Chapter Text
Hushed whispers filled the silence as Haruka stared up at the man, a blank expression on her face, in contrast to his bright grin. Her eyes flickered to the fluffy red behind him, her mind spinning up a response. Eager eyes followed her stiff movements with rapt anticipation.
“But, wouldn’t that be like…cannibalism?”
A slow blink. The quiet whispering to her left pauses. Her stare bores into the man in front of her, pure curiosity.
“I’m not a real bird!”
His hands land hard on the counter, rattling the shop. Haruka squints, honey brown eyes shifting behind him. Red feathers puff up in protest, shaking indignantly. Humor dances in the eyes of the man in front of her, his exclamation filled with false anger.
It had been a frustrating day. Actually, it had been a frustrating week. Midterm season had finally come, and Fukuoka Women’s College hadn’t been spared. Haruka Fujioka should have known midterms were going to be hell this semester, after all, she controlled the hand that bunched all her hard, required courses into one grading period. Calculus, Principles of Economics, Research Methods, and Child Psychology. Really, what was she thinking?
Slamming down a rented textbook and notebook filled with sloppy notes, Haruka sighed loudly, collapsing on a stool. “I actually can’t do this anymore.”
“What are you doing?” A black-haired girl with her hair tied back glanced up at Haruka, confused.
“I swear to God, my research prof is mentally disturbed.” Rough hands tore off a bright orange cap with the slogan, “Cockadoodle doo, Eat Our Food!” Light pink strands of hair flowed free of the cap's restriction, quickly tangling together.
“No, actually, are you allowed to be here right now??” Another voice chimed in, this time male. “Are you on break or something?”
Haruku looked up at the two across from her, with her hand covering most of her face, tired eyes glaring at them. The two were sitting on stools at the shop's counter, the display cases and register to their right. In front of them sat Haruka, behind the counter on a random stool she stole from the kitchen; cap and apron long abandoned.
“...No, but there's no one in here, is there?” Haruka responded with an eye roll, removing her hand from her face to grab a pencil from her friend's pencil pouch. “I have to study for calc as much as possible, screw working.”
“Ah, the privilege of working in a family restaurant, I guess…Able to bend all the rules,” The girl, Aki, sighed wistfully, thinking about her own job at a chain restaurant. She’d be verbally accosted and fired if she even thought of pulling a stunt like this.
“Oh, please, working with family isn’t better,” Haruka argued, flipping through her notes. “They can violate every rule protecting employees and harass me in my off time!” She huffed, adjusting her large red glasses.
“Yeah, but you can take breaks whenever, steal all the food, and ask for more pay.” Aki refuted, pointing an accusing finger.
“Ask for more pay–??” Haruka started before a loud cough interrupted their little spat. The two girls whipped their heads toward the voice.
The man sitting next to Aki looked at the two warily, “Can’t you two quit it? Just be grateful you have jobs…”
…
“Omg, who invited the bum to speak?”
“If you don’t have a job, what makes you think you can yap about one??”
“He’s actually getting on my last nerve!”
“Can’t you just work on your little slide presentation for business in silence?”
“Uh…” Sweat slid down his temple as his shoulders sagged. “Whatever…” He turned back to his laptop, pouting.
Rolling her eyes, Haruka returned to her notes, adding more information from the textbook.
“How do people even study math…?"
Half an hour had passed of the three reviewing for their midterms. Haruka was focused on Calc, Aki was writing a mini research paper for bio, and Kenji was finishing up a slide show for his business class. Safe to say the trio was too focused to hear the flapping of wings outside and the thunk of boots hitting the ground near the shop's entrance.
The soft chime of the bell on top of the door rang through the small shop, snapping Haruka and her friends out of their work. Turning to the source, her friends freeze up in shock.
Haruka, on the other hand, quickly drops her work and slaps the cap on her head. Rushing to the counter, she smiles brightly to greet the new customer.
“Hello! Welcome to Go Go Chicken; how can I help you today?”
The greeting slides out of her mouth with practiced ease, built up from years of working behind the counter of her parents' shop.
Walking into the shop excitedly, the man claps his hands together. “I saw this place in the corner of my eye and flew right in the second I read chicken in the title! How much of the stuff can I get for ¥3000 (About $20)?”
With the shop's menu ingrained in her brain, Haruka didn’t need to glance at the menu to check. “You could get a basket of a full chicken and a half chicken for ¥3000.”
“Holy affordable!” The man squawks excitedly, his sharp amber eyes lighting up. “I’ll take it.” He grins cheekily, wings flapping behind him.
Aki and Kenji watch the interaction with their mouths agape. Seemingly noticing the two for the first time, the man eyes them for a moment before shining them a toothy smile and peace sign.
Turning back, he misses the way the two geek out in silence, clutching each other's hands and shaking aggressively.
About to type out his order in the register, Haruka glances back up at him. Scanning up and down, a thought crosses her mind. Slowly, her hand lowers from the screen, and she takes in the way the man tilts his head in mild confusion.
“But, wouldn’t that be like…cannibalism?”
The question slips out of her mouth, silencing her tweaking friends. The man’s wings still behind him as the question processes in his head. For a moment, Haruka worries she shouldn’t have tried to be funny. The worry quickly disappears once the two hands slam down on the counter between them.
“I’m not a real bird!”
His wings flap quickly in protest, leaning across the counter to glare at Haruka. Aki and Kenji watch with wide eyes, flickering between Haruka and Pro Hero Hawks.
“Holy shit.” They whisper at the same time.
“Mhmmm,” Haruka hums, unconvinced. Her eyes glance back at the wings attached to him, watching them as they move. “You do know what those wings are made of, right?” Soft laughter fills the room, something akin to a sitcom laugh track.
“I’ll have you know these wings are just feath–” Hawks stops, his head whipping around the fried chicken shop in confusion. “Where’s that coming from?”
He questions, his eyes flickering back to Haruka.
“What sound?” Haruka tilts her head, the laugh track freezing quickly. Out of the corner of her eyes, she makes out Aki and Kenji hiding their faces in their arms.
“That…whatever.” Hawks shakes his head, returning to the important matters at hand. “I want my chicken to-go.” Three wrinkled-up ¥1000 bills hit the counter.
“Coming right up!” Haruka quickly shoves the bills in the register, puts on her apron, and heads to the kitchen.
In the shop, Hawks glances at the college kids staring up at him in amazement and wonder. Sighing internally, he flashes them a bright smile and questions what they’re doing.
In the kitchen, Haruka quickly fries up the original golden fried chicken. Humming to herself, she cannot help but laugh at the hero's reaction to her joke. Soft music plays in the background as she neatly packs up the order, adding some sauces he could try dipping the fried chicken in.
Walking back to the main part of the shop, Haruka sees her friends talking animatedly to the hero, showing him their work.
“I have to finish this stupid paper by tomorrow! And she made it due at 2:00 pm, why not 11:59 pm???” Aki waves her laptop around, whining loudly.
“Whoa, sounds like a lot of work! You guys must be stressed!” Hawks rubs the back of his head, laughing slightly. Taking one sniff of the air, he quickly perks up to meet Harkua’s gaze.
“Chicken!!”
Reminding her of an excited child, he rushes to the drop-off part of the counter and taps his gloved hands on the counter impatiently. Eyes locked on the bag in her hands, the closer Haruka gets, the clearer it becomes that the hero is actually shaking in his boots.
He must really love chicken.
Placing the bag on the counter, Hawks waits a polite 0.5 seconds before eagerly snatching up the bag. “Thank you so much!”
Before Haruka can get out the word "you" in "thank you," the man is gone, sprinting out the door and flying into the night sky.
A second passes before Haruka recovers from the shock and turns to her friends.
“Oh my God.”
Soring in the sky, Hawks sighs, the cool night breeze comforting on his skin. Eying a secluded rooftop, he flies in its direction. Landing with a gentle thud, he sits down on the ledge, stretching his legs and wings.
Bag in hand, he cracks it open. The warm smell of fried chicken sends a pleasant shiver down his spine. Eager to get some food in his system, he sets the bag aside and places the box of chicken on his lap.
The chicken's golden-brown skin remained crispy despite being in a container for a few minutes, a feat of engineering Hawks can appreciate. Taking a generously large drumstick in his hand, he wets his lips in preparation.
“All this for ¥3000 is practically robberly…” He mumbles sofly before biting into the meat.
…
“Holy shit, this is amazing!”