𝐀𝐫𝐜 𝐈 | bnha

gold

(she had always suspected that someone in the government knew. it added to her natural paranoia, the ever-present sensation of being watched, being followed that dragged frigid fingers and needles up her spine. now she knew for certain: they knew. and she waited for her world to crumble and burn around her. it didn't; she should have known that people don't break their tools and she was the newest and sharpest in the box.)

"This is about my quirk, isn't it?" (Y/n)'s voice is sharp. Hawks pats her on the back.

"Always is, kiddo." He offers a half smile, one that's tired and worn around the edges.

"One of these days i'm gonna lose it."

The man with glasses glares at her. "You already have. Several times. That's why the Commission is making me put a leash on you."

(Y/n) yanked the sleeve of his blazer, halting his stride. "Talk about me like that again," she started, voice deadly quiet. "And we're gonna have a problem. One that will end with you having less limbs than before."

"The Commission has no qualms in terminating anyone seen as a threat to the public." Hawks flinched. He reached towards (y/n) who jerked away from his touch.

"Kiddo-"

"You do that then."

The man yanked his sleeve from her grasp and straightened out the wrinkles in his jacket. "Children tend to pretend to be fearless until confronted with reality."

"Reality? you want to talk about reality, darling?" her voice wavered, eyes stinging. "I was stuck in hell for months. I lost count of how many times Overhaul pulled me apart atom by atom, only to put me together again. How's that for reality?"

The man seemed stunned for a moment. He fixed his glasses before starting down the hall again.

"We still need to debrief you. Hawks is not permitted to accompany you." Hawks seemed a little off put. He gave a quiet "good luck" to (Y/n) before leaving.
The walk was silent for a few minutes.

"What happened to everyone who was in the raid?"

The man grimaced. "Sir Nighteye died in the line of duty." For a moment (y/n) felt nothing. And then she felt guilt.

"Do you-" her voice got thick. "Do you what he was like?" her voice was quiet.

"I hardly knew him." They rounded a corner, footsteps loud in the silent and seemingly endless halls.

(the man glances at her and is struck by how small she seems. she seems so quiet, so sad, nothing like the angry, loud girl that he'd seen only moments before. no amount of files he read could prepare him for the grief of a child. he should've expected that.)

He realized he'd been silent too long. He cleared his throat. "I never knew him personally. I did hear that he was an honorable man, and a warm one to those close to him." (Y/n) gave a quiet laugh.

"Warm?" The man gave a bittersweet smile.

"I know his persona did not lend to that perception well, but-"

She sniffed. He glanced over. She furiously wiped away tears. "he was a good man. His death will be felt by the whole of Japan."

"Could- could I have stopped his death?"

(the man should have excepted the grief. a child's grief always took shape in certain ways. if the child was old enough, it took the form of self blame.)

His throat was dry. He could answer one of two ways: the right way, or the way the Commission would want him to answer.

(Y/n) took a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry, it's unfair of me to dump this on you-"

"No, no, no." He replied, cutting off the small torrent of words. "I think," he tested, the words tentative as they curled through the air. "With proper training, you could prevent that kind of tragedy from happening again."

"'Proper training'?" she echoed.
"The Commission is willing to help you control your quirk. One-on-one training, if you'd like."

"What's the catch?" her voice is golden.

(he knows that she's 16 and knows the world works by favors and bribes greasing the gears, but he looks at her and only sees his niece and loathes the way the world has stripped away her belief in justice.)

"The catch is-" he feels like the devil and she's the fiddler. "You work for the Commission."

He can only hope she's a damned good player.