Family [HE Event Thread]

“That one! I want that one!”

The pudgy finger of six-year-old Goya lashed forward, pointing imperiously at a stuffed tiger, resting on a pile of other prizes. The man behind the counter, sensing a potential target, gave the little boy a smile and offered him a ball. “Wanna play? Only 5 ryo for 5 balls!” The confidence of a con artist oozed out of the man’s every pore, especially when the rest of the boy’s family showed up.

Takano eyed the stack of metal cans dispassionately, shaking his head. “We can just buy you one in a shop Goya, we don’t need to waste money on this.” The Uzumaki said quietly to his little brother. He honestly didn’t understand the draw of carnival games, you essentially paid extra money for a chance at getting the items you wanted, instead of simply buying them straight out. It was an illogical choice wrapped in wasted money as far as he was concerned, and they didn’t have a whole lot of that to go around in the first place. He studiously avoided looking at his youngest sibling, ignoring the quivering lip and tear-filled eyes.

Takano felt a light smack on the back of his head as his elder sister Kubota walked past him, her empty left sleeve swishing in the evening breeze.“Cheer up Taka. This is supposed to be a fun family outing, not an excuse for you to get broody again.” She hissed in his ear, bending down to Goya’s height and giving him the wooden ball. “Here, we’ll do it together kid. Looks like you need a hand with it anyway.” She said, winking at Takano. The Genin let out a low groan, but still slapped the money down on the counter, which quickly disappeared into some hidden recess of the stand. “Two rounds, then we’re just buying the damn toy.” The genin muttered, mentally tallying just how much of his limited funds he was going to lose at this carnival if things kept going this way.

Esen had been strolling about the Heavenly Emporium on his own for the past twenty minutes or so. He had been with his family; his mother, father and three younger siblings. While he would spend an eternity with his younger siblings, Esen could only stand so much of his father at once. It was a surprise to Esen so many years ago that his father never threw in his hat to become the clan leader of the Uzumaki clan, yet he was never one to question his father. Yavuz was someone Esen only dealt with when needed, much like how his father preferred it. So, while it was a relief to escape his father, he hoped his siblings shared a better experience with the man than Esen had growing up. As for his mother, she was a quiet one, and while Esen loved her to death, he wished she would be more outspoken, especially during the trial Yavuz had taken Esen through.

The Emporium was a beautiful place, one he intended to visit a bit more in the future. He had taken thing easily since his meetings with the two Princesses of Kirigakure no Sato’s Triumvirate. There was little training to be had, nor did Esen cause too much trouble; the most he had done was simply tell someone off for being in his way a few weeks ago. His mission with Sayuri had sated some of his urges, though they were likely to arise once more in the future. He could only go so long before he would need to release some pent-up frustration.

He overheard the tail end of what seemed to be a conversation between two individuals. The woman slapped the oldest male on the back of the head and said something about a fun family outing, something he was supposed to be having, yet Esen had wandered off on his own. The male muttered some words, clearly seeming offput by the carnival game. “You know, the fun is supposed to be winning the damn toy.” Esen would pipe up as he approached the male. Clearly, it was evident – at least to Esen – the male did not want to play the game and would rather just buy the prize. There was certainly no fun in regards to that. “Though, I am kind of glad I left my siblings with my parents. They’d be constantly asking me to win them prizes.” Esen would casually mention; it was evident in his tone that he was not bothered by the idea of being pestered by his siblings. For them, he would do anything.

Goya slowly wound up for the toss, keeping his feet spread wide and his eye on the target just as he had been taught. After glancing at Takano quickly, and getting a nod in return, the boy tossed the ball with all of his might, clipping the bottom cup on the far right. However, the entire structure only teetered for a few mere moments, shivering back a few inches before returning to equilibrium. The small Uzumaki boy pouted in frustration, before reaching for the next ball Takano offered him.

Just as the boy was winding back for a new throw however, a new voice came upon the scene causing both Takano and Kubota’s hands to flash for their kunai holsters. Thankfully, the identity of the newcomer was known to both of them: Esen Uzumaki, the current head of the Uzumaki clan and the man that could easily shatter their strange situation with naught but a few words. Muttering something involving Takano and a bed of nails, Kubota inclined her head to the man. “It is good to finally meet you Esen, my name is Kubota.” She said, adjusting her eyepatch as it slid down her face slightly. “Ignore this cheapskate here, he doesn’t really do fun or crowds all that well.” Kubota said mockingly, digging an elbow into said cheapskate’s ribs.

Takano, meanwhile, was closely examining his clan leader, taking the man in from head to toe. He didn’t seem all that impressive honestly, at least compared to men like Sero or one of the Princess Triumverate, but that just made the Uzumaki even more cautious. Men like Esen, who probably achieved their position with political savvy were often more dangerous than the muscle-bound bruisers, and for good reason to. The Uzumaki inhaled, then let it out. Perhaps he was letting the stress get to him more than he realized, if a complete stranger could notice his brusqueness.

He inclined his head, “Greetings, name's Takano. It's good to finally meet you sir. I’m sorry about the note you came in on, the last few weeks have been….stressful. I’ll try to relax a little I suppose if that would make things more comfortable.” Takano said, scratching the back of his head and mentally shivering as he thought back on Sero’s hellish training methods. His strength and skill had increased vastly since that first meeting, but so had his nightmares. There was a loud pop and a cheer as Goya’s ball plowed clean through the metal cans, causing them to fall to the floor with a mighty crash. Takano turned, clapping his younger brother on the shoulder in congratulations. If Esen was observant, he would notice a small ink brush flickering back up Takano’s sleeve, the cap replaced. The tall Uzumaki would reach up, snagging the toy off of the hook it had laid upon, before handing it to his brother with a small smile.

“By the way, is there a reason you came up to us sir? If there is something we can help you with, we would be glad to.” Takano stated, turning to face Esen with a quirked eyebrow. His words were not exactly hostile but weren’t altogether subtle either. In Takano’s mind, the only reason someone as important as Esen would confront them was because they wanted something, and no other reason.

“No fun? Where’s the fun in that?!” If Esen could be personally offended by Takano refusing to have fun, he would. There was no fun in not having fun. Having fun was key; otherwise, life would be far too dull for anyone to enjoy. There had to be some enjoyment in one’s day to day life to keep on moving forward; for Esen that came in the form of three goblin-sized siblings that he adored. Esen was not too quick to judge people, but Takano from the start had him raising an eyebrow. If someone did not have fun… then what do they really do? He supposed he could ask his own father, but that was a wormhole Esen refused to crawl down.

“Well, it is a pleasure meeting you Kubota… and Takano, I guess. Though you do need to get rid of that stress and enjoy things a bit. A bit of fun will take you a long way.” What someone did for fun was clearly different between individuals. Esen was already privy to the Yuki Princess’ aptitude of fun and it certainly was an activity Esen enjoyed partaking in. What better way to relieve some stress than punching it all out of one’s system. “Don’t call me sir… that word sounds disgusting.” Esen’s features matched up with his words, his actions would follow as well. As if he was going to throw up, but not, Esen turned away and made a gagging noise. He would turn to face the siblings after a second, his nose scrunched up as he addressed Takano. “If there’s ever one thing in this world I want you to do… it’s to not call me sir.” Esen would look visibly ill at the moment he reiterated the word sir. He was far too young to be called such a word.

“Hmm…” Esen really did not have an answer for Takano’s actually question, even after he was finished with his tirade over a single word. Esen usually did things on a whim, wanting to do something that would be less boring than what he was doing; outside of when he played the political games. “I guess you could say because I wanted to.” Esen would shrug out his answer, probably something Takano did not want to hear, but it was the truth.

“Exactly! I mean sure, technically we just came through a major war and his loving elder sister lost an arm and an eye and is still stronger than him, but that’s no reason not to enjoy life!” Kubota gestured to the festival in general with her empty sleeve, “I mean it’s really getting out of hand.” She said with a wide grin. Takano facepalmed behind her but didn’t dare say anything. Sage knows she would find someway to turn it back on him, especially since their new clan head seemed of similar temperament.

Changing the subject, Takano would nod at the tail end of Esen’s rant, “I will remember that then, if you are so against the word. What would you prefer I call you?” The Uzumaki’s face was politely questioning, but his mind began to race. Was the objection to such a simple title of respect a mind-game? A political tactic? Perhaps the clan head was testing him in some esoteric way that would determine his future as a shinobi? There was simply no way Esen’s objection was something simple.

Takano’s inner conspiracy theorist was only emboldened with Esen’s pronouncement that he simply came up to them because he wanted to. “I’m glad that we caught your interest then.” Takano’s voice was neutral, even as he turned to watch as his crowd of younger siblings scampered off to the next carnival game, this time a series of targets which one had to hit with blunted kunai. The pack of four eight- to twelve-year-olds immediately began hurling them forward, displaying quite clearly that the two older siblings had not been slacking in their training. As they watched, the eldest nailed the inner ring with a precise throw, causing Kubota to shout in excitement while Takano allowed a rare grin to surface on his face. Despite his standoffish nature, it was clear that Takano cared a great deal about his family, even if he sometime pretended otherwise. "So.....are you enjoying the festival? Seems lively enough, even with all of those recently warring ninja brushing shoulders with each other."

A grin would etch its way on to Esen’s features as Takano’s elder sister, Kubota, made a cheeky remark about things ‘getting out of hand’. That was the kind of humour that Esen enjoyed, though it certainly was territory he would trek carefully as he’d need to gauge his audience beforehand. As Takano would face palm, Esen would only lightly chime in briefly, “Luckily, Takano has both hands to hit his own head with here.” It was said purely as a joke, a lighthearted comment, but this would give Esen a gauge of how to deal with Takano and his siblings in the future, should the need ever arise.

“Aah, that certainly is a difficult question to answer.” It was not, Esen only really had one preference as to what he should be called. With a smile on his face he’d answer with, “Esen will do. Anything more is just too…” His face would scrunch up just slightly, “too formal.” When the subject shifted to Esen’s enjoyment of the festival, that answer was a bit more complicated than a simple ‘yes’. A slight sigh would escape Esen before he’d answer Takano’s question. “Well, I’m enjoying it as much as I can… there just always somethings I need to deal with that just make things… a bit more complicated than they should be. Had to escape my family a bit so I don’t have constant chatter in my ears all the time. Younger siblings are great, but they’re at the age where personal space does not exist at all to them.” His issue was not with his siblings, but his father. That was some family drama that did not need to bleed over into strangers or the clan itself. Esen’s slightly somber mood would fade away to a cheerful one as he’d raise an eyebrow towards Takano. “So, aside from sulking at festivals, what else do you do for fun?”