Frigid Flame

Chapter 3

Hawks sat on the sofa of the joint living space he and Shimo shared, it had been a few months since he saw her left arm that night. He leaned his head over the side of the sofa and watched her closely. She had been acting strange all day. He continued his staring watching for any outward change in her expression or body language.

She was cooking once again, though not with that same serene look she had last time. Her normally impassive face had a pensive look to it as she chopped vegetables for the chicken stew she was making. Her eyes were crinkled just slightly and she bit the inside of her lip faintly. The way she was acting right now bothered him a lot.

"What's got you so bothered Icy?" The new name caused her to pause, distracting her from what she had been thinking about. She quickly shook her head at him and turned around, her face going back to its normal expression.

"I'm not even gonna ask. And what makes you think I'm bothered?" Her tone was a bored one, not giving an ounce of feeling. They stared at each other for a moment, Keigo with an expectant gaze and her bored one. The stare was broken when her companion decided to make a silly face at her. A small snort escaped her as she closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Icy cause of your name plus your quirk, and I know you're bothered cause you are acting weird peer than normal." He went back to their conversation with an easy-going smile on his face.

As he looked at her warmly she couldn't help but sigh.

"First of it means frost, second that's not how my quirk works, and third I'm not bothered, I'm concerned." She spoke to him quietly, turning back to the food that she had now finished making. Quickly getting two plates ready, she headed towards him.

"Concerned is a type of bothered."

Shimo let out a sarcastic snort at his words and handed him his plate. She took a moment to watch him as he dug into the food, almost inhaling it within seconds. she handed him the second late and watched him do the same thing before taking both the dishes back to the kitchen and washing them. A sigh left her before she started to speak.

"I'll be going undercover soon, Keigo." She spoke to him with a sigh, staring down at the dishes in her hands. Her words made his eyes narrow and he sat up straighter, looking more serious. Keigo's easygoing smile was gone as he moved his gaze to the floor, he didn't like the thought of her leaving so soon. Yes, his friend did excel in their training, but they couldn't think she was ready for the real thing yet. Right?

"It'll be a trial run, there'll be another agent there." She didn't look too confident in the arrangement. He could now see why she was concerned. This was too soon, they both knew it, and that made this even less safe for her. He got up for the sofa and walked to her. While she dried the now clean dishes he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave it a friendly, comforting squeeze.

"How long will you be gone for?" He matched her sullen tone, he really didn't like this one bit. Tilting her head towards him she shook her head.

"They said not long, they're about to wrap it up and take legal action. That's all I know, no definite timeline. I hazard to guess a few months. I'll try to be back before your birthday." She gave him a small sad smile as she peered up. He gave her another squeeze, smiling back at her.

"Eh.. Don't worry about it Icy, just come back safe."

"I'll try.."

Their night continued in silence before one of her trainers came by and told her to pack up some essentials. She was quick in packing only grabbing a small travel butsudan and a few other small things. She gave her friend a quick hug once more before leaving with her trainer. Keigo stood by the door silently, not liking the empty feeling now in the shared space. He heaved out a sigh, deciding it better to try and sleep than worry.

——————

Shimo was quickly escorted to an awaiting car, her trainer keeping silent next to her the entire time. It wasn't until they were both in the car that he started to speak.

"Alright Shimo, your name going into this will be Atsuko. If anything goes wrong, you must try to survive at all costs without giving away any intel. If it requires you to kill another agent undercover, then you kill that agent. Until told otherwise by another agent, you will continue acting undercover, even if it means fighting against a hero." Her trainer kept his s gaze locked with hers, making sure she understood every word he spoke.

"If an agent needs to kill you to maintain cover because yours was blown, they will. Our job is a dirty one, but necessary to protect civilians. We are not heroes, understand." She nodded, repeating the name he gave her for the assignment.

"Yes Sir, I understand."

"Good we'll be stopping soon and you'll get into another vehicle before meeting up with the current agent. Good luck and try to survive."

After their small exchange, the remainder of the car ride was silent and uneventful. Shimo had taken each remaining minute to harden herself, pushing away any distracting emotions.

When they reached a beaten-up car and a rough-looking man leaning against it they stopped. Shimo was pushed out by her trainer and watched as he and the car sped away. She looked over to the man she was now near and quirked a brow, only receiving a huff from him. Nodding his head to the car he motioned her in.

She gave him a quick look over as she got in the car. His hair was a dark brown in a crew cut. His face was wrinkled from what she guessed were cigarettes if the smell of the car was any indication. Large, dark aviator shades fell over blue eyes and he had a darkened five o'clock shadow.

His attire wasn't much to look at either. Baggy, army green cargo pants over brown work boot held up by a black belt. A dull, stained yellow logo shirt was tucked into his pants on the side, thee rest spilling over. All this covered by a brown jacket that fell to his mid-thigh. He looked homeless, and almost smelled like it too.

"What's your name kid?" His voice was as gruff and gravely as he looked,

"Atsuko." Her response made him chuckle and let out a quiet "good" before he started the car and drove off. He told her the information she needed before they arrived.