Keigo Takami vs. Jin Bubaigawara & Dabi is a battle fought between the No. 2 Pro Hero Hawks and the Paranormal Liberation Front Lieutenants Twice and Dabi.
Prologue[]
With Dabi's help and recommendation, Hawks joins the ranks of the Paranormal Liberation Front, although his real mission is to spy for the Hero Public Safety Commission and send them information about the villain organization through coded messages. During all the months that he is infiltrated, Twice befriends Hawks, fully trusting him without knowing that he is a spy, to the point of telling him essential information, such as the plans of the army and the whereabouts of Tomura Shigaraki.[1]
Thanks to Hawks' intel, the Commission organizes at the end of March a great force of heroes to assault the different hideouts and lairs of the Paranormal Liberation Front and arrest its members.[2] One of these forces is charged with storming the Gunga Mountain Villa, the PLF's main headquarters.[3] The villains are caught off guard, and as they rearrange defenses and face heroes, in another room of the mansion, Hawks corners a confused Twice with many of his feathers, revealing his true allegiance is to the heroes.[4]
Twice is extremely disturbed by his betrayals and laments how his good nature puts his comrades at risk again, like when he brought Overhaul to the hideout, resulting in the death of Magne and Mr. Compress losing his left arm.
Hawks confesses to Twice that the reason he has to pinned him down is because, of all the PLF members, he is the most dangerous due to Double's dangerous potential. He continues to reveal how easy it was just getting Twice to trust him, and that he intends to turn the masked villain in once the war is over. However, during the time he was with him, he realized he is a good person who has been victim of circumstance and bad luck, and offers to vouch for him and help him to start over.
Upon hearing those words, Twice is overcome with anger and fury, since he no longer trusts him and doesn't care about himself. Twice tries to escape from the feathers, so Hawks is forced to attack him with one of them to stop him, tearing off his mask. Hawks claims that he doesn't really want to fight him, but Twice doesn't care about his opinions and intentions, and releases multiple clones, saying that all he wants is to protect the League's happiness.
At the same time, Dabi climbs the steps of the villa towards their location with a sinister grin on his face, realizing that Hawks is a traitor. Dabi's inner monologue doesn't blame Twice for trusting him because he believes scummy heroes are always to blame.[5]
Battle[]
In order to fight Hawks, Twice unleashes his Ultimate Move "Sad Man's Parade", with every single clone crying bitterly at yet another betrayal.[5] Sighing solemnly by Twice's refusal to surrender, Hawks begins attacking him with a barrage of his Fierce Wings. He destroys the clones effortlessly, as his feathers are faster than Twice's ability to create doubles.
Hawks expresses to Twice his admiration for his rate to conjure his clones, but he also realizes that the technique isn't perfect, as more he uses his Quirk, the durability of his clones decreases. Twice is shocked by Hawks' speed, and realizes he can't keep up. In fact, he doesn't have any problem at all keeping up with his numerous clones.
Hawks claims that he doesn't allow himself to get attached and must finish this mission now, however he continues to offer Twice the opportunity to surrender peacefully, telling the villain that he likes him as a friend. Twice is adamant and angrily rejects his offer, creating Doubles of the League of Villains, stating that they're his only allies, but Hawks destroys those Doubles instantly, which infuriates Twice who begins to insult him.
Hawks then starts talking about the reason he prioritizes speed to taking down villains, while Twice charges at him, with his sharp measuring tape ready and not caring about being injured by the feathers. Hawks continues with his speech and explains that the reason is because a person who never gives up is a Hero's worst fear, and in his own experience, someone who never gives up never stops putting up a fight.
Hysterical, Twice demands him to shut up as he rushes at him. With blinding speed, Hawks employs two of his longest feathers as blades to cut down Twice. Then, he pins him to the floor with a bladed feather a few inches from his face. Hawks solemnly tells to the defeated villain that since neither side intends to give up, someone has to die, and therefore he has no choice but to kill him.
This causes Twice to rant about heroes, reminding Hawks how cruel and unfair they are to people like him. Sobbing, Twice also tells Hawks that Himiko Toga once comforted him with a handkerchief when he was distraught and that since this was the second time he put the League in danger, she may not comfort him ever again. However, he doesn't care as long as he can protect the League's happiness and creates one more Double over him. Hawks prepares to kill Twice for good and says he'll pass on his message to the rest of the League. The bladed feather begins to pierce through the Double's face, ready to stab Twice's.
Then, something unexpected happens that catches him off guard. Just as he's about to execute Twice, the wall explodes and the room is flooded with Blueflames. Hawks rolls out the scorching flames with Twice, as Dabi states he has heard Twice's speech loud and clear and therefore it's not necessary for Hawks to pass anything to him. Dabi stomps on Hawks' head, pinning him to the ground while he tells him that his sentimental attitude tripped him up after all.[6]
Dabi ignites flames around his feet, creating a large blue flare to incinerate Hawks, but he manages to free himself, taking Twice with him to prevent him from also ending up burned. Dabi taunts Hawks telling him that he has lost most of his feathers. For his part, the hero reproaches him that in his last attack he nearly burned Twice, but Dabi plays down his accusation because he knew Hawks would have gotten him out of the way since that's what Heroes are supposed to do. Hawks asked if at any chance he blew his cover did Dabi suspect him, but Dabi confesses he never trusted Hawks from the beginning.
Hawks begins to internally analyze his situation. His wings are damaged and he has lost most of his feathers, putting him at a disadvantage against Dabi and his fire Quirk. It is also in a closed space that limits its mobility. He weakened Twice enough with his previous slash, cutting muscle and bone but avoiding vital organs, which prevents a full-blow rampage from him. Hawks understands his disadvantageous situation and concludes that his best option is to prioritize the mission and move himself and Twice away from the area.
However, Twice still has enough strength left and quickly creates a clone that holds Hawks as he crawls away from him, yelling at Dabi to burn him to ashes. Hawks tries to stop him, but Dabi unleashes a powerful blast of blue fire that engulfs him, smashing the window behind him in the process and going outside, where the PLF battles the heroes.
With Twice already free, Dabi tells him that now they have a chance to destroy all the Heroes that are attacking them thanks to his Quirk, so he asks him to go wild and help the others. Twice agrees and the two of them give each other a high-five. As he runs towards the door, Twice starts creating doubles of himself, but when he's about to go out to the battlefield, Hawks appears in front of him, ready to strike. Shocked, Dabi realizes that Hawks flew outside with the flames in order to flank them.
Twice yells at Hawks to get out of his way as Dabi utters Hawks by his real name: Keigo Takami. This revelation surprises Hawks long enough for Dabi to unleash another blaze of blue fire at him, allowing Twice to get away even at the cost of burning his doubles. Hawks is puzzled by the fact that Dabi knows who he is, and wonders who Dabi really is; the villain fires another blast at him.
In the corridor, Twice watches the battle between the PLF members and the heroes happening below him, particularly Himiko Toga and Mr. Compress being attacked by a Hero, and resolves to help them, not wanting his mistakes to hurt them. Thinking of his friends, Twice makes another clone of himself to help them, as Hawks rises from the flames behind him with a feather blade and stabs his real body. While dying, Jin Bubaigawara acknowledges how pitiful and miserable his life was.[7]
Enraged at the death of his partner, Dabi completely cremates Hawks' wings and then steps on his back and burns away his feathers. Seeing his grim smile, Hawks reproaches him for not having the face of someone who suffers from the death of a friend, but Dabi assures him that he is broken up by it but can't cry because his tear ducts have been burned shut. Dabi confesses that if Twice was still by his side, he would have been able to make his dream become a reality, which is why he is sad.
As Dabi keeps burning his back, Hawks tells that he looked into the backgrounds of the members of the League but he couldn't find anything about him or Tomura, prompting him to question who exactly Dabi is, which he answers, leaving Hawks shocked. Dabi declares that there are no real "Heroes" in the world and that he considers himself the "Ultimate Manifestation of Stain's will".
He wishes Hawks goodbye as he claims his life and death mean nothing to him.[8]
Aftermath[]
Just when Dabi is about to burn Hawks to death, Fumikage Tokoyami appears in order to save his mentor from the villain at the last moment, using Dark Shadow to extinguish the flames on his wings with his cloak.[9]
Meanwhile, the clone that Twice created shortly before he was killed manages to run away and save Himiko and Mr. Compress from Eel Boy by stabbing him in the back of the head. Mr. Compress is glad to see him, and he asks him to use his Quirk against the enemy, but Twice reveals that he is powerless and apologizes for being unable to help any more. As he slowly start to melt, the clone cleans Himiko's face with a replica of the handkerchief she gave him time ago, thanking her for being kind to him as he start. Himiko embraces the melting Twice and thanks him for saving her one last time.
The clone falls apart into Himiko's arms and dies happily, cursing Hawks and saying he is completely wrong about he was unlucky. He was really lucky to have met the League and becoming friends with them.[7]
Later it's revealed that Dabi had a camera device that Skeptic had given him. With it, he recorded the moment in which Hawks killed Twice, and planned to use that footage later during his broadcast, framed in a worse light than in reality in order to ruin the opinion and image of Hawks in particular, and heroes in general, in the face of society.[10]
References[]
- ā My Hero Academia Manga and Anime: Chapter 258 and Episode 114.
- ā My Hero Academia Manga and Anime: Chapter 259 and Episode 114.
- ā My Hero Academia Manga and Anime: Chapter 262 and Episode 115.
- ā My Hero Academia Manga and Anime: Chapter 263 and Episode 115.
- ā 5.0 5.1 My Hero Academia Manga and Anime: Chapter 264 and Episode 116.
- ā My Hero Academia Manga and Anime: Chapter 265 and Episode 116.
- ā 7.0 7.1 My Hero Academia Manga and Anime: Chapter 266 and Episode 116.
- ā My Hero Academia Manga and Anime: Chapter 267 and Episode 117.
- ā My Hero Academia Manga and Anime: Chapter 267 and Episode 118.
- ā My Hero Academia Manga: Chapter 291.