"Well, for now, let's go take a bath and then train for a bit. I'll worry about everything else later. Oh, and Sage, give that rat a 'gentle' reminder at the right moment…"
"Understood, Master."
After finishing his meal, Kai stood up from his chair and stretched lazily, speaking softly, to which the beautiful fairy responded seriously. He then quickly went up to his room, took a quick shower, and changed into a black athletic outfit. But as he was coming down the stairs, doing light warm-up exercises with his arms, he found Keiko and Yumiko waiting for him with big smiles.
"Is something wrong?"
A little puzzled, Kai asked while glancing back and forth between the two beautiful women, who smiled warmly. They gently and calmly took his arms, but once they were close enough, the two women quickly pressed Kai's arms tightly against their large chests, completely immobilizing him. At that moment, Yumiko spoke with a cheerful smile.
"Yes, since you're awake, it's necessary to give you a full check-up."
"Everything's already prepared in the medical room, and the doctors are waiting for you." Keiko quickly added with a warm and loving smile, which inevitably made Kai roll his eyes as he replied.
"Did you forget about my medical skills? I'm perfectly fine; there's no need for that."
"Of course we didn't forget, but even so, you're not going anywhere until the necessary tests are done." Keiko replied calmly, her face carrying a confident smile. Yumiko then added in a soft and charming voice.
"Just surrender, Kai-chan… Don't make it difficult for yourself…"
"That sounded quite a bit more, you know…" Kai couldn't help but remark as he looked at Yumiko, who simply smiled cheerfully and stuck out her little tongue in a playful manner, prompting the blue-eyed boy to comment with a hint of resignation.
"Alright, go ahead and run the tests then…"
"Fufu, my Kai-chan is the best…" Yumiko said teasingly, while Keiko added with a small giggle.
"Come on, they're waiting for us."
Soon, Kai was led to the medical room by the two stunning women, who used their sexy bodies as restraints to prevent their 'prisoner' from escaping. There, Kai saw that both Eva and Oliver were undergoing examinations, but he was quickly taken to another room where they began running all sorts of tests on him.
While the doctors and nurses examined him with incredibly serious expressions, as if their lives depended on it, Kai couldn't help but lose himself in his thoughts—especially about what had happened on the island. Things had spiraled out of control in a matter of mere moments. What was supposed to be an observation mission to understand the enemy—the first step in a carefully structured attack plan—ended up turning into an all-out confrontation that nearly cost him his life.
At that moment, he had been too careless, too impulsive, and arrogant. More than anyone else, he should have understood that his presence on the island had been pure chance—something that wasn't supposed to happen. Thus, the lives or deaths of Eva and Oliver were not his responsibility, nor was it his duty to rescue or help them in any way. What he should have done was gather information first and prioritize learning as much as possible. Strangers should not have concerned him. His family was the only thing that truly mattered.
But even though he fully understood that logic—and was completely sure that it had been the correct course of action at that moment—his body had acted on its own. He simply couldn't stand by and let an innocent child die so miserably. Even though he considered himself a damned bastard and wasn't ashamed to admit it, even he had his limits.
But the final trigger, however, had undoubtedly been Eva. Just seeing her face was like traveling through time, bringing back so many memories at once that he couldn't contain himself—especially the memory of his last conversation with Kate.
+++
"Daniel… why…?"
In the middle of a dark, abandoned park, a beautiful young woman with blonde hair cried inconsolably as she clung to a young man of a similar age, with brown hair and honey-colored eyes. He stood there, his expression firm and resolute, silently listening to the girl's desperate questions.
"We're happy here. We were going to go to college together. Our whole life is here—your mother's here, I'm here… Why do you want to throw it all away…?"
"This damn town has nothing for me, Kate. I've told you already—I refuse to be average; I refuse to get stuck here like everyone else. Being born poor was my mother's fault, but if I die poor, it'll be entirely my own. I came into this world to achieve great things, and I won't do that here. That's why I have to leave." The young man replied with a firm voice, full of conviction, causing the young woman to bite her lip hard before looking him directly in the eyes and asking.
"You're going with that idiot, aren't you…?"
"Who else would I go with? He's the only person who's believed in me. Unlike all of you who want to keep me trapped here, he's willing to follow me. He believes in me more than I believe in myself. He's the brother I never had." The young man replied seriously, returning her gaze, at which point the girl shook his shoulders furiously and snapped back angrily.
"Daniel, wake up! How can you not see it?! He's not going with you because he believes in you! He's going because he has nothing to lose! That idiot is nothing but a parasite—he's always by your side because you're the only one stupid enough to let him live off you forever!!"
"You don't understand anything!! We're brothers!!! We grew up together! He's helped me just as much—if not more—than I've helped him! You just hate him because you can't order him around like you do everyone else!" the young man snapped back, visibly enraged, causing the young woman to take a few steps back. Still crying, she spoke again, her voice filled with pain.
"…Fine. Go. Crash. Suffer—because that's what you want. But remember my words well, Daniel: one day you'll regret it. And at that moment, you'll understand that giving up your bread for a stranger only leaves you starving. Only your family—the people who truly love you—are worth that kind of sacrifice. I just hope it won't be too late because I won't be there to help you anymore…"
After making her declaration, the young woman ran away with all her strength, crying inconsolably. The young man reached out his hand as if to stop her, but halfway through, he clenched his fist tightly. After taking a few deep breaths to resist the knot forming in his throat, he turned 180 degrees and walked away in the opposite direction.
+++
(It was so clear to you, but I could never see it until the very end… I'm really just a fool who likes to pretend he's smart. Although, well, you ended up moving away too, so I guess that counts as a half-victory for me, right…?)
With a heavy sigh, Kai straightened his clothes after the enormous number of tests they had run on him, then slowly made his way toward the exit—only to be quickly intercepted by Keiko and Yumiko, who hugged him tightly with huge smiles on their faces since the test results had come back quite good.
"Where do you think you're going?" Yumiko asked in a cheerful tone, to which Kai replied casually and calmly, not giving it much importance.
"I'm going to train a bit."
But that simple, ordinary answer somehow caused both Keiko and Yumiko to furrow their brows at the same time. Something didn't seem right. Their Kai, for some reason, seemed dimmed—even sad—which worried them a little, though they hid it well from their expressions. At that moment, Keiko spoke with a small smile.
"No way. The doctor said you need two weeks of rest—your body hasn't fully recovered yet."
"It's just a side effect from one of my techniques. In a few days, I'll be as good as new."
Kai answered in a calm tone, giving Keiko a reassuring smile—which caused the beautiful woman's eyebrows to twitch slightly, as her intuition told her that smile was nothing more than a hollow mask. She immediately clung tightly to Kai's arm and spoke in a firm voice.
"It doesn't matter what you say. You're going to rest today, understood?"
"Yes, Kai-chan, no matter what, today you're only allowed to rest!"
Yumiko quickly added in an equally serious and strict tone, which left an expression of helplessness on Kai's face. Feeling the fatigue brought on by Inverse Flow, combined with the turmoil of his scattered thoughts and emotions, he decided not to argue and to take a moment to meditate instead.
"Alright, I'll rest…"
"Fufu, then let's go!"
Hearing his response, Yumiko replied in an animated voice, then she and Keiko gently dragged Kai to the mansion's backyard. There, Kai saw a large beach chair—more like three chairs joined together—set under a big sunshade, where Mrs. Yoshiko was waiting with a tray in her hands, carrying two cocktails and a strawberry milkshake.
Quickly, Yumiko and Keiko guided Kai to the middle seat and carefully laid him down. Keiko then took the milkshake from Mrs. Yoshiko's tray and handed it to Kai with a cheerful smile, which the blue-eyed boy could only accept with an ironic smile on his face.
Once Kai was settled, Yumiko and Keiko nodded in satisfaction, each taking a cocktail from the tray and thanking Mrs. Yoshiko. After giving a respectful bow, Mrs. Yoshiko returned inside the mansion. At that moment, Keiko commented as she sat to Kai's left.
"Well, Kai, today we're going to completely relax—so let's start by enjoying this beautiful day with a little music…"
With Keiko's words, soft classical music began to play from the chair. At that moment, Yumiko, who had seated herself to Kai's right, rested her head on his shoulder. After taking a sip from her cocktail and setting it aside, she asked gently.
"What's bothering you, Kai-chan…?"
"Huh?"
Surprised by the question, Kai turned to look at Yumiko with confusion, only to find the beautiful woman smiling warmly at him. She then added in a soft and affectionate tone.
"You look sad, you know?"
"…"
Hearing that, Kai could only offer a bitter smile before leaning back against the chair and staring up at the umbrella above them. At that moment, Keiko set her cocktail aside as well, then turned and hugged Kai, sliding one leg over his, causing her dress to slip along her smooth, soft skin and reveal her impressive thighs. She spoke in a gentle voice, full of love and concern.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. For now, just relax with us and rest—you really need it. And remember, we love you, and we always will. If there's anything you need help with, or if you just want someone to listen, we're here for you… We'll never leave you alone…"
Hearing Keiko's words, Kai turned to look at her, finding a calm expression on her face, but one undeniably filled with love. At that moment, Yumiko shifted Kai's arm so she could settle comfortably against his chest, making him end up wrapping his arm around her slender waist. Then, she intertwined one of her legs with Kai's free leg, just as Keiko had done, and spoke softly.
"You've been through so much, Kai-chan, and we don't know what to do to help you… but what we do know is that we'll always be by your side. Never doubt that you can trust us—we love you, and we will always support you…"
Seeing Yumiko's loving expression, Kai felt a warm feeling trying to take hold of his heart. But his chaotic mind began to spiral out of control, filling him with memories of his past life—of that wretched woman, of that parasite, of how Kate found happiness without him, leaving him behind like a piece of trash, of how he had been fooled like an idiot for so many years.
A furious war broke out inside him between his fears, insecurities, and the love he now felt for his family—until finally, he spoke in a low voice.
"… Actually, for over a long time, I've been in a romantic relationship with Nemuri, Ryuko, Shino, Momo, and Nejire."
***
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