Work Text:
Many people, when thinking about the number 3 hero Hawkes only saw the mask he put in place. They saw him as not much more than a pretty face. They saw him as a cocky, unobservant, carefree, media hungry hero who cared more about his sex appeal than his job.
They were wrong
The mask was intentional, after all if the world perceives you as unobservant and carefree they will be more open around you assuming you are paying no attention. Hawkes long since learned how to know more than anyone else, keeping the reconnaissance aspect of his feathers a secret from even the commission. This let’s him listen to conversations he’s not supposed to be privy to.
Hawkes may not be a heavy hitter of a hero like All Might or Endeavor but he’s fast and clever enough to make up for it. Plus if the commission taught him anything it was how to manipulate the rankings to his favor, which led him to learning how to manipulate other things as well. Namely his reputation.
So while Hawkes may be a Limelight hero he still keeps tabs on the workings in the Underground. He has plenty of connections in the underground, mostly in the gray areas given his status as such a high ranking hero. Though he’s befriended more than one vigilante in his days (Crawler in particular was a close friend, one he planned on sponsoring for the rehabilitation program if Ingenium hadn’t beat him to it).
Speaking of Vigilantes that ties into the pro’s current predicament. A relatively new vigilante was down an alleyway zip tying a thug. He knew who the figure was solely because the closest thing to a signature this individual left was how he tied thugs up using three zip ties in a makeshift hog tie. One around the ankles, one around their wrists behind their back, and the final one brings the other two ties together ensuring the thugs had very little movement.
That was the signature of the newish vigilante Pyre. Almost no one knew anything about them. There was about six months of crime fighting they did under the radar that only got linked when the police started an actual case file. For a vigilante that’d been active for over a year and a half now there was very little information on them. So who was Hawkes to pass up such an opportunity, it was information gathering (he was absolutely not trying to invite him to vigilante poker night nooooo).
Pyre was a couple roofs away from the thug when Hawkes decided it was time to make his presence known. He landed behind the vigilante with an audible whoosh. Pyre turned to look at the hero.
Hawkes gave the vigilante a cocky grin “For such an elusive newbie I thought you’d be harder to track down.”
“You’re not supposed to be anywhere near here” the reply was a statement of fact which was interesting. Clearly they took precautions when planning their routes.
“Well ya know sometimes a bird wants to stretch his wings and go for a fly, who knows when something interesting might catch his eye?” Hawkes kept his posture relaxed and he watched the vigilante for signs he might attack.
Pyre’s posture was relaxed as he replied “seriously this-” he gestured to all of himself “caught you eye? I think you need better taste.” The tone was deadpan but Hawkes noticed the slight wince and his heightened hearing caught the faint traces of what sounded like a voice over a com.
Subtly the hero detached a feather and sent it down and around the building to get closer to Pyre to see if he could hear anything from the person over the com. Hawkes chuckled slightly “How convenient of you to answer one of my questions for me. The vigilante tensed slightly, but other than that no signs of stress came off the vigilante. This guy was good,Hawkes would give him that.
“And what question would that be birdie?”
“I wanted to know what type of person becomes a vigilante, now I know” Hawkes paused so the vigilante could respond but all Hawkes got in return was a stare so he continued, deadpan “an emo”
Through his feather Hawkes could hear the person on the com start to cackle. Pyre did not seem amused and made to leave.
“Wait! don’t go yet we were just starting to have fun!”
“Nope”
“C’mooon I can’t invite you to poker nights if you leave now”
That got a reaction. Pyre turned and, sounding incredulous, asked “invite me to what now?”
“Vigilante poker night!”
“Last time I checked you were not a vigilante.”
“True true but I’m an honorary member.”
“How does one become an honorary vigilante?”
“By being a hero who doesn’t make it their business to catch vigilantes, unless of course they start going on a murder spree.”
“Really?”
“Yep! Ingenium also attends! Other than that it’s just vigilante or ex vigilantes”
“Well, while I’m certainly intrigued, I’ll have to pass.” With that the vigilante turned to leave again.
“Awww don’t be such a party pooper, you can trust me.”
Pyre turned now standing on the edge of the rooftop “Maybe don’t send out an eavesdrop feather at the start of a conversation and I’ll be more inclined to trust you.” as he said it he sent a small wave of blue fire out and Hawkes felt his feather burn up. His eyes had followed the flame until it disappeared over the edge and when he looked back the vigilante was gone.
Then the words the vigilante used truly hit him. Eavesdrop feather somehow this vigilante knows he can hear the vibrations through the feathers, something he managed to keep from even the commission.
How
Hawkes knew one thing for sure, this wasn’t going to be the last time he encountered the vigilante. He would make sure of that.
Pyre found him the second time.
“You didn’t make a report about me.”
Hawkes whirled around to see Pyre at the other end of the rooftop where he had been sitting eating a bucket of fried chicken. A wing hanging out of his mouth. Hawkes quickly chewed and swallowed before grinning “If it isn’t my favorite emo!”
Pyre seemed to regret every decision that led to this moment.
Hawkes was thriving.
“Against my better judgement, yes”
“Ah, I've been known to make people act against their better judgment.”
Pyre snorted “I’d say, that’s basically your entire brand.”
“It gets the job done.” Hawkes said cheerily
“It gets you high in the ranks.” Pyre said bluntly
“Among other things.”
“Oh what else does your brand accomplish?”
Hawkes’s grin got wider “Wouldn’t you like to know weather boy.” Hawkes swears he could see Pyre flash through the five stages of grief behind the gasmask.
“I should’ve listened to my better judgment,” the vigilante sighed.
“Awww don’t tell me you hate vines Pyre, I may have to rescind your offer to come to poker nights, we’re all memelords and we can’t have a nonbeliever among us.”
“It’s not that I hate them but one vine quoting little shit is enough in my life for my thanks I don’t need a second.”
“And yet here you are, I thought I’d have to seek you out but you found me.” Hawkes patted the ground next to him “come sit, let’s chat I’ll even share my chicken with you.” Hawkes was surprised when the vigilante actually took him up on the offer and sat next to him, snatching a chicken thigh from the bucket. “So now tell me, what caused an emo vigilante such as yourself to search out myself?”
“I wanted to know why you didn’t write a report of our encounter on the roof, I’m sure it would’ve helped the investigation and yet you didn’t. Why?”
Hawkes leaned back and took a bite of his chicken. Chewing slowly before swallowing and answering “Because I don’t particularly want to see you caught.”
Pyre gave him a doubtful look “what?”
“Well you do good, so why should I stop you from helping people, you use just enough force to get the job done and have like, no collateral damage. So if you keep it up and don’t pull a Stendhal and start killing people willy nilly then I won’t want to see you caught.”
There was a pause before “Then why seek me out and send your snoopy feather near me at our last meeting?”
Hawkes shrugged “curiosity”
Pyre deadpanned at him “What”
“Look I’m a curious person, when there’s someone no one knows anything about I get an itch to find out more than anyone else and then, promptly, I’m satisfied. It’s extra enjoyable when other people are running around trying to find any information and I could just walk up and tell them all I want to know,” Hawkes grinned “but I don’t”
“What the hell? Are you like a sadist or something? not kinkshaming or anything.”
Hawkes couldn’t help the snort that left him at the last part. “No I’m not a sadist, it’s just entertaining to watch them just miss the obvious. It’s funny”
“Putting it like that, it makes sense.”
The two sat in silence for a while, the vigilante stealing pieces of chicken every so often. Finally Hawkes had to voice the question that had been eating away at him since their first meeting.
“How did you know my feathers can pick up vibrations? That’s a secret I never told anyone.”
Pyre stared at him, then, with zero emotion said “wouldn’t you like to know weather boy”
Hawkes stared at him shocked. Pyre stood, “for a while it was a theory, but you sending it out at the meeting basically confirmed it, any doubt I still may have had is now gone from you confirming it just now, thanks for that.” Pyre smirked before he backed off the edge of the roof and disappeared.
After the first two meetings they kept meeting up, sometimes they’d sit and talk for a while but most of the time it was brief encounters.
“YO EMO” Hawkes chucked a ball of fabric into Pyre’s face mid flight, direct hit. Hawkes didn’t turn around even as the yell of “FUCK YOU BIRD BITCH!” reached his ears
Hawkes mid flight until something hit him dead in the face scaring him and causing him to almost crash into a wall. Looking at what hit him it was a whole ass slice of bread. He turned towards the sounds of cackles and saw Pyre a few roofs over laughing his ass off.
Pyre running across rooftops a specific sound caused him to freeze and trip; he would have fallen off the building if a feather hadn’t caught his clothes and pulled him back. Hawkes was unfazed at the glare simply grinning at the vigilante and holding up his phone, still playing Welcome To The Black Parade.
A spray painted mural of a slice of bread hitting the #3 hero in the face appeared on a billboard across from said hero’s agency.
Pyre, dumped on top of a giant antenna on top of a tall building and left to his own devices.
Cracker packs, in every corner of Hawkes’s agency there are inconspicuous packs of crackers with a bird drawn on them with marker.
Hawkes on tv doing the macarena off beat to a fall out boy song with a piece of paper taped to his back saying ‘you know who you are.’
Every window in Hawkes agency giving a decal saying ‘Bird Hazard’
It was during one of their meetups where they actually talked that things really changed.
“Sooooooo, Mr. vigilante have I reached the friendship level to get a name besides just Pyre?”
“You’re literally a hero who could have me arrested at the drop of a hat. Why the fuck would I give you my name?”
“C’monnnnn it doesn't have to be your full name, just like a given name or a nickname y’know something more familiar than PyRe.... Or y’know I could get a name for the person in your ear~.”
“Yeah no”
“I figured so why not give me a nickety name.”
“You first”
“Huh”
“Well what’s your real name, or a nickname.”
Hawkes was quiet, it should be just a simple request and yet… “Is there anything else I can offer you?”
Pyre snorted derisively “of course, you expect me to trust you with a name but won’t give me one in return.”
Hawkes floundered trying to come up with a reply and way to fix it when Pyre continued
“It’s not like we don’t know it but it would’ve been nice to have some form of trust from yo-”
Hawkes whirled onto the vigilante “you know my name?!” Hawkes didn’t even bother to hide the desperation he felt. Please please please don’t be a lie, not with this.
Pyre was taken aback at that reaction, he expected embarrassment or anger not...desperation what the hell is he supposed to do with that. “...Yes?”
“Tell me” Hawkes voice was full of fear, hope, desperation, and determination. He gave off the aura of a trapped and wounded animal.
“I- wha-”
“Tell. me.” there was no trace of the flirty lighthearted hero, this was someone who would get what they want no matter the cost. Pyre thought he’d have better luck evading All Might on an average day than Hawkes right now.
“Takami Keigo”
There it was.
The name that had been beat, trained, and starved out of him.
He was Takami Keigo
Takami Keigo
Takami Keigo
Takami Keigo
Keigo
With the name came memories from long ago, from when he was only Keigo.
“...Hawkes?”
Keigo jerked up at the name, the name he was given in hell, the name he used to hate, the name he grew to tolerate and then find pride in as he became a hero, saved people, made his mark, gained that little bit of freedom he got from the commission after his debut and subsequent rise in the charts. It could not even compare to his real name.
Keigo tried to look at the speaker but could only make out a blur, he raised a hand to his face only for it to come away wet. He started to cry? When was the last time he cried? He thought the commission beat that out of him years ago. Who knew getting his name was a package deal?
Blinking the tears away he took in the figure before him, Pyre was there looking unsure and was that worried? Hard to tell past the tears and gasmask.
“Keigo”
“What?”
“Please, when it’s us call me Keigo, you gave that back to me.” Keigo managed a wobbly smile as he wiped his tears but didn’t try to get them to stop, who knew how long it’d be before he’d be able to cry again.
“Well I mean I wasn’t the one who found it out I’m just the messeng- wait what do you mean gave it back to you? How do you lose a name?”
“The commission-” Keigo cut himself off he wasn’t supposed to tell.
He wasn’t.
That had been drilled into him for years, but he’s not just Hawkes now, he’s Keigo too. He can remember the early years fighting against their treatment clinging to his name, the last thing he had. That Keigo would want their friend to know. He wants them to know. Pyre and whoever it is in his ear that he protects so fiercely that occasionally chimes in through Pyre. They gave him his name, they should know how he lost it.
“Keigo” Pyre’s voice was firm and Keigo looked back to Pyre “what did the commission do?”
Keigo plopped himself down crisscrossed on the roof, sighing.
And he told them.
He told them every single thing the commission put him through. How they bought him, trained him, beat him, educated him, manipulated him. He told them all of it. Up to present day and his regulations, handler, and restrictions. Keigo had no idea how long it took, what time it was, now he’s pretty sure he can see the tips of sunrise on the horizon.
What Keigo does know is that he feels lighter. He told someone, even Rumi only knew a vague telling. Pyre shifted and Keigo looked up to see him offering him his earpiece. Carefully Keigo picked it up and put it to his ear.
“The commission is going to burn for what they did to you Takami Keigo, I will make sure of it.”
Keigo couldn’t help the relieved smile that spread across his face.
Freedom, yet another thing he lost all those years ago with his name.
He is really liking this package deal