"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 sidered rude in Japanese culture, it all depended on the closeness of the retionship.

  "It was about my bat uniform," Kaminari replied casually. "It's my new ohey wao try it out soon."

  Then, as if suddenly struck by an idea, Kaminari grinned. "You know, if the bat uniform they've made for me turns out great, I'll have the same pany—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 ting on you, though! It's gotta be military-style and make me look cool."

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

  But as the troached the subway statiorahey noticed an unusual otion around them. At first, it was faint whispers, but it quickly grew louder and more chaotic.

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

  "It is! I '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 stro 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 turo 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 seds, a group of middle school girls wearing uniforms came rushing toward them, their faces alight with excitement. They surrounded Kaminari in an instant, effectively pushietsu to the side without a sed 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 mirls flog 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 cm for a ce to talk to Kaminari.

  Kaminari, oher hand, couldn't move at all. No matter how hard he tried to step forward, the crowd was so dehat he was pletely stu pce.

  The se wasn't just inve, it was causing problems for the other subway-goers. Calls were quickly made to the local police, and within miwo 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 o disperse them fast," another said grimly. "If something happens, it could turn into a disaster."

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

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

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

  "We o find the ter of the otion and pull them out. That should calm things down," Kamui replied, leaping onto a nearby streetmp 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 brao extract Kaminari, a sudden burst of musiterrupted him.

  The music bsted at maximum volume, cutting through the cacophony like a sharp bde. The crowd, initially buzzing with excitement, began to quiet down, their voices l to a murmur as they turo look at Kaminari.

  He was holding up his phohe source of the loud music.

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

  "Thanks so much for liking me and supp me. I'm holy so grateful!" he tinued, 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 o get home. You're wele to snap photos from where you are, but you please clear a path for us?"

  The students exged gnces, and then, after a brief pause, began to ugh.

  "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 disappoihe crowd eventually began carving out a narrow path for Kaminari aetsu to walk through.

  As they reached the entrao 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 rec a new song the day after tomorrow. It'll drop on MTV this Sunday—don't fet to check it out!"

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

  ---

  Onside the subway car, Kaminari aetsu 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 ba his seat. "Eh, I'll take it as it es. 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 o 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 vince me to suffer along with you."

  ***

  Support me on patreon to read 45+ advanced chapters: patreon./Blownleaves.