Thick uncomfortable silence filled the air as Hawks felt his forehead start to sweat automatically. Of course, that may have had something to do with the presence of a certain stitched villain in front of him.
Wait, why was he even here? Quite honestly after his big blow up with Hikari, the bird had thought that Dabi was done with the liberation mission. The man hadn't even shown his face the last couple days which was a blessing for Hawks.
Yet it seemed like that small little vacation was now over, watching as the stitched villain kicked himself off the wall in front of him to block Hawks from any way to escape. What did he say before, something about not being honest? Shit, what did this bastard know now?
Trying his best not to seem overly nervous, the bird lifted his wings in fake relaxation before throwing up his signature smirk to hide his emotions. "Whoa, hey there buddy! Haven't seen you in a while, Dabi. How have ya been?"
Dabi didn't seem in the mood for small talk though, the villain not changing his menacing stance in the slightest. "You didn't answer my question, bird shit. Stop trying to change the subject."
Laughing uncomfortably in response, the blonde bird only shrugged. "Whaa? I would never. Can I not be happy to see an old friend? And honestly man, I don't know what you're talkin about. I've just been here the whole time."
His words caused something to play in Dabi's expression, the villain giving himself a low chuckle before shaking his head. Stupid Hawks, if only he knew how true that last sentence really was. How ironic. "Believe me, we aren't friends."
Quickly changing subjects, the man then allowed his fingers to glow with blue warning as he snapped his half amused gaze back to Hawks. "And since you're having some trouble let me enlighten you..."
And for the first time, Hawks welcomed Dabi's words, hoping to figure out just what was bothering him so much. He said before that it was about some kind of secret which the bird knew couldn't be good. Was this where everything was going to end?
All this hard work, all his careful planning, did he somehow misstep somewhere, did he blow it all in a single second? Just what did Dabi know??
Yet his prayers and horrors were soon answered when the villain's tone softened ever so slightly, something that Hawks only noticed because he was paying very close attention as the man frowned. "I ran into another shitty bird on my way here and she was acting off. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, now would you?"
Widening his eyes in realization, the bird felt himself remain silent. Of course, that's why Dabi had shown up after all this time, why he was corning him and demanding answers so seriously.
It was because of his little sister. Now it all made sense.
Hikari, the only person that caused Dabi to act differently, whether the villain knew it or not. She was the only one that could make a murderous villain like him concerned in any sense of the word.
He must have saw her leave after their chat with Re-Destro, considering even Hawks noticed Hikari's strange behavior back then. She had never explained herself and just ran off which was strange for the girl. Usually she'd flat out tell him how awful everything was.
Yet as much as he hated Dabi bringing up his sister, the cameras on his back caused the bird to freeze instantly. Ah crap, he couldn't speak openly to the villain right now, and he couldn't explain himself either. Well, this was the worst possible situation.
Giving a nervous flap to his wings, the bird gave a halfhearted smile before realizing he was cornered, mentally and physically. One wrong word from Dabi and everything would be ruined. "Whaa? Nah man, like I said I've been here. I have no idea what that girl's doing."
Dabi didn't even falter an inch at that, his eyes lowering with even more knowing intent then before. "Somehow I find that hard to believe. If she's acting off then there's only two possibilities it could be, considering the only people that Princess only gets hung up over is you and me."
This caused Hawks to pause his panic for a brief moment to fully register what Dabi was saying. This guy really paid attention to Hikari, didn't he? So much so that he knew her habits and behaviors. It seemed hard to surprise him.
He wondered how Hikari managed to trick Dabi into believing he wasn't a traitor.
No, the villains profiling seemed extremely professional, almost commission agent level professional. Huh, how strange. It made the bird wonder what else Dabi noticed and never voiced.
Quickly coming up with a response, Hawks raised an eye, recalling the messy conversation he witnessed the last time they were together. "Are you sure it's not you then? You two did have a bit of a blow up last time, didn't ya?"
Yet Dabi shook his head immediately, his lips curving together in disgust for bringing back the unpleasant memory. "If it was me then she would've flat out told me to my face. Princess always loves to do that so the fact that she's keeping this shitty secret to herself can only mean you're involved. So spill."
And that was true, Dabi knowing that the girl took pride in voicing her displeasure with him all the damn time. It was like a fucking hobby for her usually, pointing out his own shitty behavior and how he was contricting himself.
Which was also true, considering the villain went against his words more often than not. Call it Touya and Dabi fighting against each other.
Although that's why it was even more strange when Hikari didn't even bother calling him out this time, only walking away from him in defeat. It wasn't like her, nothing she did today was like her, and that scared him.
That's why he was here, listening to this shitty bird lie to his face over and over again, watching as Hawks' scratched the back of his neck with an annoying nervous chuckle. "Ah, yeah. So you see.."
Yet that's when Hawks looked down at his nonexistent watch before quickly stumbling out a response and turning around like he was about to run away. "Listen, now's not really a good time for all this, trust me. So why don't we just bookmark this conversation and come back to it in a couple days, k?"
Then the villain watched in shock as the bird literally turned around and flat out shut down the conversation instead of giving Dabi a straight answer. Oh yeah, he was definitely the cause of Hikari's behavior.
And seeing his back turned caused the villain's hand to spark with pure blue flames as the trauma of his past started to creep in the back of his throat. Stupid Keigo, always the same, running away from his problems, right?
But not anymore, he wouldn't let him this time.
So, he changed after him, the villain's footsteps heavy and rushed as a feral psychotic smirk reached his lips immediately. "Wrong move, hero."
Feeling his heartbeat erratically out of his chest, Hawks sensed the villains presence behind him as the hero turned the corner, desperate to get away from the murderer in front of him. Why him, why now?!
He jumped when a massive ball of fire appeared in his vision, causing the bird to immediately step to the left in order not to be barbecued alive. Shit shit shit what do I do? I can't tell him anything about the mission with these cameras on!
Extending his wings, Hawks then took off into the air, soaring down the hallways as fast as he could to create some distance as he heard Dabi's feral shouts and threats from the other end. Why couldn't his sister be here right now? She would've been able to calm him down.
Although the moment the hero disappeared from the villain's view, a heavy ball of nostalgic rage started to pool in the pits of his stomach, something that the man had tried to hide for the last ten plus years.
You see, the one thing poor little Touya always hated the most, the one thing that destroyed him in the end was always that disgusting feeling of being ignored, of being swept aside and thrown away for something else.
It was the thing that Endeavor and his family did the most, it was the thing that Keigo and the commission did over and over again, it was what the world did when they chose precious little Shoto instead of him as the successor..
And that was exactly what Hawks was doing right now, he was ignoring his questions and running away, just like the pathetic idiot he always had known him to be.
The very idea caused a wall of memories to flood into the villain expectedly, causing Dabi's fire to burn even brighter and more unruly by the second before taking off in the direction of Hawks with silent murderous intent.
He was not going to be ignored this time.
He was not going to just let Keigo walk away from him.
He was not going to go through that again.
Realizing he couldn't leave the mansion without Re-Destro's people on him, Hawks flew down to the bottom level of the house before planting his feet silently. He didn't hear the roars of Dabi anymore thankfully, the bird finding himself in a more secluded part of the place, one with little to no people.
He forced out a heavy breath before running his fingers through his hair in rushed anxiety. He couldn't hide forever, eventually the villain would find out that he's stuck here and corner him. But what could he even do? He couldn't tell him the truth with everyone watching him.
Sighing to himself, Hawks then felt a vague twitch of his feathers before just barely registering a glow of blue coming straight at him. Wait, impossible. He couldn't have found him that fast!
Quickly stepping away from the projectile, the hero quickly grabbed his long feathered sword before turning to find Dabi standing at the end of the dark hallway, his blue flames being the only light in the pitch black part of the mansion. "Listen, there is a perfectly logical explanation for this, okay? I just can't.."
Something had seemed to shift with the man though, Dabi's voice coming out far more unhinged and dark then before. "Enough of your glorified bullshit, Hawks. You think you can run away from me and live? You think you can just walk away and ignore me? Well, think again."
The blue began to glow even brighter from his palm as the man took a step forward, causing Hawks to internally panic. This was bad, they were at a dead end and the villain was blocking his only exit.
Tightening the hold on his sword, Hawks answered back firmly. "I-I'm not ignoring you man. I.."
Yet the stitched villain cut him off immediately, obviously not believing his words in the slightest as he gave a dark murderous chuckle through his teeth. "Yes you are, because that's what you always do. That's what everyone does. Guess I'm gonna have to burn it through your feathered skull after all, just what kind of mistake you made."
And although Hawks had studied Dabi's movements for moments, the man had never seen this before from the villain. Right now he seemed rather, emotional? No, that couldn't be right. Dabi didn't get emotional. He never cared about anything.
Feeling his feathers twitch as the villain approached, Hawks gasped. "Whoa whoa, let's just calm down, yeah? There's no need for that. Look, I'm sorry for leavin but you gotta trust me. I.."
Dabi only laughed even more though, his chuckling bouncing off the wall and causing the hero's spine to shake unknowingly at how funny he found his words. "Trust you? That's the biggest fucking joke I've ever heard. I've never trusted one word out of your dirty rotten mouth."
Gulping at that, Hawks felt himself rack his brain for something that would cause Dabi to rethink his murder spree. There had to be something. But what?
Lifting up his sword in defense, the hero sharpened all of his feathers before narrowing his eyes at the oncoming fight. "Fine then, but there has to be a better way than this. You don't wanna destroy everything we've built up for months. I'm the best shot you have at finding the hero's plans and if you kill me then.."
He hoped that maybe, just maybe his information and help to the league would cause the villain to pause, yet he was sorely disappointed when Dabi's body came into full view, showing the feral smirk on his lips. "You self centered egotistical fuck. You think the entire world revolves around your shitty feathers. You think you are so self righteous, just because you are the commission's lapdog. I don't care about the hero or the league's plans. I only care about wanting you dead."
This caused Hawks to pause for a half a second, not understanding the villain's words. They had been together for months after all, and if that was really his goal then.. "If that's true then why haven't you done it already?"
That's when the villain's entire aura turned dark as Hawks saw the pure raw hatred flashing in his eyes, something that was very familiar for some reason. He just couldn't put his finger on it.
"Because people like you deserve far worse things than death."
Allowing the blue flames to completely overtake his arms, the villain then threw a massive amount of fire straight at Hawks, causing the bird to immediately widen his eyes at the sudden attack before just barely stepping out of the way.
Because of his strange words, the flames were able to catch on a couple of his feathers, the inferno burning the objects away into nothing as Hawks hissed and threw out his own counter attack.
So much for being civil.
As the object barreled towards Dabi, the man only countered them with his own fire, watching with delight as the bristles wasted away into ash. He had waited years for this. Now was the time to savor the moment.
And seeing his feathers destroyed so easily caused Hawk to immediately grow a spike of fear in his chest. Crap, fire was his quirks weakness and they were cornered right now which meant that he couldn't fly and Dabi had the upper hand here.
Quickly sending two feathers away from the fight, he manipulated them under the doorways of the locked doors next to him, hoping one would lend to an escape route in case things turned really rough.
Dabi took his moment to attack again though, another wave of fire appearing in the bird's visions as the man laughed widely. "What's wrong, chicken shit? Realizing your mistake?
Realizing he needed to keep the villain talking in order to buy time, the bird sucked in an anxious breath before bringing up the one person that he knew would gain a reaction from the villain. His sister. "Why do you care so much about what Hikari is doing anyways? Aren't you the one that choked her and tried to kill her a couple days ago?"
As expected, the villain's eyes seemed to light up with fury at that, not liking the way he was phrasing that sentence. "And aren't you the one that abandoned her for her entire shitty life? Quite the double standard you have there."
And hearing his own mistakes once again caused Hawks' eye to flash with unsaid shame, knowing that Dabi was right in a sense. He didn't have a perfect relationship with his sister either.
But deep down Hawks knew that if he had discovered anything about Hikari's abuse and treatment then he would've walked away from the commission in an instant. He would've protected her. "I-I didn't mean to. All that time I thought I was protecting her. I didn't know about Riku and what she had to go through. I didn't know anything, and if I did then I would've stopped it."
Yet that's when another chilling thought popped into the man's head, his eyes turning dark as he pointed the feather sword in Dabi's direction. "But you were around for almost her entire life, so what's your excuse?"
All at once, the stitched villain seems to pause, his quirk disappearing for a millisecond before Dabi's cerulean gaze blinking in confusion. "What?"
Although the bird was quick, narrowing his eyes as he thought about all the times Dabi boasted about being there for Hikari when he wasn't. But if that was the case, then how come nothing changed. How come she still ended up hurt? If he really cared about her then why did his little sister still get tortured?
Voicing his disgust, Hawks spoke, clear and accusatory. "Yeah I've made some mistakes but I didn't know anything about what was going on with Hikari for years, you did. You brag about being better but what did you do to help her? Or did you just sit back and watch as she suffered?"
Once again that seemed to catch Dabi off guard, his hands dropping down by his sides as the man truly thought about Hawks' sentence, about the actions that brought him to this point.
And thinking about them, it made him so fucking angry. Recalling every horrible conversation and thing that happened to Touya and HIkari, it made him fume with fury. This bird didn't even know the half of it. He had no right to say that kind of bullshit.
Not when he had a point.
Shaking his head, Dabi allowed his lips to curve into a bitter smile at the memory. "You wouldn't understand. It's not like you were around to see how fucked up you made her. How she changed for you, how she destroyed herself for you. Such a pathetic Princess. Always longing for her big brother's acceptance and never getting it."
It was stupid, how Hikari always wanted Hawks' love, his approval. It was idodic how she would break herself down for him in a pathetic attempt to be stronger. It was absolutely infuriating to watch her innocent soul become as twisted as his.
Shrugging his shoulders, Dabi's voice then began in a cruel coaxing nature, wishing to draw out the bird's anger with the hard and horrible truth. "So yeah, I watched as she destroyed herself for someone that would never be worth it. I listened to her cry and wishes and never once did anything about them. I watched her suffer because of you for years and just let it happen."
Although for how fucked up that reailty was, Dabi was always surprised that Hikari never noticed it. That she never questioned why he just stood by and watched everything unfold. Nah, that idiot never once called him out for his cruel behavior or begged for him to save her. In fact, she is always just happy with his presence and conversation more than anything.
Apparently her standards were really low back then. How pathetic.
But for Hawks, hearing that truth brought a wave of anger course through his veins. This bastard was the one Hikari trusted more than anything, the one that was around during her darkest times and Dabi didn't even try to help her?! He just watched her suffer and cry and hurt herself for nothing?!
And of course normally the hero would've expected this from the man, but he thought that he cared about his little sister, more than this. Apparently not. "You bastard, you could've helped her! You could've got her away from that villain!"
A small amount of shame and hurt seemed to fill Dabi's eyes before it quickly morphed back into its usual state to mask his true feelings. "As could you. But looks like we both fell short in that category, right? There's that double standard again, thinking that you're so much better. Nah, that doesn't make you better, that makes you just as much of a villain as me."
Hawks eyes couldn't help but widen at that, knowing that the stitched man was right. He had no right to criticize his asshole behavior when the hero was just as much at fault with Hikari as Dabi
Quite honestly, they were both pretty shitty to her and at least Dabi could admit to his flaws whereas Hawks was still pretending to be this good guy that never did anything wrong. But even Hawks knew that wasn't the truth. He really was just as responsible for her distrust and hurt.
Dabi wasn't done twisting the invisible knife though, his eyes playing with some sort of hidden attempt as his tongue danced on the words carefully. "Course with how far your head in your ass is, you'll never admit it. That's always how you've been, far too focused with yourself to notice anyone else around you."
Unknown to the bird, Dabi's very specific wording seemed to bring another wave of untitled nostalgia through him, knowing that the hero really wasn't looking at who was in front of him. It had been seven months and yet he was still obvious. Stupid bird.
But for Hawks, there was something in those words, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. What was this guy talking about? Everything he had ever done was for other people, was for keeping other heroes safe, was so that they could have too much time on their hands. It was so he could suffer in place of them.
So much so that the hero felt himself scoff at the accusation, completely missing the hidden point all together. "Don't act like you know me, Dabi."
The villain seemed to find his words extremely hilarious though, the man giving a dark chuckle as Hawks finally found the room he was looking for behind the door to his left. It seemed to be some sort of basement, perfect for getting rid of the cameras on his back and finally telling Dabi the truth.
He just needed to open the door with his feathers and then make a break for it.
Getting to work on picking the lock, Hawks' consideration remained on his feathers as Dabi still remained utterly amused by his last statement. "Don't know you? Don't know you, he says. How fucking funny is that?"
Just then the villain's stance darkened before his arms started to spark with even more blue flames, the man lying in wait for something in particular. Wait, why wasn't he attacking yet? He had stopped for some reason.
Yet the bird soon got his answer when Dabi's voice came out with cruel intent, venom dripping on each and every word. "Oh? But I do, I know you so well. Overcompensating so that no one ever compares you to your villain father, wanting so badly to change your family history that you create another identity to hide in."
The words were close, far too close to home for Hawks to process them, the bird's stance turning cold in an instant. Wait, how did he know any of that? That was something he kept to himself all the time.
The need to break away from his fathers influence, the desire to change everything flawed about himself to become a great hero, those were his deepest darkest thoughts, things that no one else should've known except a few people in his life.
So the fact that Dabi knew them was so unbelievably terrifying that it made him freeze completely, his mouth hanging open with utter horror. "W-Wait, how do you know that?"
The villain didn't answer his question though, instead using his obviously scared demainer to his advantage, almost like he knew how dangerous and deep the words he was uttering were. But that was impossible, right?
Taking another step forward, Dabi only continued, watching as the perfectly put together hero began to crumble by the second. "Pushing yourself to your breaking point in order to please someone that will never be proud, erasing your sister and your family in order to pretend like the past never happened, not caring who is in your way as long as you get that acceptance you desperately crave."
And of course the villain knew what he was doing but there was also a hidden meaning behind his words, knowing that Hawks wasn't the only one that shared these kinds of dangerous qualities. No, it seemed Touya did as well.
Perhaps that's why they blended so well at first, why they were drawn to each other, why they felt safe sharing their secrets with each other all those years ago.
Because of that, Dabi knew what exactly would make the bird break, his step growing closer as his lips uttered out the words that he knew Hawks hated the most, taking his time in order to torture him ever so slowly. "Hawks, the golden child."
CLICK
Another turn of the lock sounded as his feathers worked on a door behind them, Hawks just barely focusing as his shoulders tense at the name. "Stop it."
The villain didn't comply, only continued his slow torture with a mocking smirk. "Hawks, the symbol of heroism."
CLICK
And as his knuckles started to turn pure white from the force of his sword, the bird just barely heard a small click from the lock behind him, signaling that he was almost done with the door. "I'm warning you, Dabi..."
The stitched menace didn't care in the slightest though, lowering his eyes into that same cruel half lidded stare he had always known. "Hawks, the one that meets every expectation no matter the cost. "
CLICK
Feeling his teeth grind together, the bird felt himself close to his breaking point, each and every feather on his wings growing sharper by the second. "Shut up."
CLICK
Yet that's when Dabi decided to give the final blow, knowing that the man was one small push away from becoming unhinged.
And somehow, that seemed to be what the villain wanted from the very beginning. "Hawks, the boy who will always be just like his father."
Just then the bird was reminded of the cruel words of the commision, the ones that the presdient would torture him over and over with, his greatest fears still extremely clear from her taunts.
Are you just a sorry excuse like your father or are you something more than that?"
All at once, Hawks' sanity began to snap at the same time the door behind Dabi unlocked, causing the bird to immediately throw his feathers at the villain with immense force as blue inferno rained into the air.
Dabi was able to burn most of the feathers but a couple managed to latch onto his clothes before pulling him backwards through the newly opened door and tumbling down the stairs to the basement.
Not wasting another moment, Hawks used his wings to fly down before landing on top of the villain with pure intent, his sword just barely gracing the tip of his neck as he shouted back. "Y-You, take it back. I will never be my father. I am better than him."
Dabi didn't seem phased at all though, almost like he wanted the hero to attack him like this, the man only glancing to the sword with a smirk. "Are you? From this angle you two seem pretty much the same."
And that seemed to wake something up in the bird immediately, the hand on his sword shaking ever so slightly. That's right, he was doing the same thing his father did all those years ago, threatening people, hurting them when they said something he didn't like, snapping in a single second, what was wrong with him?
The villain saw the distress clear across his features before feeling the hero's grip loosen just enough for Dabi to throw his hands upwards, quirk at the ready for a counterattack. "What are you going to say to that? That you're a hero? Oh please, that term doesn't change shit. It doesn't change how much you fucked over everyone in your life, it doesn't change the mistakes you've made, it doesn't change how blinded you are inside your perfect little prison!"
Gasping at the flames, Hawks immediately extended his wings before flying backwards to avoid the fire, landing a couple feet away from the villain with a huff of anxiety. He hated what he was saying, he hated how real it was, he hated that Dabi knew everything going on in his pathetic little mind.
But the fact that he called his life "perfect", now that set him off. Because his life was far from perfect. He hated himself, he hated everything about himself, his actions, his emotions, the manipulation the commission that put on him unknowingly. He hated it all.
Flash of his past training began to appear in his mind as he shouted back, the feeling of scars and cuts still lingering on his skin. "I don't think that at all. Stop putting words in my mouth. You wouldn't understand what I've been through!!"
Dabi once again seemed to twist his face in extreme emotion at that, throwing another round of fire at the bird with a loud cyclical laugh that chilled his spine. "Ha! The irony is so rich right now. That's just another reason to prove you're a worthless bastard, isn't it? What? You gonna go whine and cry about it, about how your life is so awful when you treat everyone around you like shit?! Take your pity party and shove it up your ass Hawks."
Smoke started to radiate from his skin as Hawks quickly looked around the room only to find a large metal door to his left. Wait, that room looked like it was sound proof. The walls were certainly thick enough. But how could he tell? "Dabi.."
Yet it seemed like the villain was far too emotional to calm his raging thoughts, as he raced forward, catching Hawks off guard with the large amount of flames entering his vision.
He was just so sick and tired of him not understand, of Hawks acting so fucking inncoent when that clearly wasn't the case. It was making him insane again just thinking about it, about that night when his best friend Keigo betrayed him and ruined his life forever.
Moving too fast to process it, Dabi was able to punch the bird across the face before pushing him into the ground as another fire fist filled his vision, his emotions far too strong to control or lock down anymore. "It's you that doesn't understand!! You never fucking understand, even back then! Always just thinking about yourself and not the ones you stepped on to get here, ignoring and not noticing what's been in front of your face this whole goddamn time!!"
Feeling the pain immediately, ther hero weakly put a hand upwards before Dabi glowing flames of hatred reached just inches from his face as the bird saw his lips twist into a cruel chuckle. He had never seen Dabi like this, so emotional, so unhinged.
Honestly it was terrifying.
As a venom poured from his lips Hawks then watched as tiny specks of blood started to appear out of the purple stitches that lined his eyes, the liquid sizzling as soon as it made contact with his skin. "All of you, all of you in that godforsaken world are the fucking same and I'm sick of it!! I will not be ignored anymore, I will be noticed, I will make you know my name as you breathe the last breath from your pathetic pigeon brained body."
And as his hands got closer and closer to Hawks' face, Dabi began to laugh even more uncontrollably as the blood under his eyes started to pool more and more. "I'll make you remember me and then I'll dance on your graves, you and Endeavor both, how I long for that day, that day when you finally realize just what you both created in the end!!"
Realizing he had to do something to stop this, Hawk forced his eyes towards the empty room to his right before deciding something extremely risky. He didn't know if that corner was soundproof or not but he didn't really have time to check. One more second and he'd be dead.
He felt Dabi's flames start to singe the top of his head as the bird closed his eyes in concentration just as the villain's blood colored tears poured down his face with a screaming shout. "That's why you deserve to burn, everyone deserves to burn!!"
Although due to his concentration, Hawk just barely registered the familiar words before forcing all of his feathers to detach from his wings in a single second, quickly pushing them towards the empty room and shutting the door with his last one just as the fire made contact with his face.
Then he lifted his hands up to block the attack before shouting out the truth for the first time since their argument. "Hikari is with Endeavor!"
Almost immediately, all of the murder and unhidged emotions semed to drain from the villains eyes, blinking once as his own fire disappeared in shock. "Huh?"
Noticing that his words were working, Hawks continued hastily, still placing his hands in front of his face just in case the villain changed his mind about the whole murder thing. "Hikari is with Endeavor! I couldn't tell you before because the liberation put cameras on my wings but I'm telling the truth. She's being a double agent in order to get the heroes' information and she's helping them with a defense for the war!"
But to the hero's surprise, the man just stood there dumbfounded, like he couldn't even begin to process the absurd words he was speaking. Hikari working with Endeavor? No it couldn't be. She knew firsthand how much of a piece of shit he was. She claimed that she hated him also. The bird was lying again, he knew it.
Yet even so, his lips formed a response, teeth gritting at the many implications. "What the fuck did you just say?"
Seeing his anger start to return, the hero quickly countered back, his voice far too rushed to realize he was signing his little sister's fate for his own. "A-At first I was the one that was supposed to do everything but then the liberation introduced these cameras and Hikari offered to take the job in my place."
The words felt sickening on his tongue, Dabi's nose scrunching up with pure disgust and what he was suggesting. That didn't sound like his Princess at all. "Offered? She offered to work with that shit bag?"
Nodding once, Hawks replied with a nervous smile. "Yeah, so that's probably where she is right now and why she's so stressed right now. It's a lot to balance for one person I'm sure."
Silence filled the empty room at that, causing the bird to panic immediately. He must have thought he was bullshiting him again, that's why he was being silent. Oh no, he was so dead, wasn't he?
Lifting his arms up in defense, he then pleaded with the monster in front of him, hoping that for some miracle he'd trust him for once on this one. "You gotta believe me, man. We didn't mean to hide everything from you. You just haven't been around so you didn't know what was going on."
Just then, he heard a low sound of laughter start to fill the space, Dabi's dark chuckles bouncing off the walls automatically as his palms began to smoke and twitch with so much unkempt emotions. "My Princess, with Endeavor.."
He couldn't help it, everything was just so fucking funny. Hikari's possible betrayal, the fact that she may have been working with the enemy behind his back for weeks, the fact that she was helping the guy that killed Touya. It was so fucking funny beyound belief.
Sure, he was hurt, he was hurt by the mere implication that his friends may have been screwing him over since the beginning and hiding it but also that hurt caused the villain's heart to fill with a heavy amount of relief as well.
Because if she really was doing all that, then breaking her wouldn't hurt anymore.
His guilt for the past, the regrets that haunted his own mind every waking moment, none of them would matter anymore if Hikari really did betray him like that.
So a part of him hoped it was the case, he hoped that she really was just as stupid as Hawks claimed, that she had done the one thing that was irreversible. He really hoped she did so that he could continue on with his future plans in peace.
And as his laughter grew to a loud shout, Hawks watched the psychotic villain with concern, not understanding the reaction in the slightest. "Uhh? Is everything okay?"
Dabi only continued his insane glee though, feeling his bloody tears start to pool again with the idea of everything actually ending after all these years. No, he needed to see for himself, he needed to see if it was true.
Taking a step back from the hero, the villain then turned his back before fixing his gaze towards the door on his left, not really showing interest in torturing Hawks like before. "Looks like we'll have to save this for a later date, chicken shit. Something else just came up.
Then the villain walked away from the bird, his mind set on one thing and one thing only.
Finding out the truth, once and for all.
And as Hawks watched him go, he couldn't help but feel like he somehow misstepped.
Almost like he had unknowingly started the fall of something far greater than he could've ever imagined.
RIP Hikari. Dabi's gonna have some words with her. We are starting the downfall to the season finale where everything is revealed! I'm very excited!
Gotta go to work so I can't write much here but I love seeing your comments. They give me motivation.
Next Chapter: Hawks gets a visitor at Endeavor's agency and needs to make a choice