Gimmick Exam

"I CAN'T DO THE EXAM NOW!! I CAN'T USE MY GIMMICK PROPERLY!!" Karitou started telling and shaking Zarkes back and forth.

"EeeEEEeeeEeeEhhHhhHHhh..." Zarkes whined. After a while, he grabbed Karitou on the shoulders. "You'll be fine. Ya just have to concentrate m'kay?"

"Ok..ok.. I can do this..." Karitou let go of Zarkes and calmed himself. Karitou haven't been able to control his gimmick since he was young. After "The Incident", he never wanted to use his gimmick ever again.

Both of the boys went in and jogged to the school field. A lot of the students were fighting each other. All of them strive to be in the top class which is "Dravøus". This class is mostly focus towards being a proper hero. This class is also taught by one of the best teachers. His name is Uvion. He was once the top student in this school. He was also the top hero in the city. After a few years, he retired and became a teacher.

"Alrighty. We should change to our trainin' outfit" Zarkes exclaimed.

"Alright, let's go" Karitou said.

The both of them went into the locker room and changed their outfits. After that, they both went to the training field to meet up with their current class. Most of them doesn't have flashy gimmicks but they sure do make them work. Then a teacher came to the group with a clipboard which had all of the names of the current class.

"Alright class, I have a list of names on who you are going to train with. The first duo will be... Karitou and Dyrias." The teacher said.

"Sweet! Ya got the first fight!" Zarkes nudged Karitou's shoulder. "Karitou? Buddy?" Zarkes looked over at Karitou and saw that he was frozen and pale.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Karitou whispered to himself. Karitou doesn't have full control of his gimmick yet and now he has the first fight. It takes days, maybe weeks to master a gimmick like his.

"Hey, just remember what I said. Concentrate." Zarkes reminded Karitou.

"Ok... Sure.. I'll try.." Karitou took a deep breathe and tried to calm himself. He walked to the front of the group and stood beside the teacher. Then, Dyrias walked out from the crowd. Karitou didn't know what gimmick he has because he always stayed quiet in class and his only friend is Zarkes.

"Alright you two, I want a clean fight. No using other equipment unless it's necessary." The teacher told the rules. "Like Karitou, you need a sword right? To use your gimmick." The teacher asked Karitou.

"Uuh.. y-yes.. I do.." Karitou stuttered his words.

"Ok, both of you, go to the opposite side of the field." The teacher instructed. Both of the boys walked to the side of the fields, getting ready to fight each other. There's no major injury yet that happened in this school. If it did happen, the school nurse will help to heal all the wounds on the students.

"Ok, are you guys ready!?" The teacher yelled, holding his whistle up his lips.

"Ready as I'll ever be!!" Dyrias said at the end of the field.

"Y-yeah, I'm ready..." Karitou stuttered, holding his sword in his battle stance.

Then, the teacher blew the whistle. The fight has begun. Both of the boys waited for each other to start attacking.

"Don't worry Karitou, I'll go easy on you!! Hehe.." Dyrias said sarcastically.

Then Dyrias made the first move. He rushed towards Karitou and tried to grab his arm. If you didn't know, Dyrias' gimmick is called "Body Disabled". What ever parts of the body he touches will be disabled and the person cannot move the body part. Karitou quickly dodged his attacks and quickly side stepped away from Dyrias.

"You've got really quick reaction time. I'm impressed." Dyrias said while trying to think of his next attacks. He knew that Karitou can't control his gimmick properly and tries to attack him with fast movements. He rushed again towards Karitou to grab his other arm. Without thinking, Karitou slashed his sword upwards and hit Dyrias' arm. Everybody else started cheering for the both of them, yelling out their names to motivate them.

"Now we're talking..." Dyrias scoffed.

He attacked Karitou with a barrage of punches. Karitou tried to block them but failed and got hit on his cheeks. He fell on the ground and lost his grip of his sword.

"Pity.. A person like you with that kind of gimmick.. I thought you'd be strong. But boy was I wrong." Dyrias kicked away Karitou's sword. He went near Karitou and crouched down. "It's a shame for you to possess that kind of power. Yet, you can't use it. Weakling." Dyrias punched Karitou in the face. Everyone was shocked about Dyrias' action. "Might as well give the win to me." He continue to punch Karitou but suddenly was stopped. Karitou grabbed his arm mid air. Suddenly, Karitou uppercut Dyrias on his chin, making him fall backwards.

"You're wrong..." Karitou said in low toned voice while trying to stand up. His body started to glow purple. Everybody stood there in shocked. Dyrias laid there looking at Karitou straight in the eyes. Karitou went over to his sword and picked it up. Dyrias knew what he was going to do and immediately rushed towards Karitou to cancel his concentration. He was blocked by a purple barrier, surrounding Karitou's body.

"I can prove to anyone... That I can be powerful..." Karitou started to concentrate on his powers. Dyrias tried everything to stop him, but failed miserably.

"Ken-gata.." Karitou whispered his sayings. His body started to glow even more

"I'm dead.." Dyrias mumbled, looking terrified.

"DORAGON UMARE!!" A quick flash of light blinded everybody. This got the attention of the other students and teachers on the field. Everybody was amazed about what Karitou just did. They saw a big, purple dragon spirit hovering above Karitou.

"Now... It's my turn...." Karitou exclaimed. "RUSH!!" Karitou yelled and the dragon above him started flying towards Dyrias. Dyrias tried to run away but was completely frozen in place due to the fact that he's terrified. The dragon flew closer to Dyrias and he closed his eyes, embracing for the impact. But nothing happened. He opened his eyes and saw the dragon right in front of his face. He stared at the dragon's eyes for a couple of seconds until suddenly he got punched in the face by Karitou. He fell down and was knocked out. Everything went silence after a couple of seconds. Then, everybody cheered for Karitou.

"WOOOOOOO!!! KARITOU!!!" Everybody cheered for Karitou for his win. Two students went over to Dyrias and carried him to the nurse's office to heal him.

"This concludes the fight between Karitou and Dyrias." The teacher said while ticking off Dyrias' name and gave a checkmark beside Karitou's name. Karitou stood there watching Dyrias being carried away. He sighed in relief and went over to a bench beside the field. He felt someone grab his shoulder. It was Zarkes.

"Hey buddy! Ya were amazin' back there!! Ya really showed Dyrias who's boss!!" Zarkes said to Karitou, looking amazed.

"Oh.. Thanks..." Karitou said in a tired tone.

"Ya ok? Need to go to the nurse's office? I can help ya."

"Maybe I do... Let's go.." Both of the boys got up and went straight to the nurse's office to heal Karitou. While walking, people started complimenting about Karitou's win. They were all amazed with Karitou's gimmick. A student walked by and saw them.

"Dude, your gimmick is sooo cool!!" The student said.

"Oh, thanks.." Karitou replied. Both of them continue to walk and finally arrived at the nurse's office.

"I'll be out here. You go on in there." Zarkes told Karitou while sitting down on a chair.

Karitou went in the office and saw a couple of injured students from the fight. Not serious injuries but just a couple of cuts and bruises. The nurse had healing powers. That's her gimmick. It's called "Healing Touch", it can heal any wounds on a person's body. Karitou went over to the nurse at her desk.

"Hello. Can you help me heal up?" Karitou asked the nurse.

"Sure! That's my job isn't it?" The nurse said sarcastically. Both of them laughed a little. Karitou went over to a chair and sat down. The nurse then went over to him and started healing him. After a couple of minutes, Karitou is now all better. Not a single scratch on him.

"Thanks so much!" Karitou thanked her.

"My pleasure! Now go on and see your friends train for the class placement." The nurse replied.

"Yes ma'am." Karitou got up from his chair and went outside. He saw Zarkes with his hat covering his eyes, happily taking a quick nap.

"Typical..." Karitou whispered. "Zarkes, wake up." Karitou shooked Zarkes' body trying to wake him up.

"MmMmm.. Alright alright, I'm up.." Zarkes tipped his hat up and rubbed his eyes. "Ya done?"

"Yup." Karitou replied.

"Alright let's go. I'm still waitin' my turn to fight."

"Sure, let's go!"

Both of the boys went back to the field to see who Zarkes is fighting with. They arrived at the field and the teacher noticed their presence.

"There you are, Zarkes. It's your turn now! Hurry!" The teacher instructed Zarkes to be quick for his placement exam.

"Guess I'm up. Wish me luck bud!" Zarkes nudged Karitou's shoulder as he jogged to the end of the field.

"Good luck Zarkes!!" Karitou yelled, cheering on Zarkes. The other student went over to the other side of the field and was ready to fight Zarkes. Oh, forgot to mention that Zarkes gimmick is called "Dead Lock." It allows him to see anything even behind terrains like walls, buildings and even mountains. If he managed to lock eyes with his target, he can auto target his gun to shoot his target with great accuracy. Think of it as an auto aim in a game.

The teacher blew the whistle and Zarkes immediately shot his gun. Everybody had their mouth open. What even happened? It happened so quick! The bullet hit the other student's chest and it immobilized them.

"Easy win I guess?" Zarkes said sarcastically. He went over to the student and gently carried them out of the field. Everyone was still confused. Even the teacher is shocked.

"Uuuh... The winner is Zarkes then.." The teacher said and gave Zarkes a check mark.

"Better luck next time buddy." Zarkes told the student who is still immobilize. Zarkes went over to Karitou who still had his mouth open wide. "Better close yer' mouth there bud. Don't want flies goin' in there." He nudged Karitou.

"Dude.. what even was that!? It happened so fast!!" Karitou asked, still confused.

"What? I only shot'em with an immobilising bullet. Not a big deal, ain't it?" Zarkes scoffed.

"Well whatever. At least you won."

"Mhm."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's watch the other students fight."

"Sure."

Both of the boys sat down on a bench and watched the other students fight each other. After a couple of hours. The teacher instructed everyone to be in their class group.

"Alright everyone. You all did amazing. I have the list of your new classes. It will be put up on the board beside the school's hall. If you want to check your name today, you can. But it'll be crowded. So check it tomorrow if you want. Class is dismissed." The teacher announced while walking off the field with the other teachers. All the students started to whisper at each other about the event that happened. Some of them looked happy, and some looked sad.

"You wanna check our names now?" Karitou asked.

"No need. I can see it from here." Zarkes replied.

"Oh yeah! Your gimmick allows you to see things pass walls. What class are we in?"

"We're in class Dravøus! Along with 10 other students. So that makes it 12 students in that class."

"SWEET!!" Karitou cheered.

"Can you see what class I'm in?" One student over heard their conversation.

"O-oh.. sure." Zarkes replied.

"Wait, you can see the list?! Which class am I in!?!" Another student asked.

"YOU CAN SEE THE LIST!!?!" Almost every student wanted to ask Zarkes the same question.

"Crap..." Both of the boys said at the same time.

"MAKE A RUN FOR IT!!" Zarkes yelled, running through the crowd.

"HEY WAIT FOR MEEE!!!" Karitou yelled back while being chased by a mob of students. Both of them grabbed their bags quickly and ran out of the school to lose the mob. After a while, they lost the other students by a split junction. Both of them slowed down to catch their breaths.

"Finally... We lost them..." Zarkes said while being completely out of breath. Karitou tilted his head up and saw a convenient store.

"How about a quick pit stop?" Karitou asked.

"As long as yer' buying, I'm in." Zarkes replied.

"Fine..."

Both of them walked in the store and got two bottle of soda.

"That'll be 3 N-Dex." The cashier said.

"Ook, here you go sir." Karitou give 3 N-Dex to the cashier.

"Thank you. Please come again!" The cashier took the money and stored in into the cash register. Both of the boys went out if the store and opened their sodas.

"To us, for winnin' in the gimmick exam!" Zarkes raised his bottle.

"To us!!" Karitou replied. They both cheered and started drinking. Zarkes was maybe a little too thirsty and chugged it a little too fast.

"Oh crap! Brain freeze!! Aaarrgh!!" Zarkes started whining and crouched down from his brain freeze. Karitou bursted out laughing and tried to help Zarkes calm down. After a while, Zarkes' brain freeze was gone and both of them walked to their houses.

"Alright, see ya tomorrow partner!!" Zakres yelled.

"See ya!!" Karitou yelled back. He opened the front door and went inside his house. "I'm home!!" He took of his shoes and put it in the drawer. He tried to call out his parents but was stopped by something really good. He couldn't help it but to follow the scent. He walked over to the kitchen and saw his mom cooking dinner.

"Mmm, smells great mom!" Karitou exclaimed.

"Of course it is. It's my cooking." His mother said sarcastically. "Go and take a shower. You smell like dirt and sweat. Wait.. dirt and sweat??" His mom froze.

"Uuh, yeah?" Karitou replied.

"Did you get into a fight?"

"If you call doing the gimmick exam a fight, then yes. I did."

"Ooooh, the gimmick exam. What class did you got placed in?"

"Dravøus."

"REALLY!!!??!" His mom yelled excitingly.

"Mhm."

"OH SWEETIE IM SO PROUD OF YOU!! HONEY, COME DOWN STAIRS!! OUR SON GOT PLACED INTO THE TOP CLASS!!" His mom called his dad. Then a figure teleported between them and gave a big hug.

"IS THIS TRUE, KARI?!?" His dad asked.

"Yes, yes, it's true." Karitou replied.

"OH SON IM SO PROUD OF YOU!! AND IM PROUD OF YOU TOO HONEY, FOR BEING SUCH A GREAT MOTHER!!" His dad hugged all of us even tighter.

"Ow, ow. Dad too tight." Karitou said while being squished by his big father.

"Oh.. sorry.. Hey, do I smell something... Burning?" His father asked. All of them looked back and saw the pan his mother was using was caught on fire.

"FIIIRREEEE!!!!!" All of them yelled and strated panicking. His dad quickly grabbed a bucket of water and poured it on the burning pan. The fire then went out and everything was normal. Well, unless you call a burnt meal normal then... Yeah...

"Awh, looks like dinner is ruined." His mother whined.

"Hey, it's ok. We'll just order take outs. My treat." His dad replied. After a couple of minutes waiting for their food to arrive. They finally got to eat dinner. Karitou finished first and went over to wash his dish. He went upstairs to his room and laid on his bed.

"Man... Can't believe I got to be in the top class..." Karitou whispered. It was like a dream come true to him. He continue to look up to the ceiling until he finally went to sleep.

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Arthur's Note:

I hope you guys liked this chapter. Give me feedbacks if you want. Just a reminder, if you want to be in my novel, just comment your name, gimmick and roles. That's all for this chapter. See ya on the next one!!