Chapter 3

Math is not one of your strong suits. You hated it. All the equations fill up inside your head and make it hurt. You groaned and slammed your head against your thick textbook. You stared off into space while twirling your pencil between your fingers.

{Why do we have to learn about quadratic equations? It's useless…}

Instead you opened your drawer, where a pack of bullets laid. This type of ammo is used for pistols however these were designed differently. They were made for inserting drugs into any living organism. This particular one was made to explode any living organism.

You remembered the night before when you read that note in the person's bag. There on that small piece of paper, in messy handwriting said,

{I got the rest of the bullets, Shigaraki. Be careful. These bullets are dangerous. }

You only knew one Shigaraki and where he came from. You tightly clenched the plastic bag and inspected the distinct design of the bullets. Then you cautiously placed it back in your desk drawer.

{I'll look into this after the meeting. }

You were so caught up in your thoughts, you didn't notice that someone entered your room. You suddenly felt a presence behind you. Your body went on autopilot and without thinking, you grabbed the person's shoulder and flipped over them. Your arm wrapped around their neck and squeezed tightly.

"Y-Y/N, i-it's just m-me." A familiar voice choked out. Your eyes widened when you realized the voice of the person you were choking. You immediately let go out of fear and watched as your dear older brother coughed and hacked from the lack of oxygen.

"Dammit, Izuku," Yougrumbled, your racing heartbeat slowly calming down, "You scared me." He laughed, apologetically.

"At least your reflexes are as sharp as ever. Anyways, ready for the meeting?" He asked. You glanced at the time. 8:45 pm.

"Sure, but shouldn't you already be there? You know, as a future boss?" You asked, looking at your brother, raising an eyebrow.

"I know, but I thought I would drop in and check up on my favorite sister." Izuku said, flashing that special smile of his. You rolled your eyes but let yourself grin a little.

"Idiot." You muttered, "Let's go."

________________

You were never fond of meetings, especially since you got an attention span of 10 minutes. So it wasn't a big surprise when you zoned out soon after the meeting started. You only snapped out of your thoughts when you heard your mother's voice.

"I have an important announcement to make." Her bold voice echoed through the entire hall. It was enough to completely pull you out of your boredom. In fact, you moved to the edge of the seat, a sudden interest evident in your posture. You had been waiting all day for this.

"I have some grave news. I have heard from one of agents that the LOV had possession of a dangerous item." You felt your stomach twist a little, when your mother mentioned the LOV. They are an infamous organization known for stealing valuable items and selling them on the black market. The mood in the room was dreadful, as the uncomfortable silence dragged out. Everyone shared the same question. What are they trying to steal?

"This may seem foolish, but the item is a bullet. A bullet that could annihilate any human. It was designed to insert two drugs. Both powerful enough to destroy any living thing into smithereens." You kept a straight face, staring at your mother, ignoring the fear coiling in your stomach. You already knew this, yes, as you were that agent that reported to her, but it still sparked an anxiousness.

The air immediately tensed, and frantic chatter erupted all across the hall. You turned your head from side to side, trying to catch Izuku's eyes. You finally spotted him next to Todoroki. Todoroki was whispering fast to him, but Izuku was looking straight ahead. Your older brother's green eyes met yours and for the first time in a while, you saw fear in his eyes. He knew this information already, but like you and everyone else, just the mention of the LOV sparked anxiety.

You tried sending a 'it's going to be okay' look, but with the fear rising from your gut, you knew you couldn't. You just turned away, and laid your eyes on your mother at the head of the table. Her face was bitter, but she remained professional. She took a deep breath.

"Silence!" Your eyes widened and for a brief second, you forgot how to breathe. Your mother never yells. Never. Your fear begins to grow worse. This is really bad. You looked over to Izuku. His face mirrored yours, and it looked like multiple emotions passing through his face.

The entire hall froze and there was bone-chilling silence. Your mother relaxed and looked at everyone.

"I also know from another agent that the LOV is targeting us, and that they are also holding a hostage. Because of this, there are going to be adjustments made. I have asked another close ally to help us with this." You quirked your head. You didn't get informed about this yet. You glanced at your older brother. His eyebrows were scrunched together, like he was thinking hard.

What help could she possibly mean? And who's the hostage?

"I have kindly asked the Bakugou Agency for assistance. They have accepted, however, they are going to move into this mansion. It's going to be different, but to show our appreciation, we will give them our hospitality. There are some things I want to speak about privately to the heads of each department. That's all I wanted to say. I will keep alerting you if something changes. You all are dismissed." Your mother concluded, leaving the entire hall in shock and silence. She sunk into her chair, exhaustion taking over her face.

{The Bakugou agency, huh?}

The Bakugou agency is the other agency that is under the government. You personally have never met anyone in that agency, but you knew that Izuku has met another kid from there. Your mother also told you how the Midoriyas and Bakugous are close. But still, you were worried.

In this world, people aren't always kind. They control, manipulate, and crave for power. The Bakugous could be the same. Concern filled your mind from your thoughts. But you also knew that your mother was a wise person, and would think through this very thoroughly and carefully. She's confident that they will truly help. The pit in your stomach slowly began to disappear, allowing you to breathe normally again.

That only left one question. Who's the hostage? But as you glanced over to your mother, you noticed her worry, etched all over her face. She looked like she grew older a few years. You thought about talking to her, but you then refrained.

{It's best if I leave her alone for a bit. I'll talk to her after she relaxes.}

__________________

You pulled your knees up to your chest, as you thought about the meeting that just took place. Many thoughts filled your head at once, but one thing came back over and over again.

{What's going to happen?}

It ran a broken record in your head. Without noticing, your hands trembled slightly. This never happened, and you were scared. You suddenly heard your door being opened. You looked up to see your mother and brother standing there. The mood between the two of them was usually rarely this dreadful. You looked back down at the patterned blanket on your bed, ignoring the approaching footsteps.

The bed dipped on both sides as your mother and brother sat on each side of you rubbing your back.

"I am so sorry." Your mother said, regret in her voice.

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault." You said softly, averting your eyes from the blanket, looking at your mother, who still looked regretful.It pained you to see her usually composed self look this tired and distraught.

"There's more I have to tell you two," She said, sighing, "Y/N, you will be getting a new assistant. And Miss. Uraraka will be promoted to become me and Izuku's personal assistant." You looked over to her, a little startled. Izuku also looked a bit shocked to hear this.

"Who is this new assistant?" you blurted out, unable to control yourself.

"I'm not sure yet, sweetie." Your mother said, "Aside from that, I need you both to promise me something." Your mother touched her necklace. It's not just any ordinary necklace, however.

It's the special serendibite necklace. It was originally owned by the founder of this agency, and has been preserved for generations, each of the heads entrusted to keep it safe. In fact, each head had to make an oath to keep it safe, in honor of the first head of the Midoriya Agency. Serendibite is a very valuable jewel. From the research you had done, you knew that it costs more than diamond. It could easily sell for millions on the black market.

Your mother stayed silent, leaving you and your older brother in silence.

"Yes, Mom?" Izuku asked, skeptically.

"Promise me….you both won't get hurt. This is very dangerous and I wouldn't know what to do if I lost one of you." Your mother's eyes shined like she was about to cry. You immediately hugged her, holding back the tears threatening to pour out of your eyes.

"I promise." You said into her shoulder, voice muffled. You felt an extra weight on your shoulders as your brother drapes his arms around you, joining the hug. The three of you held that position, letting warmth and comfort flow through you. You inhaled the familiar scent of evergreen. Finally, you let go, slowly and looked at your mother, who was smiling softly.

"Mom? Do you have any information on the hostage?" You asked. Your mother sighed.

"We know that the hostage is a little girl, and yes, the girl's blood is used in the bullets you brought me that night." No words were spoken. How could you speak after hearing that? You knew that the bullet contained human blood...but a little girl's blood? You felt the nausea in your stomach, but you ignored it.

Finally you spoke up.

"Ok thanks Mom. I was just wondering."

"Ok sweetie. Don't worry about it, I got this handled. But right now, I think I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you two in the morning." She said smiling softly, despite everything going on. With that, she exited the room, leaving me and Izuku sitting in silence. You were the first to break the silence.

"I wish she wouldn't hide her pain like that." You said, softly. Your older brother sighed, and slowly put his around you and pulled you closer. You let your head fall on his shoulder.

"I know," He said softly, "But you shouldn't be talking. You're also hiding your feelings, Y/N." He turned your head gently to meet his green eyes which held pain. You couldn't say anything. He was saying the truth. Yet you still tried.

"What do yo-"

"Don't you even try, Y/N! Every day, whenever I see your eyes, they are filled with pain and emotion, and you try so hard to cover it up. So don't you dare lie to me." He yelled, his eyes shining with tears. You faltered, no words coming out of your mouth. You brother took a deep breath.

"Please, Y/N, it hurts to see you and mom like this. You know I'm here for you. So why the hell won't you just open up?" He raised his voice to the point he was yelling with tears streaming down his face. His breaths were ragged. He looked exasperated and vulnerable, but there was nothing you could do.

"Why…"

You wanted to cry, to let out all of the emotions you've been holding in, but the tears were frozen. Frozen inside of you, suffocating you. You tried to force the tears out, but your mind stubbornly refused. The only thing you do is hold your brother, like all of the times he's held you close, and listen to the broken sobs escape his body.

Soon the sobs became sniffles as the exhaustion took over, and he fell asleep, soft snores emerging from the poor boy. You sat there playing with the soft green curls, your mind blank. The bright moonlight streamed through the Palladian windows into the room and shone on the bed. Finally, you gave into the urges to sleep and leaned you head back against the headboard, closing your eyes slowly. You slowly lost consciousness, the darkness taking over you, forgetting the events that happened that day.

But the pain...you will never forget it. It haunts you, churning in your stomach. And no matter how much you demand it go away, your body allows it back inside of you. And you know that no matter how much you bury it under all of the emotions you have, you can never escape it.