Present Day – Day 3
Hawks sits at his desk, digging his fingers into his scalp as he tries to keep his head from splitting at the situation that he's been placed in. He thinks about Asami and where she is right now. He thinks about the torture that Dabi's putting her through and the thought makes him choke.
A sinking feeling in his chest crushes him down at the realization that he could have avoided this whole situation. If he treated her better… if he didn't say that stupid speech back at the Billboard Charts, she wouldn't have left early and she wouldn't have run into that fucking psychopath.
Hawks thinks about just how much he fucked this all up. He's a hero and he can't even protect his own fucking girlfriend from villains. He knew that it was only a matter of time until she was targeted by a villain in order to get to him, which was part of the reason that he kept their relationship under wraps, but now… out of all the fucking villains out there, it had to be him…
The blonde hero wracks his mind about where Asami could be and where Dabi could be hiding her without his notice. Knowing that the hero would never rest to patrol every waking area, Dabi must have placed her somewhere underground and away from his arial view. He needs to figure out how many buildings in Japan can withstand a structure underground that the League would have access to.
He wonders if the other members of the League are aware of Asami's capture and if they are aiding the scarred villain's plan. Hawks thinks about Twice and how close he's been getting to the double personality villain. A part of Hawk's has always felt that the man is not as villainous as the rest of the League, and his unstable situation had the people of Japan turn their nose to him, but he still seems to be pure and true, and Hawks begins formulating a plan to get closer to the man.
He thinks about Dabi's lack of concern with Asami's job and Endeavor or anyone from the agency noticing her absence. He thinks for a moment, formulating his next move and how Dabi would retaliate if he were to commit to it. He does not take Dabi's threats against the lives of others lightly, and he knows that if he brings someone into this mess, they will surely feel the wrath of the flame user's Quirk.
But he has no other choice.
Hawks lifts the phone receiver from his desk and places it to his ear. He dials the phone number and waits for two rings until the voice speaks up over the other line. "Endeavor Hero Agency, this is Yui, how may I help you?"
"Hi Yui, this is Hawks," he says with a forced tone that he tries not to choke on as the dread beats against his chest.
"Oh," she returns with a shocked tone. "Hawks," she breathes, "This is the line to the front desk, if you'd like me to transfer you to Endeavor—"
"Actually," he interrupts, "I was hoping to speak with one of the employees, Asami Hatsuse," he begins. "She's Endeavor's PR director. She used to work for me, and I am digging up some old files and I have a question about a case that she had worked on. I tried calling and emailing her, but haven't heard anything," he returns with the weak story, his heart racing wildly.
He can hear her clicking on her keyboard on the other end of the phone. "Looks like I don't have her badging in the last few days. Let me check something real quick," her voice lingers as she clacks away on her keyboard while Hawks takes in a deep labored breath and thanks her.
"Humm," she hums as something comes up. "Looks like she took an extended leave of absence," she reads. "It doesn't say what for, but it says that she's travelling to America. I don't have a date in which she's expected to return," she says in a sad tone that the information isn't more informative.
Hawks grits his teeth, knowing the alibi to be weak, but it's enough to keep Endeavor from questioning anything since he knows her father lives in America and will figure that she's visiting him.
"Thank you, Yui. Would you be able to call my office to let me know when she returns to work? It's very important."
"Of course!" she cheerily responds and Hawks hangs up with a growl.
He wracks his mind, thinking of other ways to get more information. He figures that Dabi won't retaliate against him for asking the receptionist about that information, but he can't continue to drag people into his investigation of where Asami might be.
He thinks about calling Fuyumi, knowing her to be Asami's best friend, and if anyone would know where she is and whether or not she's with her father in America, it would be her. He has her number and it would be a quick call. All he would have to do is ask her if Asami is in America and her answer will prove if Dabi kidnapped her or if he is using her absence as a sick tool of manipulation.
But if Dabi catches wind that Hawks is asking around about her, he'll retaliate by killing all those innocent people, and for what?
The likelihood that he will find her…
But he has to try…
This is all my fault.
He groans as he picks up the phone, gloved hand shaking as he attempts to call Fuyumi's number. He winces when the image of her body engulfed in Dabi's wretched flames cracks at his skull. He can't put her in danger. He can't do that to her, or Asami, or Endeavor.
Hawks thinks about a more discreet way of going about getting the information. He can't have people texting her phone asking where she is because if Dabi has her, he has her phone and will know the hero is asking around. He can't go straight to killing Best Jeanist, either until he gets confirmation that she's been captured and it's his only way of getting her back.
He groans as he dials the number, knowing that he has no other choice in this matter. He won't drag Fuyumi or Best Jeanist into this because Dabi will expect him to do so, but he knows he has to do something.
The phone rings once before it's answered. "Yes, Sir?" she responds.
"Riku, do you have a free moment?" he asks her and she says she does, hanging up the phone quickly after. Within seconds, the doors to his office swipe open and the pink-haired woman enters the room. "Please, close the door," he tells her and she does hesitantly, having never had the man ask her to do so.
"How can I help you, Sir?" she asks him with a cautious tone, seeing the clear distress lacing his features and stiff posture, knowing him too well since she's worked with him when his agency first started.
"I need you to do some research for me."
"Okay," she returns with a lingering tone as she pulls out her notebook.
Riku was one of the first employees hired by Hawks when he began his agency and has been one of the top performing associates of his entire agency. The young pink-haired woman with glasses was hired around the same time as Asami, however, she was hired as an investigator, rather than a PR specialist.
The two girls quickly became close friends within the working environment and when Riku would find a job for Hawks, she would give the information to Asami, who would work on marketing his actions and preparing a statement on his victory in solving the case. Together, they worked in tandem with one another to elevate him to the position that he is in today.
Despite how close they were together, they ended up having a falling out when Asami left the agency. Asami assured Hawks that Riku never knew the extent of his and hers relationship, so when she was forced out, Asami never told Riku the reason she abruptly left the agency, which undoubtedly caused a rift between the two girls and their friendship.
Hawks tried to keep his distance from the whole thing, but despite knowing that Riku never knew about the relationship, he could tell the girl was smart enough to piece it together, if not speculate about it. However, she never came to either of them about it, allowing them to continue their forbidden affair.
"I need you to look into a structure within the city that might be used for villainous activity," he begins and she takes notes. "Somewhere underground and somewhere abandoned, but can provide ample airflow, electricity, and water," he says hoping that Dabi has provided her with at least that much.
"Somewhere that's being paid for by someone who has forgotten about it, or is unlikely to check on the aboveground structure. But the utilities are either still being paid for, or are within the hospital's grid system that is not subject to be turned off should the utilities go unpaid," he continues brainstorming, knowing the League doesn't have the money to pay for the necessities for themselves, let alone their prisoner.
"How large of a structure are we talking about?" she asks him, not looking up from her notes.
"As small as a closet and as large as a warehouse," he returns and she looks at him with an unenthusiastic glare, knowing how impossible this task will be for her.
"What do you think is the purpose of this location?" she asks him, lifting her head from the notepad, pulling the glasses off of her face.
"I'm sorry, Riku, I can't tell you that," he says and she swallows hard, never really having Hawks provide her with a task, let alone one that he keeps vital information from. "I need you to be discreet. It's important that you do this quietly."
"Is this the League? Or something else?" she asks him. "I know you've been reading a lot of that Meta Liberation nonsense—"
"Riku, I haven't asked much of you, and you know that I value the work that you've done for me since coming here, but I need you to be as blind in this as can be. I can't implicate you in this," he returns sternly.
She sighs, seeing the seriousness in his almost always cool features. "Alright," she tells him. "I will see what I can find."
"Thank you," he says with a sigh as she lifts herself from the chair.
Before she leaves the room Hawks blurts out, "Have you heard from Asami?" He tenses his jaw at his outburst, not planning on asking her that question.
She turns to him with furrowed brows, holding her notebook and glasses to her chest. She tries to read his expressions, but she can't and neither can he. "No, Sir," she tells him honestly. "We spoke briefly when I congratulated her for Endeavor's public image after the Kamino incident, but nothing after that."
"Right," he says nodding once. "Of course," he says knowing that the more he digs, the more he realizes that Dabi has her.
There isn't much he can do now. His hands are tied and he has to make his move against Best Jeanist. The realization strikes him and he hunches over his desk, planting his hands onto the table and thinking for a moment how he is going to do this, and what this will mean moving forward.
Riku turns back to him, clearing her throat and bringing the hero's attention back to her, not realizing that she never left the room. His eyes are on his desk when she chews on her lip, knowing that she needs to make her peace and say what is on her mind.
"Sir?" she begins and he looks up at her with bloodshot eyes. "I know it's not my place, and I know that I should mind my own business," she begins and Hawks' shoulders fall at the confirmation that she knew all along. "But whatever is going on between you and Asami seems trivial to how it's clearly upsetting you now."
He looks up at her, seeing the hesitation in her tone, knowing that she's uncomfortable speaking about this. "She never told me about you two," she tells him with her hand up at him in surrender, and he must be unintentionally glaring at her. "I just saw her change around you. The way you two looked at one another," he glances away from her and she exhales at her poor delivery of what she's trying to say.
"I'm guessing that after your speech at the Billboard Charts, she wasn't too happy with you," she says, having seen the tasteless delivery of his speech that completely undermined Endeavor's moment. "But she loves you, Sir," she admits to him and he closes his eyes, hating that he never told her the same. "I'll get you this information, but don't let whatever's going on between the two of you cloud your judgement and movements. We need you at your best. The civilians of Japan are depending on you," she tells him and her words are not stirring as much as she had hoped.
"Just go and tell her the truth," she continues with a labored sigh. "No argument is worth losing what you two have with each other."
"Yeah," he breathes, wishing nothing more than to hold her and tell her that he's sorry for ever hiding what he felt for her. "Thanks, Riku I'll do that."
She bows to him before leaving his office and Hawks runs his fingers through his hair. He takes in a heavy breath as he steps out of his office and heads to the rooftop of his building. He looks out to the horizon from here, feeling a soft breeze in his hair as he wonders where in this city Asami has been forced to reside in. He tightens his jaw as he begins flapping his wings, heading towards Best Jeanist.