--Saturday, July 4, 2172
"Huh?"
Nemuri couldn't help but let out a strange sound at Kai's response, looking at him with surprise and uncertainty. For his part, Kai took a deep breath, then locked eyes with Nemuri and spoke in an incredibly serious tone.
"I'm not a good person, Nemuri. I'm good to you all because I love you, but I'm the worst kind of monster to those I hate. And believe me, the fact that you made me promise not to kill anyone only gave me ideas for even worse things. I'm not blaming you for anything, just saying I'm not what you think I am. I'm far more twisted and despicable than you could ever imagine."
"…What did you do…?" Nemuri stayed silent for a few seconds before asking in a solemn voice. Kai let out a small sigh and then commented calmly.
"Where do you think my healing skills came from? How could I be sure the Accomplices were safe for you all? How did I manage to make the [Vital Reactor] safe with no side effects? How did I create a method to restore All Might's powers? Things don't just come out of nowhere, even with my quirk."
"You experimented on them…" Nemuri said, her voice almost like a sigh, visibly shaken. Kai nodded with a serious but calm expression and explained.
"Yes. Since I couldn't kill them, I decided to get as much use out of them as possible. Every single one of them is still alive and physically fine, though their minds have long since been 'turned off.' In fact, the only person I've ever killed in my life was that bastard on Spider Island, and even then, he only ended up dead because I couldn't 'save' him. If things hadn't spiraled out of control the way they did, I would've ended up healing him just to toss him into my 'lab rat cage.'"
"…"
Nemuri fell completely silent and lowered her head, deep in thought. But soon after, a bitter smile, filled with a mix of conflicting emotions, formed on her beautiful face. Before long, Nemuri took a step back, distancing herself from Kai, who couldn't help but show a complex smile—part disappointed, part understanding. To his surprise, Nemuri took his hands, looked into his eyes, and declared with unwavering resolve.
"Take me to where you keep them. You don't have to carry this burden alone anymore, Kai. I'm your woman, and I'll bear it with you."
"Are you sure…?" Kai asked, incredulous. Nemuri couldn't help but smile bitterly and explain in a serious tone.
"Honey, beyond the unconditional love I have for you, I've spent years enjoying the 'benefits' that these atrocities have brought. And I'm not the kind of hypocrite who reaps the rewards and then distances herself from the costs. We all know how your quirk works, its weaknesses and strengths. It only takes a little thought to realize something was going on.
"But none of us thought about it, or maybe some did, but they chose to delude themselves into thinking your quirk was just that magical, that it might have improved over time, or they simply played dumb. All because the benefits you've given us over the years are too much. No one could resist; not even All Might could resist seeking your help.
"Even though the Symbol of Peace suspects you and must imagine there's something very off about your medical abilities, since he knows little about your quirk and thinks it's even more limited than it really is. He knows, or at the very least, he senses it, but he played dumb to get his powers back, just like all of us chose to look the other way. For beauty, for power, for the comfort you offer, we're all accomplices and guilty. And today, I'm stepping forward to stand by my man and help him carry his burdens."
"…" Kai couldn't help but fall into a reflective silence, gazing into Nemuri's eyes, filled with determination. After a few seconds, he spoke in a serious tone.
"Are you really sure? There's no turning back after this."
"Stop trying to make me doubt myself, Kai." Nemuri scolded with a stern expression. Kai could only let out a sigh before calling out in a serious tone.
"…Sage."
"Immediately, master." The beautiful fairy materialized beside Kai, responding in a serious tone as she pointed forward.
Under Nemuri's apprehensive and surprised gaze, what looked like two ghostly, old-fashioned prison cells formed in front of them. Soon, the doors opened and the cells vanished into nothingness. When they disappeared, Nemuri stared in shock at two men kneeling on the ground. They looked to be in excellent condition, robust and well-built.
But despite their bodies appearing to be the epitome of health, their expressions were blank and empty, and their eyes were glassy and slightly unfocused, as if staring into a distant place. Seeing those eyes, Nemuri finally understood what Kai meant when he said their minds were 'turned off.' They were more like puppets without will than people.
With a whirlwind of emotions swirling in her heart, Nemuri studied the two men, recognizing them immediately. The one on the left, with reddish-gold hair and bright golden eyes, was a former hero known as Spotlight, with a quirk that allowed him to manipulate light and create force fields. The other, with bull horns, graying hair, and looking to be around 40, was Takeshi Kanamori, a former administrator of the building housing the Iron Palm agency.
"It's really them…"
With a slightly pale and complex expression that changed rapidly, showing different emotions, Nemuri commented in an almost whispered voice. Kai nodded calmly and explained in a cold tone, looking at the pair of men as if they were nothing more than sacks of rotting bones.
"Yes, the gold-haired rat was the one who swapped the ball for the rigged one in my father's suitcases, and the horned one sold the information about where we were vacationing. The golden rat publicly retired to a remote island due to an injury, but that was just a cover to enjoy the fortune he was paid on a cruise in international waters full of prostitutes, gambling, and bloodshed.
"The other, after you shut down my father's agency and leased the building, went to work for another agency. He was there for almost three years before deciding to use the money. He divorced his wife, set up a public bathhouse business as a front to launder the money, and ended up buying several buildings through loans he paid off with the money he was given. He lived very comfortably in a downtown apartment with three schoolgirls he picked up off the streets."
"…"
Hearing Kai, Nemuri stayed silent as she looked at the pair of men, her mind filled with memories of how they smiled at Jiro. Spotlight was a hero Jiro often worked with, and they were good friends. But to Alisa and her, it was obvious when he envied Jiro's success—though neither of them ever imagined he could be so despicable. Meanwhile, the second had been Jiro's most trusted employee for nearly 15 years, and it wasn't unusual for him to eat at their house with his wife. Yet, he sold them out.
"…How is it that the police never found them…?" After a while, Nemuri couldn't help but ask in a hoarse voice. Kai responded in a calm tone, staring coldly at the pair.
"Because they didn't leave any obvious traces. The horned one delivered the information through a disposable phone he used only once, while the golden rat used his quirk to hide and swap the ball without raising suspicion. So, even though the police investigated them, they found nothing. They had solid alibis, likely prepared by someone else, and soon they were off the suspect list. And as you know, the investigation was completely halted shortly after."
"Then how did you…?" Nemuri looked at Kai and asked in a heavy voice. Kai smiled calmly and explained.
"Because I never took my eyes off them, not for a moment. I investigated them over and over, dug into every aspect of their lives for years, and infiltrated any electronic device they had access to. So when they started using the money, I noticed immediately. But I didn't strike right away. I waited patiently, observing how they acted, waiting for confirmation, until finally, the first one revealed it.
"During a drunken conversation on the cruise the golden rat liked to frequent, one day he let slip that he owed his entire fortune to his 'good friend,' who heroically sacrificed himself to make him rich. That same night, I snuck onto the cruise and made him disappear, then interrogated him, and that was it. Turns out many of his 'captures' were fake. He staged scenarios with lowlifes he paid off to gain popularity, and one of them eventually connected him with a 'mysterious shadow' who offered him a lot of money just to swap a ball.
"From there, I decided to stop waiting and directly captured the horned one and made him talk. The guy confessed that he used to pick up underage prostitutes off the streets, and one day, one of them handed him a phone before disappearing. Through that phone, someone contacted him and offered him so much money to reveal Iron Palm's location that he couldn't refuse and followed their instructions to the letter. Among the instructions was that he had to wait at least three years for the money, or they'd kill him—something they also told the golden rat."
"…"
Nemuri remained in reflective silence for a long time until she finally took a step forward, then another, and another, practically ending up running toward the pair of men.
Kai stayed silent, watching Nemuri, waiting to see what she would do. To his surprise, when she reached them, Nemuri threw a powerful punch at the golden rat's face, sending him flying. With the same momentum, she spun and kicked the horned one in the face. As the men crashed against the walls with multiple fractures, Nemuri stood in place, breathing heavily.
Silently, Kai approached Nemuri and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump into his arms and start sobbing uncontrollably. With great tenderness, Kai hugged Nemuri and began gently stroking her back until, after some time, her cries faded, and she turned to look at him.
"…"
Nemuri's face went through a range of emotions as she looked at Kai, but in the end, no words came out of her mouth. At that moment, the beautiful woman lunged forward to initiate a passionate kiss. In the middle of the kiss, Nemuri tore off the blouse she was wearing and her bra, then did the same to Kai's shirt. She quickly began unbuckling his pants and hers.
As the kiss grew more passionate and wild, Nemuri managed to slip one boot off her leg. She pushed her tiny underwear to the side and freed Kai's length, then jumped and wrapped her legs around his waist, causing his full length to enter her in one thrust.
Without stopping the kiss for a second, Nemuri began moving her hips forcefully, unleashing all her lust and wildness amid muffled moans. Finally, after some time and several climaxes, she felt a hot substance fill her completely. Feeling whole and safe, flooded by a warmth that erased all her fears and insecurities, Nemuri ended the kiss and pressed her forehead against Kai's, then spoke in a low, raspy voice.
"Thank you, Kai… Thank you… Thank you for loving me so much, and thank you for bringing justice for Alisa and Jiro. If it weren't for you… I'm sure those damn bastards would've spent the rest of their lives living grand lives at the expense of what they did to our family… Thank you…"
"Of the many outcomes I imagined over the years of what would happen when you finally found out, this was definitely one that slipped past me…"
Kai couldn't help but comment in a somewhat odd voice as he looked at Nemuri's slightly swollen lips. She hugged him tightly, clinging to him completely like a koala, and spoke in a soft voice.
"… From now on, don't hide anything from me. Just as you accept me as I am, I accept you as you are. I'll support you in everything and always be by your side… These pieces of trash deserved what you did to them and more. They betrayed years of friendship for money, never once thinking about all that Alisa and Jiro had done for them, and sold them out at the first chance they got… Prison or death are punishments too lenient for them…"
"Thank you…" Kai hugged Nemuri and spoke in a voice almost a whisper, laden with emotion, causing Nemuri to hold him even tighter and bury her face in his chest.
***
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