Lightning – My Hero Academia
Chapter 42: Strategist
Ako sat in the commons area with some of his classmates, hanging out and chatting with his friends while sipping on a can of soda. In mid-conversation, he realized that he had run out, so he got up and went to the kitchen to get himself a refill.
"Hey, Ako. Let me have one of those too." Yui requested, walking over to the kitchen counter and resting her arms on it.
"Sure." Ako agreed, taking a second can and cracking it open with his finger before passing it to her.
"Thanks." She said, taking a sip from it. Ako nodded and sipped from his.
"No problem. How're you doing, Yui? It's nice to see you down here with the rest of us." He commented with a little smile.
"Oh? I thought that maybe no one would be happy to see me, but I was wrong." She said.
"Yeah. You need anything from me?" He asked.
"Nothing right now. Although, I was wondering when we could meet up again. Last night was...good." She said. Ako rested his arms on the kitchen counter.
"Uhh, I mean, not tonight, but we can try again some other time if you want." He offered.
"Yes I would. I want to keep practicing and getting better like you said!" She said enthusiastically. Ako chuckled a little.
"Yeah, I gotcha. Uh, is this gonna become a regular thing?" He asked curiously.
"Of course it is! One night isn't nearly enough for me!" She exclaimed.
"Okay okay keep your voice down," Ako shushed her right away. "Yeah, alright, we'll figure something out. But not here. Just shoot me a text." He said.
"I don't have a phone." Yui admitted.
"You don't have a...? Okay whatever, let's just discuss this later. Deal?"
"Deal. Thanks, Ako! Can't wait to learn more from you!" Yui said excitedly with a grin. Ako scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"You're welcome. See ya later, Yui." He gave her a quick wave and lifted his can as if offering a toast before taking a sip. Yui smiled sideways and did the same, sipping from her can as she walked away.
Ako sighed and leaned against the counter again, shaking his head to himself. Managing Yui's enthusiastic attitude was going to be a handful, but on the other hand, it was kinda nice having her as a friend.
"Um...Ako? I didn't hear what I just thought I heard...right?"
Ako's eyes widened. He stood up and spun around to see Lula Lei standing by the kitchen counter with a drink in her hand. Her expression showed a combination of concern and bewilderment. Ako swallowed and took a step towards her.
"What did you overhear?" He asked.
"Well, it sounds like you and Yui...um...actually, never mind. It's not really my business anyways." Lula blushed sheepishly, retreating from the conversation. However, Ako quickly tried to set the matter straight.
"No no no! We're not...like that. It's nothing like that, I promise you." He said.
Lula shifted nervously, looking up at him with a doubtful expression.
"Okay, listen...um...Yui and I have been meeting up outside of school for extra hero training." He admitted.
"Hero training?"
"Yeah. She's...well, she's feeling a little insecure about her abilities because she's never had a teacher before. So I'm showing her some stuff I know. It's given her a bit of a morale boost." He explained.
"Oh, I see...well, that's a lot less worrying." Lula chuckled awkwardly.
"Yeah! Haha, uh, please don't tell her I told you this. She wants to keep it a secret 'cause, you know, she's prideful like that." He requested.
"Of course, of course. That's really sweet of you to help her out like that." She commented.
"Heheh, I'm glad you think so." Ako replied with an awkward little chuckle.
"Maybe I can join you guys? I'd be happy to help out too. Lord knows I could use some extra training too." Lula said with a laugh.
"Oh! Yeah, uh, I'll talk to Yui about it. She's a little...you know, but I'm sure I can convince her."
"Cool. Let me know." She said, smiling at him before walking back into the commons area.
"Yeah, totally. See ya later." Ako agreed, tapping his fingers against his drink as he watched her go. He cleared his throat and took a few moments to collect himself before joining up with his classmates again.
As he was coming back, he noticed that Lia and another guy were setting up a gaming console. She was plugging it into the TV while held it in place. Ako remembered briefly speaking to this guy before, but he couldn't remember his name at the moment.
"Hey, need any help with that?" Ako asked, making his way over to them.
"Huh? Oh, Ako! We just got it, but thanks! Would you wanna join us for a little gaming session?" She offered.
"Sure. What's on deck tonight?" He asked.
"Fighting game," The guy answered. "It's a 1 on 1 kinda deal."
"Ooh, that should be interesting. Hey, um, what's your name again, man? I'm spacing out right now, sorry." Ako asked. The guy rolled his eyes a little.
"I'm Yamato. Yamato Matsui." He introduced himself.
"Cool. Nice to meet you. I like your hair. The blue color with the red at the ends is neat." Ako complimented, gesturing to his hair.
"Oh, uh, thank you." Yamato said, evidently not expecting the compliment. Ako smiled and silently nodded before stepping back.
As Ako moved back, he then noticed Koko coming out of the girls' elevator. She was in her casual clothes: a baggy white shirt and a short pair of shorts. She made her way around the commons area and into the kitchen, where she grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. Ako intercepted her on her way back.
"Hey, Koko. What's up?" He greeted her.
"Huh? Oh, hey there, Ako. Do you need something from me?" She asked.
"Nah, not really. Just wanted to say hey. I don't usually see you here around this time." He commented.
"I've been trying to get some extra studying done, and it gets too loud in here. I was just thirsty." Koko explained, holding up her water bottle.
"Oh, I gotcha. Well hey, I don't wanna keep ya, buuuut we're setting up some games if you wanna play." He offered, gesturing to Lia and Yamato who were starting the game up on the TV. Koko looked at it and shook her head quickly.
"Oh no, you don't wanna play against me." She said with a chuckle.
"Haha, come on. One round." Ako insisted with a smile. Koko let a puff of air out through her nose and started to crack an amused smile.
"Fine." She agreed.
"Great," Ako chuckled. The two of them walked to the couch facing the TV. "Hey, Lia, Koko and I got the first match." He informed her.
"Really?! Koko, you're gonna play?" Lia asked in surprise.
"Don't sound so disappointed."
"No no! I'm not! I just didn't know you played video games." Lia quickly clarified.
"Relax, I'm just messing with you. Video games are fine, just not really my thing." Koko said as she sat down next to Ako and picked up one of the two controllers.
"Do you know how to play?" Lia asked.
"I've played this game once or twice before actually. I know the basics." Ako answered with a nod, setting up a match and picking his character right away.
"I've seen this game before. I'll just need to look at the move set." Koko said, looking through the characters before finally settling on her favorite female one.
"I'mma look at mine too." Ako said.
As soon as their match started, Koko paused the game and looked at her move set. Then she allowed Ako to do the same. Koko spent a little more time studying her options, while Ako just quickly glanced at the controls. After waiting for a bit, the match finally began.
"Alright. Ready to jump in?" Ako asked.
"Yep. Whenever you're ready." Koko answered with a nod.
Ako advanced forward, making the first move. He jumped into the air and attacked as he came down. Koko blocked the move then knocked him away with one kick. Ako got up and fired a long range blast at her. Koko jumped over it and advanced.
Ako and Koko jumped into the air at the same time. Ako threw a kick at her, but he wasn't close enough for it to connect. Koko threw her own projectile that knocked Ako to the floor. As his character hit the floor, she quickly advanced on him.
Ako got up and immediately blocked. However, Koko went for a grab move that knocked Ako down again. Then she jumped into the air and attacked Ako as his character got up, starting up a combo of hits that took Ako down to half health.
"Jeez! I thought you said you never played this before!" Ako exclaimed as he tried to fight back.
"I never said that." Koko said, blocking Ako's attacks.
Ako finally managed to break through her blocks and get a few hits on her. Her character was knocked back. Ako advanced with the intention to grab her when she got up. However, Koko hit him as she got up. She then used a special move that took out the rest of Ako's health.
"Whaaat? What was that?!"
"I'm not sure, but it looked kinda like me winning round one." Koko answered him teasingly.
Round two went similarly to round one. Despite Ako's best efforts, Koko had a strategy that was very difficult to get around, and he just didn't have the skill to keep up. He did a little better, but Koko still came out with the victory.
"Good game, Ako. That was fun. Anyone got next?" Koko offered, holding up the controller before setting it down to show that she was done playing. She got up from the couch and started making her way back to the elevator.
"Wait wait, hang on!" Ako got up too and caught her by the elevator, "What was all that? How did you do so well?" He asked.
"What do you mean? It's just a game. You gotta know how to play." She answered.
"No, that was different. You were handling it too well. Are you like a professional or something?" He asked. This question made Koko laugh.
"Haha, you're funny, Ako. No, I don't play video games professionally. They're too easy for me."
"Too easy?"
"Yeah. You know my quirk is all about accuracy, right? Accuracy and analysis is like my bread and butter. Once you figure out the strategies and mechanics, it's all the same. That's why I don't usually play, 'cause people don't like to lose." She explained.
"Wow...that's actually really impressive." He said.
"Is it? I never really thought of it like that. But thanks. I'll see ya tomorrow. G'night, Ako."
"Yeah. Goodnight." Ako said with a nod as Koko went into the elevator. He stood there for a little bit as the doors closed.
Ako's mind went back to the conversation he had overheard between her and Mr. Aizawa. Evidently, Koko was a much better strategist than he could've imagined. Now that he was able to see the potential he had, it all made a lot more sense.
She had the potential to be a lot more dangerous than perhaps even she realized...