🌆 Morning Over Musutafu
The morning light crept over the skyline as Hawks perched on a rooftop, watching the city stir awake. His patrols were routine — but one case kept circling back into his mind.
> "The golden light from last year's crash," he muttered. "Still no ID, no footage, nothing."
He scrolled through recent reports — people whispering about a "miracle healer" again, mostly unconfirmed sightings near the same part of town.
He exhaled.
> "Maybe it's a copycat. Or maybe…"
He stopped himself. "Nah. Don't get weird about it, Keigo."
Still, something about that warmth haunted him. Not the energy, but how it had felt — like standing in sunlight after a long winter.
So, he decided to quietly check the area again.
Just to be sure.
---
☕ Café Soleil – Late Morning
The bell above the door chimed as Hawks stepped inside, disguised under casual clothes and a hood.
He'd been tailing small rumors for days — and somehow, everything circled back to this cozy corner café.
He didn't expect to see her.
> "Welcome!" came a bright voice.
Orihime Inoue smiled warmly, handing him a menu. Her hair shimmered softly in the sunlight filtering through the windows — orange, radiant, almost otherworldly.
Hawks blinked.
Something fluttered faintly in his chest — not recognition, exactly, but that same feeling.
> "Oh. Uh, coffee, please," he managed, sitting down.
> "Right away!" she said cheerfully.
He watched her move from table to table, light on her feet, humming softly. There was nothing unusual — no aura, no power signature, no trace of anything spiritual. Just a gentle girl doing her job.
Yet for reasons he couldn't name, the air around her felt… calm.
> "Weird," he murmured, tapping his cup. "That same warmth… but she looks normal."
He wrote her name quietly in his notebook: Inoue Orihime – café worker.
Nothing suspicious. But his instincts told him not to ignore the feeling.
---
🌇 Later That Day
Hawks lingered outside the café, pretending to scroll his phone. Orihime stepped out after her shift, carrying groceries.
She smiled politely when she passed him — just a polite stranger's smile — and kept walking.
He felt the faintest ripple of warmth again as she passed by, like sunlight brushing over feathers.
> "That's twice now," he whispered. "Coincidence?"
He wasn't convinced. But he also wasn't ready to assume anything.
Not yet.
---
🌙 That Night – Rooftop Reflection
Hawks crouched on the edge of a building, notebook in hand.
> "Inoue Orihime. No quirk record. Clean background. Café job, no links to villains. And yet…"
He looked down at the small feather he'd sent trailing behind her — faintly warm to the touch, which made no sense at all.
> "You give off the same feeling as that healer. But there's no proof."
He sighed, tucking the feather away.
> "Alright. Let's not spook the kid. Observation only. If anything happens… I'll step in."
He spread his wings, the night breeze lifting them effortlessly.
> "Until then, Miss Inoue — you're just another civilian."
But deep down, a voice whispered something he wouldn't admit:
> You don't believe that.
---
🌌 Inoue's Apartment
Orihime leaned out her window, looking at the stars. The Shun Shun Rikka hovered gently around her, invisible to all.
> "Someone followed us again," Tsubaki grumbled.
"Maybe it's just a curious hero," Orihime replied softly.
"He didn't feel dangerous."
She smiled faintly, holding a red feather that had landed on her balcony.
> "Red wings…" she whispered. "He must be kind."
The spirits shimmered quietly, unsure — but protective.