Chapter Text
The world crackled.
Denki couldn’t tell if it was his thoughts or the electricity still fizzing in his veins, but everything—everything—was white-hot and buzzing, like he'd stuck his soul in a socket and forgotten how to unplug.
There’d been shouting. Screaming. The villain’s smirk twisting as the quirk enhancer latched onto his chest like a leech. And then—
Blank.
Just static.
Now he blinked awake, staring at a too-white ceiling in a too-silent room, his limbs heavy and tingling. The lights overhead flickered faintly. He winced.
“Careful,” came a voice. Warm. Low. Familiar. Grounding.
Kirishima.
Denki turned his head too quickly. His vision wobbled. “Kiri?”
Red hair. A black tank top. Eyes full of concern and something unspoken. Kirishima stepped closer, but paused when Denki flinched.
Denki glanced down at his hands. They were trembling—faint sparks jumping off his fingers like nervous tics. “Don’t,” he whispered. “I might... zap you.”
Kirishima’s brows furrowed. “So? You know I can take it.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” Denki said, his voice sharp with panic. “I don’t know what that quirk enhancer did but I can’t—I can’t stop it, Kiri. I’ll fry someone. I’ll fry you.”
Kirishima looked at him for a long moment, then slowly sat in the chair beside his bed. “Then we figure it out. Together.”
“But—”
“I mean it,” he said, voice steady as stone. “You’re not a hazard. You’re my best friend, and I’m not scared of a few sparks. If you’re gonna short-circuit, I’ll be your outlet.”
Denki’s laugh was half-sob. He wiped at his eyes, embarrassed by the tears. “Dumbass line…”
Kirishima just smiled. “Yeah. But it worked.”
The lights above them dimmed—and this time, not because of Denki.