--

The first thing Tokoyami felt was pain. He was having multiple concussions on his head. The villain must have hit him multiple times in the head to keep him unconscious. He felt his head throbbing and pulsating and tried to grab his head to make it stop.

That was when he realised, he couldn't move. He tried his legs as well but were in vain.

As he regained his consciousness, he realised he was sitting down, his hands and legs bounded to the chair. He observed his surroundings. He was in what seemed to be a basement. There were powered tools and screws everywhere. Sawdust littered the floor. He shuddered when he caught a glimpse at the circular saw and knives, glinting in the dark. He grimaced at the thought of what the villain might do to him, possibly torture.

That made him realise, why was he kidnapped? He wasn't a target for anyone, he didn't have an enemy. The only possible reason he could think of was a hostage for UA.

!

That was when he realised, he wasn't alone. He felt a presence at the far end of the room, hiding in the shadows. He tried to adjust his eyes in the dark. The figure was holding something in his right hand, he leaned back a bit like he was trying to throw something towards Tokoyami. His body rotated anticlockwise and the contents of what he was holding flew straight at him.

He gasped sharply, feeling freezing cold water drench his feathered face. He shivered as he took multiple breaths, trying to regain his composure. That was when he realised, he noticed a pair of blue eyes, staring back at him

"What do you want! “ Tokoyami spat at him, a little surprised that he wasn't gagged.

The eyes didn't blink, instead, a white row of teeth appeared beneath them, forming a menacing smile.

Belenus didn't have to say a word, but he already got the message across.

You're here to satisfy my hunger His expressions said.

In response, the bird teen showed signs of horror, his eyes filled with fear and his posture shrunk a little. However, he put up a brave front and did not break down.

However, what happened next will make Tokoyami lose his stoic expression.

As Belenus stepped out of the shadows, Tokoyami saw a familiar face but what gave it away to him wasn't his face... It was...

"What? Something's weird on my body?" Belenus said with a hint of amusement.

"Belenus?" Tokoyami asked weakly. Belenus smile faded. It was the exact same voice he'd heard 7 years ago.

~ Combined Flashback ~

Tokoyami was definitely a victim of bullying. At age 8, he suffered multiple attacks every day, mostly due to his avian features.

"Cock!" and "Cockhead" was his usual nickname.

He had to contain his emotions at a young age, suppressing them to prevent Dark Shadow from feeding on them. To be honest, Tokoyami could still barely tolerate them. The main problem was he was unable to have friends.

He had tried to ask his teachers but most of them despised him as he was the main person who caused the class to be such a ruckus. However, one teacher supported him. He was told that one reason friends are made is when they face the same problem. They are formed when both person go through tough times together.

That made him realise that he wasn't the only one getting bullied in his class. There was another boy with pearl white hair facing the same issue as him. Belenus.

--

Belenus was quirkless, or he was manifesting his quirk late. Nonetheless, his friends immediately started alienating themselves from him, many bullied him as well. However, the truth was, he already manifested his quirk, just that it was inaccessible to him at the moment.

He saw Tokoyami approaching him, the other person getting the same treatment as him.

"Hey, do you want to be friends? We can protect each other from them!" The bird boy said with a smile.

"Sure."

Belenus said softly. He agreed to the bird boy.

They walked out of class together. Soon, they were close friends. They were targeted at constantly, however, with someone to protect, Tokoyami started to fight back. Being stuck in the same situation, Tokoyami trusted Belenus. The only difference was that Tokoyami had a quirk, he doesn't, or he thought he didn't.

This made him jealous of Tokoyami. In the first year of their friendship, it was tolerable, but it certainly grew from there. Witnessing every time Tokoyami protected him, it grew faster.

Of course, Belenus didn't realise it was his quirk that was influencing him, causing him to drain other emotions away from him, the only emotion that left behind of Tokoyami was jealousy. Why? He had a goal, a goal very similar to vengeance. After he killed his parents, he wanted to change society, he wanted to end the current society of its dirty ways and erase them. Fate was cruel enough to not give him a quirk.

(The reaction that he got when he felt his emotions seeping away by the crystal he initially thought was his quirk, was quickly assumed to be puberty as he was told many times in school about the sudden changes in his body)

A year later, when they were 9, Tokoyami and Belenus were at the rooftop together.

"You seemed to be grumpy around me all the time, what's wrong? Am I upsetting you?" Tokoyami asked him, worried. He recalls many moments with Belenus, radiating anger around him. He does tease him a little every now and then, but no to the extreme; they're friends after all. However, today it felt worse.

Belenus had his hands on his forehead, his fingers tangled in his white hair. If he didn't have youthful skin, he would've looked exactly like an old man.

"Shut up, you sound extremely annoying sometimes."

He said resentfully. He saw the bewildered look on Tokoyami's face, even with the feathers covering his face.

"What did I say? Did I anger you last time? Whatever, I did to you, I apologize. I didn't mean any harm to you, you're my only friend."

"Yeah, of all people, you're my only friend."

"What's that supposed to mean? What did I do to upset you?

"Your existence."

He caught a glimpse of Tokoyami shocked expression. He must've felt betrayed after hearing that. Belenus didn't stop there though.

"I wished we weren't friends, you were worse than the bullies. You were powerful enough to stop them yourself, while I don't have f**king anything."

"Bele-"

"It's like you're purposely trying to taunt me. Mock me. Destroy me."

--

By this time, Tokoyami was unable to hold back down his tears. It cascaded down one by one as he tried to reason with his only friend.

"Belenus, I'm-"

"SHUT UP! I F**KING HATE YOU, I HATE YOU MUCH MORE THAN WHAT BULLIES DID TO ME!" Belenus' screams echoed down the schoolyard.

"Belenus, am I your friend? Have you ever considered me as a friend?" Tokoyami's voice wavered. He felt himself full of emotions.

"You're my worst nightmare, my enemy. I wish you dead." Belenus concluded, walking towards Tokoyami, raising an arm to punch him.

Tokoyami was in disbelief. Whether it was denial or shock, he didn't know. He did not believe what his friend said to him. All he did was stood there, waited for the blow to arrive. He actually didn't believe his best friend would hit him.

When it came, he felt overwhelming pain, more so emotionally than physically. Whatever Belenus said, he now trusted. He was thrown back as Belenus fist implanted in his face. That moment in time, he recalled all the moments he had been with Belenus, the one he had been trying so hard to protect, now betraying him. The person he tried to include in his personal space, left him.

And because of that, he screamed; he was emotionally unstable.

He haven't even touched the roof yet, but he heard a squelching sound

Dark Shadow, the size of a grown man, impaled his talons into the boy with pearl white hair's chest. When Tokoyami gain control of Dark Shadow, making him retract back, he saw something that scar him forever.

A beating heart.

"Belenus?" Tokoyami asked. His mind could not process what was happening in front of him. Until realisation dawned on him.

He took his f**king life, his only friend's life. He was closer to him than even his parents were.

Tokoyami's screams were inaudible, only ringing in a single tone as he saw his friend slumped forward to the ground. He was betrayed by him and killed him.

Liquids with the colour of Tokoyami's eyes splattered everywhere.

His tears were now continuously flowing down now. Dark shadow in a rampage, swinging its talons wildly in the air. The monotone sound that was ringing in his ears are now accompanied by a beating rhythm.

Belenus heart beating in his ears. It beat faster and faster. His heart did the same too until he passed out.

Tokoyami was too young to be charged for murder, but it was found that Belenus miraculously didn't die.

However, Tokoyami was posed as a threat to the students and expelled immediately. Even his own parents disowned him after hearing what he did, so they cowardly made the easy decision. Thankfully, his teacher helped him by schooling him and adopted him. He had known what would've happened if he was not given love. Tokoyami would've become another dangerous villain with a wronged life.

Therefore, he made Tokoyami arrive at UA Academy.

--

Belenus on the other hand survived. He was meant to survive. The hole in his heart was supposed to be made to be able to use his quirk. The doctors had tried to close it, but it was too big of a wound to close. Therefore, he had a sort of container to at least fill in the hole with something to prevent infections from entering. They wished the hole would become smaller to the point of sewing back together but that never happened.

It was the only way of using Belenus quirk. Even using his vision, he could not reach his heart. He could see the crystals, but once he tried to reach for it, he would touch his own body and return to it, escaping his vision. The only way was to remove a chunk out of his body to reveal his heart. Then he could access to the crystals without coming in contact with his body.

Whether he should be thankful for Tokoyami or be hateful for him injuring him, doesn't matter. His emotions for him were already gone; even jealousy. He remembered how he killed his parents. How he felt when he did so.

What was left for Tokoyami in his mind was his torturous death.

--Flashback End--

"Belenus?"

He heard the exact same word uttered when he got impaled.

"So it's you. You f**ker."

He never really understood why he looked so familiar, only radiated hatred when he saw that bird head. He had been blinded by being sadistic. Now he knew why he kept seeing him.

He looked at the tied-up form of Tokoyami

"I understand now why fate wanted to bring you to me now."

"To satisfy me."

His laughter radiated through the basement.