Ashes

Nothing Changed

Touya opened his eyes groggily, blinking the bright lights out of his eyes as he tried to remember where he was.

What happened?

He heard someone shout something, sitting up slowly so he could get his bearings.

Where am I?

He finally felt the dizziness fade as he looked up to see a man in a sunflower mask standing in front of him.

Huh?

"...Where... Am... I?"

He paused as he heard his voice, sounding different than it had been yesterday.

What's going on?

He put his hand to his throat, feeling the odd sensation of the skin that didn't feel like his. Skin that didn't feel anything at all.

It's numb...

He was pulled out of his confusion as the sunflower moved a tv in the room, the static flickering before it turned on.

"Well well. Look who's finally awake."

He gulped, his throat feeling like it had been left out in the sun for days.

He tried to ask again where he was, stalling as he coughed up due to his damaged throat.

"You should take it easy you know. You've been asleep for 3 years."

Touya's eyes widened, letting the cup of a water drop as he murmured, "Years?"

The voice on the tv laughed, "Surprised! We had to put skin grafts all over your body. It's a miracle your even alive if I'm being honest."

Touya took in the information slowly, looking down at his skin as he tried to make sense of everything. His panic rose as he thought back to how he got here.

I was training... then I talked to Natsuo... then on Sekoto peak... then I... the Fire...

"I have to go back... I have to go back... My family must be worried about me... Dad will be mad I missed training... I need to"

He flinched as the tv gave a booming laugh, "Worried!? You think your family is worried about you!?"

Touya felt his heart sink as the voice gave a mocking taunt, never losing its inherent cruelty.

He clenched his teeth, "Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about! They have to... I was going..."

I was going to make everything normal again.

The tv snickered, "Well who knows? Maybe you are right. Maybe they'll still care for a weakling like you."

Touya froze, his voice brittle as he asked, "What?"

The tv let out a slow laugh, "Your body had to undergo extensive surgeries to heal. Not everything was salvageable."

Touya felt his heart drop as the tv mocked him, "Your organs are all severely damaged. Your nervous system is impaired, making feeling like pain seem dull."

Touya let out frantic breaths as the tv put the nail in the coffin, "Your body can't use your firepower like it used to anymore. We would've had you join the elites here, but alas..."

The voices soft lull overlapped with his father's, "You were a failure."

Touya felt his world shatter as his father's disappointed voice came back to him. The training sessions left him crying and exhausted flooding his mind.

It can't be... I can't be...

He pulled his hair as his mind strained, the tv only snickering as he broke down screaming.