CHAPTER ONE

       At first glance, the three-storey building looked like a normal office building. But to the residents of Kyushu and the people who knew the place very well, it was anything but normal. It housed the agency of one of the most popular and powerful heroes in Kyushu. Inside that very building, the agency of the Starry Hero, Astra was located. And Astra, better known as Meiko to her friends and family, was currently fuming in her office.

       Arms crossed, legged propped up on her desk, Meiko presented a picture of pure fury. Ryu and Ichika, her sidekicks, and Kagura, her lone office worker, all looked rather afraid.

       "Uh...Meiko-san," Kagura bravely spoke up first. "This interview could be very important, you know. Um...it would be a great way to boost your rank."

      "Yeah," Ryu nodded, scratching the back of his head. "I know you don't like Hawks, but this could be a way of you using him for your benefit. Which sounds like a horrible thing, but..."

       Meiko scoffed, hands glowing golden as she tapped her desk. "I don't think that chicken boy could ever be useful for me."

       Ichika snorted, and suddenly everyone's attention, even Meiko's, was on her. "Sorry about that," she immediately apologised. "But I can't get over the names you come up with to insult him. They are damn funny."

       "They are, aren't they?" Meiko asked, a deadly smile on her face.

       "Yes," Ichika answered. Out of all the people present, she had known Meiko the longest. Just a year younger than the hero, she had joined the Astra agency, just due to the sheer tenacity Meiko had. Astra was a hero that placed little restrictions on her sidekicks, allowing them a certain amount of freedom they would not get in other agencies. There was never too much pressure on them; Meiko refused that.

       Instead, she would take on the work herself. That had gained her instant respect in Ichika's eyes. But Meiko's tenacity meant she was also rather stubborn. And her stubbornness would come out at random times, but especially with situations that involved the wing hero, Hawks.

       "Listen Mei," Ichika said, voice soft but firm. "All you have to do is just turn on your natural charm and take control of the interview before Hawks does. Then you'll be able to manage everything. Aren't I right, Ryu, Kagura?"

          Both of them instantly jolted, but nodded in unison.

        "You know, just talk in the interview how you talk to the people you meet in the streets," Ryu said. "Just be yourself. Your best version. Trust me, everything will be fine."

       "Yeah, Ayase-san is right," Kagura added, after a moment's hesitation. "You'll do well, Meiko-san. And people like you a lot so..."

      "When do I leave?" Meiko asked quietly as she sat up straight. "I need to prepare and make sure I don't accidentally ended up killing Hawks. I'll probably need some help hiding his body if I do that."

      The other three didn't know if she was joking or not. It was hard to tell with Meiko sometimes.

      "T-two hours," Kagura spoke. "You have two hours to go."

        "Good," Meiko answered stiffly. "Two hours to stare in a mirror and repeat I must not kill Hawks."

       This time, Ryu, Ichika and Kagura, all three knew how serious she was.

       'This is gonna be a fun interview,' Ichika sarcastically thought, watching as Meiko hopped off her chair, her golden blonde hair flying behind her. 'Poor Hawks deserves a warning.'

       Hawks and Astra hadn't been rivals before.

       In fact, Meiko had admired the man for his quirk and for his confidence. The few times they had worked together back then, it had been fun. Till it was not. Till Hawks was the one the media started to talk about, ignoring Meiko's good deeds (not that she wanted to show them off). Meiko was slowly sidelined, as Hawks took the centre stage of news reporting in Fukuoka. It was like people had forgotten about her. She was also recognized, but not in the way she had always wanted.

      She could easily be in the top 10, but here she was; relegated to number 14. It wasn't a bad rank either, seeing the number of heroes that were present in the country. But being in the top 10 meant having a certain amount of privilege that you would not get in the lower ranks. And maybe having that could have Meiko's parents talk to her again. But that was irrelevant talk.

       You could call Meiko's feeling irrational and jealousy, but there was a lot behind it. For now, she would have to pretend.

       Meiko walked into the studio with her chin held up and a confident smile on her face. Her armor-like costume felt strangely heavy on her, but she stood up straight. There was no way she was letting this go wrong. A hand kept on her empty sword sheath, she found herself ushered to a waiting room.

       Unfortunately, in that same waiting room, was Hawks. His bright red wings were currently stiff against his back, but there was no denying how majestic they would look unfurled. When he saw Meiko walk through, his mouth curled up into a mischievous grin.

      Instantly, Meiko was on alert. He was going to do something; she just felt it. Her smile dropped for a moment, but in that moment Hawks strode over to her, waving off the makeup artist that was preparing him for the interview. The make-up artist awkwardly stepped away.

       "Well hello, Astra-san!" Hawks greeted her with a bright smile. "Haven't seen you in a while."

       "Oh, I've just been busy," Meiko answered coolly. That wasn't a lie. She had been pretty busy these days. "There's been a rise in crime in my area. Have been keeping a check on that." As an afterthought and just to be polite she added, "How have you been doing?"

        "I'm doing great as always," Hawks answered with a wink and a grin. How he did those simultaneously, she could never understand. "Been a bit busy myself. But here we are."

        "Here we are," Meiko repeated, hoping there was no edge to her face. "I hope you are prepared for this, Hawks. I do seem to remember that your last television interview seemed to have," she coughed into her fist. "Been a little disastrous."

        Hawks narrowed his eyes. "That was months ago, Astra. You said you would stop talking about it."

       "Well," Meiko smiled truly for the first time that day. "I lied."

        Ignoring his outraged squawk (yes, squawk), she stepped away from him and called out to the makeup artist who was awkwardly hovering around the back of the room.

         "Hey, um," Meiko spoke softly and as kindly as she could. "Could you please help me with my make-up?"

          This interview was going to be fun.

          Meiko was being sarcastic, of course.

          *

          The interview hadn't gone off the rails. Yet. And honestly, Meiko believed that it wouldn't. Hawks was his charming self and she was who she always was. There had been some jokes and some laughs shared and it was all good. Meiko had to admit; she liked being in front of the camera. It felt like a great boost to her confidence. With studio lights shining down on her and multiple cameras pointed at her face, she should have been intimidated, but she loved the attention. Young Meiko would be so surprised. But feelings of the past were in the past.

          And so, Meiko continued to sit up straight and answered questions with the confidence she was known for.

          At least until...

          "What do you two have to say of the rumors that you are dating each other?"

            Meiko almost spluttered. Almost. The top of her ears felt hot and it almost felt like someone had punched her in her gut. Her? Date Hawks? In what world? She didn't dare look at the man, knowing that even a glance could be misconstrued as meaning something more. But she had heard his reaction; even those it was quiet.

            She kept a bright smile on her face as she looked at the interviewer. "Well, those rumors are very false. After all, we would know that we are dating, wouldn't we, Hawks?"

            "Yeah we would, Astra" Hawks leaned back into the couch. "We are busy people. Don't think either of us have time for a relationship."

            "I definitely don't," Meiko added quickly. "There's always work to do, so relationships aren't something I think about."

         And dating Hawks? That was something she would never do, even if she was being held at gunpoint. Or if she had a knife held to her neck. Or...it was just simple. Meiko and Hawks? Never going to happen.

         Never.

        Thankfully, the woman didn't push though Meiko felt like she wanted to ask more. Why the media was always so interested in her love life, she had no idea, but it was not fun. But the question itself had thrown her off her game and she knew by the time the interview came to an end, her discomfort would have reached phenomenal levels.

       Ten minutes later, the interview was done and Meiko practically rushed out of the studio. The environment suddenly felt stifling and she had to leave. She didn't dare look back and talk to Hawks, who was currently surrounded by a small crowd of those who worked at the studio. Meiko liked the attention, but too much attention was a cause of discomfort.

      *

        Meanwhile, back at the studio, Hawks stared out at Astra's retreating figure as he carried out conversations with the crowd that had gathered around him. She had looked strangely anxious by the time the interview had ended and then practically ran off. She had also been unusually mean to him today, which was really weird. Because usually, they bantered playfully.

       'Astra, I wonder what's going on with you.'

I finally had inspiration for this story and I am glad I wrote it quickly; I know it's quite a weak opening chapter but I am pretty happy with how it turned out. You can see hints of why Meiko doesn't like Hawks, but there's a lot more behind that. Plus there was a little foreshadowing about something else; if you caught that let me know 👀👀

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! Let me know your thoughts in the comments! <3 <3