Chapter 22

Ryoto… was rather shy to be in front of everyone. But, his mother insisted that he introduce himself since everyone is family. He appeared in his natural state, which startled them at first. But as he spoke, the family was rather open to him and smiled. "You look like your father, but you speak like a Tooru. Besides, we have seen you at the school. You're a selfless young man, and that's something you don't see now a days." Said one family member. He believes he is a second uncle or something, but couldn't quite remember.

His grandfather was the one bringing him around and introducing him to other members of the family. "Just so you know, you got a few great uncles as well…"

"What the fuck is this!"

The room paused, one member got a little drunk and was red in the face as he glared at Ryoto. However, he was rather odd compared to the others of the family.

He looked like Toji.

"Brother, mind yourself!" grandfather scolded.

"Oh really?! ME MinD My sElf?!" he demanded in a slurred tone. "You know… ScRew YoU!" his sights sent on Ryoto. "What the fuck makes you believe HE's WoRthY?!"

"HOKUS!" shouted Hiijiji.

"HE'S GODDAMN SUKUNA! HE DOESN'T BELONG IN THIS FAMILY. PERIOD!"

The room went silent.

The family sneered at Hokus when Ryoto said. "Apparently, neither do you."

Hokus froze to this. "HUH!?"

Ryoto glared him down but he sighed, he didn't want to be a jerk, but, he casted the first stone here. "Hokus is it?" he asked gently. "Are you married into the family?"

"Pppfff! No, I was born into it!" he snapped back. "What's it to you!?"

"Is this how you looked like before?" Ryoto asked.

"Yeah, I lucked out on that!"

"So you always looked like this? Because I've seen your face before and it's not that of a Tooru."

The room went deathly silent. Hokus bocked a little by the question. "What do you mean I don't have the face of a Tooru?! My father said I am the spitting image of an uncle who had passed away in the family before I was born!"

"What was his name?" Ryoto asked of him.

Hokus froze to this, suddenly, he turned and stared down his parents. Hiijiji and Hiibara peered away, in fact… Hiibara was in tears from all of this. Perhaps… he shouldn't have said a word about it.

Hokus however froze to this and suddenly rushed out in embarrassment. Ryoto sighed and apologized that he didn't want to say such a thing. "I don't blame you, but now, we need to address this." Grandfather said.

Ryoto agreed, yet as he peered about the room, he found his father had left as Hokus did…

#

Sukuna lingered.

The fake Tooru as he dubbed was sobering up. He was staring into a window, looking at his reflection when he peered away. "It's not every day I see a man beaten by a child…" Sukuna said aloud.

The sorcerer in question quickly sobered up. He stumbled back at the sight of him, his heart racing…

Those were good times Sukuna recalled, but now, this isn't what it is suppose to look like. "At ease, I cannot harm you, even if I wanted to." He said bluntly.

Hokus… that's his name, settled a little but, he shied away bitterly.

"What do you want with me?" he asked.

Sukuna merely shrugged his shoulders, but he took a seat near by and peered at the odd Tooru. "Just so you know, this is quite normal." Sukuna said rather oddly. "But the fact remains that YOU didn't know you weren't a Tooru by blood is rather… amusing."

Hokus glared at him. "Amusing?!" he demanded. "What's amusing about this?!"

Sukuna smirked. "I have been wondering for some time, this thing about incest has always seem to bother me… and now I am just remembering as to why it does. You see, before and during my madness… the Tooru family was always targeted, especially the women for they are guaranteed to allow their children to inherit powerful techniques. Many clans would make attempts to… force a child on them. Raping them when necessary to obtain what they desire…"

"Why the hell are you telling me this!" Hokus demanded.

Sukuna forced a smile. "Because, you are a product of such an incident."

Hokus froze. "You mean…"

"If I were to guess, the Zen'ins at the time assumed the Tooru blood was from your mother's side, so she was targeted… not realizing it was your father who has the precious blood they sought. As such, you came to be and yet… you have not seen another Zen'in have you?"

He shook his head.

"What the fuck is this!?"

Sukuna smirked as he peered from his left, Toji has just seen Hokus for the first time and froze. Despite the similarities, Hokus looks more like Naoya but has some of Toji's features.

"Ah, Toji, come meet Hokus Tooru!" Sukuna called.

Toji bocked. "Tooru? HIM!?"

"What the hell is this?! Why does he look like me!?" Hokus demanded.

"This is Toji Zen'in, but he has rejected his family name and goes by Fushiguro. He's blood related to you. However, by your appearance, I would say your true father was the former head of the Zen'in clan…"

There was silence, until Toji glared at Sukuna. "Mind explaining this to me?" he demanded of him. "What the fuck is going on?!"

Sukuna snickered. "If I were to assume, the former head of the clan took a great risk, and assaulted a Tooru's wife, but mistaken her with the one to have the Tooru blood. He was conceived, but kept. In the past, the Toorus did keep those who were unwanted even in the clan. However, there are some who were swayed by sweet words of the clans responsible for their… being, especially the young girls. They could sweet talk them into anything, and thus, many left on their own accord to be with their 'real family'" Sukuna explained.

"Yet, what awaited them was a fate worst than hell."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Toji demanded.

"I have come to realize why the incest thing bothered me before, I know it was a way of the world back then, but with the knowledge I have now and seeing inbreeding first hand it has come to bother me somewhat. But your little friend here… is such a product of an event. However, had he been a woman and the Zen'ins found out about him… let's say if you thought they treated them bad before, it would have been worst from those born out of such trials and tribulations. Young girls, women who had been forced upon and given birth too… were fought over by the clans who caused it. They were never punished and yet the moment they learned of such events, they went to the council to demand what belongs to them. The council knew better and treaded carefully. I have little doubt before, some were taken away until what became of them was brought to light. So, a new method was used to sweet talk and convince them to join the other side… I remember one clan I destroyed… and they had three young girls, barely sixteen year old … and they were used constantly for breeding. Those with Tooru blood will become birth mules to a clan."

The two went silent to the tale.

"Is that why the family hid me?" Hokus asked.

"They hid you since they knew the Zen'in clan well enough. You are the son of the former head of the clan, and they would have worshipped you, believing you had Tooru blood in your veins. However, when they learn you didn't… I doubt you would have been better off than Toji over there. You have little in the way of technique don't you?"

Hokus nodded as he raised his hand and revealed that they turned into dark, shadow claws. "This… is the extent of it… I wondered why I always lacked in the family, but, they never said anything differently to me about it."

"Toorus give a shit" Toji protested. "I suppose that why the old man got rallied up. He knew what he did and assumed he was successful. However, when the Zen'ins tried to see if it was true, they confronted the Toorus… but never found you." Toji said.

"They sent me to Tibet with another of the brothers… he has yet to come back." Hokus explained. "I wondered why they sent me, all I did there was write books about dragons…"

"So you kept the records…" Sukuna said in a rather interested tone. "Normally Zen'ins have terrible organizational skills, but that must have skipped you." He snickered shortly after that.

Hokus however…

"Why… why keep me? To be reminded of what happened? What they did to them? That clan tried to destroy the family!" Hokus protested.

"Don't look too into it, at the same time, take solace in the fact that you returned with the other members of your clan, you returned as a Tooru for you have been acknowledged as one." Sukuna decreed. "Had you not, you wouldn't be here."

Hokus paused to this and sighed.

"Hokus…"

Everyone turned and saw Yua's grandparents approach. "Are you… okay?"

He forced a smile. "Mom… dad… I'm so sorry…" he said.

"Wow, are you sure that's Hokus?"

"He doesn't apologize much?" Sukuna asked.

"He can be arrogant in his ways, the last time he thought he was king shit was when he challenged Kira after learning she didn't have curse energy… that was a hard lesson to learn, right?" Hokus' father asked.

He shuttered at the notion.

"It has come to light what has happened, as well, he wonders why you kept him." Sukuna said.

Hokus's father paused and sighed. "It was shortly after we got married, we were receiving greetings from various clans, I had to go out on a mission to suppress a curse when… the Zen'ins came. They were peaceful at first until they found out my wife was alone in the house… they thought she had the Tooru blood and took advantage of her. I arrived too late to do anything to stop them…"

Silence.

"And?" Sukuna asked in a board tone. "You kept him anyways, why would you?"

"Yeah!" came out of Toji and Hokus.

"Because, we saw how they treat those in their clan. And when we sensed his energy and technique, we knew if the Zen'ins found out, he would be treated like scum. At the same time… I don't want them to have that satisfaction that they got their way. Hokus does think like a Zen'in, at the same time, he is trying to think like a Tooru and be one as well… I'm sorry we never told you…" he said to Hokus.

"If anything, you ought to be on your knees thanking them," came out of Toji. "You at least died a noble death, the rest of the clan was taken out by one of their own. Maki… speaking of which…"

"She hasn't returned from her so called honeymoon." Sukuna muttered.

"Either way, I suggest you don't run into her."

Hokus sighed. "I don't want to think like a Zen'in, I… I have done so in the past and yet…"

"Worry about that later, your family is having a reunion. But, before anything else… you owe my boy an apology." Sukuna stated and loomed over Hokus. "Don't forget that!"