Chapter Twenty

"Hey Seven?" President Mic reached out when Shiro turned to walk away.

"Yeah?"

"What-What was it like?" President Mic questioned, Aizawa smacked him in the back of the head.

"Ow!" President Mic hopped, "Why did you hit me!?"

"You asked a stupid question."

"I did not!"

"That isn't something you ask someone." Aizawa glared down causing President Mic to sweat.

"Ah..." Shiro laughed awkwardly, "...well it was like..." Shiro struggled to put words to the past.

"You don't have to-"

"It's not like every detail hasn't been drilled out of us." Shiro shrugged.

"So, it was like..." President Mic drew on earning another glare from Aizawa.

"It was like all three of us were drowning-" Shiro eyes darkened as they fell to the floor. "-and none of us knew how to save each other. But there was this understanding that we were all drowning together."

"If that's true..." President Mic muttered. "...why did you leave her?"

"Not a day goes by that I don't regret that choice-" Shiro plopped his paper plate down. "-I picked up the phone I can't tell you how many times, but I never got past the dial tone. Gray and I...we tried to apologize after Shooter grabbed us...but the damage was already done."

"You left her." Aizawa stepped forward. "Did you expect her too just forgive-"

"I was a victim too." Shiro countered. "All three of us were, or have you forgotten that?"

"You just-"

"If you are going to attack me for my mistakes, then what the hell about you?"

"What?"

"Tell me why you and all your little first year buddies switched to teaching the college level?" Shiro accused, "Why have you Aizawa, manipulated the line up to where your entire class for this year is the exact same as when (y/n) went here?"

"H-How did you-?" President Mic panically turned to Aizawa.

"You think I didn't do my homework on you?" Shiro darkly laughed, "I just left her with a bunch of strangers? No, we both checked in on her, but neither of us had the balls to approach her."

"We didn't know-" Aizawa muttered.

"Of course, you didn't." Shiro shook his head, "Have you even asked her what she wants to do?"

"Um-" President Mic blinked, "-ask her about...?"

"(y/n) got thrown on the path of a hero, she didn't pick this life. You're preparing to keep her on it, but have you even stopped and asked her what she wants to do?"

"We-I-Uh-" President Mic and Aizawa turned to each other.

"Shiro-!" Gray called jogging over.

"Not now-" Shiro waved him off, "-we are finally getting somewhere-"

"I can't find (y/n)." Gray stated, Shiro snapped his head to where he last saw you.

"She was right next to you!" Shiro turned to Gray.

"I was watching the stupid clip, when I turned around, she was gone!"

"You had one job-!" Shiro cursed under his breath.

"Maybe if you didn't run off you would have been there to catch her!" Gray countered.

"Wait-" Shiro spun around scanning the room. "-where is the Chicken Boy?"

----

"Hey-!" You turned your head hearing a cheerful voice. The light breeze from being on the roof blew through your hair; a few strands fell from the braid. "-look what I found!" He held up a six pack, you turned from leaning on the rail.

"You sure you should have that?" You questioned, crossing your arms over your chest.

"Huh?" Hawks blinked,

"Last I checked you're a pretty big light weight."

"I am not!" Hawks laughed waving you off as he placed the case down, picking a cold can he tossed it to you. "Why did you wonder off-?" Hawks questioned, searching his jacket pockets. You shrugged as a response. "-ha!" Hawks pulled a straw from the inside pocket of his jacket, holding it out for you to take.

You held his gaze before plucking it from between his fingers. The two of you turned sitting back-to-back like so many times before. You plopped the straw into the beer and sipped it under your mask. Taking a deep breath, you leaned against Hawks back staring out into the night.

"I heard about what the HPSC offered you." Hawks baritone voice pulled your attention from the twinkling stars. "How they took your hero license, why didn't you tell me?" Hawks pressed, after a moment of no reply, "I could go talk to the other heroes and we can all-"

"Don't-" You interrupted, "-Don't do that."

"But I want to." Hawks expressed, "Why wouldn't you want to fight to keep your license?"

"I don't know if I want it."

Thick silence filled the area between you and Hawks, he allowed the conversation to be swallowed up by the night sky. The two of you remained back-to-back drinking the confiscated beer from the party down below.

"I get it..." Hawks broke the mellow trans, opening your eyes. "...why you wouldn't want to jump right back into the game."

You didn't reply.

"I guess I keep forgetting your time with the Bullets was all...forced which-" He chuckled, "-is still so mind boggling to me. If you don't want to go back to hero work, no one in this building will judge you. You and the others did your time."

Again, you didn't feel a need to reply.

"But tell me-" Hawks continued on, "-I am curious."

"You know where curiosity gets you." You hummed, annoyed, he was still talking.

"Yeah-" Hawks laughed, "-I do. But I gotta know...when you look at them, why are you so angry?"

"Huh?" You furrowed your brows.

"Come on-" Hawks lightly shoved against you, "-you know what I am talking about. I know you Five, anytime those U.A. students pop up you go stiff."

"I do not." You muttered; they didn't hold any effect over you after all these years.

"You do!" Hawks smiled, "You can't seriously be in denial here!"

"I'm not."

"I know that look in your eye-" Hawk's voice dropped, his past flaring but he shook his head clearing his throat. "-that's a special type of infuriated."

"I'm not angry."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah."

"You know I'm not going to shut up." Hawks smirked hearing your deep breath. "We can talk or...we can head back down to the party-"

"Hypothetically-" You interrupted, "-if I was angry which I'm not...the reason I would be so pissed off would be because I was fine on my own. After Shadow Jack, I was fine with being alone and that's how I wanted it. I have lost so many people that...I didn't want to get close to anyone because I didn't know how much more loss I could take."

"Well hypothetically...what changed?"

"Hypothetically...hey convinced me, these people convinced me that they were never going to leave, that they had my back-"

"Five-"

"-it's not about one singular person-" You wickedly laughed, "-I'm not that weak-"

"I know you're not."

"-I look the way I do because I am tired of loving people who never loved me in the first place."

"Hey-" Hawks quickly spun around, "-no, don't think like that." He wrapped his arms around you pulling you to his chest. "Five...I..." He sighed, chest deflating in defeat. "...I don't know the whole story-" He pulled back cupping the side of your face. "-and I..." He cut himself off staring into your eyes. "...it's crazy."

"What?" You smirked from underneath your mask.

"After all this time..." Hawks muttered, "...I still don't know what you look like." He glanced to his fingers brushing over the string of your mask. He flickered over to your eyes, searching for a warning sign but found only your infamous neutral expression. With a quick lick of his lips, he wrapped his fingers around the string on the side of your mask.

"I found them-!" A voice pulled you and Hawks apart.

"Oop-" Hawks chuckled clearing his throat struggling to ignore the pounding in his heart. "-looks like we have been found out."

"What the-?" All Might moved past Aizawa spotting the two of you getting up.

"Yeah-" Gray sighed stretching his arms. "-they do this sometimes."

"-the hell does that mean!?" All Might bit.

"Why did you two wonder off?" Gray ignored All Might as you and Hawks walked over to the roof's door.

"Oh-" Shiro snidely lowered his plate from the party. "-should I not be eating this in front of you?" He pointed to the chicken bits resting on his plate. "It's like your cousin or something right?"

"Ha-Ha-" Hawks bit, "-I'm surprised a little goat like you-"

"I am not a damn goat-!" Shiro frazzled.

"Uh-" Gray chuckled seeing the confused expressions from the people behind him. "-you've seen Shiro's quirk?"

"Yeah?" All Might nods.

"Well, he can't actually morph his body, it appears that way but that's not how his quirk works." Gray replied watching Shiro and Hawks bicker.

"Then how does it work?"

"He can eat forms of metal and coat his body with it." Gray hummed. "During a conjoined missing with Hawks, he spotted a half-eaten can Shiro was holding and ever since then he nicknamed him Goat Boy."

"That's so mean!" All Might frowned.

"It's actually pretty funny." Gray shrugged.

"Just fuck and get it over with." You rolled your eyes moving past the argumentative pair.

"Ha-!" Shiro threw his head back, "-I don't really have a thing for wings."

"Could have fooled me." Gray mumbled.

"Don't get me wrong Chicken Boy-" Shiro snipped at Hawks, "they are cool and all but to me they just feel a little...overrated ya know?"

Hawks and Shiro held death stares until slowly Hawks extended his hand.

"Hungry?" He questioned; his empty beer can rest in his palm.

"That was one time-!" Shiro jumped. "-and it was a due or die situation!"