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Tokoyami didn’t know why he was here.
All day long until the hours of darkness had arrived, Tokoyami had assisted Hawks’ sidekicks with turning in villains that Hawks had defeated by himself and discarded by the road like heaps of trash for his sidekicks to collect.
Wasn’t Tokoyami supposed to be learning from Hawks? How could he do so if he never even saw the hero?
Tokoyami sat down on the bench in the agency’s entryway with a disappointed chirp.
A soft, reassuring coo from a few feet away made Tokoyami’s head shoot up.
Hawks stood at the entrance, leaning against the wall and watching him.
When had the hero arrived?! And more importantly, “Your avian quirk isn’t just your wings?”
“Don’t surprise us like that!” Dark Shadow had puffed up his chest, hovering angrily in front of Tokoyami.
Hawks waved his hand dismissively as he approached. “Sorry about that! I didn’t mean to hide it from you or anything, but I usually keep my other traits more on the down-low. I’m sure you know that people aren’t always the best about those things.” The hero reached out, briefly ruffling the feathers first at the back of Dark Shadow’s head, then Tokoyami’s.
Tokoyami melted at the touch. No one ever… many lacked warmth for those with mutation quirks. It should be no surprise that Hawks hid mutation aspects; those that could hide them frequently did. Of course, wings were often loved, unlike bird heads.
No. Tokoyami pushed back the depths of emotion. “Darkness frequently overcomes others.”
Hawks smiled, but sadness dwelled in his eyes. “Your quirk is awesome, Tsukuyomi. Don’t ever let anyone make you doubt that.”
“Of course I’m awesome!” Dark Shadow puffed up again, making Hawks laugh.
“Glad you know it!” The hero held up his hand to Dark Shadow for a high five and the demon gleefully followed suit.
No one ever interacted with Dark Shadow like this.
Hawks turned back to Tokoyami, still grinning, but this time with a questioning tilt of his eyebrow. “So what had your feathers all ruffled when I came in?”
Tokoyami shook his head. “Merely the temptations of darkness.” Hawks should not have to listen to his intern’s problems. He had better things to be doing.
Hawks’ annoyed chirp made Tokoyami’s eyes snap up to meet the hero’s. “I can’t help you if you’re not open with me.”
Tokoyami didn’t know what to say to that. Adults never really offered to help him, even if they realized he was struggling. Society shunned creatures of darkness. UA was better, but the teachers only had so much time and Tokoyami could be fairly independent.
He knew this. He understood it.
That didn’t make it any less frustrating, though.
“Hatchling, you don’t have to hold it in. We’re both birds, right? We should stick together.” Hawks hand reached up again, rubbing against Tokoyami’s feathers and making him relax, the tension easing from his shoulders as a soft coo slipped from his mouth.
But then Dark Shadow was batting away Hawks’ hand. “You don’t get to do that! We’re mad at you!”
Hawks blinked, startled, and pointed toward himself. “At me?”
Tokoyami shook his head, the feeling of peacefulness leaving him. He’d been enjoying that.
Dark Shadow was right, though. He was annoyed with Hawks.
Golden eyes darted between Dark Shadow and Tokoyami. “Tsukuyomi, why are you both mad at me?”
Why were they both mad. No one ever included Dark Shadow.
Tokoyami sighed. It was impossible to stay annoyed with the hero of light, especially when his expression was so earnest. Could he really not even guess? “I am not angry. Just… disgruntled. It’s fine. Dark Shadow misspoke.” If Hawks didn’t understand, then Tokoyami must be overreacting. He was still learning procedural codes from the hero’s sidekicks, after all. It just wasn’t what he’d been expecting.
“I did not!”
Tokoyami ignored Dark Shadow’s disgruntled shout and bowed to the hero, then turned to head back to the agency’s guest room where he’d been told he would stay.
“Yeah, nope. That’s not going to happen.”
Tokoyami stared at the wall of feathers in front of him. A crimson blockade. He fought to keep his voice steady. “There is no need to talk further, I assure you.”
“I’m the one in charge here, so I’m the one that says what needs to happen. If you’re angry or disgruntled, whichever one it is, let me know, kid. Dark Shadow’s your protector, right? He might exaggerate, but he’s not lying.”
Tokoyami turned around to see Dark Shadow was floating between them, his arms crossed and yellow eyes narrowed. “He doesn’t need to tell you anything!”
Hawks whacked Dark Shadow lightly over the head, “Do you want me to help him feel better or not?” The hero pushed a protesting Dark Shadow to the side, then looked at Tokoyami with one eyebrow raised, “Well? What’s going on?”
Tokoyami wasn’t sure what to say. It would be improper to complain to the hero for this opportunity. “Why did you ask for me as an intern?”
Hawks blinked, his head tilting slightly to the side. “Like I said, birds should stick together!”
“You picked me merely because of our shared mutation species?” Tokoyami didn’t like that. Yes, he appreciated that Hawks understood his more avian traits, but—
“And because you’re strong.” The hero shrugged, as if saying Tokoyami was strong was an obvious declaration.
How could he say that, though? Tokoyami was always fighting against darkness and he could never conquer it fully, Dark Shadow was always dangerously close to the surface. Plus, “You treat me like I am a weak hatchling.”
“I do?”
“We never assist you with captures, but merely sweep the dust from your trail.”
Hawks grinned, a competitive gleam entering his eyes. “I go at my own pace, little hatchling. If it bothers you, then you’ll just have to catch up.”
Tokoyami’s eyes narrowed in thought. Catch up? To the number two hero? “That is a cursed quest.”
Hawks shrugged. “I wouldn’t have requested you if I thought you couldn’t do it, Tsukuyomi.” The hero turned on his heel, feathers coalescing into wings at his back once more. “Try not to let me down, alright?” And then he was gone, disappearing around the corner.
Hawks thought Tokoyami could fight at his speed?
But that was a mission doomed for eternal failure. Tokoyami couldn’t just catch up to the fastest hero.
But Hawks thought he could somehow.
Tokoyami’s hand tightened into a fist. He had to at least accept the quest.
Yet the following day, Tokoyami followed the same cursed destiny of bureaucracy.
How could he be faster? Hawks’ sidekicks’ efficiency granted them precious minutes, but those were too often destroyed by the sapping lull of time as they awaited the police.
“Yo!” Tokoyami jumped as Hawks suddenly appeared like a beacon of light before him.
“Don’t surprise us, you jerk!” Dark Shadow unfurled beside Tokoyami.
“Sorry, sorry, my bad.” Hawks laughed, reaching up to rub both of their heads once more. “You just looked like your feathers were ruffled again.”
Tokoyami withheld his glare as he turned to look at the hero. He had to restrain his emotions. It wasn’t Hawks’ fault that Tokoyami had yet to crack the riddle of darkness. “My dilemma remains unchanged.”
Hawks laughed again. “You’re my intern kid. Not my sidekicks’. If you don’t want to stay with them and deal with the logistics, then don’t.”
Tokoyami blinked. “But it would be rude to ignore their guidance.”
“Nah.” Hawks shook his head, stepping to the side and wrapping an arm around Tokoyami’s shoulders. “Like I said, you’re my intern. They know that, but they’re used to hanging back. That doesn’t mean you have to do the same.”
Was the answer really that simple? If it was… “I appreciate your guidance.”
“Sure thing, Tsukuyomi!” Hawks clapped him on the back and was gone.
Then again, trying to actually catch up with the hero… that was bound to be difficult, as well. There was a reason Hawks’ side-kicks were accustomed to remaining in his shadow.
Yet the next day, Tokoyami tried.
More often than not, he failed.
And when Tokoyami did alight upon a scene before the hero disappeared beyond reach, it was because Hawks was handling far too many tasks at once. The hero was confronting one villain while he had another man pinned to a wall on the other side of the street. Most of his feathers, however, were creating a protection barrier for the bystanders.
Tokoyami moved to assist the hero, but Dark Shadow pointed toward an alley near the fight. After a brief hesitation, Tokoyami followed his partner’s lead.
There at the back was a small girl cowering in fright with her hand clutching at her chest and her knees trembling. At their appearance, she stumbled backwards in fright.
“Dark Shadow, guard the entrance.” The spirit promptly retreated, but the girl’s terror failed to abate.
Something was wrong. Her breathing was too fast and shallow and her hand was not leaving her chest. A panic attack?
Tokoyami slowly approached, then sat down a few feet away from her.
He needed to assess the situation. She was so young. Maybe six? There was a shopping bag at her feet and she was clutching a pink coin purse. Had she just been going to the conbeni for a snack? Then she probably lived nearby.
Wait. Tokoyami recognized the corner of that logo from train advertisements. “Do you enjoy Pretty Yure?”
Wide blue eyes met his and the girl slowly nodded, her legs still shaking. But a response meant that she was fighting the darkness. He should continue to assist her battle. “I do not know much about the show. Is the main character good?”
A crash sounded in the street and her terrified eyes darted behind him.
“We are safe. My companion will protect us.”
Her hand tightened around her shirt.
“Can you tell me about Pretty Yure?”
The girl swallowed. “She has magic.”
Tokoyami tilted his head. She needed to talk more to fight back against the darkness. How could he make her talk more? “Is that like a strong quirk?”
She shook her head a little, then slowly held up the coin purse, her eyes still watching behind Tokoyami. “She has a cat that helps her do spells.”
A companion creature? “That sounds like my Dark Shadow.”
“You have a familiar?!” Excitement finally burst through the darkness.
Tokoyami smiled and nodded. “Dark Shadow is my companion and he helps me protect others.”
“That’s so cool!” The girl stumbled toward him a few steps, then held out the coin purse, pointing at the small black cat. “This is Yuki! She’s black, not white. Even though her name’s snow. She’s really smart! And she helps Yure!”
Tokoyami nodded again, uncertain how to proceed. She seemed to have beaten her darkness and was breathing normally again, which was an important victory. But what next?
“Yo, Tsukuyomi! Everything good here?”
The girl squeaked and jumped forward, clinging to Tokoyami. “All is well. You know Hawks, correct? And remember Dark Shadow is my familiar. He protects people. He wouldn’t let someone bad come close to us.”
The girl nodded, cautiously stepping away from Tokoyami, but still holding tight to his hand.
Tokoyami sighed and turned around to face his mentor. “The villain frightened this child. Unless you require assistance, I shall accompany her home.”
“Sounds good!” Hawks was grinning as he reached out to pet Dark Shadow. “Good work, Protector Dark Shadow! Make sure they get home safely, ok?”
Dark Shadow puffed his chest out, insisting they’d be safe, and then the hero was gone.
“Dark Shadow?” The girl peered around Tokoyami, blinking at the spirit. “Are you going to help me get home safe?”
Dark Shadow nodded eagerly. “I’ll protect you, don’t worry! No villains will dare attack!”
The girl grinned back at the being of darkness, then darted back to grab the sack on the ground. With her free hand she latched onto Tokoyami’s arm and then started chattering about Pretty Yure and familiars. Tokoyami managed to interrupt the torrent of info only to find her address.
Tokoyami fought the urge to shudder at the onslaught of cursed fantasies of candy and glitter.
Once he had returned the girl to her realm of safety, Tokoyami continued his quest of testing his abilities against the speed of red wings and fought for each minor triumph. Yet by the time darkness descended, he had only glimpsed the flashes of red three times.
Tokoyami sighed, despair clinging to him as he dared to enter the agency doors once more.
“Good job today, Tsukuyomi!”
Tokoyami frowned, rubbing his arm uneasily. “I lost to the forces of darkness and could barely offer assistance.”
"I don't know about that." Hawks was grinning at him, and then Tokoyami noticed the piece of paper the hero was holding out. “That girl you helped stopped by! She wanted to say thank you.”
Tokoyami stared in horror at the picture in Hawks’ hand. It was of him and Dark Shadow, yet they had been conquered and subdued, forced to wear frilly dresses in a landscape of glitter. “A cursed vision of despair.”
“Awwww, don’t be like that! She’s a fan!” Hawks waved the wretched image, showering the ground with glitter. “Dark Shadow, you’ll take it, right?”
Before Tokoyami could react, the spirit emerged and darted forward, grabbing it and cackling in glee. “Look, look! It’s us!”
Tokoyami squawked in protest as the demented portrait was shoved in his face, flecks of doom raining down upon him. “Begone! Cease waving the cursed amulet of darkness!”
Hawks chirped in amusement. “I told you your quirk is awesome, Tsukuyomi! Looks like she thinks so, too.”
“I like it!” Dark Shadow continued to wave the diabolical banner, demonic dust descending to tickle Tokoyami’s beak.
Tokoyami sneezed.