POV HAWKS

The sound of Toga's scream makes Touya freeze; I'm the one that bolts to the door. I grab Touya's arm, pulling him behind me. By the time we're in the hallway, he's snapped back to reality, eyes narrowed with determination. He nods to the room across from us; it has Kurogiri and Shiggy's name written on a sign in pretty letters (similar to, Toga's room, Dabi's room, Spinner's room, and Mr. Compress and Twice's room). "Get them up," Touya instructs. "I'm gonna get Himiko."

I couldn't respond. Another wave of gunshots fires, making me jump. Thankfully I don't have that many feathers because they would've absorbed each and every soundwave. I push the door open, revealing Shiggy hovering over Kurogiri, spitting curses at him. "Hawks," he croaks as I enter the room. "I- I can't–" His hands are shaking violently, bare of his usual gloves. There's a pile of ashes beside him, answering my questions.

"I got it," I tell him, flying my one and only regenerated feather out. "Go help T- Dabi out in the living room. I'll evacuate everyone." Shigaraki nods, hurrying to assist Touya. I shake Kurogiri's shoulder. His limbs seem to be misty, but his actual torso itself feels just like anyone else's.

I shake him a little harder, telling him to wake up. This time, Kurogiri stirs, grunting a few names as his bleary yellow eyes crack open. "Sho.. Hiz.." He blinks a few times more, taking in his surroundings. And then there's more bullets, popping like fizzy candy. "God," he blurts, hurrying to his feet. "I'm heading to Twice's room to warp us out of here. I assume Dabi is dealing with the threat?"

"Yeah," I answer, following his quick footsteps. "And Shiggy, too. And I think Toga is out there–"

"Tomura?" Kurogiri asks. "He shouldn't be fighting. The doc said he–" A gunshot makes him pause and let out a sharp breath. "Himiko could get hurt, she–" More gunshots cut him off, making Kurogiri stop talking completely. He rushes to Twice's room, and I decide to head to the living room to see what's going on.

Touya has Toga's head in his lap on the ground, whispering to her while she cries her eyes out; there's a gunshot wound in her thigh, a pool of blood forming beneath her. Shigaraki stands close to them, searching for the attacker. There's gunshot holes in the walls, the windows, the door, but there's no sign of a shooter. With Shigaraki's quirk dependent on close-range fighting, this is not a good situation to be in. "Hawks," Touya snaps, with nothing but anger dripping from his words. "Don't let her die."

I nod, immediately dropping down to take his spot. Toga squeals, clawing on Touya's shirt. "Don't fucking leave me!" Toga cries. "Stop it! Dabi!" Touya just pries her hands off, making her cling to me instead. Her grip feels like it's breaking my bones; I have to get her medical attention, but I'm afraid she'll kill me if I try to move her. Touya and Shigaraki head to the door, both with their hands out and ready to attack. Toga turns to me, pulling me down by my collar. "If you let them leave," she says, "they're never gonna come back!"

I give her the best smile I can, the smile I give to civilians when I save them from car crashes or burning buildings, when everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. A weak smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Have a little faith," I say. "Patchwork and Dustpan got this all figured out. Now c'mon, we need to get you out of here."

"I'm not leaving without them," Toga demands. "You can't make me."

"Toga," I say a little more sternly. "There's a freakin' bullet in your leg. You have to get it healed. Dabi told me to not let you die, remember? I don't know about you, but I think his word means a lot."

"I don't want to! I want to help my family!"

"Himiko," Twice calls, waving her over. She stares with tears in her eyes, choking on sobs. Twice smiles, and Toga lets me pick her up. It's hard to dodge the vicious bullets, but by ducking down, they fly over my head. I make it to Kurogiri's side, in the hallway so the bullets can't hit us, and transfer Toga into Twice's arms "You'll be just fine, Himiko," he says, petting her blonde hair. Toga sniffles, biting her lip so hard that it draws blood.

"Shall I join the fight, Mamagiri?" Mr. Compress asks, tugging at the cuffs of his suit.

"No, we don't know who we're up against," Kurogiri says, "If worst is worst, Dabi and Tomura can hold their own. We need to evacuate, collect information, and then form a plan. I'll be warping you to the doc's laboratory in a few moments. I just need to regain a bit of my energy."   

"I'm gonna stay," I blurt out, taking a step back. There's still such a large part of me that can't be away from Touya for too long. I know it's stupid, since I'm my own human being and what not, but I can taste the danger in my mouth when he's too far. Call me crazy, but my need for him is too strong to ignore. Plus... "This whole situation is my fault. The bounty hunters only want us dead because of the information I have. I don't want you guys to be hurt o-or dragged down because–"

"Hush," Kurogiri says. "The blame doesn't fall anywhere close to you."

"You don't even know what happened," I reply, getting a bit defensive. "This is my mess and–"

"I wouldn't argue with Mama," Twice suggests, wiggling his eyebrows. "He's always right."

"That is the truth," Compress says, tipping his hat. I sit and pout, a million rebuttals popping up in my mind. Kurogiri forms his misty portal, letting Twice and Toga step through first. Compress follows, and Kurogiri nods for me to go through— but I can't. I'm thinking too much.

"Keigo," Kurogiri says gently, closing his portal. The name is a shock coming from this villain. I blink, suddenly realizing there's tears in my eyelashes, rolling down my face. I wipe them away, trying to bring up that smile of mine, but it's no use. I'm going to break down, and once again, I'm not strong enough to stop it.

"God, I'm so useless," I choke out. "I'm the fucking number two hero and I- I'm hurting everyone! I w-want my wings back, and I want Touya to be okay, and I want to be able to protect everyone, but I'm so fucking USELESS!"

"Well, if it helps," Kurogiri says gently. "I'm proud of you. I know I shouldn't have, but I read through Touya's journals. He's been keeping them since he was a kid, writing all the things he's been through. He mentioned a boy with gorgeous red wings that he fell in love with. He wrote what you told him of your story, and I read it, everything from how your father treated you, how your mother treated you, how the program treated you, and now... how the flaming bastard, number one hero treated you." I stare at the misty villain, wondering if the thumping sound is the gunshots or my own pulse. He know. For some reason, it makes me feel just slightly less alone.

I'm not sure if it's because of the tears in my eyes making me not see straight, but in Kurogiri's mist I see... a boy. He's got light blue hair, dark blue eyes, and a little white bandaid on his nose. "I'm proud of you," he says. "You carry a lot on your shoulders, and that's something I admire. I may be a villain, but I can spot a good hero when I see one."

"Thanks," I say, sniffling. "They don't call you Mom for no reason, huh?"

"It's funny, isn't it?" Kurogiri says, chuckling softly. "My previous loved ones said I too goofy to be parent material... Speaking of loved ones, are you still planning on heading after our zombie man?"

I nod, feeling a blush creep onto my face. "If it's alright with you, Mamagiri."

"I guess so," he teases. "Now, let's see what we can do about these bullets."