"Incredible" said Sora, amazed. "I feel like I could beat Sherlock Holmes."
"Why a detective instead of a famous scientist?" asked Kaito.
Sora let out a small laugh while looking at him. "That's, of course, because I'll use it to discover things. I'm already smart, I don't need to study anymore."
She stayed silent for a few seconds, her eyes moving quickly as if analyzing multiple ideas at once, until she suddenly stood up dramatically and pointed at Kaito.
"I've figured it out! You're Lucifer!" she declared proudly.
Kaito, who had not been taking her seriously until then, was caught off guard by the claim.
"Hehe, your reaction only proves I'm right. Let me explain something to you, my dear Watson."
"Watson?" said Lala from the side, confused.
Sora completely ignored her and continued her speech.
"In every superhero story, ordinary people can never discover their identity, no matter how much they investigate. However, those close to their real identity always end up finding out, even without trying.
This happens because a superhero is hard to track, but an ordinary person leaves traces everywhere. If Superman has a second life, he could be anyone on Earth. But if Clark Kent has a second life, then the possibilities shrink drastically. By following his steps, discovering who he is becomes easy.
Now that we've cleared that up, I'll tell you what made me discover you."
"Alright, I get it. My location, my powers, my appearance, and Lala. It's pretty obvious if you think about it," interrupted Kaito calmly.
"You don't care?" asked Sora.
"I knew you'd figure it out eventually. Mom probably knows too."
"Hmm." Sora nodded with her arms crossed. "There's no way you fooled her."
"Alright, leaving that aside, we're done here. I'll go back to Gaia."
"Wait," said Sora before he could leave.
"What is it?"
"Why the rush? You've been spending all your time there lately. Let's go out somewhere."
Kaito thought for a moment and nodded. It had been a long time since he'd gone out anywhere outside Gaia.
"Let's go then."
"Let's go!" said Lala excitedly, joining in without invitation.
Kaito looked at her for a moment but decided to let it go.
With Lala, who still didn't know much about Earth, the outing was much more fun than expected. Seeing her reactions to ordinary things was surprisingly entertaining.
They visited clothing stores, a café, and finally an amusement park.
After several intense days, Kaito felt his mind completely relaxed. He enjoyed the day, grateful for his normal life, before returning to Gaia.
As the sun was setting and they were on their way back, they were interrupted.
"I'm telling you, you need to change your outfit, brother."
"Why? It looks pretty good," said Kaito, genuinely curious.
"Even if it looks good, it doesn't fit the world. Look, you should keep that classy, high-society look for when you're doing things here, and another one in Gaia, more medieval style. Something like what a noble would wear," explained Sora enthusiastically.
"I'll ask Frey later," replied Kaito. Although he didn't agree, he didn't know much about fashion, so he decided to leave it to professionals.
"Who's Frey?" asked Sora.
"The tailor," replied Kaito.
"Then tell her to keep the black and red colors," suggested Sora.
"Maybe a long coat would look good," said Lala from behind them.
"And change the tie for a red bow," added Sora.
"Keep the white shirt."
"Also the black pants."
"What about some dark gloves?"
While Lala and Sora kept throwing out ideas, they didn't notice that the street was slowly emptying. On a nearly deserted corner, a group of men approached them.
"Hey, man, you've got some real beauties with you," said the leader with a mocking smile.
The few people nearby ignored the situation, avoiding getting involved. The group felt confident, but when the leader looked closely at Kaito, his expression changed completely.
"Give us everything you've got, buddy."
"How about you let us borrow those girls for a bit too?" shouted another from the back, causing nervous laughter.
There were about twenty men. Even so, they surrounded the trio.
Kaito sighed inwardly.
"Are they just idiots, or are they being cautious?" he thought, seeing how many they were.
But after looking more carefully, he understood immediately.
Of the twenty, the ones still talking were the newer ones, the ones who didn't know. The leader and the veterans, on the other hand, were silent, their faces drenched in cold sweat.
When the leader saw that his men kept talking, he silenced them immediately.
"Shut up, you idiots!" he yelled furiously. Even though the others didn't understand why, they obeyed instantly.
The man took a step forward. Everyone thought he was going to confront Kaito, but his attitude suddenly changed.
"Big brother, it's been a while," he said with a nervous smile.
"A long while," replied Kaito calmly.
Sora and Lala looked at him, surprised. Sora, especially, felt her fear slowly fade away, though she still didn't understand anything.
"Shouldn't you be in jail?" asked Kaito disdainfully. He recognized several of the ones in front; they were the same ones who had tried to rob him, and more, before.
"We were released for good behavior," the leader lied shamelessly.
"I should have guessed the police couldn't do anything to them," thought Kaito.
"Alright. Do you need something?"
"Of course not. We were just passing by," replied the leader, sweating. Then he ran off with his entire group, leaving the three of them alone in the street.
Sora looked at him, confused. "Who were they?"
"Criminals. They tried to rob me last time," said Kaito bluntly.
"Really? They seemed nice," commented Sora.
"They're nice to me because I beat them up. But they'd still act the same toward the weak."
"Then, is it okay that you let them go?"
"I already caught them once, and they escaped. This time, they didn't even do anything. I can't touch them legally," replied Kaito without emotion.
"I see." Sora smiled faintly.
"What is it?" asked Kaito.
"Nothing. I'm just glad you're still the same big brother as always."
"The same as always?"
"Yeah. Gaia is dangerous, right? I thought you might change, become cold, or be corrupted by power, like in the movies. But I'm glad you're still you."
"Of course I am" said Kaito, ruffling her hair.
"Ah! What are you doing? My hair!" she complained, laughing as they kept walking.
---
Meanwhile, in a dark alley.
"Boss, why did we run? Even if he's strong, we're twenty men. We could beat him," said one of the new guys.
The leader looked at him coldly and punched him without hesitation, using his full strength. The man fell unconscious, blood coming from his mouth.
"Anyone else think the same?" he asked, looking at the others while kicking the one on the ground. No one dared to respond.
"Good. That guy's a monster. We can't mess with him. And don't even think about touching those girls. Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. This isn't a movie, a hostage is useless if you die before you can use them."
After making sure everyone understood, the leader sighed in relief.
'Damn it… to think we'd run into that psycho again. Even with more men, it was useless. He feels even more dangerous than before… in a way that's different from raw strength.'
He swore never to go near that neighborhood again.
But at that moment, one of his men shouted, "B-boss!"
"Watch out!"
The leader turned around, a bad feeling rising inside him.
"Big brother? Do you need something?" he said, trying to hide his fear when he saw Kaito there.
'Why did he follow us…?'
Kaito replied in a calm voice. "Nothing. I just forgot something."
A black flame appeared in his hand. He threw it toward the group, and the fire spread quickly.
"Aaaargh!"
"It burns!"
"It hurts!"
The leader watched in terror. "What… what's happening? That fire shouldn't hurt us. Last time it only burned our clothes…"
But when the flames reached him, his thoughts stopped.
"Aaaaaah!"
Kaito stood still, expressionless, watching them burn.
"I like my normal self too" he murmured. "But it's not the self I need if I want to protect this life."
That night, a police squad arrived at the alley. They were looking for a gang that used to cause trouble, reported this time by a teenage girl.
Normally, the police wouldn't get too involved, but after that gang had injured several officers during their last escape, they took it personally.
However, when they arrived, they found no one. Not a trace.
No matter how much they searched, investigating relatives, contacts, and records, none of them were ever seen again.
Some suspected they had escaped to Gaia.
But the truth… only Kaito knew it.
______________________________________
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
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(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)