Asami came barreling down from her bedroom to the living room. Her father was sipping on coffee while reading a holographic news feed and her mother was next to him, sitting gracefully in a kimono while placing rice in his bowl.

"Morning!" Asami said in Japanese below sitting on the table with her parents. She grabbed her bowl of rice and dug in, relishing the traditional Japanese breakfast she was having. There was rice, miso soup, and tamagoyaki along with natto and kobachi at the side.

"Hey, Chibi," Mr. Chiba said with a smile before turning back to his newspaper. Asami gave him a resentful gaze, still hurt over how he tricked her yesterday.

"You're late," her mother, Mrs. Chiba, said in a voice and Asami shrugged while chugging her bowl of soup. After a minute of stressful silence, Mrs. Chiba spoke again, in a more casual voice. "Have you found someone you like?"

Asami almost choked at her mother's question. She shifted uncomfortably while looking away from her mother's prying eyes.

"How about your teacher? What was his name? Sēji?" Mrs. Chiba continued.

"It's Sage, mom, Sage! And, eww, no!" Asami said while shuddering. She would tease Jason only to annoy Alina but in truth, she viewed him as a friend. To him as well, Asami was more of a guy, something made obvious over the fact that they would talk about women like two horny men.

"What's wrong? I've heard that he has many women," Mrs. Chiba said. "That would also help with your … urges."

Unlike her father, Asami's mother had refused to accept that her daughter was a lesbian. To that end, she thought Jason was the perfect match for her as Asami would get both him and his lovers.

Asami's father spat out his coffee but looked away without protesting when he saw his wife's stare. Unfortunately, he couldn't not accept what she was saying, not if he didn't want to sleep on the couch alone.

"Mom …" Asami felt hurt and confused. She knew that she had disappointed her mom with her sexuality but that was not something she could control. Why couldn't her mom accept her for who she is?

"I'm … I'm done eating," Asami stood up without finishing her breakfast and quickly left after putting her shoes on and carrying her school bag away.

"You shouldn't try so hard," Mr. Chiba finally said with a sigh.

"We need a grandchild," Mrs. Chiba said stiffly.

And she can't have that with another woman? Asami's father thought but said nothing. Technology for queer couples having children had been developed for almost a century now, but he knew his wife was from an ancient family thus she was very traditional, more so than even him. He thought back to how difficult it was for the two of them before they married, remembering fondly how she nearly killed him for merely holding her hands. Shaking his head, he returned back to the news with a small smile.

Those two will figure things out soon, He thought. Mr. Chiba didn't want to meddle with their issues as he was sure that he would simply make it worse.

***

"Hey, sis. You alright? It's not like you to be late," Jared looked at Emily who was using the bathroom's mirror to fix her makeup. This morning, she had woken up very late and that was why she was rushing.

"I didn't get enough sleep last night," Emily said as she used eyeliner around her eyes. Jared winced as he watched her; do girls really have to poke their eyes with pencils just to look pretty?

"Ooh, was it because you were thinking of a boy?" Mia stuck her head out from the kitchen and grinned as spoke teasingly.

"What? No!" Emily blushed and quickly placed the finishing touches before getting her lipgloss out.

"Eh? What's this?" Mia came out of the kitchen when she saw Emily's reaction. "I was just joking but it looks like I was right! So, who's the lucky guy?"

"There's no one -" Emily rolled her eyes.

"Her teacher," Jared cut in with a bland voice. He still didn't like Jason.

"Jared!" Emily glared at Jared who flinched ever so slightly. "You brat, shut it!"

"Ooh, juicy," Mia said with sparkling eyes. "Forbidden love between a student and teacher, how romantic! Wait, how old is he? Don't tell me he's a fat old man?"

"No, he's a muscular guy in his tweens," Jared said and Emily threw his toothbrush at him in order to silence him.

"He hot?" Mia asked with a grin.

"So hot that he's surrounded by girls," Jared said with a sigh.

"Well, those are some pretty lousy odds," Mia said while looking at the blushing Emily. "For them. It's our sis that'll win him."

"I still don't like him," Jared muttered. "He's just playing with her."

"Oh shush," Mia said while whacking the back of his head. "All the good, capable guys always have women surrounding them, it's the law of attraction. All that matters is that she likes him."

"Alright, that's enough from you two. And Mia, stop using those lines you got from a tv show, it's embarrassing," Emily said. "Let's go and eat … break … fast."

Emily's eyes landed on the TV and she froze when she realized that the news was showing the building where Jason's penthouse was located. She noticed the headline signaling that they were covering yesterday's incident and realized with a start that it was Jason's penthouse that was hit by a missile.

Quickly, she pulled out her phone to check her group chat she had which included Alina, Asami, and Michelle. She sighed with relief when she saw how Alina was reassuring the group that she and Jason were fine, and Emily closed her phone's screen with guilt. She was so preoccupied with taking drugs last night that she didn't even concern herself with her friends.

Before she could ponder on her mistake, she saw the news screen changing. It was back to the anchor host who mentioned that they had a special expose that revealed the truth behind the missile strike. In a few minutes, she showed redacted reports that highlighted the fact that the missile was fired from an AEM facility along with the information that these weapons were created and supplied by RogueTech. The reports also revealed that there were more weapons aimed at the city, by order of the leaders of the city.

"My God," Emily muttered. She was surprised that Sanctuary would do this, it was a complete violation of human rights especially when she considered that they were monitoring people through SecDrones. She never thought about it, but this was one hell of an authoritarian city.

"Wow, this is actually trending," Mia said while showing her phone to her two siblings. Her social account was buzzing with furious people were angry with AEM and the Council. Emily noticed that they were also people using this moment to bring up the injustice of the city's system to those weaker. As a low-level Esper herself, she was able to sympathize with them.

Things are going to get messy, Emily thought as she quickly handed Mia and Jared pieces of toast before all three hurried out.

"Don't hang out late at school. Come home soon," Emily told the two before they parted ways. "There might be protests and I don't want you two getting caught in the middle of all this."

***

'Wait where are you going?' the frivolous voice asked Jason. He was nearing the school, so he ducked into an alleyway and changed his outfit into something more professional. 'You're leaving that delectable girl who's offering herself to you, and your redheaded woman who's clearly trying to make you envious, just to see your kids? They'll be fine, they are fine! Spend some time, me time! God knows you need it.'

The voices, which were silent when Jason was watching the clips A.V.A sent him, began protesting when he decided to see Alina and Alice first. The wise voice of reason, however, was silent ever since he first asked Jason if he was willing to 'heed their advice'.

'There is another … disconcerting issue,' another voice said. It was the hot-headed warrior, who was stumped for some reason. 'As I recall, you weren't willing to care for that child two years ago. What was her name? Almia? Aliza? In fact, you were preparing to leave her. What changed your mind?'

Jason didn't answer them and the voices began speaking amongst themselves.

'Nonsense,' the frivolous voice said. 'He clearly listened to my advice and was grooming her to be the perfect pla-'

"If you finish that sentence, I swear to god, I'll find a way to silence you forever," Jason growled under his breath. His eyes flashed with unconcealed ferocity as he felt sickened at what the voice was suggesting.

'Ooh, how frightening,' the voice said mockingly. 'You do realize that I'm simply suggesting something you've thought of before? We're you and you're us.'

"She is my sister," Jason said quietly. "Not some ... thing to be raised, but family. And I ... am nothing like you."

'Not yet,' another voice heckled. It was the pessimistic voice that enjoyed mocking Jason. 'Give it time, we'll influence you soon enough. Just like how we influenced you to abandon your dear Katie …'

Jason clenched his fists and gritted his teeth until gums ached and he tasted blood.

'A mistake in the long run though,' the frivolous voice said. 'With her bearing our child ...'

'Ah, I see,' the warlike voice said with a guffaw. He was silently observing Jason's memory, completely ignoring the issue with Katelyn, and immediately came to a realization about Alina. 'How amusing karma and fate can be. An eon in the making and the result is her …'

Jason ignored whatever else the voices were saying and walked through the gateway. He could see Alina and Alice exiting the car and he hurried forth, catching both of their attention. Alina gave him a disappointed gaze while Alice looked away with her nose in the air and crossed her arms; she was refusing to even look at Jason.

"Hey, kids …" Jason looked at them guiltily and Alice stomped away while Alina sent him a helpless look before hurrying after the child who stopped to greet Michelle. Asami, who just entered the school's entrance, smacked Jason as she passed while sending him an 'oh-you're-so-screwed' look. Jason brushed a hand through his hair while sighing.

"Jason," a soft voice said from behind him.

Turning around, Jason froze when he saw Emily. While she was still wearing her school outfit, she appeared much more mature than her normal glamorous look. Her white blouse only had one button undone as opposed to two or three and her skirt was no longer rolled into a miniskirt. Her choppy styled bob haircut barely grazed her shoulders. The warm brown hair also made her look much more attractive and Jason lost himself while staring at her emerald eyes, despite the baggy eyelids that were concealed with makeup. In fact, it wasn't only Jason, but nearby boys, who also stared at her with unabashed faces. [1]

"Jason?" Emily asked again shyly and he started before smiling sheepishly.

"Hm? Oh, right. Sorry," Jason said incoherently. "I - you look wonderful."

Emily smiled before looking down as the ground bashfully. She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear before looking back at Jason.

"Thanks," she said to him and Jason nodded blankly.

'Goddamn normie …' a voice muttered pessimistically but was quickly silenced by the other voices. To these back seat drivers, watching Jason's life was like watching a drama. When it upsets them or they didn't agree to it, they would immediately voice their disagreements, but they were usually quiet when it came to his relationships. Well, mostly quiet.

"Trouble with Alice?" Emily asked.

"I … was working overnight and … didn't realize the time," Jason sighed. "I also missed breakfast with them."

"I'm sure you if you explain it to her she'll understand," Emily said. "Also, make sure you bribe her. Chocolate works wonders on all kids."

"Sounds like you've had experience in bribing children," Jason said with an amused stare.

"Siblings," Emily replied softly with a shrug.

"Well, they're lucky to have you …" Jason said quietly with gentle eyes and Emily smiled with a blush.

The two stared at each other, silently watching each other in a cozy atmosphere but a cough interrupted them a few minutes later. Turning around they saw Silvia, in her trademark white blouse and black skirt, watching them with disapproval.

"Ms. Caldwell, classes are about to begin. Jason? A word please," Silvia said before walking away. Jason exchanged looks with Emily then followed Silvia.

Emily sighed as she watched them leave. She wanted to stay longer with Jason but knew she couldn't rush things. She turned away and began walking to class when she overheard students speaking about her.

"Did you see that? She tried seducing him, a teacher!"

"What a slut. Think she'll let me have a go at her?"

"I can't believe Mr. Sage almost fell for her charms! Luckily, Ms. Silvia was there to stop her."

"I'm not surprised. She failed once so of course, she's going to try and get better credits. Filthy slut."

Emily ignored the gossiping students and continued walking through the hallway mechanically. She forced whatever she was hearing out of her mind while trying to ignore the pain she felt from their comments

"Something wrong, Silvie?" Jason asked. He and Silvia were walking on the school grounds, casually passing by a few students who were rushing to avoid being lectured by Silvia. Since most of the students had entered their classes, they were alone. Mostly alone, if not considering the prying eyes that were watching them from the windows in the classrooms near them.

"Jason," Silvia asked quietly. "How old are you?"

"What does that -?"

"How old am I?" Silvia asked, interrupting him.

"Silvie …" Jason realized where this was going and he couldn't help but feel guilty. He knew Silvia has feelings for him and here she was, talking to him about his ambiguous actions with another girl.

"I understand how it is, Jason, I do. I've been on the receiving end too," Silvia said. "But we're teachers. And even if the law of consent allows relationships with teens, we're in no position to do so as we're responsible for these children."

"It's not like that, Silvie," Jason said. "You know how girls are. It's just a crush, nothing more."

"Is it?" Silvia asked quietly while sending him a sharp, knowing glance.

Jason opened his mouth but couldn't reply. Most of his relationships started physically but Emily … she was different. There was an emotional connection, not unlike the one he had built with Elizabeth and Katelyn, despite only knowing her for a short time. It was also why he was maintaining a distance from her; he didn't want to hurt or frighten Emily.

"I know it's hard," Silvia said while laying a hand on Jason's shoulder. "You're young, only a few years older than your students, but you can't … not as long as you're a teacher."

"Don't worry," Jason said. "I'm a professional. I always get the job done right."

Silvia nodded gratefully and brushed a lock of curled hair away from her eyes. She then hesitated before speaking in a lower voice. "Would you be free for dinner?"

Jason looked at her in surprise and Silvia began blushing profusely.

"I - not - I didn't mean it like that," Silvia stammered. "Just a normal dinner with our families."

Silvia realized that also sounded ambiguous and quickly shook her head.

"Just the four of us, I mean," Silvia said. "Me, Daria, you, and Alina. And I didn't mean dinner, I meant lunch."

"Sure, why not?" Jason said with a smile. "Maybe during the weekends, when I'm free. But not this weekend, I promised to spend time with Alice."

"Right. Alice," Silvia became glum at the mention of Jason's daughter. "You should bring her along too."

"That was the plan," Jason replied bemusedly.

As she fell silent, an air of awkwardness surrounded the two and Silvia broke it by examining her watch. "I should go. I have a meeting in twenty minutes."

"Yeah, I'd better go and prepare my lessons too," Jason said. Actually, I need to check up on Alice.

Silvia nodded and walked away while Jason stood in place and watched her leave with a complicated gaze. He wasn't looking forward to that get-together with her, it was awkward enough with the two of them but with Daria involved, he wasn't sure how well it would end up.

Silvia … Daria … Jason thought. The two both had goodwill towards him but they were sisters. It was one of the reasons why he maintained a distance from them.

'I don't see what the problem is,' a voice said in Jason's mind. 'Just marry both of them.'

'You do know that you can only marry one woman, right?' the pessimistic voice grumbled.

'What? That's blasphemy!' the frivolous voice said. 'In my time, it was completely normal to wed more than one woman. And that was on top of all my concubines!'

'Even your sister-in-law?' the pessimistic voice asked incredulously.

'Especially my sisters-in-law,' the frivolous voice said with a snigger.

Jesus, Jason thought. What kind of fucker was I in my past lives?

'The shitty kind?' the warlike voice suggested gleefully and the frivolous voice bristled with anger.

Jason shook his head to try and clear his thoughts and he walked away while the voices began bickering amongst themselves.

***

Alina walked out of the grade two classroom but didn't move an inch away. After leaving Jason, Alina had brought Alice to the primary section and was able to get her into the grade two class, though this was due to Jason's influence. She leaned against the walls and concentrated on her hearing so she could sense what was happening in the classroom.

Alice, who was meeting and interacting with children her age for the first time, was silent. She sat on her seat and listened to the teacher carefully.

"Hey, psst," a voice nearby called Alice in a hushed whisper. Looking sideways, Alice saw a slightly older child with auburn hair smiling at her. Her green eyes shone with curiosity through her freckled face.

"I'm Maple! What's yours?" The girl whispered. Alice looked back at the teacher who didn't notice Maple talking and turned back to the latter.

"I'm Alice," she whispered back while checking the front once again.

"It's great to see you!" Maple mumbled excitedly. "You're so pretty Alice, can I be your best friend?"

Alice, who was happy at the compliment, nodded with joy.

"Great! Hey, just come to me if anyone causes you trouble and I'll beat 'em up!" Maple said while showing her fist.

"Maple, dear," the teacher called out, noticing their hushed conversation.

"Oops," Maple winked at Alice before sitting straight and listening to the teacher.

Outside, Alina smiled before walking off, happy to see Alice interacting with children her age. She realized by how Alice acted that she was lonely and thought that school was the perfect place for her to make friends.

"Hey," turning around a corner, she came across Jason who smiled when he saw her.

"Hey," Alina said back with a sigh. She was not looking forward to the chat the two needed to have.

"Alice …?" Jason asked while looking behind Alina.

"At her class," Alina said before she began explaining when she saw his reaction. "She's old enough to go to school and after testing her, they placed her in grade two. She really is a bright one."

"Huh," Jason said. He knew it was important for Alice to study and play with kids her age, but that would cut into the short time he had with her. Not to mention, he wasn't able to apologize to her right now.

"She'll be free during lunchtime," Alina knew what Jason was thinking and reassured him. "And since you're a teacher you'll be able to visit her. Say sorry at that time."

"About last night and this morning …" Jason began trying to explain himself but Alina cut him off.

"Jason, I'm not the one you need to apologize to," Alina said with a shake of her head and a raised hand. "I … I don't have much hope in you keeping your promises anymore. I'm used to you coming home late, or not at all while smelling like sex and alcohol. But Alice?"

Jason looked away, unable to look at Alina in the eye who sent him a sharp glare.

"Did you know she made breakfast for you? She knew you'd be exhausted because I told her you were out working all night. And she wanted to make you happy so she made - Where were you?" Alina asked, her cracking voice full of disappointment but void of anger. "You know you did the same for me? You'd disappear or forget showing up when I needed you the most. But don't, just don't do this to Alice. Please. She needs her dad, now more than ever."

"Alle I -" Jason raised a hand but without waiting for Jason's reply, Alina walked away, leaving Jason standing alone in the hallway.

'She's grown to be a fine warrior,' a voice said gruffly. With a glance, the voice of the warrior was able to deduce the strength she was concealing. 'Worthy of being our apprentice, you've done well with her.'

"I don't need your approval," Jason muttered before walking away, his voice cracking with hidden emotions. He realized that Alina was right, but given the chance, he would still repeat the same action. Hunting those mercenaries and battling Yu, he would do it again if it meant getting closer to the secret organization and Katelyn.

Checking the time on his holo-watch, Jason realized that he had an hour or two before his combat class starts. He made his way to his office and sat down after closing the door. Sitting in a lotus position, he closed his eyes and mediated.

Since last night, after releasing a fraction of his limited powers, Jason didn't have the time or patience to concentrate and check his body's strength. Quickly, he managed to deduce his current strength and Practitioner level; he was a nascent soul Elite Practitioner that was a step away from being a Master.

Not bad, He thought. I was able to push Yu back despite being two stages weaker.

However, Jason knew that luck was the biggest part to play in his success during the fight with Yu. First was his cultivation, the Formulae he practiced was stronger than Yu's, a fact made evident from how pure Jason's Qi was compared to the latter. Also, during the fight, Yu had lowered his guard, allowing Jason to strike at the perfect moment.

I won't be so lucky next time, Jason thought. Yu will have his guard up … but then again, it would be difficult to know who would win if I use my Esper powers along with my Practitioner abilities.

This was the part that made Jason so frightening; most Practitioners were unable to become Espers and vice versa as Qi and Aether were incompatible. This was also why his enemies were surprised when they discovered that he was a Practitioner. He had, quite literally, broken common sense.

I should consolidate my strength, Jason closed his eyes and began meditating, using his Esper powers which had recovered to absorb energy all around him and convert it to Qi.

***

Alina entered her classroom and sat down on her chair after greeting Michelle and Asami.

"Morning," she said to them.

"Morning!" Asami said brightly. Looking at her, it was impossible for Alina to tell that Asami was not a morning person.

Michelle nodded at Alina's greeting but looked distracted. She was wearing a green military cap, with her blonde hair tied in a ponytail and sticking out through the gap at the back of the cap. Alina sent her a confused glance when she noticed Michelle constantly looking at Markus's back.

"So, what's up with Jason? He looked like he screwed up royally," Asami asked and Michelle finally turned to look at Alina with interest.

"Well, he was away since last night and Alice didn't see him," Alina explained with a sigh. "Then she made breakfast for him but he didn't show up. So, now she's angry at him."

"Ouch," Asami said. "Maybe he had a good reason to be late?"

"Probably," Alina agreed. She thought that perhaps he had work to do as a Phantom and she felt a pang of regret. She was beginning to think that perhaps she was too harsh with him earlier. "Though that doesn't explain why he was gone for nearly twelve hours. I'm guessing he missed breakfast because he was with a girl."

Michelle's face changed and she became more gloomy while Asami shrugged.

"Maybe. Or maybe he was still working?" Asami said. She then noticed that Michelle was gloomily staring at Markus's back and nudged at Alina with gossiping eyes.

"Hey, is it just me or is she …?" Asami whispered to Alina who was confused.

"Huh?" Alina scrunched her eyebrows but didn't understand. "She what?"

"She's been staring at Markus! Think she's got the hots for him?" Asami asked gossipily.

"She, can hear vous," Michelle said while turning to glare at Asami who was now busy with her phone. "... Que faites-vous?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm doing nothing," Asami said with a grin.

Looking over Asami's shoulder, Alina saw how she was posting a pic of Michelle and Markus along with a corny tabloid headline: 'Breaking news! A Goody Two Shoes Unrequited Love for Resident Bad Boy?!'

"Uh, I don't think Michelle has a crush on Markus," Alina pointed out and Michelle turned to look sharply at them.

"Qu'est-ce que vous avez dit?!" Michelle glared at Asami and before the latter could respond, she was shot multiple times with rubber bullets.

"Alright children, pull out your English textbooks at page …?" Silvia entered and only noticed a collapsed Asami halfway through her instructions. With a sigh, she swung her hand and a rejuvenating spell was cast at Asami.

"I'm alive! It's a miracle!" Asami exclaimed while jumping up and the class laughed.

"If that's the case, then please begin class by reading from paragraph four on page one twenty-five," Silvia said while fixing her glasses and Asami deflated like a balloon.

Alina shook her head and smiled wryly when her thoughts went back to what Asami mentioned. She looked back at Michelle and noticed her staring at Markus again.

No way … she couldn't be right, right? Alina thought.

***

Jason absentmindedly taught his class. He set the class in two groups and had them play a conquest game where each team would try to beat the other team. During the mock battle, he was stunned to discover Emily had leveled up again. Right now, she was a level 2 Esper on the verge of reaching level 3, and he outwardly praised her for leveling up to the students, but inwardly was surprised and suspicious. Even Alina, who was a level sixer, wasn't able to level up so quickly without his help and his instincts were telling him something was up. Regardless, he respected and trusted Emily and decided to let her be. If they were any problems, he believed she would come to him for help, failing to realize that Emily was doing this for him.

After his class was done, Jason rushed outside and began buying all sorts of food. He realized Alice was a foodie from how she reacted when he wanted a share of her snacks and decided that bribing her with food would be the best course. With full hands, he walked to the grade two class during their lunchtime but was stopped by the teacher.

"Can I help you?" The teacher asked while staring at Jason. She recognized Jason from the teachers' conference that was held a while back but wasn't sure why he was here.

"Here to see my daughter, Alice," Jason answered from behind the pile of food.

"Alice? She's your daughter?" The teacher was very surprised and looked back at Alice. She couldn't see the resemblance between the two.

"She's inherited her mother's look," Jason said, rather sadly. "She's only got my nose."

Indeed, after staring for a while, the teacher saw that Alice had the same straight nose that was what models wanted.

"Ah, a designer baby?" the teacher nodded and asked and Jason nodded sheepishly.

"Alice, hun, your father is here to see you," the teacher called out to Alice who turned to them with glee but then remembered that she was angry with Jason. She quickly turned away from Jason and crossed her arms while Jason shrugged at the teacher before walking to Alice.

"Hey kid," Jason slowly laid his tributes down on her table. "I - uh - I thought I could get you lunch but I wasn't sure what you like so I got 'em all."

Jason pointed at the food.

"There's a few cheeseburgers, hotdogs - New York style, mmm onions. And then pizza, cheese and meat-lovers, KFC chicken, chicken wings," Jason pulled out the drinks from his storage dimension. "And then there's coke, root beer, umm … I don't - I don't know what that green one is. Oh, and slushies, juice, and I think that's iced tea? I don't know."

Alice perked up and she was looking at the desk which was full of food from the corner of her eyes, her mouth twitching as she swallowed some saliva.

"And that's not all," Jason said dramatically. "I've also got … dessert! There's cheesecake, chocolate cake, pie, cinnamon buns, chocolate bars, ice cream, cookies, oh cotton candy, and a whole bunch of other stuff."

Alice was drooling, but she still faced the other way ignoring Jason, who was stumped. The teacher was surprised and amused at Jason's coaxing but said nothing while the other students, Maple included, stared at her desk and drooled.

Jason realized that it wasn't working and sighed.

"I'm sorry," Jason murmured while brushing Alice's hair. He made a comb with his Esper powers and began combing through her silky, soft hair. "I know I should've been there. It's just … I met your mother last night."

Alice flinched when she heard Jason.

"She told me … about you," Jason continued quietly while splitting Alice's hair and braiding a part of it and securing it with an elastic band. "I didn't know how - how to face you after that ... knowing that I didn't - don't deserve an angel like you."

Jason then rolled the braid into a spiral form until it reached the back of Alice's head. He then placed a few bobby pins to secure it, and the rolled braid looked like a flower. [2]

"I didn't mean to push you away, Alice," Jason said while doing the same braid on the other side of her head. "I love you."

Alice with tears in her eyes spun around and hugged him tightly when he was finished. Jason returned the hug while kissing her head.

"So I guess that means you'll forgive me?" Jason said and Alice laughed.

"Of course, I love you, daddy," Alice said and Jason felt like a bullet hit his heart.

Before, Alice would call him dad and only daddy when there was a woman nearby. But right now, at this moment, she finally accepted Jason as her father, and the latter was bursting with happiness and pride at being accepted by his daughter.

"Wow, oh, wow Alice! Your dad is so cool! You have flowers on your head!" Maple and a few other girls noticed that everything was fine with Jason and Alice and began approaching her with joy and envy.

Hmm? Jason noticed Maple and appeared taken aback. Isn't she …

Jason could clearly remember this child, who stood in front of him with her arms held out to protect the children behind him. He realized that she was the same brave child that was kidnapped by the traffickers a while back.

"Really?" Alice patted her hair but couldn't see how it looked until Jason showed a holographic figure of her. She walked around her holographic figure and saw the two flower braids on the back of her hair. Her eyes widened and she slowly touched the back again before breaking into the cutest smile Jason had ever seen.

"You look like a princess!" Maple said. She couldn't help but feel envious. She couldn't remember what her parents were like as she was abandoned when she was very young. And even though she had a guardian now, she wasn't a father figure.

"That's cause is she a princess," Jason said while laying his hand on her hand. "My little princess, Alice."

"Thanks, daddy," Alice said. She then looked at all the food at her table and frowned gently. "What do I do now? I can't eat all of this."

Alice them noticed Maple's eager face and then looked at the entire class. She hesitated when she saw their faces and looked back at Jason.

"Up to you kid," Jason said softly with a small smile.

"Umm … does everybody want some?" Alice asked timidly to the forming crowd of kids.

"Yah!" Several kids cheered and Alice began splitting the food.

"Umm … Mr. …" Maple didn't move and instead looked at Jason with hesitation. "Uh … Alice's dad? Can … can you do my hair too?"

At her request, several girls turned to look at Jason with upturned eyes. Jason looked at the teacher who shrugged, implying that it couldn't be helped, and he smiled.

"Sure, why not?" Jason said before he began braiding every girl's hair. Since it wasn't his daughter and there were nearly a dozen girls lining up, Jason braided their hair in different styles that weren't as sophisticated as Alice's. Regardless, all the girls were filled with joy and they showed off their hairstyles to the teacher.

"Hi, may I come in?" A melodious voice asked while knocking.

Jason, who was tying Maple's hair paused and looked up. He saw Melanie standing at the class's entrance with a smile on her face. Walking up to him, she smiled gently at Maple who was watching her quietly.

"Melanie," Jason said in greeting and Melanie smiled.

"Jason," Melanie replied softly, her eyes looking at him flirtatiously.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, Jason and Melanie had an ambiguous atmosphere around them. At the sight of Melanie, Jason was reminded of her masturbating and he unintentionally stared at her with eyes that were burning with lust. Melanie, on the other hand, was joyous at the gaze Jason was sending her; she knew immediately that he saw her at her most intimate moment and it aroused her perversely that he enjoyed it.

'Mmm, what a delectable specimen,' the frivolous voice said. It was clear that he approved of Melanie. 'You must take her for yourself. Lock her up and keep her as your slave, I'm sure she'll enjoy that as well.'

'Odd,' the wise voice spoke up at this moment. 'She is very familiar … perhaps a descendant of one we knew?'

'Now that you mentioned it …'

The voices continued whispering amongst each other in a low voice so Jason would not hear them while Maple looked up at Melanie and noticed something. Her body flinched and she felt cold sweat pass down her neck. She never forgot the blue-eyed beast with large teeth that glinted in the dark. She knew who Melanie was and, in an instant, realized who Jason was when she saw the gaze Melanie sent him.

Alice's father … the nice man, Jason, is that monster? Maple thought disbelief. She was wiser and smarter than her age so she realized that, despite appearing frightening, Fenrir was not bad. At least, not to her.

"Dearie, you forgot your lunch," Melanie said to Maple and handed her a small lunch box.

"Thanks … Bell," Maple muttered and Jason looked at her, then at Melanie.

After finishing Maple's hair, Jason turned to Alice and smiled softly while rubbing her head.

"We have to go back, kid," he said with regret. "I'll come back to pick you up when you're class is finished."

Alice pouted, unhappy that Jason was leaving with Melanie. She didn't want her father to be with anyone other than her mother, so she automatically despised Melanie.

Outside Jason walked slowly with Melanie.

"You adopted her?" Jason asked.

"No," Melanie shook her head. "I … I'm not ready for that. I only registered as her as a ward so she can study here."

"You like her?" Jason asked.

"Yes. She reminds me of …" Melanie didn't finish but Jason understood.

"She's a good kid," Jason muttered and Melanie nodded.

"Yes, she really is," Melanie replied softly. She gently grabbed Jason's hand and entwined her fingers with his. The two walked back to highschool section in amorous silence before parting ways amicably.

***

Emily sat in a lab, looking down at the frozen frog in front of her. Since she was a support-type healer Esper, biology was a mandatory course for her. Right now, her class was dissecting frogs that were frozen but still alive and patching them up without taking their lives. Emily was bored, having completed this class last year with great grades.

Her mind was focused on what Jason had previously taught her. She eyed the frog while thinking on how to comprehend where her Esper powers would take her. From her experiments, she found that she was able to heal and even regenerate limbs, but only for small animals, not on large beings. She also found that there was a time limit, if she didn't attach the limbs in time then the regeneration would fail.

Where do I go from here? Emily thought. She was constantly using her healing ability in the frog in her hand despite it not having any injuries.

"Ok, times up," the teacher in front of the classroom said. "Clean up and place the frogs back in the refrigerator before leaving."

Students began moving but Emily continued sitting and healing her frog. Only after everyone was gone did she sigh and place the frog down.

Hmm? What's this? Emily noticed the frog was in pain and checked it carefully. There was nothing wrong, it should be healthy.

As her fingers gently rubbed through the frog's stomach, she felt a bump. With furrowed eyebrows, she gently froze the frog and cut it open, checking the area where the bump was. A lump of dead cells came out and Emily frowned.

Cancer? No, a tumor. But how?

Emily healed the frog and gently placed it back in the refrigerator when a thought struck her.

Constant healing … cellular degradation … was this from my ability? Does that mean the core ability of my Esper power is … cellular manipulation? [3]

[1] Choppy bob haircut: https://therighthairstyles.com/choppy-bob-hairstyles/5/

[2] Flower braid hairstyle: like this. Also, step by step tutorial for people with kids.

[3] Core ability here means the origin or goal of what the final evolution of her Esper power would be.