Dear Denki (Kirikami)

love & sincerity

Kaminari POV

Kiri's not his usual happy self this morning. During breakfast he hardly says anything. Though he doesn't appear sad either, just tired. I catch him every few minutes yawning to himself.

I nudge him on our walk to class. "You okay?"

Noticing my worry, he flashes that contagious smile of his. "Yeah I'm fine, man. Just had trouble sleeping last night, that's all."

"Oh." I frown at his declaration. "Is something wrong?"

He ruffles my hair, making me giggle. "Not at all." He links his arm through mine and we continue our stroll to class.

Stepping into the 2-A classroom, my eyes light up when I see what I was hoping to find on my desk.

"Another one?" I say.

Kiri, arm still wrapped around mine, yawns before picking my newest love letter off my desk. "Looks like it." He extends it to me and I snatch it from his grasp a bit too eagerly.

We both settle in our seats before I open the letter. Then, just like yesterday, I lean back and hold the note out for both of us to read.

Dear Denki,

The way you got all excited in math class yesterday because you answered a question right may have been the most adorable thing I've ever seen. I know you have insecurities about not being the best student, but I think you're too hard on yourself. For what it's worth, I think you're brilliant.

Love, your secret admirer

The sound of my own heartbeat is deafening. I force myself to keep my hands steady as I hold the letter so Kiri can read it, but I struggle. This note is just so...sweet.

"You're blushing," Kiri says. A small smile forms on his face as he points to my cheeks, which only makes me blush harder.

"Can you blame me?" I ask, still clutching my letter. "How do I not blush when reading something like this?"

It's the shortest note I've received so far, but it somehow touches my heart way more than the other two. I want to cry reading it. For someone to address my deepest insecurity and not make fun of me for it the way others do, then to also know exactly what to say to so I don't feel so alone.

Whoever this secret admirer is, this person sees the real me. They see the real me and they still like me enough to send me these letters.

I can't take it anymore. I need to know who this is.

Come on Denki, use your brain. This mystery person thinks you're smart, so you may as well use the intellect they swear you have to figure out their identity.

It takes a couple tries, but something in the note finally jumps out at me.

"E, look." I point to the first sentence of the letter. "This is a huge clue. They mentioned math class yesterday, so it has to be someone in our class!"

"Wait, what?" Kiri says.

I wave the note at him, almost hitting him in the face with it. "Read it read it read it! Math. Class. Yesterday," I say, pointing to each individual word.

Kiri slumps in his seat. "Wow. I guess you're right." He fidgets with his tie. "That is a big clue."

"Most of the people in our class are coupled up already, so that narrows it down a lot." I count on my fingers the number of single people in our class. Though I don't count Kiri, since I know it's not him. "There's twelve single people in our class, ten if you don't count you or me. We know for a fact that Uraraka and Midoriya like each other, same thing with Tsu and Tokoyami. I'm also pretty confident that it's not Mineta. That brings it down to five." I tap my finger to my chin. "That also means...my secret admirer is a guy."

"Are you...okay with that?" Kiri asks.

I ponder for a moment, but decide rather quickly. "Yeah, I think I am."

Kiri smiles. "Good." He then clears his throat. "I-I mean I'm happy for you, that's what I meant."

Kiri is too sweet. He always tells me he wants what's best for me, and he's one of the few people I know whose actions match their words. Seeing him look so genuinely happy for me brings a smile to my face. I love when his smile grows so wide that his dimples start to peek out.

"Thanks, man," I say. "Once we find out who's been writing me these letters, we should work on finding you a date for Valentine's Day too."

Kiri grabs the back of his neck. "Uh, I'm good actually."

I shrug. "Suit yourself."

*

It's nighttime now, and all of 2-A is in the common room. Everyone's off in their own groups. I'm currently cuddling Kiri on the couch, the two of us discussing which of the UA staff would survive a slasher movie. I put my money on Aizawa. Kiri argues that Present Mic can use his quirk to annoy the killer to death.

Once I scan the common room, ensuring that everyone is actually present, I nudge Kiri. "Wish me luck."

"What are you doing?"

"Something I should've done sooner."

Rising to my feet, I address the room. "Hey guys, can I have your attention for a moment?"

"Shut up Sparky," Bakugou says from the opposite couch. He's sitting with Todoroki. They're not cuddling or doing anything coupley, but they're sitting awfully close together.

"Please," I say. "It's important."

The room hushes, my classmates giving me their undivided attention. Even Bakugou cooperates once Todoroki asks him to.

I nod. It's a bit nerve wracking to do this. My voice comes out a lot shakier than usual. "Thanks. Um, as you all know, I've been getting these secret love letters by someone in this room. I just want to say, whoever you are, I'd really really like to spend Valentine's Day with you. Your letters have made me really happy, and you don't have to worry about me not being interested. I am interested. So, um, if you could reveal yourself, that would be nice."

Silence fills the room. No one gets up. Frowning, I look around to see if maybe anyone's facial expression tells anything. However, the only one who appears even remotely flustered is Kiri, and that's probably because he's embarrassed on my behalf that this is an epic fail.

"You heard him," Bakugou says, to no one in particular. "Sparky's not gonna reject you. You got nothing to lose, you stupid extra. Just come out and confess your damn feelings."

Still, everyone stays put. I hang my head before sitting back down. "It's fine. They're clearly not ready."

Kiri wraps an arm around me again. "Sorry, man. Maybe you should just let it go for now. Let them come out in their own time."

I nod. That's a good point. If my secret admirer is in fact a guy, there's a possibility he's not ready to come out in front of everyone yet. Stupid Denki. I should've considered that.

But that's fine. Kiri says I should give up, but I really feel like there's potential for something beautiful with this mystery person. For all I know, this admirer is holding on to my first kiss. So there's no way I'm giving up yet.

If my secret admirer isn't going to reveal his identity, I'll just have to reveal him myself. The solution is simple.

I just have to catch him in the act.