HINT #4- The time the class witnessed Kaminari's ridiculously high pain tolerance.

If anything, Kaminari was extremely annoyed.

First off, the entire predicament he and his classmates were stuck in was incredibly fucked up.

Secondly, he was pretty sure he was the unluckiest boy alive. Seriously.

Because, as of this moment, Class 1-A was trapped in a warehouse with three total psychopaths.

It had all been circumstance, really. The day had started out innocently enough. It was a Sunday, one of the few free days the class of aspiring heroes had off each week. Though everyone was allowed to do basically whatever they wanted with whoever they wanted as long as it was within the grounds, more often than not the students spent it together, partly because they all worried an awful lot about each other whenever someone was on their own (Kaminari couldn't blame them for that. Bakugou's kidnapping had shaken everyone up), but also because, ever since the USJ incident, 1-A had been practically inseparable.

Yes, there were friend groups, and yes, there were mutually disliked people (cough Mineta cough), but that didn't stop the students from making sure they were all in at least a mile radius of each other at all times in case any danger were to hit an unsuspecting student.

Which was why Class 1-A of UA high school thought it'd be a fantastic idea to collectively go grocery shopping, both so everyone could keep tabs on each other and also because they could grab whatever foods and snacks they wanted for the month.

Going grocery shopping together wasn't a rare occurrence, but rather one everyone looked forward to, to some extent. It was one of the only times Aizawa allowed the class to exit the campus unsupervised, and everyone reveled in that freedom. Plus, it was a chance to buy whatever they wanted, courtesy of All Might's humongous bank account, in terms of food and necessities.

Each student had something or other they wanted to buy, and Kaminari had practically everyone's favorite comfort foods and snacks committed to memory. He didn't actively try to remember, either. His brain just worked like that. Still, it was useful knowledge for birthdays, even though Kaminari was still struggling to grasp the concept of them since he'd never had one as a kid.

Kirishima always got little meat sticks, Uraraka liked anything sweet, Todoroki was a soba fanatic, Mina was addicted to cheese puffs, Sero loved seaweed strips, and, every time without fail, Bakugou would wordlessly put three bags of extra spicy takis into the shopping cart.

Grocery days were fun days, and even though shopping for food was a rather mundane activity, it was the only time they could waste time and play around without the constant supervision of overbearing heroes and teachers alike.

But, of course, things could never be that easy for Kaminari.

The students had been traveling through alleyways to get back to school, and precaution Aizawa made them take since he deemed it too dangerous for the class targeted by so many villains just to be walking around in public. But, because 1-A was practically a magnet for trouble, they'd run into a warp villain. Thankfully it wasn't Kurogiri (that would've been an awkward confrontation for Kaminari), but he was still powerful.

It appeared he had some brains in him as well, because he'd had enough common sense to take an innocent civilian hostage.

Now, Kaminari was fast and was one of the best at hand in hand combat in Japan, possibly the world, but there wasn't much even he could do for a petrified woman with a gun to her head. Kaminari knew he could move fast, so fast it seemed like he could teleport, but there was no telling how good the villain's reflexes were. Another possible option would be for Kaminari to focus electricity on the man and zap him until he knocked out, but he couldn't do that without risking hurting the woman.

When the warp villain had ordered the class to enter his portal with the threat of shooting the civilian, they'd all complied without complaint.

Kaminari made sure he was the last to go through, just in case the villain tried anything.

The portal they'd entered brought the class to a warehouse, where two other villains were waiting. Kaminari didn't recognize any of their faces, and it seemed like they didn't know him, so that was a good sign.

Kaminari peeked back through the portal, catching a glimpse of the warp villain tossing the woman to the side, sending her scrambling out of the alleyway in a successful attempt to escape. That was good. No hostages.

The awaiting villains made quick work of the heroes before they could try anything, putting quirk canceling handcuffs on each of them and making them sit single file with their backs against a wall of crates.

Which leads them to their current situation.

xxx

The blond absentmindedly fiddled with the restraints encircling his wrists. He could probably break out of them if he wanted to, quirk or not, but he didn't see any reason to. Things hadn't escalated much, no one was hurt, their lives didn't seem to be in any amount of danger, and the hostage the warp villain had so foolishly let go of would undoubtedly report their disappearance to the hero commission. Though they didn't have their usual trackers on, Kaminari had no doubt they'd be found by the end of the day.

Might as well sit back and relax.

Kaminari examined their surrounding with careful, practiced eyes, assessing their situation. The three villains were huddled together across from the heroes, talking in hushed, inaudible whispers that the blond couldn't hear even if he tried. Instead, he used this time to get a good look at the rest of his classmates, and was pleased to find that they looked just about as pissed as he felt.

No one looked particularly scared, maybe with the exception of Mineta and Aoyama, but the anger and annoyance were evident in everyone's expressions. Kaminari smirked a little at the realization that they'd come to the same conclusion he had. These villains were amateurs; no doubt new on the scene since they didn't recognize the blond assassin from his face alone.

"Yo. Kami." Sero bumped Kaminari's shoulder lightly, making sure to keep his voice to a whisper. "Whatcha thinkin' about man?"

Kaminari smiled lightly. Sero didn't seem deterred at all by their situation. That was good. "Nothing much, bro." He crinkled his eyes. "Just wondering why Bakugou isn't going freaking feral yet."

The tape user snorted, leaning his head back so it rested against the crates. "Yeah, I hear that. He's being unusually cautious."

"Hm." Kaminari merely hummed in reply. "I bet he just doesn't think they're worth the effort."

"Dude, I know, right? Like, I get that they succeeded in kidnapping us and stuff, but we've been in way tighter spots and been fine." Sero emphasized his statement best he could with his hands shackled behind his back, wincing a little as the metal cut into his skin, an action which did not go unnoticed by Kaminari. "These cuffs are a little annoying, though."

Kaminari laughed softly, glad his friend was taking this situation so lightly. "I wonder if we can finally see what Hagakure looks like."

Sero's eyes widened. "Wait, holy shit-"

"Class 1-A." The pair quickly shut their mouths, raising their heads to meet the gaze of a bald haired man with a particularly sinister smile. Kaminari narrowed his eyes. Nothing good was going to come from that grin; he was sure of that. "I trust you're aware of the situation you're in?"

"FUCK OFF!" Ah, there he was. Kaminari fought the urge to smirk. It seemed like Bakugou was back.

The man visibly frowned. "I suggest you shut up before you hear what I have to say."

"THE FUCK? DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO YOU BASTARD!"

The villain folded his hands together, fixing Bakugou with a piercing stare. "Actions have consequences, you know."

Bakugou's jaw snapped shut immediately, making Kaminari smile despite their situation. He had no doubt that if his explosive friend had been alone, he would've kept spouting bullshit like it was nobody's business, but he wasn't, and that, the electricity user knew, was the only reason he'd shut up in the first place.

Bakugou pretended not to, but he cared. Kaminari's lips curled into a small smile. Oh, he was going to tease him relentlessly for that one.

"Ah, thank you." The man offered an easy smile. "Now, as I was saying, me and my colleagues here are going to ask you a few questions." Everyone was silent. "If you refuse to answer, it'll be met with punishment. Do you understand?"

Kaminari's eyes narrowed, the threat of harm to his classmates enough to make his easy-going demeanor fall away in an instant. However, he didn't see any reason to break out of his restraints and take these guys down just yet. Nothing bad had happened to his friends, and there was still a possibility that Aizawa would come swinging through the door and apprehend the villains before he even got the first question out.

If any harm came to his friends, Kaminari would take matters into his own hands. For now, however, he would do his best to receive the brunt of the punishment, if not all of it (whatever it was), and direct everyone's attention on to himself.

"I see they're all in agreement." The warp villain came up behind the bald man, putting a casual arm on his shoulder. "You can call me Tae. This here is Unkan, and that," He gestured over his shoulder to the remaining woman. "Is Asa."

Unkan grinned, showing off his canines. "Now, you kids know whose name you'll be screaming when you're begging us for mercy."

Kaminari resisted the urge to roll his eyes, despite the evergrowing tension. God, that was so cliche. Seriously? Now you know whose name you'll be screaming? Kaminari hated his parents with a passion, but at least they had somewhat original one-liners when it came to torturing their victims. Or him, for that matter.

Asa clapped her hands together loudly, crossing the room to join her two colleagues. "First question. The access codes to the UA security system. What are they?"

Everyone was silent for a few moments, confusion evident on more than a few faces.

"Uh, we don't know." It was Midoriya who decided to speak first, ever the hero. "Teachers wouldn't tell kids something as important as that." Everyone nodded tentatively after a few moments, still eyeing their kidnappers warily. No one was taking them seriously yet, that much was clear, but judging on where the situation was headed Kaminari deduced that it could get ugly fast.

"Oh, I'm aware." Asa smiled sweetly, the malice in her eyes betraying her kind demeanor. "I'm just testing your obedience." She cocked a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Now for the real first question. What measures is the hero counsel going to take against the increase in villain attacks?"

No one made a move to answer. It was well known that since Class 1-A had been involved in so many of said attacks, they'd been publically present in the meetings to decide what safety measures and steps the heroes should take against the increase in villains and activity. Everyone had enough common sense not even to attempt to lie about that one since their kidnappers had indisputable proof of their involvement.

Silence filled the air for a good twenty seconds before Unkan clicked his tongue unappreciatively. "Only the first question? Shame."

Asa waved off her comrades comments, a sly grin spreading across her face. "It's okay. It'll be more fun this way anyway." Her eye twitched slightly. Kaminari suspected she might be a little insane. "The sooner these kids realize the gravity of the situation, the better, right?"

The only response she received was Bakugou's low growl and the sound of a few students shuffling around. Everyone was eyeing the trio warily. Punishment could mean a lot of things, but there was no way it was something good. Asa just smiled, sensing the teenagers' discomfort.

"Let me lay it out for you, children. I know you can't see it, but under Unkan's trench coat, there's a variety of weapons and devices specially designed to inflict pain on the recipient. Not only that, but Unkan's quirk allows him to amplify the pain tenfold." She smiled, eyes deadly serious. "For failure to answer the question, we will choose one of you to use these devices on and inflict pain beyond your wildest dream while the others watch. Once they scream, we'll move on to another." She spread her arms wide. "Any volunteers?"

A flurry of cries arose from the group, and immediately, seventeen out of twenty hands shot up, the exception being Mineta, Aoyama, and Kaminari himself. The blond's eyes narrowed. He'd been prepared from the start to offer himself up in exchange for his classmate's safety, but after getting a better look at the way their captors had acted so far, he suspected volunteers weren't what they were after.

If Asa chose one of his friends, Kaminari was prepared the piss her off until he got selected in their place, but until then, he decided to wait it out.

Tae laughed openly at 1-A's pleading faces. The reality of the situation had hit them now; their judgment completely clouded at the prospect of any of their friends in the excruciating amount of pain the villains had described.

"Well, aren't you a bunch of bleeding hearts." Asa pulled a mocking pout, fluttering her eyelashes at Tae. "Aren't they just the most precious things you've ever seen?"

Tae chuckled at that, clearly enjoying himself. "Their willingness to sacrifice themselves for their friends is admirable, even for a bunch of goody-two-shoes." His voice dropped an octave. "However, you're not in control here. We are."

Asa hummed in agreement, carefully scanning the line of aspiring heroes, drinking up their anguished looks and pleading faces, until landing smack on Kaminari. Her eyes widened a slight margin, much to both the blond's discomfort and relief. He knew that look. He'd worn it enough times before.

It was bloodlust, clear as day.

"Oh my." She purred, stalking closer to the electric user. He held her gaze, not quite glaring but not quite pliant either. "Aren't you gorgeous, little one." She put a finger to Kaminari's chin, lifting it to meet her gaze. He immediately felt Yaoyorozu tense and Sero bristle beside him. Asa pulled back, keeping her molten eyes locked onto golden ones. "Let's use this one. I wanna mess up his pretty face."

Kaminari breathed a sigh of relief, bracing himself as the decision was immediately met with protests.

"What?! Why?!"

"He didn't volunteer! That's not fair!"

"I'll go in his place, please!"

"Don't hurt him. Please, don't hurt him."

"He didn't even do anything! Why him?!"

"IF YOU SO MUCH AS TOUCH HIM, I SWEAR TO GOD IT'LL BE THE LAST THING YOU DO!"

"Kami, just scream, okay? Scream, and it'll be over."

Kamiinari shifted his focus until the pleading was nothing but background noise. As much as it warmed his heart to know that his classmates cared for him, encouragement and self-sacrificial offers were the last thing he needed right now. Maybe just this once fate was on his side today. He couldn't deny that the chances of him being picked first to be tortured without having to cause any kind of ruckus or fuss was pretty slim, but it confirmed his suspicions wholeheartedly.

Their captors wanted the class to hurt. Badly. What better way to do that then pick someone who appeared unwilling to sacrifice themselves?

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP, OR I'LL KILL HIM RIGHT HERE AND NOW!" Tae roughly grabbed Kaminari by the elbow, making the blond frown in annoyance, as Unkan pulled a knife to his throat. The blond blinked at the sudden movement, but otherwise made no indication that he'd even noticed the change.

All noise ceased immediately. Kaminari found that strangely endearing.

"Good." Asa curled herself around Kaminari, caressing his cheek with false gentleness. "I'm going to enjoy scaring this pretty face."

Kaminari could feel the heat of nineteen murderous glares from his position alone, making him frown even further. To any untrained outsider, it would look like the blond was panicking, and who would blame him? He had a freaking knife to his neck. In reality, though, the electricity user was thinking, undeterred by the threats to his life and sharp objects in his general vicinity. After all, he'd been in the same situation enough times before that it didn't bother him anymore.

Kaminari was mulling over possibilities in his head, running through every probable outcome or situation, just as he'd been trained to do in the field. In the worst-case scenario, the villains kill him and his class. It was highly unlikely, but a possibility nonetheless. Kaminari furrowed his brow. Based on the direction things were going, the best-case scenario at this point would be for his classmates to watch him be tortured until Aizawa finally showed up to rescue them.

Yep, definitely the second one. He was one-hundred percent going with that one.

"You children remember the rules, yes?" Unkan pressed the knife harder into Kaminari's jugular, sending a small stream of blood trickling down the side, as well as increasing the murderous glares from class 1-A tenfold. Kaminari didn't even bat an eye. "We won't stop until this one screams, and no amount of begging or pleading is going to change that." He smiled wickedly. "That wouldn't be much fun, now would it?"

Kaminari just rolled his eyes. This was taking way to long. After this amount of time back at his parent's house, he'd already have about fifty lashes on his back and a couple hundred knife wounds. Asa seemed to notice his annoyance.

"What's wrong, beautiful?" She was practically purring. "You scared?"

Kaminari's finger twitched, actively resisting the urge to slice her throat right then and there out of pure spite, before calming himself. If he couldn't do that, then he might as well make this fun.

"Nah, not really. If you're going to torture me, just go ahead and do it."

No one made a sound. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaminari could see Bakugou mouthing profanities at him, obviously trying to scold him for "being such a dumbass" without getting him killed.

"Eager, are we?" Asa pricked Kaminari's cheek with her nail, making a tiny drop of blood well up. "I like that."

Kaminari just snorted. "Fuck off."

You could hear a pin drop at that moment.

And then...

"Brat." Unkan sneered, sharply slicing a cut above his collarbone. "Let's make this fun, shall we?"

Kaminari just sighed. He'd been in this situation more times than he could count and had experienced pain way more excruciating than what he was experiencing now. Yes, he could feel the knife cutting through his skin and dragging into his flesh, but he felt it every day. Hell, he'd cut himself a week ago just as bad, if not worse. It wasn't as if he was suicidal or anything, quite the opposite. He cut himself to keep up his pain tolerance so he could cope better in situations just like this. Though the blond knew that his pain tolerance wouldn't simply go away overnight, it was always better to be cautious.

The screams of horror from his classmates pulled him out of his thoughts. The blond cringed, having momentarily forgotten they were watching.

Kaminari offered them a sideways smile. "Guys, don't worry. It doesn't hurt." He was aware he probably looked pretty gruesome. Cuts had been made above and below his collar bones, which seemed to be the main area Unkan was focusing on right now, and blood was leaking out of them profusely. To his classmates, he probably looked like someone out of a horror movie. To him, this was just another weekday.

"Kaminari, you don't have to play the hero." The blond shifted his gaze to Kirishima. His eyes were wide and begging. "You're manly as shit, but you can't pretend you're not in any pain right now."

Kaminari just laughed, which only succeeded in freaking the redhead out more. "Kiri, I appreciate the concern, but I'm serious here. I'm literally fine." He offered a cheeky grin as if to prove his point. It would've been ideal to attempt to hide his insane pain tolerance so his classmates wouldn't get suspicious of anything, but then that would mean he'd have to scream, and there was no way that would happen.

"Oh?" Asa spun Kamianri around, interrupting Unkan's slicing. "You've got some attitude, don't you? I like that."

"FUCK OFF PERVERT!"

Kaminari stifled a laugh. Leave it to Bakugou to say what everyone was thinking.

Asa ignored him, her attention based solely on the electric blond in her arms.

"I wonder what your reaction would be if we were to break your pretty fingers, hm?" She toyed with them through the handcuffs encircling his wrists. "I wonder if you'd scream then, baby boy."

Her proposal was met with immediate protests, not from Kaminari, of course, but from the entirety of Class 1-A.

"Guys, it's okay," Kaminari said after a moment. "I'll be fine, I promise. Please don't worry about me."

In all honestly, their cries to spare him was much more painful than the supposed torture being inflicted on him now. He'd never really had anyone care for him before, never mind nineteen very different people, but yet they were practically begging Kaminari to scream, to trade places, to do something to spare himself.

Asa said nothing at Kaminari's declaration, merely taking his pinky finger in her hand and snapping it like a twig.

Kaminari didn't blink.

His classmates screamed bloody murder.

xxx

Asa snapped all of his fingers one by one, casually toying and teasing with them before breaking them in her palm. It had happened before—no big deal. Kaminari didn't even flinch.

Kaminari's neck and top of his chest were a bloody mess. Thankfully, the villains hadn't taken his shirt off to give the girls an eyeful of his scars, and the ones that could be seen peeking out from his shirt were covered in blood. It was practically comical how angry the three villains were becoming. They'd received approximately no reaction out of the blond, not so much a breaking a sweat or twitching an eye.

Unkan had announced he'd start using his quirk after the whole finger fiasco, erupting the class into another wave of protests and pleads, prompting the blond to reassure them that everything was fine and he wasn't just putting on a mask for their benefit.

The first time Unkan had used his quirk on him was the first time Kaminari supplied a reaction. It wasn't because of the pain, per se. It was more surprise than anything else, because holy shit Asa wasn't exaggerating.

Asa hadn't been kidding when she'd said Unkans quirk amplified pain. With it activated, the dull slicing of the knife against his skin turned into red hot searing throughout his entire body.

It was at that moment that Kaminari silently thanked whoever or whatever was watching over him for the fact that he was the one to have been tortured first. The amount of pain Unkan's quirk caused would've been enough to make any one of his classmates scream, and that was saying something. They were all stubborn and strong as hell, but there was only so much the untrained body could take.

Luckily for Kaminari, he was anything but untrained, and that simple fact only seemed to piss Unkan off more.

Still, his involuntary gasp only succeeded in riling his classmates up more. Their protests had quieted down in seeing Kaminari's passive state, but now they were back in full force.

"Kami! Bro! This has gone on long enough! Let one of us handle it from here on out!" Sero.

"Please, please, please, please scream. I can't take this!" Jirou.

"What are you doing!? Don't sacrifice yourself, you idiot!" Mina.

"Kaminari, I order you to stop this right now! There's no way you can take this!" Iida.

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU FUCKERS FOR THIS; YOU GOT THAT? I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU WISH YOU NEVER LAYED A FINGER ON THAT SPARKY FUCKING MORON WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE." Bakugou.

"We care about you, dude! We can't handle seeing you hurt like this while knowing we can do something about it! We love you!" Kirishima.

"SCREAM, KAMINARI! WE CAN TAKE IT, JUST DON'T SHOULDER THIS ALONE." Wow, he never would've pegged Todoroki for the yelling type.

Still, it was getting annoying. Did his classmates seriously expect him to scream, even if he wasn't in pain, just so he wouldn't have to take it anymore? Were they insane? Didn't they know he cared for them just as much as they did for him?

"EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Kaminari was touched, but pissed. His classmates were making this unnecessarily hard on him, whether they knew it or not, with their begging and pleading. It only showed that they were hurting for him, that they were feeling some amount of pain watching him be sliced and broken like some useless piece of meat.

Kaminari hated that. His classmates should never hurt. Ever.

All yelling ceased immediately, the only sound being the squelch of knives on blood and the cracking of bones as Asa broke each one of his fingers into three little pieces. Kaminari paid her no mind. In all honesty, if the sound of bones being snapped in half wasn't so loud, he doubted he would've noticed it at all.

"I am FINE. I know it's hard to believe, but none of this hurts me." He fixed his classmates with a hard look. "I'm dead serious. This guy," He gestured with his head to Unkan, who rewarded his actions with a deep cut on the cheek. "He only talks big game, but his quirk is nothing special. I can take it. It's easy for me, I swear. Seriously guys. Look me in the eye and tell me if you see any discomfort at all."

Everyone was silent for a few moments.

"See? None." Kaminari offered a smile. A real one, not the sickly sweet one he hadn't had to use in a long time. "See? I'm fine. I can handle it. It just feels like a bunch of paper cuts, I swear. I have no reason to scream."

"Kaminari there's no way your pain tolerance is that high-"

"It is." The blond stared daggers at Uraraka. "Believe me, it is. What would be excruciating for you is only mildly uncomfortable for me. Just trust me on this, alright?" He was practically begging at this point. "Let me do this for you guys. Please."

No one spoke, though tears were evident on more than a few faces.

Kaminari gave a curt nod before throwing a wink over his shoulder at Asa.

"Do your worst, bitches."

xxx

Kaminari's neck, arms, and cheeks were covered in deep gashes leaking blood.

His wrists, left arm, ankle, and a rib were broken.

His shoulders had been dislocated and roughly shoved back into place five times now.

Kaminari kept his expression bored and uninterested, throwing occasional taunts here and there to keep the attention on him as well as reassure his classmates that he was fine.

The protests had stopped, but the unease and disgust for their captors were evident on everyone's face.

Half the class looked about ready to commit triple homicide.

The other half seemed like they were seriously considering it.

In a way, it was good practice. The pain had escalated up to dull, stinging throbbing thanks to Unkan's admittedly impressive quirk, and Kaminari could feel his blood pulsing. Still, it didn't necessarily hurt. To any average person, it would feel like hell, sure, but he'd had worse. Much, much worse. Still, it had more sensation than the weekly cuts he gave himself, and in a way, he was proud that this level of pain and torture still didn't bother him. Of course, he knew it wouldn't from the beginning, but it was always nice to have some physical proof of that.

It had been over an hour.

Kaminari hadn't so much as flinched.

The villains were getting increasingly more frustrated, especially Unkan, who was obviously deterred by the fact that he couldn't get the electricity user to so much as bat an eye, even with the use of his quirk.

he was moving to make another slice when he found it.

"Oh?" 1-A's eyes snapped to Unkan. It was the first time he'd spoken in a while. "What's this?"

Kaminari followed the man's gaze and tensed, eyes widening. His classmates bristled at the action.

"Hmm." Unkan wiped away the blood in between his collarbone and his shoulder to reveal the assassin's symbol that had been branded into his skin so many years ago. Luckily, his classmates were far enough that they couldn't see what he was looking at, but that only seemed to unsettle them further. "Asa. Tae. Look at this."

The two exchanged glances before clamoring over to his side, peering at the skin curiously. Asa sucked in a breath. Tae visibly flinched.

"Well, now." Tae regained his composure quickly. "That explains a lot, doesn't it?"

"Shut up." Kaminari hissed. His previous teasing attitude towards the three was gone, replaced entirely with unmistakable anger. "Get the fuck away from me."

"Kaminari?" Kirishima's voice was quiet and tentative; his eyes flitting back and forth between his friend and their captors. "What's going on?"

Kaminari didn't take his eyes off Unkan. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Oh, you precious, precious child." Asa grabbed a fistful of blond hair, yanking it back so Kaminari's ear was level with her mouth. "How did someone like you manage to get into UA, hm?"

"Shut. UP." Kaminari was painfully aware of the questioning gazes of his classmates.

Asa's grin widened. "No, I don't think I will." She lowed her voice to a whisper that only he could hear. "Golden."

Three things happened at that moment.

Kaminari flinched.

Class 1-A screamed.

And Mr. Aizawa came crashing through the window.

xxx

Kaminari had been in the hospital for about a day now.

He honestly didn't need anything besides a blood transfusion and a kiss from Recovery Girl, and the whole situation was the definition of overkill, in his opinion, but it was comfy.

He was honestly fine. He hadn't been traumatized in the slightest. However, the nurses had somehow gotten it into their heads that he had, which was the very reason they were still keeping him here, even though there was no need. He wasn't in any pain either, going as far as to refuse the pain killers he was given knowing they wouldn't work on him anyway.

But, in all honestly, it was peaceful. Everyone had been given Monday off, and Kaminari had woken up from his nap to see the entirety of his class surrounding his hospital bed.

It was nice for a while. They all chatted with each other about daily day to day things and joked around as they always did. It would've seemed almost normal if it weren't for the nurse checking his blood pressure every ten minutes.

As annoying as it was, Kaminari knew he was in trouble the second she went on her lunch break, leaving the class of aspiring heroes alone.

"So." Kaminari flashed a peace sign. "What's up?"

Bakugou swatted at his hand with a growl. "Don't just 'what's up?' us, Dunce Face! What the fuck were you thinking?!"

Kaminari groaned. So it was going to be one of those talks. "Um, I don't know, maybe wanting to protect my friends from the potentially excruciating pain that you couldn't handle?"

"Yeah? And you could?" It was Kirishima's turn to snap now.

"Uh, yeah." Kaminari made a face. "In case you hadn't noticed, I literally didn't react at all to anything they were doing to me."

"You did at the end." Jirou pointed out. "When that psycho bitch was whispering to you."

Kaminari rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because of something she said to me, not because anything hurt."

"What'd she say?"

Kaminari snorted sarcastically. Leave it to Midoriya to ask what's on everyone's mind. "That's she's my long lost half-sister with a fetish for blonds. Seriously guys. Don't worry about it."

Sero bit at his lip. "Bro..."

Kaminari waved him off. "Guys, I'm being one-hundred percent honest with you, I'm fine." He gave a half-hearted shrug. "I've had worse anyway."

Shit. He knew he'd fucked up the moment the words left his mouth. That was definitely the wrong thing to say.

"Worse? What the hell does that mean?" Mina grabbed onto Yaoyorozu's arm when he didn't answer. "Kaminari! What do you mean worse?"

Jirou scanned the room, her eyes landing on more than a few conspicuous males. "You guys are acting oddly suspicious." Jirou glared daggers at the surrounding boys, all of which were either glaring at the floor or fixing Kaminari with various looks of frustration and concern. "Do you all know something?"

"WELL?!" Mina shrieked after a moment, never one for suspense. "SPIT IT OUT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN WORSE?"

Kaminari cringed. Well, he'd walked right into that one. Nothing he could do now.

Sighing, he pulled the hem of his collar down a few inches, grimacing at the horrified gasps the girls made at only a mere glimpse of his marred and scared body.

"Abusive asshole parents. Look their anger out on me whenever they felt like it." He shrugged, trying to make it seem like it was no big deal. It was. He hated his scars. "All the dudes in the locker room saw them by accident a few weeks back. I made them swear not to tell anybody."

"Oh, baby..." Uraraka's eyes welled with tears as she threw herself over the boy, careful to avoid any potential sore spots. "We love you, honey."

The rest of the girl murmured their agreement, hesitating only a moment before joining Uraraka curls up on top of the electric user, settling themselves, so they were cocooned around him, almost like a warm blanket.

Kaminari blinked at that. He'd been half expecting them to turn away and never speak to him again, too disgusted by his body to even look him in the eye. It was silly, he knew, but it was what had always happened before hed come to UA.

His classmates never ceased to surprise him in the best ways possible.

They stayed like that for a while, Hagakure having shooed the rest of the boys out long ago, and though they refused at first, Mina could be very scary if she wanted to. They talked about feelings and such, making Kaminari explain what he wanted to and reassure him that he was loved and cared for by all.

As if he didn't already know that.

It was therapeutic, really. Gentle hands carded through his hair, and careful fingers traced over his scars through his shirt. That, paired with the whispered of support and love and the promises that he could talk to any of them if he wanted to get his feelings out, he felt more at peace than he had in a long time.

He felt himself slowly drifting off, enveloped in sheer compassion and warmth that was utterly foreign to him. The last thing he felt before closing his eyes completely were six gentle, tender kisses in his hair.

Kaminari would've cried at the gesture if he were conscious enough.

When he awoke, the girls were gone, but Sero, Kirishima, and Bakugou were present in their place. Not curled up next to him, of course, but rather positioned by his bed.

"BRO!" Sero was the first to notice his return to consciousness. "You are NEVER doing that again."

Kaminari laughed, blinking sleep from his eyes. "What, the whole torture thing? I don't plan on it, dude." That was a lie. He'd do it a thousand times over again and so much worse if it meant keeping his friends safe.

"That was fucking stupid, Dunce Face." Bakugou came to stand next to Sero. "You pull that self-sacrificial bullshit again, I'll blast you all the way to mars."

"Noted."

"I'm fucking serious, dipshit." Bakugou glared down at the electricity user, making him shift nervously. "Watching those sick assholes do those things to you was one of the worst fucking experiences I've ever had, and I've been kidnapped by the League of fucking Villains."

Kaminari smiled apologetically, though he wasn't really apologetic at all. "Sorry. But isn't it better for one person with a freaky high pain tolerance to be tortured instead of nineteen other teenagers with normal ones?"

Kirishima, who was positioned on the other side of the hospital bed, slapped Kaminari's head lightly. "Not if it's you, Kami."

Kaminari blinked. Wow. Okay. Holy shit, um, feelings.

He was terrible when talking about people's feelings toward him. Even though he knew his classmates loved him, he still couldn't wrap his head around why. It was a depressing state of mind, but after being degraded and thrown away for so many years, it had become ingrained into his very being. It wasn't that he thought he didn't deserve love, it was more like he felt that an incredible group of people as fantastic as his classmates caring about him in such a way that they'd rather torture themselves than see him be hurt was the best and most improbable thing to ever happen to him.

He flicked a piece of hair away from his eyes. It was smoother than usual, thanks to the combing job from the girls. He'd just be himself for now and put off the heart to hearts as long as he could, just in case he let something slip out.

Still, he couldn't resist the urge to grin.

"But I'm a fucking badass, right?"

"Obviously."

"Duh."

"Shut the fuck up."

Yep. They loved him.