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My Father's Son ~ 3

The ride to Marucho's mansion was a quiet and awkward one. Ichiro and Shun sat opposite of each other, the younger refusing to meet the elder's gaze, and everyone was feeling the tension. Even Dan and Runo felt too subdued to argue with each other, and they weren't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Ichiro's brown eyes widened marginally when the Marukura residence finally came into view. As they entered the lavish mansion, he trailed slightly behind so he could take in the scenery. Not wanting to get lost, he hurried back to the group and leaned near his son.

"You never told me you had such rich friends."

Shun frowned and took a step away, "You were never around to ask."

"That was a low blow."

"Stop pretending that you want to know more about me, when we both know that's not the case," he whispered, "We deal with this Faust person, and then you go back to doing whatever it is you spent the last seventeen years doing."

Ichiro looked genuinely hurt by that remark, but Shun didn't have the energy to care. If the man had really wanted to be an active father, he would have tried a long time ago, in his opinion.

If he thinks he can just show up and suddenly be a part of my life, he has another thing coming. If he wants my trust, he's going to have to earn it.

"We can meet in here," Marucho piped up, interrupting Shun's thoughts as he led the group into what looked like an empty board room.

Everyone quickly claimed a seat, save Shun. Out of a force of habit, the onyx teen stood at the corner opposite of the door, where he had the perfect vantage point for looking both inside the room and outside the window. None of the teens commented on his choice to remain standing.

Ichiro noted curiously that all of the boys had their backs to the walls, while the girls sat with theirs to the window. He also noticed how no one sat at the end of the long table with their back to the door. Whether they were conscious of it, he knew these kids had the same awareness level of many people he once worked with.

"Kato, can you get us all something to drink?" Marucho asked politely.

The old butler smiled and bowed. "Of course, Master Marucho. I shall return promptly."

"So," Dan started as he leaned back in his chair at the head of the table, "who is this guy?" he asked, waving his hand in Ichiro's general direction.

This was the question they had all been waiting for, and all eyes turned to Shun for an answer. The teen crossed his arms and looked away as he tried to think of an explanation.

"He's...his name is Ichiro Kazami," he began slowly, not noticing how his eyes narrowed or how his hands clenched into fists, "and he's my father."

Dan fell out of his chair, and the brawlers stared back and forth between the estranged father and son. Shun could tell they were looking for similarities in looks, and it was clear they could see the likeness.

Surprisingly, Jake was the one to break the gobsmacked silence as he reached out a muscular hand to Ichiro. "Nice to meet ya, Mr. K. I'm Jake Vallory."

That seemed to open a floodgate of questions from the other teens, and they quickly overwhelmed the ninja. The only one not bombarding him was a certain brunette who was more concerned for the ebony standing behind him in his usual corner.

"Dude," Dan whispered to his best friend, "I thought that he was, well, you know."

Shun rolled his eyes. "I did too, till he showed up on my doorstep last night."

The Pyrus brawler cringed, though he could understand the hostility coming from the normally calm and collected Ventus brawler. He alone had been with Shun since they were kids, and he knew exactly what kind of effect his dad's absence had had on him.

"But wait, who were those guys back at the cafe?" Julie asked.

"Yeah, who were they?" Shun echoed.

Ichiro sighed deeply, "It's a bit of a long story."

"We all have plenty of time."

The elder ninja crossed his arms. "They work for Lela Faust, a Neathian who was exiled here several years ago. Why she was cast out, I don't know, yet I do know why Earth was the chosen place of banishment. But those two men are just a few of the humans that have given her their allegiance."

"What is it that they are after? What are you keeping from them that's so important?" Runo pressed.

Ichiro pulled out a chain necklace from beneath his shirt. At the end of it rested a small glass vial filled with blue liquid. He took off the chain and set the bottle on the table.

"They were looking for this," he explained, "The Neathian physiology is different from a human's. Earth is considered a death world by both Neathia and Gundalia, but particularly by the former. If they stay on our planet too long, they begin to get sick and eventually die. This right here is a special compound that will protect a Neathian from the harmful effects of our atmosphere. It is the only one of its kind, hence why Faust is after it."

"Well, that explains why Fabia and Ren didn't want to come to the breakfast party," Marucho laughed anxiously as he adjusted his glasses.

"I thought it was because they were busy trying to rebuild their planets," Alice remarked. Marucho simply waved his hand as though it was all the same thing to him.

Dan scratched his head in confusion. "But what I don't get is why do you have it? I mean, you're not Neathian, so what was the point of looking for it in the first place?"

A strange emotion flickered across Ichiro's face, and he tilted his gaze away from the group of teens hanging on to his every word. Several beats of silence passed before he looked up again, meeting his son's topaz eyes with a stare the teen couldn't interpret, and he returned the chain to its rightful place around his neck. Then he stood and turned to leave.

"I need to go. Shun, why don't you take me to the door." The order was disguised as a question that was immediately understood for what it was. Shun pushed himself off the wall and trailed slightly behind his father, ignoring the eruption of disagreement from his friends.

"Dude, you can't just leave us hanging like that!" Dan objected, rising from his seat with an equally angry Drago hovering on his shoulder.

"Yeah, Mr. K, that is not okay," Jake added. Julie and Runo looked as if they were ready to march right up to the man and demand answers if Alice, bless her soul, wasn't holding them back.

Ichiro almost made it out of the room when Kato bumped into him, spilling juice, soda, and water all over his clean blue button-up.

"Oh, terribly sorry for that, sir. I didn't see you there," he apologized profusely, "Allow me to wash that for you. It shan't take but a moment."

The old butler set the tray and glasses on a nearby side table and motioned for the man to follow him.

"Right this way, if you please, Master Kazami. I shall take you to a spare room where you may change and wait for your shirt to be cleaned."

"Ah, that's really not necessary. I was just about to leave."

Kato looked absolutely appalled at the idea. "I hope you weren't planning on going out in public with a stain running down your front. Begging your pardon, sir, but please allow me to repay you for this unfortunate mishap."

If there was one thing the brawlers had learned, it was that Kato always got what he wanted, even though technically he was supposed to be serving them. The old Brit knew exactly what to say and how to say it to make anyone do as he pleased, and Ichiro Kazami was no exception, as they soon found out.

The elder ninja sighed and brushed a hand over his face, "Fine. Lead the way then."

Kato briefly glanced over his shoulder and gave a knowing wink to his young master. Marucho's eyes widened in surprise. The old butler had planned the accident to allow them more time to get to the bottom of this mystery.