After my… cough… ride with Mawata, we reached the gates of the practical exams before everyone else, so we had to wait.
"You sure do seem to enjoy using your powers a bit more these days," I sighed while, to my surprise, she blushed and looked away.
"I-I just got too excited… that's all," she muttered.
I will forever deny how cute she looked like that.
Anyways, even though the exam is basically a suicide mission, I was still excited.
It's been a while since I threatened my existence with adrenaline and bad decisions. Old habits die hard… or something.
I turned to Mawata to ask something but froze seeing her expression.
It was serious again.
She reached up and cupped my cheeks and pulled me downwards to face her and spoke.
"Tensei, if you cannot beat them, or if you're in trouble, either use your powers or get your stupid ass to this gate or else I'm gonna drag you out by myself."
"Y'know, leaving this gate means you forfeit the exams," I replied. "If you drag me out, you'll fail with me. You good with that?"
And no, I'm not blushing from our close proximity to each other.
Nope. Never.
"I know… and I don't give a fuck. Either you're leaving with your life or you develop brain cells for once. I'm okay with retaking the exams next year if you are," she replied while staring into my eyes like she was reading my soul.
She probably was.
Cuz any retort died before I could think of them and I dumbly replied, "yes ma'am!"
Looking satisfied but not releasing me from the physical and emotional hold she had on me right now, we just stared at each other.
None of us dared move close or we'd cross a line of no return.
Until…
"Go get a fucking room!" I heard a voice yell from behind us.
While Mawata yelled and jumped a few hundred feet in the air, I turned my head fast enough to hear a crack or twelve.
And I saw him.
Eiji Tomura. Still with a broken fist. Still with a toothy grin on his face.
"Fuck! Bro, don't do that again!" I yelled, while waiting for Mawata to come down.
"You're lucky it was me who found you guys and not someone else," he laughed out, much to my annoyance.
Mawata finally came back from… wherever she jumped to, and we heard all the others filter in.
Through the crowd, I saw Mawata lean in and whisper to Eiji, "you should probably get that checked out," while pointing to the wrist, slightly swollen. "It looks like a Mickey Mouse glove," but he just laughed.
The horn blared, signaling the start of the exam, and everyone bolted into the fake city…
I could almost hear an AOT opening song play in my head.
The exam's objective was simple. At least on paper.
'Stay conscious until the time elapses.'
Practically though…
Basically mission impossible.
Ten minutes in and nearly half of the examinees were either knocked out cold, sprawled out in different sections of the fake city…
Or booked it the instant they saw the first seventy foot golem approach us.
Now though, the weaker ones had been weeded out so the others had an easier time weaving through the golems.
'Or rather, some of them were easily weaved,' I thought as I saw one literally slap someone out of the fake city.
Mawata, on the other hand, was having fun.
True to her word, she was faster than any golem as one tried to punch her.
Big mistake.
She activated her ability and instantly became the caffeinated mosquito I know and love.
Swerving round a golem's outstretched arm, her body basically became a dash of light. She ran around the golem a few times to gain momentum before circling towards its head and kicking it clean off.
It would be great…
If the damn thing wasn't about to fall on my head.
Luckily for me, I was able to evade way quick enough to avoid it from killing me and met up with Mawata who dropped back to normal running speed.
"Showoff!" I grinned while she stuck out her tongue at me but smiled nonetheless.
At the entrance gate, she asked (demanded) that we move together so she can easily, and I quote, "drag my reckless ass out if things go south."
Turns out there was no need for that cuz my training actually paid off. Couple that with the mercenary and assassin techniques etched in my soul, those robots were basically fodder to me.
'Though I doubt I could punch any without breaking my fist… at least, without my powers,' I thought as we hid in a fake alleyway to catch our breath.
Mawata decided it was a good time to laugh at me, stating I'm too slow.
I flipped her off.
She kept laughing.
Peeking out of the alleyway to watch the other possible candidates, I noticed none were really anything to write home about.
Just highly forgettable NPCs who either ran, hid… or both.
Except maybe a handful of them.
Like one guy… fast and efficient. He swiveled round multiple golems, only touching them briefly as they seemed to just… combust.
Another one was just… pulling weapons out of fucking NOWHERE!!!
Parrying a hit from a golem with a comically large metal fist, he dropped it instantly and pulled out a cannon and shot the damn thing's head off.
Someone else was just… freezing shit.
A seventy foot golem trying to attack?
Frozen.
An obstacle minding its business?
Frozen.
An examinee running for his fucking life?
Yep, he got frozen too.
What's worse? Bro was looking so blasé that I kinda started feeling bad for the golems.
Shit ain't even personal, I laughed.
And finally, Eiji. I was right about him having some kind of strength enhancing ability since he didn't fight as much as bulldoze through each golem approaching him.
I turned back to Mawata and gestured to the timer reading five minutes left, meaning we had to get back to the gate.
"ONLY FIFTEEN EXAMINEES LEFT," the announcer yelled through invisible speakers.
BOOM
"OOF! LOOKS LIKE IT'S ONLY FOURTEEN LEFT," he corrected as one innocent, young guy was yeeted out of the fake city at about two times the speed of sound.
Rest in peace… lil bro.
Anyways, we both started fighting through the golems, Mawata showing off her speed like the uncultured gremlin she is, while I tried to NOT die… again.
And it looked like the others made it too since the temperature dropped so fast it was confusing.
I ducked out of the way with Mawata fast enough to avoid 'Mr. Nonchalant' pass by on an ice… ramp?
While 'The Terrorist' (the guy who blew shit up) ran by while yelling, "sorry 'bout him! He's workin' through shit."
And 'Toon Force' (the guy with infinite inventory and the power of Looney Tunes) earned his name by zooming by on a magic carpet wearing the most realistic Aladdin costume I have ever seen.
Yep… a normal day in my life.
Before I could turn and run with Mawata, I saw her expression. A mix of fear, confusion and… something else I can't recognize. She held my hand and whispered.
"Tensei… something's wrong… like… horribly wrong."
Almost like she could see some enemy no one else saw.
And then she moved.
Right back into the city.
To a cluster of golems surrounding someone.
Eiji. Broken and bloodied but still wearing a smile. One I wore at the end of my past life.
A smile accepting death.
"Not on my fucking watch," I growled and bolted after Mawata.
Five minutes earlier… Eiji's POV
I knew the second the horn blasted that my wrist was going to be a problem.
Normally, I can throw a punch hard enough to fold a car door like paper.
But right now?
Every swing sent a white hot stab of pain up my arm.
It felt like someone had swapped my bone with a metal rod and then bent it wrong.
"Shit… should've listened to that pink haired gremlin," I muttered, dodging a massive stone fist.
Mawata had literally told me, "go to a doctor before that thing turns purple."
I laughed it off.
Now look at me—running circles around a seventy foot magical skyscraper with arthritis.
The golem swung again. I jumped back, but my balance was off.
The swollen wrist kept throwing my center of gravity left.
I stumbled, scraping the ground.
The impact numbed my fingers.
Great. Now I had a dead fish hand on top of everything.
Still, I forced myself up. If I could just land ONE good punch with my good arm, I could topple this oversized Minecraft build—
CRACK!
Pain exploded in my wrist as the golem's arm grazed me—just grazed me—but it was enough to send me flying into a wall.
I tasted blood.
A lot of blood.
But I stood again, wobbling.
Not out of bravery.
Out of spite.
"You hit like a bitch…" I spat, though my voice trembled.
The golem didn't react—just raised its arm to crush me.
I ran.
But I wasn't fast enough anymore.
The broken wrist messed my swing, my balance, my dodging.
Every time I tried to pivot, my body leaned wrong, like my bones weren't cooperating.
I ducked another fist, but my left foot slipped on rubble and—
SLAM!
A second golem backhanded me like a mosquito.
My back hit the ground so hard I swear the earth developed a me shaped dent.
Everything blurred at the edges.
I could hear distant yelling.
Someone's ice cracking.
Explosions.
The exam timer.
But my vision was tunneling.
Still… I pushed myself up.
Again.
One knee, then one foot.
Even with blood soaking my mouth, I grinned.
Typical. Mom always calls me stubborn.
Maybe she was right.
Maybe I was just too stupid to know when to quit.
The golems closed in—three, maybe four of them—towering over me like judges waiting for a verdict.
I felt something warm drip down my chin.
I lifted my good hand into a fist.
"…not yet."
Then my legs gave out.
And when I fell onto my knees, everything inside me just… quieted.
The pain, the noise, the panic.
A strange calm washed over me—familiar in a way I'd hoped I'd never feel again.
I'd seen that look in the mirror once.
The look people wear right before they stop getting back up.
So I smiled.
Not because I wanted to die…
But because fighting any longer was impossible.
"Guess this is it…"
The golem raised its fist for the finishing blow—
Stone grinding, shadow swallowing me whole—
And right before it fell, two things happened at once:
A blur of pink lightning cut into the scene.
And a voice—furious, protective, and uncomfortably familiar—ripped through the air:
"NOT. ON. MY. FUCKING. WATCH!"