Beautiful Disasters- Hawks x OC

Chapter 78

WARNING: MENTIONS OF KIDNAPPING AND EXTREME VIOLENCE IN THIS AND UPCOMING CHAPTERS

Three weeks passed and now it was the day Mariko was going to get "abducted" by the league of villains. Of course, Keigo hadn't been able to sleep at all that night; his mind kept him tossing and turning as it went over the worst-case scenarios. For her sake, he was keeping his emotions in check, but every fiber of his being wanted to just sweep her in his arms and run away to someplace where no one would find them.

Mariko on the other hand, acted like absolutely nothing was wrong. She went about her days as usual; her steps didn't falter, and her fingers didn't twitch nervously. Despite her confident demeanor though, she too was worried. Anything could happen on a mission just under normal circumstances, but this mission wasn't exactly "run of the mill." She couldn't show Keigo she was scared though; he was already struggling with the whole ordeal. If he knew that she was also struggling then they might fall apart and Mineko Shimizu might win. So, for both of their sakes, she pretended she was fine. "I'm gonna go out for a while. We're out of chicken and a couple of other things. I should be back in a few hours," she told him grabbing her purse.

He knew what would happen once she walked out those doors, and although he'd tried to prepare himself mentally, his heart hadn't exactly caught up yet. "Wait!" he exclaimed, launching himself at her.

The brunette turned to him; an eyebrow raised. "Did you want something specific?" she asked, still referring to the grocery store.

Keigo shook his head. "You're not coming back," he said.

She sighed. He was right, she wouldn't be back in a couple of hours. Actually, she probably wouldn't be back for a few days.

"At least say goodbye before you go."

Mariko walked towards him purposely and hugged him. She squeezed him as tightly as she could without hurting him and buried her face into his chest. She breathed deeply, inhaling his scent and trying not to think about how this could be the last time she got to be this close to him. After a moment, she pulled away slightly and looked up at him. Her eyes bore into him as she tried to memorize everything she could about him: the flecks of gold in his honey-colored irises, the almost invisible spray of freckles across his nose from being out in the sun, his seemingly untamable hair. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him, committing to memory how his lips felt on hers, how feverish she felt when he touched her and how she never wanted it to end. "I love you. I'll be back before you know it," she assured him.

Keigo rested his forehead against hers. "I love you too. So much Mari it hurts. I love you," he repeated.

The brunette sighed deeply, adding that to her memory as well. She kissed him one last time and shot him a brief smile before exiting the apartment.

Mariko had barely made it five blocks from her building when she was suddenly yanked off the street into an alleyway. It was broad daylight, but no one had noticed.

Naturally, she fought back against her captors, but she already knew who it was. she could even feel the coolness of one of Kurogiri's portals behind her as she struggled. Her attacker kicked her knees out from under her, causing them to buckle and sending her crashing to the ground. Her head smacked against the asphalt, disorienting her completely before she was dragged through the portal.

As she was blinded and gagged, Mariko said nothing. The division had trained her to maintain silence in the event of an abduction since there was no telling what kind of information they were looking to get out of her. If Mineko started asking questions about how they managed to subdue her, the fewer lies they had to tell, the better. She had to act as though this was a legitimate abduction and she didn't know anything about her circumstances.