My Hero Academia: Thunder God

"Good question!"

Kaminari clapped his hands in approval and explained with a grin, "It's simple. Just temporarily shut off the 'sound vents' that aren't needed."

"But how would the battle suit know which 'sound vents' to close or open based on Kyoka's needs?"

Tetsutetsu's excitement was palpable now, as though he'd finally caught up to Kaminari's level of thinking. He was eager to find a flaw in Kaminari's plan.

"Uh…"

To be honest, Kaminari hadn't fully considered this issue. The concept was still in its early stages, so naturally, there were important details he had yet to figure out.

"It's fine! At worst, we could just add more plug sockets. For instance, if you wanted to use a speaker on your foot, you'd plug it into a socket near the heel or something…"

Kyoka, noticing Kaminari's deep frown, quickly offered a practical solution. Though it wasn't perfect, she was trying to help him work through the issue.

"Well, that could work," Tetsutetsu agreed, scratching the back of his head, his white hair sticking up. "But it's a little inconvenient, and you'd have to give up the smaller sound vents entirely."

"Kyoka's idea is doable," Kaminari said, analyzing it aloud, "but it would rely heavily on your ability to control the headphone jacks flexibly. Plus, you'd need to multitask during combat..."

He paused, his mind still searching for alternatives. Something about this solution just didn't sit right with him.

"There has to be a better way... I know there is!"

Though he wasn't sure where his certainty came from, Kaminari was convinced that there was a perfect solution to the battle suit's control problem.

"But what could it be…"

Lost in thought, Kaminari fell silent. Seeing him so focused, both Kyoka and Tetsutetsu decided not to disturb him, quietly waiting for him to speak again.

Meanwhile, the clock ticked closer to 7:00 a.m. Soon, Midoriya and Bakugo—both of whom lived far away from the school would likely arrive. Even Iida, who lived in Tokyo, was probably already on his way, given how seriously he took his responsibilities as class representative.

The classroom clock now pointed to seven sharp.

"Yes!!!"

A sudden, triumphant cheer erupted in the room. Kaminari leapt to his feet, breaking the silence with excitement.

"Huh?"

Kyoka and Tetsutetsu exchanged confused glances but chose to wait for Kaminari to explain.

"The solution is artificial intelligence!"

Standing by the window, sunlight streaming behind him, Kaminari turned to face Kyoka with a confident smile.

"Artificial intelligence?!"

Both Kyoka and Tetsutetsu were stunned. They mulled it over for a moment before realizing it might actually work but then Tetsutetsu raised a valid concern.

"Where would you even get another AI? Even if you could, wouldn't it be ridiculously expensive? We couldn't possibly afford something like that."

Tetsutetsu was well aware of the AI in Kaminari's own battle suit—Pikachu—which had been gifted to him by Mitsui Buntais as thanks for saving his life. That kind of cutting-edge technology would cost a fortune if sold on the market. Only governments, massive corporations, or research institutions could afford something like that.

"We don't need to find another one!" Kaminari said with a smirk. "We'll just use mine!"

"What?!" Tetsutetsu exclaimed, completely floored.

"Wait—you have artificial intelligence?!"

"Hold on, that's not the issue! Even if you do, I can't take it!" Kyoka suddenly stood up, waving her hands in panic. While she appreciated Kaminari's generosity, she didn't want something so valuable, it felt too extravagant.

"AI like that is priceless!"

"I... I also think this might not be appropriate…" Tetsutetsu chimed in hesitantly, glancing between Kyoka and Kaminari.

"No, no, you've got it wrong!" Kaminari waved his hands dismissively, trying to suppress a laugh. "I'm not giving Pikachu to Kyoka! I'm saying we can share it!"

"Share it?"

Both Kyoka and Tetsutetsu froze, looking equally baffled.

"Yeah. With the processing power AI like Pikachu has, it should easily be able to manage an additional battle suit."

Kaminari turned to Kyoka and added seriously, "If you trust me, we can upload Pikachu's control program into your battle suit and let it handle everything."

He was clearly proud of his solution, convinced it was the perfect answer to the problem. After all, AI like Skynet from Terminator or Ultron from Avengers had demonstrated the ability to manage thousands of robots simultaneously. If Pikachu couldn't handle just two battle suits, it would only mean that Pikachu wasn't a real AI.

"That's... actually a great idea!"

Though this matter didn't directly involve Tetsutetsu, he was genuinely happy for Kyoka. He flashed her a big thumbs-up.

"Really…"

Kyoka hesitated for a moment, then nodded. But neither Kaminari nor Tetsutetsu noticed the subtle change in her expression, a mix of gratitude and something else.

"So, are you okay with my Pikachu managing your battle suit?"

Though Kaminari was confident in his plan, he asked the question seriously. After all, a battle suit was deeply tied to the user's safety, and such a decision couldn't be taken lightly.

"Of course!"

Kyoka nodded solemnly. She had no objections—in fact, she liked the idea of Pikachu being in charge of her battle suit. It made her feel… safe.

"Wow, you guys are here early—Kyoka, Kaminari, Tetsutetsu!"

The classroom door suddenly swung open, revealing Midoriya, who greeted them in his usual gentle tone. Behind him, Uraraka followed closely.

"Huh? What happened to you, Midoriya?"

Kaminari raised an eyebrow, noticing how beaten up Midoriya looked. His nose and neck were covered in bandages, and his right eye had a distinct bruise around it, giving him the appearance of someone who'd been through a serious fight.

"Did the Hero Killer do this?!"

Tetsutetsu shot to his feet, visibly alarmed. "Was that message you sent in the class group actually a distress call?"

At the time, the Hero Killer incident in Hosu City wasn't widely known, so Tetsutetsu naturally assumed the worst. His words caused Kaminari to frown, especially at the mention of the Hero Killer, it stirred a strange feeling in him.

"Uh, no. These injuries are from training with Gran Torino," Midoriya explained awkwardly. "It has nothing to do with the Hero Killer."

Though he'd already explained this to Uraraka on their way to school, Midoriya patiently repeated himself.

"Training? Training left you looking like this?" Kaminari asked, incredulous.

"Yeah…"

Midoriya reached up to pull a stray thread from his messy hair. After a moment of hesitation, he added with a complicated expression, "Pretty much."

***

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