Read SETOGIWA: A World On The Brink (Part 1) :: Ch 20: The First Tokushu Exam

The First Tokushu Exam

"Akikyo Yachi? This wasn't very expected." Zenatori calmly thought. He slightly glanced over and let out a quiet sigh. Yachi looked at Zenatori with a soft smile, energy never fading.
"Man, it was quite a trouble to find you!"

Zenatori murmured.

"We don't have assigned seats, so most likely, Yachi sat next to me on her own conviction. Now that I think about it, I've never really seen her talk to anyone other than Akari. Wait, I saw her talking to another guy before; I even spoke to her. I'm not sure if I should ask her about it. Well, I guess it's none of my business anyway. Honestly, I wonder why Yachi even talks to me sometimes."

The bus's shaft cranked, and the engine revved, making its departure from the school. Zenatori rested his elbow on his knee, awaiting idly. He watched outside the window, viewing the architecture and beautiful trees that presented themself. As he looked over, he saw Yachi quietly in a world of her own, it was as if they were polar opposites.

After some time passed, Yachi finally broke the silence. She daringly grabbed his his sleeve and questioned.

"Will you work with me, Zenatori, even if it's only temporary? You're the only person I can trust, and you're pretty strong!"

He looked over, astonished by the sentiment, and raced to his mind.
"I guess I don't have a reason to say no..."

Zenatori gulped and responded.

"Yeah, sure."

"Yay!"

As the day goes on, they finally reach the forest, and the bus comes to a sudden halt. Hayoku pulled up near the buses and exited his car. He muttered a brief incantation, and a giant barrier expanded itself over the island.
"This must be the reactionary barrier Mashaka referred to."

Everyone exited their buses, and a truck made its way to the island as well. Two men made their way out and transported a giant box out of the trunk.

"This is how the exam will go. You all have 30 minutes to get ready to prepare; the time has already started the minute everyone touched the island. At this time, everyone is forbidden to hurt one another. You can also team up during the exam, but considering that everyone will go against each other inevitably, I fail to see how that's efficient.

The box these two gentlemen have is around 50 of the C-Division phantom automorphs. They will be released as soon as I finish speaking.

When Hayoku shoots a ball of fire in the air, that is your signal that it begins. You can try by any means necessary to be the person to send me the most automorphs. Finally, it's not like I think any of you will, but just in case, killing is not allowed. You can all go now."

A man slid the box open, and several small, grotesque bird-like creatures flew out and made their way through the island.

Zenatori says internally,

"If those are the only rules, I shall seek fit to proclaim victory. What stone-headed fools they are, there is no such thing as friends as a syneji artist, you must always be on gua-"

Yachi tapped Zenatori's shoulder and pulled him alongside her.

"Well, let's go to Zenatori!"

"What about Akari?!"

"Oh yeah, we're going to have to defeat her."

"What?!"

"Akari doesn't like teaming up with others, no matter who they are, she'll do everything it takes to win."

"I see..."

The two make their way to the inner forest and look around for any automorphs. Yachi called out.

"I see one!"

Zenatori shot back and saw the small creature sit on a branch calmly

"We don't know its ability yet, so we should wait until someone comes over and then take it."

On the otherside of the forest, Suda Katashi walked along with Nishikiri and another guy.

"I find it imperative that we get Zenatori out as quickly as we can."

Aoi Iwasaki says.

"What's up with you and Zenatori?"

Katashi smirks and says.

"I just have a little history, that's all."

Nishikiri causally spoke up.

"I saw."

Katashi sighs,

"Nishikiri, you need to learn to speak up more; you can't be by my side forever. You realize that, right?"

"Yes," Nishikiri said.

Iwasaki says,

"Man, let's just find the thirty and get this over with."

Yachi and zenatori hid behind a rock and awaited the arrival of someone else. Several minutes fly by, causing Yachi to finally say something.

"Zenatori, how long do we have to wait? We probably could have caught one or two in this time?"

Zenatori says,

"As long as it takes, we have to know what we're up against."

Suddenly, two people walk over to the phantom and attempt to seize it, but fail. One person says,

"What the? I can't catch it."

Zenatori whispers to Yachi,

"I don't recognize them, so they must be in the second division or third division. It seems to summon phantom versions of itself."

"Nice, but what if they catch it?"

Zenatori mutters,

"I guess we will have to stop them."

"Didn't Mashaka say we couldn't harm others in the waiting period?"

"Well, I guess we'll have to follow them up until the waiting period is over, then catch them off guard."

Suddenly, a grand fiery object hits Hayoku's barrier and disperses into other pieces. Zenatori stands up and says,

"That's our signal."