Chapter 24:

"We've been through this a thousand times already and the answer is no! What's with you lately?!"

"Me?! You're the one that's not understanding just how dangerous this is!" Hawks spluttered, looking at the infuriating woman with wide eyes.

"You're being unreasonable." Akari scoffed, putting her hands on her hips.

"And you're being stubborn."

Akari and Hawks stared each other down from opposite sides of the conference table, while everyone else resigned themselves to another long fight.

The date and time Dabi had set didn't give them much time to plan, which had made the heroes uneasy. Akari had joined to heroes at Hawks' Agency to strategize as best they could. All the heroes were calmly evaluating their options and throwing out ideas as they came up with them.

Well, all but Hawks who was tense and snapped every time he shut down their ideas. Worse was the fact that Hawks and Akari were the ones going at each other the most, the latter frustrated by the former's horrible mood. It was because of him that they hadn't been able to agree to a single thing and she was supposed to meet Dabi in less than 10 hours.

"Hawks, I respect you a tremendous amount, but I promise I'm this close to setting you on fire." She held up her pointer finger and thumb so close together, they were basically touching.

"I thought you could only manipulate liquids?" Best Jeanist asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"I have the four elements tattooed down the side of my thigh." She answered off-handedly, tapping her left thigh all the while still glaring at Hawks.

"Burn me all you want, but you're not going alone. So, you either take one of your sisters or a sidekick." Hawks shrugged casually, knowing that the gesture would just piss her off more.

He didn't care though; this is the one thing that Hawks wouldn't let up on. There was no way Akari was going alone to meet with Dabi. After his conversation with Bakugo about how obsessed the blue flame user seemed to be with Akari, he had a bad feeling about it.

"I can't! Noriko hasn't been let out of Endeavor's agency since she was discharged, and it's been made more than obvious that security has been doubled. Not to mention the fact that they probably went after Noriko instead of Yaeko to begin with because they couldn't get to her at the hospital." Akari narrowed her eyes at the stubborn winged hero. He seemed unfazed by what she was saying, making her want to punch him.

In order to control the sudden urge to hit him, she crossed her arms over her chest tightly. It wouldn't look good on her if she hit a fellow pro hero. "Yaeko and you have gone out of the agency on your own before. It won't be hard to make up how you managed to get away without a escort."

"Yeah, we've been out of the agency without an escort to go across the street to get snacks from the convenience store." Akari growled. "Hawks, you need to get it through your thick chicken head, he'll be suspicious if I showed up with one of them."

"She's right and you know it." Eraserhead yawned, snuggling deeper into his sleeping bag.

He had been cleared, begrudgingly, by Yaeko just yesterday. He had been one of her best success stories, but she had still wanted him to continue resting at the hospital for another day.

He, of course, hadn't listened and requested to be discharged against doctors' orders. His compromise was that he was to return to the hospital every other day for the rest of the week for a regular checkup.

Not that he minded since it gave him a solid reason to go back and see the doctor that plagued his dreams.

"At this point all you're doing is wasting time we don't have." Endeavor scowled at him.

"Fine." Hawks muttered through gritted teeth, glaring back at his idol. That was out of character for him, which was enough to show the number one hero that this girl was affecting him more than usual. "But I want you to give us those special matching tattoos of yours."

"Excuse me?" Akari blinked, looking at him incredulously. "I told you that creating the formula for those takes time. I need to get the ratio of our essences perfectly, then get them to blend seamlessly, and then mix it with my ink solution."

Not to mention that it drained her of most of her energy. The process of coming up with the formula for an ink meant to link two people required a tremendous amount of molecular manipulation of the blood samples and ink itself.

"You have 9 hours; shouldn't that be enough time?" Hawks asked after glancing at the clock.

"No, not really." Akari ran a hand through her hair, not having bothered with braiding it today. "But I can probably come up with a blend that will last a couple hours at most."

"Something is better than nothing." Hawks muttered, though he was already thinking about how useless the tattoos would be if the meeting took too long. Or worse, Dabi decides to take her and disappear.

"Fine, I'll get to work on that as well as test out some of my other ideas. Meanwhile the rest of you can go ahead and try to come up with some back up plans." Akari sighed, looking over at Eraserhead and Endeavor to see them nod in acknowledgment. "And you need to come with me so I can get some of your blood."

Hawks didn't respond, instead moved to open the door for Akari before following her out. Despite the circumstances, he couldn't help himself from looking her over. Today was her day off, so she was dressed casually in a pair of dark blue ripped jeans and backless halter top.

From the few times he's seen her dressed in civilian clothes, he's noticed that she still tries to make sure her tattoos are accessible.

"Want to tell me what the hell us up with you? The past 30 plus hours you've been insufferable." She hissed through gritted teeth.

When he didn't immediately answer, she turned her head to look at him. She almost lost her footing when she saw that he was staring off to the side, pouting.

"Keigo!" She growled, waiting until he finally turned to look at her. "What the hell?!"

"I should be asking you that." His voice was low, almost cold, which took her aback.

"Can you stop speaking in riddles?"

"You're casually risking your life, and you don't seem to care that you are. You don't seem to understand how dangerous the league is, especially Dabi."

Akari whirled around so suddenly that Hawks was caught off guard.

"How dare you?" She snarled. "How dare you say that to me?! I'm a pro-hero Hawks, just like you! I know what the risks are, and I knew them from the moment I decided I wanted to be a hero. My sister lost four years of her life to the hero commission, and she's still willing to let herself be bait for the Paranormal Liberation Army. The least I can do is back her up."

She was choked up by the time she finished her little rant. All that kept replaying through her mind was all the signs she ignored and how everything had been her fault.

"Why do you look and sound so guilty, little bird?" Hawks' eyes softened and his hand came up to cup her cheek. How uneasy Yaeko had felt around Justice. How she would flinch away from him. How sick she looked the month leading up to the incident.

"Because it was my fault." She whispered, looking into his golden eyes.

And just like that the dam broke.

She started bawling her eyes out, right there in the middle of the hallway in Hawks' Agency. All she could think about was how she had failed her sisters. Her memories of that day started flashing through her mind, making her cry even harder.

And finally, her memories ended their little slide show on the day she opened the door for the bastard. She watched as she let them into their home, entrusted Noriko into their care despite knowing how Yaeko felt about him. How all she cared about was getting to work.

"None of this was your fault, little bird. It was that monster's fault." Strong arms came up around her, pulling her into a warm solid chest. For some reason, this just made her cry even harder, to the point where she couldn't stay upright.

Hawks' heart broke with each heart wrenching sob that came out of the woman in his arms. When she her knees gave out from under her, he didn't hesitate to scoop her up and carry her the rest of the way to the lab he had set aside for her.

Thankfully, they didn't run into anyone on their way there. Not that he would have minded, but he knew that Akari wouldn't have liked the wrong type of attention.

"P-put me d-down." Akari hiccupped after she had gotten herself under control… somewhat.

Her embarrassment finally caught up with her. She lost control of her emotions in the middle of the hallway, in front of her boss and then carried in said boss' arms. A boss which whom she has crossed a line with already. A line that that they hadn't even acknowledged as of yet.

"I will." Hawks answered breezily, easily putting in the code for the lab and entering while still holding onto her.

"If someone sees us, it won't look good." She looked around the high-tech room.

It was nice, fully equipped with all the materials she could ever need. The room was also had large windows which let one see out into the hall. There was full visibility both in and out of the room.

"For you or for me?" He raised an eyebrow, setting her down on one of the stools.

"Mostly me, since I'd probably be portrayed as the villain that seduced you to better my family's reputation." Akari sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"And I would tell them the truth. That I was the one that seduced you with my charmingly good looks." He said seriously, while Akari only blinked back at him. "You never stood a chance."

"This isn't funny. Us together would also put the mission at risk."

"So, what I'm hearing is that there's an 'us'?"

"I'm saying there can't be an 'us'… at least not yet."

"Why not?!" Hawks looked affronted.

"Because you're my boss, and one of Dabi's targets!"

"Worried Dabi will get the wrong idea?"

"Yes, especially when we've already established that he has a special interest in me. Being with me will make you and even bigger target."

"What if I told you I don't care?"

"I'd said you really do have a chicken brain."

"Akari…" Hawks reached out to brush back a strand of hair. "While I don't like it, I understand. I am your boss, and no matter what we say, what I say, the media will paint you in the wrong light because of who I am and who you are." He sighed, looking away.

"And there is also the mission to think about. Dabi could use me to get back at you. Or he might see you as competition and go after you. Either way, it would be too risky."

"That pyromaniac has such crappy timing." Hawks sighed, leaning forward to press his forehead against hers.

"Or the best… do you know how hard it would have been to go undercover while being linked to you in a romantic way?"

"No, I still stand by what I said." Hawks said haughtily, making Akari laugh.

"Maybe this space will make you realize you don't actually feel anything for me." Akari teased, pulling away slightly to look at him.

Though she was teasing, a part of her meant it. She had barely been working at the agency for a month, half of which she spent avoiding him. It was hard to believe that in that time she had caught the attention of one of the most eligible and good-looking pro-heroes.

"With the way you plague my thoughts? Doubt it, little bird." He whispered, still looking at her with half mast eyes.

"I'm a plague now, huh?" Her voice was hoarse, with barely any heat behind it.

"Yeah, one I don't want to be cured of." And his mouth was on hers.

*

"There was only one condition." An irritated voice made both heroes jump.

Aizawa winced when he turned to look at the pissed off woman who had just entered the conference room. Turning to look at the time, he realized it was just after 5pm, meaning he was 3 hours later to his follow up appointment.

"Akari is meeting with Dabi in less than three hours." He said instead of apologizing.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Hawks snickering, while Best Jeanist shook his head before continuing with the papers in front of him.

"I'm sure the rest of the heroes could have handled things during your absence. Which might I add, would have been for an hour max." She strode right up to him, glaring down at his handsome face from where she towered over his sitting form.

"Every second counts." He countered, eyes narrowing as he looked at her.

While he was fairly taken by his doctor, he wasn't about to let her kick him around. He was still a pro, and he had his hero duties which came before everything, including his life.

After searching his face, for what- he didn't know, she looked away and crossed her arms. "You're right."

"The mission takes – uh, wait what?" He had automatically started trying to contradict her argument, so it took him a second to realize that she had agreed with him.

"I said you're right." She was no longer smiling, her irritation simmering just beneath the surface of her faux calm. "Every second counts… meaning that every second you spend working instead of resting could be affecting your health." She turned her gaze back to him, and he nearly flinched when his onyx eyes connected with her forest green ones.

"I feel fine."

"So, you say, but I don't believe you. Now I'm going to give you two options and be sure to choose wisely… 1, you come willingly with me to the infirmary to complete your check-up or 2, I make you."

Both Hawks and Best Jeanist shivered at the threatening tone her voice took on when she gave Eraserhead the second option. Akari always spoke about how imposing her older sister's presence could be, but it was hard to imagine unless you saw it for yourself.

Looking the young doctor over, Best Jeanist had to admit, she looked harmless. She was a tiny thing, the only reason she was towering over him while Eraserhead sat was due to the 5-inch heels she was wearing.

Yaeko was never caught dead wearing anything but heels unless she was training or had a patient procedure scheduled. Her attire was always business casual, which often consisted of formal midi dresses or like today, form fitting trousers and flattering blouse.

All in all, it made for a deceiving picture.

"Is that a threat?" Aizawa asked, remembering a similar interaction the day he had woken up from his surgery a couple days ago.

"No, just a promise." Yaeko smirked, remembering as well.

"Well, that was cute, but don't worry Doc, you won't have to use brute force today." Hawks piped up, amused at the little power play happening between the two.

"Go on Eraser, we can't risk any setbacks to your recovery. We'll have to be more careful on the days you're due for your check-ups." Best Jeanist spoke up.

"Make sure you do." Yaeko snipped, side eyeing him before turning swiftly on her heels and striding out of the room.

"It's a bit arrogant of her to assume I'll just blindly follow her like a dog." Aizawa muttered under his breath, but got up, nonetheless.

"Careful, Eraserhead. Women have this uncanny ability to hear things we don't want them to." Hawks chuckled, leaning back in his seat casually.

Aizawa glowered but chose not to say anything. Hawks had been in a better mood since he returned from giving Inkfinity a blood sample to work with. It's best to leave him that way to give them all a break from his insufferableness before the start of the mission.

Stepping into the hallway, he saw Yaeko waiting a few steps away. Once she caught sight of him, she started walking again. He didn't question her since she's been living here for the past month or so.

He did, however, want to cut the tension between them. Dr. Imai was actually mad at him. It was easy to see in the stiffness of her shoulders, and her aggressive stride.

"I didn't mean to miss the appointment."

It was silent for a few seconds.

He was just starting to resign to the fact that she was going to be giving him the silent treatment when she finally responded.

"And that's the most irritating part of all this." She grumbled, her shoulders lower slightly. He didn't say anything, just waited for her to continue. "You don't seem to really worry about yourself at all once your immersed in your hero work, and it's frustrating."

"I do care about myself." He answered a little defensively.

"I've read your file Aizawa-Sama. You're a teacher during the day and patrolling through the night on most nights. You pulled extra patrol shifts during the breaks, even when you still had your duties as a teacher overlooking summer internships and such. You've been overworking yourself to the point of exhaustion, and I don't see that as you care about yourself."

"I do manage to get more than a couple hours of sleep each day." He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling uncomfortable being called out.

"Yeah, you get a couple hours of sleep after patrolling, then you nap throughout the day when you get a chance. That's why you carry that old yellow sleeping bag around." Yaeko sounded amused.

"But I get some sleep."

"Then there was the war." She continued softly, ignoring what he had said. "You sacrifice your leg and then your eye to save not only the city, but also your students. Recovery was slow and hard, but you still pushed yourself to the point where you almost hurt yourself again."

His hands clenched at his sides, not table to get any words out passed the ball of emotions stuck in his throat. They walked the rest of the way to the infirmary in silence. He tried to get himself together, not wanting any of the staff or sidekicks to see him so emotional.

When Yaeko veered off to the side of the large room and opened a door to usher him in, he realized he shouldn't have worried. They were in a private examination room.

"You have your own office here too?" He managed to choke out.

"Hawks said I should have one in case my services are ever needed after hours and we can't get to the hospital in time. Not to mention if I ever need to heal him, my sisters, or any other sidekick at the agency."

She motioned for him to take a seat while she washed her hands. In the meantime, he tied his hair back into a low bun to give her full access to his eye, and then he rolled up his hero suit leg up.

Both were silent as Yaeko began her examination. She checked his leg first, as she usually did. It was her biggest concern, fearing that his body might reject the new limb. Thankfully she seemed satisfied by whatever she felt and saw and moved on to his eye after a few minutes.

She stepped closer to him, using a pen light to check his eye. Immediately, he was surrounded by her sweet vanilla and mocha scent. He had to resist the urge to close his eyes and bask in it. It was a soothing scent, coupled with the warmth she radiated.

"I pushed myself because we failed." He blurted out after a while.

She had moved on to probing the area around his eye and paused mid-check at his confession. "Who failed what?" And she continued her exam.

"Us, the heroes, we failed. Shigaraki and the Paranormal Liberation Army destroyed so much. They killed so many people… we lost so many heroes… friends. Not just in death but also when many gave up after witnessing our failure. I couldn't be one of those… not after losing as much as we did."

"And what use would you be if you burnt yourself out in the process?" She retorted, dropping her hands so she could look him in the eyes. "You're one of the greatest heroes I've ever seen. If you pushed yourself passed your limits to the point where you couldn't be a hero anymore, then what would be the point?"

"I didn't think of what would happen to me." Aizawa admitted. "I just needed to get back to full time hero work so I could get back to finding All for One and Shigaraki. An old friend, Crust, sacrificed himself so I would live because he thought I'd be the best bet against the villains."

"Because you are." Yaeko smiled softly. "You have an amazing quirk, Aizawa-Sama. It's why the Hero Commission went through all the trouble of making a deal with a 'villain' like me."

"You're not a villain." He shot back fiercely.

"It's all about perspective. I am a villain to Justice's family because I killed him. But I am a hero to my sisters because I saved Noriko. In a way, I did deserve a punishment for killing the bastard." Yaeko chuckled, holding her hand up when Aizawa began to protest. "Yes, I did deserve some type of punishment, just not what we went through… But there are no words to explain how happy I am that I was able to give you back the opportunity to fight again, to be the hero you were meant to be."