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If Hawks were to get seriously hurt, he’d assume it would be from some epic battle against a villain. He’d probably be protecting some civilians, news broadcasters capturing every moment.
Not this time. This time, he got hurt silently, through his own mistake.
He had heard of an earthquake that had happened in a small town somewhere on the edge of Tokyo. He didn’t usually respond to natural disasters, but hell, lately it seemed like he had gotten what he always dreamed of: a future where heroes had too much time on their hands.
He was trying to help a family rebuild their home, but he had bit off more than he could chew and part of the roof had collapsed on him. Luckily no one was around to see his bloody, broken body dragged out by his own feathers.
But… he couldn’t breathe. His ribs were cracked and his throat was filling with blood. He coughed, though the coughing only jostled his ribs more.
A shadow darkened his peripheral vision. “Hawks!” Tokoyami’s voice cut through the pain. The student kneeled beside him. “What happened? Is there a villain nearby?”
Hawks spat out a glob of blood, some of it dribbling down his chin. The student’s eyes widened as he noticed, but Hawks only casually laughed. “Nah, this was my own doing. Pro tip, don’t let a roof fall on top of you while trying to rebuild a house.”
Of course, Tokoyami was the one who took his jest too seriously. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He said. “But for now, I need to heal your wounds, if you’ll allow me to.”
“Yeah… if you wouldn’t mind.”
It didn’t take Tokoyami long to retrieve a first aid kit and start working on his wounds. Of course, neither of them were doctors, but they were both trained to make sure they could at least prevent someone from bleeding out on the way to a hospital.
And… as Hawks’s vision blurred, he realized a piece of the roof had actually sliced him across the shoulder pretty good. Bleeding out was more of a possibility than he previously thought.
“Hawks,” Tokoyami’s voice echoed in his head, distant, almost muffled. “Stay awake.”
But sleep… Sleep sounded so warm, so comfortable….
“Hawks!” Tokoyami shouted from somewhere far away. “Hawks?”
His voice sounded so worried. Why was he so worried? Hawks was actually pretty comfortable, considering. He could fall asleep right now, his eyes drifted closed…
“Forgive me.” Tokoyami muttered. And then, Hawks felt a sharp smack across his cheek. His eyes flew open and pain seared through his body again.
He was all bandaged up now and Tokoyami was covered by Dark Shadow as they flew through the air.
“You’ll be alright.” Tokoyami assured him. “But please stay awake.”
Hawks couldn’t ignore the worried tears in the corners of both Tokoyami’s and Dark Shadow’s eyes. Damn, he really was much more busted up than he thought. But it was alright, because his pupil had learned well. He knew he was in trustworthy and capable hands.