BNHA: Spiritual Aura

--Tuesday, July 28, 2172

“My Sleeping Fragrance has indeed improved in potency and range, but the biggest change is due to the Accomplice.” Nemuri commented in a reflective tone, to which the other girls nodded. Shino soon added in a similar tone.

“In my case, more than a direct improvement to my quirk, I simply use the Vital Reactor to greatly accelerate my thoughts, and thanks to that I'm able to send large amounts of information to others to overload their brains…”

“In my case, it has gotten stronger—now I can create more destructive waves.” Nejire commented cheerfully, and Tomoko soon added.

“In my case, the number of people I can track has increased, but not much else. All my improvements depend on the strength the Vital Reactor gives me.”

“I can now create bigger things faster, but I still need 'fuel.' If I run out of fat, I'll end up with serious injuries.” Momo commented while looking at her thoughtful mother, who nodded.

“Same with me, although now my thoughts are at least twice as fast when I use my Accomplice's ability.”

“I really have improved a lot. Now I can create many more earth beasts, and they're also stronger and more resilient. I can also control metal much better and in greater proportions.” Ryuko soon added with a smile, and Yumiko continued while creating small threads from her fingers.

“In my case, I get the feeling that my threads are stronger, but since I don't use them for anything other than sewing, I don't have a clear idea of how much…”

Kai nodded at the girls' words, then took the device and the strange liquid in his hands and commented in a reflective tone.

“See? Although your bodies are still far from producing the insane amounts of energy that All Might or Midoriya produce, you still produce several times more energy than any person. But the fact that your quirks are more powerful doesn't necessarily mean an increase in combat power—it depends a lot on the quirk.

“Therefore, although this device is truly dangerous, it's not something capable of radically changing the world, since, albeit with side effects, similar things already exist. So most likely they decided to block this research to avoid repeating what happened with Trigger. But that leads me to wonder, why make such a huge fuss over this…?”

“Maybe because Trigger didn't suit their objectives…?” Shino commented in a thoughtful and somewhat uncertain tone. Kai turned to look at her and asked with curiosity.

“What do you mean?”

“Just a fleeting thought… When I connect telepathically to the Nomus, apart from the strongest ones, the rest barely have any consciousness—even worse than animals. So it occurs to me that maybe Trigger's side effect of causing the loss of reason makes it unviable for use on the Nomus, and they need something else.” Shino explained calmly, which led Kai to think carefully while murmuring.

“You might be right… Although there isn't much experimental data on this prototype, in what there is, no apparent loss of reason was detected—a clear improvement compared to Trigger. Also, the effects seem to last much longer.

“In the last recorded experiment, the device was used for more than 3 hours, and no obvious problems were detected. Although I suppose it was this result that alerted I-Island's executives, and they blocked it, so its true limits and problems have yet to be determined.”

“3 hours is a lot. The normal Trigger produced here in Asia barely lasts a few minutes, and the highest quality ones barely last a couple of hours, and in a fight, a single second decides defeat from victory—they were right to ban it.” Nemuri commented in a solemn tone, to which Kai shook his head and replied.

“Banning technology makes no sense. If David Shield managed to create something like this, at some point someone else will be able to do it—even more so if it's already known to be possible. Just look at atomic bombs: from the creation of the first one until every powerful nation had one, less than 20 years passed, with the fastest taking less than 5. It's only a matter of time before someone with more ambition than scruples achieves it and a disaster brews.”

“I agree with you on that, but… What do you plan to do with that device?” Ryuko asked seriously, to which Kai smiled mischievously and replied.

“Isn't it obvious?”

“I knew it.”

Keiko murmured somewhat helplessly, which put strange smiles on the faces of the family's heroes. On one hand, they were happy that Kai always thought of them, but on the other, it didn't feel right to use that power. At that moment, Kai, noticing the girls' discomfort, commented in a calm tone.

“I won't use it as is, but I'll study its principles, run extensive tests, and only apply the safest aspects to your suits—and probably only for emergencies.”

“Will you experiment on 'them'?” Momo asked in a low voice, which caused an uncomfortable silence in the room, which Kai broke with a calm voice.

“That will be part of it, but it'll be the last step. I have very few test subjects, so each one is immensely valuable, and I try to minimize the risks as much as possible. First I run simulations and tests on animals—they're the final control step.”

“…”

Not quite sure how to feel or what to say, the heroes remained silent, looking at one another, at which point Keiko rose from her seat to reach one of the computers in the room. After typing for a few seconds, Keiko asked with a small smile.

“If it works, you're also planning to replicate it with your quirk, aren't you? Give me access to the data. With the two of us working together, we'll make faster progress, and in the process, I can make sure you don't try anything stupid like using yourself as a guinea pig.”

“Hehe, of course.” Kai commented while subtly looking away, since he was sure that if Keiko looked into his eyes, she could confirm that the final control step was himself and the cats.

“Have you used yourself as a test subject, Kai-chan…?” Nejire asked in a heavy voice, to which Kai could only reply in a casual voice while picking up some tools to disassemble the device.

“Of course not—that's what I have lab rats for.”

“Liar.”

Momo replied, ending with her lips forming a perfect line—an expression that appeared on the others as well. With great agility, Nemuri grabbed Kai from behind and pulled him onto a sofa, where she laid him on her chest and commented in a serious tone.

“From now on, you are strictly forbidden from testing dangerous things on yourself, understood?”

“Understood.”

Kai replied in a defeated voice, which made all the girls' eyebrows twitch. A lifetime beside that young man with black hair and blue eyes was not in vain—they could easily tell when he was lying. At that moment, Nejire jumped to hug Kai on top of Nemuri and commented with puppy-dog eyes.

“Kai-chan… We're just worried about you, pleease, don't do such dangerous things…”

“And I said I understood…” Kai commented, confused, at which point Momo hugged him from the other side and spoke firmly.

“Do you swear? Can you swear on us that you won't do it?”

“…”

At Momo's words, Kai could only remain silent, which prompted the Pussycats to jump in and hug him from every position, nearly managing to suffocate him with their chests. With a serious expression, Shino looked into Kai's barely visible eyes and asked with concern.

“Why are you so reckless? We seriously appreciate that you do so much for us, but we've told you many times—none of it means anything if something happens to you.”

With some effort, Kai managed to free himself from the soft mass that wanted to suffocate him and replied in a serious tone.

“…It's not just to strengthen you that I do what I do. I myself want to be stronger—I want to reach the absolute peak of my potential and surpass it. That's the most important goal in my life. So, being honest, I really can't stop taking those risks. I'll always try to minimize the danger, but I'll never stop trying to make myself stronger. I'm sorry.”

“Why do you seek strength so desperately, darling? You're already incredibly strong—you can already rival All Might. You're one of the strongest people in the world… Isn't that enough? Why not be satisfied? Why seek more?”

Ryuko asked in a serious tone while Keiko and Yumiko approached with serious expressions. Kai looked at each of his beloved girlfriends' faces and replied in a solemn tone charged with pure sincerity.

“Because I don't want to fail again.”

Upon hearing his answer, the girls opened their eyes in surprise, and soon different expressions formed on their faces, but they all shared something in common—concern. They understood perfectly what Kai was referring to, which made them painfully aware that the man they loved had never freed himself from the burden of that tragedy—he had only gotten better at pretending.

The helplessness and pain that tragedy caused Kai seemed engraved on his soul, something he would possibly never overcome. He was afraid—afraid of losing the people he loved again while he could only run helplessly—and in all likelihood, he even felt guilty for it. Even his terrifying strength and varied means didn't give him the security he needed; he was still frightened by the evil the world had shown him.

“Don't work anymore today, Kai… Let's take a bath and rest…” Not quite knowing how to act or what to say, Keiko could only comment with a pained expression. Kai shook his head and commented in a calm voice.

“I'll go later. I want to check a few more things.”

“Don't leave us alone…” Tomoko murmured on the verge of tears, which led Kai to sigh and reply with resignation.

“Alright, let's go. But you don't have to act like this—I just want to see how far I can go. There's nothing deep behind it.”

“…”

The girls remained silent and quickly pulled Kai out of the bunker, then took him to the largest bathroom in the house—a hot spring complex fed from a nearby mountain. While Momo changed into a swimsuit, the girls directly undressed and undressed Kai, then began bathing him in silence.

“Seriously, nothing's wrong with me. You don't have to act like this…” Kai could only comment somewhat helplessly, but the girls refused to listen and continued bathing him in silence.

After a while, Kai finally ended up in what appeared to be a hot spring pool alongside the silent girls, all naked except for Momo, who wore a red bikini. Knowing they wouldn't listen, Kai finally gave up, stayed silent, and rested his head on Shino's chest, who was hugging him from behind.

“Kai… we want you to go to therapy.” But at that moment, Nemuri announced in a serious voice, which made Kai's eyes snap open as he spoke completely on the defensive.

“Therapy? What for? I'm perfectly fine—I'm just an obsessive guy. It's nothing out of the ordinary.”

“You promised before that you'd go…”

“…”

Momo commented in a serious voice, which made Kai shut his mouth, since he remembered that. Right when Tomoko joined the relationship, the girls brought up the topic, and he promised to do it, but he had been putting it off until now.

“You'll keep your word, won't you, darling? You'll go.”

Ryuko asked seriously while Keiko and Yumiko looked at each other, since, although they weren't there when Kai made the promise, they had heard about it earlier in the meeting. Kai let out a defeated sigh and could only nod heavily.

“If you make an appointment, I'll go, but I'm not promising anything more. Three sessions, that's all.”

“At least try to talk a little… Just a little… Don't do what you always do and end up driving the therapist crazy…”

Yumiko commented with concern, which made all the girls look at Kai with pleading eyes. Finding himself alone and surrounded by the enemy, Kai could only submit to the circumstances and sigh heavily, then turn his head to bury his face in Shino's chest and reply in defeat.

“I'll talk a little. That's all I can promise…”

“That's enough for now.” Keiko commented with a smile, at which point Tomoko hugged Kai tightly, causing her chest to press against Shino's, and commented with a huge smile.

“Thank you, Kai! I love you!”

“"”We all love you!”"”

The girls announced in unison with small smiles and hugged Kai, once again nearly suffocating him. Finding himself in the middle of that tempting and elastic, suffocating mass, Kai couldn't help but be grateful for his foresight in training his lungs—otherwise he possibly couldn't withstand so much 'love.'

“Fufu, we almost suffocated you again.”

Amused, Nemuri couldn't help but comment upon seeing Kai gasping for air. Meanwhile, Momo, the only one in a swimsuit, stepped out of the enormous bath and commented with a smile.

“But you deserve a reward—I'm going to order some fries and strawberry juice.”

“Let me help you, Momo!” Nejire quickly jumped up and commented with a huge smile. Momo lightly tapped her forehead and replied with a slight reproach upon seeing Nejire's total lack of modesty.

“Put something on first.”

“Hehe, I'll go grab a robe!” Nejire replied cheerfully and soon ran toward the changing room, drawing laughter from everyone present.

***

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