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Kaina remembered when she used to smile. She was an ordinary girl back then, with big dreams of being a Pro Hero, of making the world a better place.
Then the Commission came.
They told her she could be an amazing Hero, that they’d help her to along the way. She’d never grinned wider than at that moment. It seemed too good to be true.
That’s because it was.
She wasn’t a Hero to the Commission. She was a weapon. The pet assassin of a corrupt government bent on propping up an illusory peace hidden behind a veneer of false smiles and unpracticed virtue. It looked nice on the surface, but pull back the rug and you find a world of repression, censorship, and murder, capped with a pile of bodies from those who threatened to rock the boat. Some deserved it. Many didn’t.
For a time, Kaina deluded herself into thinking the Commission was genuine. That her work was necessary to make the world better, that there’d be a time assasinations were no longer needed. The lies exhausted her. Finally, the cold reality sank in.
She was no hero. And she was tired of it all.
Finally, during a mission briefing, she voiced her misgivings to her boss. The Commission President responded by threatening her, declaring that hers was not a job one can simply resign from. Kaina sometimes wondered what was going through his head in that conversation.
Before the bullet that is.
The Commission sent Kaina to Tartarus, claiming she’d killed a fellow Hero. They locked her away and threw away the key. Frankly, Kaina was surprised they let her live.
Kaina spent her days with nothing to do but eat, exercise, or brood. Sometimes she even replayed memories of the old Count of Monte Cristo movie to herself. It wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t unbearable. She’d been fortunate enough to be in lower security wing, the one actually resembled regular prison. They even let her have an hour of fresh air!
Kaina sometimes wondered if she was put in the nicer part of Tartarus because her crime was less severe, because she was less dangerous than the other prisoners, or because someone in the Commission had a guilty conscience.
Whatever the reasons, Kaina expected to die any day now. She was a loose end and, while she was no threat in Tartarus, it would be more convenient to just end her.
One day, shortly after dinner, it finally happened.
As Kaina paced her room, she grew dizzy. Her limbs became weak and her eyelids heavy. Poisoning her food? How cliché. She stumbled to her bed and waited for the end. She tried to meet it with dignity, but as her life started to flash, she felt regret, wishing she’d gotten to be a real Hero…
As Kaina closed her eyes for what she believed would be the final time, she wondered if God would forgive her, or if she’d just be sent to Hell with the people she’d killed.
Kaina opened her eyes in an empty room. When she got to her feet, it wasn’t God waiting for her.
It was the devil.
“Well, well, well…the treacherous and beautiful Lady Nagant. What a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Formal suit, no tie, blatantly evil aura. Could only mean one thing.
All for One.
The symbol of Evil and Shadow Emperor of the underworld. He’d been her target once, one of the few she’d feel no regret killing. In fact, right now she was really regretting not killing him.
Kaina rubbed her head and gave the villain blasé smile. “All for One. If this is Hell, then I can’t say I’m surprised to find you here.”
All for One smiled in the way a predator would at its next meal. “Oh you’re not in Hell Lady Nagant. Not yet anyway. You’re my guest!”
Kaina considered shooting him right then and there, but he was probably prepared for that. All for One was many things, but he wasn’t stupid. Besides Kaina wanted to know what was going on. So, she stretched her arms and said, “Distinction without a difference.”
All for One snickered. It sounded wrong, like an imitation of a human rather than a real one. “Well, I suppose you have a point,” he said. “Though if this is Hell, I guess that makes me the Devil!” Of course he’d call himself that. “Would you like to know how you died?”
He held out his hand.
Kaina, not being an idiot, didn’t take it. “I think I’ll pass.”
“You died of a heart attack in prison,” he said, ignoring her. “Your remains were promptly cremated. Not a trace of you remains.”
Meaning no one knows I’m here and he can do whatever he wants.
Kaina frowned.
But what does he want? If he wanted my quirk, he could have killed me and taken it.
My skills then.
“Based on that look on your face, you’re puzzling over why I brought you here today.” All for One said with an air of smug superiority. “As you’ve almost certainly deduced, I’d like you to do a job. One that requires someone of your talents.”
Kaina raised an eyebrow. “Huh, last person to offer me one of those got a bullet in his skull.” I won’t kill for the Commission, and I sure as hell won’t do it for you. Asshole.
“I understand your reluctance, but I’m sure once you’ve learned the specifics you’ll have a different perspective.”
“Really, you think a quick conversation is all it’ll take for me to kill someone for you?” Kaina said.
“Kill?” All for One said with mock offense. “Heavens no! I want you to protect something. An asset that is very precious to me. An asset which, if kept safe, will do untold damage to Hero Society in the future!”
Kaina clenched her jaw. She had to admit, she was curious. “What sort of asset?”
All for One’s hands twitched. A sign of discomfort? “A person. He is very important to me, and to my future operations. Unfortunately, due to some business troubles, I can no longer protect him myself. With your skills, you’d be an effective bodyguard.”
“And I want to play babysitter why?”
“Because you hate Hero Society, and their false peace. Because you’d enjoy the novelty of protecting someone, and because you literally have no other options. Protect my associate, and you can finally strike back at this society you hate!”
Kaina frowned. While she wasn’t keen on All for One controlling the nation, at least he’d be honest about being an evil tyrant unlike some people.
“I want to meet this associate. Then I’ll make my choice.”
All for One’s smile grew tighter, and was that a hint of nervousness in his eyes? “Very well. Follow me.”
He led Kaina down a dimly lit concrete hallway. It seemed they were in a bunker of some sort. Made sense, if this minion of his was as important as All for One said, he’d want to keep him safe.
All for One reached a door at the end of the hall and opened it. His smile vanished. “Where did-“
There was a dinging sound from All for One’s pocket. He took a phone out and read the screen. Whatever he saw displeased him.
“Fine,” he said, typing into his phone. Before Kaina could wonder what he’d typed, All for One’s hand had shot out and latched onto her face. Kaina felt something rip out of her while a red aura flowed into All for One’s hand.
He released Kaina just as she started to feel nauseous.
“It seems my associate wants to meet you. Alone.”
Kaina fell to her knees as her mouth was filled with something foul.
“Don’t even think of attacking him,” All for One said with an aura of menace that could make the most hardened of killers flinch. “Not only will he be able to protect himself, but also…“
Kaina vomited gray liquid. It flowed across her body, slowly enveloping her.
“If you do I promiseI will make you wish you’d died in that hellhole.”
The finished covering Kaina. Everything went black.
Kaina found herself lying at a hardwood floor in a poorly lit room. She coughed out the rest of that gray gunk and took a deep breath.
Alright, whoever did that is going to pay!
She looked up, ready to strangle the next person she saw, only to find herself face to face with a…grinning child?
A young boy who looked to be around seven beamed at her. He had round features with plenty of baby fat, messy green curls, and large green eyes. He jumped up and down like it was his birthday and Christmas at once. It was adorable.
“Ohmyghoshohmygoshohmygosh!” the boy said hopping around Kaina. “It is you! He really did it! This is so cool! How does your quirk work? Is your eyesight enhanced? Do you have to deal with recoil? What’s it like to-“
Kaina put a hand over the kid’s mouth. He did not stop. Instead he continued rambling into Kaina’s hand like it wasn’t even there. Kaina uncoverd his mouth.
“-in only one arms, yet you fire using your hair so your whole body must be adapted to it, do you know of any other modifications your body has?”
Kaina stared at the weird kid for several seconds. “You…know me?”
The boy nodded like a bobblehead. “Yep! You’re Kaina Tsutsumi, Pro Hero Lady Nagant! Your quirk, Rifle, allows you to fire a gun from your arm using ammunition you form from your hair! You’re an expert sniper who’s able to score precise hit over several kilometers! You’re also known as the Sniper Hero, the Eagle-Eyed Marksmen, and the Simp Sniper!”
Oh lord, he’d learned that stupid nickname the internet gave her. When she got her hands on whoever came up with that she’d-
“By the way, why do they call you Simp Sniper?”
Kaina was silent. Then, “Don’t you want me to explain my quirk first?”
The kid’s eyes shone like the sun.
This would be easy, she’d tell him about her quirk, then he’d tell her what he was doing here. After all, how much could this kid ask?
Five minutes later
How much can this kid ask?!
She’d expected her explanation to be a minute or two of explanation tops, with one or two questions. Instead found herself interrogated in what had to be the most in depth quirk analysis she’d everdone. Even the HPSC wasn’t this thorough!
Every time she thought they were finished, the boy just asked another question! And every time, Kaina found herself answering. Damn puppy eyes.
Who wasthis kid? Was he the son of All for One’s asset? Speaking of which, where was that asset? She assumed he’d summoned her here, but no one had come to meet her except the boy. Did his quirk summoned her?
Kaina stared at the boy as he wrote in his notebook, occasionally tapping his pencil against his face to think.
Who are you kid?
He finished his writing and looked up. “You ok? I have more questions but we can take a break now if you want?”
He’s still not done?!
Wanting to get to the bottom of what was going on, Kaina nodded and then, giving her best “show smile”. “Yeah sure. By the way…you know so much about me and I know nothing about you. What’s your name?”
The boy frowned. “You don’t need to do that.”
The smile faded. “Do what?”
“The fake smile. I don’t need to be reassured right now, and I’m honestly just happy to have you here. So, you can show your normal face.”
Kaina raised an eyebrow. Perceptive. “Fair enough. So where are we? You said I’m to be your bodyguard. Did one of your parents tell you that?”
Izuku frowned again, this time looking disappointed. “You…haven’t figured it out?”
Kaina’s brow furrowed. “Figured what out?”
“My dad.”
Kaina was confused. “Your…?”
His curly hair. His interest in quirks. All for One said his asset was precious to him. That he’d do untold damage Hero Society while still being someone she’d willingly guard.
Her eyes widened.
This boy was…
“You figured it out.”
Kaina slowly nodded and pointed at the boy. “So you’re…”
“Yep.”
Kaina’s mind tried to wrap itself around the fact that All for One, the ancient Emperor of the Underworld, had reproduced.
Who’d want to have kids with him? And how had something as vicious and evil as him produced something so…cute?!
“What about your mother?” she said.
The boy looked down. “Gone.”
Kaina wondered what that meant, but the crestfallen look on Izuku’s face convinced her not to ask. One more question remained.
“Why me? How’d you know I wouldn’t try to kill you? I murdered another Hero-“
Izuku gave her a skeptical look. “Did you?”
Kaina froze. He…couldn’t?
“Please tell me, what really happened?”
Kaina clenched her fist. She didn’t want to expose this kid to any more ugliness than she had to. Besides it was best to keep things close to the chest. She wouldn’t tell him, no matter what puppy eyes he gave her.
“I got tired of being the Commission’s assassin and when the president threatened to have me killed I shot him.”
Damn it!
The child’s eyes shone. “I knew it!” He said, pumping his fists like he’d guessed the plot twist to a movie.
“Wait,” Kaina said. “You…knew?”
“Well yeah,” he said as if the highly-classified state secret was the most obvious thing in the world. “The Hero you killed was never specified and none of the Heroes who died within three weeks of the supposed murder could possibly have been killed by you.”
The child’s gaze became more thoughtful as he stared off into space. “In addition, the Commission president, who you worked with, retired a week after your arrest and had a fatal heart attack within the month. However, I couldn’t find any medical nor residency documentation even with Dad’s resources. So I kinda guessed that one.”
Kaina didn’t know if she should be impressed or disturbed.
“So,” she said. “You figured out I didn’t kill another Hero. You figured out I killed the Commission president. And you were that sure I wouldn’t kill you?”
“Would you?”
“No. But still…why me as your guard?” Wouldn’t one of your dad’s Villains have been better?
“One, you have a reallycool quirk!” Like father like son. “Two, you’re a Hero!”
The light in his eyes, the slight awe in his tone when he said that word. He was a fan of Heroes.
All for One’s son was a fan of Heroes.
The sheer hilarity of that revelation faded from Kaina, replaced by a hint of worry. “Why does that matter?”
The kid looked up and around, as if checking for eavesdroppers. The way he moved his head reminded her of a Villain with a detection quirk she’d caught in one of her “public operations”. Still didn’t save his feet.
The green-haired boy turned to her and, with a deadly seriousness said, “Because I don’t want to be a villain. I want you to help me become a hero!”
There was only one answer to give.
“No.”
The boy flared his nostrils while his cheeks puffed into a pout.
That was not the answer he’d been looking for, but Kaina wouldn’t budge. She’d die before she let this bright-eyed kid within a mile of the Hero Public Safety Commission! Especially with his parentage. They’d destroy him. Or worse.
“Why not?!” The boy said.
“Because the Hero industry is a rotten business of a bunch of self-centered glory hogs covering a fake peace for a bunch of corrupt scumbags who are only slightly less villainous and a whole lot less honest than your father!”
Kaina practically spit the last word out. She then realized that last jab might have been a mistake when she saw the mortally offended look on the kid’s face.
“What about Ingenium? What about the Pussycats? Or All Might? Are they just ‘self-centered glory hogs’ to you?”
Wait, he was more insulted by that than the jab at his dad? Oh right, card carrying villain.
“The fact that good heroes exist doesn’t make the industry good! Especially when its geared to encourage people to seek personal glory at the expense of the mission it claims to be about and is run by the HPSC. Who are scum. They made me an assassin to kill anyone might rock the boat. They only care about themselves and I’m notletting you work for them!”
The kid looked at her like she was crazy. “Wait, you thought I wanted you to make me an official Hero?! I can’t do that! I’m the heir to a criminal empire! They’d never let someone like me in!”
This kid would be surprised. “If you don’t want to be a Pro, then what doyou want?”
“I…” The kid looked away as if embarrassed. “I always wanted to be a hero, to save people with a smile, like All Might! Ever since I was small. That’s still my dream, and I don’t care if I have a license or not!”
“So…you want me to help you be a-“
“Vigilante! Yep!”
“Because you want to-“
“Save people!”
Kaina shook her head. “You’re too good for this world kid…”
“So, can you help me? You were a hero too right? The world might be dark, but you have to know it’s possible to make it a bit brighter, right? Isn’t that the point of a hero? To make it a bit brighter? Don’t you want to do that?”
Kaina slumped against the wall. “I’m don’t think I can anymore…”
“Why not?”
She ran a hand through her hair. “Kid, before I did this-“
“You killed people. But you don’t like having done that. Don’t you want to try having a different life? Free of all the terrible things you had to do? I know I do.”
Kaina’s gaze snapped up to meet the kid’s eyes. “What do you mean?”
The boy looked at his hand. “Dad’s teaching me to run his empire,” he said softly. “He used to play games with me on the computer, pretending to run a business. He sometimes had me “fire” workers. I only found out later what that really meant. So please, can we both be Heroes?” He stretched out his hand.
Kaina clenched his fist. Of course the bastard would try and trick this sweet kid into becoming a Villain. Even, no, especially when it was his son.
As to his question, part of Kaina wanted to say yes. But the other was more realistic. “You’ve got heart kid, but you should give up this little fever dream. You’re only seven-“
“I’m nine!”
Seriously? Wow he was short. And had a hell of a baby face. “Distinction without a difference. This plan requires you to hide your plan from All for One himself for years.”
“I can do that!”
“Oh really? Then what are you going to do with me now that I’ve refused? How can you be sure your secret will be safe when I know? Can you answer me that?”
The boy shrugged. “Then I just tap your head and scramble all your memories from the last ten minutes, including any knowledge of my plans. If dad asks, I’ll say I gave you information I wasn’t comfortable sharing yet,” he said like he was describing how his gaming system worked.
Kaina’s eyes widened. “Hold on, you have your dad’s quirk?”
“A variation.”
“And you only revealed crazy idea to me after grabbing a quirk to wipe any compromising information from my mind if I don’t go along with it?”
“Duh. I’m not an idiot. You didn’t have notice my quirk?”
“No." Kaina’s eyes narrowed. Ok. This kid was smarter than she’d given him credit for. Naïve maybe, but not stupid. But...
“What if I pretended to agree, then went and told your dad anyway?”
“Would you do either?”
“Of course not, but that’s beside the point.”
“Not really,” the boy said. “Considering that I’ve had a quirk forcing you to tell the truth running for half this conversation and you didn’t notice. You couldn’t lie if you tried.”
Kaina's jaw dropped. Every single moment throughout this conversation where she’d found herself speaking candidly, every time she answered automatically and truthfully. She hadn’t just spilled her secrets because he was small and adorable. He’d been using a quirk! And she hadn’t even suspected…
She shook her head. This kid…
“Alright,” she said running a hand through her hair. “Fine kid. You win.”
His eyes widened. “You mean-“
Kaina took his outstretched hand and shook it. “I have nothing better to do except go back to prison. So sure, I’ll help you with your hair brained scheme.”
His eyes began to water. “And you’re not planning to somehow tell on me? You’ll help me become a vigilante?”
“No, and yes, in that order.”
“Cross your heart?”
Kaina did so.
The boy began vibrating in place with a dumb grin on his faceKaina waved her hand in front of his face. No response. She tapped his shoulder. He felt like a massage chair. And what was that noise?
Oh, he was just muttering yes to himself over and over.
Kaina leaned back and waited for the kid come down from his high. Besides, his happy antics were hilarious.
After about a minute the kid finally seemed to slow down. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. “What happened? Was it a dream? I feel like I was just offered All Might’s quirk…”
“I agreed to join your insane scheme and you had a fanboy blackout,” Kaina said.
“YOU DID?! YES!” His eyes burst forth like fountains. They created a large puddle which flowed down a drain in the middle of the room.
Kaina worked very hard to hold back her laughter. “Yeah kid, I agreed. Now, what’s your name again?”
“My-? Did I forget to say that?!” he said with a squeak.
Hold. Back. Laughter.
“I’m Izuku!” he said. “Izuku Midoriya!”
She smiled. It felt more relaxed than it had in years. “Nice to meet you Izuku. I’m Kaina.”
“Nice to meet you Lady Nagant!”
Kaina frowned. “I said my name was Kaina.”
He blinked. “I heard you Lady Nagant.
“You’re just gonna keep calling me by my Hero name, aren’t you?”
“Most likely.”
Kaina shook her head. Fanboy…
There was a beeping sound on the table. Kaina looked and saw a little flip phone. Izuku opened it. “It’s Dad. He says he left us alone because my vitals are stable but he’s getting impatient. He’s wondering if I’ve successfully manipulated you into becoming my loyal servant yet.”
Kaina raised an eyebrow.
Izuku turned to her. “What do I say?”
“Tell him yes,” Kaina said. “You totally did.”
Izuku happily typed away. Soon a dark portal appeared which Izuku stepped through, Kaina following. She had to admit, this was much nicer than Izuku’s vomit warping.
All for One was waiting for them with an expectant grin. Kaina noticed some very distinct holes in the wall behind him. Kaina glared while All for One gave her an oh-so-innocent smile.
“Dad! Dad!” Izuku said bouncing up and down. “I did it! She wants to work for me!”
“Really? I’m so proud of you!” He pulled his son in for a hug. It was oddly heartwarming for a heartless sociopath. They broke off and All for One frowned at Izuku. “Izuku, would you mind telling me where you got those extra quirks from?”
“Giran gave me one, and I borrowed another from the yakuza under your name.”
All for One gave his son a concerned look. “How did you borrow it?”
“I asked the Yakuza boss if I could borrow his minion for a day. He agreed, so I had Giran store him in a hotel room. I took his quirk and used Giran’s to scramble his memories, then left him to wait.”
“Which group was he from?”
“The Shie Hissekai.”
All for One nodded. “Good. Annoying chivalry aside, the old man is loyal and reasonable. Good choice Izuku!”
Izuku’s face brightened. “Thanks Dad!” The nine-year-old then fixed the Symbol of Evil with a stern look. “Now give Lady Nagant’s quirk back!”
“Oh alright. First, could you turn on that truth telling quirk?”
Izuku rolled his eyes. “Fine.”
All for One turned to Kaina. “Do you plan on shooting, harming, allowing harm to come to my son?”
Nagant met his gaze. “I’d rather die.”
“Excellent. Hold still.”
His hand lashed out like a cobra and gripped Kaina’s face. Before she could resist she felt something, like an electric charge coming from his hand as something entered her. Something familiar, but also something…not.
“There you go. Your quirk is yours.”
Kaina nodded. She was prepared to fold her arm out and took a step…and found herself two feet off the ground. She threw a glare at All for One.
“Oh!” he said putting a hand over his mouth. “Did I forget to tell you? I added another quirk to that mix: Air Walk. It’ll let you travel around easier should an evacuation be necessary. It also gives you an alibi should someone recognize you.”
Kaina nodded and lowered back to the ground. She folded her elbow back and sure enough, her gun popped out. It was good to have her quirk back.
“Cool!” Izuku said. He picked up a notebook and started writing.
While Izuku was geeking out, All for One slunk next to Kaina. “Izuku said he had your complete loyalty.”
Kaina glanced over at the kid happily writing in his notebook. “Yeah,” she said. “I guess he has…”
“Impressive for only a few minutes. What did he say to convince you?”
Kaina shrugged. “He…he shared his vision,” she said.
“Ah, I remember doing that when I was young,” All for One said, looking at his son with a genuinely proud smile.
Izuku folded his arm back and a gun identical to Kaina’s popped out. Kaina checked that she still had her quirk, then looked to All for One with a raised eyebrow.
“In addition to stealing quirks like me, Izuku can also copy them within a certain distance,” All for One said. “A trait from his mother.”
“Interesting,” Kaina said nodding.
Wait.
She and All for One exchanged looks then turned back to Izuku.
Izuku, still smiling, plucked a strand of hair and rolled it into a bullet.
Kaina and All for One lunged. “NO!”
After a brief conversation about gun safety.
“Are you insane?! You can’t just go and load a gun!”
“But cool quirk!”
“No buts! If you want to practice with my quirk askand I can teach you! Safely!”
And a hypocritical addition from his father.
“Lady Nagant is right. You must show restraint instead of just loading a quirk and firing it,” said the man with three new bullet holes in his wall.
Fortunately, Izuku agreed, hugged Kaina once he was sure she wasn’t mad (his dad then snatched him for a hug of his own, like a dog that was jealous at someone else getting attention).
After that, All for One stood and turned to Kaina. “Lady Nagant, for you.” He handed her a black tank top and sweats, along with a hoodie and sunglasses. “These are so you can move about without looking like an escaped felon.” He handed two cards to her. “This is a fake ID and one of my credit cards. Now go and buy yourself the proper attire for Villain work.”
“Now hold on!” Kaina said. “I already told you I’m not interested in being anyone’s assassin! I’m just watching the kid!”
“Yes, but you might need to fight to protect him sometimes. Also if he ever meets other Villains, I can’t have a member of my organization not be presentable.”
“Sorry,” Kaina said with a smirk. “I work for the kid. Not you.”
“I see,” All for One said with a smug grin. “Izuku, would you like to go and help Lady Nagant pick out her Villain costume?”
Izuku’s eyes shone.
Dammit.
Izuku grabbed her arm. “Come on, let’s go! After that, I need to go and return the quirks I borrowed. Then you can teach me how to use yours!”
“Alright Izuku,” Kaina said, “let’s go.”
After so long, her malaise had lifted. She actually felt excited for what the future held.
As she followed him out the door, a genuine smile crept to Kaina’s lips.