THE SCREAMING BEGAN MERE MILLISECONDS AFTER THE ALARMS SOUNDED. The shrill voices and terrified sobs came from all around her, surrounding her in an ocean of discord. She was trapped in the wave of students -- first years, seconds years, even third years -- that flooded the hall. In the panic, it was impossible to tell which was was up or down, what was left or right, and she was thoroughly discombobulated by it all.
She had no idea what was going on, what the screeching from the speakers meant, just that something was completely, utterly, terrifyingly wrong. The crowd pushed against her in a rush of arms and legs and elbows in faces. She pushed back, trying to stay in one spot instead of charging forward with them like mindless cattle. It was harder than expected, though, as the fear of the many was far too strong.
Hands grabbed at her, pushing her out of the way, pulling her backward and she froze when she was yanked backward by her hair and he wouldn't let go, screaming in her face and dragging her upstairs to lock her in her room while she clutched her head, but still no tears fell from her eyes darted to the shimmering green wings and the woman connected to those wings, hovering in the air above the panicked crowd.
"Smith!" the woman called out, periwinkle eyes blinking rapidly while searching the throng of children. "Kendria Smith!"
It was the fairy woman from the entrance exam, the one who had given her the stapled papers. Struggling to stand from her curled position on the ground, she managed to raise her hand just high enough above the flood to catch the fairy's attention.
In the blink of an eye, the woman swooped down and grabbed her wrist and pulled her up into the air, away from the now even more confused crowd, and in the direction of Aizawa's office. She kept her eyes closed, fists clenched as dust fell onto her face and her savior's hand seemed to burn against her skin and it took all of her strength to not twist away as she was still in the air.
Her feet touched the ground, the hands disappeared from her wrist, and she whirled around to face the fairy. The woman had her hands on her knees, wheezing slightly from carrying an entire teenager. The new hallway was eerily quiet, as everyone was down at the lower levels trying to get out. She glanced at the door of Aizawa's office, then back at the fairy.
"S-sorry, hun!" the woman gasped, straightening and stretching out her back and wings. "Aizawa told me to find you and bring you here! Make sure you were safe." Smiling, she held out a hand. "Aether, at your service! I teach Class 1-C, General Department."
Eyes narrowing at the woman, she decided that Aether must have been a Hero like the rest of the school staff. The fairy wore a white and green bodysuit with a large sun pattern on the front, holes cut in the back for her wings. Aether's grin slowly dropped when she didn't return the handshake. The woman's eyes flitted to Kendria's wrist, specifically the one she clutched to her chest as if it would fall off any second.
Gulping, Aether turned to unlock the door to the office. "Aw, I'm sorry, sugar. I didn't ..." She shook her head, golden yellow curls falling into her face. "Here. You hide in here, and your uncle will come get you once we've gotten this all sorted out, 'kay hun?"
She nodded, stepping into the room and locking the door from inside. Through the little window, Aether flashed one last smile, then took off again. She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and finally released the grip on her wrist, shaking out her hand to get the blood flowing properly.
There wasn't really any place to hide, except for underneath the large desk that was covered in stacks of papers and dust. There was a space where one's legs would fit sitting at the desk; she curled up there, knees pulled up to her chin and body pressed as far against the wood as possible.
In any normal situation, she would feel foolish, childish, for hiding like this instead of standing her ground. This, however, wasn't a normal situation, as she was nearly petrified, what with the too-loud noise and the shoving and the fear that ran through her, and she was very much thankful to be able to curl up in a fetal position and clasp her hands over her ears without anyone seeing her.
And then there was a clunk. And the creak of the door. And footsteps that most certainly were not her uncle's heavy plodding.
She held her breath, becoming almost painfully still, as the intruder came to a stop right in front of her. She closed her eyes for one, two, three seconds and pushed the fear back into its dark corner, letting the cold numbness fill her once more. Eyes open again, she stared at the dirty red shoes in front of her and devised a plan.
One.
The intruder muttered to themself, voice raspy and quiet.
Two.
Papers rustled on the desk.
Three.
As the shoes disappeared from her vision, she exhaled and shot out from under the desk, a shield already formed around her and another one at the ready.
The intruder was gone.
Everything was still on the desk, exactly as it had been when she first hid. The only evidence of a break-in was the pile of dust scattered in front of the doorway and half of a doorknob. Whoever it was, they ... disintegrated the outside knob.
She swallowed and raced out of the office.
I need to find him. I need to find him, IneedtofindhimIneedtofindhim --
She ran into the person head-on.
Stumbling back, she threw up a shield, wondering if it was the intruder.
"What're you running so fast for, huh?" She blinked, letting her shield fade away. Bakugo rolled his eyes. "Freaking Sonic back there already proved it was just those stupid reporters. What, you scared of the press?" He sneered down at her, though his expression softened just a tiny, no, minuscule bit when he noticed her tense form and darting eyes. "What's wrong with you?"
She charged past him. "I need to find Aizawa. Someone else got into the school." She was gone before he could say anything, mind already set on finding her uncle and trying to figure out what in all heck just happened.
She did not notice that a bracelet, the one made of black leather with the pretty carved yellow flower, was absent, having been torn from her wrist while she was caught up in the flood of people earlier.
She also did not notice that it was clutched in the hand of a certain ash blonde, who turned and chased after her, demanding an explanation with his usual explosive anger.
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