Chapter Text
Agent 28-12, codename: Hawks. And some would argue, the golden boy of headquarters and the president's favorite pet.
No one knew where he came from, his name, or whether he had a family or not. It's not like employees of the agency were allowed to talk about such personal things either way, but everyone could agree, Hawks was a walking mystery.
He was one of the youngest at the agency, and yet, he was the one who'd spend the longest time working for them. Rumors had it, he was an orphan taken in by the agency at a young age and bred into being a spy, that's why he'd been working as a spy since anyone could remember and why he was the favorite and such a prodigy.
Truly, he was skilled. Known around headquarters as the fastest, notorious for his overall speed and great acting and disguise skills. He was the man with a hundred different faces that ran off before you could even really start to have your suspicions about him.
Maybe that's why he'd been assigned such a high importance mission.
He stared down at the file in front of him, the one he was supposed to memorize immediately since it was probably going to get destroyed later, before looking back up at the president of the agency.
"Ma'am, I understand this is a very important mission, but don't you think it's kind of… Abrupt? I would have to leave for Ostania immediately."
The president raised an eyebrow at him.
"Your target is a very well-known politician and highly influential man, he needs to be taken out. You've been on missions to Ostania before, it's nothing you can't handle, Hawks."
"But it's long term according to the file. And there's something you're not telling me, isn't it? This can't be that easy if it's just about taking care of someone."
"Cunning as always…" she hummed "There's an inconvenience with your mission. Your target, Shigaraki Tomura, is a prominent figure not only in the political field in Ostania, but he's also well known in the underworld and the black market, venerated almost like he's some sort of king, they call him 'All For One's legacy'. He's aware his head has a price on it I'm sure, so he's never seen in public unless it's for his daughter's private school parent meetings."
"So I'm infiltrating the school as a teacher?"
"No, Hawks, listen to me. For this mission, you are to get yourself a spouse and a child, enroll them into the school, and infiltrate as a parent. It's too suspicious if a new teacher suddenly arrives right after the daughter of one of the most important people in Ostania enters the school. However, the school year will start soon, so it's safer if you enter that way."
"Okay, which agent are you sending with me to play as my spouse? And how will you get us a kid? Which orphanage will you trick into letting us borrow a kid now?"
"You're going on this mission solo."
"You're kidding me, right? Then how the hell am I supposed to get a spouse and a kid old enough to go to middle school in less than a month?"
"You're the fastest in our agency, I'm sure you'll find a way. That's it, we'll communicate with you to give you more details about your mission. For now, go at once and leave for Ostania immediately, there's a place paid off for you already. You know who to give your file to, and I'm sure you've read it already, but your name for this mission is Keigo Takami. You are dismissed."
So Hawks obeyed, getting up and exciting the place, unceremoniously throwing his file to Rika's desk as he made his way to his own private room.
He was the only agent of the HPSC agency who had his own private room at headquarters. Advantages of being practically raised there, he supposed.
He packed his things, more than a little annoyed at the president for giving him such a mission with such short notice and sending him in solo.
Ostania was the opposing country to Westalis, Hawks' home. For years, the tensions had been high between the two countries, and honestly it was a matter of time before a full-on war started. Until now, it had been child's play, spies and assassins being sent left and right by each country to screw each other. Hawks was one of those spies. He'd been trained since he was a kid for it, and despite being only 24 years old, he had more experience than some of his senior spy comrades.
But experience came with a price. Ostania was well aware of the existence of one Hawks, but they had been unable to catch him, and really, the reason why they had continuously failed had to do with the fact Hawks was a master of disguise as well as the fastest agent the HPSC had to offer.
He was to leave immediately, and on his way out he'd been given his new fake passport and other documents filled out with his fake identity for this mission, complete with a train ticket for his ride into the opposing country and instructions to search out another agent at the train station for further information on how to proceed with his mission.
He went over his backstory on the train— Keigo Takami, currently employed as an airplane engineer and pilot. Has basic medicine studies as he tried to pursue being a doctor before realizing his real passion was flying, is currently 24 years old, and will soon be married and have a kid. Great.
He came down from the train, easily fooling the police officers interrogating every single Westalian passenger to see if they were a spy, and quickly reunited with the agent he'd been told to look for, the man sneaking him a single folded piece of paper and acknowledging him with a simple nod before being off.
Well, Hawks had heard before that agent Best Jeanist was never a man of many words.
He examined the paper, finding it contained his new address and also the address of a nearby orphanage. The president of the HPSC worked fast, she'd already filled out all the paperwork, and all Hawks had to do now was show up there and pick a kid old enough to enroll into that school for his mission.
The rest of the day passed without complications, as he moved into his now new apartment, which of course was ready for him to move into, already being fully furnished and all.
The next day, as much as he absolutely didn't want to get up, he had to. So he rolled out of bed and got ready to visit that orphanage. It wasn't that hard to find, the big yet old house standing proudly with a big front yard and black gate.
There were some kids running around the yard, and Hawks eyed them curiously, finding some were too young and some too old. He approached the entrance of the house, knocking on the old wood twice.
The door creaked open soon after, and a middle aged woman bearing a kind smile greeted him.
"Oh, you must be mister Takami, I was informed you'd come by today to pick up one of my little troublemakers."
So Hawks started to play his part. Keigo offered her a smile.
"Yes, that's me. I understand we've filled out all the paperwork we need for now, right?"
"Correct, no more paperwork at least until you decide which one of my kids are you adopting." The woman ushered him inside the house, which still looked rather neat despite the fact the house seemed to be older than the woman and Keigo together.
"Oh, excuse my manners, my name is Inko Midoriya. Ah, please wait here for a moment." She then turned to look at the living room, which was to her left and out of view from where Keigo was standing. "Izuku, can you please gather the kids? There's someone here to see them!"
Some muffled sounds came from the living room until a young teenager with green hair and eyes emerged from there. He spared one look towards Keigo, giving him a kind smile before going out the door and into the front yard, followed by a loud:
"Everyone, mom wants you inside! Someone's here!"
"My son." Miss Midoriya explained as a mass of kids all ran into the house. "He helps me out with the place."
Soon, the small hoard of kids were all standing in front of them, some looking uninterested, some others eyeing Keigo curiosily. Really, there weren't that many, about 10 kids were standing there now. The two oldest seemed to be around 15-17, which was too old, so he immediately discarded them as options. The rest seemed to be either too young, or just about the minimum age to enter Eden Academy, the school Keigo was supposed to enroll his adoptive kid at.
"Kids, this is mister Takami. He will adopt one of you today, so be nice and introduce yourselves, please."
The kids nodded at Miss Midoriya's words, and soon they were taking turns stating their name and their age. Like he suspected, some were just too old and some barely fit the minimal age range. He just needed a kid that was at least 6 years old in order to successfully accomplish his mission (that HQ had named 'Operation Stixx') of dealing with Shigaraki Tomura and then he could be back to Westalis and take on a new mission, just like that. Just like the life of a spy was.
Maybe it would also be easier if the kid he picked could read and write, it would definitely make it a lot easier for him, save him the trouble of teaching them before enrolling them into the school, where they had no chance of even passing the very much complicated entrance exam. Eden Academy was no joke, they were strict with who they let into their premises.
Suddenly he noticed a kid with white fluffy hair at the end of the line standing up more straight, as it was his turn to introduce himself.
"I'm Ryu, and I'm six! I know how to read, and I can write a little bit too!"
Six, huh? He looked kind of small for his age. Weird he mentioned exactly what Keigo was thinking about, but oh well, that definitely put him at the start of his list now that he knew he could read and write, even if just a little bit.
The kid seemed to puff out his chest in pride, almost as if reading Keigo's mind.
He smiled and started to chat a little bit with some of the kids, particularly the ones he felt could fit what he was looking for, milking more information out of them. He needed a kid that would be good at school, he also knew that much, considering the file for the mission specified Shigaraki's daughter was part of the elite of the school, the kids who had the best grades and did things in favor of the school get to win 'Stellas', and when they got to a specific number of Stellas, the kid would basically join the school's elite, and the parent meetings of the kids with Stellas were hosted differently than the ones of the regular kids. So, in short, he needed a smart one in order for the mission to succeed.
Again, the kid from before, Ryu, who now Keigo noticed had striking blue eyes, suddenly said: "I'm good at numbers!"
"Are you, now?" Keigo said, offering him a kind smile. "Huh, I bet you're very smart then. Well, what's 3+3 then, little genius?"
Well, if he could get the chance to 'test' the kid, then why wouldn't he? And if he answered something other than 6, then he'll just take it off the list of possible candidates for mission Stixx. Easy as that.
"It's 6." Ryu answered confidently. And well, he was the perfect age, even if he looked smaller, and he could write, read and was good at math, checked all the boxes, so…
"I think I'd like to adopt Ryu." he said, standing up straight to face Miss Midoriya.
"Ah, great! Izuku, bring me the paperwork, please. Oh, and make sure that…" and then she started to give off explanations to Izuku about something.
The other kids all took this as a sign and simply started to walk off, all except Ryu, who's eyes lit up and he looked at Keigo as if he'd just hung the stars for him, his big blue eyes looking at him as he hugged his ragged dragon plush against his chest.
"Really!?"
"Yes, buddy. You will be coming with me to your new house, how about that?"
"Thanks!" He ran up to Keigo and hugged his leg.
If Keigo's heart melted a little bit at that, it was no one's business. Keigo patted his head, gently messing his white locks.
"Ryu, go pack your stuff." Miss Midoriya gently reminded him.
Ryu nodded, immediately bolting upstairs to what was probably his room and to pack the small amount of belongings he had.
The paperwork process went by in a blur, and Keigo was soon leaving the orphanage with a beaming Ryu who was now Ryu Takami. Although, admittedly there seemed to be something weird. Miss Midoriya bringed out the paperwork, which wasn’t all that conclusive, although that was to be expected considering it was an orphanage and more than half the kids were just dumped in their front step, with only an estimate of a birth date and no records of birth parents. Ryu however, despite that, actually had records of arriving at the orphanage only a couple of months ago, all on his own.
He decided to ask Best Jeanist, who was assigned to help him with the case if necessary, to look into Ryu later.
For now, they were going home. Or as much of a home as that new apartment would be during the mission.
The boy seemed incredibly happy, holding onto Keigo's hand and literally skipping next to him as they made their way back to the now Takami residence. For a moment, Hawks even felt bad for him, surely he was going to return to the orphanage once the mission was over.
Okay, the first part of the plan is completed. Now, to get himself a fake wife and infiltrate the school as Ryu's parent, hope Ryu got enough Stellas to get into the élite group of the school, get closer to Shigaraki, and get rid of him. Easy, right?
…
Yeah, the first part was the most complicated of it all. Luckily, he at least had an excuse—and a valid one at that. Eden Academy was strict, and their acceptance rate alone was insane, so whether the kid would get in or not was also a factor for the mission's success. But apparently, the chances of children raised by a single parent getting in were low. Eden Academy was mainly looking for children that came from a healthy, nuclear family.
Not that there weren't exceptions, considering that according to his research, Shigaraki himself was a single parent. But unless Ryu was insanely smart, Keigo was not willing to risk it. So, a fake spouse it was.
But for now, he had a meeting with Best Jeanist.
They met at a simple tobacco store in a train station, apparently owned by the HPSC themselfs. Hawks approached the front desk, knowing there was no risk of anyone overhearing their conversation as the place was owned by their bosses and everyone else rushing by was too preoccupied by trying not to miss their train.
"What do you have for me?" Hawks asked.
Best Jeanist looked at him for a second before reaching under the desk and pulling out some folded pieces of paper and a closed envelope.
"Just like you asked. The form to apply for the entrance exam and the answer sheet. The rest is all I could find on him. There were no records found of his birth parents or even his age. What I could find however, is that he’s been in and out of 4 different foster homes and 2 other orphanages just this last year."
Hawks frowned, skimming through the page containing all of Ruy’s previous names. Well, with so many names, he kind of was like Hawks. But he could only hope Ryu wasn't a problem child.
"I’m sure I don't have to remind you to not get attached." Best Jeanist piped in.
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Just a warning. You know he’s going straight into the next orphanage as soon as the mission is done."
"I know that." Hawks snapped. "And if you’re trying to insinuate I am not professional enough for this mission, then it’s because you don't know me."
"I know you, you’re the wonderboy of HQ. But despite how they treat you, you're still human. Humans have emotions. Just a reminder to keep your feelings to yourself. It's an important mission after all."
"Noted." Hawks drawled, putting the papers into his pocket as he started to walk away.
Best Jeanist watched him leave, and he knew then that Agent Hawks was more complicated than it seemed.
The days passed with Keigo practically drilling the answers of the exam into Ryu's head, and when the day finally came, he stumbled out of the place almost in a haze. Keigo managed to catch him, and as soon as they went home, they both collapsed.
But then the day of the results came, and it turned out Ryu had passed. It wasn't a guarantee he'd get in, since the school required both an entrance exam and an interview in order to fully accept someone in, but they were one step closer. And with the interview getting closer, Keigo had to hurry up and get himself a fake spouse already.
But he was still exhausted, after all, he was actually putting his trust completely in Ryu and the anxiety about whether he'd pass or not was eating him alive.
So as soon as they stepped foot into the apartment, Keigo had collapsed into the couch.
Ryu entertained himself by watching his favorite spy TV show, but soon enough left to open the door when the mailman came.
"Hey there." he said, a friendly smile on his face. "Can you give this to your parents?"
"My pa's asleep." he answered, taking the mail.
"Well, make sure to get it to him when he wakes up."
Ryu nodded as the mailman left, and went into the living room to gently shake Keigo.
"Pa, the mail."
No answer, he was out cold. Even his dreams seemed quiet.
Ryu yawned, suddenly feeling tired too. He shrugged, climbing into the couch to go to sleep next to his pa.
Keigo unconsciously moved a little, getting Ryu closer so he wouldn't fall off the edge of the couch.
Meanwhile, at a boring little shop, there was our other protagonist in the story. To everyone, he was simply another employee of the humble hat making shop, struggling to keep himself and his youngest sibling afloat. His name was Todoroki Touya, with emphasis on ' was'. He and his younger siblings went by Himura now.
His mother had tragically lost herself a long time ago, her mind being broken by his father, who made her end up in a mental hospital. Touya, deciding he couldn't stand it anymore, took his siblings and ran away from that house and that man that tormented them.
However, that left Touya, barely old enough to take care of himself, to care for his three youngest siblings too. At least Fuyumi, the second oldest, was a big help too.
But now, Fuyumi had gone off to become a teacher, while Natsuo had been away studying to become a doctor, and Shoto, the youngest, was in school still, having made some passing comments about maybe becoming a cop later on.
But what made Touya so interesting was the other side of himself. Back when he was a kid, he was desperate. He was the only one who could keep his siblings afloat, and they were slowly but surely running out of the money they had taken with them when they fled.
So when a sketchy man approached him with a job offer, he only took 3 seconds to ponder it before agreeing once he remembered he was doing it for his siblings.
And so, Dabi was born.
Much like Hawks, everyone in the underground knew about Dabi. Hawks may be the most famous spy, but Dabi sure was the most famous assassin. Known for killing his victims with fire, Dabi had built a reputation for himself as the most dangerous assassin out there.
Once Dabi was sent after someone, it was sure they wouldn't be seen again alive.
But right now, he was Himura Touya. And he was so done with his coworkers meddling with his personal life.
"Are you not going to the party at Saku's place?" one of said coworkers asked, way too sweetly to not come off as straight out mockery.
"No. I have stuff to do."
"My, you should really live a little, you know? Saku said she's inviting some friends, you should come. Who knows, maybe you'll find someone that catches your eye." another one piped in.
Touya stabbed a feather into the hat he was working on more harshly than necessary. "Yeah, I'm not interested."
"Why is that? Someone you're already interested in?" the first one, who's name was Hina, asked now. "Or perhaps you intend to stay single forever?"
Touya wanted to scream. Dabi wanted to stab them and set the whole place ablaze like he'd done to an old rich man just the night before.
He was about to tell his annoying coworkers to mind their damn business when a voice in his head that sounded a lot like his sister Fuyumi decided to interrupt his murder plans.
'You should try to get along with them! At least start showing up to their meetings, as annoying as you think they are. You need friends, Touya-nii.'
Goddammit, Fuyumi.
So deciding to send everything to hell, he finally said. "Alright, I'm going."
Hina cheered, seemingly not believing she had managed to convince him. Which, technically she hadn't, it had been Fuyumi's annoying advice.
"Great! I'll tell Saku, we can set you up with some of her friends."
And yeah, no, that sounded like actual fucking torture. So in a moment of pure stupidity, he also spit out: "Actually, I'm going with my partner."
His other coworker, Aoi, finally interrupted again.
"You're dating someone!?"
"I am."
She hummed, examining him for a couple of seconds before returning to her own work.
"Well then," Hina said. "Can't wait to meet your mysterious date later today."
And with that, she too started working again, finally. Which left Touya alone to mentally scream and curse at how deep a hole he'd dig himself into now.
He got up, muttering out an excuse about a delivery, which actually wasn't that much of an excuse, and bolted out. He did have a delivery to make after all, at a local boutique. The owner had ordered a hat as a gift for her lover, and had requested he personally take it there as soon as it was done.
As for Keigo, he was heading there too. After their impromptu nap together, he'd gone out to get groceries and agreed to take Ryu with. Keigo had already gotten some more clothes, but according to the parenting books he'd read, he would have to get him some toys too. And considering he'd done well at the exam, maybe he could get him some as a reward.
But Ryu had also fixated on a certain sweater. It was way too big for him, but apparently Ryu didn't mind. He was looking at the soft fabric as if he'd never tried on a sweater before.
… Oh.
"It's too big for you." Keigo tried to reason with him again.
"I will grow big and fit into it!" Ryu said, again.
Keigo let out a sigh. Well, maybe he could get it and drop it off at a boutique so they could resize it for Ryu…
As if reading his mind, Ryu grinned. "So I can get it!?"
"Sure, the cold season's starting either way." He finally gave up.
So here they were now, on the way to said boutique Keigo had actually seen earlier when they passed by that street, because something told him Ryu wanted to put on that sweater as soon as possible.
They arrived, Keigo promptly letting the lady at the front know they were there so someone could resize Ryu's new sweater.
The lady kindly said she could do it and got to work.
Then the bell at the door rang, indicating someone new had arrived.
Thus, Dabi and Hawks inadvertently met.
"I have a delivery." Touya said, holding up the box he was carrying to emphasize his point. "From Miss Hina's hattery."
The lady stopped for a second, looking up from where she was scribbling Ryu's measurements in a piece of paper.
"Ah, yes! Must be the one I ordered for my wife!" she gestured for him to get closer and leave the box at the front desk, promptly opening it once he did so and examining the carefully made hat.
"It's lovely! I'm sure she will love it. Excuse me for a second while I put this on the back and get your payment."
She put the hat back in the box carefully, lifting the box in her hands and disappearing behind a door that presumably led to the back of the store.
Touya's mind started to drift off then as he waited for her to come back. He thought about how his contact had told him he'd probably assign him a new target that night, something about some other rich prick who'd stepped out of line.
Ugh, he only hoped that between that and the damn party he wouldn't be home too late. Which, now he was seriously considering ditching the party altogether, because how exactly was he going to get himself a fake partner now?
Finding a fake date and killing a rich jerk later were now Touya's tasks for the day. Surprisingly, he could do the second one blindfolded, but the first one terrified him.
Ryu, who had been listening intently, stared at Touya, starry-eyed. An assassin! And his Pa was a spy, and currently also looking for a fake partner! It was perfect!
With a plan already formulating in his head, Ryu approached Touya, who still seemed lost in thought. He gently pulled at the hem of his shirt, making him notice him.
"Mister, you're single! You should date my pa, he's single too!"
Touya choked at the same time as Keigo squealed out a "Ryu!" and looked at him in complete disbelief.
"I'm sorry about that! Ryu, don't be rude…"
Ryu put his hands on his hips, shaking his head with a determined look on his eyes. "Pa, but you need a date! For my school!"
Keigo shook his head too. "Ryu, I need a husband or a wife…" he paused, questioning how Ryu knew that. Had he told him…? Well, he did plan to, eventually, when he managed to get someone to play the part. Just so Ryu wouldn't slip up in school and maybe get them in trouble.
Whatever, he'd probably already told Ryu, but the last few days were a blur either way so he probably just forgot…
Probably.
"I'm truly sorry. It's just—I'm trying to get Ryu into Eden Academy, but as you can see I'm a single parent and it may be a crazy idea, but considering how low the acceptance rate is for children with only one parent, I was thinking about hiring someone or something for the interview… " Keigo chuckled, hurriedly explaining it to Touya.
"I- It's fine." he answered, still somewhat surprised. "That's interesting, I'm kind of in the same boat… I don't have kids though! I mean—there's a party hosted by one of my coworkers today and I said I was going with my partner, but… I don't really have one, so it's either I get a fake one or I just don't go."
They both paused, coming to the same conclusion.
"Would you…?" They both started at the same time.
"Sorry, you go first." Keigo said.
"Um… Would you mind going with me to the party as my… fake boyfriend?"
"Only if you don't mind going with me to the interview as my fake husband." Keigo answered, smiling slightly.
"Great, I guess it's a deal then."
"Oh! By the way, my name is Takami Keigo. And you already know Ryu, I guess."
"Himura Touya, nice to meet you." he answered.
Just then, the lady finally came back, handing the money to Touya.
Both Touya and Keigo had one less thing to worry about now.
Ryu silently cheered, knowing he was doing this to help his pa get world peace.
Touya wrote down the address of the party and handed it to Keigo.
"It's at 7 today, so I guess I’ll see you there."
Keigo smiled cordially. "Of course, I’ll meet you there. We can discuss the details about the interview later."
Touya knelt down, smiling at Ryu too. "Bye Ryu, I'm looking forward to meeting you again."
Ryu giggled, waving goodbye at Touya.
"Bye!"
Touya smiled, waving goodbye at Keigo now as he left the boutique.
The lady excitedly led Ryu to the side to get his measurements so he could get his sweater resized. Ryu followed, skipping happily.
Keigo stayed behind, looking at the door Touya had just gone through. It looked like his problems were almost all solved now.
All that was left now was for them to not fail the interview.