Present: UA

Shouta was staring down at the picture Midoriya had texted him, eyebrows twitching, when Nedzu finally opened the door to his office and beckoned him inside. With a sigh, Shouta stood up and entered the office.

Seated in one of the chairs in front of Nedzu's desk was All Might, dressed in a suit that actually fit his malnourished form for his press conference later in the evening. He looked better

than he had since Kamino, more focused. Having a purpose that extended beyond training Midoriya was good for him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Nedzu said, settling down at his desk. "Toshinori and I were just going over some of the finer points of the press conference this evening, along with this." He slid a large file across the desk toward Shouta.

Picking it up and thumbing through it, Shouta felt a headache forming behind his eyes. "You found his file."

"Yes," Nedzu said, folding his paws on his desk. "We're going to limit the number of people who read the complete file for his own protection, but as his homeroom teacher and his potential legal guardian, you of course need to read it. I thought it might help with your decision."

"His parents?" Shouta asked, flipping the pages.

Nedzu's face darkened almost imperceivably. "In custody. There is no statute of limitations for child trafficking. They will not regain custody of Hawks."

"Good," All Might growled. "I still can't imagine what kind of a person would sell their own child for money. Truly despicable."

Shouta didn't have to imagine the kind of person who would sell their child, he knew. "Be glad you don't," he said quietly.

"I'm calling a meeting later today with the staff to discuss the security of the campus," Nedzu said. "Hawks is a key witness against the Commission; therefore, I would not be surprised if an attempt was made on his life in the coming weeks. Detective Tsukauchi is hoping that Hawks will be able to provide more information on how deep the corruption goes within the Commission. Based on the evidence they've already found, it will be difficult to prove that the facility was not simply a corrupt cell group without him."

Earlier in the day, the Commission president had issued a statement attempting to create as much distance between the Commission and the facility as possible. The police and several teams of pro-heroes were already searching all Commission buildings to search for evidence, but progress was stalling. If other training facilities existed, they were no doubt being relocated and destroyed even now. It grated on Shouta that with each passing moment more children were slipping through their fingers, but without locations, there wasn't much they could do.

"Are you expecting them to openly attack UA?" Shouta asked. "If UA is attacked again, we could lose the trust of the parents and the public completely."

"The dorms will not be ready for several weeks. We will have a better idea of what we are dealing with by then and can adjust accordingly. However, I am confident in UA's security and ability to protect Hawks and our other students from both the League and the Commission. Assuming that the damage to Hawks's mind is not too severe, I am hopeful that he will be able to return to his classes along with the rest of the students. UA has been good for him and it would be unfortunate to remove him from his friends and teachers at this juncture."

All Might ran a hand through his hair, looking as exhausted as Shouta felt. "What about the other children?"

"Most of the younger children have already been given a clean bill of health and are already being moved into protective custody. The majority of the older teens are still at the hospital being treated for injuries," Nedzu answered. "The police have questioned them, but they have been reluctant to cooperate. It has transition has been difficult for them and so far, they have been unwilling to cooperate with the police. We still need you to visit the hospital, Aizawa. If Hawks talked to them about you as he did with the younger children, they might be more inclined to speak to you."

"I'll contact Tsukauchi," Shouta said thoughtfully. He wanted to check on the younger children as well. He'd have to talk to Hizashi about coming with him.

"Earlier you said something about making a decision, Nedzu. Was it in regard to who will be taking custody of young Hawks?" All Might asked, glancing at Shouta curiously.

"Yes," Nedzu said, smiling. "As Hawks's homeroom teacher, Aizawa has been awarded temporary custody. I am hoping that we can have something more permanent arranged by the end of the day. I have several possible options, but before I contact them, I am waiting for Aizawa to decide-"

"I've already decided," Shouta interrupted, staring down at a picture of a six-year-old Hawks. "I'll do it."

All Might smiled broadly at him. "I'm glad. Hawks needs someone he can trust to watch over him as he recovers. Did Izuku send you the picture of the stuffed animal Yaoyorozu made him? It seems young Hawks is quite a fan."

Eyebrows twitching in irritation, Shouta glanced at Nedzu to see if All Might had shown him the picture. Based on the Principle's chuckle, he definitely had.

"I thought it was quite adorable," Nedzu said, smiling wickedly. "In fact, I sent the picture to Present Mic and Midnight since they were both asking after Hawks."

"I hate you both," Shouta said with a groan. "They're never going to let this go now."

"Ah, I believe Nemuri might have already asked Yaoyorozu to make her one," All Might said, stifling his laughter with a cough.

If only the world knew how easy it was to intimidate the Symbol of Peace. At Shouta's glare, All Might squirmed guiltily in his seat like a first-year student and edged himself a little further away from Shouta.

A text message saved All Might from Shouta's glare. Hawks is awake.

Shouta was on his feet before he even knew it. "He's awake. I trust that you're already arranging all of the paperwork?" He asked Nedzu.

"Of course," Nedzu said. "Please update us on his condition after you've talked to him."

Nodding, Shouta tucked the folder under his arm and left Nedzu's office.

Past—Finals week

Hawks stared down at Present Mic's handwriting on his paper and sighed. Two points. Two points below a passing grade, just like he had planned.

He hated it.

"How did you do?" Yaoyorozu asked, leaning forward to peer over his shoulder. "Oh—that can't be right."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, but it definitely is," Hawks said in a voice of doom. "My grades have been awful from the start." Because of the Commission's orders, he thought bitterly.

The Commission had called him in over the weekend and told him to that he wasn't going to the summer camp. Hawks had been… disappointed. He couldn't afford to feel anything else, especially not anger. It was his own fault that he wasn't being allowed to go; he had reported that All Might wouldn't be going to the camp without thinking, desperate to give the Commission something. They were starting to get suspicious about his distinct lack of useful intel; apparently the bizarre ways he entered rooms and who All Might ate lunch with wasn't as interesting as it should have been. To be fair, Hawks was a bit proud of that last one. After seeing All Might pull Midoriya aside for the umpteenth time, he had casually hinted that All Might should invite some of the other students to lunch so that it didn't look like he was favoring Midoriya. Now, he had a whole list of students he could name drop so that Midoriya never stood out in any of his reports.

All Might had been inviting Hawks to lunch, too. It was nice. Hawks was really starting to admire the man. It was hard not to. He was kind and compassionate, with a presence that practically radiated safety, even to someone like Hawks, who hadn't felt truly safe in years. And he was good in a way that Hawks still had trouble believing was real.

Hawks had always thought that all the hype surrounding All Might was blown out of proportion, but now that he was getting to know the man, he knew it wasn't. In fact, All Might was better. Not to say he wasn't without his flaws, but that only increased Hawks's admiration of him. The Commission had always insisted that heroes needed to be perfect and held Hawks to an impossible standard, one Hawks was now realizing that not even All Might would be able to reach. That knowledge was something Hawks knew would lead to an ugly realization about the Commission if he let it, so he simply refused to think on it. He couldn't afford to, not after his breakdown at Midoriya's house.

"How is that possible? I heard you helping Kaminari with his English homework at lunch yesterday," Yaoyorozu said, brows furrowing. She took the paper from his hands and stared down at it. "Your handwriting is chicken scratch. I'm surprised Mic-sensei was able to read this."

Hawks chuckled and just like that the bitterness and anger left him. He'd been writing with his non-dominant hand, so it would be bad. "I can speak English fairly well, but my writing skills are—well," He flapped the paper in front of her and sighed.

He had twisted sideways in his seat to face Yaoyorozu, so he caught the concerned look she was giving him and the way she bit her lip nervously. He sighed and could see the building worry he'd seen in his friends—classmates, he still had to think of them as just classmates even if that wasn't how he truly felt—for the past several weeks.

Sure enough, after a few seconds of agonizing over what to say, Yaoyorozu hesitantly put a hand on his arm. "Hawks… if something was wrong you'd tell us, right?"

"Of course," Hawks said, the lie slipping off his tongue with practiced ease. "Nothing's wrong except for my horrendous grades, I promise."

"Really?" Yaoyorozu asked softly, tugging at the sleeve of his school uniform to reveal a dark bruise around his swollen wrist. "I know you didn't get that during training. You had it when you came in on Monday."

Hawks flinched just slightly; he couldn't help it. The Commission was growing more and more displeased at his lack of progress and had gotten a little more physical than they normally did outside of training. Hadn't even bothered to heal the bruises scattered over his chest, arms and back afterwards, instead throwing him back into his cell and locking him in for an entire day without anything to eat.

"I was trying a new flying technique and ended up crashing. Hit my wrist at an awkward angle. It's fine, I promise," Hawks said, which was partly true. The wrist was just sprained, and the swelling had already gone down considerably. It still hurt to move it, which was why he had used his non-dominant hand during the written test today, but it was fine. He would ice it in the evening when he got back to the apartment the Commission had rented out for him as part of his cover.

"Hmmm…" Yaoyorozu took hold of her hand and gently ran her fingers over his wrist to check it herself, earning a wince from Hawks. "It's okay to ask for help, you know."

Her hand on his was warm and comforting. Dangerous in its familiarity. He pulled his hand back. "Sure," he said lightly, curling his aching wrist against his chest protectively.

Aizawa entered the classroom, his sleeping bag tucked under one arm. The moment he did, Yaoyorozu's hand shot up into the air. He realized what she was doing a split second too late.

"What is it?" Aizawa asked, sounding as exhausted as Hawks felt.

"Sensei, Hawks-"

"You don't need to say anything-" Hawks tried to cover her mouth, but she leaned back in her chair and swatted his hand away.

"-has a sprained wrist. It's possibly broken," Yaoyorozu finished, shooting Hawks a look that was almost apologetic.

Heroes. They were too well meaning for their own good.

Aizawa descended on him with a huff of annoyance that almost veiled his concern. Almost. "It's a bad sprain, but it's not broken. When did this happen? Why didn't you go so Recovery Girl right away?" He asked after examining it.

"Flying accident," Hawks said, hiding a wince at how flimsy the excuse sounded when repeated. He was supposed to be good at this.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow, expression a mix of skepticism and acerbic humor. "Flying," He repeated, tone flat.

"I landed wrong," Hawks said with a shrug. "It's not that-"

"You and problem child number one are banned from ever saying the words 'it's not that bad' and 'I'm fine' ever again," Aizawa snapped. "Report to Recovery Girl. And if I hear of you trying to hide that you're hurt or sick again, you will not like the consequences, am I clear?"

"Crystal," Hawks said, swallowing hard. He had a moment of panic as Aizawa loomed over him, but he shoved it down. This was UA, not the Commission. The punishments weren't bad here. "Sorry, sensei."

His teacher hovered for a moment longer, scrutinizing Hawks's face before his expression softened and concern replaced the sternness from a moment before. "Hawks," he said slowly, stepping a little closer. "If something is wrong, I hope you trust me enough to tell me."

Hawks did trust him. More than that, Hawks cared about him. Aizawa, despite his seemingly cold, emotionless exterior was a good person. Someone who actually cared about people, which in Hawks's experience was incredibly rare. It was why Hawks knew he could never tell him the truth. The Commission would destroy him and that was something Hawks couldn't let happen, especially on his account.

"I'm fine," Hawks lied, stomach churning in guilt. "I promise. It was just an accident."

Aizawa stared at him intently for a moment longer before sighing. "Learn how to take care of yourself, problem child," he said, before finally turning away and walking back to his podium.

Hawks stood up and walked out of the classroom, trying to ignore the eyes that were burning into his back and studiously not looking at Midoriya or Uraraka. He knew that he had worried them after he got sick. Knew that he had let slip too many things during his stay at Midoriya's house, even if he didn't remember them.

He was pretty sure that people being concerned about his wellbeing was supposed to be comforting, but in that moment their worry was just one more weight threatening to drag him down.

Present

Hawks stared up at the ceiling of UA's infirmary and blinked tiredly. He supposed it was a bad sign that he'd been in the infirmary so many times that he could recognize where he was just from the ceiling. He tried to rack his brain on how he'd landed himself in the infirmary this time and came up blank.

He sat up slightly and glanced around, surprised to see Iida and a girl he didn't recognize sitting next to his bed. They were pouring over a set of papers that Hawks recognized as English homework and whispering quietly to each other, not noticing that Hawks was awake.

Studying for an English test? Hawks wondered, trying to remember if their English teacher had assigned them a test or paper in the last class.

Then realized that he couldn't remember what their teacher's name was, mind blanking not just on the teacher's name, but appearance, personality, everything. He couldn't remember ever meeting or interacting with his teacher. He remembered sitting in class, waiting for their English teacher to arrive, but he couldn't remember a single class session. His mind was blank.

A lot of things were blank, Hawks realized with growing panic, things missing from his mind that he knew he should be able to remember. Do I have a concussion? He wondered, but he knew that wasn't right, somehow. He'd had concussions before, and this wasn't it.

Hawks sat up abruptly, ignoring the way his vision fizzled out in favor of the deep, dark chasm of panic he'd fallen into. What was the name of their English teacher? Who was the girl sitting next to Iida at his bedside in the infirmary?

"Hawks! It's okay, you're safe now," The girl said, touching his shoulder to steady him with a gentle hand. "Just take a deep breath and try to stay calm, okay? I know things must be confusing, but Recovery Girl will be back any minute to explain everything."

"Who are you?" Hawks croaked, feeling like he should know her. "What—what happened?"

The girl's face fell, and she looked close to tears. "O-oh… Hawks," She said, brown eyes wide and distraught. "I-I'm Uraraka. It's okay if you d-don't remember mme. U-um, just try to stay c-calm, okay?" She wiped a tear away and looked desperately at Iida.

"Uraraka, why don't you go get Recovery Girl? I think she stepped out to make a phone call," Iida said, placing a hand on her shoulder and gesturing at the door with the other.

Flashing Iida a look of pure gratitude, the girl stood up and walked out of the infirmary, covering her mouth with her hands to stifle a sob as she left.

The sinking feeling in the pit of Hawks's stomach twisted, leaving him breathless and nauseous. Something was wrong, something was really wrong. "Iida, who was that? Why can't I remember—why can't I-?"

"Hawks, please try to stay calm," Iida said, leaning closer and taking Hawks's hand. "I know this is confusing, but you are safe now. I promise."

Recovery Girl exited her office and quickly approached, the girl—Uraraka—hovering behind her before quietly following Iida out of the infirmary.

"Hawks, do you know where you are?" Recovery Girl asked.

"UA," Hawks answered, brow furrowing in confusion. "Why can't I remember what happened? Why am I here?"

"Aizawa will be here shortly to explain everything," Recovery Girl said, fussing over his blankets and checking the monitors next to his bed. "Do you remember what happened last time you woke up?"

Hawks frowned, struggling to remember as a pressure slowly formed in his head. The moment he remembered, all the blood drained from his face. "I said my name," he whispered, bending over and gripping his hair. "Why did I…?"

The world was lost to him in the following haze of pain and panic. He blinked and suddenly strong hands were on his, trying to untangle his hands from his hair.

"Hawks," Aizawa said, voice cutting through the fog that had come over him. "Keigo. It's okay. You're at UA, you're safe. The Commission can't hurt you here."

"How do you know?" Hawks whispered, looking up into Aizawa's face. "I told you my name, but I can't remember why. How do you—you can't know about the Commission. They—they'll hurt you-"

"Try to stay calm. Do you remember leaving UA after Kamino and then asking Midoriya for help a few days later?" Aizawa asked, voice calm despite how intently he was watching him.

Pain shot through his mind, but he couldn't remember. He shook his head, dread threatening to overwhelm him.

"That's okay. I would have been surprised if you did," Aizawa said, sitting down on Hawks's bed. "Do you remember the summer camp?"

Shuddering, Hawks nodded, wings twitching unconsciously.

Aizawa grimaced. "Of all the things to remember…" He muttered, rubbing his face wearily. "After the summer camp, you went with your classmates and assisted during Bakugou's rescue, saving Best Jeanist from what could have been a fatal blow from All for One. Sound familiar?"

"Vaguely," Hawks said, the pain in his head increasing. "I thought… I didn't tell you I saved Best Jeanist."

"Best Jeanist told me afterwards," Aizawa answered, intense gaze fixed on Hawks's face. "You were withdrawn from UA and with the Commission for two days after that. During that time, you were able to text Midoriya and use the codeword he created to call for help. We raided the facility you were being held at a few hours later and found you injured and unconscious."

Codeword. Hawks didn't remember a codeword. Hawks also didn't remember going back to the Commission or asking for help.

The Commission. "What do you… know?" He asked, despite being terrified of the answer.

"We know that your parents sold you to the Commission when you were six. We know that they abused you and groomed you to be a hero obedient to them," Aizawa said, clenching and unclenching his fists. "We also know about that the Commission sent you to spy on All Might."

"Oh… so, everything then," Hawks said, feeling faint.

"Yes," Aizawa said quietly. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Hawks frowned. His memories didn't just have gaps, they were all jumbled confusingly together. "The last thing I remember… I was in the hospital? I think it was after the summer camp, but I don't remember… All Might was fighting, right? But I don't know what happened."

"All Might is fine. Everyone is fine, I promise," Aizawa said, resting a hand on Hawks's shoulder.

Aizawa was leaving something out, Hawks could tell. He was on the verge of a panic attack, but he forced himself to hold it together. He needed answers. "The other kids at the facility?"

"They're at a hospital right now, being treated for minor injuries, but they're fine. They've been asking about you," Aizawa sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I'm going to tell you why you can't remember, but I need you to stay calm."

Nearby, Recovery Girl tutted in disapproval, but said nothing.

Breath catching in his throat, Hawks chuckled hysterically. "Saying it like that isn't helping." He choked out.

"The Commission used a mental quirk on you," Aizawa said, leaning forward. "That's why you're having trouble remembering things. We think they wanted to wipe your memories, but we got to you before they could finish."

Hawks tried to process that, but it was as if his brain went "Nope!" and shut down a little bit, because he suddenly felt heavy, so heavy he could barely hold his head upright, and it was impossible to breath. "Oh," he said, before descending into a panic attack.

He was vaguely aware of Aizawa trying to calm him, but he lost some time. When he came back to himself, Aizawa was sitting on the bed hugging him. The action was so jarring it was enough to pull him out of his downward spiral.

"Weird," Hawks muttered, wondering if he was dreaming. He couldn't remember the last time someone had hugged him. Despite how strange it felt, it was nice. Warm.

"You back with us?" Aizawa asked, pulling back a little. He stopped when Hawks's made a garbled noise of protest.

Hawks pressed his head into Aizawa's shoulder. When Aizawa didn't hit him or shove him back, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around him. "I think I forgot a lot." He whispered.

"That's okay," Aizawa said, hugging him tighter. "We'll help you remember."

He felt himself relax a little more at those words despite himself. "What happens now?" Hawks asked, hands tightening around the back of Aizawa's shirt.

"Now, we're going to keep you safe and you're going to focus on recovering," Aizawa replied. "The Commission is under investigation, but we're making good progress. I'm confident that we'll be able to root out the people who did this to you, and-"

They don't know, Hawks realized, shoving himself back so he could look at Aizawa's face. "The president. The president oversaw my training."

Something clattered to the ground from somewhere nearby.

"What?" Aizawa said, expression furious, until he saw Hawks flinch back. "I'm not angry at you. Just… the Commission president?"

Hawks nodded. "She was the one who—who gave me the assignment to infiltrate UA. And—I'm not in trouble for that, am I?"

"No," Aizawa said, rolling his eyes. "You didn't even tell them about All Might's secrets, right? They didn't find out about his true form until after Kamino. Even if you had, it wouldn't matter."

"They couldn't know," Hawks said honestly. "But they were suspicious. They kept questioning me-"

Stars sparked in front of his eyes as he remembered just what that 'questioning' had involved.

"Hey, hey," Aizawa said, gripping his shoulders. "Is your head hurting?"

Nodding weakly, Hawks laid back down on the bed and shut his eyes. He wanted sleep so desperately he could have cried, but he forced his eyes open. Despite the exhaustion dragging him down and the throbbing pain in his head, he couldn't let himself go to sleep yet. "Tell me more."

"You don't need to push yourself," Aizawa said, "We can talk more about this later-"

"No," Hawks said sharply. "I need to know what I've forgotten. Please."

Sighing heavily, Aizawa pulled his chair closer. "Tell me to stop if you start feeling worse or if it gets to be too much."

Hawks had been hoping that somehow his memory loss wasn't that bad. In truth, it wasn't until Aizawa started describing everything that had happened since the entrance exam that the reality of the situation hit him like a bullet train.

He remembered the first few weeks of class and the entrance exam, but had no memory of the Sports Festival, or most of his internship with Best Jeanist, though he remembered fighting the Hero Killer. He could only name around half of class 1-A and none of the other students he'd met. In addition, he'd forgotten two of the teachers and had no memory of months of classes and training exercises.

He couldn't remember his parents' names. He barely remembered them at all. He felt mostly numb upon discovering that. He didn't have to remember them to know that his living situation before going to the Commission had been bad, or to know that whatever their true intentions, they had still sold him. If they had ever been good to him, he couldn't remember, nor was he likely to find out. If he saw them now, anything they said, any excuses they might make, would only ring hollow.

In the end, Aizawa couldn't help fill in the blanks of his life before he'd come to UA, but he knew he was missing a lot. He wasn't sure how to feel about that, considering that the memories before coming to UA were nothing but misery and pain, but he still felt lost.

"Your memory is better than I was expecting, all things considered," Aizawa said once they were done covering the basic events of the past few months. "How are you feeling?"

"Overwhelmed," Hawks said staring down at his hands and trying to put what he was feeling into words. "And confused. I… I don't remember asking for help."

Aizawa stayed quiet.

"I always thought… no one would help me if they knew," Hawks admitted, rubbing his eyes. "Or if I told someone they'd get hurt because of me."

Why had he asked for help? The question kept echoing in his head over and over. He remembered Midoriya, remembered realizing that he considered him and the others in their little group friends, even if he hadn't wanted to admit it, but… even though he knew he had needed help, he couldn't imagine actually asking for it.

"You have a lot of people that you care about, Hawks," Aizawa said quietly. "You might not remember asking for help, but you reached out to your friends. If you hadn't, no one would have known how corrupt the Commission is. None of those children would have been saved, and..."

"I'd be dead, essentially," Hawks said, frowning. "I must have known they were going to kill me, or worse. Still-"

"Hawks," Aizawa said, staring at him with something unreadable flashing in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, looking troubled, but instead of speaking he lowered his head. After a moment, he said, "I owe you an apology. I should have realized something was wrong sooner. I should have taken more direct action."

"Sensei," Hawks laughed weakly. "How could you have known? I've been trained for undercover operations since I was... uh…" he trailed off and swallowed hard. "It's not your fault."

"You look tired," Aizawa said, patting his shoulder. "You should try and get some sleep."

"Sensei…" Hawks said slowly. "Part of me wanted to tell you, but at the same time… I-I don't know why I told them. Even if my life was in danger, I still don't…" His voice cracked at the words and he was left feeling raw and exposed. Vulnerable in a way he hadn't allowed himself to be since he was first brought to the Commission.

"It's okay," Aizawa said, resting a hand on Hawks's head. "You did and you're safe now. That's all that matters right now. Go to sleep. I'll be right here. Here."

A stuffed animal was pressed into Hawks's arms with a huff. Hawks wasn't sure what was more surprising, the All Might-Eraserhead-Present Mic chicken or the embarrassed look on Aizawa's face.

"Yaoyorozu made it for you," Aizawa said, as if trying to convey that he had nothing to do with the stuffed animal without actually having to come out and say it. The glare he gave it could have burned a hole in it's head. "You dropped it when you sat up earlier. She and Midoriya were here earlier."

Staring down at the soft plushie, Hawks tried to remember if he'd ever had a stuffed animal when he was a kid but came up blank. Hawks wrapped his arms around the plushie and pressed it against his face, too emotionally drained to be embarrassed or worried about showing weakness to his teacher.

A hand was placed on his head. "Go to sleep."

Hawks sighed but settled down on his side so that he was facing Aizawa, the stuffed animal still in his arms. Having his back to the door left him feeling exposed, but he wasn't worried. Aizawa was with him, so he was safe.

He was safe. Aizawa had come for him, had acted despite the dangers of going up against the Commission, despite the consequences to his career and livelihood if things went wrong. They had come for him, they still cared about him.

The stuffed animal blocked Aizawa's view of his tears, but couldn't hide the shaking of his shoulders. Aizawa placed a hand on his shoulder and simply sat with him, his silent presence a steadying anchor that kept Hawks from falling apart completely.

Hawks slept through the rest of the day before waking up in a cold sweat around midnight. In the dim light of the infirmary, he could just make out where Aizawa was sitting next to his bed, as if the man hadn't moved at all since he'd fallen asleep. He was reading a thick file by the soft light of his cellphone, expression pained.

"Sensei?" Hawks murmured, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm here," Aizawa answered. "Go back to sleep."

Hawks did. Aizawa was still there when he woke up in the morning.

Present—Hidden Commission facility

"Is it ready?" The Commission president asked, staring up at the tank holding one of their most important assets.

"It will be ready by next week, but we still need to test the programing before it's field operational," The doctor said, staring down at a clipboard. "It's been weakened considerably, but should still be able to accomplish the mission."

"Excellent," The Commission president said, sighing. "Have it ready as soon as possible."

"Are you sure this will work?" The doctor asked hesitantly. "I can't imagine anything that would make them decide to move Hawks out of UA."

"I'm positive," The Commission president answered, staring down at a picture on her phone. "They won't be able to risk the other students by keeping Hawks at UA, even with their security. Not after USJ and the summer camp."

Mounting an assault on UA would never succeed. Hawks was basically untouchable while he was there, which was why they needed to get the heroes to move Hawks to a safehouse at a different location.

Hawks had to be killed before he could testify against the Commission. Though they had no idea how much of his mind was left, they couldn't take any chances. They had to get him out of UA and eliminate him quickly. They just needed the right bait.

She dialed a phone number and tapped her fingers impatiently as the phone rang. "Ah, good. You're awake. I have a hit to call in. Five of them, in fact."

We tried to warn you that friends would be your undoing, but you always were too stubborn for your own good, she thought, staring down at the picture of Hawks's little group of friends.

It was a risky move, but Hawks's reaction was easy to predict. They'd trained him, after all.

Special thanks to Sesshomarusama3 and StandUpKeepMovingFoward for commenting and to everyone else who has favorited and followed this story!

I start school again the 24th, so updates might slow down just a bit. I'm trying to finish this story before then, but if I don't I'll probably start updating every other week. The next two chapters I'm writing are going to take a little more time to get right, but we're in the home stretch! I'm on chapter 10 out of 12 :)

Hope you all enjoy this chapter!