At Tokyo International Airport, a large passenger plane bearing the Japan Airlines logo soared into the sky. Inside the departure hall, many waiting passengers glanced up in boredom before returning to their own routines.
Meanwhile, in the comfortable first-class cabin, Kaminari Denki found himself surrounded by familiar faces—his parents, Tobio, Kyoka, Tetsutetsu, Kirishima, and… Bakugo, who had been forcibly dragged along by Kirishima after getting Tetsutetsu's approval.
Kyoka, blushing slightly, was engaged in a friendly conversation with Kaminari's parents. Tobio, meanwhile, was happily playing with Pikachu, grinning ear to ear.
As for Kaminari? He was in the middle of an intense game of Old Maid with the other three boys.
"I didn't expect them to require us to bring our hero costumes," Tetsutetsu muttered as he pulled a card from Kaminari's hand, sighing when he failed to make a match. "We even had to go back to U.A. yesterday to apply for permission. What a hassle."
"Maybe it's because we're Hero Course students," Kirishima suggested with a grin. "After all, we are pro-hero candidates."
"Enough talking—just hurry up!" Bakugo snapped impatiently.
"Oh, oh! Nice!" Kirishima ignored Bakugo's attitude entirely, smoothly drawing a card from Tetsutetsu's hand. With an excited cheer, he slapped down a pair of sixes.
"Your turn, Bakugo!"
"Tch!"
Bakugo shot a sharp glare at Kirishima's cards, then snatched one with a murderous expression.
"Gotcha! Wait—damn it!"
Kaminari, Kirishima, and Tetsutetsu all stared at the frozen Bakugo with blank expressions. His anger had completely clouded his judgment.
"Welp, my turn again!" Kaminari grinned, glancing at the single remaining card in his hand.
Bakugo sulked, gripping his cards tightly. "There's no way you're winning again!"
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," Tetsutetsu remarked, rolling his eyes. "Kaminari's won six rounds straight. No reason this one should be any different."
"Seriously, Kaminari," Kirishima added, looking at him in awe. "Are you sure you don't have a Quirk that boosts your luck?"
Kaminari smirked. "Didn't I already tell you guys? I've never lost a game of Old Maid in my life."
Including the twenty years in his past life.
Glancing at the card he had drawn, Kaminari casually placed his final two cards on the table.
"Game over."
"...!"
The three others sat in stunned silence. No matter how many times they witnessed it, Kaminari's ridiculous luck never failed to shake them.
"AHHHH! Screw this!"
Bakugo finally snapped, shouting, "What's the difference between this and straight-up cheating?!"
His outburst attracted the attention of the surrounding passengers, including two flight attendants standing nearby. The cabin had been fairly uneventful, so quite a few people had taken an interest in their card game.
By now, Kaminari's absurd winning streak had left everyone in first class completely dumbfounded except for his parents.
Kaminari's father merely glanced over, completely unfazed. He had been there before.
"I remember thinking back then… Even if our family never started a company, even if Kaminari never became a pro hero or a celebrity, he could still get rich off gambling alone."
Hearing this, Kyoka let out a soft laugh. She turned to Kaminari's father, then back to Kaminari—who was currently putting on a dramatic display of fake loneliness.
"...I think I just discovered another one of Kaminari's hidden talents."
"Oh, he's been lucky since birth," Kaminari's mother chimed in proudly. "Not just in card games, but also in claw machines, lotteries, guessing games—everything!"
"Exactly! If you don't believe me, just try playing rock-paper-scissors with him," Kaminari's father added, completely serious. "I guarantee he won't lose even once."
The group fell silent.
"...Wait. Are you serious?!"
Bakugo shot to his feet, slamming a fist against the table. "Alright, you bastard—let's play!"
"Me too! I wanna try!" Kirishima said excitedly.
"I'm in, I'm in!" Tetsutetsu added.
Even Kyoka and Tobio, who had been sitting nearby, looked at Kaminari with curiosity.
The two flight attendants exchanged glances. They weren't part of the conversation, but… they really wanted to test it out too.
Kaminari let out a sigh, shooting a glare at his father.
Why'd you have to expose that, old man?
Still, he wasn't against the idea.
Over the next thirty minutes, Kaminari played an ungodly number of rock-paper-scissors matches.
One after another, he took on every single person in first class, including a few random passengers and even the flight attendants.
The result?
He didn't lose. Not even once.
Everyone stared blankly at the scene before them.
"...This is insane. This shouldn't be possible."
"He's never lost once?"
"He must have a Quirk for this! There's no way this is just luck!"
"Yeah! I refuse to believe this isn't some kind of superpower!"
"Kaminari's parents, I really think you should take him to a doctor. He might actually have a Quirk for this—he just never realized it!"
Kaminari's father blinked.
"...Now that you mention it, that does make some sense."
Had one of his ancestors or maybe his wife's ancestors had a Quirk related to luck?
At that moment, Kyoka let out an exaggerated sigh.
"If the world really settled battles and wars through rock-paper-scissors… Kaminari would be the Symbol of Peace by now."
Kaminari chuckled. "Should I challenge All Might to a match sometime?"
As he said that, a different thought crossed his mind.
What if he proposed a deal with All For One?
If he could win a rock-paper-scissors match against him, All For One would have to give him a new Quirk.
That way, Kaminari could gain more abilities without feeling guilty—after all, he'd earned them through skill!
"Actually," Tetsutetsu said suddenly, "when we get back, we should have everyone in class play against Kaminari!"
"Yeah!" Kirishima shouted in agreement.
Just as the group was hyping themselves up, the cabin's radio crackled to life.
"Attention passengers: We are now beginning our descent to I-Island. Please prepare for landing."
"Finally," Kaminari exhaled.
Standing up, he stretched before grinning at the others. "Alright, let's get into our hero costumes."
As Kyoka retrieved her uniform and headed to the restroom, Kaminari turned to Pikachu.
"Alright, God Robe Mode!"
With a flash of golden light, Kaminari's outfit transformed into a dazzling golden robe, reminiscent of divine armor.
Tetsutetsu eyed him skeptically. "That's cool and all, but I still think you should wear the Cloak of Justice with us."
"Me? In a Cloak of Justice?"
Kaminari blinked, then glanced at the uniform box in Tetsutetsu's hand.
Imagining himself wearing a golden Cloak of Justice, he muttered.
"...Wouldn't that just make me look like Sengoku?"
(To be continued.)
***
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