Chapter Text
Shigaraki Tomura was one of the most feared villains in all of Japan. His master, All for One, had a goal. To destroy the heroes, and rebuild society in his own image. Shigaraki would do anything to help his master make it a reality. But, as he sat in a crowded bar, he couldn’t help but regret some of his choices. Around a month or so ago, All for One had recommended that he gather allies. Pawns to aid in his plans. He was right of course, Shigaraki needed a strong party.
And yet, Shigaraki felt his eye twitch.The cards he had been methodically building into a tower scattered across the bar as a small figure barreled into him.
“Shiggy! Guess what, guess what”! Toga cheered as she swung up to perch on the bar, ignoring the way Sako scolded her for sitting on the counter.
Shiggy sighed, absently dusting the pile of cards.
“What, Toga”
“Ok ok so Jin and I went out earlier to stop by the small grocery store nearby because you have like, zero snacks here and we were trying to figure out if we should get ice cream or mochi when-”
“Oh my god Toga get to the point” Dabi shouted from where he was lounging in one of the booths, absently scrolling through his cracked phone.
Toga stuck her tongue out and the fire user returned the gesture.
God they were such children.
“Anyway! Giran said that the new recruit should be coming today!” Toga finished, clearly excited.
Shiggy didn’t really share her excitement at the moment. If he was being honest he had almost forgotten about the other recruit. Giran had told Shiggy he had found three possible recruits, Dabi, Toga, and a third who he still knew little about. The only things Giran had told them about the mysterious third member was that he was apparently Girans' adopted kid, and he was frequently out of the country. Giran assured them that he would be a valuable asset to the League and, at this point Shiggy really couldn’t afford to be picky. He just hoped they wouldn’t have to rearrange the rooms again. In the past month, 5 out of the 9 new villains decided to move themselves into the cramped apartment above the bar. Despite all his grumbling, Shiggy didn’t… hate the new arrangement. It was nice having other people around besides Kurogiri and the TV in the corner that occasionally connected them to All for One. Sure, Dabi was an asshole and Toga was absolutely insane, but Jin was nice and Spinner shared his love of videogames. Even the weird magician, Sako, mothered the group and would make dinner sometimes. It was odd, but not unwelcome.
“I heard he has a bird quirk, I love birds! Hey Dabi, do you think he will let me drink his blood? I bet it tastes so good!” Toga rambled, her legs swinging as she absently fiddled with one of her prized knives.
Dabi scoffed
“No one’s gonna give you their blood willingly you little vampire”
“That’s not true, Jin and mister let me drink their blood! ”
Before Dabi could some up with a snarky retort, Sako cut in
“Maybe you should wait until you get to know him before trying Toga, best not to scare him right away. And remember to ask” he said gently.
Toga pouted but nodded anyway, sliding off the bar to go bother Jin where he and Spinner were trying to rope Dabi into a game of go fish.
Shiggy was a little skeptical about the new member. Sure, they were all sketchy but the lack of information on this one bothered him for some reason. Since Giran had recommended him it seemed like a given that he would join, but they didn’t know his name or any details of his quirk. Giran was usually cagey about information he hadn’t been paid for but he didn’t even give them a list of this dude's crimes. In the end, it really didn’t matter. At the very least he trusted that Giran would not bring him someone who would betray him. He just hoped this one was less of an asshole than the rest of his new roommates.
Shiggy was pulled from his thoughts by the bell above the door jingling softly. The entire room quieted as a young man stepped in. He looked to be in his 20s, maybe a little older than Shiggy, with messy blond hair and sharp gold eyes. He wore casual clothes and a comfy looking fur lined jacket. Obviously the most eye-catching part of the man though was the set of large red wings that were folded carefully behind his back.
Shiggy raised an eyebrow
“Giran’s new recruit”? He asked
The man smirked, flaring out his wings dramatically as he took a deep bow.
“In the flesh. And you must be Shigaraki Tomura”
Shigaraki scowled.
“Yeah, care to introduce yourself”
“You can call me Hawks” the man, Hawks, said
Shiggy resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Great, another cagey asshole. He glanced over his shoulder to where the rest of the League was not so subtly eavesdropping. Toga wasn’t really paying attention to their game, too entranced with the winged man. Dabi’s eyes darted away from him to stare intently down at his cards which were starting to smoke slightly. There was an odd look on his face. The others playing were at least pretending to be interested in their game, although Sako was hard to read with the mask.
Toga leaned across the table to stare at the villain.
“Your wings are sooo pretty! They are a part of your quirk”? She asked
“Yeah, I have a raptor quirk. ‘S why I tend to go by Hawks”
Shiggy wasn’t sure what to make of him, he seemed friendly enough as he watched the League all introduce themselves and their quirks. But, being friendly, though preferable, wasn’t what was important.
“So, Hawks, what is your goal in joining the League”? Shiggy asked. All he needs to know is that he will be willing to cooperate with them.
Hawks tilted his head slightly
“My goals? Ah I have a couple but none are really pressing and they shouldn’t get in the way of yours” he said, waving his hand dismissively.
“Care to share”? Shiggy’s eyes narrowed
Hawks laughed lightly
“No, not really. Like I said they really shouldn’t get in the way of you… killing All Might, right”?
Shiggy frowned at him. The rest of the league had quieted down and were now intently watching the conversation play out.
“I hate All Might, and destroying him will take away the one sense of security the people have and in addition greatly weaken the heroes' forces and morale” He said calmly. Ever since talking to Midoriya he had put a great deal of thought into this. Frankly, he wasn’t sure why it hadn't occurred to him before.
Hawks crossed his arms. The movement pulled his jacket slightly, giving Shiggy a quick glimpse of what looked like a gun holster on his side. He saw Sako shift out of the corner of his eye. He always was one of the most observant of the league.
“Naturally”- Hawks nodded in agreement- “ without All Might the public would be thrown into panic as they lose their so called ‘Symbol of Peace’ and his death would leave Endeavor to lead the heroes, and Endeavor is…well, impulsive. He’s no substitute for All Might. But what I’m interested in is why you want to kill All Might so badly. You've never fought him, so where does this hatred come from”? He asked. Golden eyes shone in the low light of the bar.
Shiggy glared at him.
“I really don’t think that’s any of your business. Fuck. Off”
Hawks laughed, raising his hands in surrender
“Ok no need to get so worked up, let’s call it professional curiosity. I like to know who I’m working with before I help them, you know” his eyes softened as he moved back to stand by the bar.
“Sure… yeah no this isn’t gonna work out, get out”!
Toga slammed her hands on the table, as she stood up.
“What”?!
“It’s my decision. That’s final” Shiggy said, shaking his head.
Toga looked about ready to jump him, her fingers twitching to where her prized knife was resting on the table, when Dabi spoke.
“Maybe we should put it to a vote to decide on whether or not the little bird stays” he said with a drawl
Jin’s hand shot into the air.
“OH good idea Dabi! It sucks”! He shouted
“No it's not a good idea, Jin put your hand down” Shiggy snapped, glaring at his party.
Jin ignored him
“All in favor of keeping the bird”
Everyone raised their hands, except for Shiggy and Spinner. Dabi sent a questioning look towards Spinner.
“I get Shiggy but the fucks your issue with the bird”?
“Look man he seems great and all, but that's a whole ass raptor and I’m not sure if you realized but I have gecko quirk, I’m not a fan” Spinner said from his place at the back of the bar, keeping a considerable distance between him and Hawks.
“That's fair, instincts can be weird. So what's happening”? Hawks asked, looking around the room.
Before Shiggy could get a word in, Toga skipped across the room to stand in front of Hawks.
“You're a part of the League now! We have three rooms upstairs, Jin and I would love a new roommate! Or you could crash in one of the booths like Dabi does” -The arsonist mentioned gave her the finger- “Oh I’m so excited”! Toga cheered
Shiggy couldn’t fucking belive this. Betrayed by his own party. He watched in mild horror as Toga pulled Hawks further into the bar to sit with Jin, Dabi, and (unfortunately)Spinner. Sako gave Shiggy a sympathetic look.
“Don’t take this so hard Tomura. I think he will be a good fit,” he said gently.
Shiggy looked back over at the group. Jin had his arm around Hawks shoulder, the two laughing as Dabi’s cards went up in flames. He would keep an eye on that one, but maybe Sako was right.
—
The flame user was staring at him again.
Hawks found himself sitting in a cramped booth, pressed between the girl with blond fun buns, Toga, and Twice, who had a mask covering his entire face. The group argued over a game of cards that he was only half paying attention to. Though he was pretty sure he was winning. Since he‘d entered the bar, Dabi had been staring. He’d briefly thought he recognized the fire user, but he didn’t think he had ever crossed paths with the villain before. Though his eyes reminded him of…
Hawks quickly cut off that train of thought. Thinking about Touya after so many years wasn’t going to do him any good. Touya was dead. No use dwelling on the past.
He took a deep breath bringing his focus back to the group.
“Spinner! Don’t look at my cards, that's cheating” Toga yelled, leaning away from Spinner, squishing Hawks and Jin in the process.
“I wasn’t looking at your cards Toga”
“Yes you were! I saw you”
Sako set down the glass he had been cleaning at the bar and moved towards the booth.
“No need to argue. Toga, why don’t you switch places with Dabi for the time being, and maybe give our new friend some space” Sako said gently
Toga pouted but shifted away from Hawks just to climb over both him and Jin to where Dabi was sitting.
“Move Dabs”
Dabi startled as he was almost pushed out of the booth, dropping his cards as he attempted to push Toga away from him.
“The fuck are you doing” he growled
“Mister said to switch places” She said, grinning as the fire user scowled
“Who fucking cares what he says, I’m not mov-” Dabi wheezed as a sharp elbow jabbed into his gut. Toga laughed as she succeeded in pushing Dabi from his spot.
“You little fucker”!
Blue flames flickered along Dabi’s arms as he glared at Toga, completely unphased by his rage.
Hawks stared at the flames before they were extinguished as Dabi pushed past Spinner to slump down next to Hawks, apparently having decided that fighting the knife wielding child wasn’t worth it. Jin laughed, patting Hawks shoulder and just like that the game resumed as if nothing happened.
The League was… odd. Hawks had never worked with groups much in the past. Well not really, everyone always had their own goals. So when Giran came to him and genuinely recommended he consider working with the League, he was curious. Originally it had made sense. A large group would have more resources and connections that could aid him, especially one run by a powerful villain like All for One. But looking at them? It seemed like they were the ones that needed help.
Toga was young, only 18. From what he gathered she claims to be one of many people who follows Stains ideology. But after only speaking to her for a minute or two he could tell that she didn’t really understand Stain all too well.
Spinner on the other hand may be the only villain Hawks has encountered who truly understood what Stain was trying to accomplish. And Although Hawks himself may have mixed feelings about Stain, he respected Spinner a great deal.
Jin clearly has trauma from his past and seems to simply be looking for a group to belong to. Hawks liked Jin, he was kind, and fun to talk to. Even though he had only known him for a day, he treated Hawks like family. It was a nice thought.
Sako and Kurogiri both seemed kind and definitely the most mature of the league. They took good care of the group, he’d even heard the league members jokingly call them the leagues parents.
Shigaraki Tomura was tricky. He’s the leader of a group of villains with a destructive and powerful quirk who was, at least partially, raised by All for One. Hawks had hoped talking to him would give him a better understanding of his motives. But meeting him in person, Shigaraki was just a confused kid. He seemed confident in his goals but it was so clear he was being manipulated. It was a known fact that All for One wanted to defeat All Might and by the looks of it he is trying to get this kid to do it in his place. Fuck that! Keigo sure as hell had no intentions of helping All for One. But maybe he could at least help the league with what they want.
That just left Dabi. There was something about Dabi that bothered Keigo but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was. It left him on edge, always feeling like he was a step behind. And it wasn’t his goals or views that bothered him so much. It was the way he looked at Keigo, like he knew way too much. It frustrated him. Sure there's not a ton of information on the league, but Dabi’s history seemed to be especially blank. The only thing that could give Keigo any hint was his obvious hatred of Endevor, but even that wasn’t much of a lead. There were plenty of people out there who had shit against Endeavor, Keigo being one of them.
They played three more rounds of cards before Sako shooed Toga off to bed. It was late and one by one the other league members wandered off. Shigaraki looked at Hawks for a moment before he nodded and headed upstairs, followed quickly by Sako who smiled at Keigo.
“I’m not sure what your living arrangements are currently but you are welcome to crash on the couch for the night until we can find something more permanent”
Keigo smiled
“Thank you Sako”
“It’s no trouble, I’m looking forward to working with you Hawks”
With that, it just left Dabi and Hawks.
He looked over at where the fire user was sitting. His eyes were closed as he sat back in the booth, one would assume he had fallen asleep. But Keigo knew better. Even if Dabi was asleep, he didn’t really want to hang around too long.
Keigo stood up quietly
“Heading out already birdie”?
Keigo stopped, and put on an easy smile as he turned
“Yeah it's late and I have a bit of a long flight back to my place. I’ll see ya around” he said, slowly moving towards the door.
Dabi’s eyes narrowed and in the next moment he grabbed the collar of Keigo’s jacket and pulled him down, slamming his back into the booth. Keigo grunted, his feathers instinctively starting to sharpen but he forced them to soften once more. If this turned into a fight it would be bad. Keigo was usually confident in his abilities but up against a fire quirk in the small bar, he wouldn’t stand a chance. Best to just go along with this and try to remain calm.
Dabi sat back down, trapping Keigo.
“Why don’t you stay a little longer, pretty bird. I’d like a talk a bit” Dabi said
“Oh? And what do you wish to talk about”?
“I’m curious, as to why someone like you would decide to work with the league”
“Someone like me”? Keigo narrowed his eyes
“No offense birdie but you don’t really seem like the type to play villain”
Keigo laughed
“Really? You know, I would think by now people would stop trying to judge a book by its cover. I’m sure I can keep up with the group hot stuff, I’ve been doing this for awhile”
Dabi narrowed his eyes at that, leaning forward slightly.
“Why”?
Keigo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Was this guy really trying to ask him why he became a villain, a bold move for someone who refused to tell the group his real name. Keigo didn’t either, but if this worked out in the long run, maybe he would tell them. It was more of a habit to go by Hawks when working with new people, to keep things impersonal. Plus between his name and quirk it was kinda a dead give away that he was related to the Takami Thief. Not that he minded.
“Does it matter”? Keigo asked, tilting his head slightly
“Of course it does. I need to know your intentions with the league”
“I don’t plan on fucking over the group if that’s what your asking”
Dabi laughed, but there was no humor in the sound
“Oh really? Cause you are so different from your father”
Keigo’s eyes sharpened
“What does he have to do with any of this”
“Everyone knows Girans’s not the most truthful, whos to say your any different” Dabi said
Keigo smiled warily.
“I guess you’ll just have to trust me” with a strong beat of his wings Keigo was able to vault himself over the table. He waved over his shoulder as he opened the front door of the bar, the bells jingling softly.
“I’ll see you around hot stuff”
—
Keigo landed quietly on the balcony. He slid open the door and entered the dark apartment. A soft “I’m home” spoken into the empty room. He didn’t bother to turn on the lights, letting a couple of his feathers detach to help him navigate to the small bedroom. Keigo lets out a sigh as he carefully removes his jacket and the gun holster hidden underneath. He flopped down into his makeshift nest of blankets on the bed.
The league was not at all like he expected. But maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe this could actually work.
Keigo smiled in the dark
He hoped so.