"I stopped questioning the orders after a while," Kaina admitted as she finalized her story. "But the more I obeyed, the filthier I felt. Like I was rotting from the inside."
She ran a hand through her hair, eyes dark and distant. "It wasn't hero work anymore. I was just their weapon. A tool they used to wipe away problems."
Kaina's gaze drifted to her hands, the same hands that had once been devoted to saving lives. Now they only reminded her of everything she'd destroyed, she looked at Raiden with desperate eyes.
.
"I guess, I deserve feeling this way, I had been doing some horrible things," Kaina muttered, her voice accompanied by a thick weariness as she took another long sip of wine.
"But in the end, you were still saving people. Sure, your methods weren't exactly orthodox, but you made a real difference." Raiden's gaze was steady, though his expression carried the weight of recent, harrowing experiences.
"These past few months… I've seen horrible things. It disgusts me how far villains will go—what they're capable of. The experiments, the cruelty… all of it, and you fought against that, and you taught me how to fight against this." As Raiden sent the mental message, he tried to transmit how grateful he was towards her, it was more tricky than just speakin, at least for now.
Kaina sighed deeply, her shoulders slumping as she walked over a more comfortable place and leaned back into the worn-out couch of her department. "Yeah… you've witnessed some of the worst humanity has to offer in less than a year. And you're kind of my student, so it's no surprise you ended up with that perspective."
As Kaina responded mentally, Raiden felt some of her self-depreciable feelings.
"You're right in that regard. There are people out there who deserve punishment. But over this time, I realized something—no, I felt it, deep down." Raiden's hands clenched as he spoke, his voice tightening. "A person shouldn't be judge, jury, and executioner all at once. It's not just a matter of morality. It's the weight of it… it's too much for anyone to carry alone, at least not sistematically, more if you keep it just for yourself."
Kaina hugged herself, her arms trembling slightly. "You're not wrong. The guilt, the regret… it's all tangled up inside me." Her voice cracked, but she pushed on, her words spilling out like a confession.
"I've killed so many people, acting as nothing more than a tool of execution. And for what? To eliminate so-called threats? To obey orders without question? I'm tired, so tired, I don't want anything anymore, If it were my desicion, I could just sleep..."
Raiden watched her carefully. "But that's not what's truly tearing you apart, is it? It's not just about the killing."
"Of course it is!" Kaina snapped, her frustration masking something deeper—something raw and painful. "It's all of it. The guilt, the hypocrisy, knowing I've been used as a weapon to wipe out anyone they deemed 'problematic.'" Her fists tightened, knuckles white.
"A lot of the people I took down… they didn't deserve it. Some of them were heroes—real heroes who dared to speak out against the corruption of the bureau. They weren't even planning anything violent. Just… trying to make things better." She shook her head, with her eyes glistening.ç
"But it was easier to follow orders than to question them. I told myself I was doing the right thing, but now I see it for what it is. I'm no different from the monsters I thought I was fighting against. An enforcer of cruelty, hiding behind the label of heroism." Kaina's mental voice dropped to a whisper, as if admitting the truth would somehow make it hurt less.
"I've become everything I once despised. A hypocrite who claims to be a hero, when all I've done is perpetuate the same violence I was supposed to stop."
"I won't said I understand you... but I will stay with you... so the question is...what do you want to do now?" Raiden asked, his tone casual but his gaze was sharp, not judging her, just trying to understand.
"What I want?" Kaina's voice cracked this time she spoke out loud, her frustration barely held in check.
"I want this to end. I feel like a hypocrite, and for once, I want to stop pretending."
"End it? How?" Raiden's expression shifted, a hint of skepticism cutting through his curiosity.
"I'm planning to kill the higher-ups, kid. No… not planning. It's worse than that." Kaina's fists clenched, trembling with barely contained fury. "It's like every time I see him—see them—I feel myself snapping. I can't stand him. That smug, condescending smile… It drives me insane. Every day, the urge to just shoot him in the face gets stronger." Her quirk stirred, a subtle twitch rippling through her arm, betraying her agitation.
"I can't do this anymore, kid. I don't want to." Her shoulders slumped, the weight of her own words crushing her. "This isn't what I wanted when I became a hero. I'm tired of all of it. I just wanted to help people, you know? That's all. Just… help people. Nothing more, nothing less."
Kaina's face crumbled, her composure finally shattering as tears welled up and spilled over.
Her entire body trembled, shaking uncontrollably as if every ounce of strength had been drained from her.
The sobs came suddenly, hard and fast. It was like someone had torn open a dam, and now everything she had kept buried was flooding out with brutal force.
Raiden immediately released his transformation and rushed to her side.
Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a firm, steady embrace. He didn't offer comforting words or hollow reassurances.
Nothing he could say would fix this. There were no perfect answers, no clever solutions to her pain.
All he could do was hold her. And that was enough.
Kaina clung to him like he was her last lifeline, her fingers gripping his shirt with desperate intensity. Her sobs were endless, her anguish spilling from her in waves.
.
Kaina clung to Raiden's clothes, her fists twisted in the fabric as if letting go would shatter her completely. She cried with a desperation that tore through her, sobs wracking her body until it felt like she might break apart.
All her frustration, anger, sadness, and disappointment spilled out—years of bitterness aimed at the hero society and, most painfully, at herself. She hadn't stopped when she should have, hadn't questioned things deeply enough until it was far too late.
Her dream had crumbled. It was a simple, innocent dream. She never cared about fame, never aspired to climb the ranks or bask in public admiration.
Money didn't interest her. All she wanted was to make a difference. But everything she'd done, everything she'd become, was a betrayal of that ideal. The contradiction of her actions twisted inside her like a knife, tearing her apart from within.
She cried for what felt like hours, her sobs were a tidal wave of anguish and guilt. Cursing the world, pleading for forgiveness, begging for some kind of relief.
And Raiden stood there, holding her, his arms wrapped around her as she poured everything out.
He could feel her pain as if it were his own, frustration building in his chest at his own helplessness.
He hated the Hero Public Safety Commission with every fiber of his being for what they had done to her. For how they had broken her.
The once unshakable Lady Nagant had crumbled. No, she hadn't simply crumbled—she had been shattered, piece by piece, by the bureaucracy, the greed, and the corruption within the very system she had trusted.
The so-called heroes in charge had destroyed her, their selfishness and hypocrisy grinding her down until there was nothing left but pain and regret.
Eventually, her sobs quieted, her breathing steadying as exhaustion took over. She fell asleep in Raiden's arms, her body going limp like all the fight had been drained out of her.
Without hesitation, Raiden lifted her up gently and carried her to her bed, laying her down and pulling a blanket over her.
She looked so small and fragile, her eyes swollen and red, her brow still creased even in sleep.
He watched her for a moment, his fists clenching at his sides. He felt useless. Furious. Helpless. With a frustrated sigh, Raiden headed to the kitchen.
He needed something—anything—to keep his hands busy, to distract himself from the mess they were tangled in.
He made coffee, his actions robotic and mechanical. As he worked, his arm flickered with energy, faint blue light glowing as his emotions stirred his quirk to life. Objects trembled around him, rattling softly against the counter, until he forced himself to calm down.
Once the coffee was ready, Raiden cradled the warm mug in his hands and walked over to the window, staring out at the city sprawling beneath him. The skyline looked so calm, so distant from the turmoil tearing them apart.
He took a slow sip, letting the heat burn down his throat, trying to ground himself in the simplicity of the moment. But the question gnawed at him, his mind turning over the same thought again and again.
What should I do? how I help her?
Raiden stared blankly into his coffee, his thoughts a tangled mess. No clear answer surfaced, only more questions clawing at his mind.
'Should I just gather information and hand it over to the press?'
He shook his head. That idea was a dead end. If he tried to expose the truth through the media, the Bureau could easily twist the narrative. With their resources and influence, they'd bury the truth beneath layers of lies. Worse, they'd paint Kaina—and even him—as villains. And then there was the gnawing doubt.
'Should I even be helping her?' He couldn't deny that he cared for her—a lot. Despite her coldness and sharp edges, Kaina had carved out a place in his heart.
But the truth was harsh: she had been a hitman, a weapon the Bureau had wielded like a blade. Ethically, as a hero, he should... What the hell am I even thinking? Raiden clenched his fists, feeling the tension thrum through his body. I just need to help her.
Even if it made him a hypocrite, turning his back on her was out of the question. It was no different from abandoning a friend or family member in their time of need. Yes, she had done terrible things, but Raiden knew something that tilted the scales in her favor.
Deep down, she wasn't a villain. she wasn't bad, on the contrary, that same good in her was crushing her.
No matter what the Bureau had forced her to become, Raiden had seen her true self—broken and haunted by guilt, but still trying to do the right thing.
Punishing her wouldn't achieve anything.
She already carried her own judgment, and it was a heavier burden than anyone else could place on her. The way she had collapsed in his arms, pouring out her pain—it was clear this regret would follow her for the rest of her life.
And the truth was, Raiden simply didn't want to judge her. Maybe that made him weak. Maybe it made him a coward or even the contrary. But whatever it was, he didn't want to bear the weight of condemning her nor he wanted it. Helping her felt right. And if that made him a hypocrite, so be it, he was going to be true to himself.
He took another sip of coffee, letting the heat burn his throat as he tried to force some clarity into his thoughts. We need proof. Whatever happens, we need to gather solid evidence.
Even if they couldn't reveal it right away, having proof would be their safety net. But to do that, they'd have to infiltrate the Bureau itself.
Raiden's gut twisted at the thought. Even Kaina, who had once worked directly under their command, wouldn't have access to the information they needed. Whatever secrets they were hiding would be locked away in the most secure places. The real question was: where? And how the hell were they supposed to get to it?
Then a thought hit him. The samples.
The Bureau kept recovered serum samples—dangerous, powerful things that shouldn't be in anyone's hands, especially not theirs.
Not after everything Raiden had learned about their corruption, their greed, their ruthless manipulation of people like Kaina. That serum was a weapon they could use to tighten their grip on power.
Raiden's gaze sharpened as he stared out the window, the city lights flickering like stars drowned in darkness. Whatever happened next, he knew one thing for sure: they needed to find those samples. And more importantly, they needed to make sure the Bureau could never use them again.
End of the chapter.
Hello guys, I had to sai, this had been the most difficult chapter to write, I hope I did it right, leave your opinions on this, and some power stones hahah.