Top pic credit: unknown

"Okay, I probably go left on this next turn I assume-"

Nudge Right.

I rolled my eyes, wondering how the hell I've managed to misread every possible turn in this place. Seriously, it's almost like wherever I tell Keigo I'm going to go, he purposely drags me in the opposite direction.

"Fine. Here, I probably make a right then-"

Nudge left.

Holding back a loud groan of annoyance, I simply trekked on through the dark, eery hallway...holding my breath and hoping I wouldn't run into a villain along the way.

Keigo's little feather has been guiding me through the vicinity for probably thirty minutes now. I had no idea where him and Twice were, or how Keigo was managing to keep him busy. But, judging by the gradual increase of nudges from his feather, urging me to go faster, I could tell my window of opportunity was closing very quickly.

Nudge forward. Nudge forward. Nudge forward. NUDGE FORWARD-

"Okay, pigeon shit! I get it, I'll pick up the speed." I hissed at his feather, starting to jog down the hallway.

My muscles were creaking. My feverish chills were getting worse. I haven't eaten in days and I haven't slept.

But, I can do this.

And as much as I don't want to admit it, I'm not doing it alone. If Keigo continues doing what I think he's doing, in helping me....we're doing this together.

Ugh. Well, isn't that adorable.

Him and I versus the villains. Us versus them. I can only hope that's what's happening here.

After a few more minutes of clueless running, Keigo's feather quickly pulled back on my ragged shirt. I felt like a horse being pulled back by my reigns.

The scarlet feather quickly floated up to my face, giving me a gentle tap to grab my attention.

"What is it, Keigs?" I muttered, looking around to see if I could spot what he wanted me to see.

The soft fluffs of his feather tickled my jaw, as he turned my face in the opposite direction I was looking. Figures.

I narrowed my eyes in focus, seeing a beaten white door at the corner of the dark hallway.

Oh, yes!! I bet that's the weapons room. Damn, I can only imagine the violent things those villains are packing in there. Something in that room will most definitely be useful to me.

Nice work, Keigo. You dumb bastard.

"Yes. Finally." I whispered into his feather, before quickly making my way to the door.

I waited outside as Keigo's feather slipped under the door to ensure no one was in the room. A few moments later, he was back on my shoulder, nudging me forward.

I hesitated for a moment, feeling a little unsure.

Okay, time to take another leap of trust with him. There could very well be someone in this room, and Keigo's setting me up.

But, I need to at least try if I want any chance of surviving.

But....just for good measure...

"If you're setting me up right now, I will haunt you after I die." I begrudgingly mumbled to his feather.

Gritting my teeth together in stressful anticipation, I forced myself to open the door, quickly scanning the room for any villains.

My jaw dropped in surprise as I looked around the room.

Sure, you can bet there were no villains in here....

But, this also wasn't the weapons room, either.

This was the...

"Kitchen?! Keigo, what the actual fuck. Why did you take me to the kitchen?! I thought you were leading me to some weapons, not a damn sandwich." I scoffed in pure irritation, feeling his feather nudging me forward.

My patience fuse was running short.

I quickly dug my heels into the ground to stop myself from moving. I am in no mood for his typical "Hawks" jokes right now.

"No, no, no! I don't have time for your stupid games, bird. Forget it, I'm leaving. I guess I'll just-hey, put me down!" I started saying, as I felt my feet lift off the ground.

Keigo's feather began dragging me deeper into the empty kitchen, floating me around because I wasn't cooperating.

I groaned in annoyance, hating the fact that I couldn't have a real conversation with him so he could explain this weird situation.

Okay, think Ari. Think.

Clearly, there was a reason he wanted me in here, otherwise he wouldn't be so adamant about floating me around the place.

Patience, Ari. Patience.

Letting out a deep breath to calm my itching exhaustion and stress, I relaxed my body...allowing Keigo's feather to float me in the direction he wanted.

A few seconds later, I was in front of the freezer.

The freezer....why?

Keigo's feather gently set me down, before floating the freezer open, and handing me a frozen bag of peas.

What?

Next, he hovered over to the cupboards in a flash, pulling out some glass mason jars. He slid two over to me, making my lagged reflexes work to catch them.

Next, his feather handed me a bottle of canola oil, and finally, some twine one would normally use for tying a turkey.

I stood in silence, staring at the items in front of me in dumbfounded confusion.

Keigo's feather floated back to my shoulder, patiently waiting for me to get what he was putting down.

Starting to sift through the items, I began reflecting back on my past conversations with Keigo, trying to decode what these items mean to me.

Peas...frozen. Twine...mason jars...oil-

Wait...oil.

Twine.

Frozen.

My eyes shot wide awake as the epiphany went off in my head, causing me to immediately start messing around with the items in confidence.

That's right. Now, I get it.

Keigo wants me to make a bomb. A homemade bomb.

The only good thing about becoming Keigo's intern at this particular moment is that he knows all of my strengths and weaknesses. In every other context of this situation, that's a horrible thing for me. But, for this moment in time...it's a great thing.

He knows my grades. He knows my hero commission training regiment.

He knows that I scored an A+ in Explosive Weapons Construction 101, at the hero commission. He knows creating homemade bombs is one of my better skills. So, he led me here.

I'm assuming the reason Keigo chose to lead me to the kitchen, instead of a more advantageous room is because this is the only room that isn't occupied by villains.

I began pouring oil into the glass mason jar, dumping some of the frozen peas in with it.

"I need some lighter fluid and a knife. I don't suppose there'd be any gunpowder in a kitchen though." I muttered to Keigo, feeling his feather float off my shoulder as I continued whipping up an explosive device quickly.

A few moments later, Keigo's feather dropped the lighter fluid-and gun powder in front of me.

Heh, what am I saying? Of course there's gunpowder in the kitchen. I'm in a house full of villains.

Keigo's feather came back with a measly little butter knife a few moments later.

"What? Isn't there a sharper knife?" I asked him, looking over at the knife rack...

Which was completely empty...

"Toga...you crazy bitch." I muttered, already knowing that little blonde demon with a knife obsession probably had something to do with the lack of weapons.

I poured some lighter fluid and gun powder into my little oil concoction, before coating the twine in the toxic stuff.

Stabbing a slit in the lid of the mason jar, I quickly grabbed the twine, stringing it through the lid, before screwing the top back on tight.

In the next instant, I felt a cold, little package lightly drop onto my head-looking up and seeing it was a frozen dinner of dinosaur chicken nuggets. Keigo's feather floated them over to me from the freezer, already grabbing a baking sheet to cook them on.

Seriously-

"Not funny at all. Not cute in the slightest. I hate everything about it. Get it off before I kill you." I growled out in irritation, feeling the box of chicken nuggets (intentionally) thump me in the head before reluctantly returning to the freezer.

The nerve of this pigeon. I swear...

"Alright..." I mumbled to myself, giving the explosive jar a little shake.

"Keigo, I need matches." I said to his feather, not being able to stop myself from wiggling the red fluffs between my fingers.

His feather shivered at my touch, before it floated its way over to a kitchen drawer, pulling out some matches.

I opened my hand, letting the matches fall into it.

Quickly making use of the other mason jar...I was only able to whip up two explosive devices with the ingredients Keigo gave me.

Looking around this kitchen, it doesn't look like I'll be able to get much more use out of it.

But, it still begs the question of why in the world Keigo wanted me to make bombs when I'm trying to escape from this place unseen.

I absentmindedly studied the bombs I made, focusing on the particular ingredients Keigo gave me.

A homemade bomb made with frozen anything will crackle loudly as soon as it goes off, due to the ice crystals. It's a bomb people normally make when they want-

A distraction...

Oh.

Now, I see.

Finally, after about an agonizing hour of letting Keigo blindly drag me around this vicinity without a clue of what's going on....

I finally understand his plan.

These bombs aren't met with the intention of trying to harm anyone and really fight my way out of this, they're meant to cause a distraction, and send everyone running in the direction of the explosion so I can escape.

Keigo knows this place. He knows the rooms. He knows the people who are here.

I can only assume that the premise of his plan is based on the fact that villains are probably guarding all of the exits. A distraction is the only way to attempt to create an opening for myself.

I'm too weak to fight myself out of this one. Now, it's time to use strategy over power.

I still don't know where I'm going, so even with creating an opening, I'm relying heavily on the help of Keigo's feather to get me out of this.

Shit. This seems like a sloppy and risky plan. Clearly, this was a plan Keigo made out of desperation.

But, right now...he's the only person I've got, so I don't have any room to complain.

It's now or never. This is my only chance to escape and save my life.

Taking a deep shaky breath, I quickly grabbed the homemade bombs, not feeling incredibly confident that I wouldn't at least run into a few villains on my way out of here.

I'd rather not overexhaust my quirk use, since doing that is what got me here in the first place. I need at least some type of weapon...

I began searching through the small kitchen, once again rolling my eyes at the empty knife rack. A knife would have been a perfect weapon.

Opening a kitchen drawer, I sifted through useless measuring cups and spatulas, before my eyes landed on something.

Pursing my lips in thought, I picked up a giant, heavy wooden spoon, inspecting it curiously.

I moved it up and down in my hands, before giving it a light swing. I'm in a bind, and this thing could definitely cause a head injury if I hit just right.

Wordlessly, I stuffed the giant serving spoon in my waistband, before seeing a dense looking frying pan on the stove.

I picked it up, twirling it around in my hands. It's got a nice metal bottom. Perfect for hitting.

"Eh, good enough I guess." I mumbled more to myself, stuffing the pan in the other side of my waistband. It was something, at least.

Nervously, I picked up the homemade bombs, feeling Keigo's feather lightly nudging me towards the door.

It was time.

Once, I set these bombs off...I'm committed to this plan. I have to stick with it, and give it everything I've got. No cold feet.

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to psyche myself up and calm my shaky breaths. I couldn't even deny that I was nervous to do this.

I couldn't deny that I was scared. I am scared to get caught. I am scared to turn into a Nomu.

I am scared of Dabi.

I am scared to die.

I didn't even realize how tightly I was squeezing my eyes shut, until I felt soft fluffs gently brushing across my lashes.

Keigo.

He could tell I was nervous. He could tell I was scared. I'm sure he can sense my heart pounding out of my chest, and my uneven, nervous breathing.

I can't hide it from him the way I can everyone else.

Keigo's feather continued soothingly brushing over my eyes, before gently trailing across my face.

I hated the fact that these actions calmed me down. I hated the fact that he knew these types of actions calmed me down.

Not having the head space, or desire to throw any smart ass jokes at him, I simply allowed him to do it. Secretly, hoping he would continue his caresses.

And he did.

And I was grateful.

If these were truly the last moments of my life....I didn't want to spend them being angry. I wanted to spend them having this final moment of peace. This final moment of peace.....with him.

I wanted to be happy. I wanted things to go back to the way they were.

I wanted to forget life for a moment, and let the world stop.

I wanted to forget my pain.

So, I did.

I felt a soft tear roll down my cheek, coming to terms with the fact that I could die in the next few moments. This could be the day where I take my very last breath.

Keigo's feather wasted no time in catching the tear, not allowing it to fall down my face for more than a second.

His touches. His feather touches. His presence-not the one I've come to learn about in these past four days...

But, the man I know. The man I love.

And in this very moment, even if only for a second...I could see clearly. I wasn't tired. I wasn't in pain.

I wasn't scared.

I was just here. In this frozen, blissful moment of intimate, precious time.

And he was here with me. I could feel it.

I could sense him.

"Keigo Takami...I love you." I uttered out softly, with more passion coming through my voice than I thought possible.

I was met with silence.

He couldn't respond. I already knew that. I didn't expect him to. I didn't need him to.

I just wanted him to know. Even though it means nothing to him, I just wanted him to understand.

Keigo's feather shivered at my words, before pressing itself snugly against my cheek.

I didn't have the headspace to even try and translate his actions, knowing I needed to go.

Sniffling softly, I stood up straight, forcing my eyes open.

I took a final deep breath to calm myself, relaxing each of my muscles individually.

"Okay. Let's do this." I whispered to myself, opening the door.

"Ari...I love you too, my love. I promise you with all my heart, you'll be okay. I will protect you, no matter the cost, because I am your angel of the sky."

************

Next chapter title: Guardian Angel (aka the climax/outcome to Ari's escape attempt)

Kitchen weapon inspirations go to :

MagBanYT and Ava1498 get ready to see some great pan smacks and spoon slaps next chap yeeee 😏

A/N DISCLAIMER: Fyi I don't actually know how to make bombs and literally just made up that combination on the spot. I'm stupid and not a chemist or evil so plz don't send the FBI to my house okeee thanksss