The courtyard gravel had barely settled after the car pulled away when the doors to the inner veranda slid shut.
Naobito sat on the raised tatami platform with his legs crossed, a small porcelain cup resting loose between two fingers. The jug of cold sake sat near his knee, condensation pooling on the polished cedar.
Across from him, Jinya stood by the wooden pillar, arms folded inside the dark sleeves of his haori. Jin'ichi sat lower on the floor, rubbing the knuckles of his right hand where the skin was still faintly bruised from the week of sparring.
"He's gone," Jinya said. His voice was flat and clipped, the tone he used when closing an account. "The Musutafu precinct has already logged the transit notice. U.A. expects him back in the dorms by five."
"Good," Naobito grunted, tipping the cup back. "Kid was starting to give me a headache anyway."
"You gave him the book," Jinya said, keeping his eyes fixed on the clan head. "The pre-quirk record from the deep archive. The one text in this entire compound that hasn't seen sunlight since before All Might took the stage. That document belongs to the clan. In the hands of someone who refuses to bind himself to us, it's a liability."
"Stop whining about that dusty pile of paper," Naobito growled, setting his cup down with enough force to rattle the saucer. "What good was it doing sitting in the dark?"
"It outlines the lineage of the Ten Shadows," Jinya replied coldly. "It contains centuries of recorded precedent. If he studies it outside our supervision, we lose our leverage over how he develops."
"Then you haven't been paying attention to what that boy actually is," Naobito said, pouring another measure of sake. "You're treating that manual like sacred gospel. But the Ten Shadows sitting inside Megumi isn't the same thing written on those old scrolls. It's evolved."
Jinya didn't answer immediately, though his gaze hardened.
"Look at what he did this week," Naobito continued, waving a dismissive hand. "He copied your shadow reinforcement after two days of watching you do it. He spread the shadow across an entire room and tried to mimic your control. And on top of that, he brings out those summons without any of the old rituals. In the old texts, every master had to undergo separate subjugations just to command a single beast. Megumi doesn't have to tame a damn thing. He forms the sign, pulls the shape from the dark, and it obeys him."
Jin'ichi looked up from the floor, listening quietly.
"Humans have been mutating and evolving at a ridiculous pace for three hundred years," Naobito said, tapping the side of his own head. "Nobody knows why quirks showed up or where the ceiling is. The rules change with every generation. Toji was one extreme of it. Born with no quirk, treated like garbage by the council, tossed into Kukuru, and yet through years of blood and training he built a body that could tear through top-tier heroes with bare hands and cold iron. He proved our ancient ideas about worth were completely rotten."
Naobito leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees as he pinned Jinya with a heavy stare.
"Megumi is the other side of that same coin. His quirk is adapting faster than our dusty records can keep up. If we want him to grow into something that actually matters, that book will give him a baseline, nothing more. He'll take what's useful and throw out the rest."
Naobito narrowed his eyes. "So tell me, Jinya. Are you actually worried the boy won't get strong enough? Or are you just pissed off because you can't control him?"
A heavy silence settled over the veranda.
"Control is stability," Jinya said after a measured pause, his voice smooth and calculating. "All Might is declining, whether the public recognizes it yet or not. When the Symbol of Peace falls, the balance of power in this country will break wide open. The Hero Commission is already tightening regulations, and the top agencies will determine who survives the shift. An independent powerhouse who shares our blood but owes us nothing is a risk we can't afford."
"And that's why you'll lose him if you keep pushing," Jin'ichi said bluntly.
Jinya glanced down at him.
"He told you his terms," Jin'ichi said, his voice deep and steady. "He stays at U.A. He isn't an heir by default, and he isn't a weapon for your ledgers. We provide medical support for his sister, we teach him what we know, and we leave him alone. If you try to cage him or turn him into an experiment, he'll walk away and never look back. He has his father's stubbornness. You push him, he cuts the cord."
"His head was clean during the Kyoto patrol yesterday," Naobito added, leaning back. "Convenience store robbery. Three hostages, cramped space, amateur villain with a knife. Most brats would've blown the storefront apart trying to make a headline. Megumi read the exits, saw the panic, used the toad to secure the weapon before the idiot knew what happened, and put the dog between the blade and the clerk. No wasted movement. No drama."
"His hand-to-hand fundamentals are coming along," Jin'ichi said.
"And during our spar, he layered that thin shadow sleeve over his ribs and muscles," Naobito said with a rough chuckle. "If he hadn't, my forearm would've snapped his collarbone on the third pass. When he realized his eyes couldn't track twenty-four frames, he spread the shadow across the dirt to feel where my feet came down. Caught the freeze, laid the trap, and dropped that massive ox right into my ribs."
"He still has limits," Jinya noted calmly. "Holding the room-wide paralysis drained him to the point of exhaustion. If he overextends that reinforcement in an actual crisis, the backlash will tear his muscles apart before the enemy touches him."
"That's why he's going back to school," Jin'ichi said. "He's fifteen. Let him build his own foundation. If he keeps growing at this rate and eventually decides to claim a seat, or if he ends up named the next clan heir, the council won't have a damn thing to say about it."
The wooden screen at the end of the corridor slid open with a violent clatter.
Naoya stepped onto the veranda, hands jammed into the pockets of his tailored trousers, his face twisted in open rage.
"Named the heir?" Naoya spat the words, stepping forward until he stood over Jin'ichi. "Have the two of you lost your minds? I am the next head of the Zen'in clan. Not some stray who grew up in the dirt and spent his whole life hiding in a commoner high school."
Naobito didn't even turn his head. He reached for the sake jug and poured himself another cup.
"You let him walk out the front gate without a formal registry," Naoya snarled, glaring at Naobito. "He didn't bow to the council. He didn't swear loyalty. He showed up for one week, made demands about his comatose sister, and told us he'd only visit when his school schedule allows it. And now you're talking about handing him the clan? Over me?"
Jinya turned his head slowly, regarding Naoya with cold, unblinking eyes.
"You talk too much, Naoya," Jinya said, his tone dripping with quiet disdain. "You've done nothing since you learned to walk except boast about a birthright nobody promised you. You think this clan is an inheritance to be passed down like pocket money."
Naoya's jaw clenched. "Watch your mouth, Jinya. I have the pedigree, and I have the technique."
"You have arrogance and a fast pair of legs," Jinya replied flatly, not moving an inch. "A clan head needs weight. Authority. Power that makes the Hero Commission and the rival agencies back down before a contract is even signed. You don't have that presence, and you never will. Megumi inherited the Ten Shadows, an ability that surpasses our old texts, and he possesses the temperament to wield it. If I've spent this entire week negotiating to bring him into the fold, it's because this family needs a real successor, not a spoiled child who mistakes speed for leadership."
"Why you..." Naoya stepped forward, his fists clenching inside his pockets, his posture tightening with anger.
"Sit down, Naoya," Naobito barked. The sound was dry and heavy, cutting through the veranda like a whip.
Naoya froze, his chest heaving, but he didn't dare advance another step against his father.
Naobito took a slow sip from his cup, looking between Naoya and Jinya with bored indifference.
"I don't care about your council politics, Jinya," Naobito said plainly. "And I don't give a damn about your whining, Naoya. The head of the Zen'in clan isn't decided by birth certificates, adoption papers, or backroom ledgers. It never has been. If the two of you want to fight over who sits in this chair after I'm gone, then do it properly. Step into the courtyard, beat each other half to death, and let the strongest man take the title. If Megumi wants the seat, he can take it from you. If you want to keep it, beat him until he can't stand. Until then, stop crying about who deserves what."
Naobito set the empty porcelain cup on the cedar boards and stood up, stretching his broad back until the joints popped. He looked out toward the quiet stone garden where the late afternoon sun was turning the courtyard walls to amber.
"Megumi took the deal," Naobito said, stepping toward the inner hallway. "He's part of this house now, in blood and in ink, strictly on his own terms. We gave him the tools. Now we see if he's strong enough to use them without letting this clan drag him down."
...
Feel free to give me your feedback in the comments
...
100 PS = 1 Bonus Chapter
200 PS = 2 Bonus Chapter
…
Join my Patreon for access to more chapters!
https://www.patreon.com/ZimaBlue29