Makima levels her gleaming gold gaze with Hawks' hazel eyes. The woman rests her elbows on the dark desk between them, forearms raised so that her fingers are steepled together. Directly beneath her triangular formation lies a document. They've both already seen the contents of the folder, laser and jet ink printer on the opposite wall responsible for its distribution. A corner of the HPSC Director's mouth twitches as it gives way to a faint smile.

"You've done well", her surprisingly soft voice holds enough power to still carry across the room. When Makima takes a tone like this, the deceptively soothing decibel always manages to have the opposite effect on Hawks. A calm atmosphere for her is one in which she is in control of. That makes the hero anything but calm.

Hawks fights the frown that tries to form on his face, an attempt to conceal his emotion as well as his superior does. "I didn't do anything, Miss Makima …", he doesn't want to take credit or admit to any sort of involvement, "The boy did all that on his own."

Makima tilts her chin down, before righting its position, a slow singular nod. "That's exactly why you did well, to not get in his way and prohibit such an inevitable outcome", she has no issue maintaining her composure while Hawks responds with clenched fists at his sides, "Perhaps you should consider you had a hand in his instigation even."

Hawks digs his nails into his palms, squeezing his fingers closed increasingly tighter. He has to shove his hands into his coat pockets in order to hide the action. In doing so, he also tries to make himself appear casual, "There was honestly no instigating – who would've thought what should've been a relaxing boat ride would turn out this way."

Makima hums, but the hero is unsure if the sound is meant to convey agreement or considerment. When she responds, "Yes…", he's still not entirely certain. "Who would've thought, indeed."

Off to the side, occupying the space of the wall opposite to the printer, a shelf full of literature suddenly catches the hero's eyes. Textbooks from grad school coupled with degrees collect dust but particular readings are cleaner than others. Nautical research, villain profiles, coast guard handbooks, shipping records, articles that aren't mere coincidence to be so relevant to the situation; Hawks swallows a shout as he contains his reaction. Now, he is certain what her hum conveys. Amusement. Makima lets out a humored hum when her eyes follow Hawks' gaze.

"An orchestrated event has contingent factors for a specific outcome", strands of the woman's scarlet shaded hair tilt with her head as she leans to one side, "It is thanks to you that we were able to heed such results."

"And…", Hawks steadies his voice before it can crack or disrupt his breathing, "And what are those results?"

Makima breaks the steepled formation of her fingers to flip open the folder on her desk. Despite already having seen the contents of the file, she still refers to them with a glance, as though to confirm their prominence per existence. "An incident report that gives us leverage", she taps the signed form with her index finger, "Another omission of Izuku Midoriya's record thanks to the Hero Public Safety Commission."

"Blackmail", Hawks sighs, "You keep doing he and U.A favors for his hero career to build credit for yourself. I don't think Midoriya is the type to think that makes him owe you any favors though" The hero shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

"I wouldn't expect anything of the sort", Makima closes the file as though she's closing the door on the matter. And yet. Hawks still feels that same incredible sense of unease. As though he's never the one in control so long as she occupies the same space as him. "However, the HPSC can only sweep so much under the rug before a lump becomes noticeable beneath the carpet. What will happen to Midoriya should he reach his limit with our liaison, I wonder?"

Feathers stand on end, wings bristling, as a shudder runs through Hawks. She's accruing enough to dominate quirk and hero law in order to claim Midoriya. The methods of the HPSC are as discreet and taciturn as the criminal underworld's operation; fighting fire with fire is bound to burn the whole world down. Hawks is acutely aware of how vulnerable he is to such an inferno. If Icarus flew too close to the sun for his wings to burn, then flying headfirst into flames likely won't have any better of a result.

Makima raises her index finger from the document on her desk, its placement between her spiraled eyes once it steadies. "One", her tone is sharper now as she makes this proclamation, "One more mishap from Midoriya is all we need now" Hawks can't bring himself to blink nor look away as she stares intensely into his eyes.

He knows it goes unspoken that she's demanding him to 'instigate' another situation. He's as much apart of this underhanded tactical approach as she is. His shoulders slump and he surrenders with a hopeless pitch to his voice that determines the power dynamic ever so obviously, "And what would it take for that to happen?"

Makima's mouth no longer twitches, the edges now pulling up to make a full smile. "Another change of scenery", she reverts back to her soft tone of voice as though she's making a vacation suggestion, "To Hosu City this time" She leans back in her office chair before confirming the reason why, a reason that Hawks already knows. "It's time that the HPSC do something about the Hero Killer anyways."

Hawks soars just slightly above the skyscrapers of Hosu. Behind him, Midoriya manages to actually keep up. Ever since he learned how to use the chains of his chainsaws, his mobility has been rapidly increasing. Faster. More agile. The boy's speed excelled in such a short span of time. Hawks can see why Makima wants to have him join the HPSC's roster so badly. Grappling from building to building, Midoriya swings with the linkage to cut through the air as quickly as a flying hero may dash or dart with the wind.

Hawks is grateful for his visor, it hides the solemn expression on his face. And if not for that, he's staying ahead of his intern that Midoriya wouldn't see the look anyways. Nevertheless, Makima was right that the boy would be ecstatic about chasing the Hero Killer. As soon as Hawks said they would be hunting down Stain, he immediately jumped at the opportunity. They didn't even have to take the train, he'd been so full of energy. Hawks flew the whole way there while Midoriya zipped around with his chains.

Now it's a matter of actually searching. As a pro, Hawks knows the most logistical way to go about this manhunt is to check back alleys during the night. Stain doesn't seem the type to show himself during broad daylight out in the open or else he'd have been caught by now. Yet, Hawks sticks to patrolling the city from above while it's early in the morning. If he can lessen the odds of Midoriya playing right into Makima's hands, he'll at least do that.

Suddenly, Midoriya dips down, catching Hawks' attention. "Oh! Iida!", his intern calls out to someone on the streets below. Normally, Hawks would continue flying and leave his negligent sidekick behind, but this is a special case. The hero tightens his wings as they come into a press to stop his flow. He drops down to join Midoriya.

It appears Midoriya has a knack for attracting fish themed heroes. Hawks recognizes the blue and white patterned uniform that belongs to Manual, especially the distinct mohawk fin helmet. But not the mobile suit gundam cosplayer beside him. Unless… his eyes widen behind his visor. The white armor look is similar to the Ingenium family's apparel; the honorific Iida is merely the cherry on top to confirm that suspicion.

"Midoriya! What are you doing here?", the surprise in Iida's voice is enough to convey his emotion without having to remove his helmet. Still, he robotically moves to do so.

"Patrolling", Midoriya gestures between himself and Hawks with the dynamic duo across from them, "Same as you" To which Hawks flashes a smile and nods in greeting.

Manual removes his own helmet to gawk at the hero, "Hawks? Wow! And after hearing Endeavor is flying around as well!"

Hawks raises his eyebrows, having not expected the reaction or that information. "Endeavor is here?", he asks.

"Yeah", Manual grins. "Looks like everyone wants a go at the hero killer", then laughs at his own joke. Hawks forces out a chuckle to go along with it.

But Midoriya doesn't find it very funny. He suddenly finds himself looking at his classmate very differently. "Iida…", he takes a step forward with his arm beginning to reach out.

But Iida pulls away. "It was nice running into you again, Midoriya, but we must be going", he slides his helmet back on just as hastily before checking with his sponsor, "Right, Manual?"

"Uh–", Manual hesitates since he's taken off guard by the abruptness but quickly recovers, "Right! A hero's work is never done!"

"Right", Midoriya lowers his hand and lets them leave. Still, as he watches them go, he can't help but regret not saying more.

"Words to live by", Hawks watches them walk away as well before glancing down at his intern. Instantly, he notices the boy's demeanor has changed. "Something the matter, kid?"

"Nothing", but Midoriya denies it with a shake of his head, "Just thinking about where the hero killer could be hiding is all."

If they had continued hovering over rooftops, perhaps they would have found the hero killer afterall. It turns out, Stain isn't in hiding. He's very much out and about. The villain perches himself atop a water tower, his back already hunched over. Through the slits in a makeshift cloth mask, he searches too, for his next target. The swords slung over and across the man's back crave bloodshed as red as the tattered scarf wrapped around his neck.

As if in response to that bloodlust, an equally fiendish presence makes itself known on that same rooftop. A whirling void of dark lilac and mauve expands to open a supernatural warpgate. Tomura Shigaraki steps through the portal, garbed in his usual attire of severed hands clinging to his body. He grins behind the one covering his face, finding it ironic that a villain found the hero killer first before a bunch of heroes.

"What do you want?", Stain addresses Shigaraki without once looking back. He regards the villain with very little interest, as though sharing the occupied space is little less than an inconvenience.

"You", Shigaraki's snide retort changes that though. Stain turns partially, assessing the villain as a nuisance now. Sensing some of that annoyance radiating in the air and how it itches at his skin, Shigaraki's smile shifts to a sneer. "Is that a problem?", the question is more of a challenge now that they've both acknowledged the tension in between them.

Before things can escalate, the portal behind Shigaraki changes its rotation to morph into a more humanoid shape. Kurogiri materializes with a sigh as he places himself in between Shigaraki and Stain, "What the young master means to say … is that we would like a moment of your time."

"I get it already", Stain glances away as he brushes them off, "You want me to become part of your little gang. I've already been scouted by other lowly groups. I'm not interested."

"But we're in a league of our own", Shigaraki steps around Kurogiri while fixing him with a glare to express his irritation over being disrupted, "Our party is different. Stronger. We were the ones who led the ambush on U.A."

Hearing U.A mentioned, Stain's interest is perked. He recalls hearing about that attack on the news. It caused quite the societal uproar about heroes and whether or not students are safe studying to pursue heroism as a career. He hops down from the water tower to speak with them more considerately, "And what're you after?", he asks.

Shigaraki shares a look with Kurogiri, pleased with himself. Confident, he tells Stain his aspirations. "We want to kill All Might", Stain's eyes narrow at that, "But I also want to destroy everything else I don't like."

"It's ridiculous that you really had my interest for a second there", Stain runs his tongue along his lips in a circular motion that shows how pointed and bumpy it is, "You're.. haahh … the type I hate the most."

"Huh?", Shigaraki cocks his head as he processes the hero killer's response. He starts to get angry again. Especially when Stain scoffs at his reaction.

"As if I'd team up with some temper tantrum throwing child", the hero killer reiterates his answer to the League Of Villains before facing away again. "Bloodlust without conviction is meaningless", he plans on returning to his post on the water tower now that this mild disruption is over with.

Or so, he planned on it. "Don't you turn your back on me!", Shigaraki snarls. The villain crosses the space between them, hands outstretched to grab the hero killer. Stain unsheathes his sword, prepared to bring the blade down on his opponent's wrists to sever those hands. Each of them move swiftly to meet the other in an instantaneous killing blow.

But neither are faster than Kurogiri's warpgates. Kurogiri prevents them from making contact with one another, separating their mutually destructive intent. Stain's sword impales the rooftop. Shigaraki's hands grasp at the air. He tuts and lets them jump back before closing the portals.

Stain draws a second sword, pointing its tip at the villains opposing him. "Our goals couldn't be further apart", he growls with disdain for the league, "To truly accomplish anything – one needs will and conviction – those without it will be weeded out."

"Really?", Shigaraki seethes through his teeth. He's about to charge in for another attack but feels a hand on his shoulder. He nearly dusts whoever dares touch him before seeing that it's Kurogiri shaking his head. Settling down and reevaluating the situation, Shigaraki sighs. "Then I guess we'll see who gets weeded out first."

Stain lowers his weapon, no longer sensing any hostility from the man child. When Kurogiri opens a portal for the two to leave the hero killer there alone, he puts the katana back in its sheath. With a huff, Stain returns back to his perch. It's a good vantage point. A perfect spot for finding corrupt heroes only after fame or fortune.

It's a tourist area. Heroes pose for pictures and sign autographs like celebrities rather than patrolling the city. It sickens him. Shams. Frauds. Stain's tongue slides out of his mouth, extended and knobbly. He drools as he anticipates his next kill. Red eyes scour the streets until they find his next target.

"Back to the hunt", the hero killer stalks his prey with a predatory gaze, "Native…"

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Meshing flashbacks with the present in one chapter is starting to become something I like, so maybe I'll keep working it in occasionally. This chapter was a bit of a test to see if that works in a theoretical sense. Lemme know whatcha think, if you're opposed or all for it.