--Sunday, August 2, 2172

“We continue; we cannot show weakness.” Nezu quickly replied in a firm tone, to which Aizawa and the Pussycats nodded with serious expressions.

At that moment, Best Jeanist, the fourth-ranked professional hero in the Japanese rankings—a tall, blond man wearing jeans and a denim jacket with an abnormally long collar that covered up to his mouth—looked into the distance and asked in a serious tone.

“What will the media be told? Will we speak about the involvement of that 'Demon King' over there?”

Upon hearing Best Jeanist, the heroes present couldn't help but look in the same direction. Quite far away, Kai and Mirko could be seen exchanging blows at high speed with the same type of crazy grin on their faces. After laughing in amusement, Principal Nezu commented in a cheerful voice.

“I don't think Kai-kun would like that idea.”

“He definitely won't like it, nyahaha.” Tomoko commented while covering her mouth and laughing playfully. Chatora, equally amused, looked at Shino and nodded before commenting firmly.

“We'll take the credit for him.”

“You'll stea… take the credit, just like that?”

At that moment, a beautiful, young, blonde, and curvaceous woman with two horns on her head and a tight purple and pale tan suit couldn't help but ask with wide eyes, correcting herself at the start. Ryuko turned to look at the beautiful young woman and commented with a calm smile that somehow conveyed dominance.

“Mt. Lady, isn't that right? Kai is very strong, but he doesn't have a license yet. He'll barely be able to take the exam next month, so we'll take the credit.”

“… Playing innocent doesn't suit you at your age; the credit should be shar—”

Mt. Lady murmured while looking away a bit uncomfortably, but before she could finish, a horrifying pressure descended upon her, making her tremble and break out in a cold sweat. At that moment, Kai, with the cats on his shoulders, approached the gathered group of heroes and commented in a calm voice.

“Looks like everything's all set here. I'm going to take a bath; I'm exhausted.”

“That's fine, Kai-kun; thank you for everything, get some rest.”

Nezu on the screen commented with a small smile, to which Kai nodded before turning to look at the last of the heroes. He was a man dressed in full black samurai armor with a horned helmet and several katanas floating around him, which Kai recognized at a glance, leading him to comment with a smile.

“Nice swords.”

“They are.” The man commented in a formal and somewhat aged voice, to which Kai nodded before turning and walking toward the camp. As he walked, Kai looked at Mirko and commented with a calm smile.

“I'm putting together a training schedule with the Pussycats. If you want to join, send me a schedule of your available time, and I'll call you.”

“You finally remember me?” Mirko commented with a smile but soon added with full enthusiasm.

“I'll be there. Tell me when and where, and I'll show up.”

“Alright, see you later.”

Kai spoke back with a smile and soon disappeared, at which point Mt. Lady, who had been holding her breath the entire time, fell to her knees and took a huge gasp of air. While the beautiful young heroine desperately gasped for air, Shino, Ryuko, and Tomoko looked down at her with malicious smiles on their beautiful faces.

“What's wrong, Mt. Lady?” At that moment, Best Jeanist asked seriously, but then Nezu commented in an adorable voice.

“My apologies, Mt. Lady. Kai-kun has a somewhat explosive temper and sharp hearing. I hope you can forgive him.”

“I-it's fine, it's nothing…”

The beautiful young woman commented in a choked voice, at which point Best Jeanist and the samurai hero exchanged glances, then looked at the others, realizing that only Vlad King looked uncomfortable—the rest seemed used to it. At that moment, Aizawa looked at the principal, Nezu, and commented in a serious tone.

“Getting back to the topic, Principal—if we're going to continue the camp, this place is no longer suitable. We need to find a solution for that.”

“Hehe, I have an idea for that…” Principal Nezu commented in an adorable voice with a sinister smile on his face.

…

…

…

“What are you doing?”

In the bunker, Jiro couldn't help but ask as she watched Mina try to take photos of one of the holographic screens showing a distant image of Kai in the middle of a rain of blood. Busy trying to take photos, Mina replied seriously.

“Documenting the Demon King. This is way too cool to let it pass.”

“… You really are a fan…” Jiro couldn't help but comment, somewhat incredulous. Mina showed an enormous grin and replied cheerfully.

“Of course, I've been part of the 'Harem' for a while now.”

“You're part of that fan group…?” Jiro couldn't help but ask in disbelief, which led Mina to comment with a mischievous smile.

“So you know about it~”

“W-well, I saw it in passing once. It's relatively famous, so I got a little curious.” Jiro quickly replied, visibly uncomfortable, looking away. Mina's smile couldn't help but widen, and she moved closer to Jiro before asking in a flirtatious voice.

“Sure it was just in passing? You wouldn't happen to be a ghost member who never posts but never misses a single update…?”

“W-what?! N-no, not at all!”

Jiro nearly jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and replied visibly in a panic, which only widened Mina's smile. But before she could say anything, a soft but deep sigh of relief reached her ears, which led her to look to the side. There, Yao Momo stood with her hands on her chest and slightly glistening eyes, watching Kai meeting up with Mirko.

“Yao Momo, don't worry, Mandalay said the danger has already passed…” Mina quickly ran over to Momo and commented, trying to console her in a slight panic. Jiro soon joined with similar nervousness.

“Yeah, everything's fine now. Saito is super strong, and he was the hero this time. He was an incredible hero—he almost looked like All Might fighting!”

“You're right, Kai was a hero today…” Momo commented with a warm smile, to which Mina and Jiro nodded like bobbleheads. But in the middle of that, Mina couldn't help but glance at Jiro with a hint of suspicion.

…

…

…

“That was incredible, Saito!!!”

“You're way too strong!”

“A monster!!”

“You're the next number one!”

““Demon King!!””

Upon entering the camp, Kai was greeted by the students, who surrounded him while exclaiming with excitement. Kai quickly extended his Conqueror's Haki at low power, then commented in a somewhat tired voice.

“Alright, that's enough. Give me some space; don't be so clingy. It was just a fight…”

“Kai!”

At that moment, Momo broke through the small circle around Kai and jumped into his arms to hug him while calling out loudly. Catching Momo in the air, Kai spun a couple of times to kill the momentum and began gently rubbing her back before commenting in a calm voice.

“I'm fine, everything's alright, don't worry.”

“Kai… I want to train more. I want to be stronger.”

Momo commented in a determined voice, looking directly into Kai's eyes with teary eyes. Showing a warm smile, Kai caressed Momo's cheek and replied while simultaneously shooing away the other students surrounding him with his gaze, who backed off with different expressions.

“You're already doing great; you're very strong. But if you want to increase the intensity, I'll work on a new routine for you.”

“Mm, be tough. I want to truly improve.”

Momo nodded and commented with determination. Both amused and touched, Kai couldn't help but give Momo a kiss on the forehead, which made her blush slightly. At that moment, Mina commented in a slightly loud, high-pitched, and somewhat nervous voice.

“Y-you were incredible, Saito.”

“Saito?” Kai couldn't help but ask as he turned to look at Mina.

Upon hearing the question, the pink-skinned girl nearly jumped in place and quickly looked at Momo almost in panic while her skin blushed to the point that it was slightly noticeable even on her pink skin. Seeing Mina, Momo couldn't help but frown slightly and asked, looking at Kai.

“Is something wrong, Kai?”

“No, nothing. It's just that during the test of courage, Mina and I became friends and agreed to call each other by our first names.” Kai explained in a calm voice while Mina subtly looked at Momo and Jiro, who looked back at her with narrowed eyes. Momo soon commented in a calm and slightly playful voice.

“Trying to win over your wife's friends?”

“Hehe, you caught me. More allies is always better.” Kai replied amusedly, which made Momo laugh, who soon commented in a soft voice.

“Don't get any ideas—they won't betray me to feed you information.”

“Nothing to lose by trying.” Kai replied in a playful tone. Momo snorted playfully, then pushed Kai while commenting in a calm voice.

“You'd better go take a bath. You must be tired. I'll give you a massage while the teachers decide what's going to happen with us.”

“That's exactly what I had in mind. The cats and I are a total mess…” Kai commented while stretching lazily, taking advantage of the cats having jumped off his shoulders and now following him while meowing in protest against the bath but accepting their fate.

…

Soon, Kai entered his room under the gaze of all the students present, at which point Momo signaled to Mina and walked over to a distant corner. In total panic, Mina looked at Jiro, visibly pale, pleading for help with her eyes. Jiro could only let out a small sigh and commented in a somewhat resigned voice.

“Go. This was something that was bound to happen. Just tell her the same thing you told me. I know Yao Momo will understand.” 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

“I'll do that…” Mina commented in a muted voice and soon headed toward Momo with heavy steps, like a prisoner walking to their execution. Upon arriving in front of Momo, Mina took a huge breath and then looked her friend in the eyes before commenting in a serious tone.

“Yao Momo, it's not—”

“Ashido-san—no, Mina-san. I want you to answer something with complete honesty.” Interrupting Mina, Momo spoke with a serious expression, her arms crossed beneath her enormous chest, looking directly into Mina's eyes. Going into panic mode, Mina could only nod and stammer.

“I-I will.”

“Mina-san, do you truly want to be Kai's friend, or did you only say it out of courtesy?” Momo asked in a serious voice, still looking directly into Mina's eyes, who could only exclaim in a mix of confusion and disbelief.

“Huh?”

“Was it just courtesy, then?” Momo frowned and asked. Mina quickly shook her head and explained hastily.

“N-no! I meant it. I really want to be Saito's friend. He's a very interesting person, super strong, and frankly, really fun. Even though we haven't interacted much, I always have fun talking to him, and that's why I want to be his friend. I'm sincere; I want to be friends with both of you, Yao Momo.”

“I see… Then I want to ask you something.” Momo nodded and commented in a serious tone, pausing briefly to look around before continuing in a lower, more serious voice.

“I want you to be honest with Kai, to be a real friend. Kai and I never had friends our age. The closest we had was Nejire, and in recent years, Kai became friends with Mirio-san. But honestly, Kai doesn't know what it means to have friends. With Mirio-san, they're always talking about training, techniques, or fighting—never anything 'intimate.'

“Kai hates traitors more than anything, and very likely because of that, aside from us, he always keeps his distance from everyone else. That's why I want your help. Since he took the initiative, I want you to be a real friend to Kai. I hope this is Kai's first step toward opening up more to the world, so—can I trust you with that, Mina-san? Can I entrust my Kai to you?”

“…”

Upon hearing Momo, Mina couldn't help but open her eyes wide, full of surprise, and fall silent. Momo couldn't help but frown and ask.

“Did I ask too much?”

“No, it's not that. Of course I'll be a sincere and loyal friend—I always try to be… It's just that I didn't think you'd ask me something like that…” Mina couldn't help but explain in a somewhat lost voice. Momo looked at Mina and asked calmly.

“You thought I was going to confront you? About the way you approach my fiancé and the way you look at him?”

Mina could only tremble slightly and look down before murmuring, visibly embarrassed.

“I never intended to come between you two, I swear, Yao Momo. I only looked at Saito because he's very handsome, and honestly, he's my type. But I swear I have no other intentions, I swear.”

Upon hearing Mina, Momo could only let out a long, heavy sigh while raising her head to reflect for a few moments, then commented in a tone between disappointed and resigned.

“… I suppose I can't ask you anymore…”

“…” Mina could only remain silent, staring at the floor, at which point Momo began speaking in a low, calm voice.

“I won't deny that I did feel uncomfortable and a little jealous seeing the way you look at him, but the truth is I never said anything because, on one hand, you're my friend—my first friend besides Nejire—and I wanted to believe it was my imagination. On the other hand, I know Kai would never do anything behind my back… But now that you've confirmed it beyond any doubt, just forget what I just said. We'll talk another time, Ashido-san.”

After speaking, Momo turned her back to Mina and walked away, letting out a long sigh, to which Mina could only whisper with a knot in her throat.

“Yao Momo… I'm sorry…”

***

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