At that moment, Sojobo stared at me like a hawk. His scarred, hazy eyes were so intense it was almost like his blindness had gone away. I was sweating bullets, "Why's he staring at me??" I thought to myself. "Does he know of Kagami & Itsuki's ties?? Was he expecting some sort of betrayal to happen?!"
Sojobo quickly cut off my hurried thoughts. "You're bad at hiding things, Kintaro."
"H- hiding things?! What do you mean? I'm not hiding anything." I awkwardly retorted.
Hinako nodded. "Sensei's right, Kintaro. Your insistence on not telling us anything about the fight is very suspicious."
Yuto grabbed me by the collar, giving me puppy dog eyes. "Say it ain't so, bud! Ya ain't hidin' anything from us right!? If ya were, ya'd tell us right?!"
I sighed in defeat, it seemed my fellow examiners got to know me a decent bit.
"I'll admit, you're all correct. But-" Right before I could continue, Sojobo and Yuto cut me off, tears streaming down their faces like an infinite fountain.
"KINTAROOO!!!!!!" They both hugged me. I couldn't help but chuckle and try to nudge them off.
"Thanks for caring so much!"
The three all nodded. Sojobo motioned for us to listen to him.
"Alright guys. How about we settle down for a bit while we listen to Kin's story."
We all sat down around a small pond within the ETG.
"Alright, Kin. As your possible future teacher I want to hear everything. Understood?" Sojobo commanded.
I nodded, understanding that revealing what happened during my fight was undoubtedly of very serious measure.
I explained how the test ran at the start, the explanation of our abilities, the chase in the woods, etcetera. But once I arrived at the portion of our fight where we arrived at the meadow to ambush Kagami, I changed my story…
"Once we had arrived at the meadow, Itsuki tried ambushing Kagami-sensei. But it was no use. As soon as Itsuki leapt from his Burrow, Kagami-sensei grabbed him using Shuten-doji, smacking him around like a wet rag…" I wanted to give an explanation for why Itsuki was so beat while protecting him & exposing Kagami.
"…Itsuki was knocked out flat in a matter of seconds, I was paralyzed from shock. After, Kagami-sensei spat at the ground around Itsuki, & he went on a tirade about talent & how only a select few people in this world should have the privilege of being a puppeteer, saying things like how unrefined and tasteless puppeteering has gotten since the Puppet Arts Academy began admitting people through its entrance exam…"
I then gave them a fake story about how I beat him, even though I knew damn well I'd only won with a sneaky explosion. It felt horrible, lying out of my ass, but I felt some sort of connection with Itsuki. I felt like deep down, there was someone good, someone capable of being not only my friend, but Hinako & Yuto's friend too. I didn't want that to slip away. Not yet.
Once I had finished telling my story, Sojobo got up.
"I see. In all honesty, Kagami has always been more of a conservative fellow. I've never agreed with him. Quite frankly, I hate his guts. Thanks for telling us, Kin. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to make a phone call."
Sojobo stepped away, walking into the trees where we couldn't see him.
He dialed a number on his phone.
"Hello, Principal Tenjin. Do you have a moment?"
He called the principal of the school, Goro-Zaemon Tenjin.
"Ukyo my boy! Of course I have time for you. Tell me, what is your concern?" He replied on the other line.
"Mr. Tenjin, I'd like to know what are the prospective results for this entrance exam's Battle Puppeteers?" Sojobo asked.
"Hmm… Overall, I'd say they were D to C level puppeteers, mediocre really. Nothing compared to your year, my boy. It's sad that we haven't gotten any puppeteers as outstanding as you in the last 16 years… Though I must say, the mediocrity didn't stem from the puppet's abilities, rather the users themselves need much improvement to truly be great!"
Sojobo chuckled. "Oh Mr. Tenjin, your high expectations don't cease to amaze me. That's what this school is for isn't it? To teach them how to use their puppets to their full potential. But nevermind that now, I believe I've found a better group of students, ones that are already great fighters as is. I'd love for you to meet them."
Tenjin seemed to become more interested. "Really now? Were these the young ones who took the remedial exams? For them to get your approval they must be some extraordinary rookies. Very well, I'm interested. Bring them in on Monday morning. I'll make my evaluations and see if I admit them."
"And what of the other examiners if you let them in?" Sojobo asked.
"I'll recommend them to Izu Puppetry Tech. It seems they haven't gotten any new applicants for their battle program this year."
"Ok then Mr. Tenjin, I'll see you Monday morning." Sojobo hung up.
He walked out of the tree line to Hinako, Yuto, & I chatting.
"Big news. I've got the four of you for a meeting with Principal Tenjin for Monday morning!"
The three of us looked at each other starry eyed & proud.
Together we jumped and yelled out: "WE DID IT!!!!"