Ebony

by EbonyAnimalSpirit

It started with a single crimson feather. One single feather, fallen among a sea of black... Lost to the fluttering, ebony waves, cold and drowning... Alone. We should have guessed we were bad for one another... but we didn't... Idiot {My Hero Academia} {HawksXOC} {Spoilers for Anime/Manga}

22. Chapter 22- Friend

Chapter 22

Friend

.:+:.

...... Why did I let myself... Love you...?

.:+:.

"... Please be cautious, there is a B-Rank Villain at large in the area! Be mindful of evacuation services, and do your best not to disrupt the Heroes on duty! Everyone please stay your distance, and follow instructions- your safety is our top priority!"

"A Rank B Villain...?! Here...?!"

"Yeah, most of the Villains that show you here are only D-Listers, right...?!"

"Yeah...! Well... Except for that guy Killjoy took down last week, huh?"

"I guess... But seriously, why have there been so many Villain attacks the last few weeks...?!"

"Everyone this way please, we need to clear the perimeter!"

"Please keep moving, give the Heroes some space! We don't want anyone caught in the crossfire!"

"... Quickly as you can please, and stay calm! The Heroes have it in hand, this'll be resolved soon enough...! For now please just be patient, and keep your distance!"

"... The Heroes have been fighting awhile now, and they don't seem like they're making much headway..."

"They'll be fine...!"

"That Villain is wrecking a whole bunch of stuff while they go at it though..."

"... Ah man, the roads and offices around here are gonna be closed for days..."

"... Worst lunch break ever..."

"... This is Yuna Fujio reporting for Daily Stream. Currently there is an unknown B-Rank Villain at large in the downtown areas of Heiku. What initiated the conflict is still unknown, but shortly after midday, this area's lunch rush was interrupted as the Villain began to target buildings at random, tearing them apart and endangering the lives of everyone attempting to evacuate on the streets, and those still trapped inside. The Villain's motives are unknown, as well their identity and their Quirk- though from what we've been able to see, and from the reports of those being evacuated from the immediate area, have us believing it to be some sort of Emitter Quirk capable of manipulating objects and debris and giving them some sort of-"

The news lady cut off abruptly, the air shaking and a massive wave of wind sweeping up the street and catching her, her cameraman, and every other civilian and police officer on the street up in it- following a massive burst of air and energy that exploded from where the Villain was supposed to be. The wind brought with it no small amount of kick, and it sent dust and debris flying in every direction, cutting Ms. Yuna's report off for a few long moments, and making everyone in the street blanch a little. She shivered, steadying herself again and looking windswept as she held her microphone up, her eyes shinning as she looked up the street and toward the barricades there with people streaming through frantically.

"-uhm... Ah, giving the objects a powerful, detonation effect..." She finished slowly, swallowing and looking back toward the camera with as much composure as she could manage. "A-at current the full extent of the damage isn't clear, nor are the number of injuries and people still in the danger zone... There are a number of Heroes in the area doing their best to help with rescue and evacuation services, and contain the perimeter of the Villain's activity... Though they seem to be deadlocked, in terms of apprehending the Villain at the moment."

Deadlocked was a bit of an understatement honestly- it was more like they were struggling to keep up at all, between trying to rescue civilians, control the collateral damage to the city, keep themselves from getting blasted, and keep the Villain from leaving the haphazard containment zone they'd set up... Which consisted of more than a few blocks.

Oh, and they really couldn't get anywhere close to the Villain, like at all.

Everybody who tried got hit by an onslaught of bombs made up of literally anything and everything- glass, cement, metal, cars, you name it. The more of a mess there was, the more bombs the Villain could make and throw around- and with that, the more they were getting swamped trying to stop any civilians from getting swept up in the chaos, or try to keep whole buildings from collapsing with the constant buffeting and beating of the bombs.

The bombs themselves didn't have any heat or fire to them, they just seemed to detonate whatever object it was made of with an insane amount of force and invisible pressure- the shockwaves caused a lot of damage just on their own, but the objects were also being turned into millions of pieces of fast moving shrapnel storms.

For what Heroes that were already in the center of the mess, they didn't have enough hands to keep up with the damaged buildings and the range of the detonations to also be actively trying to get around the barrages of bombs and get to the Villain... And it of course didn't help that they were all mostly Long Range Style Heroes, or that they didn't have anyone around that could just force their way through the explosions to try and get their hands on the Villain. Even Bryzair, who was himself a very popular and very powerful Pro (the No. 25), had been forced into focusing his efforts on keeping the evacuating civilians safe and minimizing the damage the waves of shrapnel did to the area (which he did well with for the most part, given his Quirk- Disassemble).

But Bryzair, along with most all of the Heroes, were gritting their teeth and working as well they could in the unfavorable situation- what few could afford not to get sucked into rescue efforts were doing their best to wear the Villain down, but they were making no headway at all. The Villain himself wasn't all that invulnerable to his own detonations, but he could manipulate things at a good distance without having to be near them- so he'd settled for throwing things around and setting them off in every which way, destroying the city as he went... While also being sure to keep a tightly made circle of detonations going on around him, keeping the Heroes back and nowhere close to him.

"...tch damn it, all we need is to get passed that line of bombs. If someone can get close to him, he shouldn't be able to set off more bombs too close to himself or he'll get hit too- then we just gotta get a good blow in." One Hero grumbled hotly, after coming to a small halt after avoiding a round of rubble bombs sent his way. He came to a halt at the corner of an alleyway, backing off for the meantime and taking a bit of cover- two other Pros joined him, just as bruised and out of breath as he was.

"... You're right, but we don't have anybody fast or strong enough to get through without getting blasted, or torn to shreds." One of the other Pros grumbled, "The guy's pretty much made an unbreakable barrier all around him- even coming in from the air hasn't worked."

"... We could try coming in from under the ground." The third grumbled, "Somebody should try and call in a Hero with a Quirk that'll let them come up from below the guy."

"I already called it in, all Pros with a Quirk like that are at least an hour out."

"Damn it... any other ideas?"

"Brute force would be the next best- but same issue there... We're short on Pros with that sort of Strength and Endurance around here... We don't usually get any high level Villains here in Heiku at all."

"Sure seems like we've been getting a lot more lately though."

"Yeah... What the hell set this off anyway?"

"Nobody was in the area when it started, from what I heard it kinda seemed like the guy just went nuts all of a sudden."

"This sucks... Where's All Might when you need him? He'd take this guy down in three seconds, tops."

"We don't have time to wait on him, we need to try something else, and fast."

"I agree."

All three Pros stiffened, jumping slightly at the new voice and eyes wide as they quickly looked around for the source- and found it coming from a black mouse standing not far up in the alley from them, it's red eyes flashing. Shock swept across their faces for half a second, before they seemed to regain themselves a bit- though they were still quite surprised.

"A-Animal Spirit...!" Was the collective, nearly breathless murmur, and the mouse's ears twitched in recognition of the name.

They hadn't any idea she was even in the area, or a clue she'd arrived- though that had been the point. She'd elected to work her way into the danger zone on foot rather than by air, after having winged her way over from her apartment as quickly as she could.

She'd only just gotten back home from her shift at the Club (and walking Sasaki home) when she got the call from Dispatch for assistance, and she'd come as quickly as she could, and started moving with what little info she had. She'd spent a few minutes watching what was going on and staying out of sight of everyone, and the Villain especially, as she tried to come up with some sort of plan... Which now she had an idea, but it was more a one-off then an actual plan- though granted, she was working on the fly here and with little to go on, so even her one-off plan was better than none. There was just one major caveat, and that was that it had to work right on the first try, or it wasn't going to work at all.

Spirit stepped forward a little as she looked up at them, her tail flicking behind her and eyes steady- much more calm and resolute and demanding of attention than a mouse should have been, but she had their full attention in an instant regardless of her very small stature.

"I'm going to try and catch him off guard from the far side." She explained quickly, "Right now he has no idea I am here, so he has no reason to expect I'll be trying to get closer to him... Less so if I'm a smaller target, and can move quickly enough." She mumbled, her ears twitching again as she lift a small paw off the ground and gestured toward the end of the alley. "It'll help if you can draw most of his attention over to this side, so I have a little better chance of getting close without being noticed. If I can get close enough, I should be able to take him down or restrain him so that he'll lose focus on making more bombs and sending them everywhere." All three Pros nodded stiffly to her words, their eyes flashing and a little more resolute now with some sort of plan- and one that might actually work, given what she'd said. She made a good point, the Villain didn't know she was here so he wasn't expecting her, and it'd be hard to really see a mouse as small as she was coming at him with all the motion and havoc.

It was at any rate, the best option they had at the moment- and anything that might stop this wanton destruction all around was worth at least giving a try.

"Alright, we'll keep his attention so you have a better shot."

"Yeah, you can count on us..!"

"Alright, thank you." Spirit murmured, dipping her head slightly. She turned, her ears folding back slightly as she cast them a look over her shoulder just briefly. "Be careful getting his attention, it won't help anything if you get too hurt trying to play decoys." She told them quietly, before quickly darting off down the alley and quickly out of all sight.

Hopefully this works... The buildings can't handle much more of a beating before some of them start to collapse, and we don't have enough Pros on hand to deal with that.

She skirted along the edges of walls and buildings, nimbly jumping over debris and obstacles in her path and avoiding everyone entirely- be it civilian, or police, or Pro. She moved quickly to bring herself a street or two over and round on the Villain, placing him between her and where the other Pros had been- and who were already in the open trying their best to gain his complete attention.

Alright Spirit, get this done with, quick and clean... make it work

She huffed slightly, weaving in and out of piles of rubble and overturned streetlight, kiosks, and just about everything else as she broke from the side of the street and out into the open. She stayed low to the ground and moved quickly between what little cover was available, and without having to jump or crawl too much to get around. The closer she moved toward, and then stepped into the perimeter the Villain had set up around himself, the more she felt her fur crawl, the pressure and vibrations running through every inch of her with a ferocity. It was making her bristle, and she had to fold her ears back against her head to try and block out the ringing, and the increase in air pressure.

... this is a hell of a Quirk... why did this guy just go nuts all of a sudden...? He's not a known Villain, this is his first known offense, and he's really laying in...

She hissed, redirecting quickly when a large chunk of rubble came flying her way through air and she barely skittered away from it in time not to get crushed.

... this is a mess...

... Just keep going, keep going... he hasn't noticed you yet.

She darted under a badly torn up car and around a pile of bits of street mixed with bits of building and trashcans, weaving between strings of bent metal and seeing the Villain only 50 feet ahead now, his back turned to her and arms waving madly as he kept throwing things out toward the Pros who dared to be too close. The man was thin and disheveled looking, with messy sandy colored hair and large, bloodshot yellow eyes. He wasn't wearing anything special, just loose jeans and a simple t-shirt, and nothing at all to really identify who he was or what he did- he was just jittery, and high-strung, and breathing heavily as he continued to make bombs and send things flying left and right and without pause... he almost seemed a little unhinged.

But the only important part at that moment, was that he was much too focused on trying to blow everyone else to pieces right now, and wasn't at all aware of her getting quickly closer to him.

Just a bit further

She picked up the pace as 50 feet leveled down to 30, then 10- and he was still yelling curses and incoherent things at the other Pros, even as she came right up behind him- small of course, but her body already distorting and blurring black-red as she ran.

She jumped, all four feet leaving the ground and her body swept up in a haze for no more than three seconds, before she Shifted into her Human Form and collided with the guy's back head-on. Her hands clapped down on his shoulders and she knocked him over, the guy letting out a startled yell and then a grunt as he smashed into the cement and she landed on top of him, pinning him there with her body weight. One hand left his shoulder quick as can be, not even pausing for half a second and unhooking one of the straps from around her legs.

"W-what the fuck?!" He snapped breathlessly, but Spirit didn't pause still, her hand moved deftly and already had the strap tied around his arm, pulling it behind him and ready to tie it to the other one too.

Her heart skipped a beat though, his head twisting to look at her and bloodshot eyes full of nothing but sheer rage- and the pressure in the air tripled the minute their eyes matched.

"Get the fuck offa me!"

She felt the pressure rising to a sharp point long before she ever even thought of moving, and she was too confused and stunned to even think of retaliating either- it happened way too fast, and it shouldn't have been able to happen at all.

Invisible force sprung up off of the man in a huge wave, ramming straight into her and throwing her off of him with complete ease, a series of painful booms igniting like the air exploded around her. Wind was sent whipping out in all directions, and so violent it tore into the piles of rubble and sent them spinning into the air like hail.

What the fuck... can he detonate the air too...?! Not just solid objects...?!

Spirit got tossed, her bones rattling under the impact of force she couldn't see and struggling to try and regain herself in air before she smacked against the concrete. Her grip on the strap was wrenched away and the man rolled over as she got thrown, eyes wild, face twisted.

Well that plan went really well, damn it...!

She Shifted in midair, her body lost to that of an Eagle and wings beating like mad to save herself hitting the ground, and getting tossed away too far. But the wind was way too violent to curb with her wings no matter how hard she tried, and she never found any semblance of balance at all, and no control either.

The man pushed himself up and onto his knees, lips twisted in a snarl and thrusting both arms forward in her direction. Spirit flapped her wings hard to try and right herself again, managing to see him as he moved- and the very large slab of broken up street and cement that was now headed her way, thrumming and glowing and ready to blow.

"HOW DARE YOU?!"

Shit!

She upstroked as hard as she could to try and get herself out of the path of the oncoming (and very large!) 'bomb', sending herself straight for the ground instead of struggling to climb in air anymore. Aided by the boost and the behest of gravity she managed to pull out of the grip of the wanton wind just enough to change direction- but it wasn't going to be fast enough to avoid to blast entirely, or the shrapnel thereafter. Her body got swallowed up in another haze, her figure quickly condensing down again into the small form of a mouse... If she was smaller, she would be a harder target to get hit by the debris- but of course the downsize did mean she'd get thrown by the pressure all the more easily.

Better than getting ripped to shreds-

She stiffened, twisting painfully in those last few moments in air and eyes widening when a burst of white light suddenly appeared across the incoming rock, stretching over it's face in grid-like pattern- and then it promptly separated cleanly along the lines. It reduced the whole rock into 50-70 individual pieces in the matter of a second, and the momentum it had got cut in half too, slowing it slightly in it's path toward her. Spirit blinked, instantly recognizing the sight.

That's Bryzair's Quirk

She would have tried to pinpoint where the Pro was at that moment, if she wasn't in the middle of hot water- still.

Her front paws touched back down on the ground in the same instant that the numerous smaller sections of the rock buzzed harder, vibrating and still pressurized and ready to blow even after being disassembled as it had been. And they all went off at once, right as she landed all the way and was about to try and find cover- but it was way too late, and she stiffened in preparation for what was coming, her eyes shutting tight... But not before catching one fleeting blur of red at the edge of her vision.

Wait, wha-?

BOOOOOOOOOM!

The bits of rubble detonated all at once, throwing up dust, wind and wild force all around- but the ones near to Animal Spirit were not the only things that went off. Every other thing that the Villain had geared into being a bomb, and had yet to use, was suddenly detonated all at once, and with terrifying effect over the entire area. Between these dozens upon dozens of bursts, and the large one that went off where Animal Spirit was- everyone on the street lost all sight of the Ebony Hero, and any attempt to try and look for her was shattered as one of the nearby buildings gave a loud groan, and then one half of it's lower level collapsed, sending the top to begin toppling over.

"S-shit...!"

"Watch it...!"

"There are still people on the higher floors!"

"Support the damaged walls, quick! Before the whole things goes down..!"

They scrambled, splitting up between trying to deal with the tilting building, shielding other people from the falling debris, and racing to get any civilians still left out of harms way. The rushing of the Pros and civilians alike faltered though, several blips of red rushing passed them and headed straight into the fray in the blink of an eye- and then soon after there were people being dragged from the top floors of the crumbling building and out into open air... Held aloft by a single (or a few where needed) vermilion red feathers.

"That was a close one, huh Sunshine?"

Spirit blinked her eyes open, a swift sensation of weightlessness coming and going in three seconds time, and the air rushing passed her and roaring in her ears came to an abrupt halt too. She stared, for a brief moment held aloft in air by the scruff of her neck, the end of a vermilion feather digging into the loose skin and fur and holding her up with ease (extreme ease actually, given how small she was in Mouse Form). It was that feather that had whisked her away and out of the range of the detonations in no time at all. So quickly in fact, that she hadn't even realized it had picked her up until it had her there, holding her up right in front of the blonde that feather belonged to, and both of them several stories high in air.

"... Hawks..." Spirit mumbled breathlessly, her mind quite sluggish for a moment as he smiled at her and held out his hands. The feather dropped her into his palms as he did so, the Winged Hero looking all too pleased as he held on to her, though she didn't pay him much mind just then. Spirit blinked once as she landed in his hands, her ears twitching and looking quickly from him and toward the swathes of feathers ferrying people away from the area, and seemingly clearing every floor of the crumbling building in record time... He had so many feathers off and doing things his wings were quite a bit smaller than normal, and he was flapping them harder and faster just to stay aloft than he normally would have had to.

But... When did he...?

"Aww, look at how cute and tiny you are!" Hawks chirped, his golden eyes gleaming behind his visor as he held her up directly in front of his face. "You know I always thought you were super cute in your cat form, but I think you as a mouse is much better! I could totally eat you up, you're adorable~!"

Spirit bristled, her ears falling flat against her head and claws digging into the fabric of his gloves. "Now is not the time for any your bloody nonsense, Bird-Boy!" She snapped instantly and he smiled, but nodded right away.

"You're right of course, we'd better focus~!" He relented easily, his eyes breaking away from her and his hands shifting under her feet. Spirit stiffened at it, her red eyes flashing as he closed his hand around her, trapping her in place as he started forward in air- instantly on the move again and quickly (and gently too) placing her in his coat pocket before she had any say in the matter.

He put me in his fucking pocket?!

WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?!

She hissed, struggling to right herself in the pocket and pull from the grip of the fabric, and poke her head out the top.

"I can bloody well fly, you idiot! I don't need to be put in your pocket like a damn pet!" She snapped, her head breaking free of the clutches of the pocket, and immediately hit with the wind rushing passed them with Hawks' insanely quick flying. She could not get much a good view of his face from where she was, but what little she caught of his expression made it clear he had heard what she said, and was a bit amused with it.

"I know, but keeping you close for now will make it easier for me to hash out the plan with you." He replied easily, and Spirit blinked.

Plan-?

"Gimme a minute to wrap the rest of this up though, before we get too far into the details~" he hummed, cutting off any intention she had had to question him. And Spirit kept her mouth shut for the time being, electing to do as he said as her eyes moved toward the dozens of people still being carried down to safety by a feather pinned into their clothes... It was actually kind of insane how many he had going, and all at once.

What kind of focus does that take...? To control every single one..? And to still be moving and flying and doing things himself on top of directing all the feathers?

... Multitasking to an insane degree...

Hawks dove down at a steep angle, circling the badly tilted building quickly and his hands reaching for two of the longer primary feathers still attached to his wings. He ducked into the shattered opening of a window with no hesitation, his arms swinging out with the feathers in hand in deadly precision, easily slicing through a wall of jumbled and knotted metal wiring, folded desks, and tipped over filing cabinets. The feathers in his hands were as sharp and steady as real blades, and easily let Hawks carve himself a path forward in no time at all.

He let go of the feathers as soon as he'd cut through the stuff in his way, and they moved to stick into his wings again all on their own accord. Hawks moved in without skipping a beat, Spirit peering out from the pocket a little further and her ears perked at the sight of a woman hunched and pressed against the wall just on the other side of where the metal had been barring the way. She was dirty and bruised, with a few cuts here and there (but not terribly injured it seemed), and clearly very scared, her body curled up and shaking as her hands clutched tightly to a very familiar red feather. The woman looked up immediately as the wall was cleared and Hawks came into view, the terror in her face being flooded over by shock and relief when she saw him.

"H-Hawks..." She stammered shakily, teary-eyed and trembling more now. Hawks stepped up and bent down toward her, reaching his hands out gently and putting on a small, reassuring smile.

"Hey there, how about we get you out of here nice and quick, yeah?" The Winged Hero hummed lightly, easily pulling the woman up, taking no time as he swept her off her feet and into his arms. She let out a startled breath of air when he did so, but she didn't complain, her arms grabbed tight hold around his shoulders and neck, burying her face into his chest and stiff as a board. She let go of the feather she'd been holding on to and it reattached itself into Hawks wings right away.

Spirit ducked her head back in the pocket a little to avoid the woman's feet dangling just a few inches above her, and then ducked down a little further as Hawks quickly turned around and flew back out of the building again. He was in, grabbing the girl, and back out in about 30 seconds tops- and in another 10 he was already back on the ground and handing the woman off to some officers a street over. And he still wasted no time on that before he was in air again and on the move back toward the center of the turmoil, vermilion feathers still ferrying people away from the area and then circulating back to his wings without end. He paused at the base of the badly tilting building to let the Pros on the ground know that there was no one left on the higher floors, before backing off again and coming to a hover high above the center of the Villain's still ongoing rampage.

Spirit's ears folded back against her head, the wind rushing passed them as he moved and blinking slowly as she glanced from below them and the flitting blurs of red (he seemed to still be evacuating people from several streets over now), and then back up to Hawks.

... Rescue is sort of his strong suit, huh...?

"... Ooookay, now with everyone out of that building- let's talk about that plan, yeah?" He hummed, his hand dropping over her head and easily picking her up out of the pocket to hold her aloft in his palm again- and she instantly hated being handled like that, but she grit her teeth and let it go for now.

"What is your plan?" She grumbled, and he smiled slightly.

"Well it's mostly your plan actually! You coming up on him in this form was a great idea, and it worked like a charm the first time- minus the ending part." He hummed, and Spirit blinked. "There's no way he's gonna be able to keep track of you with you being so small, even if you have lost the element of surprise. So, I'm thinking you're gonna give getting close to him as a mouse another go, and this time I'm gonna give you some extra help."

Help?

"You're pretty fast on your own, but if I carried you toward him using one of my feathers- you'll be even faster, and I can make sure you don't run into anything that might get in your way." Hawks told her steadily, quick and straight to the point (for once) and she was listening intently. "You'll be able to clear the barrier of explosives he's set up in seconds with my help, and I'll be able to give you a huge boost in momentum for you to push him down again. Just this time instead of trying to restrain him, it might be better to just knock him out right off the bat- so he doesn't detonate the air and throw you like the first time."

"... And what if I can't knock him out in one go?" Spirit mumbled, less because she doubted she could and more just to be sure. She figured if she wanted, knocking the guy out wouldn't be too hard- but given he'd surprised her once already, she wasn't just going to blindly assume things would work out the way she wanted.

"I thought about that too." Hawks murmured, a ghost of a smile on his lips as his eyes flashed. "Even if you don't manage to knock him out, you'll still definitely wind him quite a bit. In that case, he'll need to restrained quickly to avoid him blowing you, or anyone else away again- my Sidekick will be perfect for that." Hawks murmured and Spirit blinked, her eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Sidekick...?" She mumbled,

"Yeah, you met him the other day." Hawks told her, "His name's Neru. His Quirk should be able to restrain the Villain and keep him from moving at all- but he needs a straight shot at him, and he can't get one with all those bombs in that barrier in the way. So if you wind the guy for long enough he stops throwing things everywhere, Neru should be able to get a clear shot and tie him up. Then, problem solved. Sound good to you?" Hawks murmured and Spirit blinked, quiet for a moment.

"... I suppose." She mumbled, "... It's not like we have many other options, and the sooner this ends, the better."

"My thoughts exactly! Speed and backing up other Pros is definitely my thing, so I think this'll work great." He chirped, his free hand moving up to tap a button on the side of his visor and looking away for a moment. "You good on the plan, Neru?" He asked (supposedly into the mic in his ear and visor, and that was linked with his Sidekick's). Spirit couldn't hear 'Neru's' reply, but Hawks nodded his head so she took it as agreement to the plan.

"Cool, stick close and be ready to jump in as soon as Spirit gets this guy on the ground." Hawks murmured (still to Neru), before he looked back at Spirit. One of the slightly longer red feathers from his wings broke off and stopped in air in front of his hand where Spirit was still sitting. "I'll do my best to make your ride as smooth as possible Spirit, but you should probably hold on as tight as you can anyway." He murmured and she nodded slightly.

She stepped tentatively off his hand and on to the feather, which had oriented itself like a surfboard and was rigid and hard as steel under her weight- very unlike a feather, but it worked for having her basically... Well, surf on it. It was weird as hell though, and her stomach churned as she put her full weight on to it, immediately feeling herself shaking and wobbly. She pressed herself down low against it and dug her claws in between the downy threads, and swallowed hard.

... Yeah, I do not like this... At all...

Hawks seemed to sense her unease instantly because he smiled a little sympathetically, and gave her a thumbs up. "Don't sweat it Spirit, I won't let you fall, I promise! I'm gonna take good care of ya~" He hummed brightly and she huffed at it.

"It's not like I can't just Shift into a bird if you do drop me." She grumbled and he smiled at the reply, but the smile disappeared as quickly as it came. He grew instantly tense, and for what Spirit hadn't any id- FUCK?!

The feather she was on lurched without warning, speeding off to the side with her holding on for dear life- and Hawks went the opposite way, with just as much speed as the feather and grimacing. Sunlight glittered off the numerous pieces of glass, metal, and whatever else that suddenly streamed passed where Spirit and Hawks had been but moments before, all of them humming and full of bubbling energy and force. And not a second after catching sight of it, did all of it detonate at once and send millions of shrapnel pieces every which way.

Spirit hissed, holding tighter to the feather as it whisked her away from the blast radius with insane speed. She lost sight of Hawks on the other side of the blast for only a few seconds, before a blur of red caught her eye and she saw him headed in the opposite direction the feather was taking her now. Hot on Hawks' trail were ever more projectiles ready to blow, and she grumbled under her breath at it.

"YOU THINK STAYING UP THERE IS GONNA SAVE YOU?!" The Villain roared from far below, angrier now than ever- and clearly not at all pleased that Hawks had been hovering in air above all the chaos like nothing could touch him. And now suddenly the Villain seemed quite intent on clobbering the Winged Hero with everything he could- hundreds of different things and debris were streaming upward into the sky chasing after the red blur that was Hawks- creating a line of rubble in air that was showering over the city... And Hawks avoided the constant barrage with just as much speed and grace as he had had when going against Dark Shadow, though this Quirk was much different, and if he even slowed up for half a second he'd be in hot water.

But even despite his own worries, the feather Spirit was clinging to continued to stream downward at record speed, avoiding what objects leapt into air in their chase of the Winged Hero and still headed directly for the Villain... How Hawks managed to avoid getting blown to bits and still be able to direct that feather around it's own (and her) obstacles was beyond her.

And he's probably still ferrying people away from the area too, right?

There's no way anyone can be that good at multitasking, Quirk or otherwise...

... Hell, I guess he's not the No. 15 For nothing-

Spirit's ride jerked abruptly to the left, barely skimming passed a lightpole suddenly uprooted from the ground and soaring into air. She held tighter to the feather and hissed under her breath, her balance shattered instantly at the rough movement and the feather doing it's best to right itself again and not lose her entirely. Her stomach flipped when she felt herself teeter a little too long, her ears flat against her head and eyes instinctively snapping shut against the sensation.

Hell... I actually really hate this plan...

She cursed herself in her head and forced her eyes back open again, she had to stay focused- the feather was making ground in leaps and bounds, and she would have to be doing her part before she knew it... She and the feather were already passed the perimeter the Villain had established and been keeping everyone far away with. The feather zipped around another few things as they reached the ground, and stuck low to the pavement- trying to keep them as inconspicuous as possible, but it did mean more weaving around things in the way, and more holding on on Spirit's part. It ducked down around a trashcan that suddenly wrenched itself from it's bolts into the pavement, and it did so at nearly the last minute- so much so she felt the fur on her back ruffle against the grooves of the bin.

... Hell...!

...tch... Just a little further, yeah...?

... Just a little further...

Thirty feet dropped to twenty in two seconds, then ten in another two- she could see the Villain clear as day now... In all his red-faced, wild-eyed, unbottled (and maybe sort of unstable?) rage and fervor. His arms were waving wildly this way and that, directing objects and debris from the area up into the air on a constant loop that was still directed at Hawks- and the Villain didn't seem to be slowing at all.

How does he have this much energy to throw around? With all the shit he's making into bombs and sending flying?

And honestly- how can someone with this powerful of a Quirk just pop up out of nowhere?

A Villain like this doesn't just appear from thin air... This whole thing isn't normal.

Her thoughts got cut off as the feather jerked again to avoid the door of a car that had dislodged itself from a wreck with a screech of metal on concrete... But even that sound was drowned out by a deafening BOOM from somewhere overhead. An explosion, and from the sound of it much bigger in magnitude than most of what has been going off.

Spirit's heart skipped a beat then, because in that single second the momentum and drive of the feather underneath her vanished- and she felt them falling instantly under the pull of gravity, her weight dragging them both down with no resistance at all.

The feather went completely limp

She hit the ground before she knew what was happening, her body bouncing against the concrete and it took everything she had not to make a noise- she was only a few feet from the Villain now, he couldn't know she was there... But what the hell-?!

She rolled onto her paws, heart pounding and ears perked as her red eyes darted quickly from the feather lying motionless behind her, and then up toward the sky and the dark plume of dust and pavement particles high overhead blotting out the blue.

Did he-?!

"S-shit...!"

"Crap...!"

Muffled voices called out from somewhere she couldn't see, but she didn't stop again.

Spirit hissed, her mind running a million miles a second and her attention snapping to the Villain- and in that second she was already moving once more. She had no time to think, she had to move, she had to keep going and her body did as she willed, with her mind only consumed by one single thing;

Go-

She tore across the few feet with an insane amount of speed, her muscles burning and paws too against the rough ground. She darted forward with no hesitation, and kept pushing faster with her eyes locked to the Villain and nothing else, intent.

stop him-

Her body blurred in fractured black-red, teeth gritting and pushing hard against the ground as she jumped high into the air with only a foot left to go.

"Does anybody see-?!"

do that first and then-

She Shifted midair, her hand darting forward for the back of the Villain's head and the other snatching on to his wrist, wrenching his arm behind him. She collided with his back in her human form now, her weight dragging him down just as she had before- but this time she shoved his head forward as they fell, and his forehead rammed straight into the pavement with a meaty thump, and a yelp that cut off abruptly. Spirit wasted no time after that, already planting her feet down on the ground again, she jerked the Villain up off the ground by the back of his shirt and his arm, her red eyes narrowed and grimacing- her heart pounding in her ears and urgency racing through every inch of her.

"Neru, bind him!" She snapped out loud, and with no clue to where the man was, but she didn't care about that at all. She hoisted the Villain up off the ground only enough that wherever Neru was he had a good view of him- but she dropped the man not two seconds after doing so, and left him to either free fall, or to the mercy of Neru's 'Binding' Quirk. She did not wait to see if Neru did as she said, and she only faintly registered someone yelling something (but she didn't hear the words), she had already whipped about on her heel, her red eyes trained toward the sky and her heart sinking in the same instant.

From out of the dark plume of dust and debris something could be seen now, falling

She didn't even think about it, and she didn't hesitate, the yells and calls all around were muffled by the blood rushing in her ears. She jumped forward next, and with a speed almost unseen in the Ebony Hero. In the blink of an eye there was something black and fractured streaking through air toward a bundle of red and tan, set on a collision course with the Winged Hero quickly being dragged down toward the earth- and who was not at all trying to course correct or anything. He was at the mercy of gravity entirely, limp in air and speckles of crimson red glinting in the afternoon light above him.

She knew instantly what it had meant when that feather had fallen lifeless underneath her, and what she needed to do- her body was moving quicker than her mind did, but she still wasn't sure it was quick enough.

Go, stop him. Do that first and then move... He got hit, he had to have- that's why the feather dropped dead out of nowhere.

Her wings were burning from the fierceness of her flapping, climbing air much quicker than should have been possible and still gravity was just a few steps ahead- so she pushed harder, her heart beating loudly in her head.

Finish the Villain and go- he got hit, damn it...!

She saw the blood falling upward in air away from him, she saw the way his visor had cracked along it's length. She saw him motionless and completely unaware- knocked unconscious by what blast had caught him at the end when he had been high, high in the sky... and was now plummeting that distance downward, with not himself or anyone else to spare him the fall.

She knew it instantly, and her body reacted to it long before the thought ever fully formed;

You have to catch Hawks!

Against complete free fall and the sheer distance there had been from the start between herself and him- she was cutting it closer and closer with each millisecond and she hissed, mind racing, heart pounding. She couldn't afford to slip up, or be too slow, or miss- there wasn't anybody around here she knew of that could catch him, and she couldn't let him fall, not from this height.

With only a few feet left to go her body wavered in the midst of her flying at breakneck speed, Shifting halfway into her Human form while still keeping the wings attached to her back, her arms lunging forward toward the Winged Hero.

He dragged her down almost instantly, his dead weight a lot more than she anticipated and much more than she could maneuver with at that very moment. Her wings flapped like mad to try and right herself and keep from getting pulled downward- but to absolutely no avail, and she knew instantly she didn't have a chance (or the time) to regain any sort of steady flight. He was too heavy, her mad-dash to grab him hadn't given her a good enough handle on him and the (precarious) situation- it took too much just to get to him at all, and she couldn't keep a handle on him, flying, keeping up the Partial Shift, and correcting herself all at one time.

Her momentum was thrown completely out of order with the unusual Partial Shift midflight already, and she was rushing- but the complete blow to any semblance of balance or control once she actually grabbed a hold of Hawks?

She was not ready for it, at all

Spirit hissed, teeth gritting and small inklings of panic rushing through her when she realized she couldn't keep them both up- or even correct the sideways motion brought on from crashing into him. It was miracle enough she'd even gotten to him in time before he hit the ground, and that was all the miracle she seemed to be warranted just then.

Shit!

Spirit shut her eyes tight, hugging Hawks tightly to her body and her ghostly wings curling in around them both. She tensed, muscles locking and ready for the painful sensation of her body crashing against something solid and utterly unyielding.

The rest of the fall came and went in seconds, the sickening weightless sensation shattered as her body bounced painfully against the rocky, gravel-ridden rooftop of a building nearby. The breath was driven from her instantly, her wings vanishing in a rush of wispy black-red smoke as she lost all control on the Partial Shift- and the breath was driven from her twice over with Hawk's weight crashing on top of her too. The impact hurt like hell, and was followed with several sharp pricks of pain right off, and then quickly the pain worsened as she slid backwards through the gravel, her back and body wearing a trench into it... But even all the way through the impact and the motion, she never let go of Hawks. She held tighter to him, doing her best to keep from losing her grip or letting him get dragged through the gravel too, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and head.

They drew to a painful halt a few moments later, Spirit's teeth gritting against the pain and not daring to breath for a few seconds.

F...fuck... That... Really... Hurt...

She swallowed hard, coughing a few times and hissing halfway through it when doing so sent surges of pain like burns across her back... She had no way of seeing or being able to tell, but she could fairly well guess she'd gotten scraped up pretty badly on all the rocks. She didn't worry about it though, or even really give it much thought beside that either.

Spirit shook her head quickly to try and rid herself the faint haze over her thoughts from the impact, and immediately turned her attention to the more pressing concern at that moment. She grunted a bit, picking herself up and Hawks with her (seeing as he was pretty much on top of her) as she adjusted, one arm supporting Hawks' back and shoulders to keep him halfway sitting up in her lap (somewhat awkwardly, given his wings were a big, red, limp mess lying against the ground and her). Her red eyes flashed, grimacing to herself as her ears immediately trained to the sound of his breathing (which he definitely was), and then her free hand found his cheek, angling his face more toward her. Her stomach twisted slightly at the very large amount of blood caching his blonde hair near his left temple from a deep gash there, and probably having been put there by some amount of debris or explosive whatnot from the Villain's barrage. The blood was still oozing, albeit slowly- it had smeared all down the left side of his jaw and left a fairly large stain on his jacket and neck. His visor was shattered, though still on his face, but he couldn't possibly see through it anymore... Of course he'd actually have to be awake to do so.

She swallowed, her red eyes glittering like mad as she quickly looked over the head wound and the other little bumps and bruises dotting his person from the blast.

He was definitely out, like really out- she hadn't heard anything from him all through first catching him, and hitting the roof afterward. Even as she looked over the damage he didn't stir right off- the hit he'd taken to the head was substantial, so she wasn't all that surprised by it- but she was immediately wary of it.

Getting hit in the head was one thing, and bad enough- but getting completely knocked out?

She paused though before she finished the thought completely, instantly aware of the small little groan that rumbled in the back of Hawks' throat and the fluttering of his eyelids as his mind teetered slowly back toward the edge of wakefulness. He hissed lowly, his golden yellow eyes blurry and unfocused as he blinked several times over, and no amount of doing so seemed to help him all that much. His eyes moved slowly from the sky and over her face above him without really even registering her there at all or where they were- his hand lift slowly to probe at the gash on his temple uncertainly, his gloves smearing in red and pain rising under the touch, though he was sluggish to react or stop messing with it. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek at the action, her red eyes flashing.

"Hawks." She murmured quickly and the sound of her voice made him jump a little, those dazed eyes of his moving her way again, narrowing and confused still. Spirit's free hand moved quickly to grab his hand and cease his still sluggish probing at the injury and the blood, "Quit with that." She ordered softly, and he blinked slowly at it, his expression twisting slightly as his eyes wandered from her face and toward her hand on his, and she shook her head a bit. "Hawks, look at me." She ordered further, and he did as she asked, but only after a very pregnant pause where he seemed to have a hard time deciphering what she told him to do. And when at last his eyes did find hers again they were still dazed, like he was having a harder and harder time keeping them open, and she felt her stomach knot.

This is seriously not good... I gotta get him to an ambulance or something, he got hit really hard.

He's definitely got a concussion if nothing worse... Tch, crap...

"... S... Spirit...?" He asked, uncertainly and hushed and she nodded.

"Yeah" She murmured quickly, and he blinked again, before starting (quite fruitlessly) to sit up. She helped him only a little, her arm behind his shoulders and it being the only thing really keeping him up at all, and she shook her head at him curtly. "Stop, just sit still." She ordered and he stopped, but if he did so because he was obeying her, or because he hadn't the faculties to keep trying right then, she wasn't entirely sure.

"... Neru... mmm... Line... Eh... Ear..." Hawks mumbled, his voice dropping a bit as he slumped a little further into her hold and Spirit paused, confused for a few seconds... Before quickly realizing what he meant by the mostly nonsensical words.

Spirit grumbled to herself, her free hand releasing Hawks' hand at last and delicately pulling back some strands of bloodstained blonde hair from Hawks' ear- and the communication device he had there. She removed it from around his ear and quickly brought it up to her own, immediately aware of the low drone of noise coming from the speaker.

"-Mr. Hawks...?! Please, can you hear me..?! Anyone...?!" A slightly frantic voice came through (belonging to Neru she assumed).

"It's Animal Spirit-" She murmured quickly,

"-M-Ms. Animal Spirit, are you two okay...?!" Neru asked instantly, and nearly before she even finished her name. "Y-you both hit the top of that building really hard...! Is Hawks alright...?! I lost contact with him, is he-?!"

"I'm fine." Spirit cut him off quickly, "And Hawks is alive, but he got hit really hard. I think he's got a pretty bad concussion at the very least- he's not really all there at the moment." She explained quickly,

"O-oh..." Neru stammered nervously at the information, Spirit let out a low sigh.

"I'm going to take him to whatever ambulance or medic is nearest." She went on, "Did you restrain the Villain?" She asked quickly,

"Y-yes ma'am..! The Villain is detained and completely subdued now, he's fallen unconscious." Neru explained quickly,

"Good, then in the meantime focus on getting him to the police and wrapping everything up. I'll take care of Hawks for now." She murmured lowly,

"Understood...! Will you... Do you need help getting down from the building with Hawks..?"

"No, I got it. Focus on your own things for now... And let everyone else in the area know where I'm going, if you would."

"Yes, of course!"

Spirit pulled the communication device away from her ear and went to put it in her suit pocket, but her hand got stopped halfway through when Hawks' own raised to bump against it. Her eyes snapped toward him, his golden gaze halfway closed, dropping and fluttering open again on a constant loop still, and she grimaced at it.

"... Spirit... The... I... Hit... The... You... The... feather... Spirit..." He mumbled slowly, the words jerking and hard to form, with his hand falling quickly along with his eyes on every decibel, and she shook her head a bit.

"Quit trying to talk for right now." She grumbled, "Just be still for a bit, I'm gonna bring you to someone to get you looked at." She murmured, his eyes dropping all the way now and she felt him fall back into her hold a tad bit more, which made her stomach knot more than it already had.

Shit, shit, shit-

"Hey Feathers, you gotta stay awake for me in the meantime, okay?" Spirit grumbled, shifting a bit and pulling her feet underneath her all the way, while simultaneously doing her best to snake her arms further underneath him for a better hold. He groaned a bit as she moved him, his eyes still fluttering up and down as he fought to keep above the black waves, helped along only a little by her movement of herself and him. She got her feet underneath her all the way and forced herself into a stand, holding Hawks bridal style against her and her knees shaking with the initial effort of getting up all the way.

-bloody hell he is so much heavier than he looks... And his damn wings make holding him so fucking hard...!

"... Don't pass out on me Feathers." Spirit mumbled, her voice puffing and slightly breathless as she adjusted just a bit more, his head falling against her shoulder and grumbling again at the gash on his head bumping against her. She winced internally at it, but hopefully it would help keep him awake for just a bit longer- she really didn't need him clocking out again, not before she got him to someone who could really get a good look at him.

Spirit paused just a moment or so after standing all the way up, hazy black-red swirling into existence around her back and forming two large, ethereal wings. She grumbled a bit at the ache flaring to life all up her spine, and the stinging that came with it too. But she ignored it, her wings flapping and sending particles like black glass to shower below her with every stroke as she started off the roof and into the air with Hawks firmly in her hold.

"Stay awake Feathers, don't pass out... I need you to stay awake, alright? Stay awake, we'll be there soon, you'll get looked over, you'll be fine... It won't take too long to get there, and then they'll patch you up... Don't you dare fall asleep Feathers. I'll claw your pretty little face up to hell if you do... I should claw you already, for making me ride that damn feather like that... It was a bloody stupid idea but it worked..." She grumbled, but really more rambled, and she swallowed slightly, shaking her head.

"... Tch... Just... Stay awake Feathers... Just keep listening to me blabbering and don't fall asleep, we'll be there soon... just hang on a bit for me, alright...?"

.:+:.

"... Well, I don't see any fractures or cracks thankfully, but several of your ribs are definitely quite bruised." The EMT (a man with a thin face and silvery-violet eyes) murmured, pushing his glasses back up his nose after having pulled them down to take a look at her back and chest (via his Quirk... Some sort of X-Ray or Scan or something).

Spirit cast a glance over her shoulder toward him when he spoke up, his eyes catching hers and he smiled wearily.

"That's pretty lucky, considering how hard you two hit the roof, and how badly you got cut up with all the rocks." He told her lightly, "Well, let me finish cleaning these scrapes up and making sure there isn't anymore debris stuck in the wounds- and then you should be good to go, Animal Spirit." He announced levelly, and she nodded just once, looking forward again with a silent sigh.

... Lucky me...

"Alright, thank you." She replied quietly, and the EMT nodded to her thanks.

"Of course."

Spirit bit the inside of her cheeks as the EMT started in again on finishing his work, his hands gliding along the several deep and long scrapes running along the bare skin of her back, dark red, flesh torn, and with dried blood in several places still. He set to work cleaning and disinfecting them, and pulling out the last bits of rock that had dug into the skin in silence, and she stayed quiet too.

She had been right, the impact on the roof had left her with some pretty bad scrapes all up and down her shoulder blades and back- and they stung like hell for sure, but they didn't compare to the deep-rooted ache underneath in her muscles and bone (and very bruised ribs, apparently).

She supposed she probably was lucky not to have gotten hurt any worse than this after having dead-dropped in air like that- but she didn't really like the word 'lucky' for how she was feeling at that moment.

She sighed internally and tossed the thoughts away, her attention moving right as she leaned forward a bit in her seat on the back of the ambulance, and instead settled her eyes on another ambulance several feet away... And the several vermilion feathers that were moving slowly through air, converging in on that ambulance from directions scattered all around the area.

The feathers were reattaching themselves into Hawks' wings, the Winged Hero sitting crosslegged on top of a gurney, slouching slightly with his hands on his knees. He looked much better from what Spirit could see, a lot of the blood wiped away now and the gash on his head stitched up, and covered by a bandage. His back was mostly facing Spirit as she looked over, and he was instead facing another EMT standing in front of him- that EMT looking exasperated as she faced the Winged Hero and he smiled tiredly at her- but smiled nonetheless.

"I really do feel okay now." Hawks hummed lightly, "I was out of it for a bit, but I'm not having trouble focusing now, see?" He murmured, gesturing to the feathers coming back to him and the EMT paused.

"... That's good, but you really shouldn't be so lax Mr. Hawks." She mumbled in reply, "You've got a grade 2 concussion, and you've been hardly responsive for the last 25 minutes before now... Are you sure you're not feeling nauseous at all, or dizzy?" She asked and Hawks shook his head just once.

"Nope, no complaints on those ends." He replied lightly,

"Do you remember what happened after you got hit?" The EMT Lady asked next and Hawks paused for a minute or two, looking pensive, before smiling warily.

"Mmmm... No not really." He shrugged, and the woman frowned at the answer, though it was not a surprise.

"You should come to the hospital to have a more thorough look over, and you should be kept under observation for tonight at the very least." The EMT told him, but Hawks shook his head.

"You said it was just a concussion, right? And not anything worse than that?" Hawks cut her off and she paused.

"... Well no, Hiroko didn't see any inter-cranial bleeds when he scanned you with his Quirk-" she started,

"Well then, if that's the case there isn't any reason for me to go to the hospital." Hawks hummed, "You fixed up this thing on my head already, and the rest of me is fine. I don't need a whole once-over, it's just bumps and bruises outside of my head, and I've dealt with plenty of concussions before, so I'll be good."

Spirit huffed under her breath, her red eyes flashing in agitation to his words.

As the EMT lady had said, up until about ten minutes ago Hawks had been very out of it and no one could hardly get two words out of him if they asked a question. He'd remained dazed, and slow, and unable to focus for those 25 minutes after Spirit had first gotten them there, and remained that way all through the EMT's doing their work with the wound on his head and making sure he wasn't bleeding internally. Only ten minutes ago had his mind started to clear enough for him to actually follow a line of questions and answer correctly... And yes, now he did seem sort of 'okay', and had turned his attention to recollecting all the feathers he'd lost in the fiasco- but he was not okay. And him being all lax and easy-going about the fact that he had a serious concussion was incredibly irritating to both Spirit, and the EMT Lady.

Dumbass... He doesn't even remember anything that happened after getting hit with that blast- he does know how not okay that is, right?

Or did his brain get scrambled too much?

"But-" the EMT Lady started, but Hawks shook his head again.

"Look, I know I'm gonna have to take it easy for the next week and lay off the Hero work, yeah? That's fine, and I promise that I won't do anything crazy in the meantime- but I'd rather just go back to my own place to relax, instead of head to the hospital." He told her, "I am supposed to relax, right? It'll be much easier to do that in my own space, than being cooped up in a hospital room."

"... I still don't-"

Spirit didn't hear the next bit of argument from the EMT Lady, her attention on her and Hawks was shattered when someone came up to the ambulance on her left, breathless and looking very unsettled. She blinked, her eyes finding the slightly familiar figure of Hawks' sidekick from the other night with Tsukuyomi- 'Rope-Guy', as she had referred to him then, before finding out today what his real name was.

"Neru." Spirit murmured, the man jumping slightly at being addressed by her and his eyes snapping quickly away from Hawks and the other EMT several feet away. "How did everything go?" Spirit asked him coolly, and he wrung his hands together.

"O-oh, the police have the Villain in custody now, and the other Pros have managed to evacuate the last few people... They'll start cleanup soon I think..." Neru told her quickly, and Spirit nodded in understanding. "Are you okay, Animal Spirit...?" He asked tentatively, his eyes darting to the EMT finishing the last of his work on her back. Spirit nodded, letting out a small sigh.

"Yeah I'm fine, just a little scraped up." She murmured,

"I see, and Mr. Hawks...?" Neru mumbled, his eyes trailing from Spirit again and toward the Winged Hero (who was still arguing back and forth with a quickly more annoyed EMT).

"... He's got a grade 2 concussion, and a nasty gash on his head- but other than that, no injuries that are any worse." Spirit mumbled with a slightly agitated sigh. "... He's pretty adamant on not going to the hospital though... He says he's 'fine' and will have a better time relaxing if he doesn't get stuck in a hospital room..." She grumbled, and Neru frowned slightly at it.

"... They seem to be arguing back and forth quite a bit..." Neru commented as he looked at Hawks and the EMT Lady.

"... He really should go to the hospital." The EMT working on Spirit's back murmured, butting into the conversation suddenly. "Even if I didn't see any internal bleeding with my Quirk, it would be better for him to be kept under observation, just in case." He pointed out, and Spirit grumbled a bit under her breath.

"I know... But he seems to think he'll be fine..." Spirit grumbled in reply to the EMT, who frowned a bit but little else, and she looked away again. "... He said he's had concussions before, so he knows what not to do, and whatever... So he doesn't see a need to go..." Spirit muttered further, and Neru sweatdropped at it.

"... If Mr. Hawks has made up his mind about not going, he's not gonna be convinced otherwise..." Neru inputted quietly, and Spirit and the EMT both grimaced at the words, though Spirit did not look at all surprised with the words.

"... Hmm... Well, he really shouldn't be anywhere on his own for the rest of the day, if he really won't be convinced to go to the hospital." The EMT murmured, stepping back from Spirit and finishing finally. "Someone should be around to monitor him in case he develops any worse symptoms later in the day, and can take him to the hospital or call and ambulance if he does... You're his Sidekick right?" The EMT murmured, glancing toward Neru.

"Yeah."

"I don't suppose if you know if Hawks lives with anyone?" The EMT asked, "Someone that can stay with him for the rest of the day?"

"Oh, no I don't think so... I'm pretty sure he lives alone..." Neru mumbled quickly,

"Alright, then would it be possible for you or someone else at your Agency to monitor him instead?"

"Ah, well... Kiko switched over to the Ingenium Agency a few days ago, so I'm the only Sidekick at Hawks' Agency right now, and the only other person in the Agency besides Hawks himself, actually... But I've got an Inner City Development Conference I'm required to attend later today, so I won't be able to stay with him all night..." Neru explained uncertainly, "I could watch him in the meantime, but I can't skip the Conference... I can ask Mr. Hawks if he has anyone that he knows that'll be able to stop by while I'm out, I guess..." Neru trailed off slightly and seemingly going into thought, while Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes flashing.

"You should coordinate it with him then." The EMT murmured, "The only way Asuna is gonna let him leave is if he'll have someone to watch him." He said with a wave of his hand toward the EMT Lady.

"R-right... We'll figure something out..." Neru murmured, and the EMT nodded to him.

"I am done, Animal Spirit." The EMT said next, changing the subject slightly and Spirit shifted, pushing herself back on to her feet and turning toward him.

"Thank you for your help." She thanked him again and he smiled,

"My pleasure." He hummed, before breaking off from her and heading toward where the EMT Lady and Hawks were, and leaving Spirit and Neru behind for a moment. Spirit glanced Neru's way, her hands falling on her hips as she let out one long, low sigh at the way he was muttering under his breath, thinking. She pulled her phone from her suit pocket long enough to check the time, and grimaced at the numbers reading '2:02pm'

"... Neru." Spirit said at length and he jumped,

"Y-Yes...?"

"What time is your Conference at?" Spirit asked and he hesitated for a second or two, a little unsure of the question...?

"Uhm... 5pm..." He mumbled and Spirit nodded,

"... Alright." She mumbled, her eyes trailing from him and toward the group of EMT's and Hawks.

... This whole thing turned into such a mess...

... I was supposed to be asleep in bed two hours ago... And I'm not gonna get much sleep now... Not if I... ugh...

... Hell, why am I even considering it at all...?

... Because I'm an idiot...?

... Because I'm 'too nice for my own good'...? That's what he said...

... Ugh... Why am I like this...?

... I'll have to call in... And come up with an excuse...

Her eyes dropped closed as she grumbled a bit under her breath, shaking her head at herself once or twice.

... Hell, I am an idiot...

... and I guess... I'm kind of invested at this point anyway... after all of it... but still...

... I'm gonna hate myself, aren't I...?

... probably... but whatever...

"... I can keep an eye on Hawks for the rest of the day." Spirit announced quietly and Neru's eyes went wide at the words. "If you can give me an hour to go home and settle some things, I can meet you and Hawks back at your Agency Building afterwards- and then you can go and get ready or whatever before heading to that Conference." She murmured, her red eyes moving back toward Neru, steady and calm. "I'll keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get any worse, or take him to the hospital if it comes to that. You don't need to worry about looking after him in the meantime, or finding someone else to do it." She mumbled and Neru blinked several times over, somewhat stunned. He stood there slightly slack-jawed for a few seconds, just staring, and Spirit's face fell slightly at the look- and he noticed it, snapping to his senses and jumping slightly.

"O-oh, really...?!" He stammered quickly, "Y-you don't have anything else to do...? You'd be okay with giving up the rest of your entire day...?" He asked quickly, and Spirit let out a silent breath.

"... Yeah, it's fine... My whole schedule got thrown off already when I got called in to handle this, so veering even further from my routine isn't gonna make a difference." Spirit mumbled, "... Besides, I'm sort of invested at this point... And it'll just be easier this way, yeah? You can go to your conference without having to worry about anything." She murmured and Neru smiled faintly,

"I-I really appreciate you offering, Animal Spirit... It does make things easier, thank you." He hummed, and she nodded once in response. "I suppose we ought to make sure Mr. Hawks is okay with that plan..." He murmured with a glance toward the Winged Hero, and Spirit sighed.

"... I really doubt he'll have an issue with it... And if he does, he'll just have to suck it up." Spirit grumbled and Neru blinked at the answer, smiling uncertainly for a moment though Spirit never saw it. She was already moving in a direct line toward where Hawks was still trying to talk down the EMT Lady, and now the EMT that had been working on Spirit a bit before too, Neru following quickly after her though a tad slower.

"... Even still...!" The EMT Lady huffed hotly, and Hawks smiled wearily at it- but their argument cut off when the EMT's took note of Animal Spirit coming up behind Hawks, and the Winged Hero paused too for their reactions. He didn't know who it was suddenly behind him, only that there was someone- and Spirit didn't give him a chance to turn his head and look before she stepped up to his side, the back of her hand swatting gently against his shoulder in a half-hit.

"Oi, quit making things so damn difficult." Spirit huffed, Hawks glancing up to meet her red eyes in surprise, before he smiled slightly her way.

"Ah, hello there Sunshine~! I didn't realize you were still around." He told her brightly and Spirit blinked, her eyes narrowing to slits for half a second, before shaking her head a bit.

"Look, Neru's gonna take you back to your Agency, alright? He'll stay with you there for a bit while I head home and settle a few things, and then I'll head over to keep an eye on you for the rest of the day instead." Spirit told Hawks simply, his smile fading a bit in shock as his eyes went wide at her words. "They're right that you should go to the hospital, but if you're so set on not doing that, then you'll have to deal with being watched for the rest of the day." Spirit grumbled, her hand gesturing toward the EMT's, Hawks' surprise and shock melting away quickly until he was just listening quietly, his expression neutral as can be. "There is no way in hell you're gonna be left on your own with a grade 2 concussion. You need someone to keep an eye on you in case you start getting worse, got it? Neru's got a conference to get to later, so you're gonna have to settle with me watching you for the rest of the day, since you're being so difficult about it." She murmured flatly, and Hawks paused a moment, his eyes softening slightly as the corners of his lips pulled up in a faint smile for just a second, and then he nodded slowly.

"... Yeah I got it. That all sounds fine with me." He told her lightly, his words having Neru and the EMT's looking relieved with his agreement to the plan- but Spirit faltered for a second in slight surprise. It felt like he agreed too easily... like almost way too easily.

... He's just... Agreeing...

... Without any of the usual flourish, or carefree attitude... Not even a little bit of it...

Spirit's eyes flashed, biting the inside of her cheek as she nodded stiffly at him and nothing else.

"Alright, I can live with that idea, as long as you aren't all by yourself." The EMT Lady sighed, her eyes moving toward Neru and Animal Spirit both, and taking over the conversation now. "You both know what signs to look out for, right? That indicate something is wrong or the concussion is progressing?" She asked of them both, and both Pros nodded. "Good, then as I said- no Hero work for the next week, and limit your activities in the meantime- but today especially! You need to rest and relax as much as you can, no strenuous activity or prolonged time on electronic devices. You can sleep tonight, but if you start feeling overly tired, dizzy, or nauseous, you need to come to the hospital right away." The woman said, turning to Hawks again and the Winged Hero nodded.

"Yes ma'am." He hummed lightly, his hand raising in a little salute and the woman just seemed to sigh internally at it. Spirit herself shook her head once at the gesture, but she ignored it and caught Neru's eye from the side.

"I'm gonna head out now and go home to settle some things, after that I'll meet you guys at your Agency. I should be there in an hour or less." Spirit told him coolly and he nodded in understanding,

"Alright, and thank you again." He murmured,

"Yeah, thank you kindly for volunteering yourself, Spirit~" Hawks butted in lightly, and Spirit just nodded once.

"Yeah." She replied quietly, her hands falling on her hips and red eyes glinting in the sunlight as she gave the Winged Hero a slightly pointed look nect. "Oh, and just to make it clear- you and Neru are taking a cab back to your Agency, got it? No flying." She huffed and Hawks smiled wearily,

"Got it." He mumbled softly, and Spirit nodded one last time.

Her body swept up in a fractured black-red haze, her stature shrinking down quickly as she Shifted into an eagle and fluffed out her wings, her talons scraping on the cement. She gave the lot of them one last look, before starting up into the air and climbing higher into the blue sky, her figure blurring into nothing but a black dot soon after.

The rest of today is gonna be a real trip, isn't it...?

... Oi...

... Why do I do this to myself...?

.:+:.

"Yeah, I'm sorry this is so last minute Jeriko..."

"Definitely! You usually give me way more notice than this...! The last few times now have been really short notice ya know, Kage..!"

"I know, I'm sorry about that, but it really just came up..."

"It's fine, more time for me is more pay! It's the boss that's gonna be peeved having to pay me overtime, hehe~!"

"... I know..."

"Anyway, I've got your shift covered Kage! What's got you so wrapped up all the sudden anyway? You 'sick' again?"

"No, I'm not sick I just, ah... I got roped into bird-sitting for someone, really last minute... Uhm, their plans changed really quickly, so..."

"Bird-sitting...? Well that's an excuse I haven't heard before, hehe...!"

'Bird-sitting'...? Really Spirit...?

Fuck... how could that have been the best lie I could come up with...?

... I'm a fucking idiot...

... Though I guess... It's sort of accurate, in a way...?

...Oi...

.:+:.

"Hmm...?"

Spirit stopped in the center of the lobby, people moving back and forth on a repeat just like the last time she was here- still moving in furniture, setting things up, remodeling, what have you. They were buzzing back and forth, all of them with ever something more to do and to get done as the main floor was slowly put together... And the upper floors too, from the amount of moving crews that were stuffing furniture and big boxes into the elevators without end.

She caught a few looks and curious gazes from the lot of them upon entering the threshold- half because she was Animal Spirit, and the other half being she was rather dressed down. She'd abandoned her Hero Uniform after getting home and opted for a pair of black jeans, a slightly loose crimson sleeveless tank that tied around her neck and left the back open. She'd paired it with black slip on shoes, and a slightly oversized dark grey jacket with wide-bottomed sleeves, and the back of which reached to about mid-thigh... The jacket of which she only just finished putting on after having landed in front of the building from the flight over (and subsequently winced under her breath, when adjusting to thread her arms through the sleeves caused a dull ache to spring anew in her chest, and her back... Fucking bruised ribs and stupid scraped up back, tch...).

She halted soon after getting the jacket all the way on though, and was about to begin adjusting her bag onto her back when she caught sight of Hawks and Neru quickly making their way toward her from the left.

"... Hello Sunshine~!" Hawks called, smiling as usual, though it was lacking much more of the brightness than he usually sported... His tone of voice was much more lackluster too, though he seemed to be trying not to let it show. Spirit blinked, her eyes narrowing first at the greeting, and then at the fact that he was still wearing his Hero Uniform.

You know, the one with his blood staining the collar and shoulder. He didn't seem to have even attempted changing, even though it had been near an hour already after all the chaos.

Her face fell slightly at it, though Hawks didn't seem to notice it at all, that small (not so bright as it should be) smile of his just stayed as it was, and he stopped in front of her with Neru close behind. "Ah, I see you changed huh? Did you handle everything you needed to?" Hawks asked lightly and Spirit grumbled a bit under her breath.

"Yeah." She responded flatly the the second question, her arms crossing over her chest as she gave him a pointed look. "But I see you haven't changed. You know you look like a mess, right?" She grumbled lowly and his smile faded just a touch this time, and he let out a small breath.

"Yeah, but I didn't see a point in changing clothes just yet. I'd rather do that when we get back to my place." He explained lightly and Spirit's eyes narrowed further.

"What do you mean, 'your place'?" She asked slowly,

"Well, with all the renovations and stuff going on here, I figured I'd have an easier time relaxing by getting away from it all." He hummed. "So I figured we'd spend the rest of the day back at my apartment instead, it'll be less noisy, and less crowded." He explained, and Spirit bit the inside of her cheek a little, his golden eyes glinting as he tilted his head slightly at her. "... Does that sound okay with you, Spirit?" He asked and she paused.

She had no real want to go to his home- she didn't like the idea, and she was instantly wary of it because... Well it was sort of a little too personal, and familiar.

People don't go to each other's houses on a whim, or just randomly- she herself would never just invite someone over to her own home so quickly. In fact she made a point to never let anyone know where she lived... It was a private thing, and she didn't want to worry about other people knowing where she lived and let herself unwind a little. And actually, she couldn't imagine many Pros liked sharing where they lived with other people (even other Pros), for privacy's sake (and precaution too)- so him just deciding to bring her to his home was somewhat jarring. And worse still, it was leaning dangerously close to crossing a line she didn't really want to cross- that line between professional acquaintances and something else, and more... Personal.

No, she didn't really want to go... But hell.

She bit the inside of both cheeks, her eyes breaking away from Hawks for half a second as she glanced around at the buzz, and the motion of all the people, and the work. They all kept on doing their jobs without really paying attention to the Pros standing in the center of it all, invested in their tasks and the air laced with footsteps, and voices, and heavy objects rolling and thudding and clacking into place. There was never an instant of silence even as they talked, the drone was endless, and spattered with moments of sound that was a little too loud, and she sighed internally. Her eyes slowly trailed away from all the commotion and back toward the Winged Hero who was awaiting her reply, his smile still there, but suddenly all the more subdued, just for a split second.

"... That's fine." Spirit replied quietly, and his eyes gleamed at the answer. She adjusted her bag to hang on her shoulder, and then moved her hands into her jacket pockets, before she looked from Hawks and toward Neru. "Thanks for giving me time to handle everything, but you can head off to get ready for your Conference now." She told the Sidekick and he smiled at her, nodding quickly.

"Of course, thank you so much for helping out...!" He hummed, and Spirit dipped her head slightly.

"... You're welcome."

"Well then I am off...! Please do take it easy for the rest of the day, Mr. Hawks...!" Neru told the Winged Hero quickly, and Hawks gave him a thumbs up.

"Will do, you have fun at that conference, yeah~?" Hawks replied lightly,

"I'll do my best...!" Neru murmured, Spirit blinked slowly at it.

... having 'fun' at any sort of conference seems unlikely... But whatever, maybe he'll enjoy it...

Hawks and Spirit were left waving a bit to Neru as he headed off quickly toward the front doors, the Sidekick soon out of sight and Spirit's eyes shifting back toward Hawks again.

"So, should I call a cab then?" She asked evenly, and he shook his head.

"Nah, I already have one waiting out back for us." He hummed, waving his hand in the direction of the front counter and the hallway behind it. "If you'll follow me this way, milady~" He smirked slightly and Spirit shook her head at it, sighing.

"You're an idiot... but whatever- lead on, Feathers."

The car ride to Hawks' apartment was incredibly quiet, especially for what amount of idle chatter Hawks was so prone to falling into. But they got in the cab and they stayed mostly quiet all the way through, each of them looking out the window closest to them and content that way. What little Hawks did try and strike up a conversation was limited to asking her if she'd gotten a chance to follow up in the whole Villain thing earlier- which was a no, considering she'd left without ever actually talking to the police or anything... Which inevitably reminded her that she had all that paperwork, and followup reports to fill out later, because she didn't do it on sight like usual.

...Ugh...

Anyway- she countered his question with her own and he smiled slightly, shrugging. "No, I didn't do any followup or anything either- all I know is what Neru told me." Hawks murmured, "Apparently you knocked the Villain dude out pretty hard, so even when Neru restrained him it didn't make much of a difference. He stayed conked out all through handing him over to the police and everything... and from what Neru said they still don't really know what brought on all the craziness, but I'm sure they'll announce something once they know more." He told her, and Spirit nodded slightly in understanding.

"Alright." She murmured, her eyes trailing back toward the window for a moment.

"Oh, I suppose I probably ought to say thank you, huh?" Hawks murmured suddenly and she blinked, looking back his way quickly, eyes narrowing in question.

"Hmm?"

"You caught me right?" He smiled, "Neru mentioned it, that you'd knocked the guy out and then immediately came to my rescue~! Falling from the height I was at would have been super bad...! So thank you very much for being so quick to catch me, Spirit~" he hummed brightly, and she blinked slowly. "Aaaaand, thank you for volunteering to hang with me for the rest of the day too...! I appreciate it, it's super of nice of you to give up the rest of your day to keep an eye on me, just in case of anything~!" He smiled softly and she nodded slowly,

"... Yeah." She mumbled softly, looking away again and he blinked, his smile fading for a moment at the reply, his head tilting.

"... Are you okay, Spirit?" He asked quietly and she stiffened, her eyes shifting toward him again and quirking a brow.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She mumbled, and he shrugged, smiling faintly again.

"Just wondering."

'Just wondering'...?

Why the hell is he asking if I'm okay ...?

He's the one with the concussion... And who almost fell to his death two hours ago...

She didn't press it, and he didn't keep talking either, things just faded to silence again.

Soon enough the cab rolled to a stop inside a covered, somewhat closed off driveway attached to a very, very large (and quite expensive looking) building. Hawks lead the way out of the cab with Spirit trailing behind slowly (and a bit awkwardly when getting up made her chest ache halfway through).

The building was clean and tall, with well polished trim on the front doors leading to a similarly (though small) lobby on the main floor, and no one in sight. Hawks didn't hesitate near at all as he thanked the cab driver and then headed toward the doors, Spirit quick to follow behind him and glancing upward through the glass roof of the driveway, her gaze trailing up the building reaching far up overhead.

... This is... Nice...

... Though my standards are low, I suppose...

She stayed close to him as they went in and crossed the lobby, still seeing no one out and about, and the door to an office attached to it closed (though the light on through the frosted window told that there was someone inside of it). Hawks went straight toward the four elevators at the other end of the lobby and pressed the button, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets and casting her a weary smile from the side.

"Ya know, I think I've only ever taken the elevator up like, maybe once." He commented lightly and she blinked, "Usually I just come in from the balcony, hehe..." He chuckled and she shook her head a little.

"... Why am I not surprised..." She muttered dryly and he smiled a bit more at it, but didn't continue the point. Instead he let his eyes drop closed as he rolled his shoulders a bit, sighing to himself and she heard them pop a little with the movement.

The elevator dinged as the car settled on their floor and they stepped inside, Spirit off to Hawks' left and in the corner slightly as he clicked the button for his floor- the top floor, specifically.

... Of course he lives on the top floor...

The ride up was short and sweet even for the height it had to climb, and when they stepped out of the elevator into the hallway, she found it was a short hallway- and one with only one door at one end, and what looked like a staircase at the other. Hawks headed toward the door right off and she followed, though a little warily now as her eyes narrowed at the lack of hallways and subsections.

... Don't tell me...

... Does his apartment... Take up the whole top floor of this building...?

No way, right...?

She glanced toward him, red eyes flashing and grimacing to herself as he settled his hand on the doorknob and turned to give her a smile.

"Well, welcome to my place~!" He chirped, turning the knob (wait, he didn't even lock his door?!) and pushing the door open, stepping to the side a bit to usher her in ahead of him.

Spirit started forward after a moment of hesitation, her eyes narrowed and warier still as she slowly headed in as he beckoned, and she quickly stepped to the side of the doorway after entering the threshold into the genkan. She stopped dead upon doing so, her eyes darting quickly passed (the quite spacious and neatly kept genkan) and toward the living room it spilled into... The living room with a long, several sectioned couch that bent at a 90 degree angle on two ends to form a sort of 'U' shape, with a huge coffee table in the center of it, and a wall of bookshelves filled with... Well, a lot. Normal stuff, books and CDs and other things like that, a stereo system (and a huge tv on the wall too)- but there were weird things too, decorative, knick-knacky- you name it.

But the point was they were filled to the brim- even Sasaki hadn't had that much stuff when Spirit was at her place... Though Sasaki's apartment couldn't even begin to compare with this, in any regard.

There were pillows littered all over the 'U' couch and on the floors around it, and the coffee table- and blankets draped over the backs of the couch sections (for those that had backs anyway, some were just big, flat, square cushions). The coffee table itself had a few things stacked on its center too, and the end-tables on both ends of the couch had things themselves- a lamp on each mostly, but other things as well.

The living room dumped out into a similarly large kitchen/dining area mixed into one, with a whole curving bar on the edges of a fully furnished kitchen (which was slightly more bare in terms of items scattered on table surfaces... Though there was still stuff). The dining room had a table that seated more people than was likely reasonable, and it pressed up against a whole wall made of glass windows- which had an attached balcony door that stretched from both the dining area, and slightly into the living room... She couldn't see much of the balcony outside from where she was, but it seemed to span the whole length of that side of the building. And each section of glass had it's own section of drapes, though all of them were open to let the light flood in.

Then off to the right was a long hallway with several doors- several rooms and bedrooms she had to guess (or lots of storage space?), but the doors were all shut, or mostly, so she hadn't any real clue what was that way- not that she gave it much thought right then.

The very first thing that crossed her mind was that she could have fit her entire apartment into this section of Hawks' own home, twice.

And this was only one portion of the whole- holy hell, this place is massive...!

She swallowed slightly, biting the inside of her cheek and her red eyes flashing.

The second thought that crossed her mind was that he had so much stuff.

Everywhere.

It wasn't messy by any means, in fact it was in some ways quite tidy and neat... but it was crowded with all the stuff so it felt a little off- but mostly?

Who even owns this much stuff? Like really?

Why?

What the hell-

Hawks stepped in after her and closed the door, smiling faintly at the way she looked everything over in rapidity. He hummed under his breath and slipped his boots off while she stood there slightly stunned, and had already shrugged his jacket off too before she realized what he was doing and looked over at him finally... And also realized she had been openly staring at everything, which was not all that polite.

"Like I said, welcome." He smiled, stepping up out of the genkan and draping his jacket over his arm, "Please make yourself at home, and forgive me if it's a tad messy- I don't usually have anyone over, hehe~" He chuckled lightly and she blinked, looking slowly from him and back toward the rest of the apartment.

"... you live here, by yourself...?" She mumbled slowly,

"Yep." He murmured, "Why? Wondering if I have a significant other hiding somewhere?" He smirked slightly, though what he was hinting at went completely over her head, and she just shook her head slowly.

"... it's just... big." She mumbled quietly and he paused, his head tilting and musing in a way.

"Hmm? Is it?" He murmured aloud, "I suppose it's bigger than most apartments probably are... though it can't be that much bigger than where you live, yeah?" He asked and Spirit bit the inside of her cheek.

"... much." Was the one word reply she gave, and he looked slightly more surprised at it, but let it go.

"Hmm, well anyway...!" He murmured, changing the subject and heading in a bit further (whilst Spirit stayed glued to her spot). "Since we're gonna have the rest of the day to ourselves, is there anything you wanna do in the meantime?" He asked lightly, shaking his wings out a bit as he walked. A large amount of the feathers in his wings detached as he did, and then started to float lazily away toward one of the rooms to the left and through the halfway ajar door. His wings thinned so much with it, they cut down to little but downy feathers and the under-layer of longer primaries- they weren't big enough to have supported him in flying at all, but they were small enough they didn't drag on the floor if he let them sink a bit. Spirit found herself watching the feathers move away for a few seconds though, intrigued with it and wondering why...?

... maybe it's more... comfortable...?

"-We could watch a movie, listen to music, whatever ya like." Hawks kept on, oblivious to her watching the migration of feathers. He turned to glance back her way and she diverted her attention quickly, "Anything sound interesting to you?" He asked lightly and Spirit paused a moment, quiet.

"... it doesn't really matter much to me." She murmured, "You're really not supposed to stare at screens too much with a concussion, so a movie isn't a great idea." She pointed out quietly and he nodded,

"Ah, right..." He murmured, his attention diverting from her for a few moments and finding the door his feathers had all gone off too, before he looked her way again and smiled faintly. "... you can come in, Spirit." He pointed out lightly and she stiffened at it, grumbling under her breath and her eyes dropping from him altogether. She quickly slipped her shoes off and set her bag down on the bench off to the side, before stepping tentatively onto the hardwood floors, and hating the somewhat amused look on his face, and her own hesitation. But that amusement was gone from Hawks' face quick enough, and he tilted his head toward the living room, "Well, I suppose we'll have to settle with music then, hmm? Any preference on what type?" He asked and she shook her head, "Cool, then I'll just put something on real quick, and then I am gonna get changed and wash up a bit..." He told her coolly, diverting his attention from her long enough to flip the stereo on the bookshelf on, and cycle through to some playlist or other. The music came on as a low drone and he made no move to turn it up any louder- which didn't bother her, but she did notice it.

"... there we go. In the meantime help yourself to whatever you want in the kitchen, and settle in. I'll be just in here-" Hawks told her lightly, stepping away toward the the halfway open door his feathers had gone through, and gesturing in the room. "-if you need anything while I'm getting cleaned up, feel free to come in and ask. I'm not shy." He smirked slightly, and Spirit huffed a bit at it.

"... don't press your luck, Feathers." She grumbled lowly and he laughed just once, about to head in but she stopped him just before he did. "-You should avoid taking a bath, or spending a long time with the water too hot." She told him quickly and he blinked,

"Hmm? Whatever for?" He asked, and she sighed.

"Because, if you're sitting soaking in hot water too long you might pass out and not realize you're about to." She grumbled dryly, "I know a hot shower is probably tempting right now, but you shouldn't press it. If you start getting dizzy or anything, quit and get out, alright?" She mumbled and he smiled lazily.

"While I appreciate the concern, I do feel fine ya know." He replied easily, but she shook her head sharply.

"I don't care if you 'feel fine' or not." She huffed, "Do as I say, alright Feathers? I'm not having you pass out in the shower, or the bath, or whatever- because I will not go in and get you out if you do." She muttered hotly and he smiled wryly at the words,

"Heh, point taken..." He murmured, though internally he figured even though she said she wouldn't come to his aid if he were to pass out- she probably would. If her coming to catch him earlier was any indication of her willingness to help when needed, he figured she'd do it anyway, and even if it meant a potentially awkward situation (which is mostly why he was sure she was being so stubborn about it). But he kept the thought to himself and simply conceded, shrugging his shoulders slightly with a nod to her. "... I suppose I'll just have to enjoy a nice, short, lukewarm shower..." He hummed, stepping into the door with a wave over his shoulder toward her. "... I'll be out in a bit, Spirit." He told her and she stayed quiet as he disappeared from view, and he door shut only enough to lean against the frame, but not latch. A few moments later she heard the drone of water start up, and she let her eyes wander from the door and to her surroundings uncertainly.

She didn't move an inch for a very long time, she didn't exactly feel comfortable with doing so- it would basically be like prancing around his home with no right to, and when he wasn't around to monitor her. Even despite his instructions to settle in and to do as she may, she still stayed stuck where she was, grimacing at the idea of going anywhere or doing anything at all... It'd feel a lot like snooping, and she didn't make a habit of invading other people's space- even Hawks'.

But she knew well it wouldn't do for him to finish his shower and find her standing where he had left her, she'd stood around too much upon first coming in and he'd pointed it out. She didn't want a repeat of it, so she knew she had to move eventually... but starting was harder than she expected, and she found herself lost on just what to do with herself.

She started forward with the intention of sitting on the couch and staying there, but only ever took two steps before halting again, and casting an unsure glance to the room Hawks had gone into.

... tch... This is ridiculous...

She sighed in aggravation to herself and started toward the door quickly and quietly, biting the insides of her cheeks as she cautiously pushed the door open to peer inside (now most definitely feeling like she was snooping). She paused in the halfway open door, her eyes darting quickly in a survey of the room and finding a huge bed shaped like a circle pressed against the wall directly to her right, with two nightstands wedged perfectly between the curve of the mattress and the wall. The bed was so big the diameter of it must have been 6-7 ft across, and it didn't even take up half the room- and like the couches in the living room, the bed was drowning in an insane amount of pillows.

To the left there was two doors, one of which she assumed headed into the bathroom, and the opposite wall from her was again filled with glass windows and dumped out onto another balcony- though most of the drapes were pulled across them at the moment. Along the spare space of walls were more bookshelves, and dressers, and whatever, filled with another round of so much stuff- and this room had a stereo and tv of it's own, though smaller than the living room. And there was a set of chairs and a table pushed into the corner, and the other corner was filled with even more pillows... And big pile of vermilion feathers.

... So he just... Dropped them there...?

She stepped inside slowly, casting a wary look at the feathers in the corner as she did- but they were lifeless and didn't stir even a little, so she figured Hawks wasn't paying them any mind. She moved up to the bathroom door and stopped for a moment outside of it, listening to the sound of water dropping for a few seconds, just to make sure she didn't hear anything that would be cause for worry... And upon hearing nothing of the sort, she stepped back again with a sigh.

Hawks was acting off, which wasn't much a surprise given what happened. He'd been less vocal, and cheery, and overall less like the incessantly bright, charismatic (and annoying) Hawks she had come to be used to- and no, it wasn't super noticeable or anything. He was still being friendly, and laid back, and making jokes here and there like normal, but it was subdued and she could tell... Even him suggesting that they both spend the rest of the day here had been a big clue to how he was actually feeling, and then confirmed a bit more on the way over, and the extreme lack of conversation the whole way here. Even the fact that he'd turned on the stereo but kept the music to nothing but an indistinct drone had her thinking that he wasn't very keen on large amounts of noise right now either- he'd been talking rather quietly himself, and he'd probably wanted to get away from his Agency building mostly because of how noisy it had been there.

He'd been doing his best to act normal though, even to the point at times his smiles seemed a little too strained- but those moments were all so fleeting even she hardly noticed them. Generally he had been doing a pretty good job at acting mostly normal, and she figured he could probably pass at the whole 'I'm fine' with just about anyone... Well, anybody except her perhaps.

... I've gotten so used to him I can just... Tell ...

She shook her head a little and let out another sigh, intent on heading out of the room again, only to halt before ever moving when her eyes catching something orange and blue sitting on the bottom shelf of the bookcase next to the second (closet) door. And then she was moving toward it without even thinking about it, dropping down into a crouch on the balls of her feet and head tilting as she nudged a small stack of books out of the way and found... a toy..?

She blinked, reaching for the stuffed toy slowly and pulling it up in front of her curiously, her eyes matching with the blue ones of the stuffed likeness of Endeavor.

She paused, looking it over slowly and mind a little sluggish at seeing it at all. It was well kept, and clean, but the feel of the fabric made her think it was probably pretty old... I mean it has to be old, right...? This looks like a child's toy...

She turned it over slightly to look for the tag, but whatever words that had been written on it were faded and long gone... has Hawks had this a long time then? Like since he was actually a kid?

He said Endeavor was his #1... has he been his number one, since Hawks was young...?

... I think he did mention that, now that I think about it... but I wouldn't have pegged him as being sentimental enough to hold on to a toy all these years...

She bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes flashing in the dim and she brought the toy up a bit closer to her face.

... though I suppose maybe it's not just sentimentality... it might be a normal thing people do... I just wouldn't know, really...

She shook her head at herself and gave the toy a tentative sniff, just sort of out of habit. Hawks' scent hit her nose straight off, which was no surprise- a mix of fresh air with small hints of what she'd associate as rainy weather and sunshine spot showers. Nothing about his scent was at all heavy, or even really prominent in anyway, it was very faint and light and airy- but it was a very recognizable scent regardless. She smelled it, and she smelled dust too of course from the toy, and a faint mustiness that told to how old the toy probably was- but it was an unmistakably salty tang that hit her nose that had her stiffening, her red eyes flashing in the dim of the room.

... tears...?

She bit the inside of her cheek, her lips pulling into a tight line and her eyes flicking quickly sideways toward the closed bathroom door. She grimaced, her stomach twisting slightly despite herself and looking back to the doll, quiet. She stayed there looking at it for only a few heartbeats more, before she set it back on the shelf gently, replacing the stack of books that had been partially in front of it, and climbing to her feet (aaaand grumbling under her breath at the ache that appeared in her chest from straightening up, but not faltering for it at all). She left the room without a word and shut the door as it had been before going in. She ended up pausing by the couch in the living room as she left the hallway behind, shrugging her jacket off carefully and grumbling again at the uncomfortable pulling of the fabric across her back before it was off.

She'd gotten a look at her back in the mirror earlier, and it wasn't really pretty, honestly. The scrapes were all up her skin, deep and very red, and they stung quite a bit at every little movement- though it was nothing she would complain about... but she had been quite uncomfortable with the jacket on the whole ride here, and sighed when she finally got to around to taking it off. With it gone there was nothing rubbing against her back, given the shirt she had on was backless (and she'd specifically picked it for that purpose).

She draped the jacket over the back of the couch and started slowly toward the kitchen, intent on finding something sort of productive to do in the meantime, and not go snooping again... ugh, I shouldn't have gone through his stuff in the first place...

She shook her head at herself and tentatively peered into the fridge, only to find it pretty bare of anything at all- save a few containers of takeout, and one or two cartons of milk/juice in the doors, and a few cans of coffee and soda. She moved from the barren fridge to find a similarly barren freezer with nothing but ice-cubes and chicken in it, and then to an even more barren pantry and cupboards... he had plates and silverware and other dishes and things stacked in the cabinets, but they looked like they'd never been touched. And in the way of food she found nothing but a pile of snack-sized corn chip packages, a bag of dried rice, half a dozen instant noodle cups, and two boxes of tea.

Spirit halted after coming to her fourth empty cabinet and ended up staring at the shelves for a few seconds, her eye twitching.

I realize this kitchen is massive and it's a lot of space to fill, but this is ridiculous.

Bloody hell, I have more food in my apartment than this... and I don't even really do anything other than sleep and shower when I'm at home.

For the amount of shit he has stacked on bookshelves, and on the floor in every other place in this apartment, I can't imagine how the kitchen can have almost nothing in it.

She grumbled a few choice words under her breath and closed the cabinet, sidetracking back to a previous one she had looked through and pulling out two tea cups and a kettle. She set to work filling the kettle up and setting it on the stove, before backtracking again for the boxes of tea in the pantry. She started the stove burner up and set the tea down, her hands raising to coil her ponytail up into a bun while she waited for the water to begin to boil. She cocked her hip when she was done, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at the flames on the stove... all the way up until the water was hot enough, and she started in on getting the tea steeping.

She was about ready to start pouring the tea into the cups when she heard the door to Hawks' room open, and the sound of his feet on the floor told her that he had come out. She'd been aware of the shower turning off a few minutes beforehand and had been listening to the sound of him shuffling around his room- you know, in case she heard any suspicious thumps or anything that would indicate him tripping or falling over.

(She was here to watch his dumbass for any further symptoms from his concussion after all)

She spared a quick glance up from the counter to catch his eyes as he made his way slowly down the hallway, his hands in the pockets of the sweatpants he'd pulled on, and damp blonde locks dripping onto the t-shirt he'd put on too. He blinked as he caught sight of the kettle and the cups, his lips twitching slightly at the corners and humming under his breath.

"Ah, you made tea?" He hummed lightly, drawing to a stop at the end of the bar in the kitchen. "That's great, tea sounds pretty good right about now~! You planning on making me anything else~?" He asked brightly, and Spirit huffed.

"I'm not your damn maid." She grumbled back hotly and he smiled at it, clearly touching a nerve- though he completely intended to do so, and she knew it.

"I know, I wasn't suggesting you were..! Though to be honest, it'd be pretty interesting to get a home-cooked meal from you~" He chuckled, and she growled under her breath.

"Yeah well you're oughtta luck Bird-Boy, I don't know how to cook, so you better kill that idea right now." Spirit grumbled, his eyes widening in surprise and intrigue at the response, but Spirit did not pause on it. "And besides, you'd actually have to have food in your kitchen to cook anything- and you don't. I'm thoroughly surprised you actually had tea, given that there is near nothing in this kitchen that is actually edible." She muttered and he smiled slightly at it, though a little less now.

"Point taken I suppose... I don't really ever eat here, I usually just grab food when I'm out and on the go." He murmured, "But thank you for making tea, really. It's very nice of you Spirit~" He told her softly and she huffed, though her little burst of agitation was dying quickly enough after being ignited briefly there.

"... hmph... you're welcome." She grumbled back, her eyes dropped from him and toward the kettle for a minute, biting the inside of her cheek as she started pouring slowly. She got through filling both cups before she looked back up again, still holding the kettle in one hand. Hawks' eyes had by then wandered to the cups she had been filling and stayed there for a few moments too long, even when she stopped pouring, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"... Feathers." She said at length and he blinked, his golden eyes matching with hers again and head tilting in question.

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright?" She mumbled lowly, "You're not feeling dizzy or anything, right? Or overly tired, hazy, unfocused...?" She asked slowly and his smile was quick to make a reappearance, and he was very quick to give her a reassuring nod.

"Yep, I feel fine~!" He chirped and Spirit's eyes narrowed further, while Hawks shrugged his shoulders a bit nonchalantly. "I'm not dizzy or anything, so don't worry about that~! I did have a bit of a headache earlier, but the shower helped ease it off~! I'm pretty good, all things considered, hehe~" He explained lightly and Spirit let out a low breath, her hand falling as she finally (slowly) set the kettle down again. She just held him steadily in her stare and Hawks paused, his smile breaking a little when there came a pause that was a little too long for his liking, and Spirit just kept looking at him... like maybe she could see straight through him...?

"... if you say so." Spirit murmured at last, and he smiled at the answer, though it was much more shaky and relieved than anything. Her eyes dropped away from him again and Hawks visibly untensed when she did, though she never saw it, she just pushed one of the teacups across the counter in his direction, gesturing slightly for him to come forward, "Take your tea and go sit down, Feathers." Spirit directed quietly. He did as she asked without complaint and moved forward, picking up the cup and holding it in his hands. He could feel his palms quickly warming up from the heat of the drink, the herbal scent of it hitting his nose and instantly beginning to take the edge of that 'little bit' of a headache he'd mentioned. Spirit waved a hand at him in a little extra order to go and sit, and he smiled faintly at her, before moving back toward the couch with his tea and leaving Spirit behind in the kitchen to cleanup a little. He settled down stiffly on a section of the couch with no back to it, sitting cross-legged on top and holding his tea in his lap. Spirit cast him a look from over her shoulder to make sure he'd sat down, before she delved into cleaning things up, and shaking her head a little as she did so.

"... are you hungry, Feathers?" She asked after a minute or two and he glanced up from having been looking into his drink. He turned his head slightly to catch her eye from the kitchen and smiled a bit, nodding.

"I could totally go for something to eat, yeah~!" He hummed,

"Alright, I'll order something for delivery... I assume you want yakitori?" She murmured and his smile brightened just a tad,

"You know me so well, Sunshine~!" He chuckled and she rolled her eyes at him.

"I know you're obsessed with yakitori at least." She mumbled, "I'll order it in a minute or two, just let me finish putting this stuff away."

"I can order it." Hawks offered right away, but Spirit shook her head sharply at him.

"No, I'm ordering."

"Hmm? But you're already being so nice making me tea and being here, it's the least I could do~!"

"Not happening." Spirit muttered sternly, "You paid for dinner when we were out with the Interns, remember? It's my turn to pay for food, so I am ordering- end of discussion. So just sit there, drink your damn tea and deal with it, alright Bird-Boy?" She hissed and he paused for half a second, before nodding slightly, lifting his tea to his lips slowly.

"... Got it..." he murmured, before taking a drink and looking away again. Spirit shook her head in exasperation and quickly finished putting everything away, before picking her own tea up off the counter and making her way into the living room too. She set her tea down on the end table a few couch sections away from where Hawks was, the Winged Hero sitting more toward the corner of the 'U'. Spirit turned after setting the cup down, heading toward the front door and genkan without a word to grab her bag. She dug around in it looking for her phone and turned again, stepping back across the threshold toward the couch, while simultaneously pulling the site for a nearby restaurant on the device, and quickly selecting food for them both, paying for it, and sending the order off.

She did it all within a span of about five minutes and not once did she glance up at Hawks while doing it- so she didn't notice that he'd been staring at her rather intently the whole way through. And when she finally locked her phone screen and looked up to tell him the order should be there in about 20 minutes, she ended up abandoning that endeavor entirely. She stiffened instantly at the intensity of the look he had on her, and the somewhat pensive expression he'd adopted so suddenly and locked on to her when she hadn't been paying him any mind.

"... What...?" She mumbled quickly, and his expression twisted faintly, one of his hands moving up and his finger doing a sort of rotating gesture in air.

"Ah... turn around please...?" He mumbled softly and she blinked, completely lost.

"What the hell for...?" She mumbled quickly, but he shook his head, twirling his finger in the same motion again- just a little more aggressively. She hesitated, very confused now and reflexively turning halfway toward the front door for whatever it was he wanted her to turn around and see...?

What the...? There was nothing weird there when I just got my phone...?

"... What am I supposed to be-?" She mumbled quickly, but Hawks' hushed and slightly incredulous voice broke her off near right away.

"Spirit, what the hell happened to your back...?!" Hawks hissed quickly, stunned and wide-eyed as his eyes locked to her back. Spirit went stiff as a board, her ears ringing for a second on what he said......he just... cursed...

She glanced back toward him slowly, blinking several times over and not at all registering the question, or even the somewhat alarmed look on his face all of a sudden. She just narrowed her eyes at him, speechless for a second because, well- he never curses...!

Ever!

Her sudden silence didn't seem to go over tOo well, because Hawks bristled, his wings (for what feathers he had left in them) fluffing up and leaning forward as he quickly set his teacup on the coffee table, and then pushed himself up on to his feet. Spirit turned back all the way as he did so, her lips pulling into a frown at him getting up so quickly- because though he was quick, he wasn't as quick as he should be, and near right off she saw him stumble, just a little. She stiffened at it but he course corrected near right away, which didn't do anything to make her feel better and she growled under her breath at him, eyes narrowed to slits and hands hovering as he stepped up to her.

"Don't get up so fast, dumbass-" Spirit hissed quickly, only to cut herself off when he rounded her entirely to get behind her, avoiding her hovering hands and oblivious of what she said. His hands ended up hovering themselves as he grimaced, golden eyes glittering and looking her back up and down several times over in rapidity. Each once-over with his eyes had his wings fluffing up further and further in unease... like she'd said earlier, it wasn't pretty, but it wasn't near as bad as-

"... G-geez Spirit this looks awful...!" Hawks hissed under his breath, and she sighed heavily at it. His hands reached forward tentatively and she stiffened, eyeing him warily over haer shoulder as he gently let his hands fall on her upper arms. Him doing so effectively locked her in place, and halted any plans she had to turn around, and he just kept looking over the damage pensively. "... this looks like it hurts, like a lot... these are super deep, and big... tch... What did...?" He stammered quietly, swallowing hard as his eyes stopped wandering and instead locked to the worst of the scrapes- specifically over her shoulder-blades, where they'd dug in on landing. "... I know when I got knocked out that my feather must have lost hold of you, but did I really drop you so hard...?" He hissed lowly and Spirit's eyes widened slightly at the question, her attention locked on him as his face pulled further in uncertainty and concern, and she bit the inside of her cheek.

... he thinks... he lost focus on his feather... and dropped me...?

"... That wasn't it." She told him quickly, pulling her arms out of his hold with ease and turning toward him to break his line of sight on her back. She shook her head at him and sighed, his golden eyes darting up to meet her and still looking rather ruffled, and she felt her stomach knot at the look- it was very much unlike him. Even back at his Agency after the Dark Shadow thing he'd only been surprised and flustered for a few seconds, but this time the unease and the worry didn't go away- in fact he was kinda freaking out (if a bit subdued), and he was doing it because he thought he'd been the reason she got hurt...?

... ah shit... this is gonna go well...

"... I was barely three or four feet of the ground when you got knocked out, so your feather didn't drop me hard at all. It wasn't that, don't automatically assume it was." Spirit explained quickly, and lied- though only a little. The sudden drop from air had stung quite a bit, given how fast they had been going, but it wasn't worth mentioning, not to him and not with him looking so... guilty, oi.

"... then what happened...?" He mumbled quickly, and Spirit stiffened without meaning to, her eyes darting away from him quickly. He noticed it and his eyes narrowed, Spirit stiffening a tad further under the sensation of him looking at her rather intently again. "... Spirit? What happened?" He asked again, a tad more insistent this time, and she swallowed, grimacing to herself.

... Shit... what do I tell him...?

He was already acting all freaked out over the idea that him dropping me in my Mouse Form was what hurt me... how's he gonna take it if I tell him the truth?

It's not his fault either way, he was totally out, so him dropping the feather is understandable- and I couldn't just let him fall to his death, he had no control over that either...

... I mean really, it's more my fault for not being able to redirect after catching him. I was rushing, so I was sloppy... ugh...

... damn it, why does he have to act like he's mortified at the idea that he might have done something wrong...?

... this is weird... even for him...

"Spirit, please look at me." Hawks mumbled quietly, his voice breaking her from her thoughts and she grimaced when she looked up again, and saw the way his eyes were glittering. "What happened? Did this happen today, with that Villain...? Or did it happen from something else you got into...?" He pressed once more and she grumbled a bit under her breath.

... I don't want to tell him... not if he's just gonna get all bent out of shape about it...

"Spirit, maybe just for today, can you not be all silent and grumpy and mysterious...?" He went on quietly and she paused, "... I know I told you last time I wouldn't keep bugging you about things you didn't want to talk about, and that I wouldn't press it... but could you tell me this time around...? I'm kinda imagining a lot of really bad things right now, it would be great to just hear the truth and not get sucked up by my imagination..." He mumbled, and she went quite for a few long moments, pensive.

... shit...

"... you... really don't remember anything that happened after getting hit, do you?" She started slowly and he frowned at the question, tense.

"... no, not really." He mumbled, "I remember right up until getting hit, but everything between that and that last part back at the ambulance is a huge blank." He explained quietly and Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, sighing internally.

"... Fine, I won't be stubborn about it... But sit down, Feathers." Spirit mumbled quietly, her hands gesturing lightly for him to back up to the couch again. He moved as she motioned her hands at him, sinking slowly down into sitting again and looking at her the whole way through like someone about to be scolded. She grumbled lowly at the look as she stopped in front of him, her arms crossing over her chest. "... Neru told you I caught you, yeah?" Spirit asked and he nodded, his head tilting.

"... Yeah?" He mumbled,

"... but he didn't mention that we sort of... hit the roof of a building in the process, did he?" Spirit mumbled and Hawks' eyes went wide, his wings doing a repeat of fluffing up again.

"... W...wha..?! No, he didn't mention that at all...!" He stammered breathlessly, before his face fell when it clicked together for him quite quickly now, and he grimaced. "Wait, that's what happened..? When we hit the roof is when you got all scraped up...?" He asked quickly and she sighed,

"... yeah. I was rushing, so when I grabbed you it was sloppy, and I couldn't really keep us both up and change course... there wasn't a lot of time to do much of anything really, it was lucky enough I even got all the way to you, before you'd fallen to far." She explained softly,

... plus he is a lot heavier than he looks, so that didn't help anything...

"... But the injuries on your back are really bad, we had to have hit the roof like super hard- so why aren't I all scraped up too...?" He asked quickly, looking quite confused now and like he was thinking about it much too hard- which he really was, though she should have expected him to come to that question... even if she wished he'd avoided it altogether. Her expression twisted a tad nervously without her meaning for it to, and he halted altogether at the look, his eyes narrowing at her and still very confused.

Hawks paused, quiet for a moment as his eyes dropped from her, and he seemed to fall into thought. He tried to pick at his mind for some recollection of it, the fall, hitting the roof, any of Spirit's actions... All of it was so hazy, and time seemed to skip straight from getting hit to talking with the EMT, leaving a huge gap in the middle he couldn't bring to the surface no matter how hard he tried. A part of him wanted to think he did remember some part of it, maybe the initial impact, maybe Spirit saying something to him... The latter part almost seemed to bring something back, but it was so fleeting a sensation it flitted away from him the moment he tried to grab it.

It made sense he should have been scraped up from the landing too, didn't it? He supposed maybe his clothes saved him more than Spirit's would, but still... The way her back looked, it was almost like-

He blinked, his eyes moving slowly from having fallen to the floor and up to Spirit again, glinting.

"... Did you... Specifically make sure that when we landed, that I didn't hit the ground, even if that meant you did instead...?" He asked slowly, and Spirit bit the inside of both cheeks, still not looking at him, and Hawks eyes flashed. "... Did you take the brunt of the fall, Spirit...? To... protect me...?" He murmured softly, and she huffed.

"... Well of course I did." She grumbled lowly and his eyes widened a little, though she was still looking away from him rather pointedly. "It was a reflex... I knew I couldn't keep us both up, and that we were going down no matter what I did. You were already hurt, and smacking against the roof wasn't gonna help anything, so I just did my best to minimize the damage done." She mumbled and he blinked slowly,

"... Even if that meant you got hurt too?" He mumbled, "I mean you look like you got dragged across a road for a mile..."

"It's not that bad." Spirit shot back quickly, and he bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes dropping closed as he let out a breath.

"... Well either way, I am sorry that you got all banged up catching me, Spirit." He mumbled softly and Spirit stiffened, her eyes narrowing to slits.

"Tch, what the hell are you apologizing for?" She hissed and he paused, his eyes blinking open slowly. "It's not like you put me out or anything, or that I went out of my for you- saving people is literally my job. That includes saving you." Spirit grumbled lowly, "I mean honestly, how is this any different than you getting hurt protecting someone else? Do you expect the people you save to say 'sorry you got hurt on my part'? Or even want them to, or think they should? No." She huffed, "Saving people is the job, and getting hurt doing it is just part of being a Pro- you know that, so don't apologize. I was doing my job, so don't act all guilty about it, it's not your fault." She muttered and he stared, seemingly stunned for a few heartbeats, before his expression softened a tad and he smiled faintly at her.

"... Hmm, you make it sound like it was just an obligation- here I thought you did it because you were actually worried about me, and just didn't want me to get hurt." He hummed and she rounded on him, hissing.

"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean...?! I'm not heartless damn it, of course I wouldn't want you to get hurt-!" She snapped back instantly, only to cut herself off when she realized he was smiling at her in slightly tired amusement, and she bit down on her tongue, eye twitching.

Oh this little-

"... Tch, you git... You did that on purpose..." She hissed lowly and he nodded once,

"Mhmm." He hummed, "I know it's not just a job to you Spirit, and I do know you care about the people you save- even though you really don't seem to wanna show it... You're honestly a very kind person, I told you that before now, remember?" He murmured softly and she grumbled under her breath at it, clicking her tongue and crossing her arms over her chest rather heatedly... Which was an instant regret, because she bumped her (bruised) ribs a little too hard and she nearly winced- but she stopped herself.

Hawks had smiled a little more at her reaction, before he seemed to let out a breath, his eyes falling from her face to the way she flinched upon crossing her arms over her chest there- like it hurt. His expression twisted again for a moment and he grimaced at it, swallowing.

"... Spirit, I-" he started quietly, but he never got a chance to finish, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell buzzing and he trailed off. Any intention of saying what he meant to right then faded to the back of his mind, and stayed there as Spirit quickly answered the door, got the food, and both she and Hawks migrated to sitting on the floor around the coffee table to eat.

The food seemed to help guide the Winged Hero back into some semblance of his usual self. He got to chatting again, light and unimportant banter that he seemed so good with- but this time around Spirit carried the conversation more than he did. Hawks happily let her do so, it seemed easier for him to listen rather than focus on eating and talking at the same time- and Spirit was all the more willing, since there was less chance he'd choke on his food trying to do both at once (like usual).

They didn't talk about anything substantial really, it was mostly just small talk, and it was light... It almost reminded her of her night out with Killjoy, actually, and she bit the inside of her cheek at thought, and what had come after.

The conversation wound down to content silence as Spirit finished her food and waited patiently for Hawks to finish his, her cheek in her hand and listening quietly as he started into some long, drawn out (and maybe slightly nonsensical) spiel about his top ranked yakitori places in the city, and the ones surrounding... Honestly she didn't really listen enough to remember them all, but she did keep her attention on him the whole way through nonetheless- not that she was sure he would have noticed her focus wandering at all. Hawks himself faded off more than once in thought, chewing on his food pensively and eyes down as he tried to think of the next place in his mental list, and all attributes attached to it.

It took awhile, but he eventually named off as many as he was willing to for the day, and wrapped up his meal too. He intended to get up and start cleaning the food up, but Spirit stopped him right off and insisted on doing it herself. He even tried to argue and give the reasoning that she was his guest, and it wasn't right to make her clean- but she wouldn't hear it and just grumbled for him to stay where he was, to which he reluctantly agreed. Hawks settled himself back in the couch again and Spirit started in, the Winged Hero with his arms crossed atop the back of the couch and his head in them, watching her move about the kitchen in silence. His eyes found her injured back and locked there for a number of minutes more than once, and Spirit could feel him staring, though neither she nor Hawks said anything further about it.

As she finished up the sun had already sunk halfway, the sky an orange and scarlet color that was flooding the room through the numerous windows. Spirit put the last few things away and turned around- Hawks decided to break the silence at last once she did, tilting his head at her and smiling just faintly.

"So, what do we do now?" He asked lightly and Spirit blinked, "Since you vetoed a movie, is there something else you wanna do? Play a card game, or something like truth or dare maybe?" He murmured and Spirit sighed.

"... Must we do anything?" She asked lowly and he paused. She stepped out of the kitchen and right up behind the couch where he was sitting, her arms crossing over her chest slowly and red eyes flashing. She looked him up and down quickly and he tilted his head further at the once-over, and the reply both, blinking.

"Hmm...?" He hummed reflexively, "... I guess we don't have to do anything, but won't you get bored...? It can't be all that appealing to you to just sit here doing nothing, and I don't want you to feel like you got stuck here with me and nothing to do..." He mumbled quickly and Spirit blinked once, while Hawks offered up an only somewhat cheery smile. "I mean this is the first time you've come over, I wanna make a good impression ya know~! It wouldn't do for everything to be bland and boring while I've got you here, I have to make the most of your visit, don't you think~? It's quite the special occasion, and I'm nothing if not known for being a good host~!" He chuckled and Spirit's expression seemed to twist slightly, her eyes flashing at him. "So, what do you say? A game sound interesting to you, huh Spirit~?" He asked lightly and her eyes dropped closed, and she let out a low sigh.

"... I don't need to do anything, or be entertained." She said at length, shaking her head him slightly and he paused. "... You don't need to try and entertain me either, I'm not here for that. I'm here to make sure you don't get worse, I wasn't expecting a party, or anything special... Honestly, I would prefer you just be honest with me, and not keep trying to be all bright and cheery and friendly." She added quietly, and Hawks stiffened, his head lowering back into his arms as he sat back further, almost sinking behind the couch a little.

"... What do you mean...?" He asked slowly and Spirit's red eyes opened, leveling with his and calm as can be, yet so steady.

"... I can tell that you don't feel good, Feathers." She told him softly and he grimaced, his mouth hidden behind his arms and his posture wilting a tad bit more. "You feel like crap, your thoughts still aren't all there, you're having trouble focusing on some things, and you fade off a little too long, and a little too often... You're dizzy when you get up too fast, your entire demeanor and energy is extremely subdued, and your head is probably killing you too, hmm?" She murmured softly, and it was his turn for his eyes to dart away nervously, quiet. Spirit just let out a breath at the reaction, nodding slightly to herself and eyes falling closed again.

"... You don't need to act like you're fine, or try and be all friendly and sociable either- least of all for my sake. I know you don't feel well, and I don't want you forcing yourself into doing things you don't feel like doing... You can just be honest, and be grumpy, or tired, or just altogether not in the mood. You don't need to put up face." Spirit mumbled and Hawks' eyes flashed, chewing on the inside of his cheek and still not looking her way. The room went quiet for a fair number of minutes after that, Hawks still looking away from her and increasingly more pensively, while Spirit just stood there, her eyes still closed and unmoving.

"... So... You can really tell all of that, huh...?" The Winged Hero said after awhile. and Spirit blinked her eyes open slightly. Hawks' face remained halfway buried in his arms even as he said that, his voice slightly muffled for it. "... I'm actually a little surprised... I thought I was doing pretty good at being normal..." He mumbled (almost moping now?), and Spirit blinked once.

"... I think mostly you can pass at being 'fine', but I can still tell." She told him quietly,

"... How?" He asked softly and Spirit paused, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"... I just can." She mumbled and his eyes shifted slowly sideways toward her,

"... If I can mostly 'pass', what makes it that you can tell all of that, about how I'm feeling...?" He pressed again, softer this time and Spirit bit the inside of her cheek. "... I'm genuinely asking, because I don't really get it... I've played off how I was feeling plenty of times before now, and nobody's ever noticed anything off about me. But you can, yeah...? It wasn't just today either, you knew I didn't really feel 100% after that thing with Dark Shadow, even though I kept acting normal afterwards, right...?" He mumbled and Spirit frowned slightly. Hawks tilted his head in his arms, expression unreadable now and golden eyes matched with her red ones, unflinching.

"... I've been at this a long time Spirit... And you are the only person I know who can tell something is off, even when I'm deliberately putting up a facade." He mumbled softly, "... That's just not something people can do with me, so I'm curious what makes it so you can see through the facade at all." He murmured, and Spirit swallowed slightly.

He's acting strangely... Serious all of a sudden...

And what does he mean he's... Been at this a long time...?

Her stomach churned slightly and she bit down on her tongue, suddenly growing tense under the stare and the silent intensity hidden behind it- the same sensation of him suddenly hyper-focused and not at all like the cheerful dumbass he played so well... This was the hidden side of him, and the one she was very wary of- especially right then. It almost felt like he had already arrived at the answer to his own question, though she hadn't a clue what it was... Or rather, she didn't want to believe he could have arrived at any answer at all.

She broke eye contact with him quickly, her fingernails digging into her arms slightly and frowning deeply for the look, and the shift in demeanor that had her instantly on edge.

"... Tch, like I said I can just tell." She hissed lowly, and in a tone that clearly said drop it. Regardless of the tone though, she was still all too aware of that strangely intense look he was giving her, and for a few heartbeats too long afterward... until finally the intensity faded, and he looked away with a small breath.

"... Well, anyway... I guess I'll try and rein it in on trying to be all 'bright and cheery'." Hawks mumbled quietly, shifting as he uncrossed his arms and pulled them off the top of the couch. He cast her a glance from the side, smiling sadly at the still very unhappy look she had on her face, and the fact she hadn't looked back his way, before the sadness turned to weariness. "... Honestly now, I actually would love it if we could just sit for a bit, and maybe just chill?" He added and Spirit stiffened slightly, her eyes moving toward him slowly. "If you don't really mind, it would be nice to just not talk for a little... I'm actually kinda out of things to really talk about right now, and thinking up anymore is... Well, I'm at a blank for once." He chuckled nervously and Spirit blinked.

... Yeah that was clear when you started in on listing yakitori restaurants...

She shook the thought off and sighed quietly, nodding slightly as she willed her sudden unease and agitation to fade away again... she really didn't have enough energy to stay worked up about it, though the ever paranoid side of her wouldn't ever let it go away all the way.

"... yeah that's fine." She mumbled softly, her eyes wandering from him again and Hawks' eyes glinted at the reply, smiling slightly to himself as he looked away from her. He shifted, sitting forward again and sinking into the couch and the multitude of pillows on either side of him, while Spirit paused a moment where she was grumbling silently to herself. Eventually she moved, rounding the couch herself and taking a seat down a few cushions from where he was, moving the pillows in her way to the side and chewing on the insides of her cheeks as she did so. She pulled her phone from her back pocket and sat down stiffly, easing her back against the couch slow as can be and hugging a spare pillow in her lap slightly. Once she settled all the way she sighed, tapping the phone to life in her hand and focusing on it and nothing else. She cleared through the regular array of news-related things on the screen in little time at all, and with nothing else to do but bask in the silence of the room, she started in on solitaire and got sucked into it.

It was completely quiet for a very long time, the sun sinking further in the sky and it's light dropping out of reach of the top floor, sending the room further and further into darkness. Neither Hawks nor Spirit bothered to get up and turn any lights on, a series of small lights settled above the bar counter came on behind them of their own volition and that was enough. Spirit thumbed her way through ten, fifteen, twenty and several dozen more games (and near half that many losses), only ever glancing up from the mindless playing to cast Hawks a look every once in awhile- just to check. But every time she looked up he seemed to be in his own little world, lounging and kicking back, his feet on the table and head hanging off the back of the couch. Once or twice she found him tapping his fingers along with the low drone of the music still playing in the background, or twiddling with a feather in his wings- but overall he was very quiet, and seemingly quite happy to stay that way... so she let him be.

Besides, she wasn't really looking to do much of anything anyway... honestly, the more she shuffled through every successive game, the more and more she felt her mind teetering further away from the cards entirely. Her loss of her regular sleeping hours for the day were creeping up on her, and soon enough she started thinking that maybe playing was just making it harder and harder to keep the exhaustion at bay- but thankfully she earned a distraction, and a reason to quit with the solitaire, without actively choosing it for herself.

Her phone buzzed in hand and the cards along the top got blocked out by a new notification;

New Message From: Okita
Are you alright? I hope you don't mind...

Spirit sighed a bit under her breath, shaking her head slightly and unlocking hoping over to the messages app quickly to see the rest of the message (which had been cut off for lack of space on the notification).

Okita

Are you alright? I hope you don't mind my asking, but Jeriko called to tell me you were bird-sitting...

I'm fine, I'm sorry for the last minute change. Jeriko will have to do for mentoring you for tonight.

Much to Spirit's surprise she didn't get a chance to lock the phone again after sending the text- because Sasaki answered almost instantly.

... was she... sitting on her phone, watching it... waiting...?

... she's such an anxious person... that wouldn't surprise me...

Okita

Are you alright? I hope you don't mind my asking, but Jeriko called to tell me you were bird-sitting...

I'm fine, I'm sorry for the last minute change. Jeriko will have to do for mentoring you for tonight.

No it's alright, I understand! I'm glad you're okay!

...
How is the bird-sitting going...?

...
Is the bird doing okay...?

Spirit grimaced faintly at the series of questions- she would not even be a little bit surprised if Okita had instantly pieced together the rather stupid excuse Spirit had given Jeriko, and the real situation (especially after probably seeing the news about what happened earlier)... really, I still can't believe 'bird-sitting' was the best I could do.

She groaned a bit under her breath in exasperation and quickly started typing.

Okita

No it's alright, I understand! I'm glad you're okay!

...
How is the bird-sitting going...?

...
Is the bird doing okay...?

Yeah, the bird is fine. Just gonna sit in for the night.

Oh, okay!
Well, have a good rest of your day..!
I'm sorry for texting you out of the blue, but thank you for answering...!

Yeah. Take it easy at work today

I will

Spirit locked the phone again after sweeping through the few other notifications awaiting her attention (all news things really... mostly about Heiku). She let her eyes fall closed and her phone to fall on top of the pillow in her lap, her other hand moving up to brush her bangs back from her face absentmindedly.

"... something up?"

Her hand stalled halfway, her eyes opening and glancing left toward Hawks as he spoke up. He was sitting crosslegged on the couch now, hands in his lap and head tilted at her curiously. He'd actually pulled himself out of his makeshift nest of pillows and cushions that he'd sunk into the last few hours, and pulled himself up into sitting mostly straight and facing her, though she hadn't been aware of him moving at all before he spoke up.

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, shaking her head slightly and finishing with pushing her bangs back with a small sigh. "... no, it's nothing." She mumbled and he blinked slowly, hesitant for a moment, before he seemed to buck up a little, and straightened a tad too.

"... Spirit, did you have something else planned for today?" Hawks asked softly and she paused, "I know you said you had a few things to settle before coming over today... it's just that, if you did give up your plans to keep an eye on me, I wanna make sure you know that I really do appreciate you being here." He murmured and she sighed, her cheek falling in her hand as she propped her elbow on the stack of pillows off to her right.

"...Look, Feathers... the whole thing in Heiku threw a wrench in my regular schedule just by itself. Anything I intended to do, just wasn't what I had planned originally- so deciding to stick with you for the rest of the day wasn't something that was super out of my way or anything..." Spirit mumbled quietly,

"... oh." He mumbled, "... well... what were you planning to do, before getting called in to fight that Villain guy today?" He asked slowly and she shot him a sideways glance, which he immediately stiffened at and put up a small, slightly nervous smile. "Ah, sorry... it's not my business, right...?" He retracted quickly, and she huffed quietly, looking away again.

"... It was nothing special Feathers, I was just gonna do what I do everyday..." Spirit mumbled softly,

... every.. single... day...

"... Ah, so you just got to Hero work a little earlier today than usual, huh?" Hawks murmured, and Spirit nodded slightly, though she didn't look back at him.

"... yeah..." She murmured quietly, her eyes dropping closed.

There was a bit of silence that dragged by again, Spirit's mind wandering off toward some corner of how Sasaki's shift was gonna be with the ever odd Jeriko... only to get snapped out of it abruptly when the pillows her her left suddenly disappeared and something sunk down onto the couch beside her. Spirit reflexively stiffened, her cheek snapping out of her hand and blinking several times over to find Hawks had shifted down the couch and was now sitting just next to her- only he didn't stop at the just sitting part. No, he went ahead and laid back, propping his feet up on the couch, and letting his head falling into the pillow in her lap. His wings spread out underneath him, one hanging over the back of the couch and the other trailing on the floor.

Hawks smiled faintly as he caught her eyes, his hands folding on his stomach and looking just a little too amused with her immediate struggle between finding words, and moving to throw him off. Meanwhile in her few seconds of struggling to come to terms with it, her arms hovered in air, not looking to touch him anymore than he was with his head in her lap and she hissed under her breath, red eyes glittering.

"... W-what are you doing...?!" Spirit mumbled quickly,

"It seemed comfortable, so I thought I'd try it out." He replied simply and she grit her teeth,

"... Tch... Wouldn't a bed be more comfortable...?" She hissed and he smiled a bit more, shaking his head nonchalantly.

"Nope, I'm super comfy just like this." He hummed, his eyes dropping closed as he let out a small sigh. "Actually, I might even just doze off it's so good... Plus if I fall asleep right here, you won't have to get up to come wake me up every few hours, ya know~" He chuckled softly and Spirit's eyes flashed, her face twisting for a few seconds- agitated, surprised, and exasperated all at once- and completely deadlocked too.

Instinct would have had her snapping his head off, and throwing him off of her instantly- but better sense stopped her from doing it... But only because he was hurt and she wasn't going to be rough with him (even if the idiot deserved it). So she stopped herself and she stalled, because she couldn't push him off, but she didn't really want him there at all- he's in my lap for fucks sake, who does he think he is...?!

Spirit grit her teeth further at the thought, arms still hovering and glaring daggers down at him and his all too peaceful face just below her.

... Tch... He probably knew I wouldn't throw him off right now too, the cheeky little git...

Spirit's hands clenched into fists for a few seconds, her eyes dropping closed and forcing herself what was meant to be a calming breath.

... It's fine... Just deal with it... It's fine...

... You can get back at him later, and when he doesn't have a concussion to save his ass... Tch...

... And I don't have the energy to get worked up about this right now... so just... tch... leave it be... for now.

Her hands relaxed and she grudgingly lowered her arms again, her right elbow propping on the stack of pillows and returning her cheek to her hand as it had been- while her other found a somewhat uncomfortable spot on the very edge of the pillow, since she did her best not to touch him. She huffed, shutting her eyes and intent on not looking at him at all for at least the rest of the night.

... I hate him...

"... You realize most doctors don't actually recommend waking people up constantly if they have concussions, right?" Spirit muttered lowly in reply to his earlier comment, "If you were gonna get worse it would have probably already happened, it's been several hours already..."

"Hmm, yeah I know... but you can wake me up anyway, if you just wanna make sure, or if you just feel like it." He murmured lightly and she growled under her breath,

"... Don't tempt me, Feathers..." She muttered under her breath, not at all sure he heard it and not really caring if he did or not. Hawks did hear it though, and he smiled faintly at it, his eyes open halfway and glinting in the low light of the room as he looked up at Spirit, searching almost- though she never looked at him again. His eyes fell closed when it became clear she had resigned herself to silence, and he let out a low, quiet breath. "... Do wake me up if you need to Spirit, or you get uncomfortable, alright...? I don't wanna trap you into sitting here for longer than you like..." Hawks mumbled softly, and Spirit only huffed slightly in reply.

He was out of it not more than ten minutes afterward, his breathing easing into something low and slow and the weight of his head in her lap got just a tad heavier. He'd probably been getting more and more tired as the day went by- the haziness brought on by the concussion aside, he had spent up a lot of energy and focus during the Villain thing. She'd be surprised if he wasn't tired after all of today, no matter how used to it or intent on acting 'fine' as he was.

... Hell, I'm tired too... And I didn't even work as much today as I normally would...

She wasn't going to doze off though, she wasn't all that thrilled with the idea of doing so (or comfortable really), and besides- she was here to keep an eye on him, right?

Can't do that if I'm asleep

Though soon enough she was wishing Hawks hadn't gone ahead and placed himself where he was, it would have been easier to keep herself awake if she could get and up and walk around, or even just move a little. But she didn't move, like at all, she didn't feel like she could without waking him up, and she didn't intend to do that, even despite what she'd muttered before.

Spirit grumbled under her breath, resigning herself to looking out the window and staring at the city lights flickering and blinking on all sides. She ended up tracing the distant track of cars poking passed the surrounding buildings for a little too long, before she noticed they'd gotten all blurry and she had to look away and find something else to do... Which ended in some ridiculously stupid little 'game' of counting up all the shit he had littered around the room, and stacked on his shelves, and of what type.

(You know- 37 CD cases, 19 random knick-knack things, 23 books, 26 pillows, etc...)

But eventually she counted everything, and ended recounting several times because she couldn't seem to keep track of everything she'd already tallied up- which got really annoying, really fast, so she gave it up and tried something else. Namely, just letting her thoughts wander to wherever they may.

She went through a mental checklist and process of every drink she knew how to make, twice. And she also ran through a mental checklist of things she needed to show Sasaki on that end when she got back to the Club.

Then she revisited her week with Anima and the Internship, and went down the road of unpleasantness(?) that had transpired at the Hosu hospital with Ing-Tensei, and the other UA Interns. And she even faintly remembered that little bit after seeing Recovery Girl and that poor guy she'd called out for being All Might, and who definitely wasn't the No. 1.

And then from there her mind found it's way to her conversation with Tsukuyomi out on the balcony, and she promptly skimped straight past it to the day out with the boy, Anima, and Hawks... and her asking the Feathery Idiot about calling Recovery Girl behind her back, and for what it seemed like mostly kind reasons.

And that maybe she'd misjudged him... to which misjudging people and wondering why she dealt with Hawks at all- lead her to her night out with Mamoru-Killjoy, and she felt her stomach knot for perhaps the thousandth time since then.

Spirit sighed and cursed herself for letting her mind wander down that rabbit-hole at all. She pulled her attention back from the pit it had fallen into of her thoughts, yawning as she did so, and searching again for something to keep her focused... she shouldn't have zoned out, she only felt a hundred times more tired now. And she'd probably yawned about a hundred times while she'd been sifting through the thoughts and the memories- so much so her eyes were watering and she grimaced at it.

... what time is it even...?

... I'd have to guess passed midnight by now...

She eventually ended up latching on to the sound of the music still playing in the background, honing in on it around the soft rhythm of Hawks' breathing and the faint, far off sounds of the city outside. Originally she intended to just listen and follow along to the ones she knew in her head- but that avenue had the same affect as before, and she felt herself slipping closer and closer toward nodding off completely. So, she ended up murmuring the song lyrics along with the rhythm, soft, quiet- but it was something more than just sitting there thinking, and it would have to be enough.

Whatever station or playlist he'd put on ended up being a mix of a lot of different types of music, rock and pop, experimental, indie, whatever- and it wasn't just Japanese songs and singers either. There were a few things that came on in a language she didn't know and could only guess at, and there was a lot of ones in Japanese, but there were also quite a few in English.

She hummed a bit under her breath, another song cycling and it was one she recognized. There were actually quite few that came on that she knew rather well, which made singing along all the easier, and more frequent- which was great for keeping awake, though she was still yawning between lyrics every few minutes despite herself.

A rather repetitive and slightly upbeat song drew to a close, and the next to come on was started with the low, gentle picking at a guitar and a melody just as soothing, yet still a little fast paced- though the original version of this tune was not made with a guitar, but a piano. Either way this was one of the ones she recognized, but only by chance and having seen it performed on some dumb reality tv show some time ago, and that she couldn't recall... the only thing that had really stuck about it was the song itself, and the fact that she preferred this rendition of it more than the original.

Spirit's eyes dropped closed, her fingers on the stack of pillows to her right tapping lightly with the beat, and taking in a small breath as she waited for the intro to finish and the song to start up- with her joining in right on time and right on tune, her voice quiet and soft.

"... Imagine there's no heaven... it's easy if you try... No hell below us, above us only sky..." Spirit hummed softly, her head tilting back slightly with a small sigh.

"... Imagine all the people living for today... Yooouuu... You may say I'm a dreamer...But I'm not the only one...I hope someday you'll join us... And the world will be as one... Imagine there's no countries... It isn't hard to do... Nothing to kill or die for... And no religion too..."

She blinked slowly, her eyes gleaming in the dim as she glanced up at the roof quietly,

"... Imagine all the people living life in peace... Yoooouuu... You may say I'm a dreamer... But I'm not the only one... I hope someday you'll join us... And the world will be as one... Imagine no possessions... I wonder if you can... No need for greed or hunger..."

She bit the inside her cheek and cut off without meaning to, completely missing the next line and slow to catch up... Damn it.

She shook her head at herself, her head tilting back down and eyes falling closed again.

"... Yoooouuu...You may say I'm a dreamer... But I'm not the one... I hope someday you'll join us... And the world will live as one..."

The song trailed away into nothing and so did her voice, a long sigh escaping her as any and all attention on the music became nonexistent. Her cheek dropped into her hand as she chewed the inside of it rather tiredly, her shoulders sinking.

"... Wow... you've got a really beautiful voice, Spirit."

She jumped slightly, her eyes darting downward and her jaw snapping shut with her cheek still between her teeth- which hurt, and earned the metallic taste of blood- but she didn't react to it outside of grumbling a bit. She was too tired and too surprised with Hawks saying something to care about the little bit of pain. She grimaced, her eyes flashing as she caught his golden gaze in the dim, his head tilted back to get a better look at her above him and smiling tiredly. She huffed slightly under her breath, frowning further at the smile and growling quietly at it.

"... shut up..." She muttered lowly, looking away from him pointedly and he hummed at her.

"... I mean it, you're a really good singer. " He murmured lightly, "You could totally moonlight as a pop star, or even do concerts along with your Hero Work like KiraKira, or like Blue Rose does in America. You'd be a hit...!" He told her lightly and she grumbled some more, shaking her head rather curtly.

"Not gonna happen." She grumbled,

"Aww, why not?" He hummed, "It seems a waste not to take that opportunity you know...! And I really do mean it when I say you'd be a hit, with a voice as pretty as yours, there's nobody who could resist...!" He murmured and Spirit frowned, her face heating up slightly and still looking away from him stubbornly.

"Tch... I don't sing in front of other people." Spirit grumbled, "The only reason you even heard anything was because I thought you were asleep... you should still be asleep, Feathers." She muttered lowly, and Hawks let out a small breath.

"Yeah, well I was asleep... but I woke up when I started hearing a lot of yawning going on." He replied lightly, and Spirit grimaced at the comment. "... which is totally cool, the yawning doesn't bother me- especially since by then, I was awake enough that I didn't miss your singing. That would have been a real shame... and it is a shame too, that you don't sing around anyone, but that's okay, I get it... You are a super modest..." He hummed, and she just huffed again, but she didn't say anything in reply to it. Hawks blinked at her and the silence, his smile fading quickly and his golden eyes glittering in the dim as he searched for her face that she still had turned from him.

"... Are you okay?" Hawks asked softly and Spirit paused, her eyes narrowing in tired confusion as she glanced down toward him slowly.

"... What...?" She mumbled rather lamely, "... Why wouldn't I be...?" She murmured before she paused, "Ugh, Feathers... If you're asking me about my back, I already told you earlier, I'm fine... you don't need to be all bent out of shape about the falling thing..." She mumbled quickly but he shook his head at her.

"That isn't what I was asking for." He mumbled, his eyes dropping for a moment as he seemed to bite the inside of his cheek, musing to himself for a few seconds. And Spirit just watched, still quite lost, and entirely unsure of why he seemed to be so pensive all of a sudden... like what the...?

... my head isn't working... I'm too tired to even try to guess what his issue is...

"... Look Spirit, I can't tell with you." Hawks said at length, and Spirit's eyes narrowed further in question.

... Tell...?

"... It's weird honestly, because I'm usually a really perceptive person, and it's never that hard for me to read people, or to be able to tell when something is off, or why... Ever since I first met you, I've always thought I had a pretty good handle on reading you, and being able to tell what kind of person you are, and tell things that you wouldn't say directly... But I've learned pretty quickly that you are insanely impossible to figure out... at least, I can never seem to figure you out as much as I'd like to." Hawks explained quietly, and Spirit blinked. "... I can never really tell with you- not what you're thinking, or why you get so worked up sometimes, or when you're hurt or feeling bad... or why you do a lot of the stuff you do, or act a certain way... I can't tell with you, like you could with me, and how I feel right now..." Hawks mumbled, "... I only notice a little bit at a time, and never the full thing. You are constantly doing things that sort of help put the pieces together for one little thing, but overall just makes me understand you less and less... and I just end up wondering more." He murmured and Spirit's eyes flashed slightly, a little stunned now with the drastic shift in demeanor and topic.

... What is... With this... All of a sudden...?

"... I'm asking if you're okay, because what I have noticed is that you've been acting a little off today." Hawks pointed out quietly, and she stiffened a little at the assertion. "You've been a lot more mellow today than you usually are with me... like... Extremely so." He told her, "I'm used to you being all stubborn, and getting super annoyed at my jokes and stuff- but you really haven't been all heated and angry, at all... And when you do get worked up, it only lasts a few seconds, tops." He murmured, "And I think I get it a little- you're being nice because I got hurt, and you know how I'm feeling, so you care enough that you won't be too grumpy, or harsh with me right now... Which I appreciate, a lot." He smiled slightly, "... but I'm kinda getting the feeling you being so off today isn't just because you're trying to tread lightly around me... right...? So is something wrong...?" He murmured, and Spirit blinked slowly, her shoulders sagging as she let out a long, low breath.

... shit... have I been acting off...?

... I don't think I have... I mean I have been trying not to be super bitchy, because he's already been knocked around enough today...

... But... I didn't think I was acting that different though, even so...

Her eyes flashed, shaking her head slightly at herself.

... maybe I have though... I mean... I suppose I probably sort of made up my mind about trying to be less... of an ass with him just overall... after that Recovery Girl thing...

... And there's just... Something about him... That works me up so quickly... But I can't be like that... I can't just lash out, especially not when he has no clue why I'm so... Touchy, about some things...

... and maybe I just... I've been more hung up about that 'loneliness' thing than I figured... enough that I've been less... like I usually am...

... damn it... he noticed me being off, and I didn't even realize I was being...?

... I shouldn't have let any of it work me up so much...

... and why is he so insistent on figuring me out...?

... he does ask a lot of questions, and pry... but why is he working so hard to understand me...?

... I really wish he wouldn't... though I guess it's probably a good thing he seems to have a hard time with it...

...oi...

"... look, Feathers... it's not that something is terribly wrong, or anything like that..." Spirit mumbled softly, "... It's not really anything 'wrong' at all actually... I just... It occurred to me that I've been a little harsh toward you." She murmured, "... I'm usually not so grumpy with other people, and I don't snap at them, or curse, or call them names like I have with you... and it's not like you've really done anything that justifies me being like that to you... All the joking and the teasing does irk me a lot of the time, but outside of that... you've been a lot nicer, and patient with me, than I have been with you..." Spirit mumbled quietly, biting the inside of her cheek now as Hawks blinked slowly up at her. "... I don't know, I guess since I've realized that... maybe I've been subconsciously trying to tone myself down around you... Be a little less... 'Grumpy' or whatever... You don't really deserve me being so harsh with you, so I'm trying not to be..." Spirit sighed, her eyes falling closed as she let her cheek fall into the palm of her hand, her shoulders sinking as she did so too.

Hawks stared, his eyes gleaming in the dim and almost awed with the words, while Spirit seemed to fall quiet and grumble silently to herself for a few seconds. Her cheek fell more heavily into her hand as she seemed to wilt a little, a heavy sigh escaping her and her voice dropping with it. "... That, and I'm just too tired right now to get all worked up with you, even if you do act like an idiot... I don't have the energy today, Feathers..." She added quietly, almost as an afterthought, and her voice hardly above a whisper now. She didn't open her eyes again, they were too heavy, and she didn't want to try anymore... Ugh, even talking to him wasn't keeping her awake enough now- whatever effect her voice had had to keep her up, seemed to have been spent the minute her singing halted. "... That said... Nothing is wrong, I'm fine... You don't gotta brood about it..." Spirit mumbled after having to pause for a yawn, which was quickly followed by another one as she finished her words, and she grimaced faintly at it. Hawks watched her quietly as she yawned once or twice more, his golden eyes glittering all the while as his lips pulled into a tight line- he stayed quiet too, because for once he actually didn't have a reply or anything to say in return to her... He was just processing what she said (and a bit slowly still too, from the concussion).

She's... Trying to be nicer...?

... Because... She feels like she's been treating me... Unfairly...?

... There's that thing again... Her doing something because she thinks she's being unfair... Like with telling me about why she wanted to be a Hero, or the thing with the painkillers after Dark Shadow's blowup...

... Sure she's a little rough around the edges about some topics... But I don't ever feel she snaps at me without good reason... Why does she think she shouldn't...?

Man... I still don't get it.

He wished he did though, like really, really wished... And not just to sate his curiosity, or his incessant need to know things. Sure he wanted to get it just so he got it, but maybe more than that now- he wanted to understand, because all of this, and all of those times before where she'd done a 180° and started apologizing or saying she wasn't acting fair... All of those times now, had him starting to think that the reason she did that stuff, was because of something a lot more deep and dark and twisty than he'd imagined before now.

It wasn't a cheery thought by any means, and he was hesitant to jump to any conclusions of that nature- but where were his thoughts to go, really?

He did this for living, reading people, noticing things about them, and what they said, and their little habits and ticks- he did it with everyone, all the time, and it was just second nature for him... And he was good at it. He was really good at it... But with her?

He wavered on his thoughts, and his instincts, and all that he noticed and wondered about Spirit. He hesitated- both because he did find himself lost on how to understand Spirit a lot of the time... But he also hesitated because a part of him just didn't want to give in on believing what he knew was probably right. He didn't want to be right, because what he was thinking was just not good, and he didn't want those things he was thinking to be true for her.

Hawks bit the insides of his cheeks, his eyes flashing as Spirit yawned again. He had to stop thinking about the dark and twisty for now, his head hurt enough- his heart didn't need to start aching too... Well, anymore than it already was for how exhausted Spirit sounded, and how badly her body must be hurting from protecting him from the fall earlier... Speaking of though, he wasn't altogether sure her being so quick to help him was just because it was her job, as she'd said... Her being here now and volunteering to keep an eye on me is a bit more than just professional courtesy, yeah...?

... I wonder if maybe...?

"... Spirit?" Hawks murmured softly, the Ebony Hero jumping slightly at his voice- almost like he'd startled her away from slipping into a doze. She blinked slowly, her red eyes meeting his and held tilting slightly in her hand.

"... hmm...?"

"I'm wondering... Well, after the whole Internship thing, and today too... Have I earned enough points yet...?" Hawks asked quietly and her eyes narrowed in confusion.

"... Points...?" She mumbled, and he smiled a tad.

"Yeah, points until we get out of the 'acquaintances' level." He replied softly, "... I know you said the next level after that would be 'professional', but I figure we probably skipped that one, huh...?" He murmured and Spirit blinked at it. "I mean, I guess you could say we were pretty professional back in the Joint Patrol, but things between us after that, and today, kinda don't feel they should be labeled as strictly 'professional'..." He hummed and Spirit paused, her eyes flashing slightly.

... What is... He...?

"So I'm wondering if at this point, have I earned enough points that we're not just colleagues maybe...? And that it might be okay to call us friends now...?" Hawks asked softly and Spirit's widened a tad, her heart skipping a beat and uncertainty immediately making it's way into her core, and shaking off some of the exhaustion hanging over her head.

Friends...?

She swallowed, hard, a lump suddenly taking form in the pits of her stomach and lips pulling into a tight line.

She never thought she'd hate that word before right then- and maybe hate wasn't the right emotion, but... Well, she never thought that word could make her stomach churn so much. Make her feel like her stomach was fluttering, and so suddenly nervous and altogether uneasy.

Instinctively her reaction and answer to that question was no, and even as he asked it that instinct still flared (though she kept her mouth shut)... But the instinct faded in the span of a second or so, and what replaced it?

That terribly uneasy feeling, and she didn't understand it, nor even know if she wanted to understand it at all... Not for what understanding it might tell her.

She didn't have friends. She had a friend, a single one, and that was all she felt she needed... one was all she felt comfortable with having, really. She didn't do 'friends', and even with the single one she had, she couldn't say they were close... she and Death Arms were comfortable with each other, sure, but they didn't really know each other. Not really.

Nobody can know me... the real me... that's why I don't socialize, and I don't form relationships, and I don't let myself have friends... it's too risky.

And with him, with Hawks... It's riskier

He acts like an idiot a lot of the time, but I know he sees a lot more than he lets on... he's hellishly perceptive, and he's already admitted that he's trying to understand me... he already picked up on my speech habits where literally nobody ever does... and he's probably noticed more than I even realize...

... I've been keeping at a distance, and making it clear I don't want him sticking his nose where it doesn't belong... But what is he gonna do if he thinks we're... 'Friends'...?

... Whatever small amount of restraint he has might just... Disappear... And I can't...

... I know that and still...

... I keep doing things that I know I shouldn't, risking things too...

... I keep doing it, I keep doing the exact opposite of what I know I should be doing... and I can't stop myself, for some reason....... I'm still...

... I'm still doing it... what I shouldn't be... hesitating... and because...

"... have I been... lonely...? And never realized it...?"

Spirit swallowed hard, her eyes darting away from him quickly and absolutely silent for quite a long while. She seemed to stiffen, her shoulders hunching a fraction of an inch and her eyes glittering in the dim, her lips a tight line and absolutely rigid as Hawks watched her quietly. He saw how tense she was at the question, and while he supposed nervousness might have been a usual response to such a question for just about anyone- this was not nervousness.

This was unease, deepset and quick to flare in her, and he did not understand it... She seemed to have a hard time with anything personal, but why did she seem so uncomfortable at the prospect of them being 'friends'?

Was she just bad with labels? Did she really not like making too many friends? Worse even, did the idea of having him personally as a friend, really put her off that much? Did she really not like him much at all? He did irk her, and annoy her... But could she really hate him? Like really hate him?

He didn't think so, but he did waver just a little... Again, he didn't want to think about the dark and twisty like he said- but what was he to think next?

Did the idea of having a friend... scare her? Did the idea of letting someone in like that, really, really put her on edge so much...?

Was it... A trust thing...?

Or maybe even a... Safety thing...?

He almost regretted asking the question, since her mood seemed to turn so dark and broody in so little time. He didn't really want to make her so uncomfortable, or intend to, but he couldn't help himself... Because honestly?

He was really hoping that maybe they were close enough now that they could be friends. He was a friendly person by nature, but even he didn't label other people as 'friends' lightly, if ever... But he did want to, with her.

It made no sense, she was harsh with him, and impossible to read, and things between them had always been something of a whirlwind- but he enjoyed every single minute of it. Even the bits where he'd really pissed her off, or almost drove her away completely. She'd interested him right from the start, but it wasn't just out of curiosity or interest that he wanted her to say yes to the friend thing... He actually really liked her, for some reason he wasn't even 100% sure of just yet. He liked being around her, and talking, and finding out all those little things that just made the puzzle of Animal Spirit a hundred times more complicated.

For the first time in a very long time, Hawks found himself truly wanting that thing he never let himself have in earnest- a friend. And a friend of the utterly enigmatic, grumpy, and solitary Animal Spirit no less. Perhaps the one person in all of Japan that was slower to begin to let down the walls she'd put up around herself, than Hawks was about letting his own walls down, even just a little.

Spirit bit the inside of her cheeks hard, her eyes stuck to the far wall and not budging even an inch. On a loop her thoughts were spinning between the question, the implications, the possible dangers of it, the rationality of not doing it, the reminders to herself of why she needed to say no... And the rising frustration with herself for not seeming to be able to actually say the word aloud.

No

You cannot make friends

You cannot be friends with him

Not this this Feathery Idiot who sees way too much, and never let's it on

Not this one, who is obsessively looking for ways to question me, and prod things from me

You cannot be friends with him

No

You have to say no

Say no

"... I..." She mumbled quietly, her voice fading off nearly right away and her fingers curling tightly around the corner of pillow in her lap and under Hawks' head.

Shit... What the fuck is wrong with me...?

You know you need to say no... Spirit... You bloody idiot...

You know you have to

... So why...?

Why... can't I...?

"... I... suppose..." She said at length and his eyes went wide with the quiet reply, his jaw dropping slightly. She seemed to bite the inside of her cheek, her red eyes flashing in the dim and shoulders still hunched ever so slightly, and her voice dropped to something a little short of a whisper too. "... But... please don't get over excited about it... We can be friends, that's fine... But we're not best friends, or anything like that... Don't take my saying yes as leave to go ahead and pry at me like it's okay now or something... Just... Please don't push me, Feathers..." Spirit mumbled lowly, and he swallowed a bit himself, his soul absolutely aching at how uneasy she sounded, and guarded too.

"... I won't." He replied softly, offering up a small smile, though she didn't really see it. "Thank you for saying yes... I hope eventually we can be closer to good friends, but there's no rush. We'll take things as slow as you need Spirit, promise."

She nodded slightly though she didn't look his way again, and Hawks let them both fall into silence for awhile... You know, just to let her settle out again from what was clearly so hard for her to agree to.

Spirit huffed silently under her breath, still chewing on the insides of her cheeks for quite awhile afterwards and hating herself... She hated that she said yes and couldn't seem to say no, and she hated that she'd had to ask him not to get overzealous about it... She knew him, and even if he said he wouldn't press her now- he most definitely would, and much too quickly for her liking.

... Damn it...

... Why do I do this to myself...?

She grumbled a bit and threw the thoughts away, determined not to remain all tense and twisty feeling for them, at least not for tonight... Not tonight, I have no energy left.

Eventually the tenseness did fade, and the way her stomach had started churning did too- only to be replaced with an unbearable heaviness of exhaustion sinking it's claws into her further, and she yawned... Again, and again. Hawks noticed the yawning immediately, his expression softening after having just been watching her for a bit, and he let out a quiet breath.

"... I do have an extra room, if you want to go to bed." Hawks told her quietly, and her cheek dropped into her hand as she let out a small breath at the suggestion. "... You said you were tired yeah? And all the yawning aside, you look like you can barely keep your eyes open... How long have you been up, anyway?" He asked, and she shook her slightly at the question, grumbling a bit to herself at how sluggish her thoughts were to come together at the inquiry.

"... I don't know, since like 5...?" Spirit mumbled halfway to herself, sounding a little unsure and Hawks' eyes narrowed at it.

"... You've been up since 5 in the morning...?" He mumbled quickly,

"Hmm...? No... Yesterday... 5..." Spirit mumbled, yawning halfway through and only answering reflexively. Hawks paused at it though, confused now and not sure what 'yesterday 5' was even supposed to mean...?

Yesterday... As in the day before all this Villain stuff...?

But... The closest 5 yesterday would be...?

"... Like... 5... Pm...?" Hawks mumbled, and Spirit only gave him a sort of grumble/yawn combo as an answer. His heart skipped a beat, and though it wasn't quite a confirmation- it definitely was, and he found himself reeling and trying to think of any reasonable explanation why she would have been awake since 5pm yesterday.

Actually, not even yesterday anymore- it was definitely passed midnight now, so that meant she'd been awake for over 24 hours...?!

Holy... shit...!

How can she have stayed awake that long...?!

Why would she...?!

His eyes flashed in the dim, grimacing slightly as his face twisted and his heart did too, just a little.

... She must have been exhausted long before all the stuff with the Villain happened... And she still offered to come and keep an eye on me anyway...

... You are... Way too nice... Spirit...

Hawks shifted, sitting up slowly and his head leaving Spirit's lap as he did so. Spirit blinked her eyes open at it, casting him a tired and questioning look as he adjusted and turned to face her, a small, sort of strained smile on his face. He held a hand out in front of him, offering it up for her and she stared at the gesture, confused.

"Come on." He murmured lightly, his hand inching a little closer to her as he said it. "You've been awake way too long, I'll show you to that extra room, so you can sleep in an actual bed." He explained and Spirit blinked once,

"... I'm supposed to be the one ushering you off to bed, aren't I...?" She mumbled after a moment, Hawks shook his head slightly.

"I'll go to bed too." He promised softly, "But let me worry about you for right now... You've been taking care of me all day, so I'd like to return the favor at least a little." He hummed and Spirit seemed to hesitate still, and he just moved his hand a centimeter closer. "Come on Spirit." He urged gently, and Spirit paused a few moments more, before somewhat grudgingly taking his hand.

Hawks stood up from the couch and pulled her with him gently, their hands not separating again for a few seconds as he seemed to wait and see if she was steady enough- before quietly directing her to follow him out of the living room and down the hallway. He pushed in the door to the room that was almost directly across from his own, flipping on the light and revealing a rather large interior (though perhaps a smidge smaller than his) with it's own bed (a rectangle this time, as compared to his circle one), walk-in closet, dresser, two nightstands (with lamps) and attached bathroom. This room also had half a wall full of windows and a balcony that seemed detached from the one spanning the living/dining area, with the curtains pulled back to let a view of the sparkling city outside be seen.

There was a lack of stuff in this bedroom compared to the other sections of the apartment she had seen, but there was some things- general supposed to be decorative things... But there was a bunch of pillows on this bed like everywhere else.

... He has a thing with pillows, huh...?

"Here we are," Hawks hummed lightly, standing to the side of the doorway and sticking his hands in his pants pockets. "I hope this'll do for tonight, forgive me if it's a little dusty in here... Like I said, I don't usually have anybody over." He smiled slightly, tilting his head a bit toward the bed. "I can grab you a few more blankets from the closet if you need." He added, and Spirit blinked, glancing slowly between him and the very fully made-up bed, sheets, comforter, throw blanket, (a fuck-ton of) pillows and all.

"... Uh, no, I think I'll be good." She mumbled, and he nodded a bit.

"Well, then I'll leave you to catch some Z's, hmm?" Hawks murmured as Spirit stepped a bit further in the room, stopping at the foot of the bed and red eyes trailing around the space curiously. Hawks stepped back toward the door and grabbed the handle, pausing for a moment as he cast a glance over his shoulder at her, her back facing him now and the angry red scrapes running up her skin making him frown a bit.

"... Don't hesitate to come get me if ya need me for something, Spirit, kay?" He murmured softly and she paused, casting him a glance from over her shoulder.

"... Alright... Thanks for letting me use the room, Feathers." She mumbled softly, before looking away again.

"... Of course..." Hawks murmured back, before he paused a few seconds more at the door, his eyes darting from her and to his hand on the door handle, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"... Hey Spirit?" Hawks asked after a moment, and she jumped slightly at his voice, she'd figured he'd left already. She turned slightly, tilting her head at him though his eyes weren't on her at all for the moment.

"Hmm...?"

"... Since we're on the friends level now... do you wanna know my real name, maybe...?" He asked slowly, Spirit instantly stiffening at the words. "... I don't really share it with lots of people, for all the regular reasons most Pros don't share their real names... But I wouldn't mind you knowing." He murmured, his eyes falling closed for a moment as the corner of his lips twitched upward for half a second. "... Honestly it might be kinda nice to have someone refer to me by my name for once. Instead of just being called 'Hawks' all the time, I'd get to hear someone say-" He went on lightly, only to get cut off by Spirit's very sharp and flinty voice.

"Don't." She hissed quickly and he jumped at it, his eyes snapping open and her way, but her eyes were locked to the floor, glittering with her hands clenched and straight down at her sides. The Winged Hero faltered, his mouth still slightly ajar and his words, and well as his breath, sort of snatched away by the singular word.

Spirit shook her head hotly, her eyes closing and shoulders hunched slightly as she let out a low hiss. "Do not tell me, I don't want to know your name, Hawks." Spirit muttered lowly, and Hawks swallowed, his mouth shutting quickly as his eyes flashed, and his expression twisted in tandem with something that twisted painfully in his core at the quick shutdown. He turned his back on her all the way this time, eyes down and nodding stiffly as he grabbed the door handle a bit more firmly now.

"... Ah, right... Sorry, I won't... I guess I... Jumped the gun a bit, like you warned me not to, huh?" He mumbled quickly, his voice quiet and as calm as he could possibly make it... But it wasn't quite enough, and Spirit stiffened at the sound of it, her eyes snapping open from having closed.

... He...

"... My bad, Spirit... Just... Forget I said anything... 'Night..." Hawks mumbled lowly, his feet bringing him out the door as he shut it behind him without ever glancing back her way. He didn't look at her, not even when Spirit's head and body snapped around, eyes wide in shock and heart skipping a beat when the sudden shift in the tone of his voice caught her instant attention.

...h..he... He sounded so...

She started at the closed door, her stomach knotting a million times over, hating herself for her reaction and her response- because she'd only said that out of... Well, panic really.

She hadn't expected that turn in the conversation, and she certainly would have never guessed he'd be so willing to give something as personal as his real name up like that.

His name- his real name, the thing Pros don't go giving out to just anyone- or anyone at all..!

She couldn't fathom it, that he'd just decide to up and say it- not that fast, not out of nowhere, not after only sort of being 'friends' for 20 minutes now, and not to her.

You can't just give something like that up like that- not to someone you don't even know... And not to... Not to me...!

This was the same thing as with Sasaki- when the young girl had said her name out of nowhere, she'd done it where Spirit didn't want it- Spirit would have stopped her from saying it, if she'd had the chance. Spirit did not want to know, because Sasaki's real name was a personal thing, a protected and maybe even sort of sacred thing- it is not something shared lightly, ever... And least of all with someone like Spirit, who Sasaki just did not really know.

Hawks did not really know Spirit either, they might have put up 'friend' as a title, but it was just a word. They did not know each other, at all, and they were Pros. The real names of Pro Heroes were an extremely protected thing, they were not given out lightly, or ever- not even to other Pros.

That is not something you just give up unless you really know someone... And it was not something anybody should ever just give to her.

Not when...not when I... tch...

... So she panicked, she just wanted to stop him before he said it, before he did something he'd regret, and she didn't even think about. She just didn't want to know, because she didn't want him to just give something that important to her. Not to her.

Spirit swallowed hard, her eyes flashing and her arms moving in toward her center, her fingers twining together anxiously as she bit the inside of both cheeks.

... But... He... Sounded so... So hurt... That... I said no...

... I just... He can't give that to me... I don't wanna know because...

She hissed under her breath, her eyes falling from the door and to her feet, her core knotting further.

Hawks acted like a child a lot of the time, yeah? And he pretended to be more oblivious than he actually was.

But there was a lot more going on in that head of his, and he had plenty more motivation for the things he said and did, than she could ever pick up on or figure out. He was not stupid, or even all that reckless- he actually seemed to really think things through, and quite extensively really... So she knew that him trying to tell her his name now was probably not a whim, or a rushed decision. She realized that right off, right as her initial panic faded and she got left alone in that room, with the Winged Hero having sounded so... So hurt with her quick refusal.

And she really wasn't trying to be hurtful. She did not intend to tear him down so quickly for putting himself out there, so to speak. She just... Reacted.

Reacted and regretted it, instantly.

Spirit was not heartless- all her harsh words, actions, demeanor, and grumpiness notwithstanding. She already knew and realized she'd not exactly been treating Hawks all that fairly since meeting him. She was conscious about it, she tried to mellow out, to watch herself and her quick snaps back to being harsh, and unfair, and just altogether prickly. She didn't mean to fall so easily back into being so... So defensive... So mean.

... I wasn't trying to... Fuck... I just... I panicked...

... I reacted... Tch... Just like I always do... With so much...

... But always... Around him... And I just can't... Stop myself... Damn it...

Her eyes flashed, swallowing hard again as she backed up a few paces, her legs shaking slightly as she quickly sank into sitting on the end of the bed.

... Even when I was trying to watch myself... I was still an ass... Without even meaning to be...

... Damn it... I'm... Hopeless... I'm a bitch... And a terrible person still... Even when I try not to be...

... He was just... Trying... To...

"..b...but... I just... I can't know..." She mumbled under her breath, shaking her head as her eyes landed on her hands in her lap. "... You can't tell me your name... I don't want to know because... That's something... Important... Personal... It's not something you give to just anybody, not as a Pro... Or even... Just normally... If you give me your name... I'd have to..." She stiffened, her shoulders hunching as her fingers trembled slightly. "... I'd have to give you mine... That would be fair... That's... How it should work... But... But... I can't..." Spirit hissed lowly, her voice cracking slightly at the end as she shut her eyes tight, her head bowing and her hands weaving together in her lap tight enough her knuckles turned white.

... E...even if... Things were to ever, somehow... Get to a point where I could even... Trust him enough to share something like that... It... It still... Wouldn't...

... If he gives me his real name... I couldn't give him the same thing back... It wouldn't be fair... I couldn't give him what he gives me... I can't return it... It won't be worth the same... I can't give him my name... Because...

Spirit bent over a bit, her forehead pressing against her clenched hands and her bruised ribs absolutely hating her for the posture, and the barely stifled beginnings of the anxiety, unease, guilt-fueled, and terribly shaky breaths were taking firm hold of her. She was strung out in every way imaginable now, mentally and physically- exhausted, aching, guilty, and with her soul absolutely stormy with so many things, and thoughts, and feelings she had spent her whole life trying to bury.

... I can't give him my name... Because...b...because...

"...it... It wouldn't be real..."

---

Hello everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Lots of stuff went down in this one, and it was uber long to boot!

Plenty of Spirit and Hawks in this one, some fluff, some angst, some light stuff and some more heavy stuff too- things are changing drastically now, whether Spirit likes it or not XD

Thank you for sticking with me and reading this story! I probably won't update for a bit, as I am gonna focus on my other stories for awhile- but thank you still for your patience! ;w;

Please follow, fav, and Review if you can! Thank you!