Chapitre 120: Chapter 119: Popularity Explodes

"Who was that on the phone, Kaminari?"

Tetsutetsu asked curiously as he and Kaminari walked side by side toward the subway station. While asking about phone calls might be considered rude in Japanese culture, it all depended on the closeness of the relationship.

"It was about my combat uniform," Kaminari replied casually. "It's my new one. They want me to try it out soon."

Then, as if suddenly struck by an idea, Kaminari grinned. "You know, if the combat uniform they've made for me turns out great, I'll have the same company—Mitsui—design yours. They're a big name, so the quality will definitely be top-notch."

"Deal!" Tetsutetsu said immediately, without a hint of hesitation. "I'm counting on you, though! It's gotta be military-style and make me look cool."

"Don't worry," Kaminari said with confidence, patting his chest. "I'll make sure it's everything you want and more!"

But as the two approached the subway station entrance, they noticed an unusual commotion around them. At first, it was faint whispers, but it quickly grew louder and more chaotic.

"Hey, isn't that Kaminari Denki and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu?!"

"It is! I can't believe I just saw them on TV, and now they're here in person!"

"Wow, it's so surreal seeing the real number one and the real strongest person walking together!"

"What's the big deal?" someone chimed in. "Didn't you hear Tetsutetsu's shout at the end of the sports festival? They're clearly good friends!"

The murmurs turned to excitement, and then came a sudden, high-pitched scream.

"It's Kaminari Denki!!!"

"Ahhh! He's so handsome!"

"No way—am I actually seeing Kaminari in person?!"

Within seconds, a group of middle school girls wearing uniforms came rushing toward them, their faces alight with excitement. They surrounded Kaminari in an instant, effectively pushing Tetsutetsu to the side without a second thought.

And that was just the beginning. As it was the end of the school day, more students—elementary, middle, and high school alike—poured into the station. The crowd quickly grew, with more and more girls flocking toward Kaminari, their voices merging into an overwhelming chorus.

"Denki! Denki! Where's your Pikachu?!"

"Yeah, bring out Pikachu!"

"Is it in a Poké Ball? But Pikachu hates those, doesn't it?!"

The entire subway station was soon packed with a swarm of students, all clamoring for a chance to talk to Kaminari.

Kaminari, on the other hand, couldn't move at all. No matter how hard he tried to step forward, the crowd was so dense that he was completely stuck in place.

The scene wasn't just inconvenient, it was causing problems for the other subway-goers. Calls were quickly made to the local police, and within minutes, two patrol cars pulled up outside.

But when the officers arrived and saw the mob of kids swarming the station, they were momentarily stunned.

"Is this some kind of celebrity meet-and-greet?" one officer muttered, bewildered.

"We need to disperse them fast," another said grimly. "If something happens, it could turn into a disaster."

Using megaphones, the police began urging the students to leave, but their voices barely reached the outer edges of the crowd. The noise from the excited children drowned out everything else, and the officers could do little more than contain the chaos.

Not long after, professional heroes arrived on the scene to help. Among them was Kamui, his distinct wooden mask making him easily recognizable.

"What do we do, senior?" asked Mount Lady, who had followed Kamui to the scene. She seemed slightly panicked by the size of the crowd.

"We need to find the center of the commotion and pull them out. That should calm things down," Kamui replied, leaping onto a nearby streetlamp with his wooden arms.

From his vantage point, it didn't take long to spot Kaminari in the heart of the crowd.

"It's him… Well, no wonder," Kamui muttered.

As he prepared to use his wooden branches to extract Kaminari, a sudden burst of music interrupted him.

The music blasted at maximum volume, cutting through the cacophony like a sharp blade. The crowd, initially buzzing with excitement, began to quiet down, their voices lowering to a murmur as they turned to look at Kaminari.

He was holding up his phone, the source of the loud music.

Once he was sure he had everyone's attention, Kaminari stopped the music, flashed a bright smile, and called out loudly, "Hi, everyone! Yep, it's really me—Kaminari Denki!"

"Thanks so much for liking me and supporting me. I'm honestly so grateful!" he continued, his tone warm and sincere.

"But, uh… I'm super tired and hungry after today's festival. So, while I'd love to sign autographs and take pictures, I really need to get home. You're welcome to snap photos from where you are, but can you please clear a path for us?"

The students exchanged glances, and then, after a brief pause, began to laugh.

"He's so cute!"

"Yeah, Kaminari is adorable—even when he's desperate!"

"He actually used music to calm us down! I like him even more now!"

Although some were disappointed, the crowd eventually began carving out a narrow path for Kaminari and Tetsutetsu to walk through.

As they reached the entrance to the subway station, Kaminari turned back, smiling again.

"Oh, by the way," he said, his voice loud enough to carry to the back of the crowd, "the Pikachu Band will be recording a new song the day after tomorrow. It'll drop on MTV this Sunday—don't forget to check it out!"

The cheers that followed were almost deafening, but Kaminari didn't linger to soak it in. He quickly headed down the stairs with Tetsutetsu at his side, leaving the excited students behind.

---

Once inside the subway car, Kaminari and Tetsutetsu finally had a moment to breathe.

"You're seriously something else," Tetsutetsu muttered, shaking his head. "What are you gonna do if this keeps happening?"

Kaminari chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "Eh, I'll take it as it comes. If anything, it just shows how much people like me, right?"

Tetsutetsu sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I guess… but man, being surrounded like that would drive me nuts. I don't know how you deal with it so easily."

"Well, that's something you'll need to work on," Kaminari said seriously. "Pro heroes are public figures, too. If you want to be someone admired like All Might, you've got to get used to the attention."

Tetsutetsu raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. "You're probably right… but sometimes it feels like you're just trying to convince me to suffer along with you."

***

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Chapitre 121: Chapter 120: Prepare To Develop New Strategies

As soon as Kaminari stepped through the front door of his home, he was greeted by the warm and familiar aroma of his mother's secret miso soup. The comforting scent instantly melted away the tension in his body and mind.

"My son is home!"

His father, seated in the living room, was the first to notice him. At his call, Kaminari's mother quickly emerged from the kitchen, her face lighting up with joy.

"Dear son!"

Before Kaminari could respond, his mother was already fussing over him, checking his arms and face as though she expected to find hidden injuries.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere? Let me see!"

"Mom, I'm fine!" Kaminari assured her with a laugh, raising his hands in surrender. "I didn't get hurt at all, and even if I did, we have Recovery Girl at school. There's nothing to worry about!"

Though his words were meant to reassure her, Kaminari didn't mind the attention. In fact, he welcomed it. Having grown up as an orphan in his previous life, moments like this being doted on by a loving parent were something he'd dreamed of for years.

"Come, son!" his mother said, taking his arm and pulling him toward the kitchen. "I bought a whole chicken on the way home and stewed it for hours. You need to replenish your energy after such a long day!"

"Wow, chicken soup!" Kaminari exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.

"Here, drink it while it's still warm," his mother urged, placing a bowl in front of him. "You must have used up so much energy at the festival today."

As she hovered over him, her concern was evident in every movement. She had been at the festival in person and had watched Kaminari's disqualification unfold. To see her hardworking, kind son treated this way, it had been heartbreaking for her.

Still, she said nothing about it at the dinner table. She wanted to move on, for Kaminari's sake. So, the topic was avoided entirely, and the family instead enjoyed the steaming chicken soup and tender meat together.

They talked about other things instead. Kaminari mentioned the new song he'd be recording with Kyoka in a few days and his plans to create special merchandise for Momo.

His father nodded approvingly. "The recording studio is always open to you and your band. Let me know if you need anything else for the song."

As for the merchandise, his father didn't seem fazed. "I'll make a few calls to the company later. It shouldn't be a problem. Considering it's for Yaoyorozu's family, we'll make sure it's perfect."

"By the way, I've got some news for you too," his father added, wiping his hands with a napkin after finishing his meal. "Your Twitter account just passed 300,000 followers—and it's climbing fast!"

"Twitter?" Kaminari blinked, confused. "I don't remember making an account. Aren't I just using MTV Japan's platform for updates?"

"I set it up for you a while back," his father explained. "MTV is a music site, not a social network. I figured it'd be good for you to have a proper account, so I hired someone to manage it for you."

"Well… thanks, I guess," Kaminari said, scratching the back of his head. It wasn't something he'd thought much about, but it made sense.

After dinner, Kaminari's father sent him the account credentials. Meanwhile, Kaminari's mother happily cleared the table, pleased to see her son eat so well.

Kaminari, for his part, headed to his room. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, he logged onto Twitter to check things out for himself.

As expected, the follower count was impressive, sitting just shy of 300,000. The comments section was overflowing, mostly with messages of support for Kaminari after the festival.

Curious, he scrolled through the top comments with the most likes:

A Veteran of Corgi: "The real winner of this year's U.A. Sports Festival is Kaminari Denki! I'm holding back my frustration!" – 41,000 likes

Mr. Okarun: "The first-ever contestant to be disqualified for being too strong. Is this for real?" – 16,000 likes

Snow Peas Invited by the Monkey: "+1 to the above comments, but I just want to say the 'Brave Heart' song at the opening ceremony was amazing!" – 13,000 likes

Mechanical Knife: "But I need to know—what's the deal between Kaminari and Jiro? Any thoughts?" – 5,888 likes

Kaminari chuckled at the variety of responses. Most of the comments were positive, and even the few odd ones weren't too bad.

Deciding to post something himself, Kaminari typed out his first tweet:

"Hi everyone, it's Kaminari Denki here! Sorry for the delay in saying hello—I only just found out about this account. Thanks so much for your support and love. I've got some exciting news: my new single 'Blue Bird' will be out next Monday on MTV Japan. Hope you'll check it out!"

Satisfied, he shut off the computer and climbed into bed.

---

Despite how exhausted he was, Kaminari's internal clock woke him up before five in the morning, as always.

He stared at the ceiling for a moment, his mind wandering. Memories from his past life and this one flashed before him in a quiet montage.

For the first time, he realized just how much he'd changed since his rebirth. His days were filled with studying, training, and chasing goals he never would've dreamed of in his previous life.

"I'm… not the same person anymore," he thought, a strange mix of emotions washing over him.

An image came to mind: the old man who had changed his life. Kaminari could still see his kind smile and the wrinkles etched across his face. "Who are you?" he wondered.

"Pika pika pikachu! Pika pika pikachu!!"

His thoughts were interrupted by the cheerful sound of his Pikachu alarm clock. It had been a while since he'd actually heard it—he was usually up before it went off.

"Time to get moving," he muttered, taking a deep breath before swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

Today, he'd head to Omiya Park to start working on some of the ideas he'd come up with during the sports festival.

As Kaminari opened the curtains, the morning sunlight spilled into his room, warm and welcoming.

"I need to develop a way to attack from long range without relying on external objects," he murmured to himself, determination hardening in his chest.

***

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