Chapter 34

Ryoto was then passed off to Suiryu. Suiryu tried to make light of it all, and yet despite his attempts. Ryoto saw nothing funny or amusing about all of this.

"Okay then, so it's time to bring out the big guns then!" he decreed.

"Big guns?" Ryoto asked.

They sat in the forest for some privacy. Suiryu stood as Ryoto was on the ground listening. "Okay, first off, here's some trivia. Yuuji and I weren't twins before."

Instantly, Ryoto's head hurt.

"Wait, what…"

"Yuuji was an only child… sort of at that point, the curse womb thing is going to be a whole afternoon's worth of explaining but we're not talking about that…" he paused for a moment and sighed. "To be frank here, the only reason why I am here is because of your mother's side of the family."

Suiryu began to explain that he was the grit of goodness found in Sukuna's soul after being purified, he was a fraction of what he once was, but that aspect of Ryoto's father was preserved by the lives he took from the Tooru family. When they died, they somehow made certain that bit of him survived. "Even in madness they did what they could to save him… I don't know if there was a point where he would have been beyond saving for them but again, we're not talking about that now."

"So… you were part of my father?" Ryoto asked.

"Ah, see catching on already. Yeah, I was made the moment he went insane. The only aspect of him that the Toorus knew him for and raised him to be… I just got a little cocky over the years but here we are."

"Why…"

"You would have to ask them, trust me, I'm still scratching my head over this." He said offhandedly. "But, it goes to show, there was something about your old man that they wanted to save. As such, I came to be."

It was still confusing as hell. Ryoto didn't understand fully the aspect of all of this, but he tied to. "So now…"

"Nah!" Suiryu laughed and waved it off. "I act like him from time to time, share some of his quirks and personality… but that part of his soul that I came from… I sent it back to him… just a LOT more powerful than it was before. Helped jump start his heart." He explained.

"So…"

"You aunt figured this out, before your old man would stare at me, be rather pissed off with me existing, and we figured it was because he was just a cranky old bastard to begin with. But in reality, he was seeing what he lost first hand. He realized had he stayed with the Toorus and not fallen into insanity… he would probably be more like me than who he is now. And that REALLY pissed him off!"

Ryoto sighed aloud. "Is this the reason why my mother wanted me to speak with you and Yuuji?" he asked.

Suiryu paused to consider the situation. "Not in the least bit," he said in a matter of fact tone. "If anything, this is merely distracting you. Right now, I'll bet your mother is lecturing your father to be a man and speak to you and have HIM explain himself." He said bluntly.

"Figures"

"The thing is… I know you got a LOT to sort out from all of this, and it's not easy. But you got people here to help you. We all have something happen to us and not for the right reasons. I should probably have had Yuuji tell you this, but…" Suiryu trailed off before he sighed aloud.

"The sorcerer who turned your father insane, is the same one who has survived all this time, by taking bodies of others… one of them was Yuuji's mortal mother. He used her to just give birth to Yuuji so your father could be brought to this time period. Yuuji was to be nothing more than a vessel, but he became something far more now didn't he?"

Ryoto froze to this. "Is that true?"

He nodded very seriously. "Yuuji Itadori, the vessel to Sukuna is how the council called him. He was to be killed the moment they learned he swallowed a curse object that contained part of your father's soul. At the same time, knowing how powerful your father is… you do realize how strong Yuuji had to be to contain him."

He took a moment, but nodded sincerely to this. "Thanks for your time, Suiryu… I don't know what I am going to do with myself…"

Suiryu smiled rather wickedly. "Do what you want, as long as you don't harm others to do so… that's how you should live. Your old man is trying to learn that, but, one has to understand… Your father has spent his whole life fighting, he doesn't know much outside of that. But, he's trying to learn it… perhaps this is where you come in, why you are here."

Ryoto froze as he glared at Suiryu who now smiled rather wickedly. "What do you mean?" he demanded. "You think I was born to help my father adjust to life like this?!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "If anyone could help him… it would be you… after all, you are growing up in this era, this day and age… your old man is a thousand years in the past…"

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"A… thousand years…" he whispered.

"Oh, you didn't know about that huh? Well, same with your mom, so he's not robbing the cradle or anything…"

Ryoto realized there is so much he has to learn and understand. With a sigh, he decided to go back home and speak with his father. Yet, along the way, Rook tagged along.

"So…"

"Seriously, not now" Ryoto pleaded.

Rook nodded to him. "If I can just say this, and I gave Oji the same lecture. Despite everything he has done… he's not the biggest asshole the world has seen, in fact, I don't think he's ranked that high either, there are HUMANS who have been worst than him." he explained.

Rook wasn't wrong on that, Ryoto has read human history and know it is true, but the fact is, he is the son of a sorcerer who has done terrible things. "It's just… He's my father and I know he has done wrong…"

Rook nodded, he leaned in and whispered. "Now watch him, as he tries to do right by those around him." and left.

It made Ryoto pause, but there was a lot to think about and consider.

He was gone for maybe an hour or two, yet by the time he returned home, he was rather surprised.

His mother and aunt were speaking with his father. His aunt sighed aloud to it all. "Let's settle this now." She decreed, in fact, she peered just over her shoulder to take notice of him! "Right on time, Ryoto. Come have a seat."

His father froze and yet, he turned away as Ryoto took a seat. They weren't side by side, but enough to see each other eye to eye. "Father…"

"I have no excuse," he said. "This was lack of planning on my part, at the same time… I never thought I would ever be a father."

"How about something a little more cheery?" aunt Yua demanded. "Despite that…" she said in a hinting tone.

His father sighed. "I… don't know how to express it…"

Both his aunt and mother sighed with great difficulty. "As you can see, your father has issues with his emotions. Also, your father doesn't express said emotion well." His mother explained.

"Mother, aunt Yua, there's a lot to deal with right now, can we… perhaps just give it a rest for the time being? No one really knows what to say to me, at this point it looks like I am going to be an only child after all of this."

"Yeah, right" his mother scuffled.

"Anyways…" aunt Yua insisted. "If that is what you want, we will respect that. In the mean time, perhaps your father will be less tongue tied for when you are ready to know the truth."

He graciously nodded his head and excused himself.

Ryoto retreated to his room, much to his surprise. It had altered since this morning. It felt bigger, his bed was and wider too. After all, he had a hell of a growth spurt. Slowly, he eased himself into the bed and found it held his weight and accommodated his size too.

With a sigh, he got comfortable and began to fall back asleep.

The moment his eyes closed, he came face to face with Grandma Tooru once more, she appeared rather… disheartened about something.

"Grandmother?" he asked gently.

"I am… very sorry for how this all turned out. I thought for certain your father would have been able to explain himself. He has a rather strong silver tongue when he needs it, but at the same time… I feel he feels he is not able to properly explain his actions to you. For even now, he is trying to figure out what he has done and how to fix things…"

"I… just want to know that whatever happened to him… won't happen to me."

Grandma laughed. "Oh goodness me no! Yuuji Itadori made certain of that, he's a dragon and he is the one who gave you such a divine blessing!" she said. "You are very well protected, if anything, you are going to be the one who defends your father should something or someone try to corrupt him again. Like it or not, he is still susceptible to such a thing."

Ryoto froze to this but sighed. Grandma however smiled to him. "How about I tell you a little about your father. In fact, I remember the very day we found him. Are you interested?"

He nodded. "Yes, please, tell me." He said.

"Good, the sooner we get you grounded, the sooner you will see how important you are about to be around here! Especially with that Megumi Fushiguro, I can already sense that you are going to be the one to help him the most."

"Me?"

"Let me talk first, then, if there is time. I'll explain that last bit…"