It Can't Be Him... (Villain Kaminari Story)

CHAPTER 35: The Final Recording

SLIGHT TRIGGER WARNING.

"You idiot!" came the scream outside Todoroki's dorm room. Footsteps thudded louder and louder towards him, but he was only half-listening. The blood drummed heavily in his ears, the words 'suicide' and 'Kaminari Denki' swirling around in his brain. Somehow, he couldn't combine the two words together, as if they were two jigsaw pieces originating from two completely different puzzle sets.

His dorm room was kicked open, and in came an angry Jirou Kyoka, followed by a frantic Yaoyorozu Momo. Jirou marched up to Todoroki, her face as red as a tomato.

"Todoroki Shoto," said Jirou, "You had one job! One. JOB."

Todoroki stared at her in confusion.

"Sorry, Todoroki!" Yaoyorozu tugged at Jirou's arm, "I tried to hold her back but—"

"You saw the news, didn't you? Do you know how he died?" interrupted Jirou, glaring down at Todoroki. He couldn't muster up any words, since he was still having trouble absorbing the information. Jirou pulled out her phone and shoved it in Todoroki's face.

"Read." she demanded.

He forced himself to read under the headline: 'Newly Captured Villain and Traitor of U.A. High School, Kaminari Denki, commits suicide at the back of police van'. He regretted it instantly.

June 17, 2150: Kaminari Denki, common "traitor" of U.A. Academy, committed suicide in a police van immediately after arrest. Identified weapon is a small, silver knife. Police assume the villain had the knife stored beneath his jacket sleeve ahead of time, then used it to cut the ropes binding his wrists. Afterwards, the villain electrocuted the knife and then proceeded to stab himself in the chest. No other weapons nor injuries had been recorded....

Todoroki wanted to puke. His insides were squirming like crazy, and the blood from his head was rapidly drained. The words from the article were swirling about in his head, he couldn't absorb any more information. He was certain his face was turning as pale as the right side of his hair.

"You knew, didn't you? When you gave him that knife," cried Jirou, "You knew what he was gonna do with it."

"I-I didn't...I thought..." Todoroki stammered.

"Well, now he's dead. Dead, Todoroki!" she said, "Because you gave him that knife, he's dead! This is what you wanted all along, isn't it? I knew you still hated him, you didn't fully accept him like the rest of us did. So you couldn't stand the thought of breathing the same air as him."

"What? No!" cried Todoroki, "No, wait. It's true that I wasn't ready to forgive him yet, but that doesn't mean I wanted to end his life."

"Then answer me! Why did you give it to him?" Jirou argued back, "Why, in the end, was the knife in his hands, and not yours?" Tears began to prick at her eyes.

"I didn't know," said Todoroki, "Honest. I didn't know."

Jirou loosened from Yaoyorozu's grip and tugged hard at Todoroki's shirt collar. Her eyes stung with fury.

"You—"

Just then, a gruff, exhausted voice emerged into the room, silencing the scene.

"Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Jirou," Aizawa Shota was at the door, "Come down to the classroom right now. Kaminari left a surprise for you."

At the sound of Kaminari's name, all three heads jerked towards him at the same time, and Todoroki could tell they were all thinking the same thing. A surprise? What kind of 'surprise' could possibly be more shocking than a suicide?