Lightning – My Hero Academia

Chapter 7: Moment Of Truth

After that week and a half of hard work, I had finally done it! With only hours left on the clock, I had successfully completed my hero boots! And I was able to confirm it myself by taking them for a big test run.

Just off the highway by our house, there's a huge drainage ditch that was paved to direct excess rainwater out of the city. That was where I was going to test each of my models, so that's where I went to test out what would turn out to be my first success.

It's one of those funny, special little moments that I'll never forget.

I was so nervous and afraid that this model would fail also; it was hard to draw in breaths to run. Nevertheless, I took off running at a leisurely pace. Immediately I noticed a difference: these boots were lighter. I wasn't forcing my feet as much to run comfortably.

So I decided to put them through their ultimate test: running with them at full speed.

Here's the thing: I have never, ever had a pair of shoes that survived me running at full speed. The few times that I've done it, the material would end up splitting apart and leave nothing but a frayed mess. Maybe it was just the adrenaline, but I had a good feeling that this would be different.

So for the first time in quite some time, I pushed myself up to top speed. I was moving so fast that my feet were barely touching the ground, but when they would, the soles of the boots were withstanding the impact! I'd done it after all!

But even that wasn't enough for me, so I did something quite crazy next. I changed course, working my way over to the slanted edge of the ditch. I used it like a ramp and jumped straight up into the air. I can't say in any exact number how high I went, I just know that the landing was quite an experience.

I landed on the fronts of my feet, bending my legs to absorb some of the force of the landing. The concrete immediately underneath me cracked and caved in slightly, but I was fine and the shoes were fine. My legs felt a little wobbly and shaky as I stood up straight.

I thought I was just making something practical for a support class project, but what I ended up with were nearly indestructible boots that I could potentially use for the next few years!

There may have been some celebratory dancing. I can neither confirm or deny that though.

Ako had successfully completed his project. Next came the day of his class presentation. Ako wanted to do something stylish to show off his success, and he came up with something so wild it was crazy. He had a huge grin when his name was called to come to the front of the class.

"Mr. Tanaka. Please come up and show the class your project." Mr. Maijima invited him. Ako came up to the front of the class wearing his custom boots. He smiled and stood at the front of the class with his hands behind his back.

"So my project isn't exactly flashy or original, but you know what it definitely is? Practical! I have put together these boots!" He said, lifting one foot up, "Footwear so well put together they're almost indestructible!" He stated.

"Congratulations, you invented shoes." One of the students commented with a chuckle. There were some light laughter in the class before Mr. Maijima quickly signaled for them to settle down.

"Oh, these aren't your overpriced sneakers from the mall, buddy. I have combined the fundamentals of running shoes and combat boots. The body is reinforced with metal and the soles have an incredible amount of shock absorption. It's like wearing a bulletproof vest on your feet! And it accounts for fall damage!" Ako explained.

"Hmm...well, that all sounds very impressive, Mr. Tanaka, but there's no way to really demonstrate that here." Mr. Maijima pointed out. Ako took in a breath. This was his moment of truth.

"I can demonstrate it! Observe!" Ako said, zipping over to the window on the other side of the classroom. He opened the lock and pulled it open.

"Hey, get away from there!" Mr. Maijima shouted. But before he could intervene, Ako took a daring leap out of the third story window.

"This is it! Just gotta land on my feet and aim for the sidewalk!" Ako thought to himself as he made the jump. Some of the girls in his class screamed as he flew out of the window.

Ako grunted in discomfort as he went into a fall. He wasn't used to feeling such force from this angle. However, he kept his composure with his arms over his head and his knees slightly bent. He landed on the sidewalk with a hard impact, just like before.

"Whew!" Ako let out a breath of relief, giggling giddily as that shaky feeling passed through his legs again. He stood straight after a moment and turned back towards the window, "See?! I'm completely fine!" He said with a laugh and a wave...

Okay, so I did get in a bit of trouble for that, but it was so worth it! And hey, I got a good grade! Once the school day was over, there was only one thing left for me to do...

Ako took in a breath and tightened the straps of his backpack as he made his way to the Development Studio. He couldn't be sure, but he was hoping that a certain girl would be there. And sure enough, when he peeked inside he saw those distinctive pink braids.

"Hey, Hatsume!" Ako called to her with a wave. She turned around and smiled at the sight of him. She waved back to him as he came into the room.

"Heyyy! Where'd you get those cool shoes, huh?" She joked with a laugh. Ako chuckled and grinned proudly.

"I just presented them to the class! Solid A-!" He reported the final results.

"Nice! Oh, I remember when I completed my first successful invention! Proud tears were shed!" She recalled nostalgically with a laugh, "I still keep it in my room as a reminder of how far I've come." She said with a smile.

"Well I'll be taking these with me into the Sports Festival this weekend. I'm hoping they last me a good long time." He said, tapping his right foot against the floor.

"Make sure you keep the specs for your design! That way if they ever bust, you can make yourself a brand new pair!" She advised.

"I got it saved in my notebook. Way ahead of ya!" He said in response. Mei giggled and smiled at him. Ako smiled back and continued,

"Hey, Mei...I wanted to thank you for your help with these. Not just your suggestions, which were critical in me actually pulling these off-"

"Yeah, you would've probably failed without my guidance." She laughed.

"Haha, probably. So thank you for that, but also thank you for being there for me as a friend...ever since I've gotten to this school, I've felt like I've had a chip on my shoulder. I know some of the teachers are watching me, looking to see what I do...

"If this is the path that I take in life, to become a pro, I need to prove myself from here on out. And at a critical moment, you gave me the comfort and advice that I needed to overcome this test. So I really owe you for this. And I'm grateful." He said with a warm, sincere smile.

"Aww," Mei blushed and smiled happily. "You're welcome! Well hey, I've got plenty of my babies you could stress-test if you really wanna make it up to me!" She brought up with a laugh.

"Haha, oh boy. Sure, whatever you want." Ako agreed with a smile.

"Aww. Alright, come on. Bring it in!" Mei said, holding her arms out and gesturing for him to give her a hug. Ako chuckled and approached her, giving her a hug.

"Thanks again...you know, if things go my way at the festival, I won't be in the support class anymore. We probably won't be seeing as much of each other." Ako realized as they let each other go.

"Oh yeah, that's true...well, either way I hope things work out! Just give it your best!" She said encouragingly.

"I will. And hey, maybe I'll come by and visit you sometime too." Ako suggested with a chuckle.

"I'll keep an eye out for ya!" Mei replied with a wink that caught Ako pleasantly off-guard.

"Looking forward to it. Until then, Hatsume! See you 'round!" He said, waving to her and stepping out of the room.

"Bye, Ako! I'll try to catch you this weekend at the festival! You got this, zoom boy!" She said with a laugh.

"Oh, please! Pick a better name!" Ako said with a laugh on his way out.

"Maybe I will if you win!" Mei joked and giggled.

Ako rolled his eyes and smiled to himself as he left. Now he really felt like he was well on his way. Now all that stood between him and a spot in the hero course was the sports festival...