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Kaina takes one step into her new apartment before breathing a sigh of relief, looking down at the golden key in her hand. This is it! She’s finally got a home and a place to stay. It may be temporary for the sake of her mission, but holy shit it feels great to put a moving box down. Her landlord has already vanished into the building, which works out for her. She doesn’t really want him seeing the type of, ah, possessions she owns.
She’s barely set her final box down when her phone buzzes. By the frequency of the noise, she knows that it’s them, and duty always calls before anything else. It’s a damn shame, though; she hasn’t had the chance to eat dinner yet.
Kaina barely spares the screen a glance before she’s off, a whirlwind of purple and pink as she flutters through her apartment. Spotting the ‘Accessories’ box, she rips it open and grabs her favorite weapons before she gets dressed and heads off to her next target. Thankfully, there’s a location with coordinates on her newest victim, and it doesn’t take long for her to get situated in a building across the way after she’s vaulted herself up a fire escape and set up her rifle to point directly at the Chairman of Transportation.
(She’d ask why, but that’s not her job. Her job is to get the damn assassination done, and she’s the best on the field, which is why she cannot afford to make a single mistake. Her boss would quite literally end her existence if she did.)
It takes her a few minutes to locate the guy. The target ends up in her crosshairs, talking to some other high-ranking people with champagne glasses in hand. Kaina takes in one tiny breath, professional grip on the trigger, and exhales as she fires. Sure enough, her aim is true and the Chairman crumples without a word, blood immediately flowing from the high caliber bullet in his heart. There’s a loud amount of screaming and glass shattering as Kaina packs up the rifle and attempts her descent down the fire escape.
“HEY! You can’t be up here without clearance! Who the hell are you?”
Kaina sighs as she turns around to spot a security guard aiming a flashlight and gun at her. He hasn’t quite realized a murder has happened, but judging by his wide eyes at the rifle and screaming at the other building, he’s putting those puzzle pieces together.
“My apologies for the disruption,” Kaina dips her head. “May I have the honor of killing you tonight? I’m sure you’ve heard of me in this town, sir, but I would understand if you haven’t. No hard feelings, truly.”
The security guard does a double take at the rifle, and Kaina almost laughs when it sinks in. Both of his hands tremble and Kaina already knows she’s going to be the victor in this fight. “Oh god,” he breathes out, starting to shake. “No, please, I didn’t see anything that happened here tonight, Nagant—”
“It’s Lady Nagant to you, sir, didn’t your mother ever teach you any manners?” Kaina mocks, and lunges with a knife she’d hidden in her thigh holster.
It’s another twenty minutes to get home. Kaina sends a text confirming the kill(s) and sheds her second persona like a skin, sighing as she starts a warm bath and heats up some leftovers, eating them in the bath.
Tsutsumi Kaina, alias also known as: Lady Nagant. One of the nation’s most feared assassins and currently ranked number one in kills from a huge distance. Her aim is absolutely impeccable and should be feared, since no one’s caught sight of her and lived to tell the tale. There’s whispers about her, sure, and attempts at wanted posters, but she’s invisible to mostly the whole world.
The only reason that people even know it’s her is the calling card she leaves behind; one crisp piece of paper with a lipstick kiss on it. Kaina’s proud of her work, damn it! So what if she learned to shoot off someone’s finger before she learned to drive? She’s got her priorities in order, she swears.
Her wine bottle sits nearby as Kaina pops the cork and toasts the air that’s filled with bubbles. “A toast,” Kaina murmurs, still feeling the slight adrenaline of a successful assassination, “to a new beginning, and a better me. May the Commission allow me an easier life and may I be successful in my endeavors.”
She slips below the waterline and stays there for a bit, eyes fluttering shut.
Kaina stares at her paper.
She gives it another look, using a simple UV light on her keychain to see if anything’s been written under the blacklight, and when nothing comes up, she snaps her head over to the messenger of the HPSC. He grins back at her and gives a lighthearted shrug, ruffling back his blond hair before narrowing his eyes at her. “You’re fucking with me,” Kaina says, annoyance in her tone. “THIS is what these assholes want me to do?! Make friends and infiltrate some incredibly high class party that’s out of my class bracket?”
“That’s what the message says, Nagant.” Her informant, a man named Hawks, laughs. No one knows his real name; he’s been with the Commission shorter than she has, but as Kaina was able to get out of the Commission’s grasp by taking assassination missions, Hawks is her successor in many ways and forms. They’ve got a tight leash on him, but Kaina doesn’t want to admit that she’s doing her best to look out for him just in case.
“Well, they can shove it up their stuffy asses and suffer.” Kaina hisses, crumpling the paper in her hands. “And what’s this about a kid? I need some stupid child to get into this party?”
“Apparently, the host of the party and your target has a ‘loving family’,” Hawks gives quotation marks with his hands. “And that means they’re more geared towards inviting people who also have families. If you get some snotty kid and have them pretend that they’re yours, then you’ll hopefully be able to get in. So I suggest you go home and read up on your target and get started, since this one seems a bit…out of your field. Good luck!”
Hawks waves, and Kaina flips him off as she makes her way home for now. It’s a lovely day outside, honestly, and she wants to let the sun shine on her face, but she’s so used to the prospect of staying indoors and using the cover of night as her kills that she can’t bring herself to enjoy it. What she wouldn’t give to sit outside and feel safe for once in her life.
When she gets home, she sits on her couch and curls up in a blanket that was given to her a long time ago as a reward for her first kill. The paper sits on the fabric, discarded for a moment as she pours herself another glass of wine. There’s only a few sentences on it, but it does the job as Kaina glares at her instructions.
Lady Nagant,
You must infiltrate Toshinori Yagi’s Imperial Scholar party he hosts with his family and kill him by any means necessary. Alias: All Might. You’ll need an Imperial Scholar to gain access to this event. Highly imperative to have a child with no parents. You will return them to the orphanage, recommended for the completion of this mission.
HPSC.
Kaina sucks in a breath. She has to go adopt a damn child. One that no one wants, one that no one would bother looking for. And at the end of her mission, she’ll return the kid and continue on with her life so she could pay back her debts.
Her first orphanage should hopefully be the last. If she goes to a sketchy part of town, it’d be easier to forge documents and ensure that she can pass off the child as hers in time for the party. They’d have to be smart, crafty, and hopefully willing to cause a little chaos in exchange for a relatively safe place to sleep and meals to eat.
(What Kaina wouldn’t have given for a roof over her head and meals to eat every day…maybe she wouldn’t have gone the assassin route.)
She stands on the doorstep of her first choice a day later, dressed to the nines and hair curled, when the door whips open and a man eyes her down. “You here to get a kid?” He asks gruffly, waving her in. “We’ve got a few brats around, so feel free to pick any of ‘em. It’ll get them outta my hair.”
Kaina wisely doesn’t comment on his combover and gives him her best smile. “If you have a child that can read, write, and can be taught to become independent, then I’d be very interested in them,” she says smoothly. “Any child will do. Will any paperwork be required for this?”
“Nah,” the guy sighs, rifling around in his pockets. “I don’t care enough. Just pick a kid and go. We might have one that fits your description, lady. Look around while I get a cigarette.”
Kaina nods and steps around piles of crayons, taking her deeper into the orphanage. She observes a few kids that peer out at her, eyes wide at the fancy clothes and the proper way she walks. Too stiff, she tells herself, keeping an eye out for a potential match. Too nervous. Not good enough. Goodness, none of these kids—
A cold shiver goes down Kaina’s spine. She turns to see bright green eyes staring back at her, looking out from a nearby doorway. It’s a younger boy with curly green hair, and he’s clearly been there for a while judging by the force of his weight against the door.
But there’s something else; he’s waiting for her. Kaina hadn’t felt his presence the entire time she’d been there, and by now, she’d taken stock of all nineteen kids and one neglectful adult. And yet there he was, hiding his entire being from an assassin, and that’s a talent that would typically take a long while to hone, especially from a young age.
He stares at her, and Kaina lowers her sunglasses. “You,” she says quietly. “How in the world did you do that?”
Before the kid can say anything, the man comes back with a lit cigarette. “What, you want that Midoriya brat?” He sighs. “He’s a bit of a worthless twerp and can’t do anything worthwhile. I’m sure there are other ones you could take with you, he won’t amount to anything—”
Kaina moves for two reasons. One, because she’s heard those words before, slated into her bones and repeated over and over again until she was something more, something better, and two, because she saw that familiar flicker in Midoriya’s eyes, and she wants to see it spark into a fucking flame.
She slams one arm against the man’s throat and smiles sweetly at him, making him choke and inhale a puff of smoke. “I’d like him, please.” She says nonchalantly. “Bring me all his files. I’ll be taking him home within the hour. Make it snappy, if you could. I have important meetings to attend to.”
The man gulps, and Kaina gives him a feral smile.
Midoriya—no, Tsutsumi now, Izuku is a quiet child.
Kaina doesn’t know what to make of him. All he’s done so far is explore her new apartment, noting every entrance and exit, and asks for basic necessities that he shouldn’t have to ask for. Kaina knows this kid is probably heavily traumatized, but she’s got a job to do. Her feelings will come later.
“Izuku,” she says one day, sitting him down on the couch. He observes her every movement and sits as straight as he can. For the sake of this mission, she’ll have to play nice, and act as a loving mother. “...What hobbies do you have? Is there anything you like to do for fun?”
Izuku blinks at her, taking a few moments to understand the question. “...For fun?”
“Yeah.” One of Kaina’s nervous tics resurface as she taps her nails against her thigh, trying to calm her nerves. Give her a dangerous target any day, she’d rather take that than deal with a kid who’s supposed to be hers. “Y’know, like singing, or playing sports? Something related to books?”
A rare smile flickers over Izuku’s face. “I like writing in journals. I used to have some before I came to the orphanage, but they were thrown away. Do you read or write too?”
“Sometimes,” she says truthfully. In her line of work, Kaina’s needed to learn certain skills in order to infiltrate in order to get a leeway and take out her intended target. “But I want to be forward and upfront with you, kid. I’m an ambassador, one that could be in a lot of trouble if people find out who I am. There’s a very important man I need to meet with, and soon.”
Izuku’s eyes are so very green when he quietly says, “So I’m your ticket to killing him, right? I know you picked me because I’m weird, y’know. That’s what all the other kids said anyways. You’re my fourth parent already. Everyone else returned me because they didn’t trust me.”
Every one of Kaina’s nerves are on fire. She was expecting a slightly perceptive child to deal with, but this is far beyond her skills. “I need to call a friend,” she says, and goes to call one of the only people she can relatively trust.
Hawks shows up at her doorstep about thirty minutes later, looking casual as he grins and finger guns at her. “What’s up?” He asks, immediately looking around for cameras and wiretaps. Kaina gives him a look; she’d already cleared the entire place before she moved in, thank you very much. Hawks is the one learning from her.
“I need,” she grits her teeth, “your assistance with children. He figured out my profession before I could even try to enforce my stupid bullshit cover story. Give me a politician any day, this is ridiculous. What the hell is protocol for this, anyways?”
“Normally?” Hawks asks, serious for once. Izuku leans over from his spot on the couch and Kaina already knows he’s trying to listen in. “Well, normally, we’d kill the person who found out on the spot, or at a location that’s far away from the city. One of our usual interrogation places. But certain circumstances are making this a bit difficult, so you were right to come to me about this. What’s his name again?”
“Paperwork said Midoriya Izuku,” Kaina sighs, and Hawks takes the information in stride as he walks on over to Izuku, squatting at his level. “Hey there, Izuku!” Hawks says excitedly. “I’m a friend of your new mom. My name is Takami Keigo. I heard you had some questions or something along those lines?”
Izuku observes him, judgment on his face, before he finally says, “Well, I know she’s an assassin. She walked into the room and started watching everyone. Normal people don’t do that. She also kept a hand near her pocket, which tells me she usually has a weapon on her but didn’t have one for the sake of a mission. She’s, uh, not very good at talking to people, which tells me she primarily sticks to the shadows and does background work. It’s…kinda obvious, honestly.”
“And how the hell would you know that, kiddo?” Hawks asks, still smiling. “Do you know anything about me, then?”
Izuku looks a little more confident (still scared though) and straightens up. “I read a lot of crime and mystery novels when I was younger. And, when you gave me your name, I can tell that it’s your actual one. Takami Keigo?”
Hawks’s expression barely changes, but Kaina’s the one who snorts and wraps her arms around her stomach. “It looks like we’ve come to an impasse, kid.” She grins at Izuku. “This might be violating a bunch of rules we’ve got but honestly, I couldn’t care less. Are you willing to stick this plan out with us?”
She can see it in his eyes before he even gives her his answer. Izuku’s hesitant, but he still confidently says, “Yes, please.”
And just like that, they’re off to work for a private school education and a way into Yagi Toshinori’s party.
After Izuku is accepted through the entrance exam, and Kaina pretty much buys her way into the school since neither her or Izuku are elegant enough (it’s thanks to Hawks that they’re able to pass this part of the program), they start planning how they can complete their various missions. Hawks is there to play the part of “concerned friend helping a single mother”.
Kaina’s first opportunity to gain an “in” is not through her own hard work, nor is it through Hawks. No—it’s through Izuku and his usual self at school. He’s managed to befriend a few rich kids in the program; a girl named Yaoyorozu, and a boy named Iida. The real kicker, however, is Bakugou-Yagi Katsuki; Yagi's youngest son who’s also enrolled in the same grade.
He’s also adopted, apparently, as Izuku excitedly tells Kaina one day. Kaina’s working on forging documents for her cover story as Izuku runs around the living room. “And he’s so cool!” Her fake kid gushes, stars in his eyes. “He said he’s gonna be the first to get a Stella, and he’s gonna surpass his older brother Mirio to become the youngest Imperial Scholar ever! Mom, listen, he glared at me yesterday and told me to—”
“MOM?” Kaina asks, almost smearing some ink on her paper. Izuku lets out a quiet noise of shock and promptly vanishes, leaving them both flustered for a few hours. Kaina’s an assassin. She can’t afford to get close to anyone outside of the mission, whether she’s got a use for them or not. But she can’t help but feel…oddly proud of her kid.
During her long-term plan, the HPSC still assigns her various missions. Her next kill is a man named Kan Sekijirou, and she goes to grab her favorite sleeveless dress the moment she gets the call. Kaina goes to grab her belt when a sudden noise of shock startles her.
It’s Izuku, eyes wide but staring at the rifle case she’s carrying. Suddenly self-conscious for the first time in forever, Kaina narrows her eyes at him. “What?” She barks, setting her jaw. “It’s how I provide money for this place, kid. You just stay in school and I do my job. Capiche?”
Izuku nods, and he turns to vanish into his room, locking the door behind him. Kaina clenches a fist and goes to do her job, feeling invincible as she kisses the card and leaves it behind at the scene. The HPSC deposits money into her bank account, and that’s that.
It goes on like this for a few months. Izuku makes more friends and starts bonding with Katsuki, along with earning his own Stellas. He’s smart, quick-witted, and more than capable of handling himself. He’s always almost at Katsuki’s side, perfectly in stride with him and still managing to keep a smile on his face.
Hawks sticks around long enough that Izuku starts calling him “Tamaki”, to which Hawks teases him and says that he can call him by his given name instead. Since he comes around more often, they’ve all upgraded to given names; even Kaina, who feels like she can trust her successor just a bit more.
Izuku’s keeping them all going. Kaina normally would be spending her days exhausted, robotically keeping her routine in check. Hawks—no, Keigo now, would normally be at his informant spot, wanting to spread his wings and fly. Izuku’s different though. Now Kaina’s thinking about things for her son, wanting to make sure she has enough ingredients and groceries for her new, dysfunctional family.
And then finally, one colder day in winter, it happens.
Izuku and Katsuki get their eight Stellas. They’re the fastest in the Academy’s history to get them, and Kaina knows this is a major accomplishment. She’s started to open up just a bit more, but it still takes her a while to become used to the overwhelming joy and love that Izuku exhales.
There’s a fancy ceremony and everything. Kaina comes with Keigo, who claimed he wouldn’t miss it for the world. Izuku’s standing proudly as he’s named an Imperial Scholar, and Katsuki, right next to him, gasps when his own father enters the room along with his oldest brother.
Kaina’s hand shakes for a moment, but she recovers incredibly fast and greets her intended target with a warm smile. Yagi Toshinori is tall, towering over all of them, and built like a tank. He does look incredibly kind though, and if Kaina were a normal civilian, his smile would’ve disarmed her in an instant. No wonder he’s this high-ranked and why the HPSC feels so threatened by him.
Keigo is also clearly looking over Yagi and admiring him before asking him about his sons. Yagi’s booming laughter echoes throughout the room. “I wouldn’t miss my son’s ceremony for the world!” He says, beaming at Katsuki. “I’m very proud of him! And you must be the Deku that Katsuki talks about, yes? It’s very nice to meet you!”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Izuku breathes, stars in his eyes. “Um, my name’s Izuku! Tsutsumi Izuku! This is my mom and my uncle!”
Kaina stiffens when Yagi turns properly to her, but she curtsies and gives all the proper formalities. “My name is Tsutsumi Kaina,” she says smoothly, gesturing to Keigo. “And Tsutsumi Keigo, my brother. It’s very nice to meet you, sir.”
Yagi studies her with a look that makes her feel seen. She hasn’t felt like this since she met Izuku, and it makes her actually nervous. “It’s very nice to meet you too, Tsutsumi.” He says at last. He gives her another bright smile and moves on to greet other parents, and Kaina releases a breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
The HPSC decrees that the Imperial Scholar party will be the perfect time to strike, and so, Kaina prepares. She makes plans and backup plans in case they fail, and calls in favors with people to make sure everything goes perfect.
Keigo goes to the party too, ensuring that Izuku will be with at least one person so Kaina can carry out the kill. She leaves her purple/pink hair down in waves, giving her an elegant look, and decides not to bring her rifle, since she needs to be up-close and personal with Toshinori to execute the kill.
It feels like the party goes by in a flash, though. Kaina celebrates her son and his victory, trying her best not to cheer loudly. Keigo has no qualms about noise control and whoops and hollers, making Izuku laugh.
All too soon, it’s time. The party starts winding down and Toshinori excuses himself upstairs, presumably to take a call or attend to other business. Kaina squeezes Keigo’s shoulder and heads to the bathroom on the third floor to change. For a moment on the staircase, her vision blurs and she can see her hands stained with blood. There’s a puddle at her feet, and Kaina inhales, trying to calm her breathing.
“Are you going to kill him right now?” Izuku’s quiet voice snaps her out of the vision. She whirls around to spot her son staring sadly at her, hands clenched at his side. “Mr. Toshinori? Is that what your boss ordered you to do?”
“It’s nothing personal, kiddo.” Kaina sighs. “It’s how the world works. Go back to Keigo, okay? I…I don’t want you to be here when it happens. I’ll meet you at home.”
Izuku shakily nods and turns around, shoulders trembling as he vanishes into the crowd. Kaina closes her eyes briefly and resumes her path upstairs, changing into her typical Nagant outfit before stalking around the upper levels for her target.
There’s a strange, waiting moment in the atmosphere. She has the feeling that he knows she’s here, but she also can’t find him anywhere. On the fifth floor, she hears noise and whirls around to spot a cleaning lady fixing some paintings from where they sit on the wall. Kaina exhales slowly and continues, yelping when she runs into a broad chest.
“Oh, dear, excuse me, I didn’t see you there—” Toshinori says, and stops dead in his tracks when he realizes who he’s looking at.
And there they are, face-to-face for the first time ever in her assassin persona. Kaina’s staring at Toshinori Yagi, who looks equally as shocked to see her there. “Lady Nagant,” he says, and it almost sounds fond, in a strange way. “I knew I’d seen you somewhere before. Figured I’d see you here, but from a rooftop, I suppose! Am I under the correct assumption that the Hero Public Safety Commission has sent you to kill me? I was hoping I would be allowed to stay alive until I finished Katsuki’s first Imperial Scholar party and got to see him graduate.”
Kaina’s hand twitches. All she needs to do is whip out a concealed silencer and shoot him point-blank. She’s been doing this for over half her life, and this shouldn’t be difficult. This is her job. “I’m afraid that you will not be able to attend those events,” she says smoothly, and reaches into her boot. Instead of a gun, her fingertips brush a photograph, and she jerks up, eyes wide as it accidentally gets stuck to her fingertips, where she briefly shakes them and the photo drifts to the ground.
Izuku’s smiling face beams up at her. It’s a family photo that Izuku begged them to take, so he could show them off to all of his classmates. Kaina’s sitting down on a chair and has a very awkward smile on her face. Keigo’s standing at her shoulder with a grin and finger guns, respectful enough to keep his distance and to not imply that they were together.
Both of them stare at it. Kaina closes her eyes and reopens them, tears brimming in her vision. “Lady Nagant,” Toshinori says gently. “Will I have to die in order for young Izuku to have a better life? If yes, then I will let myself be killed by you. I understand that my actions have led me to become the number one most wanted, but this is a different circumstance.”
“You know nothing of my kid,” Kaina hisses, realizing her silencer is in her other shoe. Something about Toshinori is making her lose her composure. Maybe it’s because she’s not thinking of herself this time, but of someone else who holds so much value in her life now. “And you know nothing about ME. Izuku should get an easier life because he deserves it, he deserves one after everything he’s gone through. If I can provide that for him, as a mother and an assassin, then so be it.”
“Then I understand,” Toshinori bows his head. The only words used to describe him here would be ‘gentle giant’. It’s a sight that would bring anyone to tears. “It was an honor to meet you, Lady Nagant. Please take care of young Izuku. I’m sure he’ll grow up to be a good person if it’s by your hand.”
“What about your kids?” Kaina presses, remembering how Mirio and Katsuki would stand up taller whenever their father would enter the room at the party. “What about them, huh? You gonna leave them behind like this?”
“They’ll be well-taken care of,” Toshinori assures her. “Thank you for asking about them though, I’m sure they would appreciate the concern. Please do what you must to ensure a better future. For what it’s worth, I hope it’s by your own choices, not stuck under the Commission’s horrific contracts.”
And for a second, they’re not Lady Nagant and the Prime Minister of their territory; no, they’re Tsutsumi Kaina and Toshinori Yagi. A mother and a father, respectively, and just wanting to keep their kids safe. Two parents who want their kids to grow up in a safer world.
“Got it,” Kaina says, and pulls out the silencer, pointing it directly at Toshinori’s forehead. Toshinori closes his eyes. She hesitates for one single moment, and then pulls the trigger.
Izuku’s waiting for her when she gets home.
He’s sitting on the couch, face unreadable as he takes note of the blood on her dress and hands. “Did you do it?” He asks quietly, and tears well in his eyes when Kaina nods. “Okay,” he says, and slips off the couch to go to his room. He vanishes into his room and Kaina hears the sound of the lock clicking; something he hasn’t done in a few months.
Her heart twists, but this was necessary. It was needed for their survival and to ensure a better future. Yagi knew this too. Soon, the news will pick up that a body’s been found on the upper floors of Yagi Toshinori's mansion, and there will be an investigation into the killer that apparently burnt his body to a crisp. Kaina won’t need to worry; she didn’t leave her signature card at the scene, and the HPSC, at their absolute bare minimum, will keep Kaina’s entire identity out of the way of the police.
There’s a knock at the door. Three quick taps, followed by the whine of Keigo. “Kainaaaa,” he draws out her name, clearly slumping against the door. “I brought wine for your promotion at work! Let me in so we can drink the entire bottle, I heard it’s at LEAST fifty years old—”
Kaina opens the door, and Keigo catches himself with a grin. He gives a very tiny nod and taps the side of his nose. The cameras are still being monitored, but the wiretapping of the room is down. All verbal conversations are safe now.
Good. Kaina narrows her eyes. …Are we safe NOW? Or until you change topics?
Keigo shrugs, closing the door behind him. “You really trust me to be that dumb, Nagant?” He coos, laughing as Kaina swipes at him. “Fine! Yeah, we’re good now. The hallway’s tapped but I already cleared out your own place again, and also changed the locks. So, are we gonna talk about how the Commission is going to absolutely kill you if they find out what happened?”
“They’d have to find me first,” Kaina says smoothly. She’s grateful she didn’t reveal what she did too early; you can never tell if the company you work for decided to bug your own place again. “Can’t catch an assassin that’s confirmed dead, can they? And it’s certainly going to be hard to identify Todoroki Enji’s body in the morgue since I made sure the fire was hot enough to take away evidence of who exactly it was.”
“Ah, of course.” Keigo nods sagely. “So how soon do you think you have until you have to leave? If they find out Yagi Toshinori is still alive, then—”
Izuku’s door gets thrown open. Her son is in the doorway, eyes huge. He looks shaken up, but he doesn’t hesitate in sprinting across the floor and throwing himself into Kaina’s arms. “You didn’t kill him?” He whispers, tears forming. “You covered it up?!”
“We came to an understanding,” Kaina says simply, patting the top of his curly hair. “But for tomorrow, All Might will be confirmed dead, and so will Lady Nagant, along with the informant named Hawks. So! With that in mind, I’m going to need all of you to pack your bags by tonight, please.”
Both Keigo and Izuku blink. “What?” Keigo asks first, looking down at himself. Izuku pokes himself in the stomach. “Dead? What the hell are you talking about? Kaina, what’d you DO?”
“Pack your bags,” Kaina says firmly. They’ve only got one shot for this, and if they pull it off, they’ll never have to worry about the Commission ever again. “You’re part of my family just as much as Izuku is now. In exchange for saving his life, Yagi got us a ride on his private jet to leave the country. Did you think I’d leave you behind?”
For one single second, Takami Keigo drops the Hawks persona, and Kaina spots the telltale glimmer of tears in his eyes before he grins and takes off without a word, calling out, “I’ll be back within the hour!”
Kaina drops to her knees to meet Izuku’s eyes. “You are my son,” she presses, relieved when Izuku gives her a watery smile. “I’ve been Lady Nagant for a very long time, but you’ve given me another reason to keep this world safe. I want you to be happy and safe, and someday, I hope I can feel the same for myself. Being your mother has been the greatest accomplishment I’ve ever had, Izuku. I want to give us a better future.”
“And Keigo?” Izuku whispers, and Kaina laughs. “Yes, him too. I don’t want to know what the Commission would do to him if we both vanished without a single trace, so he’s absolutely coming with us. They told me in my original plan that I had to return you once the mission was over, and from the moment I met you, I knew that wasn’t happening. You’re so brilliant, kiddo! You have so much potential and so much life in you. C’mon, let’s go pack so we can leave and get outta here.”
Izuku’s vibrant smile tells her she’s doing the right thing, so Kaina clears out her entire apartment in under thirty minutes. She makes sure they’re all packed (matching luggage, of course) and by then, Keigo’s back with his two duffle bags and a backpack. “All set!” He laughs, and there’s a relief in his voice that Kaina’s definitely feeling too. “Let’s get the hell outta here.”
They’re due to arrive at the airport where the Yagi family is waiting for them. Izuku’s vibrating, excited to see Katsuki so soon, so it’s Kaina who stares up at her apartment building. Keigo claps her on the shoulder and gestures to the sky. “We’re leaving the Commission for good,” he says, and Kaina can’t help but smile too. “And they’ll never be able to find us again!”
“And we’ll be safe,” Kaina adds, thinking of her new family. Maybe the Yagi family will let hers come over for dinner and party invites. She’ll even make sure to leave her guns behind at home. “We’ll learn how to live as actual civilians for once without fake personas.”
There’s a whole future ahead for the three of them, and Kaina takes Izuku’s hand and Keigo’s arm as a limo pulls up next to them. “There’s plenty of room in here for all of you,” Yagi smiles as the window gets rolled down. “Come on in!”
Lady Nagant looks up at the apartment complex before ushering Hawks and Izuku into the limo, making sure they’re in before taking a breath. Tsutsumi Kaina shakes herself free and gets in without hesitation, not even sparing her old life a single glance.
And why should she? She’s got a best friend and a kid now, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.