BNHA: Spiritual Aura

--Tuesday, July 28, 2172

“What exactly did you do on the plane?”

Entering the mansion, Keiko approached Kai, who had stayed at the back, and asked in a low, mysterious voice. Kai smiled and replied in a playful tone while glancing at Shino and Nemuri, who were discreetly watching him with suspicion.

“Sleep? What else?”

“Sure, right.” Keiko rolled her eyes and, after an annoyed huff, walked into the mansion, where they were greeted by Rin and Mrs. Yoshiko with respectful bows, speaking in unison.

““Welcome back.””

“Mrs. Yoshiko! I missed you so much!” Nejire dropped her bags and said with an enormous smile. Mrs. Yoshiko gave another formal bow and replied with a smile.

“I missed you too, Miss Nejire.”

“How was your trip back?” Keiko asked as Rin went to fetch a teapot. Mrs. Yoshiko replied in a formal tone.

“It was quite peaceful. After a few questions, they let us go, and once we docked at the port, the security detail put us on a private flight to Japan. Thank you very much for your consideration.”

“Don't mention it—feel free to take a few more days off if you'd like.” Kai said as he sank into an armchair. Nemuri sat beside Kai and, as he rested his head on her lap, added with a smile.

“Yes, although we missed you dearly, it's better that you rest well after everything that happened.”

“That's not necessary—honestly, staying home all day isn't my style. I'm still young, and I like to stay active.” Mrs. Yoshiko replied with a playful smile, which made everyone present laugh. At that moment, Yumiko said while lazily stretching.

“Maybe we should keep Rin with us to help Mrs. Yoshiko. She's done a great job so far, both here and with Keiko.”

“If both of them agree, I don't see any problem with it. What do you think?” Kai asked, looking at Mrs. Yoshiko while relaxing in Nemuri's lap. Mrs. Yoshiko replied calmly.

“It's no problem at all for me, Mr. Kai. Rin is very hardworking and will be a great help.”

“What do you think, Rin?” Kai nodded and then looked at the somewhat quiet young woman with hair a similar color to Mrs. Yoshiko's, wearing glasses and with a slender, agile figure.

“It would be my pleasure to be of help.”

“Then it's settled. Later I'll send you a new work contract with the updated terms and a small bonus for your work up until now.”

Kai said casually, which brought a smile to the quiet young woman's face as she handed a cup of tea to each person—she was fully aware of just how generous those “small” bonuses from her boss were.

Although the work was a bit demanding, the pay was so generous that, after just a few years of working, she could easily buy herself a couple of houses, or perhaps even an entire building. Just as her Aunt Yoshiko had done.

“Now that that's settled, let's get to what really matters—how was your honeymoon? I want tips for my own honeymoon with Kai.”

Momo said with an enormous smile, which made all the girls' eyes light up. Mrs. Yoshiko couldn't help but notice the ring on Momo's finger, which brought a smile to her lips as she commented.

“It wasn't very exciting—cruises are a bit overrated in my opinion. I enjoyed my first honeymoon in Europe much more. The old vampire took me everywhere back in those days, and we even had two attempted robberies. Good memories.”

After a while, seeing the girls sink deeper and deeper into an endless conversation, Kai got up from Nemuri's lap and said in a calm voice.

“I'll be in the workshop for a bit. I want to check on a few things.”

“Aren't you going to rest for a while? We just got back.” Shino said with a worried expression, to which Kai replied casually.

“It'll only be a few hours. I've been away from my workshop for a long time—I'll just check on it for a bit.”

…

“I have serious concerns that Darling is a workaholic.” Watching Kai leave, Ryuko commented with visible concern, and the girls nodded gravely. Momo soon added with a serious tone.

“I think we can't keep putting off getting Kai into therapy. We've had it on the back burner for too long, and the concerns keep growing.”

“What if we go find him in the workshop?” Tomoko asked, ready to dash off, which made Nejire's eyes light up. But at that moment, Yumiko let out a small sigh and said.

“Do you think that'll work?”

“No… If we bother him too much, he'll ban us from the workshop for a while…” Nejire said with a small pout, which made Tomoko sigh in disappointment. Nemuri took a sip of her tea and said seriously.

“I agree with Momo—it would be good for Kai to go to therapy. The problem will be getting him to agree…”

“I suppose we can only rely on feminine power in this case…” Shino said with a somewhat flirtatious smile, which made the other girls nod, as they quickly huddled together and began planning in mysterious whispers.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Yoshiko smiled in amusement and walked toward the wine cellar to grab a couple of good bottles, while Rin began preparing more tea with a calm expression. Since the girls were not subtle in the slightest, the aunt-and-niece pair had known for quite some time about the unconventional relationship taking place in the house—but they didn't really mind much.

Everyone in that house was happy. They chatted and played like a genuine family, and the pay and treatment they received were first-rate, so they didn't have much to comment on. Everyone was free to do as they pleased, and if everyone was happy, it wasn't their place to judge. Besides, they were fully aware that the main reason Kai paid them such fortunes was for their discretion and professionalism.

…

While the girls began their discussion session over tea and wine, Kai arrived at his workshop as the pair of cats ran off to the house he had built for them—which was essentially a small mansion not far from the main one. Settling into his chair after what felt like an eternity, Kai let out a sigh of comfort and called on his trusted assistant.

“Sage, how are things going with the disappearance of Ryoichi Tanaka?”

“Some heroes arrived at the scene shortly after, and the police are currently investigating, but I haven't detected any strange or unnatural movements.” The beautiful fairy appeared seated on Kai's shoulder and spoke in a melodious voice while creating several holographic screens.

“Alright, then let's take the opportunity to find out what exactly we stole from I-Island.” Kai said with a small smile, which led Sage to reply seriously.

“Master, shall we head to the isolated bunker? There may be some kind of tracker.”

“That's true…” Kai said as he reflected for a moment, but a playful smile quickly formed on his face as he said.

“But I have a better idea. What's the place where the shooter has spent the most time?”

“He doesn't stay anywhere for very long, but he's returned on multiple occasions to a residential complex not far from the mansion he bought in the federation, and it's possible he'll return there soon…” Sage replied with a smile similar to her master's, getting an idea of what he wanted to do. Kai laughed softly and rose from his chair, then announced calmly.

“Then we're going on a trip.”

…

…

…

After traveling via Magnetic Force from the forest near the house—where the initial activation flash was difficult to spot—Kai traveled using Shadow Cloak to arrive in front of an enormous mansion, not much worse than the one he had bought for himself. Inside the mansion, Kai sensed the presence of several people who appeared to be household staff and a beautiful woman of about 20 years old.

With the layout of the house in his mind, Kai slipped into a room by carefully opening the window with a minuscule amount of aura. Once inside the room, Kai walked to the bathroom, where he pulled a golden card from his wallet and some round devices from his pockets. Arranging the devices in the corners of the bathroom, Kai activated them while getting in contact with Sage.

[You know what to do—if the signal is actually emitted, let it slip through 'by accident'.]

[Don't worry, Master. I'll do it subtly.]

Sage replied with a confident smile, which made Kai nod. He then took out his phone and waited in silence, casually playing around. Just as they expected, after a while, the sniper teleported to the house and went to greet the beautiful woman, so Kai quickly got to work.

“Release Vault.”

Once he confirmed that no one was close enough to hear him, Kai activated the card, causing it to transform into a stream of light. Unlike regular cards, with the cards he created using Sealing Vault, it wasn't necessary to announce it out loud—as long as he said the keyword, the card would activate and release whatever it contained.

Soon, the briefcase appeared in Kai's hands. He quickly opened it and found what appeared to be a sophisticated headset along with some storage devices and a container holding a blue liquid. At that instant, Sage's voice resonated in Kai's mind.

[Master, there was indeed a fairly sophisticated satellite tracker—the signal has already been sent.]

[Perfect. Destroy the tracker. We're leaving.]

Kai quickly replied and grabbed the discs and the briefcase, then exited the house as a small wisp of smoke rose from the briefcase and the back of the device. Once outside the house, Kai rose into the sky until no one could hear him, at which point he announced aloud.

“[Magnetic Force] On! [Home's Hideout]”

…

After landing without any trouble in the middle of the forest—the place he had once used to meet with Nemuri, Shino, and Ryuko—Kai removed the Shadow Cloak and walked toward a secret exit of the underground bunker. In high spirits, Kai walked down the long corridor but suddenly froze in place and muttered in confusion.

“What are all of them doing here…?”

“I don't know, Master. They just came in and ran toward the bunker, guided by Keiko and Nemuri.” Sage replied, equally confused. Kai could only shake his head and hurried toward one of his offices in the bunker.

In his office, Kai hid the briefcase in a cabinet and soon sat down in front of a computer, where he began typing intently. Shortly after, all the girls entered the room, so Kai looked up and greeted them with a smile.

“Hello, welcome to my not-so-secret-anymore secret bunker.”

“You snuck off to do something in secret, didn't you, darling?” Upon entering, Ryuko quickly said with her arms crossed, which led Kai to glance at Tomoko, who lifted her chin and said proudly.

“That's right! I lost track of you with my Quirk! You were doing something behind our backs!”

“I swear I was alone—Sage can vouch for me.” Kai said with an innocent expression. Sage, with the same expression, solemnly announced.

“Master is telling the truth.”

“Stop playing dumb. What were you doing?” Shino scoffed mockingly and asked. Kai replied, carefully testing the waters.

“Nothing?”

“My dear, what did we say about keeping secrets?” Nemuri approached Kai from behind, nearly burying his head between her ample chest, and asked with a calm smile and a faint scent of wine. Kai could only sigh in defeat and say.

“Alright, I was pulling a little 'prank'—nothing out of the ordinary.”

“What prank?” Momo asked seriously while Nejire and Tomoko rested their heads on Kai's legs and spoke in unison with puppy-dog eyes.

““Tell us, please, pretty please…””

“There's not a shred of privacy left in this house for me…” Kai said in a forlorn voice, staring at the ceiling as if reminiscing about better times. Yumiko and Ryuko laughed mischievously, and Shino spoke in a calm voice.

“Sweetheart, we just want to help you… Why don't you try trusting us a little more…?”

“… Fine, I'll tell you—it's nothing out of the ordinary anyway.” Kai let out a defeated sigh and soon began to explain everything he had done.

…

“So you used the sniper as a scapegoat?”

After the explanation, Keiko couldn't help but comment with a small smile as she looked at Kai, who nodded while pulling the briefcase out from where he had stored it. At that moment, Yumiko asked calmly.

“And what exactly did you steal that caused such a stir?”

“I haven't tested it yet, but Sage reviewed the storage devices, and it appears to be a device capable of amplifying a Quirk several times over, granting terrifying power with no apparent side effects.” Kai explained in a calm voice, which drew a unified gasp of surprise from the girls. Nemuri then spoke in a heavy tone.

“No wonder they banned further research on it… Something like that is far too dangerous.”

“Not quite, actually.” Kai replied as he took out the device and placed it on the desk for everyone to see. Ryuko looked at Kai and asked curiously.

“Why do you say that, darling? Because of the Vital Reactor?”

“Not really. If you think back, things capable of boosting Quirk power already exist—just with some side effects. So at most, this would be a premium version, and I'm not entirely convinced it truly has no side effects.” Kai shook his head and calmly explained while looking at the blue liquid.

“Trigger.” Nemuri murmured in a serious tone, to which Kai nodded calmly and said.

“Exactly. There's already a drug that can do precisely that. Besides, from everything I've studied about Quirks, it's not easy to increase their potency without paying a price. The only way to do it is through a method similar to One for All—and even then, that doesn't necessarily mean their Quirks become more lethal—you are proof of that. What changes or improvements have your quirks undergone during this time?”

***

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