Kaina sat in a chair by the window, a half-filled glass of wine in her hand, staring out at the city. The soft glow of the streetlights cast faint shadows across her face, highlighting an expression that, while typically indifferent, carried a subtle hint of sadness.
She had noticed Raiden enter. He was sure of that. But she made no move to acknowledge him. She simply kept her gaze fixed on the city skyline, unmoving and detached.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your friends or something?" Kaina asked, her voice flat and detached, eyes still locked on the cityscape.
"Yeah, but I thought I'd drop by to say hello. And I brought pizza," Raiden replied with a broad grin, holding up the box like a peace offering.
"I see. Hello. Now go." The pro hero's response was curt, dismissive, as if she were swatting away an insect.
Raiden kept his smile, but the awkwardness was evident.
Instead of leaving, he did what he'd learned to do with Kaina over time—ignore her behavior.
Without hesitation, he dragged a chair and a small table over to her side, setting them up right by the window.
Then, he opened the pizza box and grabbed a slice, biting into it without bothering to hide his lack of table manners.
Talking with his mouth half-full, he mumbled, "So, what happened?" His tone was casual, but the concern was obvious.
"Nothing. Didn't I tell you to leave? My mission with you is done. I had nothing to do with you" Her words were harsh, but Raiden didn't flinch.
If she truly wanted him gone, she could've made it impossible for him to get in. The fact that she hadn't told him to leave in a more agressive way or even directly kicked him out before he got this close said enough.
Either she didn't care—or, more likely, she was just too broken to push him away.
"I don't think it's nothing," Raiden said, his voice calm and unusually persistent.
"I hate to be too pushy, but… look, I haven't told anyone this, but that night, when I fought the scientist, he said something pretty concerning about you." For the first time, Kaina's expression shifted. She raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued despite herself.
"What thing?" Kaina asked, her tone this time was sharp but laced with curiosity.
"He said if things keep going the way they are, the one standing on the opposite side of me will be you. And he wasn't just talking about having different opinions, like in opposite sides like one of us becoming a villain."
Raiden's eyes narrowed, his voice steady. "I have zero interest in becoming a villain, so seriously, Kaina… what's going on?" exclaimed Raiden as he casually kept eating the pizza.
His words made the pro hero's expression tighten.
She turned to meet his gaze, her eyes searching his face.
Raiden kept his carefree look intact, still chewing on a slice of pizza like nothing was wrong. "So yeah, that's what he told me. Now, Kaina, I will ask for third time, what's really happening?"
"And you actually believe a villain?" Kaina shot back, her question practical but missing the point.
"I could've dismissed it," Raiden admitted, "but Kaina, I don't wanna be rude but...you look like shit. Worse than when I first met you. And if I factor in your methods fighting villains…well, something's definitely going on."
"What about my methods?" she asked defensively.
Then her gaze faltered, her voice dipping into something almost fragile. "I see… so you opinion about me changed, maybe I do look like a villain to you?" Her eyes went hollow, a bleakness settling over her face, and her words went to the defensive immediately.
Raiden's thoughts raced for a moment. He glanced at the ceiling, then locked eyes with her.
Without hesitation, his arm began to glow, the number 18 burning brightly before the light expanded, engulfing his entire body. His quirk's full activation transformed him, making him taller—now a solid 1.95 meters.
His appearance might have changed, but his voice remained calm and sincere. "I don't believe you're a villain. But I do believe something's happening that's got you on edge, maybe even pushed you past it. And here's the thing—order or not, you've done more than just protect me. You even let me see my family from afar when you didn't have to. So whatever's going on, I'm not turning my back on you, and if you don't want to speak out loud, you can just let the thoughts flow."
Raiden's mental message hit Kaina harder than he expected.
For the first time, he saw her stoic facade crack.
Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, a vulnerability surfacing that he never thought he'd witness.
If there was one thing he knew about his mentor, it was her sheer mental strength. So whatever was weighing her down had to be something serious.
'You're too young, kid. You wouldn't understand.' Kaina's voice echoed in his mind, the words tinged with resignation.
'Maybe. But we won't know unless you tell me. Come on, I'm not here to judge you,' Raiden replied, flashing a carefree grin, as if his smile alone could lighten the mood.
'You will, kid. But… fine. I'll try. is not like I will lost something.The truth is… I'm tired of being a hero.'
Raiden had grown more attuned to their mental conversations over time. While he couldn't read her mind directly, he'd gotten skilled at sensing shifts in emotions. And right now, he could tell she wasn't being completely honest.
'Tired of being a hero? That's a lie. I've seen you helping people, Kaina. You were happy doing it. This is about something else.' He took another slice of pizza, refusing to let the conversation drop.
'Helping people isn't the only part of being a hero. You've seen that, haven't you?' Kaina's voice grew heavier, frustration seeping into her words.
'Oh, you're talking about when we had to bend the rules to get more information, right?' Raiden replied, his tone still light, tryng to leave Kaina to speak more comfortably.
'Exactly. That's the ugly part.And even that is just a part, there are worst things. The truth is… I'm sick of the hypocrisy. Heroes and villains—sometimes, the lines between them aren't so clear, and slowly I've grow tired of this.'
Raiden tilted his head, curiosity sparking in his eyes. 'Like what, exactly?. He genuinely wanted to understand what was eating at her.
Kaina sighed deeply, her gaze dropping to her glass of wine before turning back to the cityscape. 'It's hard to explain. But… fine. Let me put it this way. There are different types of heroes, or rather, different faces they show the world. Most of them aren't like All Might. He's what you'd call a hero of the light—pure, unwavering, a symbol of hope.'
Her words trailed off, and Raiden could feel the bitterness behind them. Kaina wasn't just frustrated—she was disillusioned. And he wanted to know the source
"Hero of the light? " Raiden asked, leaning forward with genuine curiosity and concern.
Kaina glanced away, her expression tight. "The face we show to the public. The hero, the symbol of hope. It's how we act when we're out there saving people, smiling for the cameras, making speeches—being everything society expects us to be." She paused, her voice lowering. "But most of us, especially those working under the Hero Public Safety Commission, have to carry out missions that are anything but heroic. Dirty work. Things the public can never know about."
Raiden frowned, his carefree demeanor replaced by a seriousness Kaina rarely saw, only when he was fighting. "What kind of things have you been forced to do?"
"That's the thing." Kaina's shoulders sagged, the weight of her own words pressing down on her. "I'm pretty close to being a villain, you know. The worst part is... I don't even know if I was ever truly forced. They never held a gun to my head or threatened me. They just... convinced me it was the right thing to do. Played on my desire to protect people, manipulated it."
She sighed deeply, her fingers trembling as she clenched them into fists. "I—no, it's better if I start from the beginning. From the day I became a hero."
Raiden remained silent, his gaze locked on her, giving her the space to speak without interruption.
He'd never seen her like this before, her confidence stripped away to reveal an almost defenseless person. Whatever she was about to share, he could tell it wasn't just a confession. It was a burden she'd been carrying alone for far too long.
Kaina drew a shaky breath before continuing, her voice steadier now but still laced with pain. "When I started, I was like you—young, full of ideals. I wanted to save everyone. But the Commission... they took advantage of that. At first, it was just surveillance missions. Gather information, report back. Harmless enough."
"But it didn't stay that way, did it?" Raiden's voice was calm, but anyone could see the clear frown on his face.
"No. It escalated." Her gaze hardened, but the sadness never left her eyes. "Interrogations. Assassinations. Eliminating 'threats' before they even had a chance to commit a crime. And every time, they made it sound like it was for the greater good. Like we were preventing tragedies before they could happen."
Raiden's frown tightened. "And you believed them."
"I wanted to believe them. I needed to believe them." Kaina's voice cracked, the truth cutting her as much as it did him. "But the lines kept getting blurrier. And now... now I don't even know where I stand."
Raiden looked at her, his expression softened by understanding rather than judgment. "Then let's figure it out. Together, even if isn't mutual, you are a friend to me, I won't leave you this way"
The simplicity of his words struck her, and for the first time in years, Kaina felt something other than doubt or despair. It was hope—fragile but real. But still the doubt was greater. "you don't understand, it had been years, everything started even before I was a licensed hero"
Years ago, before the name Lady Nagant even existed, Kaina was just another girl dreaming of becoming a hero.
It was a common dream, shared by kids of all ages, especially since being a hero was the most popular career path. And with her Quirk, she believed that dream was well within reach.
Kaina's Quirk allowed her to grow a rifle directly from her arm, while her hair could be molded into bullets tougher than steel.
It was an incredible ability, precise and powerful—one that set her apart from her peers, no other kids had such powerful Quirk in her school.
But standing out came with its own problems.
Jealousy followed her, mostly from the other girls in her class. It confused her at first—why would they hate her for something she couldn't control? Just out of envy? It took a while before she learned the truth.
A boy from her class had developed a crush on her, something Kaina hadn't even noticed. But that alone was enough to spark resentment or at least it was the perfect justification.
The other girls started harassing her, their words were cruel, the minimun they said to her was whore, or dildo arm.
No matter how hard she tried to ignore them, their taunts chipped away at her self-esteem.
She began dreading school, even considering asking her parents to transfer her somewhere else. But before that decision could be made, everything changed.
One afternoon, while she was at home, two people knocked on the door. They wore crisp suits, their expressions calm and unreadable.
They introduced themselves as representatives of the Hero Public Safety Commission. The words they spoke would alter Kaina's life forever.
"You have incredible potential to become one of the top heroes in Japan," one of them said with a confident smile.
"So much so that we're offering you a full scholarship to pursue that dream. You'll be training and taking classes directly under the Hero Public Safety Commission."
Those words sealed her fate. At the time, she felt nothing but excitement. Her parents were also thrilled, overwhelmed with pride at the opportunity their daughter had been granted.
The idea of her studying for free—getting a head start before anyone else—seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
And so, with eager smiles and hopeful hearts, they all agreed. Kaina couldn't have known then that the very thing she dreamed of would soon become her greatest curse.
End of the chapter.
I think all of us know where the next arcs will be going with this, finally we are starting with some canon content more than just the big three class.
as I said the week before If we made it into the top 50 the first two days at least, I will post an extra chapter, thank you for the current support.
Also, leave some comments about the direction the book is taking, there only three chapters of this arc, but I could be useful
Enjoy the chapter.