I never thought Kari could come up with ideas that bold. Having sex in your parents' bed? What kind of perverted idea straight out of a hentai was that? For a moment, I genuinely didn't know whether I should be impressed, worried, or just blame Momo immediately without even asking.
"Ahem… where exactly do you get those ideas from?" I asked, looking at her with open curiosity.
"I saw it in a hentai Momo recommended to me, and it looked exciting!" Kari replied enthusiastically, without even trying to hide how pleased she was with herself.
Why was it always Momo? It really was always Momo. At this point, I seriously needed to sit down with that girl and have a proper conversation about what exactly she was teaching the others. Kari had already become quite sexually active ever since the first time we slept together, and she definitely didn't need anyone making that side of her grow even faster.
"…Don't you think that would be a little… too immoral?" I said carefully.
This girl's perversion just kept increasing. If she continued at this rate, she'd probably end up asking me to do it outside someday. It wasn't that I completely disliked the idea of outdoor sex. To be honest, it was one of those things that sounded exciting in theory, and I could understand the appeal. But there was one problem I refused to ignore: I didn't want anyone seeing my girl naked. If something like that ever happened, I'd probably have to do something drastic to the person who saw her, and since I had no desire to deal with that kind of situation, it was better not to push things in that direction at all.
"Isn't that exactly what makes it more exciting?" Kari said, her eyes shining with mischief.
Just thinking about it seemed to excite her. The idea of doing it with me in the place where her parents slept every night filled her with a strange thrill. The forbidden nature of it, the intimacy, the sense that they were doing something they absolutely shouldn't—it all made her heart race. Just imagining it was enough to make her body react, her panties already starting to grow damp as her lust rose.
"Th-That… I don't think that's…" I tried to say.
But I couldn't finish.
"In fact, let's do it in my brother's room too!" Kari added, as if she had just come up with an even better idea.
Her excitement was obvious, and the way her lust was increasing so quickly made it clear that I had to stop this before she got even more carried away.
"Ouch! Why did you hit me?" Kari complained with fake tears in her eyes.
She called it hitting, but all I had really done was lightly flick her forehead.
"I had to bring you back to your senses. Don't you think you're going a bit too far?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kari puffed up her cheeks in a sulky pout.
"Buh… I was only trying to make sex more exciting…" she said in an unsatisfied tone.
"Kari… you've actually become an extremely lewd girl. What happened to the innocent Kari I used to know?" I asked, unable to hide my curiosity.
At those words, Kari rested her head against my chest and spoke in a quieter voice.
"That Kari is still here… but now she's happier than ever. Now she's herself, not someone forced to pretend," Kari said.
The moment I heard those words, I realized there was something underneath them, something she had been holding back until now. It wasn't just a random comment. There was a reason she said it like that, with that expression, with that strange mix of relief and sadness.
"I think you should tell me what you mean by that, and don't even try to refuse. I'm your boyfriend, and as your boyfriend, I want to know everything about you and help you if you really need help. A relationship based only on lust isn't a healthy relationship. A relationship based on honesty, a couple that supports each other both in good moments and in bad ones, only a couple like that can truly prosper," I said seriously.
Ever since I started this date with Kari, I had been waiting for a moment like this. A moment to know her better, to understand her beyond the sweetness, the affection, and the intimacy we already shared. The problem was that I didn't know how to bring up something this delicate without making her uncomfortable. In the end, though, it turned out my worries had been unnecessary. The moment came naturally, and from a situation I never would have expected.
Kari looked surprised by my words, but she couldn't deny the truth hidden in them. She knew I was right. A relationship couldn't rely only on sex. It also had to be built on trust, mutual respect, and being there for each other through every kind of moment. Only then could two people truly move forward together.
"Alright. The truth is… it's actually a pretty simple story," Kari said, nodding faintly.
Seeing that I was listening carefully, she took a deep breath before continuing.
"I've always been the spoiled child of the family, the one everyone treated like a doll made of glass. You see, ever since I was born, my health has been weak. I was always getting sick, constantly worrying everyone around me. It wasn't just colds or the flu either. I also have a lung condition that kept me from making any great physical effort. As I grew older, it gradually improved, and now I'm doing a little better," Kari explained.
"Kari… sex requires a lot of physical effort. Why didn't you tell me?" I asked with a serious expression.
If she really had a lung condition, then sex wasn't something harmless. It required stamina, energy, and strain on the body. If I had known this before, I would have been much more careful.
"As I already said, my illness improved. And besides… I didn't want you to pity me. I didn't want to be excluded and become the only one who couldn't have sex with you… I just didn't want to be left behind and have you forget about me," Kari said.
If she had told me the truth, would I have treated her the same way her parents had? Would she have ended up being left behind while the others moved forward? That fear had stayed inside her all this time. That was why she told Mikan so firmly not to tell me anything.
When I heard that, I simply wrapped my arms around her tightly.
"You silly girl. Do you really think I'm that kind of person? Whether you can have sex or not would never make me stop loving you, and of course I'd never leave you behind or grow bored of you. What kind of man would I be if I did that? Don't ever think of me as that sort of man again, because I'm not. To me, all of you are special. You're my women, the people I treasure most in my life, and no matter what flaws you might have, I love every single one of you," I said firmly.
I'm not the kind of person who would abandon his woman over something as stupid as that. Only the lowest kind of trash would do something so cruel, men who barely deserved to be called human at all.
Kari smiled softly and curled up against my chest.
"Thank you… I love you too," Kari said with a smile.
A small tear slid down her cheek, but it wasn't one of sadness. It was the kind of tear born from relief and happiness, the kind that appeared when someone finally heard the words they had been longing to hear.
After staying in each other's arms for a while, Kari finally calmed down.
"Before you continue your story, I have a gift for you," I said.
"What kind of gift?" Kari asked, not understanding.
"You'll see."
I gently sat her down on the sofa and returned the Omnitrix to its original state.
"Are you going to transform? Why?" Kari asked, puzzled.
"You'll understand in a moment," I replied.
I searched through the available aliens and pressed the dial when I found the right one.
A green light filled the room for a few moments, brilliant and warm, and when it disappeared, Vitalis stood in my place.
"Beautiful…" Kari said, her voice filled with wonder.
She was no longer surprised by the fact that I could transform into aliens. She had seen it many times already. But this was the first time she had seen this one, and unlike some of the others, this form had an almost sacred beauty to it.
"Yes, he really is a very beautiful alien," I nodded.
My voice had changed too. It was more ethereal now, softer, almost unreal.
"And what does this alien do?" Kari asked curiously.
"This," I said.
I formed a sphere of green light in my hands. It shone with tremendous intensity. That sphere emanated a pure, extraordinary energy, a kind of power so clean and warm that merely standing in front of it made one feel refreshed, lighter, healthier, as if fatigue and pain were being washed away.
"I feel amazing… it's so warm," Kari said, staring at the sphere.
The plants inside the house reacted immediately. Some of them had been neglected and were close to withering, but under that light they suddenly revived. Flowers bloomed on the spot, leaves regained their color, and even the plants that had already been healthy became even more vibrant and strong.
"This sphere contains the purest energy of life, an energy capable of restoring life to something that is almost empty of it. As long as a being is still alive, that energy can heal them. And now I'm giving it to you," Akira said.
As if it possessed a will of its own, the sphere slowly floated toward Kari. She instinctively raised her hands, not because she had decided to, but because her body moved on its own.
The sphere never really touched her palms, because it wasn't solid matter to begin with. Instead, it passed through her hands and entered her body.
Immediately after, a warm current spread through Kari's entire body. It was life in its purest form, an energy capable of healing any living being as long as there was still breath left in them.
Inside Kari's body, a transformation unlike anything science could explain was taking place. Her frail body was strengthened, the internal damage and strain left by years of medication disappeared, and her lungs were completely healed. The life energy entered them and cleansed them of everything harmful, wiping away illness as if it had never existed in the first place.
Outside, Kari's whole body began to glow with a strong green light, so bright it was almost as if she herself had become a small lamp. Then, after a few moments, the light faded away.
The immense power of life generated by Akira transformed Kari's weak body, strengthening it until it surpassed even that of a perfectly healthy human. Illnesses? Gone. Internal damage? Erased. Her health had improved so dramatically that she was no longer the sickly girl everyone had always known, but a completely normal girl. No—more than that, an improved version of herself. Her skin had become softer and smoother, like that of a newborn. Her beauty had sharpened even further, her hair becoming even silkier and more radiant than before. In every possible way, Akira had turned her into a better version of who she already was.
When the warmth finally settled inside her, Kari looked down at her own hands in shock before immediately lifting her eyes toward Akira, who had already returned to his human form.
"I feel incredible! I don't feel any discomfort at all! Actually, my whole body feels full of an energy I've never had before!" Kari exclaimed with a bright smile.
"Vitalis can generate the power of life, a power capable of restoring energy and healing any living being as long as they are still breathing. No matter how serious the illness or wound is, Vitalis can heal it instantly as long as the person hasn't died and is still alive," I explained.
Yes, Vitalis was overpowered. There was no other way to put it. He was simply an alien capable of healing any illness or wound regardless of how severe it might be. Cancer? Instantly cured. A devastating injury? Child's play. There wasn't a disease or wound that Vitalis couldn't heal. And as if that weren't enough, he could also reflect any wound he had healed onto someone else. For example, if he healed someone whose heart had been pierced, Vitalis could inflict that same wound on another person, as long as no more than three minutes had passed since the healing. So yes, Vitalis was one of the most overpowered aliens I currently had, and probably one of the most overpowered in all of Ben 10, if this alien had ever existed in the original series.
"I love you so much!" Kari said.
The love Kari already felt for Akira, a love as deep as the Mariana Trench, grew even more intense at that moment, almost to the point of turning unhealthy. Fortunately, it didn't go that far.
"I love you too," I said as I embraced her.
She threw herself at me so suddenly that I almost lost my balance. I hadn't expected her to hug me without warning, and the force of it nearly sent me stumbling backward.
Still, I had to admit something to myself. If I had known the truth about Kari earlier, I would have healed her long ago. Yes, I knew that in Digimon, Kari had always been a sickly girl, but I never imagined that in this world she would keep that same weak body. I simply assumed reality and anime weren't the same. Since she had looked so normal, so lively, I thought she was perfectly healthy here—a completely ordinary girl with no illness holding her back.
But clearly… I had been wrong.