The Next Generation

C4: A UA Student

After cleaning himself up and changing his clothes at the cabin, Optimus left for the library again. He picked out a few new books and sat down. It was hours before Principal Nezu arrived.

"Optimus! I knew I would find you here!" the enthusiastic, but small principal beamed once he spotted Optimus sitting down at his usual table. "I was surprised to hear that you left after the exam. You did very well!"

"With all due respect, Principal Nezu, I will not be attending UA, regardless of whether I passed or failed," Optimus told him calmly.

Nezu tilted his head. "Oh? And why is that?"

Optimus set his book aside and Nezu took a moment to read the title. It was about careers in Japan. So were all of the others. "I don't appreciate your methods. If you are going to take this many risks with untested children, then what will you do with the students you have deemed strong enough to attend?"

Nezu nodded and sat down. "Most of the students who fail the UA entrance exam do not give up on their dreams of being heroes. Some join other UA courses in hopes of being transferred, and others leave to take hero courses at other schools. When you go to the hero course entrance exam for UA, you're trying to become the best of the best. Most will become heroes one way or another. I do not hold back, because the world will not hold back on them. They need this push, this test to give them a taste of the real world. To tell them they're not standing on the sidelines, watching the fight. They are the fight."

"But it's too soon," Optimus frowned. "They're so young."

"And how young were you when your homeworld was plunged into war?" Nezu asked. "How prepared were you when you were chosen to lead the Autobots and fight against a cause you had once believed in?"

Optimus glared. "That isn't the same, we didn't have a choice. You are not at war."

"Aren't we?" Nezu gestured to the books. "This may not look like a time of crisis to you, but there are factors at play that are going to come crashing down soon enough. Pillars of justice who will fall and lances of chaos that will reign down. I am doing my best to train the next generation to keep our country safe, and this is part of it."

"What is someone had died?"

Nezu smiled. "That would be impossible. I have rudimentary combat training in each of the robots, but advanced healthcare protocols meant to save lives if things get out of control. If anyone had been fatally injured, they would have been carried away and taken to my school nurse. Her quirk can heal wounds in seconds."

Optimus leaned back. "I misjudged the exam then."

"Do you change your mind?"

"No."

Nezu held his paws together. "And why not?"

Optimus rubbed his face. "Detective Tsukauchi was right. I am not ready to be a human yet. I would have died if it had not been for another student. Not only do I not know my limits, but I cheated the system when you made my written exam scores unimportant."

"Unimportant?" Nezu laughed. "No, your scores have placed you at the bottom of your class, making you the most uneducated student to ever attend UA. That is very important. If you think we will let you get away with it so easily, you are sorely mistaken. I already have teachers lining up to tutor you."

"Oh," Optimus's optics widened. "Voluntarily?"

"Of course!" Principal Nezu pointed at Optimus. "And that is why I'm handing you over to the one teacher who doesn't want to tutor you!"

Optimus was confused. "How does that make sense?"

He clapped his hands together in a manner that was much too malicious and gleeful for Optimus's liking. "To test every limit, in every student and in every teacher! This will be an interesting year indeed!"