I arrive at the locker room door and see that most of them have already finished changing and are heading to the courtyard.
I quickly change and run to the courtyard, finding the group gathered there and joining them.
'Looks like I didn't miss anything yet.' I stand next to Himiko while listening to the students talk with the teacher.
"You kids have been doing this since middle school, right?" He raises his phone.
"Physical tests where you can't use your Quirks." He says this and goes on a brief rant about the government, then looks at me.
"Kaneki, you placed first in the practical exam, right?" The students look at me curiously, and the irritated blond guy looks at me like I killed his dog.
"In middle school, what was your best result in the softball throw?" Aizawa continues.
"83 meters," I reply calmly.
Even if it's been a long time since you last took a measurement.
"Then try using your Quirk." I stand in the middle of a white circle drawn on the ground.
"Feel free, as long as you stay inside the circle. Hurry up, give it everything you've got."
"Tec." I snap my fingers, the hem of my shirt is thrown back, a black stain appears on my back, and from it four tentacles of my Rinkaku emerge.
Ignoring the surprised murmurs from my classmates and how some instinctively step back a few paces, I lift the ball and hand it to a tentacle.
All four tentacles spin and tangle together, seeming to merge into one around the ball.
I throw my body to the side and whip my Kagune, launching the ball as I spin my tentacles back to their initial position.
The ball shoots off at high speed, spinning and rising high into the sky.
"Start by becoming aware of your maximum," Aizawa says.
"This is the most rational way to build the foundation of a super hero," he continues.
He raises his phone, showing 578,6 meters displayed on the screen.
"Ehh! 578,6 meters?!" one student comments.
"Sounds fun!" a pink-skinned girl says.
"Using Quirks freely! This is the hero course!" another guy says excitedly.
"Sounds fun? You have three years to become super heroes. Are you going to keep that attitude the whole time?" Aizawa's voice cuts through the students' excitement.
"Alright, whoever places last overall in all eight tests will be judged as having no potential and will be punished with expulsion." He gives a somewhat macabre smile.
Murmurs among the students
"The last place gets expelled?" a brown-haired girl says.
"It's just the first day of class! No, even if it weren't the first day, that would be way too unfair!" she adds.
"Natural disasters, major accidents, and selfish villains," Aizawa starts speaking again.
"Calamities whose time or location are unpredictable."
"Japan is full of injustice. Super heroes are those who overturn these situations. Go beyond, Plus Ultra, go with everything you've got."
More murmurs from the students
Back at my spot, Himiko nudges me while the teacher continues talking.
"Congratulations on the result, Kaneki-kun," she whispers. I nod to her in thanks.
She seems confident about passing, and now with the ring, she doesn't need to worry about ending up completely naked when deactivating her Quirk.
"Alright, the demonstration is over. Now it's for real."
The tests begin. First, the 50-meter dash.
My Kagune didn't help much, since I had nowhere to latch onto and launch myself from the track, so I only managed to use it for propulsion at the start.
Himiko couldn't get a better Transformation right now, so she chose to go without using her Quirk; she did pretty well.
Grip strength test, I used my Rinkaku for this one too and got 437 kilograms.
I know I could have gotten more points if more tentacles fit on the measuring device; unfortunately, I could only use one, and even then I had to reduce its size quite a bit.
In the long jump, I simply used my Kagune to get to the other side. Himiko just jumped normally; she's quite athletic, so she passed easily.
In the repeated side jump test, I couldn't think of a good way to do it. I guess just swinging from side to side while my Kagune held me would be cheating… or not.
I'm not sure, the teacher didn't stop me, so it must count.
In the ball throw, since I had already gone, I didn't need to repeat it. Himiko transformed into me, wearing the ring outfit over her clothes this time, which helps keep her previous clothes intact.
I saw people looking curious about Himiko's Quirk, and without realizing it, I lifted my chin, feeling proud of my girlfriend. I didn't forget to praise her when she returned to my side.
When it was the brown-haired girl's turn, whose name I learned was Uraraka, after the teacher called her, she got infinity. Impressive.
When it was that Midoriya guy's turn, he threw the ball, which landed at a measly 46 meters. He looked surprised.
"I… but I tried to use it…" he says while looking at his own hand, seeming anxious.
"I erased your Quirk," Aizawa says, now looking threatening, with his hair and scarf bindings floating.
"Those glasses, I get it!" Midoriya exclaims when he notices the glasses hanging around Aizawa's neck, previously hidden by the scarf.
The boy looks surprised by the discovery, but still somewhat in shock at having his Quirk erased.
"You cancel Quirks just by looking at them. The erasing super hero: Eraser Head!"
Aizawa scolds Midoriya for a while, then restores his Quirk and gives him another chance.
Midoriya seems to think of something, then throws the ball, causing a furious gust of wind across much of the courtyard.
"705.3!" the robot with the annoying voice shouts.
'Damn. A little further than the angry explosion blond guy'
"Sensei… I can still move!" Midoriya says while holding his broken index finger.
'Why did the teacher block his Quirk? Oh… the broken finger… so he still doesn't control it properly,' I think to myself.
"What does that mean?!" I hear a shout beside me.
"Damn it!" The blond guy runs toward Midoriya.
'Eh… why does he look so pissed at Midoriya?' I tilt my head to the side.
"What was that, Deku?! Explain it now, you bastard!!!" He shouts.
Then Aizawa restrains him using his capture bindings.
"Tsk… don't make me use my Quirk all the time, I've got dry eyes!" He then releases the blond guy, who stands there growling, while Midoriya simply walks around him and returns to the group.
'Seriously… it feels like I'm watching a bad romantic comedy,' I sigh, exchanging a glance with Himiko.
The tests continue.
Himiko and I did well in the long-distance run.
Then came sit-ups and… reaching for your toes while seated… okay, that last one was a weird test. Himiko did better than me on that one.
I could have forced myself more and broken my bones to reach farther… but that didn't seem like a good idea.
When the final test ends, I see Midoriya collapse onto the ground, panting.
He didn't do well in the last tests; it seems the broken finger really held him back.
I offer my hand to him.
He hesitates for a moment, but then takes it, and I help him up.
"Thanks…" He says, already looking discouraged.
I just pat him on the shoulder and wait for the results.
"Alright, I'll quickly go over the results," Aizawa begins.
"The total is simply the scores you got in each test. It's a waste of time to explain, so I'll show you everything at once." He presses a button on a remote, and a projection appears.
'Hm… third place, and Himi got sixth. Not bad.' I exchange a discreet nod with Himiko.
'Midoriya is in last…' I glance at the dejected boy.
"Oh yes, that whole expulsion thing was a lie," The teacher speaks again.
"?!"
"It was a logical ruse, to make you give your best," he says with a small smile.
"Whaaaaaat?!" the students shout.
"Come on, guys, it was obvious it was a trick!" Yaoyorozu says, but I still have my suspicions.
"Uh… right, with that, we're done. Your individual score sheets are back in the classroom, so take a look."
With that "uh…", my suspicions only grow stronger.
"Midoriya, find the recovery girl and get that treated." He hands Midoriya a slip of paper and then turns to me.
"And Kaneki, Principal Nezu asked to see you in his office."
"Uh? Okay…" I exchange a look with Himiko. She looks worried, but I imagine it's probably nothing.
'Let's see what this is about…'
─── ◆ ───
[A/N]: Try not to take these numbers as fact... I mean, even in the original version they didn't seem completely accurate.
And also... WE REACHED 500K VIEWS!!!!!!!
Thank you so much for all the support and for following along <3