Just One Punch || BNHA

Kaminari Denki; Vending Machine

SATURDAY, 1:41 PM; MUSUTAFU, JAPAN

  Kaminari Denki was not an electrical outlet, nor a lamp, nor a battery, nor was he a knock-off version of the lie detector game that shocks its players when a lie is detected; however, when Y/N walks into the room at any given moment, he suddenly becomes the handy multipurpose tool that people wish they had at home. The house has a blackout? Kaminari will light up the room. Phone's dead? Kaminari will charge it. Drink got stuck in the vending machine? Kaminari will shock it into coming out.

  Clunk!

  He took the can of soda out from the machine's slot and handed it to her. "Sorry that took so long," he apologizes while pushing in another coin for a can of his own. "It sure is refreshing drinking this on a cruelly hot day." Kaminari fans himself with his hand and yanks his shirt over and over with his other hand to create a gust of cool air against his body each time. He finally reaches through the slot and picks up his drink. He then leads her to the bench just a few steps away; it was conveniently built under the cool shade of a big healthy tree.

  Y/N took a sip of her drink while glancing over at her friend who was chugging the whole can. After letting out a satisfied, refreshed breath of air, Kaminari leaned forward and supported his upper half with his elbows on his knees and hands loosely clasped together. He looked deep in thought. It was like he was about to confess or something, haha.

  The silence was loud, but not in an awkward, uncomfortable way. It was comforting when paired with the slight breeze that brushed passed them. The cool exterior of her soda can kissed the palms of her hands. She brought the can up to her neck to cool herself off and glanced around. She's seen and walked on this street hundreds of times, but it's a nostalgic area from her point of view; she never had time to sit here and just bask in the life happening around her. How comforting, it was. Her eyes pranced from the trees to the shops across the street to the vending machine just a few steps away. She wondered why Kaminari always came to this vending machine instead of the ones right in front of their school. She decided to quench her curiosity.

"Hey Kami–"

"Y/N–" They stopped. Stare. Stare. Stare. "Oh! Sorry, you can go ahead." Oops, that was awkward.

"Kaminari," she calls his name out to which he nods in response with a small hum of acknowledgment and assurance that he's listening to her. "Why do you always come to this vending machine? It's a bit far from campus compared to the ones that are already by the gate. Isn't it more convenient to go to those ones?"

"Oh! Oh..." Kaminari shyly laughs and shifts his eyes down to the ground. "About that..." Kaminari takes the time to formulate his response, mumbling to himself. In the meanwhile, Y/N takes it upon herself to formulate her own hypotheses in her head. Maybe it's because it's on the way to the dorm and the train station? Maybe there's better selections? Maybe it has cheaper prices?

"Actually I..." Kaminari looks back up at her. "I come here because..." His voice becomes small until it turns back into a mumble.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Because it's where..."

"Huh?" Kaminari blushed a deep red.

"Because it's where we met." He stole a quick glance at her eyes and shifted them away, this time to the shops across the street. Y/N stayed silent. She was now the one in deep thought.

'This is where we met???'

"Sorry if that sounded a bit weird, hah. It's just a fond memory of mine," He takes his empty can and reached over to the trash bin a few centimeters away, standing up a moment after. "You lifted the vending machine for me when I lost my coin under it. You were all cool lifting it up without a word and returning my words of gratitude like—" Kaminari pulls a stoic face and imitates what Y/N said to him that day in an exaggerated heroic voice. "'No problem'."

  "I... I didn't look like that, did I?"

  "You looked way cooler!" Kaminari enthusiastically cheered.

  "Anyways! What I'm trying to say is," He looks at the vending machine. "I'm attached to this area, specifically that vending machine. It reminds me of you, is all." He shrugs and gives her a small smile. He hops on the bench with his hands in his pockets and looks up at the tree's leaves. "You're just super cool, you know? I really like that about you."

  "I like you."

"Oh yeah?" he lightly laughs. Wait. "Wait, what?!" It was so quick. Too quick, in fact. What did she just say to him? He hops down and sits on the bench closer to her. He leans towards her and asks, "You- you like me?" He wanted that confirmation to make sure he didn't mishear her.

"I like you." She repeats with a gentle smile.

"Oh." His brain just short-wired. That's what it felt like, at least. His ears became hot, reversing the effect the can of soda had on him. He felt steam rising from his head. He didn't know what to say to her. He couldn't even move. He could only stare at her.

Y/N stretches and chugs the rest of her drink, setting the can down onto the bench. She decided that she would throw it away when she stands up. She returns to basking in the ambience of the peaceful summer afternoon. Kaminari is still frozen.

"Do you really mean it?" Oh, there he is. "Do you really like me?" Y/N looks at him once again. She nods in confirmation. "Woah, this is awesome!" he laughs with his heart full of joy. "You like me! This is amazing!" He stands up and prances around the open grass area underneath the trees. Y/N watches him jump up in the air and do somersaults on the grass. He returns with a big smile on his face. She smiles at him once he looks at her.

"I haven't given you a proper response yet, have I?" Kaminari walks in front of her. He bows in a 90 degree angle and holds his hand out with his arm straight, a classic confession from a high school boy in Japan. "I really like you too. Please be my girlfriend!" He hears a small giggle from in front of him.

"That was my intention the moment I said I liked you." Y/N takes his hand and pulls him close to her, embracing him in her arms. With him standing and her sitting, she leaned her head on his torso, feeling the warmth that the sun had transferred to him. He mutually wrapped his arms around her. What a comforting presence.

~•~

The next route leads to a student who didn't hesitate to make cheesy pick-up lines and make arts and crafts out of the material he produces with his quirk just to show his love for you!!