Top pic credit: MintyShrimp

I saw Dabi's next actions comin' a mile away. I could have easily escaped it, but because of my dedication to this mission....for the purpose of trying to keep my cover....I simply let it happen.

Makes me think....just how far am I willing to go with this? What is my breaking point? The limit to what I will do to succeed as a double agent?

I'm not sure. Guess I haven't been tested hard enough, yet.

Maybe, I'm willing to die for this. Looks like I'm about to find out.

I barely flinched as a whirl of blue flames surrounded the space around me, blinding my sight to everything, but the image of Dabi who was directly in front of me.

Hot! It's hot!

I folded my wings closer to my body, trying to prevent them from getting incinerated, by the flashes of blue that were much too close for comfort.

His eyes glowed as bright as his flames, a slow sinister smile forming on his face as he kept my gaze.

"Hawks, Hawks, Hawks." He started off lowly, before grabbing onto my coat and yanking me closer.

I let a nervous chuckle slip from my mouth, holding my hands out to him in innocent surrender, as he brought his flame wrapped hand towards my wings.

Should I defect? Should I finally fight him?

No. Not yet. Hold out just a little longer. See what he wants first.

Stop shaking. Don't be afraid. Everything is okay.

Dabi burned his eyes into me, as he tauntingly brought his flame closer to my wings. Clearly, he was waiting for me to break.

I forced myself to remember my gruesome years of hero commission training.

This is what I was trained to do. Time to put these skills to use.

I forced my muscles to relax, letting out a silent, deep breath to slow my pounding heart. A slow, lazy smile began to form on my face, and that typical half lidded gaze clouded my eyes. Focusing in on Dabi, trying to ignore his sweltering flames, I forced myself to become the man I've been groomed to be my whole life.

Putting away Keigo, I forced myself to become Hawks.

"Well, this is quite a statement you're making here, my friend. Are you trying to impress me? 'Cause it's definitely working!" I laughed, throwing my head back in idiotic glee as my feathers sensed Dabi's flame filled hand getting closer.

Not responding, Dabi extinguished the flame around his hand for a moment, harshly plucking a small feather out from my wing.

Ouch.

He held the feather directly in front of my face, before I watched blue flames aggressively engulf the poor thing to bits.

Dabi and I watched wordlessly as it began burning away, not being able to fight the fire that relentlessly swallowed it.

"It burns." Dabi said smoothly, almost looking proud of himself for burning my single feather to ash.

I let out a small snicker, watching him toss the remaining ash of my feather onto the dirty floor.

"Hm?-Wait, what?! Really, it burns? Well, that's surprising. Who woulda thunk blue fire could burn a feather, am I right?" I said in playful sarcasm, pursing my lips in fake thought.

"You're a liar, bird. You're a liar, and I know it." Dabi stated calmly, completely ignoring my joking attempts.

"Oh yeah? How do ya figure that? I'm dyin' to hear how that mind of yours works, Dabi. Look man, I've already told you. I'm loyal to the league-"

"I know where you were, this weekend." He simply said, carefully watching my face for any immediate reactions.

Fuck. No. Damn it. Is he serious?!

"Ah. And where would that be, exactly?" I asked with a smirk, secretly trying to get Dabi to tell me what he knows. Maybe it's not what I'm thinking. I don't want to accidentally let him know where I really was, if he doesn't actually know.

Unfortunately, Dabi's not a dense guy.

"I want you to tell me. I want you to say it. I already know where you were. Your answer right here can just be another test of your loyalty." He explained, as a malicious smile ghosted his face.

I can see it in his eyes. He thinks he's trapped me in a corner, here.

And damn, he's right about that.

I immediately shut up, feeling my heart stop.

Okay, time to think for a moment. I was obviously at Ari's parents' house this weekend. But, I was careful to cover my tracks, making sure no one actually knew this.

I purposely picked her up at her dorm, instead of the Hawks Agency. I flew higher into the clouds so we wouldn't be spotted. I was very careful to make sure we weren't being followed.

So, this begs the question...does Dabi really know where I was this weekend? Or was he just trying to trick me into telling him?

Although, he did call me, twice, when I was at Ari's parents house. I had to lie and tell her it was Diane.

I'm at an impasse, here. I could lie, and say I was somewhere else. But, if he had physical proof that I was at Ari's house, I'd for sure be outed as a spy. Or, I'd be outed as someone who's not trustworthy, which would still get me killed right now.

And, obviously, there's no way in hell I'd actually tell him I was with Ari and her family. I would never endanger them like that.

So, basically what I'm trying to say.....is that I'm royally fucked, and that either way, I lose. Neat!

"Oh? First, you never shut up. Now, you decide to be quiet at a time like this? That's out of character for you. Don't you think so?" Dabi chuckled lowly, clearly already starting to insinuate that I was going to lie.

Okay, best to start out vague and let him piece it together. I'll be as vague as possible, causing his anticipation to rise, until he eventually answers the question himself.

It's a risky tactic, because he could just end up getting frustrated enough to kill me. But, if it keeps Ari and her family safe, I'm more than willing to do it.

I shot my gaze back to Dabi, giving him a cheeky smirk.

Playing with my life, I let out a fake yawn, before throwing my head up to look at the ceiling in boredom.

"Hm, if you already know where I was, what do you need me to tell ya for? I kinda like this guessing game, Dabi." I grinned cockily, waiting for a giant flame to burn my face off.

Cool. No flame, yet.

"You do, huh? Do you also like being burnt alive? Cause with talk like this, you're heading in that direction, you overgrown pigeon." He scoffed, loosening his hold on my jacket just a tad.

"Ah, yes. Being burnt alive is definitely less desirable. Well, if you must know where I was this weekend, mom...I was out, getting laid." I stated matter of factly, raising my brows at him challengingly.

Lies. But, with the douchey way I've been talking about Ari with Dabi, it's still something that's vague, yet believable. I didn't get laid this weekend. I didn't care about that, either. Although, I still gave Ari and I a pretty great time that night I went down on-

"With who, Casanova?" Dabi asked, making me nervous when he already acted as though he knew who I was talking about.

Fuck. He wants me to say her name. I can't do that. I won't put Ari in that situation. If Dabi manages to piece together that I'm in a relationship with her, she'll be dead by morning.

Deflect.

"Wellll, I think the better question is, who wasn't I gettin' action from this weekend. I mean, c'mon you crusty scarecrow. Have you seen me-"

"I want a name, Hawks."

Never, Dabi.

"Sure thing, chicken wing. How many names do you want? I've got a couple."

"You know the name I want."

"You'll have to be a little more specific there, chief. Between you and me, I've been around the block."

"Say it."

"Say what-"

"Really, Hawks? You think I don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Fucking hell, you really wanna test me, you piece of shit?! Fine! Ari Parker!! You were with Ari Parker, and you were with her family this weekend! Don't believe me, still? You were at their house, located five minutes from the Tengoku Summit, with her mom, Susy. Her ex pro hero father, Thunder Shock, who is also missing a few limbs. And her little brother Sam, who's a quirkless little shit. That's where you were." Dabi spat out, glaring at me in irritation.

Oh. My. God. He really does know!

How the hell did he know all of that.

That answer was much worse than I thought it would be. I didn't think he had ALL of that information.

Seriously, how the hell does he know all of that?! Is he spying on me? Is Ari okay? Are Susy, Michael, and Sam okay? Are they being killed right now? Should I go to them? Warn them? Make a deal with Dabi not to hurt them-

For the absolute life of me, I kept my poker face...watching Dabi's eyes only become more furious the longer he looked at me.

"See? I knew, bird. And now I know you lied to me. You're a liar, and you can't be trusted." He growled, as blue fire engulfed his arm.

Hah, except I didn't, Dabi. I never explicitly, flat out lied, during any part of this conversation. The only thing I said was that I got laid. Sure, that's a lie, but Dabi has no idea, and no way to prove, I'm lying about that. I'm still in the clear. Thank you to the hero commission for teaching me these tactics of manipulation.

I forced myself to recover from my shock quickly, as I tried to save my life again.

"Huh? What do ya mean? I never lied to you." I stated innocently, acting like I didn't know what the hell he was talking about.

Dabi simply glared at me. Apparently, my acting skills are better than I thought, if he's still this unsure. I need to convince him. The cats already out of the bag. He knows I was with Ari and her family. Now, I need to go with it. Embrace it.

"Man, you sure have a pretty tight stick up your ass, huh? 'Course I was with Ari and her folks! I thought you and I were just messing around with each other. I mean...we are, aren't we? Are we not joking with each other, right now? We're bros, remember? Had I known you were actually serious about this whole encounter, I would have just come out with the whole truth from the beginning. Jeez! Gimme a break here." I chuckled, holding up my hands in surrender.

More lies. Hopefully he buys it.

"I don't buy that bullshit one bit......but, I'm curious to see how you'll dig your way out of this hole. So, tell me....what compelled you to spend the weekend with your intern and her family. I'm dyin' to know how that mind of yours works, Hawks." Dabi smirked, crossing his arms in dark amusement as he waited for me to choke under the pressure.

I simply shrugged, keeping the lazy, carefree facade plastered on my face.

"Well, you know I've been trying to bone cute, little Ari for awhile. This was just the final play of the game, my friend. That's all. Oh, and I won the game, just in case you're wondering." I winked, shooting him a sinister grin.

Dabi was quiet for a moment, keeping his eyes on me in uncomfortable silence.

I puffed out my cheeks in boredom, lazily rocking back and forth on my heels, as I waited for a verdict on whether or not I'd live to see tomorrow.

"That's all it was?" Dabi asked plainly. Of course, I heard the mocking tone behind his voice.

This guy wasn't done with me, yet.

"That's all it was, pal. Unless you'd like to know all the dirty details." I grinned, waiting for him to stop toying with his prey.

Dabi was quiet for a moment longer, before a small smile broke out onto his face.

Oof. Was that meant to be a genuine smile? Shit, that's creepier than his evil smile. Yikes.

"Oh. Well, if that's all it was." Dabi shrugged casually, before he immediately extinguished the blue flames on his arm.

In the next instant, the blue flames that surrounded the space around us were extinguished by the league of villains.

I jumped slightly from the sudden change, still keeping my guard up.

"Oh boy! I don't know how you guys stayed in the middle of all that heat for so long!! I thought I'd pass out, from all the way back here!" Twice laughed, carelessly tossing a fire extinguisher on the floor.

I narrowed my eyes in slight confusion, and suspicion, waiting for the fireworks of this situation. There's been more than enough build up of tension.

Where's the release?

"Well, god damn. You had me a little upset there, for just a moment." Dabi laughed softly, before abruptly swinging a "friendly" arm over my shoulder.

I held in a flinch from his sudden motion, forcing my body to relax.

What the hell is he playing at here?! This anticipation is actually stressing me out.

"Sorry, man. I thought we were close enough to joke around like that. Guess, I'll be more sensitive towards your feminine side next time." I teased, watching him roll his eyes.

"Good, I expect it. Oh, and you know, I'm glad you finally got your fill of Ari Parker. You had some good timing..." Dabi started out in taunting happiness, clearly having a point to this mental torture.

I remained quiet, dreading the moment he continued speaking.

"Because, I want you to know, Hawks...I've moved up my timeline with Ari. As of now, I've decided that she won't live to see next month."