7:00 PM.
Barely a few blocks from his own apartment, Izuku waits outside Kaminari's house – the designated meeting place. With a bag slung across his back, Izuku stands alone at the entrance to his friends' home.
With the sun having set no more than an hour prior, the cold nip of a winter's night sends a multitude of sniffles up Izuku's nose. Huddled under the cover of the closest streetlight, Izuku clutches his arms for warmth. His casual choice of shorts and a t-shirt was probably not the smartest idea.
Despite his current proximity to a friend's house, for some reason, he's uncomfortable. His stomach's queasy, his throat dry and scratchy, and the hair across his arms refuse to relax from their stiffened position.
Last time he was out here, on these streets, in front of this very house, his night took a very different turn. Hell, his life took a very different turn.
Getting here was difficult, as to reach Kaminari's house, Izuku had to pass the same alleyway he had encountered that villain on Monday night. The lightpole was still bent in place from the last time he saw it, following that brute's collision with the steel rod. For the most part however, Izuku tried to keep his gaze averted from its dark depths.
Trying to convince Inko to let him out was herculean by itself, her defenses only collapsing after some clever tugging on her heartstrings and a few desperate pleads to visit his "first real friends", but now, staring down the strangely imposing doorway of Kaminari's house, his silver-tongued efforts seemed comparably easy. Izuku didn't like to lie to his mother, he was always raised to be an honest kid, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Now, standing here without a phone, Izuku had no way to tell Kaminari he was here without going up and knocking. Knocking.
For all of the confidence he had gained over the last week, it had still only been that: A week. Anxiety doesn't just vanish like that, even if he'd like it too.
The same thoughts loop endlessly in Izuku's mind:
Everything changed after I left Kaminari's house. This is where it all began.
Will… Will anything happen after I leave again?
Despite the horrific events of that night, Izuku was still thankful – even if it did come at a cost. It's because of that night his life had rapidly swerved onto a different path, one that he might be a little bit more okay with.
Well, once he mustered up the courage to knock on the door, that is.
Letting out a deep sigh, Izuku forces the viscous mixture of fear, anxiety, and over-excitement down his gullet. As his breath trails through the air, it leaves a fine trail of mist.
Shaking his head, Izuku's fist tightly clenches as he takes the initiative to act.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
Even the littlest of victories count, he mutters to himself.
Confidence comes slowly but surely.
Slowly approaching, the cold winter air envelops him, biting at his pale, freckled skin.
Should have brought a sweater, he glumly admits to himself.
Izuku gulps.
Rubbing his hands up and down his unprotected arms, he can feel every little raised hair and prickly goosebump.
How far am I? Looking down, Izuku finds himself only a few mere feet away from Kaminari's door.
When did I pass the halfway mark? This is going by way faster than I thought! Izuku considers, amazed at his own ability to walk down a concrete path. Boldly continuing his heroic approach to Kaminari's front door, a wrench is thrown into his planned finale for this journey: The door opens.
Bathed in yellow porchlight, Kaminari stands, dressed in tight black jeans and a white t-shirt, his already bright hair practically ablaze in the light. A black backpack is slung across his back.
"Yo, Izuku!" His lanky friend waves from the front doorway, unaware of how many of his friend's daydreams and aspirations he had just crushed. Izuku, stunned, stares blankly forward, every minor bit of momentum sapped from his being. His mouth dangles slightly, slung open from shock.
Kaminari once again waves, "Yo! Izuku?" His voice cracks with doubt and rising confusion, distressed by Izuku's statuesque stance. Slowly, without moving a muscle, Izuku shifts his focus from the concrete path to his friend.
Izuku quickly jerks into action, firmly planting his right hand on the back of his head while waving to Kaminari with his left in a desperate attempt to save face.
"Oh, uh, hi Denki! I didn't expect you to open the door! I thought I'd knock! Y-You know? Yeah!" Izuku's face quickly reddens.
Kaminari chuckles, "Ya had me worried there for a second Deku! Thought you'd seen a ghost." He walks towards Izuku, closing the front door behind him. Adjusting the black bag across his back, he walks past Izuku and towards the sidewalk. As he passes by, Kaminari confidently blurts out "Cool shirt!"
Looking down, Izuku studies his choice of shirt. With it's bright neon design of All Might, he must have subliminally chosen it to impress Denki. After all, he too was a fanboy. His body remains rigid, his hand still glued to the back of his head.
Turning around, Kaminari looks at Izuku with an inquisitive expression, "Uh, you good?"
Quickly catching up to Kaminari, Izuku brushes off the awkward interaction by ignoring any and all possible forms of explanation on his part. At least somewhat accustomed to Izuku's social ineptitude, Kaminari rolls with it, and the two begin to walk down the street, with Izuku following his friends lead.
"So, everything's okay? The plan's still good to go?" Izuku timidly asks, looking up to his friend.
"Oh yeah, no need to worry. Friend of mine owed me a big favor so I had her help me with this," Kaminari casually explains with a wave of a hand.
"Really?" Izuku asks, amazed that someone would use up a favor to help him.
"Sure thing! You'll see when we get to UA. Did you bring any cash?"
"Cash?"
"Yeah, for the metro?"
"I thought we were going to work out!"
"We are, we are! Calm down, it's how we get to UA from here."
"Oh… No, I didn't."
"All good, I brought extra just in case."
Kaminari looks over his shoulders, searching for anyone else around them. Spotting no one, he elbows Izuku in the arm, "Maybe when you get a bit more used to your quirk, you can get to UA quicker than the Metro! Huh, Spider-Boy?"
Hearing this, Izuku quickly shushes his friend before being met with a coy smirk.
"Don't worry, I checked! No one else is out here, trust me," Kaminari replies.
The neighborhood around them is eerily quiet with the cold producing that same eerie fog Izuku had come far too familiar with the Monday before. However, Kaminari's presence relaxes Izuku – where before Izuku's footsteps were the only sound that echoed against the walls of concrete and wooden homes, now it's the pleasant sound of chuckles, laughs, and jokes. Besides, if it got too dark, Kaminari could always provide the light.
"How'd your week go? Can't imagine trying to study with those funky eyes of yours," Kaminari asks.
"All things considered, I think it went pretty alright, I think... Could have been much worse. Writing is difficult... Especially when the pencil sticks to my hand. Or the desk… Even worse when it's the paper I'm trying to write on…" Izuku laments as Kaminari's expression grows increasingly awkward watching his friend complain about day to day life.
"Sounds like we know what to work on first with your quirk. Everything else good? How's being at home?" Kaminari follows up with. Izuku's amazed at the gentle warmth present in Kaminari's character. Nobody had really bothered to ask him how his week was before besides his mother.
"P-Pretty good too actually, besides, besides maybe the curfew. My mom wants me to go to bed earlier than before, before I usually do, to make sure my body grows used to my quirk or something," Izuku explains, using plenty of hand gestures to express his frustration. Looking up towards his taller friend, he continues to vent his frustrations, "She made me go to bed at nine last night. That's weird right?"
Kaminari grimaces, his face furrowing inwards on itself, "Oh, that's rough."
"And since my phone broke, I can't even look at anything! No movies, TV shows, can't even text anyone!" Izuku continues.
"Like you'd text anyone," Kaminari sneers, eliciting a shy snicker from his freckled friend.
"I mean, I could text you. Or Kirishima. Or Ochaco," Izuku replies.
Kaminari raises an eyebrow in doubt. A car passes by, its tires scraping across the asphalt of the street.
"Speaking of curfews, what did you mean last time we met? You said you'd explain why your dad makes you stay home after five," Izuku asks.
"Oh, that? My old man mandates that I be home before five so I can finish all my classwork, once I'm finished I'm allowed back out. Trust me, it'd never get done otherwise. I had a habit of spending my days afterschool at Kirishima's or Bakugo's instead of working, even if they were doing their own work," Kaminari brusquely explains.
"Oh, I see…" Izuku considers, unable to relate. He always did his work on time. Not like he had any distractions otherwise…
"What was it like? Izuku asks. Turning his head to meet Izuku's gaze, Kaminari looks at his freckled friend with confusion, "Hm?"
"What was it like to go to Bakugo's house? I hadn't been… for a couple years," Izuku stutters out, averting eye contact by keeping his focus on the sidewalk in front of them.
Kaminari goes silent, taking a second to ponder. In a softer tone of voice, he replies, "It was always a little different than going to Kirishima's house. At Kirishima's house, it was always loud, there was always something to scream about, be it watching TV, training, or just goofin' around. At Bakugo's, we were still loud don't get me wrong, but we had to be a bit quieter. Didn't want to set off his parents. And my god, if Bakugo was studying? Kirishima and I practically had to whisper to each other. He was always so frustrated when he wasn't the number one score in the class."
Kaminari chuckles as he considers it.
"He'd always get so frustrated when Kirishima and I would peep up. We made it into a game. 'Set Off the Bomb' we called it. We'd gradually get louder and louder as we talked until he eventually snapped at one of us. Whoever he snapped at obviously lost. Kirishima always, and I mean always, lost. Kid can't keep his voice down for the love of him!"
Kirishima and Izuku both laugh at their friend's expense. As the fog continues to roll in, Izuku is surprised to find himself warm more than anything else. Oh, the magic of company.
"You knew Bakugo for some time, didn't you Izuku?" Kaminari asks, his eyes burning with a soft sense of curiosity.
Izuku nods, "Yeah, I knew him since before we were ever in school together. Our mothers were old friends from high school and they'd have us go to playdates together. Everything was perfectly fine, we got along really well actually. We used to trade hero cards and share All Might toys. Even after his quirk surfaced and I never developed mine we hung out, even if he was sometimes a little mean to me. For all the mean things he'd go on to call me in junior high, I still respected him. I could sense his drive, his need to be number one. I always respected that, especially when we were kids. He's the one who came up with my nickname, 'Deku'."
Kaminari looks over to Izuku, "You mentioned that before. Bit of a harsh nickname don't you think? Why'd you respect someone who was so harsh to you? Sounds like he was a little gargoyle as a kid."
"I suppose so. I always kind of ran with it to be honest. I guess I just thought about how his insults always had to come from somewhere, as if they came from a strange sort of respect as well. He was always jealous that I outscored him on tests, even with his quirk. Respect in his own strange way I suppose," Izuku explains.
Turning to Kaminari, Izuku notices his blonde friends troubled stare. Locked onto the ground before them, Kaminari's gaze betrayed his age, sending chills down Izuku's spine, as if this young man had seen enough to fill a lifetime.
"I didn't really know Bakugo for too long to be frank. Barely two years. I don't know if that's enough time to truly say you've become close friends with someone. Like you said, he always had drive, he needed to be number one. I never understood that but I sure as hell respected it. Sometimes that eats away at me, as if I wasn't enough of a true friend for him, because I didn't fully understand him. After someone close to you passes, you look back and consider over and over again every little thing you'd tell them, even if you only had a single second to say it. I find myself thinking about that a lot."
Kaminari stops for a second, his eyes darting around once or twice, reflecting his own internal processing of multiple difficult emotions. Turning to look at Izuku, he finds his friend looking at him with an expression of concern.
Quickly feigning a smile, Kaminari slaps the side of Izuku's arm with the back of his hand and turns to look behind him.
"Look Izuku, the metro's right there."