He's standing right in front of me.

Keigo.

My Baby Bird.

He’s standing right in front of me, his wings grandly and gracefully moving as they settle behind him. That cocky smile of his, is adorning his pretty face. And more importantly, he is here, at the secret rundown mill, where I scouted out the new villains the League had been recruiting. I am still trying to process the fact that he’s right there, somehow the one to approach the other first.

I stand there nervous, trying to keep a straight face. Right before he appeared in front of me, another one of those low-life abusers on my list that I had curated in my years underground had shown up, wanting in, into the League. The bastard, who didn’t know that I knew of all his past crimes as an abuser, rapist and drug seller, thought he could open his mouth and get away with the nonsense he was spewing about being a good deal for the League. Needless to say, he was burned to ashes to the very last bone, and as my Baby Bird lands in front of me, those very ashes flow up into the air again due to the wind created from his wings.

Trying to calm my heart down as much as I could at that moment, I ask him, “What is the number two hero doing here?”

He decides to lean against the wall next to him, nonchalant and looking oh so fine, he says, “I sympathize with the League's cause, and I want in.” He shrugs and continues. “I lost someone very important to me years ago due to the pressures of the hero society that's so revered. It makes me want to strike back.”

My heart, hearing him say it, clenches hard.

He’s definitely talking about me.

Come on man. Look at me. It’s me. I’m right here, alive and in front of you.

My gaze narrows and hardens, putting him on guard and he shifts on his feet.

Come on Baby Bird. You’ve gotta recognize it’s me.

I decide to step into the waters and ask, “If you're so against this hero society, why did you become one, number two?”

That flash of emotions on his face doesn’t go unnoticed by me. I already know the reason why he became a hero, after all being under the clasp of the Hero Commision was daunting enough for one to even consider to try to escape them. He doesn’t change his stance as he replies back to me, confirming what I already had deduced about his situation.

“I didn't get much choice.” he says, “But, my position as the second ranked hero can help the League. I pretend to still be a good little hero and then feed you information about the Commission and ways to take them down.”

Hmm. My birdie definitely knows the right thing to say. But an inkling of something unknown has appeared at the back of my mind and I decide then and there to find the cause of it. The birdie I know was always calculative and two steps ahead of everyone around him. There was always an ulterior motive when it came to him, and I would try finding that out.

Reaching into one of the pockets in my long coat, I grab one of the burner phones I had been given and toss it towards him. He catches it fairly well, and I can see the surprise in his eyes at how easily I accept his offer. If my guess is right, he must have been around for a while, hiding, until his moment came. He must have seen me incinerate the bastard for sure, expecting me to test him with my blue flames as he made his offer.

“I’ll be in touch, Birdie.” I tell him and start to turn away.

My heart is definitely beating the fastest it has in a while.

He’s still standing there, looking at me. I warn him then, “Don't try following me. I don't trust you yet.”

Somehow, the expression on his face reads more crestfallen than excited after my words reach him.

Come on! Say it, say that you know who I am! I know you wanna stop and ask me, do it!

But he stays right where I leave him, letting me walk away from him.

I walk a little ways ahead and turn to hide myself behind a pillar, before spying back at him. He still has the phone in his hand and is staring at it intently. After a few minutes of investigating the device like the cautious man I know he is, he pockets it and decides to leave. Not without eyeing the ashes around him one last time, as if he is thinking about the blue flames that made them. The majestic way that the sky frames him as he flies away brings back the jitters I used to get whenever I used to see him fly.

As I walk back towards the bar which has now become my new home, I ponder.

Did he feel remorse to not have been at my side when I finally burst and left everything behind? Does he, in some way, feel responsible for not having been able to save me? The man who I knew as a teenager believed that as long as he was to keep the people he cared for the most, safe and sound, the journey he was to take to reach his goal would be worth it. He endured the tortures that he faced under the Commission then and he believed it was all for a greater cause as well. Did my death suddenly open his eyes, the same way my mother being taken away from us had for me? A small part of me feels guilty, why would he go against what he had believed in so strongly?

I chuckle at my childish desire at wanting him to recognize me at the mill. What was I thinking then? It had been years since we saw each other last, ten to be exact and out of the two of us, I had changed the most in appearance. I have permanently burnt skin, joined to my healthier patches with staples that had been in my skin for who knows how long. The fact that my face and ears are pierced and that my hair is still dyed the same color black that Onee-san had gotten me all those years ago; I was unrecognizable.

I grin wide this time. Excitement now fills me. Knowing that Keigo, my Keigo, wants to destroy the Hero Society the same way I do, is bringing in a new sense of happiness and satisfaction. The previous guilt I have about his notions vanishes slowly, as I start fantasizing the different ways Keigo and I can take the heroes down.

Perhaps, instead of letting him figure it out, I should tell him who I truly am?

The thought brings a giddiness within me and I finally reach the bar, the smirk on my face looking as if it would never go away.