Under the wrapping paper lay a minimalist black wooden box, which contained a satin cushion where a beautiful, all-black Ninjatō sword rested. Nejire quickly took it out of the box to unsheathe it, revealing a stunning matte black blade.
"Huh?! Why does it look like this? Didn't you make it, Kai-chan?" Upon seeing the blade, Nejire couldn't help but ask, confused. After all, there was a collection of Kai's works at her house, and they didn't look like this.
"Yes, I made it, but since it was a Japanese sword, I decided not to use Damascus steel and instead used a rather interesting steel formula that I discovered a while ago while experimenting. But don't worry, it's just as strong and durable as my other works."
"Thank you, Kai!!!" Nejire sheathed the sword again, then excitedly hugged Kai while expressing her gratitude.
"I'm going to cut some tatamis!!" Nejire exclaimed loudly, full of excitement, but at that moment, Kai threw cold water on her dreams.
"That's not going to happen; the blade isn't sharp," Kai commented playfully, which caused Nejire to stomp her feet cutely while asking,
"But why?!!"
"Aunt Yumiko specifically asked me not to sharpen it."
" Mooom!!!" Nejire shouted, 'indignant,' as she turned to look at her mother, who simply responded with a smile.
"Sorry, sweetheart, but having a sharp weapon is very dangerous, fufu."
"Mom!!"
"Don't worry, I might still sharpen it for you in the future, so take good care of it," Kai added calmly, to which Nejire could only respond with frustration.
"Alright…"
As Nejire went to sit sulking in a corner, Momo finished unwrapping her own gift. Inside, Momo found a beautiful Gladius in a leather sheath, which she carefully took out of the box and unsheathed, revealing a stunning blade covered by an intricate pattern typical of Damascus steel.
"Thank you so much, Kai-kun. You remembered when I told you I wanted to see the famous Pompeii Gladius with my own eyes."
"It was a pleasure to make it, Momo, and of course, I would remember; you don't say you want something very often either."
"Hehehe, thank you, Kai-kun."
Seeing that Kai's gift-giving had ended, Yumiko commented with a small smile on her face as she approached the blue-eyed boy.
"Well, Kai, now it's your turn to receive your gifts."
Yumiko's words inevitably excited Kai, as his aunts always gave him rather impressive gifts, something that the beautiful blue-haired woman quickly noticed as she took a square object wrapped in gift paper.
"This is my gift, Kai-chan. I hope you like it," Yumiko said with a smile as she handed the package to Kai, who quickly opened it, full of curiosity. He found inside a beautiful wooden chest containing an exquisite antique military compass, something that greatly surprised the blue-eyed boy.
"A Galileo compass?!"
"Fufufu, I hope you like it. It's a small trinket. I saw it when I was in Italy and immediately knew you'd like it," Yumiko commented, amused at seeing the little Kai absolutely stunned.
(A small trinket?! It even has the damn authenticity papers! This thing must have cost a fortune!!!... Although it's pretty cool, it'll look amazing in my workshop…)
"Thank you so much, Auntie Yumiko."
"Anything for my Kai-chan."
While Kai imagined how cool the compass would look in his workshop, Keiko, not wanting to be left behind, quickly grabbed a beautifully wrapped gift, which was obviously a book of about 600 pages, and handed it to Kai.
"This is my gift, Kai. I hope you like it."
(An old book, perhaps? Although, well, that was more my mother's and Momo's style…)
Curious, Kai began to open the gift, only to discover that it was the manual for a high-precision 3D powder metallurgy printer, which left him completely stunned—something that brought a beautiful smile to Keiko's face as she commented playfully.
"The printer will arrive in a couple of days, but for now, you can start reading the manual, fufu."
"Thank you very much, Auntie Keiko."
"Fufufu, I'm glad you like it."
(Now my gifts seem like trash compared to this… Damn money; now things made by hand with love and dedication are worthless because of it…)
The adults present couldn't help but smile, amused at the conflicted expression on the blue-eyed boy's face, as it was terribly obvious what he was thinking. But shortly after, the pussycats quickly approached Kai while holding several gifts.
"Well, Kai, we have also prepared a gift for you."
With a small smile on her face, Shino took the lead for the group as she held a pet carrier. From the carrier, she took out an adorable black kitten with deep blue eyes, colors that exactly matched Kai's hair and eyes.
"Ohhh, it's so adorable!" Nejire commented as she ran toward the kitten, something Momo also did, tilting her head cutely between Kai and the kitten.
"It looks just like Kai!"
"It really does!!"
Nejire nodded in agreement with Momo's comment, while Kai received the curious kitten from Shino's hands. The kitten meowed adorably as it looked at him with curiosity.
(How did they manage to get a black cat with blue eyes? I've never seen one in real life…)
"You didn't have to go to so much trouble; thank you so much."
Kai commented in a somewhat strange tone of voice, as he seemed to have a curious stare contest with the kitten. Meanwhile, Nejire and Momo gazed at the kitten with bright eyes, as if they wanted to snatch it from his hands.
"Fufu, how could we not give a gift to our Kai? Besides, since you spend all day at home training or in your workshop making things, we thought it would be a good idea for you to have a pet to keep you company." Ryuko commented playfully as she and the others placed the remaining gifts near Kai.
"Thank you very much. Although I've never had a pet, I'll try to take good care of him."
Kai commented distractedly as he opened the other gifts with one hand and held the kitten with the other, realizing they were a bunch of cat supplies. They ranged from an automatic litter box, scratching posts, and beds to even suitable carriers and lots of toys.
"Hehe, don't worry, we also thought of that and brought everything you'll need," Chatora commented cheerfully as she showed Kai several books on cat care that they had brought.
"Haha, we can do that later, but first, we still have the most important thing! What name are you going to give him, Kai?!" Tomoko commented excitedly, causing everyone present to look at Kai with curiosity.
"Mmm…"
As he confirmed that the kitten was indeed a male, Kai couldn't help but get lost in his thoughts.
(What should I name him? In both of my lives, I never had a pet, so I have no idea… Well, we could go with the typical 'Kuro,' but that doesn't quite convince me, 'Yoru'… I don't like that either… Well, if he's a black cat, that name isn't bad…)
"Well, his name will be Salem (Seiramu)."
"Salem?"
Nejire asked, confused by the name, a sentiment shared by everyone present, but to their disappointment, Kai didn't explain further and simply nodded, satisfied with the name.
"Yes, Salem sounds good. From now on, you'll be Salem." As if he somehow understood, the kitten meowed adorably, making Kai nod in satisfaction.
Shortly after, seeing Nejire and Momo's expressions, Kai couldn't help but smile playfully, as he extended his hands with the kitten toward the girls.
"You can hold him, but be careful; he's just a kitten."
"Oh! Okay, careful, careful."
Nejire commented, caught between excitement and panic, but not quite sure how to hold the little kitten. She tried various ways to pick him up, only to instantly regret each one and switch to a new method, which ultimately turned into a funny dance that made everyone present laugh.
"Nejire Onee-chan, you just have to do the same thing Kai-kun did," Momo commented with a much calmer demeanor as she gently received the kitten from Kai's hands, though the excited sparkle in her eyes overshadowed her composed facade.
As Nejire and Momo went off to admire the kitten in a corner, Nemuri approached Kai, carrying a small chest in her hands, while the Pussycats helped by bringing several large boxes.
"Well, Kai, these are gifts that Onee-chan prepared for you," Nemuri said with a smile as she handed the small chest to Kai, and the Pussycats placed the other boxes in front of him.
"Thank you, Onee-chan"
Kai thanked her as he opened the chest, finding inside a beautiful braided gold chain that had what appeared to be two lockets as pendants, one shaped like a book and the other like an outstretched hand.
When Kai opened the lockets, he found a photo of his mother in the book-shaped one and a photo of his father in the hand-shaped one. This brought a nostalgic smile to his face as he got lost in his memories. But soon after, the blue-eyed boy hugged Nemuri.
"Thank you, Onee-chan…"
"I knew you'd like it," Nemuri replied with tears in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away and added with a smile,
"But today isn't a day for tears. You should open the other gift; I know you'll love it."
"Alright."
After putting the chain around his neck, Kai began to open the boxes, finding an enormous number of pieces in different shapes and sizes. They were undoubtedly parts of an excavator, and it had to be a fairly large-scale model.
"It's a 100% functional 1/8 scale replica of an excavator. I know you'll have fun building it," Nemuri commented playfully as she saw the excited expression on Kai's face, who quickly thanked her while examining the pieces.
"Thank you, Onee-chan!!"
As he inspected the pieces, which were incredibly detailed, Kai quickly exclaimed aloud,
"Sage, organize my schedule; leave some time open to build this baby."
"Done, sir. Would you like to confirm your new schedule?" A synthetic female voice responded to his command, to which Kai nodded in satisfaction as he replied.
"No, send it to my computer; I'll review it later."
"As you wish."
The last year of working on the new and improved Sage had paid off. Although it was still far from perfect, it was now a true virtual assistant capable of responding to abstract instructions with precision, managing all the electronic devices in the house, and even monitoring the cameras and security of the property.
While Kai was having fun in his own way with his gifts, Nejire and Momo received their respective presents from the adults at the party, while they took turns 'borrowing' Salem between them, absolutely in love with the little kitten.
This made the pussycats smile ironically as they watched how Kai was more interested in the pieces of his scale model than in the cat, though they sincerely hoped that would change over time.