***top photo credit: n9poison****

Keigo POV: ~ a few minutes earlier ~

"But, but, but...I still don't understand." Twice pouted with a twiddle of his thumbs, shrinking into his seat slightly as he saw Skeptic losing his patience.

The grunge guy slammed both his hands down on the wooden desk, flipping his long bangs upwards so that both of his crazy eyes would be visible to Twice.

"Okay, then. Let's try this again. What part don't you understand, Twice?" Skeptic asked with gruff impatience, burning his gaze into Twice as if daring him to answer.

But, Twice was too oblivious to notice.

"It's just-why will I have to be in a different area, from where my friends will be? I don't like being alone." He reasoned nervously, scooting his chair closer to my own to emphasize his point.

I trailed my bloodshot, exhausted eyes around the meeting room in subtle focus, noticing how fed up the PLF people looked with Twice at this point.

But, Skeptic was able to keep his cool for a little while longer.

"Okay, even though I hate repeating myself, lemme explain this to you again. You better pay attention..." Skeptic seethed through grit teeth, before quickly continuing a few moments later.

"On the day we strike against the heroes, you will be on the front lines, Twice, because your quirk is one of the strongest ones we've got on our side. You have the ability to wipe the heroes clean, singlehandedly. You can kill countless ones, by barely lifting a finger. This makes you very strong and very important in this war. Do you understand now?" Skeptic asked condescendingly, causing my half lidded eyes to fall closed for a few moments.

As much as I wanna doubt everything that Skeptic's saying, I can't do that. Because, it's all true.

It's a shame you're so strong, Twice. I wish you weren't. For your own sake.

Letting out a small sigh, I reached my gloved fingers under my aviators to rub my tired eyes, feeling as if this war strategy meeting has gone on for three hours too long.

It doesn't help that I didn't sleep well last ni-for the last three and a half months.

But, Twice's chipper voice brought me back a few moments later, forcing my eyes to open so I could listen intently to what he's saying.

After all, he's proven himself to be a very useful resource for me, in getting information on these liberation fucks.

"Oooohhhh, I think I get it now! So, ya want me to make a lot of doubles, using my quirk, and overpower the heroes with 'em. Is that it?" He asked so innocently, it almost made me believe that he wouldn't dare hurt a fly.

I kept my gaze on the table blankly, waiting for Skeptic to confirm Twice's assumptions.

"Yes, that's correct, Twice. You are one of our key tickets in winning this war. I expect you to kill as many heroes as you can with your quirk, on the day we attack. Is that clear?" Skeptic asked casually, causing me to hold my breath in anticipation for Twice's answer.

I'm not sure why I'm holding my breath. I don't know what I'm waiting for. It's not as if I don't already know what the answer's gonna be.

But, I guess, Twice....I'm just hoping you'll, somehow, answer differently, and prove me wrong.

You're not a bad guy, Twice-

"Kill some hero schmucks? Sure thing, boss. I'll kill as many of those nut jobs as I can. You can count on it!" The split man chirped out with happy purpose, giving a thumbs up of determination to the group.

My blank gaze remained unwavering as I continued focusing on the table in front of me. His response didn't surprise me. It didn't hurt me. It didn't anger me. I felt absolutely nothing towards it.

You just got dealt an unlucky hand in life. It's not fair, and I'm sorry.

But, at the same time...

I can't say that I'm sorry enough to where I still won't pull the rug out from under you, pal. Sure, it won't be a happy moment, but there's no way I'll back out of it now. I've come too far to let you stand in my way.

It's not as if I'll let mere sentiment trip me up.

But, still, imagining the look on Twice's face, once he finds out that I'm the one who betrayed him, has definitely crossed my mind, more than once. More than twice. More than a few times...

Especially, since the whole revelation will probably cause him to realize that he's a big reason why I know what I know about this war.

The reveal of my true intentions will show Twice that I was never trustworthy from the start. He'll regret ever getting close to me. He'll feel anger and pain, because he thought we were friends. He'll feel betrayed by me.

But, I don't care. Like I said....I'm numb.

I've been trying to prepare myself for that day, and remind myself to not become too attached to the person I want to believe he is.

After all, his power and intentions are staring me right in the face, as we speak. I'm currently in a meeting where Twice's dangerous strength is being recognized, and I just listened to him verbally commit to the order of murdering countless heroes, with absolutely no hesitation or regret in his voice. It can't get any clearer than that.

I know better than any of the other heroes, that Twice is too strong for his own good. Too strong to run free around here on his own.

And, because of my duties and moral conscience, the knowledge of his strength isn't something I can ignore.

"Well....after explaining the plan to you fifteen times in a row, I'm glad you finally understand, Twice." Skeptic sighed out in exasperation, before turning his attention to the file folder on his desk.

"And, now that we've wasted an endless amount of time on Twice's role in all of this, let's move on to everyone else. To start, boss man, Re-Destro, received a note a few days ago from our little spy, down at UA." He finished, pulling a piece of paper out of his file folder and placing it on the projector for everyone to see.

My heart jumped at the mention of the little spy, known as Ari...immediately feeling incredibly nervous for whatever it was she wrote down on that paper.

I know she's capable. I know she can handle herself, and that she's the number eight pro hero now.

But, to me, she's Ari. I see her as my girlfriend, and someone I want to protect. I see her as the most important person, with a life as fragile as porcelain.

So, anytime her sweet name falls from the mouths of these pieces of shit, I immediately become nervous.

Slouching back in my chair to relax my stiff shoulders, I tiredly turned my attention to the projection screen, seeing Ari's neat handwriting written on the pages...

Status of hero defense forces/formation:

•Small numbers-will probably consist primarily of the UA staff.

•Midnight and Mt. Lady are nursing physical injuries. Midnight (left flank) Mt. Lady (left hip flexor).

•Miruko will not be in attendance.

•Eraserhead will be one of the first ones to show up for a fight.

•Wash will be leading his own raid team

•Tensions are high in general. Conflict is present amongst many of the heroes.

•Endeavor is getting over the stomach flu.

"So, as you can see, Ari has laid out all of the important points, that will be useful for us on the day we attack-the main ones being the small numbers on the hero side, and Endeavor's stomach flu." Skeptic started off, before Dabi's scoff sounded from the opposite side of the room.

"And why the hell are those old man's bowels breaking news to anyone? That's the most irrelevant thing on there." He grumbled naggingly, standing in his favorite corner of the room since he refused to take his assigned seat next to me today.

Becoming thoroughly irritated with the league members of the PLF army, Skeptic rubbed his temples in pure annoyance with Dabi's answer, still trying to keep himself as composed as possible.

"It's not irrelevant, because it's information on the number one hero. Any information is relevant information, when it comes to that guy. We'll make it a point to aim for his stomach on the battlefield, or something. Could make a difference, who knows." Skeptic shrugged, pursing his lips in thought on how he could exacerbate Endeavor's 'stomach flu.'

I couldn't help but hide a smile of curious amusement as I thought about how in the world Ari came up with that one. Doesn't seem like she thought of it alone. Stomach flus and illness stuff ain't really her type, when it comes to this sort of thing.

But, my smile quickly fell once another person correctly exposed Ari's true intentions.

"Stomach flu. Injuries. Conflict? I don't know, Skeptic. Don't you think this all seems too good to be true? How do we know she's not lying, and setting us up?" Geten stated firmly, his voice wavering with a bit of the unhinged anger he held for Ari.

My jaw tightened stressfully at the words, as I 'lazily' turned my gaze towards Skeptic to immediately read his mood.

My main goal here is still looking out for Ari. Geten's harmless when it comes to liberation power. Not to mention, he's never liked Ari from the start, and that's something that's known by everyone. It doesn't matter if he looks suspicious.

It matters if Skeptic does, because then, he'll tell Re-Destro.

But, much to my relief, Skeptic seemed pretty unbothered by Geten's accurate accusations.

"Ehhh, it's possible, I guess-but that'd be pretty ballsy of some nineteen year old kid to try and lie to the entire PLF army. One girl trying to double cross thousands of soldiers? Seems unlikely to me. Not to mention, Ari seemed like nothing more than a ditzy, love struck teenager." Skeptic pointed out, trailing his crazy gaze past me and over to Dabi as the person Ari was head over heels for.

I couldn't help but let a barely audible scoff escape my lips at the irony that was stinkin' up the room.

And, instead of retorting with a snide or sexual comment about Ari, in an attempt to purposely anger me....Dabi actually seemed to be on my side this time, as I heard a scoff come from him that mirrored my own.

Ever since the day he kissed her, I've noticed that he's stopped making inappropriate comments about Ari. He doesn't try to use her against me, in order to blackmail me, anymore.

He refuses to even bring her name up around me now, almost as if he wants to hide his true thoughts about her, so that I'll never be able to know what he's thinking; as if I'm the one who has the power to ruin all of his fantasies and day dreams.

But, either way, while Dabi's been absolutely ruthless towards me with everything else, the fact that Ari is no longer a topic of conversation for us is a small break, in itself.

And it's something that's helped my slipping sanity hang on just a little longer...

But, for how long?

"Yeah, but you just said it's possible. Which means, that nineteen year old girl still has the potential to ruin this entire war, singlehandedly. Right?" Geten asked determinedly, clawing his fingernails into the wooden table to try and hold the respects for his higher ups.

My wings fluttered up without my permission, as he continued to press forward on topics that triggered me. My patience isn't as good as it was a year ago.

"Well-I mean, yes, if there's an off chance that Ari's plan is to betray us, I can promise you, that she won't live to see the next day. Happy, Geten?-but, also remember that she's agreed to return to the mansion next week, in order to fight on the front lines, by our side. Doesn't seem like something a traitor would do." Skeptic reassured tiredly, speaking with the sole intent of getting passionate Geten to cool off.

Heh, get it? 'Cool off' cause he's an ice guy. That's funny, right?

"Wait-she agreed to come back? When did she do that?" Dabi asked in legitimate curiosity, causing my own curiosity to suddenly perk up with him.

Because I've been unable to communicate with Ari for the last three and a half months, I'm not surprised anymore when I get small updates from the PLF on what she's been doing. Anything about her is news to me now, so I'm at an even level of curiosity with all of it.

But, Dabi's a liberation commander, who's able to contact Ari whenever he wants.

So, the fact that he seems surprised to hear this, immediately makes me surprised, too.

"A few days ago. She sent me a letter, saying she will return on the day of our planned war, in order to fight. She also agreed to the mission I gave her-or, the mission that Re-Destro gave her, anyways." Skeptic explained, causing my bloodshot eyes to widen half a fraction at this previously unknown information.

Shit. I'm so out of the loop with her.

"And, what mission is that, exactly?" Dabi asked in a slight annoyance that wasn't understandable.

Skeptic slammed his hands down on the table in irritation with all the questions, muttering profanities under his breath about "all of these fucking questions," before continuing.

"Ari's big mission during this war, will be to immobilize all of the most powerful heroes that get close to our forces. Once they're immobilized and unable to move, our guys will sweep in and kill them on the spot. It's a contactless type of fighting that will increase our energy and give us a solid victory. Ari's involvement in this war is very important, too." He stated, seeming to perk up a bit as he talked about the Ari Plan.

And, while I wasn't surprised to hear about Ari's involvement in this process, especially, since I know it's something that's never gonna happen...

I couldn't help but feel my shoulders slump in exhaustion as a small sigh escaped my mouth, feeling too done with this situation to panic about it.

Not to mention, I'm still too caught up in trying to save Ari's life in a different way right now. So, my hope for that strategy is overpowering my panic for everything else.

Of course, I'm talking about giving Diane the name of Jaku hospital, in exchange for taking Ari out of the war.

That entire situation has sent me on a whole new type of crazy, as I still haven't found the opportunity to tell Diane the news.

It's been two weeks. Two long, excruciating weeks since Twice accidentally spilled the beans on Shigaraki's specific whereabouts.

While the news had originally caused a mental celebration party to erupt within my mind at the time, the knowledge has now become something that tortures me every single day I'm forced to hold onto it.

Because, that's just another day off Ari's life.

With the war coming quickly, Skeptic has never once been out of my sight. And if he hasn't been out of my sight, then I know for a fact that I haven't been out of his.

That means I've been on strict 24 hour wing camera surveillance for this past week. He's watching my every move, so how the hell am I supposed to tell Diane anything?

I know I said I have to take more risks during this mission, but this piece of information is not something I can risk fucking up. Everyone is counting on me to get this done, and the last thing I need is for everything to go to shit, simply because I was too impatient in waiting.

No. I've got the golden gem to all of it, right in my own hands. Jaku hospital. That's the name. That's where Shigaraki is, and our ticket to winning the war. Ari's ticket to living her life.

I've still got a week before the day the villains plan to strike. I've still got time.

Not to mention, I've been cooking up a plan of my own today that should give me the alone time I'm looking for.

Should be happening any minute now...

You can thank my telekinetic feathers for that one.

Clearing my throat softly, I brought my dwindling focus back on the meeting, forcing my brain to shove more, and any new, information on this war into it, as if I were a damn file cabinet.

"....and Toga, your role in the war will be Team Carmine-or the vanguard action intelligence regiment. Your Meta Liberation co-leader for the team will be me." Skeptic explained begrudgingly, barely looking up at Toga deflatedly.

Not even bothering to hide her annoyances, Toga visibly scrunched up her nose in disgust at the partnership, giving Skeptic a look like he was nuts.

"I don't wanna..." She pouted quietly, crossing her arms in distaste for the situation.

Judging by the way Skeptic's eye twitched in losing patience a second later, I'm guessing he heard Toga's comment, but chose to ignore it.

"And, lastly..." The grunge guy growled out through grit teeth, before turning his attention on...

"Dabi, your role in the war will be Team Violet-or, the vanguard action guerilla warfare regiment. Your Meta Liberation co-leader for the team will be Geten." Skeptic finished, causing Dabi to let out a low audible groan of disapproval.

"That's fucking disgusting." The emo brood replied blandly, without missing a breath, causing Geten's eyes to flare up with fury.

I watched as the human ice cube stood up so quickly, his chair fell backwards onto the ground.

"Oh yeah? How about I just kill you, instead? After all, I've already pretty much beaten you in a one-on-one fight. Shouldn't be very hard." Geten seethed out threateningly, causing Dabi to raise a lazy, pestered brow.

I silently pursed my lips in pondering agreement to Geten's words, remember hearing about their fight in Deika.

Geten's not technically wrong. He almost wiped the floor with Dabi at the time.

"You talk a big game for a guy who cried the other day, when his hair product ran out-or, am I just thinking of you?" Dabi retorted, giving the back of my chair a rough kick to emphasize me as the alternative person he was talking about.

Just like Dabi. Geten called him out on one of his flaws, so to deflect, he throws insults at Geten, and makes fun of me, in order to get the attention off himself.

But, I'm too burnt out to draw attention to that right now and cause a scene, so I guess I'll just humor him and play along. Whatever.

"Nah, I don't cry over spilled hair products. Only spilled chicken nuggets." I countered cooly, shooting Dabi a lazy smirk as I slouched further into my chair.

"Ooohhh, he's right, Dabi. I saw it firsthand in the cafeteria last week-but, Red, do you know that you're a beautiful cryer?! Your eyes go sooo dreamy and gold-" Twice started saying, before Dabi kicked the back of my chair again for no reason.

"I don't need the whole story, Twice. I was just trying to make a point about fuck face over there." Dabi pointed out casually, gesturing a stitched finger at Geten.

"Wait-Then, why did you bring me into it? I didn't do anything." I blurted out in genuinely confused question, involuntarily lurching forward when Dabi kicked the back of my chair for a countless time.

"And what exactly was the point?" Geten seethed out, clawing his fingers into the table again to control himself.

I couldn't help but let out a small groan at the fight that was ensuing, rolling my eyes closed for a moment to relax.

Man, these guys and their angst. Jeez.

"The point is that you're a fucking moron. Is that simple enough for you?" Dabi started in growing annoyance, continuing to kick his anger out on the back of my poor chair.

"A fucking moron who can kick your ass!!" Geten blurted out with blind passion, causing a small chuckle of amusement to escape my lips at his words.

He doesn't even realize that he just agreed with Dabi that he's a fucking moron. That makes him a fucking moron.

Before the battle of the dipshits could progress any further, Skeptic cut in.

"Hey, hey, hey!! Enough!! If you wanna kill eachother, then you can do it after the war. For now, let's just get through this meeting and the next week, with no interruptions-" Skeptic started saying, before someone barged through the meeting room door in a panic.

"Skeptic!! I'm sorry for the interruption, but we have an emergency!!" One of the PLF soldiers exclaimed, quickly waving Skeptic over to his side.

An emergency, he said?

Must be my feather plans in action.

Keeping myself composed, I raised my brows in fake confusion to the PLF soldier's words, looking back at Skeptic with controlled question.

But, the grunge guy wasn't having any of it, as his patience was long gone.

He quickly slammed both his hands down on the table again, flipping his head up so his bangs would be out of his face.

"NO!! No, no! No more interruptions! We have to talk about the war strategies. Whatever it is, it can wait-"

"B-But, it's about your room, sir!!" The solider uttered nervously, hesitating to continue for fear of being yelled at again.

I hid the small smirk on my face, underneath the big collar of my flight jacket.

Yep. My plan is in place.

Skeptic's motivation to continue the war strategy meeting abruptly dropped, as his face began contorting up into stressful question.

"Well-w-what about my room?-"

"It's on fire, sir!! You must have forgotten to put one of your smokes out again!" The solider exclaimed, jumping slightly in nerves as he saw Skeptic abruptly stand up from the table.

Yep, it sure is on fire. Lighting matches, blindly, with telekinetic, flammable feathers ain't as easy as it looks, y'know.

"HUH?! What do you mean it's on fire!?-why did you come over here to tell me, instead of trying to put it out?!?" The grunge guy yelled in panic, quickly sprinting out of the room without ending the meeting properly.

I kept my anticipated muscles relaxed and lazy as I waited for my opportunity to break free, knowing that I would only have a limited amount of time to break away from everyone, once the rest of my plan goes into motion.

Alright. One down. Ten more to go-

RIIIING! RIIIING!

"What the hell?! Is that the fire alarms now?!" Geten exclaimed over the sudden loud, blaring sounds of the fire alarms, causing everyone to quickly stand up from their seats.

As much as I would have liked to, of course the place isn't actually set on fire.

The mansion's huge, so I needed a big enough distraction to get myself unnoticed for a bit. Took ten different feathers over to ten different smoke alarms in the buildings, with matches-lit 'em, then fanned out the smoke directly into the fire alarm.

Told ya, I've gotta take more risks.

"Ahhh!! What's happening!?? Is there a fire???-" Twice yelled, but he was quickly cut short when the sprinklers began immediately spewing full force at everyone from the ceiling.

Hey, that's perfect!

A blood curdling shriek suddenly rang from the other side of the room, causing me to jump in genuine surprise and look at the culprit.

"My hair's getting wet!! I don't have anymore product to put in it!" Geten cried out with passionate rage, quickly pulling the hood of his parka over his head.

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I quickly put on my act of surprise, along with everyone else, turning to Twice to plant the false pretenses of how this started.

"Wow!! Hey, who knew that forgotten cigarette in Skeptic's room could cause all of this chaos, huh?! Must be some fire in there!!" I yelled, giving Twice a friendly shoulder push to nudge him out of the crowded meeting room with me.

Okay, sooo.....the fire in Skeptic's room is a real one. But, I needed him away from my cameras, long enough so I could speak with Diane. And it's not as if I could burn down his tech monitor room, without causing suspicion.

"Oh, wow!! Do you really think this is all happening, because of that long haired guy's cigarette??" Twice yelled to me in loud naivety, causing the people around us to raise their brows in convinced persuasion.

Just as I planned.

"Hm, I dunno! I sure hope not for his sake!" I called back in believable concern for Skeptic's well being, concealing my darkening smirk from under my jacket collar as I heard people starting to talk about Skeptic's fuck up.

It's too easy to throw him under the bus for everything.

Once Twice and I entered the hallways of the liberation mansion, we were met with a wave of crowded chaos.

Thousands of people were all packed like sardines, in this tiny hallway, trying to find their way out of the mansion, as fast as they could.

With the amount of fire hazards that exist in this place, we'd all be fried by now if there was a real fire. I was lucky to even find working smoke alarms!

But, the poor safety structure of the PLF mansion would work in my favor today, as I decided it was time to put my purpose into motion.

We're still on one of the highest floors of the building. It will take everyone at least ten minutes to exit, and they probably won't even count numbers for a few minutes after that.

That's more than enough time for me.

Take more risks, Keigo. Do it.

Unable to even hear myself think, anymore, over the sounds of blaring alarms and screaming people, I subtly began to slow my walk away from Twice, ensuring I would fall behind without him noticing.

He's too busy trying to protect Toga, right now, anyways. I'm in the clear.

I cross tucked my wings tightly against my back, so I wouldn't hit people with them, wanting to remain as unnoticed as possible.

Slowing my walk even more, I kept my eyes on Twice and the rest of the league crew up ahead. They were now very much out of my reach. Good.

Trying to work quickly, I began firmly shoving my way towards the sides of the hallway-knowing there would be a corner break coming up soon.

The corner break is in the direction of Skeptic's room, so that's an area people will be trying to avoid, since a small fire is coming from over there.

Subtly using the tips of my fierce feathers to move people out of the way quicker, I finally saw the break in the hallway up ahead, slipping into it, and out of the chaotic crowd as stealthily as possible.

I let out a small sigh of relief at the ability to breathe again, unable to relish in the freedom for too long as I briskly walked down the empty hallway.

If someone catches me back here right now, that will most definitely blow my cover.

To ensure I was fully out of sight, I swiftly turned another empty corner, purposely drawing myself further into the building, instead of away from it, like I knew everyone else would be doing.

I kept my eyes and my feathers focused to ensure that no one was following me, before quickly finding the supplies closet I was looking for.

It's the same supplies closet I dragged Ari into, when she first arrived here a couple months ago...

Trailing my eyes around the empty hallway once more, to ensure that no one was around, I entered the supplies closet as fast as I could-feeling the tension level up from there.

Even though I'm alone, I'm still nervous someone will find me here. I'm nervous I'll get caught and ruin the mission.

But, I don't have a choice. I need to tell Diane this information. Everyone's waiting for me. I can't wait any longer.

"Okay. Come on, come on..." I whispered to myself anxiously, jamming my gloved hand into my pocket to find my phone.

My slippery, shaky hands barely grabbed ahold of the device, before I quickly dialed Diane's number.

The slow, lazy ringing of the phone contrasted almost humorously against the tachycardia of my heart, making me feel as if I was waiting years for this demon of a woman to pick up the damn phone-

"Hello?" That familiar voice said in monotone a few seconds later, causing the word vomit to fall from my lips before I could even give a proper greeting.

"J-Jaku-It's Jaku hospital. Jaku hospital. Shigaraki's at Jaku hospital." I abruptly blurted out, voice coming out raspier and more frantic than I was expecting.

I'm never allowed to be alone with myself, anymore, so I'm never able to reflect on how I'm truly feeling. But, that unrecognizable sound of my own voice, just now, gives me some pretty good indicators on my genuine, fading mental state.

I stared ahead at the door in blank, paranoid focus as I waited for Diane to respond, quickly as possible.

But, for some inhumane reason, she decided to torture me with an unnecessary silence, allowing me to only hear the faint blaring of the fire alarms from outside this room.

It had only been about five seconds since I spoke, when I had already lost all dwindling patience, balling my fists together in fury for her silence.

Please, just put me out of my misery. I can't take this, anymore.

"Fuckin' say somethin' already. I ain't waiting around until next Christmas, over here!!" I spat out uncontrollably, squeezing my eyes shut at the unfamiliar, maniacal tone of my voice.

No. No. No. Get a grip, Keigo. Remember, if you're gonna lose your mind, you lose it AFTER this whole thing is over. Okay? Relax.

"Oh, yes. Hello to you, too, Keigo. Bad day, I assume?" Diane responded nonchalantly, completely disregarding the monumental information I just told her.

All of this. I did all of this for her. I've put myself in danger, time and time again. I caused a fire hazard situation in the building today, practically moving mountains to find an opportunity to talk to her. I have now just given her the information that will end my infiltration mission with success.

And, that's how she responds?

I continued staring at the door to ensure no one would be coming in, feeling my fatigued muscles starting to shake for a multitude of reasons.

"An sa, did'ya just hear what I fuckin' said?" I spat out ruthlessly, having absolutely no patience or time to play anymore games with this woman.

No. No more games. I am done. For real, this time. I can't take anymore games.

Diane let out a small scoff of annoyance for my sentence, clicking her tongue with discipline.

"An sa? Oh my, I haven't heard you talk that way in quite a long time. You must be getting pretty desperate, over there. Regardless, I'd like you to watch your dialect better, little Keigo. I thought I beat that Fukuoka slum accent out of you a long time ago. But, I guess you've still got a bit of ghetto, street slang left. That's a shame." Diane tsk'ed condescendingly, causing me to grip the phone tighter in my hand.

I'm so distracted, that I didn't even realize I slipped back into my Fukuoka accent. It's true that I haven't done something like that, ever since I've been a child. It's an uncharacteristic slip from me.

But, either way, I don't have the time for this.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I ignored the anxiety overheat of my body, trying to complete my mission properly.

"Diane, please. Please-just-I-I am on a very short timeline here, in being able to talk to you. P-Please, just acknowledge that you understand it's Jaku hospital, and tell me how you'll proceed, so I can prepare. What are your orders?" I openly begged, simultaneously trying to use my feathers to drown out the sound of the fire alarms, while also listen for any incoming intruders-and focusing on the conversation with Diane.

That task ain't as easy as it seems.

My current demeanor and tone of voice are not ones I usually give to Diane. Normally, I give her the stand offish, cocky asshole vibe that she singlehandedly beat into me.

So, the fact that she was silent once again, can only mean that I have her intrigued at the wrong time.

"Hm. You sound like you're under a lot of pressure, over there, Keigo. You sound distraught. Very much like how you used to sound. You know, I think that this job is starting to become a little too much for you, isn't it?" She pondered obviously, causing my teeth to crash down onto each other in a grit of pure frustration.

I began pacing the tiny supplies closet quickly, running a hand through my hair and noticing the way some of the strands were starting to fall out.

Cursing softly to myself, I wiped my falling out hair onto my pants to get it off my mind.

"If that's how'ya really feel, then help me out here. C'mon. Help me end this. Please, help me. Help me end this. Give me your final orders, so I can carry 'em out, and complete this, once and for all. I wanna end it. Wanna be done." I rasped out with hoarse desperation, not giving a shit at how pathetic I probably sounded.

I need to get out of here, before someone catches me.

"Ugh, that slum-dialect of yours is driving me crazy, right now. Seriously, pull yourself together. I spent a lot of money on a speech therapist, over the years, to make you speak normal." She scoffed in disgust for me, before continuing.

"Okay. Jaku hospital. That's where Shigaraki is, you say? Well, that's where we'll go then. I need a bit of time to get everyone together and prepared, so here's the plan: we'll strike the villains in two days time. Simultaneously-One raid team will head to Jaku, and the other raid team will head to the mansion." Diane started off, causing me to mentally filter all my leftover sanity out of my head to make room for Diane's final orders for this mission.

"Keigo, no one is aware of your double agent status, and I want to keep it that way for as long as possible. You will be the leader of the mansion raid, but no one will know that, until the day of our strike. For the war, you will stay put at the mansion and take out the biggest villain threats the heroes will face. Whatever it takes. That's your last piece to this mission. That will be...your final order." She commanded firmly, causing me to nod vigorously even though she wasn't even here.

And now, for the question that drove the sanity out of my head.

"A-And Ari? She's safe now, right? You're taking her off the front lines?" I asked with a wavering voice, hearing the sound of the blaring fire alarms becoming white noise to me.

The answer I'm hoping for will give me peace. It will help me ground myself again and not spiral totally out of control.

As long as Ari is safe, I will be fine. I'll come back down from this growing high of insanity, and keep my hope.

But, instead of answering with the response I dreamed she would, Diane was silent once again. And that was the answer, in itself.

It caused a spike of adrenaline to immediately shoot into my veins like the strongest drug you could imagine.

I felt my head immediately become dizzy, causing me to grip onto the wall.

Not more than ten seconds had passed, before it started happening-my crumble. My loss of self control. My loss of awareness and focus. I tried to hold it off for as long as I could, but there's no stopping it now. My mind isn't strong enough to put it off, anymore. I'm already too far gone.

It's my utter, complete snap, under the pressure. The pressure....of everything. The pressure of this entire year. The pressure of my entire life.

".....look, Keigo-"

"No. No. Don't.you.dare. W-We....we had a deal. I get you the name of the hospital, and you take A-Ari off the front lines. I-I held my end of the bargain. Now, it's time you do the same." I seethed out breathlessly, hearing a sharp ringing starting to echo throughout my entire head.

N-no. Come back, Keigo. Fight it. Come back to reality and calm down-

"Keigo. Listen, I only made that deal, because I needed to give you some type of motivation to get the job done faster-and you did, so it was an effective approach-" She started reasoning, before I involuntarily slammed my fist against the wall, hard enough to create a giant hole.

My wild, bloodshot eyes flew open in a fit of infuriation as I dug my fingernails into my fisted palm, hard enough to puncture my gloves.

"NO!! Shut up-hear me?!? Shut the fuck up!! Just shut up!! That's not how it fucking works!!! You promised me!!! We made a deal!-"

"And did you really think that deal would stand true? Ari Parker is not some little high schooler, anymore, Hawks! She's the number eight hero of Japan! She's one of the most powerful heroes in this country! She's only six spots behind you, and this is what she was raised to do! There's no way in hell that I would leave her out of this fight. She's going to give us a chance to win!-"

"No, she won't, because she's going to die before she gets a chance!! She's backed into a corner by you, and by the villains. Playing two sides, with death waiting for her at both ends. There's no way outta that!! We all know that! You're not giving her a way out! You're not giving her a real chance!!" I hissed angrily, hearing multiple sharp objects stabbing into the walls around me.

My feathers. I'm losing control of them.

"I'm not giving her a chance? I gave her more of a chance than anyone. And that goes for you, too! You wouldn't be where you are today, without me, little Keigo." Diane pointed out calmly.

"Oh, well thank god for you, huh? I'm so damn lucky!!" I spat out sarcastically, pressing my clammy forehead against the dirty wall as the room continued spinning.

"Yes, actually. Thank god for me, indeed. Because without me, you'd be living off the bottle in Fukuoka, somewhere. You'd be trash, just like your parents were. You'd be even more worthless, than you are now. But, I guess, once this is all over, you'll get the chance to follow in their footsteps, right?" She stated condescendingly, the calmness of her voice causing my anger to rise.

But, I was also confused.

"And what the hell does that mean?" I asked dryly, thankful that I could still hear the fire alarms blaring strong in my background.

"You know, Keigo, I almost felt bad earlier today, for what I'm about to tell you. But, this conversation was a good eye opener. It shows that you truly have given everything to this mission. Everything to being Hawks for these last seventeen years. And everything to me. And once you give everything, it simply means that you have nothing else to give. It means....you're all used up. No good, anymore. Expired." She started off with a small disappointed sigh, causing my feathery brows to raise with a lack of understanding.

"U-Used up?-"

"Keigo, you've given a lot to the hero commission, over the past seventeen years. You fearlessly accepted everything that was thrown at you. You took on this mission, not knowing that from the very moment it was assigned to you, it was meant to be your last-"

"My la-my last?!!?"

"Yes, Keigo. Your last mission. You think I don't know that this job has taken a toll on your quality of life? You think I didn't know that would happen, before I even asked you to do it? I knew from the very beginning how hard this infiltration assignment would hit your, already incredibly messed up, mental health. I knew from the very beginning that you would end up like this-broken and on the verge of total insanity. I planned for that accordingly." Diane explained in that same monotone voice, lacking any warmth or emotional connection.

My heart began pounding out of my chest at a faster rhythm than the abrupt smoke alarms, before I felt all my realities starting to come crashing down on top of me to the fullest extent now.

Is what I think is happening...actually happening, right now?

"I-I-wait-you....you knew this mission would cause me to basically lose my mind....and instead of doing everything in your power to help me...." I trailed off, as I suddenly understood the bigger picture.

"Yes, Keigo. I'm sure that whatever you're thinking is correct. But, just in case your remaining brain cells are too traumatized and fried at this point, I will make it very clear for you..." she started off heartlessly, with a small clear of her throat.

I simply stared at the wall in blank shock, with my mouth slightly ajar, feeling as though I was suddenly catatonic.

Everyone turns on you at some point. Is that the moral of this story?

"Keigo Takami, having served under the alias of Hawks for seventeen years...by order of the Hero Public Safety Commission-" She started off, causing me to suck in a sharp breath of denial.

"No. No. No. I do not accept. You can't do this, Diane. Not over the phone. Not when I need you the most. Not after everything I've done for you. I need help. This is the time where I need your help-"

"I hereby relieve you of your duties as the number two hero, Hawks. Your contract with the Hero Public Safety Commission is now officially up. However, per the terms of your previous agreements..."

The agreements I made when I was six years old, are what she's talking about-

"Please understand that you will be fully responsible for the aftermath of this-any blackmail, scandal, or bad press that will come from the repercussions of your infiltration mission, as the hero commission will deny all allegations that we were involved...." Diane continued heartlessly, reading off the termination agreement, word for word from her office.

"Please, also understand that the hero commission is not responsible for providing you with any lawyers or aid in the lawsuits that will most likely ensue from the things you've done in the last year-i.e., engaging and conspiring in criminal activities with the league of villains. Mutilating the body of innocent civilian, Kazumi Ubiko, and all other charges you were, no doubt, involved in."

Basically....she's saying that I'm the one who's going to take the fall for all of this.

"And, lastly.....the hero commission thanks you for your service, and acknowledges your hard work and loyalty, throughout all these years. You've won us a lot of success, Keigo. You've made some incredible history, throughout your young years. So...Congratulations." Diane finished formally, acting as if I was nothing more than a stranger to her now.

I couldn't even find the words to respond, as I simply remained in my catatonic state, unable to even move my feet at how quickly the tables have just turned on me.

Just like that, and I am nothing now?

Nothing. I am nothing.

I really am nothing more than a pawn in their games. A pawn in everyone's games.

Yes, that's it. That must be it. They're all out to get me, aren't they? They all use me. I knew it. They all want me to fail. The world is truly against me, huh.

Noticing my speechless state, Diane spoke again, dropping the over-formality of her voice now.

"So, see, Keigo? Looks like you finally got everything you ever wanted- a world where you'll have more free time than you know what to do with. That's how high-security prison works, anyways. But, if I were you...I'd focus on finishing your infiltration mission to the very end, before you think about jail, just yet..." She stated in a mocking whisper, continuing a moment later as she already knew I wouldn't know what to say.

"After all, your presence in this war will be very important in determining a large sum of who lives and who dies. You're supposed to be the commander of the PLF mansion raid forces. If you abandon everyone at this point, you'll be killing a lot of good people-student heroes included. Unless, of course, you want more blood on your hands...." She proposed pointlessly, yet I was already beyond numb to any more of her threats.

"Give your damaged moral conscience a break and live up to the last order of your mission-Command the PLF raid forces. Eliminate the biggest threats to the heroes in that mansion. Redeem yourself, somehow. Who knows, maybe if you're lucky enough....you'll die an honorable death on the battlefield, and finally be free. But, of course, that's up to you. It's always been your choice."

She's suggesting I kill myself during the fight, to save myself the trouble of everything that will come for me, afterwards.

That's very much a hero commission way of covering their bases-no need to get their hands dirty, if I off myself first.

My head was still spinning out of control and it was hard for me to even register the jumble coherent words that ended up falling out of my dry mouth.

"In terms of the mission, I won't leave everyone else hanging. I'll do it. I'll carry out my final order. Not for you. But for all the good people who need me..." I started off in numb monotone, feeling myself involuntarily continue a few moments later.

"Diane....you are.... an evil woman. Always have been. And the fact that I'm no longer tied to you....the fact that I'm no longer apart of the hero commission.....I just want you to know, that it's the only thing I've ever wanted, from the moment I turned seven." I breathed out emotionlessly, losing touch on my surroundings as all of my internal foundations continued to crash down inside my soul.

Of course, I wanted to leave under different circumstances, as my life is now pretty much over. The repercussions of this entire thing will be enough to put me behind bars for life. That's how the hero commission will spin this situation, anyways. It's truly over for me.

"Well, then. I'm glad I could give you your wish. I guess this is the last time we'll be speaking, so, here's my advice....take freedom into your own hands, and give your last all on the battlefield. That's all I have left to say to you. Goodbye, Keigo. It's been an exhausting seventeen years. But, truly, thank you for your service." Diane Himura finished for the last time, quickly hanging up on me when I needed her help the most.

And just like that, I am no longer the number two hero of Japan.

Just like that, I am no longer the pro hero, Hawks. The hero I've been raised to be. The hero who drained every bit of blood, sweat, and tears from my body. The hero who's tortured my mind, constantly for seventeen years. The hero who made me toxic. Who ruined me. Who drove me off the final cliff of my sanity and into this delirious hopelessness I now currently feel.

"Say goodbye to your old name, little Keigo. From now on, you're only to be known as Hawks."

"Don't you want to be a special hero, little Keigo?"

"You can always count on the hero commission."

"Obey the hero commission."

"You said you want to be a shining light, like Endeavor. You can be."

"Leave the commission now? And you'll be nothing."

"Hawks. Hawks. Hawks. You're Hawks. You'll live as Hawks. You'll die as Hawks."

"Listen to the hero commission. Depend on the hero commission."

"You're nothing without Hawks."

"Who do you want to be."

"You're worthless."

"Hawks. Keigo. Hawks. Keigo. Hawks-"

I inhaled sharply as I clawed my hand into the dirty brick wall, glaring my bloodshot, delirious eyes at absolutely nothing.

Anger. Sadness. Betrayal. Hurt. Confusion. Fear. I'm drowning in all of it, and I've finally lost all control.

And suddenly, my life is flashing before my very eyes. I feel my own mortality now. I can practically reach out and touch it.

By technical standards, I am officially not a pro hero, anymore.

By technical standards, I have been abandoned by the ones who took me in. The ones who took my independence against my will, and forced me to depend on them for everything. The ones who made me what I am today...

....which is, a monster with no identity.

This is the end. I have gone rogue. I've been forcefully cast into the black shadows, tossed into the trash can of full neglect. I have no one. And nobody....

Except one, single person.

That one person who I love so much. That one person who I love more than anything else on this planet.

The person who's planning to sacrifice herself in two days time, and end her beautiful life before it really began.

Ari Parker. Yes. Through it all, I always have Ari Parker. In order to die peacefully, I need Ari Parker to live.

Ari is the last thing I have. The very last thing I have through all of this. She is it. I have hit rock bottom.

Everyone else has betrayed me. Everyone else let me down and fed me to the wolves. There's no way out of this, anymore. I'm doomed, no matter what.

And, because of that....there's only one thing left I can do now. My very last resort. My last attempt at protecting my love, and being her angel of the sky.

I'm sorry, Ari. I'm sorry you'll hate me for what I'm about to do. I hope that one day, you'll be able to forgive me.

Love is strong. Love is beautiful. Love is the purest thing I've ever experienced...

And love....can also make crazy people do crazy things.

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Next Chapter Title: Icarus.

•••

A/N: Well, it is now officially here-welcome to the climax arc of the story, my friends. Hope you're ready for everything that's about to come. Buckle up, cause it's about to get very wild 😎