Over And Over Again

Chapter 3

The day was postcard perfect, even the buses were running on time. Downtown the skyscrapers shone silver in the morning sun and the sky was an unbroken backdrop of blue. People walked in myriad directions, so it was full of people who were rushing to go back to their homes after a long day of work. Children were out of school and led by their parents to their homes.

Easy-going chatter and free laughter bounced around the streets. People haven't had this kind of peace in a long time. Everything was normal and they hoped that this kind of peace wouldn't be disturbed by villains and destruction.

"Mommy, mommy! It's Hawks!" The sound of an excited girl can't be heard from the millions of sounds that graced the streets, but it drew her mother's attention to her.

The woman smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm, after all, Hawks was her favorite hero. The girl was jumping up and down, pointing at the enormous screen on the tallest building. 

But when the woman looked at the screen, she frowned. Instead of the usual display of the heroes' fights or their pictures, Hawks was sitting on a ratty couch, his hands folded in his lap. 

His eyes pierced through everyone on the streets as if he could see them from the inside. 

It felt like time stopped for a moment and people stopped moving as they looked at the screen. But it wasn't only this screen – every single screen in the city of Japan displayed Hawks' face.

And suddenly the peaceful setting was broken by a cold gust of wind. It made some people shiver and others felt something bad was going to happen.

Maybe Hawks will inform them about a villain's arrest? 

But why is Hawks alone? And Where are the other heroes? 

Questions ran through the people's heads, but they were stopped by the sound of Hawks as he finally began speaking.

"Citizens of Japan, I am pro hero Hawks, Number two on the hero charts, and today I am talking to you as Takami Keigo, not the pro hero that you knew, not the commission most behaved pet."

Silence filled the streets, but it wasn't just any silence. It was a heavy, loaded one, the kind that feels as though it could crush one’s chest and put a stop to breathing altogether, the kind that fills the mind with maddening vibrations and makes the skin tingle and crackle all over. Wound tight with anticipation —

Something bad was definitely going to happen. 

A grin appeared on Hawks' face, a fake one, but it sent chills down the people's spines – the same grin that was always on Hawks' face whenever he made the final blow in any fight.

The same grin that always appeared in front of villains .

"And here's the truth behind the HSPC's closed doors." He said. His wings were flattering behind him nervously and he tried to make himself relax. "For many years the hero commission wanted you to look at the world behind rose tinted glasses and it's time to expose what lies underneath that building." He took a deep breath, then continued. "You should know I was bought by the commission when I was six. Dad was in jail, mom was an alcoholic and they were all I had. So, it was so easy for my mother to accept the offer."

Hawks' eyes closed for just a moment and then they jolted as if they returned back to life. "I was only a kid who just wanted to be a hero and I thought that the road to be a hero would be the best thing, but they put me through hell. Plucking my feathers, ripping them as if they weren't part of me, punishments, talons trimming, cosmetic surgeries to hide my hawk's traits, and trying to suppress them. I was beaten for the first time when I was eight. Was electro shocked by the time I was ten." A shaky breath came out of him. "They always broke the bones in my wing to see how fast they healed and to see if I still can fight, If I can be still a hero."