As soon as I said his name, Hawks fell from the sky.

His hair was dishevelled and his clothes smelled musty, but apart from the cut on his cheek, he looked exactly the same as I'd left him earlier.

- Hawks...

He looked me over from head to toe, presumably to see if I was all right, and then went on to inspect the massive damages I'd done in the space of a few minutes.

- I take it they did the portal thing to you too ?, he asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

One of his feathers emerged from an adjacent alleyway and stopped beside his ear.

It vibrated as if it were speaking, and Hawks bent his head towards it as if to listen.

He lifted his head and pointed at the small house with its charred roof, part of which had holes in it and was threatening to collapse.

- Why are there still civilians in this building ?, he asked.

I pointed with my chin to the roof where a headless body lay, barely visible behind a destroyed chimney.

- What-

He froze, mouth slightly ajar.

Then the shadow of fear crossed his eyes.

Jaws clenched, Hawks grabbed my arm violently and pulled me hastily into a corner behind some rubbish bins, away from any windows.

Dozens of feathers flew from his wings, swirling around us like a vortex.

Hawks continued to pull me deeper into the street, looking around suspiciously.

He released me violently - almost shoved me - and spat in a dry tone:

- Did anyone see you ?

- Not as far as I'm aware

He put his hand on my shoulder, his bloodshot eyes locked with mine.

- Where's the head ?

If I'd known, I'd have disposed of the body myself.

- I don't know.

Hawks pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled sharply in a way that reminded me of myself trying to tame the kind of rage that threatened to make me lose control.

Hawk's fingers dug into my shoulder so deeply that, for a second, my blood flow was cut off.

Then he released me and stepped back.

Livid, he ran a hand over his face, his hand lingering over his mouth as if he were going to tear his jaw off, so tightly was he gripping.

His misty eyes looked away from the puddle-filled road we'd just come from.

- Hawks, I really-

His eyes, burning with rage, snapped to mine.

He hissed, lips tight:

- Don't say a fucking word.

I frowned, my ego burning in my chest like a ball of nerves I couldn't swallow.

But I forced myself to keep quiet because shit, I'd really fucked up.

On the day of the Yuei entrance exam, I had shot a plastic ball to a distance of 5,417 metres without giving it my all.

That fucking head could have as well been in China or in space.

Hawks pulled a small, plain, grey mobile phone out of his pocket, unlike the high-tech model I'd seen him use before.

He opened the clamshell and pressed the green call button without looking at the screen, as if there was only one number on it.

No sooner had the number been dialed than his caller picked up.

- Internal Security Brigade speaking.

Hawks looked up at me, then turned his back.

- I need a cleaning.

- Address ?

- Nagano, downtown, intersection of Karasu and...

He turned his head to the sign on the corner.

- Shinji

A break.

- In a neighbourhood with civilians?

The woman's confusion and bewilderment were obvious.

- Yes.

Hawk's jaws were clenched so tightly I thought he was going to break his own teeth.

- I'll send as many people as I can, she said.

I heard a very faint clicking sound, as if the woman was typing on a keyboard.

- It will be thirteen minutes before the closest team arrives.

- There's also a head, (Hawks cleared his throat) a human head that has been launched at very high speed in the direction of (he turned to me and I pointed in the direction I'd shot) the north-east of the city. There was no telling how far it would have gone.

The clicking increased.

- I'll put the priority to intercept the projectile, she said professionally. Keep the civilians under control until we get there. Over.

- Over

And they hung up at the same time.

Low, black clouds rumbled softly overhead.

- We've got to stop the civilians from leaving their homes, Hawks said. We've got to find a reason for them to stay inside and not look out of their fucking windows...

Hawks, suddenly overly fidgety, began pacing up and down, as if his body was charged with too much energy and he was trying to release it.

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- If only one of them has recorded the smallest-

Hawks clenched his fist, fell silent, closed his eyes and took long, long breaths.

I was careful not to breathe too hard, lest I fuel his anger unnecessarily.

The video of the Number Three and I fighting in public in a city that had just suffered a terrorist attack was not something I wanted to see.

I looked up at the roof where the evidence of my crime hadn't been swallowed by one of Black Mist's portals.

All for One really does want to screw me over.

The risk of being filmed as I went to retrieve the body was too great for me to take it.

And if someone had already filmed me fighting the mercenary and they found a head in some godforsaken village in northern Japan...

The more the days passed, the more I was certain that my own bullshit would one day end up as a one-way ticket to Tartarus.

Hawk opened his eyes again.

His shoulders were relaxed, his gaze much calmer than before.

At least on the surface.

He opened the flip phone again and this time dialled a number.

- Logistics and Infrastructure Brigade speaking.

- Hawks speaking. I need you to shut down the network in Nagano

- Just a moment

There was a babble of voices, muffled by what I assumed was the receptionist's hand on the handset microphone.

- You want us to shut down the network in a city that has just suffered a terrorist attack ?

The man's incredulity was not lost on Hawks who replied coldly, nostrils flaring:

- Cut all communications for an hour. I'll take full responsibility.

The man seemed to hesitate.

Then another distorted voice came from behind the first, and the first man replied:

- Understood. Over.

- Over, Hawks replied.

And hung up immediately.

- Hawks, I said. It wasn't on purpose, really. It's just-

-that killing became instinctive.

- -that he drew his gun and I tried to disarm him, but my aim was off and-

Hawks, his mouth set in a hard line, shook his head.

- You don't even understand how your actions can affect the people around you

- It wasn't- I didn't mean-

And like every time I tried to express my feelings clearly, my tongue became heavy, pasty, and I found myself at a loss for words.

Hawks, his face stern, looked at me with contempt.

Then he walked past me, his shoulder brushing mine.

- I can make it up to you, I said

He ignored me.

Suddenly the sky split open and a torrential downpour fell on the city.

Within seconds, gallons and gallons of water poured down on Nagano like buckets thrown from a distance.

The rain pounded on the windows as if to break them, and the gutters shook under the force of the sudden onslaught.

In a matter of seconds, the streets were filled with torrents that made the cobblestones shine and swept all the city's filth into the sewers.

Hawks stopped.

He raised his head to the sky, water already running over his hair.

Before him, the water was already diluting the pools of blood, the current carrying pink water into the sewers.

- I know I screwed up, but I can make it up to you. Let me make it up to you.

Hawks turned slowly.

He pushed back his damp hair with one hand.

His wings quivered, sending a volley of droplets into the air.

- You'll do exactly as I say if you want us to get out of this mess, he said. Because if I have to go down because of your bullshit, believe me, I'll take you down with me.

I'd decapitated a man in the middle of the city while I was in charge of Hawks.

If this got out, his career - his whole life - would be ruined.

And if the Commission's golden boy was put out of business because of me...

I already had too many enemies.

I couldn't afford to make any more.

- Deal

*

Author's note :

Sometimes I think I'm too harsh on Shoto but honestly dude never thinks before acting so he only gets what he deserves.

I forgot to say it when I started re-uploading, but thanks to those of you that still sent power stones/commented/ checked regularly the story while I was off - it was really nice to check all of the activity when I came back.

Anyway, if you want to support the story/read ahead of schedule, then don't hesitate to check the story's p@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !