Intellectually, Fon knows that he is completely morally screwed up. But he also knows that it's entirely possible everything he's experienced in this life is a delusion occurring in a medically-induced coma. Down that road lies insanity though, and Fon's been there, done that, and gotten the t-shirt.
He doesn't like to think about the few months after he realized exactly where he was. Most of his time was spent being taught about his Flames. (And then there was the whole accidently-nutritionally-starving-himself thing.) But any time not spent training he had been freaking out, so he had trained till he dropped. At least the effect on his abilities had been positive.
Either way, Fon has taken steps to keep himself as close to sane as he can. Balancing the Triad's demands since he was old enough to be useful has taught him to draw his line in the sand and break the bones of those who cross it. The process tends to have consequences, but no amount of lashings have been able to force Fon to do what they want. They've used Mei to force him to do things before, but Fon always makes sure to fulfill the exact letter of their demands while defying the spirit of it. Once Fon was ordered to make the innocent child of one of the Wo Hop To's enemy disappear, and he used the Triad's own resources to set the kid up with a new identity. Since he did what they told him, the Mountain Master wouldn't punish Mei, viewing the situation as the fault of those who assigned the mission. The whipping Fon received was completely worth it.
So Fon has learned to avoid certain orders.
(It's not just for his morals. Whenever Fon pulled something, he got to smile in the face of their fury and confusion.)
But when Kawahira pays the Triad a truly exorbitant amount of money for his services, Fon can't actually avoid it. Not that the alien has him go against his principles; the missions Kawahira uses him for are strictly 'good.' Fon is set on human traffickers and pedophiles and other filth that even the underbelly of society doesn't tolerate, like he's an attack dog.
Honestly, Fon had expected this sort of powerplay from the Man in the Iron Hat. The alien doesn't exactly take 'no' for an answer, and renting Fon from the Wo Hop To is a small price to pay to get the World's Strongest Storm exactly where he needs. For all that Fon understands the necessity, he hates feeling trapped and manipulated. He puts it away. This is necessary and he can't act out.
Either way, Kawahira hasn't given him a reason to avoid orders (other than annoyance). Yet.
But Fon was almost… disappointed? Granted Fon hadn't expected to be able to match wits with a millennia-old, master-manipulator; but he'd at least looked forward to throwing a wrench in the smug asshole's plans.
It's as Fon is dodging bullets in a drug den that he has the realization. Kawahira had sent him off to steal a file, then rob their headquarters and wreck the place to cover the theft. Fon had been prepared for the mission with the usual file of information, but the alien had warned him to expect double the number of usual security. All the intelligence in the file indicated that the drug dealer's usual fifteen person team would be the only ones there.
But there are definitely thirty people shooting at him. Well, there were thirty people when they started shooting. Fon had thought about being stealthy for this one, but he's been feeling stressed lately and a frontal assault allowed for more of a fight. First thing he had done was release Exploding Lotus Kempo. There's nothing quite like the look on a person's face when a dragon made of Flames appears and comes at them. It's an unnecessary show of force, given he plans to stick to pure martial arts, so as to prolong the encounter.
Smiling to himself at the increasing panic of the security team, Fon dodges bullets and allows his attention to wander. The file had been very thorough. Fon suspects Kawahira already has Viper on his payroll: the Mist is the Greatest Information Broker, after all. But if even Viper didn't know security would double, how did Kawahira know? The answer hits him the way he hits his targets: suddenly and unavoidably. The Giglio-Nero. Of course Kawahira would take advantage of their foresight. Knowing what's going to happen is the most efficient way to keep everything to plan. Fon is using that same reasoning.
But the question becomes, can the Giglio-Nero see what is going happen with complete accuracy? Fon isn't sure. Yuni hadn't seemed to think there was any way out of her position as the Sky Arcobaleno, even with little Tsunayoshi breaking the Curse. But that whole situation had involved time travel and Byakuran, who knew different universes. This implies that the Giglio-Nero see the future based on everything up to the present moment. If people continue to act as they have in the past, they should act the same in the future.
This means that Fon, acting on what he knows of the future, can change things. Idly dodging a desperate attempt to grab his hair and breaking the offender's fingers, Fon debates on the merits of changing canon. There had been so much tragedy in canon, but also so little information on the thirty years the Arcobaleno spent Cursed. His first priority – as always – is Mei and her happiness. Which means ensuring she gets away from the Triad. In two years, when she turns eighteen, is as good a time as any. But Fon can't leave the Wo Hop To, himself. For one, they'll just send people after him and Mei. If he stays, at least he can prevent them from coming after Mei. And for another, Sifu hasn't been doing well and someone had to keep an eye his daughter's husband. Ping had been married off to one of the Mountain Master's nephews; and the guy wasn't the worst, but Fon has distinct memories of the jerk trying to kill him when the Storm was young. Fon knows the Triad has been pressuring the couple to have kids.
If Fon and Sifu actually discussed it, Sifu would tell him to forget everything and get the hell away from the Triads as fast as he could. But Sifu is the closest he has to a real parent (and Ping is practically a distant cousin, for all that he rarely interacts with her outside the kitchen). Fon's older now than he was when he passed away before, but it doesn't change how desperately happy he felt to have someone looking out for him the way his parents did. Someone has to watch out for the man and his daughter. Fon thought about sending the woman away with Mei, but her family ability made her about as valuable to the Wo Hop To as Fon is. He's still not sure how the human-time-bomb thing works, but this place is so weird it's easier just to go with it. Also, Ping was a fairly average combatant (aside from her ability) and her safety would be an unfair burden on Mei.
Fon would be staying with the Triad for now, but changing the rest of canon remained an option. As he reaches the office, casually breaking the last of his opponent's gun-hand and ribs, the Storm decides that he really has to meet the Arcobaleno before he gets too far ahead of himself. From what he remembers of canon, Reborn is a cocky asshole who could use a few decades as an infant to deflate his ego, and the others weren't too far behind. After grabbing the file from the office and using a much larger Exploding Lotus Kempo to flatten the building, Fon leaves to continue his musings elsewhere.
