Denki glanced up at the battle announcement. The previous event, Capture the Flag, ended almost too quickly for words. As expected of them, Denki thought looking over at the second years' Big Three who were somehow all put into the same team. Denki who was grouped with Iida, Shiozaki (which made everything a little awkward, not only because of what he did the year before but also because Kyoka was glaring at him from Kirishima's team, which was in fourth place...although that too, could be the reason Kyoka was glaring at him) and Awase, just barely managed to slide into third place. Denki sighed. Well, it wasn't a total flop. This, year will be different. He contentedly turned to the screen just as Ryukyu was announcing the lots results.

"And here are our fated battles!"

The competitors scanned the giant screen for their name, hoping that luck would be on their side that their opponent would be neither of the second year's Big Three.

Two equally loud and almost synchronised cheers could be heard from the crowd.

"Awesome, man! We get to have a rematch!" Kirishima cheered, bumping fists with Tetsutetsu with some kind of handshake they had come up with over their work study the year before. 

"Aw yeah, man. We're gonna see who's the better, more manlier man this year!" Tetsutetsu agreed, sharp teeth in display and everything. Mina and Kendo could be heard sighing and groaning from the back, "Here we go again."

Denki flinched as soon as he saw who his opponent was. Aito Chiaki. Great girl, not gonna lie, but there's the thing, her quirk absorbed energy. And Denki's quirk was basically electric energy, making her his natural enemy, giving her the upper hand in battle. He felt an overwhelming amount of pressure when a hand touched his shoulder, rubbing it and instantaneously giving him a sense of reassurance. 

"Tough luck, huh? Beats me how she never got into Class A. She could even beat Bakugou if she put her mind to it. Probably," Kyoka said, glancing over at the white haired girl. Denki gave her a look as if to say not helping. "Which is why, the only way we could possibly have a chance at taking her down is by using our brains."

"Except you might have forgotten the fact that your boyfriend's a total dumbass. Well, at least I'm smart enough to know I'm dumb, but that's not the point. Get the picture, I practically fry my braincells with my quirk. Please explain to me how on earth do I use my brain if I destroy it."

Kyoka clenched her fists. How would one get a moron like him to actually try and believe in himself for once? "Denki, look, you've already come this far. And remember the promise? Are you really gonna give up before you've even tried?"

The guy just smirked in reply. "I was just getting started."

~~~~~~

Denki was standing in the middle of the stadium, proud and tall. At least that was the illusion he created for the audience to see. On the inside, he was trembling with nerves. He was facing the fated opponent, who was smiling innocently, as if she hadn't a clue to what was about to occur. That facade of hers had better be a mask because Denki wouldn't have known what to say if she really was as oblivious as she seemed. And that was saying something, coming from a person like himself.

As soon as Ryukyu gave the heads up, Aito whizzed around him, making it look as if she'd teleported from place to place. She was just so damned fast. Denki noted that she was trying to use kinetic energy to faze him. Thankfully, he figured her out, thanks to his past experiences and additional braincells that Kyoka forcefully knocked into him. Aito was indeed as ditzy as Kyoka had implied, the even more so if she overuses her quirk. Though she wasn't as much as an airhead as Nejire, she can be quite a bit unaware of her surroundings and occasionally even get headaches from absorbing any extra energy.

Denki followed through, chasing after her. Kyoka was watching with a face that clearly said, "What was this idiot doing?" But little did she know, that the boy had actually formulated quite a clever plan.

"Oh? Kaminari-kyun~! I knew you used to be one to chase after girls, but you're still like that even though you've a girlfriend? Yare yare~" Aito teased as she ran backwards, occasionally firing off concentrated energy that she accumulated from her surroundings, which Denki skilfully dodged.

Denki frowned, clearly not impressed with her little joke. "I'm far from what I used to be, Aito-san. I only have the one girl I need in my life right now," he said pointedly as he finally stopped his circling and crouched down. "Phew, all this running's makin' me tired! Physical work really makes one sweat doesn't it?"

Aito paused for a moment, perplexed. What a queer thing to do in the middle of a match. "Taking a break already? Just so you know, we're in the middle of a match...I could easily take you out right now."

Denki laughed. "I would love to be taken out, but my girl would get mad at me. I'd rather it be her," he said as he pressed his hands to the floor. The said girl, had finally realised what her boyfriend was up to. Kyoka was now hurriedly rushing the spectators who were nearest to the edge of the stands further up.

Laughing, Denki released his quirk, "You should've payed more attention in science class, Aito-san. Energy forms and characteristics are important, but so is the flow of them."

What Denki had been doing was sweating. That was his plan. As idiotic as it sounds, it was actually more genius than anyone could've thought. He made himself sweat more and made sure to cover as much of the stage as possible. Liquids were excellent conductors, so he made sure to project his Electrification to his hands as much as possible rather than having it released from his whole being. With a conductor set, there's no way his quirk would miss the stage. Plus, the chance of the shock hitting the nearby spectators would basically lessen...unless he lost control. 

Before Aito was even able to register what was happening, she was already hit by a massive electric shock and was then, knocked out. Denki's friend from the Bakusquad couldn't believe their eyes. Was this really the same person that asked out every girl that met his eyes?

The crowd gave a standing ovation. It was really, a slick plan there, they had to give it to that. Not many heroes could even think of something like that. It was almost a Bakugou level move.

"AND THE FIRST ROUND GOES TO KAMINARI DENKI!" Ryukyu announced. "As great as that battle seemed, it was only the first. May the next competitors brace themselves for the next match!"

"I did it!" Denki whisper shouted before he passed out from exhaustion and was hauled away by Recovery Girl's assistants. 

Kyoka smiled as she stood up to pay a visit to the infirmary. "Yes, you did indeed."