It had been a week since his first mission and Arthur knew it had been a resounding success.
He was currently walking home, excited to see how he had been evaluated.
Of course, he expected nothing less than perfection from himself. A knight must hold himself to a standard higher than everyone else.
Usually, after coming home from the dojo, his arms felt like lead and his body complained every step of the way.
Not today.
Today, there was a bounce in his footsteps.
Passersby who had become familiar with the boy noticed and smiled.
"You seem especially happy today, Arthur! Did something good happen?" An elderly lady asked him.
A few months ago, Arthur had helped her cross the street on a particularly busy day. Since then, he had made sure to repeat the act whenever he got the chance.
"It is finally time for my acceptance into UA. Soon, I shall become a squire apprenticed under heroes, training to become a knight.
The woman gave him a stiff smile; one an adult gave to a child when they wanted to be encouraging even when they were spewing bullshit.
"That sounds… wonderful son!"
Arthur nodded vigorously. "So, if you will excuse me, I must make haste."
Then the boy turned and continued bouncing away.
As his figure retreated, the lady froze. Wait. Did he say UA?
…
"I have returned father!" Arthur announced, opening the door.
He was met with his father pacing around the table in the living room, muttering to himself.
On the table resided an envelope.
Arthur read what was written on its bottom right.
UA HIGH SCHOOL
So it is time.
Finally, Higari noticed his son.
"Oh, hello Arthur. Welcome home. Your letter came in the mail. For a second I was going to open it myself, but I saw on the internet kids don't like it when their parents do that, so I've been waiting for you to come home. Honestly, I'm sure you'll have made it. Even if you don't, I would be proud of you regardless. Studying isn't for everyone and I'm sure there's some hero school that'll take a prodigy like you."
The man began talking faster than Arthur had ever seen him talk whilst pushing his son onto the couch and handing him the letter.
Higari took a deep breath and exhaled. "Honestly, Principal Nezu was being mean not letting me see your results. I AM still a teacher."
Arthur snorted. "Worry not, father. Your patience shall be rewarded by my acceptance."
He then tore open the letter and watched as a metal disk fell to the ground.
It lit up and blinked a few times.
A rectangle appeared before the two onlookers.
Arthur found himself face to face with the same tired man from the exam.
"Greetings applicant." He said, his voice carrying the enthusiasm of a Monday morning. "I am here to deliver your results for both the written and practical exams."
The man cleared his throat.
"Firstly, your written exam resulted in a total of twenty out of a hundred. The academy has from your work, however, that often you arrived at the correct answers, rare as they were, purely through accident."
"Moving on, despite your lackluster performance in the written exam, you scored a remarkable 75 points in your practical exam. Your villain points totaled 60, however combat ability is not the only thing a hero can be judged on. Hero points were also granted to candidates who displayed actions that represent the heroism a student of UA should display."
Pointing at a leaderboard behind him, he continued.
"You may come to know that people who performed similar acts were still assigned different points. Examiners determined that your motivation for combating the zero pointer was mostly for yourself rather than helping other candidates. This is why it was marked lower than it could have been."
The man took a deep breath.
"With all that said, it is my pleasure to tell you that you have achieved second overall in the practical exam. Congratulations for your acceptance into UA, YOUR hero Academy."
The projection faded.
Arthur blinked.
His shoulders trembled.
His eyes grew misty.
Calm yourself.
He slowly turned to his father and bowed.
"I apologize for not being first!"
Higari, who had had his arms open, ready for an embrace, froze.
"What?"
Arthur's body, despite his best efforts, shook. "IT IS MY FAILING AS SOMEONE WHO WISHES TO BE A KNIGHT TO NOT EXCEL. FOR THAT I APOLOGISE AND VOW TO NEVER LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!"
Arthur didn't dare to lift his head up. Admittedly, he wasn't too torn up about being second. Knights weren't meant to be the strongest from day one. If one never falls, how could he ever learn to stand up? However, he was also the son of a hero. His failing to secure first place meant he had not lived up to the privileges granted to him when his father had adopted him. A failing such as that was unacceptable for a knight. All he could do was ask for forgiveness.
He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Arthur look at me."
He hesitated.
"Arthur Boyle, as your father I am ordering you to look at me."
Arthur lifted his head to look at his father, expecting a kind and gentle smile.
Instead, he saw an incoming fist.
Time slowed.
His eyes widened.
Ah so this is it. Farewell Earth, farewell father, farewell old lady, I shall look down at you favorably from the other side.
The punch went straight for his jaw, sending him flying backwards.
"YOU OVERDRAMATIC BRAT!" Higari roared. "I WASN'T EVEN TOP FIVE BACK IN MY DAY AND YOU'RE HERE CRYING ABOUT SECOND PLACE? YOU THINK THE REST OF US ARE JOKES?"
"FIRST PLACE, SECOND PLACE WHO CARES? YOU SCORED TWICE AS MUCH AS A FEW OF THE OTHER STUDENTS. IMAGINE HOW THEY WOULD FEEL IF THEY HEARD YOU WERE APOLOGISING FOR DOUBLING THEIR SCORE. I'D HAVE KILLED YOU!"
The man stopped to catch his breath. Before he could launch into another rant, he retrained himself, if only barely.
"I swear to god these prodigies always lack common sense." He muttered. "Would it kill them to act normal for once?"
Arthur, unfortunately, heard none of it.
Arthur's body was crumpled on the other side of the room and his soul had already ascended to Avalon.
Higari, noticing how Arthur still hadn't gotten up, sighed.
He's going to be down for the next few minutes, might as well get 'that' ready right now.