Frozen Wings

Chapter 30

Storms' POV

"Hawks!" I called for the hero. He didn't respond. I frowned, looking around.

Hm. No sign of him. He must've gone outside.

I growled, leaving the house. My ears swiveled around, listening for any sound that wasn't from nature.

Far away, I heard a soft crunching, telling me Hawks was walking. I took to the sky, silently flying above the island, looking for the hero. Finally, I spotted him halfway across the island, walking along the shore.

I landed behind him.

"What're you doing?" I asked. He stopped, not turning around.

"Getting out like you said." Hawks spoke quietly.

"I meant out of the room, not the house. You have a duty to protect those students. You can't just leave like that!" I said.

"I don't deserve those students." He hung his head in shame.

I narrowed my eyes.

"Hawks... you might not deserve them but you still have a job."

"I'm a danger to those kids."

"How?"

"I let them get taken by villains. I can't keep myself from getting injured. I don't act like a hero. I act like a bully with money. So I can attack people, treat them like shit and get away with it until someone stronger than me comes along and stops me."

I could tell he was talking about me now. "You didn't know that the villains were testing my strength. There was no way you could've known they were planning on taking the students to figure that out. You get injured from freak accidents. And you've recovered from all of them. You got jealous, and you were extremely afraid you'd make the same mistakes again, so you acted like an ass. Not the best choice of action but you never once 'attacked' someone hard enough to leave even a bruise, much less break the skin and cause blood to spill. I've seen heroes do much worse for personal revenge or gain. Someone only came along and stopped you because they don't want you to go further down the road you're walking on. Not because they're stronger and can force you to stop. But because they've seen what happens when someone travels the path you're taking and knows where it'll end for you." I said.

"Well... maybe I want to get to the end of this path." He mumbled.

"That's not true." I retorted. Hawks whipped around, glaring up at me. I saw the damage I had inflicted on his face from my claws.

"And how the hell would you know?!" He shouted.

"Because! If you really wanted to kill yourself, you would've done it already! If you wanted to be dead, you would be! But every time you got injured, you fought to recover! Not once did you want to give up! You fought like hell, and that's how I know! Because I did the exact same thing!" I snarled, fur bristling along my spine. I towered above the winged hero, looking down on him.

"You... thought about giving up?" He lowered his voice.

"Of course I did! I'm far from perfect. When I was in captivity, all I could think of were my two choices. Fight like there was no tomorrow, which there may not have been for me, or give in right there and then. Honestly, dying would've been a much, much easier option. I would've been freed from that hellhole years before I escaped."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because I couldn't. I wanted to sometimes, but I couldn't. Something was telling me that one day, I would be needed for something, and that if I killed myself then, I wouldn't be here for whatever it was I was supposed to do." I admitted. Hawks' golden-amber eyes met my neon royal blue ones.

"And what was it that you were needed for?" He asked snarkily.

"I don't know. But it has something to do with UA, I can tell you that much." I turned to leave.

"S-Storms, wait!" His voice interrupted me. I looked over my shoulder.

"What?" I spat.

"I-I'm sorry. For everything. It was immature and idiotic of me to treat someone the way I did just because I was jealous. You're not a thing, you don't belong to anyone. I can't act like that because of my own feelings. God, what was I thinking?! I've heard the rule you tell the students to follow time and time again, yet I can't follow it myself!" He hung his head in shame.

"Which rule?" I grumbled.

"Fight by following your heart and the law. If you let your emotions cloud your judgement it will blind you with rage and you'll lose the battle." I was startled at the pro hero's words.

"You remember that?"

"Yes. I think it's a brilliant rule. I listen to everything you say, because it's true. You're smart, you're loyal, friendly, caring, supportive, protective, and willing to do whatever it takes to save the people you care about. I admire everything about you," My friend replied.

"Storms, I have no right telling you this, but I want to get it out in case I do something stupid and kill mysel-"

"Do not speak like that! I will not tolerate it! You are cared about! I will stuff my blood into your veins if you try that! Got it?" I bared my teeth at the pro.

He flinched away from me, nodding.

I relaxed my body, sighing. Changing back to my human form, I felt my ears flatten against the top of my head.

"I'm sorry as well, alright? I... I can't tell you why right now, but I wasn't thinking as clearly as I normally do. I shouldn't have said all those things to you. I'm so sorry. I did the same thing I was judging you for, acting like the opposite of a hero. I made you feel guilty enough you were going to end your life. I... I... Takami, you're part of my little family too, and I would never forgive myself if you died." I reached outwards, offering him my hand. He warily eyed me before making his decision. I dipped my head apologetically as he set his hand on mine. I wrapped my fingers around his. Only then did I realize how dirty he was.

"Hey, why don't we get you back home so you can get cleaned up?" I suggested.

"Y-Yeah... I took a crash landing..." He shyly admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Besides that you've got blood on your face." I sighed.

"Oh. I-It doesn't really hurt." Takami lied.

"I know that my claws in this form are laced with a toxin. It was one of the mutations the scientists gave me. Which, in turn, allows me to know that you're on a lot more pain than you're telling me." I rolled my eyes.

"R-Right... well... we should probably head back then." He looked away.

"Yeah. We should."