Breath Weapon

"Damn, dude, you work like this?"

Yuusei glared at her, but she knew it was mostly from mortification over his agency's state. Cardboard boxes piled at random spots in the room, mountains of paperwork covering his desk, and a bizarre collage of pictures pinned to a wall and tied with red thread.

He stopped typing in his notebook and closed its lid. "Why are you here, Kalianne? I thought you were working at Majestic's agency."

She blew a raspberry after hearing the Laser Hero's name, taking a seat in front of him. "His agency's a scam."

"Oh? Elaborate."

The deadpan tone, not even a minute into the conversation? Damn. Well, at least he wasn't turning her away instantly like the 23 agencies she tried before.

"So, a few weeks ago, we were chasing this villain. Fatass with a mohawk named Glutton God, his quirk is getting stronger the more lipids he consumes. Me and Nightheat—that's another one of his sidekicks—take the big guy down while Majestic was in another street. We get told to chase the villain's lackeys as he goes to flank them, and what does he do?" She did not wait for him to answer, getting heated just by revisiting the memory.

"He takes the fucking credit! He strolls to Glutton God, waits till the press gets there, and pretends his laser eyes did the job when it was my! Fucking! Quirk!" She punctuated with slams on his desk.

Yuusei watched as she breathed heavily, trying to calm herself.

"... I take it that wasn't the only incident?" He asked after she sat down again.

"Fuck no it wasn't." There were too many to count, and she was only there for one month!

"And my agency wasn't your first choice?"

"..." She shook her head.

"You tried to tell them your case, right? But it was your word against the number six hero's."

Kalianne groaned, rolling her eyes. "Holy shit Yuu, get to the point."

He shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure I got all the details."

"So, here I am, Shiketsu graduate fallen from grace, begging to be my old classmate's sidekick. Are you gonna give me the job, or did I come here and rant for nothing?"

"You ranted for nothing," He began, before pulling her wrist with his tail as she tried to leave. "I would have given you the job even if you didn't explain anything."

This guy...

"Why did you even ask, then?! Elaborate," She deepened her voice comically, trying to mimic him.

"I wanted to hear out a former classmate... and Majestic is currently teaching my little cousin, so I got curious."

Kalianne's face scrunched. He was being nice in his roundabout way. After having to hold her righteous fury in front of other agencies, it had felt nice to let loose all her grievances in front of him.

"So, you just wanted to let me vent? Goddammit, Yuu. So, about the job—"

"I can give you money to start your own agency."

"The hell? Are you trying to play loanshark with me?"

He shook his head. "No interest. You pay me back with a portion of the money you make from your cases, until we're even."

Kalianne looked at him, then at his messy agency. "Geez, I didn't think we were on such bad terms that you'd buy me an entire building before hiring me. You don't look like you're thriving with this lone dragon business, y'know."

"As much as I loathe to admit it... you're right. My work here has been fractured into patrolling and a single case. But that also means it wouldn't make an ideal environment for you."

Kalianne looked at him and his messy agency again, stopping at the conspiracy wall filled with pictures, trying to determine a Night Parade member's next move.

"Are you still chasing that chameleon girl—"

"Yes, I'm still chasing Karma."

She snickered. Yuusei sighed.

"Nah, I don't want you to buy me an agency. I'd rather save money by working for it. Waaaay less of a weight in my mind that way."

He nodded. "And that's exactly why I'd always take you, no questions asked."

The goddamn know-it-all. Kalianne raised a finger to point at his face. "Oh, if you even suggest this was 'just a test', I'll burn your paperwork." She had enough of that for a lifetime with Karaburan and Rosethorn.

"It's our paperwork now, Honoken," He said, standing up and reaching out a hand.

Kalianne shook it with a pout. "Ok, Seiryu. So, what do we do in this agency? Patrol on weekdays, gather pictures of lizard girls on the weekends?"

"Well, after you mentioned it earlier, I realized this place does need some cleaning. Don't throw anything away without my permission, though." With that, the bastard started walking away, probably to grab cleaning supplies.

Kalianne clenched her fist, happy to find a job but annoyed at her first task. "I'm not a goddamn maid, Yuusei!"