The Emerald Prince

Chapter 45: The Greater Good

I warned at the start of this book... but this story contains manga spoilers - well possibly spoilers... I also wrote this book on the assumption that either the readers had watched BNHA, or had read enough fanfics based around it to know the canon inside out. I apologise if you haven't, but I'm too lazy to change.

Anyway.
You have been warned: Spoiler alerts are a thing in the book.

———

The blond gazed up at him, tracing the teen's collar bones absently, and in that moment of weakness, he answered, "...there was. But... I'll never meet him again. He...died."

"I'm sorry." Whispered the greenette softly, running a slim hand through Hawk's hair.
He leaned into the loving contact and closed his eyes as slender fingers carefully teased out the knots. Izuku's other hand found his own now limp on the sheets, and intertwined their fingers.

The greenette didn't speak again, and Hawks doubted he would, the teen was letting Hawks choose where the conversation would go. He knew if he changed the topic, Izuku would let him.

Opening his eyes, he raised the hand that wasn't in Izuku's own, and slowly cupped the pale cheek and tilting Izuku's head so he could look into those enchanting eyes.
There was so much warmth in them, so much admiration, so much kindness, and above all so much sadness that it took his breath away. The temptress was gone to be replaced benevolent fallen angel, and his heart fluttered.

He took a slow breath and the story spilled from his mouth like it had been waiting for more than a decade just for this moment.

Keigo was sold at the age of six, to the Hero Commission. He'd been pretty excited at first, leaving his pretty mean parents to go become a hero.
He thought it was a bit weird when the room he was taken to sleep in was made of metal and had bars, and when his Endeavour toy was taken away...but he was pretty optimistic. One day, he'd be able to save people, just like Endeavour did, so he wouldn't need the toy anymore.

The class they brought him to was strange though. They were boys and girls a little older than him, but he thought it was odd they didn't look excited. He was sent to sit beside a red headed boy, who looked maybe a year older than him.
Examining the older boy, he found he was covered in bandages.

"What happened! Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, and the older boy flinched slightly.
A teacher roared at him to be silent, and he was... out of surprise, but to the exasperation and worry of his red headed neighbour... Keigo was a slower learner.

He asked questions, he second guessed orders, fought to defend his classmates from unjust punishments, he wouldn't use the name Hawks instead of Keigo... his spirit just wouldn't die, or in Touya's opinion the kid was too dumb to pretend it had.

That was until their 'handlers' decided to teach him a lesson.

Keigo was woken up roughly, and taken to a room he'd live in fear of every day for the next eleven years. The punishment room.

Hawks had left that room hollow eyed and limping, flinching at every movement his eyes caught, and completely silent. He'd blacked out on the floor of his cage from blood loss once they'd locked him in, the last thing he saw were worried blue eyes.