Chapter Text
Dabi had placed a bug on him. A bug .
It was ingenious actually. A little earring that was pierced into his daith, tucked within the skin, unnoticeable to pretty much anyone. It looked like a blood blister at the moment, still healing. Shinsou didn’t know how much it would pick up, he’d tried to ask but Dabi had just shrugged and grinned at him.
No way was he going to be able to talk to Hawks. Not out loud anyway.
The breakfast Hizashi had made him was sitting uncomfortably in his throat. It was a little past three pm but he didn’t fancy going into the commission. In fact, he couldn’t go into the commission in case they brought him into a meeting about his infiltration of the League. He refused to answer phone calls, turning his phone off and eventually decided to go back to the flat.
He’d always been afraid of being muzzled. Not being allowed to talk because of his quirk. This fear of being alienated from his peers and from society all the while unable to eat or drink or swallow. He’d been even more afraid of it after coming to UA surprisingly, seeing Bakugou on that podium, thrashing against chains. When he first got indoctrinated into the League they’d made a show of throwing out any muzzles they had. ‘ We will never stop you from using your quirk. ’
Apparently ‘never stopping’ meant ‘forcing’.
The receptionist of the flats concierge smiled at him as he walked into the building. He smiled back, as best he could, wondering if she ever wondered about his scars or bruises or if she would notice if suddenly he came home the next day with blood on his hands.
It was warm in the house, the heating had been left on since last night, maybe Hawks’ way of letting Shinsou know he could recover here, didn’t have to go to Erasers. There had always been a hint of… jealousy between the two.
Hawks would be back soon, so he had to think of a plan. The ranking ceremony was the next day so there was no time. He had to find… a notebook or something? Clicking the door to the flat open, he let out a breath realising he was alone still and turned on the tv. The background noise felt good. At least if Dabi was hearing anything then it would be the TV-
Shit.
He’d never told them he could brainwash himself. It was something both him and Hawks had decided before they’d started the mission. They needed some sort of leverage on them and this was the only skill that Shinsou had which had never gotten into the public knowledge. But it required him talking to himself. Which he couldn’t do without being heard.
His breath quickened. He couldn’t do this, this wasn’t part of the plan. He was meant to be able to keep up his normal life at the same time. But he couldn’t speak to anyone without putting them in danger. Not anymore. So he was alone.
Blinking back the stinging in his eyes he kicked off his shoes, padding down the hallway and into the bathroom. Turning the shower on. He needed to wash anyway and this way he could probably cry without being overheard. Maybe the water would fuck up the bug anyway. Long shot but still…
There was no way he could put his face in the water with the stitches and tape over his eyebrow but he cocked his head to one side, letting the water into his ear, wondering if it was doing anything. The water was scorching hot and it mixed with his tears as he tried to come up with some semblance of a plan. A way forward.
-
Keigo Takami had got word through that day. Tomorrow he was to be ranked the number two hero.
The fucking number two hero .
It was almost unreal, a part of him wanted to argue with it but also it was cool . A ridiculous childhood dream come true and oh how he wished he could see his parents' faces.
He’d spent a bit of time after his shift under a familiar bridge, just throwing stones at the wall. Using his feathers as target practice. Just existing away from the public eye. Yes, he could do that at home as well but Shinsou lived with him now so it was different. Plus the flat looked too… much . At times. His success blasted in his face. He didn’t want an ego, if anything he was going to use his speech at the ceremony tomorrow to say something. Planning it out in his head as he relaxed, the stars coming out above him as the clock ticked past seven.
A speech that took the piss out of the number one hero, for sure. Endeavour was a terrible spokesman, he couldn’t wait to watch him crumble up on that stage. He also needed to keep his le-se-faire attitude for his fans, make sure they knew they had nothing to worry about with him around. And of course somehow in amongst all of that please the League.
So many agendas. It was a bore.
All of this meant that when he did finally arrive home, he didn’t notice the note at first. Taped to the coat hanger, he almost draped his coat over it until he spotted familiar handwriting.
The League have me bugged. I need to tell you something important about tomorrow but we have to act normally. I don’t know how much they can hear.
Well shit. Hawks had covered for the teenager at the commission today, telling them he had League stuff to sort out. He had been right, he guessed, but this was going to be difficult.
Putting on his most upbeat tone he continued to hang his coat up, taking the note off the wall and calling into the house.
“Yo! Lil bitch! I’m back!”
Shinsou was in the living room, sitting on the sofa, face white. He relaxed slightly when he say Hawks holding up the note.
“Find out your ranking?” Shinsou asked, a slight quiver in his voice.
Hawks played along. “Number two baby! What a load of bullshit.”
Seemingly satisfied, Shinsou began writing stuff down in his notebook. Hawks continued, as normally and as boringly as possible. “Eaten dinner tonight? I thought we’d do take out.”
“Like always then?”
Shinsou’s voice was teasing but his expression tense, focusing on writing in the notepad.
“Yeah, like always. Anything you want in particular?”
He let Shinsou list out some options as he turned the paper around, letting Hawks read. His hands were shaking.
Dabi wants me to kill you tomorrow. During the Nomu fight. If I don’t, he’ll kill us both.
The blood rushed into Hawks’ ears. It reminded him of the seaside, the one he’d seen in Ghibli films because he’d never been to the seaside before. It was something so stupid, he could fly there anytime if he wanted to, he’d had missions along the coast, greeted fans in seaside towns. And now… never again? Well fuck. He’d expected something bad but not this. He thought Dabi trusted him, or if he didn’t tomorrow was his test, not his fuckin demise.
He motioned for the pencil. Talking whilst writing, his brain on autopilot still, waves coming in and out. “We’ll get sushi then, I’ll order it in a sec.” Turning the page back to Shinsou.
I would take you in a fight. We could just fight and I would win?
The reply was quick.
Brainwashing. You’d answer me because you trust me. Then I’d freeze you and slit your throat.
Hawks scoffed slightly, played it off as a cough. Reaching for the TV remote. “Let’s see if there’s anything on.”
Your plan or Dabi’s? He wrote back. He was being sarcastic but sarcasm didn’t travel though pen and paper.
Shinsou underlined Dabi’s name.
“What do you want to watch?” Hawks asked, a pointed look at the teenager's direction. What do you want to do?
Shinsou looked annoyed. “There’s nothing on.” There’s nothing to do.
Hawks found some comedy prank show and turned the volume up, the laughter breaking through the tension. “I'm going to order food.”
“Sure.”
He shot Shinsou a slight smile, wondering if it would be best just to fly straight to the commission and tell them what was going on. But then they might pull them both off the mission and that would be… dreadful. They were in far too deep now to be able to leave with their lives. Hell, right now Hawks wasn’t going to be staying with his life. Shit. He had no idea what to do.
Except he did. But he couldn’t. It wasn’t worth it.
He filled in his order, passing the phone to Shinsou and motioning for the notebook again.
If I fought the Nomu in a building then I could cause it to fall or something. Put something between we could be ‘split up’. I don’t know any buildings that aren’t in public view.
Shinsou ordered, looked at the notebook and scribbled a reply.
They’re going to release the Nomu earlier. Dabi wants it in public. You have to take a stronger hero. Also, we should talk out loud more.
They didn’t need to but Shinsou was clearly paranoid.
“Seen Shinobu this week?” Hawks asked, writing as he did.
“Uh, no, not this week. I haven’t had a chance,” Shinsou replied. “I need to, her birthday is coming soon.”
“Oh what you thinking of doing for her?”
He passed the notebook back.
How much earlier? Will I be able to go anywhere away from the crowds?
No.
Hawks wanted to scream. Great, thanks Shinsou, real helpful, just talking about people's deaths, his own death-
He stilled himself, listening to the cheesy theme playing on the television, breathing deeply. Looking over to Shinsou the teenager looked hollowed out. Pale, ashen and shaking. Sometimes Hawks forgot that when he was taken into the commission he had over a decade to prepare for this. Shinsou was on month four. This was too much for anyone. So Hawks had to think of a plan.
“What do you think I should get her?
Shinsou was talking about his girlfriend's birthday again. Hawks smiled slightly. “What is she into?”
“Martial arts, she likes those Sanrio characters.”
“I still haven’t met her yet,” he said, wondering if indeed he would ever get to meet her. At the moment his only form of protection would be another pro hero, a stronger pro hero. And the only one technically stronger than him was Endeavour. “If you’re coming to the rankings tomorrow maybe you could bring her?”
“I don’t know if UA is allowing students to leave campus yet.” Shinsou replied.
Good, the last thing Hawks needed was some bratty 1-A students getting in the way. He grabbed the notebook once again and started writing.
I’ll get Endeavour to come with me tomorrow.
Shinsou wrote back. His handwriting was sloppy now, barely legible.
Won’t that annoy Dabi anyway? It’s not what you agreed.
Pissing Dabi off over that is not one of my big concerns right now.
“Daiso will sell some Sanrio stuff,” Hawks said as he tried to think of other big buildings in Tokyo he could get to. Starting the fight in the air would be the best bet. Shinsou wasn’t technically involved in this Nomu fight so it would take him longer to stage an ‘attack’, plus both Endeavour and Hawks had the ability to fly, well kind of, so the fight could take place in the air. “Cheap as well.”
“I don’t want to get her anything cheap.”
“How much money you got?”
Shinsou sighed in frustration. Whether it was about the fight or about finding a present for his girlfriend it didn’t really matter.
Hawks continued writing down the rough plan for Shinsou to see.
I’ll take the fight to the sky. That way you can’t get involved even if you tried.
That won’t last for long.
Then you’d better get hit by the Nomu.
It was harsh. Hawks was basically telling the teen to put himself in harms way against the Nomu just so Hawks could live. But he didn’t have a better plan.
Shinsou nodded. Flexing his hands.
Hawks added one more sentence before closing the notebook shut.
Maybe someone in the battle could injure your ear.
Twenty minutes later their sushi arrived.
—
Slipping through to the kitchen, hours later that evening, Shinsou knocked over the remaining sushi boxes as his hands felt along the counter. Waiting for his eyes to adjust to the low light. He didn’t want to alert anyone to his presence. Not Hawks, not Dabi.
The base of something, wooden, solid. His hands traced upwards until he felt the wood curve into a handle. He pulled up, felt for where wood turned into metal. Ran his finger along the sharp edge. It jutted out too much so he put it back. The next one too short and the next one too thick.
Until finally. The edge tore into the layers of his fingertips. It didn’t hurt, months of training with his capture weapon meant that the tips of his fingers were calloused. But still. It was enough.
–
Hawks paused his video game and pulled the gaming chair from the desk, yawning slightly. It was just past 1am but he couldn’t sleep. It was a mix of nerves and anger keeping him awake plus the eventual fact that he might actually not make it through the day.
Plus he needed to pee. That wasn’t a big thing, it was stopping him from getting to sleep though.
The bathroom door was closed, light seeping from under the doorframe. Hawks wondered if he should go to the other bathroom but something stopped him.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
Placing one ear up against the frame he still couldn’t hear anything and a sickening chill rose in his chest. He tried the door and it clicked open but still no sound from the otherside. Just a distinct iron smell.
Shit.
Pushing it open the first thing he saw was red. It streaked the bathtub, pooling down the drain. Hawks followed the trail up the sides of the bath towards Shinsou’s arms and hands…
Leaning over the side, Shinsou had the fish knife to his ear, cutting deep into the flesh.
He couldn’t help the gasp that came from his throat, crouching down next to the teen and gingerly trying to take the knife from his hand. Shinsou resisted, gripping the handle harder. Not done with the job yet.
Hawks breathed through his mouth slowly. Holding Shinsou’s hand, letting his own start to stick with blood. Looking into his eyes and trying to communicate without words.
It wasn’t working, but crouched like this he could see a faint black dot, just peeking through the open wound. He let go of the knife, straightening up and opening the side cabinet. Bloody fingerlings getting on the mirrored handle.
It took some finding but eventually he grabbed the sewing kit he was looking for, opening it with his teeth and pulling out the tweezers. Crouching down again, this time Shinsou let him get closer, biting down on the towel that was currently in his mouth as Hawks attempted to grab the bug.
It took three or four goes but eventually he managed to pull it out, grabbing some toilet paper and placing it on the side of the sink. Finding another towel to press on Shinsou’s ear.
The two of them stood together, Shinsou leaning heavily on Hawks as they left the bathroom and walked to the other side of the apartment, into the kitchen. As soon as the door closed behind them the teenager hissed out in pain, breathing heavily.
“Okay, it’s okay, you’re okay…” Hawks muttered, guiding him to a chair, wondering where the fuck the first aid kit was again. “You’re an idiot but you’re okay.”
“We need a plan.” Shinsou said through gritted teeth.
“Hold on, you cut a bug out of your ear so you could talk to me about a plan?” Hawks asked, running the tap until the water ran warm enough to wash the blood off his hands.
“No. I couldn’t bear the idea of Dabi hearing me take a shit.”
Hawks kept his laughter as quiet as possible but he still relished seeing Shinsou smile. The pain seemed to have subsided slightly although the teenager was tense, holding himself at an awkward angle. “What are you going to do with it tomorrow?”
“The bug? Take it with me if I have to. Then tell Dabi I ripped it out after everything goes down.”
“Are ears meant to bleed that much?” Hawks asked, pointing to the cloth going red in Shinsou’s grip. “I can’t stitch you up two days in a row.”
“Please don’t.”
Hawks made instant hot chocolate from powder that had solidified in the pot. It took beating down on it with a spoon to dislodge enough for two cups. “Can you add milk to water?”
“What?”
Hawks motioned to the hot chocolate. “I made the hot chocolate with boiling water cause that’s what it said to do. But like, if I add milk to this hot chocolate now will it taste like shit?”
Shinsou considered the problem for a second. “Isn’t that how a coffee works? You add the milk to the hot water?”
“Good point.” He dashed the last of the milk into the two cups. “Okay. So a plan. I’m assuming you didn’t just take a knife to your ear without having one.”
“I think I should kill Dabi.” Shinsou’s pale face held no humour.
“You’re a fucking idiot.”
“Why?” The teenager gestured with his free hand. “It’s no different than what he’s asking me to do to you!”
“Kill Dabi and you’ll be just as much of a target as All Might was.”
“So be it, as long as he doesn’t kill you.”
Hawks sighed, pushing the mug of hot chocolate across the kitchen island towards Shinsou. It looked like crap, it was about as good as he could manage in the ‘drinks making department’. He had to keep calm. One step ahead whilst seeming one step behind. “I understand your loyalty,” he started. “It’s cute in fact-”
“You’re the number two hero.” Shinsou interrupted.
“Don’t,” he said, pushing down feelings he did not want to deal with right now. “It means nothing.”
Shinsou pushed. “Not to you maybe but to the rest of Japan? To the hero society? If the League of Villains manage to take out the number one hero and then the number two in a matter of months? Think about it.”
“Fine.” He had to breathe again, it wasn’t Shinsou’s fault that he was right. With one hand behind his back, he opened up his phone, shortcutting to the voice notes app. Pressing record. “Kill Dabi, how do you intend on doing that?”
Shinsou sipped on his hot chocolate. “Same way that he suggested I kill you.”
“How would you find him?” Hawks also took a sip. It tasted like shit.
“Backtrack the bug,” Shinsou replied. “I know someone who can do that.”
“He’d find you.”
“I’d leave the bug on you.”
“He'd hear my voice, not yours."
Shinsou’s head snapped up to look at Hawks’ glare, a smile brimming across one side of his face. He pulled the cloth away from his ear. It had stopped bleeding so much. “Persona chords."
"You'd make me wear them? Sound like you? In front of Endeavour? Not going to work."
Shinsou looked confused. "Why are you so against this?! It's your life and you're acting like you don't give a shit!"
“I'm a hero!" Hawks snapped back. “We don't give a shit! And I can fight my own corner, thank you. So teach me how to escape your brainwashing."
"What..?"
Hawks looked at the clock on the oven. Nearly 3am. They had less than twelve hours to nail this.
"I said teach me how to escape your control."
Shinsou held his gaze, smiling slightly through watery eyes, the cut on his eyebrow bruised through gauze, blood drying down the side of his face. The red a stark contrast to pale skin and purple hair.
“Yeah... Okay.”