Chapter Text
Kaminari didn’t like Mineta, he only became friends with him in the first place because he was the only person who didn’t make fun of Kaminari’s quirk. Kaminari regretted it immediately after finding out how much of a creep the guy was.
He really didn’t want to be friends with Mineta anymore, but someone had to stop the pervert from creeping on all the girls. Kaminari had to talk down Mineta from half the ideas his sick brain created so that they wouldn’t be kicked out of UA. Sometimes Kaminari had to compromise, like last week, when he convinced Mineta not to put a camera in the girls bathroom by agreeing to tell them that they had to wear cheerleader outfits.
Kaminari didn’t like the prank but it was mostly harmless. If the girls were truly uncomfortable wearing the outfits then they would have talked to a teacher and found out that it was a lie. But they didn’t.
All the girls wore the outfits. Mineta laughed hysterically and stared at them shamelessly. Kaminari felt bad but it was better than the alternative. Besides he liked playing pranks on people, and seeing the girls reactions, he couldn’t help but laugh.
The girls were obviously pissed and had been ignoring Kaminari all week. He had apologised multiple times but they continued giving him the silent treatment. It also made things quite awkward between the rest of the class as well since the boys didn’t want to talk to him unless the girls had forgiven him.
Of course none of this was a problem for Mineta because he didn’t care about the girls forgiveness or friendship, he just wanted to gawk at them.
So Kaminari was basically stuck with Mineta rambling on about how hot they looked in cheerleader outfits until he was forgiven.
Kaminari’s one saving grace was the girls deal to forgive him if he did the dishes all week. It seemed like a small price to pay, but cleaning up after 20 people every evening was a big job, especially when he had no help. But still, he had accepted his fate with no complaints.
It was finally Friday and Kaminari had reached the end of his punishment. He woke up excited and incredibly relieved to finally interact with someone other than Mineta for the first time in what felt like decades.
He was so excited in fact, that he even arrived early to class (technically he didn’t arrive early, he was just on time, but considering that he was always late, it was early for him).
As soon as Kaminari entered the classroom, the Bakusquad started yelling in overdramatic surprise. The rest of the class turned to look at them, wondering what all the fuss was about.
Kaminari couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s stupid antics, happy to be included again.
“Kaminari?!!!! This can’t be real!!” Sero cried, eyes wide in exaggerated shock.
“The one and only” Kaminari smiled smugly as he made his way over to the group gathered around Bakugo’s desk.
“Class hasn’t even started yet!!” Kirishima joked.
“It’s about fuckin time you learned how to read a clock!” Bakugo complained.
“Well I knew you guys missed me so much, it felt mean to deprive you of my presence any longer” Kaminari said sarcastically as he pulled up a chair to sit between Mina and Sero.
“Who said we forgive you yet?” Jirou asked, crossing her arms stubbornly. Kaminari’s stomach dropped.
“What! No! But I’ve done the washing up all week!!” Kaminari whined dramatically.
“You still have today, it’s not been a full week yet” Jirou pointed out. Kaminari felt his heart sink.
“No please!! Have mercy! I can’t spend one more day hanging out with Mineta, I’ll die!!!” Kaminari begged, sinking in his chair and holding his hands up in prayer. Jirou only laughed at him.
“It’s okay Denks, we forgive you” Mina put her hands on his shoulder and smiled kindly. Kaminari slumped in relief.
“Oh thank you Mina” Kaminari bowed and took Mina’s hand into his own, holding it to his chest. “I promise I’ll be good from now on”
The group laughed at his over the top gestures. As Mina and Jirou laughed, they shared a look, clearly amused by some sort of inside joke they had. Kaminari didn’t question it, just grateful to be back with his friends.
The group continued to talk and laugh loudly until Aizawa arrived.
Class went by quickly since Kaminari was in a good mood. Aizawa left them to their own devices and Kaminari was being his loud, extroverted self, cracking jokes and making everyone laugh. The girls all laughed with him, showing there wasn’t any bad blood between them anymore. Everything was great again. Kaminari probably should’ve been suspicious, but he wasn’t. He was just too relieved that he had friends again, he had started to feel very lonely without them.
Next was gym class, which Kaminari despised more than life itself, but nothing could ruin his good mood now. He chatted happily in the changing rooms, waiting for the other boys to leave before he changed into his hero uniform.
He never got changed in front of his classmates, and thankfully they never really questioned why. The only time it was brought up was when Kirishima asked if he was going to change, and he simply replied, “I don’t really like changing in front of people”. The boys had nodded in acceptance and never mentioned it again. Kaminari was very grateful for that. It did mean he was always late to gym class, but he was late to everything so he didn’t really mind.
Kaminari was halfway through getting changed when the lights suddenly went out. He looked around in pitch black darkness, startled and confused. What was going on? Was there a power cut?
Kaminari sighed in annoyance, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark so he could find his clothes. He waved his arms in front of himself uselessly, reaching out for where he thought his trousers were. He felt beyond ridiculous stumbling around in the dark with nothing but boxers on. He just hoped no one came back in to check on him.
Just as Kaminari had that thought, it was as if the ground collapsed beneath him. Before he had time to even take a breath, Kaminari was falling. His stomach flipped and he was suddenly plunged into cold water.
Oh shit. Water…
Kaminari felt a paralysing wave of fear and dread. He hated water. He avoided it at all costs, for obvious reasons. Water and electricity were a deadly combo, and Kaminari had learned first hand how destructive it can be. He’d only ever been swimming once, but it had ended with multiple people injured and life long trauma, so he decided it wasn’t for him.
Kaminari had no sense of direction. He flailed around uselessly underwater, panicking when he couldn’t figure out which way to swim to reach the surface.
For one terrifying, horrific moment, Kaminari thought he was going to die.
When Kaminari finally figured it out, he burst through the surface, splattering and choking for air as he unceremoniously splashed around. He tried to take deep breaths to recover from the shock, but every breath felt suffocatingly shallow. The overwhelming anxiety he got from being in water made it even more hard to keep his quirk at bay, but he kept it all in, beyond terrified that someone else might be in the water with him.
Kaminari looked around frantically, trying to figure out what was going on. He felt dizzy, and it was hard to focus on his surroundings, keep himself above water, and breathe all at the same time. His brain took way too long to recognise that he was in the gym pool.
Distantly, Kaminari heard muffled laughing. He spun around, and to his horror, the entirety of Class 1A and 1B were watching him splutter around in the water. They looked like they were laughing loudly, but Kamianri could barely hear them. They sounded miles away.
Kaminari knew that his head was above water, but his senses were telling him that he was drowning. He couldn’t breathe, everything was muffled and his head was spinning.
“That’s what you get for making us wear those stupid outfits” One of the girls cheered. Kaminari couldn’t tell who it was.
There were so many eyes on him. Why was class 1B here? Why was he in this fucking pool?
“Wha-“ Kaminari could barely speak. His limbs were too tired and frantic to tread water and his head dunked underneath again. He coughed harshly as he broke the surface.
He needed to get out. His mind was racing. He needed to get out. He needed to get out.
From the side of the pool, a few people picked up on Kaminari’s confused panic.
“I think that’s enough” Ojiro spoke up, talking loudly so he could be heard over everyone’s uncontrollable laughter.
Ojiro and Kaminari weren’t particularly close or anything, but out of all of class 1A, Ojiro was most in tune with Kaminari’s anxious habits.
Ojiro was a very quiet and observant person, and it was hard to ignore Kaminari’s nervousness in class, particularly when he fidgeted with Ojiro’s tail to help keep his nerves at bay. Ojiro didn’t mind, if anything he was happy to to help the electric blonde through his silent anxiety attacks, so he made sure to keep note of all of Kaminari’s nervous tics to know when to offer his tail in support. And right now, alarms were going off in Ojiro’s head.
Kaminari looked like he was on the edge of a full blown panic attack and nobody seemed to notice through their laughter.
“Hey, we should get him out-“
“No! This is way too funny!” Jirou brushed Ojiro off.
Ojiro ignored her, stepping closer to the side of the pool and kneeling down to offer Kaminari his hand.
To his surprise, Kaminari’s eyes widened in fear and he scrambled away from the edge, almost drowning himself multiple times in his rush to get away.
“Kaminari, let me help you” Ojiro called out to him.
Kaminari could only splutter out the word “no” repeatedly in response. Ojiro furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as Kaminari swam in the opposite direction, trying to get as far away from him as possible.
Kaminari barely realised what he was doing until he felt his back hit the other side of the pool. Everyone’s laughs were still echoing around the hall. It felt like they had been laughing at his for hours. How long had he been in this pool? It couldn’t have been over a couple of minutes but it felt like hours. His limbs ached like he had been swimming for days.
Relieved to finally reach the edge of the pool, Kaminari quickly swivelled round to drag himself out. However, he only put his hands on the edge to haul himself up before he froze. His stomach dropped as he looked down at his arms, suddenly remembering that he was only wearing boxers.
His arms were covered in bumpy, jagged white lines, decorating every inch of his skin, carefully put there by his own hands. They were messy and ugly and all over his legs too.
At this point, Kaminari wasn’t sure if he was panting from exhaustion or hyperventilating. The laughter behind him was still distant but constant. It felt taunting and cruel. It felt like it was never going to end.
“What’s going on here?” Suddenly, a deep voice interrupted everyone’s fits of laughter. Kaminari flinched hard, immediately putting his arms back underwater.
All Might stood in the entrance to the hall, looking between Kaminari and the two classes for answers. Some of the students were still giggling shamelessly. Kamianri was surprised to see Ojiro still knelt by the side of the pool, watching him worriedly.
“Young Kaminari?” All might’s voice boomed, and Kaminari flinched again, snapping his head to face their teacher. His eyes were wide with fear and he was trying his best to breathe, but it still felt like he was underwater.
“Care to explain why you are in the pool?” All might asked, a hint of amusement in his tone. A few students laughed. Kaminari felt his face flush and he sunk further into the water, nervous someone could see his scars. He felt way too exposed right now.
“I-I slipped” Kaminari heard himself say. His voice was shaky and unsure. It didn’t sound like him. The classes laughed. Even All Might seemed amused by his answer. The teacher smiled fondly as he started walking closer to Kaminari.
Kaminari felt his heart hammer faster and faster as all might got closer.
“Come on young one, the jokes over” All might knelt beside the pool, reaching down to grab Kamianri’s arm.
“Wait!” Kamianri jerked back, but he wasn’t quick enough. Time seemed to go in slow motion as All Might hauled Kaminari out of the pool as if he weighed nothing.
Kaminari felt like a fish as he was unceremoniously thrown onto the side of the pool, his legs too shaky and weak to hold his own weight.
The only good thing to come out of this development was the sudden silence. Kaminari had a brief moment to thank god that the laughter had stopped before he realised why. He looked up to see all the students horrified expressions on the other side of the pool. They all stared at him wide eyed, scanning over his exposed body.
Kaminari didn’t feel real. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. He was drowning again. He was drowning above the water. Was that even possible?
Kaminari heard something above him and looked up at All Might. The words weren’t telligible in Kaminari’s brain. All Might was speaking a language he couldn’t understand. Kaminari could barely see him. His vision was blurry and shaking.
Kaminari’s body moved on its own. He stumbled to his feet, almost collapsing as he tried to stand, and ran out of the hall. He needed to get away from everyone’s eyes, they were more suffocating than the water.
Kaminari ran straight back to the changing rooms. His surroundings passed in a blur. He wasn’t fully aware of where he was or what he was doing until he found himself locked in a toilet stall in the boys changing rooms. It was only then that everything came crashing down on him all at once. A strangled, broken sob was ripped from his throat as he threw himself back against the side of the stall and sunk to the floor, pulling his knees close to his chest.
His breathing was shallow and irregular and he could feel his heart beating so fast it physically hurt. Everyone’s horrified faces flashed through his mind, it was like they were still watching him.
Kaminari didn’t remember opening the toilet lid and hunching over it, but at some point he started throwing up into the toilet. He gagged between gasps, gripping onto the sides of the bowl with a white knuckle grip.
Kaminari didn’t know how long he was throwing up before he curled back in on himself. Time didn’t exist, it was just him and the whirlwind of panic fogging his mind.
A knock at the door made Kaminari jump out of his skin, flinching back.
“Kaminari?”
Kaminari recognised the voice, but couldn’t figure out who it was. He tried to respond, but could only whimper pathetically as he hyperventilated.
“Kaminari? Can you unlock the door?” The voice asked.
Kaminari stared at the door, which was weirdly intimidating. He tried to unlock it, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t do anything but gasp desperately for air. He was still drowning. He couldn’t find the surface this time.
“Kaminari?”
Kaminari buried his head in between his knees and prayed for the ground to swallow him whole. He heard footsteps fading away and waited to drown.
Unfortunately however, the footsteps came back and there was another knock at the door.
“Kaminari, I’m gonna pass you some towels okay?” The voice was gentle.
Kaminari peeked up from where his head was buried to see two neatly folded towels being slid under the door next to him.
Looking at them, Kaminari suddenly remembered that he was almost completely naked and soaking wet, dripping water all over the floor. He looked down to see his body shaking like a leaf.
“Kaminari?”
Kaminari just looked down at his body in shame and disgust. His chest was caving in on itself. He hoped he would pass out soon.
“Kaminari? Can you hear me? It’s Ojiro”
Kaminari felt some relief at that. At least he knew who was with him now. Ojiro also had a very calming presence. It was probably the fluffy tail that was soothing to hold when he was stressed.
“Can you unlock the door?”
Kaminari stayed quiet. He knew Ojiro could hear him gasping, and that was embarrassing enough, he definitely did not want anyone to see him like this.
A few seconds of silence passed until Kaminari saw Ojiro sit down outside of the stall. Silently, Ojiro slid his tail underneath the door, offering it to Kaminari.
Kamianri hesitated for a moment, staying curled in on himself. Ojiro waited patiently.
Eventually he felt Kaminari’s violently shaking hands reaching out for his tail. A wave of sympathy hit him when he felt how cold and shaky they were.
Kaminari held the tail closer to his chest, fidgeting with the fur like he usually did when he was anxious in class.
A few minutes passed as the two boys sat in silence. Kaminari continued to fidget with Ojiro’s tail until his heart began to settle and his head cleared. His breathing gradually evened out until it didn’t feel like he was drowning anymore. Although, he kind of wished he did drown as his panic was quickly replaced with shame and embarrassment. He was also increasingly aware of how cold he was, shivering aggressively against the stall wall.
Kaminari let go of Ojiro’s tail.
“Kaminari?”
The was a moment of silence as Kaminari figured out how to speak again.
“Can you get my clothes? Please?”
His voice was quiet and shaky.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a second”
Kaminari heard footsteps fade away.
He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, appreciating what seemed impossible a few minutes ago. He opened his eyes and reached for the towels with trembling hands, wrapping them around himself and relaxing into the warmth.
The footsteps returned a minute later.
“I’ll pass them underneath” Ojiro knelt down outside the stall again.
“Okay” Kaminari agreed silently, accepting the clothes gratefully as Ojiro handed them to him under the door.
“Thank you”
Kaminari used the wall for support as he stood up on weak legs, drying himself with the towels. Slowly, he put his school uniform back on, trying his best to avoid looking at his body as much as possible.
He eventually unlocked the door, listening to it creak painfully as he opened it. He poked his head out shyly to see Ojiro sitting cross legged on the floor, patiently waiting for him. Ojiro smiled kindly, standing up.
“Hey” Ojiro greeted awkwardly, shifting on his feet uncomfortably.
Kaminari looked back at him like a kicked puppy. His eyes were red and puffy, his hair still wet and unusually dull, his uniform creased, and his body still subtly shivering. They looked at each other for a moment, not knowing what to say.
“That was so embarrassing” Kaminari blurted out.