A/n: here's the new chapter! Thank you so much for the continuous support guys!
Zylia16: here's the next chapter!
Piplup88908: Thank you! Lolol that's true!
Lulu9814: thank you! More action coming along the way!
Guest: thank you! Who know? Maybe one day they might meet Leon lol. Yup! That's true about the keyblade. And true again! Quirks work weirdly on her.
Gamergirl1217: it's okay haha. The ten dream eaters... So far, Wonder Meow, Kooma Panda, Komori Bat, Wheeflower, Yoggy Ram, Me Me Bunny and Lord Kyroo. She hasn't revealed the other 3. And yes, they would have to notify her family lolol
Shiro Usagi Dobutsu: definitely lol
SomeOne Random: she did used the keyblade transformation in the USJ arc. I did create a few keyblade forms for her to use lolol. And yup! Keyblade wielders are seen as evil in this world.
Reversus12: Hawks is also my favorite character lolol and yup lol
Engineer4Ever: That's true xD and most definitely
AmericanNidiot: the puns xD
SwanGirl24: thank you! Maybe haha
SilverStar56: Yup! It begins! And thank you so much!
This story contains spoilers from the manga! So, if you don't want to get spoiled, please skip this story.
Chapter 13
conviction
"I'm telling' ya, you guys are too slow!"
Tokoyami was the last one to arrive at the scene.
This was the third time Hawks made them run around town to handle the aftermath of his fights. The first one had been fairly easy—all they have to do is tie up the robber and hand him over to the police. The second was alright. The third one though—he made them run from Hakata street to Ebisu street, which would take fifteen minutes by foot. And since, they're on the job, they have to make it less than the estimated time.
Because time is valuable.
"He's not chill—at all!" Leonhart panted from beside him, coughing and wheezing as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. Even the pro heroes' sidekicks were tired by the time they arrived. Every single time they arrived at the scene, Hawks had already finished the fight and left—going on to the next one. "Can't we like take the car if all we do is the clean up?" she complained, voicing her thoughts to him only.
"Fair point." Tokoyami nodded his head in agreement.
Hawks tapped his foot impatiently. "Apparently one of the patrons at a bar in Cantina is out of control, so I'm headed there next!" his feathers lowered the thief down—along with the knife he used and the bag he stole. He looked down at his two interns, giving a two-finger salute. "I'll leave all the aftermath here to you guys. Thanks in advance!" he flew off in a rush, leaving all of his subordinates behind.
"You got it, boss!" Westwood caught the thief and tied him up using his quirk. The long golden colored cord tied themselves around the man's wrists—securing them behind his back.
While Trixx warped his hand to take to take the knife from the feathers, Hikari caught the bag as the feathers that were holding it went back to Hawks. She let out a grunt when it landed in her grasps. The bag was heavy—probably filled with valuables the thief stole.
"Is this what you guys always do?" Hikari asked, turning to look at the brown-haired man.
Trixx took the heavy briefcase from Hikari's arms. "We sidekicks are generally in charge of all the cleanup work. Hawks is just too fast to keep up with, after all." he explained to the two interns. "That's why this way of doing is the most efficient for us."
Westwood nodded his head in agreement. "If he slowed himself down to match our pace, it will result in more widespread of damage and casualties." he added to the explanation and the two interns stared at him, giving nods. He chuckled at their expression. "If that happens, we'd never hear the end of it from everyone!" he continued.
The man took the thief over to the police—Trixx following behind him with the bag and the knife.
Hikari sighed. "I kinda get it... but at the same time it's kinda...boring?" she stood beside Tokoyami as they waited for Hawks' sidekicks to finish. "Well... at least we're learning something, right?
The keyblade wielder understood Hawks' way of thinking. To get everything done quickly and move on to the next case. It was weird since she was always told to take things slowly but surely, so anything would come out perfectly. She had thought Hawks would be the type of hero to take his time in catching a villain. She never expected him to catch 3 villains in under two hours.
"How to do cleanup, if you mean." Tokoyami closed his eyes. "For better or worse, that man resolves everything by himself."
Hikari couldn't help but agree.
"Let's go, kids! We're heading out!" Westwood exclaimed, making the two interns turn their attention to him.
The brunette pulled out her phone, opening the map of Fukuoka. "Cantina Bar is around 2 kilometers from here." she informed. It was one of the most used apps she used in her phone. Whenever she went to a new world, a map of said world is then added to her phone—most included the layout to the buildings. "It's gonna take around 15 minutes if we run, but Hawks would mostly be done when we arrive anyway." she shrugged her shoulders, pinning the location before pocketing her phone.
Tokoyami sighed. "Another cleanup, I suppose." he said with his arms crossed. He was glad that Hawks decided to take them out to the field, but he was slightly disappointed that he wasn't learning anything besides cleanup duty. He glanced over to look at the brunette running beside him.
He was certain that Leonhart could easily catch up with Hawks by using her quirk.
Why didn't she use it?
"Leonhart."
Said girl turned her attention to him as her eyes kept looking forward to look on where they're going.
"Don't wait for me." Tokoyami said, trying to keep his breathing steady as they followed after Trix and Westwood over to the next location. "You're allowed to go after Hawks."
Hikari gave a short laugh. "Nah—no worries! We're in this together!"
Tokoyami appreciated her kind gesture of waiting for him, but he was getting slightly annoyed. If she can do more, why hold back? It's almost feels like mockery to him. Was he really that weak for Leonhart to stay back and accompany him? He wanted to see how far she can go, so he could match up to her.
"I don't want to be the reason for holding you back." The bird boy said as they stopped before a stoplight. She stood beside him, staring at him with a small frown. "This is your chance." he turned to look at her, his red eyes staring encouragingly.
The brunette sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "...if you insist." she gave him a small smile and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Catch up soon, okay?"
Tokoyami nodded. "Certainly."
She gave him one last smile before heading over to talk with Trixx and Westwood if it was alright for her to move forward first. They looked a little surprised, but let her if she can catch up to Hawks.
In a blur, the brunette was already jumping and sliding across the rails.
"Whoa! Look at Hikari go!" Trixx whistled, a hand over his eyes as Hikari was already at the end of the road. The man turned to look at the second intern. "Well, we can't just stand back here. Let's go Tsukuyomi!"
Tokoyami narrowed his eyes. His jaw clenched.
He gave a nod.
Was he that inadequate?
I won't fall behind
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Crash
"Easy there, buddy! No need to get all violent!" Hawks shielded two school girls with his wing as his feathers stopped an incoming debris thrown at their way. He helped the two girls up to their feet, keeping his eyes locked on the powered-up villain. "That's no way to treat a lady." he stood in front of them, his wings spread out widely to block them from view.
"Th—Thank you, Hawks!"
"No problem, girls." The pro hero gave them a smile and a two-finger salute to reassure them. "Now off you go. It's dangerous here!" He quickly ushered the two girls to safety, his feathers guiding them to the safe zone.
When he got to the location, the situation was already out of control. The patron had been on a rampage—damaging properties left and right. The police had been called to manage the situation, but the man's lack of respond proofed that it was no simple job. It was as if he lost his sense of reason.
Hawks didn't actually hear the full story, but apparently the man had a fight with another customer and he lost his temper.
The man let out a battle cry as he lifted a car up with ease. "Outta my way!"
'A black tongue—!' the pro hero immediately noticed the discolored tongue. He plucked out a long feather from his wing before they spread out widely. "A Trigger addict, eh?"
There were less cases of the Trigger drug around Fukuoka or even Kyushu for that matter. It could be because the supplier was afraid of being caught if they operate around Kyushu. Hawks' wide range of info and intel proofed to be difficult to hide away from, but this wasn't the first time he dealt something related to the drug. In fact, he had been one of the pro heroes to lead a raid team into confiscating a container full of Trigger at the Port of Hakata—his hometown. Following his success, he was then called to help a raid team in Kobe.
"Do me a favor and try not to make things more complicated, hmm?" Hawks flapped his wings, charging forward in full-speed. "Now, let's wrap this up!"
Hawks tilted to the left avoiding the car thrown at his direction. He sped up and flew upwards when the man swung his arm in an attempt to swat him away. Before he could even fly higher, the man had grabbed his ankle in a strong grip, pulling him down despite his mighty wings.
"Ah."
The man spun around, creating momentum before he threw the bird-man away.
Whoosh
"Oomph—gotcha!" A grunt was heard when he collided with something—or rather someone. An arm was wrapped around his torso, making sure that he wouldn't fall from all the movement. The person had swoop in right on time to prevent him from crashing into a wall. Hawks immediately recognized his savior as one of his interns. She grabbed hold on the streetlight—spinning around a few times before letting go—jumping into the air as she released her hold around him. "I hope you don't mind me crashing into the party." she joked, perching herself on top of the streetlight.
The winged hero hoovers beside her, a whistle passed his lips. "Hoo~ So you can keep up." he flashed her a boyish smile, giving a thumbs up. "Good timing too!"
Hikari glanced over to look at her boss before something whizzed past where Hawks once were. 'Someone's shooting?!' The brunette quickly followed where the bullet came from and saw a man with a gun—the muzzle pointed at them. "Hey! Watch where you point that thing!" she took the staff from her belt, extending it to block the incoming bullets.
The brunette jumped off from the streetlight when the villain barreled himself into the pole, snapping it from its base. They weren't dealing with one, but two villains now. As she prepared herself to land on the street, Hawks swooped down and grabbed her—flying towards the nearest alley as he dodged another round of bullets.
Hawks placed Hikari down. "You okay there? Sorry you had to go through that." he apologized to her as he peeked through the corner, his sharp eyes watching the shooter's movements. He turned his head just in time to avoid a bullet. It scrapped the wall—just a centimeter away from hitting him. "Don't worry, I got this handled. Why don't you just sit back and relax?" he smiled at her, giving a thumbs up.
"Wait—!" Hikari took a step forward, but before she could even finish her sentence, Hawks already went after the villains. She watched him flew around the powered-up villain as he also tried to take care of the other with his feathers.
She wasn't sure if she should interfere with the fight or not. On one hand, she thinks Hawks could definitely win against 2 villains—he is a famous pro hero who currently sits at the top 3. She had searched and read all of his achievements since he became a hero and his skills were no joke. He arrested a lot of villains and is dubbed as the fastest hero around. But on the other, she wanted to help him. Not because she thinks that he's not capable, but because she just wanted to help.
The brunette peeked through the corner. She made up her mind to help despite what Hawks said. She wasn't the type to just sit back and watch everything when she could definitely help.
"AH! He's getting away!" Hikari exclaimed loudly, jumping out of the alley. She aerial dashed towards the railing and quickly activated flowmotion. A faint blue aura appeared around her as she slides across the railing, passing by Hawks and the powered-up villain. "I'll handle him!"
"Hey—" Hawks turned his head for a brief moment to look at the direction where the man and Hikari went. He realized—that it was the direction where Hikari first came, meaning that they were heading towards where his sidekicks are. He turned his attention back to the powered-up villain, holding his twin feather blades in his hands. He decided to take care of this villain first before going after his intern.
'Let's see what you got, little sparrow!'
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Hikari immediately caught up with the man.
"Hold it right there!" The keyblade wielder jumped over the man's head and landed in front of him. She spun the staff around and pointed it at him, a frown across her lips. Her eyes narrowed when the man pointed the gun at her. "Aw, c'mon! Just how many ammos do you carry?!" she clicked her tongue in annoyance as she blocked another bullet.
The man took a step back. "You got guts to face me head on, you damn brat!" he pulled the trigger again and Hikari easily deflected the bullet with her staff. He gritted his teeth when the girl continued to block all of his bullets. "What can you do? You're just a little kid!"
"Little?" The keyblade wielder turned sideways to avoid the man's gun being thrown at her. She assumed that he had finally ran out of ammos and now resolved to use his quirk against her instead. As expected, the man charged at her, throwing a punch to her face. She pivoted on one foot and avoided the fist.
However, at the same time she dodged, a blade came out from his forearm.
The blade missed her by a hair's breadth.
Hikari quickly stepped back and positioned the staff in a defensive stance as the man stood a few feet away.
"What's the matter? You were so conceited a second ago!" The man sneered and Hikari couldn't help but give him a look. "You damn kids should just quit playing heroes!"
"Conceited? You should really look at yourself first!" the brunette retorted and quickly dashed towards the man.
She planted the staff to the ground, transferring her weight onto the staff. She lifted her body up from the ground and spun around in the air as she swung the pole downward. Her staff collided against the man's arm-blades with a clang.
The keyblade wielder ducked low and retracted her staff to the base length. With the sudden loss of force, the man's defensive form broke and left an opening for the girl to aim for his torso. She extended her staff again, thrusting the end of her staff onto the man's stomach to push him back.
The man staggered back, holding his stomach with a pained look across his face.
From his ripped sleeve, she could see a glimpse of his heavily tattooed arm.
'A yakuza?' Hikari immediately recognized the tattoos were different, but she had no clue which mafia this man belongs to. She blinked confusedly when he pulled out some sort of tube from his jacket. It didn't look like an extendable bo staff—or a handgun. She didn't know what it was, but she know she has to stop him from using it. "Nu-uh! Not a chance!" she shouted.
The man was trying to inject it to himself.
She quickly extended her staff to a longer length and knocked the object off of his hand. "It's over for you now, you bad guy!" the metal tube landed a few feet away from them—it was impossible for the man to get it without her getting to him first.
"Don't be so quick to judge, little girl." The man glared at the girl standing in front of him as he held his hand.
"Wha—How can I not?! You tried to kill Hawks! Not to mention me too!" the brunette gave him a look, but she didn't let her guard down around him. The last time she let her guard down, the committee—Yuffie especially poked fun at her because of how she loses focus easily.
The man spat out through gritted teeth. "We were only trying to help you bastards! And this is what we get as thanks?"
'We?' Hikari narrowed her eyes. What the man was saying seemed so vague. There were many questions she could ask from what the man just said. He mentioned 'we' instead of 'I', which confirmed her suspicion of him being inside a group—but which she doesn't know yet. The words he used, 'to judge' and 'help' contradicts his actions. 'What did he really mean by that?'
"Hikari!"
The keyblade wielder turned her head to the direction where she heard Trixx. Both of Hawks' sidekicks and Tokoyami were heading towards them. She averted her attention back to the yakuza and her eyes widened when he pulled out a small handgun from his jacket. The man aimed the muzzle right at her friends—she didn't know who he was aiming specifically, but better safe than sorry. Her hand glowed a soft light and the sphere of light was faster than the bullet. The sphere burst into a large barrier, blocking the round of bullets shot at the three.
Hikari was caught by surprise when the man was suddenly in front of her. She raised her right arm, trying to block whatever attack he was about to throw at her. Her blue eyes caught another metal tube in his hands—a syringed to be exact.
An injector.
"Ow—! Hey—?!" the brunette felt a sharp pain on her right shoulder.
The man had injected her with whatever was inside the metal tube. Everything happened so fast around her. The next thing she knew, Trixx delivered a punch through the small warp gate he opened. The man staggered back, but before he can recover, a flock of red feathers seemed to drag him further away from his target. The feathers released the man when Westwood arrived and restrained the man.
Both Trixx and Tokoyami was by Hikari's side as she kneeled down.
"Leonhart!" Tokoyami stared at the girl with a worried look, his eyes staring at the tube sticking on her shoulder.
Hawks arrived next, landing on the spot right in front of his subordinates. "You okay, kid?" he asked. Before he could even reach his hand out to take the syringe out, the girl beat him to it. "Hey, don't do—"
Hikari grabbed the tube and forcefully took it out. "Ow—ow—ow! I hate needles!" she whined, gripping on the tube tightly.
"Do you know what was inside it?" Trixx asked as he examined the injection wound.
The brunette shook her head. "No clue, but nothing a little healing can't fix!" she casted Esuna over herself first—in fear that it might be some sort of poison. The next spell she used was a simple cure. Flower petals swirled around her arm, curing the small wound—leaving nothing behind except the red blood stain on her sleeve. "Ta-da! Good as new!" she gave them a reassuring grin.
"That was foolish of you, Leonhart." Tokoyami closed his eyes, sighing in relief.
Hikari blew a raspberry at him. "Ah psssh! This is nothing!"
"That—That's impossible!"
They all turned their attention to the man in restrains.
Hawks spread his wing to cover his two interns as Trixx stood in a defensive stance, protecting the young teens.
The man struggled against Westwood's restraints as the pro hero kept him down in a firm grip. "How—How is that possible?!"
Hikari peeked through Hawks' feathers, staring at the man weirdly.
"You're—You can still—! There's no way!"
The number 3 hero flew closer, standing before the man—his wings spread out widely to make him appear bigger and more intimidating. "What was inside it? What did you just injected in her?" he interrogated.
The man glared at the hero. "It doesn't concern you, hero."
"Oh, it does."
The keyblade wielder stood up and took her staff, retracting it before placing it on her belt. "Does it help you guys figure out what's inside if I tell you that he wanted to use it on himself too?" she pointed her finger to the tube that rolled off to the pavement.
Trixx warped his hand to take the other tube. He pulled his hand back and took the syringe from the case to examine the liquid inside. "It looks like Trigger..." he concluded before giving it to Hawks
Judging from the container and the liquid, he can assume that it's the illegal quirk enhancing drug.
The two interns exchanged looks. "Are you implying that Leonhart has been injected by that illegal drug?" Tokoyami asked.
Hawks hummed, looking at the two containers. "Maybe... Let's take you to the hospital just to be sure."
The brunette turned to look at the pro hero. She was alright with visits to the hospital if it was to treat injuries, but if it was for something related to quirks—she rather not. If they check for her Quirk Factor, they would find out that she's actually quirkless and that would raise so many questions. And of course, she was sure she doesn't have one to begin with either.
"But I feel perfectly fine." Hikari stared at her hands, before glancing over her shoulder to see if something strange is happening on her back. Whatever was inside that Trigger should be neutralized by Esuna and healed by cure. "I'm also not going cray-cray." she added, moving her finger in a circular motion beside her temple.
"It might be because you used your healing quirk..." Hawks held the two containers in his hands, turning to look at the brunette. "It's pretty useful—that quirk of yours." he smiled.
As soon as Hawks defeated the powered-up Trigger addict, he immediately went over to look for his intern. He found her taking a huge risk on herself when she shot that barrier to protect his sidekicks and his other intern. Unfortunately, for the first time, he wasn't fast enough to stop the yakuza from injecting something inside her.
Judging from the yakuza's behavior, Hawks was sure that it was no ordinary Trigger.
However, due to Leonhart's healing quirk—the effects of the drug are unknown. She showed no signs of losing control of her quirk either.
For sure, he would figure out whatever it is this man is hiding.
"You kids did great. Sorry you had to go through all that jazz." the pro hero gave Tokoyami a pat on his head and turned to look at the girl, giving her a judging look. He turned around, a frown on his face. "No pats for you. I told you to stay back and you didn't follow my orders." he chided, clicking his tongue as he shook his head in disappointment.
Hikari gave him a look. "But you didn't tell me to stay back—you just told me to sit back and relax." she retorted smartly.
Hawks frowned childishly. "Exactly! Didn't you know that it literally means to stay back? And here I thought you were the considerate one." he said.
Hikari turned to look at Tokoyami and the boy shrugged in return.
Hawks doubted Hikari is the type to just sit back and relax when something occurs in front of her. He has expectations of her and she went beyond it. He can't believe that a high-schooler like her can just block bullets with precision—not one, but all the bullets being shot. Dodge it, he can understand. Block it with her shield, he can understand that too. Though to be able to block it with a staff, he was sure not many pros can do that either.
Another hero prodigy perhaps, he thought, sighing softly.
"I think it's time we call it a day, hmm?"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"—watch the new movie? No? Well, you should! It's a great movie!"
Hikari kept on listening to Hawks' one-sided conversation as they went back to the office. She kept passing awkward side-glances to Tokoyami—who returned it with his own deadpan look. While Hikari sometimes replied to Hawks' never-ending conversation, Tokoyami choose to rather ignore said bird-man.
It was the very next day after the fight. She managed to convinced Hawks that she doesn't need to go to the hospital. In the end she lied that she doesn't like needles and doctors.
As for the incident, they all made it into the news, though a few parts were kept secret. Like her healing quirk for one. The other was about her being injected with Trigger.
However, the full story was informed to U.A.
The group chat with class 1-A was buzzing with notifications. Their classmates had heard of the incident and asked if they were alright. Both Tokoyami and Hikari agreed to leave the part of Hikari being injected with Trigger from the conversation. Though she managed to convince Hawks she doesn't have to visit the hospital, he was told to monitor her for a few days to see if there are side-effects or not.
It was around five in the afternoon when they finished patrol.
"Hey, you kids want to go to get something before we head back?" Hawks asked as he pointed his finger to the convenience store. They were his interns. The two kids basically followed him everywhere without question—unless he says otherwise.
The day had been unusually calm—low crime rates, just patrol around town. Not that he's complaining about it. He actually liked this kind of days.
"Just don't buy something that'll ruin your dinner." The pro laughed as he walked inside the store, his hands in his pockets.
The two teens watched as Hawks made a beeline to the snacks and chips corner.
Hikari glanced over to look at the bird-boy beside her. "Want to get some ice cream?" She knew that it was a lame way to start a conversation, but Tokoyami rarely talks unless it's important. The boy didn't answer but he did give a single nod, she took that as a yes and leaded him to the frozen dairy corner.
"Hey, you kids finished? I'm paying." Hawks popped his head around the corner and the two teens followed after him to the cashier. "Ice cream before dinner? Man, you two are rebellious." he joked.
The brunette pointed at his own plastic bag. "Huh, are you sure buying chips and chicken isn't going to ruin your dinner?" she retorted.
Hawks placed a hand over his chest. "Oh, playing around with my words, eh? You wound me, little sparrow." he said rather dramatically. He walked in front of them, leading them back into his office, which wasn't far from the convenience store itself. They were greeted by the receptionist in the lobby as the entered the building. "You guys can chill around. Dinner would be around seven, so don't be late." he informed as his feather pressed the elevator button.
The man was more like a parent than a mentor.
As they entered the elevator, Hawks' feathers pressed the third floor before the top floor.
"I'll be at the top floor if you need anything." the pro-hero dropped them off at the common space—the floor where their rooms are at as well.
The two teens stood in awkward silence.
Hikari cleared her throat, making Tokoyami turn his head towards her. She took his ice cream out from the plastic bag, handing it over towards him. "You're more quiet than usual. Something on your mind?" she suddenly asked as she motioned her hand for Tokoyami to take a seat.
Tokoyami was surprised when she noticed the change. He was already quiet to begin with, so to be able to realize something was amiss—it just means that he can't really underestimate her.
"It's nothing..." Tokoyami replied, pulling out the chair to sit on.
"It doesn't sound like nothing."
There was a lot going around Tokoyami's thoughts—two of them were about Hawks and his classmate. He didn't know why he felt so frustrated. He should be learning something from Hawks, but all he learned from him so far is how to do cleanup and basically how to try and keep up with said bird-man. He never taught them anything and one of the things that frustrate him is that Leonhart doesn't mind it at all.
"Have you ever questioned yourself why Hawks choose to invite us?" Tokoyami asked
The brunette pursed her lips. "Hmm... No, not really... Why?" she laughed a little, trying to hide her worries. She had wondered about it a few times. The reason why a top hero like Hawks would choose someone like her. She doesn't have a bird-like quirk nor something that would interest him. Aside from her nonexistent background in the City of Heroes, of course. "Maybe he chose us because he saw how awesome we were in the sports festival? We're like the complete package!" she joked, waving her ice cream around.
Tokoyami gave her a deadpan look.
"Who knows? Maybe he saw potential in us." Hikari added as she leaned back against her chair. "You got like, what? 350 offers or something, right? I'm sure the main reason was because they saw potential. Plus, to be scouted by a top hero too, it means that you're awesome!" she encouraged with a thumbs up.
Tokoyami took a bite from his ice cream. "Your generosity knows no bounds." he said and Hikari gave a sheepish laugh. "Though it does pique my interest, why have you chosen Hawks as your mentor?"
Hikari hummed. "To be honest... he's kinda in the top in my list so... yeah." she can't actually tell Tokoyami that she chose Hawks because of his wide range of information gathering. She figured that interning under Hawks would actually lead her to some info about keyblades in the City of Heroes. She could've chosen Nighteye, but the guy's intense stare scares her that he might actually figure something out. "And it's either Hawks or a whole week of torture training under Mr. Aizawa." she whispered, leaning closer to the boy with her hand covering her mouth.
The bird-boy raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Aizawa recommended you?"
Hikari gave a so-so gesture. "Sorta... It's more like because I keep attracting trouble, I guess?" she replied before taking a bite of her ice cream. "How about you? Why did you choose Hawks?" she asked back, pointed her ice cream at him.
"The same reason as you. I figured training under the number 3 hero would improve my weakness." Tokoyami answered.
The brunette smiled. "Let's do our best then!"
Tokoyami couldn't help but smile a little at her enthusiasm.
They both continue to eat their frozen treat, chatting idly—with Hikari doing most of the talking.
"You're allowed to return to your quarters. There's something that I must ask Hawks." Tokoyami informed her as he stood up, throwing the trash on his way to the elevator.
"Alrighty then! See you at dinner!"
Tokoyami sighed behind the closed doors.
He didn't mean it in a bad way, but he knew there was something off about Leonhart. She managed to keep up with Hawks. He didn't know if it was experience or because of her powerful quirk that she managed to do all those things. He couldn't do anything at all when that villain attacked her— she chooses to protect him with her shield, sacrificing herself to get hurt instead. It frustrates him when he didn't improve at all.
The elevator arrived on the top floor and Tokoyami was greeted by Hawks' carefree voice.
"Oh, hey there, little bird. Got something you want to ask?" Hawks waved his hand from where he sat.
Tokoyami didn't want to begin with pointless formalities. "Why did you choose to invite us to be your interns?" he asked straightly to the point.
Hawks hummed, looking at Tokoyami. "For one, because we're both birds." he answered nonchalantly, a grin on his face as he motioned his finger between himself and the bird-boy. Truth be told, he was a little surprised when his intern asked him that. He knew that his little interns were curious. He just didn't know one of them was so direct about asking it.
Tokoyami gave him a deadpan look. "Are you joking...?" he didn't know how he was supposed to feel now that he learned the truth.
"No, I'm 20% serious. 50% of it was because I wanted to talk with someone from class 1-A." Hawks said rather truthfully. It was the honest reason why he picked the two to be his interns. He figured, giving them the truth is better than trying to butter them up and then asking them. "You know... About those little punks who attacked you guys, calling themselves the League of Villains." he continued.
Tokoyami stayed silent.
"And well, I figured if I have to pick, it would be someone who I thought could actually keep up with me. Someone with a lot of promise." Hawks flashed him a smile as he patted the empty seat beside him. "And I'm not disappointed with my choices!" he finished with a laugh.
"Very well..." Tokoyami inhaled a deep breath, trying to hold all of his frustration in. He had no interest in taking a seat next to the pro hero, despite the hero himself offering it. He stood behind the sofa and crossed his arms, which were thankfully hidden by his dark cape. "Though I must say, I have no details of what truly happened within the plaza." he said.
Hawks raised an eyebrow. "Hoo? I'm guessing that's the part where I ask Hikari, huh?"
Tokoyami gave a nod.
I'm not your carrier pigeon. He wanted to say.
He and neither Leonhart are.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Drip
Drip
"Deal with me?" Shigaraki scowled deeply as he held his bleeding shoulder. It was his master's wish to negotiate with the Hero Killer about a position in their ranks. If he wanted to be honest, he was against having the serial killer in their team. Plus, with the situation now, if the villain decided to stick around, he might accidentally kill him. "Can't say I really want someone as crazy like you as a member of our party..." he pulled himself up and sat on the bar stool, glaring daggers at the man standing before him.
Kurogiri placed a hand on the counter. "Shigaraki Tomura, he'll add some much-needed firepower to our efforts." he said to the young man and said man glared at him with his visible red eye. The black mist gave an acknowledging nod to the Hero Killer as he straightened his posture. "Our negotiation was successful."
"Successful? Successful?" If Shigaraki could, he would kill Kurogiri just from what he said. The negotiation was a complete waste of time. Stain didn't even give a straight answer. And the attack he did, only added fuel to the hatred he grew for the villain. "You call this successful?" he pointed his finger to his right shoulder before sending a murderous look at the culprit.
The wound on his shoulder was deep. The blade that pierced through his flesh belonged to none other than the Hero Killer himself.
Shigaraki clicked his tongue. "We don't have a healer in our party—not yet anyway... but you're going to have to pay for this..." he hissed out as he pressed the towel from Kurogiri on his shoulder. "This hurts like hell, you know..."
Stain raised an eyebrow. "A healer, you say?" he chose to ignore the man's threat. The word 'yet' in Shigaraki's sentence meant that he has found a healer—though he hasn't recruit them yet. Healers were rare and if one is found with a healing quirk, they would be monitored and asked to join the medical field to assist heroes. There are a few who were noted as healers—Recovery Girl is known to be the best.
"Hoo... So now you're interested..." The blue-haired man said sarcastically.
"Could the healer you found interest in... be the one who healed Ingenium?" Stain asked.
The Hero Killer wasn't quite satisfied when he heard Ingenium is going to make a full recovery. Strange thing was, there was no news of a healer being mentioned in Ingenium's case. It's almost as if they were keeping the healer a secret. But if words got out of a healer who can heal through drinks, then all the fear that he planted in the heroes would disappear.
If he had to guess, the healer is somehow related to Ingenium. A friend or family, perhaps.
Shigaraki clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Who knows?"
Stain's eyes traveled to the news article on the table.
Only recently, there was news of a healing plant from a girl's quirk.
Followed by USJ and then Ingenium's recovery.
It wasn't hard to put it all together.
"A U.A. student, huh?"
The blue-haired man raised a picture. "Know her?" A brunette wearing the U.A.'s track suit was seen. She wasn't looking at the camera. It was from one of the photos he had found online after the sports festival. Apparently, the media went nuts when they figured out that she was the one in the Toxic Haze incident—along with USJ. "No harm comes to her, you hear me? She's... a special party member..."
The recent news.
Pro Hero Hawks captured two Triggers addicts.
The other thing that ticked him off beside the number 3 hero being in the headline is the names inside the article. Leonhart Hikari made it into the news yet again. Her name was written along with Tokoyami Fumikage, dubbed as Pro Hero Hawks' new interns.
Intern.
Under the number 3 hero.
Hawks.
He had wondered where the keyblade brat had choose to intern at.
He found out where, but he never expected that he is a top hero. In the top 3 nonetheless. If she interned with a weak nameless hero, snatching the key would be like level 1 to him.
"You can kill any of those bratty kids from U.A., but not this one... This one... is the key..." Shigaraki added, lowering the picture down. Not many knew what the term key meant. For starters, not many knew of the wielder's legend either. Many thought of it as a myth, some even believed it. The great evil that would wreak havoc to the world. Keyblade wielders.
He wanted to see if Stain was aware of the legend.
"The... key... you say?"
Something seemed to snap.
"The key—!" Stain scowled, his muscles tensing at the thought of a keyblade wielder in the city. Being around in the Underworld, he has heard of the legend of a wielder who can and will cause a great war to end all things. Some say keyblade wielders are evil—a few believed they're the bringer of peace. He chose to believe the former. "...the key... such evil does not deserve to even breathe nor live!"
Stain turned to look at Kurogiri. "Take me to her."
"Oi, oi—didn't I just tell you not to kill her?" Shigaraki grinned behind the hand covering his face. This was his chance to take Stain out—the reason to kill him off because he was threatening an important future member of the league. "If you're after her, then I have no choice but to kill you—!"
"Shigaraki Tomura." Kurogiri stopped the man from standing.
Shigaraki clicked his tongue, sitting back down. "...whatever."
Kurogiri turned to face the Hero Killer. "I apologize, but I cannot allow you to put any harm to the girl as she would be an important asset to the league." he said formally and Stain narrowed his eyes. "If I do follow your wish, would you be able to take her out under Pro Hero Hawks' watch?"
"Just let him, Kurogiri." Shigaraki said nonchalantly.
The black-haired man glared. He has heard of her heroic acts through the past incidents. She may act heroic, but he shall be that judge of that. If he thinks rationally, he would have a lot of trouble killing the wielder if she's under Hawks and in Kyushu. He doesn't fully trust the League either.
Stain backed down. "Very well." he turned to look at the black mist again. "Send me back to Hosu. There's still something I've got to take care of there."
Kurogiri nodded his head.
Stain then glanced over to the blue-haired man and in return, the man narrowed his eyes at him.
"I shall be the judge if the keybearer
is worth to be spared
or not."
To rid of such evil, he has to be patient.