"Y/N," he started, but the sudden sound of footsteps at his office door drew his attention. Haruki gasped, her eyes wide as she stared at Mamoru in the doorway. Keigo stared at him wide-eyed, unable to figure out why Mamoru would dare come here after everything that had happened this morning. What the hell could the Commission possibly want with him now? He had his orders, he understood the situation, but he'd hardly had a spare second to think about how to get Himari out.
He glanced at the open door with a frown. Either way, the entire office didn't need to be subject to this little show, plus it gave him the opportunity to scare the hell out of Mamoru in the process. Maybe he could get some information out of him that would help him come up with a plan to get Himari back.
He wasted no time, getting to his feet, his wings spreading and posing themselves dangerously as his fists clenched by his sides. He quickly grabbed Mamoru by the front of his shirt, hauling him into the office while his feathers slammed the door shut. Turning, Keigo slammed Mamoru to the ground a little rougher than he intended, his head bouncing off the floor as Keigo quickly straddled him. His heart pounded in his chest, his eyes narrowed as he glared at Mamoru, who struggled to breathe, winded from the fall.
"Hawks, please," Mamoru finally gasped out, and Keigo ground his teeth together at the noise. His wings shifted, rising above him in a way he knew fucking terrified people. After all, how many times had he roughed someone up for the Commission when they wanted him to? They'd trained him for this—intimidation, they called it. He knew how to scare someone; it was damn easy. People begged under him, pleading for the number two hero to spare them. It made him feel disgusting, like he was no better than his father, but he'd never actually killed anyone. Just scared them enough to get intel, to convey the Commission's message, maybe even make them piss themselves a little.
"You have some nerve showing up here, you motherfucker!" He snapped, dangerously close to Mamoru's face. Mamoru looked up at him, tears sliding down his cheeks, and it was almost enough to make Keigo roll his eyes. Still crying like he actually cared? Who the hell was he kidding with that bullshit?
"Mamoru, what the hell are you doing here?" Haruki asked, and Mamoru glanced in her and Y/N's direction, and for some reason, that was enough to set him off completely. How dare he look at Haruki at all, after threatening the life of her child, after allowing Jiro to put his hands on a pregnant woman? How dare he glance in the direction of his girlfriend, who was so upset over her child that she was throwing up into a trash can? The bird part of his brain roared to life, taking over completely as the rest of his brain seemed to short-circuit.
He saw red, and the only thing that mattered was making this fucker pay.
"It doesn't matter why he's here! I'll fucking kill him for this!" The words were dangerous, harsh, and low as his hands wrapped around Mamoru's throat tightly. Feathers sharpened, poised to strike around them as Mamoru grasped his wrists, eyes wide with sudden panic.
"Hawks!"
"Keigo!"
He heard both his names being called, but they sounded so far away, like they were coming from an old-timey radio. He wasn't even sure if they were real or if he was just imagining it.
"Hawks, please, Himari, she's sick. I want to help, I want to-"
He saw Mamoru's mouth moving, but it was like he couldn't hear the words. But that was fine; nothing that man had to say mattered. He couldn't stop now. Mamoru had helped the people who had hurt his family. His mate was on the floor crying; they'd taken his daughter and locked her away in a basement; they'd put marks on his mother. He couldn't be allowed to walk away from this; he wouldn't fucking allow it. He shifted his weight forward, his grip tightening as Mamoru scratched his hands desperately, but it was useless. He was so close, just a few seconds longer. So close.
"Hawks, stop!" Keigo's red-hot fury collided with a sudden force, knocking him away from Mamoru. The force of the push sent Haruki stumbling, landing roughly on her hands and knees as she tried to catch her breath. Haruki's desperate intervention had disrupted the dangerous trajectory he was on. The feathers that had been poised like sharp blades now retreated, folding back against his wings as he panted on the ground.
The reality of the situation began to break through the rage-induced haze as he sat up with a groan. Haruki's deep breathing and Y/N's scared sniffles echoed in his ears, a painful reminder that he had come so dangerously close to losing control completely. Haruki looked at him with a mix of fear and concern. Y/N had moved, pressing her back against the doorway, her eyes wide with shock. Keigo's gaze shifted from Haruki to Mamoru, who was coughing and gasping for breath on the floor.
A moment of silence hung in the air, heavy with the weight of what had just happened. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he struggled to regain control of himself. He couldn't let the Commission puppeteer him into doing something irreversible, couldn't let Fierce Wings take control like that again. At least not until Himari was safe.
"Mamoru," he hissed, his voice low and seething with anger as he stood up and walked towards Haruki. "You've got ten seconds to explain yourself, or I swear to every god in existence, I won't be responsible for what happens next."
Mamoru, still gasping for breath, managed to utter, "I... I came here to help. I know you don't believe me, but I need to make things right." His voice was rough and low, damaged from the pressure and Keigo avoided his gaze out of guilt.
"What the hell is happening?" Y/N asked, pushing herself off the ground to stand. "Why did you say Himari is sick? Do you know where she is?"
"The Commission has her," Haruki whispered, and Keigo bent down to help her up to her feet. He fussed over her slightly before she pushed him away and looked at Mamoru with a frown. "You owe that girl's mother a fucking explanation."
Mamoru shakily got up onto his legs, Keigo wincing at the mark already forming around his neck. He'd really almost killed him, and that thought was enough to send his stomach turning. It was that moment of distraction that left him unable to stop what happened next.
Y/N suddenly charged, grabbing Mamoru by the shirt and forcing him up against the large glass windows that made up the back wall of his office. It all happened so quickly that it left Keigo frozen to the spot in shock, unable to believe what she was doing. In any other situation, watching her take control like that, defending her baby, would've been extremely fucking hot. But now wasn't the time for those thoughts.
"What the hell do you mean the Commission has her?" She roared, and Keigo's brain finally seemed to start working again, pushing him into action. He walked over towards her, stopping when she turned around to glare at him, her expression a mixture of fury and betrayal.
"Don't you fucking dare come over here and tell me to stop. If the Commission has her, that means you knew! You've been lying to me this entire time. You said you would help me, you said you cared and you fucking lied." She yelled, the hurt so obvious across her face it made his own heart clench. She really thought he'd hidden this from her? His stomach twisted so hard; he almost wanted to be sick himself.
"I didn't lie to you," he said, his voice low and filled with desperation. "I just found out about the Commission's involvement this morning. I swear, Y/N, I had no idea they took Himari."
"He's telling the truth," Haruki said softly, stepping forward and wrapping a hand around Y/N's wrist gently. "We were all kept in the dark about the Commission's true intentions. It's an absolute fucking mess, but what we need to do now is figure out how to get Himari back. That starts with getting the full story. So put him down, let's get these chairs flipped back the right way, and discuss this like rational adults."
Y/N sucked in a deep breath, pushing Mamoru against the glass one more time before letting go of him and backing away. Keigo held his arms open, hoping she would come to him, allow him to comfort them both, but she swiftly brushed past him, causing him to frown. She gathered up one of the chairs that had been knocked over, pushing it up before sitting down and crossing her arms with an agitated huff. She was pissed, and in a way, he honestly understood it. This looked bad.
Okay, no, this looked truly horrible, but he really was telling the truth. Not only would he never allow the Commission to take Himari, he wouldn't have allowed them to mess with Haruki either. But right now, she was only working with bits and pieces of the story. Hopefully, once everything was on the table, it would put her mind at ease, and they could focus on getting Himari back safely.
Haruki walked past him, giving his arm a gentle squeeze before she fixed the chair she normally would sit in, and Keigo made quick work of fixing his desk so they could have a proper meeting. The rest of it would just have to be cleaned later.
They all settled down, an awkward silence filling the space before Y/N shifted, her jaw clenched as she looked at everyone.
"Somebody better start fucking talking before I storm the Commission building myself." She snapped, and everyone turned towards Mamoru, who shuffled uncomfortably before letting out a loud sigh.
"I promise I will tell you everything, but I want to make it clear now that I am against this. That is why I am here. I want to help, and I am so sorry it took me so long to get to this point. I am so ashamed-"
"You said she is sick," Keigo interrupted him, his annoyance growing slightly. "If that's true, then you need to make this quick so we can figure out how to get her back and to a doctor."
"Ah, yes, right..." he replied sheepishly, before taking another large breath. "Well, when it finally became obvious that this match was going to work, Jiro seemed thrilled, but he also didn't think you were going to really follow through on having a successor. So, he started digging into Y/N's past after finding a painting in her apartment and managed to find out about Himari easily, especially with the red flags in her medical history."
So the Commission had followed the same trail that they had, but had found out about Himari before him. That made sense, he supposed; after all, they had access to more resources and unlimited authority.
"While you were at the hero festival over the summer, Jiro was off visiting Kuro. He had gotten all the intel on him, knew he was running a drug ring, anything he would need to make it easier to convince him to give up Himari. It just happened to work out perfectly that Kuro had triggered your mating instincts by trying to take her away from you. You called and demanded she be moved in, and that just sealed the deal for Jiro. He needed Himari in case you pulled something and refused to produce. She was leverage– at least that's what he called it. The second I got off the phone from telling him about you wanting to have her moved in with you, he took Himari from Kuro under the promise that he would look the other way on the drugs and would allow him to have one of your rejected matches. He wanted a son, but you know Jiro. Never leave any loose ends."
"Oh my god," Keigo breathed, his eyes widening as he turned to face Y/N, who was looking at him in utter confusion. "What did the lawyer tell you happened to Kuro and his parents?"
"That Kuro overdosed and that his parents were killed by a drunk driver a few days later. But why does it matter? I don't understand-"
"Because they lied," Haruki gasped, her own eyes wide now as they met Keigo's. He nodded before looking back at Y/N sadly, wishing that she would just let him hold her and offer any type of comfort. This was so much to take in all at once; she had to be overwhelmed, but there was too much to discuss for that now. Comfort and healing would just have to wait.
"The Commission is great at that, covering things up, hiding things in plain sight," Keigo started, unsure of the best way to break the news gently. Honesty would just have to be the best policy. "They had Kuro and his family assassinated. They made it look like accidents. Faked the paperwork, the death certificates, all of it. Wrapped everything up in a nice, neat little package, like they always fucking do."
"Oh god," Y/N gasped, a trembling hand coming to cover her mouth as she stared at him. Mamoru cleared his throat, his thumbs playing with each other nervously as he shook his head sadly.
"They brought Himari to the Commission office, shoved her down into the basement room they used during your training. I fought against it, insisting she come home with me until it was time for Hawks to learn about her, but Jiro wouldn't allow it. He didn't want her out of his sight; She was his ace, and judging by the state of this office, Jiro was right. He's going to get what he wants, isn't he?" Mamoru asked, looking at him, and Keigo clenched his jaw, taking in a large breath through his nose.
Y/N was silent, her eyes wide as she took in all the information that was being spilled, but Keigo couldn't worry about that now. His eyes stayed locked on Mamoru. Was this a trap? Was Jiro testing to see if he was planning on disobeying his orders again?
"If you're here to spy or see if I'm trying to get around my orders, you need to get the hell out of my office now before I finish what I started earlier," Keigo snapped, and Mamoru swallowed nervously, their eyes never leaving each other.
"I'm not, I swear," he said hastily, his arm coming up like he's swearing on a bible or some stupid shit. "But, I cannot do this anymore. I cannot look the other way while that poor girl suffers. It's not fair to you, her, or her mother."
"Why did the President allow any of this?" Haruki asked, her confusion obvious, and Mamoru shook his head, frowning deeply.
"She didn't," he admitted, looking over at Keigo with a sad smile. "The President has told Jiro multiple times to leave you alone. She thinks you're happy, and oddly enough, that seems to make her happy. She canceled the Securement program completely months ago, said that there would be other heroes to replace you, gave Jiro a bunch of praise for finally settling you down, but for Jiro, it's not enough. He wants Fierce Wings, and he's lost his mind trying to make it happen."
"So why didn't you report him?" Haruki questioned, causing Mamoru's eyes to start watering slightly again.
"Because he threatened my family, my job, all of it," he answered, tears starting to slide down his cheeks again. "I can't lose my kids; they're my entire world. If something happened to them or my wife because I didn't do what Jiro told me...I don't know if I could live with myself. When I heard what you said to him this morning, about wanting your daughter back, I couldn't do it anymore. From one father to another, I need to make this right." Keigo blinked at him, unable to stop the sudden empathy he felt for Mamoru's situation.
"You said she's sick," Y/N whispered, leaning forward before sniffling slightly. "What's wrong with my baby?"
"We don't really know," Mamoru said softly, frowning. "I was put in charge of her care, and she got sick really bad the night of the hero gala. She had a fever, cough, the whole nine yards. Jiro had the room changed to look nicer, and he called in a doctor who put her on medication, but her cough never really did go away. She's been refusing to eat, but I have a plan to get her out and back to you."
"And what's this plan?" Keigo asked, his curiosity piqued. Some type of idea was better than nothing, and right now, all he had was nothing.
"Jiro wants a successor, right?" Mamoru started, leaning back into his chair, eyes scanning the room before focusing his gaze on Keigo's. "So we give him one-"
"Absolutely not!" Keigo cried out, interrupting him as his wings spread out. "I am not having a baby-"
"Let me finish!" He interjected, cutting Keigo off this time before taking a breath. "We give him one, or at least let him think he's got one."
"How?" Keigo asked, tilting his head in confusion, an eyebrow arching as he looked at the other man. How the hell was that the answer to getting Himari back? Was he suggesting a fake pregnancy? That would never work long term because, in the end, there would be no baby to give the Commission.
"We fake lab results," Mamoru started. Keigo frowned as he listened. "We use Haruki's urine and blood samples, as long as she is okay with it. We tell him that there's been a mistake in the lab and that her results for the month were actually positive, that you were telling the truth about..." he glanced at Y/N, his face flushing before he cleared his throat awkwardly. "where you finished that last time. Anyway, he's going to want to see Y/N, of course, but I can draw him away from his office down to the lab for that one. Tell him that we brought her in for repeat labs to confirm and allow him to look her over. It should be easy enough to give him the fake samples and results. It should give you just enough time to get in and out."
"Absolutely fucking not!" Keigo cried out, standing up and narrowing his eyes. "I will not let that sick fuck near her. He's obviously unhinged, what if he tries to hurt her?"
"And risk hurting the baby he's been after for months?" Haruki retorted before Mamoru could answer, her finger tapping her chin gently as she appeared lost in thought. She took a second, shaking her head before sighing. "He wouldn't risk it. I really think this might work. It would at least be long enough for you to get down to that room and get Himari out. I can wait in the Commission lobby for Y/N to come back up and sit with her after she leaves the lab. Knowing Jiro, he will go right back up to his office to celebrate his victory. You bring Himari straight up to us, we leave and get that poor girl to a real doctor, and you can bring all the evidence we are about to gather and document straight to the President. I really think this could work. We could take that fucker down."
He hesitated, apprehension twisting his stomach as he considered the plan that they had just come up with. It wasn't bad, certainly better than anything he had thought of, but the thought of Jiro even being near her was enough to send Fierce Wings feral inside him. Could he really allow that to happen?
"Keigo," Y/N's voice drew his attention, his real name slipping from her lips again, though at this point he didn't even care. Hawks was something the Commission had made him into, and right now, the Commission was not on his good side. If she wanted to use his real name, then she fucking should. He was done being something he wasn't. Her eyes were wide, watering as she sucked in a deep breath. Determination lit her gaze, fist clenching as she nodded gently.
"Please, this is our best chance," she whispered softly and he blinked at her, his heart aching as she played with her hands. "Please, our baby is sick."
"Okay," he breathed, finally conceding. If this is what she wanted to try, he was on board one hundred percent. "Let's go bring our daughter home."