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Tokoyami is a howl kinnie
Situated in front of the TV was a 7-year-old Tokoyami Fumikage. It was a Saturday morning and his parents were preparing their breakfast in the kitchen while he browsed the available channels for something to pass the time while he waited. His attention was caught by an animated house that seemed to crawl around. He was immediately invested.
By the time his parents announced that breakfast was ready, Tokoyami was halfway through the film and had been introduce to Calcifer, Howl’s fire demon companion. Watching the young wizard morph into a feathered monster of sorts it wasn’t hard for Tokoyami to see himself in the man. Envying Howl’s companianship with Calcifer sparked an idea, he was entirely sure that his plan was foolproof.
Sitting at the breakfast table alongside his mother, Tokoyami proudly announced, “I’m going to become friends with a demon!”
His father dropped his chopsticks and snapped his neck up to look at his son with something akin to fear in his eyes.
“You’re going to what?” he questioned the boy, looking for some eminence of rational thought.
“Befriend a demon!” Tokoyami repeated.
“...Why a demon?” His mother gently pried.
Tokoyami tilted his head at her as if the answer was as clear as day.
“‘Cause Howls friends with a demon. I want to be to, and then they’ll never be allowed to leave!” His parents exchanged a look, struggling between their feelings of pity for their son or genuine fear for what could be unleashed if he truly did try to befriend a demon.
“I don’t think that’s a very good idea, sweetie,” his mother began, pausing at the way her sons face dropped, “but, if you do please be careful... We wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.” He cheered up at that and excused himself from the table to finish his movie and start his search for a new friend. His parents, still conflicted as to whether or not this was the right thing to do, watched him excitedly run away and decided that whatever results came of this could be dealt with later.
It was late in the evening after supper that the young boy (bird?) realized he didn’t actually KNOW how to befriend a demon. For starters, where would he even find one? He pondered this shortly before yelling enthusiastically into the silence of his room, “IF THERE’S ANY DEMONS IN HERE, YOU GOTTA COME OUT! RIGHT! NOW!” Content with his attempt at communicating with the paranormal world, he settled into bed under his covers and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And then there was the clatter. Tokoyami sprung out of bed, looking around frantically before his eyes landed on his Crystallize action figure on the floor, several feet away from where it was typically situated on his dresser.
“Whose there?” he demanded. His answered was received in the form of a dark figure that peeled itself away from the shadow that his dresser projected onto the wall.
His breath caught in his throat as Tokoyami realized that maybe meeting and befriending a demon was a lot scarier than he had expected it to be.
That was until said demon revealed two large yellow eyes and took the shape of Tokoyami did he change his mind once again and decide that maybe the creature of darkness was actually... adorable.
“I’m Tokoyami Fumikage! Do you want to be my friend?”
The figure tilted its head at the boy and stared for a moment, analyzing him. After their analysis the figure seemed to have deemed the boy an acceptable friend and nodded its bird-like head in agreement.
“Awesome!” Tokoyami declared, rocking on the balls of his feet in excitement.
“What’s your name? Can you talk?” he tried his best not to explode into millions of questions despite his curiosity.
The figure blinked at him, darkening his room once again as the light produced from his eyes was hidden momentarily.
“I don’t have a name.” His voice was childlike and soft, Tokoyami noted how he almost seemed shy.
“Oh. Well what if was called you...” he trailed off in thought while he considered possible names for his new friend, “Dark Shadow!”
Dark shadow’s eyes widened and he nodded vigorously again.
Tokoyami grinned at his friends response to the new name and proceeded to ask him millions of questions, successfully getting him out of his shell by the time the sun had risen and the morning light began to illuminate his bedroom. He yawned sleepily and rubbed his eyes, closing them as Dark Shadow whispered a quiet “Good night, Tokoyami,” and left for the day.
His middle school experience had not been ideal. In a society where almost everyone had some special ability, you would think having the head of a bird wouldn’t be a shocking or disgusting thing for people to see day to day, yet Tokoyami remained the victim of relentless teasing and was often the butt of a joke. Dark Shadow had noticed that after starting middle school, the previously bright and talkative boy had fallen into a metaphorical darkness, rarely leaving his room. It was as if they had switched rolls in the past five years, Tokoyami become
more reserved, often inside his own head, while Dark Shadow was energetic and talkative and always looking for some sort of adventure.
Seeing this change in their friend inspired Dark Shadow to do something entirely questionable. They would go to school with Tokoyami, ensure the he was taken care of and wasn’t alone.
And so Tokoyami and Dark Shadow became completely inseparable. Tokoyami had eased up having his friend around all the time and went from “quiet and unsure” to just straight up emo. While Dark Shadow wasn’t sure it was much better, Tokoyami no longer hid himself away, which was a definite improvement in their book.