Muse

Chapter 13

The obstacle course was comprised a row of inner tubes you were supposed to step through, a balance beam, an inflatable obstacle course, and dodging. If you were hit by a ball, you had to start over. The team with the best time received the prize while the others received twenty percent off coupons for the museum gift shop, which was basically useless. We all had to sign wavers before doing all of this, since this was a very athletic activity and the museum didn't want to be held accountable for lawsuits. Sensing that I didn't have the time to look over and dissect every Japanese character, I pretended I understood it anyways and signed away my right to sue before taking my place in line while other people slipped on special socks provided by the staff. Thankfully since I was already wearing socks, I didn't have to subject myself to wearing a sock two sizes smaller than my size eleven feet that, judging from the fabric color, no doubt would be like wearing sandpaper to me.

People who were waiting for their turn or had already finished were cheering everyone on while the others threw the balls at the oncoming competition. One teenager in particular, a boy with spiky bleached hair and narrow eyes, seemed especially enthusiastic in taking down his opponents, knocking down a nine year old wearing a glorified suit of armor.

Then it was our turn. Since I was the sidekick, Izuku decided to go first and took his place at the starting line. "You got this, All Might!" I cheered him on. Izuku turned briefly to give me a smiling nod before focusing his attention back on the countdown. Once the staff member said 'go,' he took off like a shot. His opponent was around his age and height as well, but Izuku was too quick for him, jogging through the hoops and leaping across the balance beam in two strides.

"Whoa, the dude's got skills," I said as I watched him turn around the cone and avoid the first volley of squishy baseballs as he sprinted back towards the inflatable obstacle course and leapt through the hole of the entrance in one-go. The kid was a machine, vaulting over the climbing portions and running up various hand-holds without having to rely on the rope before sliding down the enormous slide at the end. He pushed himself off of the slide feet first and ran past the final stretch towards the button that would shut off the 'bomb.' The second round of balls thrown at him was nothing like the first, each of them being roughly the size of an actual dodge-ball, not like the squishy balls I had been expecting they would use. Unfazed, he ducked out of the way, too quick for the slow throws, and slammed his hand on the button on his side of the course. A buzzer rang through the room, alerting everyone that the bomb had been deactivated. They all stared up at the red countdown clock after his opponent hit the button on their side. Each person was given three minutes to complete the course. Any longer and you were disqualified, since the 'bomb' would go off and the city would be destroyed. Izuku's countdown clock read '2:13.' He had completed the entire course in forty seven seconds, a course record.

"Nice job, Izuku! You killed it!" I shouted over the crowd. Eager to live up to his expectations and improve on our accumulated score, I took my place at the starting line and saw, much to my chagrin, that Bleach-Boy was taking his place next to me. You got this, Blake. Just don't do anything extra and you'll be fine. Izuku already gave you a nice lead so don't screw it up. Rush and you might end up hurting yourself. Watch your speed but don't move slow enough that you end up bogging down Izuku-

"Aren't you a little old to be playing around with kids?" the snide boy asked with a sneer. Taken off balance by the verbal jab that I could barely form a rebuttal, I missed the start by a split second and watched as the teen sprinted forward ahead of me. Frustration at being distracted bubbled up in my chest as I used that anger to charge forward. Anxiety and adrenaline slammed into me as I arrived at the inner tubes, trying to hold my breath as I concentrated on not making a misstep and tripping.