Kuroiro Shihai worried that he had made a mistake. He had positioned himself close to the top student, the natural choice. In the chaos when the principal told them to go, he merged unseen into the black laces of the boy's shoes. Now all he had to do was wait.
Except this Midoriya guy was also seemingly waiting for something. The first twenty-some seconds ticked off the clock. The area in front of the Labyrinth was nearly empty. He even heard Present Mic, who was unsurprisingly acting as the announcer, ask what Midoriya was doing. Just when Shihai was about to take the risk of revealing himself, Midoriya crouched. And then jumped, higher than Shihai would have thought possible. The shorter kid sailed well above the top of the maze, and studied it.
'Right,' the General Course student deduced silently, 'If anyone else sees him do it, it doesn't matter because they can't come back out to try it for themselves. A few seconds is nothing for this kind of edge. Not bad, top score. Not bad.'
The hitchhiker revised his opinion up even further when Midoriya smashed through the ice wall. Until the paths started meeting up, this one would have the fewest competitors. And the ice guy probably would have partly cleared the way.
'Looks like I picked a good horse after all,' Shihai relaxed.
I reached the first branch. One path continued straight, though it angled upwards and grew shorter. I knew that was because one of the splits from door one went underneath it. The other route turned left, and eventually merged with that path from door one.
I didn't even pause in turning left. My Clairvoyance told me this was the shorter path overall. Also, Todoroki-san took the other path, and I didn't want to waste my energy bashing through more ice walls.
Five meters ahead the paths merged. Ten more meters and I went through another underpass. Another ten meters and I hit a room.
Most of the corridors were about three meters wide, except for immediately after the entrances and immediately before the exits. The room was about eight meters square. It had another three meter hallway leading off the opposite wall. There were two students I didn't know, huddled nervously by the entrance.
That's because blocking the exit was an ogre. A western style ogre with lumpy green-grey skin, tattered leather pants and vest, scraggly white hair, and a dumb expression in its dull, red eyes. It was about nine meters tall and five wide, so it blocked the exit very well. Finally, it was carrying a large and rough wooden club.
"analyze," I whispered so the other two wouldn't hear me.
[Robot Ogre
Like the 0 pointer, only much, much smaller. And with a rubber coating.
Level: 15
Health: 250/250
Battery: 98/100]
[Foam Club
A better pillow than a weapon. It will still sting if swung hard enough.
Durability: 108/108
Quality: 2/7
Rank: *]
I didn't slow down. I launched myself at its chest, right foot leading in a classic jump kick. The thin metal armor under its rubber skin crumpled. It started to fall backwards. Just to be sure, I reached up and ripped its head off. I held it by the hair, leaking hydraulic fluid onto the front of the bot. The I grabbed its shoulder with my left hand. I flipped over it. I caught the machine and set both it and its head gently on the floor, not sure if it weighed enough to crack the blue-scale cement. Then I took off.
Through my Clairvoyance, I saw my schoolmates shift their frightened looks from the ogre to me. That didn't keep them from taking the opportunity to get out of the room. Once they did, I saw two panels in the wall slide open. A second ogre clomped out, picked up the damaged one, and slotted it into the second opening. A trio of older students swarmed it. I couldn't read lips like Cassandra, but I was pretty sure they were swearing at me. Then the panels slid shut and the replacement ogre picked up the club.
The path turned right. I passed and ignored a section of orange wall. There was some kind of liquid behind it, and no other path.
After the trap I reached another split, and this time continued forward. About 40 meters ahead, I met my next obstacle, a closed door. With a flashing 'Wait' sign above it. And Kendo Itsuka and Shimooka Hikari doing just that.
"Kendo-san, Shimooka-san," I inclined my head slightly to them.
"Midoriya-san," Shimooka bowed back. Kendo-san just waved. Before I could say anything else, there was a shout of anger from the far side of the door. The girl's eyes widened, not knowing what it was. But five seconds later, the door opened. We dashed in, and it closed behind us. Just before the two guys from the ogre room reached us.
"You have a choice," Kendo-san started reading from the placard, "There are three exits from this room. The right exit is slightly shorter and easier. The left path is slightly longer and much harder. And the middle path splits the... HEY!"
I hit the button before she could finish reading. The short of it was we could take the middle path or try the puzzle. Succeed in the puzzle and the right door would open. Fail, or take to long and we'd be stuck with the left path. I selected to 'try' the puzzle. The floor opened, and the test started to rise out of the floor. I didn't even wait.
1 to B, 2 to C, 1 to C, 3 to B, 1 to A, 2 to B, 1 to B, 4 to C, 1 to C, 2 to A, 1 to A, 3 to C, 1 to B, 2 to C, 1 to C.
I set the last plate in place before it was fully exposed. There was a ding and the right door slid open.
"That was pretty impressive," Midnight told her friend and host. The company Inko worked for had let the two women have their box suite, so their rising star could finish landing their newest mega client.
If only they knew.
"Not really," Inko shook her head, "Considering the number of video games with some version of the Towers of Hanoi, I would have to give Izuku a terrible teasing if he couldn't solve it in the fewest possible moves."
"That was pretty amazing, Midoriya-san," Shimooka-san said.
"Please, call me Izuku," I told them both, "And not really. I can solve the Towers of Hanoi in my sleep. Literally, I've had dreams about it, and nightmares about the more complex versions. A four plate version is nothing."
Then I glanced at her, as she and Kendo-san kept pace with me.
"And I'm surprised you aren't shooting ahead," I told her.
"Too many short halls," she said, "If I can find a corridor that's 150 meters or more, I might Photon Jump. Anything less and it takes too much time to build up the energy."
"Hmm," I considered that. Then told her, "Any hall that long I would expect to hold a trap. But at your speed that's probably not an issue."
"Midori... Izuku-kun," Kendo-san asked, "would you be interested in teaming up with us?"
"I'm fine with that," I decided, "Except, well, Shimooka-san, will you promise not to Photon Jump out the exit as soon we see it?"
Kendo-san frowned and glanced at her friend.
"Even if I were willing to promise that," she said wryly, "I'd rather not team up. No offense, Izuku-kun, but I don't want anyone thinking we were riding on your coattails."
I nodded my understanding. But Kendo-san seemed to be considering her options.
We reached the next junction, which had three branches. I turned right, and gave them a small wave. Shimooka-san returned it and continued forward. Kendo-san made up her mind and followed the other young woman.
Part of me regretted not warning them that that way was a sort of knot of passages that ultimately looped back on itself.
The next obstacle narrowed the hall from three meters down to two. The height was the whole forty the entire way, and the trapped corridor was about fifty meters long. There were ten broad barrel cannons along the corridor. Five on each side, all above the thirty meter mark and no two in a straight line. They were all unpatterned gunmetal grey, so I could have broken them, but I didn't see the need.
The cannons fired half-meter diameter balls. Three varieties, without any specific pattern. The first type of ammo was foam over rubber over a metal core. They hit hard and bounced, but didn't hurt much. The second and third kind were like paintballs, except instead of paint they were either filled with a moderately sticky glue or an incredibly smelly smoke. There was no external difference between those two. With my sped up vision and Analyze I could see which was which, but not with enough time to react. And even if I dodged the smoke bombs, they still would have filled the hall and potentially made me gag. At least I didn't have an enhanced sense of smell.
So rather than dodge them, I caught them. Not with my hands, but with Tactile TK. Well, some of them I did use my hands to establish contact. But most I snagged as they brushed against my arms, legs, or head. Then I moved them to my back, carrying them. When I reached the end of the hall, I slowed just long enough to stack them in the corner. There was no point in wasting them if they could be reused. I did keep two of the impact balls for one challenge I had spotted at the edge of my Clairvoyance.
That put me just past the halfway point. At least in maze distance, I was actually only 600 meters away from the wall containing the exits.
After a longer section of twists, ramps, branches, and mergers, I reached the next room.
It was something out of a Super Mario game. The exit was at the top of the far wall, and jutted out about five meters. It wouldn't have been an issue for Tsu. And Todoroki-san could have just made a ramp. But for anyone who couldn't fly, cling to walls, or build, the way to reach it was platforming. They stuck out from the walls. They stood on small pillars. They were suspended by nearly invisible wires. Dozens of broad platforms. Most of them were flat, but a few were angled.
I guess it might have been tough for most people. But I wasn't The Gamer for nothing. RPGs may have been my mainstay, but I had still played plenty of platformers. And there was also all the time I spent plotting where Tsu should jump in Endoru. Or the same for Heroes I ran into on the street.
Left wall. Out to the angled pillar. Back to the wall, and then the next one. Three hanging platforms over to the right wall. Long jump back to the center. Jump skill to the last one, and into the exit.
"Look at those moves," I heard Present Mic, despite having tried to tune him out as he frantically jumped from contestant to contestant, "You can tell the top finisher has been training with a frog. Oh, it looks like Todoroki-kun is in the final stretch. Oh, but he wasn't expecting the Span..."
I shut him out. If my Clairvoyance wasn't missing anything, I only had one more challenge room, and then a bit more maze navigating before I was out.
I rounded the corner into the largest room I had seen yet. It was thirty-five meters square, and actually had three paths leading into it, but only one exit. I was the only person in there, but I was hardly alone.
[Robot Chimera (Grecian)
Dragon! Lion! Goat?
Level: 25
Health: 1500/1500
Battery: 250/250]
The replicated monster was forty meters long, but more than half of that was the coiling dragon's neck and head it had in place of a tail. The main body was about fifteen long, and ten tall and wide. Flames licked corners of the lion's mouth, while poison dripped from the dragon's fangs. When it saw me it roared. And also bleated, I guess. It charged. I should have been worried. Except I knew it was here. It wasn't waiting for me, I was waiting to meet it.
The lion's head opened up, ready to spew fire on me. The first cannonball flipped over from behind my right shoulder and rolled down to my hand. I drew my arm back, and fired a fastball down its throat. My aim was true, and the orb was lodged just past its jaws. The outer layer of squishy foam formed a tight seal. And it was also flame-retardant, to prevent anyone with a fire Quirk from causing a major issue if they reached the cannon trap. It couldn't choke, being a machine. But the fire was stopped and it looked like the inside was starting to heat up.
The dragon head slithered out at me independently. It launched at me, fangs first. The poison wasn't lethal, but it would knock me out for a few minutes. With a hiss, the fangs sunk in... to the second cannonball I had kept with me.
For a moment, it looked like the machine's eyes blinked incredulously. At least to me it did. Then it started flailing around, trying to dislodge the ball. I kicked the dragon away, into the side of the goat head. Then I dashed ahead. I didn't need to waste time fighting it. I reached the exit, turned at the next branch into a long, dark tunnel. Even though there was no light, I didn't need it any more than I did to see Hagakure-chan. I accelerated. Other than a few more turns it should be a straight shot to the...
"And we have our first finisher," Present Mic announced, "With one penalty and an overall time of nineteen minutes, twenty seven seconds, currently in first place is Todoroki Shota of class 1-A."
"Drive 4," I mumbled in response. Right. Right. Left. There it is. Faster. Faster. FASTER.
"Second finisher is Midoriya Izuku," Mic proclaimed, "And with no penalties, his total time is... seventeen minutes, forty eight seconds! New first place."
"How?" the panting Todoroki growled. Then I noticed Principal Nezu was waiting for us.
"He did start more than a minute after you did," the mouse-dog explained, "I never said the timer started when I said go. I did say it was how fast you navigated the Labyrinth."
Then suddenly something shot off my shoes, and there was a living shadow standing next to me. But not the living shadow I was familiar with.
"Hmm, interesting," Aizawa-sensei said, "It appears Midoriya-kun had a passenger. So now in second place with a time of seventeen minutes, forty nine seconds we have Kuroiro Shihai of Class 1-D."
"Why am I a second slower?" Kuroiro-san asked carefully.
"You were on his shoes," Nezu-sensei offered, "Because of the drag of the broken ice, his body entered the Labyrinth more or less vertically. But his head broke the plane of the exit before his feet did. Really, it is about a quarter of a second difference, but that puts you up into the next full second category."
"Fine," he didn't actually seem too upset. Unlike my fuming classmate. Todoroki-san was mostly covering it, but I could tell he was not pleased.
"Wow!" Mic shouted, not for the first time, "We have our fourth finisher and new third place. From Support Class 1-H and with a time of nineteen minutes even, Hatsume Mei!"
For just a moment, Todoroki's mouth hung open. Then he forcibly closed it and tried to look emotionless.
Panting harder than either of us, Hatsume-san pulled off her goggles, and wiped her brow. Then the unique drone flew down and docked with her backpack.
"Good job, D-Cube," she patted the device.
"Number five out, and taking fourth place, Misaka Mikoto, at nineteen twenty four. And not knocking out our first finisher, Asui Tsuyu finishes with a time of nineteen thirty one."
"Seeing some of you slowing down," Aizawa-sensei cut in, more loudly than normal, "There is something Principal Nezu failed to mention."
Then he said softly but sharply, "Even after lecturing me more than once recently about failing to keep my class informed."
Returning to his louder voice, he continued, "And that is that the Sports Festival is not small portion of your total grade. So it is not in your best interest to slow down just because you don't think you won't make the second round. I'm not saying you will automatically fail if you don't finish the Labyrinth in time. You will each be graded individually by how hard and smart you worked, with consideration for how well or badly your Quirk worked in the event. What I am saying, is that anyone who does finish will get no lower than a C. So, Plus Ultra, I guess."
"Well," Nezu seemed slightly embarrassed at the oversight and being called out, "Those of you moving on to the second round can return to the locker room. Have a snack and get some rest until time runs out. Just be sure to change into your swimwear before the second round begins."
We all blinked at that. Including Ami, Kendo-san, and Shimooka-san, who had all finished while Aizawa-sensei was talking about grading. And I saw Ida-san racing down the same exit hall I had used.
As we started to head for the lockers, Todoroki-san stepped up beside me.
"I would like to have a word with you," he said softly, and then walked away from the entrance to the arena, into the foliage.
Curious, and slightly worried, I followed. Tsu met my eyes with a look of concern, but I shook my head.
"I probably better go get ready for the second event," Nemuri told Inko regretfully, "I will be back after it is done."
She stood, letting her fingers trail familiarly across the back of the greenette's hand as she left.
"I know your secret," he said as soon as we were alone. Gamer's Mind arced down my spine again, but I was already braced.
"Which one?" I shot back, trying not to let him get the upper hand.
"I know you are the secret love-child of All Might."
I almost collapsed in relief. I chuckled weakly at the ridiculous claim.
"What do you mean?" I shook my head, "I'm not even related to All Might, more or less his son."
"I wouldn't expect you to admit it," he said, "but the evidence is there."
I frowned nervously. Even if it wasn't true, if he had some kind of evidence, then others might come to the same conclusion.
"What evidence?" I pressed.
"The year you started attending UA is the same year All Might started teaching there," he answered.
My frown turned from nervous to dubious, "Almost thirty five hundred people took the entrance exam this year, and All Might's position at UA was certainly in place before that. So why me and not any of the thousands of others? Also what if I had failed and not gotten into UA?"
"Why you? Out of all the first year students, your parents were the only ones to get a divorce in the year leading up to this."
Divorce rates in Japan had always been below average, and had fallen further since the rise of Quirks. They weren't so low that it didn't stand out being the only family in two hundred twenty. But at the same time, that didn't take into account any families that may have split up longer ago. Or, more importantly, the real reason Mom decided to end it.
I didn't say anything, which he took as a cue to continue.
"You have also been spending a large amount of time with All Might," he added.
"It isn't just me," I countered softly.
"Most importantly, you have the same Quirk as your grandfather," he told me.
I looked at him in confusion, "One of my grandfathers doesn't have a Quirk. And the other has Fire Sustaining."
"I meant your real grandfather," he sounded slightly annoyed, "You have Tactile Telekinesis, the same as Superman."
I boggled at him openly, barely keeping my jaw from hanging open, "You believe that old rumor?"
There was an old but somewhat persistent theory that All Might was the illegitimate son of Clark Kent. It started with the fact that All Might's real name and Quirk were both secret. Supposedly this was because if it was known that his family name was Kent and he had Tactile TK or a variant, then Superman's surviving rogue's gallery would have tried to kill young All Might.
That or Lois Kent would have tried to kill her husband.
The second part was that, even though All Might's birthday wasn't known, it was possible to work back from the year he graduated UA. Which was right around the time the Rhode Island 7 had come to help Captain Korea liberate what was then still a separate North Korea from the Heads of Tiamat. To hide their reason for being in Asia, the RI7 had spent a few months in Japan, helping the government set up Japan's Hero system and working with the Tokyo PD to get used to having Heroes' help. Then, after the war in Korea ended, Superman, Batman, and Hawkgirl spent a few more months in Japan, providing guidance (and in Superman's case, physical labor) in setting up the very school I was currently attending. Therefore Superman, in theory, had multiple chances and plenty of time to have fathered All Might.
The third reason some people claimed Superman was All Might's father, was because All Might chose to go to school in the United States. Nevermind that he went to California. And the closest All Might ever was to Kansas was the time All Might helped save Chicago from an out of control tornado robot. The believers would counter that All Might and Superman were fast enough that they could have easily met in Las Vegas for some father/son bonding, without anyone noticing they were missing.
Ironically, there was an accidental shred of truth to the rumor. All Might did keep his secrets in part because of a legacy Villain. And said Villain was the reason he was sent to the US. But I couldn't tell Todoroki-san any of that.
"Assuming this was true, about me and All Might or about All Might and Superman" I said weakly, "Which, for the record, I categorically deny, why tell me?"
"My father has an intense, if one sided, rivalry with yours," Todoroki-san said darkly, "One that for years he has been trying to force on me. To make me do what he cannot. And I want nothing to do with it."
He looked at me intently, "I am telling you that I know, because I don't want you to misunderstand. I am going to take you down. Be the top of the class. But it has nothing to with Endeavour or All Might. This is only about you, and me."
I thought about what he said about his father. And how he said it. A powerful resentment and a depth of emotion he rarely showed.
"Is that why you don't use your fire?" I asked gently.
Todoroki-san grimaced. Then he turned and strode away.
I gave him enough time to get clear, and then I headed to the locker room.
Status Changes for Midoriya Izuku:
Max Health: 736 → 747 (837) (Plus Ultra penalty -100 → -90)
Attributes:
(Q)uickness: 58 → 59
Skills:
Analyze (W) – Battle Scan: 53 → 54
Dodge (A/Q): 39 → 40
Basic Karate (A): 43 → 44
Parkour (A/Q): 36 → 37
Running (Q/E) – Jet Set Run: 33 → 35
Acrobatics (A): 22 → 23
Ki Reinforcement (D): 42 → 43
Throwing (S/A): 12 → 13
Tactile TK (I/D): 25 → 27
Telekinetic Aura (I) LB: 38 → 39
Clairvoyance (I/W) LB: 13 → 17
Jump (Q/S) LB: 8 → 12
High Speed Vision (W/Q) 10 → 12
Active Quests:
Save the Symbol of Peace
The Best Around (bonus 1/2 complete)
