It beca increasingly clear that conventional teaching wouldn't be able to fill years of no education. This brought Tony lot's of headache as education was the paynt for his bodyguard role.
If he couldn't provide an young guy proper education after proclaiming himself as genius, it would be a huge black mark on his life.
This situation was rapidly becoming more complicated the more Tony thought about it.
Because Haku wasn't dumb, far from it. The kid was polite, calm, observant and honestly carried himself better than most adults Tony knew. The problem was that Haku practically had zero conventional education.
Tony imdiately sat down near the holographic interface afterward while JARVIS started projecting several school options around the room.
"Sir, most prestigious schools around Malibu would imdiately request legal docuntation, educational history and dical records."
"...Yeah I figured." Tony muttered tiredly.
Haku anwhile quietly observed the floating holograms with fascination. Because unlike Rei's explanations and televisions, this was interactive technology directly responding in real ti.
"...You control light itself..." Haku whispered slightly.
Tony looked toward him afterward.
"...You know what? I have just started accepting that all of you describe technology like fantasy magic now."
"This is magical to ." Haku replied honestly and getting more intrigued. Still, before Tony could continue discussing logistics further, the front door suddenly opened. Pepper Potts entered the mansion carrying several folders while looking visibly exhausted.
"...Tony, the board is already losing their minds and Obadiah has called six—" Pepper stopped mid-sentence afterward.
Because standing quietly near Tony was Haku.
Long hair, delicate features, beautiful face... All the check marks.
"...Tony."
Tony blinked once.
"...What?"
Pepper narrowed her eyes slightly.
"You return from a near death experience..." she slowly gestured toward Haku afterward, "...and imdiately bring ho an extrely beautiful teenager? I expected better from you..."
Haku tilted his head slightly in confusion. Tony anwhile almost choked.
"WAIT NO—"
Pepper crossed her arms imdiately.
"Tony."
"HE'S A BOY!" Tony shouted instantly. Pepper blinked once. Then looked toward Haku again.
"...Oh."
Haku honestly looked too polite to even feel offended.
"...I apologize for the misunderstanding." Pepper imdiately corrected professionally.
"That happens often." Haku replied calmly.
"You really think so low of ?" Tony was a bit offended that Pepper would think that he would ever be interested in a teenager.
"Well. I thought maybe this girl.. I an guy.. was around 18/19.." Pepper defended herself.
"...He's a refugee from Afghanistan." Tony lied smoothly afterward. "He was there and took care of for so ti. I was able to find him and bring him here."
Pepper's expression imdiately softened afterward. Almost instantly, the suspicion disappeared from her face and got replaced by sothing else entirely, concern.
Her eyes slowly moved toward Haku again, this ti properly. Not as so misunderstanding involving Tony, but as a quiet teenager standing awkwardly in a completely foreign environnt.
And suddenly the details started hitting her. The careful posture. The unnatural politeness. My dear babe, you are misunderstanding battle ready to politeness.
"...How old are you?" Pepper asked softly afterward.
"Fifteen." Haku replied honestly.
Pepper visibly froze slightly. Tony imdiately saw it happen. Pepper Potts had activated full mother mode.
A very dangerous state, need to be away from here while she is in this state.
ATK - 100
DEF - 100
"Fifteen..." Pepper repeated quietly afterward.
anwhile Haku remained slightly confused because from his perspective everyone here reacted strangely to age. In his world, fifteen already ant full-fledged shinobi capable of war and assassination missions.
Pepper slowly placed the folders down afterward before walking closer.
"...You were alone there?"
Haku nodded lightly.
"...Umm mostly."
Pepper's expression sohow softened even more. Tony imdiately realized Haku accidentally unlocked every protective instinct inside her.
anwhile Haku himself looked slightly overwheld now. Because unlike fear, respect or obedience... genuine concern was harder for him to process.
"...Did you eat properly?" Pepper suddenly asked.
Haku blinked once.
"...What?"
"You look too thin." Pepper continued naturally afterward. "And Tony probably only fed you cheeseburgers or coffee. When did you arrive? I didn't see you early morning."
"I arrived an hour ago with him." Haku replied.
"No wonder, I didn't catch. Tony, at least inform, before you make so major move."
"Hey I wasn't sure that he would arrive today. I didn't expect the.. uhh... his clearance to go fast.. since you know.. he is a child still clinging.." Tony wanted to add his quip but seeing the dangerous eyes of both of them he stopped right at the tracks.
"Tony have you thought what you will do with him. You just torched your company and now you bring a kid under you. How will you take care of him?" Pepper was concerned now.
"Uhh.. I haven't thought that far.. Umm.. I will apply for adoption.." Tony replied hesitatingly, knew
"Are you listening to what you are spouting? The social services won't even allow you near him." Pepper said. "Tell you what, I will apply for the adoption, and you can do whatever you want to do."
"Eh.. You.."
" what? You don't think I am capable of taking care of the teenager here?" Pepper asked.
"No.. It's just that.. I an.. You have been so busy now.. So.."
"And thus I have enough power and money to give this teenager a life he deserves. Given, of course, you don't fire ." Pepper replied.
"So you are doing this to make yourself permanent to the company or to ?" Tony couldn't help but smirk.
"Try firing . I would love to see your whole mansion bursting into flas the next day." Pepper seed sneakily proud of herself as she said that.
Haku quietly watched the interaction while feeling sothing unfamiliar settle slightly inside his chest.
Warmth. She was checking up on Haku and asked general questions and avoided asking anything of his past trauma, which she knew for sure was there. Well it's there, but it's more traumatizing than she could ever believe in her dreams.
Pepper anwhile had already started planning things ntally.
Clothes.
Schooling.
dical checkups.
Psychological therapy.
Probably vitamins too.
Tony watched the whole thing happen in real ti with mild disbelief. Because sohow within less than five minutes Pepper had already emotionally adopted the traumatized ice assassin from another universe. Watching her naturally shift into caretaker mode without hesitation, Tony felt sothing else too.
Relief.
Because monts like this reminded him exactly why Pepper remained the one person he trusted more than anyone else around him.
She questioned him imdiately when sothing looked wrong. Protected people instinctively. And cared without expecting anything back. In a world full of corporate sharks, liars, opportunists and apparently now kidnappers/extortionists ... Pepper sohow remained genuinely good.
Tony quietly leaned back afterward before muttering toward himself.
"...Yeah..."
Haku looked toward him slightly.
"...What?"
Tony smirked faintly afterward while looking toward Pepper bossing JARVIS around already.
"...Nothing."
Pepper after getting to know Haku, left after taking all the credentials. The company work could wait, Haku needed more care than that burning company called Stark Military Industries.
-----
The next day
Tony was in his laboratory/garage. He had finally started building on that expected armor. And Haku was sitting beside him, reading a book that Pepper had got for him, in order to start his studies.
"So Rhodey.. My best friend.. He too thinks that I am nuts right now.. Should stay under the radar...." Tony said as he was masking holographic adjustnts to the armor.
"What is a radar?" Haku asked.
"Uh.. It's a system that detects direction, location and speed of objects.. Like an invisible wave passing through you." Tony was patient and responded.
"What does radar have to do with your friend's relationship with you?" Haku was confused.
"It's a figure of speech.. You know what, leave it.. Tell about you? About your ntor? You said you both are from Kirigakure or what was that na again?" Tony knew talking about his friendship with this guy might be a dead end. So rather know more about him to understand him.
"Zabuza-sama, is from Kirigakure. He cos from the brutal tis when the village started a policy that wanted killers, and thus the graduates were asked to kill their fellow classmates and the one would stand at the end, would win. That was how he beca one of the Seven Swordsn of the Mist."
Tony was speechless. No wonder he could feel bloodlust from that guy. He was a demon. An actual demon, with just a human skin. But could anyone bla him? From Haku's words he was sure that he was forced into it. What kind of world was this? So broken. So sad and so much killing. Was that how it was in the dieval ages?
"Don't you guys have any happy stories or sothing?" Tony couldn't help but ask.
"I heard Rei has a loving family. His father is a Konoha jonin and his mother is a dic." Haku said. Though he didn't know much of the dynamics in his family, but from what he understood, Rei ca from a stable one.
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