MHA X Hawks' Brother Reader

VII - Fleeting Safety

Cities offered seemingly endless opportunities to those chasing riches. But the shadows under those towering buildings were crawling with danger.

It was no place for Keigo to be alone.

But nothing had happened to him yet. He found it was almost always safe in daylight. Most wouldn't notice someone of his short stature to pick on anyway, and if they did there was bound to be a hero somewhere nearby. Not everyone in his family shared his faith in heroes however. His mother Tomie, she was terrified of them, but that made no sense. Heroes stopped bad people and protected good people. The family of three had seen blatant proof of that. But for some reason that the ten year old couldn't understand, his mother refused to consider it.

Keigo continued to weave past the people on the sidewalk. There was a cool breeze that ate through his thin coat, but he knew once he got home it would no longer be able to reach him. Back in their old shack the wind always found a way to slip inside. The disrepair of that crummy structure showed through its many holes and cracks. But that wasn't what made it cold. At first glance their unit looked like a classic family. A mother, a father, and two kids. But it was anything but. It was a place of fear, hurt, and loneliness. There was no love, not even when the two brothers were born. Their new home may have been outside, and got a bit chilly at night, but at least it was a home.

Keigo slipped into a narrow alleyway, leaving the bustle of the city to his back. After another corner it revealed a more open space, hidden and tucked away from the potential dangers that wandered the streets. It was the place his mother had stayed, in fact it looked like she had hardly moved. She barely even acknowledged his return. She looked worried, but not about her son that she had sent out on his own. She had been this way since they left. Gripped by paranoia.

Next to her was a young three year old boy, wrapped in a blanket and asleep. He hadn't moved either. He had been sleeping a lot lately. Which was best for him given his condition. In his arms the little boy held a stuffed toy close to his stomach. One made in the likeness of Endeavor. They shared their only toy, and also their admiration for Endeavor. The one who had saved them from their father.

Keigo knelt down and felt his brother's forehead. He was still burning up, and a weak cough in his sleep added to the proof that he wasn't any better. Keigo had hoped that maybe, when he came back this time, there would be some sort of improvement. But the status quo continued to scare him.

"Did he sleep the whole time I was gone?" Keigo asked, looking over at his mother, who continued to stare straight ahead, biting her finger nail.

"Yes." She answered, hollowly and without much care. "What did you bring back?"

The winged boy was silent. He didn't want to make the same empty handed report he had made too many times before. But his mother interpreted his silence correctly.

"Keigo... I told you... Do whatever you have to do to get us some money. Your brother needs medicine." Her patience was near gone along with everything else she had.

"We can go to the police... or the hospital... They'll help us..." He weakly suggested, his eyes averted to the ground.

"No they won't. You don't get it. We're in trouble. They'll take us away like they took your father away. Just use your feathers! If you're not going to help us why were you even born!"

Keigo knew what he could do with his feathers. He could guide just one with his mind into a purse, or to pick a pocket. Maybe even to slip into a store to swipe a vial of medicine. He was used to being scolded and told things would be better if he hadn't existed. That wasn't what made him upset. It was her consistently pointing out that he could effortlessly make Y/N better. He wanted to help Y/N more than anything. But something held him back. Something stopped him from stealing every single time.

Another cough and a sleepy groan distracted both Keigo and Tomie from their confrontation, and down to the smallest member of their family who they had waken up by mistake.

Tomie sighed. Even though she was in a desperate situation and didn't have time to worry about much else, her motherly instincts did kick in from time to time.

"Go back to sleep Y/N. You need to rest."

But he didn't listen, not right away at least. He had someone he wanted to see, and something he wanted to do first. With his eyes half closed, he held out the Endeavor toy, bringing it as close to Keigo as he could.

"It's your turn with him now Keigo."

Even though he slept better with something in his arms, and despite his sickness demanding every form of comfort, he was still willing to part with the toy that he loved. That made Keigo smile, and also gently push the stuffie back.

"That's okay Y/N. You should keep him. He'll keep you safe and warm."

"But... you need him to keep you safe too."

Seeing how much his brother wanted him to have the toy, Keigo did take Endeavor. He felt a little pang of guilt for taking from his sick brother, but knowing him, it wouldn't have done much good to not accept it.

"Alright Y/N. Thank you. But just make sure you get lots of sleep, okay?"

He didn't deserve this. He deserved to be indoors, to have a nice bed to sleep on and a warm meal every night. He deserved to have medicine. He needed to get better, and as the days went on that became even more of an urgency. Whatever he had, it wasn't good. And it only got worse.

With Y/N sound asleep again in seconds, Keigo set out again. This time he was determined to come back with something. He didn't know how he was going to do it, but he was going to make sure Y/N got better. That was the most important thing. And somehow, when he was older, he'd make sure that he never had to go through this again in his life.

And on that walk about the city, Keigo would secure that future for Y/N and his mother. Everything was about to change.