Chapter Text
Xiao had to physically stop himself from either sinking down in his seat or disappearing all together as the volume in the classroom got louder. Students began shouting, talking over each other in their own attempts to be heard.
He was given a moment of peace when Iida raised his voice, causing everyone to settle down for a moment.
“Just because you would like to be class president doesn’t mean you hold the responsibilities for it! I say that this issue should be decided with a vote!”
It was on more than one person’s mind, but they felt that while his words made sense, part of its impact was negated by how high his hand was raised.
Of course, no one said anything about the hand. However…
“Wouldn’t everyone just vote for themselves? We haven’t known each other for very long so there’s not much trust in place…”
“Excellent point!” Iida exclaims, making a chopping motion with his arm. “That is exactly why whoever gains multiple votes can truly be considered the most suitable person for the role?”
There are multiple voices that pipe up in agreement at his words.
Iida then turns to the front of the classroom where Aizawa was slowly slipping back into his sleeping bag. “Is that alright with you, sensei?”
Aizawa let out a sigh, lying down as he responded. “As long as you make a decision before homeroom is over, do whatever you want.”
“Thank you very much!”
There was a lot of murmuring as Iida walked up to the whiteboard and began writing everyone’s names down, then taking out a piece of paper, cutting it into strips and handing everyone a piece.
“Everyone! I would like you to write the name of the person you would like to vote for on that piece of paper.” Iida starts when he finishes writing the names on the board. “Once that is done, I will total the amount of votes and write them down.”
It’s quiet as everyone starts scribbling down names. Xiao leans forward just a bit, taking a pen out of his inventory and twirling it around his fingers. After a moment of consideration, he settles on writing down Iida’s name.
He did consider writing down Izuku’s name for a moment, but then thought against it. While Izuku did seem a bit curious about the role, Xiao didn’t think it was the best idea for someone with such low self esteem to lead an entire class.
…That was probably a rude thing to think.
After Iida collected the paper slips, he began opening them up one by one, writing down tallies on the board as he went. The classroom was silent in anticipation as each tally was added, until the last paper slip was opened.
Izuku had two votes.
Xiao glanced at the green haired boy from the corner of his eye, watching as he slowly became a muttering mess. He then glanced back to the board where his own name had a tally sitting next to it and instantly realized who had voted for him.
“I am sincerely grateful for whoever gave me their vote!” Iida exclaims.
“You didn’t vote for yourself? After how much you wanted to be class president…”
Izuku and Yaoyorozu both had tied with two votes, though before it could be decided who would be president and vice-president, the bell had rung, signalling it was time from lunch.
Aizawa shooed them all out, saying they could decide once they came back. It seemed a bit contradictory after the underground hero said to decide before homeroom was over, but Xiao didn’t comment on it.
The Yaksha slowed down a bit as the class left, hanging back as the teenagers migrated in the direction of the cafeteria. However, before he could turn around and find somewhere secluded to stay for the duration of lunch, Izuku was bounding over and gently nudging him forward.
With a sigh, Xiao followed the crowd.
The cafeteria itself was crowded and loud, though it wasn’t as disorderly as Xiao was expecting. Still, it was far too many people in one space compared to what he was used to.
Somehow, he found himself sitting at the edge of a table with Iida, Uraraka and Izuku, nursing a cup of tea and poking a bit at the food that was grabbed for him.
Uraraka let out a content sigh as she took a bite of her meal. “Delicious!”
On the other hand, Izuku fidgeted with his food. “I was voted for, but I don’t know if I'm even qualified for the role of vice president, much less class president…”
“You are.” Uraraka responds immediately.
Iida responds almost just as quickly. “You’ll be fine.”
Xiao doesn’t give a response, not knowing what to say that wouldn’t be a brutally honest opinion.
“You have good judgement skills.” Iida continues. “Paired with your courage, those traits make you worth following. It’s why I voted for you.”
“That was you?!”
“Didn’t you want to be class president though Iida? I was so sure you voted for yourself at first but apparently not-” Uraraka questions before seeming to realize something. “Who did you vote for Deku? If me and Iida voted for you, then your vote had to have gone to someone else.”
“Ah- I voted for Xiao!”
The Yaksha, who had quietly been staring off into the middle distance, jolted as the group’s attention was suddenly focused onto him.
Uraraka lets out a small exclamation. “Right! You guys were already friends before class started! No offense, but how did that happen? Your personalities are like- totally opposite of each other!”
Izuku scratches his cheek in response. “It- kinda just did? If I had to compare- it was kinda like adopting a stray cat.”
Faced with Xiao’s deadpan stare, the teen immediately tried to backtrack. “I mean- not that i’m comparing you to a cat- well- I am but-” Izuku closes his mouth after stuttering for another couple moments, not wanting to make a bigger fool of himself than he already had.
Uraraka starts giggling, but as she opens her mouth to say something, the school alarm suddenly went off, causing all of their heads to snap upward.
“There has been a level three security breach. All students please evacuate.”
For a singular moment, all is quiet, before hell breaks loose. Students get up from their seats, abandoning their meals and their belongings as they rush for the exit, and Iida barely has time to stop someone to explain what a level three security breach is before they also flee.
Soon after, the four of them were swept away from each other by the crowd, and Xiao had to redirect most of his focus to not accidently harming someone who would bump into him.
The noise had already been bad enough on its own; the screams of panic and the angry shouts of students as they all pushed towards the exit at once overwhelming his senses. But then everyone became packed together, and he had no space to breathe. On a good day, he could manage contact with one or two people if he had ample warning in advance. But to suddenly have people pushing at him from every side?
Xiao was drowning.
He couldn’t just leave on his own though.
‘Focus. Find the issue first.’
He let his body dissipate, though it was hard to tell the difference between him doing that and his mind trying to float somewhere else.
Usually, he liked staying like this, without a corporal form. However, right now, his senses were in overdrive. There was too much happening too quickly, and he couldn’t rely on physical pressure to bring him back.
‘Focus. Focus.’
Something was tugging at his mind, but he ignored it. He could figure it out after the threat had passed. Xiao let his consciousness expand further, past the walls of the building to cover the entire school ground.
It was easy to tell what happened like this. Reporters were swarming the now opened gates, and he made mental note of both Aizawa and Present Mic keeping them from entering the building.
There was no danger.
So why did he feel so anxious?
“Looking for someone?”
Who-?
He tried to locate where the voice came from, but it sounded like it was echoing into his head.
“Come on silly, I'm not that far!”
But where-
Something snaps his attention to a corner of the school. Someone was in Nezu’s office. And it wasn’t the owner.
In less than a second, he had materialized again, swiping a hand at the figure to either grab them or knock them out, only to fan through some type of purple mist. The thief startled slightly as they turned around, but by then Xiao had already disappeared once more.
“There’s someone here.” The figure says, pausing as if to listen to someone speak. “Either the information was wrong, or UA is more prepared than we thought.”
Xiao can’t hear any audible response, but the figure nods, waving what resembles a hand forward and opening a rift, which immediately makes Xiao draw backward as voices start screaming in his head, nearly drowning out his own thoughts.
He finally figured it out. That sensation that was tugging at the back of his mind.
Somehow, someone had gotten ahold of the powers of the abyss.
Xiao fought to stay present, but the surprise assault from the voices left him no time to fight back, especially after living without them constantly at the front of his mind for the past few centuries.
In the end, he went under.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Shota let out a breath as the last reporter finally left the school grounds. He was already prepared to take a nap for the next 24 hours and the day wasn’t even halfway over yet. However…
“I wonder…” Nezu mutters, staring up at the remains of the UA gate. “A regular reporter wouldn’t have been able to accomplish this… perhaps… could it be a declaration of war?”
The other members of the staff gathered behind the principal stiffen.
“Ah! Aizawa, could you do me a favor?” The cold tone Nezu used a moment ago vanished abruptly, replaced by the voice they were used to hearing.
Shota’s head snapped upward.
“...What is it?”
“Could you head on up to my office? Our dear Vigilant Yaksha seems to have been standing there for quite some time now. I would check on him myself, but he doesn’t appear to be in the best mindset currently and I'd rather not risk my chances.”
The underground hero was already nodding and heading off before what Nezu said actually registered to him. Once it did though, his steps became just slightly more urgent, getting him to Nezu’s office in record time.
There was a moment where Shota was about to throw open the doors, but thought better of it, gently cracking them open instead.
Just as Nezu said, Xiao was standing in the middle of the room, unfocused eyes looking unseeingly ahead. What was strange though was the unnatural blackish blue particles that floated around his figure, concentrated most strongly around the Yaksha’s arms, which had changed from Xiao’s natural skin color to black.
As Aizawa stepped carefully into the room and shut the door, he continued observing the unmoving figure. Dull amber eyes had focused on him the second the door clicked shut, but there was still no recognition behind the gaze. The underground hero’s gaze once again drifted down to Xiao’s hands, where he noted that the blunt nails had turned into claws.
No… maybe talons would be a more accurate description?
“...Xiao? Can you hear me?”
The Yaksha slowly blinks. It takes a few moments, but there’s a nod.
Aizawa almost lets out a sigh of relief. “Do you think I can come closer, or should I keep my distance?”
Again. A delayed response. Xiao opens his mouth as if to speak, but shuts it when no words come out, his expression slowly turning into a frown, and his eyes start flickering around the room.
“How about this? Blink once if I can come closer, blink twice if I should stay where I am.”
Xiao turns his eyes back to Aizawa, though they seem to focus just slightly past the underground hero’s shoulder instead of on his person. Slowly, Xiao blinks twice.
Aizawa nods. “Got it. Is there anything I can do to help?” He asks, watching as Xiao’s left hand was slowly curling into a fist.
Xiao starts shaking his head, but then stops, as if he didn’t know.
“What about sitting down?” Aizawa recommends.
It takes a moment, but the Yaksha seemed to accept the idea, basically collapsing onto the floor. Aizawa almost rushed over to support him, but then thought better of it. Instead, he lowered himself to the ground as well, leaning against the office wall and began to speak.
It wasn’t anything serious, just stories about his home life, what Kachow and Car usually got up to when no one was home, whatever he could think of.
It took a while, but at some point, the Yaksha raised a hand and swiped at the black smoke. Part of it dissipated, but Aizawa saw as the majority of it clung to the Yaksha’s skin before ultimately being absorbed.
At least, he was fairly certain that the blackened limbs were still skin.
Slowly, Shota watched as dull eyes sharpened, and the blackened limbs slowly started to pull back. Xiao’s fingertips and nails were still affected, but the majority of his arm had gone back to normal.
It was only when Xiao stood up that Aizawa let his words trail off, picking himself off the ground and taking a step closer. He moved slowly enough that Xiao could have stopped him if needed, but he was able to make it until he was about four feet away when Xiao tensed, stopping him in his tracks.
“How are you feeling now?”
Again, Xiao’s attempts to speak do not bear any success, and his expression quickly becomes frustrated.
“Would yes or no questions help?”
Xiao glares at him, but ultimately ends up nodding.
“Do you know what caused you to start dissociating?”
Another nod.
“Was it the alarm from earlier?”
A start of a nod, but it turns into a shake of the head. After a brief pause, Xiao mouths ‘Partly’, eyes flickering once again over Aizawa’s shoulder.
“And is the other part of the reason why we found you in Nezu’s office?”
Another nod, this one much more certain.
Still not making a sound, Xiao walks over to Nezu’s desk, rifling through stacks of documents, seemingly counting each piece of paper before stopping at a certain pile, pulling it out and handing it over to Aizawa. The underground hero takes a quick peek, quickly realizing it was 1-A’s schedule for tomorrow.
Shota isn’t exactly sure what Xiao wants him to see, but he counts the stack anyway.
29 sheets of paper. What an odd number to have- wouldn’t it be more convenient to print out 30-?
Aizawa blinks. Quickly, he moves over to the desk to pick up the stack of class 1-B’s schedule. He counts 30.
“Someone stole a copy?”
He doesn’t expect a verbal reply, but is pleasantly surprised when Xiao lets out a soft hum. Progress.
“I’ll have Nezu rewind the security footage when he gets back. Did you see the individual yourself, or only the aftermath?”
Xiao doesn’t have time to give any type of response before Nezu drops down from a vent in the ceiling, making both of them turn around.
“Oh ho ho, not even a hint of surprise?”
Aizawa doesn’t bother responding to that comment. Instead…
“How much did you hear?”
Nezu smiles. “Unfortunately, while I have checked the cameras, they all seemed to have been jammed during the time period of the gate being destroyed. For that, we will have to rely on Xiao’s description instead. Though, from the missing schedule, I'm guessing they're aiming to crash the USJ tomorrow.”
“Should we cancel those plans then?”
There’s a contemplative look on Nezu’s face before he shakes his head. “No. It might be risky, but if they took the schedule, they’ll know All Might would be teaching that class tomorrow. They’ll definitely come prepared, and it would be in our best interests to apprehend as many villains as possible when they're basically serving themselves to us on a silver platter.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to at least move the students to a different location though? They’re untrained! In no way are they ready to fight proper villains, especially what’s probably gonna be a whole group of them!” Aizawa argues.
Nezu walks over to his desk and sits down in his chair, lifting a tea cup to take a sip.
“That’s what us heroes are for. Don’t worry, I'll have everyone that’s free on standby outside the stadium. If today is any example, once the attack starts, any contact from inside will be impossible, so it’s better to have everyone ready beforehand. We’ll have you, All Might, Thirteen and Xiao inside the stadium. We’ve never met anyone that could defeat All Might in a fight-” Aizawa subtly glances at Xiao, whose gaze was trailing around the side of the room, “-but it’s always better to be prepared for the worst case scenario.”
Aizawa nods slowly, still looking like he wants to argue but remains silent.
“For now though…” Nezu tilts his head in Xiao’s direction. “While I would like to ask Xiao for a description of what our thief looks like…”
There’s a lag, but Xiao snaps his head back to Nezu at the call of his name.
“Xiao. Could you perhaps tell us what you’re currently seeing?”
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
In the back of his mind, Xiao knew he was still in Nezu’s office, even as his mind tried to convince him otherwise. Aizawa’s voice cut through the sludge, but even that didn’t stop the scene in front of him from playing out.
Xiao knew with full certainty that what he was seeing now was just an illusion conjured up by the abyssal power he had been exposed to; a conversation that already happened in the past many many years ago. But despite that fact, he still couldn’t take his eyes off the figure standing in front of him, nor could he stop himself from calling out to it.
“...Venti?”