Top pic credit: unknown

Ari POV: Present Time

"It's a damn happy day, here at the Hawks Agency. My name is Ari, how can I help you today, huh?" I practically growled out into the phone, no doubt scaring off the person on the other line.

Especially, since the line went dead.

"Hey-hello? Hello, are you there?" I barked out aggressively, before realizing the person must have hung up.

Scoffing slightly in annoyance, I slammed my phone back down on my desk, starting to angrily type on my computer again.

"Really, buddy, hanging up on me like that? What a coward. Just like every other man in my life, apparently. Seriously, does anyone around here have any balls?" I muttered to myself bitterly, sneering at absolutely no one but my computer screen as I continued typing out an email.

It's been about two weeks since Keigo dropped me like a turd, and yeah, I haven't heard a word from him.

At first, I cried. I cried a lot.

Then, I ate. I ate a lot.

Then, after all of that cake and ice cream, I somehow went through a five second moment of clarity where I realized the guy's life is actually pretty high maintenance and that I'm so much better off without him. Mhm, yep.

And then, I cried and ate again.

But, now...

Now, I'm just fucking angry and bitter.

That bastard. How dare he. Him and his cute, sexy, adorable, stupid, irritating face had the nerve to walk into his own apartment-ahem, that I was breaking into, and dump me?

Fine. Whatever. See if I care. Some other girl can have him and his thirty five second average record in bed.

Agh, but of course....I already know I'm lying to myself, just saying that.

Nah, I love Keigo. All thirty five seconds of him.

And yeah, I'm still incredibly hurt about the breakup. I'm just trying not to be such a drama queen about the whole thing.

Why cry about it and feel sorry for myself, when it's already happened, right?

So, instead....I've decided to completely shut myself off from everyone and fully immerse myself in my work. Very healthy, I know.

Oh, and nevermind the fact that I'm still, practically, forced to work at my ex boyfriend's hero agency, since I can't find another job this late in the school year.

Money is money, right?

The good...or the bad thing, is that Keigo hasn't stopped by the agency at all in these past two weeks.

I haven't seen a trace of him, ever since he left me alone in his apartment.

I remember he packed a duffel bag full of clothes that day. It seemed like he was going away for a long time.

And that piece of information is about the only thing I've actually reflected on from the day Keigo broke up with me.

I didn't want to replay the moment in my head. I didn't want to think about the reasons why he lost interest in me. I was hurt and I didn't want to remember and reflect on what had happened.

So, instead, I've just decided not to think about it and focus on everything but that day.

I'm sure I'll think about it later....just not right now.

"Um....Ari, did you hear me?" Tokoyami called out warily from the doorway of my office, barely peeking just his head around the corner in caution.

I quickly shook my head free of my own thoughts, looking up at Tokoyami in question.

"Hm? Oh, sorry, Toko. No, I didn't hear." I uttered quietly, not wanting to take my anger out on him.

But, judging by the way he's taking cover behind the doorway, he must have heard me on the phone.

Actually, scratch that, he must have heard me for the last two weeks.

It has only been us two running the Hawks Agency, after all.

"I said, are you ready to go patrolling?" He asked carefully, his voice coming out slightly muffled from behind the doorway.

I couldn't help but laugh softly at his concern, before I leaned back in my chair and waved him over.

"How long are you gonna keep standing behind the door like that?" I chuckled, crossing my arms in amusement as I looked at the only eye of his that was visible from my position.

"Once I know for sure that you won't rage throw another sandwich at the wall. Turkey and mustard is a pain to clean up, you know." Tokoyami pointed out, causing me to let out another genuine laugh at how serious his silly comment still was.

"Don't worry. If I rage throw another sandwich, I'll make sure to pull a three second rule and rage eat it, too. You know I won't let good food go to waste." I smiled, giving him an encouraging wave to come inside.

Tokoyami nodded, assessing my demeanor once more, before finally entering the room.

Little birdie hasn't seen much of Keigo, these days. It's safe to say that I've pretty much taken over the mentoring position at this point...poor Tokoyami.

"So.....how are you feeling today?" Tokoyami asked, before taking a seat in one of the chairs.

He knows something's wrong with me. But, of course, he doesn't know what.

Even though I've been trying to hide my heartbreak, I sighed in guilt at the realization that Tokoyami's probably been a witness to all of my crazy attitude changes in these past two weeks.

"I'm feeling much better today, Toko. Thanks. Listen, I'm really sorry if I've been taking it out on you. That's not fair of me. I've just....I've had a rough two weeks-but, hey, that's still not an excuse for me to act like such a bitch." I explained, running a tired hand through my hair as I shot him an apologetic smile.

Tokoyami gave me a small nod of acknowledgement, keeping his hands neatly folded in his lap as he thought about what to say.

"It's alright, Ari. You haven't been a...jerk at all, actually. Not to me, anyways. I'm sure the Hawks Agency callers and that cashier at the ramen place we went to would beg to differ though." He shrugged, giving Dark Shadow a pat on the head.

I grinned sheepishly at his words, knowing he was probably right.

"Yeah. I guess I owe a few people some apologies, huh." I sighed out, before directing my gaze to the window outside.

I couldn't stop looking at the sky.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Tokoyami asked, causing me to immediately shut myself off.

He doesn't want to hear about what happened, Ari. No one cares. No one likes a drama queen. Just shut up and forget about it.

"Eh, you don't wanna hear all about that, little birdie." I waved dismissively, quickly sitting up from my chair to head to the kitchen.

Tokoyami quickly got up to trail after me.

"That's not true, at all. You've been a big help to me in these past months, Ari. I'm very interested to know what's got you so down. It's not like you, and it worries me. If I could repay the debt and help you in any way, I'd be absolutely honored to." He explained seriously, giving me a deep bow of respect as I tossed a frozen noodle dinner from the freezer to the counter.

Of course, it's got chicken in it. Seriously, who even eats chicken anymore, Keigo? Couldn't have bought a different flavor for once in your god damn life, you little-

"I just....I dunno, I don't wanna bore you." I mumbled softly, quickly ripping open the food packaging so I could put it in the microwave.

"You know, I've noticed you tend to do that a lot." Tokoyami sighed, watching me stuff the frozen dinner into the microwave.

"Do what?"

"You shut yourself off, whenever there's a problem. Ari, you and I have been working together now for about three months. I've come to learn some things about you in this time. A big thing you do is refuse to acknowledge when you need some support. Sure, you're great at doing it during hero work. You work well with others. But, when it's about your personal life, you're as closed off as they come." He explained firmly, causing me to raise my brows in slight surprise to his words.

Wow, I didn't think Tokoyami was watching me that closely. He's always-or used to always talk about how bummed he was that Hawks wasn't around. I didn't think he cared about me to be quite honest with you. Not that I'm looking for a sob story, or anything like that. I just thought it was more...the birds of a feather thing...

I sighed softly, puffing out my cheeks as I watched my frozen dinner spin agonizingly slow in the microwave.

"I....ah, I dunno, Tokoyami. My problems just aren't important, compared to everything else that's going on in the world. I don't want to burden you with something so....trivial." I uttered softly, starting to become sheepish and even a little embarrassed that the attention was on my personal life now.

"Your problems aren't a burden, Ari. I don't know where you got that idea from, but your problems are important to me. And I know they're important to Hawks, as well. I can tell that he cares very deeply for you." He reassured firmly, making me internally laugh...and cry, at the irony of that statement.

But, even so....I couldn't deny that Tokoyami's words affected me, more than I'd like to admit.

There aren't many people out there who simply care about how I'm feeling....who know when I'm not happy and care enough to ask why.

My family and Keigo were always the main people to do this. Nejire, Mirio, and Tamaki, as well.

And now, I guess....Tokoyami, too.

It's funny to me...how a little kindness can make me so vulnerable and trusting. I didn't realize until now that kindness is something I so desperately crave.

I guess it's the same way I realized how much Keigo craves love and happiness. I know how much it affects him when I tell him all of the wonderful things about him. Or when I tell him I love him.

I feel the same when he does it to me. And I guess, human kindness is also equivalent to these actions, as well.

Especially, since Tokoyami has managed to give me the courage, trust, and want to tell him what's been going on in my life.

To tell him about Keigo and I.

I felt incredibly stupid when I realized my heart had started pounding with nerves, upon preparing to tell Tokoyami my situation.

"I-well, o-okay..." I started off awkwardly, suddenly unable to meet his gaze as I tried to figure out how to phrase this.

Tokoyami nodded at me in encouragement, taking a seat at the kitchen stool as he patiently waited for me to gather my thoughts. He could clearly tell I was nervous.

"Take your time. I'll be here when you're ready to revel in the darkness." He stated seriously, closing his eyes with emo anticipation to prepare for our juicy gossip session.

I hummed in agreement, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, before I decided to just come out with it.

"W-Well....you see.....Hawks and I-"

RING! RING!

Tokoyami and I both let out a groan of irritation at the sound of my personal phone going off a few feet away, causing me to rip it off the counter in annoyance and answer it blindly.

"What?!" I spat out, letting the tiniest, most unimportant things set me off today.

"I-Excuse me?" Diane immediately replied on the other end of the line, causing my jaw to drop to the floor.

Nevermind. This is important, and not tiny, and I'm definitely about to die over it!

"A-Ah, huh?! Oh, you're excused-I-I mean, I'm excused-or-should I be excused? You're the boss, so you tell me-only if you want to tell me, not like I'm ordering you-I couldn't even order you anyways, since-"

"Okay, Ari. That's enough, dear. Stop now, before you hurt yourself." Diane sighed out in exasperation, causing me to immediately shut up.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in obvious stress, before hearing Tokoyami shuffle around in his seat.

Oh damn. I forgot he was here.

"This call is important. I'll be right back." I whispered to him quietly, cupping the speaker with my hand so Diane wouldn't hear.

Tokoyami nodded in understanding, watching me walk outside with his concern filled eyes.

Guess fate didn't want me to tell him about Keigo and I.

I stepped outside into the refreshing fall breeze, leaning against the building wall as I dreadfully gave Diane my attention once again.

"So, how's it going?" I asked un-enthusiastically, closing my eyes tiredly as I waited for her to nag me about something stupid.

"Fine. You know I'm not one to beat around the bush, so I'll get right to the point of this conversation. I've called to ask you if you've spoken to Hawks, recently." She replied in her usual monotone, yet her words immediately perked up my attention.

....What?

"Uh...no. I haven't spoken to Hawks in about two weeks. Why? Is something wrong?" I asked quickly, trying to hide the worry in my voice.

Is he okay? Where is he? I hope he's safe.

"He's not speaking to you too, huh...?" Diane muttered in a tone that was obviously meant more for herself, than for me to hear.

But, I did hear. And, of course, her words only made me more worried.

Keigo hasn't spoken to me in two weeks, and I assumed it was because we broke up.

But, he hasn't spoken to Diane, either? That's very odd, considering he's supposed to be doing an entire infiltration mission for her.

Plus, Diane's asking me if I've spoken to Keigo? She can't stand the thought of Keigo and I in the same sentence, so asking me must be a last resort for her.

Which means, she must be desperate to find him....

"Hm. Well, if Hawks hasn't spoken to his interns either, I have a pretty good idea on what happened..." Diane started off, causing me to try and jump in before she could change the subject.

"Wait-What do you mean? Where is he? Is Hawks okay-"

"Well, now that I know that, let's get down to the business side of things. Ari, my real reason for calling, is to let you know that the Hawks Agency will be temporarily shutting down until further notice, starting tomorrow." She stated casually, acting as if she didn't just say something totally outrageous.

"W-What?!? What do you mean the Hawks Agency is shutting down?! Where's Kei-Hawks? Does this have something to do with his sudden disappearance-"

"It has to do with the fact that Hawks is much too busy to be running a hero agency right now, and I can't have some eighteen year old making all of the important decisions over there." Diane scoffed condescendingly, causing me to roll my eyes hard at her words.

Yeah, I'm young. But, the funniest part about this whole thing is that Keigo's agency has been doing even better since I arrived here to organize and clean it up-you know, excluding these last two weeks that I've been acting like a heartbroken little bitch-

"Diane, hold on a second!! If it's just about my age, I can assure you, that's not a problem. I haven't missed a single deadline since I've arrived here. I've scheduled all of Hawks' meetings, taken care of the building maintenance problems he's had in the past, and have been running this place absolutely flawlessly while he's away on long trips. Not to mention, by doing this, you'd be firing me and Fumikage Tokoyami." I explained firmly, doing my absolute best to fight for the jobs of Tokoyami and I.

"Fumikage who? I don't even know who that is. Look, Ari, I understand that you've spent the last eight and a half months at the Hawks Agency. But, it's not as if you were going to stay there forever. You'd have to move on from him, eventually. Now, you're just doing it four months earlier than you would have done, anyways." She chuckled emptily, clearly having an ulterior connotation with that statement.

I grit my teeth in irritation with how this conversation was going. Diane just calls up here, basically says that Keigo is missing, and then proceeds to tell me that Tokoyami and I are fired? Well, isn't that just peachy.

I inhaled deeply through my nose, using every fiber of my being to not snap at her and keep my composure.

But let me tell ya....sometimes it's really hard.

"And where would you like Tokoyami and I to go, Miss?" I asked with incredibly fake politeness, over-emphasizing my customer service attitude so she would know I'm pissed.

Not that she would care.

Diane let out a groan of pure annoyance, acting as if I was becoming a roadblock to her entire agenda for the day.

"God-I don't know, Ari. Can't you figure it out, or do I have to do everything for you?" She retorted impatiently, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut and ball my fists in anger for that response.

Don't snap, Ari. Don't snap, Ari. Don't snap, Ari. Bitch. Bitch. She's a bitch. SHE'S A DAMN BITCH AND I'M GONNA SNAP-

"Why, of course, I can find Tokoyami and I another place to work at. I will get on that right away." I practically whispered, not trusting my voice to stay calm and steady if I spoke any louder.

"Good-oh, and Ari, don't take too long in finding a new agency to work at. Two days maximum is your timeline. You know you're not good enough to go rogue, without an agency-Oh, and find a good one, too, so that the public won't lose interest in you." Diane nagged, telling me what I should be doing, giving me a deadline, and still refusing to help me accomplish any of it.

Corporate fiends.

"Understood." I whispered through grit teeth, still trying to resist the urge to scream her head off-

"Ugh. And don't mumble like that. You know I can't stand it." Diane groaned in annoyance, before quickly hanging up.

Thank god she hung up when she did, too, because I had let an inhuman growl of anger involuntarily slip out from my mouth at the exact same second.

"Bitch!" I hissed out, kicking the brick wall of the Hawks Agency building with my foot.

.....ow.

Yet, even through my anger, I couldn't help but ponder nervously on Diane's words.

She hasn't spoken to Keigo, and if she hasn't....then that means no one probably has.

So, it begs the question...

Where are you then, Keigo? What are you doing?

I bit my lip in anxiety, feeling my mind begrudgingly starting to barely reflect on the last conversation I had with the bird, before he broke up with me.

The duffel bag. The weird things he was saying. The very weird way he was acting.....

"Go back to your place. Don't come here again. I won't be coming back."

"Well, you better start learnin' how to be alone without me."

"Goodbye, Ari. You've been a real lovely intern. Don't forget to fly high for me."

"Goodbye," he said...

Keigo never says goodbye. Even when he leaves....that's just not a part of his usual vocabulary. It's always see ya later, or talk soon....or even just a kiss.

"Goodbye, Ari-"

What if....Keigo's breakup wasn't just a breakup, but also a goodbye? The goodbye. A forever goodbye, because he knew what was coming for him and didn't tell me?

What if he's...dead-

I inhaled sharply at the immediate, poisonous thought that invaded my mind, involuntarily digging my nails into the brick wall next to me.

Squeezing my eyes shut to stop any tears from breaking past my lids, I felt my back slide down the wall until I was sitting in a slump on the floor.

Oh, bird boy....what am I going to do with you?

With my phone still in hand, I watched as my fingers navigated my screen to Keigo's message box on instinct, scoffing in slight bitterness at the few unread messages I sent him when we were still together.

He never ended up replying to them. Obviously.

At first, my prideful instinct told me to delete Keigo's number, close my phone, and be done with the guy forever. I mean, the Hawks Agency is now closing. Isn't that a sign that I'm supposed to move on from him?

But, my gut instinct told me to reflect harder on the last conversation I had with Keigo....to look past the external meaning of his words and attempt to see things a little more unbiased, clear, and more mature than an eighteen year old who's going through a silly breakup.

Think, Ari. Think. What did Keigo say that night....

"Sure seems like I'm breaking up with you."

"Shh, it's okay. You're going to be okay. I know you will."

"Don't come here again. Cause, I won't be coming back. I-I mean it...I....don't think....I'll be coming back."

I blankly stared at the cement pavement as I heard Keigo's voice echoing around inside my head.

When I first heard him speak the words, back at his apartment, I thought he sounded so heartless. So cruel. So unfeeling.

But now, my mind is remembering it differently.

Now, his voice in my head sounds absolutely devastated. Shaky and uneven. He sounds like he's forcing himself to hold onto his Hawks voice and say the words. And he really does sound like he's just saying a goodbye to me, instead of pulling a malicious breakup, like I originally thought.

An empty sigh escaped my lips as I felt a few stray tears escape my eyes at the idea.

But, I wasn't ready to say goodbye to you, Keigo. Please don't go.

"I love you." I whispered out blankly, allowing myself this very small moment to feel weak and broken.

And, of course, with every moment of weakness, comes a decision one will probably regret later.

Like texting your ex when you know you shouldn't.

But, hey, I never said I was perfect.

I didn't make much of an effort with my text to Keigo. There's no way in hell I was gonna beg him to take me back, or anything like that. I wasn't cursing him for breaking up with me. I wasn't telling him I love him.

I just need to know...

Text Message Sent To: Bird Boy🐥🔥

Are you dead?
12:29pm.

Yeah. I get it, alright? It's a stupid message to send. Obviously, if Keigo's lying dead in a ditch right now, he's not gonna be telling me.

But, I have nothing else to say to him-I mean, I do have a lot more to say to him, but not in a text message. And definitely not if he doesn't ever want to hear what I have to say. I'll respect that boundary of the breakup.

I also understand Keigo's life. I know that with everything he's gotten himself into, our breakup does not top his list of important things to focus on. As it shouldn't. I don't want him to be distracted by such things and lose his concentration with the league of villains. I know how dangerous this mission is.

Which is exactly why I decided to ask if he's dead, instead of asking if he's alive.

By asking if he's alive, it will only cause my heart to hold out nothing but hope for the best. I will already be awaiting Keigo's response, ready for him to tell me yes.

By asking if he's dead, there's already a part inside myself that can see this as a possibility. Don't get me wrong, if I do find out-through someone else, obviously...that Keigo has died, I will probably lose my mind, regardless of whether I tried to prepare for it, or not.

But, I won't be waiting for his text with as much hope and anticipation, by asking if he's dead. I won't be expecting a response as strongly as I would be, if I had asked him whether or not he's alive.

I guess, it's some type of coping mechanism. Not a very good one, but a start. A start to try and brace myself for the possible agony that awaits me.

Pursing my lips in thought, my eyes wandered back over to the text message I sent Keigo, feeling as if I sent it three hours ago, instead of three minutes ago.

Don't expect a response, Ari. Keep moving forward. The world won't stop, and neither can you.

But, even so....I'll wait for your reply, Keigo. Wherever you are right now, just know that you're not alone.

I know you don't like to be alone. Right?

Regardless of how I act on the outside, regardless of how tough and strong I try to be...I'll always be rooting for you, no matter what.

I just want the best for you, Keigo. I want you to finally be happy and find the peace in your life that you deserve...whether that means I'm apart of it, or not.

Taking one more final look at the message I sent him, I forced myself to close my phone and sniffle away any more tears that wanted to come out.

Keep going forward, Ari.

Standing up-and attempting to take a detoxifying, deep breath, I shook the thoughts of Keigo from my head....temporarily, to focus on only the things I could control at this moment.

Right now, that's finding Tokoyami and I another hero to work with, since Hawks is no longer an option.

And I've got just the guy in mind...

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A/N: Thank you to the lovely levisbench for making the AMAZING piece of Ari and Keigo art below!!!

What an amazing way to show the parallels between these two angsty lovebirds! This pic has inspired me to do another flashback of Keigo and Ari as children, so that might be coming in a later chapter. This art is absolutely perfect levisbench Thank you for using your talent to make this! Their handle on deviantart and Instagram is: "jamsenrmt" so you guys should check them out, and give them a follow here! They've made more amazing Angel of the Sky fanart, and I plan to show those!

I have gotten some AWESOME art from you guys, and I want to post everyone's stuff, so I'm going to make a fanart book. If you sent me one of your own pieces, be on the lookout. I will be sure to include it 😏

Thank you to everyone for sending me stuff like this and supporting my work. The fact that you use your wonderful talents for this makes my heart FULL!!! Stay well, everyone❤️

Next Chapter Title: Pieces.