At lunchtime, Kai and Momo were eating in the cafeteria as usual, although this time Nejire wasn't with them since she had gone to the agency where she was doing her internships. In her place, however, there was a curious addition at their table today.
Next to Momo was the intriguing pink-skinned girl, who was chatting animatedly with her. Momo couldn't help but wear a beautiful smile at having a friend for the first time. Meanwhile, Kai was silently eating his enormous portion of food, which was almost double that of Momo's—a rather terrifying amount in itself.
"You really eat a lot, Yao Momo. How can you maintain that figure?" The pink-skinned girl asked in a sing-song voice, to which Momo responded with a small smile and an elegant demeanor.
"It's because of my quirk, which converts lipids into various atoms to create things. So the more I eat, the more I can create."
"Wow, that's impressive! I'm so jealous—you can eat all the sweets you want and never gain weight!" The girl commented with an envious look, then curiously eyed Kai's food as he ate alongside Salem. At that moment, Momo spoke with a smile.
"Kai, allow me to introduce you to Ashido Mina, our classmate."
"Nice to meet you. Saito Kai." Kai greeted with a slight nod before calmly returning to his meal, causing Ashido to force a smile as she replied awkwardly.
"Uh, likewise! I hope we get along well from now on."
"Same here." Kai responded casually without paying much attention to the girl, prompting Momo to look at Ashido with an apologetic expression.
"I'm sorry, Ashido-san. Kai isn't very sociable. I hope you can forgive him."
"It's okay, no worries. I've met people like that bef—"
With an awkward smile, Ashido began waving her hands in front of her as she spoke. But at that moment, a loud alarm echoed throughout the cafeteria, greatly alarming the students present.
"What's happening?! What's that alarm?!" Ashido asked with a bit of panic. Just then, a synthetic voice announced over the cafeteria loudspeakers.
[Level 3 security has been breached. Students, please evacuate properly.]
Hearing the synthetic voice, the students completely panicked and hurriedly stood up from their seats while screaming hysterically, so Ashido quickly stood up and extended her hand towards Momo, while exclaiming loudly.
"Yao Momo, let's go! We have to evacuate!!"
Along with Ashido's voice, a monstrous pressure filled the entire place—so terrifying that it stopped all the students in their tracks. Kai's irritated voice then resonated throughout the area, instilling terror in everyone who heard it.
"Silence!..."
Feeling unprecedented terror, Ashido looked at Momo almost begging for help, only to find her calmly rising from her seat with a megaphone in her hand, which she put in front of her mouth. She began to speak in a serious and authoritative tone, drawing the attention of the terrified students.
"Fellow students, please calm down. It's just reporters who have snuck into the facilities. Please remain calm and evacuate in an orderly manner to avoid accidents."
With Momo's words, the pressure that threatened to crush those present disappeared, at which point a small airport glow stick appeared in Momo's hand, with which she began to guide the evacuation. She was accompanied by Ashido, who couldn't help but take a couple more glances at the blue-eyed boy who was eating peacefully with his cat, as if nothing had happened.
After all the students had left, with Momo leading Class 1-A as their representative, Kai walked toward the entrance with Salem on his shoulder, only to find it completely destroyed. Director Nezu was observing the scene with his hands behind his back, accompanied by several teachers, including Nemuri, who was looking at the scene with a serious expression.
"Could ordinary reporters do something like this?" Nemuri asked gravely, to which Director Nezu replied in an unusually serious tone.
"Someone investigated it, and this attempt might be a declaration of war..."
"Just sue the news channels that sent their reporters here and charge them a fortune—that'll teach them a lesson. As for the joker who did this, initiate a large-scale hunt to send a message. Count me in, in exchange for skipping the sports festival."
Approaching calmly with his hands in his pockets, Kai commented in a casual tone, catching the attention of everyone present. Nemuri quickly approached him to speak in a strict tone befitting a teacher, although a small smile crept onto her face.
"Kai, what are you doing here? You should be in your classroom."
"Well, someone bypassed UA's supposedly impenetrable security. I couldn't miss such an event, hehe." Kai responded with a small chuckle, at which point Director Nezu turned to look at him and commented in a more cheerful tone.
"Kai-kun, it's good to see you're okay."
"Long time no see." Recovery Girl, who was also present, greeted him with a small smile. Kai nodded in return.
"It certainly has been a while."
"Well, young man, this isn't a place for students. Please return to your class." Nemuri said as she gently pushed Kai, who simply let himself be led away while commenting loudly.
"If you're interested in the idea of the hunt, you know where to find me, Nezu. And by the way, I have some patents that might interest you for improving security."
After Nemuri escorted Kai back into the facilities, another hero present—who wore what looked like a bulky astronaut suit—commented in a synthetic, robotic voice while looking at the spot where the boy had disappeared.
[A bit arrogant, isn't he?]
"Well, he actually has the ability to back it up, but now isn't the time for him to act; he might end up creating a big problem." Nezu replied seriously while looking in the same direction as the hero in the astronaut suit.
"Certainly. Also, he hasn't been the friendliest with his classmates, from what I've heard." Recovery Girl added in a serious tone, to which Nezu nodded with a small smile.
"That's true, but he hasn't caused any problems so far, apart from knocking out a couple of students. Besides, today's event showed that as long as it benefits his family, the boy is willing to help in his own way."
"Well, you might be stretching it a bit by calling it 'helping' to basically terrify all the students, but it was certainly effective, especially since that Yaoyorozu girl knew how to capitalize on the moment and resolve the situation." Recovery Girl commented with a forced smile on her face, which made Nezu smile mysteriously, who soon added.
"Hehe, that's just a glimpse of Yaoyorozu-kun's capabilities and how well she adapts to Kai-kun's actions—something with much potential to exploit."
"If you say so..."
Recovery Girl responded somewhat dryly, while the hero in the astronaut suit could only remain silent, not understanding what the director and the academy's nurse—the most prestigious in the country—were talking about.
...
...
...
Days passed, and before Kai realized it, it was Monday again. Instead of heading to his classroom, he continued walking accompanied by Momo, Nejire, and Nemuri until they reached what would be his new workshop. Waiting for them were Director Nezu, the same hero with the excavator helmet, and the curious pink-haired girl, Mei Hatsume.
"Kai-kun, it's a pleasure to see you again." Nezu greeted while raising one of his paws. Kai responded with a cordial smile.
"Likewise, Director."
"Well, although you've already seen it, let's go in to make the official handover of the workshop." Director Nezu commented in his typical adorable tone, causing everyone present to enter the workshop, at which point Nejire commented happily.
"This place is great—it's even bigger than your workshop at home!"
"Certainly, it's quite impressive." Nemuri added as she looked around, somewhat surprised by the blatant favoritism Kai was receiving.
"Although it's a shame you won't be attending class with me anymore." Momo said in a somewhat disappointed voice, to which Kai responded with a small smile.
"Don't worry about that; I still have to attend afternoon classes."
"But it's still a bit sad." Momo commented and then let out a light sigh, at which point Nejire added with a cheerful smile.
"But look on the bright side—we now have an exclusive meeting place at UA, hehe!"
"Well, you're right about that." A small smile crossed Momo's face as she spoke, but at that moment Hatsume Mei commented with a cheeky smile.
"Saito-kun, I could take care of your workshop in the afternoons."
"Thanks, but no, thanks." Kai replied, rolling his eyes at the pink-haired girl's comment, which only made her laugh. She soon added cheerfully.
"By the way, Saito-kun, thanks for the opportunity—I got a good deal!"
"Congratulations." Kai said casually, causing Hatsume to smile. Just then, Power Loader—the hero with the excavator helmet—commented.
"Well, we need to finish the official handover. If you don't have any additional requests, I'd like to get back to my work."
"Oh, don't worry. If anything comes up, I'll handle it myself. Thank you very much for your effort; the workshop is very well-equipped, and I like it a lot."
Kia responded with a small smile and a cordial tone towards the hero, which made Nezu smile mysteriously, while Power Loader looked at the blue-eyed young man with a bit of surprise. After all, he had heard about the boy's not so glorious exploits.
"No worries; I was just doing my job." Power Loader replied in an equally cordial tone. Hatsume then exclaimed excitedly.
"I also worked a lot on it, Saito-kun, so you should let me play in it from time to time!"
"Maybe someday. I saw some of your work—you have talent with hardware." Kai replied casually, but before Hatsume could say anything, Nemuri commented in a serious tone.
"Well, we should get going, or we'll be late for class."
"Oh, you're right—it's already quite late." Momo said with concern as she looked at her phone, to which Kai added with a smile.
"Well then, I'll see you at lunchtime. Now that we can eat here, Onee-chan can join us, right?"
"You're right! We'll all eat together this afternoon!" Nejire exclaimed happily while looking at Nemuri, who responded with a small smile.
"Then we'll all eat together."
After a brief farewell, the girls left the workshop, followed by Power Loader, who was dragging a reluctant Hatsume. Director Nezu then guided Kai to the main office of the workshop, where several documents and a couple of access cards awaited.
"Well, Kai-kun, now you just need to sign the handover documents for the workshop, and here are your access cards. Take good care of them." Nezu said as he handed the cards to Kai, who quickly stored them and replied while reviewing the documents.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Director Nezu."
A short time later, Nezu left the workshop with the duly signed documents, leaving Kai alone. He quickly activated his [En] to thoroughly examine the entire workshop. Not finding anything suspicious, he promptly called his reliable assistant.
"Sage."
"Yes, Master?" The beautiful fairy who appeared beside Kai responded with a small smile. Kai quickly gave his orders in a serious tone, a dangerous smile forming on his face.
"Scan every corner of this workshop for anything suspicious. Take control of the local network and use it to infiltrate UA's system. It's time to start the hunt."
"Immediately, Master." With a smile mirroring her master's, Sage replied as her beautiful wings began to shine in various colors.