On the outskirts of the battlefield, the pro heroes notice something is amiss. The distant sounds of screams and carnage have a ring of malice to them. "Earphone Jack," a large, beastly pro barks, "what's happening out there?" Kyoka Jiro's crestfallen face tries to calmly explain the destruction she can perceive.

"They're running…but away from the battlefield. Something is wrong. And something – or someone – is coming."

Jiro's earphone jacks retract from the ground where they had been inserted back to her usual shoulder length. She stands as the rest of the heroes waiting on the backline of the assault against the Paranormal Liberation Front ready themselves for whatever is approaching them. In a moment too swift to be described as a blink, the earth beneath the young heroes severed and began to move them away from one another. Momo Yaoyorozu, narrowly avoiding falling into the split in the earth thanks to the quick thinking of Hanta Sero taping her back, sees Jiro sliding away from the group alone. "Earphone Jack!" Her voice prompts the ingesting of sugar by Rikido Sato who dashes forward in an attempt to grab Jiro and bring her back to the rest of the group.

Sato is met by a wall of tree branches interweaving to further separate and confuse the allied heroes. Unable to pummel his way through, Yaoyorozu, Sero, and Sato all circle up and take stock of their surroundings. "This is bad," remarks Sato seeing the vines continue to encircle them. "And Jiro's off on her own."

"Then I guess," Sero says with a shaking confidence, "it's up to us to get out of this mess and help her out." Sero lowers his visor and readies his tape. Yaoyorozu pulls a metal staff from her midriff and prepares for battle alongside the other fledgling heroes. She thinks on her friend being separated by herself and grits her teeth. "Hold on, Jiro," she says to herself. "We're coming."

In the wood a short distance from the others, Jiro has concealed herself in a thicket of brush and trees. Her earphone jacks are buried in the soft dirt listening for any signs of her friends – or her foes. She detects the faint sounds of Sero's tape dispensing from his elbows and resolves to head in his direction. Upon exiting the brush, she's met with a blast of thunder crackling through the air. She falls backward onto the ground and looks through the blinding screens of electricity to see an imposing figure walking casually through the sparks. An advisor of the Brown Regiment of the Paranormal Liberation Front holding two tasers with a cool smirk upon his face.

"A single rat traversing the woods," he said, his smiley scowl implying a sinister motive beyond what is comprehensible to most. "Unfortunately for you, there isn't even strength in numbers. You'll at least have the benefit of dying without seeing your comrades fall with you." His hands covered the sparking tasers as he pressed in slowly for his kill.

"Not today." Jiro's headphone jacks sunk into the gauntlets on her wrists aimed at the commander in the distance. "Heartbeat Distortion: Slicing Wind." The air forced from her gauntlets at blistering speed. Debris from the forest floor began to whip into the air and push forcibly back through the thick. The commander covered his face and body with both arms crossed, the rocks and sticks now hurling about bruising and cutting up his clothes and exposed flesh. After a moment of thought, he realized it was not the random objects from the floor of the woods cutting him, but the precision of the air blasts themselves. With stoic focus, he lights the tasers in his hands.

"Amplivolt: Sky Current." The lightning pierced through the air, connecting through the dicing wind currents and hitting the amps located on Jiro's wrists. She ejected her earphone jacks a split second before, but her gauntlets are nothing more than junk on her arms after the attack. Still determined, she drops to one knee and plugs her jacks into the amps on her shins. The powerful speakers emit her heartbeat into the open air, cracking the trees in her path.

Unfazed, the commander sends his lightning bolts through the air once more, striking Jiro and throwing her back against an oak, knocking the wind from her lungs. Her eyes lift to see the commander walking toward her with the same, deadpan stare as before. He had her cornered like a lion that has trapped a wounded gazelle away from its heard. "Pathetic," his words piercing deeper than his thunder. His arm raised to the cracking taser and dispelled the energy toward the slumped Jiro, who closed her eyes to brace for the impact.

It never came. The light seemed to dance on her eyelids, causing her to flinch in its shine. She opened her eyes to see a pair of dark, tattered pants and a ripped, black jacket standing before her drenched in the commander's lightning. "Y'know, I hear electricity can be dangerous if mishandled. It's best to leave it to a professional."

It was Denki Kaminari, scratched and bruised with a half-cocked smile on his face absorbing the blast into his fingertip. "I think this belongs to you," he said before releasing the collected energy back toward the commander who dodged wistfully and without struggle.

"Kaminari? How did you…?"

"Momoyao told me. I ran into her, Sero, and Sato handling a villain who can grow the forest trees at will. After we took care of that weirdo, they planned to regroup with the others. That's when she told me you had been separated on your own."

Moments before, a tired Sato held his fists in the ready position, breathing heavily as he continued to fight back the encroaching vines. "Man, these things just keep coming! I'm running out of sugar."

"My tape isn't doing much, either," a frustrated Sero belted. "I can bind the vines for a short time, but I can't keep them from continuing to spread. Creati, that axe you made is fine but we need something stronger. Can you make a torch? Or a flamethrower?"

At hearing her hero name, Yaoyorozu felt more responsibility to make the best decision for her team. "It would be no good," came her dedicated reply. "If we burn these vines, we'll be trapped in the smoke and flames as the vines are burned up. It'd be no good here." The tired heroes in the making pushed on, fighting and trying to strategize a way out of their predicament. A shallow cackle emerged from behind the wood panel. The grating voice of the villainess sent chills down their spines.

"Try all you like. My wooded babies will put an end to you miserable heroes and pave the way for true liberation!"

The outlook began to seem bleak. Racking their brains, they each kept trying to think of a way to escape the makeshift cage they had been locked into and put this villain down for good. They each stepped into a tight formation, their backs pinned against one another in a defensive posture. They had determined to make an all-out charge at the first sign of movement in hopes of splitting open the branches and making some headway. In a tense moment of waiting, a branch began to fly toward the heroes from above Sato. They each turned to engage the advancing wood before a piercing scream seemed to stop the tree in its tracks inches before hitting the group. The wood began to recede back to its normal place as a confused – yet relieved – look overtook their faces.

"Uh, what just happened?" asked a mystified Sero.

"We…won?" Sato seemed to imply without any real belief in his own words.

Just then, the branches cleared enough to see a woman made of bark with leaves for hair burned to a crisp on the ground just beyond their cage. Standing above her, a slightly confused Kaminari stares down at her. "She does know trees can still be struck by lightning, right? I don't think she ever even saw me."

Relief and smiles washed over the three who had just been released from their arbor-like nightmare. "Good timing, Kaminari! You really got us out of a pinch!"

"Where are Tokoyami and the others?" Momo could not contain her concern.

"He and Fatgum have gone back to help Hawks," Kamari began, "but the rest of us have come to help out here. Things are getting really bad on the frontlines. Midnight Sensei told us to get everyone evacuated as quickly as possible. Where are the others?"

"We don't know," Sato said. "We were all separated. But, if we head for the emergency rendezvous point we were given before the mission, we may be able to find some others there."

"That sounds like a plan to me," came Sero's voice.

The boys began to head back into the forest to reach the rendezvous point. Before they took a few steps, Yaoyorozu broke the silence. "Kaminari," she stated with a tremble noticeably present in her voice, "Jiro was separated on her own. She's out there somewhere without any backup."

"What!?" His fear couldn't be contained. "Which way did she go?"

"We don't know," Sero interjected. "We all got split up and shut off from one another."

"We tried to help her," a self-dissatisfied Sato piped up. "But they hit us too fast for us to do anything."

Kaminari gritted his teeth as his eyes floated downward. His clenched fists tightened with audible frustration.

"Kaminari, we have to do something. She needs our help." Momo Yaoyorozu was never one to shy away from helping her friends, no matter how grim the situation. Just like when she had helped rescue their classmate, Katsuki Bakugo, she was prepared to do what was necessary.

"The three of you need to head toward the rendezvous point. I'll find her and bring her back."

"Kaminari, I'm not letting you go alone! I know you want to save her, but it's reckless to go by yourself!"

"Momo's right, Kaminari," Sato said. "We should all go."

Just then, a bolt of lightning hit off in the distance. A familiarity to it penetrated Kaminari. His eyes widened and he began to run towards the thunder without hesitation. He knew exactly where he was going. "Jiro!" He was on his way.

"Kaminari, wait!" Sero yelled as he moved toward Kaminari's direction. A root rose from the ground and tripped him up, causing him to fall onto his face.

"You should have tied me up when you had the chance!" The uncomfortable shriek of the villainess caught the attention of the three youngsters as her branches began to move and crack. No matter how much they wanted to back up Kaminari, this would have to come first before they could join him in looking for Jiro.

"When I saw the electricity, I knew you'd be here." Kaminari turned to look at Jiro's disbelieving face. "Glad I came when I did." Jiro began to let go of the fright and stood beside Kaminari. Their eyes both locked onto the commander who was preparing his next attack. "I thought Edgeshot put a hole in your lung! Shouldn't you be, like, I don't know…not fighting anymore?

"Heh, you really thought that would stop us?" The commander halted his advance. "We may have been subdued, but things changed once Shigaraki woke up. In the wake of his retaliation, I used that moment to shock my own lung and cauterize the hole he had created." The two heroes swallowed hard at the thought of searing one's own lung. "Even if I couldn't do that, there is no way I would go down without a fight. All metas are deserving of liberation! And I will gladly give my life to take yours so our brothers and sisters may have the future Destro dreamed of!"

The commander lunged at Jiro and Kaminari, both visibly shaken by his words. He placed his hand to the tasers in his grasp and sent a jolt of electricity rocketing toward them. Kaminari held out his hand and took the shock in before throwing it back like playing catch. "Is that the best you've got!?"

The commander realized that Kaminari is young and possibly didn't have a good handle on his quirk. "Just like before," he thought, "how many million volts can you handle, rookie?" He pulled out four more tasers from his coat pockets and started to turn them on. He looked up to see two discs flying through the air. One struck his hand and knocked the tasers away before the commander had a chance to use them. Kaminari pointed his finger directly toward the villain before unleashing a large strike. As it reached the commander, he slapped it back toward Kaminari with amplified voltage. Unprepared for the volley, Kaminari was sent backward into the tree that Jiro had been thrown against before.

Jiro plugged her earphone jacks into the speaker on her leg and launched another devastating shockwave toward the commander. He was thrust back and began to slide before finding his footing. Visibly agitated, he sent a thunderbolt directly into Jiro who fell to the ground in pain. Upon seeing this, Kaminari became enraged as he seemed to float back onto his feet. "Don't you touch her!"

Sato held the tree villain against the ground as Sero taped her up for good. She hurled insults and barbs towards the teens before Sero taped her mouth shut with a look of aggravation. Sato let a small chuckle out before knocking the villain unconscious so that she wouldn't have control over the forest, again. The two of them approached Yaoyorozu, who informed them of their job well done. "Hopefully, that's the last villain we have to deal with for the time being."

"Yeah, this baddie was annoying enough," Sero said pointing specifically to the mouth of the incapacitated villain.

"Kaminari ran off on his own a while ago," a troubled Sato stated. "Do you think he's okay?"

"I wonder if he found Jiro?" Sero pondered aloud looking upward, thinking in his own mind of how that may look. Momo looked into the distance toward where Kaminari had run off to. A feeling of uneasiness overcame her as she thought on her separated comrades.

The clock read 3 AM, a scene several months before the attack. The hero dorms were dark with the absence of any sort of light other than streetlamps. Yaoyorozu awoke with a yawn and realized her parched throat would not hold over well if she just went back to sleep. She rose cautiously, checking her balance as she headed toward the door of her room. The hallway was a short walk toward the elevator where she planned to go into the common area for some water. Yawning again, she pressed the down arrow inside the lift before a strange, soft noise danced up from the common area.

The elevator paused with a muffled ding as Yaoyorozu stepped into the open air of the common area. A small light toward the couches drew her attention as the sound she had heard on the elevator was clearly now the plucking of strings on a guitar. She turned the corner from the elevator hallway to see Kaminari holding an electric guitar without an amp and strumming to the chords on the papers strewn across his knees. "Kaminari?"

Kaminari jumped and fell backward on the seat, holding the guitar tightly in his hands as the papers went flying. He glanced upward into the upside-down world around him as he remained lying on the sofa. "Oh, it's you, Momo." Kaminari raised to the seated position and turned to engage his classmate.

"Why are you up at this hour?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I came for water. Why are you still up? And playing guitar? We have class in the morning. You shouldn't be playing around down here. You should be in bed." Yaoyorozu's motherly side tended to come out when it came to class 1-A. She was always making sure they were eating healthily and sleeping well, reminding them to take care of themselves the same way a loving parent would. The others found it charming, but Momo herself couldn't help but think of it as a little old lady-like.

"I'm making sure I learn my part for the culture festival next week," came his reply. "I want to make sure no one worries about me."

Momo shook her head and put her hand against her forehead. "It's fine to want to practice, but you can't skip sleep. It's careless." She filled a small cup with water from the tap before heading back toward the elevator.

"I don't want to let her down."

Yaoyorozu turned to see Kaminari staring down at his guitar with a pensive look in his eyes. "She's worked so hard for this. The last thing she needs is a screw up like me doing what I do best." The response softened Momo's initial harshness toward his being awake. She could see the guilt from something that had not yet happened wash over his face.

"You're worried about Jiro?"

"She was the first person to really believe in me." His mind drifted to their time at the USJ when Jiro was pushing Kaminari to use his quirk, even when he couldn't think of a way to use it without hurting his friends. "No matter what's happened since we met, she's always pushed me forward. I feel like I'm holding her back. I want to do this for her and show her that I'm someone she can trust."

Yaoyorozu looked at Kaminari with understanding, seeing in him a sadness and sincerity that was dominating his person. "Kaminari," she started, "Jiro doesn't think poorly of you. In fact…" Momo paused to collect her thoughts, realizing she couldn't say what was truly on her mind for a promise she had made to Jiro. "If you just tell her what you're doing-,"

"No! Momo, she can't know. She'll think I want something from this. I don't want anything for myself. I want to give her something. I'm doing this for her. She can't know." He clapped his hands in front of his face with closed eyes, clearly moved to begging. "Please, Momoyao…"

Momo looked on at Kaminari with distressed eyes as she promised to keep his secret.

The trio of Yaoyorozu, Sato, and Sero looked toward the direction Kaminari ran into as they tried to decide what was best to do. Momo gazed with the same distressed look she had given Kaminari many months before and waded into her own mind. "Kaminari, you're not as helpless as you think. You're a selfless guy who works hard for others. If only you knew that she felt the same way…" Images of Kaminari sleeping in class and being choked by Aizawa sensei's binding cloth filled her mind. She could see him shorting out his brain trying to stay awake from all of those late nights. The last image in her mind was a smiling Jiro looking on at Kaminari's fried ramblings; covering her mouth because she could not contain her emotion. Momo could see them both so vividly working for one another, never knowing how alike they really were.

The bullet-like sounds of fists drenched in lightning echoed through the surrounding woods as Kaminari and the commander fought toe to toe. Each attack from the commander was preempted by Kaminari stopping him from unleashing a larger shock. Kaminari huffed and stuttered his shoulders as he kept his hands at the ready for whatever the commander had in store.

The commander grew tired of this UA runt getting in his way. He attempted to calculate a way to really get a solid shot off without being countered. He'd grown restless thinking of how insolent the lightning kid was with his continued parries. Thinking back on the moments before their fight, he remembered how the boy had rushed to save the girl with the strange ears without any regard for himself. A coarse smile draped his face as he became aware that he had identified his opponent's weakness. He shoved the kid out of the way before lighting all six of his tasers with the girl in his sights. "6M volts oughtta do it." The shockwave ripped apart the earth as it barreled toward the girl at lightspeed.

Jiro saw the attack coming and realized she couldn't dodge something so fast and fierce. She clenched her teeth and waited for the pain to slam into her. Like before, however, a determined Kaminari stepped in between her and the electricity to attempt to disperse the shock. Now that the boy was caught in the output, the commander became surer of himself and continued to lay his attack onto the young hero-in-training. Worry forced its way to the front of Jiro's face as she saw Kaminari's silhouette baked into the lightning. "Kaminari!"

"Don't worry about me." A cogent, fierce Kaminari turned to Jiro. His mind had not shorted out, and it was clear that everything was still present behind his fiery eyes. "It will take a lot more than this walking battery to slow me down." While his eyes were still glued to the stunned Jiro, he smiled with a quiet confidence.

"Hey, wanna go out sometime?" The roaring chatter of the UA High School cafeteria sounded like every other school cafeteria in the world with the incessant laughter and immature conversations of teenagers waiting to become adults. The difference, though, was that each of these students had quirks and superheroes were very real beings walking among us. That dull peel of thunder that was the student chatter was filled with the hopes and dreams of many of those aspiring to become heroes themselves.

Denki Kaminari was talking up a girl from the support course, a very stunning brunette with a shapely figure. Consequently, she had the legs of an antelope and Kaminari couldn't seem to care less. She sheepishly smiled as she waved her hands in a gesture of, "No, thank you," and the youthful hero hopeful's head sunk in dismay.

The girls of class 1-A were at a table not too far away enjoying their meals and catching up on the day to day of their lives, from hero training to home lives to failed exams and the best desserts available at a new café one of the girls had discovered on a walk through the nearby town. One of the girls, the pink-skinned Mina Ashido, was laughing along to one of the many stories that were told when she saw Kyoka Jiro watching Kaminari fail time and again to ask out the beautiful, animal-legged support course student. Her eyes were an odd mixture of admiration and disappointment, almost like when the person you look up to most does the wrong thing for all of the right reasons.

"Jealous?" chimed Ashido with a girlish smile that could only be understood as "I knew it."

Jiro snapped at the idea and waved her hand fervently in dismissal. "No way," she retorted, "he's a braindead, woman-crazy weirdo. Does he even think about what he's doing?"

"I don't think so," replied Ochaco Uraraka, making mental notes with her finger as she spoke like she was recording images into her mind. "But that's part of what makes him so funny. It'd be great to have that kind of confidence." A few of the girls nodded in a strange, somber agreement.

"I heard he does it because he doesn't know how to act around girls," added Toru Hagakure. The invisible girl – who also used that as her hero name – was completely see-through. All of her intonation and the movement of her shirt sleeves waving in the air had to communicate her mood and feelings. "Ojiro told me that Kaminari doubts himself a lot. Maybe that's his way of pushing people away?"

"That's a strange way to get people to leave you alone," ribbited Tsuyu Asui, her frog-like stare having denoted innocence and wisdom. "Asking them to spend time more time with you."

"What would it mean if he didn't ask for some poor girl's number?" asked Uraraka.

"Well, there's one girl he's never asked out," Ashido said glancing at Jiro with a coy smile.

"What…?" Jiro's reply was steeped in embarrassment. Her cheeks ran flush as she spoke. "That doesn't mean anything. We're just friends. He's not even my type." She looked away from the group, stuffing a dumpling into her mouth to distract her thoughts.

"If he respected you enough," reasoned Ashido, "he may just be slow playing it."

"Mina, don't be so mean," finally Momo injected into the conversation. She could tell Jiro was more than uncomfortable with the conversation.

Jiro's eyes wandered back up to Kaminari, who was speaking with another girl – this one with the head of an eagle. Jiro was becoming flustered. She thought of Hagakure's words about Kaminari having no confidence and wondered silently if that were true. And, if he had no confidence, why didn't his shyness manifest itself around her?

Kaminari and Jiro waited patiently outside of a rundown building during their battle training. It was the beginning of the UA school year and all of the students were slowly learning more and more about each other and their quirks. The two had been paired together by lot to be the hero team during their training. Their mission was to capture the other team or recover a warhead – a paper mâché version to ensure the students' safety.

"So, I'll listen and find where they're hiding the missile," remarked a calm Jiro. "You sneak up on them and let loose. That should get us a win."

"You sure know what you're doing, Jiro," came Kaminari's reply. His voice was full of esteem for her and concern over himself. "Are you sure about this, though? My quirk is kind of unstable…I can't really aim it. I don't wanna hit you, too."

"Just shock indiscriminately into the room with the other team. I'll stay back out of your way."

"But what if I can't direct it correctly? If I knock you out, we'll lose. I'm not great as a partner. I'm pretty much a liability, unless I'm on my own."

Kaminari glazed over with unsurety about his own abilities. Jiro couldn't help but stare at him in strange disbelief.

"Why do you keep worrying about me? I can take care of myself. And that quirk of yours?" Kaminari's eyes met Jiro's, which were beaming with true respect. "It's nasty strong. Our opponents don't stand a chance with you coming." Kaminari stared at her in wonderment. "I think we'll do well," she continued, "even if you are an idiot."

"Thank you?" the response squeaked from his sideways tilted head, half-refreshed and half dejected.

Jiro's eyes widened as she looked beyond Kaminari's smiling face. "Look out!" He turned to be greeted by the commander's solid fist catching his jaw. The impact of the blow sent him hurtling across the dirt and rock floor of the forest, rolling to a stop a few short feet away from where he once was. Blood dripped from his lip as he looked up to a horrific sight. The commander had grabbed Jiro by the throat and pinned her against a nearby tree.

"Young love?" the commander bellowed mockingly. "Quaint. It's a shame you'll watch each other die."

The commander sparked up his free hand and moved it steadily toward Jiro's face. She writhed in agony as she attempted to pull his hand from her neck with her own. Kaminari stumbled to his feet, still shaken from the previous punch.

"Did you forget about my sharpshooter targets?" The commander recalled the flying discs that had disarmed him earlier. The meddlesome hunks of metal were far from his engaged thoughts. "One is still on that rock back there. But the other…" A sly point from his index finger alerted the commander to the disc's position. He swivled to see the disc stuck to his back.

"But, how!?" his exclamation took himself by surprise. He began to remove the coat knowing that he could not focus his quirk on his hand and divert a shock away from himself. He dropped Jiro to the dirt as he flung his coat off into the distance. It then hit the commander that something was not as it seemed. His hand was losing charge, steadily.

The electricity sailed through the air toward Kaminari's outstretched index finger, slowly building into a mass just beyond the tip. The sights were set directly on the commander, who looked confused and horrified at the situation he was now in. "How," he thought to himself, "when he needed those metallic discs to aim?" It then occurred to him. There was still a small, tangible thread of electricity running between the boy and his own hand. He was not consuming the commander's lightning. He had created a channel between both of their hands that grounded both points of the charge.

Kaminari's brow fell in ferocity. He locked eyes with the commander and pierced his enemy with just a glance. "I thought I already told you," his words marched from his tongue, "don't you ever touch her." Ultimate Move: Rail Gun. The pool of electricity in front of Kaminari's finger uniformly followed the miniature thread connected to the commander. Unable to dodge, his mouth spread open in a frightened scream as the electric cartridge fried the commander. His body sizzled as he limped to the ground.

A sigh of relief exited Kaminari's lips as he sunk his posture. He ran to Jiro to attend to any injuries she may have had as she rubs her neck soothingly. "Are you okay?" He managed.

"I'm fine." The two looked at each other and still couldn't process how the events of the day had turned out. "Good work."

"Back at'cha."

"You said you knew I was here when you saw the lightning. How did you know?"

"There was something about his shocks that felt familiar to me. I had sucked the electricity up once before at the initial strike. When it hit, it gave off an aura of sorts. I could feel that it was him. When I sensed it, I kind of sensed you, with it."

Curious, Jiro stared at the brash Kaminari who was grinning joyously. She gave another moment of thought before asking another question. "How come his volts didn't overload your brain? I thought for sure 'Jamming-yay' would make an appearance."

"I'm not completely sure. I think it's because I was focused."

"You haven't been focused this entire time," Jiro smarmily added with snark, pointing all of her fingers at him.

"No, I mean…" he trailed off as if he were collecting the words to say. "The only thing I could think of was protecting you. I couldn't let anything stop me from that."

Jiro's face shifted into surprise as she blushed. Kaminari smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "But you probably could have handled yourself!"

"Cute." The commander had stood back up, his shoulders arched back as he beamed into the sky. The heroes trained their gazes toward him in fear.

"C'mon, dude!" Kaminari spit with a child-like aggravation thick in his voice. "How are you still standing!?"

"You've got talent, kid. But you're not quite on my level, yet."

The taser gave a faint glow as the commander touched his hand and began to squeeze his fingers in and out. He shot the bolt directly at Jiro. Kaminari slid in front of her to stop the blast. The commander let a satisfied laugh ooze from his mouth. It was just as he had wanted.

The lightning bolt pierced through the left side of Kaminari's torso, lodging itself between his ribs and putting a slight tear in the side of his heart. The electricity was now as solid as a knife, and just as sharp. Kaminari let out a groan of pain. He reached for the wedged in bolt, but it was cutting his hands as he gripped it. He coughed blood and he let out another agonizing yell before his center of gravity gave way.

"I don't just amplify the voltage. I shape the electricity to my liking."

Glazed with shock and horror, Kaminari's eyes couldn't detach from the image of the commander before him. He lifted Chargebolt by his shirt collar as the commander held him just high enough for his feet to lose connection with the ground.

"I applaud you for caring about a fellow meta the way that you have. But I have no pity for your dated goals of heroes and restriction. You came into this battle unprepared for what you would have to give for your cause. I can see it in your countenance. You didn't think you'd have to face death for your goals. Fool! Death is waiting for each of us at the end of our paths. If you weren't willing to make it to the end of that path today, then you should have walked a different way. Me? All of us are prepared to give our lives for the values we hold dear. Our dreams will become a reality while yours turn to nightmares in your final breaths. This is the endgame, kid. You were valiant…up until you weren't. Destro's will shall be done."

Jiro sat frozen in fear, transfixed by the protruding charge coming from Kaminari's back. She trembled as her fingers twitched and her eyes dilated. She tried desperately to make her body respond to her commands. Her thoughts were starting to race. "Move. Move, Jiro! You have to help him. You can't watch him die!"

Jiro ran the darkened streets outside of the UA dormitories alone. She was calming herself by clearing her head and getting her body active. This was the day of the UA culture festival. Class 1-A's performance was the talk of the campus – for better or for worse – and the anxiety was being carried too close to her chest.

Yaoyorozu and Hagakure emerged from the 1-A dorm to enjoy their own walk along the streets. "Good morning!" Hagakure's chipper attitude never seemed to fluster, though no one could tell since you could always see right through her.

"Nervous about the festival?" asked Momo with a light smile. "You're typically not up this early."

"I couldn't really sleep anymore." Jiro's face hid no emotion. For a typically cool and collected girl, her stress and nervousness seemed to bubble to the surface.

"Jiro," Momo comforted," it will be fine. We're going to do great."

Jiro looked at the two girls – or possibly only one, given that whole 'invisibility thing' – with a grimace. "I…I don't want to let anyone down." Her shyness now elevated to peak levels. "All of our class is counting on this being awesome. What if the rest of the school doesn't like the song? What if they're still angry?"

"Jiro, it's going to be okay." Momo's mothering side was in full showing. "You'll see. Everyone has worked really hard for this."

"I'm worried no one trusts me to get this done."

"No one thinks that, Kyoka! Where is this coming from?"

Jiro's head rocked down as if to recall nothing but shame and doubt. "I feel like I'm holding the class back." Momo and Hagakure both gave puzzled looks toward Jiro, though only one was obvious. "My jacks are good for stealth, but I'm not great in a fight. I've been trying really hard, but it seems like I can't get on the same level as everyone else." A saddened Momo and Hagakure (supposedly) watched on as she began to shake.

"Jiro, you're great!" Hagakure's voice ruptured from seemingly nowhere. "Everyone thinks you're really strong. And your musical skills are top notch! Even Kaminari can play guitar, now!"

She flinched at the mention of Kaminari. The rosy color of sincere feelings crossed Jiro's face before she looked further away from the other two girls. "He…" Momo and Hagakure continued to wait in patient silence. "He was almost killed at the USJ…and I couldn't stop it." A ghastly recollection ran across the girls minds finding itself manifest in a quiver on their spines. "If Snipe and the other pros hadn't shown up, we would have watched him die."

At this morbid confession, both Yaoyorozu and Hagakure moved to settle Jiro. "This has to go well. I'll never let my friends down again. And…" she trailed off, looking into the dormitory where Kaminari was relaxing in the common area with Eijiro Kirishima and Sero - all of whom were waving goodbye to a rushing Izuku Midoriya. Momo turned to look into the dormitory and saw Kaminari. She thought back to the promise she had made to keep his practices a secret. If only the two of them knew, she thought, they wouldn't feel this way. Momo looked at Hagakure and smiled, then back at Jiro.

"You'll do great," she reassured her. "He thinks so, too."

The commander laid a vicious haymaker into Kaminari's stomach. He doubled over in the villain's arms in excruciating pain. Jiro watched Kaminari take punch after punch, never once asking for help or losing his resolve. His hand made a wave lightly behind his back as if telling her to run and leave him as a distraction. At this, Jiro's eyes filled with the same fiery determination she had seen in his when he first arrived on the scene. It was this moment where she would commit to never watching one of her friends get hurt, again.

She plugged her earphone jacks into the soil and broke it up. Her heartbeat poured into the dirt, loosening the ground just beneath the commander. Ultimate Move: Singing Earth. He began to sink into the mud as the concentrated soundwaves ended beneath the towering commander. He dropped Kaminari to the ground and aimed his sights on Jiro. The commander pulled one foot free and moved in her direction.

Jiro then placed her jacks into the amp on her leg – still busted from his previous attacks, but still working enough – and sent her heartbeat careening into him. The sonic waves deterred the commander, but only enough to slow his advancement. Having had enough, he shocked the taser into his hand and fired a concentrated shot at Jiro. The attack should have knocked her backward, but she had planted her feet into the ground and refused to be denied her last stand. After the charge wore off, she saw the commander standing just before her. He raised his arm in threatening tenacity and brought it down full of speed and power.

Before his fist could make contact, a shimmering, yellow figure appeared just beside the two at a breakneck pace. Kaminari had freed the lightning bolt from his side and wrapped it around his hand. His cocked arm drove a panic racing through the commander, who didn't have time to react. Kaminari's bolt-wrapped hand slammed violently into the commander's face as he discharged as much of his own electricity into the rogue as he could. The commander jettisoned through the still air with a haunting crack of the sound barrier. He broke through two trees before coming to a rest unconscious in the thicket where Jiro had originally been hiding.

The lightning bolt dug into Kaminari's hand, causing blood to poor from his knuckles. More blood was seeping from his wound. Kaminari stood in victory against the darkened wood, quiet and still. Jiro smiled in relief as she begins to move toward Kaminari. "We did it," she thought to herself.

Jiro made her way to Kaminari to share in their triumph only to see his eyes glossed over. He, too, had lost consciousness. His body collapsed to the earth as helplessly as Icarus had once done in the ancient world. "Kaminari!" Jiro was unsure of where the scream had come from, having known full well they were the only two present. She seemed to have been be removed from her own being as she dropped to his placid body to check his vitals. No heartbeat. She continued to check, thinking she was missing his heart due to his wound. Still no pulse. Jiro pressed her hands firmly onto his severed chest in a feeble attempt to stop the bleeding. Blood pooled over her fingers as water was beginning to fall into the wound. "Rain?" she thought to herself. It wasn't the weather, but her own tears leaving her body and entering his.

Momo, Sato, and Sero pushed their way through the woods to find Kaminari and Jiro. They had heard the sound of fighting and seen flashes in the distance. They were heading in the right direction.

"I heard something this way!" came Sato's deep roar.

They rounded the nearing tree line to find the husk of the former commander lying motionless. Each of them increasingly transformed into the embodiment of worry at this sight, though part of them remained hopeful as it was not one of their friends. As they emerged from the forest into a small opening, they saw Jiro kneeling on the ground. The three of them let their relief paint their faces as they ran toward her. It was when they draw nearer that Momo's smile faded into terror as she saw the bloodied body of Kaminari soaked with Jiro's tears.

"What happened?" Sero couldn't contain his disbelief and fright. Jiro couldn't look at her friends, and she couldn't open her gritting teeth to let the words escape. She lifted her bloodied, shaking hands away from his wound to show the damage. The pain in her stinging eyes and his wound were enough to tell the whole story.

Sato dropped down and lifted Kaminari off the ground. Sero issued tape to the wound and bound up the broken and maimed areas of his body. Yaoyorozu traded places with Sato and produced splints, gauze, and surgical supplies from her stomach. She'd never had to perform first aid on this level before. She began to work and suture the wounds beneath Sero's tape. Momo moved hurriedly along the main wound, attempting to stabilize the injury. She then started to press on his chest in the hopes of starting his heart.

Pump after pump, she became frustrated at her own inability to heal and the lack of response from Kaminari. Sato spotted a taser on the ground and ran to it. "What if we used this?"

"No good," Momo stated frantically. "His quirk will let his body absorb the electricity. We can't restart his heart that way. This has to work!"

She continued to fervently push into Kaminari's chest rhythmically hoping to start back up the heart of their friend. She pushed and pushed until her arms grew weak and wavering. Tears were flowing down Yaoyorozu's face. Sato placed a hand on her shoulder but had to turn away himself to hide his own breaking spirit. Sero's eyes watered as he looked on trying to think of anything that he could do to help. He kept coming up with nothing, which just made the tears flow more onto his face.

"He's…" Momo's voice almost seemed to vanish into the open air. The heroes hearts all sank, almost as unmoving as Kaminari's. They knew what her words meant. They knew the grim reality they were all present in. They knew he was gone.

Jiro's head raised from Kaminari's chest where it rested once Momo finished attempting to resuscitate him. Her watery vision distorted the image before her, but she knew what needed to be done. "No," she thought, "This is not how it ends."

In a moment that stunned the other three heroes, Jiro's headphone jacks buried themselves in Kaminari's chest. "Jiro…!?" Sero's confused voice rang with Sato and Momo's own concern. She continued to look into his chest thinking back on her work study with Gang Orca. She could hear his grizzled voice echoing through her brain as if it were the only thing there.

"Everything has its own frequency," Gang Orca's words rang dreamily. He walked across the room in his tailored white suit to a glass resting on the table. "It vibrates at its own rhythm, with varying speeds and pitches. Your headphone jacks insert your heartbeat into whatever they're in, and you can really cause some damage when you cut loose."

Gang Orca picked up a tuning fork and held it near the glass. "But, if you learn to emit smaller vibrations at varying pitches, you can do more than just rip up concrete." He tapped the tuning fork against the table firmly. He slowly moved the fork to the glass. Just before making contact, the glass shattered across the table. "With that kind of precision, you can take down enemies or support items stealthily and limit your enemies' ability to counter."

Jiro looked at Gang Orca with reverence at such a simple suggestion.

"Like an orca emitting sound waves into the ocean to get a sonar image of what's ahead, those headphone jacks were made for more than destruction. They were made for survival – of the mission and your teammates. You'll do well to train them in such a way."

"Yes, sir!"

Sato's mouth stood agape. He could not understand what Jiro was doing. He could not think of what to say that would make sense of the situation, but he also couldn't equate his own grief to hers. Sero felt the same way looking at his fallen friend disbelievingly. This wasn't part of the plan.

Jiro continued to concentrate on Kaminari's chest, her jacks planted firmly within it. She let out a slow deluge of her own heartbeat into his chest. She slowly revved it up to her full heartbeat, attempting to reignite its own beat patterns.

She didn't stop pouring her heartbeat into his. She desperately watched as his face remained still. Jiro refused to give up, looking for the life in his eyes that she longed to see again. "Wake up, Kaminari," she muttered to herself. "Wake up." Her heartbeat persisted to reverberate through his chest cavity. "Wake up, please!"

In a last-ditch effort to see life return to his body, she pumped her heartbeat directly into his heart as her thoughts now found existence on her voice. "Denki!"

In that surreal moment, his fingers twitched. A single beat pulsed through his heart. Then another. Then breath re-entered his lungs. His body was showing signs of vitality, though crippled by the fight with the commander. He remained unconscious, but Kaminari was now what he was not then: Alive.

The grief released its hold on the UA student's minds. Tears changed from bitterness to honey in that great moment. Their friend was alive, and they could finally share with him the future they had planned to before.

Jiro continued to let tears pour from her eyes as her own heart loosened its grip on sorrow. She had done what she needed to do in that moment. She had overcome the loss of someone dear to her to make a brighter tomorrow. Jiro's jacks retracted from his chest as she fell into a heap on his body. The sobs were loud and thoughtful, as if every hope and dream that was almost lost was reinvigorating in both of their souls. "Kaminari," she whispered to herself, "your heart is nasty strong. I didn't stand a chance with you coming."

It's been four days since the incident involving the Paranormal Liberation Front. The students at UA have returned for regular classes, though the weight of what they had just experienced hung on their persons wherever they went. Class 1-A sat ominously silent before the starting bell; a rarity given how lively they all usually were. But it had infected their classroom, too. They had all gotten a firsthand taste of the devastation of All For One. Midoriya sat in his seat uncharacteristically mired in resentment. Uraraka watched him from across the room, wishing she could take away the pain he was clearly in. Even Bakugo sat in a downtrodden slump, unable to shake the latest encounter with Shigaraki.

Shota Aizawa, the class's no-nonsense teacher, had also been on the front lines of that battle. He walked into the room in lockstep with the bell signaling the beginning of class. For him, there was more at stake than just All For One's devastation. His friend having been engineered into Kurogiri and his own rescue at the hands of Crust gave him more than enough motivation to mourn.

Aizawa, though, was a pro. And a rational one, at that. He explored his emotions in the appropriate place and came back to his work with his class more determined to prepare them for their future face-off with Tomura Shigaraki. Aizawa was pleased with his class's silence but unnerved by their mourn. He felt their sorrow and wished there were more he could do to ease them.

His glance moved to the center of the room. Two desks sat empty amid all the others. "Rational for one," he thought, "but two is problematic."

"Where's Jiro?" his voice seemed to loom the same way his quirk suppressing eyes did when activated.

"With Kaminari," came the troubled voice of Yaoyorozu.

"Yes, she has been with him since the incident," remarked Tenya Iida, the class's representative. "She has not been to the dormitory, though Recovery Girl has created a makeshift bed for her and our class has continued to bring meals regularly."

There was no hiding anything with Iida. He had presented the entirety of the situation with his own interpretation of what was necessary, a quality Aizawa was counting on when he asked for Jiro's whereabouts.

"She should really be back in class, today," Aizawa gave with an itch of annoyance, but everyone could tell he had understanding in his reply. "I'll send for her from the infirmary."

"Aizawa-sensei," came the voice of Ashido, "can she please stay there?" Aizawa was more annoyed. "We know she needs to be in class, but…" Her eyes drifted away from her teacher, thinking of the hurt that her classmates had been through.

"We'll take all of her work to her," came the calming voice of Uraraka from across the room. "We'll even spend extra time working with her."

"Yes, we'll do just that," the timid Yaoyorozu pitched. "I'll study with her every day to ensure she doesn't fall behind on any of her coursework."

The entire class began to glint with hope as the offer the girls had made was considered by Aizawa. After a groan and the rustling of his fingers through his hair, he gave his response. "If she loses a letter grade in any of her subjects, you'll all put in the extra lessons to make up for it."

The entire class was relieved by the offer made by their homeroom teacher, though the ones closer to the bottom of the class held their breath in earnest in hopes that it wouldn't come to that.

Sunlight danced through the window of the room in UA's infirmary where Kaminari had been settled. A single flower in a vase sat at his bedside with a note marked simply "The Jiros." Other items lined the far wall from other well-wishers, from cards to various balloons and other items that seem to adorn hospital rooms.

Jiro sat in a chair by Kaminari's bed having finally given in to sleep as she monitored the ongoing beeping of the machine tracking his heartbeat. She couldn't steal herself from his bedside, not even to pick up any essentials from her dorm. All of class 1-A had been helpful in bringing what she needed, from a change of clothes to her cell phone charger to contact her parents.

The Jiros had been moved and heartbroken over the story their daughter provided them. They knew this was what heroes came face to face with every day, but they never expected their little girl to watch someone she loved so tenderly almost lose his life. They had been by to visit her, but also to see the boy who was willing to trade his life for their daughter's at a moment's notice.

They had made friends with the Kaminaris, who visited daily to see their son. His parents had hugged and thanked Jiro what felt like thousands of times in their visits. When the Jiro family visited, the two sets of parents talked about their admiration for the other's child and their hopes for Denki's full recovery. The Jiros had made a habit of bringing dinner to the Kaminaris each night, growing fond of the company of their children's parents and realizing they had much in common.

The Kaminari family had wished to stay in the infirmary at UA, but they were not allowed given the recent trouble revolving around UA. Though Eri, a young girl saved by Midoriya and his senpai, Mirio Togata, was staying on campus, it was far more dangerous for her to be away from the school than for the Kaminari family to remain there. When Jiro stated she wouldn't leave their son's bedside, they could see her passion in her tears that were swelling into her eyes. Their hearts melted with ease as they trusted their child to the girl who had saved their son's life. "There's no one we trust more," the voice of Kaminari's father, both firm and soothing, said, "than you, Kyoka."

The sunlight continued to beam into the room unabashedly. Its natural warmth comforted the most pertinent of cares away as it heralded new beginnings. Kaminari's arm moved gently through the space between them, its goal not too far from achievement. His fingers wrapped softly around the earphone jack of Jiro's right ear, pulling it down toward himself. This sudden stretching prompted the sleeping girl to stir and see her jack resting squarely on the heart of Kaminari.

His eyes gave off the myriad of emotions they both were feeling. Joy. Gratitude. Peace. Anxiety. Impatience. Calm. All visible in his vibrant eyes. Jiro's mouth went dry as she tried so hard to muster anything out of herself toward him. Anything at all. Kaminari's smile warmed her bones through his oxygen mask much like the sunlight had done the things in the room trapped in its embrace.

"This is your rhythm," he said lovingly, "and it will always be playing for you to hear." A mixture of tears and joy enveloped her eyes as her cheeks once again became as rubies in the sunlight. Her smile was brighter than the trickling from the window and she couldn't find a word to express more than her face already could. She began to cry as she rested her head once more on his chest as she had done in the forest, all of her happiness washing over his bandages as if to clean away every hurt he had ever received.

"You should go back to class, tomorrow."

Denki Kaminari was sat up in his bed, glowing with enthusiasm and peace as he ate a meal that had been brought to his room by Iida and Midoriya. Though he had enjoyed it all the more when he heard it was prepared by an angry Bakugo who kept insisting, "I'm not his maid, you jerks!"

"Do you really think so?"

Kyoka Jiro also shared the meal, being rested on her bed across the room that had been made by Recovery Girl. She was in high spirits, as well, and was intrigued by his suggestion that she should leave him on his own.

"Yeah, Recovery Girl has done wonders for me. After my final surgery, she said I'll be back in class in about two days or so."

Kaminari had stayed in the hospital due to the amount of time his heart, lung, and brain function had stopped. Even though Recovery Girl was able to heal his other wounds, some things needed close attention to ensure he recovered completely.

"It's been nine days since I've been in here. That's a lot of class time to miss. I know Momoyao has been here every day to help us, but you should get back to some normal. You can come back after class. I'll still be here."

His confident grin seemed to bother her at the mention of him still being in the infirmary, but she was in agreement that they would both need to return to normalcy at some point.

"I guess I should move some of these things to the dorms to make your discharge easier," she said with a smile of her own.

The two of them finished their meal that had been tenderly prepared with Bakugo's hatred and talked into the night. It was strange how they never ran out of something to talk about, and their conversations always were full of laughter. Night had fallen and the infirmary gave its "lights out" order. Their room was dark, save the pale moon light falling into the room. Both of them laid unable to sleep given that Jiro wouldn't be there the next day. She was going back class. The separation was weighing on their hearts, though they knew it was what was needed.

The chirping of insects from outside the room created an almost magical atmosphere. It felt like that tiny hospital room was tailor made for the two of them over the last few days. Kaminari sat up in his be and began to speak.

"Hey, what was that band you mentioned earlier?" His eagerness couldn't be contained in his charm.

"Longman?"

"Yeah, we should listen to them."

Jiro smiled in agreement as she pulled her phone off the wall charger and plugged in headphones. She sat next to him on his bed as the two of them listened to the songs Jiro had mentioned earlier.

"Wow," said Kaminari, "their music is great! It's so upbeat."

"I know, right? They do a really good job in their composition."

The two of them listened and talked lowly as not to alert Recovery Girl. They sank into the bed still talking and listening, stifling their laughter with hands and pillows as they tried not to be found out. The night continued on as the two of them grew closer together.

"My, my, standards for youngsters aren't what they used to be."

Recovery Girl stood in the doorway of Kaminari's room troubled by what she saw. The two of them awoke with an earbud still in one ear and Jiro's phone dead. After a moment of looking around and then at one another, the reality of what had happened hit them. They had fallen asleep in the same bed.

"This is not what you think!" said Kaminari, flailing his arms through the air.

"We were listening to music and we must have fallen asleep," explained Jiro, her earphone jacks clinking together in embarrassment.

"This is the only time it's happened!"

"Ugh, Kaminari, your morning breath…"

"Is that really the important part of this conversation!?"

Kaminari wildly chopped at the air as though possessed by Tenya Iida himself explaining that it was just music. Recovery Girl knew this was the case, but their panicked explanations were a sadistic entertainment for the old woman. She rummaged her fingers through the candy in her pockets trying not to laugh at the two of them.

Just beyond Recovery Girl stood figures that Kaminari and Jiro did not want to see in that moment: Both of their parents. The Kaminaris and Jiros had come to see Kaminari before his final, quick surgery and wish Jiro good luck on returning to class. The Kaminaris looked on in hysteric fear as Kyotoku Jiro's eyes glazed red as if water were boiling inside of his throat. Mika Jiro attempted to pat his shoulder in a calming manner as he walked into the room.

"Kyoka," his stern tenor unwavered, "I need the room."

Jiro rushed out of the room to be with her mother and the Kaminaris as her dad was left alone with a frightened Denki, who was partially crying and wishing for someone to save him. The door clicked shut as the towering figure of Jiro's father moved toward the bed. Kaminari shook and writhed, apologizing over an over and trying to explain himself.

Just before reaching the bedside, Kyotoku burst out with laughter as a confused Kaminari looked at the chuckling man. "The look on your face was too good," Kyotoku let out. "I know you kids just fell asleep, but watching you try to defend yourself was priceless!"

His continued laughter echoed beyond the room as Kaminari was taken aback by the prank played on him by Jiro's father. He couldn't help but wonder why he would do that, only to conclude it's probably the same thing he would have done. After a brief moment of bellows, Kyotoku eased up and stood across from Kaminari. His assuring smile took Kaminari by surprise, as Kyotoku looked on to Kaminari with a fatherly appeal.

Suddenly, Kyotoku dropped to his knees and placed his face against the ground. Shocked, Kaminari asked him to stand and inquired as to why he was doing what he was doing, almost as frantic as when he was afraid. "My daughter," Kyotoku's voice could barely complete, "is alive, thanks to you."

Kaminari faded back onto the bed. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. There was a humbling sense of accomplishment, but also a desire to restore Kyotoku upright. He rose to his feet to help Kyotoku stand, but Jiro's father cut the tension first.

"We know this is the life of a hero. The threat of pain and tragedy at every turn. We never thought it would happen to her so fast. You're both only school kids. Without you risking your life for her, Kyoka may not be in our lives, anymore."

Kaminari sat without movement. Not a sound came from him. He watched in honor as Kyotoku's teary smile raised from the floor.

"Thank you for being her...my hero."

This admission cut Kaminari to the core. The rapture of someone being so thankful for his work as a hero was proof of his hard work finally paying off. A curt smile draped across his mouth as he reached out his hand to Kyotoku.

"Thank Kyoka for saving me," came Kaminari zealous for his subject. "From the moment we first met, she's been saving me. I owe her more than my life."

Jiro's earphone jack slid from the wall – as did her mother's – as they both welled with blissful admiration. They shared a satisfied look as they both tilted their heads. The Kaminaris looked on with understanding. They could not hear what had happened inside the room, but they could read the faces of the two Jiro women clearly. Kaminari's father gave a cheery chuckle as he finally spoke.

"Kyoka," he said, "thank you for being someone precious to our son." Filled with a burst of love, Jiro hugged the Kaminaris and waited patiently by the door. A soft glow came from underneath its frame and she couldn't help but wonder what it was.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Kaminari and Kyotoku's conversation continued. They were discussing the battle that had taken place what felt like ages prior. "So," Kyotoku's stately sound inquired, "your quirk is electrification. What can you do with it?"

"Well," said Kaminari, "I can cover my entire body in electricity."

"Ooh, can I see it?"

"Sure thing! 1.3 million…"

The door flung open to reveal Kaminari shocking Kyotoku with his electricity. Both of their faces shrank as their brains short-circuited together, looking toward the doorway with the same expression of helplessness.

"Yay."

All three women began laughing uncontrollably, taking in the ridiculous sight of Kaminari and Kyotoku going full stupid. While the girls continued to hunch in laughter and ridicule, Kaminari's father's eyes widened and his jaw grazed the floor.

"Are you kidding me!?" he shouted. "He's still an idiot!"

KAMINARI AND JIRO ORIGIN: END