Chapter 17: Quirk Examination

"Good morning, doctor Tsubasa." Kanata greeted, giving a bow. "Pleasure meeting you."

"Likewise." Dr. Tsubasa smiled as he stood up from his seat. "I have already looked through your medical record and see nothing wrong. Except that you haven't been to the hospital in four years, so do you need a full body checkup while also getting your quirk examination?"

"If you can, yes." He nodded and decided to take the opportunity to get a checkup, as he had been living in the slums for the past four years and was concerned that something might be wrong with him. 'I should also get Solomon for a checkup, whether he likes it or not.'

Picking up his tablet, Dr. Tsubasa walked past him and opened the door, leaving his office. "Follow me. There is no time to waste."

Kanata followed him as they made their way through the halls in silence, stopping at a large door. Dr. Tsubasa scanned his card key on the door sensor, causing it to slide open.

Behind the door was a massive room with a high ceiling, lighted by multiple ceiling lights arranged uniformly, and a constant low hum echoing through the room. The room was filled with various types of equipment, each designed to test different aspects of one's quirk factor, and the two of them weren't the only ones there.

There were many other doctors, each assigned to a different child, with Kanata being the only patient that looked above 12. One of the doctors, a short woman with curly red hair, was assisting a child floating a ball of water in front of them. Another doctor, a tall man with a stern expression, was working with a child who was manipulating the light coming from the ceiling lamps. Some of the doctors were encouraging their patients, while others were scribbling furiously on their tablets, making notes about their observations. It was clear that the doctors were well-trained and attentive to their patients, ensuring that they got the best possible care.

As Kanata walked into the room, he felt a wave of self-consciousness wash over him. He could sense the stares of the other doctors and their young patients drilling into him like daggers. He wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. "Holy fuck, this is embarrassing," he muttered under his breath, trying to keep his cool and appear confident.

"Don't be embarrassed," Dr. Tsubasa said, noticing Kanata's expression. "You took your test twenty-five years ago, so the chance of them missing your quirk is high."

Kanata tried to take comfort in the doctor's words, but he couldn't shake the feeling of inadequacy that had plagued him for years. And now, standing in this room filled with children more than twenty years younger than him, who could do things he couldn't, he felt more worthless more acutely than ever.

"I hope so." He mumbled as he followed Dr. Tsubasa to the only free machine in the room, trying to focus on something other than his own insecurities. It was a large treadmill inside a corner of the room with a soft wall behind it to absorb the impact if someone flew off it.

Dr. Tsubasa gestured for Kanata to step onto the treadmill. "We'll start with a basic cardio test," he said, adjusting the treadmill settings. "Let's see how well your body can handle physical activity."

Kanata nodded and began to walk while he observed the other equipment and patients in the room. Every machine in the room was in use, with doctors and patients pairing up to perform various tests.

'I guess this is what the receptionist meant when he said the technology has improved in recent years.' He thought, reminiscing on the day, when he was four years old, when he was diagnosed as quirkless because he had no two joints in his pinky toe. 'This might be different.'

"This is meant to test your top and average speed and endurance." Dr. Tsubasa spoke from beside Kanata, drawing back his attention. "The treadmill has been adjusted and will follow your speed. When you are ready, run at your top speed, and keep running until you are tired."

Kanta nodded and closed his looks, focusing on his breathing and the rhythm of his steps as he started jogging. He opened his eyes after a few seconds and picked up his pace, running on his forefoot, with the treadmill increasing its speed to match his every step.

Keeping his eyes ahead, he felt his legs moving with lightning speed, his muscles working hard to keep up the pace. His stride became longer, with his steps per minute increasing as he began to spend more time in the air than on the treadmill, appearing to be floating as he moved across the treadmill.

Kanata considered stopping after a few minutes but decided to keep going when he noticed some children watching him, wanting to show off. He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins as he ran faster and faster, his body moving like a well-oiled machine.

He lost track of time until Dr. Tsubasa called out to him. "That's enough, Mr. Uchimura."

Kanata slowed down and returned to a jog, causing the treadmill to slow down to match his pace. That was when he noticed a small line of two 'duos' behind Dr. Tsubasa waiting to use the machine.

"Are you tired?" Dr. Tsubasa asked, looking up from his tablet as Kanata, who didn't look out of breath, stepped down from the treadmill.

"No." He replied as he moved out of the way for the doctor and patient behind Dr. Tsubasa to use the machine. "It normally takes me hours to get tired from running, so that was nothing." He said, watching as the child started running on the treadmill, barely passing five seconds before she started panting. "You know, normal average male stuff."

"Normal and average, huh." Dr. Tsubasa mumbled, looking back at the result on the tablet. "Let's move on to the next test."

He walked to the punching machine, with Kanata following closely beside him. None of the machines were empty, so they had to wait their turn in the punching machine, which didn't take long. After the last users left, Dr. Tsubasa adjusted the machine while explaining.

"This machine tests your punch strength, average strength, and speed." He said as Kanata watched him type his age, 29, into the machine and then click male before selecting a quirk unknown. "Give it the best punch on your first punch, and then throw ten more punches after the first one with less than three seconds between each punch."

He finished explaining as he stepped away from the machine and gestured for Kanata to stand before it while looking down at his tablet, tapping something. "If you need to, you could rest and regain your stamina."

"I can do it now." Kanata stepped forward and took a deep breath, flexing his fingers as he prepared to punch the machine.

He focused his mind, summoning all the power he could muster into his right hand. Then, with a swift motion, he threw the punch, his fist slamming into the machine with a loud thud.

Dr. Tsubasa's eyes widened in surprise, and he looked at the result on the tablet but said nothing as Kanata threw ten more punches, each slightly weaker than the last but still packing a considerable amount of force.

He stepped back, shaking his hands. "Are those things made of rocks?" he asked, looking at Dr. Tsubasa.

"It was adjusted for your age and sex. If it were a child, it wouldn't be as hard." He replied, looking up from his tablet. "But your punches were quite impressive. Have you ever trained?"

"I used to fight a lot." He replied, referring to the time he was in prison, where he was bullied all the time for being quirkless. Of course, he wasn't a punk that let himself get beat up and always fought back, even though he lost 99% of the time.

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, he continued. "But I never got any training from a professional. But I am confident I know how to throw a punch."

"With these results, you have the right to be confident." Dr. Tsubasa nodded with a smile as they continued on to another machine, continuing the test.

High jump test, long jump, weight lifting, reaction, and balance test, were a few of the fitness tests. Other tests included the heat and cold Resistance test, which tested how long he could withstand extremely high and low temperatures without experiencing negative effects.

At one point, everybody stopped to watch a kid that looked around nine running on the treadmill. He was moving so fast that his hands and legs blurred, with literal lightning arcing around his body. Kanata couldn't help but stare in awe at the speedster boy's incredible abilities. The boy's hair was a mess, and his face was flushed with excitement as he ran faster and faster.

Everyone stared in awe at this child, including Kanata, but he noticed the maniacal grin on Dr. Tsubasa's face. Just looking at his face sent a cold shiver through Kanata's body, and Dr. Tsubasa seemed to have noticed this because his grin quickly transformed into a smile as he looked at Kanata. Kanata couldn't help but wonder what Dr. Tsubasa was planning and what he was capable of.

"Please, let's continue to the final test." Dr. Tsubasa said, his smile somehow more creepy than his grin, gesturing to a machine that resembled a giant, futuristic dentist chair.

Kanata sat down, and Dr. Tsubasa began to attach electrodes to his scalp. "This is the electroencephalogram or EEG," Dr. Tsubasa explained. "It measures the electrical activity in your brain and helps us assess your cognitive function."

Kanata nodded, feeling a bit nervous. 'I hope it doesn't say I am stupid.' he thought to himself.

"This test would be the longest, spanning about 30 minutes." Dr. Tsubasa informed as the machine beeped to life. "From now on, you will be asked to perform a few tasks. Please perform them while relaxed for the best result."

Kanata felt a series of small shocks as the electrodes began to record his brain activity as he was asked to perform tasks such as breathing deeply, looking at a flashing light, or answering a few math questions.

After about thirty minutes, the test was over, and Dr. Tsubasa began to detach the electrodes. "Your brain activity looks normal," he said, looking at the results on his tablet. "No abnormalities detected."

"That's a relief." Kanata let out a sigh of relief. "So, what's the verdict, Doc? What is my IQ?"

Dr. Tsubasa shook his head as he walked towards the room's door, passing by the speedster boy, who was now resting on a chair while drinking, with his female doctor talking to him about something. Kanata couldn't help but feel a sense of envy toward the boy's incredible abilities. He was only nine, and he looked like he could already run more than 160 kilometers per hour. Who wouldn't be jealous of that?

"Currently, EEGs are not used to directly measure IQ." He paused. "However, EEGs can be used to measure brain activity related to cognitive processes such as attention, memory, and problem-solving, which are related to IQ. From the results, yours is average for an adult male with no intelligence-based quirk."

'At least I am not stupid.' He thought, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. 'Solomon is just the one that is too smart, to the point that just being around him makes me feel stupid.'

They left the test hall, walking through the hall. "Now, I need to draw your blood to test if there is any quirk factor in your genes. Then I will perform your comprehensive medical examination."

They entered another room solely for the both of them as Dr. Tsubasa drew Kanata's blood. He then performed a physical examination, checked vital signs, and conducted a range of tests and screenings, including but not limited to blood tests, urine tests, MRI scans, and vision and hearing tests.

After the test, they returned to Dr. Tsubasa's office. "Have a seat." He gestured at a couch for Kanata as he sat on his desk. "From the currently available results of the comprehensive medical examination, you are perfectly healthy."

"Thought so." Kanata shrugged. "Never got sick in my life."

"It would seem so, based on your medical record." Dr. Tsubasa nodded in agreement. "While we wait for your blood test result to come, I will tell you all your results for your other quirk examination tests."

Kanata nodded as he sat up attentively. "Please, go on."

"First, your running speed result."Ahem*" Dr. Tsubasa cleared his throat as he looked at the tablet. "Your peak speed was sixty-four kilometers per hour, your average speed throughout your run was fifty kilometers per hour, and you maintained your peak speed for seven seconds."

Kanata clenched his fist with a light chuckle. "Is that good?" He asked, unsure.

"Good?" Dr. Tsubasa looked up at his tablet. "This is great, Mr. Uchimura. The average speed for a quirkless person is twenty-four kilometers per hour, while someone with a quirk other than a speed-based quirk is thirty kilometers per hour." He smiled. "Just from these results alone, we can conclude you most definitely have a quirk."

Kanata felt his heart skip a beat as his body became sweaty. "I..." He gulped down hard. "I do?"

"Yes." Dr. Tsubasa nodded. "Those with quirk, no matter how weak or 'useless' it is, all have stronger bodies than any quirkless human. Your speed alone is already leagues above anyone quirkless, so you definitely have a quirk." He looked down at the tablet. "We just need to wait for your blood test to return to be sure."

Kanata felt his heart racing as Dr. Tsubasa confirmed that he had a quirk. Sweat broke out on his forehead and his hands shook with excitement and fear. He looked down at his clenched fist, trying to comprehend the implications of this news. He had spent so long thinking he was powerless, but now he had a strength that could potentially be lethal. He felt a surge of adrenaline mixed with a twinge of excitement.

"Do you think it is a speed-based quirk?" He asked, hoping it wouldn't be something disappointing. It was definitely not a mutation quirk, seeing as he doesn't look like a monster. So, it was either an emitter or a transformation.

"There are specific requirements that determine whether someone has one. These requirements increase with age, so even if a person's quirk is clearly speed-based, they won't be categorized as such if they don't meet the minimum speed requirement. At your age, the requirement for a speed-based quirk is a peak running speed of ninety-seven kilometers per hour." He paused to take a breath before continuing. "However, it's important to note that some quirks focus on specific body parts, like hands, which can affect the diagnosis. It's a complex matter that could take hours to explain, so let's move on to the next test."

He looked back at his tablet. "Your strongest punch was your first, and it was exactly two-hundred thousand six hundred pounds per square inch."

"I guess that's average." Kanata mumbled, sighing as he remembered his time in prison. "Everyone I used to fight was always calling it weak."

"Then you must be fighting people with a defense-based quirk, and a strong one at that, because your punch is equivalent to being hit by a wrecking ball." Dr. Tsubasa said, causing his eyes to widen. "That level of force could easily break bones and cause severe internal injuries to a quirkless person or someone without any defensive-based quirk and could potentially be lethal if your punch connects in the right place like their head or chest."

"Holy shit..." He looked down at his hand, clenching his fist. He remembered the time he punched the werewolf girl back on the bus when she asked if he had a quirk. "I have a quirk." He breathed. "I really have a quirk."

"Yes, you do." Dr. Tsubasa smiled as he looked down at his tablet. "And the result is in. Let's see what your quirk factor is, shall we?"