Chapter 16 Lightning Serenade
Kaminari and Shinsou became inseparable.
Kaminari and Shinsou were both absolutely delighted when they realized that they were in the same class together. And, just like Monoma had promised, he sent an invitation to his birthday part to Kaminari through Shinsou. Kaminari took it him and handed it straight to his mother so that he would not risk misplacing it, and begged her to go, but Kaminari's parents needed little convincing to allow him to go to Monoma's birthday party. Kaminari's mom connected the dots quickly that these were the same soulmates from the mental hospital that Kaminari wouldn't stop talking about, but instead of tearfully wondering why they seemed to not like him some days like with his previous friends, Kaminari was always bubbling over with laughter as he talked about his newest, closest, two best friends.
Kaminari had gotten lucky when he ran into Momo at the mall while looking for a present for Monoma. He knew he recognized that sleek, bouncy ponytail, and Momo was just as happy to see him as he was to see her. After formal introductions, Momo gave him her phone number and promised to keep in touch before running off to catch up with her friends that she was at the mall with. At this rate, Kaminari was going to find all of his friends from the mental hospital, and he was very excited about the possibilities.
At school, Kaminari's original friend group would try to pull him back over, sometimes actually thinking they were doing him a favor by giving him an out from being friends with the freak, but Kaminari would drag Shinsou right along with him as he rejoined the group. Every time, without fail.
"You know that they're trying to get you to go without me, right?" Shinsou asked one time at lunch as Kaminari started to repack his lunch bag to join his other friends a few tables away after he had been invited to join them once again.
Of course, Shinsou knew that Kaminari knew, but what he didn't understand was why Kaminari would keep trying to include him every time.
Kaminari paused in his packing, looking up at Shinsou in subtle horror.
"Sorry, Hitoshi! I didn't even ask if it was okay with you. If you don't want to join them today, I can—"
Shinsou braced himself for Kaminari to suggest that he leave him there to eat his lunch alone, but he should have known better.
"—tell them I changed my mind. We don't have to join them if you don't want to."
"It's not that," Shinsou reassured, also starting to pack up his lunch to follow Kaminari to the other table.
Shinsou would follow Kaminari just about anywhere.
"I guess I just don't understand why you keep bringing me along," Shinsou admitted with a shrug.
"Well, 'cause you're awesome, Toshi," Kaminari stated simply, closing his repacked lunch bag and standing up straight. "Once they spend more time around you and find out how cool you really are, I wouldn't be surprised if they start asking you to join them and to leave me behind," Kaminari confessed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly at the thought.
"Then why would you risk that?" Shinsou asked, completely intrigued by Kaminari's thought process, as always.
"You deserve it," Kaminari answered simply. "You deserve to have all of the friends you could ever hope for."
Shinsou thought quietly as he stood up from his chair and started making his way over to Kaminari's friends next to Kaminari.
Before they were within hearing range of the target table, Shinsou muttered, "if I have you and Neito, who else could I ever need?"
Shinsou glanced over at Kaminari to make sure he heard and was blessed with the sight of Kaminari's bright eyes sparkling as his grin overtook his whole face.
"I know I tell you this all the time, but you're my best friend," Kaminari said as they neared the table, not caring that his other friends rolled their eyes at his attachment to the newest student.
Shinsou wanted to tell Kaminari that he tried his best to be a valuable friend to Kaminari because he didn't deserve anything less. Shinsou wanted to tell Kaminari how much he lit up his world when he thought it was going to fall apart all around him. When Shinsou had seen Kaminari on that bus before heading off to the zoo, all of Shinsou's problems seemed to shrink down to microscopic size. With Kaminari next to him, Shinsou felt like no problem was too big.
Instead of blubbering out all of the things that he wanted to say that still would not even scratch the surface of really getting Kaminari to understand how much he valued their friendship, Shinsou simply replied, "you're my best friend, too."
Kaminari was so excited for Monoma's birthday party. While Shinsou had gotten to visit Monoma multiple times since the field trip, Kaminari hadn't seen his friend since then. Kaminari was overdue for his dose of Monoma dramatics and Shinsou was excited to have both of his favorite people in the same room once again.
Monoma was feeling similarly. It was nice to have his soulmate visiting on a regular basis, and he wouldn't even dream of taking that for granted, but there was no getting around that Kaminari was important to him, to both of the soulmates. Kaminari was the life of the party, and while Monoma and Shinsou had finally started to get along well on their own, it was just more fun, and even easier, with Kaminari added to the mix. On the rare occasion that there was a misunderstanding or an awkward moment brewing, Kaminari would erase it like it never happened, jumping right into the next topic of conversation, and distracting the soulmates from dwelling on a misunderstood comment or awkward silence. Everything was just easier with Kaminari around; both soulmates could agree on that, at least.
When the doorbell rang, Monoma sprinted to the door, skirting around one of the maids as she went to answer the door so that he could get to it first, sending a cheeky smile over his shoulder as he slid around her easily and rushed to the door. The maid gave him a smile in return, turning around to continue her duties for the day, happy that little Monoma actually seemed excited for once. Even on the days that he got to see his soulmate, he wasn't this filled to the brim with excited energy.
"Denki!" Monoma yelled out as he flung himself at the electric blonde.
Kaminari reacted quickly and caught Monoma, hugging him back just as tightly, laughing as he spun him around in circles.
Kaminari's mother stood behind the boys a few steps, her nerves already dissipating as she saw the boys interact.
She had been nervous when she found out that one of Kaminari's newest best friends was a Monoma of all families. She had been nervous at the mall when Kaminari was trying to pick out a gift for him but got a nice break from her stress when he ran into that little girl that he had also met at the psychiatric hospital.
Then, she promptly almost had a heart attack because that little girl was a Yaoyorozu.
Somehow, her little Denki had been picking up friends left and right that are from prestigious, wealthy families. She was almost relieved when she had met Shinsou, but it seemed that Denki was making friends with the super-rich or the super underprivileged, the extreme ends of the scale with no in-between. But, when she thought about it, it kind of made sense.
While Shinsou might have had a hard time making friends due to his status as a foster child and moving around constantly, kids like Monoma and Yaoyorozu probably had a plethora of friends to choose from, but probably often wondered if they were friends because they liked each other or because they liked their family name and the wealth that they come from. Denki was a pure heart who seemed to subconsciously seek out the people who needed a good friend the most before quickly and naturally filling in that role, and they all seemed to value him just as much.
Denki's mother had been worried when Denki, despite having many, many friends, never really seemed to get super close to any of them. With his new schizophrenia diagnosis, she was worried more than ever that Denki would lose his current friends and have difficulties making new ones, but the friends that he had been picking up who had been so, so excited to see him each time had been from the mental hospital; they already knew about Kaminari's diagnosis, and they still rushed right over to him with wide arms anyway. She was relieved that he had found friends that valued him as much as he valued them, even as she stared wide-eyed at the huge mansion that she stood in the doorway of as her son hugged another blonde boy so enthusiastically that you would have thought it was years since they had seen each other last.
The doorbell rang once again a few minutes after Monoma had finished the tour of the mansion for Kaminari, who had bounced on his feet and looked around in awe at every new room discovered. There was just something different about him; Monoma had noticed it before, and he was noticing it again right then. While his other friends that he had had over to his house before looked envious in between the smiles and nods, Kaminari just looked purely ecstatic that his friend was so fortunate and that he was lucky enough that Monoma was sharing these things with him.
Monoma and Kaminari shot each other a wild look with huge grins stretching across their faces.
"Hitoshi?" Kaminari whispered conspiratively.
"Hitoshi," Monoma whispered back in confirmation.
The boys took off then, racing back to the front door as quickly as they could before a maid could beat them to it. Monoma was surprised that Kaminari stayed right in step with him, thinking that he'd eventually fall behind when he took a wrong turn. Monoma was more impressed with Kaminari each time they spent time together, and this time it was because of his spatial awareness. Monoma was sure that Kaminari would be a great hero; he could imagine him taking a look at a map once, and then maneuvering his way through a dusty, dark hallway to find the trapped civilians in the collapsed building without hesitating or getting lost at all.
When they reached the door and flung it open, they both simultaneously flung themselves toward Shinsou, who caught them easily and squeezed them back just as enthusiastically. Monoma and Kaminari were expecting to knock Shinsou over with their combined love-bomb, and both of them noticed that he had been keeping up with his workout routine from Touya just as religiously as they both had been.
"Guys! Guys!" Shinsou laughed as neither of the blonde boys were ready to let go of him.
But they had an audience and Shinsou had introductions to make.
"These are my foster parents. My foster father, Hamabi Genori, and my foster mother Hamabi Hanisu," Shinsou introduced with a smile. "This is my soulmate, Monoma Neito. And, this is my best friend, Kaminari Denki."
"We've heard so much about you!" Hanisu gushed as she greeted the boys who Shinsou had not stopped talking about since moving in.
"It's nice to finally put faces to the names," Genori agreed.
Kaminari was surprised at how kind and gentle Shinsou's foster parents seemed. Shinsou's smile was easy and not forced, so Kaminari took their friendliness at face value. Shinsou had told him that his foster family was actually pretty great, but Kaminari, along with everyone else not directly involved in the foster system, had heard about how terrible and scary it all was. Kaminari was relieved that Shinsou seemed to be in good hands and was even grateful that he had changed placements because that threw him right into Kaminari's school district so that he could see his new best friend every day.
Monoma requested that they all change into specific outfits for his birthday. Kaminari and Shinsou were confused, but complied, knowing that Monoma must have a reason for it. They were even more confused when their outfits turned out to be pristine white t-shirts and sweatpants. They looked even more nuts then when they were confined in a mental hospital, but they quickly shrugged it off in favor of following Monoma, who had a giddy energy radiating off of him. That would have made anyone else nervous, knowing Monoma and his tricks, but Monoma was also decked out in pure, bright white and, to be frank, Shinsou and Kaminari trusted Monoma. If it did end up being a prank, they were sure that it was actually going to be funny and not harmful. They knew Monoma was sneaky and tricky, but in a fun way that would never intentionally cause someone harm or discomfort.
It made it easier to go along with because they all trusted each other so much. Kaminari figured he might feel a little self-conscious when the other kids started showing up, but as it was, he felt like he was part of their team that they were all wearing identical clothing, even if that clothing was, for some reason, pure white. Kaminari then imagined them all during a winter rescue, and how pure white would be the best camouflage. He could imagine himself reaching out to share his quirk with Monoma and sending a disruptive current through the villains' electrical grid, cutting off their power in their hidden, isolated hideout. He could imagine Shinsou's voice echoing through the trees as the sun set, the villains answering back, and Shinsou easily taking control. He could imagine Shinsou commanding the villains to do silly things, like the chicken dance, in between commanding that they show them where the hostages are being held. The chicken-dancing villains would help put the hostages at ease that Shinsou, the brainwashing hero, was there to save the day!
Monoma led both boys to the back yard where there was a huge bouncy castle, a pinata already set up, hanging colorfully from a tree with sticks lying in the grass underneath it, and a circle of tubs of water balloons and water guns.
Kaminari bounced on his feet as he looked at all of the options and decided that once the rest of the kids showed up, he was definitely recruiting Monoma and Shinsou to his team and they were going to wipe the floor with the other kids who wouldn't know what had just hit them!
"What are you waiting for?" Monoma prompted with a grin in Kaminari's direction, noticing his visible excitement and anticipation. "What do you want to do first?"
"Shouldn't we wait until the others get here?" Kaminari asked, wanting to just dive right in but not wanting to ruin the experience for anyone else.
"I only invited you two," Monoma admitted with a huge smile. "That way my birthday party would definitely be the best because you two are the best."
Kaminari looked over at Monoma in horror.
Monoma rolled his eyes. "Don't get all dramatic on me. That's my job!" he scolded light-heartedly, not wanting Kaminari to feel bad for a decision he had made back when they were all getting to know each other in the mental health facility.
"No," Kaminari disagreed, shaking his head sadly. "It's just I wanted to be on the same team as you and show everyone else how awesome we are when we work together."
"I bet we'd make the other team cry," Shinsou added with a smile growing over his face at the thought of those snobby brats from his old school crying when they were absolutely demolished at a water balloon fight.
Kaminari nodded sadly in Shinsou's direction. "And what fun that would have been."
Monoma snorted, looked sideways at the two other boys, and darted off with no warning toward the bins of water balloons. Monoma wasn't even surprised that Shinsou and Kaminari had taken off in the same instant and that they all reached the bins at the same time. It was no surprise that they could practically read his mind anymore, but he still liked to keep them on their toes by trying to get the lead on them.
Shinsou could have dodged the water balloon that Monoma whipped in his direction; he was awfully good at dodging, after all. But it was hot, and Monoma was the birthday boy, and he figured he could take one for the team. It would have been more fun that way, anyway. So, when Shinsou looked down after being hit in the center of his chest, he expected to see the pure white shirt dampened by water. Shinsou was very confused when he looked down and saw that he was covered in bright yellow instead.
"Wha—" Shinsou started to voice his question when he was hit in the back by another balloon, this one coming from Kaminari.
"Blue?!" Kaminari squealed, delighted at the unexpected turn of events.
Shinsou saw a balloon whip past his head and straight into Kaminari's stomach, red paint splattering across the white shirt and dripping down onto the white pants.
Kaminari laughed out loud, rushing to grab another balloon to try to get some color on Neito as well.
"You're a genius," Shinsou whispered, but it was loud enough for his soulmate to hear.
Monoma shot him a quick, appreciative smile before refocusing on Kaminari who was rearing his arm back to send a paint-filled balloon in his direction. Monoma had managed to catch the balloon, but the force behind the throw caused it to burst anyway. Monoma cursed his poor decision because the paint made his hands slippery and it was harder to throw the remaining balloons at his companions, so he quickly changed tactics and picked up a water gun, sending a blast of pink paint toward his companions who seemed to be teaming up against him.
Shinsou and Kaminari jumped back, a dripping pink line appearing across their chests after Monoma's assault. Monoma had mixed feelings about the two pairing up against him. He was playfully angry that they would choose each other instead of himself, but also kind of proud that they determined him to be a threat that needed teaming up against.
After they were all thoroughly covered in paint, and the last balloon was popped during a struggle between all three of them to see who would get the honor of throwing the last balloon, they moved on to the pinata as the paint dried on their clothes, skin, and hair.
Monoma handed Kaminari the colorful stick to go first, blindfolding him, and spinning him around.
When Kaminari wobbled in place and readied to swing, standing facing the wrong direction completely, Monoma reached out to Shinsou, who met him halfway.
"Hey, Denki! You want some help?" Monoma asked.
Kaminari heard the waver in his voice and new that the question was primed with Shinsou's quirk. A huge smile grew over Kaminari's face as he lowered the stick and turned in the direction of Monoma's voice. If it turned out well, then this could be fun and training in one. If it didn't work out, then at least they knew and would not try to rely on an idea like this when it really mattered.
"Hit me!" Kaminari accepted, feeling the quirk envelope him.
Each time, Kaminari felt more and more comfortable. Even if he wasn't in control anymore, he knew he was in safe hands and the feeling of being under Shinsou's quirk, no matter if it was Shinsou himself or Monoma at the controls, was actually relaxing.
With the blindfold on, Kaminari had no visual cues to help him follow Monoma's commands. Monoma had to focus on giving exact commands that Kaminari's body would be able to follow without having the vision to guide him.
The simpler commands of "turn toward the pinata" and "swing at the pinata" turned into more detailed commands of "turn 90 degrees to the left, take three steps forward, and swing as hard as you can at chest height."
Monoma and Shinsou switched off giving commands, and even receiving commands from each other. Kaminari was used to being under, but watching the soulmates put each other under Shinsou's quirk and see them giving detailed enough commands to get blind bodies to do their bidding was absolutely breathtaking. Being under the quirk himself made him feel safe and relaxed; watching others under the quirk, especially the soulmates themselves, gave him chills.
The third time Kaminari was under the quirk, he swung like he was commanded to do. There was a cracking, a pause, and then cheering as the quirk was dropped from his mind. His excitement already growing, he pulled the blindfold up over his head and looked at the broken pinata and the candy covering the ground. He was swiftly scooped up into a celebratory hug by Shinsou and Monoma, and even though he was the only one who could only take commands and not give them using Shinsou's quirk, he felt like a valuable part of the team. He didn't know how the duo of literal soulmates made their little group feel like a true trio, but he loved them both so much for including him so completely.
The ate candy and bounced in the bouncy castle until it got dark, then they moved inside for cake and presents.
"Where's Touya when you need him," Monoma grumbled in frustration as he tried to get the lighter to work.
Monoma paused in thought for a moment, but quickly went back to trying to light the candles without pausing to tell his soulmate and best friend what he had been thinking.
"Kaminari," Shinsou started. "Can you set things on fire with your electricity?"
Monoma perked up in interest and reached out for Kaminari, who met him halfway to willingly pass on his quirk to the birthday boy. Monoma could have cried. It was the best idea he had ever had to only invite his best friend and soulmate to his party. Both of them would reach out to him as he reached out to them instead of flinching away and stepping out of reach, and that little show of trust alone was enough to make him feel like the luckiest kid on the planet.
Kaminari experimented by having the electricity zap across the space between his thumb and pointer finger, lowering his hand so that the wick of the candle was in the crossfire, and just about jumped out of his skin when it actually worked, and the candle started burning. Shinsou and Monoma clapped him on the back in congratulations before Monoma moved forward to try to do the same, quickly catching on. Once all 13 candles were lit, Monoma sat back in his chair.
"This is the part where you make a wish," Kaminari supplied helpfully.
"I don't know what to wish for," Monoma had admitted. "I have everything I could possibly need. With the addition of my soulmate and my best friend this year, I think I'm just going to wish that things never change."
"You have everything, you say?" Kaminari asked with a glint in his eyes. "I didn't see any pet rocks during my tour…"
"Denki…" Monoma started, turning toward him expectantly. "Did you get me a pet rock for my birthday?"
"Nope!" Kaminari quipped, looking around the room at everything except his best friends, which was more telling than his vocal answer ever could be.
Kaminari was telling the truth, though. He did not get him a pet rock… he got him a craft kit to make himself some pet rocks. And because there were three rocks in the kit, Monoma quickly tore the packaging open to pull the rocks, paint, feathers, and googly eyes out and passed them around, asking his soulmate and best friend to make pet rocks with him.
Monoma's pet rock was made by Kaminari, Kaminari's was made by Shinsou, and Shinsou's was made by Monoma.
When they fell asleep that night, their rocks were covered in just as much paint as they were from their balloon fight earlier, and the remaining feathers were sticking up in their hair after Kaminari had thoughtfully put a white one in Shinsou's hair to see the contrast against purple. Eventually, they resembled chickens more than children, if chickens were also covered in paint and exhausted from a fun day full of activities with their favorite people in the whole world.
Kaminari went home the next afternoon after bouncing around more in the bouncy castle and eating more leftover candy from the pinata. Kaminari couldn't stop gushing about how much fun he had had, showing his parents the paint-splattered outfit that used to be pristine white and exclaiming that Monoma was a party-planning genius. He showed off his pet rock that Shinsou had made for him with stars in his eyes as he talked about how nice it was for Monoma to share his gift with them and that he was going to keep that rock forever and ever because one of his best friends had made it for him.
The paint stayed permanently on the clothes but washed easily off of his skin and out of his hair. In the shower, he even pulled out a feather from his hair that he must have missed earlier and smiled at it. Monoma's birthday was filled with fun, the goofy kind of fun that Kaminari took the most pleasure in, and he was so happy that his best friends seemed so in tune with himself, so much so that he wished that he was their soulmate, too, so that he would also have a permanent bond to the both of them and they would never, ever grow apart.
Kaminari froze, the warm water still streaming over him and washing paint down the drain. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was lucky enough to have two amazing best friends; he wasn't about to let himself ruin it by longing for more in a way that was impossible.