Accidentally become a father-Chapter 12: Paper and Authority
---
Some lies collapse when questioned.
Others survive because the system itself agrees to believe them.
---
Today.
I was about to find out which kind this was.
I sat back down in front of the low table.
Unfolding the birth certificate one more time.
The morning light made the ink of the official seal look clearer.
---
Yuna sat across from me.
Her hands resting neatly on her lap.
Like she was waiting for exam results.
---
"To register for school," I said.
"a birth certificate alone isn’t enough. Usually, you need a family register. Proof of residency. A legal guardian."
Yuna nodded slowly. "Is that difficult?"
"Bureaucracy is rarely difficult. Usually, it’s just tedious."
I grabbed my phone and did a quick search on elementary school registration for this ward.
---
The requirements were exactly as I expected:
An updated juminhyo.
Guardian information.
And an address within the school zone.
---
I stared at the name on the certificate again.
Nishida Itsuki.
Under the father column.
There were no strange additional notes.
It was too clean.
---
"If the person who arranged this certificate was serious about it,"
I muttered, "they definitely took care of the rest."
Yuna looked at me cautiously.
"Are you mad, Papa?"
"No. I just don’t like it when someone else finishes my homework without telling me."
"It helps, though."
"True. But it also means they know my address."
She fell silent.
---
I stood up, grabbing my jacket again.
"Let’s go check at the ward office. If the data isn’t there, we file it. If it is..."
I paused for a moment. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
"It means I’m officially a much busier adult."
Yuna stood up as well.
"If the data is there, does that mean Papa is really my guardian?"
"I already said as much out in the hallway. Now we just have to make sure it wasn’t an improvisation."
She looked slightly calmer hearing those words repeated.
---
Before leaving.
I glanced back at the table where the certificate lay.
It felt strange seeing my name printed as someone’s father without ever having signed a thing.
But legally speaking, ink was stronger than feelings.
And if the ink existed in more places than this paper—
Then someone had already decided my role long before I did.
---
"Let’s go," I said.
Yuna put on her shoes without being told.
Her movements were quick.
Efficient.
Like a child who had moved places a few too many times.
---
I turned off the lights.
Double-checked that the stove was off.
And opened the door.
The day in Tokyo had fully come alive by now.
---
And somewhere inside that living system of concrete and paperwork,
an answer was already waiting for us.
---
