Urgent footsteps echoed down the building's hallway, followed by the rapid sound of buttons being pressed on aronic keypad. A moment ter, a soft, cheerful voice greeted Kaminari as he ehe apartment.
"Pikachu!" the wele chime sounded.
But Kaminari had no time to pay attention to it. He dashed straight into the house, shouting, "Dad! Mom!"
"My son's home!"
However, as Kaminari took in the se in the living room, he froze. The atmosphere wasn't anything like he had expected.
There was no panio ay. Instead, the room was calm, almost serene. His parents and Midnight were seated on the sofa, chatting and sipping bck tea as though nothing had happened.
"Son, you're finally back!" his mother excimed, standing to greet him with a warm smile. She took his arm, her expression brimming with joy. "I've been so worried about you this past week. Let me take a good look at you!"
"Uh… you're… you're all okay?" Kaminari asked hesitantly, looking around the room. His gaze lingered on his father and Midnight, but both smiled at him reassuringly.
"Of course, we're fine," his father said, his tone calm and steady as he took another sip of bck tea. "Teacher Midnight has already expihe situation to us. Don't worry, we're not sile that we'd be helpless in the face of a little trouble."
Kaminari's father set his cup down and leaned forward slightly. "The important thing now is solving the problem, not dwelling on it. That's why we've been discussing solutions with Teacher Midnight."
"What kind of solutions?" Kaminari asked as his mently guided him to sit on the sofa with her.
"In addition to police prote," his father expined, "I've reached an agreement with Midnight's Hero Office. They'll take full responsibility for the security of this apartment. We've already informed the property ma."
He gestured to a dot oable before tinuing, "I'm also pnning to hire a professional hero as a personal bodyguard. I'm in the process of reviewing didates now."
Kaminari stared at his father in surprise as he listened. Midnight had clearly informed them of the situation, including Kaminari's strength, but his father had correctly identified the real issue: the safety of the family.
By ensuring his and his wife's security, Kaminari's father knew he could give his son the peaind o focus on his own priorities.
For Kaminari, seeing his father take charge like this filled him with relief.
"Dad, you're handling this perfectly," Kaminari admitted, his tone softening. Then, gng at Midnight, he added, "But this 't be cheap, right?"
His father smiled faintly. "No matter the cost, these things o be done," he replied firmly. "Money es and goes, but family es first."
Kaminari's father leaned back slightly and added, "Besides, I'm also in talks with Mitsui to order an advanced intelligent security system for the entire unity."
"I suggested moving to a different pce," Kaminari's mother interjected with a shake of her head. "But your father refused, insisted on spending more money instead."
"And why should we move?" Kaminari's father tered, his tone sharp and unyielding. "Why should we give up our home just because some 'rats' want to cause trouble? Let them e. I'm not going to run away from a problem like this."
Kaminari's father's voice softened slightly as he tinued, "This house isn't just a building. It's the home I worked hard to buy so I could marry your mother. I'll never fet the look on her face, how she smiled and cried when she first saw it. This is our home, and we're not leaving."
His words struck Kaminari deeply, filling him with a sense of pride and admiration. In this moment, he saw his father as a strong, resolute figure—the true head of their family.
"Mom," Kaminari said, g his fists, "I agree with Dad. We're not moving!"
Inside, however, anger simmered in his chest. His thoughts turned dark as he vowed silently, Anyone who dares to e here will regret it. And whoever put that bounty on me, I'll find you—and I won't hold back.
"Kaminari," Midnight said suddenly, her calm voice breaking through his thoughts. She had noticed the cold look in his eyes. "You 't take a yourself. Don't fet—you don't have a Hero Lise yet."
"A Hero Lise?" Kaminari let out a small, bitter ugh. "This is about my family's safety. Don't expect me to sit still because of some lise. If I have to act, I won't hesitate."
"Kaminari!" Midnight's tourern, her brows furrowing. "Stay calm. We heroes will protect your family. Your job is to focus on your studies a your Hero Lise as soon as possible."
"I am calm," Kaminari replied evenly, his face devoid of emotion. "And I'll work hard to earn my lise. But if something happens in the meantime, I'll do what I have to."
---
As his thoughts settled, Kaminari began to refle the absurdity of the situation.
He hadn't provoked anyone, nor had he go of his way to seek flict. All he had done was receive a bat suit, and now he was the target of a 50 million bounty.
Isn't this backward? Kaminari thought irritably. Aren't vilins supposed to show up after the hero does something to piss them off? What is this nonsense?!
---
"Wait a sed…" Kaminari suddenly realized something.
The only people who khe details of his bat uniform were Tetsutetsu and the team at Mitsui's research base.
It wasn't that he suspected Mitsui Buntais or Dr. Tenma of betrayal. But a spy? That ossible.
"The mole has to be someone directly involved in the produ of the bat uniform," Kaminari muttered to himself.
He made a mental o inform Dr. Tenma about his suspis. They would o root out the spy and track down whoever was truly behind this bounty.
---
What Kaminari didn't know was that Mitsui had already begun taking a.
As soon as Mitsui Buntais received word of the bounty, he initiated an internal iigation at the research base. Additionally, Mitsui activated covert intelligeworks to track down the source of the order.
The Yaoyorozu family, too, had joihe effort. The situation not only involved the rare SIS memory alloy but also ed Kaminari personally—a Css 1-A student and an important friend to Momo.
***
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