Chapter 13: Entrance Examinations (4)
To say President Sakamori and his staff were impressed, would be an understatement of biblical proportions.
Were his expectations of Takumi high?
Yes, of course they were.
But were they high enough to prepare him for what he had just seen?
No, absolutely not. Not even close.
He expected Takumi to last somewhere around two minutes, maybe even make it the whole three if he was crafty enough… only to end up witnessing the B-Tier actually subdue Kaede… an outcome so unthinkable he didn't even bother having his staff mention it as one of the win conditions.
Why would he? All of his combat-related staff were retired pro heroes, people with years and years of experience fighting real life villains under their belt. In what world could an inexperienced, untrained teenager take them down? Regardless of what their quirk was.
Yet, reality begged to differ.
"President…" One of the observing instructors muttered. "Is that applicant's quirk… truly B-Tier?"
The sentiment throughout the observation room was mutual, nothing about what they had seen screamed 'B-Tier' to them.
"Maybe. Maybe not." He breathed an amused chuckle. "Does it matter? Either way, he'll be a student here in a week's time. We'll be able to evaluate him all we want once the semester begins."
The President turned around, looking down upon the second training hall, where his prized A-Tier was still continuing his one-on-one evaluation.
"For now, let's all offer Arakawa-kun our undivided attention. It wouldn't be fair if we neglected one intelligence-type in favour of the other, now would it?" Like Takumi, he was deeply excited to see how Ren would perform in the three minutes of stage time he had been given.
///
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Ren entered the second training hall, the layout of which was the exact same as Takumi's, padded support pillars and all.
Opposite him, was a tall man who appeared to be in his late 30s to early 40s. He boasted a lean, dense build that focused more on tightly-packed muscle than it did bulk strength. The kind you'd expect from someone who prioritized speed and precision over raw power.
He had a face that carried the subtle marks of someone whose mettle had been tested time and time again: a faint scar across the bridge of his nose, a slightly crooked nose from an old break, and razor-sharp, observant eyes that wouldn't miss a single one of Ren's movements, like that of a hawk stalking its prey.
His hair was a dark-brown shade, easily mistakable for black. He had styled it in a short, slightly messy manner, as if he had pushed it back with his hand in favour of getting an actual barber to fashion it properly.
Unlike Kaede, there wasn't a hint of tension in his posture. His arms hung loosely at his side, with one foot propped up against his other's heel. He expressed the dead-calm of someone who knew he was just sparring, not the ferocity of someone getting ready to dive head-first into an all-or-nothing battle.
"Shun Ishigami. I'll be your instructor today, Arakawa-kun." He greeted Ren with a nasally, chilled tone, waving at him with less energy than a phone set to ultra-power-saving mode.
Ren paused, taking a second to scrutinize him like he did everyone else.
"I'll be in your care, Ishigami-sensei." He performed a respectful bow.
"Oh? How well-mannered." Shun remarked with a yawn. "The rules are simple, the match will last for three minutes. If I subdue you before then, you lose. If you survive the whole three minutes, you win. We begin when the buzzer sounds off. Any questions?"
"One," Ren nodded. "What happens if I subdue you instead, Ishigami-sensei?"
The combat instructor's half-lidded eyes lifted for a moment.
"You'll get a nice big gold star on your report card." He chuckled, a drip of mocking in his voice. "But since you're not capable of that, that won't happen. Don't worry though, you still have a solid chance of hitting the three minute mark since we're all holding back on you youngins."
The only exception was Kaede, who had asked the President's permission to go a little harder on one of the applicants in particular, for whatever reason.
"I see," Ren steeled himself mentally. He was willing to bet money that Shun's words were just a provocation attempt to test his mental composure, it made perfect sense considering the circumstances.
BUZZ!
Shun moved first, quickly closing the distance between himself and his examinee, the instructor's speed far greater than what most students would expect from someone his age.
With minimal fervor, he launched a simple, textbook jab towards Ren's face.
The A-Tier tilted his head back just enough for the punch to miss, having activated Strategic Forecast right before the instructor moved to start planning out prediction branches in his head.
Shun followed with a low kick aimed at Ren's thigh, a move the latter's quirk had already accounted for, allowing him to hop backwards and the perfect moment and just barely clear its impact zone.
In a moment of realization, Ren exhaled.
"You're not testing my strength, are you? You're testing my reaction chains."
His instructor didn't care how he reacted to the first move, he wanted to see the decisions Ren made after that move, he wanted to see the A-Tier immediately hypothesize what the second, third, and fourth move would be.
Shun wanted to see how far Ren's Strategic Forecast could go, it wouldn't be a proper combat evaluation otherwise.
The examiner murmured a low chuckle. "You shouldn't flap your gums while you're fighting, Arakawa-kun. You'll get distracted."
Shun stepped forward, letting Ren feel the pressure as he threw a right hook towards him. The latter shifted sideways to dodge, feeling his instructor's hand brush his sleeve as his fist passed him.
Immediately, Ren noticed something was amiss. His arm felt… heavier, as if the very air itself had thickened around it.
"Careful now." Shun chided him with a wry grin.
Ren's neutral expression morphed into a faint frown. The nature of Shun's quirk was evident, by making physical contact with Ren, the instructor had added weight to the affected area.
It was a quirk known as Vector Dampening, an ability that allowed Shun to reduce or soften the vectors of any moving object he touched. Punches, kicks, as long as it was an incoming impact, he could slow it down.
Ren couldn't instantly build a perfect counter strategy on the spot like Takumi could, but he understood perfectly well that he did need to change his approach in some manner. Without hesitation, he activated Strategic Forecast again, the quirk now knowing what its opponent's meta ability was.
Instead of attacking, Ren began circling the area, looking for an optimal point of attack where he could catch Shun off-guard.
Unfortunately for the A-Tier, Shun knew exactly what his examinee was trying to do. He started to advance towards Ren with measured steps, cutting off his angles in a masterful display of spatial awareness, the sort only someone who had been out on the field for the better half of his life could demonstrate.
A jab shot towards Ren's chest, to which he immediately pivoted away, only to be met with an even quicker follow-up punch just as swiftly, this one nearly catching him square in the jaw.
Each of Shun's movements made his experience crystal clear, even when he missed, his directional control continued to push Ren towards the wall. Almost similar to what Takumi had done against Kaede by guiding her to one of the padded pillars.
Ren couldn't help but wince inwardly, his quirk was able to read the instructor's next move here and there, but Ren himself was struggling to actually capitalize on their predictions. His own reflexes weren't at a level where he could simultaneously recall his quirk's forecasts and act on them quicker than Shun could throw out another jab, hook, or kick.
It was incomprehensibly frustrating, he could see everything, but was too physically helpless to do anything about it.
Shun grinned, catching Ren's mask of absolute calm slip for a moment.
Now was the time to push him even harder.
Out of nowhere, Shun lunged at him.
The A-Tier's natural response was to dodge to the left, but in a strange turn of events, Ren's next move was anticipated by his instructor.
A hand snapped forward and latched onto Ren's wrist, panic seeping through the cracks of the intelligence-type quirk user's mind as he felt his arm go slack, all momentum draining from Ren's limb.
It was over. In a compromised position like this, he had no hope of saving himself.
Shun performed a slight twist, easily redirecting Ren's balance. If he so wished, he could slam Ren right down onto the mat, the A-Tier would be powerless to stop him.
"Don't be overly reliant on your own momentum, your quirk's not a speed-type." With a smile, Shun released him from his clutches.
Ren took an instinctual step back, trying to process what had just happened.
Why had the instructor let him go? Didn't that defeat the entire purpose of the one-on-one?
Shun chuckled lightly. "There's no need to look so aghast, Arakawa-kun. This is an evaluation, remember? Not a battle to the death."
One minute, two minutes, three minutes. In truth, the faculty couldn't care less how long an applicant lasted. The three-minute 'objective' was just an incentive to make sure the examinees did their utmost.
They weren't looking for overwhelming combative prowess, they were looking for people that actually demonstrated the necessary qualities to grow with their quirks. To learn from their failings and shortcomings, take them to heart, and use them to improve on their foundation. They wanted 'learning potential' above all else.
In other words, they desired students that NMHU's curriculum wouldn't be wasted on. If they showed no potential for growth, what use was there in keeping them? The years they'd spend at the institution would be meaningless. A complete waste of resources on the student and faculty's behalf.
Shun's casual reminding words helped Ren realize that fact. The understanding written all over his face pleased both his instructor and those watching from the observation room.
Ren took a deep, relaxing breath, and activated his quirk for the third time during the evaluation.
Strategic Forecast decided to shift priorities. If contact neutralized force, then Ren needed to avoid a prolonged exchange with Shun at all costs. He needed to concentrate on his distance management.
He started to use sharper angles as he moved. Instead of performing a straight backwards retreat, he chose to cut diagonally across the chamber.
With his impressive speed, Shun chased him down, forcing Ren to react to a combination of punches, kicks, and grapple attempts.
Ren managed to avoid each one by fractions of a second. His rhythm gradually altered to match the instructor's better and better with each passing second.
In the midst of the evaluation, the A-Tier was growing.
"Atta' boy! Arakawa-kun!" Shun offered him a deeply-approving shout.
Confident the applicant could take it, Shun decided to raise his tempo. In a heartbeat, the instructor's strikes grew faster and far more unpredictable as he deliberately varied his rhythm: two quick punches, a sudden pause, a kick thrown from out of nowhere. All designed to push his young opponent to his limit.
Ren barely slipped through a spinning strike that whistled past his ear, only for a follow-up kick to graze his shoulder right after.
Shun wasn't fighting him like he was up against a real villain, but he wasn't treating him like a typical applicant either.
The pressure was on.
Shun breathed a faint snicker. Ren couldn't afford to keep track, but the final minute had begun.
By now, he had figured out the core of Ren's fighting style, he was all about predicting patterns and turning an opponent's flow against them.
As a teacher, he felt obligated to break those patterns.
Feints. Delayed Attacks. Sudden shifts in stance. The combat instructor went the full nine yards.
Ren's predictions grew less and less certain. He could feel himself balancing on a razor's edge as Shun cheerfully continued to tango with him. The stress taking a toll on Ren's mind once he realized even the slightest miscalculation could cost him everything.
"Don't hesitate!" Shun called out as he grabbed hold of Ren's training uniform, Vector Dampening killing Ren's force before he could pull away. For a moment, Ren was completely off-balance, vulnerable to Shun's whims once again.
And just like last time, he cut him loose.
Thirty seconds remained.
That was the time Ren had left to prove what he was capable of before his entrance examination came to a close.
The examinee kept moving, doing everything in his power to force his examiner to reposition again, and again, and again. Desperate to create some kind of opening in the instructor's seemingly unbreakable guard.
Shun performed one last rush, attempting to compromise Ren's mobility for a third time, only for the A-Tier to pivot at just the right moment, barely slipping past the grab.
BUZZ!
Shun stopped immediately, losing his battle stance and taking a step back.
"That's time."
Finally, Ren was allowed a moment's respite. An opportunity to gather his breath.
He wasn't able to subdue the instructor, but realistically speaking, none of the students here should be capable of managing such a feat.
"You figured out my quirk pretty fast, Arakawa-kun." Shun's praise was genuine. "Most of my students try to overpower it when they go one-on-one with me, but you decided to distance yourself towards the end."
Shun glanced up at the observation room for a moment. "Good call." He paused. "Your entrance examination is now over, the results will be posted a week from now. You may leave, and make sure not to discuss anything or give any pointers to the other applicants on your way out."
Like he had done at the start, Ren performed a low, respectful bow.
"Thank you for your guidance, Ishigami-sensei."
///
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As he watched Ren make his departure, President Sakamori nodded to himself, deeply pleased with Ren's performance. It was clear the boy was exceptional, but he never expected him to be capable of immobilizing one of his combat instructors. As a matter of fact, Takumi was the first time he had seen such a thing ever since he had taken up his post as principal almost a decade ago.
Ren had made a mistake, learned from the mistake, and grown from the mistake.
That was exactly what he wanted to see out of one of his students. It was also evident to him that Shun held the boy's prowess in high regard.
"How quaint," he muttered to himself.
That said, originally, he intended for Takumi to chase after Ren's back, to be motivated by the latter's accomplishments and abilities as a fellow intelligence-type quirk user.
But as it would seem, the exact opposite was bound to happen.
///
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