[ The Name He Asked For]
The warmth inside the mansion hit Blade like a wall.
His coat was still cold. His hair still held a trace of outside wind. But the air here was soft, scented with polished wood and expensive candles that tried too hard to feel like "home."
His mother wouldn't let go of him.
Not fully.
Even when she stepped back, her hand stayed hooked around his sleeve like a leash made of fear.
His father stood a little to the side, posture straight, eyes scanning Blade the way a man checked a wound he couldn't see.
Alice and Iris hovered on the stairs, half-hidden behind the railing. Iris looked like she might cry if anyone raised their voice. Alice looked like she might raise her own voice just to prove she wasn't scared.
Ryu, meanwhile, had decided Blade was now his personal property.
He followed him step-for-step like a shadow that didn't understand boundaries.
Blade's eyes moved across the living room automatically.
Exit points. Windows. Hallways.
Then the fireplace.
Family photos.
Most of them were new. Faces he didn't recognize. Smiles that didn't include him.
But one framed picture near the mantle caught him.
A boy, younger, grinning too wide for his own face, arm thrown around another kid in a way that screamed trouble.
Jack.
Blade's gaze stayed there a beat too long.
His mother noticed immediately. Her grip on his sleeve tightened.
Blade looked away.
Then asked the only question that felt… solid.
"Where's Jack?"
The room went quiet.
His father's jaw flexed.
His mother's breath trembled. "He's… not home."
Blade's eyes didn't change. "Where?"
A pause.
Then his father answered, voice controlled. "Out."
Blade nodded once like that explained everything.
It did.
Jack was always out.
Even back then.
His mother's voice softened, cautious. "He… he doesn't know you're here yet. We didn't know how to—"
"I'll tell him," Blade said.
His father stepped in slightly. "Let us handle it."
Blade's gaze slid to him. Calm. Sharp.
"I asked," Blade said.
The words weren't rude.
They were just Blade.
His mother flinched like she'd heard Razor Leon speaking through him.
Then Ryu decided it was the perfect time to be helpful.
He marched to the fancy side table, climbed onto it without permission, and grabbed the house phone like it was a toy.
Blade's mother gasped. "Ryu! Get down from there!"
Ryu ignored her, pressing random buttons like he was launching missiles.
Blade's father's eye twitched. "Ryu."
Ryu finally looked at him. "I'm calling Jack to tell him the missing brother is back."
Alice muttered from the stairs, "He's going to dial the security company."
Iris whispered, "Or the pizza place…"
Ryu frowned at the phone. "Why does it have so many numbers? That's inefficient."
Blade's mother rushed forward to take it, but Ryu held it above his head, triumphant.
Blade watched for a second.
Then reached out.
He didn't snatch.
He didn't wrestle.
He simply plucked the phone from Ryu's hand with a smooth motion that looked so practiced it hurt to imagine where it came from.
Ryu stared up at him, shocked.
Blade handed the phone to his mother.
Then looked down at Ryu. "Don't climb furniture."
Ryu blinked. "Okay."
A beat.
Then, "Can I climb people?"
Blade stared at him.
Alice snorted.
Iris covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
Even Blade's mother made a broken little sound that almost turned into a smile.
Blade exhaled through his nose.
"No."
Ryu nodded like he'd learned a valuable life lesson. "Understood."
Blade turned back to his father.
"I'll go get him," Blade said.
His mother shook her head fast. "No. Please. Let him come to you. Let him see you here, safe."
Blade paused.
Safe.
A strange word.
Then his father pulled out his phone.
His thumb hovered over a contact.
He didn't press it immediately.
Like he was afraid of what would happen once he did.
Then he called.
It rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
No answer.
His father's mouth tightened.
Blade didn't react.
He just said, "Try again."
His father did.
This time, someone picked up.
A lazy voice came through the speaker, loud enough for the room to hear.
"What? I'm busy."
His father's tone sharpened. "Jack. Come home. Now."
A pause.
Then Jack scoffed. "Why? Did Mom buy another 'family bonding' board game? Because I'm not playing—"
His mother's voice cracked into the call. "Jack… please."
Silence.
That single word from her did what commands couldn't.
Jack's voice dropped, suspicious now. "What happened?"
His father stared at Blade for half a second, then said the sentence like it might explode.
"Blade is here."
The room froze.
Ryu stopped breathing just to listen better.
Alice's eyes widened.
Iris's hand flew to her chest.
Blade didn't move at all.
On the other end of the phone, nothing.
No sound.
No breathing.
Like the line had gone dead.
Then Jack's voice came back, colder than expected.
"…Don't joke with me."
His father's voice stayed steady. "I'm not."
Another long pause.
Then Jack's voice turned sharp. Hurt hiding inside anger like always.
"Where is he?"
His mother whispered, "He's… in the living room."
Jack exhaled once, hard.
Blade heard it.
He remembered that exhale.
That exact sound Jack used right before throwing the first punch of a fight.
"I'm coming," Jack said.
The call ended.
Blade stared at the blank screen for a moment.
His mother's hand tightened around his sleeve again.
His father looked like he'd just started a war he didn't know how to stop.
Ryu tugged Blade's coat lightly. "Is Jack scary?"
Blade looked down at him.
"No," Blade said. "He's loud."
Ryu nodded seriously. "I can be louder."
Blade's mouth twitched.
Almost a smile.
Outside, distant engines hummed. Tires on snow. Fast.
Jack was on his way.
And Blade realized something simple.
The gate was the easy part.
The real collision was about to walk through the front door.