Chapter Text
A face empty of every feature but a grin, pearlescent teeth between lipstick cherry red lips, turned toward him. He felt warm fuzzies wash over him as he felt his own smile creep up. Though without a face, she was beautiful. Long black hair cascaded down her shoulders covering her bare chest and arms outstretched as she walked towards him. “Denki, baby, I love you.” The words come out from several fuzzy, robotic voices, but heat spreads throughout his body anyways.
Her thin arms wrap around his shoulders, they’re cold and more like the wind than skin. The smile turns nervous as she bites her bottom lip and he leans down, hesitant himself, and kisses her. He can’t seem to feel them, but he still feels a giddy tingle up his spine. He closes his eyes, cutting out the bare light for a second. He slowly opens them, suddenly afraid, he doesn’t know why until they’re fully open. She’s gone.
Light floods into the room through the windows. It’s an empty house. Swept clean. Vacuumed. Holes in the walls from pictures that used to be there. A clay heart he’d made for her for their first month anniversary lay on a counter that used to be cluttered with miscellaneous things, cracked in half.
Denki groaned as he woke up. Sitting up in his bed and rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands. “Shit.” When was that? Summer. He’d recently turned the big one three. They thought they were pretty much adults, ready to do adult things.
Why the hell did he have that dream after all this time? He wasn’t really superstitious, but he felt a bad omen in the air.
It was 5:30, he noticed looking at the digital clock on his end table. There was only thirty minutes left before his alarm went off. A whine dripped from his lips. Should he get up? “Oh, what the hell.” He got out of bed, turned on the light, and got ready for school. The extra time would let him get the rest of his homework done at an unhurried pace, unlike other mornings. Being a teen meant being irresponsible, right? He still had a couple years left before he had to start that ‘adulting’ thing. Then as a new hero he was allowed a few screwups, nothing life-threatening, before he was expected to be perfect.
Full-fledged heroes were admired, mirrored, like a parent. Loved.
With a yawn Denki left his room, bladder full, ready for the morning pee. The sound of Kouda’s bunny scratching along the floor as he passed his door made him smile. It was like a baby.
He attempted to lightly step down the stairs, but the effort only made the stomps harder. He cringed at the sound, listening in for someone to yell at him from their rooms about being an elephant. If it were just Bakugou he’d laugh, that boy was a whole herd of elephants.
The common room lights were on, but his bladder threatening to fail won over his curiosity. Drying his hands, he started to wonder who would be out of their room, even if they were up. He occasionally woke up to Iida’s shuffle to and from the bathroom, but he always came back and quietly did whatever he did in his room until everyone else was awake.
He crept along the floor to spy. Shock smacked into him. All Might?
“What are you doing here?” he asked, leaning against the back of the couch. His teacher jumped a bit, clutching at his chest. A little guilt poked at him for finding it slightly amusing. It wasn’t an intentional surprise.
“Oh, Kaminari my boy. What about you? Do you usually get up at this time?”
“Nah, just woke up from an unusual dream and had to pee. There’s no point in going back to sleep with only half an hour left before my alarm.”
“A nightmare?” he asked, face furrowed in concern.
Denki stood up straight and shook his head fiercely. “No, no. Just unsettling, I guess.”
All Might stared at him silently, something seeming to be on his mind unable to be released. Denki wasn’t sure if he should go or not, but the tense tightening of discomfort telling him to skedaddle overwhelmed his desire to know why All Might was waiting around. “Okay,” he said breaking the strange quiet. “I’m going to go back to my room, now.”
He turned about and took a step before a shouted “wait” threw his heart into his mouth. He turned around, a bit confused. What really was it that this guy wanted? “Yes?”
“It’s actually you that I came to wait for.” He averted his gaze and scratched his head sheepishly. “Though I got a little anxious and came a little early.”
“Me? What for?” All Might came to see him? Not Midoriya? Or even Bakugou? Afterall, Denki might be a little slow and terrible at studying (and staying alert in class) but he wasn’t stupid. All Might had favorites, every one could see that he was sure.
“It’s a little too much to explain, will you follow me to Recovery-Girl’s office?”
Denki put a finger to his chin, “Recovery-Girl?” He cocked his head to the side and let out a mini shout. “Eh? Why? Is something wrong with me?”
“No, no! Nothing like that. You’ll see when we get there, if you’ll follow me.”
“Um-mmh. I still have to eat and brush my teeth, y’know.” Go off with All Might for who knows what reason? Before even the sun has broken through? It sent a shiver down his spine. It just wasn’t natural.
“It shouldn’t take long.” All Might’s eyes sparkled with what looked like anticipation. Maybe a little bit of dread swam in there too, which didn’t put Denki at ease any.
But, he inwardly groaned, how could he say no to that face? It was difficult enough that it was All Might. “Alright, I’ll just need to grab my jacket and sneakers.”
All Might nodded and Denki definitely spotted a bit of worry.
It was hella cold! Especially without the warmth of the sun. A wind blew through, rustling Denki’s hair and sending all the hair on his body into straight points. “Couldn’t this have waited until after school?” Denki whined, trying to shove himself further into his jacket than was possible.
“It’s best to get this done as soon as possible.”
Denki’s eyebrows shot up and his mouth formed a misshapen egg shape. Get what done as soon as possible? What was going to happen? Oh no, this is it. Denki was going to be experimented on. Was this even All Might or an ALIEN? He took a sigh and relaxed his face. Damnit, Ashido was getting to him, all her talk of alien invasions and shit.
They entered the school building, the door swung shut, trapping the freezing wind out. The contrast made sweat drip down his sides. Now all he wanted was to escape his death dessert jacket as soon as possible. The lights overhead flicked on autonomously as they walked through the silence. Empty halls made the school seem more ominous and suddenly he missed the typical hustle bustle of the other students as they came in.
It didn’t take long before they reached Recovery Girl’s office. All Might held the door open for Denki to walk in first and upon doing so found Aizawa inside. Curiosity and nervousness hit their peak inside Denki’s bones. “Seriously, what is going on?” he shouted. “Is this some kind of intervention? Or…” He took a step back only to walk into All Might. “Alien experimentation.”
Aizawa rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger as Recovery Girl stepped closer to Denki. “Of course not, what goes on in that head of yours?” she asked.
Denki grinned awkwardly and shrugged his shoulders. When Recovery Girl had moved she opened up a view to the bed behind her, Denki’s eyes caught sight of something that was sitting there. A toddler? He walked closer to her with an inviting smile. “Hello, what’re you doing here?”
She didn’t turn toward him, her gaze concentrated on stacking her blocks and knocking them down. He bent down in front of her and made eye contact with her, her eyes wide and she leaned her body away from him. “What’s your name?” he tried again.
She didn’t respond.
“She’s deaf,” Aizawa told him standing next to him. “And the reason you’re here.”
Denki looked up at him, face scrunched up in confusion.
“D-does she look like any one to you?” All Might added still standing by the door.
Denki turned back to the little girl who’d gone back to playing with her blocks, squinting his eyes at her. She was a pretty, petite, little thing. Cherry blossom pink skin, tiny nose, almond shaped golden eyes, and shoulder length brown hair; upon even further observation blending in her hair were tiny black lightning bolts. “I’ve never seen her before, but she looks like she could be related to me. A cousin maybe.” He stood up and put a knee on the bed, leaning his face next to hers. “We look alike, right?” He smiled, the girl turned and smiled at him, patting him on the cheek.
Aizawa furrowed his eyebrows and sighed. “Yeah,” he said. The room was too quiet, All Might and Recovery Girl exchanged looks that caused Denki’s stomach to drop. He couldn’t read them and Denki was good at reading people’s emotions.
“Where did she come from?” Denki scowled, turning his gaze on each one of the teachers in the room. “Who is she?”
Aizawa clicked his tongue in agitation. “Don’t ask so many questions.”
“Well, you brought me here for a reason, right? Aren’t I in the right?” His voice picked up a little and he stood up, hands on his hips.
All Might stepped up next to him and laid a hand on his shoulder, he relaxed under his touch. “Yes, Kaminari my boy, just give us time and you’ll get your answers.”
“Let me take a cheek swab to test your DNA, make sure the two of you are related,” Recovery Girl said holding up a cotton swab in a gloved hand. With a small groan and reluctancy, Denki sat down and opened up his mouth. In, swab, out, all done in one quick, awkward feeling, motion. “All set for now, I will let you know the results after school is over.”
Denki looked down at the toddler, she looked a lot like him and it made him swell with mixed emotions. He threaded his finger in her hair, softer even than the fur of a cat. Honey eyes gaze up at him with something akin to expectancy swirled with nervousness. He wanted to promise he’d get her where she belonged, but knew she wouldn’t be able to hear, instead he laid his forehead against hers. Tiny, sweaty hands pressed gently against his cheeks and they felt as one.