Top pic credit: KadeArt
I groaned loudly in frustrated sadness, running my hands roughly through my hair.
"Oh, come on!!!! You're overreacting, Diane!!" I screamed out in fury, more mad at myself at this point.
Diane held back a smile, as she watched me falling apart right before her very eyes. This is what she was waiting for, and she got it. She won.
"I'm overreacting? That's funny." She muttered, not being able to stop a soft giggle from slipping through her mouth.
I slammed my hands on the table, feeling tears starting to cloud my eyes.
"Why. WHY WON'T YOU EVER FUCKING LISTEN TO ME!!? WHY WON'T YOU EVER HEAR ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!!!" I screamed again, digging my nails into the wooden table.
"Well, we don't have to worry about that anymore, right? You quit, remember? I want your letter of resignation on my desk tomorrow morning. Your family is to be out of the Tengoku mansion by Friday. Good day, Ari Parker. It's been a pleasure working with you." She departed professionally, making me immediately turn around.
Goodbye, pride.
"W-Wait-" I trembled, walking towards her.
"I don't have to wait for someone who doesn't work for me anymore."
I began full on crying now, as I reached out for her hand.
"No, no, n-no!! Diane, please. Don't do this. Please, I-I'm begging y-you. P-Please-" I sobbed out, before I felt a massive stinging whip across the side of my cheek.
Oof. I've been bitch slapped.
I stumbled backwards from the unexpected force, tripping over one of the office chairs and landing in a broken slump on the floor.
It was silent for a moment, the only thing filling the room, being my soft sobs.
"Don't ever touch me again." Diane said lowly, before walking back over to me.
I continued laying face down on the floor, feeling my body racking viciously, as I realized my life was over.
In the next instant, I felt my hair harshly yanked off the floor as Diane brought me close to her.
She studied my mess of a state, smiling as she realized she broke me.
"Shhhh." She cooed out, wiping the continuous waterfall of tears that came from my eyes.
I felt her arms wrap around me in a cold embrace, only making me cry harder as I realized she was giving me a second chance. I couldn't necessarily say I was crying, because I was happy either.
"Do you see what you make me do to you? This is your fault, Ari. Why do you do this to yourself? You think you can make it out there on your own, but you can't. You understand you need me, don't you?" She whispered softly, caressing my tangled hair.
My harsh sobs turned into hyperventilation, preventing me from answering her.
Diane hummed sweetly, forcibly grabbing my hand in hers as she held my broken body in her arms. I didn't have the energy to move, as I remained limp, letting her hug me.
"Tell me you need me, and this can all go away. All of it. I'll take you back to the hero commission, and your family can keep living the way they are now. Just say the words, sweetie. Say the truth." She cooed.
What does it even matter, anymore? I have no pride left.
"I-I-I.....need...you." I breathed out shakily, hearing her tsk in disapproval.
"Speak up." She hummed, wanting me to say it again.
Letting out a sigh of pure and utter despair, I forced myself to say the words I've been so desperately avoiding.
"I need you, Diane." I stated clearly, my tone filled with nothing but empty sorrow.
The words I didn't want to believe, couldn't be more true.
She simply patted my back, before shuffling my limp body back onto the floor, without a second thought.
"I know you do, and I'm kind enough to give you a second chance. However, as my own form of punishment, I am giving you a thirty percent cut on your annual income." She stated, dusting my presence off her business clothes.
I gasped in anxiety, having the nerve to try and speak again.
"B-But, you know my dad's hospital bills already cover forty percent of my entire pay-"
"I do know. Let this be a lesson to you, to hold your tongue next time." She stated matter of factly, making me realize the decision was final.
I really fucked up.
I didn't respond, hearing her heels clacking towards the exit, before they stopped abruptly.
"What do you say to me, for giving you a second chance, Ari?" She asked innocently, wanting to get that last dig to my soul.
Burying my face into the dirty floor, I robotically uttered the words I knew she wanted to hear.
"Thank you for giving me a second chance, Diane." I stated blankly, not even caring that it was apparent I cried through that entire statement.
I heard her sigh in content, before opening the door.
Hawks POV:
"Oh, and don't stay on the floor too long, Ari. Clean yourself up. Remember what I always tell you...no one likes a drama queen." Diane laughed, before walking out of the room for good.
My jaw was slightly ajar, as I just watched Ari get torn apart by Diane. I never expected her to be this malicious.
I pressed my lips together, feeling my heart literally shattering as Ari's soft, little sobs continued radiating from the television. She continued laying on the floor, crying her eyes out.
I wanted nothing more than to run to her side, and hold her in my arms. I wanted nothing more than to console her, and tell her everything is going to be okay-
"Well, god damn. That hero commissions lady really wiped the floor with little Ari, huh." Dabi laughed, quickly shutting the monitor off.
While I was relieved the league of villains could no longer see Ari, I had absolutely no relief that I was also no longer able to see her. I wanted to make sure she was okay, because right now...she looked far from it.
"Yeah. How can ya call us villains, when people treat other people like that." Twice pointed out, using my wing to fan his face.
I remained silent, thinking about everything I just witnessed.
Hah, that's funny. Twice has a point.
"What do you think about all of that, bird?" Dabi asked casually, tilting his head at me.
Not in the mood to joke around and play the happy go lucky idiot, I decided to just speak my truth.
"What do I think about it? Well, I think that hero commissions lady is a dumb bitch. I've already told you, the hero world is more corrupt than they let on. They try to cover up their own evil by saving people, thinking they're doing the right thing...when in reality, they're only doing what's best for them." I blurted out, not even thinking about the words as they formed on my lips.
Dabi nodded slowly, taking in my words as they came out.
"I believe you." He simply said, before speaking again.
"Can't say I believe you fully though, considering Ari specifically pointed out that you two are just friends. You say you're fucking, and she says you're just friends. I've gotta wonder which one's the truth-or if any of that is the truth. Of course, if you guys are fucking and your friends, well that just presents a whole new issue in itself-"
"Nah, man. Ari was lying. Look, I feel a little bad after watching what just happened to her. But, she was probably just saying that so she didn't lose her job." I shrugged, still trying to stay consistent with my story, even though I was so, so tired of it.
The room was quiet for a moment in silence, as everyone mulled over the previous situation. Surprisingly, the silence wasn't tense and uncomfortable, the way it usually is, whenever I'm around here. It was just....silent.
I didn't hate it, and I didn't love it.
This, very temporary, moment of peace was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door.
"Baby, it's us!" A woman giggled from the other side of the door, causing a smirk to plaster across Dabi's face.
"Ah. Perfect timing." He said sinisterly, before calling for the woman to come in.
I lazily looked over at the door, watching it fly open carelessly, to reveal three women who looked like they were dressed for the club.
"Over there." Dabi said to them, snapping his fingers in confirmation.
I raised my brows in question, watching all three of them immediately make a beeline for me.
"Have fun!" Toga laughed, patting my head before getting off the couch. Twice followed her, allowing two of the three girls to automatically slip into their spots. The third girl remained behind me. I jumped uncomfortably when she began running her hands on my shoulders, down to my chest.
The two girls, who were seated next to me on the couch, threw their bare legs across my lap...starting to touch my arms, and my abdomen.
My body tensed up completely, as I tried to get off the couch.
"No thanks-" I muttered to them, before they grabbed me and pinned me back down on the couch.
"Where you going, number two hero?" One of them cooed, trying to kiss my neck.
I leaned away from her, feeling the other one starting to run her fingers through my hair.
"Yeah, come play with us! We've always wanted a hero." Another one of them smirked, trying to remove my jacket.
"I said, no." I stated more firmly, roughly struggling out of their grasp and shooting up from the couch.
Dabi simply laughed, clapping his hands in amusement at my antics.
I glared at him in annoyance, realizing he was definitely behind this.
"What the hell is going on, Dabi?" I asked, coming off just as irritated as I truly was.
Dabi slowly stood up, lazily stretching his arms over his head.
"Nothing. Just your initiation. If anything, you should be thanking me. Compared to what I've made other people do, to become a member of the league, this is the nicest thing I've ever done." He laughed, before walking over to a beat up desk drawer.
I furrowed my brows in confusion, trying to pry my wings out of the club girls' hands.
Dabi pulled a box out of the drawer, tossing it to me carelessly.
I quickly caught it, groaning in realization when I saw what he gave me.
Condoms.
"Fuck..." I muttered to myself, realizing what was happening.
This was it. This was how Dabi wanted me to prove I didn't care about Ari. He wanted me to sleep with someone.
"Yes, fuck. That's exactly right." He said, gesturing to the bedroom in the corner of the room.
I laughed nervously, trying to think about how the hell I can get out of this one.
"Hah....you want me to.." I trailed off weakly, just trying to stall time at this point.
Not wasting any time with a response, Dabi spoke again.
"That's right. You don't have to hookup with all three of them. I just gave you three to choose from. Take your pick and hurry up. I'm sure you won't take long." He snickered, waiting for me to head to the bedroom.
There is no way I'm doing this. I won't cheat on Ari. Doesn't matter what the circumstances are. I will not do it.
"Uh....yeah. Look man, I'm not really comfortable with this-" I started saying, before Dabi immediately spoke over me.
"Oh, you're not? That's not what you told me the other day, remember? What were your words exactly....anytime, anywhere. Right? You said, name a girl and you've probably done her. So, why wouldn't you be comfortable with this?" He asked innocently, clearly trying to catch me in a lie.
I adjusted my collar nervously, trying to think of every excuse in the book.
"W-Well....I mean, I don't know them. What if I catch something-" I started saying, before Dabi threw three pieces of paper at my face.
"Nope. They've been tested. Here's your proof they're clean. They're also all on birth control, and now you have condoms, so risk for pregnancy is very low. Nothing else should be holding you back, right?" Dabi quickly said, smirking as he saw I was steering in the direction of not doing this.
"Dabi. C'mon, man. You gotta admit this is weird. Like...I'll be having sex, with you guys in the other room? That's not enough privacy for me. This isn't a porno of heroes gone wild, ya know. It's uncomfortable, no matter which way you spin it." I laughed dismissively, anxiously rocking back and forth on my heels.
I mean, I wasn't wrong. Even if I wasn't dating Ari, I'd still think this situation was weird.
I ran a hand through my hair, shaking my head slightly, as Dabi waited for me to make up my mind.
"No. I can't do it. It's too weird. Feel free to think of something else though." I suggested, not knowing if I just dug myself into a deeper hole with that statement.
As if waiting for an answer like that, Dabi crossed his arms in triumph.
"Okay, that's fine. I'm a nice guy, so I've already thought of an alternative, in case you were too uncomfortable. You have two options, bird. You go in there, and hookup with one of those girls, or...you bring Ari Parker to me, personally, so she can become....nomu-fied. I did tell you that you owe me a new High End Nomu. When I said that, I meant her." He stated clearly, giving me an ultimatum.
Well, fuck.
That wasn't what I wanted to hear.
Basically, Dabi's is giving me the ultimatum to either cheat on my girlfriend, or hand deliver her to him, to meet a horrible, painful death.
Nice.
"Those are your only two options-I mean, unless of course, you'd rather choose death as the third option." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders carelessly.
I stood there blank for a moment, running through every possible thought in my mind. Every possible excuse, every possible way I could counteract this.
"Hey....Dabi-" I started off, before his eyes darkened.
Blue flames engulfed his arm in an instant, as he kept my gaze.
"I'm losing my patience with you, very quickly. Are you really going to pick the third option?" He stated lowly, tilting his head to the side in malicious curiosity.
Fuck.
There wasn't a way out of this, without getting my hands dirty somehow. And there's no way I was going to hand deliver Ari to Dabi, to become a Nomu.
The only thing left I could think to do, is pay off one of the club girls to lie to Dabi, and say we hooked up.
Without even looking, I randomly grabbed one of the girls, dragging her wordlessly to the bedroom.
She squealed in excitement, causing me to roll my eyes.
I bet I could have her eating out of the palm of my hand. I bet I could easily convince her to lie for me-
"And don't even think about lying. These girls are loyal to me. I got them out of a tough situation, and saved their lives, awhile back. Doesn't matter what you offer 'em. I'll know if you didn't really do it." Dabi called out, as the random girl and I walked into the room.
I grit my teeth together in frustration now, realizing the only plan I had to get out of this, scot free, was now shot to hell.
Very slowly, I closed the door, hesitantly turning around to face the girl.
I heard her giggling in excitement, as her shirt suddenly hit the floor. Immediately, I snapped my gaze to the ground, so I wouldn't look at her topless body.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
What the hell am I supposed to do?!
Cheat on Ari? Bring her to Dabi, to be nomu-fied? Or die. Those are my only three impossible options?
Just how far am I willing to go for this mission?