To say Viral's outlook on humanity was jaded would be an understatement. Yes, there were some nasty people in the world. One of the worst had been responsible for the deaths of Aito and June, and had a hand in creating the Beastman. Ikura would give Viral this much; the human's he'd encountered thus far in life were the worst the world had to offer. Adding onto that the people he had likely been battling during their time away and it was no wonder he was so cynical of other people. He needed to be shown the good in the world to realize it for what it truly was. "We did keep you in this facility to keep you safe, I'll admit. After Doctor Bahzanov betrayed us there was even more reason to keep you here out of worry what might happen if you got out. I'm sorry for ordering them to keep you contained, I thought it was the best course of action, I realize now it was perhaps selfish of me." Bowing his head apologetically Ikura sighed, giving Viral a sad smile. "But there are a lot of good people, really good people in this world. There's quite a few here today, and I'm more than ready to show that to you."

"The only reason you're uncomfortable is because you've always had someone over you, it's natural to you. I know *precisely* how you're designed. Don't forget, I had a rather large hand in creating you," Ikura said, smiling kindly. "The transition will be difficult, but you can be your own person as anyone else here can. And you'll be happier for it. Be honest with me, you can't be happy feeling like you need someone else to direct your life, can you?" It must make Viral feel powerless, having to rely on someone. It was why now that he was "free" he was so confused, he wasn't used to not being given orders. That was again a fault on their behalf, they had always provided direction assuming he wasn't aware enough of the world to operate alone. A mistake, clearly, one he wished he could retract. There was a pattern Ikura was beginning to notice, and a rather disheartening one at that. It wasn't Viral's fault he was like this, it was everyone else around him. Inadvertently everyone, including himself, had contributed to the state he was in now. Well, now it was time that they fix it.

Takeshi felt pretty bummed now that Shu was upset, and awfully crummy to boot. Damn it, a little joke had turned out to totally backfire and leave Shu upset and him guilty, that wasn't what he had wanted. Sighing softly he nodded his head, agreeing with his brother's request. He'd not do that again, it was mean and probably didn't earn him any favor with his sibling. For a brief moment, for the first time in a while he felt like he had distanced himself, worrying inwardly as he often did about that. "Pain isn't funny... That came out wrong... Your reaction was funny. I don't think it's funny I hurt you," Takeshi corrected himself, setting his fork down as a server took his plate. When Shu mentioned dying the older boy looked at his brother quickly, an earnestly bummed out look on his face. "You're not going to die Shu... I'll make sure of that," he said quickly, shaking his head and patting his brother's back. "I'll keep you safe so you have a long, happy life, I swear it."

"Viral, this party is for you, remember? To be frank I couldn't care if they had shown up or not. I'm glad they did, it's more people to celebrate your birthday. But as I said, this is [i]your[/i] birthday, and [i]your[/i] party. We'd be having this whether they were in attendance or not." Hm... So even after all they had said he still didn't think of this as his. Well that was a real damper on things. Vegeta sighed sadly, rubbing his forehead as he glanced at the guests. "If you want to wait ten minutes then we'll wait ten minutes, it's your decision when we eat your cake, after all." he added, looking at his friend with a smile. "And the presents too, don't forget those. We can open those whenever you're ready." He was particularly excited about gifts, not that anyone would know why. Well, T'charrl would because he'd discussed it with him, but that was it.

The first of Viral's guests had finally come over to speak with him, courtesy of Ikura. He was a shorter man, a bit portly with a bushy mustache and a loose cropping of hair on his head. He was dressed in a casual suit and bore a bright, white smile on his rosy cheeks as he came over. "Ah, the man of the hour! It's a pleasure to finally meet you sir!" he chimed, bowing his head politely. "I do hope you're enjoying the festivities! We've done everything we could to host the best celebration we could."

"This is Albert Eberhardt. He's in charge of Child's Play, a rather well known charity in this city. When I mentioned your party he was more than keen to come and attend." Ikura said, gesturing to the man in question. 

"Oh ho, well I heard that Aito and Ikura's success story was present and I had to come meet you for myself. And I must say, I am very impressed! It's quite a thrill to meet you sir!" Albert chimed, smiling as he clasped his hands together. "And happy birthday as well, might I add. I also understand this is your first party. Such a shame considering your age, it seems you're owed quite a few celebrations. Well, fear not! Should you ever need anything my young friend feel free to ask, I'm more than happy to help a child of Aito's whenever the need arises!"