In The Wrong Hood? (II)

The head matron diligently looked through the documents, trying to look for any discrepancies. According to the documents, both of them were in the clear and except for a couple of speeding tickets, their records were completely clean and the tickets were from years ago. Since their records were completely clean, she decided to move on to the next documents. 

Next, she needed to check their financial situation as she needed to make sure that they would be able to support a child… They were pretty rich, so they weren't going to have any problems supporting a child or a couple… The head matron finished inspecting all the documents and a smile bloomed on her face.

"Everything seems to be in order. Do you want to meet the children right away or do you want to take your time and look around?" The head matron asked. The formalities and the paperwork were far from over, but she had seen enough to get things moving. They could finish the rest of the paperwork if they find someone they would like to adopt.

Ren seemed to exchange a glance with his wife… "We would like to meet them now, but we wanted to be clear that we want the child to have a Quirk, a strong Quirk-" As Ren was speaking, the look on the head matron's face started to darken, but before he could finish, he was cut off by his own wife.

"-Please, don't misunderstand my husband. Right now, Quirks are everything. Quirks are the foundation of our society. We want our child to grow to become a Hero" Mai finished and even though the head matron still wasn't pleased, she could understand where the couple was coming from. No matter how much she wanted to blame these two, she knew she couldn't.

The system came to be way before the two were even born… The head matron sighed and slumped back in her seat. She wasn't planning to show them the children who were yet to awaken their Quirks since they were almost never adopted, but she wasn't expecting them to be so candid…

"I understand" The head matron nodded and pressed a button under her table. Soon one of the matrons opened the door and peeked inside. "Gather the children" The head matron instructed and the matron quickly hurried off to carry out the orders.

"Now, please follow me… It will take her some time to gather the children, so in the meantime, take a look at this. This might help you make your choice" The head matron explained as she handed a tablet to the couple. The words felt like ash in her mouth, but she knew how the world worked. The head matron loved all the children, regardless of their Quirks, but it wasn't the same for the others.

The couple started to swipe through the pages. Each page contained a picture of a child along with the details related to their Quirks. 'Escalation' Both Ren and Mai muttered internally at the same time as they came across the child they were looking for. However, instead of showing any reaction, they simply continued to swipe through the pages.

"We have found a few perspectives" Ren said as he returned the tablet to the matron. 

"Then please follow me" The head matron stood up and gestured the couple to follow her… 

~~POV Reo~~

"What's going on?" I asked Hojo when I heard the bell ring. Whenever the bell rang, we were supposed to gather in the main courtyard, but I had never seen it happen before. However, from the look on Hojo's face, it must be something really good. I noticed that all the older children were looking excited just like Hojo.

"Someone is going to get adopted" Hojo revealed with a grin. "Come on, let's go!" Hojo exclaimed excitedly as he started to run toward the building, leaving me behind, but I quickly followed him. Someone was going to be adopted… I have never seen someone getting adopted before, but a year ago I lived in the other building along with all the children who were yet to manifest their Quirks, maybe that is why I never saw anyone get adopted.

The courtyard was already filled with excited chattering… I could tell that all the children looked excited at the prospect of getting adopted. "All of you shut up and get in line!" A matron snapped and the children immediately stopped chattering and quickly formed a line. "All of you need to be on your best behavior. A generous couple is looking to adopt, do not ruin our reputation" The same matron explained sternly as she gazed at everyone.

Soon the head matron arrived with a young-looking couple. Then the couple pointed at me, making me stiffen… "Can we talk with him?" The woman requested in a hopeful tone. I noticed a few glares pointed in my direction, but I ignored them for the time being as I had other important things to worry about.

Why were they interested in me? Is this some kind of plot or am I simply being way too paranoid? Maybe, I am just being paranoid, but the thing was, I didn't know much about the bad guys in this world… I remember that kid with the fetish of hands, but there was no way he was a mastermind or something like that. There must be someone backing him from the shadows… Then there was that villain with the fetish for real Heroes.

"Sure, Reo-kun, please come here" The head matron beckoned me in her direction. 

Maybe, I am simply being way too paranoid… After taking a deep breath, I approached the couple. I wouldn't mind getting adopted. While life in the orphanage wasn't bad, a lot of opportunities were simply unavailable to me because I was an orphan… Having a family, even an adoptive one, could open a lot of doors for me. The head matron decided to dismiss the others since the couples didn't seem to be interested in the others and if they were, she could always call them back.

"Hello, I am Itsuki Reo, nice to meet you" I greeted the couple with a respectful bow. The woman seemed to swoon at my greeting while the man simply nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Hello, Reo-kun, I am Adachi Mai and this is my husband, Ren. Nice to meet you too" The woman kneeled in front of me and introduced herself and her husband. "Would you like to become a part of our family?" The woman asked with a smile and I am starting to feel that we were moving too quickly…