--

Tokoyami got hugged so many times he lost count. Belenus hugged him to death, Shoji hugged him multiple times all for the wrong reasons, even Dark Shadow hugged him to make him fly.

Being a person who despise contact, he never really accepted hugs... Until now.

In contrast with the everlasting pain he felt before, Shoji's embrace was heavenly.

Suddenly, his hug felt weighted...

The rest of the class embraced him.

Cries and sobs could be heard.

An utter contrast to his life.

He felt tears of gratitude cascade down his cheeks.

He eyed his classmates. Most of them had tears in their eyes, some had look of relief. Even Bakugo looked somewhat concerned.

This... This is family... This is where I belong.

The people that truly cares.

The people that truly understands.

The people that I want to protect.

And I'm glad I did.

"Tokoyami, I... I think I found a way to save you! If we can j... Just find the villain..."

Midoriya sniffed.

"That's impossible now."

Tokoyami interrupted, he remembered what he needed to do. He needed to fill them in. He needed them to understand before its too late.

"One last chance."

He imagined Dark Shadow say.

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Belen... ... Belenus, the villain is dead... I killed him."

The class was shocked by such news, they didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

Sure, the entire world is safe now from other threats, but Tokoyami meant the world to them.

"As I thought, you're strong as hell."

Bakugo muttered from a distance.

"You didn't suffer any physical injuries?"

Tsuyu asked

"I'd be lying if I said no... But I'd be lying too if I said yes."

"What do you mean by that?"

Jirou asked, puzzled.

"... ..."

"No, no. Tokoyami is not ready to reveal everything... He needs some time."

"Its OK, Shoji. I'm not going to hide anything anymore. You all deserve to know."

"I'm sorry, it might be a lot to take in but... I am actually..."

"Fumikage? Tokoyami Fumikage?"

Class 1A looked around, it didn't sound like any of their voices, nor did it sound like Recovery Girl's voice...

A man was lying on the bed behind them.

Somehow, Class 1A didn't recognise the man... because he didn't have his prominent feature, but not everyone was oblivious to the person's identity.

"Hawks?"

Momo said, finally realising the existence of the man in the room.

Hawks was on a bed. Full of scars and devoid of his wings, Hawks was unrecognizable. It was a stark contrast to the usual confident smirk and loud attire he usually wears.

Class 1A slowly started to put two and two together and murmured in surprise at the once No. 2 hero's appearance.

"Fumikage, FUMIKAGE ARE YOU THERE?!"

Hawks frantic shouts caused the students to flinch. His cries sounded desperate, as if trying to prove himself wrong.

Tokoyami was initially shocked to have met with his mentor at such a weird place.

Hearing his calls, Tokoyami felt heartbroken to have worried his mentor that badly, reminding him how much his disappearance affected Hawks...

"I'm here, you don't have to worry."

"Oh hehehehehe... He's alive. He's alive like me!"

"Yet I can't see him, he's alive and I can't see him!"

"You're not hallucinating Hawks, he is really there."

"HAhahahaHaHAha, I should be happy!

So why am I crying?"

Hawks could be seen laughing, yet tears flowed out of his eye sockets.

"W-w-what's wrong with him?"

Kirishima shivered.

"Oh no... I didn't know it was this serious..."

Midoriya added.

However, no one was as affected as Tokoyami was.

Seeing the reliable mentor Hawks once was turn into a delirious wreck worried him to the core.

Oh Hawks... No one should be like this. What happened to you?

"Sir Hawks?"

Tokoyami weakly called out, worried of what Hawks had become.

There was a creak, Hawks sat up from his bed.

The drawer beside him rumbled as if something inside was trying to escape.

"No, Hawks, you can't get up yet!"

Recovery Girl exclaimed.

It was then the class noticed Hawks handcuffs hiding beneath the blankets.

The drawer beside them groaned with effort, sawdust pouring out. Within seconds, a red object prodded out, followed by another... And another.

Soon, countless red feathers were floating all around Hawks. The class backed off.

Worried what he might do with those razor-sharp feathers. They stand guarded, defending Tokoyami.

The feathers floated around Hawks like an aura as he moved. With sudden ferocity, the red feathers whizzed like a hurricane. Loud clangs of metal on metal contact followed by sparks. Within seconds, Hawks break free of his bonds.

His feet landed on the floor, creaking and groaning to withstand his weight. No one moved... Some even held their breath. They were all vulnerable to Hawk's attacks.

Step by step, he inched closer to where Tokoyami was.

"Back off Hawks! You're in no state to move!"

Todoroki and Midoriya stood in front, but everyone collectively tried to cover any spots.

Witnessing the swirling mass in front of him, Tokoyami realised his class was in unnecessary danger.

"It's OK, guys."

Many looked back at him in fear and shock.

"Hawks just wants to see me."

"Tokoyami, Hawks is unstable and dangerous. We won't put you in harms way."

Shoji said, using one of his limbs as mouth to prevent changing his stance.

Tokoyami cringed as he heard the same sentence spat to him.

I'm going to die anyway.

He wanted to utter that out loud, but he knew that wouldn't help anything.

"Stop, guys. Don't intercept him. I know in person that he is able to cut you down within seconds. He won't be holding back."

"It doesn't matter, you saved us from an inevitable demise. We ain't leaving."

Ojiro confidently said.

Tokoyami tried to sit up, getting a better look at Hawks, but he felt like all his energy was sapped away.

"Toko... Tokoyami..."

Hawks could be heard chanting his name. His hands dangled at his sides as if they were disabled.

Some of the students shivered. Mineta looks as if he was going to pass out.

However, Hawks next words made them stop their hearts.

" Tokoyami... Fumikage...

My... My son, are you really there?"

"Son?"

Todoroki said, confused.

The class looked at Tokoyami for answers, absolutely shocked.

"Tokoyami-kun, Hawks-san is your dad?"

Ochaco gasped.

Unfortunately, Tokoyami looked just as confused as they are.

"N-no, I was an orphan."

He blurted out, before remembering that was private information.

Now there were audible gasps.

"What did you say?"

Kirishima questioned.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry, I didn't know!"

Jirou said.

Koda could be seen frantically doing hand signs expressing his shock clearly. His face did the job pretty well without that though.

Even Shoji seemed surprised.

"Th... That's means..."

Midoriya started, his eyes filling with tears...

"Not only did you prevented yourself to be close to us...

You were prevented love your entire life!"

Everyone slowly let that fact sink in... but Tokoyami was distracted.

Because he felt his memories pulling him in...

--

Tokoyami stared at a door with a sign that reads

'Hawks Private Office.

Unauthorised access unless granted permission.

(Unless you're a bird)'

Tokoyami actually was called for by Hawks, so it didn't matter if he was a bird or not.

He knocked once... twice...

"Enter!"

He opened the door, hearing a slight creak.

Hawks was sitting on a sofa, appearing to be doing some paperwork.

He didn't look around the room too much as it was still Hawk's personal space. It would be rude to do so. From his peripheral vision, he could describe the room as a bright, warm room with many decorative artefacts.

"Yes, what do you want Sir Hawks."

Hawks eyes lay on his and his expression relaxed. He propped both legs on the table and extended one arm out on the sofa. His feathers took away a stack of paper that were beside him.

"Come sit down with me, kiddo. Bird to bird. "

Tokoyami walked awkwardly over and sat down. The sofa was soft and leathery.

Guess me being a bird matters...

"Have you ever thought of your purpose of becoming a hero?"

Tokoyami thought for a while...

You want to be batman.

Tokoyami choked on his thoughts. To Hawks, Tokoyami looked as if someone had punched him in the gut, and then gave him 100 million yen.

Shut up, Dark Shadow. No one asked for your opinion.

But it's sort of true, right.

You're totally right.

See, I speak the truth

That was sarcasm.

"I'm afraid not, Sir Hawks."

Hawks chuckled at the weirdness that just happened.

"How charming..."

He muttered.

"Well, it's important to have one."

He winked at Tokoyami. Tokoyami just raised his eyebrows.

Hawks leaned forward, raising his hand. He made a 'come here' gesture. Some feathers holding a jar of water and a glass floated over.

"Water?"

"No thanks."

The feathers continued to pour a glass of water... And gave Tokoyami.

Tokoyami had no choice but to receive.

It was a glass of ice water.

He took a sip, feeling the cool liquid drizzle down his throat.

"You do remind me a little of Batman though."

*SPPLUURT* *cough* *cough*

He coughed and hacked. His eyes giving Hawks a nasty stare.

Hawks gave him a forced grin, keeping himself from bursting out with laughter.

"How *cough* *cough* how did you...?"

However, Hawks didn't need to answer. A string of shadow could be seen right on Hawks ears.

"You imbecile monster... "

Dark Shadow could be seen grinning mischievously from ear to ear.

Tokoyami reached out to his backpack to retrieve a super-powered light that Mei Hatsume had made for him.

Dark Shadow face quickly changed to fear and zapped into Tokoyami's body before he could on the flashlight.

Hawks chuckling again brought Tokoyami's attention back to his mentor.

"But seriously, you'll need to find your path as a hero."

Tokoyami nodded, then a question came up.

"What's your path like, Sir Hawks?"

"Oh, glad you asked..."

Hawks sat up from his sofa, facing Tokoyami with a grin.

"My path is something similar to All Might's..."

"The symbol of peace?"

"Yep. I want to protect people, but specifically a group of people."

Hawks looked at Tokoyami, changing his charming look to determination.

"I want to protect children's with no parents...

Orphans."

Tokoyami stared at Hawks... It wasn't until Hawks shut his beak that he realised his jaw hung open.

Orphans...

"Why?"

"Every single child deserves love, but these children's have it rough. They enter this world, confused about who they are, what they're worth."

Tokoyami was facing the floor, listening intently at Hawks words.

Yeah, I had nowhere to go after my parents left me.

You were scared and miserable as a child, you didn't even know what is a home anymore. Who could you even trust?

"They desperately want to receive love. Yet because of their nonexistent upbringings, these poor children quickly stand out from the rest."

Yes. It wasn't unusual that transformation quirks existed in school like me. Yet I stand out even from them. I didn't know how to counter those who know more about the society than me.

One of my friend, Belenus, had the same treatment. He revealed to me that he was an orphan.

"They become confused why they stand out. This causes them to usually get into trouble."

I'm sorry, Fumi, for whatever that happened last time.

"How do you... know these things?"

"Well..."

Hawks began, looking at Tokoyami with a smile.

"I myself was an orphan... Like you."

Tokoyami looked at Hawks in surprise, either because he didn't knew Hawks was an orphan, or that Hawks knew he didn't have parents.

"And I want to start..."

"By protecting you."

--

Tokoyami stared at Hawks calling his name. Realisation hit him.

"Hawks..."

"You wanted to adopt me?"

Hawks stopped in his tracks, pausing for a short while. He looked down, covering his face.

The feathers around him changed position. In one single movement, they swirled back to Hawks' back, reforming his wings.

When he looked back up, the familiar grinning face of his mentor greeted him.

Tears streamed down both of their faces.

"Yes... Yes I do."

Author's note: Examinations are coming in a few weeks time. I tried to give you one last chapter before I could focus on my work. Here it is. I hope you enjoyed it.

I'm so grateful my last chapter worked out fine. Thanks for all the votes and praises I got for the last chapter! I literally jumped for joy when I read your comments!