Vox hadn't really made a fuss over his birthday in a long time. Once you pass 50, it loses some of the magic. Once you pass 100, it's gotten very repetitive. Added to that was the fact that his age was a military secret. As far as most people knew, he was in his forties and aging well. He never gave an exact age or birthday, brushing off such questions when asked.

Today it had rolled around again, and Vox was preparing his usual celebration. This ritual of his was at least half sarcastic, though by now even he didn't know how sincere it was. He took the little cake out of its box and arranged three numeral candles on it, saying "118". The Keukage lit them with his cigarette before setting it down in an ashtray and making the final preparations. He put on a pointed cardboard party hat with colorful pictures of balloons on it, and selected a polka-dotted noisemaker. Satisfied that he was in his full birthday regalia, Vox tooted the noisemaker.

"There has to be something better than these." Kenji sighed as he flicked through some of the available low ranking missions. Missing cats, pest problems, disappearing pies, he wanted a mission not a chore. The only ones that even peaked his interest were a few missing children reports, but that typically turned out to be a wild goose chase for him and by the time he was done the kid had already found their way back home. "I'm sorry but that's all I've been authorized to give genin, technically I'm not even supposed to let anyone other than squad leaders and authorized clerical workers look through them."

"I understand, could you set this one aside for me? I'd like to look it over after I pay Vox a visit, is he busy?" Kenji pulled out a folder from the stack and handed it to the missions clerk, nothing special, just a typical frequent runaway case. "Sure, and no. His schedule is open right now, would you like me to page him?" "No thank's, I'd like to surprise him." Might as well see if I can't get something more challenging. He thought to himself as he continued on to the Keukage's office, maybe Vox knew of a few missions that would keep him on his toes, nevertheless he shouldn't come this close to his office and not say hi.

"Hey Uncl..." Kenji tried to talk as he walked through the door but was cut off by the sound of a cheep noise maker and the image of Vox in a cardboard party hat sitting behind a small cake with a polka-dot noisemaker in his mouth. For a few moment he just stood there dumbfounded trying to wrap his head around the image in front of him, namely why the cake had number candles arranged in a 118 fashion and why Vox didn't say anything to him. "So uh... It's your birthday?"

Vox sat there for a moment, staring at the doorway with the noisemaker extended. He had forgotten to tell them to hold his visitors. This was bad. This was very bad. He could deal with the indignity of someone seeing him like this. It was a little embarrassing, but he was old enough to swallow his pride and deal with it. The real problem was the possible leak. He'd never told Kenji his age. It was for all intents and purposes a military secret. He was just lucky it was Kenji who had come here. He could trust the kid.

After a very long few seconds, he retracted the noisemaker and set it down on the desk. The Keukage blew out the candles and took off his hat. "Yes, as a matter of fact it is. Want a piece?" He got out an extra paper plate, along with a plastic knife and some forks. Vox pulled out the candles and started cutting the cake. "I suppose you have some questions."

Kenji stood there silently waiting a response as Vox set the noisemaker aside, blew out the candles, and took of his hat. He was still trying to process this information, not that it was Vox's birthday and he didn't bother to say anything, but that all signs pointed to his Kage being 118 years old. If Vox was in fact 118 years old then him shrugging off all attempts Kenji made to learn his birthday made sense, somewhat at least. Nonetheless one could have many good reasons to hide their age, especially when that one is almost three times older then they look.

"Yes, as a matter of fact it is. Want a piece?" "Uh... sure." Kenji replied, still a little surprised and confused as he pulled up a chair and sat across from Vox. Mainly he was trying to figure out how a person could live to be 118 and look so young. He read about a few forbidden techniques that were used to extend ones life during the time of legends, but Vox didn't seem the sort to go seeking after long lost kinjutsu. "I suppose you have some questions." "Yeah... So... A hundred and eight-teen huh?"

Vox cut two pieces of the cake, sliding one across the desk to Kenji. "Yeah... So... A hundred and eight-teen huh?" Vox nodded. "As of today. They say it all goes downhill after 120, so I guess I got some time left." he said with a wry smile. It was a bit of a relief to be able to talk about his age freely. There were only two other people he'd told except as part of official village business, and one of them was long gone. It was nice to not have to lie to Kenji anymore.

The Keukage put his own slice on a plate and set it out for himself. He sat back in his chair, not wanting to start eating until he'd cleared the air with Kenji. "I wish I could have told you sooner, but it was considered a village secret. I suppose the cat's out of the bag now, eh? Go on, ask whatever you like. I'll try to answer."

"As of today. They say it all goes downhill after 120, so I guess I got some time left." Was that a joke? Kenji wondered as he accepted the slice of cake, leaving it to sit at the edge of the desk until they finished, and at the rate his mind was spinning that might not be for a little while. I wish I could have told you sooner, but it was considered a village secret. I suppose the cat's out of the bag now, eh? Go on, ask whatever you like. I'll try to answer."

Kenji sat silently for a few moments, debating on what to ask first. What made him age slowly? Was it even slowly or simply not at all? Was it a technique of some sort? Or maybe a genetic trait? Now that Kenji thought about it, he never witnessed Vox preforming any sort of technique other than Taijutsu and Kenjutsu, he had his suspicions but could the two topics be related? Maybe it had something to do with where Vox came from. "Well, I'm not exactly sure where to start. So I'll try and lay out what I think I understand and we can work around that."

Kenji took a moment to try and straighten his thoughts out before starting. "Either you age almost three times slower than most or you simply don't visually age past a peak. If I wagered a guess I'd go for genetic trait of some sort, maybe something from your homeland? Anyway, I don't think you'd resort to Kinjutsu, and to be quite frank I'm not sure if you'd be able to. You say that you mastered the chakra masking jutsu, but that still doesn't hide the fact that I've never once seen you actually use chakra, and if I continued on that guess I'd say the two subjects are related somehow."

Kenji paused for a moment to take a breath before continuing. "So, I guess my real question is how far from the truth am I?" He inquired in a curious tone, Kenji was far from hurt that Vox would hide something like this. Hell, he'd probably do the same. Nevertheless he wondered how far Vox would allow him to pry, and he hoped his curiosity didn't take things too far.

Vox was a bit stunned for a moment. He knew Kenji was sharp, but to figure out that much? The boy was precocious. He'd have to recommend him for intel work, if he could guess all this by himself who knew what he could do with a proper team? After a long few seconds, he spoke. "Eerily close, actually. A lot closer than I expected."

He leaned forward, launching into his explanation. "In my homeland I'm what was called a Gen-Aug, short for Genetically Augmented. We're bioengineered humanoids, meant to be supersoldiers. I have backups of all major organs except my brain, along with most critical neural pathways and blood vessels. I can fully recover from any injury I survive in a week or less, and my body doesn't deteriorate with age. In a nutshell, I was designed as an expendable soldier who can be expended over and over again. And of course you've seen the speed, the strength, and so on."

He lit up a cigarette, taking a puff. This was always tricky, giving someone new the infodump. But with Kenji, there were other elements to it. "Like you guessed, I can't use chakra. And even if I could, there ain't an immortality jutsu out there that isn't some seriously nasty shit." He paused for a minute, considering what to say next. "Far as I know, only one shinobi of this village ever used one. Yuuki Terumi." He sighed, taking another long drag. This was getting into some ugly territory.

"Eerily close, actually. A lot closer than I expected." Kenji couldn't but smile a tiny bit as the inner him celebrated a correct guess. He leaned forward as Vox began his explanation, setting his elbows on the table and interlocking his fingers in the process. Biologically engineered humans? Redundant organs? Regeneration? Genetically enhanced physical capabilities? It was a lot to wrap his head around, his homeland must have been far more technologically advanced. Nonetheless they sounded like some extremely useful traits, even if they could never use chakra, after all Vox seemed to be doing just fine in a world of shinobi.

"Far as I know, only one shinobi of this village ever used one. Yuuki Terumi." "I see..." Kenji took a more serious tone, it couldn't be easy talking about his old student, but Kenji knew there had to be something more behind it. The only information anyone would give him about Yuuki is that he turned on the Kage and attempted to steal his heart, but they always seemed to be hiding something. He could probably connect the dots, but he wasn't exactly sure that he wanted to. They probably had a good reason to keep information from him, and none of them pleasant.

However, now that Kenji knew Yuuki used an immortality jutsu he could guess that that was the reason Yuuki went after Vox's heart, and not simply to kill him. It sounded vaguely familiar to a technique used in the time of legends that he read about, a man with five hearts and a body of strings. But those were elemental hearts, and Vox was chakraless. Yuuki must not have known this. As Kenji's head ticked away a realization dawned upon him, which interrupted his thinking process and caused his cheeks to pale a little. "... It was him, wasn't it?" He asked in a somber tone, hoping Vox would understand what he was referring to, his father.

Vox nodded. It wasn't an easy memory for him. There were a lot of emotions wrapped up in what happened with Yuuki. Regret for not teaching him better or catching him sooner, sorrow at losing the man he had loved, but mostly anger. At Yuuki, for killing Takeshi, and at himself for not stopping it in time. "It was. Yuuki killed him." The Keukage sat back in his chair. It was hard keeping his composure at a time like this.

He thought back to the events of that night. The betrayal of his student, the realization of what had happened to Takeshi. "I figured it out when he took my main heart. The doctors confirmed it later, but that's not something that's easily replicated." Vox grimaced, putting a hand to his chest. Now matter how long it had been, having a heart ripped out tended to stick with you. It had been healed for five years, but thinking about the incident still caused some phantom pains. "Guess that's why I got back up. Smart thing would have been to play dead, but I wasn't thinking smart then. I was just angry. Lucky it scared him off, I don't think I could have beaten him with just the one heart." He didn't mention his feelings for Takeshi. He didn't know if now was the right time.

"It was. Yuuki killed him." Kenji sighed, it was a painful memory, and Vox seemed to be in the same boat as him. A younger him probably would have vowed to seek vengeance upon his fathers killer, but the current him was more realistic. If Yuuki could get the better of Vox what chance did he stand? There was a long road he would have to traverse before he even got close to that kind of power. "I figured it out when he took my main heart. The doctors confirmed it later, but that's not something that's easily replicated."

Kenji's chest began to ache just at the thought of having his heart ripped out, he couldn't imagine how painful that had to be. "Guess that's why I got back up. Smart thing would have been to play dead, but I wasn't thinking smart then. I was just angry. Lucky it scared him off, I don't think I could have beaten him with just the one heart." Kenji sat quietly for a few moments, pondering Vox's words. He got back up to fight in his condition against all reasoning because Yuuki had killed his father. "You two must have been close." He said, smiling faintly as he stared down at the cake. Takeshi did seem happier the last few years before he died, and since he left Kenji in Vox's care it was probably Vox that made him happier. Whether it was simply through friendship or something more Kenji didn't know.

"Very close." He supposed that Kenji had some idea of their relationship, but he wasn't quite sure how much. If Kenji asked he'd tell him, but he didn't know how much he should push the conversation. This had been a day of some pretty heavy revelations already. Between the death of his father and the true nature of his adoptive father, Kenji had a lot to think about.

The Keukage decided now would be as good a time as any to start in on the birthday cake. He ate slowly, hoping to at least ease the tension a little bit. Things had gone from goofy to grimdark in record time, they could both use a little levity. "Eat up. If there's anything else you want to know, fire away. I'll answer if I can." This whole revelation speech hadn't been nearly as freeing as he'd thought it would be at first.

"Very close." Kenji smiled, it was a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. That was all he needed to know, Kenji didn't want to dredge up and more than he already had, it wouldn't be good for either of them. His dad was happy, and Vox is a good man, that was all that mattered. "Eat up. If there's anything else you want to know, fire away. I'll answer if I can." Despite the fact that Kenji was staring at a piece of cake sitting right in front of him he had completely forgotten about it, his mind was elsewhere.

Trying to think of any more questions Kenji grabbed his fork and took a bite of the cake, it was pretty good, granted the ambiance of the room kinda dulled down the taste a little. "Well, before I forget, happy birthday." He said, laughing a little in the process. Hopefully he could lighten the mood a little, this wasn't really the best discussion to be had over a birthday cake. Kenji then remembered why he had stopped by in the first place, a challenging mission of sorts, but now that he thought about it maybe something a little more travel related would be preferable. "Kind of off topic but, you don't happen to know if there are any courier missions to Donzoko currently available do you?"

Vox laughed. It was a bit strained, but genuine. "Thanks." It was his birthday, after all. He was supposed to be enjoying himself. This had dredged up a lot of bad memories, but it had brought back some good ones too. Any memory of Takeshi was bittersweet, really. They'd had some good years together, but Takeshi's life had been cut short just as what seemed like their best years were beginning. It was a shame, really. He'd hoped to raise Kenji alongside Takeshi, rather than instead of him.

Vox sputtered at the request. He'd known this was coming, it was just an unpleasant surprise to hear it now. It was no secret why Kenji wanted this mission, he wanted to visit his psycho girlfriend. Vox put down the cake, swallowed the bit he had almost choked on, and composed himself. "I suppose I could check. Can't say I approve, but I'm not going to butt in too much. I'll let you know if something comes up."

Kenji had to restrain himself from laughing when Vox choked a little in response to his question. Sure they had a pretty sobering conversation about the Hirano when he came back from the prom, but that didn't make Kenji want to see Arumi any less, if anything he wanted to see her more so they could talk face to face about it. Grinning a little Kenji took bite of cake, oddly enough it tasted a little better. "I suppose I could check. Can't say I approve, but I'm not going to butt in too much. I'll let you know if something comes up."

"Thank you." Kenji replied gratefully, his mind drifting off a little as he thought about how the trip could go. Of course he would finish the mission before anything else, but he would have at least one day to spend with Arumi and maybe do a little sight seeing, however much sight seeing you could really do in an underground city. Had she gotten hew own apartment yet? What were her parents like? Would he get to meet them? Did she have a team or a sensei yet? Maybe he'd get to meet them too. He was sure a call or a few texts could answer some of those questions, but Kenji never really liked phones, he preferred a more hands on approach.

Kenji hoped that he would be able to see how Arumi lived on a first hand basis, maybe her parents and a few other Hirano as well. He wanted to see if they were really as bad as they were rumored to be, if not he may be able to dispel some of those rumors, if so then at the very least he might be able to see what he would be dealing with down the line. "This might be stretching it a little but..." He started, somewhat nervous about his next request. "... if a courier mission does pop up do you think I could get a little extra time in Donzoko after it's completed?" Kenji finished somewhat nervously, unsure of how Vox would respon. Then he realized something, Vox had came clean about quite a bit, it was only fair that he explained himself a bit.

"Since we're being honest, I'd like to take the time to try and truly get to know the Hirano, as much as they'll allow me at least." Kenji took a more serious tone, he knew any sign of reluctance might make it seem like he wouldn't be up for the task he was about to suggest. "In my position I may be able to learn more than anyone else, maybe I could help shed some light on things. I wont go so far as to risk my relationship with Arumi, but I will do what I can."

Vox groaned. As much as it bothered him, there was technically nothing he could do. "If there's no other stops, then the deadline isn't especially strict. A couple days would be permitted." Sometimes he hated being a stickler for the rules. They could be very useful, maintaining order and keeping worse impulses in check, but right now they were damned inconvenient. There was really no way he could discourage this without singling Kenji out for special treatment, and aside from bending the rules that would be obvious enough to cause a rift between them. That was the last thing he wanted.

"You should know the Hirano are very secretive. The only outsiders who seem to know anything are the ones who marry into the clan, and even then they're sworn to the same secrecy as everyone else so we don't know exactly how much they know." A thought crossed his mind. Exactly how far was Kenji planning to go with his fact-finding mission? Prying into the business of any clan was dangerous, but an insular cult like the Hirano was even worse. "Don't try to dig too deep, Kenji. There are worse things than messing up your relationship. We've tried placing agents to investigate the Hirano, they've all disappeared. Just go with what they show you and for god's sake don't push your luck." Vox had the feeling he was going to have a heart attack before this was all over. Maybe two at once.

"If there's no other stops, then the deadline isn't especially strict. A couple days would be permitted." "Thank you." Kenji may have kept a straight face but on the inside he celebrated a little, he was looking forward to this trip. "You should know the Hirano are very secretive. The only outsiders who seem to know anything are the ones who marry into the clan, and even then they're sworn to the same secrecy as everyone else so we don't know exactly how much they know." Kenji nodded, if he would end up privy to some information he would probably subject to the same sort of secrecy. If so then he may have to resort to simply giving generalized answers, after all a "It's not as bad as you think." is better than nothing.

"Don't try to dig too deep, Kenji. There are worse things than messing up your relationship. We've tried placing agents to investigate the Hirano, they've all disappeared. Just go with what they show you and for god's sake don't push your luck." "I understand. You don't have to worry about me." Kenji thought about making a joke of him marrying into the clan in order to learn more in order to try and ease the tension, but he wasn't sure if Vox would interpret it as a joke. That and it would probably just end up making things worse, for Vox at least. So instead he simply shut up and finished his cake.

Vox nodded. It was one thing for Kenji to say he shouldn't worry, but he was still going to. Kenji had pretty good judgement, but he was still a kid. And considering who he'd picked as a girlfriend, there were clearly some gaps in his judgement. Kenji was going out of his way to spend time with a berserk cultist whose mind was going to slowly break down. That on its own was worrying enough. "Just be safe, okay?" He continued eating, letting Kenji figure out exactly what he meant.

When he was done, Vox crushed out his cigarette. He'd been letting it burn in the ashtray long enough. The Keukage boxed up the remaining half of the cake. "We can finish this another night." He stood, closing up the box and sticking it in a cupboard out of the way. It would be safe there until tomorrow. "For now, maybe we should plan something. It's been about seventy years since I've had a proper birthday dinner, you feel like going somewhere later?"

"Just be safe, okay?" "I..." It was Kenji's turn to choke a little, coughing lightly as he tried to swallow down the last bit of cake and blushing faintly in the process, did Vox know? "... um, yeah." He finished somewhat awkwardly, his voice still a little rough from the bits of cake lodged in his trachea. "We can finish this another night." "Alright." Kenji nodded in agreement, massaging his throat a little as Vox put the cake away, hoping that Vox's sentiment was just that.

He really didn't want to explain his actions the night of going into the morning after the prom, all he could do is hope that Vox didn't have someone watching over him after the prom. "For now, maybe we should plan something. It's been about seventy years since I've had a proper birthday dinner, you feel like going somewhere later?" "Sure, maybe I should pay this time, it is your birthday after all." Kenji said jokingly as he stood up and returned his chair to its original location. "Although technically you control my paychecks."

Vox chuckled a bit. That awkwardness was reassuring. Kenji couldn't even talk about that sort of thing, no way he could get up the nerve to actually do the deed. Small comfort when he didn't seem to have any objections to the idea of marrying a Hirano, but at least it was holding the worst off. Vox didn't even want to think about having a Hirano grandchild.

The comment about paying got another laugh. "What about that apartment?" He closed the cupboard, turning back to Kenji. "Don't worry, I'll cover it. I get paid too much as it is, and you don't get paid enough. This one's on me." The Keukage sat back at his desk, relaxing a bit. This talk had taken a load off his chest. "So, what you up for tonight?"

Kenji could breathe a sigh of relief, it seemed all of his fears about Vox knowing about his prom night escapades were misplaced. However, he didn't actually breathe that sigh of relief because that could quite possibly imply that there was something to hide, instead he just laughed along with Vox. "What about that apartment?" "Good point." Kenji had almost forgotten about saving up for an apartment. Sure, he could always just rent a room at a hotel if Arumi came to stay, but his own apartment would be much better.

No checkout times, complete privacy, and the option for soundproofing the walls. After the night they shared Kenji learned that ample soundproofing would be a must, otherwise Vox might get some noise complaints that could give him a heart attack. "Don't worry, I'll cover it. I get paid too much as it is, and you don't get paid enough. This one's on me." "Suit yourself." Kenji joked, slinging Denji Karitoriki over his shoulders in the process then turning back towards his Kage. "So, what you up for tonight?" "Don't look at me, it's your birthday isn't it?"

Kenji did have a point. It eas his birthday, he was supposed to be deciding these things. "Lessee, I'm thinking steak for tonight." He looked over the stacks of paperwork he had yet to do. It was going to be a few hours before dinner anyway, and he had a lot to take care of before then. "I'll meet back up with you at 1800 hours."

The Keukage grabbed a peace of paper, scrawling out an order and signing it. Kenji wanted his courier missions to Donzoko, and he was certainly qualified. So Vox wrote up an official order that he was to be in the running for any rank-appropriate missions to Donzokogakure. He had the feeling he was going to regret it, but maybe if he was really lucky then more exposure to the Hirano would make him think better of this. "Drop this off at the mission office, I'll meet you back here at six."

"Lessee, I'm thinking steak for tonight." "Sounds great." "I'll meet back up with you at 1800 hours." "Alright, see you then." Six-o-clock, that gave a fair amount of time, maybe he'd knock a quick mission out of the way to pass the time. Kenji was about to head out when he noticed Vox quickly scribbling something on a piece of paper. "Drop this off at the mission office, I'll meet you back here at six." "Will do." Kenji replied, taking the paper and bowing slightly before making his exit. He was sure Vox had a lot of paperwork to do, and he was happy to help any way he could.

Returning to the missions counter Kenji handed the paper to the clerk without so much as taking a peep at it. After all, it wasn't his position to be prying into the Keukage's orders, even if he was his adopted son. With a nod the clerk took his note, read it over, and logged it into the system. "I'll let you know if something comes up." "Thank you." Kenji replied, he had a hunch of what the note was about now, now all he had to do was wait. So he took the folder the clerk had set aside for him earlier and began to read it over, debating whether or not he had time to take on this mission before dinner.

[End Thread]