While Hawks, Rhyan, and Tokoyami were gone, Uraraka, Yayorouzu, Todoroki, and Midoriya, were getting things ready in the twins' rooms. The girls were painting Rhyley's room while the boys were getting the furniture together in Rhyan's room. "So, do you remember anything about what happened when you were rescued? I heard from Mrs. Tokoyami that it was possible that you blocked those memories due to your trauma." Uraraka asked as she painted.
"O-OCHACO! DON'T ASK HER THAT!" Yayorouzu yelled.
"It's alright Momo. I remember that Dabi was with them, but he was the one who caused my suffering for the last two months. I don't understand. Why would he help Fumi and Keigo rescue me, yet disguise himself like he's working with the HPSC?" Reika explained.
"That's because Hawks specifically asked for his help. Said that he owed him or something. Tokoyami was against it from the very beginning, but he told him that he would keep him in line. They needed someone that would gain the committee's trust and go undercover. Someone that was a villain that would show the true nature of the committee to the world. Since he told the world Hawks' secret about his past, He was perfect for the job. Tokoyami asked for our help about a week before we rescued you. It was all of us that thought of the plan for the mission." Todoroki explained as he entered the room holding the directions to a bed frame.
"How did they learn three new abilities in two months?" She asked as she turned to him.
Todoroki smiled at her. "Through sheer determination and going above and beyond. He called his 'Abyssal Armor' his ultimate power or his 'Plus Ultra'. You were all he thought about throughout his whole training with Hawks. He was determined to save you no matter the cost." He said.
"Ever since he found you I've noticed that he's been in better spirits and has been talking to us more, little by little each day. I knew something good had entered his life by the way he would talk about you to all of us. And when you joined the class I knew how happy he looked when Mr. Aizawa introduced you to the class. He may not have realized it back then, but I knew that he loved you. He told me the day of the school festival that he was going to play his heart out so that you would be able to hear him from wherever you were working." Koda said from behind Todoroki.
"R-Really? He talked about me? This is the first I'm hearing about this." She asked as her eyes widened.
"But the sneaky bird didn't tell us that you were enrolling into our class." Todoroki said.
"He likes to keep some things to himself if he can help it." She said.
"I meant to ask. How was Tokoyami during the whole rescue mission?" Koda asked.
"He acted surprisingly calm but I think that was just a bluff to hide the fact that his brain was going a million miles a minute. But when we saw how she looked, he might have lost all control if Hawks wasn't already arguing with Dabi." Todoroki said.
"I think what he said to Mera was telling us that he was about to lose control, but hearing your voice calmed him down." Midoriya said.
"What do you mean Midoriya?" Uraraka asked.
Midoriya got into the position that Tokoyami took during the rescue mission. "He said something along the lines of; 'You have defiled her beauty with marks and burns on her soft skin that will never completely heal, you have sucked the life out of her eyes, she's so malnourished that she's just as light as her feathers. Not only that but you have clipped her wings so that she can't fly. So no matter what it takes, we will bring her home. Where she belongs.' Or something like that." Midoriya impersonated. Koda and the girls clapped.
"That wasn't along the lines, Midoriya. That was To a T. How did you remember all that?" Todoroki asked. Midoriya just shrugged.
"I do remember him saying that. I also remember that he called Shadow his little brother and not by his name. I remember feeling sick to my stomach and my head was hurting so much." She explained.
"Your body was going into shock due to the internal bleeding in your upper abdomen where Dabi had punched you a couple hours before. By the time we got out of their headquarters, you had passed out in Tokoyami's arms." Midoriya explained.
"Last I remember I was in Keigo's arms." Reika said as she looked down in thought.
"He handed you back to Tokoyami when he flew ahead to cut down the trees that were in our path." Todoroki said. She closed her eyes as she tried to recall the events of her rescue.
She remembered being held in Tokoyami's arms as they were running through a forest, being chased by more mechs. Midoriya was on their left, Todoroki was on their right, keeping her head cool, and Bakugo was behind them fighting the mechs. Her vision was getting blurry and struggled to stay awake. "We're almost there, dove! Hold on just a little longer! Don't give up, ya hear me! Stay strong!" She hears him say while holding back his tears.
"He called me 'dove' back then too. Was it a slip of the tongue back then? Or did he mean to say it?" She mutters to herself.
"Wait. Did he call her 'dove' that day?" Yayorouzu asked. Todoroki nodded his head yes.
"I'm not sure if he meant to say 'dove' or if he meant to say 'love'." He said.
"He's never called me dove before that day but he called me love a couple of times in the hospital." Reika said.
"From what he told us, he knew he had feelings for you since the day you left to find Shrinky Dink. But he didn't realize that he was falling in love until the day you started your flying lessons with Hawks. He was so mesmerized by how happy you were that he and Dark Shadow wanted to fly with you." Koda said as he smiled.
"Big brother Tokoyami really likes you a lot, big sissy. Whenever he wasn't training, he always looked at one of those half heart necklaces he had hanging on his bed frame, like the ones you found for me and Rhyan. He was always talking to it, saying things like; 'Hold on, stay strong, I'll find you,' and other things like that." Rhyley said.
"Now that I think about it, I remember seeing that half heart sewed onto his shirt along with the blue feather he was wearing." Midoriya said.
"I don't remember seeing it." Todoroki said as he looked towards Midoriya before the three boys walked back towards Rhyan's room.
A couple hours later, Rhyley's room was painted and the furniture in Rhyan's room was all set up. The boys started on the furniture in Rhyley's room as the girls were making lunch. "I wonder where Keigo, Fumi, and Rhyan went off to?" Reika asked herself.
"They said it was a secret but that just makes me wonder more." Rhyley said as she crossed her arms in a huff.
As the girls were making lunch, the boys were putting Rhyley's bed together when they heard the front door open. Tokoyami peeks in. When he notices the boys he puts his finger to his beak, telling them to stay quiet. Rhyan quietly walks in with a couple bags in his hands and sneaks into an empty room. Tokoyami follows him with more bags in his hands. They both come out of the room a few minutes later. Tokoyami comes out holding a medium size fuzzy black box in his hand. They walk into Rhyley's room and Rhyan shuts the door behind them. "Where's Hawks?" Midoriya asked in a quiet tone.
"There was something he had to do so me and Rhyan came back early. I don't want Reika or Rhyley to know we're back yet. I want to surprise them. I'm pretty sure Hawks sent you guys the picture." Tokoyami explained in a low, almost whispered tone.
"The one of you staring at a wedding dress that looked perfect for Reika? Yeah, he told us not to show her." Koda said.
"I don't know what exactly came over me right then, but when I saw that dress. I imagined Reika wearing it. The more I stared at the dress, Imagining her in it. I - we felt very happy, a type of happiness that we've never felt before." He explained.
"We were also talking about how Big brother Tokoyami would be big brother Keigo's brother if he married big sissy at the time." Rhyan said.
"I know I've thought about it over the years, but it's never been this serious until recently." He said as he sat down on the floor.
"How recently have these thoughts become serious?" Midoriya asked.
"I'm not sure. Since the school festival, maybe even when we moved into the dorms. I don't know." He said as he buried his head in his arms as he rested them on his knees. "What can I do about this?"
"Take her out on a date. You guys have never been on a date. I don't think you've ever truly told her how you feel." Todoroki said.
"Of course I've told her how I feel. I didn't tell her straight out but I did tell her. I even kissed her." He said, mumbling the last part to himself.
"You what?" Midoriya asked, wanting him to speak up.
"Oh yeah, he totally kissed her. Three times on the hand when he was confessing, once on the back of the neck when he was preening her wings, and one smack dab on her soft lips." Dark Shadow said as he came out, counting the times he kissed Reika on his fingers.
Just as Dark Shadow said that, Rhyley opened the door, unknowing of who was on the other side. "YOU KISSED TAKAMI?!" All three boys yelled in surprise. He tried to tell them to quiet down.
"Big brother kissed who?" Rhyley asked, pointing to Rhyan. The boys turn to see her standing in the doorway. Rhyan drags her in and shuts the door again, telling her to be quiet.
"Not me ya dingus, big brother Tokoyami kissed big sissy."
"Dude. When did that happen?" Midoriya asked in a quieter tone.
"Oh yeah. It was when she said to 'screw you both' when he was Preening her wings." Rhyley said bluntly. Tokoyami covered her mouth. The boys held their mouths to keep from laughing so loud.
"First of all, Rhyley, never say that again. Second of all, let me explain." Tokoyami said nervously. He explained to them about how Him and Hawks talked to Reika in the hospital and how she lied. "Let's just say that she has a weakness that only Dark Shadow and I know about. To punish her for lying to Dark Shadow, we showed it to Hawks but blamed each other for causing the weakness. Granted, we did it at the same time, but she doesn't know that. She said that, I said some things, kissed the back of her neck, then before she could say anything to protest, I kissed her lips." He explained, sounding nervous towards the end.
"Do you know if she's the one?" Todoroki asked. Tokoyami nodded his head yes.
"I've had a feeling that she was the one for a while now. I just had to kiss her to be certain." He said.
"Is that why you bought her the choker?" Rhyan asked. He looks down at the black box and smiles.
He opens the box to reveal a blue choker with a gold plated name tag type of metal that says "His Light" engraved on it in white lettering. Connected to the choker's sides was a gold chain leading down to a heart shaped pendant with the infinity symbol inside it. The symbol had red rubies inside it, while the heart had small white diamonds. "So you think she'll like it?" He asked.
"I think she'll love it, Tokoyami." Koda said.
"Did you pick it out yourself?" Todoroki asked. He nodded his head yes.
"There was another one just like it but I could only afford one of them. I might go back for the other one later if she accepts this one." He said.
"What did the other one look like?" Rhyley asked as she looked up at him.
"Similar to this one but the colors are different and instead of it saying 'His Light' it says 'Her Darkness' in black." He said.
"What are you boys doing in there? Reika sent Rhyley to tell you that lunch is ready." They hear Yayorouzu's voice from beyond the door.
"We'll be out in a minute, Yayorouzu, we need Rhyley's opinion on where she wanted her bed." Todoroki half lied.
"Alright but hurry before it gets cold Todo." She said. They see Todoroki blush when she calls him Todo. When they heard her leave, Tokoyami and Midoriya looked at him with sly smiles.
"Todo huh. Since when have the two of you been so chummy?" Tokoyami asked.
"Was it from the Hostage Exercise a couple months ago?" Koda asked.
Todoroki looked down in embarrassment then nodded his head yes. "When Hagakure and Jirou disappeared I didn't think much of it. But when Yayorouzu went missing, I started to worry about where they might've gone." He said.
"Let's go eat, I'm hungry." Rhyan said.
"We'll talk more about this later. I'm curious as to how the exercise went for all of you." Tokoyami said as they all got up from the floor and opened the door. Tokoyami went back into the empty room where they put the things they brought back. When he entered the room, he noticed that Hawks had come back. "When did you get back?" He asked.
"Just a couple minutes ago. I needed to get some things to help with the ambiance of her room." He said as he held up some boxes of colorful LED string lights. "What do you think? Too much?"
"I think she'll like them. She's always liked the ones in my room. We can put them up in the hidden room." He said as he smiled.
"As for her vanity, I'm thinking we should put it by the balcony. That way she can look out the door when she brushes her hair." He said.
"For now, let's put the clothes in her closet then tell her we're back. Knowing her, she's probably wondering where we are." Dark Shadow said as he came out of Tokoyami.
"Shadow's right. We've been away for too long." Tokoyami said.
They put the clothes in her closet then walked out of the room, shutting the door behind them. They look to see Reika and the others sitting at the table eating their lunch. The twins had finished their lunch and were playing a racing game on the TV. "We're home, little sisters." Hawks said.
"Welcome home, Keigo, Fumi. I wondered where the two of you were." Reika said as she turned to them and smiled.
"There was something we had to do before we came to greet everyone." Tokoyami said as he smiled. He kissed the top of her head before he sat down next to her. "Did you stay out of trouble while I was gone, my dove?" He asked as he kissed the palm of her hand, making her blush.
"That's the second time you've called me that today." She mumbled.
Yayorouzu and Uraraka awed. "He called you 'his dove.' That's so romantic." They said at the same time, making her blush even more.
"Smooth, Tokoyami." The boys said as they gave him a thumbs up. They look at the small TV in the kitchen as breaking news appears on the screen.
"We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news! A Nomu was spotted heading south bound towards the ruined building of the Human Safety Protection Committee, killing ten civilians along the way. Local heroes are doing what they can to evacuate the area. Eyewitnesses say that the Nomu has a type of disintegration quirk." The news reporter explained. Everyone got a whole class text from Mr Aizawa, calling them to action.
"Duty calls kiddos. Reika I'm ordering you as your elder brother to stay here with the twins. You've already been through enough at that place. It'll be best for you to stay here. I will let Eraserhead know. They'll be sending Mt. Lady and Ectoplasm here to protect you three." Hawks said as he looked at her.
Everyone stood up and walked towards the front door. Reika grabbed Tokoyami's hand. He turns around and smiles at her. He leans in close to her. "I'll come back to you, love. I promise. Wait for me." He whispered before kissing her forehead. He turns to leave but she grabs the collar of his jacket, pulling him towards her. She kisses his beak gently.
"You'd better keep your promise, Lord of Darkness." She said sweetly when she broke the kiss. He looks at her with a surprised look on his face as he blushes. He smiled and brought out the black box. She looks at it in confusion but then gasps when he opens it, revealing the choker.
"It's not as good as a promise ring but let this choker be a symbol of my undying love and affection, and that wherever the darkness takes me, you will forever be the light that will always guide me home." He said lovingly as he put the choker gently around her neck.
"Come on, lovebird. We've got work to do." Hawks said as he smiled.
He kissed her forehead once last time before turning and leaving the house with Hawks and the others. They headed to UA to meet up with their other classmates and change into their hero costumes. After they changed They met up with Hawks, Best Jeanist, and Endeavor. "Alright guys, Mr. Aizawa told us to split up into teams to help evacuate the city and to avoid the Nomu at all costs. NO ONE is to engage it. We don't know what the full extent of its power can do. Our main priority is to evacuate everyone to safety." Iida explained.
"How are we supposed to know the extent of its power if we can't fight it then?!" Bakugo asked in annoyance.
"The news said that it had a disintegration type quirk. That could prove dangerous for us if we aren't careful." Tokoyami said.
"I propose we split into teams of three or four depending on what quirks work well together to help evacuate the civilians." Todoroki suggested.
"I was thinking the exact same thing, Todoroki. There's twenty-one of us so we should split into seven teams of three. Wait…Where's Takami? She should be here." Iida said as he looked around.
"I told her to stay home to look after the twins." Hawks said.
"She hasn't fully recovered from the last time she was in that building. So she's sitting this out." Tokoyami said.
"But I made sure she'll be able to help you guys from home. Just in case" Hawks said. He brings out a box and opens it. Inside were twenty sets of small black earpieces and five tiny shoulder cameras. He hands everyone an earpiece. He put his hand to his ear. "Can you guys hear me baby blue?"
"Loud and clear Big Red, all comms are up and operational." Everyone hears Reika's voice.
"R-Rei?! Where are you, dove?!" Tokoyami asked as he looked around.
"At the mansion like Hawks told me to, don't worry, we're fine. He wanted us to test out this special room in case something bad happened. In the box there should be five mini cameras. Do you guys see them?" She explained.
"Yes." Everyone said.
"But what are we gonna do with these things?" Bakugo said as he took one out. He sees the camera move as if adjusting its picture.
"Eeeeewww! Ka-chan got nose hairs!" They hear the twins say as they laugh.
"And I thought Hawks's nose hairs were bad." Reika said.
"Why don't you show yourselves and say that to my face, ya damn extras!" Bakugo said in an annoyed, angered tone while looking into the camera.
"I get it. You need two people to be your eyes in the sky and three to be your eyes on the ground, Right Reika." Yayorouzu said.
"Exactly and there are only two guys that I know that can fly with no problems." She said.
"Ka-chan and Tokoyami!" Midoriya said.
"Exactly." She said.
"Now we just need three volunteers to wear the cameras for the ground teams." Iida said as Bakugo put the camera he had on his shoulder.
"I'll wear one." Midoriya said as he grabbed a camera then put it on his shoulder. "Can you see everyone okay, Takami?"
"Stand by, loading up cameras one and three now." She said.
Tokoyami grabs a camera and puts it onto his shoulder. Midoriya and Tokoyami hear the cameras adjusting their lenses. "How does everything look on your end, dove?" He asked.
"All clear. Cameras one through three are operational." She said.
"Great, Now I feel like I have a blue jay on my shoulder, this is so ridiculous." Bakugo said.
"Ridiculous but very helpful for us. While the five of you travel, I'll be able to watch your backs in case you get attacked by the Nomu." Reika said.
"Yeah yeah we can protect ourselves, y'know." He said.
"But it's good to have an extra set of eyes every now and then." She said.
"Takami's right. Plus these appear to be 360 cameras, which means she'll be a major help to the class." Iida said as he placed a camera on his shoulder. "I shall also volunteer to be ground coverage."
"Booting up camera four now, Iida. I need one more volunteer for ground coverage." Reika said.
"Are the cameras waterproof, Kero?" Asui asked.
"Water resistant but not waterproof." Hawks said.
"I can be a camera holder!" Mineta said excitedly.
"Never gonna happen." Tokoyami and Hawks said at the same time as Tokoyami glared at him.
"Why not?!" He asked as he cried fake tears.
"I'm pretty sure that those two wouldn't let you hold a camera, even if you asked me nicely." Reika said.
"You're too creepy to hold one and big brother Tokoyami doesn't like you." Rhyan said.
"I'm pretty sure everyone in the class doesn't like him. I would recommend Koda to hold the last camera, that way you and I can help him look for survivors from the Nomu's path." Rhyley said.
"That's not a bad idea, Rhyley. Look at you thinking like a hero already. Makes me so proud." Hawks said as he dried his eyes of a single tear.
"Alright then! Now that that's settled, let's split up into teams and evacuate the city." Iida said. Bakugo, Midoriya, Uraraka, and Todoroki were a team, Tokoyami, Koda, Asui, and Sero were a team, Iida, Yayorouzu, Ojiro, and Aoyama were a team, Mineta, Kaminari, Kirashima, and Shoji were a team, and the last team was made of Hagakure, Ashido, Sato, and Jiro. Hawks went with Tokoyami's team, while Endeavor went with Todoroki's team, and Best Jeanist went with Iida's team.