Starring:
Date: August 20, 2013
Summary:
Hiei confronts his father about the state of their family. The conversation turns into an explosive situation.
"Like Father, Not Like Son"
Home of Yotsuki Kenshin and Yotsuki Aima in the Yotsuki Village of Kumogakure
It's an early spring morning and Hiei is outside in the backyard of his house meditating. He is wearing a pair of baggy pants and no shirt while kneeling on a mat inside of the rock garden that was created and maintained by his mother. His eyes are closed as he tries in vain to control his emotions and focus before he began his morning training. With his father having returned from his mission to protect the Daimyo, most sons would be happy that their father has returned unharmed…but Hiei has mixed feelings. He and Kenshin have a strained relationship, and it all stems from Hiei rejecting his training when he was a kid, and then Kaoru was taken..and Hiei couldn't stop it. Kenshin had always resented him for it. He also blamed Hiei for Aima going into her depression, because if he had been diligent, then Kaoru would never have been taken. The memory surfaces like it always does when Hiei's thoughts are filled with Kenshin. Hiei is standing outside of his father's office, he's around five years old and he's hiding from Kenshin because instead of training, he wants to sneak outside and go play with his friends in the village. Inside, Kenshin is speaking with a friend of his. "I just don't know what's wrong with the boy. He's not serious about anything. Whenever I get onto him about training, Aima babys him behind my back. Hiei has so much potential. He takes to taijutsu like a fish to water, and he's already shown aptitude with the lightning element. But he lacks dedication. Kaoru? She's not as strong as Hiei physically, but what she lacks, she more than makes up for it with heart and drive. I can look at her and tell she wants it more. If the boy doesn't come around soon, I'll simply focus all of my energies into training my daughter. Hiei is such a disappointment." Hiei is suddenly brought back to the present by a shadow that appears behind him. Rising to his feet, he turns to stand face to face with Kenshin himself.
Kenshin had been watching Hiei for the last few minutes. He can't get over how much he's grown and filled out in the months that he was away on security detail for the Daimyo. Kenshin stands at 6'4 and is built like a professional wrestler. He has shoulder length black hair that he keeps tied back so that it stays out of his face. His skin has a deep tan to it, and he currently wears a set of comfortable robes that one would wear around the house. In his right hand, he holds a sword..not just any sword, it's in a black and red sheath, the handle is wrapped in black and red cloth and the blade itself has a hole in the middle of it, giving it a unique design. It's the sword that Ogosokamaru had forged in the Land of Iron for Hiei's fourteenth birthday. He clears his throat heavily before asking. "Hiei, where did this come from? This isn't made from Kumogakure steel."
Hiei looks at the sword in Kenshin's hands before looking up at the man himself. He inclines his head faintly in greeting. "Father." He exhales before answering. "It was given to me as a present by Ogosokamaru Sensei for my birthday." He murmurs, "You know, the one that you weren't here for." In the months that Kenshin was gone, Hiei had come to a personal decision. He would no longer walk around on eggshells in front of this man. If he couldn't get over the fact that Kaoru was gone and Hiei was still here, then it was his problem to deal with. "You've been gone for months, Father. And after all that time, the only thing you have to say to me is to ask me where I got an expensive looking sword from?"
Kenshin gives his son a long look before replying, "No. I also wanted to know why that Sayamoto girl is living in my guest room. Your mother tells me that you and she are..that you're..courting each other." Courting? Who says that anymore? Kenshin frowns, "I would advise you to cut all ties with that girl and stay as far away from her as possible." His gaze slides away from Hiei towards the wall that encloses the yard. "You have no idea what she is. If Misaki were to take it upon herself to destroy this village, there would be few alive who could stop her." He looks down at the sword in his hand and then tosses it to Hiei. "I don't know why you even bother with this. This family's technique is and always has been taijutsu, not kenjutsu. You just continue to be a disappointment, don't you? First, you refused to be taught by me, then you decide that since you were a failure at protecting Kaoru that you would actually try to be a better shinobi. Of course by then it was too late. And even after all that, you don't even bother to learn our family's fighting style. No, instead you decide to learn from a Reizei. You can't even pick a girlfriend without screwing up. The next thing I know, you'll be bringing the Katayama boy over here for a sleep over." He shakes his head slowly. "And I had such high hopes for you once."
Hiei lowers his head as his father begins to berate him for the same of things that he always did. But this time, Hiei wasn't just going to stand here and take it. He cuts Kenshin off before he has a chance to finish. "I was six years old." He steps over to Kenshin and shoves him. Hard. "I was six years old, Father. What did you expect me to do against a Jounin? Do you know what I think? I think you secretly blame yourself for failing your daughter, and you're taking it out on me because I am a constant reminder of how you failed as a teacher and as a parent. But you know what? I'm not going to take this abuse anymore. Mother is finally coming out of her depression. She likes going to the market and someday I think she may even re-open her herb shop. But she's worse when you're around. But you don't see that. You can't see anything beyond your warped sense of pride."
Kenshin wasn't going to just stand there and get berated by his own flesh and blood. With a growl, he sends a punch that crackles with lightning towards Hiei's gut, sending him off his feet and skidding along the ground. Kenshin was the personal assistant to the first Raikage, a job that he wasn't given, but earned it by gaining the respect of the Raikage himself. He is a highly respected Jounin among the Kumo shinobi, and even though he has lived long enough to be in his early thirties, he is still in prime shape. After that first strike, he is suddenly standing in front of Hiei just in time to catch him just before he would impact the wall that surrounds their property. "Don't you ever let me hear you say something like that again." He speaks in a low voice that borders on a snarl.
Hiei didn't even know what happened. He never even stood a chance. One moment, he was standing, talking to his father, and actually getting things off his chest that he had been letting fester for years, and then the next thing he knew, he was lying in Kenshin's arms and he had a hard time drawing breath. As he listens to Kenshin, Hiei is overcome by a feeling of rage. He spits at his father. "Failure. What's the matter, can't handle the truth!? You have to punch me to stop me from talking, huh?" Hiei attempts to suddenly drive an elbow into Kenshin's neck, while kicking out at his shins. He's trying to create some separation from him so that he could better defend himself. His eyes flick over across the yard where his sword lies. If he could just get to it, maybe he'd have a chance.
Kenshin's neck snaps out ot the side from the force of Hiei's strike. In the confusion, he drops the boy and staggers back a couple of steps. The strike didn't really hurt him, it surprised him more than anything else. He looks towards the boy and snarls. He had the audacity to strike him. Him, his own father. Kenshin smirks. "Alright, son. You want to do this then, huh? Fine. It's been a long time since I gave you a lesson in humility." He waves him on by holding out his hand and curling his fingers inwards. "Show me what you've got, boy."
Hiei stands back up to his feet. He stares at Kenshin as he challenges him. Hiei rushes him with a flurry of punches and kicks. Taijutsu really wasn't his specialty, but that didn't stop him from attacking. He hops backwards and curls his hand into a fist just before it begins to crackle with lightning. "Lightning Shotgun!" He thrusts it towards Kenshin with the palm side up as a blast of lightning shoots out of his palm. He follows up with a snap kick towards his father's knee and then spins in place, aiming a well timed tornado kick towards Kenshin's head. "You may not think much of me, but someday, I'll rise up to be great. I'll become the leader of our clan and take us into the next era."
Kenshin answers as he turns his head to the side, avoiding the lightning. "Not fighting like that, you won't. I see your mother has been teaching you some of her jutsu. At least you paid attention to something." Hiei's attacks are easily defended against. He lifts his leg, dodging the strike towards his knee and lifts a forearm to block the kick towards his head. Inside he was curious. Hiei was getting stronger, but his technique was lacking. It's apparent that the boy really didn't cultivate his talent for taijutsu. "Your kicks and punches are pathetic. I thought all this time that Ogosokamaru would have taught you something useful. Looks like he's just as pathetic as you are. Like Sensei, like student." He lifts his knee, striking Hiei in the gut before he leaps skywards. Spinning like a top, he brings the heel of his foot down towards Hiei's back. "Cloud Sky Bolt!"
Again, Hiei found himself on the receiving end of a series of attacks that he couldn't stop. He tried to use acrobatics to get out of the way of the shot to the gut, and then again when Kenshin uses one of the physical techniques that Kumo shinobi are known for. The Cloud Sky Bolt attack hits him square between the shoulder blades, driving him face first into the dirt. Hiei is stunned and can't move for a moment. He rolls over onto his back after several seconds. "Fine! I admit it. I stopped training in taijutsu and devoted my efforts to kenjutsu. It suited me more, and it has nothing to do with you. Maybe we place too much value on tradition and not enough on individuality."
Kenshin sneers at his son. "Did your sensei teach you that? Or was it the Katayama boy? Sounds like something his loser father would have said to him." He walks over and grabs Hiei's sword from the ground. Walking back over to him, he tosses it onto his bare chest. "No excuses, Hiei. Pick it up. This is the path that you chose, son. Let me see your resolve." He turns his back on him and steps back a few feet before turning around to face Hiei once again.
Hiei pushes himself up to his feet. He makes a hand seal before saying, "Release: Lightning Aura." There is an explosion of chakra around his body as his muscles bulk up slightly, the veins in his arms and upper body become more prominent, and bolts of lightning encircle his body. As Hiei invokes the power of the Yotsuki, he slowly slides his sword out of it's sheath while keeping his gaze on his father. "Allow me to show you what my sensei taught me, Father." Hiei runs towards Kenshin, kicking up dust and debris in his wake from his increase in speed. Just before he reaches his father, his body warps from view as he attacks him with his sword at high speed using the Flash Strike technique. He slides to a stop, but plants his foot just before changing direction rapidly. His flicks the wrist holding the sword as the blade is infused with blue colored chakra. He switches to a two handed grip, striking out at his father with all of his strength.
Kenshin raises a brow slowly when Hiei invokes the use of nintaijutsu. When did he learn how to do that? And the one he's using is an advanced technique to boot. There is a swell of pride inside of the elder Yotsuki just before he catches that look in Hiei's eye that said that he was serious. Kenshin saw the boy pull the sword from it's sheath and then rush him with it. He slightly shifts his feet into a defensive posture as he waits for Hiei's attack. But he seems to vanish just before he reaches him and for a moment, Kenshin lost sight of him. There pain flares up across his abdomen before he looks down to see a red line, the result of a sword strike. He smiles slowly. Maybe the boy hadn't been slacking off after all. He turns just in time for Hiei's second attack and in a display of power, he manages to catch the blade in between the palms of his hands just before it struck him. "Your moves stink of the Reizei." He states plainly before shoving Hiei's blade to the side and rushing him like a bull. He holds his arm out to the side as hits Hiei with a Lariat, driving him all the way back to the wall of their property and then shoving Hiei's body through it. He grabs the boy by his white hair and holds him up off the ground with one hand. "I understand you're taking the Chuunin exam in Konohagakure. I only have one thing to say to you, Hiei. Come back home a Chuunin, or don't come back home at all." He drops him onto the ground before he rolls his shoulders and heads back towards the house. He smirks to himself and mutters under his breath. "That's my boy."
End Cutscene
