Lightning – My Hero Academia

Chapter 14: Tournament Start! The Girls of 1-A

"This isn't a fair match-up." Ako thought to himself as he was directed down to the ground level. By some rotten luck, he was randomly selected to fight in the first match of the tournament. However, he had been placed against an opponent that he didn't want.

"From class 1-F, it's the Sports Festival speed demon, Ako Tanaka!" Present Mic announced as he stepped out from the tunnel and made his way up the stairs to the arena. The audience cheered and clapped for him. He looked around and waved, but he maintained a serious expression.

"Did you make that up just now?" All Might asked curiously.

"Yeah! Whattaya think?"

"It's cool!" Ako called up to the announcer's booth, giving a thumbs-up.

"Right on! Ahem, and his opponent! In class 1-A, she's the clever star-girl! It's Tia Inoue!" Present Mic announced, getting the audience riled up to cheer again.

Ako's eyebrows furrowed. He'd met Tia the night before; how did a shy, timid girl like her get this far? She must be smart and evasive. However, being shorter and skinnier than he was, she'd be coming in at a clear physical disadvantage. Her quirk would make or break this match for her.

"He's staring at me so intensely...he'll probably try to rush right at me and end this fight immediately. With his speed, I can only hope to catch him with my quirk as he charges. If I get the timing wrong, I'm a goner...can I really do this?" Tia thought to herself nervously.

"Fighters, take your positions!" Mt. Lady announced. Ako got into a boxing stance and bent his knees a little. Tia swallowed nervously, keeping her feet shoulder-width apart and raising her hands up. Ako took in a slow breath.

"Begin!" Mt. Lady signaled the start of the round.

"Don't even think about it!" Tia exclaimed with her eyes shut, spreading her hands out quickly. Stars shot out in a circle all around her like a protective shield. They spun and twinkled before slowly fading away. She slowly opened her eyes.

Ako hadn't moved yet. There was a momentary pause...

Ako suddenly shot forward with a burst of speed. Tia shrieked and shot another set of stars forward with an outstretched hand. Ako went around her, turning his head away to avoid looking at them. He came up behind her, scooping one arm under her legs and sweeping her off her feet.

For a moment, Ako slowed down as he carried her in his arms. Tia's eyes widened as she looked up at him. Then Ako turned and ran to the nearest edge of the arena, tossing her out of bounds. She landed on her butt and had to use her hands to keep herself from falling over.

"Tia Inoue is out of bounds! Ako Tanaka is the winner!" Mt. Lady announced, "And I'm sure he's scored a few extra points with that move." She commented aside with a little chuckle.

"Well, that's unfortunate, but that's just the luck of the draw sometimes." All Might shrugged.

"Sorry. This was an unfair fight," Ako said to Tia, who was looking down in disappointment. He reached a hand out to her, offering to help her up. "But you did your best. Good job getting this far." He said as Tia took his hand and he helped her stand up.

"Thanks...I didn't think I'd make it this far, honestly. Guess my luck just ran out," She sighed and shrugged. "Thanks for going easy on me."

"What a beautiful display of sportsmanship between these two competitors! It's enough to make even this seasoned announcer shed a tear!" Present Mic said. The audience cheered and clapped for both of them. Ako patted her on the back before they exited the arena from opposite sides.

Ako made his way back up to the observation deck. By the time he got there, Tia was already back. Some of her classmates were gathered around her, comforting her and making sure she was feeling alright. Ako went around them and sat down in his seat to watch the next matches.

"Hey there, Ako. Nice move." Aya complimented as she slid into the seat next to him. Ako glanced over at her and nodded.

"Thanks. It's not exactly a good look to beat up on a girl anyways." Ako said with a shrug.

"But it's definitely a good look to sweep them off their feet! Which is what it looked like you were going for. Even I almost swooned." She grinned and wagged a finger at him teasingly. Ako rolled his eyes and shook his head, but he couldn't help but crack a little smile.

"That was just a little bonus." He joked.

"Hey, Ako! What the hell are you doing in the support course, dude?!" Cain asked with a laugh as he walked over and sat down on his other side. "You're killing it out there!"

"Thanks, man." Ako nodded appreciatively.

"Alright! It's time for the next match!" Mt. Lady announced. Everyone's attention went back up to the monitor as the next competitors were announced.

"It's a battle of classmates! Both from class 1-A, it's Lula Lei versus Lia Myuki!" Present Mic announced.

"Oh shoot, Lula and Lia? That's gonna be interesting." Cain commented with a curious hum.

"I don't know Lia but I have met Lula before. What are their quirks again?" Ako asked.

"Lula's quirk is being able to paralyze anyone she touches, and Lia's quirk is being able to control water." Aya quickly explained.

"Oh, my bet goes to Lula then. She just needs to get a hand on her and she wins. You can't move, you can't fight." Ako said simply.

"I guess we'll just have to see what Lia does to keep her away." Cain said.

"From class 1-A, she's a water wizard with skills all-around! It's Lia Myuki!" Present Mic announced Lia as she came out. Ako looked up at the screen and watched as this girl with dark hair, light skin, and blue highlights in her hair walked out onto the arena.

"And her opponent! Also from class 1-A, she's a freeze-tag champion! Give it up for the devious but bubbly Lula Lei!" Present Mic announced. It had been awhile since Ako had seen Lula. He was curious to see her skills for sure.

"Woo! Do your best, you two!" Aya cheered.

"Fighters! Take your positions!" Mt. Lady held her hand up. Lula got into a normal boxing stance. Lia's stance was a little different, resting the toes of her front foot on the floor and holding her elbows up with her fingers pointing forward.

"Begin!" Mt. Lady signaled the start of the fight.

"Let's see what you got, Lia!" Lula challenged with a grin as she ran forward. Lia took in a deep breath to keep her nerves calm.

Lula came in close and tried to grab Lia's arm. Lia spun on her foot and quickly kicked Lula in the back. Lula stumbled forward in surprise and tried to grab her again. Lia jumped back and threw another high kick, almost catching Lula in the chin, but she still ran face-first into Lia's foot.

Lula grabbed Lia's leg with both hands. Lia, realizing what she was trying to do, jumped up with her other foot and kicked Lula in the side of the head. They both crashed down to the ground, and there was a collective groan of shock and pain from the audience. Lia stumbled to her feet and backed away, while Lula was a little slower to get up.

"Whoa, she's got some moves. How come Lula's hands didn't freeze her just now?" Ako asked.

"Lula has to make direct contact with the person she's trying to freeze. That means clothing isn't gonna cut it. It has to be skin contact." Aya explained.

"That must be Lia's plan then! She's using kicks to avoid the chance of skin contact. Then when she's worked up enough of a sweat, she can use her quirk to end the fight! That's genius!" Cain exclaimed enthusiastically.

"You'll have to try a little harder to use your quirk on me, Lula." Lia said, getting back into her fighting stance. Lula shook out her dizziness and her eyes narrowed on Lia.

"Fine." She said more seriously.

Lula advanced again. Lia threw a quick kick. Lula blocked it with her arm, jumped up, and threw her own kick. Lia leaned back to dodge it and stumbled awkwardly. Lula ran at her and tried to tackle her. They both fell back on the ground. Lula's face hit the floor, and so did the back of Lia's head.

"Jeez, is there some kind of personal grudge going on here?" All Might asked.

"I don't know, but this is a real fight folks! We haven't even seen any quirks yet! This is just pure martial arts!" Present Mic exclaimed.

Although Lula had scrapes on her face, she still saw an opportunity to get Lia out. She jumped on her and reached for her face. Lia's eyes widened and she extended her hand out first. With a sudden jolt, Lula went flying backwards and slid on her back away from her. Lula had to stop herself from sliding out of bounds.

"Wh-What was that?!" Ako's eyes widened.

"Blood, sweat, tears, spit, maybe? Lula had enough moisture somewhere on her body that Lia was able to push her off with her quirk." Cain realized.

"Oh shoot..." Ako's eyes narrowed down on Lula nervously. This fight was turning out to be more evenly matched than he was expecting.

"I don't want to keep hurting you, Lula. Forfeit the match now." Lia warned, getting back into her fighting stance again. Lula got to her hands and knees and glared ferociously at Lia.

"Make me." Lula growled, getting back to her feet. She was bleeding down from her forehead.

"Fine." Lia said, clapping her hands together.

Everyone in the audience watched in awe as the sweat from Lia's body froze over, creating a layer of ice all over her body. It was like she had created her own set of armor made out of ice. This was going to make it even harder for Lula to paralyze her.

"We're in the final leg of the fight now. Ice moves are taxing on Lia's body. She's going all out here." Aya said.

"What do you mean?" Ako asked.

"Lia doesn't have good control with her ice yet. A while after she uses it, she'll get dizzy and start bleeding from her nose. If she tries to keep it up for too long, pressure will build up in her brain and she'll pass out. Which means that she's trying to end this fight quickly by beating Lula down." Cain analyzed.

Lula growled again as she charged at Lia. Lia slid one foot back and threw another kick. Lula ducked under it and threw a punch into Lia's face. The ice cracked a little against her fist. Lula hissed in pain as Lia stumbled back. Lia threw a second kick towards Lula's midsection. Lula used her own foot to kick her leg back, roaring as she elbowed Lia in the shoulder.

"This is a serious grudge match, folks! I'm on the edge of my seat!" Present Mic said, his voice shaking with excitement and possibly a little bit of panic.

"Come on!" Lula yelled as she grabbed Lia's arm, pulling her back. She wrapped her arm around Lia's neck and slammed her down on her right arm against the floor. Lula lifted a foot up and stomped down on Lia's head. The ice cracked around her neck, but it still held up.

Lia, to Ako's surprise, quickly countered by sweeping Lula's legs out from under her. She landed hard on her back. Lia tried to get on top of her and pin her down, but Lula kicked her in the shoulder again. Some of the ice broke off of her, and blood dripped down Lia's neck.

"Both fighters are on their last legs. These final moments will be critical to the ending of this fight." All Might said.

Lula quickly jumped on Lia, pressing a knee down on her chest. Lia punched her in the leg and used her own blood to try and cut Lula. Lula was able to barely dodge it, bringing her foot around and stepping down on Lia's face again.

Lula reached down and stuck her fingers into the cracks of Lia's ice armor. Lia suddenly stopped moving completely, "Yes!" Lula exclaimed tiredly as she got off of Lia and sat on the ground, huffing to catch her breath. She wiped Lia's blood off on her pant leg.

"Is that...? Lia, can you move?!" Mt. Lady asked.

"Agh! Dangit! I...n-no." She admitted weakly after struggling in vain.

"Lia is unable to battle! Therefore, the winner of this match is Lula Lei!" Mt. Lady declared. There was an uproar of applause from the audience. Lula raised her fist up victoriously before pressing her hands together. As soon as she did, the ice melted off of Lia's body.

"Dangit...I was so close." Lia grumbled, turning slowly onto her side. The melting of the ice washed some of the blood away, but she still had blood dripping down from her neck and her nose.

"Are you about to pass out again, Lia?!" Lula quickly asked.

"I think I...need..." Lia sighed and fell unconscious. Lula's eyes widened nervously, but staff members quickly ran out to take Lia away on a stretcher. Lula followed behind them.

"Jeez, that fight was crazy." Ako said, shaking his head in astonishment.

"Believe it or not, they're actually friends. You would think they were working out some bad blood between them, based on that." Aya said.

"I hope Lia's okay. I think I'm gonna go check on her." Ako overheard Tia say. Aya looked back at her.

"I'm gonna go too after my match!" She said.

"Giving up was not an option for either of them, even when they couldn't use their quirks. Man, the hero program must be something else if they fight this hard..." Ako thought to himself...