Lightning Strikes the Heart

Chapter 1: Facing the Storm Alone

Kaminari Denki was so screwed. So utterly screwed. Like, Dr. Frankenstein's level of screwed after he created the monster and realized he had a synthetic being with abandonment issues and murderous tendencies following him around like a black cloud of death, horror, and desolation. That kind of screwed. He was so dead. So utterly dead. He was going to die young and–

"HAH!" Bakugo screamed, throwing the controller down. Sero winced as it bounced off the floor with the force he'd thrown it. "FUCKING TAKE THAT, DUNCE FACE!!" Kaminari groaned, dropping the controller and leaning back. "Damn it." Kirishima, reaching down from the couch, put his hand on his shoulder. "Better luck next time, Kaminari." He said sympathetically.

Bakugo turned to Sero. "YOU'RE NEXT, TAPE-ARMS!!! PREPARE TO DIE, ASSHOLE!!" Sero grimaced, leaning away from the exploding teen. "I think I'm going to pass." "WHAT?! YOU FUCKING COWARD!!" Sero sighed. "Bakugo, chill. It's just a game, man." Bakugo looked about ready to kill someone–then again, he always looked like that.

Kirishima came in with the save. "I'll go a few rounds," he offered. Kaminari handed him the controller over his shoulder and scooted back so he was resting against the bottom of the couch. Sero slid closer to him and handed him his phone and charger wordlessly. Kaminari rolled his eyes, but obediently put the end of the charger in his mouth and charged Sero's phone for him. They watched as Kirishima and Bakugo started the racing game. Kaminari wished Kirishima luck. Bakugo was utterly ruthless.

Sero sighed and gestured to Bakugo's controller. "So, how long do you think that thing'll last?" Kaminari snorted and very adeptly spoke around the charger in his mouth. "With how much Bakugo seems determined to annihilate it? Maybe two more games." "WHAT WAS THAT, SHITHEADS?!" Bakugo demanded as he aggressively slammed into the side of Kirishima's hot rod. "We said you're going to murder that controller if you aren't careful. You know we'll have to buy a new one if you do, right? You've already destroyed the two others." Kaminari said dryly.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, DUNCE FACE!" Kaminari shrugged, accepting that no matter what he said, Bakugo wasn't going to listen. Only Kirishima could really do that and even he'd given up on the controllers. At least Bakugo hadn't destroyed the tv in one of his victory fits. That would be considerably worse.

The four friends had decided to have a nice round of relaxing (well, as relaxing as it got with Bakugo screaming insults) PS4 racing games. So far, Bakugo was in the lead, with Kirishima second, Kaminari third, and Sero in last place. The last remaining member of the Bakusquad, Ashido, was hanging out with the rest of the girls for once, having a spa night.

While Ashido was definitely a great friend, it was nice to have an all-guy's night. With all the work they'd been doing, it'd been hard to find time to just hang out like this. Kaminari and Sero watched and laughed as Kirishima started losing ground to Bakugo's aggressive form of driving. Kaminari really hoped that wasn't how Bakugo would drive in real life. He'd get his license revoked the first day he drove after getting his license.

"Come on, Kirishima! You can do it!" Sero cheered. Kirishima grinned and then quickly grimaced as Bakugo rammed him from behind, lifting his car up from the back at least two feet off the ground. "Dude, you're going to flip the car," he said. Then, he and the other boys blanched at Bakugo's grin. "Aw, shit, man," Kirishima moaned as his prediction came true and his car flipped three times, landing on its roof.

They all laughed at Kirishima's sheepish face as they started another game, the redhead too stubborn to give up without a second shot at glory. Kaminari was exchanging bets with Sero on how many times it'd take for Kirishima to actually have a shot at winning, when Kaminari's phone dinged. He took it out of his pocket and looked down. Upon seeing the name, he carefully kept any of his emotions from showing on his face and handed Sero his phone back.

"What's up?" He asked. Kirishima stopped for a moment to look back at him. "Everything okay?" He asked. As he did, Bakugo annihilated him once more. "Oh, come on, bro!" Kirishima exclaimed. "I was obviously not paying attention." "Your loss, Shitty Hair!" Bakugo snapped back.

"It's all good," Kaminari said easily. "Just have to take a call from a hot chick I gave my number to earlier. Excuse me." As he walked away, he heard Sero asking incredulously. "A hot chick? Gave you her number?" "Yeah, I'm cool, ya know?" He called back, then dialed the number that's called him. When it picked up, he said, "Hey, sweetheart. Nice of you to call me."

"There'd better be other people around for you to call me that, Kaminari Denki," a raspy, male voice responded dryly. "Yep, you know it, sweetheart," Kaminari said cheekily. He still had to move a bit farther away before he could drop the act. Finally, he reached the stairwell and sat down in the corner, were he could see anyone coming. "So, what's up, Shigaraki?" He asked.

"Things are going to change," he rasped. "You have a new mission." Kaminari started. "What?" He asked, stunned. "But why? All For One outlaid his plan exactly and I don't think he'd appreciate any changes while he's gone." "All For One's not playing the game anymore. I'm the master now. Besides, if this goes well, you'd get to see them again much sooner than originally planned."

Kaminari's lips pressed together as he struggled not to respond to Shigaraki's taunt. "Well, I hope you've thought this new plan out. If I start acting too differently, they're liable to catch on," He said, ignoring the way his heart beat quickened. "Yes, I'm aware of that. My plan will work, don't worry." Kaminari's jaw worked. "And you'll still fulfill All For One's promise to me, right?" "Yeah, yeah." He said dismissively. Kaminari sighed. "Fine. What do you want me to do?"

He could practically see Shigaraki's deranged grin. "Listen good, here's the plan..."

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About twenty minutes later, Kaminari walked back into the common room. "Hey, dude," Kirishima called from the couch. Sero had now been dragged into the game after all and was getting absolutely slaughtered by Bakugo. "You've been gone awhile. What happened?" Kaminari grinned back at him, glad he was particularly good at hiding his feelings, cause he felt like anything but smiling. "Ah, the girl just wanted to hang out, but the timing didn't exactly work for me, ya know? With all the stuff the teachers are piling on us."

Sero just stopped playing and spun around to face him with a dumbfounded expression that was replicated by Kirishima. Bakugo went on playing the game and crushed Sero. "Did you just...say that you refused the chance to hang out with a supposedly hot girl...cause of homework?" Sero asked disbelievingly. Kaminari kept on grinning, but inwardly he was cursing himself. Damn it, I'm off my game. Of course they wouldn't believe that!

He snorted. "I can care about my grades, can't I?" "You never do," Sero said, pointedly deadpan. "You, the fucking idiot that procrastinates the fucking hell out of every goddamn assignment we've ever had, caring about your shitty ass grades now?" Bakugo added. "Yeah, right, dumbass." Kaminari huffed. "Fine, believe what you will. I'm going to bed, since I care about being able to stay awake in class tomorrow." He spun around and marched out of the room dramatically, feeling so utterly tired.

Upon reaching his room, he collapsed on his bed. "Fuck my life, fuck my life, fuck my goddamn life," he said lowly. What Shigaraki wanted him to do...could he do it? Could he, knowing what it could lead to? But what choice did he have? This is what he came for, to being UA High down from the inside. That was his job, his end of the bargain.

Besides, the other students didn't really care about him. He was an annoyance, the one that became useless after only one attack, the one that had to be protected because he couldn't do anything. That was the facade he'd built and he'd done so well, it was no wonder they didn't really care. Perhaps Kirishima...but that guy wore his heart on his sleeve and is loyal to the point of stupidity. He didn't really count.

Midoriya's group wouldn't miss him. Mineta...he was honestly disturbed by how...perverted the kid was. He doubted he thought of anything but boobs. Bakugo wouldn't care, he'd probably kill him though. Sero would get over it. So would Ashido. But...what Shigaraki wanted him to do...was he really prepared to go that far? To... No, he couldn't think about it now, couldn't question himself. He was too far into this mess at this point.

Kaminari was on his own, facing the storm to come with no one by his side.

Clutching his pillow, he prayed for a goodnight's sleep for once.