Birds of a Feather

Just come with us.

カラス
           "Earth to Kara." Hawks waved a hand in front of his little sister's head as they stood on the roof of his agency. "Hell-oo?"
Karasu blinked as she looked up at him. "Sorry- didn't sleep much last night. I didn't mean to space out like that. Won't happen again."
"Oh, I don't need those details." He said, ruffling her hair.
"Not like that, Hawks." She swatted his hand away quickly. "I just keep waiting for Dad to show up again. We don't know where he is or what he's doing to who he could be working with."
Hawks looked down at his little sister, his face creased with concern. This was her first genuine experience with a villain since the War- and with everything that had come along with that, it made sense that she was nervous. "You know I wouldn't let him hurt you, right?" He put his hand on her shoulder.
"I know," she nodded and took a breath. "I'm not going to flip out or anything, I'm honestly just not used to being the family in the middle of the family villain drama."
Hawks laughed, shaking his head. "You can say that again. Come on, let's get flying. Koe and Tsukuyomi will be waiting for us."
Karasu nodded to her brother and they kicked off into the air simultaneously.
"Can I be honest with you, Hawks?" She asked after a moment. "About- me and Shoto."
He glanced over at her. "I mean, of course you can. I know I give you grief but you can always talk to me about anything."
She sighed. "We haven't had..." she chose her words carefully, "a night together since EraserHead caught us. It's not that I'm so desperate for all of that, but I miss being next to him. Waking up next to him. I don't really have anyone I can talk to about any of that except you- and Shoto, but he knows."
Hawks looked over at his little sister. He'd had little relationships here and there, flings, and partners. His life hadn't let him find someone like that, someone he wanted to spend his life with, all his time with. He didn't really understand what she was feeling now- but he could see what Todoroki meant to his sister. How she felt about him.
"You're always welcome to ask him to spend the night at my agency, you know?" He said to her, "he'd have to work it out himself on his end, but just give me a heads up if you do."
Karasu looked at him and swooped to the other side of him as they flew and smiled. "Thank you, Hawks."
"Yeah, yeah. Just remember that next time you tease me about my 'world's best brother' mug." He said with a smile back to her.
She laughed and shook her head. "I promise I'll stop making comments on it."
Hawks looked over at her again. Ever since Dabi had barbequed his wings he had realised that now, instead of him having to keep himself slow for her, he was pushing himself to fly faster- and she was having to keep her own speed in check when they flew together. He knew that either way, that probably would've happened either way just because of the size of her wings compared to his former size- but I had thought it would take at least until the end of her third year at UA, he thought, not a couple weeks into her second.
          They both brought themselves to a stop and landed, folding their wings behind their backs as they reached their meeting point with Shinso and Tokoyami.
"How often do you think they rehearse that?" Shinso commented, standing off the wall he was leaning against.
"At least weekly." Tokoyami responded as they walked towards the pair of siblings.
"Okay," Hawks adjusted his jacket. "Best Jeanist should be here soon with Endeavor, Deku, Dynamight, and Shoto."
I'm so glad I'm not the only one unwilling to say his full hero name, Karasu thought with a half smile.
"Jeanist has the schematics for the building we're all going into," Hawks continued. "Apparently whatever villains are using it as a stronghold did a pretty damn good job scrubbing it from the web." He explained. "We don't know how many are in there officially, but according to eyewitness reports we know of at least eight escaped villains using this place as a hideout." He held up a small projector and displayed each of their mugshots. "Ide Iwao, villain name: Stonefish. His quirk is also called 'stonefish'- he has skin like the aforementioned fish as well as its venom. Ogata Kyou, she never gave herself a villain name. Her quirk is called 'blur'- it blurs the vision of whoever she focuses on, but she can't use it very long. Okabe Hakura, villain name: Toi. Her quirk is called 'distant'- she can send people as far away from as she can see but she has to have a clear image of the person and wherever she's sending them in her line of sight. Uehara Ryo, villain name: Dark Light. His quirk is called 'sunbeam'- he can emit rays as bright as the sun. Jo Nobuo, no villain name for him either. His quirk is called 'faith'- he can ensnare the mind of one person at a time and make them act completely faithful to him, short of directly killing themselves, for about ninety minutes. Raven, you'll be tasked with finding him for obvious reasons."
She nodded, palming her closed staff as she committed his image to memory.
"Sugai Yoko," Hawks continued as he took a deep breath. "Her villain name is Mariana. Quirk- seawater, she can turn any inanimate object into seawater that she can then manipulate and she can also manipulate genuine ocean water. Doi Madoka, another one without a villain name. His quirk is 'circle', when he draws a circle on the ground, it can trap anyone or anything that enters it for an unknown amount of time- air and sound can pass through it, and they can be broken by anything or anyone outside the circles as well. So watch out for those."
Hawks paused now. "Lastly, Kido Takami. No villain name. Quirk, razor feathers. He has indestructible and razor sharp feathers along each arm. Not only is he Raven and my father, we also know he probably has a goal of killing at least one of us- but probably both of us."
          "We should start keeping a tally of how many villains want each of us dead, specifically." Bakugo said as he dropped down near them.
"Well that wouldn't really be a competition," Tokoyami pointed out. "Deku would have the highest count."
"I don't know, Hawks might have a shot." Karasu said.
Best Jeanist's car came around a corner and stopped beside the group as Midoriya, Todoroki, and Endeavor all landed with them as well.
The number three pro hero stepped out of his car and adjusted his shirt. "I trust you have all been briefed on the known villains we'll probably be facing?"
"Yes," all of the work study students said at the same time.
Todoroki looked over at Karasu carefully, all of them knew they'd be up against her father now. He was one of the few people who could understand how this felt- to have an extremely estranged relative not only be a villain but have a direct desire to kill them.
Best Jeanist held out his own hand held projector, a glowing blue schematic popping up from it. "The building they'd chosen to make their hideout is something akin to the Winchester Mystery House in the United States, so make sure you're all constantly keeping yourselves extremely aware of your surroundings. The goal here is, as always, to apprehend them. You'll all be given a number of automatic handcuffs, but those of you who have powers that can restrain should always keep those options in mind if they're unconscious. Also keep in mind that the cuffs function the way that EraserHead's quirk did."
"Well that's handy." Midoriya remarked, jotting a few notes into his notebook.
"Do you always have that on you?" Shinso raised an eyebrow as he looked at Midoriya.
"You learn not to question it." Karasu said to her classmate with a laugh.
As they began to disperse to prepare to travel to the hideout, she caught her boyfriend's arm. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you really quickly."
"What's up?" Todoroki looked down at her, taking her hand.
"Since we'd both be at our agencies tonight, and we all work so closely together anyways," she dropped her voice to a whisper, "maybe you'd want to spend the night at Hawks' agency with me? Hawks said as long as we give him a heads up first and you work it out on your end, he's fine with it."
Todoroki's eyebrows shot up. "Yes," he said immediately.
"Perfect," she kissed his cheek quickly before walking back over to her brother.
"You don't even have to say it," Hawks said once she reached him. "I already know." He straightened his jacket. "Ready to fly again?"
Karasu nodded to him. "Always."
カラス
                    Hawks and Karasu landed on the roof of the villains' hideout. They were the first ones there, unsurprisingly, with Tokoyami and Bakugo almost directly behind them.
"Make sure all of you wait to go in, we should try and keep it all to the same time." Jeanist said through their comms. "We don't want to alert them that we're here before we need to."
"Roger roger." Karasu responded.
Hawks smiled slightly as he looked over at his sister. I'm so glad things aren't awkward between us, he thought. I was worried after everything after the War she'd stay upset with me or that we'd lose the relationship we have with each other. It isn't the same anymore, but I'm so thankful it's still here.
Shoto and Endeavor reached the building on almost the ground level just ahead of Midoriya, and then Best Jeaninst's car pulled up and he and Shinso stepped out.
"Alright, here we go." Hawks said, and the four of them on the roof all slipped over and through already broken windows.
One of the handy things about villain hideouts in the city, is that they're typically abandoned buildings- which are always drastically easier to break into.
          Karasu landed on the floor and rocked onto her toes to try and keep herself quieter. She pressed herself to the wall and looked around. All clear, she thought. They knew not to use their comms right away- talking into them could give away their positions and their presence. She crept forward and folded her wings down as she leaned against the wall beside the door frame, peering out into the landing. She saw Hawks doing the same thing.
They made eye contact and he nodded once, both of them stepping into the hall.
He pointed for them to go in opposite directions on the landing and she nodded, slipping to the left. She paused as she crept down the hallway, she could hear voices ahead of her. As she stepped forward, the floor below her turned to water.
"Shit!" She fell through, opening her wings to keep her off the ground and move her back. "Sugai Yoko," she said when she saw her standing and waiting for whoever came through the floor. Standing beside her was "Jo Nobuo." At least the one I was supposed to find was here.
"Don't look so confident, little heroling." Sugai said as she stepped forward, as the ocean water she had created from the landing above travelled to her hand and surrounded it like a moving bubble.
Jo smirked as he looked at Karasu. "Just come with us."
They probably know everyone else is here, she thought as she landed and stared at them. They also probably don't know I'm immune to mental control powers... the best way to cuff them would be a surprise attack. If I play along- they're done for. She stood up straight and nodded. I wish I knew the specifics of how his mind control worked.
"I know where another one is." Jo said as he turned to walk down the hall, motioning for Karasu to follow him. "We'll get him too. If we pit them against the real pros, we may have a chance of making sure at least some of them end up dead."
Sugai nodded, smirking at the student before following the other villain. "This one should be easy- I've heard Endeavor's son isn't the brightest, and he's shacking up with this one so she'll make good bait. She was a lucky catch."
Ahead of the three of them, Todoroki stepped out of a room. He immediately took a fighting pose and then paused, seeing Karasu behind them.
She winked at him to try and get across that it was a ruse, and keep them from noticing.
His eyes drifted from her to them. She's not being controlled, meaning we have them surrounded. Perfect. He slid forward on a stream of ice.
"I'd suggest-" Jo began, and immediately Karasu had a cuff around one of his wrists.
"Oh, did I mention?" She said with a smile. "Mind control doesn't work on me." She flipped him to the ground and twisted his arm around. She realised that she couldn't get his second hand without one herself. She flipped him over her back and slammed the coff against the wall to lock him in place. "Freeze his free hand down, Shoto!" She called to her boyfriend.
Todoroki threw a plume of fire at Sugai and immediately followed it with a blast of ice to the cuffed villain's hand. Karasu hit Jo across the head with her staff and knocked him out cold.
"One down." Todoroki said.
"That's the only one you'll get!" Sugai shouted, turning the wall beside her into water as well and throwing a whip of it between them. "I thought heros didn't resort to dirty tricks like that, little bitch! But I guess you and your ridiculous brother did turn spy for months and months!"
"Sure did," Karasu dodged the stream of water, diving forward and around the villain. Keep her focus split, at least one of us can cuff her. As she came around behind Sugai, Todoroki threw fire in front of her.
Sugai stumbled back and Karasu kicked her squarely in the back. Shoto slid forward on a stream of ice and cuffed her immediately before freezing her feet down.
Before she could shout for anyone, Karasu knocked her out as well.
"We make a pretty good team," she said with a smile at her boyfriend. "Let's keep moving before anyone else finds us."
He nodded and began sliding on a trail of ice again as she flew beside him.
          Karasu felt a tingle through her feathers and without thinking, swooped around Todoroki. Just as Kido Takami jumped over the railing and his boot made contact with the ride side of her neck. She shouted in pain as both of them hit the floor and Todoroki slid to a stop.
"Kara!" He rushed to her side to help her stand as Takami got to his feet as well.
"I think he cracked my collar bone," she said as he helped her up, giving her boyfriend's hand a squeeze before letting go of it and flicking her staff open.
"Oh how cute," Takami said as he held his arms in front of him, his feathers glinting in the dim light. "You felt me coming the way my damn son would and took the blow for him." He moved in a half circle, Karasu and Todoroki following his movements carefully. "How can you call yourself a man and let your girl get herself hurt like that for you?"
"I'm a semi-pro, too." Karasu said with an annoyed tone. He's trying to goad us, and we can't let him.
Todoroki glanced down at his girlfriend momentarily. She's already starting to bruise, he thought. I shouldn't have stayed with her- just being around her is a distraction for me.
"Don't lose focus, heroling." Takami jumped towards them, raising his arms to bring them down on Todoroki.
Karasu ducked below him and used her staff to block him, knocking him back from them. "Don't get overconfident, Dad."
Takami smirked when she said that, landing on his feet and readying himself to attack again. "You know, your brother may have been a mistake- but you were a disaster. If Tomie hadn't begged me to let you live I'd have killed you the day you were born."
She kept her expression and her breathing completely even, but she felt a well of hate rise up inside of her. I won't let him get to me. I won't. "Pin him. His feathers may work like mine, but he isn't that physically strong," she whispered to her boyfriend.
Todoroki threw a blast of ice at the villain, but he tucked and rolled aside with a laugh. Clearly what he lacked in physical strength, he made up for in agility.
Before either of them could adjust, Todoroki was suddenly on the other side of the ground floor from her.
That's Ogata Kyou, Krasu thought. Without Todoroki near her, she didn't have to worry about where her wings were. She jumped into the air and spread her wings, flying in a half circle around her father.
Takami grabbed the top of one of her wings and used it to throw her to the ground with a laugh. "You're so pathetic, Karasu." He said as he moved to slash her with his feathers, gritting his teeth when she rolled away and jumped to her feet again. "You get your bones broken, stabbed, lose the same arm twice over, and almost burn to death- all for other people. You don't even have the ability to beat me. How you've survived this long I'll never know."
"You wouldn't," she blocked another blow from him with her staff, "seeing as for the past, what, fifteen years you've been incarcerated!" She jumped up and kicked him in the chest, flipping away from him.
Hawks came flying over the barrier, slamming into their father.
Takami slashed across his face and dropped to the ground when his son let go and recoiled.
"So both of my children are jokes." Takami said as his daughter ran to his son.
"I'm fine. He broke my glasses and got the lower part of my face, but not my eyes." Hawks said as his sister helped him stand.
"We can't let him escape again," Karasu whispered to him as she threw a glance back at Todoroki and Endeavor battling Uehara Ryo and another villain she hadn't seen listen- so there were other escapees here.
"Agreed." Hawks watched their father as he stalked back and forth in a line, his eyes murderous. "Get behind him, but keep a distance. Leave cuffing him to me."
Karasu nodded and turned back to face her father. "Understood."