Why? Why is she here?
I thought Nagant was meant to be in Tartarus after snapping and killing her superior at the hero public safety commission. So then, why is she here?
I must have the timeline wrong. I can't remember when exactly that's supposed to happen, but judging by her presence in my living room, it's probably correct to assume that it hasn't happened yet.
Then what about her relationship with Reiko? I don't remember anything about her mentioned anywhere.
All at once, the rather sobering realization that I might have fucked something up washes over me. It puts out the fire that is my fear. I fucked up.
And I can't unfuck it.
God. Please. I really didn't mean to.
Reiko was probably meant to die were it not for me. An extra that was never mentioned anywhere destined to die on one of her jobs. Only, maybe, just maybe, because she used me to strengthen her quirk, maybe she survived something she wasn't meant to.
Or maybe Lady Nagant was such a minor character that a person like Reiko would never have been mentioned. After all, these are real people with real lives now, not just characters. They've had lives outside the pages.
Whatever. I can't do anything about that. It's out of my hands. Still, accepting this does nothing to remedy the current situation.
"Reiko," Lady Nagant says, her smile dark, not quite reaching her eyes. "Who is this?"
Reiko decouples herself from the woman and takes a step back, looking between me and her. Her head snaps from side to side. Each time she turns toward me, I can see her face becoming progressively more twisted as if swallowing something sour.
"This is…" Reiko scratches at her neck. "Um…"
Right. How would you even begin to explain something like this? 'This is my son! He's seven, but you've never met him!'. Hilariously bad. 'I kidnapped this child and used him as target practice'. Jesus. Worse.
But… wait. Haha. This is good, isn't it? Nagant is still a hero. She still kills corrupt heroes and villains. She's one of the two heroes that would.
I stand up straight, clearing my throat. Reiko's eyes widen. My mouth opens, and I know what I have to say. I have to tell this woman about what's really happening here, how six months ago, Reiko basically kidnapped me and forced me to be a dummy for her quirk.
I have to tell her how I was torn apart limb by limb for hours, for days, weeks. I have to.
Reiko's face darkens for a moment. She knows what I will say. She doesn't look angry, not really, just resigned. I wonder what she thinks will happen. I don't know the extent of her relationship with Lady Nagant.
I could be killing myself here.
But still. I have to talk. I have to tell her.
I look at Nagant. I look at Reiko, at her face. She's all but letting me speak. All are quiet for a moment.
I open my mouth. Reiko's face. The words won't come out.
She bites her lip for a moment, her shoulders sagging.
"Why does he look like you?" Lady Nagant asks, incredulous. She shakes Reiko's shoulders. "Don't tell me…"
The words won't come out.
"Is he your kid? Did you have a kid? Don't tell me you did? Why didn't you tell me? You idiot. Who's the father?"
Reiko shakes her head, looks at me one more time, then looks at her sister. "No…"
"What do you mean, no?" Nagant says.
I scowl as I realize what Reiko is planning. Why? Why would she be honest about this? Nagant won't kill her for it, right? Surely not. They know each other. They're close.
Something is bothering me. Something isn't right. Why can't I speak? Why am I mad that Reiko wants to be honest? I should be happy. Fuck. I hate this.
Then I realize it. It makes perfect sense. Such a neat solution. I don't want Nagant to kill her because it would be highway robbery. I can't have someone else do the deed for me, can't have someone else steal the satisfaction, I must be the one to carry it out.
I have to be the one to kill her.
No one else.
No one.
"I am her son," I say before I can even think about it. Reiko frowns, Lady Nagant snaps her head at me before letting go of Reiko and stalking towards me.
She squints as if to get a better look. "Then why haven't I seen you before?"
"I was living with my dad."
Take that, assassin lady. Can't call bullshit on a little kid. I win. This will be a normal Christmas with no bloodshed. I'll eat alongside Reiko, my captor, and Lady Nagant, another assassin. And we'll have fun.
"Oh riiight!" Reiko walks over to us. "And he lives with me because I killed his dad!"
Never mind, just kill us all. It's over. I'm half tempted to pull the pin and blow myself up. You know what? No. Just… ugh. Fuck. Just kill me.
Nagant looks thoroughly confused. I would be too. I sigh, letting go of mortal worries.
Her hand moves to her hair, twisting a clump of it out into the shape of a bullet. "Someone is lying to me." She smiles. "I don't like to be made a fool of."
Me and Reiko are both silent. Well, I'm trying not to laugh. Seeing her scared is such a rare sight. She looks like a pathetic, sad and wet little cat left out in the rain. Absolutely miserable. There's always a bigger fish, I suppose.
"Explain."
We all sit around the kitchen table, unpacking the things Lady Nagant brought with her. Mostly food. Strawberry cake. KFC (?). Whatever. I'm not hungry.
We explain. Well, Reiko tells her everything. She doesn't even omit details, which surprises me. I just keep quiet.
Lady Nagant is quiet for a long, long moment after Reiko says her piece. "Little sister, what is wrong with you? And you, is what she said all true?"
"I'm honestly surprised she told you all that," I say, shrugging. "I thought she'd hide some things. You know. Maybe the part where she cut me apart."
"And what are you, by the way?" Nagant tilts her head. "Some genius baby?
"Is that important right now?"
"And you're laundering her money?" She looks almost disgusted. "Reiko, what is wrong with you? He's a kid."
Reiko is almost shy. It's clear who the big sister here is, and it most certainly is not her. "But Tsutsumi! He's not just a kid."
"I don't care," Kaina Tsustumi, Lady Nagant, says. She sighs. "I'll take him with me. I'm sure the commission will take good care of him."
I scamper away almost on instinct, knocking over my chair as I stand up. My hand is at my neck, hovering over the pin. "You'll have to kill me."
I'd literally rather die. I'd rather Reiko cut me apart. Go where, exactly? My memory of this is hazy, but I'm pretty sure the commission are the ones who recruit children and heroes to become their personal assassins.
I'll be caught dead thrice over before I ever allow myself to become a cop with a kill license. I shiver at the thought.
She frowns. Her face goes through five stages of grief. Her head falls into her hands. "This isn't how I imagined today would go. You're both insane. Reiko, your insanity is rubbing off on him."
"He was like this before," Reiko replies.
"Shut up and sit down," Tsutumi says, standing up and grabbing me by the back of my collar, dragging me to the balcony. "You're coming with me."
It's cold outside, especially at night. I'm shivering, dressed in nothing more than a t- shirt and sweats. They're way too big for me.
I can hardly believe it. My head spins. I'm standing on the balcony of my apartment with Lady Nagant. The Lady Nagant. If I cared about my hero academia more, I'd be starstruck
"What?" I say, breath steaming in front of me.
Tsutsumi just looks at me for a while, her face flashing a dozen different things. It's hard to read her. Reiko is easy. She's either playing at her imitation of joy, laughing at something funny, being an idiot, or displaying alien emotions. Lady Nagant isn't so easy.
Finally, she sighs, leaning against the balcony railing. I'm too small to do the same, so I just rest my chin head against the cold metal.
"If you saw a kitten shivering in the rain, what would you do?" She finally asks. "Would you take it in? Would you let it waste away in its little box?"
"Is this ab-" she cuts me off. Whatever.
"What if when you try to approach it, it bites and hisses, even cutting you with its claws? Would you still take it in?"
"I don't believe in morality as an observable phenomenon," I say, voice flat. "I'm not an objectivist. Moral fact is not phenomenologically self presenting."
Lady Nagant pauses. I just derailed her whole thing. "What is wrong with you, kid?"
"I assume that's what Reiko is to you?" I turn to look at the purple haired woman. She's not quite as tall as Reiko, but I'm still small. I have to look up. Only then do I notice how beautiful she is. Almost as beautiful as Reiko. "Or that's what she was, at least. A little kitten in need of saving?"
She looks into my eyes. "She had nothing. She barely considered herself human, you know? And she had this strange thing about smiling. I almost ran the other way when I saw her try. I tried to teach her that smiling is something you do when you're happy, not something you do to become happy, but I don't think she understood. Sometimes, I think she never will. I've never seen her smile since, not genuinely, anyway."
"Why are you telling me this?"
She chuckles. "I don't even know. I suppose you're easy to talk to, for a kid. I guess that's why Reiko likes you."
She likes me? Rich.
"I taught her all I could, gave her something to do, but she won't learn like that. She suffered for far too long to be fixed. I'm sorry for what she did to you. I wish I could tell you that you'll be fine," she says, her hand falling on my shoulder. Snow falls, flaking in her hair. "But I can't. I never know with her. I don't know how long you'll carry this with you, and I'm sorry for what she's done. But… Reiko isn't evil."
Oh really? She isn't evil? She has an excuse, does she? I wish I could scream. But I don't. I can't. Again, the words won't come out. I'm at odds with myself. Why? "She's not innocent."
Nagant nods. "Do you hate her?
It's my turn to pause.
"I want to kill her."
She sighs. It's a long, deep sigh that fogs out in front of her. She turns to look away.
"You should come with me," she says.
"You're so funny, auntie!" I say sarcastically. "Why would I ever want to leave?"
She ruffles my hair. "You're too smart for your own good, kid."
Maybe. Maybe I've literally gone insane. But I can't give up.
Never have I wanted anything as bad as I want this. Reiko lit a fire in me that I don't think can be extinguished. I will see this through.
I will kill Reiko.
But until then, I will take advantage of her, as she did with me.
It's only fair.
------
A/N: PS ranking reset and I guess we hit top 50, which was technically the goal. I'm feeling generous today, so here's an extra chapter.
This week we're gonna try for like 400 power stones. If we hit that, I'll release a bonus chapter, and I'm finally gonna write action.
Anyway, Lady Nagant oh my goodness.