Warnings: Mental Abuse/manipulation, name calling, injury
I don’t know if I am going to continue the pictures throughout the imagine. I just have trouble finding pictures to use sometimes. Leave a comment or something of what you guys think.
+ After Hawks breaks the down, he takes you to the hospital. At one point, your mother tries to come into the room but Hawks won’t let her in. You are confused why he is being so nice to you. He explains his feelings you and more. Eventually, you have to speak up to your mother but you don’t back down this time.
I groaned as I woke up to my head throbbing. I tried to move but the little bit I did sent pain across my abdomen. I cried out and tensed as the pain persisted on staying. I felt something soft on my arm and finally caught on to a voice speaking.
“Hey, it’s okay. Sh. Just stay still for me.” I choked on a sob. “Hey, hey. Can I get a doctor in here?!” The person yelled. I was finally able to open my eyes and saw a blur of red. I blinked to clear my eyes and my gaze locked on gold irises. My gaze then moved to the red wings.
“Hawks?” I stuttered.
“Yeah, it’s me kid.” He looked behind him. I saw another figure round the bed as Hawks tried to calm me down.
“Miss L/N. Where is the pain?”
“My side and head.” I saw as another flare came through. I cried softly and heard another comfort from Hawks.
“Okay Miss L/N, we’re going to give you some pain medication and it should kick in very quickly.” I nodded. I just kept my eyes closed. “Alright, I will be back to check upon you in a little bit.”
“Okay.” I laid there making a sound of discomfort and pain every now and again. Hawks kept cooing comforts at me while rubbing circles into my arm and hand. “What happened?”
“Well, I came to check on you after my patrol and heard you fall inside your apartment. I had to break the door down to get to you.” He explained. “You’re wound got so much worse. Enough that it made you pass out and get sick.”
“Oh.” I looked away.
“Where was your mother?”
“Out. She took the advice of rest and relaxation from the doctor as a free pass to have a night out with her boyfriend.” I said.
“Damn. Did she know about your wound?”
“No.” I said. “Even if she did, it would be nothing but an inconvenience to her.”
“What do you mean by that?” He asked.
“She’s a very busy woman and it would just be something to disrupt her day. Throw off the schedule.” I said. “It’s nothing new. Her work is very important to her. So…” I shrugged.
“Really? That’s bullshit.” He said in disbelief. “You are her child. You should be her priority even if you are an adult! I bet you haven’t left home because she won’t let you basically.”
“That’s not true!” I exclaimed.
“It isn’t? Alright. How about this? Every time you brought up leaving home, she would say something about missing you too much or how the house would be too empty or the nice house would go to ‘waste’? Then after so many times of her saying this, you never brought it up again. She was guilt tripping you kid!”
“I um, uh…” I didn’t know what to say. He was right.
“Am I right?”
“I um,…Yes. You are.” I whispered.
“See?” He softened and reached up to cop my face. “I got all of that from meeting her once and your reactions to her. You need to…”
“That’s my child in there!” Both our heads whipped to the door. It was my mother. I gulped, immediately thinking of how mad she was going to be. Hawks must have noticed my apprehension.
“Hey, hey. It’s alright.” He brought my hand up to his lips. “Do you want to see her? Honestly?” He looked at me in question. I took a breath and shook my head. “Okay, I’ll get rid of her.”
“O-okay.” He got up and walked to the door. He walked out.
“Oh Hawks! You’re here? How are they?”
“They are okay. No thanks to you.” He said.
“W-what?” She stuttered.
“You knew they were hurt and you made them act like they weren’t.”
“I did not…”
“I’m not done!” I saw his wings puff up. “You made them feel like they couldn’t speak up about themselves and their well being. They have a major wound on their side and then you made them clean house. Not to mention, at the accident site you made a point to make sure the attention stayed on you.”
“This is ridiculous. Let me see them.” I saw her try and push her way past him. He spread his wings out so she couldn’t get in. “Hey!”
“They do not want you to come in. I won’t get in.” He said.
“I’m their mother.”
“Then you should have acted like it!” He snapped. “You should have been more concerned by then instead of treating them like a personal assistant. Now I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” He backed up into the room and She began to yell.
“I cannot believe this! This is my child! You are being ungrateful and I am very disappointed!” She screamed. “You’re the hero! You’re supposed to be protecting people.”
“I am.” He said before slamming the door. He stood there for a moment. I saw his shoulders rise and fall before he came back over and sat next to me. He finally looked up at me. “Hey, hey. Don’t cry. It’ll be alright.”
“I’m sorry.” I covered my face.
“No, don’t be. You have every right to be Upset.” He said, retaking my hand. This time he laid his wing over me almost automatically giving me comfort. I uncover my face and look at him.
“She is going to have a cow.” I said in a hoarse voice.
“She already is.” He glanced back at the door before tucking his wing in closer. I set a hand on it. We sat in a comfortable silence. He kept his wing over me and continued to hold my hand. I even began to gently run my fingers through his feathers.
“Why are you doing this? Why one you helping me so…personally?” He lifted his head from where he laid it to look at me. “Why did you show up at my home? I didn’t think heroes usually did after accident check ins.” He took a moment to gather his words.
“I don’t know how to explain it. When I first met you, I felt something spark inside of me. I felt this immediate need to get to know you, to be close to you. That’s why I showed up to your apartment. I knew you were hurt so it bothered me as soon as you ran. I couldn’t stop thinking about you for the rest of my shift.”
“Really?” I looked up at him in disbelief.
“Yeah.” He brought my hand up and Kissed it. Before he could say anything else, the door opened up. I jumped and looked Over. It was just a doctor.
“You are awake.” He smiled. “How are you feeling?”
“Alright.” I said before squirming. “I’m a little sore in my side and arm.”
“I would imagine.” He chuckled. He went through a few tests and did a check up before administering a dose of pain meds. “Now, you should eat and then get some rest. You shouldn’t have to be in here long. Hawks?”
“Of course.” He got up and they walked to the door after the doctor handed me a Menu.
“The mother was escorted out by security.” I barely heard the doctor say.
“I’m sorry for the disturbance.” Hawks said. The doctor waved him off.
“It’s alright.” He said. “We see the type all the time.” He looked back at me. “I just don’t recommend…” I couldn’t hear the rest. Hawks nodded before the doctor left. His phone went off and he groaned after looking it
“I’m sorry kid but I’ve got to fly. I’m needed across town.” He walked over. “You eat and sleep. I’ll be back later.” He went to walk away but I grabbed his sleeve.
“Promise?” My voice shook. He looked at me shocked before his gaze softened. He cupped my cheek and leant down. He gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek.
“I promise.” He whispered in my ear. He pulled back and rubbed his thumb over my cheek. “Bye.” I nodded and he went to turn away but stopped again. He reached for his wing.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you a feather.” He held out the feather. “I can feel what my feather feels and can control it. So if you need me, give it a hard squeeze, okay?”
“Okay.” I gently took the feather.
“See you in a while, baby.” He walked out the door.
I ate and got some more rest after he left. I laid the feather next to my head on the pillow. I woke up the next morning and Hawks had yet to come back. From What heard, he got pulled into a major villain heist. I finally took notice that my phone was on the table. I turned it on and a crap ton of messages came through. Most from my mother.
“Great.” I muttered. I went through them, rolling my eyes. Just as I went to play one of my games , a call came through from her. “Hello?”
“It’s about time you answered you ungrateful little brat.” She Spat.
“Hello mother.” She mocked me before going on.
“I cannot believe you have done this. You were barely ever hurt and you have milked this. You have got the #2 hero wrapped around your finger and you are wasting his time. My god!” I gripped onto the red feather as she went on. “You have gone way too far to get attention. Do you know how this makes me look? You over dramatic Child. You…”
“Over-dramatic?!” I exclaimed, interrupting her. I am the one being over-dramatic?“ The rushed sound of my door being opened stole my attention long enough to see Hawks coming in alarmed. "I was majorly wounded mom! Bad enough that I should have gone to the hospital immediately! But because of YOU, I hid it and ran away from someone who was just trying to help me! You have me so messed up that I put everything else, especially you before myself.”
“How dare…”
“I’m not done! You knew I was hurt but you didn’t care enough or at all to even be the slightest bit concerned. I’m not even a child to you but more of a, a, an indentured servant. I have had enough of it.” Hawks sat down next to me.
“Is that so?”
“Yes it is. I am moving out.” I said with no hesitation. It was silent on the other line. I looked at Hawks and he was smiling. He took my hand that was holding his feather. He kissed it. I brought the phone down and put it on speaker.
“N-now my baby. there’s no need to go that far. We can work this out.” Hawks raised an eyebrow, both of us knowing what she was doing.
“No, you had 21 years to 'work’ on this. I am your child, not someone for you to order around.” I said calmly. “I am moving out and that’s the end of it.”
“Well don’t expect your…”
“And if any of their belongings are missing or damaged, I will hold you personally responsible, Mrs. L/N.” Hawks chipped in. I heard her gasping, trying to find something to say. “I will be coming to collect their stuff so be prepared.” He took the phone and hung it up. I let out a shaky breath.
“I just snapped.” I said. “She called me over-dramatic and I snapped.” He laughed.
“And I’m so proud of you! You stood up for yourself.” He said. “You can be your own person now.”
“Now to find out who that is.” I bit at my nails. He gently grabbed that hand and brought it down. “And to find a place to live.”
“You’ll stay with me.” He said gently. He wasn’t looking at me but I knew he was serious. “I meant what I said. I want to be close to you. I have more room then I know what to do with and you can have your privacy but I want you near.”
“Alright.” I said. His head shot up in shock.
“Wait, seriously? No arguments? I mean you are essentially moving in with a Stranger.”
“Yeah. You’ve already done so much and I feel I can trust you. Like a…Spark of something” I said. He chuckled before nodding. “Thank you, Hawks.”
“Keigo.”
“Huh?” I wondered why he gave me the random name.
“You can call me Keigo. My name’s Keigo Takami. I think it’s okay for you to know.”
“Oh, well… It’s a pleasure Keigo.” I said. I reached up and cupped his face. His winging puffed a little before relaxing, one coming Up and laying over me again. He nuzzled into my hand. “I look forward to the future I have with you.”
Why Did You Hide This? Pt. 1 - Hawks x Platonic!Reader
+You are the only child of a prominent business woman. You may be a young adult but your mother still has a tight grip on your life. There is an attack on your mothers business building while you are there. You and your mother both get hurt but you hide your injury when Hawks comes to help due to being a inconvenience to her. No matter how hard you try though, Hawks seems to notice something is off.
Chaos had consumed the building. Someone had set off either their quirk or a bomb in the building, causing bad damage. Parts of the building collapsed in. Thank god there was only 4 stories. Mom and I had been out on the balcony when it happened.
“Mom?” I called out as I pushed up and brushed rubble off of me. A stitch in my side made me pause a bit.
“Over here.” She yelled back. I went over and saw there was a piece of rubble pinning her down by her back. I ran over and somehow got the rubble off and turned her over. “Ow.”
“Crap. I need to go and find some…”
“No, do not leave me alone.” She grabbed my arm. Pain shot up and I gasped.
“Okay, Okay. I won’t go anywhere so just let me go.” She let go and I held the arm to my chest. I sighed in relief as the heroes showed up. I was kneeling and watching from my spot next to my Mother. She was groaning in pain from the wound that was on her side and expanded across her stomach.
“Please make sure they see you so they can come get me to the paramedics.” I looked down at her. I nodded. “ You’re alright, aren’t you? can’t have two of us hurt.” You would think it was sweet but I knew my mother. The underlying tone of annoyance in her voice told me otherwise.
“Yes mother.” I glanced down at the nasty cut on my arms and the one I knew was under my shirt. “I’m fine.” A shadow went over us and I looked up to see Hawks flying over. “Hawks! Hawks! Over here!” He paused in the air before diving towards us.
“Are you two alright?” He asked as he landed. I was about to answer but Mother get there first.
“No not really. I got hit in my side and stomach badly.” I stood back as Hawks knelt down to see.
“How about you?” He glanced back at me.
“They’re fine. They assured me. Please.” Again speaking for me again. I nodded and pulled down my sleeve as he looked over my mom.
“You know you are as handsome as they say.”
“Well thank you ma'am. I like to think I am.”
“Oh you definitely are.” I rolled my eyes.
“Alright, I’ll be right back. It’s not safe for me to fly you out with your injuries. I need to go get someone who is more suited. I can take you out though since…”
“No! I need them to stay with me.” Mom exclaimed. He paused but nodded.
“I’ll be back.” He stood up and told me. “I’ll be quick, I promise.” I nodded with a tight smile.
“Thank you.” I said before he took off.
“He’s dreamy.” Mom said.
“Mom.” I groaned. She waved me off. We waited and true to his word, Hawks came back quickly with help. They all got us out and to the safety beyond the fire trucks and ambulances. The paramedics immediately got to Work on my mom.
“Don’t get in the way, YIN. Let them do their jobs.” She told me while I was already standing out of the way. I nodded none-the-less and winced as my side throbbed. I turned to walk out of the way more. I sat down on some steps.
“Ow.” I whined and pulled down my sleeve. I flinched when the fabric stuck to the wound. My stomach turned when I saw marred flesh and blood slowly seeping from it.
“Hey kid.” I jumped, yanking the sleeve down. I turned to see Hawks walking towards me. He had a smile on but a questioning look in his eyes. “What was that?”
“Oh it was nothing.” I smiled. He raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. He stopped just in front of me. He held out his hand and made a motion with his fingers to give it to him. I hesitated.
“Now Kid. I just want to help.”
“My mom needs…”
“Your mom is being taken care of. Now I need to take care of you.” He held out his hand. I relented and set my wrist in his grasp. He sat down next to me and grabbed a hold of the fabric.
“Ah!” I flinched and tried to pull my arm away at the tug on the wound. He kept a tight grip on me.
“I’m sorry.” He went gentler this time and revealed the wound. “Shit, kid. Why were you hiding this?” He pulled the rest of the sleeve away and inspected it. He looked off towards where everyone was at. Suddenly a clean rag was floating in front of us and I saw a small flash of red. “This is going to hurt.” He pressed to the wound. I flinched but stayed put.
“You were right.” I bit my lip and he chuckled.
“Again why did you hide this? You said you were fine.” he chided. I looked down in shame. He sighed. “Are you going to tell me?” He asked firmly. I shrunk into myself. “Look Kid, I just went to help you. I’m going to go get some supplies and then fix this up. Okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Stay.” I watched him walk away before I looked at my mother. She was giving me an unhappy, questioning look. I just looked down. “Okay, here we go.” Hawks sat down again. He had with him some rubbing alcohol, ointments, and bandages. He got to work fixing my arm. A few whimpers, loud exclamations, and quite a few flinches later, he finished wrapping it.
“Thank you.” I said softly. He nodded but eyed me. “What?”
“Where’s the rest?” I was about to say there wasn’t anymore but he knew I would be lying. I slowly lifted my Shirt to show the wound I hadn’t even looked at. His gasp sent panic up my spine.
“What?”
“Kid… you have talent to hide wounds like this.” He said. He gently reached up and ran his hand over the skin. I hissed and grabbed his wrist. “I’m sorry.” I looked away from him and saw my mother with a pissed off look. Hawks went to touch it again.
“I’m fine.” I said quickly. He wanted to talk but I didn’t let him. “Really, I am. Thank you for helping with my own but I’ll take care of the rest at home.” I hopped up and backed away. “I better go see my mom. See if she needs anything.”
“Kid. No, wait!” He tried to stop me.
“Bye!” I ran off.
To say my mom was upset was understatement. She yelled at me for distracting and taking up a pro’s time. I also got yelled at for lying and leaving her alone. When we got home, she told me to pick up the house so there was no chance of her getting tripped up and hurting herself more.
“I need to get this cleaned up.” I brushed my hand over my throbbing side. I nearly doubled over in pain when I did.
“YIN, I am going out.” Mom walked out of her room. I looked up at her in shock.
“What? The doctor said you need to take it easy and relax.” She looked at me like I had two heads.
“ Yes. Exactly. So I am going out with Lee to relax. So don’t wait up.” She looked through her bag for her keys.
“That’s not what he meant … Mom.” I went to walk up to her.
“I expect this to be done by the time I get back. Got it? Oh, and be careful with your arm, I Guess.” She waved her hand before walking out the door. I just stood there in shock. I looked around and sighed.
“I can’t believe…” I shook my head and went back to work. My side got worse and worse until I couldn’t even move without it hurting. I was dizzy by the time a knock on the door spooked me. “Coming!” I yelled and went that way. Just into the entrance hall, a wave of intense dizziness hit me. I fell into the wall with a thud.
“Kid?” I heard a muffled voice through the door. I went to walk forward but my legs wouldn’t work. I fell to the floor and black surrounded my vision. “Hey, kid? You alright?”
“Hawks?” I whispered.
“Hey what was that thud?” I turned over with great effort onto my back.
“Hawks!” I tried to yell. I took a big breath. “Hawks! Help!” I croaked.
“Shit!” I heard him mutter. I blanked out after that. I vaguely remember him breaking in the door and appearing above me. I also vaguely recall him asking when my mom was and me answering. After that, I completely blacked out.
+The relationship between Hawks and You is fairly new. You two have been on dates and what not so the two of you haven’t been extremely couply. Despite all of Hawks flirting. It doesn’t help that Hawks is very busy being the No. 2 hero. You completely understood too so you never pressed the issue. It wasn’t until a date night at a penthouse restaurant that you first held hands with the winged man.
“And then the guy dove behind a semi-truck in middle traffic. What he didn’t know was that Endeavor was on the other side of the street, waiting.” He said with a big smile on his face before taking a bite of his lasagna.
“Well that’s unlucky and unfortunate for him.” I teased. He gave me a stink eye before smiling. I went to say something else but someone came up to our table. They started gushing over him. I silently sighed, looking down at my food. I pushed my fettuccine noodles around my plate.
“Thank you so much!” They squealed before running off.
“Sorry, babe. The fans can get over bearing.” He said, scratching the back of his neck in penitence.
"It’s fine, Hawks.” I smiled as I took a bite. He nodded but I could still see the apology in his eyes.
“So, how was your day?” He leant forward on his arms. I smiled.
“Well, I nearly killed the bitch at work. You know my ‘bad day at work’?” He laughed, throwing his head back and his wings fluffed behind. I looked at his hand as he tapped the table in amusement. Desire to hold his hand was strong but I was too nervous to make the first move.
“Yeah, the name sounds familiar.” He thought out loud. I laugh before going on.
The night went on basically the same way. Us making small talk, people periodically came up to Hawks to get an autograph or picture, and I constantly tried to urge myself to take ahold of his hand.
“I wish I could have seen that.” I nodded in agreement before glancing down. I looked at his hand again and inched mine towards his. Just as I got Millimeters from his fingers is when a woman the same age as us came up and basically started flirting with him. I sighed, pulling my hand back, tucked it into the crook of my elbow, and started to look at how beautiful she was. Someone that was more likely to be seen next to Hawks.
“I’m going to get some air.” I said before getting up and walking away.
“Babe…"I heard him coo faintly. I walked across the restaurant to the doors to the terrace. Walking outside, I took a big breath before walking over to the railing and looked out over the city. The night was clear and quiet. I closed my eyes and blocked out the situation happening inside. It was only a few minutes before I heard the gentle flutter of wings.
"Hi.” I looked over my shoulder. He stood a few feet behind me. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a gentle smile. He looked back at the restaurant.
“She is just a fan, Y/N.” He said looking at me lovingly.
“I know. I just feel inadequate sometimes around your fans. I’m quirkless and average at best while most of them are, well you know, not.”
“You know I don’t care about that, babe.” He began walking towards me.
“I know Keigo but…” I went to lean against the railing but it gave way under my weight. I couldn’t even scream at how quick it gave and the world slowed down around me. Before I could fall any further, Keigo’s hand shot out and grabbed mine.
He pulled me in and away from the ledge, turning us so he was in between. His wings lightly wrapped around me and I could feel how tense they were.
“What the hell?” He snapped. He gripped my hand tight, holding it to his chest. A waiter popped his head out the door.
“Is something wrong, sir?”
“Yes! The railing just gave way under them as they leant against it.” He nearly growled at the man. His eyes grew in size.
“Oh my! Are you alright?” He asked frantically. I nodded and looked back towards Keigo. He had his eyes narrowed at the man. “Oh good, I am glad you’re…”
“I want to see your manager.” He deadpanned.
“Keigo.” I whispered shouted as the waiter ran off.
“It’s alright. I may be upset but I just want to tell them what’s going on. As a precaution. Give him a warning about inspections and maintenance and stuff. Heroes honor.” He told me, bringing my hand up to kiss it. I gasped and blushed. He chuckled as he wove our fingers together. I clutched his hand, still a little shaky.
The manager came at a dead run, worried about the situation. Keigo explained what happened and gave them a warning about it and for proper maintenance for the balcony. The manager promptly agreed and apologized profusely. I assured him I was okay before Keigo took us back inside. The manager gave us our meal for free and we left not long after.
“Now that was a date to remember.” He chimed.
“Yeah.” I said softly and shaky, gripping onto his hand that neither of us had yet to let go. He looked at me when he heard the shakiness in my voice.
“Hey, hey. You’re okay. You’re safe. You are on solid ground. I’ve got you.” He pulled us off the edge of the sidewalk. He held my hand in both of his and held it to his mouth. He pressed feather light kisses to my knuckles.
“I know. I’m just shaken still.” I glanced up at the building we just left. “Not all of us have wings and can soar through the air, Keigo.” He smiled sadly.
“I know, Y/N. But I’ll always be there to catch you or help you fly.” I giggled. “It’s a shame that our first time holding hands had to be from you nearly falling to your death.”
“But you haven’t let go since.” I gave him a cheeky smile. He gave me one back before pressing a long kiss to my hand.
“I don’t plan to know that I have it in my grasp. Now, let’s get you home.”
“Okay.” He gently pulled me along. As we walked, I felt his wing curl up close to me. I giggled while brushing my fingers across his feathers. I felt the slightest shiver come from him and his wing tuck in ever closer. I set my head on his shoulder, happy that we were finally getting closer.
warnings: yandere elements (drugging, kidnapping, all the things that happen in a bad wattpad story lol), violence, killing/death, blood, eventual smut, mention of rutting, possessiveness, slight manga spoilers
a/n: misery by maroon 5 is my current brain rot rn don’t ask. also @innocentnymph plzzz be awake and treat this as a gift
Keigo Tamaki hates it when people wastes his time.
His whole being is built on being fast. His time at the Commission, his hero career, and now his empire— he gained it all quickly without hardly ruffling his feathers. He sinks his talons in and moves on. His morning routine takes him exactly 15 minutes, he can kill with a snap of his fingers, and, hell, he can fucking fly.
So when this slow-talking imbecile, who is clearly sweating through his suit, babbles during his business meeting, Keigo can’t help but be annoyed.
warnings: yandere elements (drugging, kidnapping, all the things that happen in a bad wattpad story lol), violence, killing/death, blood, eventual smut, mention of rutting, possessiveness, slight manga spoilers
a/n: misery by maroon 5 is my current brain rot rn don’t ask. also @innocentnymph plzzz be awake and treat this as a gift
Keigo Tamaki hates it when people wastes his time.
His whole being is built on being fast. His time at the Commission, his hero career, and now his empire— he gained it all quickly without hardly ruffling his feathers. He sinks his talons in and moves on. His morning routine takes him exactly 15 minutes, he can kill with a snap of his fingers, and, hell, he can fucking fly.
So when this slow-talking imbecile, who is clearly sweating through his suit, babbles during his business meeting, Keigo can’t help but be annoyed.
Keigo thrums his neat nails against the table before glancing out the window, sighing under his breath. The weather was chilly— quite cloudy for Musutafu with wcool breeze weaving its way rbetween skyscrapers. Cars slowly push through the busy streets, people bustling on the sidewalks. Though he’s on the highest floor, Keigo can still see the details of each individual person with his hawk-like vision. Mindlessly, with his hand balancing up his head, he follows them as they walk down blocks, open doors for one other, laugh at a joke—
The fuck?
Keigo’s breath catches. He glances up— to make sure that no one has noticed the way his eyes widened like saucers— before he dips his attention back down, back to the girl he didn’t think he’d ever see again. Back to you.
You’re sitting outside a coffee shop, even though it’s seemingly too cold to do so. Your brows are pulled down in concentration, bottom lip tucked between your teeth as you read something on your phone. An index finger is busy looping around the rim of your teacup. You put your phone down before lifting the cup, lips pouting slighly to blow over it before taking a hesitant sip. It must be satisfactory, since you give the tiniest sliver of a smile before drinking more.
He’d forgotten about you. But not anymore.
“Hawks?”
Keigo jerks his head back up. “Yeah, yeah. Just have it done.”
He has no idea what he’s agreeing to. But he does know what he’s sinking his talons into next.
Someone is watching you.
You’ve felt a heavy gaze following you since your visit to the coffee shop, even as you headed to the hospital for work. You glance around the halls cautiously, not sure what to expect. A ghost, maybe?
“There you are!”
You jump as a hand slaps your back, but your nerves quickly settle at the sight of a familiar face. “Hey, Natsu.”
Natsuo grins but his face falls as he notices your tense state. “What’s wrong?”
“Nah, it’s…” You wave it off. “What did you need to call me in for?”
His expression becomes grim.
Natsuo Todoroki is inarguably your favorite person in the world. During incredibly long shift of dealing with grumpy and angry patients, Natsuo is the one who makes you smile through it. You’d think he’d have the opposite of a cooling quirk with the way he warms the hospital.
To see him this upset about something that isn’t his father makes you sick to your stomach.
“There’s been this string of patients coming in.” Natsuo says as he leads you down the hall. “And, well, they’re all the same— lowly criminals. Not anything we haven’t seen before.”
You digest his words. “Another gang fight?”
“We aren’t sure yet. The police is working with us, but the markings on them are what’s off.”
“Stab wounds?”
“You’d think.” Natsuo opens the doors to the sectioned-off portion of the ICU— which was already a bad sign that he was bringing you in here— and you immediately freeze at the sight.
5 of the beds have a host wrapped in the heaviest of bandages around their necks, yet blood still seeps through the cloth to give it a pink tint. The wrists of each patient are clinked into handcuffs, but it seems satirical with the unconscious state of the criminals.
The hum of shallow breaths and heart monitors fogs your brain. “What the fuck?”
Natsuo clears his throat before lowering his voice to a whisper. “Every single one of them had their carotid arteries slashed. There were 12 of them. We couldn’t save the other 7 and they were sent for an autopsy.”
You swallow. “And?”
“They thought it was a knife but they couldn’t match the markings to an exact weapon. Maybe it’s some weird knife quirk, I don’t know. I asked Shoto but he hasn’t found anything in the system.”
Your hand inadvertently drifts to your own neck, feeling for the pulsing vein with the tips of your fingers. “How’d the killer manage to nick all of them in the right spot?”
Natsuo narrows his eyes. “That’s what’s freaking me out. There’s only one wound on each patient and it always hit the artery.”
He jerks his head back out the door and you follow, quite anxious to leave the room anyway.
“The police and heroes are trying to keep this under wraps, until they find more information. But I’m telling all the staff anyway for safety reasons. The fact is that there’s a skilled killer on the loose.”
Your tongue feels heavy in your mouth. “What do we do?”
Natsuo pulls together the smallest of a smile. You can tell that he’s faking it to ease away your worry, which does make your heart melt at his graciousness but does nothing to stop you from internally panicking. “All we can do is to stay safe, that’s all.”
You went home soon after, since you had the whole week off before your next shit. Yet, you stayed in your apartment for the next few days, sheltered for the sake of your safety. A few texts from Natsuo revealed that three more people were brought into the ICU with the same wound. You promptly turned off your phone and triple-checked every lock in your apartment.
When you finally got called back into work, you distracted yourself with your job. Shrieking patients in pain only dulling down after you place a gentle hand on theirs, your quirk resolving the issue within seconds. Yet, the nagging fear in the back of your mind of the serial killer roaming the streets of Mustafu makes you lose a track of time. One patient turns into forty until you realize just how much you’ve overused your abilities.
“Hey, why don’t you go home?” Natsuo frowns as he seems the way your hands tremble, a tell-tale sign of you working too hard. “I’ll drive you back.”
You nod, relieved. No way could you walk to your apartment now.
“Of course you’d drive a Tesla.” You laugh as Natsuo leads you to his sparkling white car, the T practically winking at you.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He pouts, making you giggle even more. He opens the side door for you, the gentleman that he is.
“Itmeans it’s expected. Anyways, Natsu, how do you adjust the seat? This shit is going to kill my back.”
It takes you a moment to realize that Natsuo hadn’t even shut the door for you. He’s not standing next to the car, even though he was right there a moment ago.
“Natsuo?”
Silence. Leaves scrape the ground ominously.
Your legs swing out of the car swiftly, though they feel like jello when you find your placing on the ground. The parking lot has sparse cars, but is vacant of any people.
“Nat—”
A hand slaps over your mouth, cloth against your nose. The smell is immediate, overpoweringly sweet and sticky. It reminds you of your childhood, licking away at cherry-flavored popsicles that dripped down your fingers. It also reminds you of your organic chemistry class in college, the warnings that your professor has drilled into you, the large “DO NOT INHALE” sticker on the side of one of the bottles.
Chloroform.
But that memory took too long to emerge— you’re already slumping in the grip of the stranger, black dots swimming in your vision.
“Please don’t kill me.” You whisper to no one in particular, hoping that some being beyond can save your fate. A hero.
“You’re gonna wish I did.” The stranger chuckles before everything goes dark.
Your brain feels like wisps of cotton candy when you finally gain consciousness. You crack your eyes open, but the immediate light makes you hiss. After a few blinks, you peak down and see that you’re sitting in a metal chair in the middle of an empty warehouse. Your wrists are clasped behind your back in red rope, which dig into your delicate skin.
“Shit.”
Too busy deciding whether dislocating your thumbs is worth the pain in order to break free, you don’t notice that you are not alone.
“She’s awake. Tell the boss.”
A chill crawls its way up your spine. You turn your head as best as you can, catching a glimpse of a handful of men in black suits. Your hands become slick with sweat when you notice how each of them have a holster and gun. Dateline did not prepare you for this.
“C'mon.” One of them— who has way too much gel in his hair— grabs you by your bicep and pulls you out of the chair. Your feet stumble trying to keep up with him.
Your mind swarms with questions, but your inate instincts tell you to keep quiet. As Gel Hair (yes, you’ve nicknamed him and everything) drags you through the hall with the others following close behind, you try your best to take in all the details you can.
The warehouse door leads to a well-furnished hallway— one like that of a 5-star hotel. The cream wallpaper and gold decals are in pristine shape. The crimson patterned carpet has a shade too close to that of blood. The chandeliers swing above you like icicles ready to impale you with every step. The men behind you chatter quietly, but you catch some of the words. Office. Mission. Killed.
“Hey, let’s go.” Gel Hair grunts, tugging your elbow harder. You hadn’t realized that your legs tensed up at that last word.
The group stops at a grand door, two guards with the same suit attire standing side to side. Instead of a gun in their holster, they each hold an assalt rifle— the ones you only see in action movies. You feel faint.
“This her?” One of them asks, and Gel Hair nods. The guard prompty swings the door open. And you stubbornly plant your feet further into the ground, refusing to enter.
A sickening feeling coats your body. It’s the same sensation you get when you peer over the edge of a cliff, when you catch a glimpse of a black cat wandering down an alley, when you get an emergency call from the hospital during your break.
An overwhelmingly powerful force within you knows that something terrible will happen if you set foot through that office.
“The fuck are you doing? Move!” Gel Hair snarls, yanking you forward.
You squirm in his grip, desperately pulling back. “No! Let me go, you fucking asshole! You have the wrong person!”
Filled to the brim with desperation, you do the only thing you can. You shriek at the top of your lungs.
The two guards notibly cringe before lifting their guns in defense. Gel Hair slaps his palm over your mouth. Perfect.
You chomp down on his hand.
The feeling of pride at Gel Hair’s blood-curdling scream and the taste of metal is short-lived. He slaps you hard, but you don't— can’t— register the pain, not when he’d pulled out his gun and pressed the barrel up against your forehead.
“You crazy bitch, I’m gonna blow your fucking brains out. Ha?” He grins as you whimper, heart thrumming so hard that you have to read his lips to understand what he’s saying. “Don’t care that you’re the boss’s girl, I’m gonna kill you. How does—”
There’s a flash of red. That’s it. This is it. You were shot in the head, cause of death: brain hemorrhage. You can picture your graveyard: Here lies a daughter, a healer, a friend. But the red clears and Gel Hair is still and expressionless. Blood spurts from his neck, spraying droplets against your face as if it were an empty canvas. He crumples to the floor, gasping and clawing at his wound.
Again, all you can do is scream.
Your knees buckle as you fall to the ground as pure and utter shock chills you to your bone.
"What did I tell you all? She’s precious cargo!” A voice chirps disappointedly, like a parent scolding their child. The sound crashes over you like a wave, roaring and echoing in familiarity.
You slowly lift your head. It can’t be.
“Well. At least he wasn’t one of our better members.”
A tight black-and-gold shirt is paired with baggy khakis. The belt around the waist glints golden Hs across the band. And behind him, large vermillion plumes drape behind his back like a deranged version of a cape.
No fucking way.
His golden eyes squint as he smiles, the black markings at the corners of his eyes sharpening his glare on you. “Hey, sweetheart.”
The “rope” holding your wrists together unfurls, looping around your face to flaunt itself as a feather, before it finds it’s place back to Keigo’s wings.
“Didn’t want to meet this way but, y’know.”
“What the fuck?” The venom coating your words surprises you, but it’s understandably. “You kidnapped me? You… you’e the one who killed all those people, didn’t you? Keigo, you’re on Japan’s Most Wanted—“
“Memorized my wiki page, huh?“
He’s laughing. Your blood simmers beneath your skin. He’s killing people for fun and he’s laughing.
Even though the Commission capitalized on your healing quick, they did teach you basic self-defense and fighting techniques.
You aim for his legs. An easy sweep, so long as you pounce quickly and hit right above the knees.
Of course, you’d forgotten just how strong he is.
As you lunge in his direction, two feathers circle around each of your wrists and tug you back. Unshed tears from the stress, the fear, the anger spill over your waterline.
“What do you want from me?” You scowl, teeth bared and ready to lash out.
“Your compliance.” Keigo takes a few steps forward, bending down to your height. You can’t pull away as he brings a calloused hand to your face, gently cupping your cheek. “We can’t have you biting away at my men, can we?”
You can feel bile rising up. “And why the hell should I listen to anything you say?”
“Hmm…” Keigo hums, the edge of his grin stretching even wider, Joker-esque. “We do have your Todoroki boy with us, don’t we?”
You blink, heart sinking. “No.”
“If you comply, then there’s no need to worry.” Keigo gives your cheek a pat before rising back up to his full height. His shadow paints over you, sealing your fate.
“Take her back to the bedroom. And someone, clean this shit up. I don’t need the scent of blood in my hallway.”
“That went well, huh?”
“Shut the fuck up, Jin.”
Keigo clenches and unclenches his fists, snarling as he makes his way back into his office. He didn’t want to scare you away, but the fear and fury in your eyes confirmed it all.
But, you’re tough. You can handle a little blood, right?
Besides, spring is creeping in quickly. He’s already showing signs of his impending rut— nails growing sharp, eyes becoming more slanted and predatory. Hell, he’s surprised that he didn’t rip that Todoroki boy to shreds when Keigo caught his scent on you. His business partner, Dabi, wouldn’t be too pleased if Keigo tore into his beloved brother.
Nevertheless, Keigo needs you to comply soon. Because he’s about to lose every ounce of his self-control once spring begins.
