Chapter 2: Hawks is Better Than You
Hawks was their gym teacher. The HPSC got the pro a teaching license and assigned him to teach the students how to fight. Hawks was a surprisingly good teacher. He taught the kids everything he knew about stealth and combat, and they took to it like a frog learning how to swim. These kids are vicious.
Hawks took a particular liking to two specific students. Izuku and Hitoshi were diehard hero fanboys, and while Hawks wasn't their favorite hero, they both respected him greatly. The three became close after the two had taken on extra training for their future in heroics. He began seeing the boys as younger brothers. He was allowed to play favorites outside of class… right? Even though he was a hero, he'd kill for those kids.
Izuku had even given him a few tips on better using his quirk. That kid's analysis was terrifyingly comprehensive. Hawks gulped when he was handed a notebook loaded with enough information to put the HPSC analysts and records to shame. The twelve pages of weaknesses that could be exploited or used to plan his murder were… humbling. His quirk, Fierce Wings, was powerful. It granted him a set of massive red wings. Not only had they given him the ability to fly, but he could also control each feather individually. It was an incredibly versatile quirk, but Izuku could find every flaw. Every way… he was vulnerable. Vulnerability that the Commission would be furious about.
Hawks had more downtime now than he had since he was six, which concerned him. He had no childhood, and spending time with a bunch of kids only emphasized that. These kids suffered because of their quirk status, and for some reason, he related to their pain and trauma. He lost everything at the hands of the Commission for the sake of their child soldier program. They put him through hell because they wanted him and his quirk to be a perfect little puppet. All because they liked his quirk.
One man made his life particularly Hellish. He was in charge of the basic training of the newer recruits. Takaoka was a brutal man whose chosen teaching tactic was to break his trainees beyond repair, then build them back up however he saw fit. He was especially harsh to rambunctious or outgoing kids, like Hawks was. Hawks thought he would never have to see that demon again, but the Commission had other plans. The 3E students weren't progressing fast enough for the HPSC standards, so they sent in one of their trainers, Takaoka. The fact that Takaoka still worked for the HPCS as a trainer meant they still ran that horrid program that ruined the lives of countless children.
Takaoka, the demon, was luring the children into a sense of safety using sweets and praise. It was his favorite tactic. He tried to masquerade as a father figure. Then he'd use that to justify his abusive behavior. At first, Hawks attempted to keep a straight face and maintain his appearance for the HPSC. That all went out the window. He snapped when Takaoka started to hit the kids.
The demon screamed at and choked Hitoshi for talking back. The lanky boy gasped and clawed at Takaoka's unusually large hands. The purple-haired teen's look of shock quickly turned to an angry snarl. That only yielded more yelling and a harsher grip.
"Get your filthy hands off of him!" Hawks shouted. He pulled one of his feathers to wield like a sword. "I won't let you hurt them anymore! Not like how you hurt me!"
The demon laughed at him. Laughed at him! Takaoka shot Hawks a horrid sneer. "Oh, the trainee thinks he can best the trainer? Ha! You know what would happen if you defy direct orders, yet you still threaten me? Hmm… I propose a wager. If you can prove that you're a better teacher than me, then I'll leave and give the HPSC a glowing review of your teaching skills."
Hawks raised the feather as if to strike.
"Ha ha! Not so fast!" Takaoka wagged his finger patronizingly. "If you beat me, it only proves I taught you perfectly. If one of your students defeats me, though…"
Hawks was horrified. There was no way he'd subject one of the kids to that demon's beatings. Suddenly a hand was placed on his shoulder. The hand's owner was far shorter than the pro, with green hair and a freckled face.
"Izuku… I ca-" Hawks was cut off by the determined look in the boy's eyes. "Okay, kick his but." He tried giving the boy an encouraging thumbs-up.
Takaoka handed Izuku a knife. A real one, not a rubber one that only hurts the octopus teacher. The demon laughed again. "Look how generous I am. I won't even wield a knife of my own!"
"O-okay," Izuku whispered.
"Aww, where did all that determination go?" Takaoka looked down at the boy with pity, but that suddenly changed to confusion. Izuku hunched and shuffled toward the trainer. It was a tactic he honed during his years of avoiding Kacchan. The small boy cowered before the demon and clutched the knife close to his body.
"M-Mr. Takaoka?" Izuku stammered. Takaoka raised one of his eyebrows. Suddenly, Izuku had the demon in a chokehold and pressed the knife to his throat. Izuku was like a completely other person. He had a sadistic grin, and his voice dripped with malice. All of his anxiety had disappeared, and he laughed manically. "Do you yield Takaoka? Do you admit defeat? Will you go back on your word? Everyone here has witnessed your failure at the hands of Hawks's student. He has surpassed you in every way. Get lost."