The Shape of Fire

Dark Matter

Hawks unlocks his apartment door and tiredly trudges to his bed, barely remembering to take off his boots. It was a long night with lots of procedures to remember, he feels like his brain has turned to mush. He flops down on his bed with a heaving sigh and stares up at the ceiling. His light is still on and he groans, of course he would forget to turn it off.

"Fuck it." Hawks mutters, too exhausted and sore from so much walking to even try to get back out of bed. It doesn't matter if he turns the light off anyway; soon the sun will be rising through his thin curtains and the morning light will be making its presence known. He makes a note to get black out curtains tomorrow morning after his shift. For the time being, he rolls over and puts a pillow over his head and closes his eyes.

Sleep doesn't come easy though, his listless dreams shift to nightmares of the demon he met. No matter how many times he's startled awake and falls back to sleep- he can't get the accusing glower of Dabi's eyes out of his mind.

When his alarm rings out through the now darkened apartment, he's been awake for the last three hours. He makes his way to the bathroom and gets ready for another night at his new job. Hawks pauses at the mirror and pokes at the light dark rings hanging close to his eyes.

"Man, I'm going to end up looking like Aizawa." He complains and turns on the shower.

Stopping by to pick up a coffee at the convenience store next to his apartment, Hawks breathes in the warm aroma and smiles. He may look like he hadn't slept a wink at all but at least the hot cup of coffee will help stave off the cold bite of the spring night. Stepping out of the store, soft hoots of owls fill the air and Hawks appreciates a sense of normality. Last night had been quite the eye opener for him. He used to think that he was pretty well versed in the more darker underbelly of Musutafu but to think that monsters and demons actually exist? That was one curve ball that Hawks hadn't expected at all.

Making his way to his job, he counts on his fingers how many creatures he's in charge of guarding. Only six, he's still yet to see the remaining three but assumes that he'll probably have that opportunity tonight. Who were the other three? He racks his brain and tries to remember. There's the vampire girl, a body of mist, And a lizard? All he can think of is that somehow his employer captured Godzilla. At this point, he wouldn't be surprised.

"Wait- that wouldn't make sense though." Hawks shakes his head, the last one's containment cell was too small for Godzilla, maybe only big enough to fit its foot.

"Damn." Hawks was actually kind of looking forward to being in charge of guarding Godzilla. He's always been an avid fan of those cheesy monster movies. Now that he's actually living the life of being around them nightly, he's not sure what to think. His childhood self would be bursting with excitement at the very thought. Hawks decides to indulge his inner child and allows himself to be excited too.

After all, it beats working for a temp agency.

He scans his key card at the front door and it unlocks, he shivers against the cold air of the lobby and draws his jacket closer to himself. All the lights in the lobby are off and he pulls out his phone for his flashlight, making his way to the elevator.

When he steps out, Hawks is thankful that the basement level is warmer. Two voices float down a hallway where the time clock is at. He follows the voices and is met with Sajin and a female security officer. She stands a good foot shorter than Hawks but there's a strong air of authority that hangs around her. She tilts her head back and lets out a hearty laugh, it booms down the empty hallway.

"Hawks, this is your supervisor Usagiyama." Sajin greets him with a large smile, Usagiyama turns around and puffs out her chest.

"Good to meet 'cha. Call me Rumi though, I don't have time for all those pleasantries." Rumi waves a dismissive hand and Hawks smiles. Her red eyes are alight with friendliness, her long and shockingly white hair is pulled back into a tight bun with the guard cap resting on top of her head snugly.