Deathwish [BNHAxVillain!OC]

(2) trust me

"Ah!! So that's how it works!!"

Twice yelled out in excitement, slamming the chalkboard in his palms into his lap.

Settled into their usual lounge, Hawks and Twice stood together as the former scrawled words against the chalkboard. It was a bit tedious "explaining" the Liberation Army's booklet every passing hour to the villain, but it was worth it. It was more than obvious Twice had created this sort of bond between the hero and himself, and Hawks had to latch onto any of those ties as quickly as possible.

Twice was a good man. But he was also a villain.

So, it meant he was the perfect source for information. Hawks could consider the complications of their pseudo-friendship later.

"Makes sense, right?" Hawks smiled, tapping the chalk along the surface of the board. "As long as you remember the foundation of the Liberation Army's ambition, everything in this book just makes sense~!"

"It's bullshit, and it's amazing!!" Twice cheered. "It's a lot to remember but—"

SLAM

The duo turned their heads to the doorway in surprise, not expecting to see the slouched figure of Himura Seiko trudge into the room. Trailing behind her was the ever-present Nomu that accompanied her (at least one was always by her side, and it never was the same Nomu).

"H-Hey Enigma!~" Twice shot to his feet, skipping towards the girl with a smile stretched across his face. "How was—"

The man froze on one leg, a nervous sweat breaking out on his back when Enigma did nothing more than answer with a stony glare. The Nomu beside her creaked into motion, gangling limbs slowly twisting beside its counterpart.

"Ah!! You know what?! It sounds like there's someone calling me out there, right!?"

Hawks didn't even process the situation before Twice bolted out of the door.

"Did the air get thicker~? Definitely got thicker!" Hawks chortled.

His gaze remained locked on the girl. Wary. He was definitely wary.

The interaction about the "months" with Himura occurred a few weeks ago, and since then she had been strangely MIA. His usual partnership with her when scouting the Liberation's outer borders changed to a duo with Dabi—the man just knew how to push Hawks' buttons, and it infuriated him to no end—and Himura Seiko spent more and more time away from the rest of the members.

Of course, the hero didn't have enough to report back to the Public Safety Commission, not to mention his wings had been rigged with audio monitoring devices. He was a bit stuck.

So Himura Seiko's appearance was all too sudden.

Hawks could only describe her as different.

Bandages once again lined her limbs, bruises and injection points speckled around her body. Her back had been sewed shut, Hawks assuming that the tubing that was attached to her body had left quite a scar.

And yet, the once boisterous girl stood with no life in her eyes.

Her gaze remained dazed, almost as if she were trapped in her own mind.

Hawks finally turned away from the board. "So...what's up?"

out

Flinching, Hawks blinked in surprise when the Nomu rose from its spot, dragging its feet across the floor and walking out of the door.

Seiko stood up heavily, shoulders rising and falling slowly as she managed to tug the chalk out of Hawks' grasp. It was unusual how every motion she made took much too long to follow through, as if she were thinking her every step.