Hawks did his best to grin and mingle with the other heroes at the ball before the billboard would be announced.
But it was pretty hard to do that when all anyone seemed to want to talk about was the controversy over Zuri.
And more specifically needle him about his reasons to 'believe' that Two-toes were equal to them.
Hawks had never hated his carefree attitude more than that night, his wings tense from keeping them in a relaxed pose intense of the aggressive and protective stance they wanted to take.
He wanted nothing more than to snap at the hundredth person who questioned him, some C-lister that made Hawks want to snap back at him with something like 'And how useful is your laser quirk in the bedroom, huh?'
Hawks though kept his easy grin and played it off jokingly, like he was supposed to.
Thankfully, not everyone was a bigot that made him wish he had his talons back.
Ryukyu was nice to speak with, the two of them discussing how they felt in the air and how freeing it could be to fly above it all sometimes.
Or with Gang Orca, he knew Zuri liked the man and could easily see why, the man was so easy to talk too, and he would absolutely try the sea food things that Gang Orca mentioned, he was sure Zuri wouldn't mind helping him get it.
He wondered if shrimp would taste like crunchy chicken to him too, he really wanted to know, he didn't know why he hadn't before now especially when he knew that it would probably have a good crunch to it.
He had been looking forward to asking about how Haku's internship with Best Jeanist was, but the man's answers were lacking.
Best Jeanist was... stiff, but Gang Orca seemed to like him so there had to be some redeeming factors to him.
But Best Jeanist reminded Hawks a bit too much of his handlers, seeming to be too wrapped up in his image and public opinion.
But most Idol heroes were like that Hawks supposed.
Mirko was annoyingly frustrating when he ran into her, though she at least wasn't bigoted as well and when a random reporter there from one of the negative news outlets asked her about her thoughts on Two-toes he was pleasantly surprised by her answer.
She grinned ferally at the reporter and told him "If any of those guys think they could stand toe-to-toe with me, I say let 'em. I want a challenge from someone that could hold their own without any of the fancy crap."
Not the most uplifting but knowing how aggressive Mirko was and how she looked at most people, her saying they could stand toe-to-toe with her was a huge compliment.
Mirko prided herself on her strength to break concrete with a single kick after all, so yeah it soothed some of Hawks irritably knowing that Mirko also thought of Two-toes being just regular people.
Then before Hawks knew it, it was time to announce the billboard.
Hawks wished that they had told him what his placing was again this year, he could only assume that his ranking was the same as last year's since his handlers would have definitely had some strong words with him if he dropped in ranking.
Everyone was shuffled into the large hall-like area where they would film and live stream the billboard for the public.
"Hello, everyone and welcome to today's coverage of Japan's hero chart, apologizes to the folks for it being a month late, but the system had far more votes to deal with than in previous years." Ammi, the chosen HPSC employee for this year's announcements, cheerfully announced throughout the stadium.
There were always a lot of heroes here for the event, everyone in the top three hundred was invited and eager for a chance at taking one of the top spots, and hoping to be called up to the stage.
"So, let's not keep any of you waiting any longer! Now for our new number ten of Japan, The Rabbit hero: Mirko!" Ammi announced after opening open of the envelopes.
Mirko grinned as she hopped up to the stage, a feral and smug look on her face that was well deserved, Mirko had jumped from the hundreds to the top ten of the chart.
Even if she was more on the bitchy side of things.
So, he clapped with everyone else.
"Any words you want to say Mirko?" Ammi asked, offering a mic.
"You better get used to my face; cause I'm only going up in the world fuckers." Mirko proudly told them, and Hawks hoped the censors were working to cover that little f-bomb.
"Right, and though he's slipped from sixth he's still going strong, your number nine the Equipped hero: Yoroi Musha!" Ammi exclaimed and the veteran hero stood and walked up to the stage and declined to speak like he did most years.
Dozens of cheers and clapping for the man who'd been their hero for almost as long as All Might had been.
"Now for our new number eight, the Dragon hero: Ryukyu! Please come up and say a few words!" Ammi declared; Ryukyu walked up to the stage stunned.
"Thank you all but I don't think I deserve to have placed this high." Ryukyu told the crowd, her gratitude clear as she looked abashed standing next to Yoroi.
"You wouldn't be up here if you hadn't worked for it, Ryukyu!" Ammi told her before turning back to the crowd "And now for a familiar face, your returning number seven the Shield hero: Crust!" Ammi yelled, the man walking up with a big grin.
"I am honored you all still think I've done such a great job and hope to keep impressing you!" Crust proudly told the crowd before standing next to Ryukyu.
Everyone cheering for him, even louder than when he walked up to the stage.
"Now let's all give our new number six, jumping up three rankings, the Ninja hero: Edgeshot!" Ammi said clapping with the crowd as Edgeshot walked up the stage.
"I shall make sure your faith in me, and the responsibilities now given to me are not misplaced." Edgeshot promised nodding his head to the cheering crowd before taking his place.
"And now let us welcome our number five the-" Ammi paused her eyes going wide, and she double-checked the card before continuing.
"T-the Hellfire hero: Endeavor." Ammi said and the crowd fell silent just as shocked.
Hawks's own mouth would have fallen open if he wasn't trained so well.
Endeavor had been the number two for nearly as long as All Might had been the number one give or take a few years, and to have him fall to the fifth so suddenly was a jaw-dropping realization.
Sure, speaking more openly with Zuri had given him some heartbreaking revelations about the man but he still had a very long and proud career behind him.
Maybe going down a rank to three would be understandable, it had happened once before but slipping all the way down to five?
And Endeavor certainly didn't like this slip as he stormed pass Ammi and stood scowling next to Edgeshot, his flames whipping more dangerously.
Ammi needed a second before she continued with announcing the charts.
"R-right, next is someone we should all give a big hand for, raising through the charts with great speed to the number four, the Killer Whale hero: Gang Orca." Ammi said still a little shaken up, and some confused clapping came from the crowd.
Gang Orca, also stunned but probably worst with jumping so high in the rankings, managed to get up to the stage and hesitated when Ammi offered him the mic.
"This is a big surprise, but I'm very grateful for the support of all of you to allow me to reach this point in my life." Gang Orca told the crowd before standing in place, though a touch of standing too closely to Endeavor.
Hawks heart dropped slightly, that was supposed to be his spot, as shaken as he was, he knew that he should've been told sometime from his handlers if he slipped or raised in place, or maybe they wanted to have him react genuinely to rising to number three?
"Thank you Gang Orca, now next for our number three for ten years running Best Jeanist." Ammi said crushing that hope in Hawks as the crowd began clapping and cheering in earnest once they returned to their senses.
Hawks only stared on numbly as Best Jeanist walked up looking as cool as a cucumber and gave the usual speech probably before standing next to Gang Orca, fear prickling on Hawks as he wondered how he could've fallen from the top ten.
Though maybe it shouldn't have been such a surprise to him with how many people seemed to hate Two-toes like Zuri and he'd been publicly their biggest defender, and maybe the commission also expected that.
Maybe that was why the commission hadn't punished him? Because it was an expected and planned for result of his mission to get closer to Zuri.
Not being in the top ten would make him seem easier to approach after all.
"And now, for a first in all of history, we shall have our youngest number two hero in Japan, welcome your number two the Wing hero: Hawks!" Ammi suddenly said, breaking Hawks out of his thoughts as the spotlight landed on him.
The sound of a record scratch would have been appropriate in that moment.
*What?* Hawks questioned in his mind as his body moved up to the stage automatically.
How had he overtaken Endeavor as the number two?
How when he hadn't been around for more than a couple of years did he manage to overtake heroes that have been doing this since before he was even born?
And it wasn't like he could overcome the others in popularity when everyone seemed to have a problem with his stance on two-toes and defending Zuri all the time.
"Do you have anything you want to say to everyone at home, Hawks?" Ammi asked him and his mind blanked again.
The PR pitch his handlers burned into him was on the tip of his tongue, but it felt so sour, and he didn't feel right saying it here and now.
Despite this, his hand reached out and took the mic.
And he looked out to see the crowd, briefly wondering if this was how Haku felt when she spoke out to the stadium.
Suddenly it clicked in place.
Zuri's students.
They knew that Zuri loved him, that Zuri and he were friends.
They must have been why he was the number two now.
Hawks heart leapt in his chest and warmth flooded him, a much more natural smile taking over his face and tears pricked the corners of his eyes.
"I... never expected to get here, not this fast anyways, but I'm grateful. And to those of you that helped me get here, thank you for believing in me so much that you helped me get here, you all know who you are." Hawks said, lacking a lot of the substance or hidden meanings the HPSC would want from him.
But as the crowd started clapping and knowing that his words would reach the ones that got him here, and that they would hear the truth in his words made up for it.
Hawks handed the mic over and stood over with Best Jeanist.
Then Ammi turned away from the stage.
"And now, the man that needs no introduction, your and my number one hero for thirty-five years and counting, the symbol of peace, All Might!" Ammi shouted, the crowd all loudly clapping and cheering.
All Might walking up to the crowd, his signature grin on his face, chuckling as he walked up to the stage with a wave to the crowd.
Ammi gave him the mic, stepping aside so that he could make the speech that was expected of him.
"Thank you, thank you, you are all much too kind." All Might told everyone, waving his free hand with a chuckle, waiting for everyone to quiet down before he continued to speak.
"I am sure that many of you expect me to make the same speech I give you every time, this time of the year comes around, where I tell you that I don't quite deserve such an honor." All Might said, his hand coming to rest on his hip.
"And to praise the everyday heroes that you see every day, but I'm afraid that there is something more Important that I need to tell you all this time." All Might explained, his tone turning more somber than usual.
Hawks stared at All Might, what could the man have to tell everyone?
"I know that for many of you I have not been one of the top heroes, but the number one hero, and that you cannot think of a world where I am not the symbol of peace." All Might admitted his eyes lowered and he took a deep breath bowing his head.
"But I'm afraid that world is coming, sooner than you think." All Might confessed, shocking everyone, as many people gasped, Ryukyu even covered her mouth with both hands.
Hawks wasn't doing much better staring at the back of All Might's bowed head.
"I am sure this has come as a shock to many of you, but I've had many fights with very strong villains, and have worked for a very long-time day in and out, in just about every country on earth." All Might said, sounding more tired than he had ever heard All Might being in his life.
"And I'm only going to get older, and as strong as my quirk makes me, it cannot reverse the effects of time... so as of the start of next year, in the best interest for my health, I shall be stepping down from full-time hero work to only part-time work." All Might confessed, with everyone hanging off his every word.
Shouts of surprise ringing through the room and Hawks mouth opened slightly, his wings lowering just a touch.
If All Might started working part-time, then he wouldn't qualify for the top five hundred much less the top ten and All Might being anything other than the number one was... just unthinkable.
His stomach turned in knots at the thought of it.
All Might raised his hand to silence the crowd.
"Now, now. I understand that this change will be scary for many of you, and that many of you will be worried for the future now that I will be stepping down." All Might gently told them with sympathy.
"But your worries are for nothing, I may be unmatched, but I am not the only hero who's been protecting the world." All Might told them with a chuckle then he walked over to Hawks and threw a hand around his shoulders.
Hawks fought not to jump from the action.
"There are hundreds of very competent heroes that I am fully confident that will be able to handle whatever the world throws at them, in fact I think this will be a change for the better for everyone." All Might assured everyone, his voice becoming soft spoken but confident.
"Before I became a hero the world was in turmoil and everyone was looking wherever they could for even a scrap of hope, myself included." All Might confessed, a heaviness to his words that left the air thick.
"I am here." All Might said next.
"Those were the words my mother told me whenever I was scared as a child, the comfort those words brought me over the years even after she passed are... indescribable, and each time I would tell myself them I would remind myself of how despite everything going wrong in the world at that time in my life, my mother was always there for me no matter what." All Might explained to them.
"That every time she said 'I am here' it was a promise, one she kept till the day she passed." All Might's words becoming somber once again.
"And ever since I became a hero, I've been making that same promise to you." All Might told them, tugging on everyone's heartstrings.
"A promise that I shall keep to you, regardless of whether I'm a hero or not. Because even when the day I retire from hero work all together does come, I shall simply move on to help you in the same way that every person can help." All Might said, his confidence returning to him as he puffed up even more.
"Because no matter what, whether as a hero or a civilian using my voice to protect others in the ways they need the most," All Might grinning at the crowd with his normal toothy smile.
"I am here." he promised, his eyes glowing slightly.
The crowd erupted with cheering and clapping so loudly that Hawks ears were ringing from the noise and he simply stared up at All Might in awe.
Because for the first time in his life, Hawks felt he finally understood the weight of those words, a few tears slipping from his eyes as he stood beside Japan's greatest hero.
Elmo Vespa to the districts: I purpose a deal.
Elmo: I get you to vote in the hero bill board, and you get to ruin Endeavor.
Elmo: And to sweeten the deal, you'll be helping Deku-Sensei.
Another vespa: Sir, you had them at ruin Endeavor.
Elmo: Good, now help me whip up some 100% legal IDs for them to vote with