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Shadows That Even A God of Darkness Can't See

Summary:

Tokoyami finds himself in the being placed in the someone's cross-hairs, but he can't seem to find out who. Oddly enough, that 'someone' isn't an enemy, but rather a secret admirer that seems to know him well. Very well, in fact. So well that Tokoyami can't help but not trust the situation. At the same time, the goth man finds himself growing closer to a classmate he thought would never want to talk to him again. He can't explain why this classmate is so eager to get along with him, but he can't deny that this classmate was someone Tokoyami found incredibly interesting. He could even be someone that Tokoyami considers a friend, or maybe more...

The real question is how are the two related? And who will Tokoyami choose?

Chapter 1: Black Rose

Chapter Text

           ‘Your gaze feels so strange when it you turn it upon me,

 

           Both intensely chilling,

 

           Like the sting of snow against my unguarded skin,

           And severely hot,

 

           Like the blood in my veins is boiling under your eyes.

 

           I’m torn between what I should do;

 

           Should I beg for your mercy, for you to stop,

 

           Or should I continue to exist in this tortuous bliss?

 

           I think I shall continue to live like this,

         

           For this is by far the most excruciating euphoria

 

            I think I shall I ever experience.

 

           Thank you, my god of eternal  darkness,

 

            For the best torture I’ve ever experienced.

 

           -From The Beast to Your Beauty’



           Tokoyami’s pale skin flushed a bright rose red from his cheeks to the bridge of his nose to the pierced shells of his ears. A shaking hand lifted to cover his mouth, fingers brushing against the silver rings in his lips as his lips parted in surprise. His other hand, the one that held the note, dropped the aged-looking parchment with black, inked cursive writing back onto his desk so both of his hands could press his hands against his face in a desperate attempt to hide his flustered expression.

 

           The yellowed paper fluttered back down to rest on his desk, where it had been oh-so-innocently lying when Tokoyami had sat down at his desk for class. Ruby red eyes glared down at the traitorously embarrassing paper through thin, willowy fingers. Tokoyami drew in a deep breath through his nose before letting it out through his fingers.

 

           “Who would dare try to revive the beating heart of someone long dead? Who would dare try to bring life into a castle long abandoned? Who dares try to summon the god of shadows and darkness into the spotlight?” Tokoyami mumbled to himself as he tried to convert his embarrassment into indignance and anger.

 

            ‘Obviously, this person has planned to embarrass and torment me for a quite a while, and has clearly done the proper amount of research on how to do so.’ Tokoyami thought to himself as he looked around the room, wondering if any of his classmates had seen anything. ‘They know me well. Too well.’ The dark-haired male’s eyes narrowed as he observed the few classmates that had been in the room before him. ‘They must had someone on the inside. Another figure that I’ve failed to notice hiding in the shadows alongside me who has been gathering my concealed ebony secrets.’

 

           “Oh, what’s this?” Tokoyami’s eyes moved to the side to see Jirou had walked into the room and was now standing over his shoulder, looking down at the, for lack of better term, love note. The dark-haired girl picked up the parchment and looked it over the formal cursive, her eyes widening slightly as she read over the words. She turned her surprised gaze to look at the slightly taller male. “Is this…?”

 

            The other 3A student nodded solemnly in response. “I am afraid it is what we both suspect. It is a ploy, the first step of many in a cursed scheme to distract and destroy me.”

 

           Jirou blinked before letting out an exasperated sigh as her shoulders dropped in disappointment. “No,” She started slowly, as if she was explaining a new concept to a young child. “No, this is a love letter from a secret admirer. Someone who is romantically interested. In you .” The guitarist and singer tried to explain.

 

           Tokoyami looked at his friend before shaking his head as he took the parchment back. “I believe you are mistaken, my fellow witch. This is clearly an attempt to catch me off guard and convince me to harbor feelings for a false entity so that I become so entangled in these newfound feelings that I begin to slack in my career as a hero or my schoolwork.”

 

            Another weary exhale fell from Jirou’s mouth as she looked over her clearly paranoid friend. “Toko… That’s not…” The girl’s earlobes swung slightly as she shook her head. “Toko, this person clearly really likes you. How else would they know what you like so well? The classical parchment, the formal cursive, the fancy wording, the black roses?”

 

            The red-eyed male was about to retort to point out how that was exactly his point - how would they know what he liked unless they did ample amounts of research on him? - when he heard the last three words Jirou had said. “B-Black roses…?” He asked, looking back down at the desk, then on either side of the ground next to him. It was only then that he spotted the small collection of black roses, queen anne’s lace, and, nestled discreetly in the center, a single red tulip, all tied together with a lovely piece of black lace. “Oh…”

 

           “What? Did you not see it?” Jirou asked with a slight smirk as she moved the letter out of the way so she could sit on Tokoyami’s desk. The dark-haired male was to distracted by the thorny stems and soft petals in his hand to care. Not like he would mind anyway, but Jirou was still slightly in awe of how distracted Tokoyami was by the letter and flowers.

 

           It was weird; Tokoyami was always showered with roses, tulips, daisies, poppies, lillies, and more on stage, just like the rest of their band, and that never distracted the goth boy. Somehow, these flowers seemed to be more… important, in a way. Jirou supposed they were; never before had any flowers been given to Tokoyami that were for him and him alone. It’s no wonder the other witch was so stunned.

 

           “No, I did not.” Tokoyami’s voice was quiet and low as he thought about who he would have told about his favorite flowers. “How… anomalous.” Then he remembered that this was part of a plot, a scheme to take him down, and he set both the note and the flowers down, under his desk.

 

           Jirou tilted her head and gave a quick glance down at the items under his desk, a silent question.

 

           “I see no reason to dwell on them now. Class is about to begin, and I cannot allow whoever is sending me these false gifts to succeed in their endeavours.” The boy explained with a casual air.

 

           Jirou rolled her eyes and gently flicked some of Tokoyami’s hair out of his face, causing the boy to raise his eyebrows slightly, the piercing in his eyebrow moving with them. The small movement of the silver barbell made Jirou give a small huff of laughter as her lips turned up in a smile. “Well, do me a favor, as a fellow punk, and at least consider the fact that their feelings might - just might - be real.”

 

           Jirou wasn’t exactly asking for her friend to agree, more so telling him to, but Tokoyami knew that was her way of politely requesting something from him. The dark-haired male sighed as he lifted his hand to fiddle with the choker around his neck, his fingers dipping under the black velvet band and rubbing against his neck as he responded. “As you wish, Jirou. I shall entertain the thought, though do not expect it to be for long.” Tokoyami relented as his fingers moved to the pentagram charm that hung from the center of the necklace.

 

           The guitarist simply gave a faint smile and a nod in response before she turned to face the door. A certain purple-haired classmate had just found his way into the room, a coffee in each hand. “Hey, Shinsou! C’mere, ya gotta see this!” She called. That was a quality Tokoyami had found in his friend that he’d always been jealous of; Jirou’s voice could get louder and quieter without making anyone alarmed for their safety. It was one of the qualities that made her such a great singer, and Tokoyami found himself wishing he had that ability whenever he had to raise his voice, which was apparently like a tornado siren in comparison.

 

           Shinsou raised his gaze from the two cups in his hand when he heard his name being called, and Tokoyami felt a twinge of sympathy in his chest when he noticed how much darker the bags under the other student’s eyes were. Judging by the way Jirou cringed, she, too, had seen them. The purple-haired boy gave both of them a nod before heading over to the shorter male’s desk.

 

           As Shinsou got closer, it became very evident that whatever was in the cups was not just coffee alone, and was, instead, some form of heinous potion the likes of which Tokoyami himself couldn’t imagine brewing. Both Jirou and Tokoyami gave each other perplexed looks before going back to looking at the cups. “Shinsou… What in the - and I’m gonna borrow a line from Toko - sweet, succulent abyss of the universe is in those cups?” Jirou asked, both repulsed and drawn in by the smell wafting up from the cups.

 

           A blank stare, interrupted only by a long, owlish blink, was the only response they got for the first few moments. The other two students waited in anticipation as their classmate looked down at the cups with a look that held none of the confidence they had hoped would accompany such a simple question. Instead, the purple-haired boy’s eyes were vaguely curious and slightly accusatory as he - for lack of better word - glared down at the paper cups. Slowly, he raised one to his mouth and took a small sip. “ … Coffee.” Came the short response.

 

           “No shit, Sherlock. What else?” Jirou snorted as she watched Shinsou take another sip, this time a bit longer. “That’s clearly not just plain coffee, I can smell it from here.”

 

           “ … Protein powder… and… at least two types of energy drinks…” Came the next two ingredients in this horrible morning cocktail that Shinsou had managed to summon from the absolute depths of hell. “And uh… Something else… I forgot what. Gives it a nice kick though.”

 

           “Allow me.” Tokoyami spoke up, holding a hand out, but not quite touching the cup. After all, terrible things happened to those who took Shinsou’s coffee without permission. “I could give it my best estimate.”

 

           The taller boy nodded and passed the other cup to his gothic friend. “Yeah, sure. It tastes pretty good, though. I hope I remember what it was, so I can make it again.” His voice was low and quiet, but gravelly in a way that meant he’d worn it out. Another clear sign, just like the bags under his eyes, that he’d been out late doing hero work. ‘No wonder he needs such a strong brew to keep him awake,’ Tokoyami thought as he raised the cup to his lips and took a drink.

 

           Immediately, the dark-haired boy’s eyes went wide and his body tried to force him to retch up the foul beverage, but he couldn’t just spit it out, it would ruin both his and Jirou’s clothes! So he forced himself to swallow the liquid as he gritted his teeth. By the time he had managed to get all of the coffee hybrid down his throat he was panting, and he had a pretty good idea of what that last ingredient was.

 

           “Why… Why is there vinegar in your coffee?” Tokoyami asked between gulps of air as he tried to use the taste of air to get rid of the foul flavor that was left sticking to his tongue.

 

           Jirou quickly turned her head around to face Shinsou. “Vinegar? What the literal fuck, Shinsou?”

 

            The taller male shook his head slowly and shrugged as he took his cup back from a still disgusted Tokoyami. “It just gives it a little kick.” He said, as  if that explained why there was vinegar in his mixture of too many forms energy. He took another drink, and Tokoyami nearly recoiled at the way Shinsou didn’t recoil.

 

           “What’s with your fucked up drinks anyway? Usually you only need two black coffees. Why are you pulling out all the stops today?” Jirou asked as she tried not to laugh at Tokoyami’s still twisted face.

 

           “Late night hero work. Need something to keep me awake.” Shinsou responded shortly between increasingly long swigs of his hellish brew. “It doesn’t help that the meds I’m on are fucking up my sleep schedule, making me tired as all hell.”

 

           Tokoyami’s eyes softened slightly - in a way that was only visible to the people who were close to him - as he looked over his clearly overworked friend. “Your own state of being should not be sacrificed when there are others who can help carry your burden.” He spoke softly as he gave his friend a sympathetic look.

 

           “Yeah, really, dude. We’d be more than happy to give you a hand if you need one.” Jirou nodded in agreement and offered a small but genuine smile to the tallest member of the trio.

 

           Shinsou attempted to give a slight smile back, but it was only a second before the upturned corners of his lips withered and fell back into a frown with a sigh. Both of the black-haired punks straightened in surprise; never before had they seen Shinsou tired enough that he felt… well, anything other than capable and badass.

 

           “Actually, I could really use some help.” Shinsou’s voice was even more tired than it had been when they’d first started the conversation, and Tokoyami felt his stomach sink because of it. “I want to get my sleep schedule back in order, but I’m scheduled too many nights to do that. If you know anyone that could take up some nighttime patrol routes, that would be… fucking fantastic.”

 

           “If that would beneficial to you, then I would gladly help shoulder the burden of Atlas.” Tokoyami’s eyes shone with a warmth and determination.

 

           “ … Atlas?” Shinsou’s eyes had taken on the same haze of someone who desperately needed sleep, lest they pass out dead on their feet. “ … Should I know what you’re talking about?”

 

           Jirou waved her hand in the air flippantly. “It’s just a thing he says. Remind me to send you a link to the document where we keep all of Tokoyami’s phrases and refrences.”

 

           “There’s a document?” Both Shinsou and Tokoyami asked in a quiet yet slightly surprised unison.

 

            “Of course there is, no one can fuckin’ understand what you say.”

 

           All three of the students turned to find that the newcomer was none other than Bakugo, who immediately grabbed one of the coffees from Shinsou’s hand and took a big drink. All three had to restrain themselves from outright laughing as the other boy’s shoulders tensed as the taste from the vinegar seemed to finally take affect. However, to their complete and utter disbelief, Bakugo swallowed the bitter liquid before handing the cup back to Shinsou and fixing him with a quick, sharp nod of approval. “I knew I liked you for some reason. You have good taste.” He said shortly.

 

           “Well, fuck me, that was truly disturbing.” Jirou deadpanned. She chose not to dwell on it, instead letting a sly smirk appear on her lips as she glanced between the two taller males. “But anyway, take a guess what our favorite bird boy got?”

 

           “A new choker?” Shinsou guessed.

 

           “A spellbook?” Bakugo added.

 

           “A leather jacket?”

 

           “Another piercing?”

 

           “A ouija board?”

 

           “A scroll with a quest?”

 

           “A calligraphy pen?”

 

           “An ancient legacy on the walls of the bathroom down the hall?”

 

            “Nope!” Jirou groaned as she pulled the letter and flowers out of Tokoyami’s backpack before the red-eyed male could grab his bag from out of her grasp. “Toko got a love letter and flowers!” She announced to the other two males, thankfully not loud enough to draw any more of their classmates’ attention.

 

           Shinsou’s tired eyes lit up a bit as a lazy smirk appeared on his lips. “Oho? Is that right?”

 

           Bakugo’s smirk was much more worrisome as it revealed a flash of his teeth while his shoulders relaxed as he slung an arm around Tokoyami’s shoulders. “Oh yeah? Well, then that’s just adorable ~” Bakugo cooed as his other hand came up to ruffle Tokoyami’s carefully styled hair.

 

           The red-eyed male let out a weary exhale as he swatted Bakugo’s hand, his brows drawing together in minor annoyance. “I would appreciate it if my allies assisted in helping me in uncovering the dastardly criminal who is attempting to overpower me by catching me off guard, rather than laughing at my predicament.”

 

           Bakugo laughed boisterously, which drew the attention of all the other students in the room. Jirou, Shinsou, and Tokoyami all shot the onlookers a glare to get them off of their case, making all their classmates sigh and roll their eyes; they were far too used to the punk groups’ fierce looks to be intimidated by them. All the same, they decided to go back to what they were doing. They were worried about what Bakugo’s laugh meant, and what would happen if they got caught up in it.

 

           “So you think,” Bakugo managed to spit between barks of laughter. “You think that someone is pretending to have a crush on you so they can, what? Defeat you? Defeat you doing what , exactly?” Bakugo asked as he wiped a single tear from his eye as his laughter died down into a harsh chuckle. “In a fight? As a hero? What?”

 

           Tokoyami glared at Bakugo, this one harsher than the one he’d shot at their other classmates. Bakugo only sneered back at him as he snatched the letter from Jirou’s hand. Jirou smacked him on the arm in retaliation, making Bakugo wince and glare at the singer. The dark-haired girl crossed her arms and shrugged nonchalantly. “Shouldn’t’ve done that then, now should you?” The girl shot back easily, a lazy smirk forming on her face.

 

           Bakugo snarled at her, a growl already forming in the back of his throat. “You-” Whatever he was going to say was quickly cut off by Shinsou’s hand, which raised the cup of hell-drink to Bakugo’s lips, tilting it so the fluid rushed into the blonde’s mouth. Bakugo glared at the taller boy, but quit yelling and swallowed the liquid.

 

           Shinsou gave a simple nod and pulled the cup away. “Much better.” He said easily as he turned back to face the red-eyed male. “So… Who is this person?” Shinsou asked as he carefully took the flowers from Jirou’s hands, looking over them and occasionally brushing a finger over a petal. He continued looking over the flowers, occasionally looking up at Tokoyami for an answer.

 

           “I am not aware of why you would believe that I am conscious of who has sent me these… ‘gifts,’ but I assure that their identity remains a complete mystery to me.” Tokoyami replied, a huff marking the end of his sentence. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he felt worried when anyone but himself held the letter or flowers. He was tempted to reach out and take them from his friends, though he knew that they wouldn’t destroy them. At least Shinsou wouldn’t. Bakugo might, be he looked like he was having too much fun reading the letter and laughing at the shorter male.

 

           “Huh. I figured you would know. You’re pretty smart, so I thought you’d have found out who it was by now.” Shinsou shrugged as he handed the bouquet back to the gothic male. Tokoyami took it quietly with a small nod of thanks, wrapping his fingers around the lace and holding the black, white and red flowers to his chest. He began looking over the flowers more closely than he had when he’d first observed them. His fingers gently caressed the soft, vibrant petals, and his normally intense, harsh eyes softened slightly.

 

           Jirou and Shinsou gave each other a look, followed by a small smile. It was rare to see Tokoyami in anything resembling a romantic mood, and he was usually so opposed to anything like this. Hell, when one of the students from class B had tried to ask Tokoyami out in their second year, the dark-haired boy had simply given them a blank stare before turning on his heel and walking away. All of classes A and B had been absolutely mortified by this incident, and Tokoyami made an apology in the form of a letter. Thankfully, the gothic boy was forgiven and the whole incident was forgotten.

 

           Then the three of the dark-haired students looked over to the blonde member of their group, who had been far more silent than usual. Bakugo was still looking over the note, his eyes slowly roaming over the paper and taking in the elegant love note. All three fell silent as they waited for his response. Finally, Bakugo finished reading and looked up at the other three as he cleared his throat. “That’s uh… That’s really poetic.” Bakugo said gruffly, but his glare is gone, replaced by slightly raised eyebrows and he simply gives an approving nod. “Sounds like they really like you. They know you pretty well.” He handed the paper to a surprised Shinsou, who began to read the note

 

           Tokoyami paused as he looked at Bakugo, taking in the usually hot-headed male’s expression. Bakugo seemed to genuinely believe what he was saying, which caught Tokoyami off guard. It was rare to see Bakugo talk without anger, sarcasm or pride in his voice, but here he was, talking about something with a genuineness that couldn’t be faked. “Does Ares really think that Hades has been gifted with a confession of love? Has Hades been too paranoid of a spy that he has missed a genuine offering?” Tokoyami murmured, more to himself than to his friends.

 

           Jirou rolled her eyes. “Artemis thinks that Hades is being an idiot who needs to learn to share his pomegranates. Especially when someone so obviously wants some.” Jirou gave the dark-haired male a pointed look.

 

           Shinsou didn’t even look up as he chimed in. “Hypnos thinks that Hades is being a moron for thinking that this person is an enemy. He thinks that Hades should just accept the gift and consider that the admirer is real.” He said as he finished the note. He gave a small nod as he handed it back to Tokoyami, who quietly thanked him as he took it back.

 

            Bakugo snorted and rolled his eyes. “Ares agrees with both Artemis and Hypnos, but would use harsher words to describe just how much of a stupid, idiotic dumbshit Hades is being.” He responded as he crossed his arms. “Also, good job with the mythology reference, Shinsou.” He murmured with a nod towards the taller boy.

 

           “Thanks.” Shinsou responded with a small smile.

 

           Tokoyami would’ve smiled at the display of friendship, but he was too caught up in his own thoughts. ‘Are my comrades right? Have I thought I caught sight of shadows where I know there is darkness? Have I thought I saw a great light that would wither up the crops where instead rain clouds came to offer rain and shade and… a form of affection?’ Tokoyami felt the blood rush to his cheeks and he looked out the window to hide his face from his friends. ‘I… I suppose it’s possible… Is it not?’

 

           “ … Toko?” Jirou asked, her head tilting as she looked back at her friend. Both Shinsou and Bakugo turned to join her in watching their gothic friend.

 

            “Hm? Oh…” Tokoyami looked up from the flowers to see all of his friends watching him. He let out a heavy sigh before looking to each of his friends’ faces, looking all of them in the eye. “Am I to believe that all of my allies find this ‘secret admirer’s’ feelings to be their midnight secret that has finally clawed at their mind enough that they had to release it to the light of day?”

 

           “Yep.”

 

            “Mhmm.”

 

          “That’s what we’ve been saying all morning, dipshit.”

 

          The red-eyed boy thought on these answers for a few more minutes before giving a slight nod. “Seeing has how all of my most trusted allies believe this gesture to be an innocent white flag calling for peace rather than a red one of war… I will consider that these feelings might be genuine and proceed with that in mind.”

 

             The other three students let small smiles form on their faces just as the bell rang for class to start and their teacher crawled through the door in his sleeping bag. “Alright, well we better go sit down. But bet your ass I’m gonna text you later, Toko!” Jirou hopped off of her friend’s desk after giving his shoulder a small shove. She and Bakugo walked back over to their desks, but Shinsou waited behind for a moment.

 

           “Is it alright if I text you the details of the night patrols? If you still want to do them, that is.” Shinsou looked nervous, and slightly awkward in a way Tokoyami didn’t think he’d seen his friend before. Then again, he figured Shinsou hardly ever needed favors done for him, so this was a bit out of the ordinary for him.

 

           The shorter boy offered his friend a small smile in order to calm his nerves, his lip piercings twitching with the motion. “I would be glad to, Shinsou. I will require the previously mentioned information, so please send it to me as quickly as you can.” Tokoyami replied in an even tone.

 

           “Done. Thanks, Fumikage. I really appreciate it.” Shinsou offered his friend a small smile.

 

           Fumikage returned the small smile with a light grin of his own. “A favor for a friend is more of a gift to me. I’m honored you would trust me with this.” He bowed his head slightly as a sign of thanks to the taller male.

 

           “You know, you’re a lot nicer than most people think you are.” Shinsou chuckled under his breath. “But don’t worry, I’ll keep that secret between us.”

 

           “I’d greatly appreciate that. After all, what is someone besides their reputation?” Tokoyami replied with a sly grin. “Now, I believe class will be starting momentarily. You should probably head back to your seat, lest we find ourselves at our teacher’s wrath.”

 

           Shinsou rolled his eyes. “Oh please, Aizawa-sensei loves me. He wouldn’t do anything.”

 

           “Still. It is better to err on the side of caution.” Tokoyami tried to shoo the other man away, but his efforts were only met with a roll of purple eyes.

 

           “I know you’re just trying to get rid of me so I don’t talk to you about your admirer anymore, but I feel nice today, so I’ll leave you be. For now.” Shinsou smirked as he began walking back to his seat. “But you’re gonna hear from all three of us later, so be prepared.”

 

           Tokoyami let out a small laugh as he stored his admirer’s gifts in his backpack. Carefully, since his friends insisted this person’s feelings were genuine. “I await the birds that will carry your scrolls.” Shinsou rolled his eyes again as he took his seat.

            Aizawa finally got out of his sleeping bag and greeted the class in a tired voice, announcing the start of class. The students all returned the sentiment and waited for the lesson of the day.

 

           For the time being, the gifts were put in the back of Tokoyami’s mind as he focused on his classwork. They waited in his backpack to be found and pondered over later.