Fly High, Burn Bright

Chapter 24

I couldn't move a muscle - my head still rang from when he'd slammed me against the wall. The sudden movement had sent my head flying backwards, and the back of my skull had crushed painfully against a brick that was sticking a little further out than the rest. It felt like someone was hammering nails into my skull, and the world seemed to spin slightly. Even so, there was no question about the fact that Dabi was getting closer and closer to me, his hand ablaze, and I was all out of tricks. I had nothing left - my quirk would,  at best, provide a distraction, but the adrenaline I'd had earlier now faded away, replaced with the exhaustion and pain of a fight that has been going on for too long.

My dagger lay on the charred ground maybe a meter away from me, but there was no way I could reach it, and without it, my attacks on Dabi would hardly do any damage. Earlier, I'd thought I won. I was wrong, so very wrong. In an attempt to break free, I quickly kneed him in his stomach, but Dabi barely flinched, much less gave me an opening to escape. I tried again, trying to sweep his legs out from beneath him with another kick, but all that did was make his grip on my arms even harsher, and I tried not to scream from the pain of his hand crushing my burned arm. This was torture. I was so close to my goal, yet so far away at the same time.

"I'll ask you one more time," Dabi sneered. "Will you join the League or not?"

Like hell I will. I may be corrupt but there's no chance I'd turn into the very thing I'm fighting. The metallic taste of blood in my mouth made me want to throw up, but I simply spat a mixture of blood and saliva straight at Dabi, who somehow managed to dodge, but he didn't even look angry. He let out a quiet hah, rolling his head from one side to the other, his lips slightly parted in a frozen laugh. 

"A shame. You would've been a great addition to the League," he whispered, leaning closer to me, and I didn't even notice how close his right hand was to me until I felt the blistering heat of the blue flames near my neck. "It's too bad I'll need to silence you now. Can't have my little princess running around telling everyone about how merciful the League has been to her, can I?"

It was as if the world was suddenly put into slow motion. I could see what was coming, but there wasn't a thing I could do to stop it. Dabi's hand seemed to be moving at the speed of a snail, but it got closer and closer to my throat, until the fire was centimeters away, scorching the skin and lighting up any fabric near enough to the flame. I knew what he was going to do. He'd burn right through the skin of my neck, but I wouldn't survive a burn on my neck if it was as serious as the one on my arm. He was going to kill me. I was going to die, in some god-forsaken alley at the hands of a b-list villain, all because I'd been too weak to properly take care of him when I'd had the chance. This was it. This was the end.

Then, out of nowhere, the sound of large wings flapping rang out from directly above me, and I managed to glance up, almost weeping with joy when I saw Keigo. He was my guardian angel, always there to save me when I needed him. I'd never understand how he'd settled for me. It was as if his very existence in my life was to be there for me in every moment of need I had, and I wouldn't have it any other way. In Dabi's moment of distraction as he realized that there was no way that Keigo was a hallucination that I'd created, I managed to break my right arm out of his grip, using it to deliver a quick and forceful uppercut to his jaw, the power sending him flying backwards. 

I leaped to where my knife was, feeling a little more at peace now that my trusty weapon was back in my hand, and Keigo landed on the ground beside me, his gaze switching from concerned to angry as he quickly studied me, his eyes landing on my seared arm.

"Kira, what the fuck did h-" Keigo started, his voice volumes louder and more terrifying than usual.

"Later," I waved him off, not wanting to give Dabi the chance to recover. "Fighting first. Talking later."

"No, not later! Your arm is-" 

"I said, later." Keigo looked like he was about to snap completely, but I did my best to ignore it. "If you're just gonna stand around, I'll take care of it on my own."

This got him a little more riled up, and Keigo drew two long feathers from his wings, taking the usual stance to use them as swords, but I was already rushing forward to Dabi, swinging my knife at his chest. The blade, however, just passed through the already-torn shirt as he dodged out of the way, still barely managing to avoid my attacks even now that he didn't have to act like he was weakened. Anger boiled up inside of me - this asshole had made my arm practically useless, and then almost killed me. I knew I should try to control it before it got too out of hand, but it was so hard to do.

Before I knew it, the calm, precise movements of my blade turned into a manic frenzy that was becoming less and less effective the angrier I got, but I couldn't get myself to come out of the trance. Every time he avoided my strike, I got even more possessed by the rage, and my blind attacks only got faster, forcing Dabi farther to the back of the alley. It was like all of my thoughts disappeared, and all I could do was keep driving him backwards, my dagger cutting through the air but never quite reaching its target. Unaware of the fact that in my never ending routine of attacks, I wasn't giving Keigo the chance to step in to help, I just kept slashing blindly in an attempt to reach the damned villain.

I was mildly aware of Keigo watching the fight, waiting for an opening to help me without being slashed into ribbons, but it was almost as if I blocked him out of my mind. Yes, I was grateful that he came to help, but this was still my fight. I needed to win on my own. I needed to punish Dabi for all the damage he's caused, not just to the city, but to me, too. It was his fault that I'd spent countless nights without getting a wink of sleep, wondering what the hell he'd meant. It was his fault that my arm was rendered useless right now. It was his fault that I was unsure of who I was now, and that my world was flipping upside down every other second. It was all his damned fault.

Before he'd come around, sure, my life wasn't perfect, but at least I knew who I was. Now, I didn't even have that. Now, all I had left was Keigo, and that stupid morale to punish those who were wrong. I let out an angry shout as I charged forward in one last attempt, the adrenaline waves coming and going sporadically, and I knew that as soon as this one left, I'd be too exhausted to move again. I was fast, but in my blind rage, I wasn't moving as well as I could've. Dabi caught my right arm in his hand, twisting it until the muscles of my hand were too twisted to hold the knife anymore, and my weapon fell to the ground. For whatever reason, Dabi had chosen to spare me the pain of burning through my skin once again, but that still didn't make his grip painless. 

"You're lucky your knight in shining armor arrived," he whispered, grabbing my chin with his free hand to force me to look in his cold blue eyes, "or I would've ended you already, princess." All I could do was glare back at him helplessly, but he suddenly shoved me backwards, sending me tumbling into Keigo, who apparently had been sprinting towards the two of us in an attempt to help me now that he wasn't in danger of being shredded into pieces. "See you, princess!" He shouted, giving me an overexaggerated wink as he sprinted away from the two of us at top speed.

Still tangled with Keigo, I did my best to quickly get back on my feet, but by the time I was chasing after him, with Keigo beside me, Dabi was already a hundred meters ahead. In top shape, I would've been able to catch up with him, but the pointless wave of adrenaline was already fading, and there was no way that Keigo would be able to fly after Dabi without his wings catching on fire from the still alit buildings. I watched in defeat as he got further and further away, until he eventually disappeared out of sight completely in the wrecked streets. Shit.