The heartbeat monitor beeps, filling in the silence of the hospital room. I'm sitting at the bedside as I stare at Keigo, who's been in a comatose state since last night. His face is bandaged up down the back of his neck to the rest of his torso underneath his gown. I'm holding one of his bandaged hands in mine. The clock ticks closer to 7am.
'You're like this because of me…' I think to myself. 'You're hurt…because of me.'
My gaze returns to Keigo's resting face as he inhales a breath through the ventilator mask. His chest rises with a struggle before slowly exhaling. There's a knock at the door. The President slides the door open with a couple of guards at her sides.
"Akira," the President calls to me. "A word."
I stare at her blankly for a moment before returning my gaze at Keigo. After a moment, I let go of his hand and place it carefully on the bed. I make my way out of the room and slide the door closed behind me. My gaze remains on the floor.
"How's he doing?" The President asks.
"The burn injuries are the worst," I reply. "He inhaled a lot of smoke…and most of his feathers were burnt."
"He's lucky those feathers will grow back quickly."
I simply nod. Some nurses walk down the hall, flipping through papers on their clipboards as they chat away.
"Let's talk in a more private spot," the President insists.
The President leads the way to the elevator, and we board it with the guards. I stand behind the President, my eyes peering at her back between the guards' arms. The elevator pings as we reach the unoccupied patio on the rooftop. There are round tables setup with umbrellas and chairs. We make our way to an isolated end of the patio and take our seats across one another. There's a brief silence between us as the guards stand by.
"How'd Keigo end up in this situation?" I ask.
"If you had followed orders last night, you would know," the President responds.
I lower my gaze.
"Hawks' mission was initially a quick and done deal," the President explains. "However, he was ambushed by an unknown group of villains."
"What was their motive?" I ask.
"They planned to use Hawks' as leverage to get to you."
My stomach sinks already knowing the answer to my question.
"We'd lost signal with Hawks most of the day yesterday," the President continues. "Until his tracker came back online last night; most likely the enemy was preparing their plan to lure you. Our plan was to rendezvous with you to plan a rescue, but your emotions took over to save Hawks. Do you realize the risk you took by doing so?" President scolds.
I'm silent as I focus on the thought that I'm the cause for Keigo's condition.
"You disobeyed orders, but the Commission is relieved that you both have been recovered," the President says. "That's the only reason you're not facing any repercussions."
I clench my fist a bit at the thought of the Commission seeing me and Keigo as nothing more than just weapons.
"Let me leave the city," I state.
"Hm?" The President is taken aback.
"It's obvious I'm a risk to Keigo…and to our missions… I want to leave Fukuoka."
"Are you asking to leave the Commission?"
"As you said, the reason Keigo was kidnapped is because of me…I don't want any more harm or trouble to come to Keigo…and I don't want to cause any more trouble for the Commission."
The President furrows her brows a bit in thought.
"I leave Fukuoka, and I keep Keigo safe while not putting the Commission at any more risk," I gaze up at her eyes.
The President stares at me in thought.
"I'd normally be against it, but you prove a valid point," she replies. "This is an opportunity to let Hawks focus on his assignments. You've made tremendous progress because of him, so I trust that you'll do fine on your own - for the time being."
I sit in silence as I await her final approval.
"Let me plan carefully, and I'll give you an answer as soon as I can," the President says.
The President stands from her chair.
"It seems you learned bargaining skills from Hawks," she brushes her suit jacket. "I'm sure you'll survive on your own with all that you've learned from him."
The President begins to walk off with the two guards at her sides.
"I'll contact you with my final approval," she doesn't turn around.
I keep my gaze at her back as she walks off. Once she's left off the roof patio, I inhale a deep breath and slowly exhale while leaning my elbows on my thighs. I lower my head in thought as I wonder how I'll break the news to Keigo.
The President boards the black sedan, and the guards shut the door, boarding right after. The President pulls her cell phone out and dials.
"This is Endeavor," the voice on the other line answers.
"Enji," she says. "We need to discuss an important matter."
"Does it have to be now?" Enji almost grumbles. "I haven't even left my abode yet."
"It's about Akira."
Enji becomes silent for a moment.
"I have an assignment for you," the President continues. "Return my call when you're prepared."
"I'm leaving for the agency now," Enji replies. "I'll call as soon as I get to my office."
The President hangs up, the black sedan continuing to drive down the street.
I'm sitting at Keigo's bedside, my hand holding his as I lean on the edge of the mattress. My eyes scan Keigo's bandaged face and body.
'It's best I just leave,' I think to myself. 'If an enemy does decide to attack me, at least I'll be on my own…and you'll be safe.'
My eyelids feel heavy as I can't keep them open any longer.
'I'm sorry, Keigo…' my eyes close.
"Someone's sleepy," Keigo's raspy voice surprises me.
I pop my head up and see Keigo weakly smiling at me through the ventilator mask.
"Don't tell me… you've been awake all night at my bedside," Keigo says in a hoarse voice.
"I wanted to make sure you'd wake up after collapsing last night," I respond.
Keigo moves his hand from mine and gently places it on my cheek.
"Well, I'm glad it's you I see right after waking up…" Keigo caresses my cheek.
I return his smile as I gently hold his wrist. The sound of his hoarse voice and strained breathing makes my heart ache and eyes water.
"Why the long face?" Keigo asks.
"Keigo… I wanna talk to you about something…" I begin to say.
There's a knock at the door. It slides open to reveal Minoru, Hiroshi and Yamato.
"Good morning," Minoru greets. "We're not interrupting anything, are we?"
"No," I shake my head.
I pull away from Keigo as he doesn't want to let go of my face, his hand slowly dropping down to the bed. His eyes stay on me as he knows something is weighing heavy on my mind, but I don't want to show it. I avoid his gaze but keep my hand on the bed next to him.
"We came to see how the boss is doing," Hiroshi smiles at Keigo. "And to show ya that Yamato is doing well."
Yamato rubs his side with a bit of a wince.
"How are you doing?" I ask.
"Feeling a bit sore," Yamato pats his side. "But I've been discharged as of this morning. Just need to deal with the soreness. Luckily the bullet didn't get lodged in there."
"I'm glad," I wipe a tear from my eye.
"Huh? Why are you crying?" Yamato asks. "Did the boss make you cry? We'll finish him off if that's the case!"
"No, I'm fine," I laugh a bit. "I was just worried about you and Keigo… I feel I'm to blame for what happened to you both."
"Don't worry about it," Yamato gives me a reassuring smile. "I'll think twice about calling shotgun next time," he chuckles.
"It could've been much worse if you hadn't saved us," Minoru says to me.
I give them a small smile with a nod as I rub my eyes.
"If you hadn't saved the boss here," Hiroshi stands at Keigo's bedside. "We'd be out of our jobs!"
"I'm sure you guys woulda been able to run the agency without me," Keigo lightly chuckles.
"Nah. Wouldn't be the same without ya," Hiroshi shakes his head with a smile down at Keigo.
"So. Mind explaining what the hell happened to you?" Minoru crosses his arms at Keigo. "Or is it some top secret stuff?"
"Can't give you all the details…" Keigo replies. "But basically - I was ambushed and taken hostage."
"They really did a number on ya, huh?" Yamato glances at Keigo's injuries.
"Fire's my number one weakness…they quickly found that out…but I woulda been dead if it wasn't for Nova."
"You managed to retrieve Hawks so easily. How'd ya do it?" Hiroshi turns to me.
I blink in surprise and lower my gaze, recalling the bloodbath I'd caused last night.
"We won't talk about that…" Keigo cuts in. "Let's just say it was a pretty bad night for both of us…" Keigo takes a hold of my hand.
"Say no more," Yamato holds his hands up.
"What's the word on your recovery?" Minoru asks.
"Just need to rest some more," Keigo replies. "I'll be outta here back on patrol in no time."
"Don't rush it. Take your time."
"This is probably the closest to a vacation you've gotten, huh?" Hiroshi jokes.
"Guess so," Keigo lightly chuckles.
"And your wings?" Minoru asks.
"They'll be fine… my feathers have already started growing back."
"That fast?" Yamato is surprised.
"They usually grow back quickly… Considering that the burns aren't so severe, the feathers should grow back fully within a couple of days."
"What woulda happened if the burns were more severe?" Minoru asks.
"I'm not sure if my feathers would grow back, to be honest…" Keigo wonders.
"Fire is your number one weakness, huh? Don't worry! Your secret is safe with us!" Yamato gives a thumbs up.
"Thanks," Keigo gives a smile. "Don't go selling me out to my enemies."
"What?! Never!" Hiroshi and Yamato are appalled.
"You're the best boss we've ever had!" Yamato exclaims.
"We wouldn't know where to go if Hawks Agency closed!" Hiroshi adds.
"Sounds like you're both milking this for a raise," Minoru jokes.
"It's not just about the money! Honest!" Yamato defends.
"What do ya take us for? Some fake heroes?" Hiroshi adds.
"Alright! Alright! I'm just joking!" Minoru holds his hands up with a sweat drop.
Keigo and I lightly laugh at their banter.
The President sits at her desk while typing away at her computer. The desk phone rings to her right.
"This is the Commission President," she answers.
"It's Endeavor," Enji says.
"Ah. You're ready to discuss?"
"Yes. What's this about Akira?"
"She's asked to leave the Commission."
"And?"
"I'm going to approve her request."
"What? Are you actually going to grant that?"
"I'm allowing it on the condition that she moves to Musutafu and joins Endeavor Hero Agency. And that she improves better control of her quirk."
"So there's a catch."
"Hn. Did you expect that of me?"
"I know how you work… Just get on with it."
"Akira will be allowed to leave the Commission but can only do so by joining your agency. You already have history taking Akira under your supervision. While working at your agency, you'll report your supervision of her to me on a weekly basis. Considering her quirk, I'm sure she'll be a great addition to your agency."
"She'll do just fine."
"Then I assume there will be no problems."
"But why? Why are you suddenly allowing Akira to be on her own? The Commission considers her too valuable to lose."
"We won't be losing her. She'll just be assigned elsewhere for the time being. I still don't trust her based on where she came from."
"You're still on about that?" Enji grunts. "Akira has done nothing but prove loyal to the Commission. Her hero work in Fukuoka says enough."
"That's what I thought about her father…and look where he ended up."
There's a brief silence between them.
"When will Akira start?" Enji asks.
"As soon as she can," the President replies. "I'll arrange to find an apartment for her in Musutafu by the end of today."
"Is there another reason as to why you're allowing this?"
"I've got other plans to focus on right now. I don't need to be distracted with Akira. I've got another agent to utilize."
"Is it that bird man?"
"With Akira gone, Hawks will be able to focus on his assignments given to him by the Commission. Their renowned relationship is causing too much trouble."
"So that's why you're sending her away… What assignment is the Commission working on next?"
"That's classified information."
"Right."
Enji sighs over the phone for a moment.
"Just give me a start date for Akira, and I'll prepare her paperwork," Enji says.
"Good," the President says. "I expect you to be honest and precise on Akira's weekly reports. If there is any suspicious activity by her, she will be pulled from your agency and returned to the Commission. Am I understood?"
"Yes…" Enji replies.
"I'll contact you soon."
The President hangs up the phone and returns to working on her computer.