Chapter 14: Wild Wild Pussycats

While Kai was undergoing his tests, Nemuri made a phone call to Shino, who had offered to look after the little one for a few hours while she took care of the funeral arrangements.

[Hello Shino, it's Nemuri.]

[Hi, are you leaving the hospital now? I'm almost there, and the whole team decided to join me to keep Kai-kun company.]

[Thank you all so much for your help. Right now, Kai is having his final routine tests.]

[Alright, we should arrive before they're finished. See you soon.]

[That's a relief, and thank you again.]

[Don't worry about it.]

After hanging up, Nemuri quickly contacted the office in charge of the funeral arrangements.

[Hello, this is Kayama Nemuri. I'm calling to inquire about a ceremony scheduled for today.]

[Hello Kayama-sama, of course. Let me check... Kayama-sama, the necessary procedures are nearly complete, and everything should be ready in two hours.]

[Thank you, and I'd like to remind you to keep the matter as discreet as possible.]

[Don't worry, Kayama-sama. Our company is known for maintaining the highest level of discretion and impeccable work ethics.]

[That's a relief. I'll call again in two hours then.]

[Of course, Kayama-sama. It's a pleasure to serve you.]

After confirming the time, Nemuri decided to call a few close and trusted acquaintances, inviting them to the conference room at Jiro-san's agency, taking advantage of it being empty since both Jiro-san and Alisa-san had given all employees a vacation before leaving.

Some time later, the Pussycats gang arrived at the hospital parking lot where Nemuri was waiting for them.

"Hello Nemuri, has Kai-kun come out yet?"

"Hi again, and no, not yet, but he shouldn't be long."

"Arere, it seems you two have gotten quite close in the time we were apart."

A woman with long green hair, large yellow eyes, and an energetic attitude commented, moving with an almost theatrical agility that gave her a playful charm. Shino responded with a small, elegant smile on her delicate face.

"Well, something like that. Let's say we became closer after crying together."

"Oh, so there's a good story there. I won't rest until I have all the details, fufufu. Nemuri, can I call you that? You can call me Tomoko in return, Hehe."

The green-haired woman cheerfully commented with her arms in the air, contrasting with her elegant outfit of black pants, a white blouse, and a pale green long-sleeved jacket. Nemuri smiled and warmly responded.

"Of course, Tomoko. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"The same goes for me. Feel free to call me Ryuko."

Behind the green-haired woman, Tomoko, a feminine voice came from a beautiful blonde woman with a large fringe and bright green eyes, dressed in a knee-length pleated skirt and a loose pink sweater. This gave an elegant air to her athletic physique.

"Of course, Ryuko."

"And don't forget about me. Just Chatora is fine."

The speaker was a broad and muscular man with well-groomed short black hair, dressed in beige pants, a black shirt, and a brown jacket, giving him a somewhat elegant air.

"How could I forget you, Chatora?"

"Well, with the greetings over, let's go see the little one who has Shino smitten, fufufu."

The blonde woman, Ryuko, commented with a hand to her mouth in a teasing tone, causing Shino to react like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, exclaiming in annoyance.

"Hey, Ryuko, what do you mean by 'smitten'?!!"

"But you're always talking about him—how cute he is, how mature he is, how well that scar suits him. You're a girl in love, Shino, fufufu." Imitating Ryuko, Tomoko added in a mocking tone.

"Hey!! Cut it out, Tomoko. You're going to give Nemuri the wrong idea."

"Yeah, you two should stop. Don't you see it's problematic for Shino if Nemuri-san finds out she's a shotacon?" Chatora joined in the fun, commenting cheerfully, which provoked a strong reaction from Shino.

"Chatora!!!!"

""""HAHAHAHAHAHA""""

As the Pussycats group joked among themselves, a small smile formed on Nemuri's face, and she commented with a hint of longing in her voice.

"I really envy how well you guys get along."

"Hahaha, well, we've been together for so many years."

As Ryuko commented with a smile, Tomoko suddenly exclaimed while pointing towards the hospital door.

"Arara, isn't that the famous Kai-kun?!"

Everyone present turned in the direction Tomoko was pointing, where they saw a small five-year-old boy with a scar on his forehead, exceptionally attractive and elegant in appearance, with black hair, blue eyes, and a stylish black shirt and pants ensemble, exuding an almost hypnotizing charm.

"Wow, that boy is a natural lady-killer. I swear I'm not a shotacon like Shino, but my heart skipped a beat when I saw him," Ryuko commented, somewhat surprised, with a hand on her chest.

"Hey! That joke isn't funny anymore! Although, you're right, he is a little heartbreaker. It's really a mystery how a simple-faced guy like Iron Palm could father a child like that. I guess Alisa-san really had strong genes," Shino commented with a smile after complaining a bit.

"Yeah, that's the only possible explanation."

"Hey, stop ogling Kai-kun and leave Jiro-san alone." Nemuri replied annoyed, to which Shino asked with a mischievous smile on her beautiful face.

"Oh, do you dare deny that he was a simple-faced guy?"

"..."

"Hahaha, that's what I thought."

With an annoyed huff, Nemuri chose to ignore Shino's smug smile and quickly approached little Kai.

"Kai, what happened? Why are you here? I was supposed to pick you up. Did something go wrong with the tests?"

"Nothing happened, Onee-chan. The tests went well, so instead of waiting, I decided to come find you." Kai responded calmly, which quickly earned a reprimand from Nemuri.

"You shouldn't do that, Kai. What if you got lost? Or what if someone tried to kidnap you on the way?"

"I have my quirk, so I won't get lost, and if someone approaches with bad intentions, I can run or call for help, so I don't think anything bad will happen." Kai responded casually, which annoyed Nemuri a bit more, prompting her to start scolding him.

"Don't get smart with me, young man. You're still too young to be wandering around alone. You have..."

Seeing Nemuri start to scold Kai, Shino elegantly stepped to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, commenting with a smile.

"Nemuri, don't be too hard on Kai-kun. It's true he made a mistake, but we can teach him from now on."

"But..." Nemuri turned to look at Shino, who shook her head and commented.

"We'll address this matter later. For now, you have something important to take care of, right?"

"…Fine, you got lucky this time, but," Nemuri turned back to Kai and continued, "we still have a conversation pending, young man."

"..."

Kai simply remained silent and nodded, to which Shino quickly extended her hand with a smile and greeted him.

"Hello, Kai-kun, you look very elegant in those clothes."

"Hello, Sosaki-san, thank you very much. Onee-chan brought them for me," Kai greeted politely, while Nemuri let out a tired sigh.

"If you like, you can call me Shino Onee-chan, Kai-kun, but before everything..."

Shino commented with a smile and quickly approached the other members of the Wild Wild Pussycats, who also had smiles on their faces and quickly started to chant and strike curious poses.

♫♫♫♫

♪ "The four of us are always one" ♪

♪ "Always shining and in the spotlight" ♪

♪ "We're here to lend a helping paw" ♪

♪ "Appearing out of nowhere..." ♪

♪ "Sharply cute and cat-like"♪

♪ "Wild Wild Pussycats"♪

♫♫♫♫

"Complete version"

"Ragdoll"

"Pixie-bob"

"Mandalay"

"Tiger"

After the short sung dialogue, the four members of the Wild Wild Pussycats adopted their iconic presentation pose, with Ryuko and Chatora in the back with their arms in a cat position, while Tomoko and Shino were in the front with their arms extended to the sides.

Kai opened his eyes in surprise at the performance by the Pussycats. Although it wasn't unusual for anime characters to do such things, seeing it in real life was a whole new level of surrealism.

Not to mention that the participants in the comedic act were women of superhuman beauty alongside a rugged and muscular man, which exponentially amplified the unreality of the situation. To the point where Kai could almost feel how his little emotional resistance, which he had managed to build up by bathing with Nemuri, was evaporating.

The Pussycats laughed at Kai's expression and approached him while Pixie-Bob initiated a conversation.

"It's a pleasure to officially meet you, Kai-kun."

Ryuko's voice snapped Kai out of his daze, and he quickly adjusted his shirt, trying to cover up his reaction a bit, then bowed respectfully.

"It's a pleasure to meet the Pussycats. I would like to thank you for the help you gave me, and I will make sure to repay your kindness in the future."

"Hahaha, you really acted just as Shino said. We'll be looking forward to it, kid," Chatora commented, somewhat amused by Kai's demeanor, to which Kai simply responded.

"I will make sure not to disappoint your expectations."

With a somewhat proud smile at Kai's behavior, Nemuri approached the little one and patted his head while commenting with a smile full of affection.

"Well, Kai, Onee-chan has to take care of some boring business, so I asked the Pussycats to take you out for a fun day today."

"…Alright," Kai responded with a nod after looking into Nemuri's eyes for a moment, to which Shino added with a warm smile.

"Well, Kai-kun, say goodbye to your Onee-chan because a day full of fun awaits us."

"Goodbye, Kai. I'll miss you a lot, but as soon as I'm done, I'll come running to you," Nemuri hugged Kai tightly as she said goodbye, then gave him a big kiss on the cheek, to which Kai responded with a smile.

"Goodbye, Onee-chan. I hope you finish quickly. I'll be waiting for you."