Speaking openly with one another, Toya appeared to make a genuine effort to rekindle his relationship with his family. Obviously, he could not back to the same innocent, young boy they once knew, but he was doing his best to actively exchange dialog with them and ask about major events in their lives. Seeing a small glimmer of loss and remorse in his eyes, the more they talked the more he realized just how much he had lost. Even though he hated his father with a burning passion, it seemed like he began to see that his siblings did not deserve the same ire he held for them initially.
As the time started to run out on our visit, I tapped Fuyumi on the leg and nodded my head. Having lost track of time during their reminiscing her expression darkened for a moment before rushing over to him. Pulling her older brother into a hug, the anger and sadness over the situation he was in was clearly transferred through her touch. Looking at his sister as she teared up, she gazed up at him likely with the same eyes she once did during their childhood.
"I…I am sorry I could not do more to help you. After you were gone, I…I understood why you changed so much.", Fuyumi sniffled, "You shouldered all of Dad's expectations while also trying to spare us his disappointment. Nothing we did was ever enough for Dad, but you…you always told Natsuo and me that we did a good job. When you were not there to shoulder it anymore, I took up the task of being the rock for Natsuo and Shoto. It…it was so hard, harder than anything I have ever had to do since. I am so sorry I did not see what was happening when we were children!!"
"It…it is okay, Fu.", Toya said nervously hugging her back, "You have a good husband now that is nothing like our father. I have seen the news articles and read plenty about Cole, if he is the man you are marrying, you will not have to carry the burden alone anymore."
Running over as well, Rei, Natsuo, and Shoto hugged them shedding tears of happiness and remorse. Sitting there in silence, I glanced back at Enji full of disgust and hatred for what he had done. Once they were done hugging, Enji was allowed to come back to the table and sit with us as it would have ruined the illusion if he snapped from the table to the corner of the room.
"Listen, Cole, I know I do not have any right to ask you for a favor but I cannot do anything now that I am locked up here.", Toya stated as he looked me dead in the eyes, "Can you please help protect my mother from that monster? We have no family left to rely on and my siblings do not have the physical strength or will to stand up to my father. If you will agree to this, I will give you my blessing to marry Fu…for whatever it is worth to you."
"Say no more, if your mother wants to divorce him I will make sure she has the best lawyers possible and stays with us till the divorce is settled.", I assured him as I held Fuyumi's hand, "We are going to be family so it is only right I help out where I can."
"Thank you.", he replied as I lifted the men back into position with telekinesis.
As the men slowly came back to reality, I let them go as their senses returned. Recalling what happened just before I knocked them out, they immediately looked over at us while we sat at the table with a confused look. Unable to recall sitting Dabi down or Rei relenting in trying to hug him, the Captain was about to start demanding to know what happened when a call came in.
"Captain, the visitation time is up.", an officer reported over the radio, "Let me know when you are ready for me to open the door."
"Wait, what!?", the Captain shouted in disbelief as he looked at his watch, "It has already been three hours, that should not be possible! We just brought the dirtbag in just a few moments ago, what the hell is going on!?"
"What are you talking about?", I remarked using the Power of Deceit on the officers, "We had to pull Rei back to her seat before you tased her, and then after some begging and pleading, you finally sat him down at the table. The seven of us have been sitting here catching up on family events this whole time. Do not tell me you took a nap while on the clock!?"
Looking at me in disbelief, the Captain turned to his second in command and demanded to know if it was true. Initially avoiding the question, the officer only began talking after being threatened with a demotion.
"Sorry Captain, we did not want to wake you. You have been working such much overtime that we thought a short nap was okay since we had things covered.", the officer acknowledged, "The prisoner has not moved from his seat, and the family has made no attempt to touch him since."
Still not believing it, he looked to the other men in the room who all backed up his story. In a last-ditch effort to prove us wrong, the Captain radioed the Security Room to verify our story. Confirming everything was one hundred percent correct, his face contorted into utter disbelief. Faced with overwhelming evidence that he had fallen asleep on duty, the Captain excused himself and left for the day.
Taking Dabi back to his cell, he told us he looked forward to seeing us again. Waiting for the Prisoner Door to close before letting us leave the room, our escort immediately rushed us out the door and back to the lobby. Inquiring about another visit in the near future, the men promptly slammed the door in Rei's face without saying a word. Seeing the Mother Bear stare return, Fuyumi pulled her mother outside before she did something illegal and got arrested.
As we stepped outside the building, I voiced my opinion on the situation. While I understood that not a lot of people would likely come to visit inmates here, their actions suggested something sinister was going on here.
"Did you all notice that Toya had some injuries on his body?", I pointed out, "I think they are running an illegal Fighting Ring inside the prison. Inmates are kept in isolation here and only see one another during meals. During meals though, they are chained to the tables and spaced ten feet apart. There is no way Toya was harmed by another inmate unless they purposefully let them brawl inside here."
"I agree, why would he not tell us though?", Natsuo inquired.
"Might be his way of atoning for what he did in the past, or there is something else we are not thinking about.", I stated rubbing my chin, "Either way, I will get into their systems later today and see what I can find. Even though your brother is a criminal, he should not be used as an unwilling combatant for the officer's amusement. If they are using inmates for entertainment, I will make sure they are relieved of duty and dealt with properly."
"Thank you, Cole, I am glad someone with some muscle is willing to help Toya.", Rei said glaring at her husband, "Do you see what you did to our eldest son!? While I acknowledge he killed people by his own decisions, you were the one that pushed him into a life of crime to begin with! My baby boy was going to be a firefighter before you got your hands on him!! He wanted to help people, but you corrupted his view on right and wrong!!"
Weakly hitting Enji's arm out of anger I expected him to shrug it off, but he did not. Fed up with the way he had been treated and talked to today, Enji snapped at his wife.
"Damn it all, stop making it seem like it is entirely my fault!! If you had not given us three defective children this would never have happened!! The only one you got right was Shoto, and even he has his issues!!", Enji shouted as he attempted to smack her across the face.
Getting between them, I grabbed his arm and glared at him. Feeling nothing but disgust and disdain toward him, any respect I had left for him vanished the moment he swung at his wife.
"Do not lay a finger on my mother-in-law.", I said as my grip began to make his bones creak, "You have had this coming for over a decade now, deal with it! Your family should have been your first priority, not your fucking ego or legacy! Stop blaming everyone else for your issue, no one forced you to make yourself Japan's #1 Hero! Their future and dreams do not need to align with yours, they are not you and you are not them!!"
Shoving him back several feet, I asked Rei if she would like us to escort her back to the hospital. Nodding her head, Rei thanked me for the offer and said she wanted to begin filing paperwork for the next visit with Toya. Asking Fuyumi to stay with her, as she wanted to use our connections to push it through faster, Fuyumi looked at me for approval.
"Fuyumi, when it comes to family matters like this you do not need to ask for my permission. If they give your mother any issues, lawyer up and take them to task.", I told her with a nod, "Do not hesitate to contact the Commissioner either to expedite it. He owes me several favors already, and something like this should be easy for him to handle."
"Thank you, Cole.", Fuyumi replied with a grateful smile, "As for you, Dad, I do not want to see you ever again! I have tolerated all I can, trying to physically hurt Mom is the last straw!!"
"We will make sure they get to the hospital safely.", Natsuo assured me, "Take that garbage home please, we will stay with friends for a few days and figure out our living arrangements."
"You can stay in our guest house on the property.", Fuyumi offered her brothers, "I do not want to lose another sibling because of him."
Turning their backs on their father, the siblings hailed a taxi and took their mother away. Standing there in shock, Enji realized what he had just done along with the repercussions that would come along with it. Understanding that his family had all but abandoned him, he hung his head in defeat.
"You going to lecture or mock me for this now?", Enji asked.
"I do not need to say any more on the subject. You need to get counseling and fix yourself, only then can you try to salvage what is left of your family.", I stated before asking him a question, "Was having the fame worth throwing away the only family you had left? At the end of the day being the #1 Hero in Japan means nothing when you retire. The public will move on to the last and greatest leaving you a relic of the past. What are you going to do when you are all alone?"
Watching his expression change, I wondered if he finally hit rock bottom. Forcefully teleporting him back to his residence, the rest of my day would be spent playing with my children and spending time with family.