"Someone start explaining! NOW!"

Goemon stood in the middle of the room after being introduced to the new ability ninja who claims to be an Ishikawa. The kid wasn't talking as he continued to ignore the ninja's questions and giving him almost a mirroring glare from the side. So he sat everyone's asses down and demanded them to explain the entire situation from the beginning; threatening that he was going to leave without looking back if they didn't start talking.

"Well, if we're going to start from the beginning: Yakeru here was born in a village near Edo. Apparently, after his mother died from an illness, he wanted to join the ninja community. So he attempted to join the Fumma clan and that is when he met Kotaro," Hanzo is then interrupted by Goemon.

"Kotaro knew about the kid before me?!"

"He trained with the Fumma ninjas for a few years before they knew about his ability: which is very similar to yours, making it even more evident that he is your birth son." Hanzo continues, ignoring the question. "This is when he came to me and told me about him. He has the skill and with the addition of his ability, he would make a great next-generation ninja to be able to work under the Shogun."

"And this is the present situation;" Momo adds to the conversation. "Yakeru is your son and you are one of the only ninjas who have the fire ability so we had to make the best use of you. I know you well enough that if I had mentioned Yakeru from the very beginning, you would have called bluff and turned your nose the other way. Sure, diss me for lying but in this situation, I would have done a lot more than just not tell you the entire truth then tell you what you don't want to hear."

Goemon rubs his eyes and lets out a long sigh.

"Yakeru, do you have anything to add to this?" Hanzo asks the teenager who sat to the side with Fuyuko in his lap.

Yakeru barely turns his head to glance at the ninja before turning it away again and staying silent.

"You're a little brat, aren't you?" Goemon taunts with a disapproving glare towards him.

"And who are you to talk?!" Yakeru snaps.

"Hey, you two. We don't need to start fighting-" Momo attempts to settle them before they blow up at each other.

"Well if I'm going to be stuck training you, I have a say in how you behave." He claims as he stood his ground with the kid.

"For fucks sake, old man! You don't want to train us! Get your ass out since you're so disinterested in us!"

"Don't fucking call me old man! I'm sick an tired from hearing it from all of you."

"If I can't call you old man then don't fucking call me a brat!" Yakeru at this point was now standing in front of Goemon and was ready to start throwing punches at him.

"I can call you whatever I want since I'm your father!" Goemon blurts out, but even though he thought to himself how he doesn't believe that Yakeru is his son he thought that maybe he can gain some authority over the kid if he uses the title.

"Oh so now you acknowledge me as your son! How many fucking years did it have to take for you to notice history's longest suicide note of an abomination?!"

Hanzo and Momo were not even going to try to stop their argument as they knew that one of them was going to have to die for it to end; so they just sat on the side and listened to the whole conversation between the two. Momo even raised an eyebrow in surprise after hearing Yakeru's comeback.

"You weren't disciplined properly from what I can tell. Your mother must have been a prostitute then."

"Don't talk about my mother in any way!"

"Well you know what-"

"Daddy!"

Goemon and Yakeru are both interrupted when Fuyuko calls out to someone, running up to a familiar presence as they enter the office.

"Fuyuko." Kotaro lifts the little girl and embraces her before looking over and finding two redheads about to throw punches at each other. "I see you two finally met."

"Fumma." Goemon looks at the kid in shock as he bows to Kotaro respectfully.

"Kotaro, you have some explaining to do." Goemon blurts to the albino ninja, almost like a child tattling on someone.

Kotaro silently stares at the fire ninja before sighing.

"Here, Yakeru. Take Fuyuko to the tea house and buy what you want." He tosses him a bag of yen before turning to Kuma. "You mind taking them over there, Kuma?"

Kuma nods her head. "Yeah. I don't mind."

The three began to walk out of the office as they start talking about sweets.

"Do you like sweets, Yakeru?"

"Not really,"

"I like sweets!" Fuyuko exclaims excitedly as she holds onto Yakeru as they walk out together.

"Kotaro-"

"We're going on a walk," Kotaro states with a blank expression before he walks past Goemon towards the courtyard and towards the trail around the cherry blossom orchard.

Goemon follows without complaint, glancing back at Hanzo and Momo to find them watching him with stiff expressions. He feels like he will be told something that they won't know.

~PYRODYNASTY~

Kotaro and Goemon walk in silence, aimlessly watching the blooming cherry blossoms around them. It has been years since Goemon has been able to enjoy the calming presence of his friend. While it seemed like they would have more free time as they got older, the two rarely have time to even send a letter to catch up. For whatever reason, the new trainees are probably a blessing in disguise to the two.

"I kinda knew you two wouldn't get along when you first met," Kotaro speaks out first, keeping his eyes away from his friend.

"What made you think that?"

"Yakeru is the same as you. You're both confident and quite prideful about yourselves. Add on that you share an ability unlike others." Kotaro gives Goemon a small smile, showing that he hasn't forgotten anything about his friend. "It is always good to have an open mind about the new generation of ninjas; whether they see the old traditions fit or fight for a new way, you cannot turn them away and call them brats."

"So this Yakeru kid who claims to be my kid, do you believe him?" Goemon poses.

"I won't choose sides and I won't be giving the answers as though I know them for certain. But his behavior, his past, his ability, even his appearance shows that he could possess some of your genes."

Goemon doesn't ask any further as he turns his attention to a large cherry blossom that has barely even started to bloom; the buds speckled all over its branches that mixed in all together in a monochromatic color. Running his hand through the thin naked limbs, he idly glazes over the tree a few times before turning away and finding another tree with a boulder near it. Sitting down on it and laying up against the tree, Goemon lets out a sigh as though he was exhausted.

"Give Yakeru a chance. He knows nothing of his father aside from being told that he thought nothing of him and his mother. He will be stubborn, but push that aside and he is just a lonely kid who wants to be accepted by someone." Goemon watches Kotaro from the corner of his eye. "He's a good kid. Fuyuko likes him; and if she does, then so do I."

Goemon nods for a moment.

"Do you know anything about his mother?" Kotaro glances towards the redhead before turning back towards a small blooming cluster of blossoms.

"He wouldn't tell me anything. But I think it will take time before he comes to tell you about his past."

~PYRODYNASTY~

The two ninjas walk into the tea house that Kuma and the two kids were eating at, spotting them through the somewhat crowded room towards the back of the diner.

Fuyuko was the first to notice the two walking towards them, waving excitedly to her father.

"Daddy!"

"Hey, hime." Kotaro gives her a smile before sitting down next to her and kissing the top of her head.

Goemon was feeling a bit awkward since the only open seat was next to Yakeru, who doesn't even acknowledge his presence as he feels him next to him.

"You guys want anything? I'll go order it." Kuma asks as she stands from her seat.

"Spicy ramen." Yakeru and Goemon both answer in unison, glancing back at each other in surprise before turning away.

"More dumplings!" Fuyuko sings.

"I'll take a rice poke bowl." Kotaro nods to her.

Kuma goes to order their food, and as she does, Goemon scans the two albinos and is in some awe that the two share some similar features.

"When did you have time to have a kid?" Goemon asks kinda like a confused child.

Kotaro chuckles a bit.

"I was engaged for a short time actually. She was also a ninja and had her own opinions in the way that our government ran."

"She was a revolutionist?" Goemon exclaims.

He nods.

"Noriko didn't believe in arranged marriages and was entirely against me becoming her husband but due to some political reasons between both our clans, she came up with the idea of conceiving Fuyuko: only as a political alliance." Kotaro admires the little girl next to him, a look of sorrow hidden behind the eyes. "After she was born, Noriko disappeared. I suspect she was already with someone and ran off with that person to try to change the ways in the near future. And I am not upset in the matter as I didn't love her even an ounce. But she did leave behind the greatest thing that I've ever created; even if it was a political stance, Fuyuko is my pride and joy."

Goemon feels a tug at his heart as he watches Kotaro bring Fuyuko closer to him and smiling at her tenderly. He didn't think he would be suited well as a father when the two were younger, but the scene in front of him changed his view. He is a great father: unlike him.

"Alrighty, I'm back." Kuma shows up to the table with her hands full. "Fuyuko; here's your dumplings. Poke bowl for Kotaro and me, and both your spicy ramens."

Yakeru and Goemon silently take a bowl and begin to eat their ramen while keeping their backs turned to each other.

"You may deny that he's your son, but I can see some similarities." Kuma laughs as she observes the two eating with a mirroring look of annoyance.

Her comment causes the two redheads to give her an identical glare as they slurp up some of the noodles, Fuyuko giggling loudly at the unintentional comedic reactions.