Sorry for no chapter last week, I came down with the flu last Friday and it turned my brain into mush.

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In a small and slightly rundown apartment, in the entrance hallway, a tall young man was lost in thought while a woman was chained up in glowing chains awaiting his answer, all while under a blue barrier.

"Nah. I don't wanna." said Yuuichi with a smile.

"Eh?"

"I don't wanna."

"D-don't want to what?"

"Join, be forced to join, or whatever other plans the Hero Commission has for me. I'd be okay with taking on your burden. You're cool and all, and I do feel bad for you but I just don't wanna."

"I see." she said, as she slumped against the chains, any resistance and hope she had that she may be free of her hell, gone with his words.

"But I will help you." he said, causing her head to shoot back up and look him in the eyes to see if he was lying.

"Help me how? You said you don't want to take up the mantle."

"I did say that, but there are other ways to help like asking my parents. I'm sure they'll figure something out. This is too much effort for me so let them come up with the plan." he said as he stood up from his chair before dispelling all the constructs.

Free of her bindings, Nagant did not stand up but rather just sat there and stared at him in bewilderment.

"Why?" she asked, her voice wavering.

"Why what?"

"Why are you helping me? Even after finding out all the things I've done. All the people I've killed. Why aren't you disgusted with me? I am. I hate myself." she said, tears falling down her face.

"Because it's not your fault. I'm assuming you were recruited under false pretenses before being led down the wrong path. And seeing how bad you feel, how guilty you feel about your actions, I know you were only following orders.

And like I said earlier, the intention is what has moral character: good, bad, or neutral. I can tell your intentions were good and you were just doing what you thought was right at the time. You were just dealt a shitty hand." said Yuuichi, walking over to her and sticking his hand out to help her up.

Hearing that, Nagant just looked at his outstretched hand and his smiling face, seeing no judgment for her actions or for her, only genuine remorse at her situation.

So she grabbed his hand and stood up.

~

Walking up the path to the Yaoyorozu Manor, Nagant was a little taken aback by how big the manor was. As a Pro-Hero, and a good one no less, Nagant was by no means poor or unworldly so she had seen her fair share of rich people's houses. But the Yaoyorozu Manor was a completely different beast.

"You have a big house." said Nagant, whose mental state had settled on the way to Yuuichi's house.

"Thanks. You should see the one we have in the countryside. It makes this one look like an outhouse." said Yuuichi.

"Haha." chuckled Nagant.

"What's funny?"

"T-that was a joke right?" asked Nagant.

"No." said Yuuichi before opening the door.

"I'm home!" shouted Yuuichi, immediately followed by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps which put a smile on his face.

"Nii-chan!" shouted Momo from upstairs before quickly descending the stairs and tackling her brother, who spun her around.

"Ah, there she is!" he said putting her on his shoulders.

"Nii-chan, did you bring me any gifts?" asked Momo with eyes wide with expectation.

"Sorry Momo, not this time. Something important came up so I couldn't." said Yuuichi.

"Aw, it's okay." she said, not showing any disappointment since she knew that Yuuichi was away on Hero training.

But now that she was with her brother, Momo was no longer tunnel-visioned and finally noticed that there was another person next to Yuuichi. And wanting to be a hero in the future, she instantly recognized who Nagant was.

"Lady Nagant?!" said Momo, stars in her eyes at seeing one of the best female heroes in Japan.

"H-hi." said Nagant stiffly.

"You just noticed her? She's been standing next to me the whole time." said Yuuichi.

Meanwhile, Momo scrambled down from his shoulders and back onto the ground where she quickly tidied herself up before standing in front of Nagant who took a step back.

"Lady Nagant, I'm a huge fan! Can you sign my poster of you?! I'll be right back!" she said before running upstairs to her room to get her poster, not even giving Nagant a chance to decline.

"You okay?" quietly asked Yuuichi, since the last time a child said they were her fan it ended up with her doubled over a trashcan and throwing up.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." she said and even though Yuuichi noticed that her hands were shaking a little, he decided not to bring it up.

"Okay." said Yuuichi before turning to look at Ayako, who had come down the stairs behind Momo as she had become her personal attendant at Yuuichi's insistence since he had decided he was too old to have a personal attendant.

"Ayako, are Mom and Dad home?" asked Yuuichi while making his way to the living room, Nagant and Ayako in tow, before laying down on the couch.

"Make yourself at home." said Yuuichi to Nagant, who stiffly sat down on a chair, before turning to Ayako, "Ayako?"

"They stepped out for a moment, Young Master. They said they would be back shortly. That was 50 minutes ago." said Ayako.

"Okay, thanks. Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Nothing that the Young Mistress would want me to tell you about." said Ayako with a smile.

"Haha. And how's your younger sister? Last time we talked you mentioned she was getting married."

"Everything is on schedule. The wedding is in a month."

"They're both Pro-Heroes right?"

"Yes, a duo."

"Sounds nice. A hero duo with your significant other. Also sounds like a pain though." said Yuuichi.

"Perhaps it is in your future as well, Young Master. I seem to recall a certain bunny-eared young lady with whom you were attached." said Ayako with a teasing grin.

"It's not like that." said Yuuichi, shaking his head.

"Bunny-eared girl? Usagiyama?" mumbled Nagant.

"Hm? You know Rumi, Nagant?" asked Yuuichi, surprised to hear Rumi's surname from Nagant.

"Ah. Not really. She was one of the candidates for that." said Nagant.

"Is she that strong?"

"Mm. She's excelling at her school."

"Hahaha, that seems about right." said Yuuichi, before reminiscing about the past.

As Yuuichi reminisced about the past, Momo entered the living room with her poster of Lady Nagant and a marker.

"Lady Nagant, please!" said Momo.

"M-mm." said Nagant with a stiff smile as she shakily signed the poster.

"Awesome! Thanks, Lady Nagant! You're the best!" she said abruptly hugging Nagant who froze from the hug before being released.

CLACK

"We're home." said Kiyomi.

"In the living room." said Yuuichi.

A few moments later, a surprised Kiyomi and Ren entered the living room.

"Yuuichi, you're back already?" asked Kiyomi.

"Something came up. We need to talk to you." said Yuuichi while sitting up on the couch and gesturing to Nagant with his head, "It's important."

Hearing Yuuichi's tone and seeing Nagant look a little nervous, both of them understood whatever they wanted to discuss was important. And more importantly, not suitable for Momo to hear.

"Ayako, please take Momo to the park for a bit." said Kiyomi.

"Of course, Mistress." said Ayako, not questioning the order for a second.

"Eh? I don't want to go to the park right now." said Momo.

"Momo." said Kiyomi in a no-nonsense tone.

"Okay." said Momo grabbing Ayako's hand and leaving without any more hassle after recognizing the tone she used.

"Let's talk in the study." said Ren before the four of them made their way to the study where Yuuichi got his lessons.

Closing the door once everyone was inside, Kiyomi then flipped a switch under the desk while Yuuichi created a barrier around the room.

Seeing the sequence of events, Nagant was a little confused which Yuuichi noticed.

"The room's soundproof when the switch is on, even if someone with a quirk related to hearing tried to listen in, they'd only hear a buzzing noise. The barrier is just an added measure." explained Yuuichi.

"Let's skip the formalities for now." said Ren as he sat down in the chair behind the desk while Kiyomi sat on the desk.

"What's so important?" asked Kiyomi.

"Right, well, remember I said I was suspicious of how she showed up when I was thinking of who to choose for my internship?"

"Yes." x2

"Turns out I was right. She did have ulterior motives." said Yuuichi.

"Are you okay?" asked Kiyomi, whose priority is always her children.

"Fine." said Yuuichi smiling and giving them a thumbs up.

"But, I'll let Nagant explain from here."

"I did have ulterior motives when I first contacted your son. I had orders from the higher-ups in the Hero Commission to find a potential replacement." said Nagant.

"Replacement for what?" asked Ren.

"I'm an e-enforcer for the Hero Commission. I take out those who the Hero Commission tells me to. Both hero and villain. All to maintain the public facade that heroes have created." she said.

"I see." said Kiyomi, not much reaction on either of their faces which surprised Yuuichi.

"You don't seem surprised." said Yuuichi.

"Sigh, well we are, but we're also not." said Ren, scratching his stubble.

"We had heard rumors of the Hero Commission having someone like Nagant. It's been a rumor for ages, even during the time when your grandfather, may he rest in peace, was running the company. Although back then, the rumor was that the Hero Commission paid seedy people to take care of their business. But now it seems they've put the burden on one person." said Kiyomi, showing empathy for Nagant.

"And now they're looking for a replacement. Your son is top on the list at the moment." said Nagant.

"Why is he on the top of the list?" asked Kiyomi, her face impassive but her body tensed at the possibility her son was being targeted.

"I don't know. My best guess is his quirk looks versatile enough to make them interested." said Nagant whose words did not ease Kiyomi's tension.

"And you've come to us for help?" asked Ren.

"I offered it." said Yuuichi.

"Why?" asked Ren.

"I feel bad for her and since I don't want to take up her mantle, nor do I want someone else to take it up either, I thought we could come up with a solution. A better one than my simple solution of just exposing the Hero Commissions' secrets. I don't think that would benefit anyone except the villains so therein lies a dilemma."

After Yuuichi gave his reasoning for wanting to help, Ren and Kiyomi looked at each other before turning back to look at the two.

"Okay, but on one condition." said Kiyomi.

"P-please anything." said Nagant.

"You become Momo's bodyguard."

"B-bodyguard?"

"Mom?"

"Whatever happens with the Hero Commission, you won't be able to be a Pro-Hero anymore. I can see it in your eyes. You're done with that life. For now anyway.

So, I want you to be a bodyguard for my daughter until she enters Hero school then if you want to leave after that, you can do so. You'll be compensated very well for your services of course and anything we ask of you that is outside of your bodyguard duties will have separate compensation as well. Nothing illegal.

You may choose to refuse but our help will end here. Whether Yuuichi wishes to continue to help you is another matter altogether but he will not receive our nor the company's help." said Kiyomi, followed by a minute of silence while Nagant was lost in thought.

"Okay. I'll do it." said Nagant.

"Good. Your employment will begin after this whole mess with the Commission is done. As for what will be done about that, give us a day to think. If they contact you for any updates, act naturally. We don't want to tip them off about anything."

"Thank you." said Nagant, bowing her head.

"Okay then. Guess we're done here." said Yuuichi.

"Mm. Go play with your sister, she's missed you a lot." said Ren.

"Alright." said Yuuichi before turning to look at Nagant, "You taking off? Or do you want to go see your ward?"

"I'm taking off. I'm tired." she said before Yuuichi saw her off while he went to the park to play with Momo.

~

In a luxurious high-rise apartment, a rosy-cheeked and inebriated Nagant silently stared at the cityscape, lost in thought.

RING RING

Hearing her phone ring, Nagant checked who it was and saw that her handler was calling, instantly sobering her up. Breathing in deeply and steadying herself, she answered.

"Nagant."

"So?" asked her handler.

"Maybe. I'll have to interact with him some more to be sure, but maybe." she said, trying to satisfy his demands for now.

"I see. Good job. See you tomorrow." he said, about to hang up the call.

"Wait." said Nagant.

"What?"

"Why him? He's strong for his age but why?" she asked hoping to get an answer only to be met with silence for a minute or so.

"We don't pay you to ask questions." he said before hanging up.