UPDATED (YYYY/MM/DD) : 2020/10/18

CHAPTER NINE - PART ONE

I Want You to be Safe

Yuugo took one look at him the next morning and scooped him up into his arms. "I'm calling a sick day to school," he said decisively. "You're unfit to study."

Denki didn't complain. He only hugged Yuugo tighter. He had been subdued from when he woke up. Everything that happened the previous day was still vivid.

"You want to go to the hospital?"

Denki shook his head.

"... I want to stay with you for as long as I can."

He didn't know Death had been so close to people that mattered most to him.

Fuyumi told Yuugo everything in detail, the words Touya said. Yuugo didn't know how to console his son who had nearly encountered his brother figure's death. His young son who was already so mature at times. Innocence he saw in Denki's eyes had dimmed.

"Yeah. I have a day off today, let's go home and relax."

"It's fine if you don't have a day off anymore… as long as Otousan comes back home safely…"

Yuugo's chest clenched. Hearing his eight year old child saying that made his stomach hurt, like a knife had stabbed and been twisted inside. It was painful.

"I always try my hardest. Because I have Denki," he murmured, pressing his lips to Denki's temple. "For today, I will be with you all day. Isn't that nice?"

Denki curled in Yuugo's hold. "... Let's go home." He knew he couldn't ask for more from a hero. Begging for more is just being selfish.

Yuugo could practically see Denki's line of thought. Sadly, there's nothing he could say. He has his responsibility as a hero. So he addressed Enji. "Thank you for taking care of Denki last night, Senpai. We will be taking our leave now."

The man had looked stiff and conflicted in a white tank top, seeing Denki off. Hearing him saying farewell, the man straightened up and spoke up.

"I am sorry for what Denki experienced yesterday because of Touya," Enji spoke up, looking between frustrated and something. Yuugo couldn't tell. But it was apparent to him that what happened yesterday shook the man greatly too.

'Pitiful. It describes him pretty well.'

"Thank you, Denki."

Denki peered to look to the man standing awkwardly in front of the house.

"If you're sorry, pay more attention to Fuyumi, Touya, Natsuo, and Shouto. You're a shitty husband and father. Don't you know that the mind is the most delicate area?" Yuugo asked calmly. "I don't deserve to tell you off since I'm not much better, but… providing roof, food, and clothes, are not enough for a decent living, Enji-senpai."

"They all have their own thoughts. Before you know it, what happened to Rei-san will… I will leave it at that.

See you around, senpai."

Years passed and both Shouto and Denki graduated from primary school. The same goes for Izuku and Katsuki. They enrolled in the same middle school. For some reason, the school canon Izuku and Katsuki went to was conveniently between the two areas the four of them lived. It's a miracle that Denki recognized the name of the school though. Anyway, Shouto was finally going to meet Denki's first two friends.

Denki felt nervous.

Katsuki and Izuku felt like cousins more than friends, so it's like introducing your best friend to your family. Or something like that.

"Yeah, so… Shouto, meet Katsuki and Izuku," Denki introduced. "Katsuki is the red-eyed one and Izuku is the seaweed haired one. We went to the same kindergarten and we kept in touch over the years after I moved away. They're my friends."

The two snapped their heads to him. Their eyes were wide.

Izuku looked ready to cry. "H- hello. I'm Kicchan's f- f- friend! Nice to meet you!"

Katsuki looked flustered. "F- Friend?! More like Denki is my lackey! W- What's up with your hair?! I g- get it! You're gonna be half-and-half from now on!"

Shouto stared at them for a lo~ng while. Seeing the kids he knew for many years now, Denki felt secondhand embarrassment and a lot of warmth. And fuzziness. 'Just what is this feeling?' the blonde marveled. His two troublemakers of friends were super endearing today.

"Ahem… right. Wait, no. I'm not this spikier guy's lackey," Denki corrected, also sort of flustered. "Yeah so, you two, this is Shouto. We went to primary school together. He's my f-

"Best friend!" Shouto declared, grabbing his hand. "Denki is my best friend."

'What is this… is this jealousy? Kami-sama… what's up with these three?!'

"Yeah, Shouto's my best friend," Denki agreed. Shouto's eyes widened and his expression brightened up. Denki sweatdropped when he saw the disagreeing expressions on his two other friends. "You two are like family to me. Like annoying cousins," he said. "Don't compete for me now~" Only narcissistic people can say that, but he felt like saying it. Does that make him narcissistic? Hm.

The reaction is instantaneous.

Katsuki looked disgusted but his cheeks were pink. "The f*ck you on about?! Who is competing for whom?! Don't get so full of yourself!"

Izuku was bright red. "T- T- That's totally! I didn't even think of that!"

Shouto looked at him strangely. "What competition? Whatever it is, I'd win hands down of course."

Denki stared at them before rubbing his face. He felt embarrassed by his own words now. "I wonder why I'm friends with these weird ones…"

"Haah?! Who are you calling weirdo?! Look in the mirror!"

Denki's right eye twitched and he smacked Katsuki over his head. 'Who the hell is he calling a weirdo? I didn't call them weirdos!'

"Bastard! You picking a fight?!"

Very surprisingly, Shouto gets along well with Katsuki. Sure he looked at Katsuki strangely whenever the guy let out a string of curse words, but they could hold proper and meaningful conversations with each other. It was clear to Denki that Katsuki somewhat acknowledged Shouto and vice versa. It helped that Shouto was very athletic and smart, proving to be a foe worth competing with. Katsuki sparked competitiveness in Shouto too.

With Izuku, Shouto became really soft for some reason.

But at the end of the day, Shouto was closest to Denki. He was very attached to Denki and it bewildered the blonde to no end. Denki was pretty sure it was his own fault. It most likely has to do with being Shouto's first friend and being involved in his family dramas. To be honest, Denki didn't dislike it. Being involved in Denki's daily life, Denki being involved in Shouto's life, going through a lot of emotional-draining stuff together, Denki couldn't say that Shouto isn't important to him. That'd be dishonest of him.

What surprised him the most was Izuku's relationship with Katsuki though. From his observation, he could almost say that they're friends. Sure Katsuki still hangs out with guys who like to kiss his a*s, but he doesn't bully Izuku. He doesn't leave Izuku completely alone either. Like at lunch, sometimes they eat together. And although not much and Katsuki was being very curt while Izuku tends to be jumpy, they talked to each other too.

"What are you thinking, Denki?"

Golden orbs met mismatched ones. Denki shifted his gaze and looked outside the windows.

"Nah. I was just thinking…"

"About what?"

"About…" He organized his thoughts. "About how sometimes, a little push or even a little nudge is all that's needed to change something."

"Hmm…" Shouto hummed. "Yeah, that's true. But what brought this up?"

"It popped into my mind when I saw Katsuki and Izuku earlier," Denki said with a shrug.

"I see."

Denki turned to his best friend.

"Hey, what's up with how you treat Izuku? You treat him like a little kitten."

Mismatched eyes looked owlish. "Kitten?" The teen repeated before covering his lips. He was hiding the twitch of his lips because of amusement. "Is that how it looks?"

"Yeah."

"Ehh… Well… he somehow reminds me of Okaasan. He's really nice, too nice."

"He is, isn't he?"

"It'd be nice if he can become a hero, just like how he wants. But his quirk didn't manifest in the end. It's going to be hard, if not impossible. Why do nice people get the short end of the stick?"

At that, Denki's gaze was distant and far away. Then he blinked, and his eyes focused once again.

"I wonder about that too, but I think it's a mystery that won't get solved anytime soon, Shouto."

A/N Next stop, the Second Part! The start of high school, here we go~ Looking forward to it? Your comment is especially appreciated. Follows and favorites too of course ^^

By the way (1), Touya's connection with Dabi, huh… *smirk*

By the way (2), I haven't decided for Denki but ShoutoxMomo is definitely a ship I hope to also see in my story. Also regarding ships, OchacoxIzuku or OchakoxKatsuki anyone? I like both fluffy marshmallow and pop rocks. Or… threeso- joking! Muahahah! Maa… there are many more chapters before those sort of stuff happen…

In any case! See you in the next chapter!