The Shadows I Hide

Chapter 17: Hidden

News of the intruder was quick to spread through the campus and once again, the students were gathered in the common room while the pro's tried to find the mysterious invader. Once again their search yielded nothing, however after doing an inventory they discovered that some assorted chemicals were missing from the chemistry labs, they were probably stolen by the same person they had been trying to find. Izuku was especially unnerved by the ordeal. Twice now they had snuck onto the school campus and hadn't been noticed until a student saw them. And even after that they always managed to escape without a trace. Izuku's resolve was set. He couldn't afford to wait any longer. He needed to investigate Tokoyami right now. If he waited much longer he might be too late.

Later that day he took advantage of an opportunity that presented itself. Kirishima had suggested to him and a bunch of the other guys that they should all go to the mall and hang out several days ago. Although Izuku would have enjoyed going, he had more important priorities right now. Besides, Tokoyami was one of the guys he had invited. Presenting the lame excuse of having a lot of homework and apologizing Izuku retreated to his room getting himself out of the group. When he had gone over to apologize he had seen Tokoyami heading over there. That was good, it meant he had been planning to go with them, and that he would be gone for a good few hours. That should give him plenty of time to look around. Izuku grabbed a few supplies and then stayed still in his room. He needed to make sure he didn't act until they were gone. After waiting some ten minutes Izuku deemed it safe to begin. He opened his sliding glass door and stepped onto his balcony. He then hoisted himself over the railing on the left next to the wall and grabbed onto a gutter pipe. He slid down two stories without making a sound. He was on Tokoyami's floor now, but there was still one room to get past before he reached Tokoyami's. Peering through the glass door to his right he immediately hid again. It was Kaminari's room, and it looked like he hadn't gone either. Then again, he actually did have a lot of homework to get through. This was unexpected, but he had prepared for something like this. Sliding down a bit more on the pipe he grabbed onto the edge of Kaminari's balcony with his fingers and began to shimmy across from beneath. The strain this put on Izuku's body was immense, but he had been training for this. He managed to clear Kaminari's room without being spotted and climb the next gutter pipe. There it was, Tokoyami's room. He hopped the railing and peered into the door. His view was obstructed by black curtains. Turning his attention away from his obstructed view he focused on the lock of the door. Izuku bit his lower lip as he examined it. It didn't look too complicated. Izuku took out the lockpicking equipment he had brought and got to work. He made short work of it and very soon he heard the click of the lock coming undone. He slid the door open slowly without a sound and slipped inside.

Right away Izuku was taken aback by just how dark it was. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the gloom but little by little the details of the room were coming into focus. With his eyes adjusting to the dim lighting, he began to look around for something, anything. Anything that might tell him if his hunch was correct or not. The more he searched the more frustrated he became when he couldn't find anything. Just as he was about to give up though he noticed a peculiar box on the top shelf of his closet. It was made of dark wood and about a foot long and half a foot wide. Taking the box off the shelf he was surprised by the weight it carried. Something here was heavy for its size. He inspected the box to find that it had a lock on its side, right next to what appeared to be the lid. Izuku took out his lock picking tools again but was interrupted by the sound of keys and the doorknob turning. Izuku's blood turned to ice, and it felt like time slowed down as he scrambled to put the box back. He had just barely put it back and hide behind some of Tokoyami's cloaks before Tokoyami himself walked into the room. His eyes were narrowed and were surveying every detail of the room with intense focus. Izuku observed as much as he could from his position in the closet. He steadied his breathing and held still. A moment later Tokoyami seemed satisfied with what he saw and turned his attention to the closet. As Tokoyami walked in Izuku had to fight the urge to hold his breath against every instinct in his body. Tokoyami seemed completely unaware of Izuku's presence which he was grateful for. The bird-headed boy wnt immediately for the box on the top shelf. He took it down and laid it on the floor. Izuku watched as brandishing a key Tokoyami opened the box. Inside it, lying in velvet lining was what appeared to be a dagger. Izuku was confused, why did he have a knife in there. Suddenly Dark Shadow appeared from Tokoyami looking at the knife.

"Dude, don't you think you're being a little paranoid about that thing?" asked the dark shadow. Tokoyami sighed.

"Possibly, but you know as well as I do that this thing wasn't cheap. And Midoriya has been acting suspicious for a while. I thought he might be trying to sneak a peek at it or something. Guess I was wrong,"

"As I said, paranoid," said Dark Shadow. "Now come one, there's plenty of better things to do on a Saturday than sit here protecting that thing as if it were a baby,"

"I suppose you're right," With that Tokoyami and dark shadow left leaving Izuku alone once again. Relief flooded through him, but also confusion. The only thing Tokoyami was hiding was a possession? Had he been wrong this whole time? All questions for later. Right now he had to get out before he was discovered for real. Reversing his trip to Tokoyami's room he made his way back up the building to his own room. Entering through the sliding glass door once again he collapsed onto his bed suddenly exhausted. That whole ordeal had been nerve-racking. With the adrenalin finally beginning to leave his system the frustration came in full force. He clenched his jaw. Damn it. He'd been wrong, and he wasn't any closer to finding out how to stop the demons. He was spared from beating himself up about it more by a knock on his door. He got up to answer it to see that it was Kirishima and Kaminari. Kirishima began talking before Izuku could ask what they wanted.

"Midoriya, tomorrow me and Kirishima are taking you to the mall. This isn't an option, so don't try to wiggle out of it," Kaminari continued the conversation.

"Yeah dude, this is important,"

"Ummm, okay? What is this even though," The two guys in front of Iuku looked at each other knowingly.

"This is to help you pick out an outfit for the dance next Friday of course."