Izuku chewed on the end of his pen as he read over the math equations splayed out in front of him. His eyes flitted across the writing, but his mind didn't register any of it. He kept going over the words principal Nezu had said.
"Why it's your entrance exam, of course!"
Of course? Why phrase it like it was obvious? What is that chimera planning?
His thinking was interrupted by a foul taste spilling into his mouth. He dropped his pen and spat out the ink onto the table.
"You're supposed to write with the pen, not eat it," Shinsou drawled without looking up from his own papers. "Didn't know math was so thought provoking."
Izuku sighed and left to grab a tissue from the bathroom. He wiped whatever he could off and scrubbed the remaining ink with water. Once his hands were dry, he looked at the mirror. Ink was slowly drying on his mouth and chin.
He opened his mouth and saw the blue ink staining his teeth. Great.
It was ten minutes when Izuku finally exited the bathroom. Blue still stained his gums, but it was better than nothing. He took his spot at the table and fished through his backpack for another pen.
Shinsou had glanced at him once before returning to his work.
Izuku tried to resume his homework, but the offer still played on loop. He wanted to get into the hero course, yes, but as his vigilante persona? It was a given that he would have to go into underground heroics, and he wouldn't mind that. But his vigilante persona was already getting popular, and he wasn't sure how well that would go.
And there was the matter of hiding Kumo. If he made it in, he'd have to drop out of general education.
Izuku dropped his new pen and looked up at Shinsou. "If you were given a choice that would make your life better but you had to make a huge change, would you?"
Shinsou looked startled at being addressed, his pencil pausing briefly. "Depends on what it is." His pencil resumed scribbling across the paper.
Izuku sighed. "Like if you were given the opportunity to do something you've wanted your whole life but you had to leave everything behind, would you?"
Shinsou put his pencil down. "Are you moving or something?"
Izuku shook his head, waving his hands in front of him. "No, no nothing like that! Completely hypothetical."
Shinsou gave him a look that said he clearly didn't believe him, but didn't say anything about it. "Well, if there was a way for me to get into the hero course I'd sure take it. But I don't know what your hypothetical situation is referring to."
Izuku mulled it over in his mind, turning his answer around and inside and out. He nodded. "Thanks."
_________________
And that was how Izuku found himself inside Mei's warehouse for two hours. He had to give himself an alibi for when he went to the school and agreed to whatever Nezu had planned. Izuku had let her know what was going on, and the original plan was to get at least one thing that could counter each teacher, but given the short time frame that wasn't possible.
So now he just stocked up on smoke bombs, extra vials, and a few pocket knives.
Mei was busy fastening the straps of a new pair of boots she was working on while Izuku sat on a cleared off table, sharpening one of the knives. Once the boots were on, Mei stood up and cleared her throat, bringing Izuku's attention to her.
"Allow me to introduce my new spring boots!" she exclaimed, turning around to give a full view. The boots were the same black as Izuku's current ones. The soles were thicker, though.
Mei began to explain the mechanics. Underneath the bottoms were large springs that would allow you to jump higher. To activate, there was a button on the outside of the boots that would cause the latch holding the springs back to unlock. The pressure from the springs staying in place would give more height when the wearer jumped. In order to stop, the wearer would have to press the buttons again while in the air so the latches would open. Once back on the floor, the springs would curl up again and the latches would close.
Or at least that was the idea.
Mei walked over to a wall with a post-it note and jumped normally. Then she bent down and pressed the buttons, preparing her next jump. However, when her feet left the ground, the springs slipped forward. She cried out as she fell backwards, landing on her butt.
"Are you okay?" Izuku asked, hopping off the table and coming over to her.
Mei nodded. "That's what these tests are for! Now help me get the springs in place."
Izuku pocketed his knife and got down on his knees. Mei pressed the two buttons and they both pushed; Mei her feet, and Izuku on the springs. The two stood up.
"Maybe you need shorter springs," Izuku suggested as the inventor wandered over to a table that was covered in notebooks and blueprints. "But make them thicker. Otherwise you'd need a lot of balance and precision in order not to land on them funny."
Mei hummed as she examined a blueprint. She tapped her pencil against her bottom lip. "Where would I get that, though?"
Izuku shrugged. "Dagobah beach is always a good place." He paused. "Although I think someone's been cleaning that up so you'd have to hurry."
Mei dropped her pencil and scurried over to one of the corners in the warehouse. She approached a pile of broken metal and parts that hadn't been used yet and pushed them all to the side, uncovering a fairly large red wagon. She pulled it out of the corner, sending the parts tumbling to the floor.
"Come on, Izuku!" She exclaimed, heading towards the warehouse door. "You're helping me collect things!"
___________
By the time Mei finally let him leave, he had only 15 minutes to get to U.A. Which wouldn't have been bad if he was able to take the train. But one couldn't really go out in public with a vigilante suit on, could they?
So he just treated the run across the rooftops as a warm-up. He even attempted a flip that didn't go as bad as last time.
The first thing Izuku noticed when he arrived at the U.A. entrance gate was a giant block of grey concrete. He couldn't tear his eyes away from it. It hadn't been there the day before. Was that his test? What was inside?
He foolishly realized that he would find out soon. As he passed through the gate, he moved towards the block. It appeared to be at least four stories high. He walked around the entire thing, noting that there wasn't a single door or hole that could be used to look inside.
"Hello, Kumo-kun!"
Izuku jumped and spun around, coming face to face with the U.A. principal. The creature grinned and clapped his paws together. "I'm sure you have many questions, so feel free to ask!"
Izuku stared at the principal before opening his mouth. "What is that?" He jerked his thumb at the block.
"That, Kumo, holds your exam! The heroes are already inside."
The chimera explained the rules. Izuku had seven minutes for each floor and he had to either successfully take down his opponent or get to the end of the maze and press the buzzer. There were four floors and each floor had at least one hero. It would get harder as he went forward, and each maze was different.
Nezu refused to tell him what heroes were on which floor and instead just ushered him over to the block. The principal knocked a paw on the wall, and a rectangular shaped hole appeared.
The teen looked back at Nezu. "How will I-"
Nezu just grinned ominously. "Don't worry about a thing, Kumo-kun!"
When Izuku stepped inside the maze, the hole behind him closed. He gulped and looked around. It wasn't dark, perse, but the lighting could have been better. He supposed that was the point. Since Nezu himself set up everything, he must know about his Quirkless status and came to the conclusion that underground heroics were the way to go. And underground heroes work in the dark.
Lucky for him, Izuku thrived in the dark. Although he still had street lights so he was still at a disadvantage.
He walked forward as it was the only direction to go. When he got to the first path diversion, there were three possible ways for him to go; left, right, or continue straight. He opted for the left.
As he wandered, he took in every detail he could. The concrete walls had no divots or easily climbable edges, and the walls went all the way up to the ceiling so he had no chance of jumping across to the end.
Meaning unless he went the correct path every time, he would be cornered.
Every turn he got to he pressed himself up against the wall and peeked around the corner. Reaching multiple dead ends in a row made his nerves skyrocket. Just how complicated was this maze? Maybe it was constantly changing. Izuku wouldn't be surprised, honestly.
It was also weird how he hadn't run into this floor's hero yet. Maybe they were placed on the other side. Maybe that was where the buzzer was.
Only one way to find out.
Minutes passed, and Izuku couldn't tell if he was getting closer or farther away from his target. He turned a corner and was immediately blown into a wall.
"YEAAAAH!"
It took Izuku a few seconds to register what had just happened. He rubbed the back of his head and looked up. So he was the first opponent. Present Mic inhaled, the telltale sign that he was about to use his Quirk. Izuku was quick to dodge out of the way of the yell. He rolled and sprung up, ignoring the twinge as his stitches pulled.
The voice was loud, but nowhere near the volume used during villain fights. It still caused his ears to ring, but that could be brushed off.
Knowing Izuku had little-to-no chance of restraining Present Mic without going deaf, he formulated a plan.
There was no way that the concrete walls Cementoss made would be able to stand multiple hits from Present Mic's Quirk, no matter how thick they were. So all he needed to do was trick the pro hero into using it multiple times in a row.
Izuku looked down each path in front of him, acting as if he was trying to decide which way to go. But in actuality, he already knew which route he was taking and just needed an act to play up for Present Mic. He deliberately took the path that was a dead end, that way he had an excuse to go back. He didn't need the voice hero catching on to his plan.
Lucky for him, Present Mic was still in the same pathway when he left. Once the hero saw him, he geared up for a smaller attack. Izuku could tell because the amount of air the man inhaled was quicker, so there wouldn't be as much. He was probably going for a blast; less air and less volume in the attack, but the power behind it would be stronger.
And sure enough, Izuku was proven right. He fell into another roll. The pressure from the blast knocked him forward a bit, but nothing he couldn't handle. Looking back at the wall, the vigilante saw that his plan was working. The wall was starting to crack, albeit not by much.
He would have continued with this plan if it weren't for the overhead buzzer signaling that there were only three minutes remaining. If his earlier theory was true, then he had to somehow get behind Present Mic and go in the directions he had come from.
And he knew just how to do that. Izuku felt a smirk creeping up under his mask.
"Present Mic-san!" he yelled, pointing at the blond's shoulder. "There's a spider on you!"
He watched as Present Mic froze and turned his head dramatically slow. He must have seen a piece of fuzz from his costume, because he started screaming and slapping it away. It wasn't much of a secret that Present Mic was afraid of bugs. All it took was a little digging. Or living with him, whatever your preferred method of research was.
With the hero distracted, Izuku was able to slip under the man's legs and head down the path. However, before he turned the corner, he recalled the goals Nezu had said and decided against his current plan. Instead, he faced the hero and waited for the right timing.
He popped off both finger caps as he liked to call them on both gloves and waited until Present Mic was facing a wall. He didn't want to let him get the chance to free himself with his Quirk, because Izuku was sure his webs wouldn't stand against it.
Present Mic had seemed to calm himself down and was now looking around the ground. The moment his head was looking to the side, Izuku let his webs free. The hero squawked and struggled against the bindings.
Izuku fist-pumped the air as the timer rang out.
" Present Mic," Nezu's voice called out from what Izuku could only assume was a hidden speaker, " are you able to get out? "
Izuku watched as the hero squirmed around before giving up. "Nope!"
" Kumo clears the first round! Please make your way to the buzzer. "
Izuku was just about to question that when all of a sudden the maze's walls collapsed into the ground. A few feet in front of him was the buzzer. Izuku turned around when he heard Present Mic fall to the floor.
"Oh!" Izuku ran over to him and dropped to his knees. He took out his pocket knife and began sawing off whatever he could while the hero brushed the webs out of his hair.
"I should really make separate ones," Izuku mumbled. "One for training and one for actual fighting. Maybe one that dissolves in water. How would that work, though?"
"That sure sounds like a good idea!" Present Mic chirped, grinning at the vigilante. "But you better get to the next floor."
Izuku nodded. "Right!" He stood up and jogged over to the buzzer. He wondered how on earth he was supposed to get up to the next floor when the ceiling above opened up a small hole, and Izuku was lifted up by a rising pillar.
"Oh. That's how."
As he rose, he snuck a peak at his wound under his hoodie. It looked irritated, but none of the stitches looked like they were going to come out.
Taking a deep breath and faking confidence. Izuku stepped off the platform and started the next level.