Thread by @NefarioussNess, ~***~ THE CAGED BIRD SINGS ~***~A #huwumi fic. Summary: A chance meeting [...]

~***~ THE CAGED BIRD SINGS ~***~

A #huwumi fic.

Summary: A chance meeting leads to friendship, maybe even love. But in Hawks' line of work, such happiness is frowned down upon by his superiors.

But Fuyumi... Fuyumi is worth the risk.

“What are your thoughts on love?”

Hawks laughed at Tokoyami’s bewildered look. “Excuse me? I must’ve misheard you.”

“Love. Je suis amoureux. A little death. All of that sweet nonsense the youth fall into nowadays.”

Hawks leaned on his arms on the railing, looking out over the city’s bustling canvas. The two were perched on an office roof, high enough to duck away from the crowds below if they didn’t wish to be seen.

It was a leisurely patrol; the best kind of shift, in Hawks’ opinion. They were so rare that he couldn’t help but take advantage of it and just sightsee. Tokoyami was antsy; you could see in the way his shoes shuffled from side to side ever so slightly.

Hawks wanted him to just relax and enjoy the monotony, but the boy was too young and eager to be down there, in the thick of things.

“I wouldn’t know much about it,” Tokoyami replied seriously.

Hawks cocked an eyebrow. “Really? If not you, then surely some of your classmates.”

Tokoyami nodded. “Some of them find time for it, I suppose.”

“Like who?”

The boy shot him a strange look. “I thought gossip would be beneath a pro hero.”

“You would think,” Hawks chuckled quietly, “But even adults like to indulge in a little drama.”

His new mentor was a strange man; Hawks would say one thing but act in a manner that would contradict himself within seconds. He was unpredictable, unreadable, and yet Tokoyami strived for those qualities in order to keep the villains on their toes.

“So who’s dating who?” Hawks asked, breaking Tokoyami out of his thoughts. “Any unrequited love? Maybe a triangle or a threesome?” He waggled his eyebrows mischievously at that last bit.

“That’s too invasive, even for you,” Tokoyami replied bluntly. “I don’t indulge myself in the private lives of my friends. I have better things to do.”

“I’m sorry,” Hawks said lightly, waving his hand to dismiss his nosiness. “Keep your secrets, Fumikage; it’s a good skill to have. You can’t have your entire life splayed out for the public to see and pick apart.”

“So that was a test just now?”

“Sure, let’s go with that.”

_____

Hawks and Tokoyami returned to the agency just after five. They would’ve been back sooner, but they found themselves swarmed by the Number Two’s admirers once they returned to street level.

Hawks indulged them: he sighed notebooks, took a few selfies, and high-fived awestruck kids. Tokoyami got caught up in the mayhem their presence caused, and was shocked when a few middle school girls blushed and asked for a photo with him.

“Eeeeeee, thank you so much, Tsukuyomi!” they had squealed before running off.

“You’ll get used to it,” Hawks reassured him once they were inside the agency. The receptionist at the front desk greeted them warmly as Hawks waved to her.

“I was… startled,” Tokoyami said. “I didn’t expect to have admirers.”

“You have a cool and dark aesthetic. It’s alluring.” Hawks led the way to the elevator in the centre of the lobby. “You’ll lure into the gothic crowds; not everyone is into flashy and in-your-face heroics. To them, you’re the revival of The Black Parade.”

Was his taste in music that obvious?

Once they were up in Hawks’ office, the pro hero handed Tokoyami a stack of blank reports to start filling out to record the day’s patrol. The boy had been given the empty office across the hall to use during his internship, but Hawks encouraged him to decorate it.

“Just handle the small incidents from today, then you can head back to school.” Tokoyami nodded solemnly. He gave Hawks a small bow before heading out the door.

Hawks pulled off his visor, headphones, and jacket before sinking into his office chair. He sighed happily; no major villain attacks had marred his day. Holding idle and silly conversations with his protégé were so relaxing; if only ever day could be like this.

He’d even let his mind drift off to banal ideas like love. Even if he’d wanted it—either romantic or platonic—there would be strong resistance from them. Still, it was a nice thought.

_____

“Todoroki-sensei!”

Fuyumi looked up from the stack of papers that she was grading. One of her students, a six-year-old girl with moss-green hair, had popped up in front of her desk. “Tera, don’t you have club practice?”

“It got cancelled,” Tera said cheerfully. She eyed the papers. “Do you want me to help you, sensei? I gotta wait for Nii-chan to be done before we can go home.”

“No, I’m almost done here,” Fuyumi smiled. “But if you’d like to, you can help me make copies of the permission slips for our upcoming field trip.”

Tera’s eyes widened in amazement. “Field trip?! When?! Where?!”

Fuyumi laughed softly. “I’ll tell you, but you have to keep it a secret until I tell the rest of the class.” She stood up and pushed her chair in. Grabbing the original copy of the form, she led the way out of the teachers’ office, her loyal student following close behind.

It was the middle of May, but there was still the chill of spring permeating the air. Despite the cold, Fuyumi was wearing a thin, sleeveless blouse paired with a pencil skirt.

She was already dreading summer; her air conditioner at home was broken, so she would need to buy a new one soon.

Today was also the beginning of Shouto’s internship with their father.

Fuyumi had texted Shouto during lunch. He’d replied quickly to reassure her that everything was fine. ‘I haven’t murdered that scumbag yet,’ were his actual words, but they meant the same thing.

She was proud of her baby brother for taking the initiative in changing his life. Fuyumi had watched the Sports Tournament on TV and had cried when she saw Shouto using his flames for the first time in ten years.

Not long after, he had abruptly began visiting their mother at the hospital, and the positive changes had steadily rose since then.

He still hated Endeavour, but Shouto was trying to work with him.

The photocopy room was empty when Fuyumi and Tera entered it. She let her student pick out the coloured paper (it ended up being green) for the permission forms before setting up the machine.

“So where are we going for the field trip, sensei?” Tera asked eagerly.

Fuyumi smiled. “It’s nothing too exciting. I got permission from the principal for us to go to the Eastern Historical Heroics Museum—”

“Really?!” Tera’s eyes were gleaming. “That’s awesome! You’re the best, sensei!”

Fuyumi couldn’t help but beam at the wonder on her student’s face. It was the small moments like these that made her job worth it.

“Just remember your promise, Tera. I’ll be announcing it to the class tomorrow morning, so pretend to be surprised like everyone else.”

“I will!”

_____

Fuyumi easily admitted to everyone who asked that she knew little about heroes. She had enough general knowledge to get by, but she avoided the inner workings of hero society for her own reasons.

The politics and rumours of her parents’ marriage from those ‘in the know’ had been a heavy burden to bear. Her job was a healthy distraction, but even now she had to face that she was teaching thirty children with a variety of Quirks.

She’d been blessed with well-behaved students who did their best to keep their abilities under wraps in the classroom, but sometimes conflict was unavoidable.

There’d been many recesses and lunch breaks where Fuyumi and the other teachers had to break up fights or monitor detentions because of something Quirk-related.

She was hoping that this field trip would help her students have a better understanding about their own powers and how they fit into society.

“Maybe it’s a bit too much to expect from first-graders,” Fuyumi mused as she walked past the school gates. The sun was slowly setting, leaving the sky streaked with orange. The streets were quiet, save for the occasional car that drove by.

“What’s too much?”

Fuyumi gasped; a blonde man with enormous red wings had appeared at her side. His hands were in his pockets, his head tilted to the side as if to get a better look at her.

Her heart pounded from being startled. “Sir, you scared me!”

The man pouted, his lower lip jutting out. “That’s the exact opposite reaction most people have when they see me.”

Fuyumi took a step back, her hand on her chest. “You appeared out of nowhere! How did I not hear or see you?”

The man shrugged lazily. “You were too absorbed in your thoughts, ma’am. It’s a nice neighbourhood, but you should still stay alert. A villain might grab ya.”

He was right; she’d been careless. “That doesn’t mean you should sneak up on people!” she scolded. The man’s eyes widened before breaking out into an embarrassed grin.

“You’re right, Miss…?”

“Fuyumi.”

“Hawks,” he replied, holding out his hand. She reached out cautiously and gave it a small shake.

“I’m sorry, Miss Fuyumi. I overheard you talking to yourself, so I got nosey—” At the stern look she gave him, Hawks added, “Too nosey. And creepy. Yup, I’ve made myself out to be a stalker.”

“I’ll have to report you one of the patrolling heroes if you keep this up,” Fuyumi said, and was surprised at the lilting tease in her tone.

This wasn’t like her.

Hawks bowed his head, his hands pressed together as if he was about to pray. “Oh, please let this slide, Miss Fuyumi, just this once!” he begged jokingly. “I swear I’ll be a good boy from now on!”

And Fuyumi couldn’t help but smile at this goofy young man. “Just this once,” she said, and she couldn’t help but blush at Hawks’ victorious grin.

_____

Hawks insisted on walking her home. “It’s the least I can do after giving you a fright,” he said, so Fuyumi took him up on his offer. Besides, her curiosity was getting the better of her; she wanted to know more about his wings.

“Do you usually fly or does that exhaust you?”

“Flying is faster, of course, but if I don’t wear my visor and headphones I get a wicked headache from the wind.”

“What about work?” Fuyumi asked. She didn’t notice the small change in Hawks’ face at her question. “Are you a deliveryman?”

His shoulders sagged with relief. “A deliv—? Oh! ‘Cause of my wings!” Hawks laughed softly. “Maybe in another lifetime, that would be the ideal job. I would be like Kiki, minus the magic broom and talking cat.

“Man, if I could go back in time, that would be my first choice.”

Fuyumi looked at him. “So what /do/ you do for a living?”

Hawks kept walking, but he’d slowed down somewhat. Fuyumi matched his pace so that he didn’t stray behind. “You… You really don’t know?”

“How would I?” she said. “We just met.”

“I guess that’s true,” Hawks said. “I’m not used to people…” He shook his head, the smile returning to his eyes. “Never mind. You know what? I like it this way. It takes a ton of pressure off of me.”

“You’re a strange man, Hawks.”

“Ha ha, thank you!” His grin broadened as they resumed their walk. “So, where do you live? I know a great air service that can get you home in a jiffy.”

Fuyumi shook her head, smiling. “It’s not far by bus. But…” She looked at Hawks’ enormous red wings. “Would you be comfortable taking public transportation?”

“I never tried it.”

“Never?”

“Nope! Didn’t have a reason to,” Hawks said. “But it would be fun to try it out one day.”

It would take too long to walk all the way back to the estate. Hawks must’ve been thinking the same thing, because he turned to Fuyumi and said, “Are you afraid of heights?”

Oh no, she knew where this was going.

Fuyumi nervously stared at his wings; its crimson feathers were rustling, as if in anticipation of her answer. “I’m afraid of falling.”

Hawks held out his hands. His wings stretched out behind him and encircled them in a wide semicircle. “I’ll hold you tight, I promise.”

“Have you ever flown with another person before?”

Hawks shrugged. “Not for a while.”

Fuyumi clutched her messenger bag close to her. His words weren’t exactly reassuring. “It’s okay, Hawks. I’ll take the bus home—”

“Please, Miss Fuyumi. Just this once.”

She looked down at his outstretched hand and up at his eager face. The sunset glinted off his visor like an invitation.

Timidly, Fuyumi placed a hand in his. “Don’t drop me, okay?”

“I would never.”

She squeaked in shock as Hawks pulled her close. He bent slightly before sliding his arm under her legs and lifting her up into a princess carry. The air around them stirred fiercely as Hawks flapped his wings, preparing for flight.

As if by instinct, Fuyumi wrapped her arms around his neck. Hawks looked down at her, grinning widely, just as his feet left the ground.

Fuyumi snapped her eyes shut. They were too high already; it was too much! They were going to fall!

Hawks gripped her tightly against him. “I got you, Miss Fuyumi.”

Heart pounding wildly, Fuyumi dared to open one eye. She gasped and clutched at Hawks as they soared above the streets. They had to be above a hundred feet up. From below, walking civilians gasped and pointed at them in awe.

Hawks tilted them downward. They swept through the air in a arc, dropping lower. Some of the onlookers cheered his name, waving wildly.

“You’re pretty popular,” Fuyumi shouted over the wind.

Hawks laughed. “You could say that.”

_____

The longer they were in the air, the more comfortable Fuyumi became. She managed to keep both eyes opened after a while, but was forced to close them as the wind picked up and made her eyes water.

Hawks had been right; wings were faster than wheels, and their flight came to an end far too quickly. They landed in front of the estate’s gate. Hawks gently lowered Fuyumi to her feet, his hand lingering a moment too long on her hip.

“Your humble abode awaits.” He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. Fuyumi blushed from head to toe. She pulled away, trying to hide her red face.

“Thank you, Hawks,” she said.

“My pleasure,” he said. He leaned into her space, his hands in his pockets. He got so incredibly close that their noses were nearly touching.

Fuyumi couldn’t help but laugh. She pushed at his chest lightly. “Stop, you.”

“I’ll back down today,” Hawks said. “But next time—”

Next time?

“—I won’t be able to resist.”

Before Fuyumi could respond, Hawks walked backwards, keeping his eyes on her as his wings propelled him into the air. With a final wave, he was soaring off, soon becoming a red-and-yellow blur in the sky.

/End of Part 1/

In the age of social media, gossip sites and rumours fueled by witness accounts and incriminating videos travelled annoying fast. What should’ve been an innocent—yet impulsive—act on Hawks’ part led to a frenzy of stern phone calls, last-minute PR meetings, and damage control,

all helmed by his handlers from The Hero Public Safety Commission.

His PR agent was a frantic mess by the time Hawks decided to roll in and see her at her office. When he walked in, Miyuki had her back turned to him, chattering away on her phone.

“—please refer to the official statement put out by his agency at this time… No, he won’t tell you any differently… No, he won’t tell me the name of that gir—WHAT??!?! How did you—?! Never mind, I’ll talk to him about it. For now, refer to The. Official. Statement.”

Miyuki growled out a note of frustration, her hand gripping her cordless phone so tightly that Hawks heard it crack. He stepped toward her desk and knocked softly on the spotless mahogany.

Miyuki jumped, throwing in a couple of cuss words as she twisted around to face him. “You’re going to be the death of me!” she shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at his chest. “I swear, Mirko never gave me this level of grief and she once kicked a paparazzi’s teeth out!”

“I pay you to be the calm, professional one,” Hawks said, grinning as Miyuki’s glare deepened. “I don’t see what the fuss is all about.”

“Of course you wouldn’t, you airheaded bird brain!” She took a deep breath, running a hand over her face. “Sit down, Hawks; this isn’t

something you can gloss over and be on your way.”

He frowned, but after taking note of Miyuki’s stiff posture and joyless eyes, he decided that it was better to not poke fun at her this time.

Was he really in that much trouble?

Miyuki took a seat and propped her elbows up on her desk. “Look, it’s not just my bosses breathing down my neck but yours too. The Commission made it clear how devastating any bad press you gained would affect them. Do you know how nerve-wracking it is to receive a call from

President Daitoryo herself ordering me to squash rumours about your sex life?”

“What? Sex life?” This was fucking absurd.

“Eye witnesses got a good look at the young lady you were with last week. Very pretty, looked to be the same age as you. From what I hear, you were really chatting her up before whisking her away to God knows where.”

“She needed a ride home,” Hawks said. He hated having to defend the smallest of actions. “She was going to take the bus; I offered to fly her instead. Isn’t that was heroes do? Provide community service?”

Miyuki shook her head. “You say that, and as much as I want to believe you—I do, I really want to—the public doesn’t see it that way. Your private life doesn’t belong to you, Hawks. A large demographic of your fans are young, single women. A bunch of them see videos of the

Number Three hero take off with some woman and they see red.”

“Fuyumi isn’t ‘some woman,’” Hawks blurted out.

The silence was deafening. Miyuki looked like she’d just swallowed hot coals.

He groaned as he sunk deeper into his chair. Ah, shit.

“Fuyumi. That’s her name?”

Shit, shit, shit.

“White hair, with flecks of red?”

Why was she asking these stupid questions? Wait, how much did the vloggers zoom onto the two of them that day?

“You understanding where I’m coming from? This Fuyumi has a distinct look. She can’t blend into the crowd without being recognized as the ‘hussy’ that stole the Wing Hero away.”

“Fuck.”

Miyuki clasped her hands together and leaned forward. “Do you know who I got off the phone with just now?”

This couldn’t be good. Just another added layer of bullshit that he was going to have to deal with.

“It was the head PR agent for the Endeavour Hero Agency. They have a no-nonsense, total lockdown on everything and anything related to the Todoroki family. No family photos, no press conferences involving them. Only Endeavour’s youngest is exempt, since he attends U.A.

The rest of the family is off limits.

“Fuyumi Todoroki is his only daughter, and you just thrown her into a vicious media circus, you dumb ass.”

_____

The day that Hawks dropped her off at home was the last peaceful one Fuyumi would experience for a long time. Shouto had texted to let her know that he would be home late, so she prepared dinner and left a plate aside for him. Fuyumi made enough sukiyaki so that there were

leftovers for lunch the next day and ate alone in the dining room.

Natsuo rarely came home since starting college, so Fuyumi often phoned to make sure that he was eating and sleeping enough between classes. As she munched on her beef, she dialed her younger brother and waited

for him to pick up.

“Hey, sis!”

“Hello, Natsuo. Did you have dinner yet?”

“It’s only seven! I just got back from my study group—”

“That’s a terrible excuse and you know it.”

“Geez, gimme a minute to finish! I’m dropping my books off in my dorm and then me and the guys are gonna grab some ramen. Tetsuya found this place just off campus—”

“Sounds expensive. You know that the food at home is free, right?”

Natsuo went silent. Fuyumi heard him sigh irritably on the other end.

“I made sukiyaki.”

“Is /he/ there?”

Fuyumi hand trembled at the venom in his voice. Natsuo was happier ever since he packed his clothes and went to live on-campus. He made friends and got a girlfriend, with none of them knowing a thing about his past. It was good for Natsuo to get away, but Fuyumi missed him.

Regardless, she shouldn’t have pushed him to come home.

Natsuo groaned when she didn’t answer. “Sorry, sis, I just can’t.”

“I know.”

“You know it’s not you, right? If it were just you and Shouto, maybe.”

“Then maybe, if you have time this weekend, we can go visit Mom?”

“Yeah, I can definitely do that.” The warmth returned to him, and Fuyumi could hear his smile. “I’ll bring her one of those ‘College Mom’ shirts they sell at the bookstore.”

Fuyumi laughed softly. “She’ll love that.”

After saying goodbye, she placed her phone face down on the table and stared at her food. It was getting cold; her appetite was gone.

_____

The next morning, Fuyumi felt the burning gazes of everyone on the bus. A few high school girls muttered darkly behind their hands as they glared at her. Anxiety prickled across her shoulder blades, but Fuyumi didn’t know why.

In the teachers’ office, her colleagues whispered amongst each other, but stopped the moment she walked in. She looked at them, frowning, but they didn’t dare make eye contact.

“May I ask what’s wrong?” she said, clutching her messenger bag.

“It’s nothing, Fuyumi,” said Tanaka, the third grade teacher.

“Please be honest with me,” Fuyumi said, suddenly feeling irritated. There was nothing she hated more than people hiding something. She had scolded many of her students for trying to pull that stunt on her regarding unfinished homework.

“What’s going on? People were staring at me all morning for some reason.”

“We didn’t know you had a boyfriend, that’s all,” said Kubo with a smirk.

“Boyfriend?” What were they—

Oh no.

Fuyumi quickly reflected on the previous day. The only thing different had been meeting Hawks. Hawks, who stuck out like a sore thumb with those beautiful wings of his. Someone must’ve recognized her before they took off and now they were spreading petty gossip.

But how far did this word-of-mouth go? Fuyumi wasn’t famous or well-known; Endeavour had seen to that.

So why…?

“It’s all over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,” said Kubo. “You and the Number Three Hero.”

Hero?

“Don’t play dumb, Todoroki,” said Tanaka. “Everyone knows the Top Ten heroes in Japan. Didn’t you think it was weird to see a man with wings and him not be a pro hero? His agency is only four blocks away from the school.”

“I didn’t know—” Fuyumi protested weakly, but the other teachers weren’t having it.

“When did you two first meet?”

“You must have some powerful connections to make a man like Hawks notice you.”

“Wait a minute! Todoroki, like the Shouto Todoroki from the Sports Festival? Are you two related?”

“Must be. It makes sense. And if that’s the case, then that means you’re also related to Endeavour—”

She couldn’t take the assault of questions. Fuyumi turned around as calmly as she could and walked out of the office.

Her hands were shaking, and her lip trembled as tears formed at the corners of her eyes. Nobody was supposed to know. She’d kept her name because it kept

her connected to her brothers and mother. Not many people knew Endeavour’s real name, even after the Sports Festival. The only thing he was supposed to do for her was to keep his private and professional lives separate, so that something like this wouldn’t happen.

How was she supposed to know that Hawks was a pro hero, let alone Number Three?

Fuyumi knew little about the heroics industry and the celebrities attached to it. She never attended any charity balls or dinners with Endeavour; her only positive connection to any of it was

through Shouto. Now she was being thrown into it against her will.

She couldn’t teach, not today. She would have to go speak to the principal to call in a substitute.

There were too many fires too put out.

_____

Fuyumi suffered through a stressful week as she sat with Endeavour’s PR agents, his sidekicks, and a representative from the Commission. She carefully went over her story, explaining every detail, and hoped that the truth would be enough to clear everything up. She’d decided

to take a paid vacation for the week, which had been fully supported by the principal (the only one at the school that believed her).

As long as she didn’t need to speak to Endeavour himself, she could get through this.

Her anxiety skyrocketed when she got a phone call from Hosu City’s hospital telling her that Shouto and two of his classmates had been attacked by the Hero Killer Stain. Shouto had been uncooperative with the police chief, but otherwise the boys were fine. Fuyumi had tried

to hold back tears, but ended up sobbing hysterically as she tried to talk to her baby brother.

“…I’m sorry, Fuyumi,” he said. After saying goodnight, Fuyumi hung up, trying to calm her thumping heart.

Eight days after meeting Hawks, a woman named Miyuki Kesuhime called Endeavour’s agency, asking to speak to Fuyumi. “I would like to apologize for that bird brain’s actions, but I don’t think that would be enough,” said Miyuki shortly. “I want to arrange a press conference

between you two and your representatives to get this matter cleared up. I can’t force you to do anything, so the ball is now in your court.”

“I don’t want him to get into trouble over me,” Fuyumi said miserably.

“Ha! That idiot has been in worse scrapes over his actions! He owes YOU, so tell me how you’d like him to be reprimanded and I’ll do it! Bird Brain has it coming for putting you through the wringer.”

“I want to go back to teaching my students,” Fuyumi said. She hoped that the substitute had handed out the permission forms to them.

Fuyumi heard distant shouting as Miyuki screamed, “SEE WHAT YOU DID!??! Honestly, getting a nice young lady mixed up in this because you were thinking with your di— Oh, shit, I didn’t press mute!”

The phone was soon passed to the agency’s own PR agent, who jotted down notes and argued with Miyuki.

“The privacy of the Todoroki family has been violated enough,” said the agent coldly. “Miss Todoroki will not be making any public statements at this time.” He flinched and held the phone away from his ear as Miyuki was undoubtedly shouting obscenities at him.

“Let me talk to her,” Fuyumi said. The agent hesitated, but at Fuyumi’s stern look he relinquished the phone to her.

“It’s me again,” she said.

“Oh good, someone with some manners! Well, what would you like to do about this whole fiasco?”

_____

Hawks loathed dressing up for anything, especially for public events like this press conference. Miyuki kept his suits in her office, because she didn’t trust him to keep them clean and wrinkle-free. They were tailored to accommodate his wings, so extra care went into dry

cleaning them.

He would usually moan and bitch (mostly to give his handlers some grief), but for once he decided to keep his mouth shut, since he was doing this for Fuyumi’s sake.

“Why can’t you be this agreeable all of the time?” Miyuki muttered as she adjusted his tie for him. She was wearing a black dress suit with matching heels. Together, they looked like they were about to attend a funeral.

“I gotta keep you on your toes,” Hawks joked. “Think how boring your job would be if I was a nice, passive boy.”

“I’d still have Mirko’s temper to deal with,” Miyuki said, shuddering. “I swear, between the two of you, I’m going to get gray hair before I’m thirty.”

One of the Commission’s cars was waiting for them outside the office building. Once they were inside, the driver pulled away and drove smoothly down the busy street. Hawks stared out the window, his elbow propped up along the window, as Miyuki went over last-minute

details with him.

“I cannot stress this enough, but please don’t act like yourself,” she said. “When it’s your time to speak, keep your tone neutral. No goo-goo eyes at Miss Todoroki, for the love of God—”

“So you want me to throw sincerity out the window? Won’t that seem scripted to our viewers?”

Miyuki sighed angrily. “We’re supposed to stay to the point, not dawdle off and ramble or whatever you’re scheming. For Miss Todoroki’s sake, don’t stir the pot.”

For Fuyumi’s sake.

“Fine, I’ll be a good boy,” Hawks said. “And afterwards I’ll buy you a bottle of sake.”

Miyuki folded her arms across her chest, grumbling under her breath.

“…It better be Kukurihime.”

They arrived at Endeavour’s agency in a timely manner. Despite what was about to happen, the little boy in Hawks’ heart couldn’t help but be excited. He was about to enter the workplace of his childhood hero.

A sidekick with flaming, copper green hair and a brash smile greeted them at the door. “Well, well, well, it’s the Kentucky Fried Baby!” Burnin’ cackled. “I see you’ve dressed for your funeral; after what you put the boss through,

you’re lucky you don’t get a closed casket service!”

“Nice to see you too, Burnin’,” Hawks said. “Before you go out buying flowers, let me get this press conference over with.”

“This is not the way I wanted to meet the boss’s kids,” Burnin’ whispered into his ear. “I hope you humiliate yourself, Chicken, because I wanna take a crack at her!” She winked deviously.

“Really hypocritical of you,” Hawks murmured back. “What makes you think Endeavour won’t fry your ass for trying to hit on his daughter?”

“He relies on me, while you’re just a nuisance!” Burnin’ said, grinning viciously.

Behind them, Miyuki was talking to one of Endeavour’s representatives. After several tense minutes of breathless negotiations between the two of them, Miyuki turned to Hawks and said, “Endeavour had to fly out this morning for a mission in Tokyo, so it’ll be just us and

Miss Todoroki talking. There are five sidekicks on standby today, so they’ll be attending and making sure that we follow his agency’s protocols.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” said Hawks. “Could we get this over with already?”

Miyuki scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You’re representing the Commission as well as yourself and your agency, Hawks. Don’t forget that when you go in there.”

_____

Fuyumi’s mouth was dry as she fidgeted in her seat in the meeting room. The local news had a small crew setting up cameras in front of the table. Fuyumi kept her head bowed, her hands grasping the small mug of tea in front of her.

This was all so excessive, and yet it was the only way to clear up this misunderstanding between her and the public. How did one friendly conversation with a man she met once lead to this?

Nobody knew who she was until now. Endeavour had hidden his family—and what he did to them—from the world; but now he’d handed off responsibility to his underlings while he traveled to Tokyo. In a way, Fuyumi was relieved; she wouldn’t be able to control her panic over the

situation if her father was here.

“That boy is a thorn in my side,” he’d said before leaving. “He’s caused so much trouble for me.”

For /him./ Not her, the one who was getting hate mail and threats online from Hawks’ fans all week. Endeavour was only giving his permission for this press conference so that his ‘failure’ would go back into obscurity.

“Good morning, Miss Fuyumi.”

She glanced up, her heart pounding. Hawks was standing in front of the table, his hands in his suit pants pockets, giving her a shy smile.

“Good morning, Hawks,” she managed to say. Clearing her throat, she added, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? For what?” He genuinely looked surprised. “This is all my fault. I always forget how vicious those gossip rags can get. I… I never wanted you to get mixed up in my crazy world.”

“I’m not mad at you,” Fuyumi said. “And it’s true what I said that day; I had no idea who you were. I don’t keep up with the world of heroes… I have my own reasons.”

“And I never knew that you were the daughter of the Number Two Hero,” said Hawks.

“We were both dishonest.”

“I prefer to think of it as being mysterious. It takes the bitterness out of the flavour.”

Fuyumi laughed softly. It was the first time she felt light all week.

Burnin’ appeared at Hawks’ side. He squawked in alarm as she pulled him into a headlock. “Well, well, well, Big Bird

is still causing trouble, I see! What did I tell you about bugging the boss’s daughter?”

“Mercy, mercy!” Hawks gasped as the sidekick tightened her hold around his neck.

“Burnin’, please let him go,” said Fuyumi, jumping to her feet. “He’s going to pass out!”

Burnin’ reluctantly released him. Hawks doubled over, massaging his throat as he gasped for air.

“Not fair,” he wheezed out. “Why am I the only one that has to be on good behaviour while this hellion tries to kill me?”

“You deserve it!” grinned Burnin’. She thumped his back with her fist before walking around the table to get a seat next to Fuyumi.

“Goddammit, Hawks, what the hell are you doing now?” Miyuki entered the meeting room, only to catch the tail end of the one-sided fight. She stormed over to him, pulling him to his feet and smoothed out the creases in his suit.

“You’re sitting on the right side with me. Please tell me you memorized the notes I gave you! Whatever, it’s too late for that! Right, let’s get this over with.”

/End of Part 2/

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