Another day as usual, sitting in the classroom of Class 1-A waiting for classes and training to commence. Homeroom was always a pleasant time of day, the period in which the sun was rising, a quiet late-summer wind blowing into the room through the open windows. The forests bordering the U.A. grounds. Each desk was perfectly kept clean as the students arrived, some energetic, some drowsy.
This year has been adventurous however, and it came with cost. The summer was over, this class was attacked at their summer getaway by a group known as the League of Villains. This League attacked them shortly after their first semester started in April as well, at a training site known as the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ for short. Two days after the attack on the Forest Camp, All Might himself, who so many saw as the most powerful and most inspirational hero in the world, was forced to step down from his mantle and retire from the life of Heroes. The effects of this decision sent waves all over the world, and uproars erupted globally. Talk shows, news stations, podcasts, everyone was shocked by All Might's "defeat" at the hands of this unforeseen villain, All For One. No one knew the man's name of course, but it was a shocker nonetheless.
Despite the shocking events of the summer, life at U.A. continues with heads held high. U.A. has been transformed into a boarding school with the students living in dorms. From now on classes lived together like family, and Class 1-A was no different. Today they took their seats as their second semester began, the sun growing brighter as it peaked over the horizon. Eijiro Kirishima walked in bumping Katsuki Bakugo on the shoulder, the latter showing an irritated and disgruntled stare. Mina Ashido was as talkative and cheerful as always as her delightful laugh echoed on the walls with Ochaco Uraraka. Denki Kaminari was sitting on a desk once more trying to show how "charming" he was in front of Kyoka Jiro, and the latter showed a face of apathy, and Hanta Sero chuckled over Kaminari's failed attempts. Izuku Midoriya was writing in his book as always and Tsuyu Asui took a peek inside, asking him a few questions, much to Midoriya's delight. Yet there was one person sitting quietly. He was holding his head, trying to ease a headache, but it was slowly growing worse. Something was wrong, this migraine wasn't some random incident, it's happened before. The pain in his head grew as he saw water, gray water in a bland… lifeless world. Crows littered the sands of this place as the waves continued to crash against the shore. Dolphins, crabs, silverfish, all of them laid on the sands dead, with strange cords attached to their bodies leading back into the ocean. And in the distance, someone was standing on the water, a being beyond understanding. This student lowered his head so no one would notice, he closed his eyes begging for the pain to stop, but it only grew stronger.
"Hey." Someone said. "Hey it's me."
The student opened his eyes, the pain vanished almost instantly as he looked upward. Sweat was falling down his face.
"Are you alright Tokoyami?" Shoto Todoroki asked as he took his seat behind the boy.
Fumikage Tokoyami, the crow-headed boy of Class 1-A. He was always a quiet person but regardless of that nature, he still cared deeply for his friends. His eccentric tastes in archaic and darkness related concepts was always… a trait that set others off slightly, but even with that, he was still a friend to nearly everyone. He looked at his friend, someone whose hair was split down the middle in bangs. Todoroki's right side was white, and the left a crimson red. His most distinguishing trait of course being his red scar over his left eye, something he would live with for the rest of his days.
"Y-yes Todoroki I'm… fine…" He muttered.
"You sure? You want me to get Mr. Aizawa?" Todoroki asked once more.
"Really, I'm fine," Tokoyami replied. "I appreciate your concern, but I'll endure."
"If you really think so…" Todoroki said as he straightened his posture. "If anything comes up you should say something at least."
Tokoyami did not answer, and simply turned around facing the front of the class. Todoroki tilted his head in concern, but even then he could see that his friend wanted silence. He simply took a journal out and kept still, looking at his left hand as he always did since the Sports Festival earlier that year.
"GOOD MORNING EVERYONE! PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS, HOMEROOM IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!" Ida roared.
"Morning." Todoroki and Tokoyami said quietly.
"Hey class pres, you're the only one standing as usual." Jiro joked, causing several of her peers to chuckle. Ida lowered his head.
"Yet again I've been called out, I'm such an embarrassment."
"What?! No no she was just joking!" Midoriya cried.
There they were, Midoriya and Ida just having each other's backs even during the most miniscule and light-hearted moments, yet it was something Tokoyami enjoyed to see. Deep down, they both had good hearts. He glanced to the right as Asui sat talking to Shoji and Hagakure, and in that moment he felt a happiness boil inside of him. He smiled under his yellow beak, something that was rare for him, but at the end of the day what mattered was that he was surrounded by his friends.
"So what do you think we're gonna do today?" Asui asked. "You think it has to do with our Licenses?"
"Maybe, we worked hard to get these," Hagakure replied. "My parents were so happy when they saw that I passed!"
"So were mine, we're really gonna be Heroes too," Shoji added. "We just have to keep moving forward."
Tokoyami smiled, and looked at his desk as he crossed his arms once more.
"Were you having that dream again?" Todoroki asked as he leaned forward. "You said you had it at the camp, and again right before that rescue training we had last week."
Tokoyami froze, he grabbed his arms trying to ignore the question.
"Don't… tell anyone about it… please…" Tokoyami said quietly.
"I don't really know how much I can help if we don't tell someone about it." Todoroki stated in a quiet and monotone voice.
"I told you I'll be okay, more importantly maybe I should help you," Tokoyami stated firmly. "You just seem dejected after the License Exam, you're still upset about failing."
Todoroki looked at him with widened eyes, his gray and turquoise irises shining in the lights, and then he lowered his head and leaned back. Tokoyami grunted and lowered his own head.
"My apologies…" He said calmly. "I didn't mean to rub salt in the wound…"
"No it's fine, I screwed up during the exam, this is something I have to take care of."
"Not alone,"
Todoroki looked up again at the crow, who smiled with confidence.
"That's what friends do for each other." He said.
Todoroki felt a cool wave wash over him, a feeling of ease and comfort. For so long he thought he could handle things on his own, until the Sports Festival. Until Midoriya truly opened his eyes and helped him see that his power… was his own. Since then, he's slowly opened up to the rest of his class, learning to really have friends, and how to be stronger.
"Thanks, I'll uh… come to you and Midoriya then." Todoroki said with a smile.
Tokoyami sighed with relief and turned hoping to see the rest of his class sitting near the window. He did so knowing that Mineta and Midoriya would be waiting, even with Bakugo as he always had that angered snarl in his voice. He turned to the left, wondering what stories they would have for today, and when he turned to greet them, he saw-
A Beach.
Tokoyami's heart raced as the waves crashed on the gray sand. His breathing became erratic and his vision blurred. He couldn't stop shaking and tried to look for someone, anyone in this foreboding world. He looked back at Todoroki, and yet his friend vanished.
"HELLO?!" He screamed. "TODOROKI?! MIDORIYA?! ASUI?!"
He looked down, and was horrified as his U.A. uniform was covered in a black tar, splattered on him from head to toe. Something else was there, something rotten and tainted, Tokoyami looked deep trying to understand this horror, and to his shock… he found blood stained on his hands with this tar. He collapsed trying to understand what was happening, his breathing became grunts of horror. He closed his eyes trying to focus, to find his place. He could hear something being torn apart in the distance, and it terrified him to the core.
Fumikage?! Hey Fumi, what's going on?
"D-Dark Shadow?!" Tokoyami cried in fear.
He opened his eyes, and was face to face with… a stranger. A woman with different colored eyes. Her left eye was black, but her right eye was white. Her red hair was tied in a braid and was slang over her right shoulder, and she gently grabbed Tokoyami's hand.
"It's just the Beach, looks like you're jumping here more frequently," she said. "So you have DOOMS as well?"
"Who are you?!" Tokoyami asked in a panic. "Wh-what is this place? What are these DOOMS you speak of- what happened to my friends?!"
"What?" The woman asked. "You're kidding right? You can't come here on your own without them."
"What are you talking about?!" Tokoyami asked with boiling frustration. "I'm asking you to answer my questions. What happened to my class? What is this place?"
The woman stood up and turned around. She was wearing a lab coat, a bright white coat who's tails flowed in the wind. She stared at the crashing waves for a moment, a large whale washing onto the gray shores.
"Huh… you're telling the truth, you truly have no idea what I'm talking about…" The woman spoke. "This is bad… no no no this wasn't supposed to happen!"
"Wait please!" Tokoyami cried. "Miss, please, what is going on? My patience only goes so far, answer my questions!"
The mysterious woman simply shook her head as she stared outward at the dead ocean, her heels digging into the gray sands as a crab washed onto the shore.
"This is the place between life and death…" said the mysterious woman.
"Between life and death?" Tokoyami asked.
He opened his mouth to ask another question, but it was in vain. This woman, this stranger who was somehow in this dead plane, turned and was wearing a golden mask. Suddenly, another man appeared behind her, a golden karambit knife in hand, and he grabbed her. He locked his left hand around her neck as she was paralyzed, and then… this man took the knife and raised it to her eyes.
"DARK SHADOW!" Tokoyami roared.
The dark creature emerged from his stomach as its claws sharpened.
"You made the wrong choice pal!" The creature screamed.
The man in the black cloak giggled with a sinister tone, and he looked through the eyes of a mask. A golden mask in the shape of the skull, one with an eerie smile as he held this woman hostage.
*Hehehhehehe* "Oooooh so it's yooooou that she was looking for…" He said.
"Me?" Tokoyami asked angrily. "What are you talking about?!"
"Well that's something you'll learn soon enough, you see a certain someone I know has been… looking into a few things, and myyyyy oh myy are you special…"
The man let go of the woman, and the latter suddenly froze in place struggling to breathe.
BLINK
Suddenly the man appeared behind Tokoyami and grabbed his chest from behind. Something changed, something felt off as this man simply sat and stayed still. This man just "jumped" from one place to another. A short orange blip appeared and the sound of someone… suffocating, using all of their power to breathe.
"Dark Shadow!"
The Quirk remained still as well, it tried to attack this hooded man, but groaned in pain.
"Fumi! I- can't… move!"
"Wellll shit, looks like I've got two birds and a stone…" the man said, creeping his way into Tokoyami's mind. "Never seen anyone with some bird head before. Judgin' by that frame I'd say you're some freakshow of a crow huh? In any case you really have no idea what's comin' do you kid? Well, it's bad luck to ruin a surprise, so it's probably best if I just… put a pin on this little talk."
"Wh-what do you want? Are you with the League?!" Tokoyami cried.
The man rubbed his mask on Tokoyami's shoulder and smelled him with a hard whiff.
"Oh… oh this League of Villains huh? No idea who they are… but hey… guess I can always find out… "
The man suddenly sniffed Tokoyami once more, and the latter tried to move. He felt this man rub his hand against his shoulder.
"And you've so many friends back home too…" The masked man chuckled. "Doesn't matter anyway, not when the Sixth Extinction is around."
The man let go of Tokoyami and the latter turned around ready to fight. However, the gold skull mask was simply floating in the air, much to the boy's confusion. It seemed to be floating innocently, and he tilted his head. He snapped his head around and realized the woman vanished without a trace, leaving him alone once more. Dark Shadow remained still, almost like it was pulling itself inward and out, trying to remain in this… world. Tokoyami looked at his Quirk, this "other self" that was tied to him, and he tried to step forward.
CLICK
Yet the bird turned left, and saw the man once more holding a gun to his head.
"Now be a good little boy and wake up for school."
The man pulled the trigger.
BLAST
"AHHH! AH!"
Tokoyami screamed as he yanked his body upward and felt sweat covering his body. He saw the bullet fire, he saw the ring of fire surrounding the barrel as that man pulled the trigger, but something is off. He woke up in a room, a small, dark room with nothing but a curved glass window blocking him from the outside. He looked around once more as he tried to understand just what was happening to him. He was breathing rapidly and felt sweat line the collar of his shirt.
Fumikage! Are you alright? Dark Shadow asked in Tokoyami's mind.
I'm… I think we're okay Dark Shadow… Tokoyami thought. Where are we now?
He took a moment to calm himself, he slowed his breathing and closed his eyes. He sat up on this bed and crossed his arms. His thoughts drifted to his friends, the faces of so many that gave him comfort, warmth… safety. He took several deep breaths as his mind learned to find peace in this strange and bizarre situation. Midoriya, Asui, Jiro, Shoji, Todoroki, Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, he thought of his closest friends in this darkest of nights… and he smiled.
But it was short lived, a series of notes suddenly rang out in the room.
D, A, A, F#
A low D and a low A, suddenly followed by a high octave A, and finished with an F# to balance the scales. Tokoyami opened his eyes as the room lit a mellow warm light, the song giving him a strange sense of ease. It sounded like a lullaby, as if a mother was singing to her baby. When Tokoyami looked in his reflection he noticed that he was mysteriously wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of slim athletic pants, and had bare feet. A door slid open as someone walked in, a teenager with a thin body frame. His skin was pale as his bright red and wavy hair was parted on the side, and was combed to the left. He was wearing a black sweatshirt and a pair of shorts. His legs were covered in black handprints as he slowly entered the room, his right eye was black, and his left eye was white.
"Hey Sis I got us a good delivery-" He said.
Yet he stopped short of his sentence once he laid eyes on the crow-headed boy. His eyes widened as he stared at this strange event, and Tokoyami was just as confused. He was stuck in this glass room with his hands pressed against the glass, trying to understand what was happening. So much happened in such a short span of time, it was too much to bear for a 15 year old boy in a world he knew nothing about. But what about this other person? A redhead who swiftly ran for a white wall, and grabbed some kind of device. However, Tokoyami knew immediately that this person grabbed a gun, it had some kind of stock attached, and the man pressed it against his right arm.
"Who are you?!" He screamed, however Tokoyami couldn't understand him.
"What?!" Tokoyami asked. "I can't understand you. What is this place? WHERE AM I?!"
The boy simply looked at him with his gun trained, never taking his eyes off for a moment. He suddenly flicked his left wrist and a blue light glowed. On his wrist was what looked like a pair of black hand cuffs attached to his arm. Suddenly, a holographic screen hovered in the air and said a single word, something that Tokoyami couldn't read.
TRANSLATING. A male and computerized voice rang out.
"Who are you?" The boy asked.
"Wha- I can understand you?" Tokoyami asked.
"My cufflinks are translating what I say in real-time, and my scan says you're Japanese," The boy said as he pointed the gun at the glass. "Now who are you? State your name and your organization."
"Please I don't know what's happening I just-"
"ANSWER ME! STATE YOUR NAME OR I'LL BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF!" The redheaded boy screamed.
"Okay! Okay!" Tokoyami cried as he raised his hands. "My name… *sigh* my name… is Fumikage Tokoyami. I'm a student at U.A. High School in Shizuoka and yes I'm Japanese… but I have no idea how I got here or why. And I don't belong to any organization!"
The boy walked closer to the glass, his eyes staring into Tokoyami's soul.
"I thought Japan was wiped off the map," he said. "Voidouts turned Kyushu and Hokkaido into craters."
"What are you talking about?!" Tokoyami demanded. "I was in my classroom just a few moments ago with my friends, we were about to start our second semester once we got our Provisional Licenses-"
"Provisional Licenses?" The boy asked. "What were you all trying to apply for some professions and carry on the so-called 'order' that exists?"
"What? No no! We were training to become Pro Heroes, to serve as the vanguard to society against Villains." Tokoyami explained in fear. The boy blinked in confusion, his pistol still trained.
"Heroes? Villains?" He asked. *Gah!* "Nevermind! Where's my sister?!"
"Your sister?" Tokoyami asked.
"Yeah, red hair like mine, braid over her shoulder?"
Tokoyami gasped. This gray and dead beach once more entered his mind, the woman he saw, the man in the mask…
"Wait, she's that woman I saw in that place!" He said.
"What?! What place?! WHERE IS SHE?!" The boy screamed.
"I don't know!" Tokoyami argued. "I was… in my classroom ready for class, I was… talking to a close friend about this dream I've experienced multiple times."
The boy in this room suddenly lowered his gun and took the clip from the hilt. He carefully placed the firearm in this large wall with a bright light, highlighting several objects, amenities, and suits. The boy then grabbed a chair and sat down right in front of the glass. He rested his elbows on his knees and stared at Tokoyami.
"What kind of dream were you having?" He asked calmly. He seemed to relieve himself of anger.
"I've had this dream that I'm staring at this body of water, I can't tell if it's a lake or maybe even the ocean," Tokoyami explained. "But something was wrong, the water and the shoreline were gray and… there was dead sea life everywhere."
"And then I saw the woman you described, red hair, braid, and she told me to just stay calm."
"You were on the Beach." The boy said.
Tokoyami grunted in confusion as the boy sat up, he placed his hand over his mouth and looked around. He flicked his left wrist again and pulled up a holographic screen.
"The Beach?" Tokoyami asked.
"Yeah, it's… something like Limbo, ever heard of it?" the boy answered. "It's this place that exists between our world, and the afterlife. But I don't get it, you were able to go there?"
"You make it sound like I was physically on this… 'Beach.'"
"Because you were," The boy said. "You were there because either you died or you…"
The boy stood up with shocked eyes.
"What's your DOOMS level?" He asked.
"Stop," Tokoyami said. "Your sister said the same thing to me on this… 'Beach.' She asked if I had DOOMS or whatever they're called, and then this man in a golden mask appeared and tried to kill her."
"WHAT?!" The boy screamed. "Higgs that son of a-"
"I take it you're acquainted?" Tokoyami asked.
The boy turned his head around and took off his sweatshirt, revealing a black t-shirt underneath, the same as Tokoyami's.
"That man is extremely dangerous, he does everything he can to spread chaos and just… fuck everything up for us."
"So he's a Villain then, and he's here? Wherever this place is?" Tokoyami asked.
*sigh* "So you really don't know anything?" The redhead asked. "So all the terms I've used; DOOMS, Beach, my cufflinks… you know nothing about any of these things?"
"No, not a single clue." Tokoyami answered.
"How old are you?" The boy asked.
"I'm 15, I turn 16 in October… if um… if you use months the same way I do."
"Huh…" The boy said. "We're the same age then."
This person slowly walked towards the door and pressed his cufflinks against the glass. A static, almost pixelated noise emanated into the air, and without warning the door opened. Tokoyami gasped and slowly moved toward the door, and eventually, he stepped out onto the soft matted floors in this room.
"Sorry for all the hostility," The boy said in a quiet tone. "My sister's always quarantined outsiders in case they're covered in chiralium."
"There's another term I don't understand." Tokoyami commented.
"Guess not," The boy said in a light-hearted voice. "Oh, hey sorry for acting like this right now, just… knowing that Saoirse vanished and suddenly you're sitting right where she disappeared has me on edge."
"I can't blame you there…" Tokoyami said in a guilt-ridden voice. "Saoirse is a nice name as well, I really have no idea why she was on this 'Beach' but… I'm hoping she's safe."
The boy looked at Tokoyami with honest eyes and shook his head.
"My name's Cathal, Cathal Summers." He said. "It's uh… nice to meet you Fumikage."
The two shook hands awkwardly after such a hostile confrontation, and then Cathal summoned a table from the ground. The mechanical sounds vibrated as a white table and two chairs appeared. The boys both took a seat and suddenly, two bowls spurt from the surface. Inside of them were rice, mixed vegetables, and chicken marinated in what looked like ponzu sauce.
"Figured you'd be hungry so I programmed the Room to make us some dinner." Cathal said.
"Oh… many thanks," Tokoyami replied.
Together they sat down and ate, and Tokoyami was absorbed in the flavor of the meal. He grabbed the chopsticks next to him and dug into his meal. He took bits of every morsel and brought them to the sides of his beak, and he smiled.
"This is delicious, did you make this?" he asked.
"No," Cathal said as he grabbed a fork. "The machines in the room prepare and cook everything, meanwhile I can focus on continuing my sister's research and get us supplies."
"What was your sister researching?" Tokoyami asked as he finished his bowl.
The air felt thin and clean as Cathal ate his meal, he quickly finished the bowl by leaning back and drinking every drip of sauce. He let out a sigh showing his satisfaction. Then, he flicked his wrist and a massive blue, holographic screen covered a blank wall.
"What I'm about to say stays between us okay?" Cathal asked. "You're… special, and you saw Saoirse on the Beach, so I'm trusting you… okay?"
"I promise, this stays between us." Tokoyami stated.
Cathal nodded and flicked his cufflinks, and the screen turned into a map of the local area.
"Right now we're settled in a bunker on the outskirts of Mirror Knot City, based in what used to be Albany, New York," He explained. "My sister and I both have DOOMS and with it she has the ability to 'jump' to places and come back here."
"Are you saying she could teleport?" Tokoyami asked.
"Well, yeah," Cathal said with a warm smile. "That's how she was able to go places without running into BTs or Timefall, and me well… I've spent all my time here until I became a Porter…"
"You're doing it again, using terms I'm not familiar with," Tokoyami commented as he grabbed a glass of water.
The raven-headed boy grabbed the water and attempted to drink the fluid, however, something was wrong. As he slowly leaned his head back he could feel the screeching sensation of his beak rubbing against the lip of the glass. He tried once more to drink, but again, the screeching and terrible sense of scratching on his beak returned. He snapped his eyes shut in pain and set the glass back on the table.
"What's wrong?" Cathal asked with worry.
"Forgive me..." Tokoyami groaned. "This is rather embarrassing to ask, but is there a straw I could use?"
"Oh, sure I have a few." Cathal replied.
The redhead flicked his left wrist once more, and a jingle sounded off in the room, echoing on the walls. It was a mellow and soft tone, a sound that warmed Tokoyami's heart for a brief moment. Soon after, a straw appeared from the bottom of the table, one made of metal, and Fumikage grabbed it. He set it into his water and bit the other end on the right side of his beak. He soon drank the water through the straw, taking large gulps into his body. After mere seconds, his glass was empty, and he released a large sigh.
"That was very refreshing, thank you for your hospitality Summers." He said.
"Oh it's fine," Cathal replied. "Wait, why are you calling me by my family name?"
"Oh, yes I forgot," Tokoyami replied. "Family and hierarchy are greatly important in our culture. Given names are reserved for... well I'm getting off topic. Apologies but I need to focus on the here and now."
Cathal grunted quietly and nodded, yet his eyes appeared to show slight irritation. Tokoyami simply looked away for a moment, staring at himself. He raised his arms slightly and stared at his strange uniform. He felt the soft fabrics of the floor caress his bare feet, the very strands cushioning his every move and filling him with comfort.
"So what exactly are these terms you've used? Chi-chrial, nevermind." Tokoyami said.
"Sorry, everyone knows what those things are, are you sure you don't know anything?"
"I'm certain of it, this… 'world' is something I'm still trying to understand, I've been here for a few minutes and I'm… I'm very confused, Summers."
"Okay sorry, anyway, Saoirse is a… scientist of sorts and she was trying to better understand DOOMS and the Beach. I don't really know the details but she thinks there's a way we can contact the outside world again!" Cathal said excitedly. "And based on what she showed me recently I believe her!"
"What happened?"
"Look at this map here," Cathal said as the map zoomed out revealing all of New York State. "At first Saoirse thought she could only 'jump' between the different camps I've visited but then she was able to jump all the way up to what used to be the Adirondack Mountains. But… now they're gone thanks to the voidouts…"
"So after traveling there, she started experimenting with her DOOMS and her own Beach, wanting to see how far she could 'jump.' But it wasn't until she saw someone else that could do it…"
"This person she saw was able to jump across the entire country."
Tokoyami froze as he listened to Cathal. The redheaded boy had this innocent energy about him that reminded the crow so much of Midoriya. He looked longingly at him and couldn't help but smile, his ruby red eyes trained on him like a true crow.
"Huh? Did I say something funny?" Cathal asked.
"No I'm… reflecting…" Tokoyami answered.
"That's… fine I guess but don't go dazing off on me!" Cathal said. "But… I guess if you're thinking of someone then it has to be from wherever you came from-"
Cathal suddenly stopped speaking and gasped.
"Your head!" He cried. "That explains everything!"
"Excuse me?" Tokoyami asked.
Cathal flicked his wrist once more and showed several graphs of… the planet Earth, galaxies, wormholes, and many more scientific anomalies.
"When we first discovered the Beach, we realized there's so much more out there than this broken God-awful country," Cathal explained. "I only know all of this because... let's just say someone my Sis knows theorized that the Beach can lead to other worlds, some we can't understand, and one of them being the realm of the dead."
"Go on…" Tokoyami said with piqued interest.
"Saoirse and I… we hate this place. This world we live in. So she started experimenting, researching if there was another place we could live, somewhere we could be safe and finally free of these... these things that roam around us. So she started using the Beach more and more, traveling there trying to find something."
"And… then all of the sudden you show up in the middle of her session…" Cathal finished.
"Th-that's not what happened for me!" Tokoyami stated. "As I stated I was in the middle of my class and then I was just… there…"
"Wait, you said a class right, we don't have classes here anymore. People aren't having kids these days… we've become so divided and lost…"
"Is that so? Are you saying… that we're the only ones our age?" Tokoyami asked.
"It's possible, but given how far apart everyone is I can't be sure. More importantly though you said where you came from sounds normal! That you had friends and a class too?! Saoirse was looking for somewhere for us to go… does that mean…?"
"Hold on Summers!" Tokoyami cried as Cathal started pacing back and forth. "Are you trying to tell me?"
"We're from different worlds?!" They both cried.
Such a theory must be tested, for what is a claim without evidence? It's nothing more than pure hearsay.
"Holy… th-that changes everything!" Cathal cried excitedly. "That means I can leave this hellhole!"
"Wait hold on a minute, that's if what we're saying is even true," Tokoyami argued. "I still have no idea how or why I'm here, it was a complete accident and it only occurred by complete chance. There has to be more to this. For all I know I could be in some distant future from where I was."
"What's your world like?!" Cathal asked cheerfully.
"Not so fast, I still have no idea where I am. If you're saying New York, then I'm assuming we're in the United States is that right?"
Cathal's energy drained from him as he took his seat again, his heterochromatic eyes glimmering in the light.
"Yeah… we're in what used to be America…" Cathal explained. "Well, I guess I owe you an explanation of everything, you're the stranger here and you're really lost…"
Tokoyami took a seat, but he moved his chair next to Cathal's.
"Can you please teach me about all of these… things you're telling me about?" He asked. "If there's anything I can do to help you, I will."
Cathal looked at Tokoyami with shocked eyes, and then he leaned back in his chair. He felt empowered, but also humbled to have someone to talk to. Someone who could be there with him…
"Okay, but in exchange I wanna know about where you come from too," He said.
Tokoyami pat him on the back.
"It's a deal then." He said.
"Great, before I start if you need to use the restroom then use it right there."
Cathal pointed at a large glass cylinder at the back of the room. There was a showerhead at on the ceiling and two switches, one with the letter H on the left, and a second with the letter C on the right. Beneath the switches was a small opening, and a toilet ejected from the bottom after a jingle played out. Tokoyami looked at him with a sense of… confusion.
"Don't worry the glass is frosted, I won't be able to see you do your business." Cathal joked. "It's soundproof as well."
*sigh* "Very well…" Tokoyami grunted.
"Okay, so… to understand everything about my world, it's gonna take some time…"
"I'll do my best to understand it all." Tokoyami said, reassuring the boy.
"That's good to hear then," Cathal said. "Well… it all started years ago, I don't know how many but from what Saoirse told me it happened a long time ago… the event that changed everything."
Tokoyami sat upward with conviction in his heart, his eyes staring forward at Cathal. He was worried about this place, wherever he was. It had a lingering presence that unnerved him, and what about Cathal? Could someone who just held a gun at him really be trusted so easily like this? And what about his friends back home?
Fumikage, can we really trust this guy? Dark Shadow asked within his mind.
I don't know… Tokoyami thought. Though Summers may be our best path to getting home…
Then, Cathal opened his mouth.
"To truly understand what happened, we have to go back to the Death Stranding…"