Upon returning home, Kai got out of the car without saying a word and went straight into his forging workshop without looking back, where he began to forge a sword while considering all the possibilities of joining UA. For some reason, forging calmed him and allowed him to think with much more clarity, something he needed at the moment.
Meanwhile, Nemuri stared at the workshop door with an expression full of countless emotions until she saw smoke rising from the extractor vent. She then headed to the main house, where she found the whole family gathered—except for Yumiko, who was traveling—chatting in a calm mood.
"Nemuri! What happened? Did everything go well?" Shino, the first to notice Nemuri's arrival, quickly got up from her seat and asked with a face full of concern and anticipation.
"Well, you could say it went well. I accepted to join UA as a teacher starting next term, and Kai said he would consider joining since Principal Nezu offered him a lot of things he wanted."
With a smile on her face, Nemuri sat on one of the couches and spoke in a somewhat cheerful tone, which greatly brightened the expressions of the heroes present, especially those of the aspiring heroes.
"That's great! Onee-chan will be my teacher! Hehe." Nejire commented with an excited smile, to which Momo quickly added with a happy grin.
"And if Kai is willing to consider it, it's very likely he'll join too, hehe."
"We have to celebrate!" Tomoko added cheerfully while raising her arms, to which Keiko, sitting beside Momo, added in a serious tone as she sipped her tea.
"It's better not to, it won't be a pleasant time for Kai."
"Keiko's right. For Kai, being a hero is a complicated matter, so it's better not to put too much emphasis on it for now." Ryuko added with a somewhat worried expression, prompting Chatora to chime in with a serious look.
"Ryuko's absolutely right, the mere fact that he's not here shows it. He's forging something, isn't he?"
"Yes, he went into the workshop immediately after arriving and barely said anything after the meeting." Nemuri replied in a slightly concerned tone while receiving a cup of tea from Mrs. Yoshiko.
"He must be really troubled by the decision…" Shino added with a worried expression, causing a silence to fall over everyone present, but after a moment, Nejire commented in an unsure tone.
"Why don't we do something to cheer him up?"
"That sounds like a good idea. Kai will probably spend several hours in the workshop, so we can prepare something for him." Chatora added thoughtfully, which quickly prompted nods of agreement from the others. Then Tomoko asked with a smile.
"Why don't we make his favorite food?"
"Let's do that. I'll make his strawberry shake." Ryuko quickly added with a smile, to which Shino immediately followed with an eager tone.
"I'll make the teriyaki."
"I'll do the fries!" Nejire quickly exclaimed, followed closely by Keiko, who added with a smile.
"Then I'll handle the tonkatsu."
"Then I'll make a super special cake." Chatora added in a calm tone, knowing that no one present could compete with him for that dish.
"I'll make gyoza!" Tomoko quickly exclaimed with a cheerful grin, leaving Momo without much to choose from, which caused her to pout, at which point Nemuri asked with a smile.
"How about you help me make ramen, Momo?"
"Yes, I'll help you, Onee-chan!"
Filled with excitement and gratitude, Momo responded with a cute smile on her face, which made everyone present smile as well. Soon after, they all got up and went to the kitchen together to start preparing their respective dishes in an animated and fun way, which brought an endearing smile to Mrs. Yoshiko's face.
After a couple of hours, Kai finished a beautiful bastard sword with an alluring Damascus steel pattern on the blade. A benefit of using aura and his super strength for forging was that he could accomplish in hours what would take days and do it much better.
After inspecting the steaming, handle-less sword one last time, Kai placed it on a rack on the wall that held several handle-less swords before leaving the workshop much calmer and with a decision made.
When he arrived at the main hall of his house, Kai smiled as he saw his whole family gathered with heaps of food—his favorite dishes—while they looked at him cheerfully, sitting around the main dining table. At that moment, Nemuri spoke with a joyful smile on her face.
"We made something for you, come and eat."
"Thanks, there was no need." Kai commented with a genuinely grateful smile on his face. After all, this small gesture meant a lot to him.
"It's just a small detail, enjoy it." Shino added with a smile, prompting Kai to nod as he grabbed a fry and tasted it, unable to resist commenting with a smile.
"These are pretty good."
"I made those!" Nejire commented cheerfully, genuinely happy that Kai enjoyed her cooking, which made the blue-eyed boy smile and nod.
"Thank you, Nejire."
"Hehe, you're welcome." Nejire smiled shyly, making everyone present smile warmly.
"Why don't you try the ramen, Kai?" Momo asked a bit nervously as she looked at Kai, who knowingly smiled and picked up the bowl of ramen to taste it before commenting with a small smile.
"It's delicious."
"Hehe, I helped Onee-chan make it." Momo commented, equally shy, to which Kai replied as he looked at Nemuri and then at Momo.
"Thank you, Onee-chan, thank you, Momo."
"Fufufu, anything for my Kai," Nemuri commented with a playful smile, to which Momo quickly nodded cheerfully.
"Yes, anything."
"Thanks."
After that, Kai tasted each of the dishes and thanked everyone who had prepared them, while Salem, who had woken up at some point, was feasting on meat and kibble, courtesy of Mrs. Yoshiko. Thanks to his incredible appetite—most likely a result of his quirk—Kai ate everything easily before looking at his family, who were all watching him curiously.
"Thanks again, it was really delicious, and to stop your wondering, after thinking it through, I've decided to join UA, though I haven't decided yet if I'll go as far as to graduate."
Kai explained in a serious tone while looking at his family, causing Nejire, Momo, and Tomoko's eyes to light up, but remembering the earlier conversation, they held back from celebrating aloud.
"Are you sure about this, Kai? You don't have to force yourself." Keiko asked, concerned, while looking at Kai, who nodded and responded in a serious tone.
"It will be complicated, but I feel it's necessary. Going will allow me to gain some important benefits, especially the license, which will be very important for you to use the upgrades I'll be creating for you in public, like the Accomplices and what's to come."
"Although I can't deny that I'm happy you decided to join UA, you don't have to force yourself to do it just for our sake." Ryuko commented, feeling a bit guilty, to which Kai shook his head before explaining.
"You don't need to feel guilty about this. The truth is that the idea of participating in raids against powerful villains also attracted me quite a bit."
"That's a relief, Kai, but above all, we want you to be happy with the decision you've made and not feel pressured." Chatora added in a serious tone while looking at Kai, who replied with a small smile.
"I know, Chatora, and don't worry, I'll eventually get used to it. I went to school for three years even though I didn't want to; this won't be much different."
"Well, Kai, I'm really proud that you decided to face this situation calmly and made a decision that left you satisfied." Nemuri commented with a smile on her face while looking at her beloved, all the while holding back the urge to run over and smother him with kisses.
"I feel the same way, Kai. You're a very mature person, and I feel this will be the first step toward a much healthier future." Shino added with a smile, feeling that the future looked really bright.
"Hehe, it's not that big of a deal; they just offered me too many benefits for me to refuse." Kai replied cheerfully, to which Keiko nodded in understanding before adding in a serious tone.
"But you have to be careful with Nezu, Kai. That animal is very cunning and loves playing smart."
"I know, I realized that from the benefits he offered me. He must have investigated me well to be able to target so precisely everything I wanted or needed, though I still have to figure out how he did it. Sage and I didn't find any breach in our security." Kai commented in an equally serious tone, to which Keiko replied with a smile.
"He probably deduced it from the conversation we had, your patents, the strength you showed, and other small details. That animal is pretty good at that."
"I see, I'll have to pay closer attention to him from now on." Kai commented thoughtfully, at which point Nejire, Momo, and Tomoko sneaked up to him.
"Are we really going to study together at UA, Kai?" Momo asked with contained excitement, to which Kai turned to look at her and replied with a smile.
"Yes, we're going to study together."
Unable to hold back their excitement any longer, Nejire, Momo, and Tomoko threw themselves at Kai, hugging him with smiles full of joy, at which point Nejire commented with genuine happiness.
"Finally, we'll all be studying in the same place! We'll be able to go together from now on!"
"Hehe, you're right. We can all go together." Kai replied, amused, as he gently stroked Nejire's beautiful blue hair and Momo's black hair.
"Kai, why don't you do your internships with us? We can submit the paperwork to UA." Tomoko, who was hugging Kai from behind with her chin resting on the boy's head, asked with a small smile on her face. This caused all the heroes in the family to open their eyes in surprise and excitement.
"That sounds like a good plan, though according to what Principal Nezu told me, I might be able to join raids against powerful villains, so I'm not sure how it will turn out." Kai responded with a smile, causing Tomoko's hug to tighten a bit around his neck as she commented excitedly.
"Hehe, it'll work out somehow. Tomorrow I'll go talk to Principal Nezu to get everything set up."
"Hehe, if that makes you happy." Kai replied somewhat amused, to which Tomoko added cheerfully, like a little girl excited about her present.
"Yes, a lot!"
After that, the family joined in a group hug around Kai, genuinely happy with the outcome of everything, while also wanting to express their unconditional support for the blue-eyed young man. Although he hadn't admitted it, everyone was sure that the main reason for accepting the offer was for their sake.
(Well, I guess now I have to start planning how to tackle the challenges UA will bring and how to ensure Nejire and Momo's safety, plus I need to speed up the development of the new defense systems for everyone…)
Meanwhile, Kai began thinking about all the future challenges, completely determined that his family wouldn't suffer a single scratch, even if the rest of the world went to hell.