Burnt to Ashes - Kenichi Todoroki

I can't take his voice

(More mentions of suicide, self harm, and starvation. If you're uncomfortable with that, you can skip this chapter since it's just a part two of the last and nothing's really important.)

I sat down on my bed, listening to an audio recording. The boy of which I don't say the name of had me record him saying 'kill yourself' on loop. It was a daily reminder, an awakening. But now I've listened to it so much, it's addicting to listen to.

"Aaron." I heard Oak yell from downstairs. "Come down and eat."

"I ate today." I lied. No, I haven't eaten in a week. But he would never know that because I would be at school. As long as he believed that I ate there, then he wouldn't suspect a thing.

"Come on, you know you want to." Bronx yelled upstairs next.

I shook my head, though they couldn't see it. "Not hungry."

I listened, wondering if they would come upstairs or beg me to eat. They didn't say anything else, and I didn't hear footsteps, so I went back to listening to the audio. I took out a knife from a drawer that was covered in dry blood. I started at the end of my arm to my veins, but hesitated. I dropped the knife on my floor and stared at the new cuts, not even a centimeter deep.

I knew what I was doing was wrong, and that I should stop before someone eventually notices. But that boy saying that over and over again.. I felt like I needed to get that out of my system.

I drifted my mind back to the text I sent Kenichi. Opening the messaging app, I realized that he had read it and hadn't responded. I narrowed my eyes and turned off my phone; did he think that I was joking when I said this? He's going to make a big mistake if he doesn't listen to me, and all I want to do is prevent that.

I opened my door and made my way downstairs, slipping my shoes on and nodding at Oak and Bronx, who now sat in the living room.

Before I could walk out, Oak tried to stop me.

"Where are you heading off to?" He asked, his expression filled with suspicion. "You already left for a while today, and I saw that black eye of yours."

"I hit myself in the face by accident, not a big deal. Sometimes my quirk does weird stuff." I lied again. It felt wrong to lie to him, but there wasn't much else I could tell him. If I were to tell him about that boy, he might find out about the audio, and the boy would burn me alive feather by feather. "I'll be back in about an hour, I've got to think a few things over."

I left my house and started walking down the street. I didn't know where Kenichi's house was, but I had to warn him somehow. If I just let it be then he could be hurt or killed, and I'd feel guilty about it for the rest of my life.

"Hey, Aaron!" I heard his voice. The boy's voice. "I knew I'd catch you outside!"

Panic ran through me as I turned around. "What?"

He had changed a lot in four years; his brown hair was now a teal blue, and it hung over his eyes. The fire that he always had in his hand was now more like electricity. And long oral arms came from underneath his bowlcut. "You haven't killed yourself yet. Made any new scars?"

I rolled up my sleeves, though I knew he wouldn't see anything. "Yeah..?"

He gave me a smirk. "I saw you at that meeting. It's hard keeping cool and pretending to like you when I have to actually work with you."

I sprouted sparrow wings to try and get away, but he rested one of his oral arms on my shoulder. "Don't try and get away from me, Aaron."

I didn't respond.

"Kill yourself." He whispered into my ear. "I'm not going to kill you myself."

"I don't want you to kill me, and I don't want to die." I lied. "I want to become a hero and this is my chance of becoming one."

"HAH, A HERO?" His face changed, and though I couldn't see his eyes, I knew they would be filled with doubt and amusement. "YOU THINK YOU CAN BECOME A HERO? THAT'S HILARIOUS!"

As soon as he took his oral arm off, I flew up and away, not looking back at him. I could feel the wind pressing against me, and before I knew it, I was being carried away by it. My body is too frail, these wings aren't big enough!

I could hear his mocking laughter below me, and my face scrunched up, knowing that I just proved to him that I could never become a hero.

"LEARN HOW TO FLY WITH THOSE TINY WINGS AND MAYBE YOU'LL HAVE A CHANCE!" He mocked from below, his tone getting even more unbearable. I tried to block him out, but he was yelling too loud. I silently hoped that Oak or Bronx couldn't hear, or I'd be in huge trouble with both of them. Who am I kidding, I'm barely a mile from the house. If they're looking for me then they could totally hear us.

I crashed into the middle of someone's lawn, just wanting to lay there. I could still hear him laughing, but it seemed to be getting softer. Maybe if I just lay here.. I could get enough strength to...

"Aaron, what the hell are you doing in my lawn?"