His Reasons (Todoroki X OC)

S5 Chapter 13

 Taking another swig of alcohol, Hawks lazily lowered his hand to the ground before using the other to cover his eyes. The events of the last night played in his mind for the hundredth time and the bird couldn't take it anymore. How long had it been since he laid down and how many bottles had he emptied now? These were questions that he didn't have the answer to.

He groaned as the sunlight began to peek through his windows, signaling that it was a new day, full of new regrets. Just great. What kind of horrible things would he have to do today in order to please the president?

The hero couldn't even close his eyes without that terrible image of Amari's betrayed expression in his mind. It seemed to be running on repeat now, tormenting him for the choices he had made.

A loud sound echoed to his left yet Hawks didn't even move, already knowing that the person on the other end of the line was the commission president looking for an explanation on why he had remained silent the entire night instead of updating her like he should've.

It looked bad to say the least but the hero was still in turmoil. He was ordered to kill All for One's creation, and if he told the president about his findings then Hawks already knew the results that would play out.

It had happened time and time again throughout his life. Whenever he was concerned about a certain aspect of a mission, she didn't care. He was sure it would be the same now as well.

In fact, she most likely wouldn't have any reservations about killing a child for the sake of the hero world. And quite honestly, he shouldn't either. That's what his training taught him, that's what should have happened. He had even seen her murder in front of him, that should have been reason enough to complete his orders.

But along the way, Hawks got attached. He saw firsthand the tragedy and pain that had fallen upon Amari's life, felt her trembling and shaking body underneath him as she cried, and that couldn't be ignored.

And that's why the hero was in turmoil, wanting nothing more than to end this cycle he had so willingly placed himself in.

The phone began to ring for the hundredth time and a moment of clarity snapped into the hero then. Shit, he had completely forgotten about the mission until now. She was going to be so pissed at him for this. Why hadn't he just picked up the phone the first time, it would've saved a lot of trouble.

Slumping over to the object, Hawks took a breath before finally answering the call, his voice still thick from the alcohol in his system. "Hey pres! Sorry for the delay, I couldn't find my phone anywhere. Seems I left it back at my agency so I just went to go get it. What's up?"

He knew it was a terrible lie, one that the president wouldn't be so quick to believe but somewhere he hoped she would just let it go this once. Too bad that's not what happened in the slightest. "Hawks, do you honestly expect me to believe that? I think you are forgetting who taught you how to lie, little boy."

The hero closed his eyes at that before giving a halfhearted chuckle, trying again except this time with a very thin layer of truth. "Alright you got me. I just decided to have a couple of drinks and the time slipped away from me. My bad."

She hummed in response, testing his words on her tongue before replying. "I see. Well, would you like to inform me on why you haven't given me your report yet? Last I heard you were going to meet Dabi and Bakugo to find out if she was indeed a traitor."

Cursing to himself immediately, the bird regretted telling her this information because now it placed Bakugo at that boy's murder. It would look suspicious. Come on Keigo, you have to lie better. At least until you figure out what to do about that girl.