The news that Mariko would be the one to kill Mineko Shimizu wasn't surprising. She believed the whole situation was her fault; there was no way she would let anyone else take responsibility for her actions. Knowing that she probably wanted this, however, did nothing to ease Keigo's mind. Even though everyone else's priority was to kill Shimizu and destroy her work, his was to protect Mariko. It was his personal mission, and he'd be damned if he failed.
When the briefing ended, he waited for everyone else to clear out of the room until it was just him and Mariko left inside. He crossed over to her purposely, with an air of confidence so grand he anyone would've thought he was ready to take on the world. His jaw, however, was clenched, and his wings drooped behind him until it was corrected. His eyes were what made it obvious to Mariko that his confidence was just a front. His sunset irises had darkened, so much so that his eyes almost looked brown. It was like someone had dimmed the lights in the room, and it made the shadow that crossed his face even more prominent.
When he finally stood in front of her, he flashed her his signature smirk as though he was about to make a crude joke she'd probably slap him for. "Is it still too late to ask you not to go?"
The brunette sighed and reached for one of his hands he'd stuffed in his pocket to keep her from seeing his clenched fists. "Yes."
Keigo swallowed thickly as he felt her hand wrap around his. "Got any advice for me then? 'Cus I sure as hell don't know what to do."
"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
"I want to keep you safe. I want to just sweep you up and fly right on outta here and go somewhere far away."
"Kei, you kno-"
"Yeah, I know," he stated. "I know this is something you gotta do. I know you think it's all your responsibility, and I know we've already talked about this. But tell me, Mari, what am I supposed to do? 'Cus I don't know how I'm supposed to let you do something so dangerous." Exhaling slightly, he leaned his forehead against his girlfriend's. "You've almost left me once Chickee, and I know I'm a healthy guy but do you really think my heart can take another scare like that?"
Mariko looked down at the floor, staring at their shoes which were perfectly aligned. She would never admit it to him, but it was difficult to hear him say those things. It was hard because she wanted to take his offer more than anything. Of course, she wanted to run away, to escape, to live another day by his side. As much as she wanted to though, she couldn't. She couldn't leave Araya to clean up her mess, nor could she let him have Mineko's blood on his hands. Killing her the first time had left a scar that would never heal, at least for Mariko it was just a matter of opening old wounds. There was no need for anyone else to get hurt.
So she couldn't run; even if she might not ever come back, she had to finish this. That was why she couldn't say anything. She couldn't fight it with logic. She couldn't appeal to his sense of heroic duty, and wouldn't invalidate the feelings she shared.
His arms wrapped around her tightly, pulling her as close as possible and trying to use physical contact to fill the silence. "Just tell me you're gonna be okay," he whispered, resting his head on her shoulder.
She pursed her lips for a moment before answering, "I'm gonna be okay. We both are."
"I don't want you to go," he told her shakily.
The brunette reached up and stroked the back of his neck, her fingers playing with the ends of his hair soothingly. "I know, and I'm so sorry I'm putting you through this. Thank you, for staying by my side all this time."
He squeezed her tightly, his heart pounding at her words. "Don't say things that sound like a goodbye. It scares the shit outta me."
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," she said. "I just wanted you to know that I'm grateful and that you're the best thing that's ever happened to me." She pulled away slightly to place a chaste kiss on his lips.
"Now I really don't want you to go."
She chuckled slightly and kissed him once more. "I love you."
"I love you too," he said, the words slightly broken as he spoke between kisses.
As soon as his lips touched hers, a sense of urgency fell over Mariko. She had never feared death before, but for some reason the thought of it became almost paralyzingly terrifying for a moment. It wasn't being buried in a hole six feet underground- it was never feeling his lips against hers. It was never being able to tell him she loved him and never being able to hear him say it back. It was seeing the future they'd dared to dream about together collapse into nothingness. The possibility that they might never see each other after tomorrow was hauntingly real and she was caught between wanting to banish the thought completely or take the time now to show him how much he really meant to her.
Her kisses became more frequent, more forceful, and more desperate. Their lips molded together, almost furiously as she found herself getting more and more lost in her own thoughts.
Knowing his girlfriend better than himself, Keigo knew she wasn't okay. Something was bothering her and she was trying to distract herself from whatever it was she was thinking about. He pulled away, out of breath and with swollen lips. "You're not okay, Mari," he said.
Immediately she stilled- freezing from the accusation that was completely true. He knew it too. This was the part of the conversation that was never carried out. It was always swept under the rug and ignored because neither one of them were okay.
The blonde stared into her eyes deeply, and when they became misty as she fought back tears- his heart broke. "You're not okay," he told her again.
His voice was unbelievably soft, and as he stroked her cheek with his thumb the tears finally began to fall. They fell freely and silently, and he caught every one of them and brushed them away so gently that Mariko almost couldn't feel herself crying.
"I'm terrified." She told him.
Keigo nodded understandingly and placed a feather-light kiss just underneath her eye. "I am too."
"I don't want anything to happen to us," she admitted. "I want to run. I don't want to see her again and I don't want either one of us to be in danger but..."
"I know," he said kissing her again. "It's not your fault Mari, and it's okay to be scared. I'm scared. The thought of something happening to you fucks me up more than anything else. But you're gonna be okay. I promise I won't let anything happen to either one of us. We're gonna come back home safe and sound and we're gonna go on a ton of dates to make up for all of this mess. We're gonna move on and forget all about this, or we can just pretend and act like it was all a bad dream. Whatever you want Chickee."
"You sound so sure..."
"Absolutely, positively, one-thousand-percent sure or I'm not Winged-Hero Hawks."
Mariko giggled slightly, sniffling and wiping away the remaining tears from her face. She really was amazed sometimes, at how he loved her so beautifully. "Alright."
"Alright?"
She nodded, "Yeah, let's go home."