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Weeks passed and eventually, it was Kenshin and Tomoko's birthday. Since Kenshin was born a few days earlier than Tomoko, he's older than her.
Both Kenshin and Tomoko decided to celebrate their birthdays at the same time at their home.
Mostly because Tomoko barely wants sunlight to touch her skin, Kenshin's reason is that he wants to spend more time with his family.
Aside from their birthday which was being prepared, many other things happened during these past few weeks.
Such as the inevitable war between the Yokai faction and the Five Principal Clans.
True to Yasaka's assumption, the Shinto Gods didn't make any moves to back the Principal Clans. Probably because interfering in the war would be seen as a weakness for the Five Principal Clans, sending a message to everyone that they couldn't handle the Yokai by themselves.
Yasaka has also sent a messenger for peaceful talks, which was immediately rejected by the head of the Himejima clan.
So Yasaka investigated the source of the conflict afterward.
And what she discovered caused a ripple of shock to everyone in the faction.
The war was instigated by none other than the Loyalist clans! More specifically, the Inu clan, one of the big clans.
When this was revealed to the public, every Yokai was enraged!
No wonder they're fighting a war that they have no idea about. It's because they didn't start it and even the Queen herself didn't know about it!
And so, the oblivious Loyalist clans suddenly became the most hated people on the faction in just a single night.
The heads of the Loyalist clans tried to mitigate the situation, giving out excuses such as a rogue member making decisions by himself without any permission from them, the heads of the clans.
Unfortunately, with Yasaka on the helm of the chaos, she's gonna make sure they won't recover from the repercussions of their actions.
Now that the Loyalist clans' reputation has been dragged through the dirt. It's time to offer them a helping hand to recover and it's something simple, really.
Just be on the frontline of the upcoming war.
When Yasaka suggested this, the heads immediately took it without hesitation, ready to serve the new Queen with full vigor in exchange for recovery.
All that's left is the final nail in the coffin. Using them as a scapegoat, weaken their forces, and have them beg her for help.
Only then will she finally get their unyielding support.
Now, the only question left is how to weaken the forces of the Loyalist clan? It's not like the Five Principal clans are strong enough to weaken them.
That'll be where Kenshin will come in. Again.
With his villain persona, a disguised traitor among the ranks of the Inu clan, he would purposely give misinformation, slowly thin out the herd, and finally, make sure the Loyalist clan won't recover from the losses.
———
"Happy Birthday, Kenshin, Tomoko!" As soon as he finished his daily workouts and routine, he was instantly greeted with exploding glitter along with a cake with two lit candles that displays the number: 16.
It was Kiko, his father who was holding the cake for him while on the other side, Tomoko, who had just gotten down from the flight of stairs was greeted by their mom, Tomo.
Kenshin gulped his saliva hard. This is the first time he's celebrating a birthday with a family. Back in the world of Fantazio, he only celebrated his birthday for a few years before growing bored as he didn't have anyone to celebrate it with.
"T-Thank you…" He stuttered, trying to keep his emotions in.
Thankfully, Kiko didn't notice anything unusual. He probably thought Kenshin was just stunned by the surprise, which definitely filled him with a sense of accomplishment.
He then urged Kenshin with a mysterious smile, "Come to the table, son. We have a present for both of you."
"Your father's right! Quick quick!" On the other hand, Tomo simply grabbed Tomoko's hand and dragged her along.
Now standing alone on the doorstep, Kenshin stared at his home filled with warmth and happiness lingering in the air.
A feeling of pleasure and satisfaction swirled inside his chest, "Perks of having a new life, I guess…" he muttered to himself before entering and approaching the dining room.
There, two boxes covered in colorful wrappings sat on the table, with Tomoko grabbing the green one with her name on it.
"It's from me and your father. Quick, open it!" Tomo eagerly urged Tomoko, who sighed in defeat.
She then started ripping the wrapping until it finally revealed what was inside. A plain box that she pried open with her tiny fingers, revealing the contents inside.
"Wha-!?" Tomoko's face flushed heavily as she slowly took the gift out of the box.
It was a dress, a pink girly dress. She riffled through the box and took out a few more clothes. Some are dresses while some are simple clothes.
What truly caught her attention was the pair of black panties.
When Tomo saw this, instead of reacting violently, she excitedly told her, "Your brother told me that you kept stealing his underwear since yours doesn't fit anymore so I decided to gift you one and it's also black, your favorite color!"
"Onii-chan….told you what?" She froze, her hands trembling as she held each corner of the black panties.
Her head slowly craned towards Kenshin, her face slowly turning beet red as realization dawned upon her. Especially after seeing Kenshin trying to hold himself back from laughing.
She stuttered. "O-O-O-Onii-chan!" filled with anger, she angrily threw the panties towards Kenshin.
The latter easily dodged out of the way, this time, he was no longer holding back, "BUWAHAHAHA! I didn't expect it to actually happen!"
His laugh just irritated her further but before she could go on and chase after him, their mother interrupted the pair of siblings, "Come on, stop it already you two. Even if Kenshin didn't tell me about it, I would've still gifted you one."
"Mom!"
After getting another minute of laughter and teasing from Tomoko, it was finally time to receive his gift.
Unlike Tomoko's. His gift looks smaller than hers. Probably around the size of an apple.
Which made him curious about what's inside. He never truly told his parents about his needs and wants.
So in his mind, he assumed that the gift must be something random and they probably used other teenage boys of his age as a reference for the gift.
However, when he ripped the wraps and pried the cardboard box open, he froze in shock.
It was a key with a familiar logo. A Toyota.
"This…" Kenshin was speechless. His parents actually bought him a car?!
When they brought him outside, he was met with a plain-looking classic car parked in front of their porch.
His father, Kiko, seemed a bit timid about it though, "Toyota MR2 W10. It's the only one I can afford for now, son. Although it's second-hand but I had it cleaned and paid for a full body maintenance."
When he saw his son silent and still looking at the car, he continued, "These past few months, I just noticed that you're always outside, either attending your school at Jujutsu High, was it? Or simply visiting some friends."
"So, I came to a decision to buy you a car. I know it's a bit old unlike the others bu—" Just as the silence felt defeaning for the father, Kenshin suddenly interrupted him.
"I like it." He uttered, he slowly turned his head to Kiko and repeated, "I really like it. Thank you…dad."
Before he could say anything, Kenshin engulfed the man in a deep hug, which the man immediately reciprocated with a sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing as if a boulder was just lifted from them.
He then urged Kenshin, before advising, "Go on then! Try it. Though don't go too far. You don't have a license yet."
Meanwhile, while Kenshin was tracing the hood of the car with his fingers, Tomoko stood behind their parents, gobsmacked.
"What!? How come he received a car while I only have panties!? This isn't fair!" She clutched a handful of her hair and complained.
Behind her stood Ophis, munching on another wave of sweets that Kenshin had secretly given to her earlier. She was looking at the weird contraption on the road. This isn't her first time seeing one but she's still confused about it.
All she knows is that it is a human invention and it's used for travelling. That's all. A bit useless to her.
"Drive safe!" Both the husband and wife duo waved their hands goodbye as Kenshin drove off with the Toyota.
Not fair!! Screamed Tomoko inside her mind.
———
"License, huh? Not a problem, I'll probably just call Seguro to handle it for me." Recalling the Oyabun whose influence and power in Japan is now greater than even the Government itself, Kenshin decided to leave the matter to him.
Previously, the old man was full of vengeance against Kenshin but ever since helping him recover his power and even amplifying it by helping him absorb the other Yakuza forces, the man is now extremely loyal to him, willing to sacrifice billions of dollars to please him.
So something as simple as getting a license in Japan is nothing to Seguro. A lift of a hand is enough to get everything arranged in a single minute.
Kenshin shifted his attention back to the car. Although it is old but it's a classic. Unlike the other modern cars that looked plain and lacking in design, the Toyota MR2 w10 is something that people would categorize as Old but Gold.
And besides even if he feels like it's lacking in speed, modifying its engine and some components inside is easy and would turn it into a monster in street racing.
"I should probably visit Yasaka and take her around for a ride someday." Kenshin made a note to himself. Not now, though. Yasaka is too busy handling the process of their grand plan.
And besides, he still has the villain role to guide the Loyalist clans to their doom.
Good thing I haven't bought a car yet, buying myself one and having it as a gift from the heart of a father is different when it comes to feelings.
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[Next Chapter: Ch. 80 - Tokyo Drift!]