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The morning of the first day of school, Nahida has them all gather in the common area as soon as they wake. It’s early, earlier than Ororon would like to be up at the moment, but it’s fine. Apparently a bus would be there soon to take them to UA, and while the admin and teachers would be spending today talking more in depth about how the exchange program would run, they would be with Class 1-A. The teacher, Shota Aizawa, had said they could join him during their Quirk Apprehension Test that he would be conducting today.
After she informs them of the plan, most run off to finish getting ready. Ororon latches onto Ifa and ignores his chuckle as he leads them upstairs. They head to their apartment, and when they're inside, he flops onto the couch.
“C'mon, we gotta get ready,” Ifa reminds.
“Bro! Bro! Bro!” The alarm Ifa set on his phone starts to ring, the familiar sound of Cacucu's squawks permeating the room.
Sadly, they couldn't bring him with them. Animals native to Teyvat weren't allowed to leave the borders. Even the Dendro Archon couldn't bring her Aranara, which the little ones had mixed feelings about. Some had followed her to the Academy and had even shown themselves to some of the students. Ifa got to see them, but he didn't. He knew he gave off a kind of vibe that spirits found… odd.
“The bus will be here in half an hour, you need to get dressed bro,” Ifa reminds with a sigh, silencing his alarm.
“Fine,” he admits defeat, peeling himself off the couch to head to his room and start getting ready.
He pulls on his school uniform, ignoring the copy of the UA uniform that Nahida had said UA had sent over. The Academy uniforms were like any ordinary school uniforms in Japan (from Ororon's understanding), and the colors were the school colors, gold and light grey. Most of them wore edited variations of the uniform, as was encouraged by the faculty and staff. Over his grey blazer he wore his scarf, and he also donned his normal boots and gloves. Despite how he wanted to have a hood, he felt uncomfortable wearing his coat over his blazer, so his ears were on full display.
Said ears twitch and he turns to see Ifa standing in the doorway. Since he graduated last year, he didn't have to wear the uniform anymore, but he wasn't exactly in his everyday clothes from when he was back home either.
Ifa had his hat, of course, and his jacket, but he had a plain button up shirt underneath it alongside jeans. His medical identification wasn't pinned on his jacket and his normal bag of items wasn't attached to his hip either. He was mostly here in Japan with them because Ororon wasn't going to survive being in a different continent alone and Ifa had always been his calming presence, his other half.
Romantic sounding, but not exactly on the mark for what they were. Ifa referred to them as partners, but they weren't romantic. They'd most likely spend the rest of their lives together, as they gravitate towards each other naturally, but romance had never really been an emotion Ororon had experienced and Ifa had never pressured him.
“Ready, bro?” Ifa asks.
“I guess so,” he replies, stepping forward.
Ifa pats his back twice when he passes and he can feel himself relax. There were a lot of things to worry about, to be anxious about. Someone noticing his damaged soul (though he's not sure how), getting made fun of for his Tribal tattoos and marks, getting pitying stares for the false narrative the general public outside Teyvat believed about their circumstances, and so forth. But with Ifa right next to him, he felt okay. Stable. Good enough to survive in this unfamiliar environment.
-
Once everyone is back downstairs in the common area, all of them dressed in their uniforms, Nahida steps forward to talk to them again.
“Today's meeting with the faculty of UA will be a couple of hours, so after you students are finished with the Quirk Apprehension Test that Mr. Aizawa is holding with his students and you guys, you'll stay at the school. If at any time Aino, Klee, Kachina or Ororon need their designated faculty members, I implore you to start by asking Mr. Aizawa for help. If he refuses in any way, then I encourage you to use your elemental sight to track me and come get them. Your safety and wellbeing is always our utmost priority, especially for those who came here with their guardian or their stability buddy.”
Ororon breathes a sigh of relief after Nahida finishes talking. He had been a bit worried, since even the TA's would be at the faculty meeting, which meant he'd be separated from Ifa. If he was at the Academy, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. He felt safe in the walls of Teyvat Academy, same in Natlan, but in a different continent? It wasn't just another Nation in Teyvat that knew about the system they all believed in, it was a whole new place who viewed their beliefs and systems to be culty.
After all of that, the bus arrives and they all board it together. There's no driver, and Ororon takes that as a win. None of them had met anyone outside of Teyvat yet, except for Nahida of course as she had talked to Principle Nezu. He ends up sitting in the back, Ifa on one side and Kachina on the other.
“Hello Ororon,” she greets happily.
“Hello Kachina,” he replies with a small smile.
The ride after that is spent mostly silent with them. Xilonen sits on the other side of Kachina, but she's just basking in the sunlight with her eyes closed. The rest of the bus has a small hum of activity, Collei is trying to talk to Hat Guy while Nahida watches fondly, Albedo and Kaeya were playing with Klee (responsibly, as they're on a bus), and Aino was rambling to Ineffa about everything she saw. Xingqiu and Chongyun were conversing, seemingly about a book the former held, and Ayaka was meditating while Thoma watched, looking sleepy. Childe was napping on Hat Guy's free side, his head dangerously close to dropping onto his shoulder. The twins and Freminet were sharing glances, as if having a silent conversation.
When they arrive in the parking lot of the school, there's 2 (presumably) teachers waiting for them. They take their time filing off of the bus, and Ororon stays glued to Ifa’s side. Until they have to part, he refuses to let him go.
One of the teachers looks like an exhausted dad, while the other looks like a wine aunt. He doesn’t know if he used that term in the right way, but she reminded him of his Granny but a bit to the left.
“Welcome to UA! I’m Pro Hero Midnight, and this is Eraserhead, or Mr. Aizawa! We’re here to lead you to your respective areas, Eraser will be taking the kids to the locker rooms while I’ll be leading the faculty to the meeting room!” The wine aunt explains cheerfully.
“Changing areas?” Ineffa speaks up, asking for clarification.
“Yes! As this will be a Quirk apprehension test, UA will be providing gym uniforms for your students. This will be the standard uniform worn during physical training until you start practicing in your hero costumes,” she explains.
Ororon notices as Albedo, Kaeya, Xilonen and Nahida have a silent conversation between the 4 of them, before the Dendro Archon finally speaks.
“That sounds wonderful, we thank you for the hospitality!” She chirps out happily with a smile. “Our youngest one, Klee, won’t be participating though, so she’ll refrain from changing if that’s okay.”
He watches as Klee pouts up at her big brothers, but she doesn’t say anything. She’s probably been told to be on her best behavior, it’s not like they can exactly get a babysitter while all of them are busy, so she’ll be using her Honorary Student title so she can stay and not be left back at their apartment alone.
Ororon’s ears flick as he hears Eraserhead mumble “Why is there a kid here?”
He frowns as he notices the teacher’s frown at Klee. He understood many may not understand why exactly Klee was there, but separating her from her older brothers was a very bad idea. From his understanding, even Ms. Alice, her mom, insisted that the pair take her with them. Klee was always with them when they were at the Academy, and that’s how she earned her Honorary Student title. Plus, she was also the Spark Knight, an Honorary Knight of Favonius, so she belonged here just as much as the rest of them.
“That will be perfectly fine,” Midnight reassures. “If you’ll follow us, we’ll head this way while the students will follow Eraser into the entrance over there,” she gestures to a door behind her to the right and then one to the left.
“Remember bro,” Ifa’s voice, soft against his ear, catches his attention. “If you need me, ask Eraserhead. If he refuses, come and get me,” Ifa squeezes his hand and gives his cheek a gentle kiss before he slips away from him.
He watches him go, feeling anxiety sweep in, but he feels a bit better when Kachina sidles up to him.
“Ororon, can I hold your hand?” She asks, head tilted.
He nods stiffly and the girl takes his gloved hand into her own. “Great! C’mon!” She gently leads them towards where the rest of his classmates are already following after Eraserhead. They end up walking side by side with Ayaka and Thoma, who give them friendly smiles.
He’ll be fine, surely.
-
Ororon feels stiff and awkward changing in front of others that weren’t Ifa. He felt especially worse since he wasn’t changing into any safe clothes. His school uniform was specifically made with materials he knew wouldn’t agitate his skin, and his everyday clothes were the same. This uniform wasn’t exactly scratchy, but the material was too light. It was meant to help them with flexibility and so forth during practice while still being durable, most likely, but it was kind of setting him off. He didn’t like things he couldn’t fully feel against his skin, it made it crawl. It was like the bad kind of electricity, or ghost hands crawling over his skin, wanting to grab his damaged soul, and take him down down down-
“Comrade!” A strong hand claps him on the shoulder, shocking him back to the present. He turns his head to see Childe standing there, a smile on his face despite the worry that shines in his eyes. “Do you need Ifa?” He asks gently, and Ororon can see how good of an older brother he is. Not that he doesn’t already know that, as he and Childe shared enough classes since they were both bow users, but he can feel some of his anxiety and nervousness lessen with the pressure from the other’s hand still on his shoulder.
“No, it’s okay,” he reassures, glad his voice doesn’t shake. “Let’s get this over with.” He’d rather be back in Natlan or even the Academy, with Ifa and Cacucu or with his aphids, but he couldn’t. They had a mission to do, a job to carry out, and then they could go home. Teyvat (and the whole world as a whole) needed them to make sure the threat to their lives was taken care of.
Childe nods, patting his shoulder and then turning to bother Hat Guy. He takes stock of everyone else. They’re all changed, actually, all of them having shed the things that make them stand out for the gym uniforms. It felt… weird. He didn’t feel like a person who was born in a superhuman society, but he felt like he was wearing one’s skin. It felt like all of them were wearing someone else’s skin, their individuality and what made them of Teyvat sucked out of them.
It felt… wrong.
When they’re done changing, they meet up with the girls of the group. Everyone of them looks the same to him, like they’ve been sucked of their personality, except Klee, who was still wearing her cute little witches out. Even if she had been participating, he’s not sure the girl would have been willing to change. He’s never seen her in anything but her witch outfits or the cutesy outfits she’d don when playing pretend (which he’s been dragged into plenty of times, most of the Academy probably has honestly).
Eraserhead leads them outside to where a group of students stand, first years from what he can tell. This would be their first day of school then, and they were doing a Quirk Apprehension test. How nerve wracking.
“Class 1-A, meet the exchange student from Teyvat Academy. Teyvat Academy, this is Class 1-A,” Eraserhead introduces.
Gasps and a wave of whispers begin as soon as he’s done speaking. His ears twitch and he feels slightly overwhelmed, but he tunes them out. He knows what they’re saying, probably. Even if they didn’t know about his damaged soul, those in Natlan did, and he’d grown up with those types of whispers following him. Plus, he’d been expecting it when he’d come here, since he knew the lies the government fed their citizens about how Teyvat Academy worked, as well as how their home was full of ‘delusional cultists’, or something along those lines.
Plus, as one of the blond’s on the other side remarked, they were viewed as weak.
“Do they really believe we’re that weak?” Kachina asks with a frown. She had gravitated towards him and grabbed his hand again after they left the locker rooms, which helped ground him and helped him ignore his too light gym uniform.
“They can’t help it, they grew up in a society where someone without a Quirk is considered weak and helpless,” Ororon replies honestly.
“But, even those who don’t have Visions in Teyvat can be incredibly strong,” Kachina insists, eyes wide.
“Of course, anyone can be strong if they can learn to fight and adapt. But when you live in a society that preaches that Quirkless people need to be defended and protected because they’re helpless, you learn to believe it, whether you have a Quirk or you don’t.”
Kachina frowns, sad. Her eyes swirl with emotions, but before she can say anything else, Eraserhead speaks up again.
He starts to explain their objective today, the Quirk Apprehension test. Since you weren’t allowed to use your Quirks in middle school, they would be doing those normal physical fitness tests but with their quirks to see the difference. It was an… interesting concept, but Ororon didn’t really care. Most of the tests were, most likely, not designed for testing their Visions. Plus, they all used them differently, and mostly channeled them through their weapons, which they had in their pocket space that they were kept when they weren’t fighting, but they weren’t allowed to use without permission. And even though yes, they could use their Visions for different things, or even their different devices, that would probably be considered cheating or something. Kachina channeled her elemental energy through her spear, yes, but also through her turbo twister. He could probably also use his heritage to help, he could fly, hover, etc, but that wasn’t his Vision, that was his biology.
He misses Ifa.
Some of the Class 1-A kids complain, asking about entrance ceremonies, orientation, etc, and Eraserhead fixes them with a deadpan look.
“If you’re going to become a hero, you don’t have time for such leisurely events,” he states plainly. “UA's selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are,” he turns his head to look at them. “That includes how the teachers run their classes.”
Surprise ripples through the students, but he can tell his classmates don’t really care. This doesn’t affect them, and they’ve all seemed to realize it. They were probably doing this to A. Gauge Visions and B. Try and show them some type of ‘reality’ they believed they were obligated to know, or some other bullshit like that.
Eraser goes on to explain how exactly this is going to work, and then he prompts a boy named Bakugo forward to get him to be an example. He tells him to throw a baseball as far as he can, using his Quirk, to see his actual upper limit now that he’s not restricted by the strict rules on Quirk usage.
He ends up using an explosion power to throw the ball around 700 meters, which surprises and excites class 1-A. They start to chatter, and when Eraser interrupts him, his voice is hard. He reveals they're going to be doing the tests as a competition, and the loser will be expelled. That sends the class into a tizzy, but it doesn't affect him or his classmates at all.
This random pro hero didn't have any authority to kick them out of Teyvat Academy.
And then the tests begin.
-
“This is absolutely pointless,” Hat Guys sneers, watching as the Class 1-A students start lining up to do the standing long jump.
Despite saying they would be included, and even forcing them to change into their gym uniforms, they hadn't been allowed to do the first two tests, nor this one. One of the students got super worried about “the Quirkless kids” participating against them since they had Quirks and it was “unfair”. Despite Childe literally showing off his Vision to the class and teacher, and even demonstrating that, “Yes, I can use it to control and generate Hydro,” the teacher decided against letting them even compete against each other in the 50 meter dash.
And he ignored them when they wanted to do the grip strength test, not even giving them a reason, even though all of them were highly trained with their grip as losing your weapon during battle (unless done on purpose) was never allowed. Yeah, those who used claymores or polearms probably had better grip strength due to how heavy claymores were and how long polearms were, but they all were still pretty strong.
The standing long jump test was refused to them as well, stating the same excuse about how it was “unfair”.
Ororon just wants to go back to the apartment at this point if they weren't even going to do anything. Sweat was pooling between his shoulder blades and where his shorts clung to his hips. It was uncomfortable standing there in the sun for no reason other than to watch random teens he didn't know do tests he was supposed to be allowed to participate in. It was stupid.
“If we were at the Academy, I could be doing bow practice right now,” Collei states.
She's upset, Ororon has spent enough time with her to notice it in the way her brows are drawn and the tone of her voice. They shared bow classes, and he's seen the girl annoyed while practicing enough times to know when she's annoyed.
Everyone here was, most likely, though some were better at hiding it.
“Archons help me, any one of us could jump farther than some of these kids over the sandbox without even using our Visions,” Ayaka points out, her fan flicking open to hide her expression.
“Say it louder for those in the back,” Thoma murmurs, but his ‘fixer expression’ doesn't even falter, despite his obvious frustration.
“So we're not even allowed to run?” Aino asks, hands on her hips. Her comment is loud, Ororon's not sure if it's on purpose, but it gets their point across well as heads turn to look at them.
“Klee wants to run!” Klee speaks up next, eyes sparkling, before she pauses. “Oh, but Klee's not participating today… but Klee wants to see Aino run!” She throws her arms around the pinkette's neck, pulling her close.
“Why the hell is there a 5 year old here?” Bakugo sneers loudly as he looks at the group of them, his arms crossed.
“Hey!” Childe exclaims automatically, anger shining in his eyes.
“Calm down-” Eraserhead starts to intervene, but another one of the class 1-A kids speaks up, this one short with purple colored balls on his head.
“I don’t understand why any of these weak Quirkless kids are here in the first place,” he states, rubbing at his nose as he sniffles.
Ororon feels anger and anxiety rise within him. He was very uncomfortable, especially because he knows how angry his classmates can get. Some were good at hiding it, like the twins, Ayaka, Thoma, and Xingqui. But the others? They wore their emotions on their face, especially Childe who’s already angry and-
“You want to repeat that?” Hat Guy hisses as the wind picks up around him, his Vision glowing on full display where it sits attached to its usual holder in front of his shoulder.
He’s not the only one reacting, though. The temperature has dropped a few degrees, probably from Chongyun and Freminet’s restlessness and anxiety from the situation, alongside Ayaka’s nervousness. And he can feel a bit of heat radiating from Lyney, even if his perfect mask is in place on his face. And it’s not as if they can’t control their Visions when they get emotional, everyone else is doing a pretty good job, it’s just that they didn’t feel the need to. Why would they have to hold back against these kids and this fully grown adult, who’s also a teacher, that were discriminating against them?
The fact was, they didn’t.
“Well, it’s not exactly a secret that people from Teyvat aren’t able to develop the Quirk mutation, so it’s logical to be concerned about the unfair difference between us with Quirks and you guys without,” a girl with big black hair tries to explain.
That just sets the group off more, and he can feel Kachina’s hand tighten in his. She hadn’t let go of his hand since they’d met up outside the locker rooms, and he was honestly glad for it because he needed the grounding. He was angry and uncomfortable and overwhelmed, but he didn’t want to stop his classmates. They were fighting for their rights, afterall, since all they’ve been shown so far was ignorance and discrimination.
Ororon didn’t consider himself weak by any means, though he knew others viewed him that way due to how much he tended to rely on Ifa. But he wasn’t weak. He knew his strengths, knew how to play by them, and he also knew that he could get through a day without Ifa, even in this new environment. But he didn’t want to if he didn’t have to, especially if he felt so overwhelmed that he was on the verge of maybe just shutting down.
He doesn’t remember the last time he shut down, maybe before he and Ifa started spending more time together? Or that time when Granny said she would come check up on him, and then she didn’t, so he got so anxious and paranoid that his body just-
Shut down on him.
“Everything you said is just complete baloney! Mr. Tartaglia even showed you that his Vision works and you’re still doubting us even though we all carry one?” Aino's arms are crossed as she speaks, and she looks as scary as she can for a bit shorter than average 12 year old.
“Are you even a student?” A pink skinned girl asks, scratching her hair in confusion.
“Everyone you see in front of you is a student, ms,” Ayaka replies, her voice as sharp as ice.
Ororon is sure her smile is probably just as sharp hidden behind her fan.
He notices as Eraserhead tries to take control of the situation again, but his Quirk doesn’t exactly work on them, so he can’t really stop them from talking. He probably has already sensed that if he tries his capture tool on them, something bad might happen. The arguing continues, with the people from class 1-A who speak up just being plain rude or showing how uneducated they are.
Ororon blocks it all out, his eyes focused on the sky in the distance while he forces his only thoughts to be on Kachina’s soft and warm hand. It helps keep him steady, keep his body afloat. Everything is fine.
And then it’s like he can just- just feel someone peering into him, seeing into his damaged soul. It’s not possible, he knows it’s not, but his eyes snap to one of the class 1-A kids. He and this… dark mass of shadows behind him… or, no, it’s his shadow, just warped and bigger behind the kid for some reason, are just staring at him. He feels as if someone is grabbing his insides and trying to yank them outside his body to study him.
It’s not possible. Someone not of Teyvat, who’s not connected to the leylines, cannot possible know about his damage soul, let alone make Ororon feel like they can, but-
But-
“Ororon?”
Kachina’s voice snaps his eyes to hers, and whatever she sees makes her eyes widen.
-
“Mr. Tartaglia!” Kachina is frantic as she calls out to Childe, feeling panic grip her heart painfully.
She’d only seen something like this happen to Ororon once and it was after the war with the Night City, the last one. He’d been so strong and focused during the battle, but as soon as it was all over, it was like he was a puppet whose strings had snapped. He’d nearly collapsed, and only didn’t because Ifa had been there to help him. After that she hadn’t seen either of them at the celebration feasts, and hadn’t heard any news about them until she asked Xilonen and she had carefully told her that he was still recovering, but he’d be better soon with Ifa’s help.
Ororon was panicking worse than she was. He was stock still, his face paler than usual, with little to no breaths coming in. His ears were pressed flat down on his head, and as soon as she had noticed that, her ears had naturally followed. His hands were clenched so hard that she had had to wrench her hand from his before he accidentally hurt her, which she knew would haunt him later if she let it happen.
He needed Ifa and he needed him now.
All the arguing had stopped as soon as she had called out. Every eye was on her, but she couldn’t care less. If she didn’t help Ororon right this second, she was going to start panicking so hard that she’d need her big sis, and then everything would be worse.
The anger seems to dissipate as soon as everyone realizes what is happening. She can feel as their Visions calm down, and she watches as expressions morph from anger or masks to genuine worry and concern.
Klee and Aino were also upset, she could tell because they were both shaking as much as her. They both weren’t fond of arguing that developed into yelling, which this had a while ago. Aino was doing better than Klee, but both looked as if they just wanted to go home, or even be back at the Academy, attending literally any other class.
She barely notices as Childe and Hat Guy share a look, and then the former is taking charge of the situation.
“Eraserhead, I must request that you take at least one of us to go fetch our teacher’s, please. Kachina, Aino, Klee and Ororon need their trusted adults right now,” he explains calmly, his body language neutral to show how serious the situation is.
“I can’t interrupt the faculty meeting without the Principal’s permission,” he replies, but he does seem to glance at the four who were mentioned.
“If you don’t send someone to go get them, I was given explicit permission from Ms. Nahida to go find them ourselves,” he counters, a small warning smile making its way onto his face.
The teacher glances at her first, before he shifts to looking at Aino and Klee, who are still hugging, and then Ororon, who’s face is slowly starting to turn purple.
“Class 1-A, if you speak a single sentence while I’m gone, you’ll be expelled,” he informs his class before turning back to Childe. “You, come with me, we can go to the meeting room, but you’ll have to get your teachers yourself.”
Kachina can feel some of her panic subside as she watches the backs of Child and Eraserhead walk away from them. She turns to Collei next, knowing that despite how different her and Ororon seemed, the two had a stronger bond that she had with him herself.
“Collei, do you think you can help him at all?” She asks, her hands having subconsciously gone start petting her own ears, trying to calm her instincts down.
She frowns, but her face shows courage and determination. “I can try!”
-
Ifa had honestly felt like the meeting was going in circles so far.
The UA faculty, especially the Principal, were acting like they automatically ‘knew better’ when it came to academics for some reason. It was as if, to them, being from outside of Teyvat and being someone with a Quirk just automatically made you ‘smarter’ and ‘wiser’. He didn’t understand any of it, so he starts to think of the Saurians back home, and how much he misses Cacucu. And also Ororon, he really hopes he’s doing okay. He could do okay by himself, of course, his partner wasn’t weak. However he had a hard time in new and unfamiliar places, and this was essentially the definition of A New and Unfamiliar Place.
He notices how Nahida has, seemingly, started to get heated (even if the UA faculty hasn’t noticed, he can tell the Alberich and Xilonen have), when the door busts open.
Instantly they’re all on their feet, but he feels calm when he realizes it’s just Childe.
And then he realizes that, if Childe was here, it meant that one of his classmates needed them desperately.
Panic courses through him, hands clenching automatically before he opens them. Had something set Ororon off? Enough so that he asked for help? He knew Ororon tended not to ask for help from him if he A. Thought he could survive the bad things happening and B. If he was busy with work. Yes, Saurians and teaching was important, but so was he.
“Klee, Aino and Kachina are panicking and upset, and Ororon looks like he’s about to shut down,” Childe explains quickly, seemingly ignoring anyone who’s not of Teyvat in the room. “We need to go now.”
Ifa is not exaggerating when he says he flies down the hall. Even without Cacucu there to help, his Anemo Vision boosts his speed and he’s practically flying towards where he can see the traces of Ororon’s elemental traces. He can hear Xilonen hot on his heels, her roller skates a familiar sound to him, and he knows everyone else is most likely following just as closely.
The scene he finds breaks his heart. Collei is doing her best to ground Ororon, his hands held tightly between both of hers, while he’s barely reacting. Even from this distance, Ifa can tell that his body is shutting down, and he’s barely breathing.
He notices out of the corner of his eye that Kachina is panicking and that Aino is hugging Klee, both of the girls visibly upset. He has a bone to pick with the UA students almost instantly, especially since they upset Ororon, but that can wait. He’s not a spiteful man by nature, but he was protective.
Collei looks visibly relieved when she sees him, and backs off to give him space. He sends her an appreciative look and then focuses intently on his partner. The first thing Ifa does is cradle his face between his hands. He jolts at the sudden touch, but his eyes still seem to be working for he calms when he sees it’s him. He and Ororon had already established that, while anyone else should ask before touching him or at least announce their presence, he didn’t need to. Even if he was surprised at first, he had assured Ifa that he trusted him implicitly.
“Ororon, bro, I need you to breathe,” he speaks soothingly, pressing his forehead against his. “Feel me breathing? I need you to follow along, dude,” he blows air into his partner’s face, and then starts breathing normally.
Ororon’s breath stutters and he gasps, as if breathing for the very first time. His eyes lose focus before they become sharp and he looks at him, truly looks at him for the first time since he got out here.
“Bro,” he gasps out, and then he starts wheezing. “Dude, I suck.”
“Calm down, bro,” Ifa replies. “Don't wheeze, just breathe,” he resists the urge to chuckle at his unintentional laugh, keeping his eyes locked with Ororon's.
Ororon slowly starts to follow his directions, breaths coming in slow and steady. His hands unclench, and Ifa takes that as a sign to let go of his face to hold his hands, their foreheads still resting against each other.
“Can we go home?” Ororon asks, finally sounding like himself, if a bit weak.
“We can go back to the apartment,” Ifa replies, which makes the other frown.
He knew he meant back to his Aphids, back to his Granny and the Masters of the Night Wind, but they had a mission. They couldn't go back to Teyvat unless absolutely necessary, and he knew Ororon would feel guilty if he left now.
“Ifa, Ororon,” they both turn at the call of their names, noticing the rest of the field is empty aside from Nahida. “The rest of your classmates are on the bus, and Class 1-A moved to finish their tests in a different area. We're heading back to the apartments for the day, and then I'll be coming back to have a meeting with Principal Nezu,” she explains. “Let's go back, okay?” She offers a gentle smile.
Ifa nods, taking a step back so that he's only holding one of Ororon's hands. He gives it a light tug, letting him know that it's time for them to start heading for the bus.
“Let's go back, bro.”
“Okay, bro.”