It was the morning after he and Dabi had gone to great lengths to make sure that Neneko would be safe. The morning after he dozed off with Neneko in his arms. They had talked so much. He now felt like he knew everything about her and it made him love her that much more.

Looking down at where she was curled up beside him, her sleeping face turned in his direction, Jin felt like his heart might actually burst out of his chest. This was a level of happiness that he had never felt before. He wanted to hug her. He wanted to feel her body against his and smell the delicate lavender scent that always seemed to cling to her.

Instead, he remained as still as possible so he could let her keep sleeping. He had no idea what time it was or how many calls he might have missed from Giran. In this moment, none of that even mattered. He finally turned his head toward the ceiling and lifted a trembling hand to run through his hair.

It was still so hard to believe that he was in this situation. In a hotel that was way nicer than any place he had ever been in, sleeping next to a woman that loved him as much as he loved her. He had daydreamed about Neneko sharing his feelings. He had fantasized about being able to be with her, having a life together. Jin knew that this was as close to that as they could probably get.

They were villains now. He was, anyway. He still found it hard to actually see her as a villain. As his eyes shifted to the side, looking at Neneko again, he had to smile. She's…not a villain. She's too good for that. She's…too good for me. I'm just lucky she likes me. No way! I'm great!

An idea popped into his head at that moment and he pushed himself to sit up very carefully. Neneko remained peacefully asleep. Jin opened the door to the bedroom and was glad to see that Toga had left. He wanted to spend time alone with Neneko. Especially after all that had happened the previous day.

He started boiling some water for tea and got out the box of lavender chamomile tea bags that he had picked up the last time he got groceries. The very small kitchen provided him with few options for breakfast, but that was fine. He honestly did not know very many recipes.

As he set up breakfast on the coffee table, he started to feel excited. Jin wanted to impress her. He wanted to show her how responsible he could be. How she could depend on him to provide for her. He was still holding onto that daydream of someday getting married and maybe even raising a kid together. It was just a fantasy and he knew it was a little much, but it made him happy.

A soft chiming sound came from the bedroom and made him pause in his steps. He had just been on his way to try to gently wake her up. Jin heard Neneko's soft, whispery voice greet someone and he frowned. Running a hand over his hair, he hesitantly began to approach the open doorway.

She was sitting up in bed, her lips drawn into a look of displeasure as she listened to whoever had so rudely called her and disturbed her sleep. "I hope you realize that making such a request…will not come at a small price. What you are asking of me is quite a sizeable amount of translating. Under normal circumstances, this type of job would normally demand a price of at least-"

The blond man tensed when her eyes lifted and met his. Having those sharp violet eyes solely on him made his heart skip a beat and he rubbed the back of his neck, starting to feel a little flustered. He wanted to be next to her, but he was hesitant. She was on the phone and, as badly as he wanted to just cuddle with her, Jin did not want to come across as clingy.

Neneko's face began to turn from its normal pale shade to a faint pink and she lowered her head. "Yes…I will assist with the translations. I will require at least an hour in order to get prepared. You rather rudely disturbed my sleep for this…so I believe further compensation can be expected. Additionally, I will be bringing him with me. Yes, I understand. I will see you shortly."

Seeing her end the call, Jin decided that now was the time to sit on the edge of the bed. "What was that about?" He reached for his cigarettes on reflex and anxiously fidgeted with the pack.

She chewed at her thumbnail, still keeping her head bowed. "That…was Giran-san. He requested my aid in some…communication attempts…for Shigaraki. I agreed to translate the documents and I will be compensated for my time. I wonder…if it would not be too much trouble…could I perhaps impose upon you and ask that you accompany me?"

"O-of course!" he immediately blurted out. Putting a hand over his mouth, he hunched forward a little and furrowed his brow. I…have to calm down. How can I stay calm when there's such a cutie in my bed?! I just wanna grab her-! Shut up! I can't…deal with this. I feel like I'm going to-!

Arms wrapped around him in a gentle embrace as Neneko pressed against his back. Her forehead rested against the back of his shoulder, her warm breath gliding over his bare arm and making him feel kind of tingly. "N-Neneko, I'm sorry," he mumbled, lifting a hand to rest on top of the delicate, pale hand on his chest.

"You…have nothing to apologize for. Jin, I rather enjoy your enthusiasm," she assured him.

"I made breakfast. I don't know if we have time to eat, but…"

Shift P.O.V

Neneko had never had someone cook for her, other than her mother when she was a child. None of the men she had dated in the past ever cooked for her. They barely even cooked for themselves.

The first time Jin made food for her, she was amazed and extremely grateful. This time was no different. Following him out to the main room, she covered her mouth to hide a bright smile. Lavender chamomile tea, perfectly browned toast, and a jar of strawberry jam. Simple, but beyond thoughtful.

She truly appreciated everything that he did for her, but there was little time for her to enjoy the meal. Neneko did drink the tea and had a piece of toast, expressing to him how grateful she was that he had done this. As much as she wanted to just remain in the hotel room with him all day, talking as they had the previous night, she knew she had to hurry to Giran's office.

The man had presented an interesting opportunity to her. During the previous evening, when she had been teaching Toga some simple English, she came to a startling realization. Giran knew about Toga's lack of communication with her parents. He had even known where Neneko lived when he first approached her.

It only made sense that he most likely kept a file with all of the names of the villains in the League. Their true names as well as bits about their background. Any good employer would do this. Kurono had once mentioned that even Chisaki had a small collection of information on the strongest members of the Shie Hassaikai.

Her sleepwear was changed out for a knee-length skirt and a t-shirt. A casual outfit that would by no means draw someone's attention. She was both glad and anxious to have Jin go with her to the office. He knew almost everything about her past now. Her birth name, the death of her father, the way her mother had almost immediately abandoned her when she fell in love with a foreigner.

Of course, she was hesitant to disclose information to him regarding her past lovers. It was rather embarrassing to talk about. She knew it was selfish to keep this information from him, but she was afraid that it might be terrible enough to scare him off.

Jin saw her nervously chewing at a thumbnail and frowned. Reaching over, the man's warm hand gently took hers and held it. He looked exhausted, but when their eyes briefly met, a warmth rose to his face. "Is everything okay?"

I need to reassure him. If he begins to feel like he's splitting…Neneko gave him a nod. "Yes. I just…have a lot on my mind at the moment. There is something important that I need to discuss with Giran-san today so I need to collect my thoughts."

"What…kind of stuff? No. You don't have to answer that. I didn't mean to sound nosey."

"No. Jin, I will tell you. That was…not nosey, in the least." Neneko's lips drew into a timid smile as she moved closer against his side. "My intent…well…I suppose my intention is to insure the safety of my past clients. What I intend to ask Giran-san is to have my old name listed in his files so that, on the chance that files are discovered by the authorities, none of the small businesses that I worked with will be tied to the villain "Sorrow"."

Jin's free hand moved to his pocket for his pack of cigarettes. Sliding one between his lips, he reached for his lighter. "Your past clients?"

"Yes. To put it simply, if someone were to see the name "Kuroiwa Neneko" linked to this group…they may attempt to dig up information on me. They could potentially come across the businesses I have worked with in the past and that could result in them being investigated or accused of working with villains. My intent is to prevent that from happening."

"That's…really nice of you. I didn't think about that." He looked down at her for a moment and a small smile began to form.

His smile…is so genuine. Not at all forced. Neneko felt her heart seem to flutter and she lowered her head. "Yes, well…thank you. Jin, you are very sweet. Your words…mean more to me than you can imagine."

She wanted to say more, but it was difficult to express herself properly. His smile, his kind words, the warmth of his hand still holding hers. It was all so much. It made her heart feel like it was swelling with happiness, despite her current situation. Just being outside put them both in danger, but thoughts of that were momentarily overshadowed by the feelings of love.

Giran greeted the two in his dimly-lit office with a less than reassuring smile. "Glad you made it. I heard you had some trouble yesterday."

Neneko accepted the documents to begin her translation and frowned. Sitting on the couch with Jin beside her, she fixed her gaze upon the shady broker. "Where did you hear such gossip?"

"Dabi. Said he was pretty busy last night, too. Cleaning up some trash your old client sent after you." Giran lit a cigarette and stood in front of his desk, leaning back against the edge. He looked at Jin for a long moment, smirked, and shook his head. "I've gotta say it was a good move, though. Really drove home the point that Sorrow's got someone's protection."

She was sorting through the pages, trying to get them in order. Her eyes were no longer on Giran. "I suppose his intention is to attempt to make me owe him."

"He probably would've said something to you instead of me, don't you think? Anyway, since he took care of all the guys your buddy sent, that should keep things calm for a while. If that guy thinks you're under the protection of someone with a lot of power, he'll back off. So. What's the story? Why does he want you so badly?"

Neneko bit her lip and straightened the pages in her hands. They were settled on the arm of the couch and she opened the notebook provided by Giran. "To be perfectly honest…I'm quite glad that you brought this up. I have certain…sensitive…information that one might consider rather valuable. Information that involves contacts for quirk-boosting drugs as well as weapons dealers and…information on the workings of his organization."

Giran nodded, his smirk growing. "I see. So he just wants to keep you quiet, right? Or is this something more than that?"

"I was offered a position with his organization and I politely refused." She caught Jin looking her way and set a hand on his knee in reassurance. "You must keep a file on each member of our group, correct? I thought I might make a trade. I can supply you with the name of a contact I'm certain Shigaraki could use and you will change Sorrow's name from "Kuroiwa Neneko" to "Hitokoe Nageku"."

He took an inhale from his cigarette and mulled over the offer. Finally, Giran grinned. "How about this? I'll change your name, but I want you to introduce me to this contact personally. I want a weapons dealer that can supply the League with some high class stuff. I'll bring you and Compress with me."

Jin's hands curled into fists and he tensed up. "Wait a second, I don't-! I don't want her to go somewhere dangerous! Take me, too!" Stress was quickly building up and he glanced from Giran to Neneko. He lifted a hand, fingers threading into his hair and tugging a bit as he struggled. "She's…smart and she can take care of herself! I know that, but-! Don't take her somewhere dangerous!"

Neneko's hand moved from his knee to his forearm. She gave a gentle squeeze, trying to quietly reassure him. "Jin…everything will be fine."

"No! Neneko, I don't want you to go without me!"

"Bubaigawara, you're not right for this kind of job. She'll be fine. Compress and I will be there; we won't let anything happen to our little siren." Giran's words only seemed to make things worse.

"No way! I can't let her go!" He gritted his teeth and slouched, eyes tearing up and sweat beading on his forehead. "I can't-! I know she's smart enough she can take care of herself! She's a…strong, independent woman! I have to protect her! I can't let her go there! Shut up! She'll be fine!"

The translator leaned over and wrapped her arms around him. She ignored the smug way Giran looked at them, doing her best to help Jin calm down. Words seemed to have no effect. She simply held him until he grew less tense and finally turned his head to look at her. "I promise…that I will return safely."