My Hero Academia: Thunder God

That night, Kaminari finally escorted Kyoka to the station himself. As he watched the Shinkansen pull away, he sighed tiredly to himself.

"I swear… I wasn't thinking about anything inappropriate!"

This helpless exclamation, coupled with Kyoka's shy expression, became the most vivid memory Kaminari had of that day.

But no matter what, life moved on. After his recent "detention experience," things gradually returned to a state of normalcy.

Every morning, Kaminari and Tetsutetsu jogged together in Omiya Park. On some days, they would head to their "secret base" for a fierce training session before heading home to wash up, eat breakfast, and regroup to head to U.A. together.

School life hadn't changed much either. With the final exams fast approaching, the classroom atmosphere grew increasingly tense as everyone buried themselves in their books.

From time to time, when classmates encountered difficult problems, they would approach Momo, Todoroki, or Kaminari himself for help. Even Bakugo, who usually seemed uninterested in such things, would angrily drag Kirishima out of the classroom when asked for assistance. He'd then proceed to explain everything loudly and impatiently while repeatedly knocking Kirishima's head with his knuckles.

When Kaminari first witnessed this scene, he had been genuinely surprised. Who would have thought that Bakugo, with his explosive personality, could be so considerate? Despite his rough demeanor, he made sure not to disturb the rest of the class by taking the tutoring elsewhere.

"Turns out this guy's actually a decent person underneath it all," Kaminari mused to himself.

Yes, "decent" was the word Kaminari had come to associate with Bakugo after spending more time with him.

Outside of class, Kaminari often headed to the recording studio alone to practice his singing. Although Kyoka, Kazama, Momo, and others had suggested practicing together after school, Kaminari firmly refused.

His reasoning was simple: he didn't want their band activities to interfere with their exam preparations. Instead, he arranged for everyone to practice together every Sunday, leaving the rest of the week free for studying.

For Momo, a top-tier academic achiever, there wasn't much need for additional review. However, every Sunday, she hosted group study sessions at her house for Kyoka, Sero, Mina, Ojiro, and Toru. Kaminari didn't want to disrupt this beneficial routine with band commitments.

As for Kaminari himself, he had accepted that his grades might take a slight dip. He wasn't aiming for top marks, nor did he plan to take the college entrance exams. As long as his performance wasn't abysmal, he was content.

And so, his life remained busy but fulfilling, moving steadily forward until June 14th, when everything took a slight turn.

---

That Friday, after the final seventh period of math class, Aizawa dismissed the students with his usual drowsy tone as the bell rang.

"Clack!"

The classroom door closed behind him, and a collective sigh of relief escaped from the students. It wasn't that Aizawa was intimidating; rather, the strain of solving math problems had left everyone mentally exhausted.

"Oh, man! I wish the finals were tomorrow," Tetsutetsu groaned loudly from his seat in the back. "Then I could just get it over with and stop stressing out so much!"

"Maybe it's because this is our first final exam at U.A. Everyone's putting extra pressure on themselves," Midoriya said with a small laugh as he packed his schoolbag. "I think it'll feel less intense next time."

Hearing this, Uraraka already wearing her backpack nodded seriously, hands on her hips. "That makes sense! Still, I'm going to give it my all. I want my dad to be proud of me for once!"

"That's the spirit!" Iida declared enthusiastically, raising his fist. "As students of U.A.'s Hero Course, we must continuously strive for improvement! Let's work hard together, everyone!"

"Oh boy, here we go again," Kaminari thought with a sigh as he watched Iida's over-the-top display. He didn't bother responding and instead turned to leave the classroom with Kyoka and Tetsutetsu.

The Pikachu perched on his shoulder, having just woken from its nap, stretched lazily.

"Kaminari, what kind of gift did you prepare?" Kyoka asked curiously as they walked.

A couple of days ago, Kaminari had reminded her that it was Tobio Tenma's birthday today. After carefully selecting a gift, she couldn't help but wonder what Kaminari, who seemed so confident about his own choice, had picked.

"Yeah, what did you bring?" Tetsutetsu chimed in, grinning. "I didn't see you carrying anything like a gift earlier. Is it in your bag or something?"

Tetsutetsu playfully shook the shopping bag he was holding, revealing the outline of a square box inside.

"Oh, so you actually got something?" Kaminari teased, smiling. He couldn't help but strike a charming pose, after all, a few people nearby had already pulled out their phones to snap photos.

Recently, thanks to the promotions for the Seifu Concert spearheaded by the Mitsui and Yaoyorozu Foundations, the "Pikachu Band" had become a household name across Japan.

"Of course I did! Didn't you say Tobio loves Pokémon? I ordered a metal figurine of Steelix for him," Tetsutetsu said proudly. Then, with a slight pout, he added, "But man, that thing was expensive. It cost me 70,000 yen!"

"Wait, you bought a figurine? Why didn't you just tell me? I could've given you one for free," Kaminari said, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure, but where's the fun in that? Gifts are more meaningful when you pay for them yourself. Otherwise, is it really a gift from me or just from you?" Tetsutetsu retorted with a shrug.

"Fair enough," Kaminari conceded, glancing at Kyoka, who was walking quietly beside him. He had already seen her gift during lunch earlier, a beautifully customized cake topped with three miniature Pokémon figurines made of green frosting. The Pokémon—Pikachu, Vulpix, and Noivern—represented the band members: Kaminari, Kyoka, and Momo.

"So, Kaminari, what's your gift?" Tetsutetsu pressed as they stepped onto the subway. He ignored the curious stares from nearby passengers, having grown used to the attention by now.

"My gift isn't an object, it's a character," Kaminari replied with a confident grin.

"A character?" Kyoka asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Yep. Tobio loves Pokémon, right? So my gift is to make him part of the Pokémon world!" Kaminari explained with a sly smile.

Both Kyoka and Tetsutetsu exchanged stunned looks.

Turning someone into a Pokémon character as a birthday gift? This wasn't just thoughtful, it was the kind of thing that would leave a die-hard fan over the moon with excitement.

***

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