Mother had recovered well from the birth of Brother with Izo's healing, Asa's healing, and Daiki's healing. Brother did was strong and hardy as well. He was not much of a bother to take care for any of them. He slept well and hardly fussed without good reason. Mother had loved him the instant she knew he was conceived. She seemed extra relieved that Brother survived and was delivered. She found him precious. The same way she had found Izo and Sister precious.
Mother took as much care of Brother as much as she could. Father even assisted as well on his own time. Sister did as well, but more distantly. Izo did though almost as much as Mother did. The two nannies hired to help found they had little to do outside of the four of them.
Meanwhile, now that Mother was preoccupied with caring for Brother, Father took up the mantel of training Sister and Izo.
Father had always favored Sister, even when he tried to curb the feeling. Mother had told him to do that time and again. Sister was a fire demon, just like him. She had his ferocity, but was more extroverted about it. Outgoing where he was introverted. She was like him in looks and temper.
Izo was different on the other hand. He had inherited ice demon and healer traits, something Father inevitably found enviable. Perhaps with Father had been born the way Izo had been, he would have never been left for dead and thrown off the ice maiden's homeland. A jealousy between them that neither of them ever asked for. Izo had figured that out as a young child, and also found the wisdom not to hate Father for it, but rather to move passed it.
Father used him, pushing Sister to be just as good as he was. He was a measure for her. He was pushed as well, but more by himself internally than by Father or Mother or anyone else.
Three and a half weeks after Brother was born, the four of them reluctantly left Brother behind with the nannies for the Demon King Tournament. Izo was too young to recall exactly why, but Mother had been banned from the tournament for life. Mother had been taciturn to explain exactly what happened, but according to Uncle Yusuke, she had cussed out the king when the king publicly chastised for the drama caused by some other demon who kissing her in front of his mate. Sounded like he was missing part of the story in there somewhere.
So while the four of them arrived, only three of them registered to fight in the tournament. Before the fighting started, they met up with the ever robust Uncle Yusuke, Uncle Kazuma, Uncle Kurama, and Izo's favorite, Aunt Yukina.
While Mother was the first person Izo had remembered, Aunt was the second person he did. He remembered an infant confusing the two of them, blurring the line of who was Mother and who was Aunt. Aunt was so much like him in looks and taciturn personality. Izo remembered the night that Aunt had confronted Father about the two of them being twins by using Izo as a precursor to her words. It was the night Aunt had seemed the angriest and sternest. Sister had been there, but somehow she did not remember anything about that night. She did not remember a lot of from before the two of them were three years old.
Those who could register to fight, did register. Uncle Yusuke had left his own three boys and one girl with his wife. Izo's cousins were too young to yet according to their mother to see such a violent tournament. Aunt's young girl was staying with them as well. Aunt Keiko must have had her hands full.
While the lot of them where talking and catching up, in Uncle Yusuke's case, teasing Mother about having Brother when she was not able to have anymore children. While they were talking, Izo looked over at the registration table. He saw a tall, brood figure dressed in all black, including a mask to cover his face. Based on the build, it was a male demon. He had one shade jet black hair pulled back behind his head in a tightly twisted braid. After he registered, Izo say him walk away from the table and everyone else quickly. He did not talk or even look at anyone else in the area.
He must have sensed Izo staring at him for so long that he looked up, meeting Izo's eyes for half a split second. Izo kept his face neutral, but could have sworn he had seen those blue eyes before.