Heroes in the Dark

by Iffondrel

Taking place during the School Trip Arc, we center on Tokoyami in the aftermath of Dark Shadow's rampage. Villains wanting to capture Bakugou set their sights on Tokoyami, and the connection these two have had since fighting in the Sport's Festival will decide what'll happen to them after being brought over by Tomura's League of Villains, with devastating consequences for Tokoyami.

57. Chapter 57

Heroes in the Dark chapter 52

The next few days spent in the villain hospital passed slowly, where everyone was getting progressively more board and anxious while waiting on his recovery. In the aftermath of everything that had happened, the League was hesitant to part ways in the case that their location might be tracked down. And so for, as long as Tokoyami continued to rest, so did the van, their only mode of transportation, stay parked. The villains themselves came and went, drifting the halls and slipping outside under the cover of night when anything was needed. Tokoyami inevitably got used to having them in the small room he was limited to. Apparently the staff of this underground facility didn't appreciate having them roaming the halls, which was understandable. At the very least, Tokoyami didn't hear the villains complain much about these circumstances. Even if it meant a few more days of aggravating patience, the doctor's request for them to hold on a bit longer for Tokoyami to recover before being discharged was taken seriously. It was hard to protest the people responsible for pouring their resources into fixing one of the League's problems, especially since it didn't sound like they had the funding to pay them back for their services at the moment. When you were left with so little to work with, it was hard not to be grateful for the small successes. That's how Tokoyami imagined the League was handling it, anyway.

But the time the League spent in the hospital with him wasn't entirely wasted, either. They took the time to discuss future plans, potential hideouts, and new objectives. It used to be that Shigaraki didn't like having Tokoyami around for these sorts of discussions, but now he didn't even bat an eye when everyone came together in the small room to openly talk about the plans for the League of Villains. Tokoyami would listen quietly to these, sitting up cross-legged on his bed while everyone else sat on the ground, leaned against walls, or – if you were Shigaraki – sat on the new chair that had been begrudgingly given to them by staff after he'd destroyed the last one.

It felt strange, though. After all the time he'd spent in the clutches of the League or working aside them in the case of the yakuza, this was the first time he'd been able to actually observe them interacting with each other without the threat of endangerment or feeling of imposing damnation. Though Shigaraki still possessed bitterness over the loss of Kurogiri and the place he'd only been able to call home for just over a month, the general mood seemed to be that of hesitant optimism while they figured out how to get everything in as much order as they could.

Nevertheless, it still felt like they had all agreed to deliberately avoid certain topics. They'd likely been able to talk about plenty of other pressing subjects while Tokoyami had been in a comatose state. It felt strange – after everything that had happened, they avoided talking about Overhaul. For someone that had been such a negative influence upon him, a powerful entity that had put them all through so much trouble, very little was actually said about him. All Tokoyami could glean, even after his attempts to inquire further, was that he was the heroes' problem now. Probably hauled off to Tartarus or something like that. And yet he wasn't ignorant of the way that Spinner would avert his eyes at the mention of the yakuza's name, how Mr. Compress would roll one of his marbles between the fingers of his good hand and how the beginning of a smirk would tear at the edges of Shigaraki's mouth. It all felt so intentional, and Tokoyami couldn't help but wonder if something had happened before that half of the League had picked them up in the aftermath of the yakuza mission.

The only time he'd gotten a hint of what had happened was when Tokoyami had asked Spinner about his driving ability, since he was their "designated driver."

Spinner had turned sheepish at the inquiry, much to Tokoyami's bemusement, but he responded nonetheless. "Yeah! Uh, about that. I don't have a license or anything, I was just sort of the best for the job I guess? I make do with what I have, and in this case it was the skill I picked up from racing games that got me where I needed to be for the mission!"

That… doesn't sound particularly comforting. Was he really our ride through all this?

At that point Dabi could see the doubt on Tokoyami's face and explained further. "It's not like we were trying to drive good or anything. We needed everyone for the mission, so Spinner drove while the rest of us were preoccupied with other important stuff."

"I could've fought too!" Spinner spoke up indignantly. "Of course I could've, with my swords and…"

Dabi blinked coolly at him. "I didn't say you couldn't, just that you were more useful in the front seat."

Spinner huffed and averted his gaze begrudgingly, his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. But Tokoyami's interest had been piqued. "What kind of fighting are you talking about, anyway? I remember hearing that you were driving to pick us up, but not much else."

Despite his interest, they both quickly brushed it aside as though it held no meaning, leading him to believe that he had missed an important detail.

But besides that, Tokoyami was kept relatively up to speed on what was happening. Shigaraki and Mr. Compress had charged themselves with locating a new hideout, which mostly consisted of trying to find abandoned buildings in remote areas that weren't complete garbage, a task easier said than done since they couldn't go out to check these places in person yet. Toga and Twice tended to hang around him the most, as if they had some sort of responsibility over him or something, a fact that didn't surprise him much after everything that had happened. Spinner and Dabi came and went as they pleased, doing whatever they felt was important. Tokoyami just as readily assumed they didn't like the confines of the room and made themselves busy elsewhere, probably wandering the nearby streets or halls.

On his fifth day in the hospital, he'd finally felt well enough to walk around confidently, and was given clearance from Shigaraki and the doctor to walk around the dank hallways. Although his recovery felt slow and almost pointless, the villains waiting on him were impatient about getting him into a more stable position. As far they were concerned, any step forward was going in the right direction. And so Twice and Spinner followed him, leading him through the medical facility and offering support where it was needed.

Although it felt slow and tedious, and the heavy application of bandages covering him strained with every movement, he felt like he could take his time. Even though this situation had come at his own expense and he was paying the price for it, between the two villains escorting him he didn't feel like he was in danger. His time in Overhaul's labyrinth, living in fear of those yakuza while struggling to stand both alongside and against them, was behind him. The threat of death no longer loomed over him, even as he walked through the dimly lit hallways sided by people with criminal records. That part hardly mattered as much as it used to, although the fact that he was literally leaning on them for support made his heart heavy. It wasn't so much about what evil was intent on controlling him, but rather that he should at least be trying a bit harder to live through it despite the troubles it brought.

Twice hadn't said much about his own time spent with the yakuza since Tokoyami had been awake, but he had seen enough of the morally divided man to know that he felt guilty for what had happened. Twice didn't like seeing the people he considered friends get hurt, and while the memory of Magne remained fresh, he felt that much more determined to ensure the well-being of Tokoyami in the aftermath of a vicious battle that had left the bird-headed boy so injured.

Spinner had been left out of much of this, to where Tokoyami could only question yet again what roll he was truly trying to play in Shigaraki's schemes. He'd been left out of the night where they'd first encountered Overhaul, and it felt like he was distant from most fights in general, despite his strong ideals and being equipped with swords. Outside of his vigilante-style Stain roleplay, Tokoyami wasn't even sure what damage, if any, he had brought to the world – only that he was complicit with the activities of the League. He wondered, not for the first time, if Shigaraki was worried about losing his grasp on the young idealist should Spinner start thinking too heavily into their true paths veering further from Stain's plans. But now the reptilian villain was by his side and fretting over his recovery much like the rest. Even though Tokoyami hadn't been around him much, he remembered from previous conversations that Spinner also had an air of watchfulness when regarding him. He had it in his mind that he was doing what was best for the sake of society, and it didn't feel as though he was actually looking for any innocents or "true" heroes to be hurt. Evidently that included him.

Tokoyami fumbled his way through the halls until he fell into a rhythm. Ignoring the weariness he felt, he began feeling like he was making good progress. There were only so many working lights in the halls that much of the area was cast in shadow. But that didn't seem to make a difference either way – no matter what, he still felt weak, as though the difference of light and dark was meaningless. With a heavy heart, he took a moment to look inside himself and seek out the presence of his quirk. He'd done this multiple times since awaking, but every instance had been met with futility. It was still there, the feeling of darkness resting deep inside him, but whenever he attempted to disturb the being, it remained dormant. In this state of recovery, his quirk would not move or even speak to him. He was only vaguely aware that he still possessed it within himself, but the power stayed deaf to his pleas.

Tokoyami's head dipped down in sullen understanding, knowing he'd brought this upon himself by pushing too hard. Caught up in these thoughts as he was, his feet began to drag. Tokoyami stumbled on the uneven tile floor, but his escort was quick to keep him on his feet.

"You're not getting tired, are you?" Spinner asked. "It's fine if you want to turn back now. After all, you already fought hard for a good cause, so you deserve to rest."

Tokoyami shook his head. "Even still, I have no doubt that more will be expected of me. It's for the best that I work to better myself so that I don't have to suffer as much in the future, should there still be plans for me."

Spinner frowned at that, a look of concern written across his face. "You don't have to…" He ended up giving up on what he was about to say, resigning himself to a sigh. "Alright, but let's try not to stray too far anyway. We need to get you back to the room at some point, and I don't know this place well enough to ensure that we won't have any run-ins."

Tokoyami lifted his head back up, paying notice to his environment. He realized for the first time just how quiet it was here, and that they had yet to pass any other people. "I don't believe that will be an issue," he muttered.

"I guess this place is supposed to be more on the down-low, huh," Spinner said, meeting his observation.

"If we make too much noise, heroes might come knocking down the doors," Twice said, speculating on the area before turning around on that theory. "What the hell, I thought people were supposed to be livelier here. Where's the excitement?!"

In the quiet of the underground, the sound of a cry in the distance could be heard, and the three of them instantly went on edge. The sound of footsteps thrumming against the floor was getting noticeably closer to them. Twice muttered something about no fighting in the halls and readied his bracelet weapons while Spinner stepped forward, one hand pushing Tokoyami back slightly and the other on his sword hilt.

Someone came swinging around the corner, a laugh on her lips and a knife in her hands. Toga looked about ready to stab the closest person before realizing just who it was that stood in her way, and Spinner and Twice backed away quickly out of range.

"Toga! You better not be causing trouble," Twice chastised. "You're not having fun without me, are you?"

Spinner unsheathed the blade that he had been just about ready to swing. "You should be more careful – you never know who else might be hanging around a place like this. I thought Compress told you to be more conscious of where we are?"

"Oh! Oh! Don't worry, I am!" she said, a bit too excitedly. Tokoyami noted that she was the only one still with her weapon out. "But don't you think that's exactly what makes it so thrilling?" She scooted right past Spinner to stand between Tokoyami and Twice, a glimmer in her eyes. "Hey, you're not gonna believe this. There's yakuza here! Some of Overhaul's lackeys actually escaped the heroes and made their way here!"

Tokoyami winced. "Wha—who is it?!"

"Hmm? Oh yeah. No idea! Nobody important, but I overheard them spouting some garbage about how they want to "reignite the glory their boss left behind" or some shit. And you just know they looked like easy targets."

Twice groaned. "If you stabbed anyone, they'll kick us out! I bet you could've taken them on easily, though. Why didn't you?!"

"Aww, don't worry. I think we've hurt them enough as it is, it just felt so good to give them hell before a nurse started yelling at me," Toga giggled.

"No kidding," Spinner muttered darkly. "There's no way they'd try to regroup after the state that Overhaul was left in. That was a warning, after all."

Tokoyami looked at him curiously. "I know Overhaul was taken in by the heroes, but he's still a largely influential person. Is it truly strange to think that his followers might hope to follow in his path or try to get him back? After all, this group also has people they want freed from the heroes, though it's dubious that will ever happen."

Tokoyami was observant of the look the three of them shared, like there was some sick inside joke they were all in on.

"Er, I don't think Overhaul will ever be in a position to…" Spinner began carefully.

Toga cut in when he hesitated too long. "Those yakuza shouldn't even think about acting out when we're the ones who should be on top, don't you think? We made it out just fine and they're the ones who lost everything. So let's just leave it at that!"

Tokoyami had grown too tired of her antics to question her further, even though their words made his feathers prickle with unease. Toga ended up tagging along with them on their way back to the room so that Twice could keep an eye on her, and from there on they managed to stay out of trouble. The incident with Toga and the stray ex-yakuza who had come to the villain hospital seeking asylum was later reported. Word ended up getting to Shigaraki, but he didn't care much since he was already intent on leaving this abysmal place soon anyways. The doctor that had been put in charge of Tokoyami was able to make a case on their behalf to the rest of the small group of disgruntled staff in charge of this place, but they were sure to watch them more closely so long as the League was under their roof.

Toga made it a point to spend less time harassing the people inside the building and more time wandering outside after that, as risky as that opportunity seemed to present itself. But so long as she didn't get caught, nobody else complained. She was best equipped to slip among the cracks of society anyway.

Regardless of what hazards she created in the outside world, the next morning she came to Tokoyami with a gift. While the rest of the League spent their time idly, she came through the door with a shopping bag in one hand and a smug smile on her face. She plopped the bag next to where he was sitting in bed and waited for a response.

Tokoyami glared at her. "And what, dare I ask, have you done this time?"

"Hey, don't just assume I'm responsible for everything. This time it was Tomura's request! I'm just the right person for the job~" Toga purred.

Tokoyami poked skeptically at the bag, but peering inside could see that it was filled with clothes. "Shopping again? Why must my wardrobe always be at your mercy?"

Toga could barely contain her smile. She looked all too proud of her choices today. "I think you know why. Don't worry – I tried them on and I think they'd look great you!"

Shigaraki looked up from the handheld console that was gripped precariously in his hands. "You left your stuff back in that yakuza shithole. Clothes aren't cheap, you know. Start keeping track of what we supply you with or else I can't promise that you'll get anything ever again."

Video games aren't cheap either, and yet somehow you always manage to have a new one, Tokoyami thought to himself in annoyance. He watched as the villain went back to his game, with Spinner attempting to look over his shoulder to watch what he was playing. But rather than point that out aloud, he resigned himself to a sigh. "So then what became of the outfit the yakuza had given me? The formal attire and…?"

"It was disgusting, so I burned it," Dabi said matter-of-factly. He didn't even look up from whatever he was reading.

"It was most certainly for the best," Mr. Compress assured. He'd been sitting on the ground fiddling with a deck of cards until now. "You wouldn't have wanted to see the horrid condition it was in, although I'm sure they must've looked nice at some point. There was no point in trying to salvage something from the yakuza, though."

Tokoyami figured it'd be best to keep quiet about it and assume that they were right, but the thought that bothered him needed to be said. "Does that include the cloak?"

The people in the cramped room stopped what they were doing to regard him curiously.

Mr. Compress considered that for a moment. "Also set ablaze, not that it matters much anymore. But now that I think about it, it makes sense that you might have a fondness of capes. A flare for the dramatic, is it?"

"It serves a functional purpose, I'll have you know!" Tokoyami objected. He was the last person in this room that should be judged for their choices, and he wasn't about to be ridiculed for his choice of style.

But that wasn't ever really an issue. "That's fine. Who wants to be responsible for finding the bird a cape?" Shigaraki asked, looking around the room.

"Ah, well I suppose I can do that and give miss Toga a break from shopping," Mr. Compress mused. "Of course, heroes always have better access to more specialized items, but I'm sure I can find something that suits you. You'd want a black fabric, I assume?"

Tokoyami gripped the bag on clothes in his hands. He hadn't known what to expect, but thinking about it most of these villainous individuals donned their own eccentric styles. His meager desire felt relatively tame in comparison. "That's… that's right. A full-body cloak was essential to my old hero costume. It was necessary in providing shade that allowed Dark Shadow to thrive even in sunlight." And… heroes also wear capes to wrap up and protect little girls in pain, Tokoyami thought quietly, remembering those words spoken by Lemillion. He could never openly express that part of his request was rooted in his desire to hold onto heroism with what little he had left.

"Capes can sometimes lead to difficulty in movement, but if you need something like that to enhance your quirk then I can understand why you'd want another one," the masked magician agreed.

Shigaraki stared hard at him. "About that," he began slowly, putting Tokoyami back on edge. "What, exactly, is the state of your quirk? You've been very quiet about that power you had, though I wasn't able to witness it myself."

Tokoyami's mouth went dry and he swallowed painfully. He shifted nervously from where he was perched on the bed, a feeling that wasn't helped when Toga sat on the bed next to him and tilted her head to the side curiously.

Twice spoke up before he could. "Yeah, it was incredible, I had no idea the little guy had so much destructive power! We should be careful about it – I'd hate to see something like that get out of hand."

"Didn't I tell you he was capable of such strength?" Mr. Compress boasted. "What most of you might remember from the bar incident with the heroes was nothing compared to what I saw in the forest. And if Toga's account of the Overhaul battle is trustworthy, then he can achieve even greater power! Now isn't that remarkable?"

Tokoyami kept his beak tilted downwards. He no longer felt that it was worth hiding anything from these people – especially if they had overblown expectations for him that could potentially land him in more dangerous situations. When he spoke, it came out in a quiet mutter. "Dark Shadow won't talk to me." But the only one close enough to hear that was Toga, whose gleeful smile faded from her face.

Shigaraki blinked slowly, unamused. He passed the handheld to Spinner and leaned forward on his chair. "You're going to have to speak up more than that."

Tokoyami felt dread fill him. Try as he might, no amount of persistence had made Dark Shadow flicker with life. It wasn't quite like being quirkless – he knew what that felt like, and this wasn't it – but the emptiness of having nobody to talk to internally was the same. Dark Shadow wasn't sharing any amount of power with him. Even the nights had passed quietly without a twinge of dark energy. There was just a motionless mass buried deep within him, a coal that had grown cold after the roaring fire had left it small and fragile. And while he felt desperate to nurture that remnant and relight that fire, he also couldn't help but worry that if he tried to hard it might crumble altogether. What purpose in life would he have then? What use to these villains was he if he'd been left so weak? While the quietness of his quirk had left him somber, Tokoyami also couldn't help but fear what the League might think. If he couldn't promise them anything, then that would make him disposable, and there was no chance of them just washing their hands of the situation and giving him up to the heroes. So that meant… even after everything he had gone through just to do what was right and survive… that he would still end up…

Tokoyami sighed, accepting of whatever fate had to give him. "My quirk is being unresponsive right now. I used it too much and now I can't feel anything from it. As it stands, I'm not even sure if it'll ever be able to fight for a user that put it through as much as I did." Tokoyami's voice was heavy with regret and bitterness. In the midst of the fight, he knew he'd been too demanding, pushing the limits over and over within such a small period of time. He'd disregarded so much of what his quirk had been trying to say, even though it was the only thing that had stood up for him time and time again without hesitation. It felt wrong now, his actions during the fight and the recklessness of his quirk usage. But inside Tokoyami knew that he'd do it all again if it meant ensuring the same future where the heroes came out victorious. Maybe it was that thought alone – the fact that he'd be willing to put Dark Shadow through that all over again in an act of selfish heroism – that instilled such profound sorrow within the quirk. This was a revelation that could not be hidden within their shared mind. It was a deeply rooted fact that neither of them could ignore, and no amount of apologies from Tokoyami could remedy that.

Of course Dark Shadow wasn't responding to him. It didn't want to get hurt again.

The mood in the room shifted. Whoever had been content with continuing their pastimes had abandoned such things in order to turn their attention to Tokoyami with mixed reactions of confusion, irritation, and alarm.

Shigaraki held his hand in front of his face, covering his expression out of habit. When it was just the League members in the room, he didn't bother wearing any of the creepy hands that were normally associated with him. The habit was to be expected, but Tokoyami could still see clearly how his brow furrowed in dissatisfaction, the crusty wrinkles around his red eyes deepening and becoming lost in shadow. "So then is your quirk… gone? Did Overhaul manage to erase it in the end?" There was less anger than he thought there'd be and more disbelief, but it didn't make the subject any less painful to explain.

Tokoyami stammered out a response. "N-no, he – it is still there. I can feel it. But Dark Shadow is choosing not to cooperate with me right."

Shigaraki muffled a curse into his hand while the other hand twitched aggressively. Spinner wisely shifted out of his reach, turning from their leader to Tokoyami with alarm as if silently demanding why the hell he would say this.

It was Dabi that ended up standing from his spot in order to make better sense of the problem. "So what? We've dealt with this before. Dark Shadow didn't want to work last time you overdid it. So you learned how to be better on your own and over time the quirk went back to fighting alongside you. Are you really so surprised that by falling back into that trap you've set yourself back?"

Tokoyami couldn't suppress the feeling of shame that welled inside at the accusatory tone being directed at him. He'd known the risks and had listened to the warnings but still managed to further desecrate the connection he shared with his quirk. And Dabi knew damn well without even being there to witness the fight that it'd been Tokoyami's actions that had created this divide. "You're right… of course you'd say that. But this time is different. He won't even talk to me. It's been almost three days since I woke up and I haven't even been able to feel him move, let alone speak a single word," Tokoyami explained miserably. And yet even as he said it, he couldn't help but feel a shred of relief at getting this revelation out in the open. It was all he had to hide, and although his grief remained burdening, at the very least he wasn't alone in it. It was the League's problem too.

Dabi ran a hand through his unkempt hair in thinly concealed frustration. He was quicker to respond this time, realizing the urgency of the matter. "Okay, you're quirk is being more stubborn than last time. Is that what I'm hearing?" He let out an agitated sigh, searching for what to say next. Tokoyami figured he didn't appreciate being the center speaker for this subject, but he was surprisingly straightforward in his honesty when it came to the nature of quirks. "Look, these things are bound to take time, maybe more so than last time, but you're not gonna be this way forever. Quirks are supposed to change and adapt with their users. That doesn't always happen, but from seeing the way you work with your quirk, I don't think something like this is permanent." It looked like he wanted to say more, but the whole room was listening to him speak. Not wanting to be put on the spot, he rolled his eyes and stepped away. He wasn't about to be the only one voicing his opinion here.

Shigaraki exhaled a raspy breath, dispelling some of his bottled-up agitation. "So you're saying that he needs to grind for more of the training he was going through before just to get back to level one."

Spinner set the handheld down on the ground and turned to Shigaraki. "No no no, he's still a high level he just needs to unlock his equipment again. But by the time we reach that point it might not be on the same level as he is so we'd have to work on making them equal strengths again." Spinner's interpretation gave their leader pause, and Shigaraki considered this dynamic seriously.

"You can't just treat this like a video game – we should approach this more realistically," Twice urged before biting back with a different viewpoint. "That quirk has another thing coming if it thinks it can wimp out on us now!"

"Are you… threatening my quirk?" Tokoyami balked.

Mr. Compress sighed dramatically. "Well, we can't very well threaten you. You're damaged enough as it is. All this nonsense about "leveling up" when really all you need is some time to recover in peace."

"You say that but the way I see it Dark Shadow always comes out to save Fumikage when he's in danger sooo…" Toga noted, all the while sitting next to Tokoyami while fiddling with her knife. Tokoyami turned to her in exasperation. "What? I'm not wrong, am I?"

Tokoyami wasn't about to justify her with a response.

Shigaraki held his hands out in a stopping motion, reigning control back in. Even though it didn't feel like so long since Kurogiri was last with the group, Shigaraki had already been making strides to better assume a more appropriate leadership role that sought to work through the members of this rag-tag group. "You all need to shut up and let me think. I don't care if this ends up being more trouble than it's worth. We won't be in this hospital much longer so we need to figure this out now. So long as he's under our charge and in a secure location, he should be able to recover, but right now we don't have a place like that. He also shouldn't be involved in any future missions if he's going to be like this. I'm not about to give up on his potential, though, so we just need to find a location where we can stick him for now and deal with when his quirk starts to recover." Shigaraki glared at each League member in turn. "And I get the feeling you all care a bit too much to let him get tossed aside now."

"So what are you suggesting we do?" Spinner pressed.

Shigaraki fell silent for a moment, until his line of sight landed on one person in particularly. "Didn't you say you had an apartment?"

And just like that the focus shifted back to Dabi.

Apparently he hadn't been ready for the abrupt question, because the look of absolute disappointment drawn across Dabi's patchwork face was all too clear. "You've got to be shitting me."

Wait. What's happening.

"Didn't you tell me that you had personal responsibility over this kid?" Shigaraki all but sneered.

Dabi's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "I trained him for a while, yeah, but I really don't think you should be–"

"Ah, I see," Mr. Compress pondered. "You spent the most time with the young bird ensuring his progress, correct? And you said yourself that you have a stable location. This is a good opportunity to get him back into a progressive rhythm of recovery and training."

"Honestly, I think you set yourself up for that one," Spinner muttered.

"I also… have an apartment," Twice mentioned hesitantly. "I'm not looking for a roommate, though!"

"I mean, you're always off doing your own thing anyway. Having a new roommate can't possibly be that much extra work, yeah?" Toga pressed, not without laughing at his expense.

Dabi's initial shock was quickly turning into anger. "Do you really think I'm not already busy? That I have nothing better going on than looking after a bird that hit the window too hard? I've been—!"

"You can bitch about how unfair this is all you want but that doesn't ignore the fact that this might be our best option if there really is any use to get out of Tokoyami," Shigaraki growled. "Short-sighted as it is, now that it's been put out there I can't imagine a more appropriate fit."

Against his better judgment, Tokoyami's feathers fluffed up indignantly. "Do my own woes carry no substance in this matter?"

When Shigaraki looked at him, it was as though he were fully acknowledging him for the first time, seeing all that there was in the aftermath of something arduous and damning. But there was no anger or irritation. Only a determination to ensure the success of whatever plans that Shigaraki had envisioned, no matter what. And even though Tokoyami felt no danger, he did feel worry squirm its way through him, whispering cautionary tales of the destructive capabilities that a single person can possess.

"I don't think you're in any position to complain, either. You still have a life to live, don't you? Consider yourself lucky you're not dead and try to make the most of the hand I'm dealing you." No snide comments or unfulfilling promises. Shigaraki's words somehow seemed absolute, and Tokoyami's beak remained shut after that.

"And what about me?" Dabi hissed. "I could refuse you if I wanted, and then you'd be out of a babysitter. What would you do then? All it takes is me losing track of him and suddenly you've lost your precious pawn. Would you just blame me for everything that went wrong?"

Shigaraki stood up from his seat to see eye-to-eye with the fire-user. "You say that, but I don't think you're that incompetent. I think you're fully capable of taking on this task – you're just trying to avoid it because it's easier that way. But I'll tell you why you're going to do this." A tattered smile flickered over Shigaraki's face in a way that didn't feel quite natural. "It's because you still feel guilty for getting Tokoyami involved that night. It's because it's thanks to you that Overhaul took an interest in him and deal negotiations left me little choice. The way I see it, he was in your care for weeks until Overhaul showed up. Even though we don't have to worry about that yakuza bastard ever again, the damage he did to us – to Tokoyami – has already been done. And I know you hold responsibility for that."

Dabi glared at him icily. This time he didn't lash back with a cutting remark. This wasn't his game to win.