Top pic credit: unknown

"Care to explain what the hell that was all about?" Keigo called out, as him and I, along with Diane walked back stage.

The ceremony was over, leaving people totally and utterly hyped for some savior they now believed me to be.

And yeah, that's amazing for press. My popularity factor probably just spiked at least double what it was before Diane's little speech.

But, so did the bounty on my head.

Diane blatantly ignored Keigo's question, letting out a tired sigh from the excitement of this entire thing, only causing me to get angry now.

I felt Keigo's shoulder brush up against mine as we both obediently walked behind Diane. His presence gave me a little confidence to speak up.

I know. Not the best way to stick up for myself. But, it's a start. I...guess.

"Why....why did you hold this ceremony?" I asked firmly, yet my voice was still somewhat soft.

Keigo heard the meek tone of my voice, quickly giving my head a gentle, reassuring tap with his wing. Diane was walking ahead of us, unable to see Keigo's gesture.

She simply ignored me, pulling out her phone to respond to a text.

Keigo's jaw tensed in irritation, opening his mouth to speak before I beat him to it.

"I'm talking to you, Diane. Please show me some respect, and answer me." I stated a little more firmly, my voice coming out steadier than before.

My heart jumped up my throat when she abruptly turned around at my words, causing Keigo and I to practically skid on our heels to a stop.

Great. I've barely said more than a sentence, and I've already pissed her off.

"And now I'm talking to you. And you." She shot back authoritatively, looking from me to Keigo.

Keigo and I remained silent, patiently waiting for her to chew us out. That's right, our conversation from before the ceremony was still...unfinished, as she called it.

Guess now she's planning to finish it.

Her eyes darkened slightly-before they quickly softened, upon seeing some stage crew members walk right past us.

She ran a hand through her hair, subtly looking around the open space vicinity, before she spotted a janitor's closet a few feet away.

"Come here." She commanded calmly to both of us, nodding for Keigo and I to follow.

We both remained unmoving, looking at each other in question.

Diane stopped walking, noticing Keigo and I weren't following, before she let out a small, dry laugh.

Oh my god.

She laughed.

That means....she's pissed.

Judging by the uncomfortable ruffle of Keigo's wings, he also clearly gaged Diane's anger levels were quickly rising.

She simply looked at Keigo and I, with a blank smile on her face, crossing her arms.

"Come. Here. I said." She challenged lowly, walking towards the janitor's closet once again. She didn't even look behind her this time, daring Keigo and I to disobey a second time.

Keigo sighed softly in annoyance, as we both reluctantly followed Diane to the closet, wondering what weird shit was gonna happen in here-

As soon as the door to the closet closed, I felt my collar gripped harshly, before I was suddenly slammed against the wall.

I groaned in pain when a giant red wing clumsily smacked me in the face, not more than a few seconds later. I looked over, seeing Keigo had also been yanked by the collar and slammed into the spot directly next to me.

Feeling a few fluffy feathers in my mouth, I began awkwardly spitting in an attempt to get them out.

Even in this extremely tense...serious...not-the-time-to-be-messing-around, moment, Keigo's soft chuckle could be heard from next to me.

"Whoops, sorry about that, little dov-Ari. Didn't mean to smack ya there." Keigo apologized casually, quickly lifting his wing up towards the ceiling so it didn't press up against my face. The closet space was too cramped for him to be able to spread his wings out comfortably.

"I-It's fine." I croaked out, cursing my voice for coming out so on edge.

Seriously. Why was I so intimidated?

Keigo's lips pursed in dissatisfaction for my obviously uneasy demeanor.

My eyes widened as I now felt something soft slowly drape over my head, the feeling and pressure of it already making me feel comforted.

Keigo's wing.

He'd placed it atop my head....

Very boldly and rebelliously in front of Diane.

Diane's look was fuming now, the gaze in her eyes dark as night as she wordlessly looked from Keigo, to me, to his wing resting atop my head. She looked at Keigo's action with hatred. But also, familiarity...like it's not the first time she's seen him drape his wing over my head.

But it is the first time she's seen him do it. Isn't it?

"Get it off, little Keigo. Now." She commanded darkly, keeping her gaze burned into me, even though she was talking to Keigo.

While Keigo's feathers clearly twitched anxiously atop my head, he kept his wing in place...attempting his very best to fight back for one of the first times in his life.

While Diane's command was for Keigo to move his wing, there was clearly an underlying power struggle going on between these two.

The bottom line is that Diane is asking Keigo to do something....and he's refusing to do it.

That's not something Diane takes lightly. Keigo knows that.

Oh boy. This is becoming stressful now.

"It's a small closet space. I don't have anywhere else to put it. I'm simply doing it for convenience. That's all." He stated raspily. It was obvious from the tone of his voice that he was already caving under Diane's pressure, even though she hasn't started yet.

You know, it's interesting...

The man's a double agent who deals with the pressure of death everyday, and he never caves. Yet, this woman practically already has him cracking in the first five minutes of this confrontation.

But, he's trying. At least he's making an attempt. That's more than I can say about myself.

A small, crooked smile barely appeared on Diane's face at Keigo's new found defiance...the darkness of this janitor's closet making her shadowy face look even more menacing than usual.

Her gaze slowly shifted from me, finding Keigo's face in the next instant. Wordlessly, he met her gaze, or I assumed he did. He still had the black sunglasses on, so I couldn't tell.

"My, my, my. What an interesting change I've seen in you, lately..." Diane whispered out, almost sounding....amused.

Silence.

Diane's grip on my collar slowly disappeared, before I watched her hand come up towards Keigo's sunglasses, carefully sliding them off his face, with no resistance from him. Now, I really got to look at his face.

And there it was again.

That look. Blank. Empty. The same look I saw last night. He's trying to suppress his emotions in front of her-

But, his feathers.

They're, very subtly, caressing the hairs on my head. His touch so soft. So gentle...as if to let me know he's still here with me. He's not alone.

I'm with him. And he knows it.

Diane slowly came face to face with Keigo now, pretty set on making him break.

"I'm not happy with you, little Takami. Can you tell me why?" Diane asked, her new tone of voice throwing me through a loop.

She had switched her attitude from menacing and evil, to almost...gentle and curious. She was talking to Keigo now like he was a little boy. Like he's still the six year old child she found, all those years ago.

Keigo let out a dry, dismissive chuckle, immediately averting his gaze to the ceiling in appeared boredom.

He's trying to avoid conflict-

"Oh, you're laughing. Is something funny? If so, please share with me. You know I love a good laugh." Diane stated casually, completely focused on Keigo's reactions to her. She was ignoring me now, acting as if I wasn't even here.

Keigo's fake smile already started falling at her words, before he wordlessly shook his head.

"Speak up, timid boy." She mocked, switching between tones once again.

Her constant, tactful attitude changes were like a slap in the face, hitting you out of nowhere. Now she sounded more taunting. More abrasive.

She knew Keigo-or, what makes him break, anyways. She knew exactly what words to say, what voices to use, when to use them. She knew all of his mental weaknesses. And mine, too.

Keigo's eyes twitched slightly at the trigger words, quickly clearing his throat to speak.

I grit my teeth in anger at the nickname Diane continued to call Keigo, feeling myself about to involuntarily step in.

Hearing me take a breath to speak, Keigo immediately forced himself to talk first, not wanting me to take the brunt of her wrath.

"Nothing's funny. You're just angry-and, eh, you know what? Yeah....guess it's a little funny." He simply muttered, shrugging his shoulders carelessly.

Diane feigned a warm smile now, patiently nodding in acknowledgement to his response.

"Hmm. Spoken like a true delinquent. Guess that's expected with someone of your past though. Don't worry, I don't blame you for any of it. Child neglect is not something to mess around with-it's unfortunate your parents didn't know that, wouldn't you say?" Diane said plainly, causing Keigo's wing, still resting atop my head, to practically spaz out upon hearing her mention his parents.

I watched him swallow thickly, as he softly balled his gloved fists together.

Diane clearly struck a nerve with him.

"Guess so." He quickly uttered out, clearing his throat slightly.

"And I guess it is fortunate that I found you when I did. How lucky you were. How lucky you are that I saved you from such an awful environment. How lucky you are that I made you into something amazing. How lucky you are that I ensured you followed in the footsteps of Endeavor, instead of the footsteps of your father and mother. It's thanks to me that you've even had a chance to meet your childhood idol. It's thanks to me he even knows you exist. It's thanks to me that you aren't currently sitting next to a dumpster in Fukuoka right now, existing as nothing more than scum. Because without me, that is exactly where you'd be with your life. Please, correct me if anything I said was wrong." Diane commanded gently, cocking her head to the side slightly as she patiently waited for Keigo's response.

My mouth fell open slightly at Diane's statement. I wanted to save Keigo. I wanted to stick up for him. I was ready to stick up for him. Willing to take the fall, and take whatever punishment Diane would give me. I would do it, if it meant that Keigo wouldn't get hurt.

But every time I attempted to speak, I felt his feathers on my head immediately ruffle up in panic at my actions, making me realize that any of my interjections would only be hurting Keigo's anxiety, instead of helping it.

I don't just want to sit here and let her do this to him. But, I also don't want to make this worse for him. I don't know what to do. I'm powerless.

"You're not wrong." Keigo stated mechanically, causing Diane to feign bad hearing.

"Huh? Speak up-"

"I said, you are not wrong." Keigo called out more firmly this time, as he blankly stared at the wall in front of him.

I felt my blood starting to boil as the corners of Diane's mouth turned up in a triumphant smile. No matter how hard she tried to repress it, she just couldn't hide how pleased she was with herself.

"Right. I'm not wrong. I've done nothing wrong. So tell me then....because you've just admitted I've done nothing wrong. Tell me why you're disobeying me, little Keigo? Why are you disappointing me? I don't have a high tolerance for disappointment. You know that. I get bored with disappointments very quickly." Diane sighed out in fake pity, looking at her nails now.

Keigo's shoulders slumped at her words, before he let out a soft sigh. A sigh of defeat.

"Something to say?" Diane asked, watching his body language. She already knew what was coming, and so did I.

Silence filled the room for a few more seconds, as Keigo's blank look never left his face.

"I won't disappoint you." He replied robotically, keeping his distant eyes glued to the wall.

Any traces of 'Hawks' were now completely stripped from Keigo's demeanor. No more teasing arrogance, or charming attitude.

No more overloaded confidence, either. Hawks isn't completely toxic. He does make Keigo confident.

"Good. Now...please remove your wing from Ari's head." Diane asked politely, causing Keigo to immediately respond this time.

His wing, very slowly, slid off my head, his feather tips purposefully grazing my face on the way down...giving himself an excuse to touch my skin.

Keigo cross tucked his wings tightly behind his back now, silently showing Diane and I that he did have an alternative place to put his wings, other than atop my head.

My body slumped in accepted defeat as Diane's gaze immediately turned to me now.

Great. My turn.

Not that I even care. I'm more concerned about Keigo's well being at the moment.

"As for you, Ari. Well, quite frankly, there's not much to say about you. You've been disappointing to me for quite some time. But, I've already shelled out too much effort on you to let you go to waste. So, you wanna know the real reason I held this ceremony? Fine. I needed to get my money's worth out of you, somehow. I need you to fulfill your purpose to me, and complete your job. I can't do that if people don't know who you are, and if people don't see you as someone powerful and amazing." Diane started off, causing me to groan internally at her words.

It's not like they hurt me. At this point, her insults are just going in one ear and out the other. She's already said this before. It's already ingrained into my head.

Right now, she's just grooming my loyalty...doing some housekeeping, I guess you'd call it, to make sure I'm reminded of where I stand. Of who I am. It's expected, but at least she's being straight up with me.

Right? She's being straight up with me. Surely.

"I didn't come out and say any of this in the first place, because I didn't want to hurt your feelings. I tried to be nice and sugar coat this affair as a reward for you. But, once again, you've forced my hand. Always out to make me the bad guy when the problem child has always been you. You bring this upon yourself, everytime. You need a scapegoat because you're unhappy with yourself, and unfortunately, I end up getting caught in the crossfires. It's okay. I don't blame you for it." She stated in mock comfort, smoothing a fly away hair neatly behind my ear.

My gaze dropped to the ground at her words. Not out of fear, necessarily. Just habit. I've already given up. And she knew it.

Yet, she kept going just a little longer.

"Truth be told, I've pretty much learned to live with your failures and accept them. Do you hear that, Ari? I accept you. I accept you for who you are. You're very lucky. You should be more grateful for everything I've accomplished for you. I've paved your way to greatness and success, and saved your entire family from a life of suffering, singlehandedly. You should be thanking me. But, I don't know. What do you think?" She finally asked, pretending to give me a choice.

That's right. She wants me to say it. She wants me to say it out loud. Because then technically, it's my choice, right? My thoughts?

And that makes me believe it.

I resisted the urge to peer over at Keigo, seeing him still staring at the wall blankly from the corner of my eye. I don't know what he was thinking about, but I'm sure he wanted this whole ordeal to be done just as much as I did-

"Take any longer to answer me, and you'll be sorry." Diane suddenly stated lowly, making me realize I've been hesitating on an answer.

I didn't mean to hesitate. I just....did.

"W-What? Well, I-"

"You what?" She interrupted unnecessarily, clearly just trying to make me suffer at this point.

I felt myself shrinking into the wall as she walked closer to me, suddenly feeling my heart starting to pound out of my chest.

"I-thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for me." I blurted out mindlessly, just wanting the attention off me.

Of course, Diane decided she wanted to fuck with me today.

"Are you? That apology didn't sound very sincere. You've never been the best liar, Ari. You're not one for brain games, because you have no brain-" She uttered menacingly, before a deep voice broke through her insults.

"Leave my intern alone." Keigo suddenly seethed out in a tone so threatening and low, I felt a shiver run down my spine.

Woah. He is very angry.

This strong attitude of his surprised Diane and I. Especially, after he was just chewed out so badly, not more than thirty seconds ago. He's never one to challenge her on something as many times as he's done today.

And for some reason....he just keeps going.

His gaze was still blank on the wall, but it was obvious to see he was now dark with fury.

His golden orbs had turned much deeper in color. While the rest of his face was practically emotionless, the half lidded, piercing look that was shooting out of his eyes was seething enough to burn a hole in the wall he was staring at.

I didn't like it. The same way Keigo is stressed when I intervene for him, is the same way I feel when he does it for me. I don't need him taking the punishment for me. I'm not that fragile.

"Kei-Hawks. Just relax-"

"Or what? Huh? What are you gonna do, timid boy?" Diane suddenly challenged him aggressively, her words coming out almost choked from the fact that she was starting to lose her temper.

For the first time since I've known him, Keigo didn't even react to the triggering nickname Diane spat out.

No. Not this time.

Right now, his chilling glare remained unchanging, as he immediately opened his mouth to speak again.

And judging by the way his poker face was slowly melting into one of anger, he wasn't about to apologize or back down from his stance this time.

My heart jumped up my throat at the quick escalation that was beginning to rise, causing me to talk first so he'd shut up.

"You're talking to me, Diane. So, talk to me. You've done enough to Hawks. Leave him out of it." I retorted, cringing when my words came out way more defensive than I meant them to be.

What is with me today?!

Diane's eyes widened ever so slightly at the way Keigo and I were responding to this conversation. Sure, it's not like we were totally fighting for ourselves and outright rebelling....but, clearly this still wasn't how she was expecting it to go.

Probably, because this isn't how it usually goes when she has her talks with us. Normally, it's her doing all the talking, and us doing all the listening.

She quickly composed herself a second later. So quickly, it's almost as if it never happened at all. Maybe it didn't. I'm probably wrong, the way I always am.

Tense silence consumed the air, as Diane slowly shifted her gaze between Hawks and I.

She had an unreadable expression on her face. One I've never seen before. It was a strange look she was giving. Almost as if she was confused, but trying to maintain a poker face so Keigo and I wouldn't notice.

She pressed her lips together after a few seconds, before a malicious smirk broke out onto her face.

Uh-oh. She found something to say-

"Hey, hello? Ari? Hawks? You kids around? I thought I saw you walk back here." A gruff voice called out from the hallway, causing the blank, dead look in Keigo's eyes to immediately be replaced with pure excitement and admiration. His anger already began subsiding, almost as quickly as it had come.

Clearly, he recognized the voice....and so did I, as I felt myself let out a visible sigh of relief.

"Hm. Looks like Endeavor-san has come to save us this time around." Keigo practically gloated to Diane, his voice also filled with hints of relief.

"Yes, well....don't expect him to save you, everytime. He's not always going to be there for you." Diane stated firmly, keeping her eyes locked on Keigo now as she was clearly talking to him, more than me.

Keigo simply shrugged, his confidence slightly rejuvenated by the mere presence of Endeavor outside this room.

"Eh, he's come through so far, hasn't he?" He smirked, as Endeavor called for Keigo and I again.

Diane's jaw tensed in irritation and frustration. I think she could tell she was losing control of this argument now, as she tried pulling out her typical demeaning lines.

"You shouldn't expect anyone to save you. You're heroes, after all. You're not the ones who will be saved, got it? No one will save you. You give it all to save everyone else. That's how it works." She seethed out quietly, immediately reminding me of the heavy conversation Keigo and I had last night.

Those are the exact words he told me, before he opened up his heart. Before he let himself be human.

My eyes went blank with anger, as I watched her continue speaking her brainwashing words at Keigo's face. I was getting a front row seat on the reason why he's so emotionally damaged and distressed.

Of course I knew Diane had something to do with it. But, seeing her destroying him like this first hand....watching her firmly grab both sides of his face to make him look at her....trying to force her words into his mind.....psychologically trying to twist his mental state back into a heartless soldier...

No.

I will not allow it.

Especially, not after I got through to his most vulnerable side last night.

I told him I'd be there for him, and I will be.

Sure, maybe I don't have the courage to protect myself. Man, I wish I did.

But, for some reason, I have the courage to protect him. And I can only hope that, one day....when it really matters....this urge I have to protect others will carry over to my own well-being.

Someday. I hope it happens.

Feeling a wave of fearlessness wash over me, I pushed myself off the wall of the janitor's closet, grabbing one of Diane's hands that were locked on Keigo's face.

I harshly yanked it off him, feeling completely okay with looking Diane in her cold, dead eyes.

Keigo inhaled sharply as Diane immediately shot me a glare so infuriating, it's almost like she would kill me if she had the chance.

"Ari-" Keigo uttered quietly, before I cut him off strongly.

"That's enough. We're done here. Endeavor's looking for us. So, we'll be going now. Thank you for your time, Diane. It's been a real pleasure, as always." I stated firmly and respectfully.

I purposely kept my tone calm and collected. I made it a point to word my phrase in a way that gives Diane absolutely no wiggle room to cause anymore issues.

The number one hero really is looking for us. She can't refuse that. I didn't raise my voice. I thanked her, the way she always asks me to.

Using the training and mental abuse she's been throwing at me for ten years, I manipulated her, and used her own tactics against her.

Sure, it may not have been much, but to me....and to Diane, as well...

It's a bold move.

I continued burning my own gaze into her face for the first time, almost daring her to look away first.

Woah. What a rush this is. Who knew!

Diane pressed her lips together, looking at me in blank hatred as she realized there was nothing more to say.

Keigo's soft chuckle broke through the silence, making my heart warm when I realized it was genuine, and almost.....proud?

"You heard her, boss. After you." Keigo smiled at Diane, gesturing for her to leave first.