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There is a little boy in a box.
He is hot and lonely with only himself for company.
Errant sparks fly from his skin to illuminate his surroundings and reflect off the pools of sweat that drip from his face. His hands shake as he struggles with his quirk, desperate to make it stop.
He can come out once it stops, Momma said so and he knows Momma always tells the truth.
They aren’t trying to be mean, Momma said when she opened the box to give him his food. It’s just hard to have him around because the power keeps going out. It’s ex-pen-siv to fix it so much. That’s what Momma told him before putting him in the box.
He doesn’t know what ex-pen-siv means but he’s working hard not to be that anymore. The box is rubber so he won’t be able to hurt anyone when he’s inside and it’s ex-pen-siv just like him.
He can come out when he makes it stop and isn’t ex-pen-siv anymore.
The boy presses his face to his knees and wraps his arms around them. It’s hot in the box because cutting too many air holes would make it in-a-fec-tiv at keeping his quirk con-tay-ned.
He sniffles. He doesn’t know why but it’s bad if his quirk isn’t con-tay-ned. His quirk doesn’t hurt him, it’s just there, lighting up his skin with bright yellow lights. It would be very dark in the box without his quirk.
But his quirk sometimes shocks people if they touch him. Momma had to get special gloves for passing him things because otherwise it hurts. They’re different from the rubber gloves she uses to wash dishes. Momma says those gloves aren't 100% rubber because that would make it too hard to move. Her special gloves for dealing with him keep her fingers stiff and aren’t comfortable at all so she only wears them when she has to.
They’re also ex-pen-siv.
Maybe ex-pen-siv just means something like bad quirks? He hopes he can stop being ex-pen-siv soon.
His back presses against one side of the box and his socks push against the other. His head is ducked low to keep from rubbing against the ceiling and he sniffles into his shorts.
Momma got a pinched look on her face when he asked if they could get a bigger box soon. She says they won’t need to if he can only learn to turn it off and anyway it’s only for when he’s not at school. Momma says he can handle being uncomfortable for just a little and Momma knows best.
...Momma used to give the best hugs.
Denki’s face falls. He hasn’t been hugged since his quirk came in.
***
They say that something magical happens when you meet your soulmate; on that first time you touch and realize your connection.
Denki Kaminari would not meet his soulmate till ten years after this day.
It would be a simple day at UA and Denki would ask Midoriya for help with practicing hand-to-hand.
They would finish their training and lay on the gym mats together laughing and sweaty and reveling in their friendship and then Midoriya will offer a hand to help Denki up.
And on that day Denki would de-age to his five year old self and meet The Boy In Despair, who sits alone in a dark room crying as an All Might clip plays on repeat. The little boy despairs because he can’t be a hero, everyone says so, and fifteen year old Denki in his tiny child body will hug little Izuku tight with teary eyes and tell him “Yes you can.”
But for now, Denki Kaminari is still The Boy in The Box and just having a soulmate at all would change everything about what happened next.
***
There is a light tapping around the box and the boy startles awake. His neck hurts and his legs ache and he hates that he fell asleep instead of trying to do what Momma wants.
Already his quirk is stirring beneath his skin, sparking and sizzling as it comes to the surface again.
There’s a scratching sound from the outside and then the top of the box pops off. Denki is hit by a wave of fresh air, the stifling heat and smell of the sealed box slowly starting to dissipate.
A tiny boy with curly green hair that makes him look like a piece of broccoli pops into the open space.
“There you are!”
He beams with a wide smile that looks a little sad. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Come play!”
Denki shrinks away from the boy’s hand. “Not allowed to.” He says sadly, resting his cheek on his knee so he’s curled up small but can still see the boy. “Have to stay here.”
The boy pouts. “Why?”
“I’m… ex-pen-siv.”
The strange boy goes still and even though he looks the same age as Denki it’s almost like he’s suddenly older. “What?” He asks carefully.
“I’m-” Denki’s quirk flares bright in his upset and he presses himself tighter against the wall. “It’s dan-jer-os. I can hurt people if I’m not super carefully.”
The freckled boy is quiet for a minute and then he sticks his hand out again. “That’s silly.”
Denki leans back as far as he can, pressing himself flat on the rubber floor. “No! Don’t! I could-”
“You’re gonna be a hero Denki. You won’t hurt me.”
Denki wonders how the boy knows his name, even as his finger comes closer and closer to Denki’s face.
“You’re not dangerous. You just need to relax. Focus on how much you don’t want to hurt me.”
His finger boops Denki’s nose and only a tiny spark goes off. The boy laughs and reaches for him with both hands. “Come on Denki! Let’s play! I have so much to show you!”
Izuku shows him how to plant his palms against a tree when his quirk sparks too much and then they run around the park holding hands and playing chase.
He shows Denki something called a light-en-ing rod and how if he stands next to it then all his sparks go towards the metal instead of nearby people.
But best of all Izuku shows him that focusing helps him control his quirk. They sit in the grass and Denki digs his fingers into the ground and can finally finally relax.
Their hug goodbye is the best Denki’s ever had.
And when they both wake up together on the training room floor, the hug they share then is even better.