hawks' hospital room was quiet, the rhythmic beep of machines the only noise. sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting a soft glow over his face. even now, after everything, his presence was a comfort, grounding me amid the chaos.
"i'll tell the doctors to call my lab," i murmured, worry in my voice. "they can send over a respirator mask and link it to a text-to-voice app on your phone, so you don't strain yourself."
a few moments later, a nurse arrived with the mask, sleek and black. as i helped him put it on and paired it to his phone, hawks tapped on the screen to type his first message, which the app read aloud in a robotic tone.
"this feels... weird," his synthetic voice crackled out. "but thank you, y/n. i owe you one."
"you don't owe me anything, keigo. just focus on getting better," i replied, a hint of a smile tugging at my lips.
the moment was shattered when the door burst open, and mei appeared, her eyes wide and frantic. she looked between hawks and me, struggling to catch her breath.
"y/n," her voice shook, the panic raw. "is it true? the stuff in that video... what it said about you?"
hawks straightened, his hand squeezing mine as he tried to gauge what mei was talking about. i felt my pulse spike, dread pooling in my stomach as i glanced at him and then back at mei. her question was as sharp as a blade.
i swallowed hard, my voice barely above a whisper. "yeah... mostly everything is true."
mei's face fell, her eyes wide with shock and confusion. "you're... you're really connected to the league?"
before i could answer, hawks shifted, typing into his phone with a look of quiet confusion. "video? what video?"
mei hesitated, glancing from me to hawks, clearly reluctant but finally showing him her phone. dabi's face, twisted in fury, appeared on the screen. as the video played, hawks watched in stunned silence, the words sinking in, his expression darkening. i saw the exact moment the weight of it struck him—his idol, his mentor, the man he'd looked up to for years... a father figure to him in so many ways, turned out to be someone capable of so much cruelty.
"i can't believe this..." his electronic voice was flat, though his fingers trembled on the screen. "he... he's—i don't know what to say."
"keigo..." i whispered, reaching out to him, but he shook his head, dismissing the pity.
