Fond Memories, Fragile Reality.

The Hokage Building, something he hadn’t ever been inside but there was something about it that felt familiar Hiroya contributed it to his father leaving his mark on everything he touches. For decades Hiroya watched and experienced just what his Father did for his family, what he did to the world that tried to impose its own rules on them, he would never be unable to tell where his father had been.

With a calm and collected stride Hiroya entered the building and produced the summons from his father to whoever needed it and continued his walk hardly slowing his pace, he wasn’t in a rush, he didn’t move with anxiety or a nervousness that some would have when coming into such a place. He had lost much of his edge in his old age but when you are raised by a Wolf you don’t fear the Rabbits.

There was a scrabble of people moving as they first meant to attempt to stop the stranger from his set path but that was quickly dashed as they looked over the summons, just as quickly as they had attempted to get in the way they hurried to get out of his way as he moved with a slight fear in their eyes. “Pathetic.” Hiroya thought to himself, were these the people that Father had decided to protect? Mice and Vermin who averted their eyes out of fear? It didn’t make sense to Hiroya, he knew there had to be a bigger reason for his father’s decision to takeover Konohagakure and his movements through the years so he didn’t think anymore on it. It wasn’t worth the energy to think about or consider right now, he had much more important things to focus on and that was his reunion with his family.

What would his father look like now? The Youngest said he didn’t seem to age, but what about Mother? She did not have what Father had to stay ageless but he knew she had ways of maintaining her youth though it was once again something that Hiroya wasn’t able to learn no matter what he tried. A double door of thick material stood before him and the only thing that kept him from seeing those he hadn’t seen in many a year. Would his father look at him with disappointment and pity for his dullness? Would his mother share that same feeling? Hiroya knew no one would ever look at him and think that he was Aokidanza’s eldest son, not with their stark difference in appearance. When was it that he had caught up to his father’s physical appearance? His 30s?

It was time, he opened the doors and strode into the chambers, his eyes scanned the room. There were his parents, Yachiru facing towards the door and while Hiroya could see the aging process affecting her it wasn’t by much. She still looked very much in her prime. “Mother, I see you have aged just like the finest of wines, If I didn’t know better I would have thought Father had figured out how to transfer his agelessness to you.” He said with a somber tone that was mixed with love and warmth and a hint of sadness.

There he was, his ageless father, the man who had raised him from his youth and had brought him back to the world of Humans. A stray feral child who by the time his father had discovered him had become more beast then man. Not a speck of time seemed to have touched the man’s appearance, he looked the same as he had all those decades ago. That faint hope to see some kind of change in his father disappeared, Hiroya’s smile stayed on his face as he was happy to see his family but he took a moment before he would meet his father’s eyes. What would be there? Disappointment? Pity? Disgust? Would he be seen as more a burden then a benefit and be asked to return to his retirement? Many thoughts came to the Hatake as he met his father’s eyes. Three-tomoe Sharingans met his and normally Hiroya would never have done such a thing with anyone else he was not scared of his father, he was only worried even in his old age of being less then what his father needed.

“I see that time has been unable to touch the hem of your being, Father.” Hiroya said with the same warmth and love he had spoken with to Yachiru but it was filled more with the sadness that had been already there. “I have come as requested, I hope I can be of use even now.”

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His mother would be the first to speak and approach Hiroya, he was reminded of how kind and loving she could be, if people didn’t truly know her they would think her cold outer mannerisms were her natural state of being. Like some Ice Queen with no emotions, but she wasn’t she cared deeply for her family and Hiroya was her oldest son. He was almost sure she still saw him as his child self with the way she looks at him from time to time. She spilled tears and that almost made the old man follow suit. A warm hug, a loving embrace, it felt like home. There is something about mothers that can turn even the oldest most rugged people back into just a small child.

“I think only you and father would use the word Young for someone my age, Mother.” He teased, he acted like he was measuring their height, “It certainly seems I have finally grown taller than you.” He jested and with their pleasantries exchange the moment was gone, not in entirety but they both knew it was now Father’s turn, and while father was certainly someone who loved his family he wasn’t the most forthcoming with his love like Mother could be. There were moments of course but Father was a hard man and he carried himself as such.

“No father I could never be disappointed in you. Just a bit vexed as all us aging mortals tend to be.” He said to his father’s question. Though it was more a rhetorical than an actual question, his father knew that Hiroya would never find fault in his actions and understood just what kind of person Aokidanza was much more then most others could even think of. If his father held any disappointment in him he would know soon, but the words that followed told him that he was still useful even in his current shape. A true smile took its place on the old man’s face, a flicker of what he once was shining through. “That is good to hear to say the least.” He started to say but hearing his father speak of his old nickname made him stop for a moment, the burning passion of those days which were long past flaring up at even the slightest chance at a return was like seeing a flickering candle barely alight suddenly burst into an inferno.

“Now that brings back memories, Father.” He would say a glint in his eyes, “Its good to be home,” He said as he looked at his parents, “I know this might be a bit blunt Father, Mother, but where are the others? I assumed that the younger siblings wouldn’t be here but I am surprised to see that Tooru, Ooetsu and Taruka aren’t here.” He said as he thought of the possibilities that would keep his father from at least bringing them together for this reunion, Hiroya felt that it was simply either two reasons, they had tasks that needed to be done that took precedent or they would be gathered after the eldest was able to reunite with his parents. “I have met the youngest, he has a fire in him. Not quite there on the manners but that’s almost the standard at the beginning.” He mentioned more in the direction of his Mother who he knew was the bigger stickler of such things.

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Mother’s mention of those out there that are more ancient then themselves was something he had heard before but hadn’t run into during their travels so he assumed they were quite adept with their hiding. It would be something to look more into later on.

“Of course it causes conflict for me, Father.” Hiroya mentioned as he listened to his father. “After all how am I suppose to enjoy all the drinks that get invented over the years if I’m not here to enjoy them with family?” He said with a smile, while he had been upset at some point on the aging of his body and mind it was something that he had accepted years ago and his retirement had helped with that. There would always be a hope that he could somehow beat Time and break into the world that his father lived in, but it was more a passing desire that he had the better part of a century to come to terms with.

“Complacent? No, I have upkept my training as normal but with old age comes its own problems.” The old man said to his father as he knew that if his father thought of him unusable he would simply send him back to retirement, that was a grace in comparison to what the man had seen his father do to others that hadn’t had the same luxury.

His father produced a brown liquor and two glasses to which he had poured for the both of them and wished to partake in some enjoyment to bypass all the minor melancholy undertones of the talk. Hiroya remembered this liquor from his days of growing up with Aokidanza, it was a ancient liquor that he was sure only his father actually knew how to make. The days of Hiroya trying to sneak some of it to drink with his brothers long past, the scolding of such an undertaking was quite a memory in of itself. His mother having watched and waited till the siblings had ingested the drink before putting them through the wringer brought a smile to his face.

With a smile Hiroya downed the liquor along with his father, it was like being throat punched by a silverback gorilla with a smooth and almost sweet aftertaste. It was an addicting flavor. “It has certainly been easier to keep my tolerance for the drink then trying to keep up the physical ability of an aging body.” Hiroya jested with his father who had returned his eyes to their natural form, something that rarely happened and only in cases of those he truly trusted.

“That certainly is par for Ooetsu, I hope he has spent as much time using his weapon as he does swinging that hammer at the forge.” Hiroya commented as he remembered the years of spars the two had between them. Ooetsu was the brother that was as stubborn and hot headed as he was and their blood boiled for a good fight and to see just who was the better fighter. It would do the old man good to see his siblings. His mother commented on how she would have to deal with Nurai and his father looked at him downing another shot with a look that told him Hiroya definitely just got Nurai into some trouble to which Hiroya simply smiled and shrugged as if to say “Such is the life of our family.”

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Fond Memories were shared between the group. There is always a moment where reuniting with those who raised you and raised you well that things seem to return to those old days of the past. Shrouded in that nostalgic feeling that made things feel as if things stayed as they were at that time then nothing could go wrong but reality had a way of showing just how fragile that fleeting feeling could be. The talk of shenanigans of children in a world that would just as easily bring them joy and wonder one moment and the next could cause them to fall into the deepest abyss of depression and trauma was something that didn’t mesh well if you gave it to much thought. Almost like looking just beyond the veil of reality and getting a glimpse of what really makes the world tick.
 
Hiroya was enjoying himself, he had been the ringleader of the majority of the troubles that the siblings got into or at least he made sure to take the majority of the blame for the times he wasn’t. Not because he wanted to make sure he was known as some kind of leader but because he took pride in being the eldest and if it meant that his siblings knew that he would go to bat for them when things got rough or dangerous then at the end of the day it was more then worth the punishment that followed. Of course this didn’t mean he took the blame for everything, he simply knew which ones were ones that were needed and ones that would benefit his siblings in the long run. After all, to much coddling and you get spoiled and entitled children.
 
“I only did those things as a child because I knew it would be tolerated to an extent. To much doom and gloom for children makes them lose that spark of growth.” He offered to his father for being the leader of the siblings, “After all, if they couldn’t follow me into some minor pranks how could I expect them to follow me into true danger?” He offered.
 
His father poured them more shots and of course Hiroya took them, he was enjoying himself. It was a special moment of being home with your family, it allowed you to let down guards and walls put up over the years for safety and sanity. There was something about being able to be as true to himself as he could be with those he knew had accepted him for who he was completely. A flicker of thought passed on his father’s face, nothing most people would have even noticed in the man but one such as Hiroya who had been around his father for so long and so closely knew something was on his mind and within moments he found out just what that was.
 
A moment of silence, the passage of a second, the atmosphere once jovial and now with the energy of possibility coupled with disbelief or maybe it was the denial of hope. The hope that a long life similar to his own father’s and mother’s dangled in front of him not as a bait to entice or ensnare but one of unknown possibility. The gift of Longevity.
 
“Father.” Hiroya started as he sat his cup down, it half full of the liquor poured for him. “I have accepted my life as a mortal and my retirement has solidified that resolution.” Hiroya mentioned, “If you have discovered a way of passing on the gift you have to others and wish for me to be the first recipient then I will undergo whatever you have planned. Just promise me this.” Hiroya said as he picked up his glass and downed his final shot. “If this fails for whatever reason, then I ask that you please give up on this pursuit. At least for us.” He said with a tired finality. His father was a man who wished to bend the world and its rules to his whim and one day he just might fulfill that goal, but no one knows how long it could be for that to become reality. How many more children will pass into the fold of the family and depart into the fold of the death all mortals eventually join? How much more darkness and despair will gather and form onto the back and shoulders of his father before it fundamentally changes the man into a shell of his former self? That is not something Hiroya wished for his family, he did not wish to see the transformation of his father into one of a true demon. One so devoid of the love and warmth he gives so freely to those who he deems important. He knew that even if his father promised to no longer pursue this endeavor in case of a failure this time, that eventually in time he would return to this subject and pursue the possibility once more.
 
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