Children's Progression

The air in the estate's auditorium is deathly quiet as the men await for their boss's order. They don't know what's going on, but they take on whatever mission is given to them because of their deep loyalty to the Buenavista Family. However, what Lucario says next is something that none of them could have expected.

"I need five volunteers," Lucario starts. "This job will be extremely difficult. You will take on a role similar to what you are doing but with an added task to juggle. Hopefully, none of you will die, but I can't guarantee your safety. The five chosen volunteers will be applying to be faculty members of Wendale Academy. Although your employer will be different by name, you will still be working under me.

"Your main task is to watch over Lily as she goes to school. You will be intercepting any and all attempts against Lily's life while she grows and attends the academy. Of course, you will have to be assessed by the academy's school board as they don't play favorites. It will be up to you to pass their assessment.

"Those who manage to pass the assessment will be employed at the academy. There will be no repercussions if you don't pass the assessment, so do not be afraid to volunteer. Those who wish to volunteer will be given a copy of the official job application. Billy, Ryan, and myself will be acting as the school board. You must be able to blend in while subtly showing that you are strong enough to not only protect Lily but also the other students in the school. That will be all."

Stepping off of the stage, Lucario heads out the back door while Billy and Ryan stay behind to hand out the application forms. As Lucario breathes in some of the fresh autumn air, the haunting thought of his daughter almost dying on him sends shivers down his spine.

"It wouldn't hurt to ask her," he mumbles to himself before looking up at the sky.

—

The next day, Ryan is helping Lily get ready for school when they hear a knock at the door. They pause once the door cracks open and in pops Lucario.

"Lily, do you have a minute?" Lucario asks while quietly closing the door.

"I always have time for you, Daddy," Lily cheerfully answers, raising her arms up for Lucario to pick her up.

Taking up on his daughter's request, Lucario picks Lily up and sets her on his lap as he sits on the bed. "Lily, do you remember what you said before when we made an agreement to let you go to school?"

"Mmm… we talked about a lot of things, Daddy," Lily responds after a moment to think. "Can you tell me what you're talking about?"

Hesitating at first, Lucario lightly clenches his fist. "You suggested that I teach you how to fight so that I wouldn't have to worry about you at school. Do you still want me to teach you, Lily?"

Surprised by the question, Ryan trips over the rug as he brings over Lily's backpack from her small desk. He fumbles to pick up everything that fell out of her backpack when he feels a cold glare stabbing him, making him too afraid to look back up.

Lily nods her head as if she's been given the best offer of her life. "I do! I want you to teach me so that I can be strong like Daddy!"

"Are you absolutely sure?" Lucario asks with nothing but concern written all over his face. "You're going to get hurt a lot. It will be painful. Of course, we will start with the basics, but as you progress, the training will get more intense."

Lily notices her father's concern, so she takes his hand that rests on her legs and brings it up to her face. "You know what the teacher said yesterday, Daddy?"

"No, what did she say?"

"Teacher said that we are starting a new chapter in our lives. She said that it won't be easy because the things that we learn as we get into higher grades will become more difficult. She said that the hard things that we learn now will become easier once we get used to it and learn from our mistakes which is why we take tests and exams.'

Lily gazes up at her father and watches his new moon eyes stare down at her. "I know that I will get hurt and make mistakes, but I want to learn so that I can grow and become strong in order to protect Daddy when he's not strong enough to protect himself."

Lucario doesn't know what to say. He's in disbelief of how well Lily takes in information despite her age. She isn't as good as Ethan, but Lucario knows that if Lily keeps growing at the fast rate she's going, it wouldn't be too farfetched to say that she could reach Ethan's level of knowledge and maturity in the next year or two. However, at the same time, he wants Lily to remain a child for as long as possible.

"If that's what you want, then I can't say no," Lucario finally says after recomposing himself. He sets Lily down on the floor then stands up in front of her, towering over her small body. "Lily Buenavista, you will start your martial arts training every day after school. On the weekends, we will train every morning before breakfast and every evening before dinner. There will be no day's off except on your birthday and major holidays. I will ask you again. Lily Buenavista, are you sure you want to start your training?"

"Yes, Daddy!" Lily shouts before hugging her father's leg. "Thank you, Daddy!"

Unsure of whether to be happy or not, Lucario reaches down to pick up his daughter. "Let's go eat breakfast then head off to school."

—

"Lily!" Ethan shouts once he spots Lily. Running up to his best friend, Ethan holds his hand out. "Good morning, Lily."

"Good morning, Ethan," Lily greets as she takes the offered hand.

Lucario glares at the sight of a boy holding his daughter's hand but manages to catch himself when he finds Ethan looking at him. The two don't say anything other than a silent nod. They understand. Without uttering a single sound, they know what they are expecting of each other.

"Let's head to class now," Ethan suggests, pointing to the school.

Releasing her hand for just a moment, Lily spins around and gestures for her father to kneel down. Obediently following Lily's demand, Lucario kneels down to which he is surprised with a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going now, Daddy! Have a good day at work!" Rushing off, Lily grabs Ethan's hand again, and the pair head inside the safety of the school.

As they walk over to their desks, Ethan take's Lily's backpack off of her and wraps the straps around her chair before doing the same with his backpack.

"You want to know something?!" Lily enthusiastically asks, staring at Ethan with beady eyes.

Ethan chuckles at Lily's excitement and goes along with it. "What is it?"

"My daddy says that he's going to start training me in martial arts after school today!"

Not expecting that to be what comes out of Lily's mouth, Ethan's jaw drops as he sits in his chair speechless.

"Really cool, right?!"

—

"Mr. Lucario, the guys from research discovered something about Ethan that you might want to see," Ryan announces after entering Lucario's office.

Finishing up an email for his furniture company, Lucario swivels his chair over to face Ryan who is now standing in front of his desk. Ryan hands the documents over to his boss, and Lucario starts to carefully read through it. Suddenly, his eyes widen as he gets to the middle of the page.

"Child experiments?" he mutters.

"It appears that when Ethan was still a baby, he and his twin sister were kidnapped from their home," Ryan explains. "It took about a year and a half for his mother to locate him because it was his father who was running the experiments. The father was sentenced to death."

"What happened to his twin sister?" Lucario asks as he continues to read the documents.

"She died due to the experiments," Ryan responds as he watches his boss read the documents seemingly unfazed. "The experiments were to see if children's mental age could grow faster than their physical age in order to produce young geniuses that they could then control."

Ryan stops explaining, but Lucario continues reading. What Ryan said is just a rough summary of the five-page document on Ethan and the child experiments.

"That explains a lot."