If Dabi isn't Todoroki Touya, I'll cry, probably. Anyway, enjoy the story! :D

Hawks ignored the pain of his charred wings. Bubaigawara cried at his feet, and Dabi glared at him from across the room, a maniac gleam in his eyes. Scraps of his feathers rested all over the floor.

"You nearly burnt your friend, you know." Hawks said.

"It's fine." Dabi smirked. "That instinctive lifesaving shtick is what you heroes are all about, anyway…"

"Well, aren't you sarcastic." Hawks shot back. "You sound like you knew all along… What gave me away?"

"Nothing," Dabi shrugged. "I never trusted you from the start."

"Is that so?" Hawks glanced around, evaluating his options. The situation wasn't good, what with his main weapons stripped away. He had to complete his task and make sure Bubaigawara was completely incapacitated. The man was pretty badly injured though, so really-

"LIGHT HIM UP!" Bubaigawara dove away.

"I SAID DON'T MOVE!" Hawks yelled.

Hawks barely glimpsed it in time - quick as a flash, Hawks dodged Dabi's quirk and rushed to block the exit. A quick swipe of his feather-rapier, Bubaigawara's clones were finished, and the man himself was left with a fatal wound.

"You're too fast!" Dabi screamed. "TAKAMI KEIGO!"

Hawks' eyes widened. How does he know my name…?

Dabi's eyes gleamed.

Who ARE you?

Hawks noticed Bubaigawara escape, but he didn't register in time. Dabi sent another attack at him, but this time, Hawks didn't escape in time - the blast sent him into the wall, sending it crumbling down around him. He hissed as a large block of cement crushed one of his burned wings and pinned him to the ground.

"Well, THAT really threw you off your game, huh, Keigo-kun?" Dabi approached the downed hero.

Hawks grabbed his rapier and swung at Dabi's ankles. Dabi didn't even blink as he reduced Hawks' last ditch attempt to cinders.

Hawks glared up at the smirk Dabi was sending his way.

Dabi chuckled softly, then knelt down in front of Hawks. "I bet you don't even remember me, huh? My sperm donor didn't bring me to the Commission very much, so I only talked to you twice. But still," Dabi ruffled Hawks' hair condescendingly. "It's the only time I really had a friend."

Hawks narrowed his eyes and growled. "I think I'd remember a face like yours."

Dabi's smirk faded. "I didn't use to have these scars." he said softly. "My hair was different, too."

Hawks huffed and tried to picture Dabi without his scars. He was kind of familiar. In fact, with some red hair-

Hawks gasped softly.

"So you do remember me!" Dabi laughed. "I think you were seven, last time, right? I was nine, I think. Shoto had just been born-"

"Touya?" Hawks breathed.

Dabi grimaced. "Not anymore."

"I thought you were dead!" Hawks yelled, startling Dabi. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!"

"Surprise." Dabi scowled.

"I was at your funeral." Hawks whispered. "It was closed-casket… they said you were burnt alive-"

Dabi wiggled his fingers. "I mean, that's not wrong."

"Touya- Dabi- ugh!" Hawks groaned. "I don't know what to call you anymore!"

"Dabi." he replied immediately. "But you won't have to worry about that much longer."

Hawks' blood turned to ice.

"I'm glad I got to see you again, Keigo."

Hawks closed his eyes as heat washed over him.

"Hawks."

Keigo looked up. "Yes sir?"

Commissioner Giichi looked down, stone-faced, at the small five-year-old. "Someone is here to see you."

"Mother?" Keigo brightened up immediately. He knew she wouldn't leave him here for too long-

"No." Giichi crushed his hopes without mercy.

Keigo followed the Commissioner out of his room and down the hall. Giichi led him to the atrium, then to one of the conference rooms. Giichi opened the door and herded the child inside.

"Whoa." Keigo looked up at the hero, starry-eyed. "Endeavor."

"Hawks, behave." Commissioner Giichi said. Keigo snapped to attention.

"You've trained him well." Endeavor rumbles. "Perhaps you could give me some tips for my project."

"I'm sure that could be arranged." Giichi responded diplomatically.

"Now, Hawks." Endeavor turned his attention to the young boy. "I have heard you are the strongest one here."

"Yes sir, that's what I've been told, sir." Keigo replied shyly.

Endeavor nodded. "Good. This will be a real test for you, Touya. Don't disappoint me."

Keigo shifted his attention to a boy he hadn't noticed previously. The red head scowled at his father.

Keigo brightened. If this kid was as strong as he was, they would get to see each other a lot! Maybe they could be friends!

"We have Sparring Arena Alpha ready for you, Endeavor." Giichi gestured to the door.

"Excellent."

-*time skip*-

Keigo quietly sat on the hospital bed, absently watching the nurse wrap his burns in gauze. He was hyper-aware of the red-head, who sat on the other bed behind him.

"So I didn't get your name." The red-head suddenly spoke up, causing Keigo to jump. The nurse gave him a reprimanding look. Keigo offered her a weak smile.

"Uh," Keigo stuttered. "I-I'm Hawks."

"No, idiot." The red-head said. "What's your real name?"

"Oh." Keigo bit his lip. "T-Takami Keigo."

"Takami, huh?" Keigo could hear the grin in the red-head's voice. "I'm Touya, Todoroki Touya."

"You're all done, Todoroki-san." another nurse said. "Your father's waiting in the lobby."

"Tch." Todoroki sighed.

Keigo's nurse grabbed his other hand to treat it, accidently squeezing said burn. Keigo whined a little. The nurse gently smacked him. "You're not supposed to react to pain, Hawks."

"Sorry." Keigo whispered.

"Hey." Hawks jerked his head to look at Todoroki, who was suddenly standing next to Keigo's bed. "You shouldn't hit him."

The nurse gave him a hard stare. "It's the only way for Hawks to learn, Todoroki-san."

"No it's not." Todoroki replied stubbornly. "And his name's Tamaki."

The nurse sighed and pointed to the door. "You should leave, Todoroki-san."

Todoroki looked at Keigo. Keigo averted his eyes awkwardly.

"Fine." Todoroki muttered.

Keigo had nearly forgotten about the strange boy, only really remembering him because of occasional glimpses when Todoroki's father on the television (which he wasn't supposed to be watching, but that one receptionist let him watch sometimes. He really liked the game shows, and some hero fights). The next time they met, they were in the locker room outside of Sparring Arena Alpha.

"Hey! Keigo-kun!"

Keigo dropped his towel at the sudden sound of his real name. It almost sounded foreign.

"Oh! Todoroki-san!" Keigo greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"You can call me Touya," Todo- Touya grimaced. "My sperm donor is training me here today, instead of at home. Mom doesn't want to wake the baby."

"What's a 'sperm donor'?" Keigo asked innocently.

Touya blinked. "Nevermind. How are you?"

"My training is going faster than they expected!" Keigo said proudly. "Soon, they think my wings will be strong enough for me to actually fly!"

"Huh. Cool." Touya opened a locker and shoved a bag in it. "But that doesn't answer my question."

"Oh." Keigo bit his lip. "Um…"

Touya looked at him. "Training's your whole life, isn't it?"

Keigo nodded.

"That's… that's really cruel." Touya muttered. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be!" Keigo grinned. "I'm gonna save lots of people when I'm a hero!"

"I don't doubt it." Touya shut his locker. "But make sure you save time for Tamaki Keigo, okay?"

Keigo frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Touya looked alarmed. "W-"

"TOUYA!"

"Ah, shit, I've got to go." Touya quickly grabbed a towel. "Please take care of yourself."

"Okay." Keigo waved. "Bye Touya! See you soon!"

Kei- Hawks didn't hear anything about Touya again until he was thirteen.

It was not good news.

"We're going where?" Hawks gaped at Commissioner Giichi.

The Commissioner sighed, irritated. "The Todoroki Mansion."

"That's what I thought you said," Hawks replied. "And why?"

"You heard me." Giichi glared. "Now, go put on the appropriate suit and get down here."

And so Hawks dressed for a funeral.

A make-up artist pulled him away to cover his eye mutations, saying they "weren't appropriate for a public appearance, really, you should let us get rid of them-", and a hair-dresser tried desperately to tidy his permanently wind-swept hair. They removed his goggles, and everything immediately became more detailed than he was used to seeing. Those goggles were meant to protect his vision from the bright lights of the white halls in the Commission Building.

Hawks was stuffed roughly into the vehicle and they drove away.

-*time skip*-

Hawks' sharpened eyesight engraved the vision of an adorned casket, a priest in white, and a few stained-glass windows into his memory forever.

As they watched the coffin being lowered into the ground, Hawks felt a little tug on his suit. He looked down to see a short boy of about nine-years old frowning at him.

"Who are you?" the white-haired boy asked.

"Ke- Hawks." He answered quietly. "I was Touya's… friend."

"Touya didn't have any friends." The white-haired kid answered matter-of-factly. "Our sperm donor didn't let him."

Ah. Those words again. Hawks still didn't know what a "sperm donor" was, but he assumed they referred to Endeavor.

"I'm Natsuo." The white-haired boy introduced. "Todoroki Natsuo."

"Nice to meet you." Hawks replied. "Hey, um… if you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

Natsuo looked away. "He burned up while he was training with our sperm donor. There's nothing of him left… just s-some ashes, a-and burnt skin…"

Hawks patted Natsuo's back. Natsuo lunged forward and hugged Hawks.

"I-If you really are- were his friend, then y-you must be a nice person." Natsuo cried.

"And you're his brother," Hawks rubbed the kid's back. "So you must be a good person."

Natsuo sniffed. "P-Please don't go."

"I won't."

As soon as Hawks was officially a hero, he pierced his ears. Call him rebellious, but he thought they were neat.

"What did you do to your perfect image!" His manager wailed.

"Hush Karen," Hawks waved her off. "You can hardly see them with the uniform. And it enhances the laid-back bad boy vibe."

"But what would kids think!" Karen yelled. "Soon, all the young boys will want ear piercings to be like their hero, Hawks!"

Hawks shrugged. "I don't see anything wrong with that."

Karen groaned, then sighed. "At least you aren't eating chicken. The media would have a field day with that one."

Hawks had a lightbulb moment.

"Hey, Endeavor!"

Endeavor looked to his right to see Hawks come to a landing beside him. "What happened to your eyes?"

"Oh?" Hawks blinked. He grinned. "You like? I ran out of make-up today, so I couldn't cover up that part of my mutation."

Endeavor shrugged. "Not a very helpful part of your mutation."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that!" Hawks laughed. "They keep the sun out of my eyes."

"Why would you cover them, then?"

"The Commission thinks they 'aren't suitable for public appearances'."

Endeavor made a noise of disgust. "Those Commissioners don't know what they're talking about half the time."

"That's shocking, coming from you."

"I'm serious," Endeavor looked down at Hawks. "They told me about your training, which I implemented with my own projects."

"Uh, your projects?"

"My children." Endeavor corrected. "Though, Shoto is being rather stubborn, and the other two are too weak, so clearly the Commission's ideas don't work for everyone."

"Huh." Hawks unconsciously reached up to touch his markings.

"You also should be fighting at full power." Endeavor turned the corner sharply. Hawks didn't miss a single pace and kept up with him. "No one should be in the Top 10 without giving their all."

"Aw, is that some bitterness I hear?" Hawks teased. "All Might does give his all, like the rest of us."

"I put in more hours than he does."

"He doesn't have your hospitalization record." Hawks pointed out.

"Don't you have places to be?"

"What, on patrol?" Hawks' feathers darted around, helping people carry groceries and nabbing a group of bandits. Hawks spread his arms. "Here I am!"

Endeavor groaned.

Catsuo: hey guys i found the best flower shop ever

Catsuo: they had this girl who can make flowers live without being part of a bush so the flowers will last a long time

Catsuo: she was also very pretty :D

Fuyu-inu: that's wonderful, natsuo!

Fuyu-inu: i'm on my way to the cemetery now, i'll wait for you guys at the entrance

tori: Am I going to finally meet the elusive Shoto?

Catsuo: …

Fuyu-inu: …

Catsuo: looks like a no

tori: :,(

Catsuo: i cant believe its been 5 years

Catsuo: feels way longer

"Hey! Stop!"

Hawks dove after the man he'd seen many times. One of the people the Commission wanted him to approach - Dabi, one of the members of the League of Villains. The one who led the attack on UA's summer camp.

Dabi rushed into an alley. Hawks darted after him.

"Look, dude, I just want to talk!"

"That's what they all say!" Dabi yelled back. He threw out a few fireballs in Hawks' direction, but he evaded them with ease.

"No, really!" Hawks flung a few feathers beyond the inferno and managed to snag Dabi's jacket. "I want to help you!"

"I doubt that!"

"Look." Hawks let go of the man. "Dabi, right? I want to get rid of the hero system."

"Yeah, sure," Dabi snipped. "And I like to wear rainbow colors."

"You don't understand." Hawks said. "The Commission took away my childhood! The least I can do for myself is have a decent adulthood."

"Ha!" Dabi barked a laugh. "Like being one of the Top 10 is a bad life!"

"I don't want that life!"

"Hm." Dabi smirked. "Then why not just quit?"

"Because," Hawks growled. "I don't want anymore kids to be caught by the Commission. I want them to be able to make their own choice, to fly free."

It was a bit of a far-fetched motive, and Hawks didn't know if Dabi would believe him, but he had to try for the sake of the mission. Though, a little voice in the back of Hawks head knew that he did in fact believe what he himself was saying-

"I wish I could believe you," Dabi finally said. "But you must understand my skepticism."

"I do." Hawks shrugged. "I didn't expect you to believe me immediately."

"You'll have to prove yourself." Dabi warned. "Even then, I'll be watching."

"Understood!" Hawks mock saluted. "I won't fail you!"

"I'm starting to think you guys only want me for my money," Hawks joked.

The villains were sprawled out over a few luxurious couches. Shigaraki was sitting on a plush beanbag, absorbed in his new games, and Dabi was laying on the floor like the chaotic man he was.

"Aw, Hawksie, we don't only want you for your money!" Toga said, getting uncomfortably close to him. "You're such a cute hero! If only I could just-"

A single feather knocked the knife clear out of her hand. Dabi squawked as the knife nearly landed on his face.

"Don't even try." Hawks muttered.

"Aww, but Hawksie-"

"Leave him alone, Toga! MAKE HIM BLEED OUT!" Twice yelled. "HE DOESN'T KNOW HARDSHIP LIKE THE REST OF US! I think he's suffered enough."

"He can fight his own battles, Twice." Dabi muttered from the floor.

"Oh hey, speaking of, you'll never guess who I arrested the other day."

"Oh?" Toga bounced "Lemme guess, lemme guess~! Was it… that cute boy that visited the other day?"

"Nah," Hawks shrugged. "It was that one chick who tried to poison Shigaraki."

"Ooooh~" Toga grabbed onto Hawks' arm excitedly. "You have to let me visit her, I think she'd look good in red-"

"You think everyone looks good in red." Dabi pointed out.

"Yeah," Toga reached out to touch Hawks' wings. Hawks shifted them away. Toga pouted. "You've got me there."

The door to the room swung open and Spinner came in. "Guys, I got the blueprints…"

"I'm glad I got to see you again, Keigo."

Hawks closed his eyes as heat washed over him.

...It was warm. He could feel the air rushing around him, and it was getting increasingly harder to breathe. But, well, he was expecting death by fire to be more painful.

Something was wrong.

Hawks struggled to open his eyes, blinded by flaring orange and blue flames. At some point, his goggles had broken, so Hawks' enhanced eyesight made his headache pound. The stark differences in heat and color were too much - Hawks shut his eyes again.

Wait, orange flames?

"VILLAIN!" Endeavor roared. "CEASE FIRE OR FORFEIT YOUR LIFE!"

"NEVER." Dabi screamed back. "NOT TO YOU, OR ANY GOD FORSAKEN HERO!"

No… Enji, that's Touya…

Hawks' consciousness faded in and out, but all the while, he could hear the two combatants going at it with all they had. Yelling, screaming, wind. The fire was consuming all the oxygen in the nearby vicinity.

Hawks couldn't breathe.

Suddenly, silence.

Hawks squinted ahead of him, seeing Dabi gasping for breath, Endeavor pinning him chest-down on the ground. Endeavor was snapping cuffs Hawks recognized as quirk-suppressing onto Dabi's wrists.

"I thought my life was forfeit." Dabi hissed.

"Don't worry," Endeavor growled. "You're facing a life in Tartarus, criminal-scum."

Dabi spat in Hawks direction. "Guess it's your lucky day, Keigo-kun."

"Keigo…" Endeavor looked up, noticing the Number 2 hero for the first time. "Hawks!"

Hawks groaned. "Glad to be noticed."

"...You lost?"

"..."

Endeavor sighed. "I'll call an ambulance. And the police."

Hawks was released from the hospital several weeks later. Third degree burns, broken bones, a concussion, and a collapsed lung were apparently no laughing matter. Not to mention the effects of the smoke inhalation.

But his feathers grew back! Theoretically, he could go back to hero work, but the hospital forbade it. Now, Hawks had to deal with the Commission complaining about it.

Luckily, visiting Tartarus didn't count as hero work, so Hawks filed a request to visit someone.

Dabi.

Touya.

"You've looked better."

"I've had worse." Hawks stared at the slightly older man on the other side of the glass.

"Why are you here." Dabi glared at him.

"I wanted to see you." Hawks said. "Nice place you've got. Normally they don't let the prisoners walk around."

"Can't really burn my way out."

"How are you doing?"

"Besides being in jail?" Dabi shrugged. "I've got new scars."

"New staples?"

"Mhm."

Hawks was silent for a moment. "Did they give you the option for rehabilitation?"

Dabi's face wrinkled in disgust. "No. I'd never."

Hawks sighed. "That's a shame."

Dabi glared at him. Hawks held his hands up defensively.

Dabi turned to look away. "Why are you here?" he repeated.

"I told you." Hawks said. "I wanted to see you."

"But why?" Dabi sounded frustrated. "To gloat? 'Hey, look Touya, I lived!' Thanks for the reminder."

"No," Hawks sighed. "I just missed my friend."

Dabi's form grew rigid.

"Hawks." The loudspeaker crackled to life. "Time's up."

"Alrighty, chief!" Hawks answered. "Well, until next time, Dabi."

"..." The villain glared even harder at the wall.

Hawks sighed and exited the room. He just barely heard it before the door closed behind him.

"Bye, Keigo-kun…"

Aaaaand I accidently told Hawk's life story. It kinda works.

Whether this gets an expanded story or not, I don't know. Depends on if you guys like this or not, depends if I want to or not. Dabi redemption story. Could be fun! Either way, it won't be posted here.

It'd be kinda cool if I predicted Dabi's and Hawks' past, but eh. Who knows. I hope not, I like surprises.

Check out my other stories! Some are exclusively FanFiction, some are only AO3, some are both. I use the same username for both :)

Also check out my Instagram: projectprismatic !

Hope to see you guys around! Please tell me what you thought!

Appreciate you all! ~BlackPolaris