The building was on fire. Pieces of the ceiling collapsed around them and the ground shook with the oncoming explosion. Rather than hear Araya and Hayato in her earpiece, there was nothing but static. It helped her concentrate though. Mariko had her gun aimed at Mineko's heart, and fired.
She cried as the dark-haired woman fell, a red stain spreading across her chest where the bullet had entered.
Mariko ran over and kneeled at her side. Even if she was a villain, she had been family and despite everything she had done, Mariko couldn't let her die alone.
Mineko's eyes eventually turned glassy as she exhaled her final breath.
She moved her hand to close her eyes, but as she was pulling her hand away, Mineko's eyes snapped open. Only this time, they were completely red, blood red. She grabbed Mariko's hand so hard she heard it crack. The dead woman sat up and Mariko scrambled away from her, reaching for her discarded gun. Standing up quickly, the weapon was once again pointed at the woman, but she didn't look concerned anymore. She took a step towards Mariko and the latter fired.
It didn't deter her.
She fired again. Nothing.
Mariko stood frozen as nothing could stop her.
She was only a foot away now, she reached out to her, her hand wrapping itself around her throat.
Keigo woke up knowing something was wrong with Mariko. Every once in a while, he left feathers around the brunette. Usually, it was just because he was bored and it gave him a way to mess with her, but sometimes he would use it just to seek out her presence. Sometimes he would scatter a feather or two around her as they slept just in case she had a panic attack. His feathers could sense changes in heartbeats. Mariko's had suddenly spiked to dangerous levels and he knew that she was probably having a nightmare. It was almost two in the morning and he was rushing out of his apartment to get to her.
She reacted when she heard the front door open. Quickly, she grabbed the gun stashed on the underside of her nightstand and dove on the other side of the bed. It was a place of plenty of cover and she had a window as an escape route if she needed it.
When the door opened, Keigo found a gun pointed at him. He froze. "Whoa," he said, putting his hands up. He looked at the brunette, who wasn't responding. He noticed her eyes were hazy. "She's still asleep," he realized. If he moved too fast, she would definitely shoot him and he didn't want to take chances with her aim given the fact that she'd been the captain of one of the most elite group of soldiers the Japanese army had to offer. "Mari...Mari it's me," he said lowly.
She didn't respond.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, please put the gun down," he assured.
Nothing.
"If I can't talk her out of it, I gotta physically take it away from her," he thought. Very slowly, he shuffled over until he could reach for the gun. In one swift moved he'd grabbed the gun, but even in her sleep she was able to react to his speed and brought a knee up to his stomach.
He grabbed her leg and yanked on it- not enough to hurt her, but enough to throw her off balance.
Mariko fell backward but swept her legs around, knocking him down as well.
Hawks fell on top of her, pinning her to the floor with the help of his feathers. He straddled her waist, keeping her hands away from the gun that had fallen close by. "Don't make me hurt you Mari. It's me Keigo. I'm begging you please wake up."
"Keigo?" the haze left the brunette as she became aware of her surroundings. She was extremely confused as to why she was on the ground, pinned down by the blonde. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously.
He sighed in relief and leaned down, resting his head on his shoulder, panting slightly. "Thank god," he thought.
"I was trying to wake you up, but you're a really heavy sleeper," he said, sitting up.
Mariko sighed and covered her eyes with her arm. "I had a nightmare," she told him.
"I know."
"How?"
"How could I not know when my best girl's in trouble hm?" he asked.
The brunette offered him a tired smile in response and leaned her head back against the floor.
"Do you remember what it was about?"
She sighed, "I don't wanna talk about it. I've just been really on edge lately," she said.
"Because of whatever happened last week?" he asked. Keigo still didn't know what had happened.
The brunette nodded.
"You know, I don't really remember my parents that much," he said randomly.
Mariko looked up at him, "What?"
His golden irises locked with her blue ones for a moment and she immediately understood what was going on. The timing was strange, but he'd decided to share his past- the one he'd tried to reveal months before, and she hadn't let him.
"I think I was six or seven the last time I saw them," he told her.
"What happened?"
"You know that the HPSC has a training program..." he exhaled slowly. "I saved a family when I was seven. The president saw it and offered me the chance to become a hero by going there. She'd also pay for my parents' living expenses while I was there."
"You said yes," she guessed.
"Of course I did," he breathed out. "My dad was a drunkard. The only memories I have of him and my mom are of them fighting. He could never hold down a job so we were always struggling to pay the bills and cover basic needs... it was either stay there or become a hero. I didn't even care that she was threatening them. There wasn't anything to consider."
Mariko nodded, understanding him completely.
"Training there... was absolute shit. The way they taught me how to control my quirk so I could sense people... I spent months blindfolded. I couldn't take it off without facing the consequences. I couldn't see anything-" he cut himself off by chuckling slightly.
She looked up at him curiously.
"It sounds like I'm complaining right? I mean you went through worse, and at least I'm getting a pretty fair compensation. Most people don't even know you exist."
She shook her head, "I like that you're telling me about your life. I'm grateful that I get to know you better."
Those words struck a chord deep within him that he didn't think could resonate with anyone. After he'd left, his parents never contacted him. It was like they had completely forgotten they had a son. Things like that could really scar a seven-year-old; he'd convinced himself that if his parents didn't want anything to do with him, no one would. Fifteen years later though and she was right in front of him. Someone who genuinely cared about him and wanted to know him- even the uninteresting or shitty bits no one else had bothered to ask about. Not only that but she was grateful to know. His throat closed slightly, and an uncomfortable knot formed in his chest as he looked down at her.
Mariko stared at him, confused as to why he had stopped talking, and was completely oblivious to how much her words meant to him.
"Thank you Chickee," he croaked softly. He sounded like he was about to cry.
She knew how hard talking about one's past could be, so she did the only thing she could; she wrapped her arms around him, bringing him into a comforting hug.
Keigo smiled at the gesture. He knew she thought he was upset. He wasn't though. He had just suddenly become overwhelmed with gratitude and something else he couldn't quite place, or maybe he could, and wasn't ready to admit it to himself yet.