Chapter 38: a ticket for such a grand event

Today had been a great day for Nemuri. She had regained her position at her former agency and even managed to surprise everyone when she demonstrated that she could lift nearly 300 kilos with relative ease. This, of course, led to a storm of questions—after all, it's not every day you see a woman with stylized, feminine arms like hers pull off such a feat, especially without a strength-enhancing quirk.

Faced with the inevitable flood of inquiries, Nemuri simply answered with the truth—or, well, almost all of it. During her years with Kai, Nemuri had caught his training obsession, so it wasn't unusual for her to join the blue-eyed young man in his workouts. This undoubtedly contributed to her significant increase in strength, speed, and reflexes.

However, if it were just the training, the results wouldn't have been so impressive, and she certainly wouldn't have been able to maintain her sensual, soft figure. What really made the difference were the massages that Kai, out of the goodness of his heart—definitely not because she was forcing him or anything—gave her three times a week.

These massages went far beyond mere relaxation and pleasure. Not only did they make her recover from pain incredibly quickly and wake up feeling refreshed the next day, but they also ensured that the muscles she should have developed from all the physical activity remained unseen. Yet, somehow, she still retained all the benefits of the training.

Well, Ryuko was actually the first to notice the odd phenomenon, but that wasn't important. What truly mattered was that thanks to all the physical activity and Kai's massages, not just her, but all the Pussycats—except for Chatora, who loved her muscles—had masterful strength and flexibility while keeping their bodies soft and delicate. Not to mention, they didn't have a single wrinkle, and the softness of their skin could even put a baby's to shame.

But Nemuri couldn't go around revealing that information. After all, it was clear that as soon as the news got out, a horde of people—especially women—would start searching high and low for Kai to achieve similar results, something none of the girls wanted to happen.

Because of this, when asked, Nemuri simply gave the version the girls had all agreed upon: that it was simply the result of intense training with a very specific routine, along with a strict diet and schedule that allowed her to develop her strength while maintaining her slim figure.

One of the reasons Kai wasn't mentioned in any part of the agreed-upon story was largely due to his own request, which was expected since he was incredibly discreet about his quirk. To the point that not even Nemuri herself was sure she knew all of his abilities, which had likely grown exponentially over time, thanks to his near-fanatical dedication to training and researching his quirk.

Kai was so secretive about his quirk that even the Pussycats, who trained with him every week, believed for years that his quirk was just super strength and presence detection. However, over time, the young man with blue eyes began to open up more to them and eventually let them know more.

Nemuri smiled a little as she recalled the astonished faces of the Pussycats when they saw Kai suddenly conjure a sword and emit lightning. By the way, she could never prevent him from electrocuting himself, no matter what she tried, and her heart almost jumped out of her chest once when she saw him playing with fire.

When she finally arrived home, Nemuri got out of her car and ran to find Kai, eager to share the good news. Only to find him in the living room, lying on a couch, seemingly lost in his thoughts while staring at a holographic screen filled with data and graphs. With Salem sleeping on a nearby sofa.

"Kai!"

Seeing her beloved Kai, Nemuri ran over, filled with excitement, and launched herself to hug him, causing the young man with blue eyes to tear his gaze away from the holographic screen and then return her embrace warmly.

"Looks like you had a good day, Onee-chan." 

Kai commented with a smile, watching with affection as Nemuri, who could barely contain her excitement at being a hero again, acted almost childlike. The scene seemed to stir Salem, who simply looked at them before going back to sleep, paying no attention to the noisy, inconsiderate pair.

"Yes, it went really well! I've already ordered my new hero suit; it'll arrive in a couple of weeks. When it does, you'll be the first to see it!" Nemuri responded happily, resting her chin on Kai's strong chest as he smiled and gently stroked her beautiful dark blue hair.

"Oh, then I suppose I should buy a ticket for such a grand event."

Kai's words visibly excited Nemuri, who immediately nodded in satisfaction. After all, a day as great as today would be perfect if it ended with a delicious massage from her Kai, but the young man with blue eyes seemed to have another idea in mind.

"Come on, there's something I want to give you, although it will take me a whole day to have it ready," Kai commented as he got up from the couch, carrying Nemuri in his arms like a princess. She quickly asked, confused.

"What is it? What do you want to give me?"

"Hehe, it's a surprise."

"You're so stingy!" 

Nemuri pouted, annoyed, as she playfully hit Kai's chest. He just laughed, amused, as he carried her to the room where the Aura Script engraving was located. Meanwhile, Salem, noticing that his owner was leaving, got up from his sofa and followed him, but not before stretching lazily and cleaning his face with his paws.

When they arrived at the room, Kai set Nemuri down on the floor. She immediately looked around curiously, as if searching for her gift, while asking.

 "What are you going to give me, Kai?"

"You'll see," Kai said, trying to sound mysterious, but then quickly turned serious and said aloud, "Sage, the syringe."

"At your command."

With Kai's words, Sage suddenly appeared and then began to change shape, soon transforming into a beautiful antique syringe made of metal with intricate engravings all over its surface. Kai took it in his hands and then explained.

"I need to take a sample of your blood, Onee-chan."

"Okay…" Nemuri responded, a little confused, but she trusted Kai enough to know that he would never harm her, so she easily agreed.

Carefully, Kai inserted the needle into Nemuri's arm and then began to draw her blood until the syringe filled slightly, at which point he stopped and healed the puncture with his aura.

"Do you feel anything strange?" Kai asked while checking on Nemuri, who shook her head and replied, "Not really, it hurt a little when you pricked me, but nothing more."

"That's good, although the real surprise comes next."

As Nemuri looked at him, both confused and curious, Kai sat in the center of the pattern engraved on the floor, filling it with his aura. Then, he pricked himself to draw his own blood, but unlike with Nemuri, this time the syringe took a significant amount of blood from Kai before it started to glow, so much that he even felt a bit weak.

(It took a lot of my blood, something I didn't anticipate... but well, it's normal for Nen abilities to do things like this, though I should keep it in mind for creating the next ones.)

Without paying too much attention to the incident, Kai quickly settled into the lotus position and then infused the syringe with all his aura. Which was amplified by the Aura Script pattern and his breathing technique, which he could now maintain even while sleeping.

After some time, when Kai was feeling weak from the massive loss of aura, the syringe began to glow powerfully as it rose into the air, moments later forming an egg, or perhaps a cocoon, the size of a basketball. Soon after, it gently fell into Kai's hands.

"Are you okay, Kai?" Nemuri asked, a bit worried upon noticing Kai's exhausted state. But he simply responded in a calm tone.

"I'm fine, just a little tired, though I'll be weak for the next 24 hours, so I won't be leaving the house."

"... What does that ability of yours do? What does that 'egg' do?" Though a flood of emotions surged through Nemuri's heart, she decided to set them aside and instead asked, feeling a bit concerned.

"You'll see tomorrow. For now, I'll just say you'll be quite surprised, hehe," Kai responded, clearly tired, as he got up from the floor with the egg in his hands. Nemuri quickly approached and helped him.

Though still a little worried, Nemuri didn't ask any more questions and instead took Kai to his room. By the time they were halfway there, the young man with blue eyes had recovered a bit, allowing him to walk on his own with a steady, constant pace.

When they arrived at Kai's room, Nemuri made sure to send him to bathe, which forced the young man to leave the egg on the nightstand. Filled with curiosity, Nemuri couldn't help but closely examine the egg, marveling at how absurd Kai's quirk really was.

As time passed, Kai's quirk started to become more and more wild, to the point where it seemed more like magic than a quirk. Even Nemuri and the Pussycats, heroes with years of experience facing countless different abilities, couldn't truly estimate Kai's limitations. It seemed like his quirk was capable of bringing anything he imagined into reality.

Time slipped away without Nemuri noticing, almost hypnotized by the egg that seemed to glow softly, as if some creature was gestating inside, revealing certain shadows from within. For some reason, this made Nemuri feel a strange sense of familiarity with the unknown creature.

"Are you okay, Onee-chan?"

The almost dazed state Nemuri was in was shattered when Kai's voice sounded from behind her, causing her to turn around to look at him. She found him slightly wet, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, revealing his impressive body.

"I-I'm fine, it's just that this egg is strange. I got lost in my thoughts while looking at it"

Nemuri responded, trying to sound calm and composed, while simultaneously holding back the urgent need to swallow that had arisen deep within her at the sight of Kai's body. She discreetly looked away, after all, that body was an irresistibly attractive honey trap for a maiden like her.

For his part, Kai, curious about what Nemuri had told him, quickly approached the egg and began to study it. But after some time, he didn't notice anything unusual and didn't feel that it was anything special—well, nothing special aside from the fact that it glowed a bit and the shadow of something moving inside could be seen.

"Sage," Kai called out to his trusted assistant, ready to study the egg in more detail, only to be surprised when it didn't appear.

(Is it because I can only use 10% of my aura, or is it part of the gestation process? It's probably both. I just hope that once the guardian beast is born, I'll be able to summon Sage again. That ball of light is too useful...)

Kai got lost in his thoughts, both amazed and apprehensive. Since while this event might have been expected due to the fusion of the ability with Sage, it also made him even more aware of the almost unpredictable nature of Nen.

This uncertainty of Aura meant that not even the creator of an ability could be sure they knew 100% of its intricacies. In many cases, it led to unpleasant surprises, like a certain red-eyed avenger who lost several years of his life in vain because he didn't fully understand his ability.

"Did something happen, Kai?" Nemuri asked, noticing the quick change of emotions on Kai's face while avoiding looking directly at him. The blue-eyed young man shook his head and replied.

"Nothing important, it's just that this ability is quite special. But for now, let's go to sleep. By this time tomorrow, we'll know if it turned out the way I wanted."

"Alright then, sleep well," Nemuri said warmly before giving Kai a sweet kiss on the cheek.

"Rest well, Onee-chan."

As if fleeing from something, Nemuri hurriedly left Kai's room after saying goodnight, then took a long bath in her own room, releasing all those complicated and contradictory emotions that had been in her heart. Afterward, she put on a simple black silk pajama set and went to sleep, feeling a bit more at ease.