Work Text:
“So…this is your Pokemon?”
Tokoyami nodded, a little startled from the sudden question. “He is my invaluable partner,” he explained with pride. Upon being mentioned, Murkrow, who was sitting on Tokoyami’s shoulder, fluffed up his feathers and cackled with glee as though it was showing off.
Hawks examined Mukrow, his bird-like eyes scanning every part of black-feathered Pokemon until he was satisfied. “You know, most heroes wouldn’t go for a dark type Pokemon. Dark types tend to be associated with bad things. Especially Murkrows. Those little guys got a bad reputation for stealing stuff that doesn’t belong to them,” Hawks explained before chomping down on some yakitori that he picked up only a few minutes ago. Talonflame, Hawks’ most prized Pokemon, was roosting on the top of the couch beside them, staring longing at the meat that was in his trainer’s hand.
Hawks had invited Tokoyami and Murkrow to his home after a long day of hero’s work, wanting to talk. Tokoyami thought was strange but accepted nonetheless. He didn’t realize that Hawk’s residence was a large penthouse with a huge balcony and a beautiful view of the city. The floor itself was so polished and clean that Murkrow wouldn’t stop staring at it. Tokoyami smile a little when he saw how memorized Murkrow was at the reflections on the floor.
Hawks was leaning against couch, still wearing his signature hero costume. Wearing the laid back expression on his face, Hawks was completely relaxed and at ease. Tokoyami, however, was still on guard. He didn’t know why he was like this, but perhaps it was being in the house of his supposed mentor.
Hawks wasn’t actually teaching anything, to be fair. Instead, he pretty much did everything at such amazing speed that it was impossible for Tokoyami to keep up. Tokoyami was stuck with the cleanup duty with the sidekicks while Hawks always rushed ahead to handle the next situation. It wasn’t for the lack of trying though. Tokoyami did his very best to prove that he could keep up with the super fast number three hero; Murkrow even did his best to soar with the blazing Talonflame as well. The both of them couldn’t help but doubt themselves a little more with each failure.
“I don’t suppose you could explain why you invited me to your home?” Tokoyami asked, being as polite as he could, but even then it sounded demanding and aggressive. Hawks looked at Tokoyami with a blank expression, perhaps thinking of a proper response. Then he put down his food on a small table beside the table before answering with a large grin.
“Because we’re both birds.”
Tokoyami’s mouth dropped open just for a moment before closing again, stunned. Murkrow decided to finally stop looking at the floor and pay attention to the conversation, only to see the surprised look on his trainer’s face, thus becoming confused. “Are you…joking?” Tokoyami asked, still a little shocked.
“No, I’m twenty percent serious. Fifty percent of it was because I wanted to talk with someone from Class 1-A about those punks who attacked you guys, calling themselves the ‘League of Villains’. And well, I figure if I had to pick one of you, it would be the one who I thought could actually keep up with me. Someone with a lot of promise. So I figured, why not that birdman from the top three? He looks good.”
Murkrow sensed the frustration boiling inside of Tokoyami before he even did and made soft cooing noises to calm him down. It angered Tokoyami that this was the reason that he was chosen. Not because of the hard work he put into the festival and his hero studies. Not for his powerful quirk. Not even of his potential to become a great hero. It was simply because Hawks wanted information about something that was still a sensitive subject to him. ‘I am not your carrier pigeon,’ Tokoyami thought bitterly.
Murkrow angrily crowed at Hawks, his wings spread out as though he was trying to intimidate Hawks; Talonflame, as a result, flared out his wings and let out a horrifying loud-pitched screech that sent trembles down both Tokoyami’s and Murkrow’s spines. Light embers flaked off the wings, indicating that Talonflame was going to charge. Hawks turned to Talonflame and quickly gestured it to settle down with his hand, unfazed by the sudden aggression in Talonflame’s demeanor.
Both bird Pokemon settled down, leaving Tokoyami to breathe out in relief. He was going to apologize for Murkrow’s sudden outburst, but Hawks quickly shook his head with a smile. “One thing you gotta remember about bird Pokemon; they are both possessive and protective of their trainers.”
Tokoyami nodded. At least he could say with some pride that he learned something from his internship. Hawks smiled back and reached down to get his yakitori, and then paused. His face fell when he saw that the yakitori was gone. Both heroes looked up and saw that Talonflame had just eaten the last piece of the chicken dinner and was contently roosting for the night.
Hawks had frowned, but Tokoyami felt a little smug. ‘At least my Pokemon don’t steal from me,” he thought.
Even after the week-long internship ended, Tokoyami was still bitter about Hawks. He felt as though he didn’t learn anything, other than the fact that Hawks was simply too fast. Still, he kept trying to learn how to control Dark Shadow and train Mukrow to work alongside him. His hard work paid off. When it came time for the work studies to began, Tokoyami was ready.
It was no surprise that Hawks decided to take on Tokoyami again. It was more than likely to learn more about the League of Villains and the attack that occurred over summer. What happened instead was Tokoyami proving that he, Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi and his trusted partner Mukrow, could indeed keep up with Hawks and Talonflame.
Everyone was amazed, even Hawks. Whenever Hawks looked behind him, he would see the pair right behind him. Tokoyami looked directly at Hawk’s eyes, determination filling them and the will to succeed. “Do not look down on me, Number Three - Nay! Number Two Hero!” Tokoyami’s face said every time Hawks looked. And every time it happened, for a brief second, Tokoyami could swear that the Hero smirked back at him.
“Nice work today!” Hawks exclaimed out as he exited the agency’s doors. He had his arm stretched out for Talonflame to rest on. Despite the long day, the bird Pokemon was ready to take on anything that stood in its path.
Tokoyami stopped walking, a little surprise by the compliment. He slowly turned to face Hawks, not really sure how to respond. The last time the two were together, Hawks had indeed ask about the recent attacks on the U.A students. Tokoyami did, in fact, tell him, seeing no real reason to not say anything about it. He didn’t expect Hawks to talk to him again. Murkrow, who had been resting comfortable on Tokoyami’s head, perked up. The work studies had been hard on the tiny bird but it was getting stronger after every patrol and faster as well. The first day, the poor thing had fainted in Tokoyami’s arms before the morning was over; now, it was still on its feet and able to fly, even after the tiring day.
“Hey, c’mere. I want to do something for you,” Hawks said quickly, beckoning Tokoyami over. Of course, Tokoyami hesitated.
“What is it?” he asked, waiting for some type of sarcastic answer from the man. Hawks only grinned as he replied, “I’m treating you to a little night flight. Nothing biggie.”
It turned out to be a very big deal for Tokoyami.
Upon leaving the ground, Tokoyami felt exhilarated! The rush into the sky and the wind blowing by him was incredible. He instinctively close his eyes just for a second, then reopen them to a whole new world. “H-Hawks! We’ve become one with the wind!” Tokoyami screamed out ecstatically, wanting to spread out his arms to soar as well.
“Is this your first time flying?” Hawks asked in a nonchalant tone, almost as though he was indifferent to the whole thing.
Soon, Hawks and Tokoyami were above the skyscrapers, and the view was breathtaking. Tokoyami was amazed on how small everything was compared to before. The people were like tiny ants, busy working and going through their day without noticing the duo in the air. All the lights of the city seem to sparkle like the night sky.
He heard Talonflame screeching above him and raised his head to see the red Pokemon, its wings outstretched and feet tucked in. Murkrow was right behind Talonflame, his eyes sparkling with a competitive look. They both glided through the air with such ease that Tokoyami almost envied them. Murkrow flew past them, his wings flapping as hard as he could go. ‘Is this what you see every day, Murkrow?’ he thought with awe.
“By the way, the other thirty percent because looking at you made me think ‘man, Tokoyami’s wasting a lot of his potential.’”
Tokoyami was shocked by what Hawks had said, but continued listening. “You see, the sky is a great place. You can get a bird’s-eye view of everything.” They started near a tall skyscraper that pointed toward the sky above it, slowing down in speed. “I’m not especially interested in nurturing the next generation or anything…” Hawks had pause in his speech, his eyes appearing focused on something else, or perhaps nothing at all.
Tokoyami swallowed, not sure of what Hawks had meant, but he decided to ask something else. “What do you mean when you say I’m ‘wasting my potential’?”
Hawks flew in close to the tip and landed both of them safely near the top of the tower. The ledge wrapping the tip was small and there wasn’t a lot of room to move around carelessly. “It’s great that you’re putting in effect to cover your weak points, like short distance combat, but you shouldn’t neglect improving on your strong points either,” Hawks explained, looking out to the distance solemnly. Tokoyami cling to the tower, watching and listening Hawks carefully.
“You’re capable of moving much more freely. Look, take it from a fellow bird. If you got wings, you should stretch them out and fly.” Hawks then turned to look at Tokoyami, his eyes becoming more serious. “There’s no need for you to be confined to the ground. After all, don’t you want to fly with Murkrow too?”
Murkrow flew around with Talonflame, and it seemed like the two were playing with each other. Tokoyami smiled, than looked back at Hawks. Hawks was smiling too, enjoying the sight a lot more. Maybe he was learning more from Hawks then he thought?