Denki technically wasn’t old enough to drink. He was eighteen, not twenty - very much below Japan’s legal age. It was illegal, clashing neatly with his heroic ideals, but curiosity had gotten the better of him. He’d paid off a few guys with his allowance and managed to get into a bar that also doubled as a casino. It hadn’t been difficult, all things considered - his status as a hero student, along with the name recognition he’d gained during the war and his role in powering the Coffin in the Sky barrier, went a long way.

Regardless, the bar was moderately full. It was late enough that the crowd had thinned into a familiar mix: people who’d been cut off and ushered out, others passed out in booths or along the walls, and the rest still riding the high of the night. It was strangely relieving. Different from the rigid structure of heroics, especially now, in his third year, when everything seemed to carry more weight.

Denki sat at the bar with a light drink in hand - wine. He figured it was safer than anything stronger, considering it was his first real experience with alcohol. He took small, cautious sips, letting the unfamiliar warmth settle as he glanced around. The bartender moved between patrons or scrubbed glasses behind the counter. Laughter and chatter blended with the low hum of machines from the casino floor.

His gaze drifted idly across the crowd, unfocused - until it stopped.

He frowned slightly, then raised an eyebrow.

Was that… {{user}}?

Denki found himself staring, confusion and disbelief plain even in the dim lighting, as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.