After breakfast, Nemuri took little Momo to the house library to read for a while, as it was her favorite pastime. Then, she bathed Kai and dressed him in a short-sleeved white shirt and black pants, while she put on a loose blue dress that matched her hair. They went down to the living room, where their guest arrived after a while.
"Hello, Kai-kun; it's been a long time."
"Likewise, Tsuragamae-san, what brings you here today?" Even though he had a good idea why he had come, Kai couldn't help but ask.
Kai's question caused Kenji to turn and look at Nemuri, who had a worried and solemn expression while nodding.
"Well, I'm here to inform you that your parents' case has been resolved."
Confirming his suspicions, Kai's demeanor immediately changed to a solemn one, and his eyes took on a dangerous gleam, which surprised Kenji a little, but he quickly composed himself as everyone sat in the living room.
Meanwhile, Nemuri felt her heart might leap out of her chest at any moment, and the urge to retreat overwhelmed her, but she mustered the courage to continue; after all, it was best to choose the lesser evil.
Although Nemuri was fully aware that exposing Kai to that traumatic event again was not the best idea in the world, there was no way to avoid it. After all, Kai's parents were very famous, and the case even involved high-profile figures, which would inevitably lead to all the media talking about it.
Just imagining what could happen to Kai if he found out everything through some news or internet post, possibly while alone, filled Nemuri with terror. So, as soon as she heard from Kenji that the case had been resolved, she immediately asked him to help inform Kai.
But the worst part was that the timing was the worst possible. Yumiko was in Italy with Nejire at a fashion conference; Keiko had to travel to the United States for work; and the Pussycats were on a very important mission in another prefecture, leaving only her to face the delicate situation.
Due to this situation, Nemuri was tempted to postpone the matter for a week until one of the girls returned for some support. But the case was too high-profile, and the internet was full of information about it; even the news channels would not stop talking about it. Although Kai didn't watch TV and only used the internet to search for very specific things, the risk increased every day, forcing her to make a hasty decision.
Apprehensive about what might happen, Nemuri sat next to Kai and held his hand tightly, as if trying to make him understand that he was not alone.
"Well, Kai-kun, I suppose I'll start from the beginning. After what you told me that day in the hospital, I started doing various investigations, and after a while, I managed to identify those responsible."
"Are they still alive?" Kai interrupted Kenji in a heavy voice, causing Nemuri to grip his small hand tighter with a worried expression.
"... No, the culprit was a villain known as BioBlast. You might recognize the name, since he was the target of your father's last joint operation."
"..."
Kenji paused briefly, waiting for Kai to ask more questions, but the boy just hung his head in silence, preventing anyone from seeing his expression, which only served to increase Nemuri's anxiety. So Kenji decided to continue his monologue.
"BioBlast should have been sent to Tartarus after being captured, so it was really strange that he could have done this. That's why I continued investigating and discovered that a politician had made strange moves when BioBlast was captured. He managed to reduce security to a minimum for just over an hour the night before BioBlast's transfer to Tartarus."
"..."
Kenji intently watched the little boy with his head down, alert to anything that might happen. For some reason, he started to feel a slight sense of 'danger' emanating from the boy. However, after noticing nothing particularly unusual, he continued.
"After this, I contacted Tartarus, and through a DNA examination, we confirmed that the prisoner in the jail was indeed not BioBlast. So we gathered evidence against the aforementioned politician, accumulating enough to secure his arrest a few days ago."
"..."
Noticing that Kai remained in the same position without moving a muscle, Nemuri grew even more concerned, so she approached the boy and hugged him while speaking lovingly and carefully.
"Kai, are you okay? You know you can count on me."
As if he had come back to life, Kai immediately lifted his head to look at Nemuri. However, instead of reassuring the worried woman with enchanting blue eyes, this only increased her concerns, as Kai's face now seemed devoid of emotions, as if he were wearing a mask instead of a face.
"I'm fine, Onee-chan, don't worry," Kai turned to look at the dog-headed detective and continued, "and thank you very much, Tsuragamae-san, for your efforts in bringing justice to my parents' case. All this has taught me an important lesson."
Noticing that the dangerous gleam in Kai's eyes only intensified with each passing moment, Kenji hurriedly asked, "What did you learn from all this, Kai-kun?"
"Nothing important, really. Just something very obvious—so obvious that I don't know why I hadn't considered it until now. I must be pretty dumb, now that I think about it." Kai spoke in a flat tone, with no trace of his feelings, but the dangerous gleam in his eyes only grew with each word he spoke.
"What is it, Kai?" Nemuri asked apprehensively, as the room seemed to fill with an inexplicable sense of heaviness.
"Something very basic, actually. Something I should have known from the beginning... The only good enemy is a dead enemy."
The moment Kai uttered those words, an incredible pressure emanated from the blue-eyed boy, leaving Nemuri and Kenji momentarily blank. Nemuri was the first to react, as she had felt something similar in the past.
(It's Alisa-san's mental shock!!)
As she regained her thoughts, Nemuri quickly noticed that little Kai had disappeared, so she immediately ran hurriedly to the garden, where she could see Kai's back disappearing among the trees.
"Kai!!!"
With Nemuri's desperate cry, Kai turned to look at her, still expressionless, only to see her running with all her might in his direction, her face filled with panic and anxiety.
"What's wrong, Onee-chan?"
"Why did you say that? What do you mean the only good enemy is a dead enemy? What did you mean by that, Kai?!!"
As she asked, filled with panic, Nemuri hugged Kai tightly, as if she were terrified of losing her baby.
"Well, it's just that, Onee-chan. If BioBlast wasn't alive, Mom and Dad would still be with us. But I won't be as naive as Dad; I will finish the job correctly," Kai replied in a tone that seemed to darken with every word.
"Please, no, Kai. I know you're angry, frustrated, and full of rage about what happened, but you can't follow that path. Please, Kai, swear to me. Swear to me that you'll still be my little baby and that you won't become a cold-blooded killer. Please, I'm begging you."
"…"
Nemuri pleaded, genuinely terrified, as she clung to the boy with all her might. After all, Kai, at his age, was already terrifyingly strong, to the point where she knew only the best heroes could put up a fight against him, not to mention how strong he would be in the future.
Therefore, if the boy decided to follow that path, there wouldn't be many capable of stopping him, especially if his incredible intelligence was added to the mix. That's why she clung to Kai, as her deepest instincts screamed that if she let the boy go now, he would never be the same again, and she would lose him forever.
As for Kai, despite feeling incredibly guilty seeing Nemuri's tears and hearing her desperate pleas, he was not willing to back down. After all, the moment he was told the reality of his parents' case, he had an instant revelation.
No matter how strong he was, no matter how invincible he could become, it would only take one moment of carelessness for life to screw him over again. This would cause him to lose the people he had come to love as his family in this life. Something he could not allow to happen under any circumstances.
The conclusion Kai reached, after thinking about a solution, was quite simple: the most effective thing he could do to prevent anyone from harming his loved ones was to instill fear, to provoke such terror that no one would dare touch them for fear of his reprisals.
Therefore, he had to be strong and not be swayed by the tears of the woman who sincerely loved him, even if it could cause a rift in their relationship. After all, anything was better than letting something happen to her because of his carelessness.
After taking a deep breath to calm himself a bit, Kai prepared to deny Nemuri's pleas. But at that moment, and for the first time since becoming aware of his quirk, he felt his aura activate on its own and begin to fluctuate slightly, as if announcing its presence.
(!!!!!!)
(That's right, in this life I have my aura, a power that can slightly bring imagination to reality. I just need to create the craziest abilities possible to keep my family safe. No matter how ambitious it is to keep them safe and happy at the same time, I will be the most ambitious man in the world!!!
I will develop the craziest and most powerful abilities that have ever existed to achieve my goals. It's not for nothing that I have all the aura affinities, and even if I can't create them, it's not like I can't resort to 'plan B' later.)
"… It's okay, Onee-chan; I swear, I won't do it," Kai said to Nemuri in a warm tone with a somewhat strange expression.
"Thank you, Kai. Thank you so much."
Kai's promise was like a miraculous balm for Nemuri's troubled heart. She continued to thank him while hugging Kai with all her strength and crying with joy, seeing that her little baby was not lost.
Meanwhile, Kenji, who had been watching the whole situation from the side, showed a big smile on his dog face, noticing that the dangerous gleam in Kai's eyes was rapidly diminishing. He decided to leave quietly and give them the privacy they needed.
Similarly, Momo, who had inadvertently heard the commotion caused by Nemuri, looked out the window with a worried expression on her adorable face, tears welling up in her big eyes as she felt insecure and fearful about the scene.
A while later, Nemuri dragged Kai back into the house, where she took the scared and tearful Momo and then brought them to bed with her, where she hugged them lovingly.
"Momo, don't be afraid; nothing serious happened. We are fine now."
"It's okay, Onee-chan…" a tearful Momo replied, to which Nemuri commented with a small smile.
"Why don't you help me hold down this disobedient Kai, who can only stay in bed today with Onee-chan and Momo?"
"Okay, Kai-kun can't go anywhere and will stay with Momo and Onee-chan."
"…"
Seeing his two arms embraced by the beautiful blue-eyed woman and the adorable little girl with black hair, Kai could only sigh softly as he looked at the ceiling, while a warm feeling filled his chest.
(It really feels good to have people who care about you…)
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Extra chapter as a thank you to *** for joining my Patreon.