Purotekuta

CHAPTER TEN

The first test: the 50-meter dash.
          I am racing against Teinei. He seems confident; He probably has an affinity related to speed.
          "On your mark... Get set..."
          I take a deep breath in through my nose and call upon wolf speed. I'll use the speed, my fire, and my wings to accelerate myself forward quickly.
          A loud buzzing rings out over the dash area, and I race forward, my hair billowing in the wind.
          Teinei isn't too far behind, but still not close enough to be worrisome.
          I cross the finish line and skid to a stop and look back over my shoulder to see Teinei finish a few strides after me. He walks up to me, out of breath, and raises his hand high fives me. 
          "You're fast, Hajime, I'll give you that," he acknowledges. I let go of his hand and smile.
          "You're pretty fast, too, Teinei. That affinity you have is going to be very useful for protector work, especially a rescue protector," I respond truthfully.
          He nods at me, the ghost of a smile on his face. We walk over to the sidelines and watch our classmates go.
          I take a seat next to Akio, taking his hand in mine, comforting him.
          After everybody has gone, Mr. Kaze looks at the scores, and we continue on to the next test.

The second test: grip strength.
          I am given a device where I have to grip it as hard as possible. I'll use my wolf strength and shoot tiny amounts of fire off my knuckles. That will shoot my fist forward enough to get a high score. There are some other people here that have a better affinity for this test than me, but at least I won't come in last place.
          I grip as hard as I can, calling upon the strength of a wolf. When I hear the device beep, I relax my grip. 260 kilograms. I look up at the sound coming from in front of me.
          Ikari is using his explosions to make the grip strength insanely high. He has 400 kilograms. I need to do better.

The third test; the standing long jump.
          I am pretty sure I have figured out how most of my classmates' Affinities work at this point, and since I'm second in line for the standing long jump, I have some time to plan out a strategy.
          It would probably be best for me to focus all of my wolf strength into my legs, and once I'm in the air, I could use fire to propel me forward, while slightly using my wings to keep my balance as well; It can't be too obvious that I have wings.
          The first person for the standing long jump is Ikari. I can't see how his explosive affinity is going to help him with the long jump. He did say he was immune to the explosions, but it would take a pretty big one to launch him far enough, and even then, he only has one shot at it.
          Ikari steps up to the start line, standing there for a good ten seconds before he jumps into the air, throws his hands behind him, and creates a series of explosions to accelerate him forward.
          The explosions come from the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet, which makes total sense for accelerating himself forward.
          I didn't see that coming.
          Ten meters isn't a bad score, but it could be better. I am up next, so I get up off the bleachers, sliding my hand out of Akio's, and make my way down towards the start line.
          "Go," Mr. Kaze's voice rings out.
          I bend my knees and channel all my wolf strength into my legs, jumping far into the air, using my fire to launch myself forward, flattening my body into what would be a flying position as I spread my wings to make it easier, and so I can glide along with my flames. I keep going for about 40 meters and eventually decide that it would be the best score out of them all.
          I straighten my body upright and direct my flames to the ground for a soft landing. As soon as my feet touch the ground, I hear the machine on my ankle beep and send the score back to Mr. Kaze's phone-like device.
          When I'm back at the stands, I take a seat next to Akio. The next test is the ball-throwing test, so I won't have to take it since I already completed it in the demonstration I did earlier. As we watch our classmates take the test, Akio and I sit there silently. No words are said between us, only the warmth of our hands warming each other's palms.