When the car finally came to a smooth halt, Mr. Yaoyorozu stepped out first, followed closely by Junsei. The boy paused at once, his eyes roaming over the place before him. A large house surrounded by a wide front garden and a fountain situated at the center. Despite its size, the estate was quiet, as though no one lived within.
"Come, Junsei," Mr. Yaoyorozu said, already heading toward the entrance.
Junsei followed in silence. As they reached the front door, it opened smoothly to reveal a middle-aged man dressed in a black uniform, standing straight and composed. Mr. Yaoyorozu gave him a brief nod.
"Junsei," he said, "this is Sai. He has worked for me for nearly two decades. He'll help you adjust. You can ask him whatever you want."
Sai smiled warmly. "Hello, Junsei. It's nice to meet you."
Junsei stared at him without replying. Sai's smile did not falter; he had already been warned about the boy from the forest.
"You'll need a bath and a new set of clothes," Mr. Yaoyorozu continued. "Sai will help you with that." He paused briefly. "You don't mind taking a bath, right?"
Junsei nodded.
Mr. Yaoyorozu turned back to Sai. "Please help him."
Sai inclined his head. "Of course, sir. Mrs. Yaoyorozu is in your office," he added carefully. "She is… displeased."
Mr. Yaoyorozu sighed. "I understand. Thank you."
Sai gestured gently. "Please follow me."
Junsei glanced once at Mr. Yaoyorozu, then followed Sai down the corridor.
——————
Mr. Yaoyorozu went straight to his office. Inside, his daughter sat on a couch, her hands folded tightly in her lap, worry etched clearly across her face. His wife paced back and forth, her expression full of anger. The moment she saw him, she stopped.
"You are finally here!" she snapped. "You went ahead and brought the boy!"
"I told you I would," Mr. Yaoyorozu replied. "Why are you angry now?"
"Because I thought the whole 'boy in the forest kidnapping Momo' was absurd, a joke you were playing" Mrs. Yaoyorozu shot back. "Then you came to me talking about bringing a feral child into our house. How was I supposed to believe you meant it? It was not until Sai told me you left to pick him up that I truly believed this"
"Let's not use such terms," Mr. Yaoyorozu said firmly. "The boy has a name. Junsei."
"I don't care about his name," she retorted. "We don't even know if he's carrying some disease from the forest."
"If anything," Mr. Yaoyorozu replied, "he should be the one worried about diseases. He lived away from humans, after all, if only for a few years."
Mrs. Yaoyorozu drew in a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. "He lived among animals and beasts for years. He looks and acts like one. So tell me, how do you trust that he won't harm us? Momo told me he took down pro heroes, do you not fear waking up one day to find him biting our daughter's neck?"
"Now that's going too far," Mr. Yaoyorozu said tiredly.
"Is it?" she pressed. "What is his quirk exactly? How does it affect him? If he lived with animals for so long, how do you know he won't fly into a violent rage out of nowhere or decide he wants to hunt his food? My problem is that we know nothing about him. Not one thing. And yet you trusted him enough to bring him into our home."
Mr. Yaoyorozu met her gaze steadily. "I trust the judgment of a boy who had the strength to kill everyone who entered his territory and harmed his animals and chose not to. He understood the consequences. That alone makes him better than most people around us, he didn't act on his emotions. I heard part of his story in the car. It confirmed my initial judgment. Anyone in his place would have killed us on sight."
"Was that supposed to reassure me?" Mrs. Yaoyorozu replied. "If anything, it makes me more concerned."
Mr. Yaoyorozu then explained what he had learned from reports and from Junsei, carefully omitting the most gruesome details. When he finished, his wife fell silent.
"That's… pitiful," she said at last. "But it's also deeply troubling. The boy needs therapy. He may never be normal again."
"All he needs," Mr. Yaoyorozu replied quietly, "is to live as a human and be treated like one. I believe he will choose the right path if given the chance. Give him a few days, just a few to learn how to live with us."
Mrs. Yaoyorozu closed her eyes briefly, then nodded. "Fine. I'll trust you. I only hope nothing goes wrong. But what about the press? A survivor from that orphanage six years ago, it will bring us unnecessary trouble."
Mr. Yaoyorozu shook his head. "It won't be a problem. No one will know about him or his situation."
Mrs. Yaoyorozu stared at him in disbelief. "How exactly do you plan to do that? A boy found in a forest, kidnapping the daughter of Yaoyorozu Manami from the middle of heroes and police, defeating heroes, and controlling an entire forest? That's far too big to simply ignore."
"That is precisely why no one will know," Mr. Yaoyorozu replied evenly. "The orphanage incident from years ago already raised too many questions about how effective our local police and heroes truly are. Saying an orphanage is not a place villains target and therefore no one paid enough attention was never a convincing answer to the public. Since then, countless measures have been taken to 'improve public security.'"
"And?" Mrs. Yaoyorozu pressed. "Finding that boy is a big deal, he could be a clue to what happened back then, couldn't he?"
Mr. Yaoyorozu shook his head again. "He was barely over five years old. You cannot expect anything useful from him, but many will be like you and even go a step further to believe some conspiracy. On top of that, if the public were to find out that a child lived alone in a forest near the site of that incident and was only discovered because a businessman attempted to profit from the land…" He paused, letting the implication settle. "That would be disastrous for everyone involved."
He continued calmly, "Then there is the fact that this same boy, living among animals for years, managed to kidnap a child from the middle of the so-called protectors of society, defeat heroes in combat, and even injure them. Do you understand how much trouble that would cause and the damage to heroes everywhere?"
Mrs. Yaoyorozu frowned. "So all parties involved will simply keep it a secret? What about the workers and rangers? They've heard of it. Won't the story spread?"
"Yes, it is for the greater good of society and to prevent unrest. As for those involved of this, they've all signed non-disclosure agreements, not to mention it was bad publicity to them as much as the rest of us" Mr. Yaoyorozu replied. "And even if someone lets something slip, it will amount to nothing more than an unconfirmed rumor."
Mrs. Yaoyorozu nodded slowly. It was then that Momo finally spoke.
"Dad… where is he now?"
Mr. Yaoyorozu turned to her. "He's with Sai. The boy needed a bath and a clean set of clothes."
Momo nodded. Mrs. Yaoyorozu, however, frowned again. "That reminds me, he was living naked. Will he even be able to wear clothes properly?"
"My dear," Mr. Yaoyorozu replied, "he didn't devolve into some primal animal. He lived alone, outside social structures. He can learn what he's missing in time."
They continued discussing arrangements for a while longer and what would happen over the coming days until a knock sounded at the office door.
"Enter," Mr. Yaoyorozu said.
The door opened. Sai stepped in, and behind him came Junsei.
The moment the family's eyes fell on the boy, they froze.
Junsei was dressed in simple white pajamas that matched perfectly with his long, silky white hair, now clean and falling neatly down his back. His skin, freed of dirt and grime, looked smooth and unblemished, and his pale blue eyes seemed clearer and far gentler than before.
Mrs. Yaoyorozu spoke first, her voice tinged with shock. "That's… the feral boy?"
Momo blinked, then said honestly, "With that hair, people might mistake him for a girl from behind."
Mr. Yaoyorozu nodded slowly. He, too, was surprised by the transformation, though he kept his composure.
"His hair is fine for now," he said. "We'll cut it later when we go out to buy clothes."
"Cut it?" Mrs. Yaoyorozu exclaimed. "That would be a crime. We are absolutely not touching that hair. No one will believe this boy was in the forest for that long. Now I want to know how he will look when we buy him proper clothes."
Momo nodded immediately.
Sai smiled quietly at the scene. Mr. Yaoyorozu looked at his wife with mild disbelief. Just moments ago, she had been fiercely opposed; now, seeing Junsei clean and presentable, she seemed to have forgotten every concern and wanted to play dress up with him.
He shook his head, amused. And as he did, a strange thought crossed his mind [does living in a forest without bathing for years somehow improve hair and skin to this degree?]