Present: UA

Shouta listened, face carefully blank, as the experts that Recovery Girl had called in explained to him what to expect during Hawks's recovery. Headaches, dizziness, disorientation, confusion, loss of motor control… it went on and on. They'd done their best to repair the worst of the damage, but there would be permanent memory loss. It was impossible to know how bad it was until Hawks woke up again, but it could be anything from an entire person stripped away from his mind, as had been the case with Present Mic, to losing basic skills like reading and writing. Recovery time would depend on how much he had lost. He had woken up earlier and had recognized All Might, Recovery Girl, and Midoriya, which was a good sign, and he had remembered his real name. They had reason to be thankful, Shouta was told, because by all rights Hawks shouldn't have remembered anything.

"They had him for hours," Recovery Girl said, looking exhausted. "I'll be blunt; anyone else would have lost all their memories if the quirk that was used is as potent as I suspect. We believe that Hawks's quirk is to thank for the fact that his memories are remarkably intact; Hawks's brain is different from the average human, which is what gives him the ability to control his feathers so effectively and allowed him to resist the memory wipe for so long."

Shouta nodded and tried to forget that he'd seen the video from the room Hawks had been held in and heard the doctor say he wanted to 'examine' Hawks brain. "Do you know what he said to All Might?"

The former number one hero had left the infirmary in tears and was currently huddled next to Midoriya on a bench outside of the infirmary. Between the two of them, they had quite the puddle forming.

Recovery Girl shook her head.

Huffing in frustration, Shouta cast a glance back at Hawks before walking over and sitting down on the bench, leaving Midoriya sandwiched between him and All Might. He waited.

Sure enough, after a few sniffles and a futile attempt to wipe away his tears, All Might sat a little straighter and looked at Shouta. "There's something that you need to know."

Bracing himself, Shouta nodded and wondered idly if there was anything worse that he could learn. If there was something worse than finding out that someone had tried to erase your student's mind, worse than hearing that a child had nearly had his brain dissected. Shouta didn't want to know. He was at his limit already.

Still, Hawks was his student and his responsibility, now more than ever. As his homeroom teacher, Shouta was the closest thing to a legal guardian that Hawks had. "Tell me."

All Might glanced down at Midoriya, clearly trying to decide if he wanted the teen present or not. "Hawks told me that he was… 'questioned' by the Commission about my true form and my—other secret, which he knows about. He didn't tell them."

"You mean they hurt him," Midoriya said, eyes suddenly widening. "Wait, he knows about-"

"Yes." All Might cut in quickly. "What I don't understand is why he wouldn't tell them. I don't mean to doubt his character, it's just that…"

"If he was interrogated, it shows an incredible resilience and force of will to withhold information for so long," Shouta said, understanding what All Might was trying to say. "Though why he simply didn't report it in the first place…"

"Hawks is a good person," Midoriya said defensively, shoulders squaring at the perceived slight of his friend. "He was terrified of the Commission, but he knew that telling the Commission would be bad. Especially if he knew about—your other secret, All Might. If they had known, it would have been…really bad."

"Hopefully we'll be able to ask him about it soon," Shouta murmured, staring down at his capture weapon. If he remembers, went unsaid, but it hung heavy in the air. "Also, I'll chose to trust that whatever the other secret you have is, you have a good reason for not telling me and that it will not unduly endanger my students."

"Nedzu knows," All Might said, looking guilty. "I—if I thought it wouldn't endanger even more people, I would tell you-"

"It's fine," Shouta waved a hand dismissively and climbed to his feet. "I trust your judgement. For the most part."

"You do?" All Might stared at Shouta in shock, then laughed. "You keep surprising me."

Shouta rolled his eyes. "I'm going to sit with him. Go home and get some sleep, both of you."

"I'll take you home, young Midoriya," All Might said, standing up and wrapping a hand around the teen's shoulder. "Thank you for watching over him."

"It's my job" Shouta said with a shrug as he stepped back into the infirmary.

Recovery Girl looked up from fussing over Hawks's blankets as he sat down on one of the chairs next to Hawks's bed. "I suppose it's useless to tell you to go home. The whole school is crawling with heroes. He's as well guarded as he possibly could be."

With a rebellious glare, Shouta pointedly pulled out his yellow sleeping back and started unzipping it.

"So stubborn!" Recovery Girl threw up her hands. "Have it your way. At least use the other bed if you're going to stay the night."

Shouta probably would at some point, but he wasn't ready to try and sleep yet. He had a lot to process and a decision to make first.

"Is this about what Nedzu said?" Recovery Girl asked.

He grunted.

"It doesn't have to be you," Recovery Girl said, eyes bright with compassion. "I'm sure one of the other teachers or All Might-"

"All Might can barely take care of himself," Shouta sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Much less a child."

Recovery Girl hummed in agreement. "You're a bit young."

He grunted, shooting her a baleful glare "I don't feel young."

"This line of work takes its toll," Recovery Girl said, eyes distant. "You can decide later. Go to sleep."

Sighing, Shouta walked over to the free bed and laid down, pulling his sleeping bag over him like a blanket. It was hours before he actually fell asleep, his earlier conversation with Nedzu echoing in his mind.

If he was honest with himself, he didn't need to decide. He already known what his answer would be when Nedzu had come to talk to him that morning. He wasn't sure it was the best choice, or if it was the best course of action for Hawks, but they didn't have a lot of options. As Hawks's homeroom teacher, he knew the teen better than any other adult. It had to be him, at least until someone better suited could be found. If such a person even existed.

Shouta was going to help his problem child however he could. Hopefully Hawks would finally be ready to accept it.

Past—Summer Camp

Hawks stared into the mouth of the cave, a chill running down his spine. He sent a feather in and shut his eyes, a picture forming in his mind from the vibrations in the air. In the center of the cave, a figure was sitting on the ground, body rocking back and forth. He heard a grunt of pain. "Tokoyami?"

"D-don't come in!" Came the frantic reply.

He took a step forward, stopping just short of the cave's shadow. A low, guttural growl resounded from the cave, the same one that he had been hearing all day. Through the vibrations his feather was picking up, he could sense Dark Shadow on the prowl, razor sharp claws leaving deep, raking marks on the cave wall. He could tell that Tokoyami was barely managing to restrain him.

Hawks hesitated. He knew that Dark Shadow was dangerous—possibly one of the most dangerous quirks of their entire class if Tokoyami lost control, but still… he could feel Tokoyami shaking from the effort of controlling his quirk, breaths coming in short rasps. Struggling all alone.

"Why don't we train our quirks together?" Hawks asked, stretching legs.

"No!" Tokoyami snapped. "It's far too dangerous. If you came in here, I don't know what would happen. If Dark Shadow attacked you-"

"I don't think he would," Hawks put in, adjusting the laces on his shoes. "We're friends, right? I don't think Dark Shadow would actually hurt me."

"Don't be so sure," Tokoyami said darkly. "Do not come in."

Running a hand through his hair, Hawks debated the merits of giving up, but he could tell that Tokoyami was still in a small huddle in the middle of the cave. Against his better judgement, he just couldn't walk away. "You're going to have to deal with this at some point. At least here, you have multiple people that could create light with their quirks and Sensei could erase Dark Shadow if worse came to worse. Besides, I doubt Dark Shadow could hit me if he tried. I'm pretty fast, you know."

Tokoyami snorted and straightened slightly. "You're awfully overconfident. How exactly are you planning on flying around the cave in the dark?"

Hawks smiled. "With my trusty feathers, of course! I've trained with blindfolds before, but I've never practiced flying in cramped spaces without being able to see. This is the perfect way for me to train my quirk and increase my reaction time and precision. Plus, you get to test out what Dark Shadow's reaction will be if you ever encounter a classmate in the dark and work on your control at the same time. Seems like a win-win to me."

"You're an idiot," Tokoyami said with sigh, sounding quite put upon. "If you're determined to try, at let Aizawa-sensei know what you're doing so he can come save you when this inevitably goes south."

Grinning, Hawks waved at Aizawa until he got his attention and pointed at the cave. Aizawa scowled in a "you're such a problem child, why do you do these things" sort of way but gave him a flapping gesture that Hawks assumed to mean "proceed at your own risk." Giving Aizawa a thumps-up in reply, Hawks stepped into the darkness.

The reaction from Dark Shadow was instant. Hawks could feel the overwhelming presence of the quirk zero in on him even without his feathers. Tokoyami let out a low grunt as he struggled to contain his quirk, panting from the effort it took to maintain control.

Shutting his eyes, Hawks spread half a dozen feathers around the cave. He shut his eyes and focused on his senses—his hearing, sight, and smell, along with the way the vibrations his feathers picked up forged a mental picture of what was around him.

Dark Shadow edged closer as Hawks took off into the air, flying up a good fifteen feet to give himself some maneuvering room. The cave was much larger than Hawks had been expecting, opening up into the mountainside with the ceiling of the cave almost thirty feet in the air. It was big enough to almost fit one of UA's gymnasiums inside it, with numerous rock columns and stalagmites scattered throughout the cave and stalactites hanging down from the ceiling; the perfect obstacle course for Hawks.

He wove his way through the maze of columns and stalagmites, allowing the tips of his feathers to brush against one before he spun his way through a series of complex aerial maneuvers, relying on his feathers instead of his eyes.

Behind him, Dark Shadow howled and gave chase. They danced around each other throughout the cave, a complex game of cat and mouse. Dark Shadow drew close enough to almost lash out at Hawks's feet multiple times, but Hawks would twist out of the way, loop up and over his pursuer, or reversed course faster than Dark Shadow could keep up with.

Hawks laughed as Dark Shadow cried out in frustration as he gave the quirk the slip again, coming so close he almost brushed the back of Dark Shadow's extended claws.

"You're enjoying this way too much," Tokoyami said, sounding angry but more like himself than earlier.

"I don't get many chances to show off like this," Hawks answered, forcing himself not to get too cocky. It was hard though. Flying was just so much fun. "Have you thought about what I said?"

"Yes," Tokoyami said, managing to pull Dark Shadow back as the quirk tried to smack Hawks out of the air. "I've come up with some ideas but learning how to control Dark Shadow has to come first. I hate the idea of being a liability in the dark."

In that moment, Hawks was prone to agree with him. Dark Shadow was getting more and more agitated the longer Hawks managed to avoid him. It was getting harder to avoid the quirk, as Dark Shadow was starting to adapt to Hawks's escape tactics and was even predicting some of his movements. "I think Dark Shadow is getting faster."

"I think it's time to end this," Tokoyami said, voice suddenly strained.

Dark Shadow apparently agreed with him, because in the next moment the quirk swelled in size and finally managed to bat Hawks out of the sky.

Hawks hit the floor of the cave hard, skidding for a few feet before crashing into one of the columns. Dazed, Hawks heard Tokoyami shouting and tried to get up, but before he could, Dark Shadow was on him, pushing him down with bruising force.

In the dark, Hawks opened his eyes. Two red eyes stared back at him, inches from his face. They stared at each other, neither one moving or breaking eye contact.

"Dark Shadow, no!" Tokoyami shouted, but Dark Shadow ignored him.

After what felt like an eternity, Dark Shadow let out a low cackling sound and released Hawks. "Good bird friend," it said, voice different from what Hawks's was used to. In the dark, its voice was lower and deeper than normal, somehow filling all of the space around it. "Your turn."

Just like that, Dark Shadow disappeared from Hawks's limited eyesight. A quick search of his feathers revealed that Dark Shadow had dashed off the way it had come, only to pause and look back at Hawks almost expectantly.

"Um," Hawks said, scratching his head. "Tokoyami?"

"That's never happened before," Tokoyami said, sounding confused. "He seems to like you?"

Dark Shadow came a little closer and hissed at Hawks.

"I think he just wants to play," Hawks said, deciding to accept that he was just going to be confused and roll with it. "This is good, right? Dark Shadow and I are bird… friends."

"Fumikage too," Dark Shadow said, huffing impatiently. "Play."

Grinning widely, Hawks launched himself into the air. "Hear that, Tokoyami? We're friends, no take backs."

"I hate both of you," Tokoyami said, sounding resigned.

Aizawa was hovering outside of the cave when Hawks and Tokoyami finally exited it, both exhausted and sweaty, but mostly unharmed. "You're actually in one piece."

"I may be a problem child, but I'm not as bad as Midoriya," Hawks groused with no real heat. He would have a wonderful collection of bruises and scrapes from all the times Dark Shadow had actually managed to catch him, but was otherwise fine. "I'm a good bird, sensei." He added brightly.

"It seems Hawks has managed to… bond with Dark Shadow," Tokoyami said in a voice of doom. "I don't understand why. Hawks can be very irritating."

"Hey!" Hawks said, clutching his chest. "You wound me. Is that any way to talk to your bird friend?"

"I still wasn't able to control Dark Shadow, but I believe I made some progress," Tokoyami said, studiously ignoring Hawks's outburst.

"It's only the first day," Aizawa said, looking distinctly amused. "Don't forget you have remedial lessons after dinner, problem child."

Hawks groaned. This is so unfair. Stupid Hero Commission. The traitorous thought slipped out unbidden, causing Hawks to jerk in surprise. His opinion of the HPSC was becoming worryingly jaded of late. It was true, though. Hawks could have passed his finals with ease, but the Commission had ordered him to flunk it. They'd changed their minds at the last minute, but it had been too late to get a high enough score to avoid the remedial lessons, which he didn't even need.

He knew that it was wrong of him to feel angry at the Commission, but he had really wanted to go to Summer camp and be with his friends- classmates. I have to think of them as classmates.

He was walking a thin line and he knew it. Ever since the realization he'd had at Midoriya's house, everything had slowly been getting worse. He was stressed out and anxious all the time. He felt in turns incredibly guilty of his growing frustration with the Commission and completely terrified about what was going to happen next.

Hosu had been his second strike. One more wrong move and bad things were going to happen. So, he tried to force himself to stop thinking of his classmates as friends and tried to stop feeling like he was trapped by the Commission. The Commission had done him a favor by taking him in and training him. He should be grateful. He should be better than these feelings, this weakness.

As they started walking back for dinner, Midoriya waved at him and jogged over to join him and Tokoyami. The sensible part of Hawks brain warned him that pushing Midoriya away or avoiding him altogether was better than the horrible limbo he was currently stuck in, but he just didn't have the will. So, Hawks was perpetually stuck in an endless cycle of momentarily forgetting he wasn't supposed to be friends with anyone, then remembering and feeling physically ill from the guilt and the wildly conflicted nature of his feelings.

He wondered if anyone noticed the changes. Hawks knew he had been quieter of late, but he just didn't have the energy to try and like everything was normal. It was all he could do to just keep his emotions in check and off his face.

Of course, the icing on the cake was the fact that summer camp was drudging up bad memories for Hawks. The training was harder than anything else they'd done at UA, but it was still lightyears better than some of the Commission's more 'intense' training regimens, not that it made a difference on how he was feeling. It was all he could do to keep some of the worst memories at bay. Still, in the end he just had to deal with it. It was just one more thing to hide, after all.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hawks caught Todoroki and Yaoyorozu staring at him, reminding him of his biggest problem of all. Iida, Todoroki, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, and Midoriya knew that he was a Commission spy.

They hadn't told anyone as far as he knew, but Hawks was still on guard. There were so many ways that the conversation they'd had could blow up in his face. They pitied him now, he knew. He hadn't meant to tell them that the Commission had injured him over the course of his training, or that he was scared to go back, but the emotional breakdown he'd had at Midoriya's house had been too fresh. Everything had just slipped out.

He still didn't understand why they were so bothered by the whole thing and he knew that his lack of understanding was a huge part of why everyone was so upset. They kept asking if he was okay, if he wanted to tell someone, if he was really sure he could go back to the Commission. All while Todoroki stared at him with a heavy, piercing eyes, no judgement or pity in his gaze. Just… knowing.

Hawks forced himself not to think of the conversation he'd had with Todoroki and Midoriya about Endeavor and tried to keep focused on the conversation going on around him.

It was hard to do with Todoroki's gaze burning into him.

Present: UA

Izuku and Yaoyorozu were allowed to sit with Hawks for an hour the day after he was rescued. They had wanted to make sure Hawks woke up to a familiar face since Aizawa had been called away on business and Recovery Girl was in a meeting with some other doctors to discuss treatment options for Hawks's condition.

No one could tell them how bad Hawks's memory had been damaged, but Izuku was optimistic. Even if he was missing memories, he still remembered them—or some of them, at least. If nothing else, Hawks would wake up with a familiar face close by. As long as he trusted them, they could help him recover.

Izuku was pretty sure he'd never felt so relieved in his entire life as when Aizawa had called to let them know Hawks had been found. After Aizawa had left, they'd decided crash at Izuku's place for the night in case word came in on Hawks. It had been the six of them, Iida, Todoroki, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, and Izuku, who had first discovered the truth about Hawks, after all. It had felt right that they stay together until they heard something.

"Do you think Tokoyami knows yet?" Izuku asked quietly.

"I checked the news earlier and they haven't announced that Hawks was the one rescued from the Commission. They didn't even mention that it was a UA student, simply that they received an anonymous tip and evidence of the Commission's wrongdoing." Yaoyorozu answered, eyes intent on something she was sketching in a notebook.

They hadn't included Tokoyami in their meeting at Izuku's house to discuss what to do the night before because they hadn't wanted to endanger someone else by bringing them into the situation. Not after Hawks had been so insistent about how dangerous the Commission could be. Tokoyami would have no idea that the media storm was because of Hawks, or what Hawks current condition was.

Tokoyami had only recently started joining their friend group, drawn in by Hawks just like Yaoyorozu and Kaminari had been, but it still felt strange to keep him in the dark.

"I'll have to ask Aizawa if we can tell him," Izuku muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes wearily.

They both fell silent.

"I want to make him something," Yaoyorozu said after a while, shifting in her seat. "Something that can stay here even after we have to leave."

"Like a blanket? Or a stuffed animal?" Izuku asked, glancing at Hawks's pale, motionless form on the bed.

"I'm thinking a stuffed animal. Maybe something like this?" Yaoyorozu leaned closer and showed him her notebook.

Glancing down at the sketch, Izuku felt his mouth fell open in astonishment. A moment later, he burst out laughing.

"It's not that bad, is it?" Yaoyorozu asked, blushing.

Doubling over, Izuku shook his head. "It's—it's perfect."

"He said it was his favorite animal and since Aizawa-sensei and All Might are his favorite heroes…" Yaoyorozu stared down at it for a moment, then started to chuckle herself. "It does sort of… clash."

"He'll love it," Izuku said, wiping tears from his eyes. "Assuming Aizawa-sensei doesn't confiscate it."

"I can always make another," Yaoyorozu said with a laugh.

They spent the next few hours tweaking the design and chatting quietly. Hawks didn't wake up, but they had been told to expect that. It was still hard not to worry.

"Do you think Hawks would have asked for help if we hadn't found out about the Commission?" Yaoyorozu asked, staring down at her notebook absently.

"No," Izuku said, watching Hawks's chest rise and fall. "I don't think we would have known anything was even wrong."

"But why? I keep asking myself why he didn't say anything or why we let him convince us not to tell the teachers right away," Yaoyorozu clenched her hands in frustration. "He would be gone. They would have wiped all his memories and the Hawks we know would be gone. He knew his life was in danger, but he still went back to them. I'm still a little shocked he used the code, to be honest."

Biting his lip, Izuku nodded in agreement. "Would we still have gone to Aizawa-sensei if he hadn't used the code?"

Silence.

"Hawks didn't ask for help before because he didn't think anyone could—or would, help him. And I think he didn't trust anyone enough to tell them that he was spying on All Might, because he was afraid of the consequences," Izuku said.

"Everything that's happened… I think I know what kind of hero I want to be now," Yaoyorozu said, turning to face him. "I want to be the kind of hero that people trust. No matter how scared they are or how dangerous their situation is, I want them to trust that I will save them, no matter what. Like you."

"Me?" Izuku stared at her. "But I haven't done anything!"

"Yes, you have. You were the first person to really befriend him. He always acted so forced around everyone else, but he was always so much more relaxed and genuine with you. You were the one who created the code word. Out of everyone texting him to ask if he was okay or needed help, you were the one he answered," Yaoyorozu smiled at him sadly. "It's not just him, either. I don't pretend to know much about Todoroki's home life, but the way he acts sometimes and that scar… it's not good, is it?"

Izuku didn't dare answer, his stomach churning guiltily as he thought about what Aizawa had said to them about telling an adult.

"You have a special quality. I don't know how to describe it, except to say that you have a way of getting people who have been hurt to lower their walls. You make them feel safe to be themselves. To open up and trust you." Yaoyorozu continued. "I really admire that about you."

Blushing, Izuku thought over Yaoyorozu's words for a moment. "I think… maybe it's because I've been hurt too. Not in the same way as them or as badly, but… maybe they recognized it in me. The hurt. Maybe it made them they feel like I would be able to understand them. I was safe."

"I hope I can be like that someday," Yaoyorozu asked softly. "Be safe for someone that is hurting."

"You already are," Izuku answered. "You're a lot more like that than you realize. Hawks didn't just open up to me. He opened up to you to, albeit in a different way. The way he would laugh and talk with you was real from the beginning. You encouraged him to tell us the truth about the Commission, even though he was scared about what could happen. You're really amazing, Yaoyorozu. I can't wait to see the kind of hero you become. You're going to be the best!"
She stared at him a long moment, before closing her eyes and smiling. "Thank you. You know, I don't think I have to wait to see what kind of hero you'll become."

"What?" Izuku frowned in confusion.

"You're going to the top, right?" Yaoyorozu asked, eyes distant. "I can already see it."

Izuku felt his face go red and sputtered incoherently.

"Sorry! That must have sounded strange. I stand by what I said though," Grinning at him, Yaoyorozy shifted in her seat. "I think the design is ready, don't you? I'm going to create it now."

Later, as Izuku and Yaoyorozu left the infirmary for the day, he sent Aizawa a text message updating their teacher on Hawks's status, along with a picture. It was of Hawks, curled up on his side cuddling a stuffed animal to his chest. It was a chicken wearing an All Might costume, with Eraser Head's goggles and capture weapon and Present Mic's mustache. The finishing touch was All Might's trademark hairstyle. They'd given it to Hawks before trading out with Iida and Todoroki and he had instantly latched onto it, even in his sleep.

Izuku's phone showed that Aizawa was typing a reply for over twenty minutes. When the response finally came in, he just wrote, "Why," which somehow conveyed Aizawa's bewilderment and resignation perfectly.

"Hey, Yaoyorozu, can you make me one too? But not a chicken," Izuku said as they reached the school gates.

That night, Izuku proudly put his newly created All Might/Erasure Head/Present Mic teddy bear next to his other All Might plushie, knowing that it would always be a treasured keep sake in the years to come.

Past: Summer Camp

Hawks stared down at the papers in front of him and stifled a yawn. Normally, he loved school. He loved learning. While some of his classes, like math or English, were mostly review for him, he still enjoyed them. Especially English. Present Mic picked really fun reading material for his class, exposing Hawks to new books and pieces of literature that the Commission had never let him access. But the remedial lessons? They were the absolute worst.

He allowed his mind to wonder since he already knew the material being reviewed by heart. For some reason, his thoughts kept wandering back to Midoriya Inko.

Hawks didn't really remember his Mom. Had she sat up with him when he was sick and held his hand the way Inko had? Did she miss him? Regret her decision to sell him for her own comfort? That was what had happened to him, right? Yaoyorozu kept trying to convince him that what the Commission had done was illegal. He found himself halfway agreeing with her, even if he couldn't tell her that and only made him feel worse.

Inko had sat up with Hawks for most of the night as his fever spiked. At one point, he had been so delirious from the fever that he'd started rambling. He didn't remember much of what he'd said, but it had been enough to convince her and Midoriya that his 'parents' were neglectful, if not outright abusive.

A faint memory tickled his mind. "I don't want to go back to that empty house. It's nice here. You're nice."

He remembered her holding his hand and stroking his hair. He might have told her no one had ever done that for him. He had vague memories of her hugging him tight and holding him for a long, long time.

"Forgot touching doesn't always hurt. Feels nice," He'd said, as she brushed a soft hand across his forehead and neck to check his temperature. "I don't deserve this."

Hawks rubbed his forehead.

"I don't want to go back. Please don't make me go back. I—I don't think I can do this anymore."

He remembered a soft voice humming and whispering into his ear. "Shhh… it's going to be okay. No one is going to make you go back if you don't want to. You deserve to be happy and loved. You deserve good things."
No wonder they'd been so convinced he was abused after that night. Hawks was probably lucky they'd accidentally overheard the conversation he'd had with his handler; if they hadn't, they might have called CPS on him by now.

Hawks was still zoning out of the lesson when the message came in.

The camp was under attack.

He was on his feet the minute the message from Mandalay finished speaking and running out the door after Aizawa. Vlad King tried to stop him, but Hawks ducked under him and skidded down the hallway after his teacher.

"What do you think you're doing, problem child?" Aizawa demanded, glancing back at him.

"I can bring everyone back right away," Hawks said simply, falling into pace beside him. "They're in danger as long as they're running around separated in the dark. Let me help."

"Do it," Aizawa said, after a brief moment of hesitation. "Then you're going back inside with the rest of the students. Do not engage in combat and stay behind me. Got it?"

Before Hawks could give his affirmative, they burst out of the building into a world on fire. The night sky was alit from the blaze, the forest in front of them a brilliant orange beacon. Vicious tongues of flame were leaping from tree to tree, spurred on by the night breeze which was blowing in their direction.

"This is bad," Hawks said, ice running through his veins. "My feathers don't handle fire very well-"

"That's good to know," A voice said, an instant before a large plume of fire burst into existence and surged right towards them.

Aizawa leaped into the air and pulled himself out of the way with his capture weapon as Hawks dodged to the side, the heat alone enough to burn the back of his neck. Spinning around, Hawks flared his wings and sent a barrage of feathers toward the man who had attacked them at the same time Aizawa erased the man's quirk, causing the fire in the man's hand to sputter out and die.

It happened as Aizawa slammed himself into their attacker and tackled the man to the ground. A tingling sensation at the back of Hawks's neck saved him from being skewered by a knife, only to roll right into the path of oncoming fireball.

He didn't have time to brace himself. He didn't even have time to scream, before the fire hit his wings and back and his world exploded in pain. Hawks fell to the ground, hands raised protectively over his head as a second wave of fire hit him, scorching his skin and destroying his feathers.

Hawks could hear Aizawa shouting through the ringing in his ears, hear the sounds of a fight nearby. Footsteps approached him. "Didn't think we'd let you interrupt the party, did you? After what happened at USJ, we knew that we had to take you out if we wanted to have any fun with the other students. So stay down, little hero."

Fire hit him again, but only for a brief, horrible moment. It was all too much. His vision went white and the world fell away from him. Distantly, Hawks heard someone screaming.

Aizawa was standing over him when his consciousness returned, hair floating above his head and eyes blazing a fiery, furious red. He moved out of Hawks's vision and there were sounds of a scuffle, but Hawks couldn't move his shaking body enough to try and see what was happening. The world felt strangely dead to him, and he knew that his feathers were toast. Literally.

Hawks blinked and suddenly Kaminari, Kirishima and Ashido were kneeling down in front of him, faces pale.

"Oh man," Kaminari said, looking like he was going to be sick. "They really did a number on you this time, huh?"

Ashido placed a hand on Hawks head and brushed his hair out of his face. "I-I know you're in pain, but you need to stay awake."

"We have to move you, Hawks," Kirishima said, face strangely grim. "You're a sitting duck out here."

"Do it," Hawks croaked, struggling to even lift his head.

Kirishima hesitated for just a moment, then pulled Hawks up off the ground and onto his back in a fire man's carry. "Sorry, I'm sorry."

"All of you, get back inside!" Aizawa shouted, appearing suddenly in Hawks field of vision. "You still with us, Hawks?"

"Barely," Hawks grunted, each breath punctuated by a small keen of pain. "S-sorry, sensei. Zagged where I s-should've zigged…"

"It's not your fault," Aizawa said, pressing a hand to Hawks's forehead as he stared at Hawks's back. "It's mine. Kirishima, take him inside and find the emergency med kit. Keep him awake and hydrated. Do not let him move. Vlad, stay with them."

"Got it. Come on, you'll feel better once we have you lying down," Kirishima said, moving back toward the door. "You're going to be fine, man."

As they entered the building and air conditioning blasted the burns on his back, Hawks thought he heard Midoriya's voice coming from outside for a moment. He blinked and suddenly he was in the classroom, lying on his stomach with Ashido holding one of his hand's a little too tightly.

"I think he's awake again!" She said, peering down at his face.

Blinking blearily, Hawks tried to lift his head, but someone stopped him with a gentle hand. "Is… is everyone b-back?"

"Not yet," Ashido said, giving him a wobbly smile. "I'm sure they're fine though."

"I—I need to go h-help," Hawks said, trying to sit up. He didn't get very far before hands were pressing him back down. "I can still help. I can still be u-useful."

"Hawks, try not to move. Your wings are going to be fine, but you lost most of your feathers. You need to stay still, okay?" Vlad said, from somewhere by Hawks's elbow.

Groaning, Hawks nodded miserably and stopped trying to move. He was a trembling, miserable mess, but he knew deep down that even if they let him try to help, he'd just be a useless liability. Without his feathers, Hawks wouldn't be helping anyone anytime soon.

"Just hold on, okay?" Kaminari said, sitting down next to Ashido. "Let us help you this time."

Tears dripping down his face, Hawks rode out the pain with his classmates at his side. They kept up a steady stream of dialog to try and distract him from the pain, but he wasn't able to keep track of the conversation.

As the world narrowed down until all that was left was the agony radiating from his back, he thought he heard the voice of the man who had burned him and then Aizawa's voice at one point, but he was too far gone to care.

When he woke up, Kamino happened.

There's so many awesome fanfics that deal with the summer camp, I didn't want to completely recreate it. I hope everyone likes the part covering the attack.

Special thanks to Sesshomarusama3, Guest, and Fencer22 for the lovely reviews! You guys are awesome and really brightened my week!

Let me know what you think! Hope everyone enjoys this chapter.