Ash burned the bodies of the lower-ranked soldiers first to hide the evidence of their arrival. The leader didn't burn away like the others; Ash had heard with Quothe how he was a father too, after he killed Lita's own father. Ash looked through his pockets for a wallet to identify himself; all he found was his ID card for HVA arms and safe rooms, hidden in civilian buildings. He pocketed it in case he found more evidence of their locations.
In his wallet, he found a worn photograph of the leader with his wife and kids. Ash felt a knot in his throat. Seeing it, he knew this man had to die so he could live and save the Darkmold, but even still, he felt bad that he made the man's kids orphans just like himself.
Ash placed the photograph on the leader's chest, then crossed his hands together to let his body rest in peace. He decided against his better judgment not to burn him up, leave his body behind for his family to get his benefits for the future.
Ash whistled for Daredevil. He came as always. Ash gripped his handlebars with pain in his heart. Daredevil could sense it; Ash had done what was needed. He could feel it in his hands on his throttle.
"I'm ok, boy, let's go pick up Lita and go home, I don't want to leave her in that position." Ash and Daredevil rode off, transforming back into their human forms to avoid further recognition.
*****
Morning came, and Lita woke up groggy. Her pained voice was creeping out of her mouth, along with her muscles aching from the beating. She saw that she was wearing a large t-shirt, short shorts, and bandages on her scrapes and cuts. She looked to see when her vision was clearer; she was in Ash's room. Ash was in his kitchen, making her coffee and toast.
Lita held her head, the throbbing pain in the back of her skull stinging her brain all around. Ash saw she was awake, he walked over with the food, and a couple of strong aspirin in his hand.
"Morning, made you some breakfast, here, some medicine too." Ash handed her the plate. Lita immediately took the pills first to help numb the pain in her head. She reached for the coffee next, taking small sips with her mouth still hurting to take bigger drinks from the cup.
"Take it easy, you're still recovering. I called the school earlier, and they excused you because of your injuries. Since I'm your emergency contact next to your dad, they let me take care of you for now."
Lita tried to bite the toast, but she didn't get to nibble on the edges of the bread before she had to ask Ash her question.
"What happened last night?"
Ash was quiet; he really didn't want to answer. He was worried about how she would take the news if she found out what happened to her father.
"Your dad beat you again. This one was worse than before. You're lucky you're not severely concussed." Ash inspected the bandage behind her head. He removed it when it was used up. Cleaning the wound and reapplying a new one.
"You didn't answer the question: What happened last night? Is my dad ok?" She weakly asked, trying not to overuse her jaw when talking.
Ash hesitated greatly to answer, but he cared about Lita the most; lying to her was like committing a cardinal sin, and he hated doing it the most.
"There was an accident last night. After he beat you, a Kraegan attacked the house. He fled the scene and then ran into some HVA soldiers. They killed the Kraegan, but he got caught in the crossfire. I'm sorry, Lita, he didn't make it." He lied to her, keeping the truth down.
Lita dropped her cup and plate. Her face pale with shock, her eyes widened at the answer she was given.
She rubbed her face with her hand as the other gripped her shirt tight. Ash could see she was hurting badly, hearing the news. Ash didn't care for him at all. To Ash, he was a cockroach who lived far too long and was happy when he was finally squashed. To Lita, it was still her father she held out hope for.
"I'm sorry, Lita, there was nothing the emergency responders could do after that. I can help you claim his body later if you want."
Lita didn't answer; she just stood up, heading to the bathroom, her bare feet touching the cold tiles. She fell to her knees with legs splayed and her back against the door.
"Oi, you ok, hey, answer me, Lita, open the door." Ash tried to open the door, but Lita locked it.
Lita started with quiet sobs, then pained tears rolling down her face. Her tears were a mix, one of her happy that it was over, no more beatings, scoldings, being forced to work multiple jobs for him. The other thought was her filial loyalty to her father; she still loved him and wanted them to go back on good terms again. Now that moment was taken from her; it was taken so soon. She was robbed of the chance to make things right. Even worse, she didn't get to say everything she wanted to before he passed.
Ash could hear her. He sat down against the door, too, looking up at the room's roof.
Ash had no sympathy for the man; he didn't care nor feel any pity for his dying. But he did feel guilt, because even though he didn't kill the father directly, he was still the cause. If he didn't let his anger get the better of him, if he didn't tip off the HVA from his pursuit, the father would have lived.
He indirectly caused the death; he loaded the bullet in the gun that the HVA used when they pulled the trigger that ended his life.
Ash would never apologize to the father if given the chance; he would rather die than tell him he was sorry for causing his death. But for Lita, it was a bigger pain than losing his soul; he hurt her and broke his promise not to do anything.
Whether it was curiosity or just wanting to inflict punishment on himself, he took the knife he stole from the leader and cut his wrist. He cut deep, severing the blood vessels enough for large amounts of blood to come out. The wound didn't last; it healed instantly due to his stats.
Ash flipped the knife in an ice pick grip as the leader did, and he stabbed himself in the throat, the same spot the father was stabbed with.
He let the knife stay in it, even when his body fought to remove it on reflex, even with the blood trying to come out but blocked by the blade, he let the knife remain jammed in his throat.
"I won't say I'm sorry, you old bastard. You had this coming for years. Karma finally got you. But I shouldn't have been the one who punched your ticket early. I'm not doing this for you; this is for Lita. I'm making myself feel your pain for her. I won't say I'm sorry. I will never say I'm sorry to you."
Ash stopped the wounding when his body started fighting back stronger. He threw the knife under the futon for now, staring at the floor, brooding. He would wait for Lita to come out when she was ready to talk, hoping he didn't ruin what they had.