POV KEIGO

"Hawks," squeaks Dark Shadow, rubbing his beak against the side of my face. I groan, sitting up slowly. This place isn't familiar to me, but I can pinpoint the exits quickly in case I need to leave quickly. I gently push Dark Shadow's face away from me and adjust in my spot. I'm on a couch in what appears to be a living room. Whose living room? I have no clue. And it makes me sick. "Hawks, you're awake! Can you hear me? Can you see me? Pop quiz: what's my name?"

"Dark Shadow," I reply, "but Little Bird calls you Aibo." Dark Shadow yips, snuggling against me like a puppy. "Careful," I tell him. "I'm still exhausted. What time is it?"

"Three thirteen in the morning," Dark Shadow says. "Toko, Sho, and Tsu are asleep, but I'll keep you company. So how are you? What happened?"

"I forgot how much you talk," I say, chuckling softly. "I think it's better if we don't go over all of that. I'm hungry. Wanna grab a snack?"

"I would," Dark Shadow says, "but I can't leave Toko. We'd have to wake him up."

"Hmph, well in that case, I can just–"

"Ah, no worries!" Dark Shadow exclaims. "TOKO! TOKO, WAKEY-WAKEY!"

"Grhhhhgggh!" Tokoyami blurts as Dark Shadow screams in his face. "What is it, Aibo? Is something the matter?"

"Bird-sensei wants a snack," Dark Shadow says, somehow beaming.

"Oh," Tokoyami notes. "You're awake, sensei. Apologies if Dark Shadow woke you. He hasn't had much attention recently. He... missed you, quite a lot. And was worrying if you were alright..."

"I'm good," I say gently, feeling my chest tighten a bit. "Just some normal hero trouble, 's all. How about you? You been behaving, Little Bird? Get into any fights?"

"...Yes, perhaps you could say I engaged in battle with a peer," Tokoyami admits. "My apologies, sensei."

"Did you win?" I blurt automatically. "Who was it? I hope you kicked the McShit out of them!"

"Ahem," Aizawa says, standing over in the kitchen. "What are you doing up at this hour? You need a full night's rest. Both of you."

"My bad," I chuckle, rising up to my feet. "I was firing questions at him. Uh, thanks for your help, Eraser, but I think I'm gonna head out–"

"Not so fast," Aizawa says, glaring at me. "You've proven to me that you need quite a bit of supervision, and some medical attention. You'll spend the rest of the night here in the 1-A dorms, and in the morning, we'll take you to see recovery girl so we can get you all checked out."

"That's really not necessary," I say, putting my palms up. "I'm doing fine. Plus, I wouldn't leave unless you know I had to." I hope he gets the hint because I can't say it directly. "All eyes are on me. Number two hero, and all."

Aizawa raises an eyebrow, not breaking his gaze. "Is that so? You know, Hawks, it's best if you stay and get cleaned up. A dust allergy on top of broken wings can't be a good thing."

"I wouldn't say I'm dusty," I say, fidgeting with my fingers. "More along the lines of... playing with fire."

"Fire?" Aizawa asks. "Specify."

I shrug. "We're talking big, red, original. The number one biggest fire the country has. That's what burned me." Aizawa just stares at me, probably processing. Tokoyami and Dark Shadow head to the kitchen, mumbling about how we adults don't make any sense. Once he leaves, I uncensor the conversation. "I'm doing fine," I say in a hushed voice. "I don't need your protection. I think I'm just gonna wait him out."

"Endeavor was the one that burned your wings off?" Aizawa replies, still a bit taken back. "Why would he do that?"

"To keep me quiet, I guess," I say with a sigh. "Don't tell anyone I'm telling you this, Eraser. I'm only telling you so you understand why I have to stay away from Tokoyami and the rest of you. Endeavor... he r-raped me, twice, and Dabi from the league of villains turned out to be his long lost son and he was helping me get Endeavor arrested for it but the cops didn't believe us and turned it all on the league so–"

"Excuse me, what?!" Aizawa blurts, eyebrows furrowed into a scowl. "Endeavor did what?! Dabi is who?!"

"Quiet," I force-whisper. "He raped me. But I'm okay. I was with Dabi aka Touya because Endeavor sent tons of people after us to kill us. Long story short, idiot and emotionally weak me fell in love with Touya and... ugh, I'm just a fucking mess. He wants to eradicate the entire hero society! I didn't want all that! I just wanted Endeavor to stop popping up in my fucking nightmares!"

"Hawks," Aizawa says slowly. He rests his hands on my shoulders, steadying me. I didn't even know I was shaking. And apparently I'm crying, too. "Take a deep breath, okay? I respect you and care about you as a hero and as a human being. You're one of my students' mentors, and you know how Hizashi and I use the word 'student' synonymously with 'child.' I want to respect your wishes, but I can't keep this secret. Endeavor cannot get away with something like this."

"N-no, you don't understand," I say, laughing dryly. "He'll just kill me. We- you- Eraser, you can't tell anyone!"

"I'm sorry," Aizawa says, pulling out his phone. "You'll thank me later."

"St-stop it! Stop it! Aizawa, please! Don't tell them, don't–"

"Sensei?" Tokoyami says gently, stepping back into the common area. "What is happening? Is everything alright?"

"It's fine," Aizawa says. "Please head to bed. You've got school in the morning."

"But–"

"Sleep, Tokoyami," Aizawa orders. "Hawks will be here in the morning."

"Alright... Goodnight, Hawks-sensei. Goodnight, Aizawa-sensei," Tokoyami says, heading to the stairs.

"Night-night!" Dark Shadow squeaks.

"Hello?" Aizawa says into his phone as he turns to head to the kitchen. "Yes... as soon as possible, please..." I stay on the couch, feeling numb. What's going to happen if Endeavor finds out I told on him again? Is he going to send more hunters after me? After the few people I care about? Images flash through my mind, tying me down and clouding my windpipe. I slide to the ground, sitting on the carpet pathetically. Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, Eraser and Mic, Mirko, Touya...

I almost forgot that Touya wants to kill my loved ones, too.

I shake my head, raking my hands through my hair and tugging violently at the strands. Fuck, fuck, FUCK! My heart thumps so loudly in my chest that everything else disappears. I feel sick and weak and fucking awful. I hope I die here. I don't want to go through this again. I want to fucking die! I can't- I–

"Hawks," whispers a small voice. It's Shoto, gentle and quiet, sitting across from me on the floor. I stop tearing at my hair and try to regulate my breath. I don't want the students to see me like this, but I can't get a hold of myself. "Try to take some deep breaths, okay? There's nothing here that can hurt you."

"I- f-fucking hell," I choke out. Shoto rests his palm flat on his chest, squaring his shoulders up, and I copy him. My heartbeat is erratic and crazy. I can hear it through my feathers, and it's almost painful.

"You're safe here," Shoto tells me. "I know it's scary. He's... scary... but he can't get us here, I promise."

"But what if he does?" I breathe out. I don't even know where the words are coming from. "I d-don't have Touya to protect me! He hates me! A-and Endeavor is g-gonna–"

"He can't get to us here," Shoto says a bit more sternly. "We have people to protect us, and we can protect ourselves. And, if it makes you feel better, I don't think Touya hates you. He loves you a lot, considering the fact that he risked his life for you. He cares about you. A lot of people do. Try to keep that in mind."

"You kids blow my mind sometimes," I chuckle, wiping my eyes. "What the hell is Eraser teaching you?"

"How to fight," Shoto answers. "I assume my social emotional learning skills came from Midoriya and Sero. Midoriya is very emotional, and... w-well..."

"Sero? The Spanish tape dude?" I ask, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Yes, he and I spend a lot of time together," Shoto admits, blushing wildly. "We like to read together."

"Nerdy, but cute," I say. "Thank you for your help, Sho. I owe you one." Before Shoto can answer, there's a few loud knocks on the front door. Aizawa answers it quickly, letting in Principal Nezu, All Might, Present Mic, and a few officers. I mumble a curse as Aizawa explains the situation.

"Would you like to play video games, Hawks?" Shoto asks, nodding to the TV. "I'm not very good at them, but Kaminari seems to enjoy them when he's upset."

"Sounds good, Sho," I say with a sigh. "Touya's really lucky to have a little brother like you."

Shoto stares at me, his eyes twinkling. "You think so?"

I nod, giving him the best smile I can muster. "Definitely."

POV DABI

It's been hours since Keigo got up and left, and I'm still sitting on the roof. I'm not mad at him. I gave him the option, and he took it. It does sting a bit, though. Everything I was doing... I was doing it for him. I don't want to give anyone the opportunity to hurt him, and like I said, if that means wiping out all the heroes, then so be it. Keigo is my world. To hell with him if he hates me! I'll still protect him because that's the type of person I am.

I take out my phone and dial Shiggy's number. I keep my eyes forward, staring at the sun as it starts to inch up into the sky. "Dabi," Shiggy croaks. "Why the hell are you calling me at this hour?"

"The birdie ditched me," I blurt out. It takes every fiber in my being to not spew all the thoughts in my mind, but I manage.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Shiggy continues.

"He just got up and left, Tomura." My voice cracks, and I beg God to pretend it didn't. "He fucking left me."

"Where are you?"

"X Town," I reply with a shaky breath. "Can you get Kurogiri to wrap me out of here? I- I wanna go home."

Shigaraki pauses, and I can hear some shuffling behind him. I cover my mouth with my hand, biting down on my middle finger. I don't know what's wrong with me. "Yeah, I'll go talk to him now," Shiggy finally says. "Himiko and Twice want to talk to you in the meantime."

"Okay."

"Hey, Dabs," Twice cheers into the phone. "Miss you a ton! No we don't! Can't wait till you can come back and play Just Dance! Fuck Just Dance! Mortal Kombat!"

"Nugget!" Himiko squeals. "Hey! How's your honeymoon? Get any fancy blood samples for me?"

"Hey guys," I answer, trying to keep my voice as level as possible. "Yeah, I should be back soon. How's the doc?"

"He's still weird like always," Himiko grumbles. "And Mamagiri said we can't let him be in a room alone with anyone, specifically Tomura."

"No big deal," Twice says. "He freaks me out."

"We'll be going back to the base soon," I assure them. "I just—"

"Dabi!" exclaims a voice from behind me. I flinch, but only slightly. Assuming it's one of the hunters, I tell Himiko and Twice I have to go handle something.

I stand up and turn around, rolling my eyes at the sight. "Damn it, bunny. What do you want?"

"Touya Todoroki," Mirko says, her voice chilly and unwavering. "You're under arrest for the sexual and physical assault of the pro hero Hawks."

"Real funny," I say dryly. "Why are you really here? And how the hell did you find that name?"

Mirko just shakes her head, standing like a statue. The trap door behind her bursts open and out floods a swarm of SWAT officers. I don't even have the time— or energy— to fight them off. The quirk-cancelling cuffs are on my wrists before I can even blink. It's only when I'm being pushed into the back of a cop car does it really hit me. I kick at the officer holding me and snap backward. "Don't fucking touch me!" I scream at them. "Mirko! What the fuck?! You know it wasn't me! I wouldn't hurt him, you know that!"

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "I have to protect Hawks, no matter what."

"That's bullshit!" I choke out. "Get me the fuck out of here! You can't do this!"

"Touya, please calm down," an officer orders. "We're required to sedate you if you don't cooperate."

"That's not my fucking name!" I cry at them. Blood pools down my face, but I can't wipe it away. I just thrash around like a maniac, hoping these cuffs get caught on something, anything.

They don't, of course. Instead there's a needle pressed to my neck, and I pass out in the back of the police car.