"';Anniversary Wars;'"

[Fateful]

Xerxes looked up and laughed, abandoning the crappy meal and running into the house after his sister. They ran towards their other brother, who was startled by his elder siblings, but responded to them. Of course, he jumped toward his sister and grabbed her around the waist, pinning her down to the floor. Laughing, he looked down at her, chocolate brown bangs in his bright green eyes. "You're such a brat!" he teased, using his knees to brace her so his hands could tickle her.

Their mother yelled from the kitchen, telling them to be careful around Darius, and around the glass living room table.

They all replied in unison before going back to their game.

The hug came too late, Kiyomi realized. Her son was long gone and maybe she hadn't loved him enough, she left him alone too much. She should have insisted that he be part of the family. She never should have allowed her husband to react with such anger. She never should have let this get so horrible. It was her job to be strong for her family and she failed them.

"Please come watch tv with us." She begged, wanting Kazuma to at least see his father. It had been months since they had even seen one another. "I'm begging you, my little prince." She always called her son her prince, and when he started doing his online sports, he confided in her that he picked the name King Kazuma because he wasn't a little boy anymore. And she was never more proud of him than she was that day.

[otakulady89]

The request caused the teen to tense, his hands balling into fists on the keyboard. He couldn't. He couldn't see that man. Not after... He shook his head, gritting his teeth so hard the grinding was audible. They'd brawled just like children, and they hadn't been the ones to get hurt. That was the unforgivable curse that hung over Kazuma to this day, the thing he would never really forgive himself for, much less his father.

"I can't, 'kaa-san..." He murmured, wishing she would just... stop. Stop trying to bring him and his father back together. It wouldn't work. The elder was just too... intolerant.

Across the world, time turned, and a large family came together to celebrate one cousin's success, a graduation from college, and into the world around them. Beer everywhere, food across four large tables, and gossip on every tongue, it was a celebration for the ages, really. But for a greek family, this was normal.

Kallias had just led the family ina wonderfully drunken song about some young maiden and her husband's inability to satisfy her, and now she sat down, laughing and flushed next to her brothers, grinning.

[Fateful]

Kiyomi was running out of patience. She could only put up with his isolation for so long, and she wanted to accept him, but she was having a hard time. "Kazuma, I'm worried about you." She pressed, wanting so desperately to believe that she didn't screw up her job as a parent, but that didn't seem to be the case. "I-I'm sorry." She whispered, running a hand over his cheek. Maybe it was best to just end this now. "G-goodnigt then." She bowed to him, feeling like he was more of an acquaintance than her own son.

Xerxes laughed, hugging his sister as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "T-That was awesome!" he mumbled with a chuckle. He was slightly red faced, this being the first party he was allowed to drink. The laws were different, where they were from. In Greece, the drinking age was 18, but that was only in bars. At family parties like this, kids as young as 14 were allowed to drink. As long as their parents were okay with it. Their parents allowed them to drink on the 17th birthday. It was an early gift, a privileged they were extended, at a party such as this one.

One of their cousins was offered another beer by Xerxes father, and everyone cheered out "Synchari̱tí̱ria!" (Congratulations). They were gathered around a table, eating, and enjoying one another's company, more liquor bring brought out. It was saved for special occasions like this one: birth, accomplishment, or death.

[otakulady89]

Kall cheered along with them, one of her arms thrown up, a bottle of beer in the clutch of her fist, and she laughed when some of it sloshed out and into her hair. Turning to Xerxes, she blinked, before grinning, "Oh! L-look! Yer friend is here! Whassis name... To-... Toshi? Toshiba? Toki?" She paused to laugh, because goddamn, she just couldn't remember! But the kid was at the gate, grinning wildly and waving an arm at the young Xerxes.

"Go on! Go see if he wantsta join in!" She laughed, pushing him towards the boy.

Seung, as the boy's name ACTUALLY was, waved, happy when Xerxes came forward. The two had been dating for a few weeks now, and Seung had good news for his boyfriend.

Kazuma let his head rest on his desk, bent over double, and not caring. His poor mother... He hated ignoring her wishes, hated treating her like this... But he just... He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Kaa-san..." He murmured into the dark, the OZ background music nearly mute.

He stayed there for hours, thinking over how it came to this, and it all boiled down to the night... That one night... When he'd come out of his room. He didn't usually, unless he was going outside to train with Sensei, or sit down with his family for dinner, as he did every day.

He shouldn't have. Wouldn't have... but he... He just... Needed to tell SOMEONE. So, he'd come out of his bedroom, to try and explain to his family, that their son was gay. That he only enjoyed male attention. Of course, his father had overreacted, telling Kazuma that he most definately was NOT, and that this was a faze. He would grow out of it. Kazuma had replied that he didn't think he would.

It had escalated from there. It got to the point where names were called, a father was called a coward, and a fist was thrown. Kazuma rubbed his cheek, remembering how painful that particular blow had been. Only anger behind it, and all of his father's near-forgotten skill in Kung fu thrown into it.

He would never forget what that hit caused.

[Fateful]

Xerxes looked up, surprised. He laughed, and slipped away from his sister. he ran to the gate to see his secret boyfriend, laughing. "H-Hey Seng, w-wanna party with us? M-My family won't mind. One of my cousins are graduating, s-so its totally cool." he started to laugh again. He hadn't realized he'd drank as much as he did. He was still there, just tipsy and highly suggestible. "Y-You look really good today." He smiled, stupidly at the other, green eyes wandering his boyfriend's clothed body.

"What's up?" He asked, seeing the look on Seng's face.

Kiyomi hated herself for getting involved, but, at the same time, she couldn't let her son and husband hurt one another. She couldn't watch them hurt one another. Her husband hurt her son, had struck him, without reason. Although she wasn't sure how to feel about Kazuma being gay, she couldn't really say she was surprised. It wasn't that he had paid attention to anyone before, or that he was trying to make his parents understand, but she knew her son. She knew that he wasn't quite right. Boys his age were supposed to be interested in girls, in sports, and in their friends. But Kazuma only focused on Oz, which he called a sport. It worried her that he retreated away from people. He made friends with girls much easier than boys because he was shier around boys since he'd reached puberty. She wished she hadn't noticed these things, so she ignored them.

But, when he came out of his room before dinner was ready to tell them that he was gay... She couldn't help but stare, her fear, or rather, her worries confirmed. She wasn't mad at her baby, but at her husband for being so accepting and angry.

So, she got in front of her husband to try and stop him, only to be punched in the chest by her son. She'd gasped, falling to her knees, struggling to breath, a pain ripping through her body that rivaled the birth of both her children.

[otakulady89]

Kazuma had felt the bones crackle beneath his fingers, and he'd stared, horrified at his own hand, bruising the flesh of his mother. The woman who'd given him life, who'd cared for him, who'd wiped away his tears and changed his diapers, and he'd HIT her! Staring at his fist now, he managed to keep the urge to cut it off in check. He wasn't that dramatic, anyway.

When his father had rushed her to the hospital, and his sister had gone to stay with his aunt, Kazuma had stayed at home, in his room, terrified. What would he do, if he'd killed his mother? He... He didn't think he'd be able to take it, if she died because of him. That thought had choked him, terrified him so badly, that he'd called his Sensei, and bawled into the phone.

His grandfather had immediately come to find him, and he supposed that he shouldn't have been surprised. His sensei had always been there for him. No matter what. When he was being bullied, he'd taught him kung fu... When Love Machine had been kicking his ass, he'd stepped in, his sushi-squid distracting him.

He wondered why he hadn't talked to his grandfather first, why it had been his family he tried to come out to.

Seng, however, blushed under the compliment, and smiled. "You don't look half bad yourself! I came over because I wanted to tell you... My family is moving!" He breathed. Letting this settle in, he waited for the suspense, for the angst. He was HUGE into movies, and he always wanted to make his own, so his entire life kinda played out like a scene in a soap opera.

When Xerxes looked aboslutey broken, he chimed in, "NEXT DOOR TO YOU!"

[Fateful]

Kiyomi had lied to him. She told him that she was fine, that nothing was broken, that she was simply bruised. She picked up her daughter and continued as normal. And she did it well. Her mother had once teased her that she was good enough to be an actress. She wasn't, of course, but she was glad she had such a skill. It fooled her husband, who knew that two of her ribs were broken, but not her son. He hated himself for what happened.

But she loved him so much. She wanted her son to love her, and to be able to forgive himself for what happened. It wasn't his fault. It was hers. She never should have gotten involved in a fight. She should have grabbed her husband instead...

M-Moving? His drunken mind shattered and he couldn't imagine what the hell he was going to do. That's not fair! T-That... No. No! He couldn't lose his boyfriend in such a horrible way. That... that would be horrible. it was his FIRST boyfriend! That... that was so totally not fair! He was angry, and he then gave up, because there was nothing he do. However, his eyes widened. "R-Really?!" he looked up, jumping forward, grabbing the Korean male in front of him and kissed him.

He lost his cognitive mind. His parents didn't know. Holding the other male, he kissed him, passionately, much more passionately than a normal kiss of joy or surprise.

[otakulady89]

Unfortunately for Xerxes, this was seen by the entire party. It was cause to a silent moment for a time, before one of the older uncles burst out laughing. "Jeezus, boy! Keep that kinda shit behind closed doors!" He laughed, stalking through the crowd.

Seng was surprised because Xerxes was usually pretty careful not to do any PDA, but this time... The kiss was amazing, as were all the ones they'd shared behind lockers, in the showers at school. That uncle, though... that looked a bit scary...

Kazuma had withdrawn from that day on. He'd stayed mostly in his room. His appearances outside became less and less, and in the end, he even stopped really practicing his Kung Fu. He just... reused old moves, and looked up new ones online, practicing them out in the garden under the dark of night.

It was something he'd done to protect himself, and his mother. Because if he was outside when that MAN was there, he wouldn't be able to keep himself from blaming him for what happened to Kiyomi. He wouldn't be able to keep himself from striking out.

[Fateful]

Xerxes felt himself sober up a little when the kiss ended. He blinked, rather surprised, hearing his Uncle's voice call out. W-What? What did he-- His eyes widened, seeing his arms around Seng's shoulders and pulled away, realizing what he'd done. What he'd done in front of not just his parents, but in front of all his family that lived in America. A small gasp escaped his mouth and he turned, seeing his uncle directly behind him.

W-Woah... There was no way... This was no way that this was going to happen! H-He didn't just OUT himself in front of his entire fucking family!

Kiyomi tried everything to get Kazuma out of his room. It failed of course. Even Mansuke couldn't get him to do Kung Fu. it saddened him, to see his favorite grandson completely pull away from his family. He was disappointed in his son, for causing all of this. How could he react so violently toward him for his sexuality? It was disgusting. He attacked his child for something he was unable to control. And that disgusted Mansuke. He wanted his star pupil to be himself.

Kiyomi tried to keep her voice down. She'd failed to get Kazuma to come out of his room, even though she'd cried this time. "No! That will just make him worse! You can not do that! Darling, please, just think of what's best for Kazuma."

[otakulady89]

Seng yelped as a big, burly greek man snatched up his boyfriend in a headlock. "Jeeze! Girly-man, much? Should we celebrate your sweet sixteen too?" He laughed, and some of the family laughed uncomfortably with him. "C'mon! Prove you're a man!"

Dark eyes turned towards his closed door, and Kazuma listened to the conversation going on outside. His mother, and that MAN.

"Kiyomi... We can't just keep HUMORING him! Do you want him to turn into one of those NEETs? He NEEDS to learn that hiding away like this is ridiculous!" His father's voice was loud, and it was obvious he was beleaqured by this. "Taking away the wifi will work. He'll have to spend time outside that DAMNED room of his! Go to school again! Maybe even get a goddamn girlfriend, and get it OUT of his head that he's gay!"

Seventeen year old Kazuma glared at the door. Yeah, because getting a girlfriend fixed EVERYTHING. Hell, even Kenji was still a math geek and he had NATSUKI.

[Fateful]

Xerxes glared up at his uncle uncertainly. He was nervous, but he was also unsure. What was he supposed to feel? Should he be worried? "I'm sorry, Seng." he mumbled. "M-Maybe you should go home..." He smiled, wondering if his parents would be upset with him. He glanced toward his father, who wasn't looking at him. His father was talking to one of his other uncles, which didn't help his nerves.

"No! He won't be straight! You can't force him into that. What do you really want? Do you want him to go to school or do you want him to be straight? You can't have it both ways! Darling, I love you but... please, don't subject him to this. I want him to go back to school, but I want Kazuma to be himself. I want him to be happy. I want him to love us! I don't care that he's gay. He might grow out of it, he might not. But either way, I want him to happy! I want him to be himself! Why... Why can't you just accept that? He's OUR son!"

[otakulady89]

The greek family was a little disturbed by the situation, and the korean boy wasn't much better. He nodded, turning and jogging up the block, towards his home. He'd hoped to spend more time with Xerxes, but the brunette was busy. The uncle was making sure of it, as some of the family made their excuses, heading out and claiming drunkeness as the reason.

"Come on inside, boyo!" The uncle cried, laughing, Xerxes still in a headlock, dragged along beside the male.

Kunisuke couldn't look at his wife just then. Kiyomi had always been so adamant that they leave the boy to his devices. But he was done. He couldn't take it anymore. After causing so much trouble, Kazuma wanted to hide away in that room, and make the entire family look bad by not going to school. It was ridiculous that they'd let it go on this long.

"Think whatever you want, Kiyomi... On monday, I'm cutting the wifi. He'll learn the way of the world, one way or another."

[Fateful]

Xerxes have no idea how to react. He... totally ruined the party. Damn it! he felt defeated, but went into the house with his parents. Darius was watching, wide eyed, confused by everything he'd seen. Why was everyone so angry with his older brother? But Xerxes was worried for a totally different reason. Everyone was staring at him like he stabbed someone. "W-What...?" He mumbled, wondering if he should be apologizing, saying that it was a mistake, that he was drunk... that he was was just excited...

Kiyomi glared at him. "Kunisuke... so help me, if I lose my son because of your stupidity, I will never forgive you. I will agree to this, but if Kazuma doesn't get better then we need to turn it back on. Kazuma has Oz, and that's all he has. If I lose my son... I don't know what I'll do." Without the ability to use King Kazuma, she was worried that Kazuma might do something drastic. She knew he was unhappy, depressed, if something pushed him, he might... No. She didn't want to think of it. She didn't want to believe that her son could do such a thing.

[otakulady89]

Kunisuke didn't reply, just going back to watching TV. His wife would understand. The boy would be better for it. he'd always thought too much of that stuff would harm the child anyway, and Kazuma was just proof of it. He was NOT going to let this happen to his Kumai. His daughter wouldn't be the same as her brother. At all.

In his room, however, that brother was panicking. OZ gone?! He wouldn't be able to battle with just a cellphone... Not properly... He was starting to hyperventilate. Shit... Shit... King Kazma was all he had... He couldn't... His cellphone was out, and he called his Sensei. He needed... He needed advice. He needed someone to tell him it would be okay.

Alexander watched his son, worried. It was normal for boys to experiment in highschool, that wasn't the problem... But out in the open like that? He sighed, "Aaron, put him down." His brother was way too exuberant. And he couldn't really deal with this while his brother was choking his son.

Melanie tried to shy the children into their bedrooms, party over. She didn't want them hearing this...

"Son... Who is that boy?"

[Fateful]

Mansuke didn't pick up his phone right away. When Kazuma called the second time, he picked up on the third ring. "Kazuma? You never call me this late." Truthfully, he was surprised. Since he came out and the battle with his mother, Kazuma rarely spoke to him. He refused to practice kung fu with him, so Manzuke felt lost on how to draw Kazuma out of his depression.

Xerxes held his neck when he was let go. "O-Ow..." He mumbled, rubbing the rough skin. Turning to his father, he was uncertain of what to do. "S-Seng?" He stumbled over his words, uncertainly. "H-He's... u-umm,... k-kinda my boyfriend." He mumbled, looking down, ashamed of himself. "I-I wanted to tell you, I really did! I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. R-Really, I-I was going to soon, I was going to c-come out, but I wasn't sure how. A-And I thought... you'd hate me."