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In retrospect, Hitoshi should have anticipated exactly something like this would happen.Even slow days were no longer a guarantee in a world where the majority of the population had superpowers. Today he was supposed to give a talk at Hidamari kindergarten; a harmless excursion where the biggest threats in the building were hyperactive children asking an infinite slew of questions he wasn't quite sure he knew the answer to. Fortunately, his coworker and former classmate had been tasked to join him, since Chargebolt practically flourished in tedious social situations.Chargebolt, who was presently knelt down beside Hitoshi, his arguably impractical hero costume coated in a fine layer of debris and powdered cement. Kaminari smiled at him reassuringly despite the calamity taking place around them, even if it inadvertently came off looking closer to a grimace. “Hey Shinsou, how you holdin' up? Have your ears stopped ringing?”Hitoshi blinked, wondering when he stopped noticing it. He nodded and Kaminari's smile widened in response, “Great! Alright, so the good news is that no one got hurt. Although, if you ask me, the kiddos here are probably happier knowing they get a few days off school now.” He tilted his head towards the smouldering building nearby. “It's gonna take a while for them to restore the place, so I was thinking maybe we can end the day on a high note by taking them all out for ice cream. What do ya think?”Hitoshi blinked again, dazed. Only Kaminari could reframe a botched villain attack as a positive; frankly, Hitoshi would rather go back to his apartment and watch his new kitten sleeping soundly (Hachi was remarkably fond of naps, and the irony wasn't lost on Hitoshi or anyone who came by to visit) but he always found it impossible to ever say no to Kaminari. “Alright.” He conceded with no resistence whatsoever.It wasn't a coincidence Kaminari's also Hitoshi's most frequent (often uninvited) guest, or that he helped pick out Hachi in the first place:
“Check it out, Shinsou! This one's like your polar opposite!” Kaminari jested good-naturedly as he snuggled the snoozing yellow kitten in his arms. “He's totally my cat doppelganger!”
Hitoshi quirked an eyebrow. “Doppelganger?”
Kaminari beamed, “Yeah! Isn't he just the cutest?! Come on, you know he's the one you want!”
“Placebo! Chargebolt!” the kindergarten teacher, Nishijou Kanae, rushed over in a panic. “Please help! One of my students is missing!”Hitoshi frowned. “What's their name?”“Jiki Kyokusei,” Nishijou sniffled, her eyes watering. “He's got a magnetism-type Quirk, maybe he's trapped somewhere and can't get out!”
“So why do you wanna be a hero, Shinsou?” Kaminari asked on the day of their graduation ceremony, unkempt blond hair partially eclipsing the early evening sun.
Hitoshi shrugged, “You can't help what you want, I guess.” It was the same noncommittal answer he gave Midoriya nearly three years ago, and hopefully it was enough to sate Kaminari's apparent newfound curiosity. “What about you?”
“Obviously 'cause a super cool guy like me needs to be seen in action!” Kaminari struck a pose, exaggeratedly flexing his arms before reverting to his characteristic finger-guns. His eyes were teasing and warmer than the sunlight caught on his features, luminous and youthful yet driven. “I'm going to miss all this, you know? It seemed to last forever but…” those amber irises sought the campus they used to consider their second home, his expression surprisingly wistful and yearning, “they really were the best years of our lives, weren't they?”
Hitoshi could only stare, dumbstruck. So even Kaminari could make a face like that.
Somehow, his chest felt warm. That feeling gradually faded with time and distance, occasionally returning full-force when he remembered the tranquil shine in Kaminari's eyes.
Hitoshi glimpsed at the blond beside him, taken aback to see Kaminari’s normally placid expression shift into something more serious. Determined.
Why did I always underestimate that side of him?
“Shinsou,” Kaminari turned to face him, not bothering with the formality of pseudonyms. “I’m going back in there. Stay here with Nishijou and the other kids, they need at least one of us here in case something else happens.”“Are you sure about this?” Hitoshi looked his coworker over, spotting the small tears and scuffs in the costume he never thought to upgrade since graduating U.A.—Kaminari was svelte and swift, granted, but he also lacked any equipment he could readily use to prevent further damage.And yet Kaminari just beamed back at him, bright golden eyes resolved and undeterred, inadvertently jolting Hitoshi’s mind back to that day.
Why do you want to be a hero?
“I know I'm not a devastating force of nature like Todoroki or Bakugou, and I don't plan things a million steps ahead like Midoriya, but—” Kaminari winced, steadying himself to his feet, “—I'm fast and agile, and I know I can do this. There's always stragglers left behind in times like these, people who the big guys wind up missing in the chaos, and I—” he straightened his posture and met Hitoshi's gaze with a confident grin, “—I'm going to be their hero.”Hitoshi stared at him for a moment that seemed to last forever, although realistically it was only a few seconds. “When did you suddenly become so reliable?” he scoffed, faintly amused.“I took a class!” Kaminari proclaimed a little too boastfully, pointing his thumb to his chest for emphasis. “And I also might have a mild concussion—oof.” He sheepishly smiled and gingerly rubbed the side of his head, and Hitoshi caught a glimpse of blood smeared on the tips of his fingers.“Wait, Kaminari—” his protests were ultimately in vain as Kaminari had already started sprinting directly towards the building. Hitoshi's eyes lingered on the blond's retreating back, “Those foolhardy idiots who leap into danger without a care in the world… guys that charge in like a bolt of lightning and invade your personal space with a stupidly bright smile…” he muttered to himself quietly, “… I'll become the kind of hero who rescues the ones that recklessly risk their lives saving everyone else.”There was a buzz of static near Hitoshi's left ear. “Aww,” a familiar, albeit distorted voice crackled from the artificial vocal chords. “That's beautiful, dude. I'm touched!”Hitoshi's eyes slightly widened in mild horror at his own equipment suddenly talking to him. “How the hell are you doing that?”“Remember what you said about electrical signals affecting your Quirk?” Hitoshi remained silent, waiting for Kaminari to elaborate. “Well, turns out it's just certain signals. Think of it like the difference between infrared and ultraviolet. If megaphones are in the infrared spectrum, your gear's somewhere in the ultraviolet range. Lame pun only kinda intended.”Hitoshi paused, mulling the new information over, “… How exactly did you keep failing your exams when we were in U.A.?”“'Cause studying's super boring, dude!” Hitoshi wondered why he even asked. “Anyway, what was I saying again? Oh yeah. It's probably better if you stay outside in case the kid decides to book it out the window or something, that way you're in the right place to show off those killer people-catching skills!”Hitoshi hummed, only half-listening. Odd as the circumstances were, being able to hear Kaminari's voice at this moment in time was unexpectedly comforting—ironic, in a way, since the blond never quite mastered the art of learning when to shut up once in a while. “Right. Well, keep me updated in any case.”“Roger!”Hitoshi was left to simply stand around and wait. His fists clenched and loosened again subconsciously, restless and finding it difficult to concentrate on anything other than the fact Kaminari was still inside a partially destroyed building looking for a child who may or may not be trapped under some rubble or unconscious and in desperate need of medical attention.“Where have you been?! We were so worried about you!”Hitoshi’s head whipped around in the direction of the noise. A young boy sullenly stood next to a near-sobbing Nishijou while the other children took turns fussing over their classmate. Jiki Kyokusei pouted and shuffled uncomfortably at the attention, looking eerily similar to Bakugou. “I was in the bathroom and used my Quirk to slide down the fire escape when I didn’t find anyone upstairs.”“I’m just so glad you’re alright!” Nishijou wailed and grabbed the boy into a tight embrace, much to his embarrassment.“A-Auntie!” he protested, trying to wriggle out of her hold.“Hey Kaminari,” Hitoshi spoke into his device that said menace transformed into a communication system. “The kid’s here with the others, seems he’s unharmed and happy enough, all things considered,” he tried not to snicker at the sight of Jiki flailing his arms uselessly in an attempt to escape.“Seriously? Awesome! Alright, I’m on my way out now. It’s way more cramped and smokey than I’d normally like here anyway, if you know what I—”The connection abruptly cut short and Hitoshi simultaneously stopped breathing.“Kaminari?”No answer.“Kaminari. Can you hear me?” Hitoshi repeated, trying to remain calm despite his heart leaping into his throat, cutting off his air supply, pulse loudly pounding inside his eardrums. Kaminari was fine, right? He’s been in worse situations than this and he managed to get out with barely even a scratch. It was stupid to worry.Right?“… Kaminari?” he tried one more time, dread weighing heavily in his abdomen like hot coals. Hitoshi swallowed hard, forcing his ridiculous overreacting heart down into his chest where it belonged, taking in slow and controlled huffs of air to force oxygen back into his brain.… What if Kaminari wasn’t fine?Hitoshi felt a cold chill overtaking him at the thought. It wasn't just unthinkable, it was outright impossible. Kaminari wouldn't vanish so easily, because a world without Kaminari wasn't even fathomable. If Kaminari wasn't there anymore—Time screeched to a halt. Everything lost its coherency, its vibrancy, its lustre, everything that meant anything was lost to the void.Maybe there’s still time—if Hitoshi ran as fast as he could, maybe there’s a chance Kaminari might be—Kaminari had to be—Inside his artificial vocal chords, there was a sound. Tiny, quiet and distorted, yet undeniably recognisable all the same.“—damn wires—what the hell?—ah man, now I’m gonna reek of smoked chocolate for days—”Time started moving again.Hitoshi smiled in palpable relief before he could stop himself. “What are you wasting time for? Get back here already, Denki!”His answer was a dazzling flash that took his breath away and left afterimages in his retinas, followed by the disconcerting sound of glass shattering. Kaminari swiftly crashed through the second-floor window with the subtlety of a thunderstorm; loud and haphazard, proudly showing off that impossibly bright smile as he illuminated the world in his wake. Sparks of discharged electricity flickered over his disheveled form, reflecting off the surrounding shards like stars in a clear night sky.He always knew how to leave a lasting impression.“Reach for the skies!” Kaminari called out in the most stereotypical American accent Hitoshi's ever heard, unfettered by the fact he definitely wasn't flying. His still-sparking hands were outstretched, fingers fanned out expectantly, mouth curled up in his trademark grin despite literally falling from a height which could easily break a few bones on impact.He also knew the absolute worst things to say in any given situation.
“You've got the face of a popular guy. I bet you're popular with the ladies, yeah? Trust me, I can tell.”
Then again, wasn't that exactly the reason why everyone found him so frustratingly likable?Isn't it specifically why Hitoshi requested to work in the same agency as Kaminari when they graduated U.A.? He could have taken any of the offers he received in his second year since transferring into the Hero course, except Kaminari had his heart set on working alongside Edgeshot “because the dude's like a ninja and aren't ninjas just so freaking awesome, dude?!”Hitoshi remembered that weird yet pleasant ache in his chest when Kaminari's smile was directed at him; how he used to wonder if the palpitations were a normal side-effect of inexplicably befriending the personification of starlight. No matter what disappointments they all faced together as a class, Kaminari was one of the few people who refused to back down. His almost naive optimism could rival Midoriya, except without the rambling and phases of awkward shyness the latter was frequently known for.No one else could really compare. No one tried as hard as Kaminari to make everyone feel included; in the span of a five minute conversation, anyone who spoke to him instantly became the most important person on the planet.At least, that's how he made Hitoshi feel back then.
“I know you said you weren't interested in making friends and all that, but I like you, dude. You're a proper hero-hopeful, just like the rest of us.”
Hitoshi lazily smirked with a dry chuckle, “Some things never change, I guess.”On instinct, Hitoshi harshly yanked at the capturing weapon around his shoulders and waited for the right moment. In a heartbeat, he hurled it towards the rapidly descending blond, successfully snaring him by the midsection. Kaminari laughed as he was hauled down, completely oblivious that he very nearly gave Hitoshi a heart attack less than a minute ago. Hitoshi frowned at his friend in disapproval once Kaminari was hovering at eye level, or at very least tried his utmost to look irritated before a begrudging smile was inevitably coaxed out of him.Denki always managed to get him to smile, even when no one else previously could.“You called my name.” Denki commented innocently.“What else would I call you? More importantly, how long were you planning to keep me waiting?” Hitoshi scowled, trying and failing to ignore the increasingly limited space between them.“Just long enough to make you miss me.” Denki teased with a coy wink.There he was; bold and loud and far too bright, messy hair and wide eyes sparkling and gold in the early evening sky, not even the smoke and dirt could make him any less breath-taking. He’s repeatedly charged into certain danger without even a moment’s hesitation, and that wholehearted tenacity was the exact reason why Kaminari Denki steadily became the centre of one person’s universe.So maybe it was about time Hitoshi followed his lead and finally took that leap of faith.“Mission accomplished, then.” Hitoshi murmured against Denki’s mouth and closed his eyes; his heart tentatively fluttered at the fleeting moment of contact, then soared when Denki’s lips enthusiastically captured his own.He tasted a little like popping candy with a hint of singed electronics.