Chapter 97: Why do I have to do this?

The days passed, and soon the weekend arrived. Kai found himself sitting in his comfortable armchair, with a miniature Salem sleeping on his lap. Keiko sat beside him behind a small table, wetting his hands in a bowl of water, while Yumiko brushed the heel of one of his feet with a tool that looked like some kind of file.

Although he was currently enjoying a luxurious pedicure and manicure at the hands of possibly the richest and most beautiful women in Japan, Kai's face showed only a dark expression as he stroked Salem with his free hand. After all, there was a “horde” of people touching his things in his gym, which he didn't like at all—especially on the day he had his date with Ryuko.

"Kai, don't be angry with Momo. She's very excited to help her friends stand out in the sports festival. Being the class representative went a bit to her head, and she lost sight of things a little."

As she took Kai's hands to start trimming his nails, Keiko commented in a warm voice. Yumiko added in a similar tone as she placed Kai's foot into the special water-filled basin on the floor, then took the other foot and began to "file" the heel.

"Don't be mad at Nejire either. She's very excited to help Momo's friends, and that's why she offered to help them train."

"... I told them they could use the UA gym..."

Kai responded in a dark tone, genuinely annoyed, which caused awkward smiles to form on the pair of beautiful women. They seemed to be at the peak of feminine beauty, combining the sensuality of a woman in her thirties with the softness and firmness of someone in their early twenties-perfect faces without the slightest wrinkle in sight.

"Well, your gym is better equipped and reinforced, and there's also the training arena you built a few years ago. Besides, there's a curfew at UA, so I suppose the girls thought it was better to bring them here..." Keiko replied as she filed Kai's freshly cut nails.

"... I don't like having strangers in the house..." Kai added irritably, to which Yumiko commented with a slight smile while checking his feet to make sure they were perfect.

"Well, Mirio-chan and Yuyu-chan have come over several times, and you didn't mind. Now there are only a few friends of Momo."

"... They're different; I actually like them." Kai looked away and responded evasively, which brought amused smiles to the pair of women. Shortly after, Keiko commented with a small smile.

"I thought I heard that a couple of your classmates also got along with you."

"It's just two—well, three if we include Ashido—but there's a bunch of people I don't know." Kai replied as he leaned his head back on his armchair, at which point Sage activated the massage functions, so his master could relax.

"Look on the bright side; you might come to like them if you get to know them. Besides, Momo avoided bringing the guys you don't like, so this could be an opportunity for you to make friends. Momo has been very happy with her new friends, just like Nejire."

As she began to cut Kai's toenails, Yumiko commented with a small smile. Kai opted to remain silent, since the only reason he hadn't kicked them out the moment they arrived was because none of the four nuisances from his class were there—the ones who had the special talent of irritating him just by their presence.

Knowing it was best to let Kai think for himself, Keiko and Yumiko just exchanged a small smile, then continued with their tasks, relaxing into a calm and comfortable silence. It was interrupted when a message arrived on Keiko's phone. She calmly dried her hands before checking it.

"Fufufu, we have good news. Some of the promissory notes can be contested, so we have everything we need to initiate operation 'Buyback'." With a beautiful smile on her lips, Keiko commented excitedly, then looked at Yumiko, who now had a serious expression and quickly asked.

"When do you plan to confront that woman?"

"It's up to you. We already have everything we need to pressure her, and we've managed to gather the liquid funds, so you decide when we start working." Keiko replied in an equally serious tone as she put her phone away again. Yumiko fell silent while she began to play with Kai's toes, wearing a complex expression.

"... I guess the time has come. I'll also have to confront him and Nejire..."

After a while, Yumiko spoke in a tone filled with various feelings, prompting Keiko to rise from her seat and gently hug Yumiko to comfort her. At that moment, Kai moved Salem from his lap, then leaned forward and gently caressed Yumiko's face.

"Don't worry, we're here for anything you need. As for Nejire, I'll do something about it, and if you don't want to face that trash, you can leave it to me. I'll give him a beating in your name and slam the divorce papers in his face." Kai commented in a warm voice, as if he wasn't saying anything wrong, which somehow made the pair of beautiful women smile.

They knew perfectly well that Kai was a strange person, and that phrase encapsulated perfectly who the blue-eyed young man was. Despite saying he didn't want to be a hero, he was the first to come to the defense and protection of anyone in the family. Capable of running out in the middle of the night and snatching someone from the jaws of death just for Shino's sake. Moreover, they knew he wasn't as indifferent as he tried to appear.

"It's not necessary for you to do it. This is something I must do myself, and I don't want you to dirty your hands with someone like him, though I would like you to accompany me and be my support at that moment." Yumiko said as she gently placed her hand over Kai's on her face. The  blue-eyed boy quickly nodded, then spoke in a serious tone.

"Don't worry, I'll be there, even if you didn't want me to."

"Keiko, I'd also like you to come with me. Although it would be comforting to have the whole family, I don't think you all have the time, nor would it be good to have so many people there." Yumiko looked at Keiko and commented seriously, to which the beautiful black-haired woman quickly nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll be there with you. Now I have plenty of time, hehe." Keiko replied with a small smile, and Yumiko nodded with a similar smile as she commented.

"Thank you, Keiko. You know, I'm starting to like having free time; maybe I'll imitate you and retire after all this is over."

"Yes, let's be free housewives and have Kai support us like the good 'wives' we are, fufufu." Keiko joked with a mischievous smile while looking at Kai, who quickly played along and commented just as amused.

"Of course, my pockets are deep, and I wouldn't mind a private designer, hehe."

For her part, Yumiko couldn't help but look closely at the pair of smiling 'jokers', quickly noticing that there was a hint of emotion in Keiko's words, which made her feel something strange in her heart. Something she hadn't felt in who knows how long, but she quickly shook her head and joined in the joke.

"That sounds tempting. These days here have made me realize how wonderful it is to have free time for myself and to be with Nejire. Besides, I never gave myself time to be a housewife; maybe this is my moment to relax a bit, fufufu."

"Hehe, that sounds like a good plan."

With Kai's comment, the calm and cheerful atmosphere returned to the room. After a moment, Keiko and Yumiko repositioned Kai in his armchair, then continued with the manicure and pedicure amid pleasant and casual conversation. Meanwhile, Salem happily jumped back onto his master's lap.

...

...

...

"Seriously... Why do I have to do this?"

With an exasperated expression, Kai commented while looking at the eight people in front of him. Among the eight were some acquaintances like Tsuyu, Mina, and Kirishima. As well as those who had been in the gym, like Denki Kaminari, the blond-haired boy with a black lightning-shaped streak, and Kyoka Jiro, the girl who had some kind of cables coming out of her earlobes.

But in addition to those “acquaintances”, there were some he hadn't spoken to even once: Uraraka, the girl with brown hair and rosy cheeks; Hanta Sero, the guy who had tapes on his elbows; and Mashirao Ojiro, a robust guy with blond hair who had a muscular tail on his back.

"Because it's good to help your classmates, Kai." Mirio Togata—an old acquaintance of Kai, friend of Nejire, and someone he occasionally trained with—commented with a smile and enthusiastic tone.

With an exasperated expression, Kai turned to look at Mirio beside him, who was a young man slightly shorter than him, with a muscular body, blonde hair and strange oval blue eyes without a visible sclera. Mirio simply smiled happily as he began to pat Kai's shoulder familiarly.

"Don't make that face; let's help your classmates a bit, hahaha."

"Seriously, if it weren't somewhat fun to train with you, I'd have kicked you out of my house long ago..." Kai grumbled, something the young Mirio easily ignored with a smile. At that moment, Momo, who was on the other side, commented while using her secret weapon against Kai: puppy eyes.

"Please, Kai, just help us a little..."

"Pretty please, Kai-chan..." Nejire, who was next to Momo, quickly joined in the plea, acting just like her.

"..."

Hearing Momo and Nejire, Kai could only look at them fixedly, cursing that none of the heroes were home today, as he could have thrown the task at them. But now he was alone to endure the annoyance. After a sigh, he turned to look again at the students, making a mental note to get back at Momo since she'd been very bothersome lately and needed a lesson.

"Well, what do you need from me? I thought I'd given my opinions to several of those present here."

"I want you to see my progress and give me your thoughts!" Mina exclaimed, somewhat amused. After all, it was delightful to see how Momo and Nejire handled the “terrifying” Kai so easily.

"Alright, then step aside. Those who have the same idea, form a group with her."

After casually nodding to Mina, Kai quickly addressed all the students, prompting Tsuyu, Jiro, Kaminari, and Kirishima to join her—now much calmer than during their time in the gym. After all, Momo was really nice, and the blue-eyed boy turned out not to be as terrifying as he seemed, and his advice was genuinely helpful.

Seeing that the group of those he knew had formed, Kai turned to look at the three remaining strangers, who appeared a bit uncomfortable. But at that moment, the boy with the tail stepped forward and spoke in a firm tone.

"Saito, I came because I wanted to have a little match with you. I heard from Midoriya that your quirk is called Force Control, so I would like to train a bit with you."