Deer

Chapter 10

Denki may be stupid academically and physically, but emotionally?

From the moment he stepped into the 1-A classroom and watched the students mingle, he instantly knew Midoriya Izuku was depressed beyond measure.

He also realized Todoroki Shoto was a tightly bound ball of anger and bitterness. He didn't dare to approach him as he did Izuku. Denki never worked well with the emotion called Wrath. The first time he tried, they just punched him in the face and shouted at him to mind his own business.

He never tried again after that.

Sadness, however?

Denki gaped when Izuku mercilessly decimated Katsuki in their one-on-one fight. Jumping around as if the walls were trampolines, blending into shadows as if he lived inside their inky embrace. How he fought dirty, kicking between the legs, or aiming for the throat. And how his strike just missed a vital area that'd give him the best advantage. Everyone knew Bakugo and Izuku were childhood buddies, even if the brash boy denied their friendship vehemently. Kaminari didn't mean anything bad by that, by the way. Bakugo was just being a tsundere. They overheard them discussing their daily morning spar before the battle trial started, Bakugo complaining about how hard it was to contact Izuku since he didn't live near him anymore, and how he was so looking forward to this class to make up for the lost time. Clearly, from their movements, both boys had been dancing to this tune from a very early age. That Bakugo could predict which body part his friend would target if the first one didn't work was impressive, even when some of them were a miss. Denki winced when Izuku finally smacked the blonde over his head with his sheathed sword, leading Bakugo to become acquainted with the wall face first and go unconscious.

Denki was pretty sure he was not the only one thinking 'Is he really Quirkless?' and 'Glad I'm not the one who had to fight Izuku'.

After all a cornered animal is a dangerous animal and that was what Izuku's fighting style reminded him of. A cornered, sad animal, however, was an absolutely terrifying beast, be it for themselves or others.

Denki was not a therapist, he didn't think he could ever be one in the first place! Not because of his quirk, but because he couldn't filter his words to soften the blow for the life of him. Yet talking was a balm to the soul, even if they didn't touch on the problem of his depression in their conversation at all. Denki was a good listener. Or so he hoped.

He could never leave those broken people alone because he knew that all-consuming pain.

He knew as he had been in that place not that long ago.

Maybe he still was.

Before he could think of a way of striking up a conversation with Izuku, the teen came to him like an omen from beyond the grave the next morning. Catching him so off guard, he was pretty sure his jaw just dropped. Izuku spun the chair in front of him and sat down, watching him with those blank eyes.

"You can't control your Quirk, can you?"

It was embarrassing to admit. Denki tried his hardest not to make a fool of himself in the first month of UA, or at least not before he found some real friends. And Izuku caught onto that fact already, within the first two days?

He may appear nonchalant, but apparently, he was really observant.

So, they talk. About how Denki's power worked, how he could counter the effects of overuse to tips and tricks to use it better.

"Rather than letting your lightning randomly wreak havoc, try to make yourself into a lightning rod. You're immune to electricity anyway, right? That's one way to attack someone, by electrifying them with a physical attack, the other is to use support items. Forget about those stupid Heroes who said support items are for cowards. Quirks and support items are just tools to assist you in your work. Nothing more, nothing less. No matter how cool your Quirk is, it's useless if you can't use it. Just like how useless it is to have a katana but never sharpen it. I already submitted a design of a suitable item for you," Izuku said, spreading two sheets of paper on the desk. One was a drawing of the item. It looked like a normal ring. Eight of them, and the other was how to use them. There are supposed to be five sticky balls of metal stored inside? He could throw them by opening the hidden panel under it? Like flicking a marble? He could focus his electricity on the marble and his power would strike in a straight line? He could perform a ranged attack by spreading the marbles around the enemy(ies) so he could attack without fear of hurting his allies?

"Power Loader offered to create a disc version of it so it'll be easier for you to use, but I digress. If you never learn how to push yourself, then you won't progress. You'll be stuck as a one-trick pony. I don't like Heroes, but if you want to be one, I'll make sure you'll be a damn good one".

He never heard Izuku talk this much before, it was a bit jarring. Turned out Izuku became an absolute nerd the moment Quirks and their applications came up, huh? Denki heard Katsuki snort from his seat.

At the end of the day, he realized a bit too late that Izuku was the one helping him instead of the other way around.

And he really helped him dearly when their trip to the USJ was sabotaged. That he now had to fight for dear life against these villains who were ready to kill them all. Turning the happy, educational lesson into an invasion ruled by chaos, horror, and mind-numbing terror.

The output of the electricity may have been a tad too much and his aim was questionable at best, yet the rings supported him a lot anyway. He didn't have to overuse his quirk and be a liability to his teammates. Nor did he hurt them just because.

Kaminari Denki swore to thank Izuku after this fiasco ended, then to seriously think of a way to get him to talk one of these days. Because God forbid. He may not be a therapist, —

He saw Izuku's quick smile as Denki babbled. A smile so bitter and sad.

Who are you seeing when you talk to me, Midoriya-kun?

—but forcing a 'victim' to talk is never a good idea.