Family Reunions For Dummies

Hideki pursed his lips, frowning. Just.. the thought of dad alone... It had been weighing on him ever since he died... After mom went, just... He had some family there, but if he could just know that Hideki was okay... But they had to be careful... he knew it was against the rules... It wasn't exactly treason, but he knew it was a rule they didn't take lightly... "M-Maybe..." He said, nodding.

They'd need to be careful, but... He would DEFINITELY find a way to let his dad know he was okay...

"Hm?" He had been listening, albeit while looking down but perked up when she heard Hibiki's power. "A-A gun?" He noticed her going for her phone and scooched closed, placing his hand on her wrist to try and get her to pause. "He has a gun?" He asked, a little incredulous. "M-Miyako, is this guy.. Is he dangerous?"

He trusted her judgement but... he had this sudden image of this shirtless thug, smoking and casually holding a gun and just.. oh no... oh no what had she gotten into? Ahhhh, his poor baby cousin was in trouubleeee...

Accepting Hideki's nod, Miyako gave him a weak smile that she hoped would be more reassuring to him. She wanted to rush to uncle and let him know first but... Right now they had to be super careful. When he gave the okay though she'd do it!

Hideki's startled reaction though made Miyako realize what had become somehow normalish in her life right now was still a bit odd by everyone's standards. It kind of went to show you that people could adapt to just about everything...

"..." Miyako paused for a second as her eyes moved from the phone to her cousin, obviously trying to think how to word this and not knowing this might make Hideki more worried than anything. She didn't seem too bothered by the question, just a little sheepish. The relationship and how they met and such might sound... bad if someone hadn't been there. Or if they didn't know how Hibiki was, thinking she was 'saving' him or something... Or saying Hibiki wasn't dangerous 'to her' wasn't true either.

"Mm, he's dangerous in that he can be? Aah that came out wrong but... He's not... not dangerous. He's dangerous to muggers, kidnappers, hollows that try to get him or me. Things or people like that." Miyako's voice was quiet and solemn, treating her words with the respect and serious response Hideki deserved. "He's not dangerous in that he's not a loose cannon, he's thoughtful and has the abilities and skills and training to kill and hurt others... But doesn't. Hibiki only uses them to protect now."

Hideki stared at her with increasing concern on his face. He wasn't dangerous... except to dangerous people. That logic didn't entirely check out. What was that about being a loose canon? Was that a double negative? He wasn't dangerous, in so much as he wasn't a loose canon, or it wasn't the case that he's dangerous in that he's not a ... His head was spinning.

"Wh..What do you mean NOW?" He asked, concern growing on panic. Okay... Okay Hideki... Calm down. Caaalm yourself. This is Miayko. She is a bit older now, but she is a sweet person and she has a good head on her shoulders.

"D. I.. I-If you trust him... I-I trust him." He finally said, nodding resolutely. It was all he could really do..

"That would be a long story... and um not really my place to tell it. But um, my other friend and him were um... They were stuck in a really bad place that forced them to do bad things. He was able to get out a while ago and hasn't done those bad things now that he's free not to! It's not like he had a choice... Hibiki has the choice now and chooses not to." Nodding firmly, Miyako attempted to explain without telling him the whole story. Hibiki might not like it... She'd prefer to ask him first before telling his story to anyone else in detail.

Miyako didn't like the concern on Hideki's face and frowned as she continued. He was a powerful shinigami and he couldn't understand? Well she wasn't sure how to word it but... "You're dangerous too you know! You have a looot of power and I bet you learned all sorts of things. Do you use it though to hurt others? No! He's the same, just you have lots more raw power and his is just refined for hurting from before. It's not like he wanted to know all that stuff and its not like he uses it to hurt others who don't try to hurt Hibiki or our friends first either."

"He's... I guess in the simplest easiest to understand turns and explanation that leaves out ALL details really, a reformed anti-villain. Someone forced to be awful or else they'd be killed." He trusted her but she wasn't getting across what kind of person Hibiki was and instead she rolled her eyes and reverted to nerd speak like they used to do when they were younger.

It was way more complicated than that... But...Ughhh.

Hideki leaned away a little, blinking in surprise as Miyako leaped into such an animated defense of him. He struggled to take it all in, caught off guard for receiving her boyfriend's whole backstory summed up so tidily. "Ah..Ahh." he tried to work a word in edgewise, but she was REALLY passionate about this. He eventually quieted down and let her finish.

He looked especially taken aback, though not offended, by her argument that he was dangerous. H-him? D-Dangerous? O-Okay, he was powerful and he... W-well... okay he knew how to use throwing knives. That was... That was a thing he could do... B-but.. he didn't.. Ahh...

When she was finally done, he sat in stunned silence for a minute, trying to process all this information. When he finally did, he simply scooted forward, leaned up some and gave his dear cousin a peck on the forehead. "Miyako. You don't have to convince me. I trust you. So if you trust him, I trust him. I meant that." He said before smiling. "Though it makes me happy to see you found someone you can defend so passionately."

"...Sorry... I just... Whoops." Miyako quickly realized her ranting had been unnecessary and turned red as Hideki leaned up and kissed her forehead. She rubbed it looked away, slightly pouting for a few moments before taking a deep breath.

Her bright smile returned and she finally accepted his words for what they were. "Fiiiine. When you meet him you'll understand at least Hideki. Thank you for trusting me though... Here, can I send him a message then? I mean I don't think he'll be able to meet you today or maybe later, he might not be able to get off of work at least."

"A-And thank you... I am glad I did too!" Miyako brushed her hair back behind her ear, futilely as it just fell back immediately before smiling more. "I'm glad you found someone you really like too even... Even after."

"No need for sorries." He said with a small smile. She didn't need to apologize for anything, really. For the first time in five years, he had some of his family back. He wasn't sure anything she could do at the moment could really upset him.

"I will. I believe he is excellent and I'll understand him them." he said, listening before giving a nervous laugh. "A-Actually... I'm almost glad I won't be able to meet him today... This.. This is already almost too much for me. You almost made me cry." He said, seeming to deny that tears had rather readily made their way out of him. "Besides, I have to get back to work before TOO long and I need all that time catching up with you!" He grinned, wanting to give her another hug, but resisting.

...poorly. He hugged her again.

"It's not after for her." He said with a brief laugh. "She was actually born there."

No need for sorries... Miyako just shook her head, smiling through more tears welling up. Stop it! Stooop! Its fine! She wiped her eyes after shaking her head at that thought, wanting to get ahold of herself because emotions were still running rampant.

"That's good... I hope you two get along..." It would be bad for them not to but... Well it couldn't be helped if they didn't. Besides there were happier things to think about! Smiling warmly she nodded as her own eyes watered up again. "Are you sure it was only almost...your eyes look a little red Hide. We can catch up all you want! I have nothing more important than my favorite and best cousin to talk to right now."

Her smile was sweet and adoring as she waited for more information from him, only to grin as he spoke about his girlfriend being born there.

"Oh wow... I heard of that! Hibiki's friend is too. He met her dad and everything." Miyako's eyes were wide before she giggled again, hugging her cousin in return. "Since she's a noble its... um expected right?"

"Mmm... Well I went to art school here in the city! I'm going to the university attached to it too when I graduate in a few months. Chiyo and mom and dad are still living back home by the ocean... Um, I made looots of friends! Too many sometimes, especially now that I have this secret double life too. Ah, there's way too much to tell you all now!" Too much, her eyes were swirling from all the information Hideki would expect her to tell him.

Hideki shook his head, laughing a little and rubbing his eye. "N-No, you must be mistaken." He said, blatantly lying. He felt like hugging her... or crying more, happily. But he shook his head, rubbing his eyes. Noo, no more crying! He had his cousin and he would meet her boyfriend and damn it, he would make friends with him! He had to! Even if he walked in and turned out to be some sort of stereotypical Yakuza type, OH GOD PLEASE NOT THAT.

"Ahhh, you went to art school!" He said, eyes lighting up. So coooolll! And he was glad she had a lot of friends, even if she was super busy....

"For me.. It's weird... I mean, people are born... I don't have to eat, but I still can? You can get sick too, and I still need to sleep, and... I mean, apparently I'm gonna live for like a thousand years but I guess that's the thing... I don't really feel like... a GHOST... Y'know? It's... I guess you spend a lot of your life expecting the afterlife to be this weird wholly separate thing or ethereally different in some way and then just... I mean, we have SLUMS. I play video games. It's not what I expected."

He frowned. "Sorry, I got carried away there."

Miyako knew she wasn't mistaken but she just smiled softly and shook her head, letting Hideki have that tiny bit of freedom and peace of mind. She could pretend~

Instead of wasting time on that though, she preened softly at Hideki's obvious amazement at her art school achievement and grinned as her hands came up to hold her cheeks. She was blushing a bit from it, but not enough to counter her utter enjoyment of his awe. "I did! I got a lot better, I've learned so much more and I also got entered into a national exhibition too after passing all sorts of preliminaries! I go in November to Tokyo to see my work."

Let him chew on that!

She did listen intently, her eyes almost glowing as she listened and then smiled more. "Oh woooow. That's really...really good to hear. You just get to live on like this and aren't...aren't unhappy. I mean its sad... But I guess I feel relieved, you are still my dorky older cousin and you still stay up all night playing silly dating simulators... Wait! You aren't older anymore or are you?"

Was he really? Or was she now the older cousin... Sparkles started to grow around her. She...might be the older cousin now... It was obvious his carrying away was appreciate and she grinned as she waited for his reply.

Hideki's face became one of utter adoration and amazement. His... His little cousin... Was going to be in a national exhibition? In Tokyo? "Ahhhhh. Th-that's so coool. In Tokyo? Ahhh!" He hugged her again, MORE HUGS. He shook back and forth a little, too excited this time not to. He always knew she was an excellent artist, but now EVERYONE would know! He finally let her go, still smiling happily, though. Beaming, in fact.

"A-And no... I don't... I don't still play those.. C'mon.." His beaming was replaced by blushing and he looked away, rubbing the back of his head. He hadn't played those at all.... r-recently... God, what would Yuzuki even think if she saw those? Nope, no way. Even if she wouldn't be upset, he'd still never hear the end of it. He could already hear her imperious mocking tone of voice now...

"Wh...What? O..Of course I'm still the older cousin!" He said quickly. "I-I'm still older than you! I was born before you!" He blushed a little more in an entirely different way as he vehemently argued his seniority.

"I-It isn't that big of a deal. Well sort of but... It's showcasing student's works so its not like its with all the really big names or anything." Most of the other participants were college students though... She couldn't be too smug really even if she was a bit. Miyako didn't want him being TOO adoring and then disappointed later. Hugging him back, she was grinning up a storm when he finally let her go. Hideki was beaming just as much...

"I don't have much time for stuff like that anymore either..." She sensed that Hideki was being not entirely...upfront with his dating sim playing... But Miyako just smiled and gave him an out as he blushed. Hehe, silly of him! Though maybe his girlfriend might not like them...

"But soon I'll look older than you... And isn't it weird to go by true age? I mean your girlfriend could be like a hundred years older than you or something. Or two or three. Hibiki said he met someone who was almost eight hundred... That'd be really weird." Miyako just smiled, trying to figure out how to now be the older cousin in all of this. It would be one perk!

It was absolutely a big deal... but he'd let Miyako keep her humility for the moment.. what little there was... He didn't want her to feel too much pressure... But... Hrm... He could... Oh man... he could go to that... all the realities of being able to hang out with her again were settling in still... He would go and get himself worked into a supportive frenzy then.

"Ah... Y...You will..." He frowned...He wasn't sure he liked that... "And.. Um...Sh...She's only like... almost 40.." He said, frowning more, realizing that was worse than if she was several hundred. "B..But she looks my age and... Oh.." He realized he'd just proved her point.

"W-Well, you'll always be little cousin to me.." He said with a fond smile.

Miyako had no idea she would have a rabid fan at the exhibition but she would be happy to know would also try to get him to take his girlfriend too. Maybe she'd want a painting done! It'd be awesome to have one in an actual noble's house after all!

Miyako just nodded and reached up to pat Hideki's head soothingly as his words just utterly proved her correct, seemingly unable to think about the implications of her words at this moment. It was just...too happy and too distracting for her and lately she'd become a pro at not dwelling on awful...awful things. "There there. I can accept that as long as I am the senior cousin from now on even if you think of me as the little cousin!"

"Aaah! You should get going soon, I've kept you here for a while." Popping up on the couch, Miyako looked at her phone and realized it was a bit later than either of them might have expected. How long had they been sitting here?! She...didn't want him to go... But... She'd definitely see him again! Miyako was determined not to let that get her down, his having to leave for now. Hideki was important and had important things to do!

Hideki fumed, for a certain value of the word, at the patting but simply sighed after a moment. He supposed, as prices went, getting teased for not aging was a pretty good one for getting a family member back in your life. He smiled wistfully at her before being caught up by her enthusiasm and standing up when she leaped up. He moved over to glance at her phone.

"Oh! Whoops. " He laughed a little. "Uh... I guess I should..." He said with a frown. "B-but... It's not like we can't keep in touch... Easily in touch, actually." He pulled out his phone and quickly gave her his contact information. "Um... I actually.. have off later this week.... and most weekends, actually." He looked a little sheepish... It was... REALLY easy to visit.... if he'd just known he was allowed to...

"Feel free to stop by any time! I have morning classes and work part time at the nearby maid and butler cafe, but most evenings I am free and weekends." Miyako had been too pleased to allow Hideki's fuming to ruin her mood and she just grinned as they shared contact information.

"Just send a message first or knock! P-Please knock..." A slightly dim air overcame her, an air of amazingly strong trauma and embarrassment as she relayed that...

The...other vipers... didn't... Muika and Iyuki did! But... She pushed aside her weird moping and perked up again as she gave Hideki more of her bottomless pit of smiles. "We can keep in touch and text a ton and stuff. I'll let you out!"

Hopping off of the couch, Miyako bounded towards the door, super excited to be able to let her BIG OLDER COUSIN out of her VERY OWN APARTMENT. He was the first of the family to see it, a huge unexpected shock really... But the happiest of ones.

"Of course! I can stop by whenever!" He tried to control his excitement as he headed out the door, feeling like a whole new page in his life was turning. Granted, those tended to be turning a lot lately. It was strange how much more exciting life had become AFTER death. Well, anyway.

"Y-yes... I will... absolutely knock." He said, understanding her meaning and being perfectly disturbed by it. He gave her a tight hug, chasing those thoughts away. She was still his baby cousin, he didn't want to think about that.

"Yes! I uh... I mean, most of my work is desk work and I'm in charge... I can sort of text... almost any time, really. So never be afraid to drop me one!" He said, finally letting go of her and taking a step back. He grinned, before realizing he felt another wave of almost-tears trying to fight their way up.

"Well... See you later, Miyako! I love you!" He said happily before turning and heading down the hallway, off to get back to work.