No Matter What the Cost

A mess of things

A/N: Ah! So much to write but not enough time.

***

For some reason he found it hard to forget the drawings, something about them just left a lingering bad taste in his mouth, even after drinking a few too many glasses of wine—

Someone poked his shoulder.

"...Sir?"

Gakuhou groaned and lifted his head, realising he was in his office at home, but he didn't quite remember how he'd gotten there.

He looked up and grimaced when he saw Gakushuu standing in front of him. "Yes?" He narrowed his gaze at his son, sitting up straight. "What is it, Asano?"

A strange look passed over his eldest's son's face before the boy's expression grew closed off. "You're late for breakfast..."

"Ah. Yes, of course." Gakuhou glanced at the time. "I was working late and overslept."

Gakushuu's gaze narrowed a fraction. "...You never oversleep."

He felt a cold chill but ignored it. "I had a lot of work to do." He stood up. "Since Class E will be taking Class A's place for the summer trip, thanks to your failure, there's a fair few revisions in the paperwork that needs making."

His son tensed at the reminder and averted his gaze, letting the matter drop.

****

Gakuhou felt apprehensive when Karma went in for his evaluation at Mr Daigo's school, especially since the doctor had asked to interview Karma without him present.

He tapped his finger against his coffee mug while he waited in a lounge area, his coffee becoming cold as he neglected to drink it.

His mind kept fixating on those drawings and everything Karasuma had said... he didn't like it or want to accept what it all meant. It had been nearly two hours and neither Karma, Mr Daigo, or the doctor had emerged.

He shifted in his seat and felt a rise of concern, wondering what was happening.

The assessment was mandatory if he wanted Karma admitted but that didn't mean he had to like it, but what else was he to do? He'd had to resort to treating his son like the boy was unbalanced. If Karma had just been less...

He trailed off at that thought, gripping his mug tighter as he stood up to wander around.

It was fine if his sons hated him so long as they were successful. That was all he wanted, what any parent would want.

And, if Karma just acted less violent, reckless, and impulsive then things could be better.

Even removing the little flaws would help, the obsession with spices, sadism, laziness, emotional outbursts, lack of focus, the recurring fidgeting—

The door opened, distracting him from his thoughts.

He did his best to hide his nerves and smiled politely when Mr Daigo appeared, a tight smile on the man's face. "I trust everything's alright?"

Mr Daigo's smile stayed stiff. "Yes, more or less." He looked at the clipboard. "There is something, though, that I wanted to discuss with you privately – please take a seat."

"Thank you, but I prefer to stand," Gakuhou replied lightly, feeling a rise of dread. "Now, what did you want to discuss?"

Mr Daigo hesitated. "... Mr Asano, were you aware at all your son might have ADHD?"

He nearly cracked the mug in his grip. "No, I don't believe so, nothing to warrant investigation at least."

Mr Daigo hummed, smiling politely as he glanced at the clipboard. "The doctor has noted he believes Karma does have it."