--Sunday, July 26, 2172
"Today we gather to thank all of you for helping us through the very difficult situation our I-Island went through. I hope you can enjoy yourselves—this is for and because of you."
In a large hall filled with formally dressed people, a man in his forties stood on a platform and announced while raising his glass. In response, the group of people raised their glasses, then gave a brief round of applause, after which the man stepped down from the platform, signaling the start of the celebration.
Having already given his own speech, All Might, wearing his hero suit, walked over to where the Class 1-A students were gathered. Among them were Kai and Momo, dressed formally, eating appetizers and chatting casually with Nejire, who was also wearing an elegant blue dress.
"I didn't think you'd end up taking my good friend, Kai-shonen." Upon reaching Kai, All Might commented with a smile. Kai turned to look at All Might with a glass in hand and replied with a subtle smile.
"It was a good opportunity, and you have your friend nearby. Don't you think we all won?"
"Although I-Island isn't too happy about it." All Might remarked, subtly glancing at the group of I-Island directors gathered in a corner. Kai showed a disdainful smile and replied.
"In order to keep their people, they first need to be able to offer them security—and they failed catastrophically at that. They should be grateful I didn't take more people."
"That's true. Now with 'that' lost, it's better to keep David close. Whoever stole it may come after him."
All Might nodded and commented in a serious tone, then called Kai aside to a more secluded spot. After looking around to make sure there were no eavesdroppers, All Might asked with a solemn tone.
"Kai-shonen… Did you manage to find any clues about, you know who?"
"I found a few things, but for now they only serve to speculate a little." Kai commented calmly while looking away, which put an even more serious expression on All Might's face, who quickly asked.
"What did you find?"
"Let's just say some Nomu remains conveniently ended up in my suite, and I studied them out of pure curiosity, so I learned a few things." Kai said with a playful smile, which twisted All Might's expression, leaving him able to ask only somewhat helplessly.
"Did you find a trace of that person?"
"Quite the opposite." Kai shook his head, and as Salem returned with a piece of meat for him and for Tama, who jumped off his shoulder, he continued explaining.
"Those Nomus, while very similar to the ones we know, were slightly different. I won't go into details, but I found some improvements in their brain connections and physical structure, so even though they had fewer quirks than normal Nomus, their strength was comparable to the ones we know.
"Furthermore, the telomeres of those Nomus were abnormally short and filled with small genetic mutations. This, along with other minor issues I found, leads me to believe this batch of Nomus underwent an 'accelerated growth' process or something very similar, which suggests they may be clones.
"In other words, there's a clear change in the way they 'produce' Nomus. So either the quirk thief acquired new technology or a new quirk that led him to change how he created them, or we're dealing with someone else entirely. My money is on someone else, since it's too short a time for such a change—and I already have a suspect.
"During the raid against the quirk thief, one person managed to slip through the net: Dr. Garaki Kyudai, former director of Jaku General Hospital. If this person was the one creating the Nomus, he could very well have joined another mad scientist specializing in genetics and—even without the quirk thief—be creating powerful Nomus. Hence the reduction in the number of quirks, but the great physical strength."
"Do you have any concrete leads?" All Might asked solemnly. Kai shook his head and explained while rolling his eyes at Salem, who was offering him a piece of meat he had swiped from somewhere.
"No, only speculation for now, but I think it's worth looking in that direction."
"I see. I'll stay alert and make some calls—some friends will help me investigate." All Might commented in a serious tone, then asked.
"By the way, Kai-shonen, would you allow some acquaintances of mine, like David, to examine the remains you mentioned?"
"What? Is the Symbol of Peace asking me to participate in a somewhat unethical and nearly criminal act?" Kai couldn't help but ask with exaggerated, playful surprise. All Might could only sigh heavily and say in a defeated voice.
"I'll file a formal request to I-Island for a joint investigation. Just lend me yours to confirm your findings—I'll return them to you in Japan, so you won't have to worry about getting them out yourself."
"Hehe, I like that voice much better. As always, a pleasure doing business."
Kai extended his hand with visible satisfaction as he spoke, which made All Might sigh. After a handshake, All Might walked away to join David, who was speaking with a somewhat forced smile to the I-Island directors.
"What did All Might want, Kai-chan?" Seeing All Might walk away, Nejire quickly approached with Momo and asked with a smile. Kai took the plate of food Momo offered him and said with a mischievous smile.
"He wanted information, so we made a deal for him to help me smuggle some 'contraband' out of here."
"You managed to get All Might involved in smuggling…?" Momo couldn't help but murmur in disbelief, to which Kai smiled proudly and lifted his chin. Nejire took Kai's arm and raised her own chin, commenting cheerfully.
"He's my Kai-chan, after all."
"That's nothing to be proud of. You're literally corrupting the Symbol of Peace…"
Momo scolded somewhat helplessly with a hand on her forehead, which made Kai and Nejire laugh in amusement. Just then, a song began to play, which led Nejire to comment with a smile, looking at Kai and Momo.
"Oh… Do you remember that song?"
Kai and Momo looked at each other with somewhat nostalgic smiles, and soon Kai set his plate down on a nearby table, then placed his arms near his shoulders and began moving them. Seeing Kai, Momo and Nejire laughed in amusement and soon started doing the same move, swaying to the music with nostalgic smiles. Suddenly, that small corner of the hall became the trio's own little world, and they began to laugh over a joke only they knew.
…
On the other side of the hall, Mina couldn't help but gently elbow Jiro to get her attention, then pointed to the corner where the trio was goofily dancing with the same steps. With a somewhat strange smile, Mina couldn't help but say quietly.
"Even though they look like a bunch of fools… I can't help but envy them… I want to have something like that too…"
"Certainly… To make the terrifying Saito laugh so foolishly… I hope I can smile like that someday…" Jiro couldn't help but whisper with longing written across her face. At that moment, a cheerful feminine voice rang out nearby, making the pair of girls turn around.
"When they were little, Momo loved that song, so Nejire invented that dance, and the two of them would make Kai dance every time it came on." With a nostalgic smile, Tomoko commented while picking up some food from the table next to Mina and Jiro. Mina couldn't help but say with a wistful smile.
"I think I understand what Yao Momo said now… She really is fortunate…"
"I understand you…"
Jiro nodded with a similar expression while Tomoko ate cheerfully. At that moment, she noticed her colleagues and Nemuri calling her over while talking with other heroes, while Keiko and Yumiko chatted with what appeared to be executives. Quickly, Tomoko picked up some food on a tray and said goodbye with a smile.
"Well, girls, see you later—the world of diplomatic relations is calling me."
"See you later, Ragdoll-san." Jiro said respectfully, to which Tomoko nodded cheerfully before walking toward her teammates.
After saying goodbye to Tomoko, Mina and Jiro noticed the song had ended, and while they looked away, Nejire, Kai, and Momo had disappeared along with the cats. Mina couldn't help but look all around searching for them, but unable to find them, she inevitably leaned toward Jiro to ask quietly.
"Jiro… Don't you find the relationship between Hado-senpai, Yao Momo, and Saito suspicious?"
"We already talked about that. Let's not get involved in things that don't concern us—let them work out their own problems." Jiro said, glancing sideways at Mina, who commented with a finger on her chin.
"I'm just curious… No matter how I look at it… Yao Momo and Hado-senpai act the same way with Saito… It's really hard to tell who the girlfriend is."
"Didn't you see the ring on Yao Momo's finger? That's a pretty big indicator." Jiro replied exasperatedly, which caused Mina to open her eyes wide and say in disbelief.
"Is that her…?"
"What else could it be? She didn't have it yesterday, and she put it on right on the engagement finger." Jiro replied while shaking her head, which led Mina to comment with an annoyed pout, stomping the floor.
"How could Yao Momo not have told me! I thought it was just an accessory for the party!"
"You're impossible."
Jiro could only say between exasperation and amusement, then turned to her food. At the same time, discreetly, one of the earphone jacks from her ear buried itself into a wall—an action that allowed her to locate people through sound.
…
…
…
"Fufu, we escaped successfully."
On the terrace of the Onyx Hotel, Nejire commented cheerfully as she landed alongside Kai and Momo. Momo looked toward the enormous building in the distance and said with a somewhat guilty voice.
"It really doesn't feel right for us to sneak away while Mom and everyone else are still at the party."
"They're doing their adult things—what they call diplomatic relations—nothing that has to do with us right now, so let's enjoy ourselves a little. It's been a while since the three of us have had a night together." Nejire said with a smile, and Kai added calmly.
"We can frame it as stepping out for some fresh air. We can go back later."
"I suppose that sounds good."
Momo finally nodded with a smile, at which point Nejire took Momo and Kai's hands to guide them toward what appeared to be a large egg hanging on the terrace with a small entrance at the bottom.
Upon entering the egg, Kai and Momo found themselves in a comfortable bed filled with pillows and stuffed animals where soft, comforting lights glowed and made the view of the stars through the open top even more spectacular.
"Do you like it? I saw it the day we arrived and knew I wanted to come here with you two."
Seeing Kai and Momo's surprised expressions, Nejire couldn't help but comment with an enormous smile. Momo looked around while sitting on the bed to the right and said with a smile.
"It's so beautiful… We should have one of these at home."
"I'll have one shipped to Japan." Kai said as he lay back on the bed to look at the stars, at which point Nejire lay down to his left and hugged him, then commented with an enormous smile.
"In moments like this I feel like I go back in time to when we used to hide in our fort…"
"Yes… It feels like it was so long ago and just yesterday at the same time… What a curious feeling…" Momo said as she lay down to Kai's right, her voice warm.
"You two sound like a pair of old ladies with all that nostalgia." Kai hugged the two beautiful girls by the waist and said in amusement. Momo and Nejire rested their heads on Kai's shoulders and replied in unison.
""You're the old one! Hmph!""
"Hehe, you're even synchronized now." Kai couldn't help but laugh in amusement, but at that moment his face was pulled by Nejire, who gave him a deep kiss before looking into his eyes and saying.
"I love you, Kai. I want to keep having these moments for the rest of my life."
Before Kai could respond, he was pulled to the right and kissed by Momo, who shortly after commented with a tender smile.
"As your wife, I sentence you to care for us and love us with all your heart for the rest of your life—and we will do the same."
"Is it even possible not to love you two? You've already caught me—even if I wanted to, I couldn't escape now."
Kai said with a small smile, then initiated a kiss first with Momo and then with Nejire, who smiled happily before hugging him tighter in a comfortable silence. But while the space fell quiet, Kai was having a serious telepathic conversation with his trusty assistant.
[Any unusual movement, Sage? We leave tomorrow, and I find it hard to believe they won't try anything else…]
[Nothing so far, master. Everything is quiet. I also ran several checks on the plane and have been monitoring the pilots 24/7, but everything is normal. All signs indicate they want to let us leave I-Island peacefully.] The beautiful invisible fairy commented in a serious tone while creating several screens for Kai, who replied gravely.
[It's possible they have something planned elsewhere and need me off I-Island, which is why they haven't made another move… How is Mrs. Yoshiko?]
[She is in perfect condition, master. She has already arrived in Japan and will resume her activities soon.] Sage replied after creating a holographic screen showing Mrs. Yoshiko stepping off a plane. Kai thought for a few moments before ordering in a serious tone.
[Maintain 24/7 surveillance on Mrs. Yoshiko, Rin, and all the staff at both the Yaoyorozu mansion and mine, as well as the closest employees across the various companies. Also, run security inspections every 3 hours at the summer camp site, and have everything ready to capture Ryoichi Tanaka—we'll do it a few hours after the airplane takes off.]
[Understood, master. I will do so.] Sage replied in a serious tone, her wings shimmering like a kaleidoscope as she immediately carried out her beloved master's orders.
***
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