The afternoon sun slowly cast its light on your face, causing you to stir awake. Blinking sleep from your eyes, you stretched your arms and legs as best as you could from your seated position. You didn't recall falling asleep, but it was practically inevitable on a 16-hour flight. As your vision focused, you noticed mountains in the distance and quickly checked the time on your watch.
'4:00 PM (GMT+9)'
You had arrived, but you likely still had a little ways to go before you reached your destination. There was a restricting pull on your torso as you attempted to sit up in your chair. You looked down to find that the seat belt had been buckled tightly around your waist. Stiller's doing, you thought. It was unlikely the enlisted soldiers would risk startling you. You unbuckled the latch-like restraint, straightened yourself, and eagerly watched the scenery go by. It was unlikely you'd get a view like this from the city- might as well enjoy it while you could. A smile fixed itself to your face as you looked longingly out the window. You hadn't ever seen the Japanese countryside like this before. It was breathtaking. Large rectangular farm plots of varying greens and yellows dotted the landscape on either side of a river that flowed down from one of the distant peaks. There was a serenity that came with the thought of seclusion and you couldn't help but wonder what it might be like to fly freely and unmonitored through the mountains' surrounding forests.
"Enjoying the view?" Stiller's steady voice broke you from your trance. Your smile faded as you looked at him.
"You'll need to put your seatbelt back on; we'll be landing in thirty minutes. Someone from the Hero Commission's office will be meeting us once we do. We'll be heading straight to the main building from the airport. You need to eat before we disembark. The stewardess will bring you a tray. I expect you to be finished before we begin our descent." A pretty standard briefing for Stiller: short and to the point. You preferred it that way. He had been your caretaker for over ten years, formalities weren't necessary between the two of you anymore. Not that they were very common to begin with. "Mm." You nodded in response, thankful that he never tried to force a "Yes, sir." out of you anymore. At that, Stiller turned and headed back to the front of the aircraft. 'At least he let me sleep.' You thought, moderately grateful.
The plane came to a stop on the tarmac and you felt the excitement bubble within you again. You scrambled to free yourself from the seatbelt, practically jumping into the aisle once you had. The two soldiers who were watching you before also got to their feet. Down the aisle ahead of you, you caught a glimpse of Stiller speaking with someone at the now-open exit door. He started towards you in a steadfast manner.
"Leave that case here. I want you at my five as we're walking to the car. Stay close, understood?" He ordered.
"Yes." You replied. 'Why can't he just talk like a normal person around these guys?'
Stiller nodded and led the way to the exit. You followed a couple of paces behind him and the soldiers a few extra paces behind you. Your eyes involuntarily squinted as the Sun's bright light shone on your face. The soldiers' tension as you lifted your hand to shade your eyes was palpable. You didn't bother with the stairs, opting instead to use your quirk to hover above them until you reached the ground. The hurried footsteps of your escorts coming down the metal steps put you on edge. You hated when they assigned low-rank grunts as guards on trips. They all took their jobs way too seriously and their firm attitudes made everything seem like a big deal. Like now, for instance. What should be a normal deboarding and walk to a car now felt like a tense hostage situation. And clearly, they thought you the captor.
"Eyes forward." Stiller instructed, clearly aware of the state you were getting yourself into. You did as instructed, staring straight ahead. Just past your handler's shoulder, you saw a black car with darkly tinted windows. A tall, broad-shouldered man stood outside on the driver's side door. He wore a fitted black suit and tie as well as a blank expression. A slightly shorter, but similarly dressed man made his way towards the two of you with a smile.
"Henry Stiller!" He exclaimed. "It's been ages. You don't look a day over forty."
From behind you couldn't see the smile on Stiller's face, but his cheerful change in tone was recognizable. "You think flattery will get you anywhere, Takakage?" He quipped.
"I think it just might, Captain."
The pair shared a laugh as they stepped forward and grasped one another's hand in a firm handshake. You were perplexed. In all the time you had known Stiller, you couldn't recall hearing him laugh so wholly. You weren't going to complain, though. Their joyful nature seemed to lighten the mood a bit. It was a welcome change.
"It's been too long, my friend." Stiller concluded as he stepped back.
"It sure has." Takakage turned his gaze onto you. "And (H/N). You've aged well."
His compliment took you by surprise. You didn't know this man… did you? There were plenty of people who knew you by your hero name and nothing else, but this man commented on your change in appearance. Could he have known you before, when you were training in Japan as a child?
"Mm." Stiller turned to you and nodded in agreement. "And their training has been a resounding success." He boasted before leaning in closer to his friend's ear, keeping his voice just above a whisper. "I told you all they needed was a change of scenery."
Takakage smiled. "You did, you did. It's good to know rehoming worked in your favor." The second part of his sentence was directed at you.
You bowed to the man. It was clear he knew you. "It's nice to see you again, sir." You greeted, not wanting to seem rude for not remembering him.
Takakage nodded in acknowledgment. "Yes, well we don't want to be late. Come on." He opened the car door before walking to the other side. Stiller stood next to the open door as you approached. "We have a meeting." He told you abruptly. Last-minute briefings were nothing new to you, but this was still an inconvenience. Of course, you'd prefer to be notified about things like this, but seeing as how Stiller controlled the flow of information you received about your assignments (and he worked on a need-to-know basis), you wouldn't be informed of many things until you absolutely needed to know. You stepped into the car and Stiller shut the door before entering from the other side to take the seat across from you.
You stared up in awe at the tall buildings as you passed. Your eyes darted from sign to sign and it was comforting to know that you could still read them properly. Like a child on their way to their favorite amusement park, your wide-eyed expression persisted down every block. Stiller raised an eyebrow as he observed your slightly more animated nature.
"We have skyscrapers back home, you know." Your smile dulled slightly, but you chose to ignore his comment. He spoke again. "Honestly, (H/N), you act as though you've never seen a city before."
In truth, you had seen cities before. Hundreds of them, actually. Most were American cities, but a few were international- trips taken for special missions. As Stiller mentioned, there were some areas with buildings that reached the clouds. Others were smaller and only consisted of a few shops and maybe a small housing district. You had seen so many places- so many cities. You had even seen this city long ago, but not like this. Not with the steadily fading feeling of homesickness in your heart. Now that you were back, you would take every opportunity you had to explore. The car pulled over and came to a stop on the side of the road.
"We're here."
You climbed out of the car behind Stiller and slowly looked upwards at the towering building that loomed over you. The huge diamond on the front left no doubt; this was the Hero Public Safety Commission's main building. The structure was big, but it was still just an office building. So why did it feel so intimidating at the moment? You remembered being dragged around inside as a child, your boredom being just strong enough to mask your anxiety. This time around, however, you could use the utter apathy you felt every time you looked at your handler to cover up any sort of emotion that threatened to display itself. Stiller, Takakage, and yourself all started into the building simultaneously.
As you expected, the lobby was rather sizable. To your right was a waiting area of sorts with a row of chairs lined up against the wall and a water cooler on one end. To your left, a large semi-circle shaped desk with the Hero Commission's diamond embellished on the front sat with a rather young looking woman stationed behind it. Takakage gave the lady a small wave as the three of you passed. Straight ahead were the elevators.
"We'll be on the thirteenth floor." Takakage said as he pushed a button. "I hope you're not still afraid of heights."
You managed a weak smile, but his wording definitely caught your attention. 'Not still afraid of heights?' You figured he had known you as a child from your interaction at the airport, but even then, you had only told a couple of people about your phobia. 'How could he possibly…?' A strong possible candidate popped into your brain almost as quickly as the question had. 'Must've been Stiller.' You looked forward once again, this time at the elevator doors as they closed in front of you. It was one thing if people knew of you- it was something else entirely if they knew details. You had done your best to keep any negative emotions under wraps, lest the Commission or Stiller attempt to play out your fears in training. Not that it mattered anymore in this case anyway. You were very obviously no longer afraid of heights. In fact, you had come to love the spectacular aerial views you saw from so up high.
Your thoughts were interrupted by the soft ding of the elevator. You felt Stiller's hand on your back, compelling you forward as Takakage stepped into the hallway. His touch caused your muscles to tense and you prayed he didn't notice. The two of you followed Takakage down the hall and into the room where you assumed you'd be having your meeting. It was smaller than you expected. The size of it suggested one of two things: either this was a relatively unimportant job that required few people, or this was a highly secretive detail that required exclusivity among its participants. Taking into consideration the fact that they brought you in from overseas, you thought it safe to assume the latter.
Light shined in effortlessly through the floor-to-ceiling windows on the long side of the room. You noticed a projector on the ceiling pointed at a drop-down screen on the adjacent wall. Facing the screen was a black, u-shaped table in the center of the room with black leather chairs surrounding it: three on either of the long sides and two at the shorter one.
"She wants you here, Captain." Takakage pointed to one of the two seats on the short side before taking his own. Stiller pulled out the chair and sat down just as the door clicked open again. Four more people walked in- two looked to be heroes, but you hadn't a clue what their names were. The other two, a man and a woman, were dressed in the same black suit Takakage wore. They took their seats beside Takakage while the heroes sat just opposite them. Having been given no immediate order to pick a chair, you stood behind Stiller and assumed they had already been reserved. A bit of chatter amongst the formally dressed caught your ear. The three Commission workers were conversing, occasionally sneaking glances at you and commenting back to one another.
'Are they talking about me? I can't hear them. What are they saying?' You were uncomfortable. Did everyone here know you? Surely they must have replaced at least some of the staff in the last ten years.
The door swung open again. 'Keep your eyes forward.' You reminded yourself that you had to appear composed at all times. The sight you drew from your peripheral vision, however, left you trembling.
'Is that? No, it can't be; why would he be here? Idiot, he's a hero, there's no reason he shouldn't be here.' Your mind raced, anxiety swiftly settling into your brain. The towering man stopped by the door as he held it open for a man with a dolichocephalic head, and a woman you couldn't immediately identify. The heat from his controlled flames wafted over you. It took everything you had to keep your blank stare on the screen ahead as he walked past you.
'Endeavor.' Your heart pounded and the rise in temperature, coupled with your increasing uneasiness, caused you to sweat. You had never met Endeavor before. As a small child you had looked up to him, but that was before. Before you knew what he was really like. Before you joined the program. Before you met his son. 'Touya.' The name weighed on your mind like a boulder. The Flame Hero stood off to your left near the corner of the room. You weren't afraid, but you couldn't seem to control the ferocious shaking that racked your body. You wanted out- badly. Your eyes darted around the room, desperate to find anything that could distract you from his presence. Your attention eventually settled on the woman who had come in with him. She was sat in the chair next to Stiller. You recognized her now. She was the president of the Commission. Her attendance helped you to discern the gravity of the situation they requested you for.
This was awful. All of it. This whole set of circumstances felt horrid and you couldn't escape it. You wanted nothing more than to bolt out the door and never look back- to fly back to that distant forest you saw from the plane. But they could find you. The band locked around your wrist would relay your location to Stiller and you'd be overtaken by an entire platoon. Whatever freedom you had accumulated over time would be stripped away and you'd likely be put through the most rigorous training of your life. Your unwelcome thoughts were beginning to consume you. This wasn't right. This wasn't like you. You were a specially trained weapon- a learned warrior. You can't be brought down by your own mind like this. You had been away from this place for so long, you had nearly forgotten the reason you were sent away; however, now that you were back, there were too many reminders. You had never dealt with it properly- were never given time to process…
"Where is he?" The President's voice broke the silence. Takakage responded: "He should be on his way, I'm sure he'll be here soon." As if on cue, you heard the door open once more.
'God, no. No more people. This room is full enough. I need this to be over.' You balled your hands into fists and clenched your jaw so tight you thought you might break your teeth.
It was then that you noticed the pair of brilliant vermilion wings that had just entered the room.
