Chapter 133 - Future

At his feet lay the nocturnal city, patches of bright lights moving through it, police sirens and horns blaring here and there.

Hawks sat on the edge of the roof, watching the city as he slowly smoked.

He exhaled and a grayish cloud escaped his lips, almost crystallizing on this cold early winter evening.

- You can't keep him

Hawks' eyes drifted lower, stopping on a woman who'd just had her handbag stolen.

Hawks inhaled another puff of nicotine and looked at the hero in the yellow suit who had just leapt from the roof to intercept the villain.

- Of course I can

Behind him, Nishimura stirred.

Hawks, his shoulders deceptively relaxed, his long wings brushing the low wall he was sitting on, looked up from the side without turning around - but Nishimura didn't move.

Hawks started to smoke slowly again.

- You don't even know him, Nishimura said impatiently. You have no reason to stand up for him.

Hawks had no reason to get involved.

Keigo, however, did.

- He almost ruined your career.

- I know he did.

Nishimura exploded:

- And that's your only reaction? You'd alienate your superiors over a disturbed child?

- Who said anything about alienating your superiors, Hawks said coolly. I like our - ah, what's that they always say ? - Oh yes, our mutually beneficial partnership. You can tell them that again.

Nishimura lowered his voice, but his tone grew harsher.

- Who said I was here on their behalf, he grumbled. I came to see how you are doing.

Hawks raised his arms without turning, a grey streak following his cigarette.

- As you can see, the life of a hero suits me just fine.

Then he slumped again, shoulders slack, legs dangling in the air.

- You know I'm not talking about that

Hawks pretended not to hear, though they both knew that was impossible.

An icy wind picked up and Hawks absentmindedly remarked that maybe his toes were freezing and his inability to feel it would kill him before he'd finished his conversation with Nishimura.

He smiled and took another puff of death.

- I don't understand, Nishimura insisted. We're talking about his brother. Why would you help him?

Hawks considered not answering.

But Nishimura - if not his friend - was certainly the person who knew Keigo best on Earth.

Even if he had reached the light much earlier than Hawks, deep down they weren't so different.

- The boy... it's not his fault

Hawks had never blamed Endeavour for producing such a crazy offspring, so why should he blame Shoto for his brother's sudden return to life?

Even if they had looked like each other, even if, covered in blood, Hawks had thought for a second that he'd seen Dabi, even if-

- He reminds me of myself when I was younger, Hawks muttered.

The same tense posture, the same way of looking over his shoulder, the same illogical, baffling excesses of violence.

- He looks... lost

As if he wanted to move forward but had only learned to go backwards.

- You've always been too nice, Nishimura frowned.

Hawks laughed out loud.

- Maybe so, Nishi.

- He'll bring you nothing but trouble

Hawks' laughter faded and his mouth curled into a bitter half-smile.

- I know he will.

But wasn't it his job to help those in need?

Perhaps Hawks could nudge him in the right direction.

Maybe Keigo could show him that he didn't have to be alone to move forward.

- You don't have to feel obliged to do anything, Nishimura insisted.

- On the contrary, Hawks replied, I think that's the whole point.

After all, wasn't being a Hero about helping others when they needed it ?

*

A "thankless job", Hawks called it.

The kind of work you had to do even when the cameras weren't filming and nobody was writing about your exploits.

'Being a Hero isn't just about parading down the street in a suit and signing autographs. Being a Hero is about showing the survivors of a tragedy that we care about them and that we'll be there to help them get back on their feet'

- This is Yakima Taji, Hawks said, slapping the back of a burly 50-year-old man in construction gear. His word is my word, and I want you to obey it to a T. Understood ?

I glanced at the old man, who didn't hesitate to look at me condescendingly, an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

He was wearing a mud-stained construction suit with a yellow helmet screwed on top of his skull.

His black hair was slicked back and tousled, as if he'd just woken up and barely remembered to get dressed before going out.

He had big hands, full of wedges, and was a head taller than me, which was a rarity in this country.

Non-threatening posture, nothing to indicate that he's carrying a weapon-

- Understood ?, Hawks insisted.

- Yes.

He smiled.

- Yakima, I entrust him to you. Send him back to me when you're done.

Hawks, his face more severe, turned to me.

- And you, keep your mouth shut. I don't want to hear the slightest remark about you.

Hawks flapped his wings and flew off, leaving us standing amidst the wreckage.

I watched him fly away, ressenting him for forcing me to do such a menial job.

My skills could have been better used elsewhere.

To think that he's going to continue working on the case while I'm gone...

I understood that this was my punishment, and that I was doing insanely well compared to what would have happened if he'd fired me, but that didn't mean I was happy about it.

I looked down at the supervisor as he kept watching Hawks drift away into the sky with one arched eyebrow.

- Yakima-

- That's Mr Taji for you, kid

I forced myself to swallow my irritation and continued in the same tone:

- Mr Taji, what do you want me to do today?

I had absolutely no idea how to operate any of the machines his other employees were driving around us.

- First of all, you're going to put on a real uniform, not that thing that'll rip if you move too quickly.

I squinted.

- It's very sturdy, I countered. Certainly stronger than the best of your uniforms.

- Pff! As long as I'm the boss, none of my boys will go around without the proper gear. Follow me

He turned on his heels and headed for what appeared to be a tiny office in a blue plastic box hastily erected in an open square.

He pulled a suit similar to his own from a box on top of a chest of drawers that didn't look like it had seen the light of day for a long time.

He blew on it and a cloud of dust flew up.

I blinked.

The bitter old man grew impatient.

- Do I look like I've got it all day ? Put this on.

Within seconds I was dressed, my nose wrinkled in disgust.

Takaji handed me a pair of gloves and, feeling my gaze, laughed:

- What ? Did you think I was going to ask you to bring me some coffee and sit quietly in the corner ?

The gloves slapped my skin.

- We need strong men to move the rubble. You're the boy who stopped that giant in Tokyo, ain't you? You'll be very useful.

Make this day end already.

*

Hawks fell smoothly beside me, hands in pockets, whistling happily.

- How did it go ?

My muscles are stiff, my back is cramping and I can't feel my feet.

I wiped my forehead with the back of my sleeve.

The sweat and dirt on my clothes disgusted me.

- It could have been worse, I said.

Hawks wants me to be humble and play the noble prince, so I'll oblige him.

- Are you proud of what you've accomplished ?

- Are you ?

My irritation stung.

What kind of question is that ?

- Have you learnt anything interesting?

My anger subsided like a soufflé.

I've been shoving my ego down my throat all day, so it must be worth something.

- Yeah, I guess so.

Hawks nodded, smiling.

- I'm glad, he said. Keep that attitude every time you work here and I guarantee the month will fly by.

I stopped.

- Are you kidding me ?

Hawks kept walking.

- What did we say, Shoto? Zen a-tti-tude

I quickened my pace to catch up.

- What do you mean, 'the month'?

Hawks gave me a sideways glance.

- What made you think it would only take a day ?

- Oh, nothing, I said sarcastically, Maybe just the fact that I'm supposed to be interning with a hero and not on a construction site playing Manny and his tools.

Hawks raised his eyebrows.

- Manny ? Who's Manny?

- Don't change the subject.

- Your references are odd, to say the least, he said. Let me ask you a few questions

- Am I going to be working on this damn construction site for a month?

- No, Hawks said, and I felt so relieved I could have had a heart attack. You'll change sites at least once by then.

- Tell me you're lying, I insisted. That you're not going to-

For fuck's sake, I'm going to pick up rocks for a month - and I'm going to do it for free !

- Your motto is hu-mi-li-ty, Hawks spelled out. I could have chosen anything else, as long as the result is the same.

- Then give me something else.

Hawks paused, suddenly very serious.

- Your ego is a serious problem, Shoto. So are your sudden outbursts of anger. You need to do something about them before someone uses it against you.

- I know, I grumbled.

- You're going to stay with Yakima and do whatever he tells you without batting an eye, understood ?

I rolled my eyes.

- Yes, Hawks.

- Four days a week

That's every day I'm not at Yuei.

I twisted my tongue twelve times in my mouth, refusing to give in to such terms, but my logical side - that traitor - forced me to spit out the words

- Yes

Hawk's face lit up and he put an arm over my shoulder.

- See ? I knew you were a nice kiddo under all your pretended aloofness. There's a great restaurant in the center that we must try. I've seen a lot of posts on Instagram.

I already regret it.

*

Author's note :

The one Hawks' talking to at the beginning is the not Nishimura his superior but his nephew, the one we saw in Shoto's hospital room and who kinda tried to bully him.

Tell me what you thought of the chapter or whatever else you want in the comments.

Don't hesitate to check out the story's P@treon, Nar_cisseENG, if you want to read ahead of schedule.

See you in the next update everyone !