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alarms blared over keigo’s head, his ears straining at the loud noise. what could possibly be going on now? the guards had just been swapped out, so no one could’ve escaped. was there an intruder? or a newly found mole? keigo’s feathers ruffled in annoyance and he threw his pillow over his head. who gave a fuck? certainly not a red-winged hero in training.
soldiers burst into his cell, ripping his blanket off of his body. keigo would be offended if this wasn’t a regular occurrence. ‘someone’s got to teach these bastards how to fucking knock’ , he thought with squinted eyes. he quickly pulled himself upright and fought the fatigue off of his face. keigo blinked up at the stoic soldiers, mentally cursing them all out for bursting into his room. they forced the winged teen out of his bed and onto his feet. he reluctantly allowed them to manhandle him as he was too tired to snap at them for it. they stood in a lined formation in front of the young hero.
“1228, the boss wishes to inquire you.” keigo’s world halted to a panicked stop. oh god. oh god. the boss wanted to talk to him?! what had he done wrong? his training was going smoothly. he ate all his meals, went to bed on time, he even stopped fighting his guards. what possibly could trigger a talk with the boss?
unless it wasn’t him, per se. was it...
his eyes flittered to the empty bed just a foot or two away from his own, focused on the scorch marks under the metal bed frame. blue embers flashed through his mind. a shudder racked his body, feathers plucking off in his scared state. touya’s last words to him echoed in his ears.
“my old man is taking me out birdbrain. this might be my last day alive, so uh... thanks for being my first,”
wait, what if it wasn’t touya? he had been gone for months. the fire wielder was most likely dead by now. what else could possibly warrant a visit with them?! he racked his mind for anything that could’ve pissed them off, or if he interacted with someone that could’ve pissed them off.
“ keigo!” 0111 gasped, scurrying towards the male with wide, sparkling eyes. keigo jumped and quickly hauled the girl into his arms. he checked for any guards within hearing proximity before kneeling down before the girl.
“hey whoa, sparks, chill with name, yeah? we can’t have the guards hearing you use that,” he warned. 0111 nodded slowly, not understanding the circumstances but complying nonetheless. “so? what’s wrong?”
“they’re moving me to another facility! i wanted to find you so i could ask if i could bring you with me. or to say goodbye,” keigo found himself gripping the young girl’s shoulders before his mind registered it, the gears in his brain turning and twisting. no. no. another facility... they were going to experiment on her. shove needles into her petite arms and force strange liquids down her throat. keigo felt his own throat tighten up at the vile taste. they couldn’t possibly— she was a kid!
no, that never stopped them. in fact, it encouraged them. the earlier they learned their assets weaknesses, the sooner they could “correct” them and mold them more into their ideals of a “perfect hero”. god, keigo felt like he was about to throw up.
“sparks, little flame, 0111,” the small girl’s eyes widened at the sudden formality, “you have to escape . those men are villains. horrid, treacherous, disgusting villains. they want to hurt you, not help you,” keigo took the smaller’s hands into his, fearing the worst. this kid couldn’t possibly escape herself. he’d have to help her. he could get her past the guards, but that’s as far as he could go without escaping himself. keigo had to stay. the commission would turn japan upside down for find him if he escaped. he looked back up at her. those eyes. he knew those eyes. no longer the #1 pro-hero’s eyes, but someone else’s.
was he...? he had said that his old man always regretted his birth. was the fire holder dead? had his father pushed through? there was a slim chance— slimmer than the chance of getting struck by lighting and getting bit by a shark— but keigo had to believe in it. it was his... no not his, 0111’s last hope.
“there’s this... this guy. just maybe 3 years older than me, he’s around my height. he has these piercing blue eyes that always look bored,” keigo laughed, “you can’t miss em’. he’s out there, 0111. i want you to find him. he’ll keep you safe. you can trust him,” the winged duo flinched as the sound of boots echoed in the halls. keigo quickly pulled himself up and pushed the girl past him. he fanned out his wings so the younger could have a few seconds to run ahead. a confused gaze stared back at him.
“if i escape, i won’t see you again, keigo.” the bird smiled down at her— almost sadly if you really looked— and sent her a wink.
“that’s the plan, little flame.”
keigo forced his head up and stared the soldiers head on. just like touya, for 0111.
“i’ll be dressed in a minute.”
—
“shocking news! in record time, red-winged pro-hero hawks has not only debut his own agency at the mere age of 18, but has also climbed the ranks on the pro-hero billboard chart! whatta a guy,” the news reporter beamed towards the camera and keigo fought the urge to curse them out. why was he watching this is of all things? it’s been 5 years since this aired on the news. he couldn’t recall why he kept it and let it run as background noise in his apartment. he was 23, a fresh young pro-hero at that. keigo should be out getting laid or making memories with his colleagues. it was his forced vacation and he found himself seated on his couch with an empty beer in one hand and his TV remote in the other. he plucked a feather off and sent it to go get him another can.
his apartment was... spacey, to say it humbly. decked with three rooms— the masters and two guests rooms that were furnished but never used— a kitchen too large for the small meals he ate, and a living room big enough to house a whole classroom of kids, keigo’s shoulders slumped as he pulled himself to his feet. it was furnished with white furniture with black and red accents. keigo tried to reason that he didn’t such luxuries but his assistant wouldn’t take it. how could he break it to her that the only thing he did was in this home was drink, cry, and spiral?
he took the beer from this feather and allowed it to flutter to the floor with a soundless landing. he stared at the cluster of feathers draped on his floor and couch. yellow feathers glimmered through his red ones; keigo couldn’t tell if it was his imagination or reality. guilt and rage twisted and churred in his gut.
“fucking hell,” he chuckled out lowly, “i didn’t teach her how to fly. she’s a goddamn bird and i didn’t teach her how to fucking FLY! ” day old beer splattered on the wooden floors, the can being thrown across the room like a crumpled piece of paper.
keigo sunk to the floor. he wrapped his wings around himself, tremors starting to shake his figure.
he couldn’t stop himself from imagining the worst.
what if she didn’t make it far enough? guards swarming her as keigo was escorted back to his cell, grabbing her so harshly it was sure to bruise her fragile body. her being thrown into one of the trucks and being transported to the testing facility.
what if touya was dead and 0111 searched for someone that wasn’t there? keigo could see her shivering body crouched on the side of the road, fighting to keep herself awake.
what if touya had found her, but so had his old man? bruises and tears crossed his mind, on touya and the young girl. keigo fought the urge to reach his hands out to the beaten two cowering in the corner of a training room.
his breathing was erratic and keigo felt himself sinking. sinking into the dreadful feeling that the two people he believed he saved were actually lead to their deaths. tears pooled into his honey golden eyes. his teeth dug into his lips, drawing coppery blood.
‘ i can’t breathe. ’ keigo dawned with a harsh sob, clutching his chest. his talons ripped through his shirt and clawed at his skin. he didn’t flinch at the pain. he wondered if touya and 0111 cried out before they took their last breaths.
he was scared. keigo was terrified.
not for himself— hell he hadn’t felt this afraid since his hero commission days— no, he was scared for the ones he had grown to love.
keigo’s body was trembling, shivering, wings shaking around him. he felt himself choke on a sob, distantly he felt globs of tears slide down his cheeks. he was pathetic. keigo cried, sobbing violently and thrashing around as his mind conjured up his all too familiar nightmares.
touya would be 26 and a pro-hero if it wasn’t for him.
0111 would be 14 and an aspiring student if it wasn’t for him.
keigo was crying harder than he had ever before. he hadn’t cried this much in years; keigo doubted he’s every cried like this in all of his 23 years of goddamn life. short, slightly panicked breaths and choked wet sobs. he never got attached. that was his father’s damn moral. keigo never used the fucking word love before. he had never gotten so attached to someone like this, and it was eating at him.
his heart ached in his chest. his mind was spiraling.
he longed for someone to hold him.
keigo pressed his wings closer to himself, trying oh so hard to replicate the warmth of two wam bodies pulling him close. how would 0111 hug? touya? keigo imagined that the girl would be hesitant, reaching one arm out before the other. she would wrap her arms around his neck with a curious look, gasping softly to herself at the sudden intake of body warmth. she would pull him closer and smile into his shoulder. 0111 would say something like:
“keigo! oh keigo, i really like this. warm, so so warm,”
touya would be quick with his movements, grunting as he snaked an arm around keigo’s torso. he would be harsh as he pulled himself to keigo, claiming he was doing it to get keigo to shut the hell up. touya would lay on keigo’s other shoulder. he could almost feel the fire user’s slender fingers tracing words and patterns into his waist. touya would definitely say:
“don’t get used to this, birdbrain. your crying is fucking annoying, shut up,”
he wondered how they would interact. 0111 was a quiet soul, observing with her vivid cerulean eyes. she used to follow behind keigo like a baby duckling following its mother. he remembered how angered their training instructor had become when 0111 refused to leave his side after training days. a smile formed on his swollen, bitten lips. he had never got rid of his fond feeling for the girl. keigo felt like she was his own. touya was also a quiet person, but quiet in a different way. while 0111 was silent in her curiosity to examine things, touya was silent to make himself invisible. he wished to not be seen. touya was quite snarky, always biting back and having a comment ready in hand. keigo always snickered at his sarcastic commentary, even if it got him in trouble. it took a while for the bird to get the fire quirked boy to open up. once touya brought his walls down, keigo learned that touya was the most amazing person. there wasn’t anything wrong with him. keigo never saw any flaws behind his blue eyes. touya was what 0111 wasn’t. he was fierce. he had no empathy, nor sympathy, touya never hesitated.
0111 always hesitated, as did keigo.
touya would have a field day misleading the small girl whenever she asked questions. keigo was prepared to scold him for it. he wondered if touya would be as fond of her as he was. touya had to be. she was precious. she was adorable. she was his .
his tears slowly slowly came to a stop. his sobs morphed into quiet sniffles and his body trembles just turned soft shivers here and there. keigo wiped the remaining tears from his eyes, unfolding his wings off of him. he took a deep breath.
keigo was going to find them.
he was going to find them if it was the last thing he ever did.
—
“yumi’!” touya called, barging into different rooms of their rented hotel room, “ kayumi todoroki! get your ass into the kitchen before i let you starve,” he growled, slamming the doors shut and stomping to the kitchen. it wasn’t much, just two pieces of toast— that were border lining being burnt— covered in strawberry jam, but touya found pride in finally being able to provide a suitable breakfast for his daughter.
yeah. daughter . it took him a while to come into terms with the word, but he was confident that he could care for her as a father should .
feathers fluttered in his slight line and he caught a glimpse of a messy, and very out of breath, teenage girl in front of him. touya reached out and smoothed down her frizzled hair, chuckling out when the small bird leaned into his hand.
“daddy, i can’t find my favorite hoodie!” kayumi whined, bottom lip jutted out in a desperate pout. touya shoved her down into her chair, pushing her plate to her. her eyes flitted between her father and the piece of toast. she reluctantly took it and bit off a large chunk. touya hummed in approval.
“which one? everything is your favorite,” he snorted, “the uh— fuck what’s his name— the pro-hero one? all fight? all night?” touya pretended to guess more just to tease the younger. kayumi rolled her eyes. her cheeks were bulged around the chunks of toast she bit off.
“my hawks hoodie! wanna’ wear it—“ she forcibly swallowed her breakfast in one go, “as we watch his latest fight!” the girl cheered with a bright smile. touya felt his stomach drop. oh.
that smile.
that name.
that man.
“r-right,” he stammered. touya grabbed his own breakfast and shoved it into his mouth. he pointed a scarred finger towards their dryer. kayumi yelped out in joy, standing up and reaching over to plant a kiss on the burnt man’s cheek. she skipped towards the laundry room, leaving yellow feathers in her wake. touya struggled to swallow. the toast or the memory of that man, he couldn’t tell.
touya had tried, he really did, to convince kayumi to like someone else. he had even offered to get her some limited edition all might shit figurine, but not even the #1 pro-hero piqued his daughter’s interest. as soon as golden hair and scarlet feathers hit the TV screen, kayumi was entranced. touya couldn’t blame her. he could see where she was coming from. keigo was enticing. his charming eyes and witty remarks; touya would rather swan dive off the damn roof than admit that he enjoyed those things about him. keigo had finally grown into his wings, touya was proud. except... now he couldn’t get rid of him. keigo was everywhere— literally and metaphorically, the bitchbird was advertised 24/7– but more specifically, in his own daughter. kayumi had fucking wings , she shared his sweet smile that challenged the sun, and her sharp nose was almost an exact replica of keigo’s.
birdbrain just had to be her favorite fucking hero. her goddamn role model.
touya’s heart clenched in his chest when kayumi came back wearing that damn hawks hoodie with his smile plastered on her small face.