My Hero Academia: Thunder God

"Black Hood" had left—probably to reflect on life. Oh, that nickname? Kaminari gave it to All For One because he thought "All For One" just didn't roll off the tongue smoothly.

Originally, Kaminari wanted to call him "Blackbeard," considering his identity and abilities were somewhat similar to the infamous pirate. But, since the guy didn't actually have a beard, the nickname didn't stick.

"I'm really looking forward to it. Looking forward to the next time I meet him…"

Kaminari sat quietly on his stark white bed, completely unbothered by the screaming and roaring from outside. He simply gazed through the bars of the iron cage. Just a moment ago, that man had been standing there, bringing with him the faint promise of Quirk evolution.

"If it weren't for the bonds I have with my parents and Jiro… maybe… maybe it wouldn't be so bad to follow him in this world. Hah, what a joke—I don't really seem like a reincarnator at all."

"Pika…"

The small "Pikachu" squatting beside the bed seemed to sense Kaminari's mood and chirped softly.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Kaminari reassured, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "I just realized something, that there's still a choice in front of me, another path to take. It shook me up a bit, hahahaha!"

As he laughed freely, Kaminari slowly reached out his right hand, gently stroking Pikachu, who had been invisible all this time.

That's right, Pikachu had been by his side from the very beginning. Apart from Kaminari's own strength, this was another reason why he could remain so calm during his detention.

Even though the police had taken measures to limit his Quirk usage, they had no way of preventing him from using Pikachu's powers.

"Tap, tap, tap…"

As the noise outside gradually faded, the shrill blaring of the alarm once again filled the air. A series of hurried, chaotic footsteps grew closer.

"They're coming."

Kaminari turned around, flashing a charming, nonchalant smile. Spotting some familiar faces among the approaching crowd, he gave a small wave and greeted them.

"Yo, Teacher Midnight! It's been a while. But… you're not looking too good right now."

"You… are you okay?!" Midnight, looking rather disheveled, asked in shock, ignoring the streak of crimson blood trailing from the corner of her mouth. The police officers and Pro Heroes accompanying her, all bearing signs of struggle, looked equally astonished.

Based on their earlier assumptions, the terrifying man in black was either going to kidnap Kaminari or outright kill him.

Yet somehow, here he was, alive and unharmed. And not only that, the man in black had left after killing two Pro Heroes and more than a dozen police officers stationed there. What exactly had been his purpose?

He couldn't have done all that just to unleash his murderous impulses… could he? That'd be absurd.

"I'm fine," Kaminari replied breezily. "That guy wanted to meet me and even tried to take me away, but I refused. So, he left. See? He's actually pretty reasonable."

The words left Midnight and the others utterly speechless.

A "villain" who'd mercilessly slaughtered police officers and heroes… being described as reasonable? The most baffling part was that Kaminari's refusal had actually worked, and the man left without further conflict.

"Did he tell you who he was or why he wanted to take you away?"

The question came from a burly old man dressed in a khaki coat and a soft brown felt hat. He was the head officer of the Police Department.

Kaminari shrugged. "From our conversation, I'd guess he's the leader of some big villain organization. But he didn't say who he was. When I asked for his name, he just dodged the question. I told him straight up, I'm not going anywhere with some random guy who won't even introduce himself. What do I look like, a toddler?"

"Hm, good point…"

The crowd outside the cage nodded instinctively, agreeing that it was a reasonable response.

"As for why he came looking for me," Kaminari continued, crossing his arms over his chest, "it's simple. He wanted to recruit me. Said he didn't want to see someone like me a genius, in his words, wasting away in a place like this."

Kaminari's expression remained calm, even smug, as he spoke. He nodded slightly, as if conceding a point. "To be fair, I kind of agree with him. But I haven't been convicted yet, so I told him to wait."

Realizing how his words might sound, Kaminari glanced at Midnight and the others, who were giving him complicated looks. He quickly clarified:

"I mean, I was stalling for time. You've seen how strong he is. If even you adults couldn't stop him, how could a fifteen-year-old kid like me do anything against him?"

"Uh… fair enough."

Some of the less-informed officers nodded again. From their perspective, it was only logical for a minor to prioritize his own safety when confronted with such a dangerous villain.

But those who were familiar with Kaminari could only sigh inwardly. Among all the Pro Heroes present, how many could confidently say they'd beat him one-on-one?

"Well, you did a great job this time," Midnight said meaningfully, a faint smile playing on her lips. "I'm sure your parents and everyone at U.A. will be proud of you."

After a brief exchange, the crowd dispersed. They still had a lot of work to do. Meanwhile, Kaminari lay back on his bed, holding the invisible Pikachu in his arms as he drifted off to sleep.

While he rested, others were far from idle. Outside, Momo, the principal of U.A., and several others began moving their respective pieces into place.

After a short meeting, the three groups split responsibilities.

Nezu was tasked with preparing materials to support Kaminari's status as a faculty member. This included documentation for things like schedules and permissions. They also needed to gather evidence to justify Kaminari's actions during the incident.

Their narrative was straightforward: after Kaminari discovered his father being attacked by villains, he promptly notified U.A. and received authorization before intervening in the fight.

Since Kaminari was officially a teacher at U.A., the school technically had custodial responsibility over him, giving them some legal flexibility. This status would allow them to handle future situations involving Kaminari with more leeway.

Meanwhile, the Mitsui and Yaoyorozu Family took on their respective roles.

The Mitsui Family's job was to manage the media and minimize public fallout from the incident. Normally, this would have been a monumental challenge—after all, the fight took place on a busy city highway, making it nearly impossible to keep the event under wraps.

But thanks to Kaminari's "golden sand" technique, which had concealed much of the battle, there was virtually no direct evidence tying him to any fatalities. No one had witnessed him killing anyone, and neither security cameras nor cell phones had captured him in the act.

This unexpected turn of events made the media's job significantly easier to handle.

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