Game night with the League of Villains isn't much different than any other game night Hawks had participated in. Not every member is present, but nobody seems to mind. Those who are participating are as competitive as the young number two hero. Kurogiri has already had to break up three fights, all started by Toga. She seems to be getting more violent the more she loses. It doesn't help that she's pissed that Dabi won't let her drink with the rest of them.
When the dice land, Hawks' are higher than hers. With a triumphant laugh, he moves two of his pieces into her territory on the game board. He's oblivious to her oncoming attack until Dabi growls, "Hurt my bird and I'll make you regret it, kid."
Turning to see the nail file grasped in the young killer's hand like a knife, Hawks laughs to conceal his slight fear. "Come on, Toga. Don't be such a sore loser. Risk is a game of strategy and chance." He leans back against the arsonist beside him. "Ain't that right, babe?"
"Whatever you say, pretty bird," he responds, gently pushing the hero off of him. "Has anyone heard from Tomura? He's a little too quiet."
"He said he was tired," Kurogiri informs. "I assume he's in his room."
Concern for their young leader rises in the arsonist, spreading to the hero with a glance. The two look at each other for a moment before, in unison, saying, "We'll be right back."
Before the others can ask where they're going, the two race through the hide out to their leader's room. Knocking yields no response and the door is locked. When Dabi raises his hand to knock again, something heavy hits the floor inside the room. Pushing his partner out of the way, the bird themed hero kicks open the door with practiced ease.
"Tomura!" Hawks calls, rushing to the villain's side. His stomach ties itself in knots at the sight of blood flowing from about a dozen deep cuts on the boy's arm.
From the doorway, the scarred arsonist curses. "Hold his arm still," he orders as he moves to kneel on Tomura's other side.
"What are you going to do?" Hawks inquires, his voice shaking with fear.
Ignoring his partner, he locks eyes with the half conscious sixteen-year-old. "You know the drill, kid. This is going to hurt for a minute, but it will stop the bleeding."
Hawks barely has time to grasp the boy's bleeding arm before blue flames meet lacerated flesh, ripping a guttural cry from the blue haired villain. In seconds, the doorway is filled with the other members of the league. Hawks' ears are ringing, his entire focus on the task he's been given, as Dabi barks orders. He demands blood from Toga and bandages from Twice. He sends Kurogiri to retrieve Tomura's gloves.
Tears pool in Hawks' eyes as he watches Tomura slowly start to lose consciousness, adrenaline only able to keep him going for so long with so much less blood to carry it. Panic takes hold in the bird-man's mind. Conflicting instincts taking over, his already tight grip tightens further. He feels bad for the bruise that's bound to already be forming, but he can't control it. Luckily, only one hand locks up, leaving the other free to brush Tomura's hair out of his face.
"Come on, kid," he says, a gentleness in his voice that in no way matches his panic. "Stay awake for me. Can you do that?" Exhausted red eyes barely open for a moment before screwing shut again in agony as Dabi starts working on another cut. Sympathy seeps into golden eyes as red wings twitch with the urge to fly away. Instead, he runs his hand through Tomura's wavy blue hair, saying, "I know it hurts. It'll be over soon, I promise. You're doing so good, just hold on a little longer."
Out of the corner of his eye, Hawks sees the villains jumping to follow orders. Sako is busy keeping Iguchi out of the way. It's no surprise the reptilian villain and wannabe magician are no help when someone is bleeding out. The other three are standing off to the side, restlessly awaiting further orders. Toga is wisely using the time to set up the IV line and spike the blood bag. Twice is bouncing on the balls of his feet, stress seeming to ground him enough that both sides of his personality were quiet but not enough for him to sit still. Kurogiri is the closest, standing just to the left of Hawks. He has a white-knuckle grip on the gloves and an Eraserhead plushie. The man's muttering can barely be heard over his ward's screams. Hawks' sensitive ears are only able to pick up parts of self-deprecating statements about how he's supposed to protect Tomura and how he should have seen the signs.
Hawks himself is only partially there mentally. His mind is flashing through every time one of the other children the Hero Commission had "taken in" got hurt during training. The commission would always wait and see if the child could get back up and continue with their training before stepping in. He remembered the first time the commission didn't step in. A girl with telekinetic abilities was trying to use her power to stop a fireball from one of the other children. She succeeded for a few seconds, long enough for a victorious smile to tug at her lips before a split second of terror widened her eyes. The boy's fire was stronger than her invisible shield and she was burned badly. Her agony rings clear in Hawks' mind over a decade later, melting into a gunshot then silence. That wasn't the first child the commission had put down like a rabid animal, but she was the first one they killed in front of the others. And she certainly wasn't the last.
Their cries mix with Tomura's in the hero's mind as he does his best to comfort the boy he's supposed to be spying on. He had decided a few weeks ago to stop feeding the commission intel. Once he was welcomed into the League, Hawks quickly saw how similar they were to a family of misfits. He learned how badly each of them has been hurt by society and heroes. He himself never understood why heroes had to be so flashy and often wondered why they couldn't just help people and go about their day. This trait he shares with Tomura, only he wants to change the way things are done from the inside instead of tearing it all down.
When Dabi finally finishes cauterizing the cuts, he looks up to Hawks. The panic in the bird-man's eyes hurts for the fire wielder to see, especially knowing where that fear is coming from. He tries to instruct him to let go of Tomura's arm, but his words can't penetrate the phantom screams ringing in the young hero's mind. By that point, shock and blood loss had dragged Tomura over the edge into unconsciousness and Hawks had gone silent.
Hawks flinches away from Dabi's hand when it comes close to him. Instead of the slap the hero expects, he feels the headphones around his neck be moved into place over his ears. The distinct beep of them connecting automatically to his phone confuses the bird-man's panic clouded mind. A dial tone startles him before Dabi presses the button on the side of the headphones to answer the call.
"Hey, pretty bird," Dabi's deep voice rumbles in his ears. "Chirp once if you're scared." A quiet chirp escapes Hawks' lips as Dabi wipes away a river of tears. It hurts the scarred villain to see fresh panic flare in his bird's eyes as his breathing quickens. "No one here's going to hurt you. You're with the League, not the Commission. Can you chirp twice for me if you understand what I'm saying?" Two timid chirps respond to the order. "That's a good bird." The blonde leans into the calloused hand caressing his cheek. "Can you let go of Tomura's arm?"
"I-I can't. My-my hand's locked."
"I know, pretty bird. I'm going to come sit by you, okay?" He doesn't move until the panicking blonde nods. As he relocates, he instructs Kurogiri to put Tomura's gloves on him so that Twice can bandage the boy's cuts. Settling beside the hero, Dabi asks, "Is it okay if I hold you, birdie?" Hawks chirps quietly, his wings going completely limp as he leans on his partner. "You're safe, Keigo. We're not mad at you. We understand that the raptor grip is a panic response. None of us are going to punish you for it, but you're hurting Tomura." Scared gold eyes glance up to meet calm icy blue for only a moment before looking to his locked hand. He doesn't want to hurt the boy, but he can't let go. Fresh hot tears race down his cheeks as his attempts to force his hand to open fail. "Don't push yourself. I want to try something, but you have to trust me. Do you trust me?" A distressed chirp escapes on a soft sob. A gentle kiss is pressed to his temple before the warm body beside him moves to kneel behind him. Panic tightens in his chest as his partner pulls him back by his shoulders until he's once again leaning against the arsonist. A gentle hand tilts his head back before tracing up the side of his face and stopping next to his eyes. "I'm going to cover your eyes now. Is that okay? One chirp for yes, two for no." Trusting his partner completely, Hawks chirps once before everything goes black as his eyes are covered. Another warm hand gently kneads the tense muscles in his shoulder as Dabi's voice commands his senses. "Take a deep breath, pretty bird. Do your best to copy me."
As his shaky breathing slowly steadies, Dabi counts their breaths. Deep inhale, hold, slow exhale. They repeat this pattern for several minutes. Even after Hawks is able to release his grip on Tomura's arm. Dabi keeps his eyes covered until he stops shaking, moving his arm down to wrap around his shoulders.
"He'll be okay," Toga says as she squeezes the blood bag in her hand. When Hawks meets her sad eyes, she adds, "This isn't the first time he's done this. He always pulls through though."
"Kids bounce," Twice informs before his gaze travels from the unconscious teen to the on-edge blonde. "You panicked. Why?"
Glaring at his friend, Dabi snaps, "Any decent person would freak out if they saw a kid bleeding that much."
"Yeah, but he froze, Dabi," Toga emphasizes.
"His scream was the same as all the others," Hawks quietly explains as if he were in some sort of trance. "Hundreds of kids. It's like their screams are bouncing around in my head and his sounded exactly the same." Gloved hands tangle in blonde hair and pull. The pain grounds him more than his partner's presence behind him. "We were just kids," he cries.
After carefully prying Hawks' hands out of his hair, Dabi instructs, "Stop, birdie. You're just going to stress yourself out. I can tell them everything later if you want."
"Can you help me move Tomura to his bed?" Kurogiri requests.
Dabi silently thanks the eldest of the group for the distraction as the hero carefully pulls the teen into his arms. It's no secret that Hawks has a powerful need to care for others, especially if the one he's caring for is a hurt child. Even though he's unconscious, Tomura shifts in Hawks' arms in an attempt to get closer to him. The winged hero is mindful of the IV as he places the boy on his bed and sits beside him. It's like a switch has been flipped in the hero's mind. Dilated pupils are the only trace left from his panic a moment ago as he takes off his gloves and runs his fingers through blue hair. He silently takes the blood bag from Toga before putting a bright red wing between the two teens.
"Rude," the blood thirsty girl huffs as she makes her way back to the laughing arsonist.
Guiding her out of the room, he says, "C'mon kid. Let's give him some space to calm down."
"What about Tomura?" she whines. "Are you really going to trust a pro hero-"
Squeezing her shoulders, Dabi leans down to speak in her ear as they walk. "I trust my birdie with my life and wouldn't have left him alone with Tomura if I didn't." He straightens, relaxing his grip on his teammate, before adding, "Besides, red tailed hawks are fiercely protective of their young. We offered him an injured chick and he accepted. Nothing is getting close enough to that kid to hurt him without taking out Hawks."
"I still don't trust him."
"Will you stop bitching if I promise to check on them in an hour?"
As promised, he returns to their leader's room an hour later. He whistles twice and waits for the matching chirp before slowly opening the door. On the bed, Hawks has moved to lean against the headboard, Tomura's head rested in his lap. Shaking fingers carefully work their way through tangled blue strands as the blonde still struggles to reign in his anxiety.
"How did I know you'd be preening him?" Dabi jokingly questions as he approaches the two.
Not taking his eyes off his work, Hawks responds, "His hair is so tangled. Doesn't he brush it?"
"He dusted his last brush and we haven't had the chance to get him a new one," the pyro explains as he moves to switch the empty blood bag with a new one. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Dabi watches his partner for a few minutes before asking, "How're you holding up?"
Sad gold eyes finally look up at his partner. "This isn't okay. Toga said that he's done this before?"
"This is his fifth time, yeah."
"Why?" More tears stain the hero's pink cheeks as he looks back down to the sleeping boy's face. "What happened to this kid to make him think hurting himself is the right answer?"
"Decay and All for One happened." Dabi sounds distantly understanding as he explains that Tomura accidentally killed his family when his quirk first manifested. His tone takes on an angry edge as he shares Tomura's description of growing up with the number one villain for a guardian. How he'd be forced to practice using his quirk on small animals. How he'd have to watch Kurogiri be beat when he refused. How he was blamed for his carer being hurt. How he'd be yelled at and belittled every time he did something wrong and hit when he failed a mission. "All for One didn't even let up when he was shot. He just doubled down." The burnt man gently holds the teen's hand, gliding his thumb over his knuckles when the gloved hand reflexively squeezes. "Tomura would still follow him to Hell and back. He's been trained to follow orders even if it means he gets hurt in the process."
"That's abuse, not training," Hawks corrects, running his fingers through soft blue hair. "He knows All for One's in prison now, right? He doesn't have to do this anymore."
"Would you stop fearing the dark room," Hawks flinches, "if the commission was shut down?"
"If I can get him out of," the winged hero gestures to nothing in particular, "this, do you think he'd come with me? I'm already working on getting you immunity. I could do the same for him."
Dabi thinks for a second before saying, "I honestly don't know." He glances down when the hand in his pulls away. A tiny smile tugs at his lips as the gloved hand rubs sleepy red eyes. "Hey kid. How're you feeling?"
"Cold," comes the quiet response.
"That's the blood loss," Hawks explains, using a few feathers to pull the blanket tighter around the injured teen. "Better?"
Tomura nods before looking up to the hero who's lap he's using as a pillow. Confusion knits his brow before he reaches up to brush away tears. "Why are you crying?"
"I'm just worried about you, eyas." More confusion.
"An eyas is a baby hawk," Dabi explains. "And I had to tell him why you cut yourself. He can help."
The teen's confusion slowly morphs into sheer terror. He quickly sits up and turns on the pyro, freshly detangled waves bouncing with the sudden motion. "You told him?! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!" His shouting quickly devolves into muttering as his chest heaves with panicked breathing. A careful hand on his cheek instantly silences him, drawing his red gaze to focus on concerned gold. "No one was supposed to know what Master did to me. I didn't even want to tell Dabi," he whispers, fear seeping into his voice like poison.
"Tomura, do you know what abuse is?" The boy looks confused again, slowly shaking his head. "It's when someone who's supposed to care about you does something to hurt or manipulate you. Do you understand?" He waits a moment, watching the confusion in Tomura's eyes shift to understanding, then to a gut-wrenching mix of terror and disgust.
"He said it was training."
"None of what All for One did was training," Dabi explains, his blue eyes hard with anger. He's so sick of adults hurting children just to use their quirk for their own personal vendetta. "All three of us went through Hell because of the people who were supposed to care for us when we were young. I don't even remember what my father was yelling as the flames overtook me in what he told the public was a training accident. I was thirteen. Not even a week before, my mom poured boiling hot water on my little brother's face. He was five." He cups Hawks' cheek, wiping away unshed tears. "Hawks' dad used to beat him, and his mom sold him to the commission. That was just the beginning of his nightmare of a life."
"I used to think about flying up as high as I could go and just falling to the pavement," Hawks quietly admits. "Especially when my handler locked me in a room smaller than a closet and left me there for hours. She said it was punishment for showing my more bird-like qualities. They called it the dark room, but it was never dark for more than a second. There were flashing lights that disoriented me even though there wasn't enough space to twitch my wings, let alone turn around. It was soundproof, so I couldn't hear what was going on outside unless they talked over the coms. There was a speaker system that played high frequencies from different angles." As he spoke, he had started absentmindedly preening his feathers. "When they decided I'd had enough, she'd drag me into a small room with a loud fluorescent light. We'd run through interrogation tactics. If I passed, she'd give me something to eat and send me to bed. If I failed, she'd put me back in the dark room and start over until I either passed or passed out."
Dabi turns his attention back to the youngest of the three. "Both of us are experts in identifying abuse because we've been through it. Hawks has an idea to keep you safe. Are you willing to hear him out?"
After a silent moment of hesitation, Tomura nods. He listens to Hawks as he explains everything from why he joined the league to his plan to get immunity for Dabi. How he plans to expose the commission as the true villains in the coming months. How he has a few heroes on his side who are willing and ready to help. He shows him the social media accounts set to private that he intends to make public when it's time to take down the commission. The video evidence and classified documents alone are enough to turn the public against them. The recorded explanation with each piece of evidence will be the nail in the hero commission's coffin.
They discuss what Hawks hopes to happen once the dust settles. Vlad King had agreed to take in Toga due to them both having blood quirks. He and Dabi already have a place ready to go the second the latter is granted immunity. Based on information he got from All for One's records, Kurogiri is Eraserhead and Present Mic's childhood friend. With that knowledge, the two UA teachers have a room waiting for him.
"What about me?" Tomura asked, fragile innocence lacing his tired voice. His eyes are drooping as he leans heavily on Dabi. "Where will I go?"
"You'll stay with us, if you want," Hawks offers.
Tightening his arms around the sleepy teen, Dabi says, "We would love to have you. We have plenty of space and you need somewhere stable to call home. It is your choice, though."
"We understand if you'd rather go your own way."
"Stay with you? Like a roommate?" Tomura asks, his words starting to slur together. He's clearly still exhausted from the blood loss, but he's trying to stay awake long enough to finish this conversation.
"If that's what you want," Hawks says, tucking a lock of blue behind Tomura's ear. "Or, if it's okay with you, I could petition the court for guardianship. You're still a minor and I'm a pro hero. It would be easier than getting you emancipated, which is also an option."
Skeptical red eyes meet hopeful gold. "Why would you want someone like me? I break everything I touch."
"And? You're a smart kid, eyas. Think of all the things you could do with decay if you could control it instead of letting it run rampant. Imagine how fast a scene of a disaster could be cleared if all the rubble was just dust. Or if you wanted to go into construction, demolishing unsafe structures would be so much faster and safer with your quirk. You can do just about anything you want. It just takes some time and practice."
"Remember what you did to Overhaul's arm?" Tomura nods, shifting his attention to the pyro holding him. "It takes some doctors hours to do what you did in seconds."
Looking down at his bandaged wrist, Tomura asks, "You wouldn't mind the backlash from the public for taking in a top villain?"
"My mate is a top villain. What the public thinks of my flock doesn't bother me. It never has. In this situation, the only opinion I care about is yours because this is your future we're talking about. You don't have to decide now, either. You can take some time to think about it."
"I don't need to think about it." He states firmly. "I don't really remember what it was like to have a family, but I think this is what it felt like. It feels safe and like you're not going to hurt me. I haven't felt like that in a long time, not even with Kurogiri." A yawn interrupts his train of thought.
A tiny smile adorns Hawks' features as he gently pulls the exhausted teen away from his partner and into his arms. "Get some rest, eyas. I'll get the paperwork started in the morning." It doesn't take more than a minute for Tomura to drift off into a dreamless sleep as Hawks tucks him in.
A few weeks later, the winged hero arrives at Tartarus. There's a small bounce in his step as he follows the two guards escorting him. He's holding a folder close to his chest like a child would their favorite book. Not even the too bright florescent lights can steal his good mood with their flashback inducing hum.
Finally arriving at the most secure cell, the guards remind him of the rules. He can't ask the prisoner to use his quirk, despite the high dose of negators in his system. He's only allowed five minutes. If the prisoner asks for his lawyer, he has to leave and wait for the lawyer to join them. Agreeing to abide by the rules, the guard allows Hawks to enter the visitor side of the cell.
"Number two hero, Hawks," the prisoner slowly states. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Shrugging, the hero starts searching through the papers in his folder. "Nothing much really. I just wanted to share some news that affects the both of us. Ah, here it is." He holds a paper to the glass. It's a notarized letter of immunity for Tomura Shigaraki. The charismatic hero's demeanor shifts from friendly to lethally serious. "He's testifying against you. The whole team is, really, but he's the reason child abuse and endangerment are being tacked onto your list of charges. Oh, and another thing." He searches through the papers, having an easier time finding the second paper that he holds up to the glass. This one, an adoption form. "Tomura's mine now and you should know that red-tailed hawks are fiercely protective of their young. I know that you have allies on the outside. I suggest they think twice before coming after him. I'm willing to lay down my life to protect my eyas and I am number two for a reason." Neatly putting the papers back in the folder, Hawks turns back to the door. "I look forward to the trial," he calls over his shoulder as he steps out of the cell and back into the brightly lit hall. The number one villain's shouts of outrage slowly die down as he's sedated.
Leaving the prison, Hawks looks over his shoulder one last time before taking to the sky. As he flies back to the city, he takes out his phone and dials the number for UA's main office. The secretary who picks up sounds as bored as any high school secretary but just about loses her mind when Hawks asks for the principal. He chuckles to himself at how frazzled she seems as she frantically puts him on hold. It's not a long pause, but it feels like forever.
"Ah, Hawks," Nezu greets in his usual mischievous yet pleasant tone. "What can I do for the number two hero?"
"Hey. I hate to cut straight to the chase, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. I've got a few questions about your enrolment policies."