Chapter Text
Denki’s idea of family isn’t all too normal.
His childhood wasn’t bad, he was cared for. He has sparse memories of his mom and dad, they did adore him and his big brother. They lived a comfortable life, in a nice house in a good neighborhood. He loved his parents, his brother, and his puppy named Sprinkles. It was just that the universe didn’t love his family the same way.
Denki’s parents were out on a date, the babysitter was about to tuck him into bed when her phone began to ring. Suddenly, it wasn’t bedtime anymore, and Denki found himself being carried to the hospital in his footie pajamas while his elder brother was holding the babysitter’s hand. Then it’s all blurry: tables with lumps, his brother crying hysterically, the babysitter trying to calm him down, then there at a shrine with a singular picture of his parents, dressed in black, a blankie clutched into his fists and a pacifier in his mouth. He sees the photo of his parents, and wobbles over to the shrine. He points to the photo and looks at his brother.
“Mama ‘n Papa!” he squeals with a smile. But his smile drops when his brother begins crying again, suddenly he sees that everybody is also in black. He doesn’t understand, and his lack of understanding makes his lips wobble. His emotions become erratic, and suddenly sparks dance up his arms, “Mama n’ Papa!!!” he points as he looks at the photo, “Aniki! Aniki, where Mama n’ Papa!” sparks flew off him. The crowd of people began to scatter as Denki’s quirk manifested.
“Denki!” his brother shouted. But Denki let out an ear piercing cry and lightning flew off his body. His brother ran up to him, embracing him closed and sucking up his electricity.
“Aniki! Aniki, I scare! Where Mama n’ Papa!” Denki cried as he clutched his brother’s suit jacket. His elder brother rubbed his head, shushing him softly and calming him down. When Denki finally stopped sparking up, his brother finally disabled his own quirk.
“Den-Den, they went away for a bit. But, don’t worry, Aniki will always be here,” the two brothers just cried in front of their parent’s shrine.
Denki Kaminari was an oops baby.
His elder brother, Raiden, was eleven years his senior. At first, he hated Denki. Denki showed a lot of problems developmentally, with early showings of Autism and Epilepsy. It made him learn slower, so his parents doted on him and were very protective of him. He changed his view at that funeral, when he saw his brother’s quirk manifested. It occurred to Raiden that his brother will now need him, especially since they have similar quirks.
Denki and Raiden were put in the foster system, where Raiden refused to be separated from Denki. Raiden worked his ass off so that when he aged out of the system, he could get a two bedroom apartment and adopt his brother. That’s exactly what happened, with Raiden actually finding a decent place close to Denki’s school. He also got a really nice girlfriend, named Fujin, who moved in after six months of dating and split the rent with Raiden.
The three people and his puppy, now a full grown poodle, were what Denki called his family. The two people that never left the young blonde were Sprinkles and Raiden, and now Fujin was like his mom. They went on yearly vacations to the countryside, since Fujin’s family owned a nice villa out there. Denki was the best man at their wedding, where he got to meet his in-laws, who adored him and paid for special tutors for his ADHD.
Denki was happy with his life, even more so when he passed his entrance exam after studying for months. Raiden was so proud that he retrieved his special jewelry box, filled with their parents’ jewelry, and gave Denki his mother’s golden chain with a tiny heart charm. Denki wore it under his uniform, giving it a small kiss anytime he needed a little boost.
Denki was so fucking happy.
He made friends, he was chasing his dream, and he even found someone to love. Jiro reminded Denki a lot of Fujin: she had a bob cut and great taste in music. He fell for her instantly and began his pursuit, he wanted a relationship like his brother’s. When Jiro finally agreed to date him, he was ecstatic, Fujin even helped him pick out a nice outfit. And when Jiro finally became his girlfriend, it felt like life was at its peak. On their one year anniversary, Denki ended up gifting Jiro his mother’s necklace. He truly saw a future with Jiro.
And then it all fell apart when he walked into Jiro’s room, catching her and Momo kissing. His heart shattered to pieces and he ran to his room, tears showering down his face. He cried for hours, until he fell asleep. When he woke up, he really didn’t want to go to school. His limbs felt like lead and his mind was still muddled with depression. But, he couldn’t miss school, he was already pretty far behind. So, he trudged himself out of bed and lazily put his uniform on.
When he went downstairs, he saw how everybody gave him the cold shoulder. He felt their icy glares and pointed stares, even with his tired mind he knew something was wrong. When he went to grab a plate for his breakfast, Bakugo snatched it and gave it to Tokoyami, who was behind him. When he went to grab another, Bakugo snatched it again, giving it to Tsu. When Denki grabbed his third plate, Bakugo growled and whacked him in the back of the head while snatching it.
“Can you take a fucking hint?! We don’t want you eating with us!” Denki rubbed his head and groaned.
“What the fuck, Bakugo?! What crawled up your ass?!” Kirishima came to Bakugo’s side and scowled.
“We don’t want to eat with a cheater,” Denki’s eyes widened. He looked at Jiro, who was sitting next to Momo, chowing down pancakes. Sero blocked his view, crossing his arms.
“Yeah, Jiro told us everything. So, do us all a favor, and fucking scram. I can’t believe I was your friend,” Denki felt his life falling apart in a split second. Everything was happening so fast his mind went blank and his body went numb.
Jiro lied, Jiro was the cheater. But, she lied. And now his entire class was looking at him like he was All For One. Denki merely gulped down any comeback he had, all the fight in his heart died, and the blistering fire of anger he had was extinguished. Nobody would believe him, so he just scoffed and walked to class. Tears brimmed his eyes, and a few even dripped out and trickled down his cheeks.
As he was walking, he ran into Shinso and Monoma. The two had gotten together at some point in their second year, and the other blonde had mellowed out quite a bit. So much so that he and Denki could be considered friends.
“What’s wrong, Den?” Monoma questioned. Denki sniffed and rubbed his cheeks, gulping down his words.
“Jiro cheated, but she told everybody I cheated. Now, nobody likes me,” Denki’s lips began to wobble. Monoma was stunned silent while Shinso looked angry.
“Seriously?! Did they even ask you your side of things!” Denki shook his head.
“They all think I’m a cheater, they won’t even look at me!” Denki whined as he wiped another tear. Monoma got out a handkerchief, because obviously Monoma doesn’t want to use peasant tissues, and gave it to Denki.
“That’s stupid! They should give you a chance to explain the situation!” Shinso argued as he clutched his hair in frustration. Monoma shrugged and scowled.
“It is very stupid, and the fact they won’t even let you try to defend yourself is ridiculous. Whatever happened to ‘innocent until proven guilty’ anyway,” Monoma put his arm around Denki, smiling softly at him, “you have us, though! We believe you! And I’ll make sure to tell the whole of Class B not to believe Jiro!” He whipped out his phone and texted the Class B group chat about what Jiro did. Instantly, he got replies. Kendo offered him to sit with her at lunch, Shiozake scolded such adulterous behavior, Pony sent a crying GIF, and Tetsu expressed his disappointment in Kiri for his unfairness. By the time the trio got to Class A’s room, everybody from Class B was talking about it.
“Listen, I have you and Class B to support me. So, can you tell them not to say anything to my class?” Denki requested, “they’ll just think I’m twisting the story,” Monoma nodded and texted the groupchat. He got replies of agreement, which led to Denki sighing in relief.
“We’ll pick you up from class before lunch, ok?” Shinso gave Denki a small smile, getting a nod in response from the blonde. The couple then began walking away as Denki got seated and began reading.
And so, for three weeks, this was his routine: get up, get ignored, not eat breakfast, go to class, get ignored, go to lunch, eat something small while sitting with Shinso and Monoma, go back to training, get treated rough during training (especially if he’s against a member of the Bakusquad), go back to the dorms, get ignored, is forced to wait for everybody to be done in the shower/tub, finally clean himself with sometimes cold water, go to his room to study, not eat dinner, and go to bed.
Denki thought he could live like this, he thought he would be ok since Class B supported him. But, something snapped when he saw Momo one day before she went out on a date with Jiro. Hewas merely passing her a glance, but a familiar golden shine caught his eyes and they brimmed with tears. Momo was wearing HIS MOTHER’S NECKLACE. Denki couldn’t take it, he snapped. He decided to leave the campus, ran so quickly out of the common area that Iida didn’t have time to scold him. He padded down the pathway towards the entry gates, his bare feet not registering any pain. He just wanted to die, his breath was staggered and mind seemed to be completely broken. When he finally got to the train track, he just sat and waited for his fate. He sent his brother a quick text, a final ‘I love you, thank you for being my brother’, as train lights lit in the distance. Denki smiled as the train got closer, he would finally be free. The train’s whistle echoed in the air, but Denki simply sat still.
Then, he felt a very familiar fabric wrap around him, and right before it made contact, Denki was tugged away. He watched as the train whizzed past him, his smile quickly turning into a frown as he realized he missed his chance. He looked down at the fabric around him, quickly recognizing the gray scarf of his teacher. Speaking of, the black haired man knelt in front of Denki, snagging his shoulders and looking him over. Denki saw his mouth moving, but his mind was too busy racing. When Denki finally began to hear again, the first thing he could hear was Aizawa’s cracked voice calling his name. He looked at his teacher, silent as tears ran down his face.
“Kaminari Denki! Answer me! Are you hurt?!”
Kaminari just laughed at that, because his mind was so shattered that there was no hope in putting it back together. It was a lesson he learned when he saw another girl in the same foster house as him have a mental breakdown. The family sent her away for a long time, apparently she never got better. Denki felt bad for her, even more so now that he too is completely broken. Aizawa could only watch Denki’s empty eyes continue to overflow with tears as pained laughter fell from his lips. Denki’s quirk decided right then to act up, but not externally. Electricity quickly flowed to his brain, overriding it, forcing Denki into a seizure so grand Denki foamed at the mouth and his pulse stopped. Aizawa instantly went into action, performing CPR to keep his blood pumping. Aizawa had called for a medic the moment he spotted his student, so now he just had to keep at this until the paramedics got there.
Aizawa didn’t like it when his students got hurt, watching the doctor’s rush Denki into surgery made him physically ill. He knew he needed to call Raiden, his guardian. Aizawa didn’t really know the family situation, Raiden looked like a young adult version of Denki. He knew there was some relation between the two, but he didn’t know where the relations started. As he dialed the Kaminari household, he could only hope that someone would pick up. He knew Raiden and Fujin both worked strange hours: Raiden was a tattoo artist and Fujin was a secretary for some CEO. When the dial tone stopped, he was relieved that it was Raiden’s voice.
“Hello, Kaminari residence,”
“Mr. Kaminari, it’s Shota Aizawa. I’m Denki’s teacher,” he heard a clunk and a sudden abrupt stop of waterflow. Aizawa guessed Raiden might have been doing dishes.
“Is he ok?” Raiden's voice was laced with worry, making Aizawa gulp.
“Mr. Kaminari, there is no easy way to say this,” he took a deep breath, “Denki tried to commit suicide. I managed to get to him in time, however, he began seizing at the scene and is currently in surgery,” Raiden was so silent that Aizawa thought he hung up.
“My baby brother…tried to commit suicide?” Raiden sounded so hurt by the thought. Aizawa took another deep breath.
“Yes, he is in surgery now at Musutafu General,” he heard clanking and pants as he assumed Raiden scrambled to get some shoes on.
“I’m on my way!!! Please stay there until I arrive!!!” and the line went dead. Aizawa merely put his head in his hands, sending a text to Mic about everything happening.
Raiden would use his quirk if he could, it would be quicker to travel through the electricity in the power lines. But, as a civilian, he couldn’t. So, as he painfully waited for the next train into Musutafu, he tried some breathing exercises. The train ride was filled with nothing but anxiety and fear, sweat beading down his neck. When he arrived at the station, he hopped off just as the doors opened. He was running so fast, people could only see a blur on the sidewalk. He was forced to stop, however, when a crosswalk was currently lit red. He kept his feet moving, bouncing in place so that he could spring towards the other side when it turned green.
That’s when a young couple joined him, holding hands and kissing. He glanced to the side, only to be met with some oddly familiar people. He knew he knew the two girls, he recognized them from somewhere. That’s when he realized they were Jiro and Momo, two of Denki’s class members. He was going to ask them about Denki, to see if he had shown signs of being depressed, when he caught sight of Momo’s necklace.
“Excuse me, where did you get that necklace?” he asked curiously. He had always wanted to buy a copy of his mother’s necklace, but it was vintage and he couldn’t really find it in Japan. Momo looked at him with a smile, gesturing to Jiro. Jiro seemed to look at him like he was the incarnation of Satan, her scowl was that powerful, “Kyoka, dear, where did you get this necklace?”
“Oh, my ex gave it to me. You kinda look like him, so I’m sorry if I look super pissed. He was always so blabbery and stupid, I couldn’t take it anymore. Our relationship was doomed from the beginning with how utterly moronic he was. Well, is,” she took a breath. Raiden felt his mind swirling, surely Denki would’ve told him if he was dating someone. That’s when the light changed, and the two girls waved at him as they walked away. Instantly, Raiden remembered why he was in Musutafu and began running to the hospital once more.
When he got there, he was met with the sight of the tired hero Erasurehead and Present Mic, along with two boys and a girl. He had seen pictures of the boys, Monoma and Shinso, they were two of Denki’s friends. Raiden went up to them, panting.
“Aizawa, how is my brother? Is he out of surgery?” Aizawa looked at the poor man, his eye drooping while he combed through his scruffy hair.
“I told the doctor I wanted to wait for you to arrive, but he is out of surgery,” Mic placed a hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll run off to find the doctor,” Mic took the little girl by the hand, “come on, Eri. You can help,” Eri nodded and went off with Mic. Raiden simply looked at Aizawa and the two boys, who both seemed very worried.
“So, brother?” Aizawa questioned. Raiden nodded, taking a deep breath and quickly got to explaining.
“Our parents died when Denki was only three, his quirk manifested at the funeral and I calmed him down. So, when we were placed in foster care, we were put as a joint case. Denki couldn’t get adopted because a moody teen came with him, but I was the only one who kept his quirk in check. When I turned eighteen, I adopted him and got an apartment. My wife also takes care of him,” he then turned to the boys, “do either of you boys know anything about Jiro? In regards to Denki,” Monoma and Shinso both looked at each other.
Raiden could tell they knew something, so he waited. Shinso was the one to speak first after receiving a look from Aizawa.
“Jiro cheated on Denki, but told the class he cheated on her. I think the class isolating him finally made him snap,” Shinso hugged himself, “I should have invited him out more. I should have recognized the signs of depression, he kept isolating himself from us. And now he’s here,” Shinso bit his lip as he began to whimper. Monoma seemed to have a soft gaze as he rubbed Shinso’s head, embracing him and allowing the purple haired teen to cry on his shoulder. While normally a display of young love would make him giddy, his mind was too occupied with putting the puzzle together.
Jiro cheated on Denki, probably with Momo, and lied about it. Denki was the ‘blabbery and stupid’ ex that gifted her their mother’s necklace. That despicable woman gifted their mother’s necklace to her affair partner after spreading a lie about his brother. His blood was boiling, he was going to set that bitch straight. His anger subsided as he saw Eri and Mic come back with a doctor.
“Mr. Kaminari, please come this way,” the female doctor instructed as she gestured down the corridor, “I am Dr. Tamada, I was Denki’s surgeon. My partner also performed his psyche exam,” Raiden fiddled with his fingers, “It seems your child-”
“Brother, he’s my brother,” Raiden corrected quickly. The doctor nodded and continued to walk.
“Apologies, your brother seems to have suffered quite a psychotic break,” Raiden gulped down his whines, “something triggered his quirk, causing a vast amount of electricity to flood his brain. That’s the reason behind the seizure. I was told that he tried to commit suicide, whatever caused his meltdown must have been severe,” Shinso and Monoma seemed tense, while Aizawa and Mic took mental notes. Raiden kept fiddling with his fingers.
“Will he be ok?” Raiden asked, “what are the next steps?” the doctor seemed to be saddened at the question.
“Mr. Kaminari, your brother has mentally regressed to the age of two. Age regression can happen in teens, especially after a traumatic event. But, with the physical trauma done by his quirk, it is leading us to believe his regression is permanent. We want to observe him for a week, see if he has bouts of ‘normal’ behavior. Normal referring to how he acted prior to this,” she seemed to search for the right word, “special case,”
“What-what if he doesn’t go back to,” he gulped, “normal behaviors,”
“Well, unless you and your wife aren’t ok with being his caretaker, we can discuss specialized homes for his condition,”
“Like hell my brother is going into a home!” Raiden sparked a bit, offended by the idea he would pawn off his baby brother. His volume startled the group, but Raiden quickly composed himself, “I’m sorry, my brother is the only blood family I have left. I don’t want to lose him,” the doctor nodded in understanding, stopping in front of a door.
“Your brother is in here,” she gestured to the door, “he can have as many guests as we can fit. Considering his age of regression, socialization is the proper course of action. It may even awaken his more mature behavior,” Raiden nodded and opened the door, looking at his brother, and he felt the tears well up.
Denki was hooked to an IV and a heart monitor, with a wrapped head and lichtenberg figures on his neck. His eyes were wide and sparkly as he played with a fidget cube, a blue pacifier in his mouth. Another doctor was beside him, and Denki would pick up the block and show him the photo on that side of the block.
“What is that, Denki?” the doctor questioned. Denki looked again and showed her.
“It a teddy,” he said with a few giggles, “I like teddies, ‘specially bue ones,”
“Denki, you forgot the ‘l’ again,” the doctor reminded, “say ‘blue’,”
“B-bl-blue,” Raiden had flashbacks of his mother sitting at the dining room table, going over the same thing.
“Oh, Den-den, you always forget your ‘l’ sound,” Raiden giggled as he walked in completely. Denki’s eyes shot to him and he smiled so bright, Shinso and Monoma thought they saw God.
“ANIKI!” he made grabby hands towards Raiden, who strode over and hugged Denki close, “I knew you come! You a’ways there for me, Aniki!” He looked around and saw the group behind. Aizawa was near tears, Mic admittedly began hiccuping, Shinso seemed to be sniffling, Monoma wore a tired smile, and Eri looked confused. She looked up to Mic, tugging his sleeve.
“Papa, why is Denki-nii acting like a baby?” Mic sucked in a breath and picked her up.
“I’ll tell you outside, baby,” Mic scampered out of the room. Shinso approached the bed with Monoma, the blonde choosing to speak.
“Denki, we’re your friends. I’m Monoma Nieto, this is Shinso Hitoshi,” Denki took the pacifier out of his mouth and licked his lips.
“N-Neato n’ Toshi,” Monoma would have found the funny pronunciation of his name amusing if it weren’t for the circumstances. His heart clenched, it palpitated in a rhythm that seemed unnatural. Denki was clueless, he didn’t know better. He didn’t know he was breaking everybody’s hearts. He was just acting how his mind wanted him to act. Aizawa took a few deep breaths, stepping forward.
“I’m Aizawa, I am Shinso’s dad,” Aizawa didn’t know if he should’ve introduced himself as Denki’s teacher. It could’ve triggered a second meltdown, and he already saw his student break once that night. Denki nodded at Aizawa and smiled, his eyes shining more than they had in months.
“Dadzawa,” Denki declared, pointing at him. A majority of Aizawa’s resolve cracked, this whole situation was destroying him. He wished he was more perceptive, he saw Denki’s more subdued demeanor. He didn’t know his class was basically bullying the boy, hurting him this way. He was going to prepare a long scolding for tomorrow.
The group stayed at the hospital for a while longer before everyone went back to their homes. The moment Raiden got home, he saw that Fujin was setting the table for dinner. Raiden began to cry the moment he shut the door, causing Fujin to run over to him. When Raiden told his wife about Denki, her heart sank and shattered into a billion shards. After a few hours of tears and some much needed food, Raiden’s mind was clear enough to remember Jiro and Momo.
He growled and relayed his hatred for the two girls, and Fujin in all her big brained glory began to plot their revenge. The next day, Fujin called Aizawa, organizing a parent teacher conference with him, her, and Nezu. Aizawa gave his students a study hall, leaving them to their own devices. The class seemed pretty quiet, each of them taking notice of Denki’s absence. Weirdly enough, it was Bakugo who broke the silence.
“I think we’ve been too hard on him,” he confessed. The entire class silently agreed as Bakugo continued, “I mean, it was a sucky thing to do. But, he’s still Denki. And from his behavior, he seems to think he deserves it,” Mina nodded.
“He has gotten really skinny from not eating with us, he doesn’t eat much when he sits with Shinso and Monoma either,” she supplied. Todoroki tilted his head.
“Yeah, I noticed Class B is actually very nice to him since this whole thing. But, he still hasn’t smiled in a while. I think we were really mean to him,” Midoriya nodded.
“Yeah! And we never even asked him for his side! I mean, what if he was seduced by a quirk!” Ochako gasped.
“Oh my GOD!!! If that’s the case, we’re going to owe him so much!” she began brushing her hair down, a nervous tick, “he would’ve been totally innocent, and totally clueless!” Kirishima deflated at the thought.
“When he gets back, we should give him a party. I mean, after we get his side of the story,” Sero agreed, clasping a hand on Kirishima’s shoulder.
“Yeah! Even if it was a lapse of judgment, he just made a mistake and shouldn’t be punished for it! He’s probably learned his lesson if that’s the case!” The class all began to talk about what kind of party to throw when suddenly the lights flickered. Everybody paused, UA rarely lost power, and the weather was perfect outside. A power outage was impossible with the current circumstances. Suddenly, the light bulbs exploded, startling everyone and making them shield themselves. Electricity pooled from the broken bulbs, garnering mostly at the center bulb before the current shot down, nearly striking Jiro. The students all watched in awe as the electricity began to morph into a human, his form molding until it solidified and human color pooled onto his body.
The class all held their breaths as they watched a more adult looking Kaminari turn to Jiro, his eyes filled with anger. Jiro shivered under his gaze, which was frozen on her. He growled, electricity flying down his muscular, tattooed arm as he punched her desk.
“Do you know who I am?” he seethed. Jiro was frozen, the piercing gaze of Raiden overwhelming her with fear. Her silence annoyed him, so he punched the desk a second time, “I’ll ask again. DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!” Lightning fuzzed through his hair. Jiro shook her head, “really?! Cause you had no problems talking to me last night! At the crosswalk! Where you told me about your ‘doomed relationship’ because your ex was moronic! After I asked you about that fucking slut’s necklace!” he pointed to Momo, “imagine my surprise when I found out it’s mine! That’s mine and Denki’s!” he strode over to Momo and put out his palm, “hand.it.over,” Momo was shaking as he unclasped it from around her neck. That’s about when everyone got over their shock.
“Hey! Wait” Iida tried to interject, but was instantly stopped when Raiden concentrated his glare at the class president.
“This necklace belonged to our mother, who died when Denki was only three! This necklace has more value in our family than it ever will to some ponytailed skank who decided to suck face with my baby brother’s girlfriend and then frame him as a cheater!” he turned his gaze to Jiro, “YOU’RE the cheater, and you let each one of these fucking pathetic excuses for heroes treat him like trash while YOU played victim! If you want ponytail pussy, that’s all well and good! But, you BETRAYED my brother to get it!” he pointed at her, “then you had the AUDACITY to tell all your classmates he cheated on you! You worthless, pathetic, SLUT!!!” sparks engulfed Raiden’s body, “MY BROTHER WORSHIPED THE DIRT YOU WALKED ON!!! THE AIR YOU BREATHED!!! AND YOU BETRAYED HIM!!!” Kirishima shot up, hardening his arms to deflect the currents of lightning.
“Wait! WAIT!!!” he pleaded. Raiden looked at him and calmed down a bit, “does that mean Denki is just at home? He ran out of the dorms yesterday and we haven’t seen them since,” Raiden growled, crossing his arms.
“Is my brother home?” he laughed hysterically, holding his forehead, “I wish he was home! But, he’s not! He’s at the hospital, because he tried to kill himself last night! After seeing that WHORE with our mother’s necklace around her SLUTTY neck!” sparks erupted again, “his quirk acted out and completely fried his brain!” Bakugo tried to intervene.
“His brain always fries out when he overuses his quirk! So, he should be fine, right?!” Bakugo tried to keep himself composed. But his mind kept thinking about Denki, how he almost died last night.
“NO! HE WON’T BE!!! HE’LL NEVER BE NORMAL AGAIN THANKS TO YOU FUCK UPS!!!” his human form began to morph back into electricity, “THEY THINK HE’S PERMANENTLY AGE REGRESSED!!! MY BABY BROTHER WAS SO TRAUMATIZED BY HIS TREATMENT THAT HIS BRAIN MADE HIM INTO A TWO YEAR OLD TO COPE!!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WATCH THE ONLY MEMBER OF FAMILY YOU HAVE LEFT PLAY WITH BLOCKS AND SUCK ON A PACIFIER BECAUSE THEIR BRAIN THINKS IT WILL HELP PROTECT THEM!!!” Raiden began to cry, “IF ANY OF YOU EVER COME NEAR MY BABY BROTHER AGAIN, YOU WILL PAY FOR IT!!!”
And just like that, Raiden zapped himself into the lights and disappeared. The entire class was processing everything: Jiro’s lie, Denki failed suicide attempt, his age regression. It was so much that the class didn’t know how to cope. The first one to snap was Mina, who took her notebook and chucked it at Jiro, smacking her right in the temple. Tears pooled down Mina’s face as she grabbed more things to throw, her breathing becoming erratic.
“You BITCH!!!” she shouted, “HOW COULD YOU LIE ABOUT THAT!!! AND YOU!!!” she turned to Momo, “HOW COULD YOU GO ALONG WITH IT!!! YOU KNEW DENKI WAS INNOCENT FROM THE START!!!” She threw a textbook at Momo, who created a shield just in time to block it. That didn’t stop Mina, though. She double shot Momo by throwing acid with her left hand first and another textbook with her right, this time getting Momo in the forehead. Sero had to restrain her, since she started to try to throw things that weren’t hers.
“Mina, come on, get a hold of yourself!” Sero tried to soothe her by petting her head. But, she elbowed him away, making him hold his side and groan in pain.
“NO!!! I WON’T GET A HOLD OF MYSELF!!! YOU DON’T GET IT, YOU’RE A GUY!!! BUT THERE ARE TWO THINGS YOU NEVER LIE ABOUT AS A GIRL: GETTING CHEATED ON AND GETTING RAPED!!! IT’S LITERALLY ONE OF THE TOP GIRL RULES!!! THIS BETRAYAL HURTS MORE THAN DENKI’S BECAUSE THEY KNEW BETTER THAN TO LIE ABOUT THIS!!!” Momo stuck her hands up.
“Hold on, Mina! We can explain-”
“What is there to explain?” Hagakure snarled, “you two KNEW you broke girl code by doing this! And now, Denki has irreparable brain damage!” she crossed her arms, but her body shivered, letting everybody know she was seconds away from tears, “he probably won’t even remember us,” Ojiro went over to her and hugged her, “we can try to visit him, can’t we?” Ojiro shook his head.
“His brother seemed pissed, I wouldn’t want to cross him. Maybe we can give it a few days, see if he cools off,” Ojiro suggested, getting roars of agreement. So, that’s what they did, they waited three days before going to Musutafu General. It was the best hospital in the prefecture, so they figured Denki had to be there. Each one of them took into account his mental regression and brought him toys, blankets, plushies, and pacifiers. Shoji had a basket in each of his arms filled with sweets, Iida’s basket had many coloring books and crayons, Tsu had even splurged and bought him some cool LeapToad toy.
When they arrived in the lobby, the receptionist took in the sight of nineteen children carrying baby toys. She couldn’t help the giggle that left her mouth, and gave them Denki’s room number. When they got there, they saw a woman with silver hair in a layered bob cut, coal black eyes, a beauty mark above her lips, and striking red lipstick. She was dressed in a white button down, pencil skirt, tights, and black heels with a watch that looked like something Momo’s parents might wear. She seemed doting, constantly playing and entertaining Denki.
When the class took sight of him, they nearly broke. His eyes had a shine that they hadn’t seen since the whole incident began, his smile was currently occupied with a frozen teething toy as he watched something on a tablet. Mina and Sero nearly broke down on the spot, while Kirishima didn’t even bother to hold back tears. Tokoyami looked at the bakusquad and shook his head.
“Perhaps it is best if you all wait until you calm down, you may frighten him if you start crying,” he suggested. Bakugo nodded and guided Kirishima, Sero, and Mina to the wall. Tokoyami then looked at Jiro, “you and Yaoyarozu are to simply leave your gifts and then walk out. That was the agreement,” the two girls nodded, looking down shamefully. Midoriya knocked on the door before opening it, watching as both the woman and Denki looked at them. They each set down their baskets on the far wall so as to not block the big tv or hog up the table. Jiro and Momo were quick, giving a polite bow before running out of the room. Tsu was the only person who put her present on the table, which made Denki get excited. He took the woman’s sleeve and lightly tugged it, pointing to the present.
“Fu, Toad! Toad! P’ease,” the woman merely giggled and nodded, getting up and getting the present. She bowed to Tsu, showing her thanks, before walking back to Denki and placing it in his hands. His smile lightened the room as he turned it on and began playing some counting game. The woman looked at the students with sad eyes and gestured to the door.
“Perhaps, we can talk outside while Denki plays,” she rubbed Denki’s head, “Fujin will be back soon, Denki. Be a good boy?” Denki nodded happily and went back to the game. She gave him a peck on the temple before walking towards the door. The students silently followed, each sparing a final glance at Denki before leaving the room. The woman, now known as Fujin, was shocked to see the four other kids by the windows. She frowned when she recognized them as Denki’s former friends, knowing they were partially responsible for his condition. She really didn’t want them around Denki.
“Can we go in and place our gifts now?” Mina was holding a pretty, glittery box. Fujin shook her head, holding up her hand.
“Not alone, not after what you’ve done,” she spoke coldly. It was such a contrast from the warm voice she used with Denki, “you all need to realize my husband will legitimately kill you if you go near him. The main factor being that you all caused this mess,” she pinched the bridge of her nose, “apologies, that was very mean of me,” she took a deep breath, “Denki has been like my kid since I started dating Raiden, I love him like he is my own child. Especially since I can’t have my own,”
Raiden and her had bonded over the fact she could mother Denki, and Denki held no objections when being mothered by her either. Fujin had gotten ovarian cancer not long after she hit puberty, and her life saving treatment involved removing her ovaries and uterus. She could never be a mother by blood, so she clung to Denki as her child. Her protectiveness of the poor boy was apparent in how she acted around him. Iida piped up about then, giving an apologetic bow.
“We can never express the sorrows we feel for Denki, Raiden, and yourself. But,” he straightened out, “please know, we do truly wish to amend our mistake. However we can compensate for your pain, we will do it,” Fujin could appreciate their will to make things right. But, there was no fixing this, Denki had shown no signs of reverting back to his prior mental age. And to be honest, Fujin was scared of what kind of mental state Denki would revert back to if he did.
“I understand and appreciate the effort,” she started, “but I’m afraid there is no fixing this. What you did has caused permanent damages to my family, and I reserve every right to protect the ones I care for,” she walked over to the door, “after placing your gifts, you are to leave, and never come near him or our family again,” she slid it open and left it open for the bakusquad, who all did as told. After placing their gifts, they gave brief bows before running out.
That would be the last time they saw Denki, until six years later…