1 year after the League of Villain's defeat...
"Hawks, the paperwork is set."
The Wing Hero stares at the windows in his office. Sunrays beg for salvation from impending darkness. Shadows smile as they dominate the city. Below he hears the tired populace make their way inside.
"Thanks, Tokoyami," he replies. One gloved hand in his pocket, the other over his mouth.
"You're welcome," the Jet-Black Hero responds. He closes the computer and stands up. "May I be excused?"
No reply.
"Hawks?" Hawks jolts and leers over his shoulder with a signature grin.
"Ah yes, sorry! Head home!"
Tokoyomi bows and responds, "Thank you very much for the opportunity." He whips on his black cloak and starts to walk away. Hawks resumes his gaze.
"Oh, Tokoyami," he calls.
"Yes, sir?"
"I've seen guys with potential like you burn out. Take care of yourself."
Tokoyami smiles and bows lightly.
"I will. I wish you a wonderful evening as well."
After a moment, Hawks turns and struts towards the door. One hand pulls down his visor. The other removes keys from his pocket. After locking up the place, he glides down to the street. Waning light is unable to dim his bright feathers.
"Hey! Hawks!" a passerby shouts. Hawks smiles and waves back.
"Helloooo!" he calls. A few of his feathers pick up spilled groceries.
"Hawks! Can we get a picture together!" a teen shouts. The Winged Hero stops to grin and pose. Other feathers simultaneously slice meat for a struggling butcher.
Hawks hears hollers of joy from the alleyway. He watches his red daggers snag robbers and deliver them to a police officer.
"Oh my god! It's Hawks!" a person calls. He waves back. Meanwhile he saves a stray cat from a leashed dog.
"Hawks! Where are you heading tonight!" someone asks. A crowd gathers within minutes.
"Ahhh, you know, just a place where I can stretch my wings," the Wing Hero responds.
"Can you please sign my bag!" a girl shrieks, holding up her purse. Hawks takes the bag and a marker out of his pocket. "Y' shure?" he asks, the cap in his teeth.
"Yes please!" she squeals.
"Haha oka' den! Uts y'ur na'e, again?"
"Sophia!" He expertly scribbles his fancy signature before handing it off and capping the marker.
"Okayyyy Sophia! Thank you for your support!"
Sophia's eyes widen and she bows vigorously.
"AHHHH Thank you very much! This will be an heirloom!"
Hawks grins. "You're welcome!"
A few feathers snag a bully's shirt, rescuing the victim.
"Hawks, how do you deal with fast Villains!"
"Ahahaha, obviously I go faster than them!"
"Ooooh," the crowd replies.
"Do you have a favorite food place?" someone asks
"Of course! I recommend anything with yakitori. Especially in the Umai Building. They have some of the best recipes!"
Slowly he makes his way through the crowd. Taking pictures. Making remarks. Signing. Helping people move items. Rescuing animals. Assisting the elderly. Cheering up children.
Just as the sun gets drowned in darkness, he reaches the Umai Building. Inside, his adrenaline spikes as his Licence swipes to open an elevator. Inwardly, his heart rate rises with the apparatus. Outwardly, he hums, "I'm finally trying both a Zodiaque Pinot Noir and a Grande Polaire Dry Koshu with yakitori. Hopefully I'm not light as a feather, heh heh!"
An electronic bell chimes, indicating arrival. As Hawks wanders out, his heart stops. A woman sits at the first barstool about to take a drink. Dilated pupils twitch at every movement of her enormous wings. Even in a dark area her proud headdress and smooth skin stand out.
"Who-hooo do we have here! The independent #28 Pro-Hero! Homing Raptor: Aleta!" he exclaims with a grin.
She pauses and faces him.
"Yes, that's me," she sasses.
Outward strutting easily masks his chest's tightness. He rests a shaky elbow on the bar.
"I'm talon you, I really like you. Your Owl Quirk is far from a hoot. I hear it grants you superb night vision and hearing, thanks to your round eyes and asymmetrical ears. Just like an owl! And obviously it gives you gorgeous wings and handy feet, so you always catch your prey!" He finishes with a wink.
As she slowly blinks, her face morphs. Both mouth corners are stretched down, her nose scrunches up, and her bright orbs become darkened slits.
Moments later….she splashes her wine on his face!
Hawks laughs off the stab in his heart as he stands up.
"Ahahahaha! You're the direct type, are you?" he confirms. He takes off his visor and a cloth from his pocket to wipe the red liquid off his face.
"I like that."
Ever-growing sweat beads make it difficult to gaze at her starry eyes.
"Normally it's polite to say your name and keep a distance," Aleta states. Her deep voice reverberates in his chest. Holy feathers he wasn't expecting that! He shrugs and wipes his visor.
"Ahhhh who cares? Everyone prefers real-life risque chess, which I don't understand," he challenges.
She smirks again, hindering his flight.
"As expected from the Wing Hero. You make your own rules without consideration of others," she sasses, pushing away her empty glass.
"I like my freetime, night owl-gel," he counters, slipping on the visor. She shoots a glare. In the same instant, her fist attacks his face. He catches it mid-air. Over his glove, their sharp gazes meet. He silently curses the one time his muscles refuse to stop shaking. His sweat begins to leak from overproduction.
"Tch. Pretty quick," she growls.
"I am the man who's too fast for his own good," he slyly retorts.
"Hmph. Arrogant slogan."
"Haha! You betcha!….Let's take this outside." He barely hears his words above the roar in his ears..
She cocks an eyebrow.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Combat. Your feathers are itching." He nods to her half-spread wings. As his body rams into overdrive and he recalls his previous fights in the air, he nearly passes out.
Aleta's eyes widen with a new sparkle. She cocks her head in interest. After a moment of thinking, she withdraws her arm.
In a much more upbeat tone she says, "I accept."
On the darkened rooftop, the duo faces each other. Hawks' fingers twitch and fiddle in his pockets while Aleta's luscious silhouette stretches against city lights.
"What's your wingspan?" he asks. Her movements cause water to coil down his flushed neck. A sudden breeze peels off his sweat, sending shivers down his spine.
"Bigger than yours," she responds. He whistles in awe to release his Adam's apple. "And you?" she inquires.
"172 cm aaaaaand at least 7m. Never measured."
She squats down with her wings extended. All eighteen talons gently tap the concrete, summoning a confident expression.
"No surfaces after takeoff, right?" she confirms.
"Yep! First lander has to buy drinks."
"Don't think I'll hold back," she sasses.
"I hope you don't. Ready?"
"Never considered it so I'm ready."
"GO!" he shouts. Aleta wastes no time leaping up! Two thrusts from her broad wings send her above the skyline. The sudden wind doesn't phase Hawks as he calmly flaps his sharper, narrower feathers.
Right before he reaches her she extends her leg and spreads her talons to the corners of his face.
FOUR-TALON SNAG!
Hawks responds by kicking up. His sturdy boot connects with her muscular thigh. As her foot dislodges, the bottom talons graze upwards on his chin.
"Ouchieeesssss, that's going to leave a mark!" he sarcastically whines. Aleta uses the momentum to tuck her wings and perform an aerial backflip. As she spins around, she prepares her fist and thrusts it forward. It evenly connects with Hawks own punch, crackling the thin air.
"I thought you were a top pro," she snarls.
Aleta realizes his smaller wings and flaps hers backward. The sheer force knocks the positioned feathers out of place while a forward wing sweep takes care of the rest. In the process, she lifts herself higher. The Wing Hero hardly hesitates before shooting towards her. He twirls with two long feathers. She uses one foot and one hand to grab each mid-air and snap them. His eyes briefly widen before sending an uppercut fist. She smirks as he grazes her cheek. Aleta uses the opportunity to connect her knee between Hawks' thighs.
"AAIIIIII!" he shrieks in a remarkable pitch.
"Such a simple solution." Her deep echoes resonate through oxygen-depleted air.
As he curls up and clutches his stomach...
"Should be used more."
...she draws back her arm, locking her hand daggers in place...
"Since most Villains are men without protection."
...and swipes at his face!
FIVE-TALON SLASH!
She carves neat lines through his visor into his skin, avoiding his eyes. She smirks as Hawks' dark figure tumbles towards screaming city lights.
"Complaining about leaving a mark?" she taunts, "Sorry...not sorry!"
She dives. Just as he's in reach, our favorite Wing Hero recovers and dashes out of sight! She extends her wings to slow the fall. A second later something grabs her left wing and yanks it back! She whips her head 180 degrees. Hawks smiles at her glare while he single-handedly holds onto her wingbone. His full wings are the only barriers to falling.
"You're skilled. But your fwuffy feathers seem suited for flying not fighting," he remarks. A smirk pokes her face.
"And?" she challenges.
"Hm?"
Aleta suddenly folds her right wing and twists her body, wrapping herself in her left one. Four simultaneous daggers dig into Hawks' skin. Two on his left shoulder, two at the base of his left wing.
"Yowch!"
"Just as I thought!" Aleta exclaims. She easily pulls her wing out of his thick gloves, revealing her right leg wrapped under his shoulder and latched on...without touching his body!
"Thick costumes always have a weak spot. Typically the shoulders to allow movement. In your case, the wings, too."
Using her core, she starts a frontflip.
"How?" Hawks wonders aloud. Refusing to give up, he reaches back and up to grab her thick calves with his hands. Just as he is directly below her, he uses his own abs to swing her forward. Aleta hisses in response.
"My parents are..."
She releases her right leg…
"...engineers so I'm…"
...and grabs his right shoulder...
"...definitely not..."
...swinging him down in the opposite direction.
"...a bird brain!"
As Hawks gets beneath her she locks the rest of her talons in place. At the trough she lunges forward. One hand grips his hair. The other snags his waist. Her right foot digs into his thigh.
EIGHTEEN-TALON HOLD!
She folds her wings, spiking to the nearest surface. Luckily, the impact isn't enough to break bones. As Hawks sprawls on the cold rooftop she smirks.
"You made me pull my finishing move!" she praises. "But I win."
He grins. "Not...so...fast…" he gasps.
Suddenly, Aleta realizes his feathers...too late!
JABJABJABJAB!
Now pinned, she blinks and raises her head. Yes, she had pressed Hawks down, but at the last second he put a series of feathers in the shape of his body between him and the concrete!
She groans, her deep voice echoing against metal. He laughs and stands on his feathers. Unused ones return to his back.
"So does this mean owl of my drinks are on the treehouse?" he taunts. She rolls her eyes.
"Only if I can move," she retorts.
"Ahahaha yes, sorry!"
Aleta reaches her full height as Hawks approaches her, his wings refilled. Up close he raises his eyes a bit to look at her face.
"Phewww! That was close! If you didn't work at night you'd be in the top ten for sure!" he exclaims.
"You've got a lot of fierce momentum yourself," she admits.
Hawks brushes it off with, "Ohhhh that's an exaggeration."
Aleta turns and walks towards the edge.
"Oh, by the way," Hawks calls. She stops and whips her head 185 degrees.
"This is top secret, but I trust you anyway. My name's Keigo Takami."
She slowly blinks. "Normally you're supposed to keep secrets."
Hawks shrugs. "Surely you've figured out my opinion of norms?"
Round cheeks pull into a rare, genuine smile. "Absolutely. That's why I like you."
Hawks grins. "Hahaha! You're definitely the direct type!"
She innocently shrugs before taking off. He follows shortly after.
…
…
"I'm Fukuro Tsubasa," Aleta says. They look at each other.
"Your last name means 'wings.' Your first name means 'owl.' How appropriate," he remarks. She nods.
"By the way, what color are your wings? My Quirk gives me monochrome vision, too."
"Well they're not yellow or white, haha...They're bright red."
"Ah. I see. Nice to meet you, Takami."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Tsubasa!"
"Now that's how you're supposed to greet...," Tsubasa stretches her mouth, "...but I liked this better."
He flashes his pearly whites in response.
"By the way," Hawks says, "What about these deep scratches? They hurt."
"Oh, they'll just be embarrassing for a week," Aleta states.
"A week?! Sheesh you don't hold back or relax."
"What makes you think I have the time to do either?"
"You were at the bar in your Hero Costume tonight."
"Tonight's my night off. The purpose was to meet you officially."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Hahaha! Well I feel honored!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
"I am the man who's too fast for my own good!"
"Sighhh, arrogant slogan."
"You betcha!"
After a few drinks…
"Heyyy, Tsubasa?"
"Hmmmm. Yes, Takami?"
"Uh, ya wanna, like, meet again? Same time, next week?"
She responds with a deep-throated chuckle. "Absolutelyyy."