Lightning – My Hero Academia

Chapter 38: Picking Fights

Sunday that same week, Ako arranged to have lunch with his mom and spend some time with her in the city. He stepped out of the 1-A dorm dressed and ready to jog over to her house. He took a moment to stretch his legs, and that's when he saw Midoriya in the distance.

At least, he was pretty sure it was him. It was hard to mistake him for anyone else with his head of huge green hair. He was standing outside talking to another student in front of the 2-A building. So Ako decided to make his way over and say hello before leaving.

"Hey, Midoriya!" Ako waved as he approached them.

"Whoa! Hey, Ako! Man, you really get around with that speed of yours, huh?" Deku said with a laugh after having flinched at Ako suddenly appearing.

"Haha, yeah. I didn't even come in that fast. I just jogged from over there." Ako said, pointing back to the 1-A building.

"Heheh. Oh, Iida, this is Tanaka. Ako, this is Iida, my best friend." Deku introduced his tall friend that he had been speaking with to Ako.

"Nice to meet you, man. Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt anything." Ako quickly apologized for butting in on the conversation.

"Oh, it's perfectly alright. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tanaka. I was very impressed by your showing at the sports festival. Congratulations again on your victory!" Iida smiled and shook Ako's hand firmly.

"Oh! Haha, thank you. You mind if I talk to Deku for a sec?" Ako requested.

"Sure, sure. I'll be right back." Iida nodded and stepped away, leaving the two to talk.

"Everything ok, Tana...erm, Ako?" Deku asked.

"Oh yeah, totally," Ako nodded. "I was just gonna ask about when we could meet up like we talked about." He brought up.

"Oh! Right, yeah! Sorry, things have been really hectic lately. I don't have a whole lot of free time, but we can definitely try!" He answered.

"That's fine, man, no worries. It's the same over here," Ako said with a chuckle. "I appreciate it either way. Tell you what, let me get your number real quick and we can keep in touch." He offered.

"Uh, we already exchanged numbers. Remember?" Deku reminded him. Ako paused and furrowed his eyebrows, looking at him strangely.

"No, did we? We didn't." He denied.

"Yeah! Hold on," Deku pulled his phone out and scrolled through his contacts. "Yeah, here it is! Ako Tanaka. That's still you, right?" Deku jokingly asked with a chuckle. He held out the phone so Ako could see his name on the screen.

"Oh...heh...I don't have your number though." Ako said, scrolling through his contacts and shaking his head when he confirmed that he didn't have his number.

"I guess you gave me your number but I didn't give you mine. Haha, sorry about that." Deku laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Hey, Deku!" Another gruff voice shouted to him, interrupting the conversation. Both Ako and Deku turned their heads to see a guy with spiky, dirty blonde hair stomping towards them.

"Kaachan?" Deku said in surprise.

"You idiot! What're you doing talking to this extra? Can't you see he's out here scoping out the competition?" He pointed out. Ako raised an eyebrow at him.

"What're you talking about? Do I know you from somewhere?" He asked, noticing that this guy's face looked vaguely familiar somehow.

"Don't act like you don't know who I am. Or you'll really piss me off." He growled, holding his hand up. A small little burst of fire and smoke shot out of his palm.

"Whoa...wait...I do know you! You're the guy who won the tournament last year!" Ako finally identified him.

"That's right. You think just because you won that you can come over here and try to get a one-up on everybody? Ballsy move, kid. But you can forget it!"

"Uhuh. Midoriya, can you introduce me to this guy?" Ako asked, pointing with his thumb.

"Stop acting like you don't know my name!" He yelled at Ako. Deku quickly held an arm out to keep him back.

"Calm down, Kaachan! Quit making a big deal out of nothing!"

"Kaachan? Is that your name?" Ako asked.

"No, it isn't! And don't call me that!" He yelled, smacking Deku aside with a quick swat to the head. Deku growled and clutched his head as he stumbled to the side.

"Ayo, what the hell's your problem, man?!" Ako raised his voice, taking a step towards Deku. However, he was quickly blocked by this ferocious student.

"As much as it pisses me off, I'll tell you my name once: it's Bakugo. Don't you forget it, runt. And I'm gonna be the number one hero. I sure as hell won't let some nobody like you try and one-up me. Now get outta here." Bakugo tried to make him leave.

"I really don't care, Bakugo. I'm here for him, not you." Ako said, gesturing to Deku. Bakugo's eyes widened slightly. He looked back at Deku, his eyes narrowing on him. Then he turned back to Ako.

"Oh I get it. You're looking for tips to get ahead, and you're asking dumb Deku to help you. Of course a softie like you would do something like that." Bakugo said, tilting his head back towards Deku.

"So what if I'm looking to get better? Ain't that the whole point?" Ako argued.

"Piss off." Bakugo dismissed him again. Ako scoffed and took a couple steps back.

"Oh I get it. You're just mad because I want to fight him and not you." He taunted Bakugo.

"Tch, like you would even stand a chance against me."

"Well that's why I'm talking to Midoriya instead of you. I'm actually looking for a real challenge here." Ako taunted with a little smirk.

"Don't provoke him, Tanaka." Deku shook his head.

"What did you say?!" Bakugo turned around immediately.

"You heard me," Ako smirked. "Yeah, your quirk is explosions, right? Why would I wanna fight someone I already know I can beat?"

"Grr! Die, runt!" Bakugo shouted before firing off an explosion at Ako.

The explosion shot out far, causing the air to crackle and the ground to shake. A huge cloud of smoke formed right away and began to slowly rise. Deku shielded his face with his arms and then started yelling at Bakugo as soon as the explosion began to subside.

"That was too far, Kaachan! You need to get a hold of yourself!"

"Heh, serves him right." Bakugo sneered.

"Dang, you have this guy as your classmate? What an embarrassment." Ako chuckled.

Bakugo's eyes widened. He quickly spun around to see that Ako was standing just behind Deku with his arms folded. He didn't see it, but Ako had used his speed to run completely around both of them. He had totally avoided the explosion.

"You're really askin' for it now..." Bakugo growled.

"Kaachan, Ako! Both of you stop!" Deku got between them and held his hands out.

"Hey, man, I didn't start this. But I'll sure as hell finish it if he tries that again." Ako threatened.

"I'd like to see you try, scarecrow." Bakugo taunted, holding his hand up again. However, no explosion came out this time...

"Mr. Bakugo. Do you remember what happened last time you picked a fight on school grounds?" Mr. Aizawa reminded him as he walked over. He was using his quirk to nullify Bakugo's explosions.

"Ugh, great." Bakugo grumbled and stood up straight.

"Hey, Mr. Aizawa, I didn't start this fight, sir. I was just-"

"There's a zero-tolerance policy for fighting among students. Both of you should know that. Now separate." Mr. Aizawa interrupted Ako.

"Fine." Bakugo reluctantly agreed, sticking his hands in his pockets and going back into the 2-A dorm. He shot a threatening glance at Ako before leaving.

"Alright. Well, Midoriya, if you could just text me later, I'd appreciate it." Ako said as he made his way around him. He turned and walked backwards to wave to him.

"Yeah, ok." Deku agreed and waved back.

As Ako was about to turn around, someone else caught his eye. She was standing at the front steps of the 2-A building, watching what was going on with a concerned expression. She had shoulder-length brown hair and a round face.

Ako's eyes widened. He'd seen that girl's face before! That was the girl that Toga had turned into when she got away from him. But how was she here?! On school grounds?!

Ako quickly turned around, his mind racing. He was determined to figure out who she was as soon as possible. He couldn't do it now; it would arouse too much suspicion. But he needed to know what was going on...