Top pic credit: KadeArt

*This is so sad. Alexa, play No Time to Die by Billie Eilish. (Seriously though, that's the song I listened to when I wrote this chap. That, and "everything I wanted." So, listen to those while reading if ya want an even MORE ANGSTY experience)*

And just like that....

I felt my entire world come crashing down.

Dabi.

No.

Dabi.

He did not just say Dabi.

Is this a joke?

Because it's not a very funny one.

Keigo squeezed my thighs lightly, continuing to meet my gaze intensely.

All I could do was look back at him in blank shock, desperately trying to find any familiar traces of warmth in those golden eyes of his.

But, no matter how hard I looked at him....all I could see was blank, emotionless distance.

"Ah, I've made you speechless? Gotta say, little dove....I think that's a first. Wouldn't you say so?" Keigo stated lowly, his tone of voice coming out unrecognizably cold.

There it was again.....that sinister...dark.....isolated demeanor. The demeanor that was still him, just more malicious.

Evil, almost.

This isn't real. Wake up, Ari. Wake up.

I felt my mouth continue opening and closing....trying to find the words to say.

But nothing came out.

This doesn't make sense.

I must be dreaming-

Not him. Not Keigo. Not the same Keigo who smiles at me everyday. Not the same Keigo who leaves breakfast on my desk, because he knows I never have time to eat. Or the same Keigo who eats dinosaur chicken nuggets, because he thinks they taste better than the regular kind. Not the same Keigo who makes a fool out of himself just to see me laugh. Or the same Keigo who holds me close to him when he takes me flying. Definitely not the same Keigo who tells me I'm the most beautiful girl in the world, and holds me when I cry. Or the Keigo who gazes at me with those gentle, warm eyes....telling me he wishes moments with me would be the moments that last forever.

Not the same Keigo....who told me he loves me.

My heart began pounding out of my chest as the revelation began hitting me like a Mac truck.

N-No.

No way. This is a ploy! Right?! This must be apart of his plan?! There's probably more heroes hiding around here. I bet Keigo decided to act as the decoy while the others wait for his signal to break me out of here-

"Took you long enough, bird. I was wondering when you'd show up....or if you'd even show up at all." Dabi said casually, not sounding surprised to see Keigo in the slightest. The familiarity in Dabi's tone nearly killed me as I realized...

They. Really. Know. Each. Other.

Keigo was quiet for a moment, keeping my gaze strongly as he gave my thighs a particularly tight squeeze. So tight, it hurt a little.

Why does he keep doing that?

His jaw tensed roughly as he finally released me, slowly breaking my gaze. Just for a second, his eyes squeezed shut, his brows knit together, looking like I just punched him in the stomach.

Quickly, he regained his composure, opening his eyes to stare at the dirty floor. I was close enough to hear him take a deep, steady breath.

He ran a hand through his hair, rising to his feet. He finally turned his back to me, walking over to Dabi.

"Heh, well what can I say? There was traffic on my way here. Flock of pigeons was hoggin' the fast lane, y'know." Keigo smirked, lazily stretching his arms over his head as he stood next to Dabi.

I furrowed my brows in utter disbelief, taking in the sight before me.

Here I am, beaten bloody and chained to a chair....surrounded by Toga, Twice, Dabi....and Keigo, who was standing in the middle of all of them...crossing his arms as his wings spread out behind him.

He looked so natural there. So comfortable.

"Don't make pigeon jokes. Those are your worst ones." Dabi scoffed, allowing Keigo's wing to hang over his shoulder.

I choked slightly at the unbelievable sight, feeling blood starting to trickle down my nose again.

"What, got a nose bleed for me, chicky? Man, you just can't stop yourself from wanting me no matter what, huh?" Keigo teased, draping his other wing over Toga's shoulder.

Seriously? That's what he chooses to say at this moment? He chooses to joke around, even though he can clearly see how much this is hurting me?

I didn't even realize an underlying sense of fury had been boiling inside of me, until I finally looked at him again. Like really looked at him. The situation in front of us.

This was no joke. This was no dream.

This was real life.

This was the real Keigo Takami.

"Are you....fucking...kidding me?" I spat out lowly, surprising myself with the amount of venom that was laced throughout my tone.

Keigo pursed his lips in fake thought, stroking the stubble on his chin. He remained unfazed.

"Hm? Now, there's a question. Am I fucking kidding you...? No, why? Is it funny?" He stated condescendingly, shooting me a cocky smile.

I looked at him in disbelief, narrowing my eyes at his attitude. The attitude that was so familiar to everyone else.

The attitude that is so not him.

Keigo studied my expression, lazily tilting his head to the side as he waited for me to answer.

However, Dabi spoke first...coming out of the circle of villains to head over to me.

"You know, I have to say....I haven't been a fan of this guy since I met him. But, seeing these emotions written all over your face.....seeing you knocked off your pedestal....seeing that this clearly hurts you so much....well, almost makes me think the last seven months with Hawks have been worth it." Dabi chuckled, clearly trying to get another dig to my heart.

It worked, as any last remnants of my poker face broke. My eyes widened in shock, as a loud shaky gasp escaped from my mouth.

I felt my body start shaking, as my jaw practically dropped to the floor.

He did not just say...

"S-S-Seven....s-seven....months-did you say....seven months?" I choked out, my voice coming out with just as much shock and disbelief as I truly felt.

I don't know why the time frame was the thing that shocked me so much. It was a literal body slam to my heart. I guess it's because it means that Keigo has been lying to me from the moment I...met him?

So....none of our moments....were...real....?

....none of them?

Dabi kneeled in front of me, studying my face intently as he knew I was starting to fall apart.

Of course I was falling apart. Why wouldn't I? Keigo was my weakness in every sense of the word.

I still couldn't believe it. I wanted to cry but I couldn't. I wanted to yell but I couldn't. I wanted to run to him and hug him and kiss him, but I couldn't. I wanted him to hold me in his arms and tell me it's not real.

But he couldn't.

And everything I know. At this moment.

Everything is falling apart. And I have no way of stopping it.

I've been caught off guard. Fully. And I don't know what to do.

I don't know anything.

Dabi smirked as he grabbed my face between his fingers again, forcing me to look at him.

I pressed my lips together, but even that couldn't stop the quiver creeping onto them.

I heard Keigo shuffling around a few feet in front of me, but for some reason I couldn't break Dabi's gaze...wanting him to speak. Wanting him to tell me everything I already pieced together.

It's almost like I wanted him to hurt me.

"Seven months. That's about as long as you've known him, right? Guess that means you've figured out that Hawks has never been honest with you, Ari. Hawks has never been loyal to you. He's loyal to me. Heh, you know...it's funny. After we released that high end Nomu on the city...." Dabi started out, grinning widely now as he saw my face only contorting into more heart wrenching pain.

Ah, damn. Ouch.

No. Stop it. Stop it right now.

"We." He said "we."

Keigo released the High End Nomu....? He knew about it? And after all the effort he went through to save me, Endeavor, and all of those people?!

Why?!! WHY?! How could he do such a disgusting thing?!

"After we released the High End Nomu...Hawks came to visit with me. Eh, we talked about how it could have gone better. There were no civilian casualties, after all. But, we also talked about you. How naive you were....how stupid you were....how easily he would get you to fall for him. You came up a lot in our conversations, after that. You were a laughing stock to us, Ari. Someone we talked about when we wanted a good joke. It was funny to both of us....your desperation for him. You know, he said he'd easily get you wrapped around his finger. But, I didn't think he'd actually be able to do it. That is, until seeing your face right now." Dabi stated, his breath hitting my face with every word.

My eyes refused to break from Dabi's gaze as I felt all my walls breaking down. I felt blank. Empty.

Oh no. I'm losing it. Commission training. Remember your commission training, Ari. Don't give them this satisfaction-

"S...Stop. Y-You're....you're....lying-" I stuttered out weakly.

"Don't believe me, yet? Go on, Hawks. Tell her, yourself. Tell her all of it. Tell her why she's here. Tell her what you agreed to do for me." Dabi practically commanded, not even bothering to look over at Keigo.

The room was silent with pure, anticipated tension as no words were spoken.

Dabi finally broke away from my eyes, whipping his head around at Keigo...almost as if silently daring him to stay quiet.

As soon as he did so, Keigo quickly cleared his throat, slowly hovering his eyes over to me.

I met his gaze, watching him starting to walk over to me-

"No. Tell her from there." Dabi quickly said, gripping my face tighter between his fingers.

Keigo stopped walking, holding his head high.

His Hawks attitude remained unwavering as he easily spoke the words.

"You're here to become the next High End Nomu, chicky-"

"Tell her why, Hawks."

"Because I agreed on it."

"And what was the plan, exactly?" Dabi asked, clearly already knowing exactly what the plan was.

Keigo's look remained blank, as he dared to keep my eye contact.

"I was to deliver you to Dabi by the end of this month, so you can undergo the nomufication process." Keigo stated, his voice coming out robotic and mechanical. Empty and unfeeling.

The final blow to my heart. That's the one.

Ari Parker has stopped working.

Damn. I can't keep this act up anymore.

My eyes slowly shifted away from him, as I took in his words. I couldn't find it in myself to try and hold his gaze.

Nomu.

Keigo's plan....is to make me a Nomu.

The same scary monsters I fought at Kamino. The same monster we fought together with Endeavor.

The same monsters who terrify people and murder them without a second thought.

H-He can't be s-serious...

I groaned softly, feeling a sharp pain in my side. I quickly hunched over in my seat, cringing in every possible type of pain you could think of.

Fuck.

Stop it, Ari.

Don't you dare fucking cry.

Stop. It. Now.

Keigo, please....hold me. Help me. Make it go away.

I bit my lip harshly, squeezing my eyes shut as my breaths threatened to become uneven. My throat tightened up, my eyes clouded over-

Dabi quickly yanked my head back up to face everyone. My teeth continued grinding together as I kept my eyes shut.

"See now, Ari? See now, when I tell you ignorance is bliss? You wanted to know why you're here so badly? You are here to die for me. Everything you thought you knew....everything you thought you knew about him....all of it. Was a lie. It's always been a lie. And you will die with this last revelation ingrained into your mind." Dabi stated clearly, grabbing my wrist roughly.

His hand began smoking around it, but I couldn't care less about the growing heat that began surrounding my arm.

I couldn't care less about the pain I was feeling. I couldn't care less about anything.

"H-Hey, c'mon Dabi. No need to burn her, yet. I'd like her to remain pretty for as long as possible. Ya gotta admit she's nice to look at. Even with all the blood on her face." Keigo chuckled, the tone and words of his statement causing a wave of unexpected fury to wash over me.

My glossy eyes shot open, as I glared at him....feeling a new sense of darkness flooding into my soul.

Keigo's smirk visibly faltered at my look, before he quickly regained it.

"Oof, that's a quite a mean mug you've got there, little chick. Ah, but you know what, your face is so beaten, I'm not sure you're even looking at me." Keigo chuckled, seeming to be a little bit nervous.

"You.....are dead to me." I growled out, burning my eyes into the back of his head.

Keigo pressed his lips together at my words, surprisingly averting his gaze to the floor.

"H-Heh.....yeah. Tell me something I don't know." He croaked out weakly, keeping a small smile permanently plastered to his face.

"Oh? I'm enjoying this new found anger, Hourglass. If you already have a dark side I didn't know about, you'll be an even stronger nomu than I thought." Dabi grinned, before giving the leg of my chair a kick.

I didn't even flinch, continuing to burn my gaze into nothing.

In this moment, everyone was dead to me. Hero. Villain.

Everyone.

I am angry. I feel stupid.

"Alright. Now, that you two have had a reunion...let's get down to business." Dabi stated, snapping at Twice.

Twice nodded, quickly grabbing a pen and paper. He looked ready to take notes.

"Ready when you are!" Twice said cheerfully, breaking the toxic combination of hate and malice that filled the room.

"Alright. I know some stuff from Hawks. But, I'd like to hear your perspective on the matters, too. So, let's try again....tell me about UA." Dabi stated carefully, causing another epiphany to go off in my head.

Agh. Fuck me, right? How could I forget.

The traitor....has finally been revealed.

Him. It's him. It's Keigo. He's the traitor.

He's the man Dabi's been talking to. He's the one Dabi was supposed to meet on the roof that day. He's the one leaking information to the villains.

He's the one I've been trying to expose...this entire time.

And I didn't even know it.

The man I love. The man I trusted.

I told him everything. I told it all right to his face. Everything Mr. Aizawa and I worked on.

It all makes sense. Why nothing ever went right during my league of villains project. Keigo's weird questions and need to be involved. Anytime I told him something, I always seemed to fail.

He stabbed me in the back. Just how many times has he stabbed me in the back.

He really betrayed me.

Actually, he never betrayed me...

Because he's never been on my side to begin with.

No. He played me. He used me.

Keigo Takami....I don't even know who you are.

I trusted him. I really trusted him.

I loved him.

He never loved me-

I was brought out of my crisis when Dabi roughly kicked my chair, almost knocking me over.

I snapped my eyes to him, not processing.

"Did you hear me? I said, tell me about Endeavor." Dabi commanded, placing his scalding hand on my wrist again,

I didn't even feel the pain, but I knew he was burning me.

"Hey-tell him what he wants to know, Ari. It's not worth the struggle. There's nowhere for you to go. Just do it, and save yourself the pain." Keigo chimed in calmly, keeping his eyes locked to Dabi's smoking hand on my wrist.

Don't...don't tell me what to do, you bastard.

"Fuck you..." I breathed out to Keigo, as Dabi continued burning my wrist.

"Just, hold on a minute-Dabi. Let's try again with her, later. She's in too much shock right now, she's not going to-" Keigo started saying, before I felt a whipping pain across my cheek.

Damn it. I've been bitch slapped again.

"No. I've given her enough time. Now, she's either going to tell me what I want to know, or she's going to die from the beating I'm about to give her." Dabi seethed out, clearly losing his patience with me.

The air was expelled from my lungs as Dabi's boot kicked me in the chest, the force causing my chair to fall backwards.

"Ow." I simply mumbled, as I came flying back up to sitting.

"You know, death by beating isn't something most people prefer. But for you, I'm willing to make an exception, I guess." Dabi stated calmly, raising his fist to punch me in the face-

His arm was quickly caught in someone else's grasp before it had the chance to touch me.

Keigo continued holding Dabi's fist in his hand, glaring at him darkly.

Dabi matched his look, the intensity in the room reaching a new high now, as these two exchanged a silent language. Dabi was clearly seconds away from either chewing Keigo out, or burning him to death. Keigo sensed this, quickly making an attempt to diffuse the situation.

"Really going to kill your Nomu vessel before she even gets a chance to shine? Clearly, you're not the brightest tool in the shed, Dabi." He said raspily, any past traces of life in his eyes practically dulled into nothing.

"If it means she'll stop being a pain in my ass, then sure. Ujiko wants her as a Nomu. Frankly, I couldn't care less." Dabi shrugged, clearly intent on beating me into a pulp-

"Then, I'll do it. You just need to relax." Keigo muttered, gently pushing Dabi to the side so he stood in front of me instead.

He slowly walked over to me, coming inches away from my face.

I felt myself starting to shake in anger at his presence, as that familiar scent of peppermint clouded my nostrils.

Keigo focused in on my face, slowly placing one of his hands on the back of my chair, near my head.

"Fine. But you better at least get a few good hits in. I want it to hurt." Dabi muttered begrudgingly, waiting for Keigo to whoop my ass.

"I'll get a very good hit in." Keigo croaked out quietly, as his eyes tried to melt into my own.

I didn't even bother to search for the man that I thought I knew, giving him an empty glare.

"Do your worst, Hawks. Because whatever that means to you....I can promise....your worst will never match what I'm feeling right now." I whispered, not intending to tell him something like that. I didn't want to give him that power, but the words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Keigo's gaze remained intense, looking at me in a way that was unfamiliar. He had a straight face, brows knitted together, eyes hooded over in seriousness.

"Brace yourself, chicky. While Dabi was about to kill you, I'm simply going to put you to sleep." Keigo uttered roughly, before I watched his fist fly full force at my face without warning.

In the next instant....

Everything was black.