After saying goodbye to Nemuri, Kai and the Pussycats went to a large shopping mall brimming with a wide variety of stores and stalls, with a modern and spacious design, shiny floors, and huge corridors to accommodate the large number of visitors who frequent the place.
"Well, Kai-kun, what do you want to do first? Do you want to play a bit, or do you want to see a movie?" Shino asked with a small smile as she looked at Kai, who calmly responded.
"Well, I'd like to see the mall first; after all, I've never seen a mall in Japan."
"Are you serious, Kai-kun? You've never seen a mall?" Ryuko asked, surprised, to which Kai responded nonchalantly.
"I've seen many, but never one in Japan. Mom didn't like going out to play in Japan. According to her, Dad would somehow find a way to ruin it, so we only did things like this abroad."
"Well, Alisa-san didn't like the attention after all, and since Iron Palm's hero costume was basically just a hakama, it was very easy to recognize him on the street, so I can understand a bit," Shino added warmly, to which Tomoko energetically chimed in.
"Then let's take a tour of the mall and buy cute stuff!"
"""Yes""" x3
"..."
(I really struggle to keep up with these high-energy people; it still surprises me all the time.)
A few moments later, Kai realized the terrible mistake he had made, deeply regretting his actions and doubting his very existence. After all, his simple words, born from a small curiosity about the mall, had led to an unbearable torture.
In front of little Kai stood four indescribable monsters, who might well be the materialization of his greatest nightmares, forcefully bringing back old repressed traumas. The horror he was experiencing at this moment was something incomprehensible to weak minds.
"Kyaaaaa, it can't be, Kai-kun looks cute in everything! This makes you look so adorable; I'm keeping it. Please pack this too," Ryuko commented excitedly, doing little jumps in the air while her eyes seemed to be filled with hearts.
"Thank you for your patronage"
With a professional smile, a sales assistant commented while mentally calculating the juicy commission she would receive thanks to such generous customers. But quickly, Tomoko added with a huge grin on her face.
"It's my turn, my turn!"
Meanwhile, Kai had dead eyes, lost in the void, as he was dragged through various sections of the largest clothing store in the mall, used as a dress-up doll by the girls, being pushed into changing rooms without any resistance left.
Kai had no hope left, to the point he had given up trying to stop them. These monsters wouldn't listen to reason; they were completely crazy. For now, he had decided to conserve his energy to protect his already fragile mind as they changed him over and over, making him wear increasingly ridiculous outfits.
"Yes, I knew it, we couldn't go on without a proper kitty pajama. Pack it up"
Shino said with a satisfied smile as she looked at Kai, who, despite his dead eyes, couldn't help but look absurdly cute in a black kitty thermal pajama that almost looked like a costume.
"Thank you for your patronage."
"It's my turn!" Chatora announced cheerfully, presenting the others with a casual yet elegant mini outfit, suitable for Kai's size.
(Damn it, famous professional heroes have way too deep pockets. Not only the insane quantity, but the prices are also crazy. That damn cat costume had a tag for 950,000 yen; how many damn millions are they going to spend?)
Kai couldn't help but curse to himself as he looked at the mountain of bags full of clothes that the Pussycats were buying for him, while two other sales assistants joined in the fun to attend to such great patrons.
"Well, Kai-kun, I think we have enough for when you stay at the base with us."
"..."
Kai opted to remain silent. He knew very well what to do at times like these; anything he said would be used against him, and his only safe refuge was to cling to one of the few rights he had left—his right to remain silent.
(For a long time, I thought the only crazy person who did things like this was my mother in my past life. Although our economic situation was difficult, which meant we rarely got to buy anything, she wasn't satisfied until I was dehydrated and exhausted from being dragged around the entire mall, trying on clothes.
But in this life, it's better not to remember. Money is a damn poison; I have at least 50 times more clothes than my father. It's so excessive that a lot of the clothes had to be donated while still new because they no longer fit me. Even though I wore new clothes almost every day, they never ran out. Mom was too good at making money in this life…)
After being freed from that abhorrent torture, Kai decided to have some fun to shake off the deep mental damage he had suffered, so he asked to go to an engineering store, which seemed a bit strange to the girls.
But remembering Nemuri's words about how much Kai loved his tools and building things with them, Shino decided to take him to the largest engineering store in the mall, which sold everything from microcomponents to excavation equipment.
Upon arriving at the store, the Pussycats were immensely surprised to see how Kai's attitude underwent a radical change. The mature, serene, and quiet boy was nowhere to be seen. From the moment he entered the store, it was as if he had been possessed.
Kai ran around the store, looking at the tools, asking about their specifications, giving advice to other customers, and more, always with a big smile on his face. Before they knew it, he had started a heated discussion with an old man, so they approached, only to hear them shouting at each other.
"Honestly, I don't know how you can defend the STM32! The Arduino community is unbeatable in terms of support, tutorials, and code libraries, you little brat!!"
"Are you kidding, you decrepit old man? The STM32 outperforms Arduino in almost every technical aspect. Performance, energy efficiency, model variety. There's no comparison!!"
"You can't deny Arduino's accessibility. It's a perfect platform for a beginner like him, and easy access to learning resources is vital for beginners like him!"
"And what's going to happen when he wants to move to the next level? STM32 offers a much broader growth path, and don't get me started on precision and efficiency. Arduino doesn't even come close!"
"You're focused only on power! Power is nothing without ease of use and accessibility."
"And you're focused only on ease of use without considering scalability and performance! Sometimes we need a workhorse, not a show pony."
"Okay, okay, calm down. I'm sorry, sir. Kai-kun got a bit carried away, please forgive him," Shino quickly intervened, to which the older man complained after an annoyed huff.
"Hmph! Arrogant kid, power is nothing if you can't learn to use the technology, but that might be too hard for you to understand."
"Arrogant? Look who's underestimating others' abilities! Onii-san, don't be swayed by that easy-going old man. If you go with Arduino, you'll get stuck in no time!"
Seeing that the pair, with an age difference of who knows how many decades, had no intention of stopping their fight, Shino quickly scooped Kai into her arms, bowed apologetically, and then ran off with the fuming boy in her arms.
"Damn easy-going old man, how dare he suggest starting with Arduino to an engineering student?! He's just setting him back. That crap is only for novice enthusiasts, not for a real engineer!!"
"Alright, alright, Kai-kun. I don't fully understand your argument, but you shouldn't fight with your elders. The experience they possess is very valuable," Shino commented, both worried and surprised by Kai's attitude, to which he responded, still clearly angry.
"Experience is valuable, but not all experience is. Sometimes there are people like that old man who become complacent and harm others by making them take 'easy' paths that lead nowhere, only to have to make much more effort to change later. Those who aren't willing simply get stuck or give up."
"Kai-kun, haven't you considered that if someone is truly determined, even if they start on the 'easy' path, they'll make the effort to change it? And those who aren't, wouldn't even try if they were presented with the difficult path from the start?"
Chatora commented with a warm smile on her face, visibly surprising Kai, to which Ryuko added shortly after.
"Besides, Kai-kun, many times we do things just to try them out, and only when we really fall in love with them are we willing to give our best effort. For example, when I started as a heroine, I wasn't very sure if it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, but over time I fell in love with this profession and always give my best. Don't you think sometimes it's better to present the easy path first?"
Kai looked at Chatora and Ryuko with wide eyes full of surprise, then shifted to a reflective expression for a while.
(That makes a lot of sense. I never thought about it... in my two lives, I've never taught and didn't even study beyond mandatory education. All my knowledge was self-taught, and I wasn't social enough to learn it from someone else... there's always something new to learn, after all, 'I only know that I know nothing,' right?)
After a moment of reflection, Kai nodded and commented in a thoughtful tone.
"So the old man was right. I was the arrogant one who couldn't understand... I think I should apologize to him."
"Haha, you're right, Kai-kun, let's go apologize"
Tomoko commented energetically, while the others smiled warmly. Soon after, they returned to the store and searched for the old man until they found him in the metals section, analyzing alloy samples.
"Hmm? What do you want now, kid?"
"I came to apologize, old man. You were right; they explained to me why it's better to show the easy path to novices."
"Haha, then I must also apologize to you for calling you arrogant, young man. And I understand you a bit; there are many passionate people in this business like you. I was one myself in my youth, but age and my years as a teacher taught me important lessons."
"So you're a teacher, that's impressive, old man."
"Not as much as you, little one. It's not every day you meet a young genius with as much knowledge as you. I was watching you talk to several customers before our argument," the old man commented, now feeling embarrassed for having ended up fighting with a small child, to which Kai responded with a calm expression.
"Nah, I'm not a genius, just a bit smart with good resources."
"Well, if you say so, but I'm sure you'll be a great engineer in the future, kid."
"Hmm, I don't think I'll be an engineer. I really like it and will continue doing it in the future, but I think it will just be my hobby," Kai replied after thinking a bit, prompting the old man to ask curiously.
"Oh, so what's your dream, kid?"
"Dream? I don't think I have one. No, I've never had things like dreams. I have goals, and I just choose the path that gets me closer to them."
Seeing Kai's casual expression, the old man felt a bit sad seeing such a young boy with such a serious and pessimistic outlook, so he couldn't help but comment.
"That's a bit sad to hear, young man."
"Really? Why?" Kai asked, a bit confused.
"Because life loses much of its beauty when you don't have dreams. You know, dreams drive you to be better, to have hope."
"Aren't you exaggerating, old man? Are dreams really that important?"
"Yes, I'm not lying. Dreams are the engine of life. Without dreams, it's not much different from being a salted fish on the side of the road."
"…I think you're just a romantic, old man."
"Haha, not at all. It's the honest truth. And you know, I have a granddaughter your age who's always running around, shouting her dreams of being the greatest inventor in the world," the old man said, laughing pleasantly at Kai's disdainful expression. This made the blue-eyed boy think for a bit before commenting in a thoughtful tone.
"The greatest?... I never wanted to be the greatest or the best at anything. I just wanted to achieve my goals. But if being the greatest at something is a dream, then I do have one."
"Really? What is it?"
"I want to be the strongest, invincible, to the point that not even All Might could mess with me."
Kai announced with determination, which immediately brought sad and melancholic expressions to the faces of the Pussycats. The old man could only comment with a somewhat complicated expression.
"It seems you have a complicated story, kid."
"A bit, but that's life; sometimes it likes to mess with people."
"Those are very wise words you have there."
"I think so too; they're from my mom." Kai said it with pride, which brought smiles to the faces of all the adults present.
"Your mother is a very wise woman."
"Yes, she really was. See you, old man."
"Goodbye, kid."
The old man watched the boy surrounded by professional heroes, who were wiping away tears, with a complicated expression, getting an idea of the boy's story. He then raised his hand to bid farewell to the boy's companions and sighed tiredly as he walked away.
"So even with the symbol of peace, tragedies still occur. Haa, life really is a complicated thing..."
**********************
An extra chapter as a thank you to Nick Pearson for joining my Patreon. Thank you very much for your support.