In Which A Spy (Loner) Becomes A Father And Tries To Raise A Family

Japan.

While it was a country known by most people for its picturesque tourist attractions like Mount Fuji and their various shrines, scrumptious delicacies like ramen and sushi, popular media such as anime and manga; to the global leaders of the business and political ladder, Japan was more known as an international level threat.

Despite the country's claims of only establishing a military force for the sake of defending the nation, Japan's overall combat capability was terrifying.

Had it not been for the fact that Japan vowed not to develop strategic class weapons then it could easily be a global superpower. Perhaps, even the top.

You could even go as far to say that the reason that people all around the world are enjoying the peace they have now is because of Japan and the stance that they're currently taking.

If the powerful countries like America and China ever commit extensive resources for a war, Japan could easily go out and claim the world for their own at that point.

Given Japan's technological level and rich resources, it could easily develop strategic class weaponry in secret and all the other nations would be none the wiser.

Of course, Japan itself knows how much they are really capable of.

Thus, the sentiments in the political board are divided into two factions; the Traditionalists and the Revolutionists.

The former advocates for the keeping of the status quo in order to not aggravate the other countries whereas the latter wants to accelerate military growth and claim their rightful place as the most powerful nation in the entire world.

Because of which, the country's current state was that of either keeping the peace of the entire world or holding the trigger to spark another global war.

It would have been laughably easy to just eliminate the opposition but doing such violent acts in these modern times would not earn the support of the people.

As such, the best that these politicians could do was something along the lines of secret maneuvering.

The soldiers… Were not the heroes in these battles.

It was the spies.

Extracting blackmail material, keeping a hostage as a bargaining chip, leaking/obtaining top secret information and etc.

Over the course of years, these were the kinds of dirty work that spies accept in order to try to discourage the Revolutionists from gaining more ground in the political board.

Their noble sacrifice has allowed Japan to continuously maintain its state of neutrality for the longest time.

They were unsung heroes and nameless shadows.

Among the spies on the top, one name brought terror to both allies and foes alike.

Codename: Equinox.

Rather than a man who possessed a myriad of faces, this spy was a person who was practically invisible.

He was like air.

Stealth came to him naturally.

He didn't need to hide, it was you who needed to try and find him.

While having this trait of his did not allow the most blissful of childhood memories...

It sure came in handy with this line of work.

In the next second, in what was supposed to be the most heavily guarded area of a research facility suspected to be involved in prohibited military research, the bodies of the smartest minds of this organization lay flat on the floor.

Not dead… Just unconscious. After all, their intelligence will still prove to be of high utility provided that it delved on more legal bodies of knowledge.

While they were lying on the floor however, the main computer of the room was busy processing commands executed from the keyboard.

A young man of medium build and slightly above-average height wearing a set of jet-black clothes, a mask as well as goggles was operating the entire machine. He was currently transferring all the data possessed by the entire building into one portable storage device while simultaneously deleting everything on their system including their back-ups and other hidden files.

It was a meticulous process that would've taken a couple of hours had the one doing this work wasn't this person in particular.

It would've been way easier and faster to perhaps just blow everything up with a bomb but like earlier, he didn't want to kill if he could help it. At the same time, these physical assets still have a lot of value provided that they were once again used in more appropriate research. Also, it would attract needless attention and might even end up lowering the standing of the Traditionalists.

After numerous clicks and beeps, the file transfer was finally completed and in a similar way to how he appeared out of nowhere, Equinox vanished without a trace.

Shortly thereafter, a man in his late twenties who wore the attire of your everyday corporate worker walked along the flow of people moving outside the facility. He had pitch-black hair just like any other average person. His eyes shared the same shade as his hair and if one peered closely, you are treated to a glimpse of the bottomless abyss of secrets that spies are privy of.

If there was one thing that made him look a little unique than others then that would be the little ahoge that refuses to cooperate with the rest of his hair. He had to opt for a more unkempt hairstyle in order to not make said ahoge look too out of place.

It was only after he was out of the coverage of any potential tracing equipment did he decide to use his voice communication device which was disguised as an ordinary wireless earphone.

"Mission Complete. The portable storage device is also secure. I am currently heading to the rendezvous point as we speak. ETA T-20 minutes."

Equinox gave his report in his usual husky voice. Hearing it even once would immediately bring you to the conclusion that he was a person who didn't talk when it was not needed.

In contrast to his monotone manner of speaking, the voice on the other side of the communication side was way too bright and cheerful.

"Copy that, Equinox. When you arrive, please head to the lockers first and grab all the stuff inside it, then leave the portable storage device inside. One of our collaborators will meet you on the way and hand you the key of the locker. You will be getting on the next train that will arrive on the station. Please look out for another one of our collaborators once you get to your seat."

"Roger."

He was about to end the call there. After all, that was the most logical thing to do since he already gave his report but the one on the other side however had different plans.

"So senpai what kind of drink would you like to have while on the train?"

Senpai. That was how his handler, Isshiki Iroha called him.

The two of them trained together as spies in the past where Equinox was indeed the senior between them.

It was found out later that his current handler was more adept at data analysis and human resource management than actually doing a spy's job so she was ordered to change career paths instead.

Though several years has already passed since then, her calling him senpai just sort of stuck and he wasn't too bothered by that fact enough to correct her.

"Just coffee please."

"How sweet?"

"Black."

"Extra sweet then. Gotcha."

It was here that his handler decided to end the call one-sidedly.

Exasperated, Equinox clicked his tongue.

This exchange too was one they had countless of times before and every time he asked for black coffee he'd end up getting the sweetest nectar in the planet.

Iroha says that having the gap where someone as serious as him actually preferred drinking his coffee to be sweet would earn him more friends. He didn't believe her. The only thing he was getting at this rate was diabetes.

The rendezvous point was the business class section of a bullet train heading for a city outside of Tokyo. Had it not been for the noise-cancelling feature added on to his communication device, Equinox would have had more difficulty in following his conversation with his handler amidst the loud sounds of heavy machinery and people chattering about.

As he sat on his chair and cast his gaze on the people going about the station, one of the staff members of the train approached his seat while pushing a cart with a cup of coffee and a sandwich.

"Your order, sir."

"Thank you."

Though he was indeed famished, he didn't recall ordering anything just yet.

Despite that, he knew that this food was indeed for him after a quick scrutiny of the items on the tray.

Upon putting on the napkin, he spotted a little memory card hidden underneath it and he dexterously grabbed it, inserted it into his phone and went along as if he was just browsing through the web like any other person in the modern times with one hand while the other dealt with his food.

There was only one file on the given card and when he opened it up, it just happened to be a research journal. He then took a peek at the coffee that he already expected to be sickeningly sweet to spot a latte art with the shape of the letter S.

"Hmm, Code S, then…"

Equinox murmured to himself before he began to work on decoding the message hidden on the journal.

Hello, Agent Equinox. Or should I say, good evening?

Good work on your latest mission.

Thanks to you, even if the Revolutionists managed to take the majority in the political board, they won't be able to do anything because you've deleted all of their weapons data.

You have done a great service to Japan and concurrently, the whole world.

This may seem sudden but here is your next mission.

Your target is Shiromeguri Shirogane.

While he is not a member of the political board, in terms of net worth, he is the richest businessman in the entire Japan that deals with all kinds of military weaponry.

Among all other businessmen on the same trade here in this country, he is the one with the most likely connections from other countries pertaining to strategic class weapons.

Your mission is to get close to him and investigate his sources so that the agency can crack each location down.

To accomplish this, your first step is to…

…Get married and have a child.

That one exact line got Agent Equinox to choke on his food.

*cough* *cough* *cough*

For the time being however, he decided to withhold any further reaction from his side in favor of reading through the entire document on his phone.

Shiromeguri Shirogane is a cautious man. So cautious, in fact, that he rarely ever makes appearances in public if he doesn't have to.

According to our intel, the only time he's known to regularly show his face are the get-togethers held occasionally at his son's prestigious school, Elysium Academy.

These also function as social gatherings for all the biggest players in politics and business not only of this country, but even the world.

You are to have your child enroll in this school so you can infiltrate these meetings.

Furthermore, as there is a deadline for enrollment…

You have one week.

Equinox had to keep massaging his head as it throbbed the more he continued reading through his new mission's details.

"Seven days to have a kid? Does HQ have no understanding of Human Biology or what?"

So came Equinox's murmured complaint. He would like nothing more than to snap the phone he was holding into two but that would draw way too many eyes on his direction so he refrained from doing so.

The fact that he was still only around the midpoint of the journal did not do him any favors.

After a round of steady breathing, Equinox decided to continue reading while an infinitesimally small part of him was still hoping that this was all just a cruel joke from HQ though he wouldn't count on it.

This is Operation: Rising Sun.

This plan will be the key to securing that the Revolutionists will not be able to get their hands on highly advanced military technology and consequently maintaining the peace of the entire world.

We understand that your skillset might not be the best match for this kind of mission but as all our other agents are being tracked relentlessly by the secret police, you whose never left a single trace and is always practically invisible is the only one left we can rely on.

Furthermore given your innate nature, it is much easier for you to play the role of someone who's always been there but is just never noticed.

You agents are the heroes behind the scenes.

No one could even hope to understand your efforts in preserving the peace of the world however…

Never forget that it is through these sacrifices of yours that people all over the world get to enjoy their normal everyday lives.

As he finished reading that one line in particular, Equinox's gaze was drawn to the other passengers of the train.

A family of three whose only child kept giggling while he was sitting on his mother's lap…

A loving old couple wherein the wife carefully poured tea over her husband's cup…

A group of six or so students laughing around as they made fun of whatever they saw that was even remotely amusing…

A middle-aged adult who seems to be having a call with one of his distant loved ones…

Equinox took all those sights in and made a deep breath.

"Fine then…"

For the sake of peace, he has chosen to accept all kinds of missions ranging from raids, infiltrations, hacking, theft and even murder.

This time around he was just being asked to raise a family of all things.

While it was several steps of difficulty lower than his usual array of missions, since he was apparently the only one that HQ can rely on then he'll take it.

"I accept this mission."

After all, how hard can raising a normal family even be?

…

Chiba, Japan.

While the capital city Tokyo has become the country's stronghold for its commercial and political sectors, this city has adapted in the changing times and has opted to become the nation's spearhead in other pursuits such as education and fine arts.

As such, it now houses one of the world's most prestigious schools.

Elysium Academy.

A school which houses the best of the best teaching faculty even by global standards.

It was normal for schools to be the best in the nation in at least one area, be it a sport, a subject or even something more traditional like plays and such.

Nevertheless, ever since the school's founding, all of its students consistently held the top 1 rank on everything.

From the more theoretical side like Science quizzes to the more classical side like theater plays and even the more modern pursuits like e-sports, Elysium Academy students always stood at the top of every field.

That was why it was normal for parents to push their child to pass the Elysium Academy entrance examinations.

After all, the graduates of Elysium Academy are simply the best of their generation.

Following that logic, all previous alumni of said school have either held the most important positions in the government or have founded the most successful business enterprises in the century.

That was why this mission was the cornerstone of peace for the entire world.

After all, this will now allow the Spy Organization WISE which Equinox is affiliated to, to have a solid foothold in this academy.

The intel which could be extracted from the students, faculty and even occasionally the parents themselves would be worth its value in gold.

But that would be Equinox getting ahead of himself.

He still needed to find a child to enroll to said school first.

Like any other city in the world, Chiba was not only composed of the main urban district.

In the outskirts of the city, lay the more decrepit areas of Chiba.

The homeless, the criminals who are in hiding, those who possess absurd debts, drug addicts, basically everything that the city did not want the public to know about are all isolated in this area.

In this region, one man in a proper green suit and checkered tie was strolling about. Despite looking so out of place in this area, he moved past everyone almost unobstructed as every single person seems to not have even registered his existence.

His name was Hikigaya Hachiman but to those who work in the same trade as him, he would be Agent Equinox. In this identity, he was working as a psychiatrist.

As to why he was in this district of all places then that was because he was looking for something.

In order to flawlessly play the part of someone who had a family all this time, it was imperative that his child would be taken from a place off the books.

Had he went to a more proper orphanage, the staff at Elysium Academy would find it suspicious that he adopted a child just days before the enrollment after perusing their records.

But if it came from a place like this…

He wouldn't have to worry about it too much.

As such, this was the best option.

"Hah? You wanna adopt a kid?"

A short middle-aged man with an untidy mustache, red cheeks caused by drinking alcohol, breath that reeked of booze and a conspicuous beer belly answered the door after Hachiman rang the doorbell.

"Yes, you see…"

"Sure, come in and pick whichever you want…"

"Wha..? Well, alright then."

While it bothered him a little that all his efforts in preparing for a cover story and all that went down the drain, the fact that he had to say one less lie more than made up for it.

The interior of this orphanage was as decrepit as it appeared from the outside.

Broken floorboards, leaking ceiling, moss-covered sofas and carpets, the putrid smell of urine, presence of rats and cockroaches crawling around on the corners…

It was a rough environment to live in and what made it worse was the fact that this is actually one of the better houses still standing in this poor region.

But Hachiman did not lose sight of his goal. Even as he noted every detail of the house, he was always most focused on the children.

After all, who he picked here would be the pillar of his entire mission. As such, he needed to be very meticulous in his selection process.

"Um, I'm looking for a child who can read and write, if that's okay with you…"

"That so? Then I know just the one."

They walked deeper into the orphanage up to another room where there were noticeably more little girls than boys.

"Hey! Komachi!"

The one who responded to that was a little girl with short black hair that barely even reached her shoulders and blue-gray eyes which hid an enormous pool of curiosity.

"…"

Hachiman had no complaints with her physical appearance. By that, he didn't mean that he found her cute or anything. He simply meant that given the appropriate garments, she could easily pass off as the child of an upper-class family.

It also helped that they have the same hair color and she even had an ahoge that refused to cooperate just like his own. Though they did differ in the eye color, he could easily just chalk that off to the mother who is apparently dead, well, according to his cover story at least.

There was one issue though.

If I recall correctly, Elysium Academy enrollees start at age six so…

"Um, excuse me, but…"

Before Hachiman could finish his line however…

"Six!"

Came the girl's response but Hachiman remained doubtful.

But if you take the height into account…

As he came up with that thought, the girl also began to stand on her toes to try to boost her height by even a single centimeter.

"…"

Though that strange act made Hachiman raise one of his brows in suspicion, he didn't pay that much attention to it and instead diverted his focus towards something more important.

The only question now is how smart this girl is. Though I could always help her in that regard, it would be best if she is already a bit bright beforehand.

Once again, before Hachiman could properly voice out his thoughts, the little girl already took action.

She went to a nearby table and grabbed the newspaper that was lying around.

It was a relatively old volume dating even a few years back. With the advent of technology, the newspaper industry was nowhere near as popular as it was in the past, especially given the option of just reading online news instead. Regardless, what was important here was not the news headlines but the crossword puzzle section of the paper.

"A crossword? Isn't that a bit too difficult for a child?"

It's trivial for me, of course.

As Hachiman thought of each answer on his head, the little girl also began writing the words on each respective area until she eventually managed to answer everything.

Wait. She got it all?!? Seriously?!?

If that was the case, there was now no question for her intelligence.

"I'll take her!"

Hachiman then approached the caretaker and asked.

"Now about the paperwork…"

"I don't need that. Just take her and leave already."

While that certainly helped his case, he also expected for this kind of development to occur. It was the main reason why he went through the trouble to come to this part of the city after all.

Hachiman then leaned down and matched his eye level to the little girl that he was about to adopt.

"Is this alright with you though?"

The girl nodded vigorously upon hearing Hachiman's inquiry.

Spy… Mission…

Even for Japan's No.1 Spy, he would not have guessed that the girl he just adopted…

So exciting.

…Turned out to be an esper.

Known as Subject 008, she, alongside several other children who had undergone a series of cruel experiments, had the power to read minds.

She was created by a mysterious organization in the past where she later escaped their facility.

Since then, she's moved from place to place seeking shelter until she finally ended up being taken by Agent Equinox right here.

It was a most unlikely yet fitting combination.

"Listen up, little lady."

"Komachi."

"Okay, listen up, Komachi."

The new father-daughter pair walked back to their new home as they talked.

"Starting today, you're my daughter but to everyone else, you've always been my daughter. Got it?"

Komachi's ahoge bobbed up and down following the nodding motion of her head.

"Yes."

"And you should call me Father."

The rascal however had a different plan.

"Papa!"

"That will do."

Like so, Agent Equinox AKA Hikigaya Hachiman now secured the prerequisite requirements of his mission.

A child.

Now then, while I did manage to procure a copy of the entrance exam questions, let's see how well she does on a general exam first before we resort to doing that.

Hachiman inadvertently cast an expectant glance towards his daughter's direction.

Given how she managed to fill-in that crossword however, she'll probably do well in the language subject at least...

However, the thoughts that Komachi heard from her new father only made her break out in cold sweat.

Eh? Test?!?

At that time, both the spy and the esper had no idea that this was going to be a prelude to great difficulty for the two of them.

Only time can tell whether their bond as father and daughter will come out stronger in the end or will everything just go poof once Agent Equinox accomplishes his mission objectives.

…

Much like how WISE is one of many organizations that manage the nameless heroes called the spies, there are also other groups which exist who control professionals with a different set of skills from those of spies.

What they do have in common is the fact that they both work covertly…

Well, to a certain extent, at least.

*clack* *clack* *clack*

The clicking sounds of wooden sandals making contact with the ceramic tiles echoed out on the lobby of a certain luxurious hotel in Chiba.

The source of which was a lone woman with long black hair wearing a black yukata with red flower petals. Though a mask in the shape of a fox covered her face, it was easy to tell from the way she carried herself that she was a most elegant woman. The term Yamato Nadeshiko was probably coined in order to describe her. Had the setting not been a hotel lobby but an open field graced with the light of the moon, the scene would've looked like a divine being's messenger was about to deliver the words of the heavens to the innocent mortals.

While the security personnel, a group composed of six bodyguards wearing blacks suits, thought it was strange for one woman to be on her own at such a late time, what they failed to take into account was that if she wore wooden sandals all this time, they could've heard her approach from a mile away and yet they've only noticed once she was already around ten steps away from where they stood.

In other words, she allowed them to hear her approach once she was able to get this close. After all, there was nothing she should be ashamed about. Unlike the men in front of her, what she was doing was for a noble cause.

"I'm sorry Ma'am but the whole floor's been reserved."

Says one of the guards posted right before the flight of stairs while his partner…

"Hey! Did anyone call for a woman?"

…Opted to call out to their fellow guards who were stationed further back.

"Not that I know of…"

The conversation of the guards however was ignored by the lady in the shrine maiden clothes.

"Excuse me…"

A voice that was both reserved and cold rang out from the lips underneath the fox mask.

"I was told that this is where I could find a traitorous scumbag…"

The lady in the fox mask then pulled out a wooden sword sheath from out of nowhere.

"That's a..!"

Before the alerted guard could even pull out his gun, the blade underneath the scabbard was already drawn and retracted to its place in the next instant.

In the span of less than a second, one of the bodyguards already fell to the ground courtesy of a precise cut aimed at his neck's carotid artery.

"Might I ask you people to please escort me to his room?"

*Crash*

The door collapsed as the bodies of two men were hurled towards its direction.

"What's going on?!?"

On the other side of the door was one short man in a navy-blue suit surrounded by several other bodyguards who had the same getup as those the woman in the yukata dealt with earlier.

"An intruder! Run a-! Wah!"

Before the guard who seemed to be trying to escape from someone or something could even go inside the room, a throwing knife lodged to the back of his heart sealed his fate.

*clack* *clack* *clack*

The clicking sounds of wooden sandals then rang around the entire room after the death throes of one of the fallen guards.

Shortly after that, a woman in a black yukata then waltzed right into the entrance of the room whose doors have just been blown off.

Mystified would be the right way to describe what everyone who was on the same room felt but as the woman's blue eyes locked on to the only man in the room not wearing a black suit… That feeling quickly changed into fear.

"Executive Manager of the Port of Nagoya, I presume?"

She didn't need to hear the man's answer to know that he was indeed her target. His body language after hearing her question said it all.

"I'm terribly sorry but I'll be taking your life, if you don't mind…"

The woman then poised herself to draw the sword on her waist. Even underneath the fox mask, the cold light of killing intent emanating from her blue eyes chilled everyone who looked at her to the bone.

"…As well as all other men here who are guilty of protecting scum like you."

The katana traced several arcs in the air and each time it did, one man fell after another. It took her no time at all to complete the job that she was hired to do for tonight.

Codename: Sword Miko.

She was an assassin belonging to a group called the GARDEN.

At a really young age, she'd been drilled in all manner of killing techniques and she's utilized all said techniques to take on one dirty job after another at the beck and call of her employer.

As stated by her codename, she was a hitman who went on the job with a katana and a miko outfit.

The origin of the codename was apparently a joke by one of her more senior associates which the young Sword Miko at that time took seriously and it eventually stuck until today. The fox mask was simply an accessory in order to keep her face hidden from unseen witnesses such as secret cameras and the like.

Though it may appear that she is an orthodox sword user, by no means was that her entire kit. Hidden underneath her miko outfit are all manners of tools ranging from knives, poisons, darts, traps, bombs and etc. that allow her to deal with multiple targets at once or simply extend her options if she finds herself in situations where her sword cannot reach her target/s.

While the Sword Miko was virtually invincible in combat, the woman underneath the fox mask however was not.

During the day she was known to the public as Yukinoshita Yukino. She possessed long silky black hair which she kept untied and lapis lazuli-like irises. She has the habit of conducting her tasks in perfect posture and she always opts to speak in an overly formal manner. Despite her regal features and mannerisms, she was just your average civil servant working in Chiba's City Hall.

However, it was this normalcy that was causing her a predicament in the first place.

Personified, the problem took on the form of a flamboyant blonde woman named Miura Yumiko. Behind her are their two other workmates; the cheerful Yuigahama Yui who had her pink hair wrapped up in a bun and the bespectacled Ebina Hina who kept her hair short.

"Yukino-san."

The unsuspecting Yukinoshita Yukino at the time had no reason not to entertain them.

"Yes?"

"We'll be having a party at my place this weekend, Yukino-san. Would you like to come?"

While she was not really in that close terms to her blonde coworker or her other coworkers in general, Yukino had no excuse to turn down an invitation that she doesn't often get.

"If you'd have me, I'd love to come."

To Yukino that was nothing more than a polite reply she would say to any gracious invitation she would receive. To Yumiko however, it was a chance to embarrass her ever placid coworker.

"In that case, please do. Also…"

A layer of mischief was present on Yumiko's smile as she finished her statement.

"…Please bring a date."

"Excuse me?"

The rare startled expression of one Yukinoshita Yukino made the three girls snicker.

"Isn't that hurdle a little too high for her?"

Ebina Hina's most reasonable point however was fashionably ignored.

Like a shark smelling blood in the water, Miura Yumiko went in for the attack.

"Don't tell me you don't even have a boyfriend at that age? Aren't you like 27, Yukino-san?"

"Well…"

Before the ravenette could even complete her response, the happy-go-lucky Yuigahama Yui inadvertently interjected.

"That reminds me. The other day, this lady who I was living in the same apartment with was reported by our other neighbors that she was suspicious because she was living alone in her 30s. They think she was a spy or something, it was scary."

To a spy, assassin or any other person working in the underground, having a spouse and by extension, a family would only be a burden to their job. As such, people who are living on their own even after a certain age are prime suspects to be in that line of work.

As if that wasn't enough…

"By the way, Hayama-san will be present as well so you can be sure that beloved sister of yours will get to know every single thing that will happen at the party, including what kind of person your date is."

The trio of girls left a dazed Yukino after another exchange of jokes and giggles.

Despite the stoic expression that Yukino maintained on the surface, she was definitely anything but calm on the inside.

What should I do? I don't even have a proper dress for the party.

…

After Hikigaya Komachi successfully pulled through (by memorizing a portion of the questions/answers beforehand), though barely, on the written exam portion for Elysium Academy, Hikigaya Hachiman AKA Agent Equinox was now inching closer and closer towards Phase 2 of Operation: Rising Sun.

While their first few days of living together as father and daughter was certainly hell for the agent who was not used to living such a normal life, a spy was nothing if not adaptable so he somehow managed.

He quickly found out that Komachi, the girl he adopted, was not as smart as he originally thought. Though the girl certainly had her sharp moments, he was sure that what happened at the orphanage was a fluke which now begs the question of how he, of all people, was fooled by a child but he set those suspicions aside in favor of dealing with more pressing concerns, which at that time, was the preparations for the written exam.

If he knew that this kind of thing was what he would get when he accepted this mission, he would've definitely refused back then if he had the choice.

Any spy worth his salt would know that a long-term mission such as this one could not possibly be all smooth-sailing but even one of the best spies in the world did not expect that this operation's first major obstacle would come in the form of an email from Elysium Academy itself.

Information on the Secondary Exam.

The Three-Person Interview.

Of particular danger to the mission were the last two lines written on said email.

The child must attend with both parents.

No exceptions will be made.

Their current situation was summed up by a confused Komachi in one line.

"Komachi doesn't have a Mama!"

There was only one way out of this dire circumstance of theirs and by no means could it ever be described as easy.

"It can't be helped. I guess I'll get married then."

Who? When? And how? He'll deal with the particulars later.

….

The fateful meeting happened by coincidence in one renowned downtown tailor said to be frequented by high-class ladies after Equinox followed his handler's advice.

Though why Equinox was here was to have more clothes made for his daughter, Komachi, the other or you could even say main reason why he was here was to accidentally stumble upon said high-class ladies.

As it stands, he needed a woman who's fine with a child-raising widower, is elegant enough to pass off as high class and is willing to legally marry him in the next 48 hours.

Like any task, simple or complex, the first thing that one must do is identify which parts of said task are much easier to complete over the others.

Among all the three requirements, the easiest one to tick off is the second criteria so while his daughter's measurements were being taken, he was looking around for potential wife candidates while waiting.

Many married couples would look back at their first encounter with their other half and recall a warm and fuzzy feeling or maybe even a sense of excitement and surprise like when you accidentally touched something charged with static electricity while others would even say that they just fell victim to their lust and went with the flow from there.

To Hikigaya Hachiman however, what he remembered clearly…

Was a sense of danger just like how you would feel when a knife was brought really close to your neck or a gun muzzle is pointed at the back of your head.

"Excuse me!"

*shiver*

"Oh, it's been a while Yukino-chan. How can I help you?"

"Hello there. Do you have a readymade dress close to my size please? I need to use it for a certain occasion very soon."

"Why certainly! Just pick anything you like. I'll even do the necessary adjustments free of charge."

"Thank you ma'am. You're far too kind."

While the shopkeeper and the woman named Yukino were coming into an agreement, Hachiman kept an analytical sideways glance on the ravenette who appears to be a shop regular.

Did she just casually sneak behind me? Just who is she?

Equinox mentally consulted the records of all the single women in the city that he memorized by virtue of his photographic memory. This particular record was provided to him by a certain plump informant he's had the pleasure of working with for quite some time now.

Yukino? Was it?

It didn't take him that long to match her name on the records with her given physical characteristics.

Found it.

Yukinoshita Yukino.

Age 27.

No record of marriage or divorce.

Apparently descended from an affluent family in the past but has long lost their former glory as each proceeding generation became much worse than their former one.

Both parents died when they were younger and she was raised by an older sister, two years her senior.

Now the two siblings are currently working as civil servants and have a clean record so far.

Nothing seems suspicious at first glance at least.

After that quick check, Hachiman breathed out a sigh of relief.

Just an oversight on my part, huh? I've been way too relaxed lately.

Contrary to his assumption, even the fleeting gaze of someone who is normally considered invisible could not escape an elite assassin's keen senses but that was only because today of all days, the said assassin was on extremely high alert for men who were looking towards her direction.

"Excuse me…"

Equinox's spine tingled after he noticed that the woman was actually trying to talk with him.

"You've been staring at me for a while now. Do you need something?"

No way! She could tell that I was staring at her?!?

Though he was panicking on the inside, Equinox disguised it well by using a similar emotion… Embarrassment.

"Ah… Um… I'm sorry…I just thought that you were so pretty..."

While he originally thought he would earn a reprimand or perhaps even a slap from said woman especially from how strict her tone was, he didn't quite expect that what will happen next was for the same woman to close the distance between them rather suddenly.

What was even weirder was that when he took a peek at the woman's eyes, the dominant emotion was not one of wariness but was that of hope instead.

"So, are you saying that you have a positive impression of my appearance?"

"Huh? Well… Yes."

While he answered the question, Equinox's attention was focused on how this Yukinoshita Yukino closed in on him quite easily.

Silent steps… No wasted movement… All that done almost naturally… Too naturally… Could it be a coincidence? Or?

As for why the feared Sword Miko was on this shop was because of a very similar reason to Equinox.

What she needed for the coming party was a dress and a date so for the time being she thought of dealing with the easier problem first, which was the dress.

However if by some strange twist of fate she could end up finding her date in the same establishment…

"Umm…"

…She would have no complaints.

"Papa!"

Before Yukino could say her request though, a child's cry rang out in the tailor.

"They got my measurements!"

"Mm, that's good."

The one who was addressed as Papa ended up being the same man that the Sword Miko was just about to invite.

"Hmm? Who's that?"

"Just another customer."

While the father-daughter pair was having their own conversation, Yukino was sweating bullets at the fact that she almost asked a married man out.

He had a daughter! That was close. I heard that you get killed by the wife if you do something like that.

Her follow-up thought however was captured by a certain child esper.

Well in my case, I'd probably kill her first.

"Wha..!"

No, I mustn't have these thoughts or someone will find out that I'm an assassin! I need to be more normal.

Unfortunately for Yukino, there was one kid here who could read exactly what she was trying so hard to hide.

An assassin?!?

But Komachi's fears eventually faded away when she began to draft what she called a plan on her head.

A spy for Komachi's Papa and an assassin for Komachi's Mama…

At this point, she had no concept of fear anymore.

So exciting!

She was simply hungry for entertainment.

And it just so happened that the Papa and potential Mama in question were having very similar thoughts.

I was considering asking her to play the role of the wife but… Her movements feel too sharp, it's too risky.

I was considering asking him to play my date at the party but… I'd like to avoid a bloodbath… More for his wife's sake rather than mine.

At that time, Komachi had no idea that she just established a very special position for herself.

She was not going to be adopted to a family, she was the one adopting the family instead.

And for some reason, the brat thought it would be a good idea to have an assassin of all people, be her mother.

"Ah… Komachi doesn't have a Mama… It's so lonely~"

"What's gotten into you?"

The slightly panicked Hachiman lowered himself to the child's eye level to check for any sort of abnormalities only to end up finding absolutely nothing.

"Komachi wants a Mama…"

Henceforth, Hikigaya Komachi just became the world's best wingman. No, winggirl? Err… Wingdaughter? Well, whichever applies.

"Is your wife not with you today?"

"No, well, you see..."

Hachiman took one last quick inspection of Komachi before continuing.

"My wife passed away two years ago so I'm currently raising our daughter on my own."

So I can invite him without getting killed..!

As soon as Hachiman finished his statement, Yukino decided to channel all of her courage.

"Umm… Actually…"

The conversation was then moved to a nearby café after they settled everything they needed to on the tailor first.

"A pretend boyfriend?"

Yukino tried her best to hide her embarrassment through drinking a cup of tea but her red ears easily gave her away. It was clear from her mannerisms that she wasn't that used to talking with the opposite sex.

"That's right. I ended up agreeing to go to a party hosted by one of my coworkers where one of the guests there just happens to know my older sister and they said that I should bring a date for the event."

Yukino lowered her cup and then looked at Hachiman straight in the eye.

"So if it's not too much trouble, do you think you could come with me to the party?"

Hachiman gazed at the lapis lazuli orbs of the woman in front of him and could not see a speck of falsehood in her words. In contrast, the reflection of his own obsidian irises was riddled with lies on top of more lies.

"I don't have any ulterior motives at all and I'll pay you back, I promise. I just… Don't want my sister to worry too much about me anymore."

After a sigh, the melancholic look that the woman named Yukinoshita Yukino adopted in the end clearly showed how much she cared about the sibling she just mentioned.

This leaves Hikigaya Hachiman with one question.

Was he really willing to use such a sincere woman as a means to assist him in this mission?

Before he could even begin to act sentimental, his years of spy training kicked in.

Hikigaya Hachiman was just a cover identity.

His true name was and will always be Equinox, WISE's Top Agent in Japan.

What was one deception when compared to the fate of the whole world?

The end does not justify the means?

Complete rubbish.

If millions of lives are hanging in the balance, you can't afford to be too picky with your methods anymore.

In that case, there was no reason for Hikigaya Hachiman to think about this too much.

Rather, it was convenient that a woman with special circumstances was right here in front of him.

Marriage?

Unconditional Love?

Those were all ideals at best.

There are only two ways for humans to ever truly understand each other.

The first was if they had a common enemy and the other…

"Understood. I'll accept."

"Really?"

"But in exchange..."

…Is if it was an arrangement founded on mutual benefits.

A silver tongue was expected of every spy and naturally, as the best one in Japan, Agent Equinox was anything but not eloquent.

"To pose as the mother for your daughter's interview at school, is it?"

"Yes. Given the current state of the world, I think it's imperative that my daughter gets the best education possible. It was even my late wife's dying wish..!"

Both voice tone and mannerisms were deliberately done by Equinox in order to provoke the sympathy out of a serious-natured person like Yukinoshita Yukino.

"I'll only need your help just this once, please."

First, I'll get her to take on this small favor but by the end, I'll make her agree to get legally married.

Meanwhile on Yukino's side.

What a good person.

"I understand. If you'll have me then I'd love to help."

"Thank you. Then, I'll see you on the party this Saturday."

"Okay."

Neither spy nor assassin at that time however knew that this deal would lead them to…

A late night chase in the docks of Chiba.

…

Regretfully, even Japan's No.1 Spy could not be in two places at once.

That was why when an extra mission regarding a notorious smuggler group was sent his way that coincided with the party's schedule that he agreed to go with Yukinoshita Yukino, Agent Equinox AKA Hikigaya Hachiman had to try and finish the job on a rush just to barely make it in time for said party.

Because of his impatience, he not only ended up wrongly blurting out that he was Yukinoshita Yukino's husband in the party, he also endangered the same woman as remnants from that smuggler group were hot on their trail as they were just about to go home.

Worst of all, they brought with them reinforcements that were apparently connected to an organization that involved a certain Executive Manager of the Port of Nagoya who was reported to have just recently been murdered.

Though at that time, Equinox had no access to this piece of information.

As a spy, Equinox was skilled in many things as the more versatile you are as an agent, the more likely it will be for missions to be sent your way.

That was only natural. After all, he was literally one of the best spies in the world.

However if you were to ask him, he would personally say that direct combat was one of his weaker areas.

A spy should act covertly after all and direct combat was just the last resort. As the perfectionist that he was, he'd rather complete the mission without it reaching to that point.

That didn't mean he was terrible at it though. It simply meant that he wasn't the best at it in the organization, much to his dismay.

No matter how skilled of a fighter he was however, there was no way for him to come out unscathed against several armed men especially with a noncombatant in tow.

Or so you would originally think…

"Wah..!"

"Ugh..!"

"Kuu..!"

In a series of swift motions, Yukinoshita Yukino landed a palm strike on the solar plexus of one guy, roundhouse kick on another and a shoulder throw on the third one. She wasn't a top-class assassin just in name after all. She might not have her sword with her but her bare hands were more than enough to make quick work of this rabble.

"Urk..!"

"Gwa..!"

"Guh..!"

Hikigaya Hachiman who was similarly taking on three people at the same time couldn't help but be impressed.

She's barely lost her breath even after all the running around we did and taking down that many people.

After she relaxed, Yukinoshita Yukino then panicked since someone else has just witnessed her abnormal combat prowess firsthand.

"It's not what you think, I'm just very good at self-defense. My older sister taught me."

To this, Hachiman just graciously smiled.

"I see. You really got them good, Yukino-san. Hahaha."

"Yeah, I got them real good, Hachiman-san. Hahaha."

That carefree exchange however lasted very briefly.

"There they are! Fill'em with lead!"

*Ratatatatatata*

"Yukino-san, this way!"

"Yes!"

Thanks to Equinox's superb memory, he was able to memorize the layout of the entire cargo maze and use that to his advantage to shake off the gunmen.

"Is it really alright that we're taking out these people like this?"

It took Equinox exactly one second to come up with a semi-plausible excuse.

"Ah you see, one of the parents of my patients today that I diagnosed to have a mental condition did not receive the news too well so they decided on calling the services of an armed group like this to teach me a lesson because they considered what I said to be an insult to their family when I was just here doing my job."

Hachiman had to check carefully whether she thought he was lying or not but judging from the glimmer of her eyes…

"Isn't that dangerous?"

…She bought everything.

It's a good thing that she's an idiot.

"Don't worry, I'm used to it. This kind of thing happens once every few months after all."

Needless to say, this was a lie.

"Rather, I'm very sorry for getting you roped into this too."

"No, no, it's quite fine. Being a doctor must be rough, huh?"

He'll worry about the consequences of this lie later because right now…

They were surrounded.

"Yukino-san, can you still run?"

Judging from her ease of breathing, she definitely still could but Hachiman wanted to ask just in case.

"Yes. No problems here."

"Then, can you please follow my lead?"

The act of relying on someone else other than her sister was foreign to Yukino but when she gazed at the eyes of Hachiman in front of her, something within her was compelled to trust him.

The fact that he tried his best to make it to the dinner party earlier just because of a promise he exchanged with a stranger was enough for Yukino to think that the man in front of her was reliable at the very least.

"I understand. Please take the lead, Hachiman-san."

"Alright, follow me!"

"I found them!"

*Ratatatatatata*

"Yukino-san, duck!"

"Yes!"

Utilizing his memory once again, Hachiman guided the two of them to weave around the enemies which surrounded them until they eventually got out of the encirclement and it was the gunmen who were now gathered in one place.

Now then if I remember correctly…

It was not only the layout of the docks that Hachiman memorized, it was also the faces, equipment and even some of the mannerisms of the armed men.

One particular member of the group possessed an item that could get the two of them out of this sticky situation.

There!

Hachiman immediately pounced on his target once he saw him out of position.

"Ack..!"

A singular blow to the chin was instantly lights out for said guy. At that small interval, Hachiman quickly grabbed the item he was looking for and was about to resume running again when…

"He's here!"

A gun was suddenly pointed on his direction, much faster than he anticipated.

It would've been easy for him to dodge had he been alone but because there was a woman behind him he couldn't just…

"Hachiman-san, get down!"

"Eh?!?"

His body moved before the call of his name was even properly registered on his brain and in the next second, a swift gust of wind came and struck the same guy that Hachiman just attacked and sent it flying to the gunman who was about to shoot.

"Wha..!"

That breeze was courtesy of one clean roundhouse kick by Yukinoshita Yukino.

"Thank you, Yukino-san."

By impulse, Hachiman grabbed Yukino's hand and dragged her over to another barricade before…

*Ratatatatatata*

Another shower of bullets was sent their way but despite the roaring sound of guns being fired and the smell of burnt sulfur in the air, Yukinoshita Yukino was focused on the hand that held her own real tight.

It reminded her of how her own sister held her hand like this in the past every time they had to go outside of their house.

While physical contact with other people was always something that bothered her, she didn't seem to mind holding on to this man's hand at the moment.

Was it perhaps because they were being chased around by a couple of gunmen? She wasn't quite sure.

It did however made her certain of one thing.

This man is most likely the only person that can accept me as who I am now…

As a certain desire crystallized on Yukino's heart, the said man's concentration was locked onto the positioning of all the enemies on the other side of the barricade.

The sudden counteroffensive that they mounted prompted their enemies to be more cautious of their approach to the two as they also kept increasing the distance between them by hopping off to one blockade to another while avoiding the hail of bullets being peppered to them.

Alright. Time to finish this.

But before Hachiman could take action, the woman he was accompanying made yet another surprising move.

"Umm… Hachiman-san?"

"Yes?"

"I know this isn't the best time but…"

Even though he responded in order to tell Yukino that she had his attention, Hachiman did not keep his eyes off of the enemies after them.

"…Can we get married?"

That statement however easily disrupted Hachiman's concentration and made him slip. Fortunately, Yukino was strong enough to drag him towards the closest rampart where they could take cover.

"Excuse me?!?"

"No, I mean as an extension of your condition. You see, apparently an unmarried woman like myself draws suspicion so as a kind of camouflage, what I'm saying is…"

When he saw the blushing expression of Yukinoshita Yukino who normally gave an aloof impression, Hikigaya Hachiman would be lying if he said he wasn't captivated of her for even one second.

Even Yukino herself had no idea where in her head she was pulling out this spontaneous confession from.

"Instead of just the one time for the interview, would you mind if we stayed together?"

Of course since that was Hachiman's plan originally then he had no reason to refuse…

"It works for both of our mutual benefits!"

*click*

…But before Hachiman gave an answer though, the sound of a loaded gun redirected his attention.

"Careful now, we don't want them getting another one of us out of commission. We almost got them cornered, we can take our time."

"Copy that, boss."

From how loud their footsteps and voices are, Hachiman was able to draw one conclusion.

It was now game over…

…For those men, that is.

"Then, let's stop by the city hall on the way home and make it official."

"Right now?!?"

"No time like the present."

Hachiman then cast a brief glance on the item that he was clutching on his left hand.

It was the same one he took from the guy that he just pounced on earlier.

It was a grenade.

In the next second, he pulled the safety pin and tossed it over to the gunmen while simultaneously grabbing Yukino and dragging her towards another hiding spot a little further back.

When they got behind the cover, Hachiman was now kneeling in front of Yukino and grasping her left hand.

"Yukino-san…"

Hachiman took out the grenade pin and inserted it on Yukino's ring finger.

"In sickness and in sorrow… No matter what kind of trouble awaits us…"

At this point, Yukinoshita Yukino would be lying if she said that her heart didn't flutter when an ikemen approached her this passionately.

"Let's help each other."

Her lips already gave her answer before her brain even completely processed the fact that a man just proposed to her.

"Yes."

The two's inner thoughts however were much more different than what you would expect from a couple who was just about to get married.

So that I can complete my mission...

So that I can continue working as an assassin…

Even so, that didn't change the fact that they have well and truly tied the knot.

*boom*

A bright flash of light and thunderous noise courtesy of an exploding grenade followed as the spy and assassin exchanged their vows.

It might not have been what normal people would imagine how a proposal will go but in its own unique way, you could still describe it as romantic.

…

An outing was always the tried and tested way for a family to get to know each other better.

That holds even truer for the Hikigaya family who has not even been together for a week.

In fact, it was just earlier that the mother of the family, Yukinoshita Yukino now known as Hikigaya Yukino moved in to the same house as the father-daughter pair.

However, as Hachiman got to witness a different side to his wife and his daughter during their escapade, he only ended up with more questions than answers.

It was expected that the transition would not be the smoothest especially in the earlier days of living together but the sight in front of him as the trio dined on the same table in a restaurant confused him to no end.

His daughter, Hikigaya Komachi was relentlessly using her hands to eat the peanuts on her dish without regard for table manners.

His wife, Hikigaya Yukino on the other hand, was for some reason caressing the bladed portion of the table knife as if it was a precious artifact.

In all his years of being subjected to one arduous mission after another, never has Hikigaya Hachiman or rather Equinox have felt this hopeless.

"I seem to have committed a grave error with regards to my personnel selection…"

Japan's No.1 Spy could not help but dread the countless difficulties that he'll face in the future all for the sake of this one mission and world peace.

A family composed of a spy, a hitman and an esper.

Who could have ever thought that the key to perpetual world peace lies on this one bizarre household?

…

Several years after the Hikigaya family came into existence passed.

At an early Sunday Morning around two hours just before any ordinary family would choose to have their breakfast together, the face of a woman with long honey-colored hair was displayed on the screen of the large flat screen television mounted on the living room.

"Good morning or should I say good evening Agent Equinox…"

After the handler, Isshiki Iroha gave her greetings; she was surprised to see that the agent on the other side of the screen was not by his lonesome.

"Oh my…"

One Hikigaya Hachiman in his early thirties was carrying a child on his arms.

His child, this time. Not just legally but biologically.

"I almost forgot that you've really become a father now. Is Yukino-san still asleep by any chance?"

"Yeah. We were rotating shifts throughout the night to watch this little girl. It just so happened to be my turn during this interval."

Iroha smiled fondly at the sight of Japan's greatest agent just being a normal father to his child.

"What's this little sweetie's name?"

"Rumi. Hikigaya Rumi."

As if responding to her name being called, the baby on Hachiman's arms giggled.

"What a cute name and given who the parents are I'm sure she'll grow up to be a really lovely lady as well."

Equinox nodded in agreement to his handler's words.

"Naturally, she's my daughter after all."

"Whoa, already taking on the role of a doting father, I see. Even for you that's a bit gross, senpai."

"Get off my case."

The two shared a laugh that was not between that of a handler and agent but just of two friends.

But that lasted only for a brief moment as Equinox himself decided to shift gears.

"So does HQ have some new mission for me?"

"Not quite."

At this, Iroha shook her head while impishly wagging her index finger.

"I'm here to tell you that WISE Main HQ would like to congratulate you for your successful execution of Operation: Rising Sun."

The celebratory remarks however only made Equinox raise one of his brows.

"It's already been a long while since that's been done though…"

"It was but we're not only talking about the primary objective but the hidden secondary objective as well…"

Iroha flashed a provocative smile before continuing.

"…And knowing you, Agent Equinox, you've probably caught onto it long ago or at least had your own suspicions?"

The words hidden secondary objective made Equinox's eyes sharpen in suspicion before he ended up just sighing.

"So it was that kind of mission after all…"

"Yes. This is extremely confidential though so you're not allowed to tell others."

"Understood."

"Also, as the first agent to go through with this mission, we consider your thoughts as valuable information. Can you please cooperate? You can consider this as some sort of debriefing. Besides, we'll only be asking you one question anyways."

Equinox repositioned his child on his arms before giving his response.

"Sure. Fire away."

"Then…"

The usual playfulness on both Iroha's face and voice was replaced with that of solemn seriousness. It was the mask she put on when dealing with more important matters.

"How difficult was it to transition into a more normal life Agent Equinox, or rather, Hikigaya Hachiman-san?"

Operation: Rising Sun.

The operation name was a metaphor most often used to symbolize hope after an age of despair but its other more commonly used meaning was that of welcoming new beginnings and sure enough, a spy turning into a father fell into that classification.

The countless difficulties he faced as a father brought him unimaginably more stress than any other spy operation he has ever faced and yet…

Every time he saw that family of his smiling as they ate dinner together…

He immediately felt that it was all worth it.

"It was hell. I'd take any other mission available even if I have to risk my neck countless times rather than raise a family…"

As Equinox rocked the baby he was holding and it let out an innocent giggle, he inadvertently smiled as well.

"…But it's not all too bad."

His gaze landed on a particular framed photo that they displayed in the living room. Since it was within her line-of-sight, Iroha was also drawn to it as well.

It was the image that was taken after their real wedding ceremony where a certain demanding sibling of his wife insisted (read: forced) them to go with a western style wedding.

The photo featured him on a white suit with gold highlights and a beige tie. Beside him in a white gown with gold outlines and matching designs to his own suit was his wife, Hikigaya Yukino and in the middle was a teenage Hikigaya Komachi who wore a similar gown to her mother but just adjusted to be less flamboyant. The smiles on the three's faces clearly expressed how truly happy they were for this occasion and that they were not just maintaining appearances.

"I see. I'll put that on my report then. Thank you for your cooperation, Hikigaya-san. Until next time… Though given our circumstances in the future, something like that is pretty unlikely."

Before Iroha could end the transmission however, Hachiman interrupted her.

"Hold up. I have a proposal to make for HQ."

"Oh? Sounds interesting. What is this about?"

"While I think I'll have to retire from the frontlines given my current circumstances, there is still something I can contribute to the organization that I'm sure they'll find difficult to refuse."

Hachiman's lips had the vaguest of upward curves that couldn't help but make Iroha shiver. The number of enemies that survived after seeing him smile like that during his active days could only be counted with one hand.

Despite that fact though, Iroha's curiosity won over her sense of caution.

"Go on."

"I would like to offer myself as a new spy instructor to the organization."

It took Iroha a few seconds to comprehend Hachiman's declaration.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to be integrated with normal society already, why would you want to continue to associate yourself with the organization?"

"I technically won't be conducting spy operations anyways so as far as society is concerned, what I'm doing is something like a martial arts instructor part-time job, I'm sure HQ wouldn't mind too much about it. Besides…"

The contrast to Hachiman's evil smirk and the fact that he was cradling a baby on his arms set a whole new level of terrifying for Iroha.

"Even HQ should understand that there is still value in the insight of Japan's Former No. 1 Spy. Surely, my more than 20 years of field work plus all my other skills should be more than enough to put in to my résumé. In all honesty, I'm doing WISE a favor here."

And that was precisely why Iroha was wary.

"What's the catch?"

Hachiman, of course, expected for Iroha to comprehend the hidden meaning behind his words. He then stated his answer in monotone while wearing a bold smirk.

"It won't be cheap."

The hand that Hachiman didn't use to hold the baby drew several numerical figures in the air to show to Iroha exactly how much he was asking to be paid.

When she saw the absurd amount and how serious Hachiman looked while writing it out, Iroha couldn't help but feel a little panicked.

"What the heck is that? You're not seriously asking for a monthly salary of that much?!? Please tell me you're not!"

"Okay. I won't tell you how serious I am then."

The shameless smirk that Hikigaya added in the end irritated her even more.

"What the heck are you even going to do with that much money anyways?!?"

Hachiman looked at Iroha as if she was an idiot which only served to send her into a greater state of frustration.

"Well, I am a father now after all. I need to put food on the table for my family."

Iroha took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. The former agent in front of her has always been skilled at treading the line between seriousness and sarcasm so losing her cool could only lead to her downfall.

"Isn't your psychiatrist job already paying you good enough money for that?"

At that remark, Hachiman just shrugged.

"Komachi is quickly approaching university after all. I'd like to be able to enroll her in the best school without caring about the cost and now there's the new baby to take into account too. When I thought about it, having more money in my pocket doesn't sound too bad."

Even in parenting, Agent Equinox was still the same perfectionist he was ever been. The fact that she could see how different and how the same the spy in front of her still is made Iroha finally calm down. She was still mad though but only just a little bit.

Though it was at least enough for her to relent on this issue.

"I see. I'll bring up your opinion to the higher-ups in my earliest convenience. I'll get back to you once they've made their decision."

"Yeah, I'm counting on you. If you ever need a written formal proposal or something just say so, I'll start making it once I have more time on my hands."

"Mm, that would be helpful and will save me a lot of trouble."

And as if on cue, the face of the baby on Hachiman's hands began to distort just as the talk between the former agent and his handler was brought to a conclusion.

*sniffle* *sniffle*

"Uh oh…"

"Oh my."

"Waaaaahhhh…!"

In the next second, the wails of a baby who was still a few weeks old echoed in the Hikigaya residence.

Getting out alive while surrounded on all sides deep in enemy territory, barely disarming a bomb milliseconds just before explosion, hacking through the most sophisticated security system of a world-class bank in order to extract the bank statements of important political figures, performing parkour over a laser matrix to steal important items, etc.

None of these situations brought out the same level of panic from Agent Equinox than his crying young daughter.

"Hush, Rumi. Hush. Are you hungry? I have your milk right here with me…"

Iroha looked at the sight of WISE's best agent trying to appease his daughter for a few seconds before finally deciding to end the transmission.

"Well then, I guess that will be all for now. Good luck in taking care of Rumi-chan. Also, give my regards to Yukino-san and Komachi-chan, okay?"

"Waaaaahhhh…!"

"Will do. See you later."

Though given how overpowering Rumi's cries were, Iroha probably did not hear Hachiman's reply.

…

With the absence of the crying child, the office was now back to its usual tranquility.

Isshiki Iroha however could not immerse herself on the silence as she still had a report to finish and submit to her superior.

Even though it was technically a spy organization, since the cover-up of this building was that it was some kind of private company, the layout was very similar to that of any corporate working environment.

Following that, the chief's office was located in a room separate from all the other working staff in the building.

A tall woman with long black hair wearing standard office lady attire with a laboratory coat on the top was sitting behind the table where the label Chief was on.

She was Hiratsuka Shizuka. Codename: Tempest.

In her prime… Which includes this moment as well; she was a rare spy who specialized more on direct combat over any other secret agent at that time.

With the changing times that required more covert approaches, her network of operations became limited.

Fortunately, she possessed something that is a rare quality for a spy to have.

It was the heart to look out for others.

As such, she was transferred to support staff early in her spy career before eventually becoming the current chief in WISE's Japan branch.

While her back still faced Iroha, Shizuka decided to throw a question to her subordinate's way.

"Did the brat figure out Operation: Rising Sun's secondary objective before you told him anything?"

The term brat here of course, referred to none other than Agent Equinox.

"He sure did, Chief."

"I'd expect nothing less of him."

Shizuka then turned her chair to face Iroha. Despite being a spy, Agent Tempest was always a fan of these kinds of needless theatrics.

As much as she wanted to roll her eyes, Iroha opted to just wordlessly hand over her report to her superior which, given the latter's background as a spy, she was able to completely finish reading in around five minutes.

"Mm, I see. Well, with this, I guess we can say that the project is a resounding success."

The Chief's moment had to be cut short though because of a follow-up report from Iroha.

"By the way, Agent Equinox gave me an informal proposal before we ended the call."

"Oh? What did he want?"

"He's saying that he's willing to continue working for WISE but only as an instructor for future spies."

Hearing that made Shizuka sharpen her gaze.

"For how much?"

The intimidating aura surrounding Shizuka was enough for Iroha to unconsciously swallow her breath.

"This much."

The enraged reaction that Iroha expected the Chief to make after seeing such an outrageous price however did not come to be.

"Well, I guess around that much is the expected price. The brat clearly understands his value after all. I'll bring it up to upper management later."

"With those absurd numbers?!?"

Shizuka smirked upon seeing her subordinate's outburst.

"He could have easily doubled that price and upper management would still probably agree. The people at the top will think that those up-and-coming spies that Equinox will teach would all end up being the next generation's Equinox even though in reality, that surely won't be the case."

"Is that so?"

Iroha's doubtful look was shrugged off by Shizuka with a composed smile.

"Yeah but enough about that Iroha, who do you think we should have undergo Operation: Rising Sun next? Should we recommend it to that one particular agent with thousands of faces in the West?"

Iroha however didn't want to listen anymore and even proceeded to drop a complaint.

"Before that Chief, how about we solve our manpower issues first? We're really shorthanded on other areas, you know?"

"Eh? I'm sure it'll be fine…"

"No, it's not!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Instead of answering her subordinate directly, Shizuka decided to change the topic instead.

"By the way, I've heard that Equinox had another kid. Did you know?"

While it irked her that her superior chose to ignore the problem for the time being, the fact that she was working under her cannot be denied so she vowed to just raise this issue again to her as soon as possible.

"Yeah. In fact, I saw her while Agent Equinox and I were talking."

"Oh what's her name?"

Iroha wasn't exactly sure what made the Chief curious about the identity of Equinox's second daughter all of a sudden but she didn't see any harm in answering her question at the moment.

"She's Rumi. Hikigaya Rumi."

"Hikigaya Rumi, huh…"

The crafty smile that Shizuka didn't even try to hide only served to make alarm bells ring on Iroha's head.

"…With the blood of both Japan's No.1 Agent and a world-renowned assassin flowing into her veins, imagine just how much change that single girl would bring to Japan, no, the whole world?"

Instead of answering her superior's hypothetical question, Iroha opted to give a warning instead.

"You better stop your thoughts right there, Chief."

"Eh? Why?"

"If Komachi-chan catches on and tells both her parents about this idea of yours…"

Naturally, WISE was also made aware of the fact that Hikigaya Komachi was an esper.

The Chief's expression distorted as she pictured the pissed off Hikigaya couple storming through WISE HQ to rescue their daughter.

"You know what? You're right. Let's keep that to ourselves."

"That would be for the best, Chief."

Could they really even stop the rampage of the Hikigayas if all the agents of Japan were gathered in one place?

They probably could or rather, they should be able to however, that would still force them to commit a hefty amount of resources.

That was a risk she wasn't willing to take.

Also, in the off chance that the Hikigayas actually come out on top... And if hypothetically, their esper daughter also comes into play…

The image of the headquarters in flames with three raven-haired individuals standing on top of the rubble appeared on Hiratsuka Shizuka's head.

She thought she was way past the age of imagining grim scenarios such as this one but apparently she was wrong.

In other words, she was still young. Q.E.D.

"Japan is doomed…"

"What are you even talking about, Chief? We literally just traced all the other Revolutionists' secret channels recently. There is no way for them to recover financially after that. At least, not anytime soon."

But the subordinate's point fell into the deaf ears of her superior.

…

As Hachiman dedicated his entire being to calming his second daughter down, he felt someone's gaze lock on to his back but because he knew that it didn't possess any malicious intentions, he allowed the owner of that gaze to approach him closer from behind.

After all there were only two other people in this house aside from him and Rumi. That would be his wife and…

"Was that Aunt Iroha just now?"

…His first daughter, Hikigaya Komachi.

"Yeah."

"Mama will be mad."

Komachi's pout as well as the bomb that she dropped made Hachiman flinch.

"Geh..! We were only talking about work, though."

In response to that, Komachi's eyes sharpened.

"Hmph! Leave your explanations for Mama to scru-ruti-ti..? Eh?"

This time it was Hachiman's turn to be a little disappointed.

"Scrutinize?"

"Yeah, that one!"

"Looks like someone still needs to brush up more on her studies…"

"Papa should not change the subject!"

Hachiman's counterattack may have applied some pressure but another pout from Komachi easily turned the tables.

"Papa should head upstairs and greet Mama. Let Komachi watch Rumi for you."

The teen esper then decided to move closer to her father and extended both of her hands towards his direction indicating that he should hand over the baby her way.

He would've told her that she should just go ahead and wake up her Mama instead but judging from how she articulated her statement, she has most likely done that already.

In that case, a secret shared between mother and daughter then?

It was one of the disadvantages of being the only male in the family but not like he minded it too much. Even though he couldn't quite read minds, he was still able to extract what he wanted to know by using his wide array of skills.

"Wah..!"

When Komachi reacted with a jolt, Hachiman knew he was right on the money.

And given what day it is today…

Komachi looked more and more panicked as Hachiman was able to unveil the secret that she was trying her best to hide little by little.

"Papa's a meanie!"

"Now now you don't have to go that far."

A trace of smugness was present on Hikigaya's expression as he pacified his first daughter before he then finally decided to turn over babysitting duties to her.

"Here you go. Careful with her now."

Hachiman watched as his first daughter gave careful attention to her younger sibling while carrying her. Before Hachiman took one step to climb the stairs, he decided to throw a question towards Komachi's way.

"Komachi, are you really not worried with having siblings?"

He didn't need to say anything else for Komachi to understand.

After all, Komachi was a child he adopted originally for the sake of his mission. Though things have changed now, it was obvious that how the couple will treat their new flesh-and-blood daughter will be different from Komachi whether they intended to or not.

Despite all this, Komachi just smiled and shook her head.

"I'm not worried because I know that both Papa and Mama still love me…"

The nature of Komachi's smile then became a little cheeky.

"…I can read your minds after all."

That was right.

The family had no more secrets to hide between each other.

The reason Iroha's transmission was displayed on the living room's television set was for the same purpose.

All of them now know each other's secrets.

The father was a spy who established a family as a means for his mission.

The mother was an assassin who wanted to avoid suspicion so she can keep doing her job.

Finally, the daughter was an esper who escaped from an unknown organization's facility and desperately clung unto a stranger who she called her father in order to try and find her own place in this cruel world.

The three stuck together originally for the sake of their mutually aligned interests.

But as time went on that slowly but surely changed into something much more profound.

Apparently, even something fake had the chance to blossom into something genuine.

Conversely however, that would mean that the genuine thing could also deteriorate into something fake if they became too careless.

But he'll cross that bridge when he gets there.

Though he wasn't technically in active service anymore, how hard could relationship issues possibly be in the face of Japan's No.1 Spy.

Furthermore…

At that point in time, he wouldn't be tackling that issue alone.

His entire family will face it together.

"I see. Take proper care of your sister for me."

"Of course! She's Papa and Mama's daughter after all."

Before Komachi could even blink, a hand was already tenderly patting her head.

The hand was a little rough, likely a result of adaptation due to frequently handling rough surfaces courtesy of his real job.

And yet, the rhythmical manner in which it moved around her head was oddly comforting to Komachi. She was sure that if she was around 10% more tired, it would have sent her snoring.

"Silly girl, you're our daughter too. Don't you ever forget that."

She didn't need to read her Father's mind anymore to understand how sincere he was with his words.

"Yeah, that's true. Sorry about that…"

"Why are you even apologizing?"

While she could still hold back her tears, Komachi decided to be a little more aggressive.

"Jeez! Go to Mama now Papa, she's been waiting."

"Alright, alright. You two sisters play nice now. I'll be back with your Mama later."

"Okay, good luck… And take your tiiiime!"

Hachiman just waved back without looking at the expression of her daughter.

He knew that she was just about to cry and didn't want her father to see her face when it happens so he decided to respect her wishes.

Regardless, Komachi's insecurities will have to wait for now.

Because if he wasn't at his best, it was quite possible that he might even lose his life in the next moment.

The mistress of the household was dangerous in more ways than one after all, literally and figuratively.

After three soft knocks on their shared bedroom, Hachiman called out to the only other person that could possibly be present here.

"Yukino?"

If he had to use an animal to describe his wife then she would most definitely be a cat.

Moody, territorial and one with deadly claw/s.

Unlike a real cat however, his wife's claws were much, much deadlier and no, he didn't mean her sword, he meant her bare hands and legs.

As such, Hachiman chose to take silent and careful steps as he approached the bed he shared with his wife.

When he got one step too close however, it was here that Yukino decided to pounce.

*slam*

Even though he saw it coming, given the fact that the other side was much faster and much stronger than him, resistance was futile so he decided to just raise both of his hands in surrender as he got pinned to the wall courtesy of his own wife, Hikigaya Yukino.

To say his wife looked furious would be an understatement but as a spy, he had to try and test the waters even if he knew it would be a little risky.

"Yukino, isn't it a little too early for something like this? The kids are awake, you know?"

But given how serious Yukino's eyes looked, Hachiman knew that his joke only made things worse.

"Hikigaya Hachiman, were you talking to Iroha-san just now?"

The fact that she called him by his full name of all things, he knew that the current situation should not be taken too lightly. For now though, as he didn't do or say anything wrong, he decided to tell his wife the whole truth. Even so, that didn't mean that he wasn't a little nervous.

"It was just work-related stuff and nothing else."

Yukino's gaze sharpened as she looked out for any signs that her husband was lying.

"Then, that one conversation with Yui-san?"

Hachiman had no idea why an interaction with one of his wife's coworkers that happened a few weeks ago was brought up but he decided to answer her anyways.

"That was just me asking her how well you were managing your own work while you were pregnant."

The curve of Yukino's brows lessened after she heard her husband's reasoning but Hachiman still had a long way to go if he wanted to get out of this in one piece.

"Then, how about the one concerning Yumiko-san?"

"For the same reason as earlier."

"Ebina-san?"

"For the same reason as earlier."

"One of Komachi-chan's female sensei?"

"To consult her regarding our daughter's grades."

"The other parent at that time?"

"They were just asking how I motivate Komachi to study."

One female acquaintance was named after another and each time Hachiman gave his response, the frown on his wife's face slowly but surely disappeared…

Until he had to go ahead and open his big fat mouth.

"Are you going to ask about my female patients and all our female neighbors too?"

Needless to say that only became fuel to the fire that is Hikigaya Yukino.

"Oh, I forgot about those… Care to explain, Hachiman?"

Of course, Hikigaya Hachiman wasn't just answering Yukino's questions as they come to him; he was also trying to understand from her body language what it was that compelled her to be this angry.

She seems to be dissatisfied about something… No, worried seems like the more apt way to describe it here. As to what it is specifically… Well, there was only one way for me to find out.

"Yukino…"

"Ehh?!?"

At the window that Yukino's anger was at her peak, Hachiman took the opportunity to use both arms that were supposed to be pinned to the wall and wrap his wife in a sudden tight embrace.

He then moved his lips close to Yukino's ear and spoke in a voice filled with concern.

"…What's wrong? You're not acting like your usual self. Did I do something bad? Talk to me, Yukino."

It took Hikigaya Yukino a couple of seconds before she confessed during which she decided to snuggle deeper into her husband's chest.

"I heard that men are more likely to look for another woman during the interval where their wife is pregnant because said wife is unable to satisfy their urges. Is that true?"

Where the heck did she hear such rubbish?

But Hachiman kept that thought to himself in favor of reassuring his wife. He'll find out who it was later and once he does, there'll be hell to pay.

Hachiman then held Yukino's head with both hands and peered straight into her deep blue irises with his own pair of obsidian orbs.

"Yukino, are you going to believe the words of strangers more than your own husband's?"

"Well…"

His wife tried to avert her gaze in embarrassment but Hachiman kept her head from moving without trying to hurt her.

He knew that she still trusted him but the thing about doubt is that it's akin to mixing a small drop of ink in a pool of water. Even one meager amount could result in more than half of the pool being contaminated with the color of the ink.

It didn't help that during the first year of their marriage, the two of them kept very significant secrets between each other so he already had a precedent case.

While he expected for women to have their more sensitive days, Hachiman did not foresee that things will become this bad. He could only blame his inexperience as a husband for that matter.

"…I don't know anymore, you even forgot that today was an important day."

"Who said that I forgot what today was?"

In the next instant, Hachiman had his wife in a princess carry.

"Wha! Wait, Hachi! Put me down!"

The little nickname that she now calls him after they became officially married was music to his ears.

He then gently laid her down on the bed before going over to their cabinet.

"I was going to save it as a surprise for later but well… This kind of timing isn't too bad, I guess."

When Hachiman went ahead and opened a secret compartment in said cabinet, Yukino couldn't stop herself from commenting while raising an eyebrow.

"I thought there were supposed to be no more secrets between us?"

"This one doesn't count because it's supposed to be a surprise present."

In the next second, Hachiman pulled out the exact same yukata that Yukino uses for her job as GARDEN's Sword Miko… No, that wasn't quite right.

It was the same dress in design but its essence was much different.

"State-of-the-art WISE Prototype. Codename: Snow Flower. A multi-purpose combat suit integrated into a piece of formal wear to avoid suspicion. I suggested it to R&D and as its first proponent; I was given rights to the first prototype that they get to make."

He handed the yukata to his wife who looked mesmerized by the present.

"It's made up of a special alloy that could be weaved into fibers thereby making this yukata durable, lightweight, shockproof, fireproof, elastic, tough and etc. Basically, unless they use a nuclear warhead against you and given your physical capabilities, there's no way anyone is ever going to land even a single scratch on you."

But that wasn't all, Hachiman also handed a fox mask which was the same design as the one she uses.

"Codename: Kitsune. This mask has a voice changer, signal jammer and a built-in stealth function. All of which are there to prevent others from tracing you in one way or another."

Hachiman then grasped Yukino's hands with both of his own.

"I know you won't let me stop you from doing your assassination job but please at least me protect you in this manner."

The earnestness showed by her husband's eyes was more than enough for Yukino to understand that it was all just paranoia on her part, which all made the fact that she doubted him even more embarrassing.

"Thank you, Hachi and I'm sorry for doubting you…"

"It's okay. I totally understand but save the thanks for later. I'm not done yet."

Hachiman pulled out yet another item from the secret compartment of their cabinet and kneeled in front of his wife as he presented it to her.

"Happy Wedding Anniversary, Yukino."

"This is…"

Hachiman presented her with a sword underneath a pure white wooden sheath with a jet-black handle. Yukino's hands were immediately drawn to the weapon and she couldn't stop herself from pulling out the sword in the next second.

The katana had a smooth and elegant black blade which immediately reminded her of the onyx irises of her husband whereas said husband would instead describe the sword in a similar way he describes her wife, beautiful but deadly.

"Codename: Black Sakura. As you can see, it's a sword made with the most durable and sharpest material WISE could find without making it too heavy that it becomes unwieldy. Depending on the wielder and where you cut, it could very well rip through reinforced steel like a knife would through butter."

The strongest shield and the mightiest spear. Hikigaya Hachiman wanted nothing less for his wife who is always putting herself in the midst of danger for the sake of the greater good.

From the way Yukino was adopting the same expression she had when she was admiring how sharp the cutlery was during the first time that the three of them went out for lunch together, Hachiman could tell how much she liked his presents for her.

But apparently, she liked them a little too well.

"What should I do? How am I supposed to repay you with all these gifts you have for me?"

"You don't have to, Yukino. All I need is for you come back in this house safe and sound everyday and all of this is to increase those odds no matter how little."

But as things stand, the overexcited Hikigaya Yukino did not look like she was listening.

"Oh, I know. How about I kill someone for you using all of these three items? There was this annoying agent who called himself your rival right? If I go as early as now, I might be able to make it back in time for lunch."

"Wait, hold on, Yukino! There's no need for you to go that far!"

That however sent Yukino into a fit of confusion.

"But... But… But if I don't then my gift for you will pale in comparison…"

"Like I said… Wait a second; did you say that you had a present for me as well?"

"Mm…"

The way in which Yukino shyly nodded only served to pique Hachiman's interest.

"What is it?"

"I…"

Even when Yukino shyly averted her gaze and spoke in a soft voice, Hachiman could clearly catch what it was that she said. No, that wasn't quite right. He was sure that with his lip-reading skills he could make it out just fine even if Yukino chose to mouth out her words.

"Bought a new… Lingerie… For myself…"

"…"

It took several seconds before Hachiman finally processed what those words meant.

In what he would personally describe as a stoic expression akin to a monk trying to reach enlightenment, Hachiman closed the distance between him and his wife whereas said wife gulped while looking at her husband who she would liken to a ravenous beast that was licking its lips as it stared intently on its prey.

"By all means, that would be enough."

"A-A-Are you sure?"

While maintaining his look, Hachiman nodded before eventually positioning his lips before Yukino's ear once again.

"Definitely. I've been holding back while you were pregnant actually. Shall we get to satisfying these urges later tonight?"

He didn't need to see his wife's face to know how embarrassed she was.

"I guess… So long as it's in moderation, it's fine. We don't want another one so soon after Rumi…"

Hearing those words made Hachiman return his gaze back on Yukino's eyes while flames of fervent passion burned fiercely on his eyes.

It was still early. Very early.

But given the mood and everything else, it seemed like it really was the best time for something to happen.

Until…

"Waaaaaaahhhhh..!"

The cry from the product of their union rang out in the entire Hikigaya residence.

That piercing wail easily diffused whatever romantic atmosphere the couple had going for them.

As if that wasn't enough…

"Papa! Mama! Heeelp!"

Came the cry of their other daughter who brought the three together in the first place.

The couple exchanged glances before eventually just laughing out loud.

"Fufufu. I guess we shouldn't keep the kids waiting for too long."

"Hahaha. Yes, let's save the rest later tonight then."

After dropping one last teasing remark, Hachiman was about to get up from bed until Yukino stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"Hachiman…"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

Whenever he had to disguise himself as someone else for a spy mission, that statement has been said to him several times in the past but it was only when he heard it from this woman in front of him would his heart be moved to this degree.

At the same time, the words in response to that statement that he would've never thought he would sincerely say in this lifetime were uttered by his lips with the greatest of ease.

"I love you too, Yukino."

And before he knew it, his lips were already sealed in a kiss.