Work Text:
"Not bad, Tsukuyomi! Think you can keep it up?"
"Bring it on, Hawks. We will match whatever pace you set."
Hawks grinned at the confident response from his ever-serious work study student. He flapped his wings and propelled himself forward, turning midair and flying backward to watch Tokoyami. His student was practicing his flying technique, and since it had been such a quiet patrol, Hawks had challenged him to keep up with him. Unlike at the start of their internship, Tokoyami could fly now, so he wasn't doing too bad for a baby chick.
One of Hawks's feathers, several of which he'd sent to usually active areas before the start of the patrol, felt vibrations. Movement, voices. He kept an eye on Tokoyami, always half on alert to catch him in case Dark Shadow gave out, but focused on what his feather could hear.
"This way, bring it over!"
"Load it up, and hurry. The boss won't like it if the cops bust our asses before we can make the delivery."
"Shut up, not so loud! We might be in an alley but we're still in public, idiot!"
Definitely criminals.
"Hawks? Is everything alright?"
Hawks blinked, refocusing on the space around him. His wings had been guiding where he flew so he wouldn't run into anything, but Tokoyami had still noticed his distraction. Observant kid.
"Yep!" He grinned, swooping closer. "In fact, one of my feathers finally picked up some action! You ready for a fight?"
Tokoyami didn't smile much, Hawks had learned, but after watching his student for as long as they'd been working together, he had a pretty good grasp on his varying frowns and glowers. This one was excited.
"Always. Lead the way."
"Holy shit, that's the number two hero!"
"Run! Those feathers catch you, it's over!"
"Tanaka, torch him!"
Hawks directed his feathers after that one first. No fire, no problems. The man was swiftly slammed into a wall and knocked out as he drew his feather sword and engaged the nearest criminal. There were over a dozen of them; with his HPSC training and all feathers accounted for, it would've taken a while but been a manageable fight. With Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, it was even easier.
"Man, you'd think they'd learn at some point!" He called over to Tokoyami as yet another of them tried to use her Quirk on his feathers. They simply danced out of the way before continuing the assault. Manipulating them was second nature at this point; he could direct them with barely a thought after years of intense training, and their sensitivity to movement allowed him to know all he needed even with his back turned. It was honestly a little unfair.
Tokoyami grunted in response. He didn't banter much either.
Hawks finished off yet another of them and took a moment to glance over and make sure his student was handling himself alright. It wasn't their first fight on a patrol, but it was the first with this many attackers all at once.
Tokoyami seemed to be doing well, restraining two of them with Dark Shadow and knocking them out to be added to the pile of unconscious criminals. Hawks returned his attention to the last few criminals.
Then, his feathers caught a rush of movement, and he was diving away before he could think.
"Tsukuyomi!" He shouted, shoving the kid out of the way. Pain sliced through his side as he took the blow the woman had been aiming at Tokoyami's back with her sharpened hand. He grunted in pain, but used the shocked criminal's proximity to slam her into the nearest wall, knocking her out cold.
"Hawks!" Tokoyami cried, and he suddenly had a faceful of worried teenager. "Are you alright? Were you—"
"Don't get your feathers ruffled." Hawks interrupted, sending a few of his to occupy the last of the criminals while he reassured his student. "I'm a Pro Hero, it takes more than a little scratch to bring me down." When Tokoyami still looked unconvinced, he smiled wide and fixed a few of the kid's feathers that were actually ruffled. The worried teenager became a moody teenager again in a heartbeat and slapped his hand away, fussing over his feathers himself. Hawks laughed as balance in the world was restored, ignoring the twinge in his side. He'd wrap it up later, he'd worked through worse than a little cut on patrol.
They finished up the final few together, placing the unconscious criminals against the wall. Hawks left a feather to watch them for signs of waking before turning back to his student, but his gaze caught on something that hadn't been there at the start of the fight.
Blood spots on the ground.
He knew he hadn't cut up any of the criminals that much; the media would have a field day if he left them with anything more than superficial cuts. Which left…
"Tsukuyomi?" His voice came out sharper in his worry. "Were you injured?"
Tokoyami turned to face him, and his eyes went wide. Shit.
Hawks rushed over, resisting the urge to physically pat him down. "Where are you hurt? Why didn't you tell me?" He barely didn't snap it, scanning the kid for obvious bloodstains. "When—"
"I'm not." Tokoyami interrupted him, his eyes still wide and expression twisted into something new, something Hawks hadn't seen on him before. He'd assumed it was pain, but—
Tokoyami, seemingly at a loss for words, pointed at him. Hawks looked down, stared.
Stared at the dark red stain on his jacket, at the blood dripping from him. "Oh."
His side exploded in pain, and his knees buckled.
"Hawks!" Fumikage yelled, diving forward to catch his mentor. He lowered them both to the ground gently, hovering over his side.
Hawks failed to bite back a groan. "I'm fine, 't's just a scratch." He tried to claim, but the pool of red beginning to form under him was clear evidence to the contrary. "You are not fine," Fumikage hissed, gently peeling the blood-soaked jacket away from his side. His costume's underarmor was sliced clean through like it was cotton, not a highly toughened material designed to resist just about every attack the Commision could think of. Hawks had convinced him to swap costume stories once.
"Seriously, I just need a second—" Hawks tried to reassure him again, but his mentor was bleeding out in front of him and he was having none of it.
"Shut up! Save your strength!" He snapped, trying to remember everything they'd learned about emergency first aid, anything at all he could do right now. His hands hovered over Hawks's side; he was frozen in place, frozen in fear, suddenly terrified as his mentor bled over this dingy alley and he was the only one around to help.
He was a hero student at UA, a work study student to the number two hero, and he was panicking. He had to keep his head, Hawks needed him, but he just— couldn't think. It was like his mind had blanked out as soon as he saw the red stain on Hawks's jacket, his mentor so concerned that he'd been injured he wasn't even aware of his own injury. Hawks was hurt, badly, and Fumikage was absolutely useless and his hands wouldn't do anything helpful, they wouldn't stop shaking—
"You need to… call the police." Hawks forced out, and he jolted. Call the police, right, to arrest the criminals they'd just fought. "I need to call an ambulance!" Fumikage argued, hastening to pull out his phone. "Cops first… if these guys wake up, you can't… fight them alone." Hawks coughed, and this time his teeth were red. Fumikage's heart dropped further into his chest, but he grit his teeth and forced his shaking hands to steady long enough to punch in the three numbers for the emergency line.
As it rung, Hawks shifted, his far hand crossing his chest to try and touch his wound. Fumikage pushed it away with terrifying ease, thinking he was growing delirious from the blood loss, but Hawks persisted. "Need to… put pressure," he grunted, and the pieces of his training clicked into place. Suddenly, Fumikage could think again, memories of first aid and emergency care classes filling his mind. He set the ringing phone to speaker and put it to the side, batting Hawks's hand away again, the way he had just five minutes ago when his mentor fixed some of his ruffled feathers in an attempt to make him less worried. How did this all happen so fast?
He took a deep breath and held it before pressing down on the bleeding wound. Immediately, Hawks jerked away from him and released a pained half-cry half-chirp. Fumikage attempted to hold him down, something that would normally be no easy feat. "I'm sorry, I have to put pressure on it." He apologized uselessly, and he wasn't even sure if Hawks heard him over his heavy panting.
Dark Shadow, who had been unusually quiet as they hovered over his shoulder, swooped forward to assist in restraining him. They held him down with a gentleness he rarely saw them handle anyone with, and he made a mental note to get them a whole bushel of apples after this.
"110, what is your emergency?" A voice filtered through the speaker of his phone, the police line operator. "I'm a work study student under Hawks. Tsukuyomi, Provisional Hero ID #957. We have sixteen criminals ready for arrest in an alley off of blocks eighteen and twenty-two in Chuo-ku ward in Fukuoka, and a truck full of illegal substances to be taken for evidence." He forced his voice to remain steady and professional as he relayed the relevant information the way they'd practiced in heroics and he'd heard Hawks's sidekicks do a dozen times. He did not feel steady as warmth seeped between his fingers and stained his skin with his mentor's blood.
He felt like he wanted to be sick.
He was going to be a hero, though, so he sucked it up and pressed down harder. He could handle this. He would not let Hawks die on him.
The operator confirmed that the police were on the way. Fumikage got Dark Shadow to hang up and dial the next number.
"119, what is your emergency?" The fire and EMS line.
He repeated the address, already getting tired of explaining the situation. "We need an ambulance. Pro Hero Hawks is injured with a laceration to the side that's bleeding profusely and causing severe blood loss." His voice still didn't shake. He wouldn't let it. He was the emergency hero in charge of the scene right now, and he would not fail. Hawks needed him, and he needed to make his mentor proud, or at least keep him alive long enough to be disappointed.
With an ambulance confirmed, Dark Shadow hung up. After that, all there was left to do was… wait. Wait, and keep him alive.
"Hawks? Hey, talk to me. Say something." Fumikage urged. Shit, he hadn't even noticed the pained noises stopping during the phone calls.
"Hawks!" He briefly lifted one of his hands to shake Hawks's shoulder. Shit, shit, shit! "Answer me! Do not fall asleep!" He ordered-asked-begged.
Finally, Hawks groaned, and Fumikage felt his heart drop back down from where it had taken up residence in his throat. "Just stay awake. Help is on the way, you're going to be fine."
His mentor grimaced something that was probably supposed to be a smile. "'Course… I am… You worry… too much." He coughed weakly, and more red stained his lips. Fumikage rolled his eyes, but even with the coughing up blood, he couldn't deny the relief he felt that Hawks was still being… Hawks. It made him feel more reassured that things were going to be alright, even as his knees were soaked in blood and his hands were more red than skin.
Then he started coughing more. Blood sprayed from his mouth as his chest bucked beneath Fumikage's hands and Dark Shadow's hold. His inhales were ragged and wet and Fumikage felt the same fear he'd felt watching the news and seeing his classmates facing down an abomination of body parts in the street, watching his friends charge directly at the worst supervillain of the era to save their classmate. The soul-sucking fear of absolute helplessness, unable to do anything but bear witness as someone he cared about was in danger.
When the fit finally subsided, Hawks's breathing was worse, but at least he was still breathing at all. Fumikage continued applying pressure and tried to convince himself the bleeding was slowing.
"How could I have missed this?" He asked no one, racking his brain for any moment in the fight this could've happened. He didn't even remember Hawks getting hit, except for—
No.
Except for when Hawks took a hit meant for him.
Fuck.
"This is all my fault." He breathed out, eyes wide with horror. If he'd been paying more attention, or moved just a little faster, or done something differently, Hawks wouldn't have—
"No it's not," a surprisingly strong voice said. Fumikage did a double take; Hawks was now more aware than he'd been since before he collapsed, looking him dead in the eye, and Fumikage reflexively pressed down a bit harder just in case he tried to sit up. Hawks winced, and he felt another shard of guilt stab into him.
"This isn't… your fault." Hawks repeated, putting effort into each word, still staring straight at him. "I'm… the hero… You're… the student." Fumikage felt his feathers puff up and resisted the urge to snap at him. He was a hero student, not a kid, not a liability—
"'T's my job… to give you experience… and protect you." He continued, more serious than Fumikage had ever seen him. He found himself unable to argue, despite having the indignant words on the tip of his tongue. "When you're with me… your safety's my responsibility. Not… the other way 'round. Got it?" He coughed again, undermining his declaration of protection, but Fumikage still didn't argue.
"Got it?" Hawks repeated, voice rough but sharp, eyes hazy but piercing, and he nodded dumbly.
"So… not your fault." His face broke into a strained smile, a weak facsimile of his usual easygoing grin. Even now, bleeding out over a hit he took for him, Hawks was still trying to cheer him up. Fumikage wasn't sure whether to roll his eyes, laugh, or cry.
He chose none of the above and continued applying pressure, deciding to ignore it for now and sort out how he felt about it when the object of his feelings was no longer in immediate danger of exsanguination. Hawks groaned, his head rolling to the side.
"No!” He shouted, shaking him again. “Wake up! Stay with me, Hawks!" His voice cracked. In desperation, he pressed down harder, drawing another pained noise but nothing else. Still alive then, at least.
"Dark Shadow, keep feeling for his pulse." He directed them, taking a deep breath and blinking away the stinging in his eyes.
At last, after what had felt like hours but couldn't have been more than a couple minutes since his calls, sirens sounded in the distance. They approached closer and closer, until he sent Dark Shadow to direct them into the alley.
Relief like none other he'd felt flooded his veins when paramedics took over, speaking rapidly about blood loss and lacerations and medical jargon he quickly lost the meaning of. One of them wrapped a blanket around his shoulders, and he couldn't bring himself to care enough to shrug it off. It was red, the same shade as Hawks's feathers.
He pulled it tighter.
Dark Shadow, overwhelmed by the lights, retreated back inside of him. He owed them several bushels of apples after this.
He vaguely paid attention to the police taking the criminals away and packing up the truck for evidence. He attempted to answer their questions about what had happened, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Hawks; being stabilized, lifted onto a gurney, rolled into the ambulance. To his surprise, two of Hawks's sidekicks showed up. They explained that they'd heard about it on the police scanner and had come to take him back to the agency.
"Hawks would've told you to call us, if he was thinking straight." Suzume said warmly, and Toki was gesturing irately at the police officers in the background. Fumikage caught the words 'shock' and 'underage' before tuning them out. "Will…" He started hesitantly, and she nodded at him. "Will the hospital call us? When he's okay?" He asked, feeling like a small child, wrapped in his blanket and asking if his mentor was going to be okay. Of course he was — he was the number two hero, he was the guy who ruffles and preens his feathers just to irritate him, he was Hawks.
But Fumikage had seen firsthand today just how frighteningly human Hawks was.
"We'll be the first to know after the Commission." Suzume promised, resting a hand on his shoulder. He allowed it. The pressure was grounding, almost pleasant. "Alright." He nodded.
Toki, having finished his argument with the police — and won, judging by his toothy grin — rejoined them. They drove him back to the agency, making casual small talk he didn't join in on. He stared at his hands instead, stained a dark red already congealing and drying into flakes.
It was fine. Hawks would be fine, back to annoying him and challenging him to be the best hero he could be in no time. They could talk more about his role as a student versus a hero later. Fumikage had handled the situation and kept him alive, hadn't let his mentor down.
It would all be fine.