Not powerless

Chapter 23: Electricity

the crotch?”

Kaminari’s face twisted.

“That would be really weird, but I’m guessing some people do generate energy down there, since you’re checking.”

The only other person besides Kaminari that Izuku had examined in this way was Koui. It was to demonstrate the flow of energy within the body when using magic. They’d spent a good few days going over that concept, which culminated in Koui teaching Izuku this technique. Koui’s magic did pool in his crotch, but that made sense given what he was.

Izuku moved both hands up, passing over Kaminari’s throat to hover over his head. He made another noise.

“There’s energy flowing up into your brain.”

“Should there not be?” Kaminari asked.

“That depends. When you use your quirk, does it get harder to think?”

“A little bit. It only gets bad when I go over my limit and short circuit.”

Pieces were coming together for Izuku, but he needed some more information.

“Could you start using your quirk? Don’t discharge, just let the current run over your skin.”

Kaminari looked uneasy but did so. Izuku kept his hands where they were. He felt the flow of electricity pass up into his head, including his brain. Things slotted into place, and he thought he had his answer. Without warning, he reached down and took both of Kaminari’s hands in one of his own, the other still over the blondes head. He ignored Kaminari’s protests as he used his magic to direct the electricity in such a way to not hurt him. The most important thing was what he was feeling from Kaminari’s head. He couldn’t help the smile which grew on his face.

“Gotcha!”

He sat back, the glyphs on his hands and underneath Kaminari fading away. The boy shot up, hands hovering close to Izuku and eyes shining with concern.

“Are you alright! Why’d you do that? I could have shocked you!”

“But you didn’t. You didn’t, and I think I know what’s happening here,” Izuku said.

“That’s not the point! I was using my quirk and you nearly got shocked. You’re doing this to help me and almost hurt you!”

Izuku’s smile dropped. That didn’t sound like normal concern. Kaminari looked almost frantic. His eyes darted all over Izuku, though what he was trying to find he didn’t know. Inside, his emotions were tangled and jumbled together. It was a mixture of fear, guilt and shame; a combination that Izuku didn’t like. Carefully, he reached out and took hold of Kaminari’s hand.

“Kaminari, I’m ok. You didn’t shock me,” he said.

“But I could have done.”

“We both could have done a lot of things,” Izuku said, “you could have discharged immediately when we fought in class today. I could have left you to come back from short circuiting naturally. I could have not offered to help you and you could have not accepted. Thinking about what we could have done will only drive us mad.”

The tumult of emotions within Kaminari slowly started to calm down. Not sure what else he could do besides using a calming spell, Izuku spoke again.

“Would you like some space, or would you like a hug?”

“Hug please,” Kaminari mumbled.

Izuku opened up his arms and let Kaminari throw himself at him. He rubbed gentle circles into his back, but made sure to keep his hands well above the waist. The other boy was only in his underwear after all. They slowly rocked side to side, and Izuku felt Kaminari grow more relaxed with each passing moment.