--Monday, August 31, 2172
"It's the first time I've seen you in your everyday uniform."
Watching Mei stop in front of him and then begin to breathe heavily, visibly winded, Kai remarked in a calm voice as the workshop doors slid open on their own. While the cats began to groom themselves after being startled awake by her shout, Mei dropped the enormous backpack she'd been carrying, producing a loud crash. As the sound of metal pieces clanging against one another echoed out, she answered with a smile.
"It was for the opening ceremony. Does it suit me?"
"I guess so."
Kai replied in a casual tone, but right at that moment, Mei spun a full 360 degrees, making her skirt lift slightly into the air, and when she finished, she asked with a slightly mischievous smile.
"Feeling tempted to have a workshop romance?"
Kai rolled his eyes and turned around to take a step toward his newly remodeled workshop while asking in a sarcastic voice.
"Were you watching dramas over the break?"
"How did you know?!" Mei asked, visibly incredulous, as she began dragging her backpack into the workshop. Kai replied in a casual voice as he passed through the door.
"Because you just copied a scene from afternoon drama down to the millimeter."
"Do you like dramas, Saito?" Mei asked as she entered the workshop, to which Kai replied casually.
"Not particularly. I just watch them with Momo now and then."
At that moment, the pair of geniuses fell into complete silence as they were finally able to see the workshop they both knew so well, which had changed to the point of being almost unrecognizable. Even the cats, who had leapt confidently off Kai's shoulders to find their spot, froze where they stood.
Now the social part of the workshop was much more spacious, with larger, more luxurious, and more comfortable furniture, more vending machines, giant screens, and even an ultra-luxury professional espresso machine. Even the spot where Salem and Tama played and slept now had an enormous cat tree, wall walkways, water fountains, food bowls, and basically everything a cat could ever want.
Meanwhile, Kai's office was now so large that it had a small lounge inside it, a little library, and even an imitation bar stocked with coffee and tea. The office desk had also gone from being an elegant, minimalist glass piece to an enormous solid black wood desk fit for a president, sharing its design with the rest of the furniture.
The chair was no longer minimalist and ergonomic either; now it was a huge, comfortable leather armchair. On top of that, in the farthest corner there was what appeared to be two more offices, smaller and simpler, though still luxurious enough not to clash with the place.
Finally, what had previously been a small meeting room that Kai never used—since he generally received Momo and the girls in the living room—was now practically a conference hall with a twenty-seat table. The enormous table shared its design with the office desk, and the chairs looked like an inferior version of the one in the office.
"…This must have cost a fortune, didn't it?" Looking at the place that simply screamed opulence, Mei could only murmur under her breath.
"I imagine so. Nezu completely overdid it; this whole part could have stayed the way it was. I only needed them to expand the back."
Kai nodded somewhat defeatedly and spoke as he walked toward an enormous reinforced metal door, which, like everything else, was also much larger than before. For their part, the cats, who had looked at their new and improved space with curiosity, glanced at each other before running to follow Kai and explore.
At that moment, the enormous door began to open—revealing that it was over 10 cm of pure metal thick—until it finally opened completely. With the door open, Kai and Mei could at last see an enormous workshop packed with all kinds of machinery, to the point that neither of them could help but begin to drool. In that instant, Mei turned to look at Kai and asked with total sincerity.
"Saito, aren't you interested in a second wife? In the Middle East, polygamy is legal…"
"Stop thinking nonsense, let's go in." Kai rolled his eyes and replied, exasperated, before stepping into the enormous, fully equipped workshop.
Together with Mei, Kai inspected the various tools and equipment, noting that, although the place was organized around a primarily gray color scheme, in some spots subtle pink decorations stood out, seeming to mark off a fairly wide work area. Kai nodded, visibly satisfied, before looking at Mei and speaking in a calm tone.
"The pink zone will be your work area; do whatever you want in it, but stay away from my things. If you're missing something, let me know; don't touch my tools."
"But you have the coolest stuff…" Mei murmured with a pout. Kai rolled his eyes and replied in a sarcastic tone.
"That's because I'm the boss; if you don't like it, I can always send you back to Power Loader."
Hearing Kai, Mei jumped like a cat, and when she landed, she struck the standard military salute pose, at which moment she exclaimed loudly.
"Mei Hatsume, reporting for duty, sir!"
"Stop clowning around and go change, we're starting work."
Kai remarked, somewhat amused, as he headed toward the well-marked restrooms. Mei ran toward the exit to grab her enormous backpack while exclaiming, full of excitement.
"Aye, aye, sir!!"
…
…
…
Hours later, Mei—wearing her work overalls tied around her waist with a thin black spaghetti-strap top—set an enormous wrench down on the floor and wiped a bit of grease off her nose as she gazed at the fruit of hours of tireless work. In front of her was an enormous mechanical leg with dozens of cables connected all over it, which Kai was inspecting with the help of a tablet and dozens of holographic screens.
But even though the mechanical leg was magnificent, a top-tier baby, Mei's gaze soon fixed itself on the concentrated profile of that handsome young man with blue eyes, watching him almost spellbound. In the construction of that beautiful baby, she had been little more than a somewhat useful pair of hands, just another tool, but that experience had let her witness, better than ever, the true genius of Kai Saito.
The design of that leg was so simple, elegant, and functional that Mei could only sing its praises; that leg was a genuine work of art worthy of a museum. But although the design was beautiful to the point of driving her mad with love, what really enchanted Mei was the way Kai could, in seconds, solve any unexpected problem.
It was as if it didn't matter what situation he faced; Kai only needed to think for a few seconds before coming up with two or three simple, concise solutions. Far surpassing a genius like Power Loader, an inventor with more years of experience than they had years of life, and with whom she had worked closely for quite a while.
(No matter how I look at it, he's the one… It can't be anyone but him…)
As she ran her gaze over Kai from head to toe, Mei reached a conclusion in her heart that sent a jolt of excitement coursing through her body. But in that very instant, the holographic screens surrounding Kai began to change colors in rapid succession. Kai let out a small sigh before looking at Mei and remarking in a calm voice.
"Well, it's lunchtime. Do you have something to do, or would you rather eat in the workshop? They bring my food here."
"Eh? Ah, yeah, I don't have anything to do, I'll eat here!"
Mei reacted and exclaimed loudly, shoving to the back of her mind the fact that she had agreed to meet Power Loader at lunchtime. Kai nodded calmly and tossed the tablet he was holding to Mei, who caught it hurriedly as he explained calmly.
"From there you can choose what you're going to eat, except we have to wait for Momo and the others to arrive, so take the chance to take a shower."
"Your girlfriend is coming with more people?" Mei asked curiously as she ran to follow Kai, who had started walking toward the bathroom. Kai nodded calmly and explained.
"Today, for sure, Momo, Nejire, and Melissa—someone from I-Island—are coming, and I imagine some people from the class will come too."
"From I-Island?! She must be really good!" Mei exclaimed, full of curiosity and excitement. Kai nodded and explained with a smile.
"Quite. Her father is David Shield, and she inherited all his talent."
"David Shield?! THAT David Shield?" Mei exclaimed, even more incredulous, which made Kai laugh, and he answered with a smug smile.
"That very one. On my trip to I-Island, I managed to poach him."
Hearing Kai, Mei's face went through different expressions, starting with surprise and disbelief, moving on to denial, but finally ending in fanaticism. The pink-haired, yellow-eyed beauty leapt to cling to Kai, and, with her enormous breasts pressing against him, murmured in a genuinely seductive voice.
"Boss~"
In that instant, Kai firmly pushed the beauty away and entered the men's restroom of his workshop while remarking in a calm tone.
"I'll introduce you to him, but don't ever do that again, it could get me into a lot of trouble."
"Are you really not interested in an workshop romance, Saito? I'm very discreet~" Mei remarked in a voice that, as always, tried to be seductive without succeeding. Kai let out a mocking little laugh and remarked just before the door closed.
"Stop trying to copy scenes from dramas; I know them all."
Right as the door closed, Mei, who had a shameless expression, turned on her heel and ran off at full speed toward the women's restroom. Inside the bathroom, Mei leaned back against the firmly closed door and put her hands over her breasts as her face flushed completely.
"What is this feeling…?"
Feeling her heart beating so hard it seemed like it might leap out of her chest at any moment, Mei murmured as she gently pressed her breasts, genuinely confused. She had truly never cared much about things between men and women, and touching a man had never stirred anything in her; her excitement had always been reserved exclusively for her babies.
But now, just that small brush against Kai—something that normally wouldn't affect her in the slightest—had made her body heat up and flooded her with a tide of emotions oscillating between embarrassment, curiosity, and excitement. A feeling completely unknown to her, since although she had long seen Kai as the best option for a partner, until now she had never felt anything like what she was experiencing at that precise moment.
"But it felt so good…"
Lost in the complex variety of new emotions and sensations, Mei ended up murmuring softly, which snapped her out of her reverie and made her blush all over again. Embarrassed and confused, Mei hurried to the shower and took a quick rinse, then put the same clothes back on, but as she came out, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Mei went back and stood in front of the mirror. In that moment, she began to notice that her hair was a mess, so she combed it a little with her hands. After several minutes of trying to fix her hair, Mei was finally more or less satisfied, the instant in which she noticed a lip gloss in a cabinet, which led her to purse her lips.
…
…
…
"So this is your workshop, it's pretty impressive."
In the social part of the workshop, Melissa remarked, visibly surprised, as she looked around. While Momo and Nejire sat on either side of Kai on one of the new sofas, he explained with a smile.
"It wasn't like this before, it was simpler."
"But it's super cool! Even Salem and Tama are having fun!" Nejire remarked, visibly excited, as she watched the pair of cats start to run the cat circuit. Momo looked around and noted with a smile.
"The sofas aren't bad at all, I like them; we should buy something similar for the house."
"That's not a bad idea, we can pick them out next week." Kai remarked casually. Nejire clung to him and exclaimed with shining eyes.
"Let's make something like that for Salem and Tama too!"
"If you want, you can help me build it." Kai remarked with a smile, which excited Nejire even more, and she nodded with her eyes shining like lanterns.
"Yes! Let's do it!!"
"Let me help you all." Momo remarked with a warm smile. Nejire clung to Kai and replied with narrowed eyes.
"But no using your quirk! That takes the fun out of it!"
"Fufu, of course, no quirk." Momo replied, amused, to which Nejire nodded, satisfied.
"Then let's do it together!"
...
Meanwhile, Melissa looked at the trio with a blank expression and then glanced at Toru, Mina, and Kyoka, who were sitting not far off, silently watching the trio. Setting aside Toru, whom she couldn't see, Melissa looked with curiosity at Kyoka's blank expression and Mina's slight frown. But right at that moment, Kai turned to look behind him, which led all the girls to do the same.
At that moment, Melissa could see how Mina's frown deepened, and even Momo's brow furrowed too, which led her to watch with curiosity. There stood a beautiful young woman with pink hair and yellow eyes, work overalls tied around her waist and a thin spaghetti-strap top. The beauty advanced toward them with a confident smile, in which a subtle but seductive lip gloss stood out.
***
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