The days that followed dragged by at a horribly sluggish pace.
With no new leads to follow or any news of other attacks within the city, you and Dabi were stuck playing a waiting game. Unfortunately for you, patience wasn't exactly your strong suit whenever you had a goal you needed to accomplish.
Dabi had explained his plan to infiltrate the records office the night of the commission's party. It was decent enough, and he'd quelled your concerns by reminding you that he had plenty of experience when it came to thievery. This would be no different than any other time. He'd said that it may even be easier due to the extreme lack of security.
Of course, you were glad that the two of you had finally taken a step closer to finding the weapon, but you were worried that one step wouldn't be enough. At least three other enemy groups were searching for Izanagi as well, and they likely already had access to the files you were looking for.
There was a small chance, though, a very small chance, that they hadn't put the pieces together that would lead them to the woman who had given birth to the first child with a quirk. Those records could still be untouched, and you needed to get to them before anyone else could figure it out.
Dabi's plan had given you an idea of your own. If he was going to use the diversion of the hero commissions event to steal what he was looking for, why couldn't you do the same thing? You worked at the commission, so it wouldn't be odd for you to attend the party. If you could manage to slip away from the crowds and make your way to the room where their records were stored, it would be easy to find what you needed.
The only issue was that you hadn't actually received an invitation to the event. And you knew that they'd already been handed out. Nearly everyone on your floor had left it open on their desks.
It was likely because the higher up's were going to be in attendance. Hell, the party was being thrown in their honor. Of course, they would be there. That was another complication. Even if you managed to get an invite, you would need to take extra care not to cross paths with Zankoku. After your conversation with the president, you knew that she would have no qualms about firing you if he breathed even the smallest complaint about you coming near him whenever the two of you were ordered to keep away from each other.
Leaning back in your chair, your eyes glanced at the time on your computer screen. Only an hour left until you could go home. You tried to ignore the fact that the next time you would come into work would be whenever the higher-ups had arrived. Those thoughts would only put a damper on your already-sour mood.
"Um, excuse me." A somewhat familiar voice came from beside your desk. Looking up, you were surprised to see the young intern that you'd met on Monday.
You raised your eyebrows. "Yes?"
Her head was bowed, causing her curled blue hair to fall in front of her eyes. "I'm sorry that I didn't come to you sooner, but the president has been keeping me super busy. Like she always sends me back to the coffee shop at least three times because she doesn't like the drink she ordered, there's loads of paperwork for me to sort through, and with all the preparations that need to be made-"
"Woah," you held up a hand. "Slow down."
"Right, sorry." She took a breath. "I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted on Monday. You were right. I sounded super ignorant. I really didn't mean to offend you in any way. Honestly, I was just super impressed by you and was curious."
This was probably the first time that someone had ever apologized to you for something like that. You hardly even remembered the conversation you'd had with the girl. "Oh, It's alright. I should probably apologize too. You caught me in a bad mood and I lashed out."
The girl lifted her head, finally giving you a full view of her face. Relief sparkled in her dark eyes as her red-painted lips parted into a smile. "Don't apologize. I heard your conversation with the president, and I definitely don't blame you for being upset."
You glanced around the room, making sure there was no one nearby that could hear you. "Yeah, she's um... she's something else."
"Oh, don't even get me started." The girl mumbled.
Curiosity leeched into your expression. This girl had firsthand information about the president of the hero commission, and obviously, she felt similarly toward her as you did. Aside from Hawks, you hadn't met anyone who had anything negative to say in regards to the commission. A spontaneous idea formed, and the words were leaving your lips before you could think. "Well, I won't get you started now, but maybe we could hang after work? Grab a drink or something?"
Her face lit up. "That would be awesome! There's actually this event that I was gonna go to downtown tonight. It's sort of like an art festival, but there are plenty of bars around too. So, we could walk around and then hit up one of those if you wanted."
Oh, good, she hadn't been weirded out. You'd realized after making the offer that you'd barely even had a full conversation with the girl before inviting her to hang out. Jeez, maybe you were more lonely than you'd thought.
"Sure," you smiled. "That sounds like fun." making friends had never been a big priority in your life, but when an opportunity like this presented itself, who were you to pass it up? Besides, without Ami, you had no one to rant to about your job. You'd done it with Dabi a few times, but it was clear that he was uninterested. This girl could never serve as a replacement for Ami, no one could, but she understood some of your experiences with the commission. She'd at least be a good person to talk to for a bit.
"Awesome. I'll meet you outside whenever I'm finished." Something dinged, and the girl looked down at her watch. "Crap! I forgot to place her lunch order."
As the girl hurried away, you turned back to your computer. Are interns supposed to be getting coffee and placing lunch orders?
Shaking your head, you took your phone and send a message to Dabi.
-------------------------
Angsty Flame Boy:
You: Gonna be late tonight. I'm going out after work.
-------------------------
He responded within a few minutes.
-------------------------
Angsty Flame Boy:
You: Gonna be late tonight. I'm going out after work.
AFB: No.
You: That wasn't a question.
AFB: You aren't going out alone.
You: I'll have someone with me.
AFB: No.
You: Already confirmed the plans, can't cancel.
AFB: Do you enjoy making my job difficult?
You: It's one of my favorite pastimes. See ya later.
-------------------------
Another text came through, but you ignored it. You'd given Dabi access to your location last week. If he was so worried about you going to an art festival, he could follow along. Besides, he was really the only person you'd been able to hang out with recently, and he didn't always make for the best company. He should be relieved that you'd found someone else to be around for a little while.
The remaining hours of the workday passed in a normal manner, and by the time you made it outside, the girl was already waiting. The girl. Shit, you hadn't even asked for her name before inviting her to hang out.
She waved at you with her gloved hands, and it took you a second to take in the entirety of her outfit. In contrast with her blue hair, she wore a pink, puffy jacket paired with white gloves. You recognized the jacket, but you'd never seen it made in that color. Her pants were a simple black, but the shoes seemed to shift colors depending on the way you were looking at them.
"Hey," you approached her. "You changed out of your work clothes pretty quickly."
"Yeah," she said, looking down at herself. "I hate that we have to wear such boring neutral tones all day. As soon as I get a chance to change, I take it."
Alright, might as well ask her before it got too awkward. "So, I totally forgot to ask for your name."
"Oh! No worries, It's Aya. I already know your name, so there's no need to introduce yourself."
Aya, a name meaning color or design. "That's a surprisingly fitting name," you said.
"Right, it's funny too because my parents had no idea what my quirk would be whenever they named me that." She started walking down the sidewalk and you followed.
"What's your quirk?"
Aya laughed. "Isn't it obvious?" Before you could reply, she reached out and tapped the dark material of your jacket with her finger, and in an instant, it had shifted to a stunning shade of emerald green. "I can change the colors of things. It's nothing super useful, but I think it's pretty fun."
You stared down at your jacket, and then looked back at her. "Is that how you got your hair like that?"
"Yup, I like to change it every few weeks to match whatever vibe I'm feeling. I've been freezing my ass off every day, so I figured that blue was fitting."
"Wow, that's actually really cool."
"Thanks," she smiled brightly.
After a few minutes, the two of you turned onto the street holding the art festival. The road had been closed off, and tents lines the sidewalks, showcasing a variety of art pieces, along with the occasional food stand. There even looked to be a few magic stands, or quirk showcasing areas.
"Huh, I haven't heard of this before. It seems like they'd advertise it."
"Nah," Aya responded. "I think it's in such an obvious part of town that they don't need to tell anyone about it. People just see it, get curious, and go in."
"I guess that makes sense."
You started the walk-through, stopping every few minutes to admire some of the work. Aya pulled you toward every tent that had even a hint of colorful pieces. It was obvious that art was something she loved deeply. The way she looked at each of the works with such admiration made you wonder why she'd chosen to start at the commission instead of pursuing a more artistic career.
"Oh, look!" She pointed ahead to a tent draped in colorful cloths. There was material surrounding the outside, meaning that you couldn't see what they were selling. That didn't seem to matter to Aya, though. She tugged at your hand and you followed at a nearly jogging pace as she made her way toward the tent.
There was a small sign that you noticed once you approached. It read 'Psychic, enter to receive guidance for your future.'
"It's one of those fake psychic things," you said. "They charge a ridiculous amount of money to tell you some inspirational quote they found online, and make you believe that it's relevant to your life."
Your words didn't have any effect on Ayas's excitement. "I'm gonna go in, you should come too."
"I'm not really into-"
"Oh, come on. So what if it's a scam? It'll be fun either way."
"Fine, fine." The look on her face was not one that you had the heart to say no to.
She pushed past one of the blue, sparkling cloths and held it open so that you could follow her inside. The strong smell of incense hit you the moment after Aya dropped the cloth. Fake candles were arranged in different spots throughout the inside, and a small table sat in the center of the tent. A woman sat in front of it, her body draped in fabrics of all kinds. She didn't look up whenever the two of you came inside, but she did speak. "Do I sense visitors?"
"Hi!" Aya greeted. "My friend and I would like to speak with you."
"Of course, dear. Come sit down." Her voice was soft, yet alluring. You watched Aya take the seat across from the woman and hold out her hands.
The woman trailed her hand over the tablecloth until it landed on Aya's. She remained there for a moment before speaking. "You crave a life that is different than the one you are living." Aya's eyes widened. "Your hard work will lead to success, but it will cost you your happiness. Your dream is not an impossible one to reach. Work for the life that you desire, not the life other's desire for you, and you will be met with great joy."
The words had a strong effect on your new friend, she seemed stunned, almost. "Is it really possible?"
"It is."
Aya smiled, "wow. Thank you." She stood and getured for you to take the seat. "Your turn."
You tried to look hopeful, not wanting to offend the woman, but that was exactly what you'd expected. Her 'fortune' sounded like it had come straight out of a self-help book.
Sitting down, you did as Aya had done and placed your hand atop the table. The woman took longer this time, making circles with her fingers across the cloth before placing her hand over yours.
Her muscles tensed, and you looked up in surprise. There was a look of shock on her face, and a dramatic gasp left her lips.
Keeping a straight face was proving to be very difficult in this situation. You could tell she was putting on a show, and it was admittedly a pretty good one, but it seemed a little over the top.
"You're searching for something."
You stilled. The woman's face had fallen back to something neutral, but the look in her eyes was fierce. How could she know? A lucky guess, maybe? Lots of people were searching for things.
"Listen to me, child." She said. "If you continue in the wrong direction, you will face many hardships while trying to find what you seek."
"The wrong direction?" You asked.
"Yes," the woman lefted her hand. "Do not exhaust yourself by searching the wrong places, for what you seek is closer than you think." Her finger pressed into your collarbone. "What you are searching for, has been inside of you all along. Recognize that, and your worries will be gone. Embrace your inner strength."
Your body relaxed. You were right. It had been a lucky guess, but in the end, it was still a crappy quote from a self-help book. "Thank you, ma'am."
"Of course, that will be two thousand yen please." Both you and Aya's jaw dropped, and you gave her an 'I told you so' look before reaching into your bag and taking out the money.
After stepping back outside, Aya smiled sheepishly. "At least the fortunes weren't totally useless."
"Sure," you grumbled. Looking back up, you noticed the girl's eyes had widened to a nearly circular shape. You turned to see what she was looking at and jumped three feet back after discovering that the number-two hero had managed to land only inches away from you. "Shit! Hawks, you can't just land in people's personal bubbles like that."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't want to land next to a bunch of people."
"What are you doing here?" You asked, trying to slow your heart down after the jumpscare. You'd been too distracted to try and stay alert, and Hawks had chosen that exact time to show up.
He sighed. "I was sent to patrol the area, but I'm done now. I saw you as I was flying over and figured I'd say hey."
"Oh." A strangled gasp from behind you caused your attention to shift. Aya was standing in shock, staring at the hero like she was staring at a god of somekind. "Aya..." you tapped her shoulder. "You ok there?"
She snapped back, "yup! Fine!"
With how casual he was around you, you'd managed to forget that Hawks was a pretty big deal. To most people, meeting him was like meeting an A-list celebrity. Although, wouldn't Aya have met him during one of his meetings with the president? Guess not. Their conversations were probably top-secret. It would make sense that a new intern wouldn't be allowed to overhear.
"Ok, Hawks, this is Aya. She's an intern at the commission. Aya, this is Hawks."
Hawks stepped forward, leaned over, and took her hand in greeting with a chaste smile, "it's a pleasure"
Asshole. Aya looked ready to faint. "It's nice to meet you."
Hawks straightened. "What are you guys up to? Mind if I tag along? I would love an excuse to procrastinate getting all my paperwork done."
"The number-two hero does paperwork?" You asked.
"Normally, no, but my secretary's out of town for two weeks. And she made me promise I wouldn't let her work pile up before she got back."
"You should probably do that, then."
"It'll happen eventually."
Aya pointed down the road. "There's a bar a little further back. It has good drinks and there aren't too many people there."
"Sounds nice," you said. "Wouldn't want my drinking to be interrupted by a hoarde of fans."
"Hey, I've got great fans." Hawks sighed. "But I agree. Someplace quiet would be nice."
Aya seemed thrilled by the fact that her suggestion had been agreed upon, and there was an excited bounce in her step as the three of you began walking. Hawks attempted to look inconspicuous, but that was kind of hard to do whenever there was a pair of bright red wings growing from his back. What should have been a five-minute walk, turned into twenty after all the stops you'd made so that Hawks could sign autographs.
"Remind me never to go out in public with you whenever I'm in a hurry," you mumbled as you finally stepped into the bar. Aya was right, there were only about four other people inside including the bartender.
"I'm not on the ground much." Hawks explained. "So, people tend to get excited whenever I'm on the same level as they are."
"How does that feel?" Aya asked excitedly. "To be able to fly everywhere instead of being stuck on the ground like the rest of us?"
"It feels pretty great, actually." The three of you found an empty table in the corner and took a seat. "Although, constantly being above everyone else tends to over-inflate my ego."
"At least you're self-aware," Aya said, her face still glowing with admiration.
You and her both went up to the bar and ordered drinks. Hawks stayed behind, claiming that alcohol was a bad idea for him even if he wasn't technically on duty. When the two of you sat back down, he eyed your drinks questioningly. "Those are...colorful."
You bit the cherry off of its stem. "They taste better like that."
"And they're prettier," Aya agreed.
The three of you sat and talked for a bit. Most of the conversation was Aya bombarding Hawks with questions about his hero work, and some of it was talking shit about the commission, which was your favorite part.
"It's awful, especially right now. Because the higher-ups are visiting, the president has me doing all sorts of work to prepare. Like I have to get there two hours early every day just to make sure I have time to get all of my tasks done." Aya threw up her hands. "What's so special about the higher-ups anyway?"
"Nothing, they're entitled douchebags" you spoke into your drink.
Hawks looked at you, and you knew that he was thinking about the incident two years ago when you had been an intern. You avoided his gaze, not wanting to get into that conversation, especially not with him.
"I'll admit," he said. "They aren't my favorite people, but I do enjoy the parties that get thrown when they visit."
"Oh, yeah!" Aya exclaimed. "I'm super excited for that."
Here it was, you thought, the perfect opportunity to gain access to an invitation. "You were invited?" You asked her.
"Yes... weren't you?"
Hawks furrowed his brows. "The assholes didn't give you an invitation?"
"Guess not," you took another sip of your drink. "You guys are gonna have fun though, don't worry about it."
"That's so not cool," Aya shook her head.
"It's fine. I'm betting they didn't want the quirkless employee causing a scandal or whatever." Jesus, the way you were talking sounded like your mom whenever she tried to guilt-trip you into hanging out with her.
Hawks waved his hand. "Nope, that's a load of crap. You'll be my plus one, kay? If the president has a problem with it she can talk to me herself."
"That is so sweet, oh my god," Aya whispered.
You acted like you were contemplating your decision for a moment before speaking again. "Normally I wouldn't care about parties, but it would be nice to show up with the number-two hero and rub it in their faces. And it would be nice to hang out with you guys."
"It's settled then," he said. "I'll text you the information."
Well, that had been much easier than you'd thought it would be. Aya nudged you and whispered, "he'll text you? Like you have his phone number?" You nodded and felt her gasp. "Lucky."
After a little while longer, Aya regrettably had to leave, explaining that she had to be up at a hellish hour to get to work. You said your goodbyes and walked out with her to make sure she safely made it into her taxi before getting ready to start your walk home. Only after she'd left did you realize that you'd forgotten to ask her to return your jacket to its original color.
"She's nice," Hawks said, showing up behind you on the sidewalk.
"I think you made her entire year after showing up today."
"Ah, what can I say? I'm just that charming." You elbowed him and started to say goodbye, but a tremor in the ground caused your balance to be lost. Hawks caught you before you could fall to the ground.
"What was-" Screams, hundreds of them could be heard coming from the street where the art festival was being held. A plume of smoke hung in the air, and another violent tremor shook the ground.
"Explosions!" You shouted over the noise. Someone was attacking the festival, but why? It wasn't that big of an event, and most of the products being sold weren't very high value.
"Get out of here!" Hawks responded, his wings beginning to take him into the air. "Try and find somewhere safe!" He took off in a blur, and you rushed to the side as groups of people began frantically running toward the end of the street.
Fuck, what could you do? Instinct told you to follow him, but there was no way to push through the crowds without being trampled. Maybe if you-
Someone grabbed your arm and you were roughly pulled into the small alleyway between the bar and the building beside it. "Time to leave, princess."
Dabi, he'd followed you here. "People need help."
"Yes, that's what the heroes are for. Not sure how you plan to fight off bombs, but I'm pretty sure you'd only get in the way, regardless of your skills." You wanted to pull away from him, but the annoying fact that he was right kept you from running back out. "It's a random villain attack. There's nothing you can do at this point."
Reluctantly, you let him pull you further into the shadows.
-------------------
Later that night, after arriving back at your apartment, you found yourself sitting on your couch scrolling through various news channels until you found the one you were looking for. Dabi was in the kitchen, attempting to cook himself dinner after you'd told him you weren't hungry so you weren't going to make anything.
"An attack on the downtown art festival earlier this evening has left the area in shambles. Witnesses claim that they saw no one suspicious before the explosions occurred, which has led police to believe that the bombs had been planted long before the event took place."
You bit down on your nail as you watched the camera cut to footage of the area. Ambulances surrounded the shattered concrete as medics continued to search for people in the rubble. Any traces of the beautiful art you'd been admiring had been destroyed.
"As of right now, there has been only one confirmed death, along with several injured."
The picture of the deceased flashed on the screen, and you choked on a breath. The woman who was killed was the same woman who'd told you and Aya your fortunes.
"Warning, this upcoming footage may not be suitable for all viewers."
The footage went back to a clip of her body being loaded onto a gurney, and you had the strong urge to look away, but something caught your eye before you did. Before the woman's body had fully been covered, you noticed the mark on her neck. Not a mark, actually, but a cut. Her throat had been cut open.
She hadn't been killed by an explosion, this had been deliberate. Whoever it was must have used the bombs as a diversion.
"Just in, a witness has come forward claiming to have seen a suspicious figure. A slender person dressed in all black, with a full face covering, was spotted briefly before disappearing into a crowd. If anyone has information in regards to this person, please come forward."
Dabi came into the living room. Noticing your expression, he bent down and looked at the TV. "What happened?"
"It's the same guys. The attacker was wearing the same thing as the one who broke in and killed Ami," your breathing was becoming fast-paced. "It's the same uniform as the one who attacked the coffee shop, and now they killed the woman who gave me my fortune."
"Alright, hyperventilating isn't going to make this better." He took his fingers and lifted your chin to meet his gaze. "Breathe."
You tried, but the realization continued to play over and over in your mind. It was a pattern now. These guys had gone after people that you'd been near three times now. Coincidences didn't happen that often. "I think-"
Dabi cut you off. "I know, princess." His voice took on a low tone, and he studied the screen once again. "These people are after you."
---------------------------