MY TURN

“He pushed himself too far,” I said, adjusting his weight against my shoulder. “We need to get him to the nurse.”

Miss Clarissa appeared almost instantly, her sharp eyes softening just a little as she studied Mikio. “Overuse of ability output. His body couldn’t handle the strain of that new technique.”

I clenched my jaw. So it was something new… he risked himself for this race.

Two staff members with medical bands rushed forward and created a floating stretcher with aura. Gently, they lifted Mikio onto it. His flames flickered weakly around his arms before vanishing completely.

“Don’t worry,” Miss Clarissa assured, glancing at all of us. “He’ll be fine after some rest. But… he needs to learn his limits.”

“Limits, huh…” I muttered, walking beside the stretcher as they carried him off.

Sakura grabbed my sleeve. “Hira-kun… he won, didn’t he? He proved himself.”

I looked at Mikio’s unconscious face, then nodded. “Yeah. He more than proved himself.”

When we arrived at the infirmary, the nurse was already waiting. A middle-aged woman with short silver hair and a calming aura, she placed glowing hands over Mikio’s chest.

The nurse’s glowing hands lingered on Mikio’s chest, her aura pulsing in steady waves. After a long silence, she finally sighed.

“Severe aura exhaustion,” she said gravely. “If he pushes himself like this again… he’ll need at least three days of rest.”

Sakura’s eyes widened. “Three days?!”

Even I felt my chest tighten. That meant missing training, missing opportunities to grow, and in this school… that was practically a death sentence.

But then the nurse chuckled, her lips curving into a sly smile. “I’m joking. I can have him healed in two hours.”

Sakura fell to her knees with relief. “Don’t scare me like that!”

I exhaled sharply. “That wasn’t funny.”

“It was for me,” the nurse replied with a mischievous grin. “Now, out. He needs quiet while I stabilize his aura.”

Reluctantly, we stepped outside. The door slid shut behind us, leaving the rest of Class F waiting in the hall.

Fuji crossed his arms. “So he really collapsed, huh? Honestly… not surprising. That guy’s always straining himself.”

Mikasa leaned against the wall, her expression unreadable. “But he won. Against Ryo of all people. That’s not something to brush off.”

Talia nodded. “He risked his body, yes, but… it showed us just how far he’s willing to go for this team.”

Jackson adjusted his glasses, his tone calm but serious. “And it revealed something important. Did you hear what Ryo said? About Mikio’s parents… his brother?”

The air went heavy.

Suki broke the silence first, frowning. “So what if he’s from a hybrid family? He’s still one of us. That doesn’t change anything.”

“Exactly,” Yuki added. “In fact, it makes him stronger. He’s been through worse than any of us.”

I listened quietly, taking in their words. The truth was, they were all right. Mikio wasn’t just another classmate anymore—he had fought, bled, and proved himself.

For the first time, I realized something. Class F wasn’t just a group of rejects struggling to survive. We were becoming a team.

We returned to the dome, and I could feel it—the determination burning in Class F after seeing what Mikio had done.

“Will he be alright?” Miss Clarissa asked.

“Yes, the nurse has already begun the healing,” I answered.

“Good.”

Her voice was calm, but I could tell she had been just as worried about Mikio as the rest of us.

“Next up is the sensory test.”

I chose Mikasa for this one, and she dominated.

Suki and Yuki, however, lost the stealth trial.

Fuji fell short in the defense test, but redeemed himself with a flawless aerial mobility display.

By the time the points were tallied, both classes were tied at 1820.

Only one trial remained—the combat test.

“The last test for today will be combat,” Miss Clarissa announced.

“This time,” Class E’s instructor added, “it will be a team trial.”

A team trial, huh?

“If it’s combat, Squad Zero is our best bet,” I said.

But there was still one problem.

“…Mikio.”

Just then, glowing words burned into the air: Don’t count me out yet.

I turned toward the door. Mikio stood there, steady on his feet.

“Mikio!” Sakura cried, rushing over. “I’m so glad you’re alright!”

He stepped forward, joining the class. Relief swept through everyone’s faces.

“Glad you’re okay,” Talia said softly.

“We were all worried,” Fuji smirked, “but I think Hikaru was the most worried.”

“Hey, I never said that. I knew he’d be fine.”

“Just admit it, Hira-kun,” Sakura teased.

“Will you all just shut up?”

The hallway erupted with laughter. For the first time, Class F felt like more than a group of rejects. We were becoming a family.

“Mikio, are you up for a battle?”

Always, he scribbled into the air.

Renji Arata stepped forward with his team. “Stardust is ready.”

Stardust? What kind of name was that? Sounded like a girl idol group. Almost like something Sakura would come up with.

Squad Zero also stepped forward.

“Squad Zero is ready too… I guess,” I said without much energy.

“At least our name’s easier to remember,” Mikio burned into the air.

“Yeah,” I admitted. “At least it doesn’t sound like a girl band.”

“You will be fighting each other in this trial,” Class E’s instructor announced.

“Sometimes you’ll face dark exorcists who fight in teams. It’s becoming more common,” Miss Clarissa explained. Then her gaze shifted to Mikio. “You can go all out—but don’t overdo it like someone here.”

The dome shimmered, twisting, reshaping itself into a dense forest—the same one from our earlier tests.

Sakura tightened her grip on my arm.

“Are you trying to rip it off?” I muttered.

“That’s not what you tell a nervous girl!” she snapped, cheeks puffed out.

“I don’t deal with annoying nervous girls every day,” I countered.

She opened her mouth to retort, but before she could, the world flickered—teleporting us straight into the forest.

“You will have to find the other team and defeat them,” Miss Clarissa’s voice echoed overhead. “But beware. The forest is filled with hostile beasts.”

Great. This school really couldn’t make one test where I could just be lazy.

A low growl rolled through the trees above.

Sakura’s fingers dug deeper into my arm. “Hira-kun… what was that?”

“How am I supposed to know?”

Something leapt from the branches, crashing down before us.

It was a creature unlike anything I had ever seen in my life.

Author’s Note

Hikaru: Alright, so… apparently we’re heading into the big combat trial. Honestly, I just wanted a test where I could nap, but nooo, the school insists on dropping us into monster-filled forests.

Sakura: That’s because you’re lazy, Hira-kun. If it weren’t for me keeping you in check, you’d probably sleep through every trial.

Hikaru: And yet, somehow, you’d still drag me into danger while clinging to my arm and screaming.

Sakura: (puffs cheeks) Th-that’s just because it’s scary, okay?!

Mikio: …writes in flames: “You two sound like an old married couple.”

Sakura: H-HUH?! W-we don’t—!

Hikaru: …Say that again and I’ll throw you back into the nurse’s office.

Mikio: writes: “You were worried about me.”

Hikaru: I WAS NOT.

Sakura: (laughs) You totally were.

Hikaru: …Why do I even bother with this class?

Sakura: Because deep down, you love us.

Mikio: writes: “He does.”

Hikaru: …Readers, can you see what I deal with? Anyway—thanks for sticking with us! The combat trial is coming, and things are about to heat up, so stay tuned.

Sakura: And don’t forget—leave a comment, vote with power stones, and cheer for us!

Mikio: writes in flames: “Or I’ll race you all myself.”