The tension in the room grew heavier under the stares of the elders as Itami waited for their response. Seconds felt like hours. Finally, the lead elder spoke: "We have decided, by majority, that you will continue on this hero path."
Itami let out a small breath of relief as a smile began to creep across his face. "Tha—"
"I wasn't finished speaking, boy," the elder cut him off sharply.
Rubbing his chin, the elder continued, "We will put our faith in you. Some of us believe you're paving the way for the future, while others—" he gave a sideways glance at two elders whose faces showed clear disagreement, "—don't believe this is the right path. So it's up to you to prove yourself and get results. You are now dismissed."
Itami bowed his head and walked out of the room.
Huh, that couldn't have gone any better
As the door closed, the tall elder sat down, rubbing his forehead with his robotic fingers. "This is madness! Letting him break the code?!" the bald elder spatted.
"Shut it, Geto. We've made our decision. Let's see what the boy can do, he's our next leader after he passes the trials."
Scoffing, Geto rose from his seat and stormed off. "Geto has a point. We've followed the code for centuries, and now you want to change that," another elder, Kiyoko, chimed in.
"Oh, will you can it, Kiyoko? You and Geto are always blabbering about that," Misaki said, crossing her arms.
"Spare me, Misaki. What could you possibly know?" Kiyoko turned towards her, his face scrunched in anger.
"More than you. Where were you when we were attacked? You and Geto? Hiding while we fought to protect our home." She pointed at the tall elder's hand. "Look at Hanzo's hand—lost while doing his duty. I don't see a scratch on you!"
Before Kiyoko could respond, a loud bang echoed as Hanzo smashed the desk with his robotic hand. "Silence! We will not speak of that anymore!" he shouted. Kiyoko stood up and stormed off with Geto following.Then the other three elders took their leave, with one putting his hand on Hanzo's shoulders.
Palming his face, Hanzo exhaled deeply, looking at his robotic hand. "That bastard... He didn't just take my hand, he destroyed my life. My wife, my son... gone."
Leaning back in her seat, Misaki softened her tone as she looked at Hanzo. "We all lost someone that day. But Itami had it the worst. His entire family was targeted, everyone was killed but him."
"You really believe in him? After everything he said?" Hanzo asked, still staring at his hand.
"I do," Misaki replied. "I believe he has the potential to do great things, and more." A slight smile crept onto her face. "Don't you remember how you used to train his father, pushing him to the bone even at a young age? And I'd scold you for going too hard on him."
A lopsided smile appeared on Hanzo's face, followed by a light chuckle. "Heh, yeah... he used to cry a lot. Every time he saw you, he'd run and hide behind you." Easing up, Hanzo sat up straight, closing his eyes. "Itami reminds me so much of his father—almost a spitting image, except for his eyes. Those he got from his mother's side."
"His mother was as elegant as she was strong..." Misaki added as she stood up. "Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday our grandchildren were playing together in the field, and now they're all grown up."
Sighing in agreement, Hanzo stood from his chair. "Time keeps moving forward. Now it's their time to shine, and our job to guide them with wisdom, especially Itami."
With a smirk, Misaki responded, "But earlier, you said—" she puffed out her chest and mimicked Hanzo's gruff voice, "'ThE pAth WiLL Be LoNg aND UnFoRGiVinG, YoU WiLL Be AloNe.'"
"Tch." Small sparks flew from Hanzo's mouth as he made an annoyed expression. "I only said that to keep Kiyoko and Geto happy."
Misaki smiled. "I knew it—you're a big softy for the boy."
Outside the Building
Walking out of the building, Itami spotted a man with dark sunglasses waving at him. The light blue hair was unmistakable. "Kaze! How's it going?" Itami called, holding out his fist. Kaze bumped it with his own.
"Good, good. How was the meeting with the elders? Did they give you another earful?"
"Surprisingly, no. I thought I was gonna end up in another yelling match with the bald geezer," Itami replied, putting his hands behind his head.
With a light smile, Kaze motioned for Itami to walk with him. Taking off his sunglasses, he handed them to Itami. "Come on, let's go to Akuma's house. I hear his mom is making a feast to welcome him home."
Following Kaze, Itami asked, "What brand are these, anyway? I didn't know you were into sunglasses."
Pointing at his eyes, Kaze replied, "Put them on and you'll see what I've been working on at the facility."
Listening to Kaze, Itami slipped on the glasses but didn't notice anything unusual. "I don't get it. They're just normal sunglasses."
"Press the side, where the temples meet the rims," Kaze instructed as he pulled a small tablet from his back pocket.
Confused, Itami pressed the side, and the glasses flashed a light blue hue. A small hotbar appeared at the bottom of his vision, with a box in the top left corner displaying various data. "Can you see this?" Kaze asked, swiping up on his tablet.
Itami's sunglasses flickered for a second before a full screen appeared, showing documents and a satellite image of their current location. "Pretty cool, huh?" Kaze said with a wide grin. "It still needs some tweaking, but I'm close to finishing it. I just need to figure out the latency and connection to our satellites so there's no lag. And I have to work on the computer chip to make sure it doesn't overheat."
Kaze rambled on as he typed on his tablet. Itami handed the glasses back with a smile. "These are awesome, Kaze. You're really a tech genius."
"Heh. Thanks, means a lot coming from our future hero and leader," Kaze replied with a slight smile, adding a playful tease. Waving off the attempt at humor, Itami walked down the dirt path with Kaze following. The thoughts lurking in the back of Itami's mind began to eat at him—pressure from the elders, the trials, becoming the leader, and trying to be a hero.
Do I have what it takes? Am I strong enough to survive the trials? Is this the right choice? Am I honoring my family?
"Itami to earth, you there?" Kaze's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Shaking his head, Itami replied, "Yeah, what's up? I was daydreaming for a sec." He noticed Kaze pointing in the distance at a giant tree. "Remember how we used to play there with Akuma? He'd chase us with his fire while we tried to escape."
A small smile appeared on Itami's face as he reminisced. "Yeah, but your water affinity helped you fight him off. My fire was weaker, and I was younger than both of you." They both laughed as they continued walking toward the Draco Family's entrance gate.
As the sun set, casting the area in a warm orange glow, they approached the gate. The Draco Family crest gleamed in the fading light. Before they could reach the gate, they spotted two figures sitting by the pillar. As they drew closer, the figures stood up, and Itami recognized them.
"Hey, Itami! Over here!" a blonde girl called out, waving excitedly. The other, with flowing brown hair, stood calmly beside her. "How have you been?!"
"I've been good Lyra, What are you two doing out here?" Itami asked as Lyra ran up and hugged him from behind.
"Well, Akuma was showing off his tattoo until his mom suddenly appeared behind him with a broom, smacking him with it once she saw the tattoo. Then she dragged him off by the ear and told us to come back later for dinner." Lyra giggled.
Both Kaze and Itami chuckled at the image of the scene. Itami then tried to wiggle free, but Lyra tightened her grip by wrapping her arms around Itamis neck, hanging on his back with her feet dangling in the air. "Yeah, I figured she'd find out eventually, but not on the first day... Can you get off of me now?" Itami asked, trying to sound patient.
"Why? You act like I'm heavy," Lyra pouted, playfully resisting.
Before Itami could answer, the brown-haired woman, Yukiko, spoke with gentle kindness. "Please get off him, Lyra. He has a lot on his mind right now."
Groaning, Lyra reluctantly let go and slid off Itami's back. He looked down at the ground, his cheeks turning slightly pink from hearing Yukiko's words. "Thanks, Yukiko... How have you been?"
With a warm smile, Yukiko replied, "I'm doing well, Itami. I haven't seen you in a while. I heard about you attending the hero big hero school as well as the meeting you had with the elders. You've been working so hard."
Itami scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It's been a lot lately, But thanks, Yukiko. I'm trying my best."
Lyra noticing Itami's face, she suddenly kicked his shin with great force. "Ow! What was that for!?" Itami yelled, rubbing his leg.
"You're too nice to Yukiko!" Lyra huffed, arms crossed. "Come on Yukiko, let's go I think the food is ready" she said with a pouting face, dragging Yukiko into Draco's entrance gate.
But what if Itami is hurt?" Yukiko protested, though she still allowed herself to get dragged by Lyra into Draco's home land.Leaving both Itami and Kaze on there own.
Cursing to himself Itami checks his shins and rubs it as Kaze began to snicker. " Your always messing with her aren't you?"
Annoyed, Itami replied " Shut up, I don't know what's been up with her lately, she's always hitting me for no reason." Still snickering a Kaze whispered to himself " It's been happening for a good while now, your just to hard headed to see"
"Come out let's go, she's probably right about the food, I'm starving" Kaze said with a smile as he waves on Itami.