Finished or Unfinished

There are some stories I haven't gotten around to finishing, and sometimes I think I never will either because they're stupid or I've lost the spark behind them. Other times I don't have all the facts, and in some cases probably won't. For example, I wanted to write an Organization XIII story about The Haunted Mansion, but then I realized that maybe the one in Twilight Town is a stand-in for that. I would have called it "Grim Grinning Ghosts" after the song, but now I'm too confused and stuck to continue. As I mentioned before, many stories lately come from me trying to fall asleep at night, so they can be sort of meandering and I don't know when or how  to stop. Here is a follow-up to "Make a Man out of You" without a definite title or a definite end about Ienzo turning twenty years old, which is a big deal in Japan (after looking it up half-way through the story, I found out it was the legal drinking age there too).

Ienzo looked at the picture of his parents he kept hidden in his room at all times. "Mom, Dad, I'm twenty years old today," he said. "I promise I'll make you proud. No more forbidden experiments." He tucked the picture away again and went to the kitchen, where the others were already waiting for him.
Dilan and Aeleus had baked a cake the previous night and were putting the finishing touches on it when Ienzo joined them. "Happy birthday," they all said.
"Thank you," Ienzo replied.
"Twenty," Ansem sighed. "Where has the time gone?" He gave him a book he'd picked out from their library. Ienzo hugged it to his chest; moving a book from the library to his room was indeed an honor.
Braig's gift to him was a stack of hand-written coupons. "You can redeem them whenever I'm annoying you and you want me to leave you alone," he explained.
"Those won't last long," Aeleus joked, prompting Ienzo to check for expiration dates; he found none.
"I knew I was forgetting something," Braig replied with mock regret.
Even put his hand on Ienzo's head before he started speaking. "Treating you as a peer will take some getting used to," he began, "although you are still technically subordinate to me."
"Uh..." Ienzo was unsure how to react; he was still shorter than Even, who still hadn't taken his hand off of his head.
"From this day forward, I will have to treat you with more respect," Even concluded, finally taking his hand away. "You look so much like your father," he added. Ienzo scrunched his shoulders self-consciously at the compliment.
"Not like you to be so sentimental, Even," Braig remarked, trying to lighten the mood. Even shot back an agitated look.
"It will be difficult not to think of you as a child anymore," Dilan admitted. "It seems like only yesterday you were..." He stopped himself before he said anything embarrassing; Ienzo appreciated that.
Aeleus smiled in agreement and clapped Ienzo on the shoulder. "When you're ready, come see me for training."
"Okay," Ienzo agreed. As he'd promised, he was taking both his work and his training seriously.
Later that afternoon, he met Aeleus in the training room. "Today we're going to work on your evasion," Aeleus began, holding up his axe. "I won't actually hit you, but you must react as though I will."
"But if I know you aren't going to hurt me..."
"Accidents happen. You have to keep an eye on your opponent at all times. Once you've mastered that, we'll move on to countering." Aeleus started out telegraphing his attacks, giving Ienzo enough time to dodge them; then he moved faster and without warning, requiring Ienzo to keep up with him. They stopped when Ienzo didn't duck fast enough and got bonked on the head by Aeleus' fist. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Ienzo replied, rubbing his head.
"All right. Let's take a break."
Dilan came in to check on them. "Are we still on for the tavern tonight?"
"Sure. We're just finishing up here," Aelueus said, putting away his weapon.
"Can I go with you?" Ienzo asked.
"Oh that's right, you can do that now," Dilan exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't think you'd be interested."
Ienzo shrugged. "Only one way to find out."
While Ienzo did have no particular interest in drinking, he wanted to be included in their adult activities. Sure enough, he could not keep down a single drop of alcohol, as he coughed it up immediately after every sip; though he tried, he couldn't get used to the burning sensation in the back of his throat. He decided that drinking wasn't for him, and after Dilan and Aeleus had their fill, they took him home.
"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," he apologized, feeling embarrassed himself.
"That's all right. It's not for everyone," Aeleus said, patting his back. "I'm just glad we're not bringing you home drunk."
"That would be the last thing we'd need," Dilan agreed. "Braig is sure to have a laugh, though."
"Not for long," Ienzo said. "I still have his coupons."
Braig did laugh when they told him Ienzo had gagged, and although he left the room after Ienzo redeemed one of his coupons, they could still hear him laughing as he walked down the hall. "He would've laughed no  matter what you did," Even said kindly. "Perhaps you should try some hard cider next time."