IC Inbox

[feathersfly]

"Hey, you've reached Hawks! Guess I'm busy right now. Drop me a message and I'll get back to you."

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Text; You didn't ask for a novel just to get to the like one line text, but here we are.

[heir_conditioned]

[Agonizing over how to send a message to the number two hero in your world, even if you're not in your own world, isn't something he thought he'd be doing. Mkay maybe trying to figure out how to open a conversation is first step.

Hi? No not hi. Well yes hi, but not just hi? Hello Hawks? Should he be that familiar? It's not his first name or anything. ...is it? No, no it can't be so saying 'Hello Hawks' wouldn't cause any issues would it? Why would it even if it was his first name? No wait his name is a secret... Alright he's overthinking this. But what a hidden name right in sight. As a first name Hero Name guy himself, that'd be cool.

Okay but. His father calls him Hawks, the literal Hero circuit calls him Hawks, Shoto can call him Hawks. He could always just say 'Hello'. No not just hello he had already been over that. Alright, default to maybe just pretending its one of his friends he's messaging.

Okay. That's one stress down. Kind of. Next is convincing himself he's right while his pokemon are watching him stare at his gear for the last twenty minutes, almost unmoving.

Just do it. It's not a big deal. If it's a big deal, Hawks will tell him... Right? Right. Totally. Maybe he's busy.

Then again this is a text message so if he's busy he can message back later. ...What if he's busy because he's doing something dangerous and forgot to put his gear on DND? No that's a rookie mistake. What was that? 20 minutes after the other 20 minutes? That's right.

After a small touch his arm by his Meowstic, he takes a big breath and lets it out. This is stupid. After a few moments of plucking his thumbs at the gear, he locks it in. The exact, perfect message.

Now if only all that inner turmoil would do anything on the external aside his normal look.]

Good evening, Hawks. Are you busy?

[feathersfly]

[The reply takes about fifteen minutes to arrive(or even be read), which is probably enough for Shouto to question every single word choice and age several lifetimes. But then, finally, the reply comes.]

hey shouto! i'm not busy anymore. had to have a whole discussion with pebbles about why a pokémon that weighs about as much as a small car doesn't get to use hotel beds.

what's up?

[heir_conditioned]

[Maybe, just maybe, he should've signed his na-- no nono. That can't be it, the user name is literally his name. ...Then again that's kind of presumpt-- No Hawks would know his name or he wouldn't... have used it in that alleyway.

Damn it but if he sends another text it's going to see--

A little too quickly, Shoto picks up his gear and reads the message. Okay, good. ...Except maybe not good. Now what?]

I don't remember your mention of Pebbles but I think that would be best.

[Great, good. Yep. Sure. Tell Hawks what you think's best, Shoto. Quickly otherwise he continues to type away.]

I'm sure you know that Uraraka, a classmate of mine, is taking care of Eri and we're going to send something for her to help with the burden.

[Don't look at him he accidentally spelled it birdin twice. Thankfully? Backspaced.]

I didn't think it would be proper to not ask you, too, if you wanted to join in.

[feathersfly]

ah, sorry, that's because i never mentioned it before. i adopted a type: null while i was in saffron awhile back. heard there were these man-made pokémon who've lost their trainers and just need a quiet life. and, well, carrying my only-birds team aesthetic can only go so far.

only problem is, they come with these weird...glitches, i guess you'd call it? and pebbles' seems to be that it weighs way more than it should. i've already had to pay to replace one sofa.

uravity, though? yeah, we talked about her taking care of eri. she swore she had a handle on it, but i haven't been thrilled letting her shoulder the whole thing by herself. a teenager still in school shouldn't have to raise a kid. not that i'm really able to offer any better solutions...especially since it sounds like eri's more comfortable with you kids she already knows than she would be with some adult stranger.

i've been thinking now that i'm starting to get some gym winnings that i might start sending her a little cash to help defray costs. what were you guys thinking of sending her?

[For all Shouto's awkwardness, Hawks is speaking to him as casually and frankly as an equal. But then Hawks has always been on the informal side, not standing on rank or ceremony...and in most cases, especially with his own young age, he's able to see the provisional heroes as, well, fellow heroes rather than kids. It's only in certain situations and circumstances - like Uravity having to be a surrogate mother of sorts to a young girl, or Deku's being hurt - where he forcibly recalls that, whatever their trajectories or ambitions, they are kids still.]

[heir_conditioned]

[It's definitely his own problem. Hawks has been pretty casual indeed and it's put him at a lot of ease that he can just talk to him without the possibility of having to tiptoe. He's still a little nervous, but at least it's not coming through.]

They sound challenging, but I think that's the best part of living with pokemon. Did you get to pick which glitch you undertook?

Yes, Uravity. If anyone does have a handle on it, it would be her. I have the utmost confidence in her when she puts her mind to something. The problem is that I agree and while I know she will iron out any lumps I would rather her not have to take it on alone. I met up with her recently and she seemed to be doing well, but I'm staying on this continent until I beat all the gyms.

[Look at Hawks. Shoto had a feeling and almost already a feeling that he was already on top of all of this. At least he isn't insulted by the idea of being contacted by Shoto to ask.]

That's very generous and congratulations on your wins. Sending her money would insult her from us I think. She might take it from you. We had planned toys for Eri, things for both their pokemon. I'm around Ecruteak city so I'm going to see if there's any TMs around here that could benefit their teams. Once we have it together I believe Kirishima— Red Riot— will be sending his pokemon so I can take it the rest of the way to her.

[feathersfly]

nah, i didn't even get to pick which type: null i got. but i don't mind. the point was to give one a good life, not to please myself. they're kind of...designer pokémon, made to people's specifications. and then these ones wound up abandoned, one way or another, by the people they were made for. i think they need people who'll take and want them for being exactly what they are, not for being exactly what their trainer is already looking for.

[Gosh, Hawks, it's almost like you have some strong feelings on this subject - ]

i wouldn't call it generous so much as reasonable. she's taken on some extra expenses, and frankly if she hadn't, someone else would have had to, right? it's only fair to help her out with those expenses. especially with me. don't know if my current lifestyle is meant for a little kid, and eri knows you guys better than me, so it's just as well uravity took on eri. but as the only adult from our world here, i can't help but feel like it should've been me taking charge. since i can't do that, i can at least do this.

anyway, sounds like your care package is a nice idea! not too related to her caring for eri, but maybe that's the point? if she wouldn't take money from you guys, maybe a gift that was too on the nose about what it's doing would be an insult, too. she did seem pretty insistent she could manage on her own when i talked to her.

[heir_conditioned]

I still think it's nice of you to do. It must not be easy, but anything worth doing usually isn't. Especially when it sounds like Pebbles needed a better companion than a shelter.

[He continues to read, agreeing entirely that she's taken on something extra and none of them would've been able to. Todoroki could handle kids in small doses and he learned techniques from remedial classes but... Taking care of someone on that kind of level, he's sure Ochako is doing great but he couldn't have.]

You're right. You're an adult, but you're not the only adult. Maybe the only one from our world, but we're not alone here either. I think if you speak to her about it in the same terms you've used with me here, she will understand at least better than if it came from us.

I'm sure she can and would manage, but I can't sit idly by. I'm doing fine on my own and have very little of an expense past a few of my pokemon who have requests. [Read as are spoiled little bastards.] We have some things that I'm sure Eri will share and I think Kirishima is writing a letter to that effect. She'll be unhappy with us but she'll get the point, Uraraka I mean. All of us, including you, I'm sure will figure it out. I'm also certain your help will be invaluable in general.

[Let him hero worship a bit okay? Okay.]

[feathersfly]

it's not as hard as it sounds, thankfully. i'm just glad pebbles doesn't want to be a lap pokémon, or i'd be in trouble.

i guess being the only adult from our world here just makes me feel like i oughta be taking on more responsibility for you kids than i am. but at the same time, you're all licensed provisional heroes, aren't you? well, except for eri, obviously. it'd be condescending to treat you all as helpless kids when you're not. plus this world's not all that dangerous most of the time. so i do feel like i have some kind of obligation to you guys, but damned if i know what it is i should be doing to fulfill that obligation. it's a weird situation with no real precedent.

the best i can figure is to be available if you guys need me, for whatever you might need me for.

glad you think my help will be useful, though! even though it sounds like you've got no more idea what form that help could take than i do.

[heir_conditioned]

You could call it weight training.

I hope it's alright to be blunt, Hawks. You're right. We're proficient fighters and UA has trained us well. Being here and willing to help us is more than enough, someone who cares is invaluable. Having my friends here when I first got here was good, but I was glad we had a pro hero too. Just like I know having you check up on Uraraka will be incredibly helpful.

[There's indication he's typing, and deleting it by the disappearance, and typing then deleting, before just sending the damn thing.]

There are times I feel insecure without my quirk. I know I could call on my pokemon to help. Or Bakugo, or Kirishima, or Midoriya, even Uraraka. Having someone as dedicated as you are is a comfort in itself that I don't ever think it'd get to that point. Knowing you, you'd already know if there was any danger we had to look out for.

[feathersfly]

i could, if i was capable of lifting weights with my lap.

and hey, you probably saw me on tv during the ranking ceremony awhile back, right? with your dad? i think it's safe to say that i'm a blunt kind of guy myself. i can take it just as well as i dish it out.

but yeah, i'm guessing we all feel a little naked here without our quirks. i don't think it's pulling back the curtain too much to say that i've never had to be a hero without my wings before this, so i can only hope to live up that faith you've got in me. i do have skills that aren't tied to those wings of mine, though, and i'll use all of them as best i can to keep an ear to the ground.

It's 220lbs. Take that hackerman.

[heir_conditioned]

[Okay yeah that was dumb. Super dumb. It's fine, it's fiiiiine. Thankfully, Hawks wants to remind him that he has a father. That's a nice way to kill any worry he has and make him focus on something else.]

I saw you in the ranking ceremony with other heroes, yes.

At the expense of sounding like I'm going to ask for your autograph and home address next, it's not just your wings and speed that made you a hero. I'd be surprised if you let us down.

[feathersfly]

[Hmm. Hawks is an observant guy, and it's almost impossible to miss Shouto's side-stepping of acknowledging the mention of his father. Hawks won't pry - family matters can be quite private, after all, especially with Japanese families, and Hawks himself has no room to talk in that area - but he'll take a cue from that, at least. Shouto doesn't want to talk about Endeavor, for whatever reason. Hawks can oblige him in that.]

hah, didn't i already give you my autograph? although you're welcome to another one if you want it. but relax, there's nothing weird about that. if anything, i'm touched by your confidence in me! gonna have to live up to that.

and trust me, hero to hero? you could never be as weird as my weirdest fans. you'll learn once you go pro. handsome guys like us attract some wacky attention sometimes. although it only really gets noticeable in the higher rankings - more visibility means more fans, which means a bigger lunatic fringe.

[heir_conditioned]

[Shoto isn't subtle in some ways, even when he's trying to be, regarding Enji Todoroki. He's also thankful to see that the conversation isn't swerving back to his father, too.

Oh. Okay, that's a really cool offer.]

Having it here would be nice, too. My Sinistea enjoys collecting things and I think that would be great for his and my joint collection. I have no doubt in your capabilities. If I did, I wouldn't contact you.

[But no give him a second again. HERO TO HERO? HANDSOME? That one's definitely just for show, but he'll take it. In fact, Shoto will take that hero to hero compliment and let it bowl him over while he's being otherwise as relaxed as he can about it.]

I think that's a challenge I won't try to meet, being the weirdest fan. Even still, I'm sure that they're mostly harmless. If not, then there is appropriate ways to de-escalate most situations.

[feathersfly]

then i'll make sure to give you two, so you guys don't have to share. [Old PR habits die hard, and it's hard for Hawks not to use his most ingratiating persona here. He supposes it's not really fake, per se - doing something as simple as giving a couple autographs to a kid he likes, who's obviously a fan of his, is an easy way to make someone happy, and he's happy to do it. He just can't shut off the part of him that was trained to present a positive hero image to the world, so he feels faintly phony somehow. Sometimes it's hard for him to tell his personal feelings apart from his programming, and he hates the blurred lines.

Also, that line about Shouto being handsome was simply a model - and a man well-educated in the area of public images - recognizing someone who's got the makings of a teen idol when he sees one. He's sure Shouto probably has fans of his looks already, especially with all the publicity he got at the sports festival.]

considering we're trained to handle villains, any hero worth their salt is going to be able to handle even the weirdest of fans. even the worst of them can't be more dangerous than our normal line of work, after all.

[heir_conditioned]

[Normally Hojicha and Shoto share most things, but there's no way someone here or anywhere should be stupid enough to say no on that matter.]

Thank you, I know you must be a busy person here still as well and it's appreciated.

Hopefully neither of those things ever cross one another. It was enough that someone tried to use my brother to get to my father. I can't imagine a fanatic that isn't just out to cause mayhem.

[feathersfly]

hey, it's not like two autographs are going to take me any kind of time at all. just make sure to pick something good for me to sign!

i wouldn't worry too much about that. someone who's overly idolizing heroes is rarely going to be heavily into the villain line of work, after all.