Chapter Text
Venti woke up startled, a desperate cacophony of prayers immediately invading his head—
“Barbatos, help us!”
“Barbatos, I don’t want to die.”
“Barbatos, please, please, we need you!”
He wasted no time in getting dressed, his chest aching with the desperation that dripped from these prayers and washed over him. Venti spoke to the winds, “Where are these prayers coming from?”
“The Unforeseen Simulation Joint,” The winds howled back, “ It is far from here. You will not make it in time.”
Venti cursed, gripping his keys the slightest bit tighter, “We will take to the skies.”
“Are you sure, Barbatos?”
“I can’t ignore the prayers of hurt children.” Venti opened a window, letting his feathery wings open from his back. They stung as he stretched them, rusty from disuse. Despite the pain, he whisked off into the sky, letting the wind guide.
He, of course, tried the door first— but when that wouldn’t open, he took to the skies again. With a clap of his wings, a gust of wind burst through the glass dome, providing him an easy entrance.
Venti’s heart dropped at the strong stench of blood. His glowing green eyes took in the situation—
The hobo man (— Aizawa? The winds whisper) he had met the other day got his head slammed down with a sickening crack. That was all it took to get Venti into action. He swooped down, summoning his familiar weapon as he fired off an arrow. The arrow exploded with a burst of anemo, spinning and spinning until a vortex was formed, sucking in every one of the assailants.
“Who’s this new player?” He heard someone hiss; voice high and mighty— sentence that of a child.
Venti ignored the whispered translation in his ears, commanding the winds, “Round up all the children, we’re taking them out.”
“Yes, Barbatos,” The winds howl back, bending and twisting to his aid.
“— Smash!”
Venti whipped around, the voice one he recognized all before. “Midoriya!?” Just as he was about to rush over, the massive hulk of a person grabbed Midoriya by the arm, twisting it unnaturally.
Crack.
Venti’s eyes widened, a wave of fury hitting him akin to a tsunami.
“ Those that hurt children deserve no mercy,” The winds hissed, “Destroy that thing, Barbatos.”
Venti pulled the string on the bow back, an arrow immediately resting on his hand as he fired it off, hitting the thing in its exposed brain. The thing didn’t even flinch, much less drop Midoriya.
“Fuck,” Venti cursed, bow glittering off into pieces as he reevaluated his plan.
“Anemo is yours, you are still anemo,” The winds’ reminder bounced in his pounding head.
That’s it! Venti tugged on the wind, watching as it flailed out of the hulky being.
The hulky being didn’t even choke.
The Archon held his breath, releasing it when the hulky being collapsed. He looked away from the scene, knowing that the winds would guide Midoriya to safety.
He was roughly grabbed by a hand twisting his two arms back, another one up next to his neck.
“Move and I will kill him,” The person hissed at Midoriya.
Midoriya’s eyes widened, “V-Venti?”
Venti’s heart ached when Midoriya stuttered. His eyes softened, “Get to safety, Midoriya.”
One more finger down. They were at two.
“I can’t just leave you here!”
“Get to safety, Midoriya,” Venti repeated, a slight edge in his tone. He didn’t want to command the child, and he made sure to speak softly so as to not alarm Midoriya.
One more finger down. They were at three.
“He’s going to disintegrate you!” Midoriya hissed. “I can’t leave you here, I—”
Just as he was going to take a step forward, another finger went down on his throat. “Move and he dies.” The assailant hissed.
Venti only did as much as chuckle. Disintegrate him ? One without a mortal body? Tough luck. “Midoriya,” He said, voice soft but with the undercurrent of the winds he was attempting to restrain. “Let the winds guide you. Get to safety. I will be fine.”
Final finger went down on his throat—
—Midoriya held his breath—
Nothing happened.
“What?!” The assailant floundered, looking around to spot Aizawa, who was still out cold.
The winds haven’t gotten to Aizawa yet? He’d have to rectify that later—
“What…” Midoriya gazed, confusion clear in his gaze.
“Get to safety, Midoriya,” Venti repeated, tilting his head slightly as his eyes glittered with mirth, “I told you, I’ll be fine.”
“Barbatos, Barbatos!” The winds shouted, whisking the assailant away from him and wrapping around him tightly. “The heroes are coming!”
Venti nodded, walking over to Midoriya, “Get going. The heroes are almost here. I’ll tend to the wounded.” When Midoriya didn’t move, he frowned, “ Please listen to me this time.”
Midoriya breathed out shakily, “O-okay, Venti.” He jumped a bit when Venti placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Everything will be okay,” Venti reassured, “You and your classmates are okay. Your teacher will be okay.” He felt the child tremble under his hand in a way that awoke a deep sympathy within him. This world was supposed to be safer than Tevyat. And yet— here are these children, having to suffer with the memories of battle. Venti inhaled deeply, removing his hand from Midoriya before the simmering rage would make its ugly entrance yet again. Not even waiting for Midoriya’s reply, he turned, heading over to Aizawa and kneeling beside him. “Is he safe to be moved?” Venti muttered.
“Yes—! Injury quite severe….” The winds said, “Be careful… Heroes here!”
Venti gently placed an arm under Aizawa’s neck, and slipped the other one under his knee. He stood easily, the weight of the human making little a dent in his energy. He was a God, after all.
“I AM HERE!” Venti’s ears ring at the shout, head spinning as he tried to steel himself.
“Take it easy, Barbatos,” The winds soothe the pounding behind his eyes momentarily, “You have a life in your hands.”
I know, Venti replied, albeit mentally. He walked over, legs shaking to the heroes.
“Little listener!” Someone immediately came over, lifting the weight from his arms, “What are you doing here?”
“I heard a cry for help,” Venti exhaled, shutting his eyes as the noise level increased. Heroes checking in with the students, commands being shouted, the prayers that assault his ears every second of the day— he was getting the slightest bit overwhelmed. His heart pounded in his ears, the clothes on his skin starting to itch and burn.
Breathe, Venti, breathe. He told himself to no avail. He felt himself stumble, a hand grasping his arm tightly and holding him up when he did.
Despite his efforts, the world spun— overwhelming to all his senses— and went dark.
“Barbatos, thank you.” The gratitude rang in his ears as he opened his eyes. He felt the gaze of many beside him. When Venti’s eyes finally adjusted to light, he almost flinched at the amount of eyes on him.
“You’re awake!” One exclaimed excitedly, “Barbatos, right? I’m Ashido Mina!”
Venti winced at the volume, headache returning in full force. Despite the pain, he smiled kindly, green eyes crinkling at the edges, “Nice to meet you, Ashido,” His gaze scanned over twenty bustling students in the room before asking, “May I ask what you all are doing here?”
“We wanted to thank you,” One of the students spoke up, nervously. “You saved us at USJ and so—”
Venti gently cut her off, “There’s no need to thank me. I can’t just let children get hurt.” He looked around, fully taking in the room. “Where am I?”
“Hospital,” A familiar voice answered.
“Todoroki!” Venti recognized, looking over at him, “Thank you.” Modern hospitals looked hugely different. There was a monitor he was hooked up to, but nothing was showing other than flat silence. “I appreciate you all being here.” He addressed the children again, “Let’s start off on a better note. I’m Venti.”
“I thought you were Barbatos—?” One asked.
“I go by Venti, here,” He said, “I would prefer it if you all refer to me as Venti.” Seeing the nods from the students, he continued, “Are you all doing okay?” Many enthusiastic affirmations assaulted his ears, Venti exhaled, “Please— be a little softer?” The winds gently blew through the room, soothing the dull ache behind Venti’s eyes.
“Sorry!” One of the students said. “We’re just excited.”
Venti smiled, “I understand. Everything is just the slightest bit overwhelming right now.” He adjusted, sitting near the edge of the bed to be closer to the students, “May someone tell me a recap of events?”
“Of course!” Someone spoke up, “I’m Yaoyorozu Momo, and it’s nice to meet you.”
Venti nodded, letting the winds whisper his response, “Likewise.”
The eyes of the students grew as wide as saucers. Faintly, Venti could see one student particularly shaking the other one, clearly enthused. A small smile made its way onto his face, amusement in his eyes.
“After you passed out, the police showed up with the heroes. We all went to the hospital and I believe most of us have had interviews with a detective. It’s only been a couple of hours.”
“I see,” Venti replied, “Thank you.”
“Tsukauchi is the name of the detective. He has a lie detector quirk,” The winds whisper in his ears, “It would be unwise to come up with a cover story as you have so many witnesses. The truth is the most efficient.”
Indeed it is, Venti agreed with the winds. These children all know he’s Barbatos, after all, it was their prayers for safety that he came to answer. He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he muttered, “How long until the detective comes?”
“Fifteen minutes.”
Great. Venti looked back over at the children who were watching curiously.
“Is it okay if we ask questions, kero ?” The student who asked had huge eyes— faintly reminding Venti of a frog— and dark green hair.
Venti nodded, “Softly, but go ahead, after you tell me your name.”
“Asui Tsuyu.”
Venti nodded at that, and the room fell into silence.
“So you’re a God, right?” It was Midoriya that finally spoke up, “One of the ancient Seven?”
Venti hummed, “Yes. I am one of the Seven. Barbatos—”
“—God of Wind and Song,” Todoroki filled in the rest. Venti nodded in agreement.
“Do any more of the Seven exist?” Midoriya asked, on the edge of his seat like many of his friends as he waited for Venti’s answer.
Venti let his eyes flutter closed, deep in thought. Do the other Seven exist? By the time Celestia had been taken down, Buer or Nahida had been ruling over Sumeru. Morax or Zhongli had been ruling indirectly. He wasn’t close to the rest of the Seven— Celestia’s takedown had fractured them even more than it made them closer. The edges of his lips tipped downwards, “I’m unsure, truly. I haven’t spoken to any of them in millennia.” He’s sure that if he tried, the winds could locate them, but he hadn’t so far.
Midoriya frowned, but seemed to take the answer. “Why did you show up?”
“Someone prayed,” Venti replied easily, “I heard. That’s all.”
“You heard?” One asked, her mouth slightly ajar.
Venti nodded, “If you say my name, no matter where you are, the winds will guide your voice to me.” He twisted a strand of his curls around his fingers, noting that his braids had come undone. “There were a lot of prayers from your class, actually.” His eyes landed on Todoroki, “I’m assuming this was your doing?”
Todoroki nodded, “I figured you would hear us and be able to help.”
Venti nodded at that, turning back to Midoriya, “Any other questions?”
“What’s your quirk?” Someone asked.
“What’s your name?” Venti asked, genuinely curious.
“Oh! It’s Kirishima Eijirou,” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
“Nice to meet you,” Venti smiled, “I’m quirkless, legally. And genuinely as well. I don’t have a quirk.”
Kirishima’s eyebrows furrowed, “So all that power—?”
“Is not from a quirk,” Venti affirmed, “I am the wind and the wind is me. I am non-human, and thus, I don’t have human qualities.”
“So those wings were real ?” Ashido asked, on the edge of her seat— voice a little too high.
Venti exhaled, letting the familiar limbs reveal themselves. He stretched them, although not to their full wingspan lest he knock over expensive medical equipment.
Ashido’s eyes glittered, “Can we touch them?”
Venti hummed, debating. It wouldn’t hurt… They are just children. “Be gentle.” He said, nodding. It was like a dam had broken. A wave of curious children stood, heading his way and crowding Venti. The touches on his wings were more akin to light grazes, feathery and barely felt. Venti sat there, amused as the students whispered amongst themselves.
“Very curious children…” The winds cooed, fond, “First time meeting a God.”
The door opened, spooking half of the entranced class. Venti tried looking over Kirishima’s shoulder to see the newcomers but was unable to.
“The detective…” The winds whispered, “And the principal of the hero school.”
Venti retracted his wings from the curious onlookers, speaking softly to the children, “I’m assuming the detective wants a chat with me.” His heart almost exploded with how some of them deflated, finding the children absolutely endearing. They remind me of… Mondstadt. Mondstadt’s children had always worn their hearts on their sleeves, and Venti would stop at nothing to protect them.
“You would be correct,” said the detective. “Privately,” He added soon after.
“There you’ve heard it,” Venti said, “Shoo.” He waved his hand, amused at the disgruntled students.
The detective didn’t wait a beat after the students filed out to sit down with a few others that had entered— only two that Venti recognized as his neighbors— “I’m Tsukauchi Naomasa, and I’ll be conducting your interview for today. With me I have pro hero Eraserhead, pro hero Present Mic, and Yuuei’s principal, Nedzu. This interview will be recorded for police records. Would you provide me your name and quirk?”
Aizawa looked worse for wear, like he wasn’t even supposed to be moving. He was wrapped up head-to-toe in medical bandages. Venti’s eyes fell to Present Mic, whose hair was getting frizzy— most likely from stress. When he glanced over at Nedzu, he really couldn’t tell what exactly the man was— or if he was a man at all. Tsukauchi cleared his throat, to which Venti nodded, “Dae Venti,” He said. He had made up the surname a while ago with the help of the winds. “And I’m quirkless.” Now usually, he would go with a weak wind quirk, but considering the circumstances, it was best to be honest.
The two proheroes looked over at Tsukauchi, who merely nodded before continuing, “How did you hear about the attack?”
“I heard prayers,” Venti replied, curling a strand of his hair around his pointer finger.
“Prayers?” The small bear? rat? person spoke up —Nedzu, the winds whispered, amused— a glint in his eyes, “So you are a God, yes?”
He nodded, “Yes.”
There was a pregnant silence in the room before Tsukauchi broke it, “What is your Godly title?”
Venti paused, he had many of those. “In general?”
“The most common ones.”
He hummed, “I don’t know what I am called nowadays, but I was Barbatos, the Archon of Freedom or the God of the Wind and Song.”
“One of the old Seven,” Nedzu mused, “Where are the rest of the Seven?”
Venti shrugged, “I don’t know.”
“Now that we have background information out of the way, will you recount the events from your perspective?” Tsukauchi asked.
Venti nodded, “I was woken up today to desperate prayers. Being unable to ignore them, I flew to investigate.”
“How did you know where to investigate?” Tsukauchi interrupted.
“The winds told me.”
“The winds?”
Venti nodded, “The winds.”
“What are the winds?” He asked.
The edges of Venti’s lips quirked down, “The souls of the forgotten— of those unable to pass on. They’re carried by the wind, merge together and become in wind in due time.”
“I see,” Tsukauchi nodded, “You may continue.”
Venti exhaled, “Well, as I was saying, I flew over to investigate. The door could not be opened, so I broke into the dome. Within the dome, I saw around thirty assailants— one of which was definitively not human.”
“How can you tell?”
Venti’s lips thinned into a line— How could he tell? It was just an assumption of the moment. “I realized it later.”
Tsukauchi seemed to accept that as an answer, “Continue.”
“I asked the winds to round up the children and guide them to safety. I shot an arrow to round up the remaining assailants.”
“You have a weapon?” Nedzu’s eyes gleaned with interest.
Venti nodded, summoning his familiar bow, “Skyward Harp.” The strings glimmered with latent anemo energy, “The arrows were anemo.”
“Anemo?” Tsukauchi asked.
“Wind,” Venti translated, letting the weapon vanish into glittering particles. “Pure wind.”
He nodded. “You may continue your story.”
“Midoriya was fighting the nonhuman and eventually was grabbed. The nonhuman twisted his arm and broke it. At that point, I fired an arrow at its exposed brain but it did not die,” Venti knitted his hands together tightly on his lap as he recalled the event, “And thus, I stole its wind, asphyxiating it, essentially. At that point, it collapsed but I was grabbed by an assailant. Despite my objections, Midoriya did not want to join his classmates or get to safety.” He sighed, it pissed him off, honestly. “But that is to be expected. The assailant had a disintegration quirk, I believe. Midoriya knows the specifics, but it didn’t affect me, and thus the winds wrapped around him and kept him until the heroes arrived.”
“Why didn’t it affect you? Do you have a theory?” Nedzu asked.
“You can’t disintegrate something that is not there,” Venti smiled wryly, “I may look and act human, but I am not. I am physical, solid, yes , but I do not have organs or anything of the sort. I am pure wind.”
Tsukauchi nodded, “I see. Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Of course.”
“Now we must talk consequences.”
Venti blinked, “Consequences?”
“As it stands right now, you are in a gray area legally,” Tsukauchi replied, “You do not have a quirk, therefore, it is not illegal quirk use. However, you did use a power of some sort, and despite us not having the legal conduct for it written out, there are some precautions we must take.”
Venti nodded, listening intently as Tsukauchi continued, “Additionally, you are stateless. You have no records that belong to any country, making you illegal within the country of Japan. And as it looks , you are a minor. And thus, also need a guardian.”
Venti’s lips thinned into a line, “I’m not a minor. I’m fifteen thousand years old.”
“That’s not something we can prove in court, little listener,” Present Mic said, “We believe you, yes, but until you age a little further, the law of minors applies to you.”
Venti sighed, “I don’t age physically.” This wasn’t even his body, nor his form. This body stays stagnant to time, unchanging of the tides.
“That is an issue we can tackle at a later date,” Nedzu said, “Right now we have three main issues.” He held up three digits as he listed them, “Vigilante actions, your lack of documentation, and your lack of guardian.”
“Okay,” Venti said, “What should I do?”
“For the vigilante actions, we can let you off with a warning,” Tsukauchi said, “Which would require a certain amount of community service hours.”
Venti nodded, “That sounds reasonable.”
“For your documentation, Nedzu will take care of making you a legal resident,” Tsukauchi gestured over his shoulder to the principal, “Along with enrolling you into school legally.”
Venti paused, “Wait— school ? I didn’t agree to that. Isn’t highschool non-compulsory in Japan?”
“If you attended schooling for the past few years, yes,” Tsukauchi said, “However as it stands, you have no education.”
Venti’s lips quirked down into a frown, “Okay. I guess that makes sense. And for my lack of guardians?”
“We’ll be taking you in, little listener!” Present Mic said, “We are approved foster parents, allowing us to skip most of the process.”
Venti nodded, “Okay. Then everything’s good, right? Taken care of?”
“As it stands, yes,” Tsukauchi said, “It was just a matter that had to be discussed with you. Do you agree with the course of action?”
“Yes I do.”
“Okay,” He stood, turning off the recording device, “We will get started on the process. You should be able to be discharged today to go with Present Mic and Eraserhead.”
“Okay,” Venti replied, waving at the detective. “Uh, I’ll see you around then?”
The detective cocked an eyebrow, edges of his lips curling into a faint smile, “Perhaps.” The detective walked out.
Venti looked towards the proheroes who hadn’t left yet, tilting his head in question.
“You’ll be placed in UA’s general education course,” Nedzu said, “Along with a handful of remedial lessons to catch you up on modern Japan.”
“I don’t have to take an entrance exam?” Venti asked.
Nedzu shook his head, “Due to extenuating circumstances, it will be waived.”
Extenuating circumstances? Venti hummed, “Okay.”
“They want to keep an eye on you, Barbatos,” The winds gently blew through the room.
“You’ll start on Monday.”
Venti blinked, “Wait— this Monday?”
“Yep!” Nedzu nodded, clasping his hands? paws?
“Er…” Venti ran a hand through his hair, averting his gaze, “I work, though.”
“No need for that!” Nedzu replied, “I’m sure your guardians will be more than happy to allow you to use their money.”
Venti’s eyes widened, “I could never ask for—”
“It’s okay, little listener!” Present Mic interrupted, “Focus on getting settled in UA for now.”
Venti frowned, sighing, “Okay.” He was too exhausted to put up a fight, really. He’s no stranger to change— the winds switch direction, the tides raise and fall— it’s just a fact of life he is awfully familiar with. “I’ll start school this Monday… Then.”
“Great!” Nedzu grinned, sharp canines causing a shiver to go up Venti’s spine, “The teachers will also be debriefed about your special condition and circumstances.”
Venti nodded at that, to which Nedzu turned on his heel, headed towards the door, “Have a nice day, Barbatos!”
“ Venti ,” He corrected as Nedzu walked out the door.
Great. Venti brought his knees up to his chest, resting his head on his knees. He looked at the two remaining heroes— his new guardians— expectantly. They’re still here… They must want something, right?
“Little listener,” Present Mic said, “Is there anything you’ll want for your room?”
Venti blinked, surprised at the question, “Uhm, no. It’s fine. I’m an adult, you know, you don’t have to treat me like a child.”
Present Mic merely smiled at that, “I understand.”
Do you? Venti cocked an eyebrow before Eraserhead spoke, “You have a legal brother.”
That caught Venti’s attention, “Really? What’s his name?”
“Shinsou Hitoshi,” He said, “You’ll meet him soon. He’s in General Education as well.”
“Oh, okay,” Venti replied, “Makes sense.” He stretched his wings, careful to avoid the expensive medical equipment. “When will I be allowed to leave?”
“Let’s go sign you out, littlun!” Present Mic said, standing up and walking over to the side of Venti’s bed. He held a hand out for Venti, who gladly took it.
Venti lowered onto the floor gracefully, slipping on his indoor shoes. “Okay,” He said, “Let’s go then.”