Chapter Text
Sometimes you wondered why Hawks chose you to become one of his many Sidekicks. The mission today was stressful, but Tokoyami didn't seemed to be phased by the dire situation, nor the do-or-die disadvantages of the terrain, nor the minions and the villain they had to face.
It was probably due to his training in U.A; he was currently in his final months of his third year, and the progress showed in his combat with Dark Shadow. He had really honed it. Tokoyami made quick work of the enemy, with minimum casualties and collateral damage. No one would be surprised if he became part of Hawks' Hero Office immediately after graduating, and there was no doubt that he could surpass that level, and become a Pro Hero himself.
As you felt soreness pulse in your arm, you winced in regret in comparison. You blamed yourself for getting hit a few times by the thugs that stood in your way. They should have been avoidable. Although you were older, it made you realise how much you still had to learn; you weren't as strong as you thought.
Signing off a section within your report, your eyes meet the screen in front of you with a sting. You blink, leaning into your chair, and the cushion of the back eases your stiff spine and causes you to sigh. Your dry eyes flit towards a nearby clock; it was late. The night-time crew were coming into their seats, some of them wondered why you were still around.
You closed your desk, taking their jesting queries as a hint of the time, and your peaking tiredness.
The hallway was lit with stark lights, which you thought would wake you up a little for the stroll home, but it was making your mind realise how exhausted you were. You clutch your body a little. Maybe you shouldn't have refused the medical help either.
A strong need of a shower, and maybe booking a massage, was pressing on your mind as you enter the elevator, eyes drifting as a lazy knuckle on a button drags you to the Recovery floor. One of the many privileges of working for Hawks' Hero Agency were the bathroom perks, which is why you preferred showering at the building rather than your small apartment.
Taking off your clothes and gear seemed laborious, the many braces and pads reminding you to get an upgrade to something more ergonomic and minimal. Movements felt slow, and the aches were making themselves more prominent. You hesitate to stop and leave for a doctor to see you, but the thought is pushed aside as your soles meet the smooth curve of your slippers. The light mist that roams carelessly around the room surrounded your bare shoulders in a heavy, yet comforting, heat. The shower was most needed; you'll visit the infirmary afterwards.
You rifle through your locker, wrapping your body with a towel that you immediately find, and head towards a showering booth. The large, glass door swung carefully open at your presence.
---
"Hey - Can you let me in?"
Hawks eyes at the camera at his Agency entrance with a lopsided smile, two fingers swipe away from his temple in a casual salute. The action deems to be approved by the person monitoring the area, and he watches as the doors open.
It felt weird to not be allowed into his own company. He hid a light chuckle to himself; maybe he should have flown in through his office balcony? Most of his employees are used to that for his arrival, even when they aren't notified ahead of time, and even then he didn't tend to visit in the later hours. The last time he did, he found that the window had been fastened shut, along with all the others.
He had tried to avoid that awkward ordeal this time, only to be met by his hollering being ignored a couple of times.
"I'm so sorry, Mr Hawks!" The Winged Hero could feel the man's steps from a mile away, but the sudden burst into him still made him tread back a little. "It-It's been a long week- but I know that doesn't excuse me from- and I wasn't expecting-"
Hawks pats his shoulder. "It's okay." He says, walking past him and waving in assurance. "I ordered for stricter conducts in all floors, anyway - you're a security guard, and you were just doing your job."
He turns to briefly smile at the guard before expanding his wings, lifting himself upwards, passing through several floors towards the Investigation department.
Floating over the glass handrail, he lands, wings retracting behind his body. He walks in the corridor, feathers susceptible to the workers still at their desks tapping their pens and keyboards away, or at their meetings discussing robberies that were occurring in the past couple of weeks. One conversation he had caught was someone's report on a mission just outside of Kyushu. A breath of pride left Hawks' lungs as he strolled, hearing Tokoyami's efforts being mentioned.
Despite his curiosity on his bird protege, the Hero had come in for a different reason.
Eventually reaching his destination, he turned the handle of the door, revealing an expansive room full of drawers and shelves of criminal cases and records. A guy stands behind a desk, occupied with another box and its contents. Hawks shuts the door.
The guy glances up, slightly bewildered. "Hawks, sir?"
"Evenin'." The Hero's lax smile and gleam fades.
Hawks holds out a piece of paper, appearing to be blank from the outside.
The man, familiar with the coded contact, straightens and sets aside his box. He takes the paper, revealing the contents to himself, reading it thoroughly.
Irises changing hue, his concentration maintained on the letters and numbers of the paper. He holds out his free hand, palm down. He flattens it onto the desk in front of him, and a black folder materialises from underneath his palm.
He pushes the folder, along with the piece of paper, forwards. "I would suggest investigating the toxicology lab in the East."
"I'll make note of that." He replies, grin reappearing.
Slipping the items into his jacket, Hawks dips his head in thanks, reaching for the door to leave.
As soon as the latch of the door clicks, he stills.
"Hawks, sir? Is everything okay?"
Frowning, Hawks closes his eyes, focused on the sudden displacement in the environment around him.
A couple of levels below him, he feels a ragged heartbeat, like it was quivering in panic. But there weren't any threats from what he could sense; no one sprinting, no clatter of anything metal, just this lone body with a thundering pulse. Without a word, he leaves the room and sends a feather out to the corridor. It zips past panels of rooms, and slips past a few people walking around in the vicinity, the red streak startling them with a dodge.
As the feather reached the floor of distress, he could feel hot moisture form on the vanes. It slowed, lowering to the ground, sensing no danger and the heart beat located. Hawks, trailing from a distance, lands onto the new floor. He treads closer to his feather and, now closer to the situation, notices the pulses vividly, and now... Vibrations? Or singing? Was that what it was? Was this all coming from the same person?
His feather floats in front of a door, steam emitting through the gaps of the frame. The vibrations he had been feeling were definitely someone's vocal chords; he was hearing singing from the other side. No; it was humming. It wasn't a melody he could recall. But it sounded pretty pleasant. He could hear the water running and spluttering from inside the room, already missing the song as it finishes.
He calls out. "Hello? You okay in there?"
He hears a creak of a tap, and the quiet flow of water stop, wet footsteps pacing.
There's no response, nevertheless their heart rate was not resting.
He calls again. What is it with people not hearing him tonight? "Hey. Is this shower room occupied?"
The footsteps silence.
"Uh, yeah?" She sounded annoyed. "There's more down the hall."
Ruffling his wings, he has one last scan for good measure. He scratches the back of his neck; her heart rate is still rapid in her chest, and she shouldn't be standing at this point. Maybe it was a consequence of her quirk?
Feather retreating back to his wings, he lightly leans an ear. "Right - I just want to know if you're okay in there."
There's a clanging noise, like she's opening a locker quite angrily. Was she mad? The Hero assumed she was just having a bad day.
She sighs. "I'm fine, thanks." Her voice cracks.
Hawks was on edge. He just about turns on his feet before hearing thuds.
He knocks. "Hey!"
He presses an ear against the wall; no response, the heart beat he's been detecting had switched.
It was slowing down drastically.
"I'm coming in!"
Shoulders breaking the hinges of the door, Hawks finds your body sprawled on the ceramic floor.
He held his breath as his face caught red at the sight of your partially nude form. He shouldn't be that surprised, it was a bathroom after all, and there were plenty of times he had saved people who were in the middle of baths or sitting on their toilet seats.
Feathers remind him of your slow heart as they press a red button nearby, alarms ring all over the building. He swallows to recover his dry mouth, the moment of hesitation irritating him a little, and rushes to the ground beside you. Cautious, he uses his feathers to wrap the corners of your towel to cover you, securing it tight to avoid revealing your body again.
He takes you into his arms, noting your consciousness as you hunched into him. His spare feathers circle as he got to his feet. He should have assessed whether it was wise to pick you up in the first place; there were purple and yellow marks dotted around your skin, there might be unknown injuries he wasn't aware of.
"Hawks?" He had been too focused on your bruises that he almost missed your voice.
"Are you alright? Can you tell me what happened?"
"I don't know..." You look up at him.
Hawks begins to move. "I'm taking you to hospital."
He ignores your meek protest as he carries you out into the hallway; his wings prepare for flight.
A few of his night-time sidekicks see him from afar, sprinting or flying into the hallway towards the distress point. They spot him too, glancing at the limp body he held. "Hawks! What's wrong?"
Your breaths became shallow; he was finding it difficult to sense your pulse.
Hawks finds the nearest window at the other end of the hallway. It slides open the moment he looks.
Head turning, he sees one of his sidekicks with their glowing hands outstretched, already thinking just as fast as he was.