Chapter 58: I missed you

The next morning, Kai woke up in his room and then dragged Salem with him to the gym. Despite Salem’s annoyed meowing from being woken up, he trained diligently with his master. Afterward, he endured a quick bath and some time in the special dryer at the gym. Now that Salem could shrink in size, he didn’t have to spend as much time in the dryer, which was a relief for both master and cat.

Back in his room, Kai quickly showered and put on simple jeans, a short-sleeved white shirt, a pair of Italian leather shoes, and a sleek titanium mechanical watch. When he came downstairs, he looked unusually “elegant” and handsome.

Upon arriving in the main hall, Kai found Nemuri, who was wearing black pants that greatly accentuated her figure, along with an elegant white blouse. She was sitting at the main dining table with a small smile, waiting for him.

"You look very handsome, Kai."

Nemuri commented with a slight blush on her cheeks when she saw him, like a teenager in love, which made Kai smile. Noticing that Mrs. Yumiko was still in the kitchen, Kai quickly moved closer to give his lovely girlfriend a warm kiss on the cheek, as he had promised not to do more.

"And you look stunning, Nemuri." Kai added softly, making Nemuri’s blush deepen as she lowered her head and responded quietly.

"Thank you… silly."

"Hehehe."

Seeing Nemuri act so sweetly, Kai had to restrain himself from showering her with kisses. He then sat down and behaved normally, as he sensed Mrs. Yumiko approaching, something the beautiful blue-eyed woman quickly noticed. She immediately pulled out a makeup mirror from her bag to check her appearance.

"Thank you, Mrs. Yumiko."

When the woman responsible for preparing their meals finished setting down the sumptuous breakfast, Kai thanked her with a smile, which spread to Mrs. Yumiko, who bowed respectfully as she replied.

"It’s always a pleasure, Mr. Kai."

After breakfast, the blue-eyed couple took one of the cars from the garage along with Salem, who, since acquiring his quirk, would grow in size to chase after Kai if he left him behind. They then headed towards the airport.

Even though Kai had to ride as a passenger with Salem on his lap, as usual, he wasn’t allowed to drive until he got his driver's license, which he could only obtain when he turned 18. Although he could get a motorcycle license at 16, it would only be for bikes with an engine under 50 cc, so he decided to entirely ignore that option since he preferred to walk rather than ride around on a scooter.

After some time waiting on the private airstrip, Keiko and Momo disembarked from an impressive private jet, just as Kai was stepping out of the car. The mother-and-daughter duo quickly sped up with huge smiles on their faces.

"Kai!!"

With a happy smile on her face, Momo jumped to hug Kai, exclaiming excitedly. The blue-eyed young man caught her and spun to soften her impact so she wouldn’t get hurt, warmly greeting her at the same time.

"Welcome back, Momo."

"Hehehe, I missed you so much! Next time, you should come with us so we can avoid the annoying plane ride." Momo said cheerfully as she let go of Kai, who couldn’t resist responding playfully.

"So your true intentions are revealed—you only want me as your transportation. How sad."

"You should feel honored to be this young lady’s transportation, Fufufu" Momo replied, playing along as she mimicked the haughty pose of a character from a drama she liked, to which Kai imitated the male character and replied,

"Hmph! Just because fate has crossed our paths, don’t think I’ll always indulge you, princess."

While Kai and Momo performed their little play, Keiko arrived beside the blue-eyed young man with a small smile, wrapping him in a warm hug as she commented with a gentle smile.

"I missed you, Kai."

"I missed you too, Aunt Keiko." Kai responded as he returned the hug to the beautiful woman, now a head shorter than him. Shortly after, she let go and smiled as she commented.

"Well, let’s get in the car."

"Let’s go!" Momo exclaimed cheerfully as she grabbed Kai’s arm and got into the back seat of the car.

"Hello, Nemuri. I really missed you." Keiko said as she entered the car, hugging Nemuri. At the same time, Momo greeted from the back while clinging to one of Kai’s arms and snatching little Salem with the other.

"Hello, Onee-chan."

"Hello, Momo, you’re getting more and more beautiful." Nemuri greeted as she turned to look at Momo, who could only smile shyly while squeezing Salem tighter. The cat let out a grumpy growl but didn’t dare do anything more.

"Hehehe, thanks, Onee-chan. You’re looking beautiful too."

"Fufufu, thank you." Nemuri replied with a small smile, but shortly after, Keiko asked as she put her bag aside and removed her sunglasses.

"So, how about we go shopping for a bit and then have lunch at a nice restaurant?"

"Actually, we were planning to visit the Pussycats. Something complicated happened last night, and if it weren't for Kai, things could have gone pretty bad." Nemuri said seriously as they left the airport, causing Keiko to turn to Kai with surprise and concern.

"What happened?"

"Well, to be honest, I’m not sure about all the details either. Last night…" Kai began explaining everything that had happened while rescuing little Salem from Momo’s grip, ignoring her pouty face and Salem’s grateful meow. Keiko nodded as he finished, then spoke in a more serious tone.

"Then it’s best if we go visit her. The emotional shock must have been intense."

"But you were a real hero, Kai! You saved the day!" Momo added cheerfully, clinging even tighter to Kai’s arm, to which he could only respond with an ironic smile.

"More like a field medic than a hero, but if it makes you happier to think of it that way…"

After a while, the group arrived at Kai’s house, quickly unloading their things before flying with Accompany to the Pussycats' base, where they were warmly welcomed by the entire hero team. Over delicious cups of coffee, they recounted everything that had happened the previous night.

"So, the ‘wolf’ was the husband of the first victim?" Momo asked in surprise after hearing the truth about the incident, and Ryuko nodded with a serious expression.

"Yes, it was quite shocking when we found out. After all, the guy had completely convinced us that he was only staying alive to see the culprit captured. He was incredibly cooperative and even gave us all the ‘information’ he had ‘gathered’ about the culprit, and everything seemed very legitimate. If it weren’t for Sentinel, we would have been completely fooled."

"There are truly all kinds of villains…" Momo remarked with a complex expression on her face.

"And how did your cousin and her husband react when they woke up?" Keiko asked as she soothed her nerves with a good cup of tea, given how impactful the story had been.

"They were pretty shaken up, even thinking it was a dream at first, but after calming down a bit, they understood the situation," Shino explained with a calm expression that masked the turbulent storm of emotions in his heart.

"Though it’s uncertain if they’ll continue being heroes after this. They were deeply affected." Ryuko added with a complicated look on her face, to which Nemuri thoughtfully replied.

"Well, that’s to be expected. I suppose they’ll need a good therapist to process everything that happened."

"Certainly, especially Kaede. She suffered a lot, and although Kai saved her from physical scars, the psychological ones are inevitable." Chatora added in a serious tone, prompting the others to nod in agreement. At that moment, Shino turned to Kai and asked.

"By the way, Kai, would you be willing to meet with Kaede and her husband? They’re truly grateful and would like to express it to you directly, even if it’s in secret."

"Hmm, honestly, no. On one hand, it would be problematic, and on the other, I didn’t do it for them. I don’t even know their names. I did it for you, and if you're happy, that’s all I need. I just want my family to be okay—everything else doesn’t matter," Kai responded casually while playing with a tiny Salem, who was lying on his back on Kai’s lap, happily meowing as he tried to catch his master’s paws.

Meanwhile, everyone else couldn’t help but look at Kai with different expressions. The heroes and the aspiring hero felt touched by Kai’s willingness to prioritize his family above all else, but they also felt a bit uneasy about his indifference toward strangers.

In contrast, Keiko looked at Kai with shining eyes, feeling deeply moved. While she knew the heroes might think differently, for her, Kai’s mindset was a dream come true. Although helping others was fine, she preferred a man who would put his family first over a stranger any day.

Others might call her selfish, but what she wanted was a man who would run to her side when she needed him—not some foolish do-gooder who would sacrifice his time, happiness, and even his own life and family for the sake of "doing good," something Alisa had experienced firsthand.

As for Shino, she felt her heart race, and her face grew incredibly warm. Desperately, she tried to calm herself by drinking, something Nemuri couldn’t help but notice, but at that moment, a loud stomach growl echoed through the room, drawing everyone’s attention to Tomoko, who smiled cheerfully.

"Well, I think it’s time to find something to eat."

Seeing her friend, Shino, a bit grateful for the distraction, made a comment both to herself and to ensure that the others wouldn’t notice her expression. Everyone nodded in agreement, and then she asked with a gentle smile on her face.

"How about some sushi from our usual place?"

"Yesss! Sushi! Yum yum!" Tomoko exclaimed loudly, making everyone smile.

"Fufufu, then sushi it is." Shino said with amusement as she saw everyone smiling happily, especially Salem, who was looking at her as if she were some kind of goddess.

"So, who’s going to get it? Mr. Norota doesn’t do delivery."

Ryuko asked, glancing challengingly at everyone, as in her family, such disputes were only settled by the traditional method: rock, paper, scissors. But just then, Shino stood up and responded in a calm and casual tone.

"I’ll go."

"I’ll go with you," Nemuri quickly added, standing up to follow Shino, who, after grabbing the car keys, walked alongside her to the garage.

"It seems like things are a bit complicated for Shino," Keiko commented as she watched the two women leave, to which everyone present nodded in agreement.

"Certainly, though I didn’t notice it at first, she seems to be a bit affected by what happened. It was her cousin, after all." Kai added as he pulled Salem away from Momo and Tomoko, who were trying to kidnap him, prompting Chatora to comment thoughtfully.

"Yes, as the leader, it’s tough for Shino to show her vulnerabilities to us, but it’s a relief that Nemuri noticed."

"Indeed. I was getting a little worried because she’s been acting strange since yesterday. I hope Nemuri can help her." Ryuko added, a bit concerned, as she looked toward where Nemuri and Shino had exited.

"I think Onee-chan will know how to help her; she’s the best at this!" Momo chimed in with a smile, causing everyone to nod, while Tomoko commented cheerfully.

"Yes, Nemuri’s the best for this. She’ll know what to do."

"You’re right; Onee-chan will know what to do."

Visibly more relaxed, Kai smiled as he commented, and his smile quickly spread to the others. They soon began chatting cheerfully about Momo and Keiko's trip, more details of the wolf case, and other topics, enjoying themselves as a family.