Adoption Papers

<Timeskip: 44 Months>

-Vulcan POV-

...

Well, a long time has passed since I was practicing Rusting Hysteria in a closed-off room. I still remember how mad some people were when given the duty to bring food to my doors. I never got a chance to practice my Spirit Forge extension techniques in the real world since then.

Tomorrow is my tenth birthday, and also the day I got adopted by an old man in my last life. The old man was someone who taught me self-defense and only showed up once a week at best, so he was barely considered more than a teacher to me. When I was around fifteen, he straightened out his life and became very serious.

Back then, I was young and did not realize why I could never beat an old man past his fifties even with so many handicaps. A few years ago, I realize why that was possible.

He was able to use Spirit Energy without a doubt.

I mean it seems pretty obvious when looking back on it now, but there is no way I would imagine something like that existing when I was ten years old...

The signs were obvious, he would move faster than a tiger and leave marks on concrete. Even before I died, I was nowhere near that level of physical strength, at least now I am. This means that the gap between the past and present, Spirit Energy, is what bridges a normal fifty-year-old man with someone who can beat a young man in his prime.

I still can't outright just ask, since that would be strange. But there is one thing I can do, which impresses the old man to adopt me like last time.

Now most would wonder why an old man would adopt some random red-head boy from a random orphanage in Tokyo, and that would be a secret I wouldn't tell, otherwise, I might get arrested...

For now, I'll sleep and wait for tomorrow.

...

...

-General POV-

...

The next morning, everyone woke up like every other day. Most did not realize it was Vulcan's birthday, except for Iris.

They spend breakfast together having a personal celebration, eating anmitsu and agar jelly from a next-door shop called 'Sweeties for Sweeties'.

At that nearby shop, however, an old man could be seen with slicked back mid-length, gray hair with small black eyes and a long, thin, English-style mustache could be seen walking while swinging back and forth. His face was flushed with red and the gourd he was holding was swinging all around.

The old man slurs his words, "I . . Was to go.. to going . the mark--market."

Looking back at the sweet shop's sign, the old man was confused, "Wha... What am... I..." He stumbled across the floor and flopped onto the ground. "What am..." He closed his eyes as if the words were just too difficult to force out of his own mouth. Finally, mustering together all of his strength, he finally managed to croak out, "I... doing here?"

The man wore a loose brown yukata with a black sash while barefoot. The yukata was so loose, that a section of his chest was exposed, revealing a great deal of muscle.

Standing back up, he kept moving a few steps until he found the 'Fostering of Christ' orphanage and spoke with conviction this time while sobering up slightly, "I . . Will show . H-Her . . To hide things from someone like me!"

Walking into the orphanage, the old man saw a small girl with blond hair. When their eyes met, she looked terrified and ran away, making the man soberer.

The old man looked for an adult, seeing an old woman at a counter, he asked, "I wanna adopt... a kid"

The matron met the man's gaze with her own, saying, "Sorry, sir... but we need things like identification and approval from before we even begin to think about giving custody of another life to someone, so... befuddled like yourself."

The man took out his wallet and someone managed to give her everything needed for the adoption that was all valid, which surprised the matron. She raised her eyebrow asking, "Okay. Even with all this, if the child you choose accepts, then we can finalize these things. First, do you want a boy or a girl?"

The old man laughed, "HAHAHA! I want neither! Show me a young man! Someone with tenacity and strength who would impress others!"

Seeing his strange attitude, the matron sighed while handing over a document and said, "We have a few boys to choose from. I am afraid you might be disappointed if you are looking for a young man..."

"Who's this?" The now sober man interrupted while looking at one of the files.

The matron looked a little surprised as she said, "Ah, that's Vulcan Joseph."

...

At this point, a young boy, with short red hair, shaved sides, and blue eyes appeared next to the old man. The boy wore a red hoodie over a black shirt, the hoodie having an 'I Heart Animals' printed on the front.

The old man looked down at the boy, and the boy looked up at the man, their eyes meeting, "Madam Chikaori I heard this decrepit old fart wants to adopt me, is that true?"

Trying to cover her smile, the woman replied, "Yes, he has everything needed and just needed approval to finalize everything. Do you wanna go with that 'old fart' as you say?" Expecting a refusal, the matron couldn't help but make fun of the man.

The old man at this time was noticing the muscles that were badly hidden under the red hoodie, thinking that the kid must be training himself.

All the child said was: "Yes"

...

Although it seemed simple, it took several more hours to complete the process.

During this time, Vulcan learned of the new name of his 'father'.

The old man with the gourd says, "My name is Naobito, but you will refer to me as Shujin-sama, understood?"

"Yes, Kuso-sama!" Vulcan said while holding back his laughter, "I promise to follow Kuso-kun to the best of my abilities, Hahaha!"

Hearing this, the old man was also smiling, but reprimanded Vulcan, "Alright brat, when we get back, I'll have to teach you some manners."

...

Leaving the orphanage behind, Vulcan said goodbye to a teary-eyed Iris. Saying a few jokes before leaving to try and remove her sadness, "Goodbye, see ya! Someday you'll see the reason why, there's 'good' in goodbye by the way!"

"Dang it. Well, some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. Better leave already so I can go enjoy myself!" In response, Iris said while turning around to go get tissues, not knowing she would not see Vulcan for a long time.

Seeing her leave, Vulcan starts to head out into the streets with the old man. The old man seemed to be wondering how Vulcan felt, noticing this, the man said to Vulcan, '"Good friends never say goodbye, they simply say 'see you soon.'"

Hearing these words of wisdom, Vulcan smiled thinking back, realizing this was the right decision.

Walking behind the old man, Vulcan concluded that this new chapter of his life that was starting would be very exciting.