Hello, it's me. I hope that you enjoy the next chapter of A Light in the Abyss. Once again, I'm sorry for any OOC moments. Please review, and enjoy ;D.
A bright light blinded Izuku for a moment. As it faded away, Izuku saw a beautiful green field. The long grass swayed in the breeze and looked soft. About three stones were also seen in the field.
Izuku closed his eyes and felt at peace. However, he snapped his eyes open, knowing he had to focus on his mission.
The figure he was chasing was just ahead. They weren't doing anything, just staring at a stone. Izuku quietly made his way towards the figure. When he was in shoulders reach of the figure, Dark Shadow popped out in front of Izuku.
"Midoryia!" Dark Shadow gasped, "What are you doing!? Get out of here before Tokoyami-"
"It's okay, Shadow," The figure replied, "No need to get defensive."
The figure turned around and took off his hood. It was Tokoyami.
"Tokoyami?" Izuku said, "What're you doing here?"
Tokoyami turned his back to Izuku and continued to look at the stone. After a small gust of wind blew Tokoyami's cloak away from the stone, it was revealed to be the headstone of a grave.
"I don't want to talk about it," Tokoyami replied, "You should head back to the school. This isn't your burden to bear. Everyone else is probably worried."
"Everyone is probably worried about you too, Tokoyami," Izuku said.
"Sure. Anyways, it's probably best if you go, Midoryia."
"Please, just let me help you," Izuku said, "I understand what it's like to have a weight on your shoulders. It hurts to carry it alone. No matter how strong you think you are, nobody can remain alone forever."
Tokoyami simply remained silent. Dark Shadow looked a little angry about the way his master was acting. He began to rant at Tokoyami.
"He's trying to help you, Tokoyami!" Dark Shadow said, "You should stop being so stubborn and at least explain what's going on!"
Tokoyami clenched his fists in a fury and turned sharply to Izuku.
"Leave me alone, Midoryia!" Tokoyami yelled, "This is none of your business!"
Izuku jumped at the sudden outburst but raised his voice at the Jet-Black hero.
"I'm not going to leave you to deal with this!"
"Stop lying, Midoriya! Get out of my sight! I don't want you here!"
Tokoyami gave Izuku a signature death glare and turned back to the headstone.
Izuku turned to leave and began walking back up the hill. That's when Dark Shadow snuck away from Tokoyami and placed a comforting hand on Izuku's shoulder.
"Don't take this personally, Midoryia," Dark Shadow said as Izuku turned to look at him.
"Tokoyami hates talking about his feelings. He doesn't like people being dragged into his problems, so he pushes them away."
"Why does he do it?" Izuku asked.
Dark Shadow sighed as he showed Izuku a picture of a girl. She looked to be about 9 years old, and her smile seemed to warm Izuku's heart. She was blonde and had piercing blue eyes.
"Her name was Hikari Nazomu," Dark Shadow explained, "She was Tokoyami's best friend ever since preschool. Her quirk was called Sun, and she was able to produce light from her hands if the sun was present. Her friendship with Tokoyami was unique, and they were the real-life Ying-Yang."
Izuku noticed that the girl was wearing something around her neck. It was the keychain Bakugo destroyed.
"Nazomu was the only person to accept Tokoyami's introverted personality," Dark Shadow continued, "They always talked and played together. She took him to social outings and was the only one who knew about Tokoyami's miniature obsession with collecting keychains. Their bond was only breakable by death."
Dark Shadow then turned to look at the headstone. It didn't take much for Izuku to realize Nazomu's fate.
"They were heading to the park," Dark Shadow muttered, "A villain attacked it, and children were running amuck to find their parents. The villain managed to chase Tokoyami into the tunnel slide and trap him. I tried to help, but the villain was too fast for me to keep my eye on him. Nazomu noticed that we were gone, and she heard Tokoyami yelling from inside the slide, so she ran after him and started to attack. The villain saw her, and…well…um…"
Dark Shadow began to choke up but held it in as he continued.
"Tokoyami found her after the pros showed up. She took off her necklace, which is the one in that picture, and placed it around his neck. She died in his arms, and he was absolutely devastated. Tokoyami shut himself away from the world and refused to speak of his feelings ever since. He also hates when people give up anything for him. It just reminds him too much of Nazomu. That's why I went crazy about Shoji's injury on the night of the Villain Attack during training camp. I felt just as responsible for her death as Tokoyami did. Both of us couldn't stand the thought of losing another friend."
Izuku glanced at Tokoyami, who seemed to be talking to the stone.
"That keychain was originally a gift for her, and the last thing she touched. That's why it was so important to Tokoyami," Dark Shadow added, "She was the small spark of light in his dark heart. When she was killed, so was all his joy and hope."
Tokoyami turned his head slightly to where Izuku could see one of his red eyes. This movement indicated that Tokoyami knew something was going on, but he was still focused on the headstone.
Izuku didn't know what to do. He didn't really have any experience with comforting anyone with death. He quietly made his way over to Tokoyami, who had turned away from him by now.
"Tokoyami?" Izuku whispered as he put his hand on his shoulder.
Tokoyami stiffened at the contact. He wasn't quite used to being touched.
"Why are you still here? I told you to go," Tokoyami replied.
"I know about Nazomu."
Tokoyami glared at Dark Shadow as he faced his master with a nervous look.
"So, now you've been told of the situation. Now go."
"No. You're not going to deal with this by yourself."
"I've been doing it for seven years now. I'm okay on my own."
"No one can face everything alone. You've already suffered by yourself for long enough. I know you bury your feelings like fossils. But like all fossils, someone has to dig them up."
"Not if they're deep enough."
Tokoyami then knelt to place a flower in front of the headstone. He began to tremble a little.
"I don't need anyone to be there for me. I can't have people disappear from my life if they were never part of it in the first place."
Izuku's heart clenched as he knelt beside the Jet-Black hero.
"What about Koda and Shoji? They-"
"I'm planning to not remain in contact with anyone once we become pro heroes."
"Tokoyami," Izuku begged, "Don't do that to yourself…"
"I don't think that I can handle any more deaths, Midoriya," Tokoyami said as tears began to spill from his eyes, "I hate feeling responsible for Nazomu. If Koda, Shoji, Sato, you, or anybody else dies, I don't know if I can take it. I hate death! It just rips up relationships like pieces of paper and burns it!"
Izuku did the only thing he could think of in that moment. Izuku wrapped Tokoyami in a hug. Dark Shadow coiled around the two like a scarf. Tokoyami at first tried to push them off, but eventually succumbed to the comfort.
"Why did she have to go?" Tokoyami muttered as Izuku began to cry softly too.
Izuku hated to see his friend in so much pain. Tokoyami had changed so much in the few seconds that passed. The terrifying vibe he had previously given had melted away, and now all that remained was the traumatized nine-year-old that Nazomu left behind.
They sat in silence together for what seemed like hours. The full moon was now upon them. The rays softly shined on the three and the stars glimmered above.
"I'm s-sorry that you had to deal with me, Midoryia," Tokoyami finally said, "I didn't mean to put my problems on your shoulders."
"Don't worry about it, Tokoyami," Izuku replied as he let go of Tokoyami, "I don't mind at all. Besides, it must've been painful for you and Dark Shadow to go through all of this yourselves for seven years."
Tokoyami only nodded in reply as he stood up.
"Nazomu would've liked you. She was always walking around with a smile. She also put in her best effort in anything she did," He said.
"She sounds amazing," Izuku replied with a smile.
Tokoyami suddenly felt a small smile creep onto his face as Dark Shadow placed a flower of his own on the headstone.
"We buried her in the Storm's Eye Graveyard because I felt that only those who were determined enough to fight the storm are worthy of seeing Nazomu's grave," Tokoyami added, "You're truly remarkable, Midoryia."
Izuku smiled at the compliment.
"We should probably head back to school," Tokoyami said, "Mr. Aizawa will probably question where we are."
"Do the teachers know about Nazomu?" Izuku asked.
"Yes, I told them about it on my application. Principal Nezu told me that I could go any time except on test nights. I'm also told to be back at school by curfew."
Tokoyami then glanced at his small pocket watch that he carried with him.
"We have to go. We got twenty minutes until curfew."
"Until next time, Nazomu," Tokoyami said as he and Izuku bowed to the headstone and ran off to face the dreaded storm ahead.
The Storm…
The storm seemed to have gotten stronger than before. The hail was now the size of Tokoyami's fist and coming down twice as fast.
"Can you see me, Midoryia?" Tokoyami yelled as Dark Shadow turned to look for him.
"Yeah!" Izuku called back as he caught up with Tokoyami.
Izuku could barely see Tokoyami's outline ahead of him with all the lightning. The thunder rattled Izuku's eardrums to where it sounded more like an earthquake.
Tokoyami suddenly jumped back as a large bolt of lightning struck right in front of him. A piece of hail also hit him in the face shortly after that.
Tokoyami managed to refocus and continued to run.
Izuku had now caught up to him and the two were running side by side. The storm was getting harsher as the wind howled.
"Just a little further, Midoryia!" Tokoyami said as he kept running.
As they kept running, a weird red dot appeared on the back of Tokoyami's neck. It looked like a laser pointer.
"Tokoyami!" Izuku yelled, "There's something on your neck!"
Tokoyami smacked his neck but found nothing on his hand. As soon as he turned around, something swooped down from the sky and tackled Tokoyami to the ground. Dark Shadow reacted quickly and grabbed the creature from behind. It had seemed if the red dot was like the creature's aiming system.
The creature used chain-like ropes to escape from Dark Shadow's grasp. It picked itself up and jumped back from the group.
The creature was revealed to be a Nomu as the lightning struck the ground. It was a deep tan with black eyes that had no sense of life whatsoever. It was about two feet taller than Shoji, and the chains appeared to have come out of the Nomu's back. Its body had spikes which ran from the top of its head all the way down to his tailbone. The Nomu's face looked like that of an alien, with four black eyes and jagged teeth that stuck out slightly when it closed its mouth.
It roared as Izuku and Tokoyami watched it rush towards them…
Yay! Another cliff hanger! Don't worry, I'll update this story soon. Stay tuned for more. Beast Boy and the Indoraptor are Beast mode!