Kaminari Denki felt like Neito more and more every day since leaving the mental hospital. He missed his friends. They weren't allowed to share family names, so he had no idea how to find them. Their quirks would be helpful to find them, but Denki was only 12 and did not have access to highly classified quirk registries and databases, so that was a dead end.
He also did not have access to any hackers that could illegally access those registries and databases, so no luck there, either. Plus, it probably wouldn't have been a good idea after Touya had gone through the trouble of making a training regimen so that he could get his body in tip-top shape to become a hero. He should probably avoid doing anything illegal… not that he actually had the means to even attempt any illegal hacking in the first place, but a boy could dream.
With all of his wishful thinking and resulting sulking with every dead-end outcome, he wasn't even excited for the field trip to the zoo.
It didn't help that his friends kept flip-flopping between teasing him and avoiding him, not really sure how to react to having a friend who hears voices and spent over a week in a mental hospital. Sometimes, when his friends acted like they were afraid he would snap if they said the wrong thing, he thought that that must be how Hitoshi feels when people are nervous about his quirk. He felt that way as he boarded the bus, thinking about Hitoshi and not knowing who he was going to sit with because his friends were back in the silent treatment phase and acting scared around him.
Denki stopped dead in the middle of the aisle of the bus, causing one of his friends to crash into the back of him and immediately start yelling and shoving against him. If Denki had time to think, he would realize that that is not how someone acts when they are actually afraid of you, but Denki was a little distracted.
"Kaminari!" his friend had whined loudly, hitting him in the back in frustration. "You're so annoying! Why did you stop like that?"
But Denki wasn't paying attention because Denki's heart fell out of his chest and onto the dirty bus floor when he saw a mess of purple hair, purple eyes reflected in the bus window. He was already freaking his friends out enough, but now that he was hallucinating Hitoshi sitting there at the front of the bus, he knew that his mind was playing mean tricks on him, and he was nervous that he would accidentally talk to a hallucination and make his friends hate him even more.
Denki forced himself to keep moving toward the back of the bus where his friend group sat. Denki's worst nightmare happened again when his friends paired up without him, pretending that they did not want to sit at the very back so three people could sit next to each other to include Denki in the group, even though that seat was empty. His other classmates started maneuvering around him as he tried to convince a pair of friends to move to the very back to sit with him, and he almost cursed under his breath when he turned and realized that the back was taken.
Yes, Neito definitely had influenced him, maybe more than he had initially realized if he had to stop himself from cursing in front of his teachers. He would have to really work hard to police his thoughts so that he didn't blurt out anything inappropriate and get himself into trouble.
Denki was going to flop down in an empty seat near the middle of the bus, dreading the two-hour bus ride to the zoo, when his teacher called for him near the front of the bus, requesting that he come sit up at the front with the new student.
Denki was quickly learning that he had a lot of "worst nightmares," and this was another one. He worked hard to make the friends that he had, and he was hesitant to try to start a new friendship now. What if it made his friends mad and they thought he was trying to replace them? What if the new kid gets a bad reputation after being associated with the stupid, hallucinating freak that was Kaminari Denki?
Denki sulked back to the front of the bus, dragging his feet, but not daring to say no to a request from his teacher.
His teacher smiled warmly at him, like he was trying to give Denki and the new kid a chance to form a good friendship. It wasn't a bad plan. Pairing up the bright ray of sunshine that is relentlessly picked on by his peers and who won't stand up for himself with the gloomy new kid who also happened to be in foster care (yikes, double whammy) was probably a great idea. His teacher didn't know it was going to work that well and that… instantly, either. But beggars can't be choosers and he predicted that it would be the start of a beautiful and supportive friendship.
"Kaminari, this is Shinsou. He's new, and just transferred from Katsuhhiko Middle School," the teacher introduced. "Shinsou, this is Kaminari."
Denki's breath froze in his throat as the familiar face turned around to look at him, scared out of his mind that he was hallucinating Hitoshi's face over the face of a new student, but it looked so, so real.
Hitoshi turned around lazily, glancing up at the student introduced as "Kaminari," ready to give the bare minimum nod of acknowledgement before going back to sulking in self-pity when he froze in his seat, eyes widening.
"Denki," Hitoshi whispered in awe, automatically reaching out for his friend when Denki launched himself forward, arms wrapping around Hitoshi who automatically squeezed back just as hard.
Hitoshi was laughing, petting Denki's hair as Denki simultaneously laughed and sobbed against Hitoshi's neck. This wasn't a nightmare after all.
Hitoshi and Denki talked the whole way to the zoo, not letting a second go by now that they had actually found their way back to each other. It seemed impossible, but there they were, together again.
"So, Shinsou, huh? Shinsou Hitoshi," Denki tested out. "I like it," he nodded decidedly.
"Kaminari Denki," Hitoshi tested out in turn. "It suits you well."
"Oh! Can you tell me Neito's full name then?" Denki asked, leaning closer in anticipation of getting all of the answers to all of his questions.
Hitoshi laughed, automatically answering, "Monoma Neito."
"Oh! I like that," Denki complimented, easing back against the seat, sighing in content.
Hitoshi hummed in agreement, copying Denki's movements and leaning back against the seat, as well.
"I just got out yesterday," Hitoshi ventured, looking straight ahead instead of in Denki's direction. "They took me to my new foster home right from the hospital. I didn't even get to say goodbye to my old foster family."
Denki sucked in a breath through his teeth, turning and placing a hand on Hitoshi's shoulder.
"That sucks," Denki offered, feeling unhelpful, but that was exactly what Hitoshi needed: Pure validation. No pity. Perfect.
"It was so busy that I didn't even get a chance to talk to Neito about it, yet," Hitoshi admitted, feeling a little guilty that he was talking about this with Denki before his soulmate, but ultimately knowing that Neito really wouldn't mind as long as it was Denki.
"I bet we'll find him at the zoo," Denki declared, already planning a route in his head to cover the most ground in the most efficient way.
"Oh?" Hitoshi inquired. "I can't remember if Katsuhhiko had this as an upcoming field trip or not. I was too concerned about keeping Neito away from me and changing foster homes."
Denki just had to hear about keeping Neito away, and the story ended with Denki and Hitoshi falling over each other laughing about Neito's antics and the lengths Hitoshi went to dissuade Neito from trying again, but always failing. Neito was a persistent one!
"Oh!" Denki exclaimed, sitting up straight with the realization. "That's why you were so good at tag! Even Touya couldn't tag you because you would dodge out of the way last second. You never gave up when he got too close like we did!"
"Touya was just going easy on us," Hitoshi said, rubbing the back of his neck at the compliments.
"No, Shinsou! That was all you!" Denki declared.
"You can call me Hitoshi," he insisted before thinking better of it, freezing when Denki froze. "I mean if you want. You're, like, my best friend," he admitted. He figured he might as well go all in instead of backtracking. New foster home, new school, new Shinsou Hitoshi who actually means what he says and goes after what he wants. Too bad his cheeks didn't get the memo as they started to gather heat.
Denki blissfully ignored the blush spreading across Hitoshi's cheeks in favor of crashing into him for another hug.
"I am so glad that you think we're best friends, too! I thought it might be just me!" Denki admitted.
Denki knew he messed up when Hitoshi questioned why he would think that, and skillfully changed the subject. Hitoshi noticed, of course, but allowed it, not wanting to pressure Denki to tell him something he wasn't ready to, yet. And especially not if it was going to ruin the mood of the upcoming manhunt for Hitoshi's soulmate at the zoo.
"And now, here we are! At the zoo! In search of the elusive… Monoma Neito…" Denki declared, gradually decreasing his volume until it was a whisper, and waving Hitoshi forward like they were sneaking in undetected, in broad daylight, surrounded by other students and teachers.
Hitoshi was used to this, thanks to the QQQ 'missions,' so he quickly and naturally fell behind, following Denki's lead of when to rush forward and when to fall back, wanting to find Neito and sneak up on him before he could spot them. What a surprise that would be! He knew that Neito was worried for him, so if he could see that Hitoshi ended up at Denki's school of all places, he would feel much better.
Denki was so enthralled with finding his friend from the mental hospital that he did not even bother trying to sneak back in with his usual friend group. If he had thought about them at all (he hadn't), he would have wondered how long it would take them to realize that he wasn't there and figured that they probably wouldn't notice at all.
The truth was, they all noticed right away. They had been doing such a thorough job of maliciously ignoring him that they failed to realize that he had found a better, more interesting friend to spend his day with.
While Denki and Hitoshi were already sneaking through the entrance to the zoo, off to find the elusive species that is also known as Hitoshi's soulmate, Denki's group of friends were looking around casually, trying to spot Denki to avoid him when he would inevitably start walking their way and ask to join them. When they didn't spot him right away, their subtle looking around started to become frantic. They had started to joke amongst themselves, saying things like "Kaminari probably fell into the lion's den and got eaten already, and we haven't even been here for 5 minutes!" Everyone would laugh boisterously, but then go right back to looking around to see if they could find the honey blond firecracker that would normally fill the awkward silence when everyone else ran out of things to talk about. They wouldn't admit it, but it was more fun with Denki around.
Maybe they would learn their lesson that if you don't treat a friend nicely, they will find a new friend who will. Or maybe they wouldn't, and they would just blame Denki for replacing them with some purple-haired, sad-faced loser. And you know what? Denki would be okay with any insults flung his way. He would laugh and shrug them off, because they were probably kind of true in a way, weren't they? But insult Hitoshi? That's crossing a line.
Shinsou Hitoshi is one of the kindest, warm-hearted people that Denki ever had the pleasure of meeting, and everyone in his school would be wise to remember that he has been sent home for quirk usage before, and he wasn't afraid to do it again! Seeing the disappointed look on his parents' faces would be well worth it to show Hitoshi that he would always stand up for him because he deserved to be defended against cruel kids who didn't quite understand what torment they were putting their peers through with their relentless bullying and low-blow insults.
When Denki and Hitoshi rounded the corner near the penguin exhibit, they both spotted Neito at the same time and immediately fell back. There was no way that he saw them because he was actively engaged in conversation with three other boys from a different school, if their uniforms were anything to go by.
Denki and Hitoshi went into full undercover mode, locked in on their target. The other students and chaperones probably thought they were nuts, but they only had eyes for Neito, eyes locked in on him as they crept closer, dodging behind lemonade and cotton candy carts to shield themselves from view just in case Neito was to suddenly turn around.
Hitoshi noticed what was happening before Denki did, though Denki caught on quickly when he realized the change in Hitoshi as they snuck closer. What started out as a stake out mission turned quickly into a rescue mission.
While Hitoshi was the first to notice, Denki was the first to act. He gave a firm nod to Hitoshi before stalking right up to Neito and slinging his arm around his shoulder, plastering a huge smile on his face, and jumping right in. Basically, he did what Denki does best: He played the unaware idiot.
"Hey, Raion! What's the hold up? You were supposed to meet us near the polar bears five minutes ago! We had to come searching for you and everything!" Denki whined dramatically, interrupting the conversation, and not bothering to stop when one of the other boys tried to keep going with what he was saying.
Neito had initially tensed, wrapping a hand around Denki's wrist in preparation of throwing his arm off of him, a scowl on his face as he turned toward Denki before immediately lighting up in pleasant surprise. At first, Neito thought that there were more tormentors coming to join the fun, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
"Yeah, Rai! Don't keep us waiting forever!" Hitoshi chimed in from his other side, making Neito turn and smile even wider at his soulmate.
Neito went from arguing with bullies to being flanked on either side by his favorite two people in the universe, so his day was officially awesome already.
"Rai?" one of the bullies repeated in question.
"I told you!" Neito had sneered. "I look similar to this copycat guy, but I'm not him! Easy mistake! Happens all the time! Glad we could clear that up! Let's go guys," Neito rushed through, trying to get his companions out of the mess he had found himself in, but to no avail.
"Not a chance!" the boy on the left sneered, stepping forward threateningly. "You're definitely that little copycat freak! I don't know what mind game you're trying to pull, but it won't work on us!"
"Again?!" Denki exclaimed dramatically, throwing his hands into the air. "Rai, we have to change your hair or something, so you stop getting mistaken for your look-alike!"
"He should be the one to change," Neito pouted, fully in character and completely immersed in the ruse they had going.
"Rai here is an electric type," Hitoshi explained to the group. "He's often mistaken for that other kid, Monoma, right? We get that all the time!"
Denki grabbed Neito's hand to start to lead him away like the conversation was over, but the other boys circled around, not letting them off that easily. That's okay, though; they were prepared for that. Actually, they might have been disappointed if the opportunity to shine didn't present itself so nicely.
"Wait! Prove it first!" the tallest one demanded, eyes squinting in suspicion.
"No!" Neito pleaded. "I'll get in trouble if anyone sees! We aren't allowed to use our quirks!" Neito's eyes darted around, searching the area to see if any teacher or chaperone was looking in their direction.
"C'mon, Rai!" Hitoshi drawled. "No one's looking! Just hurry up and show them so we can move on."
"Coast is clear!" Denki added encouragingly, head swiveling around to check to see if anyone was paying any attention to the mismatched group.
Neito sighed, acting annoyed, when in reality he was ecstatic to be able to use the electrification quirk once again. Lightning danced across his fingertips as he held his hands in the middle of the group of boys, displaying 'his' electric-type quirk. The boys from the other school were stupid enough to believe it and not realize that he would have had the chance to borrow a quirk from his companions to make it work. Neito was grateful that Hitoshi and Denki came along when they did. He had been in similar circumstances where he tried to say that he was quirkless, but that was rarely believed. He didn't know why showing a quirk was more believable, though, when they knew their intended target could copy one.
The boys muttered out non-apologies before rushing off to find someone else to torment.
When Neito turned around to face his friend and soulmate, they both rushed forward and engulfed him in a group hug.
"We were going to sneak up on you, but we decided to come to the rescue instead," Denki muttered against Neito's shoulder as he squeezed tighter.
"I didn't need rescued," Neito grumbled, though the smile was still on his face.
"We know," Hitoshi soothed, knowing that his soulmate loved his independence. "But it was the perfect opportunity to see if we could pull off an improv scenario in real life."
"Touya would have torn our story apart, but it was good enough for those losers," Neito conceded.
Denki finally pulled away, shook off the tension from the ruse they had actually succeeded in, and stuck out his hand in Neito's direction.
"My name is Kaminari Denki."
A/N: Fun fact: The scene with Hitoshi and Denki rescuing Neito using that little rouse was one of the first ideas I had for this fic! I was really excited to finally write it when it came up!