Winds of Destiny: Falling ~ {Hawks x OC}

Chapter Two: Persistence

Business at the bank had resumed as usual the next day. The main glass doors had been replaced the same day and a new security lock with a number code had been installed. It was currently nearing the end of normal business hours. Perhaps due to the news of the robbery, business had been pretty slow all day. No one other than Ai and Tanaka had spoken to Misaki about what she'd done, and she was perfectly okay with that. The less attention they drew to her involvement the better. The last thing she needed was to have some detective come snooping around asking questions and possibly looking into her past...

The sound of fluttering wings across from her halted her fingers over the keys on her keyboard. Her heart dropped like a stone into her gut, sending a ripple of anxiety cascading through her nerves. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down. She briefly considered not even looking up, but curiosity got the better of her and she let her gaze slide over to the occupant of the chair on the other side of her desk. She fought unsuccessfully to suppress a sigh at the sight of the winged hero slumped across from her.

His wavy golden hair seemed to be perpetually windblown away from his face, all but a few stray wisps secured by the black and gold headphones covering his ears. His shoulders jutted up a bit  due to the way he was sitting, making the wide, white fur-lined collar of his tan aviator style coat frame his boyish face. The three thin strips of facial hair covering his chin did precious little to age his features. She wasn't really able to make out his sharp, golden eyes due to the glare across his wide golden visor from the sun streaming in through the windows above them, but she was sure if she could they would look smug. The way he was slouched in her chair, the cocky tilt his head seemed to take before he opened his mouth and some inevitably glib comment left it; all things that got under her skin.

Finding no way to avoid the inevitable confrontation, Misaki turned in her chair, folding her hands in front of her on her desk and putting on her best business smile before asking, "How can I help you today, sir?"

"Why are you a loan officer?" He immediately asked.

By some miracle she managed to keep her annoyance from filtering out into her expression as she coolly replied, "I want to help people achieve their financial goals."

He leaned forward, placing his elbow on the edge of her desk, and resting his chin in his open palm. "Allow me to rephrase. Why are you not a hero?"

Misaki schooled her expression into a professional mask and turned back to her computer. "If your business at this time does not pertain to obtaining or resolving a loan application, I'm afraid I cannot help you."

She'd been asked the same question by her academic advisors over the years. Why, with her aptitude scores, had she elected to go to public school instead of applying for a private hero academy? She'd given all of them the same cold shoulder she was currently giving the hero sitting across from her.

"You just seem like the type who'd wanna use your quirk to help people, is all," he commented distractedly, picking up the clear glass paperweight from her desk and examining it in the sunlight.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes, asking snidely in an effort to dissuade his line of questioning, "Don't you have some old lady to help across the street, or a cat to rescue from a tree somewhere? Some of us would like to get back to work."

He turned his head to glance over at her, and this time, she could actually see his face behind his visor. His expression was less smug than it was carefree and she felt her guard relax a little bit.

"If that's all the hero work I had to do every day I'd be living the dream," he replied with an easy grin.

She stared at him for a long moment as he absentmindedly played with her paperweight. He wasn't currently trying to pressure her into changing her occupation. He hadn't asked about her past, not outright, just her motivations. He seemed more genuinely curious than anything which prompted her to ask, "Why did you choose to become a hero?"