.

"You may take this piece of advice from a son to a father: If you don't put a leash on this woman like you should have, she might not last very long" The temperature on Kazuya's finger was scorching hot but no one except for Nagisa was feeling it.

"AH!!" The heat snapped Nagisa back to her senses as she backed up onto the feet of the lawyer who was standing behind them. A red mark on her forehead could be seen but with Kazuya's finger not actually touching Nagisa's forehead, Shishio couldn't figure out what had happened.

There was one thing that was certain after this, Kazuya and Nagisa would never get along. Kazuya had already declared that although he was initially interested in Shishio, because of his wife, he would rather not go through the trouble. Though Shishio still had the option to take this to court and force Kazuya to spend time with him if he claimed that Kyouko was depriving him of his right, it would be useless since Kazuya already said what he thought about it.

There was nothing more he could do about the current situation between the two. If he persisted and forced Kazuya, he would have to suffer through with his peers knowing that he was forcing the child and was merely using him to strike back at the disadvantage their family had suffered. Although it would indeed be a blow towards Kyouko, an even greater deal of damage to their already ill reputation was unavoidable.

Shishio couldn't help but be displeased with Nagisa. He thought that this temperamental woman could help him mess with Kyouko's mentality because of their history. It turned out that she was the reason he would fail his main purpose for coming today. He was racking his brain trying to think about a solution but nothing was coming up.

"Take her back to the house. She is not feeling well" he ordered the lawyer to take the shuddering woman back.

"But sir…" The lawyer didn't want to leave him by himself. This is still enemy territory after all.

"It's fine. I'll be with my son" The situation was such that Shishio could only take the risk. The Kouzuki clan was known as a righteous clan so no matter how much they hated him, he believed that they wouldn't do anything to him because of their own moral restraint. This was also something he could do to show them that he was serious about interacting with Kazuya.

"Y-yes… We will head back once we have escorted the madam back" The lawyer politely bowed and had the escorts take Nagisa back to their vehicle.

Nagisa didn't fight it as she wanted to leave right away. She didn't make much of a fuss as she hung her head in shame as her legs continued quivering as they assisted her.

"Why are you still here?" Kazuya turned towards Shishio to ask. He didn't have any respect for this man nor did he have any intentions of calling him his father.

"I know I may be late but I really do want to get to know my own son" Shishio didn't want to budge. In his estimation, the first step was going to be the hardest so he had to play his cards right. Making himself as an example, Shishio would first lure this boy in with benefits. Only after he accepted can he begin to slowly mold this boy to his own liking.

"You've had me investigated right? You should know plenty enough about me then" Kazuya also didn't want to make things easy for Shishio. "You should already know how busy my schedule already is so why would I complicate things especially when I know that I will NEVER get along with that filthy old bag you call your wife"

"I see…" how could Shishio not understand after being repeatedly given so many hints. "I believe that I will be able to show you more than enough sincerity soon enough. Why don't we start from scratch?"

Kazuya didn't expect that the very first person who would be chasing him around so relentlessly like this would be a man. He wasn't a stranger to annoying people who wanted to cling to him because of his status as the summoned hero in Edea so this really felt strange to him. The worst part about this was that he had already decided to play along.

"Let's start with what you said earlier" Kazuya went straight to the point. "I want to test just how much your words really count for. I do despise traitors after all" Kazuya took out his cell phone and showed Shishio the screen that had his bank account details in it.

"I understand" Shishio was elated. As he had predicted, Kazuya took the bait and wanted to test how trustworthy he was through suffering losses. If he was really willing and was able to show it then it wouldn't be much trouble taking this kid's affection away from his mother. "I really don't know how much I owe in child support but I'll definitely show you my sincerity"

"Secondly, Sundays are off limits. So are the times I have my own business to attend to" Kazuya slowly discussed the schedule with Shishio. He treated it like his father needed to book appointments with him akin to a client but Shishio couldn't have it any other way.

As proud of a man Shishio is, Kyouko listened in and was surprised that he was being so cooperative. Was this proud and prideful man really succumbing to the demands of his son? Why? She was worried because she couldn't find any other reason other than Kurogane Shishio being really interested in taking her son away from her.

"You're fine with this right?" Shishio turned towards Kyouko after finally settling a schedule with Kazuya.

"I've never restricted MY son to do what he wants as long as it's within reason. Just know that if something untoward happens to him in your care…" Kyouko directed the same look her son gave Nagisa towards Shishio who couldn't help but feel a cold chill. "No amount of wealth and influence can save you from my wrath" she warned. She was like a tiger protecting her cub. Thankfully, Shishio did not harbor any ill will towards Kazuya or he would have needed to back off just because of the threat he perceived from his mother.

Shishio did not realize that the bigger threat was the one who gave no reaction towards Kyouko's statement because he felt the same way. No matter who, if they put any of his loved ones in danger, would suffer.

"I would never do anything to harm him" Shishio straightened himself up. "My words may not mean anything to you but like I said, I'll slowly prove myself not to you but to my son" he turned towards Kazuya who looked like it had nothing to do with him. "Since you'll be busy for the next few weeks, I will take my leave and make necessary preparations" Shishio excused himself and turned around.

He was not going to wait for his men to come back so he decided to take a cab. Just as he was leaving, his feet stopped in their tracks as a man stood in his way. This was the person he least wanted to see, so Shishio tried to make sure that they would never meet.

"What is this trash doing here?" Kou stood in front of Shishio and made him feel the full extent of his presence. Shishio had knowledge of internal energy and had the capability of using it but against Kou, who not only had a natural affinity towards mana but also the guidance of Nagato Tsuna, he could only stand there and bear with the heavy feeling trying to push him down to his knees.

"We'll explain later father. More importantly, I thought you were going to bring uncle Tsuna with you?" Kyouko was relieved that Kou finally made it back. They were about to enter a phase that was going to be a challenge for their family so they needed all the help they could get.

"I did bring him with me but…" Kou moved his gaze from Kyouko back to Shishio. "He said that he was going to drop by this piece of trash's home to have a talk with his father" Kou loosened his pressure and moved past Shishio. "He got updated about what happened to his godson so he wanted to have a chat with that old rat. He should have already made it to their house by now"

Shishio didn't excuse himself and immediately ran to find the nearest ride he could take back to the Kurogane household. That old monster Tsuna was back in town and that did not bode well for the Kurogane clan. Shishio could still remember the day he came across Tsuna and it sent shivers down his spine.

"(There is no way that this person is human!)" were his thoughts then and it still remained now as he saw the man wearing simple clothes standing at the top of bodies comfortably while holding a long wooden staff that was more like a spear.

He may have already cleared up the matter with the Kazuya and Kyouko but what did it matter? Tsuna was a man that had always been unpredictable. Him being the godfather of Kazuya was also one of the main reasons he wanted to be on Kazuya's good side. If he could get this man on his side then who could threaten their clan?

He was nervous that his plan was going to fall apart even before it started. Nagisa was already on her way back to the Kurogane mansion and with her attitude, she was bound to keep spouting nonsense as soon as she reached their estate. If Tsuna hears her while he was still inside the Kurogane household then even he couldn't tell what would happen.

The last news they heard about Kou's movements was that he was already on his way back together with Tsuna. They seemed to have taken a different route together and there was hardly any information on how they got back to town. He already rushed his plans to meet with Kazuya so that he could avoid the inevitable arrival of the two old men but he met with one of them while the more dangerous one went to his house.

Shishio rushed the driver of the cab he caught because he was probably the only one who could stop the rampage that was most likely going to befall their estate. No one knew of his plans because he was afraid of it being hindered by his elder brother but despite his success, all of it would have been for naught if he had lost the place he could come back to.

"!!"

Surely enough, thick smoke could be seen as he neared his destination. It was only until he was able to enter their estate that he felt a little relief. Only one part of their house had its walls broken down with debris scattered all around. That was the meeting room where his father usually dealt with guests.

"Father!" Shishio entered and found that his father had been sitting down while a long wooden staff had been pointed towards his face. Kurogane Tenma had not felt any significant danger to his life in a long while and the last time was because of this same person.

"You're…" Tsuna used his free hand to scratch his head to remember the familiar person who just entered the room. "Oh, I remember! You're my godson's trash biological father!" Tsuna was smiling as if nothing really serious had been happening. All those in the room didn't move a muscle because Kurogane Tenma had already ordered them to do nothing. No matter how they tell the tale, there would be no one that could take care of this person so there was really no point even if they tried using what influence they had against him.

"N-Nagato Tsuna?" Shishio sounded unsure. From what he could see, aside from his clothes, this man appeared exactly as he did in Shishio's memory. It should have already been a decade but compared to his father, this man had not aged at all.

"This will be the last and only warning I will give your family" Tsuna smiled. "I basically don't like getting involved in complicated matters but since I chose to agree to be that boy's godfather, he technically counts as my family. Your family better make sure that he never dies from anything other than a natural cause of death or the day my godson falls into an accident will be the last day that your clan exists" he placed the point of his staff towards Tenma's forehead. "Do you understand?"

"Y-yes" cold sweat had been pouring down continuously from Tenma's forehead. He knew that Tsuna was on his way to town but no one ever thought that his first stop would be the Kurogane house the moment he arrived.

"Good! I like people who are easy to talk to" Tsuna took back the spear and placed it on his back before moving towards the wall he had shattered when he made his entrance.

"Now that we have an understanding, I'll be off to meet this interesting little godson of mine"

.