**Chapter 10:Fake

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"ads?" Kane muttered as he glanced down at the card. "Did they give this to the wrong person?."

The card read: *Certificates, engraving—one-stop service! *

"Fake certificates?" Kane thought immediately.

Without hesitating, he jumped on his bike and headed for the address on the card.

it didn't matter to Kane if the documents were fake? As long as they could deceive the orphanage, Kane didn't care.

In a dimly lit alley, two shady-looking young men sat inside a dingy room. Kane walked in and handed them the card.

"Do you handle this kind of business?" Kane asked, his voice firm despite being just a seven- or eight-year-old boy. His confidence startled the two youths, who, despite their inexperience, didn't dare to slack off.

"Yeah, sure. What kind of certificate are you looking for?" one of them asked.

"A work permit."

"Oh, that's easy!" the shopkeeper said casually, clearly unconcerned.

"Don't try to mess with me. If it gets officially checked, you'll be the ones responsible," Kane warned, narrowing his eyes.

"Ahem, no worries! The work permit will be legit. I've got connections with plenty of shell companies. We'll get it sorted for you," the youth assured him, though it was clear he didn't quite understand why someone would want a work permit. Most of their jobs involved fake seals and forged documents, after all.

Kane felt a bit more at ease after hearing that, knowing it would be enough to keep the orphanage at bay for a while. Still, he couldn't fully relax—he'd deal with them after he resolved the situation with the old man.

"How much is it? Let's talk," Kane asked.

"Two hundred. No haggling."

"Do it fast, I'm in a hurry." Kane deliberately kept things moving quickly, trying to make them overlook the fact he was just a child.

"Alright, alright. Just show us your ID."

"Get it done, I'll wait. Here's your money."

Kane handed them two hundred Poké dollars. The sight of the cash made the two young men speed up their work, too focused on the money to even bother looking closely at Kane's ID.

In just ten minutes, Kane had a work permit with his information, a company name, and an official-looking seal.

Satisfied, Kane hurried away with both his work permit and ID card.

With the work permit in hand, Kane began to plan his next moves.

"I can't wait any longer. I'll call the police tonight," he muttered.

Back at home, Kane turned off all the air conditioners, turned on the lights, and moved the old man's body onto the couch in the living room.

After checking the body one last time to ensure everything looked right, Kane made the call to report the death.

The police arrived quickly, as expected. Four officers entered the home, and the forensic examiner immediately began examining the old man's body.

With the police in front him Kane wanted to cry to show his sorrow however, knowing he wasn't good at fake crying he just, stood by silently. His biggest concern was making sure he didn't seem too unaffected after all tears would be hard to fake.

"Did your grandfather have heart problems?" the medical examiner asked, glancing up at him.

"Yeah, he did."

"When did you discover he had passed away?"

Kane had prepared for this question. The old man had died two days ago, and although Kane had done his best to preserve the body, a skilled examiner might still figure it out.

"I just got home and found him like this," Kane answered cautiously.

The examiner nodded. "It looks like a heart attack. Given the condition of the body, I'd estimate he passed away earlier this morning."

The police officers took notes while the examiner continued his examination.

"Do you have any other relatives?" one officer asked.

"No," Kane replied.

"Then it's up to you. When do you want to have your grandfather cremated?"

"Can we do it tonight? I don't want to stay here alone all night..." Kane hesitated, trying to appear uncomfortable. The officers could see that the boy was eager to settle things quickly and probably didn't want to spend a night with a corpse in the house.

One of the officers sighed, "Poor kid... Let's get it done. Someone call a car to take him to the crematorium."

Kane finally felt relieved.

At the crematorium, Kane only had to sign a few documents while the police handled the rest.

About half an hour later, one of the officers handed Kane a small urn. "These are your grandfather's ashes. You're an orphan now, so we'll cover the cremation costs."

"No, I can pay for it. I've got a job," Kane insisted. He didn't want to owe the police anything financially and wanted to assert his independence, especially since it might help him deal with the orphanage later.

The police officers hesitated but eventually accepted Kane's payment.

Kane returned home, holding the urn. "Another one," he muttered, adding it to the collection.

He placed the urn with two others, all stored in a single box. Kane had no intention of wasting money on a cemetery; as he counted every penny he had as valuable to his future.

After tidying up, Kane took out two bank cards that had belonged to the old man. The problem now was figuring out the passwords.

With the old man gone, there was no way to retrieve the passwords without going to the bank. His only option was to guess.

Kane listed all the birthdays he knew—his parents', the old man's—and came up with sixteen possible combinations.

He could only attempt four times a day before the ATM would lock him out. So, it would take him four days to try all the possible passwords.

Despite the late hour, Kane felt restless. It was nearly eleven, but there was an ATM downstairs.

He tried the combinations.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Four times. No luck. One more attempt, and the card will be automatically blocked.

Kane wasn't surprised. He hadn't expected to get it right on the first day anyway. He headed back upstairs, feeling slightly more at ease now that the cremation was done.

At least one problem had been dealt with.

Lying in bed, Kane began sorting through his thoughts.

First, he needed a job. Even though he had the work permit, he couldn't just sit around every day. People would start asking questions, and besides, he needed to earn money after all the money he has now won't last forever especially because he now has an extra mouth to feed.

There was also the issue of school. The League required five years of compulsory education, up until the age of ten. The curriculum was far too basic for Kane, but dropping out without a good reason would leave a stain on his record.

If anyone with ill intentions got hold of that information, it could damage his reputation, making him seem disloyal to the League. No matter how talented someone was, if they were seen as untrustworthy, they wouldn't be accepted by the league. Kane needed to keep up appearances.

The school year began in October, and Kane planned to take the completion exams to graduate early. With his knowledge, it would be easy.

Next, he had to train Ditto. While its main purpose was to help him fake identities, it still needed to be strong enough to protect him.

Finally, there was Tatsuo. Kane had to make time to visit him—there was still business they needed to discuss.

After three tense days, Kane finally felt like he could relax a little. He even allowed himself to sleep in.

The next morning, he woke up late—half-past eight. He quickly washed up and sat down for breakfast while Ditto happily slurped its milk.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Without getting up, Kane called out, "Who is it?"

A voice replied, "Hello, we're from the orphanage. Please open the door."

Kane froze, his heart racing with panic.

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