Chapter 214: The boy who cried wolf situation.

--Saturday, May 30, 2172

When she saw her beloved turn to look at her, Ryuko couldn’t help but press her lips together, imagining the expression hidden beneath his helmet. But even if Kai got angry, her conscience wouldn’t allow her to let her comrades die. Clenching her fists, Ryuko met his gaze with determination, starting a small staring contest that allowed Ryukyu, the dragon woman, to get an idea of what was going on. The man in armor had means he didn’t want to share.

For his part, Kai kept looking at Ryuko with a somewhat bitter smile, knowing that she doubted his words a little. And he deserved it—he often withheld the full truth. But this time, he was experiencing the boy who cried wolf situation because he was actually being honest. Mystical Palm, although a powerful and versatile ability, still had its weaknesses. Since it was specifically designed for surgery, it didn’t work very well for anything else.

Things like infectious, hematological, autoimmune diseases, and the like were true challenges for Mystical Palm. After all, even though over time and thanks to his experience with massages, Kai had learned to use Transformation so that his aura triggered different reactions in others—including the effects of various medications. This was far from being as efficient as simply stitching tissues together and accelerating healing.

For that reason, if he wanted to quickly heal the hero, who was suffering from an acute self-destructive immune reaction, Angel’s Breath was the only 100% viable option, and he wasn’t willing to use it. Not just because it was an ability that could bring him a myriad of problems if it were revealed, but more importantly, because of the card’s own limitations.

In addition to its high aura cost and its limit of three uses per month—which reset every 30 days or the February equivalent—Angel’s Breath came with a series of pacts, one of which was a “toll.” The toll of Angel’s Breath was essentially that, depending on the wounds or illnesses the angel healed, Kai’s aura would be restricted by 50% for up to 12 hours. During that time, he wouldn’t be able to cast the card again.

Thanks to his experience, Kai knew that healing Edgeshot would cost him a toll of at least 5 hours. In the situation they were in, Angel’s Breath was a one-time-use ability. There was no way he would waste such a valuable opportunity on someone outside his family, even if it meant they ended up hating him for it.

That didn’t mean Mystical Palm was his only option to treat Edgeshot. He still had a couple of hypotheses to test—but since they were just that—hypotheses, ideas—he didn’t mention them to avoid raising false hopes.

“Saito…”

At that moment, Chatora’s somewhat hoarse voice was heard, catching Kai’s attention. Kai turned to look at Chatora and saw him slowly getting up, a pained expression on his face. Even so, Chatora quickly added with seriousness.

“I know what you’re thinking. This is our fault—you warned us, and we insisted. But let me make something very clear: if you're thinking about saving me and leaving the others to their fate…” Chatora gritted his teeth, wincing slightly in pain, but staring directly at Kai, he continued.

“…then just leave me with the others. I’d rather die than live knowing I abandoned my teammates!”

Although he couldn’t see Kai’s expression, Chatora stood up fully and stared straight into the red eyes of the Kitsune helmet Kai wore. Meanwhile, Kamui Woods and Ryukyu couldn’t help but silently watch the scene unfold. They didn’t understand all the context, but it was clear that the Pussycats were implying that their lives—and deaths—depended on the man in armor.

However, they were professional heroes who had been through countless life-and-death trials. The idea that their lives depended on someone they didn’t even know was not something they were willing to accept. With a solemn expression, Ryukyu quickly stepped forward in her dragon form and firmly declared.

“I don’t understand everything that’s going on… but I can still move. And as long as I can, I won’t just stand here waiting. I’m going to see this through no matter what. Those spiders cannot leave this island, and I’m sure Edgeshot feels the same. Everyone has their secrets; I get that… I just want to know one thing. Saito: Are you on our side?”

Hearing the dragon woman speak, Kai couldn’t help but turn to look at her with a hint of surprise, at which point Kamui Woods added with solemnity.

“I’m a professional hero too, and while luck may have played a big part in where I am today, that doesn’t change who I am.” Noticing that Kai had turned to look at him, Kamui Woods continued, locking eyes with him.

“You’re strong, and you can heal others—you’re a valuable asset to the team. So, I’m with Ryukyu. Even though I don’t want to see Edgeshot die, he came prepared for the worst. I just hope we get the chance to fight together. This place is mysterious, dangerous, and hard to reach—someone has to face it.”

“…”

Hearing the heroes, Kai quickly composed himself and turned to look at Shino, Ryuko, and Chatora, who met his gaze with unwavering determination—something that made him sigh slightly, inevitably. He had already suspected something like this might happen, so it didn’t catch him off guard. He had made preparations.

He had prepared some new “trump cards” to keep things from spiraling out of control. Even though the situation was still risky, he had no intention of falling to those spiders—and even less of letting his family die at the hands of those insects, no matter how stubborn they were.

“… Actually, I do have a way to escape.” After a few seconds, Kai said in a serious tone. Then, scanning those present with his gaze, he added.

“But first, you all need to understand something very clearly: if you have hidden cards, keep them that way.” Kai looked specifically at All Might as he spoke, almost hinting at something, and continued.

“I can assure you that if you reveal any abilities, those spiders will find a way to counter them. As I mentioned earlier, the web above our heads is nothing more than a countermeasure against one of my skills.” Placing his hand on Mirko’s abdomen, Kai added in a deeper voice.

“As for the method I have to get us out of here, it’s not only problematic for me—we also need to be within one kilometer of the webs. And like I already said, it’s almost certain that after we use it, the spiders will find a way to block it, making it a one-time option.” Kai spoke while looking, especially at Ryuko and Shino, and finished as he lowered his head to focus on Mirko and Edgeshot.

“So, I can only offer you two options. One: try to heal Edgeshot here, which isn’t guaranteed to work and could take a long time. Or two: take him out to seek medical attention, but that would mean burning a bridge—condemning our chances of escape later if we stay behind.”

Upon hearing Kai’s words, All Might looked at him with a conflicted expression. Things had come to the conclusion he had anticipated—someone had to leave and take Edgeshot with them. Kai clearly wasn’t willing to make any further concessions and intended to keep the second escape method for himself. After a small sigh, the Symbol of Peace asked.

“Saito, can you fully heal Mirko?”

“Yes. It’ll take me about 30 minutes. Her ‘injuries’ are troublesome, but she’s in better shape than Edgeshot.” Kai replied without lifting his head, which didn’t bother All Might, who simply nodded before asking another question.

“I see. And one last question. After using the method you mentioned to get out… will they have to go back through the storm?”

“…” Kai looked at All Might for a few moments, and the Symbol of Peace met his gaze with his signature heroic smile. After a few seconds, Kai explained.

“There might be a way to avoid going through the storm again, but there’s a good chance it’ll fail. It’s something I already tried once, so the spiders may have set up a countermeasure.”

“I see, Saito. I appreciate your honesty. Now I understand your limitations—and your priorities…”

All Might nodded, a shadow of doubt flickering in his blue eyes—something Kai saw through the screens of his helmet with a blank expression. Meanwhile, the Pussycats smiled bitterly. The slight sarcasm in All Might’s tone was painful to hear, all the more so because they too doubted whether Kai was truly being sincere. Soon after, All Might turned to the other heroes and began speaking in a serious tone.

“Kamui Woods is right—this place is hard to reach. You can only enter at sea level, and first you have to make it through that storm. Leaving is even worse. So, sending an army of heroes is unfeasible. The best option is small, powerful teams like us.”

All Might paused briefly to let the others absorb his words, and seeing that everyone nodded in understanding, he continued.

“Also, those spiders are intelligent, which means that right now—before they’ve seen the full extent of our abilities—is the best opportunity we have to deal enough damage to at least cripple them.” All Might looked at Kai as he healed the heroes on the ground and added in a deep voice.

“With Saito having the ability to heal us, this is possibly the best team of heroes that can be deployed here quickly. Bringing in foreign heroes would take too long.” Seeing that all the present heroes nodded again, the Symbol of Peace gave his heroic smile and added, full of heroism and a sense of duty.

“We’re in a situation where we’re the weaker side—we lack information, and our comrades are injured. We are, undoubtedly, in a truly desperate situation. BUT THIS IS JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PRO HERO!!!” All Might declared with such force that the ground itself seemed to tremble from the power in his voice.

“We are heroes! If this is our only chance to tip the scales in humanity’s favor, then we will fight! Saving lives and protecting the future is our duty! But that doesn’t mean we’ll abandon a comrade! We’re going to save everyone—and to do that, we have to go beyond our limits… we must go PLUS ULTRA!!!!”

“““PLUS ULTRA!!”””

The group immediately responded in unison, full of spirit, their eyes practically glowing with resolve and heroic determination. The powerful roar awakened Tomoko, who began to look around, a little confused and in pain. Shino looked at her teammate and shared everything that had happened through her telepathy, which led the beautiful turquoise-haired woman to look at Kai and exclaim aloud.

“Plus Ultra!!”

Meanwhile, Kai, through the screens in his helmet, looked at the determined expressions of everyone present with a somewhat strange expression—finding them a bit ridiculous, but at the same time, somewhat inspiring. All Might turned to look at the battered Ryukyu in her dragon form, who was still suffering from small spasms, then glanced at his own hands, which also trembled slightly, and soon added firmly.

“Even though we won’t abandon Edgeshot, we also can’t afford to use what might be our only escape route if things go wrong. That’s why our course of action will be to buy time for Saito to fully heal Mirko. That time will also allow Ragdoll, Chatora, Ryukyu, and me to recover.” Seeing his comrades nod in agreement, All Might continued.

“Once Mirko is healed, we’ll split into two groups. One group will stay with Saito to stabilize Edgeshot, and the other will try to take down the spiders—or at the very least, uncover the truth behind them. If Saito succeeds in healing Edgeshot, we’ll regroup.” Immediately after, All Might turned to Kai and asked in a serious voice.

“Saito, do you have any idea where we can hide?”

“Underground,” Kai replied calmly, placing one of his hands on Edgeshot’s abdomen. “Since we arrived, there have been two places where I haven’t detected any spiders: in the sea and underground. Obviously, excluding the earlier trap.”

Upon hearing Kai, Tomoko quickly activated her quirk to the maximum, trying to confirm it—but as she did, she noticed something strange. Her quirk was showing her a position that overlapped with the locations of the spiders Kai had marked. Tomoko’s confusion made her tilt her head slightly. The subtle movement inevitably caught Shino’s attention, who asked curiously after firing a repulsor blast to kill an approaching spider.

“Something wrong, Ragdoll?”

“Yes!” Tomoko responded, nodding as she shared the mental image with the others and explained.

“I marked a spider with my quirk, and now it looks like it’s joined up with the ones Saito had marked!”

“Could it be the one Saito asked you to kick into the web?” Ryuko quickly asked, intrigued. Tomoko nodded and replied.

“Yes, that’s the one!”

“So all those spiders came from the same place…”

Chatora muttered with a hand on his chin, deeply considering the implications, while simultaneously stretching his right leg like rubber to crush a new spider approaching. All Might also took a few seconds to think about what it could mean, but finding no immediate answer, he shook his head and spoke.

“Ragdoll, for now, keep an eye on that spider; we might discover something through it.” As Tomoko gave a sort of military salute to acknowledge the order, All Might turned to Ryuko and asked.

“Pixie-Bob, do you have enough energy to hide us underground?”

“In about five minutes, I’ll be almost fully recovered. Leave it to me!” Ryuko replied as she raised a fist and one of the metal cables from her armor shot out, slicing through three more incoming spiders.

Ryuko’s response caused Ryukyu and Kamui Woods to widen their eyes slightly and study her closely. After all, the display of power the armored blue heroine had shown in the trap was impressive—perhaps even greater than someone like Endeavor. The fact that she could recover so quickly after everything she’d done was truly remarkable.

“I understand.” For his part, All Might nodded at Ryuko’s response and quickly turned to Kamui Woods.

“Kamui Woods, can you create a defensive layer underground to reinforce Pixie-Bob’s?”

“Yes, I still have enough energy.”

Kamui Woods replied as several branches extended from his arms, piercing four more incoming spiders. This made All Might nod in satisfaction before he quickly announced in a serious tone.

“Then that’s how we’ll do it. Saito will focus on healing Mirko and stabilizing Edgeshot. Mandalay, Ragdoll, Pixie-Bob, and Kamui Woods will focus on defense. Everyone else, focus on recovering your strength.”

“““Understood!!”””

Ryuko responded in unison with the others as she placed her hands on the ground. Activating her quirk, Ryuko quickly manipulated the earth, causing it to begin sinking. At the same time, the distant ground erupted into a multitude of hardened earth spikes that pierced through the surrounding spiders indiscriminately, killing them all.

As they descended, Kamui Woods’ arms stretched and twisted to form a kind of wooden dome. The earth soon began to cover the dome and hardened, burying them completely and plunging them into total darkness.

At that moment, Ryuko manipulated the ground to move the dome, relocating it away from the area—while also remembering to create small openings in different places to allow air to flow in.

In the midst of the darkness, Shino gently tapped the forearm of her armor, then aimed her fist at the “ceiling.” From the upper part of Shino’s arm, a sort of disc shot out and attached itself to the ceiling.

Immediately after, she fired three more discs at the “walls.” A few moments later, the discs activated and began to emit a warm white light, fully illuminating the dark dome of wood and hardened earth.

“Looks like they didn’t follow us…”

Analyzing the mental image Tomoko was sharing, All Might commented in a low voice while looking at the beautiful, turquoise-haired heroine. Seeing Tomoko nod enthusiastically with a wide smile, All Might let out a small sigh of relief before announcing.

“Then let’s focus on recovering.”

All Might’s gaze passed over Ryukyu, who had returned to her human form and sat down on the ground, nodding in agreement—then landed on Kai, at which point he spoke seriously. Although in the Symbol of Peace’s tone, there was a clear trace of distrust and dissatisfaction.

“Then we’ll be counting on you, Saito.”

“…”

Remaining silent, Kai simply nodded and focused entirely on healing Mirko, since Sage was taking care of Edgeshot. Seeing the young man so focused, All Might sat down on the ground and began to breathe deeply, though his mind inevitably kept reflecting on Kai’s actions.

…

Even though he didn’t agree with the decision to leave him out of the exploration to care for a hero he had only met a few hours ago, Kai chose to remain silent and continued healing Mirko. After all, getting into a direct conflict with All Might would bring nothing but a pointless argument—and he truly wanted to heal Mirko, so he didn’t want to waste time.

Besides, at the end of the day, All Might could believe he was the leader all he wanted—but he was the strongest human in that place. Trying to force him to do something he didn’t want to was a fantasy. No one there could afford to go against him. Except for the Pussycats, of course.

In any case, as long as their goals aligned, there was no need for an unnecessary fight before its time. And if a certain idea he had in mind worked, he should be able to heal Edgeshot—or at least wake him up—which would solve several problems.

…

Meanwhile, Tomoko calmly walked over and ended up at Kai’s back, where she sat down on the ground, leaning her back against his. Like everyone else, she also had some doubts about Kai. Not just because she knew he had the Angel available—but also because she knew him. And she knew that if saving Edgeshot were truly that difficult, he would never have let her and Chatora jump into those webs so carelessly.

Therefore, Kai must have a way to heal injuries at the level of Edgeshot’s—or at the very least, he must have a hidden card besides the Angel that would guarantee their survival if things got out of control. But that didn’t mean she was angry or disappointed in him. Kai had never hidden or concealed his views and opinions, and she had fallen in love with him despite all that.

Besides, Kai—who always claimed he didn’t care about letting a stranger die right in front of him—had actually revealed one of his healing abilities. In Tomoko’s book, that was something to be happy about.

Yes, Kai was selfish, a bit of a liar, maybe even somewhat manipulative—and possibly more than that—but there were two things you could be sure of with him. One: He loved them from the bottom of his heart. And two: he wasn’t as ruthless and selfish as he claimed to be.

…

For their part, Ryukyu and Kamui Woods couldn’t help but cast a suspicious glance at Tomoko, who looked completely relaxed—to the point of having closed her eyes. Meanwhile, Ryuko and Chatora exchanged awkward smiles among themselves, fully aware that they had angered Kai. He wasn’t even looking at them. But even so, they were heroes by calling. Abandoning someone when they knew they could do something to help just wasn’t something they could bring themselves to do.

***

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