Lightning Serenade

Chapter 11: Fields IX

The examiner excused himself to talk to Denki and Touya about whether or not they wanted to participate in some tests to figure out what might be happening between Hitoshi's quirk and their soulmate bond.

The examiner called Denki out of the group room and into the hallway first.

Denki had sluggishly forced himself up from the chair he was sitting at with Touya, going over the different muscle groups and in which order to work through them and how many days of rest each muscle group would need before working it again. Denki was worn out from the training earlier, and the mental anguish he put himself through until he was sure that Hitoshi forgave him for unknowingly knowing that he had had a nightmare the night before. He didn't even have it in him to be anxious that he might be in trouble and just dragged his feet out into the hallway where yet another adult needed to speak to him.

"Kaminari Denki, correct?" the examiner asked.

Denki looked around the hallway. Was this a test to see if he remembered not to disclose his family name?

"Uh..." he stupidly stalled.

"Oh!" the examiner corrected. "I'm from the testing side of Fields, not the mental health side. I just need to confirm that I'm talking to the right person," he explained, remembering that the patients are prohibited from sharing personal details with each other and putting the young boy's mind at ease.

"Yeah... that's me..." Denki answered hesitantly.

The examiner wondered if this was a good idea, watching Denki fidget under his gaze. The examiner wasn't an intimidating man, which made him perfect for his job, but this young boy still shifted under his perceived authority.

The examiner still had a job to do, so he started explaining who he was and that he would be the one conducting and observing the tests that Neito and Hitoshi would be put through.

Denki perked up at the mention of his friends and tried to focus on what the examiner was saying, relaxing as the examiner discussed the testing his friends would be going through and the need for extra participants to use their quirks on. Denki did wonder why he was being privy to this information. He was just another patient on the unit. He wasn't any kind of authority or even a close friend of the soulmates, so why was their examiner coming to discuss any of this with him?

"So, what I want to ask, and what I want you to think carefully about before answering, is this: Will you be a participant for the study between Hitoshi and Neito?"

"Yeah! Sure!" Denki answered without hesitation, bouncing on his feet in anticipation of helping his new friends.

The examiner was surprised that the timid, anxious boy moments earlier had developed a healthy spark in his eye and literally bounced in place as he quickly agreed without even having any details or asking any clarifying questions.

"Denki, I asked you to think carefully, first," the examiner reminded, trying to make Denki think this through before agreeing.

"I want to help my friends," Denki said simply with a shrug, hoping that the examiner wouldn't get mad that he wasn't slowing down to think it through.

The truth was, Denki didn't have to think it through. He would do anything for his new friends, and he would feel damn heroic while doing it, too!

"You'll be put under Hitoshi's brainwashing quirk," the examiner clarified, desperately trying to make this 12-year-old boy understand what was being asked of him.

"Oh yeah! Sounds great! When do we start?" Denki asked, looking around the hallway to see if he could catch a glimpse of the soulmate duo.

"If you don't want to do it, I can tell them that your parents said you couldn't," the examiner offered. The examiner doubted that Denki was only saying yes in fear of letting his friends down, but he needed to cover all of the bases.