Chapter 15: Inaugural Ceremony
The following day, all 238 successful applicants alongside their relatives were gathered in NMHU's assembly hall. A tall, purposefully imposing room designed to make students feel small, observed, and accountable. It gave off an impression more akin to a command center than a school auditorium.
The layout consisted of elevated rows of seating arranged in a semi-circular formation, capable of holding hundreds of students at a time and carefully positioned so that everyone could see the main stage in front of them, and feel the gaze of whoever was occupying it at any given time looming over them. A reminder that no matter where they were within the campus, they were always being evaluated with the expectations of a pro hero in mind.
At present, the stage lights were centered on President Sakamori, who was just reaching the conclusion of his welcoming speech: where he expressed his congratulations to everyone who had passed, his expectations of them in the coming semester, and what it meant to truly embark on the path of becoming a pro hero.
"—and with that, it is my pleasure to welcome the highest scoring applicant to the stage to share a few words of encouragement with you all." With a purposeful pause, the President let his gaze linger on one particular student he picked out from amongst the masses. "Takumi Kisaragi."
A mandatory round of applause overwhelmed the hall's atmosphere the moment the name was called out, all eyes fixating on the bespectacled student who had just stood up and began making his way to the stage, his every stride even and mannered. His posture carrying no traces of anxiety, hesitation, or pressure.
Takumi could hear the endless choir of hushed whispers floating around him, but he paid it no mind. It was only natural for students to be judgemental when one of their peers became the center of attention. Some of the conclusions he heard them come to were positive, others not so much. It didn't make a difference, he had already obtained his full-ride scholarship, he had no further obligations to impress anyone other than the faculty that'd be assessing him for the next four years.
"Good luck," the President shook Takumi's hand and took his leave through the curtains.
Takumi replied with a simple nod and approached the podium, no script in hand as he adjusted the microphone, its ear-piercing whine silencing the gossip of his future peers. The eyes that tracked his every move now filled with anticipation rather than judgement.
First impressions mattered. How he appeared to his peers now would set the foundation for how the students and faculty perceived him. Perhaps with the sole exception of Kaede, who had her own beliefs.
For a moment, he said nothing, his quirk waiting for the optimal moment where the attention on him reached its peak right before it turned to annoyance.
"Takumi Kisaragi. I placed first on the entrance examinations."
His first words were merely a redundant statement, yet his tone somehow made it seem profound. He wasn't speaking with pride after all, he was speaking in a purely factual manner.
"Amongst you, I can tell that you've all come to either of two conclusions regarding me because of that."
His quirk registered the shoulders of his peers begin to tense, their postures leaning forward as a clear indicator of heightened attentiveness. Each of them pondered whether or not Takumi's words came from a point of arrogance, if Takumi had the gall to look down upon them at such an early stage.
"The first is that I am the strongest here."
The reactions varied, some immediately labeling Takumi as a prideful snob, others waiting to see where his bold opening statement would lead.
"The second is that the hidden curriculum that judged all 238 of us during the entrance exams was looking for something in particular, and that I'm the one who excelled at demonstrating that 'something' the most."
He adjusted his glasses, letting the click of their frame feed through the microphone before continuing.
"I believe neither of these conclusions are relevant."
A realization hit the crowd. The 'arrogance' that Takumi seemed to possess fading into nothingness with a single sentence.
"Everyone in this hall possesses a quirk. Each one is different in its own unique way, each a different variable that'll serve a different purpose out on the streets when you leave this institution in four years time."
Just like that, Takumi had shed the superiority his position on the exams had attached to his name, relegating himself to just another one of the many hopeful heroes in NMHU. His words quickly diminished most of the scorn or envy that was being directed his way, his peers now listening with open minds rather than closed expectations or stereotypes.
"Strength is not absolute here. As a matter of fact, 'strength' itself is a hard concept to define when it comes to heroism. When put up against one another, some of you may best those you believed you had no chance of beating, and some may fall hopelessly before someone you believed to be your absolute inferior."
Takumi followed each statement with a pause, really letting his words sink in.
"But we are not attending this institution because we want to best each other, are we? We're here because we want to best those who seek to do harm unto the innocent. We are here because we want to be people the public, our peers, and our loved ones look up to as role models, as protectors, as guardians."
His quirk logged audience engagement at 98%, a hair's breath away from absoluteness.
"So how do we achieve that? We study. We train. We revise. We work and repeat the same cycle again, and again, and again. It doesn't matter where I or any of you placed on the entrance examinations, we are all walking the same path, and thus, we must all respect the toughness of said path with the same due diligence."
Encouraged fists began to clench, only a handful of backs still rested against their chairs as Takumi's words resonated with the kindling heroism inside his peers.
"I will be observing. The faculty will be observing. The public will be observing. Your peers will be observing. And most importantly, you will be observing yourselves every time you look in the mirror. You will be your harshest critic, and the only person truly capable of elevating yourself towards the ideal pro hero you wish to become."
He exhaled softly.
"So for all our sakes, do not let yourself get complacent, and do not slack, not even for a moment. Continue to improve on the sacred craft that is true heroism until our President gives you your final handshake on the day of your graduation, and do everything in your power to become someone the public can put their trust in when you leave these halls for good."
Takumi took a step back and bowed, signalling that his short, yet impactful speech had come to a close.
"Thank you for your time."
Without needing to be reminded, over 200 students stood up and broke into thunderous applause. How could they not? The quality of the speech they had just heard didn't sound like something someone their age, top-scorer or not, could produce. It was something they'd expect to hear from the President himself.
'Speech objective complete. Impact: high. Reception: overwhelmingly positive.'
Without a doubt, Takumi's first impression on his cohort had been a good one.
Calmly, he returned to his seat in the middle row beside Ren. The gazes of those around him filled with nothing but awe and praise. Not in a fanatical manner, but a respectful one.
"That was… quite the speech, Kisaragi-san." Ren wasn't sure what else to say. To him, Takumi seemed like the type who wanted nothing more than to keep to himself. Such personalities weren't really known for having much talent with their words.
"It served its purpose," he acknowledged.
All he had really done was speak his mind, the President wanted his speech to serve as a means of motivation, so he prepared one that'd do exactly that.
The President promptly returned to the stage, thanked Takumi for a well-delivered speech, moved on to complete his closing statements while giving a basic rundown of the first semester's curriculum, and ended by stating a time, date, and venue for parents to come to and his staff about any inquiries they might have.
Without a hitch, the inaugural ceremony reached its conclusion, and the attendees were dismissed before the course officially began at the start of spring a week from now.
///
.
"Interesting." Aika hummed, watching from the observation deck with the rest of the parents as the soon-to-be NMHU students left the assembly hall.
At first, her interest regarding Takumi Kisaragi was centered around one thing, the fact that he placed higher than her son on the entrance examinations. An accomplishment that solidified him as the back Ren needed to chase throughout the course. The one she expected her son to surpass to make up for his failings.
But now that she had seen him deliver such a speech, on top of having met him in person when the results were being shown, she couldn't help but approach her intrigue of the boy from a different angle.
She viewed him from the perspective of the CEO of a prestigious hero advisory firm, one that had even formed connections with some of the Top 10.
Right now, her instincts as a hero advisor couldn't be any more certain, Takumi Kisaragi was a prospect worth developing. Of course, it was a bit too early to invest in him before he even began his work-study program, but it was never too early to watchlist him for the future.
When it was time for the boy to make his move, Arakawa Strategic Holdings would have their foot in the door before anyone else.
///
.
As Takumi and Ren walked towards the university's front gate, the former's quirk logged a suspicious stare latching onto him, a stare that differed from the usual looks of awe or intrigue the other attendees were demonstrating.
Parked beside the pavement was an ominous-looking, black SUV with tinted windows. The kind you'd expect a government official to roll around in.
'Non-matching vehicle logged. Parked position: intentionally attention-grabbing. Exterior: matte black, reinforced frame, non-civilian profile. Outlier detected. Probability of threat: 42% and rising.'
Takumi's pace slowed with caution, his attention more centered around the unfamiliar woman leaning against the SUV's passenger door rather than the vehicle itself.
She seemed to be about 2 years older than him, and sported a relatively tall build, which his quirk registered somewhere around 175 cm give or take. Her straightened black locks touched her shoulders, their styling a little too unkempt for someone who appeared to be a civil servant. Her turquoise-colored, lusterless eyes gleamed with apathy, or perhaps it'd be more accurate to say her 'eye', singular, since her right was covered by a striking black eyepatch.
Her attire consisted of a crisp, white button-up shirt, a black tie, a matching suit jacket and trousers. An outfit most would assume to belong to a simple office worker, but Takumi's quirk made the fabric of the uniform to be far too refined for that to be the case.
'Threat identified. Outlined crevice over waistline. Chance of firearm possession: 93%. Suggested approach: walk towards the subject from their left to impact withdrawal-to-aiming time, merge further into crowd to guard behind crossfire risk.'
The moment Takumi's figure became clearer to the woman, she raised up her hand to greet him, a half-finished cigarette held between her fingers.
"Kisaragi-san? Is that your sister?" Ren asked with a cautious edge. His observations weren't nearly as detailed as Takumi's, but he knew a government-issued SUV when he saw one. His mom happened to be acquainted with quite a few people who possessed such vehicles.
"No," Takumi answered plainly. "It seems they wish to talk to me alone." Without another word, Takumi separated from Ren and approached the woman. His quirk predicting every possible way to end the woman's life as he got closer.
"Takumi Kisaragi, I presume?" There was hardly any emotion in her voice, as if she were a droid that had been sent out on an errand.
He replied with a wordless nod, his eyes briefly flicking to her waistline.
Unbothered by his silence, she reached into her coat and flashed a badge in his face, his quirk immediately committing its contents to his memory.
'Himeno Shihai. Hero Public Safety Commission. Quirk Crime Investigation Unit. Rank: Senior Agent. Badge Number: FA010.'
Takumi looked up at her, withholding a frown. "Is there something I can help you with, Ms. Shihai?"
She opened the SUV's passenger door. "Reika Shiranui. Let's talk."
In a strange twist of déjà vu, an older woman was once again pressuring Takumi to get in her expensive-looking vehicle outside his school gate.
///
AN: Keep in mind this is the younger/more depressed Himeno when she first met Aki with Kishibe.
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