The Angels' Leader Returns

”Hey that hurts you know” Ryou said in a hurt tone. Of course Ryou didn’t take it to heart, but the way azure spoke sounded just so distant. It actually hurt him a bit. It’s true that Ryou hadn’t been around for a very long while; but there has always been an ideology Ryou had always stood by. Family is Family. Ryou has always believed that, no matter what distance or what sin a family member of his had gone through; he would always be there to try to support them. To him his family was everything, it was so important that he still to this day has not let any woman into his life. You’d be surprised you know, with such high standing, loving attitude. and great looks to boot; he could have his choice of the litter. But Ryou was a little old fashioned, family is for life; thus he wouldn’t touch another woman because of how pure hearted he was. He needed someone to be as selfless as him, and wouldn’t restrict him from the rest of his family. But no matter how much time passes, his family will continue to push him away; it was sad really. He practically always got the end of the stick, but it was okay; because Ryou would always find a way to push himself back into their lives.

Nevertheless, Ryou had an extremely bright grin when Azure sucked his teeth in and itched back at Ryou. It was comforting to be this close to his nephew, these were the moments Ryou truly lived for. It was a shame that his life wasn’t filled with more of these. But alas, he took up the role of leader so that the rest of the iramasha would be able to feel these moments; if his sacrifice could enlighten the rest of his family, then he was willing to take it on. Even if it was a thankless job. He listened to Azure’s longing to see him and could instantly hear the strain in his voice; it was slight but it was there. It stung, it stung so much; Ryou could almost feel the weight on his shoulders, it almost felt as if they had began to crash down on Ryou’s own shoulders. Wallowed up in empathy Ryou abruptly hugged his young nephew, patting his back. He wanted to comfort him so bad, he didn’t know what else to do; there was a pained expression etched onto his face but it couldn’t be seen by azure since he was planted onto ryous chest. ”Don’t worry, Uncle’s here for you” he said softly.

Ryou let go of him gently as he sat back down to listen to his nephew ”Hey that’s the most hurtful thing you’ve said so far! Im good looking for 800” Ryou said with a laugh, he had not problem being joked about; he’d often join in as well ”I mean just look at all the old geezers in the council” he said as he playfully stuck out his tongue in disgust. Then when Azure had slid that bowl of ice cream near Ryou, his eyes lit up like a theme park at night. Literally. You could see the electric sparks flying through his sapphire eyes, as his face practically perked up with delight ”OH GOD IT’S BEEN SO LONG” Ryou yelled in a hyperactive way as he instantaneously formed a spoon of chaos energy and began to dig in without a second thought. To him creating the spoon was as easy as breathing; and quite frankly he found that this usage of chaos energy was much better than… well the harmful self-defence it was originally meant for. But to each his own, that only went with his loving personality.

”Of course of course, make it stylish though!” Ryou said smiling, but his mind had already shifted into a more serious state. Ryou was always filled with good will and energy by nature; while he could easily be serious, it was hard for others to take him seriously with the manner in which he presented himself. Of course hes changed his demeanor into a more commanding one since taking up the leader’s mantle… but he was around his nephew; it would be perfectly fine. Ryou gazed back down at his ice cream, itching to take another bite but looked straight back into Azure’s softened blue eyes ”Remember, you can tell your uncle anything”. Yeah, he was REALLY good into reading other’s feelings. It probably spans from how much he cared for others, to the point of really being able to feel their pains when familiar enough with that individual.

With that said, Ryou continued to eat his ice cream; this time more slowly. He made sure he didn’t make any noise while eating, since he was fixated on carefully listening to everything Azure had to say. He should too, since he was the one who bothered him to tell him everything in the first place; it would only be disrespectful if he didn’t show the courtesy. But he was engaged, he needed to know the problems around the living realms. He could feel things were going wrong, that there were people in need of his help all across the lands. Quite frankly, there was one who needed his help standing right in front of him! He nodded as Azure began to list off the series of events happening with the gotei. It was a standard Iramasha clan reaction; those were their allies, and seeing how they controlled their movements as well…. Lets just say it was a no brainer that aid would come afterwards. Ryou mentally made a note to have an assistant get him a report of all the damages as well as iramasha sent and wounded; same for their Shinigami counterpart. He could feel Azure skillfully fix his hair; it wasn’t rough or ragged, but smooth and calming. Almost as if he had done this a thousand times; this was surprising to Ryou.

Ryou would have responded when Azure paused himself, but he knew that would kill his speech. He continued to let his nephew speak; this was a moment where he didn’t need words but someone to listen. Someone to truly just lend a shoulder and listen; for at least a little while. Once Azure concluded Ryou tilted his head back, directly gazing at azure’s pained expression; not worried at all about his scissors and placed his hand on the side of Azure’s face. His hand was still extremely cold and pale from the time he had spent in the ice cavern, as with his thumb he gently wiped away the tear that formed in the child’s eye as his heavenly aura pulsated gently around them. The artificial lights above them brimmed as if they were gentle sunlit rays and illuminate the area around them. All of this happened very subtly, almost unnoticeable as Ryou began to speak softly.

”My little one the path you have chosen is most certainly a difficult one, but it was not the wrong one.” his voice echoed into Azure’s mind ”I know you, you have a giant heart; and following it is not easy. But you have friends, those are your family; you have done nothing wrong. Nothing could be more right than following such a wonderful heart”. Ryou didn’t stop there as he continued ”It’s not easy protecting a world, it takes a very special someone to help so many others” Ryou said as smiled gently at his nephew ”And I believe your extraordinarily special”.

Ryou wanted to tell him everything he had been through; that he too had done the same things in his life. He had left the clan to help others because he believed that was the right thing to do. But right now, Azure didn’t need this sort of speech; what he needed to know was that he was good enough to pursue his own path. And that his uncle would be here for him, even if others wouldn’t be.

One of the only good things that Azure felt had come out of returning to the Island for such a short time was that he finally could release the anger and sadness welling up from within. It was a pain, to force himself day in and day out to push through the pain and suffering of a world, something Azure didn't hold dearly until recently. After he had taken the mantle of Leader of an Organization hell bent on giving the Earth and the realm it resides in a safe place to stay, he had his hands full to the very brim. It was taxing, a sense of despair always seemed to follow as he walked. It was a sickening feeling, but one he had to deal with nevertheless.

With that being said, Azure's body fell into an odd groove of normality, a groove that allowed him to continue his days without giving in to the pressure. Azure's very Will is had brought him this far in his career. Not his power, not his views, and definitely not who he was as a person. His sheer willpower is the single thing that brought him to be a position of power. A position that he can use in order to help others, far better than he could ever help himself. The last thing on Azure's mind was himself, the protection of others was priority number one. Whether family, friends, or some random civilian making their way through life, no one deserved to be scared, thinking that they may die at in second of the day. Azure couldn't allow that, not somewhere like Earth. That was his mission, the protection of a race, a nation, and a world.

Ryou was an abrupt man when it came to how he felt towards others and that was something that aided Azure in the time he had spent with the man. Unlike his father, Ryou was known to be of a pure status, a status that singled around the fact he wished for the betterment of people. Whether enemy or ally, family or friend, Ryou was simply a wonderful example of a true man. Azure looked up to that, something that he couldn't help no matter what he were to do. It was as if in Ryou's Eight Hundred years of living, Azure had began to emulate his exact principles within his own life. This wasn't something Azure noticed until that very day, the protection of others... wishing for others to be better before himself... It truly was a way of thinking befitting his wonderful Uncle. Yet another reason to look up to him, knowing that he would forever be influencing Azure's actions as person. Something that, despite growing up with the blank faced Father known as Ketsu, Azure simply could not help doing. Not, that it was Ryou or some other factor imposing their will upon him, it was more so the fact that Azure was willing to place himself in this situation. He almost wished for the position, to help others. Not everyone seemed to have that mentality, Azure was a rare one within millions of other beings throughout the realm. It was truly a sight to behold, in Azure's eyes. It was a sense of selflessness that others would strive to run from their entire lifetimes. Yet another quality Azure shared with his Uncle.

The male's fingers continued to move throughout Ryou's hair as if they were apart of the man's very being. From here, to there, the amount of hair being sliced from the male's being was extreme, along with the precision of each and every cut that came from Azure's hands were astonishing. Azure was far from the first person you'd believe to be able to cut hair, but nevertheless, it was a simple skill. Simple focus and the will to finish the task without causing problems was the easiest of things for Azure to do. Here to there, the male's hair had finally arrived to its previous style. A style Azure also shared rather frequently. Azure had finished just before his Uncle turned to face him, the male's head sliding backwards in a fluid motion to view Azure's own face. It was a face ridden with pain and despair. One that was shown very seldomly, if not at all. The only reason Azure was willing to bring himself to being honest with his Uncle was because of that very reason, he was his Uncle. No one knew him better, except for Koichi. Even then, Ryou was not one to judge and would not allow Azure's pain to ruin their relationship.

With the thoughts Azure had racking his mind dissipating, Ryou reached for the man. A simple brush of the cheek seemed to release a sense of cold through his body. Ryou had been gone for so long, given the wretched cold emanating from his being. It was still, a warm touch. Azure's body felt the cold ricochet through his being in order to become a warm sensation, a sensation causing his mind to flow with a sense of protectiveness, a sense that allowed him to feel as if he were safe. Azure was not sure if that was what Ryou had intended on happening, but the male's hand did not falter as Azure's eyes welled up with tears yet again. A stoic expression laid upon his face as he stared back into the ocean-like eyes of Ryou Iramasha. It was a moment of silence, the world around them nearly shifting into a beautiful sight. The lights above washed across their faces as if the sun had brought itself within the room. It was a sight to behold, the two men growing into what seemed to be a scene of serenity.

Ryou spoke to Azure as the world around them silently went on, the male's very voice echoing as if he were some higher being. Azure's body faltered only slightly as he spoke, the feeling of warmth once agains washing along his body as he released the torrent of tears without a single word. It had been quite a tough time recently, and with that Azure couldn't help but feel rather stressed, let alone empty inside. He had been alone for so long, dealing with it as if he had to do it simply on his own. It was a deadly thing for the male to do and he knew that, but with that being the case Azure continued to stare as his uncle.

Bringing his sleeve upward, Azure wiped the tears from his face as he smiled down at his uncle, tilting Ryou's head forward in order to finish off the small amount of hair that grew along his neckline. Wiping the strands of hair from his skin, Azure let out a soft sigh and threw the scissors to the side, the chaos energy dissipating and returning once more to the air around them.

"Enough sadness, you've heard my side. You've been gone for quite some time uncle, it's about time we were to introduce you to the Island once again. Come on." Azure flicked his wrist as the television near by blinked out of existence, the lights dimming softly as Azure made his way to the doorway. It was time for a stroll in Azure's eyes, something that could both lighten the mood and bring Ryou up to speed once again. A win win situation, in the male's eyes. "Alright. Grab a spare jacket if you'd like one, the rain is on its way according to the clan's news. Make sure you have something to keep it off of you." With that, Azure smiled and opened the door to the outside world, swinging the Jacket around his being as he tightly zipped it up. It was yet another day for Azure to realize something new of himself, something that had been happening all too often these last few months.