Chapter 14 - Sword and Cross

The weeks following Touya's internment were the best in my life.

I could walk around the house without having to worry about a would-be killer jumping out of a dark corner to slit my throat.

I could increase the intensity of my workouts without worrying whether I would have enough energy to outrun someone twice my weight and size who wanted me dead. I could sleep soundly for the first time in ages without fear of being suffocated in my sleep.

And all of this was priceless.

Well, it had a price.

But that didn't really matter.

"Shoto, finish your bowl"

I drank the milk in one gulp before burping. No one took offense, baby privileges be damned.

My father scraped his chair on the floor.

Rei had pulled me out of my high chair before Enji could even get up.

"Leave it, I'll take care of him", said Rei

"... as you wish"

Fuyumi looked at them one after the other before she concentrated on her cereal once more. Natsuo, on the other hand, was not so tactful:

"Say, are you going to divorce ?"

Rei froze.

Enji's fork came to rest just above his plate.

Rei cradled me on her hip before smiling and turning to look at him.

"What makes you think that?"

"You've been acting weird ever since Tou-tou left"

The corners of Rei's mouth dropped, but her expression was still joyful.

"You're imagining things Natsu. Don't worry"

Fuyumi looked up at Enji with hopeful eyes.

"So you really won't divorce ?"

Rei laughed.

"You can't divorce a Todoroki"

Enji gave her a meaningful look, but Rei had already turned away.

Yes, Touya's departure came with a price.

But between my life and a shadowy arranged marriage, there was no comparison.

I wonder when I can ask Enji to take Kenjutsu lessons…

*

I looked at how I looked in the mirror and felt disgusted.

A straw hat, a white shirt lined with blue overalls and a pair of moccasins so heavy they looked like horseshoes.

"Shoto, are you ready ?"

I arranged the bow tie crookedly, my lips tight.

"Give me a minute !"

The hat slipped down over my eyes.

"Shoto, hurry before we're late !"

I tore the hat off and threw it across the room. It slid under the bed and disappeared into the darker realms of life.

I ran both hands over my hair to comb it back and straightened my shirt one last time. I looked like a redneck about to milk his cow.

"Sho-"

I opened the door.

Enji and Rei were standing in the hallway as far away from each other as possible. The first one was wearing a black suit, his hands in his pockets and looked bored to death.

Rei was wearing a small white dress and a blue waistcoat. She smiled at me before frowning.

"Where is your hat ?"

"It got lost"

And without waiting a second longer, I took big steps forward before slipping my hand into Enji's.

He didn't look at me, but took my hand in his.

I didn't like having to show my 'affection' in public, but he left me no choice. Since the departure of our resident sociopath, Enji had been distancing himself from everyone - me included.

To keep him from slipping through my fingers, I had to work twice as hard: I had put too much effort, time, and energy into him to let him go. I would stay with him until he asked me to stop, and even then I would continue.

Click click.

"Let's go"

*

For the hundredth time in my life I thanked karma for being reborn into a rich family.

I had no idea how I would have endured a life in a house smaller than my current bathroom.

The poor were magnets for disease, it was well known: by living in slums…

The school looked more like a hotel complex than anything else.

The main building was white stone, with a towering clock above the double doors. I suspected that it was made of solid gold.

Next to the paved walkways were gardens mowed to the millimeter. There was a marble fountain with a cherub pouring water from its penis. A black wrought-iron gate, crowned with the initials "SW," led the way to this upscale kindergarten.

It had the best of everything, including an Olympic-size swimming pool and athletic fields, according to the brochure.

"Looks like a great school, doesn't it, Shoto?"

I was going to nod foolishly, but then it clicked.

"Didn't Fuyumi went to school here? (Rei shook her head) And Natsuo?"

Also negative.

I frowned and turned to Enji.

For a long time, I had mistakenly believed that Rei made all the decisions concerning the Todoroki and that Enji just followed her lead. But that was only for decisions that were not particularly important.

'Trophy wife', huh.

As the bigwig of the family's credit cards, he had the 'last word' in everything. The fact that he had taken the time to choose this school and to take a leave of absence to accompany me…

"Why are we here?"

Enji looked down at me. He silently eyed me before turning his attention back to the school. Rei took pictures of everything like a paparazzi.

"I heard they have a great cafeteria"

I raised my eyebrows so high that I just acquired three wrinkles.

"Endeavor-sama!"

A woman in a gray suit trotted up to us. Her auburn hair was tied back in a low, loose bun, with a few strands falling across her face. Her blazer was unbuttoned over a white embroidered blouse.

She pulled up her dark glasses with one hand, a file tucked under her arm.

"I'm sorry, I've been grading a bunch of papers and didn't realize time had passed"

This is a kindergarten, what was she grading ? Drawings?

"You are taller than I expected"

She shot a bright smile at Enji. He looked even more irritated than the time he had to put on a birthday hat.

"You are ?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Maoki Nakoyama. But you can call me Maoki Sensei"

New smile.

At this rate, she might as well join the club of those Winx bitches.

"Enji Todoroki. Call me Mr. Todoroki"

He shook her hand firmly. She looked a little startled, but soon recovered. Her green eyes landed on me.

She put her black folder on her hip and forced herself to crouch down to my level.

It was unnecessary, and I had the feeling that she did it just to show her rear end to my old man.

"You must be Shoto, right ?"

I looked up at Enji - and no, he was ignoring me.

Great, really great.

I deadpanned :

"How did you guess ?"

She laughed. Then lifted her eyes to Enji. She looked at him from under her lashes for longer than politeness required before she straightened up and stretched like a cat.

She tried to ruffle my hair but I stepped back. She pretended not to care.

"I have a feeling we're going to be great friends, you and I, Shoto"

"Todoroki"

"Excuse me?"

"Call me Todoroki"

She forced a smile.

"Here is a little boy who already has the desire to be like the big boys !"

I didn't laugh. Neither did Enji.

Maoki gradually looked uncomfortable.

"Ah, you must be the teacher of my little Shoto"

Surprised, Maoki turned around to the outstretched hand of Rei.

Her confused eyes darted between Rei, Enji and me.

"I'm sorry that I didn't come and introduce myself earlier, but I didn't know that there was a Mrs. Todoroki"

She looked as embarrassed as she could possibly be.

"Oh, it's natural. You know heroes like their privacy"

Rei had certainly seen her flirting, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

"I am Maoki Nakoyama, Shoto's teacher for the whole school year. You can call me Maoki"

"Nice to meet you, Rei. Can I ask you a small favor?"

Maoki, eager to make amends with her, nodded vigorously.

"How can I help you?"

Rei handed over her camera and asked us to pose in front of the school. The other families followed her example.

"Ready, smile..."

Click.

She gave it back to Rei.

"Here, look"

There was the green lawn and the white building in the background.

I could be seen between Enji and Rei, holding the former's hand. Enji and I looked just as annoyed as each other, while Rei smiled sweetly.

"A real daddy's boy"

Annoyed, I tried to remove my hand from Enji's, but he caught it and squeezed it harder. I looked up at him, a little surprised, but he was looking straight ahead.

"How about we start this tour ?"

*

There was a swimming pool, a running track, tennis courts, volleyball courts, a gymnasium full of the latest equipment, six dojos, a boxing gym, and a sword training area.

"Of course, only students with written and signed parental permission have access to the weapons training room. The room is also under 24-hour guard, and the weapons are inaccessible without access codes. There are cameras without blind spots and two guards are always present"

Rei nodded, tense.

"Well, that's... organized."

Even her smile was unnatural.

"We take the safety of our students very seriously, Ms. Todoroki. In our four years of existence, we have never had a single injury outside of training"

"So there have been injured"

"I beg your pardon ?"

"There have been injuries during training, that's what you're saying, right ?"

Maoki gave Enji a confused look.

"Well, yes, but it didn't go further than a broken arm or a twisted ankle"

Rei nodded.

"So there are casualties. Good. Very good"

She looked disapprovingly at the weapons in the display window. Maoki tried to reassure her:

"The students only train with dummy weapons. And if they get injured, we have an infirmary where three licensed doctors take turns to provide continuous support"

Rei didn't look any more comforted.

"You said that there are security guards. Who are they? What qualifications do they have to deal with such young children ?"

I moved away discreetly, leaving Maoki to Rei's clutches.

Enji stood in front of the display of bladed weapons. There were tons of knives, swords, sabers and handguns laid out on purple bassinets.

He looked at a short sword, not much bigger than me.

"It's a tanto"

The handle was made of braided leather. The blade was shiny, but there was no doubt that this was no display weapon.

"I had one of these when I was younger"

I looked up at him.

"Why did you have one ?"

He was silent for such a long time that I thought he was not going to answer me.

"I did many things before I became a hero"

I waited for him to go on, but he didn't add anything.

Enji was a man of few words.

"What is this school ?"

"An international training center specializing in training heroes' children"

That was the reason why no one else but Maoki had jumped at him.

"You want me to become a hero ?"

He looked down at me.

I felt the heat rise to my face. I grabbed the strap of my overalls and played with it. I hated feeling nervous and I hated that he could see it.

"I want you to know how to fight back"

I lowered my head so he wouldn't see my relief.

"I can't always be here for you"

He was there when it mattered - that's the only thing I care about.

"I know"

Silence fell over us.

I wanted to thank him for the bridge and for Touya. I wanted to tell him that I was grateful and that I owed him my life in many ways.

But I had never been very good at expressing my feelings - and I think I was afraid of how he would react.

Emotions always ended up being used against you in one way or another.

But I wanted to believe that he was different. That he wasn't like my progenitors.

I made the one and only emotional gesture that I had ever been taught to make in both of my lives: I lifted two shy fingers toward his pocket.

He pulled his hand out of it and took mine.

His palm was warm, comforting. Paternal.

For the first time in my life, I did not take a step towards Enji to get something from him.

And it felt good.

*

Author's note : 

80 power stones : Bonus chapter on sunday

100 power stones : Double release next saturday

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