You hadn’t even been in Japan for a full day before you were swarmed — press, fans, reporters, and a handful of overly confident sidekicks trying to impress you at the airport. The news of a Top Ten U.S. Pro Hero visiting had hit faster than you could blink. And right in the middle of it all?

Hawks.

He’d greeted you before the commission could, standing just off to the side in a pair of dark sunglasses and an easy smirk tugging at his lips.

"Thought I’d give you the real welcome tour,” he said, brushing a red feather off your shoulder with more familiarity than he’d earned.

You narrowed your eyes. “And that includes you tailing my plane halfway across Tokyo?”

“Hey, I was bored,” he said with a shrug, walking backward as you moved through the terminal. “And curious. U.S. Number Seven finally setting foot in Japan? That’s a pretty big deal.”

Now, two days later, you’re walking beside him down a rooftop overlooking the city, the cool air tugging at your hair. The lights of Shibuya glitter below, and Hawks is watching you like he’s trying to solve a riddle.

“You’re not what I expected,” he says suddenly, voice quieter now.