The wind up here feels different.

Stronger. Sharper. Alive.

Hawks stands at the edge of the skyscraper like gravity is just a suggestion. Crimson feathers drift lazily around him, twitching with quiet awareness.

Below, traffic hums. Above, the sky stretches wide and reckless.

“Okay, interns,” Hawks says lightly, not even turning around. “Today’s lesson? Trust the wind. It’s smarter than you.”

Beside you, Fumikage Tokoyami adjusts his stance. His cloak ripples dramatically in the breeze.

Dark Shadow spills from behind him, stretching into the air like a living storm cloud.

“The wind is a fickle ally,” Tokoyami murmurs. “It bends to none.”

Hawks grins. “That’s why you don’t fight it. You read it.”

A feather flicks forward, hovering in the air between you and Tokoyami. It vibrates slightly.

“Pressure shift three blocks east,” Hawks continues casually. “Petty robbery turning into a hostage situation. Three perpetrators. One with a mobility quirk.”

His head tilts just enough for his golden eyes to catch yours.

“Your move.”

There’s no countdown.

No further instruction.

Just expectation.

Tokoyami steps forward, cloak snapping behind him. Dark Shadow coils tighter, more controlled than it used to be — less feral, more precise.

“I will take aerial obstruction,” he states.

Dark Shadow surges upward, expanding into wing-like extensions to stabilize him mid-leap.

The wind catches you next — sudden and exhilarating as you push off the rooftop. Air resistance tears at your clothes, but the city below sharpens into focus. Adrenaline burns clean in your veins.

Behind you, Hawks launches — but he doesn’t overtake.