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Fumikage was beginning to think Hawks’ idea of what constituted hero training was a little skewed.
First there was the whole leaving him behind during patrols thing.
Then there was the whole exhilarating night flight thing, which was actually cool and left him with some good advice and great ideas on how to expand his use of Dark Shadow.
And then there was the whole “learning to fly” bit where Hawks had announced that the principle of “sink or swim” applied to flying and then promptly pushed him off a building.
Now came the strangest and most terrifying “training exercise” of all: babysitting.
The child Fumikage was supposed to be watching was somehow more terror-inducing than the fall off a very tall building while he scrambled to get Dark Shadow to lift him up.
Fumikage was pretty sure children were supposed to stay on the ground.
But then, he didn’t know much about children, so maybe hurling herself at Fumikage, only to realize he wasn’t whoever she was expecting to walk through the door, then spending half an hour flying away from Fumikage every time he tried to make friends with her was normal for four-year-old girls.
Desperate for some kind of advice, Fumikage finally pulled out his cell phone and called one of his classmates.
“Yaoyorozu,” Fumikage said as soon as she answered. “Do children hate me?” There was a moment of dumbfounded silence.
“What?”
“Children. Small humans. Do they hate me?” Fumikage was desperate for answers.
“Why would children...wait, why do you need to know?” Yaoyorozu asked.
“Hawks assigned me to babysit but the kid keeps running away from me,” Fumikage explained. “Well, she’s actually flying, I think it’s because of the water wings.”
“Water wings keep kids floating in water, not air,” came the bewildered reply.
“No, the girl has wings on her back made of water,” Fumikage explained.
“Why did Hawks ask you to babysit?” Yaoyorozu sounded just a little bit exasperated.
“I don’t know! But the kid hates me! I didn’t even let Dark Shadow out because I was afraid of scaring her, but she still hates me! Do you think it’s because of my face?”
“Tokoyami, I’m sure whoever this kid is, she does not hate you because of your face. Have you tried asking her what’s wrong?” Fumikage blinked, considering the question. The short answer was no, he hadn’t, but honestly he hadn’t heard the child speak, so…
“Do you think she’s old enough to talk?” he asked. For a moment, there was silence on the other end of the line. Then there was a muffled sound, like Yaoyorozu was trying not to sigh audibly.
“If she’s old enough to have a quirk, she can probably talk,” Yaoyorozu replied. “Just...try talking to her. Do you even know her name?”
“No, because she hates me.”
“Do not!” Fumikage screeched and dropped his phone, Dark Shadow erupting from his back with a cry of its own in response to someone talking right in Fumikage’s ear without him noticing anyone was behind him. Fumikage whirled and faced the person who had snuck up behind him and found...the little girl, hovering in the air with her tiny watery wings flapping madly to keep her in place.
“Why would you do that?!” Fumikage wailed, relief crashing over him and making him slump as he looked around for his phone.
“Tokoyami? Tokoyami, are you okay?” Yaoyorozu’s voice came from under the couch. Fumikage shot a wary glance at the little girl, then sent Dark Shadow to retrieve his phone.
“So you don’t hate me?” Fumikage asked the little girl as she apparently got tired and tumbled to the floor, only to scramble to her feet and eye him warily.
“Nope!” The girl crossed her arms and frowned at him.
“Then why do you keep running away?” Fumikage was even more confused now, but at least the kid was staying where he could see her.
“Daddy says don’t let strangers close!” The girl seemed to think this was perfectly reasonable, and honestly Fumikage agreed. However…
“Your dad is very smart,” he told her as he made sure Dark Shadow vanished back into his body. Into the phone, he added, “I have no idea who this child is. How do I convince her I’m supposed to take care of her?”
“Do you know how to take care of her in the first place?” Yaoyorozu pointed out.
“No! I don’t know why Hawks had me do this!” Fumikage complained.
“Hawks!” The little girl chirped, her arms unfolding and flapping in unison with her wings, which sent droplets of water flying. Fumikage grimaced as a few drops hit his face and uniform. “You know Hawks?” Fumikage suddenly remembered what Hawks had told him when assigning him this job.
“I do know Hawks. And he told me to tell you something,” Fumikage added. “Hurricane.” The girl blinked, then beamed and launched herself into the air and straight at him. Fumikage yelped and braced himself, only to end up with the child wrapping her tiny arms around his neck and hanging there, babbling.
“You have a bird in you! And your head is a bird! Do you like birds? ‘Cause I do. Is your face soft? Can I touch the other bird?” The kid was chattering away while Fumikage awkwardly tried to figure out the best way to support her weight so the kid didn’t strangle him or fall to the ground and get hurt.
“I have a new problem. I think the kid loves me now,” Fumikage said into the phone.
“Told you she didn’t hate you,” Yaoyorozu replied. The little girl let go of his neck and flapped her wings, rising enough to pat his beak. Fumikage flinched and took a step back, but the girl just flew around him and patted the top of his head, then his cheeks.
“Your face is soft! Like a bird!” she exclaimed. “Now other bird!” She dropped in the air and poked at his back, where Dark Shadow had emerged before. “Other bird!” Fumikage twisted around, trying to figure out what on earth to do with this child.
“I think she wants to play with Dark Shadow,” Fumikage realized out loud.
“Just keep control of it. If you let the child get hurt, you’ll be in trouble,” Yaoyorozu warned. “Good luck. Let me know if you need anything else.” Then the call ended with the beep that signaled Yaoyorozu hanging up on him, and Fumikage tucked his phone into his pocket.
“Isn’t Dark Shadow...uh, the other bird...scary?” Fumikage asked, sitting on the floor with his legs tucked under him. The girl landed in front of him and frowned at him.
“No! Not scary!” the child insisted. Fumikage took a deep breath, then tentatively allowed Dark Shadow out. For a moment, the girl just stared at the shadow creature. Then she reached out and poked it in the face. Dark Shadow tensed, and Fumikage prepared himself to keep it from attacking the kid. Then the girl reached out again and gently patted Dark Shadow’s beak, giggling at the cool fizzy sensation of Dark Shadow’s form against her palm. “Hi, bird,” she cooed, petting shadow creature contentedly. “Nice bird.”
Fumikage stared in confusion and possibly a little bit of fear as the four-year-old in front of him continued to happily pet the shadow monster that Fumikage remembered losing control of in the past all too well. But Dark Shadow showed no sign of aggression, apparently as dumbfounded by the child’s behavior as Fumikage himself.
The door to the house opening had Fumikage surging to his feet, ready to face an intruder and protect his tiny charge if necessary, only for said tiny charge to shoot past him with a shriek as Hawks himself walked in the door.
“Daddy!” the tiny girl shouted as she flung herself into Hawks’ arms. “Daddy, it’s two birds!” Hawks caught the child easily and settled her comfortably in his arms as he kicked the door shut and walked towards Fumikage.
“What’s two birds, water daughter?” Hawks asked, an indulgent smile curling his lips.
“There!” she cried, pointing at Fumikage. “His head is a bird and, and Other Bird is a bird!” Hawks glanced at Fumikage, took in the way Dark Shadow was watching the little girl with wide yellow eyes, and sighed.
“Did you ask your new friend what his name is?” Hawks asked. The girl frowned, tilted her head, then looked down.
“No…”
“Did you even introduce yourself?” Hawks pressed. The girl shook her head, mumbled something about birds, and then abruptly turned and hid her face in Hawks’ neck. Hawks curled his wing around them both for a moment, hiding her from view and covering her with his soft red feathers. “Come on, why don’t you be a good host and introduce yourself now? I’m sure your new friend will forgive you,” Hawks encouraged. The girl stirred, then peered around his wing at Fumikage.
“Really?” Fumikage nodded sagely, and the child seemed to brighten considerably. Hawks’ wing returned to its usual position half folded behind him, and the girl curled forward into an awkward attempt at a bow. “I’m Hayoshi Tsubaki! Nice to meet you!” she chirped. Fumikage couldn’t help but smile at her and return her bow.
“I’m Tokoyami Fumikage, hero name Tsukuyomi,” Fumikage replied. “And this is Dark Shadow.”
“Dark Shadow!” The little girl repeated it to herself a few times. “Dark Shadow, Dark Shadow!” In response, before he could stop it, Dark Shadow stretched toward the girl and nudged at her hand. She giggled and resumed petting the shadow creature, while Fumikage watched.
“So I take it things went okay?” Hawks asked, studying Fumikage.
“Once I remembered to tell her ‘hurricane,’ yes,” Fumikage answered.
“Good. Don’t tell anyone else that, okay?” Hawks was suddenly more serious than Fumikage had ever seen him. “It’s our safety word. It’s how she knows who I actually send to take care of her. Can’t be too careful.” Hawks sounded grim, the opposite of the usually carefree hero Fumikage had started to get used to.
That’s when everything fell into place. Hawks asking him to take care of the kid because something had come up and the usual caretaker had to leave. The girl being excited when he mentioned Hawks. Him being serious about the kid’s safety.
The way she’d greeted Hawks when he came in.
“Wait, you have a secret child?!”