Feathers and Flame // Dabi x Reader x Hawks

1: Shinobi

The Kamino incident had brought hero society to its knees.

Hope was fraying at its edges, splintered and jagged, coming closer and closer to breaking with each villainous deed committed. There were throats to be cut. Bodies to be buried. People that needed to disappear. And that is where you came in.

Crimson feathers. Eyes like molten gold.

You could tell why he was beloved. His status as a hero heartthrob was well known. Understandable, really, when you had the chance to look at him closely. Hiding beneath that jacket was a weapon, carefully selected and honed to the sharpest of points. Almost as sharp as you.

For his fans, there were only boyish smiles and alluring charm. For them, his golden eyes were alight with mischief and mirth. But he was not smiling now.

It wasn't the first time you'd ever seen Hawks, but it was the first you'd truly seen him.

Those glimmering eyes were no longer hiding the darkness within them. His perfect lips were pressed in a thin line as he listened. Processed. Obeyed.

"You are to infiltrate the League of Villains," they told him.

There was a flicker of something in those eyes. Not surprise. It seemed he was prepared for just about anything. Perhaps it was doubt. Did he not believe he was capable of making them trust him? You knew the kind of training he'd received. This was what he was created for. A perfect weapon. One no-one would think could possibly be a double agent.

Hawks' eyes glided to the darkest spot in the room as the cogs whirred inside his head.

He was looking right at you, though he didn't know it.

They wanted you there — the Commission. To listen, though not to be seen.

Nyx is what they called you, for the goddess of night. If you had a real name, it was lost long ago. Not that you cared. Just like him, you were a weapon. Unlike him, you didn't exist.

Where Hawks was front and center, the number two hero, you existed only in the shadow. A hero unknown. An assassin and a ghost.

Your toes twitched inside your boots, wanting to move, to step into the light just once. What would it feel like to have those pretty gold eyes settle on you? What would he see when he looked at you — a kindred spirit or a soulless being?

You watched as Hawks dipped his head, dirty blonde curls bobbing. He took his orders like the good servant he was, just like you always did, then turned and walked out, his footfalls echoing long after he disappeared.

"You can come out now, Nyx."

You obeyed, stepping out of the shadow, materialising before your superiors as if from thin air.

"We do not see fit to inform him of your involvement just yet," they said. "Let it play out. They will trust you far easier than they will trust him. How goes your investigation?"

"Dabi is leaving a trail of corpses in his wake," You explained, steady and devoid of much feeling. "He is difficult to catch. Almost as good at hiding as I am. I have a lead though, and I know where I can find him tonight."

"Good," they said. "You know what to do."

You bowed your head. "Yes, sir."

The carnage left behind in Dabi's wake was almost too much for you to stomach. Rended flesh. Skin like wax. Charred and fleshy. The smell of burnt meat lingered in your nose long after you'd departed from whatever cruel scenes he left behind. At least you were clean about it. No nonsense and screaming. A quick flick of your knife or a pull of your trigger and that was that.