Fly High, Burn Bright

Chapter 19

A moment of harsh silence passed as I tried to register what he was saying. Saying I wasn't suited to be a hero was like a punch in the nose - all I had left was this damned job and Keigo, and I worked my ass off to become a hero, so who was he, a villain, to tell me it doesn't suit me? His words weren't anything new to me - I'd already seen them countless times on the internet in comments, but hearing them was different. Still, I didn't want to show him just how much it hurt me. I didn't want to admit weakness in front of a villain that wouldn't hesitate to take me down no matter what.

"You have five seconds to explain what the hell you mean by that." My voice and expression were both deadly calm, masking the rage underneath. I'd learned long ago there was nothing more terrifying than seeing someone who should be furious act as calm and collected as if nothing was wrong. It was funny, really, how quickly the game of cat and mouse between me and Dabi would change.

"Or what?" That cocky bastard didn't even blink - he just met my eyes with his own, a battle of ice and fire whirling between us.

"Five." I grabbed one of his handcuffed wrists and pulled his right pointer finger just far back enough that the bone would shatter if I applied even a little more pressure. Dabi instinctively tried to pull away, but my hand was already locked onto the collar of his shirt, not letting him move. "Four."

Maybe he could tell I wouldn't hesitate to not only break his fingers, but to break every single bone in his body, because Dabi finally decided to speak up. "You just proved me right, you know. Not a single hero would go to the means of torturing someone to get answers out of them." Even now, he had the same annoying smile. "You aren't fit to be a hero. You'd make one hell of a villain, though."

I loosened my iron grip on Dabi's fingers, watching in satisfaction as he jerked his hand away, but a part of me was disappointed. He didn't get nearly the amount of pain that he deserved. "I couldn't care less what you think. Hero, villain, it doesn't matter. As long as I can make sure assholes like you get what they deserve, I don't give a shit what others think of me." 

"Hm. A little vulgar for my taste, but if that's how the princess wishes to express herself, so be it."

"Call me 'princess' one more time and I'll give you another bloody nose," I snapped, and Dabi pulled backwards, raising his hands as best as he could in an 'I'm innocent' gesture. I took a deep breath - interrogations have never been my strong suit, but with him, they seemed to be even more painful than usual. "How many members are there in the League?"

Silence.

No surprise there. I would've been very suspicious of him if he'd actually told me in the first place, but it was worth a shot. I spent the next few hours trying to coax as much information as possible out of Dabi - it was rare that we ever had the chance to question someone from the League of Villains, but either he really didn't know anything, or Dabi was just really good at keeping quiet. After revealing that the League had been keeping an eye on me for years, he hadn't said anything else that I could even consider slightly useful. 

Nothing seemed to work on him. I tried hundreds of different approaches, from trying to make him slip up, to offering compensation, to borderline torture, but he still stayed quiet. I promised protection. I promised to help him. Both promises had been empty, but it wasn't like that mattered. He didn't say a single thing that could ever be used to our advantage, only making occasional cocky remarks that left me wishing I'd broken his fingers when I had the chance. It was only in the late hours of the night that I gave up on the pointless attempts, turning to leave the interrogation room.

"Done so soon? Well, princess, just know the offer to join the League still stands!" Even with my back turned to Dabi, I could almost hear him smiling, and I felt something inside me snap. It wasn't fair. He was a villain, and I just wasted tireless hours of my time on nothing. I didn't get to give him what he deserved, much less get any information out of him. In a blur of speed, I whirled on my heel, driving my fist straight into the villain's nose at faster than a flash, and for the second time, I heard that satisfying crunch of my knuckles finding their mark.

"I warned you before, didn't I?" Now, it was my turn to have an arrogant smile, and I shook my wrist slightly, ignoring the fact that my fist was covered in Dabi's blood, instead admiring the fact that the villain had been thrown backwards into his chair, head angled to the ceiling as a river of blood spewed from his now-broken nose. "Enjoy your night."

I slammed the door shut behind me, making sure to lock it and head to the monitoring room instead. I walked in just to find Keigo still in the chair, in almost the same exact position as he'd been in when I first left. I glanced at one of the computer screens - a little past three in the morning. I quickly typed in a request for a few officers to get the villain out of the interrogation room and into a cell until we could attempt questioning again. I couldn't just leave him in the room unattended. Even now, through the one-way mirror I could see Dabi doing his best to slip out of the handcuffs in an attempt to escape. I felt a little bad to be calling for officers so late, but it wasn't exactly like I had any other option - there was no way I'd ever admit it out loud, but in a one-on-one fight with the current circumstances, I doubted I'd be able to beat Dabi.

With that request out of the way, I quickly typed what little information I'd gotten from him into a document on my phone, making sure that I wasn't forgetting anything, and once I saw a few clearly annoyed guards pass through the halls, grumbling to one another before grabbing Dabi and pulling him to the holding cells, I turned to the still-sleeping Keigo. He looked so at peace, his wings fluttering every so often, and I wondered briefly what he was dreaming of. Still, no matter how relaxed he looked, it wasn't like I could just leave him to sleep in the monitoring room for the rest of the night. Drooping with exhaustion, I ran my hands through his hair, tussling it gently in an attempt to wake him up without startling him. It took a few minutes, but Keigo's eyes opened slowly, and he tried to blink the sleep away.

"Come on," I whispered, "it's late. Let's go home."

This woke Keigo up a little, and he folded his wings behind his back, glancing over me with a frown on his face. "Kira, you look like you're about to drop."

"Gee, thanks. Comment on it a little more, why don't you?"

"You won't even make it home on your own." I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the fact that Keigo was right. I'd overused my quirk, sprinted for fifteen minutes, and interrogated a villain for hours on end. I was surprised that I was even able to stay upright, with my eyes closing for several relieving seconds that, if I didn't interrupt, would make me pass out for hours.

"Yeah, well, I'm not sleeping here again," I retorted, trying to be as energetic as possible despite the fact that I felt like I was about to drop. In response, Keigo sighed and rubbed his eyes quickly to rid himself of the remaining tiredness before scooping me up in his arms in a princess carry. I weakly tried to resist, but my eyelids seemed to get even heavier, and Keigo's warmth enveloped me, lulling me to rest. 

"Sleep, Kira. You earned it."

When I woke up, I was in the bed Keigo and I shared, with my belts of knives and poisons lying on the bedside table. I groggily rubbed at my eyes, searching for Keigo, who was nowhere in sight. A part of me knew that I shouldn't be lazing around so much, but I still gave myself a few more minutes to relax, until the loud scream of my phone ringing jolted me awake. I quickly grabbed my phone, relieved that Keigo was the one calling me and not someone else. My eyes widened when I saw the time, however, and a rush of panic settled into me when I realized I was two hours late for work. I hurriedly answered the phone, about to ask Keigo why he hadn't woken me up earlier, but he beat me to it. 

"The villain escaped."