Seeing the person waiting in the shadows, Kaminari set aside his curiosity about Midoriya for the moment. Putting on a friendly smile, he walked over and greeted him.

  "Shinso-kun?"

  "Kaminari Denki..."

  Shinso, leaning against a dark er, slowly lifted his head to meet Kaminari's gaze. His pierg, triangur eyes studied Kaminari, and after a moment, he asked in a low voice.

  "What's with the electricity around your body?"

  From Shinso's perspective, Kaminari's body was ed iic golden currents.

  "Oh, this?"

  Kaminari gnced down at himself, then looked back up, replying casually, "Just a little insurance, Shinso-kun."

  "After all, talking with you is… a bit riskier than with most people."

  "Is that so?"

  Shinso raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "So, these electric currents are supposed to keep you safe from me?"

  Kaminari shrugged. "Maybe. I haven't actually tested it yet."

  "The it."

  Without hesitation, Shinso activated his Quirk. Kaminari's mi bnk for an instant, but almost immediately, he felt his sciousness snap back.

  Shinso's eyes widened, fused.

  "Looks like I was out for less than a sed…" Kaminari noted, gng at the distant clo the big s.

  Turning back to Shinso, he grinned. "Seems my insuran works!"

  This was a deferick he'd developed after his first enter with Shinso's Quirk. Finally having the ce to test it out with Shinso himself, he couldn't help feeling a bit pleased.

  The idea was simple: since breaking free from mind trol typically required a physical jolt, he wondered if the electric currents flowing inside and outside his body could provide that jolt automatically.

  Basically, by tinuously stimuting his body with electricity, he could potentially snap himself out of aal trol.

  Whether it was "high-speed movement" or "high-voltage mode," both teiques had this passive effect of disrupting other Quirks.

  "Heh."

  Shinso let out a dry ugh. "Just as I thought… once people know about my Quirk, it bees much harder to use effectively."

  Though he'd mao trol Uraraka Ocha the previous round, he hadn't ted on it as a reliable strategy. That success had felt more like a fluke.

  "True," Kaminari agreed, then asked, "So why'd you join the sports festival?"

  He couldn't help but voice his curiosity. "If I had a Quirk like yours, I'd probably keep it hidden. If I used it, it'd only be as a trump card, something to pull out in a critical moment. peting in a public event like this, where everyoo see your abilities… doesn't seem like the best strategy."

  Shinso's face darkened, his arms falling from their crossed position as he ched his fists tightly.

  "You think everyone's like you, blessed with some fshy Quirk?" he said, his voice edged with bitterness.

  "Huh?" Kaminari tilted his head, caught off guard.

  "You want to know why I'm here? It's because this festival is my one ce. If I perform well enough, I might get transferred into the Hero Course!"

  Shinso's voice grew tense, his frustration spilling over. "Because of my Quirk, I've always bee behind, forced to watch from the starting line while others move ahead."

  "If I don't make an impact here, if I don't stand out now… my goal of being a Hero will stay out of reach forever."

  He looked down, his voice dropping to a murmur filled with rese. "But someone like you, a 'genius' with a powerful Quirk, wouldn't uand what that feels like."

  Kaminari didn't argue. He didn't feel the o talk about the years he'd spent honing his own abilities, it wouldn't mean anything to Shinso, and would probably just e off as boasting.

  Instead, he asked, " I ask when you realized that your Quirk would make getting into the Hero Course difficult?"

  Shinso hesitated, then replied, "Ba my first year of junih. I looked up the details of the entrance exam for UA and saw the emphasis on practical skills."

  "And what did you do in the years after that?"

  Kaminari's gaze drifted to the field below, where Tokoyami and a student from Css B were already engaged in battle. But his question was clearly directed at Shinso.

  "What did I do?" Shinso repeated, sounding annoyed. "What could I do? My Quirk doesn't work on robots."

  "So…" Kaminari turo look at him directly, his voice calm. "After realizing your Quirk's limitations, you didn't think about how to pensate for them?"

  "These st three years, you were preparing t pns: aiming for both the Hero Course and the General Studies Course, and hoping that one day at a sports festival, you'd get the ce to 'take a shortcut.'"

  "Yeah. Was there another option?" Shinso's expression was defiant, but his voice softened, as though he was questioning himself.

  "Actually, yes."

  Kaminari gnced back down at the field. "If I were you, I wouldn't have wasted those three years. I would've trained in swordsmanship, archery, or any other skills to help make up for my Quirk's limitations."

  "Even if you had to practi your own, there are plenty of Hero trainiers and professionals out there. You could have found someoo teach you."

  Kaminari looked away from the fight. This match was one-sided, with Tokoyami dominating as expected.

  "If your Quirk doesn't work well in the practical exam, then rely on other skills to earn enough points. Use whatever tools you have, whether that's a bow, a sword, or anything else."

  "Of course, you still treat this sports festival as your backup pn, but only after you've given your best effort in every other area."

  He turned back to Shinso, whose face was now shadowed, his expression unreadable.

  "So from my perspective… you're someone who talks about dreams and goals, but doesn't uand what 'effort' actually means."

  "There's no 'goal' without 'effort.' Arance exam didn't go your way, so you chose to 'take a shortcut.' What will you do when you face bigger obstacles iure? Just keep looking for shortcuts?"

  Shinso lowered his head, abs Kaminari's words in silence.

  Just then, the crowd erupted in cheers as Tokoyami forced his oppo out of the ring. The cheers grew louder, eg through the arena.

  When the noise finally died down, Shinso spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper.

  "In the sed round, I'll be fag Shoto Todoroki… I know I'll lose."

  Kaminari nodded. "Yeah, Todoroki won't fall for your Quirk like Uraraka did. He's too aware of his surroundings."

  Turning to leave, Kaminari felt a twinge of disappoi in Shinso. He'd expected more from someone who seemed so determined. But as he began to walk away, Shinso's voice stopped him.

  "O thing… is it too te for me to 'work hard' now?"

  Kaminari paused, then answered softly without looking back.

  "I don't know. But I'd suggest you talk to Mr. Aizawa. He's got a simir kind of Quirk."

  ***

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