After weeks of side-eyeing this has reached 'I judge you but you're good enough to go' levels. I hope you like it!
Chisaki fails at basic tasks
Hawks is a workaholic
Spinner gets some help
Rumi judges.
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Used
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There was a thing called 'meeting etiquette'. Hawks was well versed in all variations of it and if he had been born in the times where social talking decided if you had a mansion or a hut then he'd have a palace. And that was lowballing it.
In meetings there were certain rules that changed depending on who was meeting, why, and for what.
A meeting for friends? Light-hearted banter, casual conversation that just briefly hedged along emotional topics to make everyone feel like they knew each other enough to care and be cared about, and the occasional pats on the shoulder or hip bumps. Smiling and eye contact in order to maintain a casual disposition was key to being successful.
A meeting for business associates? Eye contact and head tilts of deference depending on the level of power in the room. Handshakes. So many handshakes. Smiling was useful but in moderate degrees and never reaching a full grin. Unless you were in full control and wanted people to know you were in control there was to be no smirking, no casual body language, and speech was formal.
A meeting with a bunch of villains you needed to trust you enough to tell you all the juicy details necessary to get them all arrested? For this particular group, as Raven, he was tense. Wary. Constantly eyeballing the others in the room, making sure to clearly tilt his head so they knew where he was looking with the mask on. Hunched shoulders, wings lifted around his shoulders in a vaguely threatening way, and his hands in his pockets. Making it clear that he felt uncomfortable. Made sure he looked weak but ready for a fight. Someone would try to take advantage of the newbie and he'd make sure to return the favor. It was common courtesy.
Simple. Easy.
Chisaki was a bitch.
As the leader of the meeting, Chisaki had his own standards to meet. Delivering information clearly and concisely. Making sure everyone was on the same page. Introducing anyone new so that the newbie wouldn't be ambushed and threatened when the meeting was over.
Hawks could handle anything that came from Chisaki failing to do the most simple task, of course, but it was still a dick move. Introductions weren't even hard! It didn't even have to be verbal. Literally making eye contact and nodding would have been a clear enough sign to let everyone know Hawks was supposed to be there.
Instead, like an asshole, he told Hawks to wait two minutes before entering the room. Because heaven forbid they be seen entering the room together. Then, when Hawks slipped in silently, Chisaki didn't look up. Didn't even seem to notice he was there.
Deliberately twisted so he wouldn't notice anything out of his peripheral vision.
Which meant Hawks looked like he had just snuck into a meeting he definitely shouldn't be in but no one was willing to interrupt Chisaki while he was talking apparently so they all just turned and glared at him. The only reason they weren't immediately trying to kill him was they recognized him from the times he would moodily stomp through the base when doing basic recon. Nemoto, the one with the truth quirk that Hawks hated the most out of everyone in the room (even Chisaki, because petty grudges were strong and binding) lifted his head up like he was smug about something.
Hawks flipped him off.
As Nemoto gasped and floundered, Hawks leaned against the wall and waited. Chisaki was going over what everyone had been doing over the last week. Fact-checking, tallying numbers, telling everyone 'good job, stay loyal' in the blandest voice he could manage.
Could he at least mention something Hawks didn't already know? He'd been trying to get in on these routine meetings for a while, it would be nice if he could actually get something from them. Even if Chisaki was being cautious because he was there, the man could still slip up. Or one of the others could say something at some point. That was more likely.
If Chisaki was going to throw him to the wolves he'd just find a way to turn it in his favor. He could play a pretty damn good sheep. Someone would try to 'take him under their wing' even if only to manipulate him or get a leg up in the hierarchy.
Nemoto wasn't an option there but he already had a setup going for him. The more Nemoto hated him the easier he would be to manipulate if ever Hawks needed to. Having emotional control over someone with a truth quirk was always a good idea.
"You are all getting complacent," Chisaki sighed. "It's time to move to the next step."
Everyone snapped their attention to Chisaki. Hawks folded his arms to help keep his shoulders from tensing up noticeably. When Chisaki finally looked up he glanced at Hawks, blinked, and raised an eyebrow.
Like he was surprised Hawks was there.
What an absolute ass. He'd have to aim for the dumber members now. The ones no one really trusted with important information because making it look like Hawks had snuck in would put a red flag on him.
How irritatingly smart.
"The first batch has already been handed off to lesser groups," Chisaki waved his hand at Hawks.
Hawks narrowed his eyes behind his mask.
Batch? That… didn't sound right. Chisaki was always aware of what words he used, would he really refer to blood like that? Hawks had only ever heard him refer to the blood as samples. 'The first batch' was off too. Hawks had made dozens of deliveries at this point. He checked every single one and it was blood every time. There had been no hidden compartments, just the vials all exactly the same.
He'd clearly motioned at Hawks. Hawks had made the delivery. Or he was lying. Why?
Hawks made a show of looking around the room at all the people he wasn't supposed to know about. He folded his arms, wings shaking out a bit in irritation.
Could he call Chisaki out on this? Probe for more information? If they had been alone, or maybe with just a few other people, he would try it. Whatever Chisaki wanted from him it was enough to let Hawks get away with quite a bit of attitude and questions. In a tiny room where all of the big names of the Shie Hassaikai were staring him down with a less than subtle threat lined in the majority of their shoulders one of them would definitely try to kill him if he showed Chisaki any disrespect.
Maybe if he directed it at another member. It would at least let him test the waters of what kind of social network he was dealing with. He doubted they all liked and respected each other. With Chisaki's type of manipulation the man likely wouldn't care about any infighting so long as it didn't get in his way. The existence of any type of hierarchy in the first place would be grounds for subversion.
"Follow your targets and observe," Chisaki ordered them. "Keep track of how soon it affects them and how long it lasts. If it's a choice between getting the information and getting caught, fall back. There is enough for several experiments."
He definitely wasn't talking about the blood. Was this a new drug? Everyone else understood what he was talking about, several of them looking excited.
Hawks licked the back of his teeth. So he'd been right. Chisaki had developed something new.
The Shie Hassaikai didn't often deal in drugs outside of minor handoffs or deliveries. It left trails leading back to them and they were the longest-lived Yakuza group for a reason. If they had a hand in drug creation, let alone the drug trade in general, it was bad. What kind of drug would Chisaki Kai make that he would be so invested in?
The assignments got handed out. Hawks was left without a folder.
"Raven," Chisaki looked right at him, a thread of amusement in his voice that meant bad news. "You will be working with Kurono."
"Who's that?" Hawks shifted on his feet for the sixth time. This could end up being a problem, but at least he was being given a chance to finally see what Chisaki had been working on. If Chisaki was hoping Kurono would be able to observe his reactions by surprising him he was in for a poor surprise.
Hawks only reacted how he chose to.
"I am Chronostasis," Kurono introduced himself politely. "I have been interested in seeing how you work, Raven."
Hawks let his wings relax a bit, tilting his head at the greeting. He twitched the beak of his mask an inch towards Chisaki to make up for the movement of his eyes being covered.
"I'm only here to make deliveries. " He could toe the line here. Make a few disagreements. Chisaki clearly wanted him involved for some reason (suspicious, it was a huge risk to him, why would he let Hawks anywhere close to this), Hawks could make a show of being dragged into it.
Kurono looked to Chisaki now. What a power trip it must be, to have everyone in the room look to you for every answer.
"Deliveries is exactly what you will be doing," Chisaki scratched the side of his face, right along the line where his mask met skin. "But these ones are more important. I'm sure you can understand why I'd want someone I trust to be there."
Hawks sighed low in his throat. What was the thing Kaminari did with his shoulders when he clearly didn't want to do something but knew that any verbal complaint would result in three times the work? His left shoulder would raise, his right dropping, and then he'd let his left shoulder fall back when he'd stretch his neck just slightly to the right.
"Fine," Hawks lifted his left shoulder a bit and stretched his neck. "This sounds shady as hell, by the way."
Chisaki didn't even bother with a response which was interesting. He was avidly ignoring Hawks again. It was nice, considering that every time they were in the same room he would usually zero in on Hawks so intently that he probably noticed dust motes getting displaced with so much as a twitch. It was also suspicious.
The most obvious reason would be the people in the room. He was clearly setting up how the others would view Hawks, but was that all? Hawks hadn't officially met everyone in the room, but he'd been introduced to a few. Chisaki's behavior had never changed around them. Nemoto, Mimic, and Rikiya had all met him when Chisaki was in the room even if only for a brief moment. There had been no change in how creepily lenient the man was when Hawks spoke up. Who was the act for? Kurono? Chisaki's right-hand man would have far more trust placed in him than any of the others, would an act really benefit anything? Mimic was in the higher ranks, while the other two were in the lower so ranking might not have anything to do with it.
Was it loyalty?
They were all loyal to Chisaki. They wouldn't be this high in the hierarchy if they weren't, but he could see someone like Deidoro (who's quirk practically required him to be a fierce alcoholic) or Rappa (who he'd heard about from Rumi as someone who loved fighting above all else) being loyal only because of what Chisaki could offer them. Hawks had toed the line of probing all of the eight bullets for information and keeping his distance. He hadn't even met a few of them to make sure suspicions of him were kept as low as they could be for someone like Chisaki. There could be some that would turn if given the right motivations. Or at least some that were more loose-lipped than the others. This act must be for their benefit.
Or Chisaki was playing mind games with him for the hell of it. That was always an option.
Hawks couldn't feel the electric currents he knew were running through the mask on his face, but he refused to forget they were there. He wouldn't put it past Chisaki to have some kind of sensor built into this. It was a little ridiculous to think that the man had access to technology that would tell him if Hawks smiled behind his mask, but Hawks hadn't made it this far in his career by being careless. Chisaki was as paranoid as him, if not more so, and he clearly had access to knowledge or tech others didn't.
Hawks made sure to scowl in displeasure. His feathers ruffled near his primaries to show he was displeased with being ignored.
Chisaki's phone beeped.
Hawks let his eyebrow raise when the man checked whatever it said and then walked out without a word.
He glanced at the others but no one else was leaving. Were they supposed to wait until he came back? Without even a word of warning?
That was another tally on the 'Chisaki is the worst boss, what a dick' board, but the fact that none of the others- not even Rappa- looked irritated was unnerving. That was a dangerous, almost creepy level of obedience.
At least it wasn't dead quiet. Small conversations started picking up with the more verbal members. Kurono turned so that he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Hawks but didn't try to speak to him. It kept the others from talking to him in a way that was clearly planned.
How much had Chisaki told Kurono about his suspicions? He trusted Kurono a lot more than the others, clearly, but how far did that extend? Was Chisaki someone that could completely trust his second-in-command? Either way, if he was going to dig for information Kurono would not be the road to choose. Not yet.
With Chisaki was out of the room and Kurono standing next to him but facing the same direction Hawks took the chance to slowly detach his smallest scapular feather right between his wings where a small collection of feathers grew from his back and guided it carefully out of the hole in his clothes for his wings. Normally he would use a breathing exercise to help him focus because his scapulars were sensitive and it was a pain in the ass to have even one outside of the safety of his clothes where everything was at least muffled but if there was a chance that the mask had any kind of sensor or recorder in it he couldn't do that. He wouldn't put it past Chisaki to analyze his breathing patterns, the creep.
So he'd have to make do with internally bemoaning every sound, vibration, and irritating buzz of the air conditioner. He sent the feather carefully up the wall behind him towards the air vent. It would have been better to hide it somewhere actually in the room- the air vent would be… distracting- but Chisaki would probably find it anywhere else.
Hawks turned his attention to the yakuza in the room as an efficient way to keep himself focused. It was a good thing his feathers were black, otherwise this would be impossible to pull off without at least one of them noticing.
Hawks ticked off the groups he could already see formed.
Tengai Hekiji was close at the shoulder of Rappa Kendo. Hawks knew a lot more about Rappa than Tengai, but he wouldn't try his luck with either of them quite yet. Tengai was new. Designated as Rappa's babysitter even though the two butted heads every time Hawks came across them. Tengai seemed more loyal to Chisaki, following his orders without complaints even though it was clear he had many reservations about his assignment. He was calm, too, which wouldn't help Hawks very much. Rappa was… exactly the kind of person Hawks tried to avoid. Very big, could snap him with a pinky, and would fight anything that moved for fun. He'd heard some stories from Rumi, and he did not want to see how many of them were real. If his loyalties could be skewed it would likely only be by someone that could offer him more of a challenge than Chisaki could. Not a bad option but risky enough to make him more of a last resort.
Sakaki Deidoro was a bundle of rage, abusive tendencies, and alcohol. He was drinking in the far corner, occasionally mumbling to himself. He was dangerous, but to Hawks his only real danger was his unpredictability. With such a loose tongue and touchy temper, no one would tell him anything really important anyway. He was off the list.
The trio closest to him would have been good. They were lower in power than the others and, while extremely loyal to Chisaki, they also held loyalties to each other. They were willing to make connections and they were stable enough that Hawks could predict their reactions. They were the prime targets of everyone in the room.
If only one of them wasn't Setsuno Toya.
Chisaki wasn't the only one that was likely to figure out who he really was. Hawks had saved Setsuno years ago, when the man had thrown himself off a building in despair. It had been Hawks' first year as a pro. Everyone always said he was too fast for his own good, but they never seemed to realize that he had slowed down over the years. Not fighting wise. Not with physical speed. Back then Hawks hadn't even taken the time to learn anyone's name outside of missions. He'd caught Setsuno and dropped him off at the police station with the most basics of 'I've got you, keep your chin up, see ya'.
And now Setsuno was here.
Hawks hadn't even known his name until he recognized his face and looked him up in the database. He didn't even know why the man jumped.
Setsuno had hated him the moment he laid eyes on him. His gaze had been drawn to Hawks' wings, and even as blackened as they were it was clear Setsuno had held onto a grudge.
The logical part of himself reminded him that he had done his job and it wasn't his fault that Setsuno had made the choices to bring him here.
His heart reminded him of all of the people he'd managed to help by simply learning about them, and it wondered if Setsuno could have been one of those.
Either way, he couldn't approach them. Setsuno already hated him on principle and of all the members in the room barring Chisaki (who he was pretty sure knew , somehow, even without concrete proof) Setsuno was most likely to figure him out if he got too close.
Hawks let his wings arch, a clear threat, when he turned to catch Setsuno still glaring at him. The other two would look over too, though they seemed more mellow or… uncomfortably curious. He'd stay away from Tabe Soramitsu unless there were absolutely no other options. The way the man stared at his wings, clicking his teeth together with a hand over his stomach, was telling.
Katsukame Rikiya would be a good choice. The man would follow orders, but he was as lazy as he could get away with. If Hawks took on some of his jobs for him, made himself an errand runner, it would put him in the large man's good graces. He was loyal but not the brightest.
Irinaka Joi would be easy. The small man was egocentric and emotional. He was in charge of the majority of things Hawks was interested in, probably due to his near worshiping levels of loyalty to Chisaki. He took care of the group's finances and worked basically as a manager to give assignments and report them to Chisaki. He wouldn't give up information easily, but his personality made him open to manipulation.
He would start with Rikiya. Put himself on the lowest rung of the ladder, so clearly beneath them all. Irinaka would get irritated that Hawks was doing someone else's work, but if he did it well it would build a subconscious trust. Hawks wouldn't even need to say anything at first. Just let the man rant. Offer a listening ear disguised as uncaring apathy. Then he would use Nemoto. Being clearly antagonistic towards one member (one they all seemed irritated with on some level or another, which Hawks could empathize with) while willing to listen to all the others would draw a certain level of attention but make it far less suspicious for him to willingly follow orders from all the others. Depending on how much Nemoto got on the other's nerves it might even ingratiate himself to a few of them.
He would just have to be careful of Chisaki and Kurono. Chisaki was giving him a loose leash for some reason and Hawks needed to make sure he knew where the lead ended. And why the man was so confident. Kurono would not offer him the same level of freedom if he noticed anything strange about his behavior. Hawks didn't know why Chisaki wasn't informing anyone outside of maybe Kurono, or why he was just letting it all play out, but it wasn't for anything good. He needed to work fast before whatever was building blew up in his face.
Chisaki walked back in with a glint in his eye. Hawks settled his feather down in the vent. The vibrations of it were already irritating but he could still make out Chisaki's voice. He'd take his migraine medication when he left to be proactive.
"Next week we're going to go for a walk," Chisaki told them.
"Finally!" Rikiya roared, cracking his knuckles.
Hawks made a mental note to increase his patrols next week.
"Raven," Chisaki stepped in front of him. Hawks raised his wings, threatening and curved, when he took a step too close and loomed. He wanted to straighten his back and stare down the threat in front of him, but showing a dose of fear was good. It would keep Chisaki from pushing further into his space as a challenge.
"What?" he scoffed, leaning further back into the wall behind him.
"You're invited to come along."
Hawks narrowed his eyes behind the mask. That was promising. Being brought in for something in front of all of the eight bullets was a good thing, and witnessing whatever was going to happen on this 'walk' would give him more information. If going on a walk meant doing something outside the building- as a group no less- then it must be something that would draw the eyes of others to them. He could possibly draw more attention from the League, or at least other groups. It was a perfect opportunity offered on a silver plater.
Hawks wondered how Hawks would poison it. Still, he had an image to keep up. Agreeing right away would go against everything he'd set up.
"I don't do daytime," Hawks shook his head.
Chisaki looked amused again. He was going back to his typical behavior. Why? Whatever information he suddenly had from his phone changed his plans. What did he need him for that amuse him so much?
"I think you should make time for this. It's important."
Hawks gave himself a solid six seconds to shuffle his feet and make a show of thinking about it.
"...why?"
Chisaki fixed his gloves, coughing a bit into his mask. He wasn't someone that smiled often, if ever, but there was a curve of his eyes that could rival any smirk.
"We're going to create a meeting with the League of Villains."
-00-
The Commission didn't seem overly concerned with his report. Besides showing obvious excitement about the potential of meeting the League of Villains they didn't seem to care much about Chisaki. Not that Hawks expected them to. The information was good but not anything shocking. They'd already assumed Chisaki was getting involved with some kind of drug, this was just validating those theories. The League meeting was promising. If it actually went through, whatever plan Chisaki had, then it could be his in with them. The Dabi plan was working, but very slowly. He was still waiting to see what Dabi would do about Sukihiro. If Chisaki did manage to get a meeting it would speed things up.
"Where is the mask?" she asked, eyes closed as she thought over everything he'd told her.
Hawks frowned. "He took it. I am only allowed to wear it when working for him, so he will hold onto it until he has a specific job for me to do and then he will return it."
"That is suspicious." Her eyes opened. She was frowning.
"Perhaps there is a tracker in it?" one of the men on the left wondered.
"Then why keep it? If he wanted to keep track of where Hawks was it would be better to let him take it with him."
Hawks shrugged his shoulders. "I'm guessing he didn't want me looking too closely at it. He's a paranoid man and it didn't seem like he wanted me looking into whatever he put in the mask."
The President tapped her fingers along the wood of her desk. Hawks debated on showing his irritation with the noise, it wasn't really working nicely with the feather he'd left behind in the vents, but he let it go. It was the one tell she allowed herself to help her focus, and he honestly just didn't have the energy to be petty. This far away it was hard to make out anything besides the vibrations of the air conditioner constantly hitting every bristle but he knew the room was empty. It was going to be difficult to get any sleep for the next few days. Hopefully he'd get some good information before his feather became useless from being detached for so long. The smallest feathers could only last for a few days before his wings considered them gone, automatically got rid of the symmetrical match on the other side of his spine so his body would be 'equal', and new ones started growing in. Those feathers were the worst to grow back. They were the hardest to reach and they itched. It would suck if he'd put it in the vents for nothing. At least he had the new bottle of migraine medication from Aizawa. As long as he kept on top of taking them it would be fine.
"Try to find out more about the mask," she sighed. "Be careful when you have it on. If you think it is going to endanger you, get rid of it."
"Aw," Hawks put a hand over his heart. "If I didn't know any better I would think you cared."
"Your priority is still the League." She ignored him. At least some of the others shifted guiltily. "Night Eye has been tracking Overhaul and has made good progress. He can be left to others if need be. Taking out both would be preferable but if it comes down to it do what you can to get on the League's good side. With the information you've gotten as well as Night Eye and his agency we can begin tracking whatever this new drug is. The creator of the Nomu is the bigger threat."
"I agree," Hawks pinched his chin between his fingers, keeping his expression light. "The differences in all of the Nomu we've seen so far are alarming. That level of genetic manipulation gives them a lot of options."
"There is a chance that no more Nomu will appear now that All for One has been detained, but without proof we can not allow this to go unchecked. I trust your judgment, Hawks, but make sure to keep the bigger picture in mind."
Hawks let his smiled turn sour. A bitter edge, just for her. "How could I possibly forget? Is there anything else you needed?"
She steepled her fingers in front of her. Which meant yes, there was yet another thing she needed him to do. She shared a look with the other members and they all started packing up like the meeting was over. Some of them, the ones that knew they were bad liars, made sure to keep their eyes down and away from him.
Great. So it was something they knew he wouldn't like.
"All Might is scheduled to visit All for One in Tartarus tomorrow," she told him plainly.
Hawks nearly snorted. They were going into 'what I say versus what I mean' territory again. She wanted him to press Yagi for info.
"Tartarus has a lot of cameras," he smiled. 'Just request the video feed of the meeting.'
The look she gave him was a familiar one. Dry, unimpressed, and expectant all in one. For someone that had the facial expression of stone Hawks always found it impressive how she managed to convey everything she wanted to with only a tilt of her head and dip of her eyelids.
He remembered practicing in front of the mirror to be just like her. Just as unbreakable. He never quite matched up, but it at least helped him find the ways that worked best for him.
"I've got a lot on my plate right now, in case you hadn't heard," he leaned his weight forward onto his toes. "Pretty big things, too. How big of a priority is this?"
If the two Commission members taking their sweet time gathering their things had actually moved with some purpose to their steps and left when they were supposed to he would have been a bit more blunt. More along the lines of 'I am currently trying to take down two entire groups of dangerous villains with some side groups as a bonus because of the whole drug network thing, work all night as an undercover vigilante to do so, have two day jobs at this point, and sometimes need to sleep so why the hell am I looking into the one guy in the entire world that will never be a threat?'. Something along those lines.
"Kamino is still a concern to many, but we owe a great deal to All Might. Keeping an eye on his emotional state will allow us to help if needed," she replied simply. 'Any information on All for One is information we need, and All Might clearly has more than he's willing to share'.
Well, duh. Hawks wonders if they ever tried just asking. Yagi was pretty nice, especially if he thought you actually wanted to help. He'd keep his secrets, sure, but he was a bad liar.
Still, orders were orders.
"I'm gonna grab some coffee. Want any?"
'Aye, aye, whatever you say boss. Please, let me continue to cater to your every want and demand'
"No."
'No'
Hawks grinned and jumped out the windows just to be petty. He left the windows open too, because it was cold out.
-00-
After a few minutes of flying around and dropping feathers to randomly eavesdrop in high crime rate locations, Hawks pulled out his phone to research.
This wasn't going to be a conversation to have at UA. Not with Nezu and Aizawa around. Inviting Yagi out to talk was easy. Finding a good place to pry for information was a bit harder. Yagi couldn't say no if it killed him, which was the opposite of what Hawks wanted to happen. If he was going to drag whatever secrets he could out of him the least he could do is make sure Yagi had a good day while Hawks worked. He was getting kind of tired of using other heroes to do his dirty work. Maybe making it a good day would help curb the guilt a bit.
He looked up good places to hang out with friends. He could think of a few on his own that he'd used to build better (or worse) relations with other heroes plus the places he'd go to with Rumi sometimes, but none of those matched up with what he thought Yagi might enjoy.
What would Yagi enjoy though? Anything that might get his adrenaline pumping was out of the question. With his health something like an amusement park would be liable to give him a heart attack.
Yagi seemed like a nature kind of guy, so maybe a hike. But with the altitude change would that hurt his health?
Walking a lot didn't seem good either. A restaurant- but he could have a lot of dietary restrictions that most places couldn't match. Yagi was weird about people spending money on him too, and there was no way Hawks was going to let him pay for anything when Hawks was basically betraying him.
Hawks sighed through his nose at the dull, bitter feeling in the pit of his stomach. He shook it off.
The internet wasn't overly helpful. All the things he was looking up for friends involved too many people being around. Hawks liked to do his work in peace and Yagi hated drawing attention to himself anyway.
He made his search more specific. Somewhere secluded, surrounded by nature but not in too high of an altitude, that was enjoyable and offered privacy.
Hawks read through the searches, tapping on the fifth one down the list.
It looked promising. He sent out a few texts before checking with Yagi on when he would be free. Hopefully he wasn't forgetting anything important. He didn't usually plan anything involving other heroes outside of very quick meetups during patrol. Maybe he would call in that favor Rumi owed him for not blackmailing her about the time with the florist.
He'd need to free up his schedule a bit too. He hadn't dropped by the Agency unless he needed to do paperwork lately. If he wanted them to cover a bit of patrol time without them hunting him down to see why he would actually need to show his face. Maybe he'd pick up lunch for them. They were probably hungry.
Hawks called his feathers back to him as he placed an order for food near the Agency. Once his wings were filled out properly again he picked up the speed. He had thirty minutes before his food was ready, and he had a letter he needed to deliver first.
-00-
Shuichi was starving.
He shook his head
No, no. Not quite- he wasn't quite starving. Not yet. But he was at the point where his head started aching and his hands were trembling. If he stood still for too long he'd get dizzy so he needed to keep moving but that just made him hungrier. He needed to eat soon, otherwise he'd start twitching which would only lead to worse side effects. He doubted the others wanted to deal with him if he ended up shutting down. God, he was stupid. The base had been so cold the last few days, even with some of the holes covered up. He was never hungry when he was cold so even when they had food he only ate a bit. Now he was paying for it.
Shuichi shoved his hands into the pockets of his oversized hoodie, glaring at the floor of the rundown convenience store. If it was just him he could handle it. Sliding a simple lunch set, the smaller ones that were always fully stocked because no one wanted to buy them, into his hoodie and buying a pack of gum to get rid of any suspicions of why he was there was easy. But he had the others to think about. They'd been feeding him for the better part of a month now that he'd finally run out of emergency funds but he knew they had to be running low too. He doubted he was the only one going hungry right now, and after they'd covered for him so many times he couldn't just feed himself and pretend they didn't exist.
Which meant stealing was going to be difficult. One lunch box was fine. Eight? There was no way he could do that without getting noticed. The easiest way would be to actually pay for them but Shuichi only had enough for a stick of gum.
He should have taken Hawks' money. It hadn't felt right, using something offered to him in genuine kindness when he was going to be going against what the man stood for, but he still should have called and gotten the reparation money anyway. He was a villain now. He shouldn't care about where money came from.
What was he supposed to do?
Shuichi growled under his breath, kicking his foot against the ground. He turned to leave- he needed a new plan- when a wave of dizziness hit him. He had to grab onto the rack of chips on the other side of the aisle, knocking several to the ground.
"Um, e-excuse me?"
Shit.
Shuichi pushed himself up, turning to face the man that had been rolling a little cart down the aisle as Shuichi internally berated himself.
The guy was tall. Or, he would be if he bothered to stand up straight. His hair was an odd neon kind of green.
"A-are you alright?" he stuttered, reaching out in case Shuichi needed help standing. His hands were shaking worse than Shuichi's.
"M'fine," Shuichi said gruffly, pulling his hood lower to hide his reptilian features. He clenched his teeth in embarrassment when his stomach let out a fierce growl.
"Ah," the man glanced at the lunchboxes he had been staring a hole into. "T-this, um," he trailed off, looking uncertain. He pressed his hands together, twisting the trembling digits together. "I am s-so sorry, if this is p-presumptuous of me. B-but, if you are… hungry. I c-can pay?"
He phrased it like a question, eyes darting every in the aisle except where Shuichi was standing.
"I don't need your charity," Shuichi spat out before he could stop himself. The man flinched. Honestly, he was about to pass out. He really didn't have the option to be refusing anything right now, but being looked down on still stung like a fresh wound.
"I-it's not Chari-rity. I...I kn-know what it's like." The man's expression went dull, his shoulders dropping. He bit at his lips, still pressing his hands together like it would somehow stop them from shaking. "Y-you don't... ha-have to accept. But th-the offer is s-still there."
Shuichi had to close his eyes harshly when his vision blurred. "You'll buy eight of these for me?"
He'd meant it to sound sarcastic. Mocking, like how Dabi talked. It just sounded weak. Weak and pitifully hopeful.
"Y-yes," the man reached out, grabbing one of the nicer bento's in the middle and putting it in his cart. He grabbed them one by one, with both hands, and it was kind of ridiculous but Shuichi was busy holding onto the shelf he almost knocked over and trying not to pass out. "P-please wait outside?"
Shuichi grunted. It was too hot now, with his hoodie on. He could feel his appetite fading from the rise in temperature. He needed to take it off if he wanted to be able to eat. It was rude to just stumble past the person offering to pay for so much, but he didn't think he could last much longer. He got outside as quickly as he could, curling up along the side of the building beneath the shade where people were less likely to notice him.
He pulled his hoodie over his head and threw it to the side, panting heavily. The cool breeze on his scales felt amazing.
The sliding doors to the store opened. Shuichi buried his head in his hands and hoped the guy didn't run away screaming when he got a good look at him.
"H-here you go."
Two large bags were set down next to him. One was filled with the bentos and the other was filled with water bottles.
Shuichi kept his head down when he felt his eyes burn.
Fuck. He was supposed to be a villain! Stuff like this shouldn't get to him.
The man was messing with his hands again. There were three small bags hooked over his arms that looked like they would make him fall over. If Shiuichi didn't think it would knock himself over even quicker he would have offered to help carry them in thanks. "I-I'll leave you alone. I... I r-really hope that th-ings g-get better for you. Th-thank you. For l-letting me help."
Shuichi felt his face pull back, confused. The man was smiling genuinely like he actually meant that. Like him going out of his way for some weirdo he didn't know was actually was helpful to him.
"G-goodbye."
He bowed, shuffling on his feet a bit, before turning to leave. Shuichi twisted so he could watch him around the corner. The guy didn't pull out his phone and call the police. Besides the trembling that was apparently just normal for him he seemed unbothered.
What the hell?
"Hey, Kamakiri-san!"
Spinner breathed in so fast he hiccuped. He twisted his body to the side, scrambling for his hoodie.
Hawks landed in front of the man with a light-footed bounce.
"H-Hawks-san! Hello," the man from the store bowed quickly, nearly tipping over.
"Sorry if I startled you. I have something from Kamakiri-kun."
"Togaru?" his voice brightened.
"Here," Hawks said. There was a rustle of bags and stuttered protests. Shuichi didn't dare peek around to see what was happening."I'll carry these, while you carry this!"
"A l-letter? Oh, Togaru," he sighed. "I'm s-sorry. You shouldn't h-have to do this."
"I don't mind," Hawks laughed. "It helps him feel good about the dorms and you're on my patrol route anyway. No skin off my nose."
"...T-thank you."
"Don't worry about it! Mind reading while we walk? Your ice-cream is gonna melt."
"Y-yes! S-sorry, I c-can-"
The rustling sound got louder.
"Nah, I've got these. It's been a slow day, at least let me get one good deed in. I feel lazy."
Shuichi kept his head burrowed in his hoodie, shaking, as their voices got further away.
Once they were far enough away he peered around the corner. His hands were shaking still, but more from adrenaline. The two were gone, but there was something on the floor where they had been standing.
Of course the one person in the city that would help some scaled creep not starve to death knew Hawks. What had Hawks even been doing here? This place was just outside the area he usually patrolled, and it was late in the day! Shouldn't he be off duty now?
He'd been delivering something. And then he'd helped the green-haired stranger with his groceries.
...That was nice of him.
Shuichi shook his head. He couldn't hang around here. He had to get the food back to the base too, while his adrenaline from being so... so, whatever it was that he had been feeling when Hawks dropped in was still pulsing in his veins.
Gathering up the bags, feeling shaky but sturdy enough to walk, he glanced at the object that had been left in front of the store. Just a quick look was fine, right?
It was just a scrap of paper. One of Hawks feathers had landed on it, keeping it from being swept up by the light breeze. Shuichi was tempted to pocket them both, but he knew taking the feather would be a bad idea.
He could look at the paper though. Slipping it out from under the feather he looked it over. There was an address on it for somewhere along the outskirts of southern Fukuoka. It was small and torn, like it had been ripped from the corner of a notebook.
This could be important right? Was this place important to heroes or just Hawks? Would Shigaraki want to see it?
It could be a trap too, though. Maybe Hawks knew he was there. It was weird that he didn't arrest him, but it could still be a trap. Maybe.
He'd check it out first. From far away. See what it was about. If it was something important then he'd tell Shigaraki. Dabi always went off to do his own thing anyway, and he always came back with good info. So did Toga and Magne. Even Twice! Maybe this could be a way for Spinner to really pull his weight!
If it was important to heroes then he would finally have something worthwhile to offer. If it was just important to Hawks then... well, then it wouldn't really be important. They need big things. He'd just have to look for something else.
-00-
The next day
In retrospect, perhaps using the internet to plan this wasn't the best idea. The picnic had made sense. Yagi had a specific diet- that Hawks had bribed Recovery Girl by promising to be her errand boy for a solid week if she told him- so a homemade thing would be the safest bet. Luckily Siren was willing to get something together for him so long as he promised to go to her daughter's play next month. It was something about plants. Little Atsuka was very excited to be a cactus.
An open-spaced area with some privacy made sense too. Yagi was probably nervous about being out in public now that everyone knew who he was. And if Hawks was going to be poking and prodding for information it made sense that it should all be done away from curious ears.
"Hawks," Rumi said slowly. She'd complained about being called all the way out here on her day off, but he'd pulled the favor card. And promised to get her nice reservations the next time she went on a date.
"Yeah?" he smiled back, hands on his hips proudly. He'd found a really nice spot at the edge of Fukuoka that was surrounded by enough nature to appease the life-loving soft-hearted heart of Yagi, but at a low enough altitude that it wouldn't kill him. Barely anyone ever came over here because of the gentle slopes when just a mile south the actual hiking trails were settled. It had a great view of Fukuoka too, which Hawks appreciated. Seeing a peaceful city that wasn't likely to suddenly catch on fire would keep Yagi's 'jump first look later' reactions to a minimum.
"Who did you say you were bringing here?" Rumi asked. She kept pursing her lips, or drawing them in like she was biting them to stop herself from saying something.
Hawks looked over the food he'd set up again. Yagi would be at the train station in an hour. He didn't have time to get something new. What was wrong with it?
"A co-worker," he repeated.
"Right," she nodded. She tapped her foot against the ground, placing her hands on her hips. "So… this is a date."
Hawks blinked. "No?"
"Yeah," Rumi looked almost mournful. "This is the most date thing I've ever seen. A scenic picnic with food tailored to them? Hawks, the vegetables are arranged like a heart."
"Atsuka-chan helped Siren make these," Hawks defended. "She puts hearts in everything."
"Does your co-worker know that a little kid helped make these?"
"...No."
"Okay," Rumi stepped forward now, resting a heavy hand on his shoulder. "I'm telling you, if they walk up here and see all of this there is literally no way they will think this is platonic."
"Rumi," Hawks deadpanned. "He's more than twice my age."
Rumi's lips curled in again. She blinked at him a few times, her shoulders twitching. "You're going to give him a heart attack."
Hawks recoiled. "What?! No! I did all of this so that wouldn't happen!"
"He has a heart condition ?!" Rumi guessed accurately. "Hawks, you're straight up going to kill him!"
"It's just supposed to be lunch!"
"Then go to a restaurant you idiot!" Rumi nearly shook him. "Go to your apartment, your agency, anywhere else!"
"But it said this was the best idea!"
"What said this was the best idea?"
It was Hawks turn to curl his lips inward, biting them to stop the words 'the internet' from dooming himself. Maybe he should have asked Yumi-chan27. It was a bit pathetic to come to them for friend advice too, but they were always very helpful and thoughtful in their answers. He would definitely do that next time.
"This," he finally settled one, waving his hand to the picnic, "is what friends do when they hang out."
"Maybe," Rumi stressed the word. "If they are very close, and have known each other for a long time. Or if picnics on scenic locations with chirpy little songbirds mean something to their life story. Literally anyone else would only do this for a date."
Hawks squinted at her. "Dates are supposed to be fancy though? Suit and tie, smile for the camera, dramatic music and stuff."
Rumi put her other hand on his shoulder now, nearly hanging her head. "Hawks. I'm your friend."
Hawks didn't stop frowning at her, even when his traitorous wings puffed up a bit at the acknowledgment.
"You are the dumbest person I have ever met."
Hawks slapped her with his wing.
"Look," she shook him a bit, trying her best to keep a straight face. Hawks didn't like the way her left eye kept twitching. "Look. I want you to have more friends. You going to all this effort? It's great. Seriously, I'm glad to see you trying so hard to be nice to someone instead of just peeling at their layers until you find something to judge."
Hawks would have felt insulted if that wasn't so accurate.
"So I want to help you. I do. This could be your one chance at having a normal friend."
That was a little more insulting.
"I have friends," he argued.
"That you don't use."
Hawks didn't outwardly react to that one. He felt something tighten in his chest before dropping. Like a hole had opened up.
"I don't use you," he said, lightly.
Rumi, unapologetic in everything she did, just raised an eyebrow. She poked at his shoulder, where a scar curled around his skin, before dragging her thumb over her hip where a scar of her own rested.
"Not after we beat the shit out of each other." She paused. "At least, I haven't been able to tell if you have. Even if you did, I kind of get it now. It's irritating and I'll still punch your teeth out if I catch you doing it, but I trust you. You're only trying to help people."
Hawks wasn't entirely sure what he was feeling now. Something sharp but warm. He pushed it away. Talking with Rumi always did this. She never pulled her punches with her words and she always said exactly what she thought. It would make conversations go from lighthearted to heartfelt in seconds, and she didn't usually care how deep her words dug if she believed in them.
Luckily, it made it easy to change the flow of conversation.
"What does all of that have to do with this?" Hawks looked at his setup, putting everything that had happened in the last few minutes into a little box in the back of his head to look through later. If his brain was a house Rumi would have her own little storage room full of random boxes that appeared out of nowhere. It was startling, and honestly a bit uncomfortable hearing how she perceived him, but her words were nothing but honest. He appreciated it more than she probably knew.
"Fuck," Rumi brushed all of her hair back with her hands, pushing her head back to stare at the sky and then keeping it there even as her hands fell back to her hips. "I can't believe I'm doing this for you. You absolute shit."
Hawks was torn between dread and hope. This was still salvageable somehow, he was sure.
"Do what for me?"
"Listen," she grabbed him roughly by the shoulders again and spun him to face the blanket. "I made all of this."
"Uh, no you did-"
"I made all of this," she hissed like it was a murder threat, her emotions flipping on a dime, "because I thought we were hanging out today. You will be very surprised to see me. Your co-worker, or whatever, will be super embarrassed that he's third-wheeling so we will both pretend this is something we do every year to mess with each other. I'm not getting another magazine scandal thing with you because you were being a dumbass again, so you're gonna sell this as platonic if it kills you."
Hawks let an eyebrow rise. "You just said this was too romantic to be-"
"It's platonically romantic then!" Rumi shook him.
Hawks didn't argue with her this time because her arm was around his shoulders and if she flexed he was pretty sure she'd snap his neck with her biceps.
"I'll do my best," he swore, tapping out.
She let him go and sat down with a huff. "You owe me for this, now. I was just supposed to tell you if this was stupid or not."
"One favor," Hawks beamed, wondering if she would ever realize that this was one of the moments he was using her. He'd rather have the conversation with Yagi alone, but Rumi was easy to direct in conversations. If he could get Yagi to mention anything about Tartarus or All for One, Rumi might end up doing all the work for him. Suddenly opening up to Yagi and then asking about his visit to Tartarus? All Might was naive in a lot of ways, but he wasn't stupid. He'd know something was up. Hawks had planned to drag out the conversation for as long as he could, but Rumi would be a great buffer. He'd be able to push a lot more with her there. "As long as I'm not working."
"It'll be a good one," she promised. "Go get your friend. I'll try not to eat all this while you're gone."
"Please don't."
Yagi ended up loving the picnic. While Rumi was busy with internally screaming that Hawks' co-worker was All Might, Yagi thanked Hawks for putting so much thought into everything.
"I don't like going out very much now," Yagi confessed, looking almost ashamed. "I had been concerned about where you had invited me to, but how could I possibly say no when taking breaks is exactly what I advised you to do!"
"I hope you don't mind that Rumi is here," he waved his hand at his friend. Rumi looked dumbstruck.
"All Might?" she hissed at him. "You didn't think to tell me-?!"
"It is an honor to meet you, Mirko!" Yagi smiled brightly. Rumi squinted at him. "I've heard many amazing things about you! The stories I've heard, you remind me greatly of one of my students."
Hawks waited for whatever Rumi had been worrying about, but it didn't seem like Yagi thought anything was odd about the picnic. He only looked surprised that Rumi was there.
'See?' he said with his arms, waving towards Yagi when the man turned to put his things down. 'This was normal!'
Rumi mimed strangling him.
"I'm glad these didn't get crushed," Yagi muttered, pulling out the bag he'd been so careful with on the way up. He'd refused to let Hawks take it, saying it was a surprise. "I wasn't sure if I should bring anything. It's rather embarrassing to admit, but I don't often get the chance to 'hang out' with anyone outside of hero work. It has been quite some time since I made a new friend, so I looked up what might be an appropriate gift."
"Hey, thanks man!" Hawks grinned, taking the bouquet of flowers carefully into his own arms. "I get roses a lot from fans, but I've never gotten these before. What are they?"
Rumi made a strangled sound from over by the trees. She was pressing her face to the bark. Hawks looked at the flowers with a sense of trepidation.
"They are Peonies," Yagi said proudly. He sent Rumi a concerned look, but they both knew that if a fellow teacher was ignoring someone's behavior it meant it was normal and to continue on like it wasn't happening. "I was told that they represent good fortune and compassion."
Hawks wished he hadn't brought a gift, that was kind of going against his plan for avoiding guilt. Rumi being there already doubled the feeling, but this was probably karma catching up with him. Yagi didn't seem to think anything was odd. He hadn't even asked why Rumi was there, so her whole plan was out the window. He wasn't suspicious at all.
He deserved the added guilt.
"Let's start eating, yeah?" Hawks motioned to the food. "I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on quirk applications for my Agency plan."
"Ah, is that why young Mirko is here as well? Your agency is very efficient in its rescue efforts, I've been very interested in how you run things!"
Rumi looked over her shoulder at them. She stared at Hawks, then the picnic, then Yagi, then the flowers. Her face scrunched up in the way it usually did when she was looking at something she thought was overwhelmingly stupid.
Hawks grinned at her.
The empty spot along his spine where a feather was supposed to be ached from the phantom vibrations of an air conditioner.
His head hurt.
-00-
This took way too long to finish. Thank you Flyn, Star, and Ermy for beta-ing this for me! I adore you!
So many of you are crazy. Like, I still get reviews consistently throughout the week. And so many of you have commented on every chapter. Are you crazy?! You all are insanely kind and sweet! I haven't been able to get to all of them yet, I need the energy to be able to respond the way I want to (which is with as much aggressive love as I can fit into written words) but I read through all of them multiple times over. I appreciate you all so much T-T. I promise I'll add the responses to reviews when I've had some rest! I adore you!