--Monday, June 22, 2172
As Kai stepped out of the bathroom with Nejire, both dressed in new uniforms Kai had stored in the workshop for emergencies, he spotted Salem in his small form, struggling with a piece of meat at least twice his size. Seeing his cat's bizarre obsession with devouring something larger than himself, with an almost intoxicated expression, Kai couldn't help but laugh before commenting in good spirits.
"Finish up quick, Salem. We're heading to class!"
Hearing his master, Salem turned to look at him and let out a sad meow, almost whining, 'I've been wronged.' Nejire couldn't hold back her laughter as Salem dramatically flopped to the ground and started squirming as if throwing a tantrum. Kai, on the other hand, shook his head and, after a sigh, spoke in a resigned tone.
"Cut the act. I'll get you a whole cow this weekend."
At the promise, Salem's eyes lit up like flashlights. He instantly sprang up, growing to a couple of meters tall, and devoured his meat in huge, greedy bites. At that moment, Nejire turned to Kai with a wide smile, gave him a light kiss on the lips, and said cheerfully.
"Wait for me after class! I don't have to go to Ryukyu today, so we can head home together!"
"Alright, I'll let Momo know."
Kai replied with a small smile. Nejire gave her beloved one last kiss before dashing out of the workshop, arms stretched out like an airplane, feeling as if she were truly flying from happiness as she announced joyfully.
"I love you!"
Kai chuckled amusedly, then looked at Salem, who had just finished his meal, and said in a calm tone.
"Let's go."
With his master's order, Salem quickly shrank back down and leapt onto Kai's shoulder. Kai then removed the tie that Momo and Nejire always put on the cat, which could adapt to his size changes. From the fake knot of the tie, Kai pulled out a tiny camera, crushed it in his hand, and tossed the tie aside before stepping out of the workshop.
"Find anything odd?"
As he walked down the hallway, Kai asked in a calm voice. Salem meowed back, somehow sounding serious and focused. Interpreting the meow as 'nothing important,' Kai nodded and kept walking. At that moment, Sage created a holographic screen in [In] mode in front of Kai.
[The footage from Salem's 'patrol' didn't show anything unusual, master. It seems the security system upgrades by Principal Nezu really worked. Apart from the workers we detected, UA appears truly impenetrable.]
Kai nodded calmly at his beautiful assistant fairy's explanation, then continued walking in silence until he found Momo waiting for him in her hero costume alongside Mina. After a casual greeting, Momo hooked her arm around Kai's right arm and walked with a smile toward the gathering spot.
…
Standing among the others, Jiro couldn't help but narrow her eyes as she saw Kai walking in the center with Momo and Mina by his side, all chatting casually. Her internal alarms blaring at the sight, Jiro took a step toward them, but at that moment, something landed in front of the group, creating a small shockwave and a strong gust of wind.
"I am here!"
""All Might!!!"" The group of young heroes exclaimed in unison, visibly excited, as Mina spoke with a huge grin on her face.
"All Might-sensei, we missed you!"
"Hahaha, my apologies for the absence, young ones. I had some matters to settle overseas, but everything is fine now!" All Might announced in a powerful voice, exciting the students even more. Then, in a calmer tone, he continued.
"But let's get started! For this basic training, we'll have a rescue race!"
Hearing All Might, Iida, the bespectacled young man with robotic movements, quickly raised his right hand in the air and spoke in his usual serious, methodical tone.
"If we're doing rescue training, shouldn't we head to the USJ?"
"That place is for disaster training. But remember what I said? Yes! This is a race!" All Might replied with a heroic smile, soon announcing loudly.
"This is Field Gamma! An area packed with factories, like a complete labyrinth! You'll split into teams of five for this exercise. When I send a signal from somewhere, everyone will start at once from the outskirts. This is a race to see who rescues me first! Though, of course…"
All Might lowered his tone slightly and casually pointed at Bakugo with a heroic grin.
"You must keep the damage to a minimum!"
"Don't point at me!"
Visibly uncomfortable, Bakugo turned his head away and grumbled in a hoarse voice. All Might simply smiled and, after glancing for a second at the calm Kai in the back with Momo, announced energetically.
"Well then, the first group will consist of Ojiro, Midoriya, Iida, Ashido, and Sero! Get to your positions! I'll be waiting for your rescue! The rest of you can wait your turn on the observation platform!"
After speaking, All Might vanished with a leap. Midoriya adjusted his gloves and clenched his fists with a determined expression. But at that moment, from behind him, he heard an incredibly calm voice that, for some reason, made his entire body shiver with a chill.
"Midoriya."
"Y-yes!"
With a jump, Midoriya turned around and responded nervously, drawing the attention of the other students. While those who trained with Kai every weekend swallowed hard and the others looked on curiously, the blue-eyed young man in UA's P.E. uniform spoke calmly, casually holding a fist in front of him.
"They say a student's failure is the shame of their instructor and proof they've wasted their time… so don't embarrass me, or you know what'll happen… right?"
Kai clenched his fist, creating a small shockwave through the air, then looked at everyone he'd trained with calm eyes. Like well-oiled robots, the group of young heroes quickly nodded with nervous expressions. Midoriya forced the words out of his mouth while executing a perfect military salute.
"Y-yes, Sir!"
Kai nodded with a calm expression before heading toward the observation platform with Momo, who couldn't help but laugh softly. As those who trained with Kai, including Midoriya, let out a sigh of relief, the others exchanged confused looks. Meanwhile, Bakugo glared at Midoriya with an unfriendly expression that failed to hide his curiosity.
…
On the observation platform, in front of which stood a massive TV showing real-time footage of the five competitors, Kai lay down calmly on the ground, his head resting in Momo's lap. Once comfortable, Kai pulled out his phone and started scrolling through it attentively. Meanwhile, Momo gently stroked Kai's hair and turned to Jiro, who sat beside her.
"Who do you think will win?"
"I don't know. Midoriya's good, but when it comes to three-dimensional movement, Sero's the best." Jiro replied in a calm voice. Kirishima, not far away, chimed in casually.
"There's also Ojiro. I don't think he'll fall behind."
"Deku will come in last!"
At that moment, Bakugo declared from behind with full confidence and annoyance, prompting everyone who trained with Kai to glance at him for a moment before ignoring him, which caused a vein to pop on his forehead.
"Alright, here we go. Start!" On the giant TV in front of them, All Might appeared and announced with a huge smile before pressing a button in his hand.
Instantly, the screen switched to a split view. Sero used the tape from his elbows to grab a pipe, pulling himself into the air and swinging through the maze with his tapes. Meanwhile, Mina began skating along the pipes at incredible speed.
At the same time, Ojiro used his tail to slam the ground and launch himself forward, and Iida started running, making full use of his quirk. But, catching everyone slightly off guard since they hadn't seen him do this before, Midoriya began moving between buildings and pipes with agile maneuvers. His movements looked like a fluid mix of textbook parkour and the style of a certain student among them.
"That way of moving is a bit like…"
Uraraka commented with visible surprise, glancing out of the corner of her eye at Bakugo, who stared at the screen with wide eyes, a mix of disbelief and irritation on his face.
(While I wasted time fooling around in my apprenticeship… Again… Again… Again!)
With gritted teeth and eyes almost bloodshot, Bakugo glared at Midoriya on the screen, filled with deep hatred. Meanwhile, the other students looked at Midoriya with a growing sense of respect. They had seen this young man shatter his bones every time he used his quirk, and now he seemed like a complete expert.
Momo, who was stroking Kai's hair, subtly lowered her gaze to look at him, a beautiful smile forming on her lips. Though Kai appeared focused on his phone and nothing else, to her, who had known him her whole life, it was easy to notice the slight upward curve of his lips. He looked quite pleased.
But while everyone marveled at Midoriya and Ojiro, and Sero and Mina did their best not to fall behind to avoid facing that 'training demon' later, something changed.
With a focused expression, Midoriya landed agilely on a metal railing on a building's terrace, intending to use it to propel himself into the air again. But this time, the young man miscalculated the railing's strength, and it bent under his superhuman force, causing him to lose balance and crash into the building across from him.
Seeing Midoriya slam head-on into the building, all the students froze with blank expressions. But those who trained with Kai quickly reacted and turned to look at the blue-eyed young man, just in time to see a subtle vein bulge on his forehead.
(Midoriya… We'll bring flowers to your funeral…)
Somehow, the same thought crossed the minds of all the young heroes. At that moment, Momo, with an amused smile, leaned down to gently kiss Kai's forehead, hoping to lift his mood a little.
…
"It's over!"
Not long after, All Might announced excitedly on the TV, then took a winner's ribbon and handed it to Sero, who celebrated with his right arm in the air.
"Thanks, and congratulations!"
"I see, when moving in unstable terrain, I need to consider the resistance of what I step on…"
As All Might congratulated him and Sero celebrated, Midoriya sat on the ground, reflecting deeply with a complex expression. At that moment, All Might called everyone to gather and announced in a voice tinged with pride.
"Sero-shonen arrived first, but it was a close battle against Ashido-shoujo. Of course, the others aren't far behind. You've all improved tremendously with your quirks compared to the start of the year. Keep it up and prepare for the final exam! Now it's time for the second team."
Soon, the second team began walking to their positions while Midoriya headed to the observation platform with Iida. But upon arriving and seeing Kai resting in Momo's lap, Midoriya felt a bolt of lightning run through him. He had completely forgotten Kai was waiting for him.
"On the ground, 500 push-ups. We'll deal with the rest later." Without looking away from his phone, Kai ordered in a visibly irritated voice, startling Midoriya, who quickly saluted and responded loudly.
"Y-yes, Sir!"
As Midoriya began doing push-ups without using his quirk, his expression serious, Mina approached Kai and asked with a wide smile.
"And how about me? How did I do? Do I deserve a reward?"
"Not bad, but far from earning a 'reward.'"
Kai replied casually while typing rapidly on his phone. Mina pouted in annoyance and ran to sit beside Momo, who laughed amusedly and started chatting while looking at the screen, where Jiro was about to compete.
"What's all this about…?"
At that moment, Fumikage Tokoyami, a young man with a black bird head on his shoulders and the ability to control a shadowy, monstrous entity born from him, approached Kirishima and asked while subtly pointing at Midoriya.
"Saito has been training us for a while, and he's really Spartan… This is just the tip of the iceberg."
"That's where Midoriya's strength comes from…?" Tokoyami couldn't help but ask, visible surprise in his tone. Kirishima nodded and explained.
"Yeah, and not just Midoriya. Sero, Ashido, me, even Todoroki. Though the training is hell, we've all gotten a lot stronger."
Tokoyami's eyes widened in surprise as he turned to look at Todoroki, who nodded with a calm, composed expression. As Tokoyami stared at Kai with a deep look on his bird-like face, Bakugo, who had overheard the conversation from behind, couldn't help but glare at Kai and Midoriya with tightly clenched teeth and fists. If not for his gloves, they would already be drawing blood.
***
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