Warped

Intelligence

     After being escorted back, the class was in hysterics trying to figure out how the quirkless girl had left. Only Sakura and Hitoshi knew, but no one in the class dared to talk to him. His reputation far preceded the real thing.

     "How exactly did you leave class?" one girl asked.

     At her wide eyes, it was obvious that she hadn't expected that sort of reaction. She probably thought that they were ignore her existence, like usual, and carry on their daily lives.

     "The teacher didn't even notice!"

     "Do you actually have a quirk?"

     "Can you take me with next time you go?"

      Finally she understood that the students there would do anything to get out of boring classes without being noticed. She could agree whole-heartedly but on an entirely different topic.

     "Quiet down, class, " Ectoplasm grumbled, "If any of you even try to leave, you'll see yourself with a detention."

     They had shut up rather quickly and Sakura promptly sat down in her seat. Class was almost over, which she had barely noticed until then.

     "Where did you go?" Hitoshi asked suspiciously. He had seen the wide grin on her face and could only guess what had happened.

     "I dropped by Class 1-A and had some tea with the principal. It seems that my intelligence is going to be re-evaluated."

     "Really?"

     "Mmn. And something will be worked out so we'll still see each other."

     Sakura shrugged to herself as she had already been caught breaking the rules, so she didn't really mind breaking more. Still hidden, she pulled out a seal and procured an already open bag of chips she saved for later. 

     "Want one?" she asked Hitoshi innocently, slightly shaking the bag for effect.

      "Do you want to get in trouble?"

     "Well, I just have to be silent, like a ninja, " she stated playfully, winking at him.

     Just as she said, there was no crunch of chips as she munched on them. He wondered if she somehow used chakra to keep the sounds from resounding in the room. After finishing the bag she placed it back within the seal.

     The bell rang out and the kids in the class burst out in chatter once more. It seemed that they returned to ignoring Sakura once more. She received a bunch of curious glances, however.

     Sakura added a skip to her step as she walked out the door smiling. "Hey, Hitoshi, you want to go to my house later?"

     "Sure."

     Scratching her head, Sakura thumbed through the almost endless pages of the test. Principal Nezu had gone all out to test the intellect in her head. The questions were easy at first and gradually became harder as it went on. Finally, nearing the last couple of pages, she was unable to answer the questions. They were far too advanced and she hadn't read books on the equations and historic events enough to answer.

     "Hey, I give up, " she stated and slid it across to Nezu.

     She watched his resting cheerful expression carefully as he flipped through each page. Not doubt he was going through all the answers in the few seconds he was looking at them. "All of the questions that you've answered are right. You've exceeded my expectations, Sakura. If I could, I would send you straight to college. However, your quirk and request pose against it."

     "Mmn, thanks for keeping that in mind."

     "How would you feel to join the classes with your fellow upperclassmen?"

      The pinkette tapped her chin thoughtfully and pondered about it for a couple moments. "I do not mind... But that will take some time away from Hitoshi, wouldn't it?"

     They were in every single class together and now she was regretting her decision to move up. "Wait, wait... I know what I can do! How about I still attend the same classes as always but I self-teach myself? You're a genius, so you could probably whip up a test to keep my progress in check."

     "An interesting approach, " he commented, "You do realize that some people will view this as favoritism, correct?"

     "Then they can witness my ingenuity then. I'm just a genius that wanted to stay under wraps. Whoever decides to reveal it will have his or her life destroyed."

     "The power of being the apple of the public's eye... Do remember to not abuse it, Sakura."

     "Mmn, I won't... I'll do everything in my power to protect U.A., don't worry."

     "I have no doubt about that."

     Sakura walked on out of the office, adding a spring to her step. Around the corner, she accidentally bumped into someone who happened to be much taller than her. Bowing, she apologized curtly, "Sorry."

     "Just the person I was looking for!" the voice exclaimed enthusiastically.

     Trying to be polite, the pinkette refrained from covering her ears. She hadn't really expected to bump into him either. "W-what do you mean?"

     Her ears were ringing from his ignorance of volume. She could even feel her equilibrium slightly off.

     "Well, I happened to have heard your conversation on the phone a while ago and wanted to talk to you about it... But then I forgot!"

     Sakura sweatdropped at him and took a small step back. For her taste he was too exuberant and preferred company of people more low-key, just like Hitoshi. "So what about that conversation?"

     She had hoped that no one that knew English had heard it, especially because of the colorful words she had said.

     "I was wondering who exactly taught you English. It isn't bad but there were a couple discrepancies from a native speaker."

     Oddly enough, he didn't mention anything about the swear words she had tossed into her phone conversation or badmouthing. Instead, he added some tips and pointers, even giving her some 'radical' slang to sound as though she was from the U.S.

     "I must thank you for your time, Yamada-sensei... You gave me a lot of helpful information. It's getting a bit late, and I have a photoshoot scheduled soon, so I'll be taking my leave."

     "I'll see you tomorrow at school, Sakura."

     "Likewise, sensei."

     As she walked away, Present Mic rubbed his imaginary beard and wondered aloud, "Ectoplasm is right... She's pretty sharp for a kid her age. However, she didn't seem like the trouble he described her as. I'll keep an eye on her though, just in case."