The Crimson Thread

Chapter 9: The Ultimatum

The past few days for Hawk have been a real workout for him. Not in the physical sense but more mentally. The stress of having to deal with the constant pestering and sly remarks of the Crimson Tyrant, mixed with Hawk having to lie about his demonic half's existence to both Dante and Vergil daily, was obviously taxing.

On the outside, though, his time as Shiro's bodyguard was a relatively cushy gig. He barely ever had to do anything that required him to exert himself physically. And the "bodyguard" part was more for show as he rarely ever had to defend Shiro from any would-be usurpers of the Club President position. Hawk being there seemed to scare off most that even thought of attempting to do so.

His partnership with Satsuki and her Elite Four had given him a chance to sort of get to know them. And if he had to give a short description of them, it would have to be "scarily familiar".

Each of the four reminded him of Team RWBY in a strange sense. Ira Gamagori, head of the Disciplinary Committee, had a very loud and eye-catching personality. Mixing that with his being the de facto leader of the Elite Four and his sense of righteousness, he hilariously reminded Hawk of Ruby. Comedically since Gamagori was the tallest and oldest member of the group, contrary to Ruby.

Hoka Inumata, Head of the Information and Strategy Committee, was a quiet and studious individual. More comfortable watching and studying, only speaking to give remarks or insight into certain situations. Hawk met Inumata often as he constantly checked up on Shiro to monitor his work and, most likely, to spy on Hawk. Inumata reminded Hawk of Blake the most. Hawk wouldn't have been surprised if what Inumata was staring into his data pad all the time was actually C-rated smut novels.

Nonon Jakuzure, Head of the Non-Athletic Committee, was the shortest and most fiery-tempered person in the Elite Four. Apparently, having been a part of Satsuki's life since an early age, she has a pretty big chip on her shoulder and constantly flaunts it and uses it to take worded jabs at anyone she thinks annoys her, including Hawk...a lot. But Hawk knew how to deal with her pestering as Nonon was almost a spitting image of Weiss, except shorter.

Lastly was Uzu Sanageyama, Head of the Athletic Committee. He and Hawk barely spoke, and if they did, it was short and ended in Hawk having to threaten Sanageyama. But from the limited times they hadn't instantly begun to argue, Sanageyama was brash and headstrong, constantly overestimating his capabilities and underestimating his opponents. But Hawk could tell that Sanageyma had an amazing amount of potential. If only he could realize that using a kendo stick was a big factor in holding him back. These characteristics solemnly reminded Hawk of his half-sister, Yang.

At the current moment, though, Hawk was leaning up against the back wall of an observation room that Shiro used to monitor experiments. This has been where Hawk spent most of his time, as Shiro was undoubtedly a creature dedicated to his work. Most of the time, Shiro would pass out due to lack of sleep, and it fell upon Hawk to get him back to the apartment where they both stayed.

As Hawk watched on from where he stood, he noticed the shadowy figure of the Crimson Tyrant mimicking Hawk's stance on the wall to his left. His being able to materialize himself like this had created new ways of torturing Hawk. More so since no one else could see, feel or hear him. This meant that Hawk had to deal with the Crimson Tyrant's antics by simply letting them happen. This included, watching Hawk sleep, doing an assortment of things to get Hawk's attention, mocking him every chance he got, and finally threatening to kill everyone Hawk cares about.

Crimson Tyrant(mirage): "You know how easy it would be just to send him crashing through that window. He'd probably die from just going through the glass. I mean, you would be holding back. I wouldn't. Splat! Right on the testing room wall. Red stain, blood everywhere." Hawk lightly yawned as he kept his eyes forward. "Aw, come on! Not even a bat of the eye?! You're no fun! I liked you better when you wanted to kill people. Now your all goody-two-shoes, and save the puppies, and shit like that. Pansy ass."