Control Your Reality: Katsuki Bakugo

Chapter 54

"Heeeyyyy! What's up baby bird?"

"Baby bird?!" The nickname caught Hitori so off guard, that she momentarily forgot why she had called. "What the hell?"

"I thought it was a good nickname for ya!"

"What?! No!"

"Yup!" Hawks chuckled. "Hey, have you seen the news recently?"

"Oh, yeah, I did. Thank you." Much to her chagrin, she knew she would just have to accept the nickname. Arguing was a lost cause.

"Don't mention it! I was happy to help out!"

"I appreciate it," Hitori smiled slightly. "It means a lot."

For a reason she didn't understand, her eyes started watering. She wiped at them with her sleeve but couldn't stop the involuntary sniffle.

"You okay?" Hawks asked.

"Yeah, it's just uh..." she trailed off. She wanted to say it but it sounded so stupid coming from her mouth. It was the opposite of what she had been thinking almost her entire life. "I didn't think heroes were real."

"Yup! We're the real deal, alright! Trust me, we were more than happy to take him down. I wish he hadn't given up so easily though. I was hoping to get my feathers on him."

"He didn't fight?"

"Nah. Was pretty quiet the whole time until I bumped into him. Then he started cussing at me."

"I saw that, it was pretty funny," Hitori smiled. Seeing Hawks embarrass Sora made her happy.

"It was an accident, I swear!"

Hitori laughed lightly. Talking to him was already improving her mood. It also made her realize that he was the one she wanted to talk to about everything that had happened. In a way, he was like her. She felt like he understood her without her explaining herself.

"Hey, um, are you busy?" Hitori asked and mentally cringed at herself. She sounded so awkward.

"Nope! What's up?"

"I just...I don't understand how any of this happened."

"Ah, I get ya. Well, I got plenty of time, so ask away, baby bird! Whatever comes to mind!"

The nickname still made her pause, but she moved on again. "How did you get involved?"

"I overheard Edgeshot's sidekick talking to a detective at the station when I was passing through one day. They were talking about scars on a girl's body, and how screwed up Sora was for that. The scars part caught my attention cause I had been reading up on all the Kamino reports the day before. I had been wondering how you got all those, so I looked into your case. I didn't like what I found. I wanted in, so I went and talked to Edgeshot."

"Was that why you came to his agency that day?"

"That was part of it. I was gonna talk to him and use the mission as a way to do it, but I wasn't expecting you to be there. I'd say things worked out even better than I'd hoped."

"Wait, so you were gonna help even though you had never met me?!"

"Well yeah. I wasn't gonna let him get away with all the shit he put you through. I didn't need to meet you to want to do something."

Hitori's eyes widened. Hawks's involvement carried more weight than Aizawa's or Edgeshot's. Their efforts meant a lot to her too, but they both had some connection to her. Hawks was different. He had made it personal without even knowing her.

"But...you didn't have to get involved, and you still did."

"That's what a real hero does. We get involved where we don't have to just because we want to."