Extended Prologue | Part 12

"Oh, look breakfast has arrived, my friend." Hawks said in Japanese accent, which was only used by foreigners, you know the ones that tried very hard to make their Japanese sound normal, but it still sounded different due to their origins.

The waitress came with two plates of eggs and bread, decorated in a fancy way, —as if that would justify the bill— and glasses with juice. The lady stayed for a while before going off, not before giving Hawks a small piece of paper, when he 'accidentally' placed a hand over his shoulder.

Toya rolled his eyes, "You know just because you are blond, you aren't a westerner, so stop acting like one."

Hawks ignored his comment, checking the phone number on the paper, that said 'call me'. "Come on, you don't have to be jealous"

"I don't have time for this, Hawks," Toya said, eyes cold looking at his friend.

Hawks nodded, before drinking some juice from his glass. He sighed, "You barely, take a day off or two. Always working. Almost reminds me of a hero that I know" Toya almost scoffed at the comment, and Hawks grinned.

"But, that's what the agency likes about you. If there was an award for the best undercover agent, you would surely get one."

Toya leaned back on his chair. "Stop beating around the bush, birdbrains." He said, leaning into the table, narrowing his eyes. "Spill it."

Hawks sighed, loosening his tie, relaxing a bit. It was almost as if he was nervous. "It's just that the agency wants you to… do another job, before… you know…you get what's rightfully yours. But the job is important."

Toya wasn't angry, he knew this was likely going to happen. "You call me your friend, and I consider you one too. But I hope I at least get paid for this one." He badly needed some support gear and a few items which were above his budget for now. And stealing black money didn't feel right all the time, or was it easy.

"Hey, I am not the one that blows things up." Hawks said. "And that takes out a lot from the agency to cover up your tracks. But if you want money, just ask. That's the last thing you should worry about."

Toya didn't say anything, which made Hawks sigh.

Hawks looked through the massive wall window, looking down from the second floor. People passed beneath them, going to their job. It was peaceful.

"Do you trust the agency?" Toya said, "The Hero agency, has been giving me a lot of shady work lately, some of them are even illegal. I just, don't think… you know they are ethically right." There was a bit of accusation in his voice.

They both knew what he was talking about. It was about the hiding the crimes done by well-known heroes, all for public image. Most of them were minors such as not paying food bills or crossing the traffic lights, but some of them were down right wrong. Maybe that was the reason why, Endeavor could do what he does to his family, and still get away.

"Toya look, I don't like everything the agency does." Hawks admitted. "But… you can say that they are the necessary evil. Also finding dirt on Endeavor is a tough catch. And you want the agency to blackmail him with that. That's a tall order. Also, you will get your records clean and get not-so-fake degrees from a well-known university. All of this is hard to make up." Sometimes Toya wondered if the Hero Agency should quit their job and try making fake documents, that would be a more profitable business. Toya almost smirked at his thought. But he was too annoyed to show it.

"Five jobs, that was the deal," Toya said, holding up his five fingers, almost showing the scars that were under his wrist. "Then you guys would find a way for me to be a hero, legally. And that's over. I don't get it, why you guys can't put that man's crimes in public and let the public decide what to do next."

"You know that's not possible. It could cause distrust in the heroes, and… you know other stuff."

Toya remained silent, still, his arms crossed over his chest, looking at the blue cloudless sky. "But it was supposed to be over."

Hawks leaned back. "I know, I know." Taking another sip from his glass. "But as I see it, you are way too effective to let go, for the agency. So they want you to do another job. And I promise, this is the last one."

Toya almost remembered the day, when Hawks had caught him on his vigilante job. There the red wings offered him something he couldn't refuse, a way to be free. But freedom came with its setbacks. Still, with how much good the agency was with making fake IDs Toya was sure, they would give him some fancy paperwork, that would help him with his future hero life. At that time he was still not mature enough to know the difference so he accepted it. But now, he was regrating some of his decisions.

Toya sighed, "Do I have a choice." He said, finally taking the spoon and breaking the poached egg. "I will do it. Also, find me a good apartment next time."

Hawks smiled widely. "Now, that's good news." He said, finishing his drink, sliding a brown file towards Toya, who took it in. "Also, try to not fry the villain next time, came from the big man up on the ladder. It's hard to get testimonies, if you do."

Toya shrugged, "Yeah, next time when you see a homicidal manic trying to rape a mother in front of his son, you say that." He said, "And besides, even the criminals that worked under him, didn't like him that much." It wasn't a popularity contest but he had to tell something to justify his actions.

"Ooh, touche~" he said, "But I usually, chop the dick off. It's better that way." A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes, as he said those words.

There was a pause before both of them burst into a laugh. The restaurant workers only saw two teenagers having fun gossiping about stuff, not knowing how toxic their topic was.