I only own this fan fiction. May contain Out of Character moments.
"Shifu, we've received word of a Crimson incident." Murakumo said, hurrying towards Fenghuang.
Currently, they are going through their morning training, with Izuku and Minoru sparring with one another. They've been using their new fighting styles against one another. Minoru was throwing switch-ups between his baton, staff, and Quirk. Izuku was able to properly mix strikes, grapples, and projectiles, something he learned under O'Sullivan's instruction. But since both of them were quite familiar with one another, their bouts tend to drag on as neither gave the other quarter.
But the moment Crimson was mentioned, the two stopped and hurried to listen in at Fenghuang's side. Stain's vigilante group was the whole reason Izuku and Minoru interned under the Heaven and Earth Temple in the first place. So now, after 2 and a half weeks of preparations, the two of them were practically chomping at the bit.
"Hawks Agency has discovered a crime scene at a support item manufacturing site within their city. Several high ranking staff members were killed and evidence of their misdeeds have been left behind. Also, it was discovered that many unregistered items had been on site and were destroyed, potentially by Crimson." Murakumo said before handing over the dossier to Fenghuang. Minoru couldn't help but raise an eyebrow to where that crime scene was located, especially compared to where Crimson's other victims were located.
"All the way in Kyushu? That's the furthest one yet."
"This does tell us that their lack of recent activity is due to traveling under covert conditions. Has the Hawks Agency asked for a Temple representative to discuss matters further?" Fenghuang replied before turning back to Murakumo.
"Yes, they've even sent a plane for us. Shall I go, Shifu?" She asked. The Radiant Wing let out a contemplative hum as she looked between Murakumo and her current students. She then shook her head and gestured to Izuku and Minoru.
"I'll go. I might as well use this time to show our students the long-distance aspects of our duties."
"Then we'll keep you informed of any other development. Safe travels Shifu." Murakumo replied, bowing before she left the Taiji Hall. Fenghuang then tucked the dossier under her arm and walked over to the weapon rack that held her staff.
"Prepare your things my young pupils, we'll be taking our next lessons to the field. Depending on how discussions over evidence goes, we might be out for a day or two, so prepare accordingly."
"Yes Shifu!" Izuku and Minoru said. And with that, the two of them hurried to their room. They immediately began packing their belongings, at least enough for the trip ahead.
"Should we get Tokoyami-kun something? I'm sure he'd appreciate a gift since we're dropping by his internship place and all." Izuku asked, zipping up his backpack.
"How about a box of those apple fritters? I'd like to believe the guy's been dying for some of the good stuff since we all left Satou and the dorms." Minoru replied, putting on his backpack as his partner nodded in agreement.
"Then let's ask Shifu if we can drop by Nesting Dough first."
But as the pair left their room and began walking towards the entrance, an unsettling quiet settled between them. Minoru knew what it was. Izuku knew what it was. However, the two couldn't exactly vocalize it as doing so would bring the harsh possibility that they try not to think about. They're about to set foot onto a Crimson crime scene since the day of the Shie Hassaikai raid. And while they've moved on from the despair associated with that event…
Izuku and Minoru can't say they still don't feel the empty-eyed stare of Damocles's mask.
"So… Back into the fray…" The shorter boy muttered hesitantly.
"We've prepared ourselves for a day like this. And even though we'll be going into the aftermath… It still feels like we're about to fight Stain and Damocles all over again." Izuku replied, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.
"I think it's because we've faced off with them before. Our friends saw what they were capable of on the videos… But we felt it all first hand. Shifu said certain things, good and bad, don't leave you once you experience them. It's just how you deal with it afterwards that matters most."
"Then let's make sure we deal with it properly, partner." Izuku replied with a nervous but determined smile. Minoru returned the expression with a spirited nod and the two stepped forth with greater purpose.
…
From there, Fenghuang, Minoru, and Izuku dropped by the bakery Nesting Dough to buy their gift. Not only is it where the Temple kept getting their high-nutrition pork buns and energizing tea, but it's also owned by Fenghuang's children. After the story of the Radiant Wing, Izuku and Minoru would drop by the bakery more often to do business with Kibo and Mira. It helped that their goods were really good, making the two come back for more.
And after a quick drive to the airport, the three were immediately led to a private jet that was painted in Hawks's colors. And the moment everything was sorted and stowed, they took off, making this the fastest pre-flight Minoru and Izuku experienced. The flight itself was also just as swift. In an hour and a half from the Shizuoka prefecture to Fukuoka, Fenghaung, Minoru, and Izuku had touched ground before they knew it.
"Now, an escort should already be here to meet with us." Fenghaung said, walking out of the Fukuoka terminal with Minoru and Izuku in tow. And the moment she mentioned that, Minoru saw a Hero in jet fighter-like armor holding a sign with the Temple's name written on it. But when they began approaching the Hero… A man that resembled a crab burst out of a nearby taxi and began manically shouting, claws raised menacingly.
"I WILL DESTROY GORBINO'S QUEST FOR LIFE!"
Fenghaung, Minoru, and Izuku dropped their bags and charged at the obvious Villain. But before any of the 3 could engage, several red feathers snagged the crab man's clothes and pinned him to the ground. Then, a blonde Hero with magnificent red wings harshly landed on the crab man, clearly knocking him out from the blow.
"Sorry Fenghuang, but I'm in the mood for some crab."
Izuku and Minoru could only look in awe as the number two Hero stepped off from the Villain's body and approached the three. While they were used to seeing great Heroes every day at UA… There was something about meeting someone on the field, especially someone so highly ranked and widely praised. And despite knowing the man's laid-back side from Tokoyami… Hawks was still as majestic in person as he appeared on TV.
"Then allow me to buy you some crab rangoon as thanks for the hospitality." Fenghuang said, placing one end of the staff upon the ground. Hawks then gave a playful smile and nodded happily at the offer.
"Then I'll stuff myself til they call me Turkey! Once we finish up business, let's drop by a place I know. For now, I'm going to make sure the agency is ready to receive guests."
"We'll be expecting the red carpet treatment, oh great Number Two." Fenghuang replied with a similarly playful smile and bow.
"Anything less is an insult to praise like that! Jetstream! Make sure the ride's smooth for our visitors from the north!" Hawks said, looking at the Hero in gray armor. Jetstream gave a stiff salute before Hawks gave a more casual salute to Fenghuang and took off just as police and other Heroes arrived.
"It's always interesting, talking to that man. Now, shall we continue with our trip?" Fenghuang asked, turning to Izuku and Minoru.
"I always knew Hawks was the least serious of the top Heroes… But that was way more casual than I expected." Minoru asked. Fenghuang shook her head and began giving their belongings to Jetstream to load into the car.
"Hawks isn't one for formality. If you approach like a stuffy professional, he'll fly away the first chance he gets. He would rather hang around someone who can respect the work of a Hero, but knows when to kick back and relax. Approaching him that way would appeal to him more than just talking about his accolades as Number Two. It's just not in his personal philosophy to fuss over such things."
"His philosophy?" Izuku asked, raising his eyebrow alongside his Hero Analysis Notes and a pen.
"Once, during a JP Billboard after-party, I asked him why he wanted to be a hero. Hawks told me, with full honesty, that he wanted to make his ideal life into a reality. It involves leisurely patrols, a few public appearances, a chance to say 'oh man, no trouble today', and get a good night's sleep. It's a world where even Heroes have time to kill, something he wants to share with everyone."
"So that's what's driving him to be the fastest Hero? Just to have time to live life his way?" Izuku asked, no doubt confused at the somewhat self-centered nature of Hawks.
"And isn't that the ultimate goal of any job? To have enough time and money to spend the rest of your days at ease and in peace? And while it's certainly not like All Might, who aimed to become a symbol of peace for the sake of others… I still believe Hawks's motives is admirable. Because a world where Heroes can live leisurely is a world without strife." Fenghuang explained with a bright smile before she climbed into the passenger seat.
Izuku and Minoru looked at one another, the weight of those words and the image of that world popped up in their heads. And though the shorter boy was the more pessimistic of the two, knowing that such a world is almost impossible to achieve… He still wanted to fight for such a future. The look on Izuku's face said the same thing. After all, it's why they both became a Hero in the first place.
To bring hope to others.
So with an equally bright smile, they climbed into the car and headed off towards their destination.
…
…
…
"What the–!? Midoriya!? Mineta!? Why are you here?"
The sheer surprise on Tokoyami's face the moment they entered the Hawks Agency is something Minoru won't forget. He was currently dressed in his Hero costume, no doubt ready to take part in whatever activities the agency has waiting for him. And while there were other sidekicks around too… Hawks himself wasn't there yet, despite saying he was going on ahead. Did he get tangled up with some crime along the way? Probably.
"We came along with Fenghuang Shifu to retrieve the evidence gathered from Crimson's crime scene. She decided to bring us along since it's probably a good idea for us to gain experience on long distance tasks." Izuku explained, gesturing to the Radiant Wing who had given her feathered cloak to a sidekick to put away.
"We've also brought apple fritters. Double dipped in apple cider glaze with extra cinnamon." Minoru said, holding the box towards their bird-headed friend. The shorter boy then saw his eyes widen even further as he snapped up the box like a starving man.
"Truly!? Oh what sort of inhuman temptations have you brought upon me!" He said, excitedly opening the box and taking a good long whiff of the fried goods inside. Izuku and Minoru could see Tokoyami salivating already, as Dark Shadow appeared to do pretty much the same thing.
"All I see is self-destruction here… My personal Pandora's Box… I don't think I can survive such decadence…"
"I can though." Hawks said, showing up out of nowhere by Tokoyami's side as he took a fritter from the box. Tokoyami jumped, causing the pastries to fly out of the box, as he turned to the winged Hero in even greater shock.
"Hawks!? When did you come back to Fukuoka!?"
"Woah there Tsukuyomi, calm down, you've almost wasted your friends' gift. Let's slow down and have some sweets and coffee, get our bearings back. And I just returned. You think I wouldn't drop-by my hometown after Crimson stirred the pot?" Hawks replied, his feathers having caught the dozen or so fritters that went airborne and placed them back in the box.
"Wait… You haven't been here working with Tokoyami-kun?" Izuku asked, tilting his head at the winged Hero's phrasing.
"I have a lot on my plate right now, so I can't always be here to teach him… But since I'm in town for today, I'll cram in as many lessons as I can! So let's get this internship party started!" Hawks replied, before taking a bite of the fritter. He then turned to Fenghuang and gestured to the box, honest hope in his eyes.
"Does this bakery deliver outside of Inuito?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Number Two, but Nesting Dough only delivers within city limits. You'll have to drop-by personally if you want more." Fenghuang apologized with a polite smile. Hawks just let out the most disappointed sigh Minoru heard out of a pro Hero, with both his shoulders and wings drooping like a sad child. He then began to shuffle lethargically towards the meeting room, where their meeting was going to be held no doubt.
"You're right, the man's a coin flip." Minoru said, nudging Tokoyami's leg.
"I do not lie. Now, let's see what our friends at Crimson have done this time." He replied, following his mentor into the meeting room. Fenghuang, Izuku, and Minoru quickly followed, and found your bog standard meeting space that can be found in all offices. It was a weird sight, for a space to have such little personality despite belonging to such a high-caliber Hero. Or maybe Minoru was too used to the Heaven and Earth Temple, where meetings were always held in the Taiji Hall.
The meeting then started without extra fanfare, and with more coffee than tea. But Fenghuang, Minoru, and Izuku learned much about what occurred at the crime scene.
Yesterday, the 5 members of Crimson entered the premises in 3 different ways. Damocles just broke through a wall in the security room and began punching out guards, cutting through only a handful of them. Abyss and Ulysses emerged from the ventilation within the workshops and began killing a number of engineers before destroying the workshops itself afterwards. And Stain and Erinyes entered the building from the roof, killing the most people out of the 5 in the offices. Only when the bloodshed ended did the 5 disappear as quickly as they came.
But unlike before, no one could tell how they left the scene.
Equally as weird was that Heroes and police only arrived on scene 10 whole minutes later. How was it that no one showed up earlier? Even if the phone lines were cut and the signal was blocked by Crimson beforehand… Someone could've just ran out screaming for help into the street. Was there something more to this case than just 5 bloodthirsty vigilantes? Minoru thought so the moment the un-registered support items were brought up.
They had been stored in an unmarked room not on the building blueprints. Hawks speculated them to be items designated for black market sales, which one of the engineers had been revealed to partake in. Fenghuang said that it lined up with prior victims from support companies, who had secretly sold surplus products to the highest bidders. However, none of them could figure out when or why the items were destroyed. Crimson was never around that unmarked room, meaning a third party was potentially involved.
"And that concludes our investigation into the matter. Copies of the associating files and evidence have already been sent to the Heaven and Earth Temple, so you may review them again at your leisure." Swallowtail, another sidekick of Hawks, said. The projector light died down as the main lights came back on, everyone in the room getting up to stretch. This meeting went on for about 2 and a half hours, with the only thing accomplished being an understanding on how Crimson entered and exited a building.
How they get to their crime scene, how they leave it, and where they go afterwards remains a mystery.
"It seems our friends are quite the magicians… Coming and going without a trace… Were there any suspicious vehicles or individuals on any security cameras in the area?" Fenghuang asked, taking a sip of the only tea they had on hand. Swallowtail simply shook her with a tired frown, no doubt having combed through several hours of footage with others.
"Damn… Stain going about undetected during his solo days was one thing… But how can he still get 4 other people around, one of them in heavy armor, without raising a single eyebrow?" Minoru muttered, biting into his apple fritter in frustration.
"One of their Quirks could involve stealth or invisibility, just like Master Eclipse or Hagakure-san. Though that would only affect one of them and not the whole group… A stealth Quirk that affects multiple people is incredibly rare… And even then, the quality of a Quirk like that isn't very useful…" Izuku suggested. But as he kept talking, the less likely his theory sounded. Minoru knew what his partner was referring to too. There was a Hero named Boxfox and his Quirk could make cardboard boxes. These boxes were resistant to all kinds of sensors, making them capable of hiding anything and anyone… Perfect for stealth, but it did little much of anything else.
Needless to say, that Hero never went anywhere with his career and had instead started a delivery service. That also went under since the government saw those boxes as a threat to national security. No one has ever heard from or of Boxfox since…
"You know… All this talk about sneaking and stealthing reminded me of some rumors I've heard floating around the JSDF. Allegedly, our friends from over the Pacific had some experimental stealth technology stolen. You think Crimson has it? One of them IS an American." Hawks commented. As weird as it was to hear the winged Hero rubbing shoulders with soldiers, Minoru decided to just focus on the main subject.
"You might be onto something Mr. Number Two. Ulysses is a fugitive from the United States. And given his proficiency in stealth, it's certainly a possibility. But alas… We lack concrete evidence to support this claim and must rely on our imagination." Fenghuang replied with a nod.
"Ah yes, the joys of the imagination… I had a pretty vivid one when I was a kid. Now it's all business and saving the world…" Hawks sighed before eating the last of his fritter.
"And giving others a chance to have their heads in the clouds, free from earthly worries. Let's not forget that part."
"How can I? It helps get me out of bed in the morning. Still, you've got all you need? That presentation was pretty heavy. Right guys?" Hawks asked, standing up while looking at the 3 UA students amongst them.
"Heavy, but informative." Tokoyami replied.
"We're used to this sort of thing. This wasn't our first time around the block." Minoru replied.
"I've written notes, a couple pages worth actually." Izuku said, showing a notebook full of organized writings.
"Yeah… I'm not reading that. I'm already up to my eyeballs with this." Hawks said as he pulled something out of his jacket pocket. It was a book titled 'Meta Liberation War'. Minoru knows the book has been a hit recently, with additional prints flying off the shelves… But he has no idea why the man was bringing it up now of all times.
"Oh! I didn't take you for a historian! What's it about?" Fenghuang asked, taking the book when Hawks offered it to her.
"It talks about the ideals of Destro, who wanted a society built upon personal responsibility. Where everybody can use whatever power they have to shape the world. It's becoming quite relevant after the incident in Deika City, where regular people fought for their lives."
"I can see the appeal of an ideology like that. A world where anyone can protect the things they love without wading through the red tape of laws." Fenghuang said as she began flipping through the book.
"You get it! I highlighted my favorite parts. Consider them the recommended words from the second best." Hawks replied with an easy smile. Minoru looked between the winged Hero and his shifu, feeling… A little odd about where this conversation was going. This had nothing to do with Crimson. But he could feel there was a second conversation going on just between them that he doesn't know about.
Fenghuang's eyes danced through a few pages. And after a few moments, she quietly closed the book.
"I see, it looks like I have quite a bit of reading ahead of me. Would you happen to have 8 more copies on you? I'd like my masters to participate in this enlightening text."
"I've got enough for an entire book club!" Hawks answered happily, opening his jacket to reveal an entire stack of them. The bizarreness of the earlier conversation gave way to the sheer absurdity of that sight. The stack would've been incredibly noticeable on Hawks's person, yet it wasn't until now.
"What manner of sorcery is this!? Does your jacket contain a pocket dimension?" Tokoyami asked as the winged Hero gave the needed number to Fenghuang.
"No, just regular old pockets. But I've been recommending 'Meta Liberation War' to all my friends and Heroes across the country, since the Liberation ideology will be pretty important going forward. That's why I'm so prepared." Hawks said, sliding three extra copies towards Izuku, Minoru, and Tokoyami.
"It's like he's spreading the gospel… Maybe it holds the secret to Hawks's trademark speed!" Izuku muttered as he immediately began reading.
"Not really, it'll just give you some food for thought. Speaking of food… How about that crab rangoon!" Hawks asked, clapping his hands together with a smile. With a giggle, Fenghuang nodded as she put away the book into her utility pouch.
"It'll be my treat. As thanks for being such gracious hosts."
"Then as your gracious host, allow me to get your belongings." Hawks replied as his feathers left the room. In a few moments, their belongings began floating towards them. But for Fenghaung's cloak, it stopped half-way as Hawks looked like he had a brilliant idea. And just as quickly, the cloak was thrown around Tokoyami.
"Uhh… Hawks? This isn't mine." The bird-headed boy said, looking towards his mentor.
"Oh, I know." Hawks replied, his feathers forming wings behind Tokoyami.
"Hawks? What are you doing?"
"Don't worry about it."
Hawks then turned around and raised a black cased phone, getting himself, Fenghuang, and Tokoyami into frame. Looking at the design, it was clearly Tokoyami's. When did he pickpocket it? And how did he get into it? The moment their bird-headed classmate realized what was going to happen, he tried to move forward to stop Hawks. But Fenghuang, with an amused grin, stopped Tokoyami's advance with a single hand upon his shoulder.
A click was heard from the phone before Hawks began fiddling with it. That's when Izuku and Minoru's own phones let out a ding. The two immediately checked their messages and found the photo in 1A's group chat.
"He posted it to our group chat." Minoru said, looking up at their feathered friend.
"WHAT!?"
Izuku wordlessly turned his phone to him, allowing Tokoyami to fully witness the photo and the subsequent reactions of their classmates. At this point, Hawks commanded his feathers to remove the cloak around his student and put it back around Fenghuang. He had also begun fiddling with his own phone, no doubt posting it to his agency's social media account.
"No! My character! You've killed me, Hawks!" Tokoyami shouted. A stray feather then stuck itself to his neck, causing Hawks to shrug with indifference.
"Eh, you'll live."
The day pretty much ended there, with the despair-filled screams of one dramatic UA student.
And that has been Chapter 136!
We're back to chasing Stain and his cabal of blood-thirsty vigilantes. But despite this development, we still do not know what they are up to or where they are...
Still, it was fun writing some interactions between Midoriya, Mineta, Tokoyami, and their mentors. You can really get a lot out of these characters, reacting and participating in all sorts of nonsense. But that's just me, what do you think?
Any how, that's all I have this update. So...
Until Next Time. T1.