"Kai, from now on, you will live with me."
As soon as she finished speaking, the first thing Nemuri noticed was the look of surprise on Kai's face, which caused her pain. He never expected her to say that. The boy's expression quickly changed to a kind smile as he responded in a calm tone.
"You don't have to do it, Nemuri Onee-chan. Once I get to my new 'home', I'll ask someone to tell you where it is, so you can visit me."
"There's nothing to discuss. You're going to live with me now, and that's final."
Unwilling to listen to Kai, Nemuri quickly replied with seriousness, causing the boy to look at her for a moment before slightly narrowing his eyes and asking with a small smile.
"Are you sure, Nemuri 'Oba-san'?"
Nemuri opened her eyes in surprise. It was evident that Kai was maturing at an impossible speed, perhaps due to the great trauma he had suffered, to the point that he was aware he couldn't return home after what had happened.
But the most surprising thing was that he had the wit to make such a sly 'threat'. After all, he knew perfectly well how much she hated being called 'Oba-san' and intentionally did it to show some type of rebellion or imbalance, most likely to make her think twice about getting involved in the problem of taking him in.
Seeing the complicated situation and Kai's delicate mental state, Nemuri knew there was only one possible response in this situation. So, while she lightly hit him on the head, she spoke in a chilling tone capable of sending shivers down the spine of even the bravest, all the while with a 'kind' smile on her face.
"It's Nemuri Onee-chan, Kai-chan. Don't tell me you've already forgotten. Luckily, I'll have you close now to remind you VERY kindly that your [Onee-chan] is a beautiful and sweet young lady who needs lots of love and care, right, Kai-chan?..."
Facing the terrifying monster he had foolishly awakened, Kai could only nod his head in panic.
(Damn, I woke the beast. How stupid of me!)
As Kai saw his two lives flash before his eyes after provoking that terrifying ancient monster known as feminine rage, a horror he had severely underestimated in his ignorance, two people entered the room, only to find the scene of a furious woman with tear-streaked cheeks, standing beside the hospital bed with her fist raised, threatening a small child who seemed to doubt life.
"What do you think you're doing, Midnight?"
"Eh?! Mandalay? What are you doing here?"
Upon hearing Mandalay's accusatory voice, Nemuri turned to look at the people who had entered the room, finding that, beside Mandalay, who was in her hero costume, stood a man in a business suit with a very distinctive feature: he had the head of a dog on his shoulders, a result of his quirk.
The man was known as Kenji Tsuragamae, the current chief of police. Midnight immediately realized his intention, and a conflicted expression formed on her face as she nodded slightly toward him.
After Nemuri's nod, Kenji proceeded to approach until he reached the front of the hospital bed, where he crouched to be at eye level with Kai before speaking.
"Hello, little one. My name is Kenji Tsuragamae, a good friend of your father's. Could we talk a bit about him and your mom?"
Upon hearing Kenji's words, Kai simply looked at him, scanning his dog head as if trying to confirm something. But shortly after, he seemed satisfied and responded with a slow, deliberate question that surprised Kenji.
"Since when do you want me to tell you?"
The boy's attitude took Kenji a bit by surprise. After all, initially, he didn't have much hope of getting important information today. But since there were no clues and it involved the hero ranked fifth nationally, he decided to come personally to talk to the boy to try his luck and show some respect.
But even so, Kenji knew that after such an event, the most likely scenarios to find were crying, panic, shock, madness, etc. So that calmness, combined with the sharp question from a five-year-old boy, took him a bit by surprise. Determined to seize the opportunity, he continued.
"Since the day before you left for vacation would be a good start. But if there's anything you think is important to tell me that happened before, feel free to say it."
After his response, Kai lay back on the stretcher and closed his eyes while Mandalay and Nemuri watched him with concern, not quite knowing what to do in this situation. But Kai simply started speaking again not long after.
"Dad and Mom had been planning a camping vacation in the mountains for a few days, so they had already bought everything we needed. The day before the trip, we stayed home packing, practicing setting up the tent in the yard, and testing everything they had bought to 'live civilly without civilization'.
I think that was what Mom and Dad liked most about vacations because they kept repeating it all day. At night, we loaded everything into the minivan and went to sleep.
The next day, we left the house very early, but since I was a bit sleepy, I slept the whole way. When I woke up, we had already arrived at the place where we left the minivan, and then we had to continue on foot."
As Kai spoke, Kenji listened attentively with a small notebook in his hands, taking notes, while Mandalay and Nemuri sat on a couch in the room, with conflicted expressions on their faces.
"As we walked through the mountain, Dad put up flags along the way and told me repeatedly that it was important to avoid getting lost and that we just had to follow them to come back. And shortly after, we reached a flat, pleasant area that Mom liked, and we decided to camp there.
After that, we spent the rest of the day setting up our camp, putting up the tent, the stove, the chairs, the solar panels; it took a long time, but we finally finished and went to play ball in a small nearby stream until it got dark, and we went to sleep.
The next day, after breakfast, Papa started telling me that he was a great forward in his youth and that it was time to pass on the 'legacy' of the Saito family as scorers. So, after spending a while looking for the soccer ball, we made an improvised field with some stones and sticks we found around.
When we finished the field, Dad asked us to step back so we could 'properly appreciate' all his talent for soccer. So, Mom picked me up, and we moved back until he said it was enough. But when he kicked the ball on the ground..."
Kai's voice broke, and his expression visibly contracted, which immediately caused Nemuri to panic and want to stop him. But Mandalay held her back firmly, while Kai bit his lips hard and continued.
"W-when Dad kicked the ball, it started to shine very brightly, and Mom turned around and ran very fast while holding me. But suddenly, I felt something hit me very hard, and I don't remember anything else.
The next thing I remember is that Mom..."
Kai's expression contracted tightly while his lips started to bleed from how hard he was biting them, prompting Nemuri and Mandalay to try to approach him. But Kenji prevented them by extending his hand and silently shaking his head. After a moment, Kai continued speaking.
"M-Mom was in front of me, covered in blood, and hugged me. and I saw Dad looking at me as he flew towards some men dressed in black with masks, but I remember one who didn't have a mask. He wore a white coat and had blue hair...
Then, Dad inflated, and Mom hugged me closer, and I couldn't see anything. But I felt the ground shaking and heard a very loud noise... After a while, Mom let go of me, but there was no one else, neither those people nor my dad. Only my mom was there, and she told me to seek help by following the flags..."
After forcing himself to speak, Kai remained silent while Kenji digested what he had just heard and reviewed the notes he had taken before proceeding to ask a couple of questions.
"Can you remember the masks those people had?"
"Not very well, but I remember they had horns and were white."
"Apart from having blue hair and wearing a white coat, do you remember anything else about that man?"
"No, if I could say something else about him, it's that I think he looked older than my dad."
"Thank you very much for your effort. I assure you I will investigate thoroughly and bring justice."
"That's fine... and now I'm very tired and sleepy. Could you leave me alone so I can sleep?"
"Kai..."
"I'm sorry, Onee-chan, but I'm really tired and want to sleep."
After saying such cutting words, Kai turned away from them and closed his eyes, unwilling to say another word. Meanwhile, Mandalay and Nemuri's faces filled with tears, and Kenji responded in a serious and professional tone.
"Alright, Kai-kun, rest well and remember that you can call a nurse at any time with the button you have next to your bed, in case you need anything."
"Thank you, goodbye."
Kai's quick and curt response made Kenji sigh as he headed for the exit, followed by Mandalay and Nemuri, who were trying to wipe away their tears. Kenji was deep in thought about everything he had heard, as it had been more useful than he expected. He already had a couple of suspects in mind who fit the description.
But among that list, there was one man who stood out above all. Everything fit: a white coat and blue hair, a ball turned into a bomb, and white masks with horns. The problem was that this villain should be in Tartarus.
A dangerous look formed on Kenji's dog head because if his suspicions were correct, then this case was much bigger than he imagined, to the point where there had to be important big fish behind the whole thing. But his reflections were cut short when he heard Midnight.
"I will take care of Kai."
"Are you sure? Taking care of a child is not easy, especially for single women like us."
Mandalay asked with a somewhat surprised and doubtful expression, to which Kenji added in a serious tone,
"Besides, it won't be well-received by the public for the R-18 rated heroine to be raising a child."
At those words, Nemuri could only bite her lips in frustration before speaking in a tone full of pain and determination.
"I know all that perfectly well, but you saw it, you heard it. Although Kai has always been excessively intelligent and mature for a child his age, this goes far beyond that. He is completely broken, and his situation can only worsen from here, and as his older sister, I cannot allow something like this to happen to him."
"But there might be other ways. A good therapist could help him," Mandalay commented in a worried tone, to which Nemuri responded with determination,
"I am fully aware of that, and it will be necessary for his recovery. But now, Kai is in a very delicate moment. You didn't have the opportunity to interact with him before this happened, and you don't know what he was like, but I do. And I can assure you he is more like his parents than is good for him.
Especially the stubbornness. They are like two peas in a pod in that aspect, and I can assure you that no therapist in the world will be able to help him if he is not willing to let himself be helped, especially since he was used to dealing with Alisa-san. That's why I need to be by his side. He has no one else close enough to do it."
"…If you are so determined, I can help you a bit with the paperwork. I also found his mental state extremely worrying, and it would be a shame for Iron Palm and Saito Alisa's only child to be in that situation."
Seeing Nemuri's determination, Kenji commented in his typical serious tone, to which Mandalay added with a small smile,
"I can help you with whatever you need as well. Alisa-san helped me a lot when I needed it, and I intended to help from the beginning. That's why I've been so involved in this case."
"Thank you both very much. I know it will be complicated, and I will need all the help I can get to achieve it."
"Don't worry, that's what we're here for."
"If I can be of help, I won't hesitate to lend a hand."
Nemuri expressed her gratitude while bowing deeply, to which Kenji and Mandalay responded warmly before leaving the hospital in different directions, determined to prepare for what was to come.