Chapter 56: You’re part of my family

When Kai reached the man, he knelt on the ground, and at that moment, a beautiful light of sky-blue color appeared around his right hand, his most powerful healing ability after [Angel’s Breath]. He had named it [Mystical Palm] in honor of the Jutsu that served as his inspiration.

Using his [Mystical Palm], Kai deactivated the man’s pain receptors before laying him on his back on the ground, restoring his twisted limbs to their correct positions. Then Kai began touching various parts of the man’s body with his light-covered hand.

Aside from his limbs, the man had several broken ribs, internal bleeding, torn organs, and more, but fortunately, and unlike the woman, he hadn’t lost any organs or limbs. Mystical Palm couldn’t regenerate them, and since Angel’s Breath wouldn’t be available for almost 12 hours, the man would likely have faced death if that had been the case.

The [Mystical Palm] ability had no contracts or limitations and was something Kai had developed based on his sheer skill. It combined the categories of Enhancement, Transmutation, and Manipulation, along with years of studying medicine and anatomy, not to mention exhausting practice with his handy lab rats—all in pursuit of what he liked to call "Nen super-surgeries," an ability that allowed him to heal himself or others without any side effects.

With Manipulation, in addition to moving things like bone fragments within organs and putting them back in place, Kai could also control things like bleeding or pain sensation. It functioned like a super-effective anesthetic, which was also incredibly safe, causing no side effects, something he had confirmed thanks to his lab rats.

Once everything was more or less in place with Manipulation, Kai quickly created Nen threads transmuted from his [Mystical Palm], which entered the man’s body to secure everything in place. These threads reconnected veins, nerves, arteries, and more. After that, Kai applied Enhancement. Combined with the threads, this brought the body’s healing factor to the extreme, healing the wound in seconds.

Meanwhile, Shino watched with tear-filled eyes as the visibly exhausted Kai healed her cousin’s husband at an incredible pace, using a different ability from the one he had just employed. At the same time, her heart was filled with a whirlwind of emotions, ranging from gratitude to relief and security.

But the most evident feeling in her heart, the one she had spent years trying to suppress, was undoubtedly love. She was captivated by the young man in front of her—he was incredibly handsome, capable, and sweet to her. This young man had given her things she had only dreamed of, time and time again, and he made her feel a sense of security she had never experienced before meeting him.

Although she wasn’t really a Shotacon, as others liked to joke, or so she wanted to believe, the truth was that as Kai had grown and looked more and more like an adult. She couldn’t help but feel attracted to him in more than one way, to the point that now he had become her sole fantasy during her nights of 'relief'.

She constantly dreamed of him; her heart raced when they were alone together, and she even kept a small box no one else knew about, filled with gifts and little reminders of their special moments together. But at the same time, she knew it couldn’t be. She was too old for Kai, and no one in the family would ever approve.

Moreover, Shino also felt inferior and unworthy of being by Kai’s side. He was too incredible—a tech super-genius with patents worth hundreds of millions and an amazing master smith with a brand that symbolized status and power. Heroes, martial artists, and collectors from all over the world fought over his creations.

But as if that weren’t enough, his powers were off the charts. Shino didn’t doubt that Kai could at least put up a good fight against All Might. While he might not be as strong as the No. 1 hero, Kai could do things All Might never could, making him better in many ways.

For all these reasons, Shino felt undeserving of being by his side. She was just a heroine with a broken quirk, which Kai had fixed using his extraordinary powers. And while she had her beauty—something she could confidently admit was far above average—it had been preserved and enhanced thanks to Kai’s care. In the end, she had nothing to proudly stand by his side.

But even for someone like her, who had nothing worthy to offer him, Kai was willing to run to her side in the middle of the night to take care of her and protect her. He did this to the point that, without even hesitating, he was doing things he hated most—risking exposing his powers and helping strangers—all for her sake. Because he had seen her sadness and weakness, and he was clearly exhausted from the effort.

This gesture from Kai had touched the deepest part of her heart, causing that almost uncontrollable flame she had spent years trying to extinguish to spiral out of control and explode into a raging fire that consumed her entirely. She loved this man, and there was nothing and no one who could change that now.

Meanwhile, Kai was methodically healing the man's most severe wounds as quickly as he could in his severely weakened state, but at that moment, he felt the man’s already faint vital signs plummet, sending him toward certain death.

(Oh no, you son of a bitch, you're not going to ruin my perfect ending. I said I’d fix everything, and I will, no matter the cost, so you’ll live, even if you don’t want to!)

[Sage!!!]

Somewhat angry that the man was about to die in front of him, Kai quickly called out mentally to his trusted assistant, who immediately appeared before him, wearing the same prison guard uniform.

[Sage, make sure to keep this guy alive while I heal him.]

Upon seeing Sage, Kai quickly asked through their mental connection, to which the beautiful fairy responded as she approached the man, placing her tiny hands on him just as her uniform turned back into her dress of light.

[Did you capture him?]

While healing the man, Kai asked mentally, and Sage replied while summoning a holographic screen in [In] mode in front of him.

[Yes, master, he's now registered as a new prisoner of Alcatraz.]

The holographic screen in front of Kai showed something very similar to a prison file, with various photos of the detainee, physical and biometric data, as well as the date and time of capture. This made the blue-eyed boy nod in satisfaction as he quickly congratulated her, causing a joyful smile on the fairy’s face.

[You did it perfectly; you're the best, Sage.]

[Hehehe.]

Alcatraz was Sage’s ‘Hatsu,’ one in which Kai had no involvement, as she had it since she first appeared, and he merely gave it the name. It contained several interesting abilities, but without a doubt, the most important was the capture ability. This was the sole reason he had stuck with plan A to fulfill his promise to Nemuri, and it had also allowed him to keep his handy lab rats alive, though they probably didn’t like it.

Although Sage could technically capture anyone, the ability had an important limitation: she could only capture people whom Kai had defeated or, at the very least, dealt the final blow to. Although it seems to have changed now, previously, Sage would turn into a pair of handcuffs that the prisoner had to wear for one minute. After which, the prisoner would acquire the Alcatraz mark and, in return, lose their freedom forever.

Once marked as a prisoner, Sage gained the power to do whatever she wanted with that person’s body, from temporarily or permanently deactivating their quirk to putting their consciousness to sleep and using them as a sort of puppet. She could also “isolate” them, which meant sealing the prisoners in a Nen space in another dimension, or at least, that was what Sage and Kai theorized.

The [Isolation of Alcatraz] was one of the abilities Sage and Kai had studied most in recent years, all with the intention of replicating it. After all, a Nen space in another dimension was a free pass to teleportation, something Kai had been trying to achieve for years, but so far, he hadn’t made a single breakthrough.

With Sage’s help, Kai managed to heal all of the man’s wounds, leaving him in perfect condition again, though the entire process took over 10 minutes. Since the [Isolation Veil] was about to fade, the blue-eyed boy, feeling truly exhausted, sat on the ground to recover a bit.

The reason Kai had summoned the veil, even though he had ensured, with his Haki and Sage’s help, that no one was around or that there were no cameras watching. He was cautious of a possible quirk that could see into the past or something strange like that. Even if someone found out that he healed the hero couple, as long as they didn’t see how he did it, he could always come up with something to minimize the potential consequences.

While it might seem silly that he didn’t care about ‘showing’ the power to take down the muscle-bound trash in one blow but was so cautious about his healing abilities, Kai was very aware that the implications were different. Possessing a power capable of killing would make others wary of provoking him, but pulling someone back from the brink of death would do exactly the opposite—desperate people didn’t care about consequences.

For her part, Shino, after witnessing with her own eyes how her beloved Kai had accomplished the impossible and healed her cousin and her husband, and seeing him so incredibly exhausted that his sculpted body was completely drenched in sweat. She could no longer contain herself. She leaped to embrace the boy with all her strength, burying her face in his firm chest.

"Thank you, Kai… thank you so, so much, you have no idea what this means to me..."

With a voice cracked and filled with a whirlwind of emotions, Shino thanked him as tears of relief, happiness, and for some reason, sadness fell from her eyes. This caused Kai to return the hug before speaking in a warm tone.

"You don’t have to thank me for anything. You’re part of my family, so something like this is only natural. But try to keep my abilities a secret—it could cause problems."

"okay…"

Through her tears, Shino responded, feeling deeply moved while also sensing a tinge of hypocrisy. After all, she had always felt it was a shame and even disapproved of the fact that Kai had no intention of using his incredible abilities to help others.

But now, seeing that the same person who refused to help others had put in his utmost effort to save someone just for her sake made her feel incredibly loved and special. She truly felt like she was an important part of his life and had a place in his heart, even if it was a small one. This filled her with immense happiness, though at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel guilty for it.

Time passed in silence as Kai gently stroked Shino’s slender back. She focused entirely on the sound of her beloved's heartbeat, feeling at peace and tranquil. Now that her Kai was here, nothing could go wrong. He could fix anything, and even if he couldn’t, as long as he was by her side, she knew she was standing on an immovable rock that would protect and keep her safe.

"Shino, I have to go. Some heroes and police are getting close, and it’s not a good idea for them to see me here."

After a few minutes, as the [Isolation Veil] was about to fade, Kai softly remarked, which caused Shino to look up and gaze directly into his eyes. Her expression was filled with doubt and indecision, as if she were debating with herself whether to do something. But after a moment, she sighed, slightly disappointed, and responded in a somewhat tired tone.

"You’re right. It’s not a good idea for them to see you here…"

"I’ll visit you later when the coast is clearer." Kai said as Shino released him and stood up, offering a small smile filled with emotions and meanings.

"I’ll be waiting, and if you can, bring Nemuri. I want to talk to her."

"Sure, I’m certain she’d make me bring her even if I didn’t want to" Kai replied with a slight smile as the [Magnetic Force] card materialized in his hand.

"Fufufu, you’re right. I’ll be waiting for you."

Shino replied, looking at the card in Kai’s hand with reluctance, not wanting to part from him. But she still managed to hold back, as her mind was very confused, and she had too many doubts. She needed to calm down and carefully think through what she was going to do. Perhaps a private conversation with Nemuri was what she needed most at this moment.

"Alright then, see you later."

With a smile, Kai responded as he held the card up in front of him, watching a holographic screen in [In] mode with a countdown that soon reached zero. At that moment, Kai exclaimed aloud just as the barrier began to fade.

"[Magnetic Force] on, [Home]!"

Meanwhile, Ryuko, Chatora, and Tomoko, who were outside the barrier, were feeling somewhat anxious about what had happened. Even though Sentinel had informed them that Kai was taking care of everything, they didn’t know exactly what was going on, so all they could do was wait, hearts in their throats.

But just as their limbs started tingling from the anxiety and uncertainty, they saw a beam of light shoot into the sky before disappearing moments later. At the same time, Shino reappeared along with the Water Horse heroes in perfect condition, causing them to erupt with joy as they rushed to hug their friend and leader.