The Quiet of Us (Denki Kaminari x OC)

A Nagging Concern

The day after their run-in with the paparazzi, Kaminari found himself at work, but his usual cheerful energy was noticeably absent. He sat at his desk, staring at his phone, where a barrage of media articles speculated about his personal life. Most of the headlines were innocuous—"Who's Denki Kaminari's Mystery Girlfriend?" and "Pro Hero Kaminari Spotted with New Flame"—but they all shared the same curiosity: who was the woman he had been seen with?

Kaminari sighed, scrolling through the headlines. Normally, he didn't care about this kind of attention, but this time it felt different. The way Aiko had reacted to the paparazzi the day before—her panic, the way she had clung to him—kept playing in his mind. He had never seen her like that before, and it left him feeling unsure of how to handle it.

"Yo, Kaminari! You okay, man?"

Kaminari looked up to see Kirishima and Sero walking over, both of them eyeing him with concern. Kirishima dropped into the seat beside him, while Sero leaned against the desk.

"You've been kinda off today," Kirishima continued. "What's going on?"

Kaminari sighed, leaning back in his chair. "It's... Aiko. Yesterday, we got swarmed by paparazzi, and she had this reaction—like a panic attack. I didn't know what to do, and now I'm worried about how this whole 'dating a pro hero' thing is going to affect her. She's not used to all the attention, and I don't know if she ever will be."

Sero raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you've been checking out all these articles? You worried they'll dig too deep or something?"

"Kind of," Kaminari admitted. "I mean, I know dating a hero comes with this stuff, but I don't think Aiko's comfortable with it. And I don't know how to fix that."

Kirishima nodded thoughtfully. "It sounds like she's got something going on that maybe she hasn't talked about. Have you asked her why she reacted like that? Maybe it's more than just the attention."

"Yeah," Sero agreed. "If she had a full-on panic attack, there's probably more to it. Could be some kind of past trauma."

Kaminari frowned, thinking back to what Aiko had told him about the villain who broke into her home when she was a kid. She had mentioned it in passing, but now he wondered if there was more to the story—something she hadn't told him.

"I don't know," Kaminari said quietly. "She mentioned a villain breaking into her home when she was little, but I don't think she told me the whole story. Maybe I should look into it."

Kirishima gave him a serious look. "It couldn't hurt to try and understand what she went through. If you know more, you can help her through it."

Kaminari nodded, though part of him hesitated. He didn't want to invade Aiko's privacy, but if it meant understanding why she reacted the way she did, maybe it was worth it.

Later that day, when Kaminari had some free time, he decided to do a bit of digging. He searched for news articles from years ago, related to the villain break-in Aiko had mentioned. It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for.

As he scrolled through the old articles, his stomach twisted.

"Villain Breaks Into Family Home, Nearly Kidnaps Young Girl"

"Heroes Foil Kidnapping Attempt—Villain Escapes"

The more he read, the clearer the picture became. Aiko hadn't just experienced a break-in—it had been much worse. The villain hadn't been looking for something random. He had been after Aiko herself. The articles described how the villain had broken into her home and nearly taken her. The only reason she hadn't been kidnapped was because the heroes had arrived just in time to stop it. But the villain had escaped, never to be caught.

Kaminari's heart sank as he read about how terrified Aiko's family had been, how Aiko herself had been left traumatized by the incident. The media at the time had even speculated that the villain might return for her one day, though nothing had come of it since.

"No wonder she's so scared of attention," Kaminari muttered to himself. "She's probably afraid it'll bring the villain back."

The realization hit him hard. Aiko had been through so much more than he'd ever imagined, and now, by being with him, he might be putting her back in the spotlight she'd worked so hard to avoid.

Kaminari leaned back in his chair, his mind racing. He couldn't believe she hadn't told him everything—but then again, why would she? It wasn't exactly something easy to talk about. Now he understood her panic in front of the paparazzi. It wasn't just about the attention; it was about the fear that came with it.

He knew he had to talk to her. But how?

As Kaminari stared at the articles on his screen, he realized that this was something he couldn't ignore. Aiko's fear wasn't just about being in the public eye—it was about being targeted again. And that was something Kaminari couldn't take lightly.

"I need to figure this out," he muttered. "I can't let her feel unsafe because of me."

But even as he made up his mind to talk to her, there was a lingering unease in his gut. The villain who had nearly kidnapped Aiko all those years ago was still out there, and if he ever found out about Aiko again... Kaminari didn't even want to think about what could happen.