Birds of a Feather

It's all exhausting

カラス
          "Look, kid. There's a lot that we have to figure out right now." Hawks said as he walked with her into Best Jeanist's agency. "Until UA has the all clear to open its doors again, the compound known as the Todoroki house is the safest place for you. It also happens to help because I am not going to be home much at the moment- so I know you'll be safe there."
Karasu sighed. "I don't like that I won't be around you, Keigo." She told him, rubbing the back of her neck. She liked using his name. "Make sure you keep in touch, okay?"
"I'll try as much as I can." Hawks said with a glance back at her as they reached Jeanist's 'styling room'. "Okay. Let's get your hair sorted out."
"I'm still mad about this." She sighed and shook her head, removing the clip she'd been using from her hair. "It's like an extra little insult from Dabi- that he burned my hair off."
"Not all of it." Jeanist responded as she sat down. "It'll be short, yes. But quite stylish! Like a freshly made pair of jean shorts!"
"Did you just compare my hair to jorts?" Karasu's eyebrows shot up as she looked at Jeanist through the mirror in front of her.
Hawks held back a laugh. I hope she doesn't lose that spark. This'll all be incredibly hard on her coming up, but if anything I hope she comes through it with her spunk intact.
カラス
          Karasu tugged at her hair as Hawks' driver drove her from the Beast Jeanist Agency and directly to the Todoroki household. She'd received an email while she was there that the students had been given a week before they were expected back in the dorms, mainly to prepare heightened security and get extra housing built for those seeking shelter.
She also hated her haircut- it was a bob, just below her chin. It wasn't that it wasn't well done or cute- Todoroki had even said he liked it when she'd texted him a selfie, but that hadn't made her feel much better. It was just another reminder that everything was different now. Another thing the 'war' had taken from her. The car came to a stop and Karasu gripped her suitcase as she got out, looking at the wall of the Todoroki house in front of her.
"Hey." Todoroki was waiting for her outside of the house, just inside the outer wall. "I wanted to check on you before my mom and sister get a hold of you inside." he said as he put a hand on the side of her head.
"It's all exhausting," she responded. "At least your family seems to like me, and I'm not all alone." Karasu looked up at him and smiled weakly.
Todoroki smiled back encouragingly. He leaned in and kissed her- they hadn't had a moment alone together since almost his birthday, they had found a few ways to sneak around in school and during their work studies, though that was really only once, and they'd shared kisses on the battlefield and one quick kiss in the hospital but it hadn't been enough. He slid his other arm around her waist to pull her close. She carefully put her arm over his shoulder, still hanging on to her suitcase. She knew they shouldn't stay out there very long, for safety reasons as well as at some point his family would come looking for them, because they knew around when she was supposed to have gotten here. I would not love for another member of Shoto's family to catch us kissing, especially now.
"Okay, we should get inside." Todoroki sighed as he pulled away. "You ready?"
"As I can be." Karasu said as he put an arm around her waist. "Oh, by the way, I did pack condoms," she whispered to him before he opened the gate to the walkway.
Todoroki's eyes widened as he looked down at her.
"This is going to be so funny to watch now." Karasu teased him, kissing his cheek as she walked ahead of him into his house. She had to find some way to enjoy herself through all of this- be it sex or just watching her boyfriend stumble awkwardly through the next fifteen minutes while he tried to compose himself.
"Oh, good. You're here." Endeavor was walking by the door as she stepped in, slipping off her shoes. "Best Jeanist, Hawks, and I are holding our press conference in two days. I thought you'd like to come along. You won't be speaking to the press yet, but it would be a good experience for you."
Karasu's eyes widened. "Yes. Yes, I would love to come along." she said quickly- she knew he was using the 'experience' excuse as a way to let her see Hawks. She appreciated it more than words.
"Oh, Karasu. You're finally here!" Rei stepped around the corner as Todoroki entered the house behind his girlfriend and kicked his shoes off. "Fuyumi and I were just getting dinner ready, if you'd like to join us?"
"I'd love to! I did most of the cooking for Hawks and I, and I haven't gotten a ton of chances since living in the dorms." Karasu nodded. "I just need to put my suitcase into my room and I'll be right down." She walked past Rei, Todoroki following her quickly. "I don't need help putting my stuff away, Shoto." she told him, smiling slightly.
"Yeah but if I hadn't followed you Mom would've probably asked me to set the table or to do some other chore." Todoroki shrugged, opening her door for her. "Also-" he pulled her inside the room and kissed her, pushing her back against the door after he had closed it while he took her suitcase and tossed it onto the sleeping mat behind them.
Karasu laughed as he kissed her, gripping the front of his shirt while he held her face. "You know we don't have time to have sex, right?" she said as he started kissing her neck and moved his hands to her waist. "Your parents saw you follow me up here and your mother is expecting me back." She lifted his chin up and kissed him again. "It'll be nice to have some free time with you, though. Before school and work studies start up again." She kissed him again. What she didn't say was if the work studies would start up again. "Okay, I'm heading back downstairs now," she leaned up and whispered into his ear. "I'll see if I can sneak into your room tonight."
He kissed her again, holding her face in his hands.
I still need to talk to him about my mission. I have no idea how to even go about that... but I need to.
カラス
          Karasu sighed and leaned back against a pillar. Rei, Natsuo, and Fuyumi had all been moved to the UA Emergency Safety Housing as of that morning- and Karasu had gotten word that there was currently a discussion of if she'd be allowed to return to UA at all.
Endeavor was out Endeavoring, and Shoto was helping his family move and then in a few days he'd be going to the dorms with the rest of the class. Then she would be alone. She stared up at the ceiling of the porch and sighed, closing her eyes tightly. Alone was clearly something she'd need to get used to. Especially since Hawks had stopped answering her calls the past couple of days. Maybe I should just accept that I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life. I still need to tell Shoto everything, but I'm so terrified to do so. What if he hates me for how long I had to lie to him? I know he'll understand that I wasn't given a choice, but... it's still so long that I kept it from him. On top of that we were sleeping together the entire time- what if he thinks I was using that to pass information on him? I need him. I need him to trust me. I need him to love me.
          "Kara." Todoroki's voice pulled her back to reality. "Why are you crying?" He sat down on the edge of the porch, leaning against the pillar directly across from her.
"You have your training clothes on," Karasu wiped at her eyes quickly, she hadn't actually realised that she was crying. "I should just go inside-"
"Kara." He leaned forward and put a hand on her leg. "Talk to me."
She settled back down and nodded. "I need to talk to you about my mission." She said as she sat up straight, tugging at a flower growing along the edge of the porch. "About... everything, really. I've never been allowed to talk about my life, but now- with the HPSC gone, I finally can. I want you to know."
Todoroki nodded, watching her carefully as he leaned back against the pillar again. "I'm ready to listen."
Karasu looked up at him and took a deep breath. "Keigo was effectively bought from my mom by the HPSC, I was... I think close to a year old. He was about eight. We'd apparently been living on the street ever since your father arrested mine- which I have thanks for him about that, by the way. Keigo's told me about him and... well, he was beyond horrible. He wouldn't even give me all the details of it. Keigo's quirk had caught the attention of the HPSC, so they gave my mom enough for us to live comfortably for the rest of our lives." She looked out at the backyard, focusing on the grass. "Turns out giving away her son didn't help mom like she thought it would. She had... problems. Substance problems. Mainly alcohol." She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed, closing her eyes again. "I thought it was my job to help her- but I was also just a kid with nothing to do. I found out about Keigo and snuck out to find him- which is how he remembered me and decided to get custody of me. When he did, Mom just took off. She didn't even come to the court date. I'd cut my hand accidentally on some glass from a bottle she'd thrown when she got the papers and it made her just leave. I never saw her again."
Todoroki reached out and pushed her hair out of her face. "Kara..."
"No. Wait." She grasped his wrist loosely. "Before you start being sweet and perfect, there's- there's more." She locked eyes with him. "The undercover mission I've been on." She kissed his hand and let it go, looking up at the ceiling again. "It's been ever since I began my work study with Hawks. The HPSC had already forced him into it for a little while, and then the Kyushu Battle exacerbated the situation. By that point, it had started to become public knowledge that we had started dating each other. The League- specifically Dabi, and now we know why- asked Hawks to get me on board. The HPSC didn't love it, but also told Hawks that he needed to to maintain the confidence of the League even after faking Best Jeanist's death. In turn, telling me through Hawks that I had no choice in the matter. For the Paranormal Liberation Army and the League of Villains, there wouldn't have been a better show of how far reaching their influence and ideology were than for me, the girl they actively wanted and tried to kill, and my brother joined up with them." Karasu closed her eyes tightly. "I never fed them any information on you or Endeavor or your family or UA of any kind, I swear. I made sure they thought I was just running around with you to make Endeavor mad, that I knew nothing." She opened her eyes to see what he was doing and how he was reacting to what she was telling him.
Todoroki was silent as he stared at her, his expression unreadable.
"I wanted to tell you, Shoto. I really did." Karasu said desperately. "They always held custody of me over Hawks' head if he didn't do exactly as they said, and me as well the older I got. Please- please tell me you understand." She closed her eyes again, breathing deeply to keep herself from crying. Please don't break up with me, please don't break up with me.
          Todoroki reached out, leaning forward slightly to grab her by the waist. He pulled her in close and lifted her chin with his right hand. "Kara," he whispered gently.
Karasu opened her eyes, her fingers curling carefully around his wrist. "Shoto?"
"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, and that I had no idea." His voice was gentle- something she'd never heard from him before. "I feel awful for not noticing... for not seeing how much distress you were in. I love you, and I should've known something was going on with you."
"It's not like I could give any signs of it." Karasu responded with a weak smile. "Just having you has been enough for me. Loving you, being loved by you."
He kissed her softly, tugging her closer. The hand around her waist slid to her back as he held her closer. She'd taken to wearing completely backless shirts for ease of use, and they also meant that she could feel his hand against her skin as he pulled her closer. It was almost electric, feeling his touch in this moment. She'd obviously felt it before- but now she'd told him everything she'd never told anyone before. He could see her and really know her now. She had needed that so badly.
She jumped when her phone started ringing, she reached back and picked it up from where she'd set it down. "This is- Aizawa. I should take this." She didn't move from her boyfriend's arms as she answered the call, she was extremely worried what this call would be about.
"Karasu." Aizawa said through the phone. "I know you've gotten word that there had to be a decision made on if you'd be allowed to return to UA."
"Yes, I have." Karasu agreed, biting her lip. "Has a decision been made?"
"Of sorts." He sounded exhausted. "I'll need you to come to the hospital so we can discuss this in person." He paused. "I'll tell my doctors and nurses you'll be bringing Todoroki and to let him in as well."
"Okay. We'll head right over." She nodded, looking at her boyfriend again.
"UA is sending a car, it should be there soon." With that, their teacher hung up.
カラス
          "I'm terrified, Shoto." Karasu admitted as they walked into the hospital. "I- I don't know if I can deal with being told I can't go to UA anymore."
"I'm sure he wouldn't have you come down here if that was the news." Todoroki responded as he put an arm around her waist. "I'll be here no matter what, though."
She kissed his cheek quickly as they reached Aizawa's room. She opened the door and stepped in ahead of her boyfriend carefully. "Hello," she said awkwardly.
"Hello." Aizawa was sitting on the edge of his hospital bed, she hadn't seen him since the battle. He had a prosthetic leg on and an eyepatch.
"Um, welcome to the 'missing a limb' club." Karasu joked weakly, sitting in the chairs that were set up just in front of Aizawa.
Their teacher smiled slightly, nodding to Todoroki as he sat as well as he took a seat.
"I won't beat around the bush." Aizawa said seriously, looking back to Karasu. "By now I'm sure you're aware of what Dabi broadcast- specifically what he said about your family, Karasu."
"I am." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, looking up at her teacher.
"The HPSC did force your custody case through quickly," he informed her. "Until another hearing can be scheduled- a temporary decision has been made."
Karasu took Todoroki's hand and clenched it tightly. Her breathing was speeding up as she listened to him. Todoroki switched which hand she was holding and put the other on her shoulder gently.
"For now, you're being handed into UA's custody. Specifically- mine." Aizawa informed her. "With Eri already in my custody and being your teacher- it was the easiest choice for them to make under the circumstances."
"What did Hawks say about this?" Karasu asked, squeezing Todoroki's hand again.
"As far as I've heard, nothing. The courts seem to have put an indefinite pause on your case as well, without any protests. However- no one is going to be stopping you from speaking to him or seeing him- as long as he comes to a safe location to meet you. He'll just need to confirm it with me." Aizawa informed her. "This does mean you'll be moving back into the dorms with the rest of your class."
"That's a relief," she admitted quietly. "Can I- Can I go now?" Karasu turned her head in towards Todoroki. "I really need to call Hawks- if he-" she closed her eyes tightly and took a shaky breath.
Aizawa nodded. "Todoroki, take her home. Make sure she gets some rest."
Todoroki nodded back as he stood up with his girlfriend.
"Thank you, Mr. Aizawa." Karasu said as they left the room. She was silent as they walked, tears running down her face. "Todoroki, I-" she stopped walking and shut her eyes tightly. "I can't do this- I-" she put her hand over her face and choked back a sob. "They wouldn't let me go to the press conference to see Hawks- now he isn't answering my calls- now this-"
Todoroki took her hand and lifted her chin gently. "When we get back to my house, I'll call my dad. He's working with Hawks now, so it'll help us get a hold of him."
Karasu nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay." She met his gaze and nodded again. "Let's go back to your house." She said, pressing a kiss to his lips.
Todoroki kissed her back and slid his arm around her waist again as they left the hospital. I'll find Hawks myself if I have to- I hate seeing her like this. He opened the car door for Karasu and slid in after her. Dabi's message... no, Toya's message hurt so many people. I can't help all of them, but I can help Kara.
Karasu sighed and leaned her head on her boyfriend's shoulder as the driver started the car. Keigo. Please be safe... please be okay. Please save kicking Dabi's ass until I can be there with you. Please talk to me.