Heroes in the Dark chapter 13
Everyone seemed to be more relaxed now that Toga was back with readily available supplies, and the day was beginning to end without mark of a serious incident. The same heaviness and feelings of despair from last night were no longer so prevalent as the dust from the chaotic events of the past began to settle. And yet there was still this sensation that everyone was on edge. Tokoyami glanced around the gloomy space, lit up by the orange light of the sunset filtering in through broken windows. Despite the villains' general openness to him, there was something amiss, a feeling that he should be much more concerned than he currently was. Then he remembered that there was a major player in all this that he hadn't seen since first being brought here.
Tokoyami wondered if it was safe to be asking questions that could be sensitive. But so far the only one who'd lashed out at him was the one that wasn't present. They'd shown patience with him thus far, and he hoped that this wouldn't be the exception. Though he wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible, he chose now to stand up, setting aside the new clothes, and approach the villain who seemed to know the most.
Kurogiri watched the captive walk up to him, his emotionless face a mask of purple mist. "Did you…need something?"
"It just seems strange that the person responsible for all this wouldn't be present. It may not be my place to be asking this, but I can't help wondering where Shigaraki is. Or would you prefer to keep me in the dark?"
Kurogiri blinked slowly, processing the words. This quickly caught the interest of the rest of the League. "No. I wouldn't do that to our guest. If you're looking for Shigaraki Tomura, he is around, but not currently here. Which is just as well, because it may not be wise for him to be here."
"And dare I ask why that would be?" Tokoyami pressured.
Kurogiri fiddled with his tie, looking nervous for one who didn't emote well. "As you can imagine, he's still dealing with the stress of last night. He has been struggling with the reality that the Master will no longer be able to help him." Kurogiri looked down at him pointedly. "And he's under the impression that the trade-off could've been better."
Tokoyami looked up at him with bewilderment that quickly turned to anger. But he kept his voice level, hoping to still get more from the second-in-command villain. "The trade-off? All this time, since you two first threatened my school, you're goal has been to kill All Might. Th-that's been accomplished, so why can't it be enough?!"
"Master meant a lot to him, after all. Besides… he never actually got the chance to kill All Might himself. The credit for that goes to All for One and Dark Shadow."
A shudder racked Tokoyami's body as he was once again reminded of his fault. At this point he wouldn't be surprised if they were to continue guilting him with this knowledge as a form of control over him. As though he weren't already so horribly ensnared in their ploy. He timidly stepped back. "I saw what All Might really looked like. He wasn't as strong as so many people were lead to believe, but a shadow of his true image. He…he would've died even without my intervention."
Kurogiri nodded solemnly. "And do you truly believe that?"
"It's not like-!" Tokoyami spluttered as the still-fresh memory of Dark Shadow clawing at his hero flashed in his mind. He lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper. "Don't assume you know what I think."
"I never claimed to."
Tokoyami felt his energy leave him as the stress of his actions began to weigh heavily once more. It hurt to think of what had all transpired, and it hadn't even been a full day. But he had nothing left he was willing to say. Of everyone here, this was the last person he was willing to pick a fight with. Despite the ominous threat he had presented all the way back in the USJ – that was only a few months ago – he was probably the most reserved one here. Or at least the most mentally stable.
He stumbled back, only intending to create some distance between him and the villains, but without even acting like a threat he had it in his mind that they were intentionally surrounding him. "S-stay back. Leave me be!" Tokoyami turned swiftly and made his way through the door he'd entered, grabbing the bag of clothes on the way out and hoping beyond reason that they wouldn't pursue them.
"Dabi, keep an eye on him," Kurogiri ordered.
Dabi looked at the second-in-command with an uncaring stare. "Nah, I think I'm good."
Kurogiri sighed impatiently. "Spinner, you do it."
The lizard-skinned man looked up from where he was sitting on the ground eating his food. "Eh? Ahh…but I already did that last night and –"
"Don't argue, just do it."
Tokoyami listened as the villain caught up to him. He turned to face Spinner as he approached, startling him. "Oh, uh, hey kid. You…doing okay?" Tokoyami couldn't tell if he was genuinely concerned. But probably not, so he met him with silence and glaring red eyes. Spinner cursed Kurogiri under his breath as he walked around the crow-headed student to take the lead. "Yeah. So the room from last night is over here. If there's a better room, I can't be bothered to find it. That's where you were headed right? Because we can't really let you go anywhere else, ya know."
Tokoyami followed behind him diligently, but didn't find a justifiable reason to give him a response.
"Cool. No, that's fine. It's not like I want to go home or anything."
"Why don't you?"
Spinner looked back. "Oh hey, there's a thought." They reached the room with the beds and he opened the door, waiting for Tokoyami to enter first. He did, and sat himself on a bed looking out at the sunset, setting the bag beside him. Spinner stood mindlessly in the doorframe. "But no, we can't really do that right now. See, initially the plan would be that if anything big were to happen that the league should split up so that we could lay low for a while. Society is definitely out for us now, so we'd be better off not drawing attention. Of course, these are some interesting circumstances, huh. We can't go back to our old hideout, we can't really move anywhere from here without drawing suspicion, and we can't separate… because we have to keep our newest member in check."
"That's unfortunate. It's almost as though this whole ordeal has worked out badly for everyone," Tokoyami remarked. "And might I ask, what's stopping you from doing as you please? It doesn't seem as though you're regarded very highly within this group of peers, yet you strike me as someone independent enough to move on his own. Stain also worked mostly on his own, right?"
Spinner crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, taking a moment to think. "What? N-no, Shigaraki knows Stain, worked with him even. I've learned a lot about my idol, but the bottom line is that working alone increases the chances of failure, and in the end that's why Stain was caught. And that's why I need to be here with the league! With his ideals, we can accomplish so much for the greater good that society doesn't even know yet! The position we're in now isn't as important as our final goal in the grand scheme of things, ya know?"
"No. I don't know."
"And I can't explain it! It's kids like you that make some things so difficult," Spinner huffed.
"I'm glad," Tokoyami said with a deadpan stare before sitting down on the dilapidated bed.
Spinner gave up with a resigned sigh, sitting down on the adjacent bed. He was still muttering to himself, but Tokoyami hoped that he was rethinking some of what he knew from being in the Villain Alliance. Of all the members here, Tokoyami got the impression that he was the most likely to rethink their actions and leave the evil group. He wasn't as malicious as he was misguided by someone smart enough to lead him on with falsehoods, and as such was left mostly in the dark. Many of the other members he didn't understand, but this scaly Stain impersonator must have a greater moral compass of some kind if he's spouting words about doing good for society.
"I'm watching over you again tonight, apparently, so do me a favor and make my life a little easier, alright? If you need anything, let me know, but I'd prefer not to hear a peep out of you until morning," Spinner said, shifting around on his own small bed and laying his swords by his side.
Tokoyami settled down himself, making himself as comfortable as he could in the repugnant circumstances. He rested his head on the bag that Toga had given him, its contents yet untouched, and turned his back on Spinner to stare out the window in witness to the darkened sky. Despite how tired he was and how much his muscles ached, he wasn't willing to fall asleep just yet. He laid still and let his breathing slow, but his eyes remained open and focused on the lights of the distant city that were so far beyond his reach. It was like this that he waited, ever patient and dormant to the rest of the world. Until the shallow breaths of his watcher turned to light snores.
Tokoyami slid carefully off the bed with hardly a sound until he was crouching on the ground. He peeked over his bed to look at the sleeping figure of Spinner.
A familiar voice prodded his mind. What are you going to do? Dark Shadow was speaking to him again, and this time the voice didn't seem mocking or sinister, but intrigued, like an onlooker waiting for a disaster to happen.
Tokoyami felt inclined to respond honestly. I don't know, but I don't think they'll kill me for trying, right?
Dark Shadow only laughed at him. There was a good chance that he still wouldn't be able to rely on the unpredictable quirk. It was disappointing, but not unexpected. That was fine. I can get as far as I need to on my own.
Tokoyami glided across the old tile floors with as much stealth as he could muster, making his way towards the open door. Upon passing the comatose Spinner's bed, he regarded him for a moment. Even in the almost nonexistent light, he could make out the villain, curled up obliviously with an arm wrapped protectively over his swords. He briefly considered how much more interesting it would be to have a sword at his disposal during this time, but figured it would do him little good, and attempting to steal a weapon so well guarded was a fool's mistake. I have a far superior sword waiting for me back at home. Tokoyami hadn't thought much of home since getting wrapped up in all the chaos, but it was horribly disheartening to be so far from familiarity and comfort. Now was hardly the time to be thinking about that, either. All he could do was focus on the present as he made his way across the room.
Upon reaching the doorframe, Tokoyami stuck his beak cautiously into the hallway. Just a few feet away was another figure, that of Mr. Compress, sitting with his back to the wall and also asleep. If this was the best these villains could do as precautionary measures, then they had no right keeping him here in the first place.
Tokoyami veered off in the opposite direction, avoiding the wistfully unaware watch guard and heading to where he knew an exit would be. He walked purposefully but with caution, every step deliberate. Although the dark should've been impeding his progress, his eyes were already well adjusted and the cover of night filled him with confidence. As much trouble as it gave him, this was truly his element.
He reached the door that lead behind the building to where he'd been fighting Dabi earlier, his progress unchallenged. The night air was fresh, hardly any remaining smell of burning left from the field (although scorch marks from a few hours prior could still be visibly seen by the light of the moon). It was a wonder that the fire-using villain never set the forest ablaze. But none of that mattered now so long as he was in the clear.
Where will you go now?
To where that city is, obviously, Tokoyami said to the inner voice. Someone there will help me.
You don't know that, whispered Dark Shadow ominously. You know nothing of the aftermath of All Might's demise. You've been conspiring with villains. It might not be good to be found right now.
Ridiculous. I'm not so deep into the darkness that I won't be able to find my way out, so don't pull me back in!
Dark Shadow growled as Tokoyami fled from the building and into the nearby cover of the woods. These villains aren't done with you.
Tokoyami felt a shudder run through him as he reached the sparse forest foliage. He picked his way through it until the decaying building could no longer be seen. He took the time to stop and take a shaky breath, his frayed nerves easing up ever so slightly. It was still the dead of night and as far as he knew, nobody had been disturbed. Those villains hopefully won't discover his absence until he's long gone. Which was just as well, because he doubted he'd be able to move very fast with how tired and aching his body already was.
In this moment of stillness, a sound rang out in the forest. Tokoyami tensed, listening close, and could swear he heard a voice in the distance. But it wasn't coming from the direction of the building where the villains were, but rather deeper into the woods.
Follow it.
Because it could be someone who could help me?
…
Tokoyami held a reasonable amount of suspicion. He was sure he could make it out here on his own, and anything that could blow his cover was a risk he couldn't afford to take. And yet…
Find the source, Dark Shadow insisted once more. It could stand to benefit you.
Despite his caution, Tokoyami reached the decision that he should start listening to what his quirk had to say. It was a part of him, and so he should be able to trust it. He couldn't help also acknowledging that there was no guarantee he'd even be able to make his way all the way to the city in his weakened state. He went with the quirk's idea and began creeping closer to where the sounds were coming from. Dark Shadow became quiet as the noises could be heard clearer, and as he approached them his unease could only grow. When the voice he had heard was finally recognizable, he could already make out the source of the commotion. Dread washed over him, for although he had evaded the sleeping villains, he hadn't expected that he'd be willingly walking towards the greatest threat to him. For standing just ahead of him in a small break in the trees, still very distressed, destructive, and clearly awake, stood Shigaraki Tomurs rampaging in the dead of night.