Frozen Wings

Chapter 9

Hawks' POV

Spring break had finally arrived. Storms and I were on our way to the beach. Along with 1-A.

They had found out about the beach trip and begged to go. Storms said no, but Aizawa caved so they were coming along, though they were instructed to leave the two of us alone. It didn't bother me though. I liked these kids. Besides, if it gave me a chance to keep them safe, and that's what was important.

"Hey Hawks?"

"Hmm?" I turned towards Storms.

"Before we go get in the water I want to see how your wing is healing." She said.

"Me too. I'm so bored being stuck on the ground!" I grinned. She rolled her eyes.

After a little bit of banter, we arrived. Storms and I walked over to the beach, a little further away from the group. We were on a private beach, so we had all the privacy we needed from the prying eyes of fans and villains. The beach had bright white sand, free of seaweed. The pale blue-green ocean water sparkled. Above, the sun shone brightly, not a single cloud in the blue sky.

Storms turned towards me. "Alright. Shirt off, I can't judge your wing otherwise." She said.

I took my shirt off, turning around so she could see my wing.

Storms looked at my wing, quiet for a bit. "Is it okay?" I asked.

"Can't tell yet. Gimme time." She snapped. Storms carefully set her hand around the outer edge of my wing, opening it.

"Does this hurt?" She asked.

"A very little bit." I said.

"Hm. Okay. This?" She pressed down gently on the part of my wing where her claws had torn them, the actual fleshy part of them.

"Yep. That hurts." I hissed.

"Alright. And this?" Storms moved her hand around the base of my wing. I winced, pulling away.

"Sorry." I apologized.

"Why're you apologizing?" She asked.

"Because... you weren't done. I didn't mean to pull away." I said.

"Don't worry about it. I got what I needed. I was done anyways." She shrugged.

"Then can you tell me if I'll be able to fly again soon?" I questioned, hopeful.

"You have some bruising from where my claws tore your wing. The wounds didn't go through so they're healed, just the bruising left there, like I said. When I stretched your wing out it felt tight. You're gonna need to try and start stretching it out again." Storms said.

"Okay. So... can I fly?" She had partly avoided my question.

"I checked to see if your wing was healing back in place properly, since you tore all but a thread of flesh from your back. Luckily, it's definitely getting better. Unfortunately..." Storms trailed off.

"It's not enough. Hawks... this... this is gonna be really hard to hear, but... unless your body accepts my ice and allows it to become flesh... you might be grounded... permanently."

I felt my heart drop.

"Can't Recovery Girl heal my wing?" I asked.

"She can try, but since your wing was detached the cells kinda died... Recovery Girl's Quirk, as far as I've been told, can only heal living cells. It can't reattach or re-create body parts." Storms said, looking depressed.

"Oh... w-well no need to spoil the day! Come on, let's go!" I shoved my worries to the side, focusing on the moment. Storms seemed a little concerned before shrugging.

"Agreed. Just give me a second." She nodded. Storms kicked off her cargo shorts. She slipped her gray shirt over her head, revealing her muscular torso. I noticed she had a massive scar on her stomach with zig-zagging edges rather than a smooth edge like Todoroki's scar. The scar ran from her waist to the bottom of her bikini top. Her entire bathing suit was an icy blue color.

What the hell happened to her?!

I worried. At that moment I noticed she had a lot of other scars. A few little ones on her wrists, a massive one going straight down her spine, one on the side of her neck that went from the back of her head to right below where her black leather collar usually sat. She had a big scar from her hip bone to the inside of her knee on her left leg. Her right leg had a scar going from right below the front of her knee to where her ankle met her foot.

"Hawks! Quit staring at me!" Storms shouted. I snapped out it my trance.

"Storms, I told you! I so told you!" Ashido squealed.

"Ashido! I told you to leave Storms alone! Get back here!" Aizawa shouted. The pink girl scampered off.

Storms chuckled, shaking her head. She raced over into the water, going straight under. I followed a little more slowly, enjoying the beach. I flopped into the water, swimming a little further out so I could go underwater. My wings made it a little hard to swim fast because they weren't like duck or penguin feathers. They worked like macaw feathers and got waterlogged. I noticed Storms swim by. Out of breath, I went up, breathing in air. Storms jumped upwards, shaking herself out like a dog.

"Slowpoke!" She laughed. I felt my face heat up a little.

Her laugh is so gorgeous- WHAT AM I THINKING?! STUPID STUPID STUPID!

I scolded myself.

"It's not my fault my wings get waterlogged! How do you swim so fast even though you've got fur on your ears and tail?" I questioned.

"My fur is much more water resistant. Kinda like a tigers?" She shrugged.

"Your fur is so soft though! How can it be water resistant?" I asked.

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW WHAT MY FUR FEELS LIKE?!" She yelped.

"I-I-I-I- I MEAN IT LOOKS SOFT! IT LOOKS SOFT!" I raised my voice in panic.

We fell silent, spreading out for a bit and swimming alone. After a few hours we both headed back to shore. Storms shook herself out again before sitting down on her beach chair, towel laid out on top of the chair. I sat down on mine, the towel the same way. I couldn't lean all the back otherwise it would be uncomfortable on my wings. I sighed, knocking my chair all the way down so it was flat. I laid out on my stomach, head tilted to the side, closing my eyes so I could rest and enjoy the warm sun. I heard the students laughing and shouting from a little bit away. I couldn't help but smile. They sounded so happy and carefree.

That's what's important. That's what being a hero is about. Keeping people safe so they can laugh. So they can enjoy their life. So they can bond with their friends. So they can grow up and do what they wanted to do as kids. So they can fall in love if they wanted. Heh... love... what a joke that's been to me.

I dropped my smile, feeling my eyes start to burn a little as tears welled up.

Did I do something wrong? I had to have... I know I did. You're such an idiot. It's all your fault. It always has been. You thought that following your dreams would erase the memories. That it would fill the void. It did. Until it didn't. Because it never did. You don't deserve this job. You almost did it again. Those students almost died because of you. Because of you. You should just disappear. Even better leave this world entirely. No one would miss you anyways.