Chapter 42: Porosity

Recap:

She then pulled out the vest she'd deconstructed and flipped it onto the back before pointing to the huge, clear button.

"When this is pressed in, the pressure sends a signal to this over here, which sends a signal to the administrators of the event and your vest code, thus presenting you with a red color and noise saying you're eliminated."

Midoriya nodded his head; everything made sense so far.

However, I found something else: there are two special functions inside these vests." One is a timer; each and every vest has an individual timer. Next is a collector; whenever you eliminate somebody, the vest records that interaction and records the number of people you eliminate."

He nodded his head but was confused. Sure, this was interesting, but nothing told him how he could get back into the round.

"I have a speculation! The amount of time it takes to get out of the maze will assign you a certain number of points."

'Reasonable considering the individual timers.'

"So along with those thoughts, the number of people you eliminate should also be able to shave off or give you some points."

"That theory, along with me finding a wire, says that when some unknown condition is fulfilled, it will send another signal to you, button, and bam. It's possible for you to still be in the race."

Normally he'd disagree; her conjunction relied heavily on theory and speculation, but…that one event was why he believed in her.

'The entrance exam.'

____________________________________________________________________________

'Finally.'

Suijin, looking at the door of light, was overwhelmed with relief; he'd been running around for god knows how long, and seeing the exit, he could almost cry from how tired he was.

After 'Escaping' from Bakugo, he'd just been trying to fix his other dilemma of finding the exit, which mostly consisted of asking other participants.

As one would expect, most didn't respond or looked to be trying to trick him, so with such people, Suijin simply eliminated them since his quirk was particularly suited to such aspects.

However, there were a few that he perceived to be genuine, and in such situations, he walked away peacefully.

Suijin looked to his left and saw his partner, which was the reason he could even get here so fast. The huge open pore-like spots going from his exposed shoulder to his wrist would normally creep others out, though for Suijin, this was as normal as a dog.

Suijin thought back to their first interaction less than an hour ago.

"Can you tell me where the exit is?" It was his perfunctory statement before he either left peacefully or beat up whoever he was talking to.

Nobody today had answered his question, so hearing an answer he didn't expect, Suijin was naturally surprised.

"Down the hall on the second floor, the exit should be around there," His holed friend explained, pointing upwards.

Naturally, Suijin started scrutinizing the guy, trying to determine the truthfulness of his words.

However, perhaps believing the squinting of Suijin's 'Eyes' to be distrustfulness, he started explaining himself.

"My quirk makes me sensitive to Air currents, and with the entrance doors being closed, stagnant Air is what I should be feeling. However, when I was up there–"

He once again pointed upward.

"I felt air flowing in, colder air, air that could only be from–"

"The stadium."

Suijin's excited voice cut him off.

'There'd be no more wandering around for this Spray Bottle.' He thought internally.

Still, one more thing plagued his mind,

"Why didn't you go?"

If he found the exit already, why was he still in here?

Giving Suijin a half smile, he said, "Why should I–"

A no brainer answer resounded in his head: 'To win.'

Yet his thoughts were quickly cut off.

"I can't win. My quirk's not really suited towards fighting, mobility, or anything other than detection. Maybe I can skirt by one more round, but in all of the sports festival's history, not once has there been a round that didn't involve some form of combat. No, rather than embarrass myself, I'd rather go out on my own terms."

Suijin was stumped for a moment, he'd known that fact about combat. He'd studied past sports festivals before coming, wanting to get a comprehensive understanding of what he could face. Yet only now did he think about how such things affect others.

'Hey, why don't I try pulling the rug out from under those heroic kids while they're still on their high horses?'

A quote from a certain purple-headed boy popped into his mind, and as it did, feelings of regret and self-anger did as well.

'Arrogant.' That's what Suijin was currently thinking of himself.

"I'm sorry–"

Suijin apologized for his insensitive behavior, yet before a response could be given, he asked a question.

"–But, are you trying to get an internship?!"

A hesitant look then appeared on the guy beside him.

"I'm not actively looking for one–"

No, not that. Do you want one? That's what I should've asked."

"I mean, yeah, but there's no way I could get one."

Suijin's tone grew a few octaves higher, "Then why don't you show me the way."

As he said that, he started walking a few steps ahead.

"Huh."

Suijin turned around and faced his friend stuck in a stupor, "If you want an internship related to your quirk, then you've got to show them your abilities. So, you show me the exit, showing those watching that you can navigate. And then when I win the sports festival, I'll talk you up."

"W-Win! You've got to be Crazy! There's Endeavor's Son! That crazy guy from Class 1A, and I heard that class even has an Ida in it!"

It was Suijin's turn to give him a confused look: "If I don't aim high, then I don't even deserve to win."

Suijin then turned around and stuck his hands in the air, waving them in a dismissive way.

"Besides, I have some secret weapons up my sleeve."

His friend that was being left behind was still confused as to where Suijin's confidence came from, especially since his quirk was so predictable.

Yet something about the air around him and his confidence drove his legs to start walking ahead.

"We'll I'm Hiraku, You?"

"Suijin, future No. 1"

Being surprised yet again, Suijin saw a look of not mockery but consideration, which then turned into belief.

"Here's where we part ways."

He looked back up at Hiraku, who stuck in the shadow, not wanting to come into the light illuminated from the Area marking the end.

Instead of awning directly, Suijin stuck a fist up, which Hiraku quickly reciprocated. Together, they made a fist bump, which spoke more than words could show.

Suijin tilted his head upward so he was facing the ceiling before shooting out the Camera that showed where they came from.

He'd been doing this from almost every 'Section' they came from, and he'd notice that in certain increments, cameras monitoring the place were located.

'Destroying them will provoke interest from the school, thus leading to them already taking an interest in us two and investigating our path and the previous footage.'

Some early footage, a gift, and insurance should things unfortunately go the way Suijin doesn't want them to.

'I'd be a fool not to make a backup plan.'

Fniished with his thoughts Suijin swung his body around and entered through the door of light, signifying the end of the first round.

"AND CONTESTANT NUMBER 28 ENTERS THOUGH THE DOOR! WITH ONLY 4 SPOTS LEFT, WHO WILL TAKE THE PRIZE?"

Suijin looked up, facing the crowd and his fellow passers. He caught a glimpse of the camera facing him and showcasing his body before it quickly changed, showing the inside of the labaranth disinterested.

'I show you.' Suijin subtly declared.

Still, he focused, suddenly noticing the crowd's words weren't of approval but of dismay.

"HE'S CHEATING!"

"DAMN'D QUIRKLESS!"

"THIS IS DISGRACEFUL!"

"END HIS TEST ALREADY!"

Looking above, he noticed Midoriya on the other side, defeating enemies like there was no tomorrow.

'Midoriya?'