Only the rays from the early morning sun illuminated Denki Kaminari's childhood bedroom. The warm reds and oranges highlighted the posters of his favorite heroes that were used to cover up the holes in the walls. The twin size mattress in the corner - a mess of blankets and sheets. Clothes litter the floor, all sourcing from the disastrous state of an open closet. What floor space not taken up by clothes was covered in empty bowls and old assignments from middle school. The only other pieces of furniture that decorate Denki's room are an old worn desk and a kitchen chair.
Hunched over that old worn desk sits Denki - using his Provisional Hero License to push the crushed white powder in front of him into neat little lines. With Adderall being a banned substance in Japan, Denki has resorted to obtaining it illegally. Well, it helps when multiple dealers live in his house. Denki lets out a low laugh thinking about it as he inhales one line after the other. Pushing himself away from the desk, he throws his head back savoring the stinging sensation for a few moments.
He glances up at the ceiling letting his brain catch up to him. How did he get to such a low state? None of this would be happening if his mother were still alive. None of this would be happening if he hadn't left America. Another laugh escapes him. Who is he kidding? He moved to japan shortly after he gained his quirk. Shortly after his mother died. Denki grabbed his school bag, shoving bottles of pills to the bottom of it.
The students at UA had just been granted a long weekend after their midterm exams. Denki didn't like being home, but it was a necessity to stock up on the drugs that he craved. Addict? No, Denki would not consider himself one. He was simply dulling the effects of his quirk. Yeah that was it. He would do anything for a moment of peace where the electricity flowing through him wasn't agony. Where he didnt hear every powerline, every electrical outlet, every person he walked by. Where the buzzing in his head let him rest. See, that's why he did this. It was simply an unprescribed needed medication.
Now that his brain was back online, Denki stepped out of his room, fixing his uniform tie in the hallway mirror before heading downstairs. There was an unspoken house rule to anyone who stayed the night - quiet hours from 4am to noon. This gave everyone time to recover from the previous night's activities. As Denki made his way downstairs he realized he wouldn't make his train if he stayed for breakfast.
With his little substance session mere minutes ago, his senses were on overdrive. He was hyper aware of the time. Of the half empty alcohol bottles, of the still lit cigarettes in the ashtray, and of the beings already awake in his house. Rounding the corner, there stood Kumo Yūdokuna leaning against the kitchen island munching on a bowl of cereal.
"What up kid" Kumo slurred through his food. Denki knew his dad didn't make the best choices on who he hung out with, but out of everyone, Denki always kinda enjoyed Kumo Yūdokuna. He was a tall guy, but skinny to the bone. He used to tell stories about people who called him Brown Recluse on the streets. He got the name from the spider to which he shared his quirk. His bite was killer and he had four long spider-like legs reaching out from his back. Everything about his screamed criminal.
"Have you seen my dad this morning?" Denki walked past him heading to the junk drawer. He dug around for a few seconds before finding sunglasses. "I wanted to let him know I'm headed back to campus."
"Naw, he's still passed out in the living room" Kumo took another bite of the cereal in front of him - paying Denki no mind as he read the words on the mild carton.
"For the better I suppose." Denki stared down at the sunglasses before putting them on and heading toward the door.
"Kid, hey? Aren't yah gonna eat something?" Standing up straighter, Kumo craned his neck to watch Denki walk right out the front door. Not another word spoken.
Denki bypassed the empty cans and cigarette butts in his front yard and opened the gate, picking up his walking pace to make it to the train. His commute really wasn't that far. It was just that his neighborhood wasn't the best. You don't want to stick around for too long if you know what's good for you. He has never told any of his friends where he lived. He hardly ever talks about his family really. And why should he? They haven't asked. And now he's overthinking.
Moving the sunglasses to the top of his head, Denki brought his palms up to rub his eyes. He pushed till he could see a kaleidoscope of colors behind his eyelids. Probably wasn't healthy but it calmed himself down. Climbing the steps of the train platform, Denki lowered the sunglasses again as he wanted for the train. Last thing he wanted was to make eye contact with anyone else standing there.
Denki could hear the train long before he could see it. He could feel the electricity flow through the tracks. Growing and getting stronger as the train approached. Small sparks danced across Denki's hands. Connecting himself to the electricity around him. With a grimace, Denki shoved his hands deep into his pocket. When the train came to a stop, Denki quickly made his way to a window seat where he could rest his head and disappear from this reality till his stop.
Damn was he out of it. Before he knew it, the UA Hero Academy was next. Checking the time once more he came to the realization that homeroom has already started. If he wasn't going to get an earful from Iida, he sure was from Mr. Aizawa. With a sigh, Denki stood from his seat and left the train. There was nothing he could do now. His quirk sadly didn't allow him to turn back time. So he did what any normal person would do - daydream that he was a prisoner. A prisoner heading toward death row. His executioner was just on the other side of the UA walls. On the other side of the class 1-A door. He thought about what his last meal would be as he crossed the courtyard. No time to head to the dorms to hide the pill bottles somewhere in his room. No, he thought about burgers instead.
Yeah. That would be his last meal. He would ask the guard for a double cheeseburger with the works. Perfectly seasoned steak fries and a milkshake on the side. Now that he thought about it - he should have gotten breakfast. I mean he was already late to school. Denki stopped himself before he could walk face first into the classroom door. It is amazing what he can do when his brain is on autopilot. He looked up to scan the door and the large 1-A plastered across the front.
Taking a deep breath, Denki knew he couldn't hold off the inevitable. He pocketed the sunglasses and opened the door to the classroom. His peers were all at their assigned desks listening as Aizawa lectured at the front. In that moment, Denki could have sworn all eyes locked on him. It made him self conscious. Everyone being able to read him like an open book
"Kaminari. See me before training" No greeting. Just cold, piercing black eyes from his teacher welcomed him.
"I know." Running a hand through his hair, Denki made his way to his desk quickly. Dropping his bag beside him, he grabbed his notebook only to realize he didn't have a pen. Ojiro, being the sweet angel he is, leaned back in his seat, extra pen in hand. Denki nodded in thanks and perked up more when Ojiro offered his tail to be played with.
"Pst- Kami" Kirishima tapped his shoulder a few times, leaning forward on his desk. "You doin' good man? You don't seem like yourself" he whispered his concern to the best of his abilities. This received a glance from Aizaway who didn't stop his lecture.
Oh shit. Denki forgot he had to be the goofy happy one in this situation. Glancing back to see his red haired friend, Denki gave Kirishima his signature bright smile.
"I'm fine man. Woke up late - must still be half asleep" this received a smirk from Kirishima who went back to work. Yet, Denki could still feel eyes on him. He tried to keep his head down to focus on the board. Aizawa was going over their midterm exams and where they needed to improve on the practical. Something about staying covert which none of them seemed to be able to do. Why couldn't he focus? Instead he could only focus the ticking of the classroom clock, Mina clicking her pen a billion times, Midoriya mumbling what he could improve on and the consistent static under his skin. He needed his medication.
Looking down at his open notebook, dread settled in his gut as nothing had been written down yet. It was as if he was in a trance. All Denki could do was squeeze his eyes shut tightly and block out the noise. By spending all his energy on focusing, he picked up on Aizawa's monotone voice as he droned on about safety in the field. Before he knew it, the voice turned into white noise and Denki's head hit the desk. Fast asleep.