Of Birthdays and Siblings

Celebration Time

Toshiro continued to play the game with his uncle when the door to the room slammed open. Bambietta hurried into the room and slammed her hands down causing the pieces to jar out of place. The small boy looked at the pieces with his bright teal eyes, a frown spreading across his face. The small female though had a rather angry look on her face. "Grandpa is so mean!"

"What did he tell you this time?" Her uncle simply leaned back while Toshiro replaced the pieces to the way they were before they had been knocked askew.

"He says that I am not to let anyone know that Toto-chan is my brother at our birthday party. If I can't tell people that he is my brother then it is just my birthday." The small female's voice was loud and abrasive, causing the small boy to flinch.

"Technically it is just your birthday party." Toshiro spoke up, receiving a glare from a set of matching eyes. Without looking at her he explained his logic. "The party was planned for you in the first place. They didn't plan it to include me. It would be rude to ask everyone to make changes simply because I've shown up at the last minute."

"You're supposed to side with me!"

This statement caused the boy to look up from the game to see his uncle giving him a rather amused look. "Just because I'm your twin, doesn't mean I have to side with you. There are things we're both going to disagree on."

Bambietta's lip suddenly pouted before she turned to left. After a few more games a knock came on the door to the room. His uncle spoke up bidding them to come in. A small female glanced into the room, a look of fear on her face. "Sir... I was supposed to tell you that the party is getting ready to start."

"Thank you."

Toshiro frowned, before turning to her uncle. "Something seemed to be bothering her."

"People were asked to leave my brother's room alone and not change anything. Mother wanted it the same way for when he came back, but obviously he never did. I don't come in here much anymore, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't feel free to come in here. If you want, we don't have to prepare a room for you but let you have this one."

"I would actually prefer that to getting my own room." Toshiro glanced at the ground. "But I would really rather have my room back home."

"I know you don't want to be here, but this is where you belong. We're your family Toshiro." The man stood up. "Stay by my side during the party. This way you don't have to answer people's questions if you don't want to."

The boy found himself following the man. Arriving at the room, he saw a long table filled with a large cake and lots of food. Another table was filled with a few presents. A third table was set up with chairs around them. Music was playing from a sound system and the place wasn't in his comfort zone. His uncle spoke up. "Sorry we have to get you presents after your birthday."

"I was more of thinking along the lines that I don't have a present for Baba-nee." The boy glanced away. "I don't have time to make anything either."

He suddenly felt something launch themselves onto his back and he turned his head to see his sister smiling at him. "I love you a lot Toto-chan. And not crush kind of like. I have to great guests despite the fact that is boring."

Toshiro felt the corner of his mouth twitch as she hurried off. He glanced over at his uncle and saw the man was frowning at him. He took a deep breath before moving closer to the man. He watched as the quests began to arrive. Many brought presents and a good deal of them were children ranging from just older then him to just younger then Yachiru. He found himself swallowing hard and he fidgetted.

His grandfather had taken a seat at the table and simply watched as things progressed. The children chatted with each other and some chatted with his sister. Glancing at the ground a feeling of not belonging washed over him. Hyorinmaru though spoke up in the back of his head. "This is not something new to you. All you need to keep in mind is that we belong with each other. Nothing else matters."

He suddenly heard footsteps approaching and noticed a small child coming up with a pout on their face. "Lady Bambietta won't tell us who you are. She says it is a secret. Can you tell me what that secret is?"

Toshiro frowned, swallowing as he looked at the small child. His uncle spoke up. "Sorry, but a secret is a secret. You'll have to wait to find out with everyone else. But it won't be tonight."

An announcement was made and it became time for his sister to begin opening presents. He stood next to his uncle at the outside of the crowd, feeling all to much like a stranger. "I can't blame Bamb-nee for wanting me for herself, because I would much rather be doing something with her right now."

"It isn't a matter of sharing her with other people though, you're not allowed to even share." His dragon spoke up.

The small white haired boy watched as the gifts were unwrapped. "I can't top any of this even with one of my ice sculptures."

"You certainly are jealous."

"Yes... well, I don't belong in this world. I never was comfortable with the nobility back in Soul Society. I'm struggling to believe that I actually have a family to belong to, let alone a family that pretty much amounts to high nobility." The boy glanced at the ground again, before turning to glance away.

"It is now time for the cake and appetizers."

Toshiro continued to glance at the floor. He suddenly heard his sister's voice. "Toto-chan?" Glancing up, he found Bambietta handing him a plate with cake on it. "This is for you."

He took it, his mouth closed shut tightly. Glancing around the room, he could see that the other children were staring at them. Some of them had a look of surprise on their faces, while others had an irritated look on their faces. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at his uncle, whose eyes were wide from surprise and staring at Bambietta. It was almost as if a look of frustration was on his face. Their grandfather however had a rather amused look spread across his face.

Toshiro then watched as Bambietta headed over to the table and got herself a piece and the other children followed suit, serving themselves. When he thought he felt only his grandfather's eyes on him, he turned to his Uncle. "What is going on?"

"What is going on?" The white haired boy frowned at the man.

"It's traditional for Bambietta to give the first piece of cake to the person she likes the present of most." The man frowned.

"But I didn't give her anything." Toshiro's voice was in a whisper, knowing full well that the other children wouldn't want to hear this.

"She possibly thinks having you back is the best present." The man frowned, crossing his arms. "This isn't going to win yo points with the other children.

The small child turned away while looking at the slice of cake. "It isn't as if I ever got along with the other children. It would be harder this time around considering where I came from."

"What do you mean though by not getting along with the other children?" His uncle's frown deepened.

"In case you haven't noticed, my hair and eye color is not normal. There is also a high chance my rieatsu leaked all over the place when I was younger and people picked up on the fact and wished to stay away. I have an ice zampaktuo after all." Toshiro paused for a few minutes. "Speaking of which..."

"No... you can't have your blade back yet. Give yourself a chance to get used to this place." The man glanced at the table. "Aren't you going to go and get some of the other treats."

"I'm really uncomfortable in this situation and would rather avoid any situation where I had the chance of bumping into someone."