Hiro and the rest of his classmates quickly fell into a routine. A routine of death, as Ryu called it. His daily jokes had even calmed down, as Lino had to practically drag him out of bed. Hiro, on the other hand, felt that he was getting stronger. And it was happening at a much quicker pace than before. But this newfound strength kinda made him the resident cleaner. Since everyone else seemed to be dying, and Reiki would conveniently leave. But Hiro didn't mind. It was just another form of training. Especially since he would try to see how fast he could do it, or add in lunges and squats. Some days the trash was so heavy he would hold it above his head while He lunged his way to the disposal. 

Upper level dorms had robot cleaners and automatic disposals. However, lower levels didn't even have the techy cleaning supplies. It was like going back in time. Most households didn’t need to worry about trash disposal anymore, so it was just one more thing to have to do on top of studies. The hero class itself wasn’t too bad, except for the brutal physical training. There was also the issue with points. 

“Points are to be used at your own discretion. Have enough points and you can practically buy anything,” Master Jares had said on the first day. “You have been allotted 1 million base points. You can receive points based on how you perform in and outside of class. It’s all on you if you want more points or not.”

“Hmm,” Hiro placed that day’s trash in the disposer. “Points huh…” He opened his holoband and checked his points. They had barely gone down. It had been 3 weeks since classes started, and all he had done was train. The only extra expenses he needed–or had time for–was training room time, and food. After becoming an enhanced, and training as hard as he was, he was constantly hungry. The cheapest place for a large amount of food was the buffet section of the cafeteria. The food itself wasn’t the fanciest, but it was tasty enough and he could get as much as he wanted. 

He closed his holo band, “But I don’t need the points for motivation,” he smirked, “since I just want to get stronger and be the best hero!” He wasn’t sure who he was shouting to, but it always felt good to just shout out his dream–no, goal–to the universe. 

“The best hero?” A group of schoolmates stopped just behind them, their own trash bag ready for disposal in one of their hands. “Tch,” a mean looking boy continued as one of the others quickly ran off to the disposer. Hiro glanced around, there were five in total, 4 in front of him now. “The powerless kid.” He smirked, “You may have put on some muscle but you will still never beat me.”

Hiro furrowed his brow. Who was he? He was acting like they knew each other. “I’m sorry, do we know each other?”

He looked visibly shaken, before contorting his face into a fierce snarl. “Hiro… you don’t deserve that name. How could you forget…” He and all his buddies smirked, “Your best friend from the Kisai Training Camp?”

Hiro tried to swallow but his throat had gone dry. “Joenan…” he managed to whisper. 

“Ah, now you remember.” Joenan put an arm around Hiro, causing him to shiver. “I knew you would, how could you forget your best friend?”

“Ha…” Hiro felt his body begin to shake. Must still be a reaction to being next to him. Granted, Joenan would never be his friend. There was only one term to describe him; bully. “Well, I need to go–”

“Come and hang out with us, we should catch up. Even Talla wants to see you again.”

Hiro shoved him away. He looked at the group and finally realized. Joenan and Talla were both there together. Talla had disappeared with the trash, and if only she stayed that way. But she was back. He did recognise the other three boys, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Since those two were the worst. Honestly, Hiro forgot about them on purpose. 

“I really need to go,” Hiro backed away. He thought he was far enough to turn his back. He’d really rather not deal with them. But then he was yanked back. Talla had grabbed him. Her arm was now much longer than before. Her ability allowed her to lengthen certain parts of her body, making her extremely flexible but also increase her reach. How could he forget?

Joenan let out a single piercing scream. Hiro clutched his head. His ears were ringing and his whole head flared in pain. “Still a weakling,” Joenan flicked him on the forehead. “If you can’t deal with this, what makes you think you’re worthy of being a hero?” He leaned in closer, “How dare you ever think you could compare with Akiyama?”

Hiro’s ears finally adjusted, and now he could even hear the breathing of the person furthest away. How could he fight back though? It would be 5 on 1. 

He stood up, ripping himself free of Talla’s grip who attempted to reach out again. Hiro blocked her attempts, trying to put distance between them. Joenan released another piercing scream, but it felt much quieter this time. Hiro stood his ground. “Why do you care so much?”

They both gritted their teeth. “You know why, friend,” Joenan’s voice dropped from it’s fake friendly tone, to low growl. “You had the audacity of getting Akiyama’s attention. When you are nothing but a powerless nobody. You don’t even deserve to breath the same air as her–”

BAM! Joenan fell to the ground. “Okay,” a figure walked out of the shadows, “I’ve heard enough. You creepy-ass weirdo.”

Hiro could see her now. A girl with pink pigtails. And even stranger, she wasn’t in any regulation uniform. Students were expected to wear one of the various uniforms at all times. They could only wear other clothes with express permission, or when leaving the grounds. So what was she doing? Hiro shook his head, no that’s not important. He braced himself to fight again, but they were now all kneeling on the ground.
“I don’t know who this Akiyama is,” she folded her arms, “but I doubt she’d ever want to be in your presence. Tch,” she shook her head, “People like you slander the hero name.” Her eyes glinted as she glared down at them, “Get out of my sight.”

They all ran off. Even Talla, who usually never backed down from anyone. 

Hiro’s knees went weak and he dropped to the floor. He really didn’t want to see them again. Last time he was with him, he was injured to the point he was sent home early. He didn’t even get to finish the training program. Akiyama even gave him the most pitiful, “I told you so” look as he left. 

Now, he was saved. But… if she hadn’t been there. Could he have defended himself? He was a lot stronger but… so were they. And he had no clue of the other’s abilities. 

Hiro looked up, and within a blink of an eye his savior was gone. Just who was she? 

He made his way back, still a bit wary after knowing those two were at The Academy. “Hey man,” Reiki said as he was lounging on the couch, “how's trash duty?” Reiki's smile faltered as he looked at Hiro. “Not so great I guess.”

Hiro shrugged, “Eh, it's alright.”

“Well,” Reiki jumped up, “I've been wondering.” Reiki stood up powerfully, hands on his hips as if preparing for some great news, “how would you like to join me in training?”

Hiro’s eyes went wide, “Really? But Rivas said–”

“I know,” Reiki waved him off, “that's just because I don't wanna do my normal training in teacher mode. That would defeat the purpose of pushing myself. But…” Reiki smirked, “I think you may be able to keep up. You're the only one who still trains after Hero class. So I doubt you'll need much instruction. Just some…” He tapped his chin, “demonstration.”

“Yes!” Hiro nodded enthusiastically, “Please, I would love to!”

“Great, then let's start today.”

It was their day off, so Hiro was planning on spending most of his day in the training center anyway. 

Hiro had no clue how tiring it would be. He knew Reiki was unnaturally skilled, but this…was a whole other level. Akiyama probably couldn't keep up either, even if she was a strength type. She preferred short bursts of powerful energy, but Reiki trained both endurance and power. They began with a 10k run, then weightlifting. Followed by some aerobics, and flexibility. Hiro really needed to add that to his daily routine. He couldn't believe how difficult it was. Then another 10k. All before lunch.

Reiki told him after the run to take a light stretch then meet him at the cafeteria. Guess Reiki knew just how long it would take him. 

Hiro finally made it to the cafeteria, but it took a bit longer because he was so drenched in sweat the workers wouldn't let him in without cleaning up. Hiro ate more than ever before. And drank more water than he thought possible that day. 

“Woah man,” Reiki watched as Hiro ate another serving of chicken and rice. “You'd think you were starved or something.”

“My ability,” Hiro said between mouthfuls, “makes me so hungry. I need to eat 3 times the normal amount to function. And 5 times to increase my muscle mass.”

“Is your ability starvation or something?”

“No. It's like some long form healing factor. I'm adaptable.”

“What the heck is that supposed to mean?”

Hiro shrugged, “To be honest, I don't really know either.” Hiro finished his bowl, “But I do know that I'm already feeling stronger.” He looked at his hands and clenched them into fists. “I'm already up for round two.”

“Uhh…” Reiki tilted his head, “You look like you're about to fall asleep.”

“Oh,” he took a long blink, “That does seem to be another side effect.”

Hiro felt himself slump over. He guessed Reiki had helped him back to the dorm, since he awoke on his bed the next morning. He slept over 12 hours. 

But, the training with Reiki went even better that day. And again, the following day, which was much shorter since the two day weekly break was over. And now in week 4, it was time to begin the preliminary auditions for the first year games. 

“Before we begin today,” Master Jares said as everyone settled down in their seats, “We have an unusual event. A late arrival to the Academy, so please help catch her up to speed as best you can.”

“Hello,” it was the girl with pink pigtails from before. The one who saved him. “My name is Iko, it's a pleasure.”

Ichi looked like he was practically drooling, and Aldura who sat behind him flicked him on the head. She was really pretty. Maybe even more so than Akiyama. It was hard to see her clearly before, but she had this sort of presence. Similar to Reiki actually, but… more refined? It was hard to say when he hadn't really met her. 

She took her seat in the back corner of the classroom. The last seat available. And Master Jares continued, “As you know the First Year Games are coming up, so are the preliminaries for participation. Participating in the games will give you the chance to get on the Hero Organization’s radar, and eventually contract with a top Hero company. In order to do so you must first show your fighting prowess and strategy skills. Only the top 5 from each class can participate. It’s higher this year since we have almost 6 full classes, so this year's games will be bigger than usual. So do your best Class 4.”

The class went through their basics in law and some simple strategies before going out to train. The preliminaries were pretty straightforward. They would battle each other tournament style to find the strongest, and then take a test regarding strategy. So solo work until the attendees were picked. 

The tournament would be organized by Master Jares herself, so it was practically guaranteed that Hiro would be up against his opposite. Honestly, anyone with a flashy ability will be difficult for him. 

The days went by fast, and so did his training with Reiki and on his own. He even did some strategy training with Rivas, who was far too good at it. There probably wasn’t anyone who could beat him. It was really impressive. 

“How do you win everytime?!” Ryu exasperated. 

Everyone in the dorm had challenged him after watching Hiro play him. The strategy game was basically trying to isolate one piece, and render the rest inert in the process. Each piece had its own rules, which made the game difficult. But Rivas could end a usually hour long game in 5 minutes. 

“I don’t win every time,” Rivas chuckled. “Believe it or not, but that idiot’s beaten me,” he pointed to Reiki who was figuring out how to eat grapes still connected to the branch. 

“Seriously?” Ryu put Lino in the seat he had been sitting in, “Then Lino should prove a challenge.” 

Lino did in fact. Rivas took a whole 30 minutes to win this time. 

“You are a true strategist,” Lino bowed his head, “You have my respect.”

“Nah,” Reiki chimed in after finishing the last grape on the vine, “he’s just good at big picture things. Most people are best at doing the grunt work.” 

A few more rounds went by and then the conversation went to focus on the games. 

“So Rivas,” Ryu said while putting the game away, “Any thoughts on who will participate in the games? With your mind you’re probably a shoe in.” 

“Ha,” Rivas shook his head, “I don’t think so. I may be good at that game but… I’m nowhere near strong enough.”

“Well, we all know sir know-it-all over here will be chosen,” Ichi pointed to Reiki, “But don’t worry, I’ll wipe the floor with you.”

“Is that right,” Reiki smiled, “Well I hope Hiro gets chosen. After all, he’s the only one who can keep up with me.”

“Yeah man,” Vinnie nodded, “You have dedication like no other.”

“No kidding,” Rivas laughed, “I thought I would die when I tried it one time.”

“Is it really that intense?” Ryu plopped on the floor. 

Hiro smiled proudly, “Not anymore.”

“That's right,” Reiki gave him a playful nudge. “My boi Hiro's a real hero.”

Rivas nodded, “Finally something we can agree on.”

“Then let's all make it on the team,” Ichi said, “and kick their asses.”

Ryu backed away, “Don't worry, there's no chance I'll make it. You guys have fun.”

Vinnie chuckled and looked at Rella who was finishing some homework while they talked, “So, Reiki and Rella versus Hiro, Rivas, and myself.” Her smile contorted into a devious grin, “sounds fun.”

“Hey!” Ichi glared sarcastically at Vinnie, “I'll be there too.”

“Hehe,” Vinnie chuckled, “well then. Let's work hard!”

“Yeah!” Everyone, even Rella, chimed in as everyone shared their determination. 

And then, the day finally came. The day of the preliminaries.