Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It all started when Kaminari short-circuited. Again. 

Class 1A was doing a normal group battle hero vs villain training session when Kaminari had let out a little too much electricity, frying the opposite team, two of his teammates and himself in the process.

Obviously his team really, really didn’t like it when he did that, it put them at a serious disadvantage, having two toasted teammates and a sixteen-year-old who can only say one word, whey , to drag around. But trust him Kaminari hated it even more than them. 

When the battle ended, (they lost) and Kaminari recovered from his brainless state, what really hit him like a semi-truck of shame was the disappointed but not surprised looks on their faces.

“Control your quirk Sparky” Jirou stabbed her earphone jack into his arm. It had been her and Kouda who had been zapped by his electricity. 

“Dude ow!” Kaminari rubbed his arm, “Sorry, sorry. I’m working on it.”

“You’ll make a super manly hero when you can control it Kamibro!” Kirishima slapped him across the back encouragingly.

What was with his classmates and physical motivation? 

“I’ll take you to Recovery Girl dude, let’s go.” Sero swung his arm around Kaminari’s shoulder leading him to the exit. 

He needed to figure out his quirk and fast. He was falling behind…

What set his troubles in stone was his visit with Recovery Girl. 

Sitting on the stool of her office he gapped at what she just said. 

“What?! Seriously?” 

“Yes dear, If you continue to be reckless with your quirk you could cause permanent damage to your brain.” The old woman said in a calm voice as if she hadn’t just delivered devastating news. 

“Electricity is dangerous Kaminari, you’re lucky your body evolves to accommodate your quirk, anyone without that would have already been in a vegetative state or worse dead following the path you have.” 

Kaminari knew electricity was dangerous, of course, he did, you don’t live with your quirk for your whole life without experience its downsides. Kaminari had suffered from burns, nerve damage, Lichtenberg figures and of course short-circuiting his whole life, but he had always recovered.

“But I can still become a hero right?” Kaminari almost didn’t want to hear the answer. 

“Not if you continue to do this to your body, dear.” 

And that was crushing. 

Kaminari couldn’t remember a time he hadn’t wanted to be a hero. Ever since he was a kid he had wanted to save people. 

Kaminari said barely anything for the rest of the check-up, Recovery Girl’s words circling through his head over and over again. 

He hadn’t even noticed when Mina had called out to him as he entered the dorm, walking to his room in a zombie state.

Staring at his ceiling as he laid on his bed he thought about all the things he had done so far in his first year of UA. 

Compared to his classmates it really wasn’t a lot, in the USJ he had short-circuited pretty quickly. He hadn’t been able to make it very far in the sports festival either. Not to mention his and Mina’s failure against the principal, though he was certain that guy was a genius psychopath. 

He had been stuck safely in a building when the villains attacked their training camp and wasn’t even there when his classmates had rescued Bakugou, he had thought about that for weeks after it happened. 

He did make it past the provisional hero license exam but would he have been able to defeat that weird flesh guy if Bakugou hadn’t thrown him the grenade? Kaminari doubted it. 

All his classmates had been improving and getting stronger every day but his progress had stood still. Look at Midoriya, the guy was shattering every bone in his body in the first weeks but now he was bouncing around shattering boulders with his legs instead, Kirishima’s quirk had levelled up making him both an unmovable object and an unstoppable force. 

For crying out loud even Bakugou’s temper was getting better! 

So why was Kaminari still short-circuiting? 

Was he doing something wrong? Apparently. 

Damnit what was wrong with him?!

Kaminari slapped his hands on his cheeks the sting bringing him out of his head. 

“Stop being an idiot, you’re classmates are all working really hard and you should too!” he muttered to himself.

With that thought, he sat down at his desk, turned on his computer and opened a notebook. 

His opened page was as blank as his mind. 

“Start with the problem.” He wrote ‘short-circuit’ in big letters in the middle circling it. 

For the next hour, Kaminari sat at his desk looking things up on his computer then jotting them down in his notebook. He should probably be this focused when he was researching for school projects but his motivation for becoming a hero had never been stronger. 

By the end of the hour Kaminari had two main points on his page; Keeping the electricity inside and channelling it through objects. 

His main problem was not being able to control the large amount of electricity he releases all at once meaning he short-circuits, so if he could constantly channel a small amount of electricity into an object, like a dagger or staff (he had always wanted a lightning sword) he could use his quirk for longer and as a bonus, be in control of his quirk. 

Then he had his main worry when using his quirk, hurting the people around him. Zapping his friends and family had been a fear of his since he had been a kid but he had been doing it a lot since he got into UA. He had come to the conclusion that what if he just kept the electricity inside of him? All Kaminari would have to do is touch someone to knock them out, he didn’t need to be flashy to be a hero.

Kaminari knew that if he was going to commit to this it would change his style of fighting completely, going from a long-range to short-range attacker.

The thought of the amount of exercise he would have to do sent shivers down his spine, but it was worth it. 

Long-range fighting wasn’t working for him and if wanted to save as many people as he could he would have to be the best version of himself. 

Kaminari carried that thought to bed as he finally took a break and went to sleep buzzing at the thought of the next day. 

_______________________________________

Kaminari had brought his brainstorming notebook to his classes the next day constantly having it open next to his normal textbooks. 

The only thing he had managed to add to it was controlling electric cars and guns. The thought came to him when Uraraka had asked him to charge her phone for her. 

He had also written down switching off lights in the corner of the page after his sneeze had made the lights flicker in English class, if he could fight in the dark when his opponent couldn’t it would put him at a massive advantage.

It wasn’t until the last period of the day in Mr Aizawa’s class when an epiphany hit him. 

Kaminari had not been paying attention until Mr Aizawa had called out his name to answer a question clearly realising his mind wasn’t in the classroom. 

When Kaminari had sheepishly laughed and told his teacher he didn’t know, Mr Aizawa had given him an expecting look and moved on to the next person. 

As Kaminari had continued to look at the front of the room at least trying to seem like he was listening his mind wandered. 

Aizawa was really cool, more than cool he was amazing. 

No matter how much he denied it he really cared about his class and was an amazing teacher. 

But most of all he was an amazing hero, even though technically he wasn’t as physically strong as All might or Endeavour, Mr Aizawa had to be his most respected and the strongest hero Kaminari had ever met. 

His quirk may not seem like all that much at first but if you really thought about it Mr Aizawa was really astounding, not to mention his skill in hand to hand combat.

The guy really didn’t get the credit he deserved, but Kaminari guessed that was exactly the way Mr Aizawa wanted it.

Being an underground hero and all.

…

Huh…

Underground…

“Holy cr-” Kaminari cut himself off halfway through the sentence he had accidentally said out loud. 

Everyone in the class looked at him mostly with confusion and some annoyance. 

“Kaminari, Is something wrong?” Aizawa asked him. 

“No! sorry, sir.” Aizawa raised an eyebrow at him but again moved on with the rest of the class. 

For the next five minutes of class, Kaminari chewed on his lip, bouncing his leg up and down as he thought of all the possibilities he had just opened up in his mind. How hadn’t he thought of this before? Everything he had wanted to try fit perfectly into the criteria. 

“-minari?” 

“Kaminari? Do you need something?” In his excitement, Kaminari had completely spaced out not even noticing the bell for the end of the day ringing and his classmates packing up and leaving.

Aizawa was standing at the front of his desk a tinge of worry behind his tired eyes. 

Without thinking Kaminari blurt out, “I think I want to be an Underground Hero.” 

Out of all the things Kaminari could have said Aizawa had obviously not been expecting that. Even Kaminari was shocked at his own outburst. What the hell was he doing, thinking about something as important as this and making a decision in five minutes! 

But Kaminari couldn’t deny the chance of being an underground hero made everything fit into place in his mind, it was like he had found the last piece of a puzzle underneath the couch and was finally able to complete the image.

“I’ll admit you’re quirk would suit underground work but have you thought about this?” Huh, so he really had been the last person on his train of self-discovery. 

“Yes,” Kaminari lied. 

“Being an underground hero means no one will know about your job except the people closest to you. Are you willing to give up being in the spotlight? There’s no shame in wanting people to know who you are.” Aizawa leaned back on his desk taking Kaminari’s statement surprising seriously.

Kaminari thought back to a conversation he had had with Kirishima about being able to stand out with a flashy quirk and how Kirishima was disappointed his quirk wasn’t bright and obvious. Kaminari disagreed, Kirishima’s quirk was plenty flashy in its own way and It was definitely a bright light to everyone he had saved using it.

“Recovery Girl told me I wouldn’t be able to be a hero if I kept doing what I was doing.” Aizawa nodded, the old woman had probably told him before, “and all I want is to save people nothing else matters to me as much as that, so if being an underground hero is going to let me do that I want to try.” 

That seemed to satisfy Aizawa, his eyes still soulless and tired as ever but a small upwards tilt was on the corner of his lip. “Meet me tomorrow morning at seven.” and with that Aizawa grabbed his yellow sleeping bag and left the room. 

Kaminari sat at his desk staring at the closed door in shock. This was really happening. 

Kaminari was training to be an underground hero. 

Chapter Text

When he thought he would be training to be an underground hero Kaminari hadn't expected that to be busting a Lung. 

It had been five days since Mr Aizawa had started training him if you could even call it that. Every morning Kaminari woke up at six-thirty and met Mr Aizawa at seven. There was a slight problem though.

The only thing Kaminari had been doing was running! 

Mr Aizawa had barely even said anything to him, on the first day he had told him to do as many laps as he could, then with no further instructions he zipped up his yellow sleeping bag, cocooning himself away from the world. 

Kaminari, who had built up so much energy in anticipation, went full speed for the first twenty minutes before he was forced to slow down. 

Mr Aizawa had said nothing until the clock struck seven fifty-five and he unzipped the sleeping bag, told Kaminari to get ready for class and walked off. 

That continued the next day and the next days after, his running had even lasted longer on the weekend with no school to interrupt. Only today Kaminari had had enough. 

Suddenly coming to a halt close to where Aizawa was lying, Kaminari let his legs collapse underneath him, falling into a sit on the ground. 

“Sir, I’m not questioning you or anything but why am I running?” Kaminari huffed out trying to catch his breath. 

“When am I going to start training to become an underground hero?” 

Grumbling came from inside the yellow blob as his teachers’ bloodshot eyes made an appearance. 

“It’s already started, kid.” 

Yeah, because that made perfect sense. 

Kaminari could help but wonder if he really did rush into asking to be an underground hero. He really had not considered the implications that would come with the job. Not only did he barely know anything about underground heroes in the first place all the stuff he did know just didn’t match up with his personality, or anything he was for that matter. 

Sure, he wasn’t in the public eye as much as some of his classmates, but Kaminari liked to think he was friendly and some people must know him. He had even talked about opening an agency with his friends, would he be able to do that if he was an underground hero? Probably not.

“What do you mean, sir?”

“Kaminari, what do you think an underground hero is?” 

Ah crap, exactly the question he never wanted to hear. 

“Ehm, someone like you? Dark, broody, doesn’t like the public?”

Kaminari shut his mouth at Aizawa’s unimpressed look.

“That’s the surface level of being an underground hero.” Aizawa said choosing to ignore the first two things, “Most people perceive it as a hero who doesn’t want attention but it has more layers.”

“Heros like, combat and rescue, are called in to deal with villain attacks that are happening at that moment or have happened unless they are involved in a special case. Underground Heros are the opposite, we work closely with the police mostly on cases involving, organised crime, like underground rings, drugs, human trafficking, gangs, night activity.” Aizawa listed using his fingers, “and a large number of those cases will require you to be inside the operation undercover.” 

Kaminari wondered if he would be able to deal with problems as heavy as trafficking. Going undercover as well? Could he do that? He was known for being loud, bright and outgoing but with that came good social skills, he was an okay actor as well and a pretty good liar, not that he was particularly proud of that trait.

“If you became an underground hero you would be dealing with a lot of things other heroes don’t want to touch, essentially it’s all of the dirty work no one else wants to deal with. But kid don’t mix that up with something that’s not worthy of a hero’s attention. Somewhere out there, there’s a kid who has no choice but to get involved in a crime group to feed their family, You don’t have to be a bad person to do something bad. Those are the kinds of people you would help if you became an underground hero. Do you understand?” 

Kaminari couldn’t help but compare Aizawa’s words to having to do chores, he never wanted to do the dishes or take out the trash but someone had to and if not him then who? He guessed that made sense.

“Yes, sir.”

“Kaminari, if you become an underground hero or any kind of hero, I know you’re going to save a lot of lives.” 

Warmth bloomed inside of Kaminari at the words from his teacher, full of trust and belief.

Apparently, Aizawa had had enough sappiness for one day. 

“Don’t come in the morning tomorrow, meet me after school in gym gamma instead.” 

And with that Aizawa walked off. Kaminari watched him as he go. 

Wait... He didn’t even say what the running was for?!

_______________________________________

“Kamibro, you with us?” 

Kaminari’s head shot up from where it was drowsing off to the side, suddenly wide awake. 

“Huh? Yeah sorry.” He said rubbing his eyes. 

The members of the self-proclaimed ‘Bakusquad’, who sat at the lunch table with Kaminari glanced at each other with concern, even Bakugou who wouldn’t be caught dead acting like a normal compassionate human being narrowed his eyes in Kaminaris direction. 

“Have you been sleeping enough, dude?” Sero asked. “You’ve been way more tired than usual.” 

You didn’t even come to our movie night yesterday! We miss you Denks!” Mina said light-heartedly. 

Kirishima jumped in as well “You were sleeping in homeroom today as well.” 

“Dude, I can’t believe Mr Aizawa didn’t pick you up for that, usually he would’ve kicked your ass out the window for sleeping in his class.” Sero marvelled. 

Kaminari laughed at the image, “I’m fine guys, just got a new video game recently.” 

“You always play video games somethings different, don’t lie dunce face,” Bakugou said catching Kaminari off guard.

“Fine, you got me,” Kaminari threw his hands up, “I’ve just been training a little more than usual. Gotta keep up you know.”

“That’s super manly bro!” 

Bakugou didn’t look convinced but dropped the subject anyways, moving back to his food. The rest of his friends were quick to start talking about a new movie that was coming out, leaving Kaminari back to his thoughts. 

Why hadn’t he just told his friends about his training with Aizawa? He didn’t want to admit it but a little part of him was afraid of what they would say. Sure he acted like a mindless goof but he had feelings too, they just seemed to forget sometimes.

A more rational part of his mind just didn’t want to say he was going to be an underground hero and end up giving up, he had only been training for a few days anyway.

He would tell them later. 

_______________________________________

When Kaminari walked through the big doors of gym gamma Aizawa was already there waiting. This time his sleeping bag was nowhere in sight.

As Kaminari walked up to meet him he took notice of the mat and punching bag behind his teacher.

Dropping his bag, Kaminari waited for Aizawa to talk.

“You asked why you’ve been running this morning.” 

Kaminari answered with a nod even though it had been a statement. 

“As an underground hero you are required to have a different skill set to normal hero, you can’t rely on your quirk, hence the endure training. I’ll be training you in hand-to-hand.” 

Kaminari felt his heartbeat accelerate in excitement, this was exactly what he had been waiting for. Following Aizawa, Kaminari stod on the mat facing his teacher. 

“Where do I start-” All of a sudden a black blur swept his legs into the air, Kaminari hit the ground with a gasp as the air rushed out of him. 

“Lesson one always be on guard.” 

Kaminari pushed himself on the ground this time he shifted his legs balancing himself in anticipation of another surprise attack. 

“Arms up.” Was the only warming he got before a fist slammed into his side, sending him hurtling back into the ground. 

“I’m just getting beaten up, how am I supposed to know anything if you don’t teach me.” He whined still in his curled position on the floor. 

“We’ve done quirkless combat training in class, Kaminari. You’re not bad, you just need to think faster.” 

Easier said than done. Kaminari huffed yet again getting into position, this time with his arms up. 

Again and again, Aizawa knocked him off his feet, though it didn’t take long before Kaminari was blocking the first hits. But then Aizawa brought out combinations of moves resulting in Kaminari lying on his back with a bruised backside. Aizawa did however start giving Kaminari tips, telling him to centre himself, to watch the opponents footwork and to always be thinking of his next move. 

What felt like six hours of getting knocked down for Kaminari had ended up only being two, and by the end of it, Kaminari had managed to get in more than a few hits of his own. 

“You did well kid, we’ll continue this tomorrow.”

Kaminari groaned silently cursing the retreating back of his teacher, but with the steadily forming bruises and sore limbs, Kaminari felt more satisfied than he had ever been before. He grinned to himself. 

He’s finally getting somewhere. 

Chapter Text

Kaminari's back slams into the ground "Arrgh!"

"Not fast enough."

Kaminari pushes off from the ground. Getting back into position.

He launches himself at the man in front of him, swinging his arm towards his middle.

Just as Aizawa moves to block, Kaminari twists his body away, using the momentum to slam his leg towards Aizawa's open side. With millimetres to spare, Aizawa just barely manages to move to miss Kaminari’s leg, but anticipating the movement Kaminari’s hand had already curled into another tight fist as he used his built up momentum to swing his arm upwards into Aizawa’s chest.

Kaminari’s fist twists solidly into Aizawa’s arms, crossed protectively in front of his chest, the force of Kaminari’s punch pushed the breath out of Aizawa’s lungs as his shoulders hunched inward in an attempt to lessen the power of the punch.

“Damn!” Kaminari whined, “I really thought I got you there, Mr Aizawa!” Whilst Kaminari continued to huff about what he assumed was an unsuccessful attack, Aizawa examined the bruise already forming on his forearm. Kaminari had been improving at a ridiculously fast rate, it had been just over the two week mark since Aizawa had started to coach Kaminari in hand-to-hand and the boy that once couldn’t even go ten seconds without falling on his ass, was long gone.

“No kid, don’t sell yourself short. That was a powerful punch and a smart play.” Aizawa said whilst collecting his empty coffee mug from the side of the mat in preparation to leave for the start of the school day, “Go get ready for class, we’ll continue this tomorrow.” and with that, Aizawa left the gym.

Kaminari could feel a grin stretch itself across his face, never in his life had Kaminari felt as strong as he did right now.

____________________________

Despite the concerned glances and worried stares his classmates and friends had been giving him all week at his sudden lack of presence, he hadn’t let anything get him down. Of course, he was grateful that they cared about him but after the third question about what exactly he was doing all the time, even he was starting to get a bit annoyed. It had gotten to the point that every morning before his training with Aizawa, Kaminari had to actively avoid his classmates because the early risers consisted of Iida and Bakugou, who would never admit it, but were quite similar in their unwillingness to let something go.

But it wasn’t only concern Kaminari was getting, it was praise too. Hero training had never been easier! Well, as easy as it could be when you were training not to get squashed by falling rubble and giant robots. With all the endurance and strength training he had been doing Kaminari was way faster than before. Jirou had even made a comment that she hadn't seen him go into his 'dumb mode', her words not his, all week and Sero complimented him after he had managed to lift a slab of solid concrete off a civilian dummy.

By the time Kamianri had jogged back to his dorm room he only had 10 minutes before class started. In his rush to put on his uniform, Kamianri caught a glance at himself in the mirror. Not to toot his own horn or anything but he was looking way more musclier than usual. In middle school, Kaminari had been one of the fittest in his class, training to handle his quirk and for the UA entrance exams, but in a school full of students wanting to become heroes, Kaminari had been quick to realise he landed on the lower end of the 'buff scale' as Kirishima liked to call it, so this new development only served to brighten Kaminari’s mood even more.

____________________________

The first two classes were relatively uneventful, excluding the usual Bakugou burst, as Kaminari liked to call it, when a desk was blasted out of the window in response to a slightly creepy, if it wasn’t from Mydoria, question. The real fun started after the first break when hero class rolled around.

All Might was taking the class this time and had an especially bright grin on his face as he led Class-1A out to the gym. To Class 1A’s confusion, all the equipment had been moved and the floor was lined with several mats. Kaminari felt a jolt of excitement run through him.

“Today, we’ll be focusing on quirkless combat, specifically hand-to-hand!” All Might addressed the class.

“What! Quirkless!” whined Mina, “I’m so bad at that!” Mina slumped against Kaminari’s side. Kamianri laughed and gave her a hum she would interpret as agreement, before returning his attention to his teacher.

“I will pair up each of you at random! Then we’ll conduct sparing!”

____________________________

Kaminari didn’t know if this was a blessing or his worst nightmare. Out of all the people in his class, of course, he was selected to go up against Ojiro, one of the strongest in the class in hand-to-hand, with actual pre-UA experience.

Kaminari’s nerves made themselves known in the form of a tight knot twisting in his stomach. Was he ready for this? Sure, even Aizawa had said that his fighting skills were improving but in the scheme of things it had only been two weeks! And to go up in front of his whole class too? This kind of stuff had never bothered him before, being bested by his classmates had practically become a part of his daily routine and he didn’t exactly like it but he had excepted it, now Kaminari had something to prove, not so much to everyone else but to himself.

A pat on the back and a horn poking into his cheek brought Kaminari back to reality. He looked over to see Kirishima and Mina’s humorous grins, “Tough break man! I wouldn’t want to go up against Ojiro quirkless!” Kirishima laughed in good nature.

“Good luck, Kami!” Mina giggled, “Oh look! Tsyuu and Momo, are finished, you’re up next!”

“Thanks, guys! Pray for me will you?” Kaminari smiled before making his way onto the mats where Ojiro and an eager All Might waited for him. “Are you both ready boys?!”

“Yes sir.” “Yep!” both Ojiro and Kaminari parroted back. Ojiro widen his stance so his body was low to the ground, with his tail tucked away, all of his weight was on his front leg making him look like he was about to spring forward. Kaminari quickly followed suit, spreading his legs for balance and slightly lifting his heels in the event he needed to quickly dodge an attack, just like Aizawa had taught him, Kaminari positioned his arms to protect his most vulnerable areas. Behind him, the cheers of his friends faded into a soft murmur, quieter than the sounds of the steady rhythm of his heartbeat and his vision tunnelled, focusing intently on his opponent.

“Ready, set… GO!” Just as Kaminari had expected Ojiro pounced forward expecting the match to be quick and simple, but Kaminari wasn’t willing to accept defeat so easily. Kaminari dodged around Ojiro’s attempted hit and swept his leg across the ground, just barely catching Ojiro's foot causing him to stumble slightly before he collected himself, Kaminari didn’t waste a second before using the momentum of his sweeping leg to propel him and his tightly gripped fist right into Ojiro’s open side. The shock of the blow had both Ojiro and Kaminari gasping however Ojiro was quick to recover and even quicker to re-evaluate Kaminari's potential in the match. Suddenly growing more serious, Ojiro brought up his guard and waited for Kaminari’s next move. The thrill of the successful punch had boiled and evaporated any form of nerves Kaminari had previously experienced, so much so that he didn’t hesitate to jump forward in an attempt to tackle Ojiro, a naive move in foresight. Even with Kaminari’s practice, Ojiro was still the more experienced fighter and Kaminari was a first-hand witness to that, shown through the Ojiro’s forearm striking right along the centre of Kaminari’s back, causing him to collapse.

Kaminari just barely rolled out of the way to avoid Ojiro's next attack, pushing himself back onto his feet. The fight continued in the same fashion, blows were exchanged more in Ojiro’s favour than Kaminari's, nonetheless, Kaminari did manage to score his own hits in, a particular highlight of his was a well-timed round-house kick that had sent Ojiro stumbling a couple steps backward.

“TIME’S UP!” All Might screeched from his position at the side of the mat, “Well done boys! Since we have no conclusive winner we shall call this match a tie!” Kaminari tried his best to quietly heave his breath in and out whilst simultaneously containing his massive grin. He hadn’t lost! He’d actually got hits in and had stayed up the whole time!
Kaminari reached out to grasp Ojiro’s already stretched-out hand in a firm shake, “That was amazing Kaminari!” Kaminari laughed sheepishly at the unfamiliar praise, “Well have to spar again sometime” he replied not expecting Ojiro to actually agree, “Definitely! I had fun man!”

With that kind sentiment, all of Kaminari’s senses of his surrounding returned fully… All but one? He couldn’t hear his classmates at all? Kaminari turned around to face his class only to be met with the silent and shocked faces of eighteen teenagers, all with their jaws firmly on the floor. Kaminari would have laughed if he wasn’t so out of breath. Bakugou was the first to recover storming towards Kaminari.

“What was that, Dunceface?!” He yelled in typical Bakugou taste, “Have you been holding out on me?!!!” Bakugou’s explosive shrieks shattered the class’s silence spurring them into action.

“Oh my god, Kami! Teach me how to do that!”

“That was so manly!”

“To be able to hold out against Ojiro like that is incredibly impressive, especially since Kaminari was one of the lowest ranking in the class for physical skills, to change so much in such a short period the amount of sudden training that would need is almost impossible, how-”

“SHUT UP, DEK-”

“Where did you learn to fight so well Kaminari?”

‘Is this what you’ve been doing instead of hanging out with us?!”

Luckily All Might took some of his limited teacher initiative and prevented the class from assaulting Kaminari with their questions and further, instructing the next pair to step onto the mat for their match. But not without the general attention of the whole class Kaminari was left to face his closest friends, including, god forbid, Bakugou Katsuki.

“Tell me what the fuck just happened, Dunceface!” Bakugou grabbed the front of Kaminari’s uniform, “There’s no chance in hell, you got better so quickly. The only explanation here is that you’ve been hiding this shit from me! Are you not taking me seriously?!”

“Jeez, Bakugou what’s got your undies in a twist man? I’ve just been doing a little more… Um.. independent training?” Kamianri said, wincing at the uncertainty in his own voice. “WAS THAT A QUESTION? YOU IDIOT.”

Before Bakugou could unload his rage even further, the angel that was Kirishima reached out to unhook Bakugou's twisted hand from Kaminari’s shirt. “Oh come on man! This is amazing!” Kirishima turned fully to Kaminari, “You were so good out there! I can really see you’ve put in so much work, bro! That kind of manliness is insane!”

Mina and Sero were quick to agree with Kirishima spouting their own praises and congratulations along with questions about what he had been doing recently.

Kaminari brushed them off with thanks and jokes but in the back of his mind a small flicker of hope had been lit, maybe he could actually do this, maybe being an Underground hero was actually something he could achieve and be good at! But Kaminari kept that flame small as he knew he still had a long way to go.

Nonetheless, Kaminari was excited about what was coming in the future!

Chapter Text

Black figures floated in and out of his peripheral vision like waves of tar ready to engulf Kaminari. He could hear his heart thumping, but couldn’t feel it in his chest, his feet were rooted firmly to the ground. His fingers stretched out in front of him, a discernible amount blurred in front of his face. The thumping was accompanied by the sound of marching. 

Suddenly, Kaminari could perceive his surroundings, the UA gym, he had become so familiar with as of recently. The black figures were no longer threatening blobs but rather the exact shape and size of his own classmates. He could feel their eyes trained on him as they marched forward in unison but their faces remained unperceivable. 

A familiar silhouette of unruly spiky hair caught his attention, blonde… no red… who was it? 

“Do you think you can save anyone like this?” The voice boomed from all around him, but somehow he knew it was coming from the figure. 

To Kaminari’s left, a second large figure with too many limbs made itself known. “You’re going to hurt us with your quirk. We’re afraid to fight by your side…” 

Kaminari tried to speak, but his mouth was sealed shut as tightly as his feet were bound to the floor. 

“Useless.” 

“Dangerous.” 

Kamianri pulled at his feet and squeezed his eyes shut, but no matter how hard he scrunched his face, his eyelids were transparent, hiding nothing from his unwavering view. The voices were only getting louder and louder until his head was shaking with the force of the vibrations. The faceless shadows got closer, reaching out to touch him. Kaminari tried to scream, but it never left the back of his throat. 

Then– 

A sharp crack split through the air. Yellow sparks burst from his body, running jagged lines throughout the room. The shadows cracked like glass, splintering to dust. 

Kaminari’s eyes flew open. 

He jerked upright in his bed, chest heaving, a raw gasp tearing from his throat. His T-shirt clung damp to his skin, hair plastered against his forehead with sweat. The faint smell of ozone lingered in the air.

On his nightstand, his alarm clock was a charred mess, smoke curling lazily from its broken screen, filling his nose with the pungent smell of burning plastic. A weak spark jumped between his trembling fingers before dying out.

“Shit…” he muttered hoarsely, pressing a palm to his face, trying to steady his breathing. But even in the safety of his dorm room, the echo of those voices clung to him, buzzing like leftover static in his head. Kaminari almost didn’t hear the rapping at his door. 

Jumping up from his position, Kaminari at least had the foresight to wipe the sweat hastily off his forehead, pushing back his damp hair before opening the door to… Bakugou? 

“Wha-? What are you doing up so early, Bakugou?” Kaminari sheepishly laughs. His attempt at a lighthearted conversation obviously doesn’t land well with the already displeased Bakugou in front of him, not that Kaminari is surprised. 

“I’m up at this time every morning, it’s you who's always sleeping in Dunceface-” Kaminari scoffed at that, he’d been getting up very early lately, thank you very much. “I heard you yelling, the fucks wrong with you, idiot?” 

Ah crap, Kaminari thought to himself. The last thing he wanted to do was admit to big, brave, ‘I eat fear for breakfast’ Bakugou that he was having a nightmare. “Nah, you got the wrong room.” Kaminari almost smacked himself. 

Bakugou’s crimson eyes flickered behind Kaminari, surveying the room quickly and efficiently. “The hell happened to your clock? Looks like it’s been nuked.” 

Kaminari freezes, stammering out a laugh. “Um? Must have been a power surge…? From the storm last week…” 

“It’s still smoking.” Fuck. Kaminari was way too in deep now to tell the truth.

“Well! Honestly, I might try to catch some extra z’s before class starts in…” Kaminari glances at his clock. “Uh.. a few hours? See you later, Bakugou!” Kaminari quickly shuts his door right in Bakugou’s face, cutting him off mid yell, before letting out a breath Kaminari didn’t know he was holding. He might’ve been bullshiting Bakugou, but Kaminari did actually have to go meet Aizawa soon. 

_______________________________________

The walk to his morning training was dull and quiet after his quick escape from the dorm rooms, careful to avoid any early risers, particularly Bakugou. Kamianri’s eyes blurred from the lack of restful sleep and his mind replayed his dream like a broken record player. The cold air of the gym he had unconsciously found himself in wakes Kaminari out of his stupor. 

“You look like you lost a fight in your sleep.” Aizawa’s tired voice echoed through the empty gym. 

Kaminari’s left eyebrow might have actually risen off his face as he gave his teachers eyebags a quick once over. “Had a bit of a late night, sorry Mr Aizawa, but don’t worry, I’m ready to train!” 

“...okay…” Aizawa pulls out two thick black sticks from the duffle bag at his side, almost like miniature baseball bats or maybe… batons? “You’ll be using these today for training.” 

Kaminari immediately lit up at the prospect of a new phase of training. 

“With your quirk.” Some of Kaminari’s light flickered. What an unlucky morning to be starting quirk training. Kaminari tried to push the thought to the back of his mind and focus on his teacher's instructions. 

“These escrima sticks are a type of baton, they’re metal and built to withstand electricity. I want you to channel electricity into them. Don’t release the electricity.” 

Taking the sticks from Aizawa, Kaminari tried to get a feel for the weight of the weapons.   

“Ready?” Questioned Aizawa, “channel the electricity into your palms.” Kaminari thought intently about his hands wrapped around the sticks whilst trying to slowly activate his quirk; to his dismay, sparks started to fly from all the way up his biceps. Kaminari instantly cut off his quirk, stepping away from Aizawa. 

“Try again.” 

He did, only for the same result. Kaminari took an even further step from his teacher. 

“Why are you hesitating?” 

Kaminari’s throat tightened, “Uh”. 

Aizawa’s stare was unforgiving and unwavering. Kaminari had no choice but to answer, “I don’t want to electricute you…” 

Aizawa’s sigh seemed to carry the weight of a mountain, but his voice was softer when he answered. “Kaminari, you’re a good kid. I know what you’re afraid of, but if you hesitate like this in the field, you won’t only be putting yourself at risk. You’ll be gambling with the lives of other people, too. 

Kaminari’s mouth went dry, the faint voices of his classmates - “Useless.” “Dangerous.” - floated in his skull. “But what if I’m putting them in more danger by using my quirk?” The words came out small, ashamed. 

“Isn’t that why you’re doing this training?” It was Aizawa’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “So fear doesn’t control you anymore? So you can sharpen your quirk to do exactly what you need it to. So that you won’t injure others… or yourself?” 

Kaminari looked away, thinking about what had set him on this path originally. He remembered Recovery Girl’s words, “If you keep short-circuiting like this, permanent brain damage isn’t just possible, it’s likely.” He would be no good to anyone without this training. Especially himself. 

“You think underground heroes don’t feel the same weight?” Aizawa continued. “We all carry it. The question is, do you let it paralyze you, or do you turn it into discipline? Having control isn’t about never making mistakes. It’s about refusing to let those mistakes define you. And yes, that includes keeping yourself safe.”

Oh, he had never thought of it that way before… Kaminari could feel a new resolve form inside of himself as he nodded at Aizawa’s words. “I get it, Sir. I’ll try again.” 

“Good.”

This time, Kaminari imagined the sticks as an extension of his arms. He didn’t worry about releasing the electricity, just imagined it circulating his body like an ocean current pulling in and out. As the electricity flowed past his hands, Kaminari gritted his teeth, trying to force the electricity to halt and redirect into his palms. He built an imaginary dam in his body, as more and more electricity flowed down to his hands, it got trapped there. Slowly, Kaminari opened his eyes to be greeted by two bright yellow escrima sticks, zapping quietly. Upon further inspection, there was not a single other place on his body that electricity was leaking from. 

“Yes!” Kaminari exclaimed. “Do you see this! I’m really channelling through an object!” He waved the sticks around at imaginary enemies. 

“Nice, Kid.” Kaminari’s happiness was infectious to even the stoic Mr Aizawa, whose mouth curled up in a small smile. “Try a couple more times and then it’ll be time to pack up for your real classes.” 

_______________________________________

After a few more successful attempts, Kaminari packs the batons, collects his school bag, and makes his way to leave the gym. 

“Kid, you’re rough and just a beginner. But… you’ve got some real potential in you. Keep up the good work, and I’ll consider taking you on as an intern. No promises.” 

Kaminari gapped like a fish before collecting himself, “Yes sir! Thank you Sir! I won’t disappoint you.” 

Kaminari skipped to class that morning.