"Ready, set, go!"
Saki sprinted across the parkour lane in Block B, with new strength limiter bracelets on her ankles. She ran as fast as she could, leaping and avoiding the various obstacles ahead.
She went through it ten times before crumbling onto the ground at the finish line. Takumi handed her a fresh, clean towel and a bottle of protein shake.
"One minute rest, then we switch to close combat," he said, his voice firm.
"Yes, grandpa."
Her breathing was heavy, and her legs were killing her. Nevertheless, she had no right to complain. Not after her lengthy discussion with her grandfather the night before. While chugging down the liquid, her mind drifted back to last night.
"A hero, huh?" mumbled Takumi, finally breaking the unsettling silence.
He had been quiet ever since Suzuki Daiou had left their house, lost in a sea of thoughts. It was only now that he had finally come back to his senses. His gaze immediately shifted onto Saki. The girl had remained silent, her facial expression betraying the turmoil hidden within her.
"If you want to do it, just do it," he stated calmly.
The girl's face lit up for an instant before becoming gloomy once more.
"But I-..."
"What's there to fear? The whole country already knows who you are and has seen what you can do."
"Still… the profession of hero is something serious. People's lives all depend on you. If I make a mistake… If I awaken… They would be in danger."
"So what? Placing them with weak and inexperienced brats will have the same effect. Don't be mistaken, Saki. All those hero trainees are no better than you. Even the greatest of heroes made mistakes when they were still hero students. So you don't have to be perfect to be like them."
The girl nodded silently. She knew all about this. Even Kinryu had thousands of losses in fights against villains before he became a pro-hero. The same could be said of the current number one hero. Still, there were clear differences between them and her.
"But they never triggered their nexus… I, on the other hand, did and I will do it again." Saki's voice trembled with fear and anxiety.
"That's true. But isn't that just an excuse to run away? If you want something, then you should work hard to get it. You were given a chance that will never come again. And you earned it through your efforts. So what if you trigger your nexus again? Then so be it."
A grin spread across the old man's face. "You'll just have to become stronger and handle it. Isn't working diligently and overcoming your flaws the ultimate way of proving your worth? You even got the chance to do it for free, so what's still holding you back?"
Saki paused, staring at Takumi with teary eyes.
He's right… Using my Nexus as an excuse when Mr Suzuki recruited me exactly because of it is just me running away from my fears and doubts. There's nothing wrong with giving it my all when I've been given such a chance.
"Grandpa… I… I want to become a hero!" she exclaimed, her voice resonating brightly across the dining room.
Takumi nodded in approval, "Alright, I heard you well. But don't complain if things get hard. When we do something, we do it without any regrets. That's the Honda way!"
"Yes! I'll do my best!"
"Good. Then we'll begin your training early in the morning. We have to make sure you pass their test and get you into that hero school."
Saki smiled, thinking about the mischievous grin on her grandfather's face that night. Somehow, her life had taken an unexpected turn of events. But her grandfather was still by her side all the way through it. And she could not be happier to have him with her.
"Break's over, let's go over the basics of close combat. If you want to win a fight against a pro-hero, you'll need to learn more than just martial arts techniques. In a real fight, techniques are not everything; when and where to use them is also important, as well as the intentions behind every hit."
Saki nodded, feeling her body recharging with excitement. Surprisingly, her grandfather knew a lot about hero training, even more than she did. After questioning him about his deep knowledge of the subject, he revealed that in his early days, as a martial arts teacher, he used to coach young heroes who lacked fighting skills.
This revelation was quite shocking to the girl, since he had never heard about such a thing before. But her shock soon turned to admiration. Everything that her grandfather was teaching her was a valuable lesson that would help her achieve her dreams. And she felt even more grateful to him.
For the next weeks that followed, the girl trained relentlessly under the sharp gaze of Takumi. When she was not busy bulking up her muscles, she was training her combat skills, sometimes with training dummies, other times against members of the vigilante association who readily agreed to help her train after hearing about the good news. Her training aimed to reinforce her base in combat and her core strength. However, the most challenging part in her exam preparations was the use of her bloodline ability. Having never used it before, it became a tough ordeal for her. During her first days, she kept on turning the training ground into a mess.
For now, her goal was to be able to shape anything tangible into a malleable shape. However, no matter what she tried, her creations would end up collapsing. It took a lot of yelling from Takumi and a lot of patience and practice from Saki in order to see some satisfying results. Finally, the fruits of her hard labour were appearing before her. And soon enough, D-Day had arrived.
"How are you feeling?" asked Takumi as Saki was stepping out of the front door.
"Sick," replied the girl, her face turning green.
Anxiety was gnawing at her from within. She could barely sleep the night before due to the stress. And now that it was time to go, she felt her stomach twirling and her intestines were tying up in knots. She immediately crouched down, holding her arms around her stomach tightly while taking deep breaths. Takumi took one exasperated glance at her before bumping her head with his steel-like fist.
"Ouch! That hurts grandpa!" she cried as she caressed her head.
"Did you train this hard to whine like a baby in front of the door?!" he snapped angrily.
Saki immediately tensed up, sensing the strong aura from her grandfather.
"I'm sorry…"
"You should be! Seriously, I don't know who you got this wimpy personality from!"
He took a sharp breath before giving her a stern look as he crossed his arms on his chest. "Listen, you've done everything that you could to prepare yourself for today. All those sweats and bruises were not for nothing. So don't you dare mess this up just because of something as stupid as nervousness. Being anxious is not in our blood! Now get your ass off this stone path and get into the damn taxi! Your examiners are waiting for you."
The empty pit inside Saki's stomach suddenly filled with warmth and strength. She slapped her face, then leaped in the air.
"Thank you, grandpa! I'm going to go now! See you later!"
"Yeah. Go do what you need to do."
The girl nodded before flashing him a cheerful smile. She got inside the taxi he had called for her and finally departed for her exam.
The school of Suzuki Daiou, Kousei Academy, was founded in Normal Kawaguchi City, in the south of Saitama Prefecture. By car, it would take less than an hour from Shinjuku, so her grandfather got her a taxi. The latter would have accompanied her if not for a sudden business meeting. However, thanks to his speech this morning, she did not feel nervous anymore.
If everything went well for her today, she would be able to achieve a dream she had long given up on. The mere thought of this possibility made her heart skip a beat. She could not help but grin while looking out the window.
The city rolled past, bathed in the morning light, as though it was cheering Saki on. There couldn't have been a more perfect day for the exam, sunny, bright, full of promise.
But that feeling did not last long.
As they reached normal Shinjuku, the atmosphere uncomfortably shifted. Loud sirens howled ominously across the other half of the city. Traffic came to a sudden standstill, and Saki's taxi slowed behind a wall of halted cars. Armed special police lined the road, their bodies tense behind barricades.
A voice crackled over a loudspeaker.
"Dear citizens, this is Commander Murata of the fourth division speaking. A high-risk supervillain has been spotted in the area. For your safety, please remain behind the security barriers while my men and the superheroes take care of him."
Are you kidding me?
Saki watched the crowded streets in horror, her chest tightening. This could not have been any worse. Her exam was in an hour, but with this commotion, she would not reach there on time. The girl did not know whether to sigh or cry. She was starting to think that she might very well be cursed.
"I'm sorry, miss," the driver said, apologetic. "It seems like I won't be able to go any further. But if you are in a hurry, you could take the metro. It runs on the overpass in another block, so I doubt it will be blocked."
Saki's face beamed. "You are right! Thank you, sir. Please take me to the next block."
The taxi driver nodded, turning the car down a side street. They pulled up near the station, where Saki got off. After her ID was thoroughly scrutinised, she climbed onto the train, a triumphant grin radiating on her face.
Nothing was over yet.
"What's that over there?!"
"Oh my god… a giant robot!"
"There's another one!"
"Here too!"
Huh?
As she glanced outside, Saki's eyes widened. Three gigantic robots stomped through the streets below, each one towering over the buildings. One of them raised a thick cannon arm, aimed directly at the elevated railway.
"Oh no…" whispered Saki, her body frozen.
She recognised the model right away. Armoured silver plating, glowing cores, and massive arms with missiles inside. They were the same as the colossal mecha that had turned Block E into ashes. There was no doubt about it, this was Dr Yamagata's work. And Saki's gut feeling told her that this was not the end of it.
Within seconds, a strong wave of energy overwhelmed the entire block, and the ground rumbled beneath the city. The girl's face turned pale, her core shaking from within as she staggered back from the window.
She had felt this intense pressure before. It was the triggering of a villain nexus.
A powerful one.