"Eva, what do you think of people who 'take the bread from their own mouths to give it to a stranger'?"
Upon hearing the question, Eva turned to look at Kai with her eyes wide open, visibly stunned, almost as if she doubted what she was hearing. But after a few seconds, she couldn't help but smile in realization and replied in a somewhat nostalgic voice.
"I suppose that was a common saying in Avalon, and you heard it from your mother. Actually, my mother always told me that 'taking the bread out of your own mouth to give it to someone else' only leaves you hungry, so only a child is worthy of such a sacrifice."
Upon hearing her response, Kai couldn't help but open his eyes a little in surprise, but this soon turned into a small smile, at which point he commented.
"I see, she was a wise woman."
"Haha, she was a bit selfish and bad-tempered, but she was a great mother." Eva replied with a smile full of loss and nostalgia, at which point Kai cheerfully commented.
"Wait a moment, Eva. I forgot something."
Hearing this, Eva couldn't help but stop and look at him, a little confused. That's when the young man stepped closer to her and, without saying a word, took her hand and began drawing something with his finger on her palm. It made her smile, thinking it must be some Japanese custom to wish good luck or something like that since she'd seen something similar online.
(Although he seems like a mature and dependable man most of the time, it's true he's still a teenager...)
Eva added to herself with a warm smile on her face, but at that moment, she saw how a beautiful golden card suddenly appeared in the young man's hand. It had a strange pattern in the corners that looked like a mix between electronic circuitry and tribal runes—something she knew was the way the beautiful fairy used her quirk. But before she could say anything, Kai wrote her name in the air with his finger, and the card vanished in a flash of light.
"It's done. Your turn, Oliver."
Kai said with a small smile as he looked at the holographic screen in front of him, now displaying 19 registered marks. At that moment, Eva couldn't help but ask, a bit confused.
"What did you do, Kai?"
"Let's just say it's a magic spell to make sure I can get there on time if you're ever in danger."
Kai replied with a suggestive smile, which immediately brought back to Eva's mind the memories of when she escaped from that island—when the brave blue-eyed boy standing in front of her and the beautiful fairy had used those cards to get her out of that place. It made it easy for her to understand what the young man meant, and it inevitably brought a touched smile to her face.
"Thank you so much, Kai… I honestly don't know how to repay you."
"Don't worry about it. Let's just say meeting you did me some good—and as fellow countrymen, we've got to look out for each other."
Kai replied with a smile as he took the confused Oliver's hand and then quickly drew the Magnetic Force mark on it, which would allow him to reach his location using any of his movement cards—be it Magnetic Force or Accompany.
"Say thank you, Oliver." Once Kai finished, Eva commented while squeezing Oliver's hand. Oliver looked at Kai and, with a slightly nervous voice, thanked him.
"T-thank you, Kai."
"Don't mention it."
Kai replied with a small smile, then ruffled the boy's hair a little. After that, he said goodbye once more and watched as the mother and son walked away with the elderly until they disappeared inside the airport.
Once everyone had disappeared inside the airport, Kai couldn't help but smile with mixed feelings, but he quickly shook his head and turned to look at the pair of beautiful mothers who were accompanying him with lovely smiles. Then he asked.
"Shall we go?"
"Let's go." They replied in unison.
…
Although they could have used Accompany to return, Keiko and Yumiko refused and decided to go back in the car they had arrived in. While the driver was driving, Keiko made Kai rest his head on her lap, forcing poor Salem to find a corner for himself. She began to gently caress Kai's face in silence, but with a beautiful smile, wanting to convey all her love and care. Yumiko, who was sitting next to Keiko, did the same.
"Drive slower—take your time."
Wanting to enjoy the moment a little longer, Yumiko pressed a button on the door and calmly gave an order, as the divider between the driver's section and the back was fully closed. A firm, professional voice responded through the speakers.
[Understood.]
Meanwhile, Keiko turned to look at Yumiko and gave her a congratulatory smile, which made Yumiko chuckle softly with pride, while Kai simply let out an amused laugh and chose to remain silent, comfortably resting in Keiko's lap.
…
…
…
"No matter how many times I see it, it never stops amazing me—you guys have way too much money…"
Stepping out of a black car, Mina couldn't help but comment cheerfully as she looked at the impressive property that seemed to blend luxury and nature perfectly. At that moment, Momo stepped out of the car and replied with a small smile as she looked at her cheerful, pink-skinned friend.
"Don't exaggerate; it's not that much—it's just a cozy and peaceful home."
"You talk like it's tiny…"
Jiro, who got out of the car right after, couldn't help but retort, rolling her eyes. Momo nodded in response, wearing an incredibly innocent expression on her face, and then said.
"It's actually quite small. The main mansion only has 20 rooms."
"Only 20?! That's practically a hotel…"
Jiro quickly replied, stunned, to the point that the cables extending from her earlobes started twitching erratically. Mina turned to Momo with a disbelieving expression, and Momo couldn't help but reply with amusement, as if she'd just heard a joke.
"Fufufu, a hotel—that's a good one. I'll have to tell Kai that one of these days…"
"Momo, how many rooms do you think a house needs to have to be considered big?"
Mina asked with a strange tone, to which Momo responded while starting to walk toward the house, a beautiful smile on her face. After all, welcoming her friends into her home always lifted her spirits, and now that Kai had woken up, and their relationship had been accepted by her mother, she felt like she was floating on clouds—happier than words could express.
"I don't know; maybe 200 or 300, I'd say. But let's leave that conversation for later. The others shouldn't take long to arrive, and I want to have tea, desserts, and everything ready to welcome them. I can't disappoint as a hostess, fufu."
Meanwhile, Jiro and Mina, after hearing Momo, couldn't help but freeze in place, feeling like the world of the rich was truly something they could never fully understand. But seeing their black-haired friend practically radiating an aura of excitement and joy, the two students couldn't help but smile in amusement.
Momo was truly unaware of her own wealth, and from time to time, she ended up delivering devastating remarks without even realizing it. But without a doubt, she was a valuable person and a great friend. Plus, that confused and innocent expression of hers was just too adorable, which inevitably made the two girls laugh before quickly running after their friend.
With the help of Mrs. Yoshiko, Mina, and Jiro, Momo managed to prepare enough tea and cookies for those who would be visiting Kai. One by one, the guests began to arrive—Momo's extended group of close friends: Hagakure, Kirishima, Kaminari, Ojiro, and Sero, along with a somewhat unexpected group: Midoriya, Uraraka, Tsuyu, All Might, and Todoroki.
"Welcome! Kai won't take long to arrive, so feel free to wait for him in the living room in the meantime."
With a beautiful smile on her face, Momo welcomed all the visitors like a perfect hostess, which inevitably brought cheerful smiles to everyone who arrived—her happiness was truly contagious.
"I didn't expect you to come, Todoroki."
In the living room, Kirishima couldn't help but approach Todoroki and ask with visible curiosity. The young man with half-white, half-red hair responded in a calm voice, lowering his teacup from his lips.
"Well, I've always been curious about Saito, and to be honest, I'd like to know what could actually make someone like him 'sick.' That couldn't have been a normal illness."
Understanding the deeper meaning behind Todoroki's words, Kirishima couldn't help but nod in agreement. He, too, didn't believe that someone like Saito Kai could simply fall ill. But Yaoyorozu's sadness had been very real, which only left one possibility: Saito's health issue wasn't a sickness—it was most likely an injury from a fight. And the secrecy all the teachers maintained about it only made everything more suspicious.
The minutes passed until, finally, a sleek black car entered the property. Out of it stepped Kai, accompanied by two stunning women, causing an almost unanimous gulp from nearly everyone present—the girls staring at Kai and the boys staring at the pair of beautiful women beside him. At that moment, Momo smiled brightly and ran toward her beloved.
"Welcome back."
In front of her family, Momo greeted them with a beautiful smile before jumping up to hug Kai. In response, Kai, Yumiko, and Keiko greeted her in unison.
"""We're back."""
But one curious thing Kai noticed was that instead of letting go, Momo blushed slightly. Then she lifted her head and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before hurriedly letting go and walking back with visible embarrassment, which made him laugh in amusement—something the two mothers also found funny.
Meanwhile, inside the house, most of the students present couldn't help but widen their eyes a bit—not so much surprised by the kiss itself, since everyone already knew there was something going on between the two—but rather by how bold Momo had been to kiss Saito in front of everyone, something she had never done before.
The impact was especially strong on Mina, Jiro, and Hagakure, the invisible girl. Although they had heard directly from Momo that her relationship with Kai had become official, they never imagined she would become so bold so quickly. But before they had much time to process it, Kai entered the room and greeted them with a smile.
"I didn't expect so many people to come—thank you all for the visit."
Upon hearing the greeting, all the students—and even All Might, who was standing toward the back to avoid making the younger ones uncomfortable—couldn't help but look at the blue-eyed young man with a bit of surprise.
Somehow, he felt different—less "sharp", more gentle. Combined with the absence of his iconic scar on his forehead, it felt a little strange, almost as if they were looking at a complete stranger.
"Saito… are you feeling okay?" Mina couldn't help but ask, a little concerned, which made Kai laugh lightly as he calmly replied while walking over to an empty couch.
"Honestly? I feel pretty good."
"Well then, we'll leave you all here so you can catch up." At that moment, Yumiko spoke calmly, and everyone nodded in agreement as she began walking upstairs together with Keiko.
"… But what happened that you've been missing classes? And your scar is gone… did you get cosmetic surgery?"
After a few seconds, Tsuyu—the frog girl—couldn't help but ask, displaying her usual straightforwardness. This put a slightly uncomfortable expression on Momo's face, who had sat down next to Kai on a couch facing everyone. At that moment, the blue-eyed boy responded in a calm tone.
"You could see it that way. In any case, it was just a minor health issue, but I'm still recovering, so I'll be out of class for a little while longer."
As he spoke, Kai couldn't help but speed up his thoughts and focus his gaze on All Might at the back of the room. There was something odd about him—for some reason, with his observation haki, he couldn't sense the same "fluctuation" in his "voice" that he could feel in everyone else. It caught his attention so strongly that he quickly concentrated his aura and haki into his eyes.
Activating that strange 360-degree black-and-white vision, Kai focused entirely on All Might's figure, which allowed him to notice something incredible. The "double edge" he could see on the figures in that monochrome view—an outline that trembled or fluctuated slightly on everyone he had seen so far—was, for some reason, almost still on All Might. The movement was so subtle it was barely perceptible, and on top of that, it appeared slightly fuzzy and blurred.
To confirm, Kai examined the figures of everyone else in the room, realizing that indeed, this strange phenomenon was occurring only with All Might. That inevitably led him to reflect on what set the former Number One Hero apart from everyone else—leading him almost instantly to the answer.
(All Might doesn't have a quirk anymore!)
[Sage, it's possible that the fluctuation we're perceiving is related to quirks! It might be the 'spiritual component' of the quirks!]
Realizing he may have discovered something of great importance, Kai almost instantly reached out to his trusted assistant through their mental link. The beautiful fairy responded quickly; her voice rushed and visibly excited.
[It's highly likely, Master! I'm currently recording all the data and organizing research projects around this. This might be what we've been missing to use [Royal Silence] on quirks other than One for All!]
[This is very important, Sage. If we're right, this could allow us to deepen our understanding of the soul and spirit—we might finally be standing at the threshold of gaining some real certainty about something!]
Kai spoke as he moved within the space of his 360-degree vision, quickly focusing on Midoriya. He noticed that the "double edge" or outline of the young man's figure was unusual—several times larger and completely disproportionate. It was a world of difference compared to everyone else, whose outlines were subtle enough that he had to concentrate to even notice them.
But beyond that—and possibly even stranger—was that this "outline", instead of following the contours of Midoriya's figure, seemed to mimic the shape of All Might's. And yet, not entirely. It looked more like a strange chimeric amalgamation made of different parts, almost like a Frankenstein.
"I apologize for speaking so bluntly…"
While Kai was rapidly processing the oddity surrounding the green-haired boy, he suddenly heard Tsuyu's voice—exaggeratedly slow and slightly distorted, a side effect of accelerating his thoughts. Knowing that he would now have more opportunities to study both Midoriya and All Might in detail, he slowed his thoughts and responded in a calm tone.
"Don't worry about it. Honestly, I prefer your style—it's easier for me to talk with someone like you than with someone who's overly 'subtle.'"
"Thank you."
Tsuyu, who felt uncomfortable after receiving an annoyed look from Momo due to her question, quickly responded with genuine gratitude, bowing her head slightly once more toward Momo in a gesture of apology. At that moment, Kai turned to look toward the garden and commented casually.
"Looks like the rest have arrived."
Upon hearing Kai, everyone turned to look outside, and they saw a beautiful blue-haired girl surrounded by swirling trails of energy slowly descending into the garden. She was accompanied by a tall, muscular young man with short golden hair and strange oval-shaped blue eyes with no visible sclera, dressed in the U.A uniform.
"Kai!! I heard you woke up!!"
As soon as he landed, the young man shouted enthusiastically and ran full speed into the house, where he found his good friend with black hair and blue eyes standing with a slightly amused smile—prompting the golden-haired boy to leap forward and give him a big hug.
"Thanks for the visit—I heard you came by while I was 'asleep.'" As he received Mirio's hug, Kai spoke in a calm tone, patting the broad back of the young man.
"Haha, no need to thank me for something like that. That's what friends are for! More importantly, I'm glad you're okay. Sir Nighteye sends his regards."
Mirio replied with a wide smile on his face—different, yet somehow reminiscent of All Might's: confident and charismatic. At that moment, Kai casually patted his shoulder, signaling him to release the hug, and said.
"I'm glad you came. Actually, there's something I'd like to propose to you… but let's save that for later."
"You can count on me for whatever you need!"
Mirio responded immediately, full of confidence, which made Kai chuckle a little—something that once again surprised Midoriya and Todoroki. That relaxed, smiling version of Kai was something they weren't used to. After all, even though he had mellowed a bit before the internships and wasn't as intimidating as before, he had still always been a serious and quiet person.
Though for Momo's group—especially Mina, who had spent the most time with him—it didn't seem all that strange. Kai, while grumpy and a bit intimidating, was a good guy, and Mina could honestly say he was actually quite pleasant when he was in a good mood. He made more jokes, laughed, and overall was far more enjoyable than his usual distant and irritable demeanor.
***
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