"Maybe" | Denki Kaminari [COMPLETED]

Chapter Five: Denki

When I woke up, I couldn't move. My eyes wouldn't open and I didn't know if I was breathing or not. I didn't even know if I was still alive. I just floated in the void of my mind without a past, present, or future.

The first thing that I could register was feeling. I could taste the burnt material on my tongue and feel the fabric wrapped around much of my body. Then I could smell a sharp antiseptic and, faintly, some sort of plant or flower. After that, I could hear my own heartbeat and someone else's steady breathing.

The last thing to return was my sight. When my eyes finally opened, I was able to identify the flower smell coming from the open windows. It took me longer to place the boy asleep in a chair beside my bed.

Denki was fast asleep with his head resting on the side of my bed and his hand a few inches from mine. I could tell from the bag and jacket on the floor that it had been at least a day.

I didn't wake him up. Not only did I not have the strength to, but I was puzzled by his actions. Why was he here? Why did he look as if he hadn't gotten any rest? Why was I happy that he was the one waiting and not someone else?

A thought hit me: what had my foster mother thought? Even worse, what had the villains thought? Would either punish me? Would I be allowed to return to UA?

Suddenly uncomfortable with my own thoughts, I inched my hand toward Denki's and laid it on his.

"Denki," I said softly, still not in control of my voice.

He snapped awake, blinking away the sleep. "Kaiya," he said. "You're awake! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I said, smiling weakly. "What even happened?"

He sat back in his chair and ran his hands through his hair. "I'm so sorry. It was my fault. I used my quirk at a really powerful voltage."

"I don't see—"

"Water conducts electricity," Denki said. "I was supposed to be the hero, and instead you nearly died."

"I'm fine," I said, trying to reassure him.

"Your heart stopped!" He stood up and began pacing. "Your entire body went into shock! You've been recovering for nearly four days, and it's completely my fault."

"Denki, look at me—"

"The doctors said you were going to die," he said, his voice breaking. He sat down, defeated.

I grabbed his hand, sending a sharp stab of pain up my arm. "I don't blame you. This is not your fault. You couldn't have known. Don't put this on yourself."

The door opened and the doctor walked in and, upon seeing me awake, rushed to the different machines and things attached to my arms and generally fussing over everything. She asked me questions, but I was focused on Denki. Did he really believe it was his fault?

Much to my dismay, the doctor released me from the hospital with instructions on changing my bandages and a few medications I would need to take.

"You finally started calling me 'Denki,'" he said with a sly smile.

"Oh, shut up," I said with a scowl.

He laughed and slung his backpack over his shoulder to escort me out. I was a little unsteady on my feet at first, but most of the damage was on my hands, so I recovered relatively quickly.

"My house is this way," I said when we left the hospital.

"Oh, about that," Denki said, "you live in an apartment now."

"What?"

"Once you were admitted to the hospital, your foster mother ran off and disappeared." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "The entire house was burned to the ground."

"Have they found her?" I asked.

"Not yet."

I sighed in frustration. "Do you have my phone?"

"Yeah." He dug through his backpack before finding it.

As expected, Mina had texted me over a dozen times. But the lack of messages from the villains was surprising and a little suspicious. I thought they would have tried to contact me by now.

While I was distracted by my phone, someone walking too fast on a sidewalk passed us and bumped into my shoulder, making me hiss in pain. Apparently my wounds hadn't completely healed during my four days in the hospital.

"Watch it," I muttered. When the person didn't answer, I stuck my hands into my pockets angrily.

"Are you alright?" Denki asked. "Recovery Girl could only heal so much, so the gashes on your back were mostly ignored.

I froze. "How do you know about those?"

"I overheard the doctors talking about them," he said. "Next time, tell someone what's happening."

"What?"

"The investigators think your foster mother may have run to avoid arrest for abuse," Denki said, "and that she burned the house down to remove any evidence."

Realization finally dawned. It wasn't her, I wanted to say. She was horrible and neglectful, but the villains did this to me, not her!

But I didn't. I didn't say anything because I was scared.

I faked a smile. "Well, she's gone now. I'll be fine."

Except the real threat wasn't gone. And I wasn't sure who the threat was anymore.