Early the m, Kaminari met Tetsutetsu at the entrance of the subway station as pnned, and the two headed off to U.A. High School in Shizuoka Prefecture together. This time, no one was driving them.

  "Hey, what's up with you?" Kaminari asked as soon as he sat down, frowning at Tetsutetsu, who was sitting across from him. "Did you get into a fight after school yesterday?"

  It was hard not to make that assumption based oetsu's current appearanot only did he have a band-aid on his nose, but there was another one peeking out from the cuff of his sleeve.

  "Uh… well, haha, it's nothing serious!" Tetsutetsu scratched the back of his head, gng sheepishly out the window. "I wasn't fighting a's just that my training with Mr. Daimon was a bit intense yesterday. I wasn't paying attention during one of the throws, and I ended up nding on my face…"

  He inwardly sighed, thinking to himself how embarrassing it was to be distracted during practice, trying to analyze Mr. Daimon's moves while being tossed around like a rag doll.

  Trying to steer the versation away from himself, he quickly asked, "Fet about me, what happeo ylove? You used to always wear it."

  Kaminari shrugged, sensing that Tetsutetsu didn't want to delve into the details. Everyone had secrets they preferred to keep, after all.

  "I sent it to I-Isnd for some upgrades," he said casually. "I wao add a few more features."

  "Like what, the ability to py music?" Tetsutetsu asked, half-jokingly. He hadn't fotten the se during the practical exam when Kaminari used the glove to bst aromaginon while a rock soundtrack pyed in the background. That was a moment not easily fotten especially for the person being uhrough the air.

  "Yeah, among other things," Kaminari replied, nodding without aation. It was clear that he didn't think there was anything odd about having a built-in BGM fun. Or perhaps he k was unventional but just didn't care.

  "Speaking of which…" Kaminari suddenly closed the book oromagism he'd been reading and leaned forward. "I've been thinking about your Quirk, and I might have some ideas that could help you out."

  "Really? Tell me!" Tetsutetsu perked up immediately, looking at Kaminari with hopeful eyes. At this point, he basically sidered Kaminari his unofficial Quirk advisor.

  "Well… before I get into that, do you know who Kirishima Eijiro is in our css?" Kaminari asked.

  Tetsutetsu's expression soured at the mention of the name. "Of course, I know him. His Quirk overps with mine, and it looks like he's aiming to be the hardest Hero around."

  g his fists, he decred, "Hmph, I'll show him! There's going to be a massive gap between us—an unscable mountain. And that mountain is me, the future 'Colossus!'"

  Kaminari sighed. The sudden burst of enthusiasm seemed a bit over-the-top. "I'm sure you'll get stronger, no doubt. But if we're being ho, when it es to sheer hardness, I think Kirishima's Quirk might have the edge over your steel."

  "What?! That's impossible!" Tetsutetsu excimed, clearly shaken. He had always believed that his Quirk was top-tier in terms of toughness. Of course, after meeting Kaminari, he had been forced to resider his position somewhat, but still, this was a hard pill to swallow.

  "Calm down and hear me out," Kaminari said, pattietsu on the arm. The outburst had drawn a few gnces from the surrounding passengers, so it was best not to cause a se.

  "Hmph," Tetsutetsu grunted, sitting back down with a defiant look, as if daring Kaminari to prove his point.

  "Alright," Kaminari began, suppressing a smile. "Here's the thing. Kirishima's Quirk is called 'Hardening.' He harden his skiher globally or locally. While that might sound simir to your 'Steel,' I'm not talking about the simirities but rather the potential upper limits. Your Quirk's limit is defieel has a fixed hardness. But for Kirishima, it seems like there isn't an obvious cap on how hard he get."

  "Of course, I'm not saying that his hardening is 'limitless,' but I'm guessing that his upper threshold is higher than yours. If that's the case, the gap might not be noticeable now, but as you both tio grow, you might find it being more apparent."

  Tetsutetsu was silent, trying to process Kaminari's words. Although much of what Kaminari was saying ecution, it wasirely unfounded. He couldn't deny the logic behind it, even if he didn't want to accept it.

  "If… if what you're saying is true, then what I do about it?" he asked, his voice tinged with uainty.

  Kaminari grinned. "I have ahough I 't guara'll work." He didn't see guessing as a bad thing—in fact, many stific breakthroughs started with a hypothesis. And sidering they were only fifteen, they had the luxury of trial and error. Even if they failed, the experience would be invaluable.

  Tetsutetsu's gaze stayed fixed on Kaminari, waiting for his friend to tinue.

  "Your first step is to focus on 'shaping,'" Kaminari said.

  "Shaping?" Tetsutetsu repeated, puzzled.

  "Yeah," Kaminari expined. "Look at your hands when you use your Quirk." He poi Tetsutetsu's iron-covered fingers. "Notice how they're slightly sharper now? And the way your hair hardens—it bees like metal spikes."

  Tetsutetsu looked at his hands, then touched his stiff, metallic hair. "You're right… they do look sharper."

  "So," Kaminari tinued, "I'm w if your Quirk has hidden passive abilities reted to shaping and sharpness. If your fingers and hair take on sharper forms, why not other parts of your body? With the right training, you might be able to sciously shape different parts of your body, turning a passive effeto an active ability."

  Tetsutetsu's eyes widened. If that were true, it would open up a whole new world of possibilities for his Quirk. "You mean, I could turn my entire arm into a bde?" he asked, excitement creeping into his voice.

  "Exactly!" Kaminari nodded. "Start by fog on the ges you feel in your fingers when you activate your Quirk. pare that sensation to other parts of your body. Once you identify the differery to apply that feeling elsewhere."

  Kaminari khat in this world, Quirks were closely lio the body's natural funs. Just as athletes could learn to trol individual muscle groups, it made sehat someone could learn to manipute the unique aspects of their Quirk with enough practice.

  "If Tetsutetsu actually mao pull this off, we might o e up with a new hero name for him… Bde Man? Iron Slicer?" Kaminari thought, grinning at the prospebsp;

  His old habit of brainst hero names had returned.