Chapter 60: Why didn't I think of it before?

After a day where they learned nothing, Midoriya and Tokoyami need to rethink how they'll planning on doing this and in doing so, they realise something that changes everything.

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Chapter 60: Why didn't I think of it before?

"Now, let's head inside, and you can fill me in on that USJ attack." Hawks changed things to the other factor that led them here, but before Tsukuyomi could answer, his classmate stopped him.

“Would you consider giving us some training? One which won’t just be a game of catch-up?” EV bargained, as they had been told to be polite and follow instructions. Still, they could argue that the USJ had nothing to do with their internship, and that a hero based as far away from it as Kyushu had even less reason to get answers from them.

Hawks was quick on the uptake, his smile never fading. “Oh, bargaining, aren’t we?”

Tsukuyomi caught what EV was trying and stood with him on it.

"We came here to learn, to become better heroes. If we can't do that, then we're wasting our time. I might be compelled to be here, but that doesn't mean I must answer all your questions." EV replied, but Hawks didn't look upset; he didn't look surprised.

He looked amused.

"Oh, I think I'm going to love this week," Hawks noted as he got up and walked to face them, offering a hand to the two to shake. “All right, you have yourselves a deal.”

Line Break

Hawks was laidback, non-serious, a jokester, and someone who seemed to enjoy pushing buttons, but when he gave his word, he kept it. That was one more positive thing Midoriya could place on the man to counteract the negative aspects and neutral aspects.

They told him what they knew about the USJ as those who experienced it, trying to add details which they might have missed or underplayed when they were first interviewed by the police, or in Midoriya’s case, details he had refused to give at the time.

They went on to touch up on the Musutafu incident, but they didn't have much to say. Most details would have been seen by Yoarashi and Shindo, but neither Midoriya nor Tokoyami could tell if Hawks had even bothered to read it.

When all was said and done, he nodded and led them to a training room, one seemingly built for him with tall ceilings, obstacles, and equipment aimed at a flying hero. Midoriya could spot that many of the targets and other objects had dents and scratches, so they could tell Hawks had made ample use of the space.

"Attack me." Was his order to them, no explanation, no warning, and when they tried to ask him why, he struck them down in the blink of an eye.

Even as they winced and picked themselves up, Hawks returned to his starting position, his eyelids low, a lazy smile on his face even as he held two feathers like blades.

"Attack me." That time, they didn't need a reason; they struck out. Hawks might have been the third-highest hero in Japan, but he was no All-Might. They figured they'd get a few hits in, even if it ended in defeat.

Oh, how wrong they were.

For the next 2 hours, they didn't so much fight Hawks as serve as drones for his practice. No matter what they tried, either working in tandem or separately, ranged or in close quarters, they couldn't land a single hit on the pro. The pro would keep on the move, his wings and feathers keeping them at bay, striking at them, and keeping him safe from their attacks as he treated them like children, smacking them around left, right, and centre. At one point, he grabbed Midoriya, flew up, and piledrove him into the mat, leaving him dazed.

By the time Hawks called it, they were both tired, sweaty, and bruised, with cuts all over them. What was somehow worse was that they both knew those cuts could have been worse, as they were a little worse than papercuts.

"Head down to the med-bay. We have someone on staff who'll patch you right up. Then get cleaned up, grab a bite to eat, and head off to bed. We'll start again bright and early tomorrow." Hawks instructed as he strolled out of the room, whistling a tune Midoriya hoped wouldn't become a running thing.

“Midoriya, what do you think that was all about?” Tokoyami asked as the two settled in for the night, having had dinner and showered.

Midoriya paused, the boy having been stretching to loosen up before bed. “I heard that sometimes when newbies with talent join new groups, they’re smacked around to help humble them.”

"Somehow, I doubt that Hawks would be the sort to do so; perhaps he just likes enraging people," Tokoyami replied, as Hawks reminded him of the fictional depictions of older siblings he had seen on TV. Someone who revelled in toying with you and making your blood boil.

Dark Shadow, empowered by the lack of light outside, formed out of the host. "I'm definitely pissed that asshole kept dodging my attacks!"

“It was funny at first, but I agree with Dark Shadow,” Faunalution joined the party, forming at her master’s side before collapsing into the bed. “That wasn't pleasant, and we can't allow him to get away with it. We need revenge.” She eyed Izuku, daring him to contradict, as she would be damned if she let this stand.

“As fun as that would be, he isn’t someone we can fight.” Shigeru was the next to form, leaning against the wall. “He might be lazy, but he’s not unskilled.”

“You’ll know a thing or two about being lazy.” Faunalution quipped to her fellow, and in her opinion, a lesser quirk.

“Can we please get back on track?” Midoriya asked, as Tokoyami had remained silent while Dark Shadow was crackling at his expense. With his quirks decided to give him that, Izuku could continue. “As for your suggestion, Tokoyami, I don’t think it’s that either. Hawks…doesn’t seem like the type.”

“To purposely irritate and goad people?” Tokoyami’s tone made it clear where he stood on that, to which Izuku shook his head.

"For no reason. Bakugo was like that when we were kids, but that was pretty obvious. Even now, he's still…rough around his edges." Midoriya admitted that everyone present looked at him like he was insane.

It was Dark Shadow who replied to that understatement. “If that kid’s rough around the edges, then I’m white as snow and fuelled by love.”

Shigeru and Faunalution both agreed. They couldn't speak to what the guy was like in the past; they hadn't known him then. But they knew him now, and he was a piece of work. They still wondered who thought giving him those gauntlets was a good idea after he purposely used them against their master.

“My point is,” Midoriya pushed through that, as he was too tired to even start unpacking all that. "I didn't get that Hawks. I didn't get anything, but I'm sure there is another reason for this." He could admit that Hawks was a master at keeping his cards close to his chest. Midoriya wouldn't say Hawks didn't feel it, but he didn't express them as freely as others would. It was a little weird, but Hawks was more secretive than All Might, as no one even knew which hero school he had gone to, or which pro he mentored under.

"Perhaps he's just trying to do the bare minimum to honour the agreement," Tokoyami suggested, as Hawks. At the same time, he had been active during their generously described sparring, he hadn't treated them like real threats, and now he hadn't been given any pointers or corrections.

"I don't think he can," Midoriya muttered, thinking about that part.

“Why? Guy doesn’t seem to care about doing his job.” Faunalution asked.

Midoriya had a theory for that. “He still sent out a request for Tokoyami despite knowing I would be sent to him. If he just wanted info, why would he do that? Besides, if he read the report, he would know I would know more about things."

Hawks came off as self-centred in his hero work. He didn't slow down or help, and when they finally talked with the man, he was focused on just wringing them for information. It was frustrating, embarrassing, and humiliating.

But having had time to cool off from their…unorthodox day, Izuku wondered if the man was just focused on efficiency. He didn't slow down because he could get more done. He didn't help them because it was over when they arrived on the scene. And his questions at the end? He could have gotten most of that from the report; maybe Izuku could have given more, but still...

There was something more here, something they couldn’t see.

“He's also super high in the rankings, right?” Hiroyuki was the next to form, taking his animal form over his human one as he rested on Izuku’s lap. “He can’t just handle teaching you guys like middle schoolers handle research papers, no copy and paste. He has to do something to improve you, right?”

Tokoyami closed his eyes in thought, humming before he spoke. “There is that possibility, but what facet is he focused on? Our general combat ability? Our stamina?”

“I don’t know,” Midoriya sighed as he pulled his blanket back and crawled into bed, his quirks fading into his mind's recesses. “But I’m sure we’ll figure it out before the week is done.”

As Tokoyami also crawled into bed, neither had noticed a small red feather fixed to the ceiling, almost like it was glued there, yet clean as a whistle.

Line Break

Days prior, Hawks had been called up to Tokyo, not for a team-up or even an investigation his skills might have benefited from, but to speak with the hero commission. This was an oddity as they rarely directly interacted with pros unless disciplining them, and yet here he was. The best the tabloids could guess was that his blasé attitude rubbed the stiff suits the wrong way.

'Well, they aren't wrong,' he thought to himself as he stepped into the President's office, closing the door behind him as her VP, who was regularly with her, glared at him for some slight or mistake Hawks honestly couldn't name.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice.” Hawks wondered why the President bothered with this, but decided that perhaps she just liked being polite.

"Well, considering you couldn't just call and tell me, I figured it was important enough that you didn't want a digital record," Hawks replied, as when he was called for things like this, it was often for important stuff, off-the-books sort of important.

The President nodded as she turned her gaze away from him and out her window, towards the city. “Did you watch U.A. Sports Festival the other day?”

Hawks wondered where she was going with this, as she wasn’t one to beat around the bush, but he went along with it. “Nah, I’m not the type interested in guiding the youth or whatever, makes me feel like I’m 20 years older.”

U.A. had talent; no one would deny it. After all, four of the current top 10 had passed through those halls at one point, but there was a big difference between talent and real use. After all, no one talked about All Might's classmates, Endeavours, or even Jeanist and Edgeshots.

For all they knew, this latest batch would end well, but otherwise unremarkable.

“But you heard what happened?” The President asked, not saying what, but she didn't need to. It was on the news almost 24/7.

“Who hasn’t? Pretty sure it made international news. Not every day something like that happens, and we have no means to prove it was the League." Hawks stated, as he had been asked about it already, that it was an annoying thing when he had been busy in his neck of the woods at the time and knew as much as most other pros. Still, he was used to the media at this point.

“You suspect them?” the president asked, though she didn't seem surprised. Her tone was flat and measured, as always.

“Who else would be that bold? Though I would need more time to figure out the how of it all.” Hawks shrugged, as he wouldn’t call the League capable, not when they got their asses handed to them by first years.

But that was before a good chunk of a city was nearly burned to the ground, and they couldn't even identify the attackers. That spoke of an unprecedented level of growth and restructuring in the League, as well as the addition of new members who had troublesome quirks and the brains to know how to use them.

The President shook her head, turning to him, revealing she was displeased with this. “It wasn’t then, of that we’re sure. However, the true perpetrators will prove to be a hassle to handle. I met with Dean Nezu yesterday, and she explained what she heard. It was safe to say that Hawks, in a rare moment, had no idea what to say or do once she finished.

"Hol up, you're serious, because that sounds insane." Hawks rubbed at his forehead, as the implications of this…it was worse than civilian and even most pros would think.

“We had our people look over every scrap of data that U.A. and Professor Midoriya handed over; it all fits." The VP spoke up, leading Hawks to sigh in frustration. This screamed like it would be more work, not the type he could handle with his eyes closed.

“So you don't need to look into this League; they're no longer a priority. What we need to handle is the idea that the dead can still have a physical effect on the world. That can’t be allowed to go unchecked.” The President stated that, though a lot went unsaid between them, it was understood.

“Okay, but what am I supposed to do about it? According to you, I can’t even see them, much less damage them.” He asked, as he was good, really good, but if not even All Might could hope to injure one of these quirk spirits, what was he to do? Besides, if the ones the President was worried about become an issue, then he might be the last one who should step up.

"You'll be getting special contacts for the first part; as for the second, we have another means to address that, " the president stated as her VP approached Hawk, handing him a picture or a profile with a picture.

"The professor's kid?" Hawks asked, as he didn't need to finish reading the thing. Once he saw the name and their school, he could connect Izuku to Inko.

“He’s one of the first who received one of his artificial quirks, and from all reports, it’s a powerful one with elements similar to All for One’s.” Hawks frowned at that, as that whole mess with All for One had been before him, and he was grateful it was. He had heard enough horror stories about the dead villain from the older, more experienced agents and instructors.

“We want you to take him on for the upcoming internships. Form a bond with him, gain his trust, and find a way to secure more of his mother's research. She's hiding things, namely how to produce quirks, and it would be in our interest to learn those secrets.” The President ordered a dismissal in all but word before she returned to her seat.

Annoying at her petty slight, Hawks still bowed all before leaving. He didn't bother leaving a feather before; he knew they always checked the place after he was caught doing that when he was a rookie starting out.

Line Break

Back in the present, a new day was dawning over Japan, and Hawks was already up. He held a steaming cup of coffee in his hand as he read some news articles on his phone. His mind was how he would complete his assignment for the commission when the two students exited the elevators.

Slapping on a smile, he greeted the two. “Hey, you’re both up bright and early? That eager to get knocked around like pinballs?”

The ever serious Tokoyami didn’t react with surprise or anger, but his red eyes did narrow ever so slightly. "We're here to learn and'll do just that, no matter what you throw at us."

“Like the attitude, shame the skill isn’t that impressive,” Hawks finished his cup of morning Joe before he made his way to the window. "Well, that will have to wait. I got my morning patrols, and unless you two want to train here,"

“We’re coming.” Midoriya cut him off, though he and Tokoyami were already going back towards the Elevator, as they could read what Hawks was planning.

"Try not to fall too far behind." Hawks laughed as he jumped out the window and flew off into the distance.

Line Break

“Those two are going all out!” One of the sidekicks called out as they chased after their boss.

The second nodded. The pair differed from the ones Midoriya and Tokoyami had interacted with before, as this was the morning group. “They definitely got potential.”

Further ahead, the two students in question were doing the same as them but moving faster thanks to Midoriya's boasts and his flame form's increased speed. They didn't bother with the sidewalk, which was filled with people, and instead, both were racing down the road, at times jumping over and onto vehicles that were in the way.

One such truck driver honked his horn at them as Tokoyami jumped onto the hood and then onto the cabin before rushing down the length of it before jumping off of it. Midoriya, having used a smaller sedan as a launch pad, leapt for a streetlight, spinning around it like a gymnast before rushing for the next, pulling himself onto it and using it as a stepping stone.

"Potential but no means to refine it," Tsukuyomi growled, as they could hear the sidekicks talking about them, but as much as it was praise, they were still well behind Hawks.

"We need a way to close the distance, but how? Even with my flame or electric boosts, he's still faster. He might even be faster than yesterday." EV questioned, as he would cycle between the two forms in particular to give his body time to cool while maintaining his speed, but it wasn’t enough.

“It’s not just that, he's barely slowing down even as he resolves incidents. It's like he can fly and fight simultaneously, while needing to slow and handle things, only increasing the distance." Tsukuyomi growled, as this was becoming an exercise in futility. Would their entire week here be like this? While their classmates learned valuable skills, would they keep chasing their mentor?

As he wondered, EV pondered something about what his partner had just said. “Fly and fight…fly and…fight…”

“Pardon, Midoriya?” Tsukuyomi asked, as EV was starting to mutter, only for the furred hero student to burst out, having had some sort of epiphany.

“We need to fly and fight, too!” EV yelled, having realised it. Was the solution always in front of them, and they hadn't seen it?

“What?” Tsukuyomi

“You good, Midoriya? Heat getting to you?” Dark Shadow asked, having been out and at the ready for a while now.

"Wha-no, not that! He's doing 2 things at once, so we need to do the same. We can’t just chase; we must handle things as fast as he does." EV replied, as he was feeling a little foolish for never realizing this sooner, despite having had his quirk for years, but also giddy at the chance to perhaps reach a new level of power, or maybe more accurately, a new way to express the power he already had.

"That doesn't solve the current situation," Tsukuyomi asked, only to nearly trip as EV stopped in the middle of the empty road. “What are you doing?”

EV didn't respond; he clenched his fists, parted his feet, and started doing…something. Tsukuyomi and Dark Shadow hadn't had a clue. “Just…give me a second…come on….come on, dammit…!” As he ground out those words, his form started to shift; he dropped out of his fiery rabbit form and into his base one, which resembled a Pomeranian. Still, it didn't stay like that as the browns and creams of his fur also started to shift.

His head bowed as he struggled, EV forced out, “Ever since I got my quirk, I’ve always used it like a jacket, but it’s not. It’s just like my sword. The effects last even when I shift, as long as I can hold them.” His colours started to drain, but then shifted back into place. More were added to it before his form started glowing. “My quirks, those who support me are always with me, so if I can just balance it…

With a yell, EV's body seemed to explode, lighting up the street and forcing Dark Shadow to retreat with a cry of pain. His master had shielded his eyes from the human flash bang, but as he blinked away the spots, he saw that EV looked…different.

His body was the same—nothing out of place, nothing added to it—but the colours had turned silver and white, with his eyes shifting into a bright red.

EV looked himself over, examining his form before he took a breath. On one hand, he conjured lightning, but on the other, a block of ice formed. His face split into the biggest smile Tsukuyomi had seen on him. “I…I did it!”

"I didn't understand much of that, but you're using more than one right now?” Tsukuyomi asked as his partner shifted between his quirks. Some Tokoyami knew, others he didn't, but they flashed so fast he didn't have time to study them to guess their natures.

"I am. I can't believe I've never thought about it. My sword doesn’t change form past the first transformation when I use my command technique, but I can access all my abilities through it." EV replied, finding the form wasn't nearly as taxing as he thought it would be, not when each seemed to act as a counterbalance to the other.

"Doing two things at once, you say…" Tsukuyomi mused, as his partner’s breakthrough also gave him an idea. “Staying mobile and yet combat effective.”

Tsukuyomi cracked a smile. “Go on ahead, I’ll catch up.”

EV looked at him, as with his fading with his transformation, he knew that Tsukuyomi would be even slower than before. “Are you sure?”

"We're terrible far behind. I'll need you to spot Hawks' trail so I can follow. Trust me." Tsukuyomi responded, his smile growing as his idea seemed to make more sense as he thought about it. Like EV, he couldn't believe he hadn't thought about it before.

EV still looked unsure, but with how far behind they were, he couldn't doubt his partner. “Okay.” With that, he took off, Midoriya’s speed proving to be much greater than before, as his fire and lightning forms worked to maximise his speed boost. At the same time, his ice and base served as a coolant of sorts, keeping his muscles from being overcharged or burning out.

“Dark Shadow, I have an idea.” Tokoyami, for his part, turned to his quirk.

“Oh?” Dark Shadow, peaking out a little with the light back to regular levels, leaned in to listen to what his human had to say, and when he heard it, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, yeah, that sounds great, let’s give it a shot!”

Line Break

Hawks continued to fly at his regular pace, but when he looked back, he didn’t see the little U.A. students. It hadn’t been long since he handled his last incident, but it should have been enough time for them to be visible again. 'Weird, those two were so eager earlier, then something happened?'

He shook his head. 'Probably not. The other sidekicks would have stepped in or called it in.' His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a car's horn. Looking down, he saw two cars speeding down the road. Clearly, their drivers didn't seem to care about the people around them, and they were approaching a busy crosswalk, one which Hawks did the math in his head in an instant. They'll reach before it can clear.

‘Sorry, but I prefer my car accidents just to mess up cars,’ Hawks shifted, diving down towards the crosswalk like the bird he was named after, his feathers shooting out of his wings and flashing towards the civilians in streaks of red, each hooking into their clothing and moving them clear out of the way.

The 2 cars zipped past, one of their drivers spotting the people who had seemed to jump out of their way, only to spot one with a familiar red feather in their collar. Cursing, he relayed that to the other car. “Dammit, we need to keep moving!”

Hawks wasn’t done with them, and he was sure they were fast, but he was much faster and was about to act when he spotted something new.

‘Oh?’ he wasn't expecting that, but from how EV was acting, he guessed the kid wanted to help. 'He has caught up, so I'll let him try, but I'll need to be ready just in case.' He resolved as his fathers shot out, but they didn't move as fast as they could.

Instead, it was EV who acted. Leaping in front of the lead car, he held out his hands and fired off a spiral of flames, which acted like a spring as the car crashed into it, compressing it. EV held his ground, his arms and quirk straining. Eventually, the car came to a halt, the second nearly crashing into it, veering to the side before it slammed into the guard rail.

“Made it…” EV sighed as he let his flames dissipate, but felt little burn from such a complex move.

One of the criminals kicked the door open, as he and the rest who could stand got out and rushed the kid. “Damn brat, we’re not going down like this!”

"I'll handle Hawks. You four take down the kid!" The biggest of them called out, already turning to do just that and thus missing the second object speeding towards them.

“That wouldn’t be wise,” Tsukuyomi called out as he reached them almost as fast as EV had, only he wasn't running anymore but flying. Particularly when you're all so slow." Before they could act, Dark Shadow’s arms lashed out and punched clotheslined all of them. All of them dropped as Tsukuyomi came to a stop. Slowly, Dark Shadow allowed him to stand on his own two feet once more, unwrapping himself from his human.

Hawks clapped at their performance. “Hey, looks like you two finally picked up a clue.”

"You are doing it the entire time, right in our faces. You would watch, defend, fly, and fight all at once.” EV stated, as he clenched his fist a couple of times, still getting used to having this much power just…ready to be used at a moment's notice. "We would have never caught up if we didn't do the same, but why didn't you tell us?"

Hawks smiled, but took off again, only this time both could keep up. Dark Shadow wrapped around his human, while Tsukuyomi used his cape to protect his quirk from the sunlight.

EV, for his part, kept to just running and jumping, only now his jumps gained him greater heights and distances, leaving flames, ice, and sparks of electricity in his wake. Hawks smiled at them as they were making progress. “10% because I’m not the sort of guy that would hold your hand through stuff like that. 40% because it was a lesson, as you need sharp eyes and a sharper mind to last as a hero."

“And the last 50%?” Tsukuyomi asked.

“Because a lesson you figure out in your own way is worth a hell of a lot more than one you're told. Haven't you hated when in math class you're told to use a specific formula? Plenty of folks prefer another, or something entirely new. So, when you discover ways that suit you, they tend to feel more natural and work faster.”

EV frowned, as this was getting a little too complicated for him. "Hawks, I know this might sound rude, but…you're probably the most infuriating and out there pro I’ve ever met.”

Hawks burst out laughing at them, and for once, slowed down so that he was closer to the stay. "Hey, nothing wrong with speaking the truth. I'm me, and I'm sooner to give up fried chicken than to apologise for that!"

Line Break

It's another Monday, and by God, is it hot, but not enough that I couldn't get some work done and work on this chapter. As for the chapter itself, well, I've set up some things in the last one, as Iida still went to Hosu, but not for revenge. His brother, whom he's interning under, just happened to be looking for Stain, but he's aware his bro isn't ready for a fight if it came down to it.

But what you all must have been more focused on was the fact that Dabi has formed an alliance, short-term as it might be, with Stain. And also wondering how the hell he changed genders. Don't worry; that was not a mistake; it will be explained in time, though I bet a few of you have already formed theories on that.