BNHA: Spiritual Aura

--Thursday, July 30, 2172

[Shiraki Junpei, 46 years old, widower, no children, Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. He opened his mental health clinic 11 years ago. He is also a recurring consultant in criminal and espionage investigations for both the police and hero agencies and has even worked with the Hero Public Safety Commission. Expert in hypnosis and criminal profiling.

[His registered quirk is hyper-perception: his senses of smell, vision, and hearing are several times superior to a human's. His wife was a renowned archaeologist and was murdered under strange circumstances along with their two children 13 years ago. At the time, a villain was sentenced for their deaths, but the entire process was dubious, and several questions were left unanswered.]

While slowly eating a French fry, Kai silently read the information displayed by Sage on a holographic screen in [In] state. But the information inevitably made Kai raise an eyebrow and comment through the mental connection with his reliable assistant.

[Hyper-Perception? The Safety Commission? This guy is anything but simple.]

[He's truly dangerous, master. From small details and pure speculation, he managed to reach quite accurate conclusions, and Secrets Keeper can't block him since it's an indirect method… If he starts investigating further, we might attract unwanted attention.] The beautiful fairy sitting on Kai's shoulder replied, visibly worried. Kai grabbed his milkshake and replied in a serious tone.

[He's dangerous, but meeting him now was actually a good thing. We were a bit careless until now and left too many details out in the open, but he made me notice them, and luckily it's not too late to fix them.

[The Accomplices' abilities and the girls' super strength won't take long to attract attention, especially after the I-Island incident, so we need to start working on it now. Have the workshop ready.]

[Understood, master.] Sage replied in a serious tone, to which Kai nodded subtly while grabbing another fry and typing on his laptop.

…

“Honey… Are you okay?”

After eating, the group returned to the car, at which point Nemuri asked in a low and somewhat restrained voice. Kai looked up from his computer to glance at the girls around him, then commented with a calm smile.

“Perfectly fine, just a little busy. I rested for too long, and work piled up.”

At his response, Nemuri could only look at the others, who could only sigh subtly—something Kai easily noticed, prompting him to comment with a smile.

“I'm seriously fine; you don't have to make those faces. It'll just be a few days of work; we still have plenty of summer vacation left to enjoy.”

“You're right, darling, there's still vacation to enjoy.”

Yumiko commented with a warm smile as she pulled Kai's head to her chest. Kai let himself be pulled in and smiled in amusement, then continued working while resting on that comfortable “pillow.”

…

“See you at dinner; I'll have gifts for everyone.” As he got out of the car, Kai commented with a smile before running toward the workshop, leaving the girls looking at each other with concern.

“Was it really a good idea to make him go? He seems worse…” Yumiko couldn't help but comment painfully, to which Nemuri shook her head and replied.

“I don't know, but we already started—we can't give up on the first day…”

“Let's wait and see. I'm sure Kai will be able to get through it.” Keiko commented, full of confidence, to which the girls nodded with better expressions, at which point Nejire asked curiously.

“Does anyone have any idea why Kai-chan suddenly wants to give us gifts? Could the therapist have said something to him?”

“Kai always gives us gifts. What seems strange to you?” Nemuri asked, confused, at which point Momo explained with a finger on her chin.

“It's certainly not unusual for Kai to want to give us gifts, but when he does, he either tells us well in advance or keeps it a secret until the last moment to surprise us. His mention of gifts now seems a bit improvised…”

“That's exactly what I wanted to say!” Nejire announced with a huge smile, hands on her hips as if she had said it herself—something that inevitably made the girls laugh. Keiko, more reflective, nodded and spoke.

“They have a point; it is a bit odd. But I suppose the best thing to do is wait and see.”

“Then let's prepare something delicious for him tonight! We'll be away for a whole week because of the camp, and we have to do something special.” Yumiko commented enthusiastically. Nejire raised her hands in the air and exclaimed while looking at her mother with sparkling eyes.

“You're a genius, Mom!”

“Then let's go all out! It's time to break in the new knife Kai forged for me!” Momo commented, full of enthusiasm, closely followed by Nemuri.

“I'll make the desserts. I recently managed to 'steal' Chatora's secret recipe, fufu.”

“Teach me!”

Momo quickly pleaded with puppy eyes brimming with emotion, since Chatora's cakes were Kai's favorites and she had long wanted to learn how to make them, but Chatora was far too stingy with his recipes. Nemuri held her right elbow with one hand and, with a finger near her lips, commented with a playful smile.

“I don't know… If too many people know, it won't be a secret anymore…”

“Nemuri-nee-chan…” Momo pleaded again, full of coquettishness, which made Nemuri laugh and comment in amusement.

“Let's go to the kitchen, and if you behave, maybe I can teach you.”

“Then I'll take care of the hardest part. I'll supervise and do quality control.” Keiko, who openly acknowledged the kitchen as the only unexplored and unconquerable territory for her, commented mischievously.

“Let's go!”

Nejire announced with the spirit of a general ordering troops to march to war, which made the girls laugh again as they headed toward the kitchen amid pleasant chatter. But even in the middle of the conversation, their gazes kept drifting back to the distant workshop, a light of worry shining in their eyes.

Something was going on with Kai—they all knew it—but they also knew him well enough to know he would never be open and honest about it. He would keep everything to himself and solve it on his own while showing them his best face. Something he had done since he was a small child.

Kai has always wanted to show the world that he is capable of enduring anything, that he is invulnerable. That was precisely why they worried so much. Because it was inevitable for them to picture their Kai as a lone-wolf licking his wounds in silence—an image that made them want to pamper him to make up for it and show him he could trust them more.

…

…

…

“What jewelry-making materials do we have in the inventory, Sage?”

Inside his workshop, Kai set his computer in a corner and ran to a cabinet to grab tools while asking his reliable assistant. The beautiful fairy became visible again and replied while creating several holographic screens for her master as the pair of cats settled into a corner prepared especially for them.

“A little bit of everything, master. Gold, silver, platinum, jade, diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, etc. We recently stocked the workshop quite well to make the rings for the girls, and there's still plenty left.”

“Perfect, then let's get to work.”

Kai commented as he picked up small ingots of different precious metals and lit a blowtorch. Sage used Manipulation to bring the melting crucible and some chemicals closer to her master while asking curiously.

“What exactly do you want to make, master?”

“Elementary, my dear Sage.” Kai commented in a calm voice, then placed some ingots in the crucible and began melting them while explaining, glancing subtly at the pair of cats.

“The therapist was able to figure out that the mind-reading block had to do with my hand because I looked at it—something I did unconsciously. Something the girls will most certainly do as well. Therefore, what we need to do is give them 'decoys,' something shiny that distracts people and leads them away from the girls—and the sooner, the better.”

“Will that be enough, master? An experienced investigator could notice it, especially someone as observant as Shiraki Junpei.” Sage commented seriously, to which Kai nodded as the firelight reflected on his face.

“It's certainly a risk, but most will take the bait and believe they're a genius for figuring it out. Meanwhile, the truly intelligent ones, when faced with a power like the [Keeper] swords and the Vital Reactor, no matter how much they doubt, will still want to confirm it before ruling it out—and that will lead them directly to the cats. In other words, to me, and with the wrong objective, which gives me a lot of room to maneuver.”

“Will you use Tama and Salem as scapegoats, master…?” Sage asked while turning to look at the cats sleeping peacefully in their corner. Kai replied with his gaze focused on the metals melting.

“No, only as decoys. They're always with me. Besides, if someone suspects they're the source of the girls' power or mine, they'll avoid killing them as much as possible. Very few will be able to resist the temptation of the power, which will provide them with a certain level of protection.”

“I see… Will you do the same with the Vital Reactor?” Sage asked while showing her master a holographic screen with the smelting temperature and other important data. Kai shook his head and explained calmly.

“I'm planning something different for that. I'll create some candies the same color as Tama and with some subtle details linking them to her and pass them off as super-powered 'pills.' It's a bit lame, but it's better than nothing.”

“I understand, master. Do you need me to help with some special effects?” Sage asked seriously. Kai nodded and replied in a similar tone.

“I'll leave it in your hands. We have to finish this before dinner—time is critical. We still don't know why they let us leave I-Island so easily, and I have a feeling I'll find out at the camp.”

“Understood!”

The beautiful fairy replied, her wings shimmering in different colors like a kaleidoscope, at which point Kai focused entirely on finishing the alloy. Then he left it to cool while he grabbed the rolling mill and began shaping the precious metal with mastery and visible urgency.

…

…

…

“He's still not coming out…”

In the middle of the garden, Momo couldn't help but murmur quietly with concern while looking at the distant workshop. This caused the girls to sigh heavily, at which point Ryuko, who had arrived recently, asked with worry.

“What really happened at that therapy session? Darling never misses a meal…”

“We don't know. He didn't want to say much, but as soon as he got back, he locked himself in his workshop…” Keiko explained while swirling the wine in the glass in her hand with a frown. Shino looked at the workshop and spoke in a serious tone.

“I think we should talk to him tonight. We're the ones who asked him to go to therapy, and we need to take responsibility.”

“You know Kai—he won't accept anything and will end up dodging the subject.”

Yumiko commented with a hint of bitterness while looking at her own glass of wine. At that moment, Tomoko and Nejire looked at each other, sharing an idea only they understood, and Tomoko commented with unusual seriousness.

“You're underestimating Kai! He's not the type to let others get to him!”

“Yeah, yeah! Kai-chan must be doing something important! The gifts are to protect us better!” Nejire soon added in a tone similar to Tomoko's, which led Nemuri to smile and comment as Kai's disdainful smirk appeared in her mind.

“You're right, Kai is stronger than that. It's better if we greet him with smiles when he comes out.”

“That's true; let's wipe away this sadness, or we'll end up worrying him.” Keiko commented as a confident smile returned to her face, to which the other girls nodded.

Just at that moment, the workshop door opened, releasing a large amount of steam, and Kai appeared sweaty, disheveled, and carrying a box with a confident smile. Upon seeing Kai emerge, the girls forgot everything they had been talking about and jumped to their feet to run toward him, and he welcomed them with a warm smile.

“What happened? Why all the excitement?” Finding himself completely embraced, Kai couldn't help but ask with a smile. At that moment, Momo kissed him on the lips, then commented with a smile.

“What happened is you took too long and the food got cold.”

“Oh, sorry about that. As an apology, I made gifts for everyone.” Kai said while raising the box in his hand, which led Nemuri to ask with visible curiosity.

“What is it?”

“Some jewelry.” Kai replied calmly, which made Keiko frown and ask.

“Jewelry? Why jewelry?”

“I'll tell you while we eat—I'm starving.” Kai explained while rubbing his stomach, which growled loudly, drawing laughter from the girls, and Momo quickly spoke, visibly more relaxed.

“Let's go then; I'll heat everything up quickly.”

***

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