Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Avians, a species, touched by the modern age, yet so ancient and preserved. To many, the Avians were a myth, a folktale to tell your children; of the birds in human form that were a gift and a curse from Mother Nature herself.

In this Quirk era, it was no surprise that humans occasionally had wings or beaks. Some with only few features, some who had become one with the birds themselves.

The Avians, however, were not nearly as affected by the rise of Quirks as humans had been 200 years ago. Avians already had inhuman and supernatural powers, besides their majestic wings and specially coloured hair and feathers.

Some Avians have integrated into modern society, and because of Quirks, almost no one batted an eye. Along with their native tongue of chirps, whistles and clicks; the bird-touched species also began learning new languages such as English or Japanese.

The most well known Avian, a red-feathered Avian appropriately nicknamed Hawks; just like the species he was derived from, was one of the most well integrated Avians known (or unknown since the people of Japan haven’t seemed to realize he’s an Avian) to both species.

After years of learning Japanese, Hawks, or Keigo as he was known, enrolled in a school for heroes.

It came as no surprise that he was accepted. Besides his normal avian abilities, he was also able to detach his feathers and control them at will; which proved useful and very good for saving people.

Despite the busy schedule of a hero in training, he always managed to make time to visit his family deep in the woods. Even with the new language (which he was rather fluent at), Keigo had never forgotten the familiar chirps and whistles of his heritage.

After graduation, he quickly climbed the ranks of heroes, and successfully secured the number 3 spot. Many chicklings looked up to Keigo for guidance into the new age, and he was more than willing to lend a wing.

Besides, Keigo often came to visit the others of the village besides his family. It was no surprise that many young Avians looked up to him as a role-model.

Tori Takami was a wonderful woman, born with strong, yellow and red hawk feathers that matched perfectly with her bright-red hair and its occasional yellow strand. She was kind, gentle and a very fast flyer and loved her chick and husband.

Kuro Takami was as amazing as a father could be for his chick. His strong, black eagle feathers glimmered in the sun, like a black diamond under the sky. He was muscled and strong, but a real gentle and soft man. His wings allowed him incredible speed and strength while in the air.

They would both do anything they could to protect each other and their son. Kuro and Yuka taught Keigo everything he knew about Avians, their culture and even some of what he knew of the modern world.

Keigo Takami was a hero and a great son, but above all, he was loyal to those he considered family. For all the things his mother, father and friends taught him; he believed he should do something in return.

Keigo aided his family and village with almost all other modern affairs not taught in the village. He taught them of Japanese culture, brought many books and encyclopedias home and gave one of the greatest gifts to his village; last names.

Like many Avian villages, they never needed a last name to identify themselves. Even if two were to share the same name, the combination of clicks, whistles and chirps was enough to differentiate them.

Even though the entire village knew of the outside world, most stayed in the confines of the village; and in turn, forest.

Every human and Avian for miles knew what happened if the government found you weren’t truly human. Many of their species had been taken from the edges of towns all around Japan, where they attempted to hide; yet still be a part of the modern age.

Many were killed, or used in experiments. Others were sold on the black market, or used for breeding.

However, contrary to what Avians may say, little to no humans know of the Avian species. It was mostly criminals in the alleys, and people of high importance that knew of them. Civilians and even most heroes have no idea they existed.

And this is where our story begins.

Chapter Text

When Midoriya Izuku's egg was laid, they knew he was going to be special.

While most Avian eggs are a solid, pastel or vivid colour; Izuku's was a mix of both. His egg was a wonderful pastel green covered in speckles of dark green and red.

It was obvious the green was from his mother, an Avian known as Midoriya Inko. Her egg had been a very calm pastel green, much like Izuku’s. However, where the red came from, would have been unknown to anyone who wasn’t around to see the egg of Midoriya Hisashi.

Hisashi had very dark, almost black, hair. His eyes were a soft grey and he had freckles adorning most of his face and body. There was not a speck of red on him, but his Avian power/quirk quickly answered the question of where the red had come from.

While Inko was hatched with weak telekinesis, Hisashi was born with the power of fire. He could spew flames from his mouth like a dragon; red, orange and yellow flames that danced like gems in the sun.

Living in a forest meant it was not often one would see Hisashi use his fire and those that had seen it were often just the Avians fishing at a nearby stream.

Instead of using sticks, rocks or even charcoal, the Midoriya family had a fresh-cooked meal courtesy of one, fire-breathing husband and father.

Because of how destructive his flames could be, Hisashi was limited to using them near the stream; where it could easily be put out if it were to begin to get out of control.

This did not stop the Midoriya family from getting nice, warm meals though. With Hisashi’s strong falcon wings, it made a breeze to get meals to and from the stream.

Inko occasionally would help too, if she needed to stretch her wings or if it was alright to go a bit slower. While Inko was a falcon as well, a birth defect left her wings not as strong as they could have been; meaning she was slower and used more stamina for flights than others of her species.

No matter, she persisted and was easily able to perform everyday tasks, even with her weakened wings. It was of little surprise when Izuku was born with slightly weaker wings like his mother.

When Izuku hatched from his egg, his wings were below average in strength, and one of their local doctors, Dr. Tsura, confirmed that the bones in his wings were more fragile and frail than other newly-hatched Avians.

Hisashi and Inko loved their little chickling anyway, nothing could make them change their minds. Izuku was their little bird, destined to fly, destined to love; and unbeknownst to them, destined to save humans and Avians alike.

Chapter Text

Days after Izuku had hatched, Inko called out to her sister, Tori, to tell her the news. As expected, she was ecstatic. Soon, the Midoriya and Takami families were gathered to marvel at the sight of Izuku.

Keigo, who was only 10 at the time, was probably even more excited than Inko and Hisashi themselves about the new chickling. His cousin was the most adorable being on the planet and Keigo couldn’t wait to see him fly.

‘I wonder if, one day, Izuku will come to the modern world with me….it’ll be all up to him I suppose’ thought Keigo, already planning things for them to do in the future.

It was 4pm on a Saturday, the day they had gathered, when Izuku spread his wings for the first time.

Young Avians were not expected to be able to even lift their wings until they reached a year old; but given Izuku's unique circumstance, his wings were lighter than the average for his age and he could lift them with ease.

Everyone gasped when they saw them, two, beautiful wings with feathers of the deepest green, yet still bright like an emerald. They had a row of black feathers on the interior of the wing that revealed to be rainbows of colour under the sun.

Perhaps the most stunning of all, were the beautiful red patterns that exploded on the backs of his wings.

While the outside was much lighter than the inside, the contrast was still astounding.

It was as if someone plucked emeralds from the sky and laid them with rubies under the stars. They were only a foot in length, yet it seemed like their beauty could fill an entire room.

The green matched with Inko, and her array of green feathers. The black was from Hisashi and his wings like the night; but most surprising of all, was the red, just like that from Keigo himself.

The room was silent as everyone marveled the wings in front of them, but their silence was broken as the little Midoriya promptly shove his wing in his mouth in a poor attempt to clean it. Keigo snorted, and the room burst into laughter and smiles.

“He has beautiful wings, Inko” Tori commented.

Pride filled Inko, and in turn, Hisashi; hearing just how beautiful their chick was.

Inko turned to Keigo, “Say, do you think Izu would want to see the outside world when he’s older? You know, the modern world?”

“Maybe, and if he does, I’ll be there to watch and help him! It’s my role as his older cousin…although I’m pretty sure Izuku’s gonna be more like my little bro than cousin.” Keigo smiled

That night, they celebrated and danced to the birth of a new life, a new chick in their nest, and a new story to unfold.

Chapter Text

Year after year went by, and it was all too soon that Izuku’s fourth birthday was upon him. This year, he would be gaining his powers, much like Quirks. However Avian powers are much older than quirks.

Inko could pull objects to herself or lift and move them in any way. She had a weight limit of 150 lbs but she never had to lift much. The occasional food or furniture and that was about it. They called it telekinesis.

Hisashi, “The Avian Dragon” as he was known, had his oh-so-helpful fire breath and minor pyrokinesis. He was often helping Inko, or any other Avians in their village with cooking food or staying warm in the winter months.

Usually, a power relied on the powers of the Parents, but also the time of day in which they hatched.

Izuku was born in the afternoon of one summer day, July 15th. It was warm, bright and the perfect condition for a flight or a swim when he hatched from his rather strange egg.

The day his powers developed changed his future and his fate far more than they ever could have guessed.

“Izuku! Come downstairs! I need your help with the fish!”

“Comin’ mamma!” He yelled down, as loudly as his toddler voice could.

‘I wonder what momma's gonna make!’ He giggled and glided down the stairs, seeing Inko in the kitchen he decided to try and scare her.

Slowly approaching from behind her, he grasped her leg and screeched “Hai!”

Inko, not expecting the touch or the noise, made her own screeching noise; accidentally knocking over the hot fish onto the straw and wood floors.

The fish, still lightly a-flame from when Hisashi brought it home, immediately set the dry floors ablaze.

“Izuku! Izuku! Where are you?!” Inko cried

She had jolted back after the first tongue of flame hit the floor, ready to call for help, however, it seems no help was needed.

The flames slowly receded in a whirlpool-like pattern, and a voice came from the center.

“Mama! Mama! Look, pretty!”

She rushed inside to see the flames circling around Izuku, but not just that, it seemed like they were being absorbed into him.

Izuku, on the other hand, had no idea what was happening, all he knew was that it felt amazing.

‘These f-flames...pretty...warm...safe.’ and he spread his wings.

The fire flew straight for his wings and feathers before Inko could react, but instead of burning them, the flames quickly surrounded and became a part of his wings.

While Izuku was marveling over his new wings, Inko could only stare in shock; she had only ever heard of this in legend.

It was not a quirk, it wasn't even a power, but it was a blessing; one given by the mighty gods above to the Avian that could change fate itself.

They were known, as The Phoenix of Fate.

One who would rise from the ashes of the broken world and put the pieces together to create a utopia. Well, that’s what the legend said anyway.

In a flurry of movement and feathers, Inko dashed for her chick, making a chirp to signal the rest of the family, and flying to the healers nest as fast as her weakened wings could carry her.

Dr. Tsura saw to the Midoriya's immediately, confirming what Inko said.

“Izuku” she started, “do you feel any pain in your wings?”

Izuku tilted his head thoughtfully. “No, it feels warm and kinda tickles….makes me feel good too.”

Dr. Tsura was already certain of what happened, but asked one more question to make sure.

“Did you see anything strange in the fire?”

Everyone held their breath, but Izuku, not noticing and not knowing what tension was, happily blurted out his answer.

“Oh yeah! I saw p-people! And birds like us!” He smiled innocently as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Before anyone could say anything else, the curtains opened to reveal the Village Elder in her African gray-parrot glory.

It was rumored she had witnessed many key events in Avian history, but that was just a folktale.

The fact that she was here, where The Phoenix had just been discovered, truly showed the changing of fate and destiny.

Soon, the destiny of the village, the modern world, the Midoriya’s and Izuku would change, and be left in the hands of The Phoenix. Now, the Elder was here to give them the truths they deserved; and it was just the beginning.

Chapter Text

The Elder, they called her Kitu.

Supposedly, she was one of the Avians to have helped create their village but it’s not like there’s anyone that can prove or disprove that fact.

They say The Elder only came down from her high-tree to relay messages from the heavens or to warn Avians of disaster.

Here she stood, in the healers hut, not young; but certainly not looking as old as one would have thought. Hisashi came in behind her, taking notice that The Elder washere, before rushing over to Inko and Izuku.

Tori and Kuro had just arrived as well, however Keigo was nowhere to be found.

“We came as fast as we could Inko,” Tori says.

Kuro turned to look at Hisashi, Inko and Izuku, “Apparently our dear Keigo got caught up in some affairs in the modern world, but that’s not important right now”.

“That’s right. Why are you here Elder Kitu?” He inquired, trying his best not to sound rushed or rude.

Everyone turns to look at the petite Avian in the doorway, with her cane woven of vines and feathers.

One, two, three minutes passed, the tension in the air thick enough you could cut it with a blade of grass, and then she spoke.

“Inko. Hisashi. Tori. Kuro. Izuku.” She paused, seemingly analyzing their reactions.

“I come down from the highest tree, to speak a legend. The heavens cried out for their bird of fire, the skies know The Phoenix has been brought into this world once again; and the gods are ready.”

Hisashi and Kuro looked perplexed, Tori looked thoughtful and worried; while Inko looked ready to fall into a full-blown panic attack.

She sighed, “It appears the legend has not been passed through generations as it should have been. I will tell you all the story, of The Phoenix and The Surface; but first, please sit everyone. This is a story I will only tell you once.”

She pulled what appeared to be a scroll from behind her and unravelled it to reveal what looked to be picture of a winged-human with wings of flame in the center. The bottom had many more humanoid figures without wings, and the top had humans with feathered wings.

“It began over five-thousand years ago, on the top of a mountain we know call The Heavens Peak. Three siblings stood atop the mountain, one of feathers and wings, one grounded but of magic, and one with stubs so small and magic so weak,they stood powerless against their brethren.”

She looked Hisashi in the eye, “The grounded sibling was known as the Earthen Dragon, your ancestor. The winged sibling was known as the Heavens Dragon, the ancestor of Tori and Keigo.”

Taking a deep breath, she continued, “The third, and youngest of the three siblings, was only known as the Flightless Bird; a title used to ridicule his lack of powers, and lack of wings”.

“The two older ones were locked in battle for control of the earth, but this battle of sky and earth shifted the balance of nature itself; causing unimaginable pain a suffering to the humans below, and the birds above.”

“The youngest felt powerless with his inability to fly above and save the birds, or drop below and fight for the humans; but, nevertheless, he attempted to stop the fighting with words and promises of “a better future together as one”, but neither would listen as they only had eyes for their promised futures.

Everyone looked to be a mix of awed, worried and nervous for the story to continue, so Inko spoke up.

“That story...is nice. A little unnerving but otherwise fine. What does all this have to do with my little Izuku though?”

The Elder gave her a small, yet ominous smile. “You’ll see very shortly, Inko Midoriya; but the most I can tell you, is that young Izuku was chosen by the younger brother, and that he, is The Phoenix Born.”

Hisashi was the first one to get it, sucking in a shaky breath. “Izuku….he has the powers of the Phoenix….that’s the continuation of the legend…”

Everyone but the Elder turned to the fire-breathing Avian but it was Inko who spoke up, worry easily detectable in her voice “w-what do you mean dear? Have you heard this story before?”

Hisashi turned to face his wife, her face a mask of calm covering the worry beneath.

“Yes, when I was young. My mother told me that while the youngest was incapable of fighting or flying like the others, he was strong willed and had a heart of gold. Legend has it that the youngest brother spoke with humans, and the people gave him their blessings. He gave them hope, even with his lack of power and strength.”

Hisashi took in a breath, and looked to where Izuku sat, staring in wonder at his father as well as The Elder.

“They say the humans blessings gave the youngest strength, blessing him with wings of red and gold; burning bright like the sun on a summer day. With these powers, he was able to quell the fighting and defeat his siblings. One was buried in the clouds and the heavens, while the other deep below the surface.”

The Elder nodded and Hisashi looked her in the eye as they spoke in unison. “No one knows what happened to the youngest, but it’s said he will return when the sky calls and the earth rumbles.”

A thump as Inko and Tori passed out, it was clearly too much information to take in. The Elder, Kuro and Hisashi each looked around and decided it was best to leave this for when the women awoke.

Hisashi lifted Inko, bridal style and ready to fly while Kuro held Tori the same way. The Elder lifted Izuku as if he was the most precious thing in the world, which he just might be.

It was safe to assume this was definitely the start of a new era, and they could imagine what it could bring.

Chapter Text

 6 Years Later

He was 14 now, double digits, a teenager; and now of age to make his own proper decisions. Rules state that until an Avian reaches double-digits, they are not to make any large decisions as they are still chicklings. He was not yet a bird, but no longer was he confined to a nest.

His mother looked at him, ruffling his hair. He knew what she was going to say, she’d been asking him since he turned 14 and made a choice.

“Izuku….Are you sure this is what you want?” There was no use trying to hide the worry in her voice. Ever since that day 6 years ago, when The Elder came and told them The Legend, she knew that Izuku would one day leave the nest; much to the pride and worry of a mother hen.

~~

‘ Mom….I’m 14 years old now. I have something to tell you, the first choice I’m going to make’

Inko turned, smiling, but it was strained. ‘Yes, Izuku?’

Breathing deep, he had prepared for this moment but it never truly hit him until he was right there in the moment. ‘I’m going to leave for the outside world. In 3 months, I’m going to leave the nest and explore the horizons. I hope you understand mom.’

The next thing he knew, he was enveloped in a hug of warmth and tears. She held him tight, he still remembers the feeling of gripping her shirt just as tightly as she had to his. The sound of muffled sobs just barely withheld, and the feeling of tears on his scalp.

She pulled back, staring at him; and even with tears in her eyes and running down her face, she smiled at him. ‘I knew….one day you would leave. Every since The Elder told us what you were, I had a feeling one day you would leave to the modern world. It just feels like it came so soon.’

She had looked him dead in the eye, an expression he’s only seen a few times before washing over her face; ‘I’m so proud of you, Izuku. Your father would be too if he was still here.’

That’s right, his father. Hisashi Midoriya was declared missing two days before his 6th birthday and declared dead 4 days after his 7th. No matter, he wouldn’t dwell on the past too much today.

He locked eyes with his mother, tears dripping down his face as well when he spoke into her shoulder.

‘Thank you, mom.’

~~

Smiling as he looked back on the memory, before returning to his mother's thoughtful gaze. “Mom, this is what I want, and this is what I need. I will come to visit as often as I can. Besides, with my schooling being online and all that, I’ll hopefully have more free time to adjust to the modern world.”

‘I’ll show the world Avians aren’t trophies or things to fear. We’re just like them, human, with powers of our own.’

“I know, Izuku. You’ll always be welcomed in the village whenever you want. You have become a sort of walking legend anyway,” she teased lightly. It was true, Izuku had always put his best effort forward when being nice and trying to help people. He had made friends with pretty much all the village chicklings, as well as many older than him as well.

Their neighbours, two female Avians named Aria and Plumera were expecting a chickling of their own. One of the local healers developed a power to combine DNA and create an egg inside one of the two the DNA was from.

It was only a matter of weeks before the egg was ready, and then 6 months until a new chick was born. Aria and Plumera were like older sisters to Izuku. They watched him a few times while his mother was out of the nest.

Keigo, his cousin (but more like an older brother) had only come home a few times in the last 6 years. Around a week after the “Phoenix Incident”, he returned and was informed of everything.

Unlike his mother or Tori, he got very excited and exclaimed how cool his kid-brother was. Keigo also offered to help with Izuku’s training if he wanted it, considering he might need some combat training or flight training.

‘Ha, right...flight’ he thought. ‘My wings aren’t meant for that apparently.”

Ever since his wings were diagnosed as weak, he’s always had trouble staying in the sky; nevertheless, he persisted. With the help of his Phoenix Flames, he could cover his wings in flame as a sort of reinforcement that actually made his wings stronger than a normal Avian’s.

He loved it, flying that is. The clouds and the heavens welcomed him, the Phoenix to the skies. The wind always helped him stay aloft, and the clouds parted so he could have a clear view of the world below; he was the child of the sun and heavens after all.

Of course, he usually only flew when Keigo was back. His brother, who he affectionately calls “Chicken Wing”, was now one of the top heroes in Japan. He had less time to visit, being the number 3 hero and all, but “Hawks” always made time for his village and his family.

Keigo made it clear his brother was welcome at his place anytime if he came to the modern world, handing him a pass and a keycard before he left a year and a half ago.

Now, it was time for Izuku to spread his molten wings of green and fly. He already knew it would be hard, he’d have to keep his wings hidden. Most Avian wings were identified by the patterns and build of their wings, Keigo was one of the few exceptions to have almost a completely solid colour for his wings; making them less identifiable.

‘Let’s see...I have my keycard and pass from Keigo-nii, my wallet, my bank cards, and my phone! I should be good to go. It’s a good thing Keigo-nii and Mom decided to set everything up beforehand...I don’t think I could handle setting things up myself.’ He shrugged, he knew they had set him up with an ID and a quirk registration so he could be a legal citizen. Of course, he had been diagnosed as quirkless, unable to show his wings and as such, his flames.

Looking over at Inko one more time, he turned and gave her the biggest hug he’s ever given her. Both Midoriya's had tears streaming down their faces as they split apart, both of them smiling; hundreds of emotions flickering behind their eyes.

“Mom, I’m going to miss you. A lot. I’ll text you often, and I’ll come home as often as I can. I love you.” Inko smiled her signature watery smile.

“I’m going to miss you too Izuku, my little chickling. Say hi to Keigo for me, and you’re always welcomed back here no matter what. I’m proud of you, Hisashi would be too.”

He took a step back, wings spread and fire engulfing them. “Goodbye Mom!” he shouted and ran for the edge of the platform. It seemed the entire village had come for his departure, children and adults alike gathered on the sidelines to watch him leave. He smiled at all of them as he ran past, reaching the edge of the platform.

His wings spread, the greens, blacks, and reds exploded in the sunlight and the flames as he took to the skies. He waved down at the village and his family, before picking up speed and making his way towards the modern world.

‘This is it’ he thought, ‘I’m going to change the world. Whether the humans are ready or not; I’m coming.’

Chapter Text

Keigo was eagerly anticipating the arrival of his winged brother. Of course, he knew the dangers of being an Avian in the human world, but as “Hawk’s relative”, having a winged Quirk shouldn’t raise too many suspicions.

He had given Izuku a keycard to his apartment as well as a phone for easier communication. He told the kid he didn’t have to wait for Keigo to come home, and the idea of seeing Izuku again made him shake in excitement.

If anyone were to ask Keigo why he was antsy and distracted during his patrol, he would enthusiastically tell them that he was waiting for his kid brother. Not many had asked him, as it probably wasn’t good to have the kid’s first introduction to humans be known as the unmentioned brother of the number 3 hero, but he was excited nonetheless.

However, that didn’t mean he was not going to introduce the kid to his best hero-friends. Miruko would be ecstatic to meet Izuku, maybe even All Might himself would like the kid.

How could you not? He was adorable as hell and a pretty good fighter. After all, when his wings were announced as weak, he had begun learning many different kinds of martial arts.

‘I wonder if it’s legal for me to fly around the city with him,’ Keigo mused. ‘We could always say it’s a requirement for his quirk to stay fit.’

He was jolted from his thoughts by the sound of a knock on the window. He stood up so quickly that he made himself dizzy (but no one has to know that), and bolted over to the large window that overlooked the city.

A balcony had been installed as Keigo often chose to use windows rather than doors. Standing on that very balcony, stood one Izuku Midoriya, drenched in sweat but otherwise in mint (haha, because of his hair?) condition.

Sliding open the window, Izuku stepped in and placed his satchel, wallet and keycard down. Keigo probably should have told the kid that cleanliness wasn’t something to worry about here, as he still had a pizza box from last week on the table.

Instead of dwelling on those thoughts, Keigo opted for tackling his brother onto the couch in a mess of feathers and wings.

Screeching and laughing as they both landed, Keigo immediately used his special move. Tickle attack! All of Izu’s weak spots were in his line of vision, and he’s closing in fast!

Izuku seemed to notice what Keigo was doing and attempted to block his stomach from the onslaught of feathers preparing to come his way, but to no avail. Holding is brother in a light grasp, Keigo had his feathers attack him until the younger one gasped for breath.

When Keigo sat up, his brother’s face was stained with tears of laughter as he tried to catch his breath. After a few minutes, Izuku had collected himself and pulled Keigo into a fierce but caring embrace.

“I’ve missed you, Keigo,” he said with a signature blinding grin.

Keigo couldn’t help but smile back; his brother really was too cute for this world.

“I’ve missed you too little chick. I can’t wait to talk to you about everything, but it’s kind of late; are you getting hungry?”

A loud stomach rumble gave him the answer. Izuku turned a little pink, before answering “yeah..I’m pretty hungry”.

You see, Keigo couldn’t cook for shit. So obviously, the next best thing was take-out! The problem being he was pretty sure his bro had never had take-out in his life.

“What do you want to eat little bro? I’m sure I could probably find something to suit your tastes!”

Izu, the lovely little green bean that he was, didn’t seem to have any idea what he wanted to eat. Keigo noticed that he looked around for a minute, before his eyes locked on to none other than the week-old pizza on his table.

Keigo smiled knowingly. “You want some of that Izuku? It’s pizza, and it’s pretty damn good. I’m sure you’d like it, you can even customize it to your heart's content!”

He could see the exact moment he peaked his brother’s interest. His eyes lit up like a star and he started to drool. He turned to Keigo, and the Pro-Hero has to resist the urge to snap a picture of the absolutely adorable look being sent his way.

“Yes please!” He shouted, and then quieted down. “I mean...uhh, yes please. It looks really good..”

Izu looked up and even though he wasn’t planning on saying no, Keigo was pretty sure even the mightiest villain could not resist the cuteness of his little bro.

“Sure! Whattya want on it?”

Izuku looked pensive for a moment, before he seemed reach to a conclusion.

“Anchovies! You know, those little fish that Kuro-san always brought from the river beds. Do they have those here?”

Of course he would go for the fish, what else could someone who spent the last 14 years of their life living in the woods want.

Keigo agreed, and told Izuku to go wait on the couch. Put the TV on or something, while he made the order.

Within 15 minutes the pizza had arrived, delivered by an intern who just happened to be passing by the same time the pizza guy came in.

Grabbing the pizza, he walked to the couch only to find Izuku half asleep under a mountain of blankets, some random hero movie playing quietly in the background.

Sitting beside him, the couch sunk under his weight, and Izuku turned to give him a glassy-eyed stare before his focus shifted to the pizza. He suddenly looked a little more awake in the presence of food.

The younger Avian quickly stole and devoured the first slice, turning and saying with as much excitement as a tired teenager could “it’s so good, we should have it again some time!”.

That got a little chuckle out of the older Avian. “Of course chick. Whenever you want, we can get some”.

A quiet hum was the only response he got, and after a few minutes and a few more slices, he felt a weight on his shoulder. Izuku, bundled up in blankets, had fallen asleep with an adorable expression on his face.

This time, Keigo didn’t resist the urge to snap a picture, sending it to Inko.

Keigo’s eyelids were drooping as well, so he turned of the TV and pulled his brother close. They could talk more in the morning anyway.

His last thoughts, ‘Sleep well, little bird.”

And he too, fell into slumber.

Chapter Text

The first thing Izuku noticed when he woke up, was the feeling of safety and warm feathers around him. It felt like home, but the moment he opened his eyes, he knew it wasn’t. There was no large TV in his living room, no huge windows with just as huge balconies, and certainly no city below bustling with people and cars.

A groan from beside him startled him out of his thought, and a bright red wing was all-too abruptly shoved in his face. Reeling back, Izuku was able to orient himself and figure out where he was.

‘Right, I’m in Tokyo….a human city.’

Truthfully, everything from the night before was kind of a blur. He remembers landing at Keigo’s agency on the upper floors, getting a hug, eating some greasy human-food, and then passing out on the couch during some strange hero movie.

A tired sounding “Izuku? You up little bro?”, came from his right and he turned to face Keigo. Tired golden eyes stared at him, and he stifled a yawn.

“Yeah, I think so, but I don’t really want to get up.” he admitted sheepishly.

“Me neither, wanna watch the news?”

“Sure.”

Keigo stretched his wings, arms and legs, before reaching over to the coffee table and grabbing the remote. Fumbling with buttons, he managed to turn the TV on and switch it to JNN.

“ In recent news, Pro-Hero Jumper has recently been killed by Hero Killer Stain. Jumper was found at 11pm last nig- ”.

The TV was quickly turned off, and a million questions raced through his head.

‘Who was Jumper? Hero Killer Stain? What happened?’

He turned to Keigo for answers, but only saw a look of sick horror and disgust on his fellow Avian’s face. A sour expression, although Izuku only had some idea why. He knew someone had been killed, but did his brother know them? Izuku didn’t know.

“Stain...That stupid hero killer”. Keigo snarled, “who does he think he is, killing heroes because they “aren’t worthy” or somethin’. What bunch of bullshit. I mean, yeah there are some bad heroes out there, but Jumper was underground...what could she have done to invoke Stain’s wrath?”.

Keigo was muttering, a family trait the Izuku himself had as well, as did Inko and Tori. Kuro was lucky to have not developed the habit, but he had come pretty close; occasionally speaking a few words aloud by accident.

The young Avian was fed-up with his brother’s muttering, and poked him to get his attention.

“Keigo? What happened on the TV?” he asked worriedly. If Keigo was muttering, it meant he was somewhat stressed or agitated, so he clearly knew something about what was going on; Izuku wanted to know too.

His brother broke out of his mutter-rant, and turned to Izuku with soft eyes shining with sadness and a sympathetic look.

“Jumper was an underground hero in Musutafu, a villain got to her.”

Izuku gasped softly, he knew of underground heroes. They were the heroes that went where mainstream heroes couldn’t; Izuku only knew about them because of Keigo, who once wanted to be an underground hero but couldn’t. That didn’t mean he didn’t keep tabs on them as much as he could, with them being underground and all.

Jumper was one of the many underground heroes Keigo admired, her quirk allowed her to jump and stay airborne for a period of time; to someone with a wings “quirk”, it was amazing to see someone aloft without the use of feathery appendages

“Keigo? Who’s Hero Killer Stain?”

His brother closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, “Stain is a villain that kills heroes who he deems “unworthy” of being heroes. He’s got his own fucked up ideaology, and it makes hero work a real pain when other villains try following in his footsteps.

Keigo looked away. “He strikes under the cover of darkness, no hero has survived an encounter with him yet. Jumper was his fourth victim.”

Izuku was close to tears, he hated the idea that someone was killed because of someone else’s idea of right and wrong; the Avian situation was like that too.

Avians were generally peaceful, and when humans viewed many of them as being on the “wrong” side of the scale, they were slain. Mercilessly.

Those who survived were caught and experimented on, humans were afraid of things they didn’t understand, and Avians had powers even before the rise of quirks.

Even now, 300 years later, when quirks are prominent in 80% of the population, Avians are still captured and killed whenever they are found. Humans have found new ways of experimenting on Avian-kind with their newfound quirks as well.

However, Izuku knows that his kind is much more intelligent as well. They have to be, if they want to be able to survive.

Now, only few of his winged brethren live in the modern world, all under the disguise of having rare wing-quirks. No one has been caught in quite a few years, the most recent being a 17 year old who had spilled his secret to someone he thought he could trust.

After that, the Avians came up with a sign. Crossing your fingers and putting them against your left shoulder is the sign to prove who you are, and only then is it safe to disclose your secrets.

Of course, there are bad Avians, but they are rare and scarce; not many care or fear them now. Human villains are not the same, they are everywhere and are a very real threat. That’s why Keigo became a hero, and why Izuku wants to follow in his wingbeats.

He looked up at his older brother, and pulled him into a tight embrace. Keigo, not expecting this, fell back against the sofa, quickly recovering and returning the hug.

“I promise Keigo, I’ll become a hero. I’ll live for all the Heroes, humans and Avians that have died. I swear it”.

“Izuku…” The older Avian trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words, before he smiled.

“I know you will bro, it’s what’s you were born to do. Right little Phoenix?”

“H-hey!” He shouted indignantly while Keigo laughed.

“Sorry kid, couldn’t resist. Besides, you have a whole year before you can apply to Yuuei anyway. You’ll have your awesome big brother to help train you!”

He smiled, leaning back and looking Keigo in the eyes. Keigo smiled back, before ruffling his hair again and getting up.

“Well little bird, ready to get the day started?”

Pulling himself up off the couch, and stretching his wings, Izuku responded with an over enthusiastic “Yeah!”

“Right, how about we head downstairs; I’ll show you around The Nest.” Keigo headed towards the door before he turned at the giggling behind him, only to come see Izuku hiding behind his hands, laughing.

“What’s so funny Izu?”

“Keigo,” he gasped for breath, “maybe you should change first.”

He saw the exact moment Keigo realized he was about to leave in his PJs, a onesie covered in fried chicken.

“Ah. Should uh, probably do that first, huh?”

Chapter Text

After the PJs incident, they finally got around to leaving Keigo’s apartment. Izuku was still giggling a little bit, he found it pretty funny that his brother, the number 3 hero, was about to go downstairs in a fried chicken onesie. 

‘I wonder what his co-workers and interns would think!’ He thought, imagining Hawks walking in to get some important papers or something and people just stopping to stare at his “chicken-clothes”.

Maybe Keigo was a mindreader, because the next thing he said was, “Ya know, if I went downstairs dressed like that, they probably wouldn’t think it was too weird. I’m pretty sure I’ve done it while hungover...a few times. But, you don’t need to hear about that”.

He could tell his brother was trying to be nonchalant about it, but the light blush dusting his cheeks said otherwise. While Izuku was distracted, his train of thought was broken by the loud greetings Keigo received as he stepped into the lounge where the Interns and agency-workers hung out.

“Hey! Hawks! Good to see ya’!”

“Hey Cielle! Good to see ya too!”

“Morning Hawks-sama, hope you slept well”.

“Thanks Sūgaku, you as well!”

Various welcomes were shouted as they meandered around the lounge, offering short greetings to people on the way to Keigo’s life blood. The coffee machine. 

It’s a well known fact to anyone in the Midoriya or Takami family that it was almost impossible to get Keigo out of the house without a cup of coffee. They had it brought to the village specifically to motivate him and encourage him to get around whenever the hero came to visit.

Keigo without coffee spells disaster for not just the two families, but the whole village. It was a treasured memory to all that witnessed it when Keigo left the house without his morning caffeine and flew face-first into a tree.

It was times like those that really made Izuku wish he had a phone back in the village.

After his brother downed 5 cups of double-shot espresso, he (became less depresso) was seemingly back to normal “Hawks Sarcasm and Energy Levels”. A term the rest of The Nest came up with after seeing Keigo without coffee, and the great “Caffeine Crash Incident” occurred; because of this, they ended up making a deal with a coffee supplier named Kōhī (head of the coffee department), who gives them free coffee in exchange for marketing deals with the agency.

Although, no one wanted to be reminded of that.

~~~~~~~

Standing outside The Nest, warm sun beating down and being absorbed into their wings; the city of Tokyo was lively as ever. Sidewalks bustling with people of all shapes and sizes, roads densely packed with cars, and the occasional hero who could spotted on the roofs or amongst the crowd. Nevertheless, a strange place for an Avian child used to the confines of their village.

“So kid, is there anything you wanna do today?”

Izuku pondered the possibilities for a moment before deciding.

“Can we go to the Hero Convention? I’ve always wanted to go!”

Keigo smiled down at him, “Of course Izu! You know, I was actually invited this year but I knew you were coming around this time, so I declined”.

‘Keigo-nii is cool! I wanna be just like him one day!’ he thought excitedly. 

“Aw thanks little bird, I’m sure you can be just like me when you’re older. Although, you’ll never be as cool as your big brother Hawks!”

He blushed, apparently he was muttering. Not a rare occurrence, but certainly not something he did intentionally. 

“Y-you think so?” 

“I know so kiddo, brothers intuition after all!”

They both shared a look before looking away laughing. He turned back at a tap on his shoulder, only to see a huge grin pull at his brothers face. It wasn’t a sunshine grin though, it was the grin of someone up to something that could end very well or very badly. 

Knowing Keigo, probably a bit of both.

Before Izuku could question it, his brother asked barely containing his mirth, “Are you afraid of the sky Izuku?”

Well that was a suspicious question. He’s an Avian, being afraid of the sky was like being afraid of his mother. Which, was occasionally but he’d never tell him that.

“N-no? But...why?”

A devilish smirk replaced the grin, and before he could even think to move or get another word out; Keigo scooped him up in his arms.

“Wha- Keigo?! What are you doing?!” He screeched

“Hang on tight little bird, we’re goin’ for a ride!”

With that, they were up in the air. Gaining altitude by the second.

“So Izu-“ “AHHHHHH” “-what do you think?!”

“KEIGO WHY?!?!?”

His brother, who has kidnapped him into the sky, had the audacity to just shrug.

The screaming died down and all he could see was the city of Tokyo, illuminated by the rising sun. It was times like these that he hated himself his wings for being weak, he couldn’t enjoy this like the others could.

However, he knew that many humans would love to see this in person, and it made him thankful that he had the opportunity to experience it first hand. 

Before long, they were descending and making their way to a small park with enough trees so that they wouldn’t attract attention. A little known thing with Avians is that everyone had the ability to hide their wings. It’s often uncomfortable for long lengths of time, but it can be done.

When Keigo put him down, he stood and closed his eyes; concentrating on the familiar weight of his wings. The feeling of a light breeze ruffling his feathers, and the warmth provided in the colder times. Willing his wings to disappear was no easy task, as it wasn’t for any Avian, however he had practiced relentlessly in preparation for the modern world. 

He opened his eyes just in time to see Keigo’s own wings disappear, it was as if they were never there to begin with. While Izuku didn’t need a disguise, he knew his brother would. Being a top hero often attracted attention, good or bad. They settled on matching yellow hoodies with the words “Birds of a Feather” written in bold, black writing.

While Izuku didn’t have his hood up, Keigo certainly did. He had pretty iconic hair, even without his wings as a dead giveaway. The two brothers looked each other over, and nodded.

They stepped out of the woods on to the path towards the road where they could walk to the V.I.P entrance of the convention hall. On the way, they saw and passed tons of hero cosplayers. He saw All Mights, a few Endeavors, a Present Mic, and even a Hawks cosplayer. Of course, the Hawks cosplay was good, but nowhere near the real thing.

They got to the parking lot of the hall, where there were photoshoots in every empty space. There was a particularly good Midnight cosplay that had quite a few males taking pictures. Of course, you could tell it wasn’t the actual hero as they had bright yellow wristbands to indicate they were just cosplayers. All cosplayers had them, even those cosplaying characters from video-games or TV shows; Although it was good to have the hero cosplayers wear wristbands as some of them were really well done.

Keigo took his hand and started lead him towards the back of the hall, passing the Hawks cosplayer from before. Hawks stopped, turning to the cosplayer before waving him over.

“‘Scuse me! Could I have a photo with you?”

The cosplayer turned, and visibly brightened at the question. 

“Of course! I know Hawks is a popular hero, but I haven’t seen a lot of Hawks cosplay, so I took matters into my own hands and did it myself!”.

Keigo handed him his phone, as they got in position to take a photo. Posing with peace signs, Izuku yelled, “say cheese!” and took the photo.  They said their goodbyes and continued on their way to the back of the convention hall. Izuku was ecstatic, he couldn’t wait to see what the hero convention has in store!

Chapter Text

The back of the hall wasn’t very crowded, minus the few Pro-Heroes coming and going. Izuku was pretty sure he was going to explode in excitement. He knew so many Heroes! 

He tugged on Keigo’s sweater sleeve, and asked if they could go say hi to Miruko, his favourite female hero. Her rabbit quirk was so cool and versatile! ‘Maybe I can get an autograph!’

A loud shout of “Hey! Bunny-Butt! Get over here!” echoed around the back of the hall. A few Pros turned to look, but turned back to their conversations after realizing it wasn’t anyone important. 

Miruko however turned, and because she couldn’t recognize Hawks, looked like she was ready to kill the stranger who called out to her with some strange nickname. She was in front of them in only a few bounds, before grabbing Keigo’s sweater collar and pulling him close to her face.

She spoke in a slightly menacing voice, “Who. Are. You, and WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!”

Izuku siddled out from behind his brothers legs, and turned to see Keigo just chuckle before pulling down his hood. He could see the moment Miruko realized who she had in her grasp. Her expression brightened and she dropped, letting him hit the ground with his behind.

He stood up and she punched his shoulder lightly. 

“Hawks!” she whisper-yelled, loud enough for Izuku to hear, but not enough to get the attention of the other pros. “I thought you weren’t coming!”

Keigo chuckled, pulling his hood back over his head and whispering, “well, I wasn’t, and I’m not here as a V.I.P or Pro-Hero. I came with my little brother who’s come to live with me for the time being. He’s a huuuuugggeee hero fan. Isn’t that right Izuku?” he finished teasingly.

Izuku ducked his head, blushing before sticking a hand out for Miruko.

“I-I’m Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you…” he said nervously.

Miruko laughed a little at his nervous introduction, reaching to shake his hand.

“Nice to meetcha kid, I’m Rumi Usagiyama but most people know me as Miruko. Good to know Keigo has such a cool little brother!”

He blushed deeper at the praise, before lifting his head to meet her eyes. Her white hair flowing in the wind and her tall frame was slightly intimidating, but he steeled his 14 year old nerves and reached to grab his sketchbook. 

Flipping to Miruko’s page, he turned to her and asked, “Could you umm, sign my sketchbook? I...drew you in this book…”

She took the book curiously, and looked over her page. She sucked in a breath when her eyes roamed to the drawing. He worried that she was offended, or that his drawing wasn’t good enough. 

He was totally wrong, Miruko’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and sparkled like the stars. She squealed, and that was not a noise he expected from a top hero. She pulled a silver-metallic sharpie from her pocket and wrote a signature in the open space at the bottom of the drawing.

“Wow Midoriya! That drawing was super good! Could I look through the rest of your notebook!?” she asked excitedly.

He stuttered out a “s-sure” before she started flipping through page after page of heroes. She quickly gave a little whisper-shout of “hold on a second!” and ran over to where other Pro-Heroes were grouped together and talking. 

She quickly shoved her way through the group of Pro’s until she got to the middle, before saying something he couldn’t hear and shoving his sketchbook in their faces. 

‘Oh goodness, what’s she doing!? Is she trying to get me killed!?’

However, the Pro’s did not react like he expected them too, instead they took the book and considered it for a moment. Even flipping through the occasional page or two before handing it back to Miruko and sending her off with a nod of approval. 

She got to the group comprised of Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, Present Mic and Bubble Girl and handed Edgeshot the sketchbook; he looked through it with the other three heroes looking over his shoulder. It seemed Present Mic asked her a question, because she laughed, shook her head and pointed in his direction. All three heroes looked his way and he took cover behind Keigo’s legs again.

Keigo laughed as the three heroes took out pens or sharpies of their own and wrote something, before doing something he wasn’t quite sure of, but every hero who was handed his notebook did. They flipped to the last page and wrote something. 

Izuku was sure that last page was blank, so it was confusing as to why the would flip there deliberately and write something.

Although, it seemed that questioned would soon be answered as Miruko was making her way back towards him and Keigo. She had a giddy expression and that just made Izuku worry for his sanity. 

She held out the book and he took warily, before skimming through the pages. He worried expression soon turned to awe, and he made no effort to hide it as his jaw dropped.

Each page that had a Pro-Hero currently attending the event, had been signed. Some even had little comments next to the signature telling him how amazing his analysis is.

He was already completely red in the face, but he swallowed and turned to the last page. It was covered in signatures and longer comments, telling him facts he missed or telling him their opinions on his suggestions.

They hadn’t even gone inside the convention hall and he was already overwhelmed by the sheer power of the hero convention. 

He was gonna obviously making a face because he heard the snap of a camera and the muffled laughter from Keigo. When he met his brothers eye, Keigo just laughed harder, barely concealing it behind his sleeve.

Izuku pouted until Keigo finally stopped laughing. He patted his head and gestured for him to put the sketchbook away. 

“Ready to head inside little bro? I don’t want you to explode after all that attention”. 

His voice was teasing but Izuku knew he meant well. 

The fun of a convention awaited them, and Izuku was ready as could be!

Chapter Text

The first few steps into the convention was amazing, hero merch, cosplayers and Heroes themselves were everywhere. Izuku’s little heart could barely handle all of it.

A large body popped into his peripheral and he squealed, dragging his brother over. He stopped just in front of Taishiro Toyomitsu, otherwise known as Fatgum. A relatively new hero but with an amazing and unique quirk, Izuku was hooked. He rushed to pull out his sketchbook and show it to the Hero.

“E-excuse me….Fatgum, sir….could you sign my sketchbook?” he asked hopefully.

Taishiro turned to see a small, green-haired kid in a yellow hoodie holding out a sketchbook with a very well done drawing on it.

“Sure kid!” Taishiro answered, and the kid lit up.

Izuku watched as he pulled out a Fatgum themed Sharpie, and read over his page. A look of surprise filtered across the Hero’s face, before he smiled and nodded. As he handed back the sketchbook, he gave an approving thumbs-up with his other hand.

“Well done kiddo! This info is super accurate and well written, and the drawing is super good as well. Are you and aspiring hero?”

“Y-Yes!” he squeaked out, “I want to h-help make a difference in the world!”

Keigo chuckled from beside him, putting his hand on Izuku’s head affectionately.

“Yeah, my little bro has always wanted to be a hero, he looks up to you guys a lot you know. Keep up the good work.” Keigo smiled and Izuku waved as they walked away.

They turned back, and Izuku was sure he would collapse any second. ‘So many Heroes! So cool!’

He was broken from his thoughts when Keigo tapped his shoulder, and pointed to a stand that seemed to be relatively bare of customers.

A few people passed by, taking small glances but not many stopping for more than a few seconds. Only one couple seemed to be at the booth besides the owner, who looked pretty depressed if Izuku was honest.

His attention was quickly drawn away from the man as he noticed a familiar colour scheme of black, white and yellow on a poster. Eraserhead.

Even though Eraserhead was an underground hero, Izuku has always had a keen eye to those underground; Eraserhead being one of his favourites.

The quirk dubbed “Erasure” was amazing for hero work, the ability to stop someone's quirk and quirk factor, but that was merely part of Izuku’s wild theories and speculations. Keigo thought they were pretty good though, the few clips of Eraserhead showed glowing red eyes and suddenly the villains quirk stopped working. Izuku was sure he was close to figuring it out.

“Eraserhead!” he whisper-yelled, completely missing the tensing from the black-haired male of the couple checking out the stand.

He bolted forward, and the depressed looking man from before raised his head. 

“You know who Eraserhead is kid?” he asked tiredly, but there was a bit of excitement in his voice; as if he didn’t expect someone else to know who the Erasure Hero was.

“Yes! He’s one of the coolest underground heroes ever! His quirk is so cool!” 

Keigo laughed, coming up behind him. “This one is a bit of a hero fanatic, don’t get him started on one of his “Hero Rants”. He’ll never stop talking”.

But even as Keigo said that, Izuku could tell it was more in an affectionate way than annoyance. 

The man at the booth smiled and gestured to the Eraserhead merch strewn about his area. “Well, for such a dedicated fanboy like yourself, pick any piece of merch for free. It’s on the house”.

Izuku gasped, ‘any piece I want?!’ 

“Are you sure sir?!” 

The man laughed again, “of course! It’s rare to meet anyone who knows as much about underground heroes as you kid”.

He was starstruck, there were so many things to choose from! Posters, keychains, figurines and more! 

While Izuku was fanboying and trying to decide on what he wanted, he noticed the black-haired male out of the couple at the booth was bright red in the face. 

Izuku, being the kind of kid he was, turned to the man and asked, “are you ok sir? You look kinda red…”

Keigo turned as well to see what Izuku was looking at. The man coughed, and the blond beside him perked up.

“He’s fine kiddo! I think he’s just a bit embarrassed-“ the blond was cut off by an elbow to the ribs. “-that’s all!” 

The ravenette turned to look at Izuku and his heart stopped. Piercing black eyes stared at him, a scarf hung around his neck, and a pair of goggles were nestling in one of the crooks of the scarf.

“E-ERASERHEAD?!” He shouts in surprise.

The man coughed and another light blush dusted his cheeks. His raised his eyebrows and nodded. 

“Yeah, that’s me. Keep it down, wouldcha kid? I’m underground for a reason you know”.

He covered his mouth and bowed, “s-sorry.. but you’re Eraserhead! So cool!”

The man cocked his head. “You sure seem to know a lot about me, care to tell me how?”

Izuku’s brain had short-circuited at this point, so all he could do was pull out his sketchbook, flip to Eraserheads page and hand him the book while he tried to collect himself.

There was giggling behind him, and he turned to glare with as much false-anger as a ten year-old could muster. Again, this just made Keigo laugh harder into his sleeve. 

‘Stupid Keigo, it’s not funny…’

Turning back to Eraserhead, the hero gave a hum when he finished reading. Handing him back the book, the hero asked “how old are you kid?”

“I’m 14 sir!” 

Another nod of approval. 

“You’re pretty smart for your age, planning on being a hero?” he inquires.

Izuku beamed, “yup! I want to be just like my brother!...uhh, whoops.” he ducked his head, “I wasn’t supposed to say that…”

Eraserhead just looked at him curiously, before turning to Keigo who was standing beside him. Keigo’s hood was covering his iconic hair style, the only thing visible were his piercing gold eyes. He grinned in a cheeky way, not daring to reveal who he was quite yet.

The blond man but-in before Eraserhead could question his brother, and gave him an encouraging smile, “that’s so cool listener! Good luck to you!” and it clicked. 

He figured out who the blond man was. His voice was familiar but Izuku couldn’t seem to put a finger on it before, but that phrase was iconic to only one hero Izuku knew.He managing to take control of his voice before he got too loud, loudly-whispered,

“Present Mic!?”

Chapter Text

Aizawa had come to the convention with the only reason being to satisfy Hizashi. His husband had insisted on going to the convention this year with Aizawa so they could take a look around after the “Present Mic Q&A” that he held every year. 

Aizawa himself wasn’t surprised to find Present Mic merch at almost all the stands they saw, but he was certainly not expecting a booth to have Eraserhead merch. As an underground hero, Eraserhead and his comrades rarely had merchandise made of them. They were underground for a reason after all.

Before he could drag Hizashi away from the area they were in, his overly-loud husband had noticed the stand and proceeded to drag Aizawa over to see the merch of him. He had to admit the posters were very well done, and the figurines had little to no errors. The colours were a bit off, but considering most people only knew Eraserhead from grainy footage taken in the dead of night, it was pretty accurate.

While Hizashi, (who was out of costume at this point), was gushing about the merch and about how he “was going to buy all of it,'' Aizawa heard a shout from behind him exclaiming “Eraserhead!” (No, he didn’t startle. Anyone who tells you that is a liar.)

A young boy with green hair and a yellow hoodie, who appeared to be around 9 or 10 based on his height, rushed up to the stand with an older boy in following behind him. The man running the stand sat up a little bit, and began talking to the boy about his hero persona. 

Red climbed all the way up his neck and on to his face. The boy, thankfully, didn’t notice; however the older boy did, but at least he didn’t say anything. 

While the man running the booth and the green boy talked, the older one laughing a bit and affectionately patting the kid. The man at the booth offered the kid any piece of merch he wanted, and Aizawa could see the boys turmoil as he tried to pick what he wanted. 

He didn’t notice the faint blush still dusting his cheeks as the boy rambled and talked about how cool he was, he also failed to realise that the boy had taken notice of the pinkish-red on his face. 

A worried “are you ok sir? You look kinda red…” was what made made him realize he was still a bit flustered about how the boy was talking about him. He thought Hizashi would come to his rescue, but all hope was lost when his husband answered for him by telling the kid he was just embarrassed. 

Apparently elbowing the man he called his husband didn’t get him to shut up, so when he turned to address the boy himself, he wasn’t expected the boy to eye him up and down; the kid noticed his capture weapon, and his goggles safely nestled around his neck, which to an Eraserhead fanboy was a dead giveaway.

The boys eyes grew to the size of plates, and he shouts “ERASERHEAD!?” to which he coughs lightly as the blush makes its return slightly stronger than before. He quickly tries to school his expression into its normal deadpan look at raises his eyebrow at the kid while also telling the kid to keep it down a bit. 

The green haired boy was clearly embarrassed about being called out, and averted his eyes by bowing and muttering an apology the sounded like “sorry...so cool!”

Deciding to test the kid, he asks “you sure know a lot about me,” ‘at least, from what you were mumbling’, “care to tell me how?” 

The boy clearly forgets how to make his mouth function at this moment, so he’s handed a sketchbook with a very well drawn picture of him in his hero costume and details the boy seemed to have gathered previously. There was talk about his quirk (even though he’s never explicitly stated it to anyone but criminals) as well as an analysis of his fighting style. 

The older boy was laughing into his sleeve as Aizawa gave a hum of approval. He handed the kid back his sketchbook and asked another question plaguing his mind. 

“How old are you kid?”, if this kid was a hero hopeful, Aizawa wanted to know how long he would have to wait to have this kid in his class. ‘If he was even applying to Yuuei, that is.’ his brain supplies.

“I’m 14 sir!” the kid says with another small bow. Clearly this kid admired him and Aizawa didn’t think he could ever get used to that. He nodded in approval, it would be another year or so before this kid applied for a high school; Aizawa had only started teaching a couple years ago, and he knew that compared to the classes he's taught, this kid would make a great hero. 

Instead of beating around the bush, he decides to get confirmation. Just to see if this kid wants to be a hero. 

“You’re pretty smart for your age, planning on being a hero?”

The kid brightened like that was his favourite question, “yup! I want to be just like my brother!...uhh, whoops.” he looked down, again muttering about he wasn’t supposed to say that, but Aizawa caught it. 

Hizashi nudged him out of the way and gave the kid a smile and thumbs-up and said, “that’s so cool listener! Good luck to you!” in his signature “Present Mic” voice. Clearly the kid figured out who Hizashi was, because his eyes widened and he completely forgot about not raising his voice because the next thing he said was, “PRESENT MIC!?” in a very loud voice.

The older boy shushed the kid again, and he apologised for the loudness. At least the kid recognized his mistake, unlike a lot of his students anyway. 

Oh yeah, the older boy. ‘He looks suspicious, why would he have his hood up like that?’

It was obvious he was trying to his identity, but the question of ‘why?’ circled Shouta’s head.

He tried to get a good look at the older boy, only being able to glimpse a bit of blond hair and golden eyes like bird-of-prey. He looked to be around 18 or so, with a small stature.

‘This kid is suspicious, I can’t tell if he’s a villain or not… he doesn’t give off any particular aura though, I guess I’ll have to start asking questions.'

Chapter Text

Keigo was amused.

It was clear Eraserhead nor Present Mic knew who he was. He may be a “newer” hero, but he was still 4th on the top charts. 

He figured his eyes, hair and even height might give it away, but apparently he did a better job of disguising himself than originally thought.

It was clear Eraserhead was trying to figure out who he was or if he posed any threat. Over the years, Sora has gotten particularly good at suppressing his aura; something he often used against villains.

His wings were often his dead giveaway, but with them hidden, he was virtually unidentifiable. 

However, he clearly didn’t account for Miruko, who burst in from god knows where, to slap him on the back while handing him a drink before bounding away.

“So long, bird boy! Duty calls! Enjoy your time!”

The two off-duty Pro’s looked startled, not expecting Miruko just as much as he did. Keigo could tell Izuku was trying to stifle a giggle, finding humour in his suffering.

Eraserhead turned back to him with another calculating glance, before seemingly giving up.

He crouched down to Izuku’s level and looked the kid right in the eye, “What’s your name kid?”

Izu looked kinda startled, but answered quickly. 

“Izuku, Izuku Midoriya sir!”

A tired smile made its way onto the underground hero’s face, an expression Keigo wasn’t sure the tired hobo-man was capable of until now.

“Well Midoriya, you’re going to be a great hero. I hope to see you at Yuuei one day.” Before walking away with Present Mic in tow.

They stood there for a few moments, before he met a green-eyed stare from a boy he called his brother who was vibrating in excitement.

“Keigo! Keigo! Eraserhead said I could be a hero!”

He chuckled, goodness his brother was cute. He’d get to live with this for the next few years? Not a bad deal if you asked him.

“Well, I think he’s right. You’ll be an amazing hero. Although…” he shot a glance at Izuku. 

“I’m hurt you chose to go to Yuuei, didn’t want to go to the same school as your older bro?” 

Izuku reddened, “N-no! You’re school is cool too! I...I've just always wanted to go to Yuuei so..” 

Keigo picked up the items they got from the vendor under one arm, and picked up Izuku with the other. 

“Awe, don’t worry squirt! Yuuei is a great hero school! There’s nothin’ wrong with living out your dreams, I know a lot of Avians would love to be able to do this”.

Izuku smiled one of those reassuring smiles that could calm even a rabid dog. Waving to the stall owner as Keigo walked away.

“I’m going to be a hero Keigo, I’m going to help Humans and Avians. I want to help us all get along one day, that’s all”.

What did he do to deserve this little bean, even after all the horrible things Humans had done to their kind, he still believed there was hope for peace; Keigo did too.

Maybe they could change things. Hawks and Izuku, or whatever his hero name will be. 

If Izuku believes there will be peace, Keigo will try his damn hardest to help him make his dream a reality. 

Besides, an Avian Hero? What’s the worst that could happen?

—

As they got close to the agency, the sun began to set; a warm orange and pink enveloping the sky. Izuku has insisted they walked as the park they had been to before was populated, and there were no good places to hide to reveal their wings.

Revealing their wings would one, draw attention and two, run the risk of proving they’re Avians. Although, Keigo was pretty sure they could pass it off as a wings quirk, he wasn’t willing to take any unnecessary risks. 

Plenty of Avians have learned the hard way, no way in hell would he make that mistake with his little brother.

Smiling, they arrived back at the agency, just in time for lunch. Kōhī, their coffee boy, already had drinks prepared and was delivering to the eager chicklings around The Nest.

Grabbing a cup for himself and some hot cocoa for Izuku, they began to make their way up to the penthouse when an alarm blared and everyone went into alert mode.

Izuku tugged on his sleeve, “Keigo? What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure Izuku…” he turned to see Sugaku rushing to his station.

“SUGAKU! What’s going on!?”

“Boss! There’s an S-Rank villain downtown! All top heroes have been requested to make their way there immediately!” Izuku, not needing any coffee nor that much caffeine got hot chocolate; which he then proceeded to choke on with a look of slight panic.

“S-Rank? Isn’t that bad!?” called a newly-hired intern.

Sora looked over, barely concealing his fear with a shaky smile, “yeah, S-Rank is bad. The highest rank of danger for a villain.”

Sugaku was looking more and more worried.

“Boss? You should get going, Miruko has already responded to the call, All Might hasn’t been active for the last year or so and Endeavor is out of Tokyo in business.”

“Yup, on it!”

—

Keigo was nervous. He tried to be a cool, level-headed hero like he was branded, but an S-Rank villain?! Usually All Might dealt with them and All Might, wasn’t here. 

Keigo didn’t really like All Might; he was a good hero in the sense that he stopped villains, but he also was famous for taking down and occasionally killing Avians.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth

But whatever, it didn’t matter, he had a job to do.

An S-Rank villain is a serious threat, with or without the number 1 hero; Keigo knew that it would take the collaborative efforts of multiple heroes to take one down.

Usually, lots of chaos and destruction arose from these villains, along with a high risk of fatality.

All he could hope, standing on the balcony with a view of the chaos in the distance, is that Izuku wouldn’t worry too much.

After all, not every hero comes home one day.

Chapter Text

Rumi liked to pride herself with being a strong, reliable hero. She was always willing to fight, and being a woman in the top 10, she was more than ready to put the men in their place.

When the call came to her shared agency with Ryukyu that an S-Rank villain had been spotted in Tokyo, she immediately volunteered to go.

Ryukyu was right behind her as she shot out the door, taking a leap up to the nearest building and a flash of red in the next block over brought a vicious smile to her face, despite the circumstances.

A deafening boom and flying debris caused her to falter in her leap, but she quickly recovered and made a detour before skidding to a stop. Rustling of feathers and thump indicated that her partner in crime had arrived. 

Hawks walked up to stand beside her, nervous energy evident in his step. He stood confident, but the worried look in his golden eyes, and the twitching of his wings gave away his unease. She had never seen him look so nervous, and that put her on edge as well.

“Hawks! You good man!? You look craaaazzzzyyy nervous!”

He looked over, grimacing. “Could be way better. My little bro/cousin is ‘ere right? The attack is so close to the agency, he’s also mega nervous about heroes being injured. Don’t want to hurt him, ya know?”

Right! The green kid, the one she totally bragged about at the convention to her co-workers! Aw man, she hoped he was good.

“Well! We’re top heroes! Nothing can-“ BOOM!

She whipped her head towards the source of the sound, debris fell from the Tokyo National News tower. Red wings blocked her vision as the number 3 hero shot off towards the chaos.

Grinning, she took a running leap, and smashed down directly in front of an out of control car, stopping it with a well-aimed kick to the front, denting the hood and the bumper.

Sugar Glider, a somewhat new hero, rushed past her to usher the family inside the car to safety. Rumi offered her a nod of approval as she hurried away to help other civilians clear the area.

A child's cries made her stop in her tracks, hastily looking around, trying to find the source of the sound.

There! A young girl, probably around 5 or 6, her leg was stuck under a large piece of rubble. She appeared to have a wing quirk like Hawks, but it was useless in pulling her out from under the fallen rocks.

A crack diverted her attention to more debris about crumple, and fall directly on top of the little girl. Rumi gritted her teeth, and jumped with as much force as possible, hitting the falling concrete only moments before it would have landed and crushed the child.

The girl turned, tears in her eyes, cuts and bruises littering her body. Rumi cursed, poor girl. No one even bothered to try and help her, or tell any heroes she was here.

With a deep breath, she shoved the rock up, propping it up on another piece of rock, but it wouldn’t last long before it collapsed. Grabbing the girl and pulling her into her own chest, before standing and running out of the area towards the paramedics. Explosions sounded behind her, and a deep “ I AM HERE! ” signaled the arrival of the number one hero.

Miruko offered the girl to a pair of medics treating the injured. It took longer than she wanted to get over here, but she couldn’t risk leaping incase she damaged the girl even more.

As she turned to leave, a small tug at her back got her attention. The girl looked up with bright eyes, smiling through her tears. 

“T-thank you...Miruko..”

She sounded so happy, and although fire raged behind them, Rumi smiled, soft and calm. 

“It was no problem, I hope you feel better. What’s your name?”

The girl flushed, “It’s Hatchi, Miruko-san.”

“Hatchi huh? A brave name for a brave girl like yourself. Take care kiddo.” and she made a powered up leap, towards the fray.

She thumped down, spotting Hawks battling what looked like someone with a dragon-mutation quirk. Large, twisted horns sat atop the villains head; crimson scales flashing in the light of the flame. Two large wings flapping, fighting against the air currents Hawks was producing from the force of his own wings.

Rumi jumped, planting a kick in the side of the villains ribs. He howled in pain, whipping around and shooting a burst of red-hot flames directly at her. She couldn’t dodge mid-air, and resorted to folding into herself as much as possible. 

Moments before the flames made full-contact, only singing her ears, a set of arms wrapped around her and both her and her saviour were thrown harshly into the ground below. Red wings filled her vision when her eyes opened, and Hawks, no longer wearing his usual ‘Hero smile” was protecting her.

“HAWKS! Your wings!”

He hissed, blackened feathers and the scent of burning flesh penetrated their noses through the smell of ash around them. It was a sickening smell.

“I-I’m good. I’ll heal. You ok?”

She could tell it really hurt, but it wasn’t the best moment to bring it up, so instead she said, “I’m good. Thanks. Let’s kick this guys ass!”

He managed a smile twinged with pain, and his whole body flinched when he spread his wings. The villain was flying around again, blasting buildings and any remaining civilians with flames.

It was a war-zone doused in fire.

They couldn’t see All Might anywhere, so it was up to them. Rumi jumped as Hawks shot towards the villain moments later. She smashed into his wings, making him drop as they went limp. Hawks shot feathers towards him, trying to get a handle on him, only to hiss in pain as the feathers were burnt the moment the villain noticed them.

The villain finally regained use of his leathery wings, and shot towards the sky. Rumi ducked and rolled onto a rooftop, landing safely away from the danger. Laughter caught her immediate attention as the villain landed on the opposite rooftop, with his claws around Hawks’ throat.

“You Heroes don’t seriously think you can beat me? Pathetic.”

She snarled, “LET HIM GO! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU ANYWAY!?”

He laughed again, and it only annoyed her more. 

“You don’t recognize me? I guess you heroes really don’t pay attention after all.”

He mock-bowed, digging his talons farther into Hawks’ throat. 

“My name is Incineration. Does that ring any bells, hero?”

She gasped, Incineration was a villain that escaped his containment van on the way to Tartarus. They said he melted the truck and the people inside without a care, before going into hiding. It’s been a 7-month long search, and it took the combined forces of All Might, Endeavour, and Edgeshot to bring him down the first time.

Endeavour wasn’t here, and at the moment, neither was All Might.

Recognition must have shown on her face, because he barked out another harsh, high-pitched laugh. 

“You do! You do know me! How delightful. I’ll enjoy watching you two heroes burn to a crisp beneath my claws.”

Without even processing the fact that she was moving, she threw herself at the villain, knocking him off the rooftop, bringing her and Hawks down with him. Luckily, in his panic to unfurl his wings and get a grip, he released Hawks’ and he plummeted down, relatively unharmed.

His wings unfurling slowly, but enough to stop him from falling, and he hovers, gasping for breath. The villain is unconscious, and falling to the ground below. Normally, she would try to catch and apprehend them, but her legs gave out. The news helicopter was still trained on Hawks, and the villain shooting towards the ground

Adrenaline running out, she slumps to the ground, breathing hard. She had been truly terrified for her friends life. But it was ok now.

The battle was over.

And then all she could hear were screams.

Chapter Text

Izuku knew the moment when his brother rushed out of the building, sidekicks trailing behind him, something was really wrong. According to what he was told, S-Rank villains are some of the most wanted villains...well, ever.

The boy who’d rushed over, Sugaku as he’d introduced himself, mentioned that Miruko was already on the scene, easing his worries a little bit.

Izuku, along with some other people in The Nest, were ushered downstairs into a supposedly “villain-proof” room used in emergencies. There was food, water, washrooms, an emergency phone, and a television to keep up with what was happening. 

People packed in tight, anyone without a provisional license or higher was ushered down to the emergency room. Izuku had seen a few familiar faces, but he stuck close to Sugaku incase something happened. It also made him feel a bit safer, as Sugaku had a...feeling to him that was reassuring in a way.

Izuku was pressed near the door, when everyone came down they stopped at the TV to see what was going on. He couldn’t see what was happening, but a mixed shout of “HAWKS!-KEIGO!-BOSS” forced him to shove his way to the front.

The TNN helicopter was circling the roof of a nearby building, Miruko was standing and staring down a dragon-like man. The second thing he noticed, was red. Blood, feathers, and fire. 

His brother was trapped in the claws of a villain.

Izuku couldn’t breathe, his vision blurred as tears built up in his eyes. The young Avians breath became laboured as he struggled to take in air. That was Keigo, his brother, the one who promised to show him the good in the world, trapped by a villain.

Watching, waiting. The villain laughed, and Miruko looked more and more upset. The interns and workers were cheering him on, drowning our Izuku’s cries, but he shouted out his own encouragement. Tweet and chirps, but ones filled with emotion. Nobody could hear him, but the sound of his calls echoed in a pounding rhythm throughout his ears.

In what could have ended badly, Miruko shot forward, and was able to land a powered-up kick to the villains’ stomach, knocking him and his brother off the building, but he wasn’t worried.

Number 3 hero Hawks spread his wings, and the villain, still in shock, plummeted to the ground while Miruko kneeled on the roof the building, exhausted. 

People cheered, the Interns high-fived and laughed as if that hadn’t been a terrifying situation. The camera zoomed in on Hawks, shooting some feathers, albeit slower than normal, towards the villain, catching him before he hit the ground.

Izuku smiled, seeing that even in his tired state, his brother unfurled the villains wings to hold him without further injuring him. Them of all people would know the pain of having your wings held and an awkward angle.

Keigo treasured his wings more than anything else. All Avians knew the importance of maintains your wings, as they were the gift that granted freedom.

An Avian without wings was like a Human who has lost the most important part of themselves. 

Flightless, is what they called them. There was an old story that told of a flightless Avian fallen from grace and down to earth, who was absorbed by the ground.

For a moment, Izuku feared that his brother may become flightless, which he didn’t mind at all the flightless, but the devestation it brought.

A large boom had everyone whipping back towards the scene, breaking up joyous thoughts, and Izuku’s knees hit the floor. He knew they would bruise, but he could barely feel it over the pounding of his heart and the cotton in his ears. 

What it showed was horrific.

Time had slowed down, All Might appeared at last, even though the threat was already dealt with. The back of the villain was all that was visible to the camera, the front facing Hawks who was hovering approximately 50 stories off the ground. 

All Might reared back his fist, pushing it towards the villains back. His brother screamed for All Might to stop, that the villain was already down, but the Number 1 hero didn’t hear him, and landed a blow dead-center on the villains back.

Or, what would have been dead-center, anyway.

He could see the moment the villain’s spine snapped awkwardly to the left, and wings broke at the base, climbing up the ridge and spurting blood everywhere. 

Keigo Takami, Hawks, his brother attempting to protect the downed villain, took a hit right to the left wing. Bright white bone stained with red, red feathers of every shade as blood began to flow at a rapid pace. The momentum carrying towards the right wing, shifting it up at such and unnatural angle, Izuku thought he was going to puke.

Phantom pain shot through his nerves, wings begging to be freed even to only confirm they were still in place. 

The news continued to play.

Izuku could only watch in horror as his brother twisted the wrong way, and the sound of muscles tearing, bones snapping and Keigo screaming in silence as he plummeted from the sky filled his ears with static; no longer the cotton and heartbeat, only quiet.

Both the Winged Hero and villain fell towards the ground, rapid speed. All Might didn’t even look back, only landing on the building beside Miruko to check on her. Not once did he look back towards the screaming, most likely believing it to be the villains, however Izuku doesn’t know that.

The sound returned, and anguished screaming followed by a sickening crack echoed. The loudest sound despite the screaming and crying of the others around him.

Black was rushing into his vision. The room swayed and tilted. He was pretty sure people were yelling something at him, but it was once again muffled. Flashing lights, a thousand shades of red, and the floor rushing to meet him were the last things Izuku saw.

Daedalus had fallen, and he would never come back the same, his wings burned in phantom pains, and twitched with anger.

Icarus had plummeted, perhaps to never rise again; wings burnt, torn, and shredded leaving ashes in their wake.

Chapter Text

It was awful. 

He couldn’t remember anything, fighting against the thick, black blanket that obstructed his vision and mind. His eyelids were so tired they refused to open.

He remembers screaming and muffled noises, hands rushing to meet him, and a wetness on his face. He tried to move his arms, and found it was like trying to move through honey. Stopping, he gathered the little energy found in his body, and forced his eyelids to open.

The room was dim, only light from the moon outside casting a grey-blue light over the area. A small table was to side of the bed, a door on the far side, and what would be white-tile walls and flooring.

There were flowers on the table, but even when squinting he was unable to determine what kind. The room smelled of disinfectant and some gross, fake smells his nose wasn’t accustomed to. He was so tired.

He had no idea as to where he was, or what was going on. He figured he could deal with it in the morning, and so the darkness swallowed him whole once again.

----------

This time, when he awoke, it was to a shuffling to his left and sunlight beating against his face. Once again forcing his eyes to open, he noticed it was now late-morning by his internal clock and the position of the sun.

The smell of the room had not faded, but there appeared to be more flowers than last time he awoke, as well, there appeared to be a presence in the room alongside him.

He turned his head to face where the door might have been, cursing the gods for the pain in his neck. He couldn’t feel his legs or his back, and he muscles screamed at the smallest movement, but he pushed past it to gaze at the person in the room.

Yellow and red filled his vision, two colours that immediately brought comfort to the confusion.

“M-Mom…?”

The woman turned, teary-eyed. 

“Keigo…?”

She rushed forward then, enveloping him in a hug of feathers and warmth. The exact opposite of what he felt seeping into his body. His mind was foggy, but the beautiful wings just like his own were unmistakable, even in his exhausted state.

He swallowed, his voice hoarse and dry from lack of use.

“Mom, where am I? I can't ...remember.”

She bit her lip, a worried expression rarely worn by his mother, and Keigo felt his stomach churn.

“Keigo..you don’t remember anything? At all?”

He scrunched up his face, trying to remember. There was a lot of red, screaming, but other than that, nothing. 

“Sorry...no all I can see is red…”

It’s then that the lightness of his back hits him, it feels as though nothing is there...where were his wings? 

Why couldn’t he feel them? 

Keigo didn’t even realize he’d stopped breathing until his mother was there whispering comforting things in his ear, telling him to take deep breaths. The tears were flowing now, the empty weight on his back turning into an empty pit in his heart.

Had he fallen from a tree or got caught up in a hunters trap?

“Mom… what happened to me?” but Tori refused to look him in the eye, focusing instead on the flowers that lay on the bedside table.

“Mom…?”

“K-Keigo…”

They looked at each other, teary eyes meeting and he was enveloped in another feathery hug but he could no longer feel the warmth, all he felt was cool, numbness. Tori buried her head in the crook of his neck, all he could do was awkwardly hold her as she cried.

“Mom, please. What happened?”

“Do you remember how old you are, hun?”

He paused, that was a weird question.

“17?”

Tori choked, more tears falling.

“Keigo, baby… You’re 22…”

There was a long stretch of silence, “Keigo?”

As of now, his voice was barely above a whisper, “I’m...22? That’s not possible…”

He stood, tearing the IV from his arm, rushing towards the built-in bathroom. (When did normal hospital rooms have bathrooms attached?) He froze when he met his own golden-gaze, a small amount of facial-hair made its home on his chin, and his hair was almost 5 inches longer than he remembered. 

Tori came in behind him, tear-tracks prominent and a slight tremble to her lip.

He turned sideways, viewing his backside, and his mother let out a strangled sob. 

The spot where his wings had been were now only small stubs of red and black, charred feathers. Burns were littered all across his body, but the area around his wings took the form of a massive, yellow bruise. 

All the pain came rushing back all at once, and he faltered, collapsing. 

Black danced in his vision as the overwhelmingness of everything overcame him in a massive tidal wave of emotions.

Where were his wings? What happened to him? Why was his mother here? 

Who was he supposed to be?

These questions swirled around as he finally allowed himself to succumb to the tempting darkness and then all he knew was quiet.

--------------

The third time he awoke, was to the sound of near-silent chatter on the other side of the curtain.

Through the haze, Keigo noted his IV was once again in place, and he had been situated back on the hospital bed.

His father, Kuro, was asleep beside him, head resting against the windowsill.

The rough shape of his mother could be seen next to another person of smaller stature, a teen or pre-teen most likely, not much younger than him. 

‘That’s not true,’ a part of him whispered, ‘ you’re not 17!’

He chose to ignore it in favour of trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. This proved to be more difficult than intended as it seemed like whoever it was had accounted for his Avian-enhanced hearing.

He shuffled a bit, unsure of what to do. 

Keigo wanted to stand, but something about his shaking legs told him that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Not without assistance, at least.

His attention was drawn to the now pulled-back curtain, revealing Tori, and a boy in green. 

The boy was familiar, yes. There was a part of him that felt like he loved this boy, like a brother, but he couldn’t place where he knew him from.

The boy approached cautiously, seating himself next to the bed.

“Keigo,” he started quietly, “how are you feeling?”

“Fine… I think…” 

The boy started fidgeting with his hands, not once meeting Keigo’s eye.

“I’m glad…” 

There was a pause, before the boy turned and faced him.

“Do you… really not remember anything?”

He stared blankly, turning to his mother who only shrugged in response.

“I remember that I’m 17, and in school to be a hero..”

His eyes widened in panic, “School! Mom! I’m missing school, we need to go!”

Tori sniffled, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.

“You’re not in school anymore, sweetie.”

His mouth ran dry, recalling the conversations from earlier that day. He wasn’t 17, apparently, he was 22. He was wingless, besides two stumps on his back. 

Keigo wouldn’t have noticed he started shaking if it weren’t for the green-haired boy reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder. Green and orange met gold. Worry, concern and sadness met apathy and confusion.

Keigo looked away, “I know you… don’t I?”

The boy nodded, “Yeah… I guess you don’t remember… I’m Izuku. Izuku Midoriya? Inko and His...Hisashi’s son…”

Keigo whipped around, ignoring the pain that shot through his nerves at the sudden action.

“Iz...Izuku? How? You were 9 last time I saw you…” 

Izuku smiled sadly, “I’m 14 now, and I live in the modern world with… like you.”

Keigo gave a small grin of his own, “Living like a big kid arentcha? Who ya stayin’ with, ‘cause I doubt Inko would let you stay on your own.”

Izuku scratched at his neck, a nervous tick he picked up from Hisashi.

“That’s the thing...It’s complicated.”

He tilted his head in confusion, “How so?”

He saw Izuku grimace and he gasped in realization. 

“It’s me, isn’t it…. You’re staying with me…”

Before Izuku could reply, movement in the corner of his eye had him turning to see his father slowly rise from his slumber and make his way over to the bed.

His dad looked older than the last time he saw him, more crinkles around his eyes as he smiled softly. 

“G’morning Keigo...or well, good afternoon I guess.”

He didn’t reply, instead he just offered a weak smile before a knock at the door sounded through the room.

Tori and Kuro immediately tucked and hid their wings, Izuku getting the door.

A woman poked her head in, “Keigo Takami?”

He waved her over tiredly, “That’s me.”

She walked in, closing the door behind her. 

“I’m Doctor Fujima, the one overseeing your recovery. How are you feeling?”

He grunted, “Stiff. Sore, but ok.”

She nodded, “As expected. Now, Takami-san, your mother informs me that you may have lost your memory, is that correct?”

Keigo looked over at Tori, who nodded encouragingly. 

“Yeah… I don’t remember anything from the past 5 years of my life…”

Doctor Fujima bit her lip, “That’s certainly… troublesome, however according to our scans this shouldn’t be permanent.”

Everyone stared at her with wide eyes, Kuro speaking up. 

“Is that true? How long will it last?”

“It should only last a week at most,” Fujima said, scanning over the notes on her clipboard, “however, there is a more… difficult matter to discuss…”

The room took on a somber tone, his mother and father looking away, and Izuku with eyes locked on the floor.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, “My…my wings, right?”

Doctor Fujima grimaced, but nodded nonetheless.

“That’s right, during the.. Incident, your wings were broken just above the base, not to mention burned beyond recognition.”

A sharp pain shot through his temple, a glimpse of falling and blood.

“You suffered from severe blood loss and other minor injuries, this was however, the biggest and worst one.”

More pain. Yellow, blue, white, and red, followed by darkness.

He looked towards her, “Doc, could you tell me what happened exactly?”

She looked away, “I am unsure if you are capable of handling that right now, Takami-san. It’s a lot to take in.”

He took in a long breath, looking from his mother, to his father, to Izuku.

“I need to know, please.” he begged.

Doctor Fujima pulled a chair over, and sat with her clipboard on her lap.

“1 week ago, you were taking down a villain with your friend and fellow hero, Miruko.”

‘Miruko? Weird name…’

“You and Miruko had the villain down, and you, Hawks, were trying to catch him as he fell from the sky.” She went quiet for a moment, “All Might came, but he came too late. You tried to protect the already-downed villain, and instead took a direct hit.”

Through the tension and silence in the room, one could have heard a pin drop.

“Are you saying… All Might was the one that did this?”

To Keigo, that didn’t make any sense. All Might was the number 1 hero, and has been since he was young. Why would a hero do this? Especially if Keigo was supposed to be a hero himself?

“Do… Do you know why he did it?”

Doctor Fujima looked up at him, an unreadable expression on her face.

“According to the police report, All Might did not know the villain was down, and apparently Incineration was labeled as an “Avian” despite no confirmation. It says he saw wings, and did not hear your shouts, and did not know the villain was already unconscious.”

He was crying now, he didn’t know why, but he was.

The doctor looked him over once more, “I am sorry for what has happened to you, Takami-san, but I must inform you for the main reason of my visit.”

He couldn’t bring himself to speak, so he made a gesture for her to continue.

“Regarding the incident, and the severity of what has happened, I am afraid to say your wings will not be able to be healed.” she finished softly.

Nobody moved, nobody spoke.

“I am sorry for your loss,” echoed in his head, and she left the room.

Kuro and Tori excused themselves for a moment, leaving only him, and Izuku in the silence of the hospital room.

A whisper from his right, barely audible even in the quiet. 

“It’s not true…”

He turned his head, Izuku still looking at the floor.

“Izuku?”

The green-haired Avian looked up at him, tears pooling in his eyes.

“It’s not true, All Might is lying.”

Keigo shifted uncomfortably, “What do you mean?”

“All Might did hear you, he reacted when you yelled at him, I saw it on TV.”

He froze, unsure of what was being said.

“All Might didn’t stop because the villain was deemed an Avian, did you know that?”

Keigo shook his head, “What are you saying, Izuku?”

“I’m saying,” he said, cold fury in his voice, “All Might’s hatred for Avians was what destroyed your wings and your life as a hero.”

Izuku looked away now, “Someone who is supposed to save people, put others above his himself in a time of need, ruined the life of another because of a grudge, because of a selfish, fucking grudge .”

The glare he was met with, was not directed at him, but made him shudder for the one it was meant for.

“Not so much of a hero now, is he?”

Chapter Text

Izuku wasn’t so sure what came over him, he’d never sworn like that, heck, he rarely swears to begin with!

Actually, Izuku would be lying if he said he didn’t know what came over him, it was anger. Anger because the “Number 1 Hero” couldn’t but the lives and safety of others over his own selfish grudges and opinions. 

Of course, the young Avian knew heroism was a stressful job, and, truthfully, he had no idea what would have caused such a damaging opinion of his species besides… the usual. However, he also knew from his brother, and from his numerous analysis on heroes, that despite what may occur on the field, you have to be able to put your own beliefs and opinions to the side when the time calls for it. 

He clenched his fist, looking up to meet the confused look of his brother.

All his anger evaporated seeing the confused, broken stare of someone who’s been told they’ve lost a part of themselves.

His voice shook, tears threatening to fall.

“Ke...Keigo..” he sobbed, “I’m.. I’m so, so sorry.”

Keigo shook his head, pulling Izuku in for a hug.

“Whatever happened, little bro,” he said, ruffling his hair, “...wasn’t your fault… I’m sure of it.”

Izuku was about to reply when the door burst open, Kohi and Sugaku burst in, dragging Kinago behind them.

“Boss!/Hawks!/Dude!” came three shouts of varying urgency.

Keigo unhooked one of his arms from where it was around Izuku, offering a wave and an obviously forced smile.

“Hey guys… uh…” 

Sugaku approached first, “We were briefed before we came in, sorry about your memory.”

Izuku pointed to each of them in turn, “Sugaku, Kohi, and the one pretending to be busy is Kinago. They work at your agency, and as far as I know, you all seem like pretty good friends.”

Kinago coughed into his fist, Kohi whipping around faster than ingenium and smacking him over the head. “Be polite, he may have lost his memory, but he’s still our boss.”

“Yeah yeah,” the inventor snarked, “But isn’t this also the perfect opportunity for blackmail… or whatever friends do?”

Kohi sighed, “No, Kinago, this is the perfect opportunity for you to use your “NSHL-level” brain to try and get his memory back. You’re a part of the National Support Hero League for a reason, aren’t you?”

Kinago huffed a laugh, “You say that as if I don’t spend my spare time trying to figure out the KFC secret formula for their fried chicken because it was “of the utmost importance” and “could change fate itself”. 

Keigo ducked his head, shoulders shaking, the four people in the room taking notice immediately.

“Sorry Kei..” said Izuku, “Didn’t mean to make you feel left out…”

He shook his head, “No, no it’s just-” he gestured to himself, “-that sounds exactly like something I would say, I can’t believe this whole thing made me forget that.”

Sugaku shrugged, but moved to put a hand on his shoulder in a reassuring manner, offering him a tired, lopsided smile. Kinago and Kohi shared a glance, and from thin air came a bucket of KFC with a cute little pink bow. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Izuku cradling his head in his hands, muttering something about ‘c’mon guys I thought we said we wouldn’t do this’.

Nonetheless, the chicken was thrust into his arms, and when Sugaku reached out to take a piece, he most certainly did not let out a screech and cradle the chicken closer, no sir.

After the mess that happened to be lunch, the doctor came around once again, checking on his vitals, before leaving the five of them in private once again. Keigo looked around at each of them, and despite not remembering a thing about them, besides Izuku, he could tell that these were people he cherished.

“Hey guys?” he started, nervously running a hand through his hair, ignoring the twinge of pain he felt at the movement. “When do you think I can get out of here?”

They all shared a look, and he got worried. ‘Did he say something wrong? Was… was he not supposed to leave? What if-’ A hand lay on his shoulder and he flinched momentarily, the hand pulling back at the flinch. 

“You’re probably healthy enough to leave now, bossman,” stated Kinago, writing something down in his notebook, “..but.. Well… uh, Suga?”

The older male ran sighed, “What Kinago is trying to say, is that you may be healed enough to walk, but your body is still heavily injured. You flinched when Kinago barely touched you.”

“I mean yeah, but can’t we just walk around and not touch? It’s not like I need you guys to hold my hand or anything…” Izuku patted his arm sympathetically.

“You’re a pretty well known hero as well, Kei. People know you because of your… wings…” he trailed off, gasping as small tears began pooling in his emerald eyes.

Keigo’s head throbbed, once again reminded of the weightlessness he felt on his backside. The tiny stumps had been wrapped in bandages due to the danger of exposing the burns to the air and having them not heal properly. It wasn’t just the stumps, hell, his entire back was covered in bandages and some sort of cream that was meant to speed up the healing process.

An Avian without wings… is essentially fallen. He shook his head, better not to go down that road. Part of him knew he was already there. The black nails he sported had been trimmed down, barely reaching past his fingertip, and the tattoo on his wrist burned at every movement, touch, and thought. 

Keigo didn’t realize he was crying until the tears dripped into his lap, and rolled into his mouth. The salty taste suffocating against his dry tongue. A glass of water was pushed to his lips, shaking him out of his haze, but the tears wouldn’t stop flowing, even as he willed them to do so. He was weak.

He had failed as an Avian, and he couldn’t even remember it.

Glassy green eyes met his own misted gold ones, a pained smile on the younger Avian’s face. A hand on his own, and for the first time since he awoke, the burning on his wrist dulled just the slightest amount. Keigo shuttered, his body suddenly filled with ice, before a shock ran through his entire body, and he blacked out to the faint sounds of shouting.

---------------

Quiet murmuring reached his ears, but he couldn’t move. The inky blackness kept dragging him back from consciousness, pulling him further away from the surface. The murmuring was barely a whisper now, it felt like he was underwater. It was cold, but it burned like fire.

A bright light came hurtling towards him, before it engulfed him entirely, and he screamed.

His eyes popped open, body drenched with sweat. The occupants in the room were talking to each other and making wild gestures. His vision was hazy, and when it finally cleared, the lights  were fading in a brilliant orange. 

The sunset.

Golden orbs scanned the room, locking onto the mess of green slumped in the chair beside his bed, peaceful. The slight shifting must have alerted him because the person jumped, startled, before turning to him. 

“Keigo! You’re awake!” 

He frowned, “I guess so, what happened?”

Izuku sniffled, “You… you had a seizure. They think it was stress-related.”

The blond male looked to the floor, “Sorry… I don’t even remember what we were talking about..”

Izuku sighed, “It doesn’t matter right now, I’m so happy you’re awake! You scared us really bad.”

He didn’t know what to say, he must have really scared Izuku.

“I…” his mouth was dry, “I’m sorry?” it came out as a question.

The smaller Avian, hugging him as tight as he dared, “Please, please, please don’t do that again. I can’t lose you Kei, not after...dad…”

His eyes widened, shit, Hisashi reported having seizures days before he disappeared, and it seems Izuku hasn’t forgotten that either. 

“I promise, Izuku, I won’t disappear.” he smiled, before a pained expression took over.

Keigo coughed, grabbing the water next to him and drinking it dry. His stomach growled, breaking the tense atmosphere. Izuku giggled, a good sign. God he could really go for some food right now… maybe sushi…

“You just woke up and you’re already thinking about food. Good to know you’re feeling ok.”

Keigo blushed lightly at that.

“Well, on the bright side, if you’re feeling up to it, I can call Dr. Fujima in and we can see if you’re able to be discharged.”

He did his best impression of puppy eyes, “Please, I don’t think I can stand the smell of antiseptic and hand sanitizer any longer.”

Izuku scrunched his nose up, displeased. “It really does take a toll on our heightened smelling, I nearly threw up the first time I smelled it.”

They both shared a light laugh at that. It really was an awful smell.

Izuku called in Dr. Fujima who checked him over one last time. He still felt pain, but it was nothing compared to what it was before. His wrist no longer burned, and he could move his back and legs without nearly collapsing in pain. However, he was cleared to go so long as he didn’t do anything strenuous.

Suga had left some clothing of Keigo’s earlier, which he’d have to thank the dude for once he… got his memories back… he was trying not to think about it.

He fought with the beanie to keep his hair hidden, he still wasn’t used to how long it was. He nearly cried putting on his hoodie. His Birds Of A Feather hoodie brought him comfort, but when he tried to make his wings fall away to put it on, it once again felt like he had been stabbed with a burning hot knife, the realization that his wings were no longer… there.

Staring at himself in the bathroom mirror of the hospital room, he nearly broke. 

When Izuku came in to check on him, he pulled his brother into a hug, running a hand through the soft green feathers. They stayed like that for a few minutes, before pulling away and making their way through the hospital halls. When they stepped outside into the warm, night air, he thought that perhaps, everything might turn out ok. 

He should have known, that was the one of the biggest lies he’d ever tell.

Chapter Text

Hey guys, I'm terribly sorry for vanishing off the face of the planet, but I've been incredibly busy with work, plus just very stressed and dying of writers block.

I've hit a bit of a wall with this fic, so I'm going to ask you guys to fill out this form to help determine the future for With Wings, We Soar.

This Form Here

If you want to ask me anything, you can add me on Discord as Natamyon#6969 (yes, I know, I love it) and DM me, I'll happily accept DMs although I may not respond right away.

Thank you all for reading,  your support has really helped and kept me going, plus I really do love this fic, it's concept, and the wonderful ideas submitted by all of you.

-Natamyron, Avian Rights Enthusiast.

Chapter Text

Ok, you guys are insane. I'm on a break, I check my email a little bit, decide to look at the form again to think about what people want, and suddenly I look over and this fic has surpassed 600 kudos???? 

That's adjajsfkasas so amazing! Thank you guys so, soooo much. 

I never would have thought this fic would grow into anything of this size, you guys, the readers, are some of the best people I've ever seen.

Thank you all for 600 kudos! 

-Natamyron, Avian Right's Enthusiast