Archive of Our Own

Tokoyami stared down at the page before him, not quite believing what he was seeing. 

There, among the names of hero agencies that Tokoyami didn’t recognize, was a name he absolutely did recognize. 

Hawks.

The number three hero. 

His classmates were talking excitedly around him, their loud voices filling the air with what only sounded like white noise to Tokoyami. 

He’s never met the number three hero, but he knows enough about the man to be surprised at this internship offer. 

The winged hero: Hawks. Aged 22, he’s a hero that’s considered too fast for his own good, having reached the top ten before he was 20. The hero wore a black, skintight bodysuit patterned with a gold outline; topped with black pants, a black jacket, and black and gold boots that were all lined with white fur to keep him warm even in high altitudes. His lower face was always covered by the fabric of his bodysuit, which extended up from where it would normally stop at the neck to the bridge of his nose, leaving his entire lower face a complete mystery. His hair was a mess of wild, windswept, silver hair that somehow complimented him instead of making him look old. His eyes were of interest as well, simply because of how unique they were. One gold, one red, with little triangles on the inside corners of his eyes that made his gaze look sharp no matter the expression he wore. No one knew why his eyes were mismatched—if there was a quirk involved or something of that nature— though many asked. When questioned about it, Hawks would simply smile, the eyes in question crinkling closed, and then completely evade the question or crack a joke instead. Somehow that tactic worked. 

And of course, his most discernible feature was his scarlet red wings that protruded proudly from his back, the red feathers a comfort to civilians and a warning to villains. 

Hawks was a mystery wrapped in about five more mysteries, with a fan base that could rival Best Jeanist’s, and the skill to back his position as the number three hero up. 

Tokoyami was honored to have gotten an offer from such a highly ranked hero. But he also couldn’t help but wonder what it meant. 

Still… he picked up his pen and circled the agency in question. 

Hawks’ agency was in Kyushu. That is to say that it’s fairly far away from Musutafu. Long enough that Tokoyami had to sit on the train for several hours before he could arrive for his internship. 

The train’s other passengers were quiet, involved in their own worlds, immersed in their phones or having whispered conversations with their friends. 

The calm gave Tokoyami time to think and reflect— mostly on himself. All Might had told him after the Sports Festival that he relied too heavily on his quirk, that he needed to focus on increasing his physical strength and combat experience. 

He reached into his bag and pulled out his phone, opening the article he’d found this morning on Hawks. 

Analyzing the Number 3 Hero: Hawks

  By: Haburashi Hamigakiko

Hawks is a name that went from being completely unknown, to one of the most well known names in the country in the span of only about a year. This name, belonging to the number three hero, is synonymous with youth, speed, and lightning fast precision. 

Hawks climbed the rankings in record time— beating even that of All Might. While most heroes climb slowly up the ladder, Hawks completely skipped just about every stage and went from a nobody, to a top ten hero in the span of a year— at the age of 18. 

Now, at age 22, the hero has garnered himself a spot in the history books, beating well established heroes such as Best Jeanist and taking the number three spot. 

But what makes Hawks so special? What allowed him to climb the ladder so quickly? What is the key to success as a hero? 

Through weeks upon weeks of research, I discovered one simple truth: Hawks is difficult to pin down. 

He is quick and efficient, capable of controlling each feather in his two mighty wings with pinpoint precision and tact, able to take down multiple villains in a fraction of a second, or evacuate an entire skyscraper full of people in a matter of minutes. When it comes to skill, Hawks is unmatched, even amongst powerhouses such as All Might and Endeavor— who typically win battles with sheer force. 

But, contrary to how quickly he acts, he is also calm and careful. He’s been known to watch a fight for several minutes before joining in, known to send in some of his feathers to analyze a fight scene before fully committing to the battle. This carefulness is contradictory to what his initial nature seems like, and it makes Hawks a very contradictory person. One would expect the hero to rush into any fight he sees, relying on his overwhelming speed and talent to win the fight, but that’s not always the case. 

Another aspect of Hawks that I find difficult to explain is his personality. Hawks is a public persona, and unlike heroes such as Endeavor or Best Jeanist, his real name is completely unknown, as is his face and private life. He takes more after All Might and Edgeshot in this manner, being only a hero to the public and nothing more. But while All Might’s identity is hidden due to his status as the Symbol of Peace and Edgeshot’s is hidden due to his mysterious hero persona, it is unclear exactly why Hawks hides his identity so carefully. 

The mask the hero wears has never come off of his face, but it does not stop the hero from smiling and laughing and interacting with fans as if it weren’t hiding part of him from them. Fans desperately want to know what he looks like beneath the mask, but at the same time, they agree that the black and gold mask Hawks wears is a staple to his image. Perhaps the most confusing thing about Hawks’ mask, is that if he took it off and changed into civilian clothing, he would still be easily identifiable by his scarlet red wings. So why does he wear it? 

When asked, Hawks does not give a clear answer. 

Hawks’ acts like an open book, gladly interacting with fans and joking with them, but when you truly look at what he is saying, it’s like his demeanor is just as much of a mask as the one on his face. Hawks does not talk about himself, he does not give away information, everything he says is full of careful redirections disguised as casual conversation. When you talk to him, it feels like he’s become part of your world, but when look deeply at what he says, you realize that you weren’t even in the same ballpark. It’s a baffling trait that I can’t explain, beyond simply reiterating that Hawks is a walking (or rather, flying) contradiction. 

Hawks’ status as a pro hero must be influenced by these traits though. His skills as a hero easily allowed him to climb the ranks due to a powerful quirk that allows him to save countless lives each day, combined with his personality that makes people fall in love with him at the drop of a hat, while still keeping himself a mystery that intrigues people, urging them closer, wanting to know him more. It seems to me that this combination of personality, skill, and obvious good looks (no analysis needed on that one, I think) is what allowed him to climb the ranks so quickly.  

So, at the end of the day, what can an aspiring hero do to be like Hawks? To climb the ranks quickly and become someone people can trust to save them in the blink of an eye? Well, it seems the answer is that you have to become a contradiction in every sense of the word. 

Perhaps don’t do that though. Aspiring heroes should find their own path to heroism, and learn to fly by being themselves, not trying to imitate someone else. Good luck out there, future heroes!

The article gave Tokoyami a lot to think about regarding what his next week with the hero would be like, but it also made him question if he’d made the right choice. Would it truly be wise to intern under someone so different from him? Someone who was a walking contraction, so different to Tokoyami’s set ways. Would Hawks even understand him? Would someone so quick, so decisive, so composed, ever be able to understand him, to teach him— a creature of the darkness? 

He did not know. 

Tokoyami was directed to the top floor of the skyscraper that was Hawks’ agency. He’s never been afraid of heights— too preoccupied with his own demons to bother with such trivial things— which is good because Hawks’ agency extended far into the sky, with tinted windows providing a picture-perfect view of the city around it, but the top floor was different. 

Instead of finding a floor full of office space as he had assumed, Tokoyami found himself stepping out of the elevator into a space that was quite unusual for the top floor of a skyscraper. 

To his left and right, hallways extended, looking just as he had expected, leading towards an office space and what looked like it could be a small apartment. But those were normal. 

It was what was in front of him that awed him. 

Trees and bushes lined the area, all planted in grass-covered soil, flowers interspersed among them. Small birds and insects flew around the space, zipping in and out of the foliage as if it were a natural habitat and not on the top floor of a skyscraper. Tokoyami could hear water running, though he could not see a creek, but given the size of the habitat before him, he wouldn’t be surprised if there was an entire pond in here somewhere. 

He couldn’t fathom how much it had cost to build something like this. To make nearly the entire top floor of a skyscraper into a functioning atrium, equipped with well-developed trees, animals, and flowing water. 

His gaze cast skyward, looking at the massive glass ceiling above him, that cast warm light into the building, and found that multiple panels of the sectioned ceiling had been opened, letting in fresh air in the form of a gentle breeze. A bird flew in through one of the open windows, sweeping down to land amongst the trees. 

“Amazing,” he breathed, and stepped closer, exiting the wooden floor of the hallway and stepping onto the grassy ground. 

“Truly,” a voice spoke, and Tokoyami nearly jumped out of his skin, eyes frantically looking around for the voice. 

Standing in the hallway to his left was Hawks, adorned in his full set of hero gear, minus the visor that covered his eyes when he was flying, and the boots on his feet. The hero gave off an intense aura, despite his calm and relaxed demeanor, approaching Tokoyami casually, his bare feet that were partially covered by his bodysuit not making a sound as he walked. 

Tokoyami bowed, “It’s nice to meet you, Hawks-sensei.” 

Hawks’ eyes scrunched up into what was probably his equivalent of a smile, given the fact that his mouth was covered. “Hawks-sensei, huh? I like that.” 

Tokoyami straightened from his bow as Hawks came to a stop next to him, gaze now fixed on the atrium around them. “Thank you for offering to teach me, it’s an honor to be recognized by a top-ranking hero such as yourself.” 

Hawks hummed, “Well, birds of a feather have to stick together, don’t ya know?” 

It took Tokoyami all of two seconds to understand the joke. He scowled. 

“You’re too slow,” Hawks said, feather-sword held to Tokoyami’s face. 

Tokoyami scowled. No one could keep up with Hawks— there was a reason he was said to be too fast for his own good, the hero blazed ahead and left everyone else in his wake— how was Tokoyami, a student, supposed to keep up? 

His body ached and they’d only been “sparring” for about ten minutes, the skin on his arms already turning black and blue with bruises from the blows Hawks had landed on him— all of which Tokoyami hadn’t even seen coming. 

Dark Shadow was pinned to the ground by feathers, and Tokoyami himself stood no chance against the hero in front of him. This was the seventh time since they’d begun that Tokoyami had been bested. 

It was humiliating. 

The feather moved away from his face, going back to its place upon Hawks’ back, as did the feathers pinning Dark Shadow. Tokoyami, however, stayed where he was on his hand and knees, glaring at the mat-covered floor of the training room in barely controlled rage. 

Hawks was silent, his half gold, half red gaze fixed on Tokoyami so strongly that he could feel it piercing his soul. 

The hero was cutting him no slack, he was expecting Tokoyami to be able to keep up with him in a fight and despite Tokoyami’s efforts, he couldn’t. The hero wasn’t even trying that hard— a book clasped in one hand, though he’d stopped looking at it in order to scold Tokoyami. Hawks was brutal and unforgiving and Tokoyami stood no chance. 

He stayed on the ground, silent. 

Hawks did not yell at Tokoyami’s failure, though. He simply turned away and picked up the flight jacket he’d set to the side of the room, exiting without a word. 

Tokoyami panted, running as fast as his short legs could bring him, trying to follow the Wing Hero on his patrol, but failing miserably. 

“This is what always happens,” one of the sidekicks that Tokoyami had met earlier commented, running a hand over his forehead to wipe the sweat away. “Hawks blazes ahead, and we just have to try our best to keep up. He takes down the villains, we clean up the mess.” 

Tokoyami stopped, unable to breathe. He’d thought sparring yesterday had been impossible— but this was worse. He was running frantically around the city, trying to keep up with Hawks, to learn something, anything in his time here. But all he was doing was chasing after a vague figure in the sky. 

He should’ve trusted his instinct. He should’ve known that Hawks was not a teacher suited to someone like him. Or perhaps, not suited to being a teacher at all. 

“Tokoyami—“

“My name is Tsukuyomi—“ he interrupted, seething with rage. He’d been dealing with all of Hawks’ bullshit for the last five days, the least the hero could do was use his hero name when they were on duty. 

Hawks looked down at him from his perch on a light pole, head tilted slightly to the side as if he found Tokoyami’s indignation amusing. “I’ll use your hero name when you earn it.”  

Tokoyami scowled at the hero. Was surviving the USJ not enough? Was winning third place in the Sports Festival not enough? Was chasing after and getting beaten up by Hawks’ infuriating self not enough? Would anything ever be enough? 

Tokoyami laid in his bed at Hawks’ agency, the last night of his internship, body aching, covered in bruises from one-sided sparring sessions, his legs, in particular, screaming at him in rage for making him run so damn much. He was exhausted and frankly looking forward to going back home. 

At this point, he didn’t understand the hype about Hawks anymore. Whoever said that the man was nice? Whoever said that he was charming? Clearly they’d never actually interacted with the hero. 

Move faster, you’re too slow. Your body is uncoordinated. You rely too much on your quirk. You have the emotional maturity of a bowl of ramen. Your arms are like twigs, I’m afraid I’m going to snap them in half if I kick you too hard. I’ll use your hero name when you earn it.  

Tokoyami huffed into the darkness of his temporary room. 

This internship was a waste. He’s learned nothing except how to get beat up and how to look like a fool while running after the number three hero. 

“Hey! Tokoyami!” Hagakure greeted excitedly, bouncing over to his desk. “How was Kyushu?” 

His fist clenched, body still aching from a week of pointless torture. “It was… nothing special.” He responded. 

“Really?” She asked, leaning closer. “I thought Hawks would be like, super cool!” 

Tokoyami looked away, “I hoped that as well.” 

“CALM DOWN, DARK SHADOW!” He screamed into the black abyss of the night, Dark Shadow rampaging around him, consuming his body in its fierce rage. 

Tears streamed from his eyes as Dark Shadow continued on without pause, unrelenting to Tokoyami’s attempts to restrain it, uncaring that it was hurting him, oblivious to the fear it was causing his friends. 

As Dark Shadow’s power swirled around him, dragging him after Midoriya and Shoji, Tokoyami closed his eyes. 

He’d never quite understood exactly what Hawks had meant back then— “You have the emotional maturity of a bowl of ramen”— but he understood now. 

It wasn’t a jab at his dark demeanor, his gothic ways. No, Hawks was calling him childish, telling him that his will was too weak, that he needed to strengthen his resolve in order to control his quirk even in the darkest of places, the scariest of situations. 

He screamed again, begging Dark Shadow to calm down, trying to restrain his quirk long enough to let his friends escape. But it was no use. He hadn’t taken the lesson to heart when Hawks had first told it to him, too caught up in his own worthless pride, and now he was paying the price. 

Cold. 

That’s how the marble form he’d been trapped in had felt. 

Confining. Cold. Empty. 

It was almost as though he was not present in any place at all. As though he held no ties to his body anymore. He was but a conscience, floating in the mist of the void, a prison that he was helpless to escape from. 

He’d been lucky, though. He’d gotten to be released into the arms of his friend. Bakugou, however, had been captured by the villains. 

On the television screen in front of him, Kirishima, Iida, and Midoriya blasted into the sky on a wave of Todoroki’s ice, flying high into the air above the fight. 

He watched, guilty, as Kirishima reached out for Bakugou and the blond’s palms sparked with explosions that allowed him to grasp onto Kirishima’s outstretched hand, pulling his friend away from the danger that was about to occur in the middle of Kamino Ward as All Might faced down the villain known as All For One. 

Tokoyami looked down, and although he was in his house, on his couch, his amber eyes did not see the carpeted floor of his home, he did not see his legs that were folded criss-cross on the cushion, but rather the floor of Hawks’ training room, weak arms shaking in a poor attempt to hold him up, Hawks’ nearly teasing voice telling him that he won’t get stronger if he doesn’t try. 

Why hadn’t he listened? 

Mirio Togata beat a group full of 18 students single-handedly, and none of them got a single hit on him the entire time. Of course, that last part was due to the way his quirk worked, but the skill only came from training hard with a pro hero that was better than him, by pushing himself past his limits and doing everything he could to get stronger. 

Hero Work Studies… 

Tokoyami knew who he wanted to perform this work study under, who he wanted to learn more from, but a lingering fear rested in the back of his mind: 

What if he learned nothing again? What if he got caught back up in a cycle of baseless pride and self-pity and was once again blinded to Hawks’ teachings? Would it be a waste to attempt to learn from Hawks again, or should he try to get a work study with a different hero, one that may understand him better? 

Still… 

He can’t get better if he doesn’t try. 

Aizawa looked at him, tired gaze serious. “Hawks has invited you to work with him in Kyushu, assuming you want to.” 

Tokoyami stood straighter. His request to do his work study under Hawks had gone through? Clearly, Hawks had phrased it to Aizawa like it was his idea, not Tokoyami’s, even though he’d spent three hours pouring over a twenty word email in an attempt to convince the hero to take him on again, despite his failures last time. It was probably for the best, actually. No one needed to know how anxious he’d been, worried that he was making a mistake or that Hawks wouldn’t want to train him again. 

“I graciously accept,” he responded, as his classmates around him began to freak out about him getting a work study with the number three— no, number two— hero. 

“Dark Shadow,” he called out, commanding his quirk to cover his body in his new special move— Black Abyss— rendering Hawks’ tried and proved strategy of pinning Dark Shadow to the ground and then attacking Tokoyami himself useless. 

Hawks paused for a split second, mismatched gaze roving over Tokoyami’s quirk enhanced body, analyzing. Tokoyami did not let him analyze long, however, rushing forward to rein a flurry of blows down on the winged hero, Dark Shadow and him working in conjunction, not as two separate entities. 

Hawks’ movements were far more fluid, his control far better, but still— Tokoyami hadn’t hit the ground yet. He hadn’t been punched in the beak or had his legs swept out from under him yet. 

Sharp feathers attacked him from all sides, Hawks himself coming at him from the front, and then the side, and then, above, moving just as quickly as he did in real villain fights. But Tokoyami held his ground, him and Dark Shadow fighting back together. 

Feathers swept under his feet and more wrapped around his ankles and wrists and he was pulled into the air, brought closer to the light fixtures that illuminated the training room— Hawks was utilizing his weakness. 

The fight ended ten minutes later, Dark Shadow worn out from being in direct light while also trying to defend agasint Hawks’ unrelenting attacks, but Tokoyami took that as a win, even though he was once again on his hands and knees on the ground.

Last time, he’d been defeated 11 times in fifteen minutes. Now, he’d lasted 15 minutes before being defeated. 

“Maa, not bad.” Hawks spoke from above him, and Tokoyami looked up to see the hero extending a hand towards him. He reached up and took it, letting the hero pull him to his feet. 

“Go and recharge your quirk,” Hawks said, letting go of Tokoyami’s hand and turning away. “And then try again.” 

Tokoyami inclined his head, mildly shocked that he was getting a break before fighting Hawks again. Last time, it had been defeat followed by a reset, followed by another defeat. 

He turned away to go find a dark room to recharge Dark Shadow in, heart thrumming in excitement at the thought of getting to spar with Hawks again. 

He rushed after Hawks, Black Abyss coating his body, increasing his speed, reflexes, agility. No longer would he trail pathetically far behind the hero, picking at his leftover scraps, no. Tokoyami rushed right alongside the hero— though, albeit much further down— assisting Hawks as best as he could.  

The sidekicks that he’d been a part of before were now like dust behind him, cleaning up after his and Hawks’ takedowns. 

Tokoyami ran his fingers through the grass beneath him, breathing in the natural scent of the atrium around him. Hawks sat across from him, leaning back on his wings in the same way Tokoyami himself leaned against the tree behind him. 

Twilight was settling in outside, the glass ceiling of the atrium filtering in the setting sun’s orange rays. A butterfly flew down, landing on Tokoyami’s knee for a moment before taking off again. 

Was this his reward for his hard work? Instead of going to sleep in a cold room, muscles aching and mind seething, he got to relax inside Hawks’ personal park, enjoying the fresh air and the company of the number two hero. 

“Could I ask you a few questions?” Hawks spoke, a feather twirling through the air in front of him. 

“About what?” Tokoyami replied, cautiously curious. 

“The League of Villains. I want to know about their attacks on the USJ and the training camp you were a part of. And anything else you can tell me, naturally.” Hawks said, the feather’s twirling coming to a halt as it rejoined the ones on his back, leaving Hawks’ full attention on Tokoyami. 

He hesitated, “I’m not a messenger bird.” 

Hawks’ eyes crinkled shut, “Mah, whoever said you were? I’m just looking for a bit of information.” 

“Why?” 

Hawks settled further back on his wings, the visible parts of his face settling into a serious expression. “As a pro hero, my mission is to take down villains. Any information you have on the League of Villains could be vital to that mission. Studying your opponents before you strike will almost always guarantee you a victory.” 

Tokoyami’s mind flashed back to that article he’d read on the train before his internship, suddenly realizing what it had meant when it stated that Hawks— despite his skill— would sometimes wait before joining a fight, analyzing his opponents carefully. 

He committed the lesson to memory. 

“Very well,” Tokoyami said, and then began to explain the events of the USJ and the summer training camp with as much detail as he could. Hawks listened raptly, attention focused solely on Tokoyami’s words, and part of the way through his explanation, Tokoyami faltered, realizing that perhaps this was a sign that he’d gained Hawks’ respect. 

It became a schedule for him. Every Friday after school ended, he would pack his things and take the train to Kyushu. He’d arrive and he’d spar with Hawks, before going to sleep for the night. The next day and a half, he’d try his best to keep up with Hawks as they moved about the city, taking down criminals, stopping small fights, and occasionally signing autographs. (Last weekend, Tokoyami had been asked for his autograph— while Hawks looked on. That had been a shock). After the second day of patrol finished, him and Hawks would each change, shower, and eat dinner on their own time before meeting in the atrium to enjoy the final hours before Tokoyami would take the last train back to Musutafu in order to attend school the next day. 

It’s taken him about a month to fully figure it out. 

Hawks’ teasing comments of “too slow,” were subtle hints that he needed to get faster. The moments in a spar when he would pull out an erotica book to read were his way of saying that Tokoyami wasn’t challenging himself enough, that he wouldn’t stand a chance in a real fight, that Hawks didn’t even need to try and he would still beat him. The occasional times he would tell Tokoyami to stay and work with the sidekicks were not in fact Hawks telling him that he was too weak to be working alongside him, but rather him trying to teach him to work in teams as well. 

Hawks’ lessons were so confusing. 

But… they were more rewarding when he figured them out. 

“Are you doing anything important in school this week?” Hawks asked him, from where he sat at his desk, paperwork spread out before him, a knife twirling in his grasp. Tokoyami had gotten used to the random weapons over the few weekends as well. Apparently Hawks’ wings— which contained hundreds of weapons in of themselves— weren’t enough for the hero. He also had several knives hidden within the fabric of his hero costume, which Tokoyami had yet to wrap his head around (though he felt like he should be taking that as a lesson as well). 

“Not that I’m aware of,” Tokoyami replied. “Though UA is always full of surprises.” 

Hawks nodded, gaze shifting over to the small cactus that sat on the corner of his desk. “There’s a villain group over in Coruscant— that’s the neighboring city to us— that call themselves The Oni. They’re basically a cult, but they’ve been causing a lot of trouble recently. Murder, arson, you know, all the stereotypical bad guy stuff. About seven heroes in that city teamed up to try and take them down, but it didn’t go as planned, and they were all killed.” 

“That’s horrible,” Tokoyami replied honestly. 

“It was. But now the Oni are getting braver, thinking they can take down any hero they want now. I’ve been invited to join Edgeshot, Gang Orca, and a few other pros in taking them down.” Hawks continued, the spinning blade in his hand coming to a halt as Hawks looked up at Tokoyami.

It was when he looked into that serious red and gold gaze that Tokoyami realized where this conversation was going. 

“It’s up to you— several pro heroes were killed last time— but I’m inviting you along. It could be fun.” 

Or it could be a massacre, Tokoyami’s brain supplied. 

Tokoyami thought back to the third day of his internship with Hawks, back to when he was running desperately after the hero, back when he’d been useless. 

One of the villains was separated from his group. Of course, that hadn’t stopped Hawks from taking down all four of them at the same time, but it did mean that the hero had lifted up the one who had run and looked him dead in the eye. 

“Mah, don’t you know? Those who abandon their friends are trash.” 

Hawks was his teacher, yes, but he’d like to think that the same logic applied to teachers as well as friends. What would Tokoyami do if Hawks and the other heroes got killed on this mission? What if his presence alone could change the outcome of the fight? Would he be able to live with himself if Hawks got killed just because Tokoyami was too much of a coward to take on a dangerous mission? 

No, he would not. 

Regret was something Tokoyami had become familiar within his lifetime. He did not want to be its companion anymore. 

“I accept your offer.” 

Tokoyami hadn’t been sure why Hawks had called him in three days before the next raid was supposed to happen, but he figured out quickly enough. 

Research. 

Lots of it. 

Tokoyami admittedly wasn’t the best with academics, but Hawks forced him to sit through hours upon hours of reading up on the villains they’d face, their fighting styles, strengths, weakness, everything they could get their hands on. 

At this point, Tokoyami was fairly sure he knew the villains better than he knew himself. But that in itself was somewhat reassuring. He wasn’t going in blind— he’d prepared, he’d trained, and he wasn’t alone. 

The night before the raid, Tokoyami sat in the atrium with Hawks, both of them eating their own bowls of ramen as the stars glittered in the sky above them. 

“What if something goes wrong?” He asked, voice uncharacteristically quiet. 

“Then we’ll adapt.” Hawks answered calmly, chopsticks bringing up a bunch of ramen towards his face. 

Tokoyami frowned, deep in thought, before his attention got redirected. He squinted, looking closer. Hawks had never actually eaten in front of him before— he hadn’t thought anything of it when the pro had brought them food— but now he realized that they were both halfway through their meals and Tokoyami had yet to actually see Hawks’ face. 

Hawks’ fingers came up to pull down his mask— and Tokoyami made sure not to blink because he did not want to miss this— only for Hawks’ red wing to circle in front of his face, completely obscuring the hero from view. 

Tokoyami let out a small, indignant squawk, offended that Hawks had baited him into thinking that he’d gained the hero’s trust enough to let him see his face. 

A few seconds later, the wing went right back to where it was, and Hawks set his bowl aside, having emptied it. 

Tokoyami blinked. 

Hawks gave him one of those characteristic eye-smiles. 

Tokoyami huffed and went back to his meal. 

A few minutes passed in which the only sound was the rustling of the leaves in the trees around them before he spoke up again, “Has anyone ever seen your face?” 

“A few have,” Hawks answered. “My parents, my handlers.” 

“Your handlers?” 

“In the Hero Public Safety Commission.” Hawks supplied. “That’s where I was raised.” 

“What happened to your parents?” Tokoyami asked. 

Hawks shrugged. 

“I see.” Tokoyami understood that Hawks didn’t want to talk about it, and decided to ask the other question that was on his mind instead. “So, what was it like growing up in the HPSC?” 

“Orderly,” Hawks said. “I trained. I ate. I studied. I trained.” 

Tokoyami frowned at the words. It sounded strict. Like Hawks had never done anything for fun, always training and studying to be a hero. It sounded… lonely.

“Did you ever have friends?” 

Hawks didn’t answer that either. 

The compound the Oni had their base in was dark, poorly lit with half burned-out candles inside of lanterns. Apparently, they didn’t believe in modern technology such as the lightbulb. 

Not that Tokoyami was complaining. 

Dark Shadow’s claws batted a villain out of the way, the demonic mask on the villain’s face clattering several feet away upon impact. Above him, Hawks swooped through the air, feathers piercing through the arms and legs of the villains he targeted, leaving no room for escape. Across the cavern they were in, Gang Orca went head to head with the leader of the organization, and behind him, Edgeshot was dealing with a hoard of villains, swiftly dodging attacks and returning with ones of his own. 

It was exhilarating. 

“Dark shadow,” he called, reeling the beast back towards him, allowing it to cover his body in Black Abyss, before he joined a throng of villains, pulse racing in excitement as he fought on the same level as top tier pros. 

A feather flew past his face at the same time Hawks’ voice called out, “TOKOYAMI!” 

Tokoyami whipped around, finding the feather impaling a villain through the chest, the villain a mere foot behind him, hand outstretched. 

He recognized the villain immediately — Dokuyari Aburame, quirk: poison touch. Upon placing five fingers down on someone’s skin, his quirk will poison them and kill them slowly and agonizingly over the course of the next several hours. 

Tokoyami realized at that moment that he’d just been close to suffering that fate. 

The feather piercing through the villain's chest lifted the villain up into the air and threw him against the far wall violently— so roughly that Tokoyami could hear the snap of bones from where he stood, even over the roar of the battle happening around him. 

Dark Shadow was surrounding Tokoyami now, shielding his body from any attacks as Tokoyami processed what had just happened. 

That had been a killing shot. Fatal. Hawks had killed that villain without hesitation. To protect Tokoyami. 

He didn’t know what to think of it. 

He swallowed and turned back to the fight. 

At some point, Tokoyami had been paralyzed by a quirk. It wasn’t deadly, just annoying. Now he was left to simply watch the battle from where he laid on the ground, and trust in Dark Shadow and the other heroes there to protect him. 

Above him, Hawks twirled through the air, feathers swirling around him, piercing through the air and taking down villain after villain while Hawks himself fought with one of the other core members of the organization— a woman with wings made of metal. 

It was a brutal fight, but Hawks moved with such ease and grace that it looked almost like a dance. Two angels moving in harmony, the metal of the woman’s wings lashing out and striking the metal of Hawks’ blades, clangs and clashes filling his ears with every strike. Some of Hawks’ smaller feathers and fluff from the inside of his jacket fell down from his dance in the sky, falling down like rain as the two fought, their figures getting occasionally illuminated by flashes of bright light from one of the villains Edgeshot was facing. 

This was truly revelry in the dark. 

A glint of metal was all the warning Tokoyami got before Hawks was struck out of the sky, having been batted out of the air by the force of the woman’s two wings crashing together, the clang of metal reverberating through the air like a mighty cymbal, rattling Tokoyami’s thoughts. 

“Hawks-sensei!” He called out, as the hero careening towards the ground. “Dark Shadow, catch him!” 

Dark Shadow, forever his partner, caught the hero in its shadowy grasp and brought him close to Tokoyami, before covering the two of them in its body. Tokoyami was thankful for the darkness of the cavern, its abyssal depths keeping Dark Shadow in a position of power, despite being amongst plenty of powerful villains. 

“Hawks-sensei, are you alright?” 

Hawks hummed, blinked, shook his head, and stood up, stretching his wings out behind him before relaxing them again. “That hurt, but I’ve had far worse before. You don’t need to worry about me.” The hero patted Tokoyami’s head before taking to the sky again. 

Tokoyami didn’t even care that Hawks had just patted his head like a child, or that he’d made Tokoyami worry for apparently no reason, because his mentor was fine and relatively uninjured and right now, that’s all that mattered to him. 

He could feel the feeling slowly start to return to his limbs, which was good. He was itching to stand back up and fight. 

“Good work, Hawks,” the police officer said, writing a report down on his clipboard to be filed later. 

“Maa, I wasn’t the only one involved. Don’t forget to thank the rest of the heroes too.” 

“Of course,” the officer said, and then turned away to go speak with Edgeshot, who was currently getting his arm bandaged up in an ambulance nearby. 

Tokoyami frowned, Hawks snorted. 

“I guess you’re still too small to count as a proper pro,” Hawks said, patting Tokoyami’s head again. Tokoyami batted his hand away. 

“Whatever,” he grumbled, pride slightly hurt by the officer not even acknowledging his presence. 

“Quoth the raven,” Hawks commented, gaze fixed on the erotica book that had appeared in his hand. 

Tokoyami resisted the urge to slap him. 

He stayed at Hawks’ agency for the next few days, recuperating from the fight, and this time, when he’d met up in the atrium with Hawks on Sunday night, the hero greeted him with an eye smile and a cheerful wave— after showing up about two hours late. Tokoyami wasn’t exactly complaining, he enjoyed the solitude, but since Hawks had asked him to come here, it was a bit rude of the hero to appear so late. 

“For someone known to be fast, you have a horrible sense of timing.” 

“Ah, sorry, there was traffic.” 

“Traffic?” Tokoyami asked skeptically. 

“Mhmm. Pigeons.” 

Tokoyami stared at the hero, before huffing out a laugh. “Pigeons must be dastardly creatures, Sensei, for them to have made you late by two hours.” 

“You have no idea,” Hawks hummed, wings flapping as the man took flight. “Anyways, let’s go.” 

“Go whe—“ Tokoyami’s question was cut off as Hawks’ arms wrapped around his torso and dragged him into the sky. 

Despite training under Hawks for the past two months, he’d never gotten to fly with the man. Hawks had a tendency to jump out of any window he could open (and inside the agency, almost every window could open for that exact purpose) and leave Tokoyami to hurry down the elevator in an attempt to catch up. The closest he’d gotten to flying was when Hawks’ feathers would pick him up and carry him around like a limp doll. 

Well… this wasn’t all that much different, to be honest. He was definitely still being carried around like a limp doll, but the difference in this situation was the view. 

It was stunning.

The city stretched out around them as they flew through the air, wind whipping through his clothes and awe setting his mind into a state of pure, giddy excitement. 

“We’ve become one with the wind!” He yelled. 

“Mah, we have, haven’t we?” Hawks said from above him, and then pulled the two of them into a barrel roll through the air that left Tokoyami’s heart racing. 

“This is amazing,” he continued to scream, as Hawks did another loopty loop. No wonder Hawks was always flying, Tokoyami would be too, if this was the experience it garnered. 

They flew for the better part of an hour before Hawks set him down on the metal railing of a water tower, overlooking the city they’d just flown across. 

“You’ve done well, especially during that villain raid.” Hawks said, feet touching down next to him on the metal of the tower. “You’re already becoming a great hero.” 

Tokoyami turned his gaze from the breathtaking view to his mentor. “Thank you, Hawks-sensei. That means a lot, especially coming from you.” 

Hawks sighed, leaning forward on the railing. “I never wanted to be a hero,” he confessed quietly. 

Tokoyami’s brow furrowed. 

“But the expectation was placed upon me due to the quirk I was born with.” Hawks continued, gaze fixated far on the horizon, the red of his eye glowing slightly in the darkness of the night. “I lack the enthusiasm for the job. Well, that and a lot of other things, like compassion. But you… you have those things. I can tell you genuinely want to be a hero.” 

Tokoyami wasn’t sure how to respond to that. His gaze shifted towards the horizon as well, as if looking for whatever past life it seemed Hawks was looking at right now. 

“I… I was once told that I couldn’t be a hero.” He admitted. “Well, far more than once. My quirk is volatile, and I haven’t always had the control I have over it now. Not to mention my appearance… such is life, I suppose.” 

Hawks chuckled next to him, but it was full of mirth. “Society is full of unspoken rules on what a hero should be.” 

“I don’t understand why those rules exist,” Tokoyami grunted. “I think a hero is someone that should be able to save people despite their downfalls.” 

“Maa, that reminds me of a lesson I learned a long time ago.” Hawks began, and Tokoyami turned to face him, even though Hawks’ gaze was still locked on the horizon. “Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.” 

The words reverberated in Tokoyami’s soul, and brought him back to a hospital room where Kirishima begged them to help him save Bakugou. A hospital room where Tokoyami refused to do so. 

He lowered his head, “Then I have much to atone for.” 

“Hmm… maybe.” 

Silence filled the space between them, only accented by the sound of the wind whipping by his ears. 

“Why do you not want to be a hero? And why would you continue to work so hard at it if that’s the case?” He spoke up, curiosity keeping him from keeping his beak shut. 

“Well… it’s simple. I’m not a good person. My past and my present are marred and bloody. Despite what the job occupation says, I am no hero.” Hawks said, voice calm and matter-of-fact. “I just do what’s expected of me.” 

Tokoyami’s mind flashed back again, this time to a feather piercing a villain's chest right in front of him, the blood spilling from the wound a same crimson red as the feather itself. 

“I believe…” he hesitated again, unsure if his next words would even apply or make sense to the hero next to him. “…that a true hero is someone who can overcome their mistakes in order to make the world a better place.” 

Hawks didn’t answer for a long moment, but when he did, his voice was exhausted, a far cry from the way it usually sounded. But this voice sounded far more real than anything other voice Hawks had used before. 

“I guess there’s more than one way to fly.” 

“Due to the events that occurred with the Shie Hassaikai, it has been decided that your work studies will all be canceled.” Aizawa announced and Tokoyami frowned in his seat, displeased by the fact that his work study would be ended just because the others in the class had gotten injured in theirs. 

After class, he approached his teacher. 

“Sir, if I may… I’d like to request to visit Hawks one more time.” 

Aizawa’s exhausted gaze turned on him. “Why’s that?” 

In his voice, Tokoyami heard Hawks, and was too startled by that realization to answer for a long moment. 

“Well?” 

Tokoyami cleared his throat, “I’d like to go thank him, for everything he’s taught me.” 

Aizawa sighed, “Sure. Go ahead. But no villain fighting.” 

Tokoyami nodded and bowed, and then took his leave.

“Thank you, Hawks-sensei.” He bowed, low and deep, trying his best to convey his gratitude with just that, though he wasn’t sure the point was getting across to the somewhat uninterested hero in front of him. 

“Maa, you’re welcome. If there’s ever another opportunity, feel free to come back here. I’d be happy to take you under my wing again.” 

Tokoyami— despite another awful bird pun— couldn’t help the beam that crossed his face. 

“Uh, Tokoyami, you have a package,” Sero said, hesitancy and confusion in his voice. 

Tokoyami frowned, from his spot on the couch in the common room. “From who?” 

“Uh… dunno. No label.” Sero picked it up and closed the door behind him as he approached Tokoyami. 

“Then how did you know it was for me?” He questioned, but found his question soon answered as Sero handed the medium-sized box over. 

There, on top of the box, in the most awful handwriting Tokoyami had ever seen, was his name followed by a bad drawing of a bird. 

Now, Tokoyami didn’t know who had sent this to him, not really, but he had a pretty good idea. After all, there was only one person in his life that would not only attempt to draw a bird on a package for him, but attempt to draw one and fail miserably. This was from Hawks. 

He stood up and went towards the elevators, not trusting Hawks enough to open the package in front of his classmates. For all he knew, it could be full of exploding glitter or something. 

Hawks would do that. 

In the darkness of his room, Tokoyami opened the package, cautious, prepared for any pranks that he might be hit with. 

“Well?” Dark Shadow asked, showing itself in order to look inside the package. Tokoyami swatted it away and looked inside himself. 

There he found a pair of gauntlets, black as the abyssal night with razor-sharp claws extending from the fingers, a small cactus identical to the one on Hawks’ desk, and a note. 

He took out the note and unfolded it, curiosity piqued. 

“Remember, Tsukuyomi, there is more than one way to fly.” 

Several realizations hit him all at once, reading that note. 

The first was that Hawks had called him by his hero name, something he hadn’t done during the entire internship. Tokoyami remembered Hawks saying that he’d use his hero name when he’d earned it, and his heart swelled with glee at the realization that he had, in fact, earned it.

The second was that Hawks had just given him a gift— an upgrade to his hero costume as well as a cactus. He wasn’t sure what the importance of the cactus was— but it reminded Tokoyami of nights spent in the atrium, of weekends working alongside the number two hero, and he couldn’t help but fall in love with the gift immediately. 

The third was that yet another lesson was hidden in the ten words upon that piece of paper. 

“Yes,” Tokoyami mumbled, gaze shifting over to Dark Shadow as an idea popped into his head. “There is.” 

Dark Shadow looked at him in curiosity, and Tokoyami patted its head affectionately. “Tomorrow, Dark Shadow, we will learn to fly.” 

Hawks was a silver-haired mystery wrapped in about five more, increasingly confusing mysteries, but he’d given Tokoyami the tools he’d needed, teaching him lesson after lesson in the weirdest and most frustrating ways possible, forcing Tokoyami to look underneath the underneath in order to understand what Hawks wanted from him. 

But in the end, it paid off. 

He and Dark Shadow soared above the UA grounds in the dead of the night, and he couldn’t help but picture a red feathered hero flying next to him. 

Thank you, Hawks-sensei. For everything.