"Ari, Eraserhead's laptop.....it's not there."

Oh, for fuck's sake.

I knew what he was gonna say before he even said it, and yet, that still didn't stop the immediate spike of nerves from shooting into my bloodstream at his words...feeling my body suddenly wanting to hurl itself into absolute hysteria at what Keigo just told me.

The laptop's not there.

The laptop, which is literally our only way out of this situation, is now officially missing, and there is absolutely no other alternative solution Keigo and I could come up with, and carry out, within the next hour.

Oh my god. Oh no. I can't do this. Is my family really going to die? Please Dabi. Please. Please. I will literally do anything. Please, don't. My mind can't handle that kind of loss. If anything actually happens to my family, I will-

I was brought out of my spiraling trance at the feeling of Keigo's hands on my shoulders.

His eyes were burning into mine fiercely, his hands shaking my shoulders firmly. While I had already started to silently freak out, Keigo's eyes were filled with nothing but hungry determination.

I felt my body starting to tremble, as my eyes quickly wandered away from his to glance at the clock in pure panic.

10:51 pm-

"Ari. Look at me." Keigo commanded firmly, any softness in his voice completely gone as he was clearly already in his survival mode now.

The mode of a complete soldier.

His grounded state of mind actually helped in bringing me back to reality a bit, causing my gaze to wander back over to his.

He gripped my shoulders a little tighter now, almost in a seeming attempt to keep my attention on him.

His low voice quickly broke through the silent air once more, his eyes never leaving my own.

"Listen to me very carefully, because we don't have a lot of time. I understand this situation was not ideal. But, there are bound to be a few hiccups every now and then, right? It's not over yet. We still have an hour left to get this done, and we will. But, you. You need to stay with me. I know your first instinct right now is to freak out and completely shut down, and I can already see that you're more than halfway down that road. But, at this moment, for this point in time...I am asking you to suppress it, Ari. Fight it. Don't let it out. Not yet. I need you for this, chicky. I can't do this mission by myself. I don't know UA well enough for that. I need you. So get it together. Please. For the sake of your family. Pull yourself together." Keigo stated clearly and carefully, his face only inches away from mine as his voice remained cold and firm.

Yet, his touch betrayed his tone...as his gloved hands released my shoulders and trailed up to my face, caressing both sides of my jaw gently.

He's not saying these things to be a dick. He's saying them because they're true, and we're running out of time. I can't afford to lose it right now, no matter how much I want to.

Because if I lose it now, and get my family killed...I will never recover. And Keigo knows this, which is why he's trying to force me back on my feet in this situation.

Get it together, Ari. Get it together. It's not over yet.

I grit my teeth together, taking a slow, shaky breath as my eyes trailed over to the clock.

10:54 pm.

Using every bit of mental and physical strength left inside my entire being, forcing away the horrific images of Dabi charring everything that matters to me, in mere seconds...

I kept my composure, feeling myself about to be physically sick from this night, but still managing to keep my wits.

"Okay....I'm okay..." I breathed out practically inaudibly to Keigo, as his thumbs softly continued caressing my cheeks.

He nodded in empty acknowledgment, obviously knowing I wasn't really okay, but having no other choice but to continue.

I gently tapped Keigo's hands that were resting on my face, silently telling him to get them off me so I could get into my own mindset for this next hour.

He immediately complied, taking a step back to give me some air, as I began slowly pacing the room.

Think, Ari. Think.

"Okay...so the laptop...isn't in the classroom..." I croaked out in confirmation, starting to mentally run through the other places it could possibly be.

"That is correct. My feathers detected absolutely no unusual electricity waves coming from the 1-A classroom. Can you think of any other place it could be? His bedroom, maybe?" Keigo suggested. His free floating feathers that had left to survey the classroom suddenly reappeared underneath my door and attached themselves back onto his wings.

I pursed my lips in thought, trying to remember every possible conversation I've had with Mr. Aizawa in the past three years.

Curse myself for talking so much in three years. The tired man barely ever got a word in when he had a conversation with me...

"No. It wouldn't be in his bedroom. That's right, he doesn't have WiFi in his bedroom, since he's only in there to catch some sleep." I explained, closing my eyes to better focus my thoughts.

"Faculty lounge?" Keigo asked calmly. Even though my eyes were closed, I could practically feel his gaze piercing my brain for answers.

"It's possible, but less than likely. Aizawa never leaves his computer in the faculty lounge. He says the charging ports are too slow in that part of the building. What about if you use your feathers to track down all the laptops in the building? We could gather them all up, find Aizawa's, and then use your fast feathers to put them all back before anyone's noticed?" I suggested, watching Keigo immediately shake his head no.

"I can't do that. There's too much active technology going on inside this school. My wings can detect electronics in the area, but it's hard for me to tell the difference between what's a cellphone, or a laptop, or even a fire alarm. That's why I was having such a hard time focusing on singling out the sound vibrations inside the 1-A classroom. I was already trying to decipher between the electricity current patterns from the fire alarms, air conditioning systems, and a bunch of other stuff. I can't trigger my senses to only seek out laptops. I'll end up grabbing all the electronics in this entire place, and there's no time for that." He explained, causing me to groan slightly in stress as I forced myself to keep thinking.

My eyes snapped over to the clock again, praying that only ten seconds have passed since I last looked at it.

11:00 pm.

WHAT!?

Six minutes!! It's already been six minutes!! The time was going by so slowly when Keigo and I first started this mission. Now, it's as if it's suddenly doubled its speed.

"Okay, come on..." I whispered to myself, trying to rack my mind of anything that Mr. Aizawa could have said lately that would give me a hint as to where that laptop was.

"Ari, if it comes down to it, I'll just leave here and go take out Dabi, myself, to make sure he doesn't touch your family. I don't care about blowing my cover for that. I'll do it." Keigo stated lowly, his eyes already darkening with, what appeared to be.....bloodlust, at the thought of killing Dabi.

What's gotten into you, chicken? Calm down.

"Keigo, Dabi forced me to meet up with him, right under your nose, not more than a day ago. You had no idea he was in the area, which means he's good at moving around and hiding himself. That's probably why he hasn't been caught by the heroes yet. There's no guarantee he'll be in the location you show up to. Sure, he said he'll burn my family, but that doesn't mean he'll be at their house. What if he's already kidnapped and taken them to another location, because he knows I'd send someone for him? What if he's just waiting, at this moment, for any signs that someone's come to rescue them, only so he can char them dead in a matter of seconds? He's the type. There's no time for you to leave, and fly around aimlessly to find Dabi. I need you here to help me. We've already picked a direction tonight. We need to commit to this and get the job done. That's our only option." I explained blankly, praying and hoping this situation doesn't end with my life being completely broken-

Hm?

Hold on...

Broken.

.....broken....?

Why is that word resonating with me so suddenly?

What does my brain want me to remember?

Come on, Ari. Use your head. For once.

Think....

Wait-

Broken?!-

I let out an audible gasp as the random word suddenly triggered a flashback from earlier today, when I was talking to Mr. Aizawa in the hallway:

He was trudging down the hallway, muttering profanities to himself as he attempted to fix a broken piece of his laptop....fiddling with the loose end cluelessly, as he obviously had no idea how to fix it.

"Stupid piece of junk. I'll need to drop it off at the tech lab today..." He muttered begrudgingly under his breath.

Oh my god.

How did I not notice that before?!

Ugh, that's right. I was too focused on trying to convince Mr. Aizawa to keep me onboard the project, that I didn't even think anything of his stupid laptop at that moment in time.

11:05 pm.

"The tech lab..." I breathed out in pure realization, my muttering quickly catching Keigo's attention.

"Huh? What? Say it again, I didn't hear." He replied quickly, subtly checking the clock on the wall.

I felt my brain finally kicking into gear now, as I turned my attention towards Keigo.

"The tech lab. I bet the laptop's in the tech lab. Aizawa said today, in passing, that it was broken, and that he needed to take it to the tech lab." I explained, immediately turning on my heel and making a beeline towards my door.

The computer's gotta be there. I needed to get to the tech lab. I need to go now-

I'd barely just creaked the door open, before Keigo popped up directly behind me, and firmly pushed it closed.

Not even giving him a chance to explain himself, I abruptly turned around, shooting him a pure, dirty look.

"What the fuck are you doing, Takami? There's no time-"

"Yeah, yeah. Just calm down, James Bond. Alright? You need to be rational here. Let's talk about this, before ya go stormin' outta here, guns blazing. C'mon, chicky, use your head. You think the laptop's in the tech lab. Great. But, what about security cameras? Teachers patrolling the hallways at night? Where's the location of the tech lab, in case we need to get away quickly? Does it have windows?" Keigo began rattling off rapidly, quickly reminding me why he's the double agent chicken that he is.

Doing stuff like this is literally his job. That's probably why he's so calm and rational under this insane pressure.

And boy, am I really glad I have his experience right now. He's helping me realize all of the important things I've been forgetting in my determined haze to get this done.

That's right. I'm still technically doing something illegal here. Teehee...

11:12 pm.

I grit my teeth in anxiety, as I realized Keigo and I were closing in on a deadline of almost forty-five minutes now. Time is wasting much too fast.

Think, Ari. Think!!!

"Umm....okay, the tech room, the tech room. Yes! Yes, there's one window near the ceiling. It's a big one that we could easily escape from, if need be. There are security cameras on that side of the school-but, I have an idea for that. See, your speed has been proven to be faster than the reaction time of the security cameras. You come through my dorm window all the time, and never get caught. Think you can shoot your feathers out fast enough to block the camera's vision, without getting your feathers recognized in the security footage?" I asked, feeling my heart starting to pound as the time continued to bleed away at a rapid pace.

Keigo and I were falling behind on this mission, and there was no need to vocally address it, because we both knew it very well.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his gloved hand, immediately nodding in confirmation.

"Yeah, roger that. I'll shoot out my feathers, block the cameras. The school won't be able to recognize my feathers. They'll just see something blocking the footage-but, I'm just warning you, that once the school realizes their footage isn't being recorded properly, they'll probably take that as a threat and come lookin' for the culprit. We'll need to work extra quickly from that point on. They'll close in on us pretty fast. We are in a school of top heroes, after all." He stated lowly, letting out a small tense sigh as he glanced at the clock once more.

11:18 pm.

Keigo sucked in a harsh breath at the time, quickly turning his attention back to me.

"Anyway, there's no more time to talk about it. Let's just go. You know the ins and outs of this place. I'll follow your lead, so we don't get caught." He whispered, giving me a small nod to open the door.

I groaned softly at his words, giving a small, unconfident nod of agreement.

"Alright..." I whispered, slowly creaking the door open.

The only good thing about my kidnapping was that Dabi and the league destroyed the security cameras in the area of my dorm room. They haven't been replaced yet, so the only ones we'll need to worry about are the ones in the classroom building.

I quietly stepped out of my room, Keigo following close behind.

Oh man. Imagine if people saw the sight of that. Not only should I try to avoid getting caught betraying the heroes, but Keigo can't even get caught being here.

If a teacher, or another student, sees him walking the pitch black hallways with me at midnight, it will definitely get us in trouble.

Ugh, this whole thing is much too scandalous for my taste.

I took a single step in the hallway, before the realization hit me that the tech room Keigo and I are trying to get to is on the other side of this giant damn school.

Immediately stopping my walk, Keigo ran right into my back, making me notice he really was following right behind me.

"Hey, what are ya doing? Speed it up, grandma." He whispered, playfully poking my cheek to get me moving again.

I gently smacked his hand away, looking around quickly to ensure the dark, silent hallway was still empty.

There's dorm rooms, with students inside, all around us.

"Can't you just fly us there?" I whispered to Keigo, trying to make this process go by faster.

He gave a quick glance of the hallway, pursing his lips unsurely.

"Well, this hallway's much too narrow for me to flap and spread my wings out. But, I can float us for a bit." He stated, grabbing my waist and pulling me into him without warning.

I quickly turned around in his arms so I could see the hallway in front of us, feeling his grip tighten on me as we were suddenly lifted off the ground.

I wasn't expecting Keigo to suddenly take off at such a fast speed, as our bodies-or, rather, my body, jolted backwards into his chest from the force of his acceleration.

My hands quickly went to hold onto his arms, that were locked around my waist, causing his chest to hum against me with a chuckle.

"Aw, afraid of the flying thing again, chicky? C'mon, we're not even in the sky right now. Or are ya just gripping me this tightly to get us closer, hm. Don't be such a scaredy cat." He teased, as we rapidly continued silently zooming past the countless array of dorm rooms, trying to make our way to the other side of the campus as fast, and as secretive, as possible.

I let out a breathy laugh, as I held onto him tightly, feeling the rough fibers of his jacket underneath my fingertips.

"Turn right at this next corner. And trust me when I tell you that falling from the sky, to my death? That's about the least of my concerns at this moment." I retorted lightly, doing my best to joke about this situation rather than have a mental breakdown about it.

I squinted my eyes slightly from the harsh wind that was blowing into my face from Keigo's fast speed.

I felt his lips brush against my ear as he pulled me closer against him. Even with the strong blowing winds, his sweet scent filled my nostrils, his warmth enveloped me comfortingly.

"Hmph, I don't like this joke anymore." He pouted softly, making a sharp right turn down the narrow hallway.

I chuckled at how quickly his mindset had changed from one of a harsh, cold soldier, to a childish Keigo.

"Sorry. I'm not trying to be a dark depressing cloud right now. It's just who I am." I stated, giving his arms a light squeeze.

Keigo's warm breaths puffed against my neck, as we began nearing the classroom buildings of the campus. Once we reached that point, we'd need to be more careful of the security cameras. That would be when the crunch time of this mission truly began.

"Yes, but you're my dark, depressing cloud, chicky..." He started off, before I felt his mouth suddenly brush up into a smirk against my ear.

Oh great, he's not done-

"Heh, so how 'bout you let me be your sun, baby?" He stated, feigning an over dramatic, charming tone as the entrance to the classroom building came into view.

Even so, I couldn't help but giggle at his words, hearing him laugh softly at my amusement.

"Wow. Are you really trying to use a pick up line on me right now?" I asked, as Keigo's flying speed gradually began slowly down so I wouldn't end up with whiplash.

"Mm, maybe. Why, is it workin'?" He questioned, before he finally landed us to the ground safely.

"Could be. Ask me again in..."

11:27 pm.

"...thirty minutes." I finished softly, feeling my nerves picking up again as I checked the time.

Thirty minutes left. Only thirty minutes to complete this job successfully.

I don't know if we can do it, but there's no going back now. All we can do is try.

Keigo's hold on my waist loosened, once he was confident I had my balance.

His hands reluctantly slid off me as I walked out of his embrace, allowing me to walk up to the locked entrance of the school.

Once we were past these doors....

There was no going back.

I let out a shaky breath as I examined the lock on the door, pulling a few bobby pins out of my pocket to pick it open.

Keigo's eyes were narrowed with focus, probably using his senses to make sure no one was coming.

"Sure about this?" He asked me quietly, turning his back to me in order to keep an eye out for anyone walking by.

I pressed my lips together in anticipation, as I slowly inserted the tip of my bobby pin into the lock.

"Absolutely." I whispered out in determination, forcing myself to keep my eyes off the clock this time as I quickly began unlocking the door.

Keigo's wings gave a light flap in response, the feathered ends brushing against my arm on their way down.

"Alrighty then, chicky. Let's do this. I'm with ya all the way." He stated seriously, giving me a noble nod of reassurance.

I returned his gesture wordlessly in acknowledgment, keeping my fingers nice and steady as I continued working the lock.

Not more than a few moments later, I heard the satisfying...

Click.

I immediately let out a shaky breath at the sound, realizing the door was now unlocked.

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of my face, before I forced myself to speak quickly. As much as my mind wanted to continue second guessing what it is Keigo and I were about to do, I couldn't.

There's no more time to think. No more time to regret. No take backs.

No.

We're doing this. Right here. Right now.

Commit.

"It's....it's unlocked." I breathed out shakily, feeling a gentle hand resting on my shoulder now.

"Good job, little dove. Now....let me take care of it." Keigo stated, his voice firm, yet soft at the same time.

I swallowed thickly, giving a small nod, before I quickly hid behind the, still closed, double doors...forcing my, now trembling, hands to calm down.

Keigo's eyes slowly closed as feathers began floating off his wings one by one.

"Behind this door...multiple electrical currents are detected in various corners of the ceiling. I assume those are the security cameras." Keigo announced to me, as feathers continued straying from his wings.

I saw his lips moving as each feather detached itself, realizing he must be counting the amount of cameras he'll need to take out.

One feather, for each camera.

"Twenty five.....twenty six......twenty seven..." He whispered out, as his growing stock pile of feathers continued swirling around his body.

After a few more moments of stressful silence, Keigo's eyes slowly opened...staring at the door in blank anticipation.

Not more than a second later, he quickly hid across from me, pressing his body up along the other side of the double doors.

Wordlessly, he adjusted the aviators on his face, looking at me through the spaces between his gloved fingers, before he said...

"Open the door."

*********

A/N: I am sorry for the cliffhangers. Feel free to throw me off a cliff-