Separation

(Five Years Later)

To anyone else, the autumn sun would be considered harsh, but as Kit found herself strolling through the private garden in the back of the estate, she found it to be relaxing.

Today, both her and Hawks had the day off from both training and tutoring, which was a rarity, so she decided to enjoy her time to the fullest being outside in the fresh crisp air. She personally loved the smell of autumn since there seemed to be a sort of spice in the air, though most couldn't smell it, she could with her superior fox nose.

Her ear twitched to the side out of reflex as she heard rustling and she almost ignored it for a small rodent until she heard a voice yell, "Catch!"

Swinging around, she could hear the small change in the wind as something interrupted the wind pattern. It only took seconds for her eyes to lock onto a rapidly approaching crimson colored feather. Narrowing her eyes at it, she waited until it got close before snatching it from the air between two fingers.

Her ears caught the sound of footsteps coming up from behind her and she turned to see Hawks making his way towards her, "Caught." She held up the feather as if it were a prize before letting blue flames consume it, "And destroyed."

Hawks' facial features turned to that of horror as he watched the ashes of his feather float away, "Aw, man," He sent her a pout, "You know it takes days for me to regrow my feathers!"

"Two days isn't that long." Kit crossed her arms before sticking her tongue out at him, "And you should know better than to play with fire, Bird Brain."

His eyes snapped to her tongue, then back up to her eyes, "Sure, whatever, Furball."

Shaking her head at the nickname he had for her, she turned to continue walking along the garden path, "I don't wanna start training up again tomorrow."

"I like training, but I do wish we had more days like this." He fell into step next to her, purposely bumping his wing into her shoulder, "Have you been out here all day?"

"Yeah." She decided to bump him back in the side with her tails, "What have you been doing all day?"

"Erm, well…" He rubbed the back of his hair, making it even more fluffy, "I've been blindfolding myself to practice with my feathers." He sent her an cheeky look, "I had been following you with my feather for a few minutes before I decided to mess with ya."

She couldn't help but send him a ridiculous look, "But today is our day off. Why would you train on our free day?"

"Yeah, but I'm not going to get better if I don't practice at least once a day." He blinked over at her, "You don't do any training on your days off?"

"Not consciously." She flicked her tails at him, "I take full advantage of my breaks, thank you!"

"I guess." He started a chirpy whistle as he continued to walk next to her.

Giving him a side glance, she felt herself soften towards him. He was so sweet to her, a fresh breath when he was around after a long day of dealing with her Masters. She knew that she more than likely shouldn't feel this way towards him, but she couldn't stop her heart from jumping in her chest everytime he was around. She didn't dare say or do anything about it since she was sure the Master wouldn't be too pleased about it, so she kept the feelings all to herself.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck and the fur on her tails stood up. She was about to ask him if he felt something off, but he suddenly charged at her full force, his arms wrapping around her to tackle her. Not sensing anything around, her tails instantly splaying out to help her gain her balance back as she dug her opposite foot into the gravel.

Ears laid back against her head, she growled at him, twisting in his grip to push back, "What the hell are you doing now, Bird Brain?"

A smirk formed on his face as he looked at her, sweat starting to come down his forehead, "I read somewhere that fox pups like to play fight."

"I might have a fox quirk, but I'm not actually a fox, idiot!" She ground out between clenched fangs.

His chest vibrated against her, nearly distracting her, as he chuckled, "Eh, I'm not a Hawk either, but their habits are not bad to learn from sometimes." His fingers gripped her sides, "You need to loosen up."

Neither of them were particularly physically strong, but when Hawks began to flex his wings to help push against her, she lost the fight, making her fly backwards onto her back. He landed on top of her, his legs straddling her hips and each hand holding a wrist on each side of her head.

"Haha, I win!" He murmured as he leaned his face in close to hers, "See? You should play more so you might stand a chance…"

Her eyes widened at how close he got to her face with his own, "Yeah, so?" She felt her cheeks heat up before she turned her head as if being defiant, "If I were to use my flames, you'd be a pile of ash."

"Kit! Hawks!" They both turned their heads to see Aiko in the doorway of the house, her eyes wide as they landed on them, "What are you two doing?"

Both Kit and Hawks blinked at her in confusion, forgetting their positions, but when they looked back at each other, Kit squeaked as she pushed him off. He landed beside her on his butt with a grunt, but he didn't lift his gaze to look back her way.

Aiko only shook her head at them, "Come inside, you two." She turned to head back in, "Master Takao and Master Kanda have some news for you both in the study."

Sitting up, Kit went to stand, but found a hand in her face and she took it shyly, "Thank you."

He cleared his throat after he pulled her up, "Anytime." A confused look fell over his face, "I wonder what they want. Today is our day off."

"We're most likely getting lectured or maybe they have guests coming over again and want us to be on our best behavior or something." Kit grumbled the last part as they entered the house.

"When are we not on our best behavior?" Hawks slipped off his shoes before grabbing his slippers and handing hers over, "You might be right though."

When they reached the study door, Hawks knocked first then opened the door, giving a dramatic wave for Kit to enter, "Ladies first."

She snorted lightly as she walked past him, "Being a gentleman like that doesn't suit you very well."

He blinked after her, but he couldn't say anything before Master Takao cleared his throat to grab their attention, "Both of you have a seat."

Looking away from the bird boy, she looked over at the two adults, feeling a certain tension in the air that she wasn't used to. Kit took a seat first and was followed by Hawks, and after exchanging a common look, they gave their Masters their full attention.

Kanda looked over towards his two students, "We are sorry to interrupt your day off," Takao snorted a little, but Kanda ignored him, "But we have received some information that is important to both of you and will affect each of you within the next couple of days."

Kit couldn't help but pull her tails into her lap so she could run her claws gently through the fur; a nervous habit she had developed over the years, "Is it something bad?"

Both of the Masters exchanged a slightly uncomfortable look, but Master Takao was the one who decided to answer, "It isn't bad, per say, but it will have a big impact on the both of you." He let this process before he picked up a paper that looked like a printed email, "In two days, you both will be relocated to complete your specialized hero training." He set the paper back down, "Both in different ways."

"Different ways?" Hawks asked and Kit could tell he was nervous by his tone.

"Yes." Kanda's voice was suddenly very firm, which was unlike him normally, as he looked at Hawks, "You will be leaving to get private hero education and training…" His eyes slid to Kit, "... And you will be going elsewhere."

Hawks flew up from his seat, nearly knocking the seat over in the process, "Wait! What?! You're splitting us up?"

Master Takao's eyes took on a dangerous glint as they narrowed on Hawks, "Sit down, boy." His voice was hard, "We're not finished explaining everything."

Kit peaked up at him, startled by his aggressiveness, to watch him take several deep breaths before sitting down stiffly, "Fine."

"The entire purpose of you both being here is because you two wanted to become specialized heroes." Kanda tried to help them see reason, "You both are being split up to specialize for your future assignments as Private Pro Heroes for the Hero Public Safety Commision." He continued to explain, "This will also determine if our training for you both was a success or not so we can analyze if it would be productive to do this again in the future."

"Though with how much it cost the HPSC to raise you two, I doubt they will do another project like this." Master Takao mumbled under his breath.

"So what is so different about the training she will be doing and mine that we need to be split up?" Hawks asked, ignoring Master Takao's comment.

"Everything will be explained to you both once you are relocated. We do not have that information here." Takao tapped his pointer finger on the paper, "This was all we got."

The room fell silent with an air so tense that Kit had a hard time taking a deep breath. She took in a very audible shaky breath when she noticed her nose hurt slightly and she sniffled. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her cheeks and she didn't know how to process it. She had never cried before for emotional reasons and the forced tears from vomiting didn't count.

"Kit…" Hawks' eyes were soft towards her.

She shook her head wildly and before anyone else could say anything else, Kit was out of her seat and dashing down the hall. She was outside running through the garden and was over the wall within seconds, but she didn't stop there. She continued to run through the forest that surrounded the estate until she reached a small clearing where she slowed to a stop and proceeded to collapse onto her knees.

A frustrated screaming cry left her throat that echoed into the forest around her, causing the birds to fly from their perches. The tears in her eyes made it hard to see, but she didn't know if she really cared to see at that moment. She didn't want to leave… well, she actually didn't mind the leaving part; it was being separated from Hawks part that killed her from the inside.

She let herself fall onto her back, her legs sliding out from under her and her two tails limp beside her. No thoughts seemed to make sense to her at the moment as she stared into the cloudless sky, but soon her sobs slowed down to little hiccups. She kept having to wipe her nose with her sleeve and her cheeks with her palms, leaving her skin feeling almost rubbery. After a while, it was completely quiet in the clearing save for the birds in the trees.

"Kit?" Her ears swiveled as she opened her eyes that she didn't realize she closed.

Soon a shadow fell over her and she was looking up into amber eyes upside down causing tears to spring to her eyes again, "Hawks…"

"Hey, hey, Furball…" He came to sit down at her side and helped her sit up, "You'll be okay and so will I and…"

He trailed off when her watery eyes attempted to focus on him, "I don't want you to leave me."

His eyes widened for a moment, "I don't want to leave you either." He raised a hand to wipe her cheeks, "I'm sure this won't be forever…"

She shook her head, her eyes closing, "I was so alone before you came to be with us," Her breath shook, "I know my background isn't as terrible as yours, but I don't know anything about my parents." Her tails came to lie on her lap so she could grab them, "I am only an investment to Master Takao and Master Kanda." She sniffled, "Aiko only does what she is told to by them…" Her eyes opened to look over at him, ��But you… you filled a void that I didn't know I had." She bit her bottom lip, her nerves getting the best of her, "I like you… I like you so much that sometimes it hurts."

"I didn't know you thought of me like that." He said after a few quiet moments, a blush forming on his cheeks.

"Well, I do." Her hands flexed against her tails, "I…" She looked over his face, committing the image to her memory, "I want to…"

She clenched her fangs for a moment before she rose up a little to lean over towards him. She raised a hand to his cheek as her face got closer and she pressed her lips to his.

Her eyes closed at the feeling, savoring for a moment. While slightly chapped, his lips were soft against her though they were still. Up this close, Kit could take in his natural musk as a male and she couldn't help but love it more than she loved the autumn air.

When he shifted under her, her eyes flew open, the fantasy broken, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" She pulled away and covered her face with her hands, "I didn't mean to do that… but…" She peaked at him through her fingers, "But I don't regret showing you how I feel." Her hands nearly slapped down against her lap before she clenched the fabric there, "I want to be with you forever!"

Opening his mouth to speak after recovering from the shock of it all, he could only let out a breath as her body began to softly glow. When he reached a hand out when she clenched her eyes shut, but that was when he noticed his body was glowing the same color. Her eyes flew open again, her irises bright and wide as he body tensed up before going limp as she fell forward against him.

Prone for a moment, he shook her shoulder a couple of times, "Kit?" When she didn't answer, he tugged her around into a position so he could look at her face only to see her eyes closed, "Kit?!"

When she once again didn't respond, he pulled her fully into his arms before taking flight back towards the estate. This only took mere minutes at the speed he flew, looking like a red streak in the sky to the human eye. When he got to the estate, he didn't bother landing and blew through the door, causing the doors to blow open to clash loudly.

Master Takao came around the corner almost instantly in a defensive stance until he saw Hawks, "What the hell is wrong with you, Hawks??"

Kanda came from around the same corner, but his eyes instantly noticed the bundle in Hawks' arms, "What happened to her?"

Hawks landed to look down at her with worried eyes, "She was talking to me and suddenly we started glowing and then she passed out." He looked up at his mentors, "Is she going to be okay?"

"Give her here…" Takao held open his arms for her, "I'll take her to her room and call for the agency doctor." Hawks looked down at Kit, looking reluctant to let her go, "You may sit with her until the doctor arrives."

"Since I'm already holding her, just let me carry her to her room." Hawks suggested.

Takao went to argue, but Kanda put a hand on his shoulder, "Just let him do it. We need to act faster than this."

Hawks went past them to quickly carry her to her room. He got to her bed and waited while Kanda pulled down the sheet before so Hawks could set her down and cover her up. Kanda and Takao were talking to each other for several moments, but he couldn't hear them as he looked over the little female on the bed.

"I'll go make the call." Kanda left the room.

Takao looked over at the young teen, "I'm sure she will be fine."

Hawks' eyes flashed to his for a moment, surprised he was actually trying to comfort him, before focusing again on Kit, "I hope she will be."

Takao stared at him for a moment, then turned away, "I'm going to check to see if Kanda got through to the doctor."

He tightened in his feathers as he pulled a chair close to sit beside the bed. His eyes continued to look her over when her twitching tails caught his attention. They were sticking out from under the sheet and he went to cover them, but that's when he noticed that instead of two tails, she had three. Deciding then to leave it alone to point out to either the doctor or his masters, he leaned back in his seat, his observant eyes not leaving her.

It seemed like forever later when Master Takao walked back in with Master Kanda, escorting a tall man in a buttoned up lab coat, "Hawks, this is Doctor Masashi and he is one of the HPSC doctors."

Kanda continued, "He has a very useful quirk that lets him understand details about a person's health and quirk."

"Hello, Hawks. It is nice to meet you." Masashi greeted kindly.

Hawks looked over the male before him as if to judge him before nodding and moving so the doctor could sit close to Kit. He threw Hawks a grateful glance before taking the seat next to her then rested a hand on her forehead before closing his eyes.

Hawks moved to stand next to his red haired Master, "She gained a new tail." He tried to keep his tone soft, "But I don't remember her passing out when her tail first split."

"She didn't pass out the first time…" Takao's body stiffened, "What happened to make her gain a new tail?" He turned his sharp gaze onto Hawks, "What were you two talking about?"

"I, uh…" Hawks' face lit up a little and he looked away to try and hide it, "I don't feel right talking about it without Kit being awake."

"Mhm…" The doctor's humming drew all of their attention as he opened his eyes, his hand coming to rest on his own lap, "Well, she is perfectly healthy." He turned his gaze to the others in the room, "It just seems like part of her quirk has manifested and when she used it, she used up a large amount of energy."

"That explains the tail…" Kanda murmured, his tone showing his relief, "Do you know what this new manifested ability does?"

"Yes." The doctor stood from the seat to straighten his coat, "It seems that she can create bonds."

Both Takao and Kanda snapped their heads towards Hawks with this information before Takao's jaw tightened, "Thank you, doctor for coming out and responding so quickly."

"My pleasure, I'll send an email with complete details about the new part of her quirk." The doctor gave them each a smile before making his way towards the door, "Call me again if anything else comes up."

"Kanda, would you please escort him out?" Takao looked towards his partner and after Kanda left, he turned his attention back to Hawks, "How did she create this bond with you?"

Hawks eyes were darting around, his wings puffed up a little, "It wasn't my fault!" He took in a deep breath, "She just kissed me and then said something… then that's when the glowing happened."

"What exactly did she say, Hawks?" He ground out.

Hawks deflated a little, his wings drooping, "She said she wanted to be with me forever."

Takao's eyes widened at this, then he looked towards the girl in the bed, "It is getting late and Kit needs to rest. How about we give her some space?"

Hawks hesitated, but nodded, "Yes, Master Takao..."

The next morning, Kit woke to the sound of soft chirping of birds and she thought maybe Hawks had left her in the clearing. She grumbled lightly as she used the back of her wrist to rub her eyes, rolling it around to her palm, before opening her eyes. When her eyes stared at the white of wooden boards of her bedroom ceiling, she shot up into a sitting position. Looking around the room, she had to reorient herself, her hands fisting in the sheets for a second.

"How…?" Her voice was still husky from sleep, "Did Hawks bring me home?"

She went to remove the sheets when her door was knocked on before it opened showing Master Kanda, "Good morning, Kit. I hope you slept well."

"Master Kanda…" She greeted, still confused, "Did Hawks bring me back? I don't remember falling asleep…"

He nodded and sat in the chair that was still next to her bed, "Yes, he did." He informed her, "It seems that you passed out after manifesting a new part of your quirk."

"I manifested another part?" Kit asked, her voice laced with surprise.

"Yes, you now have the ability to form bonds and in result, you gained a new tail." He motioned towards the third twitching tail at her side.

"Bonding?" She questioned, "What is bonding?"

"According to the report the doctor gave us, your bonding ability is the result of a high amount of emotional attachment." Kanda started to explain, "The bonded pair will be able to feel each other when you are within a certain distance of each other. It also seems there might be a boost in quirk power for the bound one." He sighed then, "It seems that you unconsciously made a bond with Hawks."

"Oh, geez, he must be upset with me for doing that without his permission." Kit shook her head, "I need to go apologize to him."

As Kit went to move, the purple eyed man held up a hand, "He didn't seem upset in the least, but…" He lowered his hand slowly, "… you will not be able to apologize to him since he left this morning for his special training."

She gasped sharply, "He's gone?!"

When her breathing began to come out rapidly, Kanda leaned forward to put his hands on her shoulders, "Kit, you need to calm down and breathe." He mimicked her breathing and this seemed to help a little, so he continued, "Takao thought it would be best if he left today so you both focus on your future training." He watched her reaction closely, "But, he did leave you something." His hands slowly left her shoulders before one pulled out a folded up piece of paper from his pocket, "Takao doesn't know about this, so I would keep it hidden from him."

Kit eyed the paper before reaching up to gently take it from him, "Thank you…"

Kanda watched as fresh tears began to flood the young fox girl's eyes, "I will have Aiko bring your breakfast here for you." He stood from his seat, "For the rest of the day, we want you to rest because tomorrow you move to Musutafu and the day after that, you are going to be tested to get into U.A. so you can start next spring."

"U.A.?" Kit questioned, "That's the best hero school in Japan!" She exclaimed, her eyes wide as she looked up at him, "Are you sure that I am good enough?"

"I'm sure you are plenty good enough." He reassured her, "In fact, I think you'll come out on top of everyone else." He rested a hand on her head, before leaving her room, "You'll be okay, Kit. We have faith that you'll get in."

Kit watched him leave, her heart racing in her chest before she looked down at the paper in her hands. She opened the paper slowly, taking her time so she didn't rip the paper with her sharp claws so she could read:

Kit,

I should have been me to kiss you first and I should have at least kissed you back.

But next time, I'll be the one to kiss you first.

I'll find you again, just wait for me.

Hawks

Kit reread the letter multiple times before folding it up tiny and tucking it into her bra, knowing it would be safe there, "I'll wait for you too, Hawks…"