Kimi's POV

Having stumbled home with a heavily intoxicated Keigo at around 1am, I was somewhat shocked that I woke up so early. The sun had begun to rise over the mossy lawn out front, casting a pale green glow over the bed. Keigo lay in a mess of feathers and drool with his usually tousled hair defying gravity, a sight I had grown fond of over the past year.

I moved quietly into the kitchen, careful not to wake him up and began to make breakfast and feed my other feathered baby, Peanut. I've never been more thankful for not drinking. If I did I may not have remembered everything that happened last night and I wanted it to be burnt into my memories. Keigo and I had continued to sing throughout the evening, dueting 'I got you babe', 'You're the one that I want' and finishing with 'Fly me to the moon'. By the end of the night Keigo was drunk and my throat was on fire. But we made it back and having to convince a drunken Keigo to go to sleep when he wanted to 'show me how much he loves me' was admittedly a lot funnier than it should have been. The memory of his uncoordinated mind thinking the bed was closer than it actually was and face planting onto the floor made me smile into my teacup.

"Babybird, there you are..." Keigo groaned, wrapping his arms around me from behind and snuggling his face into the crook of my neck.

"I didn't think you'd be awake this early. How do you feel?" I asked playing with his golden locks.

"I woke up and you weren't there so I came to find you and force you to cuddle me. My head is killing me ... I need kisses." He said against my neck, placing a small kiss against it to prove a point.

"You need aspirin." I smirked handing him two pills and a glass of water, being the ever prepared lady that I am.

"Thanks Songbird." He pouted, taking the pills before pulling me back towards our bedroom.

"Nope. Not today mister." I smiled, removing his hands from my waist.

"I have to go to the hospital for the tissue sample remember?" Keigo pouted once more, his bottom lip jutting out in displeasure.

"Aww can't we cuddle for a little longer? I'll fly you there?" He bargained, his voice still husky from sleep.

"You still have alcohol in your system. Never ever drink and fly." I mock in my most professional voice, a little too loudly judging by Keigo's flinch.

"Okay baby, but tell me if you want me to pick you up alright? I think I'm going to head back to bed and sleep off the hangover. Please don't let me drink that much again." He groaned before pulling me into a hug.

"No promises there but I'll see you when I get back Birdy. Love you." I smile kissing his forehead and watching his sleepy face grin lightly.

"Love you too songbird."

*** Time Skip ***

"Ah you're awake. How are you feeling Kimi?" Taku Shinso asked as I blinked, the blurry world around me slowly coming into focus.

"Peeeee?" I grumble out lazily.

"You ... need the bathroom?" He asked as I tried to shake my head.

"Peeeeanut?"

"You want ... peanuts?" He asked torn between confusion and amusement.

"No no. Peanut is her parrot. I think she's still a little out of it. Don't worry Kimi, Peanut is fine. The anesthesia is still wearing off so you'll be feeling a little funny for a little while." Umi smiled at me, clutching a clip board tightly.

"Well you're awake and with that I'd say you're off to a flying start ... you know ... because you mentioned your parrot ... and parrots fly?" Taku explained with a lazy smile.

"I'm too tired for your dad jokes!" I whined falling back lightly into the pillows.

"First Hitoshi now you ... everyone's a critic." Shinso mumbled before handing a glass of water to me and helping me drink it soothing my parched throat.

"You were only out for an hour so you should be good to go in about half an hour." Umi smiled, perching herself on the end of my bed.

"How did it go?" I manage to ask, my voice sounding significantly better after drinking the water.

"It went perfectly Kimi! We extracted the sample from your left underarm so it will be a little stiff for the next week or so. But the scar will be very small so you have nothing to worry about. You will need to come in every other day to change the dressing but apart from that you will be perfectly fine." Shinso explained with a fatherly grin.

"Kenji was too excited to wait, he's examining the sample as we speak!" Umi laughed making me snort slightly. Of course Kenji would push my recover on to Shinso and Umi whilst he retreats to the lab with my tissue samples.

"Just rest up for a bit and if you need us press the button on your right." Shinso said as he and Umi left the room.

***Time Skip***

I once again woke up in the hospital bed but felt significantly less light headed. The world around me was in focus and my limbs, although heavy from sleep were easier to manoeuvre than before.

It took me only moments to recognise the vibrations coming from the cabinet by the bed as my phone which I answered in a groggy voice.

"Hello?" I asked not having looked at the caller ID in my somewhat tired state.

"Songbird, you're awake!" Keigo cried happily from the other end of the phone.

"Nope this is her sleep talking persona please call back later." I smirked hearing him let out a sarcastic chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah. So how are you? I rang the hospital an hour ago but they wouldn't tell me anything ... your doctor seriously needs to work on his people skills by the way."

"That'd be Kenji he is ... interesting. But yeah it all went okay, I'm feeling a lot better so they'll probably let me out soon. How're you feeling, still hungover? How's Peanut?" I asked feeling happy to think of something other than the faint throbbing in my left underarm.

"You just had surgery, you shouldn't be worrying about other people. But both me and the baby are fine, and I handled that hangover like a champ thank you very much. All I needed was some chicken, I feel 100% now. I'll be down to pick you up soon Babybird."

"You don't have to do that Keigo it's only a 15 minute walk" I tried to reason.

"Nope. Not letting my sick baby walk home alone. I'll meet you outside the front of the hospital okay? I might even have some Katsu curry and anime waiting for you when we get back ..." he smirked and I felt my face light up. God, I'm hungry and anime deprived right now.

"You sir are not a hawk. You are an angel." I smiled sitting up and ringing the buzzer to alert Umi or Shinso, eager to get home now.

"I try. See you soon Babybird. I love you!"

"Love you too, see you soon." I smiled hanging up and being greeted by an extremely tired looking Shinso.

"Ready to get home kiddo?" He grinned lazily, coming up to check my charts once more and examine my dressing.

"Yep, I have food and entertainment awaiting me so let's go!" I grinned.

"Is someone coming to pick you up? I don't want you walking home. I can give you a ride if you want?" He asked clearly concerned.

"Thanks but it's okay, my boyfriend is going to meet me outside in a bit." I answered, once again making sure to avoid using Keigo's real name and his hero name, I still hadn't given away that we were dating to those in the lab just yet and I am not ready to have Umi fangirl about it.

"Ah perfect. Just take these painkillers three times a day after meals and if the pain gets any worse just let us know okay? You should come in every other day so we can clean and change the dressing but if you need us at all don't hesitate to come in whenever." He smiled ruffling my hair slightly.

"And don't over exert yourself at work either. My son goes there and I'll have him keep tabs on you. If I hear that you are pushing yourself too much we'll be having a word Miss Kita." He said in his usual fatherly tone.

"You got it doc." I saluted as he left me to get changed into my normal clothes, my thick jumper hiding the mass of bandages around my left underarm and chest.

I took the side door, eager to leave and avoid the long corridors to the front entrance. A chilly breeze blew across the empty space at the side of the building carrying with it too distinct voices.

"Wonderful. This is wonderful. You truly are a genius Kurejī." Came a somewhat muffled voice.

"I know. I am rather brilliant aren't I?" Kenji's voice could be heard clearly. Oh I so have to mess with him.

"Hey Kenji!" I grinned stepping out from the side of the building to be met with a flustered Kenji and a tall stranger. Whilst Kenji looked around uncomfortable, his four arms flailing about uncharacteristically, the stranger stood still.

He looked even stranger than Kenji if that were possible. A feather lined jacket and long beak attached to his face, mimicking that of a plague doctor. His thick eyelashes made his eyes appear sharper and cold, gazing at me with unwavering disdain.

His glove covered hands twitched slightly, the only recognizable movement in his statue like demeanor.

"Ahh Kimiko Kita. I see you are up and about. That is good, though as I am the one who performed the surgery of course it would go perfectly." He mused arrogantly.

"Ahh." His companion murmered.

Are he and Kenji together? They make a bit of on odd couple but who am I to judge? Besides they sort of look good together?

"Yep, well I best be off. See you later Kenji!" I waved winking at him and wriggling my eyebrows suggestively. Aww I hope it goes well for him, I thought as I walked towards the entrance, the thought of food and anime leading me home.

Kenji's POV

"Well that was close." I mutter watching the specimen walk away. Her sample has been promising but it will all be for nothing if she doesn't remain in the dark.

"So that is Kimiko Kita?" Chisaki asked in an indifferent tone.

"Yes. We have nothing to worry about. Her quirk is an invaluable resource but she can be rather dim. She doesn't pose a risk to the operation." I reply finally losing sight of the girl before I turn back to the leader of the hassaikai.

"She better not be. As promised here are Eri's samples." He said with a steely expression, though it was always difficult to tell because of the beak. I grabbed the box of blood and tissue samples eagerly. I had never met the specimen but her quirk was just as useful as Kita's, and her young age made it so much easier to control her.

"Good good, these will do wonderfully." I replied before he let out a fake cough.

"Ah yes. Here are the results of Kita's blood work. We were successful at removing multiple quirks from younger subjects but it was more difficult in older populations. I believe combining the quirk of Eri will be invaluable in eradicating this problem." I explained giving him the files which he took reluctantly, not wanting to touch my hand, which frankly I wasn't too keen on either.

"Thank you Kurejī. I'll be back next week, I expect an update by then." He nodded determinedly before marching off to God knows where.
I clutched the samples closely yo my chest. Oh this is going to be fun!

Author's note

Owwwww plot twist! Hey lovely readers I've written the next few chapters and so might be able to post new chapters more frequently! Still watching the latest season of the anime and haven't read past the Chisaki ark in the manga so we will be diverging a lot from the canon plot but I hope you still like it!

Lots of love,
Lara xx