Chapter 290: Genesis Vault.

--Thursday, July 9, 2172

“Surprisingly, they don't contradict each other…”

Sitting on a sofa in the adjacent room with Keiko and Nemuri at his sides, Kai commented in a thoughtful voice as he reviewed the interrogation recordings. Nemuri, seated beside Kai, sighed, equally pensive about what Keiko had told her, and added.

“My scent didn't make much of a difference either…”

“For now, we can take what they said as truth, since they didn't contradict each other in the end. So these guys are just hired mercenaries without much useful information. It seems we'll only be able to get something out of the last one.” Keiko commented in a calm, analytical tone, to which Kai nodded.

“That seems to be the case. Although to interrogate him, it's best to use a combination of drugs and your scent, Nemuri. The effect on the last two subjects was quite good and much faster. However, as a precaution, it's better to do it from a distance, so I'll make a few modifications to the ventilation system.”

“Let me help you. I can create any parts or things you need.” Keiko commented with a smile. Nemuri soon added as she stood up from her seat.

“I'll help too. I'm quite strong now, and my scent is useful for finding leaks and things like that.”

“Then let's get to work.” Kai commented with a calm smile before starting to break through the wall to modify the ventilation system.

…

Several hours later, Nemuri stayed with Keiko in a distant room, watching real-time images of Kai in the interrogation room on a huge television. A thick pink mist emanated from her body, seeping through the ventilation, soon almost completely filling the interrogation room. At that moment, Kai's distorted voice resonated from the TV.

[I'm going to bring the guy out. Stay alert; if you notice anything strange, inform me immediately.]

““Understood.”” Nemuri and Keiko replied in unison, to which Kai on the screens nodded. Soon, the cell from the Alcatraz prison appeared in the room.

As the cell disappeared, the figure of a young man was revealed, dressed in jeans and an oversized t-shirt. He had short, greenish-colored hair, lightly tanned white skin, and Caucasian features. Kai quickly led the young man to a chair, handcuffed him like all the others, and injected him with the drugs, which made his expression appear drowsy and lost.

“What's your name?” Kai asked the dazed young man, who replied as a drop of saliva fell from his mouth.

“… Owen Rossi…”

“Your age?”

“… Twenty-two…”

“Where were you born?”

“Avalon…”

Upon hearing the answer, Kai's eyes couldn't help but narrow and pause for a second, but he quickly asked with seriousness.

“How long have you been operating outside of Avalon?”

“…Five years…”

“Do you answer to Avalon's jurisdiction?”

“No…”

“If you had been successful… who would have claimed you?”

“… No one…”

“And if you had failed…?”

Confused by the answer, Kai couldn't help but ask with a hint of doubt. Owen's brow furrowed, and he fell silent, refusing to answer. Soon, the scent in the room intensified, and Owen finally replied.

“… Neither…”

Hearing the answer, Kai couldn't help but let out a long sigh, saying something other than a question for the first time.

“So you're not an agent…”

“…”

Seeing Owen's silence, Kai took a step closer to him and asked in a firmer voice.

“How many borders did you cross to reach the cruise ship?”

“…Four…”

“Was your extraction dependent on a country… or a network?”

“…The network…”

(Problematic…) Kai couldn't help but let out a silent sigh, but quickly asked again.

“Why were you after that woman on the cruise ship?”

“…Bargaining chip… For a problematic target…”

“Who decided she was a valid target?” Kai asked with sharp eyes, restraining his Conqueror's Haki that wanted to roar powerfully.

“…The operations leader…”

“Do you know him?”

“…No…”

“Have you ever seen him?”

“…No…”

“How many levels are between you and him?”

“…Three… maybe four…” Owen hesitated for a few seconds before replying with the 'help' of another round of Nemuri's sleep-inducing scent. Kai nodded and soon asked, taking another step closer.

“How do the orders arrive?”

“…Never direct… Protocols… Intermediaries… Codes…”

“Always the same way?”

“…Yes…”

[Sage, note that pattern.] Kai quickly ordered his reliable assistant through their mental connection, to which the beautiful fairy promptly replied.

[Done, Master. I'll start searching to see what I can find.]

[Perfect.] Kai nodded in satisfaction before looking at Owen and asking.

“Your quirk.”

Owen raised his gaze and looked at Kai's mask with a hint of confusion in his intoxicated, drowsy expression, at which point Kai ordered.

“Describe it.”

“Localized time manipulation… Micro-reversals… Partial freezes…” Owen replied while blinking uncomfortably. Kai leaned in slightly to get closer to him and asked.

“Why would someone with that quirk do kidnapping work?”

“…Because I'm not irreplaceable…”

“What happens to those who fail?” The question came with an ease that slightly surprised Kai, who quickly asked. Owen remained silent for several seconds before the scent once again saturated the room.

“…They don't fail again…”

“Executed?”

“…”

“Disappeared?”

“… No…”

“Then, what?” Kai asked with narrowed eyes, to which Owen uttered a single, dry word.

“… Erased…”

“How are they erased?” Kai couldn't help but ask, raising an eyebrow beneath his mask.

“…I don't know…”

Kai's brow couldn't help but furrow at the answer, but seeing that the young man was already slurring his words heavily and seemed about to collapse, he quickly asked.

“Your mission wasn't just a kidnapping, was it?”

“…No… It was also a test… A provocation…”

Hearing the answer, Kai straightened up and took another step back before asking in a cold, authoritative tone.

“What organization do you work for?”

“…Gen… Gen…”

With his expression changing to one of discomfort and blinking forcefully, Owen stammered several times over his words, as if unable to speak. At that moment, large amounts of pink scent completely filled the room, making it hard to see. After a few seconds of repeating the same word over and over, the young man finally managed to let out the answer.

“Genesis Vault.”

Along with Owen's words, Kai opened his eyes in disbelief as he received a vision of the future where he could see himself with the Secrets Keeper and Owen turned into a puddle on the floor. Without thinking for a single second, Kai unleashed his Conqueror's Haki with all his might and placed his hand on Owen's head while ordering his reliable assistant.

[Sage! Isolate!]

Just as in the vision, the Secrets Keeper appeared in Kai's hand, but thanks to his quick action, the cell was already around Owen this time. With a solemn tone, Kai asked as he stepped away from the ghostly cell.

[Sage?]

[I managed to isolate him in time, Master, but his body suffered severe damage. It will be difficult for him to survive outside of isolation, and the cost of using Angel's Breath to heal him would be terrifying, so I advise against it.] Sage explained while creating a holographic screen in front of Kai, who quickly read the data while commenting thoughtfully.

[So it's not an escape method…? He's almost dead… Although he could have ended up like this because we interrupted.]

[We've already seen All for One's strange revival quirk, Master. It could be something similar.] Sage replied in an equally thoughtful tone, to which Kai couldn't help but nod. At that moment, several knocks sounded at the door of the room, accompanied by the worried voices of Keiko and Nemuri.

““Kai, are you okay?!!””

Kai walked towards the door, at which point the two beautiful women lunged to hug him and removed his mask to look into his eyes. With a calm expression, Kai hugged back the worried women and commented.

“I'm fine, although the guy isn't so good.”

“What happened?” Keiko asked in a serious voice, so Kai gave them a summary of what had occurred.

…

“…Those guys are really problematic…” Hearing the whole story, Keiko couldn't help but whisper with a furrowed brow. Nemuri nodded and commented in a serious voice.

“They're too cautious and ruthless… Maybe we could ask Principal Nezu for help… He has quite a lot of influence and means all over the world.”

“All Might could also help, but let's take it easy for now.” Kai commented in a serious tone, before looking at Nemuri and adding.

“We don't know how many 'ears' they have, so it's dangerous to ask for help carelessly. Also, thanks to the Secrets Keeper, their clairvoyance methods failed, but I'm still worried that a simple name works as a trigger to activate it. It's better if we don't mention the name for now.”

“That's true; it's better if we move with a lot of caution.” Keiko commented seriously while looking at Nemuri, who bit her lower lip for a few seconds, then nodded and spoke while looking at Kai.

“Alright, let's keep it a secret for now, but don't overlook asking for help, Kai.”

“I know, I'll ask for help in due time. By the way, for now, don't mention it to the others either; they can't provide much help, and they'll just worry.”

Kai nodded calmly, to which the pair of beauties agreed. Then, Kai headed towards the exit with Keiko and Nemuri while discussing what he had learned from the interrogations.

Upon returning to the workshop, Salem and Tama jumped onto Kai's shoulders and meowed in unison before rubbing their heads against his cheeks. Kai nodded, then looked at one of the holographic screens in the workshop, where the time could be seen, and commented.

“That's right, it's time to eat.”

“With all of this, I forgot to eat…” Nemuri commented while rubbing her stomach, which let out a subtle rumble, making Keiko and Kai laugh. In an amused tone, Kai looked at the slightly embarrassed Nemuri and commented.

“Let's go out. The food should be ready by now.”

………

After eating a sumptuous dinner prepared by Momo and Rin, Mrs. Yoshiko's replacement, with the whole family, Kai sat with everyone in the living room, where they began to plan the final details of the next trip.

When they finished, Momo took control to put on the series they were all watching together, but before they could, Chatora cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention, and commented in a calm tone.

“Well, before the episode starts, there's something I want to share. I plan to start living at the agency tomorrow. You all need privacy, and it's not a good idea for the agency to be completely empty every night, so I'll move some things tomorrow.”

“You don't have to do that, Chatora. This is your home too.” Kai quickly commented in a serious tone, looking directly at Chatora, to which the others nodded.

“Yeah, Chatora, you don't have to leave. No one here feels uncomfortable with you.” Shino added in a serious tone. Ryuko soon spoke in a similar tone.

“In fact, you wanting to leave is more uncomfortable.”

“Chatora, we're family, and family always stays together!” Tomoko added while raising her hands in the air. Nemuri soon spoke seriously.

“Up until now, there haven't been any problems with living together. There's no reason for you to want to leave.”

“It would be very sad if you left…” Momo commented with puppy-dog eyes, to which Nejire nodded with the same expression.

“Very, very sad…”

Chatora couldn't help but laugh upon seeing Momo and Nejire's faces, then commented in a calm voice as his gaze swept over everyone present.

“Don't get me wrong, guys. It's not like I'm leaving forever or anything like that. I just want to have my own space, but I'll still come over often for meals, movie nights, and such. To be honest, being the only single guy in the house has given me a bit of an urgency, and it's easier living alone, you know what I mean.”

Hearing Chatora, everyone looked at each other with realization, at which point Yumiko looked at Chatora and commented with a calm smile, though a subtle blush could be seen on her cheeks.

“I see. If that's the case, then you have my support. Although we are your family and will always be here for you, a partner is something very important.”

“But if that's the reason, it's better if you stay in an apartment downtown. The agency is too far away. Sage will send you a list of properties I own so you can choose something you like. If you don't want to drive, I can pick you up with Accompany in the mornings before going to UA.” Kai commented with a smile, at which moment Keiko added as Rin approached with freshly made tea.

“I also have some slightly more exclusive properties downtown, in case you want to take a look. Also, once you choose where to live, I'll send someone to help with cleaning and everything else.”

“You don't need to do all that for now.” Chatora commented with a warm smile as he received a cup of tea from Rin, then continued looking at them all.

“First, I want to get used to living alone, and it's better to do so in a familiar place like the agency. In a couple of months, depending on how everything turns out, I might consider living more downtown, or I might simply come back to live here.”

“I'm going to miss you so much, Tiger…”  Tomoko jumped to hug Chatora and commented in a tearful voice.

“We'll still see each other every day at the agency, haha.” Chatora replied amusedly before drinking his tea. Ryuko let out a small sigh and replied.

“Even so, we've been living together for too long. It'll be weird not seeing you at night.”

“It's all a matter of habit, don't worry.” Chatora commented in a calm voice, at which point Shino let out a sigh and then sent a telepathic message to his lifelong companion.

[You're too considerate, Chatora… If you waited a couple of weeks, Keiko and Yumiko would get used to it and stop feeling uncomfortable.]

[I know, but what I said isn't a lie. I really do want to live alone for a while.] Chatora replied through the formed mental connection, a calm smile on his face. Shino received his tea while sending a message in a melancholic tone.

[Don't take too long to come back… We really will miss you.]

[Don't overthink it; it's part of life. Who knows, I might actually end up getting a partner, and we'll go live together?] Chatora replied in a playful tone, subtly glancing at Shino, who simply let out a small sigh.

***

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