Chaos Brews Growth

"How are things going on your end?"

"Just tying up a few loose screws, but for the most part, everything is ready. I heard things are going as planned on your end as well."

"Someone unexpected showed up, but it didn't deter from the original plan much, so it's fine."

"What do you mean by 'someone unexpected showed up'?"

Explaining what has happened so far, Lucario is buried in a woman's laughter.

"That child needed a female caregiver anyways, so I guess that worked itself out," Hailey Turnip comments as she leans back in her chair. "She's surrounded by so many guys. I'm surprised she hasn't gone all rogue yet."

Lucario shuts the door to his office and plops down onto his chair before scoffing into the phone. "Hasn't gone rogue? You should see her. She'll become an even worse monster than me if we don't watch out."

"You shouldn't be calling your daughter a monster, Lucario," Hailey nags. "If she's going to be fierce yet elegant, a tiger lily is a better description."

"A tiger lily…" Feeling pride from his daughter's potential, Lucario can't help but grin to himself.

"You're smiling to yourself, aren't you, Mr. Tough Guy?" Hailey teases as she chuckles through the phone. "You should know that tiger lilies are poisonous to animals, but it seems like she's already taken you down."

As quickly as it grew, Lucario's smile disappears before he clears his throat. "Anyways, all we are waiting for now is the Meyling Food Court to get their side done before we can proceed to the next stage."

"I heard that they have already completed it, though."

"What do you mean?" Shocked by the news, Lucario immediately checks his emails. Scrolling through the endless business emails, he stops at one that was sent in the middle of the night.

[We are done with the Johnsons]

Going silent, Lucario quickly reads the email before leaping out of his desk and dropping his phone. "Bryle!" he shouts, knowing that his hacker can hear him.

"You called, Father Lucario," echoes a voice from the room's intercom not even two seconds later.

"Check the academy's cameras right now! Specifically Lily's classroom and the surrounding areas!"

"I was actually about to report to you about something," Bryle admits pensively.

Lucario immediately notices Bryle's shift in tone and starts to get riled up. "What is it?"

A quick period of silence washes over the office before Bryle comes back on the intercom. "There was an incident at school with the Johnson's child. Miss Lily wasn't hurt, but Ethan got injured while trying to protect her. It seems that the Johnson's child was trying to blame Miss Lily for his family's down spiral and attacked her."

"Lucario! Lucario! I know you can hear me!" shouts Hailey who is still on the line with Lucario. "What happened?! I heard Ethan's name!"

Slowly bending down to pick up his phone, Lucario does his best to not crush it in his grasp. "Ms. Turnip, it seems that we need to speed up our plans."

—

"I'm sorry, Ethan," Lily says as she cleans up the bloody gauze after changing Ethan's bandage. "You got hurt protecting me."

"Don't be sorry, Lily," Ethan assures, turning to face Lily. "It's my job to protect you. If anything, I'm happy that you didn't get hurt after what happened. I'm glad I was able to protect you from getting scratched."

Lily punches Ethan's arm then slumps down onto the chair next to the bed in the clinic. "If only I was stronger. I could have done something to keep you from getting this injured."

Reaching over, Ethan sets a hand on Lily's head and begins to pet her. His warm smile brightens up the cold room. "You can become stronger. But it's my job to be stronger than you in order to fulfill my role in your family. If I'm more injured than you, then that means I have done my job well, so don't beat yourself up about it."

With a loud groan of defeat, Lily gazes up at her best friend who is wincing from a sudden jolt of pain in his head. "If you're supposed to be more injured than me in order to do your job well, then I should at least be the one who patches you up in order to balance the order of give and take." Lily gets up then sets the ice pack on the opposite side of Ethan's head from his wound. "It wouldn't be fair if you protected me without me doing something in return."

"Can I consider this as a personal honor from the next family head?" Ethan jokes as he sits up on the bed.

"I'm only seven," Lily laughs, pushing Ethan to get him to lay back down. "We'll see in eleven years if it will be a personal honor or a feared punishment."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Ethan glances at Lily, a bit scared. "But you said that you'll be patching me up. Why should I be worried?"

With an innocent smile, Lily strikes a strange sense of fear into Ethan. "Just a disclaimer for the future."

The sounds of two different types of laughter reverberate through the academy's wall. Unbeknownst to the two kids, someone who abhors them happens to be right down the same hall in the detention room, forced to listen to the laughter he so wishes to squander.

—

A Monday that was supposed to be like any other flips on a dime. What was supposed to be an ordinary day immediately becomes the day that sets Lily's future into full motion.

The Buenavista Family, under Lucario's command, begins preparations that weren't supposed to start for another few weeks.

National Security, under Hailey Turnip's command, coordinates with Senate and House leaders along with presidential correspondence for an immediate emergency meeting with very little notice.

The Meyling Food Court, under Jianqiao's request, initiates their plan to aid in the disappearance of the Johnson Family.

What was supposed to be another couple of months of planning and preparation instantly turns into execution with the highest level of precision. All hidden from Lily Buenavista who simply wishes for Ethan to get better. However, after today, Lily will have the whole world looking at her if they aren't already. All because Daddy's little girl almost got hurt.