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“Please take them, I- I can’t protect them from him anymore. He wants Keigo to, to-” the sobbing woman held her two children against her. Her swaddled child against the chest, and the eldest, young about 6, held her hand. “his friends want him- I – without him here I can’t protect them anymore. They’ll kill me if you don’t take him.”
“We can take the elder, we are not equipped to look after a baby. You can contact us after his quirk comes in. We don’t want to waste resources on a child who might develop a useless quirk.”
The baby squirmed in the women’s grasp. Large green wings, which had been intertwined with the swaddling blanket, unfurlled. A sharp, birdlike, cry fell from the baby as his wings unfurled fully from his back. Beating softly against his mother’s chest, a soft wind and fog swirling around the child as Keigo took the baby, calming him down with soft cooing. Going back to sleep his wings draped over his brothers shoulder, large talons gripping his shirt.
His sharp, golden eyes stare heavily at the three people who wore dark suits. A voice that seemed far too old came out of the 6-year-old child.
“He has a quirk. Like me and Daddy.”
“Yes that’s does seem to be a problem.”
(X)
He woke to the cold comfort of the cold concrete floor, he had passed out, again. The rumbling of his stomach told him he was hungry, and the dryness of his mouth told him they didn’t care. Waking up took only a few moments as the dull pain, that he had grown to know in the time he was in the pit, started to creep in.
His wings were heavy than normal, laying in the dusty room they were laying awkwardly against his back and the floor, harnessed so that there was no free movement available to Izuku. Trying to move them now, to try to relieve the strain on the delicate ligaments and bones where it was held against his body, too tight for them to move freely, but loose enough that they are not damaging them permanently, even as he felt that nothing was broken Izuku had to take a few moments to breath through the pain that shot through them.
Laying on his side, he straightened out as he checked his body for any other outstanding injuries, and deciding that everything was in order he rolled fully onto his back awkwardly minding his wings as he sat up. Feeling rather light-headed when he attempted to sit up, the lack of sustenance and exhaustion from training overbalancing him with his wings already tied up, he fell back down again and he landed on his wings.
He had to lay still for a few seconds, again even the smallest movements sent bolts of pain down his back and he had to gather his wits for the lingering pain and slowly, slowly sit up again. Checking once more to see if he had damaged them. As they slowly widened in the small amount of movement the leather braces allow. The small movements, while relieving some of the strain on his back muscle, hurt. But not enough for anything to be broken.
Reaching around, wincing at the movements as his bruises strained, he tried to tug at the straps. A low squawk escaped his mouth when he pulled a couple of his feathers out that had been stuck to the blood coating the leather.
(X)
“Again Legion, get up.”
The soft noise of his struggling to move echoed in the small gymnasium. Normally his wings would help him up, but they had decided to practice evasion tactics and how to fight quirkless. The leather was well worn and smooth, it wasn’t new, but it was starting to get small.
His wings were growing at a rate that the commission said was greater than Keigo’s. It made sense, his wings and talons were more similar to that of an eagle, whereas Keigo’s were Hawk-like. He was strong whereas Keigo was speedy. His training was much more focused on the body and being pushed to his limit, and beyond.
And that showed in the fact that he just couldn’t stand up after his trainer had knocked him down. He could feel the bruise swell on his cheekbone, any movement of his face sent shooting pains along his cheek and into the pounding headache at the back of his skull.
“Legion, stand now or face punishment.”
It was impossible, his body was lead and his mind was mud. He was Icarus watching his fall. The sun was such a distant figure, but always there.
(X)
After a few more tries at tugging at the straps he gave up and sat, legs spread on the floor, in defeat.
Reaching up to instead rub at the bruises on his head, wondering exactly how long it had been. Keigo would have known, he was much better at that than him. Izuku never knew how long these punishments were, where days could feel like hours and minutes could feel like an eternity. Keigo was always better than him at this sort of thing. Information gathering and espionage, as the commission called it. They had said that Izuku was good at analysing things, people and quirks, and left it at that.
Izuku just wanted to fly, and look at the cool quirks. He didn’t care about fighting. But that was what he was good at. The commission always said that was why he was physically trained so much because he was so strong he could have been a liability to himself and others. This was also the reason why they gave him so many physical punishments and Keigo didn’t.
They said he was more feral than his older brother since Eagles are much more dangerous. They obviously had never seen Keigo protecting his chicken wings from Izuku, he knew intimately the monster when he had done that. And also the Heimlich manoeuvre when he forced them down his mouth.
Bones included.
Stretching his arms up high, shaking in excursion because he had not properly slept or eaten in a while. He decided, after listening intently that no one was coming to feed or let him go, to take a nap.
Huffing into the dark, he turned around, twisting his body to lay on his front, sighing as some level of comfort was afforded as his wings just laid on his back. Shifting for a few moments in an attempt to nest, and deciding he was not going to get any more comfortable. Pillowing his head in his arms, the metal on his face made it hard to get comfortable, he tried to control his breathing and go to sleep.
Giving it up almost immediately as his muscles were screaming at him with the jelly feeling in his arms and legs. But he didn’t move, he didn’t want to lay on his wings and hurt them anymore, and since he would immediately fall on them if he slept on his side he didn’t want to risk it.
The small boy lay in the middle of the cold, dark, dirty room and could not do anything about it. He and Keigo had tried to leave once and Izuku shuddered, curling onto his side again, at the thought. They had talked about it once again, but they were too young to get anywhere effectively. Izuku didn’t understand why Keigo couldn’t just take care of him, but Keigo had always said that they both had to be older for it to work.
But Keigo was already old. He was 11 already and he was preparing to be a pro.
Izuku sighed, he just wanted to live with Keigo and be happy, and the commission was not allowing them to be happy. Izuku longed for his talons and for flight and for his flock, as his fingers curled in and out of fists hating the feeling of all the dirt on his body. Curling what he could of his wing around to his hands he stroked his flight feathers, brushing through them and cooing to himself in the way that Keigo sometimes does when they groom each other.
Keigo hadn’t had the opportunity to groom him for the week, and he was never very good at grooming his own wings. Especially as dirty as they were, and without the proper grooming supplies all he could do was paw through the bottom feathers. Blind as the hood covered his eyes.
The stretch as he tried to stroke through the higher feathers, pulled at all the bruises and muscles that shouldn’t have been moved. All the muscles that ached constantly. Izuku let out the pained noises as he stretched to his back, groaning and breathing harshly as his muscles screamed at him.
He stilled when his hand brushed against matted blood, the clotted blood pulled at his feathers whenever he moved. Hesitantly he continued taking it slowly when he reached the bloody spots. He hates having dirty wings, and they just never seem to be clean nowadays. He just knew they would be stained now, it was ages until his next moult and he knew his fluffy feathers would not be as soft after being in blood for so long.
Keigo always helped him groom his wings after days of training, picking out old or broken ones. But he wasn’t with Keigo right now, and he doesn’t know when he would see him. Hadn’t seen him in days, and his handler didn’t let him know when he would see him again when he was thrown into the pit.
He had collapsed in training, and he couldn’t get up again. They decided to teach him a lesson.
(X)
“Kei? Are you awake?” the four-year-old asked the dark of their bedroom heavy on both boys.
“Yeah chick, what's wrong, you should be asleep, you have training early in the morning.”
A small coo in agreement echoed through the room, surprising Keigo. He hadn’t heard any kind of bird type noise from his brother for so long that he had thought that the commission had trained it out of him. A small trill echoed through the room, and it took a moment to realise it came from him.
Izuku was too lost in thought to hear it, and Keigo indulged in another small little sound.
“Do we have a mother? Touya was telling me about them the other day, and I don’t think the handler is a mother. Touya said that they were supposed to love you and told me about Rei, they’re not just to look after you are they?”
Keigo didn’t know whether he wanted to hug Touya or punch him, he was thankful that Izuku had someone other than himself to talk to but the burnt kid was always pushing his nose into business not his own. “No Zu, she’s not our mother. We were taken from our real mother a couple of years ago. She had green hair, like yours, and she gave us up. I don’t even know if she’s still alive.”
Izuku cooed again, deep in thought and Keigo made a promise to himself to do whatever he could to keep his little chick making those noises, not to let them quell those. It was hard enough for him now to indulge his instinctual urges, and the only ones that the commission actively encouraged were wing grooming.
If he had to take punishment just so that Izuku would not quell a part of himself he would.
“What do you mean by taken? Handler said they saved us.”
(X)
The heavy muzzle that sat over his mouth wasn’t particularly large. But its purpose was to prevent him from opening his mouth, and with his bite force and jaw strength being large it is meant that it had to be reinforced. So while it wasn't big, it was heavy.
It was further meant to quell his noises by the cloth, that tasted like old training rooms and fish, that had been pushed into his mouth before he had been pushed into the room. The cloth was damp and tasted like the remnants of the food he had been given.
This, as well as the clamp-like contraption around his jaw, all prevented him from comforting himself, or Keigo, with those little screeching bird noises. One of the earliest memories of his handler was her smacks when he made those noises.
Keigo had always tried to encourage him to use them, in the dead of night they would wake each other up if they had a nightmare with them. They would be used to comfort the other after hard days of training. Keigo had always told him in front of their handler it was the only good thing from their father that the commission allowed, but Izuku didn't believe him. Keigo had told him about their father, even if he only believed him when the lights were out.
Something that they have been trying to train out of the both of them, they call it uncouth to act out their animal instincts.
(X)
Keigo had told Izuku of what he remembered of their father, the tall man with large dark wings and a glowing mouth. Told him of how he was forced into starting to help their father in jobs. Listening with his feathers here, picking the lock of a window there. Small things like that.
Told him of the low rumbling noises that he used to make when Keigo was small. The comforting purring in his chest. How he used to sling him over his shoulder and fly off with him. How much Izuku loved to just lie on his chest and sleep.
Their father was a villain, Keigo would say in front of the commission, then when they were in their nest later on he would tell Izuku how he was their father.
Izuku could not understand if Keigo truly believed him to be a villain if the photos they were shown of his crime scenes and his crimes made Keigo more stubborn in loving their father. He would tell Izuku how he did it for them, to keep them safe.
He wasn’t evil, he loved and he fought and he burned.
He was a villain, and he wanted his sons to be free like he was. He had met his youngest son only a number of times yet he loved him, loved his wings and his screeches in the middle of the night (even when both his oldest son and the mother complained) and he loved how, even as a baby, he could see himself in the boy.
Endeavour was a hero. A liberator, and helped the boys go from the oppression of a loving parent and the looming threat of his allies into the den of the commission.
(X)
The hood that smothered his hearing and eyesight was also draped over his head. It was dark and not that heavy, it smelled funny. The layers of smells in the fabric were rather complex, there was a small hint of Keigo in the fabric, and while Izuku knew it shouldn’t have been, it was comforting to the small boy.
Travelling over the material, Izuku could feel where the hood had been connected to the muzzle, how it was locked over his head. Suppressing his tears his hands travelled down from the material of the hood and held onto the feather on a cord for dear life.
Sadly, he was rather used to the thing, they used it to train both him and Keigo constantly. Wanting to be better and better, stronger and stronger. If Keigo fails one of the lessons, then it's harder for Izuku, or different to make it more effective. If Keigo says something that goes against their teaching (conditioning) then it was doubly ensured in Izuku.
If Keigo misbehaved, then it was not only him punished.
The only way he was alright with this was because Keigo was here, he was with him and tried to protect him as much as possible.
The worst thing were his wings, while not individual feathers like Keigo’s, he had something else from their mother wind control and the ability to create storms. His beautiful, fluffy wings, were currently strapped to his back through various means of leather straps and buckles. Wrapped up in the dark, dark pit.
Not only was he grounded, but he also couldn’t see the sky, he couldn’t feel the wind on his face. Nothing. He was trapped in the dark, with the promise of harder, and longer training sessions. To make up for his poor attempt last time, and for all the time he was in the pit. They had said that his defiance was evidence of more of him to give. That him asking for a break was anything more than just a child who needed some water.
Like Hawks, his codename was Legion. He had no choice but to become a hero.
He had no choice but to put up with the commissions training, well he had to if he ever wanted to see Keigo again. The same goes the other way. If either wanted the other to be near the other, then they had to behave.
And it wasn’t like the commission would send them away if they did separate them. No, they would just move on with their training, without the distraction of their family.
So here Izuku was. Trapped in the darkness. The only light coming from the outline of the door. And that was muted greatly by the material hood over his eyes.
He had been in the dark for several days now from what he could guess, and the muzzle, which they have to take off every mealtime, was really starting to hurt now. The feather that Keigo gave him, which he keeps on a necklace, was incessantly buzzing questionably. Worried and fearful Izuku could only hold it for comfort.
It heard much and since he had been muzzled it had heard nothing.
Izuku sighed and gripped the feather tighter, all he could do is wait.
Luckily the door opened not too long after Izuku had run out of tears. He had been dozing fitfully when the room had flooded with light, just visible through the hood.
“Legion. Come.”
(x)
He could feel the feather buzzing more and more, as he is getting closer to Keigo resulting in his feathers acting up in excitement. Yet the muzzle and hood were still on, as well as the straps over his wings. Whatever was going on was not going to be pretty.
Izuku wrung his hands in worry as the hand on his shoulder guided him down to wherever he was going. He was taken out of the dusty room, one arm under his shoulder as he was dragged out, and set down a corridor. She had yet to take his hood off and was going a windy and backtracking way, several lefts to make a square and then several rights. Izuku, who was tired and in pain, was lost.
She never slowed down for him, and often lifted him off of his feet to drag him next to her when his legs gave way. Jostling his wings several times when she grabbed the back of his shirt to lift him to standing, tongue clicking in her mouth.
They stopped suddenly and the feather around his neck stopped and Izuku swore he could hear a small relieved coo. Keigo was there, he minutely relaxed under the hand on his shoulder.
“Izu- Legion, Sir. What is going on?” The tick of mistake tickled on the back of Izuku’s mind. The frown in their handler's voice also let them know she was displeased with the mistake. The tightening hand on his shoulder immediately made Izuku tense up again.
“We need to talk, take thoes off of his head.” Izuku fliched when the hand on his shoulder lifted and other, rougher hands started to remove the hood. Blinking when the bright lights stabbed at his eyes as he looked toward Keigo.
And where the handler had gone to stand. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see other commission agents standing around him.
“Hawks, Legion, we have decided something. I hope that you accept this decision gracefully, as your futures as pro-heroes dictate.” Her voice was soft, an underlayer of steel underpinning her words. A voice of a scolding parent. She always used it when she wanted to manipulate the boys into seeing her as a paternal figure. The two brothers just kept on looking at each other, Keigo’s golden eyes shown with worry, matching Izuku’s perfectly in everything but shade.
“We have decided that Legion is to be taken to another facility. The distraction that each of you causes each other hinders your training to much.” Their heads snapped to hers in synchronization as the worry for the other was replaced by fear. Izuku felt his wings try to flutter under the straps and felt some of the scabs ripping at the movements.
“This will be a test, so depending on the results you might be able to go back together. If we find out you try to affect the results, if you don’t try as hard as you normally do, the consequences will be sever.” Keigo had stopped listening to her and was just tracking the blood dripping off of Izuku’s wings. But snapped to her when Izuku’s name was said, “Legion is coming with me know. Hawks, if you don’t stop this emotional display your brother will take the consequences. Legion come on.”
“Wait, wait, wait, please wait. Let me- us say goodbye. Please, please. I- He- its not healthy for you to just separate us like this. He is just 6.” his voice was rough and tearful, and Izuku could almost imagine how hard he was fighting to get to him, but he was just staring at his handler, recalling Keigo’s words from that dark night.
We were taken from out mother
He was chirping in irritation and fear. He didn’t want to be taken from Keigo like he was taken from his mother. He knew Keigo, he remembered Keigo. Keigo was everything. Hearing the struggling Keigo and the stern words of their handler.
“Hawks, enough. This is not becoming of a hero. Stop struggling.”
“Izuku! Izuku! Stop touching me you hateful bitch! THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED WITH TOUYA AND HES DEAD! LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO!.” There was a smack, and a thud and everything went silent. Izuku finally tore his head from the handler, resting on Keigo who was thrown on the floor hand on cheek and staring up at the women.
Who was staring at Izuku intently.
“Hold him down.”
There was a moment of silence before movement, and Izuku’s muscles bunched in preparation to launch himself to protect Keigo.
Izuku wasn’t expecting to be suddenly grabbed and held unmoving against the floor. Hands on his shoulders, easily holding him down, and knees digging into the flesh of his thighs. And one on his head, attempting to smush his face into the floor. It only meant the contraptions on his face to dig in even more.
“Take those things off of his wings and spread them out.” The air was cool on his face as a hand in his hair yanked his neck backwards, and the muzzle was yanked off. Catching Keigo’s eyes from where he lay on the other side of the corridor, he could see a bruise on his high cheekbone already forming, cheekbones that he said looked like their mothers. He looked tired and scared, small against the adult beside him.
He wasn’t old, he just 11.
Hands grabbing his wings, the leather staps having been taken off, were cold, and snapped his attention to the people holding them. Stretching them out. Some of the fluffy baby feathers that pack his wings have already been pulled off with the leather rubbing, but the aggravation of these people pulling and touching his wings was agony. Scrabbling at the floor underneath him, talons shorn off, he tried desperately to move.
He knew what was coming.
“Watch Hawks, this is your punishment, we have done everything for you and your brother and that was how you repay us, me? I thought you were taught manners, seems like the lesson didn’t stick.”
The quiet whimpers and coos from Keigo did not give Izuku any relief of his wings being free, as his now free head was again forced against the floor, he could only just see Keigo. Keigo who was being forced to watch a punishment that he could not stop.
Beating his wings against the people who held him down got the order from his handler to hold them down, their knees grinded the bones of his wings against the floor as his thrashing grew more insitant. Breathing getting faster and faster, he shut his eyes and stilled in preparation.
He wasn’t able to move anyway, his arms were trapped under his body, as how tight they had pulled his wings trapped them under him, and his legs were too weak to really do anything anyway.
The sound of Keigo stand up and take a few light footsteps in his direction made Izuku looks up at him. Meeting his eyes again Keigo tried to smile at him, tears blurred his eyes when he saw his handler lazily reaching forward and grabbing Keigo’s hair, pulling him back. A loud squark escaping his mouth as he was tugged back, his smaller body and lighter bones meaning he was very easily man-handled infront of the woman.
Izuku’s loud screech echoed through the corridor. His handler motioned to the people holding him and his head was further pushed into the ground.
“This means we will just have to focus on physical training instead of flight and quirk training, shame, maybe we could focus on that promising analysis that your brother is showing.” She looks down at Hawks, noticing the way his hands were covering his face as sobs wrack his body her hand still in his lovely golden locks as she pulled his head up slightly, looking down at him to check his eyes were open.
“Are you watching Hawks, do you understand why I am doing this? You owe us everything, and we own both of you. Don’t worry I’ll let you keep one of his feathers. Let’s start with the flight ones, this is after all a punishment for both of you.”
Breathing hard and in panic, Izuku started thrashing, he didn’t truly understand why it was a punishment for him. But against the fully grown, strong people holding him down, it was a pitiful sight. His instincts were going wild in panic, and he could not stop the screeches of panic coming through.
Keigo was being held in place, two hands on his shoulders preventing him from moving and only letting him hold his hand over his mouth to cover the sounds of his sobbing. But he had to watch, he had to watch otherwise it would be so much worse for Izuku. He felt his handler lean down as the first of Izuku’s feathers, still so young looking and fluffy, were torn out.
His brothers scream sent his knees shaking, and he felt the hands on his shoulders tighten when he let out an attempt of a comforting coo, it being interrupted by a loud sob. He felt her next to his ear, and say “You two will make such wonderful heroes one day, Hawks. You just need the discipline. You need your father beaten out of you. I see him in both of you, you know. Little Izuku here looks like him, I’m sure you can see the resembelence. And you, have his charisma, we just have to make sure you use it correctly.”
She sighed, letting them rip out a few more feathers. Increasing her grip on Keigo’s shoulder when he let out a particularly rough sob. Tucking away the mention of his father away for further thought, the commission never mentioned their parents, they couldn’t make Keigo forget but they could try and block the idea from even coming to Izuku. This meant something more. Something they were willing to separate the boys for.
But he couldn’t think about this just yet. Izuku was still being tortured.
“That’s enough I think the boys have learnt their lesson. Hawks pick a feather and let’s go. Change of plans, your brother will be staying here for the month, and you will be going to the other site, he needs the physical conditioning more then you do. I think we need to work more on your speed. Izuku,” the silence dragged as the young child drew himself to stand, his large wings drooping behind him, his wings spotty and featherless, panting as tears streamed down his face. “I will be back for you later. Get him to his room and take those clothes off him, get him ready for training. I will be back when I drop young Hawks off. Let’s go.”
Hawks, after the handler lifted her hands off his shoulders, scrambled forward. Ignoring the feathers he wrapped Izuku in a bone crushing hug, and just as quickly wiped his tears gave him a kiss on his hair line and grabbed one of the feathers from the floor, making sure that his feather was still on the young boy. The scowl of the handler was worth giving a little bit of comfort, as he kissed his cheek again.
The feeling of comfort didn’t last long, the moment Hawks was out of sight the rest of the workers ushered Izuku toward his room. While they were decidedly nicer then the handler, they would never be called kind.
(X)
It was decided that after a month of poor results and numerous punishments that while the boys would not be separated fully, and they would be allowed to see each other more then just once a month. They would have to focus on their own heroic careers, and since they had different strengths they would need their own space to work on them. They had weekends together, training, flying and nesting together, but during the week they were apart.
They had not mentioned their father again, but Keigo had managed to tell Izuku everything he remembered about the man. And while he wouldn’t understand, everything about what he thinks might be the reason why they had been separated.
The commission were very happy with how much work they were putting in, and how they seemed desperate to get the work done before the weekend was finished, the had learnt quickly that if the commission didn’t see the progress they hoped for in the week they would use the weekend for training.
Afterall Hawks was going to debut in only a few years, and after that Legion. They had to see what worked with Hawks’ training and what didn’t. And they needed both to be perfect for the commission, especially after some of the other failures the commission had seen.
By now they had noticed several lacking social skills in both of the boys, and the obvious shyness that seemed inherent in the younger. It was never too early to consider which high school a child should attend, and UA – while being run by a rat – was very good at pumping out the best and most well adjusted heros.
And maybe, just maybe, if they send Legion there he would dispose of that nastly rat problem.
The boys had not been informed of the break out of the villain with scaled wings and fire in his lungs. They had not been informed of why they had been moved around and trained and conditioned harder and harder. But they were clever little birds. They knew.