Burnt to Ashes - Kenichi Todoroki

Aaron's Last Thoughts

Ah. I'm dead.

All my life, constant suffering.

My dad died.

My mom died.

I had no other close family, besides my cousin of course, which I saw ever so often.

No siblings..

No friends...

It was just Oak, Bronx, and I.

And the one person who always taunted me? Kingo.

He's the traitor. I wish I could've told Kenichi that.

I regret a lot in my life. I wish I had been smarter, so I could help Oak and Bronx more. Or more capable with my quirk so I could try harder and get into a good hero school. Or maybe, I wish I could've been a bit more kind to others, and myself.

But my entire life, I put my hand out, but nobody took it. Nobody stopped and thought, "maybe Aaron needs help".

So I wanted to be a hero. If I help others, then maybe people would pay me back by giving me some help. But here I am, on my last breath in an attempt to save my leaders.

Why did it end up this way?

As I flip through all my memories, I realize I barely have any. All my memories before joining The Bloody Mambas are just faded images.

"I'm sure we're all going to be best friends!" That's what Fox told me before Kenichi showed up. Fox, Hifumi, and I. We were all going to be friends.. and we did start to become close..

But there wasn't enough time.

"Want to join my friend's gang? I've heard that you're pretty strong around here." That's what Ryker said this first time I heard about this gang. I never thought about joining one, and I wasn't really interested either, until he mentioned my strength. That's what gave me motivation. That's what was going to push me in the right direction to become a hero.

That's what I thought at that very moment.

Kenichi. No matter how hard I tried, there were no direct quotes I could remember him by. He was just as mysterious as I heard he was. Most say he's a monster. His closest peers call him unique. A few call him attractive.

But I call him a hero. An inspiration. An idol.

Weird thing to say about a kid who killed many people, sure. But I watched him protect that girl Coda. And truth is...

Coda is my cousin.

First cousins; we were always close growing up and we both had animal quirks that we had inherited. She got the family quirk, I didn't, but it was alright since she supported me either way. When her dad died, I helped her pull through it. And I think she'll make a great hero, one that I'll never get to be.

What's left to say?

I guess my wish is that Kenichi and The Bloody Mambas live on and become stronger without me. Orion's my friend, I would hope he'd carry on my division. Or maybe Ryker; he would be an interesting fit.

But I wish for other things too.

I wish that Coda, who I haven't seen in years, goes and lives a better life and becomes a hero without her dad's guidance.

I wish that Kenichi and Shinju are happy together, and that they both become heroes.

I wish that Fox moves on and becomes great friends with Hifumi without me.

I wish that Kingo regrets what he did.

I wish Oak and Bronx the best of luck without me burdening them. Maybe they'll dig up one of my suicide notes because god knows I won't make it out of this temple.

But I wish for myself only one thing; I wish that I don't have to live in pain and misery anymore, and I can finally be free of my peers. That the cuts on my wrists won't go to waste. That the sacrifice I made was for the better.

I hope and wish and pray that the killer, Zay, ultimately gets beaten down by Kenichi.

And when he does, I'll be watching from above, cheering Kenichi on every step of the way.