Feathers and Flame // Dabi x Reader x Hawks

17: Bird-brain

The most curious thing that had slipped your mind since you arrived at the complex was that you hadn't seen Shigaraki. It was unusual of you to have such an oversight, even if your mission seemed to veer from earning his trust to the rest of the League's — or more specifically Dabi's. But once you realised that he had indeed disappeared, something had snapped into place and that double-agent that lurked in the shadows of your being came again to the front.

Luckily, for you, the shadows in this place spoke louder than anything touched by the light.

Dabi was elsewhere and had been for the entire day, and not even Toga had come to pester you while he was gone. You were well and truly left to your own devices, and you spared no time in using that to your advantage.

This time of year, the sun set in the early evening, leaving you plenty of darkness to play with. Using your quirk felt like stretching some muscle you'd been neglecting for awhile, and it strained as you tugged it into movement, but still complied with your wishes. You were ink and blackness and every crack and crevice was your domain. Not a lock or barrier could keep you out, and no information was too far beyond your reach.

"Four months."

The words floated to you from some distant corner of the complex, where you watched Re-Destro speak in a hushed voice to another.

"Power."

Was Shigaraki obtaining even more power? Even after what happened in Deika city?

"Multiple quirks."

It was that one that halted the breath as it left your lungs. Multiple quirks. There was not a soul alive who didn't know what that meant. But how? All For One was defeated, locked away in the bowels of Tartarus, and yet he was still manipulating the outcome of this situation. There was someone — the Doctor — that was capable of creating Nomu. Capable of creating mutated creatures with multiple quirks. Was that what was happening here, but on some much grander scale? A masterpiece of engineering in the body of an already devastatingly powerful villain?

You listened carefully to the rest, desperate to glean some further information from the pair.

"They're keeping him at—"

A knock sounded on the door, and silence descended as someone came to escort Re-Destro to some meeting. It was unfortunate that he couldn't finish that particular sentence, but you'd find out where they were keeping Shigaraki soon enough. If anything, the rest of the League likely knew the location of the Doctor's labs, and you just hadn't become privy to that information yet. Dabi likely knew.

Even so, it was something to think over as you returned to your room, stepping out of your shadows and back onto the solid floor beneath your feet. It was also something that you should tell a certain somebody, though the thought of working with Hawks hadn't become any less strange to you.

And then there was the fact that Dabi had asked you to watch over Hawks, effectively giving you a free pass to conduct your meetings with him away from prying eyes in the complex without seeming suspicious for being around Hawks. It was almost too perfect, and the thought did cross your mind that Dabi may be setting you up. Though it seemed less likely that he was some mastermind than things just ended up working out in your favour for once.

Regardless, you would be cautious of being watched from here on out. Until it was time to reveal yourself, you would be the perfect villain and the perfect second to Dabi. If he wanted you to watch Hawks, then that's what you'd do.

***

Travelling between shadows in the darkness after sunset was the closest thing you imagined to flying. You were weightless and untethered, but unfortunately you could not feel the brush of the wind on your skin, or see the world from the sky. That was a privilege only Hawks had.