Chapter 14 - Battle of the Windswept City! Control!

A never ending darkness pressed against the two students who were currently clutching each other for dear life as they were sucked through the black mist. Tokoyami and Kouda both were holding onto each other tightly, Tokoyami gritting his teeth as he felt himself being pushed and pulled in all different directions. He could feel Kouda trembling underneath him, just barely keeping a hold.

Suddenly his eyes were accosted by a bright light, the darkness giving way to the rush of fresh air, rain and wind. From the moment the darkness dissipated, he became acutely aware of the wind rushing past his face, brushing his feathers back. Kouda was clutched onto him tightly, refusing to look anywhere, head buried in Tokoyami's cloak.

With a sudden realization, Tokoyami realized that they were not being hit by wind, but rather they were falling from the sky. Below them, a ruined cityscape painted in a grey dull colour, spread out before them, skyscrapers half collapsed and eroded by the wind and rain that seemed to be perpetually falling from the dome's roof.

"Kouda, brace yourself," He shouted, the other boy clutching on for dear life. "Dark Shadow, stop our fall!"

Dark Shadow burst forwards, a shout of "On it!" as it launched towards the ground level, spreading itself across the tarmac of the road below.

Tokoyami and Kouda slammed into the ground with some force, Dark Shadow catching most of the shock, but the sudden thud that affected his right arm as he landed caused a serious spasm of pain to erupt in his limb.

Kouda was no worse for wear, having landed right on his left side. Tokoyami could see the other boy wincing in pain, but Kouda was lucky that his mutation had given him thicker skin that that of Tokoyami. Tokoyami would get away with a rather throbbing arm while Kouda would probably only walk away with a few bruises.

"Move, villains are approaching," Dark Shadow hissed, any mirth or sarcasm absent from his tone.

And that was what twigged Tokoyami off that this was a serious problem. Dark Shadow almost never took a serious tone unless his life was on the line. And if that was so...

"We need to move, now!" He whispered quietly, eyes now glancing around the windswept city that they now found themselves in, pushing himself up to his feet.

As he looked around at the ruined buildings, he could feel the rain pounding down around him beginning to soak into his cloak and clothing. Making a mental note, he realized this would make them slower with their movement, but any enemies would have the same drawbacks. He'd need to be careful not to slip either, although his boots were well suited to the job of keeping him steady.

He stuck a hand out to Kouda, pulling the other boy up from the ground, who offered a worried smile in return. Even in the darkest moments, he could always rely on his friend to at least try and be positive, despite his nerves. "Careful not to slip," He muttered, taking a few steps towards one of the abandoned houses nearby.

"Where are you two going then?" A deep voice boomed, Tokoyami spinning around, clutching Kouda's arm protectively, to face whoever had said those words.

"What the hell?" He uttered, shock in his voice.

"How did they...?" Kouda mumbled fearfully, raising his hands into a fighting stance. "Tokoyami..."

"Fumikage, the villains, they-"

"Have us surrounded, I know!" He barked.

For there, surrounding the two students, eight figures were waiting, two per side, twisted grins and clenched fists ready to pound the two into dust. And worst of all, in the wind and rain, Tokoyami could barely register just what they looked like through the tough conditions, meaning their Quirks would be a complete unknown to him.

"Kouda, how good are you in a fight? There are no animals here so we need to improvise!" He whispered, keeping his voice low so the eight around them couldn't hear.

Kouda, trembling, quietly whispered back, "I know some basic stuff. I'm not very confident in my abilities but I'm not useless."

That was noteworthy. Kouda had already asserted himself as more than just some bystander despite his Quirk's extreme disadvantage. To be a Hero, adapting to the situation is a requirement and if Kouda could prove himself here, they'd stand a better chance than Tokoyami had initially hoped for.

"Hey, you kids look a little lost," One of the guys said, stepping towards them, arms outstretched. He held a pair of blades in his hands and looked ready to slice. "How about I help you out?"

"Stay back," Tokoyami warned. One warning. That was all they'd get. "One step closer and you really will regret it."

The figure turned to the others, a demented smile plastered across his face, "Look at this kid, all high and mighty." The man turned back to Tokoyami, a crazed glint in his eyes. "When I cut open your insides, then you'll be the one regretting it."

He took a step forwards and Tokoyami could only watch as the rest, suddenly spurned on, began to charge towards the two of them.

"Now Dark Shadow!" He shouted, summoning his Quirk from his cloak to slam forwards, shaped like a fist, towards the bladed man. With a yelp, the man was forced backwards, slamming into the wall of a building behind them with a crack.

"This kid's got a fast Quirk," One of the others called out, Tokoyami catching on to a slight sense of disbelief in his voice. Had they not known about their Quirks before hand then? These guys all seemed threatening but if they had no idea what they were up against, they'd have the element of surprise. "Charge at em! He can't hit us all!"

The entire group of fighters swarmed the pair, Tokoyami becoming acutely aware of just how confined he and Kouda were in the street. "Dark Shadow, watch my sides!" He called out, deciding to take the fight to them.

Bursting forwards, he moved towards the man in front of him, a guy with what seemed like razor sharp hair, readying his fists beneath his cloak to fight. The man swung his hair towards Tokoyami, the boy ducking to the left side, feeling a slight slice across his cheek. As it stung, he became very aware that this was a real battle. That had been a serious injury and any mistakes could be fatal.

He felt Dark Shadow slam into another of the assailants, knocking them out with relative ease before moving on to the next. Kouda had found himself in a fist fight with one of the smaller ones, a girl with some serious brass knuckles. But as Tokoyami glanced back at his friend, he was surprised to see that Kouda was actually keeping pace with the girl, blocking many of her punches from connecting.

Kouda slammed his fist forwards in a karate chop motion, smacking into the girl's neck, her eyes widening as she fell to the ground, incapacitated. Kouda had managed to hit a pressure point that knocked her out cold. That was a seriously impressive move. "Tokoyami!" Kouda called out in horror, looking towards him.

"Right, this guy," He thought, ducking away from the assailant's razor hair once again. He slammed his fist forwards, smacking into the man with some force. But his physical strength wasn't exactly up there and hand to hand combat wasn't his strong suit. "Dark Shadow! I've stunned him, attack!"

"On it! This guy's no match for me!"

Dark Shadow roared, flitting from the guy he was currently tangling with to Tokoyami's target in the blind of an eye. The man with the dangerous hair was overwhelmed instantly, Dark Shadow slamming him straight into one of the buildings, shattering glass and concrete as the ground started to shake.

"Kouda, we need to move!" He quickly shouted, whirling away from where Dark Shadow had thrown the thug. "That building's coming down!"

Kouda meekly nodded, looking up at the building that had become unstable in the fight, Tokoyami sprinting away from it without even looking back to see where the villains were. If they were crushed here, it wouldn't really matter how many villains they defeated.

"In there," Kouda whispered as Tokoyami got close to him, pointing to one of the abandoned buildings across the square. As long as they got in there without being seen, they'd be able to rest for a few moments. "Use the smoke," Kouda explained, pointing to the falling building.

"Right," Tokoyami nodded, pushing forwards towards the center of the square they had found themselves in, trying to steady their speed as the building collapsed to the ground behind them, smoke and rubble spewing everywhere like an urban volcano. Kouda grabbed Tokoyami's hand, pulling him forwards now, a grim determination on the usual timid boy's face as Dark Shadow protected them from the various bits of concrete that had begun flying in their direction.

"In here!" Kouda shouted, letting go of Tokoyami before diving through an open window of a convenience store. Tokoyami joined him, launching through the open window and into the building, darting behind the main counter before any of the villains would be able to see him.

And there, they breathed a sigh of relief, safe, for the moment, from the villains that had been outside. With the building collapsed, he could hear the cries of villains calling to regroup and back off. They'd probably be a lot more hesitant now the two of them had shown they wouldn't go down so easily.

"We probably have a few minutes before they figure out where we are," He whispered to Kouda. "Dark Shadow, try and keep watch, stay out of sight."

"Already on it," Dark Shadow replied, floating off into a dark space in the store where it could peer out into the city.

"You didn't need to grab me you know," Kouda muttered, looking at Tokoyami with a rather concerned gaze. He was still trembling.

"Of course I did," Tokoyami replied, giving a reassuring smile to Kouda, squeezing his arm with fondness. "You're my friend. I'm not going to let you go it alone."

But Kouda wasn't convinced, his face scrunching up, frowning in annoyance at those words. "It was stupid. You could have been save with Shouji."

Being berated by Kouda for his actions, that was a new experience. Sure, he had acted rashly when it came to going after Kouda, but had he not been there, Kouda may not have been able to escape all of those goons on his own. He was a hero right and heroes protected their friends, regardless of the danger. That was why he even got into U.A. with the rescue points he got for doing the same thing for Shouji.

"I can handle myself," Kouda shakily muttered unconvincingly.

"It's not wrong to need help, Kouda," He replied.

"But it's wrong to always need help. If I want to be a Hero, I need to stop relying on you," He softly said, no hint of malice in his voice as he explained his thoughts. "I entered U.A. to become more confident. But..." He paused, playing with the soles of his shoes as he looked nervously away. "Today... I felt like I did back in Junior High."

Tokoyami's ears perked up at this, giving Kouda a stare that he hoped suggested that he continue with his story. It was rare that Kouda would talk about himself, what with the boy preferring to sign with most of the class aside from a select few. And even though he talked with Shouji and Tokoyami, it was never for any long periods of time. One conversation every now and then.

But as Tokoyami listened to his voice, he could hear a spark of determination, with that shy nature being drowned out by his thoughts. "I was bullied a lot," He admitted, his eyes glancing to his arms worryingly. "I hid from people and only talked with animals. My Quirk meant I didn't need to talk with people if I didn't want to... But..."

His voice trailed off, eyes beginning to water. Tokoyami, without thinking, pulled the tall boy closer, wrapping an arm around his back and pulling him close. "Hey, it's alright Kouda. I'm your friend, I won't judge you or force you to say anything." And that was the truth.

"N-No, I need to explain," Kouda grimaced, wiping away the tears with his sleeve before giving a shaky grin to his friend. "Because I don't talk to people much, big crowds overwhelm me." It seemed like such a simple fear, but the way that Kouda had said it, voice cracking as he mentioned the crowds, it all was tough for Tokoyami to hear. "And today I just- I... It was too much. Too much too quickly."

"I could have invited you outside with me and Shouji," Tokoyami sighed. "You'd have liked it. We found this wooden platform in one of the trees. It's big enough for like four or five us."

"It's not your fault, you know," Kouda stated. "Even if you'd been there, there was no way you would have known how I'd react..."

"Kouda..." He sighed. "I know it's stupid of me to feel guilty. I know. I just... If I'd known..."

"You didn't though," Kouda replied. "Shouji said you were pretty intense about this sort of stuff."

Tokoyami raised a brow, caught completely off guard at that. "Shouji said what?" He spluttered.

Kouda's cheeks flushed a bright red at this, a hand already at his mouth in utter embarrassment. "I mean, I-"

"Kouda."

"F-Fine. We were talking the other day while you were studying," The quiet boy admitted sheepishly. "We were just talking about school and stuff and you came up."

"I hope it wasn't anything too bad," He chuckled. Although in the distance he could hear the voices of the villains beginning to quieten down. He had a feeling this conversation would be ending soon.

"No! No... I mean, I was talking about how cool you were and Shouji said, 'He's my closest friend and I can feel his intensity for everything he does.' He mentioned that you treat your friendships importantly," Kouda explained, rubbing the back of his head with a rather flushed grin. "He really worries about you sometimes."

Thinking back to that moment just twenty minutes before, Tokoyami could definitely see what Kouda meant about his friend. Shouji had been desperate to keep him safe from the dark mist and had even gone out of his way to try and help him. "Okay, maybe he has a small point," He begrudgingly admitted. He had raced after Kouda, despite logic, to keep him out of harm's way after his emotions had gotten the better of him.

"You should try talking to him about things. He's really good to vent to."

"I'll tr-

"Villains approaching! You need to move, now!"

"Already?" He hissed, already pushing himself away from the counter towards the backdoor into the storeroom, motioning for Kouda to follow quickly. "We need a plan! We can't fight them all at the same time again."

"I-I could bait them," Kouda exclaimed quietly, his trembling features giving way to a confident stare as he looked towards the front of the store.

"I couldn't ask you to do that, Kouda!" He hissed back, hearing noise out in the streets as the voices of the villains began to close in on their location.

"I'm not asking," Kouda replied, no hint of hesitation in his voice. Kouda's eyes looked down at the ground, right fist clenching as he turned to look back at Tokoyami, his expression confident and ready. Whatever trace of timid Kouda there was had vanished for the time being and for the first time, Tokoyami realized just why Kouda had been accepted into U.A.

"You really look like a Hero," He stated plainly, Kouda's determination turning right back to shyness at the compliment. "Alright, I'm trusting you Kouda."

"But what about you? Can your Quirk take out all these villains if I lead them in here?" Kouda asked.

"Yes. Kouda, I am about to tell you something I haven't told anyone. I trust you and this information should ease your fears," He explained, taking a deep breath as he summoned Dark Shadow to him. "My Quirk, it is more powerful in the darkness. It can hard to control it's power, but in cloudy or stormy weather, it's a perfect balance. So Dark Shadow should have a massive power boost in this place."

Kouda gave a small nod. He'd understood at least. "I won't tell anyone about that, Tokoyami."

"Thank you. It's not something I wish to share with the class just yet," He admitted, looking down. Until he could control Dark Shadow in the darkness, he didn't want people knowing his strengths and weaknesses before he had a chance to control it himself. It was a simple reason, but Kouda had trusted him with that story about his past, so he knew he could trust Kouda in return. "Now then, shall we go?"

It was a simple hit and run plan, picking off the Villains one by one, but it was a plan they were determined to make work.

It started with Kouda racing out into the streets where the villains were. He'd make sure to stay hidden until most of the villains were out of sight and only appear when he'd only attract one or two of them. When they saw him, he'd lead them into one of the city's alleyways, waiting in the middle for them ready to fight in case anything went wrong.

Then as they'd get close, Tokoyami would swoop in from the sides with Dark Shadow, knocking them out as quickly as possible with one quick swipe. Thanks to the cloudy weather, Dark Shadow's power was extremely enhanced, able to deal crushing blows against opponents without problem. Although he could feel, deep in his soul, that his Quirk was trying to wrestle that power from him.

Something that he had neglected to mention to Kouda was that he could completely lose control if under the wrong circumstances. It was something he'd rather avoid as losing control meant that his Quirk would become unstable and dangerous to those around him. The last thing he needed was someone like Shouji finding out. And if he was around classmates... "That would never happen, I wouldn't let it," He thought to himself as he gave Kouda a thumbs up at the third group of villains they'd taken down.

"That makes six, right. We just need to thin their numbers and hold out until help arriv-"

Suddenly, vibrations rocked the city, Tokoyami tripping forwards into Kouda with a thud as they both quickly scrambled to keep themselves upright. Whatever had rocked the arena had then fallen silent, the sudden quake stopping as quickly as it had started.

"What on earth was that?" He asked, eyes glancing around at the city. And then he saw it, clear as day just a street away. "K-Kouda, the exit!"

The other boy span around, noticing it as well. A large set of double doors that stood out among the grey dome with their bright blue shine, about the same size as the main doors that had led into the USJ. They had taken care of most of the villains so the run to the door would be nothing problematic or crazy. This was their chance!

"Come on!" Tokoyami dashed forwards, Kouda right behind him as they launched their way towards the doors. If they could just meet up with the rest of the class, the Villains would have no chance. He only hoped that the rest of the groups were alright. Where had they all ended up... Had anyone...?

"Don't think about that," He thought to himself grimly, suppressing his fear as he felt Dark Shadow stir from his whirling emotions. The last thing he needed was to lose control when it wasn't night time.

"Oh no you boys don't," He heard a voice suddenly cry out, head turning to see a familiar set of razor hair whipping towards Kouda faster than they could blink.

"Dark Shadow!" He shouted panicked, launching his Quirk from his cloak as fast as he could. But this time, something was different. Dark Shadow split itself into many sharp slices of darkness, sliding through the air towards the Villain with an intensity and a ferocity that he had never felt before.

And it shook him to the core.

He felt Dark Shadow connect, slicing into the Villain without remorse and he could feel his anger beginning to get the better of him. He felt himself kneeling down, breathing heavy as sweat began to drop from his forehead, mixing with the rain on his feathers. And for a short, horrible moment, his body was suddenly no longer his own.

Until he felt a hand gingerly rest itself on his shoulder, making him shudder in surprise. He turned, seeing Kouda looking extremely pale.

"I-Is that what you meant by hard to control?" He whispered somberly, his hand trembling as it rested on Tokoyami's shoulder.

Breathing heavily, Tokoyami could only look at the ground in absolute horror. He'd almost lost it. That loss of control... "Y-Yes," He replied, his voice cracking under the strain of the emotions that had begun to crash down around him. "Oh god, I'm sorry."

He felt Kouda's arms wrap around him, pulling him in for a sudden hug, unable to even react to the action, being too shaken up to even say a word. Instead, he let it happen, allowing Kouda to rub his back and calm him down as he tried to focus on his emotions.

Deep breaths. Inhale... Exhale... Focus on your goal. Escape. Survive. Don't let them hurt Kouda.

"Okay, I'm fine," He choked out, Kouda shakily pulling the shaken boy to his feet. "Thank you," He spluttered out quietly, unable to keep his voice level and calm.

"It's alright Tokoyami," He heard Kouda whisper. "You're fine, we did it, okay."

"Y-Yeah, we did it," He repeated, giving a shaky smile to his friend as an attempt to reassure him.

"C'mon, let's go," Kouda said, now grasping Tokoyami's arm to pull him along. "We need to find the others."

"K-Kouda. Please. Can we keep this between us?" He asked suddenly, almost whining out the order. The last thing he wanted was for the rest of the class to know about his moment of weakness and more than that, he didn't want his teachers finding him to be a liability. He... He needed to rest. And he needed to get out of USJ first to do that.

"It'll be our secret," Kouda whispered with a smile.

A/N - What a weird chapter. I wanted to add more action but given it's Kouda and Tokoyami, plus just the few scenes of them in the anime, it's clear that the hit and run tactic was the main source of action. And I thought that might get repetitive.

Poor razor hair guy. He really got the short end of the stick with Tokoyami flipping out. But I thought this would be a good time to show that he's not got complete control. I think it'd be interesting to see how it affects him when fighting other students in the tournament arc and how he can move past it (Let's just ignore the School Trip Arc. I cannot wait for that, that's when I can start getting deep into my own story).

We need more Tokoyami, Kouda interaction fics. They are so adorable! My favourite platonic ship :3