I think of things and then I can't stop thinking

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...

What was it?

Why was it there?

And who the fuck invented such a cruel-looking device?

Hawks had been staring down one of the LoV's torture devices for the past 20 minutes and demanded answers. It looked strangely familiar, which didn't go down all too well with his gut feelings.

This cubic, white, shiny thing, had a hollowed-out centre in the shape of a cylinder, that looked just the right size for a small human child to fit into. A number of brightly lit buttons ran across a rectangular dashboard along the top of the device, debatingly used to activate different parts of the instrument. And that metal looked stronger than the fires of hell.

The funny thing was, it was surrounded by clothes, some seeming new and others dirty, ready to be thrown out. What was this estranged instrument lying around in trash for? And as far as he knew, the LoV didn't even own a torture device.

When Hawks left the laundry room that evening, he had a very strong conviction to hunt down the creator of this dreadful instrument and destroy them.

...

Naturally, the first on his list was Dabi. His boyfriend was the one he trusted (semi-trusted) most in the league, and would hopefully be the most useful.

"Hey Dabs." The bird greeted as he passed the other in the base the next day.

"Mornin' birdie." The villain pecked him on the lips and did him no justice of hanging around, turning to go do whatever villains did at 3 pm in the 'morning'.

Before he could get away fully, Hawks grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and cleared his throat. "There's actually something I need to ask you." Hawks paused as Dabi turned back to face him, so painstakingly slowly that Hawks had time to regret all his life decisions before asking the next question. "Did you know about the torture device on the third floor?"

Dabi just looked at him, raising an eyebrow that made Hawks reconsider his sanity. "The league don't own no torture device that I know of, but if you did find one, maybe you should ask someone from the PLF instead."

And with that helpful piece of information, the villain once again turned, this time with the flare of a dramatic bastard wanting to be noticed, but all Hawks cared about was the sight that met his eyes as Dabi's coat twirled upward. He wasn't complaining, so he went about looking for the next person least likely to kill him.

...

Even though Hawks wasn't looking for him, he still happened to somehow stumble over Shigaraki as he made his way down the hallway. His original plan was to find Twice and string him along to confront Re-Destro, but he was currently on a level 5 out of 15 relationship with the LoV leader, and as long as death wasn't inevitable then Hawks was comfortable.

"Shiggy, my man!" The hero grinned, wavering as the eye that peeked from behind the hand didn't show any signs of reciprocation. "Uhh... I was just wondering if, you know, you were aware of any torture devices on the 3rd floor?"

"Torture devices?" If it was possible for a deadpan to be filled with curiosity, then Shigaraki pulled it off.

"Yeah, I was up there yesterday and there was this weird machine... I didn't know that you guys had things like that, I mean your pretty chill, and broke, and not really that smart, and broke-"

"I get it, hero, but do I have to remind you that as our credit card, it's your fault we're broke?" The deadly edge was edging into the leader's tone and Hawks could feel his level dropping from 5 to 4.5. He wasn't ready to accept any lower than that.

"Yeah, but as your 'credit card'" He put the last two words in air quotes, just to annoy Shigaraki and prove his point (mostly to annoy Shigaraki) "I expected the purchase of any torture weapons to have been run by me."

Shigaraki hummed, scratching his neck lightly in a way that made Hawks want to cut his hands off. "Well, it would have to be run by me as well, so I would appreciate it if you showed me this device so that I can make sure it fits regulations."

Hawks would've really liked to know what those regulations were, and why they existed in the first place  (torture is torture, there are no rules),  but he was afraid of his level to drop to a 3 if he questioned too much.

When the hero didn't move, Shigaraki glared and waved his hands, a truly threatening gesture, and Hawks swiftly gathered himself to lead the way. They walked down a few halls and up a few staircases before they got to the room that had haunted Hawks dreams the previous night.

"This is it." Hawks opened the door with a flourish and closely watched for any signs of horror or fear on the LoV leaders face.

"Where is it?" Shigaraki had stared that horrid scratching again, this time Hawks catching his wrist. Quickly realising what he had just done, the hero covered his blunder by lifting it from where it lay limp with surprise and pointing it towards the machine. The thing in question was beeping at a steady pace, completely out of time with Hawks own heartbeat.

"There..." The word was hissed, spat like venom between pointed teeth. Just looking at it gave Hawks chills, and he shivered, instinctively pulling his flight jacket tighter around him. That cylinder looked so small... and birds were probably the most claustrophobic creatures to walk the earth.

Shigaraki, on the other hand, (pun not intended), did not look horrified, or fearful. Instead, he looked downright confused. "Where..?"

"There!" Hawks let go of the other's wrist and pointed with his own arm. "The white sparkly thing!" It was very shiny. But bird instincts weren't needed right now.

A look of disbelief fell over the small number of features that peeked out from behind Shigaraki's face-hand. "Do you mean the washing machine?" He inquired.

"Ah... so that's what it's called." A truly fearful name for a truly fearful weapon. Washing machine. Something tugged at the back of Hawks mind, the same sense of familiarity from the day before.

Shigaraki did not look impressed at all. "You need help, hero." Was all he said before being the second villain to walk away from him that day.

Afraid to be alone with the 'washing machine', Hawks quickly followed suit, once again leaving the instrument of darkness to lie in the shadows.

...

Hawks went home that evening with a mind full of unanswered questions. So it was a washing machine, huh...

The commission was going to have to hear of this.

...

I may write a second bit and turn this into a two shot.