Author's Note: Well what do you know, back to back chapters one day after posting Chapter 7. This one is... unique. The Seam is a facet of Death Stranding's universe that I always found interesting. It's a fascinating take on Limbo, and hopefully I portrayed it well in this chapter. I also included the theme for The Seam, and it's unnatural yet calming tone fits perfectly in my opinion.

As always, if you're loving the story and want to meet me on a more causal level, you can meet me on this Discord filled with other MHA fics. /gaF5u49MFW

Gravity, space, senses, air, water, the land, it all felt so… ethereal. A hand motioned to the left, eyes opened slowly, and the cold tickling sensation of fluids caressed this poor soul all over his body.

Where…

His breath felt so full of life, every breath he took gave new life. His vision blurred and his heart pounding, he looked upward.

I need… to go…

His body fell, fell into the darkness that called to him. He closed his eyes once more as his body descended the waters, almost like the sea was pulling him into the abyss. He opened his eyes again, looking downward at his body, the Sun shining faintly from above.

My body feels so… light…

As he looked around, he watched as koi fish rubbed against him. He grunted as one slipped right between his legs, right in that area, and another slithered over his chest. Suddenly, he heard a noise, something foul and inhuman. As he looked "down" towards the surface of the ocean, he saw… something standing on the water's surface, and he watched as it devoured a body touching the air. The drowsiness overtook him once more… and his eyes grew heavy.

I need… rest…

And as his body fell further, it hovered there before the glass, as Class A, Aizawa, Midnight, Snipe, Tsukauchi, and Saoirse all stared at this unearthly image unfolded before their eyes. As Fumikage's body fell further and further, he suddenly bumped against the glass, the cold surface sending a shockwave through his chest and stomach.

"TOKOYAMI!" Everyone cried.

"What the hell happened to him?!" Kirishima yelled as he ran through the crowd.

"How'd he get there?" Ashido asked.

"And… why's he naked…?" Jiro asked nervously as she covered her eyes.

"Come on, that's what you're worried about?!" Kirishima asked. "You have any idea how many baths we've had together?"

"That's enough!" Aizawa cried. He turned his attention to Saoirse and glared at her, as did the rest of Class A. "What is this? Why's Tokoyami out there?!"

The woman brought the tip of her middle finger to the bridge between her glasses, and she gently pushed the glasses further onto her face. And as she looked upward, her eyes spoke focus… if filled with guilt.

"This is The Seam… and as I just told everyone… it's the plane where souls go to move on."

The room fell silent, grim energy berated the soul, and others… couldn't even speak.

"What do you mean…?" a voice whimpered.

And from the group, Asui emerged and slowly stepped towards Saoirse, wearing a lime green pajama shirt and long pants. She approached the tall woman, whose long and slightly curled hair nearly touched Asui's face.

"What are you talking about? He's right there isn't he?" She croaked. "Can't we just… save him?"

Saoirse looked down at the young frog girl, whose eyes were on the verge of tears. Yet the woman closed her eyes and breathed deeply, she placed her hand on Asui's shoulder, and opened her eyes.

"There's only one way a person's soul can enter the Seam… and I think you know what that is, young lady…" She said with a whisper, her throat drying up.

And that's all it took… for Asui's tears became too much to bear, and they fell down her face.

"No…" She whimpered. "You're lying!"

Saoirse gazed at her with sadness in her heart, and she removed her glasses showing Asui her eyes.

"I'm sorry…"

Asui broke down right there and fell to her knees. She cried and cried bringing her hands to her face as the weight of the world crushed her hope, bringing despair into her heart.

"Tsu!"

Uraraka ran to her friend, falling to her knees, and she held Asui tight in her arms.

"That can't be true!" Asui cried. "That's not possible!"

Uraraka looked up.

"Please tell me you're lying! You're just doing this to make her cry right?!"

"No I-"

"SHUT UP!" Kirishima yelled. "This all started ever since you showed up at our door you know that?!"

Saoirse gasped quietly.

"All this happening in just one day huh? Tokoyami being taken, then all of sudden you show up out of nowhere! AND NOW YOU'RE TELLING US HE'S DEAD?!"

"Kirishima!" Tenya yelled.

As Kirishima stood there, his Quirk activated almost by instinct, half of his face had hardened. The left side of his face had changed into something so sharp they appeared to be rock-like swords, even the slightest touch could be enough to pierce the skin, maybe even bone. Yet from this boy… tears dripped as well. They flowed like a river down his face as he flared his breath in anger.

"LOOK AT HIM, HE'S RIGHT THERE! ALONE AND… LOOKING FOR US!" He cried. "HE'S STUCK OUT THERE, SO WHAT KIND OF HEROES ARE WE IF WE CAN'T HELP HIM!"

"That's his Ka don't you understand?" Saoirse protested.

"His… what?" Kirishima asked in furious tears.

"His Ka…" Yaoyorozu said as she tried to cope with the situation. "I feel like I've heard that word somewhere… but I don't understand what does this have to do with Tokoyami?"

Saoirse took a breath and looked over at the teachers, who all remained silent. Yet Aizawa turned his head away.

"Damnit…" He whispered to himself.

Yet he couldn't hide his feelings, a single tear fell from his cheek and onto his floor, and Saoirse only observed. Midnight came to his side and placed her hand on his shoulder, and she gave him a look telling him…

"I'm here."

Together they joined the students who were trying to accept, trying to understand the situation.

"This can't be real, this is just a nightmare we're all having right?!" Hagakure asked.

"Yeah, Hagakure's got the right idea!" Sero added. "There's no way Tokoyami's dead! Haven't we all seen what he can do?"

"Sero I understand where you're coming from…" Shoji said as he tried to hide his tears. "But… look at Mr. Aizawa."

The class turned as Aizawa's dead, distraught face was revealed to them, he closed his eyes in denial, but even with his usual face, his usual demeanor, he couldn't hide the truth…

"I don't want to accept it either.. .Tokoyami's one of my best friends but-" Shoji trembled.

"If Mr. Aizawa is really showing his true feelings then… Tokoyami's…"

"NO!"

Shoji shot his head upward as Izuku stepped forward through the crowd. In the back, two students stood in shock… Bakugo and Shoto.

"Midoriya?" Shoto and Shoji asked.

"I refuse to believe Tokoyami could go down so easily! If he's really gone then why…" He said as tears rained from his face. "Then why is that here?"

He pointed angrily at Fumikage's "ka" which remained still as the waters held him in place.

"What did you say that is? His soul or Ka?" Izuku asked.

"Soul and Ka have the same meaning… but it's best if we refer to it as his Ka." Saoirse stated.

"Then why hasn't his Ka move on then?" Izuku asked.

Saoirse gasped.

"You said… *sob* you said he's gone right? Then why's he still here? Doesn't that mean he's not truly gone?"

Saoirse was taken aback by the young man's words.

"Deku I don't think he's coming back, this… this isn't some damn manga." Bakugo said as he tried to understand.

"I have no idea what the hell any of this Ka or soul transfer crap is…" he continued. "But if what this girl says is true… he's- he's dead."

"Kacchan don't you-"

"YEAH I DO!" Bakugo roared.

Everyone saw as Bakugo clenched his fists and grit his teeth.

"I'm not that big a jerk, you think I don't want him to be alive?!"

As they all argued inside, all the world sat and watched. Tears continued to fly, Asui remained on her knees trying to accept…

Those… voices…

An eye opened.

Friends…

And another awakened to reality

Family…

Then why don't we return to them, Fumikage?

The boy's soul… his Ka… opened his eyes. Before him sat another nude individual sitting in front of him. This person was upside down, but from Fumikage's eyes, he was right side up. This person had neck length black hair, combed neatly to the left, and much like Fumikage, he had blood red eyes. This person, who called out to him so mysteriously, "swam" forward, and hugged Fumikage.

What…?

This feeling of comfort, safety, it brought him back to his senses in this Seam of endless limbo. Fumikage blew the air from his lungs as bubbles spewed throughout the water.

"Wait, something's happening!" Saoirse cried.

Where… are we…

That doesn't matter right now, we need to find our way back don't you think?

Fumikage watched as this other person continued to hug him, he felt this person's rather thin body, his skin rubbing against his own in this strange aquatic world. This person felt so… warm, comforting.

Who… are you…

The person backed away, yet his hands grabbed Fumikage by the shoulders, his hands felt smooth to the touch, and strangely, Fumikage enjoyed this sensation. It was so lonely in this endless night, but it was good to have someone by his side… even if he had never met this person.

However, the person placed his hand on Fumikage's stomach, right over his belly button.

They say the rope and the stick were man's first creations, they kept us together in the dark, always there by our side. So Fumikage? The stranger asked.

Pull on the rope, bring us home…

As the stranger uttered this riddle, he took his hand off Fumikage's belly, and a golden strand appeared in front of his eyes. Fumikage was shocked, confused, but this strand, this rope had appeared from his button, almost like an umbilical cord, and it lead somewhere close by.

It's so warm…

The rope shot through the glass of Class A's dorm.

I need… to follow… I can go home…

His will guided him forward, and soon after his body flowed through the water. For souls drift onward, never stopping for even a moment.

"He's moving?" Jiro asked.

As for Class A, Fumikage's "Ka" started drifting forward… towards the glass.

"He's trying to get in I think!" Mineta shouted.

Further and further, Fumikage drifted, and now…

His Ka drifted right through the glass, and the "being" landed on the floor.

"Tokoyami…?" Asui sobbed as she raised her head and gazed at him.

"Tokoyami is that you?!" Kirishima cried.

"Hey, over here!" Izuku shouted.

Yet the "being" known as Fumikage simply stood upward and turned towards the living room. The golden strand pointed upwards into the sky like a DNA helix.

Home…

He took a single step forward, water dripping off his body and soaking all it touched. And as Class A observed, his skin was a light gray, even his beak, which always stood out as a sharp yellow, had turned to this same, drab gray as the rest of his body.

"Tokoyami?!" Asui cried.

The girl shot upward an dashed for the boy, racing as fast as she could

BLINK

An orange flash appeared.

BLINK

And suddenly Asui was teleported to the back of Class A.

"What?! What just happened?" She asked.

"Don't touch that thing." Saoirse stated.

"What?! But it's Tokoyami!" Izuku argued.

"I know that but this is his Ka! His soul in its purest form!" Saoirse argued back. "If we try to interfere with… whatever the hell he's doing we could cut him off from the Other Side!"

"Okay hold on a second," Shoto asked. "You've been mentioning all this about souls and Ka and whatever the Seam is… but how can we trust you?"

Suddenly, Midnight stepped forward in front of Saoirse.

"We trust her instincts, we've been speaking to her for hours, and we can confirm wholeheartedly that she has no reason to lie to us."

"How can you be sure?" Hagakure asked.

"Summers is telling the truth… end of discussion…"

Aizawa stepped forward and joined Saoirse at her side slowly, he faced his class with a stern look, his bloodshot eyes peering through his messy hair.

"We've seen it with our own eyes, she's from another world… one very different from hours. Given all that's happening right now, we have to accept what's happening."

He turned around, and stared at the naked and gray Ka.

"This… really is Tokoyami's soul, I don't why it's here, but it simply is." He continued. "We… are going to do everything we can to figure this out, and we won't rest until we bring him home… got it?"

The class was shocked, in disbelief, their teacher standing with so much resolve, yet sadness that took his eyes. He turned again and stared at Fumikage's soul, who stood aimlessly swaying back and forth as he waited. Aizawa… felt compelled to reach out to his student, a boy whom he learned to care for, almost like a son. He reached out so far, nearly touching the gray skin, but Saoirse grabbed his wrist, warning him grimly.

"If you touch him, it could change you." She warned. "My friend Heartman had this happen to him when he traveled to the Beach, and because of that his heart became weak and deformed, do you really want that to happen to you?"

Aizawa glared at her with his Quirk activate, his blood red gaze raging like a dog at her, and Saoirse simply took her hand away. She had a face of irritation and anger, and when she took her hand away she pulled it in a quick yank. Aizawa turned his attention back to Fumikage… and eventually, he grabbed the boy's shoulder.

"Tokoyami?" He asked. "Tokoyami it's me… it's your teacher, Aizawa…"

The being stood still, and Aizawa could feel the cold and smooth skin chill his entire body, the gray teen remaining motionless. The entirety of Class A moved closer, Asui and Kirishima coming to the front and joining Aizawa by his side. Asui croaked and stared at Fumikage with watery eyes.

"Tokoyami… can you hear me?" She asked with a dry voice.

Fumikage… slowly turned his head, his eyes meeting hers, a feeling of connection overwhelmed Asui as she stared onward. Suddenly, Fumikage turned his whole body towards her, showing the front of his body in its entirety to her, and the rest of the class.

"Hey… Tokoyami it's us…" Kirishima said with a nervous smile. "It's us man, Kirishima… and Asui and everyone else!"

Fumikage simply stared, his eyes unwavering.

"Do you… even remember us?" Kirishima asked.

Suddenly, the gray boy raised a finger to the end of his beak, and he looked the two in the eye.

"Shhhh…"

He suddenly looked upward at Aizawa, whose eyes widened in quiet surprise, and then… Fumikage simply turned around and started walking towards the couch, each step heavy and slow.

"Hey, Tokoyami!" Shoto cried.

He took another step forward.

"Tokoyami please! Can't you see we're calling for you?!" Ashido yelled.

Fumikage stepped forward again.

"Wait… look at his back!" Midnight cried.

And as the students watched…

A faint handprint burned onto Fumikage's right shoulder blade.

SIIIIIII

And when he reached the couch, Fumikage bent over the back of the furniture, showing his… bottom in full view, yet he paid not mind to his classmates, only what laid before him.

"So… this is what a human soul looks like?" Nezu asked Saoirse while sitting on Tsukauchi's shoulder. "It feels sad in a way, to see a young man reduced to his most basic elements."

"Yeah… I said the same thing when Heartman showed me his Beach…"

Saoirse walked towards the class and joined their side, she suddenly pointed at Fumikage, who seemed to be focused on whatever was on the cushion of the couch.

"Based on my research, the human body is made of two things," She said. "The 'Ha' which is our physical bodies, and the 'Ka' which is our soul, or spirit. These are the same tenets found in Ancient Egypt… but I've never seen one in practice…"

The students of Class A looked at her.

"I never thought our Ka would be… us…"

She suddenly shot upward.

"What the hell am I even saying?!" She cried. "He's just a kid, not a damn research subject!"

"You don't say…" Bakugo grunted.

However, as they argued… Fumikage's Ka bent its gray legs and lifted something… heavy. As he turned around, the class stared, and they were horrified.

In the arms of the Ka… laid Fumikage's physical body, still adorned in a bloody Bridges coverall suit.

The soul dropped the body on the ground with a large thud.

THUD

It knelt down, and placed its hand on Fumikage's chest, and without warning, it crawled on top of him. He turned his head one last time at the class, all of which were in a disgusted stare.

"Just… what is he doing?!" Hagakure asked in a disgusted voice.

"I don't know but I wasn't expecting it to look so… oh this is just too strange for me." Sero added.

And yet… Fumikage's Ka looked on… and started crying. Tears dripped from its cheeks as it laid on top of the body, and it simply…

Vanished.

BLINK

Soon after the body disappeared as well.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Everyone snapped around as a sperm whale drifted across the glass. Several schools of fish swam away with great speeds, and the sea urchins shriveled.

"What's happening now?" Yaoyorozu asked.

And soon after, all went dark….

Inside this cramped space… Fumikage felt like he could barely breathe, he felt something fleshy and smooth ramming all over his body left and right. Like he was crushed in a tube, and suddenly, he stopped. He was looking at something in the area, something waiting for him at the end.

What is going on?! He thought

And as he reached the end of this tunnel, something greeted him. It moved around and suddenly, it looked upward.

For in this flesh-like tunnel… sat a baby…

The baby looked at Fumikage with bubbly eyes, sucking on its thumb.

POP

It ripped its thumb out creating a pop like sound, and it giggled. Suddenly, Fumikage felt his body being violently ripped out of this place, he was being dragged towards a blinding light that suddenly absorbed him. He felt the gravity in his stomach and…

He yawned… like he was waking up from a long and beautiful slumber. He opened his eyes to be greeted by a cloudy sky, the fresh air blowing on his body. He slowly sat up and grabbed his head in confusion.

What on Earth was that? Was that all a dream? He asked himself.

He looked at his hand, and soon looked down at his body and legs…

I'm still wearing this Bridges suit…

He was about to stand, but the moment he sat up further he felt a raging pain in his stomach. Fumikage turned over and was on all fours, trying to stop the pain. And without realizing it…

HWRUUUUUUG, COUGH

Fumikage vomited on the ground and coughed violently. He threw up even more as black liquid left his mouth.

HWRAAAAAG

COUGH, COUGH

He wheezed uncontrollably and wiped his beak of this… substance. In the confusion as several cryptobiotes, all covered in this substance, crawled into the air, all clicking rapidly as they "flew" away from the scene, and Fumikage was left all alone. He looked around wondering where he was, the clouds looming in the sky, and the faint smell of rubber lingered…

What happened to me? All I remember was that blinding light and…

In a flash, he remembered that other boy… the stranger in the water who hugged him so warmly…

Who was that…?

Then…another memory flashed before his eyes. His heart raced and without thinking he reached in front of him.

"Asui!" He shouted.

He gasped in fear, confusion, and he slowly brought his shaking hand back to him.

No… I was there! I remember now! My friends were all right there!

"Hello?!"

Fumikage raised his head, a voice echoed in the distance.

"Is someone there?"

He stood up, taking each step slowly looking for this person. He started walking, and as each second passed he picked up the pace.

My leg doesn't hurt anymore… it feels fine… He thought. What is going on?!

He ran for a short moment, and it wasn't until he rounded a corner of a boulder that he finally met this mysterious voice. Fumikage gasped, and his heart raced again and again. For he met someone he already knew, someone that helped him in this darkest of nights.

"You!"

And the stranger turned, his bright orange hair, his left white eye, and his right black eye, stared at him. His eyes widened as the shock took over, but worst of all, his face was covered in blood, sweat, and lacerations.

"Fumi…kage…?" Cathal whimpered as he shook rapidly in his position.

"Summers?" Fumiakge asked.

Cathal limped towards Fumikage slowly, blood dripping from his face and neck. The boy looked up at his bird-headed friend.

"What on Earth happened here, where are the others?"

Yet Cathal did not answer, he simply looked at Fumikage, tears raining down his face. And as if his body was moving on its own, Cathal lunged at Fumikage and hugged him as tight as his arms would let him.

"Agh! Summers hey!" Fumikage cried.

Yet Cathal wouldn't let go, and Fumiakge soon realized the sorrow that absorbed his soul. Cathal let out a scream into his shoulder and Fumikage quickly fell to the ground with him. Cathal screamed and screamed, poured his heart out onto his friend, and tears soaked Fumikage's suit. The boy didn't know how to respond other than hold Cathal close, hug him gently as the other simply screamed like an animal, unable to stop, until finally, Fumikage gently grabbed Cathal's shoulders with his gloves and lined him up face to face.

"It's okay, I'm not leaving!" He said. "What happened?!"

"It's… IT'S!" Cathal screamed.

"What?" Fumikage asked gently.

Cathal sobbed and tried to wipe his tears, but Fumikage simply held him like a brother, as Cathal cried once more.

"It's *wheeze* it's all gone!" He sobbed.

"What do you mean?" Fumiakge asked in a tearful voice.

Cathal raised his head and scrunched his lips, tears raining down his cheeks.

"Mirror Knot's gone. It was caught in a Voidout."

Fumikage's heart stopped, the world had turned gray like the Seam, and he lost his breath. All he saw was Cathal pointing to his left, and when he turned to see what the result was…

He truly felt like his life had ended.

He gazed upon the crater… the empty, lifeless void that wiped Mirror Knot City from the face of the earth. Boulders, rocks, slight metal debris, and other objects were floating into the air in a large ring around the crater, and the massive structure spread as far as the eye could see. It was a distance that had to be at least a few kilometers, it was so big that Fumikage couldn't even see the other side, yet there was one thing he could see. The bottom of the crater had something foul, inhuman and tainted.

A large… black handprint the size of a small city laid in the depths of the crater…

Fumikage couldn't move, he trembled in his boots as he stared at what used to be an entire city…

TH-THUMP

Mirror Knot's got a population of over 90,000, kid…

Oh… that all too familiar voice.

TH-THUMP

Mirror Knot's not too far from here, this deliver should be simple. You should see the place! Cathal's voice echoed.

TH-THUMP

Fumikage felt his heart beat faster and faster, every pulse filling his body with stress. The rhythm grew more intense.

TH-THUMP, TH-THUMP

He grabbed his chest and tried his best to breathe.

TH-THUMP

Fumikage fell to his knees as the thoughts raced through his mind.

90,000 people…

It's one of the biggest cities up north.

TH-THUMP

"Fumikage?" Cathal asked as he dried his tears.

TH-THUMP

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked.

TH-THUMP

Yet his voice sounded so far away.

"Hey… HEY!"

And before he knew it…

Fumikage fell to the ground, and as Cathal tried shook him awake… the world became shrouded in darkness…