Lightning – My Hero Academia
Chapter 19: Smoke & Mirrors! Ako vs. Fizo!
"From class 1-A, it's Fizo Sasaki! His quirk: mirror! He can create reflective glass and pull it out of his body. But he sure isn't made of glass; he's as tough as they come! But will he be able to pull out the win against this tough opponent?
"In a stunning, unexpected turn of events, we're seeing Ako Tanaka from support class 1-F in the semifinals! With his speed quirk, he's been able to rocket past the competition all day! But can! He! Go! All! The! Way?! It's sure to be a wild match!" Present Mic set the stage.
"This match will determine who will be facing off against Chikashi Sugawara in the finals. I'm sure he's watching this match very closely, just like the rest of us." All Might added.
"Let's turn things over to Mt. Lady to get this semifinal match started!" Present Mic said.
"Gentlemen! Are you both ready?" She asked.
"Ready!" Fizo nodded, getting into a boxing stance. He had a big smile on his face, which was strange, considering he was definitely the weaker of the two in this fight.
"Ready." Ako said. He didn't get into a fighting stance this time. He just crouched down, ready to run forward as soon as the match started. His eyes narrowed intensely on Fizo.
"The rules remain the same! On your marks! Get set! And...go!"
Ako shot forward immediately, barreling straight for Fizo. He wasn't about to be blindsided again. However, just as he was making his approach, Fizo suddenly disappeared. Ako stopped himself immediately. The G-force of his speed shot ahead of him, causing a reflective, triangular-shaped wall in front of him to shatter.
"What the-?" Ako trailed off, looking down at the broken glass in confusion. He hadn't even seen the wall there. Had he kept moving forward, he would've crashed face-first right into it!
Ako was suddenly hit in the back of the head. He grabbed his head and turned around. Fizo was attacking him with a staff made of solid glass. Fizo hit him in the side with the staff then kicked him in the stomach. Ako stumbled back and nearly fell off the edge.
Ako freaked out for a moment and shot forward again towards Fizo. However, he instead crashed right through another reflective wall. The glass shattered outwards and cut him in the arm. He growled in shock and slowed down again, turning around cautiously.
"Sorry to have to play tricks on ya, but I'd be no good against you in a direct fight." Fizo said, standing a few feet away from Ako. He took a few steps to his right and then disappeared, presumably behind another mirror wall.
"Those might be some of the cleanest mirrors I've ever seen in my life." Ako commented.
"Haha, yeah! They're not bad! I gotta admit, man, you're tough. But if you wanna win, you'll have to outsmart me. I don't really see that happening." Fizo chuckled.
"We'll find out." Ako said, his eyes narrowing as he slowly scanned around him.
Fizo stepped out near the corner of the stage. Ako shot towards him and then immediately stopped, sending another gust of wind forward. Fizo smirked. Ako watched him closely. Fizo didn't react to the wind; his hair didn't even move.
"Fake." Ako said, moving forward and breaking the glass with a quick kick. It crashed down and shattered all over the floor.
Fizo suddenly attacked Ako from behind, swinging the staff at him and catching him with a hard hit to the shoulder. Ako growled before turning around and throwing a swift punch. His fist grazed Fizo's body as he dodged it. Fizo jabbed the staff into Ako's cheek before disappearing again.
"Grr! You can't be that fast!" Ako shouted, running in the direction Fizo had been. He shot forward and broke through another mirror wall. This time one of the broken pieces cut the back of his head, "Gahh!" He yelped, shielding his face with his arms.
"Looks like Sasaki has Tanaka in a state of confusion! He can't seem to track down where the guy really is! Heck, I can't even keep track!" Present Mic said.
"I don't wanna leave you looking all minced up after this, so you should probably just give up now!" Fizo said.
Ako looked to his left and saw Fizo coming at him with the staff, ready to swing it again. Ako threw a punch, but, his fist broke through another mirror wall, cutting up his knuckles. While he was still in shock from that, the real Fizo hit Ako with the staff from behind.
The staff hit Ako in the side of the head and knocked him to the floor. Ako's vision blurred. The hit dazed him. He groaned and got to his hands and knees. Fizo kicked him in the stomach, ready to raise the staff up and pin Ako down with his foot.
"I need to get moving before I get taken out!" Ako realized.
Ako scrambled to his feet and suddenly darted towards Fizo, tackling him to the ground. His staff broke on the ground as they both fell. Ako crashed on top of Fizo, who landed on his back. He yelped in shock and raised up a foot to kick Ako.
Ako leaned back and grabbed Fizo's foot, pulling him towards him. Ako stepped over Fizo and pressed his knee down on his chest, punching him in the nose. Fizo growled in pain and put his hands over his face to protect himself. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes.
"Time to give up!" Ako shouted, throwing several more punches down onto his arms.
"Ahh shut up!" Fizo yelled.
Fizo extended his leg out. A piece of glass tore through his shoe and shot out of his foot. Ako turned back and saw that Fizo had knocked over a mirror wall and it was now coming down on top of him. He shielded his neck and lowered his head. The wall crashed down on top of his back and shattered.
Ako hissed, his body shivering a little. He could feel cuts on his back. Was his shirt torn? Was his skin torn? He couldn't tell. While he was still in shock, Fizo formed glass around his fist and punched Ako in the head. The glove shattered on impact.
Ako stumbled to the side and fell again, putting his hand on the floor to sit up. He clutched the side of his head with his other hand. He was definitely bleeding. Fizo was bleeding too. His hand had gotten torn up from the glass glove shattering.
"Ahh! Okay, not doing that again!" He hissed in pain. Ako looked at him. He seemed to be weakening.
"I gotta make a move now."
Ako forced himself to his feet, broken glass crunching under his boots. He took one step forward before forcing himself to shoot forward. He grabbed Fizo by the shirt and dragged him, throwing him out of bounds. Fizo crashed through another mirror wall before tumbling onto the grass.
"Fizo Sasaki is out of bounds! Ako Tanaka is the winner and is moving onto the finals!" Mt. Lady declared.
The audience cheered loudly once again. Ako let out a shaky breath, looking down at his bleeding fist. He immediately started feeling the stinging pain starting to crawl up his arm. Mt. Lady walked over to him.
"You're in shock. You need to head back to the infirmary." She said.
"Y-Yeah...yeah." He nodded, taking in a deep breath to get control of himself.
Ako clenched his fist and raised it up in the air, standing proudly. The audience cheered and clapped even louder. They started chanting his name. Blood trickled down Ako's arm for a few moments before he lowered it again.
He took one moment to check on Fizo before he stepped out of the arena. He saw that there was already a first aid team checking on him. He was sitting up and talking to them, so he wasn't too hurt either. So Ako wasn't too worried as he made his way back to the nurse's office...
"Oh, I hate these tournaments! Seeing you kids get hurt year after year!" Recovery Girl said as she healed Ako's wounds, "The spirit of competition is an ugly thing. And you in particular have a reckless demeanor! Reminds me of a couple boys from last year's hero course." She wagged her finger at him.
"Hopefully this will be my last visit for a while," Ako said with a chuckle as he stood up. "Thank you, ma'am." He bowed respectfully to her.
"Hmph! You're quite welcome," She nodded. "And I certainly hope it's the last visit for a long while! But I have a sneaking suspicion that it won't be. Now go along and get out there. The final round will be starting soon." She said, ushering him out.
"I better hurry then. Thanks again!" Ako waved to her before stepping out.
"Bye bye now." Recovery Girl waved back to him.
Ako took a breath as he stepped out into the hall, fixing his shirt. He had been given a replacement shirt to wear after his previous one had been torn up by all the broken glass. Now Ako was making his way back to the arena entrance for the final round.
"Hey, Ako!" A voice called to him. Ako looked back. It was his final opponent, Chikashi: the person he'd been hoping to fight all day.
"Hey. What do you want?" He asked. He couldn't help but be on guard. He still wasn't sure what Chikashi's intentions were.
"Just walking with you to the arena. Are you excited? Nervous?" He asked curiously.
"Both. Definitely both." He answered.
"Heheh, yeah, me too. It's been quite a rush, hasn't it? The challenges, the cameras, the crowd." Chikashi inquired with a chuckle.
"Yeah...now it's just us two."
"Uhuh. Here's to a good fight, yeah?" Chikashi said, offering a handshake.
"Sure, man," Ako shook his hand. "Hope you've got more tricks up your sleeve than just copying my speed." He remarked.
"I've got a few," Chikashi said with a sideways smile. "I gotta admit, I had a feeling that you'd make it this far."
"Did you?"
"Yeah! When I saw you taking out those robots, I thought you were a shoe-in for the hero course. After today, you'll probably get in. Win or lose." Chikashi commented.
"Well, I'll get in for sure if I win, I figure." Ako said.
"Is that why you've been so determined to win this whole time? You want to guarantee your spot?"
"...yeah."
"I see. I understand. Well, for what it's worth, win or lose, I think you would make a great fit for either hero class." Chikashi said with a kind smile. Ako looked at him.
"Thanks...I hope so." He admitted.
"Well, what do you say we go find out?" Chikashi said with a smile. Ako smiled a little.
"You're on."
