The room was bright. That was the first thing that Ren'on noticed when he entered the doors. The overhead florescent lights felt like they had their brightness turned up to 100, causing his pupils to narrow. To his side was the pink doctor who was guiding him to a chair in the middle of the room. He sat down in the chair, rather confused. Ren'on had never seen this room before. What was going on?
The pink doctor pushed a button, causing the chair to rise up to her level. Some other doctors came in with some machines and a bag of red liquid, setting them up all around him. Ren'on was starting to get nervous, but he knew better than to ask questions, they would never get answered.
"Hold out your arm," the pink doctor instructed.
Ren'on did as he was told, and outstretched his arm over the armrest of the chair. One of the doctors strapped his arm down, doing nothing to curve the anxiety growing in the nine year olds chest. The bag of red liquid was set up on a drip, though Ren'on had no idea what the liquid was. It didn't quite look like blood, it was too opaque for that, and it swirled in a strange way like no liquid he'd seen before.
He was so enamoured by the liquid that he failed to notice the doctor administering the drip needle, wincing as it pierced his skin. The doctors all left the room, and Ren'on was left wondering if they were going to observe him from behind the large mirror on the wall to his left. The room was now silent, with only the sound of the dripping IV to occupy his ears. Ren'on watched the liquid drip, wondering what was the point of all this. Was he supposed to wait until the bag was empty? Were they going to come back to check on him? He simply didn't know.
While his thoughts raced, there was an abrupt low thud coming from outside the door. Ren'on's ears turned to face the door, concentrating on any sound he could pick up. His ears were much more sensitive than a normal humans, and he could tell that the sound was coming from quite some distance. He looked back towards the mirror, but there was no sound coming from the speakers so he let it be.
After a couple of minutes, Ren'on started to feel a little strange. It felt like the liquid was sending electricity through his veins, burning him up inside. It didn't hurt, per say, but it felt like his body was producing too much adrenaline. The bag wasn't even a quarter of the way done, and he started to feel worried about the future.
There was another thud coming from outside the door, this time a bit closer. Ren'on started to get nervous, this just didn't seem right. His tail curled up around his chest and he held onto it with his free hand, a nervous habit he's never been able to break. The people behind the glass didn't speak up, and Ren'on had to wonder if there were even their at all.
There was another thud, now even closer. With his ears Ren'on could tell that it sounded like a large step, but it didn't sound right. It was too large, like it was from some giant monster, and it echoed across the hallway. Not even 10 seconds later there was a distant crash, like someone knocked a trolly of medical instruments over. Each sound came closer and closer to the room, and Ren'on forced his body backwards further into his chair.
"H-hello? What's going on?" Ren'on called out, hoping that someone would hear.
No answere.
"There's noises coming from outside, is something wrong?"
Silence.
There was now a louder scraping sound, like someone draging metal across the floor. Ren'on curled in on himself, now desperately trying to stay as quiet as possible as to not draw the attention of the... thing that was out there. There was another thump and Ren'on's heart skipped the beat, causing the machines around him to start beeping. The sound started getting dangerously close, and the young boy started getting desperate. He bit his lip to stop his ragged breathing, using his free hand to remove all the different wires from his body.
This didn't help, as the machines all started going off at once. Ren'on was in full on panic mode now, tugging on his tied down arm to desperately get it out, to run away. He could hear the footsteps of this inhuman thing get faster, coming closer to his direction. Ren'on clawed at the leather straps, even using his sharpened canines to try and bite them off.
The thumping turned into running, the gigantic footsteps echoing through the building. There was a horrifying, earsplitting shriek, like a person being put through the most horrific pain known to man. Ren'on could barely see the room through the tears streaming down his face, covering his ears to keep out the terrible sound. It was coming to get him.
"H-help! Please, someone help me!" Ren'on begged between sobs. "It's coming closer! Please let me go!"
There was another shriek, it was so close now that the sheer volume caused the mirror to shake and crack. It was coming to get him. The young boy was stuck in this chair while a monster rampaged towards him, and there was nothing he could do about it. Ren'on curled in on himself, shaking and sobbing while the thumping came closer and closer, silently praying that he would be saved.
It was nearly at the door, the sounds of metal and stone cracking and breaking as it was thrown out of the way. It was coming to get him. It was here. The monster hit the door, causing the thing to dent and groan from the pressure. Ren'on screamed, but it was drowned out by the sound of the shriek. It hurt his ears, and caused the lights to flicker above him. It was here. It was here. It was going to kill him.
There was another bang against the door. It was going to kill him. It was here. Another bang, and part of the door gave way, allowing a glimpse of a disgusting gnarled hand to slither through. It was giant and skeletal, and left tar like stains in its wake.
It clawed its way past the metal door, forcing its giant twisted body through the opening. It was here. It was going to kill him. He was going to die. No, this wasn't right, he wasn't supposed to die. The creature towered over him. I don't want to die. It lifted its elongated arm. I don't want to die. It's hand dangled limply over his small body. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.I DON'T WANT TO DIE. I DON'T WANT TO DIE. IDONTWANTTODIE. IDONTWANTTODIE. IDONTWAN-
Ren'on bolted out of bed, imidiatly rushing to the bathroom. He barely made it over the toilet before throwing up his dinner, the stomach acid burning his throat. His whole body was shaking, still in fight or flight mode from that horrible nightmare. He felt something touch his shoulder, causing Ren'on to violently flinch away. Behind him was Kayama, who held up her hands in a sign of piece, having been woken up by Ren'on's panic.
"Hey, easy hun. It's just me, it's Kayama. Do you know where you are?" She asked in a soft voice, lowering her body to be less threatening.
Ren'on paused to collect his thoughts, taking a shaky breath. He was... home. In the bathroom. He just had a dream, and it woke him up. Ren'on nodded, not wanting to speak.
"Ok, that's good. Are you okay?" She asked next.
Ren'on shook his head, wiping the tears away from his face. The image of that... that thing, was burned too deeply into his brain. Just the thought of it caused his stomach to start churning again.
"That's alright hun, you're safe here. Are you gonna be sick again?"
Ren'on nodded, already feeling the saliva gathering in his mouth. He quickly turned back over and let his body do what it needed to do. Kayama pulled back his hair and rubbed his back, reassuring the young boy that he was ok and in a safe place. It wasn't often that Ren'on had nightmares, Kayama thought, at least not anymore. When he first came to love with her he'd have them once or twice a week, and she'd stay up with him all the same. Now it was maybe a couple times a year.
Ren'on stopped when his system was empty, all but collapsing beside the toilet, completely exhausted. Kayama got him a glass of water and some mouthwash, something that Ren'on took graciously. After washing the vile taste from his mouth, he finally allowed himself to relax, taking deep breaths to try and steady his breathing. Now that all his senses were back, Ren'on couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. He knew that Ms. Midnight has never judged him over this, and she never would, but having someone watch you throw up on the bathroom floor was never a pleasant ordeal.
After collecting himself, Ren'on moved from the bathroom to the living room couch, his body still feeling shaky and weak from the whole ordeal. He plopped down on the couch and wrapped himself in a blanket, bringing his knees to his chest and lowering his head. His tail curled around his body, and out of habit he held it close to his body.
Out from the kitchen, Kayama brought out two cups of tea and offered one to Ren'on, who took it with a mumbled thank you. It was only three in the morning and they boy was tired, he wanted to just go back to sleep. But the thought of that thing reaching towards him... Ren'on gripped the mug harder, not wanting to think about him.
Beside him, Kayama took a seat and turned on the table side lamp, bathing the two bodies in a calming warm glow. "How are you feeling, Ren?" She asked in a soft voice.
"Mm, better," Ren'on answered with a sigh, taking another sip of his tea.
"Do you want to be alone?"
"No." He was quick to answer. He didn't want to be alone right now. Not again.
"Alright, Ren. I'll be right here."
Time passed by slowly, the first hints of sunlight were now peaking over the horizon, dying the sky a beautiful orange yellow. The tea had long since been drank and the mugs were now sitting in the sink. Ren'on still sat curled in his place on the couch, leaning to the side on the arm of the seat. On the opposite end sat Kayama with a book and a cup of coffee, the scent of the roast permeating the air. The R rated hero glanced at the clock and sighed, placing her bookmark between the pages.
"It's time for me to go to work," she announced.
Ren'on hummed a response but didn't move. He listened as she got ready, too tired to acknowledge anything. After a while she was ready and opened the front door to leave, pausing to turn back to the boy.
"Are you going to be OK on your own?" She asked.
"Mm hmm."
"Alright. Just text me in anything happens."
"Mm hmm."
And with that, he was all alone. Unlike the silence of the dream, Ren'on found the lack of noise in his home more comforting. It was just past six now and the sun was just about up, guaranteeing that he wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep. Ren'on needed something to do, something to occupy his mind. He needed a distraction. He looked around the room for something to do, he didn't want to watch TV, or listen to the radio. Ren'on eyed Kayama's book, wondering if there was anything he felt like reading.
Walking over to the bookshelf he skimmed over the titles, selectively avoiding the weirdly large amount of 18 books that Kayama collected. Just when he was about to give up, he spotted a dusty stack that made his heart skip a beat. Off to the side was his old collection of comics, dusty as hell, but it sparked something in his brain.
Ren'on took out the whole stack and placed them on the table, blowing off the layers upon layers of dust. He picked up the first copy and sat back down on the couch, flipping over to the first page, and began to read "Red Heart No.1: Red Heart vs The Taker"
Ren'on sat quietly on the train as he waited for his stop to come. It was the day of the U.A. recommendation exams, which happened the day before the regular entrence exams due to recommended students having priority. He passed the time by scrolling quietly on his phone, absently swiping down social media until his stop was called. Just as he was about to put away his phone, he got a text message from an unknown number.
(Unknown Number):
Hey Hey! Ren! Good luck with the recommendation exam! I'll see you in class A1, I promise!
Ren'on was dumbfounded, this couldn't possibly be who he thought it was... right?
:Sueno Ren'on
Suenaga, is that you? How did you get my number?
(Unknown Number):
Don't worry about it! Just do your best!
Ren'on turned off his phone, feeling both glad that someone was routing for him, and deeply unnerved as to how he was able to track down his number.
Ren'on's stop came and he got off the transit, now just a block away from the famous school. Even from where he was standing, Ren'on couldn't help but to marvel at the sheer size of the building. Even though Ms. Midnight was his legal guardian, he had never actually been to the school.
He walked up to the school gates where there was a small group of people waiting outside. It looked like they were all students waiting to take their exam, so Ren'on walked up to wait right beside them. He placed his duffel bag of gym clothes and water by his feet and stretched his arms, the joints giving a satisfying crack. He was very fortunate that the muscles weren't acting up today, Ren'on knew that if they did, then his chances of getting into the A1 class was negligible.
Almost imidiatly after setting down his stuff, he was rapidly approached by a very tall guy with a buzzed head and one of the most intense smiles he'd ever seen. He stopped short of running over the fox boy and bowed his head so low that it cracked the concrete. Ren'on was left absolutely speechless, just who was this guy?
"Hello! I am Yaoroshi Inasa! It's a pleasure to meet you!" He yelled passionately. The other people in the crowd didn't react much, probably already having to deal with the same thing earlier.
Ren'on bowed back, still a bit stunned by the enthusiastic show. "I'm Sueno Ren'on. It's nice meeting you too." He responded politely.
Inasa raised his now bleeding head, his smile never fading. "What a passionate name! I love a passionate hero, my favorite is All Might with his heroic smile! What about you?"
Ren'on didn't really need to think about it for long. "Probably Edgeshot, he's very efficient." He answered, having already adjusted to Inasa's personality. It was very similar to a certain number thief's.
"That's a great answer! I love Edgeshot too! Hey, let's be friends!"
He was really like that number thief, and he knew that once a guy like that had you in his sights, there was no escaping. "Uh, sure. I'm okay with that I guess."
Inasa's smile somehow grew even wider, and he vigorously shook Ren'on's hand. "Wonderful! Hey, you got recomended by a hero too, right? Who did you get recomended by? I was recomended by Airjet! He's a super cool hero you know?"
"I've been recomended by Ms. Midnight," Ren'on answered, feeling a bit proud to be saying it outloud. "She's working at U.A. this year."
Inasa's eyes grew wide. Ms. Midnight was a pretty famous hero with quite the reputation. Inasa couldn't help but wonder if they had similar quirks, like most of the heroes that recomended the other students.
"That's super cool, Sueno! You must have a saucy quirk just like hers!" He announced loudly, drawing the attention (and laughter) of the surrounding kids.
Ren'on choaked on whatever he was going to say next, his face flushing pink. Saucy? Just where was this guy getting such weird ideas?
"Wha-what? No. Ms. Midnight is my-"
"HELLOOOOOOO STUDENTS!" A loud voice inturupted. The now much larger group of kids turned to look beyond the school gates where Present Mic stood at the entrance doors. "WELCOME TO THE U.A. RECOMENDATION EXAM! EXAMINEES WILL SHOW THEIR INVITATION I.D. TO THE STAFF AND ENTER THROUGH THE U.A. DOORS FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS! PLEASE AND THANK YOU!"
Ren'on had to cover his head do to the sheer volume of the man's voice wreaking havoc on his sensitive ears. Everyone did as they were told and showed their official invitation to one of the many staff before heading inside. As Ren'on watched Inasa go off to bother a red and white haired guy, he could help but wonder what it was about himself that always attracted such weird and intense people.
When everyone was filtered inside, they were placed into groups of six people. Ren'on was placed in the same group as Inasa and that half toned guy from before. There was also a skeletal looking guy, a normal looking guy, and a guy with a coral head. Everyone was given a number based off of the order that they arrived in, with Ren'on himself being number fourty five.
Ren'on knew what they would all be doing at this exam, it was devided between three stages. An interview, a written exam, and a practical exam. Typically the subjects of the exam were kept private, however Ms. Midnight had let some things slip some weeks ago after happy hour went on a couple minutes too long.
The first thing that they were gonna be doing was the interview, which happened between the potential student, the principal, and all of the first year teachers. Ren'on was waiting for his turn in the hallway outside the principals office, they were calling out numbers at random so no one knew who was going to go next. Ren'on waited with his ears flat against his head, not wanting to accidentally listen in on the private conversation. The two toned guy, Todoroki if he recalls, went in nearly twenty minutes ago. Hearing that the son of endeavor was also trying to get in was a subtle shock to Ren'on. Being the son of the No. 2 hero, he must be quite formidable.
The office door opened, and Todoroki was guided out by Ms. Midnight. "Number fourty five," she called out, already eyeing him.
Ren'on got up from his seat and walked towards the office, passing by Todoroki on the way. As they crossed paths, a chill ran down Ren'on's spine. His instincts told him that the guy ment business, and that he shouldn't get in his way. There was just something in his eyes...
Entering the office, Ren'on saw quite a few tables in an open square with heroes taking up each seat. There was Ms. Midnight, Present Mic, and the principal obviously, but also thirteen, Ectoplasm, Cementoss, Vlad King, Snipe, and a scruffy looking guy that Ren'on didn't recognize. Notably, Ren'on noticed that All Might wasn't there, despite now being a U.A. teacher.
"Hello, Sueno," The principal spoke. "Please sit."
Ren'on bowed and took a seat at the table across from the principal. Said principal pulled out a folder with Ren'on's name printed on it and pulled out a bunch of papers. Looking at all the other folders he could tell that his was the largest, and he didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.
"I would like to be transparent with you Sueno. In order for this interview to run smoothly, I belive that it would be beneficial to lay out the rather 'special situation' that you come from." The principal stated.
Ren'on faltered, taking in a sharp breath as his eyes darted between the faced of his potential teachers. It shouldn't really be a surprise to him, he knew that a couple of them already knew about his past. They did all work with Ms. Midnight after all. He just hoped that his past wouldn't effect the present.
"...I see," Ren'on let out the breath he was holding. "I suppose that is to be expected, given the circumstances," he spoke as professionally as possible.
The principal nodded and took out a couple of copies of a small stack of paper, passing it around the room. It was Ren'on's entire documented history, his medical, legal, school, social, and personal life all typed out and printed onto a couple pieces of paper.
The principal clasped his hands... paws? together and began the shortened story of Ren'on's long life. "Between the years 2132 and 2140, over 60 children were taken from their homes recently after their birth and taken to an illegal underground quirk enhancement facility, including Sueno Ren'on here. Though, that name was given to you by the facility, your birth name is Akao Mikuto, is that correct?"
"That's correct, but I much prefer to go by Sueno Ren'on," Ren'on answered.
"Very well," the principal continued, "those who were subjects of the facility were put under a variety of physical and quirk related augmentations via inhumain quirk training and drug tests to enhance and even change the quirk of the user. If you are to look on the second page, you will see a scan taken directly from the facility doctors detailing how the quirk of young Sueno was forcibly altered over the course of his 11 years there."
All the staff turned the page, accept for Ms. Midnight who already knew all this information like the back of her hand. "This looks like... multiple quirks?" Snipe asked.
"Not quite," the principal answered. "When a human is born, the baby's quirk will be that of one of the parents, or a combination of the two. When it comes to combinations, the possibilities can be nearly endless depending on the nature of the parents quirks. The children that were targeted had parents with Quirks that could have a maluable nature and could create a variety of possibilities. What the facility did was take the child to unlock all of those possibilities on a single child, rather than have them happen to many children."
"Ren'on's quirk is still a singular quirk that has branched out to embody the multiple possibilities that he could have been born with," Ms. Midnight added.
"Such a thing sounds like it would be difficult to control," Cementoss stated.
The principal nodded. "You would be correct. Those who were rescued from the facility had to be carefully monitored for their first year due to the unpredictable and volatile nature of their quirks. The many augmentations that were forced upon them at a young age also put great strain on their bodies."
The scruffy man placed the paper down on the table and leaned back on his chair. "So, he can't control his quirk, and using it causes immense strain on his body. Why should we consider him?" He challenged.
Ms. Midnight came to his defense. "Ren'on can now control his quirk just like any other student. He has gone through rigorous training to make sure that he isn't a danger to himself or anyone else."
"Has he also contained the strain said quirk causes on his body?"
Ren'on decided to come to his own defense this time, not wanting Ms. Midnight to be at odds with her peers. "I was actually hoping that U.A. itself to help me with that."
All eyes turned to him. "Since U.A. has the highest budget of any Hero School, and they have state of the art facilities, I was hoping that I would be able to take advantage of this school's heath facilities to help me. I don't know what kind of info you have in those files, but my primary problem when it comes to my quirk is in my muscles and the strain that it causes me. This place is potentially better than any hospital that I could ever go to, so if I have any chance at getting better, it would be here."
The principal placed his head over his hands (paws?) and looked to be deep in contemplation. "Thank you for sharing, Sueno. I already have access to your medical files thanks to your guardian. If you do end up being a student at this school, do we have your permission to share those files with the staff here, so that they are better equipped to accommodate for you?" He asked.
"You have my permission, yes."
"Wonderful. Now continuing the conversation, as of five years ago the facility was raided by the heroes Edgeshot, Best Jeanist, Ms. Midnight, All Might, and Majestic, and the children were saved from from the lab while the many doctors and caretakers were taken into custody. As previously mentioned, the children were kept monitored, in Sueno's case by our own Ms. Midnight, and they were each evaluated to no longer be of any sort of danger."
With the end of the explanation the room was left in dead silence. It was very strange for Ren'on, having just heard most of his life story summed up in just ten minutes. He contributed so little to the conversation that he might as well be having an out of body experience.
"So, does that correctly sum up your situation, Sueno?" The principal asked.
Ren'on didn't know what to say. The explanation was so... simple, too simple. After everything that he had experienced over the last fifteen years, after everything that he still experiences, to have it all summed up in a mere ten minutes felt... trivial. As if on instinct, his eyes subtly went to Ms. Midnight. She said nothing, and did nothing, but she gave him a reassuring look that he knew well.
Ren'on took a deep breath and clasped his hands together on the table. "To be quite honest with you Sir, no, it doesn't. I don't think there ever could be a good summery of what I've been through without trivializing it. There are a lot of things that have happened to me that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies, and has and probably will continue to effect every part of my life. But... that's also why I want to go here. For eleven years of my life there was no one to come save me, and I had given up on the concept of freedom. It's not a feeling that I would ever want to happen to anyone, let alone a child. I want to be the kind of hero who saves the hopeless and gives hope to the unsaved, and for a dream like that I won't settle for anything less than the best."
The scruffy man leaned back once again, seemingly satisfied with that answer. The principal gave an affirming nod in acknowledgement. "I understand that completely, Suano. Now, with that little backstory out of the way, shall we proceed with the rest of the interview?"
The interview that followed ran as normal, with no more follow up questions related to Ren'on's past. When they were done the boy was instructed to the next part of the exam, the written test, and left the room as the final interview concluded. The staff were left to stew in their thoughts, looking through the paperwork that they were given about Ren'on. While the principal did well to summarize the most basic aspects, there was a lot of things that he'd left out of the conversation.
"I have some questions about this whole situation," Cementoss stated, holding up the papers. "Every child listed on here has the same last name, Sueno, why is that?"
"The facility gave them this name, Sueno, as a way to enforce their own identities on these children." The principal answered. The name was spelled as 末野, with 末 meaning "end" and 野 meaning "Civilian life". No guesses as to the facilities intentions were needed.
"Is there a reason why his family doesn't have custody of him right now, since his quirk is no longer volatile? Vlad King asked.
"Well, it really comes down to the fact that he doesn't want to go with them," Midnight answered. "Despite being his family, he never knew them, and he wasn't in the right mindset to be trusting strangers at the time of his rescue. They're still in contact, though mostly through the second oldest child."
"Speaking of children," Ectoplasm added, "there are only 39 with any info on them. You said that there was 66 taken."
The principals face changed to a grim one. "Out of the 66 children that were stolen, only 39 were ever found, and out of that 39, only 11 were found still alive, Sueno being one of them."
The weight of the principals words permeated the room, causing a heavy burden to weigh on the heroes shoulders. The idea that those children all suffered so much, it was a thought best kept locked away for their own mental well being. Those who already knew of the horrorible truth had haunted looks on their faces, especially Midnight, having been apart of the raid. The images of all those children was one burned into her memory like an iron brand.
"...You said that 11 were still alive, and yet there's only nine children listed here." Vlad King inquired, though hesitantly.
Ms. Midnight was the one to speak up this time. "11 children were still alive when we left the premises, however the side effects of the quirk augmentations can have dire consequences on a weaker body. One child, Sueno Sahana ended up passing away in the hospital a couple weeks later. The other child, Sueno Roi, ran away from home shortly after being returned to his family and has yet to be located."
"Is Sueno aware of this? To my understanding, he and Sueno Roi were very close," The principal asked.
Ms. Midnight nodded. "Yeah, Ren'on knew from the day that he left." She answered.
"I hope you don't intend on calling him by his first name while being his teacher, Midnight. You're being too emotional about this decision." Aizawa spoke, breaking his silence.
Midnight was taken back, realizing her mistake, but could he really blame her? She had been watching other the boy for years, watching him grow and being there for him like a parent would be there for a child. Of course she would be a little emotional about it. But Kayama knew that Aizawa was right, she couldn't afford to pick favorites as a teacher. Still, her eyes drifted towards the direction of the exams where she knew Ren'on would be. She hoped that he would succeed.
Ren'on entered the final area for the final section of the exam, the practical exam. The written exam had gone smoothly, Ren'on being thankful to his tutors for pushing him super hard to succeed. He had changed into his gym clothes and was bussed out to one of the giant outdoor lots that U.A. owned. Inside he joined the rest of his six man squad near the entrance, where Present Mic stood.
"Okay! The written test of the recommendation entrence exam is over! Next is the practical exam!" Present Mic announced in a flashy way. "You'll go six at a time for the practical. Go to the exam location when your number's called! The exam will be a 3-kilometer race, but it's a course that you won't be able to finish if you just run. Use your Quirks freely to reach the finish line!" He finished with a striking pose.
Ren'on took his waiting time as an opportunity to scout out the race track, seeing if he could discern how difficult it would be. From behind Present Mic, he could see lots of water, an urban area, tight rope, and... spikes? Was that allowed? Ren'on didn't have time to think about that before his group's numbers were called out, being the second team to go.
They waited at the starting line for the the light to turn red, Ren'on lowering his body to prepare himself for the race. He brought out three tails, totaling at four, and felt the rush of power that flowed through him. Ren'on built up that fiery energy in his feet and readied himself to run
The light turned green and everyone was off. Ren'on used his fox fire in his feet, propelling him forwards at a great speed. Beside him Inasa used his wind to fly over the ground, and Todoroki shot off a great wall of ice to get ahead. The first obstical was just over a bridge, and involved going into the water to swim across to a cliff face. Ren'on used his fire to glide over the water, causing a trail of steam to follow him close behind. Glancing back he could see that the three others were already struggling, not having quirks that could get them over quickly.
At the other side of the water was the cliff face which they were clearly ment to climb yp judging by the rock climbing plastic rocks. At Ren'on neared the cliff he heald out his hands and dug his claws into the side of the rock face. With the boosted strength of his tails he practically threw himself up the side if the cliff, following close behind Inasa in third place.
After that was the tight rope walking, which was more difficult. Ren'on used his animalistic abilities to run across the rope, aided by his tails for balance and just a slight propulsion from his fire, not wanting to burn down the rope he was on. As he needed to be more careful on this one, it cost Ren'on some distance, causing him to curse under his breath.
Next up was a trail that led to a waterfall that they somehow needed to get down to a path below. Down the sides were some wet and slippery looking plastic rocks, but Ren'on didn't have the time for that. Instead, he opted to throw himself over the falls in a pencil dive, using his tails as rudders to make sure that his trajectory was right. As he neared the ground he stretched his tails to wrap around him like a protective sheild and used his fire to slow his fall before hitting the ground.
Ren'on rolled out of the ball and didn't stop running, once again using his fire in his feet. He was once again catching up the the other two and he didn't want to fall behind again. He managed to maneuver around the spikes with ease which led him to some balancing logs held upright in the water. He quickly ran over them, leaving charred footprints in the wood as he rushed passed.
After that was a round about that led to an urban area, the track was almost finished now. Wanting to make a big finish, Ren'on brought out another tail to boost his power, using it as a slingshot around a pole to throw himself forwards. He was right on Inasa's heels as they both maneuverd around the industrial landscape. Ren'on could feel his body beginning to creak but he pushed through it and forced himself forwards.
Right after they completed the urban area they were down to the final stretch. Todoroki was still in the lead, with Inasa close behind, and Ren'on right behind Inasa. Perhaps he could have won if he had brought out more tails to boost his power, but Ren'on knew his limits, and he knew that if he had more than five out at a time then he would risk great harm to himself. He had accepted third place, knowing that he did his best, as Inasa closed the distance between himself and Todoroki, taking first place by a hair.
After passing the finish line, Ren'on crouched closer to the floor, trying to catch his breath. That was so much more intense than he thought it would be, he didn't think that he would have to have five tails like that. He could hear Inasa trying to talk to Todoroki again, but Ren'on didn't hear what he was saying, more so bewildered as to how he could still be so energetic after all that.
Ren'on staggered over to his bag and got out his water bottle that had a little All Might charm attached to the lid. He drank the whole thing in one go, as if he hadn't had a single drop of water in weeks. From behind him, Inasa had run up to him and slapped him on the back in congratulations, causing Ren'on to choke on his water.
"That was a great race! You're quirk isn't saucy at all!" He yelled, once again gaining the laughter of the surrounding students.
Ren'on rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Yeah. You're pretty great with your quirk, Yaoroshi. You seem like you have a lot of practice." He stated, trying to change the subject.
"I do. Thank you for noticing! Using my quirk to fly over the land is super freeing, don't you agree?"
Ren'on wished that he could. "Kinda, but my quirk isn't exactly the freeing type..." he answered vaguely. He really didn't want to relay his whole quirk history to strangers. Again.
"Well you could have fooled me! You really make up for it with your fiery passion, literally!" He laughed at his own joke. "I have to leave soon, but here's my Email. I don't have a phone!"
He passed Ren'on a piece of paper and ran off, leaving the boy wondering if he had been keeping stripes of paper with his Email in his pocket this whole time. He put the paper in his pocket and packed his things to wait outside for the bus to take him back to the main school. He looked around at the other kids as he waited, seeing how tired and scuffed up they were. One kid even looked like he got a black eye, Ren'on had no idea how that even happened.
As the bus drove them all back to the main campus, Ren'on felt confident in his placement in the school. He was within the top three students in the race, he passed by his written exam smoothly, and he managed to satisfy at least one person during his interview. His phone buzzed, breaking him out of his thoughts. Ren'on glanced at the notification and was surprised to see a text from his Guardian, Ms. Midnight. There was no context to the message, it was simply the thumbs up emoji, but Ren'on knew what it ment. As the bus made it to its final stop outside of the school, Ren'on was able to get off with a bright smile.
Quick Note!
I know that the recommendation exam test was really confusing, but I was trying to base it off the screen cap from that one flashback with Present Mic. It was really confusing, and I probably got it wrong, but I tried my best.