Chapter 81: A real family

After the girls woke up, Kai profusely apologized for his outburst of anger, although since Nejire was present, and it was a delicate topic, he diverted from the actual reason. However, Yumiko personally spoke with Keiko, explaining everything that had happened, so she requested that everyone gather while Momo and Nejire watched a teen drama.

“You should have told me as soon as it happened, Yumiko. I will contact my lawyers and several renowned experts on the subject to study the case and find the best solution. However, I must say that Kai might not be too far off from the truth; it will be quite complex.”

With a serious expression, Keiko spoke while looking directly into Yumiko’s eyes, who was sitting across from her. Yumiko responded with a small smile on her face, showing that she was genuinely happy that Keiko had decided to support her without a second thought, something that deeply moved her.

“I’m sorry, but I was in shock. I didn’t know what to do, and I was very scared. But thanks to Kai, I’m much calmer now and confident enough to express it.”

“That’s good. In these cases, the best thing is to remain calm. But don’t worry, I will do everything I can to get back what is yours.” Keiko commented with an encouraging smile on her face. She then turned to Kai and spoke with a serious and concerned tone.

“As for you, Kai, although I understand losing control over what they did to Yumiko, I hope you can keep a cool head and not do anything reckless. We can solve this without resorting to extreme measures.”

“I know, Aunt Keiko. I just lost control for a moment. I’ll stay calm. I’ve already had Sage contact a couple of experts who are fans of my weapons to help us with this, and I was thinking we could even call in a few favors we’re owed for the chips.” Kai responded with a smile as he looked at Keiko, who nodded with a satisfied expression and added.

“I was thinking the same thing. There are several politicians and some judges who owe us favors. I even have a contact with the president of the central bank, which could be useful to us.”

“Well, I was actually thinking of a less ‘legitimate’ route—putting pressure on the woman. She might be the key to resolving this more easily, as she, being the sole shareholder, has full control over the company. With a bit of pressure and some money, we could ‘buy’ the company from her and gain much more room to maneuver to solve the financial problems, which are quite severe.” With a cold and predatory tone, Kai explained with a wicked smile, which quickly spread to Keiko, who added, smiling similarly.

“That’s a good idea. Holding the preventive seizure in our hands would prevent the creditors from tearing the company apart. Using our reputation in the tech industry and our contacts, we should be able to renegotiate the debt, which would avoid most of the problems, although it would still be somewhat complex to regain trust.”

“Well, that blow is inevitable, but with a major restructuring of the executive board, the exit of the president, and our entry, we should be able to accelerate the process considerably.” Kai added with a small smile, to which Keiko nodded in agreement. At that moment, Yumiko added in a dark and visibly indignant tone.

“But I don’t want to pay that woman to give back what she stole from me. She took my husband, my company, and now she’s going to take even more money from me? I can’t agree to that—my heart won’t allow it.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Yumiko. It won’t be your money. I’ll act as an ‘investor,’ so, in any case, it’s my money. And don’t worry—I’ll make her cough up every cent she swallows. I’ll make her taste hell.” Keiko responded with a smile full of bad intentions as she looked at Yumiko, who couldn’t help but show a bit of doubt in her expression.

“… Although I don’t want that woman to take anything else from me, I’m really not sure if I want her to go through ‘hell.’ After all, she’s pregnant, and that child is innocent. Besides, like it or not, he’ll be Nejire’s sibling. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened…”

“You really are too good of a person, Yumiko—more than is good for you. They didn’t show you that compassion. They tried to take away everything you’ve worked for your whole life…” Keiko commented bitterly, shaking her head at Yumiko’s words. The beautiful blue-haired woman could only respond with a complicated smile.

“I know. They tried to take everything from me, but I can’t harm an innocent child. He doesn’t deserve that. In any case, let them pay—they’re the ones who did this. Besides, there’s still Nejire. This is going to be very hard for her. I’m scared of how she might react…”

“Well, that part is complicated…” Hearing Yumiko, Keiko couldn’t help but comment with understanding, as the smiling image of Momo came to her mind.

As Yumiko and Keiko talked with complex expressions, they quickly noticed that Kai had fallen strangely silent. They turned to look at him, only to see him grinning widely while staring at a holographic screen displayed by Sage.

“Kai...?” Yumiko called softly, both curious and concerned, at which point Kai replied with a small mischievous smile on his face.

“Aunt Yumiko, when we get your company back, remind me to upgrade its security system. The current one is way outdated, hehehe.”

“You managed to bypass their security?! What did you find?” Keiko asked, both excited and curious. Kai made a hologram identical to his appear in front of each of them and responded with a small smile.

“We have the real financial and operational data of both companies, along with other important details. So, while this can’t be used as evidence in court, we now have the enemy completely exposed, hehe.”

“Hehe, this will be very useful.” Keiko commented with a wicked smile, much like Kai’s, as she reviewed the data with malice. Kai and Yumiko did the same, paying close attention to the information and occasionally making remarks about what they found.

…

“Onee-chan has arrived.” Kai suddenly commented after a while, sensing Nemuri’s approach. Keiko turned to look at Yumiko and asked seriously.

“Do you want to discuss this with the others?”

“… Yes, I think it’s for the best.” Yumiko sighed after thinking for a moment and nodded with a determined expression, to which Kai and Keiko nodded back with serious faces before heading downstairs together.

A little while later, everyone greeted Nemuri with a smile, but to avoid having to repeat the story, they waited for the Pussycats to arrive while chatting casually together in the living room. Once the entire family was gathered, all the adults went upstairs and listened to the story with different expressions.

...

“If you need anything from us, don’t hesitate to ask. We have some savings and a certain reputation due to our hero ranking. We’re at your complete disposal.” After hearing the entire story, Shino spoke seriously while staring intently at Yumiko, who was wiping away her tears with a handkerchief.

“I’m at your full disposal as well. We could even create a fund between all of us to pay off a good part of the debt.”

Nemuri added with a serious expression, containing the anger she felt toward that piece of trash. At the same time, she felt somewhat relieved that Kai hadn’t gone out and killed him as he had initially wanted, something that both scared her and, for some reason, made her proud. But they still had to talk about that with him and the girls on their upcoming night escape.

“That’s a good idea. I think between all of us, we should be able to pool a good amount of capital and rescue the company.” Chatora added seriously with an incredibly dark expression. Tomoko then added with her typical lively voice, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yes, and that way, we could be shareholders in the company. I’ve always wanted to be part of a fashion company!”

“That sounds good. I also like the idea of being part of a fashion company. We could use our contacts and our names to create a brand that we all back, which could be very beneficial for the company.” Ryuko added with a small smile on her face, although her tightly clenched fists spoke only of the anger she was holding inside.

“I like those ideas. Plus, with Kai, we could improve production efficiency to reduce costs and increase profit margins, which would be key to revitalizing the company’s image with the banks.”

With a small smile, Keiko added as she looked around at everyone, feeling genuinely happy to witness firsthand that they really were a family and were willing to support each other in times of difficulty. This was the irrefutable proof that their bond was genuine and not just words, making her feel incredibly grateful for her life and the decisions she had made to reach this point.

“It sounds like a good plan. I’ll start working on the numbers for how much we each need to contribute and a small market study on the viability of the new clothing brand. Additionally, we could create a division that no longer focuses on fashion and can add to the business model by exploiting our copyrights in relation to clothing.”

While typing and reviewing the company data on his computer, Kai commented in a focused tone, leading everyone else to nod with excitement in their eyes, especially Nemuri, who quickly added with a smile.

“That’s true. My contract with the company that handles marketing my IPs is about to expire soon. I can easily renegotiate with them so that the clothing part is done by that new division.”

“We can do the same. Although it’s not as big as Nemuri’s, we still have a lot of fans in Japan who buy our merchandise.”

Shino added in a thoughtful tone, sparking a serious conversation about the company’s potential new business ventures. The conversation was interrupted when Yumiko, who had been quietly observing the scene from the beginning, spoke in a tearful and deeply moved voice, with tears falling from her eyes like waterfalls.

“Thank you so much, everyone. I really don’t know how to repay all the support you’re giving me.”

“Fufufu, you don’t need to worry about that, Yumiko. We’re family. We’re here to help each other in times of need.”

With a comforting smile on her face, Nemuri commented as she approached Yumiko, something everyone else imitated, initiating a group hug around the beautiful blue-haired woman, making her feel immensely happy and secure.

“Thank you, everyone… really, thank you so, so much…”

Amidst her tears, Yumiko continued to thank them while everyone did their best to console her. After a long while, her tears finally subsided, allowing them to have a serious conversation about their plan of action. They even started thinking about ways to explain everything to Nejire, though they didn’t come to any concrete decisions, as it was quite a complex and delicate matter.

…

After the emergency family meeting ended, Yumiko went to her room, took a long bath, and then came downstairs to eat with the whole family in the main dining room, where she found Nejire happily chatting with Momo, Kai, and everyone else. A warm feeling filled her heart, bringing her peace and serenity, as she now knew that although she had lost one family, she still had another that loved and supported her unconditionally, and it was more real than anything else.

“By the way, Nejire, I’ve been thinking of living here for a while. What do you think?” As they talked about their day and random things, Yumiko suddenly commented while looking at Nejire, who smiled excitedly before asking with bright eyes.

“Really? We’re going to live in Kai’s house? We’ll always be together, and we can always go to school together?”

“Yes, that’s right. Do you like the idea?” Yumiko asked with a small smile as she looked tenderly at her beloved daughter, the driving force of her life, who nodded excitedly before exclaiming loudly.

“I love it!”

Right after speaking, Nejire jumped to hug Momo and Kai, smiling brightly as they began to affectionately stroke her silky light blue hair. The cheerful girl then commented, filled with excitement and joy for the beautiful future.

“From now on, we’ll have sleepovers every day, and we’ll always go to UA together!”

“Hehe, yes, though each of us will sleep in our own room.” Kai commented somewhat amused as he playfully poked Nejire’s little nose, who immediately pouted in protest.

“But why?!”

“Because we’re grown up now, Onee-chan, fufufu.”

As she played with Nejire’s puffed-up cheeks, Momo commented playfully, quickly turning the conversation into a long debate where Momo and Kai tried to convince a stubborn Nejire that they could no longer sleep together. All under the watchful eyes of the adults, who smiled tenderly and with amusement at the heartwarming scene.