Well, here's the final chapter!

I do not own My Hero Academia.

Denki stretched out on the bed and clasped his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes and would've willed himself to fall asleep, but he'd already slept most of the day away. He sighed and sat back up. It took more restraint than he was willing to admit to not look at the clock with each passing minute.

It's only been a day. It'll take time for them to make a decision. Staring at the clock won't make the week pass any faster. At least Mic-sensei will be back in the evening. It really was nice of him to let me stay in the spare room of his apartment.

Staring out the window, he could see students trickling out of the school and scattering across the campus. He then looked over to the stack of comics Shouta had brought from his dorm. He hadn't even touched them. He hadn't even left the bed that day except to open the curtains when he woke up a couple hours ago. He barely touched the food Hizashi had brought him from the cafeteria and left on the nightstand, getting nauseous after taking a few bites. He decided to try again and reached for it when there was a knock on his door.

Mic-sensei must've finished up early.

He stood up and tried to straighten out his shirt and fix his hair to look a bit more presentable.

"Come in," he called.

His jaw dropped when Katsuki entered the room, and he sat back down on the edge of the bed. Katsuki closed the door behind him, leaning back against it and crossing his arms. Denki's eyes couldn't help but wander to the folder in his hand. His heart sunk.

However, Katsuki didn't say a word.

Instead, he stared daggers into the floor. His jaw clenched so hard a vein popped out at his temple. They both remained silent for a few more minutes. Denki's heart pounded against his chest. It was a miracle Katsuki couldn't hear it. Denki rubbed a hand down his face.

I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. How could I go back to class after—

"Your dad's a real dick."

Denki lifted his head and blinked. Katsuki finally met his gaze, his eyes ablaze. It was almost unnoticeable, but his shoulders were shaking. Denki blinked again.

"What?"

The folder in Katsuki's hand crumpled. His teeth clenched. The vein sticking out near his temple was even more prominent.

"What…what kind of villain could kill his wife…and convince his son that he did it for years…so he would never have hope to become a hero?" Denki paled. Katsuki winced. "Sorry. I'm just…I'm sorry."

Denki looked back down to the floor.

"It's fine—"

"It sure as hell isn't. No one deserves to suffer through what you did, Kaminari."

Denki's head shot back up. He couldn't help but crack a grin.

"I think that's the first time you've used my name, Bakugou."

Katsuki tensed and dropped the folder, barely catching it before it fell to the ground.

"Don't think much of it," he muttered. He took a few steps forward and held out the folder to Denki. "Aizawa-sensei said we had the whole week, but we came to a unanimous decision immediately once he showed us the evidence. Everyone seemed to think it would be best for me to tell you that we want you to stay in the hero course."

Denki's jaw dropped, but he reached out and took the folder.

"Are you guys sure?"

Katsuki nodded without any hesitation. The corner of his lip curled up into a smirk.

"In my opinion, a shitty dad is a pretty good hero origin story." He nodded toward the folder. "The extras wrote some letters to you. We weren't sure if you were up to talking much, so everything they want to say is in there. You probably want some space right now, but we'll be waiting at the dorms whenever you're ready to come back."

Katsuki turned to leave and opened the door.

"Thank you."

Neither of them acknowledged the crack in Denki's voice. Instead, Katsuki spared him a glance over his shoulder.

"Don't mention it."

Katsuki closed the door behind him, and Denki took a deep breath before pulling out the letters.

*break*

Hizashi led him through the empty hallways toward Nezu's office. Denki stopped when he turned the corner and saw the door at the end of the hall. Hizashi spun around on his heel at the lack of footsteps behind him. He smiled before slinging an arm around Denki's shoulders.

"Relax, listener. Nezu just needs some help with some paperwork he has to finish up since you're staying with us. No need to be nervous."

Denki mustered a grin but didn't say anything the rest of the walk to the office. Hizashi knocked before entering and holding the door open for Denki. Nezu perked up when he walked in. He froze when he saw Shouta sitting on the couch across from Nezu's desk.

"Good to see you, Kaminari! Thank you for coming. We're about to wrap up here. We just need to update you on some things and get a few signatures from you."

He motioned for Denki to sit on the couch next to Shouta who handed him a file the second he sat down. Before the other two could utter another word, he couldn't help but ask the first question that came to mind.

"What's going to happen to my dad?"

"He's heading straight to Tartarus as soon as the police track down the rest of his men," Shouta answered.

Denki slumped against the couch and buried his face in his hands. A weight lifted from his chest, and he took a deep breath.

"Aizawa's right. He won't be bothering you ever again, Kaminari." Denki sat back up and nodded, so Nezu continued. "This actually brings us to why we called you here. You're currently a ward of Yuuei. However, that won't remain for long."

Denki opened the file, eyes widening at the first page within.

Are these adoption papers?

A quick scan of the document confirmed his thoughts. He froze when he turned the page and saw the signature. He looked to Shouta, although the hero was blurry.

"Aizawa has decided to go ahead and adopt you as long as you're comfortable with—"

Nezu couldn't finish when Denki launched himself across the couch and wrapped his arms around his waist. The tears welling in his eyes streamed down his cheeks. Shouta didn't protest the action, instead returning Denki's embrace. Denki turned his head just enough for him to speak.

"Are you serious?"

Shouta moved a hand up from Denki's back to rest on his head.

"Absolutely."

That was all Denki needed to bury his face back into Shouta's chest, the tears quickly soaking into Shouta's hero costume; however, Shouta couldn't get himself to care and only tightened his grip on the kid in his arms.

"I'm going to take that as a 'yes,'" Nezu assumed with a grin. "As soon as you two are done with the paperwork, I'll personally see to that it gets processed as quickly as possible."

*break*

Denki hefted his backpack higher up on his shoulder. He could only guess his classmates were already in the classroom. He hadn't run into any of them in the hallway. He looked around at the other students hustling to class around him. None of them gave him a second glance.

It seems like the other students don't know a thing. Could this just stay within the staff and first year hero course?

He shook his head. If the fact that his dad had put him up to being a mole for the League of Villains did get out, he supposed he would have to figure out what to do later.

With his classmates by his side.

He stopped in front of the massive door to Class 1-A. He swallowed.

"Want me to walk in with you?"

He looked to Hitoshi when he stopped right by his side. He shot Hitoshi a grin and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Would you mind?" he asked.

A hand clamped down on his shoulder. Shouta stood right behind the two students.

"How about we all walk in together?" he suggested, unable to stop the slight grin when Denki's own morphed into a blinding smile. "Ready?"

Denki nodded, letting Shouta guide him and Hitoshi through the door.

And there it is! I've had so much fun writing this fic. Thank you all so much for the response to this story! I've got a ton of ideas I'm working on for My Hero Academia and a variety of other fandoms, so I'll definitely be around!

Until next time,

alightintheshadows