Serenity Academy – Year One

The sun was beginning to set over the treetops, casting a goldish-red tint across the sky, aa tranquil silence filled the land…only to be broken by a sharp whistle that pierced through the stillness like a nail, a great explosion tearing a clean path through the trees.

As wood and dirt were splashed every which way, a young woman with long black hair was thrown from the dust cloud that had appeared between the trees, thrown across the forest floor like a ragdoll. The woman fell sideways and hit the ground with her shoulder – a loud crack rang out – and she rolled across the dirt until she stopped lying face down. Not long after, a pristine katana fell from the air and stabbed the ground several feet away.

Even though her body was raked with pain, the dark-haired woman shakily pushed herself to her hands and knees, her long hair hanging over her face like a dark curtain. But when she accidentally leaned on her left hand, a sharp pain flared up her arm. The woman bit down on her tongue to stop herself from crying out, clutching her shoulder with a shuddering gasp. Rivers of blood flowed down her arm, staining her tattered white clothing. Gritting her teeth, she looked down at the injury; deep grooves had been torn into her flesh all the way down to her forearm, which would no doubt lead to permanent scarring.

The dark-haired woman shook her head, forced herself to stand through the pain, and started to limp toward the katana. She reached out for the blade with her uninjured hand when a sharp whistle cut through the air once more and sent the katana flying further out of her reach. Grimacing, she turned as a man covered hiding in the shadow of the trees lowered his hand and walked closer toward you. He approached her so casually, hands tucked in his pocket, as if her were taking a leisurely stroll through the park.

Where anyone else would have ran at the sight of him, the woman stood strong and resolute. Even when he stopped a few feet in front of her and raised his hand to her face, the woman did not cower. She stared him down straight in the eye and said:

"What are you hoping to prove with this?"

The man seemed to pause for a moment, as if contemplating his answer. For a moment, she thought he looked remorseful…until….

"That they were right about me…."

A sharp whistle pierced the air once more and everything went black –

SERENITY ACADEMY: YEAR ONE
AFTERSCHOOL PARADISE ARC

EPISODE ONE: ERUNA ICHINOMIYA, PART 1

Spring time had arrived. A warm, soothing light glimmered through a sea of sakura trees as pink petals fluttered through the air…

It was here that Eruna Ichinomiya found herself summoned, her long orangish-pink hair tied in a bun by her favorite red bandanna, her lengthy sun-yellow scarf blowing in the gentle breeze. Her heart was pounding like a drum against her ribcage and it was only beating faster the closer she got to her destination. Because Eruna knew that she would be there….

She marched purposefully through the grove until she finally saw her, Eruna's beautiful and most cherished friend of many years, leaning against the sakura tree, playing with her fingers nervously as she waited for Eruna to arrive. Eruna took a deep, steadying breath before she finally gathered the courage to step forward. Her beloved friend looked up when she heard Eruna's footsteps and stood up straight, biting her lip nervously with a hand over her heart as if it would burst out of her chest.

"Sorry to call you out so suddenly," she said in a soft, timid voice, "but I can't hold it in any longer."

"Yuriko…," said Eruna murmured.

"I can't hold back my feelings for you any longer, Eruna-chan!" Yuriko declared.

Eruna nearly stumbled back, gasping in surprise, as Yuriko suddenly threw herself into Eruna's arms. And suddenly, it was as if the whole had faded away and they were the only two people left in existence. Once the initial shock had faded, a small smile graced Eruna's lips as she whispered in her ears:

"We can't do that here," she said, pulling away from Yuriko briefly before taking her hand into her own. "For the time being…." And then she started skipping merrily like an overeager child, pulling Yuriko behind her "Let's go to the nurse's office, where there's no one around!"

And together, Eruna and Yuriko skipped away, hand-in-hand, and lived happily ever after….

And if any of you even bought that for a second, you should feel sorry for yourselves.

Back in the realm of reality, Eruna Ichinomiya wasn't skipping through a grove of cherry blossom trees, but was leaning over her desk in the back of class, handheld gaming console in hand, staring at the screen with half-lidded eyes and a lecherous grin stretched from ear-to-ear, a small river of drool rolling down her chin. And "Yuriko" was just a 2D girl on her dating simulator. She was starting to giggling in a very creepy manner when she faintly heard someone calling her name.

"Eruna…Eruna…Eruna!"

"Hold on a second," said Eruna breathily. "We're doing a vision test with a love letter in the nurse's office right now…."

After being smacked over the head by all her teachers in her last three years of middle school, Eruna really should have seen that hard text book coming. But she didn't and the thick spine slammed into the back of her skull, throwing her face first into her desk. Eruna immediately bounced back up with a sharp yelp, throwing her hands up as if she was about to karate chop the attacker. But as she swerved around, she found it was only three of her classmates; the ones who could actually stand being around her and tolerated her perverted mentality. It almost made Eruna feel bad that she never learned their names in the three years she'd knowing them; she just referred to them by their hair color: dark, brunette, and blonde that is obviously a dye job to anyone who saw it.

"Hey, what's the big idea!" cried Eruna, rubbing the tender spot on her head. "That really huuurt!"

"You were making that creepy face again," said the dark-haired girl blankly, tucking her thick science text in her bag.

"My face isn't creepy!" Eruna retorted offensively. "My looks are nothing but that of a pure maiden!"

"There's nothing pure about you, Ichinomiya," said the dark-haired girl immediately.

"Now, now, be nice," said the brunette, stepping in between the two and holding her hands in a calming gesture.

"Hey, Eruna, since we're all about to graduate middle school soon," said the blonde, "we were talking about where we want to go after. You found a high school you like yet?"

"Nope, not at all," muttered Eruna, leaning forward on her desk with a heavy sigh. "But my mom has been bugging me about it ever since Golden Week."

"We were all thinking of applying to the same school," said the brunette. "It's the local high school. Maybe you'd like to apply, too. Then we'd be together."

"The uniforms there aren't cute," Eruna mumbled.

"That's your reason," said the blonde, a large sweatdrop running down her head.

"That's important!" yelled Eruna, suddenly gaining a second wind. "If I have to wear an ugly uniform, I might as well be a NEET!"

"There's something seriously wrong with your head, Ichinomiya," said the dark-haired girl, sighing exasperatedly. "Have you even thought about what career you wanna go into?"

"Hmm…," Eruna hummed thoughtfully with a finger on her chin. "Nah, not really. I guess I'll just be someone who watches Niconico all day. I'll look for a job like that."

"The world isn't kind enough to have a job like that!" the dark-haired girl snapped.

"Now I'm starting to worry about your future, Eruna-chan," said the blonde, chuckling anxiously.

Eruna let out a deep sigh as she leaned forward onto her desk once more, gazing out the window up to the cloudy blue sky while her friends went back to talk about their futures. A deep frown crossed her lips, and she stared up at empty space listlessly.

'This is so lame," Eruna thought. 'Isn't there anything fun to do? Day after day it's always the same old boring thing: I wake up, I go to school, I go home, I play video games, I go to sleep, and then I do the same thing over again. And it's not even like a Slice of Life manga filled with quirky characters doing funny shenanigans and cliché wacky misunderstands that lead to silly misadventures. It just so…normal. Normal's boring. Maybe I should get run over by a truck so I can be reincarnated into a fantasy world like all those stereotype animes that always bomb after the first three episodes…. Sigh…I just wish that something exciting would happen…just once….

When the final bell rang and everyone was asked to go home, Eruna wandered toward the local park instead; her mom was no doubt waiting to ambush Eruna about picking a high school already. She had seated herself at her favorite bench and played her dating simulator until dusk started to fall, painting the clouds with an orangish hue, but not even sweet little Yuriko could brighten her mood.

Every since her talk with her friends (whose names still escape her), she had been in an unusual bummed for some reason. Listening them talk about their future high schools and what careers they were pursuing with excited smiles on their faces…Eruna couldn't understand any of it. What was so fun about being an adult? About giving up these carefree days for endless hours of dull, monotonous labor? It wasn't that Eruna disliked having to grow up, but there just wasn't anything about this tedious, uninteresting that she had to look forward to….

Eruna finally had enough gaming and tucked her handheld away with a depressing sigh as she leaned her head back with her eyes shut, saying to herself:

"Why is life so boring…?"

"Wow, you must really be out of it, huh, Eruna-chan?"

Eruna eyes flew open and her head perked, quaintly familiar with the voice.

She looked to her right and stared up at a man only a couple years older than her as he suddenly marched over to her bench, and giving her what Eruna supposed was a dashing, princely smile. Eruna couldn't deny that he was a little handsome, though she would never say it out loud. His black-rimmed glasses did compliment his features while his messy silver hair made him look quite daring. Even his clothes looked like something out of a shounen manga with the long, ocean-blue coat instead of the blazer his school gave him. Any other girl would have swooned at being in close proximity of such a goodlooking man, but Eruna just gave him a beady, indifferent gaze.

"What are you doing here, Shigure?" asked Eruna monotonously. "I thought you were off at your fancy boarding school."

"I got permission to leave the campus just to see you, cutie," said Shigure with a flirtatious wink. Eruna gave him a quiet, disgusted look; Shigure instantly lost his cool and cried, "Don't make a face like that! Even if we're cousins, the law says we can marry!"

"Ugh, gross," Eruna groaned; Shigure fell backwards as if he had been shot in the heart.

That was another thing that should be mentioned – Eruna and Shigure are cousins by her mother's side of the family and he had a total cousin complex. A couscon?

"Well, what'd you really come here for?" asked Eruna, tilting her head back again

"I wasn't lying when I said I came to see you," said Shigure in a more serious tone. He stood up, dusted himself off, and took a seat on the bench with her. "I thought you probably hadn't decided on a school to apply to yet. And if that's the case, what about here?"

Shigure reached into his coat and pulled out a booklet. Eruna took it and the first thing that popped up at her was the title:

"Serenity Academy?" Eruna read aloud. "Isn't that the fancy specialty boarding school that you go to?"

Though she wasn't exactly eager at the idea of attending the same school as her gross cousin, Eruna had to admit that she was just a little curious as to what kind of place he went. He hardly ever talked about his school and even her aunt and uncle never said a word about it, almost like they were forced to keep it a secret. That was the first time Eruna had ever been interested in her cousin in any shape or form.

Eruna flipped the cover over to the first page and was greeted with a group photo of several students standing in front of what Eruna assumed was the Academy's front gates. The boys and girls wore crisp white shirts while the boys wore black pants with white stripes going down the side and the girls wore black skirts with red trims; they also appeared to wear ties that separated their years by color: red, green, and blue. But thing that stood out was that all the students were wearing blazers in seven different colors – red, blue, green, purple, black, pink, and white – and each of them had a different emblem on the left side of their chests. Okay, now Eruna was really curious.

"Hmm, their uniforms are pretty cute," said Eruna thoughtfully. "But why is everyone wearing different colors. Is it a fashion thing?"

"I…can't really explain that, at least not in public," said Shigure. "You'll find out more once you get in."

"Oh? Everyone lives in dorms?" mumble Eruna, flipping through the pages with increased interest. "It has tons of different clubs, and not all of them are culture clubs…. Specialized education toward the career of your choice…. Caters to all types…. Its famous for its alumni becoming scholars, scientists, and military leaders, huh?"

"As far as specialized schools go," said Shigure, "Serenity Academy is the number one specialized school in Asia. It has a unique system that separates it from normal schools, but like I said before, I can't explain it right here. Top secret and all that. I suppose you could say I'm pretty important, isn't that right, my darling," he added, shooting her another flirtatious wink.

Eruna read on, completely forgetting his existence.

"WHY?" Shigure cried, falling off the bench, waterfalls of tears running down his face. "How could you ignore me? Just a little is fine! If you'd show a little interest, it'd make me so happy!"

Eruna just blocked out his voice – a trick she learned from years of experience. But as she reached the midway point of the brochure, Eruna's heart skipped several beats as he eyes fell upon a gorgeous shot of the most beautiful woman Eruna had ever seen. A true Japanese beauty; her skin was white and smooth like a porcelain doll, free of any blemishes, her long black hair billowing behind her a single red braid dancing between the locks, and eyes were like glistening rubies that peered into Eruna's soul. She even managed to make the pink blazer that looked average on the other students look like runway material.

Eruna's mind danced away into her imagination, where she and this unrivaled beauty stood alone on a windy hillside, Eruna only able to stare at her from afar, as the woman gave her a smile that outshined the sun –

"Eruna-chan, you're drooling – " Shigure said, frowning in annoyance as he leaned in close to his love-struck cousin.

Eruna snapped out of her daydream and realized how close Shigure was. She kicked him under the chin out of instinct, but she was less concerned about her cousin writhing on the ground in pain and refocused her attention of the beauty in the brochure.

"An angel! She's such an angel!" cried Eruna with glee. "I can't believe a girl like her exists in this boring world!" However, a terrible thought occurred to her and Eruna shoved the picture in Shigure's face. "Hold up a minute! Models are usually used for these kinds of pictures, right? It's like a difference between the pictures and the real thing at a burger joint!"

"Burger? I want to eat a teriyaki burger," Shigure mumbled disoriented.

"You're not listening!" Eruna snapped, looking at the picture again as she started breathing hard like a perverted stalker.

"By the way, the girl in the picture is second-year Student Council Vice-President, Seisa Mikagura," said Shigure.

"Okay, okay, you go and buy your burger yourself. I want nugg – " said Eruna, waving her hand disinterestedly. It took a few seconds for her mind to catch up, but then Eruna suddenly leaned closer to her cousin with wide, round eyes. "Wait, what? Say that again!"

"I want to eat a teriyaki burger," said Shigure cluelessly.

"Not that part!" yelled Eruna, shaking her head wildly.

"I'm a pretty important guy, my darling," said Shigure, smiling and winking.

"You went back too far!" wailed Eruna, flailing around furiously.

"The girl in the picture is second-year Student Council Vice-President, Seisa Mikagura," said Shigure with a tone of disinterest.

"You mean she's real?" shouted Eruna joyfully. "All right, I've decided!"

"But I'm the only one that can marry my precious Eruna!" cried Shigure tearfully.

"Shut up, you pervert!" snapped Eruna, kicking him in the face again. "That wasn't what I was talking about! I'm going to apply to Serenity Academy! And you're going to help me pass!"

"Of course, anything for my darling," said Shigure with yet another wink and smile. Once again, Eruna blocked out his existence and walked away, clutching the picture of Seisa lovingly. "WHY?!"

Since then, Eruna had been working night and day to prepare for the upcoming entrance exams with the help of her overenthusiastic cousin. The next few days were a montage of training scenes: purging her earthly desires under a waterfall (she got a cold for three days), undergoing extreme meditation by a single handstand on tall rocks (she slipped and broke her nose), fighting grizzlies in the woods (the bear won), drinking raw eggs (she was admitted to the hospital for a week), and jogged up a flight of steps even though it really served no purpose. And now, after a month of extreme hardcore training, Eruna Ichinomiya realized –

"How is any of this supposed to help me?" Eruna shrieked.

"It really doesn't," said Shigure. "By the way, the entrance exams are tomorrow."

"CRAP!" cried Eruna.

And thus, the day had arrived –

Eruna woke up the next morning, practically leaping out of her bed and rushing out the door, stopping only to grab a quick breakfast burrito before taking the first bus to the next town over. When she got off, Eruna found herself standing outside the gated entrance of Sakuragaoka High School. According to Shigure, Serenity Academy was an international school and had exam sites all over the continent, meaning they needed to borrow other school campuses in exchange for large sums of donations. Any normal person would have questioned how a single school could afford all this, but Eruna's mind was focused solely on passing so she could meet her 'Angel'.

Eruna didn't think there would be many people taking the entrance exams since Serenity Academy was a very private school, so the scarf-wearing girl nearly stumbled over herself when she saw the sheer number of people cluttering the courtyard. There must have been only a couple hundred loitering the entrance; some of them were big and brawny, some were short and nerdy, others looked like a bunch of preppies, and a few looked like they had never had a shower a day in their lives. The only other thing that stood out was the small stage at the front doors, possibly where the proctors were going to explain the rules.

Eruna gulped loudly.

"So this is where the entrance exams are?" said Eruna, feeling a little nervous; a feel that she was unaccustomed to. "There sure are a lot of people…. But I'm sure it's fine. Everything that I've done to prepare for today's exams…" She repeated the montage of pointless exercises in her head and sweat dropped, "isn't really gonna help, I think. But I'm sure I'll be fine! Yep, I'll totally ace this!"

She marched across the grounds, weaving her way through the crowd to make her way towards the stage. Here and there she overheard some jock talking about how much they bench or a bunch of preppie girls tittering over something that Eruna couldn't care less about. It seemed like none of them were as concerned about the exam as she was; they all seemed to think they were already accepted and this exam was just wasting their time. So annoying, Eruna thought.

Once she managed to squeeze through a pair of particularly dumb-looking men, Eruna finally arrived at the stage. And she made it just in time, because an official-looking woman walked out of the building carrying a clipboard and walked up onto the stage; the crowd immediately went silent and looked her way. She wasn't really that cute, much to Eruna's disappointment. She had a very stoic expression underneath that mop of faded red hair tied back into a short ponytail and wire-rimmed glass over her cold, dead-fish eyes. She looked like the perfect picture of what Eruna imagined an adult: someone whose soul has been thoroughly crushed by the working industry.

The proctor readjusted her glasses, checked her clipboard once more, and then looked out into the crowd.

"Hello, everyone!" she shouted across the campus. "Can everyone see me okay? Can everyone hear me?"

"I can, Miss Kobayashi!" yelled an overexcited woman somewhere in the crowd.

"Tohru, please go home," groaned Miss Kobayashi while the crowd looked around mildly confused. "Anyway, for those of you who didn't hear, I am Miss Kobayashi. I teach computer science at Serenity Academy and I will be one of two teachers who will be overseeing your examinations.

"Now before we get started, I will be going over the contents of today's entrance exams as well as the rules you will need to follow. In a few minutes, we are going to open the doors into the school and you will all line up in four rows. There will people inside who will be waiting to register you in and hand you a card that will have your examination number – do not lose these, because you will need them to see your score at the end of the exams. Once you have a number, they will assign you to a classroom. You are to wait there patiently until the exams start.

"The entrance exams have been divided into two parts: a written exam and a fitness. You will be taking your written exams inside the school and you will have one hour to complete it. I don't think I have to tell anyone that cheating is strictly prohibited and anyone caught doing so will receive an instant failure. Do not think that we won't catch you, because we will. Next, we will move to the gymnasium for the fitness exams where we will test your strengths, speed, and coordination. I know most of you think you will be able to breeze by, but I feel you should know…the success rate of these exams is less than ten percent."

"LESS THAN TEN PERCENT!" Eruna shrieked frightfully, and she wasn't the only one. Suddenly, all those smug faces on everyone's faces turned nervous and many were chattering frantically.

"Serenity is a very prestigious school that only a select few can get in, so you should have expected that we would be very strict in the selection process," said Miss Kobayashi in a casual sort of way as she adjusted her glasses again. "I'm going to be upfront: only four or five of you are likely of passing. You probably don't want to hear it, but it's true. All I can say is 'Good luck', because the entrance exams start…now!"

On command, the school doors flew open and the crowd immediately surged inside; poor Eruna was swept away in the tide of anxious students.

Getting registered was simple enough, she received her card number (#117), and found her assigned room on the second floor without trouble. The classroom was jam packed and nearly every desked was occupied by tense-looking hopeful. They were all ominously quiet, as if talking would cause the whole class to explode. But oddly enough, Eruna didn't see any examiners. Weird, Eruna thought, maybe he doesn't show up until the test starts.

Eruna found a seat near the back next to the window, but just as she sat down, something really odd occurred. A quick gust of wind blew threw her hair even though none of the windows were opened and there were no fans on. But even weird, when she looked down at her desk, she spotted a sheet of paper lying face down in front of her that wasn't there a second ago.

"Nani?" yelped Eruna, looking bewildered in every direction. "Nani? Nani? Nani?"

"Attention all exam applicants!" Eruna perked up as Miss Kobayashi's voice came through the loudspeakers. "We will now begin the written portion of the exams! You have one hour to finish as much as you can! Your time starts…now!"

There was a chorus of shuffling papers, a short bout of silence, and then a symphony of scratching pencils. Eruna looked down at her own paper, taking a deep, calming breath.

"All right, Eruna, you've got this," Eruna told herself quietly. "Just write what you know and if you can't figure out something, come back to it later."

Eruna flipped the paper over and read:

1. Explain the concept of Personal Reality in quantum theory that allows one to bypass of the Uncertainty Principle with regards to the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment.
2. Describe the sequence of events required to distort the laws of the microscopic world and how they contribute to changes in the macroscopic world.
3. Explain the contrast of Personal Reality and Holism. Use Gaia Theory as part of your answer.

Eruna hand was frozen, the pencil clattering on her desk. She started at the test paper unblinkingly as a shower of sweat rolled from her brow. It only got worse as her eyes traveled further down the page.

'Oh crap, this is bad!' Eruna screamed in her mind. 'I can't answer a single question!'

But while she couldn't even get past the first question, everyone else was jotting their answers without pause. Eruna leaned over her desk with her head in her hands, moaning quietly while biting her lip in silent panic.

'What am I going to do?' thought Eruna frantically. 'If I don't do something fast, I'm totally gonna bomb the test!... Maybe…maybe I could try to look at someone's – no, no, bad thoughts, Eruna!' She shook her head. 'You heard what she said. Anyone caught cheating will fail right away. But…there's no one watching us right now…. So…maybe I could just take a quick peek….'

But while Eruna was contemplating the idea of cheating, she noticed someone near the front that was shared a similar train in thought. One of the applicants, a big brawny guy who looked like he had muscles than brains, was trying to trying to peek at his neighbors' paper under the guise of cracking his stiff neck. He was leaning only slightly so that his movements were almost unnoticeable –

And the next thing Eruna knew, he was gone; completely vanished. The other applicants were quick to notice and started spinning around wildly in a panic. Eruna craned her head to see the missing applicant's seat and saw his exam paper with a rising sense of dread when she noticed the sheet was marked with a big, fat, red "F". And if she wasn't already shaking in her boots, Miss Kobayashi's voice called over the loudspeakers again to deliver a chilling announcement:

"Applicants #17, #21, #25, #36, and #37 from Group A have failed. Applicants # 51, #63, and #77 from Group B have failed. Applicant #109 from Group C has failed. Applicants #138 and #151 from Group D have failed. Applicants #166, #167, #179, and #190 from Group E have failed. Fifty minutes remain in the written exams. Remember, no cheating."

The class quickly put their heads down in unison and went back to writing their papers, but there was now a noticeable rush to finish. Eruna had no idea what she was going to do, so she just started writing down whatever gibberish she could think of; it was better than leaving the test blank.

'I'm totally going to fail this exam!' Eruna thought. 'But…that's okay, this is only a little setback. There's still the fitness exam, and I've always got top scores in P.E. If I do really well, I might still be able to pass! Yeah, I'm not out of this yet!'

When the bell rang signaling the end of the written exam, Eruna was last seen lying face flat on the desk, steam wafting from her overworked brain. She tried answering as best as she could, but every single question was university level or higher – way too big a hurdle for someone who's graduating middle school. Suffice to say, Eruna didn't imagine herself passing the written exams. But there's still the fitness exam, Eruna reminded herself. As long as she didn't completely bomb, there might still be a chance. Feeling a little more optimistic, Eruna rose from her seat and followed the remaining applicants to the school gym.

Eruna once again slithered her way to the front when they reached the gymnasium and got a first look at the course look laid out for them. The gym had been divided into five small testing stations each with an official-looking man carrying a clipboard. One station had to chalk lines on the floor, the one next to that had a lane that lead up to a large box filled with sand, the one after had a bunch of barbells and weightlifting equipment, the next one over had a four-lane running track, and the last one had a bin full of baseballs with a targeted mat on the wall. Eruna, who read a lot of sports manga, was starting to get a picture of what they were supposed to do.

Miss Kobayashi appeared from somewhere in the crowd and stood up front, readjusting her glasses again as she eyed her own clipboard.

"All right, everyone, settle down!" Miss Kobayashi called over the chatter of the applicants. "We'll be starting the fitness exams next, so pay attention! As you can already see, there are a bunch of testing stations where our protectors will be reviewing your physical abilities! Serenity boasts an importance of having a strong body on top of a strong mind! Your tests will be a thirty second side-to-side jump, the long jump, weight lifting, the fifty-meter dash, and pitching! When you have completed all five stations, you are free to roam around the campus until your scores have been evaluated!

"Does everyone still have their numbers? Applicants #1 through #40 will go to station A, #41 - #80 to Station B, and continuing in that order! Once you are finished with one station, please move clockwise towards the next station and wait your turn! When you have completed all five stations, you are free to roam around the campus until your scores have been evaluated! If anyone doesn't have any questions, please head to your stations!"

-Weightlifting-

Since her testing number was #117, Eruna headed to the weight lifting station first.

Now Eruna was pretty good when it came to P.E., which surprised many of her classmates considering she spend most of her time playing dating simulators, but she had never been good when it came to lifting weights. She was more of a speed runner than a body builder. But she really needed to impress the protectors if she wanted to get into Serenity, so her plan was to fake it until she makes it…or until her body snapped in two.

They called the applicants one by one using their testing numbers and Eruna had to wait at least ten minutes before they finally got into the triple digits. Thankfully, most of them never seemed to have even held a dumbbell before or even remotely exercised at all, typically falling flat on their faces when they tried to lift the ten-pound weights. Eruna's prospects were looking a bit better, but there were also some applicants could lift five hundred pounds over their heads with one hand, so she wasn't feeling completely confident.

"Why do I always end up behind the monsters?" Eruna whined as the applicant put the weights away.

"#117!" the examiner called.

"Coming!"

Eruna marched over to the weight equipment and examined it with a critical eye. She wasn't going to be able to lift as much as the last guy, but she at least could prove she show that she had some physical talent. So she walked over to the hundred-pound barbell, bended her knees, and took a deep breath.

Okay, Eruna, you got this, you got this," Eruna said to herself. She grunted with effort as she raised the barbell off the rack, held it shakily on her shoulder, and slowly raised it over her head. "I've got this, I've got this, I've got – I DON'T GOT THIS!"

The weight of the barbell caused her to topple sideways like a timbering tree, only barely throwing her hands out in time to stop herself from smacking her face in the floor. Unfortunately, the weight ended up falling on her examiner's foot. The official howled like an injured coyote, hopping up and down on his other foot. He was in too much pain to see where he was skipping until he fell over on the weight rack, sending all the barbells rolling at the other applicants. Eruna didn't see what happened next because she covered her eyes with her hands, but there was a distinguishable boom followed by the wailing of the ambulance.

-50-Meter Dash-

While the paramedics carted off several applicants that unfortunately had to end their exams short, Eruna marched stiffly over to the next station, whistling innocently while trying not to meet anyone's eye. Her next test was the fifty-meter dash. It was a straightforward test: four people were called together and all of them would run to the opposite end of the track where their times would be marked down by the proctors. Eruna was feeling really confident in this one – she may have screwed up at weightlifting, but she was a strong runner.

The examiner called the next four applicants and Eruna bounced over to the starting line, feeling fairly confident in herself. Her opponents were a couple of fashionistas and a skinny nerd.

'These guys are totally out of their league,' thought Eruna, grinning. 'This is gonna be a walk in the park.'

"On your mark…get set…go!"

Eruna took off like a rocket, quite leaving her opponents in the dust. In under two seconds, she had already crossed the entire track and was just a few quick steps away from crossing the finish line. However, in Eruna's haste to get through the physical exam, she failed to realize that one of her shoelaces had come undone. Naturally, the orangette stepped on the lace, which tucked at her other foot just as she was about to reach the finish. Instead, Eruna sharply fell sideways out of the track and ended up bumping into the examiner from the weightlifting station, who had left his post to grab himself a cup of steaming hot coffee. Eruna bumped him hard in the shoulder, causing the examiner to spill the hot beverage all over his face, scream as his skin immediately began to blister.

Meanwhile, Eruna's opponents calmly walked over the finish line at a normal pace and the examiner wrote down their times.

"Well, this isn't going as well as I'd hoped," said Eruna, tuning out the burned examiner flailing on the floor. "But this is just a minor setback, that's all! I'm still in this!"

-Pitching-

So, the weightlifting and the 50-meter dash didn't work out like, but there were still the remaining tests, Eruna thought optimistically. The next one was so simple that there was no possible way that Eruna could screw this up.

Examinees were all given a single baseball and asked to throw it at a mat painted with a target from fifty feet away – just a little short of the distance between a pitcher's mound and Homeplate. Depending on where they hit the target, the applicants would ben rated based on their speed as well as accuracy. Once again, the results of the applicants varied between each person with the majority rarely even being able to make it to the mat. After a observing a rather pathetic throw from the girl before her, the examiner called Eruna's number next and the scarf-wearing girl stepped up to the line enthusiastically.

"Okay, Eruna, this should be easy-peasy," Eruna said to herself, taking one of the balls from the bin. "You've watched plenty of sports anime before…. Okay, so I never made it past the first episode on any of them, but I still watched them! This is just like that, only in real life! Simple, right?"

But as Eruna quickly learned, baseball in anime wasn't the same as baseball in real life. She focused her eyes solely on the target in front of her, drawing an imaginary crosshair in her mind. She started to pull back her arm, lifting her front foot like all those pitchers on TV, lunged forward and shot the ball with all her strength…. The baseball landed nowhere near the mat. In fact, the ball slingshot straight towards the ceiling, bounding off the rafters, fell towards the weightlifting station, and bounced off the floor to nail the same weightlifting examiner under his chin, knocking him off his feet and into the weight rack again.

"WHY?" The examiner cried. "WHAT DID I EVER DO TO DESERVE THIS?"

"Sorry!" Eruna apologized.

-Side-to-side Jump-

The next one was pretty easy, Eruna thought, and there was no reason anyone should be able to get hurt…but the weightlifting examiner put on a football helmet and pads for good measure.

The idea was that applicants were supposed to bounce back and forth between two chalk outlines marked on the floor at a reasonable distance and the number of repetitions they did within thirty seconds would be counted toward their score. When Eruna arrived at the station, there was already a group in the middle of their session. Most of them were going all-out at the start, but the repeated motions quickly wore them out before the timer was halfway done. Others were going at an even pace, but Eruna couldn't help noticing that the proctor was frowning at those people in particular.

"Time!" shouted the examiner. "Next group, please!"

The next group stepped in to replace the previous bunch, some of whom were wheezing and holding their ribs. Eruna took her place at one of the designated zones, leaning forward against her knees, and talking a deep, calming breath. She needed to do well on this – she had already failed enough today.

"On my count!" the examiner called. "Three…two…one…start!"

Eruna bounced back and forth the very instant the words left his lips, noticeably much quicker than any of the other examinees, who were just starting to catch on. She knew it was probably a bad idea to go full force at the start after watching the previous group, but Eruna felt confident in her stamina. They were crossing the halfway mark when her fellow applicants were starting to pant and sweat, but Eruna didn't feel the least bit winded. She continued to jump between the lines without rest until –

"Time," said the examiner, and the applicants finally stopped, much to their relief. He looked at his clipboard for a moment then up at Eruna. "Twenty-two repetitions. Very impressive, #117. That's the best so far."

"Yatta!" Eruna cheered, pumping her fist in the air. "I didn't screw up for once!"

At the same time, the weightlighting examiner let out a relived sigh as her removed his helmet…right before he was beaned in the back of the head by another baseball.

"Sorry!" another applicant apologized.

-Long Jump-

Eruna's last test for the fitness exam was the long jump, and it was her last chance to impress the proctors. Except for the side-to-side jumps, Eruna had failed spectacularly on all of the trails and had developed a very bad relationship with the weightlifting examiner, who was glaring at her from across the gym wearing a new cast on his foot and an ice pack for his head while spreading burn cream on his face.

All test was required for this test was to run a short distance into a twenty-five-foot box filled with sand and jump as far as their can; where their feet hands would determine their final score. Despite its simplicity, Eruna knew there had to be some way that she was going to screw this up with her bad luck; she managed to do so three tests in a row. But there was no point in worrying about it now, Eruna thought as she waited patiently in line for her turn. Everyone before her did about average between the 15-17-foot range – there was very athletic boy who managed to jump nineteen feet, and set the bar for what Eruna had to beat if she wanted to impress the officials.

"Next person to the starting like," said the examiner.

Eruna marched up to the white line and crouched into a runner's stance, taking a breath and she zoned in on the track in front of her. She impatiently waiting for the proctor's signal and nearly took off before he brought his hand down, but Eruna controlled her impulses and held herself steady before she was finally given permission to run. Eruna sprinted with everything she had, feeling the muscles in her legs already starting to tense up as she approached the edge of the sandbox. She stomped her feet at the jumping point and leapt high into the air –

Or at least she would have if she hadn't clipped her shoe on the edge.

The scarf-wearing girl fell forward into the sandpit so fast that she didn't realize what happened until she started rolling uncontrollably across the box. She rolled out of the sandpit and started sliding across the gymnasium, headed straight for the weightlifting examiner who was taking a break on the bench. The poor proctor was trying to get a drink of water and relax after a stressful day when he saw the bane of his existence rolling in his direction, frowning.

"I should have stayed in law school," he bemoaned.

CRASH!

"The fitness examination is now over." Miss Kobayashi's voice declared over the loudspeakers. "At this time, we ask that you remain on campus and wait as we compile the results. The list of those who have been accepted will be posted on the bulletin board this afternoon. For those of you who haven't brought a lunch, food will be provided in the first-floor classrooms, but it's first come first serve. Thank you for your cooperation."

Two hundred applicants all over the school let out relieved sighs and stressed groans, knowing that the exams were finally over. There were some who felt confident in their standings and made their way to lunch with a spring in their step, and others were slumped over in varying states of anxiety and depression. Eruna was part of the latter category.

She didn't go down to lunch with the rest of the examinees, wanting to spend some time alone with her thoughts, and ended up in small room that was labeled for the "Light Music Club". Luckily enough, there was fancy cabinet with a bunch of fancy-looking tea sets and a five little boxes with cheesecake slices in them. Eruna took the strawberry cheesecake, figuring someone wouldn't mind sharing, although she did accidentally bump the cabinet and broke one of the tea sets – hope that wasn't expensive. She laid flat at the table made of desks, stabbing the cheesecake and stuffing her mouth in a very sloppy way.

"Whelp, this day can't get any worse," Eruna bemoaned, spraying cheesecake crumbs all over the table. "That written exam was way too hard and that fitness exam was horrible. It's like some author is writing a shitty fanfic about me trying to make me fail on purpose. If I already screwed up so badly in the exams, then aren't I definitely out? And if the outs pile up, then aren't I completely driven into a corner? In baseball terms, it's the bottom of the ninth with two outs and bases loaded! And I'm the batter, biding my time? Which means" – Eruna suddenly jumped up, looking strangely positive – "I still have a chance to hit a grand slam!"

"You're being way too optimistic," sand Miss Kobayashi as she entered the room, giving Eruna a blank stare.

"Huh? Does that mean it's the end of the game after all?" said Eruna tearfully. Miss Kobayashi sweatdropped – this girl was impossible to keep up with.

"We haven't tallied all the results yet, but it doesn't look good in your case," said Miss Kobayashi, flipping the pages on her clipboard. "Applicant #117: failed to get a single question right on their written exam and did subpar during the fitness exam. Quite honestly, you should fail right away." She looked up at Eruna, who was crying waterfalls, much to Miss Kobayashi's exasperation. "But…you're being called in for the third exam."

"There's a third exam?" Eruna perked surprisingly.

"It's not an exam that we publicize to the rest of the examinees," said Miss Kobayashi. "The first two exams are actually just set up to see which people are eligible. The third exam is what really determines whether or not you get in. If you manage to pass that one – "

"Then there's still a chance for me to get in?" Eruna shrieked happily, bouncing on her feet giddily. "I'll take it! What do I have do?"

"There is a forest behind the school," Miss Kobayashi explained. "You'll follow the dirt road to the old school building. There will be an instructor there to explain your final exam."

"Gotcha!" said Eruna with an eager salute. "I'll definitely pass this one with flying colors! Just you watch!"

Eruna didn't even wait for Miss Kobayashi to respond before she was out the door, bounding down the stairs four steps at a time. Miss Kobayashi stared out the open door, humming to herself.

"With her scores, she shouldn't have been eligible," Miss Kobayashi mumbled to herself. "She showed no signs of a Variation, either. But…she is a direct descendant of the Ichinomiya Clan's Main Branch, so she's bound to get some special treatment. But that's not going to matter if she doesn't do well in the final exam, especially considering the person giving it…."

Eruna full sprinted around the school to end up in the thickly dense forest behind the school, immediately finding the path as Miss Kobayashi instructed. The trees were so tightly packed together, their foliage practically blotted out all sunlight; it reminded Eruna eerily of those horror movies where the cute teenager girl got lost in the woods before getting eaten by zombie clown cannibals…. Okay, so that movie doesn't actually exist, but Eruna would totally watch it if it did.

She stepped over the thick roots of the trees and the fallen logs in her path. It was clear that no one had been back here for decades, probably not since the new school building was built. Eruna pushed her way through the wall of dense bushes until she found herself standing in a small clear in the middle of the woods. In the center was a rickety old wood building that was almost half the size of the main school and was as dilapidated as one would expect. The termite-infested walls were full of holes and the nearby trees were stretching their roots into the building itself. Every single window was shattered, leaving only sharp shard in the panes, and the old school sign was on the ground in faded paint, making the name illegible.

Eruna approached one of the windows and looked inside. There were still some old desks left inside the classrooms, though most of them were either chipped or rusted over.

"Wow, this place is like totally ancient," said Eruna, standing on her tiptoes for a better look. "They just up and left this place to rot. But it's kind cool in an old-fashioned sort of way.

"I quite like it myself. It reminds me of my first job as a teacher."

Eruna shrieked in surprise and backed away from the building, accidentally tripping over her feet and falling flat on her butt. She tilted her head and looked to the open doors of the building, spotting something moving out of the shadows. Something…wiggly. Eruna bounced herself back up to her feet, quickly dusting herself off as whatever was hiding slither out into the sunlight. When the strange creature finaly came into full view…Eruna's jaw dropped dumbfoundedly.

"Uh…wha?" said Eruna slowly, tilting her head sideways strangely. "Um…who…what are you supposed to be?"

"Narufufufu," the creature laughed. "Surprised? I thought you would be – everyone is at first. But don't be scared, I'm not a bad guy. In fact, I am Serenity Academy's vice-principle. But you can call me Koro-sensei."

This is the beginning of the mini-reboot for Serenity Academy. Back when I first started this, it was the first time I ever made an original story, and it became quite clear early on that I didn't understand pacing. It all felt rush and crammed with more information than action instead of making it balanced. And the plot was definitely rushed to an unbearable level, making it somewhat choking. So I made a lot of changes to things, which will be revealed in the coming chapters.

As this is an original story, I will be in the market for a beta reader if anyone is interested.

And don't forget to vote for the fight rounds in Contest of Champions. Surprisingly, one character received a vote from every single voter, but at the same time the second vote has been evenly divided across the board, making it multi-way tie. Without a clear winner, it'll be impossible to decide who gets to fight who, so please vote.

So until next time, please read and review.

Serenity Academy Data Card

Serenity Academy: One of four specialized schools that oversees the education and growth of a secondary type of human called Variants. To the general public, Serenity Academy is an ordinary boarding school located in the heart of Hokkaido and has been lauded for teaching many famous scholars, scientists, and military leaders. The school has been known to accept students from all across the Asian continent, but has an excessively low acceptance rate, making it the most difficult school to get into.

It shares similarities to Miracle Academy in Europe, Hope Academy in Africa, and Faith Academy in America.