Yay, a bit of a longer chapter this time! Also, my Tumblr is down for a bit, it got terminated for some reason and I'm trying to get it back up, so Anon asks over there are closed for a bit. T-T Sorry friends.
You know the drill, friends are pretty grand
Rumi takes no shit, not even from Hawks (especially not from Hawks)
Hawks discovers a secret bird fanatic and is not pleased with the revelation
Y'all remember the time Dabi ran up to Endeavour and Hawks in broad daylight?
Hey look! The kids are back!
Hawks dies
-00-
Unexpected Confrontations
-00-
There were fingers in his hair. Thin and gentle. Warm. They traveled from the front of his hair, nails brushing through his bangs smoothly even though his hair should be too tangles to allow such smooth transition. From his bangs to the slightly curled hairs at the back of his neck, then around to above his ear.
Someone used to do this for him. Late nights with warm hands and gentle hums. He could… he could hear the humming too. It was deeper than he remembered. He must be dreaming then. It had been a while since he dreamed.
"Can you hand me my drink?" someone whispered, right next to him.
Shuffling and rustling, a clink of nails on glass. The hands in his hair slowed but didn't stop.
Hawks breathed in deeply, his wings lifting to resettle around him. They brushed against someone, curling around them in turn.
"Hawks?" the same voice asked, soft and amused. "Are you awake, hon?"
He wasn't quite sure what sound he made in response, it was too gargled and relaxed to form so much as a vowel.
They laughed. The nails tugged at a flyaway bang teasingly.
Hawks tried to blink his eyes open. One eyelid was heavier than the other, crusted enough to make his blinks off-timed.
The room was still dark but there was a tiny light on the couch. Hizashi was reading a book, headphones over his ears as he hummed to whatever he was listening to. He was playing with Aizawa's hair idly as he read.
Hawks flicked his wing over the person sitting next to him.
Nemuri leaned over so he could see her face. She was wearing a large hoodie he was pretty sure belonged to Aizawa, glasses off for once and hair up in a bun.
"How are you feeling?"
Hawks chirped, eyes fluttering shut.
She laughed again. "That's good, Shouta told us you had a migraine. It's been a few hours, do you need any more medicine?"
...Right. That had happened. The nap and medication had done wonders for the pain, he couldn't feel it at all.
Hawks frowned.
Aizawa had talked to Teruko about his health. That was what he'd said, right? That was kind of him- in a way that made Hawks feel warm- but it was odd, too. What had driven him to call Teruko? If he was a student, sure, but Hawks wasn't under Aizawa's care.
Although to be fair, Hawks had looked through all of their medical papers too. To make sure he knew what to do in case anything happened and to keep an eye on them. Yagi, especially, was a concern. Maybe it was something like that, that had driven Aizawa to check.
"You can go back to sleep if you want," Nemuri tucked a few strands behind his ear only for them to bounce back. There was no containing Hawks' hair, Tsunagu had just about killed himself trying.
Shit. Tsunagu.
"I can't," Hawks sighed, brain slowly kicking back into gear. "I need to meet with Rumi. What time is it?"
"A little before two."
So he still had some time. Good.
Nemuri's hand fell away and he pushed himself up. His wing was still curled around her shoulders so he flapped it twice as a weird kind of hug before stretching them back and up.
Smacking his lips again he tilted his head. "...What are you two doing in here?"
Hizashi had looked up when he moved, pulling off his headphones. "Hey, welcome back to the land of the living, man. You were pretty dead to the world."
Hawks shrugged, yawning.
"We were checking on Shouta," Nemuri scooted to the end of the bed to give him more room to stretch. "And we saw you in here too so we got worried. Shouta woke up and told us what happened then fell asleep again. We decided to hang out in here for a while in case either of you needed anything."
"Heh," Hawks smiled, small and soft. "You two are too good to be true."
They grinned.
"I need to get ready to leave. Is Aizawa good?"
Hizashi laughed, patting Aizawa's head. The man didn't even twitch. "He'll be fine. He starting to sleep for longer intervals now, he'll be back to his usual self in no time."
Hawks was pretty sure 'exhausted grump' was his usual self but Hizashi and Nemuri had known him for a lot longer so they probably picked up on cues Hawks missed.
"Nezu wanted to remind everyone that the students would be moving in tomorrow morning," Hizashi said. "They should be here around ten."
That's right, the kids would be back tomorrow. Hawks didn't have to be there, actual classes didn't start until next week and everything leading up to that was being taken care of by Aizawa and Vlad, but it would be nice to see them again. It felt like it had been months when in actuality it had only been a few weeks.
"I'll be there," Hawks stood up, mourning the loss of warmth from the blankets. "I can help get everyone moved in faster."
In another life maybe he would have started his own Moving Company. He could have been a global superpower in the world of household moving.
"I know they'd love to see you," Nemuri stretched out on the bed, stealing the blankets he'd left behind. "So warm~! Perks of bed hogging."
Hawks laughed, covering his mouth to dampen the sound in case it woke up Aizawa. He waved at them, stepping out into the bright hallway and closing the door behind him with a soft click.
His head felt weirdly empty without the pain in it. It always did after a migraine. He felt like he should be nauseous too, but he wasn't. He'd wasted a lot of time, but now he could go through the rest of his day without pain to burden him. He'd need to get Aizawa something to say 'thanks'.
He was a cool guy.
-00-
Rumi was about to snap someone's neck. Probably Hawks', because at this point she knew it was his fault even if she couldn't prove it. Being stopped by people was normal, especially for Hawks who catered to every stary eyed sucker that crossed his path, but this was getting fucking ridiculous.
"Of course!" Hawks agreed with the fiftieth request for an autograph since his feet had touched the ground. They were right at the entrance to the hospital, didn't these assholes have anything better to do? Where were they all even coming from? The street had been nearly empty just a few minutes ago.
"Hawks," Rumi barked. "We're late."
He laughed.
Rumi was going to kill him.
"Sorry, sorry. Why don't you go on ahead? I'll catch up as soon as I'm done here."
Rumi took a deep breath and thought of her PR department. Then she remembered that she paid them ridiculous amounts of money specifically for this kind of shit and bodily shoved her way to Hawks' side.
He squawked when she picked him up and threw him over her shoulder.
"Get out of the way!" she shouted, storming towards the doors. She slapped at Hawks wing when it came close to hitting her in the face. "We have shit to do, go bother someone else!"
Hawks, the dramatic little shit that he was, went completely limp and just waved at the amassed crowd of fans he had gathered.
"Sorry guys! Stay safe out there, don't do drugs, stay in school- gah!"
Rumi bounced him on her shoulder so it dug into his stomach painfully. She marched through the doors, zeroing in on an empty corner in the waiting room. Ignoring the startled looks of the patient and families she tossed Hawks into one of the chairs and turned around to glare at them. There were five groups of people total, there was plenty of room left.
"Unless you're dying this space is ours! We'll be out of your hair in a second."
She made clear eye contact with each of them. Then she turned to Hawks.
"What the hell is your problem?"
Hawks lounged in the chair like he owned it, cheek propped up on his knuckles while he grinned. "What do you mean? You're the one carrying me everywhere. Not that I'm complaining."
Rumi closed her eyes. It was easier to curb the urge to murder people when she couldn't see them. Her therapist was going to be proud of her, so long as she didn't punch her friend square in the face.
"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that, cause I know it's not you talking," she said calmly. Like an adult.
"Uh, I'm pretty sure I'm the one talking."
"No, you're Shitbird right now."
She opened her eyes purely to see the look of complete aggravation on Hawks' face. It made her feel a lot better.
"We agreed that wasn't a thing," he scowled.
"No, you said you hated that name for your weird-ass alter-ego and I said I wouldn't call you that if it stopped happening. Congrats, fucker, you're Shitbird again."
Hawks scoffed. At least he wasn't smiling anymore. "Nothing is wrong. Sorry if I upset you."
"Half-right is still half-assed," Rumi twisted so she could flop down on the chair next to him. "Seriously, what's going on? You've been Shitbird since we met up."
He grimaced at the name. "...Sorry. Really. I'm just nervous."
Rumi crossed her ankle over her knee, leaning back. "About what? It's just Tsunagu."
"Yeah," he looked at his hands. "I know."
Great. This was a 'read between the lines' kind of thing then.
Rumi huffed. She let Hawks sulk for a moment, thinking back to the last time Hawks had been around Tsunagu. As far as she was aware it had been right around the time Tsunagu had taken on a kid from UA for some experience thing. Rumi hadn't listened past Hawks choked laughter about 'hair' or something but she was pretty sure that was the last moment.
Hadn't that kid been Bakugo? The kidnapped student she'd met during Kamin-
Oh.
"If you," she said slowly, twisting so she could lean in and stare straight into the side of his face (this close she could see him start to sweat), "are about to tell me that you are afraid to visit him because you feel even a bit responsible for his injury I swear to god I am going to rip out whatever little voice you have talking crap in your head and shove it so far up your ass you will have no choice but to accept that it's absolute bullshit."
Hawks pressed the collar of his jacket over his mouth.
"Oh my god," she jumped to her feet. "Are you serious?! You were unconscious you brain dead pigeon! What the hell could you have possibly done?!"
He looked away.
"Fuck no, we're not going down this path again," Rumi grabbed him by the front of his jacket, dislodging his hand and dragging him to the front desk. "We're here to visit Hakamada Tsunagu, he's expecting us."
Rumi vaguely recognized the guy staring at them dully. She came to this hospital often enough, this kid always seemed to be the one manning the front desk. He looked two steps from death with eye bags bigger than her thigh muscles which was pretty damn impressive. He didn't seem fazed in the slightest as he checked over the list of names of people allowed to visit Jeanist while he was hospitalized.
"Hawks and Mirko, you're cleared to go. Do you know what room he is in?"
"Yeah, I've been by already. Thanks kid. Take a nap, jesus."
"Rumi," Hawks choked when she dragged him down the hall to the stairs. Fuck the elevator, she needed to be moving right now to prevent herself from wringing the bird's neck.
"Shut it," she growled. "I can't believe you're letting your own self-deprecation beat your ass like this again. You're the number two hero, you can't be falling to stuff like this anymore."
"I'm the number three-"
"Fuck the charts, we all know what's changed."
Hawks got his feet under him, trailing after her with his wings curved to help him balance. "Rumi, I didn't mean- I know I couldn't have been at Kamino."
"Then what is this about? You're blaming yourself, right?"
"I- kind of, but not because of Kamino," he sighed, tugging at her arm until she slowed down. She didn't let go but she did give him some more slack. "All of that happened because Bakugo-kun got kidnapped. I fucked up in the forest, Rumi. Badly. I've trained so hard for situations exactly like the one we were in and I couldn't keep my head on straight-"
"Good!" Rumi whipped around, pulling him up so they were nose to nose in the middle of the stairwell. "Sometimes your head is screwed on so tight I think you're gonna explode! Do you know how irritating it is to see you go through every major incident so perfectly it's like you were created for that moment alone, only for one thing to go wrong and watch you fall in on yourself? You're a damn good hero Hawks, it's why you're number two now, but even All Might makes mistakes. You grow from mistakes, you get better, but when you make mistakes it's like you think your entire life up to that moment was a complete fucking waste!"
"No- Rumi, I don't-" he looked at her with wide eyes.
"You do," she scowled. "And I don't know how to stop you from doing it, but fuck if I'm going to let it go further than it has to. You didn't make any mistakes in the damn forest, Shitbird, I read all the reports. You got a whole hell of a lot of students out of there and you nearly sacrificed yourself to save the two little shits with the Nomu. The Bakugo kid is safe at home. Everyone got out of there alive which, last I checked, was our biggest job description. So what mistake was there, huh? Tsunagu got hurt on the job, saving lives, just like you! Feeling bad about that is just spitting on his choice!"
Rumi breathed in and out harshly, not caring that she was yelling. She didn't get a lot of the things Hawks did or thought, she doubted she ever would, but she wasn't going to just sit back and watch while he took on hurts that weren't his. That was bullshit.
Hawks stared at her, pupils shrunken and eyes wide. He had grabbed her wrist in a light grip, frozen.
"Tsunagu's gonna be pissed if he realizes what you're thinking," Rumi told him. "You know he is, and he's not an angry guy. No one is blaming you cause there's nothing to blame, so stop making shit up and just- just get stronger from here! Be better next time, that's all you have to do!"
"Rumi," Hawks said slowly, squeezing her arm. "Are you giving me a pep talk?"
Rumi blinked at him, once, before pulling him into a headlock.
"Ow, ow, ow, okay! I'm sorry! It was a very good pep talk! I feel so much better- ow! Rumi!"
She went up the last flight of steps like that before dropping him. He laughed, landing on his ass and brushing his hair back.
Rumi squinted at him. God, it was so hard to read him sometimes. He never showed what he was really thinking, deep down. It was weird but it was Hawks, and Rumi had come to deal with it as best she could. He either accepted her words and was reflecting on them, or he thought she was talking shit and was deflecting.
"What's it gonna be?" she demanded, hands on her hips. "Tsunagu's right down the hall and I can guarantee he's not gonna want to have to deal with your hangups when he's got a hole in him but he will if he has to 'cause he's a fairytale princess at heart. Is he gonna have to deal with it?"
Hawks laughed, a little weaker, and stared at his feet. He took a deep breath and flapped his wings to get him back on his feet.
"Nah," he sighed, scratching the back of his head. "You, uh, did a pretty good job of dealing with that for him. Sorry, Rumi."
"I can't tell if you're lying," she told him bluntly. "Which is annoying, as usual, but Hawks I mean it when I say none of this shit was your fault. The world is a bitch sometimes, but the events that happen just happen. You can't control everything."
"Wish I could," he muttered and it was the first time Rumi was sure he was telling the full truth today.
"Well you can't, so suck it up."
"Yes ma'am," he saluted her like an idiot. She punched his shoulder.
"Never call me ma'am again, Shitbird."
"Then don't call me Shitbird."
Then don't be a Shitbird!"
Hawks laughed again, but at least this one sounded kind of real. Rumi rolled her eyes and opened the door to the hallway. Tsunagu's door was the second on the left. The one with the robot looking policeman guarding it in case anyone got any funny ideas.
"Hey, Tsunagu! We're here to visit!"
He looked a lot better than he had the last time she visited. He was sitting up a bit now, with pillows propping him up. The mask and tubes were still on, so he wouldn't be able to talk much but the fabric board Kugo had given him would take care of that.
'I know,' he manipulated the strings on the board to spell out the words, looking both amused and exasperated. 'I could hear you from here.'
Rumi grinned. She marched over to the chair closest to him, the one she always sat in whenever she dropped by.
Tsunagu wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the door.
"Hey, Tsunagu," Hawks waved, just past the threshold. "How are you doing, man?"
'Hawks.'
Tsunagu had a way of looking at people. Like looking into your soul, and then saying what you needed to hear. Rumi thought it was badass, even if she hated when he used it on her when she didn't want him to because he made her talk about her feelings and shit. It was great when he used it on other people though.
'Hawks,' his board said, and the warmth in his eyes was enough to melt a glacier. 'Come take a seat.'
Hawks' smile pinched painfully at the corners, his nose scrunching up. His wings fluttered as he walked over.
'I haven't seen you in quite some time. Would you mind updating me on everything?'
Rumi huffed, crossing her arms and leaning back. Of course, he wasn't going to bring it up. Tsunagu must have heard them, must have heard her, yelling at Hawks to get himself together. There was no way he didn't know.
Hawks must have realized it too.
"What do you want to know?" he sat down on the other side of the bed, tilting his head.
'Everything. I've missed hearing about you and your students.'
"I don't think I ever told you too much about them," Hawks laughed.
'Well, now is the perfect time to start. I would love to know more about the people that stole your heart so strongly.'
Hawks flushed and Rumi grinned. She got it now. Tsunagu had his own way of doing things, of course he'd take the sneakier path.
She let Hawks talk, keeping herself busy by making sure Tsunagu wasn't in any more pain than he needed to be in. He was still too skinny, too frail, but the light in his eyes was stronger than last time and it was even brighter near the end of their visit. Hawks seemed to cheer up too. She was glad she'd roped him into coming along. Who knows how long he would have wallowed if she hadn't.
Eventually, Hawks trailed off when he noticed Tsunagu's eyes dipping closed more and more often.
"I think that's enough stories for today," he said softly, some of the strain coming back to his voice.
Tsunagu seemed to agree but he looked disappointed.
'That is probably for the best. If you ever find the time, I would love to hear more.'
Hawks pursed his lips before he smiled again. "...I'll see what I can do."
'Thank you.'
They watched until his eyes closed and stayed that way. His labored breathing filled the room.
"He looks pretty bad," Hawks whispered, blankly staring at all the tubes.
"He looked worse before," Rumi told him honestly. "He's fighting like hell right now. He's more stubborn than I am sometimes."
Hawks laughed, nodding. "Yeah. He'll be okay."
Rumi adjusted the blanket around Tsunagu when it slipped off again. Last thing he needed was a cold.
"I'm sorry, Rumi."
She looked at him. He wasn't smiling anymore. He wasn't frowning either, he was just kind of staring at their bedridden friend. Rumi knew he wasn't as close with Tsunagu as she was, but he still cared.
Hawks always cared.
"Don't worry about it, birdbrain," she grinned. "S'what friends are for."
"Mh," he looked down at his hands.
They spent the last ten minutes of their visit in silence.
-00-
The address was in downtown Hosu. Hawks got there a little before midnight, the assigned time. It was an abandoned building (because of course it was) and he could only sense three people in it.
Three people could be a lot, depending on their quirks. Hopefully, the Plague Doctor wasn't one of them. Hawks wasn't sure he was willing to deal with that again so soon.
He flew in through a broken window on the floor above them, perching at the edge of a sunken hole so he could look down at them.
Two men, both around the same age, wearing hoodies and sweats like some kind of uniform. They couldn't be very high up in the group, they didn't have any bird-like clothing (that was uncomfortable to think about too deeply). The last one was Chisaki himself.
Hawks' lips thinned beneath his full face mask. Chisaki was worryingly interested in either the deliveries or 'Raven'. This would be great for information, but it was setting off alarm bells in his head.
"Are you planning on staying up there all night?" Chisaki raised his head to look at him. He had one eyebrow raised, unimpressed. The other two jumped, startled when they realized Hawks was there.
"I don't like surprises," Hawks said lowly, making sure he still sounded angry. It wasn't hard. His body still ached from how tense it had been when he'd had his migraine.
"On that, we can agree," Chisaki said smoothly. Always so smoothly. If he'd been Hawks right then he would have told the guy what a great public speaker he could have been.
Hawks jumped down, right between the two men so they had to scramble back to avoid being hit.
"What do you need?"
Chisaki looked over at the two gruff men pointedly. The taller one pulled out a small package from his hoodie pocket.
"That's it?" Hawks huffed, reaching for it.
Chisaki grabbed it before he could, now much closer.
Hawks lifted his wings, glaring.
"This," he held the package between his fingers like he was worried it was dirty, "is more important than it looks. Some blood samples from these two, to be exact. Their quirks aren't very interesting, so I won't be too mad if you break these, but I would prefer they make it to their destination intact."
Blood samples. For scientific research, it had to be. That didn't bode well. If Chisaki or anyone under his command was skilled in biological sciences then he really couldn't afford to let them meet the League of Villains.
"Gross," Hawks said shortly.
Chisaki hummed. "Yes, but necessary. I'll send the address to your phone."
Was this what all the deliveries would be? Blood? Or was this some weird form of test? It was a clear give away of information, Chisaki didn't have to tell him what was in the package- Hawks had expected silence, in fact- but he'd told him freely. Why? Chisaki wasn't the trusting type, he couldn't be with what happened at the pier. Hawks had even looked up the warehouse later and found that it had no actual connections to Chisaki, he'd chosen a fake location of his to hold the meet-up. Why was he telling him this? What did he even want with the blood? Maybe it was something to throw Hawks off the trail, if he suspected anything.
"I research quirks," Chisaki continued, which only worried Hawks more. "As a hobby, really. They're so fascinating, these… mutations."
He looked at Hawks' wings, a glint in his eye.
Hawks wanted to hide them away but he raised them higher, arching his shoulders as a clear threat.
Chisaki only seemed amused. "I have nothing against mutation quirks. I see great potential in them, actually. Which is why I wanted to give you a little test tonight. To see if investing in you is actually going to pay off."
"Another test?" Hawks spat.
"Of your skills, nothing else," Chisaki assured him, holding out the package. "I told you I need speed and stealth. I've heard rumors and seen you fight once. I'm going to need a little bit more than that."
This was feeling more and more like reading a book of riddles. What was it, exactly, that Chisaki was hoping to get out of this?
"The location I want you to take this to is rather far away," Chisaki explained, glancing at the other man now. He took out his phone and tapped something out quickly.
The burner in Hawks' pocket buzzed.
"I want you to deliver this as fast as you possibly can without being seen. The money will be wired to the account you gave us after the delivery, but you won't get any more jobs from us if you fail to meet my expectations."
Hawks kept his eyes on him as he pulled out his phone and opened the text.
"What the fuck," he breathed. "Kagoshima? Are you insane?"
From Fukuoka, Kagoshima was maybe an hour away if he flew a little quicker than a casual flight. From Hosu?
"I've heard," Chisaki tilted his head, "that winged heroes could make the flight in half a day. And that Hawks, who has a similar wing structure to you, could do it in a handful of hours."
...Why the fuck did he know what Hawks' wing structure was like? Enough to compare it as Raven. No one really looked at the way his wings were formed, only the color and the fact that his feathers literally detached when he wanted them to.
"I'm not Hawks," he spat, and Chisaki only hummed. Did he agree or not? "That kind of flight, it might take me the whole night."
"I hope not," Chisaki sighed like he was going to be the one killing himself to make it halfway across the country before the sun came up. "If it did we would have to look for someone else."
"You seriously think you're going to find anyone that could travel that far, that quickly?"
"Only if you can't do it."
This was a trap. It had to be. Unless they had a teleportation quirk you would need to have wings or super speed to make that kind of distance. Chisaki had to know that, so why was he pushing so hard for this? Hawks could just pretend to walk away. The money was good, yeah, but would Raven really be willing to put up with that?
"If we don't get in the way of your 'goals', are you willing to help us?" Chisaki had asked in the warehouse.
"Yes."
"No matter what we ask you to do?"
"Yes."
...He fucking hated truth quirks. If he ducked out now, even just as a show, it would prove that he had somehow been able to bypass the truth quirk. Even if he technically hadn't, even if he'd just found a way to work around it, that would be enough to label him as a clear threat to Chisaki. If he had lied about doing anything he could have lied about being undercover too.
"I better be getting paid extra for this," Hawks snapped, reaching out for the package.
Chisaki handed it over easily. "Of course. Just knock on the metal when you get there and leave it on the ground."
That sounded shady.
"Whatever," he huffed, tucking the package carefully into the inside pocket of his jacket. It was thankfully small enough to fit and the pocket was padded so it would prevent the vials inside from breaking easily. "Back up."
Hawks shooed the two strangers further away, stretching out his wings and rotating his arms. He couldn't afford any cramps right now. Once his back was warmed up properly he took off, not bothering to even look at Chisaki again.
Hawks could make the trip in two hours if he went as fast as he could. It would drain him, though, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to go anywhere Chisaki knew about in a weakened state. He'd add half an hour to the flight. No, a full hour. Anything to put 'Hawks' and 'Raven' in different categories. He thought he'd been prepared for other people to try to make the connection but this…
Hawks shook his head. He could worry about that later. For now, he needed to move.
-00-
Taking leisure flights around the country for information and darting through the country in high tension mode were apparently two different things.
Hawks had gotten to the drop point ten minutes before the three-hour mark. He'd been breathing harshly and covered in sweat but he'd still had enough stamina to get out of a fight if he needed to.
He hadn't needed to, because he had knocked on the biggest scrap metal in the junkyard after setting the package neatly on the ground and no one had come to bug him. If he hadn't double-checked the address he would have thought he was in the wrong place.
Two minutes after he left he got a text on his burner.
Impressive. Two days, same time same place. It won't be as far next time.
300,000 yen had been wired into his dummy account.
Well, he was in. Great.
At least he was close to Fukuoka. He'd kept the police scanner going the whole flight, tuning in to his usual cities. There hadn't been any blue flame sightings and it was already three in the morning. Looked like Dabi wasn't going to show tonight.
Hawks called his handler on the way to his apartment. She was happy, for once, about the info he had to share. It was a pretty big breakthrough. He wished he could feel anything other than creeped out about it.
Who memorized someone's wing pattern? That was so- it was hard to do. Unless you had an avian based quirk or you frequently worked with birds it was difficult to tell the subtle differences in feathered wings, especially if you weren't close enough to see them regularly. Which meant Chisaki was an avian enthusiast. Not really surprising, given both his and his men's style choices but it was still unnerving. It was disturbing that if he wasn't lying through his teeth about recognizing his wing pattern then it meant Chisaki had to have spent a good chunk of time looking at close-ups of Hawks' wings.
Plus the blood thing. That was never good.
Maybe Chisaki was a vampire. That would actually be a lot more comforting than whatever he actually was.
Hawks nodded to himself. He would just believe that Chisaki was a vampire then, for his own sanity.
When Hawks finally got to his apartment he was too buzzed to sleep. He'd slept almost a full night yesterday and even taken a four-hour nap earlier. He didn't need more sleep.
He needed to work.
It had been a good move to bring the leftover pasta Hizashi had made back with him. He'd planned to span it out over the next few days but it looked like he was going to eat all of it tonight. Especially since this batch, Hizashi had added pork.
Hawks mouth watered as he slipped in through his balcony. He peeled off the face mask and tossed it towards the couch.
His phone buzzed. He checked his pockets, pulling out the burner, before he realized it was his hero phone going off on the counter where he had left it. Was it the Commission? They should have called his burner, they knew he didn't have his main phone on him tonight.
Hawks had a feather bring it to him, directing a few others to help him take apart his stealth costume.
"Hello?"
"Hawks."
It was Siren. She sounded tense.
"I'm sorry for calling you so early but I need you to come to the Agency."
"Are you okay?" he rushed to the kitchen. He pulled out the large bottle of chemical cleaner under his sink, stoppering the drain and dumping it in. His feathers fell off in waves, settling into the bottom of the sink while it filled. He shivered at the feeling, pressing them down just enough to get them all submerged without breaking them.
Ouch.
"Yes, no one is hurt yet."
'Yet'.
"What's going on?"
While his feathers soaked Hawks dunked a rag into the cleaner and scrubbed harshly at his chin. He could cover his hair with a beanie but he needed his face clear. Two of his feathers carried in his make-up remover from the bathroom. His face would be tinged pink and red from how aggressively he was scrubbing at it but it was better than leaving his beard black and eye markings hidden.
"A few minutes ago I looked out the window and saw someone standing on the roof across the street. They were smoking, I thought it was just someone staying late. They saw me from the office, somehow, and waved. Something seemed off so I was going to go check it out but they pulled out a candle and lit before they just… disappeared into some kind of black portal. Hawks, the flame was blue. Weren't you attacked by someone with blue flames?"
"Stay in the building," Hawks ordered, heart leaping into his throat. "Keep an eye on the roof, tell me if anyone shows up. I'm on my way."
What the fuck. Dabi went to his agency? He knew the guy didn't care much for the subtle approach, but really? He'd waved at Siren! Gods, if Toki had been the one on the late shift tonight or, heaven forbid, Pictorem who knows what would have happened. Was he actually insane?
Hawks didn't bother wasting any time peeling off his bodysuit. He just grabbed the nearest jacket and pants he could find. His feathers were soaking wet when he pulled them on but they weren't black. It would make it a pain to fly but he could direct them mentally until they were dry enough to hold him on their own.
Shoving his boots back on almost painfully he tucked all his hair into a black beanie and shot out of his window.
It took him five minutes to get to the rooftop Siren had talked about. He was shivering from the cold when he touched down, primaries whirling into his hands as blades.
The candle was still lit, beads of wax dripping down the side. No one else was on the roof.
Hawks sent his feathers spiraling down and through the building. It was an advertisement company, there were a few workers still at their desks (they needed to go home if Hawks feathers flying through the room didn't even register in their brains) and a few janitors. No one suspicious in or around the building.
Hawks turned to his agency, spotting Siren at the window of his office. He raised his hand, motioning for her to stay there.
She nodded.
He turned back to the candle and approached it. It was a cheap looking one that burned fast, even if the flames hadn't been blue. There was something small and silver on the little copper holder it was resting in.
Hawks pinched it between his talons (fuck, he'd left his gloves back at his apartment) and lifted it up to his face.
It was a staple.
He scrubbed at his face, trying to get rid of the stinging numbness the wind had created. What the hell. What did this even mean?
Hawks closed his eyes, wings raised around him like a shield as he thought in case he wasn't as alone as he thought he was.
Okay. A staple. A medical one, at that. From the descriptions the students had given Dabi was covered in staples to hold his scarred flesh to the healthy bits that remained. So this must be one of his. This was obviously a response to his note as well, why else would he come all the way to the Agency of all places to leave it?
Did he want Sukihiro to help him with his condition? Was that why he was searching for the Doctor?
It made sense. Dabi was a known name now. People would recognize him on the spot with that amount of scarring, it would be impossible to go by a regular pharmacy without getting caught and Hawks doubted anyone would trust back alley drugs unless they absolutely had to.
But why would Dabi trust Hawks to find him? Find someone that could be so important to his health and survival? He must have a source for medical problems already, he couldn't be that worried about finding Sukihiro. And Toki said the man had disappeared years ago, for all Dabi knew he was dead.
So he had a source already, which meant Hawks' failure meant nothing, but Sukihiro would be a better option if he had a choice? That matched up. Would Sukihiro agree though? Now that Hawks had a glimpse into Dabi's reasonings he doubted (but didn't dismiss) the idea that Dabi would use the granddaughter or her family as leverage. It didn't track with everything else he had done but health concerns always messed with people's actions.
...Not that it mattered. Hawks already had the Commission's full approval to share Sukihiro's location. Worrying about what came after that was just a Hawks problem.
He couldn't afford to waste this opportunity. This could be his first real step towards infiltrating the League and gaining their trust. Jeopardizing that for one person, a person with a criminal record no less, would be foolish.
Hawks tapped his talons along the sides of his legs.
He'd go talk to Siren. Get her to go home, or at least to the other side of the building so she couldn't look out the window again for a while. He'd write Sukihiro's address down and leave it underneath the candle holder along with a feather to let Dabi know he'd left the message.
He'd fly by Sukihiro's house as Hawks and Raven both. If Dabi showed up he wouldn't do anything, he couldn't, but… at least he would know. At least he could try to keep the girl out of it.
A full-body shiver tore through him when a breeze kicked up. Hawks swallowed down the bitter taste in the back of his throat and flew up to his office.
This was for the greater good.
Siren didn't even question him when he told her to check the buildings on the other side of the Agency. It made the bitterness grow. She shouldn't trust him so easily.
The note took all of a minute to complete. He sent a single feather down to put it in place, staying in his office so Siren didn't question him.
He couldn't tell her. Not like he could with Toki. Siren came from a rough life, but not a criminal one. She'd worry too much. She'd start losing feathers again and that would affect her daughter too. He couldn't do that to her.
"I'm going to patrol around," Hawks told her when she returned, his back to the window. "I'll let you know if I find anything."
Someone picked up his feather. They bent it a little, brushing a finger over the bristles, before setting it on fire.
"I'll keep an eye out here," Siren said, view of the opposite roof blocked by Hawks' shoulder and wings. "Stay safe, okay? Call if anything happens, I'll come help clean up right away."
She hugged him, like she always did. Hawks felt cruel, hugging her back. She would be so upset if she knew. She hated liars, with a passion. Shame she worked for the biggest one in the city.
"You're freezing! Hold on, let me grab you your spare jacket. If you go around like that you'll only get sick."
Hawks laughed, watching her flutter around with a vice gripping his chest. "Thanks, it's a bit chilly out tonight."
She helped him put it on, giving him one last hug. "Stay safe."
"I will. Don't stay overtime, just let Toki know what's going on then get some rest."
"Okay," she squeezed him one more time.
Hawks saluted her cheekily, falling backward out of the window and taking off towards his apartment. The rooftop was empty again, the candle, note, and feather gone.
Hawks closed his eyes tightly. This was the start. It was only going to get worse from here, he knew that. He'd signed up for it.
All for the greater good.
-00-
"Why are you always so energetic in the mornings?" Vlad asked when Hawks touched down next to him.
"Why are you always such a grump?"
Vlad rolled his eyes.
Hawks looked around at the rest of the teachers. Everyone was here, even Hound Dog at the other side of their weird little line-up. He was still vibrating with energy and nerves. Hopefully, the kids would bring a lot of stuff with them. He needed something more physical to do.
"Hello Hawks!" Thirteen waved at him excitedly.
Hawks waved back. Thirteen took a step towards him when they heard the gates opening.
"Aw," they slumped a bit. "I'll talk to you later?"
Hawks blinked. He hadn't realized they liked him so much. "Of course! I want to hear what you think about that new shuttle they have going up next week."
"You've heard about that?!" Thirteen jumped up and down.
Of course he had, he made sure to add space-related articles to his usual research sites so he could keep up to date on things they might be interested in. It was the same reason he was learning more about music, nail art, and cats.
Hawks grinned as the cars started pooling in. They must have already passed the main security check to make it this far but Hawks kept a close eye on who was in what car just in case.
The first familiar faces he saw were Uraraka and Fukidashi.
Hawks blinked at the leap his heart made straight into his throat.
"Huh," he said, tapping at his chest.
Vlad looked at him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he assured him when the man actually looked worried. "I just… missed them more than I thought I did."
Vlad's face softened in a way that made Hawks feel embarrassed. "They worm their way in pretty deep before you realize it. I get it."
Hawks shrugged before stopping himself. What was he, and flustered teen? Instead, he grinned and waved excitedly at the cars as they passed, lining up along the sides until the whole area was filled. He lifted his wings, one-by-one, as his ability to sense all the spare feathers he'd handed out to some of them heightened thanks to the closer range.
The kids flew from their cars like they were the ones with wings, converging on the teachers excitedly. Hawks looked over the families of 1-A with interest. He'd seen some of them when he flew over on his patrols but it was different seeing them all interact up close.
"Hawks-sensei!" Uraraka waved excitedly. There was a man and woman at her side that looked just like her. "Your wings look so much better!"
That's right, they hadn't seen him since the training camp. Hawks glanced over at the fanciest car of the lot. Yaoyorozu was smiling as she talked to Aizawa but she kept making small, timid glances in his direction.
Awase must have told her what happened when he talked to him, but he'd need to speak to her himself at some point too.
Speaking of people he wanted to speak to, where was Bakugo?
There he was- wait, no. That was a woman that looked exactly like Bakugo.
Hawks snorted. Uraraka tilted her head.
"Sorry, just thought of something funny," Hawks turned his attention back to her. Tsunatori and Iida had joined the group now. "It's good to see you guys. Excited for the move?"
"Very much so!" Iida said. "This is a wonderful opportunity! To be able to-"
"It's so exciting!" Uraraka jumped in, bouncing up and down.
"Yes, yes," Tsunatori agreed. "Will you be living in dorms too, Hawks-sensei?"
"Yup," he waved at a few other students. "You'll see me around, I'm sure. It looks like you guys brought a lot of stuff. Principal Nezu wants you all to meet up over there, by your homeroom teachers. Why don't you show your parents where to go?"
"Yes, Hawks-sensei!"
Ahh, he'd missed that.
The others must have told the rest of the kids because they all started migrating to the wide-open area Nezu was waiting at. Some of them would have to move their cars further in to reach 1-B's dorms but they had all parked with enough space to make it easy to pull out.
"Hey, Hawks-sensei?"
Hawks looked over as Kamakiri walked up with a bag over his shoulder. "Hey Kamakiri-kun! It's great to see you. Where's your Dad?"
The question seemed to make him wilt, which was weird. Hawks peered over his shoulder to see Hideo along the outskirts of the large group, looking nervous and a bit overwhelmed. He could feel the man's rapid heartbeat through the feather he had in his pocket (he wondered what Kamakiri had told him, to get him to carry it around). Why was Kamakiri over here when he was so protective of his Dad?
I've, uh, got a request. Please."
Hawks squinted. "You're being weirdly polite today. Is something wrong?"
Kamakiri looked down and away. "Look, don't tell him this, but I don't want my Dad helping me unpack. It'll make him feel bad."
Hawks looked at Hideo again. He was fidgeting with the strings of his hoodie but even from this distance, he could see how badly the man's hands were shaking.
"Bad day?" Hawks guessed, looking away before he could be caught staring.
Kamakiri nodded, shifting on his feet. "It happens and he's nervous about today too so that just makes it worse. But he feels bad if it stops him from doing things."
That sucks.
"What do you want me to do?"
"He wants to see the dorm," Kamakiri explained. "I know you guys were gonna do some stupid tour, or whatever, but do you think you could take some of the parents and do one early? Just a few people, I don't want him to feel overwhelmed without me there, but it would keep him busy while I unpack."
Hawks didn't even try to hide the dopey smile growing on his face. "Kamakiri. You trust me that much?"
"Ugh, can you not?" Kamakiri flushed, ducking his head angrily. "I just- I just don't want him feeling bad on the last day…"
He trailed off but Hawks got it.
"Hey," he smiled, patting the boy's shoulder, "don't worry. How about we get everything to your room first, so he can see it, and I'll talk to Nezu about doing the tours in groups? I'll have him in the first one so he'll go to your room with you but then he'll have to come join the tour while you unpack."
Kamakiri looked relieved. "Yeah. Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks."
He'd forgotten how cute these kids were.
Speaking of cute kids, Hawks could feel two of his feathers racing towards him in a mad dash.
Twisting on his feet he dropped to the ground with his hands out.
"Hawks!" Rui and Eiko slammed into him. Hawks rocked with the added weight, twisting his feet so he could raise them up in the air in a hug.
"Rui-kun! Eiko-chan!" He beamed.
"We're so sorry we're late!" Ava yelled out from the last car that had just pulled in. "Eiko-chan couldn't find her hoodie and they absolutely refused to come if they didn't have their special clothes for today and then Neito just had to egg them on-"
"The Principal is about to start talking," Monoma cut in smoothly, hopping out of the door his siblings had left open. "We should go, Mamma."
"Oh!" Ava flushed, looking at the collection of parents and students that had all turned to look at the commotion. "Sorry! We'll be right there, go ahead and start without us! Keiko, honey, wake up. We're here."
Hawks waved at her to let her know he had the kids before walking them a little way away so they were under the shade of one of the trees. Kamakiri nodded at him, eyes darting to the two kids as he went to rejoin his Dad.
Hawks squeezed them tight before setting them down and crouching to be at their eye level.
"Hey," he smiled.
"Hi!" Rui beamed. He was missing his front left canine.
"Um," Eiko blushed, pulling at the hood of her hoodie but not quiet putting it on. It was a cute pastel yellow. Rui was wearing a matching one. Hawks had felt something on the backs but he hadn't been able to place what they were. "We, um, we got new clothes."
"They're very cute," Hawks complimented. "They look soft."
"They are!" Rui grabbed his sister's hand, looking proud. "They're special. Wanna know why?"
"Why?" Hawks leaned in like they were going to tell a secret.
They shared a look, before pulling on their hoods and spinning around.
Hawks slapped a hand over his mouth, the bridge of his nose burning.
There were two little cloth wings sticking out of the back, carefully stitched with feather patterns. They were a bright red that matched his own wings.
Hawks pulled out his phone lightning-fast, his chest rumbling with a delighted coo.
"Oh my god," he gushed, snapping a few pictures. Rui posed like he was born to be a model while Eiko pulled her hood down over her eyes and giggled while she blushed. Hawks circled them, hopping so he could stay crouched. "You two look amazing! Red wings look even better on you than they do me! Where did you get these? They look so good! Maybe you two can be the new Hawks, with double the power!"
"No, no, no," Rui crossed his arms. "You're Hawks. I'm Eagle! And Eiko is Sparrow!"
Hawks fell to the ground, clutching his chest.
"Keiko-san made them for us," Eiko told him, peeking at him from under her hood. "She's really good at sewing. She's making us dolls right now so we can each have our own Hawks. The ones at the stores don't have soft enough feathers, so she said she'd make better ones for us."
Hawks nearly wheezed. He had not been prepared for this kind of attack.
"Keep going!" Monoma shouted encouragement(?) from the group. "I don't know what you're doing but I think you're about to take out the Number Three hero!"
"Shut up, Neito!" Eiko stomped her foot.
"Yeah, shut up, Neito," Rui stuck his tongue out.
Hawks really did wheeze, falling over as he laughed when Neito gasped with the most horrifically insulted look he'd ever seen on a human being.
"Have some respect for your older brother!"
"Respect is earned," Eiko lectured him. "Mama Ava said so!"
"Yeah, and you're just older than us," Rui grabbed his sister's hand in solidarity. "You're still dumber!"
Hawks had never heard Kendo laugh so loudly before. She was laughing so hard she snorted. All of class 1-B was snickering, even a few of 1-A's students. Monoma gapped at them.
Hawks managed to pull himself back up, high-fiving the two ruthless children he'd become unerringly attached to.
A coil of tension deep in his chest eased. One he hadn't even noticed had been building.
Gods, he'd missed these kids.
-00-
The kids are baaacckkk~ *dances*
Chisaki is a really good villain. In that he scares the crap out of me.
Next time: Fluff. And did someone say another student montage?
Guest: *gives worm* You know what they say about early birds XD
GrimReaperLaw: Ohhh, now there's a thought. That would be very bad for our birb, tis true. Don't tempt me now. Not for a while, but you will definitely see the teacher's reaction! They are going to learn about it at some point in this story.
hinatayvonne: *gasps* who needs DADzawa, when you could have MOMzawa! Or both! The dual sides of Aizawa, forming one full paternal circle with no escape! I love it.
ChaosHearth: I'll keep your favorite parts in mind, dear Chaos! I'll add some extra bits here and there for you when I can!
Rosto'sGirl: Friend! You've returned! That's a weird app glitch. Sorry it's messing with you. Best of luck with your degree! I believe in you! Migraines are just... gross. I hate them. I only get them once or twice a year, usually in the summer, but my mom and sister suffer from chronic migraines. They're usually caused by over-stimulation, stress, and then it just builds and builds with any bright lights (like the SUN) and noises. I figured, with Hawks' quirk, they were a thing he would need to look out for. Aizawa and Nezu are gonna start doing some background things! I adore you, dearheart! It's always so nice to hear from you!