Preparations.
"But you cannot take everyone in your family, that is the problem. It is not your duty or you do not have the obligation to take every child with a bad past in your care. You have to understand this Shido." Fuyumi told me while having her head on my shoulder.
After having our lunch, I took Fuyumi to my room to have a discussion about Himiko. I told her everything about Himiko. And I mean everything. Fuyumi now knows that Himiko is not technically a kid but she is a kid now because of me. And now we were having this talk.
"I know. But can you allow this time?" I asked Fuyumi. She basically takes care of Eri when I am absent so her permission is also important in this. Husband and Wife, Both these components cooperate together to run a family. And this is happening here. I made my decision and I am asking her permission now.
I basically made a one-sided decision, because I don't know how to reverse the Rewind I used on Himiko. So options for Fuyumi are already limited.
"*Sigh* Fine... I will help you take care of Himiko but I want you to spend more time with the kids. Take a break from the Vigilante work and spend some time with us. I don't want the kids to have a father who rarely spends time with them." Fuyumi agreed but on some conditions. But I think it is good enough.
Family comes before Villain-Slaughter Week.
"Okay, Let me make some calls first. Then we will have some quality time with the kids. Now why don't you go and familiarize yourself with your 'daughters.' I think you took Himiko as your favorite already."
"What are you on about? I never pick favorites when it comes to children."
"I thought that would be the case. I saw your face when Himiko called you Mama. I can tell that you want Eri to act like Himiko when she is with you. But she never did. And now Himiko fills that gap, so I thought you would pick favorites."
"Every kid is a separate and distinct individual. You cannot expect them to act the way you want. She acts like that because she is like that. I cannot force her to change that and like me all of a sudden. But I wish that Eri-chan could just accept me as a motherly figure."
"Well, Himiko is already in your side, so Eri is left. You can do it. All the best. You are the best. Need any more encouragement from me, the father of your two daughters?"
Fuyumi didn't reply but she just pinched my waist hard with all that Super Soldier Strength and left the room.
I sighed at her antics and took out the Night Raid Phone. I dialed a number and waited for the other side to pick up the call.
:: Chief..::
"La Brava, I want you to call all the members to the new base and organize a Team Meeting in the new base. It is to discuss the future actions of the team."
:: Yes Chief. ::
____________________________________________
I didn't open the store today and spent all my time with my daughters and Fuyumi. From what I could tell, Eri's mood was a bit sour. She went to her room to watch her cartoons again. I didn't scold her for not taking an afternoon nap and watching cartoons instead because I want her to have this day all to herself.
The entry of Himiko automatically snatched Eri's 'Special' status in the house as the only kid but now there are two in the house. What is so special about being a kid now?
This must be her subconscious thought process and probably the reason for her sour mood. And this is normal in kids as they find out that the attention, love, and care that they received till now will be divided with someone else.
It is an instinctual thing in humans that they become jealous when they find that the attention or care they are receiving from a person is divided. For example- The boyfriend feels jealous of boys who are just friends with his girlfriend.
Sometimes things go competitive, only to show that they are more worthy of a large portion of attention than the others receivers.
It is normal and from what I know of Eri, she will even probably accept Himiko in a few days. She is more mature than other kids her age. But this maturity came with a price. The seemingly endless tortures have steeled Eri's mind a lot.
For now, I can just hope that this doesn't become a big drama.
_____________________________________________
[Night Raid Base, Hosu City]
I was sitting on a chair with my hands crossed on the dining table. Members of Night Raid were also present sitting at the dining table, waiting for me to start the meeting.
I gave La Brava the cue. She stood on her seat to get a decent height and then she started the meeting.
"I will be starting the meeting with a report which contains our progress after the last meeting we held.
* Kaina-san has been giving us the gun training which you asked her to give us. Now I and Gentle have a decent knowledge of guns and now we can use a handgun easily.
* Gentle has been performing the heroic acts and uploading the videos on 1 video/day basis. The Videos initially didn't gather much attention but it has slowly started to gather an audience as the name of Mr. Fantastic is spreading in the alleys of Hosu. The people have started to recognize Gentle as a Heroic Vigilante like Justice Rider but the reach is not him.
* The Process of Evidence Formation is complete and what is left is to arrange the events in chronological order and gather the fake news that HPSC spread to cover their scandals. I decided to show the true and false at the same time.
Gentle said when people see the truth and lie at the same time, juxtaposed to each other. The truth becomes more impactful and the lie seems more terrible than it really is. And we can add some more spice if we want under it, It will be hidden under the truth and lie but it will increase the impact.
* The Villain-Slaughter Week has also been going well. You destroyed a child-trafficking gang in the vicinity of Musutafu and saved 25 children. I hacked into the police server to look into the case, and it seems like the HPSC has signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement with the parents, and also curbed every source of this news, in order to stop it from getting into the media.
Knuckle-san killed 2 Villains in Naruhata. The Villains belonged to the Non-Redeemable Category.
And That's it for the report."
La Brava completed the report and sat on her seat.
"Anyone wants to add something?" I asked but nobody said anything.
So I continued the meeting,
"The Progress is great in my opinion.
* Danjuro and La Brava, you two continue your gun training. I want you to be very proficient in at least one gun.
* Danjuro's PR work is also good. I watched the video online, and I have to admit, the reach is low. But. The response from the small audience he has managed to form is mostly positive. The audience that he currently has are the people he helped. It is good but we need to increase the reach.
For that we need a big stimulus which will make people more interested in Danjuro more... We will think about that later.
* Evidence Formation... Put that thing in the lower priority tab. There is no immediate need for the evidence because the HPSC is acting tame towards us and that's all we need. There is no need to create unnecessary conflicts with them for now. We will take care of them later.
* The Villain-Slaughter Week... It is all good.
So let's start discussing our future actions."
"Kaina," I called out to the newest member of the team.
"Yes, Chief."
"I want you to start the hunt of villains in Hosu."
"Wasn't I in the probation period? I thought that was the reason for the desk job of evidence formation to me."
"At that time, I didn't have any task in my mind for you, but now I have. Kill some Villains in Hosu, so we can show that the Night Raid is active in Musutafu, Hosu, and Naruhata at the same time. I want the people to know of our existence and let them see the power we hold in 3 big cities simultaneously.
The HPSC will try to stop the news of our actions to go to the general masses. For that,
La Brava.
Start spreading Night Raid's accomplishment on the Internet. Start with the villains we have killed and specify the reason for that. Categorize the Villains in many categories like Ranks, City of Operation, etc. Make people know why these villains were in our Non-Redeemable Category. And after that,
The First Major Story: 'Two-Explosion Incident of Hosu'
Twist the facts as you see fit but give the correct order of events, making it more believable to the masses. This story will show how their favorite Heroes and HPSC lied to them on National Television. But the prerequisite is that the people should believe our story more than theirs."
I stood up from my seat,
"Night Raid has already made enough blasts under the dark, and people are oblivious of us. They don't know that in the dark, someone is cleaning the trash which should be cleaned by their authorities. So.. now it is time to show ourselves to the world. To Face the bigger threats head-on."
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
Danjuro and La Brava clapped for my speech.
"Thank You.
Now the second thing that I wanted to discuss... Old Man." I called Knuckleduster.
"What is it, Edgy Gaylord?" But Knuckleduster didn't respond that seriously. He ruined my entire momentum of a leader that I carried till now. I wanted to make a comeback but I didn't. It will just turn into a kid's fight.
"*Sigh* The Cargo Ship with Trigger Container will leave the port at the end of this week. This will start our Overseas mission. Our Mission is to make the life of the one who is behind the deal, miserable. And it will probably be an organization. So we have to kill them too.
But America is not a place where we can do things recklessly. We don't have any backings or any connections there.
So, I want you to go to America at the end of this week and start collecting some intel. Giran probably has some connections in the States too. You will try to contact these connections of Giran there and make a stable foothold for the team. So when we come to the States, we will be able to complete the mission without much problems."
"...Fine..."
Knuckleduster is a veteran Hero, who knows the ins and outs of intel gathering. He went undercover in the Underworld a lot of times in his time as a hero. I believe he will be able to pull this off.
But I have yet to take my revenge.
"Don't forget to pack some ribbed condoms. Americans are open-minded people. Who knows if you can find a young boyfriend there for yourself. But don't let it affect the mission. If you can do that, then I have no problem you having some fun with your boyfriend. Got it? Maybe you can marry him and settle there too. Don't forget to send us the wedding Invitation okay?"
Knuckleduster stood up from his seat and left the room like he didn't care about my comeback. I am now thinking that I am really not made for this.