Lightning – My Hero Academia

Chapter 21: The First Step

Ako was a little slow walking back out onto the field. Recovery Girl was able to speed up his recuperation process some, but he wouldn't be using his quirk again today. Not that he needed to. He just needed to stay on his feet until the end of the ceremony.

"And that wraps up this year's sports festival, folks! Man, I can't get over how wild that was! I'm feeling pretty pumped! Are you feeling pumped?" Present Mic asked.

"Yeah. Sure," All Might answered nonchalantly. "It's been an exciting year. I'm happy to see that things are returning to normal just a little bit, and that the love for heroes and our never-ending fight against crime is still appreciated.

"These kids will grow up to be fine heroes in the future, I can say that pretty certainly. Remember these faces; it's likely that you will be seeing a number of them again." All Might said.

"Thanks for the daily dose of inspiration, All Might! Let's transition back down to the field where the awards will now be presented! And here to present the medals this year, it's none other than the current holder of the number one hero spot: Endeavor!" Present Mic announced.

Right on cue, Endeavor made his entrance. He flew above the arena and landed on the grass where he was greeted by the cheering and applause of the audience. His expression was very serious, but he nodded to the crowd appreciatively before taking the medals and a microphone from Mt. Lady.

He approached the podiums where the top three finalists of the tournament stood. The students, along with the crowd, all grew quiet in anticipation of what Endeavor would say...

"I have to say, I was impressed with a lot of what I saw out here today. No doubt with proper training and discipline, you three will advance and become heroes of your own. You should be proud of your accomplishments today.

"However, now is not the time to rest on your laurels. If you want to stay a cut above the competition, it requires hard work, determination, and dedication. Think of today not as the end of one challenge, but as the first stepping stone towards something greater.

"Now for the third place medal, congratulations: Fizo Sasaki. You showed good innovation and quick thinking. Continue to hone your strategy." Endeavor recommended before placing the third place medal around his neck.

"Th-Thank you, Endeavor, sir. I-It's an honor." Fizo bowed appreciatively. He was shaking nervously, but it was hard to tell if it was due to intimidation, excitement, high emotions, or some odd combination of all three.

"For the second place medal, congratulations, Chikashi Sugawara. You have a lot of natural talent. Be diligent in your physical training. That will help you to become a more capable all-around hero." Endeavor gave his piece of advice before placing the second place medal around his neck.

"Thank you, Endeavor. I will take that to heart going forward." Chikashi promised, bowing respectfully and nodding.

Then Endeavor made his way to Ako on the first place podium. Even from a short distance, Ako could still feel the flames coming off his body. It was as if he were right in front of a hot campfire.

The combination of his powerful quirk, his physique, and the way he carried himself made it easy to see why he was the number one hero now.

What would he have to say to Ako?

"The gold medal goes to Ako Tanaka. Boy, your quirk is a very powerful asset. But it isn't the only tool in your tool belt. Stay strong in your fundamentals and build up a secondary set of skills. You have a lot of promise. Don't waste your potential." Endeavor said before placing the gold medal around his neck.

"Y-Yeah...yes, sir. Thank you." Ako replied meekly, nodding his head and swallowing hard.

"Quite a number of you students have shown yourselves to be quite capable," Endeavor said, turning around and addressing the audience more generally. "However, there is always room to improve. After all, isn't that part of what it means to 'go beyond'?" Endeavor continued.

"Yeah, Endeavor!" The crowd erupted into cheering and applause. Then they started to chant the UA school motto, 'Plus Ultra!'

"I wasn't finished...oh well." Endeavor shrugged it off and flew away. The students looked up into the sky and watched him leave.

To have someone in such a high position acknowledge him as having potential. Not only was Ako speechless, but he was in awe.

"Why don't we hear some words from this year's winner, huh?" Mt. Lady suggested, coming over to the podium with the microphone.

"Huh?" Ako flinched in surprise.

"Ako Tanaka! You just won the sports festival! How do you feel?" She asked before holding the microphone out to him. The cheering audience went quiet again to hear his answer.

"U-Um..." Ako shuddered nervously, leaning in closer to the microphone. "W-Well...my goal here today was t-to win the tournament so that I could get transferred into the hero course, so...I hope that happens so that I can get better training and be the best version of me...yeah." He answered a little clumsily.

"Is that right? Well, I don't think you'll have to worry about whether or not you'll be transferred, not after today's performance!" Mt. Lady said with an optimistic laugh. The audience clapped for him.

"Heheh, yeah..." Ako chuckled nervously, putting a hand on his chest and sighing in relief...

The tournament felt like the longest day ever, but it was finally over. Ako went to his locker and grabbed his things. He checked his phone. He had a ton of messages from his parents and from old friends. He sifted through them briefly and chuckled to himself.

He called his mom first.

"Ako! That was incredible, son! Why haven't you been answering my messages?!" She shouted as soon as she answered his call.

"Hey, mom! Sorry, I couldn't get to my phone. Things were happening really fast, you know?" He explained. He heard his mother sigh in relief.

"Mhmm. Well, it's a miracle that I'm still alive after the dozen or so heart attacks I had, but I'm really proud of you, baby. Congratulations! We'll have to celebrate!" She said.

"Yeah! Definitely! Thanks, mom. I love you."

"Love you too, dear. You should go ahead and call your father now. He's been trying to reach you too. Be sure to thank him for helping you." Ino Tanaka reminded him. Ako nodded.

"Yep! I'm calling him next. We'll talk soon, mom, okay? Bye."

"Bye, dear."

Ako hung up the phone and pulled up his contact list. He scrolled down to his father. He was just about to make the phone call when there was a knock on the locker room door, "Mr. Tanaka? Are you in there?" A voice called to him through the door.

It was the same voice he'd heard over the P.A. system inside of the labyrinth.

"U-Uh, yes, sir! One sec!" Ako stuffed his phone in his pocket and grabbed his backpack. He quickly opened the door. He nearly hit the person standing on the other side.

"Whoa! Please be careful with the doors." He said calmly, taking a step back and holding his hands behind his back.

"My bad! I..." Ako fell silent. He realized that the person standing in front of him was not actually a person at all, but a humanoid mouse that only stood to about half of his height. It took him a moment to realize it, but then Ako recognized who he was talking to.

"Principal Nezu! I'm sorry!" Ako exclaimed.

"It's alright, Ako. A near-miss is still a miss," He said with a light chuckle. "Please walk with me for a moment." He invited him. He began to walk down the hall, and he gestured Ako to follow him.

"Y-Yes, sir." Ako said before falling in step next to him.

"First and foremost, I believe congratulations are in order. You put on quite an impressive showing in the tournament." The principal began.

"Thank you, sir. I did my best." Ako replied with a nod.

"Well it paid off, young man. You should feel very proud. How are you feeling? Recovery Girl already tended to your injuries, didn't she?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah! I'm all healed up! I just won't be able to use my quirk until tomorrow." He answered.

"I see. Well you did put quite a strain on yourself in those last few rounds. That's understandable. You should definitely take it easy." He recommended.

"I will. Thank you, sir." Ako nodded appreciatively.

"You're welcome, Mr. Tanaka. Now, I'd like to address something else. What you said on the podium earlier." Principal Nezu brought up.

"I didn't say something wrong, did I?!" He asked quickly. The principal chuckled and shook his head.

"Not at all. But you made your wishes clear; you want to be transferred into the hero course, yes?" He asked. Ako swallowed and nodded.

"Yes, sir...is that possible?" He asked. He paused for a little bit before adding onto his question, "If it is, I'd like to join immediately!" He said quickly. He waited anxiously for the principal's answer.

"Hmm...well, I can't deny that it's where you need to be now. I will speak with the other board members about where you'll be placed." Nezu promised. Ako's eyes widened.

"R-Really?" He said in disbelief. Had he done it? Was this actually happening?

"You should hear word sometime tomorrow. We'll have to decide on whether or not you would be a better fit for class 1-A or class 1-B. But by the beginning of next week, you'll officially be enrolled into the hero course." He said.

"Oh," Ako's legs nearly gave out. "Thank you so much! I won't let you down again! I promise!" He said excitedly.

"I certainly hope so, Mr. Tanaka. I have confidence that you will do well. Power Loader spoke very highly of you, you know. Just be more mindful of your studies. We'd hate to have to hold you back in some way like before." He recommended. Ako swallowed and nodded in understanding.

"Yes, sir. I understand loud and clear."

"Good. For now, go to your dorm and get some rest. And again, congratulations." Nezu said with a smile. Ako smiled back and nodded again.

"Thank you, sir."

Ako walked back to his dorm with his hands in his pockets. After beating himself up these past few weeks, he could finally hold his head up high and be proud. He was officially entering into the hero course! There was no denying that big things were in store for him soon!

Ako returned to the support class 1-F dormitory, where he was immediately swept up by his enthusiastic classmates. They congratulated him, took pictures with him, and they had a huge dinner to celebrate. Ako was laughing and grinning the entire time.

That night, he went to his room feeling absolutely exhausted. He threw himself onto his bed with a groan, laying on his stomach. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened it up. Once he did, he realized that he had some unread text messages and a missed call from his father.

"Oh shoot! I forgot!" Ako groaned, realizing he'd forgotten to call his father like he wanted to. He was most likely out patrolling now. If that's the case, then he would just have to wait until tomorrow. "Man..." Ako grumbled to himself.

Ako noticed that he had a voicemail from his dad, probably from the missed call. He tapped on it and put the phone to his ear to listen:

"Ako! That was insane! You were a maniac out there! See?! What did I tell you about adapting?! I told you, didn't I?! Doesn't matter, you'll have time to improve. But you were awesome out there! Congratulations, my son! I couldn't be prouder of you!

"Call me back soon, alright? Love you! The hero courses better watch out, haha!" Akihiro Tanaka laughed. The message cut off after that. Ako chuckled to himself.

He decided to send his dad a thankful text message and let him know that he would call him tomorrow. He opened up the messages between him and his dad. He noticed that there were several text messages that his dad had sent him, including one video containing a certain girl with dark blue hair.

Ako's eyes furrowed oddly. He opened up the video. The first thing he could see was that Niko had a big smile on her face. She was facing the camera. Behind her was a big TV screen that was displaying the sports festival. Ako pressed play:

"Congratulations on your big win, Ako! You were so awesome! You were so fast!" Niko laughed, waving her hands in front of her as quickly as she could, "Next time I see you, I'm gonna give you a biiig hug! And a cake! And we'll have a party!" She said with a laugh, clapping her hands.

"We love you, son!" His dad said behind the camera before the video ended.

Ako swallowed, not knowing how to feel about it. He never knew how he should feel when it came to Niko...actually, that was a lie. He did know how he should feel, but he didn't feel it, and that made him feel guilty...

Ako sighed to himself and shook his head. He typed up his message to his dad:

"Hey dad! Sorry I didn't call you today! I got swept up after the big win and didn't have a chance to check my phone. I'll call you tomorrow for sure. Love you! And thanks for all the help. It really came in handy."

Ako clicked send. Once the message had gone through, Ako put his phone on silent and set it down on the nightstand next to his bed. Then he crawled under his covers and got comfortable. He yawned a little as he laid on his side.

He fell asleep almost right away...

End of the Sports Festival Arc