"I'm home mom."
Satoru enters his house with a blank zombie like expression.
Seeing the exhausted look on her son's face Satoru's mom put down her phone and rushed to her son's side in a panic.
"Satoru what happened to you?"
Her son came home abnormally late. She had repeatedly called her son's phone and is currently on the phone with her son's coach to find his whereabouts.
In fact, she was on the verge of calling the police.
"Mom I- I-" Satoru tried to speak with his eyes full of tears.
"My baby, what happened to you?"
"I have to go back to school!"
"What?" Satoru's mom is stunned
Let's rewind a little bit.
"It hasn't been long since the last time we met."
"Mister prophet."
Satoru's mind turned blank for an instant. Is it over? Have they found my ability?
No, there's no way they know that I have foresight. This is probably a method to make me confess it. Satoru boldly decided to lie with a straight face.
"Listen I don't know anything you are talking about."
"My reaction speed comes from training.. I don't have any supernatural ability let alone an ability to see the future."
"Indeed, there is a possibility that you really have such a good reaction speed…"
The black haired girl sighed.
"I guess there's one way to check it."
"Lend me your hand."
The girl didn't elaborate further after giving out the command.
Satoru complied while also activating his foresight in case something unexpected happened.
In his foresight he saw a spider crawling out of her hand.
"A&$?@€#*¥!" The present Satoru jumped in fright while letting out a high pitched scream. The scream itself was so loud that it shocked both the bearded man and the girl.
"C'mon it would be over soon if you cooperated." The girl said
But Satoru only kept screaming. "NO ABSOLUTELY NOT GET THAT SPIDER AWAY FROM ME!"
"Keep your voice down this is a toy." The said the girl. "It can't move, see?"
She held the spider up for Satoru to confirm.
"More importantly, how did you know I have a spider in my hand?"
The scene suddenly turned blurry, the once empty alleyway had an outline of multiple people and various equipments.
Before he knew it he was surrounded by a dozen men in formal black suit and sun glasses each holding cameras, microphones and various other recording equipments that had appeared out of thin air.
All of them are pointed at Satoru from all angles at various distances, the closest microphone was literally in front of his face but Satoru didn't realize anything.
"You got it?" The girl asked.
"Loud and clear." A film crew member replied
Realizing his mistake, Satoru broke into a cold sweat.
"Don't get the wrong idea, we really are part of the law enforcement." One of the men in suit said in a deep voice.
That's what all scammers say! Satoru retorted silently.
Officer Goro laughed.
"Actually, we are already aware that you are a superhuman. Our job is originally just to confirm what your ability is but given the situation, we have a special offer just for you."
"What are you offering?"
"The opportunity to enter an elite school and receive special education tailored to produce top notch super humans."
"Goro san." film crew member spoke up.
"Wait a moment I'm explaining."
"Sir, the boy already ran off."
???
The words "Sch**l" and "ed*c*tion" ended up triggering Satoru's fight or flight instinct.
Several minutes later.
*Pant* *Pant* When even is this alleyway gonna end???
Satoru desperately grasped for air. He had been running at full speed for some time now but he still couldn't find the end to this alleyway.
"Wow, you are way more energetic than when you saw that toy spider. Is school really that scary to you?" The officer's surprised voice sounded from right next to him.
A look in that direction revealed several familiar faces. Satoru is sure he definitely didn't hear any footsteps following him, yet all the people from earlier had appeared out of nowhere just like a magic trick.
"I can't go back to school now. I have a full time job!" Said Satoru.
The girl sighed at the officer.
"Why didn't you tell him about the announcement? This would've make it a lot easier."
Officer Goro said sheepishly "I forgot."
The girl approached Satoru and showed him her phone screen which has the official website of the game Satoru played on it.
Satoru focused his vision on the girl's phone screen. There is an announcement highlighted which wrote:
"Tournament rules adjustment notice:"
"From the next season onwards super humans are no longer able to participate in official tournaments."
"Effective March 26th onwards."
Satoru stares at the screen in denial.
"You're joking…"
My career-
The prize money-
It's all gone.
"That's why we offered to send you back to school the first place so you would have less trouble starting life anew."
"I don't know what your impression of school is, but I can guarantee that it will be better than what happened before. Don't worry about the tuition fee, we will have you covered with a scholarship. Your foresight ability is very interesting and your mastery over it is already sufficient to land you in a scholarship program."
"Then I have to count on you." Satoru thanked the man with an awkward smile.
"Here is your recommendation letter. If anybody has a problem feel free to tell them to call me."
"You better start preparing, school starts next Monday."
With that the officer and the mysterious girl left the alleyway.
Satoru turned his back only to find the dark and endless path has turned into the usual short alleyway.
"Tsukimori academy?" Satoru's mom couldn't help but gasp.
Mom knows about it? Without suppressing his curiosity Satoru asked.
"What type of school is it?"
"Mom's not sure, mom only heard a couple of stories about it."
"The school facilities were built right after the third world war ended. But they were recognized as a school only a few years ago. Back then, only invited students could enter the school but recently regular people could apply to join after passing an exam."
"Mom had an old friend that transferred to that school. We haven't talked for a long time but mom heard that she now has a high position in the government."
Recommendation? Working for the government? Satoru had a rough idea of the purpose of the school.
It was to gather around superhumans to work for the government.
That is actually good news. Since it shows that super humans are in high demand at the moment.
"You should head to bed first Satoru since you have to wake up early tomorrow. We will buy school utilities tomorrow."
"Okay mom." Satoru finally headed to bed after a very long day.
In the blink of an eye, the enrollment day has arrived
Satoru stood at the school gate with a tired expression.
The school is outside of the main city in Tokyo so Satoru had to board a bus to get there.
Although he got up early this morning, he took the wrong bus which made him late for school.
The day had just begun and he is already exhausted.
Luckily for him, today's morning classes were replaced by an entrance ceremony so he would have some time to adjust him self or catch up with his sleep if he is lucky.
The crowd heading to the gymnasium is very dense due to the entrance ceremony so Satoru decided to wait in the cafeteria first before heading there.
Thud!
Satoru, in his rush to the gymnasium, bumpted into someone. The feeling of beging struck by a powerful force is quickly followed by the feeling of losing his balance.
Oh crap.. I'm going to hit the ground. Satoru braces himself for the impact
"Are you hurt dude?" Satoru slowly opens his eyes to see a towering figure in front stretching his hand towards him.
Satoru apologized "Sorry I wasn't looking…"
Satoru took the hand of the person who bumped into him embarrassedly. He wanted to quickly leave after apologizing until he heard a voice calling out his name."
"Satoru is that you?"
He looks up toward the figure towering him. The boy has white spiky hair and gray eyes. His facial features are very sharp as if cut by a knife, he has a very muscular body akin to that of professional bodybuilders.
Satoru exclaimed in surprise.
"Keiichi?"
He recognizes the person in front of him.
The white hair boy's face brightened as he lunged at his old friend to give him a pat on the shoulder.
"It's really you! I haven't seen you for months." He said cheerfully.
"Why didn't you call me bro? How are you doing these days."
Satoru gave a self deprecating smile. "Yeah we haven't met too much since I dropped out last year."
This person is Satoru's old friend Kousaki Keiichi.
They met each other in middle school and bonded over their shared love of anime.
Keiichi's family is huge and very strict. Apparently it is a clan established by a very powerful swordsman in the past. Which could explain why he is extremely tall compared to his peers.
Keiichi gave Satoru a pat on the back.
"Don't be sad. Following your dreams is always a good thing. Listening to those dinosaurs would just do you no good."
Satoru asked curiously.
"By the way how did you enter the school? Isn't this school for superhumans?"
"This school isn't just for super humans you know?" Keiichi explained to his friend. "People who have special talents or individuals who have high probability of awakening can enroll in this school too."
"I see!"
"Speaking of school… Why are you wearing a school uniform? Didn't you drop out to become a pro gamer? What happened to your contract?"
Satoru gave a self deprecating smile. He thought of last night's events that forced him to come back to school.
"Well…"
After his friend nodded, Satoru sat down on a nearby bench and vaguely recounted the recent events in a distressed tone. To which his friend listens attentively.
Unlike back when he recounted the events to his mother, he didn't go too deep into the details.
"You got exposed because of a fake spider? That's so dirty!"
Keiichi nearly laughed out loud at his friend's ridiculous circumstances which flustered the boy.
"Yes! I thought I was about to die right in there."
"It's okay now bro, it's all over now."
Keiichi patted Satoru's back when he suddenly remembered something.
"Since you are also a freshman I assume that you are also heading to the gym correct?"
"Yep"
Keiichi enthusiastically said. "Let's hurry up then, otherwise we could be late. By the way what time is it?"
Satoru looked at the time in his phone screen. "No need to rush it's only-"
He checked the home screen on his phone. It shows 8:57 approximately 3 minutes before the start of the entrance ceremony.
The two boys stared at the clock, the next moment they looked at each other with the gaze that exclaims. "OH SHIT."
The two boys quickly pack their things before running towards the gymnasium with all their might.
Approximately three minutes later the adrenaline filled duo barely managed to arrive at the ceremony on time.
Fortunately for them, there are still many vacant seats left. Keiichi scanned an area and conveniently found two empty seats right next to each other He gestured Satoru to go sit with him.
At least we can continue to talk during the ceremony. Satoru thought to himself.
Inside the gym a man who looks to be either in his late forties or early fifties stood on the podium.
His hair has started to turn gray and he has a stern look on his face. He is the principal of this school. He unfolded a piece of paper and read it out loud into the microphone.
"Today, the moment you pass the gates, you enter one of the finest schools of its kind—a place shaped by high standards, hard work, and a long tradition of excellence. Built for nurturing mankind's finest super humans."
"Your power serves to protect what matters most: your loved ones, your family, the pride of our school and the liberty of our country."
Somewhere within the crowd. A white haired boy shook his friend awake and whispered in his ear.
"It's people like these prioritize their looks over other people's wellbeing."
"Ah… uh… huh…?"
His monotonous voice made Satoru nearly doze off.
Keiichi's constant rants were the only thing keeping Satoru awake.
"Your family chose this prestigious school because they know the significance of your future. They must entrust it to the best school of their ability which is why you all are here today. Do you wish to disappoint their hard work?"
"Choosing", huh? Satoru thought sarcastically.
The principal spreads his hands widely in an exaggerated manner
"The bonds formed here will become shelter, and the lessons learned will become light. Let today mark the beginning of your future that is full of hope!"
The principal's speech resonates with a portion of the students which bursted into a round of applause.
Keiichi and Satoru didn't join the crowd as the former didn't resonate with the message while the latter was basically half listening.
After the round of applause the principal continues.
"Now we will have a few words from this year's top scorer, Akai Hikaru and our please step onto the stage."
Satoru felt something was amiss and asked "There was an exam?"
"You didn't take it?" Keiichi was slightly taken aback."
"So you are a special admission student?"
Satoru nodded confirming Keiichi's suspicions. The latter continues.
"I should have expected it."
"I haven't heard of anyone with similar abilities to foresight. Not only do you have such a rare ability, you also utilized it with such great proficiency in those tournaments. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the higher ups are interested in you."
He then stared at Satoru with a curious look.
"By the way, do you have any special treatment as a specially admitted student?"
"There were some" Satoru, looking away from his friend, replied.
The treatment of almost getting kidnapped that is.
Keiichi sighs. "I'm jealous."
While the boys were talking, three rows behind them, A brown haired boy stood up and walked towards the stage. In addition to the school uniform, the boy also wear a gray newsboy cap.
When the boy reached the microphone, A pair of amber colored eyes swept down at the freshmen crowd with an unreadable expression.
This person is the top scorer of this year Akai Hikaru.
Either due to the serious atmosphere or their own manners Satoru and Keiichi also stopped talking to listen to the boy on the stage.
Five minutes into the silence, the boy turned to look at the back stage and asked.
"Can I go down now?"
…
Uhhh…
Satoru was stunned by the boy's attitude. The shift in energy is just too extreme.
Not only him, the room also fell into dead silence, trying to process what the boy just said earlier. After all the person who was supposed to represent the academy's top genius had just made a fool of himself in front of everyone.
Keiichi too leaned in and whispered to Satoru.
"Do you think they called up the wrong guy?"
"That's a possibility." Satoru laughed dryly.
Before things escalate any further, a teacher called the brown haired boy down to ease the tension.
With that, the entrance ceremony comes to a close.