Any other manga readers freaking out about the current arc? I'm so excited for the next chapter. I'll include some of the background information we're learning now that's relevant to this story, but I will try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible. This all takes place in an entirely different timeline, after all.
Sorry this update took a while, but even after splitting it this is a long chapter with plenty of action! Which reminds me...
Warning: This chapter contains detailed descriptions of torture, especially burns.
Chapter 9: Two Birds, One Stone
Mr. Compress tosses the marble into the air once, twice, three times. As it comes down from the last toss, Compress snaps his fingers and Tokoyami hits the floor with a thud. He groans and pushes himself up. He doesn't look all that different from the version Toga copied. He's naked from the waist up, bruised, cut up, and too thin, but he has no apparent serious injuries and he manages to get to his feet on his own. Tokoyami takes stock of the room, and Hawks is one second too slow in looking away. Their eyes lock, and the knot that forms in the pit of Hawks' stomach tells him he's already lost.
"Hawks?" Tokoyami chokes out.
"Hey there, Tsukuyomi," Hawks replies. He'd wave if he could move his hands. "Fancy seeing you here."
Tokoyami stumbles forward, only to be caught around the waist by Spinner and deposited in Mr. Compress' vacated chair. Twice hands Spinner a set of handcuffs, and together they lock Tokoyami's wrists to the arms of the chair.
"You're here," Tokoyami whispers, too surprised to resist. "You came. You actually…" Then he takes in the full picture: Hawks is covered in bloody bandages, his wings are plucked, and he's shackled to a chair. Tokoyami turns his attention to Shigaraki and glowers. "What have you done?"
Shigaraki laughs. "Are you threatening me? This is your doing."
Tokoyami's expression falters, then hardens. "No. I will not take the blame for your villainy. I should know better than to ask you for anything, so I shall direct my question to the source. Hawks – what's happened? How did you get here?"
He doesn't know, Hawks thinks, hardly believing his luck. They haven't told him.
"Oh, this should be good," Dabi mutters. "Well, Hawks? Your intern asked a question."
Hawks' sense of relief comes to an abrupt halt. If the League hasn't revealed his treachery yet, then there's a reason for it. Hawks needs to handle this carefully. If he tells Tokoyami the truth, it could break him. If he lies, Shigaraki gains a very dangerous weapon to turn Tokoyami against him.
"I'm on a mission. It's gone a bit sideways," Hawks says at last. He frowns at the sudden sense of déjà vu. "Hang on. I'm not falling for the same trick twice. How do I know this is the real Tsukuyomi?"
"The real…?!" Tokoyami sputters.
"I'm right here, obviously!" Toga shouts. She pouts and crosses her arms. "Shigaraki wouldn't let me play with either of you today."
"That still leaves Twice," says Hawks, shifting his gaze to the masked villain.
"Me? Absolutely! Certainly not," says Twice.
Shigaraki hums and circles Tokoyami's chair. "That's true. Twice had time to take precise measurements, so it would be an excellent forgery. There really is only one way to tell the difference between a copy and the original…" Shigaraki pauses with his hand hovering above Tokoyami's skin. His grin turns maniacal. "Shall I break his arm?"
Tokoyami jerks away so hard his chair shifts across the floor, and Hawks barely manages to keep his expression neutral. "Sounds messy. How about I ask him something instead? You like interrogations, don't you? Let him tell you one of my embarrassing secrets or something."
"Sounds fair," says Dabi. "We can see if my intel is correct."
"Fine, fine," says Shigaraki. "Just get it over with. I have my own questions to ask, and I don't really care how this hero has made a fool of himself."
"Great." The downside is, now Hawks actually has to think of something that will tell him if Tokoyami is real without being too damaging for either of them. He's already betrayed Tokoyami once, and then gave up everything in an attempt to save him. Neither of those options ended particularly well. "So, Tsukuyomi…"
"Wait a moment," Tokoyami interrupts. "You've been questioning me for weeks, and all of a sudden my mentor just happens to show up. How do I know he's not a copy either?"
Clever crow, thinks Hawks. It seems all this time with the villains hasn't slowed Tokoyami's mind. Maybe all that writing kept him from going mad.
"He's got a point!" says Twice. "I would never!"
"Oh great, now we're going to get stuck in a loop," says Toga. "Will the real hero please stand up?"
"Shall I break his arm, then?" Shigaraki offers, exasperated.
"No!" Tokoyami shouts. "No. Just…it's my turn to ask a question."
"I vote for option B," says Hawks. "It sounds much better than a broken arm."
"Make it quick, or at least make it interesting," says Shigaraki.
"You go first, Tsukuyomi. Consider it a show of good faith," Hawks says, offering Tokoyami an encouraging smile – even if he's mostly buying himself a little more time to think.
Tokoyami is quiet for a moment, probably consulting with Dark Shadow. When he's ready he meets Hawks' eyes. "Where did you take me flying on the first day of my internship?"
Hawks frowns, wondering if this really is a copy that's gotten the details wrong. "I didn't take you anywhere that time."
Tokoyami smiles and visibly relaxes. "That's right."
Hawks blinks, then smiles. Clever crow indeed. In his minds' eye he can see Dark Shadow's drawing of the two of them flying side-by-side. Even if the League found the drawings, he doubts they'd understand their significance. They're not interested in Dark Shadow's intelligence or emotional capacity, only his power. "I did kind of ignore you for a week. It got you pretty motivated though! Turns out I was a better teacher than I thought."
"Hawks…" Tokoyami shuts his eyes and sucks in a breath. "It really is you. I can't believe it. How did you know where to find me? They showed me a video, you were in it. Everyone said I was dead."
Before Hawks is forced to pick his way around an answer, Shigaraki cuts in. "Not now. I don't want this little meeting of ours to get derailed. I'm only allowing this because I need you both to understand that everything in this room is very real. Hawks, you've got ten seconds. Ask your question."
There's a sarcastic response on the tip of Hawks' tongue, but he holds it back in light of this unexpected reprieve. He settles on a deceptively simple question. "Why did I pick you to be my intern in the first place?"
"Because we're both birds," Tokoyami replies immediately.
"You're gonna have to be more specific. I already told Dabi that part," Hawks replies.
"Because you thought I was wasting my potential, and…you wanted to know…" Tokoyami hesitates.
"Go on. If you know the answer, of course. If not, I'll break your arm myself," Hawks says.
Tokoyami straightens and his feathers spread out in a subconscious instinct to make himself appear bigger. "Because you wanted to know about the League of Villains, and you knew I'd encountered them before."
"Well, well," says Shigaraki. "That is interesting. We should have brought you in here sooner, Hawks. Seems the only way to get one bird to sing is with another."
"Kind of useless to you now, though," Hawks points out. "You know I was looking for you. You only think you know why."
"Are you volunteering an answer?" asks Shigaraki.
"I gave you one already. You didn't believe me," says Hawks.
"For good reason," says Mr. Compress. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that actions speak louder than words?"
Hawks snorts. "I'm pretty sure Tsukuyomi is the only person in this room who had any motherly advice to speak of. Haven't seen mine in years, and Dabi gets all touchy when I ask about his parents."
"Shut up," Dabi hisses.
Hawks grins. "See what I mean, Tsukuyomi? That's a sure sign of mommy issues. Or is it daddy issues?"
"You fucking–" Fire curls around Dabi's left hand as lunges for Hawks.
"Enough!" Shigaraki shouts, and Dabi stops short like a dog that's choked on the end of its leash. "You're both satisfied that this is real? No tricks, no copies, no clones."
"Yes, but I don't understand-" Tokoyami starts.
"Your understanding is not required, merely your presence," says Shigaraki. "You don't even have to speak." He shoves Tokoyami's chair forward until he and Hawks are directly across from one another, maybe five feet apart.
"You see, Hawks, I wasn't lying when I told you we couldn't teach your little crow to talk. You must be proud," Shigaraki continues.
Hawks is proud, but right now his unease is more prominent. If Shigaraki's plan isn't to reveal Hawks' betrayal in order to sway Tokoyami to the League, that means Tokoyami is here as insurance against Hawks instead. Hawks focuses on keeping his benign smile in place; they'll take anything less as a sign of his weakness. He has the chance to undo all the damage that's been done to his relationship with the League in the last 48 hours, and all he has to do is stop caring about a single teenager. Easy, right?
"Eh, I'm not the mushy feelings type," he says. "Seriously, he was with me for a couple weeks and everyone thinks I've adopted him or something. I'm the number two pro, I don't have that kind of time."
"You were," says Spinner.
"No thanks to you lot," Hawks huffs.
Tokoyami frowns. "What do you mean, 'were'?"
"You really have been keeping him in the dark, haven't you? Well, not literally, obviously," Hawks says.
"We've had more important things to discuss. Now then, Hawks – did you really come alone?" Shigaraki asks.
Hawks makes a show of looking over both shoulders. "Shit, did I forget my army?"
"Jokes aren't gonna save you this time," says Dabi. He takes a long drag from his cigarette and blows it into Hawks' face.
Hawks coughs, wincing as it pulls on his stitches. "You know, secondhand smoke is really bad for birds."
Dabi takes a step back. "Is that so? Well then, I'll put it out. I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable."
With no further warning, Dabi smashes the lit end of his cigarette against Tokoyami's shoulder. Tokoyami lets out a sharp cry, and Hawks has to curl his toes against the floor to keep from launching himself at the villain. To his surprise, both Twice and Spinner leap towards Dabi instead.
"What the hellare you doing?" Spinner yells.
At the same time, Twice shouts, "That's too far! That's not enough!"
"We're just getting started. If you don't like it, then maybe you need to answer the same questions as our hero here," Dabi snarls. He twists the ashes of his cigarette into the wound before letting the butt fall to the floor. Tokoyami groans and leans forward in the chair, his fists tight against the arms.
Spinner and Twice look at one another, then retreat to their places against the far wall. Hawks takes note of the exchange; it makes sense based on what he's pieced together from Tokoyami's journals. The kid was doing a better job than Hawks at getting into the villains' heads.
"It's time for you to decide who's side you're really on – and prove it," says Shigaraki. He steps in front of Hawks, blocking his view of the angry red circle on Tokoyami's skin. "We've even made it easy for you. No hero is going to welcome you back now."
"They'll be so happy to see you," Twice says cheerily. "They'll kill you."
"There's just one thing," says Shigaraki. "It seems you have a weakness."
"Surprise stabbings are a weakness for pretty much everybody," Hawks replies, shooting a glare at Toga. She blows him a kiss.
"A little flesh wound shouldn't be a problem for someone like you," says Shigaraki. "True weakness is never so obvious, and the only way to get rid of it is to confront it. You've got to destroy what you love."
He shifts closer to Tokoyami, the threat clear. Every muscle in Hawks' body is tense, and it's only made worse by the fact that he can't let any of it show. He breathes slowly, forcing himself to relax so that his body language doesn't give him away.
"What if I don't care?" Hawks asks. He sees Tokoyami flinch and try to catch his eye. Hawks refuses to look.
"Then I suppose everyone wins except for him," Shigaraki replies. "So. Did you come alone?"
Hawks shrugs. "I don't know. I've got a lot of fans. Some of them are stalkers."
Shigaraki scratches at his neck. "Dabi."
"This is going to be fun." Dabi grins and grabs the smallest finger of Tokoyami's left hand. At first Hawks thinks he's going to break it, but what happens instead is worse. There's a tiny burst of blue flame, and Tokoyami screams. Hawks is certain the sound will haunt his nightmares, one more voice added to the chorus of his failures.
It's over in seconds. The flames die and Tokoyami is left groaning through his teeth, his wrists twisting against the cuffs as he tries to draw the injured hand closer to his body. His pinky is black and red with blisters, and bright pink around the edges. Hawks feels sick to his stomach just looking at it.
"Have you ever played Twenty Questions, Hawks? With ten fingers and ten toes, I think that's about how long we have before Dabi reaches something vital," says Shigaraki. "Did you come alone?"
Hawks swallows. It's not like anyone can get hurt from his answer, so he tells the truth. "Yes."
"That's better, but I'm not convinced," says Shigaraki. "Does anyone else know you're here?"
"No."
Hawks' mouth is open, but the answer didn't come from him. All eyes turn to Tokoyami. "Don't – Don't tell them anything," he hisses.
Hawks can't decide if he's going to be sick from pride or disgust. Tokoyami has been trapped and tortured for a month, yet he's the one telling Hawks to resist. He doesn't even know that he's protecting the one sold him out.
"Kid, shut up," Twice whispers urgently.
Shigaraki is far less merciful. He grabs a fistful of Tokoyami's feathers, only his pinky held out, and jerks his head back. His other hand hovers over Tokoyami's beak. "One more word from you and I'll make it so you can never speak again."
Tokoyami's breath hitches and he freezes in Shigaraki's grip, beak shut tight. "Hey!" Hawks shouts, drawing their attention back to himself. "My arms are falling asleep here. Are we gonna be finished anytime soon?"
Shigaraki releases the feathers with a sneer, and for half a second Hawks thinks he sees an extra shadow against Tokoyami's skin. He blinks, and it's gone. "That depends on you. Are you planning to cooperate?"
"I have been. It's not my fault you don't believe me," Hawks replies. "I'm here alone. Do you really think you would've gotten away with the shit you pulled in Fukuoka if I had a team?"
"Hmm, that's true. Even Endeavor fought against you," Shigaraki concedes.
"Is he alive?" Hawks asks.
"That's irrelevant. What's your relationship to him?"
"Alive then. Good to know," says Hawks.
Toga frowns. "He didn't say that."
"Didn't have to," Hawks replies. "You wouldn't care about my 'relationship' to him if he was dead. Are you trying to decide if he knows me well enough to figure out a fake?"
Shigaraki narrows his eyes. "Dabi."
"Wait-"
Tokoyami screams before Hawks can get the word out, accompanied by a flash of blue fire and the smell of burning meat.
"What the hell?!" Hawks shouts. "I didn't lie, I asked a question!"
"You evaded the question," says Shigaraki. "What's your relationship to Endeavor?"
"We're colleagues!"
"Just colleagues?" Shigaraki asks.
"I don't screw around with married men," Hawks replies. "Why, you want his number? You guys have my cell phone. Just look through my contacts for 'Hot Buns Number 1.' Sorry, Dabi, you're Number 2."
Dabi moves to grab Tokoyami's middle finger, and this time Hawks can't stop himself from physically jerking against his bonds. "Whoa, whoa, hold on! I'm not kidding! My contact list is all joke names, so if my phone fell while I was flying some fan wouldn't be ringing up other heroes for kicks. Plus, the name pisses off Endeavor."
"Now that's logic I can get behind," says Dabi. He backs off, just enough for Tokoyami to suck in a breath.
"See? Call him up and I'll say it to his face. Or if you want to talk to him yourself, just tell him I said hi," says Hawks. Whether they let him talk to Endeavor or not doesn't matter. If Endeavor spots Hawks' number on his phone, he'll track the call and bring literal hellfire down on this place within twenty minutes.
Unfortunately, Shigaraki is no fool. "If I wanted to invite the Number 1 Hero here, I would have. But you know that, just as well as you know we could have set a trap. We had one for you, after all. Whose side are you on, Hawks?"
"Mine," Hawks replies, glaring him down.
"That may be the only truth you've told us," says Shigaraki. Then his eyes turn cold. "But it's not quite good enough." He grabs Tokoyami's wrist.
"NO!" Hawks yells before he can stop himself. He's so weak. He knew he should never have taken on an intern; it's ruined him. He thought he'd finally gone numb to the suffering of the world, but Tokoyami has re-awakened long dead memories of the boy he used to be and a time when he truly believed in a future of peace.
Shigaraki pauses, his thumb and middle finger wrapped around Tokoyami's arm. Tokoyami leans away from him, rubbing his wrist raw against the restraints as he tries to work his himself free. His eyes are wide and his feathers are puffed out. He looks terrified. Shigaraki, on the other hand, looks positively delighted; it's an expression that doesn't suit his face at all. "Yes?"
Hawks swallows back the bile rising in his throat. He doesn't know why he bothers. No matter what he says, he knows every word will taste like vomit. "I'm playing both sides. You, Endeavor, the heroes, the villains – everyone. What's the difference? I want to throw my chips in with the winner, and even you can't believe that the answer is clear just yet."
"And what's your crow got to do with it?"
Hawks frowns, his brow furrowed. "What? Nothing. He's just my intern."
"You're awfully attached to just an intern. You've never had a student before, that's public knowledge," says Shigaraki.
Hawks shrugs. "I don't like children, especially teenagers. I know, I know, there's a million pictures of me kissing babies and signing autographs. But I honestly can't stand them. That's a fun fact you can add in for the papers writing up stories about what a terrorist I am."
"So why take an intern now, of all times?" Shigaraki insists.
"I had to," Hawks replies. "It's like he told you in the beginning: I needed information about you lot, so I needed a 1-A student. I picked the one with feathers and let my sidekicks do the babysitting until he turned out interesting."
"So you say, but I think there's more to it," says Shigaraki. "You chose an intern right after All Might's retirement. An intern from the class All Might favors. An intern All Might acknowledged in front of everyone, who placed third in that battle royale they call a festival."
"So he was an obvious choice, sue me," says Hawks.
"Hidden in plain sight. Isn't that one of your tricks, Compress?" Shigaraki asks.
"A classic," Mr. Compress agrees.
"Master said to watch them, to pay attention and not be fooled by flashy quirks," Shigaraki mumbles to himself and starts scratching at his neck. "Was he being literal after all? Is this what he meant?"
"What the hellare you talking about?" says Hawks.
Shigaraki rounds on Hawks, his face so close Hawks can see where the skin is peeling around his eyes. "What is All Might's secret?"
"All Might's secret? I have no idea, the man probably has a million of them. I never got to know him that well," Hawks replies, genuinely confused.
"Stop lying! You must know the truth! This – THIS is the truth!" Shigaraki shrieks, pointing at Tokoyami. "All Might's grown too weak to train him, and everyone knows the new Number One would never accept anyone but his own child. That leaves you, Number Two."
"Did you smoke something when I wasn't looking?" Hawks asks. "All Might's got nothing to do with this."
"All Might has EVERYTHING to do with this!" Shigaraki yells, then goes back to mumbling to himself, eyes darting rapidly between Hawks and Tokoyami. "Stop the cycle, keep the wheel from spinning this society into the same ditch over and over. Even if I'm wrong, there's no harm in ridding the world of one more hero. And, anyway…"
Shigaraki looks at Hawks and grins. "I promised to get rid of your weakness, didn't I?"
He lunges for Tokoyami, hand outstretched and aiming for his throat.
"STOP!" Hawks tries to launch himself forward, intending to use the chair and his body to tackle Shigaraki. He topples sideways before he can reach the villain. Pain ricochets through his stomach muscles and shoulders, leaving his vision white and his ears ringing. When it clears, Hawks can only see Tokoyami's bare feet. He expects to watch them crumble into dust…but nothing happens. Hawks blinks away the spots in his vision and cranes his neck upwards.
He's stunned to find Shigaraki still leaning over Tokoyami, all five fingers wrapped around the teen's neck – but probably not nearly as stunned as Shigaraki himself. Instead of cracks, there is a paper-thin layer of darkness over Tokoyami's skin, flickering like a candle in the wind. It stretches out from Tokoyami's stomach and up to his neck, following the shape of Shigaraki's shadow. It probably wouldn't stand up to an impact shot, but against Shigaraki's quirk it's enough. Darkness is as mailable as sand or water, and it cannot be decayed.
A tiny claw emerges from the mass of darkness and swipes at Shigaraki's arm, drawing blood. Shigaraki stumbles back, muttering, "Not fair…not fair at all."
Hawks can see Tokoyami's face now. The teen looks just as shocked as the rest of them, staring down at his skin with wide-eyed awe as the shadow begins to dissipate. Dark Shadow makes a soft sound as he retreats into his host, and Hawks can just make out the word, "Promised."
Then there is silence, broken only by a single, slow clap. "Now that, that was worth seeing."
Hawks can't see the speaker from his position on the floor, but he recognizes the doctor's voice by the cold shiver it sends down his spine. He'd forgotten the man was even in the room. He hears heavy footsteps and watches the old man slowly fill his vision.
"You see?" Shigaraki hisses. "He must be the one. How else could he have stopped me? We brought every light we could into this room. He shouldn't have been able to use his quirk."
"And yet he did," says the doctor, leaning over Tokoyami. "I doubt very much his quirk is what you think. However, it is certainly worthy of study. You said it seemed sentient?"
"You want me to roast him? We already know his quirk can't stand up to me," Dabi offers.
"No," says the doctor. "If you're quite done with this farce, I'll take them both."
"We are not done," Shigaraki hisses. "I still have questions."
"It didn't seem like you were getting many answers. Not the answers you really wanted, anyway. You've got no eye for body language, Shigaraki. It can tell you much more than words. Observe," the doctor replies. He looks Tokoyami in the eye and asks, "Who is All Might's successor?"
"You mean Endeavor?" says Tokoyami. His limbs are shaking but his eye contact remains steady.
The doctor chuckles. "No, not like that. Who is his protégé?"
"If he has one, it isn't me," Tokoyami replies. It's a clever twist of language Hawks has used many times, one that allows him to reply without really answering the question. Hawks doesn't remember teaching the trick to Tokoyami. He wonders if one of his sidekicks taught him, or if he picked it up on his own.
"I believe you," says the doctor. However, Hawks suspects he recognized the not-quite-lie as well. He removes the cuff from Tokoyami's left wrist. Tokoyami tries to jerk his injured hand away, but the doctor takes it firmly between his.
"Leave him alone," Hawks gasps out. It's hard to sound intimidating when he's laid out on the floor.
The doctor glances at him over his shoulder and sighs. "So distrusting. And you've gone and ruined my stitches. I'll have a look at you next." He returns his attention to Tokoyami, spinning one of the gears on the side of his glasses as he looks at Tokoyami's fingers. "I've seen worse. They're salvageable. Keep that hand still if you want them to remain that way."
"You're healing him, just like that?" Shigaraki complains.
"A reward for the truth, and for keeping an old man entertained," the doctor replies. He sets Tokoyami's hand on the arm of the chair. It trembles against the wood, but Tokoyami does not pull away again. The doctor nods and turns to Toga. "My dear, would be so kind as to bring my bag over here?"
Toga springs up to retrieve the bag. "Ooh, this is heavy. I bet it's full of pretty things! Can I help?"
"Absolutely not," says the doctor.
Toga pouts but stays close as the doctor retrieves his tools. She blocks Hawks' view of the proceedings, which is probably for the best; treating field wounds is not something Hawks enjoys. He watches Tokoyami's face instead, just visible over Toga's shoulder. His expression is tight with pain and fear. Hawks can't just let him suffer like that. It's too late to pretend he doesn't care, anyway.
"Tsukuyomi," he calls. "Hey, look at me."
Tokoyami looks up, eyes wide and beak clenched shut.
"That's it. You're doing fine. This doctor's a total creep, but he hasn't poisoned me yet. Ignore him. Ignore all of them, just listen to me. You're gonna be just fine."
"Shut up!" Shigaraki hisses.
"What, first you want me to talk and now you're telling me to stop? You've got some pretty inconsistent interrogation tactics," Hawks snaps, his eyes still on Tokoyami. "But hey, maybe if you let me keep talking I'll say something worthwhile."
Tokoyami cries out, eyes snapping shut as the doctor does something to his hand.
"Spinner. Hold him," the doctor commands.
"Tsukuyomi, look at me!" Hawks shouts. Tokoyami does, and Hawks smiles. "Good. Hey, you remember that time I took you flying? It's always a rush when you hit the air, but that first time is something special. It was such a clear night, too. The best weather for flying. We could see the whole city laid out underneath us with a million lights, all shining like the stars. You said we were one with the wind. Remember? Remember how the wind felt against your skin? It tries to take you with it wherever it's blowing. Let it take you now. Let the wind take you away from here, back to that night, back to Fukuoka Tower where we landed." He tries not to think about how Toga defiled the city, how the tower might not even be standing.
"Poetic, but boring," says Shigarki, breaking the spell of his voice.
Hawks grits his teeth. "Alright. You want interesting? How about this, Tsukuyomi: you flying, without me. Did you know he could fly, Shigaraki? Because it's pretty fucking cool. How amazing was it when that finally worked, Tsukuyomi? I can imagine it, because it was the same for me. My mother used to take me flying, same as I did with you. I practiced in our yard, hovering just a little off the ground. You can see it, right? A toddler who couldn't even walk yet, beating these teeny little puffs of feathers. It's my first memory, if you can call it a memory at all. Mostly it's just the feeling: elation, excitement, exhilaration. It's addicting. Once you know what it's like to fly, you never want to touch the ground again."
"Y-yes," Tokoyami chokes out. "That's why we had to learn, Dark Shadow and I."
Hawks smiles. "I knew you could do it."
"That is quite the versatile quirk you have," says the doctor. He takes a step back from Tokoyami, who immediately pulls his bandaged hand to his chest. The doctor gestures at someone behind Hawks, and the world shifts with nauseating swiftness as his chair is righted again.
"You really must stop doing this. I'd rather have a healthy subject before I take you apart," the doctor says. He shifts the bandages over Hawks' wound, sighs, and drags his bag over. Hawks feels a sharp sting as the doctor begins replacing his torn stitches.
"I didn't say I was finished with them!" Shigaraki hisses.
"You'll get no answers and no blood from a corpse. If you want to continue down this path, you still need him. And I want them both alive and whole," the doctor says. He tugs on the last stitch and deftly tapes a new bandage in place, then turns to face Shigaraki. "You've still got a lot to learn, Shigaraki Tomura. Regroup, try again, and come up with something new."
Shigaraki scratches at his neck and whines like a petulant child. "Fine! Mr. Compress, Dabi - put them away."
As Hawks is freed from his restraints and dragged roughly to his feet, he gets one last look at Tokoyami's face. He tries to smile, but it doesn't quite meet his eyes. "Hang in there, Tsukuyomi. And maybe give me a heads up next time you're gonna perform a miracle."