Chapter 30: Do you want to be a hero, Kai?

Recovering from the surprise, the young detective spoke in a serious yet cordial tone.

“It’s a pleasure to meet the renowned Midnight. It really is a surprise, after all, there are many rumors about your retirement.”

“I did retire. Now I have important things I need to protect,” Nemuri extended her arm and embraced little Kai, who seemed lost in his thoughts, while a warm, almost maternal smile appeared on her beautiful face.

“I understand. At some point, we all find something we want to protect...” The young detective commented with a tone combining surprise and understanding, but quickly regained his composure and continued.

“By the way, Kayama-san, my name is Naomasa Tsukauchi, it's a pleasure.”

“The pleasure is mine,” Nemuri responded while taking Kai and placing him on her lap, causing the blue-eyed boy to look at her, but upon seeing her expression, he wisely chose to remain silent and got lost in his thoughts again.

“Well, Kayama-san, I would like you to tell me a bit about the events.”

“Well, actually, I don’t really know what happened. Initially, we were just on our way home when that woman suddenly attacked us. We tried to escape in different ways, but she never stopped following us, to the point where we lost our truck during the chase.

Although I must say, her transformation quirk was quite formidable. It gave her super strength and a strange ability to cause energy explosions, and she could also reach an absurdly explosive speed. But she’s probably not very accustomed to the power of her quirk because if she had used it correctly, we wouldn’t be here.

Additionally, I must highlight her poor mental state. I don’t know if it’s due to her quirk, something inherent to her, or some substance, but her behavior was practically beastly, with no consideration for the consequences of her actions, to the point where, according to her, her motivation for killing us was ‘to become famous’...”

While Nemuri was recounting the events as well as some of her perceptions about the attacker, Kai was deeply reflecting on a matter of vital importance. He had to somewhat ignore during the escape and the fight, but now couldn’t get out of his mind.

(Breathing is somehow connected to my aura, that’s a fact. The real question is, why?... I can’t come up with an explanation. If I had to resort to other works for ‘inspiration’ like before, the only thing that comes to mind with breathing and ‘energy’ is Jojo’s Hamon.

But even if I force the logic a bit like before, and I explain Hamon as Enhancement, Transmutation, and maybe Emission. The problem is that I don’t recall there being a profound relationship between breathing and aura, except for some very specific examples of very special Hatsu like the chameleon guy who could become undetectable.

Although, well, from the beginning, my aura has been a bit different from what I remember from the original work, plus it’s also possible that I remember it wrong. And there is an association between breathing and Nen, which is also quite possible.

But well, putting that aside, it’s a fact that for me, aura and breathing have an in-depth relationship that I definitely have to work on. The issue is, how? I don’t remember much specifically about the topic from my past life’s memories, except for its importance in training and martial arts… Wait! That could be it!

There doesn’t need to be something specific about the topic in other works I remember. I could well investigate breathing in martial arts, that could be a good start. Furthermore, if I use that logic, several ideas occur to me and there might even be an alternative path to take...)

While Kai was starting to map out a path in his mind for his training and research on his rare quirk, he suddenly felt himself being moved, which finally allowed him to hear that someone was calling him.

“Kai!!...”

Nemuri shook and called out loudly to Kai, who was completely lost in his thoughts, causing the blue-eyed boy to look at her. This prompted her to comment, half amused, half affectionate.

“Finally! You really get lost in the moon, and there’s no way to wake you. As always, you have an enviable ability to concentrate…”

“Sorry, Onee-chan, I was just thinking about a new project,” Kai quickly responded, although deep down, he no longer found this ability of his so desirable. After all, the police had already walked away, and he hadn’t even noticed.

“I figured as much, but for now, they’re taking us home. Although later, Onee-chan will have to go testify in court.” Nemuri let out a sigh that combined fatigue and frustration due to the trouble they had gotten into without even seeking it.

“I think in the future, it’s better if we don’t go out much…” Kai couldn’t help but comment, a bit annoyed with his bad luck, to which Nemuri could only nod with a bit of resignation.

“Yes, I think that will be best for a while.”

Shortly after, Nemuri and Kai were escorted to a patrol car, from which Kai could see several people dressed in white plastic suits carrying a black body bag. Most likely the poor unfortunate soul held by the ogress. Which they loaded into a new truck that had arrived, one he hadn’t even noticed.

(I really need to find a solution for these disconnects of mine. It could cost me my life one of these days, especially with the damned bad luck I carry...)

...

Upon arriving back home, Nemuri bid farewell to the officers and then took little Kai for a good bath. After all, they had just gone through a potentially deadly experience and had only survived thanks to the impressive quirk of the little boy.

In the bathtub, Nemuri hugged the little boy on her lap, consoling herself with his warmth, while feeling an infinite relief and happiness for having him by her side. But there was something that needed to be discussed, so after a moment, Nemuri spoke in a serious and affectionate tone.

“Kai… I want you to promise me that you won’t do what you did today again. It was too dangerous…”

“…”

Seeing that Kai remained silent, Nemuri couldn’t help but tighten her embrace around the little boy, speaking in a tone that threatened to break at any moment.

“Please, Kai… I beg you, you’re my baby, I wouldn’t know what to do without you. Don’t do this to me, please, promise me…”

“… I can’t promise you that, Onee-chan. If I did, I’d be lying because it’s likely to happen again. I don’t want to be a coward.” After a sigh, Kai commented in a calm, serious tone, to which Nemuri responded as tears gathered in her eyes.

“Coward? Running away isn’t cowardly. It’s okay to run away to live another day if you have no chance.”

“Exactly. If there are no chances, it’s not cowardly to run away. But in this case, there were chances to win, and I proved it. That’s why I couldn’t run away and won’t do so in the future if the same happens.”

Kai responded full of seriousness and conviction, causing Nemuri’s heart to tighten, making her unable to hold back her tears, which started to fall like waterfalls from her face, ending up on the head of the blue-eyed little boy.

“Please, Kai, you’re still a baby. Let your elders protect you. Let me protect you. It’s my duty. It’s the duty of life that the elders protect the young ones. I really don’t want you to put yourself in danger. I wouldn’t be able to bear losing you…”

Nemuri spoke with a tearful voice, full of fear and pain, causing Kai to hug the arms that wrapped around him. Then he rests his head on the ample chest of the beautiful woman who cried because of him, while speaking in a serious tone.

“You might be right, Onee-chan, but I’m not someone normal. I have never been. Besides, I promised you that I would protect you, and I fully intend to keep that promise.”

An endless swirl of emotions filled Nemuri’s chest, a terrifying fear of losing the little one in her arms forever, while at the same time, immense happiness couldn’t help but slip into her heart upon hearing him. But when she was about to speak to continue trying to convince him, the little one said something that left her speechless.

“Tell me, Onee-chan, how many times do you think heroes and police officers have heard something similar from their families?”

“…”

“See? Very likely many times, but they still continue. It could be for money, it could be for a conviction, it could really be for anything. The point is that they continue, and maybe someone who was told exactly what you’re telling me and continued, was at the same time, your inspiration to save others as a hero.”

“… Do you want to be a hero, Kai?” Nemuri asked in a soft voice, to which Kai quickly responded.

“What? A hero? No, I won't be a hero. It was just an example that I thought you could relate to, but since I’m aware of my terrible luck, I know that somehow, I’ll end up involved in trouble in the future.”

“…”

Nemuri couldn’t help but remain silent at Kai’s words. After all, a battle of conflicting emotions had erupted in her heart. On one hand, she truly felt it was a shame and even a waste that someone so powerful and with such great potential to help the population, like Kai, refused to do so.

But on the other hand, she could not help but be glad that he wanted to stay safe and not expose himself to danger by being a hero. This filled her with an infinite sense of guilt and hypocrisy, as she herself had been a professional hero for many years and would still be one if it weren’t for the tragic event.

Lost in her thoughts and contradictory feelings, Nemuri got out of the bath and dressed both herself and the little one, then scheduled an appointment at the hospital and contacted Keiko and Yumiko to tell them what had happened. After all, if they found out later in another way, it could create unnecessary conflicts.

...

A couple of hours later, while Kai was working on the algorithm for the new and improved ‘Sage’, an impressive black luxury car arrived at the property. From it, a woman of divine beauty stepped out, with black hair, gray eyes, and supernaturally symmetrical and refined features, which, along with the elegant glasses she wore, gave her an aura full of intelligence and class.

The impressive woman, who was dressed in an elegant black business suit that couldn’t hide her voluptuous figure, ran hurriedly with an anxious expression on her face, quickly reaching the beautiful elegant and minimalist mansion.

Upon entering the mansion, the first thing the woman noticed was a small 5-year-old boy sitting on one of the sofas. He seemed completely focused, typing at an impressive speed on a black laptop while swinging his legs in the air.

Seeing the little one, the woman’s eyes filled with tears, and she immediately ran to take him in her arms and hug him tightly, causing the laptop on his legs to fall to the ground.

“Kai, it’s such a relief that you’re okay… you don’t know how worried I was…” The woman exclaimed through sobs, setting aside her usual serious and elegant demeanor.

“I’m fine, Auntie Keiko, nothing happened to me,” Kai said as he returned the hug to the beautiful woman, while also stroking her back in an attempt to comfort her.

“I was so scared… I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you again, that I would lose you forever…”

Keiko commented in a low voice, in a tone filled with fear and despair, while the little boy began gently to stroke her head, making it unclear who the real adult was in the scene.

“Don’t worry, Auntie Keiko, I’m fine. Nothing happened to me, not even a scratch. I’m very strong, and from now on, I’ll only get stronger, so nothing will happen to me. I won’t leave you.”

Keiko was indeed a very curious case. In public, she was an intelligent, strong woman who always had everything under control, like an unmovable pillar, unwilling to show the slightest weakness, even in front of little Momo.

But with his mother, perhaps because she was her therapist, she was the complete opposite: fragile, insecure, lonely, and somewhat weepy, which wasn’t difficult to understand. After all, being strong all the time is quite difficult, something he himself had learned the hard way in his past life.

The curious thing was that, for some reason, Keiko behaved similarly with him as she did with his mother. Maybe because she saw him as an extension of his mother, or perhaps because he had always been a rather unusual child and was absurdly good at engineering for his age. The fact is, she was like this with him, fragile and weepy.

Whenever no one else was around, except for his mother, Keiko was incredibly affectionate with him, incomparable to how she was with little Momo. Although it couldn’t be said that she didn’t love her, as she cared deeply for her and looked after her as her most precious treasure, with Kai, it was different.

With him, she was sweetly affectionate and almost his accomplice. She would complain about how annoying people at her company were and things like that. She would tell him and ask his opinion about her ideas and projects, and even help him convince his mother to let him do things she would not allow, like having his own private workshop.

In short, Keiko was a very curious woman, one could even say quite strange. But like Nemuri, she was very special to him, so much so that not even the memories of his past life could dilute that feeling.

“Kai… promise me you won’t leave me… that you’ll never disappear from my life… that you won’t leave me alone…” Keiko said through tears as she clung to the little one in her arms, afraid he would suddenly disappear.

“… I promise I’ll do my best,” Kai could only say that while hugging Keiko, after all, his luck was pretty bad, and who knows what could happen.