Lightning – My Hero Academia
Chapter 43: Target Practice
Another day of training.
After the conversation he had a few days ago with Koko, he wanted to do more to help her out. And after working with Yui almost exclusively, he could really use a change of pace from her intensity. So once Mr. Aizawa opened things up for free training, Ako approached her.
"Hey, Koko." He greeted her.
"Ako. Hello there. What can I help you with?" She asked as she adjusted her bow.
"I was thinking I could be your training partner today. Give you something more...interesting, let's say." Ako shared his thinking.
"What do you have in mind? Your brawler fighting style wouldn't really mesh well with my bow and arrow." Koko pointed out.
"No, but my speed makes me a difficult, unpredictable target." Ako pointed out with a smile. Koko looked up at him, and a smirk slowly crept onto her face.
"Well, I wouldn't say unpredictable." She said, flicking her bow out and causing it to completely unfurl.
"Let's test that then. I run, you shoot." Ako decided.
"Deal. I'll use my soft-tip arrows. Wouldn't wanna punch a hole in your skinny little arms." She teased him. Ako scoffed at this.
"Cute. I'll head out some distance. Signal me when you're ready." Ako said before putting on his running glasses and rushing off about 50 yards away.
Koko took a moment to prepare her arrows. Then she crouched down and closed her eyes. They were training outside today, which meant that she needed to account for a few things: the afternoon sun, the light breeze blowing, and how slippery the grass Ako was running on would be.
Koko had watched Ako during the sports festival. She had a pretty good idea of his patterns, how he liked to strafe to the side to avoid being hit. She'd have to waste a few more arrows to lead him where she wanted him to go, but hitting him would not be an impossible task.
She pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes and stood up. She pulled an arrow out and lined it up with the bowstring. Then she raised her hand up to signal to Ako that she was ready to begin. Ako nodded and took a few more steps down before crouching down and preparing to run.
"I'm gonna count to 10! Then I'm gonna be on ya! You have until then to hit me!" He shouted to her.
"Sounds interesting! No hard feelings if I hit you in the face, right?" She called back to him.
"Please don't aim for the face!"
"Whenever you're ready!" Koko said with a laugh.
After a momentary pause, Ako started running. He ran to her left to start off, darting back and forth across the field. Koko's eyes darted back and forth, following him for about two seconds. Then she shot off a few arrows that whizzed past Ako.
"Come on." She grumbled to herself, taking two arrows and shooting them at the same time. One of them nearly hit Ako, but he leaned backwards and slid on his knees to avoid it. For a moment, he slowed down as he got to his feet before running again.
Seeing that this worked once before, Koko started shooting her arrows in pairs. Ako had to spin to dodge them twice. Finally, he reached 10 seconds. He moved to the side then shot straight for Koko, running right up to her and stopping immediately in front of her.
The forceful burst of wind that came behind him startled Koko and caused her to fall back on her butt. Ako resisted his urge to chuckle and simply smiled. He extended his hand out to her and helped her up.
"That was actually pretty good. You did better than I thought you would for your first attempt." He said.
"Couple more tries and I'll getcha. It's tough when I only have 10 seconds." She said.
"Yeah, that's the thing though. In a real situation, a villain isn't gonna give you multiple tries or much time to think. You gotta trust your instincts." Ako said.
"I guess you would know more that than me." She commented.
"Well, you know, we'll all get our chance. Best to be as prepared as possible, right?" He pointed out.
"I guess you're right. Round two, then?" She asked.
"Yep. I'll get back in position and we'll try again." He said with a nod before running back to his previous starting point. Koko took a breath and reset her bow.
She appreciated that Ako was wanting to help her, but she wasn't too sure why. What was the motive behind it, when usually had such a competitive attitude? In the end, she decided that as long as she could become a better hero from it, for now it didn't matter.
"Hey, Koko," Fizo, one of the guys Ako had gone against in the sports festival, walked up to her. "What're you doing?" He asked.
"I'm training with Ako right now. If you're looking for a rematch with him, you're gonna have to wait your turn." She said.
"Heheh, alright. What kinda training you got going on here?" He asked.
"Target practice. I gotta hit him while he's running at full speed in 10 seconds or I lose." She explained.
"Ooh, interesting. If I had any money on me, I'd bet against you on this round." He said with a laugh.
"Heh, we can still make a bet if you wanna make things interesting." She said.
"What do you have in mind?" He asked.
"Hmm...loser has to be errand boy for the winner." She decided.
"Errand boy?"
"Yeah, like if I say, 'Fizo, get me a soda', you have to do it." She explained.
"Ohh. Yeah, you got yourself a bet." Fizo said with a chuckle.
"Alright. Might wanna take a few steps back. I'm ready, Ako!" She called to him. Fizo moved away from Koko to give her room to walk. He folded his arms and watched.
Ako waited a few seconds then took off running, starting by going the other way this time. Koko immediately resorted to shooting two arrows at a time, tilting her bow slightly so that one arrow would go for his head and the other for his feet.
However, she couldn't account for Ako's sudden changes in direction. This time, he would move backwards and then slide a little before going the opposite way. It left him exposed more, but the time it took for Koko to grab more arrows didn't allow her to punish him for it.
Once again, he ran right up to her. Another gust of wind knocked her down. She grunted in frustration before taking Ako's hand and letting him help her up much more.
"You got really close a couple times there! Shooting two arrows at once like that makes it hard to avoid." He said.
"Yeah, but it's still not quite enough yet. Go back, I wanna try one more time." Koko gestured for him to move.
"Heheh, alright. No need to get bossy." He teased before hurrying back to his starting position.
"Hey." Fizo walked up behind her as she readied her bow again.
"I don't wanna hear it, Fizo. I already lost the bet, I know." She said.
"Relax. I got a tip that I think will help you get him." He said. Koko raised her eyebrow a little and turned her shoulders slightly to look back at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Ako only runs in straight lines. His speed doesn't really let him hit curves. If you take advantage of that, he'll have to slow down, and that'll let you get him." He explained his thinking.
"Ohh...that's actually a really good strategy." She said, sounding genuinely impressed.
"Don't sound so surprised now." He said with a chuckle before stepping away and letting Koko try his strategy out.
"Okay, Ako! Whenever you're ready!" She called to him.
"Got it! Here I come!" He said in response, crouching down and counting to three before taking off again.
Koko watched him for a few seconds, her eyes following him as closely as she could. Fizo was right! He was only running in straight or diagonal lines. That fact alone made it a lot easier to angle her shots. So she turned her bow sideways and started shooting.
"Whoa!" Ako exclaimed, having to drop into a slide to avoid getting hit in the face by an arrow. He spun and got back to his feet, turning and moving away. He had to stop again to avoid another arrow.
"Just a couple more seconds." Ako and Koko both thought at the same time.
Ako turned and started to move across the field closer to Koko. Seeing this, she lined up one arrow and took her shot. It smacked Ako directly in the side of the head, catching him by surprise and causing him to slip and fall on the grass.
"Yes! I got him!" Koko exclaimed, pumping her fist triumphantly.
"Haha, awesome! See? Am I right or am I right?" Fizo said with a laugh.
"Totally right. Thanks." She said appreciatively.
"Oof, wow, that kinda stung, Koko. Haha, but good job." Ako said, giving her a thumbs up before getting up.
"Hey! Ako!" Yui came marching up towards him, "Have you forgotten about me already?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips and tapping her foot impatiently.
"Oh! Yui! I haven't forgotten you, I was just switching things up for a bit." He answered her.
"Well, are you finished? You still have more to teach me." Yui pointed out.
"Yeah yeah, no worries. We'll have to do this again, Koko!" Ako said to her, waving at her.
"Koko? What are you working with Koko for? She has nothing to teach you." Yui said, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Excuse me?" Koko took offense to this. "Just because I'm not as good a fighter as you doesn't mean I have nothing to offer, Yui. Maybe get off your high horse with all that disrespect." She walked up to her and raised her voice at her.
"Is it disrespectful if it's true? That's something you would say." Yui said in response.
"What the hell is your problem with me, Yui?" Koko demanded.
"I don't like how smart and arrogant you think you are." She stated plainly.
"You're arrogant too, you know!" Koko pointed out.
"I have pride, you have arrogance. There's a difference."
"No there's not!"
"Come on, Ako. We have training to get to." Yui said, pulling on Ako's arm.
"Oh, give me a break. Don't tell me that you only came here because I'm training with him. What is he your boyfriend now? That's just your territory?" She started to mock Yui.
"Ay, what?" Ako exclaimed in surprise.
"Hey, ya'll are the ones spending so much time together." Fizo pointed out.
"Don't chime in, dude!" Ako said to him.
"What is going on here?" Mr. Aizawa, who could hear the arguing from a distance, came walking over to them.
"M-Mr. Aizawa! We were just-"
"Ms. White, Mr. Tanaka, Ms. Okamoto, Mr. Sasaki; break it up, all of you. Continue your training with other students or on your own immediately." He instructed them.
"Tch, great. Thanks, Koko." Yui stuck her tongue out at her.
"Really?!"
"Now!" Mr. Aizawa raised his voice a little, making them all scatter off in different directions.
"Oi vey..." Ako said to himself as he looked for other classmates to train with. He had a feeling that this wouldn't be the end of whatever was going on between Yui and Koko; unfortunately for him, he was caught right in the middle...