The Bounty Hunter

June 1st, 2089

Terra’s POV

I ducked beneath the oncoming fist that was heading towards my face and countered with an uppercut.  My muscles bunched and knotted from the exertion, sweat was dripping off every part of my body.  My assailant lightly sidestepped my attack and then lunged forward.  He used his superior size to perform a marvelous takedown, slamming me into the mat.  Shit, there’s no way I can win a grappling match against this guy.  I quickly tried to extricate myself but it was too late.  I was swiftly pinned and chose to forfeit the match.

“Nice try son, but it’ll still be a couple years before you can go toe to toe with your old man!”  My father, Terrance Cross, laughed heartily as he stood up from the ring.  He is a very tall man with a large build and a jovial personality.  His light brown hair was cropped short and his green eyes that were the same as mine had an amused glint in them as he spoke.  “Enjoy it while it lasts dad, I’ll catch up with you eventually.”  I responded.  My dad loves boxing and wrestling, and recently he started taking me out to a local gym for some sparring.  In his words “That karate or some such stuff you’ve been learning over the years is alright, but there is no substitute for a good hard strike to the jaw.”

I don’t mind spending more time with my father, but at first it was kind of tricky holding back.  I have grown tremendously over this past year and with my self-augmentation I have become nearly inhuman.  I am fine controlling my strength in everyday life, but when I fight the chances of me using too much power increase more than I am comfortable with.  I managed to solve that problem with a combination of restraint seals, debilitating curses and gravity enchantments.  My power is restrained and it serves as a form of intense training at the same time.  Physically I am now equivalent to a high school star athlete.  These spells can be shed in an instant so I am still amply able to respond to any potential danger in time.

But Dad seems to be anxious about something.  I can hear his heart beating at a slightly higher pace, there is the faintest scent of perspiration lingering around him even after the shower, and I can see the slight occasional tensing of his muscles.  Having extraordinary senses is quite helpful for reading people, but I wish he’d hurry up and say whatever it is he’s going to say.

“Son, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”  My father had an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face as we left the gym.  “What is it, Dad?”  I asked.  “Well, uh, your mother’s family contacted her a couple days back and they seem to want to reconcile.”  I stopped walking as this was news I suspected but hoped against hope wouldn’t be true.  My mom does not talk about her family.  Ever.  I also doubt that her family is doing this out of the goodness of their heart.  This doubt stems from my intuition and the fact that I got around to interrogating that PI who was following me during the school festival a couple of weeks ago.

My grandfather hired the PI, for reasons unknown at the moment, to observe me.  He apparently had already located my mother previously, but the PI was after me this time around.  I also discovered that my mother comes from a rather prestigious family that runs a prominent business here in Japan.  The parallels between them and some scheming noble families from the other world are too many.  I don’t like it.  This feels like when I would observe a bounty before engaging.  Whatever my grandfather wants, it is not to just have my mother back in the family again.

“Son, are you okay?”  My dad asked after he noticed I stopped.  I gave a small smile and replied “Yeah, I guess it’s simply not what I was expecting.”  “I know, but the most important thing right now is that we support your mother no matter what she decides to do.”  I nodded in agreement and we proceeded back home.  I’ll let this play out while I decide what I should do.  Worst case scenario I will resort to magic to kick them back out of our lives.

Daiki Hayashi’s POV

I looked upon this sniveling idiot quaking in his tasteless suit in front of me as he kept babbling and resisted the urge to sigh.  I had to listen to this waste of oxygen grovel and try to excuse his failures for the last 20 minutes.  I’ve had enough.  When I told my executives that I wanted the profit margin for this quarter to increase by 10%, did they think I was joking?  “Get out, you imbecile.  I don’t want to risk your incompetence being contagious.”  The pathetic looking man squeaked and scurried out of my office.  I stood up, turning to look out of my window to see the entirety of downtown.  Usually the sight of standing high above the rest of the city would soothe me, but not today.

9% increase.  Only a 9% increase in profit margins and my son thought he could walk in here and I’d be impressed.  If he weren’t my eldest child I would have fired him.  Getting close to success is not success it is failure.  The Hayashi Group did not rise to be the #1 corporation in all of Japan based on failure.  It pains me to think that eventually I will have to leave the running of this company to one of my children.  The only one with any promise had been my youngest daughter, but she turned out to be defective.

That’s what I thought until recently, when I discovered that my daughter Yuuna had miraculously managed to have a child with some cowboy gutter trash from the USA.  It had been simple coincidence that I noticed her work on a rather high-profile corporate case in the news one day.  That piqued my interest enough to follow-up.  And then I discovered to my delight that I had a grandson.  A mutt with tainted blood, but still my grandson none the less.  My private investigators reported that he was handsome, intelligent and by all accounts filial.  The timing couldn’t have been better.

I have been in negotiations with the Global Trading Company, the largest corporation in the world, for a merger.  The Hayashi Group would take over and become their East Asia branch, and I was planning to then slowly usurp control and replace the current Chairman.  But knowing I have a grandson changes things.  The head of the GTC has no family other than a single daughter of about 16 years of age and by all accounts she is intolerable and he has been desperate trying to get her a suitable match.  My other 2 grandsons are too pitiful (and too old) and would have no chance of catching the child’s eye, but with Minato I can accelerate my plans.

An arranged marriage between Minato and that she-devil would be the perfect way to solidify the merger between our two companies while also placing the Hayashi family in line to succeed the chairmanship.  It would be simple enough to arrange for an “accident” to befall the GTC chairman and I would be in control of the largest company in the world 10 years earlier than originally planned.  It’s absolutely perfect.  I just need to bring my wayward daughter to heel and get rid of this fiancé that my grandson has entangled himself with.