Authors note:
Speaking: "…"
Thinking: '…'
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Hawks POV
5 days after the encounter with Shadow
"Jeanist, I'll go chase him. Round things up with the police, then come to me, would ya?" a young blonde man with yellow, bird-like eyes said. He was wearing light brown baggy pants, a black-and-yellow compression shirt, and a light gray jacket with white fur on the edges. His most prominent features, however, were the two bright red bird wings on his back. This man was Hawks, the number 3 hero in Japan.
‚The villain Saber. He's murdered over 70 innocent people. His method of killing? Using his quirk, Saber, to turn anything he can grab with his hand into a blade, including his own body, to make a clean cut through their throats. I'll put him in Tartarus shortly' the young hero thought, flying after the wanted villain.
He flew at astonishing speeds, easily catching up to him. Then he sent some of his feathers forward, intending to capture him. His quirk, Fierce Wings, allowed him to manipulate every single feather telepathically. However, before the feathers could reach the villain, Saber turned and fled into an alleyway.
"Ahh, come on now. You know you can't escape me. Why make it unnecessarily—" Hawks started, but as he turned the corner, he found something rather unexpected.
Lying on the ground with his throat slit was none other than the villain he had just been chasing. Standing above him was a man wearing an elegant white vest with a hood. When the man turned, his face,or rather what was left of it, became visible: a white skull with black and white flames emanating from it.
The skull-faced man held a katana with a beautiful snow-white blade, now covered in blood. As Hawks arrived, the man calmly swung the blade, cleaning it of the crimson liquid, before sheathing it in the tsuba on his hip. Turning to face Hawks, the two stood eye to eye.
"To be greeted by the number 3 hero himself. What an honor," the man spoke calmly, his ghostly eyes fixed on the hero.
"You're part of the Eight Rings, isn't that right?" Hawks asked, the question rhetorical as he spoke nonchalantly, his hands resting in his pockets.
"You are correct. My name is Light. Though, might I be so bold as to ask how you figured it out?"
"Uh, well, the logo on your back makes it pretty obvious. Since I answered your question, let me ask you one as well. How'd you know he'd be here? And why do it?"
"Quite bold of you, but I shall answer. Our organization has established important connections in the past five months, so we simply told him to come here under the pretext that he'd get backup. As for why..." Light paused. "I do not care. I'm simply following my master's orders," he said, bringing his hands behind his back.
"But don't worry. I've killed him in a way you'll easily be able to pass off his death as a suicide," the skeletal man explained, gesturing toward the corpse.
"And why would I do that?"
"Because you can't afford to let the world know about us."
Putting his hands in the air, Hawks replied, "Fine, fine, you got me. But what are you gonna do now? Fighting me would undoubtedly cause a scene, and I'm not so slow that I'll let you use a portal to escape." His feathers started to hover around him as he kept smiling.
"And what makes you think I wouldn't cause a scene or take a hostage?"
"You wouldn't dare. After all, it was you who said you're only following orders, isn't that right?"
"It seems you have sharp eyes, but you're not the only one with keen perception. Which is why I know that I've piqued your interest. That look in your eyes says it all," Light replied indifferently.
‚Damn it, he got me' Hawks thought, maintaining his poker-face smile. "And how's that supposed to help you?"
"Simple. I know you'll chase me. So, I propose we relocate this little chat, so that the backup you're waiting for doesn't interrupt our dispute. I suggest you take the portal that's about to appear here shortly, that is, if you're still interested in me."
After saying this, Light's body vanished, engulfed in white flames, leaving behind a spectral image that quickly dissipated.
Moments later, a swirl of green and black mist appeared before Hawks. Sensing vibrations in the air using his feathers, he picked up on two things: the first was Best Jeanist approaching his location and the second was portal slowly closing.
Making a decision, he quickly exited the alleyway and saw Jeanist approaching. "Hey Jeanist, can you handle the police? The villain committed suicide before I could get to him. I have to take care of an errand that came up. Thanks, you're the best!" he yelled, propelling himself toward the portal with his wings, catching a faint, "Wait, Hawks, I'm not your errand boy..." before entering.
On the other side, Hawks' eyes widened in shock. He wasn't expecting a barren wasteland of pure ice. Dropping from the portal high in the sky, he looked down at the snow- and ice-covered landscape, spotting his target.
Light stood on an icy rock with his hands behind his back, looking directly at him. Using his wings, Hawks descended toward him, landing with a burst of wind that whipped up snow and created a small tornado around them.
„So, tell me, where exactly did you take me? It's getting pretty cold out here," the winged man asked, smiling as he pretended to shiver.
"Welcome to Antarctica, Hawks. Here, no one should be able to interrupt us. Wouldn't you agree?" Light responded, glancing around.
"So, what are we going to do now? I, for one, would love to chat some more," the hero remarked sarcastically.
"Why, isn't it obvious? This will be our battleground. Take your stance!" the skeleton commanded, unsheathing his katana and holding it horizontally in front of his body with one hand.
As if on cue, both men launched at each other. Hawks, grabbing one of his large, sword-like feathers, clashed with the blade of his opponent. Not wasting any time, he immediately sent a flurry of small, sharp feathers toward Light, aiming for his blind spots. Reacting swiftly, Light broke the clash, and his blade began glowing white. Whispering, "Blooming Flame Undulation," he slashed his sword in a circular motion, deflecting the incoming projectiles with ease.
As Hawks took to the skies again to better scout the battlefield, the skeletal man placed his sword beside him. The blade began glowing once more, this time emitting a presence Hawks could feel. 'So, 'he'really wasn't kidding, about their power' the flying man thought as a crescent-shaped blade of energy surged toward him at rapid speed. However, with his unmatched agility, Hawks dodged it effortlessly.
Diving back down to the icy ground, he aimed to make a smooth landing and launch a direct attack with his feather sword. But, in an unfortunate twist, he tripped on the snow and fell flat.
Looking ahead, Hawks saw Light charging straight at him with his blade raised high. Narrowly dodging the incoming attack, which only grazed his jacket, he quickly took to the air again. Hawks retaliated by unleashing a storm of feathers, but after exhausting most of them, he descended steadily back to the ground.
The white swordsman, however, appeared unimpressed by the feather tornado closing in on him. Standing firm, the skeleton unleashed a large-scale burst of silver and white energy, blowing away the incoming feathers, which soon returned to Hawks.
As the winged hero prepared to take flight again, his wings began glowing silver and white. Looking back in horror, he realized it was too late. Nearly all of his feathers erupted in explosions powerful enough to level a large building.
Watching the dust settles one would expect to find a dead or at least heavily injured man, however what came out was neither.
"It seems my master was right yet again. You do possess aura, meaning you're one of them, aren't you? Hawks, member of the Aegis," Light commented, watching Hawks emerge from the smoke, now bearing a new form and accompanied by a light brown aura falcon.
Hawks' hair had begun fading into silver at the tips, and his previously yellow eyes had turned a striking silver as well. His usual hero costume was replaced by a white and gold knight-like chest plate, shoulder guards, and bracers, complemented by light brown leather gloves. On his lower half, he wore brown pants and a light brown draped sash that hung to his knees. Most striking of all, his once bright red wings had transformed into a cloudy white hue, fully intact and radiating power.