chapter eight


WELCOME TO MY HUMBLE ABODE
song not available!


The two arrived at a small building located at the side of a busy street.


The glass door automatically greeted the wet duo and they welcome the warm air as soon as they could.


Although the girl's mind was in a daze, she could see that the building was grand from the inside compared to the shabby display from outside. The mix of brown and white marble flooring complimented the wooden interior with a chandelier in the middle of the lobby and other grand lighting. For one second, the girl thought that she was in a hotel but the sign above the receptionist desk says otherwise.


Hawks had ruffled his wet feathers causing water droplets to splash everywhere on the expensive looking marble flooring while Aiko just stared at him in amazement. She tried to do the same action with her similarly wet wings but failed, resulting in only a slight shoulder shake.


The man noticed her movements but kept quiet as he hoped to question her in privacy later on. Just as they took a step in, a loud voice echoed around them.


"Hawks! How many times must I remind you that you dry your wings OUTSIDE the building. Now look at the mess you've made! Our poor cleaners have to dry the floor up once again!"


The voice grew louder and Aiko could see from her side that Hawks's face was similar to a little kid when they were getting nagged by their mother. His mouth was downturned and his eyes was looking at a wall as if it was interesting. When she turned her head to face the receptionist desk, she had found the source of the voice.


Coming out from the receptionist area was an older looking woman - probably the same age as her late grandmother - placing her hands on her hips and walking fiercely towards the two. Her grey hair was tied up in a tight bun and she wore traditional clothes instead of office ones. She was also slightly shorter than Aiko but from afar, they we're almost the same height.


Aiko glanced between the older woman and the Pro Hero beside her as she watch the events unfold before her.


"Mrs Chi, I swear this time I didn't mean it. It's a force of habit!"


"Even if you didn't mean it, people are going to slip and fall when they come in! Did you forget what happened to our old manager when you did this a few months back?!"


Hawks dug his ears as the (short) old woman was now standing in front of him with beet red face in anger. She was pointing her index finger and waving at it to the winged man.


"It wasn't my fault he came running in!"


"That was because you initiated a last-minute debriefing after work hours! I can't believe you, you're a pro hero, number 3 at that and you still won't listen to simple instructions!" She continued.


"That debriefing was important. What, you expect me to send you guys a text with confidential information?"


"That's not what I meant! I know what you are doing, don't try to change the topic, young man! The next time you dry those red feathers in this lobby, I'll pluck every red feather I see,"


Hawks gasped in horror. Aiko twiddled with her fingers as she watched the exchange. She felt awkward and out of place, her mind was still drawing a blank after what had happened throughout the day. They were still arguing until the old woman had realised her presence.


"Oh dear, I am so sorry! I was too busy scolding this man-child-"


"Hey!"


"That I didn't see you there. You're drenched and your clothes are wet. My, let me help you dear or you will catch a cold," the old woman softly spoke as she took Aiko's hand and guided her towards an elevator near the receptionist's desk.


"And you! You're wet too after I told you to bring an umbrella. Go get some dry clothes yourself and if you even let a single drop of water drip on the floor, I will have you do errands for the company for a year!" The old woman turned her head back at the pro hero who was shocked at the sudden change and biasness.


"Wha-? That's not fair! How come you treat her so nicely?! I was the one who helped bring her here!" He whined while trailing the two woman. The trio entered the small lift while the two continued bickering like a mother and a child. Aiko felt a headache coming through and she didn't know if it was because of the constant argument or the rain was already affecting her.


After a few minutes of walking, the trio had arrived at a spacious looking office at the end of a corridor. By her right side, she could see two couches facing each other with a rectangle table in between and she assumed that was where the guests and the host would socialise. On her left, she could see a few book shelves lined up against the wall and another wooden door by the corner of the room. Finally, the end of the room shows a simple black working desk with an office chair and a few large windows overlooking some buildings behind the desk.


Her eyes darted around to take in the room. She could see from the large window that rain was still pouring mercilessly on the urban city. She was pulled out of her thoughts when the older woman had sat her down on the couch and left the room stating she would grab some necessities for her to warm up. Aiko only nodded as seeing how she could contain the Pro Hero - she didn't want to land on her bad side.


"Anyways, welcome to my humble abode aka my temporary office. I work at Fukuoka but I'm posted here at Musutafu for a short while. Ah! I'm also sorry about that grandma, she's my secretary and she nags at me a lot,"


Hawks waved his words off while he shrugged his jacket, leaving him in only his black bodysuit and brown pants. He walked to the opposite couch to face Aiko as he leaned back comfortably, stretching his arms across the couch. He closed his eyes as he sighs and laid his head back.


"Oh I see...she seems nice," Aiko muttered.


She thought back to the secretary and how familiar she was to her late grandmother; though Aiko's grandmother didn't nag at all and was lovely towards her for as long as she's known. They were only similar in appearance of wearing traditional clothes and their hair in a tight bun. Hawks hummed and close his eyes.


"For a grandma, she's mean! I mean she's good at taking care of people and putting them in their place so maybe that's why they assigned her to me but I swear she's like a witch!"


They? Assigned?


Aiko kept quiet. She wanted to question but her headache was worsening. Aiko laid her head back as well as she could feel it spinning uncontrollably.


"...I never pegged you to have an older woman as a secretary. I assumed that you would have a pretty woman in a mini skirt to work for you but I can't judge," she voiced out her thoughts. Her voice sounded weak and raspy. Her vocal chords was scratching at her. She glanced at him and saw his eyebrow twitched.


"What do you take me for, kid?" He asked as he opened his eyes to make eye contact with her. He was annoyed that she had that image of him. He worked hard to save people and be a hero but the media had to portray him as a player! Sure, his model pictures were kind of explicit, and he always talked amongst his fans playfully...and purposely made them swoon...


"A womanizer." She spoke without a heart beat. She pinched the bridge of her nose to try and rid the stinging in her head. If Hawks was annoyed before, he was livid now. The girl thought that he's a womaniser?!


"You must bring helpless citizens or young woman from the rain like this before, right?"


What am I doing? Why am I saying all these stuff? My mouth keeps running but my head hurts.


"Believe it or not, it's the first time this has happened. You don't see a lot of crazy people standing in the rain for minutes doing nothing," he replied. He stood up to his work desk and grabbed a few black paper bags from behind.


Aiko's eyes trailed him as he returned and place the bags on top of the glass table. She peered in it to see various colours of clothing.


"Here's your clothes after you ran out yesterday. Once Mrs Chi comes back with everything you need, you can freshen up and take a shower in my toilet there," he said as he pointed to the wooden door Aiko had saw at the corner.


A bathroom connected to his office, huh? He must be working a lot in here for him to have that.


Aiko rubbed her face with the palms of her hand. She had so many questions but they were all jumbled up in her head that she didn't know what to say.


So much shit has happened. I'm going crazy I know I am.


"Why...? Why are you doing all these? You said this was the first time right? Why are you helping me? I'm a stranger. I'm a nobody that you just met. I could be a villain or a serial killer for all you know,"


Hawks went back to sit on his couch. He placed a hand under his chin and hummed with an exaggeration. Even he didn't know why he was helping the teenager. Was it because of his dream? Or his natural instinct as a hero to help her when he saw her helplessly looking for clothes or standingunder the rain?


So, he used his usual tactic to derive her from getting an answer, much like how he used it on the media; he joked around.


"Because I finally found a bird friend! Do you know how long it took for me to finally found someone with wings like mine? My whole life! And yours is white. We could be a pairing of red and white!"


Aiko glared at him. In addition to the headache that was pounding in her head, she once again had the feeling that Hawks was being fake. It was gnawing in her gut and she felt so disgusted that she wanted to throw up.


She knew that she could never get the real answer from his own mouth. Aiko could feel her wings growing a little in agitation, despite it being wet but quickly calmed her heart down. She didn't want a repeat of what happened at the store.


"Thank you for taking your time to help me. I'll pay you back for the clothes and I'll be on my way, never in your life again. How much is it?"


"$500. I'll give you a discount, $499"


Aiko choked on her own saliva.


This must be a ouran high school host club spin-off. Oh kamisama , do I have to act as a host to this bird man here?


Hawks ran his hand through his hair. Aiko could see his biceps and triceps flexing through his short sleeve body suit. Only then, did she realise that Hawks was built with a toned body. He didn't have a hard six pack but the outline was there and so was his v-line and obvious pecks from arm muscles.


Embarrassed, she looked away but the blood rushing to her face was shameless.


The rain is really getting to me.


"Give me time, I'll pay you back in a few months. I'm sorry I made you pay that much," she looked at the hands on her lap.


Great, now I'm in debt with the #3 hero.


"Nah it's okay. You don't have to pay me back. I have extra money on the side that I needed to burn anyways." The man smiled mischievously as always.


There was a short silence after his sentence. Aiko wasn't in the best mood for a long or fake conversations anyways after the incident with her mother. She wasn't over it at all as the scene kept replaying in her head.


I hope Ryo is okay...mom never acted out like this before..who knows what she's doing right now


Meanwhile, the Pro Hero observed the young lady in his office. He too, had a lot of questions for her. Why was she in his dream? Why was she in the rain? Why were her eyes puffy and empty? Why can't you fly?


He wanted to blurt out the questions but even he was scared that you would run out the room. Hawks was the fastest hero in Japan but the rain was definitely not his ally in this situation if you were to run out.


"How's that teacher of yours in the UA? Is he okay now?" He asked. The silence wasn't bothering him but seeing your empty eyes and solemn face, he couldn't help but want to distract you.


The very expression drawn on your face was like an antique doll to Hawks. Your features were beautiful and perfect yet there were no emotions in them. It's like you weren't alive.


You seem like you've been through a lot the past few days that he wanted to keep your mind busy and made sure everything was alright. He had been in your shoes once, where he felt helpless, and he didn't want anyone to experience what he had gone through.


"Oh, Aizawa-sensei. Yeah, thank the gods that he's okay now. He suffered some injuries but I'm sure he'll be fine. He's strong," she answered. Now that she thought about it, Aizawa had seen her wings but he took it in calmly, so why was it different than her mother's reaction? So are these wings dangerous or not?


"Hmm, you seem close to him. I bet you're the teacher's pet," Hawks teased. He was now leaning his head against his palm, staring at her. Aiko felt uncomfortable with the sudden remarks and stare.


What does he want? What's with that look?


"I'm definitely not his favourite student,"


Hawks raised an eyebrow and smirked. Then, the door to his office opened and Mrs Chi walked in. She apologised to Aiko for being late because the dryer had malfunctioned but Aiko dismissed it stating it was fine.


Aiko was about to enter the bathroom until Mrs Chi called out to her.


"Once you're done, I can help to dry and preen your wings dear. Just call out my name,"


"Preen?" Aiko echoed. Confusion was written all over her face as she tilted her head. Mrs Chi and Hawks mirrored Aiko's expression - surprised that a girl with feathers didn't know what preening was. This made Hawks even more confused with the girl but he bit his tongue from interrogating her.


"Uhm preening is like grooming your feathers. I always help Hawks to preen his back feathers since he can't reach it," Mrs Chi explained. Hawks gave the bored expression.


"You don't have to expose me like that, old lady," he muttered but received a flick to the forehead from his secretary.


"Oh..thank you Mrs Chi. I look forward to it," Aiko bowed and mumbled before entering in.


Mrs Chi eyed the closed door before turning to the hero in question.


"A peculiar one, isn't she?" She asked as she got ready to leave the room.


"Yeah she is. By the way, could you fetch us some painkillers and refreshments? Oh! And two curry cup noodles,"


Mrs Chi raised an eyebrow. Hawks looks excited and his eyes shows the glint of curiosity - something she always sees when he was busy doing only investigations in his jobs.


"Of course. You never told me who she was. I've never seen you hung around someone other than those two Pro Heroes. Surely not one of your fans," Mrs Chi asked. Hawks only smiled as an answer to her question which cause the older woman to sigh and follow his requests.


For the time that Mrs Chi had worked for the Pro Hero, she knew it would be difficult to get a definite answer from him.


Once she was out the door, Hawks dropped his cheerful demeanour. Having wings but can't fly and doesn't know preening? Enjoying the rain when naturally, winged species avoid it?


He frowned in thought. His mind recalled the last time they had met and what she had said to him.


"You disgust me"


He had never heard a sentence full of venom spoken to him like that - never in his trainings in the HSPC or from any villain's mouth he had encountered with. He felt a shiver run through his winged back, causing his wings to shiver as well. Her eyes today when she made eye contact with him was so vacant yet he felt like she had seen through him- his mask, his persona, that was shown to satisfy the public as a Hero.


He was so busy in thoughts that he jumped when he heard a ringing sound blasting in the room. He brought his phone to his face to answer it but the device didn't display any phone calls.


His eyes shot to the table where Aiko had placed her phone before showering. The ringing caused vibrations on the glass table, causing it to move little by little. On the display, he could see the name 'Sleeping Beauty' shining brightly at him.


The call ended a few seconds later before it rang again, the contact name was shown once again and the ringtone repeated.


The Pro Hero contemplated his actions. He wanted to leave it be to respect the teenager's privacy yet the constant calls were making him worried.


There has to be a reason why she was alone in the streets and rain like that. Don't tell me she ran away from home or something like that...


After deciding for a few minutes, as well as seeing her phone being spam called and messages booming with each second, he slid his fingers across the phone's screen and placed it in his ears.


"Hell-"


"Who are you and where is Aiko?" A deep voice resonated through the line. Hawks's face contorted to seriousness.


Aiko? First name basis? Is it her father...or boyfriend? No...I'm not getting any of that feeling. The contact name doesn't show it's her father and there were no emoticons or anything to say it was her boyfriend.


Hawks felt the unnatural anger simmer inside him. He knew it was his bird instinct but he didn't know why his quirk was getting angry. Maybe it was the cold attitude towards him..or that the person in the line had spoke with the teenager's first name?


"She's busy right now. Who are you?" He replied coldly. His stare was focused on the leftover bag of clothes placed atop the table.


"Listen here, stranger. You tell me where that girl is or I'll come hunt you down personally if you even think about laying a finger on her."


Hunt me down? As if you could. This guy is pissing me off.


Hawks was about to snark a comment to the menacing voice when the sound of a door creaked and a sweet voice sliced through the tense air with a whisper.


"Hey- Uhm, the clothes seems kinda small or maybe I just suck at putting my wings in it,"


The blonde man whipped his head towards her and smirked before smiling to himself. He couldn't wait to see the chaos he would ensue to get back at the voice on the line.

Comment