Butterfly Kisses Part 1

Chapter 40: Crimson Meets Black

"Big brother, why do you not like that guy?" Alex's face dug into Penna's back as they were gliding across the sky.

"Have you seen his face? It's so punchable." Penna said sarcastically. 

"Says you!" They laughed together.

"So...can you fly properly yet?" 

"Why do you keep asking questions?" 

"You've asked two too!" 

Penna sighed, and then they neared a lonely wooden cottage. The roof barely held up against the thick layer of snow that covered every plank of wood. 

'Jesus this place is a mess.' His large talons dug into the snow, black feathers turning the doorknob. Alex ran into the small cottage, sending snow everywhere, and sat next to the open fire. 

"There's some food in the fridge if you get hungry." Penna wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck and ruffled his feathers to remove the powdered snow.

"You're not staying?"

"Someone has to bring food to the village and it's not going to be you." He grinned.

"Fine you can go." A frown stretched across Alex's face but Penna knew that was all an act.

"I'll be back at around 21:00, alright?" Penna opened the door and bitter air glided through into the cozy home. (21:00 is 09:00pm)

Alex nodded in response. The hunter shut the door behind him, took two more steps and was immediately alarmed.

"So, do you love him?" Hawks asked with a huge grin on his face.

"Not in that sense, and even if I did, why should you care?"

"It's paedophilia, that's why I'd care, and I meant brotherly love." The winged hero sighed, stared at his feathers and shook them, throwing snow into Penna's face. 

"Could you stop that?" Penna asked through the pellets of snow.

"So...are you really insecure?" 

"No, who told you that?" Sweat would've reached Penna's chin but it froze before moving.

"Your diary did, so either you're lying to yourself or that's a fake diary." Hawks' cold air was suddenly covered by the warmth of his jacket.

"You read my diary?!?!" 

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"Why though? You don't seem insecure, at least on the outside, and you definitely have skill. I just don't understand why you of all people would feel insecure."

"You don't know what insecure means, do you?" Penna muttered. His usually bold and loud demeanour became quiet and nervous.

"Uh...disliking yourself?" 

"Close. It means doubting yourself or your abilities which is reasonable, in my case." The two of them looked down at the village and saw a group of children making snowmen and snow angels.

"I just don't understand why you'd doubt yourself or your abilities." 

"Can you keep secrets?" He asked, and Hawks nodded.

"I'm the only person who gives the villages here food, the people rely on me to do almost everything for them. If I slip up once they'll start thinking the way everyone else does, that because of the way I look, I'm inferior to them and I'm bound to make a mistake. My life was ruined the moment I was born." Penna took a minute to calm himself down.

"All of the children in those villages look up to me, especially Alex. If I mess up they'll lose faith in me, they won't trust me to help them with anything." Hawks just stayed silent and listened, thinking of something to say.

"And all of the other champions: Anyma, Maisha, Ikari, they all have strong, useful quirks. The unbreakable shield, the instant healer, and the relentless attacker. What do I have? Something that lets me fly. They've all mastered their powers while I'm still training with mine, and even if I did master my ability I wouldn't be of any help to them." 

"Back home, in Japan I mean, there are plenty of quirks that seem useless at first glance. An extra pair of arms, doing anything a rabbit can, the list goes on. But all of those people have something to offer in a fight. You haven't mastered your quirk like the rest, but you're just as good if not better than they are. You're an expert marksman, the best one I've ever seen, and if the people think you're inferior then prove them wrong." Hawks made an attempt to comfort Penna at his lowest, and it seemed to have worked. 

"There's no point in crying about it now, is there?" 

"Exactly." Silence filled the air for a few seconds before Penna spoke up again.

"How did you find my diary?" 

"Well I followed you and Alex for a little while, found a small wooden home by itself and assumed it was yours. The window was open so I just so happened to sneak in and find it." Hawks' usual grin was etched over his face, "I should've asked for your permission first."

"No, no it's fine. I've never had someone to talk to this about, until now, so...thanks, I guess." Hawks' face immediately lit up like a child meeting Santa for the first time.

"Does that mean you like me?" 

"I still hate you for snooping around but I hate you less."

"Yes!" Scarlet feathers danced around in the air as Hawks punched the air with joy.

"Your turn." Penna smirked.

"What?" Confused yellow eyes stared at adamant green ones.

"You said that you know the loss of losing something close to you. I want to know more." 

"Where to start," Hawks breathed out heavily, "well my dad wasn't...the best and my mom didn't have a lot of money, but she did things that made me smile. She even bought me an Endeavor doll which was nice. You could almost say we lived in poverty, almost. My dad eventually left, I don't exactly know why, and my mom really struggled after that. I was scouted by the HPSC after saving a few people from a car accident, and they separated me and her. It's...not as depressing as yours but it still hurts, you know?"

"You don't seem like the emotional type." Penna chuckled.

"Neither do you. I guess that means we're similar in more ways than one." 

"I guess." A lightbulb suddenly went off in Hawks' head.

"I've told you about my past, so why don't you tell me about yours?" His trademark, widemouthed, toothy grin appeared on his face, stretching from one ear to the other.

"Huh?" 

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Thanks for reading this chapter of Butterfly Kisses. I like this chapter. That's probably because it has one of my favourite My Hero Academia characters and one of my favourite ocs.