Chapter Text
Kaminari Denki gasped as he fell forwards onto the concrete, the door slamming behind him. He tried the door but was greeted with a click, as his hand slipped off the wet doorknob, the handle not moving at all.
‘This is all your fault.’
He stepped back, gasping. He could feel the sting of the rain pelt his skin in a constant rhythm, collecting on his hair and gathering on his clothes, the weight pulling him downwards.
The rain trickled down his face as Denki wiped his eyes, brushing the heavy, wet hair away from his face, as he approached the old oak tree. He stared at it, watching its branches sway in the wind, the water slowly dripping off the leaves on the lower levels, before stepping underneath its shelter.
He placed his small sleeping bag underneath one of the thicker branches before he heard the boom of the thunder split the calm quiet of the rain.
‘One, two, three-’
The thunder boomed again.
‘One, two-’
Another deafening boom split the air.
Denki sighed and left the relative safety of the oak tree, deciding not to postpone the inevitable.
He stepped out into the open field, spreading his arms out in an open embrace, welcoming the sky to strike him.
He stood there, counting, the rain trickling down the sides of his face. He counted the seconds, watching the heavy clouds, their weight blotting out the night sky.
He trembled, shivering not only from the cold but also from fear of what he knew was coming.
‘You deserve this.’
He felt the familiar sensation spread through his body. He could sense the static building up, as the familiar smell of ozone filled the air, and he shut his eyes tight, praying that maybe just once the blast wouldn’t come.
The sky split as a powerful lightning bolt struck Denki, the boy screaming as the electricity burned at his skin, the power too much for the boy to absorb.
He opened his eyes quickly, panting, and saw the face of his father glaring at him through the window, and Denki sobbed.
Denki slowly lowered his burnt arms, and watched the electricity arc over his skin, leaving new scars wherever it arced. His skin burned as he stumbled forwards with tears trailing down his face. He took a deep breath, trying to concentrate through the pain. He activated his quirk and screamed, discharging all of the energy at once.
He slumped over and collapsed, his body burning from the inside out. He wheezed and coughed, tilting his head upwards, feeling the familiar darkness take over his vision.
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki did his best to cover his burns. Lichtenberg scars, he had discovered. That was the name for the electrical scars covering most of his body.
He hated what happened whenever he overused his quirk.
The scars, the pain, and what followed.
He was trapped, once again, in his little black room inside his mind.
He saw everything that happened around him, felt the pain that wracked his burnt body.
He just couldn’t do anything.
It took him years just to be able to do the thumbs up he usually did after each discharge, to show he was okay.
‘That was Hibiki’s idea.’
Denki watched helplessly as his father walked away from the curtains, and he waited for an hour for the aftereffect of his quirk to wear off. He trembled as the rain stung at his skin, his body still sparking as he lay, immobile.
After the hour, he ran under the tree, doing his best to wring out his soaked clothes.
‘Probably getting hypothermia again.’
He rubbed his chafed neck, thankful at least that he had some freedom. He curled up in his sleeping bag, shivering, and tried his best to sleep despite the cold.
‘What a wonderful way to spend my eleventh birthday.’
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki gasped, his golden eyes snapping open as a large hand was placed on the back of his shirt. The hand pulled, harshly, dragging the soaking boy and his black sleeping bag across the wet grass. He held his breath as he went up the stairs, the sensation searing in his back as he was pulled up each step. His back stung each time he went up a stair as it collided with the back.
He tried to squirm, to escape, but only earned a hit to the head for his troubles.
He whimpered quietly as his father swore under his breath. “Shut up, you know this is your fault, you useless piece of garbage.”
Denki sniffled, trying to stifle the tears welling up in his eyes. He closed his eyes tightly. He was dragged into his room and was slammed against the wall.
Kaminari Nori glared at Denki as he pulled out the shock collar and shoved it around his son’s neck.
Pulling out a remote from his pocket with one hand, with the other, Nori pushed Denki to the floor.
“You wear that collar for a reason, boy, what reason is it?”
“B-because it's my… my fault.. that… Hibiki is in a coma..”
Nori paused, before pressing a button, and Denki screamed, twitching, as the specially made collar zapped him.
‘Quirk removal so I can’t absorb it, and high powered voltage because Father knows I won’t die from it.’
“You remember the rules brat?”
“Y-yes…” Denki choked out. “Don’t talk, don’t be seen by anyone, and don’t interrupt your father.”
“And?” Nori leaned closer, his hand on a remote.
“A-and don’t waste anyone’s time, don’t make them worry about me, and k-keep all m-my emotions hidden, do-don’t show them to anyone or they’ll worry about me.”
“Good, wasting other people’s time on a burden like you is the worst thing they can do. Don’t let people do that.”
Nori sneered, and left the room, slamming the door on the crying child.
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki’s daily routine was simple. He stayed in his room, and sat at his desk, and studied. Every once in awhile father would call him to release some anger, but that wasn’t important to him, not anymore.
What was painfully obvious was the fact that he just… wasn’t good at studies.
He tried his best but… no matter what he did, no matter how much he thought he understood how to do something, once he had to do it on a test, he just couldn't.
Denki hated going to school.
Even after all his hard work, he was still barely getting good enough grades for a shot at U.A.
But the worst part of going to school?
It was the people. Whether it be using him as a portable charger, or as a target for their jokes and pranks, he was always just a tool to make someone else feel better. But worst of all was how they would force him to overuse his quirk.
He hated it.
Each day, each overuse, more pain.
More scars that would never go away.
All for some kids to laugh and call him names.
____________________________________________________________________________
Kaminari lay at the back door, convulsing and twitching, his body aching from fresh bruises as he reeled from the pain.
The only constant was the sting of his shock collar as it sent him into another spasm.
‘People think electricity wouldn’t hurt me.’
He couldn’t hear anything else over the sounds of his own screams.
‘Of course it does, you worthless, useless, unimportant piece of garbage, of course you’re too weak. Resistant enough to survive lethal charges, but not enough to avoid the pain.’
A quiet click was heard, as Nori stopped the collar. He waited for Denki to stop screaming, watching as the boy laid, writhing, tears pouring down his face.
He didn’t feel any pity. He just felt rage.
‘He’s taking too long.’ He thought, stepping closer, before kicking the writhing boy in an attempt to shut him up.
After what felt like an eternity to Denki, with hit after hit slamming into his side, he finally just heard silence, and he couldn’t feel anything anymore. Then he heard his father’s voice.
“I’m going to see Hibiki again. Behave or I'll leave the shock on until you wish you were dead.”
‘I already do Dad, I already do.’
Nori stepped out of the room, leaving his crying son on the doorstep as he headed off to the hospital.
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki peered into the living room, trembling. He was terrified of what he was about to ask but he wanted to know… no, he had to know.
“Father?” Denki asked tentatively, his fingers tapping anxiously on the doorframe.
“Yes? Spit it out, you’re wasting my time.” Nori didn’t look at Denki, instead focusing on his computer.
“I-I’m applying to U.A.” Denki managed to cough out.
“You? Applying!” Nori laughed, the sound sending shivers down Denki’s spine. “You know what? If you get in, I’ll let you go. Those teachers will find out what you've done and you'll never be the hero you want to be.”
Denki has ignored his father’s stinging words and ran off.
He had hope.
Hibiki would get better, and he could keep the promise.
He knew it. Just like he had said, oh so long ago under the tree in the backyard, staring at the starry sky.
‘We’ll be heroes together little brother! I promise!’ Hibiki said.
‘I’ll keep the promise. Just… get better… please.’
Denki shook his head, and went back to his studying. He would do it. He had to.
____________________________________________________________________________
Five years later
Denki found himself in front of the gates to U.A, a genuine smile on his face for the first time since the incident.
He had somehow passed the exam. He knew he did well on the physical portion.
He winced at the memory. It was a strange activity, and he knew he was further scarring and destroying his arms each time he short-circuited a robot, but it was worth it. He would achieve his dreams, even if his father didn’t want him to.
The assault on the robots didn’t hurt too much, especially since he was recalling any electricity he sent out, so it didn’t damage his arms as much as when he normally used his quirk.
He had barely made it into U.A. high’s hero course.
He sighed, staring at the imposing gates.
Maybe things would change?
____________________________________________________________________________
He strode into U.A. with a grin, already chatting away with the other students he could find nearby. He was careful to mask his emotions, pretending to be happy and carefree. He just wanted to make friends, maybe people here would be nicer?
He played with his choker nervously. ‘Feels a little uncomfortable, but it hides the scars from the collar, so it’s okay.’
‘Follow the rules and things will be alright.’
He shook his head, trying to shake his father’s voice out of his head. He had been introducing himself to people and brushed him off. On the other hand, some said hello, a couple even having full conversations with him!
He knew for a fact he wanted to try to befriend all of them. Even… the strange perverted one.
Maybe if he just… pretended to be like that, people wouldn’t just ignore him?
‘Well…’ he pondered ‘I wonder…. I guess bad attention is better than no attention at all, right?’ He paused, subconsciously tilting his head and placing a finger on his chin. ‘This is a difficult decision. If I go through it, I might just be known as a pervert, and just a stereotypical ladies man.’
He groaned, placing his head in his palms. “What to do, what to do…”
He closed his eyes.
‘Cmon phone charger! Get over here!’
‘Hey idiot, wanna go stupid mode again?’ Laughter echoed in the classroom, as the kids in the back snickered and pointed. ‘Oh wait, nothing changes, huh Dunce? You’re an idiot either way!’
Denki slowly raised his face out of his hands. He decided that playing the perverted teen would probably be good, as even though he knew he wouldn’t like it, it would be funny, right? And maybe he’d make friends along the way.
He just wanted to be friends with everyone.
After all… being known as a pervert would be better than before.
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki’s first day as a hero course student was going great.
Until he heard those words.
“The student to come in last place will be expelled.”
He couldn’t believe his ears. He… had to. He couldn’t use his quirk on these tests, and he… no, he couldn’t give up now, he had a promise to keep.
His electricity quirk did not assist him with any of the tests, so he was, for all intents and purposes, completely quirkless. Seeing the strength of the other students, Denki couldn’t help but feel he was in trouble.
The whole test was nothing but despair for him, and he let out an audible sigh of relief when he didn’t come last in the quirk rankings.
____________________________________________________________________________
Hero training with All Might was a dream come true.
Sure, he didn’t have a super cool costume like anyone else, but Nori was adamant on Denki not getting any support items while he still lives in his house.
He could practically hear Nori’s words in his head.
‘Support items are for actual heroes, not murderers playing pretend.’
He got paired up with Jirou, a pretty cool girl with a punk/rockstar style with a cool quirk too.
He managed to keep himself from going all out and overusing his quirk, and was really excited! He was actually training to be a hero, and he and Jirou had managed to win!
Seeing everyone else though… that was discouraging. With such cool ways of using their quirk, Denki couldn't help but feel that he was just… less than all of them.
____________________________________________________________________________
Then the USJ happened.
Denki was practically useless. He couldn’t use his communicator to try to get help, the one item he managed to convince Nori to allow was useless, and… the events of that day, well… it stung.
He remembers being used as a “human stun gun” by Jirou. And while that was… good he guessed, all that mattered was that he was able to help out!
And then he short-circuited. Sure it was to protect his friends and he didn’t regret it, but he was left, trapped inside his own mind. He remembered walking around aimlessly, flashing a thumbs up at his two… friends? No, classmates.
And then the electric user hidden underground showed up and took him hostage.
It was as if things couldn’t get any worse. In addition to being trapped in his mind, his body was being used as a hostage.
When he was saved, he couldn’t help but feel relief, but the words that came after crushed him.
“Geez. Kaminari’s strong, but after one use he becomes more of a liability than help huh.”
He could hear Yaoyorozu’s disapproval, and Jirou’s apology, but he just couldn’t hear the words.
All he could hear was:
‘Useless, weak, liability.’
‘Father is right, you can’t do anything right.’
The voices cut through his frail sense of self-esteem like a swordsman slicing through bamboo.
As he was escorted out of the USJ, he heard more hushed whispers about him.
“Well, good thing he’s safe. Good of you two for taking care of him while he’s defenseless.” Mina said, smiling.
“Dunce face shouldn’t have gone all out, then that damn hostage situation would have never happened in the first place!” Bakugo snarled.
Their words only sunk deeper, and it was if Nori was there instead, not the two classmates he had started to get used to.
‘That's right, you’re no son of mine! You’re defenseless, useless, and probably would die in a second out in the hero world if you didn’t have to waste some hero’s valuable time saving your worthless ass!’ Nori’s words rang in his head.
And if a tear dropped down the side of Denki’s face? Nobody noticed. And even if they did? Nobody would have cared.
____________________________________________________________________________
Then it almost happened.
“Cmon, Kaminari-kun! Let’s get you to Recovery Girl!” Mina’s voice rang out, as she skipped down the hallway.
Denki stopped, and his entire body was filled with dread.
She couldn’t know. No, they couldn’t see.
If he went to Recovery Girl, she would see the scars, the burns.
‘You let a soul know about what I’m doing to you and I’ll make what’ll be left of your life into hell, you got it?’ Nori shouted, the cane in his hand crashing down onto the curled up figure of Denki.
‘P-please! Dad- stop!’
‘A murderer like you is no son of mine!’ Nori shouted, slamming the cane onto Denki’s back, causing a loud cracking noise as the cane broke, sending splinters flying as it split in two on his back.
Denki couldn’t stop from trembling. “N-no, I’m okay, I’m sure!”
Sero tilted his head. “Yo, dude, you okay?”
Kaminari felt the tears welling up in his eyes. “Y-yeah! I’m fine! Totally! I… it was more scary than anything, I just… no injuries!”
Mina looked at him, her eyes narrowing with concern. “Kami, you sure? I’m a little worried!”
Denki wiped his eyes quickly. ‘Weak, stop crying… stop crying!’ “No need to worry!”
“You sure?” Mina asked, stepping closer, her hands on her hips. “It’s okay to ask for help if you’re scared Kami! If you’re afraid of going to doctors or something, we could go with you?”
Denki’s eyes widened. “No! It’s… no, I’ll face that problem later, kay? I’m unharmed, I’ll be fine!”
Sero and Mina watched with concern as their friend rushed down the hallway, running out the gates in a panic.
____________________________________________________________________________
“The sports festival is soon! I’m so pumped! It’s gonna be super amazing!” Kirishima bellowed, beaming. He stood up next to his desk, his arms crossed, right arm laying over his left as he smiled, and Denki could swear the room somehow got brighter.
Mina looked at Denki, a little worried over the events that had happened yesterday, but he looked… normal.
“Yeah! I’m pumped too!” Sero grins, pumping a fist in the air. “My parents are coming to watch, what about you all?”
“Mine are!” Kirishima beamed, “both of em too!”
Bakugo snorted. “Old hag isn’t coming, and neither is my old man, they’re watching on the television.”
“Geez Bakugo! No need to be rude!” Mina interrupted, pouting. “My parents are coming, what about yours, Kami?!” She leaned forwards, folding her arms on Kaminari’s desk, and resting her head on it.
“A-ah… I never really knew my mom… she died when I was young.”
Sero sits up a little in his chair, as Mina placed a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening. Kirishima looked appalled, and Bakugo’s normal mask of indifference shifted into a small frown.
“And my father… he’s busy with work, so he can’t make it.” Denki finished, sighing.
“I’m so sorry about your mom, Kami,” Sero said solemnly.
Denki waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine, I didn’t know her that well, but… yeah. It’s been long enough, but thank you.”
Bakugo leans back, resting his feet on his desk. “At least you’ve got your old man still.”
Denki smiles. “Yeah, at least I do.”
‘Oh, how wrong you really are.’
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki knew he wasn’t going to do well in the sports festival, with the little-to-no control he had over his quirk.
He was expecting to be knocked out in the elimination round, but then Todoroki of all people came up to him.
“I want you on my team.”
Denki grinned. “Yeah! I’m down to help!”
Todoroki huffed. “Don’t get any ideas. Your quirk is why I chose you. Just don’t short circuit.”
Denki keeps the smile on his face, and responds with a quick, “Yeah sure! You won’t regret this!”
Inside, he was burning. He had some hope dangled in front of his face of someone valuing him for who he was, only to have it harshly yanked in front of his face.
But things went well for the most part. He could hear the teams shouting to keep away and that was all because of him.
He felt… powerful. It felt good.
Even if he did short circuit, that time in the box wasn’t that bad.
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki snickered along with Mineta as they watched the aftermath of the prank they had pulled.
Mineta was…. being disgusting about it. He said lots of… things Denki didn’t want to hear, but… this was how people remembered him. He didn’t care if it gave him a bad reputation. He personally didn’t believe any of it, and just did it because he didn’t want to just be known as that one kid who knocks himself out with his own quirk. Anyway, the group, which had started calling itself the Bakusquad, had accepted him as a member. So maybe he could start distancing himself from the perverted stuff?
So after his match, which… he lost, unsurprisingly.
Well, he did look pretty cool doing it, and that 1-B girl, Ibara, was it? She had such an incredible quirk.
He did, however, manage to get his energy back before he was dragged off to Recovery Girl’s office.
That would have raised a lot of questions and Nori definitely wouldn’t have been happy.
He managed to calm himself down from another panic attack.
‘Weak… worthless, can’t even go near a doctor without panicking.’
So back to teasing in the stands.
He felt pretty bad saying what he did, telling Bakugo off for “playing the villain” and had a vile taste in his mouth when he called Ibara and Uraraka “weaker”, and was genuinely glad when Tsu called him out.
He remembered to slip a note to Mina, asking her and the other girls to meet with him, so he could tell them something. He made sure to explicitly say that Mineta isn’t coming.
____________________________________________________________________________
Then the award ceremony came and all thoughts were immediately wiped from his head.
He could hear Midoriya murmuring about Iida but he just… all he felt was nausea.
He stared at Bakugo’s writhing, enraged form. He couldn’t believe it.
His classmate… no, his… friend? Maybe. But, he couldn’t even believe his eyes.
He watched, as the winner of the sports festival was held suspended on the podium. His arms were shackled heavily and he was tied to the with his arms chained to the pole. He watched as Bakugo thrashed around, trying to speak, but couldn’t due to the muzzle placed around his mouth.
He couldn’t imagine what it was like for Katsuki.
For Denki it was a nightmare come true.
He thought that heroes wouldn’t do this, how people were better than this, that not everyone was like Nori.
But he was wrong when he saw All Might himself force Bakugo to accept the medal.
‘This is a sign.’
‘They’re all like this.’
‘If the Symbol of Peace can force a student to accept something they don’t want in front of millions, what's the point?’
‘Symbol of Peace, what garbage. He’s exactly like the rest of them. Don’t fit into their standard, and they’ll force you to.’
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki sat outside the stadium as he waited for the girls to show up.
He fidgeted with the camera in his lap nervously, waiting for them.
Mina peeked her head out carefully and waved.
Denki waved back, tilting his head.
Slowly more girls arrived, some looking at him with confusion, others glaring at him.
“So? Kaminari?” Jirou snapped. “Why did you call us here?”
He flinched a little but looked up at her. “I wanted to apologize… for the prank, and the uniforms.”
Jirou blinked, her head tilting, the ear jack she had extended stopping in midair. “What?”
Yaoyorozu tilted her head. “Well that's good of you, but why? Didn’t you set it up?”
Denki doesn’t make eye contact, instead looking at the camera. “I just didn’t feel right about it. I did it with Mineta because he’s my friend, just like all of you, but I just wanted to apologize.”
Mina smiled, as did a couple of the others. “Thanks Kami! It's a bit strange how you’re still friends with him even if you don’t like some of the things he does, but thank you!”
“I just want to be liked.” He murmured, most of them don’t catch it, but Jirou looked at him, her eyes widening in surprise.
“What's up with the camera!” Hagakure asked, her gloves waving around wildly, pointing.
“Ah… Mineta took a bunch of… gross photos with it.”
Some of them visibly recoil, and Denki sent a burst of electricity up his arm and fried it.
The girls looked relieved and Denki left without another word, a weak smile on his face as he exited.
‘Even if the world as a whole is bad, some good things will happen. That’s what you always said, didn’t you, big brother?’
‘Maybe he’s right. I… shouldn’t give up yet.’
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki couldn’t hold his excitement in.
He got to make his own hero name! It was a dream come true. Jirou’s jab about him being an eternal sidekick kind of stung, but it was fine, since that was his plan anyway. He just wanted to work with his brother once he got better.
“Man… I still haven’t been able to think of anything that’s cool enough!” He cried out.
He felt two taps on his shoulder.
“I’ve got one, how does Jamming Whey sound to you?”
Denki lit up.
“Oh! It's like Hemmingway, who wrote a Farewell to Arms, huh? Real clever!”
‘Huh. She caught onto how I like English writing? Incredible!’
Jirou snorted, before firing back with “No, its cuz you always end up going and frying your brain!”
Denki slumped in his desk, despair washing over him, before he glimpsed the playful grin on her face. He sighed, leaning backward, smiling back, albeit a forced one. “Come on Jirou!”
She rushed off, a smile on her face.
He sighed. ‘That’s just her. She’s teasing, but she doesn’t mean harm.’
He walked up, and declared his name. “Stun Gun hero! Chargebolt!”
For a second, he felt proud. This was something he was sure Hibiki would have been proud of, and he was as well.
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki smiled as he walked into Death Arm’s office with Jirou. The two of them had become closer as friends, and he was glad.
“Cmon Jamming-Whey! Don’t keep me waiting!” She hummed as she skips over to the door.
“Coming!”
Death Arms stood outside, arms crossed.
“So, Earphone Jack and Chargebolt huh?”
They nodded.
“I only wanted Earphone Jack, so she’s gonna be working with me. You, Chargedolt, can go do office work.”
Kaminari slouched over, “I-it’s Chargebolt sir…”
“I damn well know what I said!”
Kaminari slumped further, walking over to an empty desk, where a sidekick walked over and patted him on the back.
Jirou looked back sadly, before being led off.
“Hey, kid. Sorry about Death Arms! You’ll fit right in. We’ll make ya feel safe. After all, you’ll get a lot of experience working here, we’ll let you know what’s going on behind the scenes!” The sidekick said, a clearly forced smile on their face as they tried to comfort Denki.
‘Sure I guess. Should have known this was the best I would have gotten.’
Denki spent the whole time running reports and basically just… being useless. He gained little to no experience, even if the people in the office were nice at first, they started to just pretend he wasn’t there, only talking to him when they had to.
One day, he got the courage up to ask why Death Arms even took him if he didn’t want him in the first place.
“Of course I wouldn’t want a kid who can’t even use his quirk without incapacitating himself?”
Kaminari stares, eyes wide. “I-“
“That's right, now, back to work, I only took you because I don’t want to cause any other heroes any burden with someone as weak as you, and I needed someone else to do some paperwork.”
Death Arms stormed off, Jirou standing behind, her hand clamped over her mouth as she scrambled away, horrified at what she had just heard.
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki smiled at the class, lounging on a desk.
“Yo! Internships were great! Everyone at my internship loved me!”
Jirou watched him out of the corner of her eye, worried how this normally so transparent kid could lie so easily.
She made a note to talk to him sometime, maybe when things settled down. She didn’t want to cause her friend to panic in front of all of their friends.
Kaminari blinked as he heard some people talking about the circulating video of Stain.
‘so cool… I wish I was as confident as he was-‘
“Yo! Have any of you seen that video?” He said excitedly, walking over.
“I didn’t even know there was a video!” Ojiro said quietly.
“Well, he’s almost kind of cool, don’t you think?”
Midoriya looked at him. “Kaminari!”
Iida stared at him blankly, and Kaminari was overcome with guilt.
‘Shoot! His brother was attacked by Stain and apparently he was too, even if he was saved by Endeavor, it must have been a traumatic event! And I just complimented the villain who did it!’
He slapped his face twice, stammering. “Oh... Dude, I’m so sorry-.”
Iida stopped him, chopping his arms in the air, “It's okay, I could see how some people think he is cool, but his way of doing so is really un-herolike, and it is most definitely wrong.”
Kaminari opens his mouth to speak before he slams it shut.
“Sorry… I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
“Kaminari, may I speak to you after class?” Aizawa interrupted, looking at him.
‘Oh… is this about my comment? I’m so sorry I-‘ he took a deep breath.
“Yeah sure.” He replied quietly.
___________________________________________________________________________
After Class
Aizawa sat down in front of Kaminari.
“Sir, if this is about the Stain thing-“
“Shh, its okay Kaminari. I just wanted to ask a question.”
“A-ask away.”
“Why did you say Stain was cool? You don’t have to answer if you don’t have to.”
“I… he had such incredible passion and determination... and I’m just…. me, and I just… I wished I had that kind of passion.”
Aizawa smiled. “Hey, Kaminari. There's a reason you're here ok? Keep your chin up kid. I would have expelled you if you had no potential, and passion is necessary for advancing your potential into greatness.”
Kaminari nodded, and turned to leave.
Aizawa hesitated, before continuing, “Kaminari, maybe try to do something constructive, something you can see the results of, maybe it’ll make you feel better.”
Denki turned over his shoulder, tilting his head.
“I heard your Earnest Hemmingway comment. Maybe you should try writing in English? It’ll improve your scores in the class, and will be a fun thing to do.”
Denki looked at Aizawa, a small smile forming on his face.
“Don’t tell anyone but Hizashi does the same thing. He likes analogies. Maybe you should try?”
Denki nodded and smiled, before running out of the room.
If Aizawa happened to see a couple tears falling down Denki’s face along with the almost glowing smile, he totally didn’t smile along.
‘Totally not.’ He hid his face in his capture scarf.
____________________________________________________________________________
Kaminari spent time cramming for the test, so thankful Yaoyorozu would help him.
He couldn’t wait for the practical! He would do fine!
It was just robots, right?
He’ll be fine, right?
Wrong.
He went against Nezu. And he failed.
He wasn’t going on the trip.
Then Aizawa announced they would all be going, and Denki swore he winked at him, but he could have just been imagining it.
After all, Aizawa was just doing it since it was easier for them all, right?
Definitely.
____________________________________________________________________________
Jirou waited outside the classroom, tapping her hand on her side nervously.
Today would be the day, it totally would. She’ll ask him and she’ll find out why he lied, why he protected Death Arms instead of calling him out for how he treated Denki.
“Hey! Jamming Whey!” She calls out, poking Denki with an ear jack.
He flinched, before turning around. “Hey!
She blinked, before motioning for him to follow her.
Puzzled, he did, before he found himself out in the courtyard, and they sat down, underneath a tree.
They sat there, silent, for a few minutes, before Jirou broke the silence.
“Hey, Kaminari?”
Denki looked over lazily. “Yes, Jirou?”
“Why didn’t you tell them?”
“Tell them what?”
“About… about Death Arms! What he said, how he treated you!”
Denki smiled sadly. “Who would they believe, a single hero student, or a whole agency?”
Jirou looked, appalled, tears welling up in her lavender eyes. “Kaminari! I was there, I heard it! I… you shouldn’t have had to deal with that!”
“It’s okay Jirou, I’m used to it. It’s okay.”
Jirou stared, the tears flowing before she leaned over and hugged him.
“Jirou, what are you-“
“Shh… Be quiet, Jamming Whey.” She murmured. “I heard what you said earlier, on why you’re friends with Mineta.”
Denki went stiff, his eyes widening.
“You… people already like you Kaminari. You have friends now. We’re your friends, you don’t have to do anything.” She continued.
Denki coughed, tears welling up in his eyes.
“Don’t cry… don’t cry Denki.” He murmured, his chest heaving heavily.
“It’s okay to cry, Kaminari.”
Denki felt himself sobbing, wrapping his arms around Jirou.
They stayed like that for a while, before he slowly let go.
“Why?” He croaked, his eyes moist with tears. His voice cracked, hoarse from sobbing.
“Cuz that’s what friends so, Jamming Whey.” She lightly punched him on the shoulder. She stood up, holding out her hand. “C'mon let’s go. You’ll miss the train.”
He smiled, before standing up, grabbing her hand, being pulled up, before wiping away any last tears, waving, and running home.
‘Analogies, huh? Let’s see what I can do.’
____________________________________________________________________________
Kaminari’s Journal, entry 1/5
Jirou is like a song
A melody, intricate and beautiful,
Calm, soothing, yet elegant and forceful,
The song’s mood swells and breaks,
Whether Piano or Forte, its presence is noted
A melody hidden away at times
But when it breaks through its quiet shell,
It is like honey on the ears.
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki found himself enjoying the training camp. The ambush with Pixie-Bob was quite fun, but taxing.
He was thrilled to meet the other Pussycats, until he heard Midoriya’s words.
“Ragdoll’s quirk allows her to see any weak spots on a person, and it's a super cool quirk!”
Denki’s eyes widened, and he quickly hid behind Kirishima.
Denki felt nothing but dread as she gazed at the students, with a grin, her eyes lighting up once she saw Denki, then immediately a look of horror crossed her face.
‘No, this can’t be happening, no, no, no, no! I can’t, not when I’ve gotten this far!’
Denki’s last thread of hope snapped when he saw her whispering to Aizawa, and he nodded, a look of confusion on his face.
____________________________________________________________________________
“Kaminari? Ragdoll would like to speak to you, in private.” Aizawa said, pulling Denki aside from the training group.
“But- my training hasn’t even started yet?”
“She said she wants to confirm a couple of things before giving you her training assignment.”
Denki nodded.
‘It’s all over. She’s gonna expose you, not just your quirk, but about what happens with father.’
____________________________________________________________________________
Ragdoll sat, in her hero costume, in a chair, relaxing.
Denki sat across from her, fidgeting, electricity arcing across his skin, leaving tiny scars as it did, but he was too scared to even try to control it.
“S-so… why did you call me here?”
“Your quirk hurts you.” She replied, making it clear she was speaking a statement, not a fact.
Denki flinched, looking away. “Y-yeah… it does… but please Ms. Ragdoll! I can still be a hero! Please, please don’t tell the others! I’m already weak enough as is!”
Ragdoll leaned forwards, slowly raising her hand, and Denki flinched, shutting his eyes, before he felt a gentle hand placed on his shoulder. “You can call me Shiretoko, Kaminari Denki.”
His eyes snapped open.
‘She didn’t hit me? Wait, how does she know my name? Oh, wait, she must have gotten a portfolio from Aizawa-sensei-‘
“Don’t worry, Kaminari… ugh, that sounds weird, can I call you Denki?”
Denki blinked once, before nodding.
“Denki, I won’t stop you from being a hero.”
“Wh-what? But-“
“Geez, kiddo, you Kaminari’s are so impatient! You’re definitely one of a kind!”
“Us?”
“Yeah!” Ragdoll smiled, bouncing up and down in her chair. “I knew your brother! He and I went to U.A together, he told me so much about you!”
Denki tilted his head. “Wait, so you’re not going to-“
She nods. “Nope! I just wanted to check in with you. I wanted to also clear up how your quirk worked to minimize the pain during training.”
“Ah… it hurts less if I can pull the energy back in after I discharge it.”
“Awesome! Thanks kiddo! I’ll get it set up, you can go now!”
As Denki was leaving, Shirekoto spoke once more. “Hey Denki?”
He turned around, his body halfway out the door frame.
“Promise to tell Hibiki to call me after he gets better? I miss bothering the guy.” She winked, beaming.
Denki smiled back. “Sure thing Miss Shirekoto.”
He left, a smile still on his face.
As soon as he left, Shirekoto’s smile disappeared.
‘He was so hurt… almost all of his body was covered in scars. What… or who did that to him?’
____________________________________________________________________________
The rest of camp went well, until the villains attacked.
He was stuck back in the classroom, as his classmates fought for their lives.
‘It's better that you’re in here. At least you’re not a liability.’
____________________________________________________________________________
Bakugo was taken, and so was Shiretoko.
The villains succeeded in taking them, and Kaminari was worried.
However, he could do nothing but listen as Kirishima and Midoriya talked about their plan to save Bakugo. He wanted to help Bakugo, he really did, but he just… wasn’t….
‘Not strong enough.
Not brave enough.
Weak.
Scared.
Coward.
Useless.’
He curled up in the chair, the tears welling up in his eyes soon overflowed. And Kaminari stayed there, sobbing in the hallway outside the infirmary, praying that they would come back safe and sound.
____________________________________________________________________________
Bakugo was safe. He was okay, and so was Shiretoko, though she was in slightly worse condition.
Everything was okay, everything was fine.
Then Aizawa knocked on the door to Denki’s house.
In a scramble, Nori ripped the shock collar off of his son, slamming Denki against the wall.
“You piece of shit! If you told the heroes anything, I’ll fucking kill you! I’ll rip you limb to limb!” He slapped Kaminari across the face, glaring at his son.
“I haven’t! I swear-” Denki sobbed, his hands limp by his sides.
“Behave then, and go wash off those tears, brat.”
Denki washed his face off in the bathroom as Nori opened the door.
____________________________________________________________________________
Aizawa stepped into the Kaminari household. He didn’t care much for formalities right now. He was tired and he had to do this for seven more students, even if All Might was helping with some of them.
“Hello, my name is Eraserhead, I am your son’s homeroom teacher.”
“Why are you here?” The man, who Aizawa remembered as Kamianri’s father snarled.
‘Right, single father. brother is hospitalized for some reason, and Kaminari. Mother passed away when Kaminari was young, and apparently the father’s quirk is electricity absorption. That’s all the info the file said on them. It’s strange how vague that is, but it’s not important right now.’
“I wanted to ask about potentially moving students to the dorm system.”
“Why?” The man’s fist tightened as he glared.
Aizawa paused. ‘He’s protective, or has some kind of guilty conscience. I won’t pry, that's not why I’m here.’
“Since U.A. has been attacked multiple times, I, as well as the other teachers, have been concerned and have decided that a dorm system will help keep our students safer. It is completely voluntary though.”
Kaminari walked out of the bathroom, rubbing his eyes.
“Oh! Hey Aizawa-sensei!” He smiled as he spoke.
Aizawa waved tiredly at Kaminari before looking back at Nori.
“So, what do you say?”
Nori looked at Kaminari before smiling at Aizawa.
“I think you guys can take good care of Denki. It’ll give me more time to spend with my son, and I trust in U.A’s security!” He bellows.
He reached an arm and smacked Denki on the back playfully.
Aizawa smiled at the gesture before he saw how stiff Kaminari was, and how a momentary look of panic flashed across his face.
Just as he saw it, it was immediately gone, replaced by one of Kaminari’s signature smiles.
“Take care of the brat for me okay? If he gets in too much trouble, send him back and I’ll sort things out. He’s always been a troublemaker.”
Aizawa kept his face calm and nodded, before standing up, bowing, and leaving.
He was sure something was happening to Kaminari. Why did he flinch at his father’s touch? He had faced villains before, hell, he has rushed in headfirst, and he flinched because his own father patted him on the back?
Something was wrong. He knew it.
As much as he wanted to ask Kaminari about it, he wouldn’t. He’d let the kid tell him on his own, pressuring him into it would only cause him to trust him less.
____________________________________________________________________________
Outside of Heights Alliance
Aizawa had just delivered his speech about how he would have expelled all of the students for their risky plan, and lack of the others stopping it.
Denki stood there, stunned, before a voice caught his attention.
“Stupid Sparky! Get over here!” Bakugo murmured, grabbing him and walking behind a bush.
Denki forced a grin and walked over to him.
“What’s up?”
“I need you to overuse your quirk, kay?” Bakugo replied bluntly.
“What?!”
“Look dumbass, your stupid dunce form makes people laugh, and they need that right now.”
Denki frowned for a bit before sighing.
‘None of them are any different.’
“Sure, sure, I’ll be useful.”
Bakugo looked away as Denki shocked himself, the skin on his arms burning and scarring as he released the electricity as fast as possible.
He felt himself trapped, once again, in his mind. He watched himself be dragged out by Bakugo, and he could hear everyone’s laughter.
He hated it.
‘All they do is laugh at me. These people I thought were my friends do nothing for me.’
____________________________________________________________________________
Kaminari’s Journal, entry 2/5
Bakugo’s like Magma.
Lava flowing with brilliant heat.
A rage of energy near-impossible to stop, never tamed.
He follows his own path, burning everything in his way with little care.
Little care, but still some. A different kind than most can handle.
Hard to befriend, but so, so worth it to have him on your side.
If he's not careful, the magma will cool over...
And be an Eruption waiting to happen underneath.
____________________________________________________________________________
Mei Hatsume was kind. She understood Denki at least a little, though not much. She helped him to get a pointer and shooter made, just like Hibiki had suggested so long ago.
They allowed him to control his quirk, shoot it correctly, for the first time.
He felt happy, but it was more like he was going through the motions.
He felt empty.
Maybe the Exam would change that?
____________________________________________________________________________
The license exam went well, Denki passed.
He did face off against that Stain-loving asshole that Bakugo called Meatball.
They were rude, not to him, which he could tolerate, but towards his friends. They didn’t deserve it. They were going to be heroes. They would make this world a better place.
So when he shot him with his quirk, he should have felt happiness, right?
While he did feel a little pride from how he managed to save Kirishima and Bakugo, and how Bakugo had actually trusted him enough to go through with the plan, he still didn’t feel anything.
Why?
Because the finger gun? Redirecting electricity out with that flair?
That was Hibiki's style.
Denki had no right using it, especially after what he had done.
____________________________________________________________________________
Life in the dorms was fine after that. No major incidents, and Denki had hope that maybe things would improve.
He hadn’t had to deal with his father in… almost a month now, and he felt amazing. Not having a shock collar on day to day was… freeing.
He hadn’t hurt himself too bad with his quirk, and he was doing better.
Aizawa-sensei had been… surprisingly nicer to him? Even if he was struggling a lot more in class?
He still hadn’t been caught by Recovery Girl, so things were looking up in that stance.
He would still be a hero. He knew he would. He had to keep his promise.
____________________________________________________________________________
Izuku knew something was… familiar about Kaminari.
He knew that he wasn’t an only child, and his quirk was so familiar, he could have sworn he had seen it before!
He would find out, he knew it.
A new challenge would always be fun, and it was all in good fun, so it wouldn’t bring any harm, right?
Right?
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki sat in the common room, writing another one of his analogies. He was smiling, tapping his pencil on his notebook to the beat of his music.
“Whatcha doing Kami?” Sero asked, leaning over, resting his head on Denki’s shoulder.
“I’m writing!” He replied, taking off his headphones.
“You? Writing? What is it?” Sero scoffed, grinning.
“Hey! It’s just for fun though!”
“Alright! Alright! Answer my question though?”
“Ah- okay! It’s a longer analogy, in English.”
“Analogies? Those things that we learned?”
“Yup!”
Sero leaned back and starts laughing.
“You? Doing English for fun?!!” Sero started coughing, as Denki felt a frown cross his face.
“Hey!”
“It’s so funny! You, who does the worst in the whole class in English, does it for FUN?” Sero wheezed.
Denki’s face fell further, before he replaced it with a smile.
“Yeah! You got me! I was just pranking you! Of course I wouldn’t do stuff like this!” He chuckled.
“Kami, I’m sorry, but I just… oh god that was hilarious!”
“No need to be sorry!”
Denki stood up and left, before the tears welled up in his eyes.
‘Of course they would ridicule you. You can’t even do anything right, why would your stupid attempt at this, the one thing you’re even half-decent at, be good either?!’
____________________________________________________________________________
Izuku walked into the common room, looking at the people around. Iida, Tokoyami, Kacchan, and Kaminari.
He walked over to Kaminari, sitting down.
“Hey, Kaminari, can I ask you some questions?”
“Yeah sure Midoriya! Fire away!”
“Umm… do you have any siblings?”
“Yeah I do!” He said, his mouth curling into a frown for a second.
Izuku, more interested in figuring out whether his hunch was correct, pushed onwards, not noticing the frown.
“Does he also have an electricity quirk, and is he a pro hero?”
“Yeah, and yeah, he’s got an electricity quirk. Electrokinesis. Why?” His voice was blunt, quiet, and Tokoyami looked across the room, concerned.
Izuku bounced up and down on the couch excitedly.
“Your brother’s the Thunderstorm Hero, Shockwave, right? Do you know why he stopped being a hero? What caused it? Must have been horrible!”
____________________________________________________________________________
Everything went numb. It felt like Denki couldn't do anything but stare blankly. Face solidifying, mask shattering, Midoriya's words echoing in his head.
It was his fault.
His fault.
The words danced around, sinking deeper and deeper inside him.
‘Do you know why he stopped being a hero? What caused it ... must have been horrible.’
Not noticing his reaction, Izuku continued. “Like… you’d definitely know, so could you tell me? I’m really curious!”
Denki stood up, the books he was studying falling out of his lap and slamming against the floor. His hands curled up in tight fists, shaking.
“Kaminari-kun?!” Izuku gasped, as Tokoyami looked over, Bakugo still silent, Iida watching nervously.
“Oh, you wanna know? YOU WANNA KNOW WHY?”
Midoriya’s eyes widen. “K-kaminari-kun-“
“SHUT UP!” He screamed, electricity starting to arc across his body, sparking violently.
“Kaminari-kun, apologize at once! Do not be rude to-“
“YOU TOO IIDA! YOU DON’T GET IT!”
His voice cracked as he kept talking.
“So ... let's start from the beginning, huh? If you’re so CURIOUS .”
Izuku curled up into a ball on the couch, whimpering a little. “I’m sorry Kaminari-kun-“
Denki ignored him, continuing. “Hibiki was the best brother I could have ever had! A pro-hero who was already high up in the rankings, training little dumb me with my quirk!”
“He was the reason I want to be a hero! I promised him that we’d get to be the best hero duo out there!”
“He was the one who came up with the idea of showing a thumbs up when I short circuit, so people know I’m okay, so I wasn’t useless anymore!
He trained me, he helped me! He helped manage this quirk that’s slowly destroying my body!” Denki pulled up his sleeve, showing the burnt and scarred skin all over his arm, and the three others there watched, horrified as each arc of electricity left behind another scar.
“He was my everything! With mom dying when I was like… three, him and… father, was all I had! And with father fawning over Hibiki, he was the only person that cared about me, and that was enough!”
“W-was?” Izuku whispered quietly.
“That's right, was!” Kaminari snarls, pacing around the room. “One fateful night, during a thunderstorm, Hibiki wanted to practice, test my limits! And it was too much! I had already absorbed too much electricity, and a lightning bolt hit me!”
“And what did he do?! What did he do when I couldn’t contain the excess power and was burning up from the inside?”
“He…. he pulled it away with his own two hands… and it was too powerful, and it… and…”
“He gave himself up to keep me safe…”
“I couldn’t do…”
I…
“I lost control.” Denki’s solemn voice echoed through the silent room.
“I put the best brother anyone could have had ... into a coma! And he’s been in one for five years! Five! I don’t… I don’t know if he’ll ever be normal again, hell, the doctors have probably given up by now!”
“That's why.” Denki rasped, glaring at Midoriya.
Midoriya sat there, stunned.
“That’s why... That's why Hibiki isn’t a hero! Because I put him… my-my own brother in the hospital!”
Tokoyami stared, beak open. “You… to your own brother?”
Denki shot a death glare at Tokoyami and stomped towards the exit.
Midoriya reached out, and grabs Denki’s arm.
And he felt a burst of electricity run through him.
He screamed, twitching as he fell to the floor.
Iida gasped, before rushing in front of Denki, noting the large scar appearing on his right hand from the transfer.
“Kaminari-kun, you can’t just attack-“
With a well-placed jab to the stomach, Kaminari knocked the breath out of Iida. He stepped past, walking towards his own room, his tears dripping against the floor.
Bakugo sat there, silent, looking at Denki, before following at a distance.
____________________________________________________________________________
Kaminari’s Journal, entry 3/5
Izuku’s like Lightning.
Bright, and pretty.
A sight many are drawn too, can’t help but watch and wonder.
A mind in the sky, traveling faster than the eye can see, that’s always drawn back down to the earth, eventually.
Be wary of Lightning’s Lure. Make sure you’re his friend, not his enemy.
For once you see the Lightning, you know.
The Thunderous fist is soon to follow.
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki sat on the edge of the roof of the teacher’s building.
He swung his feet back and forth.
‘Jump, coward. It’ll be better for everyone.’
He winced as he felt his new scars ache as he swung his arms.
Bakugo stepped out from the door.
“Hey Dumbass.”
‘Dumbass. That's right, that's what I am.’
“Shut up Blasty, leave me alone.” He snapped, not looking,
“Not until you get off that damn edge and back on the roof.”
“Mmmm how bout, nah.”
“Dunce face, get on here.” Bakugo snarled, stepping closer.
“I said no.”
“Don’t do it.”
“Who said I was going to?” Denki said, looking back with a smirk.
“You were lifting yourself off,” Bakugo growled, small explosions popping in his hands.
Denki sighed and stepped back onto the roof.
‘Hibiki is still alive. I’ve gotta keep hope. But I don’t want to see my classmates. I just want to be alone.’
“Don’t try anything Blasty, or I'll shock you.”
“I won’t.”
“I’m going to my room. Leave me alone.”
Bakugo watched as Denki left.
“Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Stupid is as stupid does, Blasty.”
____________________________________________________________________________
The beep of the life support rang out in Hibiki’s almost empty hospital room.
Not that he could really hear it.
It was, however, the most constant thing in Nori’s life.
He felt like he’s spent eons in the hospital.
From spending months in here with his wife, from their children’s birth, to the time he spent waiting, praying for her to get better from that sudden illness that had struck.
And now, because of him, because of that worthless, useless brat of his, his son was now in the hospital.
It had been years now, but Nori wouldn’t give up.
He didn’t care that Hibiki wasn’t probably waking up, that the doctors kept egging him to just pull the plug, and let him rest in peace.
He wouldn’t let another of his loved ones go.
And if he had to? He’d make Denki’s life even worse for what he did.
Nori sat there, lost in thought, before he heard a raspy cough.
He sighed, placing a hand on Hibiki’s frail one.
“It’ll be okay son, it’ll be okay.”
He stared at the wall, not expecting any response, knowing that he was just trying to reassure himself.
He heard the heart rate monitor beep a little louder, faster, and he looked at the bed in a panic.
Hibiki’s tired, half-lidded eyes stared back at him, his golden eyes glinting with happiness as he opened them for the first time in almost five years.
“Good…. morning Dad.”
Nori’s eyes welled up with tears, his face splitting into a grin.
“It’s evening, Hibiki.” He responded with a grin.
“What a shame…. guess I overslept..”
Nori chuckled, overjoyed. He doesn’t let go of his son’s hand. Even as the nurses rush in, checking vitals and doing tests, Nori wouldn’t let go.
However, he had a letter to write. He considered being straightforward, but after all the agony Denki had put him through, even though he had made his life hell, a little vagueness in the letter was well deserved.
He chuckled.
‘Well, we’ll see what happens.’
“Where… where’s Denki?” Hibiki asked quietly, his throat sore.
“He’s at U.A. now. He’s training to be a hero.”
“Can we go see him?”
“Of course son.”
‘I suppose now that Hibiki is better, I have no need to further the punishment, this letter will be the last. I’ll just wait until Hibiki is strong enough to leave before I send it.’
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki locked himself in his room, refusing to leave other than for class. He didn’t deserve to.
He wrote still, but it was mostly gibberish. He couldn’t concentrate.
His classmates had told each other, he heard the gossip in the halls. He heard how Kaminari Denki, the electric idiot in class 1-A was a criminal, a child who put a hero in a coma, some even calling him a murderer.
He hated leaving his room, where he was safe. He still went to class, but didn’t talk to anyone, only answering when he was called by a teacher.
Aizawa had called him aside multiple times, but Denki didn’t care anymore. He had avoided meetings with Hound Dog, with Thirteen, or any hero Aizawa had tried to get to talk to him.
“Kaminari, could I talk to you after class?” He murmured as Denki walked through the door.
Denki looked at him with his cold, tired eyes, his eyebags matching the teacher’s own.
“Sure.”
Class resumed as usual, however Midoriya had lost his usual glee. He was able to keep it up until he saw Denki, and then all he could feel was guilt.
‘I should have just kept quiet.’
____________________________________________________________________________
“Kaminari, you know you can tell me anything, right?” Aizawa murmured softly, standing in front of Kaminari’s desk.
“I don’t want to. It’s nothing against you, but I can’t talk about it.”
“Is it about your family?”
Denki looked away, refusing to make eye contact.
“Or is it about the rumors.”
Kaminari nodded. “Both.”
“Kaminari, I know you’re not a villain. You’re just as much of a hero hopeful as any of the others, and you’ll do great things.”
“Will I?”
“Yes, I know you will.”
Denki sighed, placing a hand on his head, leaning forward on his desk.
“I don’t know Aizawa-sensei. Everyone else doesn’t believe it. I mean, how can you believe in someone who doesn’t believe in themself?”
“I’m sorry that you don’t believe in yourself, but people do. I’ll have a talk with the other teachers about how the others are treating you, it isn’t fair at all.”
Denki nodded and stood up, leaving.
“You heard the story. I don’t know what you see in me. The way they’re treating me is fine.”
“Kaminari-kun, It’s not fine, those rumors-”
“They’re not rumors Aizawa-sensei. You’re teaching a criminal.”
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki had returned to the roof. It had been a few weeks, and he had avoided everyone, even Aizawa. He didn’t talk at all anymore. He didn’t care. He deserved this.
“I could do it, right now.” He murmured.
Denki stared at the night sky, his golden eyes shining with wonder as he watched the sun fade behind the horizon. His eyes traced the trail a plane had left above, before his eyes locked on the clouds, seeing the previously white shapes colored shades of lavender, crimson, and gold, flitting across the sky in small waves as the light of day slowly gave way to the dark, starry night sky.
He stayed still, mumbling to himself.
“Whatcha doing?” A voice called out from behind him.
“Just watching the stars,” Denki replied tiredly.
“On the edge of the roof? That's dangerous.”
Denki chuckled. “But it’s got the best view.”
The other voice, male, from what he could discern, laughed with him. The sound was comforting, it reminded him of the times when he, Mina, Sero, Jirou, and the others had hung out, the quiet sound of laughter lifting his spirits.
“Can I join you?”
“Sure. Company’s always nice.”
The boy sat down next to him, a mischievous grin on his face.
Denki took in his hyper, yet dulled eyes, the lavender inside flickering with humor. The eyebags underneath only enhanced it. The crazy mass of purple hair shifting with the wind.
“Shinsou, was it? Class 1-C, you had a brainwashing quirk huh?”
Shinsou flinched, looking away.
“W-what about it?!”
“I think it's cool.” Denki continued, smiling tiredly.
Shinsou’s brow furrowed, and he blinked a couple times.
‘This is the kid that people call a villain? Kaminari? I was expecting him to be an overconfident asshole like that Bakugo fellow.’
“Brainwashing? Totally a cool quirk. You could be such a badass hero.”
“There aren’t any spots in the hero course even if, huh?”
“Guess you’ll just have to wait. I believe in you though, I’m sure the moment a spot opens, you’ll snatch it.”
‘You can take mine.’
Shinsou smiled, before looking back up at the stars.
“You’re kind, Kaminari. What they say about you is wrong.”
“It’s not wrong at all Shinsou. You’re nice to say that, but you’re wrong.”
Denki stood up, smiling. “They’re all right. But don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”
Shinsou watched as the blonde walked away. He stayed at the edge, confused.
“Good luck on that spot, one will be opening up soon, best start training.”
“What? Kaminari, what do you- ah. He left.”
____________________________________________________________________________
Kaminari’s Journal, entry 4/5
Shinsou’s like a shadow.
Quiet, always there in darkness or in light.
Easy to ignore, but once you’ve seen him, you can’t forget him.
The Shadow of a thought inside your Mind, a silent sound you can’t remove.
Many pay him no dues, walk right past. Some even see him and are frightened away from his potential.
But given attention he will flourish into a powerful friend.
Watch your back.
Because when you’re looking directly into the sun…
The Shadow’s cast behind you.
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki sat in his room, staring blankly at the notebook in front of him, staring at the analogy in front of him.
He sighed, lying on his bed, rubbing his tired eyes.
‘Stupid kid, writing trashy analogies in a language you suck at.’
He couldn’t sleep anymore, he was doing better, but the nightmares had come back, and his quirk was hurting, since he wasn’t able to discharge as much of it as before.
People were afraid of him, and he knew it. He couldn’t control his electricity and sparked every one in a while, and people nearby would always flinch. Even if it was one of his “friends”, they would. The only people who wouldn’t was Aizawa-sensei, Jirou, who just looked more worried than anything, and Shinsou.
The kid was nice, and always stopped to chat whenever they met. Denki had already given him, Bakugo, and Midoriya, their poems, received with varying degrees of approval. Midoriya looked excited, when he found it on his desk, asking around for who had written it.
Bakugo knew immediately, looking at Denki, nodding, a faint smile on his face, before he looked away, muttering about “Even dumbasses can be useful sometimes.”
Jirou grinned, giving Denki a quick hug, and a very excitable thank you.
Shinsou was pretty happy as well, beaming, thanking Denki a couple times.
Why could he create such meaningful messages for them, but not for himself?
He felt a tear run down his face as it landed on the paper.
‘Its because it's true. You’re broken.’
____________________________________________________________________________
Kaminari’s Journal, entry 5/5
I am a shattered mask
A frown hidden under a fake smile
Tears and sobs hidden under laughter and jokes
To hide the truth from everyone, I am worn,
But my task has failed, the load has grown too much.
I am broken, shattered, useless.
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki sat in his room, the door locked, as he played some game on his computer.
What game was it? He didn’t care. He just wanted a distraction. Everyone else had been so annoying, pestering him, pretending to care about him, and spreading more rumors.
He scratched at his arm absentmindedly as he sipped some water, tracing the scars criss crossing his arms.
He heard knocking on the door.
‘Who could it be, this early in the day?’
“Leave me alone!” He shouted, continuing to trace the scar.
“Kaminari, it’s me.” Aizawa’s tired voice rang out.
“What do you want, Eraserhead?”
Aizawa sighed. “I don’t need anything, just, your father sent you a letter.” He winced at the last words, knowing something was going on between Denki and his father.
‘I wish I could ask, but with him already being so withdrawn, asking now would just make it all worse.’
Denki was silent, and Aizawa slid the paper under the door.
Denki waited, staring at the letter, and debated what he should do.
He picked up the letter, opened it, and read it.
Hello Denki,
I am writing this letter from the hospital to tell you that Hibiki isn’t here anymore. There’s no reason for me to visit him anymore. They unplugged his life support. I wanted to let you know. I’ll see you later today, and we’ll have a talk over what happened and things will be better. I’m also unsure how to feel about what happened, especially since he’s been in a coma for so long and now it’s just done. I’ll see you later.
Your Father,
Kaminari Nori.
Denki dropped the letter with trembling hands.
‘No…. no way.’
He placed his head in his hands, tearing up.
‘Hibiki is… dead?’
He pulled back a fist and slammed his hand into his desk, ignoring the pain.
‘This is your fault.’
‘He’s dead because of you.’
‘You couldn’t control yourself and he ended up in a coma.’
He slammed his fist into the table again, sending pens flying.
Through tear-filled eyes, he looked at the pens on the floor.
He had decided.
He would write a letter.
One single poem, one last time.
____________________________________________________________________________
The day was quiet, and Denki wasn't in class that day.
People were nervous, since he wasn’t just late, but was nowhere to be seen.
After class, Class 1-A split up to go find him, while Aizawa sat in the common room, keeping some of the more worried members of class 1-A calm.
“Guys? I… found something.” Sero’s quiet voice cut through the room.
“What is it?” Mina asked, running up to him.
“It's a letter…” he whispered, holding up an envelope. “It’s addressed to all of us.”
The class was confused, with murmurs and questions flying about.
“It’s… from Kaminari.” He added, “if… that isn’t obvious.”
“Open it already Soy Sauce!” Bakugo snarled.
Upon opening it, Sero paused. “Uh… it’s a poem… written in English. Momo… would you please read it?”
“Oh- of course!” Momo walks over, gently opens the letter, then begins reading.
“It… it’s titled… Goodbye.”
Many more murmurs echo throughout the room as Aizawa sat in the corner, on the phone with Nezu, trying to find where Kaminari was.
“SHUT UP! WE BETTER READ THIS LETTER SO WE CAN FIND DUNCE FACE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE DAMMIT!” Bakugo roared, slamming his fist on the table.
Momo cleared her throat and began to read.
I've written this today to tell you a tale
Of one broken boy, so hopeless, so frail
He was full of hope, of cheer, so merry
A hero for a brother, his support he did carry
Until one day, when he made a fatal mistake
His brothers life, did the boy take
Stuck in a coma, with loved ones near
The younger had ended his brother’s career
The younger was broken, distraught with sadness
But furious and vengeful, his father descended into madness
The harm he received, was delivered by many
From parents, from peers, from classmates plenty
He made it to his dream, to be a hero
But to all, he was still just seen as a zero
He was belittled and joked at, for his useless state
So he wore a mask, hiding his self-hate
Earlier today, he was filled with dread,
He had heard Kaminari Hibiki, was dead
The final thread had snapped
And Kaminari’s last hope was sapped
So from the roof, I will fall,
Goodbye, I hope life gets better for you all.
Yaoyorozu finished the last word, the paper slipping out of her hands. Her hands trembled as she did, her eyes wide, her face pale from shock.
The room was filled with stunned silence before Aizawa got up and bolted up the stairs, shouting into his phone.
Bakugo started sprinting towards the hallway, towards the opposite building, and Midoriya followed him, while the rest of the class was still paralyzed, not able to believe what they had just heard.
“No…” Uraraka trembled as tears run down her face. “No, it can’t be…”
“It can’t be….” Sero mumbled. “and with a poem no less-“
As they stood there, crying or shocked into silence, Aizawa screamed for someone, anyone to go find Kaminari now.
____________________________________________________________________________
Denki sat on the edge of the roof for the third time.
He didn’t know why he didn’t jump, and he wiped away the few stray tears on his face, before standing up.
He closed his eyes and prepared himself, before he heard the roof door slam open.
“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING DUNCE FACE!” Bakugo screamed, explosions popping on his hands as he steps closer.
“Stay back, or I'll jump!” Denki shrieked.
“GODDAMN YOU! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’RE DOING?”
Denki smiled at Bakugo. “Of course I do.”
“U-um… what are you doing, Kaminari-Kun? I don’t think this is a good idea.”
Denki grinned. “A good idea? No, this is the best idea I’ve ever had.”
Bakugo kept quiet, fuming as his explosions went off in his palms, as Midoriya talked.
“Kaminari-kun, you must have something to live for, family, your friends, anything!”
Denki scoffed, his fake smile shattering, replaced by an ugly sneer. “Family? My only family is dead, killed by my own hand. Hibiki is dead! I got the letter this morning! And my father isn’t even close to family to me.”
He ripped off his hoodie, showing his bare arms and pulled off his choker.
Midoriya and Bakugo both looked appalled at the sheer number of scars all across Denki’s body, several lines where a knife had been trailed, places where bruises had never healed, the rough skin where Nori’s stick had beaten Denki. His neck was covered in electrical burns.
“My father did most of this to me.” He traces a line along his neck. “These burns? These cuts? These bruises? Cuz of him. Shock collar, knife, cane, all for me!”
Midoriya gasped, stepping forward, his eyes filled with tears. “B-but, what about the other scars? And… and we still care Kaminari-kun! We’re your friends?”
“The others were caused by me, by the Dumbass himself. Lichtenberg scars! My own quirk hurts me!” He smirked again, tilting his head. “Of course it does, doesn’t it? Weak boy, weak quirk!”
Midoriya started to try to interject, before Denki cut him off.
“You give yourself too much credit, Midoriya.” Denki spit the last word out, glaring.
“You all aren’t my friends. You pushed past my boundaries, and all called me a villain or ignored me. You all lowered my guard and pretended our friendship was something, and the moment you found out, you treated me like the trash I am.”
He smiled sadly. “I guess it's fair, I am just getting what I deserve.”
Bakugo frowned. “Oi dumbass, people care about you! Stop making us worry and get your ass down from there!”
Denki smiled. “I’m already violating the rules.” He stopped, making finger quotes. “Don’t waste people’s valuable time by having them waste it on worrying about you.”
“Get down here! Dunce face, stop with this whole no friends bullshit, you have people who like you for who you are!”
“Like me for who I am? No, you just like me for my quirk! You just like it when I fry my brain and can’t do anything!”
“Kaminari-kun! That’s not-“
“Oh, but it is! I’ve seen it, I’ve heard it! You all use me as a portable phone charger, and when I short circuit, you all make fun of me! I can see all of it you know? Feel all of it, while I’m trapped in my own mind, unable to do anything!”
Midoriya steps back, the tears in his eyes flowing over, and Bakugo steps forward.
“You dumbass! We care about you more than your quirk!”
“Shut up, hypocrite! What was it that you said… oh yeah! ‘look, dumbass, your stupid dunce form makes people laugh and we need that right now?’”
Bakugo snarled. “Shut up!”
Denki smiled sadly. “Of course.”
“Goodbye you two. Tell the others I'll miss them. Oh, and tell Aizawa-Sensei to give Shinsou my spot in the hero course, yeah? He deserves it way more than I ever did.”
Midoriya screamed, lunging forwards, and Bakugo launched himself forwards with a roar.
Denki waved. “You’ll all be such amazing heroes. I’m so glad I got to meet you.”
He pushed himself backward, and fell.
He saw Midoriya and Bakugo’s outstretched hands, but they were too slow.
He felt the electricity crackle through his body as he fell, and closed his eyes. He spun until he was facing the ground.
‘If I land ribs first, at this height, I will certainly die.’
Everything was alright, until he heard a hoarse, but familiar scream, and felt the electricity surrounding him being pulled away.
His eyes snapped open, and he saw two people on the floor.
One was a burly figure Denki immediately recognized as Nori, his own father, and he was pushing another in a wheelchair, but now stood there, terrified.
The other was a man in a wheelchair, and had pitch-black hair tied back in a long ponytail. He held his arms out, and he looked to be concentrating. The electricity arcing away from Denki was flowing towards him, which meant, it… had to be-
“Hibiki?” He murmured, his voice quiet, lost in the wind.
“DENKI!” Hibiki screamed, reaching out, trying to somehow slow his brother’s fall.
‘He’s alive? How is he alive? Nori said he was-‘
‘Nori lied.’
‘Okay, minimize points of contact.’ He flipped himself over, positioning himself with his chest up, his legs bent, and his arms downwards.
‘Okay, so points are your hands and legs you gotta land on the grass-‘
Denki’s thoughts were cut short when he slammed into the hard ground.
He felt his legs shatter underneath him, and then his arms as he slowed his impact as much as possible, but it was too late, and then his lower back hit the ground with a sickening crack.
He faintly saw Hibiki roll over to him, and he saw a pool of blood slowly staining the dirt around him.
Hibiki’s face was wet with tears, but all Denki cared about was that he was here. He reached out for Hibiki’s hand, and Hibiki grabbed on. Denki ignored the pain searing through his broken hand, holding Hibiki’s as tightly as he could.
“Hi…. bi… ki….” Denki rasped, his voice hoarse from screaming.
“Yes, yes Denki, it’s me, I’m alive, I’m okay! Your big brother is okay!” Hibiki gasped, his breaths quick and shallow.
“I’m…. sorry…” Denki choked out, coughing up blood.
“No, no Denki, please stay with me. You’re strong! Cmon, you’re gonna be okay, dad’s calling an ambulance right now-“
“Couldn’t… keep… our promise.”
“That's okay! That's okay!” Hibiki shrieked, grabbing Denki’s hand with both hands. “You’ll be okay! We’ll be ok!”
His head fell forwards, and his vision became blurry, shifting and slowly getting darker.
Aizawa stepped out from one of the dorms, and his eyes widened with shock as he took in the scene.
“Hibiki, you’re out from the hospital- KAMINARI?” He screamed, his normally calm exterior shattering as he saw his student laying in a pool of his own blood.
“I’m going to get Chiyo now, she’ll probably be able to stabilize him!” He shouted, sprinting towards the office.
“Please… please save him,” Hibiki sobbed, clutching Denki’s hand.
Denki could hear the faint sound of sirens as Aizawa ran inside.
He raised his head weakly, struggling from the effort, looking at his brother one last time.
Denki smiled, ignoring the pool of blood slowly growing around his body.
“I made… a promise… Shiretoko… said you…. call her…. once you get better…”
“Of course little brother, of course, you’re keeping your promises, that’s so like you.” Hibiki tried to smile, but he found he couldn’t.
Kaminari’s head hit the floor.
“Big… brother?”
He felt tired…
“Yes? Yes Denki? I’m listening!”
“So… tired….” Denki rasped.
“A-after this, I’ll finish PT and I’ll be okay, and you’ll recover, and we’ll keep the promise, and we’ll be heroes! Together, like we promised!”
‘Maybe, a short nap… wouldn’t be that bad.’
“To…. ge… ther…”
He felt his eyelids drooping and closed his eyes.
“Denki? Denki!”
Everything went black.
“Denki, please, stay with me! Help is coming!”
And then there was silence.