News Reporter 1: For all of those citizens who have not yet left the Musutafu area, please evacuate now. I repeat, please evacuate now.
[channel switch]
Helicopter Pilot: The damage is pretty sever-
[switch]
News Reporter 2: Stay indoors-
[switch]
The League of Villains monitor the situation from their secret hideout, rapidly switching between channels to get the latest updates.
Kurogiri: Our “new recruit” is performing admirably, sir. He didn’t destroy UA like we wanted, but, nobody’s perfect.
Shigaraki: “Nobody’s perfect”, huh? That statement could so easily apply to most of you. I’m pleased that Tokoyami is actually getting things done. He’s done more than that Bakugo kid ever could. I don’t know what you guys saw in him.
Speaking of Bakugo, he continues to get pummeled by Dark Shadow.
Bakugo: Stop!!! STOP!!!!!! I beg of you!!!! Put me the fuck down!!!!
Shadow: GOING DOWN....
Bakugo drops to the ground, but is saved before he can hit the ground by one of Shoji’s tentacles.
Shadow: GRRRRRR....BAKUGO....BAD!!!!!
Bakugo: Ha!! In your face, freakazoid! Tentacle Man over here saved me before I could die! How do you like them apples?!?
Shoji: Go over there with Midoriya and All Might. I’ll take care of Dark Shadow.
Bakugo: Eh, whatever....
Shoji approaches Dark Shadow and tries to reason with him.
Shadow: GO....AWAAAYYYY!!!!!!
Shoji: Stop! I just want to talk to Tokoyami for a second! I know he’s still in there somewhere!
Shadow: TOKOYAMI....GONE!!!!
Shoji: No, he’s not! I can still sense him! Now, be a good shadow, and let me talk to him for a little while.
Shadow: GRRRRAAAARRRRGGHHH!!!!
Shoji: This is gonna be harder than I thought.
At that moment, Nezu arrives with Iida and Todoroki.
Iida: What’s all this about?!?? Are you alright, Midoriya?
Izuku: I’m fine, but All Might is pretty badly hurt. He tried to save me and Shoji from Dark Shadow, only to get pushed aside.
Nezu: Where’s our little troublemaker, Bakugo?
Bakugo: I’m right here, dumbass!
Todoroki: I had a feeling that he might try to go off on his own.
Bakugo: Hey, this is none of your business, you half-and-half bastard!
Iida: But where is Shoji?
Izuku: He’s trying to get through to Tokoyami. It won’t be easy, though. Dark Shadow is not in a good mood right now!
Shoji: So, can you give me one good reason why Tokoyami can’t come out and talk to me?
Shadow: NOOOO....!
Shoji: Pretty please with a cherry on top?
Shadow: ME HATE CHERRIES!!!!
Shoji: Pretty please with an apple on top?
Shadow: APPLE???? YES!!!!
Shoji: Alright then! Now, let me talk to him.
[brief silence]
Shadow: NOOOO....!!!!
[Suddenly, Tokoyami’s voice briefly breaks through]
Tokoyami: Pleeeeaaase.....stop him......
Shoji: Say what?
Izuku: Was that Tokoyami I just heard?
Shoji: You heard him too? I’m not going crazy after all!
Shadow: QUIET!!!!
Tokoyami: [appears again] Shoji...Midoriya...save me...
Shadow: GO AWAYYY!!!! YOU ALL BETRAY US!!!!
Shoji: Betrayal? Is that what this whole mess is all about? How have we betrayed you?
Shadow: LEAGUE OF VILLAINS SAY YOU HATE ME!!! WANT ME COVERED UP!!!
Todoroki: I should have known they were behind this. When they captured him, they must have fooled him with some kind of fake story about us.
Nezu: Actually, Todoroki, there is some truth to what he says. You see, the entire time Tokoyami has been at our school, we’ve been aware of how...unstable....his Quirk can be. His parents signed an agreement when he was first admitted that allowed us to hide certain details of his Quirk from the media. That’s why, after his little accident at the Training Camp, there wasn’t any mention of his whereabouts in any of the papers. His rampage in the city during All Might’s big battle was another matter. Before the rescue operation started, I specifically instructed all the news helicopter pilots to cut away if things got too dangerous.
Iida: I cannot believe what I’m hearing! You’re the real villain here! Those villains were just lucky enough to figure it all out before we did!
Nezu: No, it’s not what you think...
Iida: For shame, principal! What do you have to say for yourself?!?
Nezu: It’s my duty as your principal to decide what’s best for my-
Suddenly, Dark Shadow picks up Nezu and drops him into his gaping black hole of a mouth. He is instantly torn apart by all of the dark energy. All that remains is his tie.
Shadow: DELICIOUS....PRINCIPAL TASTE GOOD!!!
Shoji: Now look what you’ve done! You killed our principal! Have you no conscience?!?
Shadow: HE HATE ME JUST LIKE REST OF YOU!!!!
Izuku: That’s not true! We’re your friends! We all care about you! Nezu turned out to be a jerk, but we’re not!
Shadow: YOU TRYING TO TRICK ME?!!!???
Shoji: No way! Believe me, I know what it’s like to have everyone afraid of me. When I was little, all of my classmates treated me like a villain, just because of the way I look. I mean, take a good look at me. I’m tall, I’ve got six arms, and my face was so terrifying I had to start wearing my mask to hide it from everyone.
Izuku: Everyone thought I was a freak, too. We know exactly how you feel, and we want to help you...
Dark Shadow takes a moment to flash back to a very long time ago....when Tokoyami was just a boy...
-10 Years Ago -
Preschool teacher: Alright, class. It’s rainy today, so we’ll be having recess inside.
Class: YAAAAAYYYYY!!!!
[One boy, a child with a bird’s head, just stays at his desk, doodling a picture of a strange, shadowy creature. This boy is a young Tokoyami, of course. Another boy snatches the drawing away from him]
Boy: Whatcha got here? Is dat da same thing ya always draw?!? Gimme a break!
Tokoyami: Hey, give that back, you bully!
Boy: Come an’ get it, birdy!
[The boy runs into the bathroom and puts it in the toilet.]
Boy: I dare ya ta fish it out!
[Tokoyami enters the dark bathroom, while the other boy locks the door behind him.]
Tokoyami: Lemme out! Lemme out!
Boy: Not till ya get your picture out of da toilet! Hawhawhawhaw!!!
[Tokoyami breaks down crying, but his sadness is quickly replaced with anger. What happened next is something that would stick in his mind forever. The darkness of the bathroom brings out Dark Shadow, who grows to an enormous size and rips the roof off of the school building.]
Another memory immediately comes to mind after that...
Psychologist: Your boy is a menace! We can’t have him in this school any longer!
Mama Tokoyami: He couldn’t help it!
Papa Tokoyami: Give him another chance!
Psychologist: I’m sorry, but he’s no longer welcome here! Stay out!!!
For the rest of his childhood, Tokoyami lived a reclusive life. His parents homeschooled him from then on, until the day came that they saw an advertisement in the paper for UA...
Mama: Oh, Fumi, baby! Look at this I found in the paper! It’s an ad for UA!
Tokoyami: Isn’t that the hero school?
Papa: It sure is, bucko! Finally, we’ve found a school where you’ll fit in with everyone else!
- First Day -
Tokoyami sits alone at lunch. He fears that this school will be much the same as his preschool. That is, until a boy from his class with six arms comes to sit with him.
Shoji: Is this seat taken?
Tokoyami: No. Why?
Shoji: Because I wanted to sit here.
Tokoyami: I don’t need your pity.
Shoji: Sure you do. My name’s Mezo Shoji. Those of us with mutant Quirks have to stick together, you know.
Tokoyami: If you insist...
- After the Sports Festival -
Tokoyami: Midoriya, I’d like to thank you for trusting me enough to help you in that cavalry race.
Izuku: Aw, it was nothing. Even if we didn’t win, it’s the fun we had that matters. And if it wasn’t for your quick thinking, we wouldn’t have gotten as far as we did.
- Present -
Shoji: So, will you please calm down?
Izuku: Yeah. We’re not going to hurt you.
Before Dark Shadow can do anything else, the first glitters of sunrise appear in the distance.
Iida: Well, would you look at that! The sun is coming up! Bye-bye, monster!
Shadow: WHAT??? NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Author’s note: That was certainly a hard chapter for me to write. I suck at writing dramatic stuff.
