Chapter 1 - Woodland Training! Tokoyami's Goal!

U.A. High School. A place of learning, a place where only the best of the best could train to become registered heroes. Sitting on the edge of the large town of Musutafu, it overlooks the city, towering above the rest of the landscape with its massive glass windows that perfectly reflected the sunlight across the rest of the town. It was a beacon of hope, a place of solitude and an educational facility with student positions which were sought after by everyone in the country.

The applications were constantly flooding in from young heroes fresh out of middle school, wanting the high school life that they had always dreamed of. But only a few got in. One in every three hundred applicants was the statistic shown to the public, but it was suspected to be one in every thousand that really got accepted. And even if you applied to get into the U.A. High School, you had to contend with more than just a written application.

Each year there was an entrance exam held in the Spring. Judged by a strict amount of non-biased examiners, it would assess a person's ability in combat, their logic and instincts, their values and morals and their tenacity to get to the goal they so desired. These very qualities were important for a hero's success at U.A. as their educational plan stemmed from constantly putting up barriers, goals that were only just out of reach, to see if the students had the power to overcome these hurdles, just like they would have to in reality when they graduated.

And now everything would be even more hectic that year as it was rumoured online that a new teacher would be arriving at the school. Someone who's prowess as a hero is so renowned that, not only are they the number one hero in Japan, but the Symbol of Peace that kept society from crumbling under the threat of the Villains whose goals sought to tear that foundation out from underneath them.

And so for one young man, in particular, he knew he would need to work extra hard to get into the school of his dreams. His Quirk (Another name for a superpower) was powerful but there were many factors that determined just how powerful his attacks and defences could be. Under the light of the sun, he was weakened, but in the shade and darkness, he could be strong.

The forest was quiet as the sun rose into the air, sunlight passing through the canopy of leaves and onto the forest floor below. Leaves, branches, logs and a few stray plants littered the floor, nary a sound to be heard aside from the swishing of the branches as they swayed in the faint breeze that was drifting past them. A small fox sniffed at a tree trunk, glancing around with it's beaded eyes in any direction it could.

Crunch

Leaves fell from the branches above the fox, a loud snap echoing throughout the forest. The serene peace had been broken and a grunt could be heard as a dark figure now crouched on a tree branch, just out of view from the fox. It scarpered away, terrified by the sudden noise, leaving the figure alone in his branch. A piercing set of red eyes surveyed the scene before hopping down from the tree.

The young teen that landed in the forest glanced upwards, breathing a sigh of relief as he brushed away a few stray pieces of dirt that had clung to his dark black vest. He kicked off some stray grass from his trainers, also a dark black, wiping off a few twigs from his black trousers. Taking a deep breath, he pushed a hand through his feathers and looked upwards at the canopy.

This moody style belonged to Fumikage Tokoyami, although almost everyone he knew never used his first name. Tokoyami sounded cooler, so he preferred it, a simple choice on his part. Now, he was a normal young man for all intents and purposes, especially in a world where superpowers could be considered normal, but there was one unique aspect about him that everyone always noticed.

His head was that of a dark bird. Imagine a raven or a crow, but with spiked up feathers that looked like the hair you'd see in a manga. And where a normal person would have a mouth, he had a small yellow beak instead. Luckily, he had human teeth inside his mouth so he could eat and interact like anyone else, but it was an abnormality that certainly made people turn heads. He always wore a red choker around his neck to hide the point of connection between his bird-like head and his human body.

But his head wasn't like that out of choice. It was his quirk that had caused this transformation. The quirk known as Dark Shadow was both a blessing and a curse for the boy. A dark shadow-like demon, as he'd liked to tell people, lived inside of him under his beck and call for the most part. It was like having a pet, but this pet was connected to him and was a dangerous shadow creature that could easily kill everyone around him if the situation was dire.

The Dark Shadow's form was that of a dark crow, so Tokoyami's features had seemingly warped to match that. Though the aesthetic actually seemed to help him in terms of his persona. He was cool, calm and collected. His emotions were controlled and he had learned from a young age that he was not to lose his temper when Dark Shadow was at it's most powerful. In the dead of night, where no lights blared and danger was afoot, it would be easy to lose control as he had once before as a child.

Though nobody was hurt, the feeling of being out of control was something Tokoyami carried with him through his young life all the way into his teenage years. He would not let himself forget the guilt so that he could keep himself from falling into darkness yet again. And it was not like Dark Shadow was bad. In fact, for the most part, the sentient shadow was a valuable ally and even a friend to Tokoyami.

It's offensive and defensive capabilities were outstanding compared to that of lesser Quirks and he knew that, if he could control it, he could become one of the top heroes of a new generation. His parents had been fully supportive of his dream and his father had even suggested that he try for U.A. High School's Hero Course. Truly, it would be a once in a lifetime chance and he couldn't afford to pass it up.

Which was why he was currently training in the forests outside of his home for the Entrance Exams. He had already submitted his written application a week prior and had received the OK to compete in the exams, so now his goal was simply to keep going and prove his worth against other actual heroes.

"Found you!" He heard a voice call out, spinning around, summoning his Dark Shadow into a barrier ahead of him. His eyes darted swiftly, noticing the shadow dashing straight towards him.

He leapt backwards, his Quirk shielding him as a large slam hit the ground where he stood. He felt the wind picking up around him and he quickly darted behind a tree, grasping on to a small handhold in the trunk.

His feet began to rise with the wind, the slam turning into some form of a miniature tornado. But today he was not going to get sucked into the vortex. 'Dark Shadow, grab the log from my feet and throw it into the attack!'

As asked, the log was thrown by his shadow, launching into the whirling winds at a rapid pace. He swiftly pushed off of the tree he was holding onto, kicking with all of his might to spring himself away from the tornado. At that moment, he felt the winds calm and a loud thud reached his ears. The log had done its job. Launching away from the clearing, he darted upwards, leaping into the air, the shadow acting as a rope as he swung away from the clearing.

He landed on a stray branch, now more aware than ever of the dangers around him and he let himself take a few short breaths to keep himself from overexerting. He needed all of his senses on high alert if he was able to escape the man chasing him. A teacher hired by his father to train him. This was their last day training together and his goal was simple.

Escape the forest before being caught. Only the log trick would not work a second time. Villains were not so stupid as to fall for the same ruse twice in a row. And if they were, they'd already have been captured by that point in the fight. These were little nuggets of information that he had learned practising for when he eventually would have to put his skills to the test.

Leaping forwards, he glanced upwards at the sun, noticing it was to his left. The sun always rises in the east and he knew that meant he was pushing South. The forest would be thinning very soon, he need only move faster than his teacher could catch him.

Thus he was caught completely off guard when a slicing sound cut through the air and he felt the tree he was on begin to topple. His eyes shot downwards where he could see the tree had been completely severed from its trunk. With pure instinct being the only thing driving him, he kicked forwards, Dark Shadow swinging around behind him to block falling branches as Tokoyami plummeted to the ground.

He needed to land safely and carefully, pushing himself into a roll to mitigate any damage that he normally would have taken. Rolling into the grass, he pushed forwards with enough momentum to get back on to his feet. And now he was zooming through the trees, feet padding along at a rapid pace as he continued to sprint through the forest.

The light was getting brighter and the trees were thinning. He was almost out of the forest!

The slice of wind that slammed into his side was even more of a surprise as he felt himself smash into a tree trunk to his left. His eyes closed in intense pain as he slid down to the ground, winded from the attack. Upon opening his eyes, he could see the taller form of his teacher walking through the undergrowth.

The man was dressed in a dark grey shirt, a cloak of pure white wrapped around his back, like a cape. His arms had small metallic objects that were used to direct his wind energy at targets. His Quirk, Cyclone, was able to create pure wind energy and form it into attacks, be it tornadoes or slices of wind. Either way, the force of something that could not be easily seen was a dangerous as any Quirk.

"It seems you let your guard down Fumikage," The man stated, now only a few paces away. "Your drive to escape clouded your judgement and kept you from observing your surroundings."

Tokoyami glanced downwards at his shirt, noticing a large cut in the black vest. It wasn't enough to draw blood but had that been a villain, it certainly could have been a fatal mistake. He could feel annoyance bubbling up inside. He knew better than that.

"Do you really think you can get into U.A. with your observational skills?" The man asked, giving Tokoyami a concerned look. "I want you to succeed, believe me. But you have to help yourself."

"I know," Tokoyami replied, pushing himself up from the ground, feeling himself shaking from the impact.

"Do you? If there is anything this last lesson of ours should teach you, it's this," His tutor motioned, pointing towards the exit of the forest. "The goal is but one piece of a bigger picture. View the whole picture and everything will become clear."

He knew this. He knew what he was being told. But he had not put his knowledge into practice. He had completely neglected to check his sides and he had let himself down because of it. With one week left, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

"Fumikage," The man said, turning away from him. "How many years have I trained you for?"

Tokoyami began to follow his teacher, replying, "Three years."

The man nodded, now strolling towards the exit of the forest, "And in those three years, what have you learned?"

Tokoyami took a moment to think, wondering what exactly the man wanted to hear. He had learned much from his training but he was not sure where this conversation was going. "Well, I've learned to expect the unexpected, never underestimate the enemy-"

"No, stop that train of thought." Tokoyami shut his mouth, confused. What did his teacher want from him? "My teachings cannot have gone to waste on you. There is one thing a Hero needs above all else. What is it?"

His thoughts were clouded. One thing a hero needs above all else? A sidekick seemed unlikely and irrelevant. A super move certainly didn't seem correct. Presence when saving people, a catchphrase? No... 'What could he mean? Above all else...'

"Do you mean, believing in my myself and my abilities?"

His teacher gave a thumbs up and a large smile as they emerged from the forest. The sun beat down on the pair, the winds blowing past them calmly across the countryside. Far in the distance, the city and U.A. sat shining, like a castle in the sky or a prize at the end of a rainbow. He knew he needed to get there. He *had* to get there!

"You're correct. You have a lot of power but you need to believe more in yourself and your Quirk," His teacher said, holding out his hand. In an instant, Dark Shadow had appeared underneath, as if like a cat. "It is a powerful entity. You know this. But you will never reach your full potential if you fear it."

"I don't fear it," Tokoyami replied gravely, looking at his Dark Shadow. That much was true. It wasn't fear that held him back, that was for sure. It was all about control. "Relying too heavily on my Quirk could cause me to lose control. No matter the cost, I cannot let that happen."

"Regardless of your circumstance, you're not even trying to use your Quirk's power to your fullest advantage. A true hero must be both bold and sure of himself. And you lack the conviction in yourself to really push your boundaries."

Lacking conviction. Was that really his issue? He had a great grasp on using Dark Shadow both defensively and offensively. So what was the issue here? What was he not seeing that apparently, his teacher had caught onto?

It was something that remained in his head for far longer than intended. His teacher left for the final time and still, Tokoyami was trying to figure out his words. Something that he was missing. A conviction that would boost him to new heights.

Sitting down at his computer to rest, he allowed his mind to wander, browsing the superhero forums in preparation for U.A. Apparently someone had cleaned most of the beachfront that used to be used as some sort of trash dump, All Might had confirmed his spot as a teacher at U.A. His eyes drifted over to the usual suspects, a group that he often talked with online. These people were relatively unknown to him, he had no idea of their locations, their Quirks or their looks. Just that they were middle school students like him.

He noticed only one of them online. AllMightFan1 was his name, and it wasn't hard to see what his interests were. Apparently, he had met the man himself, All Might, and was told that he "could become a hero." Whatever the case, he was extremely knowledgeable about the many licensed heroes on the scene and was a valuable source of knowledge.

Tsukuyomi: Are you awake?

AllMightFan1: Hey, Tsuku!

Tsukuyomi: Ugh, it's been a long day.

AllMightFan1: Tell me about it! I'm exhausted, been training.

Tsukuyomi: Training? Whatever for?

AllMightFan1: Well uh... I'm planning on attempting to get into U.A.

This made Tokoyami's eye raise. He knew this boy was quirkless and that he would have almost no shot at making it. Was he aiming for a general studies course? Perhaps the business course?

Tsukuyomi: Which course are you attempting to enter?

AllMightFan1: Well... The Hero Course.

Tsukuyomi: Without a quirk? You know that'll make you more of a liability right?

AllMightFan1: Of course I do! But I've been training! My goal is to get into U.A. and follow All Might's example! I want to become the best hero of them all!

This was certainly a step up from his usual shyness. Normally he wasn't as open with his goals with Tokoyami. What had changed to make him so confident all of a sudden? He was about to ask when another message from AllMightFan1 popped up on his dashboard, one that made him hesitate.

AllMightFan1: What about you? What's your goal?

It was a simple question. He should have expected it really. But for whatever reason, he found himself very hesitant to answer it. What was his goal? To become a hero, yes. But for what purpose he still hadn't decided. This person was quirkless but his goal was right there for everyone to see. And here he sat with a powerful quirk and no idea what to do with it.

AllMightFan1: Hey? Are you there? I didn't mean to upset you!

Tsukuyomi: I'm fine...

A blatant lie on his part.

Tsukuyomi: My goal is shrouded in mystery. I will see what the future holds for me.

AllMightFan1: It's okay not to have a goal yet, you know. We're still young. We've got a lot of work to do before we reach the top! You'll do great Tsuku!

Tsukuyomi: I fear I might not be as prepared as I would like.

AllMightFan1: Prepared for what?

It took him a moment to realize, but he had never once stated his own intentions of going to U.A. Perhaps he was still unsure of himself, or maybe he didn't want the other boy to fuss over him, but after hearing that his online pen pal would be attending U.A's entrance exam as well...

Tsukuyomi: You're not the only one who will be competing to get into U.A. I'm taking the exam myself.

AllMightFan1: We could totally meet up! I'd love to meet you in person Tsuku!

Tsukuyomi: We shall see. I'm afraid I cannot talk any longer. I need to rest. Good luck prepping for the exam!

AllMightFan1: We'll both get in! I can't wait!

Tokoyami took a deep breath and sighed. One single conversation and he had realized he didn't even have a real goal for being a hero. To grow more powerful, to control his Quirk, to make it into U.A. He needed to focus. U.A. High School was waiting and he was not about to be left behind!