Lightning – My Hero Academia
The Balance Arc
Chapter 22: Welcome To 1-A
"Mr. Tanaka! Mr. Aizawa is here to escort you to your new room!" Mr. Maijima called out. Ako, who had already packed his things, came out of the elevator dragging three suitcases behind him and wearing his backpack, which he had completely filled up with stuff.
"I'm here! I'm here! I got all my stuff ready to go! Well, most of it. I'll just have to come back for my record player and stuff," Ako said as he made his way to the two teachers. "Mr. Aizawa, sir! Good morning!" Ako greeted him respectfully and enthusiastically.
"Morning, Mr. Tanaka. Already set for your transfer, huh? Good. Did I already tell you congratulations on winning?" Mr. Aizawa asked absentmindedly.
"I...don't believe so."
"Oh alright. Well, follow me." Mr. Aizawa said, sticking his hands in his pockets and walking towards the door. Ako nodded and followed behind him.
"Make us proud, Ako!" Mr. Maijima said. His classmates all nodded in agreement and clapped for him as he followed Mr. Aizawa out the door.
"So! Where are we going?" Ako asked curiously once he and Mr. Aizawa had left the 1-F dorm. His suitcases awkwardly clacked against the front steps as he made his way down.
"What do you mean 'where are we going'?" Aizawa asked.
"Well, Principal Nezu said that they needed to decide whether I'd be going to 1-A or 1-B." Ako explained.
"I'm the homeroom teacher for class 1-A." Mr. Aizawa said in return. Ako cracked a smile and nodded.
"Alright! 1-A it is. Let's go." He said excitedly.
"A quick word, Mr. Tanaka. Do you remember what we talked about during the tournament?" Aizawa reminded him.
"Yes sir." Ako answered with a quick nod.
"Now that you're my responsibility, I want to make it clear that I will not be tolerating any more of those threats or that unrestrained fighting you were doing in those last rounds, especially towards your teammates. Is that understood?" Mr. Aizawa said.
"Yes sir. I'll keep a rein on it, I promise." Ako quickly agreed.
"Good. I will hold you to that going forward. I have 20 students whose well-being I have to look after, now 21 including you. I expect order. So conduct yourself the way that a hero should." Aizawa instructed.
Ako swallowed, "Yes sir." He said. Evidently, there was something about how he acted during the tournament that the UA administration felt they needed to keep an eye on. He would have to be mindful of that.
With that, Ako found himself at the front steps of the class 1-A dormitory. He lifted his suitcases up and Aizawa opened the door for him. Ako swallowed and took a deep breath before finally stepping inside.
The dorm was set up the same way as the other one, but of course, he would now be living with different classmates. All throughout the common area, he could see about 5 to 7 students. He only sort of recognized a couple of them.
"Hello!" One of the girls came to greet him, "I'm Lia Myuki! Welcome to 1-A!" She said cheerfully.
"Hi there, Lia. I'm Ako," He introduced himself, shaking hands with her. "I think I remember seeing you during the tournament." He recalled.
"Yep, I was there! I didn't exactly do very well, but you know, it's fine. Congratulations on your win! It was pretty intense and amazing to watch!" She said with a smile.
"Oh, haha, thank you very much." Ako chuckled.
"Your quirk is really cool! How fast can you run?" She asked curiously.
"Uhh, I've never tried clocking it or anything, haha." He laughed awkwardly.
"You saying hi to the new guy, Lia?" One of the guys walked over. He had shoulder-length hair that was blue on top and red at the ends. With his dark eyes and overall unique appearance, he was both handsome and off-putting.
"Yep! You come to say hi too?" Lia asked.
"Might as well," He shrugged and looked at Ako. "You're a violent guy, aren't ya, Ako?" He asked.
"Excuse me?" Ako raised an eyebrow at him.
"Just an observation. I'll be keeping an eye on you." He pointed at him and then walked away.
"That's Yamato. Yamato Matsui. Don't pay him any attention. He's just a tough critic." Lia excused him.
"Okay then. Well, I appreciate the warm welcome, Lia. I'm looking forward to getting settled in here."
"We're happy to have you!" Lia said with a smile.
"Come on, I'll show you to your room." Mr. Aizawa broke up the conversation.
"Oh, right!" Ako remembered.
"Ako! Hey!" Suddenly someone that Ako did know came running over: Lula Lei. She gave him a hug, which he returned, "Congratulations on your big win! I heard rumors that you'd earned a spot in the hero course! I didn't even know you weren't in the hero course until the sports festival!" She said with a laugh.
"Heheh, well I am now. It's good to see you, Lula. How've you been?" He asked.
"Oh you know, training to get better after not making it as far as I wanted. Which reminds me! Lia, we should train together sometime." She brought up suddenly, turning towards her.
"Huh? O-Oh yeah, sure, Lula." Lia halfheartedly agreed. The two of them had gone up against each other during the tournament. Ako was sensing some residual tension between them, especially from Lia since she had lost that fight.
"Great! We'll link up soon," Lula said with a smile before turning back to Ako. "Welcome to 1-A, by the way!"
"Thanks, Lula." Ako replied, smiling at her.
"Alright, can I show you to your room now or do you wanna find it yourself?" Aizawa rolled his eyes, starting to get annoyed that he was still having to wait.
"Mr. Aizawa! I'll show Ako to his room!" Chikashi volunteered, walking over from the kitchen.
"Do you know where it is?" Aizawa asked.
"Yep! On the third floor, right?" Chikashi asked. Aizawa nodded.
"Do you mind going with him?" He asked Ako.
"Sure, that's no problem." Ako shrugged.
"Cool. Here, let me help you with one of your suitcases." Chikashi offered, taking one of Ako's suitcases and leading the way to the elevator.
"Thanks, dude. I appreciate it." He said as they walked into the elevator. They stepped inside, and Chikashi pressed the button for the third floor. Ako relaxed back as the doors shut.
"So, how're you feeling? Excited to finally be where you wanted to be?" Chikashi asked.
"Yep. This is where I needed to be to improve." Ako said.
"I agree," Chikashi said with a nod. "Well we're happy to have you with us."
"Thanks. You looking for a rematch?" Ako asked curiously.
"Heheh, I never said that." Chikashi said. There was a moment of silence between them.
"Maybe." Ako said.
"Definitely." Chikashi agreed. They both chuckled.
The doors opened, and Chikashi walked Ako to his room. He opened up the door and let Ako go inside first. The room was constructed exactly like his last one; he would just have to put everything back like he had it before. Chikashi followed him in, parking Ako's suitcase by the wall.
"Okay! So this is your room. I believe Cain, Hideo, and Zachary also live on this floor. Normal classes are in the mornings, hero training is in the afternoons; the schedule is fairly similar to what you had before, but the training is a lot more intensive."
"Yeah, that's what I've heard." Ako said.
"Haha, well you'll get to see firsthand in a few days. Anyways, I don't have to brief you on the house rules since they're all the same. Just relax. Make yourself at home. There's always people hanging in the common area, so you should take some time to get to know everyone." Chikashi recommended.
"Thanks." Ako replied. He had a lot of unpacking to do, not to mention moving the last of his stuff that was still in his previous dorm room, so he figured he wouldn't have time for mingling today.
"No problem, bud. If you got any more questions, feel free to ask me. I am the class rep, after all, so that's kinda my job." Chikashi said with a chuckle. Ako nodded and turned towards him.
"Sounds good, Chikashi. Thanks for the help. I look forward to fighting on the same side moving forward." Ako said, wanting to be diplomatic. Chikashi smiled and nodded, shaking hands with him.
"Me too. Me too. Take care, Ako. See you 'round." He said with a wave before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
"See ya." Ako said. He placed his first suitcase on the bed. However, before he could even begin to unzip it, Chikashi opened the door again.
"Oh! One more thing before I forget. If you lock yourself out of the room, Mr. Aizawa has the master key!"
"Oh, uh...cool. Good to know."
"Yep! Alright, I think that covers everything. Bye now." Chikashi closed the door again. Ako shrugged and went back to unpacking.
It was quite a fight, but I had finally made it to the hero course. I had accomplished my goal. Little did I know, joining class 1-A was just the beginning...
