Burnt to Ashes - Kenichi Todoroki

Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Coda's POV:

The musk filled the air. You couldn't see the sun now, it was blinded with smoke. Smoke like a volcanic eruption, which is what Kenichi basically set off.

Ablaze told us to go. She didn't say where, she just said to go. To run. So we did.

But we couldn't all stay together. We got lost.

But I stayed with Izora.

Izora and I ran until our legs almost gave out and hid in Downtown Toronto, in the crevices of one of the many tall buildings. Our chests' rose and fell with every breath. We ran so fast and so far, like it would kill us if we didn't. Maybe it would've.

"Why does this always have to happen?" Izora asked between breaths, clearly in distress. "Everytime..."

She trailed off, not finishing her sentence. I reached for her hand and squeezed it, then planted a kiss on her cheek. "It'll be alright," I said. "They're bluffing. Kenichi will come back and beat them, he somehow always does that."

My mind went back to when I was younger, and Kenichi fought off a Shirokage to save my life. He was so confident then, so full of life. What ever happened now, for him to run away from his problems??

Izora didn't seem so sure at all, which made me a bit doubtful of my words. We let silence pass us by.

I focused on the commotion. Car horns beeping, sirens blaring, things being destroyed off in the distance. It was horrifying, but somehow in all of that, I could find peace in the cacophony of sounds.

"We're gonna die," she said.

"We're not," I said back. "I won't let you, and I won't let myself either. The heroes will save us, like Draven said, and the Shirokages will shrink back."

Izora sharply inhaled, and I could see her pupil dilate, but I brushed it off. I let her rest her head on my shoulder as we sat in the alleyway, shaking both from the cooler air, and anxiety, too.

I glanced at my phone, and noticed that I had no signal, and my data wouldn't even work. I furrowed my brows. They got to the internet lines. The Shirokages have to be dead serious about this.

"No connection?" Izora asked. I shook my head and said none.

It was hard to think rationally under these conditions. On one hand, we had to find the rest of our class instead of being on our own this way. It made us more vulnerable. But on the other hand, we should keep hiding in case they spot us and kill us on sight.

Tons of conflicting ideas rose in my head, but there was one idea I knew for sure; I had to stay and protect Izora.

I had spent the past several months by her side, and I didn't intend to change now just because of distress. No matter how much of a burden she says she is, I would never forgive myself if I left her alone, and I am better off having her near me. She helps me think clearly. She helps me breathe.

"We should find the others," I said. "Carefully."

Izora took a moment to think on it. "We'd put ourselves at risk," she said, "we should wait. They'll find us."

I narrowed my eyes. "The more we wait, the farther we'll be from them. Think about it, they're probably getting out of town."

"Good point," Izora stood up and pulled me with her, "let's go."

Still holding my hand, Izora transformed into her devil form and scaled up the side of the building we leaned against, all the way to the top. The air was much denser up there. And the action was disgustingly brutal.