Akira and Ayaka burst through the school's side entrance, both looking slightly disheveled despite their best efforts to appear normal. They'd run the last two blocks, and Akira's shirt was still damp with sweat, though whether from the run or the earlier activities, he wasn't about to clarify.

"There you are!" Rina appeared from around a corner looking relieved and frustrated. "They've been calling your name for the past twenty minutes! Where the hell were you?"

"I'll explain later," Akira said quickly. "Where am I supposed to go?"

"Nurse's office. Agent Sato is waiting with the testing equipment." She grabbed his arm. "Akira, what's going on? You look like you just ran a marathon."

"Something like that. Thanks for covering, Rina. I owe you."

He left her standing there with Ayaka, both women watching him go with concerned expressions.

The walk to the nurse's office felt like a death march. Students whispered as he passed, clearly aware that something significant was happening. News traveled fast in high school, and apparently "Akira Kanzaki's drug test" was the hot gossip of the day.

When he reached the nurse's office, he found quite an assembly waiting. Agent Sato stood near a portable testing station: a metal case filled with various instruments that looked far more sophisticated than standard drug screening equipment.

Coach Yamada was there with his arms crossed. The Vice Principal sat in a corner chair, looking uncomfortable. And leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face was Kenji.

But what caught Akira completely off guard was seeing Mei Kasai sitting in another chair near the window, dressed professionally in a navy blazer and skirt, her hair pulled back in a neat bun.

She looked every bit the responsible lady, though when their eyes met, he caught a flicker of something warmer beneath her composed exterior.

"Ah, Kanzaki-san," Sato said pleasantly. "So glad you could join us. We were beginning to wonder if you'd decided to skip town."

"I was studying away from the building and didn't hear the announcement," Akira replied, forcing his voice to stay calm. "I'm ready now."

"Excellent. As you know, since your parents are currently abroad and unreachable, we required parental consent for this testing. Fortunately, Kasai-san was able to come on such short notice as your registered local guardian."

Mei stood up. "I still don't see why all these is necessary. Like I said, he's a growing kid. He's probably just experiencing those growth spurts boys his age experience. But suit yourself. I can decide to charge you all once this is over, so by all means, carry on."

Akira had completely forgotten about the guardian consent requirement. When Coach had first mentioned the drug test days ago, he'd filled out Mei's information as his emergency contact… standard procedure since his parents were overseas.

But having her here now, watching him undergo testing that could potentially expose his supernatural nature, added another layer of tension to an already stressful situation.

Though watching her defend him just now was kinda… hot.

"Thank you for coming, Kasai-san," Akira said formally.

"Of course." Her eyes held his for a moment longer than necessary. "I want to make sure everything is handled properly."

Sato gestured to a chair next to his equipment. "Please, have a seat, Kanzaki-san. This won't take long. Standard blood draw, urine sample, and a few additional scans. Purely routine."

There was nothing routine about the way Sato's eyes studied him, like a scientist examining a particularly interesting specimen.

Akira sat down, rolling up his sleeve. The school nurse, a middle-aged woman who looked deeply uncomfortable with the whole situation approached with a tourniquet and needle.

"Wait," Sato said, holding up a hand. "I'll handle the blood draw myself. Quality control purposes."

The nurse stepped back, clearly relieved to be dismissed from whatever this was becoming.

Sato approached with the needle, but as he tied the tourniquet around Akira's arm, he leaned in close and whispered, "Your skin is unusually warm. Recent physical exertion?"

"I had to run to get here," Akira said. "Didn't want to keep everyone waiting longer than I already had."

"Mmm." Sato inserted the needle, and Akira watched his own blood fill the vial. It looked normal: dark red, nothing glowing or obviously supernatural about it. "Interesting. Your body temperature should have cooled by now if you'd been running. Unless you ran a significant distance?"

"From the other side of the school building."

"In this heat? That would explain the profuse sweating." Sato removed the needle and pressed a cotton ball to the injection site. "But not the elevated core temperature. Your skin feels like you've been sitting in a sauna."

From her chair, Mei spoke up. "Is there a problem with the test, Agent Sato?"

"Not at all, Kasai-san. Just making observations." Sato turned to his equipment and loaded the blood sample into what looked like a miniature centrifuge attached to a scanning device. Numbers and graphs began appearing on a small screen.

"The urine sample can wait," Sato said, his attention fixed on the readouts. "Let's see what your blood tells us first."

The room fell silent except for the quiet humming of the equipment. Kenji watched with barely concealed anticipation. Coach looked bored. The Vice Principal just looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.

And Mei sat perfectly still, her hands folded in her lap, but Akira could see the tension in her shoulders.

Minutes ticked by like hours.

Finally, Sato straightened up with an unreadable expression. "Fascinating."

"What is?" Coach asked.

"The results are... clean. Completely clean." Sato tapped the screen. "No performance-enhancing drugs. No steroids. No banned substances of any kind."

Kenji pushed off the wall. "That's impossible! There's no way he…"

"However," Sato continued, cutting Kenji off. "There are some unusual markers in his cellular structure. Nothing that would violate athletic regulations, but... anomalous nonetheless."

Akira's heart hammered. "What kind of markers?"

"Elevated mitochondrial activity. Your blood oxygen levels are significantly higher than normal, and your white blood cell count suggests an immune system that's working at peak efficiency." Sato studied him with those calculating eyes. "It's almost like your body is…"

Mei stood up. "Agent Sato, I'm not a medical professional, but is any of this dangerous? Should Akira-kun be seeing a doctor?"

"Not dangerous, no. In fact, from a health perspective, these are all positive markers. He's extraordinarily healthy." Sato's gaze never left Akira. "The question is how he achieved it."

"I work out. I eat well. I take my health seriously," Akira said.

"No amount of working out explains this, Kanzaki-san. But since none of it violates athletic regulations..." He turned to Coach Yamada. "From a drug testing perspective, he's clean. You can proceed with team placement as you see fit."

Coach nodded, looking relieved. "Good enough for me. Kanzaki, you're cleared for the team."

"But Coach!" Kenji protested. "You heard him… unusual markers! Something's not right!"

"Something being unusual isn't the same as something being illegal," Coach said firmly. "Takahara, you owe Kanzaki an apology. This whole witch hunt was a waste of everyone's time and school resources."

Kenji's face went red, but under Coach's glare, he forced the words out. "I... apologize for the accusation."

The apology sounded like it physically hurt him to say.

"Accepted," Akira said simply.

Sato began packing up his equipment, but not before giving Akira one last meaningful look. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, Kanzaki-san. Those markers may be legal, but they're definitely worth... further observation."

"I'm sure they are," Akira replied evenly.

After Sato left with the Vice Principal, Coach clapped his hands together. "Alright, now that this drama is over, let's talk business. Kanzaki, effective immediately, you're officially on the team. And given your performance in that tryout and the leadership potential you've shown, I'm naming you co-captain alongside Takahara."

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