Birds of a Feather

She's grown a lot, Hawks.

カラス
          Karasu set her pen down and sighed, leaning back in her chair. She was trying to get caught up on homework on one of her rare Sundays at UA- but with everything to do with her parents still hanging over her, that was a difficult task. Her mind kept drifting to her mother. She wanted to hate her, scream at her, tell her she was a terrible mother and that she didn't want her in her life anymore. Underneath that, however- she was still that twelve-year-old girl who just wanted to help her mother, to have her family happy together. She didn't know if that was possible at this point, or if her mother would even allow that to happen. Or Hawks, for that matter. She had to figure out if that was something she really wanted anymore, or if it was just a fantasy she'd carried with her. Apparently Todoroki didn't factor into that very well, either, based on the way her mother reacted to catching them kissing. He was no longer someone Karasu considered optional in her life, so if her mother wasn't supportive of them her choice was already made. She picked up her pen, tapping it on the table absentmindedly.
"Hey." Midoriya looked across the table at her when he heard the tapping. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, just spiralling a little bit." She spun the pen in her hand, trying to keep her hand occupied with a slightly less annoying tactic.
"I know how that feels." Midoriya said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of his neck.
"You do, don't you?" Karasu let out a half laugh. While neither of them could truly understand each other's positions, they could at least understand what it felt like to be totally alone in something larger than yourself- even if you weren't really alone. "How's the One For All research coming?"
"Slow. All Might knows some things, and the Vestiges know others... but sometimes they can be kind of tight-lipped. Especially two of them." He wrote a couple more notes down in his notebook.
"Well, I've heard dead people can be like that sometimes." Karasu joked, folding her wings down to lean further against the back of her chair.
Midoriya smiled slightly, just the corners of his mouth turning up. "Todoroki mentioned that you and him had kind of an argument. Is everything alright after that?"
"Kind of an argument is probably the best way to put it. After the fight with my Dad he flipped a little- I think Endeavor said his level of worry for me was a problem or something. He pulled away for a second and I didn't react well." Karasu tucked one side of her hair behind her ears. "After my Mom vanished when I was younger, my brother was who I turned to. Then, after the war I had that awful fight with Keigo and he basically cut me out of his life for almost three weeks... Shoto is my safety. He's the only person who's really chosen me freely. Technically Keigo did, but he's my brother so there was at least some familial obligation there. But then again, even he tried to leave me behind- as you saw. So a sudden change in Shoto's behaviour towards me was kind of terrifying. He realised how scared I was by it, and we talked about it. He felt terrible when I think he realised that how he'd acted affected me the way it did."
"I could tell when he told me about it." Midoriya nodded. "Especially with the timing right before your mom showed up."
"That was just unfortunate on every level," she agreed. "I still haven't even started to deal with that. Keigo and I agree we need to talk to her about it, but who knows when that'll happen." She stood up, picking her homework and pen up. "I actually need to give Keigo a call about work study scheduling, speaking of. Talk to you later, Midoriya." She waved her note book at him as she walked away before sliding in into her bag to trade it for her cellphone.
"Is Kara leaving?" Todoroki said as he looked after his girlfriend when he walked over to the table, pausing before he took a seat.
"She said she needed to call Hawks." Midoriya said as he started writing a few notes down in his notebook again.
"Can I talk to you about a few things actually, Midoriya?" Todoroki looked after her a moment more before sitting across from his friend and classmate.
"Of course you can. What's up?" Midoriya set his pen aside and looked across the table at Todoroki.
"Kara's mom, Tomie." Todoroki folded his arms over his chest and sighed. "I haven't brought this up to Kara yet, but the timing feels off to me."
"You think her parents could be working together?" Midoriya's eyebrows shot up.
"Working together... or under Dabi. Or under All For One directly, even." Todoroki nodded. "We know Dabi had a direct goal to drive a wedge between Hawks and Kara- probably to make them easier to kill. We're all easier to kill if we're completely isolated. I'm worried that this could be a plan b for that or something, especially the way her mother seemed almost completely uninterested in Kara until she caught us kissing and then it was like suddenly she couldn't help but try and be a strict and protective mother to her. It's just such a quick turnaround that it doesn't sit well with me."
Midoriya sat in thought for a moment, holding onto the edge of the table and leaning his chair back on two legs to think about what Todoroki had said. "Have you talked about this to anyone else?"
"Not yet. I don't want it to come across like an insane conspiracy theory to my father or to Hawks." Todoroki looked out the window as Karasu stood on the porch, leaning against a pillar as she chatted on the phone. "I also don't want to freak Kara out any more than she'll have to be if it is true."
"I think you should talk to Hawks, honestly. The theory isn't really that crazy, and being a pro he's probably already had the thought." Midoriya set his chair back down on the ground. "I'll try and keep as much of an eye on Tomie as I can, though. I do think you need talk to Kara about this as well, just so you know."
"I appreciate that." Todoroki nodded without taking his eyes off of Karasu. "I'll keep that in mind."
カラス
          "Kara- can I borrow that gold bracelet of yours?" Ashido asked as she walked into Karasu's dorm room.
"Yeah." Karasu looked over at her as she set her curling iron down. It was drastically harder for her to style her hair one-handed, but she made it work. "The one with the cherry blossoms or the one with the little ruby in the centre?"
"Cherry blossoms." Ashido sat on the edge of her bed, and pulled her shoes one, buckling the straps around the ankle. "Thank you!" She smiled as she put the bracelet on after her classmate handed it to her. "Do you need any help?"
"Yes, actually, please." Karasu sighed. "I can't zip this dress up- it's from before I was one handed. All my stuff now has no zippers. I hate zippers."
"I can help with that," Ashido laughed and stood up again. She walked behind Karasu and zipped her dress up quickly. "It's a really cute dress, though. I see why you didn't get rid of it. I don't think I've ever seen you wear maroon, though."
"Hawks got this for me, actually, so I didn't pick the colour. For a pro mixer right before school started last year." Karasu shook her head to loosen the curls a bit and nodded. "Alright. Are the other girls ready?" She asked as she touched up her mascara. "We should do a dramatic exit of the elevator all together to really make an impact on all the guys."
"Ooo, that's a good idea." Ashido nodded, texting the other girls. "I think all us girls have dates to our first pro mixer event, too. Which is fun."
"Who're you going with?" Karasu leaned against her dresser, playing with the charm on the necklace Todoroki had given her.
"Shinso asked me, actually. Which surprised me." Ashido admitted. "He is pretty cute though."
"Oh! Do you know who else? My guesses are... Yaomomo and Iida, Jiro and Kaminari, and Uraraka and Midoriya. Those are the most obvious ones." Karasu nodded, smiling. "Maybe Shoto and I will finally have some couples to go on double dates with after tonight. I've been trying to convince him we should set all of you guys up for like months."
"How long have you two been dating now?" Ashdio asked.
"Like a few weeks short of a year." Karasu grinned. "In... twentyish days, it'll be our anniversary. There's a carnival coming up right before it, but we're actually double dating to that with Kuroiro and Komori. So hopefully we'll get to do something just us on the actual day or somewhere around it."
"We're ready when everyone else is." Jiro said as she, Uraraka, and Hagakure walked into Karasu's room.
"Okay, I have to know, who are you three going with tonight?" Karasu asked almost a little too excitedly.
"Kaminari." Jiro said.
"Deku!" Uraraka said with a blush.
"Ojiro asked me!" Hagakure said, sitting next to Mina. "I wonder who Tsu and Yaomomo are going with?"
"I have guesses... and a list I gave to Shoto of couples I wanted to get set up." Karasu said, smiling when her classmates all turned to look at her. "I am absolutely sure that I have mentioned this before."
"We're ready!" Tsu said as she and Yayurozu leaned into the doorframe.
"We should head down so we aren't late!" Yayurozu said.
"Keigo will be." Karasu murmured as they all left her room and filed into the elevator.
          As soon as the doors opened they all walked, each walking to their respective dates.
"Well don't you look handsome," Karasu said as she brushed Todoroki's hair from his face. "I like the suit. It's new, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Dad said I needed a new one." Todoroki confirmed before he lifted her chin and kissed her. "You look amazing."
"Glad you think so. I have a layout of Mount Lady's agency memorised, just so you know." She said with a grin at him as she took his hand to walk out to the waiting bus.
Aizawa was waiting at the bus for all his students, he was standing beside Present Mic- both dressed in suits. Aizawa had been fitted for his eyepatch as well, which gave him another layer to his already existing aura of mystery. "All of you. Just because you won't be at this event representing UA officially, doesn't mean you aren't anyway. Be on your best behaviour."
"You can be assured we will, sir!" Iida said, pointing a finger in the sky.
"You can count on us!" Yayurozu said confidently.
The students all boarded the bus, their teachers behind them. This was the first pro mixer most of them would be attending, and the first once since the PLW. As much as all of them were excited, there was a pall over the entire event.
Those that weren't there.
          The bus came to a stop and the students filed out of it, chattering amongst each other. They all walked into the agency, the worry of the event beginning to fade away quickly.
"Hey! I beat you here." Hawks said as his work study students entered the room.
"Keigo, how are you not fifteen minutes late?" Karasu raised an eyebrow at her older brother. "You're always late to these. I lied to you about the times of multiple of these when I was thirteen to get you to be on time."
"I'll do a lot to avoid Mom." He responded seriously. "She is not here, just so you know."
"Good." Karasu said seriously.
"Alright. You three go have fun." Hawks smiled and waved them away.
"Tokoyami- who are you with? I never asked." Karasu looked over at him as they walked towards where their classmates had gone.
"I asked Tsu." He responded. "We've always gotten along well, she's a good friend."
"I really should've bet Shoto money on this." Karasu smiled. "You guys have fun!" She waved at them as she walked over to her boyfriend as he talked to Midoriya and Bakugo.
"I've got somewhere to be," Bakugo said when she reached them and walked away.
"Wonder where he could be going?" Todoroki said as he walked away, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend from behind.
"Maybe he's got a secret date!" Karasu's face lit up.
"Don't get ahead of yourself." Todoroki gave her an incredulous look.
"There's someone for everyone," she responded as Midoriya walked over to Uraraka. "Does your dad need you at all?"
Todoroki shook his head.
"Perfect," she took his hand and practically dragged him down an adjacent hallway. "There are four empty rooms this way."
           Todoroki paused and kissed her as they turned a corner, pushing her up against the wall. "I love you," he said between kisses.
"I love you too," she whispered back as she kissed him again happily. "Before a pro or a teacher, or one of our relatives, comes down here-" she opened the door next to them. They slipped into the room and Todoroki turned the lights on.
Then they froze.
"What the hell?!" Bakugo stepped back, his expression seething.
Kirishima was pressed against the wall, looking like a deer in the headlights.
"So this room's taken," Karasu said. "We'll be in the next one-"
"Uh, please don't tell anyone." Kirishima said quickly as they began to turn away. "This is still recent. We wanna go at our own pace."
"Of course." Karasu promised him with a smile. "I'm happy for you two, for the record." She said before she left the room with her own boyfriend.
Todoroki pushed her against the wall again, this time kissing the skin just in front of her ear and trailing them down to her neck. "Shoto! We'll get caught out here!" She said with a laugh, holding on to his collar.
カラス
          Hawks stood on the balcony of Mount Lady's agency, looking up at the evening sky. He hadn't wanted to come to this tonight, but UA had made it clear all the students would be here, and it was also a chance to avoid his mother. She had been oddly clingy with him ever since showing up. He hated it. It was hard for him not to hate her, as well. For not only what she'd done to Karasu, but to him as well. She'd given him up with almost no thought.
"I'm surprised you're not inside." Aizawa said as he stepped onto the balcony. "Normally I'm coming out here to avoid you because you're so chatty."
"A lot has happened since those days." He pointed out, leaning back against the railing. "I've also got a lot going on."
"Karasu seems to be handling it well, though." Aizawa said, leaning against the wall.
"She always seems like that." Hawks smiled slightly. "It's a skill she's had since before I knew her. I think it came from growing up with our mother- going to school and telling people her issues would only result in her being removed from her home. Of course, I did that anyway. I actually thought maybe once she and Shoto got together, it'd get her to stop putting up her wall of chipper so much. I guess he isn't exactly known for his openness either, though."
"No, he isn't." Aizawa agreed.
"All this stuff with our parents makes me wish I had just passed Kara to Endeavor, even though she may have actually gone through with beating me to death." Hawks ran a hand over his face. "We need to sit down with Mom sometime, but I don't want it to make things worse."
"She's grown a lot, Hawks." Aizawa said genuinely. "I think she'll surprise you with how she can handle this. The singular time I've seen her really flinch in all of this is when she thought she'd be losing you."
Hawks sighed and looked in the windows to try and see where his sister was. "Aaand she's not in there. Neither is Shoto. I'll go locate them." He patted Aizawa's shoulder once as he walked past them. He pushed the door open and looked around. There was only one halfway that led out of the main room that didn't just go back outside, and they probably wouldn't have just gone outside. He sighed and headed down the hallway. He spread his wings slightly to hear around him. The last thing he wanted was to walk in on his sister and her boyfriend. As he turned the corner, he could hear a couple in the first room. Nothing much seemed to be happening, just your typical necking. 'Not Kara and Shoto, but that isn't really a surprising couple.' He kept walking to the next room. 'That's them. Doesn't sound like any too much yet, but I'll still knock.' He tapped on their door, leaning against the wall. "It's me," he said loud enough that they could hear him.
          Karasu put her hand on her boyfriend's chest and sat up, pushing him up as well. "Well, shit." She kissed him again before standing up. "I knew we wouldn't get very long."
Shoto smiled slightly, rebuttoning the top of his shirt. "Once Bakugo and Kirishima rejoin the party, I'll talk to Bakugo about hanging out with them sometime."
"Really?" Her face lit up as she looked up at him. "That would be great!"
He kissed her once more before he pulled the door open.
"Actually, it might be good for us to stay here for a second." Hawks said as they stepped out of the room. "Kara, I need to actually lay down a plan with you to actually sit down with Mom and talk."