Kai stood at the bathroom mirror of his apartment, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, sunglasses perched where they always were. His reflection looked older now — sharper jawline, taller frame, confidence resting in his posture like it belonged there.
Almost done with high school. Almost done with this chapter of his life.
Behind him, Ava's voice hummed from the sleek smartwatch on his wrist."Checklist: math final tomorrow. Upload schedule: still on hiatus. Evening block: Domain expansion drills."
Kai spat, rinsed, then grinned at himself. "Sounds like balance."
Moving Up
His old studio apartment was a distant memory now. Cramped walls, peeling paint, a fridge the size of a shoebox. He'd loved it in the beginning — it had been his first real space in this new life. But once The Honored One had become a phenomenon, Ava refused to let him stay there.
"You're moving," she said one evening, voice flat as always.
Kai blinked at the cracked ceiling above his bed. "Why? This place has… character."
"It has mold," Ava corrected. "And a faulty lock. Statistically unsafe for someone with your income, powers, and poor life choices. I've already signed a lease on a two-bedroom uptown."
Kai groaned and complained through the whole process. But when he stepped into the new place — polished wood floors, wide windows, a skyline balcony, and a kitchen that gleamed like destiny — he whistled low.
"Okay," he admitted, flopping onto the brand-new couch Ava had ordered, "this is… not bad."
"The kitchen is modern," Ava said. "All appliances functional. No more burning sugar experiments in a toaster oven."
Kai's eyes lit up. "You had me at kitchen."
From then on, the fridge was always full of imported ice cream, the cupboards stacked with candy bars and flour bags. He actually started baking on weekends: choux pastry, sponge cake, crème brûlée. Half his allowance went to ingredients. Ava tracked every calorie like an accountant of health.
The spare bedroom became his training/workspace. The living room his lounging zone. The balcony his thinking spot. And the kitchen? His kingdom.
The apartment wasn't just bigger. It was home.
School Life
By senior year, "Matrix" wasn't a joke anymore — it was just what people called him.
Teachers had long given up on scolding him for wearing sunglasses in class. He wasn't top of the class, but thanks to Ava drip-feeding him study notes at 2x speed, his grades were comfortably above average. Enough to pass without ever looking like he tried.
He had plenty of casual friends but no one close. He laughed, joked, hung out — but Infinity wasn't just a technique anymore. It was a lifestyle. He always kept a little distance.
Kai didn't mind. He had Ava, his power, and his secrets. That was enough.
Author Life – The End of an Era
The Honored One had gone from cult figure to cultural pillar. His wizard saga was everywhere. Seven books, all serialized online. Millions of readers. Forums dedicated to analyzing his foreshadowing. Families who read the stories together.
And then came the announcement:
"The Honored One thanks you for journeying through magic. I'll be taking a break before my next story."
The internet exploded. Theories piled up like sandcastles. Some swore he was secretly a team of writers. Others thought he'd died. A few insisted the series had been divinely inspired and couldn't possibly end.
Kai closed his laptop the night of the post, stuffed a cream puff in his mouth, and mumbled, "I think I broke them again."
"You broke their expectations," Ava corrected. "Good. You need time."
Money and Sweets
With the series complete, money poured in. Enough to buy bakeries, not just pastries. Enough to never worry about rent again.
Ava stepped in before Kai could bankrupt himself at the nearest dessert counter. She locked the funds behind digital safes, spread investments across industries, and put the bulk of his fortune into accounts Kai couldn't touch.
Instead, she gave him a monthly allowance. Big enough to live comfortably, but capped to keep him "responsible."
Kai spent it on sweets. Mountains of sweets.
"You could buy property," Ava said once.
"I bought profiteroles," Kai said, cream on his cheek.
"You could fund scholarships."
"I funded strudel."
"You're hopeless."
"And sweet," he replied, popping a macaron into his mouth.
The new kitchen became his playground. He made late-night brownies, experimented with matcha tiramisu, and once tried to build a croquembouche tower that collapsed halfway. He laughed so hard he nearly cried, then ate the wreckage. Ava noted that sugar intake correlated with cursed energy recovery. Kai called it destiny.
Training – The Arsenal
By his final year of high school, Kai had gone from reckless beginner to walking cheat code. Ava even drafted a neat list on his phone one evening, just to put it in perspective:
Kai's Arsenal (as of Senior Year):
Limitless / Infinity → Perfect mastery. Active or passive at will.
Blue, Red, Hollow Purple → Stable, precise, and devastating.
Reverse Cursed Technique → Healing perfected; near-instant regeneration.
Six Eyes → Continuous use, migraines gone.
One For All → 100% output, fully adapted. Can scale smoothly from 1% to 100%.
Cursed Energy Manipulation (Sukuna's influence) → Enormous reserves; developing slashing techniques.
Domain Expansion → Stable prototypes, refining toward perfected domains.
Kai scrolled through it once, smirked, and said, "Not bad for a high schooler."
"Not bad for anyone," Ava admitted.
The Blindfold Fit
For the future, he had a suit waiting.
His JJK uniform — dark jacket, sleek boots — with the iconic blindfold. But Ava had tinkered with it.
"The fabric scrambles optics," she explained. "No camera, satellite, or drone can capture you. Additionally, it shifts your hair color to black when worn. Combined, you'll be untraceable."
Kai tied it on one night, looked in the mirror, and grinned. With the blindfold and dark hair, he looked like another person entirely.
"Now this is a vibe."
"You don't need it yet," Ava reminded him. "Your interventions so far have been… casual."
Small Heroics
And they were.
Kai didn't go looking for crime. He just stepped in when it stumbled into his path.
A subway mugger's knife froze inches from a passenger's chest, then clattered harmlessly to the ground.
A pickpocket sprinted through a crowd, only to trip when Kai tugged his shoelaces together with a flick.
A drunk cornered a woman in an alley and suddenly found himself pinned against a wall by an invisible force until police arrived.
A thug tried to lift a wallet. The wallet floated neatly back into its owner's pocket.
Always quick, always quiet. No costume. No name. Just a tall kid in shades who always seemed to be there.
Over time, people whispered. Police reports labeled him "Unknown Meta #14." Online forums speculated about "Shades" or "Blue Blink."
Kai never claimed the names. He didn't want the attention. But the small reputation was real. And with each save, the thought crept in:
Maybe he could do more.Maybe he should do more.
He hadn't acted on it yet. Not fully. But the feeling buzzed in his chest like cursed energy he couldn't quite contain.
Closing – Balcony Thoughts
On the night before his last final, Kai sat cross-legged on his new balcony, city lights glittering beneath him. A box of strawberry mochi rested at his side. He chewed thoughtfully, shades catching the glow.
"High school's almost over," he said. "Infinity, OFA, Reverse Healing — mastered. The Honored One's on break. Bank's stacked. Sweet stash eternal. And I've got a fit that makes me look like an anime god."
"Stable," Ava agreed. "But stability is temporary. The world moves."
Kai smirked, licking powdered sugar from his thumb. "Good. I'm ready to move with it."
Behind his shades, his eyes glowed faintly blue. For now, he was just the anonymous kid who helped when he felt like it. But graduation was coming.
And when it did, maybe The Honored One would step out of the shadows.