A/N: Warning: Lots of swearing in this one, courtesy of Guess Who.

XXXXXXX

Chapter Twenty: Keep Moving Forward

Deku was rambling at him. Katsuki Bakugo was too used to Midoriya's stupid mumbling to be too annoyed, but he still found himself rolling his eyes. Aizawa's attempts to use his Quirk to make him vanish were even more eye-rolling. It was Aizawa's fault Bakugo had to take control in the first place.

Hawks had become so freaked out by Aizawa's stubbornness— not helped by Half and Half's own freaking out as he emerged in time for Aizawa to mention 'help'— he had started drifting, dragging Half and Half and the General Studies bastard down with him. Uraraka and Deku had managed to stick around though. Knowing them, it was pure stubbornness. And maybe a bit of fear.

Midoriya's panicked thought that they might become catatonic again if no one was in control spurred Bakugo into action and he slipped into the driver's seat. Hawks had not even stirred. So here Bakugo was, in the flesh. Not his flesh, but good enough, he supposed. Hawks's body was more than capable of throwing a punch if Aizawa needed a fist or three to the face. Once, Bakugo would never have dared to think about socking his teacher, but if Aizawa was going to be stubborn then he needed a good whack on the head.

"That's still not going to work."

"I've noticed." Aizawa said dryly.

Hearing his terse, protective tone again might have made Bakugo cry if he were Deku. But he wasn't Deku, and loathe as he was to admit it, he may be running on a time limit. He crossed his arms— damn, it felt good to have two arms again— and leaned back, raising his eyebrow. Aizawa's gaze zeroed in on the movement and Bakugo knew his every action was being carefully scrutinized. His posture, his way of speaking, his expression, his tone. The signs he was Katsuki Bakugo were all there if Aizawa would get his head out of his ass and look for them. Bakugo did not bother to hold back an impatient scowl.

"We've wasted enough time. What do I need to make you see we're who we say we are? And don't ask to see Explosion. Our Quirks got fucked up from the transfer so they're not an exact match."

"Of course they're not." Aizawa said coolly.

Bakugo barked a laugh. "You're losing your touch, sensei. Your suspicious tone's so obvious. So why haven't you called Fatgum or Toshinori yet? Yeah, we all know he's All Might."

Aizawa was tense. Bakugo could see it in the way his jaw clenched.

He continued as if he had not noticed. "Hawks doesn't know though. He needs someone to talk to without being all stupidly self-conscious so don't you go telling him."

"You're keeping secrets from him?" Aizawa asked in that level 'trying to keep the situation from escalating' tone of his. Stubborn, wonderful, overprotective asshole.

"No shit. Gold is strong but we aren't gonna drown him." Bakugo's smirk grew bitter. "We do enough of that already."

"I presume 'Gold' is Hawks?"

Aizawa was fishing for information. It was clear as day. But Bakugo wasn't exactly objecting. Aizawa needed to get his head out of the sand or they might have to sic Shinso on him. To brainwash or slug some sense into their dearest teacher, who could say? Bakugo knew his former teacher could be skeptical but come on.

"Yeah. We got color names for shitty secret identity reasons. It's more of a game now. Gotta have fun somehow. I'm 'Orange'. Deku is 'Green'. Uraraka is 'Pink'. Half and Half is 'White'. Four-eyes is 'Silver'. Sparky is 'Yellow'. Pontytail girl is 'Red'. She made that technology-busting device by the way. Your shitty purple-haired apprentice is 'Purple', obviously." Bakugo bared his teeth. "And don't tell Gold who I am. I'm one of the two he hasn't figured out and I'm not fucking losing. Don't you ruin this for me, asshole."

"Hawks is unaware then?" Aizawa asked because of course he did.

"No fucking shit he's 'unaware'. You made him drift." Bakugo enunciated. "He's so freaked out he dragged Half and Half and your shitty apprentice down with him." Something flickered through Aizawa's expression. "Yeah, that's why Gold kept calling mini-him 'Purple'."

Aizawa remained silent. If Bakugo were nicer, he may give him time to try to process what he was being told. But he was Bakugo and Aizawa was being overprotective, so screw that.

"Are you done being an overly-skeptical dumbass? Or are you gonna finally call the others in and see how that goes?" He cocked his head. "You still didn't answer why you haven't called them yet to restrain poor brainwashed wittle Hawks."

"I don't know." Aizawa said steadily, and Bakugo knew he had him.

He snorted. "Don't delude yourself. It's because you know we're telling the truth, sensei."

Aizawa twitched. His hand gripped his capture weapon.

"If you try to restrain me I'll just break out." Bakugo continued casually. "Like that time you stopped me from attacking shitty Deku. We became real friends, you know. Are you fucking happy to hear your kiddies get along someday?"

"Kacchan..."

Deku sounded touched. He'd forgotten the nerd could hear him. Shit.

Shut the fuck up, Deku.

And now Deku was touched and amused. Shitty nerd, acting all mushy and shit.

Bakugo glanced at his sensei— tired, worn, but nowhere near as defeated as his future self. A foreign feeling twisted his gut and he wondered if he should tell Aizawa what happened to one of his best friends.

"Don't." Deku whispered. "You know how he reacted last time."

Bakugo forced away the memory of Aizawa's limp body, his eyelids open but empty. Shitty sensei had always lectured them for acting recklessly to save their friends, yet that exact kind of recklessness cost him his life. Damn hypocrite. Bakugo blinked rapidly and rubbed at Hawks's stupid teary eyes.

"What was that golden light?" Aizawa demanded abruptly.

Unfortunately for him, Bakugo had no information to let slip so he merely shrugged. "Not a clue. Not even Deku knows."

Aizawa seemed to accept that answer. "Say I do believe you…" And there it was. Take that, Gold. It all turned out fine. Mostly. With a few huge scares along the way but Bakugo would never admit that out loud or where Hawks could hear him. "…what do you expect me to do?"

"Help us stop our future from happening. If you don't, you'll have a lot more graves to visit. If you survive, that is." Bakugo said flatly. He noticed Aizawa's stiff expression and curled his lips into a sneer. "What? Did you think we time traveled for fun? Everything went to hell. We were the only survivors. Us and Eri but…" His jaw clenched. "…Shigaraki got her as she was sending us back."

"You know what her Quirk does." Aizawa breathed.

"Yeah. And we couldn't tell anyone because we feared we'd be shipped to a mental institution and drugged to hell. Or get Gold's head cut open so they could look at his brain. It's so funny how that almost happened." Bakugo did not soften his tone in the slightest and was a bit vindictively pleased when Aizawa winced. He felt Hawks stir and glanced at the clock. "Gold is waking up. You better fucking apologize to him cause I don't want to deal with him freaking out. You know, he was so damn optimistic people would believe him but then you pulled that bullshit. It—" Reminds me of Deku. "—makes me sick."

Aizawa did not look chastised, though he did appear uncomfortable. "I—"

"I don't wanna hear it." Bakugo interrupted. "You may be insufferable but I trust you, sensei. You're… a good Hero. You taught me a lot." He dug his nails into his arms— Hawks's arms. Whoops. "Don't expect a thanks. Deku's stupid nostalgia must be infecting me or something."

Aizawa's features softened for the first time that day. "Of course not."

Bakugo nodded curtly. "We'll give you the details of our plans later. For now, gotta go since Sleeping Birdie's waking up."

He felt Hawks regain awareness and instantly gave control back to him. He may be an asshole, but he wasn't cruel. And keeping hold of Hawks's body after he'd just went through Aizawa's stupidity episode? As Four Eyes would say, that would just be unheroic.

XXXXXXX

Hawks blinked and carefully took in his surroundings, relaxing when he saw he was still in Recovery Girl's office and not in a cold or padded cell. Aizawa was seated in a seat next to his bed, looking as if he had aged a decade in— Hawks checked the clock— twenty minutes. He and the underground Hero stared at each other awkwardly, as Hawks slowly came to understand that Aizawa was not going to grab him and drag him to a mental hospital.

He licked his dry lips nervously. "What happened?"

Aizawa looked away from him. "I believe you."

Hawks's brain refused to compute that statement and his thoughts screeched to a halt. "…Huh?"

Aizawa shifted in his seat. "'Orange' spoke to me and gave me proof of your claims."

"You bet I did!" Orange snarled. "Asshole."

Hawks winced. "How much did he cuss you out?"

"I believe I have heard more swears in the past few minutes than in the past decade." Aizawa said dryly.

Hawks slowly comprehended that he was joking. That had to be a good sign, right? Or was it a trick to get him to let his guard down?

"If it is, I'm kicking his ass."

"You will not." Silver lectured. He was back too? Hawks nervously eyed the fragile walls inside his head but they did not crumble. Yet.

"Wanna bet?" Orange challenged.

Hawks forced himself out of his head and was relieved that little time had passed. He bowed as much as he could in the bed. "I apologize for his behavior."

Aizawa shrugged. "I'm used to it."

Hawks's breath caught. "So he is one of your students then?"

"SHITTY FUCKING SENSEI I TOLD YOU NOT TO—"

"Volume, Orange!" Pink snapped.

Hawks put his aching head in his hands.

"Headache?" Aizawa asked sympathetically.

Hawks nodded. Aizawa handed him an aspirin. Or what he hoped was an aspirin. He reluctantly took it and— upon remaining conscious— shifted nervously. "So… you really believe us, then?"

Aizawa sighed. "Yes. I'm not going to drag you to a psych ward or an interrogation room."

Hawks covered a wince with a smile. Was he that obvious? "Cool. That's nice to hear."

Aizawa hesitated and slowly sat on the bed next to him. "I apologize for my impulsive reaction. I was… concerned for my students' safety."

Hawks's smile became real. "You actually admitted it. Red, make a recording device, quick! I need this moment immortalized."

Red laughed but did not oblige him. He made sure she knew he was pouting.

And okay, maybe he was exaggerating his default jokeyness a bit to try to hide how his heart still pounded and his hands were shaking where he hid them in the blankets but who cared about that

Aizawa rolled his eyes and rose from his perch. "Get some sleep. Your neurologist appointment is in the morning."

XXXXXXX

Hawks got zero hours of sleep that night.

Despite Aizawa and the voices' reassurances, he dare not let himself fall asleep. The fear that he would wake up in a cell haunted his and the voices' thoughts through the night. Because while they wanted to trust Aizawa, there was always the chance he did not believe them and was merely playing along with their 'delusions' to make them lower their guard.

Hawks thought he knew what he was afraid of, but apparently being locked away because no one believed him was now on his list. If not for Orange's decisive actions, they might be in a padded cell or cuffed to an interrogation room table right now. Or on some shady doctor's operating table. Their decision to reveal the truth had nearly resulted in the worst case scenario and Hawks could not quite shake the fear from the near-disaster.

Even as dawn passed and he walked out of UA, he was half-convinced Aizawa, Toshinori, and Recovery Girl were taking him to a psych ward instead of to a neurologist. He got into the car with some reluctance and resisted the urge to tap his foot or yank out feathers. Guess he was more stressed than he thought.

If someone comes at me with a syringe, I'm going out the window.

"If someone comes at you with a syringe you probably won't see them in time." Green mused.

Thanks, Green. I definitely needed to hear that.

"...Sorry."

Aizawa began the too-short drive to the neurology office. As buildings, cars, and pedestrians passed by, Recovery Girl told Hawks what would happen and what to expect during the visit. Unfortunately this MRI was not the most accommodating for heteromorph-types so he would have to ditch his wings during the scan. The MRI would be cramped even without them on his back. That did not make Hawks feel much better but he was glad she told him before he arrived.

Are any of you claustrophobic?

"I don't think so?" Yellow said questioningly.

"With our bad luck, probably." Purple said at the same time.

Hawks repressed a sigh. Great.

The tense silence in the car was unexpectedly broken as his cell phone played a gratingly happy tune. He and Toshinori both jumped and the tall man's head smacked into the roof of the car.

Hawks winced. "Oops. I thought I had that on silent."

He picked it up and found he did indeed have it on silent. But it was Mockingjay calling, which meant she'd made it ring using some of her less-legal contacts. Katniss only did that if she was desperate to get in contact with him. Hawks's stomach tried to crawl out of his mouth. He answered.

"Hi, Kat—"

"Where are you right now?"

Some might think her lack of greeting was rude, but Hawks could hear the viciously controlled fear in her harsh voice. A bundle of thorny vines gathered in his stomach.

"I'm with Eraserhead, Toshinori, and Recovery Girl. We're headed to a…" He realized Mockingjay had been kept out of the loop and cringed. "…neurologist."

Mockingjay paused and he heard her take a calming breath. "I'll ask later. Right now, you need to stay with them, okay? I'm sending Miruko to you."

Hawks's first thought was the Commission had found out about his Quirk acting up. The dull dread became icy fear and Hawks gripped the phone.

"A-Am I being sent to remedial courses?"

The response in his head was instantaneous. In the back of his mind, Green, White, Red, Purple, and Silver began planning how to get him out of the country while Pink and Yellow tried to send calming feelings his way and Orange cussed up a storm between strategies.

"We won't let them hurt you." they chanted. "We won't let them hurt you we won't let them hurt you we won't—"

"No, you're not." Mockingjay said, but there was no reassurance in her tone. "Hawks, Norito Kaetsu has been released from prison."

"̴͈̚Yo̸̟̎u̴̲͊'̴̫̏v̷̦̾e̷̤̕ ̶̗̑b̶̜̋ĕ̷̗e̶̠͑n̸͇̔ ̷̮̇a̷͙͝ ̵̮͘b̶̦̉a̵̫͠d̵̛͚ ̷͔̅l̵̥̈i̴͇̽t̴̟̀t̴̛̞l̸̠̋ȅ̷̦ ̸̳͆H̶̻̓e̷̖͝r̷̨͛o̵͇̎.̷̧͋ ̶͙̋L̸̈́ͅe̶̬̔t̶̖̕'̷͈̀ṣ̷͑ ̶̗̕f̶̙̋i̵̢̊x̵͉̏ ̶̝͝t̴͙͐h̵̞̓a̵̠̅t̷͖͝.̷͈̊"̷̘̇

Hawks's mouth went dry. He swallowed hard. "Oh." Mindful of his company, he forced his voice to remain level. "Thanks for warning me."

"Who's 'Norito Kaetsu'?" Silver asked innocently.

Hawks repressed a flinch. Don't think don't think don't think—

"Gold?" Pink asked worriedly.

"Hawks? Are you still there?" Mockingjay asked.

"I'm listening." Hawks's voice came out smaller than he would like. He swallowed roughly. "I thought he was in prison for life. He— He got sent to Tartarus so he wouldn't be able to spill Commission secrets."

"Apparently not. He got out on bail and 'good behavior'." Mockingjay snarled. "'Good behavior' my ass. As far as I can tell, the Commission released him last Wednesday. He might have been let out even earlier."

Hawks's chest felt tight. He hunched over and breathed through his nose. "Does he have his job back?"

"I don't know." He heard the sound of pages being shuffled. "Look, I can try to get a restraining order approved but it will be difficult— No. It'll be impossible to get one. His ledger has been wiped clean and even before that your name was kept out of his list of… crimes."

Hawks knew she wanted to say 'victims'.

"R̵̖̚e̴̖̽m̸͔̏e̷̺̐m̷͖̓b̵̫́ẻ̷̢r̴̹̓,̷͍̿ ̴͍̊y̸͙͝o̷͓͐ū̷̻ ̷̪̍ḍ̶̈́e̸͔̔ş̸̑e̶̳̓r̵͆͜v̴̩̎e̷͎͗ ̴̩͊t̵̝̉ẖ̵̅í̴͖s̸̠̋.̴̹̒"̶̮͘

"He didn't get to do anything." Hawks insisted.

"Because I got him thrown in jail." Mockingjay snarled. "But now he's out again and it seems the Commission is backing him." Her voice softened. "You know what that means."

Hawks could not form a reply. Yes, he knew what it meant. It was another message, a gun to his head, and a dare for him to react in a way the Commission did not approve of. His hands were shaking and sweaty for some reason and his lungs felt like they were crushing his heart. He could hear the voices asking questions at the back of his mind but could not understand anything they were saying. Their emotions and words were covered by a haze of static. How strange that was.

"He didn't get to do anything." he forced out again. He wasn't lying because it was the truth and n̷̹̍o̶̖͒t̵͚̒h̶̳́i̵̛͚n̷͔̑g̴͓͐ ̶̡̀h̵̺͛a̴̠͠d̴̡͑ ̶̮̏h̵̘͊a̸̅ͅp̶̖̽p̶͉̍e̸̿͜n̶̬̓ẻ̵͖d̶͇́.̷̝͐.

"I know. And I won't let him."

"Don't shoot him." Hawks whispered. "You can't get in trouble. Not for me."

Mockingjay did not reply to that. "Be careful. If the Commission calls you, make up an excuse. I don't care if you're sitting and twiddling your thumbs at home; Say you have an important mission and aren't available. Don't go to them."

"They'll know I'm lying." Hawks said. His voice was distant to his own ears.

"Do not. Go to them." Mockingjay emphasized.

"Okay." Hawks agreed. For some reason his voice shook. How weird.

Mockingjay hung up. Hawks stared at the phone as it disconnected from the call and returned to the home page. A hand brushed his and he jumped, yanking his away as he pressed himself against the door of the car. Toshinori leaned towards the window on his side to give him space and did not bother hiding the worry on his face.

"Hawks—?"

"I'm fine." Hawks said before he could ask anything.

"You do not seem fine." Toshinori said gently. "You're shaking."

Hawks hid his hands in his pockets. "Funny thing, that."

"Who is Norito Kaetsu?" Aizawa asked, unknowingly echoing Silver. He barely flinched as Recovery Girl jabbed him with her cane.

Hawks reflexively pulled at his collar and yanked his sleeves down. He glanced hesitantly at Aizawa's reflection in the car's rear-view mirror. "He was one of my martial arts… managers at the Commission. He was… a bit…" He trailed off. "…creepy."

"Being 'creepy' does not get people sent to Tartarus." Aizawa said stoically.

Hawks winced and yanked at his collar again, making sure it was up as far as it could go. "He… might have killed a couple people? I don't know if he actually did or the Commission claimed he did to make sure he'd never be released. I mean, he was a sniper, so of course he killed people but he might have killed people without the Commission's permission which is a big difference in their book. He job was to be a sniper and one of my martial arts han— managers but he liked knives too. Not that he threatened me with any knives or anything because the Commission didn't want him to cut me up. N-Not that he threatened to cut me up or anything. He didn't do that. Did I say that already?" Hawks knew he was rambling. He could feel Aizawa, Toshinori, and Recovery Girl's judgmental gazes on him and hunched his shoulders. "He… He was also arrested and convicted for harassment and stuff, okay? He was convinced I was secretly a girl and kept… bothering me. And following me. Obsessively. Katniss got him arrested before anything happened and my name was kept out of the case."

Horror and understanding rippled through him. It was not his own.

"Gold…?" Red whispered.

Hawks pulled at his shirt again and crossed his arms over his chest, forcing away memories of his handler pinning him down during sparring sessions with a knife to his neck, and the aftermath of those sessions where Hawks actually had permission to lock the door to make sure Kaetsu would not 'accidentally' walk in. There was l̸̪̈́ȋ̸̱t̶̹͂t̶̘́l̸͈̆ẽ̴̦ ̴̬́ẻ̶̺l̴̜̐s̵͇͘ě̶̫ ̸̜̈́t̴͈̐ö̶̳́ ̸̍͜r̶͖̓ë̶̖m̵̯̅ẻ̴̠m̶̞̾b̶̪̅é̶̱r̶̜̈.̶̳͝. The voices' shock and disgust told him they saw it and he ducked his head, cheeks burning with shame.

"I can avoid him." Hawks told the back of Aizawa's seat. "And I know some tricks to get him to back off. I've done it before. He's a creep, but he's not a stalker or anything. He might not even be interested in getting revenge on me since he doesn't know Mockingjay got him exposed. And I'm not stuck at HQ so much so it'll be easier to avoid him."

"What's his Quirk?" Aizawa asked.

"̴̤͌Ỷ̴̥ô̸͚ů̶̧ ̷͔̾ḓ̸̒e̸̮̓s̵̪͐e̵̤̐r̴͍̎v̴̲̀e̶̮͝ ̷̱͝t̵̓ͅh̸̝̊i̶̜͘ṡ̵͎.̸͓̓"̵͙̀

Hawks shrugged helplessly. "I never found out. And the Commission won't tell me."

"And why not?" Toshinori demanded. "It's standard procedure. We have protocols for this since released Villains often go after the Heroes that put them away. Why isn't the Commission sending a protection detail?"

Hawks shot him a befuddled look. "Didn't you hear Mockingjay? The Commission released him."

The enraged looks on their faces made him realize that no, they had not heard that part of the conversation. Hawks continued to intensely study the back of Aizawa's seat.

"Like I said, I don't know if he's been reinstated at the Commission." he told it. "And if he has, I'm not at HQ as much. I'll be fine."

"We don't just want you to be 'fine'." Toshinori snapped. "We want you to be safe." His eyes gleamed with a ferocious blue light. "We are going to help you."

Afraid to speak or contradict him, Hawks merely nodded in feigned agreement so they would let it go.

Their arrival at the neurologist was rather quiet and somber. Even the voices barely made a sound as Hawks followed Recovery Girl and Aizawa into the building and up to Doctor Atsushi Chida's office. Toshinori was left waiting outside, likely to see when Miruko and Mockingjay showed up.

The voices were getting anxious, but thankfully their walls were holding enough for Hawks to function. Still, their fear was infectious. What would the brain scans reveal?

Doctor Atsushi Chida was a middle-aged man with red hair, fox ears, yellow eyes, and a rather pointed face. The hand that shook Hawks's had black claw-like nails and Hawks thought he might have a fox tail under his coat. His smile was kind as he greeted Recovery Girl like an old friend and he hardly blinked when a noise made Hawks jump and nearly knock over a container of pamphlets on his desk with his wings.

The pre-MRI period passed by in a blur, and before Hawks knew it, he was faced with a machine that looked more like a space pod or solitary confinement than medical equipment.

Like Recovery Girl said, Hawks was asked to remove his earrings and clothes, changing into the metal-free scrubs provided for him. He detached his feathers and put them in a container meant for such things, trusting himself not to panic and summon them during the procedure while knowing Aizawa could stop him if he tried. That thought was more reassuring than it would have been a few days ago.

He laid down on the thin MRI table and eyed the small space he would be stuck in for the next half-hour. As an IV with contrast solution was inserted into his arm, Doctor Chida gave him a reassuring smile.

"Are you still feeling okay?"

"Yes." Hawks said shortly.

"You'll need to stay as still as possible during the scan." Chida reminded him. "You can close your eyes and let your mind wander, if you wish."

"Oh yeah, great idea." Orange said flatly. "Let's go fucking catatonic again."

Hawks repressed a grimace. "That's probably not a good idea." he said steadily.

Chida inclined his head in acknowledgment. He handed Hawks ear plugs and he put them in.

"I will be able to speak with you via intercom. Use this if you need me immediately." He gave Hawks an emergency call button. "Are you ready?"

No. "Sure."

They began, and okay maybe Hawks or one of the voices was claustrophobic because the walls of the machine were way too close. He shut his eyes and focused on not moving. The machine made a loud, extended buzzing noise, paused, made a few low banging sounds, and kept buzzing. A low clicking noise joined the buzzing and Hawks's stomach twisted with anxiety.

"We're okay." Pink soothed him. "We're all okay."

"I'm not." Yellow said shakily.

"Go into the dorms if you need to." Silver offered.

Hawks felt Yellow retreat. He wished he could go with him. The buzzing and clicking kept going and he heard a knocking sound again. Tap tap tap tap tap. The noise drilled its way into his skull and his breathing quickened.

"Did you know that there are Quirks that let people see all the colors on the spectrum, including 'forbidden' ones?" Green said suddenly. "Colors like red-green and yellow-blue actually exist, but human eyes are incapable of perceiving them since they 'cancel' each other out. There was a Hero with a Quirk that allowed them to naturally see these colors, and they used it to solve a spree of crimes because the culprit's costume was actually red-green. The culprit had a similar type of Quirk to the Hero, so they thought no one would notice. But they did, so they got them."

"That's very interesting, Green." Red said genuinely.

"So even a shitty Quirk like that can be useful." Orange mused. "Who knew?"

"Orange, what have we said about calling other Quirks worthless?" Silver asked sternly.

"Screw you I can do what I want."

"Orange, considering yourself superior due to your Quirk is very unheroic—"

"Can it, tinhead."

"He has a point." White mused.

"Say that to my face. I dare you."

Yellow poked his head back out, likely drawn in by their amusing argument.

"How would I say that to your face?" White asked innocently. "We are voices."

"You damn Half and Half bastard! You're not that obtuse. We have bodies."

"Do we?" Green mused. "Or are they merely fabricated creations in our likeness?"

"Don't you start getting existential with me, you damn nerd."

"I wasn't!" Green yelped.

"Ugh, not again." Purple groaned. "Will you two be quiet?"

Hawks wondered if Orange's cusses would show up on the MRI.

"Do you really think Aizawa believes us?" Pink blurted. She winced. "Oops. I meant to share a funny story…"

"How about when Aizawa threatened to expel us for the millionth time?" Yellow asked far too brightly.

"You are far too blasé about that." Silver scolded.

"How can I not be? He threatened to expel us every other week."

"That's true." Purple acknowledged. "Remember that time he almost expelled our entire class because of the rescue mission?"

Green shivered. "I think he meant it that time."

"Our." Red said suddenly.

"Hmm?" Green questioned.

"Um, I was just remembering our final exam against Aizawa, White." Red clarified.

"He tied me up." White said gravely.

"Like a birthday present." Orange cackled.

"I was not a birthday gift." White denied. "It was no one's birthday." He frowned. "Was it someone's birthday and I did not know?"

Yellow gave a mischievous giggle.

"No." Silver reassured White before Yellow could say anything.

Yellow sulked.

Hawks did not know whether it was on purpose or not, but the voices' antics proved to be a good distraction and he got through the rest of the procedure without a freak out. Still, the tightness in his chest eased when he was let out of that awful machine.

Chida smiled at him as he helped him sit up. "There. All done. You did well."

"Hmm." Hawks mumbled. He rubbed his arms, feeling cold. "I don't have to do that again, right?"

"Hopefully not." Chida said lightly. "You can return on Tuesday and we'll discuss your results."

Didn't doctors normally say they would call first and inform the patient if such an appointment was necessary? Did that mean they already thought something was wrong?

Hawks shoved his unease away. "Thank you."

He was more happy than what was probably polite to be out of that office.

But before Hawks could run out of the building to freedom, Recovery Girl spoke.

"Hawks, may I speak with you a moment before we go?"

Hawks slowed down and lingered, waiting for Recovery Girl to halt at his side. Aizawa meandered ahead, obviously lingering, but kept walking when she shot him a glare. Recovery Girl waited until the Underground Hero was around the corner to nudge Hawks towards an empty room. Hawks let her guide him inside, keeping an eye out for people with stabby syringes or chloroform.

"She wouldn't do anything like that." Green reassured him.

Hawks was not sure whether to believe that or not. Green did not take his disbelief personally and Hawks had the sneaking suspicion he was taking a page from Aizawa's patented 'I want to say something but I won't because reasons. However, know you are Wrong' book. Recovery Girl glanced around the room and seemed to find it satisfactory.

"I'm sorry for keeping you since you are so eager to leave, but I'd like to discuss something with you in private and I know your apartment is not a good place for such conversations." Her eyebrow quirked upward. "I also know you'd rather not return to my office at UA."

Hawks hid a wince with a sheepish smile. "Am I that obvious?"

"Perhaps." She paused, lips pressed thin, placed a hand on his knee. "You don't need to be honest with me if you are uncomfortable, but I cannot simply ignore my instincts."

Hawks's smile froze on his face as possibilities rampaged through his mind.

She told the Commission about my problems.

She knows about the voices and thinks I'm crazy.

Aizawa told her things and she doesn't believe me and thinks I'm a Nomu.

She wants me to go into a psych ward or take some medication that'll mess up my head.

She wants me to pay her back for the cost of treating me and putting up with me for the weekend.

Something is really, really wrong and I'm actually dying—

"You withheld the truth earlier." Recovery Girl continued gently. That had to be a good sign since she would not sound kind if she was upset with him— "Your handler— Kaetsu— did more than follow you. He hurt you personally, didn't he?"

"̴̤͌Ỷ̴̥ô̸͚ů̶̧ ̷͔̾ḓ̸̒e̸̮̓s̵̪͐e̵̤̐r̴͍̎v̴̲̀e̶̮͝ ̷̱͝t̵̓ͅh̸̝̊i̶̜͘ṡ̵͎.̸͓̓"̵͙̀

Hawks's thoughts jumbled into a panicked mess. He tried to speak. No sound came out but he noticed this time so that was nice it would be awkward if he didn't notice that he hadn't spoken and kept trying to speak while making a fool of himself since good Heroes were supposed to smile and reassure they were not supposed to act like stupid, pathetic children who dared to think they knew better than the people who raised and housed and taught them did you think we wouldn't notice your bad thoughts you ungrateful little

"Nothing happened." Hawks stated.

She did not believe him. He could tell so he dropped his gaze and rushed to clarify.

"It was just normal training things." Hawks reassured her like good Heroes were supposed to. His voice sounded a little weird. Perhaps it was his use of 'things' rather than specifics, but to his distant mind his tone almost sounded off-key and childish. "I know you guys keep trying to call it abuse but it wasn't. It was just training. Just training. Like… um…" Hawks tried to remember what exactly Kaetsu taught him and his mind went blank. "He just taught me normal Hero lessons when I was si— e-eighteen. You know? Like, uh. Hand to hand? That wasn't mean to sound like a question, my memory is just a bit fuzzy—"

She was staring at him.

Judging him.

She did not believe him at all.

Hawks shoved down his panic— stupid, he was better than this— and cleared his throat. "Thank you for your concern but you don't need to worry about me."

Recovery Girl was silent for too long so he risked another glance at her face.

She looked so impossibly sad as she firmly met his gaze. "No matter what he did, it was not your fault, Hawks."

He blinked at her in confusion and smiled widely enough that his cheeks ached. "Of course not. There's nothing to feel guilty about. Nothing happened."

Recovery Girl looked decades older than she had that morning. "I see. I suppose we have left Shota waiting long enough."

She patted his knee again and hobbled towards the door. Hawks followed her and immediately shoved the conversation out of his mind. He felt the voices' curiosity— and fear— but ignored them because there was nothing further to say. Nothing. Happened.

They met up with Aizawa and exited the claustrophobic building. Both Miruko and Mockingjay were waiting with Toshinori outside. Hawks's stomach dropped as he was forced to consider the reason for their presence.

Before he could speak, Toshinori silently held out his closed fist. Hawks hesitantly put his hand out and the older man dropped a lollipop into his palm. Hawks stared at it for a minute and looked up at him, raising his eyebrows.

"Really?" he said sarcastically.

"It's because you were a good boy for the doctor." Toshinori said with a throaty chuckle. "At least I hope you were." He looked to Aizawa. "He didn't kick him, did he?"

Aizawa's lips twitched suspiciously. "No."

Hawks stuck his tongue out at them. "Rude."

He unwrapped the lollipop— orange flavored— and stuck it in his mouth. He glanced at Mockingjay's smooth expression and cracked it between his teeth, ignoring Silver's horrified exclamation.

"So… about your call…"

"I don't know where Kaetsu is." Mockingjay said bluntly. "He was released and that's all I know, and I only know that because I kept tabs on him. His record was wiped completely clean. He may as well have been taking a vacation the past four years."

"So the police have no reason to track him." Aizawa said darkly.

"And they have no reason to help keep him away from Hawks." Mockingjay continued. "As far as their records say, Kaetsu hasn't done anything to warrant a restraining order."

Miruko tensed and crossed her arms, looking away from them. Hawks noticed the stiffness in her shoulders and a stone of dread settled in his chest. He had a bad feeling he knew what upset her. He had never told her about Kaetsu. Implied he had dealt with creeps in the past yes, but never told her one was a handler of his. She had every right to be upset with him.

He shifted from foot to foot and looked at the open street around them warily. "Should we be discussing this here?"

"No." Mockingjay acknowledged. "We can go to your office."

Hawks shot her a look. "Um. Commission?"

She flipped her braid over her shoulder. "Won't be able to hear or see a thing. They haven't since I started working there. If they try their best, all they'll get a cute little image of a bee to study."

Hawks's mouth moved wordlessly. He had no idea Katniss had done that. He knew she had a mysterious hacker friend— 'Beetee' or something— but he didn't know she'd had him do anything to keep the Commission out of his Agency. No wonder Ennea had been undiscovered.

A ghost of a smile curled at his lips. "Thanks, Katniss."

"Hmm."

Miruko turned away from them and headed to Aizawa's car without a word.

XXXXXXX

Hawks was rather relieved when he was released from UA's custody after his appointment— and a few hours spent insisting that he did not need to stay on the campus and would call Recovery Girl if something happened, thanks— and dropped off with Miruko. At first he thought Mockingjay would stick around and be overprotective— really, he was fine— but she left with suspiciously little fuss.

A quick scan of the area showed there were no less than four Heroes skulking about. Hawks couldn't tell who they were, but when he spotted one on the roof, they waved at him. He glumly waved back and followed Miruko inside.

Aizawa and Toshinori had promised to pick him up for his follow-up appointment on Tuesday. Recovery Girl would be busy, it seemed. Hawks had wanted to visit Eri before going home, but the two had politely rebuffed him. If he were more paranoid, he might think he had done something to scare her but he had the feeling they were trying to get her used to not seeing him every day. That still hurt, but not as badly.

At least he could sleep easier with the knowledge Overhaul could not get to her. He and his captured men were 'safe' in police custody, and unless the remaining Shie Hassaikai wanted to face the forces of Tartarus to rescue their captured comrades, they were staying there.

As Miruko went to bed without saying goodnight— and yes, that did worry Hawks but he was honestly too mentally and emotionally exhausted to deal with that right now—Green's frustration jabbed at him, too potent to be contained.

"I guess it was too much to hope that we'd stop the whole yakuza gang there."

"If we had planned for an attack instead of sitting on our asses maybe we would have." Orange snapped.

"That is not true." Silver interjected sternly. "We could not have predicted the Shie Hassaikai would attack now. Eri was at a secure location and only a few people knew she'd be going to UA. There was no way for Overhaul to learn of the transfer unless..." He trailed off.

"Unless someone told him." Green finished flatly.

"Please tell me we aren't dealing with another traitor." Yellow groaned.

Vague memories of the attack on USJ and the training camp flickered through Hawks's mind.

Wait.

What?!

There was a traitor now? Since when? Well, since before the USJ incident but this was still news to Hawks.

Traitor? What traitor?!

"There was one at UA in our past." Red shared. "We never found out who it was. We can only assume they died when UA was attacked. The villains might have betrayed them."

"Or a Hero killed them for betraying us." Purple said flatly.

"Or maybe they had a change of heart and wanted to atone?" Pink offered optimistically.

"When it was too late." Orange muttered.

Why didn't you tell me this sooner? Hawks demanded.

"Like Red said, we never found out who it was." Green explained. "We spent most of our schooling unaware there was a traitor. We didn't even find out there was one until Aizawa told us after… after you were captured."

Previously missing pieces fell into place. The traitor found out other me was a spy for the Heroes from Pink and Yellow and told the Paranormal Liberation Front.

Yellow clenched his teeth and his presence shrank, like he was trying to hide.

Pink similarly retreated.

"Probably." Purple said quietly. "We can only guess."

Why didn't you tell me sooner? Hawks demanded.

"We didn't really think about it." Green admitted. "I mean, we weren't involved in the traitor hunt and by the time we found out one existed, it was too late. They never became a problem again so they must have died, as Red said."

Hawks took a deep breath and dragged his hands down his face. Guys? For future reference: Information like that is kind of important!

Green winced. "Sorry. We honestly didn't think about it."

Hawks could be a jerk and snap at him but he relented. So you have no idea who the UA traitor is?

"We know some of the people they're not." Red offered.

Tell me, Hawks ordered.

"Aizawa, Nedzu, All Might, Number Thirteen, the Big Three, Tokoyami, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu— yes, that is his real name— Tsunotori, Bakugo, Awase, Yaoyorozu, Kendo, Tsuburaba, and… well, the eight of us are innocent." Purple listed. "So past Midoriya, Iida, Uraraka, Todoroki, Shinso, and Kaminari are also clear." He braced himself against Red, Orange, and Silver's outrage. "I'm sorry, but I'm only listing those we are absolutely, one hundred percent certain are not the traitor. Like Pink said, they could have had a change of heart or been coerced into working for the Villains. They could be a victim, but right now— in the present— they are our enemy. Present Mic theorized they were in Class 1-A or 1-B considering the camp attack."

Hawks noted the names, which he could also theoretically and easily use to look up the Quirks that went with them.

"Don't you dare." Orange growled.

Hawks decided to continue to humor him. For now.

You didn't include Present Mic on your list of innocents, he noted.

"He's the one who brought up the traitor in the first place." Purple sighed.

"He was turned into a Nomu." Yellow hissed.

Purple was unrepentant. "As were many others. Like I said, we're not leaving anyone out just because we like them."

You really are Aizawa's apprentice, Hawks sighed. We should warn him. Maybe get the ball rolling to stop the attack at the camp.

"If there is one. We want to capture Shigaraki, remember?"

"But Shigaraki was not there at the camp." Silver argued. "His absence might not affect things."

Hawks glanced at the calendar on the wall. The exams would start the week after his next appointment. And that Saturday would be the mall incident, if it happened. His stomach churned with anxiety but he pushed his worries about the future away. If he kept stressing out about it he'd give himself an ulcer.

He crept to Miruko's room and tapped on the door.

"Rumi? Is everything okay?"

At first there was no reply, and he thought she might already be asleep. Then a flat, terse voice came through the door.

"I'm fine. Just tired. Want to sleep."

Miruko did not sound tired. She sounded angry. And not in her normal loud, cuss-filled way. This anger was quieter, hot and simmering like a volcano about to erupt and fill the sky with ashes and flames.

Hawks nibbled on his lip. "Are you sure? You sou—"

"I don't want to talk." Miruko snapped. "Just go away."

Hawks clamped his mouth shut and shifted onto his back foot, away from the door. He forced himself to drop the defensive stance and lowered his arms. His first paranoid thought was that she was becoming sick of him and his problems.

He shoved those self-centered thoughts away and tried to think of the situation more logically. She was probably exhausted after the events of the weekend. She'd been with him at UA, and then gone running to do Hero Work. Had she gotten any sleep? He decided it would be counterproductive to ask.

Hawks forced a smile even though she could not see him. "Okay. Um. I'm always willing to listen if you want to talk."

Miruko did not respond.

"...Good night." Hawks whispered.

Hawks retreated as quickly as he dared. He looked towards the couch but knew trying to sleep was a bad idea. Miruko wouldn't appreciate it if he woke up screaming again. So instead he went to the counter and turned on a light that was out of the way and hopefully would not bother Miruko. He shuffled quietly through the drawers and found a notebook and pen.

"What are you doing?" Green asked.

Now that we have Aizawa on our side, we might as well write stuff down and give it to him. It'll be easier than telling him everything and he can consult it if we're not around. Hawks took off the cap of the pen and twirled it between his fingers. Does he have a code I can use to be safer?

"Yes." Red said. "Green and I shall teach it to you."

The code was easy to learn, but Hawks suspected that was only because he had people with experience using it inside his head. He tried not to think about how their memories might be melding again and considered the empty first page of the notebook. Slowly, he wrote the 'title' for his compilation in the same code as its contents.

'Hero Analysis for the Future No. 14'

Despite the subject material he and the voices would have to share, a strange feeling of nostalgic calm came over Hawks and his grip on the pen relaxed. He spent the next hours writing the events that would shape and destroy the future.

XXXXXXX

A/N: Y'all thought I wasn't going to do anything with the UA traitor, didn't you?

You're so silly. :) :) :)

Names and meanings:

Norito (徳登) Kaetsu (カ悦)

(nori) "benevolence, virtue, goodness, commanding respect"

(to) "ascend, climb up"

(Ka) "power" or "temporary"

(etsu) "ecstasy, joy, rapture"

Together, Kaetsu can also mean "pleasure".

Atsushi () Chida (津知多)

(atsushi) "kindness, honesty"

(chi) "wisdom, intellect"

(da) "many"

(sources from Behind the Name)

Next update will be the 24th-ish.