A week had passed since the trip.
Denki and Kirishima walked side by side down the sidewalk, looking for something to do now that school was out for the day.
Mina had dance club after school, leaving it just the two of them.
Denki turned left at a corner, Kirishima following idly behind.
They passed building after building, Denki casually siphoning off a bit of excess energy from one unsuspecting publishing building as they went.
The conversation between them stayed light and aimless, jumping from topic to topic until an ice cream shop came into view.
They both slowed
“Ice cream?” Denki asked
Kirishima nodded “Yeah. Ice cream sounds great”
Inside, Kirishima ordered chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips, while Denki went with an electric swirl—yellow, blue, and white spiraling together.
After paying, they stepped back outside, ready to continue wandering the area.
Kirishima suddenly stopped
Denki noticed and glanced back, licking his ice cream.
“What’s up?”
Kirishima didn’t answer right away, staring across the street.
Denki followed his gaze and spotted two older kids—maybe seventeen or eighteen—walking together down the sidewalk.
Kirishima frowned.
“Those are the same guys from the last day of the school trip. The ones who caused trouble”
Denki’s expression sharpened.
“Huh… Guess they live around here”
An idea sparked
“We should follow them”
Before Kirishima could respond, Denki was already moving
“Wh—Hey!” Kirishima yelped, hurrying after him
They followed at a distance—close enough not to lose track, but far enough to avoid being noticed.
Not that it mattered much.
Denki activated his Electric Field, locking onto their electrical signatures like beacons.
After several minutes, the surroundings changed
The neighborhood grew rougher.
Doors were boarded up, windows barred, graffiti splashed across walls in layered colors.
Kirishima leaned closer, lowering his voice.
“Uh… Denki? Maybe we should head back. This place doesn’t look safe”
Denki glanced around, then nodded.
“Yeah… probably”
They turned to leave—only to freeze
Ahead of them, the two teenagers approached an abandoned warehouse.
Several younger kids were already gathered out front.
Denki and Kirishima ducked behind a wall to watch, leaving momentarily forgotten
They couldn’t hear what was being said, but it didn’t look good.
One of the older teens punched a kid in the stomach, causing him to double over.
The others quickly handed something over before running off in different directions.
The two teenagers took what they’d collected and entered the warehouse
Denki frowned.
“That didn’t sit right”
They waited, watching the entrance.
Questions ran through Denki’s head—what had they taken?
What were they doing inside?
He expanded his Electric Field, stretching it through the warehouse walls.
“No other people inside,” he muttered.
“But… that’s weird”
“What?” Kirishima asked.
“There’s a lot of electronics in there”
“Huh?”
After about ten minutes, the two teenagers exited the warehouse and walked away down the street.
Denki didn’t hesitate.
He headed straight for the door, Kirishima trailing behind him.
They stopped short when they saw it—thick chain and a heavy lock wrapped tightly around the entrance.
Kirishima stared.
“How are we even supposed to get in? And… should we really be doing this?”
Denki ignored the question
He grabbed the chain, closed his eyes, and focused.
This wasn’t new.
He’d been practicing this kind of control for a long time—even during the trip, every day since he saw the metal wall in the forest.
Electricity flowed into the metal, controlled and precise.
The inside of the chain began to heat, atoms shifting under his guidance.
The metal wobbled, softened, then moved—drawn outward as Denki manipulated its structure.
With a soft clatter, the chain and lock fell to the ground, reforming back into their original shapes as if nothing had happened.
“Yes! It worked!”
Kirishima stared, wide-eyed and frozen.
“…Dude” he said slowly “what was your quirk again?”
Denki smirked
He pushed the door open and stepped inside
“Electricity”
And with that, he disappeared into the warehouse, leaving Kirishima to scramble after him
The warehouse swallowed them whole the moment they stepped inside.
Dust hung thick in the air, drifting lazily through beams of light leaking in from cracked windows high above.
Rusted machinery sat abandoned along the walls, some half-covered in tarps, others reduced to skeletal frames of corroded metal.
The floor creaked beneath their shoes, littered with old pallets, broken crates, and scraps of wire.
“Yeah… this place is definitely sketchy”
Denki didn’t answer.
His Electric Field spread outward, honing in on the only things in the building that still ‘felt’ alive.
“This way” he said, already moving
They weaved through the warehouse until Denki stopped near a corner that looked no different from the rest—until he pushed aside a warped metal sheet, revealing a narrow doorway tucked out of sight.
Inside was a small room
It was cramped but organized, a stark contrast to the chaos outside.
A desk sat against the far wall, flanked by metal drawers and two heavy safes bolted into the floor.
Everything was locked—keypads, keyholes, reinforced hinges.
Denki stepped forward, sparks dancing faintly across his fingers
“No keys needed” he muttered
He placed his hand against the first lock.
Electricity flowed—not violently, but precisely—slipping into the internal mechanisms.
One by one, the locks clicked open as if they’d been given the correct keys.
Safes, drawers, cabinets—none resisted him.
Kirishima’s jaw slowly dropped
Inside were piles of electronics
Phones.
Tablets.
Laptops.
Smartwatches.
Headphones—dozens of them, neatly stacked or bundled together.
Some still had cracked screens, others looked brand new.
“…That’s a lot of stolen stuff” Kirishima said quietly.
Denki barely glanced at it.
His eyes landed on something far shinier.
“…Is that a gold bar?”
Yoink
He picked it up effortlessly and tucked it under his arm.
“Yeah, I’m confiscating this”
“Kaminari—!”
“I’m kidding. Mostly”
Kirishima sighed, rubbing the top of his head as Denki continued searching.
That’s when Denki spotted it—a thick folder tucked into the desk drawer, marked with handwritten notes and printed photos.
He sat on the edge of the desk and opened it
His expression shifted
Inside were reports, grainy surveillance photos, witness statements—everything centered around one name.
Villain Alias: Stringmaster
Quirk: Marionette Line
Denki read aloud quietly
“Marionette Line: The user can control another person’s body by attaching a specialized rope to them through physical contact. The rope splits into multiple thin strands upon touch, allowing precise control over limbs, movement, and even posture—like a living puppet”
Kirishima’s eyes widened.
“That’s… creepy”
Denki flipped through more pages
“Looks like he’s been using other people to do crimes for him. Petty theft, assaults, smuggling. Every time heroes show up, the person they arrest turns out to be another victim”
“So he just… walks away” Kirishima said
“Every time” Denki replied grimly.
“And check this out”
He tapped a photo—two familiar faces, older teenagers caught mid-argument.
“…Those guys from earlier”
Kirishima swallowed “So they’re working for him”
“Or being controlled” Denki said “but I doubt that. Either way, this warehouse is their drop point.”
Denki closed the folder slowly, electricity crackling faintly around him
“This isn’t just bullying or theft” he said.
“This is a setup”
Kirishima nodded “Then we should tell a teacher—No, the police or a hero—”
Denki shut the folder with a sigh
“This is bad” he said quietly.
“But… yeah. We should tell someone. Discreetly”
Kirishima nodded immediately “Yeah. Don’t want anyone knowing we were here”
Denki’s expression shifted, his focus snapping outward as his Electric Field expanded again
“…After we get out” he added
Kirishima stiffened “Why?”
“Because” Denki said under his breath, “I can feel two familiar signatures heading back this way”
Kirishima’s eyes widened.
“Those guys?!”
“Yep. And they’re close.”
“B-but how? Why? A-and how do you know?”
“No time!”
Denki moved fast.
He slid the folder under his jacket and turned back to the room, sparks crawling over his fingers.
One by one, he resealed everything exactly how it had been—drawers sliding shut, safes clicking back into place, locks reforming and resetting as if they’d never been touched.
The room returned to its untouched, sealed state in seconds.
“Okay” Denki whispered.
“Follow me and stay quiet”
They slipped out of the hidden room and into the main warehouse, Denki guiding them through paths where loose metal wouldn’t creak and broken glass wouldn’t crunch.
Kirishima stayed close, trying to match Denki’s steps despite his nerves screaming at him to hurry.
⸻
Outside the warehouse, two figures approached
The older teens walked side by side, voices raised in irritation.
“I’m telling you, those cameras suck” one of them snapped.
“They’re already glitching”
“They’re cheap for a reason” the other shot back “They were working fine yesterday”
“Yeah, well, now they’re not. Half the feeds keep flickering out”
They rounded the corner—and stopped dead
The chain and lock lay in a heap on the ground
“…What the hell?” one of them muttered
They didn’t hesitate.
Both bolted for the door
⸻
Inside, Denki felt it instantly
“They’re in” he whispered.
Before Kirishima could respond, the sound of footsteps echoed through the warehouse.
The two teens split up, one heading deeper inside straight for the hidden room, the other circling around
Denki cursed under his breath.
He raised a hand, signaling Kirishima to stop.
They were halfway across the warehouse floor when Denki’s Electric Field flared—two signatures, splitting apart and sweeping the building around
“…They’re searching” Denki whispered.
“One on the left, the other behind”
Kirishima swallowed and nodded, pressing himself closer to a stack of crates as Denki guided him with short, sharp gestures.
They moved slowly now, every step deliberate.
Denki angled them through narrow paths between shelving, places where loose metal wouldn’t clatter and broken glass lay undisturbed.
Footsteps could be heard running around a few meters away
“Who’s there?” one of the teens shouted
Denki pulled Kirishima down behind a toppled crate, both of them holding their breath as the footsteps went away from their hiding spot.
“…Clear” Denki murmured after a moment.
“Let’s move”
They slipped away again, hugging the shadows, Denki adjusting their path each time the signatures shifted.
For a few precious seconds, it almost worked.
Then Kirishima’s foot clipped the edge of a loose pipe
Clang
The sound rang out through the warehouse
Both signatures snapped toward them
“There!” someone shouted “I see them!”
Denki didn’t hesitate “RUN!”
They broke into a sprint, boots pounding against concrete as a flashlight snapped on behind them.
Denki veered sharply, slamming his shoulder into a stacked shelf as he passed.
The metal frame toppled with a screech, crates crashing down in a noisy avalanche.
“Nice!” Kirishima shouted, catching on immediately
He swung his arm into a leaning stack of scrap, sending it tumbling across the path just as their chaser skidded to avoid it.
“Little punks—!” the teen yelled
They zigzagged through the warehouse, Denki deliberately knocking over anything tall, unstable, or loud.
Pipes rolled, doors slammed shut, debris fell in their wake.
The noise echoed everywhere, making it impossible to tell where they were heading.
They burst through a side exit—and straight into daylight.
“Keep running!” Denki barked instinctively—
—but his Electric Field told him only one signature followed them.
“One’s still inside” Denki realized.
“The other’s on us!”
The chase spilled into the neighborhood
They sprinted down cracked sidewalks and between rundown buildings, Denki cutting tight corners while Kirishima powered straight through.
Footsteps thundered behind them, growing louder.
“Stop running!” the teen shouted “I swear I’ll mess you up!”
Denki glanced back just in time to see the guy’s face twist in recognition.
“…Wait” the teen snarled “I know you. You were on that school trip! That brat who called someone on us”
Kirishima’s eyes widened.
“Crap”
“That makes this personal!” the teen yelled, pushing harder
Denki cursed under his breath and made a split-second decision.
He skidded to a stop at an intersection, sparks flaring as he kicked a nearby metal trash bin into the street and sent a surge through a flickering streetlight.
The light burst with a sharp pop, making noise
“HEY!” Denki shouted “Over here!”
The chaser lunged instinctively toward the noise—
—and Denki grabbed Kirishima’s wrist, yanking him down a different street entirely.
They didn’t stop running until they reached a familiar house
Kirishima’s house
They stumbled to a halt in front of it, both of them bent over, gasping for air, hearts pounding.
“…We—” Kirishima wheezed.
“We lost him, right?”
Denki expanded his Electric Field one more time, then nodded.
“Yeah. He backed off. Too many people around now”
Before either of them could say anything else, the front door opened.
Mina Ashido stepped out, blinking once—then smiling brightly
“There you guys are!” she said cheerfully.
“I was wondering where you’d been”
Denki and Kirishima froze