Happy Tokotober! This is my first write of FanFiction, so I'm hoping it turns out well in the end. I've got school and I'm new to this so updates may not be frequent. Sorry if the first chapter is a bit short, I'll try and make them longer as time goes on.

Excitement was the only emotion Tokoyami could register right now, staring down at his new hero license. Yes, his hero license. His hands were shaking, nearly dropping the small rectangular object; although he caught himself before he could make any clumsy mishaps with the precious item. Dirtying it as soon as possible wasn't exactly on his list.

Tokoyami could scarcely recall the events that had lead up to now due to being lost in the moment, but eventually calmed down, recalling one memory in particular with a rare, genuine smile. He had been standing with his classmates as well as some other hero classes, forming a small crowd in front of a stage that held a large screen above it. The names of all the passing students had been displayed on a bright blue list, each student trying to find their own name within the ranks. Tokoyami was on that list, sitting there like any other rightful name. Yet to him, it looked like some sort of miracle; it actually pierced the darkness for once in his shadow-filled life.

"Tokoyami, you're gonna miss the bus at this rate. Ribbit."

The neutral sounding voice of his frog-like classmate, Tsuyu, startled him; though it did successfully bring him back to reality. Tucking the license away in one of his pockets, he turned towards the girl and gave a respectful nod, his smile being replaced by a more calm expression. Getting ready to head back, he took a second to stretch before facing towards the bus, he wasn't exactly going to get the chance to stand again for the next hour or so after all.

Beginning his trek back to the bus, now with Tsuyu walking alongside him, Tokoyami realized just how exhausted he was. Reflecting on how he did throughout the entire exam felt too tiring to think about right now, however, a nice comfortable warm bed or possibly even talking to others felt like a more suitable choice. The thought of being alone, like usual, brought an eerie sense of darkness along with it, a type of darkness that was cloudy and unfamiliar.

"But I'm not alone, Tsuyu is right here," Tokoyami thought to himself as he stepped onto the bus. "My classmates are right in here, too." He glanced at his friends, trying to reassure himself as he headed towards his seat. "Yeah, they're right there." The thoughts made his stomach churn, seemingly just making it worse.

"You're alright, Toko," a familiar voice echoed in his head as he took his seat on the bus, "Just calm down and remember to breathe. Those thoughts are unrealistic and complete nonsense." Tokoyami felt the small form of Dark Shadow wrap around the back of his neck and rest on the base of his shoulder. Relaxing, the worries ebbed away into nothingness as he looked towards his companion, grateful for his advice. These thoughts were only heard between the two, as they both shared a mental link together.

Tokoyami couldn't help but crack a small smile at the sentient quirk, though he felt a twinge of guilt for involving Dark Shadow in his pointless feelings. The two had been together for years now, Dark Shadow accompanying his host through even the most difficult of times. The two were like brothers, in a strange way. Since Dark Shadow had developed after Tokoyami was born, it was logical that Tokoyami was the bigger brother.

Letting out a sigh, Tokoyami rested his head against the cushioned seat of the bus and closed his eyes, the idle chatter of his classmates providing a background noise to listen to. It provoked a cheerful feeling on the bus, putting Tokoyami at ease. He had been getting so comfortable in his seat that he almost failed to notice Tsuyu walking up to the spot next to him.

"Mind if I sit here, Tokoyami?" Tsuyu asked, standing next to the open seat.

"Go right ahead, I think I need the company anyway." Tokoyami replied, cracking an eye open to watch her settle down into her seat. She wasn't loud or obnoxious, unlike some of his classmates, so he figured that she could provide good company.

"Why's that? Not to sound rude or anything, but you're not normally the most social person, Tokoyami. Ribbit." Tsuyu tilted her head to one side and put a finger to her lips, something she did almost every time she asked a question.

Nodding, Tokoyami closed his eyes and breathed out a deep sigh, trying to gather his thoughts on how to explain this. "Well, I guess having someone to talk to about the license exam just feels nice," he said, crossing his arms and staring up at the ceiling. "I don't really socialize much, so perhaps the idea of doing so excites me. I get to finally express my thoughts and ideas rather than stay quiet and hide in the shadows. Also, you're a very calm and collected person, so having a conversation with you is quite relaxing." When he finally finished explaining his reasons, he looked back towards Tsuyu, waiting for her response.

Tsuyu chuckled, a warm smile forming on her face. "You're rather poetic with darkness in your sentences, Tokoyami. I've heard you use it quite a lot throughout the school year too. Is it a force of habit?" She asked. Ironically enough, she did her own habit of tilting her head and putting a finger to her mouth again, which didn't go unnoticed by Tokoyami.

"Unfortunately, I may have been cursed to do so in most of my sentences," Tokoyami said with a smirk. "The darkness lurks within me after all, woven between my very words." The choice of wording was obviously too forced to be done by habit this time, though Tsuyu laughed lightly at his joke.

"No!" Dark Shadow squeaked. He suddenly uncurled from his position, a glare clearly visible on his face."No more poetry about darkness and shadows! It doesn't even sound cool," Dark Shadow said with a groan. He then positioned himself in front of Tokoyami, "No wonder you aren't that social, if you were, your constant babbling over darkness and shadows and whatnot would drive me crazy!" The sentient quirk continued to rant for awhile about Tokoyami's word choices, eventually shrinking back inside of his host once he believed his point had been made.

The two students sat in silence for the next few minutes, both having gone quiet. Eventually, the quiet between the two was broken by the sound of Tokoyami letting out a light chuckle, a hand placed over his beak. Trying to calm himself, he removed his hand from his beak, though he still had a small smile on his face.

"What's so funny, Tokoyami?" Tsuyu asked tilting her head again.

"In all my years of living with Dark Shadow, I never thought..." Tokoyami trailed off, chuckling again before he regained his composure. "I never thought that Dark Shadow would be my new English teacher," he said, laughing lightly.

Tsuyu blinked, processing what he had just told her. Dark Shadow as an English teacher, grading papers, grumbling over spelling errors, assigning homework; those were the very first few images that popped into her head. Tsuyu quickly found herself joining in on the mellow laughter. "I'm not sure he would make a very good English teacher," Tsuyu said, the two eventually calming down after their lighthearted discussion.

Relaxing back in his seat, Tokoyami stared at the ceiling, a small smile present on his face. Socializing felt so nice, why hadn't he tried it before?

"Because I might mess up or make someone upset, I might say the wrong thing. What if she found my joke to be weird and stupid, or what if she now thinks of me as a immature person for making such dumb remarks? What if-"

"Toko, please..." Dark Shadow thought, reaching out the way only a shadow could to smother the worries forming.

"Right, Dark Shadow, sorry."