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Tsutsumi Kaina watched the evening fade into night, her eyes chasing the individuals lights that streaked the night sky, or the headlights of cars meandering down the roads from her highrise building graciously given to her by the Hero Public Safety Commission. How she cursed their very being.
She tore her eyes away from the window only briefly to scan the edges of her vision, taking care not to turn her head as her gaze sought out each hidden camera and microphone that they had planted in her room, that she knew existed in every hallway and cupboard that they saw fit. She could have removed them but then they’d question her on why she wanted to not be monitored.
The top ten hero retreated deeper into her blankets in an attempt to have any semblance of privacy, where else would she get it after all? On patrols she was tailed by her side kicks, all hand selected with great monitoring quirks to “help” her guide her shots, when in reality they were chosen to keep track of her.
The car rides to and from interviews were always with watchers via bodyguards and cameras. She knew that even her personal phones and computers were being watched, any text and email she sends any message she posts to an online forum screened before it is actually sent out.
She was the HPSC’s laptop that bites when ordered to after all, what agency did she have on her own?
“You were always meant for great things“ a voice whispered to her.
What great things? Flashes of her bloodied hands as she strangled the up and coming pro hero that had refused the HPSC’s dealings.
The same hands that the kids that went to shake her hand yesterday proclaiming that they wanted to be just like her.
To be just like her? To be a murderer that dealt with problems before they became problems? To stain their hand with the blood of innocents.
“No matter how red your hands are, you will always be so beautiful.” the voice whispered again.
“How can I be beautiful when I’m nothing but lies.” she whispered.
“Who said it was all lies?” The voice chuckled, the soft raspy laugh that tickled her ears. “They always talk about the ugly truths and the beautiful lies, but that saying is twisted in of itself. Do you know that when you tear down the ugly lies the only thing remaining are the wonderful and amazing truths?” the voice points out.
“What…. What do you mean?”
“You have seen for yourself the lies that they have spouted to prop you up, the hidden deals and missions that they have sent you for. The HPSC is nothing but a joke only propped up by their underlings whose missions keep the peace in their stead.”
“I know that already, what are you getting at?” Kaina furrowed her brows, a hand going to twirl her purple hair, the urge to pull it out and fashion a bullet to shoot this figment of her imagination. Whispers and thoughts like these were what turned heroes into villains after all
‘But what I do doesn’t qualify as being a hero’ another voice whispered to her
Her hands stained with blood flashed to the forefront of her mind once more, no, that kill was necessary, his quirk had a side effect of irradiating the air but he was a popular hero so he wouldn’t retire quietly after working hard to get into the limelight.
“I’ll leave you to think about it, just remember that the ugly lies will only burden you so. If you are ever ready to find the truth then just whisper the phrase. “Mr. Shadow let us talk.”” the voice’s raspy laughter once more cackles as it fades away.
Kaina relaxed as the cacophony simmered down into stony silence, in her fingers a bullet fashioned out of her hair primed, only needing to be slotted into her quirk to be used. The pro hero squished the bullet and made it into something more harmless, a flower maybe–
A vision of how she had gifted flowers to another Pro, a bouquet of callia lilies and lotuses to celebrate their new agency, never mind the poison that was sprinkled in with it that would slowly kill them after they inhaled it for several hours. She had heard that he died in the hospital after collapsing during a patrol.
Calloused fingers squashed the beginnings of the petals she was making.
Her mind raced trying to find the next thing that she could use the putty for, she started to form it into a car… only to be reminded of another mission of hers, a car explosion that eliminated the family members of another hero that had rejected the HPSC
Once more her fingers squished whatever creation she was forming. Over and over her fingers crafted and once more the putty returned to a blob as she was reminded of a mission she had undertaken.
After the fifteenth time she smashed her putty she fell onto her side, her hand inside the blanket clutching her putty and the other hand reaching outside of the blanket to the lights of the city outside her window.
The lights twinkled in the night sky, skyscrapers, the planes that flew, the meandering dots of headlights on the streets, the stars that were on the cusps of it all… the lights that she had fought for with each villain she took down.
“But all of it a lie propped up by the HPSC” the mysterious voice’s words echoed in her mind. Just who was it? For the first time that night her fingers moved, shaping the form of a person that the voice could have belonged to.
Kaina replayed the voice over and over again, her fingers sculpting the putty to best fit what her mysterious stranger could possibly look like. It was hard to see exactly what she crafted so she extended it into the light, the moonlight streaming through the windows illuminating the figurine, as well as the tiny red dot of the camera that was watching her.
Instantly she squished the figure. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. What was she thinking?
What sort of meeting would she be called into tomorrow, did they have a good look at the figure? Are they scouring their databases and reports to see if she met a similar figure?
The Pro Hero scowled at how her time was going to be wasted tomorrow, the putty in her hand crafting into a bullet that she placed on her bedside table and then laid in bed, hoping sleep would take her quickly. Tomorrow was going to suck…
___________________________________________________________
“Did you have any good dreams last night? Any sexy ones?” the sidekick asked another of her sidekicks while on patrol.
Kaina would have rolled her eyes if she wasn’t deadset on watching today’s objective.
“For me, I was dreaming that I was at a wedding, and like this supermodel from Bachelors Heroics was waiting for me at the altar, but as we were about to get our rings my friend from my hometown spoke up about wanting to marry me instead.” She squealed.
“Were they hot?” one of her other sidekicks asked. “They’re nothing to look at, but they’re super reliable, it's honestly endearing.” the first replied.
“Let me tell you about the hot stranger at the bar that I got to talk to, they swept me off my feet and did they know a thing or three.” the sidekick giggled.
“Focus on the mission or you’ll be regulated to desk duty.” Kaina ordered.
Immediately her sidekicks fell into silence, but she knew they were going to be reporting back whatever information they had gleaned from her kurt reply.
Honestly she wished that they could just drop the pretense and be straight with her. Just like that voice. Lady Nagant’s thoughts turned to her new stranger that barged into her life.
Was he even real? Just a figment of her imagination? Did her bosses find info on who could have contacted her. Will they call again tonight?.
Was this? Anticipation? Kaina lost herself as she thought about this strange feeling welling up inside of her. When was the last time she looked forward to anything?
“Aw you look good when you smile.” a voice crashed through her mental palace and she wiped her face clean. Her sidekick was there in front of her, notably not paying attention to the area they were watching.
“Desk duty, 2 months.” she ordered. Her sidekick visibly deflated. The other two ribbing them with minor “shouldn’t have done that” and “What do you think she was smiling about?”
Focus Kaina, just gotta get to a safe place and you can think about them all you want.
But what really was a safe place for her?
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Lady Nagant closed her locker, the weight of today’s patrol finally settling in now that she was back in the confines of her agency. Around her the other sidekicks that were hired were talking and dressing themselves into their everyday clothes.
No doubt excited to be finally off work, though they still had their reports that they had to do.
Just how many of them also had to write a report on what she had done today. Kaina swiped that thought out of her mind, Sure the HPSC sometimes sent a new person over to work as a sidekick or in logistics but not everyone of them were under their belt.
She grabbed her stuff and headed for the showers, once she allowed the water to run down her scarred body, she allowed herself to just… think.
Today’s job which had them monitoring an up and coming pro hero who had graduated with a particularly dangerous quirk, flames were always dangerous, but the way he was racking up jobs like the plague was a concern so they had sent her to watch over him.
And if the order came to it, put a well-placed bullet that would cripple the man after some fake villains arrive on the scene.
The man was keeping villainy off the streets like any hero should so why did she have to target the man? Hell they should have been working together, instead of wasting her time watching over him they could have been scouring the entire city and keeping the place safe.
It’s all a lie propped up by the HPSC the phrase echoed once more as water streamed down her body and into the drains below.
How much of it was a lie though? Could she trust them to tell her the full extent of it? Or would she have to find this mysterious voice and ask him for the full truth. Could she trust him to tell this truth that he keeps dangling above her.
“I hope I can talk to him soon.” Kaina crouched down, her curtain of wet hair obscuring her vision.
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“How are you holding up my dear”, The voice whispered to her, jolting her from her lucid dream of better times.
She stilled herself, waiting to see if it was just a figment of her imagination but no, soon it whispered to her once more.
“Are you awake? I could come back another time but it is hard to reach you with all these eyes and ears on you. The Hero Public Safety Commission’s caged bird putting up an entertaining display, and such a magnificent display ti is, captivating all those who come to see her…. Even me I suppose.” the silky voice chuckled, the melodious laughter calming her as she spoke her first words of the night.
“Why have you come back?” she asked simply.
“Curious I see, worry not my dear I care for you deeply, it's always a sight for sore eyes on how terribly wounded up you are, second guessing yourself at everyone’s intentions for you.”
Kaina allowed his slow chortles roll over her as she attempted to use her senses to figure out where he was. After trying for some time and no perceivable presence she spoke up
“Then I should ask, what do you want from me?”
“Assuming I want something from you? How terrible, I weep for your plight and wish nothing more than to allow a caged bird to fly. I have seen the terrible jobs they send you to, how your bright dream of being a hero is being tarnished by your own hands the bloodier they become. Once they’re through with you they’ll focus on the next ones. Why your replacement could be out there ripe for their taking?”
“Then what purpose do you have to visit me?”
Can I not just visit you because I want to talk to you?” the voice whispered, a soft fluttering wedging itself in her stomach as she hid herself deeper in her blankets. Hopefully this mysterious stranger couldn’t actually see her right now.
“Then can I have a name to call you by?”
“You can call me Z, don’t want them trying to look me up so they can take me away from you now, you’re only friend.”
“You aren’t my only friend.” she argued.
“We shall see about that, why not ask your fellow sidekicks or office workers some things, you’d be surprised at what they know about you.”
“I’ll do just that.” she smiled, and the challenge was accepted.
_________________________________________________________
“So how did it go?” Z asked her,
“Horribly.” Kaina didn’t elaborate, already her insides were roiling at the amount of details they had known about her, most of which she hadn’t told them in the first place.
She knew that she wasn’t a people person, she showed up, got the job done and then went either to training, to a meeting or to enjoy her time just looking at cute things. Rarely would she reveal a tidbit about herself to someone.
The fact that everyone in her agency knew how to answer her questions as if they’ve been best buds was a little offputting.
Apparently it bothered the higher ups as well since they had someone come in for a wellness check on her asking if anything tumultuous had happened in her life, about the episodes where she was talking to herself or making bullets in her room.
She wasn’t being paranoid, there really was no one she could trust in her agency. With how much she felt she was under surveillance. Were any of these people her friends?
She thought back to the voice that had reached out to her, who showed her the truth among all the lies that surrounded her.
“What should I do?
“They seemed to have increased your monitoring, since you’ve been displaying abnormal behavior, worry not, I shall think of a way to help you out.” Z reassured her. There it was again the fluttering in her stomach as his words reached her.
What could it possibly be? Kaina wondered as she laid in bed, Z whispering to her lulling her into a safe and wonderful dream.
________________________________________________________________
The weeks passed as Lady Nagant scoped out who was testing her, More missions were assigned to her to eliminate and murder corrupt heroes and villains. And with each false friend she found, Z stood by her side and whispered to her those butterflies evolving to become fleeting feelings as she held out a hand wishing she could feel Z’s hands in her own.
“How goes the plan Z” She asked him
“I have a plan to get you out, just wait a little longer and we can finally meet face to face, no more shall you be a caged bird my sweet.” The voice whispered sweet nothings to her, Kaina drank it all up, though after this entire ordeal she just had to get one final confirmation.
“Soon, we’re almost ready to spring you out, just another week, and everything will be in place my dear!”
The voice spoke reassuring her that everything is well. Tomorrow though, was going to be the day to see if she could safely leave it all behind. She’ll just ask her handler if retirement is a possibility for her. That way she can leave the limelight and enjoy her time with her new friend? Could they grow to love her like she does for them, if these feelings at all were even love to begin with.
_____________________________________________________
Kaina entered the office of the President of the Hero Public Safety Commission, the man dismissed his secretary and placed two folders onto his desk for her to peruse.
“Thank you for coming, Lady Nagant, your latest mission is to deal with two corrupt heroes who are ready to use the new referendums that we’ve implemented to boost their own popularity, if they do this, it would be hard for us to not place them in the top 10 through sheer popularity alone. So do what you do best and give them a stern talking to, with that amazing quirk of yours” he chuckled.
“President… I was wondering if I could have a moment, is it really best for us to silence them? We can just tell the public what they’re planning to do and use public sentiment to bring them down; they’ll have to retire with the backlash they’ll receive.” she pointed out.
“What? Expose how our system works so that others can game the system the way they’re planning to? Not a chance. Give those pesky heroes an inch and they’ll run away with the whole thing.” The president huffed.
Was there really a need for her to do this though? Ask ask ask, why not ask them for a change?
Kaina straightened herself up and coughed into her fist, this was her leap of faith, Z had always said that she was most beautiful when she went for the kill.
“Then consider this my last job, I wish to retire from heroics afterwards.” she spoke up.
“PFTPWF–” The HPSC President spewed his wine all over the windows of his office, he turned to face her, disbelief and shock evident on his face before it became a wide grin, he gave a light laugh and pointed at her.
“Retirement? You? Please don’t joke about that, you’re at the prime of your life, you still have so much more to do before our investment in you is paid off.” The President chuckled to himself. Oblivious to the fact that Lady Nagant’s world was falling apart.
“Besides, you know a bit too much about what we’ve been doing if you expect a quiet retirement that is entirely off the table. Unless you get your memory wiped but we haven’t found a quirk user with that particular skill set, and boy would that be handy.” He chuckled. “Unless you were severely maimed there is no hope for you so just sit back down and follow orders. Kill the two heroes or else your own hero career will disappear, maybe you’ll find yourself in an accident like you so want”
No quiet retirement? No freedom? All of her effort and for what? A lie that the HPSC props up so that they can enjoy the spoils? He was going to kill her, to dispose of her permanently just because she dared to question him.
“Just a bit more time and I can get you out of there, a week at most, by the end of the week we can finally be together.” Z had promised her.
“I’m sorry Z, I don’t think I’ll keep that promise.” Lady Nagant whispered, her handler perking up.
“What was that Lady Nagant? Did you say– Whoa, why are you using your quirk? Securi— BANG”
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All for One watched the headlines of Lady Nagant’s capture. He was severely disappointed that a pawn of his was taken off the board, but with her eliminating the HPSC president he could count his blessings where they lay, it opened up a few opportunities that were previously unavailable to him.
“My dear… I had hoped to have you join my side. Alas it seems that fate is a cruel mistress… but worry not, we shall see each other again one day.” All for One whispered with his shadow talk quirk. Though she probably won’t be able to hear him.
“Just a little bit longer… I was… thinking this love could have happened.” he sighed.