Vermilion Blur

(Pt. 23) Powerless

~(y/n)~

Cold eyes fluttered shut, his eyes solely on his sneakers. The scars on his cheeks shined in a slight silverish hue.

Ryuu pulled a hood over his messy black hair. A slight grin graced his features before he turned and strolled down the hallway. Keigo's stern stare never left the teen's back. The uneasiness in his gut simmered down once the boy turned a corner. His shoulders slumped with relief that the kid didn't try on attack sight.

They stood, eyes seemingly ablaze with determination. The bruise still lay on their shoulder, predominantly covering 90% of the shoulder. Their scared yet calm expression lay plastered on Keigo's mind. It vividly teased his sense of guilt.

"Come on, let's go." They whispered, almost as if they weren't too sure of where to go next. He'd spent months, and he meant months trying to find Saki and Ryuu because of the missing person's case. Each lead led to a failure, yet Saki manifested herself right in front of him when he saw them.

Keigo reached out, barely grasping their fingers. The image flashed in the front of his thoughts, distracting the words he had wanted to say. "Wait." They turned around slowly, making direct eye contact. Every nerve in his stomach tightened. Will words ever really be enough to tell them what he wants to say?

A humble smile graced their lips as they pulled him along.

Dabi slowly walked ahead, his icy eyes barely turning around to look at Keigo. The stairway came into view in some awkward silence later. At the end of the entrance hallway stood a lone door. Darkness bled through the cracks with the thick atmosphere one could cut with a knife.

Keigo almost wished he had the metaphorical knife to cut it with so he could breathe lighter.

"Seems like he came from this direction, right?" Dabi hummed. He stared daggers at the door as if someone would pop out with a knife.

They clenched onto the peach jacket, their knuckles turning white. His heart sank into his stomach. This was no place for someone like them, so why did they insist on coming if they were so scared?

He reached out to their hand, entangling their fingers together. "Kid I-"

His hand fell from the handle making the atmosphere drop to a chilling cold. It made a shudder run down (y/n)'s spine when the door was lethargically squeaked open.

"(y/n) slimy wench, you were here this entire time?" The words dripped from his mouth slowly as if slowed down by the atmosphere itself.

Dabi slowly turned around, his stabbing glare setting on Keigo. Bright blue flames danced on burned fingertips. Behind Raiya stood an endless dark room. Beyond the shadows stood an empty chair.

The indigo flames rushed outwards almost slowly. Keigo grabbed (y/n)'s waist to safely pull them against his side. Those large crystal wings extended outwards and covered his sight. Their expression twisted into pain as the crystal morphed and shattered. A pained hiss escaped through their teeth.

Just as quickly as it started, it ended. "What the fuck!" Keigo yelled while holding them closer to his body. It wouldn't do much but make them feel safer.

"He's talking to himself." They hissed, carefully eyeing the erratic male. The large wings cracked, shooting through every inch until they fell off in large chunks. They pushed him off. A large patchy burn spread down every exposed part of their arm. Their cold hands carefully clamped around it.

"Dabi- Can you hear my voice?" The male's gaze shot in a completely different direction; flames licked down his hand to the elbow.

"Yes! Now shut up! I want dibs!"