The door opened wide.

- Hey, fire-maker ! Come back here !

I need to get out of here.

I turned and ran before one of them could grab my clothes.

They didn't look like it, but their grip was as strong as a baby's.

I found Hawks smoking outside next to some bins.

- Did the old men get the better of you ?, he asked, an eyebrow cocked

We did two more representations of the show.

- I got tired of playing the dragon

Hawks laughed between puffs of cigarette.

- You know that thing's going to kill you, don't you ?

- What ? This ? No, impossible, I'll die long before that

I couldn't decide whether he was serious or being sarcastic.

- What will you do after the Commission ?

He seemed taken aback.

- 'After'?

- You're not going to do the same job for the rest of your life.

Hawks - Keigo - struck me as a free spirit, someone whose essence was travel and connecting with people.

To imagine him chained to anything was antithetical to himself.

- There is no 'after', he said. Once people like me get into the Commission, they don't get out

My expression must have betrayed my thoughts, because he added, smiling :

- Don't look at me like that. The money's not bad. So is the food.

He tried to play it casual, but the corners of his mouth were turned downwards.

- You told me the same thing when we first met

- Because it's true

He continued to smoke.

- In a profession like mine, living to an old age is a mark of great success - or great luck. If I live long enough to get lung cancer, I'll be lucky

I shrugged.

- I don't see the point if you're going to end up like them

- Toothless ?

I scoffed.

- I'd like to live to be an old man, Hawks went on, smiling and raising his head to the grey sky.

- Why ?, I asked, You want children or something ?

- I don't know. I never thought about it. Maybe, yeah.

He smoked more slowly now, thoughtful.

The lights of the city shone in his eyes.

- You should adopt, I said.

He frowned.

- The Commission would refuse.

- Then find a girl willing to be a surrogate or, I don't know, kidnap a kid

Hawks looked at me with raised eyebrows.

- Did you really just suggest that I commit a crime ?

At least he seemed amused now.

- Big words

Hawks smiled.

- Sometimes I can't tell if you're serious or just talking nonsense to see how people react.

I smiled too.

He stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette on the sole of his foot, threw it into a pile of snow, rocked back and forth with his hands in his pockets and fluttered his wings.

- Come on, let's go home

He didn't light a second cigarette, and I felt a bit proud of myself.

*

- We've been through a lot in the last three weeks, the mayor said. It wasn't easy to recover from our fall, and it's even harder to rebuild. But it's thanks to your courage and perseverance that Nagano is still standing today and will stand again tomorrow, no matter what the villains do !

There was thunderous applause, punctuated by shouts of joy

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The mayor, clinging to the lectern, seemed barely able to stand, with large purple bags eating half his face.

But he smiled, satisfied, and gave the excited crowd time to calm down before continuing:

- We haven't failed, and neither have our Heroes. I would like to give a warm welcome to the Hero who - lucky for us - was there at the time of this terrible attack, and who made it possible to organise the rescue teams and the defence of our city. Everyone, a round of applause for Hawks !

Hawks, standing to my right, smiled and walked up to the podium, waving to the ecstatic crowd.

- I-

The shouts and cheers from the crowd grew in intensity and Hawks smiled, waiting patiently for the excitement to die down.

But suddenly someone started to applaud and, like wildfire, so did everyone else.

The Mayor, who was standing to the right of the lectern, applauded and the other officials on the stage followed suit.

I applauded too, standing in front of the Japanese flag at the back of the stage, between the police chief and Ryota Nishimura, the man who was 'my enemy but not really, because your enemies are not where you think they are, Shoto'.

As the applause died down, Hawks began.

- Thank you for your speech, Mr Yoshimitsu. And thank you all for coming today

He paused for a moment, and although his back was to me, I was getting to know him well enough to guess that he was smiling.

- There are so many people who deserve a personal thank you. The incredible police team, led by Captain Yuko Kufoka, who were already on the scene and prevented panic from taking over. The fire brigade, who arrived in record time. Dr Garaki's clinic, which treated the most seriously injured in its care centre.

Hawks paused for a moment.

- I'd also like to thank all the Heroes who prevented the number of wounded from increasing drastically. Without them, the number of human casualties would have been very different.

The mercenaries didn't kill any civilians.

Only the people who had been trampled in the crowd or who had been in the mall at the time of the fire had been injured or killed - but they were collateral damage, not the intended targets.

The more I thought about it, the more plausible Hawks' theory that All for One was playing the long game seemed.

If he was targeting the population and the heroes weren't able to stop the killing spree, we would have been forced to call in the army or the National Guard. But since he was only attacking heroes - civil servants who had signed contracts stipulating the possibility of their death and the irresponsibility of the government in such an outcome - we didn't worry too much.

Hawks turned his head over his shoulder; I caught his eye.

He looked at me respectfully.

- I'd also like to thank my intern, Shoto Todoroki, who played a big part in repelling the villains

I nodded my chin humbly.

To my great surprise, I received a round of applause.

I looked down at the front of the stage where Mrs Yakitsu was holding her barking dog, the entire construction team I'd been working with for the past few weeks clad in overalls applauding loudly, perhaps more to embarrass me than anything else.

It wasn't a thunderous applause, and no one really joined in, but the surprise of the treatment pleased me.

I felt my chest warming.

- Thank you to everyone who came to help after the disaster and who will continue to help until the city is back on its feet. And most of all, thank you to the people of Nagano for not giving up when you couldn't be blamed to have done so

Hawks bowed and the crowd erupted in cheers and applause.

Some people started chanting his name loudly.

Hawks greeted everyone and the applause grew louder.

Without moving from the front of the stage, he moved to the side and signalled for the mayor to take his place, who smiled good-naturedly.

- We know that even though the city is better off, the mayor said, We are far from having healed all our wounds. That's why I've decided to hold a charity gala in the town hall tonight to raise money for our town and all its people !

There was another round of cheers.

- Thank you all, fellow citizens, and let's all continue to do our best to lift Nagano up !

The speech ended and the curtain closed at the front of the stage.

The mayor turned to Hawks again and shook his hand warmly, continuing to thank him profusely.

Other officials approached and I waited patiently for Hawks to finish.

I pivoted and his step matched mine as we walked backstage.

- How was I ?

A brief smile curled my lips.

- Very cheesy

Hawks smiled and ran a hand through his hair.

- How can you say that after I've taken the trouble to thank you publicly ?

- Do we have to go to the gala too ?, I asked.

- Yes, because we'll attract a lot of good people. At least my presence will attract people - you'd better stand in a corner if you don't want to scare everyone away.

- Apart from acting like your shadow, what am I really there for ?

Hawks patted my head absently.

- Remember your motto, boy: hu-mi-li-ty

I shoved his hand away.

- No need to treat me like a dog

- You'll need it if you want to get rid of the monstrous ego that inhabits this body

I was about to reply when I saw Nishimura coming towards us out of the corner of my eye.

Automatically, I slid down beside Hawks to face him.

Hawks' smile grew tense, but he faced his superior with good humour.

- Hawks, Shoto, Nishimura greeted us

Hawks shook his hand firmly, as was customary in all professional interactions.

The fact that even a country like Japan has been influenced by such small Western customs to the point of incorporating them into its daily life still amazed me.

- Very nice speech, said Nishimura.

- I meant every word of it, Hawks replied in a steady tone.

Nishimura nodded.

He looked at us in turn, his eyes shining, an expression I couldn't quite make out.

- I can see that you two have become very close indeed

He seemed pleased, which I could only half explain.

Still, I thought he'd be less pleased to see me next to his golden goose after the Nagano fiasco...

Hawks nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.

- As close as a tutor can get to his pupil

He still looked amused, but his indifferent tone suggested that our relationship was strictly professional.

Hawk's sudden change of personality took me by surprise.

- Don't give me that crap, Hawks, Nishimura said. It's obvious you get along like brothers

Nishimura gave me a knowing look and, for safety's sake, I opted to imitate Hawks' neutrality.

Hawks raised an eyebrow in bewilderment.

- I don't think I ever gave that impression, Hawks said. Shoto already has a family, it would be inappropriate for me to interfere

- Come on, it's just us, there's no need to be so tense. And it's not a reproach, quite the opposite: I'm glad you two are getting on so well

The more he spoke, the more withdrawn Hawk's expression became, and the less I understood the nature of the paratext with which they seemed to be communicating.

- ... if you say so

Nishimura's smile faded a little: he looked at Hawks, half questioning, half surprised.

- Anyway, I was just here as a representative of the Commission for this ceremony. It was nice to see you both

He waved again and left.

Hawks remained tense until he was out of sight.

- Something I should know ?, I asked.

Hawks deflated like a balloon: his serious expression vanished, replaced by his goofy grin and infectious joy of life.

- Nothing that concerns you, he said, putting his hand on my head

- Stop it, I growled

- Come on, we've got to find some fancy clothes for tonight

*

Author's note :

In another life, Shoto woudl've been the star performant of a circus.

In this one he's fated to become a terrorist tho.

If you want to support the story or read up to 27 chapters ahead of schedule (and read the penultimate arc before the end of Part 2 and the final climax) then please go check the story's P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

And, as always, see you in the next update everyone !