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“Are you ready?”
Todoroki zipped up his dark blue jacket as he glanced around the room, wondering if the creaking floorboards was just the house settling or one of his siblings creeping about. He didn’t have to worry about his father who was working late at the Tokyo office. So he slowly pushed open the window and stuck his head out, the cool summer night breeze blowing through his hair as he smiled up at his guardian angel backlit by the full moon. A friend he always called Hawks since they were kids and who was going to whisk him away from his perpetual nightmare.
“Ready whenever you are,” said Todoroki.
They were two stories above the ground but Hawks didn’t need any footing to stay on eye level with his friend. His beautiful feathered wings were stretched out to either side, keeping him afloat, beating every now and then to make sure he didn’t fall. His head was ruffled in an unruly mess and his smirking face was speckled with facial hair. But Todoroki liked those things about him.
Hawks reached out his hands and Todoroki took them in his, putting a foot on the windowsill. They’d done this multiple times before but Todoroki’s heart always dropped down to his stomach when he climbed out. Still, Hawks always made sure to catch him, safely in his arms as they took off into the starry skies. That night was just like any other night as they held each other tightly, and watched the city race by underneath their feet.
Usually, they’d go to the country’s capital or as far as they could before Hawks got tired. They’d eat gas station pizza while complaining about their least favorite people in their class. Or go to the not-so-secret lake in the woods to go skinny dipping. Or use their fake IDs to get into nightclubs and dance until they got kicked out for knocking people over with Hawks’s wings. It might sometimes be on purpose if they noticed patrons that were being especially annoying.
But that night, Todoroki had a different destination in mind. Hawks obliged, taking them to the city hospital where they landed on the roof with a soft thud. At the top of the building, they could breathe in the sights of hundreds of citizens with their lights still on. Sometimes, they talked about what those other night owls were up to in the privacy of their homes. Who were having mundane conversations about their day-to-day lives? Who were drinking away their sorrows, searching for something to believe in? Who were studying for an exam that they really didn’t want to fail lest their disappoint those around them?
Todoroki wasn’t up for playing that game that night. He just wanted to sit and talk. Hawks could tell, so he joined him, their backs resting against the chain link fence that surrounded the perimeter of the rooftop. They weren’t cold, not so long as they had the feathery wings to cover them and Todoroki’s high body heat to warm them up.
“So this is the hospital your mom is staying at?” Hawks asked.
Todoroki nodded in confirmation as he tried to figure out which room she was staying at. How many floors over her were they at that moment? Was she thinking about him and the rest of her family? He wanted to see her so badly but he figured she didn’t feel the same. He looked too much like the man that put her in there. And he didn’t want her to suffer any more than she already did.
“You know what’s stupid?” he sighed. “I actually blamed Shoto for this.”
Hawks rested his head on the other boy’s shoulder, rubbing his hand over Todoroki’s thigh in an attempt to comfort him. “Hey, if I were you, I might too,” he said quietly. “We got all these awesome powers but we’re still human. We’re irrational, y’know?”
Todoroki appreciated the effort and returned the patting gesture. He didn’t know how he made it through some nights without talking to Hawks. The days when his father was especially mad with Shoto neglecting his training or disobeying orders were the worse ones. Even though he loved his little brother, it was hard not to miss the days before he was born. When his father essentially ignored the kids in favor of work or trying to produce, what he would call, ‘an appropriate successor.’
“I can’t wait to get out of that house,” Todoroki confessed.
“I can’t wait to get you out,” Hawks chuckled.
“I look forward to it.”
Their favorite conversation to have was about the aftermath. When they turned eighteen and graduated high school and on their way to bigger things away from Shizuoka. They were going to get an apartment for themselves in Sapporo or Kyushu, far away from the mainland. Maybe take a break and go abroad to Europe or America. Or, and this was something they always came back to, they could become heroes of their own merit and change the world of heroes.
Neither could call themselves fans of the current Symbol of Peace, All Might. Sure, the hero was a true beacon for the youth to look up to and for villains to run away from. But somehow, Endeavor was still the number two hero with a blind following of civilians that truly believed that his violent methods were best. When Todoroki knew the truth, that he only cared about becoming the best. Endeavor didn’t care about protecting the defenseless. He just wanted to stroke his own ego.
“You know,” said Hawks, “you could probably get into U.A. with Endeavor’s recommendation.”
Todoroki let out a curt, one-syllable laugh, throwing his head back and brushing his hairs over Hawks’s fluffy feathers. “Oh, sorry,” he chuckled. “It’s just… the old man doesn’t give a shit about me. It’s all about Shoto. Besides, like I’d want to go to that asshole’s alma mater anyway.” He pursed his lips and glanced up at the stars. “There are other hero programs out there.”
Hawks stopped paying attention to what his companion was saying for a second. He was too focused on the way his eyes glittered when they were dreamily staring skywards and how his wings tickled when they were touched by him. “Not like U.A. though,” said Hawks. “Plus, if you graduated from there, you’d have the traction to launch into number one, I bet.”
It was an appealing thought. After all, Endeavor had absolutely no expectations for any of his children except Shoto. It would be so satisfying to rub it in his face if he was able to do what no one thought he could. Todoroki just had to wonder if his grudge was more powerful than the thought of using the best hero school in the nation as a stepping stone towards their goal. Then again, it would be exactly the path that Endeavor was setting Shoto on.
“What about you?” he asked. “Why can’t you be number one? You’d probably ace the entrance exam.”
Hawks smiled at the compliment. “Me? The number one hero? Do I look like a man of that caliber?”
“Well… I think you do,” Todoroki replied.
Hawks flinched when Todoroki turned to look at him directly and he quickly turned away to hide his burning face. He wrapped his head in his arms, trying to bury himself away from the adorably curious expression he knew that Todoroki had to be making. “Becoming number one isn’t really my style,” he muttered, “I’d rather boost the new symbol of peace.” He took a breath and looked back at his friend in the eye. “I think you’d make a wonderful number one hero. And I’ll support you… all the way.”
They stayed that way for a while, absentmindedly staring at each other and waiting for the other to say something first. But even though there was probably a myriad of things they could’ve said, there was not the time to say it. They still had to wake up in time for school the next day so they had to return to their homes to get some sleep. No matter how badly they wanted to stay up until dawn together.
“You sure you can’t stay at my house?” asked Hawks. “There aren’t brats or shitty old men.”
Todoroki chuckled. “I’ll be fine. No need to worry.”
“I’ll always worry.”
Returning to the second floor window of the Todoroki household, Hawks wasn’t ready to leave just yet. Todoroki wasn’t ready for his guardian angel to take off either. They didn’t know what they wanted from one another but they figured… they’d figure it out eventually.
“Hawks,” said Todoroki.
The winged man watched as his best friend pinched the air in front of his lip and made a zipping motion across his smiling mouth. It was a thing between them though neither could remember who started it. It meant they were only going to keep what was said and done that night just between them. No one else could know, especially not their families.
Hawks mirrored his action. “It’s a promise.”
“Hey,” Todoroki laughed, unzipping, “you’re not allowed to speak after that!”
“Right,” Hawks chuckled. “Sorry, for a moment… I just forgot.”
“Well, don’t forget again.”
“I won’t.”
—X—
The seventh floor window of an office building shattered, sending glass shards and rubble flying across the desks and chairs. Office workers fled the scene as fast as they could, screaming at the top of their lungs as they tried to avoid getting burned by the flames that coated their flying papers. In the wake of the destruction, two men, a hero and a villain, stood up breathing heavily.
Hawks’s goggles were cracked, hanging off one ear, and his jacket was blackened and charred in various places. His wings ached from being tossed around and crashing through solid cement but none of that mattered. The voice of the villain who had been commanding the Nomu was too familiar. He knew that voice. From classroom discussions to midnight conversations, he knew that voice.
Everything hurt. The world smelled like smoke. There was the sound of combat and yells coming from outside. But even with his blurry vision, all Hawks could see was the man in front of him marred in awful scars. He knew that silhouette.
“What…,” he said, voice trembling, “Who did that to you?”
Dabi picked himself up and dusted himself off, hands brushing over his burn scars. “Why do you care… hero?”
Todoroki disappeared one day, he just stopped showing up to school. He wasn’t even waiting at his window for his angel to come at night anymore. Endeavor didn’t say anything. No media outlet picked up on the fact that the child of a pro hero went missing. No one even seemed to care. Had the police even been notified?
As a hero, Hawks would spend his time in skies searching for crime but also for his lost friend. Years had gone by with no results to show for it except some stupid title of being number two hero. But was this man in front of him really his long lost friend? Or had he become desperately delusional to see him again because he chose to partner up with Endeavor? But after so long thinking that he was dead, here he was again in front of him!
Hawks was suddenly furious. Years of pent up rage bursting forward as he tried to stand up. “Where the hell have you been?!” His knees were buckling as he couldn’t seem to find his balance at all. Still, he tried his hardest to put on a furious expression when all he wanted was to start bawling. “Do you have any idea what you put me through when you just… vanished ?!”
Dabi stared back coldly. “Come on, you’re a pro hero, aren’t you? Stop blabbing and fight.”
“You expect me to fight you?” Hawks croaked out.
“I do.” Dabi raised a hand, blue flames pooling in his palm, and in a burst, the heat blasted forward, engulfing everything in its path. His hand flew backwards like it was reacting to some heavy recoil as Hawks leapt out of the way from the destructive force. “What’s wrong?” the villain called out. “You’re a hero, don’t let your personal feelings get in the way of doing your job.”
“Don’t tell me this is your answer,” Hawks snarled. “ This is how you’ll change the world of heroes?”
Recognition seemed to pass Dabi’s eyes for a moment. “Oh, right, that old dream. You haven’t grown up, huh.”
Hawks was losing his cool and he knew it. But he was a human being. Irrational at times. It couldn’t be helped. He wanted to do something, anything to get through to his former friend but there wasn’t the time. Before he could say more, Endeavor bellowed out the hero’s name from a couple floors below. He was inside the building.
“Tch,” Dabi groaned. “I don’t stand much of a chance against number one right now.”
Hawks grit his teeth, “Todoroki…”
“I’ve abandoned that name,” the villain stated, returning to the hole of the building they had created. There was a flying Nomu coming to pick him up so without much hesitation, he stepped out and landed on the back of the mutated beast. However, before disappearing again, Dabi turned back around to face Hawks. “Let’s see who accomplishes our goal first.” With that, he made a zipping motion across his lips and vanished.
Hawks tried to make his wings listen to him. He had to fly back out there and save Dabi. But his body was shutting down and nothing seemed to be making sense. With whatever strength he had left, he screamed out his friend’s given name just as Endeavor burst into the scene.
“What?” Endeavor said, completely still, “What did you just say?”
Hawks felt someone grab his collar and yank him to eye level. It was like deja vu except he was no longer the one in control of the situation. He didn’t like that. But all he could think about was Dabi zipping his lips. That meant… he still remembered. Just like Hawks, he hadn’t forgotten.
The winged hero looked Endeavor in the eyes. The image of Dabi’s scars emblazoned in his mind.
“I thought… I saw an old friend.”