A day passed, mid-day morning as Siegfried was walking in the neighborhood, he stumbled upon a house like any other in the neighborhood but this one is a bit special. Yes, for it is the home of his protectee-to-be: Yue Takahashi.
(I already contacted the number presented in the flyer last night to express my interest in becoming her Tutor. And I suppose that voice that came through would be her mother, and judging by Takahashi-san's unorthodox family she's a single mother who raised her daughter alone...)
Then he arrived at the house that was inscribed in the flyer he was carrying. He looked at the house and then took a quick glance at his note and nodded, (This is the place...) Then suddenly he heard a loud noise inside and the door swung open as a man
carrying a suitcase full of papers ran outside in a hurry his papers were flying all over, his face full of terror and fear ran past Siegfried. Then a woman in her late 30s leaned at the side of the door, as she swayed her hand and a face of disappointment.
Her looks; it was a spitting image of Yue, it was as if she grew older, but something was not right, her hair albeit similar in color but was styled differently to a spiky ponytail, and her body was way more toned and her height was taller than her. Despite the subtle differences, there's something similar to them besides the red hair. That smile. That cheeky confident smile. She exuded an aura of smugness that her daughter clearly inherited. "That's number 5 this morning." She dusted off her hands and had a triumphant and satisfied look, then melted into a look of disappointment and sighed, "Is there anyone out here not a spineless wimp for my daughter!?"
Siegfried who was standing awkwardly after seeing the horrified man running away from her, his eyes lit up in surprise. And the older woman glanced towards him, "Hm?" and in Siegfried's mind he thought, (No doubt about it. That certainly is Yue Takahashi's mother. They are similar, almost too similar...) He approached her as his overwhelming height towered over her. (Oh shit. He's tall... And a foreigner too. No way, wait, is he that foreigner that called last night?) He then promptly presented the flyer, bowed to her politely, and spoke perfect Japanese, "Hello. I am here for the job and the one who called last night..." She scratched her head, "O-Oh. Well, why didn't you say so?" She gestured for him to come inside, "Come on, I'll interview you first." He nodded, "Very well." (I have to thank the Head Director for the heads up before coming to this country.) Siegfried had a brief flashback of him studying Japanese culture and their mannerisms prior to his arrival in this country, it has served him well as not to be a clueless foreigner. And the moment he entered the property, he activated his Psionic Abilities and erected an invisible barrier in the perimeter of the Residence.
He took off his shoes and went inside "Pardon for the intrusion..."
Inside, the house itself is a standard among upper-middle-class homes. Well-furnished and with a modern western design. There she led him into their living room, a dark-grey sofa, two red armchairs facing each other adjacent to the sofa, a brown coffee table, and pale-black carpet underneath it.
In the front of the sofa was a large flat-screen TV. Siegfried sat on the grey sofa and Takahashi Himari sat on the red armchair, facing him directly.
As they were both seated, he extended his hand for a shake. She chuckled, "Save the handshake when I approve you to be my daughter's tutor, boy." He slowly retracted his arm back and bowed slightly. (Oh? Quite the face he's got there. A foreigner applying to be a tutor? Not unheard of but it's not something that happens every day.)
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Siegfried Silverstein." He softly said, and on the chair, she was sitting on, Himari crossed her toned legs, "Likewise, Siegfried-kun. So, you think you got what it takes to be my daughter's husband?" He tilted his head, "Pardon?" she coughed, "—Tutor! I meant tutor." He thought for a second, "O-Oh... Um, I can teach any subject regarding secondary-level education." She nodded, "I know you can. Otherwise, you wouldn't have come here."
And had a realized look, "Ah. Silly me, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Himari Takahashi, your client's mother." He bowed then glanced at the door, and paused for a moment before saying, "Takahashi-san I hate to ask..." She raised her brow, "Oh, what's up?"
"Why did the man from earlier run away in horror? Was he not qualified in becoming your daughter's tutor...?" He softly said as her eyes averted cautiously, "Oh... Th-That?" she chuckled nervously, "W-Well... actually he... he's more than qualified to do so. But..." and he repeated what she said, "But what?" and she looked at him with a relaxed expression, "There was one thing he lacked, a characteristic that my daughter specifically chose." And scoffed and laughed at herself, "It's a ridiculous and absurd request that will drive away other tutors but it was a rare occurrence that she requested for anything, really."
He asked, "And that request is...?" she looked at him and grinned confidently, "Her request: a tutor that knows how to fight."
Now Siegfried, never really knowing what is "normal" in human society thought it was just the way things are in Japan and thought little of it. (Must be a warrior culture thing...) spoiler: It was not.
"Is that so?" He interlocked his hands, (This is my chance to gather information...) "So... He ran away because he did not know how to fight?"
She nodded, "Yep! I mean, yes." And he asked further questions regarding Yue, "Your daughter? What grade is she in?" she answered, "Started in April, she's now a second-year in Uwajima High. Her exams are coming up, and saw one of her test papers and they're a bit uhh..." she winced painfully, then he extended his hand, "Test papers... may I see them?" she nodded, "Her test papers? Yeah, sure, lemme go get 'em." She got up and gave the papers to Siegfried, after seeing them his eyes lost a bit of life due to what was inside of them.
Her test papers:
English: 3/100
Japanese Literature: 2/100
Mathematics: 0/100
Science: 1/100
Home Economics: 65/100
After seeing her test papers, he said, "Takahashi-san, are you sure your daughter isn't stupid?" As he said that tactlessly, naturally she had a shocked expression but instead of being offended that he openly insulted her daughter, she did the opposite, she laughed.
"GAHAHAHA! Now usually you'd be on the ground sleeping right about now for saying that in front of my face about my precious Yue, but you? Heh, I like you; you got balls, you say what's on your mind and don't care about sugarcoating it. It's quite refreshing, to be honest."
And she asked for his name one last time, "Siegfried-kun, was it?" He nodded, "Yes." She got up, "Come with me to the backyard, I need to see if you're worthy of being my daughter's tutor."
In the backyard, Siegfried suddenly found himself going one-on-one with Shiroyama-san's Ex-Lover. (This seems... highly illogical. I thought tutoring requires knowledge and the ability to teach. Perhaps she's looking for the best in both worlds?)
There a few minutes passed and she came back wearing a yellow-and-black sports bra and black spats, she wore red MMA gloves and was stretching and warming herself up, "Are we about to fight, Mrs. Takahashi?" she yelled out correcting him, "It's 'miss'! I'm not married! And yes, we are about to fight, I believe in your ability to teach but what about combat?" and she added, "Oh and uh, my daughter also wants to fight you if you succeed." Siegfried, not one to back down from a duel accepted her challenge and sighed, (The things I do for the Org...) He stretched a little bit to get his muscles warmed up, he cracked his knuckles and got his stance ready, "Brace yourself Siegfried-kun, here I come!" and he and Himari clashed fists.
Then as Yue and Akari went shopping together in Ikebukuro at Toshima Ward. While they were walking towards a restaurant her smartphone began ringing and vibrating in her pocket, she picked it up and a message came up, "Oh, a LINE Message, it's from Mom. Wonder what for?"
And when she finished reading it, her face ignited in a look of sheer excitement, "Yes! All right!" She pumped her fist in the air, (Haha! She found one! Yes, thank you Mom! I'm feeling so pumped all of a sudden!)
And now night came, Siegfried was lying in bed and was recalling the events that transpired earlier in the day. Himari Takahashi's words rang in his head, "Haha! You're pretty good, Siegfried-San! You pass! But just because you passed doesn't mean I'll hire you." And Siegfried titled his head, "Hm? Then...?" and Himari laughed confidently, "HAHAHA! Don't get all despair on me. I'll let you know after Golden Week if you got the job or not. Thanks for the sparring session!" and Siegfried sighed, (After Golden Week... That would be Friday. Should I fail on securing that job.) He later abandoned that thought, (No... I never fail. Never have and never will.) then suddenly a painful memory invaded his mind, causing him to grip his head in pain, "Siegfried... Don't... cry..." When that memory invaded with both of his hands, he gripped his head tighter and began to take slow and deep breaths.
And glanced at the crescent moon overlooking the earth in the welkin sky and somehow calmed him down and calmed him down to some degree. "Freya..."
Then Golden Week passed without incident and on an early Friday morning, students of Uwajima High were walking towards their school. An exchange of good mornings, how are you doing, have you slept well, and what did you do during Golden Week filled the mouths of the students.
Their uniform was standard among other Japanese schools, for the males' white dress shirts, black neckties, plaid dark-red pants, black/brown leather shoes, and a red blazer that has the school's insignia on the left side of their chest but the wearing of the blazer is optional and the rest of the male student opted not to wear it. As for the females' white dress shirts, black neckties, plaid red skirts, and brown/black leather shoes.
Then in a woven wire fence, running footsteps were heard, a sound of grunts then the shaking of the fence, and above it, a crimson-headed girl leapt over, and landed perfectly while carrying her brown school bag, "Hup!" she was wearing her school uniform and began walking with the crowd.
After landing she made a bombastic entrance, she unknowingly and inadvertently garnered the attention and silent adoration of the male students, and of them spoke to another, "Ah! Hey, it's Takahashi-san!" and the other said, "Hey you're right! Dude, she's so hot!" and the other agreed, "Yo, she's pretty stacked too!" They both had a perverted look "Yeah but, she acts so boyishly though..." and the other one immediately countered, "That's part of her charm! She likes doing things us boys would only like!" and the females behind them scorned at them with disgusted looks.
A familiar face then waved at Yue, "Yo! Yue-chin, over here, over here!" She saw the girl who was waving to her and she raced over, "Wah! Akari-chin!" and locked her hands onto her neck and greeted, "Mornin' Akari-chin!" the girl smiled, "Morning to you too, Yue-chin!" And the two walked together, "Hey, you like free later? If not, let's go shopping!" Yue as they were walking, had an exasperated expression, "Shopping?" she exhaustingly said,
"We've already done that during Golden Week! Besides I got club activities to do." And Akari protested, "Club activities again? Really?" and reasoned with her, "Dude, you joined way too many clubs." She tried to play it down, "Y-Yeah, I did..." and laughed nervously, and Akari insisted, "Like, duh! Well, it's not like I can do about it, as always just let me know if you ain't got any practice, so we can walk together m'kay?" and Yue grinned, "Hehe! Sure!"
Her friend Takeda Akari is a girl of average height, she has light skin, and long smooth orange hair that is let loose, her necktie is loosely tied, multiple piercings of varied designs were seen on her ears, a black choker on her neck and wore three black bracelets on her right wrist.
Then they finally arrived at Uwajima High. The architecture of the buildings is standard to Tokyo-based High Schools, a large grey main gate, tall white walls, lined with Sakura trees in full bloom, the main school building is three-story's tall, features an indoor gymnasium building, and on the outside a large track-and-field, a baseball field on the eastside and a soccer field on the west side and a large swimming pool for the Swim Team on the south-eastside.
As they were about to enter Akari noticed that the males were stealing glances at Yue, and she teased her about it, "Hey, Yue-chin?" she glanced at her, "Yeah?" and had a teasing smile and got close to her and whispered in her, "It must be nice to have all the boys drooling over you!" she was taken aback at what she said and was blushing profusely, "W-W-Wha—!? Akari-chin, what are you on about!?" And she laughed hysterically, "BAHAHAHA! Sorry, sorry, I couldn't help myself!" after regaining composure she nonchalantly said, "But in all seriousness, the boys are stealing glances from you." She scoffed, "Psh! Let them stare, I don't give a flying crap." She defiantly declared. And their school bell rang, starting the first subject of the day.
Then in one of the trees facing the school, a large raven looked on vigilantly at Yue with its ebony-colored irises blinking twice before spreading its wings and flying away. Then as he flew high in the sky, the raven descended down towards a familiar house and perched on top of a wall where it can see a figure vacuuming the living room. The figure rose his head and it was none other than Siegfried and had eye-to-eye contact with the raven. And he nodded as if the raven spoke something to him before it spread its ebony wings once more and flew away.
Time passed and now it was Yue's favorite subject: Physical Education! The students went to their gymnasium and wore their PE Uniforms, the females wore a white-and-red tracksuit over their white t-shirts and red shorts and running shoes. As for the males, they wore similar outfits to the girls albeit the boys wore jogging pants instead of shorts. They wore white-and-red tracksuits, white t-shirts, red jogging pants, and running shoes. Yue wore the standard PE Uniform, albeit she tied her tracksuit around her waist.
They were gathered in the center of the gym, and Yue yelled enthusiastically, "WOO-HOO! All right! Gym time, baby!" and Akari chastised her for being too loud, "Yue-chin! Shush! You're like being too loud. Jeez..." And she apologized promptly, "Ahh! Sorry, sorry... It's just that I'm so pumped for Gym Class!" then their teacher told them to look for someone to pair up with, naturally Yue and Akari paired up, and the class was instructed to do some warmups, such as stretching. Yue is surprisingly flexible and with Akari's assistance she was able to reach to her toes when doing Hamstring Stretches, and after finishing their warmups their teacher told them that they were going to go outside to the school track field. There they did a series of physical tests, first off, they started with the long jump. They took turns in descending alphabetical order, meaning the first letter in their names would go first. Then after a while, it was finally Yue's turn, she wasn't aware of it but amongst her classmates, there was an air of uneasy excitement. Especially the boys.
One of them gestured to his friend, "Psst, yo dude, it's Takahashi-san's turn." He responded, "Shoot, you're right, let's see how she'll fair." She stretched her legs and warmed up then their coach told her to get ready, she took a deep breath in repetition, and off she goes, she got off to a running start, then stepped at the last edge but not beyond the line and jumped at an impressive 23 feet and 3 inches (7.40m) after hearing the measurements she and the rest of her classmates were wowed at the length of her jump, they cheered excitedly for her and clapped loudly. She got up then faced her classmates who were still cheering for her and scratched at the back of her head in embarrassment, "O-Oh... W-Well... Uhh, it's not a big deal." And giggled excitedly yet with a hint of embarrassment. "Hehe..." And when she turned around, the males of her class were greeted with an excellent "view" of her behind and some of their noses slowly bled, "Holy shit..." and the others felt that something was rising in their pants and all of them – including the girls – couldn't look away at her "assets".
She then fixed her shorts and the show was over. Then her friend Takeda Akari waved to her, "Yo! What'd ya think?" she had a really impressed look, "That was amazing Yue-chin! You were like woosh! And, and, the sand was all boom! And we were like, 'WOW!' It was so cool!" her face turned red as she grinned confidently, "Heh! I didn't do half-bad on that jump. What's next?" Akari shrugged, "I dunno, we'll just have to wait and see. But dude... That was like your best record yet!" and Yue waved her hand dismissively, "Best record? Pfft! It's so-so, for me."
Then their next activity is the 100-meter dash, the race itself was divided between their genders, it was boys against boys and girls against girls. The first set of girls went up first, before they got into position it was recommended that they stretch first, then after that, they placed their feet on the starting blocks and got into position. Yue closed her eyes and focused, (You got this, Yue. Just like how you practiced.) Her heart was beating strongly and quickly she took a deep breath and calmed herself. The boys and girls chatted with one another, wondering who was going to win, "Hey dude, you think Takahashi-san's gonna kill it again?" his friend scoffed, "You're asking me, that? Ain't it obvious? Takahashi-san's gonna win, she's in the Track-and-Field Club after all." He nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah, you're right. That was a stupid question."
Then the starting gun was fired and off they go. Yue, as expected, blazed through her classmates with no problem and took first place. Her total time is 12 seconds in the 100-meter dash, everyone including the coach/PE teacher was impressed. "As expected, Takahashi-san. Keep up the good work." She bowed respectfully, "Thank you, sir!" and as he was about to leave, he glanced at her at the last second, "Oh, and Takahashi-san?" she looked at him, "Yes, sensei?" he continued, "There's no practice later, feel free to go home early." She saluted and enthusiastically said, "Copy that, sir!" he nodded and left.
Then the school bell rang at 12:00 PM, the sound of lunchtime. In Yue's classroom, she was sitting at her desk, and behind her was Akari who was bringing out her Bento for lunch. Yue grunted as she stretched her arms, "Hoo... man, that was a good workout." And her friend agreed, "Yeah, no kidding. You killed it at PE. My legs are starting to hurt..." Akari whimpered, "Well, anyway, it's time for lunch, mama's gotta eat." Then as she was about to open her Bento, they both heard a low growling, and Yue's ears turned red, "Yue-chin, was that you?" she hesitantly nodded, "Y-Yeah... After all that running my body's completely out of it." And she asked, "Did you bring any lunch for you to eat today?" and she had an embarrassed look, "Uhh... Umm... N-No..." Akari tilted her head in question, "No? What do you mean, no?" she explained, "I mean is that forget to bring the lunch my mom packed for me." And Akari had a blank yet disappointed expression pointed at Yue, "Moron." She sighed, "Fineee... Wanna share?" then her eyes lit up in happiness, "Can I?!" she nodded, "I'm actually not that hungry, I ate too much Yakisoba Bread before coming here." She clasped her hands and thanked Akari, "Gee, you're a real life-saver, Akari-chin! Thank—!" As she was about to thank her, she felt a vibration in her pocket, "Oh, one moment." She picked up her phone and saw a text message, "It's from Mom, wonder what it's for." Akari scoffed and poked fun at her, "Heh. Maybe it's because you forgot to bring your lunch." After hearing that Yue got extremely worried that her mom might reprimand her through text messaging, and gulped and opened the text. It read:
"Yue, you know how I found a tutor that fits exactly in the characteristics you asked me to find? Well... I have good news and bad news. We'll discuss it later, m'kay? Oh, and you'll be "testing" him tomorrow. Also, you forgot your lunch again."
And when she read the last part, her eyes lit up and jumped for joy in excitement and grinned excitedly at Akari and shook her uncontrollably, "Akari-chin! Akari-chin! She did it!"
"She...! Did...! Whaaaat...!?" and Yue ceased her shaking of the poor girl, "Whoops. Sorry, Akari-chin. I meant my mom did it!" she gathered her thoughts after being shaken, "Well, good for her!" and tilted her head in question, "...Did what exactly?" she laughed triumphantly, "Ha-ha!" and place her finger on her lips and winked, "But that's a secret." And Akari just had a bepuzzled look just as before as Yue didn't answer her question.
Then school finally ended for the day, as the school bell rang to indicate it, and outside the windows of her classroom students remained for their clubs and extracurricular activities. Yue, in her seat-and-desk, stretched her arms, "Ah, finally. That lesson took forever...!" and Akari sitting on top of her desk sucking on a red lollipop, "Oh come now, that wasn't too bad." As she took out the lollipop and started waving it around, Yue lay her head on her desk and had tired look, and complained, "Yeah, for you. But for me? Uh-uh, I no like it!" and Akari had a teasing look, "Well that explains your grades falling rapidly." And had a shocked look as she looked at her, "Wha—!? How'd you know?!" she had a 'really?' look on her face, "Dude, I've known you since like grade school and been stuck with you ever since – of course, I'd know!"
Then two male students approached the girls. "Hi there, Takahashi-san, and hello to you too, Takeda-san." And his friend asked, "Say, you girls would be interested in joining us for some karaoke?" he then gestured to the other dudes and gals in their class who are already in a group chatting with one another, and Akari's eyes sparkled in interest, "Would I?!" and shook Yue's shoulder, "Yue-chin! Yue-chin! Karaoke! Karaoke! You don't have practice right now, right? Come on, let's go, it'll be like super fun!" and had a lazy and lethargic response, "Should I...?" then one of them said, "Well, we'll be waiting for a bit to choose a karaoke bar, better make your choice now." Yue rose her head up, "I mean, you could go if you want to Akari-chin. I actually got something to do back home and heading home early." She tilted her head, "There is?" Yue nodded, "Uh-huh. You know the thing that I got excited about earlier at lunch?" she nodded, "Yeah, I do. My brain still hurts 'til now... Well, if you got something to do, then I can't help it." And Akari had a hesitant look and Yue said to Akari, "Akari-chin, don't mind me, go and have some fun. We'll have fun together next time. Yeah?" she nodded, "Sure!" Akari grabbed her bag but just before she left, she said, "Yue-chin, careful on your way home, m'kay?" she nodded, "Yeah, yeah..." and Akari went to the group heading for some karaoke, "I'll see you tomorrow Yue-chin, bye-bye!" and waved her goodbye for now.
Then Yue went home for now and was passing through the Shopping District, then as she was walking her stomach growled, "Urgh..." she then passed through a familiar mochi shop, and there a familiar old lady was sitting on a bench beside the shop, there who gave her freshly made dango and mochi yesterday, and saw Yue passing by, "Ah. If it isn't Yue-chan, are you going home?" She glanced, "Ah, Obasan. Hello!" and went to her to pay respects and bowed respectfully to her, "Such a polite child. Are you hungry? We still have mochi or dango." She politely declined and reasoned, "O-Oh, Obasan, thank you for your kind offer but I have to get going, my mom's waiting up for me back home." She chuckled, "Is that so? Why take these, and, no, Obasan won't take no for an answer." She gestured to a small plastic bag that contains a small bunch of dango, and Yue's eyes were of surprise, "B-But! I couldn't!" again she laughed warmly, "If it helps, they're leftovers from today's sales. I would've given them away regardless." There she relented, "I see... Is that so?" then took them, "Careful on your way home now, young one." She nodded and waved at each other goodbye, "I will, bye-bye!"
She then took one and ate it, and relished how delicious it is, "Mmm...! Damn, it's so good!" and continued eating. But unbeknownst to Yue, someone was lurking in the shadows that is out for her head. In an empty street in the dark corner, a figure's silhouette appeared, it fished out something out of its pockets and threw a projectile at Yue, a large kunai heading straight for her head, then as the blade was close to hitting her head a freak gust of wind suddenly blew beside Yue and the blade narrowly missed her and hitting a tree branch nearby, "What the hell was that gust of wind? Damn it, almost made me drop my dango." And continued walking, "Tsk!" The figure clicked its tongue in frustration and pulled three more kunai knives and threw it at Yue, one aimed at her head, the left side of her back, and her lower back. This time the wind didn't affect Yue, it's as if they were each powerful individual blasts and were redirected the knives midair and were stuck in the concrete wall. The figure realized that something was controlling those gusts and redirecting them away from its target and looked to where it blew. And there up above it saw a masked figure standing aloft at a house that has a good vantage point of their location. The figure at the top saw the mysterious figure that was trying to harm Yue and the figure at the bottom saw the figure aloft on top of a house that was preventing them from killing their target. Both figures looked at each other with sheer hate, and Yue's potential assailant retreated back to the shadowy corners.
Meanwhile on top of the house where Yue's mysterious protector is. Its right hand raised and was locked in the form of a flick, as if ready to blast away any potential projectiles. It looked at Yue as she was walking home and grunted and nodded in approval. "Hmm... As expected..." And held at its earpiece and said in English, "Kruger, reporting... 'Wildfire' preserved...' And a familiar gruff voice said, "Excellent work Kruger, do you have a visual on Wildfire? Is she safe?" and Kruger responded, "Affirmative..." And the voice responded with a grunt, "Understood, keep a watchful eye until you make contact with Wildfire, am I clear Kruger?" Kruger responded, "Copy." and took one last look at Yue before a black mist appeared on their body and melted into the darkness.
When she was at her house she noticed two pairs of black shoes on her home's doorstep, and a parked black SUV, "What's up with all these shoes? And whose car is that parked in front of our house?" Silently she went inside, in the main entrance of their home she heard voices in the living room, "So, have you informed the Young Mistress of the matter?" the first voice sounded familiar it was deep and gruff, similar to a lion. She hid behind the walls just barely at the edge of the living room and eavesdropped. Then her mother's voice said, "N-No... Not yet." She sounded pained, weak, and frustrated, it was not her usual fiery tone, "I'm not ready to let her go yet, but more importantly she's not ready for it yet." the first voice replied, "A shame. We've already discussed this some days ago, Takahashi-san. Shiroyama-san has already sent 16 years' worth of child support, and tripled it at that."
She peeked and saw three people wearing black suits, and one in the center has more mass compared to the two beside him. (W-Who are these people!? What the hell do they want from us?!) She thought to herself, and her mother yelled, "There's no need! I raised her by myself without his help nor his money!" and the gruff voice tries to calm her down, "Now, now, Miss Takahashi. You've done an excellent job of raising her and now we'll take it from here." She peeked and saw her mother's face as frustration builds up, and she reasoned, "He ignored her for 15 years! Not giving a single damn about her! Not knowing she existed! And now when he needs an Heir, he comes crawling back and take her away from me?! It's absolute nonsense!" the gruff voice grunted, "I'll admit, it is nonsense, illogical even. Naming a child whom he never met his heir. But I was surprised when I heard of it. Takahashi-san, forgive me, I'm here to carry out his orders. She is his daughter. You didn't make her alone, you two did. Now that he paid all the missing child support, he now has that right to exercise as a parent."
She pleaded, "She's still a kid...! From a normal middle-class suburban life to a dangerous fast-paced life of business?! She's not ready!" once again she emphasized her readiness, "She's not ready..." He continued, "Of course as of now she's still a teenager, but when her father will eventually passes away, she'll now be ready and be there to inherit the company, of course, she can still visit you whenever she wishes to do so. For now, she'll have to move to a more 'appropriate' location." Frustration finally burst out of her, "GET. OUT. NOW!"
The deep and gruff voice grunted, closed his eyes momentarily, and stood up, "Very well. We'll return sometime soon to further discuss the details." And at the edge of the entrance of the living room, the figure revealed to be a Were-Lion, "Whether you like it or not. He has already chosen her to be his successor. And the other board members, have agreed to this as well, albeit not all. Farewell, for now, Miss Takahashi." As they were about to exit the house Yue immediately ducked into the stairwell, hiding from those suited men. "What's going on? Successor? Heiress? CEO? Child Support?" she waited for a bit on the stairs, then heard the starting of the car engine and drove off and when the close is clear she heard her mother on the verge of sobbing.
She rushed to the living room, and embraced her mother, "Mom! Are you alright?!" when her mother realized that it was her sweet and precious daughter that was comforting her, she embraced her back and sobbed heavily while she cradled her mother to ease her emotional pain. "Mom, what the hell's going on? Who were those people?"
After a while, she eventually stopped crying and explained everything to her. After finishing her explanation, she, of course, is stunned, "I'm sorry but this is too much for me to take in at once."
She took a deep breath and tries to compose herself, "So, you're telling me that my deadbeat dad who up and disappeared all those years ago is actually a business tycoon and is now in need of an Heir and decided to make me inherit his company?" her mother bit her lip in frustration, "I said no. I didn't want anything to do with that man. After all, he did abandon us." she had enlightened look, and held her temples, "That explains the sudden surge of money, and of course the tutoring."
Her mother had regret-filled look on her face, "I'm sorry sweetie... I'm sorry, that I kept this everything from you." Yue had a calm and understanding look, she shook her head and said, "No, it's okay Mom, I understand, because deep down I know it was for you to protect me." Her mother held her hands, "Sweetie, it's a dangerous world out there, the world of business, I mean." She nodded to indicate she understands, "I know Mom, I'm already happy the way things are in my life. But..." and had a resolute expression. "I'll go visit him."
Her mother shocked at her decision asked, "What!? Why?! Why would you visit him?" she had an uneasy look and scratched, "Well, first off, I'll demand him to leave us alone and also... Also... I've always wanted to meet my father... if that's too much to ask..." her mother's expression has melted from shock to a melancholic look, "I... I see..." She sighed, "I may not want to do anything with that man, but those people from earlier, they were right; because ultimately the decision is yours to make. I just wanted to keep you safe and I'm not ready to let you go yet." She embraced her mother, "I know, Mom, every day I thank my lucky stars to have such a caring mother who raised me properly." And she kissed her mother's cheek and tightened her embrace. And after they calmed down her mother said, "Come on, let's go make some dinner." She smiled widely, "Sure thing!"
*END OF CHAPTER*
Current information bestowed for the public, provided by the Knights of Nights.
Subject: Corruption within the Knights
"Corruption and abuse of power within a systematic government have been a plague of society since the concept of governance was found. Over the course of the millennia, there have been countless upon countless of cases of Power Abuse and Corruption. Knights of higher ranks exercise their authority too much on the civilian populace and fellow Knights of lower rank. As such our ways of dealing with corrupt Knights have not changed at all for over a thousand years; a specialized group of incorruptible Knights finds the suspected corrupt Knight, and we try him for evidence of corruption and abuse of power and "fire" the Knight. Both from their position and living. This group is called: The Tribunal of the First Night."