Chapter 1: I'm Denki Kaminari

...

My eyes shot open in the middle of the night. Something had woken me up.

I looked at the clock, the numbers glowing clearly in the dark: 1:27 AM. Even though the room was pitch black, seeing wasn't hard for me. Ever since my Quirk manifested, I'd always had this ability to see in the dark. My Aunt Teru said it was common with electrical Quirks. She gave me this super scientific explanation that sounded like something out of an advanced biology documentary—something about ion and electron manipulation in the body, and how that affected the photoreceptor cells in the retina, increasing rod sensitivity and improving night vision.

Honestly, I didn't understand half of what she said, but hey, I'm not complaining. It's come in handy.

"..."

I heard footsteps... My heart pounded in my chest. Something wasn't right. Silently, I slid out of bed and tucked myself under it.

'Who the hell could it be at this hour?' I thought, trying to control my breathing. This didn't make any sense. My aunt wouldn't be back until at least 3 or 4 in the morning, that was certain.

Great. Denki Kaminari, future hero, hiding under the bed like a little kid. Bravo.

But in the face of the unknown, it's better not to take any risks! And anyone who says otherwise must have a death wish. I think I'm way too young and too handsome to die.

For once, I was grateful for being a light sleeper. Otherwise, probably would've caught me asleep. It had been a week since the U.A. entrance exam, and I was a bundle of nerves and energy, switching between distracting myself by playing guitar and stressing out over the results to come.

Believe me, I tried everything to calm down and suppress my impatience, but clearly, I wasn't successful.

The wait was brutal... and with all the stress about whether I'd get accepted or not, I hadn't been sleeping well lately. I had worked so hard to get into U.A.—or at least harder than I ever had before, which for me was saying a lot.

My room was on the third floor, the farthest away and, in theory, the safest part of the house.

'Whoever this is shouldn't be able to get here that easily' I thought. But… what if they did? Should I try to fight or make a break for it? Curled up under the bed, I wrapped myself in my rubber-lined blanket, the one that keeps me from discharging electricity by accident while I sleep. Funny enough, that blanket made me feel safer. It helped me calm down when I got this nervous.

I heard a creak. My golden eyes widened in the darkness as I saw my bedroom door move.

Oh crap! Whoever had come in didn't even turn on the hallway lights. This could not be good!

I held my breath without realizing it. It was clear that whoever it was, they were looking for me. Me! What the hell?! My pajamas, just a t-shirt and black boxers with yellow lightning bolts, were drenched in cold sweat. Fear coursed through my entire body.

Okay, so fighting is definitely off the table!

'No, no. You're a potential future hero, Denki, you need to be brave!' I told myself, trying to convince myself—but not with as much confidence as I would've liked. Naturally, I had some faith that my Quirk could at least paralyze he or she even if the guy or girl was strong, but the fact that all this was playing out like a horror movie scared me more than I'd expected. Why couldn't this happen during the day, damn it?!

I wasn't prepared for this; I was never good at facing scary-looking situations. It's why I don't even watch horror movies.

If it were daytime, I wouldn't have even thought of hiding; I'd be the first one to attack!

The guy approached the bed. I could only see his muscular legs from my hiding spot. Then his voice broke the silence.

"Where is…?" he asked, with a chilling calmness.

I almost froze in fear. My heart was about to explode. I heard him heading to the bathroom and turning on the lights.

"I thought he'd be sleeping… Maybe he's in the master bedroom?" the man muttered.

What was I going to do? I had no time. If he came back to the room and found me, I'd be done for. I had to think fast.

I could try to take him on with my Quirk… but what if that didn't work? Besides, if he was after me, he probably knew about my Quirk!

And no, I wasn't confident enough in my control to fight off a kidnapper who'd come for me specifically at this time of night. If he was wearing any kind of electrical insulation and I couldn't stun him or take him down—I'd be done for. This wasn't a fight against some basic training robot where I had the upper hand. No, this was a real, probably very strong man prepared to kidnap me.

I definitely couldn't fight him; it was too risky. I had to avoid getting captured at all costs. Only if I had no other option would I attack with all the electricity I could muster, but for now, I needed to escape.

'The window!' I thought suddenly. Yes, I could jump out the window. It was only the third floor, it probably wouldn't kill me. Just a few broken bones—hurts like hell, but better than being kidnapped or worse.

I decided to get out from under the bed and head to the window, climbing onto my desk. I pulled the curtains aside and, nerves in overdrive, tried to open the window. But, in my panic, I opened it too hard.

BAM!

The sound of the window slamming against the outer wall made my heart stop for a second. I heard rushed footsteps coming my way. I looked down.

'Oh, crap, that's high' I thought, suddenly not so sure of this plan. Maybe this wasn't my brightest idea—or my smartest. I was about to jump when I heard a voice that froze me in place.

"Denki!" the man shouted, stopping abruptly at my bedroom door.

I froze. Fear consumed me, and though I wanted to jump, something inside me just couldn't make the move. The guy was huge; I'd caught a glimpse of him, and he looked like he could snap me in two if he wanted.

"P-please… D-don't come any closer" I yelled, totally panicked. "I don't want to get kidnapped, I don't want my organs harvested, and I don't want to have sex!"

The words came out with zero filter.

"Take whatever you want from the house, but not me, okay? If I die, my aunt's gonna be furious, and she's a pro hero! You really don't want that!"

Seriously, Denki? What the hell are you saying? But I was so scared I couldn't stop. I was yelling whatever popped into my head. Facing my kidnapper was terrifying! Still, I was ready to unleash every volt I could, and if my attack failed, I'd jump.

"Denki!" the voice insisted, but this time it sounded more desperate. "It's me, Ryko!"

My golden eyes, which were gleaming with fear and confusion, looked toward the door in shock.

"Ryko. Ryko?" That name sounded familiar…

Wait a minute, isn't that the name of one of my aunt's many casual love interests? I vaguely remembered seeing him around once or twice… uh, I think he was the huge guy who came by every so often, but honestly, I never paid much attention to my aunt's boyfriends. She was quite the Casanova.

My brain took a second to process, but yeah, it was him… Ryko Kawa, if I remembered right. He was standing there, pale and horrified, looking at me like I was about to do something crazy. Which, okay, maybe I was. But it was his damn fault!

"What the hell are you doing here at this hour?!" I shouted, still clutching the window frame like my life depended on it.

Ryko looked embarrassed.

"Well… I, um, I just came to leave a surprise gift for your aunt before she got home from work… you know, wanted to impress her… and then just wanted to make sure you were asleep"

'Seriously? For that? To leave her a damn gift? I almost had a heart attack over that!' My golden eyes burned with fury as I looked at this idiot. My aunt had given him the house keys without telling me. He totally freaked me out!

"Please, Denki, can you come in and close the window?" Ryko asked, clearly trying to calm me down.

I was too mad to listen. I sat on the windowsill, trying to calm my racing heart. After a while, when I finally relaxed, embarrassment started to hit me. Everything that had just happened… everything I'd just said… I couldn't have looked more pathetic. If my aunt ever found out about this, I'd never hear the end of it.

Me, a potential future hero, going through such a ridiculous situation… my career as a pro hero would be over before it even started.

"You… please just don't do that again, okay?"

"And if… if you're not here to kidnap me… you can at least turn on the lights when you visit… I was so…" I stopped. How ridiculous this all sounded. "Forget it. It doesn't matter. Just pretend this never happened"

"Of course, Denki, I'm really sorry," Ryko replied, looking genuinely remorseful. "I must have really scared you…"

I stared at him for a while, still shaken, my heart pounding. No doubt I'd have nightmares about this. Damn him. What a stupid night!

And here was Ryko, just trying to impress my aunt and nearly scaring me to death.

...

...

Well, in case you don't already know, my name is Denki Kaminari, and, to be honest, my story isn't as cool as I'd like it to be. In fact, I grew up in abandonment disguised as empty promises, with a father who was once my hero and ended up as a memory I'd rather erase.

Yeah, I can be deep when I want to.

Anyway, even though I was born in the USA, I was fascinated by the legends of Raijin, the thunder god in Japanese mythology, from a young age. He was a powerful god, feared and respected, able to control lightning at will. Plus, he was a god from my mom's homeland, which naturally made him even cooler. I always compared Raijin to my dad, Elecplant, the pro hero ranked number 11 in the US.

My dad, Elecplant, or Ross Wattman, was the guy who seemed to handle electricity as easily as other people breathe. He'd been born with natural control over his electricity.

And back then, I thought I'd be like him someday—the hero everyone admired, looking as cool as he did, and maybe even feeling his approval. But that day never came.

My mom, Daria Wattman, née Kaminari, was of Japanese descent, unlike my dad, who was from the USA… Sadly, she died when I was born. I never got the chance to meet her. The only things I knew about her came from stories my Aunt Teru told me when she visited. We had a great relationship; she's the one who introduced me to a lot of things about Japan and legends like Raijin's, a god who fascinated me—and apparently, fascinated my mother, too, according to Aunt Teru, my mom's sister, so it had to be true.

Unlike my aunt, who often spoke about her sister, Ross never mentioned my mom, never spoke about her, as if she didn't exist and never had. Instead, silence was the only thing that connected us. And the few times he spoke to me, it was just to criticize me: if I was too hyperactive, if I didn't do things the way he expected, or worse, when my Quirk manifested, and I couldn't control it naturally like he could. Actually, I was the exact opposite of him—I had more raw power but absolutely zero control.

To my father, I was just a walking disappointment. He controlled electricity flawlessly, while I… well, I was like a faulty lamp sparking out of control.

When I was seven, my life got flipped upside down. My dad took me to Japan, but it wasn't for some important mission or to spend time with me. He left me at my Aunt Teru's house, under the pretense that he wanted me to "get to know my roots." Lies. I knew it as soon as I tried to go back home, and he said he didn't have time to see me. That's when I realized he hadn't left me in Japan for me—he just couldn't—or didn't want to—be my father.

Teru, my aunt, was his complete opposite. Though she was a mess as a substitute mom—forgetful and always busy as the pro hero Lady Shockwhip—at least she listened to me. She was the only one who talked about my mom, how amazing she was, how she'd loved my dad before he turned into someone else… someone who didn't even have time to remember his own past. And even if she wasn't always around, she gave me the space to be myself. I realized I didn't need to keep holding back that energy, that part of me that was always trying to be what Ross wanted. Not anymore.

When I was nine, I stopped calling myself Wattman. That last name didn't mean anything to me anymore. I changed it to my mom's, Kaminari. Denki Kaminari. There was no point in holding on to a name that had given me nothing but disappointments. I became someone different—more laid-back, more sociable, more me. I stopped waiting for my dad's approval and started enjoying life. I'd be the guy everyone wanted around, the one always in a good mood, who could make any situation fun. And that's what I did.

Of course, things didn't always go well. I wanted to be everywhere, with everyone. I joined trends, flirted with girls, and ended up in trouble—lots of trouble. At 17, my rock band was awesome for a while, but then everything spiraled. The parties, the excesses… one night, I ended up at the police station. The drugs were a mistake—one that almost cost me big time. Seeing my aunt talking to the chief of police, using her hero name to get me out of trouble, made me feel miserable. I knew she wasn't mad, but seeing the embarrassment on her face… that broke me.

It was shortly after that humiliating day that my aunt and I had a serious talk… or as serious as you can expect from two mostly carefree, energetic, and forgetful people. All of this was after my almost-girlfriend, Daphne, dumped me when I disbanded the band to try to fix my life.

Yeah, it hurt a lot, especially since I'd put a ton of effort into making something work with her.

I needed someone to talk to, and that someone was my almost-mom, Aunt Teru.

We talked about a bit of everything since I was feeling kind of lost after losing the only girl I'd ever had a shot with, right when I was trying to be a better version of myself. It was ironic how trying to improve cost me my first real chance with a girl… and to make matters worse, we didn't even make it to second base!

Yeah, I'll never forgive my past self for wasting a golden opportunity like that. Damn idiot, you had her right there, and you did nothing. TCH… I still can't believe that idiot was me.

Anyway, during my oh-so-serious conversation with Teru, I finally asked her what I should do next. Sure, my biggest worry at the time was that I'd never find another girl as hot as Daphne.

Don't blame me; it's normal after a heartbreak! Or better put, a wasted golden opportunity.

Luckily, my aunt had a lot of experience with love—or, well, with relationships. She always knew how to handle guys to her advantage and live life without too many complications… well, until I showed up as the son she didn't have, hehe…

She gave me the usual talk about there being plenty of fish in the sea, that I was young and at the prime of my teenage years, etc. She even told me not to focus on romance and all that stuff, but to have fun, try new things, and enjoy myself, to go out with lots of girls and experience life, according to her.

The problem with all that… I'd never been that successful with girls, and once I got a chance, I didn't really take it.

Luckily, she had a solution… or a kind of solution.

That's how, with her typical carefree style, my aunt just told me that if I really wanted to impress girls, the best thing I could do was become a hero.

As if it were that simple!

But that idea stuck with me.

I hadn't considered being a hero before; fighting villains didn't appeal to me. I wasn't like my dad or my aunt—I didn't feel any need to be a hero, nor was I particularly brave. I was just a regular guy in that sense; I valued my life a lot more than risking it for others.

And no, it's not that I didn't like helping people in need or anything—if I could help, obviously, I would, but that was all. I didn't have any heroic drive in me. I just wanted to enjoy life without worrying about anything.

But if I could be popular, enjoy life, and also get girls' attention… then being a hero didn't sound so bad. Why not give it a shot?

So, with that idea in mind, I decided there might be something more for me. I wouldn't be a hero for the noblest reasons or to carry on a legacy. But maybe being a hero meant something beyond all that. It meant freedom; it meant being me.

And you know what? If Raijin could throw lightning and be feared, then I, Denki Kaminari, could do the same. Except, instead of being feared, I'd be the guy everyone wanted by their side—especially the girls, obviously heh.

Oh, but first I needed to get over the embarrassment from last night with Ryko and promise myself never to go through that again…

I had to get over my damn fear of horror movies and real-life situations that look like them, or I'd have a rough time as a hero. In fact, right now, I was suffering the consequences of that…

"HAHAHA… I-I can't breathe from laughing. Never… never laughed this hard in my life! What a future hero you are, hiding, Denki… HAHAHA"

Naturally, my aunt Teru, who'd found out what happened, wasn't going to let me live it down so easily.

Yeah, as expected, that damn Ryko ended up telling Teru what happened despite my explicit instructions not to. That guy's definitely earned a place on my future blacklist. Next time, I'll hit that giant with all my electricity, no doubt.

The worst part is, I had no way to defend myself from my aunt's endless teasing… so in this situation, all I could do was sit there, as embarrassed and annoyed as I was with all of it.

It was my punishment for not being more heroic.