Chapter Text
Jin Bubaigawara, a 31 year old man with the Quirk Double.
A life of mistakes and stumbles, lonely but never truly alone.
Wishing to have someone to trust who trusts him back, and who trusts you better than yourself.
But a man who only goes further down the rail, piling mistakes and weights on his own back, can no longer trust himself in the end.
“I see, watching yourself kill other yous made you go crazy… So, what’s that on your head? Are you hyperventilating?” Giran leaned back in the red cushioned seat, looking over at Jin across the small dark brown table.
He was wearing a trashed paper bag over his head, an old black jacket and white shirt underneath.
“If I’m not wrapped up, I’ll split apart. No, I won’t!” Jin said, two different voices and opinions. Giran raised just slightly his eyebrows at his response, but no other reactions, just a simply;
“Oh, I see.”
Jin held his hands together as he continued, his voice muffled by the covering bag. “The clones I make will disappear after receiving a certain amount of damage. Let’s see… Like the equivalent of a broken bone in an adult male.”
A small pause.
“I’m worried. Don’t worry.” His second voice immediately disagreed in a heartily voice as he put his hands over his heart. Giran leans forward in his seat, he’s intrigued by this man, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. His elbows on the table and a Natural American Spirit cig in his hand.
“Stealing and robbing with all your selves, you made it onto the national wanted list,” Giran points the cig at Jin, “depending on how you use it, it’s a Quirk that could take down the country. For a guy like that to be down-and-out…” He lets the word fade as he lights the cigarette and puts it to his lips.
“What should a guy at the end of his rope do?” Jin leans forward and the bag rustles silently. A hint of desperation in his voice, for answers, for help.
Giran smiles as he inhales the smoke. “Be trusted.”
“By who?” Jin leans more forward, almost getting pulled towards him by just his words.
Giran blows out the smoke, tipping the cig to the side. “By comrades.”
Jin moves slightly back, silence from him.
“Lately, there’s been an energetic group,” Giran offers the box of cigs towards Jin, “they’d definitely need a guy like you.” Jin reaches and takes one from the box, his demeanor showing how intently he is listening.
“Don’t worry. There are more people like you than you think.” He couldn’t help to let his mind wander and think about how a Quirk like Jin’s would be extremely useful, but Giran found himself interested in Jin himself. Giran was fascinated by how much his words seemed to affect him, and how he sat in silence now thinking.
“I need to think about it. Already decided!” Jin responds, his other lighter voice seemingly annoyed. Giran leaned back and put the box on the table.
“Of course. Take your time, I’ll be here when you have decided.”
“Yeah,” Jin stood up from his seat, the bag rustling quietly, “thanks for listening to me Giran.”
He smiled, looking up at Jin. “Any time Bubaigawara, any time. Take care of yourself now until then.”
Jin put his hands in his pockets as he climbed the stairs out from the underground club, reaching the top and walking out onto the quiet night streets. Lampposts flickering here and there.
He didn’t know if he should take Giran’s offer or not, would it be yet another mistake or a stumble? We’re already too deep down, what is another misstep?
“Shut up.” Jin mutters, tensing his jaw under the bag. You know I’m right.
It was too quiet out here. He needed distractions. Jin couldn’t breathe, throwing off the suffocating bag from his head on the ground, stomping over it as he kept walking.
He lets his eyes wander over the empty street and spot an open place, a bar in an alley. Sounds and lights are coming from there.
The night guard asks no questions as Jin steps inside. He takes a second to gaze over the packed space with people. Drinks, people laughing, talking loudly, some even dancing to the music. The room is lit up dimly and in a red-brown light. Faces and people everywhere, and yet it wasn’t entirely full.
Maybe he would be able to sit in peace from his own brain.
He makes his way through the people to a more open space in the back, sitting down on an empty square table kicking up his legs on the other black leathered seat.
There was no temptation to drink tonight, but he still orders something as a waiter walks by and leaves to prepare his order. He bored watches the crowd, having nothing else to do, with eyes he had been told so many times was creepy or scary. They aren’t wrong.
Should he take Giran’s offer? He had nothing now, his clothes he wore were stolen and his place was just an abandoned apartment. It could be taken away at any moment. Giran had said there were people like him. People who were also insane and thrown away like him. Criminals. I doubt that. If he was honest, then maybe he would be able to make friends.
Others that could accept him and everything wrong and broken. He’s lying! We’ll never be seen as human! Would it hurt to try?!
Jin put down his feet from the seat, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees, rubbing his hair from the growing headache. Was it still possible to find people like him? He doesn’t look up as the waiter puts down his beverage and leaves.
Jin had nothing to lose anymore, there was no one or nothing that could turn out worse at his point of life now. He had reached rock bottom.
“I’ll take his offer.” He mutters silently to himself.
“No I don’t want to!”
“Can you shut up for five seconds?”
“Hey, hey! I don’t want to, never! Shut up! Just shut up!” He needed a cig, something.
In his pocket he felt the one Giran had offered and got up, stumbling through the crowd with his hand pressed tight against his forehead as he pushed open the door into the alley to the cold night air. The texture of his scar is rough under his palm.
His hands tremble as he tries to light the cig, dropping it in a small puddle. His hand betrayed him.
“Hell I needed that! Wonderful! You need nothing!” Jin crouches down against the building walls, gripping his hair. His head hurts more than before. “I’m still me.. Stop.. Keep going! I’m going to split..! This is bad-! This is good! Shut up! My head!”
Ten minutes earlier
Hawks sat at a table in the loud bar, sipping on his drink, occasionally laughing at something the ones around him said. A good time, that was what he had come for, or more for a moment where he didn’t have to work or think too much.
His smile fades slightly as he spots a new person walking into the bar, making his way through the crowd to a table at the back. The man was blonde, a scar splitting his forehead. More details were difficult to see from Hawks' position.
Something in the back of his head rang a bell. Did he recognize the man?
Hawks couldn’t help but silently study the blonde as the man switched his sit position. Was he talking to himself? He had definitely seen this man from somewhere but he couldn’t pinpoint it. All Hawks knew was that he suspected he was a villain, or criminal.
The man suddenly gets up and makes his way out again on unsteady steps this time. Hawks raise his eyebrows, excusing himself quickly as he discreetly follows the man. He stopped his steps at the door as the man’s voice had reached him, it sounded like he was talking with someone else.
Quietly he watches the man through the gap between the door and wall and realizes he isn’t talking to anyone, only to himself with two different voices. He is in clear distress and Hawks feel his surprise only increase as the man crouches to the ground, telling himself how he’ll split. Hawks doesn’t know what to feel about this man, but the sight of him being in such panic makes him want to help.
He listens a few more seconds to the man’s rambling, understanding that something about being wrapped up and covered will help him.
With one of his feathers he makes two holes in the beanie he wore, before approaching the man.
The man doesn’t notice him as he crouches down in front of him and drags the beanie over his hair and head, the holes there for him to still see something. Hawks smile as the man looks completely baffled at him, small tears in his eyes from the panic session.
“Is that better? Sorry for eavesdropping on you but I heard you say you need to be wrapped up.”
The man’s eyes darted to the wings behind Hawks before looking back at his eyes.
“T-thanks, go to hell! You’re Hawks right? Scumbag!”
It was difficult to not be distracted by the ‘other voice’ the man had, but he nodded. He wondered if even wrapping him up had helped.
“Yeah I am Hawks. Are you okay now?”
The man gives a thumbs up. “Much better. Never felt worse.”
Hawks guess the man’s first voice is the accurate one and can’t help but laugh small at his thumb up.
“Good to hear, here let me help you up.” He says as he stands up and holds out his hand for the man.
At first the blonde hesitates before he takes Hawks hand and gets up on his feet again.
“What’s your name?” Hawks asks as he puts his hands in his pockets, his wings folding a little behind him. Will he get his suspicions right or was he just paranoid? The man looks at him silently for a split second. His eyes are gray-blue and sunken.
“Twice. My name is Twice.”
“Oh? Then, nice to meet you Twice.” Hawks says with a smile on his lips. The man was avoiding telling him his real one. Why? Did he have something to hide?
“How did you end up here? Did something happen before this?” He asks, trying to get more context from him.
Twice sighs and cross his arms over his chest in a thinking position. “I tried to decide on an offer I got, about joining a group or something. And for now, I have nothing to lose if I take it or not. I won’t tell you anything more.”
Hawks felt a spike of unease in his gut. It could be any group, he wasn’t even sure yet if Twice was a villain or not. But all of the different coincidences felt too good to not be alarming.
“Ah I see.” Hawks fall silent for a short moment. “Why do you want to join it? Any specific reason?”
“Because he said there were others like me there.” Twice answers simply, with a light voice. Someone told him that, which meant there was a middle hand or a broker in this whole mess. Hawks felt how his suspicions just grew stronger.
“But hey, Hawks, why did a hero help me?” He asks, his eyes studying Hawks and his wings through the holes of the beanie. Even if he didn’t wear his hero suit it was difficult to not recognise him, which Twice had done at the very first glance.
He raises one eyebrow with a small smile. “Why wouldn’t I? Is there a reason not to or something?”
It could have been just a part of Twice’s split personality but he can almost swear he looks like he caught himself saying something he shouldn’t have done.
“No, not at all. Yes there is. Just not used to seeing heroes in real time.” He waves with his hand as if to brush away the earlier words.
Hawks chuckle quietly and nod. How will he be able to slow down the man to not join whatever group this was? He had earlier answered ‘others like him’, which could either mean people with a screw loose or criminals. Probably both.
“Good to hear. Twice, I have to go now, but what do you say about meeting up here again tomorrow? For a drink and just talk?”
He blinks once, looking at him like Hawks had said something insane. But he quickly perks up.
“Sure. Like I would hang out with someone like you!”
Hawks friendly pat his shoulder with a smile, his wings spreading out ready to fly. “See you tomorrow then Twice. Take care of yourself until then.”
His wings catch the wind and he turns around and leaves, taking off from the ground, doing a small salute-like gesture as a goodbye before leaving Twice and the city level.
High up above the roofs he gazed down quickly at where he had just been. The red wings slowly moved behind him to keep him floating.
Twice. An interesting man. A potential threat but he had too little information for now. He had to get back to his Hero agency to get someone to keep an extra eye on the man, just to make sure nothing bad happened while Hawks wasn’t there. For some reason he had no intention to alarm or tell the safety commission, yet. They could probably check who Twice was and everything evolving around him in a second, but Hawks didn’t want that.
Not now. He feared more harm than help would come from that.
He reaches his agency building and lands quietly. There are few working at this time, the corridors are mostly empty as Hawks walk down to his co workers office, or supporter’s office. The walls are gray white and empty from decorations except a few plants. He had never really been the one to think too much about design.
He get to the right office and sees the lights are still on and faintly lighting up the ground. Hawks peeks into the room with a smile. He spots her sitting in her office chair with her head resting on her chin, closed eyes. Her big hair is on end as always.
“Still awake Inaka?”
She almost jumps in the seat as her eyes flung open and she spots him almost directly.
“Hawks! You almost gave me a heart attack! I thought you had gone home?” She exclaims and looks at him with a confused look, straightening herself a little.
He laughs shortly and shakes his head as he walks further into the room and leans against her desk. “I was. But I found someone interesting on the way, and I need a favor from you. Could you do that for me?”
She sighs as she pinch the bridge of her nose. “Slow down now. Who is this person, and what favor are you asking from me? And how come you want surveillance over them?”
“His name is Twice, or that is what he calls himself. And I need you to keep an eye on him, but without telling anyone else you are doing it.”
Inaka raises an eyebrow.
“Is he a villain or criminal? You know it’s illegal to do that if he’s not?”
Hawks nod, a small smile on his lips. “I don’t know if he is a villain or not, yet. That is why I need you to do it, since I have no evidence right now. But my gut is telling me you need to do this.”
He can see how she almost refuses him, that doubting look in her eyes.
“Fine. But this is entirely your responsibility. But I need something to go on, and I have nothing-”
“Here, I got one of his hair strands. And the address I recently met him at.” Hawks says, holding his hand out to her with a thin blonde hair strand. She takes it muttering as he scribbles down the address on a notebook.
“I’ll head home now Inaka. I’ll trust you with this.” Hawks say already out the door.
He can hear her sigh again from inside the office. “I’ll do my best. Have a good night Hawks.”