Chapter 231: They’ve come for us.

--Saturday, May 30, 2172

Inside the house, Kai sat in a large armchair, with Nemuri and Momo sitting on either side of him, intertwining their hands with his. Meanwhile, Nejire stood behind the chair and hugged him around the neck with a huge smile on her face. Seeing her daughter’s smile, Yumiko could only shake her head, at which point Keiko looked at Kai and asked with a small smile.

“How did it go? Was anyone hurt?”

“You could say it went well. Chatora was injured, but I healed him, and once he returns, I’ll treat him with Angel’s Breath so he doesn’t suffer any lasting effects.” Kai said in a tired voice as he rested his head on Nejire’s large, soft breasts. For her part, Nemuri turned to look at Kai and asked with concern.

“Was it that difficult?”

“Quite a bit.” Kai nodded and explained. “We fell into the spiders' traps a couple of times, and at the end there was a pretty tough fight. Luckily, everything turned out fine in the end, and we wiped out all the spiders. There are several videos on the server so you can see in more detail what happened.”

“We’ll watch them later.” Nemuri nodded and reached out to touch Kai’s cheek, which was a little sticky from sweat, then added with a small smile.

“For now, let me prepare a nice bath to wash off all that sweat so you can sleep peacefully. You look exhausted.”

“I made you something to eat with Mrs. Yoshiko. You must be hungry.” Momo added, squeezing Kai’s hand with a smile that reflected her frustration at not being able to help more. Nejire quickly kissed the top of Kai’s head and said.

“Then I’ll get your bed and a super comfy pajama ready!”

“Thanks… I do feel a bit tired.” Kai said, mid-yawn. Nemuri gently stroked Kai’s cheek, then gave him a soft kiss on the forehead and said.

“I won’t be long.”

“I’ll go to the kitchen!”

Momo gave Kai a quick kiss on the cheek and exclaimed as she ran off to the kitchen to find Mrs. Yoshiko. Meanwhile, Nejire kissed Kai on the head before running upstairs, calling out cheerfully.

“Mom! Cover me up being a pillow for Kai!”

“Fufu, see you in a moment.” Nemuri looked amused at the surprised Yumiko, then calmly walked upstairs behind Nejire.

At that moment, Keiko left the stunned Yumiko behind and sat next to Kai, gently pulling him so his head rested on her soft, elastic breasts. Stroking Kai’s face lightly with her fingertips, Keiko made him close his eyes as she spoke in a warm, affectionate voice.

“You must have pushed yourself really hard… Those silly Pussycats only know how to get you into trouble…”

“Although it was troublesome that they were there, in the end, it actually turned out to be a good thing…”

With his eyes closed, Kai spoke in a soft, almost whispered voice. Yumiko, who had gotten up from her spot and sat on the other side of the couch, asked somewhat worriedly as she lifted Kai’s legs so he could lie down on the sofa. Meanwhile, Keiko adjusted herself so Kai could rest comfortably using her as a pillow.

“What happened?”

“At the end of the fight, there was a moment when I was attacked by a strange spider, and I was knocked out for a few seconds. If the others hadn’t been there to distract the rest, I might not be here…”

Upon hearing Kai’s words, Keiko’s expression visibly paled. She quickly unzipped Kai’s tracksuit jacket and began checking his body hastily, visibly worried and urgent, as she asked.

“What happened to you? Are you hurt?”

“No… I’m fine… in the end, nothing happened…”

Kai replied in a soft whisper, allowing Keiko to remove his jacket and the shirt underneath. Meanwhile, Yumiko finished taking off Kai’s shoes and socks, then began to gently massage him to help him relax, speaking in a voice filled with conflicting emotions.

“Even though I know it was necessary to deal with those spiders, my heart screams that I shouldn’t have let you go… The idea that something could have happened to you terrifies me…”

“What’s done is done… things turned out well… that’s all that should matter…” Kai said in a slow, whispering voice, gradually drifting off into sleep.

Keiko, having confirmed that Kai had no injuries, let out a sigh of relief—but soon bit her lower lip in frustration. After a few seconds, the beautiful black-haired mother let out a heavy sigh, then embraced Kai and kissed his head softly, speaking in a fragile voice.

“Be very careful, Kai… If something were to happen to you… I don’t know what I’d do… I couldn’t bear it…”

“Sorry… I’ll do better in the future…” Kai opened his eyes, turned his head to look at Keiko, and spoke in a serious voice. Keiko gently guided Kai’s head back onto her chest, kissed his cheek tenderly, and replied in a soft voice.

“I know… You’re the best of all, just a little stubborn and reckless… But that’s the Kai I love so much…”

“Thank you…”

Kai whispered his thanks, making Keiko smile. She tapped his cheek gently with her index finger before hugging him warmly. At that moment, Yumiko rested Kai’s feet on the couch, leaned in close to his face, kissed his cheek, and spoke in a soft, loving voice.

“We’ll always be waiting for you at home… Don’t leave us behind…”

“That could only happen if I die—and I’ll do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.” Kai looked at Yumiko and Keiko and spoke with a serious and confident tone. The two mothers smiled beautifully, then responded in unison.

““We know.””

Realizing they had spoken at the same time, Keiko and Yumiko looked at each other and laughed in amusement. While Yumiko returned to massaging Kai’s feet with care, Keiko gently helped him close his eyes and spoke in a soft, almost whispering voice.

“Get some rest. I’ll wake you when Nemuri has the bath ready…”

………

On a large inflatable raft, Mirko lay completely soaked and unconscious. Suddenly, the rabbit heroine’s ears began to twitch, and she abruptly sat up, scanning her surroundings with sharp eyes, ready to fight.

Surveying the area, Mirko spotted the Pussycats sitting alongside All Might, all of them wet, their suits and armor damaged. In addition to them, she also saw Ryukyu, Edgeshot, and Kamui Woods lying unconscious not far from her. But no matter how hard she looked around, there was one person missing, causing her heart to tighten.

“What happened? Where’s the boy?”

Mirko quickly asked in a somewhat hoarse voice, which made the Pussycats and All Might exchange complex looks. That silent exchange only made the rabbit hero’s heart tighten even more, prompting her to raise her voice and ask again.

“Where is the boy?!”

“Uh… well… Saito stayed behind—”

Tomoko tried to speak, clearly uncomfortable about having to lie to someone so visibly worried. But before she could finish, Mirko jumped off the raft and started swimming at high speed, prompting Shino to urgently send her a telepathic message.

[What are you doing, Mirko?! Come back!!]

“I’m going to find the boy!!”

Mirko didn’t bother replying telepathically—she simply shouted as she swam even faster. Seeing that Mirko was determined, Shino looked at the others, and after they nodded in agreement, she sent a telepathic message to the rabbit heroine.

[Calm down, Mirko. Kai is safe.]

Hearing the seriousness and certainty in Shino’s "voice," Mirko stopped swimming and turned to look back at the raft, which she had left far behind. She then sent a message using the mental link that had formed.

[What happened? Where is the boy?]

[Kai wants to pretend to be ‘dead’ to avoid questions about his power, but he’s fine, don’t worry,] Shino replied with a serious tone, which brought a confused expression to Mirko’s face. She responded.

[Why go through all that trouble?]

[Kai doesn’t want to be a hero, and because he’s so powerful, he’s afraid politicians will target him.] Shino summarized the reasons, which only deepened Mirko’s confusion.

[And that’s why he’s pretending to be dead? Wouldn’t it be easier to just become a hero? That way he could even find strong people to fight every now and then.]

[Although you’re a little bit right, things aren’t that easy… ] Shino replied with a complicated expression, prompting Mirko to shake her head and say.

[So the boy’s one of those…]

Mirko began swimming back toward the raft, at which point Shino asked with a slightly concerned expression.

[I told you because I saw how worried you were, but I hope you won’t mention it…]

[Don’t worry, I won’t say a thing. If the boy wants to play dead, let him. It’s none of my business.] Mirko replied calmly, allowing Shino to let out a small sigh of relief before sending another telepathic message.

[Thank you, Mirko. I know this will be troublesome for you, but you just have to say you don’t know what happened to ‘Saito.’ We’ll simply say he stayed behind and never came out, so it’s likely he died inside.]

[Got it… and what happened with the spiders?] Mirko asked as she climbed back onto the raft, completely soaked. Shino replied with a calm expression.

[They were neutralized.]

Mirko nodded toward Shino, then fell silent on the raft. After a few minutes, Edgeshot, Kamui Woods, and Ryukyu woke up with a start and began looking around. Seeing the sea around them, the heroes were quickly able to piece together a mental image of what had happened—but one question pounded in their minds: Where was the man in the black armor?

“What happened to the spiders? Where are ‘Saito’ and the panther…?”

After a few seconds, Edgeshot could no longer hold back his curiosity and asked seriously while looking at the Pussycats. All Might was the one to answer, with a calm and firm voice.

“The spiders were exterminated, but Saito stayed behind on the island...”

Hearing the response, Edgeshot couldn’t help but study the Pussycats and All Might with a sharp gaze, unsure whether to believe them or not. Though all of them looked tired and battered, they appeared unusually calm and composed—enough for the ninja hero to easily suspect they were lying. Still, Edgeshot said nothing. He simply stared silently at the calm sea for a few seconds, then spoke in a quiet voice.

“I see… I hope he made it out.”

Upon hearing Edgeshot, the Pussycats looked at him with a hint of surprise, while Ryukyu and Kamui Woods silently nodded. They didn’t know if what was being said was true, but one thing was certain: they were all alive and well thanks to that man in the black armor. He healed them, guided them, and even fought the most terrifying spiders on his own.

Though his power was overwhelming—and his variety of abilities even more so—they were experienced heroes who had seen a lot throughout their careers. So they were fully aware that the man, despite not being a pro hero, wasn’t exactly a villain either. He was more like a vigilante… or something along those lines. After all, even the Symbol of Peace was willing to cover for him—and if there was one person who could never be mistaken for a villain, it was him.

For that reason, they saw no need to antagonize him directly—especially when they owed him their lives. If the man wanted to play dead and remain mysterious, that was fine by them. Although they would still keep their guard up—power like his couldn’t be ignored.

If the man in black armor ever decided to cause harm, it would be truly disastrous. Perhaps only the Symbol of Peace could stop him—and to Ryukyu, Edgeshot, and Kamui Woods, it was painfully clear that the Symbol of Peace had grown weaker.

…

“Any more questions?”

Amid the awkward silence caused by All Might’s answer, Tomoko asked with a slightly mischievous smile, already imagining what her fellow heroes were thinking. Kai was far too cautious and pessimistic to realize it, but she knew better. Kai was practically a force of nature—so strong it was demoralizing. No hero would want to go against him without a very good reason.

Heroes risked their lives every day—no one knew better than they did that it was always best to avoid a fight when possible. And Kai wasn’t just strong—he also possessed one of the rarest and most valued abilities among heroes: the power to heal. As long as Kai didn’t directly threaten people, most heroes would rather have him as a friend and ally than an enemy.

That didn’t mean Kai’s concerns were unfounded, though. The idiots who never risked their lives and only gave orders from behind a desk wouldn’t think the same way. They really might try to get their hands on Kai. After all, Tomoko—being a renowned pro hero—had dealt with enough foolish politicians trying to manipulate her to know exactly what they were capable of. She even knew of some who had actually fallen for their tricks.

“Were the spiders really exterminated?” Ryukyu asked All Might seriously, to which the Symbol of Peace gave a solemn nod.

“Yes. Although it will be necessary to maintain strict surveillance along the nearby coasts in case any managed to escape, the strongest and most dangerous ones were all killed.”

“That’s a relief…” Ryukyu replied, letting out a sigh of relief—just as the sound of helicopter rotors echoed in the distance, drawing the heroes’ attention in that direction.

“Looks like they’ve come for us…” Chatora spoke with a slightly hoarse voice.

***

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