--Saturday, July 25, 2172
The professional heroes sat in contemplative silence as they looked at Kai, each recalling their shared moments one by one. Shino, with a small smile, let out a soft sigh and glanced at Ryuko before commenting in a somewhat sheepish voice.
"I choose to save 5…"
As she spoke, Shino took a step toward Kai and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. At that moment, Tomoko shifted to sit on one of Kai's legs, leaving the other free. With a slight blush, Shino sat down and looked at Ryuko, who, after biting her lower lip for a few seconds, sighed and stood up from her spot.
"There's really no point in hesitating anymore… I can't live without you, darling. Villain or hero, it doesn't matter, I'll follow you anywhere… I love you too much to let you go…"
Ryuko stepped between Tomoko and Shino to kiss Kai, while a huge smile spread across Nejire's face. She turned to look at Momo, hoping she would also accept. But at that instant, Momo stood up from her seat and rushed out of the place with a troubled expression.
"Follow her."
Nemuri said in a serious tone, to which the other girls nodded, looking at Kai with stern expressions. With a small sigh, Kai stood up after the Pussycats moved aside and spoke in a serious tone.
"I'll talk to her, but I won't convince her of anything."
"Kai-chan!"
Nejire exclaimed with a pout, but Yumiko quickly took her hand and shook her head. This made Nejire's pout worsen, but she decided to remain silent. Kai nodded slightly before following Momo.
…
…
…
With her mind wandering through thousands of thoughts, Momo walked through the dark streets of I-Island, looking at everything with empty eyes. Soon, the beautiful girl arrived at a small, newly rebuilt plaza with a few tables and chairs. She sat down at one and let out a heavy sigh.
"Can't you accept it?" At that moment, a familiar, calm voice echoed behind her.
"…"
Momo remained silent, staring ahead, as Kai appeared from behind and walked over to sit in front of her. Seeing Momo's face with evident traces of tears, Kai couldn't help but sigh with guilt before speaking in a serious voice.
"I shouldn't have hidden it from you for so long. I'm sorry."
"You're not apologizing for what you did…?" Momo murmured in a dull voice. Kai shook his head and responded calmly.
"No, I don't regret it. I'd do it again as many times as necessary. I'm not a good person."
"A good person like me…?" Momo asked with eyes full of pain, to which Kai could only sit in silence. Momo showed a smile full of guilt and anguish before speaking in a voice on the verge of tears.
"I'm not a good person, Kai… I always knew… I always knew what you had done… But I stayed silent, I kept it a secret from everyone… I never said anything… I always buried it in my heart as my greatest secret… Always deceiving myself that it was just my imagination, a mere dream…
"But when you revealed it… I realized it wasn't just real… I realized I was a terrible person… I didn't care at any point about the life or death of those people… I was only angry because you told Mom, Nemuri, and even Nejire before me… It made me so mad, filled with jealousy and envy… But I never thought about the victims… I'm not worthy of being a professional hero…"
By the end of her words, Momo covered her face and cried, while Kai couldn't help but widen his eyes in absolute astonishment, glancing at the beautiful invisible fairy floating beside him, who wore a similar expression. As Momo wept, filled with shame and guilt, Kai approached her, embraced her, and asked in a low, deep voice.
"How did you know?"
"When I sleep, I can see what's happening around me… Over time, I learned to move, and though I can't go far, I could follow you to the underground lab. I saw you bring in animals, people, Nomus… I saw you doing all kinds of things to them… I also saw you making oaths alone… I saw you working until sunrise on my armor… I saw you doing so many things…"
Momo explained in a tearful voice as she clung to Kai, who wore an expression of utter disbelief while communicating with his trusted assistant.
[This can't be a coincidence…]
[I highly doubt it is, Master… It's possible that, like Salem, Nejire and Momo were affected by you in some way as they grew up…]
Sage replied with similar levels of disbelief and surprise. Recalling Salem's massive size even before acquiring his quirk, Kai couldn't help but reflect deeply, but soon asked something crucial.
[But if both of them have clairvoyance-like abilities, why didn't Secrets Keeper activate when they spied on me?]
[It's hard to know, Master… Perhaps Secrets Keeper has limitations we're unaware of, or their abilities might be connected to you in some way, and Secrets Keeper couldn't detect them. After all, Tomoko's quirk is effectively blocked.] Sage sent a telepathic message while placing a hand on her chin, leaving Kai deep in thought. Soon, he ordered seriously.
[Make this the top priority on the agenda, Sage. We need to study this seriously and figure out what the hell is going on here. We also need to talk to the others to see if they have secret abilities of their own…]
[Noted, Master. It's now the highest priority.] Sage responded in a serious tone, to which Kai nodded subtly before beginning to stroke Momo's hair and speaking in a calm voice.
"Actually, I never told Nejire anything… She already knew before, just like you. She can see me in her dreams too…"
"She does too…?" Momo lifted her head and asked, looking at Kai with teary eyes. Kai nodded and started wiping her tears as he explained.
"Yes, she confessed it to me just before the Nomus appeared. As for Nemuri and Keiko, it hasn't even been a month since they found out. I kept it a secret from everyone until now. Also, Nejire's ability seems a bit more limited than yours since she can only see her surroundings. So, technically, you were the first to know; you just never told me."
"I was the first…?" Momo asked in an incredibly adorable voice, to which Kai nodded with a smile. But at that moment, Momo lowered her head and murmured, full of guilt.
"But I… I'm wrong… I don't care about those people… I'm sick… I can't be a professional hero…"
"I'm sick too because not only do I not feel guilt, I did it with my own hands. But unlike me, you want to go out into the world and risk your life to save others, something I honestly would never do… Between the two of us, you're a much better person than I am, and yet you wanted me to be a hero."
Kai commented in a warm voice and gently lifted Momo's chin to look into her eyes. Momo gazed at her beloved with tear-covered eyes, and at that moment, her mother's words surfaced in her mind. Remembering them, a strange smile couldn't help but form on Momo's face as she spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.
"We're a pair of sick people… We're really made for each other…"
"That's why you're my official wife." Kai replied with a smile, which caused Momo to blush slightly. But she quickly gathered her courage and announced, looking into Kai's eyes.
"Kai… I love you, I love you more than anything in the world… If we're both sick, then let's be a sick couple. I'll try to atone for all our mistakes by saving lives on the streets. But there's something I want to ask of you…
"I… I don't want to be intimate with the other girls… I only want to be with you in my most private and vulnerable moments… I don't want anyone else to touch me or see me… Not even Mom… I'm only yours and no one else's… Only you can see me…"
Hearing Momo, Kai couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise, but soon his surprise turned into a huge smile, and he initiated a passionate kiss with Momo. Caught off guard, Momo could only respond to the kiss awkwardly at first, but her heart quickly filled with excitement as she felt her beloved's passion. She wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss even further.
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…
"Do you think Saito will like the perfume?"
Walking down a well-lit street, Mina couldn't help but ask excitedly, looking at Jiro and Toru, who, like her, were carrying several shopping bags. Jiro and Toru couldn't help but look at Mina with complicated expressions, and Jiro couldn't hold back any longer, asking in a cautious tone.
"Ashido… Are you aware that Yao Momo is Saito's fiancée…? They're getting married after graduation."
"Huh? What kind of question is that? Of course I know." Mina turned to look at Jiro and replied, visibly puzzled. Toru spoke up with a somewhat complicated tone.
"Mina-chan… You like Saito, don't you?"
"Eh?! What are you saying?! Of course not!"
Mina jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and replied in visible panic, causing the two girls to let out heavy sighs. Jiro looked at Mina with a serious expression and said.
"Don't try to deny it. It's obvious. Even Yao Momo has noticed."
"Did she say something to you?" Mina asked in panic, which led Toru to comment in a slightly odd tone.
"Didn't you say you didn't like him?"
"Eh, n-no, I mean, I just don't want our friendship to be ruined over a misunderstanding like this." Mina replied, a bit panicked, even stumbling over her words. Jiro let out a sigh and started walking while commenting in a soft voice.
"Sure, if you say so. Anyway, try not to get into trouble, Ashido. I get why you'd like Saito—he's strong, handsome, rich, and that bad-boy aura is pretty attractive. But he's an engaged man, and more than that, he's the fiancé of our friend, who has done nothing but help us. If Saito and Yao Momo's relationship gets affected because of you, I'll side with Yao Momo."
"I really don't like him. He's handsome and cool, and sometimes I stare at him a little too long, but that's it. I'd never do anything to hurt Yao Momo, I swear."
"I hope so." Jiro commented in a serious tone as she subtly pointed toward a newly built plaza in the distance, where a couple could be seen kissing under the moonlight.
"Yao Momo is bolder than I thought…" Watching the scene, Toru couldn't help but comment in surprise but quickly covered her mouth in panic and turned to look at Mina.
To Toru and Jiro's surprise, Mina, far from looking sad or jealous, had a warm and satisfied smile on her face. Seeing Jiro looking at her with an awkward expression and sensing Toru was doing the same, though she couldn't see her, Mina smiled amusedly and asked.
"What's up? Why are you looking at me like that? Did you really think I had secret desires to steal Saito or something?"
The pair of girls nodded almost mechanically, which made Mina laugh. Looking at Kai and Momo kissing, she spoke in a warm voice.
"It's true that Saito is almost like the man of my dreams. In another situation, I might have tried. But not in this life. I really love Yao Momo. She's sweet, kind, smart, and always does her best to help me, so I could never hurt her. All I want is for her to be happy, and I'll support her however I can."
After finishing, Mina couldn't help but laugh as she saw Kai making a gesture behind Momo's back for them to leave, so she quickly turned and said with a cheerful smile.
"Let's go the other way. Let's give the lovebirds some privacy. We'll have plenty of time to grill Yao Momo for all the details later."
Right after speaking, Mina started walking in the opposite direction, moving away from the spot and leaving Jiro and Toru in disbelief. After a few seconds, Jiro and Toru looked at each other—or rather, Toru looked at Jiro, who could only see Toru's floating hat. At that moment, they spoke in unison.
""We underestimated her.""
Realizing they were in sync, the pair couldn't help but laugh amusedly and quickly started running to catch up with Mina, while the couple in the plaza grew more passionate. So much so that soon, the handsome young man with blue eyes picked up the beautiful black-haired girl in his arms and began walking toward the darkness.
***
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