Out of routine - Chapter three

Pairing: Hawks x Fem!reader

Warnings: Pregnancy, tiny little bit of angst, fluff, hawks being bad with feelings, poorly written smut, that is the biggest warning, mention of Hawks’ mom. Hawks being a dork in love.

Notes: English is not my first language, some things could be badly written. Not beta proofed.

Part One|Part Two | Part Three | Part Four|Part Five

Your relationship with hawks was way better than a week ago. He called you in the mornings and in the evenings, even when he got little breaks. One day he went to your apartment to bring you breakfast and found out how awful morning sickness can be. But every night he came and went directly to see if you were okay.

And today was finally the day, today you were getting your first ultrasound. He was sitting next to you in the waiting room. Nervous and way more excited than he should, seeing all the other couples with their own kids was making him feel a lot of things.

He wasn’t expecting a 180° change, but there he was already picking names in his mind. While you were expecting everything to go wrong. He was taking your hand and tracing small circles in the back of it, a small gesture to try to calm you down.

Everything was way different from the last time, Hawks was making everything possible to make sure you feel he is there for you, finally beginning to know you. There were a lot of things he thought he knew about you but you were as much of an enigma as him.

He knew how you liked your coffee because he always stole a sip of it and knew how you liked to organize your notes, but didn’t know what was your favorite show, if you had any hobby, or how was your relationship with your family.

Which brought him a bigger problem, his family. He didn’t tell you about it, but he called his mother the same day you told him you were pregnant. And it didn’t go so well, he called at least fifthteen times before she picked up. “Don’t bother me keigo” was what she said before hanging up.

It didn’t bother him that much, he knew that would happen. What bothers him is how much he hoped for a different outcome.But now he had to focus on the present when the nurse called you to the doctor’s office. He never let go of your hand. When you looked at him he was wearing his biggest smile, it was somewhat cute.

And then the doctor said “Congratulations! it looks like you have a six week pregnancy so far” she probably said something more but everything sounded muffled to hawks.

Six weeks ago, he remembers everything, it was a Tuesday because it was late at night. You were still doing paperwork when he came back from a mision pretty beat up and asked you to patch him up.

It wasn’t uncommon he asked you that. You were sitting at his desk, cleaning some scratches in his face. Meanwhile he was looking at you as if you were a goddess. You had your eyebrows frowned and your lips partially opened. God your lips always looked so good, he didn’t even wait for you to finish cleaning him, he stood up between your legs and started kissing you, not hungrily like every time you did this, it was more like a passionate kiss.

He started unbuttoning your blouse, leaving your breast exposed when he pulled down your bra. His hands were now grabbing your waist while yours were on the desk for stability. It felt like everything was spinning, soon he deepened the kiss and started grinding onto you with his wings encasing you.

This wasn’t something new, when he hired you he already had a mild crush on you, maybe more of a physical attraction. It wasn’t even one month for him to start flirting with you, when one day you just looked so cute to even let go of the opportunity. And it became your routine, some days you would stay late so he could take whatever he desired from you.

You let a moan escape your mouth when he started kissing your neck, it wasn’t too long for your clothes to disappear, he inserted two fingers inside your pussy knuckle deep. It felt so good, you wrapped your arms around his neck. Your legs started trembling and began to feel the knot inside you getting tighter and tighter before it snapped, he waited for you to finish riding your orgasm on his hand, then he pulled his fingers out and put a condom on.

The moment he put his cock inside you, you let a loud moan out of your mouth, your eyes were glossy, your back was arched and your lips were red and shiny from the kissing.

“You are so beautiful” He said with adoring eyes.

Hawks felt what he thought was overwhelming lust in the moment, but now he knew it was love, all this time what he felt was love. And that love made the new life that was growing by the second, right in front of him through that screen.

“Look Keigo! There they are!” You sounded excited and he was smiling like a mad man. For the first time in a week and a half your relationship felt like it was before, even better than before. And he was fucking ecstatic to enter this new chapter in his life along side you.

Out of routine - Chapter two

Pairing: Hawks x Fem!reader

Warnings: pregnancy, little bit of angst, fluff, hawks being bad with feelings, just indulging my baby fever, Hawks is cluless of his feelings.

Notes: English is not my first language, some things could be badly written. Still not beta proofed.

Part One | Part Two | Part three|Part Four|Part Five

Hawks had asked to meet you at a restaurant a few days later to discuss the situation. After he kept his promise and arranged everything for you to work from home, you only called him for his briefing or just texted him when you weren’t feeling that well.

You arrived at the restaurant and you were immediately directed to a private room, he was already there. You always had a good chemistry with him even before the hook ups, but now everything feels awkward. You didn’t make eye contact, just looked around the room. It was a high end restaurant with a very traditional decoration.

“Hey, there’s a lot of that sushi you liked last time-”

“Hawks, I can’t eat raw fish”

Now he was feeling like the biggest moron on the earth. Since the day you told him you were pregnant he had spent all his free time searching everything he could find about pregnancy, but he never searched for a diet.

“It’s okay, I’ll have whatever you’re having with chicken” And now he was feeling even worse, because you knew him, you knew anywhere he went he would always order something with chicken and yet he didn’t know you can’t eat raw fish.

“All right, we can do that, what about you choose something to drink?” You nodded and searched through your menu. Meanwhile he looked at you, you haven’t changed a lot in the few years he knows you. You even looked the same when you stayed your days and nights next to him after he was burned by Dabi. You even stayed after he brocasted his darkest secrets. You stayed and acted like it was any other day. It was amazing the comfort he got just from your presence alone. He was scared of that, the familiarity of someone, it was new for him. Maybe he was afraid of new things .

That is why he wanted to do this, because you were there for him when he needed someone, and you needed him now, especially him because he is the father. That’s another new concept for him, but he wasn’t frightened by that. Yes, his parents weren’t the best examples of what to do, but they were the best on what not to do. He Knew what their mistakes were, he was going to read every book he found, ask for advice, even go to a parenting class. But he was going ahead of himself, first he needed to fix things with you.

“Look Hawks, I don’t need anything from you” you were trying to find an exit to this situation again.

“When is your ultrasound?” he interrupted before you could refuse one more time. “Next week” a short answer so you could escape, this was suffocating. You didn’t exactly want to be a new burden on his shoulders. “Then clean my schedule for that day, I’m coming with you”.

“Hawks you don’t need-”

“I’m doing this because I want to. Let me be there“

“I don’t want to barge in your life like that” No matter how hard you tried to push him away, he kept insisting on being part of this “Why not?”.

“Because you have more important things to do” Now he understood why you wanted to run away from him. It isn’t exactly him, It’s the implications of being pregnant with his child.

“More important than you?” He was getting frustrated.

“YES” you were so desperate to stay out of the way you resorted to shouting.

“NO” he replied the same way.

“It’s selfish of me to keep you away from the thing you love the most”

“And what if you are what I love the most”

Another new thing for hawks, love. And god if it felt good admitting he was in love with you, all this time it was love, he felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

He stood up and sat right next to you. Tears were falling from your eyes “But you never said you loved me” He pulled you into an embrace.

“I know, like I said, I’ve been an asshole this whole time, but I’m going to make it up to you. For you and our baby”

Maybe it seemed like very little, but it was exactly what you needed to hear right now. And maybe new things weren’t as scary as Keigo thought.

Out of routine - Chapter one

Pairing: Hawks x Fem!reader

Warnings: Discution of abortion, pregnancy, little bit of angst, fluff, hawks being bad with feelings, swearing, probably gonna add more.

Notes: English is not my first language, some things could be badly written. Not beta proofed.

Part One | Part Two|Part Three|Part Four|Part Five

Today was like any other day you would come inside his office, say your greetings and his schedule and then leave. At least that was what he was expecting until you said “ I quit”.

He was confused, you did an amazing job day in and day out, everyone in the agency loved you. “Thanks for the opportunity to work alongside you” You did a small bow and waited for his answer. “What? Why?” He stood up from his office chair and stood in front of you.

“I found a new job and-” You were avoiding his gaze and were pretty nervous. “That’s bullshit, tell me the truth” and that’s when you broke down with tears in your eyes “Hawks, I’m pregnant”

He froze, didn’t know what to do, he was processing what you just told him, you were crying in front of him and he just stood there scared. That was what he was feeling, he was scared, and you were scared.

When he finally became aware of his surroundings again he pulled you into a hug. Where he felt way too big and suffocating inside his office that he wanted to fly out of the window and pretend this never happened but you seemed so fragile next to him, he knew he couldn’t do that, not when you needed him the most. “Please don’t leave” he pleaded next to your ear pulling you tighter into the embrace.

He knew it was stupid trying to make you stay now when every single time he pushed you away. “Hawks let me go, I don’t want anyone in the agency knowing” that was a rule he put to whatever relationship you were having, and now he was regretting. He regretted all his choices, but never meeting you, not when you walked that first day into your little desk next to his office door. Not even now.

“No, please, I can arrange things so you can work from home, but don’t quit” He was crying too. “Keigo stop” you tried to push him away but he didn’t let go “If you really don’t want this, then we can find-”

“NO! I’m keeping this baby” you finally looked him in the eyes, both puffy and red from crying. “Then let me be part of this (Y/N)”

It wasn’t an easy decision, during the five years you have worked with him, Hawks always kept you at arm’s length from him, more than being afraid of commitment, it was the way he had learned to maintain relationships. In a way that never interfered with his work, but this was different, you were different. He wanted to do things right with you, yet he made the same mistake over and over again. But not any more.

“I know I’ve been an asshole, but let me stay by your side, work things out” He was starting to panic when you didn’t say anything for a long minute, he knew he fucked up and you were going to say no and walk trough that door and never see you again. And once again, anything was what he was expecting.

“Fine, let’s work things out”.

Keigo Takami x Reader - Love is Pain

A/N: This is a bit of a shorter one than usual!

Characters: Keigo “Hawks” Takami x GN Reader

Genre: Soulmate AU

Warnings: Very mild sexual implications (the reader’s soulmark is on their butt and shenanigans ensue)

Summary:“What kind of soulmate slaps you on the ass when you first meet?”

Word Count: 1k

If you were to ever look across the masses of people walking through the large city streets of Tokyo, you would undoubtedly see at least a handful of people with a plainly visible soulmate mark. The mark, generally varying in size and shape, could be composed entirely of grey hues while others were bursting with vibrant colors; the latter being an assured sign that the person in question had met their soulmate. Some people appeared to have no soul mark, luckily enclosed under where they’d wear clothes. Others weren’t quite as lucky with a large mark that stretched out beyond where their clothes could cover or even a mark which was on their face.

As Hawks looked across each of the passing people below where he was perched, he still deemed his own soul mark to be the most unlucky of all, especially because of his profession. Across his left cheek had been a clearly hand-print shaped, grey mark since the day he was born. The mark was tilted in such a way that it soon became clear to the flight hero that his soulmate’s first contact would be a slap to the face. Although he fretted about that occasionally, the real issue became when he entered the public eye as a rather famous hero: people would slap him.

At first, he thought it was just a one time thing. A woman had come up to him like she was asking for an autograph only to smack him hard across the face and sigh in disappointment when the mark didn’t light up. But, it only continued after that. People of all kinds of descriptions would come up to the hero and test their luck at being his soulmate. Some would only gently tap his cheek while others, like the first instance, would hit him hard across the face. A handful of people had even painted their hand to give the illusion that it had worked; none of those instances were very convincing, and he’d yet to see his soulmate mark light up to some adoring fan.

Meanwhile, you found yourself in a much different set of circumstances. Luckily, you weren’t in any position of fame nor did you find people frequently testing their luck at activating your soul mark. But, you’d still consider your soulmark to be unfortunate: a handprint on your butt cheek. “What kind of soulmate slaps you on the ass when you first meet?” You had always wondered. Overall, you weren’t too thrilled to meet your soulmate, especially with the impression they had already left on you.

On that fateful day, you’d been going to meet a friend on your day off work. And, it just so happened that Hawks had decided to follow the same route only for the reason that it was the way Endeavor was going.

“So, I heard you have kids, right?” He decided to bring up as his next topic to annoy the man, “Todoroki Shoto, I saw him at the Sports Festival. He beat my work studies kid. You must be proud, huh?”

“Yes, but my kids don’t like me very much.” Endeavor responded.

“I can’t begin to imagine why that is…” The flame hero cut off the other’s sarcastic remark with a harsh glare.

“My children are none of your business, Hawks.” He added.

“C'mon, don’t be like that Mr. Number One!” As Keigo was speaking, he flicked his hands out to his side.

The action proved to be a mistake as he felt his hand having hit something a bit harshly. At first, he assumed it to be someone’s arm or maybe even a small child who had been walking nearby. He turned to apologize to whomever he hit only to get a hard smack to the face.

“Asshole.” You muttered as you left the man behind in pursuit of the location you’d be meeting your friend. You weren’t quite sure what possessed you to react so harshly to the man who you assumed had just intentionally smacked your ass: most other people would have just let the situation de-escalate so as to not face the possible wrath of some odd man. But, you were sure you wouldn’t be sticking around.

As for Hawks, he’d taken a second to recover from having been slapped. “Serves you right.” The number one hero a few paces ahead of him now commented. It was no surprise the man decided to stop and witness the younger hero get slapped.

“It’s not the worst I’ve gotten.” Hawks tried to play it off as he returned to walking beside Endeavor.

He looked back up at the tall hero to further pester him, but the man only appeared to stare back at him with an unfamiliar expression. “Did you see a ghost or something?” Hawks attempted to poke fun at the odd look.

“Your uh- mark.” Endeavor tapped the side of his own face to gesture what he meant to Hawks.

“Huh?” Keigo pulled out his phone to look at what the flame hero could have meant. He only had his camera app open for a second before he noted the bright mix of colors on his cheek.

“Hey, wait up!”

“It was kinda funny, y'know. I went up to them and was like ‘hey, I know you just slapped me, but we’re soulmates!’ They were super apologetic though, they hadn’t even realized that I was a pro-hero. I can’t blame them though.” You read through the most recent magazine interview your boyfriend had done.

You were ever supportive of his hero aspirations, and the things he did outside of it. But, you hardly expected him to be asked specifically about his soulmate and tell the true story of how you two met.

“Now I do it often and they hardly have that kind of interaction. Seriously Keigo?” You repeated the last line of the interview back to him.

“What? I was just telling the truth.” Keigo looked up from his phone.

“Shut up!” You lightly smacked his arm.

“I’m just kidding,” he leaned onto you, like a sort of human blanket, “PR Manager told me to add something 'interesting’ if I was going to bring you up. I hate that guy.”

“Sorry though, I won’t bring that up again. Usually I don’t even answer.” He pressed a kiss to the side of your head.

“Do you get asked often?” You asked.

“Kinda, they usually ask when and how or if it’s some specific hero. Mount Lady apparently found her soulmate recently and interviewers won’t stop asking me about it.” Keigo rolled his eyes.

“Don’t even get me started one when Rumifound her soulmate! It was maybe like a week before we met, and I couldn’t go even a second like walking somewhere without people asking! Like, how many times does she have to say her soulmate is a woman for people to get it…” Keigo continued his ramblings about the press, while you lay quietly on the couch beside him.

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gif by @kilruas

Title: The Arrangement (Parts 1 and 2)

Pairings: Shota Aizawa x Fem!Reader, Hawks x Fem!Reader, Dabi x Fem!Reader (All to different degrees, and some are only one sided.)

Summary: You were a relatively unknown pro hero and Eraserhead’s girlfriend. Some rare alone time with him was all you’d wanted. But in an instant, everything is changed. A violent nomu attack and a fateful confrontation with Dabi put you headfirst into the darker side of hero work and the complications that Hawks already knew far too well.

Notes: *spoilers through season 5 of the anime*

Warnings: Cursing, blood, violence, serious injuries, angst.

My Masterlist

——————————

Hoshi City - Friday, late afternoon

The air was crisp, with a little bit of breeze moving between the buildings. It was supposed to be the coldest temperature of the winter season thus far tonight.

But you were smiling as a small child passing by bundled up in their stroller waved out to the two of you on your patrol. Your partner Quake waved cheerfully to the child and their mother as well before he looked back to you.

“So you finally got Eraser to say yes, huh?” The tall, muscular hero asked with a little surprise.

“Well I’ve been wanting to go to that restaurant with him since they opened. I love Italian food, but it’s kind of hard to find the real thing around here you know?” You’d been bugging Aizawa for a very long while about it, yes. But he was always so busy with his work at UA. You understood of course, but sometimes it was just nice to have a chance to play at being a normal couple for once.

“He’s coming in tonight to stay for the whole weekend this time.” You added a bit proudly. It really had been ages since you could last say that. “So we’ll go there to that Italian place for dinner later. And I’m going to try and get him to keep his laptop closed Saturday as well to go out on patrol with me.” Honestly you were almost more excited about that idea than the actual dinner too. Because working together in the field just brought out a whole other level of trust and intimacy. One you missed experiencing with him ever since he left full time hero work to become a teacher really.

You were so thankful that your normal teammates were this flexible too. Yet you still asked one more time regardless. “And you’re sure that you’re okay going solo for tonight’s patrol though?” There were only three of you normally at your small hero agency. Yourself, Quake, and Sunstar. But Sunstar had had her sister’s wedding to go to out of the country this week. She still wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning.

Quake just scoffed however. “I’ll be fine. Just as long as I can get some sleep once Sunny’s back in. Remember, Maya’s birthday party is Sunday afternoon too. And my wife’s still wanting me to help with the party setup.”

Maya was Quake’s oldest daughter, and you still couldn’t believe she was already going to be six years old. You remembered when she was just a babbling little rolly-polly ball of a baby. It was amazing how time flew.

“You should bring Eraser by the party if he’s still in town by then. He likes kids on cupcake and fruit punch sugar highs right?” Quake added with a chuckle, of course already knowing that statement was actually somewhat based in truth. Despite the harsh exterior, Eraser definitely had a soft spot for children.

And your smirk in response made it obvious that you knew all too well what topic was then coming next.

“You really need about four or five of your own you know? You two have been dating long enough to know if it’s for real by now. I mean, come on.” Quake teased a little.

You didn’t mind the bit of ribbing. Quake’s heart was always in the right place. He just didn’t want to see anyone waste their time was all. But you and Eraser’s careers still always seemed to get in the way in the end. “You realize how long I had to work on him just to convince him he was ready to get his own cat, right?” You asked somewhat seriously.

But Quake only laughed. “Or maybe you two just adopt Eri for real one day, instead of passing her around the UA staff like you have been. You adore her don’t you? She needs a set of loving, permanent parents. And Shinso is already in as the big brother role right? Might as well keep him too.”

“We can’t just kidnap a teenager! Hitoshi does have his own family you know.” You laughed a little at that. “And yeah, of course Eri deserves the world after all she’s been through,” You agreed. “But…” Were you really good enough for her? “How do you even know when you’re capable of being a good parent?”

“Oh, that answer’s easy.” Quake replied immediately. “You’re never ready. You’re never good enough. Never. But you keep improving. You get through it together one day at a time. You love them and you do the best you can. Just like hero work. You’ll win some days, and fall short on others. But you just keep moving forward. You’re their protector and biggest cheerleader for the rest of your life. That’s the important part.”

You sighed a little. “And who made you so damn inspirational today anyway?”

“It was the street tacos we had for lunch. Well, your lunch and my breakfast since I slept in to cover for you tonight of course. But I swear cilantro makes me more thoughtful!” He joked.

“Okay, there’s the weird Quake I know. He’s back now.” You were smirking again, the two of you just stepping off the curb and onto a crosswalk then when you saw that first blur in your peripheral vision.

Coming down the street like a missile, it was locked onto the both of you as your muscles started to tense. In fractions of a second, almost involuntarily, you had made a large shield of light as protection. While Quake had lifted up the pavement just with his mind to do the same. Dirt, concrete, and asphalt rose simultaneously to shoot up into a defensive wall alongside your light.

But the monster only slammed into both those barriers with no hesitation, creating a shockwave that blew out all windows in a three block radius.

——————————

UA High School

The chalk squeaked as it cut across the blackboard. It was the last minutes of the last lecture of the afternoon, and Aizawa knew without even looking back that too many in his class were already mentally elsewhere. Teenagers now thinking of their Friday night soon ahead, daydreaming pitifully as if they hadn’t cumulatively turned in the worst excuses for mission debriefing paperwork he’d ever seen earlier.

The paper pushing side of things might not be as flashy a part of the job. But if you couldn’t outline proper mission reports, and the Hero Commission ever had to question or kick back your agency’s filings one too many times, you could quickly find yourself without any income at all.

He was writing out the key points of this yet again on the board, this time with references for mandatory readings over the weekend on how the Hero Commission processed and divvied up hero salaries based on multiple factors of your submissions when the most obnoxious pop song erupted as a ringtone from one corner of the class.

The embarrassed squeal of Mina Ashido and the terrified rummaging through her backpack that followed was finally enough to have Eraser then glaring back over his shoulder.

“Idiot,” Bakugo grumbled under his breath, yet with a smirk that announced his clear anticipation of whatever punishment may befall her. This class was finally getting a little more interesting in his opinion.

“I forgot to turn it back off after break! I’m so sorry!” The pink skinned girl apologized loudly to both Aizawa and her equally disappointed looking class president Tenya Iida, even as she shot a glare in return to the smug Bakugo before looking back to the front of the class. “It was an accident, Mr. Aizawa, I swear, I-”

But before Eraserhead had even decided the suitable punishment, he saw her expression completely change as her eyes really met the phone’s screen.

“Mina?” Her friend Uraraka asked a little more worriedly, quickly picking up on that expression as well.

“It’s a news alert.” Mina blurted, standing up suddenly as she continued to read the message, scrolling quickly. “Another nomu attack! Two nomus! It’s happening right now!”

And it was like a wave of invisible energy ignited through the room at those words, palpable as the other students tensed and many left their own seats to start crowding her to be able to read the alert as well.

“We’ll kill them all this time! Dumb bastards! Where are they!?” Bakugo nearly took her phone from her as he rushed up, but she twisted her body quickly away from him.

“It’s-” She paused again when another awful realization struck her as she continued to read. But her anxious eyes rose back to Aizawa soon enough as she had to tell him. “It’s Hoshi City.”

The room fell briefly silent as he just stared back at her.

“That’s where Ms. (Y/N)’s agency is.” Midoriya mumbled nervously though, unable to help himself. But he kept going even though they could all still hear him. “It’s a smaller city, surrounded by rural areas. Her agency is the only one within a very wide range, there would be no backup immediately available. They don’t even have any sidekicks as the crime rate there doesn’t warrant more than three pro heroes normally. But she said Sunstar was going to be on vacation this week, so that only leaves Ms. (Y/N) and Quake, they-”

The hit was audible as Bakugo slapped the back of the muttering teen’s head hard enough to interrupt him. “Shutup, you weirdo! You think we don’t know that!?”

But instead of being angry at the cheap shot, Midoriya only looked ashamed for a moment as he realized how insensitive it might have been to reiterate all that aloud.

Yet the tension simply grew as Aizawa’s neutral expression and continued silence betrayed very little. Only if the students were truly observant would they have noticed the new tension in him. His body wanted to fight, he actually wanted to move immediately.

“Class is dismissed.” He announced coldly. “I will notify another teacher to escort you to your dorms. This attack may only be a distraction, or the first of multiple. I’m sure the principal will decide to put UA on lockdown momentarily.”

“But we can’t just do nothing!” Kirishima cried out, no longer able to contain himself as they all watched Aizawa moving towards the door.

“Iida, you’re responsible until another teacher arrives.” Was all Aizawa answered though, his focus now singular and far away from this room as his pace quickened.

Iida only hesitated briefly before responding forcefully though, “Yes…yes, sir!” and then Aizawa was gone.

——————————

Eraserhead was already in a full run as soon as the door to his classroom had closed behind him. His mind was calculating every possible option of how he could get to you. But each was only a dead end.

Even by bullet train it was still a forty minute trip. And the next train didn’t leave for over an hour. He was supposed to have been on that train tonight actually.

You shared his faculty apartment here with him on campus occasionally, even doing guest lectures and trainings with the students at times. But you also had your own apartment near your agency. You’d wanted him to come stay there with you this weekend, having worn him down about finally having a little personal time together again.

As he rounded the blind corner in the hallway, he had to quickly slide, dodging Present Mic in an instant as the two nearly collided. The other pro hero had been in full run as well. And by the expressions that the two old friends traded in that single moment, they both knew the other was already fully aware of the situation.

“We can take my car!” Mic said quickly, grabbing Aizawa briefly by the forearm.

“We’ll only get stuck on the highway.” Eraser rejected the idea immediately. It was late Friday afternoon. Businesses and schools would all be closing now, everyone getting on the road at the same time to commute home. Not all the roads from here to there even had emergency lanes. There’d be no way quickly through.

But his face was finally starting to betray more emotion as he could see that fear also mirrored behind Mic’s yellow tinted glasses. “Mic, we can only try to call in help for them. It’s all we can do.” It had to be someone who could fly, someone who could cross large distances in a short time.

He started to move again, continuing to his original destination of the teachers’ group office. Where their computers and hardline phones were. But he kept talking to Mic even as they now ran together. “Is it on television yet?”

“No idea, I was in class too. Midnight called my cell, asked me where you were. She was with some kids down at the gym. She’s coming back. I don’t know if-”

Principal Nezu’s calm voice interrupted over the intercom. “Attention staff and students, due to a confirmed and ongoing nomu attack in Hoshi precinct, UA is now on lockdown. Staff, please assist in escorting all students back to their dorms for the evening. We will report any further news as needed. Thank you.”

“I’ll text Midnight back, let her know to get our classes too for us,” Mic spoke quickly, already typing on his phone even in mid run.

As they did finally reach the group office and flung the door open, the mouse like Principal was there standing on a table as he lowered the microphone he’d just been speaking through.

All Might was there as well, his thin, drawn face looking immediately to Aizawa with concern even as the other passed right by him.

“Has someone already called Endeavor? Dragoon?” Aizawa asked as he went quickly to his own computer to start pulling up the direct hero agency hotlines that only the Hero Commission, schools like UA, and the police had access to for the most critical emergencies. Those numbers rang straight through and were always answered no matter what, unlike the public lines that may wait indefinitely in queue depending on current call volume.

“We did.” The Principal answered easily. “Endeavor’s personal vendetta against the nomus had him already on the way even before our call. But with the large distance he has to cover from his home city, his agency still estimated his flight time as over twenty minutes.”

“And Dragoon?” Eraser asked even as his eyes didn’t leave his computer screen, scrolling through the database for more flighted heroes that might be close enough to matter.

“She said she’d do her best. She was off the mainland, on an island mission when I called her.” All Might answered as well. “But she had a lot of open ocean to cross.”

“What about Hawks?” Mic butted in, even though he was now across the room turning on the massive flat screen television on the wall and starting to flip through the news channels.

Nezu frowned slightly. “His agency left him a voicemail for us on his cell phone. They didn’t know where he was currently. He didn’t pick up.”

“Typical, lazy ass flyboy!” Mic complained, even as he finally found a channel with a breaking news alert scrolling across the bottom and stopped on it.

“Here at channel 9 evening news, we have our helicopter en route to the remote scene! But as you can see from our local affiliate already on the ground, the damage is widespread for this normally quiet city!” A female news anchor called out excitedly as a shaky camera shot cut to a live street view of the small downtown area.

There was a haze of concrete dust still in the air, the exteriors of the buildings clearly cracked and windows shattered. Water shot out from broken water mains and pipes, while cars were strewn about up and down the street like used up toys.

Aizawa, Mic, All Might, and Nezu were all staring at the screen now, immediately analyzing the sight from so many combined years of experience. They could all envision the kind of quirks that could carve such a violent path.

But imagination became reality as the news anchor kept on while the camera view abruptly changed again.

“What you’re seeing now was sent in to us only moments ago, recorded earlier from a citizen’s phone not long after the initial attack! We apologize for any language or upsetting images. This is unedited footage!”

But any apology was just a mockery of course, as if these vultures didn’t live and die by the blood that spattered their camera lenses at times. Being the first to show something was often far more important than it being right or even decent to show to the general public.

Yet it was also undeniable that no one could have looked away either. Aizawa felt a tightening in his chest as he first heard your voice screaming from that TV screen for the people to get back.

The cellphone view was bouncing violently around as if its user was running as told, a metallic sound screeching in the distance before a car almost crushed him. The gnarled up vehicle flew past to crash right in front of him on the pavement as he cursed and slid.

But even through that shaky footage, Aizawa saw the distortion of one of your force fields. It was no off chance that the car had missed the man. You had protected him as it’d bounced off your field before meeting the pavement in front of him.

Yet now the man was somewhat trapped, his main path to escape blocked as he turned the camera skyward. “Holy shit!” The man cried as the blur of you and a crimson red nomu went over head to crash down into the storefront beside him, more glass and debris exploded outward with the force before the fight spilled back out into the street.

It was obvious that this wasn’t actually the beginning of the fight.

Aizawa stood now, taking in every additional detail as the camera got its first full shot of you then. Your costume was already badly torn and dirtied, your mask half missing and blood running readily down your face. But both your eyes were open, that unfaltering focus glowing in them as you dodged the monster’s next strike, then landing hit after hit of your own on it before you took to the sky once more.

You wanted it to follow you. Aizawa knew that immediately. You couldn’t fight as hard as you needed to with so many people and buildings still around.

But then there was the second nomu, solid black as it entered the frame as well. They were hunting you in tandem, like wolves encircling prey as they chased your already injured form into the sky and out of the shot again.

“Where’s her partner?” All Might asked aloud, but like all of them was surely already afraid of that answer.

“I know him. His hero mame is Quake,” Eraser answered, his scowl deepening as this anger grew. “If he was still able to move at all, he wouldn’t let her face this alone.”

“Goddammit,” Mic hissed, “He’s got a wife and kids too doesn’t he?”

“Three daughters.” Aizawa replied as the dread in the room deepened.

“But he’s alive!” Midoriya’s sudden voice intruded as all the teachers looked to the doorway in surprise.

“We were asked to wait for a teacher to escort us back to our dorms!” Iida yelled, hands physically on Midoriya as he tried to pull him back out of the room.

Yet the other students seemed to be ignoring Iida entirely as Bakugo stepped in next, forcing his way past the both of them. “Round face found another video on her phone. The nomus broke that earth quirk guy’s back, so (Y/N) had to leave him.”

Uraraka ignored Bakugo’s rude nickname for her as she entered the room too, but at least a little more meekly. “Quake has a rock dome up protecting the other side of town where they evacuated most of the people to. (Y/N) helped him to that safer spot and then led the nomus away.”

“You really do have the most insubordinate class, Aizawa.” Nezu commented in his odd, light tone.

Iida and Momo Yaoyoruzu were the only ones that looked properly ashamed at the principal’s comment however as the rest of class 1-A just filtered into the room.

“Well you can’t expect us just to stand around like a bunch of extras when shit is hitting the fan!” Bakugo growled.

Mic rolled his eyes even as All Might tried to hurry over to help control the situation. “Young Midoriya and young Bakugo, we must really insist that you go back to the dorms for your own safety in case another attack occurs. I’ll escort you!”

“But can she hold two of them off on her own or not?” Bakugo only asked instead as cold and serious as anything as he ignored the skinny All Might’s pleas. Bakugo’s eyes were focused on Aizawa only.

“Kacchan!” Midoriya admonished in shock and dismay at the harsh question.

Eraser’s glare moved onto Bakugo briefly, but not because of the impertinent question. The boy was right to be so disatisfied. Aizawa also hated that he could do nothing more for you than be here right now. And he hadn’t seen any flighted hero in the registry that could possibly get there any faster than Endeavor or Hawks now. Though why wouldn’t Hawks answer his agency’s calls? But that’s when he did have at least one other idea.

Weak, like grasping at straws, but he would do or try anything if it meant saving more lives, including your own. “Tokoyami!” Aizawa called out suddenly, disregarding Bakugo fully as Tokoyami only looked up in surprise at his name.

Aizawa’s voice was now fully commanding, leaving no question that this was an order as he continued. “Get your phone out and you tell Hawks to go to Hoshi city. Now.”

Nezu, All Might, and Mic all looked at Aizawa curiously. But it was only Nezu who smiled a little as Tokoyami frantically began texting as told.

Aizawa was very clever in guessing others’ weaknesses after all. And sometimes in emergencies even heroes could find their own manipulative sides.

———————————

Unknown location

Hawks groaned a little, feet dangling off from the ledge of the cell phone tower he now sat upon. The cold wind was cutting across his face as he read through Tokoyami’s increasingly pleading messages. Putting his phone on do not disturb after his agency’s first calls to him didn’t seem to be quite enough.

-You’re the only one fast enough to help now. Endeavor is coming from farther away, he likely won’t be there in time. Please answer.

-I know you always have your phone on you.

-Hawks, please. We all know her at UA. She doesn’t deserve this. No backup is close. She’s fighting them all alone.

Okay, so yes, his little bird of the night tag along had become slightly more than just a tool for getting information on UA as of late.

They’d spent just enough time together that Hawks might say he did care a bit about what happened to the kid by now.

But how could he explain to his teenage work study protege that they had no idea the political minefield they were now asking him to dive headfirst into? After Endeavor’s previous fight with the nomu that Hawks had secretly instigated and thereby had a front row seat for, the Hero Commission had explicitly asked him to keep his wings out of any further nomu instances for a while.

They didn’t want him to draw too much suspicion and risk his double agent status with the former League of Villains, now the Paranormal Liberation Front. There was too much to lose with him being the commission’s only informant and possible way to stop the coming war before it started.

Dabi and the others were only just starting to let him further into their organization. Everything was up to him in not taking a severe misstep now.

The phone only vibrated yet again though.

-Hawks. I probably shouldn’t even tell you this, but you’re always asking about my class. She’s also the romantic partner of my teacher Mr. Aizawa. Her loss would devastate him. I know it would even if he isn’t open about it. If there’s anything you can do at all. Please do!

“Romantic…partner?” Hawks’ gloved hand covered his face briefly in secondhand embarrassment as he spoke aloud to himself. “God…Tokoyami. Just say girlfriend, fuckbuddy…whatever.They shack up, they sleep together.” It happened in the hero community probably far more than anyone cared to admit.

But Eraserhead, seriously? There was a girl out there who had decided that out of all the heroes, that was the bed she wanted to hang around in? Really? Hawks’ curiosity was actually almost peaked now as to what kind of woman that could possibly be. Because he couldn’t imagine such a creature in his mind’s eye.

He almost started to type back reflexively before he stopped himself.

Wait…no. Oh, no this was bad. Was he really considering-

But how many people would have died the day Endeavor was attacked by the high end nomu if Hawks hadn’t been there to pull everyone out of the collapsing buildings?

Was this really okay?

A hero all by herself. A distress signal sent multiple times, and him here pretending that he couldn’t even hear it.

Ah…

……

….

Fuck it. He was still a hero wasn’t he? Even if things were complicated, if he could save someone, he had to try. He’d just have to weasel his way out of getting into real trouble with the Hero Commission later.

Hawks finally texted Tokoyami back as he stood then, wings spreading into the lowering sun.

-Eraser has a GF??? That I’ve got to see. I was patrolling in a cell service dead zone. And I try not to text and fly. I’ll do what I can. I’m sure I can beat old man Todoroki in a race to get there at least.

———————————

Hoshi City Outskirts

You were panting, forcing yourself back to standing through the incredible pain. You’d carried the fight to these fields outside of the city. The surroundings were gently rolling hills that flowered in the spring, but were still covered with soft winter grasses now as both nomus dove for you yet again with unreal speed.

They never seemed to tire, even as you steadily did.

The sun was getting lower and lower, the sky darkening in increments under an already overcast sky as you took yet another brutal hit that you couldn’t dodge quickly enough. You could hear cracking each time the blows connected.

Your bones were fracturing, the taste of blood strong in your mouth as you spit out some more of that red liquid as a mist in midair.

Your light energy wasn’t endless. Even with some sunlight still left for you to reabsorb, you couldn’t replenish the energy as fast as you were having to use it. And despite taking the beating that you now were, you still tried to hold some power in reserve instead of using it all for shielding.

If you used it all up now and still failed to stop the nomus, they’d only return to the city to finish what they’d started there.

You could still remember the furious look in Quake’s eyes as you’d had to leave him behind with his broken body. He hadn’t wanted you to go and take the enemy on alone. He’d begged you not to take such a risk.

But you’d only yelled back at him that there was no other option. Too many would have died in the city had you not drawn the nomus away. Maybe Quake’s own family among them if you hadn’t left when you did. The local hospital that his wife worked at and the elementary school that his children attended had been so near the original attack scene.

Yes, with every fiber of your being you were only trying to stall for time. Not for you, but for everyone else. There was no other way.

Yet you hadn’t considered that anyone save another pro hero would be foolish enough to follow you out here now.

Your eyes widened in surprise as you first heard that beat of helicopter blades.

Both nomus turned their heads at the sound, and you knew instantly that your plan had just changed entirely as your heart sank.

———————————

UA High School

“Hawks is on his way now.” Tokoyami affirmed, though still looking as uneasy as everyone else.

Mic huffed, still frustrated it’d take that long for any pro hero to respond regardless. “What kind of idiot ignores direct emergency line calls from his own agency to begin with?”

“Hawks is young, but he’s still the number two hero for a reason.” All Might offered, trying to keep the atmosphere from turning any more negative than it already was.

“Yeah, and that reason is just because you retired!” Mic grumbled. “That and people dig his stupid flyboy look for whatever reason.”

“Says the other guy with yellow glasses and in your face blonde hair…seriously Mic?” Midnight chastised as she entered the room. She understood all too well the stress here, but this kind of bickering wasn’t going to help anyone.

But she wasn’t alone. After having left the other students (except class 1-A obviously) at the dorms with Vlad King, Cementoss, and other faculty to protect them, she’d had one student that had insisted in coming back to be here with Aizawa instead.

Her heart couldn’t say no either to that request as Hitoshi Shinso moved from her side to rush to his mentor Eraserhead.

Neither of those two knew what to say to one another however as they exchanged looks.

“Eri is safe with Mirio, Nejire, and Tamaki in the third year dorms,” Midnight added.

But before anything else could be said, the news anchor’s voice grew excited and louder once more. “And our helicopter has now reached the active battleground! The remaining hero is standing her ground against the two nomus! After All Might’s final battle in Kamino and Endeavor’s brutal fight in Hosu, we have upgraded our former traffic helicopters with the latest in HD cameras and long distance specialty microphones than can filter out even the unwanted sounds of the helicopter!”

It was sickening. Even now they were still advertising their equipment for their own ratings sake.

But this fight wasn’t the same as in Kamino or Hosu. In both those instances All Might and Endeavor, the strongest heroes of the modern age, had been the villains’ only targets.

By contrast, you were not famous. You were not a symbol. You were only another hero in their way as the monsters’ attention had instantly shifted to the noisy helicopter at its arrival.

And that was the first moment that Aizawa’s anger and adrenaline had faltered to fall into real fear. The notion of losing you had been lurking underneath all along of course. He knew all too well that nomus fought to kill. He knew what was at stake for you.

But when you’d been fighting alone, you still could have chosen to escape with some breath left in your body at the last moment, it still could have been an option in the end.

Now that door had been closed. You would have to defend those in the helicopter as well. It was no different than if Eri had been standing suddenly in that field, or Shinso, or anyone else that you cared about. Even if that news crew were strangers to you, you would not value your life as worth more than their own. Because he knew you.

You would sacrifice yourself.

Aizawa heard one of the female students gasp as you’d struck the red nomu out of the sky with a sudden, brilliant white blast of energy just before the monster had reached the helicopter.

“Fucking media assholes!” Bakugo yelled, clenching his fists as the helicopter still didn’t move any farther away after the near miss.

And no teacher in the room thought to correct his language, only watching that HD live feed together as they all came to silent similar conclusions as Aizawa.

———————————

Hoshi City Outskirts

When you struck one nomu after the other back down with those energy blasts, you felt the ache all the way through your burning muscles. And it was well enough to get their attention again as they launched back at you full force, the sharper claws of the red one nearly meeting your throat.

The energy you used for your attacks was the same that you used to fly with and create your force fields. There was so little left then, even as your body glowed bright white with that energy output in the now setting sun.

You were a guiding light in that moment, a true target for the enemy as you took hit after hit again in order to draw focus away from the helicopter. You only raised thin force fields brief enough to slow what could have otherwise been fatal blows.

But that was still its own damage as well. Few understood the way your force fields really worked. Every hit against them you still felt. That recoil force went through your bones and tissue even as the monsters struck your shields. It reduced the direct damage but only by so much.

Yet you refused to scream or cry. You just had to dig deeper. Before you lost consciousness, before the setting sun left you in darkness with no other real light to take back.

Yes, you were losing strength faster and faster. So everything had to be now. All you had, it had to be now.

They both slammed you down next, into the ground like a meteor coming to earth. You heard and felt your right arm break fully that time.

You could no longer use it as you stared up into the monsters’ dead eyes and open maws of fangs.

You were no All Might. You were no Endeavor. And you would never pretend to be. But everyone needed to remember that outside of those few godlike figures, there were countless more nobodies just like yourself. Heroes that no one worshipped, that no one may ever remember. But in the end, ones who would still give every last bit of their own bodies to defend those who could not defend themselves.

You had no choice. Every time you let the nomus get any distance on you again, if only so you could take a breath, they just went straight for the helicopter to try and kill all those on board.

There was no other way you realized. Two final attacks to try and finish them both. Even if it was gruesome, even if it could cost you everything.

Just this quickly was how fast a life could change.

As your glow grew ever brighter and brighter, you thought more of your family, and all of your friends. You prayed that they could forgive you. If it ended up that this really was the end, you hoped that they would understand that if there had been any other way you would have taken it.

But there was no other way now as your one good arm seared in pain while the last real remnants of your energy overloaded through it.

You forced your bloodied palm upward to splay out against the abdomen of the red nomu, the strongest of the two. And he seemed to realize that something had changed in your intent then.

But it was too late. You did what you had to do, reaching farther into yourself than you ever had before.

The blast of light from your hand was the biggest you could ever remember making. It actually blew through him, viscera and bone vaporizing as the hole was big enough to actually see through before his body crumpled down into the crater that had been made when your own body had last hit the ground.

The black nomu tried to take to the air again then, whether in a surprise burst of self preservation on its own part or just another attempt to go back after the helicopter, it didn’t matter.

You could no longer fly then. And as you staggered forward, raising your barely working arm to him as well, you already knew that you couldn’t make that previous kind of blast twice. But for him you did something equally desperate and horrible in your own mind as you made just enough of a force field with all you had left to enclose around his throat instead as he tried to evade you.

Even if the Hero Commission had approved the destruction of nomus based on the fact that they were more a homunculus of former living body parts than a real human any longer, you still felt sickened as you saw him begin to struggle in midair.

You’d used your fields to capture enemies countless times before, but always alive. Never like this as you clenched your fist as tight as you could with the last of your will, tears edging at the corner of your eyes from the horrific act rather than the pain.

And he only gave one last inhuman cry before his throat collapsed, followed by the audible snapping of his neck vertebrae. His body hit the grass with an anticlimactic thud as you just stood with the cold wind biting across the bloodied scene.

You could have sworn you heard distant cheering from the helicopter then. But in that surreal and terrible moment, you never felt for one moment that you’d actually won.

Somehow your instincts still knew better. Yet there was truly nothing left for you to fight or defend with. You didn’t even know how you were still standing before a razor sharp tendril from the red nomu abruptly pierced through your back and out through the front of your abdomen like a spear.

Your remaining breath left your body at the force of the hit. The pain and shock felt numb and distant however as you saw the monster out the corner of your eye. He was crawling steadily out from the crater behind you even with his entrails still dragging the ground behind him.

So many quirks forced into one undying body…they really were abominations.

He ripped that tendril back out of you just as quickly though as you saw your own blood and tissue splatter to the ground.

Your vision was fading even as you tried to lock your knees to keep from collapsing. The will to live and the adrenaline alone was all that was keeping you here now.

You had failed.

————————————————

UA High School

Aizawa was sitting down, as if he wasn’t in this room at all. He looked even paler than usual.

Present Mic was one one side of him, Hitoshi Shinso on the other.

But what could anyone possibly say to him? They’d seen everything. You’d been forced to use your quirk in brutal ways that they knew would still have haunted you even if nothing else had happened after. Yet even in that momentary flirt with victory, it still had been too little, too late.

A shot to the back, through the back that you’d had nothing left to stop.

This could be the last time that anyone would ever see you alive and they all knew it.

All Might couldn’t help but be reminded of his master Nana Shimura’s death as he gritted his teeth, and of his friend Sir Nighteye’s death so much more recently.

Mic and Midnight were thinking of Oboro now. Those same painful feelings resurfacing as well.

It was never right or fair when these things happened.

“Endeavor or Hawks should be close now,” Shinso tried more desperately however, even with his own voice wavering. The silence was just too unbearable otherwise. “They could take her to a hospital, there’s a Level 1 trauma center one town over. It’s the best in the area.”

Mic only gripped Eraser’s shoulder as Aizawa said nothing in return.

Midoriya was looking to All Might now, the beginnings of those tears in the boy’s eyes that the former number one hero had chided him about letting flow too easily so many times before.

But this was not one of those times to hold back emotion. All Might put an arm around Midoriya even while inwardly still praying for some sort of miracle.

But they wouldn’t be called miracles if they happened every day. Hope was almost non existent now.

“The nomu has stopped moving! The crimson nomu that was approaching the badly wounded hero has suddenly stopped!” The reporters broke their own shocked silence to take notice of this.

“And…there’s a fire! There’s a fire in the grass!”

Shoto Todoroki looked back up immediately at that as did all of the room, expecting the orange and red flames of Endeavor and maybe the chance of that last minute rescue after all.

But it was only like another punch to the gut as Bakugo all but snarled in realization. The flames were blue. “That patchwork piece of shit! He just waltzes in at the end again! Fucking coward!”

Aizawa’s quirk activated involuntarily at that, some kind of final emotional reserve breaking within him. His glowing red eyes bored through that screen in such utter internal hatred as his hair lifted up off his shoulders at the sight of Dabi now casually walking towards you.

————————————————

Hoshi City Outskirts

Dabi had seen well enough. The sun had set at last, and he knew your time was over.

The nomus were at his command of course. And it was his job to signal when to bring them back or what was left of them anyway. The red one would regenerate fine. The black one whose neck you had snapped might take a little more work. He wasn’t sure if you’d actually killed that one or not. But it didn’t matter. As long as they weren’t completely vaporized like with the Endeavor fight, the parts could all be reused.

The point of all this had actually been to collect more nomu donor pieces. They’d specifically targeted an area that the top ten heroes would have more trouble reaching. If they could defeat some lesser heroes here and there, those heroes’ corpses were like bargain grocery shopping for the doctor.

But then you came along. And things actually got a little interesting.

It’d been a rather good fight really. Not that one sided boring shit like watching All Might in his prime or Endeavor with lesser villains just steamrolling through the opposition.

You’d fought your heart out. And you weren’t even afraid to play dirtier in the end. It still hadn’t worked out for you of course, but Dabi felt compelled to appreciate this a little more up close and personal before the very end.

And he was pleasantly surprised as you lifted your head at his approach. So you could still see and hear even with that amount of blood loss?

“Are you just too stubborn to die or something?” Dabi taunted. One hand in his pocket, but the other still ready to unleash more flames in an instant if needed. For now only a protective ring of fire circled you both to keep that helicopter at a distance.

And he’d seen a lot of faces at the edge of death. Heroes, villains, and nobodies alike who he’d all burned down at one time or another. But there was still something refreshing in that stare of yours even as you didn’t immediately respond to him. You didn’t look hateful, or angry, or even afraid in that moment. There was a calmness. As if you were just what you were and he was what he was. Like any two fated people meeting in this cold, starlit field tonight.

But he still tried again regardless, wanting more reaction. “So was it all worth it, hero? Does throwing your life away really serve that greater good you’ve all been brainwashed to believe in?” He asked cynically even as he knew he really needed to be exiting soon before others finally came.

———————————

You were still standing as he approached. You could hear Dabi’s words, but it was like listening to something far away. Like a television someone had left on in another room. Maybe it was sheer willpower, or maybe your body was on some kind of autopilot now. But you were doing something you’d never done before.

He didn’t seem to notice, because he was watching your face. But even that dark blue light from his flames was giving you something to use. You were taking that light energy and making shields again, but inside yourself. You were holding your own body together, slowing the blood loss with internal pressures applied.

You did choose to try and talk then, to keep his eyes on your lips rather than the faint glow that had to be coming from that hole in your stomach. You covered the wound as much you could with the hand from your unbroken arm.

“I don’t think I’m special…if you’re wanting some kind of valiant speech…forget it.” You breathed.

Why they liked to talk so much sometimes, you’d never understand. But you could oblige if it was buying you even seconds more of time. It seemed futile still, but you owed it to everyone you loved to just keep trying to stay alive until the true end.

“Thenwhy,” he pressed, clearly not satisfied with that. “Why die for nothing?”

“I thought you guys were all about choice…” You met his cold eyes again then. It took so much just to keep forming those words, but you had to do it. “I choose to suffer so that others don’t have to…I can help people. So I do. It’s nothing deeper than that. Life would only feel wasted if I stood aside and did nothing….this is the only thing that does make it right.”

—————————

Dabi didn’t know if these answers made him more frustrated with you or not. It seemed like ages ago now when hero killer Stain’s ideals had first lured him into joining the former League of Villains.

But oddly, he wondered then if Stain himself would have believed your words.

He smirked cruelly even as he felt himself still hesitating. “A hero that doesn’t think they’re special, and wants to suffer just to alleviate burden from others? Sounds a little masochistic don’t you think?”

Actions always spoke louder than words, but he’s the one that had pressed you to talk. It’s not like he could really mock you too much for the simple answers.

He should have already killed you though. He needed to go. Was he really just in this good of a mood after watching your fight? Or did he believe you deep down, and was it that nostalgia for Stain coloring his judgement now?

But hell, even Shigaraki had often spoken about being free to kill the things he didn’t like. Which still implied leaving the far fewer things he did likealive.

Dabi didn’t know you. Not your real name, not anything. But he knew something with potential when he saw it. Something that would still be wasted and wouldn’t exist again if your corpse just went to the doctor’s chop shop to end up as spare parts for the nomus still in progress.

No…he was about to do something impulsive here. Something he might live to regret.

He spoke up again, knowing he could be heard all the while with the communicator they’d given him hidden in his ear. “Ujiko, go ahead and pull us back. She’s not what you were looking for. Leave her here.”

And at that, thick, black substance ran from both nomus’ mouths immediately, the sludge expanding to cover them until they disappeared through those portals.

Dabi could feel the black goop rising in his own throat as well even as the two of you made eye contact once more.

He grinned at you, even as he first heard the flap of large wings in the distance. He really had almost waited too long. But how interesting. Would even Hawks be able to get you help in time? Or was it already too late?

“Good luck.” Dabi growled through the black liquid, a final taunt to you even as he shot a parting burst of flames to incinerate Hawks feathers that tried to reach him as if to stop his escape.

Was it all for show on Hawks’ part? Maybe, maybe not. But if you lived, Dabi already knew what he was going to ask of the winged hero next. An all new test of loyalty with you involved would be something further entertaining at least.

This wasn’t over.

————————————

You could only be left staring as Dabi disappeared just like the nomus through the portal. He could have easily incinerated you as well before leaving for as close as he’d been standing to you. You wouldn’t have been able to make a shield strong or fast enough right now for that level of heat.

But the flames had completely circumvented you as they’d gone for Hawks’ feathers alone.

Why?

“Hey, let’s go.”

You didn’t even realize you were trembling until you felt a heavy jacket suddenly fall around your shoulders. You looked to the source of the new voice, the jacket’s owner actually, just as you were unceremoniously picked up into Hawks’ arms.

Emergencies didn’t really leave time for consent. But it still startled you a little, even as you could tell he was trying not to aggravate the broken parts of you anymore than necessary.

Yet before he could even take off, the news helicopter came nearer than ever before. No doubt wanting this dramatic final shot as your fingers clenched reflexively against his chest.

You’d never even met Hawks before, but you could see the brief annoyance in his eyes as the wind of the helicopter blades forced him to fold his wings around his front to protect you.

Yet that wasn’t the only thing incoming. It looked like a red hot comet streaking in, blinding for a moment in the dark. The number one hero landed only feet away, and even from here you could see the disgust on his own face and feel the heat emanating from his body.

“You let them get away!?” He barked at Hawks.

Despite Endeavor’s harsh reputation, even then you still saw that anger for what it was in the moment. He was furious at himself for clearly being too late.

You thought Hawks understood this too as he didn’t even argue back. Though he was still yelling over the sound of the watching helicopter. “They’re gone! I’m taking her to Tsuki Hospital! Head back into the city, number one! I’m sure others are hurt or worse!”

And with that Hawks took off instantly, but you could tell he still tried to shield you from the cold as he held you close against him.

As you saw Endeavor’s trail of flame launch skyward as well, but in the direction of your city, you could only hope that your sacrifice hadn’t all been in vain. But you couldn’t fall apart any further now with those emotions. You were still concentrating to hold off the blood loss with your quirk as much as you could.

Endeavor’s brief light had even given you a small boost, but it wouldn’t have been possible for him to carry you instead. For as hot as he had to burn to reach his full speed, the heat probably would have killed you outright.

As it was, Hawk was still even faster. That sense of speed of moving with him now was far greater than when you flew on your own. But it was as if the noise of the wind was going in and out after a bit. You realized then that it was actually your sense of hearing that was coming and going. Maybe he sensed your brief losses of consciousness as well as your body shifted against him.

It was a race to get you onto an operating table now before your body completely shutdown.

“Hey! You have to stay awake you know. They’re going to want to interview you tomorrow after some of the pain meds have worn off. You’ll be the new hot item for sure after all this.” He only half joked.

But maybe he saw that bit of odd look you gave him. Not ungrateful for the transport of course, but the last thing you wanted to care about was the media’s future interpretations of your actions today.

Yet Hawks just smiled, it looked cheesy even in the darkness. “Oh, that’s right. You’re Eraserhead’s girlfriend, yeah? I almost forgot. What a weird combination. No offense. So you hate the spotlight too then?”

And that was a comment that actually surprised you. Besides your oldest friends and some of those at UA who couldn’t help but see it, you didn’t broadcast your relationship to the public. It was a choice Aizawa had made from the very beginning. He thought that was the most rational decision to not have that closeness used against you.

“So…is Tokoyami really that much of a gossip then?” You forced yourself to ask, quickly assuming the likely source of the leak. Hawks wasn’t wrong to try and keep you talking though. You would have done the same with a trauma victim like this.

“Oh come on. That kid has grown on me, but you can’t tell me he doesn’t read gothic romance novels or something in his spare time. He thought it’d give me more incentive to rescue you. In the name of love and all.” Hawks taunted back a little. “But really…Eraser, huh? He’s kind of scary, right? You’re into Dracula look alikes or something?”

You half smiled. Yes, it was too surreal to be having this absurd kind of banter even as you might really be dying. “He was supposed…to take me out for Italian food tonight.”

Hawks glanced down at you again. You could tell he was a little surprised at the personal admission. But he stayed with his whole upbeat act regardless as he smirked. “Italian, huh? With wine and candlelight maybe? Well, a lot of people would swoon over the idea of a moonlit flight with me too you know.”

“Yeah? ….Lucky me.” You mumbled, just burying your face more against him. It didn’t matter if he was a stranger. It could be anyone holding you right now. You were just trying to find any additional warmth. Which only reminded you that you must be going further into shock. You couldn’t maintain your body heat any longer.

You did feel him tuck his head down though, trying to block the wind from your own as his chin rested against the top of your head.

“Please stay awake.” He reiterated, his upbeat tone falling away a little. “Don’t let them make you just another martyr.” And somehow you thought you almost heard a trace of guilt in those more serious words. “I know it’s hard. But we’re almost there.”

————————————

Tsuki Memorial Hospital

He’d made a show of telling Endeavor the hospital he was taking you to in front of the news team. It was a calculated risk. He needed the information broadcasted primarily for them to have an operating room already prepared by the time he got you there.

It was the closest Level 1 Trauma center in the region, specializing in treating the very worst of anything. Any hero worth their salt should already know that’s where he would be going, but maybe you had regular civilian family too. Maybe they’d have no idea where to find their daughter or sister otherwise until it might be too late.

It was hard for him to imagine what it’d be like to have those kind of normal relationships though. But he tried not to lose focus in that negative direction as he first caught sight of the lighted medical helipad on the hospital’s roof in the distance.

Good, they were smart enough to realize he’d rather land from the top, as he saw a gurney and supplies waiting at the ready with a small task force of hospital staff.

The first problem with declaring his destination beforehand however was of course the continued media presence.

From the corners of his vision, he could see the camera flashes going off from rooftops all around as he came in to land. The hospital wouldn’t allow the reporters past the front lobby, but the extreme zoom of the telescoping lenses of these hungry story hunters couldn’t be denied.

He could barely feel you still breathing, your eyes closed by the time his boots contacted with the roof. The dim light he’d noticed in your abdomen had now gone out. He’d known the whole time what you were trying to do with your quirk even as you’d lost so much more blood in just the time he’d been carrying you.

As he was then helping the medical team unwrap his blood stained jacket from you to get you carefully onto the gurney, your hand caught on one of his feathers. He let that quill release immediately so as not to pull anymore at your broken body. But he still saw your fingers close around the feather reflexively, holding it to you as your eyes opened just barely.

He could see that hint of life still in those eyes, though maybe he was just imagining that you’d really looked at him with something like regret before they rolled you quickly through the open doorway.

If you died, it’d be a failure he was truly complicit in. Because how many long minutes had he sat there debating on that cell phone tower before Tokoyami had finally nagged him to his senses? He could have gotten to you sooner if he’d only chosen to.

It wasn’t like him to second guess or doubt himself this fully though. But this was an even larger guilt starting to form, greater than just those flickers he still felt every time he looked at the scars on Endeavor’s face.

How many more times was the Hero Commission going to keep asking him to put others in harm’s way for the greater good?

Goddammit. His mouth was already moving before he could stop himself, “Has any family or friends come here yet to wait for her?” He asked one of the staff members that had stayed behind to pickup the rest of the carts they’d left on the rooftop.

They told him no one had. They also relayed to him the new information that many train lines and roads had been shutdown for the rest of the night in an abundance of caution in case another attack was still forthcoming.

“Unbelievable.” Hawks sighed. Something like this never would have happened during All Might’s time. A whole region now sheltering in place just because of a single incident. This was how little control or sense of safety the heroes could provide anymore.

But sadly, he had to somewhat agree as well. There was no telling if Dabi and the others were truly done for the night. Hawks couldn’t risk calling Dabi so soon to find out. But still feeling that weight of responsibility in all of this, he couldn’t leave you alone either.

“Can you show me to the waiting room please then?” He asked abruptly with his usual smile returning.

He wasn’t much of anything. But he did know how to play guard dog…or guard bird in this case anyway. Even if he hadn’t helped you in the beginning, he wouldn’t leave you so defenseless now.

—————————————

Highway 201

All Might had called in a favor for them with Naomasa Tsukauchi of the police force, getting the roads opened back up just for them. But it was still a slow go. The trains had been shut down for the night. And while the rail lines cut an almost direct path between the cities, these roads that had been built years before winded and rose and fell with the countryside.

Even with Mic’s speeding, the trip had still felt agonizingly long.

Aizawa was silent for miles, looking out the passenger window of Mic’s car and seeing little but darkness and the occasional yellowish glow of the street lights as they cut through a small town here or there.

He’d tried to call the hospital earlier, but they’d refused to give out any patient information over the phone even when he finally did get through. Their only published phone number had just rang busy for the first several attempts. Yet he could only imagine the amount of reporters likely calling in to flood the lines right now.

How many would just be pretending to know you? Claiming to be relatives or worried friends when in reality they were only strangers sitting at computers, typing up news breaks they hoped to send soon enough. Everyone would want to be the first to know if you would live at all, or if you would be disabled or permanently scarred even if you did. If you would ever fight as a hero again after this.

As it was, he and Mic had had the foresight to let the police follow them as well, even as Mic raced ahead of them. It’d likely be the only way they’d be getting in themselves. With the police physically there to verify their identities and let the hospital staff know that they were legitimately part of your inner circle and deserving of being here tonight for you.

There would be days and many hours ahead to try and understand the implications of all this. Why Dabi had acted so unexpectedly in letting you go, and why your city was ever targeted at all.

But for now though Aizawa didn’t even know if you were alive or dead. Midnight was watching the news back at UA and texting anything relevant to his and Mic’s phones. But nothing more had been released since Hawks had first reached the hospital with you.

———————————

Tsuki Memorial Hospital - Private Waiting Room

Hawk’s legs were stretched out in front of him, his wings aching a little as they pressed uncomfortably against the chair back, each wing hanging wide over the armrests and down to the floor. If he was ever in one place for this long, it’d usually only be to lay down to sleep.

Sitting this way after a while was just awkward, even as he stared at his phone once more. The Hero Commission was already on him of course as the messages had begun coming across not long after he’d arrived here, and he only tried to deflect them for now.

-I’m still at the hospital, can’t talk freely.

-We expect you here tomorrow to discuss these developments.

-I’ll be there.

It wasn’t going to be good. He locked his phone again, leaning his head back against the wall with his goggles pushed up into his blonde hair.

Some Friday night this was.

There’d been silence for a good while, only a curious nurse or two coming by every now and then to check on him. He hadn’t missed the looks they gave him.

They might be sneaking cellphone photos or video of him for all he knew. But the only thing he felt improper about was your blood still drying on his sleeveless top. His jacket and gloves were in no better condition, but he’d shoved them under his chair for now.

He didn’t want them to just end up for sale in some morbid online auction if he let them out of his sight tonight.

But when the door finally opened again, he saw it was no hospital uniform walking in this time as he sat back up with renewed at

Hawks would kill this trend