Heroes in the Dark: chapter 20

Nobody dared to move or make any attempt at pursuit as they listened to the yakuza drive away from the scene. As though nothing had happened. As though this whole dispute could be deemed so casual that it was just like any other. The business card that the murderous man had had the audacity of leaving sat untouched on the dirtied floor. Bits of debris continued to fall from where the monstrous follower had so easily broken through, and black embers rained down in small doses from when Dabi had scorched the rafters mere moments ago. It had all happened at such an alarming pace that everyone was left in a state of shock. Nobody could've predicted this outcome from meeting with a has-been gangster.

Tokoyami kept his head strictly downwards, trying his best to block out everything around him. His chest ached from where he'd been so easily grabbed, and he was trembling from the aftermath of destruction. Directly beside him, Dabi stirred from where he had been so unceremoniously dropped on the ground. He struggled to get up, pushing his arm against the floor to heft himself into an unsteady sitting position with a grunt of effort. Some of the staples holding his charred skin together were torn or ripped out of place, leaving his face like even more of a painful mess. He carefully brushed some blood off his cheek as he surveyed the scene.

With a rattled breath, he whispered so that only Tokoyami could hear: "Sorry…If I'd known this would happen I wouldn't have…we shouldn't have been here."

Tokoyami let out a tired sigh, closing his eyes tight in the hope of tuning out the rest of the world. I don't want to hear it, Dabi.

Footsteps approached them, and he regretfully acknowledged whatever villain was coming their way. He was surprised to see that it was Toga. Her eyes were bleary and filled with hurt, but her fingers twitched like she wanted desperately to stab something. "Wish I could say I'm happy you're here, but you have some terrible timing. Then again, I don't think any of us were very lucky tonight. Some less than others, anyway." Her voice was surprisingly calm, and she crouched down next to the two of them with a pout on her face. Although usually being too close to the deranged schoolgirl made him uncomfortable, right now that was the last of his worries. He wasn't sure exactly what sort of comfort their presence offered her, but it was better than the alternative.

Twice was still tending to a disabled Mr. Compress, who was clutching the stump where his arm used to be. They'd ripped off part of his sleeve and tied it around his arm to stem the bleeding, but the wound and hard feelings were still fresh. Shigaraki stood over what remained of Magne. He clutched and unclutched his hands, filled with the desire to use his quirk upon the bastard who had gloated over them. That man and his followers had so easily crippled their forces, which had already been cut after the forest raid. They'd been made a fool of, and he hadn't been able to get even with them. Tonight, more than anything, had been an utter failure on his part.

Things remained silent for a while, with only the sounds of Mr. Compress's pained breathing and Twice's upset sniveling being heard in the stillness of night. When Shigaraki finally stirred from his vigil over Magne, it was as though he was moving out from a daze. But then he started moving purposefully over to them. He stepped through the blood and debris, and ignored the pile of dust that was Overhaul's fodder follower. Tokoyami tensed as he neared, not ready for another confrontation. But he was also ignored, much to his relief. Instead, the many-handed man went right up to Dabi, who was still situated haphazardly on the floor trying to regain his composure. Without missing a beat, he grabbed Dabi by the front of the shirt and lifted him up. "Why were you here?!" he hissed, anger prominent in his voice.

Startled, Dabi shoved himself away, but not before Shigaraki had inadvertently disintegrated the front of his shirt with a clenched fist. "Dammit man, lay off! You think I planned for any of this shit to happen?! Don't try and pin this on me!" He struggled to stay on his feet, fumbling to keep his distance.

"I'm not mad at you for interfering. But answer me this – why the actual hell would you bring Tokoyami with you?! The only reason he would be here is if you dragged him along with you. Are you making light of me, thinking you can do something like that without any repercussions? Nobody knew what would happen here tonight. I have to be able to be in control of as many things as possible, but that didn't work out just now, now did it? Do you see the position we were left in?" Shigaraki was seething, but his anger was also lined with concern. His shoulders slumped as weariness began to set in. Tokoyami had seen the villain express his frustrations many times before, but never in a way that was so filled with dread. "That bastard did a lot of damage to us tonight. It bothers me to know that it could've been worse, though. If he had wanted to walk away with the two of you…I don't think I would've been able to do anything to stop him."

That thought hung in the air like a threat, but Tokoyami wasn't sure exactly how much of a difference that would make for him personally. He hesitated to call his imprisonment by the League of Villains meaningful. What, truthfully, was a transfer from one evil organization to the next? In the end, he'd still most certainly be a pawn of the unlawful. And yet at the same time the idea of standing next to that sick plague doctor ruffled his feathers in a way that was different from being with the League, as strange as he found that realization to be. It was frightening to think that another like-minded villain would be posing such a threat.

"Weeell, from the looks of it he still wants to be business partners," Toga said, pointing her knife towards the card he'd left behind. She broke out into an unprovoked smile. "That means we'll get another chance to kill 'im, right Tomura? Please say yes!"

"I hope to do worse," he growled quietly. He glanced over to where Toga was crouched next to Tokoyami. "But you don't need to hear that right now. It's more important that we get back to base and recover from our losses. I'll figure things out after that, rest assured." Shigaraki turned on his heel and went over to check on Mr. Compress. On his way, he pulled out a phone and made a call. "Kurogiri, you need to come get us now. Things did not go well."

Tokoyami felt a shiver run through him. He was thankful that this part of the night was over – really, it had only been a few minutes from when the chaos had started and stopped – but it had left a lasting impression. And still he had more unpleasant things to look forward to. He found himself staring at the pile of dust that was once a person who had had the misfortune of facing Shigaraki, and the trademark plague doctor mask that sat atop it. He tried not to think too much about it, but the vivid imagery remained locked at the forefront of his memories.

Toga poked him in the side, startling him out of his trance. "Hey, so you're not, like, traumatized or anything, right? That'd be a real bummer…"

Tokoyami stared at her incredulously. Her body language suggested that she was distraught, and yet she was able to speak with the same aloof snarkiness that he associated with her. "You saw the same thing I did, shouldn't you be upset?"

Toga looked out over the bloody scene with sad indifference. "I'm not bothered by what happened here. I'm just…disappointed that we had to lose her. I liked her, but not like that." Tokoyami frowned, remembering how excitedly she would sometimes talk of her favorite bloodied things (a list which unnervingly included Midoriya). There was no doubt that she was sadistic, but at the very least she knew who her friends were. "But that just means that it'll feel even better when we get to kill that gangster bastard." Tokoyami couldn't help but notice the smile that had stretched across her face. Despite everything that had happened here tonight, she for one was raring to go.

Dabi stumbled up beside them. "It'd be smarter if we kept our distance for a while. The next time we run into them, I want it to be certain that we have the advantage. But in the meantime…" Across the devastated room, a familiar purple vortex spawned next to Shigaraki. Kurogiri emerged from the darkness, struggling to disguise his surprise at how bad the situation truly was. He helped Twice get Mr. Compress through the portal, and created one below Magne's remains in order to bring back what remained of her to base. "…We need to regroup and really think about what our next move will be. Can you stand?"

Toga rose quickly to her feet. "Just fine, but thank you for your concern~"

Dabi suppressed a sigh. "If you don't plan on being helpful in this situation, you can hurry up and join the others. I have enough to worry about without your unnecessary interjections."

"True! Let's hope Tomura doesn't hold this over you, or you might end up missing out on some of the fun when we get our revenge." Toga turned and offered a hand to Tokoyami. Ever suspicious of her, he shook his head and struggled to rise from the ground on his own. His ribs flared with pain, causing him to grunt in discomfort.

"You alright?" Dabi asked. "I swear I didn't intend for you to get caught in the crossfire. I…well, for a split second I thought I had that under control. But that fight just wasn't fair, you know?" Dabi was hesitant to admit to how easily he had been taken down, but there wasn't really anything he could've done to be victorious given how quickly things had spiraled out of control. "That brute didn't break anything, right?"

Tokoyami pressed lightly against his ribs. Bruised, but not too bad. Considering the raw power evident in the person who had taken him on, it could've been much worse. At least compared to the damage Dabi had sustained from the heavy-fisted brawler. "It's fine. Really. Given what happened, I got off lightly."

Tokoyami crossed the heavily damaged room, flanked on each side by Toga and Dabi. Kurogiri had already gone to assist with Mr. Compress's treatment, but Shigaraki was waiting impatiently next to the portal. He looked between the three of them as they approached. "Stay put for the next few days if you can. Try not to get into hazardous situations while I get some things under way. It'd be annoying if anything else unforgivable were to happen before I have time to react." He was surprisingly calm now, despite everything. Tokoyami hadn't been with the League very long, but even he could see how their leader was adapting to be a more formidable opponent. Quite frankly, it was alarming to think that his growth would make him into an even deadlier obstacle for any hero who might try to stop him.

Toga jumped through the portal with one last remorseful look at the battleground they were leaving behind. Dabi pushed him lightly on the back, more out of habit than anything, since it seems like he's always the one either dragging him or convincing him through Kurogiri's quirk. Tokoyami stepped through, grateful to be leaving that disaster behind but not much more hopeful for the future. He hardly even acknowledged the disorienting effects of the portal before stepping out on the other side, back into the central domain of the League of Villains. It was an underwhelming emergence back into his place of captivity. Despite everything, his situation had barely changed. The only thing he'd gotten from this whole thing was that there were people out there scarier than Shigaraki and that the darkness that villains thrived in was more treacherous than he could ever imagine.

A trail of blood droplets led into a nearby room, and Kurogiri and Twice's voices could be heard arguing. He could only assume that with the proper care Mr. Compress would be just fine, albeit down an arm, but if that's the best to look forward to during these dark times than their outlook on hope was comparatively grim. Tokoyami silently convinced himself not to think about it too much. It wasn't his problem.

Shigaraki finally emerged from the portal, upon which it closed behind him. He looked drained of energy, but what caught Tokoyami's eye the most was a flash of white as the villain leader concealed a slip of paper in his pocket. He immediately identified what it was but decided it was best not to mention it. Regardless, Shigaraki caught his line of sight and glared down at him. "There's nothing else I can really say to you, so get back to your room. I don't have it within me to deal with anything else tonight." He began shuffling down the hallway, pausing briefly outside the door where the blood trail was leading. This was different from when he had lost the Master. This, more than anything, was a personal strike against him. All for One's defeat was a matter between him and All Might. But what had just happened was a direct lash at his own meager competence. Perhaps that's why, rather than the frenzied rage that had engulfed him after losing his mentor, this had left him in a more quiet, demoralized state.

And that could only be his own fault.

After everything that had happened that night, now the three of them were left standing in the plain halls of their hideout. There was very little left to be done, and nothing that would bring peace. Toga was staring a bit too intensely at the blood trail on the tiled floor, a conflicted look written across her face. "I need to get out of here. Go home and do my own things," she muttered quietly to herself.

She probably wasn't asking for a response, but Dabi complied anyway. "Shiggy says he wants us to lay low, remember? Don't do anything that'll get us in trouble."

"Since when did you of all people take his advice?" she grumbled in annoyance. "After all, you just got done pissing him off. It's funny, really."

"Okay, yeah. Fine," Dabi huffed. "Do what you want, just don't let the big mask guys catch you. It'd be a pain if we had to deal with that on top of everything else."

"Aww, are you saying you all would miss me?"

"I can't say I can promise that," Tokoyami mumbled, though his attention was elsewhere.

Toga laughed. "Oh, I see! You're trying to protect my feelings by saying that I shouldn't worry about those things. How sweet~"

"Toga. No."

"Well, hate to say goodbye but love to get out of this depressing place." With a happy little wave, she began to open up the door where Kurogiri was with the others – she still had to use a warp to get out of here, after all. But she turned back a final time, and something about her gave off a more serious edge. "But…make sure you let me know what we plan on doing with Magne. She deserves to rest peacefully. And don't you dare leave me out of the loop when it comes to getting revenge on those gangster bastards, Dabi."

Dabi breathed a weary sigh as she vanished. Now they were the only ones left again. "You should…get back to your room. Try and get some sleep or something."

"That sounds like a sick joke."

He glared down at him. "Shit, I don't know. There's nothing really I can do about that, alright?" He began walking down the dimly lit hall to where Tokoyami's room was, and he dutifully followed. "I know tonight didn't go well, but just…don't think about it too much. I regret pulling you into this already."

Tokoyami walked in relative silence. The only person he wanted to talk to right now was Dark Shadow, but that too was probably going to be a stressful conversation. It seemed that just being relatively stable-minded was a near difficult pursuit, but one he desperately needed to tend to.

They reached his door without incident, but Tokoyami didn't notice until he realized a few seconds late that Dabi had stopped. "You're probably not going to see me tomorrow, but hang tight and the others will figure out what to do with you. I'm going to assume you'll be fine, so get some rest. You made it through the night better than some of us, yeah?" When Tokoyami still didn't respond, he jerked his head pointedly towards the door. He went through willingly, and after a drawn out pause Dabi closed it behind him. From behind the door, he could hear a few quiet explicit words being whispered as Dabi took his leave, clearly distraught by the night's events and perhaps even mad at himself.

Tokoyami turned on his lamp and collapsed onto his bed. Pained and exhausted as he was, he already knew that sleep would not come to soothe him. And if somehow it miraculously did, it would not be peaceful. So instead, he kept himself preoccupied by other means.

Dark Shadow?

… (No response.)

Are you alright?

He let the quirk materialize into the space of the room. He was much calmer than before, now that the threat of immediate danger was gone and they were in a lit room. And yet his eyes sparked with bits of red and the shadowy feathers that encompassed him were jittery and uneven, giving him a slightly wild look.

"I can't be alright if you're not," the quirk hissed.

Tokoyami turned over in bed with a shaky sigh. "Right. I understand that. Can you just stay out here and keep me company for a while?"