Chapter Text
The funeral was loud. Mostly because of inconsolable Hawk's fans screamed and wept hysterically outside the graveyard fence, while police kept them away from coffin. They almost muffed hero’s friends and relatives, who tried to say their last Goodbye.
Momo was equally disgusted and horrified, looking at those grotesque faces of people, who lost their idol, but never really knew Takami-san.
They were ignorant to pain of the widow, who lost her beloved husband and eldest child on the same day. Ignorant to his friends, who didn’t even get a chance to mourn. Ignorant to real pain and suffering, to the fact, that after Villain League’s assault, both coffins should be buried closed. They more cared for new yearbook with Hawks which never coming out again.
Momo didn’t knew Hawks very well. She was guided by other heroes and, after her graduation from UA, all she heard about him was from News of his brilliant career as the number one pro-hero that he became after Endeavor’s retirement. Also there were Shoto’s tales of his family meetings and rare stock photos in newspapers – heroic family – Hawks and Dabi with children. But still, Momo only came to the funeral, because she was Shoto’s girlfriend. And his eldest sister Teruko was married to Hawks. Well, she was already his widow.
The mere thought of your husband and children going out to buy some pastry and then die a terrible death at hands of villains next hour, hunted her for three days already. All the time it took to prepare the funeral Momo thought only about herself in Takami’s widow shoes someday in the future.
And it was awful. The fleeting image of herself standing at Shoto’s coffin sent nervous tremble down her spine. She would cry. Sob at embrace of friends and family, begging him to come back, not to leave her. Momo knew herself, knew she would never be able to endure such pain.
And that is why she respected Teruko-san so much. The young woman stand tall, refusing to bend down under weight of her loss, looking like a statue in her strict mourning dress. By one hand she held her three-years-old daughter, who kept asking mother where the dad is. By other hand Teruko-san tried to cover her belly, already big enough to show – she was waiting.
Teruko-san was glorious in her calm, unyielding strength. Opposing to screaming and weeping crowd she was carrying her tragedy in silence. Wall of deafening grieve divided her from others, made her physically untouchable. Like nobody could lighten her load, replace what she lost. The only feature, standing out from her stoic appearance, was her eyes, red and pained.
Momo wasn’t going to cry. But, when she saw Teruko-san smiling at her daughter, shaken but full of hope and love, Momo couldn’t helped it, but felt tears ran down her cheeks.
***
The funeral was loud. And it filled Fuyumi with such rage.
When her sister asked her to arrange the funeral, Fuyumi agreed gleefully. Oh, of course she wasn’t happy about Keigo’s death, but Teruko asked her for help for the first time since her marriage and moved to live in a penthouse in the city center. By the way, she parted from her family very much after moving in with Hawks.
The funeral must be perfect. Because she, Fuyumi, was such a good sister, she couldn’t arrange imperfect funeral for her sister’s husband and her own beloved nephew. Well, of course she agreed to open the whole ceremony for press and fans, but only because it was necessary for image. Image must be perfect, no matter how hard it was. But still, all the noise made Fuyumi so mad.
All of this terrible and nightmarish events around Teruko upset Fuyumi so much. After all, Teruko, despite being eldest, always was so… fragile? Elder sister (not elder, really, only two years older than Fuyumi is) always overreacted over everything. You should have seen her almost burning herself , because father praised Shoto more than her!
And now Fuyumi saw it clear how utterly destroyed her sister was. Detached stare to nowhere with her eyes red, desperate attempt to come with stiff upper lip, hands shaking, nervously playing with some weird bracelet, Fuyumi never seen before. All people of the world could be left deceived, but Fuyumi knew how hard is it for Teruko.
Teruko always was naive. When Keigo only started hitting on her, she never understood his flirt, was mad at him for interrupting her work. And it was cute. They were overall cute couple. Sister followed her husband everywhere and quickly bore Fuyumi’s eldest nephew. Maedzaki was a beautiful child. Fuyumi admired babysitting him when Teruko and a husband visited her. Maedzaki looked exactly like his father, playful and loveable like a little angel with fluffy white wings. Fuyumi spoiled him rotten, because children are always as special as blooming flowers.
And it hasn’t changed even after Teruko bore her second child. Sadashi was born with thick black hair and whole family argued over who she is more like of – Keigo’s mother or Teruko’s grandma. Oh, if Fuyumi could choose the one who would go for pastry and suddenly meet the Villain League… Well, forget about it. Beggars can’t be choosers. The bright side is that at least two of three children are alive. That would keep Teruko from doing something unbelievably stupid.
Teruko is so lucky for having a family to support her. Of course she will have to move back from Hawk’s house. After all, who would help her, who would look after her baby, when time will come for delivery? Little Sadashi is obliviously not nearly as loud and boisterous, as her deceased brother was, but Fuyumi blamed it on absent of wings. One way or another, children need daycare. Teruko will definitely have no time to provide it. Her career won’t let her stay at home for long. And of course – dearest sister is here for help! Teruko must feel so lucky that Fuyumi has no children of her own.
Fuyumi wiped a single tear, as formal and ceremonious, as always.
***
The funeral was loud. Fans screamed and their screams painfully thrusted into Rumi’s ears. Every time when some overzealous individual screeched in a high tone, she flinched and nervously looked to her best friend, Teruko.
Gladly, Teruko didn’t pay any attention to them, only showing all of her tranquil fury in her stance. In the way she stood near the coffin, unmovable, only wind shook her short, newly cut hair and tightly held her daughter's hand. In the way she breathed calmly and oozing of tranquility. Last time she breathed that way, when her opponent, a villain, who took children from Sadashi’s daycare group hostage, was packed in his coffin as a jigsaw puzzle – limb by limb. What Rumi couldn’t understand is why completely nobody, even Teruko’s family can’t see how enraged she is.
Rumi and Teruko became friends back in the UA, since the entrance exam, when they momently decided to work as a duo. They were best of the friends, very close and trusted each other deeply. Rumi was sure – Teruko is happy with Keigo, although they married unexpected and quickly, surprisingly quickly. Everybody knows how opposites attract, and the third pregnancy only proved it right.
Teruko always was a furious one. She dashed into a fight to protect citizens, got backs of all team on operations, preferred to set a villains on fire, let them burn and then set on fire their ashes, not to stutter with «give up by the name of law». And, yes, now she already started a war.
Somewhere deep inside of her soul Teruko loved big and dramatic gestures, Rumi knew it. Sadly, pro heroine’s job, where every move you make is controlled by the protocol, didn’t give her any space for being dramatic. And, finally, Teruko got her chance.
The whole marketing department prayed on long flowing snow-white hair pro-heroine Dabi cared to grow. It was amazing chance to style them differently and sell the same basic doll twenty times in a row. Teruko put effort in her hair. Teruko told Rumi once, that she only grew them that long to please her boyfriend (and later husband).
Teruko wasn’t going to forgive Villain League for killing her man and child. What could show it better, then her wild, almost animalistic grimace, when she throve her hair on Keigo’s coffin, silently promising to avenge him? What could make in even clearer than her son’s favorite Endeavor plushy in his grave?
No and never, Teruko is not the one to give up and let her family lay in the ground unavenged.
Rumi only hoped that with help of colleagues she would convince Teruko to wait for the baby’s delivery. And than… Than no one will stop her on a path of rightful vengeance. And Rumi was going to help the way she could. Keigo was just a pal for her, just a colleague, but for her friend Rumi was ready to remember how ferocious and bold they were in their youth and then hunt members of League like some wild beasts.
Rough blow of wind made Rumi’s eyes dwell with tears.
***
The funeral was loud. For Kuguchi Rika this wasn’t the first funeral. After all, she was a professional journalist, covering the news of pro-heroes world. She took All-Might’s interview when he retired; she covered promotion and descending of Endeavor as a hero number one; she was the first to greet Hawks as the new Symbol of Peace. And now she was at his funeral.
No matter how much heroes Rika already «buried», she always felt uneasy. No, she wasn’t like those vultures waiting for feast. But still…
Hawks was a good hero and good Symbol of Peace. He was as open-hearted and kind as All-Might, as tough and persistent as Endeavor, as good as himself. Maybe that is why he was loved even more than his predecessors.
Dabi also was a good heroine. Bright and blazing, unstoppable but at the same time – caring wife and mother. She was one of those women, who would rush to help you, understanding how pained and troubled you are just by one glance of your desperate eyes.
Maybe, that is why everybody considered them a perfect couple. There wasn’t such other couple in pro-heroes world and it won’t be. Some channels and magazines already thought of bringing up Shoto and Creati as new prime-couple, but Rika was a professional, she knew too much about business. Oh no, Shoto is too dull and Creati is not bold enough, they won’t get close to Hawks and Dabi even in decade.
Rika worked with heroes for years and she knew – they never were gods, they were only people. Fans in front of cemetery gate mourned Hawks, but woman at the grave mourned her man. Who could understand her pain? Who could understand pain of mother, who lost a child?
Rika was neither religious nor superstitious. Bad things always could happen and they always do. And always to people, who never deserved it. It wasn’t a question of will or will not. It was a question of can you endure it. Hawk’s and his son funeral was the brightest example of it.
But, if there is at least a tiny bit of justice left, Rika would like to believe, that this justice must be given to Dabi. If Fortune existed, it must have chosen Dabi and her unborn baby, because the fact, that heroine avoided a miscarriage, despite all of stress was nothing less than a miracle.
Rika’s legs were already sore, luckily funeral was going to be over. Dabi looked and graves of her husband and son, and then, slowly, almost sleepy, led her daughter to the taxi, which came out of nowhere. It was very thoughtful action. Now it would be impossible for Dabi to get through the crowd of fans by herself.
Actually, that could have been an amazing shot for her article, but still, Rika also was only a person. Watching how the driver (young and perky blonde woman) neatly opened back door for the widow and helping her daughter get in right after her mother; Rika suddenly felt something dripped on her hand.
It was sunny, despite of the wind. Rika wiped her sudden tears sheepishly.
***
The funeral was loud. TV transition was also loud, even thouth an old TV box in the room barely wishpered. Ogawa Kay was disgusted. She knew Takami family since they moved into this house, where she has been working as a conserje for more than twenty years.
They were such a cute family. And always acted so nice, she didn't even realize that both Keigo-san and Teruko-san are pro-heroes, at the first place. Maedzaki was a little monkey, Sadashi was a cute mama's girl. How happy they were, when Teruko-san got pregnant again! Those little brats argued all the time about will it be a boy or a girl!
That day, when Keigo-san and little Maedzaki went out to buy «mama's favourite buns», the old lady ruffled boys' hair (even if Keigo-san had to bent down for her) and praised them for caring for Teruko-san deeply. She waved at them, coming out of building, and sat to read a book again, completely at peace.
Next hour she met frightened police officers, wide eyed and shaken, who came to Teruko-san with awful news. Next hour she, trembling and shaking herself, had to lead the police for Takami's door, had to watch Teruko-san's smile to fade, happiness to sink out of her eyes, leaving her.
Since that the old lady supported Takami family as she could. Family suddenly become small, lost its strong part. Kay understood perfectly - such wound, such trauma is impossible to fully recover from.
When Teruko-san and little Sadashi came back from funeral Ogawa didn't dare to talk to them, only bowed a little when the widow greeted her. Young woman let go of her daughter's hand for a second and hugged the old lady. It was visible - she is not herself anymore. Even a little girl was unusually quiet and worn.
Ogawa Kay never thouth of becoming a pro-heroine. When she was young nobody wanted to be a hero, even the most reckless of bold young men. But now, wiping her eyes with a thandkerchief, gift from Teruko-san on a last birthday, Ogawa decided - she will be a heroine, not a pro, but a real one. She will be heroine for this family and help their eyes to shine again.