[He's never said it, because he never really felt the right to claim them as his family. He was the little Abe kid that they adopted--pulled into their family not because he was a pawn, as he'd thought, but because he was a lonely little child who had nobody else. Sousei had always thought that so long as he could stand on his own, it would be fine. So long as one person remained standing in the end, he could continue. He would depend only on himself, and live life that way--until it was his time to die.
Then this infuriating man before him, once a kid, gave him something to live for. The Kumou parents gave him a warm and loving family. He had Tenka, and Kiiko, and the Yamainu, and he wasn't a pawn and he wasn't alone.
Numbly, he allows Tenka to hug him, though he doesn't move his arms to hug him back--he doesn't shake him off either. Sousei is certain that at some point, everything will properly sink in--he'll understand everything that Tenka has and is telling him, and he'll have to decide what he's going to do about Shirasu then.
How does one live with one's parents' murderer living right there, healthy, free and unrestricted? Maybe there isn't a right answer to that question. Maybe they have to cope in the only way they can. Sousei doesn't know yet how he'll cope...but he will. He has to. There's no question about it, as much of a sudden bombshell as this was, there are still things they both have to do.
He takes a slow breath, staring past Tenka's shoulder at the wall behind him. He'd always known that they'd been murdered. The scene was unmistakeable. But now...now he has an explanation for the tragedy that had been so, so confusing for so long, and...he's not sure if it's better or not (it is better, it's infinitely better to know, no matter how much it hurts).]
... ["They loved you", Tenka says, and that's agonizing too, because he'd loved them too, in his own way. Eight years had been enough to convince him of that love, and Taiko had been so confident in him, so certain that he would grow to be someone that his master would be proud of.
He lets out a shuddering breath then, but there aren't any words he can come up with, and even if there were, no words seem to be able to escape his throat nonetheless. Instead, slowly, hesitantly, his arms come up to mimic Tenka's hold, if much, much more loosely. He's not alone right now, no, and that's important to remember. He'd promised Kumou-sensei that he would act as Tenka's support all those years ago. He's not going to break that promise either.
So he will try to be support, even as he's still reeling even now. He needs just a moment more to gather together his composure and figure out just what he's going to do with that information from here. Just...another moment.]
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Then this infuriating man before him, once a kid, gave him something to live for. The Kumou parents gave him a warm and loving family. He had Tenka, and Kiiko, and the Yamainu, and he wasn't a pawn and he wasn't alone.
Numbly, he allows Tenka to hug him, though he doesn't move his arms to hug him back--he doesn't shake him off either. Sousei is certain that at some point, everything will properly sink in--he'll understand everything that Tenka has and is telling him, and he'll have to decide what he's going to do about Shirasu then.
How does one live with one's parents' murderer living right there, healthy, free and unrestricted? Maybe there isn't a right answer to that question. Maybe they have to cope in the only way they can. Sousei doesn't know yet how he'll cope...but he will. He has to. There's no question about it, as much of a sudden bombshell as this was, there are still things they both have to do.
He takes a slow breath, staring past Tenka's shoulder at the wall behind him. He'd always known that they'd been murdered. The scene was unmistakeable. But now...now he has an explanation for the tragedy that had been so, so confusing for so long, and...he's not sure if it's better or not (it is better, it's infinitely better to know, no matter how much it hurts).]
... ["They loved you", Tenka says, and that's agonizing too, because he'd loved them too, in his own way. Eight years had been enough to convince him of that love, and Taiko had been so confident in him, so certain that he would grow to be someone that his master would be proud of.
He lets out a shuddering breath then, but there aren't any words he can come up with, and even if there were, no words seem to be able to escape his throat nonetheless. Instead, slowly, hesitantly, his arms come up to mimic Tenka's hold, if much, much more loosely. He's not alone right now, no, and that's important to remember. He'd promised Kumou-sensei that he would act as Tenka's support all those years ago. He's not going to break that promise either.
So he will try to be support, even as he's still reeling even now. He needs just a moment more to gather together his composure and figure out just what he's going to do with that information from here. Just...another moment.]