Lightning – My Hero Academia
Chapter 3: Father & Son
It was a dark and warm night in the city of Musutafu, Japan. It was no secret to the inhabitants here: this is when villains and criminals are most active. However, those who were out enjoying the night life weren't worried at all because this was when the heroes were most active too.
Without telling anyone, Ako snuck out of the dormitory wearing just a baggy shirt and sweatpants. He took his phone, a pack of gum, and a stick of lip balm. Armed with these three things, he went out into the city looking for his father.
Finding Akihiro Tanaka was no easy task. If you didn't already know him, it would be virtually impossible to track down such a seemingly ordinary man. However, Ako knew that to narrow down his search, he would need to take to the rooftops of the tall buildings around him.
Ako made his way into a nearby alley with the full intent of climbing up the fire escape to get to the rooftop. However, as he was approaching it, he was suddenly confronted by a lone man holding a knife in each hand. He extended one blade towards Ako, grinning.
"Even a stupid kid like you should know better than to walk into dark alleys. You never know what sorta dangerous folk you could run right into." He said with a dark chuckle. Ako took two steps back, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.
He kept the rest of his fear within, not letting it show.
"Y-You...you're not who I'm looking for." Ako said, forcing his voice to sound calm and relaxed. He stuck his thumbs in his pockets. His posture indicated to the man with the knife that he was unfazed.
"That's too bad. Run what's in your pockets, kid, and I'll let you run." The man threatened. Ako watched as the man stuck the knives into his hands. The blades sank right into his skin without hurting him. He then proceeded to pull a much larger sword out of his arm.
"So you have a blade quirk," Ako observed. "What's the side effect? You pierce your own skin if you use it excessively? Oh let me guess, you don't do too well against gun-based quirks." He quipped.
"You talk too much for your own good." The man growled.
"Maybe...for your own safety though, it's best that you walk away now." Ako advised.
"Threatening me? An unwise choice." The man said with a chuckle. He raised up his sword and swung it at Ako's neck.
Ako stepped and leaned back quickly, avoiding the blade. The man swung two more times and Ako avoided those attacks too, "Oh noo I'm in serious trouble here! Won't a pro hero come and save me?" He projected in a loud voice.
"They'll be mopping you off the floor when I'm done with you, ya little prick!" The man continued to swing at him. Ako continued to dodge each attack until finally the man he was waiting for dropped down into the alley.
"Take one more swing at him and you will severely regret it." The hero known as Hunter threatened, walking towards them. Ako heard his voice and recognized it immediately.
"Finally." Ako said to himself.
"The Hunter," The man realized, recognizing the pro hero's black suit – specifically the pointed ears attached to his headgear that resembled those of a cat. "How did you know he was coming?" The man glared at Ako as he took several quick steps back.
Without even realizing it, while the man was still thrown off by the arrival of the pro hero Hunter, Ako closed the distance between them and knocked the man to the ground with one hard punch to the jaw. The man didn't see it coming. He crashed to the ground and his sword skidded away.
"A-! That was a dangerous move, kid! You should've just let me handle it!" Hunter said, hesitating to show too much concern. Ako shrugged and shook his right hand out.
"I didn't take boxing to not defend myself. Besides, I neutralized the threat, didn't I?" Ako pointed out. Meanwhile, the man was writhing in pain on the ground, clutching his chin with both hands and groaning out loudly in muffled pain.
"How hard did you hit him? Seems like you might've broken his jaw." Hunter observed.
"Then he can take that home with him. We need to talk." Ako said to Hunter. Hunter glared down at Ako for a moment before nodding.
"Fine. Let's go somewhere private," He agreed before addressing the man who had attacked Ako. "Consider this a warning. Next time, you'll have to deal with me." He said before he started climbing up the fire escape. Ako glanced at the man momentarily before following him to the roof...
"I have a phone, you know." Hunter pointed out as he sat down with Ako on a rooftop.
"I know how busy you are, especially on weekend nights. I didn't wanna wait." Ako explained simply. Hunter shook his head and sighed.
"You know I don't like you out at night. It's dangerous out here, son."
"You saw me just now. I'll be alright." Ako said surely.
"Does your mother know you're out here, bud? I'm guessing she doesn't." Hunter presumed.
"I wouldn't be out here if she knew I wanted to come out and see you this late. On a Saturday night? No way!" Ako said with a chuckle.
"Yeah true," Hunter agreed with a faint laugh. "So what do you need, Ako?" He asked, ruffling his son's hair.
"I...need some advice...for school." He answered slowly.
"Right! Congratulations on getting into UA, son! Never had a doubt." His father smiled.
"Really? 'Cause I did. And then I botched the written exams and got myself put in the Support class instead of the Hero course." Ako grumbled.
"Ahh yes, your mother did tell me that. You seem quite upset about it, hmm?" Hunter observed.
"Yeah! Of course! One, I made myself look stupid by acing the practical test and failing the written one! Two, I made myself look stupid because I only got in due to my quirk alone! Did I mention that I made myself look stupid?" Ako listed, expressing his frustrations passionately.
"Hahaha!" Hunter laughed, "I can see why you would think that. But look on the bright side! You still made it in, didn't you? That's good! A couple bad grades didn't stop you from getting in!" He pointed out.
"Yeah, I made it in spite of myself." Ako said bitterly.
"Ah, Ako. Always overthinking things," His father chuckled. He suddenly got up and started walking, hopping from building to building. "Walk with me, son!" He called back to him.
"Okay," Ako grunted as he got up and followed behind his father. "Am I really overthinking this though? This is the most prestigious school in the country." He argued.
"Yes, but it's a school that loooves to give you lots of chances. So what if that's the reason you got in? Your goal now just needs to be proving that letting you in was the best decision they ever made." Hunter said.
"Yeah...you graduated from UA back then. Got any advice for me?" Ako asked again, circling the conversation back to what he originally came for.
"Right! Advice, uh...well I never did the Support class, but I'm sure it's like anything else, right? Pay close attention, don't fall behind. I'm sure you've already started doing that, right?"
"Yes." Ako nodded.
"Then you're fine! You just need to keep your nose to the grindstone until the sports festival comes. Then you wow them with your speed!" Hunter summarized simply.
"Alright," Ako sighed. He didn't feel like that really helped him much; that was what he was planning on doing anyway. "I'll do my best. Thanks, dad."
"Of course. And you know, there's nothing wrong with the Support class either! Why, I just hired a girl a few months ago who was in that class, and she's the most reliable engineer I've ever met! You could learn a thing or two there!"
"Yeah, but not what's gonna actually set me up for success. I need to train with my quirk, not machines." Ako said.
"Well then, you won't have to worry about it very long anyway. I already know that you're gonna be transferred where you wanna be after the sports festival. That means what, you'll just have one, maybe two projects to get through before then?" Hunter counted on his fingers.
"I guess I can do that." Ako said to himself.
"That's the spirit! Don't sweat it, son! You got this!" Hunter smiled and gave him a thumbs-up, "And if you need anything else, just call me."
"Alright...thanks for the encouragement, dad." Ako said appreciatively.
"Anytime! Now go home and get some rest before someone, especially your mother, finds out you've been out here." Hunter said with a laugh. Ako nodded.
"Okay. Goodnight." Ako said, stopping and letting his father continue on.
"Goodnight, son! Love you!" Hunter waved back to him as he hurried away to resume his hero work.
Ako found a door that led him into the building he was standing on. He took an elevator down to the ground floor. As it descended slowly, he leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, processing his father's words.
It wasn't much, but his father at the very least reassured him that he was doing the right thing. Maybe it wouldn't be long after all before he would be transferred to the hero course.
I knew that on a calendar, it was only a short amount of time before the sports festival would come. What I didn't know? The days leading up to the festival were going to be very long and very hard...
