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On the drive home, Skye sat restlessly in the passenger seat, squirming like a caterpillar. Her eyes, however, never left the man behind the wheel.
Henry sighed helplessly.
"If you want to ask something, just ask."
"What happened during those days after the World Trade Center attack?"
"I'm not telling you."
Henry stuck out his lower lip and replied in an exaggerated tone, looking utterly punchable.
Skye exploded.
"You were the one who told me to ask!"
"I never said I'd answer."
"Argh! You damn jerk!"
She cursed all she wanted, but she knew better than to cause trouble while someone was driving. She valued her own life, after all.
With a huff, she turned toward the window, staring at New York's streets, which seemed to have returned to normal.
Only those who actually lived there knew that the city's mood was far more volatile than before the attacks.
The steady stream of news about innocent people from certain ethnic groups being assaulted on the streets was proof enough. What had happened to Skye today was merely one case among many.
After a while, she quietly muttered,
"...Thank you."
Had Henry not been Kryptonian, he probably would have missed it. Instead, he teased her.
"Huh? What was that? I didn't catch it."
"If you didn't hear it, then forget it. Don't expect me to say it twice."
"Heh."
Henry chuckled and let it go.
But Skye couldn't hold it in forever. In a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, she said,
"I said thank you. Thank you for speaking up for me instead of coming to school just to blame me."
In the foster homes where Skye had grown up, many foster parents—whether because of preconceived notions or because they resented the trouble foster children brought them—would immediately blame Skye whenever something happened.
Even if they didn't say anything openly cruel, their words always seemed to imply that the problem lay with the "poorly raised child."
Together with a host of other reasons, that was why Skye had run away from one foster home after another.
Maybe... this place really was different—
"Heh."
Henry laughed again, though this time the tone was different.
"You don't need to thank me. I simply chose the course of action that would cause me the least trouble afterward. Putting the blame where it belonged was the most efficient solution.
"Fortunately, you weren't stupid enough to pick a fight for no reason and end up shouldering most of the responsibility yourself. If you had, settling this peacefully would've been much harder. And luckily, the boy's father was a reasonable man, which made things much easier."
Skye stared at him in disbelief.
"I thought..."
Henry replied matter-of-factly,
"You thought what? That I'd stand behind you unconditionally and support you no matter what? Or that over something this trivial, I'd beat that kid half to death—or wipe out his whole family for you?
"Come on. Anyone who thinks like that should probably get their head examined.
"Be smarter. Make life easier for yourself. Especially when you're doing bad things.
"Don't chase a moment of satisfaction only to leave yourself endless problems afterward. And don't act like you've accomplished some great feat and then broadcast it to the whole world.
"If abandoning you were the choice that benefited me the most, then I'd abandon you."
Skye glared at him.
"Then why did you bring me home in the first place? You should've left me in the sewer to fend for myself!"
Henry continued as if she hadn't interrupted.
"Because I wanted to feel better about myself.
"Do you have any idea how guilty I felt about your little friend's death?
"If I'd left you there too, I'd probably still be trapped in that guilt today. But seeing as you managed to beat a boy until he cried, I doubt anyone will have to worry much when you're grown up and decide to leave."
"So all you care about is yourself!"
Henry answered seriously,
"You have to learn to love yourself before you can truly love someone else.
"Or would you rather I nagged you every single day about how much I'd sacrificed for you? How much I'd given up? How every bite you eat, every piece of clothing you wear, was bought with money I worked so hard to earn?
"'Look, I got so skinny trying to help you grow taller! I skipped meals so you could eat! But I don't expect anything in return. Really, I don't. Everything I've done for you was completely voluntary.'
"If I talked like that every day, do you think that would really be better?"
"Oh, go to hell! You shameless bastard!"
Skye shouted before turning away again, fuming as she stared out the window.
"Heh."
The drive home wasn't long.
But instead of pulling into the parking garage, Henry stopped in front of the building and let Skye out.
"Dinner's already prepared. It's in the oven. Catherine said she wanted pizza, so eat with her tonight. I've got plans to have dinner with some friends."
"A date?"
Skye asked immediately, her instincts surprisingly sharp.
"Hah. Not a chance. Two old friends are in New York, so I booked a nice restaurant to treat them to dinner. If they don't mind, I'll introduce you to them another time."
Henry's own cooking was every bit as good as what the chefs at those high-end restaurants could make.
Still, it wouldn't be appropriate to bring complete strangers into Katharine Hepburn's home and force two groups of people who had never met to awkwardly make conversation.
When she was younger, the legendary actress had been fiercely protective of her privacy, rarely appearing in public except when filming. She had relaxed a little with age, but that hardly meant anyone could simply be invited into her home.
Meeting his friends outside was far more comfortable.
As long as he let Catherine know in advance and made sure everything was arranged for her, he could head out without worry. She wasn't someone who couldn't take care of herself.
"So the reason you're dressed up so neatly wasn't because you were going to my school..."
"It was because I had dinner plans tonight. Yep. Problem?"
"Yes! Go to hell, you jerk!"
After getting out of the car, Skye slammed the door shut with all her strength, threw her backpack over one shoulder, and stormed off.
Henry couldn't care less about the little girl's mood.
He stepped on the gas and headed toward the restaurant.
The people he was meeting today were none other than two of the Eternals: Gilgamesh and Thena.
With Kingo's financial support, the pair had begun traveling the world, living an incredibly carefree and enjoyable life.
Having once been worshipped as gods and offered priceless tributes, the Eternals had long since transcended ordinary concepts of money. Their daily needs were minimal.
That said, when it came to things they genuinely liked, they had no qualms about spending lavishly.
Apparently, after leaving Australia, the two had caused no shortage of amusing incidents during their travels around the globe.
Fortunately, Kingo—Bollywood superstar that he was—earned more than enough to support his two old friends as they adapted to life in modern society.
Now, after gradually settling into the modern world, they had finally arrived in New York, one of the world's greatest cities.
As the local host, Henry naturally intended to give these two long-unseen friends a proper welcome.
Although they had only met once before, and had spent less than three days together in total, sometimes people simply clicked.
Just like love at first sight, becoming fast friends at first meeting was something that really could happen, no matter how unbelievable it might seem to everyone else.
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