Winds of Destiny: Rising ~ {Hawks x OC}

Chapter Twenty-Two: Culmination - Part Two

The tour bus touched down on the front lawn of Yamadori High School less than five minutes after they'd taken off from the hotel in Jaku. There were two police officers standing next to a man and a woman in plain clothes waiting for them in front of the school. The teacher who had answered the analyst's call to notify them of their need to requisition their computer lab had informed him that the school was currently closed for spring break and there would only be a limited number of staff on hand to assist them. Hakone, the analyst, had assured them that the only help they might need would be in directing them to the room and they would take it from there.

As the team of analysts swiftly began to exit the vehicle, Misaki sat in her seat next to Hotaru and patiently waited for everyone to pass by before standing and holding her hand out to the little girl. She slid down off of the seat and reached out to take it, still tightly clutching her teddy bear to her side with her other arm. Misaki led the child along the aisle and down the stairs before lifting her off of the bottom step and setting her on the ground. As the teachers ushered the team of analysts inside, the two police officers made their way over to Misaki and Hotaru.

"A Detective Tsukauchi notified us about a lost child?" One of them addressed her, tipping his head toward the little girl with a cordial smile on his face.

"Her name is Kazehaya Hotaru. I picked her up near the Grand Lotus Hotel in Jaku City. We were hoping that you'd be able to help her locate her parents," Misaki explained, glancing down at Hotaru as she spoke.

The police officer nodded to her. "Of course. We'll take care of her."

Misaki crouched down next to the child to look her in the eye. "Hotaru, these police officers are going to help you find your parents, okay?"

The little girl stepped forward and flung her arms around Misaki's neck, hugging her tightly as she whispered in her ear, "Thank you for saving me."

A rush of emotion clenched her chest, and she wrapped her own arms around the girl to hug her back. If it hadn't been for Hotaru's quirk, she would have been decayed into dust along with the rest of Jaku City. She kind of understood a little better now about the concept of heroism not being a choice for some people. As soon as she'd seen that little girl cowering in the alleyway, there had been no choice for her to make, she was going to save her, and her body had moved on its own to do just that. She had no regrets, one way or the other, about saving this child's life. She was just glad that they had both managed to make it out safely.

Pulling back, Misaki reached out to brush a strand of hair out of the little girl's face, smiling at her warmly as she replied, "Back at'cha kiddo."

The police officer who had greeted them held out his hand to Hotaru. She reached out to take it, letting him lead her away to the police cruiser parked a few meters away. She turned halfway around as Misaki stood from her crouched position and lifted her hand which was still clutching her teddy bear to wave. Misaki lifted her own hand and waved back, watching the officers help the girl into the back of the car before driving away.

"Commissioner Torimodo," a deep voice with a heavy middle eastern accent addressed her suddenly from the left.

She turned her head to view the short, darkly tanned Flying Carpet Hero standing next to her. "Sultan?"

"I just wanted to say, what you did... That was one of the bravest things I've ever seen in my life." He reached up to remove his purple turban and lowered his bald head in her direction. "I tip my turban to you, madam. And I am sincerely regretful for having nearly left you behind."