Three of the lawyers had gathered in a circle on the terrace. They spoke in low voices and looked serious.

Occasionally, I could hear Touya throwing fits inside.

“Shoto, look over there”

I cast an annoyed glance at Mizuki-sensei.

“Call me Todoroki”

He rolled his eyes.

“We're not at school. I'll call you whatever I want”

“You’re my employee”

“I'm your father's employee, not yours, smartass”

I gave him another irritated look, but continued to watch the debacle. It had been like this since this morning when Enji and Rei had announced that they would take the Hero Commission to court for recruiting Touya - a minor - without their consent.

Since then, the house had been in an uproar. I had no idea what was going on.

“If you don't concentrate, I swear I'll kick your ass”

I laughed dryly.

A new lawyer had just arrived.

“As if-”

I jumped back and avoided Mizuki's shiny knife by a hair's breadth.

It's not one of those wooden ones.

“What the-”

He kicked me in the chest and sent me tumbling to the dusty floor. I rolled to soften the fall and immediately got up to avoid the foot that landed where my face had been a second before.

He’s really serious.

“If there's one thing you'll learn from me, it's to never look away from an opponent”

He kicked me in the face. I crouched down to dodge and ducked under his leg. His fist caught me and knocked me to the ground.

A cloud of dust rose up around me. I coughed.

His dark silhouette stood out behind the falling yellow grains. He twirled his knife deftly between his thumb and forefinger.

“Get up. We're not done yet”

*

Enji massaged his temples.

Rei leaned forward, worried.

“You mean we can't void the contract ?”

The lawyer fidgeted on the couch.

“Well, at first sight it seems not, Ms. Todoroki. My colleagues are studying it right now, but I'm afraid there's nothing to learn from it”

More than angry, Rei was stunned.

“But he’s a child. How can a contract signed by a child without the presence or even the knowledge of his legal guardians be worth anything in court ?”

Enji had never had an opinion on the delicate subject of the Heroic Commission.

However, he was aware of the fact that there was a division of opinion in the world of heroes. The heroes that came out of the government institute were of good quality, very often approaching the top ten of the country, even if one could question the recipient of their loyalty.

What was controversial, though, was the manner by which the committee acquired its recruits. They targeted orphans and any children too young and gullible to understand what was really being asked of them in exchange for a small signature.

Then there were the rumors, the sordid stories, that the Commission weeded out parents who were reluctant to sell their children to the Devil.

If the rest seemed credible, Enji didn't believe this cheap myth for a moment.

“I'm sorry to tell you this, Ms. Todoroki, but the Heroic Commission has a special status, just like the NCB and some other government institutions”

“NCB ?”

“The Secret Services," Enji replied.

The lawyer's glasses slipped down his nose. He looked at the Todoroki couple through his rectangular glasses.

“We could take them to court and use the fact that they broke into a private care facility as a serious fault on their part, but that would be tantamount to saying that eldest son was admitted to such a place. The reason for his confinement may even be revealed during the trial. I can understand that this is not something that you would like to see happen”

Rei clenched her dress in her fists.

“Touya is a Hero's son. If this story gets out, everyone will remember it for the rest of his life”

The effect this single event would have on his existence would go far beyond anything they could have imagined.

Enji stood up and paced in the living room.

“What I don't understand is how they found out about Touya”

The lawyer shrugged helplessly.

“It's the government, Mr. Todoroki. They have eyes and ears everywhere”

Enji stopped.

Of course, he knew that. He knew it better than anyone else.

But Enji had always made sure that his children and his wife were completely anonymous. He even went so far as to run Special Forces-style background checks on all his domestic servants.

He never showed himself in public with anyone from his family. The one time it had happened, Touya had not been there and Enji had secured the area beforehand with half of his agency's heroes disguised as civilians.

So how could they have known ?

He could always try to call his mother to help him solve the problem.He'd get his answers, but it was bound to end badly. Everything that had to do with Teka Todoroki ended badly.And if the Japanese government ever found out what kind of group he'd 'hired'...

No. It wasn't important enough for him to risk the involvement of the Todoroki matriarch.

He could always call in a few favors from old friends. Gunhee owed him one from the time he saved him from amputation.

The living room door creaked.

“Dad. Mom”

Enji and Rei looked up at Touya simultaneously.

His eyes were bright from crying and his cheeks red from rubbing them to wipe away tears.

Enji's face reflected nothing but his usual indifference.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Are you done with your circus ?”

The boy bit his lip and nodded slowly, his chin trembling.

“Enji...”

"What do you want ?”

The boy flinched. He looked down at his feet and clutched at his trousers with both hands.

He looked ashamed.

All the better.

His outburst this morning had been unworthy of a boy of almost eleven. He had screamed, cried, threatened to break everything if they didn't let him do what he wanted. Rei had been worried. So were the servants.

Enji had crossed his arms over his chest, looked his eldest son straight in the eyes and said - in his coldest, calmest voice - two very simple words:

Do it.

The boy had been surprised.

Of course he was.

He had thought that by making a spectacle of himself, he would be able to make his little world bend to his will.Ha, he really hadn't understood a thing if he thought that a kid like him would ever be able to force Enji to do anything.

Touya had opened his mouth like a fish gaping for air. Had closed it again.

Enji had raised his eyebrows and showed him all the fragile objects around them with a casual gesture.

What are you waiting for ?

Suddenly, his crocodile tears had stopped flowing. He locked himself in his room.

He only resumed his little show when he knew that Enji was no longer around.

“I'd like to talk to you. Please”

The embarrassed lawyer shifted his eyes from the child to the parents. Rei looked as if she wanted to jump off the sofa and hug him, while Enji looked at him as if he was worth less than the dirt under his shoes.

The lawyer hurriedly picked up the files he'd scattered on the coffee table.

“I still have to go over a few points with my colleagues, so I'll start right away and we can-”

“No”

The lawyer was startled and looked up at Enji.

“I beg your pardon ?”

"You stay here. We haven't finished talking yet. Touya”

It was the boy's turn to jump.

“Go back to your room and think about what you've done. We'll send for you when we feel it necessary”

The child's shoulders slumped.

Enji was not gullible enough to believe that his tears - if they were tears at all - were real. In fact, he had wondered for some time if what their son choose to show them was real or an act.

“Now”

Touya, the top of his face hidden by his drooping hair, turned on his heels and walked away without a sound.

The lawyer followed his retreat with sympathy.

*

Enji was glad that he had hired his son's instructor for every day this week. The sessions would be reduced to three per week for the remaining holidays, but at least he was busy enough to live unaware of the chaos going at home.

He felt a surge of pride when he saw Shoto fall to the ground and get up in the same beat.

“You're mean to Touya. You treat him coldly”

Enji's pacified expression changed to his usual indifference. He let go of the curtains and turned to his wife.

“That's what you keep telling me, but how am I supposed to treat him when he spends all his time misbehaving ?”

Touya had tried to drown his brother and Rei would have liked him to tell him that it was nothing to worry about.He had been making a scene all morning and acting like a spoiled brat, and Rei wanted him to get on his knees with her and together they would beg their son's forgiveness for being responsible parents and punishing him when he acted out. Tss.

Sometimes, Enji had the impression that he was the only one who realized that Touya was on the wrong track and that if they didn't pull the rug out from under him now, he would end up very badly.

“You didn't even congratulate him on leaving the hospital”

“I did. I told him I was glad he was home”

“Barely a sentence”

Enji didn't respond.

Everything was an excuse to argue right now. He was getting tired of it. There was a knock at the door.

A maid slid in.

“Mr. and Mrs. Todoroki” She bowed slightly.”Touya is here”

The boy entered.

Obviously, he had showered and changed his clothes, because he wasn't wearing his crumpled t-shirt covered with dried tears and snot.

You'd almost forget he'd spent the morning bawling his eyes out. Almost.

He bowed deeply and greeted them respectfully.

“Dad. Mom”

He sat down on the couch.

Enji and Rei sat on the one facing them.

“I want to apologize for my behavior this morning. I acted like a child”

Touya inhaled sharply as if he wanted to take courage.

“Staying in my room all day gave me time to think things over”

He looked them in the eyes one after another.

“I know I shouldn't have signed this contract. I'm sorry for that. I should have informed you of the Commission's presence as soon as they arrived at the hospital. But I'm not sorry that I did”

A gleam of interest lit up Enji's eyes.

“The method wasn't right. I'm well aware of that. But the content is. I want to be a hero and that's exactly what they offer me”

He focused only on Enji.

“I know why you married mom. I know that you don't really love each other”, Rei fidgeted nervously with her hands, “I also know that you originally wanted all of us to become Heroes, me, Natsu, Fuyu and Shoto”

Enji studied his son intently. He could read nothing but sincerity on his face.

“I also know that you've changed your mind. But I still want to be a hero”

He smiled sadly.

“Please, dad. Don't deny me the opportunity to become a hero”

Enji remained silent for a while.

It's true that his original desire to become a hero had been tainted by the events of his life. His pure vision had become this terrible obsession to create the ultimate being, the one who could surpass him where he had failed.

But it had all been the will of a suffering young man who wanted to protect himself at all costs.

He'd grown up since, and understood the futility of such lonely ultimate power.

“Let's assume I say yes”

Touya's face lit up.

“That would mean that you're no longer a child. That I consider you an adult”

Touya nodded vigorously.

“What you did this morning won't happen again. Never”

“I swear”

“If it happens again, you'll pack your things and leave this house immediately”

Rei let out a cry of indignation.

“Enji !”

Enji never took his eyes off Touya so that he understood how serious he was.

“You will no longer be my son and whatever happens to you won't concern me”

He saw the fear in his son's face.

So much the better.

He'd rather have that than let him continue on the twisted path he'd chosen to take - for God knows why.

Rei spoiled him too much and Touya took advantage of that to behave badly.

“You're going to call those people from the commission and tell them to come here. Then you'll tell them to tear up your contract, that they no longer have your approval”

Enji raised a finger to silence his protests.

“Our lawyers will prepare another one. This time, your mother and I will sign it”

The boy relaxed a little.

“Don't think you've won, boy. You'll have strict rules. A curfew. If you slip up, no more Commission. You pull another stunt like you did this morning, no more Commission. Do I make myself clear ?”

The boy swallowed.

Enji had always been an intimidating person, but right now, he almost made Touya feel as if he wasn't his father.

“Very”

“We have a deal”

*