#traveling long distances with friends and having misadventures is something that never dies

[the-monkey-ruler]

JTTW’s writing style is simple yet very effective when it wants to strike a chord

There’s something about it that is timeless truly. That no matter where someone is around the world, they can always relate to that kind of on-the-road storytelling. I think that is what gives it such a great advantage of a monster of the week format, that well, it is repetitive. In some instances, it’s that kind of repetitive nature that allows the characters to really shine through. It's the same monster of the week but it allows for that kind of character deep drive when a movie can just focus on a SINGLE arc and THAT is an entire movie. It gives so much room for exploration of themes and emotions!! There is so much in the novel that most tv shows can't even handle all of it!

It’s so simple yet the emotions that are being felt or still so very real and it kind of blurs that line of despite being a story with the gods and demons it still remains so human and natural about what it means to grow as a person and finding ourselves, and who we are as people. And honestly, those kinds of stories stick around forever, and I think it is real why this narrative has continued for half of millennia. Xiyouji is a grand epic quest sure but it is also full of so many comedic moments that make you laugh and feel like you are on this journey with them. You know they are going to make it to the end but you don't know how or when and it's just one thing after another!

It really can be relatable to any generation and can be so simple in a story but at the same time so complex and meaningful because it is solely character driven. The goal stays the same and honestly the villains change but the format is always clear. It gives it that gradual change where while the plot is the same the characters are the ones to be different every time. And it’s both amazing to see and lovely to analyze every time.

Truly the most human tale in the most absurd adventures...

[wutheringmights]

If it's not a spoiler, how did ctb Twilight/Midna get together?

This is definitely not the sprawling story that some of the other romances in CTB have in mind. But it does take a while for either of them to have feelings for each other.

A lot of my ideas for how the events of TP went down follow this one fanfiction I read that I honestly should look up again. For the basics:

The events of the game took place over 2-3 years

The resistance had a larger role, to the point where they knew Twilight could turn into a wolf and that Midna was with him

There is a two month period between Ganondorf's defeat and Midna returning to the Twilight Realm

For the first six months of their adventure, Twilight and Midna loathed each other. He started to soften up to her first, and Midna followed, though she didn't dare admit that she had a soft spot for him as well. They didn't grow closer and become actual friends until after Zelda died to save Midna.

Romantically, Midna fell in love first. It was when they were traveling through the Gerudo desert together. It was a very quiet revelation. He had tried to past time while they traveled by telling stories before, but she had always rebuked him. But now, after he stood by her side despite knowing she tried to used him, she desperately wanted to know what he had to say about the world. And his stories weren't anything special. Some were about working on the ranch and his misadventures with the kids. Others were him recounting the plots in the cheesy novels he read. But he delighted in that simplicity and saw it all as beautiful. He sang her his old working songs too, the kind that got him through long days of labor. And as they trekked over the burning sands or rested in the cold night, she realized that if he could talk about her with half the admiration he praised a single blade of grass, she would be saved. And she was in love.

For Twilight, things were a little slower. Some of the members of the resistance would imply that he needed to check how he felt about Midna, but he just thought they were being weird about her for no reason. Then, around the time they were at Snow Peak, she was teasing him for slipping on ice, and he got hit in the stomach with the realization that he loved her. He can't even put into words what exactly he loved about her. He just adored everything that made up her.

He never did anything by halves, so he really kicked up the flirting and started getting her gifts. And Midna flirted back and accepted each one, not really taking him too seriously. I think they both knew deep down how the other felt about them, but they felt like they couldn't really acknowledge it.

Then Twilight acknowledged it.

They were outside of Hyrule Castle. Midna had just broken the barrier. They were about to storm in. He gave her a cheesy last minute confession and she joked he might change her mind when he sees her true form. He bashfully admits that he forgot being an imp wasn’t her true form. And this scared Midna, because now his unconditional love was terrifying. Now it went from being a blessing she didn't mind being unworthy for to a charity she felt like she had stolen from something more worthy. There had to be someone out there more worthy than her.

They defeated Ganondorf. She regained her true form.

Twilight and Midna joined Zelda on a tour around the kingdom to announce the defeat of Ganondorf and acknowledge the help lent to them by the Twilit Princess. And now that their duty was over, Twilight was really starting to push the romance despite how much distance Midna was trying to put between them.

To be fair to him, the signals were a little mixed. One day she would avoid him at all costs, but another she flirted ruthlessly and swooned when he kissed her. But deep down, I think he knew something was wrong. And if something was wrong, she would leave him. He was young, and he couldn't bear the idea of being abandoned.

So he proposed.

And Midna told him to give her time to think, to see how her kingdom needed her. She told him to go home and remember what a simple life in Ordon entailed, how much he loved the slow summers and the herding of goats. He was a boy who could love a blade of grass. There was no grass in the Twilight Realm. She told him to think about it more.

He said he couldn't think about living a quiet life in Ordon any longer. He had grown out of it, like they were a pair of too-tight shoes. He didn't tell her that when he tried to go back to a rancher's life, the herding of goats felt foreign. He couldn't remember his old workers songs. Ordon wasn't his home anymore. He wanted to make a new one with her. Still, she told him to think about it more. They would talk more when she returned.

So she left, and she broke the mirror that connected their worlds together.

And Twilight was left behind, shattered in her wake.

There is a deleted bit in CTB where Twilight told this story to Warriors, and when he said he fell in love with Midna before she regained her true form, Warriors was DELIGHTED. RIP Twilight but he was gonna get bullied so hard for being a monster fucker

[sparklyjojos]

THE SAIMON FAMILY CASE recaps [7/13]

In which we talk with the yakuza side of the family, learn about strange mountain hermits running around, and meet the Obligatory Kodansha Editor Character.

--

PART 5

Chinese legends speak of a man called Xu Fu. The ruler of Qin Dynasty ordered him to sail to the land to the east and find the elixir of immortality. After a long journey, Xu Fu arrived at a beautiful mountain as wondrous as Mount Sumeru that he called Fushizan, “the mountain of immortality”. One theory claims that it was the same place we know as Fuji-san.

Well, certainly it wasn’t Mt. Fuji he found… although the mountain indeed was located on the legendary Penglai, the Island of Immortals—Japan. On Mount Penglai lived its God, and looking from the top one could see the entire Country of Gods stretching down below...

--

When Ajiro and Kirigirisu are still up at 4 AM talking about the case, Soga Tensui makes yet another sudden entrance and shows them a written request:

The other Soga Tensui is with the rest of the family right now. Voices carry far, so please keep on talking as if I’m not here. If you want to discuss something with me, please write it down.

The three men talk in this way until dawn. Since the magician doesn’t say a word, Kirigirisu isn’t sure if they’re actually talking with Tensui or maybe with Gensui.

Ajiro has no qualms about telling Tensui he and his brother are among the most likely suspects, and the man doesn’t seem upset in the slightest.

We have already considered the possibility. Neither I nor the other Soga Tensui is the perpetrator. We may not have a solid alibi, and I realize that it’s a weak proof of innocence, but the idea to ask you for help came from both of us. We wouldn’t make the request, was one of us the culprit.

It appears Tensui has already made his own little investigation through Miku, who asked everyone in the family (with a promise not to blame them for the deaths) whether or not they swapped the curtains or took Yuuta to Tottori. Either no one from the family members present did that, or the culprit stays quiet. The investigation hit a dead end.

It seems the case is unsolvable as of now. I don’t think the investigation will be able to progress any further unless another incident happens on the 19th next month.

Soon after that Tensui leaves them, probably to hide before everyone else wakes up.

--

Once the family sits down to eat, Ajiro asks everyone to watch each other’s moves throughout the next month, just in case.

“You think one of us killed him?” booms the man looking like a mountain (Kirigirisu looks into his notes… right, Fujita Daisen. The non-yakuza son of the yakuza old man.) “If the culprit is really among us, then listen up! On the 19th next month, I’m gonna be patrolling Mount Daisen together with my buddies from the mountaineering club. If you’re gonna attack someone, better try me then! You can be sure I’m gonna turn the tables on you!”

“Calm down, no one’s going to attack you,” says the man more similar to a tall tree (notes, notes… ah, Fujita Hyousen. Daisen’s younger brother, the current yakuza boss. If Daisen seems like a furious animal in his demeanor, this guy’s more like a sharp blade).

“What, Hyousen, are you saying I’m not gonna be attacked next?”

“Even if I was the culprit, I wouldn’t want to target you.”

“You still dare say that? I’d say it’d be just like you to attack me!”

Everyone else looks on in awkward silence as the two brothers have a heated exchange.

“Whatever,” Hyousen says after they calm down a little. “If you do go into the mountains on 19th, better take care not to get into any accidents.”

“Oh, don’t you worry. I’m not gonna die until I meet the Mountain God.”

“Do you seriously still believe all those tales…”

“I’m gonna see the Country of Gods from the mountain!” Daisen yells nonsensically.

--

On December 19th, Fujita Daisen (44) is found dead while patrolling Mount Daisen with his climbing club friends. It seems he slipped on the stairs of a mountain shelter and hit his head, eventually dying from blood loss.

Mount Daisen—probably the inspiration for the man’s name—has been an object of worship and awe since ancient times. One legend speaks of a proud god from Korea who wanted to prove one of his mountains was in fact even grander, so he loaded it onto a boat and took to Japan to compare sizes. As soon as he arrived close to Mount Daisen and realized how big it truly was, he left his own mountain next to it and left in a huff—that’s where the neighboring mountain Koreizan came from.

Mount Daisen can be dangerous to climb in winter, so patrols of experienced climbers are sent out to ensure safety on the snow-covered trails. One such patrol of ten men under Fujita Daisen’s lead embarked on duty on December 19th. They all took a brief rest in a small concrete hut serving as a shelter. Eventually Daisen asked everyone to leave the shelter and follow him, now constantly staying in front of the group, heading straight for the peak without looking back at them even once—something very unusual for him.

When they arrived at the peak, strangely-behaving Daisen was the first to enter the big lodge located there, but once everyone else walked in, they couldn’t find Daisen inside. Instead, someone else had been waiting for them: a corpulent thirty-something man with curly hair bringing to mind a reggae artist.

“I’m… Saimon Takayoshi,” he mumbled out, giving off the vibe of a troubled introvert. “I’m from… Daisen’s family. He asked me to… from that shelter to here… to switch places with him. Daisen should join us... any time now...”

Before the rest could fully shake off the surprise, they heard two other climbers call for them from outside, yelling that they had found someone dead at the shelter below. Everyone rushed back and discovered the corpse was Daisen, lying in a pool of blood by the short stairs outside.

According to Takayoshi, Daisen had anticipated that someone would try to attack him that day. Takayoshi thought it was probably just baseless paranoia, but agreed to serve as bait during the climb, so that Daisen could walk behind them, spot the assassin and catch him. Daisen planned to leave the hut only when the others were at a certain distance so they wouldn’t suspect anything. It seems that he fell from the stairs when trying to follow them.

Since Daisen’s father Kyuuzou was once called Saimon, this incident means a fourth member of the Saimon family in a row has died on 19th day of a month.

--

As the previous boss of Fujita-gumi, Fujita Kyuuzou inherited a splendid residence in Tsuwano, on the opposite side of town than Kami-Saimon. He lives there along with those who served him the longest. His son Hyousen and the rest live in another house, closer to the town’s center.

On December 21st, the day of Daisen’s wake, Ajiro and Kirigirisu head to Kyuuzou’s residence and talk with Takayoshi.

As we may remember, Takayoshi is one of the three sons of Akiko, the second victim. (The other two brothers are Taishi and Akio, who play the two clowns in the show.) Though in his thirties, Takayoshi is single, apparently never having even dated before… and no wonder, because his entire demeanor screams that he doesn’t like any contact with other people. Was that why he left the family?

“I wasn’t as talented as my brothers…” Takayoshi mumbles out an explanation. “I’m from the main family, so I would perform in shows since I was small… but no matter how much I trained, I had stage fright and always made mistakes. Akio was always nice to me, but… Taishi would beat me… others turned a cold shoulder…”

Young Takayoshi would often leave his house to find shelter and understanding somewhere else: in Fujita-gumi led by Kyuuzou, who treated the boy on par with his own children. Takayoshi became a full-fledged member after graduating middle school and moved to the Fujita residence. He quickly realized that the rest of the main family still acts cold towards him, though for much different reasons now. Afraid that his presence could bring Fujita-gumi trouble, he left Tsuwano in high school.

After many misadventures he was found passed out in the mountains and brought back to the main family’s house, where he once again became the object of pestering. Daisen and Hyousen helped him get out of there, and Kyuuzou’s recommendation allowed him to stay for three years with a friendly yakuza group Nagasaki-kai (written 長先会 rather than like the city’s name). During that time, Takayoshi managed to learn enough magic to later be able to travel around Japan making a living through street performances. Maybe it wasn’t an easy life, but still better than staying with the Saimons. He kept in touch with the Fujitas and knew about the mysterious deaths going on, but only decided to return a few days ago, to help Daisen.

“He didn’t tell me much, but… he said that the real target isn’t the Saimon family, but Fujita-gumi. And now he’s dead… I made a horrible mistake again…!”

Takayoshi may have been a prime suspect so far, but the conversation makes Ajiro and Kirigirisu doubt he’s involved in the case. On the day of Tamako’s death he was far away in Hokkaido, attempting to get some money by talking to a journalist about his experiences on the road. The journalist was called Uyama Hideo and worked for Kodansha.

[Uyama Hideo is an actual Kodansha editor. The author’s note at the end dedicates the book to Uyama and reveals that it was in part written as thanks for everything he did for the shinhonkaku / new mystery genre.]

Takayoshi and Uyama eventually moved to the Kanto area, where he got a call from the Fujitas about his mother Akiko’s death. He was still in Kanto when a month later he learned about Yuuta’s death and Daisen’s plan. And so, he decided to help and headed to Mount Daisen.

“Magicians don’t reveal their methods, but I guess I’m not a true magician anyway…” Takayoshi mumbles. “And it’s for the investigation, so I’ll tell you what we did... When a magician performs instant transportation, it’s practically always achieved using a double… Either a twin sibling, another really similar person, or at least someone with the same body shape hiding their face… but you need a good excuse for the last one. If you see a magician getting shot out of a cannon towards a suspended cage, he will be wearing a helmet saying it’s for safety… but it’s actually to hide his face… the double is already hidden at the destination, they just need to use blind spots effectively to switch…”

Kirigirisu realizes that he has already seen an “instant transportation” like that before: the torn business card that seemed to have teleported inside a mandarin orange.

Takayoshi explains that while not being that similar to Daisen, the right clothing and time to prepare made him able to serve as his double. Having experience with illusion helped.

“And what do you personally think about Daisen’s death?” Ajiro asks. “Was it an accident?”

“Daisen was… definitely murdered.”

--

After listening to Takayoshi, the detectives move rooms to have a conversation with Hyousen, Daisen’s brother and the current boss of Fujita-gumi.

Hyousen states that it’s Fujita-gumi that’s being targeted. Two other groups may be at fault. One is Nagasaki-kai; they may have been friendly once, but after their boss got assassinated a bit before Hyousen took over Fujita-gumi, the relations between them worsened, and who knows, maybe they’re just waiting for the right moment to take over Tsuwano. The other enemy group is Karyuu-kai (華隆会), also hungry for their turf. Hyousen claims that Fujita-gumi are the ones keeping Tsuwano peaceful and happy, and if they were to fall, the other groups would probably bring in a giant gang war.

Fujita-gumi is mostly a tekiya group selling shady goods at festivals and getting protection money from Tsuwano’s stores. Another source of income for them is “industrial enterprise”—by which Hyousen means Soga Tensui Troupe’s Circus of Magic.

The group fell into some financial difficulties lately. The yakuza structure have changed a lot throughout the years; many small groups have merged together into big ones, creating an oligopoly. The thing about Fujita-gumi’s tekiya business is that they can’t exactly go sell things in another group’s territory, but many groups allowed for an exception when their yashi (peddlers) were tagging along with the Circus of Magic. This new yakuza oligopoly means in practice that Fujita-gumi can’t go many different places anymore, and neither can the Circus. Even the recent show in Yamaguchi was only possible thanks to a brief change in what yakuza group controlled the turf at the moment. Right now the Circus is pretty much limited to touring between towns by the old mines, where the Tsukumos and Tousens still have many friends.

The cost of the magic show is nothing to sneeze at, what with all these outsiders it employs, and combined with territorial limitations it made the Circus face tough times. Daisen was able to help them a little financially as the owner of a yakiniku restaurant chain in Tottori, and Hyousen set up a bunch of pachinko parlors with help of (then friendly) Nagasaki-kai. Then the new boss of Nagasaki-kai announced severing their ties and all the pachinko parlors were slowly being taken back. Their only remaining parlor in Yamaguchi is receiving harassment, and even Daisen’s yakiniku restaurants have been under attack recently.

Considering all this, it wouldn’t be weird if one of the enemy groups started attacking Fujita-gumi indirectly by assassinating members of their family. Hyousen is fully convinced that the four dead Saimons were all murdered.

Ajiro and Kirigirisu can see the point, but something doesn’t add up. If Daisen believed another yakuza group was at fault, why would he stand up at a family gathering and challenge the culprit among them to target him? Why would he get so heated with Hyousen?

Hyousen does realize their conversation made him look suspect, so he explains it. Daisen got heated because he thought there was an enemy group’s spy in the family. It’s true that Daisen acted like he fully expected Hyousen to target him, but that probably stemmed from when they were young and fought constantly. When Hyousen said that even if he was the culprit, he wouldn’t want to attack Daisen, he meant that Daisen as his brother likely wouldn’t be targeted by the other groups, as they would fear Fujita-gumi’s revenge… and revenge they will get, as soon as Hyousen figures out who exactly is at fault for his brother’s death.

This leaves one question: what was that strange thing Daisen said about the Mountain God and the Land of Gods?

“The mountain is Mount Daisen, and the Land of Gods is Izumo stretching to the west. As for the Mountain God… I think it’s nothing more than idle gossip, but I’ll tell you. Our father claims that decades ago he met the Mountain God while climbing Mount Daisen. I never believed him, but Daisen did. The truth is, who my father met was not a god, but a hermit living in the mountains. I and my son Hyousai were even named after him. You see, volcanic Mount Daisen was once called the hikami (火神) mountain, hikami meaning “the god of fire”. That hermit was also called Hikami (氷神), although with the first kanji meaning “ice” rather than “fire”. And since he was a sennin (仙人), a mountain hermit, and was gifted with appropriate genius, sai (才), his full name was Hikami Sensai (氷神仙才). Only my father has ever met that man.”

So that’s where the names Hyousen (氷仙) and Hyousai (氷才) came from.

--

The two detectives move rooms again to speak with Fujita Kyuuzou, the previous boss of Fujita-gumi, elderly father of Daisen and Hyousen.

Immediately after entering the room, they notice a black Noh mask portraying a smiling old man—kokushikijou—displayed as decoration. Kyuuzou invites them to sit down with him on the tatami. As soon as they do, Kyuuzou suddenly yells out in a frightening manner, causing Kirigirisu to fall on his back in fear. Ajiro doesn’t even flinch.

“It’s been forty years since someone was able to withstand my kiai,” Kyuuzou says with a smile. “You truly are Soujin’s grandson.”

“Do you know my grandfather?”

“Know him? We’re sworn brothers, we drank from the same cup of sake! As his grandson, you too are like my family.” Kyuuzou’s eyes are kind as he looks at Ajiro.

“I… did not know about that. My apologies. If I could contact him, I would have brought him along...”

“Don’t worry. No one could ever shackle that man down, not even his grandson, not even I, his sworn brother. He’s not a yakuza, a man that would feel bound by family events; even if I was the one to die, I’m sure he wouldn’t attend my funeral.”

Ajiro’s own grandfather shared sake with a yakuza boss… Kirigirisu is shocked, but starts to understand why exactly Soujin gives others that dangerous mafia boss impression.

The detectives ask more questions about the case, but learn nothing new. Kyuuzouu does remember meeting Hikami Sensai decades ago, but the memory is fuzzy. He doesn’t have any proof that another group is pulling the strings behind the scenes, but Daisen was definitely murdered and they probably have a serial murder case in progress.

--

--

Kirigirisu’s life began anew in 1973, when he was a suspect in a murder case and had lost all his memories due to hitting his head. He could only vaguely remember suddenly falling off a cliff into the sea and trying to swim to the shore. It seemed like he had been solving a case as a private detective under the name Kirigirisu Tarou—or at least the few clues they found said so.

Nihon Tantei Club was founded a year later, in 1974. Though it hasn’t seen many cases so far, certainly their popularity is rising—well, a little. In this uncertain era, many businesses are facing financial difficulties. Kirigirisu wants to help Nihon Tantei Club as he can, not only because of his loyalty to both Ajiros, but because one of their investigations led to his first meeting with Kano.

But no matter how much they try, 1977 swiftly becomes 1978 without the Saimon Family Case coming anywhere near to being solved.

--

On January 18th, Ajiro and Kirigirsu visit Tsuwano once more in anticipation of another death the next day. The town is still full of snow, and the family members still have a grim look on their faces.

Daisetsu, late Daisen’s son, asks them to go with him and Takayoshi to the local bar at 10 PM so they can talk. When they meet there, an unknown man shows up to drink with them.

“This is…” Takayoshi mutters, “the journalist I told you about… Uyama…”

Uyama Hideo is a short man with curious eyes. He welcomes them with enthusiasm that makes it obvious he’s already somewhat drunk. His business card gives his first name as Hideomi (日出臣), apparently an older nickname of his.

“Oh…” Uyama sighs strangely. “You know, I have this astrologer friend, a man of many talents who wants to become a mystery novelist lately. I believe his name will become famous. Oh… he incidentally has the same first name as you, Mr. Ajiro. Shimada Souji.”

[The narration confirms that he means the future author of The Tokyo Zodiac Murders.]

The group sits down for a drink. It’s a pretty small place, as expected from a quiet town. The friendly owner is apparently one of Daisen’s friends from the mountaineering club. Looking around, the detectives notice a few posters of celebrities: the actor Matsuda Yuusaku, the karate master Ooyama Masutatsu, the pro-wrestler Rikidouzan, baseball stars Harimoto Isao and Kaneda Masaichi… Kirigirisu truly has no idea why all these different people have their faces plastered around the bar. Maybe the owner is a fan.

Daisetsu says that it’s not actually him that wanted to talk to the detectives, but Uyama.

“Oh… that’s right,” Uyama agrees with that strange sigh of his. “When Mr. Kirigirisu called me last month, I learned from him that Kira was staying with Fujita-gumi…”

“Kira?”

“That’s how… he reads my name…” Takayoshi explains [貴良 can be read as both Takayoshi and Kira]. “Even Daisetsu picked it up from him…”

“Oh… I wanted to talk about how those four deaths look like a murder case to me.”

“Exactly!” Daisetsu shouts. “At least my father’s death was murder! There’s no way a true man of the mountains would just slip and fall! I asked Uyama to help us investigate.”

“Oh… I’m going to look into the case more. Maybe interview the Saimons.”  Uyama adds that Taishi didn’t want to let him bother anyone from his house, so they should split forces: Uyama will focus on Fujita-gumi, while Ajiro and Kirigirisu take care of the Saimons. “I’m not doing this for a scoop, but just to help Kira. Besides, I’m something of a mystery fan, so I’m interested in seeing a strange case myself…”

The group talks some more before parting ways. Takayoshi and Daisetsu (and very drunk Uyama carried on Daisetsu’s back) head to the Fujita residence, and the detectives return to Kami-Saimon for the night.

As midnight strikes and January 18th becomes 19th, the anticipation of things to come hangs heavily in the air.

--

[>>>NEXT PART>>>]

[goodlucktai]

Raiders (2/?)

A/N: Several of you were interested in more of the Mummy AU, so I did my best to scrape something together. :’) The writer’s block is real. 

Again, this fic is based off of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, and stands as a sequel to “Know the world in yourself.”

I’ll be posting the rest of Raiders in snippets like this one, and then add it to the series on AO3 when it’s complete.

Story tag

x

Don is reaching for the door of his office when it opens by itself. Mikey beams at the man who steps inside the cluttered room and receives a similarly warm greeting in turn.

"Professor Angel," the man greets Don with a nod, followed by a friendly, "Doctor Angel."

"Not a doctor, Brody," Mikey says cheerfully for probably the dozenth time. "I didn't even finish high school."

Don hides a wince at that reminder with the ease of long practice. Raph does it less smoothly.

Brody only waves it away. "Semantics." He glances at Raphael, extending a hand politely. "And I don't believe we've met, Mister…?"

"Hamato," Raphael says after a moment's hesitation. He's giving his brothers a sidelong look as he shakes Brody's hand, and Don realizes belatedly that he never explained his change of name. Later, he thinks with a pang of regret.

"I'm Marcus Brody, Dean of Students here at Marshall. I'm something of a regular patron when it comes to the Angel brothers' business."

If anything, Raphael seems to understand they've cut ties with their family name, even if he doesn't know why. So when Brody brightens abruptly with revelation and asks if Raphael is any relation to Yoshi Hamato, Raphael simply says, "He was my father," instead of the more honest 'he was our father.'

"An incredible man," Brody reminisces fondly. "I remember a week we spent in Wales, hunting down Celtic legends about the Holy Grail. We went to a tavern to charm information out of the locals and your father got drunk, climbed on top of the bar, and sang some old college song at the top of his lungs until the police came in and arrested him."

"No way," Mikey whispers, awed and delighted. Don covers his face with his hand and does his best to stifle a surge of ridiculous laughter. Thinking of father used to hurt, but now he can imagine him as a young man traveling through Europe, headstrong and charming and every bit as reckless as Don's crazy little brother, and somehow the thought isn't painful at all.

"You're joking," Raphael says faintly. Brody grins.

"I wish I was. I got lost on my way to pay his bail. It took me hours to find the jailhouse, and by the time I got there, Yoshi was very sober and very confused. It didn't stop him from flirting his way into a clean change of clothes and a cup of coffee, though."

Mikey laughs outright, and Don gives into a wide smile. Raphael turns on them sharply.

"Don't you two even think about tellin' Leo any of this. That guy still thinks of dad as just this side of perfect, and I don't want to go shattering any lifelong illusions before dinner."

"So after dinner is fair game, then," Mikey points out reasonably, probably just for the sake of being contrary. Raphael twitches, as easy to poke into a fit of pique as ever.

"Was there something you needed, Mr. Brody?" Don says pointedly, before his brothers have a chance to devolve into children half their age and start a fight in his office in front of the Dean of Students. "There wasn't a problem with the last group of donations, was there?"

"Of course not," Brody says at once. "They were all stunning, of course, the museum is delighted to have them." He's uncomfortable, though, an unfamiliar frown tugging at his amicable face. "But I brought some people with me today."

"People?"

"From the government." Seeing three identical expressions of worry, Brody hastens to assure them, "It has nothing to do with your business. They're from the Army. Army Intelligence, actually. They're looking for someone you know, Professor."

Don blinks. "Who?"

"Someone by the name of O'Neil."

For a moment, it feels as though the world falls out from under his feet. It takes a few seconds for gravity to reassert itself, and in that time Mikey has placed a hand on his arm and taken the half-step forward that puts himself ahead of his small, fractured family. It’s a move he’s made before, when faced with mortal danger or any imminent threat, and it’s not lost on Don that it’s a move he’s making now. 

"Ask them to wait in the lecture hall, please," Mike says, with a shadow of his usual good cheer. "We'll join you guys in a minute."

Brody nods, looking as though he regrets being the bearer of unfortunate tidings, and slips out of the room without another word. Mikey only looks at Don when the door closes with a quiet catch and the brothers are safely ensconced in the dim daylight of the otherwise empty office.

He squeezes Don's arm, just hard enough to pull his attention back from the soft dread he was floundering in.

"You’ve told me about O’Neil," Mikey says. "He was like a father to you."

Raphael's eyes are sharp but his expression is without judgement. Warily, Don nods.

"He was one of my professors at university. We kept in contact for years, and he was - he was family to me," Don admits in a small, shameful voice, "even when you three weren't."

He isn't proud of that time. When father died, Donatello pushed his grief as far from himself as he could - dealt with it by not dealing with it at all, and writing home became all but impossible, because every time he put pen to paper he had to swallow the new and painful knowledge that father wouldn't be there to open this letter, or the next one, or the next. He would never be waiting to hear from Don ever again, and Don didn't know how to push past that grief.

The O'Neils, though - they were a bright place, an island where there should have been nothing but drowning sea. They came to visit when Kirby was on sabbatical, mailed him gifts on his birthday and hunted him down on the holidays. When Casey became a large part of Don's life, they only invited Casey along as well, and that yawning, aching sense of loss slowly became just another healed wound.

At that point, it was only difficult to write his brothers because it had simply been so long that Don didn't know what to say to them. How to explain his absence in their lives, his distance during this time when they should have all come together. And when it was hard to write them, he wrote the O'Neils instead, and pretended for a long time like he wasn't gradually abandoning one family for another.

And then he found Mikey in Egypt, and Mikey was as good as a stranger to him - a grifter with an agenda of his own and ghosts in his eyes and no time to waste on chasing the brothers that had left him behind. And Don realized the depth of his denial, and set out at once to make right what he had let fall into disrepair.

It's been well over a year since he's heard from the O'Neils, he realizes now with bitter dread. The letters he's sent out have gone unanswered, but this new life with Mikey beside him is a constant whirlwind of misadventure with very little standstill; he's been so busy that the lack of reply never registered as something to worry about. Not when his second family was probably as preoccupied with their own lives as he was with his.

He says as much of this as he can find words for. Mikey lets go of his arm when he comes to a halting finish, but only to punch him on the shoulder.

"Then shape up, big brother, and let's go see what the suits want with your friend." He jabs a thumb over his shoulder and offers a slanting grin, blue eyes sharp at the prospect of trouble or adventure, or even better yet, some combination of the two. "Maybe it'll take us somewhere new."

"You just got home from nearly dying in Peru," Raphael interjects at that point. He's very carefully not looking at Don anymore, and Don doesn't know how to feel about that. "Can't you sit still for more than five minutes?"

"Oh, Raphie," Mikey says with a gratuitous measure of false sympathy, "sitting still doesn't do me any good. It just gives everyone else a head start."

And it’s hard to deny the truth of that statement, even if it does sting. 

Don musters a smile and says, “You’ll help me, then?”

“Of course,” Mikey replies, exasperated. “Last time I left you on your own, you literally cursed the entire world with a book. And I was only gone for like an hour.”

Raphael looks a little weak at the knees. “What?”

Don’s smile gains strength. He rubs a sheepish hand through his hair and says, “Really, though, what are the odds of that happening again?”

“Given our luck? Sixty-forty against you,” Mikey says promptly. “And I’d put money on it.”