Heroes in the Dark: Chapter 15
Tokoyami sat on a tiled floor, head resting on his hand as he looked out over the newspaper pages set out before him. He was wearing the black hoodie and a pair of matching sweats that Toga had gotten him, and a half eaten apple sat on a napkin on the ground at his side. A week had passed since his first wretched day spent with the villains, and still the number of headlines proclaiming the catastrophe he had been entangled in had failed to slow. Kurogiri couldn't very well allow him access to the internet, but he'd made it a point to obtain papers so that he could be aware of what was happening in the outside world. Whether that was a smart move on their part or not couldn't be so easily decided. Tokoyami wished that this access to information would bring him some small comfort, but seeing the dreary hopelessness emanating from these articles did nothing to improve his optimism.
He looked over the boldened titles: "League of Villains Still at Large," "Villain Leader All for One Successfully Detained," "Endeavor Steps Up as #1 Hero in Midst of Rising Crime Rate…" He'd already read through those ones many times at this point. It was all he really had to do. Other articles he was more hesitant to read, even as they laid motionless on the floor: "World Grieves the Loss of the Symbol of Justice," "Heroes and Civilians Give Final Sendoff to All Might," "All Might's Funeral to be Held Soon," and so on and so forth to the point that it was nauseating. He hated being reminded of it, but it was so fresh in everyone's minds that it was not something that could be so easily forgotten. Tokoyami wondered how long the memory of that man would last. A Symbol of Justice cannot be so easily replaced. But for all he knew, a U.A. student could already be striving to accomplish just that. He thought about his classmates and how hard they were fighting to be true heroes, even amongst all the chaos. Unlike me. Bakugou…he didn't use to think this, but that ill-tempered student had the burning tenacity to become an amazing hero. Midoriya and Todoroki too, with their own powerful quirks and morality, and Iida and Tsuyu and…Stop thinking so much, you'll make yourself sick.
Tokoyami turned over one of the more upsetting pages so that he didn't have to look at the headline, but was met with another, smaller headline he hadn't expected to see. "Dark Shadow, do you know anything about this? Escaped convict "Moonfish" captured and put back on death row after sustaining major injuries in UA camp invasion. I don't remember seeing a villain this creepy-looking."
Dark Shadow was freely milling about the enclosed space, docilely swatting at advertisement pages under the fluorescent lights. He'd made it a point to let Dark Shadow out during idle times. Since there was nobody around that would be intimidated by his quirk, he was allowed to improve their bond without concern, for whatever difference it made.
Dark Shadow laughed. "Nothing but a fly. Nasty guy had it coming, got what he deserved."
"That didn't answer my question," Tokoyami muttered.
"Ooh! Ooh! This one's about you!" His quirk proudly held up a page that it had been mindlessly batting around.
"What makes you think I want to see it?"
"Of course you do, you're the one looking for it!"
"That doesn't mean I want to see it," Tokoyami grumbled, accepting the crinkled page. It was a brief article titled "The Disappearance of UA Student Fumikage Tokoyami." There were two pictures under the heading: one of him during the Sports Festival, and a hazy picture that showed a partially destroyed building surrounded by heroes and police forces. Tokoyami grimaced as he read through the article.
Fumikage Tokoyami is a Class 1A student from U.A. Known for his amazing quirk Dark Shadow that won him third place in the U.A. Sports Festival, he was a target for villains in the most recent attack against the famous school. While no images exist, reports say that Tokoyami caused a major upset in the forest where the attack took place. In All Might's famed mission to take back abducted students Tokoyami and Katsuki Bakugou, further reports of damages caused by a large shadowy figure suggest that this student is in some way responsible for the extent of this tragedy. It's been noted that All Might sustained heavy injury in the form of large suspicious claw marks. Discussion on the possible destructiveness of this student has since been called into question. When pressed for comments, Katsuki Bakugou refused to say anything regarding the incident and his time spent with the League of Villains, telling reporters to "go to hell." Given the sensitivity of the topic, reporters withdrew from questioning the students after that. Tokoyami was last seen at the scene of All Might's final fight standing alongside the villains. Speculation about the student's possibly villainous nature has sparked great debate among different groups. Although his whereabouts are unknown, it's likely that he is still in the possession of the League of Villains. Due to the nature of this matter and with no current way to trace either the ex-student or the villains responsible, there has been no official call for action, although investigation continues.
Tokoyami finished reading the article. He was starting to wish they had included more information. He wanted to hear what his family and teachers had to say, what the investigators were actually doing. He wanted to know if he was in trouble. From the sounds of it, it may not be public knowledge, but people knew that he devastated the forest and injured All Might. There were witnesses, people who knew him, officials that have drawn conclusions. And although Bakugou had blown off the reporters, he had to have explained everything that happened and why things turned out the way they did. Well, he might leave out the part where he provoked me into using Dark Shadow.
I don't think that makes us any less responsible for what happened, though.
"Yeah, I know," Tokoyami growled, tossing the paper aside in frustration only to have it land gently on the ground to little satisfaction. "But I didn't actually do anything wrong, right? It was an accident."
"People get convicted all the time for accidents, though," Dark Shadow mused aloud.
Tokoyami leaned his head back against the whitewashed wall and plucked nervously at his feathers, drifting into thought. "I wonder what my classmates are doing. Although I guess that article called me an ex-student, so that makes me wonder if I can ever be a part of that class again. I hope the press and everyone else realize all the effort I put into getting into that school so that I could be a hero. Their minds are clouded by foolishness if they think that a single mishap could define me."
"They're just upset."
"Yeah. Because All Might is gone and for all we know it's our fault. This is not a comforting thought to live by."
Dark Shadow tipped his head to the side, looking at Tokoyami with a void expression. But even though the quirk expressed no emotion, he could feel that he was discontent with that response.
If the quirk was going to say something, then he lost his chance when a swift knock caught their attention before the door to the room they were in abruptly opened up. Dabi sauntered into the room with no remorse. "Finding any good comic strips in those papers? Yeah, didn't think so." The villain surveyed the room with a sweep of his gaze, but aside from the mess of newspaper articles nothing was amiss in the small bedroom chamber that served as Tokoyami's birdcage since relocating to a new destination. "You better be ready for another bout of training. I'm still waiting on you to actually get a good hit in. Otherwise what's the point? C'mon, hurry up."
"Right." Tokoyami brushed aside the papers and rose to his feet. This had become routine for them, so the sudden entry came as no surprise. He followed Dabi through the door, keeping Dark Shadow close to his side at all times. The hallway was well lit with fluorescent lights and devoid of decoration. He'd never gotten a specific answer as to what this place was, only that it belonged to the Master. He hadn't seen any windows and suspected that it was underground, though. Regardless, it was a definite upgrade from the last place.
They entered a room with tall ceilings and a large empty floor, reminiscent to a school gym. He didn't mind the training so much anymore. Although it irked him to be learning from villains, it was clear that he was seeing improvement. Granted, anything was better than the situational hazard he had been just a week ago. It was in this case that diligence had proved beneficial, both in bettering his fighting capabilities and in repairing the previously strained relationship with Dark Shadow. For some reason the villains had a really good grasp on how to deal with quirks that conflict with the user. Earlier conversations with the likes of Twice on handling the duality of a quirk had given him good insight, and Dabi understood the situation surprisingly well. Of course, that did nothing to make him go easy on the struggling student. If anything, it compelled the fire user to not hold back.
"Keep practicing that thing you were working on, alright?"
Tokoyami gritted his teeth. "I know; you don't have to tell me." Without a spoken word, he willed Dark Shadow to hover directly over him, almost touching. When he moved, so did his quirk in a relatively mirrored way. It could still be better, as the flow of it was still disjointed, but they were both still getting the hang of the new technique. Dark Shadow held his head above his own, and his shadowy talons felt like an extension of Tokoyami's own hands. Dark vapor radiated from the two as they prepared a battle stance.
Dabi smiled, raising his hands to either side from where he stood at the other end of the room. Dangerous blue flames erupted from his hands. "You better not chicken out this time."
Tokoyami charged forward without restraint, closing the gap between them with relative ease. Dabi lunged as he approached, unapologetically bursting his flames forward before even engaging in close combat. The student jumped before the attack could reach them, enhanced by his quirk pushing off the ground at the same time. The light still noticeably sapped some energy, but they effectively avoided the brunt of it. While still in the air, Tokoyami lashed out with his arm and a shadowy claw extended from him. Piercing Claw of the Dusk! Dabi smacked it away with a shield of fire, as expected, but it gave him enough time to land right within close range of the villain. It used to be that Tokoyami was most effective with mid to long range attacks, and was praised thusly for it. But his exposure at close combat had always left much to be desired. And yet here he was, right within his opponent's hit box.
Dabi aimed a hand toward him, but seeing how close he was decided to jump back instead, least he end up burning himself. Tokoyami kept up, pressuring him into fighting at a nearer range. He clawed at the target again, this time aiming for his legs. But Dabi registered his movement and avoided it. Tokoyami growled and tried it again, this time with both hands coming together in a clapping motion that would hopefully leave him no way to dodge and crush him. Dabi jumped again, only now he blasted fire beneath him to propel him higher. The flames scorched the shadowy hands that had become perfectly positioned beneath him, and Dark Shadow hissed in his mind. I'm sorry! Tch, that's such a Bakugou thing to do.
Since the shadowy extensions hadn't yet retreated from the light, he changed their movement at the last second so that instead of clapping together they were now pushing against the ground. Tokoyami launched himself into the air with the momentum and came down upon his opponent like an enraged murder of crows. "Nightfall Spear!" Tokoyami proclaimed aloud to the understanding of both him and his quirk.
Dabi landed back on the ground and looked up to see that the shadowy mass was upon him. No time left to dodge, he raised up his arms quickly, flames at the ready. Tokoyami came within two yards of him, and could see the dark embers begin to flick in the villain's hands. But his attack was ready first. With a flick of his head, a piercing beak of darkness shot forward and shot through the fiery barrier he had started to make. It landed in the center of Dabi's chest, producing an audible grunt from the foe. The force sent him flying back into the wall, leaving behind only a trail of angrily crackling blue flames.
Tokoyami pounced on this opportunity as he struggled to right himself in a daze. "Hey, hold on –" he started to say.
"Not a chance, scum." Tokoyami shot his hands forward again so that they could pin the villain's arms against the wall. But in his haste, his precision was off. The claws slammed against the wall on either side of him. Dabi hit them both with his hottest fire and they finally disappeared into shadowy, incomprehensible wisps.
That huuuuuurt! Dark Shadow wailed in his mind.
I know, I know! Take a break for a moment, Tokoyami hastily assured. The quirk mostly vanished, but still left behind a cloak-like visage to protect him if need be.
Dabi watched as his opponent's defenses fell while coming into range and dropped his flames to ball his hand into a fist instead. Tokoyami made his own fist and reeled it back, imbuing it with the remaining power of Dark Shadow.
They threw their punches.
Dabi landed his first.
It striked the side of his beak, making his head spin, and some stray embers scorched his feathers. Tokoyami's fist just barely grazed Dabi's hair before going off target. And then he was floored, not for the first time in their scuffles. His quirk helped to break his fall, but the impact to his head was in full force.
He lay still, flat on his back. Dabi kicked him lightly in the side, and he curled up with a groan. S…sorry, Dark Shadow muttered.
"It's fine," Tokoyami responded without thinking.
"Is it?" Dabi countered, raising his foot back for another kick.
"N-no, wait!"
Dabi sighed and set his foot back down. "Hurry up and get back on your feet so you can tell me what you did wrong."
Tokoyami did so, begrudgingly holding his beak. He talked through his aching jaw. "My moves are still predictable. I haven't figured out how to use my quirk in a more versatile way yet, so you were always prepared. The movements themselves are still clunky and could be faster, more precise. They don't react exactly as I want them. I also let my guard down in places where it's…ill advised."
Dabi nodded. "Cool, so you know what's up. Now, when you gonna get better? I can tell you're still keeping yourself distant from your quirk. You could stand to embrace it a little more, y'know? Wear it more like a cloak instead of just having him hover over you or something."
Tokoyami grimaced bitterly at that. "I'm improving at a decent pace already, aren't I? Lay off already. If I got any closer I might just end up hurting myself."
"You're getting pretty smart with me. Awfully brave to be mouthing off to someone so dangerous," he warned.
"I almost had you!"
"Yeah, but you seem to forget something." Dabi reached out his hand, dark embers trailing from the burned marks on his flesh. Tokoyami tensed, glaring at him, and raised his own hand into a claw. But Dabi's outstretched hand only barely pushed him in the chest. "Your reach sucks on its own, short-stack."
"Ah…I should've known it'd be something like that, you bastard." Tokoyami reached out his own arm, and sure enough he wasn't close enough to touch him. "I still managed to land a solid blow for once, though."
"Oh yeah? What was it, "Nightfall Spear?" That's lame, it didn't even do any piercing damage."
"I would get in trouble if I impaled you. Sorry to disappoint," Tokoyami growled.
"Well, you did. We don't even have an audience. You could've done it if you wanted to."
He was right. All his movements were dull for this fight. And even if he intended to create more damage, there would be no consequences if he left this villain to bleed out on the floor. Hardly anyone was around to monitor their actions. Shigaraki remained ever vigilant of his progress, but all the others had slowly started going back to their own residences, laying low in the aftermath of that night. Dabi was convinced to stay here (he was kicked out his apartment and had nowhere else to go, apparently) so there were quite a few times where they had time to spare. All the while, his fighting ability with Dark Shadow had evolved and improved over a short period of time. By acknowledging his flaws, he was able to eliminate them, and by fighting someone who pushed his limits he was able to overcome them. At least until he got beaten down by flames. Damn you and your unfair advantage over me.
"Quite frankly, I'm done with you for the day," Tokoyami said.
"Eh, that's fair."
Tokoyami brushed the dirt and ash from his new hoodie, inspecting it for burn marks. He hoped Toga wasn't the kind of person to get mad if her gift to him got damaged. He wasn't sure he wanted to deal with that. Of course, it had been a few days since he'd last seen her or the others. He hadn't even been allowed to leave this facility since first coming here.
"Dabi…I wouldn't expect you to care, but do you know when I'll be able to go outside this place?"
Dabi stared at him with his icy blue eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I'm not in charge of that information. All I have to do is kick your ass every day, and that's fine by me. You wanna know, ask Shigaraki yourself."
Tokoyami looked him up and down suspiciously, as though he were playing at some game. But in the time that he'd had the misfortune of knowing the guy, it was a fact that he was anything if not honest. "Then I'll just do that. If I didn't hit you too hard, then you should have no problem taking me over to him."
Dabi groaned, picking at his low-cut shirt where a bruise was starting to visibly develop. "Uuugh, you ask so much of me." Tokoyami waited a moment. "M'kay. Let's go find him. I'm not gonna defend you if you make him cranky, though. He's been busy, after all."