Top pic credit: TSA!

Ari POV:

"Didn't see me coming, did ya?" I heard a very familiar voice say through the deafening ringing of my shattered eardrums.

Ugh, what just happened?

My entire body felt as if it was overheated and being crushed by something. A scalding smoke burned my nostrils and down my throat. My head was spinning, and it felt as if I'd just been slammed by a flaming school bus.

I groaned softly as I tried to move my body, forcing my stinging eyes to open against their will.

The room was blurry from my vision, but I was still able to make out that I was currently lying face down on the floor.

How? Wasn't I just a second away from detaining Twice? How did I get-

"Ah, come on now, Little Ari. I didn't hit you that hard. Get up! You'll wanna see this. I want you to." That sinister voice chuckled a few feet away, causing the unconscious fog to slowly clear away from my brain as I attempted to lift my head.

Any grogginess I'd had from whatever just happened immediately morphed into panic, as I got a look at the horrific site in front of me.

Blue flames surrounded the area, and in the middle of the room was Twice writhing in agony from whatever explosion just happened-as well as Dabi, having his boot pressed atop Keigo's head with a brain crushing force.

Keigo's eyes were squeezed shut in pain as Dabi dug his boot deeper against his skull, forcing Keigo's face even harder against the dirty floor.

My mouth fell open with an alarmed gasp, as I instinctively went to raise my hand so I could immobilize Dabi in place.

And when my arm failed to budge, I immediately whimpered in panic.

I looked over to see my arm stuck beneath a large piece of debris. After a failed attempt to lift up the rest of my body, I also realized my torso and my other arm were currently being crushed by a piece of debris, as well.

That's right. It's all coming back to me now. Before Dabi came in, I'd been holding up the ceiling with my quirk. I must have lost a hold on it, so it came crashing down on me.

But, the point is, if I can't lift my body, then I can't help Keigo.

And with a weakness to fire.....Keigo needs all the help he can get right now.

Dabi chuckled in unhinged amusement as he watched me struggle against the rubble pathetically, finding even more humor in the way that my eyes were locked on Keigo the whole time-as if I'd actually have a chance at saving him.

Keigo groaned softly in pain as Dabi pressed down against his head hard enough to shatter his aviators now, squeezing his eyes shut tighter so that the jagged pieces wouldn't pierce his pupils.

"S-Stop! Dabi, stop!" I blurted out in a panic, tensing every muscle in my body as I tried to squeeze myself free.

My plea only egged Dabi on more, as he kept eye contact with me, smirking as he let a blue flame swirl tauntingly around his wrist.

"And why should I? You didn't even say please." He pointed out mockingly, letting the demented smirk grow wider on his lips as he saw the color draining from my face.

"P-Please!! Please, please, please!!! Stop!! Don't hurt him!! Please!!" I yelled out desperately, not giving a shit about any sort of pride as the image of Keigo getting crushed by Dabi burned in my mind.

"Oh? You hear that, bird? Looks like I finally got her begging for me now. Eh, not in the way I'd like, but I'll take what I can get." Dabi snickered, rolling his dirty boot back and forth on Keigo's head to rub his face into the floor.

"You're a damn bastard." Keigo choked out viciously, before opening a single eye to try and spot me.

But, he couldn't see me. Not through the smoke. Not with the shattered pieces of his aviators that burned his eyeballs.

"Ari...." He started out calmly, speaking blindly and hoping I'd answer.

"I-I'm here, Hawks!! Hold on!" I breathed out in exertion, still remembering to use his hero name in front of Dabi and Twice.

"No. Go. Get....outta here, and go find Sammy..." Keigo choked out through closed eyes, unable to see me and know I didn't really have the option of leaving at the moment.

Not that I would, anyways. There's too much happening in this room for me to be able to walk away.

"Oh? And who said you're the one who gets to call the shots around here, bird? You should be too occupied with eating the floor to even be able to speak, right now." Dabi laughed condescendingly, pressing his hand down on his knee to apply more pressure to Keigo's head.

Keigo remained silent, refusing to acknowledge the pain he was feeling. I noticed the way his hand was subtly flexed open, as if he was waiting for a certain thing to grab onto.

I yelled in frustration as I tried to free myself again, only managing to slide a literal centimeter before I began wheezing.

The fact of the matter still remains that I am being crushed. It feels as if I'm suffocating.

But, I don't care. I'm desperate.

"D-Dabi, please. Let him go. I-I'll do anything you want. Just don't hurt him. Anything. I'll do anything." I cried out shakily, watching Keigo's teeth grit in frustration to my words.

He kept his hand flexed, impatiently waiting for whatever it was he was hoping for.

Dabi tsk'd at my answer, smirking darkly as he shook his head in disapproval.

"Mm, sorry, Princess. But, you've already wasted all my patience for you." He stated darkly, quickly flaming up his foot that was directly on top of Keigo's head, without warning.

My eyeballs practically shot out of my sockets as I no longer saw Keigo's face, seeing nothing but blue flames in my sight now.

A horrid shriek escaped my throat at the site, before I began thrashing around wildly under the debris.

But, just before the reality of such a traumatic situation could set in, I saw a flaming figure shoot up from the pool of blue fire at lightning speed-carrying another figure in hand.

My entire body was shivering from the pure adrenaline and fear I was feeling, as I realized it was Keigo who shot out of the fire. He was carrying Twice under his arm, gripping his last strong feather in hand as it flew him and Twice away from the danger.

"Are you fucking kidding me, right now? You're too fast." Dabi huffed out in full annoyance, only now turning his head to see Keigo flying through the room.

That feather was what he was waiting for. It must have been stuck under some rubble, or too far away for it to get to Keigo quicker.

But, the fact remains that he was able to make it out of Dabi's fire attack unscathed.

Well, actually....not unscathed.

The terrified shivering of my body never ceased as I noticed Keigo was literally on fire. His flight jacket was consumed in flames and the leftover wings on his back had been practically singed to a crisp.

"H-Hawks!!!" I cried out, quickly gaining his attention from the air.

He turned his head towards me, upon hearing my voice, sporting a brand new burn mark on one side of his face to show just how close Dabi was to broiling him to shreds.

His eyes widened in shock upon seeing my crushed body, quickly directing his feather towards me.

"A-Ari!! C'mere, Chicky. I got ya. Don't worry." Keigo sputtered out as he landed directly next to me, with his body practically convulsing with adrenaline trembles as he began pulling me out of the debris.

"Hold on!! Get your jacket off first, before you help me! You're burning up." I choked out as I continued to suffocate, yet Keigo didn't dare listen to that order.

"I don't care. I'm fine-Can you walk? Can you move your legs? Is your head okay?" He groaned out in exertion as he lifted the piece of broken ceiling off my torso, allowing me to inhale sharply as air finally filled my lungs again.

"Yeah..." I breathed out, quickly using my knees and my free arm to army crawl out from under the blockage.

Once my torso was free, Keigo quickly let the concrete slam back down into place on the ground, before helping me with my other stuck arm.

While he did that, I used my free hand to shrug off his flaming jacket as quickly as possible, not caring about the blue flames that licked at my own fingertips, as I did so.

Keigo kept his focus on getting my arm free, barely aiding me in tugging his arms free from his burning sleeves as he pulled me completely out of the rubble.

He was about to release my hand from his grasp, when he hesitated....starting to inspect it.

"Your hand's broken, y'know." He informed me quietly, gently resting it in my lap.

I quickly tossed Keigo's flaming jacket on the floor now, grabbing onto his arms as I balanced myself on my knees.

"It's fine. I've got too much adrenaline to feel it, right now. I'll just use that to my advantage, while I can." I replied, having one thought lingering in the back of my mind.

A broken hand means my quirk effects will be harder to manage with that hand.

Quickly shaking the thoughts from my head, I turned my attention back to Keigo.

"Are you okay?" I breathed out in concern, placing my ashen hands on his cheeks to assess him for more injuries.

That burn on his face would probably scar. His skin was already starting flake. And the blood vessels in his eye had burst open from how hard Dabi had been pressing down on his head. He's gotta feel a little woozy from all of that, right now. He probably has a concussion, and his wings are almost singed. But, he's doing a good job of working through it.

"I'm alright, chicky...." Keigo started out softly, scanning his eyes over me once more to ensure I was healthy enough, before continuing.

"Do you have the quirk restraining handcuffs? Twice is shaken up from Dabi's fire explosion. He got burned, as well. Now's the perfect time to cuff him." He whispered raspily, already starting to cough a tad from smoke inhalation.

My eyes widened in realization as I quickly looked around the room. It was smoky and blinded by bright blue flames and ceiling rubble. There was no way to spot those things, anymore.

"No....they're.....they're gone..." I breathed out disappointedly, keeping my dazed gaze on every corner of the room to try and spot the handcuffs, somewhere.

But, Keigo's slightly burned hands touched my face, gently dragging my attention back to him.

"Hey, that's okay. We'll just have to forgo them, then. We'll make it up as we go. It's not a problem." He whispered to me, keeping his hand on my cheek as he turned back to ensure Twice was still lying limp on the ground.

And he was. At least, that's one thing that's helpful.

I nodded in affirmation to Keigo's words, trying to form a solution with him quickly.

"Sounds good. How about we-" I started saying before an unwelcome voice interrupted me.

"Your feather weapons have dwindled away, you know. And your hand looks about as squashed as a bug. I almost feel bad. I've just man handled Japan's hero sweethearts in a matter of seconds. I've been waiting to fight you two for a long time, and I gotta admit, I was expecting it to be better than this." Dabi pointed out obnoxiously, crossing his arms expectantly with the glow of his blue flames illuminating his stitched face.

I rolled my eyes in irritation for this purple man who loved to make our lives a living hell, about to retort with a comment before Keigo spoke first.

"You almost burned up your friend, you know." Keigo replied calm as ever, looking at Dabi with a half lidded, blank poker face, as he wiped the ash from his forehead.

And even with that poker face, I could see the vacancy in his eyes to show he only sparked a conversation with Dabi as a way to stall time. The feathers on his back are burned and almost useless in a fight now.

He clearly had no idea how to proceed. And neither do I.

Dabi let out a snort of amusement at Keigo's words, finally ending a year's worth of tension with a single comment.

"Oh, please. As if a blood born hero, such as yourself, would have ever let him die. It's in your natural instinct to save him, so I knew he'd be fine. We all know you're not the killer type. We all know you've always been full of shit. So, you can drop the act now." Dabi shrugged, wiping a small trickle of blood from his stitches as quickly as he could.

Keigo's blank face remained unchanging as Dabi accurately exposed his true intentions out in the open, subtly trailing his eyes around the premise to see how much flight room he'd have once this whole thing escalated again.

"Such cunning words from you. Sounds like you've been wanting to say this stuff for a long time. Was I exposed along the way, or somethin'?" Keigo asked in monotone, trailing his eyes around the room a little quicker as I could see he still wasn't sure how to proceed with this.

He kept a hand on Twice's shoulder, as if affirming himself that apprehending him was still his mission in all of this.

Dabi let out a sigh of content as he wiped another trickle of blood away from his face, quickly boring his eyes on Keigo with a new malicious hatred I'd never seen before.

It was a look that was scary enough to cause a shiver to run down my spine. Dabi's scary enough as it is, so the fact that he was trying to be intimidating? Well, it was outright terrifying.

"As if I ever believed you from the start. Not everyone is as clueless as you two." Dabi spat out lowly, sliding his sweltering cerulean orbs from Keigo, over to me.

I met Dabi's eyes in disinterested hatred, causing the corner of his nose to twitch up in a matched hatred, that may have even doubled my own.

"Yeah. That goes for you, too, Princess. Think you're too good to remember the unimportant moments of your life, I see. It hurts, you know." Dabi drawled out darkly, condescending voice dripping with passive aggressive threats.

I simply glared at Dabi heatedly, wiping the residues of blood from my nose with fervor.

"All of your threats and torment end today, Dabi. I don't have to appease you, anymore. We no longer have to pretend." I replied calmly, subtly flexing my broken hand to test out how well I'd be able to use it.

"Oh, me too. I'm very happy that we no longer have to pretend. It takes a lot out of a person, you know-to pretend for so long." Dabi smiled at me darkly, never once breaking my eye contact as he spoke the words.

My attention on him was quickly broken as I saw Twice starting to shuffle around on the floor, causing Keigo's micro expression of panic to barely shoot onto his face.

Without his feathers, he doesn't have much of a way to apprehend him, anymore.

"Don't. Move." Keigo commanded Twice threateningly, teeth grit in growing stress.

He squeezed the split man's shoulder with a painful force to show him how serious he was.

"So, who wants to get burned first? I'm a little bored of burning the bird, already. I'd say it's time to rough up that pretty face a bit, huh, Ari?" Dabi suggested dementedly, lighting up his wrist with blue flames.

However, he made no attempt to try and harm me, instead shooting his feral eyes back over to Keigo to see how he'd respond.

Clearly, he only said that to get a reaction out of him. It's obvious from the blood thirsty glint in his eyes that Dabi definitely isn't sick of burning Keigo just yet. No....

Keigo is clearly his main target right now.

And, luckily, the bird boy is smart enough to know that-But also, stupid enough to egg him on and keep the attention off me.

"Ah, you and I both know that you don't wanna drag her into this. This beef's obviously between you and me, Dabi. C'mon, let's keep it that way." Keigo stated in dark monotone, subtly gripping Twice's shoulder even harder as the split man started shuffling around on the floor again.

Dabi let out an unhinged laugh of amusement at Keigo's words, only flying off the handle more, the longer the three of us spoke.

That seems to be how it is with Dabi, whenever he's around Keigo and I at the same time. He always acts differently. More angry. More aggressive. More frustrated. It's almost like the presence of this trio is a weakness for him, in itself.

"That's where you're wrong, you fucking bootlickin' chicken skewer. You think everything's about you. All the time! Even the beef I have, you think you're always the center of attention to it all. Wow-You really believe that I sought out Ari all that time ago, just because I had a problem with you? You really think I care about you that much?-To where I'd waste an entire fucking year of my life, trying to get her within my grasp, just so I could piss you off a little? Laughable. You're fucking laughable. A joke, really." Dabi cackled, letting a terrifying, genuinely big smile flash across his face now.

My brows raised in surprise at his words, taken aback by the first revealed truth of Dabi's intentions.

His obsession with me...it wasn't just about Keigo?

Keigo's face contorted up into surprise at Dabi's statement for no longer than a millisecond, before he quickly gained back his poker face.

Clearly, he wasn't expecting Dabi's answer, either. But, of course, he'd never let him know that his words actually managed to catch him off guard.

"Yeah, well. Whatever the reason may be, for your psychotic stalking, it's over. Ari ain't ever gonna be within your grasp. And this'll end today with you in a high security prison cell, the way it was always meant to be. After all, since you never believed me from the start, as you say....you must know that was always my intention." Keigo clarified, subtly moving the leftover, singed wings on his back as he sensed a moment of needed escape coming soon.

Especially, since Dabi's lethal amusement only intensified. He didn't even seem to have his guard up right now, letting his shoulders slouch as relaxed as possible, with his own blue flames as his backdrop.

He was more concerned with speaking to Keigo and I, right now, than fighting.

"Oh, boy. You really got me quaking in my shoes over here, hero. How will I ever defend myself from those ashtrays on your back that you call fierce feathers? Dunno. Probably a close call, right?" Dabi shrugged patronizingly, not even looking over to Twice when he tried to shuffle again out of Keigo's grasp.

Dabi didn't seem to care that Twice was being held captive by Keigo. He also didn't seem to care that his flames were the ones that injured Twice in that fire attack a few moments ago.

No. He was focused. Consumed by his emotions. He kept his searing eyes on Keigo. Burning his glare into his skull so aggressively hateful, that I'm surprised Keigo didn't catch fire right then and there.

I kept my attention on Dabi from afar, watching for any sudden movements. He obviously felt my eyes on him as he gladly ripped his attention away from Keigo to look at me now, letting his toothy, demented smile grow even wider at the sight of my new confusion.

"And you, you dumb whore...." Dabi said a little lower now, voice a tad quieter and more dark with resentment as he spoke to me.

My pulse spiked instinctively at Dabi's tone of voice, feeling a hunch of alarm ringing within my gut.

The anticipation is rising to the top of this conversation. It's going to overflow any second. The only question is, who's going to strike first? Me, Keigo, Dabi, or-

"I've got a lot to say about you-" Dabi started off, unable to finish his sentence as all hell suddenly broke lose.

Twice had apparently decided to be the one to pop the tension, as he threw his arms up from the ground without warning, shoving Keigo off him, before quickly getting to his feet.

Keigo let out a string of curses as he fell back from Twice's push, unable to recover quick enough as one of Twice's doubles quickly tackled him down to the floor.

He shot his golden eyes over to him in a furious panic, instinctively shooting one of his last, in tact feathers at Twice, before slicing it across his stomach.

With the way he angled that stab, he purposely just missed all of Twice's vital organs. He was just trying to shock him and slow him down.

But, Twice was too hyped up on adrenaline to feel much pain, letting out a small grunt of hurt, clutching his bleeding stomach in hand as he continued running towards Dabi.

Starting to lose his collected demeanor, Keigo let out a loud growl of anger at his failures, burning his eyes at Twice, as he wrestled with the double that was trying to strangle him and keep his body in place.

"TWICE!!!! I SAID DON'T MOVE!!!" Keigo boomed out in pure frustrated fury-probably for his own mistakes, as Twice began making a beeline for Dabi.

Seeing that the Twice double attacking Keigo was weak enough for him to handle on his own, I quickly broke out into a sprint, charging at Twice as he tried to get to the entrance door.

I can't let Twice leave this room. Come on. Come on. Come on. I just need to immobilize Twice before he's able to get to-

"LIGHT 'EM UP GOOD, DABI!!!" Twice screamed, causing my eyes to widen as I suddenly skidded back on my heels.

I began looking around the room wildly, spotting a piece of rubble I could take cover behind, before meeting Dabi's eyes in a frenzy.

Maybe I can beat him to the punch and immobilize him, before he shoots.

Daring my fate to burn me to a crisp, I didn't move for a moment, just barely getting the time to start lifting my arm, before realizing I wouldn't make it in time-

"NO, ARI, DON'T!!! GET OUTTA THE WAY!!" Keigo screamed as I met Dabi's wild eyes, seeing those same flecks of his true self slowly peeking through those stormy blue orbs.

"Go wild, Twice!! The others are waiting for you, downstairs!!" Dabi exclaimed with uncharacteristic glee, never breaking my gaze as he immediately lit up the entire room with blue hell.

I quickly dove behind the barrier I needed to take cover, closing my burning eyes as blinding flames of blue seared the room now.

I couldn't help but whimper softly in surprise at the sheer magnitude of Dabi's blast. I had to cover my ears because the sound was so loud. It was sweltering. It was powerful. More powerful than I've ever seen.

And that's when I realized something.

Dabi's always tormented me. He's always been an asshole, and he's always threatened my life.

But, now I know that he's never actually used his full power on me. Until today. Until right now. Apparently, he was always holding back, all this time.

Even from behind my cemented cover, I felt the heat of Dabi's flames soaking in, causing me to instinctively cover my face with my hands.

I hissed in pain as I felt small blister burns forming on the outside of my hands from the hot air of Dabi's fire, causing me to grit my teeth in pain as I thought of Keigo.

No. I trust him. I trust his abilities and his judgements. He's fast. I know he made it out, somehow.

Once the initial blast of Dabi's fire had subsided, I was able to hear those demented cackles grating against my eardrums.

Wow, he's really losing it.

"Hah!! I know you're there, Little Ari! I saw you duck for cover behind that rock. Don't be shy, Princess. Come on out and play! I don't bite!" Dabi called out patronizingly, before I heard a faint sizzling sounding again.

I gasped sharply, eyes widening in realization as the sound forced me to quickly abandon my spot from behind the blockade, and leap back out into the open.

I barely had time to leave my previous hiding position before Dabi set the entire area in aggressive flames, clearly wanting to make sure I had no place to hide.

Skidding back out into the open, I immediately met eyes with Dabi, outstretching my hand towards him to immobilize his body.

Dabi's eyes widened slightly at my incoming attack, causing him to quickly set some of the remaining, in tact ceiling pieces, above my head, on fire.

Losing my focus on immobilizing him, I quickly stumbled out of the way, letting out a small yell of panic as a shower of blue flames immediately began rapid firing towards my direction.

He knows what he's doing. The more he keeps me distracted with falling debris and flames, the less I'll be able to get a clear shot and immobilize him.

"You're such a pussy!! How about fighting me hand to hand like a real man!" I yelled out to him over the chaos, leaping and jumping around the burning room as I dodged Dabi's flame attacks.

Dabi simply chuckled at my words, relentlessly sending heavy blue flames my way as he didn't feed into my mind games.

"Nah, I know better than to let ya get close!! Call me a pussy, all you want! But, I'm not like that ice bastard, Geten. I don't give a fuck about what you say to me. Whatever it is, I've heard worse. Trust me. Plus, I know what works on you, and what doesn't, so get ready to have that pretty ass of yours fried!!-" Dabi yelled, losing a handle on his last words as he was forced to duck from a sudden intrusion.

The intrusion was Keigo. And Dabi was lucky enough to duck and miss the harsh swipe of the feather blade that almost took his head, clean off.

"What?! How did you get back...." Dabi asked in slight surprise to Keigo's re-entry, before trailing his eyes to the broken window on the opposite side of the room.

I couldn't help but do the same thing, feeling the realization of Keigo's survival click, simultaneously, with Dabi.

Instead of trying to fight it, Keigo flew with the direction of Dabi's blast, flying out the window, and out of the entire mansion....being fast enough to circle the entire premise, and re-enter through the entrance door, before me, Twice, and Dabi had time to get more than a few steps.

Dabi's thought filled eyes, quickly rolled in irritated conclusion, not seeming surprised with Keigo's talents. Just annoyed.

"Damn. You're too fast. It's cause you're a scrawny, little shit. You've always been that way." Dabi grunted in exertion, aiming his hand to send a flame at Keigo's flying frame.

He's flying around this tiny room, with too many people and obstacles in his way to get a fast flight. He'll be burned up in no time.

I took Dabi's distraction on Keigo as my cue to immobilize his arm.

Dabi's hand froze mid-air, unable to get a flame hit on Keigo as he felt the effects of my quirk.

His blue eyes widened in fury, about to turn his attention on me, before I suddenly felt the wind knocked out of me.

I grunted in pain as I felt Twice's giant body tackle me to the ground, quickly losing my quirk hold on Dabi.

"Son of a bitch-Twice!!!" I yelled in anger, quickly jabbing my elbow into his face before he had the chance to pin me down.

Twice grit his teeth in panic as he saw me struggling free, quickly shooting half formed doubles onto my face before he immediately took off towards the front door again.

I choked on the smoke and material of his double, attempting to pry the deformed creatures off my face in a suffocated frenzy.

Only, I didn't have to try very hard as a feather blade quickly sliced through the doubles with ease, causing me to gasp for fresh-actually, smoky, air at the feeling of finally being able to see and breathe again.

I looked up towards the ceiling, meeting Keigo's panicked wild eyes with my own.

He was only able to look back at me for a second, ensuring I was somewhat okay, before he quickly continued his flight towards Twice-who was getting closer to the door.

I stumbled to my feet, flinching at the blue flame that slammed into the wall directly next to me.

"Him, him, him. You've always got your attention on him. It's always him you see. It's so pathetic! Come on, Little Ari. Look at me. See me! I'm not done with you, yet." Dabi stated firmly, no longer smiling like a feral psychopath, anymore. He was glaring at me vacantly, instead....clearly having some thoughts of his own, but not opting to share them out loud.

Matching Dabi's glare, I didn't even bother to attempt to activate my quirk just yet, already knowing that the moment I lifted my arm, Dabi would just shower me in overcompensating attacks.

I took a quick glance around the room, noticing the way Dabi had incinerated anything I'd be able to take cover behind.

The air is thick with black smoke that's definitely starting to settle in my lungs. I'm drenched in sweat and feeling a little lightheaded from the heat, and if I don't get out of the way in the next few seconds, Dabi will simply ash me where I stand.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden jolt of the floor that was hard enough to cause me, Dabi, and Twice to stumble on our feet. Keigo was lucky enough to be in the air and miss it.

That was the hardest jolt, yet. This place will, no doubt, collapse soon.

Realizing this small moment of stumble would be one of my only chances of getting close to Dabi, I forced myself to my feet quicker than he did.

I grit my teeth nervously as I realized the rumble of the floor wasn't stopping this time, almost stumbling off my balance once more as I sprinted towards Dabi.

Noticing me coming from the corner of his eye, he began scrambling on the uneven ground, immediately looking up from his position and seeing me closing in much quicker than he originally thought.

"I don't think so." He grunted casually, aiming his flaming hand right at me as he still tried his best to stand up.

Although, instead of sending out flames the way he wanted to, Dabi was forced to pull back and duck all the way back on the ground, when another feather blade came for his neck, out of nowhere.

"Son of a bitch-I'm getting fucking sick of you." The stitched man hissed in irritation, abruptly shooting his flames towards the ceiling instead.

He looked up to see Keigo barely shoot out of the way and miss them, before quickly returning to his fight with Twice.

I took Dabi's distraction, as my opportunity, immobilizing him in his place.

A searing pain shot up my body as I did so, making me realize I was starting to overuse my quirk.

I've been avoiding using my broken hand, because I don't know how reliable it is. My overcompensation of only using one hand is causing quirk overuse to set in quicker than usual.

"Shit." I hissed out, forced to pull back on my strength and release Dabi so I could reset myself.

Dabi quickly tried to take advantage of the opportunity, showering my side of the room with blue flames once more.

I jumped to the side, landing on a jagged piece of rubble, before quickly leaping off it and somersaulting to the floor.

Lucky for me, I'd already been close enough to him, once I released my quirk. He knew it, too, judging by the way his blue eyes widened in panic as he saw me getting too close.

"Fuck-" Dabi muttered under his breath, with his face full of his own blood-due to his own quirk overuse as he tried to push himself harder.

His exhausted, trembling arm redirected its position to face me point blank, blue flames starting to sizzle around his hand as he prepared for a shot that would kill me.

Taking my chances, I extended my leg once I was close enough, going for a flying kick to Dabi's arm in hopes that I would aim correctly.

Dabi grit his teeth as his arm went flying in the direction of my kick, spraying his blue flames across the opposite wall now.

The ground rumbled even harder from Dabi's fire spray, causing bigger pieces of the walls to start crumbling in the room now.

Before he had the chance to go for a counter attack, I quickly brought my fist to his face, punching him as hard as I could-

"Ah!!!" I hissed out in unexpected pain, gripping my scalding fist after it had connected with Dabi's sizzling skin.

He's burning up. And if it hurts me that much, it's probably destroying him from the inside.

Ignoring his own agonizing pain, Dabi chuckled victoriously as he brought his face back in my direction-both of us being only a few feet away from each other now.

"Yeah. Hurts, doesn't it?" He retorted condescendingly, voice a little calmer and less loud now that we were closer.

The hot temperature of his skin is definitely a drawback for me. It will make detaining him harder. But, I'm too close to him to give up now. Literally.

I'm too close within his vicinity to stop. If he shoots any flames, he'll have a clear shot at me, no matter what. I can't stop, unless I wanna die for sure.

But, unfortunately for me, I was pulled out of my thoughts as I heard the sizzle of Dabi's palms to signal he was getting ready to shoot more flames.

Eyes widening in panic, I quickly shuffled out of his line of fire, forcing myself to grip his wrist tightly as I tried to detain him again.

I grit down on my teeth as I heard the searing of my skin again, yet kept my grip iron as Dabi started spraying flames with the same hand, inches away from my face, hoping I'd get scared enough to release so I wouldn't get hurt.

But, I didn't release, feeling tears prick the corners of my eyes in pain, as I kept a hold on Dabi's hot wrist, continuing to shuffle my feet to the side as he tried to rotate his wrist in my grip and send his flames directly at me.

I didn't give him much of a chance, slamming my knee into his stomach.

He grunted as the wind knocked out of him, beginning to lift his other hand to flame me that way.

Realizing I needed to get out of his sight completely, I kept a hold on his wrist, swiftly maneuvering my body behind his, and keeping his sizzling palm pointed at his own back.

A security for myself. If he ignited any flames with that hand, he'd simply burn a hole through his intestines.

I couldn't help but let out a yell of pain now as I heard and smelled the skin of my hand burning off, fighting through it and kicking my boot into the back of Dabi's knee to bring him down.

Keigo whipped his head in my direction upon hearing my scream, noticing how close I was to restraining Dabi-and also noticing the way my face was contorted into pain.

He knew I wouldn't have this golden upper hand for very long.

He quickly kicked Twice flying backwards and further into the room, to give himself a small window of time, flying his way towards Dabi and I to help out.

Upon seeing Keigo coming for him now, Dabi let out a growl of fury, starting to struggle more intently against my grip.

But, I held on, knowing how close Keigo and I were. I can't give up now. We're only seconds away from detaining Dabi, once and for all.

And Dabi knows it.

Which is exactly why he went with his last resort, and decided to reveal more truth that he'd been secretly holding onto-more truth that he knew would shock everyone into a freeze, with his next, completely unpredictable words.

"TAKAMI!!! KEIGO!!!" Dabi yelled loudly, the words coming out so frighteningly natural, and also so full of anger.

The name that no one is supposed to know....rolled right off his tongue, as if he's said it a million times before.

And, neither Keigo, nor I...were expecting it.

Mid-air, Keigo's face immediately paled at the mention of his true name coming from Dabi's lips.

His poker face was out the window now. His eyes bugged out of his head. Composure gone. Focus lost. He was completely mortified, and it was shown clearly to me...and to Dabi.

The feather blade he was holding in his hand suddenly quivered harshly to show he was shaking in a brand new wave of pure adrenaline shock.

He couldn't even find it in himself to respond-or, stop his flight path for that matter, as he blindly continued coming full speed at Dabi and I, looking as if he was starting to fly out of control.

Knowing I'd be too focused on Keigo, Dabi quickly used my shock to his advantage, abruptly maneuvering his wrist out of my grip, before grabbing ahold of my arm.

I hissed in pain as his hot skin made contact with another part of my body, unable to get myself together as he easily threw my body weight over his shoulder and slammed me to the floor-slamming his boot down on top of my good hand.

Keigo quickly brought himself back to reality at the sight, shakily getting control of his lethal flight speed once again as he came full force at Dabi, feather blade gripped tightly in his hand.

Dabi smirked knowingly right into Keigo's confused, alarmed eyes, immediately pointing both palms at him for a perfect shot.

"Stop!!!" I screamed in panic, instinctively raising my broken hand to try and activate my quirk.

Although, I wasn't quick enough. And neither was Keigo, as Dabi's flames shot full force towards the bird boy.

The attack was so strong that the sheer power of it exploded me completely out of the room now, sending me out the entrance door, before my back to slammed into the metal railing of the balcony in the open hallway.

Being outside the room again caused the ear piercing shrieks of the war below to bleed into my eardrums. I coughed and choked at the lack of air in my lungs from such a strong crash, taking a quick glance through the balcony rails to check how the chaos was going down below.

And, it was even worse than I remember it!

Pieces of the building continued to collapse on people at a concerning rate. Bodies and blood were coating the ground floor, countless levels below. Heroes and villains.

But, my blood suddenly ran cold, as I heard the soft, concealed groan of Keigo a few feet away.

He was in the room we'd been fighting Twice and Dabi in, still managing to fly around the premise.

However, my eyes widened in horror as I watched bright, blue flames now licking up his back, and starting to consume towards the base of his wings...watching one of his hands weakly attempt to reach back and pat them away with no avail. There were too many.

"Keigo!!!! I'm coming, just hang in there-" I started saying, barely managing to sit upright, before a blinding blue flame came barreling point blank at me.

My eyes widened in shock as I realized I was legitimately about to be fried this time.

I thanked my body for acting on instinct, not even processing the way I quickly pushed off my feet...backflipping over the balcony, and gripping onto the railing as Dabi's flame swooshed past atop my head.

And yeah. That's great. I'm still alive.

But, now, I'm on the other side of the railing-dangling off the balcony from the top floor, with a lethally high drop that would definitely kill me if I accidentally let go.

"D-Damn it. Why does this happen. I'd rather be stabbed or something..." I huffed out with a nervous stutter, feeling my phobia of heights kicking in as I refused to look down-

"Hourglass!!! Come in, Hourglass! Is that you up there?!-HEY, GET BACK HERE, T-" I suddenly heard Fat Gum yell out through my ear piece, before the sound cut out.

I heard another familiar voice speaking in his background. A student's voice. But, I didn't have time to reflect on it, or even respond as Dabi relentlessly shot another blue flame at the balcony, setting it on fire now.

He really loves making my life harder.

I shielded my face against my shoulder as the hot air burned my skin, gripping the balcony railing tighter in my hands.

Letting out a small whimper of pain, as my broken hand decided to make itself known now, I forced myself to start gripping along the length of the balcony, trying to get away from the area of Dabi's flames.

I'm just gonna pretend I'm on the monkey bars, or something....

I need to get back on the ground before the balcony melts off, completely-

"Ari. Ari-" I vaguely heard someone yelling at me through the chaos, but I was unable to focus on it as Keigo's voice rang louder.

"Ari!!! I'm coming, Ari!! Hold on!! Don't let go of that railing!!! You hear me?! You better hold on-" I heard Keigo scream in panic, voice hoarse and thick with smoke inhalation.

But, the sound of another blue flame that wasn't meant for me, cut off his words, making my eyes widen in fear for his silence, as I couldn't see what was happening.

"Ari. Ari!!" I vaguely heard again from another voice in my background, but I was too focused on...

"K-Keigo!!! Are you okay??!" I screamed, only hearing him groan in response as Dabi continued burning him alive.

My hands started shaking as I felt myself succumbing to my fear of heights, my pain, and the anxiety of hearing Keigo practically dying.

"C-Come on!!" I cried out to myself in frustration, attempting to pull myself back up the balcony, before feeling my arms give out.

I yelled in anger with myself, as my arms were forced to dangle back against the railing.

"N-No-I-I c-can't d-do this...." I breathed out in pure fear, wondering if this is really the moment where I was going to-

"ARI!!! DOWN HERE!!!" I heard that background voice say once more, screaming my name at the top of their lungs now so I'd be forced to listen.

And, now that I was able to recognize who's voice it was, I was definitely listening.

My eyes bugged out of my head as I turned my attention towards the sound, seeing my little brother Sammy on the floor level right below me, Dabi, Twice, and Keigo.

He was practically leaning over the balcony of his floor level, waving at me in frantic fear to get my attention. His forehead was bleeding steadily from a giant gash, but other than that, he looked okay.

He's okay. He's alive.

Yes.

That's right.

I can't forget why I'm here. I can't die here. Not yet. Not until I know Sammy's safe.

Feeling a new wave of motivation replenish my energy, I gripped the railing of the balcony tighter, looking down at Sammy as I continued to dangle.

"Sammy!!! Listen, to me! Stay right where you are!! I'll come and-" I started saying, before Sammy quickly cut me off.

"No, no, no, no, no!! You listen to me!! There's something you need to know!!-" He yelled out in fear, before he quickly looked behind him in a panic.

My position on the balcony didn't allow me to see what he was looking at, but whatever it was, it caused him to start sprinting towards the staircase like his life depended on it.

He was, no doubt, about to attempt to come up to the top floor, where I was.

Except, he'd be walking into a literal bloodbath.

"WAIT!! SAMMY!! WAIT!!" I screamed, watching him continue to sprint as fast as possible towards the spiral staircase without looking back.

"Shit..." I hissed out in anxiety, making more effort to climb back up the balcony so I'd be able to beat Sammy to the top floor.

He won't survive up here without me. Keigo's too busy being cooked alive to help him.

In order to give myself more momentum, I began kicking my legs back and forth in the air, cringing in pain as my broken hand was forced to work-

"STOP IT, TWICE!!-ARI, ARE YOU OKAY!?? I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!! DON'T LET GO!" Keigo screamed out in pure chaos, trying to do multiple things at once and failing each task.

Me too, though.

Breathing too heavy to answer, I simply decided to focus my energy on getting back up the balcony, giving my legs one more kick forward, before pushing my upper body vertically up the railing.

I saw the blue flames on the other side of the balcony steadily making their way towards my side, yet I placed all my focus on getting back up.

Giving myself another push, I finally had a view of the top floor once again, seeing Keigo's entire back completely consumed with blue flames now.

His face was completely covered in ash and sweat, clothes burning and ripped as he attempted to fight Dabi and Twice at the same time, still flying around the burning room in a frenzy.

I used my upper body to hold myself halfway up the balcony now, swaying my legs from side to side, before gaining the momentum to get one of my legs atop the railing.

"Yes!!" I breathed out in pure relief, able to use my leg strength to pull myself up the rest of the way.

I sloppily fell back onto the right side of the balcony now, not even taking the time to get to my feet as I crawled over to the entrance door of the room the boys were fighting in.

I quickly removed the last dagger from my holster, chucking it as hard as I could towards Twice's leg, before watching the hit land with his giant shriek of pain.

Keigo and Dabi had a matched look of shock, with both men quickly looking towards my direction.

"You again? Do you fuckers never die?" Dabi huffed casually, starting to point his arm towards my direction.

Keigo's eyes widened in panic as he charged full force at Dabi, forcefully redirecting his arm towards the ceiling, so his flames would shoot there, instead.

My eyes widened upon feeling the ground beneath our feet rumbling much too aggressively, making me realize we'd collapse through to the floor below, in the next few seconds.

The floor below.

That's where Sammy is.

"NO!!! SAMMY!! CAN YOU HEAR ME!!? GET OUTTA THERE!" I shrieked out in panic, unable to get up from the ground as I quickly slammed both my hands on the floor.

I felt my entire body searing in pain as I activated my quirk with both hands, managing to stop the rumble of the floor for these few, precious seconds.

But, glancing up, I saw the last remnants of the burning ceiling in the room about to come down onto Keigo's body.

His eyes widened in panic, instinctively shielding his face with his hands for a fiery collapse that never came.

Looking over, he saw me lying directly in front of the doorway, now extending my shaking, broken hand to activate my quirk on the ceiling, too.

My entire body began trembling in exertion as I held up the ceiling and the floor, not even having the focus to breathe as I placed all of my energy into holding up these precious pieces of the burning building.

The lives of two people I love the most in this world are literally in my hands, right now. I can't stop. I can't let go. No matter what-

And in the next second, Twice finally managed to break away from Dabi and Keigo, getting the momentum he needed to sprint full force towards the door.

Full force at me.

"OUTTA MY WAY, ARI!! I'M GETTING THROUGH THAT DOOR, EVEN IF I HAVE TO GO THROUGH YOU-" Twice screamed out, sending another double past me and out the door.

The first double has managed to escape the room-

"NO, TWICE!! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I-I'M KEEPING THE PLACE TOGETHER. DON'T DO IT!! PLEASE! I DON'T WANNA HURT YOU!!" I screamed out, unable to get the energy to move from the doorway as I focused my body on holding up the broken room.

I don't know if Sammy ever made it to the stairs. He could still be under there, and Keigo's still inside the room-

"WELL, I'LL HURT YOU, NO PROBLEM THEN-" Twice threatened out loudly, the words causing Keigo's eyes to flare wild with a new type of fury I hadn't seen before.

It's a fury that, even Dabi, hadn't been able to evoke out of him.

It's a fury that stems from his fear. One of his biggest fears in the entire world.

"STOP, TWICE!!! DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER!!! I WON'T LET YOU!! I'M WARNING YOU, RIGHT NOW!!" Keigo boomed from inside the burning room, speeding his body through blue flames now with his feather blade in hand.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM, TWICE!!!! GO!!! DON'T STOP RUNNING!!! GO WILD!!!" Dabi screamed out louder, voice filled with excited insanity and a newfound anticipation for something unknown.

Twice didn't even turn around, not slowing his pace even though he heard Keigo coming in behind him.

"AS LONG AS MY FAMILY IS SAFE, I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO ANYBODY ELSE! I'LL KILL 'EM ALL, IF I HAVE TO!!!" Twice screamed at Hawks and I, being close enough to the door and my body to attack now.

My eyes widened at the irony of this situation, seeing both Twice and Keigo coming in my direction.

Both men are just trying to protect the people that they love. And both men will do anything they can to make sure that's possible.

And that was made even more known as Twice finally pulled something out of his pocket, the unknown anticipation of it causing Keigo and I to both yell.

"STOP!!!" Keigo and I both screamed simultaneously, not knowing what it was that Twice had pulled from his pocket.

A dagger? A gun? What is it-

But, before I had the chance to find out, I saw Keigo's body close in behind him, blue flames outlining and smoking the back of his body; golden eyes sharpened to predatory, blood thirsty slits, as he succumbed to everything he was truly made to be.

He drove the sharpened end of his feather blade, brutally, into Twice's back without hesitation...

.....never letting him leave the room.

My jaw dropped in blank horror, as I watched the whole thing happen directly in front of me; hearing the bone crunching stab of Keigo's feather, feeling hot splatters of Twice's blood splash onto my face.

Twice's body seized up at the fatal attack, wide eyes looking down to meet my own, before the item he had grabbed from his pocket fell from his hands.

It was....a handkerchief...

I looked at him in blank fear as his eyes went dull, watching his body collapse to the ground a literal foot in front of my position.

Keigo's face contorted into agonizing pain at his actions, immediately losing control of his flight balance and crash landing to the ground.

I didn't even get the chance to look at him as I heard a completely unhinged cackle of Dabi sound from inside the room now.

In an attempt to make the floor collapse, Dabi slammed his flame filled hands down on the shaky ground, causing me to finally lose a hold on the caving foundation as me, Keigo, Dabi, and Twice's body all crash landed down to the floor directly below our feet.

"SAMMY!!!" I shrieked out before I felt the rubble and ear piercing chaos of the collapse consume my entire being once again.

•••

I don't know how long I'd been unconscious when I vaguely heard someone speaking into my fuzzy eardrums.

"Ari. Ari? Are you okay? Are you alive?" This person said calmly. Their voice was familiar to my ears. It was a voice I've heard a million times, but couldn't recognize at this moment, because I was too out of it.

Even so, I forced my stinging eyes to open, the blur of them allowing me to realize I was still trapped in the hell of this war. Of this mansion.

Pieces of rubble lay across my body, but these pieces weren't as big as before. I'd be able to break myself out of these. Flames and smoke still coated the area, and I couldn't see anyone else, but this figure in front of me.

I rubbed my dirty, ashen eyes as clean as I could, finally seeing well enough to recognize the person in front of me.

Of course. The situation didn't register for me, yet, due to everything I'd just went through.

"Y-Yeah. I'm okay. I'm alive." I croaked out raspily, extending my beaten arm to this person, so they could help me stand up.

But, instead, my ears perked up at the sound of a gun being cocked into gear, before the weapon was pointed at me abruptly.

My eyes went wide with shock. My voice hushed to silence as I looked at the gun that was directed point-blank at my forehead.

This person bore their gaze into me emotionlessly, placing their finger on the trigger with ease.

"Yes, you are alive, aren't you? I must say, that's rather unfortunate." Diane Himura stated calmly, giving me a small, chilling smile as she pressed down on the gun's fire trigger.

And the loud screams of Keigo's panic rang through the room, clearly being able to see what was happening from wherever he was in this mess of rubble.

But, the fire of the gun rang louder, drowning out the sounds of everything and everyone as the world around me flashed to white.

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Next Chapter Title: Blindfolds Removed