Top pic credit: Besuko

Hawks POV:

Keigo's internal thoughts right now, about Ari's new project:

Okay, back to the story. Enjoy!

Is she serious right now?! Is this really happening?!

As if Ari wasn't already in a serious amount of danger with Dabi at her back, now she was practically walking into oncoming traffic by taking on this task.

If I could have forced her not to do this, I would have in a heartbeat to make sure she stayed safe. But, I can't fight her on it too much, without starting to make myself look suspicious.

So instead, I went for the next logical, yet immoral thing....

I'm going to spy on her, too.

Yep. I'm going to follow Ari through this, every step of the way...what she finds out, where she goes, what she's doing. Then, ultimately....I'm going to ruin this for her. Unfortunately, I'm going to make her fail at this job.

Whatever she finds, I'm going to counteract it. I'm gonna give her advice that will, unbeknownst to her, lead her away from the league of villains. I want her as far away from them, as she can possibly get. By doing this, I'm hoping that she will get so discouraged that she isn't finding anything, she'll just give up, and tell Eraserhead she can't do it anymore.

I'm also going to try and give her as much busy work as possible, in order to make sure she doesn't have a lot of free time to complete this task.

Now...where does this fall on the scale of morally black and white, you might ask?

I don't know. I don't know a lot. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm only twenty two, and I know I still have a lot to learn.

But, that's exactly it. I don't know what else to do. I don't know how else I can save Ari from this. I've never been able to get guidance from anyone, during this double agent mission, so I have to be my own mentor. My own judge of moral black and white.

And that's a dangerous game to play with one's self, in this type of situation. I'll tell you that.

I'm not sabotaging Ari's work to be a malicious dick. I'm sabotaging it to save her life.

I never wanted to do this. I never wanted to do any of this. But, I have too. I don't have a choice, so I'm doing my best. This is for the greater good. For her own good.

And yet, even after knowing what she's doing...knowing that she's much closer to uncovering my secrets, than she was before....

I can't stay away from her. I don't want too. So, I won't.

The more time I spend with Ari, the more clouded my judgements get, about distancing myself from everyone. I can't distance myself from her. She pulls me in, and she's doing so more and more by the day. And you know what? I've already made up my mind to not fight it anymore. I've allowed myself to feel it. To get lost in it. To act on what we both have been wanting for a long time.

And I'm glad I did. I'll just have to make sure I'm able to deliver on my part behind the scenes. My part, of protecting her.

My part of being her angel in the sky.

"You sly dog." Dabi chuckled, walking out from behind the shadows.

Fuck. I've been so wrapped up in my own thoughts, that I didn't even hear him come up behind me! Damn it, get it together, Keigo. He could have murdered you right then and there if he'd wanted to!

"Heh. Gotta be a little more specific there, chief. You could be referring to a whole slew of things I did just last night." I retorted lazily, shooting Dabi one of my signature, fake, lazy smirks.

Dabi let out a sinister laugh as he leaned against the roof wall of the skyscraper, looking up at the milky full moon.

"Well, I'll be damned. I have to admit, I'm a little surprised a dipshit like you was able to land someone like Kiara Himura. I saw a pic of you guys tongue wrestling at the Hero JP Ball, the other day. So tell me....was she good in the sack?" He asked, trying to hide his eagerness to know.

Was Kiara good in the sack? Hmm, I don't really know. And I don't really care. I was too busy drunk kissing Ari that night-

"Eh. She was alright. Body's banging though, so it was nice to look at." I shrugged, telling him some douchey line I knew he'd wanna hear.

"Oh, I bet. And what about that other broad? Lost interest already?" He mused, causing an immediate sense of dread to wash over me.

Oh. I knew exactly who he was talking about.

I chuckled softly, leaning against the wall across from him. I nonchalantly averted my gaze to the ground, to hide any sort of immediate emotion on my face.

"I don't know which broad you're talking about now, so whoever it is...clearly that's a yes." I laughed, trying to steer the conversation away from-

"Ari Parker. That's who I'm talking about." Dabi said a little more firmly, making my heart jump in anxiety at the mention of her name.

I hummed slightly in response, trying to stall time as I gathered up a reply.

If I say I lost interest in Ari, maybe Dabi won't think she's interesting anymore, either. But, on the other hand, maybe that's just a perfect excuse for him to kill her, while also ensuring I won't get in his way. And obviously, I can't say I am interested in her, let alone....dating her-

"Hah. She's....she's a tough one to crack, Ari Parker. Tougher than I thought. That one's gonna take more time." I mumbled, swiping my protective sunglasses up into my hair.

"Hm. Well, lucky for you...I've got more important things to worry about right now, instead of trying to kill her. But, I'll get around to it soon. Who knows, maybe I'll even have a go with her, before she goes out." Dabi laughed, clearly just trying to see if he could shake me.

I harshly swallowed the bile that began welling up in my throat, at the thought of Dabi and Ari together.

Over my dead body, you fucking scarecrow motherfucker.

"Hey man, c'mon. Bro code. Bro code. At least let me get a turn first!" I exclaimed playfully, wanting to beat the absolute shit out of myself for what I was saying about Ari.

Dabi simply shook his head in amusement, before finally getting to the point.

"Alright...enough small talk, you McDonald's chicken nugget. Why the hell did you ask me to meet here tonight?" He mumbled, letting out a tired sigh.

Yep. Bet you're surprised I'm the one who planned this meeting with Dabi. Not the other way around.

I let out a fake yawn, carelessly stretching my arms over my head as I began slowly walking around on the roof.

Happy go lucky idiot, Keigo. Keep playing that role so Dabi will trust you.

"Well, we've got a teensy-weensy little problem." I retorted casually, waiting for him to ask about it.

"And what kind of teensy-weensy little problem could we be talking about here." Dabi spat out impatiently, clearly wishing I would get to the point.

I let out a tired sigh, before directing my attention to him.

Remember how I told Ari I wouldn't chirp a word? Well, I lied straight to her face. Probably not the best way to start our relationship, but it's for her own good.

"The heroes. They're catching onto us. We need to be a little more discreet with our meetings." I explained, watching Dabi's eyes immediately narrow in suspicion.

"Oh? And how do I know you were discreet about picking the meeting place we're currently in? How do I know you're not a conniving snake who's trying to set me up, as we speak?" He questioned, as his hand started smoking with heat.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Time to back track!

"Hah! Woah. Hey, man. Why the hell would I set you up?! My loyalty lies with the league. That's exactly why I'm here. To warn you, give you a heads up!" I defended, trying to calm my heart that was starting to pound a little too fast.

Dabi simply scoffed and rolled his eyes. Clearly, he wasn't buying my excuse.

God damn, this is annoying. What's it gonna take to win this guy over? How the hell can I prove my loyalty to him, so he can let his guard down a little?

"Okay, so tell me this then. How do you know the heroes are catching onto us? How the hell did you get into a situation like that, Mr. Number Two? I'm oh so curious to know." He asked condescendingly, causing a nervous sweat to start forming on the back of my neck. Thank goodness I have a big jacket on to hide it.

Obviously, there's no way I'm going to be telling Dabi that I heard about this through Ari's new project. I also can't blame it on the hero commission. That's too close to my double agent work.

So, it looks like I'm gonna have to make someone else take the fall for this....but who?

"Well, it's exactly like you said. I'm the number two hero. You think people would hesitate to keep their concerns from me? Nah. Not at all. Look, if you wanna know the truth, I heard it from......Eraserhead." I remarked, trying to throw out a specific name so I could please Dabi.

Sorry, Eraserhead...

Dabi was quiet for a moment, throwing his head back against the wall.

I simply did the same, trying to appear as bored and carefree as possible.

After a few moments the silence became much too uneasy for me, so I decided to take the risk of adding some sass.

I let out a loud, exasperated groan, causing Dabi to lift his head.

"Ugh, dude. How much longer are you gonna sit there, pondering over nothing? It's late and I'd like to get on with this, so I can go home." I countered, raising my brows in boredom.

Dabi ignored me, purposely remaining quiet for a few more moments, before he finally decided to speak.

"I don't trust you, bird. But, we'll go with that story of yours for now. So, what are you proposing to do about this? You asking me to kill Eraser?" Dabi said lowly, a sinister smirk starting to form on his face at the thought.

I inhaled sharply at his words, immediately trying to extinguish this fire.

"Nooo, no, no. Killing Eraserhead, right after he just told me some confidential information about the league, would definitely look suspicious on my part. Plus, he could be very useful to us, without even knowing it." I grinned, watching Dabi pull out a cigarette.

"Oh? Do tell." Dabi muffled out, as he lit the cigarette.

"I'll get Eraserhead to keep feeding me his info on the league. By doing so, we can always know what the heroes are thinking and stay one step ahead of them." I suggested, seriously just making this up as I go along.

Even so, it still makes sense. Of course, the Eraserhead in this scenario is actually Ari.

Dabi took a drag, before blowing the smoke in my direction.

His eyes pierced into me, clearly trying to either intimidate me or make me uncomfortable. If I were being honest....they were doing both. But, of course I'd never let him know that.

"Well?" I asked hopefully, raising my brows in question.

"Keep Eraser alive a little longer then. But, I expect full, and daily updates on any info that tired man obtains. We'll start meeting in a new place every time, at different times. I'll be in touch with you about some other changes we'll be implementing, in order to stay hidden." Dabi mumbled, tossing his cigarette butt at my feet.

I watched as a black portal began forming now, signaling he was leaving. Our meeting was over.

"Sounds like a plan, man!" I exclaimed, starting to walk away, before Dabi's words caught me.

"Good-Oh....and say hi to Ari Parker for me." He mused, before disappearing into the black.

I let out a small tired sigh, once Dabi was out of sight.

I know he doesn't trust me. But, what's really bugging me...is that I can't tell if he believes me, when I tell him there's nothing going on between Ari and I. I'll think he's taking the bait about Kiara and other women, until he throws in a snide Ari comment, like the one he just made before he left.

I don't know, but I can only hope for the best and keep lying my ass off.

I'll protect you, Ari. Whatever the cost.

I'll never let anyone hurt you. I promise.