Ultra Blue Violence (Dabi)

Chapter Seventy-Eight: Cusp

"I'm now in contact with Dabi and Stardust. Our communications will most likely be monitored. So any messages from now on will have to be coded."

"It worked?" Madam President is looking at the phone on the table in surprise. Hawks's name is on the contact. The seven members of The Board are sitting around her, including Kinetic. The leather chair squeaks as Madam President sits back, biting her lip.

All night, and following into the early hours of the morning they were clouded by dread and fear of the meeting going sour. The constant thought that Hawks could have been dead was the only thought any of them had. But to hear that the meeting actually went well was more than a sigh of relief. It was a celebration.

Kinetic's head falls into his hands and relief escapes his mouth. "I can't believe it..." he breathes with a shudder. "They really let you in? Just like that? That's all it took, a murder?"

There was hesitation from Hawks. "Yeah. Dabi was surprised, but Stardust didn't take it too well. Dabi didn't tell her what we talked about. He didn't tell her he asked for the Russian files either. He tested us both."

"That's an odd thing for him to do." Fuji Tanaka implies with his hand. His voice gruff. "Aren't they a thing?"

"That's what the statistics show us." Kato Yokisho perks, running fingers down his long wispy grey beard. "And from Hawks's recon missions and public reports. They're always together. And now that he's one step closer, he'll be able to report with a 100% guarantee."

"Dabi told me himself last night. He told me to 'stay away from her because she belongs to him.' He threatened me too. So yeah, they're a thing. And he's possessive of her. They even argued about what happened. Star wasn't happy I gave her the Russian reports, I think it almost gave me away, but I told her that I told you I needed the files because I wanted to start at the root of all the problems plus some other crap she wanted to hear."

"She bought that?" Aoi Sakura laughs.

"She almost didn't." Snapped Hawks.

Aoi Sakura switches her crossed legs shuffling in her seat.

Kinetic seemed nervous. His leg was jumping up and down beneath the table and his palms were sweating. "You know what this means?" he swallows the lump in his throat. "She's hunting us - them. She want's revenge." he runs the back of his hand over his forehead collecting beads of sweat. His voice is shaky. "I don't know if I can take anymore of this."

"Hawks is in, that's what matters. We need to take this step by step." Eito Goto says deeply. The panda blinks two beady black eyes across the table to Kinetic. "With Hawks in, we can help Stardust."

Madam President snaps her head to the panda in disbelief.

"Eito is right." Yuma Onishi gestured his hand. His suit, a size to large, looks awkward on his body. The shoulders of his suit are pushed up to his ears and he's constantly adjusting himself. "We can take out the League step by step."

The crackling voice of Hawks speaks again, "What happened in Deika a few days ago, it was the League. But as far as anyone knows, you only suspect and are investigating. And for now, the League still have small numbers and are in hiding." he confirms.

Worried looks are shared across The Board and they intently listen to the Number Two Hero.

"I don't know exactly what happened or how, or why, but they've invited me to something this Saturday. An offical opening of some sort. It'll be my first time meeting the rest of the League. So, I'm going to be playing it safe. Dabi and Stardust are my two biggest worries, one wrong word and its over." Hawks recalls Miya snapping at him yesterday, but he's doesn't want to replay that information to The Board. "She doesn't want my help tracking down the Russian group either. Which means she might not want our help at all."