Feathers and Fur

by Hasled

A peaceful life in a quiet town turns unsettling when Kaite's quirk unexpectedly manifests, unleashing a dangerous power that nearly kills his new friend. As Kaite struggles to control his abilities, the bond between him and his friends is tested by a chilling event. Will they be able to keep their family—and their friends—safe before it's too late?

4. Chapter 3: Power Trip

'I will remember the day in which we both met' sounds more natural than 'I well remember the day on which we both met'. Could it be that?

English lessons with Present Mic only served to make Kaite question his native language. The sterile structure of the sentences making them appear odd or a little out of place to the goat boy, even if they were correct.

"I think I understand Japanese better than English now…" He muttered to himself. Following Midoriya to Lunch Rush for the both of them to clarify the numerous questions they collated after English class.

"Isn't it four? The relative pronoun seemed wrong."

"I honestly don't know how any of the rules work…I just answer based on what sounds right." Kaite admitted. Both of them got their trays before taking a seat with Uraraka & Ida. Kaite keeping track of the dark bird head in the cafeteria within his peripheral vision as Ida & Midoriya talked about who their Heroics teacher could be.

The dark bird head moved closer to their table, their multi-armed friend walking along with them before they took a turn. Seating at a different table as Kaite sighed in relief.

Finishing up his food, Kaite returned his tray along with Midoriya, Ida & Uraraka as they walked back to the classroom. Continuing to keep an eye out for Tokoyami to avoid any more interactions or confrontations than what he could handle.

"I am…"

Kaite's ear twitched from the sound as he turned his head, eyes greeted with the Number One hero standing at the doorway in his Silver Age costume.

"...normally entering from the door!"

"Its's All Might!"

"That's right! I will be your teacher for Heroics Basics. For today's lesson we will be having…"

"Battle Training!"

My fur's going to be in a mess after this…

"Change into your costumes which were made according to your specifications & Quirk Registry. Once you change, meet me at Ground Beta."

Kaite got up & grabbed the suitcase containing his hero outfit, quite a bit lighter compared to some of his classmates like Bakugo who seemed to have a lot more equipment if the slight straining of his arms was any indication.

He headed to the changing rooms & opened his briefcase. Finding the simple black trousers made of airy & slightly elastic fabric to make movement easier & more comfortable. A sleeveless coat made of black silk-like fibres made up his top, reinforced with a mixture of carbon fibre threads & artificial fibres stronger than kevlar. Yellow threads made up the tapestry along the edges of the fabric along with patterns of light blue leaves decorating green stems all over the coat. Bushes of tiny pink flowers squeezed themselves between the leaves & stems with a five-pointed star on the back.

The costume left his chest fluff & arms intentionally exposed. Kaite's thick fur already provided ample insulation for a cool breeze & kept himself relatively decent for his top half. The unrestricted airflow would likely also come in handy should he need to be more physically active, reducing the heat buildup & helping to prevent the risk of heatstroke due to his body's lack of natural means to cool down. The complex artwork on his coat inspired by Batik clothing, adding a bit more flair to his costume considering that it was composed of only two main articles of clothing.

Kaite adjusted the necklace Asé had passed to him, positioning it to now be visible among his chest fluff while adjusting the slightly longer fur along his head & back. He took the final piece of equipment from the suitcase, a modified spyglass. Its brass & pleather exterior had additional rings & small switches all over its body. Settings with everything from digitally enhanced zoom, infrared imaging, & even a polarized lens for filtering certain types of light & colours.

Brushing the stray strands away from his eyes, he started walking towards Ground Beta where the rest of the class was waiting. Everyone in their hero costumes which ranged from Ida's complex suit of armour to the beloved bird boy's simple black cloak.

"Your activity will have you separate into Hero & Villain teams."

"The story is that the Villains are hiding a weapon somewhere in the building & the Heroes must destroy it. The Heroes must either capture the Villains or recover the weapon in time. The Villains can either protect the weapon until the time runs out or capture the Heroes."

"Opponents will be chosen by lots."

"Team B: Nullia Kaite & Shouji Mezo"

Kaite mentally cursed at his luck while All Might continued to draw lots for the different teams. Turning to Shouji to find one of the eyes on his arms already looking at him before the teen's head turned to face him.

"Guess we're paired up now." One of Shouji's arms said, Kaite's shoulders automatically steeling themselves from the familiar face.

"Yeah…" All Might soon pulled out two balls from the boxes, having Team A go against Team D first while everyone watched from the Monitor Room.

Kaite stood beside Shouji while observing the match. Trying to see how the two teams would use their quirks & how they could be utilised should Kaite need them for his round.

Taking out a notebook from his coat's pocket, he noted down how Midoriya used the capture tape & Bakugo's use of his quirk to redirect his trajectory. Frantically scribbling down his notes without noticing one of Shouji's arms looking at what he was writing. Making a mental note to stay away from Bakugo & make sure that he doesn't learn about Asé.

Once the first round was done, other teams went up ahead. A few notable matches with Jiro, Kaminari, Eijirou, & others. Kaite noting down how each & every one of them used their quirks in the enclosed space & even coming up with possible ways in which he could use them himself.

It wasn't long before his team was paired up against Tokoyami & Asui. Kaite having been too engrossed in his note taking to notice that every other team had already gone up, leaving Team B to go against H.

"Best of luck to the both of you. Don't hold back."

"Let's do our best. Ribbit."

Kaite only nodded slightly before heading to the area. Fingertips glowing blood red as he immediately drained Todoroki's cold half to cool down the building & impede Asui's body. Hoping that his predictions about her frog-like body were right. The air being cold enough to make his fur bristle up to preserve warmth. He then got Aoyama's quirk ready. Doing a test shot to fire a laser from his arms onto a concrete pillar, blasting a small hole into it as he turned to Shouji.

"I've cooled down the building to slow down Asui, I'm also using Aoyama's Navel Laser in case of Dark Shadow."

"I'll keep track of where they are & keep you informed." Shouji said before heading out of the room. Leaving Kaite alone as he continued to drain Todoroki's quirk. Creating ice stalactites on the ceiling & putting up a wall around the bomb.

"Found them, Tokoyami is heading onto the second floor. Asui is trying to climb the outside of the building to get around the cold."

"Got it." Kaite replied before freezing over the windows, putting an additional layer of ice cold enough to form condensation on the outside before realising his mistake.

"Shit!"

"Tokoyami's heading straight to the third floor, Asui found the bomb's location."

"She saw the condensation from the window I froze over. Get to the room first, we'll have to defend them against it." Kaite said before freezing over the floor, he then switched to Bakugo's quirk to propel himself around the room at ease. Heading beside the door to switch back to Todoroki's hot side to melt the ice around the door.

"Tokoyami's now on the third level, get ready!"

Kaite stayed beside the door, now set to Aoyama's quirk should Dark Shadow make an appearance.

Silence filled the cold room, no one making their entrance just yet. Kaite's ears twitching as he picked up something sounding like footsteps above him.

"Dark Shadow!"

Dark Shadow came from one of the vent ducts & went straight for Kaite. Binding him against the wall as Kaite activated Aoyama's quirk. Blasting two laser beams right through Dark shadow to free his hands before redirecting them towards the stalactites. Refracting the beam to now fill the whole room with a bright light as Dark Shadow's claw faded. Freeing Kaite from his grasp as he propelled himself to the other side of the room using small explosions on his hands across the ice floor.

Tokoyami soon came falling out of the vent, landing on his feet but slipping a bit from the ice as the now smaller Dark Shadow helped him keep his balance.

"The bomb's shielded by an ice wall & I'm ready to fire. Stay where you are Dark Shadow." Kaite said, his left hand set to Bakugo's quirk while the other changed to Aoyama's & pointed it Tokoyami. Poised to either change position quickly or fire at will towards Dark Shadow.

Tokoyami stared at Kaite, eyes glancing around the room before shooting Dark Shadow straight at the windows, breaking through the ice covering them & allowing Asui to enter. Climbing the walls to avoid the ice floor & making her way above the ice wall to the bomb.

Kaite switched his right hand to Todoroki's quirk to freeze the area around her, attempting to slow her down while he launched himself across the room with his left hand. Quickly switching his right hand to make a small explosion to slow him down while his left hand fired a laser at the stalactites again, preventing Dark Shadow from doing anything as Shouji made it into the room.

He slid across the slippery floor before making it onto an ice wall, reaching over the wall using his arms to haul himself over & deal with Asui. The froggy girl's movements now a bit sluggish from the ice formations around her.

Tokoyami had managed to slide towards a concrete pillar & held onto it. Dark Shadow hid under his cloak to protect themself from the light show & sent out one of their claws to break some of the ice stalactites. Slowly reducing the brightness of the room as Kaite slid across to the weapon. Using Todoroki's quirk again to freeze through the ice wall & put a layer of ice around the bomb, preventing Asui from touching it.

"Less than two minutes left & no way to touch the weapon. You better have a good plan in place." Kaite said as he faced Tokoyami. Shouji's Dupli-arms having grabbed onto Asui & immobilising her. The cold temperature combined with the strong grip of numerous arms prevented her from making any movement as Shouji got the capture tape ready.

"We can still capture both of you."

"With a clear disadvantage? One of you is already down & the other can't reliably use their quirk."

"Who said she was down?"

Shouji then fell onto the ground, a clear slime covering his arms as his body remained paralysed. Asui having produced a toxic slime across her body to quickly coat Shouji's numerous arms while slowly wrapping him in in his capture tape. Successfully capturing him despite her slowed movements as his body remained paralysed.

Kaite quickly melted a portion of the ice wall to get to Shouji as Dark Shadow removed the last of the stalactites. A shadowy hand shot out towards Kaite as he quickly blasted it away with a laser beam. Forming more ice, Asui soon fell into hibernation as Kaite picked up the capture tape to wrap Asui's arms. He fired another laser through the remains of the ice wall to refract its light across the room, weakening Dark Shadow while Tokoyami slid closer to Kaite.

Kaite quickly fired a small explosion to push back Tokoyami, but Dark Shadow blocked it as the bird boy managed to close the distance between them.

As a last resort, Kaite froze Tokoyami's feet to the ground, preventing him from advancing further as he & Dark Shadow were left in the middle of the room. Wide open for an attack.

Beams fired at Dark Shadow, blasting through his claws while Kaite kept his distance. Keeping them at bay for the timer to run out before Dark Shadow swung his claws at the ceiling, breaking a vent duct & grabbing onto the shiny metal before holding it like a shield. Reflecting all of the beams back at Kaite as the goat boy ceased firing & ducked.

Dark Shadow then bolted towards Kaite, grabbing his leg by surprise & dragging him across the slippery floor. Kaite fired a beam at his arm & freed himself from the shadow's grip, but continued to slide towards Tokoyami as the bird boy held the capture tape. Crouching down to get Kaite the moment he would come within arms' reach.

"Time's up!"

All Might's voice boomed over what remained of the building's PA system. Tokoyami & Kaite panting as both had disbelief painted on their faces after looking at Kaite's left leg.

"Team H wins! Both teams head back to the Monitor Room."

Tokoyami let go of the single turn of capture tape around Kaite as the goat boy got up, slowly sliding his way to Asui to heat her body up with Todoroki's quirk. Putting his other hand on the weapon to heat the room up too as all of the ice melted into puddles all across the building.

"Ribbit?" Asui soon woke up as her body returned to room temperature. Looking at the tied up Shouji who was now regaining movement as the toxin that coated his arms began to wear out.

"Oh, did we win?" She asked as Kaite tore the tape around Shouji.

"We did," Tokoyami said, a slight smile forming on his beak before Shouji managed to get up. The toxin having worn off by now.

"That was well done Asui, I wasn't expecting that." Shouji complimented.

"You can call me Tsuyu-chan." Tsuyu replied as the four of them headed back to the Monitor Room. Tokoyami & Kaite remaining silent the for whole journey back.

"Young Nullia, you made good use of your ability to drain quirks & were very good with switching between them to counter your enemy. But next time-"

"Please let us know when you'll use our quirks…" Aoyama requested, holding his stomach in pain as Kaite's use of his Navel Laser had put a lot more strain on him than initially thought.

Kaite stood there, frozen as he looked at Aoyama with fear glazing over his eyes. Body completely still as Tokoyami quickly recognised the reaction.

"Hey, don't steal our quirks! Worthless extra…" Bakugo growled, Tokoyami surprisingly going between him & Kaite.

"He used the best way to counter us." Tokoyami defended, Kaite snapping out of his stupor as shock & confusion now showed on his face.

"This concludes our lesson for today, everyone head back to the classroom. I will be visiting Young Midoriya in the Infirmary. Young Nullia, please meet me there." All Might said before rushing towards the staff room. Leaving the area within a blink of an eye as the class watched in awe.

"You sure get called a lot after lesson huh?" Shouji commented.

"It might be my new schedule…"

Kaite separated from the class & walked to the Infirmary, hands in his coat pockets as he walked past the hallways of U.A.. Noticing some of the birds flying towards Koda as the rest of 1A soon made it to the classroom.

Knocking on the door before entering the room to find Recovery Girl, Midoriya, & All Might there. The latter lying in the bed recovering while Recovery Girl shot one last glare at All Might before returning to her computer. Saving whatever conversation they were having for later.

"Ah, hello Young Nullia. I called you here to discuss about your quirk." All Might said as Kaite slid the door closed.

"As you can see, Young Midoriya tends to…injure himself with his quirk."

"Since your quirk weakens the person you are draining, you might be able to drain his strength & prevent him from getting injured every time he uses his quirk."

"Wouldn't that put me at risk of breaking my bones?"

"W-well, if you don't attack with it then it might work!" All Might said with his signature grin. Kaite raising an eyebrow before walking up to Midoriya & focusing on his quirk. Fingertips glowing crimson again as he tried draining the strength within the unconscious Midoriya. Arm glowing faintly as vigour filled his veins before deactivating his quirk. Energy fading away faster than it had came.

"I could do it, but I'll have to know when exactly he attacks for it to be of any use."

"Excellent! You can head back to class now," All Might said with a thumbs up. Kaite putting his hands back into his pockets before heading out of the Infirmary. Hearing faint scoldings coming from Recovery Girl, likely directed at All Might as he picked up his pace.

Kaite changed back into his uniform before heading back to class. Finding his way back into the classroom where Cementos was waiting as Modern Literature had already started. Kaite quickly greeted Cementos & apologised before taking his seat behind Tokoyami.

The rest of the lessons were fairly uneventful. Kaite took out his notebook & drew some scribbles. Sketching a variation of his coat to perhaps offer buttons or zips to cover up better in cold weather or sleeves he can roll up in warm weather. He zoned out as the sketch lines came naturally to his hand, lines joining & separating. Curving & coiling around before Kaite woke up from his daze.

His coat now had a fairly rudimentary sketch of his body over it, a circle drawn around it along with an upside-down pentagram drawn within. The bottom point joined with both of his legs while the two points at the sides matched up with his wrists. His horns filled the remaining top two parts of the star while weird symbols surrounded the pentacle. Lines flowed out from where the hands & eyes of the figure would have been. Almost appearing like they were bleeding out & crying.

What the…

Midoriya then entered the room. His arm in a cast as some of the class went up to him to congratulate him for his battle earlier. The green-haired boy then asked where Bakugo was before bolting down the hallway to find him. Kaite put his notebook away as the rest of the class was soon dismissed, most going home as Kaite pulled out his phone.

Ass-é (Dad)

Yesterday

Hey, you free?

[Voice Call]

Today

Finally freed my schedule kiddo

Wanna have dinner with yr old man?

Sure

Nice

Let's go to this Okinawa resturant

resturant

restaurant

35.017977759814464, 138.4848131781493

You're the only person who uses GPS coords

I know

Kaite went to his dorm room to put his bag down, taking a new set of clothes to change into as Tokoyami soon came into the room.

"Ah, hello Kaite."

"Hello Tokoyami. Thanks for defending me back there."

"It's nothing, we both saw how prideful Bakugo can be." Tokoyami replied as Kaite finally settled on his clothes. Mostly a pair of dark blue jeans & a grey hoodie.

"Still, thank you." A small smile creeped its way onto Kaite's mouth.

"Uhh, could you turn around for a bit please? I just need to quickly change clothes."

"Ah, okay." Tokoyami said before turning around. Kaite quickly changing into his new clothes but getting stuck in his jeans & falling over.

"Oof!"

"You alright?"

"Yeah," Kaite managed to get back up & finished putting on the rest of his clothes. Zipping up his hoodie before giving Tokoyami the go ahead to turn around. Dark Shadow hovering just above his shoulder.

"I'm going out to see my father, see you tonight."

"See you," Tokoyami said before Kaite left the dorm. Jostling the doorknob before he left to make sure that it was properly closed.

He made his way off-campus & got onto a train. Slowly making his way to the restaurant as the sun bathed the city in a yellowish glow. Kaite put in his earbuds & listened to music along the way, walking out of the train station as he saw something move at the corner of his eye. Blue flames wisped from an alleyway as Kaite took off his earbuds & got a little peak.

A guy with burn scars all over his body had started a small fire & was heating up what looked like a dead pigeon. Smoke coming off of the bird as feathers burned from the blue flames engulfing it. The burned skin on the guy's hand was smoking slightly as Kaite noticed the staples holding it to the few remaining scraps of living flesh.

The guy then turned his head towards Kaite, noticing the goat boy who froze in place. Only to turn back to cooking his meal & ignoring Kaite. The last few feathers of the Pigeon had burned away to reveal a perfectly browned skin underneath. Taking a test bite, he chewed on the small piece of meat for a bit before wolfing down on the little remaining meat the cooked avian provided. Not caring in the slightest for Kaite's presence.

"You really shouldn't stare at people." Asé said from behind Kaite. Causing the goat boy to turn around to his father. Dressed in a casual white polo shirt & grey trousers.

"Dad?"

"I saw you stooping from my car, not exactly inconspicuous." Asé replied before entering the alleyway. The guy glancing up from his half finished meal.

"What do you want?"

"Nullia Asé, I just noticed your quirk. Very precise control of fire to cook that bird in a minute."

"Fuck off." The guy bluntly said as he resumed eating his meal. Now moving onto the small wings of the bird & chewing off the skin off of it. Not leaving any scraps of edible tissue to waste.

"Well I'm planning on having dinner with my son, perhaps you would like to join?"

"I don't need your charity," he said, a glare coming from his blue eyes as he finished the last pieces of meat & skin from the bird. Leaving mostly a skeleton behind that he tossed to the side.

"The bird you just killed would disagree." Asé said before approaching the guy, causing the fire user to be more alert & ready his wispy flames.

"Just an offer, one free dinner & after that you can choose where you want to be. Nothing more."

The guy looked at Asé with hesitation, eyes scanning him for any ill intentions before his stomach growled. The consumed avian clearly not being enough to satiate him.

"At least someone agrees with me, come along. It's just down the street." Asé said as he walked out of the alleyway, the guy hestantly following him as Kaite walked beside Asé.

"What's your name?" The guy looked down for a bit before coming up with his reply.

"Dabi."

"You want the yakisoba too?"

"...Sure."

Asé ordered their meal as Kaite pulled out his phone, finding himself added to a group chat which he focused on to avoid the disquieting atmosphere of the place. The presence of Dabi keeping a fair bit of the patrons of the place on edge. Something he himself was definitely aware of.

He recognised the number as Ida's who had exchanged the information with him during lunch. It seemed to have the entire class judging by the member count & even managed to wrangle Aizawa-sensei's number into the mix. An essay long message about how the chat was meant for school announcements, requests from teachers, & to be succinct with any important messages sent here as it would now be the official class group chat. Only to have Aizawa-sensei send him an unpunctuated message telling him that his message was too long.

A second group chat was soon created by Mina, this one without Aizawa-sensei as she wrote that this group chat would be for fun stuff & anything the class wanted to discuss before Ida made another paragraph long message about how this group chat is unnecessary & that an informal group chat was a distraction from their studies & important announcements. This earned him a quick time-out as Mina removed him from the chat. Sero & Kaminari posting stickers on how Ida left faster than his engine quirk.

"Kid, phone away. Food's here."

Kaite put his phone away as the two plates of yakisoba, chanpuru, & a glass of awamori was placed on the table. Asé took the glass as the waiter left them before shifting it to Kaite's side, tapping the glass to signal the goat boy that he could take a sip if he wanted to.

Kaite then started eating his chanpuru & once the waiter was busy with another customer, took a large gulp of the potent drink. Brow scrunched up as the alcoholic beverage burned his throat a little before quietly putting the glass back beside Asé. The remains of Dabi's burnt eyebrow raising themselves as the goat boy wiped his mouth with a tissue.

"Look, I'm having a day."

"& you're fine with a kid drinking?"

"So long as he doesn't make it a habit I'm fine with it. Kaite isn't really much of an alcoholic type anyway."

"He just downed half of your drink."

"& is completely fine, right kiddo?"

Kaite took the glass again, gulping down the last few drops of the burning refreshment & giving his father a thumbs up. Dabi simply rolling his eyes before continuing to eat his yakisoba. The goat boy then finished the remains on his plate before taking out his phone, checking the status of the group chat to find that Ida was added back in. Mina making the announcement that if anyone did not want to get distracted by the newly created group chat, they could simply leave or put it on mute.

"Anywho, I have a little offer for you." Asé said, having finished his meal.

"You can work for me. While you likely don't have a license to use your quirk, I can make some arrangements for you to be a special case. You'll earn two hundred thousand yen a month & we can provide a temporary housing solution should you wish."

"...I don't need your pity."

"You don't need it, but you want this…" Asé leaned forwards to whisper something into Dabi's ear. His left hand holding a device that emitted a garble of high-frequency sounds which prevented Kaite's sensitive ears from discerning his hushed words. Only able to read the widening eyes & slight curl at one end of Dabi's mouth.

"Deal." Dabi said, Asé giving him a card before they all left the restaurant. Kaite's father handling the bill as the goat boy followed him back to the car after Dabi had parted ways.

"Sorry about that. We didn't get to talk much."

"It's alright."

"Tell you what, let's have dinner together tomorrow too. This time I'll let you bring a plus one."

"Y'know, maybe the crow-"

"Siao ah." Kaite replied before getting in Asé's car. Asé started up the engine before setting the radio to the latest hero news. Driving towards U.A. while Kaite took out his phone to entertain himself along the way there.

"How is he now though?"

"Alive. We don't really talk much."

"Ah…Has he done anything?"

"As in…"

"...Hero-like."

"We're in the hero course."

"Well I knew that, but I mean like. Towards you."

Asé glanced at the rear-view mirror, observing Kaite's potential reactions to the question.

"Ummm…He stood up for me when Bakugo talked shit."

"The explosive psycho?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

"Saw him on the news not too long ago, left quite an impression with his attitude."

"Oh, almost forgot. Have you been taking your pills?"

"I should be asking you old man…" Kaite muttered, earning a sharp break from Asé. Throwing the goat boy forwards a bit only for the seatbelt to catch him, arms darting for the car's roof handle for stability as a smug grin creeped onto the corners of Asé's lips.

"Don't forget who's in the driver seat. But seriously, have you been taking them? They should make sure that you don't lose control of your quirk."

"Yeah I have."

"Good, I should be able to drop you off now." Asé said as he stopped right outside the entrance to U.A.'s grounds. Not wanting to test his luck with the U.A. barrier.

"Make sure to update me of anything weird, don't do stupid shit, & tomorrow, stay away fro-"

Kaite slammed the door shut, walking back to Heights Alliance as Asé drove off. The sun was already setting & it quickly turned dark as Kaite made it to the building. Climbing up the stairs & entering his dorm room.

He then found Dark Shadow & Tokoyami drawing cards from a deck on their bed, Kaite being unfamiliar with the designs on them.

"What are you two doing?" Kaite asked, taking a t-shirt & shorts from the cupboard for him to change into later.

"We're doing Tarot. Fumikage has been interested in it for a while." Dark Shadow replied. Tokoyami grabbing the cards & shuffling the deck.

"Huh, I think I've heard of it."

"You want to join?" Dark Shadow offered.

"...Sure." Kaite said, sitting on the opposite end of the bed as Tokoyami passed him the deck to shuffle & cut. Kaite's fingertips felt the fibres coming off the worn edges of the card. A slight yellowish tinge also seemed to have formed on the back of the paper, having oxidised & changed colour even through the paint used to colour it. Some of the cards even having a small splatter of what appeared to be faded indigo ink.

"This looks really old."

"We got it at an antique shop, apparently it was donated by someone." Dark Shadow said before Kaite finished shuffling the deck.

"Ask a question."

"...What are people?"

"...Relating to you & your journey on earth."

"...What am I?"

"...Now pick a card."

Kaite drew one of the cards from the deck, passing it to Tokoyami to read & then reveal.

"You are…The Moon." Tokoyami said, revealing the imagery of a moon sporting a face that looked down at a dog & a fox on the grassy plains.

"The Moon represents the unconscious, illusions, & potential anxiety."

"Well that last one might be spot on…"

"...You possess strong inner knowledge, sensing things that aren't immediately apparent to others. Your intuition is a very good guide to trust as it is connected deeply to your unconscious."

"Hmm…could I ask another question?"

"Sure, just draw another card from the deck."

"What will I become?" Kaite asked before taking his second card from the deck. Passing it to Tokoyami for him to read the new card.

"You will become…The Devil. Reversed."

Kaite felt a kind of weight on his chest, his breathing almost heavy as the room light flickered a little. A knocking sound came from the wall as the flickering got a bit more intense before returning back to normal.

"...Um…continue with your reading…"

"The Devil reversed could mean that you are becoming self-aware of your chains. Recognising the things that have been limiting you & overcoming them. It will be difficult breaking these chains as you will face obstacles & hurdles."

"Obstacles like?"

"Pick a card."

Kaite drew another card from the deck & passed it to Tokoyami. Revealing it to have imagery of a man carrying five swords & running away from a camp. Two of the swords being left behind, impaled into the ground.

"Seven of Swords. Betrayal & deception. It could mean that someone in your life is trying to get away with something. In this case someone is secretly holding you back."

Right as Tokoyami said that, the power went out. The whole room going dark with the only bit of illumination coming from the window's view of the city lights. Dark Shadow had already hid inside of Tokoyami & stayed there to prevent themselves from losing control.

"Power's out."

"For just Alliance Heights? That's weird." Kaite replied before taking out his phone. Cell service was still available so he opened the door to his room to check outside. The corridor lights were still functional so it seemed like it was only their room that lost power.

"The building still has power, it's just our room that's out. I'll message Aizawa-sensei & hopefully they can get the power back up." Kaite said before closing the door. Sending his message before turning on his phone's flashlight to illuminate the room. Providing enough brightness for Dark Shadow to peek out over Tokoyami's shoulder.

"Do you still want to continue?"

"I think I'll take a shower. Kinda creepy to do a tarot reading in a blackout anyway," Kaite said as he took his clothes & towel. He headed out towards the communal showers before noticing the corridor lights flickering as he passed them.

…Dad was right, I really do need to take my pills…

Kaite managed to make his way to the shower area. Going into a stall & taking off his clothes & necklace to start his ritual. Right as he was still in the middle of soaking his fur, the water turned colder than Todoroki's ice, causing caprine to take a sharp breath & jump out of the stream of water.

He readjusted the temperature of the water, setting it to maximum before some warm water finally managed to come through. Allowing Kaite to soak his fur before turning off the water & applying shampoo. Right as he turned it back on, the water was icy cold again which earned a groan of irritation from the goat boy before he tried adjusting it again. Managing to get some warm water running as he finished rinsing himself off.

Taking his highly absorbent towel, he dried himself off before putting on his t-shirt & shorts. Putting his necklace back behind his shirt as he got out of the shower stall & back towards the corridors. Only to find the night's air to be just as cold as that from a fridge. Almost like when he froze over a room using Todoroki's ice.

Kaite made it back to the dorm room & found Tokoyami hidden under both of their blankets. Trying desperately to stay warm as the whole room was just as cold as the outside.

"W-what happened? & why is it so cold?"

"I-I don't know." Tokoyami said as Kaite tried draining Todoroki's fire to warm up the place, only to find that he was out of range.

"Damnit, Todoroki is too far away for me to warm up the place." Kaite said, resorting to rubbing his palms to generate some heat, fur bristling up to keep him warm.

Tokoyami's teeth were chattering behind his beak, while the feathers on his bird head could help to insulate him from the cold, the rest of his body was that of a regular human leaving him vulnerable. Kaite took some extra dry towels of his & wrapped them around Tokoyami, the bird boy still visibly shivering a bit before Kaite decided to join him in his blanket burrito.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Warming you up. You look like you're about to become a frozen chicken." Kaite said as he sealed off the opening of the layers of blankets & put his arms around Tokoyami's. The fluff on them helping the bird boy warm up a bit, though he still felt like a cold deli meat.

"Better?"

"A little…" Tokoyami said, Kaite was unable to tell if his feathers were ruffled from the cold or embarrassment of the close contact. He rubbed his arms together to create more heat, finally managing to get Tokoyami's teeth to stop chattering.

"Fumikage is still freezing…" Dark Shadow said.

Kaite then wrapped his arms around Tokoyami's torso. Further heating them up as the bird boy stopped shivering. His neck fluff making contact with Tokoyami while the other hesitantly wrapped their arms around Kaite. The both of them feeling a small bit of warmth spreading throughout them while Dark Shadow simply floated right above Tokoyami's head.

They stayed wrapped up for a bit, comforting silence filling the room as the both of them simply held each other in their arms. Soaking in the soothing warmth of the other while Kaite's eyes looked at the side of Tokoyami's head. Locked-on to the scar barely hidden by jet black feathers as Kaite lifted one of his hands, about to touch the feathers surrounding the scar before pulling back. Guilt welling up in his eyes as he looked away.

"T-Tokoyami, I'm-"

"Stop. Just…Don't say anything for now…" Tokoyami interrupted. Kaite taken aback before continuing his silence. Too afraid to do anything more that might upset his ex-childhood friend.

Tokoyami then moved his head to go underneath Kaite's, resting it on the poofed-up neck fluff that was now completely dry. Dark Shadow had retreated back inside Tokoyami while the crow-headed teen remained motionless. Staying in Kaite's embrace before Kaite heard a soft cooing sound rumbling on his neck. Eyes widened in shock as he recognised it.

He then hesitantly moved his hand under Tokoyami's beak. Trying to scratch the underside of it which elicited a few more soft cooing sounds from Tokoyami.

"I'm not angry at you." Tokoyami admitted.

"B-But I-"

"I know you didn't mean it. You couldn't control it."

"I-I still hurt you…" Kaite sobbed, his arms tightening with desperation around Tokoyami. As if it were the last moment that he could.

Tokoyami held onto his arms, hands tenderly holding onto them to provide some level of comfort to the vulnerable caprine. His body shaking as tears soon came down onto Tokoyami's head. A few drops at first but their frequency increased with Kaite's sobs as the goat boy's hold on Tokoyami weakened until his arms practically fell to his sides.

His sobs morphed into sharp, shallow breaths as Tokoyami tried rubbing his back. Hoping to help the goat boy calm down as the interval between each breath shortened. His pace picking up again as his breathing shifted to hyperventilating.

"It was a long time ago. You don't have to keep blaming yourself for it." Tokoyami comforted as he continued rubbing circles around Kaite's back. A pang in his chest seeing the goat boy in this state as he loosened the gift wrapping of blankets around him & helped him to lay down on his bed. Holding one of Kaite's hands to help ground him.

Kaite finally began to calm down as his eyelids grew heavy. He tried fighting back the leaden drapes from closing in, but succumbed to the pacifying feeling of Tokoyami's hand in his. His palm being quite a fair bit softer than he had anticipated as the emotional exhaustion over the past few days had finally caught up to him.

A slight smile creeped its way onto Tokoyami's beak, seeing Kaite now resting peacefully brought a new kind of warmth throughout his body that was still very much welcome despite how unfamiliar it was.

Tokoyami watched his peaceful slumber for a while before trying to go towards Kaite's bed & give him some space. Only to find that his hand was still stuck in Kaite's unconscious grip. He tried slowly prying each finger off but the goat boy had a considerable grip despite being asleep. Kaite then turned in his sleep which drew Tokoyami's hand closer towards him. Leaving the bird boy trapped on his bed with his caprine equal.

"I can help cut one of your hands off." Dark Shadow offered in jest.

"Don't. I'll just find some space." Tokoyami said & tried to tetris his body around Kaite. Managing to fit himself onto the little remaining space on the bed & getting himself under the two layers of blankets.

"Now where have I seen this before-" Tokoyami took Kaite's phone & pointed the flashlight at Dark Shadow, earning a small squeal from them as they went back inside Tokoyami who soon turned it off once Dark Shadow was safely within.

With the room now shrouded in darkness, Tokoyami let himself drift off to sleep. Kaite's face a few centimetres away from his while the warm hand kept his palm nice & toasty. A kind of fuzzy feeling where his skin made contact with the Kaite's before he too fell into the land of dreams.

A mad banquet of darkness… his thoughts wondered, the last vestiges of his vision being of the caprine's sleeping features & peaceful smile.