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Tokoyami Fumikage, currently as Pro Hero-in-training Tsukuyomi, was running through the streets of Fukuoka.
With barely a thought Dark Shadow loomed, wrapped him in her dark embrace, and they flew above the heads of frightened onlookers. Glass shattered ahead of them as the villain used the side of an office building as a launch pad to change directions.
“Froppy, he’s turned south at the avenue. Get in position to cut him off,” Tsukuyomi said sharply, assessing the situation and relaying instructions in an instant. He was getting good at it.
Fumikage had, after the war, been officially declared as Hawks’ successor. His mentor declared him “fit for duty” and proceeded to shift their training to include administrative minutia and leadership skills. That included bringing in another work study student. Tokoyami had been thrilled when Tsu accepted his offer. Ochako had puffed out her cheeks and teased them about how unfair it was that he poached her friend away from Ryukyu. He was honestly able to say he just wanted a classmate with him that he had excellent synergy with. Tsu had blushed at his praise and Ochako graciously admitted defeat.
That was how they wound up here, taking the lead on their own patrol with Hawks’ sidekicks acting as backup. Hawks himself was on the comm line listening in from the agency just in case they needed advice. Thus far he’d been silent aside from suggesting where to go for lunch.
He hadn’t even said anything when a report came through of a villain robbing a jewelry store. The man had literally smashed a window, grabbed some expensive stones and settings, and ran.
Dark Shadow interrupted Tsukuyomi’s silent musings to ask, “Who even does that outside of movies?”
“This guy!” Hawks’ laughter crackled over the comms.
“He cut down the alley between the bar and the ramen shop!” Tsukuyomi alerted everyone.
“You do know those landmarks are only on your side of the block, right?” Tsuyu gently criticized.
Dark Shadow had them covered. “Just watch me!” she shouted and loomed large in the dark, narrow passage between tall buildings. Her back rose above and into the sunlight while Tsukuyomi ran through darkness, powering her monstrous form and gaining on the villain. She crowed, “I’ll crush you!”
It took an immense amount of willpower to pull her back. “Don’t crush, just capture.” He didn’t want to pound the villain to a pulp, it wasn’t like some small time jewel thief was AFO.
“But Bakugou gets to say kill all the time!” Dark Shadow had the villain caged beneath her talons, dark fingertips cracking the concrete beneath them and palms high enough that he wasn’t injured.
“Bakugou is a bad influence!” Tokoyami yelled up at her and her wickedly gleaming red eyes.
“Can I at least threaten to eat his liver?”
“No! No threatening! Be calm and kind, even to villains.”
The aforementioned villain took advantage of their distraction to slip between talons that grew and shrank with irritation and Dark Shadow’s volatile emotions.
“Dark Shadow!” Tsukuyomi chastised.
The villain had a knife!
“I’ll protect you!” Dark Shadow dove down before Tsukuyomi could use any of the martial arts he’d learned. The knife sank into shadow and she twisted to grab the villain when he landed an uppercut on her face. His fist glowed.
Tsukuyomi saw stars. Somehow, despite Dark Shadow being hit, he was the one lying on his back, winded. He felt… hollow. There was a sharp pain where…
Nothing.
There was nothing where Dark Shadow used to be. The connection between them was cleanly severed. He was quirkless. She was gone.
He groaned and rolled to his feet. There was still a villain to defeat. His vision swam in the dark alleyway’s gloom until he saw the shadowy scene before him. The villain loomed tall above… a little girl. She looked half feral, holding her head and staggering in a long white sleep-shirt with long black hair and dark black eyes. Tsukuyomi staggered forward himself, his balance off without Dark Shadow to lift and propel him faster than he could go under his own power.
The villain raised his fist. It was promptly bound by Froppy’s tongue. She ripped him into the air and wrapped him further in her tongue until he was close enough—and disoriented enough—that she could bind his hands behind his back, disabling his quirk with her binding cuffs. She hadn’t needed him at all.
Frogs were creatures of the night, it made sense she would be like a goddess of order in the dark.
The small girl stared at the Rainy Season Hero in apparent awe before running over and kicking the captured villain in the shin.
“Wait now, ribbit! Heroes don’t kick people when they’re down.” Froppy looked from the now-pouting mystery child to Tsukuyomi. “Can you help me, ribbit?”
The little girl glared at him and opened her mouth to hiss. Suddenly, he recognized her.
“Dark Shadow?”
The little girl, who was definitely Dark Shadow, darted behind Froppy and clung to her leg.
Police sirens sounded in the distance and both heroes-in-training heaved a sigh of relief.
“Come now little Shadow, we need to figure out what happened.”
Dark Shadow shrunk back, stretching the spandex leg of Froppy’s suit out to half cover her face. She chirped out a quick, “No. Mommy I don’t want to go with him!”
“Mommy?” Froppy and Tsukuyomi said together.
Froppy mouthed, “Take the villain.” Once the bound man was in Tsukuyomi’s hands she turned to kneel and whisper with Dark shadow. He could barely make out what they were saying.
“Now, you know you come from Tsukuyomi, right? You know he’s really Tokoyami Fumikage.”
Little Dark Shadow nodded solemnly.
“You’ve known him your whole life. Aren’t you friends?”
Dark Shadow scowled in his general direction and dove into Froppy’s arms as the police stormed the alley to take over arresting the villains.
Tsukuyomi donned professionalism like a shield. He was anxious what they’d find back at the agency now that Hawks knows he’s quirkless. Hawks has been sensitive about these things ever since Dabi burned his wings. Between the initial injury and the chaos of the villain war his mentor had never fully recovered. The radio silence was ominous enough.
Froppy’s frown was telling enough of how concerning the situation was. She always smiled.
Hawks’ sidekicks summoned a car for them on his behalf. The two heroes in training piled into the back seat with Dark Shadow between them.
The car ride began in silence. Dark Shadow kicked her feet while Froppy tried to tame her hair, it was a mess of strands somewhere between feather and hair that tangled easily.
“You’ll want oil, Tsu,” Fumikage commented and scratched at his own head feathers.
Dark Shadow combed her fingers through her hair so it fell mostly in front of her face. It was like she was trying to hide from him.
“Do you remember me?” Fumikage loathed the desperation in his voice. He could live without his quirk. He couldn’t live with her not knowing him.
Dark Shadow inched away and clung to Tsuyu again, looking up at her for clues on how to act. When Tsuyu remained calm, she settled.
Tsuyu leaned forward to ask, “What do you remember, Dark Shadow?”
The little girl sighed dramatically and looked up at the sunroof of the car while thinking. Finally, she answered. “I remember wanting to fight. To stop the bad guy. To be a hero. I want to be a hero! A hero just like Tsu! I really like you.” She hugged Tsuyu’s arm tightly and nuzzled her face into it.
Something about seeing a part of himself prefer someone else gnawed at him. Not many quirks were sentient like Dark shadow. It was fine she had her own thoughts and feelings… but he would have thought—hoped—that years of being together meant something.
“Dark Shadow, do you remember me at all?” He was embarrassed that his voice broke a little when he asked.
Dark shadow looked at him seriously, staring into his red eyes with her own inky black ones. “You do look familiar. Maybe like a big brother.”
“That’s exactly what he’s like! You two have been together for a long time, ribbit. You should stick with Tsukuyomi when we reach the agency.”
“You can call me Fumikage,” he replied reflexively. Though he wasn’t sure Dark Shadow was the only one he was talking to.
The car pulled to a smooth stop in front of the Wing Hero agency. The two heroes and their child companion slipped out of the vehicle. Tsuyu took charge.
“Make sure you hold Fumikage’s hand, there’s lots of traffic right now.”
Dark Shadow hesitantly took his hand and reluctantly followed him inside. Then she was the one dragging him. She pulled insistently and made a bee line straight for the candy bowl at the reception desk. She dropped his hand to climb up on the high countertop, looking concerningly similar to the girl crawling out of the TV from that old horror movie he’d watched once when he was way too young for it. He hair caught under her hands and between her fingers and she snarled in frustration. Fumikage grabbed around her waist and helped her up atop the chest high desk.
She sniffed and thumbed her nose at him. “I coulda climbed it.”
Tsuyu appeared as if by magic. Her mere presence made Dark Shadow behave.
“But, uh, thank you, Fumi.”
Before Fumikage could reply she was stuffing handfuls of candy into her mouth until her cheeks were puffed out in satisfaction. He turned to Tsuyu, helpless. “What do we do now?”
“Well, uh,” Tsuyu equivocated and tried not to make eye contact. “Hawks is presently… occupied.”
“Occupied?”
“ Someone is in his office and they’re talking.”
As if summoned, Hawks appeared behind Tsuyu. “Talking about me?” His hair was disheveled and the eyeliner that accentuated his natural eye marking was slightly smeared. His golden eyes were, ever so slightly, rimmed with red.
Tsuyu jumped, figuratively. “Ribbit! Hawks sir, it was nothing bad.”
“Never said it was, Froppy,” Hawks replied with a disarming smile. He then turned that charming grin on Dark Shadow, “And who’s this little lady?”
“Why’re you called Hawks? I don’t see any wings. Tsukuyomi’s dark and Froppy’s like a frog. What makes you special?” Dark Shadow interrogated him around a mouthful of sugar.
Hawks raised his arm while laughing hollowly and shoved it into the back of his oversized Flame Hero: Endeavor branded hoodie to flap the thick fabric away from his back and minuscule wing nubs. Despite knowing Hawks for years now, Dark Shadow didn’t seem to remember the war. “Kids are so honest, eh?”
Dark Shadow swallowed her candy with an audible gulp to respond. “I am no kid. I am darkness personified.”
“I can tell which of you two she takes after,” Hawks said while elbowing Fumikage.
“I take after no one,” Dark Shadow sulked atop the counter.
The receptionist had pushed back their chair, undoubtedly and understandably wanting no part of the ordeal.
Dark Shadow fidgeted with her long hair, trying to shove it out of the way. “What kind of hero are you anyway? Did you used to be famous or something? Why do you have a scar? Why’s your smile so fake? Why’s your makeup all smudgy? Why are you shaking now? Why—”
“That is enough,” Fumikage intoned with the deeper register he’d been practicing for his hero-voice. It was more effective when he had Dark Shadow to look over him. Currently she was looking at him with betrayal in her eyes.
The half-feral child let out a bird-like screech and vaulted off the counter. She ran to find Tsuyu, who was presently across the lobby chatting with Ochako, Izuku, Shouto, and Endeavor. After Fumikage had stolen Tsuyu to join him at the Hawks agency, Izuku and Shouto had stolen Ochako to join them at the Endeavor agency while Bakugou was away doing his final year of work study under Best Jeanist.
Dark Shadow burst into their conversational bubble and nearly tackled Tsuyu to the ground with the force of her glomp.
Fumikage glanced between his shaken mentor and the small crowd now looking at them. He chose to ignore the group; Dark Shadow liked Tsuyu and wouldn’t cause too much trouble. When he opened his beak Hawks interrupted them.
“I’ll be fine. You go take care of your quirk-child.”
His beak fell open with an undignified squawk. “You—you can’t just say things like that!”
Hawks chuckled at his reaction, a hint of a genuine smile crossing his face. Fumikage shut his beak with a click. If his mentor felt good enough to tease him then he must be feeling better. Endeavor’s hand landing on Hawks’ shoulder startled them both. How did a man that big move so quietly? Hawks dropped his head onto Endeavor’s forearm.
“Hawks told me of your predicament,” Endeavor intoned solemnly. “Please try not to worry. Relax and have lunch with the others. We’ll look into the quirk that hit you and summon you when there’s information to be shared. For all we know, Dark Shadow could return to normal at any second. It is highly unlikely you will lose your quirk permanently.”
Hawks winced and glanced sympathetically at Fumikage in silent apology for Endeavor’s bluntness.
Endeavor’s hand slipped from Hawks’ shoulder to the center of his back, just below the tiny bumps of his wing nubs, and he steered Hawks towards the elevators. He nodded gruffly at Fumikage. “We’ll be getting lunch while waiting for our contact with the police quirk analysis division. You should commiserate with your friends.”
Fumikage didn’t really want to. Tsuyu would be concerned but keeping a cheery front if she wasn’t constantly distracted by Dark Shadow, Ochako and Izuku would be relentlessly positive, and Shouto would find the little gray raincloud attached to every silver lining. They’d want him to talk about the loss of his quirk… right in front of his quirk! It was so strange to have Dark Shadow be right there, so close yet so out of reach. He refused to give in to darkness. He would not be mopey or morose in front of a child—technically his child!
This wasn’t her fault.
He’d stewed so long that by the time he walked across the lobby and waiting room it felt like half the agency sidekicks were staring at him. He wove between geometric couches more akin to modern art than furniture towards a cluster of mismatches chairs surrounding a low, bean-shaped table. Hawks’ décor tastes seemed strange until one paid attention and realized all of it was designed for heteromorphic quirks, mostly people with wings but there were some suitable for other quirk and body types. All of it was extremely high end though, and the waiting area was more akin to an art gallery. It seemed Dark Shadow was intent on adding her touch to the collection.
Tsuyu had scrounged up crayons and paper from somewhere and Dark shadow was focused on drawing. One image was a black spiral featuring a small girl with a raven cradling her in its wings… at least that’s what Fumikage thought it was. The concerned looks his other classmates shot him when he arrived told him Tsuyu had briefed them all on the situation.
“How are you feeling?” Ochako began the interrogation.
“I am… as well as can be expected.” Fumikage sat on one of the unoccupied chairs.
“What’s it like having a kid?” Shouto was blunt as always. Izuku winced from his perch on the arm of Shouto’s chair.
“She won’t listen to me.”
“Seems normal,” Shouto observed.
Izuku giggled awkwardly. “Most kids do listen to their parents though.”
Ochako leaned forward to gush, “She really listens to you Tsu. It’s like she’s imprinted on you. Aww, just like a baby bird!”
“She is right here!” Dark Shadow stood from where she’d been kneeling and coloring to proclaim her presence. “She would appreciate not being talked about!”
Tsuyu, who’d been kneeling at Dark Shadow’s side the entire time put a hand on her head to stop her ranting. Dark Shadow immediately calmed down and settled for huffing with her arms crossed.
“We’re sorry, Dark Shadow. We’ll all address you directly from now on, ribbit. Are you getting hungry? Why don’t you think of what you want for lunch?”
Dark Shadow hummed to herself and resumed coloring, this time drawing out possible menus.
“You are so good with kids,” Izuku said, picking his words carefully to not offend Dark Shadow.
“Oh, ribbit. I’m really just good with kids because of my siblings. It’s really just listening and letting them explore while keeping them safe.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Fumikage sighed.
“Well, I could give you some tips during lunch,” Tsuyu offered.
“ After lunch,” Ochako corrected. “Before the villain attack, we were headed here anyway for our weekly Girls Lunch.”
It was rather convenient that Endeavor and Hawks had a standing Top Two Heroes lunch once a week. Occasionally Jeanist joined them, making it a Top Three. Katsuki, being his intern, would tag along meaning UA’s new Big Three got a reunion as well. Though Katsuki had matured in the past two years, Fumikage was glad the loud blond wouldn’t see him like this.
“It doesn’t make sense for us to come all this way just to eat separately. Hawks’ agency cafeteria doesn’t even have soba,” Shouto complained.
“No boys allowed!” Ochako and Tsuyu chanted in synchrony.
Dark shadow glanced between them all almost frantically. “Wait!” she yelled. “I want Fumi with us.”
“One boy allowed,” Tsuyu conceded while Ochako held back a laugh.
“I need to stay with Fumi. But I really like Tsu. I want to stay with your forever,” Dark Shadow explained and grabbed one of Tsuyu’s hands in both of hers.
“Tsu’s the best! Isn’t she?” Ochako agreed and swooped down to hug Tsuyu from the other side. Dark Shadow clung tighter and hissed. His not-daughter was glaring at Ochako for daring to be so familiar with her Tsu. Tokoyami felt similarly though he wouldn’t show it. He wished he could be that close with Tsuyu.
The months working together with Hawks, and studying together at UA to catch up on everything they’d missed during their weeks away had brought them closer. They’d study together in her room—because of the better lighting—late into the night until Sensei inevitably came and scolded them for being in the wrong rooms after curfew. He admired her. He admired everything about her, from her wits to her kindness to her dedication to heroics. Tsuyu really did think of the greater good and maintaining a fair and just society. She also thought his prop swords and skull collections were cool.
Not many girls would think that.
And, if the worst occurred, and he truly was quirkless for the rest of his life… she got along well with Dark Shadow. Dark Shadow liked her. It dawned on him: he liked her too.
“I need to go,” Fumikage declared and stood suddenly. Everyone looked at him and he was thankful for his head feathers hiding his blush. With all the grace of a lumbering walrus he retreated to the bathroom. He picked the smallest, darkest stall—which was difficult because Hawks’ agency had very good lighting—and threw the latch. He put down the toilet lid and sat on it, holding his head in his hands. It was all too much. Too overwhelming. His heated face burned in stark contrast to the cool tile and porcelain surrounding him. That hot-and-cold feeling had a wave of nausea rolling through him and he groaned.
The groan became a hiccup. The hiccup became a sob. And then he was full-on crying in a public bathroom. How embarrassing. He wiped his eyes and continued to wallow in misery.
How could he confess to Tsuyu? How could he confess to her now , when he was quirkless. It wouldn’t seem like love. It would seem like desperation… and a pathetic bid for free childcare!
And childcare! What was he going to do with Dark Shadow? He’d had her for less than an hour but he would not be parted from her. He’d be graduating in less than a year… he couldn’t foist her off on his parents, but he wasn’t ready to be a father . Where would she sleep? He’d have to get her set up with a doctor, and registered for school, and buy her uniforms, and where would he get the money for that?
How would he get the money for that?!
He couldn’t be a hero if he didn’t have a quirk! He wasn’t trained for anything else. He couldn’t raise a kid on a convenience store clerk salary. Fumikage doubled over and groaned. How appropriate he was in the bathroom right now. His entire future was getting flushed down the toilet.
The door creaked open. Fumikage covered his mouth with his hands. Every ounce of his concentration focused on breathing quietly and not making a sound.
“Tokoyami?” Izuku’s voice was gentle.
“You can’t stay in here forever.” Shouto was blunt.
“Don’t you want to come eat lunch with us?”
“We want you to come, but we will eat without you.”
“Shouto!” Izuku scolded his friend for his lack of tact.
Fumikage sat, silently swallowing around the lump in his throat. When he finally felt like he could talk he said, “Please, I’m not hungry.” His voice cracked the end. He couldn’t even ask them to leave him alone.
The sound of retreating footsteps told him they’d understood anyway.
He drew his feet up to perch fully on the toilet lid. Tears blurred his vision, so he closed his eyes and shoved his head against his knees. He lost track of just how long he wallowed in misery before the door creaked open again.
“Alright, Baby Bird.” It was Hawks. “You gotta leave the nest sometime. Come on out and talk to me.”
“I can’t!”
The door to the stall rattled like a body leaned against it. The sound of fabric sliding against textured plastic echoed in the empty bathroom. Was Hawks sitting against the stall door? “Then stay there. Just… listen to me. Okay?
“Losing your quirk feels like the end of the world, okay? And you’re in the position of a hero where people are expecting you to smile, and counting on you to be the adult. You’re not an adult yet Fumi, and heroes don’t have to smile all the time. Feel as bad as you want. Just… know that eventually, someday in the future, you’ll revel in the dark instead of wallowing in it.”
Fumikage bit his tongue. Part of him knew Hawks was right. He still felt panic clawing at his heart to drag him to the chilling depths of despair.
“You have a lot of people that care about you, okay? People that love you. You’ve probably even got somebody that lu~urves you.”
Fumikage snorted. He couldn’t help it when Hawks did that deliberate mispronunciation of love. It was almost as bad as the week he decided to go around declaring everything “GOAT”. Which presented an opportunity for some comeuppance. “Hawks, you’re the mentor GOAT.”
Hawks cackled and the door rattled on its hinges when he stood and presumably moved away from it. “Want to come out of there and get some food? Hard to revel on an empty stomach.”
“I’d rather wallow,” Fumikage said to the cold unresponsive plastic before him. He opened it to see Hawks' anxious face, “but I guess I can take a food break.”
“The darkness will wait,” Hawks grinned and slung an arm around his shoulders—most likely to keep Fumikage from running back into the toilet stall.
“Darkness awaits us all,” Fumikage intoned and tried to not wince because that was usually the point where Dark Shadow would loom dramatically over them both to comedically embody darkness.
He looked around the bright waiting room to see Izuku and Shouto had vanished. Ochako and Tsuyu remained. Why? He had no idea.
No idea until Dark Shadow grabbed his hand and primly told Hawks, “Okay. Thanks for bringing Fumi. You can go now.” She dragged him over to where Ochako and Tsuyu waited before announcing, “Fumi’s here. We can eat now.”
“I thought it was Girls’ Lunch?” Fumikage dug his heels in slightly.
Tsuyu held her hand out to Fumikage. “Dark Shadow refused to eat without you. She was waiting by the bathroom door the entire time worried about you too. She doesn’t want to leave me, ribbit, but she’s more attached to you I think.”
“Congratulations,” Ochako declared, “you’re an honorary girl.”
With time for lunch running short they went two floors up, to the agency cafeteria. The décor was slightly bird themed against tan walls with green trim, with baskets resembling nests and hanging decorations like abstract flocks of birds in flight.
He and Tsuyu helped Dark Shadow select her food. Fumikage lifted her up to see the options along the buffet while Tsuyu filled her plate. Like him, she chose apples for her fruit. Tsuyu convinced them both to eat something green, wakame salad for him and garlic broccoli for her. They found an empty table and set down all their trays. Dark Shadows head swiveled between Ochako and Tsuyu as they gossiped and caught up. Fumikage just poked at his food and was thankful his beak disguised most of his frown.
Getting Dark Shadow fed and settled was easy. He and Tsuyu were a good team taking care of her… but for how long? With how bonded Dark Shadow was to Tsuyu it wasn’t as if he could keep them apart; that wouldn’t be fair to Tsuyu. How did one go about asking their friend to coparent their sentient quirk turned child? They hadn’t covered that in any of their hero courses or health and relationship classes at UA.
He finally brought a bite of wakame to his beak. Despite the utter bleakness of his introspection, it was delicious. Dark Shadow noticed his contented hum and insisted on switching her greens with his. Ochako giggled at his plight. Tsuyu used Dark Shadow’s distraction to slip away to the ‘little heroes’ room’. Ochako rolled her eyes at her friend’s obfuscation of the word toilet.
Once Tsuyu was out of sight and hearing, Ochako steepled all her fingers and looked at Fumikage over them. The air suddenly felt cold. He knew she wanted something.
“Spill,” Ochako ordered.
Fumikage coughed and sipped some tea. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said once he had control over his voice.
“You’re being extra… mopey. All sad and stuff.”
“Morose,” he provided. “And I have good reason.” He crossed his arms and looked away.
“Exactly. So, spit it out.” Ochako pointed at him ominously.
He let his elbows fall to the table and his head into his hands. With a defeated groan he confessed… because Ochako was unstoppable when she put her mind to something and he was too tired to fight. “I think… I think I’m getting feeling for Tsu. More than as a friend, I mean. I want to ask her out.” He cringed as soon as he said it.
He glanced up at Ochako’s sharp intake of breath. Her hands were clapped over her cheeks and her smile was so wide it made his cheeks hurt.
“Oh! Fumi, do it! You should be bold and say something! A love confession, how romantic…” Ochako sighed dreamily.
“But what about Dark Shadow?”
“She loves Tsu so much it’ll be perfect!”
“But…” Fumikage hesitated. “What if she’s not interested in raising a child together? What if she says yes out of obligation and not because she returns my feelings? I shouldn’t say anything. The poetry of unrequited love is timeless. A true gothic romance should end in tragedy. Tis nobler of the mind to—”
Ochako’s hand slamming onto the table interrupted him. As did the table beginning to float until Ochako clapped her hands together and spoke. “Did I ever tell you about my crush on Izuku? I think I had a little crush on him from the moment we met.”
“I—ah, thank you for sharing?”
“I confessed to him, ya’ know? It was right before second year started. We were packing up our dorm rooms and I caught him alone with just a few boxes. He was holding his All Might plush…” Ochako poked her fingertips together and got lost in thought for a short moment. “Long story short I confessed. Fumi… no matter what happens, it’s better to get it out there.”
He shivered and felt his feathers stand on end. “But did he say yes?” He had to know.
“See! You’re rooting for us! And your friends are rooting for you. You have to tell Tsu. Be true to yourself.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Ochako smirked—actually smirked—and folded her hands in front of her and rested her round chin primly on top. “I’ll tell if you confess.”
“That’s… bribery!”
Her smirk widened and her warm eyes glittered mischievously.
Of course it was that moment Tsuyu returned. He slicked his feathers back through force of will alone and kept his hands still through sheer stubbornness. He could do this. He would do this. His resolve strengthened. Curse Ochako for being so persuasive.
The second Tsuyu took her seat his plans went up in smoke.
“I know a se~cret,” Dark Shadow singsonged while kicking her feet. She turned to grace Fumikage with a wicked grin.
Shit.
He was so used to her being his literal shadow he’d forgotten she was there. Being completely comfortable with someone had its downsides.
“Fumi likes you!” she blurted.
“Oh,” Tsu exclaimed. She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not rude to tease people like that Dark Shadow. Big feelings aren’t for joking about.”
“Yeah,” Ochako egged the situation on with that simple word and knowing grin.
He saw Tsuyu’s blush and was thankful his feathers hid his own. She must be embarrassed. Maybe he shouldn’t confess to love.
“Please forgive Dark Shadow. I swear I’ll do better raising her.” He bowed low at the conclusion of his declaration.
“I’ll do my best to help you every step of the way, Fumi.” Tsuyu nodded as if she wasn’t promising to coparent his quirk.
“Tsu…”
“I do feel a little responsible…”
“She’s my daughter, sort of.”
Tsuyu raised her hand to emphasize her point, “Exactly. Raising kids is a lot of work. My parents had me help with my siblings because they both worked.”
“Well,” Fumikage joked bitterly, “I can be the stay-at-home dad since I’m quirkless now.”
“There’s more unusual family dynamics now than house husbands. I could get used to that.” Tsuyu winked at him.
“Awww,” Ochako cooed at them. She stopped when Dark Shadow growled.
“Don’t make fun of my Fumi.” She crossed her arms and harrumphed. She seemed to grow with her darkening mood. Like a stern storm cloud, she swelled and billowed.
Fumikage felt her righteous fury as their connection returned. He was relieved. That calm through their bond settled Dark Shadow back to her usual self.
“And I wasn’t joking earlier,” Dark Shadow pouted in a small wispy form, coiling around Fumikage for comfort.
“I know,” he whispered. He scratched the top of her shadowy head and she leaned into it. Louder, he asked, “Tsuyu, I have a question. Would you… that is to say… will you go on a date with me?”