Okay, so I've been spending the past couple weeks binging the My Hero Academia dub for literally the first time in my life, and oh my god it's so good. Frankly, I don't know why I waited until now to do it.
Anyway, I really wanted to do something related to Fumikage Tokoyami, who is as of now my favorite character in the series, and I think I've finally figured out what to do. So, enjoy! And please tell me what you guys think! I really appreciate the feedback.
In a world where eighty percent of the people have some form of special ability, or "quirk", the hero business has exploded in popularity, with them becoming a perfectly normal part of society.
However, recently, things started to change. After the incident in Hosu City, the ideology of the Hero Killer Stain started to travel, and the image of heroes began to change.
It also didn't help that villains attacked a secret forest training ground where the students of the infamous UA High School were, leaving many grievously injured and the reputation of UA tarnished.
Two days have passed since the incident, and most of the injured students were still recovering in a hospital nearby, spread throughout the rooms on one of the floors.
One of those students was named Fumikage Tokoyami, a teenager with the head of a bird who had just woken up from a nightmare, a film of sweat on his body.
Tokoyami sat on his bed as he breathed heavily, the room quiet thanks to the fact that he ended up getting lumped in with some of the students who were knocked out by the poisonous gas during the attack.
While Tokoyami was always one to appreciate a bit of peace and quiet, this was one of the worst times for him not to have anything to keep him distracted, his thoughts consumed by the fact that he let Dark Shadow go berserk.
While he was well aware ever since he first awakened to his Quirk that Dark Shadow was at his strongest when it was night time, he never could have imagined that it would get that far.
Tokoyami couldn't suppress a shiver, his eyes screwing shut as he remembered the feeling of his body being engulfed by the massive form of Dark Shadow, his struggles in vain as he was carried along the forest.
If it wasn't for Midoriya's quick thinking to lead him to where Todoroki and Bakugo could use their Quirks to emit light…frankly, he didn't want to think of the possibilities.
Leaning back, Tokoyami rested his head against the pillow, watching the skyline outside while he tried his best not to have a breakdown.
Sure, he was alone where no one could see him, but he'd always been one who'd been cool and collected, who'd always managed to keep his emotions within.
But this? This would be something that could even give the legendary All Might at least some pause.
Sighing heavily, Tokoyami considered trying to get some sleep, but he heard footsteps, and as he turned around he was met with the somewhat subdued face of Denki Kaminari, a fellow classmate of his.
"Yo, Tokoyami!" he said, trying to remain positive despite the funk they were all in. "If you're up for it, Kirishima wants everyone in 1-A to meet up so we can discuss something."
Kaminari's expression faltered, though, when he noticed the state that Tokoyami was in.
"Hey, you okay there, Tokoyami? You don't look too hot."
"I'm fine." said Tokoyami, looking away from Kaminari so he couldn't see how clearly not okay he was.
Kaminari didn't look convinced, but as much as he wanted to try and get an answer out of him, everyone else was waiting for him to see if he would be able to get Tokoyami to come along.
So, with a heavy sigh, he decided it was best to move on.
"Do you still want to come along to the meeting? It's alright if you want to stay here."
"No, that's alright. I'm coming."
Although still not in the best mental state, Tokoyami was admittedly a little curious as to what Kirishima had in mind, so he pulled himself out of his bed, glancing at the still as of yet immobile students nearby before following him out of the room.
Kaminari led the way as they quietly roamed through the halls of the hospital, eventually entering a room to find most of Class 1-A there.
As Tokoyami stepped into the room, he was immediately greeted with a smile from Izuku Midoriya, the actual occupant of said room and the only one still in bed due to his more grievous injuries. The smile quickly faltered though when he saw the look on Tokoyami's face.
Before he could try to ask about it, though, they were interrupted when Eijiro Kirishima spoke up.
"So, is that everyone?" he asked.
"Not everyone." said Kaminari. "Hagakure, Jiro and Yaomomo weren't up to it."
Tokoyami couldn't help but be a bit puzzled, wondering just why those three chose not to join them.
"Well, anyway, as much as it pains me to admit it, we can't really dwell on who's not joining us, because we have a much bigger problem on our hands." said Kirishima.
"This is about Kacchan, right?" asked Izuku, piping up from his seat on the bed.
"Right on the money, Midoriya!" said Kirishima, attempting to add a little pep to the proceedings, only to find everyone around him depressed.
Clearing his throat, Kirishima decided it was best to move on from the bad attempt at a joke.
"Anyway, Todoroki and I have been talking, and we realize that we can't wait for the pro heroes to save Bakugo. There's no telling how long he'll last before they either kill him or something else bad happens."
"What are you trying to say?" asked Tenya Iida, the class's representative.
"What we're saying is that we should try to rescue Bakugo ourselves." said Shoto Todoroki.
There were murmurs coming from the rest of the students in the room, but the first words came from an unexpected source.
"Are you crazy?" said Iida, stepping to the front of the group to address Todoroki. "We shouldn't be rushing out trying to rescue Bakugo ourselves! We should be leaving it to the pro heroes, ones who actually have experience in the matter!"
"So, are you saying we should just let him stay there and risk him getting killed?"
"I'm not saying that at all! It's just way too dangerous for us to rush out while we're all still as injured as we are."
Both Todoroki and Iida continued to trade words, each arguing the merits of what to do about Bakugo. While they were managing to keep their voices level for the moment, Tokoyami could clearly tell that it was starting to get more heated.
So, as much as he wanted to stay out of their business, wanting to avoid being reminded that he would have suffered the same fate as Bakugo if it wasn't for Mezo Shoji's quick reflexes.
Speaking of Shoji, the multiple-limbed teenager stepped into his view, and as they traded looks, Tokoyami gave a small nod, silently saying thanks as he realized that he hadn't done so yet.
Despite most of his actual face being covered by a mask, Tokoyami could tell from his eyes that he appreciated the gesture.
Unfortunately, the moment between the two was shattered when Kirishima decided to step in on Todoroki's side, and in a bout of annoyance he gritted his teeth, stomping forwards.
"That's enough!"
All three Hero Course students immediately fell silent at Tokoyami's words, watching the bird-headed boy as he silently seethed.
Eventually, though, Tokoyami did manage to calm himself down, letting out a breath before he finally spoke again.
"I'd suggest that you three calm yourselves before we attract the attention of the hospital staff and get ourselves kicked out."
Those words seemed to have done the trick, as Kirishima and Iida looked to have been cowed, while Todoroki's expression remained neutral, not giving away what he was truly thinking.
"Now let's discuss this civilly, alright?" said Tokoyami, now less annoyed although he did still give a pointed look to the three of them as he mentally repeated his mantra to calm his racing heart.
"You're right." said Iida, his eyes closed for a moment as he collected his thoughts. "We did let it get away for us for a little bit there."
Although he wanted to point out that they did in fact let it get too heated, Tokoyami remained silent, not wanting them to hear the shaking in his voice considering he could feel Dark Shadow's presence in the back of his mind.
"So, moving on…" said Kirishima, wanting to drop the subject before things got too awkward. "Todoroki and I are planning on going out to rescue Bakugo tonight."
"And how are you planning on doing that?" asked Ochaco Uraraka, finally speaking up.
Tokoyami looked at Kirishima, expecting a pause from him considering he doubted he would have any idea where Bakugo would even be.
He was surprised, though, to find a confident smile on Kirishima's face, his sharp teeth on full display.
"That's easy." he said. "I heard Yaoyorozu talking to All Might about a tracker she managed to put on one of those monsters the villains had with them with the help of one of those guys from 1-B. She said she was going to create a tracker for them to use to find Bakugo."
"So, what you're saying is that we ask her to create another one for you guys to use?"
"Yeah, exactly!" said Kirishima excitedly. "We can use it to find Bakugo and bust him out of there, hopefully without even needing to fight!"
Despite Kirishima's confidence, Tokoyami could tell that not a lot of people were convinced about the feasibility of doing something as crazy as this. Frankly, he wasn't convinced, either, but he felt it wasn't really his place to speak up after what he said earlier.
"So, what do you guys say?" continued Kirishima. "Are any of you in?"
He looked around the room excitedly, waiting to see how many would be willing to join the rescue mission.
However, as Tokoyami looked around the room, curious to see who was willing, it didn't seem like too many were interested.
Yuga Aoyama and Tsuyu Asui looked like they were most clearly against the plan, although the latter always seemed to have the same blank expression on, so it was hard to tell for sure.
Kirishima seemed to notice as well, looking noticeably disappointed.
He turned towards Todoroki, plastering a smile on his face.
"Well, I guess a smaller crowd's better right?" he said, trying to look on the bright side. "We won't stand out as much!"
"I suppose so." said Todoroki, his expression downcast.
Tokoyami couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for the two of them. He could see their reasoning as to why they would need to rescue Bakugo as soon as they possibly could, but at the same time he could also see Iida's point that it was way too dangerous for them to do so, especially in the state they were in so soon after the training camp incident.
What was curious to the bird-headed teen, though, was that as he looked down at where Midoriya was sitting in his bed, he noticed that he looked to be lost in thought, a pained look on his face.
Practically everyone in the class knew of the…complicated relationship that Midoriya and Bakugo had, so seeing that look, as well as the look of anguish that he had back when Bakugo first disappeared through that portal was quite jarring to Tokoyami.
Unfortunately, he didn't really get much of a chance to follow up on it, as a doctor entered the room, pausing when he noticed the large group congregated inside.
Clearing his throat, the doctor lightly threaded his way through the crowd before standing at the bed next to where Izuku was sitting.
"I apologize if I was interrupting anything, but I must ask that you all give us some privacy. I wish to speak to Mr. Midoriya privately."
There was a small pause as everyone was still registering the new arrival, but they quickly realized what was going on and began slowly filing out, some quiet conversation going on between various members of the class.
However, just as Tokoyami was about to head out himself, he stopped when he heard his name being called.
"Tokoyami?"
Turning around, he was surprised to find that it was in fact Midoriya who was speaking, his vibrant green eyes staring straight at him.
"Y-yes?" he asked, mentally wincing a bit at the failure to keep his voice from shaking a bit.
"Would you mind coming back here a little later? I wanted to talk to you about something."
Tokoyami was admittedly caught off guard by Midoriya's question, the teenager not sure what to say at first.
However, despite his wariness about what the green-haired boy had in mind, he found no reason to refuse.
"Of course. I'll be by later."
Izuku's expression softened, nodding before turning his attention to the doctor in front of him.
As for Tokoyami, he headed out of the room, retracting his steps through the hallways towards his room.
However, as he walked, he could feel Dark Shadow's presence once more, wanting to come out.
"Not now!" said Tokoyami quietly, his voice coming out in a loud whisper.
His arms went around his midsection as he walked, his nerves fraying a bit as his thoughts veered wildly between wanting to avoid letting Dark Shadow out and also worrying that he was being too harsh.
Eventually, he came to a stop inside his room. After quickly shutting the door for some privacy, Tokoyami leaned against it, only for his legs to quickly give out from under him as he slid down into a sitting position.
Tokoyami's arms quickly went around his head, his legs pressing up against his body as he curled into a ball, shaking.
There were a few moments of silence as Tokoyami sat on the floor, but it wasn't long before a new presence entered into the room as Dark Shadow materialized out of him.
Unlike other times when Dark Shadow was boisterous and ready for anything, the phantom actually looked surprisingly timid, worried as he watched Tokoyami on the floor.
Unsure about what to do, Dark Shadow placed a shadowy claw on Tokoyami's shoulder, only for him to roughly pull it away before returning to his original position.
"Please…just leave me alone." he said.
Although wanting nothing more than to try and convince him to trust him, Dark Shadow obeyed, disappearing into Tokoyami with only a quiet "I'm sorry" in his head as an acknowledgement.
As for Tokoyami himself, he was able to calm himself down enough now that Dark Shadow wasn't in the back of his mind.
Standing up, Tokoyami quickly wiped his eyes, only just now realizing that they were wet.
His movements were stiff as he returned to his bed, wanting to project strength and confidence despite being the only person in the room still conscious.
Despite his best efforts, though, he ended up just awkwardly collapsing into his bed, not even caring enough to get under the covers.
Tokoyami spent the next hour or so alternating between staring at the ceiling and the window to the outside, switching off when he got bored of watching one or the other. He would have been sleeping, but with the episode he just had not too long ago, he felt that he really wasn't going to be able to sleep.
So, his alone time was mostly spent in an aimless haze, not sure what else he could keep himself occupied with. To be honest, if anyone walked into the room at that moment, there was a pretty good chance that they would initially think that the entire room was knocked out instead of just a majority.
Eventually, though, despite not giving him an exact time to return, Tokoyami felt it was probably the best time for him to head back to Midoriya's room to see what he wanted to talk about.
So, reluctantly, he pulled himself out of his bed, stumbling slightly before he managed to pull himself together.
After brushing his hands along his torso in a vain attempt to straighten out his wrinkled hospital garments, Tokoyami took the first few steps before stopping as he felt a certain presence around him.
"I thought I told you to leave me alone." he said quietly, quickly figuring out that Dark Shadow was making another attempt to communicate with him.
Dark Shadow's presence quickly disappeared.
Despite the pang of guilt at how he was treating Dark Shadow, Tokoyami was honestly frightened at the incredible amount of power that the shadowy monster had if the cards were right, and even though Midoriya was able to turn it into a slightly more positive outcome, Tokoyami wasn't in anywhere near of a hurry to try that again.
After taking a few seconds to collect his thoughts, Tokoyami sighed heavily before starting to walk again, heading out of his room and back down the same hallways he'd went down earlier while following Kaminari to Izuku's room.
This time, though, the hallways were much quieter, as it was later at night, and most of the doctors who were here during regular business hours were replaced by a slightly smaller staff for the overnight shifts.
Tokoyami thankfully was able to get to Izuku's room without any interruptions, but as he came up to the open doorway he stopped for a moment, listening in to see if anyone's in the room so he didn't step in to something private.
Thankfully, there didn't seem to be anything going on in there, and as he glanced in, the only person he could see was Midoriya, his arms almost complately wrapped up in gauze as he watched the sunset in his window.
Letting in a breath to calm his nerves, Tokoyami knocked on the door, hoping that what Midoriya had to say wasn't going to be too hard to handle.