This chapter was originally gonna be a bit shorter. Then you people attacked me with friendship. So the first scene is longer now. Cause it was very effective.

Hawks and Thirteen need to plan a party

It would be the bomb.

Dabi is a concerned citizen. No really.

Toga would like her knife back please.

Chisaki's are kinda spooky.

-00-

Don't Bring a Rock to a Knife Fight

-00-

Hawks woke up wrapped around a giant marshmallow. His favorite blanket was over him. His arms, legs, and wings wrapped around the marshmallow so he could press his face into the side of it.

He felt disgusting. Sweat slicked, head-to-toe goosebumps, hair a mat on his head, and his eyes filled with enough crusts to make a sandbox.

Was he sick? That sounded familiar. Ugh. He hated being sick. Such a waste of time.

Hawks swallowed, grimacing at the sharp sting in his throat. He lifted his head, squinting at the weird glow on the ceiling. Those were star stickers. Was he at UA?

Hadn't he come here for a reason? To clean something. To clean… for Yagi? That was right, he didn't want to kill Yagi with germs. He'd remembered when he'd made some of the tea from the leaves Yagi had made him (not as good, but passable) to ease the ache in his throat.

Hawks smacked his lips, making a disgusted grunt at the sharp taste in his mouth.

"Hawks?"

He jumped, squeezing himself into a tighter ball, thus squeezing the marshmallow more as well.

Thirteen giggled.

Hawks blinked up at them, realizing that the marshmallow was actually Thirteen who was laying next to him with a book in hand. "...How are you reading that?"

"My helmet," they tapped the side of it. "My hero suit has a night vision setting."

"That's cool," Hawks blinked a few times. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," they closed their book, setting it to the side. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh, fine. How are you feeling?"

Thirteen laughed again. "I feel great. I think you woke up because you need to take more medicine. Can you sit up?"

Hawks moved to sit up. He scowled fiercely when his body erupted into aches and chills.

Thirteen lifted their hand as if to cover their mouth.

Hawks glared at them.

Thirteen snickered. "I'm sorry. You look like an angry bird. It's very cute."

"I am an angry bird," Hawks grumbled, twisting so he could drag himself up. He flapped his wings, batting at Thirteen a few times and making them giggle even more. "M'not cute. I'm handsome."

"Of course," Thirteen said, and Hawks actually felt appeased because they sounded like they were being honest. They got off the bed, retrieving a glass of water and a bottle of medicine. "Here you go. Hound Dog said to take two."

Hawks grimaced even more. He stared at the medicine.

"Hawks?"

"I'm an asshole," he said tiredly. He looked at Thirteen and felt a fresh wave of shame.

Thirteen pressed their hands together. Hawks couldn't see their face but he could tell they were worried. "I think you're very nice," they sat down on the edge of the bed again.

Hawks sighed. He tossed back the pills, taking a large swig of the water. It helped wash away some of the dustiness in his throat.

"Mutation quirks get a lot of shit for looking like they do," Hawks looked away, down to his hands. He ran his thumb over the tips of his talons. "You know how that feels. And I should know better, but I... "

Thirteen patted his arm when he trailed off. "Is this about Hound Dog?" they asked, soft and understanding.

"He's a good guy," Hawks frowned. "I probably made him feel like shit."

Even if Hound Dog said it didn't hurt his feelings, Hawks couldn't trust that. There were plenty of things Hawks said didn't hurt when they did. Getting used to something didn't stop the pain it caused. It just built up a tolerance.

"Maybe," Thirteen nodded. Hawks closed his eyes. "But you can always make up for it. I don't know what happened, but Hound Dog seemed really worried about you so I don't think he's upset about whatever it was. If you apologize and do better next time, then you're not an asshole."

"I judged him based on his appearance. His quirk," Hawks tried to explain. "I don't… I'm not supposed to do that. I know better than to do that."

Thirteen hummed, kicking their feet. They thought for a minute. "I still don't think you're an asshole. Everyone judges people. I was scared of Ryo-kun when I first met him."

It took Hawks a second to realize 'Ryo' was Hound Dog's first name. He hadn't realized Thirteen was so close with him.

"I was scared of Aizawa-kun too. And Nemuri-chan."

"Nemuri?" Hawks tilted his head. Midnight didn't strike him as someone intimidating at first glance.

"When I was younger the boy's in my classes would push me around but the girls hurt with their words and I thought that was worse. Some of the others would try to stand up for me when it came to physical stuff, but with words? There wasn't much they could do. It wasn't fair to be scared of Nemuri-chan because of something a group of kids did in the past, but I still felt that way for a while."

Thirteen looked dejected. Hawks stretched out a wing to rest against their shoulder.

"Did Nemuri ever know how you felt?" Hawks wondered.

"Yeah," Thirteen leaned into the wing, poking at a feather. "She approached me about it because she was worried about how nervous I was. I didn't know this then, but she gets that kind of thing a lot. She said it's hard to make friends with other female heroes, and it's uncomfortable around a lot of male heroes too. She tried to avoid me after that, to make me feel better."

Hawks stretched his neck, thinking about it. "That didn't make you feel better, I'm guessing."

"Nope," Thirteen said lightheartedly. "I felt really bad about it. My therapist helped me think of ways to both apologize and deal with my trust issues."

Hawks stared at them. He was pretty good at figuring people out (except Hound Dog, apparently) and Thirteen did not seem like the type of person to harbor strong trust issues.

Also…

"Did that work? Did your therapist help you with that?"

"He did!" Thirteen perked up. "I feel a lot better about approaching people now, and after I apologized to Nemuri-chan we started hanging out more. Now we're friends and I know that I'm better than I was before."

"Huh," Hawks settled back into his pillows, his wings stretching so his feathers didn't get bunched up. "Your therapist sounds cool."

Every hero had a therapist. It was a job requirement to make sure they were able to handle the stress and various situations that came with being a hero. Hawks had one too, of course. He'd had two, in total, since his last one had been replaced a year before he got his license. He didn't have to meet up with them often, the last time they'd spoken was a few months ago when Hawks had asked for two days off instead of one so he could go to a beach festival with Rumi. Other than that, he'd never had any worries about his job capabilities.

He wondered if it would be a good idea to schedule a visit to talk about his issues with Hound Dog.

He grimaced. No, that was a bad idea. It might come off as him being negatively affected by working at UA. As soon as the President got the report she'd tell him to leave.

"What kind of things did your therapist tell you to do?" Hawks asked, folding his arms across his chest. "To apologize."

"Mostly to just be as upfront and honest as I could," Thirteen said, twisting so they could face him while still kicking their legs on the side of the bed. The reached out to feel his forehead, a small beep coming from their glove.

Did they have a heat scanner or something programmed into their gloves? That was cool.

"If Nemuri-chan did something that upset me, I would tell her. And I would ask her to do the same. I told her why I was uncomfortable being around her at first, and made sure she knew it had nothing to do with her. I needed some help figuring out that part, because I wasn't really sure why I felt so nervous. My therapist helped me figure out where my feelings were coming from so I could communicate with Nemuri-chan. Then when we both felt comfortable I took her out for both an apology and a 'new friend celebration' lunch."

Hawks brow furrowed. "Completely honest? She never got upset with you for anything you said?"

"No, she did," Thirteen sighed. "I did too. It's hard, being completely honest about feelings like that. And I probably hurt her feelings a few times. She hurt mine, sometimes, too but I know that wasn't what she intended to do. I appreciated that she was so willing to try to match me. We both worked really hard to be friends."

"That sounds awful," Hawks said honestly.

Thirteen laughed. "It kind of was, but I'm glad I did it. It helped me be really good friends with Nemuri-chan, but now I'm also really good friends with Ryu-kun too! And I realized that Aizawa-kun didn't hate me, he just looks like that."

Hawks snorted. Then coughed.

"It helped me be friends with you, too," Thirteen admitted.

Hawks turned to look at them, blinking. "How so?"

"You're one of the top heroes in the entire country," Thirteen explained. "And you're so confident and strong. When you first started working here I didn't know how to approach you at all, and I thought you wouldn't be interested in talking to someone like me anyway. You felt untouchable."

Hawks licked the back of his teeth, turning his gaze to the ceiling. He felt cold again, and it wasn't because of the sickly chill in his skin.

Thirteen snickered. "Then I found you using cooked noodles to make bracelets looking like a startled Potoo owl."

Hawks sat up despite the aches, smacking at Thirteen's arms. "That is the most insulting thing anyone has ever said to me. And I've been called a chicken. How do you even know what a Potoo owl is?"

"Oh, um," Thirteen pressed their fingers together in a mimicry of the movement Yagi did when he was nervous. "Right, um, complete honesty. I wondered if there were any things you did or needed that were based on your quirk, but I was worried that you would be uncomfortable talking about it since you were so nervous about showing your talons and chirping that one time, so I started researching a bunch of birds to try to figure out ways to help you feel more comfortable."

Hawks stared at them, mouth slightly open.

Thirteen was far more observant than he thought. Or he really was getting soft here. Either way, he was more side-swept by the fact that they had researched- gone out of their way to actually research- things because they wanted to help him. To make him feel even more at home in a place that was so outrageously kind and accepting it was like a mythical realm straight out of a picture book.

This was a level of care he wasn't familiar with. He didn't know where to even start.

Hawks opened and closed his mouth for a moment. "...Did you learn anything interesting?"

"Birds are so cool!" Thirteen immediately bounced. "Did you know that Hoatzin chicks are born with tiny little claws on their wings to help them climb trees? Or that penguins can jump several feet in the air? I knew they could slide on their bellies and they were great swimmers but they could jump all the way over our heads depending on the species!"

Hawks didn't even try to fight the smile crawling across his face. "Oh yeah? I don't remember having wing claws, but I can jump pretty high."

Thirteen clasped their hands together. "Cardinals cover themselves with ants."

Hawks laughed, coughing midway with tears pricking his eyes. "I don't- I don't roll around in ants."

"Some ducks sleep with one eye open."

"I'm not that paranoid."

"Some birds can sleep while flying."

Hawks thought about it. "I've taken micro-naps in the air, I guess, but never full-on sleep. I can see the logistics of it working depending on the weather though."

"Oh," Thirteen reached out, patting at Hawks knee. "Please don't try it. Even for science. Although… if someone is with you to make sure you're safe that would be fine. But it has to be someone that could catch you! And they'd have to know the scientific method to do an accurate study."

"Maybe one day," Hawks grinned.

"A lot of birds can mimic other sounds," Thirteen continued, counting off on their fingers. "I know you can chirp, which is really neat and sounds so cool. I don't know how you make that sound, but it's so crisp and clear, but it rumbles too? Can you make other sounds?"

"Uh, yeah," Hawks reached up to rub at the side of his neck. "Certain types of vocal keys I can copy. I haven't done it in a long time, so I don't know how good I'd be at it."

There was a creaky step at his house, before everything. It would always let him know when someone was walking around. When he got into the Commission and everything was too quiet, he would mimic the sound to help him sleep.

"Do you like to sing?" Thirteen asked.

Hawks rubbed at his chest when it twisted painfully. "...Yeah. Sometimes, I guess. Only when I'm alone. I sound weird when I do it."

"Me too," Thirteen said. "I like to dance as well, but I'm really bad at it. My suit makes me a bit of a dance floor hazard, but it's so much fun!"

"I bet you're a lot of fun to be around then," Hawks said, surprised by how honest it was.

"At least I know whatever party I'm at is full of smiles and laughs," Thirteen pumped their fist in the air.

"I wouldn't laugh at you," Hawks promised, blinking heavily at the ceiling. "I'd dance with you."

"You can laugh," Thirteen said. "It's more fun if we laugh together."

"Deal," Hawks yawned. He took a few deep breaths, aches slowly fading. "You're really cool too, you know. You know a lot of things I don't. I like hearing you talk about them."

"Oh," Thirteen said, oddly soft. "Thank you."

"Mh."

Hawks didn't fall asleep for a while, but it was… nice. His room was dark but he could see the glow of the star stickers whenever he cracked his eyes open. He was warm. Thirteen started reading their book again, the sound of their covered fingers over paper like a gentle brush over his feathers.

Being sick wasn't so bad, if it was like this.

-00-

"Hawks! Hey, Hawks!" A man waved at him from the center of the busy street. "I need some help here!"

Hawks fluttered down, people moving out of the way and chattering excitedly when he landed. He smiled and waved at all of them, finger-gunning for a picture. He felt great, even with the lingering sensation of weakness in his bones that always came after being sick. He wasn't running a fever anymore, and he felt well-rested. One more day and he'd be back in tip-top shape.

"Hey man, what's up?" he asked the man that called him down.

The stranger smiled, relieved at having got his attention. His smile stretched, wide and disturbing as he pulled back his jacket. There was something on his chest, blinking-

It was a bomb.

The wings on his back shot apart, snagging every civilian around him for as far as he could possibly reach. Jumping back he raised his arms and legs to cover as much of himself as he could right as the explosion rocked the street.

He was thrown back, the skin along his forearms and calves burning sharply. The explosion was weaker than he feared it would be, barely cracking the cement, but the heat on his arms and legs was still excruciating. His back slammed into a solid, smooth surface, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Something about that was wrong. It set his instincts on fire.

Hawks hissed, ripping off his cracked visor.

He'd a hit a wall that hadn't been there before. It was a translucent blue, stretching just below the tops of the street lamps. Hawks felt a tingle of fear race down his spine.

He was in a box. Blue walls rose around and above him, trapping him in a small area. All of his feathers, sent as far away as he could get them in order to evacuate the area, were outside the box.

This had been a trap.

"Fuck, that stung!" the man from before cursed, ripping off his singed shirt. His chest looked like it was covered in gravel, blackened from the force of the explosion and tinged a faint shine of red.

"I totally thought that would kill you," a second voice sounded disappointed.

Hawks scrambled to his feet. There were three other people besides the bomber and him trapped in the square. The woman, absurdly tall with blue hair that matched the shade of the barrier, had her hands outstretched and touching it. She was the one keeping it in place. If he could take her out he could get his wings back. The big one, with a tusk jutting up from behind his lips, grinned when Hawks looked at him.

The second he made eye contact, Hawks' world went black. He twitched, tilting his head. His ears were ringing but he could still hear what had to be the leader mocking him for being so easily caged. He could still smell the sharp, coppery scent of blood from both himself and the leader. He could still feel the burns and cuts in his arms and legs. All of his feathers were working, keeping the civilians away while flying around the barrier waiting for a chance to break through.

Just his sight then. Alright. Wingless, sightless, and minorly injured. The only other weapons he had on him were the knife from Toga he kept on him just in case of another run-in, one of the smaller knives he now used as Raven, and the small down feathers closest to his spine that were too weak to be anything other than an annoying distraction to villains in a fight. Not a great combo.

Well, he still had some options.

The Commission wouldn't be too happy about it but it would be fine. If he used his feathers right then no one would really know.

"What the-?" the gravel villain said. Hawks let his down feathers fall to the ground as all of the feathers flying around outside their barrier wrapped around it, spinning to block out most of the view of the outside. He could feel the minor change in temperature as the box was shaded from the sun. It wasn't perfect but it was the best Hawks could do. The ones on the ground he laid completely flat, focusing on the feeling of the large one's feet shifting on the pavement through the barbs.

He peeled off his gloves, lifting one leg at a time to shuck off his boots.

"Oh-ho~" the big one cracked his knuckles with a pop that made it ridiculously easy to track him by sound alone. "Little bird getting ready to fight? Didn't know you had it in ya', run away hero."

So the big one was clearly not the mastermind. Only an idiot would assume his wings were all Hawks had going for him as a top hero.

"Hold up," gravel held his hand out, frowning. Hawks could feel his arm raising to rub at his chest. The bomb must have hurt him pretty bad. "Don't rush in to this, we can't waste this chance."

Hawks slid off his headphones, setting them down next to his boots. His jacket was burned and torn so he pulled that off too. The knives were strapped to his waist, just past the waistband of his pants so they were out of sight but easy to reach. No attack came to stop him. It was good that their leader was so careful. The more his enemy thought the more time he had to create plans of his own. He had thought, with the bomb, that perhaps these criminals would be the type to rush in as soon as possible but the barrier canceled that out.

This was a very specific, detailed plan to take Hawks out. Gravel was right that they only had one chance. If Hawks could get around them to the girl the fight would be over. The big guy would be a problem if he managed to get a hold of Hawks but the only really dangerous one was the gravel guy. Hawks would need to throw him off his game somehow. Take out the others first, make him attack blindly.

Hawks crouched, resting his arms along his legs and tensing his thighs. He let his eyes widen, cocking his head as he stared at them unblinkingly. The feathers flying around made the area more shaded, he knew it only added to the affect.

Gravel frowned, stretching out his arms slowly. Hawks couldn't smell fear but he could read the unease in his movements well enough.

"You used your quirk on him, right?"

"Yeah, I can feel it. He can't see us, he's just posturing."

"Go to that side," gravel ordered his companion. They started edging closer to Hawks, one on each side.

Hawks ignored the big guy for now, laser focusing on the leader's footsteps and heartbeat.

This was going to be a pain in the ass.

Hawks closed his eyes when they got closer. Losing his eyesight was a disadvantage but gaining it back without warning could end up making him flinch. The sun was up, if he got his vision back he would definitely be able to tell even if his eyes were closed.

They both lunged for him at the same time. Hawks rolled forward, flipping onto his feet and running towards the woman.

Gravel and the big guy were right behind him, with Gravel on the left. The big guy was faster than his weight made him seem, almost right on Hawk's heels half a second later.

Hawks could feel the people around the barrier, waiting to see what happened. Sometimes he hated civilians, purely because he put so much effort into saving them only for them to run towards danger the second he looked away.

Hawks sighed. Then he veered to the right. Right as Hawks got two steps from the barrier the big one punched towards Hawks back.

Hawks kicked off the barrier, flipping over the fist, arching his back so he could land on his feet behind him. He slid Toga's knife out, slicing around and spinning on his right foot to cut right through the back of the big one's knees.

He screamed, falling.

Light bloomed over Hawks' eyelids. He could see again.

Keeping his eyes closed for now he flipped his grip on the knife, bringing it up to catch the hardened fist aiming for his head.

Gravel cursed at him, spittle flying over his face.

"Dude, gross," Hawks scowled, kicking him in the chest hard enough to knock the air from his lungs. He grabbed Gravel's wrist, keeping it steady as he stretched his leg up to kick his elbow.

Gravel screamed when it popped.

Hawks opened his eyes a bit, squinting into the light. Twirling the knife he threw it at the woman as he held Gravel down. She was watching them, wide-eyed and pale. She flinched back when the knife skimmed past her hands, bouncing off the barrier. When she flinched her hands lifted.

The barrier flickered away.

All of Hawks' feathers swarmed the three villains. He dragged them together, staring intently at the woman's face. He could have sworn he'd seen her somewhere before.

The crowd cheered. Hawks turned his scowl into a bright grin, waving at them as blood dripped down his arm. He sent his feathers to get his discarded clothes, sliding them on easily as the villains were pinned to the ground. He slipped Toga's knife into his pocket, there wasn't time to clean it off without a civilian seeing it and there was no way in hell he was putting it back in his waistband covered in blood.

"Hawks!" Edgeshot zipped through the crowd, reforming himself next to Hawks. He looked around the blasted street, zeroing in on the contained criminals. "Are you okay? Is anyone hurt?"

"Just my pride," Hawks laughed. "Oh, and my arms and legs, I guess, but barely. These three thought it'd be a good idea to set off a bomb in the middle of the day. If I'd known they were coming I would have left some of the fight to you."

Edgeshot sighed, looking relieved. "You wouldn't have, but I appreciate the thought."

Hawks blinked. That wasn't the usual response.

"We need to get your injuries looked after," Edgeshot looked over his arms and legs worriedly. "You seem to be moving okay but that could be adrenaline. How bad is the pain?"

"Not bad," Hawks stepped back when he reached out. A furrow appeared between Edgeshot's eyebrows. "Okay, it kind of stings. Do you mind wrapping this up for me while I go wrap these up?"

Edgeshot looked at the crowd starting to get closer. He'd rushed ahead of his sidekicks, apparently, so they didn't have anyone to keep them back besides Hawks' feathers and those were proving to be more a distraction than a deterrent.

"You should really have a professional look at you," Edgeshot stepped in front of Hawks when a phone camera was turned towards him.

Hawks grinned even wider. What a nice guy.

"If it's worse than I think it is, I'll hop over to the hospital. You know I'll get there before paramedics even get here."

Edgeshot gave him a blank look. "...Alright. I trust you to know your own limits. Please contact me later so I can make sure you are alright."

"Uh," Hawks tilted his head, smile twisting a bit. "Okay. I didn't realize you liked me so much!"

Edgeshot looked confused. What the heck? Since when were they friends?

"After everything you did for me at the charity show I don't know how I could not like you," Edgeshot said with a kind of blunt honesty Hawks both respected and startled at. "You are brash, and rather rude at times, but you are a good man."

"You're gonna make me blush," Hawks joked, horrifically feeling the tips of his ears burn. "I'm gonna go take care of this. See you later, Edgeshot."

Hawks was absolutely not going to wait for more of whatever that was. He took off before Edgeshot could think of any more words, drawing his feathers away from the crowd once he saw the other pro's sidekicks making their way through.

Okay. So actually showing up to charity things endeared him to other pros. He thought they cared more about his check than his face, but he supposed he could see the benefit of in-person support. He hadn't wanted to mess with other Pro's events by stealing the limelight but if any of them reacted like Edgeshot then maybe he'd look into going to more.

Hawks' skin throbbed. He looked around for a safe place to apply first-aid. He had some disinfectant wipes and bandages on him, that would be enough to get him through the rest of patrol before he went to his apartment.

Hawks looped around, ducking into the building that was being built at the end of the street. It was covered in tarps because only a few of the windows had been put in place but the foundation was solid. He landed on the top floor, peeling off his jacket once more so he could look at his arms.

"That was some fight, Mr. Number Three."

Hawks drew a primary, sharpening it and holding it out in front of him. He smiled brightly at Dabi, who was stretched out along the ledge of the only large window with glass in place.

"Thanks! I'm not as good at hand-to-hand but I think I did pretty good. Mind if I ask why you're hanging around in an unfinished little place like this?"

Dabi kicked his leg against the wall. He lifted the cigarette between his fingers. "Taking a smoking break. Didn't realize I'd get a show too."

Did this guy have to show up everywhere he wasn't wanted? Hawks had been planning on meeting him as Raven, not as himself. He wanted Dabi to think Hawks had no idea he'd made the vigilante connection, which was a whole lot easier if his daytime persona didn't meet him. What the hell was he even doing in here?

How should he play this?

"You part of the construction team?" Hawks asked lightly, lowering his feather a bit but keeping it in his hand as a clear warning. "I don't see anyone else around."

Dabi turned to stare at him. "...Seriously?"

"What?" Hawks damn near chirped. Could he get away with this?

"You have no idea who I am?" Dabi waved a hand over his face, staples glinting in the light. He smirked, not buying it for a second.

Hawks original impression had been right. He was very purple, and somehow even more emo. Had he stitched his jacket to look like that himself? Hawks could empathize with someone caring a ridiculous amount about their image, but he had not expected any real level of concern from a villain like Dabi. Dabi was a lot skinnier than Hawks had assumed too. Practically a walking stick. His eyes were as blue as his flames, which would have been cool if those flames weren't used for murdering people and kidnapping Hawks chicklets.

"Uh, no, sorry," Hawks used his free hand to scratch the back of his neck. "Are you a big name in construction or something? Oh shit, did you do anything on my Agency? I never really had time to meet with the construction team for that."

Dabi stood up, dropping his cigarette and smothering it with the heel of his shoes. "Good try, bird. You're not that stupid-"

"Dabi! You said you were gonna get food!" a voice whined a floor below. "Where are you?!"

Dabi looked at the ceiling, praying for death.

Hawks felt one eyebrow raise as he turned to the stairwell.

"Daaabbbiiii- oh! It's you!" Toga came barreling through the door, sliding to a stop with a manic grin.

"You," Hawks hissed, raising his wings and stepping in front of Dabi. "Sir, stay back. This is a known criminal."

"Are you fucking kidding me."

Hawks pulled out Toga's knife, fluffing out all of his feathers so he could sense how Dabi moved behind him. This was… probably the dumbest idea he'd ever had, but if it worked then he was going to brag about it for years to come.

Well, after he was allowed to talk about it.

"My knife!" Toga jumped up and down, her smile turning horrifically manic. She zeroed in on the blood, a bright glimmer in her eyes. "You used it! Was it pretty? Did they bleed a lot? Give it back, that's my favorite!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have stabbed me with it," Hawks glared, holding the knife out threateningly when she took a jilted step towards him. "You left it in my hand, it's mine now."

"...oh my fucking god," Dabi muttered behind him.

"Don't worry, sir," Hawks assured him. "You're perfectly safe."

"Give it back," Toga giggled, holding her hands in front of her face. "I want to see what that tastes like!"

'That' being the blood from the big guy.

"No," Hawks refused. For the love of god, how long did he have to do this before someone came to step in? "I'm arresting you."

Now Toga frowned, but it melted into a smile again a second later. "I can't! I have things to do. I'm in love! I need that knife to show them how much."

"Then definitely not," Hawks gave her a weird look.

"Aww, but I'm really hungry," Toga pouted. Hawks ignored the puppy dog eyes she threw over his shoulder. "I'll take it by force, if I have too. Your blood is very pretty."

Hawks had gotten a lot of uncomfortable stares over the years. Nothing quite came close to the teenage girl looking at his bleeding arms and legs like she was going to barbecue them.

"You really think you can take it back, when I know who you are?" Hawks laughed. His tone darkened, the line on the tip of his tongue for weeks finally having a chance to slip free. "What are you going to do? Stab me?"

Toga gave an absolutely ecstatic little gasp, two knives flicking into her hand from thin air (Hawks had watched this time, where the hell did she get those?!).

She lunged at him, Hawks raising his knife in response.

Purple bloomed between them.

'Finally,' Hawks thought, stepping back and reaching for Dabi. "Sir, step back!"

"No," Dabi raised his hands, shaking his head. He turned to the stairs. "No. Any other day, fucking sure. This? Today? Fuck no."

Hawks watched him leave as Kurogiri disappeared with Toga. He sat down.

After staring at the wall for a long few minutes he pulled out his first aid supplies and got to work on his arms and legs.

"What," he said to himself as soon as he was done, looking towards the window like the sky had the answers, "the fuck."

How in the actual hell had that worked?

-00-

"Where's the food?" Spinner asked as soon as Toga and Kurogiri were back. Dabi was missing, which didn't bode well for lunch.

"Dabi said not today," Toga smiled, twirling in a weirdly happy way for how much she was complaining earlier.

"He what?" Shigaraki shot up, red eyes ablaze. "He took the fucking money, he better be getting food!"

Toga giggled. She wished Kurogiri hadn't gotten in the way like that, but at least she had a bit of fun. And now she knew where her knife was!

She'd need to get it back.

-00-

Getting coordinates from Chisaki was normal. Hawks was getting over the creepy feeling of knowing who was contacting him, and was becoming very good at his illegal delivery job. If he advertised he'd make a killing.

Future job occupations aside, Hawks was getting into a routine. Get some coordinates, fly around a bit, wait for Dabi to show his face (which would apparently be a while, considering his mood from before), and then eavesdrop on the drop locations after he left.

Whoever picked up the drops was always dead silent. It was the same person, they had a little hitch in their breath that never changed, but they were always alone. Every time Hawks checked what he was delivering he would be met with blood vials and the increasing urge to start wearing garlic around his neck.

A normal night.

This time Chisaki had texted Hawks coordinates that belonged to an actual building instead of a warehouse, dingy pier, or creep trees (Hawks hated that one the most, it was classic horror movie setup and he was a delicious midnight snack so sayth a mocking Rumi).

Hawks looked up at the building with rising trepidation. This looked like an actual, working building. There were lights on and the street outside was recently paved. This place was marked in police records as one of the Shie Hassaikai's bases of operation. Which meant Chisaki was 'trusting' him with the knowledge of this place while also potentially putting him on a police watch list.

What an ass.

Well, two could play that game. Hawks sent a few feathers around the building, settling them next to the windows.

A few people in one of the ground floor rooms were cheering about something. He could feel the vibrations of electronic sounds, it must be a TV or radio. Hawks ignored them. Another room held a voice he actually recognized. The man with the truth quirk from the pier. He was talking about finances with whoever else was with him, but it wasn't Chisaki. Hawks listened in but he doubted he'd get anything worthwhile in a location like this. Anything they shared in a police watched building was likely bait. He found Chisaki on the top floor. The man wasn't talking, only the scrape of pen on paper filling the room, but Hawks knew it was him. The echoing way he breathed in his mask, the constant adjustment of cloth and rubber as he messed with his gloves, and the occasional cough. It was either Chisaki or a very convincing body double.

...How likely was it for Chisaki to use a body double? That was worrying. The mannerisms were accurate though. Surely a body double would only need to look like Chisaki to fool the police. Chisaki wouldn't be paranoid enough to have someone memorize his natural body movements.

Probably.

Hawks shook his head. He was letting his thoughts get off track again. He could worry about that later. For now, it was most likely Chisaki. Hawks was supposed to be meeting him here, he'd have to show up in person.

Plus, Hawks was almost one hundred percent confident that the villains that tried to trap him earlier were working for the Shie Haissaikai. Two deliveries ago, one of the guys hanging around while Hawks picked up the latest batch of blood (eugh) had checked the time on his phone. His wallpaper had been a picture of him and his girlfriend, kissing in front of a sunset.

Very sweet. Very cute.

The girlfriend had been ridiculously tall with blue hair.

Tonight was going to be a test.

Hawks looked down the street. He was in a side path across the street, just out of view of the undercover police car at the curb. It was facing the window of where Chisaki was, so he couldn't just fly into the man's office (there goes that petty revenge scheme).

He'd need to go in through the small window of the second floor supply closet. There were probably cameras inside but he was more worried about the police seeing him than Chisaki (or whoever he had running security, if he trusted anyone else for that). Hawks pulled his feathers back and walked away. As soon as he was far enough he jumped into the air and took a wide, curving arc to get to the other side of the building. There were no undercover cops near the back. No good surveillance spots but it was a narrow alley that lead directly to a main street on either side. If anyone left through the back they would have to go to the streets.

Or fly overhead. Hawks was also pretty sure Chisaki had his own way of getting around back here too, but he'd look into it later. It could be something subtle or Chisaki could literally just brute force it and use his quirk to get passed the alley wall.

The storage room window was annoyingly small, but it was still big enough for Hawks to squeeze himself in. He had to awkwardly push his wings in first and wiggle his shoulders through, but once his torso was passed he tumbled in easily. His arms and legs scraped along the sides as he went, making his burns sting, but the bandages held so he didn't worry about it.

Hawks brushed off his dark jacket. No dirt or dust fell off. Did Chisaki have everything dusted and cleaned to perfection even in here? He knew the guy was a germaphobe but he doubted the 'big boss' ever needed to come into the supply closet when he had lackeys to fetch everything for him.

Hawks pulled his hood more securely over his head. It didn't really matter if it fell off, but he liked the feeling of being able to hide his face from cameras. Stepping out into the hallway he didn't bother trying to be sneaky. He just tucked his hands into his pockets and strolled around the halls until he found the stairs.

The security system was pretty good. Cameras covered every angle and they were well hidden. Without his wings it might have taken him a bit to find them. The people on the other hand… well, Hawks could kind of understand now why Chisaki would go out of his way to find reliable help.

Hawks waved at the third group of yakuza members he passed on his search for the stairs. They grunted, nodding back.

Acting like you belonged was a huge part in remaining inconspicuous but this was kind of ridiculous. He was pretty sure anyone would know if they recognized someone with giant wings on their back, but even when he spotted the confusion in every pair of eyes he met no one stopped him so long as he waved or nodded at them. The only one that even verbally addressed him was a giant muscle man wearing a plague doctor mask (was that some kind of badge of power? The truth quirk user, and this guy seemed a lot higher level than the others).

"You that Raven guy?" he asked, walking down the hall and taking up the majority of the space. Hawks stepped to the side to let him pass. He nodded.

The big guy grunted. "Are you strong?"

Hawks shrugged. For a first meeting question, this guy was probably one of those types that fought for the joy of it. It was the same thing Rumi had asked him when they met. "I get by."

They guy yawned. "I'll fight you later."

Hawks watched him go with a deadpan look. He was already making friends, apparently. Rumi would be proud.

After purposefully missing the stairwell three more times (and memorizing the faces of several more groups of people) Hawks went up to the third floor.

No one was in the halls of this one. Hawks made a show of knocking on a few doors and peeking in. Chisaki seemed to have this whole floor reserved to himself for today. Maybe most days? He seemed to dislike people, Hawks could totally see Chisaki keeping an entire floor for himself.

The fourth door he knocked on was Chisaki's office. Hawks waited to be called in.

Chisaki remained silent.

Hawks licked the back of his teeth. If Chisaki had seen him wandering around then he would have seen Hawks open every door after he knocked. Barging into Chisaki's office without permission sounded like something that would rank high on the 'only do if you want to die' list, but leaving would let Chisaki know Hawks already knew where his office was located.

Hawks opened the door.

"Uh," he froze, eyes widening when they met Chisaki's.

Chisaki raised one eyebrow, tapping his pen against the side of his desk. "Even a vigilante should have common manners."

What a prick.

"I knocked," Hawks defended.

"You snuck in," Chisaki set his pen down. Hawks watched him click a few things on his computer (the video feed?).

"Yeah, well, you didn't tell me you had police camping out around here," Hawks rolled his eyes, stepping in and closing the door. "Your security sucks, by the way."

"I'll look into that."

Hawks gave him an unimpressed look. "What did you want to meet me for?"

Chisaki stood up, flipping a file closed and setting at the front of the desk as he walked around it. "The next deliveries are more delicate than the last ones. I need you to deliver them all in a specific order and specific times."

"Fine," Hawks shrugged. "None of them are as bad as that first one, are they?"

"No, the distances are short. The pickups will be different but when you drop them off you just need to knock and leave like before."

"Why are the pickups different?" Hawks frowned, walking over to the desk and reaching for the file. The tip of his index finger barely brushed the paper when Chisaki's hand clamped around his forearm.

Right at the epicenter of the burn.

Hawks jumped, looking at him with an irritated scowl. "What?"

"That's the wrong file," Chisaki stepped forwards, unblinking as he stared down at him.

Hawks glanced at his arm when the grip on it tightened painfully, nails curling into the burn in a way that made it scream in pain. He raised his own eyebrow this time, tugging at his arm. "I won't touch it, you don't need to freak out. Let go."

"Do you know what my quirk is?" Chisaki asked, plague mask close enough it nearly brushed Hawks' forehead.

Hawks frowned, letting his eyebrows furrow deeply. He leaned away. "No? Why the hell would I know-" He looked down at the hand gripping his arm. "Why are you touching me? Are you using your quirk on me?!"

"No," Chisaki answered plainly, digging in even further when Hawks made to pull away. He watched Hawks for a reaction, head tilted and eyes wide. "I thought you knew, but you don't seem nervous at all when I grab you. Just angry."

"Because you're grabbing me," Hawks tugged at his arm uselessly. "Aren't you a germaphobe or something? Fucking- let go you creep."

Chisaki finally blinked. Slowly he uncurled his fingers.

The pain in Hawks' arm flared, radiating out from the points of contact and spreading to the center of his bones. He was pretty sure one of the bones in his arm was fractured now.

Hawks shook out his hand, glaring. "If you didn't want me to touch it you should have said so, asshole."

Chisaki tilted his head, staring at him. "I'll make sure to do that next time."

Next time. Hawks was really starting to hate this man.

"You can have the other file," Chisaki pointed at the one along the side counters of his office. The one tucked between several other folders.

Hawks shot him a nasty look, storming over and grabbing it. "Are we done?"

"Actually," Chisaki walked over to his desk, sitting down behind it easily. "I have another question for you."

"You can't make me answer it this time," Hawks pointed out, nerves starting to rise again.

"No, but I'm sure you'll have something to say," Chisaki sounded bored. "I remembered where I'd heard the name Takami."

Hawks froze, fingers still stuck on the edge of the file. "...So?"

"There's a thief, with that name," Chisaki continued. He had his hands threaded in front of him, completely at ease. Confident in his own strength and Hawks couldn't even fault him for it. "I never met him, personally, but I've heard a few stories from the last Boss. He could get anything, for the right price. He had wings, too. Are you related?"

Hawks tucked the folder into his jacket, zipping it up to his neck to keep it in place. "No. Takami is my first name, I don't have a family name."

"Orphan?" Chisaki drawled, eyes narrowing. "If you don't have a family name then you were abandoned pretty early. Who gave you your name?"

"None of your fucking business," Hawks spat, pushing the line a bit further today. Chisaki was suspicious of him, could Hawks get him to snap a bit? Reveal more? "Are we done here or do you have any other personal questions you don't get an answer for?"

Chisaki stood up again. He rounded his desk, a line of tension in the air that made Hawks pay close attention to where he held his hands.

"You are not one of my typical subordinates," Chisaki said slowly, like he was trying to sound convincing. To Hawks, or to himself? "A few shows of disrespect are to be expected. I can understand the frustration of being at the beck and call of someone you don't know."

Hawks jerked back when Chisaki reached out and gripped his shoulder. He kept his wings still. This was a test, again. He said he didn't know what Chisaki's quirk was. Sudden movements he could flinch from and be natural, but if he showed too much concern about Chisaki's hands then he'd give himself away.

"However, you do still work for me," Chisaki loomed over him, fingers curling into his shoulder like they were trying to wrap around the bone. "I don't expect complete obedience, but I do appreciate common courtesy. I pay you very well, for doing very little. You seem fairly smart, I'm sure you understand why I might get frustrated when something as simple as manners is forgotten."

So this is where he drew the line? Hawks had cursed and pushed at him multiple times, but Chisaki had either ignored it or looked almost amused.

The sharp glint in his eyes, his face half-shadowed as he stared down at Hawks, was not a look of amusement.

So complaining about orders, and cursing about others in the room was fine, but refusing him directly about anything was a no go.

Hawks hadn't expected much different. Every report beforehand, and every meeting he'd had so far, showed Chisaki as a man in complete control. He didn't care what his pawns did, so long as they were there when he needed them to be and they did their jobs the way he wanted them done. If he wanted something from them, they gave it.

It was like a twisted, villainized version of the President.

Well, at least he knew how to deal with people like that.

"...Sorry," Hawks huffed, looking to the side. "I don't like talking about my past. It's not important anyway. You freak me out, but I do appreciate the chances you've given me."

Chisaki's grip loosened. He pulled back and adjusted his gloves. "So you do have some manners, at least. Who gave you your name?"

Hawks sighed, rolling his shoulders. "Just some girl. I barely even remember her, but I didn't have a name in mind so she picked one for me."

With as much as he remembered about her, his mother really could be classified as 'just some girl'.

Chisaki looked at him. He sighed and walked back to his chair. "How boring."

He sounded genuinely disappointed. Had Hawks gotten him off the Takami subject? For now, most likely. He doubted Chisaki would just drop it after bringing it up like this.

"Here," Chisaki reached into his desk and pulled out another file. "You've proven to be very useful. These are some small jobs you can do if you're interested."

Hawks mentally high-fived himself. It was a little difficult, balancing Raven's prickly nature with any form of loyalty without coming off as suspicious, but he was making good progress. Hopefully, he could actually get some worthwhile information before he made it into the League's good graces.

"You've got a weird thing for files," Hawks approached easily, holding his hand out. "I'm used to word-of-mouth kind of things. Aren't you worried these will get used as evidence or something?"

"No."

And he left it at that. Hawks opened the file curiously.

He snorted.

Each paper had a string of numbers and a small picture of some random corner of a city.

That was it.

Hawks could pick out the coordinates, and what he assumed was times and payment, but they were ridiculously scrambled.

"What if I wasn't able to figure out where all these places were?"

"Then you are useless to the Shie Haissaikai."

Wow. Okay. Sure. The guy who can fly across the entire country in half a day was useless because he didn't' know that this one street corner with a cracked lamp and weird pawn shop (that was totally a front for drug trafficking) was located in the middle of the eastern side of Hosu on the other side of the street from Hawks' favorite rice place (he'd be a little more concerned about how addictively delicious any kind of food was when next to an underground drug circle if he didn't' know that the owner was a long retired cop who liked to do a little undercover work still when he wasn't busy cooking).

Hawks closed the file, scowling. His arm was starting to throb, it was definitely fractured. He'd push a little more before he left. "Twelve of your 'Shie Haissaikai' members didn't recognize me when I ran into them but they let me walk around as I pleased. You seriously expect me to believe my skill level isn't good enough already?"

Chisaki scratched at his mask. "Really? Do you remember what they look like?"

"No," Hawks scratched the side of his neck. Raven wouldn't answer that. It had been a good idea to instill his cover with a moral thread.

Chisaki's eyes narrowed. "I thought your memory would be better than that."

"They weren't wearing a weird-ass mask," Hawks mimed a beaked nose in front of his face. "I was a little busy trying to find my way around."

Chisaki blinked slowly. He looked back to his work. "That would be the cannon fodder. If they aren't wearing a mask then their only use is their body count."

A cold chill raced down Hawks' spine. He'd said it so factually. Like there was no other way things could be.

"Am I part of the body count?" Hawks growled, letting his wings raise to show his nerves.

Chisaki glanced up. "You're wearing a mask."

"Not one of yours."

"Not yet," Chisaki corrected.

Eugh. Gross. Hawks really hoped this whole thing was resolved before he was forced to look like some plague masked horror. The bird beak would complete his look though. He'd keep that little silver lining in his back pocket in case he really did have to wear one of Chisaki's stupid masks.

"Whatever," Hawks grumped like Bakugo. He couldn't quite match the kid's level of shoulder expression, but he thought he was doing pretty good. "These better be worth it."

Hawks tapped his chest to indicate the extra jobs. Hopefully they were still delivery jobs and not some other horror show plot.

"The pay will match the job. I have high expectations for you, Takami."

It took every ounce of Hawks' self-control to stop the full-body shiver as he walked out and closed the door. He scowled at the door, stuffing his hands in his pocket and casually walking back to the supply closet for his escape.

'I have high expectations for you, Takami'. Hawks scrunched up his nose when he was in the safety of the air. That was creepy enough on its own, but he couldn't stop his brain from making certain connections. He mentally chopped the string connecting his thoughts, forcing it to think, instead, of how he wanted to approach Nezu with his nearly finished proposal.

'I have high expectations for you, Takami,' Chisaki had stared at him from behind his desk, cold and calculating.

"I have high expectations for you, Hawks," she said from behind her desk, cold and calculating.

Hawks shot through the air. He had to finish that plan. School would officially be back in session soon, he was on a time crunch.

-00-

Please, for the love of all that is good, look up a Potoo owl. I have never laughed so hard in my life.

I also laughed re-reading my horrible chapter summary pun. I was a real word smith on that one.

hinatayvonne: *offers object to throw through window* throw away!

Rosto'sGirl: I love the Kamakiri love! He's a bean. I want a Mirko hoodie, that sounds so nice. Being sick sucks, and you have things to do! No one has time for that! You'll get there! I graduated way late compared to the others around me, but it was worth it. I believe in you! I shall not accept! Title of sweetest sweetheart is yours!

anonymouslyme: =.= gah! you make me blush my dear! Like, holey moley those were some kindness packed words! I'm glad this managed to reel you in! I offer your heart my condolences XD. Thank you, you dear sweet bean!

Kurogane Tsubasa: Gosh dang! You reviewed so many times! Thank you! Especially thank you for telling me some of the parts that stuck out to you! That really helps me focus in on what I did best so I can improve as a writer, and I am so very grateful for it. You are very nice and wonderful, I appreciate you so much!

ChaosHearth: It's a yes XD I can't tell you when or for who though! It's gonna be cute though. AND it will involve animal mutations. You're welcome XD

GrimReaperLaw: Would you believe me if I told you my plans are so discombobulated I'm surprised I can write them out coherently? Like, the big plot moments? I know what's going down. To the finest detail. Literally every moment between and leading up to it? Hell if I know, I'm winging it as I go and trying to keep the pieces connected XD Your praise means a lot to me though, I can't believe people like this so much. Thank you, I really am very grateful to the fact that you take the time out of your day to tell me you enjoyed this humble little fic. It means a lot to me.