Heroes in the Dark Chapter 5

Shigaraki left his place at the bar and pulled up a seat in front of Bakugou, who refused to look up to meet him straight on, yet another indication of his uncooperation. Even small things like that was enough to annoy the villain as he tried to earn the student's devotion with spiels of "taking action" and being better than any hero.

Tokoyami felt guilt wash over him, for the better treatment he'd been receiving, for how he was in a much more stable situation after these villains had actually rallied at his side. It was unprecedented, absurd. He was no more like these evildoers than his fellow classmates, and yet they were so quick to defend him. What made it worse was that he was grateful for it. He accepted what they had to offer without nearly so much struggling as Bakugou was. He was restrained and resilient, fighting back on what they had to say to the point where he had to have his mouth gagged. Tokoyami could've done more to resist them. Better yet, maybe he could've fought them when he had the opportunity. Even if it was dangerous and futile, at least it would show that he was resisting them. That's what he should be doing instead of sitting amongst them so casually, and yet…

"I can probably find you something to eat if you're hungry," Kurogiri whispered from behind the bar. "Do forgive our inhospitality thus far."

"N-no, it's fine," Tokoyami took a tentative sip of the glass of water he'd been given earlier.

A finger tapped on his shoulder, causing him to splutter and whip around quickly on the stool, arm raised defensively. The villain Twice jumped back, palms open to show he meant no harm. "Oh. Hi. Hello. Just making sure you're doing alright there, kiddo." He lowered his hands slowly. "Ummm, are you?"

"Not sure I truly can be," Tokoyami said, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Twice was still waiting for an answer, and it didn't seem like he meant any ill will. "Yeah, no. I'm fine. But I don't know what you people expect from me."

"Oh! Don't worry about that! Here, come join us on the couch. We don't bite, I promise. Well, I don't anyway."

Tokoyami wanted to turn him down, to show any kind of defiance against anyone who would dare to call themselves a villain, but this guy was so genuine. Perhaps gaining their trust was the best option after all, as opposed to Bakugou's show of resilience at every turn.

Tokoyami slid off the barstool, looking the villain up and down cautiously. The guy's gray bodysuit, which looked like it was taken straight out of a comic book, was ripped and burned in some places. He wasn't able to see any of the fighting that went on while in his immobilized captured state, but there was no doubt that this villain had been fighting against his classmates. And yet at the moment he didn't seem malicious, so Tokoyami followed him over to the corner with the beat up furniture. This appeared to make him happy, though Tokoyami didn't understand him. All these villains were strange countermeasures against society, and although it didn't appear as though they'd do anything against him, he was still troubled to be amongst them.

Despite the unusually friendly invitation, he was still very much on edge. But he sat down with them anyway, on the very opposite end of where the high school girl was sitting. He jammed his elbow against the armrest and rested his head on his hand, flicking his attention warily between the villains to his left and Shigaraki's speech in the center of the room. When he looked over discretely to where Toga had been once more, he could swear that she had shifted closer to him. He hunched his shoulders defensively, sinking deeper into the worn down fabric of the couch. With another side glance, she was now only a cushion space away. He considered sitting on the floor when Twice sat down between them. Tokoyami sighed in what might've been relief, and the gray-suited villain looked over at him curiously, twiddling his fingers in his lap absentmindedly.

"So tell me 'bout yourself," Twice said.

Tokoyami didn't respond. That shouldn't have come as a surprise.

"Probably not the best timing, man." Dabi strode over and sat on the armrest on Toga's side of the couch. "You might wanna just leave him alone. He'll come around. Maybe it would be better if he knew what we're all about first before you go pressuring him."

Twice put his fist in his palm, like this was some remarkable idea. "Oh, I get it! Don't confuse me." He turned to Tokoyami. "We're the evil Villain Alliance. We're great people, though, I promise!"

Dabi muttered something under his breath that went largely ignored.

"So you're having trouble with your quirk, huh? I used to be like that. My quirk lets me make copies of people. I used to use it on myself but not anymore since it got out of hand."

Tokoyami acknowledged the villain. "How so?" he asked, curious now.

Twice leaned forward. "Well, just between you and me, I was having a hard time differentiating between myself and who I think I might be. How do I explain, it's like, all these intrusive thoughts fill your head, and you can't tell if it's you or someone else saying it. If I clone myself, it's still me, but it's not because I'm me, except now I'm not even sure of that!"

Tokoyami regarded him strangely. Who was this person, truly, to be telling him all this.

"So, uh, you understand, right? You're confused, I can tell."

The student listened to hear if Dark Shadow had anything to say, but the quirk had been silent all throughout the exchange. "No – or yes. I see where you're coming from. My Dark Shadow is usually very good at compromising. But he also has a lot of resolve, sometimes more than I, and it can be difficult at times when we have conflicting thoughts."

Twice nodded thoughtfully. It was strange to be telling him all this. The others were probably all listening in as well, depending on how much they cared. He never thought he would be disclosing this type of information; he never had before, not to any of the heroes he learned under or the classmates he trained with.

"But that's hardly important," Tokoyami growled. "I'm training to become a hero. Why would I want to be anything else. I can hardly comprehend why anyone would want to commit themselves to doing wrong and harming others for selfish reasons."

"No no don't think of it like that, we all have our own reasons for being here!" Twice said, waving his hands around. "I was having a hard time out there where heroes control everything. I couldn't think straight or live right. It's the VA that's more tolerable to others than the people out there in society that don't have to worry about themselves."

"Heroes strive for a just society where everyone can live in peace. You can't possibly think that you're better than them," the student said, his memories of idealizing and training in the wake of amazing heroes making his words come easy.

Dabi sighed. "I know you're just a kid, but you really should know better. You're wrong if you think that everyone is treated fairly out there, regardless of whether or not they do good. It's not like it was that long ago where quirk-users with unhuman qualities were discriminated against. People with unique skin colors, mutations, or animal features were looked down upon for the longest time when quirks first started appearing. Even now the laws in society have loopholes and gaps. Hell, even before quirks were discovered people like Magne would be treated differently. History always repeats itself. No one is equal, we all get treated differently, and if you're not careful you'll end up getting burned by the very same people who swore to protect you. The sooner you understand that the better. You got that? Bird?"

Of course I understand that, dammit. But you didn't have to say it.

Damn those people. How dare they humiliate us.

Tokoyami pondered this. It was true that this was nothing new, a thing of the past that people like to think had remained there. But the cruelty in people's hearts remained there even through generations. His mom had told him that when he was younger. And yet he was so accepted within the walls of UA as a powerful and capable student that he had perhaps forgotten. It doesn't matter. That's what heroes are here to stop, so that people can be happy.

That's unrealistic, though. No hero would ever come to your side.

"A lot of us came here brought together by Stain's ideals. He wanted to revolutionize the way that heroes perform, to go back to being selfless icons that fought for others instead of themselves," Dabi continued. "Spinner over there is a devout follower, if you couldn't tell. I personally can't stand the popularized heroes with their sense of entitlement, as though they're above the law. It's annoying to have to follow a set of rules that aren't even upheld by the one who create them. I have far more respect for vigilantes. And then Toga, well, she's screwy and maybe not the most innocent, but that's just how it is when you desire to use your quirk in a world that won't let you."

Tokoyami lifted his head up and looked to where the girl had been sitting not moments before. She had left her seat without him even noticing. A sharp pain in his arm alluded him to her presence, now directly below him on the other side of the armrest. A small blade had been used to cut his exposed flesh, and a drop of his blood now adorned it. He watched her stand up triumphantly, dripping the blood into a small vial and putting it into her pocket.

"For safe keeping," she said menacingly, a smile written on her face. Tokoyami gripped his arm begrudgingly as she made her way back to her seat and plopped back down.

"You didn't have to do that," Dabi chastised.

"And you don't know that for sure," she sang right back.

"Ignore her," Twice said. "Or rather don't; she's just as much a part of this group. We're a strange bunch, most definitely, but then again so are you. As long as you're here with us, you might as well make the most of it, right?"

Tokoyami relaxed his shoulders. Somehow, he didn't care as much what happened anymore. It all seemed so inevitable, inevitable. He looked over again at Bakugou, still sitting silently before the intimidating Shigaraki. He leaned his head back into the couch, listening in on the villain leader's talk of freedom and respect, of a world that's been led astray because of today's heroes, and further pondered his situation.

Right

"Right."