Koda expected to feel a lot of things during his next visit to Tokoyami, but fear wasn't one of them.

The boy was just making his way through the hospital, strolling through the many sterile white corridors after going through an elevator that took way too long to reach the top floors. He didn't expect to see such a surprising and gruesome sight.

It was Tokoyami.

At first, Koda's heart skipped a beat and the boy rushed towards his friend, but he soon noticed there was something wrong. His eyes were still closed, his body moved with ragdoll-like limpness, and he was still on his hospital gown. Upon closer inspection, it was possible to determine what exactly was wrong – a dark mass involved Tokoyami's arm and legs, wrapping around them as if it was a grotesque exoskeleton and making his muscles move involuntarily. Koda let out a long high-pitched screech at the sight, which seemed to make Tokoyami clumsily turn around and try to return to where he came from.

The nurses were quick to grab him and put him back onto bed, each one bearing a futuristic looking to point at the body – which turned limp once again. Why did Dark Shadow come out like that? Maybe it was because Tokoyami's consciousness wasn't there to impede the creature from leaving his body, or maybe it was a situation similar to the training camp. Tokoyami was having a bad dream?

After the illumination in the room was cranked up to a ridiculously high level, Koda returned once again, sighing as he looked down towards his friends yet-again-lifeless body. He was free, but only for a split second…

Dark Shadow was also free, and for a considerable couple of seconds. That was a positive, right? Knowing the part of Tokoyami's brain that controlled Dark Shadow was healthy once again… It was probably only a matter of time until the rest of his brain was back on track!

Time. The word that haunted Koda's second worst nightmares. The uncertainty of a when that would come soon, and yet not soon enough. He did not know if Dark Shadow's awakening was good or bad to Tokoyami's development. Heck, he did not even know if it was really a hint that he was even getting better. It could well be just a random thing that happened – or worse, Dark Shadow being released in a panic because its host was dying. It made Koda nauseous, knowing that there was no way to know what it meant.

Or… Was there?

The idea of "simply" asking Dark Shadow about his friend's condition would have sounded ridiculous a week ago, when the "get well soon" party happened and everything seemed to be improving. But now? Koda was getting desperate, and each little moment of panic counted towards his ever present anxiety issues.

Besides, it was worth a try, right? Koda had seem Tokoyami talking to his shadowy companion before. It never answered with words, but knowing it was intelligent enough to recognize Japanese language… An idea suddenly sprung into Koda's mind. He rushed towards the surprisingly expansive set of switches that controlled the various aspects of the artificial environment Tokoyami was currently at. He took at least five whole minutes to find what he was looking for: a dial that when turned could adjust how bright the room was.

He adjusted the luminosity enough so that the room resembled an early spring morning. He did not dare to go lower – as he did not want to risk having Tokoyami walking out again like what happened earlier. He sat down by his uncomfortable plastic chair again, and cleared his throat.

"D…Dark Shadow? It's me, Koda. Don't be afraid, I'm just here to talk."

Nothing happened. Had he not said it loud enough? Or was the creature still upset about the sudden light attack coming from the hospital staff? He would only be able to find out if he got it to come out.

"Dark Shadow. What you did to Tokoyami just now was… Really disrespectful." Koda tried keeping a stern tone on his voice, but his squeaky voice did not help at all. "But… I understand you. You're scared. I'm scared too. We… We can go through this together, okay? So… Just let me see you, please. I want to talk to you. Face to face."

At first, nothing happened again, and Koda was honestly starting to lose hope. Then slowly, dark tendrils started to slowly ooze out of Tokoyami's chest, eventually taking shape into the familiar bird-shaped symbiote.

"Hi! Um… Hi Dark Shadow." Koda smiled, scratching the back of his neck. "How… How are you feeling?"

"Caw."

Oh, that was right. Dark Shadow only really "talked" to Tokoyami. That was going to be harder than he initially thought, but he could still make that work. Koda's quirk allowed him to command animals and not talk to them – a common misconception – so he had developed a system to talk to the animals either way.

"Okay, let's… Um, I have a way to make this work. Caw once for yes, twice for no, and three times for I don't know. Is that okay?"

"Caw."

"Okay… Are you understanding me?"

"Caw."

"Good! Let's see… Do you like light?"

"Caw caw."

"Okay, you're really understanding! Sorry about that, I had to make sure. Anyways… Is Tokoyami okay?"

"… Caw caw caw. Caw."

Koda raised an eyebrow. "Was that… You're not sure but you think he is?"

"Caw."

"Oh well, I'm thinking the same thing." He let out a defeated sigh. "Sorry about bothering you, I just thought that you knew something I didn't, since you're physically connected to Tokoyami. You can go back to whatever you were doing, thank you for your help."

Koda slumped back onto his chair, wiping the tears that were threatening to fall down. You can't cry not. Tokoyami is going to think you're lame if he wakes up and sees you like this. Dark Shadow probably already knows you're a crybaby if it has been listening this whole time, it's just a matter of time before he tells Tokoyami and–

"Caw!"

"Huh?" The noise brought Koda back from his self-consciousness trance. "I didn't ask anything…"

"Caw!" The shadow chirped louder, pointing at something at the corner of the room. It was a notebook where people could write get-well-soon messages for Tokoyami to read when he woke up.

Koda got up to pick it up, as well as the black pen that was at its side. Almost immediately after he sat back down, Dark Shadow began writing on a blank page. He watched curiously as the bird-shaped quirk scribbled rapidly, then handed it back to Koda. It didn't have the best handwriting, but he could understand what was written. Who knew Tokoyami had taught it how to write! Koda felt a little embarrassed, thinking he should have tried the pen and paper approach from the get go. But alas, they now had a solid way of communicating, and Dark Shadow had something to say. What obscure information did the shadow feel the need to reveal? Something about Tokoyami's condition? Something he wanted Koda to do? The possibilities were endless, but judging by the urgency on the shadow's voice, he assumed it was very important.

"You know that European story, Sleeping Beauty? You should try to kiss Tokoyami and see if he wakes up."

Koda almost dropped the notebook, an intense blush spreading through his face. Not even when his host was in a coma could it stop teasing Tokoyami?! Koda didn't know whether to cry, laugh, scold Dark Shadow or simply scream. His brain, however, already had plans.

"Y-you think so?" Koda smiled awkwardly. Dark Shadow wasn't stupid, it could probably feel Koda wasn't taking it seriously at all. But teasing or not… it was still worth a shot, right? "Um… I never… I don't know how to do this with a beak. But I'll try, for Tokoyami..."

Koda got up from his chair once again, leaning onto Tokoyami's unconscious body. Every brain cell of his was screaming that this was wrong, but they were clearly not screaming loud enough as his body made him do it anyways. His… lips? His lips gently touched the top of Tokoyami's cold beak, and for a moment, nothing happened.

But Koda didn't have time to get disappointed and almost cry again, because Dark Shadow made another noise, pointing at something right behind him. Koda was already expecting it to be another notebook or Kaminari with a camera and ready to make fun of him forever. Koda almost had a heart attack when he saw the tall figure of Mezo Shoji standing by the doorway, with an expression of… unknown emotions on his face.

"S-Shoji! I swear, he… Dark Shadow made me do it, I swear!" Koda frantically waved his arms in front of his body. "I'm… I'm sorry for listening, but… I'm sorry! I didn't want to…"

"Dark Shadow made me do the same." Shoji finally said with a sigh after hearing Koda trying to explain himself for almost a full minute. That seemed to calm the animal-commanding boy immediately. "It's late, Koda. Your mother asked me to come pick you up."

"You… Know my parents?" Koda raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Our entire class has been acquainted with your family ever since the accident. They chose to call me because I live the closest to the hospital." Shoji explained. Koda always found a little weird how he only used his duplicate mouths to talk, but he never gathered the courage to ask why that was.

"I… Guess I'm going. Tomorrow is Saturday anyways, so we can come here earlier, I guess…" Koda sighed, walking towards Shoji.

"Don't forget to turn off the lights. I trust that Dark Shadow will behave this time, as it has already felt the consequences of what happens if he doesn't."

Koda nodded and made his way to the wall where the light switch was located. He waited until Dark Shadow had returned into Tokoyami's body before he turned the switch all the way down, making the room completely dark (save for the light from the hallway).

"Goodnight, Tokoyami…"

Just as they were about to close the door, Koda's heart almost stopped yet again, due to a small yet barely audible noise coming from inside.

"I just woke up and you still wish me goodnight? I feel like you want me to go back to sleep."

Koda and Shoji made their way back into the room with supersonic speed, almost breaking the door with their brute strength. Tokoyami was still laying down, but… His eyes were open! Koda could swear he'd seen Shoji crying, but his vision wasn't exactly the best at the moment since his own tears were starting to fall.

"T-Tokoyami! You're okay! Tokoyami is okay! I can't believe my kiss saved Tokoyami! I'm so happy I–"

"Kiss? I… Can I have some context please? Shoji?"

"You've been asleep for almost half a year now."

Tokoyami's smile (or what resembled one) slowly turned into a confused expression. "Oh" was all he had to say about it.

"Tokoyami… I'm…I'm sorry! I promise I won't be careless like that anymore…" Koda wasn't afraid to sob anymore, gently resting his head against Tokoyami's chest and staining his hospital gown with tears.

"You're still wearing it." Shoji began to scold Tokoyami, but stopped when he saw the bird boy was moving his arms to weakly touch Koda's neck. "You're still wearing it… After all this time?"

Koda stopped crying and simply stared at Tokoyami for a moment. Tokoyami picked up one of Koda's hands and placed it onto Koda's own neck. The latter let out a gasp.

"I… I remember it. I remember it! I remember it now, Tokoyami!"

"Tokoyami, I have something for you!"

Koda waved towards his friend, a small smile plastered on his face. Tokoyami was currently leaning against a wall outside of the school, waiting for his parents to come pick him up. He directed his eyes towards the larger boy and gave him a small nod, followed by an answer using sign language.

"Oh? What do you have for me, Koda?"

Koda walked in front of Tokoyami and put his bag on the ground. He zipped it open and searched inside for a while before pulling out two pendants. The one he handed Tokoyami had a charm in the shape of a crow attached to it, and the one he kept had a turtle. Tokoyami examined it for a while with a hint of amusement on his expression, before wearing it around his neck. Koda did the same, glad that his friend had liked his impromptu gift.

"We're matching now!" Koda signed after picked up his bag from the ground and put it on his back again.

"Thank you, Koda. I am most grateful." Tokoyami nodded. "I have something for you as well. I was planning to give it to you after our finals were over, but… I guess this feels like the right moment to do so."

Tokoyami slowly reached into his own back, taking out a long circular object. It was dark red, not too flashy but still pretty too look at, which was why Tokoyami had chosen that specific color for Koda. It also matched the color of Tokoyami's own.

"A… Choker?" Koda took it into his large hands, examining it.

"I… Understand it is a bit redundant, since you have already bought neckwear for both of us. But… I thought it would suit you."

Koda didn't say another word. He briefly took his turtle necklace so he could put on the choker. It was a little tight, but it didn't restrict his breathing. It was sort of like a friendly embrace! Was that why Tokoyami was always wearing his?

"I love it! Thank you so much, Tokoyami!" Koda signed, a bright smile on his face.

Before Tokoyami could say anything else, a car honked in the distance. Turning around, they could see it was just across the street. They both recognized Tokoyami's mother inside the car, who waved at both of the boys.

"I am sorry, but it is quite important I go now." Both of the boys traded goodbyes before Tokoyami started to walk towards the car. But right before he was about to open the door to the backseat, Tokoyami turned around.

"Actually, Koda. Would you like a ride home today? I believe we live quite close to each other."

"Gladly!" Koda nodded and hurried to be at Tokoyami's side.

Finally, they could be together. In the past and in the present. The future was uncertain, but that was okay. Koda was just glad he could talk to his friend once again.