"Todoroki's relatively chill, honestly. Nothing like his dad, not that we've met… but Endeavor seems like a total douchebag based on everything I've seen and heard. Sero's just kinda there so far, we haven't really had many interactions yet. He smiles too much, though, so he's probably hiding something. Maybe he's a serial killer trying to blend in with us. But Monoma, our roommate? Fuck that guy. What an absolute tool. I'm considering tripping him on a staircase sometime in the first week of classes."

"You will do no such thing, Dark Shadow," Fumikage said sternly as he narrowed his eyes at the offending speaker. "You are to remain in my cloak at all times on campus unless given specific instruction otherwise."

"Yeah, yeah. Most of the guys in 1-B are lame, including the guy I'm attached to. I'm sure you 1-A people don't need me to tell you that, though."

Everyone at the table was in various states of awe and confusion as they watched the exchange between Fumikage and their sudden visitor. From somewhere deep within his cloak, a wispy, almost cartoonish entity constructed entirely of writhing darkness had manifested outward and joined the conversation about moving in and getting to know classmates unprompted. Fumikage himself didn't seem at-all surprised as the yellow-eyed silhouette that so closely resembled him launched into a rant about student dynamics. It was immediately clear that the creature had been listening in throughout the students' introductions, and some of them had a much easier time accepting Dark Shadow's presence than others.

"So," Amaya jumped in, being the first to directly communicate with the unexpected addition to the group. "What do you think of the girls from 1-B?"

Dark Shadow turned its head to stare at Amaya with pupilless, glowing eyes. The creature's expression turned into a smirk as it let out a mischievous chuckle. Fumikage didn't share the creature's mirth, looking almost panicked as his tethered companion began to speak.

"I mean, have you seen the boobs on Momo? She's a walking pinup girl. I'd love to just dig my beak in between there a-"

"Away," Fumikage commanded in a bold, authoritative voice, speaking over Dark Shadow. "There will be none of that. Back in the cloak, now."

"Oh, come on!" Dark Shadow complained as it turned its head back toward Fumikage with a twisting, snakelike motion. "What, I can't meet your friends? I'm just saying what everyone's thinking!"

"You most certainly are not," Fumikage denied with narrowed eyes. "Back in the cloak until you can behave."

Dark Shadow let out a small growl before, quite suddenly, zipping back into the confines of Fumikage's loose garb. The Quirk vanished as quickly as it had arrived, leaving most of the table stunned and still processing the encounter.

"…well, I was thinking it," Amaya admitted. "Yaoyorozu's a fucking bombshell."

"See!?" came a muffled voice from within Fumikage's clothing.

"Enough," the boy commanded. "Anyway. That is my Quirk, and eternal burden, Dark Shadow. It is… often rather inconsiderate. My apologies."

"S-so, um, how does that… work?" Tsuyu asked, having totally forgotten about her salad. "Is he just inside of you?"

"I would rather not get into the specifics of that," Fumikage answered while shifting in his seat. "It is… complicated. What all of you need to know is that his power grows in darkness, to the point that in pitch black, I… lose control of him entirely. It becomes problematic… and could be a danger to all of you."

"Revelry in the dark," the voice from within his cloak added as two figures walked up to the table.

"…what in the hell was that?" Katsuki asked as he looked over Fumikage with confusion. "Did his chair just talk?"

"Oh, you know," Eijiro said nonchalantly. "He's just got a shadow demon living in his cloak. That's Tokoyami, by the way. The guy from 1-B none of us have met until now."

"Demon is… an apt descriptor," Fumikage acknowledged. "You must be Bakugo and Aki. I recognize you both from Midoriya and Ojiro's descriptions…"

"That's us," Daisuke confirmed as he and Katsuki sat down next to Eijiro with their trays of food. "What's up, people?"

"Not much," Kyoka answered with a shrug. "He just filled us in on how his Quirk gets stronger and potentially uncontrollable in the dark."

"Indeed," Fumikage acknowledged. "Just… be aware. I do not wish to become a burden."

"So like…" Eijiro started, looking curious. "…what happens at night? Do you have a night light in your room?"

Fumikage rolled his eyes as Dark Shadow let out a condescending laugh from within the cloak.

"Yes, I do. Monoma is aware of the situation. He thought it was rather amusing, before he saw what happens when the light is off."

"Revelry in the d-"

"Hey, just so you don't feel like all eyes are on you," Amaya began, cutting off the rogue Quirk. "I've got a similar problem. Some of you know, some of you don't, but… if there's too much blood in the air, I'll go fucking crazy. It's gotten bad, once or twice. Really, really bad. We should probably talk about things like these as a full group, and soon. Otherwise, we're putting everyone else in danger."

The mood of the table immediately died, leaving several of its members incredibly uncomfortable. Daisuke cleared his throat before taking a drink and setting his glass back down.

"Well… if it's too windy, like in a hurricane situation… I tend to fall over."

Amaya couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes as the tension in the air dissolved.

"…you stupid ass."

"Hey!" Daisuke called as he defended himself from a flying fry. "I'm just sharing my truth, same as you!"

"Your truth is stupid," Amaya accused. "You're stupid."

"And you love it."

"You're both stupid," Katsuki determined as Daisuke launched a piece of broccoli at Amaya using his spoon. "If we're talking potential danger to each other… just stay outta my way in the field. My explosions don't affect me, but they'll sure as hell affect all of you."

"How does that work?" Tsuyu asked. "I assumed you'd at least be deaf by now, if not missing multiple limbs…"

"I aim," Katsuki answered, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm not stupid enough to get in the path of my own blasts, and I'm used to the recoil and compensating for it. As for the hearing… it's part of the Quirk. I'm naturally resilient to hearing loss."

"…then we should partner up," Kyoka chimed in before going a bit pink as all eyes at the table turned to her. "I-in the field, I mean. You know…"

"Or in general," Tsuyu said without missing a beat. "You two seem to get on well."

Katsuki didn't react. Kyoka nearly choked. Tsuyu simply smiled and continued.

"Anyway, in terms of accidentally hurting each other… you guys really don't have anything to fear from me unless you borrow clothes or try to share a water bottle. I secrete poison."

"Wh-… like all the time?" Eijiro asked, looking dumbfounded. "Or just…"

"…a little, most of the time, yeah," Tsuyu admitted with a blush. "I can turn it off by concentrating, but I'm usually coated in a very thin layer. So… no sharing anything of mine that's coming in direct contact with your lips or skin for any prolonged period of time."

"There is so much I could say," Amaya threatened as she used her straw to send a bead of water into Daisuke's hair. "Captain Hard-On, anything we need to be aware of with you?"

"Captain… oh man, I kinda wish I could use that when we choose our hero names," Eijiro said with a grin. "You have my full permission to keep that going forever. And uh… I mean, if I get sent flying, don't try to catch me? I harden in response to any kind of physical trauma, so I'm basically a deadly projectile. That's about it. And don't like… smack me from behind or anything. I might cut you by mistake."

"With all this on the table," Fumikage said with arms folded, "perhaps we should talk solutions. Mine is easy enough. Lure me into sunlight should the worst occur."

"…lure?" Katsuki asked. "Why can't you just walk into it?"

"When I said my Quirk becomes uncontrollable in darkness, I meant it begins to control me," Fumikage clarified. "Artificial light will likely not be enough if such a thing occurs. Lanterns, flashlights, even the moon is typically enough to stave off Dark Shadow, but if he manages to wrest control from me, the only thing bringing him back around is the sun… or, I suppose a floodlight. Likely several of them at once."

"…what about a camera flash?" Kyoka asked, finally regaining her composure after spending several minutes not looking at Katsuki. "Like, from a phone?"

"Such a thing would just anger him," Fumikage cautioned. "It would honestly be best to run."

"For someone oriented around finding solutions, that's a shitty solution," Katsuki said. "If you totally lose control, then just leaving you endangers everyone around- not just us. Same with Kan."

"He's not wrong," Daisuke agreed. "Maybe… we should bring this to the professors' attention as soon as we can? We could probably get some kind of support items made to mitigate problems like these."

"Failing that, the light from a huge explosion should solve the problem," Katsuki guessed. "Kan- any ideas what could stop you? And how bad is it?"

"…bad," Amaya answered, looking a little unsure of herself for once. "Psychotic laughter, screaming, lunging at people like an animal… it's only happened a few times, but it's… it's not me. I hope you guys never have to deal with it. Only way I've been stopped in the past was being knocked the fuck out."

"Easy enough," Katsuki replied with a shrug.

"Says you," Amaya countered. "Don't underestimate me, especially when I'm like that. If we're looking for a support item to help, maybe some kind of immobilizing net. I don't know."

"Hey," Daisuke cut in as he offered a hand across the table. "Whatever happens, we've got your back. None of us are going to leave you like that, even if we have to improvise… and none of us are going to judge you for it, either."

Amaya let out a sigh and briefly took the hand.

"…thanks, Aki. Truce on the food fight?"

"For now," Daisuke said with a smirk.

"Well… that's progress," Kyoka pointed out. "We're identifying problems and getting ahead of them. Anyone else you guys know of that isn't here who could pose danger to the group inadvertently?"

"I mean… Mina," Eijiro offered. "All of us could be dangerous if we're not watching out for each other, but Mina can accidentally become dangerous with her acid. It can be subtle and cause a lot of structural damage to things people aren't considering. It'd be totally accidental, but… yeah. It's a bit like you, Tsu. She's lightly coated a lot of the time. I would know."

"…gotten more tingly sensations than you bargained for?" Amaya teased as her hands disappeared beneath the table.

"Yeah," Eijiro said with a grimace. "We've had a few… uh… I'm gonna call 'em misadventures. Only ended up going to the hospital once so far, so… go us?"

"…Kirishima and Ashido are dating," Tsuyu pointed out to Fumikage as he simply stared at the other boy.

"We know," Dark Shadow and its owner said in unison. "The walls are thin."

"Sorry," Eijiro said with a sheepish grin. "So… u-um, speaking of hero names! Kan, any idea when we get to choose 'em? I've had mine lined up since I was a little kid."

"Hm?" Amaya asked as she continued her mysterious activities beneath the table. "Day one, dude."

"What!?" Eijiro asked, eyes wide. "Dude, awesome!"

"O-oh," Tsuyu said, looking rather alarmed. "I haven't even thought about it yet…"

"Eat shit!" Amaya cried as she brought her fork up from beneath the table.

A full payload of peas was launched in Daisuke's direction, but the boy was ready. A sudden gust of visible, shimmering green wind rerouted the projectiles back at Amaya, splattering her with her own food as the boy stood up triumphantly.

"I knew I couldn't trust you!"

Katsuki took a long, deep breath and closed his eyes.

"…my hero name is going to be Babysitter…"

Author's Note:

Japan is doomed.

-RD