First steps

"A deal? Humpft, you're insane." Silvio pounced forward, grabbed Leonardo by the neck and lifted him up against the wall. "You lived feeding off my money since ten, if you have some now  you should give it as repayment."

But Leonardo grinned as a knock came from the door.

"What's going on?"

Silvio squinted. He didn't dare to say everything was alright because no security guard would arrive so fast after an incident, he, without a doubt was waiting there on Leonardo's orders.

His eyes turned back to the grinning Leonardo. "Do you,,, dare?

Leonardo spit on Silvio's face with a sneer on his mouth.

Without a word Silvio punched hard on his stomach and thought of something. 'If the hero I so praised for the last days have me, his father, blocked from the visit list and be scolted away from his ward by a security guard… wouldn't I lose too much credibility?'

Silvio sighed, cleaned the spit on his face and sat on the armchair.

After a muffled grunt,, Leonardo saw  Silvio's demeanor and spoke to the guard

"It's ok for now, b-but please wait outside." the fear on his voice was abvious. Not fake at all. Yet  he was grinning the whole time while speaking. Silvio clenched his fingers.

"Do you have no more love for your sister and mother? Or your teeth?" Silvio spoke in a threatening low tone.

Leonardo laughed, adjusted his hospital gown and leaned over the window. "Even a mayor candidate will lose composure as the feeling of the power leaving through his finger comes."

Silvio sneered. "You might've gained some money, but that's just it, there's no power in there, I know lawyers, delegates, judges, celebrities, police officers in every rank, various councilmen, the people on real state and the people of health. Boy, your wings were clipped the moment your mother married me. In this town, you can't shake off my power."

 The grin did not leave Leonardo. "But you made a mistake, dad. You closed all paths for me. And the last time I was cornered I tried to runover an authority holder. Athough it didn' mean much, I still killed him in the end. If you think I'll choose to live in misery and fear of you for the rest of mom's life, just for the sake of staying alive, you're wrong. So wrong."

Silvio looked in his eyes. Leonardo was an eighteen-years-old young man, extremely bright about magic and other research subjects, but he also has a borderline autistic timidness, which made him controllable and a great asset to cultivate his political career. But that timidity was nowhere to be seen now

Silvio grew alert. There was no fear in the boy's eyes, only some kind of mad will.

'He became too much of a variable…But kicking him out of the house after praising him so much..' Silvio sighed before smiling, the same kind of smile he gives the cameras. "Come on now, son, you were talking about a deal."

Silvio squinted inwardly. Even if the boy grew some backbone he still lacked knowledge of the world,and experience with people.. Furthermore, with the power of causing misery to his mother and sister on his hand, Silvio felt relieved and smiled again.

Leonardo showed five fingers,"I'll give you 500,000,00 reais to sponsor your campaign for mayor."

"Son, votes are not cheap like that."

"I known exactly how much a campaign costs, don't be incompetent by being greedy." Leonardo retorted.

Silvio glared, then blinked and smiled, "And what do you want in exchange?"

"I'll start a business soon, those contacts you mentioned before, I'll need them and a bit of publicity."

"...Aren't you afraid I won't hold my end of the deal later on?" Silvio said as Leonardo had already turned again, and was smiling with his mouth closed.

"Not at all, you're my dad after all. Haha"

Silvio waited in thought, then wrote down his bank account on a piece of paper and threw it on the bed, frictioned his eyes until they were red and made a relieved expression, like an actor, he left the ward.

[What are you planning? Isn't he your enemy?]

Azumi asked.

"Giving him the and end of the rope.  Now he'll pull it as he profits untill he hangs himself with it." 

"..." Azumi stayed silent.

Leonardo chukled. "This warm feeling on the back of my mind, is it lust?"

Azumy fluttered her wings. [You were finally able to be in power against him, furthermore, you successfully kept your intentions unclear, and led him down your rabbit hole, you won against him for the first time, the pleasure of catching an enemy, that's one of the most pure forms of pleasure.]

A great sigh of satisfaction left Leonardo's mouth, as the smile took over his whole face and hazy eyes, he mumbled. "I couldn't agree more."

****

Helen and Hailey were walking down the hallway towards Leonardo's ward.

Hailey fidged, looking at her smiling mother, then pulling back.

"You've done that thirteen times already, you can speak to me." Helen gently grabbed Hailey's hand and spoke.

"I-I-... Isn't Leo too changed? And his height.. How did it increased a little during these two days of coma?" Helen smiled and gently pulled her forward while speaking. "Do you feel like he became another person?"

Hailey bit her lips trying to find the words. "Not another person, but, more like in a novel when a future version of the protagonist goes back on their younger self?" She scratched her head, "I don't know how to explain it right."

Helen nodded, "The doctors said he might've awakened an authority, or suffered a strong trauma, but the unusual thing is that instead of the usual defense mechanism provoked by traumas, your brother started to produce high levels of testosterone…So it isn't strange he's more…" Helen tilted her head with a finger on the chin,"...manly? Mature?" She then smiled at Hailey. "Isn't he more handsome too?"

Hailey's face flushed slightly remembering his disheveled short hair and lazy smile as he sighed and said that it was not fun squeezing skin and bones.

"T-That's not the point! His height! What about his height!?

"Huhu," Helen chuckled and continued; "He's eighteen. The doctor said his testosterone levels provoked a super growth spurt"

As they sttoped in front of his ward, Helen turned to Hailey with a smile. "He's your brother regardless of any change, don't forget that."

Then she slid the door open, and a scrawny, semi nude Leonardo on his pant grinned at Hailey

"What? Want to squeeze me?

Both women looked at his lanky body, purple spots from two days ago are still there, contrasting heavily with his own pale white skin that rarely saw the sun.

But despite that sorry state, Hailey had a thought that she always wanted to have, but never dreamed of having.

'If it's the Leo I'm seeing now, the maybe...maybe we can all be free…'

But outside she snorted with crossed arms, "I might as well hug a toothpick."

But contrary to her, Helen was looking at a more purplish bruise on his abdomen.

"...Did your father come to see you?" She asked.