Fly High, Burn Bright

Chapter 25

With every tired step I took after Dabi, I could feel my body getting heavier and heavier, but I only stopped when I heard the wail of fire truck sirens in the distance, and only now it dawned on me that Dabi wasn't the only problem - the fires from the buildings had spread even further out, but from what I could see, several other heroes were already busy with rescues. My eyes widened as I remembered about Kagami. She'd been busy fighting another villain, and I hadn't seen her when Keigo and I were chasing after our own opponent. Either way, I doubt I could've helped her in my current state.

The burn on my arm was almost unbearable now, with the already-destroyed flesh only getting even worse as I'd sprinted past the flaming buildings in my useless attempt to catch Dabi, and the heat just kept eating away at my skin. Only now did I let myself cry over the wound, my brain finally registering the extent of the pain, and a broken scream left me when Keigo kneeled in front of me, gently holding my arm to examine it. How I'd managed to push through it earlier and keep fighting, I had no idea, because now, even the smallest breeze against my arm felt like someone was piercing scalding hot nails into me. 

"S-stop," I managed, pulling my arm away from him. "I'm per-perfectly fine. We should h-help the others." Keigo stared at me for a second, evidently not believing a word I'd said, and I waited for him to nod his head in agreement - he should know by now that it was a losing game to argue with me. Instead, he looked me right in the eye as he pulled me by my right hand to one of the ambulances that had already arrived on site, with paramedics and trained professionals already helping out any of the rescued victims that other heroes had managed to bring. I frowned, about to say that I was still in good enough shape to help with the rescue, but Keigo just glared at me.

"Don't even start, Kira. You've got burns all over your body, there are blisters literally everywhere, I can see the muscle of your arm where it's burned, and you're one step away from collapsing." I opened my mouth to make a snarky retort about how it wasn't exactly anything new, but in a flash, Keigo's wings unfurled, hiding us from the rest of the world as the feathers wrapped around the two of us, forcing me a little closer to him, and Keigo's lips slowly locked on mine to keep me from speaking. When he finally pulled away, I was left breathless, but his eyes were filled with sadness and worry. "Please, Kira. You've been pushing yourself too hard."

"I-" The weight of the realization from earlier suddenly crashed onto me once again, and I slumped my shoulders, sighing in defeat. "Okay. Be careful, alright?" Keigo nodded in response, and I managed a small smile before placing a quick kiss on his forehead, leaving the hero flustered as I stepped out of the curtain of wings that had kept us hidden from the world. His gaze followed me as I approached the ambulance, carefully raising my right hand to catch one of the paramedic's attention, cringing slightly as their eyes widened not at the extent of my injuries but with fear because of the fact that I was the one approaching. 

If it hadn't been for the fact that, now that Keigo had pointed them out, my countless injuries were becoming more and more hard to ignore, I would've probably given them a piece of my mind, but the best I could do was pray that they wouldn't push away someone in need of assistance. Thankfully, when they saw how close I was to falling on my feet, they rushed forward, looping my right arm over their shoulder to help support my weight as we slowly struggled to the ambulance truck, where several other burn victims were already lying out on stretchers. None of them looked to be in as bad of a shape as me, with their injuries being more or less minor, and I sighed in relief - at least they didn't have to experience the same hell that I did. 

A paramedic was checking on each of the patients, a quirk making their hand glow as it hovered over all of the injuries, and the one who'd been walking with me helped me lay down on one of the still-empty stretchers. The one with the quirk that I'd seen earlier finally approached me, their eyebrows furrowed, but they held their hand over mine, and it was like the pain and heat of every little blister in my palm was seeped out. The hand moved after a few seconds, drawing the painful warmth out of my burned arm, the charred black skin slowly regaining its natural color, and the hand-shaped opening in my arm that Dabi had left began to stitch itself together. I watched in amazement for as long as I could, the fragments of skin piecing together like a perfect puzzle, but my eyelids were heavy enough as they were, and the healer's quirk only intensified the sensation, and next thing I knew, my consciousness faded. 

Even in sleep, I was restless. Looming shadows seemed to be creeping over me, coming from every direction, all whispering the same phrases over and over again. She's not a hero. She's a freak. A villain. She's not meant to be a hero, and she never will be one. At first, the shadows were just that - nothing but dark silhouettes - but as they got closer, they seemed to take the shape of those closest to me. I saw my sister first. Her face was contorted with disgust as she glared down at me before fading into the background, Kagami approaching me now. She, too, looked at me with distaste, as if she was horrified at the thought that she ever had to work alongside me. Akina, with her flowing red hair, came next, her striking teal eyes boring holes into me as her usually-angelic face took on an angry sneer, and then it was Niko, but instead of the expected lecture, they were giving me that look that said 'you've crushed any hope I had left for you'.

 Worst of all, however, was Keigo. He looked so betrayed, so heartbroken, that it was impossible for me to want nothing but the best for him, but when my dream self tried to reach out to him in an offer of comfort, he pulled back so fast, you would've thought I was trying to kill him. His eyes, the same eyes that used to look at me with so much love and adoration, were now staring straight into my soul. I tried to speak, tried to tell him that it was still me and that nothing changed, but it was pointless. His lips parted almost in slow motion, and a single word left him. 

"Monster."

The shadows took over once again, swirling and mixing until it was nothing but a storm of darkness, and my eyes shot open, my breathing heavy as I panted, the weight on my chest from the nightmare still crushing me. It took me a few seconds to realize that nothing was wrong, and I was lying in the neat bed of a hospital. It wasn't real. I couldn't deny the fact that a part of me was scared and cautious of myself now, but I was still the same as I was before, and nothing would change that, for better or for worse. Only once I'd confirmed that with myself did the rest of my surroundings finally register, and I was greeted with Keigo's overly-worried expression.

I meekly raised my hand to wave at him, and he grinned, looking like an excited puppy whose owner just came home from work. "What, you can't even go a few hours without seeing me?" I teased him, sitting up in the bed. I was still wearing my hero costume, with the torn left sleeve, but my  belt of daggers and poisons was mostly empty now, with only three holsters and a small, tucked-away blade hanging on it. My arm, however, felt as good as new, and every small injury seemed to have disappeared, too. All that was left was the never-ending pounding in my head. 

"So this is how you repay those that care for you," he said, giving me an over-exaggerated pout. "By teasing." I shrugged, grinning as I threw my legs over the side of the stretcher and stepped onto the floor beside Keigo, who, in turn, tried to shove me back into the hospital bed. "Careful, dove. You just got out of recovery. I don't want you collapsing on me, alright?"

I waved him off, taking a slow step to the door to test my footing, and starting to speed up a little once I realized I really was in top condition. "I'll be fine." Keigo still looked a little unsure, so I grabbed his hand and pulled him close to me, until his body was directly pressed against mine, always there to offer support. "I have you, don't I?" I pointed out with a wink.

Keigo looked down at me, that soft smile of his that I loved so much spreading over his face. "Yeah, you do." His eyes were kind and full of love - so different from the usual playfulness that ruled over him - but I adored seeing both expressions. I hope that love never fades.