Of Cat and Bird

Seven - Frustration at the park

I moved to the grass and set out my sketchbook. My pencils were pulled from my pocket and I knelt in front of my book. I opened it to the piece I was working on and thought about Hawks again.

As I looked at the feather I tucked into the edge of the sketchbook, I ran my finger along it. The feather was soft. How did he save people using these?

Still running my finger along it, I lifted it up. I pulled it close to my face and examined it closely. He had control of these? I grabbed it with my other hand and flexed it into a circle. It was so flexible, I just didn't understand how he lifted things with these.

I shook my head, setting it back into its place in my sketchbook so it wouldn't blow away. Why was I even keeping it? Maybe it was because it was such a pretty shade of red that I didn't see often in birds.

Cardinals. They had red feathers. I had seen pictures of them but hadn't seen one. But that one... it was beautiful. I sighed as I realized I was seemingly attached to the feather.

"I don't need this." I muttered.

I pulled the feather from the sketchbook and tossed it into the air. The breeze lifted it up and carried it away. I watched it float away and pushed away the regret I felt for letting such a pretty feather go.

I was too sentimental sometimes, and to have that feather was cool, but really, I knew I didn't need it. I could have used it as a bookmark but then it would sit and not be used after that.

My eyes landed on my sketchbook again and saw the image I had already started. I didn't want to think about Hawks anymore so I flipped to a new page.

I leaned over my sketchbook and with my pencil, I began to draw lines that formed the figure of a man. It was a generic person, wearing pants and a sweater. I smiled at the image because it was familiar to see. It reminded me of him. He used to dress this way.

I began to sketch in the face and the hair and then frowned. This wasn't him. It was all wrong. This hair was too wild to be his, and the smile was too sarcastic.

I realized what the problem was and erased the body. I sketched the jacket and pants differently, and then sighed as the image came together.

I slammed the book shut and glared at it. Then tossing it aside, I took a deep breath. After a moment, I realized what I did and scooted over, picking up the sketchbook and hugged it to my chest.

"I'm losing it." I muttered.

I looked up at the sky and thought about how just earlier today, I saw him flying overhead. The girls were screaming out his name. No. His given name wasn't Hawks. It was..

"Keigo..."

I liked the name. I held the sketchbook down in front of me, and opened it up once more. I flipped to the page where I was drawing Hawks.

"Why does he have to be so attractive? I don't want to be attracted to him..." I muttered.

I didnt need to be among the many girl fans he had. I wouldn't be. Alright, so maybe he was hot, but I wouldn't be screaming his name. I wouldn't be squealing at the sight of him. Who was I kidding? I probably would now if I saw him on TV.

He saved me. And stayed to ask me questions at the hospital. Why? Was my quirk really that interesting to him? He was very confusing to me. A mystery I couldn't figure out.

I growled as I shut the book again and stood, gathering my pencils. I wasn't going to stay here to mutter and become obsessed with a guy. He saved me, and that was that. I guess that wasn't that, because he saved my sketchbook, too. So that was that. There would be no more Hawks.

Of course I knew I'd have to deal with Nagisa fangirling over him. She fangirled over a lot of heroes. That last interview he had was something she played time and time again.

I hadn't seen it, but I heard enough from her that I knew plenty about Hawks. Even the other heroes. All the information I knew about them came from her.

I realized I was leaving the park so shortly after arriving, but I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't focus on drawing, the feather distracted me, and my drawing wasn't becoming what I wanted.

"Hawks, this is your fault." I growled.

I stalked out of the park and held my sketchbook close. I glanced up at the sky again and glared. Why did he have to do that fly by? And why bother picking up my sketchbook?

I stopped walking and pulled my phone from my pocket. As I dialed Nagisa's number, I knew this was what I needed. To hear her gush about heroes would straighten me out. I needed a level head and she could unknowingly help me with that.

"Naki! I'm so happy to hear from you. How are you doing? I hope you're still taking it easy."

"Yeah, I am. Don't worry, I was just at the park drawing- a person."

I almost told her I was drawing Hawks. She didn't need to know that I caught the Hawks fangirl disease.

"Oh you have to show me when we next see each other!"

"Actually, I was wondering if you might want to do that now. I'm a little bored at the park. You're more entertaining."

"Oh good idea! I have a video to show you!"

"Let me guess. A hero interview." I said.

Of course she was excited about it. I could hear it in her voice. I tried to think back about which hero interview was coming up but I always got them mixed up.

"Yeah! You're going to like this one." She said.

"Who is it?"

Please don't say Hawks.

"Best Jeanist!"

Good. I didn't want to have my mind on Hawks any more than I had to. Although... hearing her gush about how hot she thinks he is, or how cool she thinks he is might actually help. It would remind me about how many girls are in love with him and that I didn't want to be one.

"Oh, not-"

No! I couldn't say Hawks. She would get the idea in her head that I was interested in him. And then I'd never hear the end of it.

"Endeavor." I finished.

"No, I know how much you hate him. I won't make you watch him. He's hard to interview anyway. He's so brash."

"I don't want to talk about him."

"Then why'd you bring him up?" She asked.

Because I almost said Hawks.

"I don't know."

"Anyway yes! Do you want to meet at a restaurant?"

Meeting at a restaurant. She would ignore her food and tell me all about the hero she was watching on her phone. It was all too familiar.

"Sure." I said.

"Great! I'll see you in a little bit. Let's meet at our favorite restaurant by the park. You know that little one with the tables outside we can sit at?"

"Yeah. I'll head there. See you later."

"Bye!"

I ended the call and knew I made a good decision. My sister was always somebody I could go to when I needed my head cleared. Whether I talked to her or not about what was in my head was something that remained to be seen.