Chapter 20: Geniuses are a bit irritating

In a simple yet clean and orderly room, dimly lit by the light coming through the window, a beautiful woman with dark blue hair could be seen sleeping peacefully in purple satin pajamas.

In the middle of her sleep, she extended her arm to grab something, but only touched the bed. Immediately after, she sat up in one swift movement, looking around the unfamiliar surroundings with confusion.

A look of understanding appeared on the beautiful woman's face shortly after, and she hurriedly left the room. She encountered Shino Sosaki, also known as the professional heroine Mandalay, just a few steps outside the room, who was also in light blue pajamas.

"Good morning, Nemuri. How did you sleep?"

"Very well, Shino, but do you know where Kai is? He wasn't in the bed."

"Kai-kun is in the garden right now. I saw him a few minutes ago."

"Thanks, Shino. And again, thank you for all the help you've given me. You've been a lifesaver for me," Nemuri commented deeply grateful, to which Shino responded with a smile.

"Haha, don't worry about it. Just try not to be too surprised by Kai-kun's training."

"Is it that surprising?"

"It's better if you see for yourself. Follow me, I'll take you."

A few moments later, Shino and Nemuri arrived at the garden where the other members of the Pussycats were watching Kai, dressed in a red cotton tracksuit and black waterproof shorts, doing one-handed push-ups with a large stone on his back.

Nemuri was astonished to see Kai performing such a feat since, although he was sweating, there was no sign of pain on his face, and his rhythm was smooth and steady.

"Kai-kun's quirk is really impressive. That stone must weigh around 200 kilograms, and he can lift it without much difficulty. You know, when I woke up and saw him, I almost jumped from the shock. I always thought his quirk would be like Alisa-san's, but it seems to be quite special."

"Yes, Kai was always a very strong child. He used to have the strength of a trained adult man, but something appears to have changed. His strength seems to be much greater now."

"Is that so? Then I think it's necessary to talk to Kai-kun about it."

"You're right. This is a delicate moment, so he should be more discreet with his abilities."

"Yes, once people find out everything, there will be a huge uproar, especially with the press. But for now, it's better if we prepare breakfast."

"Yes, you're right. When he's done, Kai will be hungry."

Nemuri, Shino, and Ryuko went to prepare breakfast while Chatora trained with Kai, and Tomoko cheered them on from a distance. After a while, the three women came out to the garden carrying several plates of food. But they were left speechless, seeing Kai standing on his hands, holding the stone with his feet, and Tomoko on top of it, cheering every time Kai bent his arms.

"Guys, it's time to eat."

"Yay, food, yum yum!"

Tomoko, showing off her great agility, jumped off the stone with a somersault, landing on the ground in a feline pose, and then ran towards the food as if nothing had happened.

For his part, Kai didn't stay behind. He propelled himself with his arms, sending the stone flying to land not far from him, while he flipped in the air and landed on his feet, followed quickly by the stone, causing a small tremor.

Everyone ate the hearty breakfast voraciously and with pleasure, making sure not to leave anything on their plates. After finishing their meal, each went to their own bath, while Nemuri caught Kai off guard and picked him up, carrying him in her arms to the guest bathroom.

"Onee-chan, I can really bathe by myself."

"No, Onee-chan will take care of bathing you, so just give in."

"..."

This time, the bathroom had a tub big enough for both of them without feeling crowded. So after a good shower, Nemuri got into the tub with Kai in her arms and then sat him on her lap while she relaxed, reclining in the tub.

"Ahhh, this is the life. Look, Kai, this is one of the great pleasures of a bath. Don't forget it."

Kai simply nodded silently while trying to calculate the decimals of pi in his mind, attempting to occupy all his mental capacity to push away his bad thoughts.

“By the way, Kai, I think it’s better if you are a bit more discreet about your quirk's abilities, at least for a while. Given the current situation, your abilities could generate a ‘strange frenzy’ in the media and other hero agencies once everything comes to light.”

(Of course, I'm aware of that. Besides, the more hidden cards you have, the better. But honestly, showing my super strength and detection doesn't bother me at all. After all, they're just the tip of the iceberg. This morning, before everyone woke up, I decided to test my abilities a bit and they are insanely powerful.

By enhancing my body, I could increase my strength and speed to an absurd level, easily lifting a rock at least twice my size. With emission, a small aura ball just one centimeter in diameter almost pierced through a fairly thick tree.

With conjuration, I could partially materialize one of my most used tools, a small scalpel, which cut through rocks like they were butter. And all this being the novice that I am, plus I haven't even tried anything with Haki yet.)

"Sure, but then I'll need a place to train. It's better if it's a wooded area like this one. I like it."

"Do you also want to live in the mountains, Kai?" Nemuri asked with a noticeable smile on her face, noting the evident improvement in Kai's mental state through their small conversation.

"Not necessarily in the mountains, but I would like it to be close enough to train easily in the forest."

"Mmm, that could be a good idea. It would help us stay a bit under the radar, allowing us to avoid media scrutiny for a while.  And if I remember correctly, Alisa-san bought a property with those characteristics and there's already a nice house built there. We could go see it today after leaving the hospital."

"Are we really going to the hospital?" Kai asked reluctantly to which Nemuri replied in a strict tone.

"Of course we are. I'm still worried about what happened last night, so we'll go for a quick check-up after lunch."

"Alright..."

After a while, Nemuri emerged from the bath with Kai in her arms, refusing to let him go. She then dressed the blue-eyed boy in a blue sports sweatshirt, while she put on a loose brown sweater and a black pencil skirt that reached her thigh. They then left the room to meet the Pussycats.

"Well, Kai-kun, what do you think about joining our mountain training?" Chatora asked with a smile, dressed in a brown tracksuit, to which Kai quickly nodded.

"I'd like that."

"Alright then, it's decided. You'll join our training while Nemuri takes care of some matters," Shino added with a smile, dressed in a red tracksuit.

Nemuri's morning was going to be quite hectic. She had to collect her things from her former agency, then go by the Saito family house to check on it, gather some of Kai's belongings, and meet with her lawyer to hand over necessary documents to legalize Kai's guardianship.

Not to mention the last-minute task of inquiring about the property she mentioned to Kai earlier. Because of that, Nemuri was deeply grateful for the Pussycats' favor of looking after Kai and quickly said goodbye.

"Have fun training, Kai."

"Of course, Onee-chan. I'll be waiting for you to have lunch together."

"Of course, I wouldn't have lunch without my Kai."

After Nemuri left, Kai followed the Pussycats, who began venturing into the forest. They started at a slow pace on an easy path so Kai could keep up, but after seeing how effortlessly he followed, they decided to increase the pace. But Kai had no trouble keeping up.

Feeling challenged, the Pussycats began using increasingly complex paths as time went on until they finally saw Kai starting to struggle to keep up with their pace. Sharing a small smile that only they could understand, they decided to stop teasing the boy.

But when they tried to slow down a bit, Kai suddenly began mimicking their feline movements with terrifying speed, easily copying them and keeping up as before, causing them to look at each other in disbelief.

"Geniuses are a bit irritating, don't you think?" Ryuko commented quietly, somewhat annoyed, to which Tomoko quickly added.

"Tell me about it. If he weren't so cute, I would have already hit him a little to vent."

"Come on, girls. How can you talk about hitting Kai-kun? Let's just tease him a bit later," Shino added softly, a kind smile forming on her lips. Chatora added with a serious expression that tried to hide a smile.

"I agree."

Unaware of the trouble he had brought upon himself, Kai began to get used to the feline movements he had copied. He quickly realized they weren't entirely suitable as he felt some discomfort while using them.

Focusing on the sensations in his body, Kai gradually changed his movements until the discomfort disappeared. He started running and climbing through the forest like a fish in water, feeling completely natural to him. After a while, he heard Shino's voice calling.

"Kai-kun, we'll have a little briefing in that clearing over there."

As she jumped from tree to tree, Shino pointed west where a small clearing could be seen in the middle of the dense forest. Kai quickly nodded in understanding.

"Okay."

Once in the clearing, everyone gathered and began doing stretching exercises while Shino started briefing Kai about what he could and couldn't do in the forest, what he might encounter, what to do in different situations, and things like that until they were ready.

"Well, Kai, what kind of training have you done so far?"

"Well, not much really, just what you've seen me do in the garden, and I've only done it twice."

"Kai-kun, are you telling me today was only the second time you've trained?"

"Yes, I wasn't interested before, and mom didn't like dad trying to train me because she said it would make me as dumb as him."

"Then how could you do such complex exercises?"

"I just imitated what I saw dad doing sometimes."

"“““TCH!”””"

"Huh?!"

"Don't worry about them, Kai-kun. Now just show me what else you learned by imitating your father."

"Besides the exercises I already did, maybe some poses and strikes I saw him do."

"Can you show me one?"