Work Text:
It didn’t matter really, in the long run. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t here to make friends. He kept reminding himself of that fact, keeping the image of his hero, Eraserhead, strongly in mind. He used it to push him forward, through nights of sleeplessness, through days of tiredness. Eraserhead didn’t need to rest, he didn’t need a flashy quirk, he didn’t need anyone to save him. The independence of the man was one of the things Hitoshi admired so strongly about him and inconceivably, this man had chosen Hitoshi, out of everyone, to take on and teach as a hero. That’s why it didn’t matter.
When Hitoshi was ten, there was a skate park near his house. He’d find every excuse he could to wander past it and linger there as long as possible. His excuse was that it was fun watching the kids perform their tricks and stunts but if Hitoshi was being honest, it was the boy. Too shy to talk to him, Hitoshi watched from a distance, secretly naming him ‘Nikko.’ Sunlight. He shone, in a way Hitoshi couldn’t explain, his laughter delicious-sounding and contagious, his smile glowing in the cool evening air. Golden hair, shaggy and dancing while he flew through the skatepark on roller skates, or on a scooter, or on a skateboard. His knees were always grazed and his face was always bruised but he didn’t seem to mind. He’d fall off and skin his cheek on the concrete but jump back up again, playful and cheerful as ever. Hitoshi didn’t know his quirk but he bet it was great, something beautiful and strong. Like light manipulation.
Once, Hitoshi screwed up his courage. He walked a little closer to the park than usual, seeing that all the boys had stopped riding for a while and were all crouched together laughing and chatting about something. He couldn’t see Nikko, so decided to drop back and head home when he bumped into someone while walking backwards.
‘Hello!’ it was him. Oh, it was him, it was him, it was him.
‘I see you watching us a lot. Did you see me do that sick flip earlier? Do you ride a scooter? What’s your quirk? Do you wanna play with us?’
Now that he was finally close up, Hitoshi realised that the boys eyes were golden too. No, no, it wasn’t fair, he looked like a golden boy, made out of molten metal.
‘Uh, um, well’ he stuttered helplessly. ‘I’m sorry I was staring, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop I just like watching the tricks-‘
‘Cool! Can you do tricks?’
‘Um. Um, not really, I don’t have anything, like, boards, you see and-‘
‘Oh, I get it!’ Nikko smiled wide, bouncing up and down. ‘That’s okay. I normally borrow a skateboard from Kido-kun-‘ a thought struck him suddenly, and he grabbed Hitoshi’s shoulder ‘I have an old pair of roller-skates at home you could use! They might fit you, right?’
‘Uh, uh’ Hitoshi panicked, the grip on his shoulder pleasanter than his wildest dreams ‘I, um, I have to go home soon, my mother will be expecting me.’
‘Oh, I see. That’s sad. Can you come tomorrow afternoon then?’
Hitoshi nodded.
‘I’ll bring the roller-skates then, yes? Goodbye, see you tomorrow!’
And with that Nikko ran off and back into the park. Hitoshi headed home, feeling light-headed. Sort of like he’d been struck by lightning.
But that had been years ago. Hitoshi was grown-up now. He’d never been able to learn the boy’s name. He had gone back to the skate park the next afternoon as promised, but Nikko hadn’t been there. His friends had instead thrown a pair of yellow roller-skates harshly into his chest, and muttered threats about staying out of the skate park.
‘We’ve seen you watching us, creep. You’re the kid with the brainwash quirk right? We don’t want you brainwashing us, and we won’t let you brainwash our friend either.’
Hitoshi hadn’t been brave enough to walk past the park after that. He kept the skates though, in the hopes that he’d grow into them. A little sticky note taped the laces read
Hi!!! Sorry, I couldn’t come like I said.
I got a detention for not paying attention in school ;)
But Kido will show you how to ride and I’ll see you on Wednesday!!
Hitoshi had never been able to learn the boy’s name. He still called him Nikko, when thinking about it all. That was the last time he’d voluntarily tried to make a friend, he realised. That was the go that had made him give up. After that, he’d refocused his energy on learning to be a hero.
It didn’t matter.
It really didn’t.
It’s not like Eraserhead needed friends.
And Hitoshi wanted to be just like Eraserhead.
Hitoshi hadn’t thought much about Denki Kaminari if he was being honest. Except maybe in contempt. His quirk was a big flashy nothing that gave him an unfair advantage in the entrance exam. Electricity and robots? Hitoshi seethed. Denki didn’t try in school, he was flirtatious and handsome, his quirk drawback made him a liability to his teammates in battle, he was all the worst things about heroes in the 22nd century. But then they had done joint-training together. And despite Hitoshi being grumpy and bitter, Denki had reached out to him, built him up and encouraged him. Accepted Hitoshi.
‘I know you said you’re not here to make friends, but I like you dude. You’re a proper hero-hopeful, just like the rest of us.’
There was a certain, simple earnestness to Denki Kaminari that Hitoshi didn’t despise.
It still irked him that he had gotten Hitoshi’s spot in the hero course, though.
And now he was the draw of focus in the next exercise the students were working on. Class against Class, with Hitoshi joining 1A, Vlad King and Aizawa explained the rules of the game.
‘Two random students will be drawn from both classes to play ‘Villains’. Your goal is to catch the opposite team’s villain before they can capture yours. Capturing is done through moving the selected ‘Villain’ to your team’s arrest circle, which will be marked before the game begins. You have the whole of the USJ to move around him, quirk usage is encouraged, winning team gets bragging rights. Do you all understand?’
Everyone nodded.
‘Let’s draw villains then.’
Class 1B got a major disadvantage with the card drawn for Tetsutetsu. While physically powerful, his strengths did not align with speed, deceit or agility. Tenya, Kirishima and Tokoyami working together would be able to take him down easily. Class 1A were assigned to protect Denki Kaminari, who grinned confidently at the announcement.
‘Try and move me’ he crowed ‘I’ll shock anyone who tries.’
It would be a fun game, Hitoshi thought and was secretly glad to be on the side of the unfairly advantaged for once. But there was someone who was not pleased with the results. Monoma stuck his lip out and scowled ugly at the electric-type.
‘Just you watch’ he sneered. ‘It’ll be easy. We’ll just switch you to dumbass mode and you’ll be easier to catch than a wounded dog.’
Hitoshi didn’t like Monoma. He kept waiting for the boy to improve, for letting the constant failure or success to catch up with him and mellow him out a bit but nothing did the trick. He seemed to constantly feel the need to compare the two classes, creating a rivalry that nobody wanted or appreciated, even his classmates. But no-one in 1B seemed to reel him in today, busy grumbling at the disadvantage with him. There was a feel about Monoma on this particular occasion that Hitoshi didn’t like, and he resolved to to keep an eye on the blonde.
Kaminari didn’t seem to pick up on anything suss as he shrugged off the comment lightheartedly.
‘Good luck’ he said ‘I don’t feel like overusing my quirk today.’
‘I’m not going to give you a choice.’ Monoma shot back. ‘Class 1A will ever regret having you in it. You’re disappointment to the hero course and to the name of UA. I’ll show you.’
That seemed to strike a nerve, as Bakugo growled and shoved the boy. ‘Hey. Don’t say that to him.’
‘Leave the roughhousing to training.’ Aizawa warned. ‘We’ll get started when the timer goes off.’
Monoma pouted and everyone shuffled off to their assigned circles, on opposite sides of the gym.
Midoriya came up with a simple plan. He and a collection of others would play the offence, catching Tetsutetsu. Kirishima and Tsu would help Ochako reach the titanium boy, and once she had turned off his gravity, Iida, Midoriya and Tokoyami would rush him over to the arrest circle. The rest of the class was assigned to protecting Denki, fighting off the members of 1B who came to catch him.
‘Should we hide in the shipwreck area?’ Hagakure suggested ‘Denki’s quirk will be more powerful there.’
‘Yeah, too powerful. I could seriously hurt my team as well in all that water’ Denki pointed out. ‘What about the forest area? Lots of places to hide and all of our quirks will work well there.’ Everyone nodded in assent, and as the timer went off, they scattered to the agreed places.
For a moment, Hitoshi wondered if he should have gone with offense team. Then he saw Monoma rush into the forest with a wicked look on his face. Hitoshi narrowed his eyes and went in pursuit. He trailed Monoma as they went deeper and deeper into the area. Unfortunately for Shinsou, it was gym uniform only. No voice modifier to throw the blonde off. He’d have to use his wits alone.
For a bastard, Monoma was quite sneaky, making little sound as he crept through. Hitoshi tried to figure out what he was planning. The obvious thing to do would be to copy Kaminari’s quirk. Then he could fight and transport him without having to worry about getting electrocuted.
There were some shouts nearby. Kendo and Ibara against Mina, if Hitoshi was guessing correctly. He made a point of knowing the sound of other’s voices, it helped with his modifier.
He decided to gain a lead on Monoma, climb a tree and get the jump on him when he heard the sound of Kaminari’s cheerful voice ringing nearby, and the answering shout of Bakugo. Monoma grinned and ran for the sound.
Hitoshi moved.
He tackled Monoma from behind, the two crashing to the ground. Monama’s shout must have alerted the electric type. He ran in, onto the scene. Monoma kicked Hitoshi hard, and he recoiled, giving him time to roll behind a tree before a bolt of charge got shot his way. Hitoshi dove for him again. Monoma stuck his hand out to stop him.
Why?
It shouldn’t have been enough. But before Hitoshi could even stop him, he was blown backwards.
He hit a tree, and suddenly became occupied with the delicate art of learning how to fucking breathe.
He watched as Kaminari sprung into a defensive stance ‘You copied Bakugo’s quirk!’
Monoma laughed ‘Once I blow you sky-high, 1A will finally realise how much better we are than you!’
‘It’s not about who’s better’ Kaminari bellowed. ‘We’re all trying to be heroes!’
Something suddenly clicked in Hitoshi’s brain but he didn’t have the time to look into it right now. He had to get into the fight and help his team.
‘Of course it’s about who’s better’ Monoma sneered. ‘That’s why we’re ranked in the exams, isn’t it? That’s why the hero billboard exists. It’s not about your stupid teamwork, it’s about who’s best.’
‘You know what?’ Denki said. ‘I don’t think you even care about 1B. You just want attention. You just want to be number one. It’s all about you, isn’t it?’
‘My class is superior’ he hissed.
‘No. You think you’re superior. And I’m gonna tell you something I used to tell my buddies at the skatepark. It’s not about getting the trick right the first time. It’s falling as many times as you need to learn!’
Hitoshi had noticed something interesting about Monoma’s quirk. It wasn’t very versatile. Even with most civilians, it was hard to master their quirk unless they were very familiar with using it. Monoma was trying to use quirks he hadn’t even seen before in combat situations. It was very risky, very unreliable and very unpredictable.
A wail went off around the USJ, proclaiming the defeat of Class 1B. Iida and Midoriya had done their job and they had finished the exercise within half an hour.
Monoma gave a frustrated scream. He failed to estimate how much force he needed to keep his quirk under control. A bright bloom of fiery flame erupted from his palms and swelled to indistinguishable heights. Hitoshi recoiled as he felt the heat, even distanced as he was. But he watched the colour engulf his friend, watched the force of it lift Kaminari’s feet off the ground and couldn’t stop himself from reaching for- oh. It’s him. It’s him, it’s him.
‘Nikko!’
The forest was leveled. Hitoshi knew his forearm was burned and quite possibly a patch on his face, but the stinging told him it wasn’t deep and it wouldn’t scar much. He ignored Monoma’s frightened gasp and whipped his head trying to find- there. Flopped over a burnt log. Hitoshi sprinted over and grabbed him. Kaminari’s beautiful, beautiful blonde hair was burnt and frizzing, his uniform partially melted to the big raw patches of burns on his stomach and legs. His face was fine- the eyebrows had lit up but everything else was basically unscathed. But he wasn’t awake. He didn’t respond to Hitoshi’s harried call.
‘Nikko! Nikko.’
After a preliminary check, Hitshi hoisted him up into a bridal carry and sprinted over to 1As arrest circle where most of the other students had already gathered. Denki was offered to Vlad King who waved him off.
‘Iida!’ growled the vampire hero. ‘Could you take Kaminari to Recovery Girl’s office, quickly as possible?’
He nodded, face pale and gently took the weight from Hitoshi’s arms. Shinsou had never really understood how small the Denki was, but in Iida’s arms he could have been a child. They ran off.
Aizawa whipped around to give his scariest depths-of-hell-scare at Bakugo.
‘It wasn’t him!’ Mina yelped. ‘He was over helping me when it happened.’
‘It was Monoma’ Hitoshi deadpanned. ‘He copied Bakugo’s quirk before the game started and tried to hurt Denki on purpose. After the alarm went off.’
Now it was Vlad King’s turn to look scary. Without a word, he hauled the blonde off by the collar. Hitoshi didn’t know where, or what he would do. He didn’t really care.
He looked at Bakugo and was taken aback by how shaken he was. His eyes were wide and he was shivering.
‘Bro, are you okay?’ Kirishima asked tentatively.
Bakugo harrumphed suddenly and stamped his foot.
‘He used my quirk! My quirk! To hurt my friend! How do you think I feel? I’M FUCKING ANGRY.’ He stopped for a moment, puffing. And then.
‘I spent years training with my quirk, fine-tuning it, so I could attack without hurting the people I care about-‘ Midoriya’s face twitched- ‘And that little dish-rag thinks he can up and steal it without proper training!’
Kendo stepped forward, looking at her classmates. ‘I know I’ve said this a lot. But I’d like to apologise on behalf of my classmate. I’m sure-‘
‘Shut up Kendo’ Bakugo snarled and stalked off. Jiro nodded in agreement.
‘We don’t want to hear an apology from anyone but Monoma, anymore.’
Midoriya escorted Hitoshi to Recovery Girl’s office, pointing that even though his burns were minor, they had to be checked out as well.
‘I’m just glad I’m not the one who has to go this time’ he joked, sheepishly. When they got there, Denki, it appeared, had woken up, staring woozily at the pair as they entered.
‘He’s got a major concussion.’ Recovery Girl explained. ‘Probably slammed his head against the ground when he fell.’
‘And his burns?’ Midoriya pressed.
‘A difficult predicament. There’s a risk they’ll become infected from the fabric that’s burned into them, but I’m hesitant to place him under anaesthesia to cut them out. Between his tendency to fry his brain and the concussion, I don’t want the chemicals to do any damage to his head. I’ve called Midnight off patrol to see if she can sedate him for me, but it’ll be a while before she arrives.’
Midoriya nodded seriously ‘Burns are difficult to treat, aren’t they? I remember trying to look after them when I was younger.’
Recovery Girl squinted at him ‘They’re easier for me to treat than broken bones, young man. But burns hurt more, I suppose.’
Hitoshi nodded toward Denki. ‘Do you mind if I sit with him until Midnight arrives?’
‘I’d appreciate that’ said Recovery Girl. ‘Midoriya, you’d better get back to class.’
Midoriya smiled, and left. Hitoshi shifted to a stool near the blonde who gave him a wide, loopy smile.
‘Hi there.’ he slurred, quietly. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you’re very handsome?’
Hitoshi smirked ‘Once.’
‘But seriously, you must have the prettiest girlfriend ever. The hottest girl in your school.’
Shinsou leaned in close and whispered ‘I’ll tell you a secret, since you’re not likely to remember this. But I play for the other team.’
Kaminari chuckled, ‘Oh, I’ll remember.’ his golden eyes locked onto Hitoshi’s, vacant and pained. ‘Why didn’t you come back?’
‘What?’
‘On Wednesday, remember? We were going to go rollerskating together. I never even found out if the shoes fit you properly.’
Hitoshi’s eyes widened.
‘No . . . no wrong person, sorry. You have the same hair though. Lavender hair.’
‘Denki-‘
‘When I was young, I was like, always, always, in the skate park. I couldn’t study at home, it was too loud and chaotic so I sort of gave up, but I’d go hang out with my friends there and sometimes, there was this boy watching from a distance. With lavender hair. Lots like yours. And, ow. My legs hurt. But he was pretty. Like, so pretty. I thought you were the same person, when I saw you at the sports festival. Anyway, this kid- I’d always try to do my best tricks when I saw him watching, but five out of ten times I’d just end up falling on my ass.’ Denki chuckled. ‘He must have thought I was so lame. Once, I was finally brave enough to walk up and ask him to join us. I gave him a pair of my old rollerskates, just so I could get to know him. But I got a detention the day we scheduled to hang out.
I don’t think he wanted to be friends with a troublemaker like me. I never got to see him again. I didn’t even ask him his name, like an idiot.’
Hitoshi rested his chin on the side of Denki’s bed. He’d never thought about from Nikko’s perspective really. Just assumed he’d brushed it off and continued having fun. He never thought someone would be disappointed that they didn’t get to be his friend.
‘Toshi?’
‘Yeah?’
‘What was it you shouted, when Monoma blew off?’
‘Nikko’ said Hitoshi. ‘That’s what I called you when I was watching you from a distance. I never learned your real name, so I called you Nikko.’
‘It was you’ Denki smiled. ‘It was you.’
‘Yeah.’ Said Hitoshi. ‘It was me.’
‘Did the roller-skates fit?’
‘Eventually.’
‘Cool. We should try again, sometime. When I’m all healed up. Sorry you got caught up in it, by the way.’
Hitoshi smiled.
‘It doesn’t matter.’