Vermilion Blur

(Pt.20) Yūki ga kagi

~Keigo~

Boots clicked against the new tiled floors. Stale air mixed in with new chemicals and alcohol.

Sweat coated his palms, making the gloves stick. Cold sweat grew on the back of his neck.

Distant voices seemed to echo from everywhere, drawing his attention into each new one. Sweet nothings traced the inner workings of his mind, drawing him a few steps closer with each word.

His feet slid to a stop as the sound of footfalls continues behind him. He turned around, only to find a door softly clicking shut in the hallway.

Curiosity tugged at his thoughts. Who would be following?

Keigo walked forward, his palms growing damp the longer he studied the door. Only shadows crawled from underneath the small creases.

Finding the courage somewhere, he creaked the door open. Its hinges squeakily with the movement. Inside was a chill rushing past his face. Yet, it was just a dark hallway.

He took a sigh of relief. No one was there. Facing away from the hall, he wondered. How did the door move on its own?

"... Hawks! Help!"

The voice barely rang above the air, rushing past his face. Yet, it was the one to make him shudder. It cried out again and again, each time growing more desperate. His heart sank with realization.

He hesitantly took a step through the doorway. His breath caught into his throat. Shadows loomed and clung to corners and walls. The cries for help became tearful, motivating his legs to pump faster.

A child emerged from the darkness, blonde hair and amber eyes filled with innocence ran past. Giggles filled the air as she vanished into the darkness.

"... H-Hiko?" Old wounds once again burned hot. At his core, he wanted to hold the innocent happy girl in his arms and protect them from the harsh reality they both succumbed to.

The two ran around chasing each other with the little bit of free time they had.

Keigo flew faster, trying to catch up, and when he picked her up, Hiko struggled against his grip. Eventually, Keigo lost his grip, watching as Hiko fell to the ground. In her panic, she sprouted a large pair of white wings, catching herself before she hit the ground. An angel in his dark life.

Hiko was ecstatic to finally have gotten her quirk. All Keigo could sense in himself was fear, knowing exactly what the commission would put her through.

He could only stand still as she grew older, growing more confident in her abilities. Yet, she was running a losing race. Scars and bruises slowly littered limps, eyes losing the life they once held.

He watched through Hiko's eyes. Feeling and hearing each word and action that hurt her. Slowly, she became a shell of who she once was. Cuts and bruises slowly covered every inch of his body. Almost turning him purple and burning him from the inside out.

"Hiko! Hiko! I'm sorry!" He yelled, becoming more desperate with each word. He could only call out again and again until his throat grew sore.

Hiko laid in a pool of blood, limbs broken in ways that made his stomach churn. "... Stop..." Eyes clouded and lifeless, lips blue coated with a sheen of red.

His heart sank into his gut as he relived the worst day of his entire life.

"Keigo." The voice barely whispered against his ear, dark and hateful. "Why weren't you there?"

A sharp pain shot through his heart. He stepped back, his heart pounding loudly against his chest. "W-What do you mean? I was there for you as much as I could be!"

"It wasn't enough."

"B-But Hiko I-"

"I'm all alone... It's cold here."

Those words echoed through his head, piercing into him like knives.

There she lay dead on the ground, another where she floated in suspended animation as her quirk and body mutated. Clouded eyes and blood-soaked hair. His heart crashed into his gut, churning it into a pile of mush.

Different voices echoed all around, taunting him. Each word is worse than the last.

She was staring into his soul, black eyes

In an instant, a pair of black eyes stared dead-on into theirs. Bleeding gums dripped down a set of tight lips.

A razor-sharp black feather pointed at his neck far too close for comfort. His hands turned cold and clammy, red wings wrapping around for a bit of distance.

She giggled, and voices warped like a TV with a bit of signal. "Everyone around you dies... Suffering."

His throat dried as if cotton was pressed back into it. A hand, fingers extended, and boney gripped their face harshly. A sloppy wet tongue licked a cold rain from his salty skin. It soaked him through in the darkness.

Words, clear as day, whispered through the bloody lips. "It's always..." Some brother you are."

Keigo stepped back, only for a wall to slap against his back. The image of the bloodied corpse remained in the forefront of his mind. A haunting reminder of the worst day of his life.

Keigo sank to his knees, wrapping himself up in the protective wings. The girl's name echoed again and again from his lips, followed by a thousand apologies.

Yet, the voices continued, dragging everything away.

"It's all your fault. Always will be."