TeruTategami, this here is for your sixth writing contest. Hope you enjoy the story!

Theme: BNHA (Preview to Instinctive - currently a drafted story)
Word Count: 4,483
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        Musutafu, Japan had already experienced quite a number of events thanks to the rising of the League of Villains and the fall of the Symbol of Peace. With those troublemaking U.A. students causing problems at almost every turn while simultaneously shaping the future, things were nowhere near normal for that city or its residents.

        Ever since recent events, the balance in society had begun to waver, and that slightly upset a particular hero who swore to make the world a better place. A world where heros could take it easy and have time to waste was what he wanted this one to be.

        Currently second in the ranking of hero's, Hawks fought to achieve that goal in any way possible. He was quite good at what he did; however, Musutafu was not Hawks' current location nor was it his main location. He instead stood outside of an abandoned building located in Fukuoka, the city where his agency was located.

        His task was to find a child that had gotten lost within an abandoned building, an old orphanage, just off to the side of a busy street. The child's mother had desperately begged him to find the lost seven year old. In fact, she'd practically dragged him there right before he finished speaking to a few of his fans. Hawks could have easily gone in already and been out with the lost child, but something didn't seem right. His intuition was telling him that there was more to this situation than it seemed.

        "Please, Hawks, you have to find my son! I don't know what I'd do if he's hurt or worse," the woman sobbed as she stood next to him. The task wasn't hard so he didn't need a complex plan but he also didn't want to overlook the underlying issue that he had yet to identify. There were already people gathering around to meddle into business that wasn't their own as well.

        "Don't worry. I'll bring your son back to you safe and sound," Hawks reassured for the second time before deciding to actually go inside. He was cheered on by the bystanders who had gathered there. Their chants could be heard even as he entered the old wood-based building.

        "Hopefully the kid hasn't gotten too far. This place doesn't seem too stable," Hawks thought as he noted the creaking of the floors, occasional holes, and the rotting wood of the building's support beams. It could likely collapse if enough of the beams were to give out. Hawks was surprised that it was still even standing or not already demolished. The hallways were a bit too narrow for him to fly in them so he'd have to continue his search on foot.

        Just as he turned a corner near the back of the building, his eyes caught sight of a stain on the floor just down to the end of the hall. It was fresh and as Hawks made his way to the small pool of blood, he noticed that it was not very far from a mess from a broken window. Every couple of yards, there were a few droplets of the substance. Hawks hoped that an outside force hadn't caused the child harm. He only assumed that it was the child's blood he had discovered and quickened his pace as he followed its trail up a set of stairs and onto yet another hallway.

        The faint sound of crying immediately caught his attention just as he began to reach what was probably the orphanage's sleeping quarters. Hawks hadn't sensed anyone else in the nearby area, but he still kept himself on high alert as always even if it didn't seem like it. The boy was in the room for sure.

        Peeking around the door frame, Hawks spotted the remainder of the blood trail and then the child huddled in the back corner of the room. His soft cries suddenly stopped and the area was filled with silence. The child had certainly noticed him.

         "Hey, anyone in there? It's Wing Hero Hawks speaking," Hawks said. He wanted to let the child know he was there to help him, not harm him. Most people in Fukuoka knew him so identifying himself was the best option. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

        The boy lifted his head up and relief washed over him as tears began to form at the edges of his eyes again. It seemed like he trusted him, so Hawks entered the room and made his way towards him. As he did, he saw that the boy held a sharp shard of glass and was bleeding from his left wrist. No doubt the boy had gotten the glass from the broken window downstairs. Things would have been far more urgent had his cut had been any lower or deeper, but thankfully it was not near anything vital and didn't seem too deep. Just below the cut was an odd looking bracelet that looked a little out of place. The cut was probably self inflicted from what Hawks knew so far.

        "She sent you in here to save me," the boy muttered as he watched Hawks kneel down next to him. Hawks nodded and smiled at the boy.

        "Yup, your mother sent me to save you. She's worried so we need to get you out of here and get that cut of yours taken care of," Hawks spoke holding out a hand to the boy. To his surprise, the boy pointed the glass shard at him, weilding it almost like a knife.

        "I'm not going with you. I'm not going back," the boy stated rather calmly as he held his weapon. It was cutting into his hand drawing blood but the boy didn't seem to care. His expression had changed from relief to fear in just that moment. It was just as Hawks had determined earlier. Something was not right with this situation.

        The boy flinched when Hawks moved despite the pro hero putting some distance between the two of them, but just as he did, the floor beneath the child cracked. The boy instantly reacted trying to move before the floor beneath him collapsed, but that wasn't the best of options. Hawks didn't have time to warn the boy not to move, yet he did have time to save him from falling through the floor.

        Some of his feathers had pinned the child to the wall, and Hawks had reached out to catch him underneath his arms not hesitating to lift him away from the new hole. The boy seemed shaken by the short incident and had let his guard down significantly, no longer holding on tightly to his weapon of glass. Desoite that, the weapon still remained in his hand.

        "You okay, kid?" Hawks asked as he put him down on stable ground and checked for any harm done. He kept his hands on the boy's shoulders just in case any more of the floor decided to cave in under them. The boy shook his head in response to Hawk's inquiry.

        "No. My name is Kei, not kid. I want to escape. You said my mother is worried about me, but that woman isn't her. We don't even look alike and no one ever figures that out. No one ever notices that I don't belong to her!" Kei whimpered as he pulled out of Hawk's hold. He had begun to cry having just told the information he had likely been keeping in for a long time.

        Hawks took a good look at Kei seeing that he was somewhat correct. The boy's dark black hair and nearly white colored eyes did not entirely match the woman's own dull black hair and yellow eyes, but no one would have questioned the difference. Hawks certainly didn't until Kei brought up the topic. It didn't make sense for Kei to lie about something like that, so it must have been true.

        Hawk's attention was temporarily caught by the sound of sirens which could be heard getting closer to their general location. Another incident had happened outside and Hawks knew it had something to do with Kei.

        "Come on. I'm going to make sure you never go anywhere with her ever again," Hawks spoke as he once again held out a hand to Kei who's tears had diminished. Instead of taking his hand, Kei hugged Hawks who didn't entirely mind since he understood that the boy was simply trying to cope with a bad situation.

        "That's not how it works. You can't keep them away forever. They always find us," Kei muttered. Yes, Hawks had heard the extra bit of information that Kei had given him, but getting him into a safe place of care was Hawk's top priority at the moment. Whatever Kei was refering to would have to wait. The boy was still slightly bleeding, and the woman that Kei claimed was not his mother was likely still outside.

        The boy did not protest as Hawks picked him up and began to take him outside of the decaying building. Instead of the woman waiting for his return, several police cars and an ambulance along with many stunned or panicking bystanders crowded the area. It was a crime scene now, and as Hawks put Kei down, he saw that everything was centered around the woman who had initially asked for his help. He knew it was her being covered by the handiwork of the forensic science and medical teams. Otherwise, she'd have been there rushing to retrieve Kei who Hawks now knew was a victim as well.

        Hawks didn't have long to simply study the scene. The moment he was noticed, he was swarmed by reporters that were cleared from his path just as quickly as they'd gotten there. The police force was responsible for this, and they likely had some questions for him. Kei latched onto his arm reminding Hawks of his presence. The boy still help on to his weapon of glass as blood still slowly trickled down his hand. He was a strong kid to have such bleeding injuries and not cry the entire time. Although Kei wore a glare on his face, Hawks could tell he was terrified.

        He guided Kei through the crowd as the law enforcement officers asked him questions about the recent crime. Apparently, the woman had been assassinated according to several eye witnesses, yet the culprit was unidentified and long gone. Hawks explained the situation not daring to let Kei out of his sight until he'd been guided to the ambulance for treatment. Even then, Kei refused to completely let Hawks go, holding tightly to the sleeve of his jacket.

        "He's been traumatized for sure. We'll find some place for him to stay for the time being. We'll need to ask him some questions about what he knows so the investigation can run smoothly. This is the first I've heard of a situation like this," the head officer spoke having gotten the information he needed. Hawk's job was done from there, but he was curious about the unidentified variables of the situation. He couldn't just ignore a possible mass kidnapping incident. Kei had indirectly mentioned that there were others involved, so there must have been some behind the scenes work.

        "Hey, kid. Do you remember where you used to live before now? Telling the police could help them find your real parents," Hawks said to Kei just as a paramedic finished wrapping his cut in a layer of bandages. His hand was already covered in the white bandages as well, but the mysterious bracelet remained. That wasn't the only think Hawks noticed though. Kei was shaking enough for anyone to be able to tell and it couldn't have meant anything good.

        "They killed her. They actually killed her..." he muttered as he kept his hold on Hawk's sleeve. His eyes were wide and he stared down at the pavement in horror. Of course Kei would figure out that the woman posing as his mother was the one being discussed. Hawks hadn't considered that while he was speaking about the situation.

        "Hey, Kei, you're safe now. No one is going to harm you," Hawks said to calm the boy down but it didn't seem to be taking any affect.

        "I have to get this thing off. I have to get it off," Kei whined as he let Hawk's sleeve go and began to try pulling the bracelet off of his wrist. It was made of a hard material that glass would not have been able to cut through. The bracelet clearly wouldn't go past his wrist, yet Kei didn't seem to care as he put even more force into his efforts. His desperate attempts to take it off let Hawks know that it also had connections to whatever Kei had unwilling been apart of.

        "Hey, stop that! You'll hurt yourself," Hawks said as he pulled Kei's wrists apart. Hawks was of course stronger than him, but Kei continued to fight him not wanting to cease his efforts.

        "I don't care! I have to take this thing off or else I'll die! I won't be able to use my quirk and I'll die! They'll know where I am. They always do. That's how they got her. They...they knew..." Kei cried. He caught the attention of many of those nearby and reporters quickly changed their target from the law enforcement to Hawks and the commotion Kei was causing.

        "Kei calm down. You're safe. No one is going to harm you, and we'll take the bracelet off when we get you to a quieter place," Hawks said. He didn't know how to deal with kids when they were in so much distress. Sure, he saved many of them countless times, but he had never really had to be the one to calm down the children he saved. They either calmed down on their own or someone else did that part of his job for him.

        "Hawks. We have a car ready to take him to the station. It will be better for him if he isn't around all of these people. The press will only stay occupied for so long," the head officer informed as he walked up to them. No sooner than he spoke did an explosion take place near the outskirts of the scene. Hawks instantly reacted, releasing Kei's wrists and shooting up into the air to get a better look at the situation before diving in.

        Strangely enough, no one had been harmed and the explosion took place in an oddly isolated spot in the middle of the street. There were no flames, yet the sound had been real and burn marks tainted the road in the very stop where it had taken place. Traffic was going to be held up even more, but that was not the issue at hand.

        Dread entered Hawk's mind as he realized it was only a decoy, and he sent feathers in Kei's direction before he even changed direction himself. From inside the ambulance, a cloud of dark gray fog exited and surround Kei in an instant. Hawks was there only a second too late as Kei and the fog disappeared. Just before Kei vanished, his cry of terror could be heard through the air, and it left a feeling of guilt behind that Hawks did not like.

         He hadn't felt any extra presences when he had been near the ambulance nor had anyone been inside it. All of the paramedics had been handling other things once Kei's cuts had been taken care of. It was a mistake to leave the boy on his own even for that short time.

        "Don't die on me kid. Now is not a good time," Hawks thought. He had no idea where Kei could have been taken, and he hoped the boy would remain unharmed or at least alive until he was found again. Whoever had planned this out knew what they were doing which made it worse for Kei's situation.

        Already the crowd began to dispurse with bystanders and media personnel still scattering because of the earlier explosion. The law enforcement officers were handling the panicked crowd much to Hawks' relief.

        "We've got this handled, Hawks. Go, that kid needs your help!" the head officer informed. Without hesitation, Hawks disappeared from the scene. Anyone that had been in any danger before he left the area had already been rescued by the several feathers he'd scattered while he formulated a plan to find Kei. In the short time he'd had with him, Hawks was already attatched enough to search the entire city for him, and that's just what he did.

        Even after it had begun to rain, Hawks did not stop searching for the missing child. He hadn't slowed down even as he stopped street criminals and saved people from potentially fatal accidents. Kei's cry of terror still rang through his ears as night fell on Fukuoka City. Even after several hours of searching, nothing, not even a familiar cry, could be found or heard from Kei.

        It was sickening for any hero to fail at rescuing someone in need of help. It was no different for Hawks who headed home, internally rebuking himself for not having done things differently the first time. Kei had indeed warned him, but Hawks had not expected the boy to be kidnapped with him so close by. No one ever snuck up on him, especially with his quirk allowing him to practically feel the presences of everyone and everything around him, and yet Hawks had sensed nothing when the gray fog had taken Kei away from safety.

        There were many people around, so the culprit could have easily been within the crowd and mistaken for an innocent meddling bystander. That thought was the worst of them, knowing that a villain could have been hiding among the crowd all the while. Hawks had run out of options finding it best to try again the next morning, so he continued home in slightly more fustration.

        Before he could even reach his door, he noticed an extra precense that hadn't been there just moments earlier. The sound of the rain, despite it being constant, did not interfere with Hawk's hearing. The hero could tell that whoever was there was either badly wounded or extremely exhausted. Even with the possibility that whoever was there might try harming him, Hawks walked to his home as if nothing was wrong. Before he even got to his door, he froze and the guilt he had been unwillingly holding on to vanished as he spotted Kei sitting next to and leaning against his door.

        The boy was breathing normally and it didn't seem like he was out in the rain for very long. His small frame was curled up at the doorstep visibily shaking as he rested his head against the door. He wasn't in the best shape but he was safe now that Hawks had an eye on him.

        The only visible injuries that Hawks could see was a burn mark around his wrist right where the bracelet had been and a new cut. The bandages must have stopped most of the burn since the skin on his wrist that was showing was only red with agitation and slowly fading back to normal. The new cut was on his neck making it clear that someone had certainly tried to kill him. Luckily, it was barely to be called a cut, but the fact that it was even there made Kei's earlier claims all the more real. Someone wanted him dead.

        "Kei, you okay over there?" Hawks asked as he walked towards him. Kei's eyes snapped open, and he quickly pulled a small blade from under his arm holding the weapon much like he had the piece of glass. "You sure do like sharp things don't you," Hawks muttered. He took note of the real knife knowing that Kei didn't have such a weapon earlier. The boy recognized him a moment afterwards and relaxed a bit.

        "I actually got away," Kei spoke. His voice was barely above a whisper but Hawks heard every word. He seemed terrified just as his initial reaction had proven. "I got that thing off and got away. They can't find me anymore for now." He sounded triumphant in a way but Hawks could tell that he'd seen some things that no kid should see. In truth, he was simply traumatized and testing out different ways to cope. Since panicking hadn't worked, he seemed to be taking a more subtle approach. He remained surprisingly calm, but that could easily be related to whatever tramatic thing he witnessed or experienced.

        "I won't ask how you found this place just yet. Come on in. You've probably already caught a cold at this rate," Hawks said with a sigh. He stretched out one of his wings over Kei as he began to stand up.

        "I didn't have anywhere else to go. I know that I can trust you. I can, right? You wouldn't turn me over to them right?" Kei said. His fear for this particular organization was very real, and it made Hawks all the more curious as to what this group was called and why they kidnapped children. Their purpose was a mystery, but they needed to ne stopped regardless.

        "I'd never turn you over to them. Don't worry about it, kid. Now come on. It's still raining out here, you know," Hawks answered. He could certainly promise that but after witnessing the way Kei was kidnapped earlier, he couldn't be entirely sure that he could stop Kei from being taken back to wherever he was. The gray fog's ability to pass by his senses was still bothering him. "Why don't you get some sleep. I'll take you out for breakfast and then to the police station in the morning so they can help you find your real parents. Or are you hungry now. I've got chicken nuggets. Everyone loves those," Hawks ranted, closing the door behind them.

        "I'm not going to the police station. They won't help me. I've gone to them before, but they just sent me back with that woman. I don't trust them anymore," Kei muttered with a frown. He looked down at his weapon thoughtfully before averting his attention to his surroundings. "Can I...sleep on that couch?" he shyly asked.

        "Sure. If that's what you want to do. I won't stop you," Hawks said with a shrug. Kei didn't hesitate to get to the couch either, quite literally. One second he was standing by the door and the next he was on the couch, sitting as if he'd walked there.

        "That must be your quirk. No fair! How come you didn't use it earlier?" Hawks said, exaggerating his reaction. He had an idea why, but he wanted to confirm it for his later investigations. Kei's quirk had been unavailable due to the bracelet which Hawks knew for sure now that it was gone. Even so, he wanted to hear it from Kei just in case.

        "I couldn't. That stupid thing was still on my arm. The best I could do was think about my quirk. Before I was taken to them, I would accidentally use my quirk in my sleep and it caused my real mom a lot of problems. She always worried about me," Kei answered. His mind wandered for a moment before he stretched a bit and lay across the couch using his arm like a pillow. The knife he'd mysteriously acquired was still in his hand. It didn't seem like he'd be giving it up any time soon.

        "You're just going to go to sleep? You're not hungry? You don't even want to talk?" Hawks questioned. He was genuinely curious about the boy's situation although only Kei could tell what he knew for the time being. "I'd like to know how you found out where I live too," Hawks muttered more to himself than to Kei.

        "I'm only here because it's safe. My quirk got me here. That's all." Kei was straight forward and didn't want to speak to Hawks about his situation. It was somewhat upsetting to the hero since he had predicted that Kei would be gone in the morning. His quirk, whatever it specifically was, and his dislike of the police force had made that much clear.

        Hawks sighed and left the main room returning with a blanket and one of his own jackets. Kei seemed to be asleep yet Hawks lay them both over him anyway. He might as well make sure the kid was comfortable for a night, or at least that's what he thought. Hopefully Kei wasn't the type to have nightmares.

        Just before Hawks could get out of his range of movement, Kei caught hold of his jacket's edge. Hawks looked back to see Kei staring up at him with a look of apology. For a second, Hawks could tell that Kei wanted to share important information with him but that urge vanished almost instantly.

        "Thank you. I'm free because of you. I might have caused you trouble, but I'm glad you were there," he spoke with a slight smile before releasing his grip on the jacket and picking his weapon back up.

        "It's no problem, kid. It's what heroes are supposed to do. My job isn't over either. I still have to help you get home, don't I," Hawks replied but Kei just stared at him, his smile slowly vanishing.

        "I wish I could let you...but I have other people's safety to worry about," he said before closing his eyes to sleep. Hawks would have asked what Kei meant by that, but he knew Kei wouldn't answer him. He found it unfortunate that this child was taking on such a responsibility on his own at such a young age, but he also knew there wasn't much he could do to stop him. Hawks had also had a great deal of responsibility at a young age, so he somewhat understood Kei's thought process.

        "If you fix things on your own with you own ability, no one can get hurt since they aren't involved and no one will be harmed if you screw up," Hawks thought as a reflection of what Kei might have been thinking himself. As Hawks settled in for the night, he kept his mind on what he knew would become a growing crisis. Kei would likely be in the center of it all and Hawks knew he would get involved. What he didn't know was how increasingly important he would become to Kei and vice versa. Only the threads of fate knew and would tell over time.

. . .

"If I told you who I really was, what I really am, would you still tell me that I could change the world or would you tell me that the world could change me?"