Ash's surprised shout reverberated throughout the whole room, loud enough for the other patients to turn their heads towards it's source.
"YOU CAN GET ME INTO THE–"
Caesar's hand came in to cover his mouth, making sure no more sound escaped from it.
Then in a nearly whisper Caesar replied.
"I can, but the place isn't really optimal for this, we should discuss this back in your room."
After this the conversation has pretty much ended and Caesar left, his heavy footsteps becoming more distant with each step.
'When can I even get back to my room... aren't I injured?'
Some time passed and to Ash's surprise he was let go at around sundown, being let off with only spending three hours in there.
Exiting the building he was met by a limousine, which took him back to the Iron Wolves's mansion.
Arriving at his room he was surprised to see Caesar already waiting there sitting in a chair sipping on some unknown beverage.
"Welcome back."
Ash nodded, before sitting down in the chair before Caesar's.
"You've been waiting?"
"Not really, I got notified by my guys that you were coming."
Caesar started reaching into his pockets before stopping himself.
"...Right this is your room I probably shouldn't smoke."
"It's your house, if you want to you can go ahead."
"Won't the smell annoy you?"
"It's fine, and if it's really that bad I'll just air it out."
Caesar shrugged his shoulders before taking a cigarette out from his pocket and lighting it.
"Ffffuh... So about what I've talked about."
"Icarus Academy?"
"Yes... I can get you in... maybe."
"Hmmm..."
Ash placed his hand before his mouth as if thinking for a moment.
"How exactly."
"Simple really, what you had was the special admission ticket. Other than that there are two other ways to get into Icarus."
Caesar raised one of his hands raising one of his fingers along with it.
"The first one would be to get recruited by SCC and be talented enough to get sent there. This option is not really feasible as most recruits are directly recruited from the wasteland... so yeah anyways this one is not good."
Caesar raised another finger before continuing.
"The second one is actually the most common method around here, and luckily for us it's also the one we will try. It's by going through the entrance exam and passing."
Ash pondered a bit before asking.
"So what do we need for this exam?"
"The exam will have both a physical and theoretical section. So long as you pass both you'll get in. Of the two the physical is the more important one, so long as you get a high ranking, you might be able to bypass the theory entirely... or atleast it won't matter as much."
Ash let the information settle before asking again.
"And the catch? Otherwise wouldn't everyone in Primus atleast give it a try?"
"Well that's where I come in... it's the entrance fee. Even if you get in it's an amount that most families could never afford."
"Is it really that expensive?"
Caesar paused for a moment looking up at the ceiling before answering.
"Yes... to be honest it's really expensive, probably half the price of this mansion."
Ash gulped hearing this, as he could only imagine how expensive this mansion is.
"Why would you do this, I know you wanted to recruit me, but... isn't this a bit too much."
Caesar clenched his hands together before answering.
"I think you might be worth it."
Ash was taken aback by the comment. This was the first time someone has put such faith in him, as back in Blackheart he was only the lazy kid, nothing more. But now it seemed he was given a value so high that half a mansion's worth was seen as worthwhile investment.
"Of course there are conditions."
Ash looked at Caesar with puppy like attentive eyes.
"I'm all ears."
"First of all, you have to win the tournament. If you can't even do that then I clearly overestimated your worth. Second, you'll join us as a semi-member."
Ash was confused upon hearing this.
"A semi-member?"
"Yes, since you are going to Icarus you won't be able to play an active role anyways and even then I don't want to tie you down too hard. Being a semi-member will mean helping with major operations if they ever happen. I'll notify you in time so it won't cause problems. But it probably won't be a frequent thing since our gang has mostly stopped with it's expansion."
Ash hearing things was waiting for more terms to be listed, but seemingly none came.
"Is that all."
"Yes, these two things."
Ash's eyes were wide open still processing things.
"Isn't this a bit... too generous."
"Maybe... but I don't really want more. Just think of it as an investment, another form of networking, making a connection with someone before they make it big."
Caesar was just putting out his cigarette when he remembered something.
"Oh wait I forgot one of the conditions."
The room became more still in that moment, not tense, but it became different.
"How old are you? Any family?"
"Fifteen, birthday is unknown and no family."
Caesar gave a surprised look before speaking up.
"Fifteen, kid you might be more talented than I thought initially. Also no family... so an orphan... perfect."
'Perfect?'
Ash was now even more confused on what this third condition could be.
"So kid... why don't you become my son?"
"Huh?"
Ash felt like his mind was exploding with Caesar's words coming from seemingly nowhere. It was especially shocking as Ash never had a family before, being an orphan and all.
"I said be my son... did not hear me?"
Ash recollected himself from the momentary shock of that statement.
"I heard you I'm just surprised... why?"
Caesar pondered for a moment before speaking up.
"Well after our talk in the infarmary, I've thought about things and realised a few things. In what case would someone make such a large investment into someone as the one I'm making into you... and I arrived at one conclusion. It's when they are family. And then it all just clicked. I have no family, I assumed you didn't have one either, sooo after a bit of thinking I realised that it just felt right... I suppose."
The room was spinning in Ash's vision, Ash still not quite believing the situation he was in.
"Can I... think about it?"
Caesar stood up from the chair before patting Ash on the shoulder.
"Sure, honestly would have been distressed if you'd have given me an instant answer. This means you're thinking about it seriously."
With that Caesar simply left the room leaving Ash alone with his thoughts, with plenty of room to think about all that he'd heard.
'...Family.'
A concept which had been very foreign to Ash.
He never had a family, he wasn't someone whose parents died, he was simply someone who was abandoned at birth.
People would often say that the orphanage was one big family, but Ash never felt that way.
To some that may have held true, but to Ash the orphanage was nothing more than a gathering place, something like the kindergardens and schools that children went to. Merely people he shared the space with for most of the day.
Even Father Adam who felt closer to a teacher or maybe a friendly principal than a real father.
And now this man he'd only met a few days ago was offering him to become just that for him.
The family he never had, the father he lacked and the home he lost.
If he had to judge his character he'd rate it rather well, but that was from a mere two days worth of knowing him.
His first instinct was to say that Caesar was hasty in his decision, but then he remembered back to the orphanage back to the few times someone was actually adopted.
The process was quick, the new parent and the child knowing each other for less than a day.
In the end Ash didn't know what to do.
That was when his thought finally shifted from family to the academy, the main reason why the offer was made in the first place.
From what Caesar had told him, it seemed the competion was fierce, which meant he would have to get ready for it... and maybe even study for the theory part.
Just thinking about having to study made him forget about all his prior worries and questions about the family offer.
'I hate studying!'
Ash thought so loudly that if others were in the room they may have even heard it.
Ash looked at the ceiling while laying on his bed, thinking about the offer as a whole.
'It's... definitely not a bad offer... I don't know... I'll just sleep on it and decide in the morning.'
Reluctantly getting up Ash went to do his nightly routine, going to the shower, brushing his teeth, toilet before bed and then returned to the room.
Switching the lights off Ash slowly found his way back to his bed ready to sleep.
'Family... huh?'