The days pass by. Ethan continues to join Lily after school for training. He has even started to stay longer in order to do homework with Lily in her playroom. After training, Ethan routinely meets with Lucario to discuss about Lily, Jeremy, and plans for the near future.
Over time, Lucario has stopped becoming stunned by Ethan's maturity. Piecing the small things that Ethan does together, Lucario has come to the conclusion that Ethan may be aware of what happened to him but has never brought it up.
Friday has arrived and along with it Ethan's mother.
"You don't seem pleased to see me, Mr. Buenavista," Ethan's mother comments as she stands before Lucario and Lily in front of the school.
"I'm never pleased to see anyone I'm not very familiar with, Mrs. Turnip," Lucario responds with an annoyed twitch in his eye. "I thought you were going to meet me at the estate."
Ethan's mother picks him up then turns to the car that's behind Lucario. "I wanted to see my son as soon as possible. Is it a crime to do that? And besides…" Ethan's mother walks over to the car and sets her hand on the handle. "I took a taxi here, so I don't have a ride. Since you pick up my son every day, it wouldn't hurt to let me tag along, right? Since we are going to the same place and all."
Clicking his tongue, Lucario knows that he can't decline because he has things to discuss with her, and he knows that Ethan's mother is well aware of this. "I don't hate confident women like you, but damn are you all annoying."
"I'm pleased to know that you don't hate me," Ethan's mother teases, watching Lucario open the door for her. "Aren't we close enough to not call each other by such stiff names since you don't hate me. Come on~ Say 'Haily'."
"I would rather slit my neck than to call you comfortably," Lucario growls before slamming the door closed.
Getting inside the car, Lucario notices the eyes. The multitude of eyes that watch his every step. The parents, assistants, and guards of the children who are getting picked up. They have all just witnessed a woman getting inside his car. He isn't worried too much about it personally; however, he is concerned if it might affect Lily in any sort of way.
After a one-sided awkward car ride, the group makes it to the house and heads inside. The children follow Billy and Ryan to the training hall while Lucario and Haily go to the office.
"They seem to enjoy their training," Haily mentions, watching the kids run off.
Lucario chuckles to himself and smugly grins at the woman next to him. "My daughter has been progressing quickly and getting stronger. Your son has been having trouble winning against her."
"That's because I raised him to be a gentleman," Haily retorts as she covers her smirk with her long fingers. "He would never try to win against a young woman."
Opening the door, Lucario narrows his eyes on the first woman to enter his office. "You know that the reason behind it is different than what you're saying," Lucario says while closing the door.
Haily makes herself comfortable while also slightly glaring at Lucario who is heading towards his desk. They sit in silence for a moment. One of Lucario's men enters the room with coffee and snacks and quickly leaves after setting it on the table in front of Haily.
"According to the email you sent, you already know about the experiments. What you want to know is if Ethan knows about the experiments he went through when he was a baby, don't you?" Haily finally asks.
Lucario simply nods.
"I swear, this is why everyone is watching your family's group. You have an investigative team nearly as advanced as the one National Security has. You sure can get your hands on a lot of information."
Pouring Lucario a cup of coffee as well as one for herself, she carries it over to his desk then glances down at the clean desk. "He knows about it," Haily sighs, leaning against the desk. "He remembers everything. He knows about his father wanting to gain fame. He knows about his twin sister and how she died. He remembers everyone who was there in the lab. And it's because their experiments were somewhat successful. His mental age is around his early twenties, but he still lacks in several areas. He has the thoughts and manners of a twenty year old, but he doesn't have the knowledge which is why he isn't considered a genius. Scholastically, he's still seven years old."
Taking a sip of his coffee, Lucario pulls out a folder with some documents inside it. "I'm assuming you know who was truly behind the experiments, right?"
Haily quietly nods her head. "The Johnson's were the ones behind it because they wanted their son to become a famous genius. They have been doing experiments on abandoned newborns in China since it was easy to find test subjects due to the one-child policy, but they wanted to see if babies in America would react differently. They managed to convince my husband who had no fame to his name other than being married to me to kidnap his own child to be used in the experiments."
Lucario peers up at the woman beside him with an evil grin on his face. "It seems like we have a common enemy then."
"What do you mean?" Haily asks, a bit perturbed by Lucario's grin.
"You weren't able to prosecute them because it would cause chaos in the House if it were found out that a couple of its members were doing human experiments, correct?" Lucario questions as he pulls out the documents in the folder. "It was also a delicate time because you were in the middle of being interviewed and such after finding your son. However, what if it was made known to the general public? All of the evil things that they have been doing."
"It would create immense disorder not only in the House but also in the cities they represent and around the world!" Haily exclaims, genuinely surprised by Lucario's proposition. "There would be mass investigations held both here and in China!"
Handing Haily the documents, Lucario responds, "That's why we must attain the cooperation of those who will find the investigations a hindrance to their business."
Haily reads over the documents. With every turn of the page, her eyes widen more and more. "Are you saying that you're going to get the sponsors of the Meyling Food Court to join your side?!"
Lucario turns to look out the window where the training hall can be seen in the distance. "Do you know what your son asked of me a few days ago?"
Confused, Haily also looks out the window. She doesn't quite understand why Lucario brought that up, but she knows that he wouldn't do it for no reason. "Asides from being allowed to train with your daughter, he hasn't told me. What did he ask?"
"He asked if he could undergo new training to become a subordinate of the Buenavista Family in exchange for staying here on the weekends." Lucario scoffs as he crosses his arms and peaks up at the woman who is now staring down at him in shock. "He said that Lily wouldn't be a bad person to work under when he gets older. That's how bad he wanted to stay by Lily's side and sleep here over the weekends."
Closing her mouth, Haily recomposes herself. "What does that have to do with getting the sponsors of the Meyling's Food Court on your side?"
"It's not my side in particular," Lucario starts as he stands up and faces the woman. "It's Lily's side. For some reason, that child has a way of attracting and maintaining people's attention. I'm not saying this as her father, but as the leader of a mafia. As much as I don't want to admit it, Lily will be able to dominate any area she goes in just like you do. With a little bit of time, she can take anyone onto her side."
"So what are you trying to get at?"
Lucario walks over to the door and gestures for Haily to join him. They quietly walk over to the training hall and sneak inside so as to not disturb the children.
Pointing at Lily who is practicing her kicks on a dummy, Lucario leans closer to Haily's ear. "In just four days, that child has gone from not being able to even lift her leg high enough to kick the dummy's head to now almost able to hit it hard enough to knock it down. She has determination and strength. When she gets older, she will become a beauty that I will have to protect from unwanted men. With a child who has a deadly combination and so much potential as a powerful leader, who wouldn't want to side with her and leave those old fleabags?"
Suddenly bursting out laughing, Haily accidentally distracts Ethan and Lily. "So you're betting your daughter's potential on the success of getting rid of the Johnsons?" Haily concludes before Ethan and Lily run up to their respective parents.
"Yes, I am," Lucario strongly responds. The solid confidence in his voidlike eyes further enhance his resolute idea.
Recognizing this, Haily regains her composure then tells the kids to go back to their training. "Since you seem to be very sure of yourself, I will agree to work with you to get rid of the Johnsons. I owe you one anyway for allowing my son to stay here on the weekends. I'll agree to letting you guys train him to become a subordinate if that's what he wants. I too am becoming fond of Lily, so I guess this all works out."