’s kids continuing the adoration for generations to come. The same cycle of life and death everyone strives for without reason that he bitterly knew he could never be a part of. Tama had thrown away his humanity in an unjustified pursuit for revenge and these were the consequences. A life where he was the bad guy, the terrible father; the stain on the village’s pride.
Yet as he entered the room the Hybrid was on his best behaviour. With a quick motion the man slipped his arms out of the still dirty lab coat and hung it on the back of his chair before setting down and scooting himself up. His mismatched eyes didn’t deign to even glance down at the end of the table where the women were present. He was just fine with ignoring their existence at the moment as he looked down at his son. The teenager took the end seat opposite from the host showing how Judori was really honoring the boy.

And why not? He was turning seventeen and entering into manhood. The rebellious streak that Tama had gone through via murder and science seemed to skip his son all together. From the very moment he was allowed to walk the streets again he began a deep study on the person the lab work from the hospital called his ‘son’. There was something about Michino that deeply aggravated the scientist on a personal level. Something in his soul that just twisted when he was in the boy’s presence. It was not the nurturing instincts of a father and for that reason it confused him. According to a variety of reports he had read through most parents had a nurturing instinct for a child even if they weren’t of kin. The only feeling Tama felt was animosity; but why?
To this extent he went about creating a device that was originally so large it had to be bolted to his floor. Using his chakra the invention could take the blood of two people, break down the DNA, and match it together to see how closely related they were to him. So far he had managed to get the blood of a Toraono that was as closest to his son’s first cousin as he could get, and that alone was a trial. Yet it was nothing compared to the tribulations he was going through to get even a drop of Michino’s. With regards to that he had managed to reduce the size of the device to something hand held. A small gun shaped device that held a small storage of his chakra, a vial of blood from one clan, and a slot for the other. With the squeeze of its trigger a color coded light would tell him everything he wanted to know. It was there now in the inner pocket of his coat waiting to be used.

There was, however, an act to put on first and he still had a ways to go.

Dinner was served in the form of soup. Tama picked up his spoon and dipped it into the broth to lift out the contents. Slowly he turned the spoon so that the broth and food dropped back into the bowl with an unamused look. He could smell the food and all the delights it promised. Yet he knew the very moment it touched his mouth it would taste of nothing more than dirt and ash. It was a part of the curse he accepted to become what he was and rarely did he regret it but today when he needed to pretend he liked food he it came back to bite him; thankfully it was only food that carried these tastes with them and not fluids.
Taking another spoonful he slowly rose it to his mouth and with a force of will pushed the disgusting taste into his mouth and quickly swallowed the hot dirt without chewing but a few bites.
The son put on a very opposite performance. From the very first bite until the last the boy had a look of delight smeared across his grinning face. The soup was, like everything he ate here, unlike anything he could imagine. Within moments he was done and looked up somewhat bashfully when he noticed it was far before anyone else. Picking up on the que the ‘father’ put on a smile and handed the teenager his bow and then, to perhaps everyone’s surprise, made the effort to make eye contact with Chiyo.
“It was delicious but I’m afraid soup just isn’t my thing. I’ll probably enjoy the cake far more.” His tone seemed somewhat sinister but he managed to reel it in and settle back into his chair as he watched the man called his son consume another bowl of soup - this time a lot more slowly.

Tama, being the one not eating, would try to strike up some conversation. He spoke of only recent rumors and everyday life for Sunans though, nothing interesting. He was making sure they saw he was trying really hard to fit in and not be the bringer of disaster for his son. It was all part of the mask he needed right now as he waited for everyone to finish eating.

[MFT]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The first course went well. The second course was going to be a mixture of greens with poultry. It seemed as if at the last minute the poultry was added, but it wasn't immediately evident. Chiyoko had noticed that while Tama had lived with them that there was a large amount of poultry being ordered. She thought for a long time it was Sousuke eatting healthy, or simply the fact he was trying to stick to a diet. The simple truth was that Tama had been dining on the souls of said chicken while Sousuke was experimenting cooking with it. It was not uncommon for the Steward, Teke, or Michino dining on what was more or less rotisserie chicken. After several weeks and a dozen chickens, it had seemed Sousuke had nailed it. The chicken went from tasting like nothing put empty calories to having an actual taste to it. Both Tama and Michino in times of past and present had come to realize that one of Sousuke's poorer skillsets.

Judori munched his meal happily. Mako left the table with some remark about how rabbit food wasn't her thing, which led to death glares between Mako and Chiyoko. Lord Nobu on the other hand was enjoying himself. "Marvelous, simply marvelous my dear Chiyoko. Tell me Michino. What best do you like about getting older? Is it the simple fact you are getting to a place where you can broader your horizons in terms of taste that only adults can? I was there the first time, I took Lord Sousuke out for his first drink. The look on his face, I thought I had poisoned the boy."<i></i> The Akamichi proclaimed as he was sharing an embarrassing but almost cute moment for what he deemed to be a coming of age story.

"I suppose the best part will be ... getting out to move out of the Dojo, on your own if you decide to."<i></i> Sousuke answered. "You can very much start your own household like your cousins. Don't think anyone would mind a new branch of the Toraono clan being out there."<i></i> Sousuke spoke up in response to what was best about getting older. "I am told though this thing called taste buds become a thing. When you become older you acquire a taste for things you don't enjoy much as a child."<i></i> He added. The Steward seemed to be thinking deeply on the matter as if it was something he had to truly focus on. "I used to hate BBQ as a flavour, but one day ... it suddenly became something I deeply respected and ... surprisingly? I have enjoyed it thoroughly."<i></i> He spoke re-accounting the memory. Seemingly the concern Sousuke had that Tama was going to destroy this event for the boy was no longer present. The metallic man would eye Tama for a moment. His metallic eye locking eye contact. "Come now Tama - what did you enjoy about getting older?"<i></i>

The room became to have a smokey feel for a moment as Mako came back smoking not once but two cigarettes at the table. Again the death glares between Sousuke's mother and her was at work. It became rapidly clear what Mako had liked about getting older. The matriarch in the room was of legal age to smoke. Chiyoko would get up from the table, clear the plates and remove the cigarettes from her mother's mouth and leave the room muttering some maybe not nice words aimed at the smoker.

 

[Toraono Michino]

Now strangely, salad and chicken was the only two things you will ever catch the hybrid eating willingly. Perhaps it was from Sousuke making sure that the man could choke down at least one human meal from his repeated attempts at the dish. More probably was knowing the taste of chicken soul brought out different flavors in the greens when mixed with the cooked flesh. As a bonus, so long as it wasn’t Tama preparing it, lingering bits of soul would cling to freshly killed food. Judging by the fresh flavor in each bite over the first the fowl had been slain but perhaps hours before the meal.
Another difference in the father and son showed through palate again as Michino ate only a few bites of the bird and leaves before pushing it towards his father who nearly snatched it from him. Smirking at his strange giant of a elder the boy turned his attention to the Akimichi who was explaining a story from the Steward’s youth that made him smile. He raised the glass of water to his lips and sipped it for a moment as he pondered on how to respond.
“Well, I’d never really given much time to pause and think about it. Last year was so full of study and training so I could keep up with my peers that seventeen kind of crept up on me. Though right now I can’t see myself leaving my little part of the Dojo or staring another branch. All I want to do is live for the next couple of years before deciding what I want to achieve in this lifetime.”
His father didn’t snort but his face said he wanted to. It was of his opinion that the boy keep up with the studies at least and enroll into a medical program, but, a soft pang of guilt reminded him that he had done the same thing around that age. The salad was cleared away and as far as he was concerned it was the meal for him. Whatever else he had to choke through he would but the soul fragments from the fowl was already revitalizing some of the hybrid’s features making him appear just slightly more youthful.

As the dishes were being cleared away Tama was asked the same question asked of them all.
“Perspective,” he said after a few seconds of thought, “I see things in far different ways than I did as a child. So much so that often I wish I could step back in time to warm myself of certain events, but, without those failures I wouldn’t have the perspective to know what I need to do better. Every last failed invention will lead to the creation of something better. Something of a line of reasoning I tell myself in the late of night when I’m stuck on the math of my latest project. Sometimes I even go as far to sabotage another successful experiment just to watch how it fails and learn from the experience in order to push a larger project further.

Michino stared blankly at his dad for a moment. This diplomatic side was something he had never seen before. Normally if anyone was to ask him such a question he would of retorted with mocking it and the person before explaining that as an immortal age was inconsequential. That their life was meaningless and everything they did added up to nothing in the grand scale of the universe and the rest of the unknown of their world. Blinking he tried to not wonder why his old man was behaving among people he knew didn’t like him and just tried to have a nice birthday for once in his life.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Nobu would let out a hearty chuckle at Michino's response. Despite the man's size and the volume of the chuckle, the room did not shake nor did anything on the wall come off. He clapped his hand together soundly and seemed very much pleased with the answer. "I understand that feeling. Sometimes it happens when you get older too. It happens sometimes more often than what you want it to. Sometimes you just have to get through the here and now before you can get to the end game as it were."<i></i> The giant man would scratch his nose for a moment. "We Akimichi in Sungakure situate ourselves slightly differently than most. We try to put our hand on the pulse of the village's economic and business health. I am known as the Bear Lord. When I was a boy, I wondered whether or not I would be capable of being a successful Bear Lord. The problem is that by thinking too much of my future, I had a rough spot in my life because I forgot about the present. The present is something we should not forget. The present will forge the future, when it's ready to."<i></i>

The whole table listened when Tama spoke his answer. Curiously everyone but Sousuke was looking at Tama while he was speaking. The Steward seemed to have honed his focus in on something else entirely and seemed to blank out. Was he ignoring Tama? No. Sousuke was listening. He understood what Tama was saying more than most. His mechanical eye that Tama had produced for him did a funny thing it had a grey-like glow to it for a moment. Something morose seemed to grasp at the Steward for a moment as he was thinking about Shiori or as few knew her by Mother Suna. Sousuke didn't quite grasp the concept that she loved him romantically when he was younger. Now that he looked back at it, he realized the signs of it. He shifted through the memories like a deck of cards. He would shake his head and snap out of the mood. "Couldn't agree any further. Our next dish is upon us."<i></i> With that Chiyoko would spring out of the kitchen with beef steak medallion wrapped around with bacon. This was fillet mignon. As Chiyoko approached Tama she looked with surprise at the empty salad plate and presented him with two servings. When she approached Michino she gave him four servings of it. Sousuke was given two, as was Judori. Nobu was presented with three. Nobu picked up the fork and knife and daintly cut into the small but very lean meat. "This is a special treat. This particular cut of beef while small, is very very lean. Do no underestimate it. I've only had it ... including this time? Maybe four times in my life."<i></i> Sousuke announced to Michino. "Enjoy, but enjoy slowly."<i></i> He warned.

 

[Toraono Michino]

And another round of food was served. Already quite having had his fill from the chicken and greens the Hybrid’s face fell a little when two servings of the meat was placed before him. Lifting a fork Tama gently stabbed at the meat watching the juices pour out onto the plate. He could feel something inside of him wanting to absolutely devour the medallions that were placed before him but the feeling overriding it was nausea. The scientist had just about taken all he could of pretending to be nice and playing along with this farce he was putting on. A small bird in a wolf’s den the man was starting to understand the folly of his actions and began to formulate a silent plan to get him out of here without causing too much of a commotion. In all honesty, even if his original intentions had failed, he had managed to do what he never thought possible and put the Takahashi household off edge in his presence. Of course he knew all this time all he needed to do was be just a little more fatherly and everyone here except perhaps Mako would have loved him; his damnable pride wouldn’t allow it however. There was just this certainty in his heart that Michino wasn’t his son and it was keeping him from even pretending to be the boy’s father figure.

Out of politeness he lifted his knife and began to cut into the meat. Taking only the smallest of bites he placed the food that struggled to have its natural flavors fight against the ashening taste buds. It was becoming increasingly hard for him to stomach the food and it was starting to really show on his face. The Toraono, being the growing boy that he was, already had devoured one of the steaks and was cutting into his second one. The platinum blonde’s left eyebrow twitched a little as he tried his hardest to hold a mundane conversation with the Akimichi while he waited for his opening to leave. On the surface he seemed calm but beneath the man was pulling out his hair trying not to just grab the table, throw it against the wall, and flip everyone the bird while exiting out in a reverse walking slide.
It was on this train of thought that he finally noticed his moment.

Michino was joining in on the conversation between mouthfuls and had started to talk to Sousuke about how good he had gotten at shooting a gun as well as how fast his reload was getting. The shinobi’s attention wasn’t super focused on how loosely he was holding his knife as he talked but Tama’s attentive eyes did not miss it. Pressing his hands against the table he pushed it in the guise of pretending to push his chair out and stood up. The smallest of shake caused the knife to jerk back causing the edge near the hilt of the untisil to slice across Michino’s purlicue.
At this moment is where the scientist had underestimated the force of chaos for not the first time in his life. He had expected the boy, like a normal person, to jerk his hand back and raise it to his mouth. In that instance, with the scientist already standing, would grab a napkin and place it against the wound to absorb some of the blood and coagulate the wound. He’d then have more than enough for a blood sample and in private could do his research without anyone the wiser.

Instead Michino swore and flicked his hand backwards.

It caused the glob of blood that had formed in the few seconds before to be sent sailing back towards the floor behind him. A look of distinguishable panic filled the elder’s face as he watched the blood sail into the air against his wishes. The mind melting speed of calculations went behind the eyes of that panicked face worked at deciding if the consequences of breaking character were far less than losing this opportunity to settle his curiosity; the choice was made before the blood had moved even a foot away from the young male’s hand. With a quick hand revealing his old background as a soldier Tama snaked his left into the lab coat pocket hanging from his chair back and dived. Held outstretched into the air was the little pistol shaped device with an open tube locked into a hole in the center. By either sheer luck or through the grace of the Fates the scientist caught the entire glob of red life fluid before it splashed against the floor only milliseconds before he thumped against the ground himself. Ignoring the deafening silence that followed his bizarre actions Tama panted anxiously as he pulled the trigger to activate the device. A green, blue, and red light shuffled back and forth for all of about three seconds before it shined a solid hue.

Blue. Related, but not directly. Michino wasn’t his son.

All of the politeness and grace he had been faking this entire time dropped about as fast as he stood up. A devilish smile crossed his face as his swelling pride about the accuracy of his invention and ability to fool the Takahashi household, again, kept him from holding back the horrible thing he had just done. Looking straight at the birthday boy the scientist pointed to the light and whispered,
“Blue. I am not the father.” He dropped the device like a mic onto the table with a clatter causing a little bit of the blood to splash out onto the table cloth.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Tama's declaration of himself not being the father of Michino was missed by most present at the table as Nobu, Mako, and Chiyoko were checking in on Michino. The two who were not checking in on Michino were Sousuke and his father Judori. The two had paid special attention to Tama in the moments event before this. The father and the son both gave Tama a scowl, the exact same scowl. Sousuke did not inherit his father's height, nor lack of hair, but there were times that the expressions that they two had were identical, as they carried the same facial features. Both father and son promptly pushed their chairs back at the same time and stood up. Tama was smiling like a fool where as the two Takahashi men were disappointed in Tama, disappointed in the extreme. "Excuse us." Both Sousuke and Judori said in unison as both of them proceeded to get up from the table. Sousuke took Tama by one arm, and Judori took Tama by the other arm. Both of them dragged him out of the room.

As Sousuke dragged Tama out his eyes darted to the side for a moment. I warned you that this would happen.<i></i> He heard in his head. As he dragged Tama out he motioned for his father to let go. The smaller man did so, and while Sousuke dragged Tama, the scientist could see the disappointment in him being burnt into his very being by the annoyed look that Judori had on his face. There was almost like a sense of betrayal at work. What Tama failed to grasp at a whole was that today was not about him, not in the slightest. Judori knew and observed Tama as he did his best to be ... something other than ass at the table and to try and to fit in it. The fact that he was not calling attention to himself until now was even considered admirable. Tama travelled down the dark hall as he was being driven and seemingly Judori's eyes seemed like candles in the dark as he was being dragged further and further away.

"Today wasn't about you."<i></i> Tama would hear the harsh metallic resonance in Sousuke's voice. "It was about Michino. He's never had it easy, and today was an attempt to make things just a bit more enjoyable for him, but no something in your head had to tick and go on some damnable design to prove to yourself that you're something else."<i></i> The Steward spoke, there seemed to be disappointment in his voice.

***

Judori would return back to the dining room and would help to clean up the mess. His expression of disappointment seemed to vanish for the moment. He looked to Michino. "Sousuke and your Dad are going out for a breath of fresh air. All this food must have been a bit stuffy for them." He spoke as he cleaned up the bloody mess. The older former Steward hope what was said was not heard by the boy. "Did you enjoy the latest dish?" He inquired hoping to cover up the fine mess that Tama had enacted.

 

[Toraono Michino]

As expected the hosts of the house did not respond well to his actions. This was par for the course, or so it assumed, and expected physical ramifications for his actions; which the scientist was totally prepared for. One of the more prideful things Tama enjoyed was how his physical form was near impossible to put down so long as he used all his power to defend himself. Oh he’d still feel every last bit of the pain intended in each attack but by the end he’d walk away. His heart began to race a little at the thought of the two men, one of whom he used to look up to like an older brother, beating the hell out of him as they grabbed each of his arms and dragged him, laughing manically, away from Michino.

Yet what he had not expected was Sousuke to tell his father to go tend to the boy and watched in subtle horror as the man dragged him towards the door of the house himself. Tama could feel the heated disappointment from both the Steward’s mechanical and real eyes as the man borrowed his stare deep into the being slightly taller than himself. Takahashi Sousuke cut through the scientist’s facade in the way only he could - through his scattered emotions.
The reason the Sunagakure government allowed Tama’s existence outside of the Obsidian was due to the absolute control the steward had over the scientist. For the gray haired giant the man who gripped his arm was the only connection he still had to his past that he was aware of. The cyborg was the closest thing the Hybrid had to Okibi and being able to keep a hold of all those precious memories without it driving his Ancient side into madness. The words that his friend hissed out at him cut down to his core deeper than any physical wound could.

Ryuu Tama was certainly aware of Michino’s haphazard life. All anyone had to do was pull up the poor boy’s records to see how hard his struggle has been. Never minding the fact he never knew either of his real parents or what a whole side of his blood was about, the child had also been ‘blessed’ with the Toraono heritage. The demonic power it radiated was so strong it had at one point rended his Id and Ego into two separate forms of being. According to the medical records it reported that he had recovered in recent years but to live a life where at any moment a dark shadow could emerge and ruin all reputation one had built up…the scientist once could barely imagine it. Now as Sousuke poured in the venomous disappointment into his voice that was like literal poison to the Hybrid’s soul he understood a little bit of the boy’s torment as a realization washed over him.

He too was split apart.

The soul that was his shell, that allowed him natural form in this world, was that of the scientist Ryuu Tama. The real Tama. The creature that walked around now insulting all that he could was a manifestation of the Solar Court with the scientist’s mortal memories. From time to time the soul that allowed him to exist would step in and stop him from committing these deeds as much as it could but tonight, no matter how strong it had been, the pride of being right overrode all of his mortal personality and forced him to commit such atrocious acts like ruining the birthday of a boy who was becoming a man - of someone who just needed a good day.
By the time the two were outside so that Sousuke could hear his pathetic excuse as to why the man would do such things and go so far to commit them the scientist’s look of joy had long melted off his face.

Back at the table the front door closed and Michino, who had just stared ahead into blank space up until that point, jumped. His hands was griping the knife and fork so hard his sharpened knuckles had began to grow white and numb. It wasn’t until Jidori placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder did he breathe in sharply as if he couldn’t until he had been given permission. He blinked his eyes a few times as he felt tears welling up. Tears of fury, joy, and confusion. All at once he was both happy and distraught that Tama wasn’t his father but more than all of it was the furious confusion as to why he chose this method to do it.
Dropping his utensils on the table he raised his rough hands up to his face to sob a few times as the tears fell completely down his cheeks and into his palms. Did having Tama in your life mean that everything was going to go wrong? It was like being near the Hybrid was to accept a curse into your life. Hearing Jidori ask the boy if he at least got to enjoy his food he only nodded once for fear that speaking would open a well stream of tears and emotions he didn’t want out right now - not in front of all these people who loved him.

Like it or not, though, another emotion he had long been bottling up ripped itself open; and that was fury.

In a style of dramatic angst that only a teenager could pull the shinobi pushed himself up and away from the table suddenly as his tears fell away from his face. He gently pushed past those who wished to comfort him and stalked towards the front door where the two adults were outside. As he opened the door and walked out into the street he could see the man who was his ‘father’ holding his hands on his head and looking full of mixed emotions. Tama seemed to be trying to actually explain himself but even then the answers he was giving Sousuke was bullshit and he knew it. Something about seeing the man look so pathetic as opposed to the triumph that was there just a few seconds ago was like pulling a trigger with the teenager.

In three strides of anger Michino put his training to use for the first time on an actual person. He drew his fist back and before anyone could react it tore through the air fast enough to break the sound barrier, causing a crackling boom akin to a gunshot to echo down the street. Tama’s jaw was immediately broken. Even as the seven foot giant felt himself being lifted up form the sheer force of the punch a second followed into his stomach forcing all of the air from his lungs out and his body to double over. Both of Michino’s fists were frayed nearly down to the bone from throwing the punch that hard and blood dripped into the dirt of the street. Yet as if he didn’t feel any of it he pointed his right index finger at the man on the ground trying really hard to catch his breath,
“I never want to see you again Ryuu Tama. Not here, not at my place, my wedding, or any other future events I may have. You are a cancer and I cut you out.”

Then he turned away and used his chakra to leap onto roof of the nearest house and on through the city heading towards the gates and his home. Tama finally caught his breath with a wheeze a few moments after. Reaching up to his jaw he Hybrid applied his energy and reset it with a sickening crack as the bones began to rapid mend. With a huff he pulled himself up slowly into a staggering standing position and looked over to Sousuke with eyes of remorse,
“I-I’m sorry. I doubt it means anything no matter how much I really want it to. Excuse me I…I have things to work on…”

The scientist turned away and quickly walked back to his garage where the green smoke had long since aired out. As the door closed down on an automatic rail a cry of rage followed by the shattering of Kami-knows-what echoed out of the garage.

[Topic Left and Continued Here]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward's plan for this evening just sort of vanished horribly. It was times like this he was perhaps at his worst in terms of moods. For all his wit, for all his smarts, for all the calculations, there was always something bound to just up and destroy it. It was annoying. He hated it. He hated it in its highest regards. His hands balled into fists as Michino and Tama got into a fight. Michino delivered a pummeling that Tama would not forget and chilling words. The expression on Sousuke's face was still that neutral expression. Michino had indeed hit Tama that hard, but Tama was that a Half-Ancient. He was going to bounce back easily enough because he could. The jaw that was broken was fixed almost immediately. Sousuke could heal, but it took him time. When he was involved in a big fight it took days or even a week to be back up. Most people didn't heal that fast but Sousuke pushed himself a lot harder than most people did. Takahashi Sousuke the third of his name, born of man and woman, and not of demons or Ancients. He was the descendant of the First Men, but yet he was a flawed one. The man had a broken and damaged soul due to events prior to his birth. Most days were a challenge for him on the social level merely because he lacked social grace and or ability. He was very much the machine in the flesh of a human because his sense of humanity was damaged. He bleed like a human, and for the most part he acted like one should. Yet there were these distinct flaws which he was very much aware of, and so he pushed himself to be one thing above all else, to be a superior version of himself. He didn't push himself to be better than others, he pushed himself to be always a better version of himself. Sometimes he came up short, and at others he indeed succeed. Yet in his eyes he always saw himself as inferior.

There was nothing to be said. The Steward simply sighed and returned to the household. When Sousuke returned to the dining room table he was meet with faces of concern coming from everyone. "Party's over."<i></i> He answered, and unfortunately it was indeed over. There was a mess, but not even the Steward was above cleaning it up.

***

Once all was clean, the Steward was in the living room with Nobu who was drinking some after dinner liquor that he had given Sousuke some time ago. Sousuke never opened it, and Nobu knew there would be no grief he opened it. The Bear Lord sat across from the Steward. The large man occupied the love seat where as Sousuke sat in a single sofa chair. "I know what you're thinking lad."<i></i> Nobu spoke as he drank from the overly large glass. "This is your fault. This time it really isn't. You've been too hard on yourself."<i></i> Nobu was Sousuke's longest supporting nobles. The Steward would say nothing. "Someday you'll see it. The good you've done."<i></i> Nobu would add. The two adults would continue to sit in the silence. Nobu drinking in expensive alcohol, and Sousuke just drinking in the time.

[Topic ended]