Cross posted on my AO3, enjoy some kidnapped Denki and protective Class 1A

Also, Happy New Years!

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Denki did not think the day would end like this.

Denki started the morning by getting up late, which normally wasn't that big of a deal. However, today had been a huge test in heroics, and the fact class was about to start in t minus ten minutes and Denki had YET to brush his teeth was not a great way to start the day. He had hurled himself from his bed and put on his spare hero costume that he stored in the closet, chucking himself from his window. It wasn't a huge fall, Denki's landed larger leaps in training. His ankle did bend weirdly, though, causing him to hobble the rest of the way to the gym. He was two minutes late, and was scolded by Aizawa for it. But, that was the least of his issues.

His exam had been decided by Nezu, which one would think wouldn't be a smart idea. After all, in the three years Denki has been at UA, Nezu has consistently shown the boy he has it out for him. But, Nezu had insisted that Denki had improved in his control and that he had 100% faith in Denki. Denki rolled his eyes at that, that clever rat has always loved to humiliate him. When Nezu stepped up to the podium to announce Denki's test, the blonde paled. He was to power up a grid for the school, which normally wouldn't be an issue. What WAS the issue was that it was literally the UA power grid, meaning if Denki blew the circuits, the entire campus would be out of power for DAYS! Denki gulped as he took the adapters into his hands, his palms extra sweaty. The entire class watched, cheering him on.

Denki's head was pounding, the amount of control he needed to power the UA grid without blowing out any of the breakers costed him a lot of brain power. He was half way to his Jamming-Whey form when Denki noticed he was nearly done. Using one final spurt of controlled power, Denki sent himself into his dumb mode, but passed his test. Denki's tolerance had risen exponentially, with him not being able to put out 100 million volts of electricity. He did this by training with a fellow third year in the business course who could generate lightning. For months, the two would train together by her encasing Denki in lightning and Denki absorbing it. It really helped with his tolerance, but not without consequences, as lichtenberg figures scarred Denki all over his body. The unique patterns that scarred his tan, freckled skin were marks of his strength, true testaments to how far Denki took his training to be a better hero.

Tokoyami had retrieved Denki from the testing arena, nearly back to his normal form. Dark Shadow placed him on a cot, giving him an affectionate nuzzle, while Momo made him a weighted blanket. It was seldom rare that Denki had to USE his full potential, so he hadn't been going into his dumb mode very often. When he did, though, his classmates made sure he was comfortable.

Denki could still remember their faces when he told them about how painful it was going into dumb mode, how he still had a vague knowledge of his surroundings but was basically trapped by his own body. How he could still hear how everybody laughed at him, and how he was completely useless and vulnerable in that state. The looks were a mix of guilt and understanding and the class stopped making fun of him after Denki informed them of what kind of pain he goes through.

It took Denki another ten minutes before he finally came back, his groggy mind forcing a muffled groan from his lips. He sat up, his waist length hair full of static. He gently patted it down when he felt a chord in his mouth and found it to be a USB port that was plugged into the wall of the surveillance center. Denki smiled as he took the chord from his mouth, while Mina sat beside him with a glass of orange juice.

"Hey, Hanta plugged you in to help you heal up faster," Denki gently took the glass from Mina, who still had a light grip, "I'm gonna help you take a sip," she gently lifted the glass and Denki took a few sips. He smiled happily as the tingly numbness on his tongue was replaced with the vibrant, puckering taste of citrus. When Mina took the glass from his lips, Denki licked his lips one final time before stretching out.

"Thanks Meens," he groaned before sighing, "who's up now?" Denki stood up from the cot, a slight wobble to his frame. Mina instantly caught him and looked at his ankle. Kirishima had made his way over, noticing Mina's eyes on Denki's ankle.

"Did you hurt your ankle, Denks?" he asked worriedly. Denki waved him off, a crooked smile on his face.

"Nah, Ei, I'm good. Just landed on it weird when I jumped out my window," at that a few of his other classmates turned around in horror.

"You JUMPED out your WINDOW?!" Ochako screeched.

"Why the fuck did you hurl yourself out your window, Sparky?" Bakugo groaned in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. Denki chuckled at the stressful eyebrow twitching coming from his grenade of a friend.

"Going through the dorms would've taken time, I was already late. I mean, I didn't even brush my teeth or eat," Tokoyami came forward, his arms crossed.

"That explains why you were out a bit longer than expected. Using your quirk on an empty stomach is dangerous," he reminded. Sato had heard the conversation and came over, offering Denki a box.

"Here, you can snag one of my donuts," he then smirked, "I made the orange curd one, it's the one in the lower right corner," Denki happily took the donut with a quick thanks and chomped away. In a matter of three bites, the donut was gone. Iida marched forward, chopping his arms.

"Kaminari, I appreciate your dedication to being on time! However, please do it safely!" Denki nodded while Iida knelt in front of him, "I will take you to Recovery Girl, get on my back," Denki looked at everybody, who all nodded back. It seemed there would be no arguing with his class, so Mina helped Denki get situated on Iida before the two took off. While on commute, Denki looked over Iida's shoulder.

"Did you go yet?" Iida shook his head.

"I am slated to go last, apparently whatever Cementos-sensei has planned for me will take a great duration of time," Iida replied as he made it down the courtyard, "I truly applaud your control, Denki! Your test was considerably more difficult than the rest of ours! Impeccable work!" Denki chuckled and shrugged.

"I had to control my quirk, or else the entire campus would be without power! I think the thought of having an entire campus on my ass for blowing the breakers scared me enough to control my quirk," Iida glanced back with a smile.

"Denki, our class would never be mad at you for that. We all know that Nezu has had a vendetta against you since our first year. And if anybody did give you trouble," Iida entered the main building and was shooting up the stairs, "the entire class wouldn't stand for it," he stopped in front of Recovery Girl's door, "remember Denki, Midoriya, Bakugo, and Shoto may be our class leaders. But YOU are the glue that holds everyone together," he opened the door and helped Denki hobble onto a bed, "It's your optimistic disposition and bright smile that reminds us what we fight to protect, and it's your laughter that makes everyone else laugh. Everybody in class needs you, remember that," he smiled at Denki, who smiled back, before he turned around, "I'm going to go tell Recovery Girl of your arrival," Denki gave him a thumbs up.

"Good luck, Class Pres! You're going to do great! Make your big bro proud!" Denki squealed as Iida left. The blue-haired representative couldn't help the fond giggle that came from his mouth as he got to Recovery Girl's office door.

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Denki was delighted when he finished in Recovery Girl's office. She had needed some help moving heavy boxes and once Denki was healed up, offered to help. He spent the rest of the morning moving boxes for the old nurse, who thanked him by giving him a bento she had made for All Might (who didn't show up due to the exams taking longer than expected). Denki ate and chatted with her, which was mostly her reminiscing on her youth and when she was a rescue hero. Denki didn't mind, he knew she never really got visitors who WEREN'T in need of her quirk, so he was happy to let her talk. When he was finally finished with his bento, he got up and helped clean up the lunch dishes. As he was leaving, Aizawa entered the recovery bay with a tired face, clearly having been awoken from his slumber.

"Kaminari, you're still here? I thought you were back at the dorms?" Aizawa questioned with a piqued eyebrow. Denki waved his hand with a smile, tilting his head.

"Nah, I was helping Recovery Girl move some boxes. I can head back to the dorms now, if that's what you want? Are the quirk exams finished already?" Denki bounced on his heels, giddy for the answer. Aizawa gave a tired chuff, nodding as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yes, everybody passed this semester. Which means starting after the winter break, you will be given an updated data sheet regarding your power levels. We will also be going over agency recruitment, so I would ask the Lurkers if they want to keep you on post graduation," Denki nodded and bowed to his sensei.

"I will, Zawa~" he chuckled at the mischievous smirk Aizawa threw at him, giving him a fond eye roll before going into Recovery Girl's office and shutting the door. Denki basically skipped his way to the dorm, wondering how everybody was going to spend winter break. Nobody was leaving until tomorrow afternoon, so he knew tonight would probably be a class movie night or something. They were going to throw a Christmas party, but Eri had gotten the chickenpox, so they settled on a Secret Santa instead. He had gotten Aoyama, he had bought him a beautiful red pair of PRADA sunglasses that he had seen on sale for only $200, and to him that was a steal since the gift budget was $250. Even Ochako thought it would be worth it to overspend on their final Christmas in the dorms.

When he finally arrived at the dorm, he was hardly able to take his shoes off before Shoto handed him a list. With it was the class credit card for food and household needs. Shoto had a small smile on his face, already dressed in a custom half red half blue onesie that said 'IcyHot'. Denki had to admire the fact he was sporting such an atrocity and rocking the absolute shit out of it. Shoto, in all his man bun glory, snapped him out of his rather wandering daze by handing Denki four reusable shopping bags.

"Aizawa knows it's your turn to get the snacks, will you be ok on your ankle?" he asked. Denki merely nodded and waved his hand dismissively.

"I'm all good, Sho! Don't worry! Recovery Girl gave me a smooch, it's good as new!" He then looked to the class, who were spread between the kitchen and the common area, "alright, I'm reading out the list! Everybody LIST-ening~" Denki chuckled as most of the class groaned at his pun, while Ochako and Sero gave him a snort under their breaths.

"Go on, Denks!" Hagakure shouted as she placed more pillows on the floor for the pillow fort.

"Ok! I got two family sized bags of spicy taquitos, three family sized bags of white cheddar popcorn, one family sized bag of pretzels, a big bag of variety mini candy bars, one case of cherry cola, one case of lychee soda, and one case of orange cream soda. Anything else?!" there was a few seconds pause before Tsu waved her arm.

"Could you also get a tin of cookies! They should be on sale since it's after Christmas!" Denki nodded and typed it down in his phone, along with the rest of the list.

"Got it! Is that it? Going once, going twice~" Denki twirled his arm in the air, "And I'm out! Be back in a jiffy!" Denki heard his class shout variations of 'goodbye' before shutting the door and wandering to the nearest convenience store. He was lucky it was only early afternoon, as the street didn't have a lot of traffic. It was awfully cold, though, and Denki wished he wore his cozy coat and scarf instead of just his school uniform.

When he got into the convenience store, he instantly took a cart and started shopping. He got mostly everything on the list, including the tin of cookies Tsu had added last minute. It was when he was at the register that Denki felt his hero senses tingle. It was something about the aura of the area, someone was off. Denki glanced around, trying not to be suspicious. But, nobody in his peripherals seemed out of the norm. He continued to bag up his items when a chill went down his spine, nearly every hair on his neck stood up. Denki looked behind him, but saw that nobody was there. Denki's nerves were on fire, his mind was on edge, and his body was tense. He quickly finished packing up his groceries and paying for them, making haste towards the door. It had begun to flurry as Denki sped walked his way down the sidewalk. He kept his body hunched as to try to keep warm, but found his teeth chattering away. He was only a block away from school when Denki was attacked from behind, a metal pipe whacking him in the lower back. Denki turned, ready to defend himself, but a rag was placed over his mouth before he could even utter a meep. Denki found his world began to spin, dropping the groceries to the ground as he collapsed into the person behind him. The group made sure to chuck his phone to the ground, shattering the screen. The men then chucked the electric blonde into their getaway van and sped off.

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The class had been worried sick. Denki had gone out for groceries nearly an hour ago and was still not back. Nobody could get in touch with him, as all his calls went straight to voicemail. Bakugo in particular had been worried, especially since he knew Denki had left the dorms without his coat and it was now on the brink of a full on blizzard outside. After pacing the common room floor for a good thirty minutes, Kirishima finally snapped.

"Katsuki, can you PLEASE sit the fuck down! You're making ME anxious!" He gestured to the empty seat on the couch next to him. Bakugo shook his head and growled, his hands flying into his hair.

"Like fucking HELL I can sit down right now! Denki went out an hour ago, he should be back by now!" he gestured to the door, "Can I PLEASE just go patrol the route?!" he looked at Midoriya, who had his arms crossed. The green haired boy sighed and rubbed his face, very aware that once Bakugo is anxious, the only thing that can quell that anxiety is fixing the problem causing it. In this case, Bakugo seeing Denki would make all that anxiety vanish. But, Midoriya was not willing to have Bakugo go out with the current weather.

"Kacchan, Denki will be back, let's just wait a-"

"Izu, he knows the route by heart. He could probably do it blindfolded," Jiro reminded, "even if the weather is bad, the fact he isn't back is VERY concerning. What if he suffered a medical emergency, he did use a lot of his quirk today. He could be seizing right now, and buried in the snow,"

"FUCK Ears, shut up with that! I don't even want to think about that!" Bakugo covered his ears, pulling down on them and shouting out in frustration, "FUCK THIS!!!" he charged towards the coat closet and slipped on his good, fur lined trench coat and scarf, "I'm going to go look for him, if you're with me, you're with me. If not, stay behind," At that, the entire Bakusquad, Tokoyami, Ojiro, and Momo got their coats. A majority of the others didn't try to stop them, but Midoriya was persistent.

"We really should just wait-"

"Izuku," Shoto interrupted, "let them go, they won't relax until they know Denki's safe. We're basically pros at this point, so don't worry too much," Shoto reasoned. Midoriya gave a faint sigh of defeat before turning to the group.

"Ok, fine, but if anything happens text the group chat. Ok?" the entire group nodded and headed out. They walked the usual route, not speaking the entire time. Sero had been ahead of everyone else, walking backwards about to speak to them, when he tripped over a pile of snow. Momo and Mina immediately ran over to him, while Bakugo chuckled into his scarf and Tokoyami and Kirishima looked at him worriedly.

"Are you ok, Hanta?" Mina questioned as she and Momo helped him up. Sero rubbed the back of his head, which had a tiny bump on it.

"Yeah, I just tripped over this pile of...snow?" Hanta bent down examining the pile. He saw that the lumps of snow seemed unnatural, and thus swiped the snow a bit, "uh, guys?" Sero looked up as the rest of the group closed in. Sero continued to swipe at the piles, bile rising in his throat when he realized that he had tripped over the bags their class uses for groceries, filled with stuff from their list. Bakugo had stopped laughing, going to step closer, when his foot slipped on something. He looked down and saw a very familiar, bright yellow, Pikachu phone case. He gingerly picked it up, his hands shaking. The entire group watched in horror as Bakugo's face morphed into realization after seeing the cracked screen.

"Text the group chat," he whispered, "he's been kidnapped,"

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Denki had woken up feeling cold and numb. His jacket was missing and his tie was loose. Denki could feel a weight around his neck, and he lifted his hands weakly, feeling the brash, cold metal of a collar around his neck. The collar seemed to be attached to a chain that was linked to the wall of wherever he was, and the collar must've had quirk canceling abilities, as Denki couldn't use his quirk. His hair tie must've snapped because his hair was no longer in a neat ponytail, instead it was frayed around him like a blonde puddle. The floor was freezing cold, made of stone or cement. Denki attempted to sit up, but found that his arms were numb from the cold. He tried once again, this time shifting his whole body to try and find purchase on something. His back hit the stone wall, the chain of the collar clinging as it became looser. Using the wall as leverage, Denki attempted to sit up again, this time succeeding. Denki panted as his eyes tried to focus.

Denki saw nothing but gray: gray stone walls, gray cement floor, gray metal collar, and gray metal chain. He looked down at himself, seeing his fingertips and nail beds had a blue tint to them. He wasn't wearing any shoes, and he was missing a sock. Denki tried to curl up, but was too weak to actually do so. It took a few attempts before Denki was actually able to wrap his arms around his legs. He shivered as a cold gust of wind blew into the room. Denki looked around, the only light source came from a tiny window that was undoubtedly blocked by snow. The room had a staircase that led up to a metal door, and a vent that was beside him was the source of the consistent cold air. Denki's stomach growled suddenly, making him hold his abdomen.

He thought back about what he had last eaten, Recovery Girl's warm bento with steamy white rice, tamagoyaki, karaage, and roasted veggies. She also had a bowl of warm miso soup that she had in a thermos, and the tofu was so tender and the seaweed was so soft. God, Denki's mouth was watering at the mere memory. He looked around, not being able to place how long he had been held there. He looked at his hands, seeing how his body had lost some weight. But, it couldn't have been more than a day, right? He couldn't remember anything, why was his brain so foggy? Did he use his quirk? His mind was racing with so many questions when the metal door opened and three men came down the stairs.

They each had a certain look to them, but Denki's brain couldn't supply the right adjectives for him to use. The main guy though, Denki could feel it in his bones, he was the reason he felt so weak. Denki tried to gather his strength into his brain, he needed to note SOME things about his kidnappers. He put all his focus onto them, not paying any mind to the words leaving their mouths. His brain worked double time, finally getting enough oxygen for it to work. The other two seemed to have mutation quirks. One had blue skin and snow for hair, while the other had a blade for his left leg and a whip for his right arm. Those were definitely good things to remember, good defining features that would help the cops greatly if they found him in time. Denki began to refocus on the head of the trio, a man with a terrifying aura around him. The main guy, one with red hair and septum piercing, knelt face to face with him. He had no idea what this guy's quirk was, but he had a feeling he was about to find out. Denki tried to focus on his mouth, and sound slowly came back to him. The main man's voice was low and raspy, almost as if he gargled rocks and nails.

"You'll make a mighty fine trophy," he said slyly, "you keep giving me your life force, and I may become immortal. I've never seen a person with this much energy," his eyes began to glow gold and suddenly Denki began to grow weaker, "I may keep you alive if it means I keep getting meals like this," Denki noticed how he began to bulk up, all while he became skinnier.

"Boss," the frosty one spoke curtly, "if you keep feeding on him without resupplying his energy, you'll kill him," Denki's mind began to fog again. He wasn't able to get the tail end of the conversation, all he knew was that he wasn't fed, even after the boss had been warned. Denki rarely was conscious after that, and the times he was, he was very quickly drained. Denki didn't know how long he was there, but he was scared he wasn't going to get out.

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It had been nearly two weeks and Class A was a fucking wreck.

Bakugo held resentment towards Midoriya for having held out for so long. He reminds the green haired boy that they may have found him already if they got to the scene sooner. Midoriya, who had been eaten alive by the guilt, cried himself to sleep every night. The class was constantly picking fights with each other, and even the more docile members like Koda and Aoyama became snippy at others. Class B had tried to aid in the search in the beginning, but Monoma had run his mouth for too long and both Midoriya and Shoto socked him in the face. All the while, Iida, Kirishima, Shoji, and Tokoyami held Bakugo back from committing a murder in broad daylight.

Aizawa had also been a mess, the guilt also eating him alive. He would NEVER admit he had a favorite student, but Denki was his. He reminded him so much of Mic that it was hard NOT to favor him above everybody else. The bright, cheerfulness of the blonde had given him flashbacks to his early days as a hero. Mic also favored Denki and was destroyed when he was told Denki had been taken. The whole UA staff and many hero agencies had offered to aid in the search, The Lurkers being the biggest contributors. They wanted Denki back just as much as Class A.

Aizawa had been going over witness testimonies when an alert came onto his laptop. A man with bright red hair and a septum piercing had just robbed a store, accompanied by two other men. One with blue skin and snow hair, the other with a whip for an arm. Aizawa recognized those descriptions, many witnesses say they saw men with matching descriptions near the scene before and after the kidnapping. The crime was in progress, so Aizawa jumped at the chance to chase the men who had been at the same scene where his student disappeared. He instantly forwarded the report to his class's group chat, telling them to suit up and pursue the trio at a distance. He then kept the class updated, even going as far to give them the license plate of the van that the trio had used to get away.

Aizawa had followed the getaway van all the way to a split level house on the edge of a residential zone. He informed his class to keep low and he would engage first, getting confirmations from all his kids before sneaking up to the door. He knocked, bracing for one of them to come out swinging. And swinging the man did, when Aizawa got past him, he instantly signaled for his students to engage. All Hell was going to break loose, and it would not be in these villains' favor.

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Denki did not know how long he had been chained to that blasted wall. All he knew was that he was currently knocking on death's door. He had been stripped of literally all his energy, basically becoming skin and bones. He had not been fed a single crumb while in that stone prison, nor was he given a drop of water. He was almost dead, in his last moments, Denki could feel the numbing sensations wrap his brain in a bundle of nothingness. He felt his eyes close, he was going to embrace death.

He thought back to his class, how he missed them all so much. He remembered how Deku had gotten an undercut that made his curls go crazy atop his head, which made them all the more fun to play with when Denki needed to stim. He remembered how Koda's bunny once got out of the dorms and he and Koda spent two hours looking for it, only for the sweet thing to have ended up in Sato's room cuddled into his apron that smelt of fresh bread. Sato then gave them each a slice of the bread, lathered in homemade butter, and the trio enjoyed it with some tea. He remembered all the guitar sessions with Tokoyami and how Dark Shadow liked to cuddle him. He remembered how Bakugo surprised him on his birthday by gifting him a whole room of fidgets and a trip to an American style diner. He remembered Sero and Mina pouncing on him during Halloween Horror Movie Night in the dorms. He remembered Jiro singing him to sleep while he laid on her lap after training. He remembered Momo rubbing his head while Jiro was singing, the two sharing a tender kiss when they thought he was out cold. He remembered Shoto sending him his first surprise Pikachu meme that ACTUALLY made sense, and being so proud of him. He remembered teaching Ochako how to crochet, since she wanted to learn how to make cute gifts. He then remembered her giving him her first successful plushie, which happened to be Pikachu. He remembered giving Shoji a facial and manicure during a self-love night, telling the normally masked boy he looked amazing without his mask and should be maskless more often. He remembered Tsu and him bonding over a cute kid's show that her siblings watched, and Denki had managed to get a copy of the Japanese version on DVD and gave it to her. He remembered Ojiro and Hagakure pulling him in for a dance at one of UA's formal parties, the couple even kissing his cheeks as a sign of friendship. He remembered Aoyama and him going shopping, the two trying on skirts and absolutely rocking them. Aoyama even cursed at some homophobe in French and chucked a hanger at the man, Denki hadn't laughed so hard in a while prior to that. He remembered all those nights studying with Mineta, who was patient with him and his ADHD. Lastly, he remembers when Iida told him about his brother and how Denki just held him while he cried. He was apparently the first person that wasn't in the Dekusquad to know. Then, it flashed forward to the day in Recovery Girl's office.

"You're the glue that holds everyone together"

Iida had told him that. He hoped his dying wouldn't break his class apart. His body began to stutter as his mind began to muddle, and Denki was fully ready to fall into the reaper's grasp. But then, a bomb shook the room. Then another, and another, and another. The glass on the tiny window shattered with how much the foundation was shaking. His mind was jolted into ultimate awareness, hyper aware and yet too weak to process anything. It was a mess in his head, he was cutting in and out, in and out, in and out. He heard the door slam open with so much force, it seemed unnatural. Footsteps flew down the stairs, multiple pairs of feet by the feels. Denki couldn't compute much, but suddenly, the pressure from the collar was gone and without its support, he fell forward. Denki felt warmth encapsulate him, and Denki felt like everything would be ok. Denki's nose twitched when it picked up a scent.

Bitter...smoky...is it coffee?

Denki's mind churned, was this coffee? Who smelt like coffee? Why was it warm, again? What was that smell called?

In a matter of seconds, Denki's brain spiraled.

Denki knew the smell encasing his mind, it was familiar, almost fatherly. His brain knew the soft fabric that accompanied the familiar scent meant him no harm. He couldn't articulate that into words, far too weak to say all that.

"Smells," he mumbled while nuzzling the fabric more. Denki could feel the chest he was laid against rumble. He was cutting in and out, but he knew he heard a gruff yet tender voice go,

'What...smell...like'

Denki mustered up all his strength, gulping down what little saliva his body could produce to quench his dry throat and heavy tongue. In what was probably his weakest voice he ever had, Denki muttered a single word.

"Home"

And just like that, Denki was out cold.

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After Aizawa gave the all clear, Bakugo wasted zero time. His explosions rocked the very ground as he catapulted himself into the house. He instantly took down the frost man, ruby eyes filled with anger.

"Where is he? Where is MY Sparks!" he grumbled. The frosty man countered by freezing Bakugo's gauntlet, but the explosive blonde wasn't having any of it. He easily exploded the ice off, and used another explosion to propel himself towards the frosty man. Aizawa had taken Shoji, Sato, and Momo with him to go find Denki. Luckily, the house was small and it didn't take long for Shoji to find the door to the cellar. Sato punched the door open, sending it flying off its hinges. Instantly, the group ran down the stairs. Each of them were horrified at Denki's state. Sato instantly clutched the collar, yanking it off Denki. Aizawa knelt in front of Denki, catching his barely meaty body. Aizawa got him situated in his arms, readying him to be transported.

"Creati, I need an AED. We don't know how long its been since he's eaten, his body is weak, we have to prepare to help him," he then turned to Sato, "I need you to keep an eye for the ambulance, I pinged one before we broached the house," Sato nodded and ran upstairs. He then turned to Shoji, "I need you to protect him while the fight is going on," Shoji nodded. The trio stood up, ready to head upstairs, when Denki let out a weak whimper. They each stilled as they saw Denki nuzzle into Aizawa.

"Smells," he whispered. Momo would've cooed if not for the circumstances. Aizawa gave a breathy laugh as he made his way up the stairs. Shoji was leading them, making sure nobody attacked them.

"Oh, yeah? What do I smell like?" Aizawa seemed amused as Denki nuzzled him more. The trio got upstairs, the energy villain still fighting, but the two henchmen subdued. They were near the door, but the energy villain made a grab for Denki. Shoji saw him coming, though, and took him down with three swift punches. After Aizawa gave Shoji quirk canceling cuffs, he noticed Denki was about to answer.

"Home," and suddenly Denki went limp. The answer and action made Aizawa's blood freeze. His student's lips were blue, as were most of his finger and toe tips. He was skin and bones, barely able to speak, and now he was unresponsive. Fear gripped Aizawa's chest and his eyes showed very clear signs of panic. Aizawa gave Denki a few good shakes, hoping to stir the blonde.

"Kaminari?! Kaminari!" He screamed. No response, and it made him want to vomit. Denki wasn't quiet, he always had a response for everything. Him being silent made Aizawa feel ill. He knelt down, cradling Denki's head gently, to get a feel for a pulse. His heart paced faster when he felt nothing.

"Sensei!" Momo called, kneeling down beside them. Aizawa's head shot to her, giving her a stern look.

"Creati! The AED, now!" Aizawa screeched as he laid Denki flat and began CPR. Momo scooched closer to Denki, a lot of her fat being used to create the AED. She had tears running down her face, the AED forming from her abdomen and popping out. She instantly began attaching the patches onto Denki, the AED trying to get a read. The robotic voice of the AED echoed across the room.

"Analyzing heart rhythm...do not touch patient...shock advised...charging...stay clear of patient...charge complete..." Momo put her hand on the button and watched Aizawa take his hands off Denki.

"Clear!" She pressed the button and watched as Denki's body convulsed under the electric shock.

"Shock delivered...continue CPR..." Aizawa immediately got back to it while Momo kept a read on the AED, "Analyzing heart rhythm...do not touch patient...shock advised...charging...stay clear of patient...charge complete..." Momo once again watched as Aizawa sat back.

"Clear!" she pressed the button, Denki's body once again convulsing under the shock.

"Shock delivered...continue CPR..." Aizawa felt tears stream down his face as he got back to performing CPR.

"Come on, Kaminari, you can't go out here. Not like this," Aizawa whispered as he gave Denki two rescue breaths. The man with red hair was watching the scene go down from under Bakugo's boot. He gave a wicked smirk and chuckled.

"It won't work, I've been sucking him dry ever since he got here. He's as good as-" Bakugo kicked him across the face.

"Good as what, shit stain?! Huh?! Good as what?!" Bakugo squashed his face under his boot again, "just fucking shut up until the cops get here, unless you want to swallow your teeth," Bakugo's blood was boiling with rage. The audacity this villain had to kidnap one of HIS best friends, HIS Sparks, was unbelievable. Though, the entire class was watching as Aizawa gave Denki more rescue breaths before continuing to give compressions.

"Analyzing heart rhythm..." Aizawa felt his eyes go drier as he kept giving compressions, tears falling onto Denki's face.

"Please, Kaminari, please come back. You can't die, not when you're this close to your dream," Aizawa whispered. Suddenly, Aizawa felt the prickly sensation of electricity flow across his fingers. He stopped for a brief moment to realize that Denki's chest stuttered, "patient's heartbeat detected...put in rescue position to optimize breathing..." Aizawa immediately did as told by the AED, and Denki coughed himself awake. There was a collective sigh of relief as the class made sure to drag the villains towards the door. They were kept in line of sight while the class each got a glance at Denki.

Denki's eyes were dull, his wrists were literally skeletal, and he couldn't even lift his own head. He attempted to, but was instantly scooped into Aizawa's arms. Denki seemed to be staring at Momo, but nobody could be sure. That's when Denki reached for Momo, his hands trembling. Momo met him halfway, taking his hands into hers.

"Hey Denki," she whispered kindly. Denki frowned, looking down at her belly. Her ribs were beginning to show through, but that was the price she paid to make something as advanced as an AED. Momo noticed Denki was looking at her ribs and gave him a soft smile, "I'm ok. Everybody is ok," it was as if Denki didn't hear her, tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. They were probably the last of the water left in his body.

"D-did he get y-you, too?" Denki's voice was raspy and feeble, it was as if Denki was an old man. A look of realization flooded onto the crowd of students and Aizawa. Denki had thought Momo was sucked dry, like him. He was worried for her, even as he lay basically dying on their teacher. Momo felt her heart shatter, Denki didn't even have enough energy to be concerned for himself, but he was concerned for her? Her?! After he was just dead! After both her and their teacher had just spent two or three minutes trying to bring him back to life? Momo felt tears run down her cheeks as she cupped Denki's face.

"No, no, baby. He didn't, I did this. I had to make something super hard," Momo only ever called Denki 'baby' as a term of affection. Denki was the brother she never had, and Momo was the sister he never got. The class knew that Momo had a very, VERY soft spot for Denki. Seeing him in this condition was probably earth shattering for her.

"W-why would y-you do that?" Denki's innocence really just shattered the class's resolve. Denki didn't even realize he had just died, that he was literally a few minutes away from a funeral. Did Denki know, they couldn't tell if he did.

"I had to s-save you, baby," Momo answered as she brushed his cheeks, "You almost died,"

"Screw almost, he DID die!" Mina corrected loudly as she knelt beside Momo. The pink girl was a mess, mascara was tracking down her face to the point it looked like a spiderweb, "Denki! Denki, oh my God! We're so sorry!" Mina hugged Denki closely. Denki's hand shook terribly as he reached up to pet her head.

"No...'m...s'rry..." He slurred as he fell forward into Mina's arms.

"Denki?!" she screamed. The AED activities again.

"Analyzing heart rhythm," Mina seemed too stunned to move. Iida came up to her and gently took Denki from her arms, laying him flat on the ground, "do not touch patient...shock advised...charging...stay clear of patient...charge complete..." Momo immediately went for the button, waiting for Iida to get Mina out of the way.

"Clear!" Denki's body once again convulsed. It was at that point Sato entered, with paramedics behind him. They were quick to put Denki on the stretcher and unplugged the AED, loading him into the ambulance without much hassle. The entire class was distraught, they each held onto someone and sobbed.

Aizawa just cried by himself, praying to every deity he could think of to spare his kid's life.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Denki felt like he was floating.

Gravity was nonexistent and time felt unmoving. He felt warm, which felt nice considering how cold he had been the past however many days. Denki felt like his whole body was engulfed in a toasty blanket. It felt like Heaven, was this Heaven? Denki sniffed around, holding his nose when the burning sensation of bleach and sanitizer hit his nose. Did Heaven always smell this...clean?

Denki felt the world shift, and suddenly, darkness became engulfed in light. There were voices, muffled, as if they were under water. But, Denki knew those voices. He knew the gruff, grumpy, Aizawa's voice anywhere. It really seemed as if Denki could pick apart Aizawa from any crowd, but considering his role in Aizawa's life, he's not surprised. Aizawa did lowkey adopt him when he found out his father was just some deadbeat and his mother was literally trying her best. Aizawa did that to a lot of the kids, it was like Class A were all his family. Like Momo, Denki laughed when he thought of Momo. She was like the sister he'd always wanted, the two had that special bond. But, then, his memory flashed, and he saw her with her ribcage out. She said she had to stop him from dying? But, was he dying? No, Mina said he DID die! Does that really make this Heaven?

More light began to cloud his mind, the voices becoming clearer and clearer. He began to pick apart more of them: Bakugo, Shoto, Iida, Jiro, Midoriya, Tokoyami, and Kirishima.

"I'm telling you, I saw his nose twitch!" Kirishima shouted.

"Shut UP, Shitty Hair! He needs to recover! You'll wake him up if you keep yelling!"

"Kacchan, you're also yelling,"

"Shut up, Izuku!"

"Katsuki, I must advise you to quiet your voice. At this rate, you WILL wake him up!" Iida's swooshing of his arm could be heard on beat with how he talked.

"Honestly, the fact none of you can shut up is fucking annoying," Jiro stated boldly, Tokoyami seemed to grunt in agreement.

"Truly, if he awakes and is not fully healed, he could be in serious trouble. To cause him such strife would make us awful friends," At that, Denki opened his eyes.

"You g-guys aren't awful," he tried to say more, but gave a very dry cough. The group jumped before scrambling to either get him water or comfort him, "Y-you guys are gr-great," he coughed again. Bakugo and Iida sat on each side of him, supporting his body and helping him lean up. Bakugo gave him light pats while Iida rubbed up and down his back.

"Sh, don't talk yet," Iida calmly directed. Jiro came in first with a cup of water. She handed it to Bakugo, who lightly pressed it against Denki's lips, "drink slowly, Denki," Iida moved to rub his head. After a few gulps, Denki stopped drinking and took a few deep breaths. Midoriya and Tokoyami came in a few seconds later with Aizawa and a few nurses.

"We'll give him a brief exam, in the meantime, you kids can go wait in the sitting area," one of the nurses suggested while gesturing for the door. Aizawa was allowed to stay and observe as the nurses took his vitals and gave him a proper exam. Denki finally noticed a few different IV's connected to his arm, the numbing sensation he had been feeling before having finally faded. His arm felt tingly and weird, like it was nearly numb but not quite. He always hated the feeling of IVs for that reason, the metal needles always made his quirk act up. It's why all of Denki's piercings weren't metal, but silicon, bioplast, and carved wood/stone. Denki's mind cleared a tiny bit when a nurse caught his attention by placing a small, gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry, did you ask me something?" Denki questioned as he gently guided him back. She gave him a small smile and nodded, not minding his zoning out.

"I asked if you were in pain, anywhere, regardless of treatment we need to know. There could be other injuries our machines can't detect," Denki tried to zone in on his body, but only his arm, head, and stomach hurt.

"My arm hurts, but that's because IVs normally trip up my quirk. My head hurts too, but I assume that's due to the quirk suppressant so that you could put the IVs in. My stomach is cramping, but probably because I just chugged half a cup of water after not having anything for what I presume is a long ass time," the nurse gave a polite chuckle.

"Seems like you have quite a lot of experience in hospitals, must be the hero training," she joked lightly as she typed something onto her tablet, "you're very strong to have survived that long without food or water, most people would've died within a week. I suspect it was actually your quirk that kept you alive," Aizawa stepped up, his head tilting to the side.

"You mean his electricity kept his brain active enough to tough it out?" the nurse nodded and turned to face Aizawa.

"That chain probably kept his electricity in supply. It may have canceled his quirk, but it was still metal, thus it naturally 'absorbed' his quirk as well. That supply of electricity kept you alive," the nurse informed. Denki simply nodded at the information, not really in the mood to fully process it. He went to speak, but Aizawa spoke before him.

"How long do you think he'll need to fully recover?" Aizawa held his arms bracefully, a sign most of the class knew meant he was actually nervous. It was his tell, he would hold his elbows or rub his upper arms if he was scared, they had seen it a multitude of times when any of them were put in danger. Aizawa kept them close to his heart, which really meant a lot to the class. Denki reached out, weakly holding Aizawa's hand that was clasped tightly against his sleeve. Aizawa immediately let go of his sleeve, opting to hold Denki's hand instead. Denki gave it an assuring squeeze, which Aizawa returned.

"Well, it's very common for those who went through starvation to take about two to three months to fully recover. Mr. Kaminari will need to regain a lot of muscle mass, so we'll need to keep the IV drip for the next few days. When he recovers enough strength to walk to the bathroom, we can discuss diet plans. He will be in need of constant monitoring, but the doctor will be the one in charge of all the details," Aizawa nodded numbly at the nurse.

"That's ok, the staff at UA is more than capable at handling such matters. If you don't mind, when you leave, could you tell those students you sent to the waiting room to go back to the dormitory. Denki needs rest," her response was a polite nod before walking out of the room. Aizawa's lips were taut as he looked at Denki, gently grazing his cheek and touching his forehead to Denki's, "you scared the fucking shit out of me, kid," Aizawa's voice wavered, but kept going, "you scared the shit out of everybody. God, when you flatlined a second time, everybody panicked. We thought we were going to lose you," Aizawa began to cry again, clasping his arms around Denki's head. Denki hooked his hangs onto Aizawa's arms, giving them a squeeze of assurance.

"I'm sorry," Aizawa shook his head and began to pet Denki's head, while the young blonde just listened to Aizawa's heartbeat. Denki and the rest of the class had been told about Aizawa's UA life by himself and Present Mic, and the whole class understood why Aizawa was so protective of them. Denki himself took great care to always make sure Aizawa knew they cared about him just as much. He distinctly could remember when Mic had literally shouted, while shaking Aizawa crazily, that they should just adopt the entire class. The whole class treated them like surrogate fathers from that point on, and Aizawa always loved it.

The two sat in comfortable silence, the strong thrumming of Aizawa's powerful heartbeat nearly lulling Denki to sleep. Aizawa noticed how Denki's eyes began to droop and his grip became weaker with exhaustion, Aizawa could only imagine how weak his student felt at that moment. Aizawa carefully laid Denki's body back against the bed, still giving him comforting pets on his temple. When he noticed Denki was nearly asleep, he looked out into the hallway and grinned. He got up and began walking out, stopping at the door frame.

"I'm going to get you an extra blanket, they just got them from the dryer, so they'll be nice and warm," Denki nodded and allowed Aizawa to leave. He came back not even a few moments later with two thick, white sheets. He placed them both on the chair he had been sitting on and fluffed out one before hucking it over Denki's frame. It billowed softly around Denki, almost as if it could sense how fragile the boy was at that moment. Aizawa adjusted it, tucking his student in and fluffing his pillows before going back to the chair, getting the second sheet and tossing on top. Being wrapped in such warmth made Denki feel safe, and Aizawa sat right back down after he finished tucking Denki in. He continued to rub Denki's temple for a few more minutes.

"Sensei, is everybody ok?" Aizawa's heart nearly broke again. Denki had a nasty habit of caring too much about everybody else. Even if he was the biggest victim in this case, his heart legitimately cared for others. Aizawa had spent so much time beating the self-sacrificial bullshit out of Midoriya that he didn't have enough time to beat it out of Denki.

"Everybody is safe at home or at the dorms. School starts back up in two days, so everybody is probably going to be back tomorrow. They'll probably come to visit you, the entire class has been anxious for you to wake up," Aizawa smiled at him. Denki smiled back, the first real smile he'd had in what felt like ages.

"I can't wait," Denki's mind calmed down enough to begin a fitful rest. Denki's eyes fluttered closed, his breath finally softening into snores.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Aizawa saw that Denki had finally fallen asleep, he got up and fixed his covers one last time. He once again went to leave, but paused in the doorway with an anxious knot in the pit on his stomach. He turned around, seeing Denki curled into a ball and snoring. The sight was reassuring enough and Aizawa leaned against the doorframe with a tired sigh.

"They've been a mess without you, Denki. You better get better soon. The class needs their glue back," Aizawa then left the room and went to the nurses station, "could you please make sure you have extra eyes on my student, the investigation is still ongoing. We don't know if there are more members of the group who kidnapped him," the nurse on the computer nodded and went to call for security. Aizawa felt his nerves pacify when two extra security guards were placed in his room. Seeing his student protected, Aizawa finally felt at peace enough to leave the hospital and go back to UA.

Aizawa didn't even take his shoes off before he was nearly trampled by the rest of his class. Questions were flying at him at a breakneck speed and nobody could get a sentence out without someone else butting in. It nearly drove the poor man insane that all of his kids had seemingly moved from their silent phase into the "annoy me with a shit ton of questions" phase. Aizawa tried to get his kids to calm down, but it was useless. It wasn't until Mic came in with an ear piercing screech that all his students backed down. Some, like Jiro, clutched their ears. Mic normally didn't prefer to use such measures to silence his students, but he had no other option if he wanted to be heard.

"We know you kids are worried for Denki, but let Aizawa in first. He needs to settle before he can talk about it. You all go get the common room ready for briefing, we'll meet you there in ten minutes," Mic dragged Aizawa towards the man's own room while the students parted ways and went to prepare snacks and blankets for the briefing. The moment Mic closed the door, Aizawa collapsed into him and began weeping. Mic did nothing but hold him as he guided Aizawa towards his bed. He gently sat him down and let his head rest on his chest, giving him soft head scratches.

"He was so weak, Hizashi," Aizawa crumbled into Mic's touch, "I actually thought he was going to-to die," Aizawa's quiet confession broke his husband's heart. He knew Denki was his favorite, he had to admit he was his favorite too. His painted nails carded through Aizawa's knotted hair, seeing if Aizawa would continue his venting. He only had to wait like ten seconds before Aizawa clutched his shirt in his tight fist, "He'll be out for so long, he needs to regain so much strength. He worked so hard, Hizashi, and he lost all his progress because of one villain," Mic sighed and nodded, not knowing what else to say. Denki would have to regain his muscle mass, his flexibility, his agility, his overall stamina and endurance, not to mention his mental strength. It would be a lengthy recovery and Mic knew THAT is why Aizawa was so hurt. He hated seeing his kids injured, being in recovery for so long would put both he and the class in so much emotional pain. Mic gave Aizawa a small smile as he gently guided Aizawa's face towards his own, wiping Aizawa's tears.

"Shota, it doesn't matter how long it takes. Our students will be there every step of the way, and they will not give up on Denki. These kids have been through so much shit, they've been through WAR for Heaven's sake! And they stuck through it, because they're YOUR fucking kids! They are the strongest batch of heroes for this generation, and they will tough it out through anything so long as they have each other!" Mic pecked Aizawa's temple, "everything will be ok, it may be hard at first, but since when do our kids ever give up without giving it a good fight?" Aizawa let out a wet laugh and shook his head, "EXACTLY! They never will! That's what makes them the best," he stood up, "come on, let's wipe your face and get out facts straight for the briefing," he offered his hand to Aizawa, who graciously took it as the older blonde hoisted him up and into his arms. The two shared a loving smooch before they got their emotions and information sorted.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It took six days before Denki had the strength to go back to the dorms. Aizawa spent hours at the hospital finalizing meal plans and exercises for Denki to do to slowly regain his lean frame. Aizawa and Mic also kept Denki up to date with school work while in the hospital, so he wouldn't return to a mountain of worksheets and essays. Iida, Momo, Midoriya, Bakugo, Mineta, and Shoto each came on a day to drop off his work and help him through it. Conversations would steer from school work often, with each of the students consistently asking if Denki was ok to move on, too tired to write, too weak to adjust his pillow, too thirsty to speak, and many other questions. Shoto in particular was very cautious about how Denki pushed himself.

Don't get Denki wrong, he appreciated it greatly. It showed just how much everybody loved him and were willing to take great care of him. However, it did irk him that everybody kept treating him like he was made of glass. Though, considering it took him eighteen hours of sleep and a continuous IV drip for him to even lift his arms, he didn't entirely blame the class for how they acted. Ochako was the one who went to the hospital with Aizawa to take him back to the dorms. Apparently, going zero gravity could help with regaining control of his limbs. With her clutching his side, she touched him with her quirk. Instantly, Denki felt all the weight lift off him. He could freely move his arms and even practiced clamping and unclamping his hands. Having zero weight helped him warm up his joints, which was the first step to completely regaining control over his weakened body. Denki was advised to only walk for a certain period a day and to conserve his energy by using a wheelchair the rest of the time. So, as Ochako set him back down and undid her quirk, the weight of his body finally returned. He heaved a wimpy sigh before Ochako helped him get settled in the back seat of Aizawa's car.

When the trio arrived back at UA, Denki felt his heart warm up. It had been so long since he had seen UA, so long since he'd walked on campus, it was almost surreal he was back. Aizawa got out first, going to the trunk to get the wheelchair. Ochako looked at him from the passenger side seat, giggling when she saw how Denki lovingly gazed at the school building.

"Never thought you'd drool over the main building," she jested, getting Denki's attention. The blonde gave a soft chuckle and rubbed his hands together.

"Yeah, but, I missed this place. I missed all our classmates and teachers. I'm actually pretty excited to be back. This is our final semester here, after all," Ochako nodded and saw that Aizawa had finally gotten the wheelchair setup. She unbuckled and smiled back at Denki.

"Aizawa got the chair wheeling, so I'm going to help you out. You want gravity, or no gravity," as much as Denki wanted to do more training with his joints, he just wanted to get back to the dorms. He stretched his arms as much as he could, heaving out a sigh, before answering.

"Gravity, unless no gravity would make it easier to push," Denki smiled and Ochako rolled her eyes.

"Denki, I could fold you like an origami crane even before this. You're a feather to me if I can hulk Iida over my shoulder in a body slam," Ochako and Denki both laughed as she got out, opening his door and hooking her arm under his armpits. Both Aizawa and Ochako got Denki settled on the chair before taking off, the three having a mild conversation. It wasn't as cold as it normally was in February, but Denki still had a chill to him. He couldn't wait to be back in his dorm and take a nice steamy soak. Then he would head back to his room, with his weighted blanket and wool jammies, and just cuddle under the covers. He thanked the lord it was Friday, because he really didn't feel like going to school the next day. Denki felt his eyes light up when Class 3-A's building was finally in view, the boy nearly vibrating with excitement. Though, both Ochako and Aizawa thought he was shivering and instantly pulled their coats off to cover him. Denki was about to protest when Ochako rolled Denki into the dorms. He was startled by poppers and looked out to see not only his class, but also Class B, clapping and cheering for his return. Denki felt tears sting his eyes as Sero and Shiozake approached him.

"Welcome back, Denks," Sero cheered while he put a party hat on Denki. Shiozake held her hands together and gave Denki a kind smile.

"The Lurkers weren't the same without you. I prayed every night for your return, and we're so happy you returned safely," she gave him a brief hug, and Denki hugged her back. Ochako continued to wheel Denki in, with more of his friends and peers giving him encouragement. Ochako rolled him to a spot in the dining room where a place setting was. He gazed over to the kitchen and saw a buffet style line of food, his mouth watering. Bakugo came from behind and clapped a sturdy hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry, Denki, none of that is yours. But!" he placed a bowl of warm rice porridge in front of Denki, "I was told soft and mushy foods were best. This rice porridge should warm you right up and not be too heavy for your stomach. Hell, it's more broth than rice. But, it's MY broth, so it ain't bland as fuck," he glanced at Kirishima, who simply rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air. He let out an annoyed chuff and began walking towards the buffet line on the counter tops, not bothering to make eye contact.

"I forget to season my food ONCE, and you can never let it go!" Kirishima grabbed a plate, pouting as he and others served themselves food. Denki sniffed the bowl of rice porridge, smiling as he grabbed the spoon next to the bowl. His hand was shaky, but Denki managed to get a nice spoonful of the porridge in his mouth. His tongue was set alight with the taste of beef, Bakugo probably used some brisket or beef belly, it was fatty but not greasy. It was seasoned lightly with salt, pepper, and cumin. Maybe some basil too if Denki's nose detected correctly. It was refreshingly cozy, the perfect texture and taste culminated to a total symphony on his taste buds. Could him being starved prior have something to do with how extraordinary this tasted? Fuck no, Bakugo was the best cook out of the class. This porridge would taste like fine dining even if Denki hadn't been devoid of food for weeks. Denki began to cry as he ate more, enjoying the porridge greatly. Monoma noticed him tearing up and offered him a handkerchief.

"No need to spill tears, Kaminari. It's just porridge," it was meant to be a civil comment, maybe a light joke. But, Bakugo's eyes stung right into Monoma's soul and a growl fell from his lips, the muscular bomb of a student striding over and slamming his fist down in front of Monoma and blocking his view of Denki.

"My Sparks hasn't had a solid bit of food in over a month, he'll cry if he fucking needs or wants to. And you won't use that as ammo for some cheap attempts at joking around," Bakugo got closer to his face, his teeth grinding a bit as his jaw clenched, "we clear, Copycat bastard?" Monoma smirked and nodded.

"Crystal, Mr. Grenade," Ojiro took initiative to stop a fight from breaking out by sitting in the spot between Denki and Monoma, looking up to Bakugo while settling his napkin on his lap.

"The food is great, Katsuki. Thank you for cooking," Ojiro then turned to Denki, "you want a drink, too, Denki?" Denki smiled at the offer but shook his head.

"The doctors said I shouldn't eat and drink at the same time, at least not within the first two or three weeks. I have set times when I can eat and set times I can drink. I'm sure sensei will post it somewhere," Shoji came up and sat to his other side, giving a small chuckle.

"He already did, he posted it in the class group chat AND alongside the class agenda. Most of us have already saved it in our notes," Koda, who sat next to Shoji, nodded.

"I also am set on carrying a few extra bottles of water and protein shakes just in case. Pretty sure most of the class has," Denki's eyes went wide at that and he looked around, noticing most of his friends nodding. Denki's face lit up with a watery smile as he blushed.

"Thank you, everybody!" The meal was filled with chatter and chortles, the two classes having fun, the hero course finally completed. Conversations about what was done on winter break began circulating, but most tried to get on with the next subject quickly. Then, the topic of Christmas presents came about. Denki deflated when he realized he hadn't been able to see anybody open gifts. He then looked at Aoyama, who looked back at him.

"What is it, Denki?" Aoyama questioned. Denki looked up at him with a wobbly lip.

"D-did you like your present? I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you," Aoyama gave him a sweet smile and embraced him.

"I didn't open it yet, nobody opened their secret Santa!" Aoyama explained. He looked at the class, who each shared a knowing glance.

"Wh-why didn't you guys-"

"We know you like to see everybody's face light up when they open their gifts, so we waited," Mineta explained from the couch in the common room. He hopped off and went over to the broom closet, opening it up to reveal all the gifts that had been under their tree. Denki smiled brighter when he went to get up, but was stopped by Koda.

"You should finish eating first," Denki looked down at his bowl and then back at Koda, who gave him a smile and a nod. Denki wordlessly nodded back and continued to eat until his bowl was clean. Denki went to pick it up and put it in the sink, but Jiro took it from him.

"Go sit on the couch, we'll do presents. Then you can get a soak in and go to bed," Jiro, bless her God damn heart, she knew him so fucking well. Denki once again wordlessly nodded and went to sit in the common room. Everybody began to join him while Class B felt the celebration for them was over. All of Class B left, giving Denki well wishes. Shinso even spared him a platonic peck on the forehead before leaving. Denki was giddy, wiggling in his seat as Sato and Shoji got all the gifts out and placed them in the center of the common room. Everybody had cleaned up their places and went to sit at different spots around the common room, the spots next to Denki being reserved for Bakugo and Kirishima. Mina and Sero both sat near his feet, both rubbing his legs in an attempt to calm him down. Once Kirishima and Bakugo sat down, Iida walked over to the pile and started to distribute the gifts.

Denki hadn't been this happy in forever, seeing everybody enjoy their gifts. Some of his favorites were when Mina had gotten Mineta a Mount Lady figure, Kirishima was given a shark umbrella from Ojiro, Momo hugged her crocheted crimson blanket that Ochako had made, and Sato cheered at the bottle of saffron given to him by Iida. When it was finally Aoyama's turn, Denki watched as he unwrapped the pikachu wrapping paper.

"I think I know who my secret Santa was," he commented as he gently placed the wrapping paper on the floor. He opened the velvet, rectangular box and gaped as he picked up the glasses, "Oh, Denki! They're beautiful!" The cat eye style really made him feel like it was a casual version of his hero glasses. He looked on the side of the glasses, seeing the PRADA logo. Aoyama hugged Denki close, "you didn't have to-"

"I wanted to, a fashion icon like you will need a nice pair of glasses," Denki interrupted with a chuckle, "Merry Christmas, Yuga," Aoyama gave Denki a kiss on each cheek, a common sign of platonic affection.

"Merry Christmas, Denki,"

Everybody continued to open their gifts, laughter and happiness filling the aura of the room. It finally got to Denki, who was dead set on being the final one. Judging by the process of elimination, Denki knew Hagakure was the one to get his gift. It was wrapped in iridescent wrapping paper with a heart pattern, totally fitting Hagkure's vibe. It was by far the largest box of the whole bunch, nearly taking up the whole coffee table. He unwrapped his gift and saw a large box, Momo handed him a boxcutter, and Denki slowly cut the tape off. He flipped open the flaps and was flabbergasted by the sheer amount of Pikachu merch: a Pikachu pool floaty, Pikachu shower slippers, Pikachu baseball hat, three Pikachu hoodies with varying designs, Pikachu sweater, Pikachu mug, plastic Pikachu cutlery (he hated using metal cutlery since it made his quirk act up), Pikachu backpack, Pikachu beanie, Pikachu stationary set, and an inflatable Pikachu chair! Denki felt his heart swell as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. He flew up and embraced Hagakure, who caught him and held him tightly.

"I'm so glad you like it!" she exclaimed while laughing. Denki shook his head and looked her in the face, since she had adjusted her quirk so everybody could see her. Her green hair was in a low bun, which was now sloppily messy thanks to the force of Denki's hug.

"I don't like it, Toru! I LOVE it!" Denki shouted, his smile beaming so bright that the class was nearly blinded, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Denki seemed to have a sudden burst of energy, him jumping while hugging her. She and the rest of her classmates giggled at how excited he had gotten, but quickly became worried when Denki mis stepped while landing one of his jumps and stumbled sideways. Hagakure, Sero, and Mineta each steadied him. He brushed the back of his head with an embarrassed smile, "sorry, too much," he said quietly. Hagakure merely shook her head and gave him a gentle pat on his head, carding her well manicured nails through his long, blonde locks. Denki's eyes rolled to the back of his head when she scratched a spot he liked, but he kept a steady posture.

"No worries, Denks, I'm just so glad you like it," Momo smiled at the two, seeing Denki smile so brightly had brought the light back into the class. It was as if his return suddenly made everyone feel better, more at ease. It had been the first time in nearly over a month that the class had bonded together with no fights or arguments. She clapped her hands together before turning to her classmates, everybody looking at her quietly.

"Why don't the girls and I clean the common area and other shared spaces while you boys go soak?" Kirishima looked at Momo and nodded.

"Fine, but I think Shoji, Sato, Midoriya, and I should at least bring everybody's gifts to their dorm. Just so it's easier on you," the other three boy nodded, each using their quirks to get as many presents as they could, "the rest of you guys can head to the washroom, we'll meet you there," the other boys nodded and Denki was wordlessly guided to the bathroom. Shoto and Iida helped Denki strip down, Bakugo sat him on a stool and washed his hair, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow lathered up his body, and Sero and Mineta helped him into the large soaking pool. Denki was at home in the steamy room, feeling his entire body just relax.

"You must always be cold," Mineta observed, "which is really weird, considering you normally give the best fucking hugs," he continued with a smile as he paddled over. He settled right next to Denki and leaned on his shoulder, "this place was a mess with you gone, it'll be nice for everybody to not fight anymore," he commented so offhandedly that Denki was perplexed. He looked at all the other guys, who gave Mineta a stern glare.

"You guys were fighting," Denki questioned worriedly. Each of the men glared at Mineta, who shrugged off their looks. That's when Kirishima, Shoji, Sato, and Midoriya came in with their towels.

"You can cut the tension in here with a knife, what the hell happened?" Kirishima asked as he quickly washed his hair and boy. The other boys were following his lead, wanting to join the rest in the pool as quickly as possible.

"Grape Shit couldn't keep his mouth shut," Bakugo answered, unamused. Denki put a hand on his shoulder, trying to relax him.

"Kachan, it's a valid concern. We're all a team, you know. You guys shouldn't have been fighting, not when we all work so well together," Denki gave Bakugo a caring smile, I'm sure Minoru was just speaking because he was concerned," even Midoriya turned a deadly eye towards Mineta as he got in the pool. He then sighed and looked at Denki with a fretful gleam in his eyes.

"Well, yes, we did. But, we all made a pact while you were recovering in the hospital to not speak of it. We didn't want to stress you out," Midoriya explained. Iida then approached Kaminari, giving him a curt nod.

"I told you, you are our glue, Denki. We fall apart when we're without you," that made Denki frown, looking at all the boys.

"That's not good, though," he countered, "we're going to be the best heroes, we need to learn how to be emotionally independent just as much as we are physically. What if I had died, what would you be doing?" Denki posed a legitimate concern to his friends, "I shouldn't be the sole crux of our class's happiness and ability to cohabitate. If that villain actually killed me, if I never came back, how would you all act? Because, let me tell you, I would never be able to move on if I saw I was the cause of my friends constantly being at each other's throats. You're all so amazing and kind, your negative emotions should be geared at one of two things: inanimate objects like a punching bag or the villain responsible," Denki tilted his head and gave them all a puppy dog smile, "so, let's all get along from now on, regardless of condition, ok?"

Each of the boys nodded, the tension slowly being stripped away as more fun conversations came about. After soaking for around twenty minutes, Denki began to prune. He looked at Sero, who wordlessly got up and nodded. Sero had once again helped Denki out of the pool and wrapped him in a bathrobe. He got Denki in the wheelchair and Denki bid the entire room goodnight. Sero wrapped himself in a bathrobe before pushing Denki's chair, getting into the elevator and heading to his dorm.

When Denki got inside, he saw that someone (most likely Kirishima) had picked out his favorite Pikachu onesie and his most comfortable pair of briefs. Sero had towel dried Denki's hair, brushing it thoroughly to get all the knots out. He then French braided Denki's hair, missing the feeling of doing Denki's hair. Sero had a habit of doing Denki's hair and nails when stressed, it was either that or playing video games that calmed his nerves. Sero smiled happily as he helped Denki get dressed, undoing the bed once Denki was all ready and tucking him in. Denki was engulfed in the warmth of his weighted blanket and five plushie pillows. Sero handed him his favorite Pikachu plushie before giving him one final peck on the temple.

"We're gonna be here for you until the end, Denks. We love you, we hope you always know that," Sero stated dreamily. Denki's eyes began to flutter and he gave Sero's hand a squeeze.

"I'll always love you guys too," Denki replied before he began to snore. Sero made sure to pull the blanket up a little more before turning around and turning on Denki's heater, finishing off by flicking on the dim fairy lights that Denki had intricately twirled around his wire picture holder above his desk. Taking one final look at Denki's sleeping face, Sero quietly left the dorm, trekking to his own dorm to get ready for bed.

The class knew progress would be hard, it would take time and effort. But, they loved Denki, and would always be there for him.

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First off, I just want to say that I am super thankful for my followers and friends I have made on Wattpad. I know that this isn't my usual type of story, that most of my followers followed me for my America works. I promise I will at least try to complete my requests, but I am not fully into the Hetalia fandom like I used to be. I also find a lot of my old oneshots super cringy, but that's what happens when you grow as a writer and develop your craft.

Once I finish my request, I'll probably end the America Oneshot work. That will definitely be a day, but until then, I will try to continue to work on it. A lot has happened, so I'll try to sum it up in few words. My best friend of 13 years has gotten engaged! She is moving to a different state and has offered me to go with her! I am also looking to change career paths and go back to college to pursue a degree in dental work (a dental hygienist to be exact). The schools in my current state with an accredited program are all over an hour away, while the ones in the area of the state my friend is moving to has one a half hour away. It is a lot to think about and work through, so a lot of my time and effort will be put towards that.

To combat a lack of content, I was thinking about shifting my page to a Denki-centric page. I will still keep my old works up (as much as I cringe when I read them XD). Maybe I'll even go back and proofread some of my old work so that it doesn't have three dozen mistakes each chapter. Those works are a part of my growth and I want to always have a reminder of how far I've come and how much I've grown. I have a lot of Denki oneshots that I want to publish here, so let me know if you guys want more Denki-centric works!

With all that said, I just want to say 'thank you' to everybody on here! Every reaction, comment, and criticism has helped me become the writer I am today! You guys are an amazing audience and I hope everybody has a phenomenal year to come! I am wishing you more fun, flourishment, and fanfiction!

Happy New Years Everybody!

Kimiko Lee