Chapter 6: Rogue
"So that would be two Pork Cutlet Bowls, madam?"
"Yes please," replied Inko Midoriya. "Oh, and could we get extra meat for one of the orders?"
"Of course." The waiter took note of the order on his notepad. "Would that be all?"
"Yes, thank you!" replied Inko. The waiter walked off afterwards.
"Uh, mom?"
The woman turned toward the voice. "Yes, Izuku?"
"Why exactly are we here again? This place looks kind of… expensive."
The boy wasn't wrong. The Corner gave off a rather high etiquette vibe, its candlelight tables and high-strung attendants demonstrating what kind of atmosphere the restaurant withheld.
"I already told you! I just got promoted at work. I thought we could celebrate at a place like this."
"But couldn't we have just gone the usual place? We are just getting Katsudon, after all."
"Oh, you're no fun Izuku. There's no harm in going to a place like this every once in a while. Plus, the meat here is of a higher quality!"
"I suppose. Even if we haven't been to this part of the city before."
"Ah, enough of that. Enough of that," said Inko. "How was school today?"
Izuku grimaced at that. Kacchan was in one of his more grumpier moods today. The bruises on his leg were enough to prove it. "It was alright," Izuku replied. "Just the usual, you know."
"But your going into your last year of middle school soon! Surely there's something interesting happening in class?"
"Not really."
Inko gave him a long look. "If you say so," she stretched out. "How about Katsuki, then? How's he doing? I haven't seen him in awhile."
Izuku grimaced again, at that. He still hadn't told her about the way his relationship with Bakugou had changed.
Best not to add to her worries. She has enough on her plate.
"He and his friends just played games with me—" as in, chased me down and roughed me up, "— during lunch. The usual."
"Hmm..." hummed Inko. She had picked up on her son's dejected attitude towards her questions. He'd been like this everytime she mentioned school, but she didn't want to push. She decided to shift her manner of questioning. "And your training?"
Izuku perked up at that. That he could talk about. "It's doing great mom!"
Inko smiled at that.
Izuku continued. "Aside from training with Kawabata-sensei, I've been practicing with my quirk, trying to increase my range an—" he stopped, having noticed something at the edge of his said range.
While he may have told his mother about his quirk just last month after he told his sensei, Inko didn't exactly know everything Izuku was doing with his quirk. In fact, at the current moment Izuku was scouting out the currently unfamiliar part of the city for anything illegal or illicit. As it turned out, he'd found another criminal hideout not too far from where he was.
"Honey?"
…
"Uh, mom?"
"Yes?"
"I… I, uh… Some of my bugs are getting kind of hungry. Would it be alright if I…"
"Oh! Of course. Of course. Besides, I'd much rather have you feed them in the restroom than out here with the food. Go on ahead."
"Thanks mom!" He grabbed his bag and ran off towards the restroom. Once he got in, he began to check for any occupants. The various flies he sent in scoured the stalls - a rather indecent method, but a necessary one - and deemed them empty.
Good.
He turned around, opening the door to the restroom and sending out a couple of scout flies, just in case. He didn't want somebody barging in on him while he was getting ready, and he'd rather have a ten second warning beforehand if it was unavoidable. He turned again, this time placing his attention on an entry point.
Initial scouting had revealed that this restaurant had discrete access to the outside via a bathroom window. He taken to practice for searching for such things whenever he went somewhere new. He had just started doing it some time ago; constant vigilance in the case he needed to act with his quirk.
He moved toward the window, unlatching the pane while letting in the cool nighttime air. Izuku took a deep breath of fresh air, just lowering his head seconds before thousands of insects came swarming inside, gathering around Izuku.
Reaching into his pack, Izuku retrieved a black, lightweight cloak that he had asked his mom to get from a costume store. He'd made sure with his bugs to remove any trace of methodology that could trace the cloak back to him or his mom. Stray DNA was eaten up, as well as the label for the costume store.
A couple of near close calls made him realize how easily his bugs could be discovered – and thus subsequently connected to him. The cloak acted to remove any connections between him and his vigilante persona. Now that he was less cautious with his quirk, he needed to preserve his secret identity. After all, any news of a vigilante with a potential bug mutation quirk would be quite problematic.
As the fliers swarmed into the cloth, two small lights resonated in his hair. They were fireflies; he always carried two within the hair that now reached just past his neckline.
The fireflies placed themselves within the hood of the cloak, acting as two rudimentary eyes that glowed a luminescent yellow. The figure then rose into the air, emitting a slight buzzing sound. The now floating cloak was devoid of view beyond the shadows casted upon its openings, appearing almost as if all that filled the cloak were its piercing eyes. It stayed still for a few seconds, before zooming outside the open window.
Izuki smiled and nodded. Task done, he closed the window, leaving the bathroom and returning to his table.
He spotted his mother upon turning a corner. "Oh, Izuku! The food came while you were gone. I made sure yours had the extra meat. Are your insects are all fed well?" asked his mother.
"Yup!" responded Izuku. "The lesser insects acted food to the more important ones. I may be a few short now, but that's how life works. Everything's in order.."
Inko blinked. "Ah, that's… good to know… Um, and your training?"
"Oh! Where was I…"
"You said something about range?"
"Oh yeah! I've increased my range to up to three blocks!"
Three blocks, the outer edge of where he had found the villain hideout. Just out of sight of the building, his cloaked figure grabbed for a phone booth, dialing for the police.
"That's pretty large, isn't it? Three whole blocks of coverage?"
"Yeah, I—"
"Hello? Who is this?"
"I have found a villain hideout at this location," reverberated the feminine voice of his bugs. "Track this call and follow—"
The insects abruptly stopped their flow of sounds. They sensed something strange nearby.
A figure appeared within his sphere of influence, slowing closing in while jumping from rooftop to rooftop. His few scouts found the figure was mostly covered in black, with a loose, long cloth running from his neck. His face—"
"And I can sense what the insects can see and hear. It's especially helpful for surveillance and spying and stu—"
The insect-filled figure turned around, just as the black clothed jumper arrived on a rooftop that oversaw the scene. The dozens of bugs in the immediate area took discrete looks at the rooftop figure. Further observation revealed the long cloth to be a sort of scarf. The figure had long hair, almost in the current style and length of Izuku's own. But most prominent were the pair of distinctive yellow goggles that covered his eyes.
Eraserhead.
"Uh-oh."
Each stared down the other, waiting for either one to make a move first. The robed figure's yellow orbs pierced into the Erasure Hero's own black lens. Each seemingly edged the other to act. After a few short seconds, Eraserhead jum—"
"Izuku? Something wrong?"
"Huh?" Izuku asked, shifting attention back to his mother. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you were just making this face. And you sounded worried of something. You okay?"
"Oh! Yeah. Yeah. I'm just…"
Izuku turned his figure down a wayward alley. Eraserhead was in hot pursuit, trailing behind what would seem in his perspective a suspicious, levitating figure.
The cloaked insects simply glided over various obstacles, surpassing large dumpsters and various debris that otherwise hindered the pursuing hero. It was enough to throw the hero of Izuku's trail quite effectively, but not entirely.
Quick glances with other bugs saw Eraserhead's eyes glowing an eerie red and his hair floating upwards, even as he ran. Izuku knew that the hero was using his quirk. No doubt the hero would think from this encounter that he was chasing a rather oblique mutation type. As long as they both kept their distance, Izuku would be fine. Izuku couldn't let the hero see what was under the cloak, and he couldn't prevent that in hand-to-hand combat (or the lack thereof, i. The manner of his fake body).
Izuku began to think, various exit strategies coming to possible fruition in his head. He began to send insects all over, but was careful to ensure his actions were kept under wraps.
"Want dessert, Izuku?"
"Uh… yeah. Need to stay a bit."
"Alright, what do you want? The Ice Cream Fudge Brownie? Taiyaki? Moch—"
"Taiyaki. Or whichever takes longer."
He was having a craving for red bean paste. So what?
Inko rose an eyebrow. "Okay?"
There. An opening. Plan F.
The insects skidded the corner of the alley and onto the street. They took a immediate veer left, creating a rough five second window to commence a retreat. The thousands of bugs of his fake body abandoned the cloak, crowding and streaming their way into an open water drain. The insects left without a trace, leaving behind nothing but the cloak that concealed their presence.
"That's a shame."
"What is, Izuku?"
Said boy jumped in his seat. Shoot, that was out loud. Again. Need to fix that…
"Uh, nothing. Just a shame that we could only have one dessert," he said as he bit into the fish-shaped cake he was holding. That was a nice cloak though. I'll have to see how I can get another one without mom getting suspicious.
"We could get mo—"
"No!" Izuku exclaimed. He recoiled, having noticed the way he accidentally yelled. "I mean, no need to spend more here. We can spare ourselves from the, uh, higher expenses here."
Besides. I need to get away from here. I'd rather not stay so close to Eraserhead, just in case. I need to take note to be cautious around this area at night. It's probably directly in lieu of Eraserhead's patrol routes.
"Are you sure you're okay, Izuku? You're muttering again. And you've been acting weird all night."
"I— Yeah. Just… tired, I guess."
He looked back towards the storm drain. Eraserhead was there, currently examining the cloak Izuku's insectoid shape had left behind. The Erasure Hero was holding the cloth, then scanning the landscape for his target. The man tsked and sprinted away, rejoining the solitude of the rooftops.
Another close call. I need to be more careful. Even more so now since I'm no doubt under Eraserhead's radar.
Izuku looked out the window of his mother's car. He glanced up, towards the rooftops. He watched as the blurry shadow slowly faded away into the night.
"Officer Iwasaki."
Said officer rose his eyebrow. It wasn't often that a pro hero - especially an underground one - went out of their way to show up to the station at their own volition. He voiced his confusion.
"Eraserhead? What brings you here?"
The hero simply answered back with nonchalance. "An update. On one of your long-running cases."
"Oh?" Something noteworthy enough for Eraserhead to take note of? Perhaps its Stendhal? Or maybe Arkswan? "Let's get to one of the debriefing rooms first."
Both police officer and hero walked towards the debrief room, both silent before behind closed doors.
"So," asked Iwasaki, bringing out some blank pieces of paper and an inkwell, "what do you have for us?"
Eraserhead handed Iwasaki the cloth that was over his shoulders. He opened his mouth, uttering a single word, "Snitch."
Iwasaki's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Snitch?! You sure? I— wait, is this her cloak?"
Eraserhead nodded.
Iwasaki combed over the cloak. "It's rather… mundane. Nothing special about it, really." Iwasaki waved his hand over it. "No traces of ink, either if that helps. Can't track it by the supplier. You sure it's her's?"
"Completely. I arrived just as she making one of her infamous calls. That was about… two hours ago from now."
The officer blinked. "That would be the one at that club, with the secret basement hideaway… Wait, where were you then? We stormed the place with Death Arms just earlier."
"Mhm. I fell in pursuit with the suspect. We strayed pretty far from the scene and, I've got to admit, she's one slippery vigilante. Turned me around once or twice. She escaped. All I got was the cloak. I decided to finish my patrol rather than go on a goose hunt."
"Alright, I suppo— Wait, so you saw what she looks like under it, then, right?! That's good, very good!" Iwasaki began to use his quirk, the ink transforming into words onto paper, clear and organized as any computer would produce. "We can finally set up a description of her after all this time. Just give me a brief rundown of what she looked like and I can—"
"I didn't."
Iwasaki's scrawl abruptly stopped. "...Didn't what?"
"I didn't see her. Snitch was long gone by the l found the cloak."
"Oh… shoot," came Iwasaki's dejected look. But that soon changed, turning to intrigue. "But… why would she leave it behind, then? There wouldn't be a need, with such a clean escape. Why leave behind something that could potentially lead us to her?"
"That, Iwasaki, is what I intend to find out."
Shota Aizawa stepped out of the station. Upon reaching the bottom steps, he immediately spotted a flare of spiky, blonde hair to his left. He sighed.
"Hey! Shota! How's it going?!" exclaimed the figure.
"I'm fine," Aizawa said. "Why're you here?"
"Agh, that hurts!" yelled Hizashi, clutching at his heart. "Can"t a friend simply visit a friend?"
Aizawa simply started walking.
"Shota, wait up!" Hizashi whined. Upon catching up to his friend, he asked, "So?"
"So what?"
"Tell me! Ole buddy, old pal, why'd brought you in there? You usually never end up directly speaking with the police."
"I had an update for one of their long-running cases." Aizawa answered. "Most of the information on the case is within the police database, due to the nature of the case. I needed to see what else they had so I could find a lead."
"Oh? How so? What's got you so interested?"
"Snitch."
"Ah, her! The mysterious Snitch! She's quite a case, ain't she?"
"She is. I encountered her on my patrol."
"You did?! Where's she at then? Police custody? Or was her quirk too volatile for that?! Is she being watched by other heroes, maybe?"
Shota simply gave his friend a flat glare.
"What?! She got away? How?! This is like, what? The first time someone has escaped from you?" Hizashi asked incredulously.
Another stare. "Third. There was both Quill and Arson."
"Ah, I remember them. Both mutation types. Huge pains to fight…" Hizashi tilted his head toward Shota. "You think Snitch is one?"
"Not sure. But I believe it's possible."
"And why's that?"
"I tried erasing her quirk. It didn't work, she just kept going. However she was levitating, it was either through a mutant quirk or some sort of device, if the faint buzzing I picked up on is anything to go by. Besides, she was able to notice my presence before I came into view. That points towards a sensory quirk."
Hizashi shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you've got to admit, at least it was a vigilante this time, eh? Less likely to retaliate in lethal force towards heroes, and at least doing good rather than crime."
Hizashi took an exaggerated pose, eyes scrunched in deep thought and his hand rubbing his chin. "You didn't see anything that could hint towards a possible mutation? Body parts?"
"Never got a view under the cloak."
"Hands?"
"Covered by the sleeves."
"Face?"
"Two yellow eyes, that's all."
"Well, how about her fee — Oh! So Snitch does levitate! Just like Emi told us!"
Aizawa's eye twitched ever so slightly. He sighed again. "Yes, it was as she said."
"Sweet! I've got another reason for a get together! Wait until Emi hears about this."
"Please don't. I like speaking to her on my own terms."
"Hmm…"
Aizawa looked at his friend.
"Mmm… Fine. But only because you asked nicely. On the other hand, there's stil— Hey! Where you going?!"
Aizawa, again the Erasure Hero Eraserhead, was jumping up the sides of two buildings until he reached the top. His goggles glinted in the heavy moonlight, capture device ready at his neck.
"I'm gonna take a look around. Never know, I might stumble upon Snitch again."
"But you've already been at it for 7 hours! You need to sleep, you know! It's not healthy if you don't!"
Aizawa nodded his head. "Fine. I'll only be out for another hour. But one thing's for sure, I'll be keeping a closer eye out for Snitch. This case isn't going to be forgotten until it's solved.
With that, Eraserhead blurred away into the night.
"Wait! yelled Hizashi. "We still haven't talked about whether or not you're gonna accept that job opening!"
Hizashi Yamada stared after his friend as he grew smaller in the distance. He sighed. "Ah well, we'll go over it tomorrow. Nemuri and I can gang up in him then."
With that, Hizashi placed his hands in his pockets and walked on home. That is, until something else came to mind. "Ah shoot! I still need to finalize everything for tomorrow's show!" And his brisk pace turned into a sprint towards his home.
Chapter 7: Conflict
"Alright class, listen up!" announced the teacher. "Since you are all third years, it's time for you to seriously think about your future. I'd pass out handouts for your future plans now, but… you're pretty much all planning to go into the hero course, right?"
A cacophony of yells and hollers came from the class, various individuals flaring up with the usage of their quirks. The teacher began to quiet them down.
"Now, now. I must remind you that quirk usage prohibited on school premises. You all—"
"Don't lump us all together as a group!" yelled out Bakugo. "I'm not gonna be stuck at the bottom like all of these rejects!"
The class began to voice their disapproval. Not too far back, Izuku Midoriya's eye slightly twitched in annoyance. How could someone like him be aiming to be a hero?
"Oh, if I remember correctly, you want to go to U.A. High, right, Bakugo?" asked the teacher.
"That's right! I aced the moc—"
"Ah, it says here that so does Midoriya!" interrupted the teacher. Everyone in the class went silent. Then came a small laugh, which erupted into an uproar of incredulity towards Izuku's prospects.
Deep breaths, deep breaths. Keep them at bay.
A slight crackle originated from Bakugo's hand.
Izuku sighed. Here we go again. He feigned disinterest, looking out the window.
"You listen here, Deku!" Bakugo said, rising from his seat. "I'm the only one here that's going to get into U.A., you hear!" A growl came from Bakugo. "Hey! Are you listening to me?!"
Bakugo moved, aiming to ignite an explosion atop Izuku's desk. Izuku, eyes widening as his insects followed Bakugo's movements, jumped from the desk to evade the attack. With the brunt of the force having lost its target, it was redirected towards the desk, causing it to collapse in two. Izuku let out a small smirk. Unfortunately, Bakugo saw the expression.
"Well, looky here," Bakugo scoffed. "Think you're so special, huh? Dodging that?" Izuku's smirk faded away. He remained standing, but pressed against the back wall of the classroom. Bakugo continued with his speech. "Well guess what! You're below the rejects! You're quirkless!"
But only because I haven't shown you. A part of his consciousness went to reach for his bugs, but he immediately went to shut that down. He took another deep breath. In, and out. Izuku stayed leaning against the wall, eyes closed and controlling his breathing.
"What? Not gonna say anything, Deku?"
Izuku's bugs took a look out in front of him. Bakugo had that manic glee in his eyes, the eyes that shone in apparent victory, the feeling of superiority over the inferior. The sight bubbled and seethed in Izuku's mind, but he remembered to keep his control on a lease. His instead responded back with a verbal retort, rather than a physical one.
"I don't need to say anything to you."
The rage was apparent on Bakugo's face."What was that?!" A larger explosion racked in Bakugo's hand. "You—"
"Bakugo! Midoriya! Stop your fighting! I don't want to have to send you both to the principal again! And I highly doubt the classroom can handle any more damage from your antics!"
Bakugo growled, but went back to his seat. Izuku went to do the same, but stopped himself. With his desk having been destroyed by the initial explosion, her had nowhere to sit. Sighing again, he went to retrieve his belongings and sat back against the wall. The teacher showed no sign of concern or notice.
The rest of the class went on, with Bakugo silently fuming from earlier, and Izuku again observing his surroundings with his bugs, his focus completely away from the teacher's lecture. It wasn't as if he would ever be called upon, after all.
Soon enough, the bell rang and the school day had reached its end. As per usual, Izukku waited for most of the class to leave. However, as he predicted, Bakugo and his cronies stayed behind. It wasn't like Bakugo to leave such a threat to his ego unpunished, after all.
He began to pack his belongings as the trio began their approach. However, the unexpected happened as Bakugo snatched up his notebook. He hadn't done that before, and Izuku hadn't anticipated the move. He just hadn't listened to what his bugs had seen in time.
"We're not done talking yet, Deku," Bakugo said, standing menacingly in front of Izuku. He set his eyes on Izuku, then turned his attention to the notebook. "'Hero Analysis for the Future?'" he read aloud. The other two behind him began racking up, spouting out remarks denouncing Izuku.
"Give it back," Izuku said.
Bakugo simply scoffed, charring the notebook with a light explosion. Izuku mentally cringed. However, as Bakugo went to throw the book out the window, Izuku sent a few fliers after it, catching it just before it touched the water below.
"Listen here, Deku! I'm the only one from this dump that's going to get out of here and get into U.A. So you better get off your high horse and think realistically. I don't care what Horns or No Face are telling you! You're nothing!"
The trio began to walk off, but not before Bakugo left with the last word. "Heck, who knows? Perhaps you'll get a quirk in your next life. Just take a swan dive off the roof, will ya?"
Izuku remained standing there, musing over Bakugo's words. Imagine if I did? I could screw over him right then and there. He'd never get into U.A. then. But I wouldn't.
"Of course. Not with me here."
With Bakugo and his cronies having left the school - Izuku checked with his bugs - he began to walk outside. He passed by the window of his classroom, where he found his notebook being held up by flies and dragonflies. Retrieving it, he began to walk home.
He eventually thought about his friends. It was a shame that they lived in different neighborhoods, since he didn't have much time to hang out with them. It didn't help that schoolwork got in the way, limiting get togethers to mostly the weekends.
As he approached an overpass, he again began to think over his school situation. His thoughts drifted over to Bakugo again. If only there was a way to—
He turned, his bugs having noticed an inkling of sludge moving unnaturally from a manhole cover.
The sludge sped up from its original, crawling pace. It formed roughly into a humanoid shape in seconds, then promptly dashed towards Izuku, encapsulating him in sludge.
"Wow," said the sludge, "you noticed me pretty quickly there. I had to speed up my formation. Some sort of sensory quirk, maybe? I could use that, actually have a way to avoid him."
Izuku began to panic. There was no doubt that he was being attacked by a villain. Horror and fear was forming over realization of what was happening, that he was suffocating, was about to di—
He reached out to his bugs, subduing his emotions. He began to formulate a plan. His skittering bug clone began to form, gathering insects from the surrounding area. The buzzing demonstrated their agitation, a loud, unbearable jarring of sounds filling the air.
"Let me go."
The sludge villain blinked in stupefaction. "Oh shit, that's you." He looked at the chittering mass of bugs, the creatures piling over one another, rapidly falling apart and rebuilding at the same.
"I'm gonna be honest with you kid, that is a whole lot levels creepy, many times overboard more than me. And look at me, I'm an amorphous killer slime."
He's not scared?
"But who am I kidding? It's just bugs. What are they gonna do to me, huh? Nice try, but I'm sorta of in a hurry so…"
He was right, of course. Upon contact the bugs either died or were sucked into the villain's body. It did little but further annoy the villain. The tightening of the sludge quickened, squeezing and suffocating Izuku even further. "Don't worry little invisibility cloak, we're almost there."
Izuku didn't know what else to do. He couldn't quite beat up something he couldn't harm, right? He scoured his mind, trying to come up with something to counteract the villain's quirk. There had to be some sort of weakness. He looked again at the villain with his bugs, scanning its form top to bottom. Then a lightbulb formed. Another plan began to carry out.
He knew the route they were on, knew which bugs carried their way through the area. He reached out, calling upon one of the hives he'd been cultivating during his walks to and from school. It was one of the things ge often refrained from using, bit he had little choice now. Then, a new buzzing filled the air.
A swarm of hornets - the native japanese kind - came upon the villain. The slime yelped a little as he saw them arriving.
Don't blame him. These hornets are pretty terrifying, after all.
"Let go, or else," demanded his swarm, along with the newcomer hornets.
The sludge rolled his eyes. "Look kid, I already said befor—"
I'm running out of air. Can't breathe, can't brea— I'll show him.
The hornets acted, swarming the sludge villain. But rather than just aimlessly attack, they had one goal in mind. They congregated towards the villain's eyes, each taking turns injecting their stingers into the soft tissue. The villain screeched in agony, releasing Izuku and flailing around the overpass.
Izuku gasped for breath, coughing up excess sludge and barely being able to stand. The black spots in his vision were still there, and his thoughts remained fuzzy. He dispersed his bugs, gaining a little more focus with his own eyes.
A clattering of metal came soon after, an easily recognizable voice following the charge. "It's alright now, youn— huh?"
Izuku looked right over, recognizing his childhood hero. Izuku stood and remained there staring, slack jawed.
All Might surveyed the scene, finding the sludge he'd been chasing earlier mostly subdued. Various chunks of him lying about, leaving only a small portion that was about the size of the villain's face squirming to and fro.
He then looked at the boy he had heard struggling earlier, finding him relatively unharmed and standing in what he presumed was awe.
Izulu ran forward, joyfully bouncing up and down in front of his idol. "A- A- All Might! Sir! It- It's really you!"
"Indeed young man!" responded All Might, who began looking around. He eventually resounded an, "Aha!" and headed over to pick up some discarded soda bottles. "I must say, I'm quite impressed with you! Being able to take down such a tricky villain by yourself? And at such a young age? Amazing!" he laughed.
All Might began to scoop up the villain into the soda bottles. "How did you do it anyway? Super Strength? Aerokinesis?" All Might gathered the last of the villain, closing the caps tightly.
Izuku immediately responded. "It was nothing really, just bu—"
A rough cough interrupted Izuku. He looked over to All Might, who had been looking at Izuku's notebook.
"My notebook!" Izuku said.
All Might smirked. "It's rather extensive, young man. I'm impressed yet again." All Might handed the notebook to Izuku.
He opened it up, and found a page with All Might's signature. He already signed it!
"But alas, I must go. Villainy doesn't fight itself, after all!"
Izuku froze, staring at the retreating figure of the hero. He still had questions he hadn't asked, things that only All Might would know.
"All Might—"
"I'm sorry lad, but I really have to go!" All Might said, stretching. He turned one last time to the boy, uttering, "Stay safe!" And with that, All Might jumped into the air. However, he wasn't fast enough to lose the rather energetic boy now attached to his leg.
Izuku mentally screamed. Oh shoot, oh shoot! This was a bad idea!
"I thought you were over trying to kill yourself?"
Izuku was clutching into All Might's leg for his dear life, trying to resist the hero's efforts to dislodge him.
"Oi oi oi, there's such a thing as being too much of a fanboy, you know!" All Might yelled. "You should learn to keep your distance!" he said, trying to get rid of the green headed boy.
"If I let go now I'll die!" Izuku yelled back in kind.
All Might stopped, considering the boy's words. "Opps," he gave a nervous laugh. "Good point. Just hold on tight then. We'll be down in just a minute." The hero and the boy soared through the air, eventually landing on the roof of a building.
All Might let Izuku down, and immediately began to head towards the railing. "Look kid, I've really got to go."
"But All Might!"
"No buts! I really—" All Might began to cough profusely, interrupting his speech. It wasn't long before steam began to seep from his form, eventually resulting in the complete transformation from the Symbol of Peace to an unknown nobody. "Ah shoot," stretched out the transformed All Might.
Izuku blinked in surprise. "All… Might?" The figure standing before him was without a doubt his idol. The few bugs he had kept on the hero were still where he left them, completely untouched.
"Yeah… sorry you had to see me like this, kid." All Might said dejectedly.
"What… what happened?" Izuku asked.
All Might gave off a small laugh. "It was a while back ago. Five years, actually, when I got this injury in a fight," he said, lifting up his shirt to reveal said injury.
Izuku grimaced in seeing it. "Five years ago… was that the fight with Toxic Chainsaw?"
"I'm impressed yet again. You've done your research!" All Might sighed. "My quirk — One for All — has a time limit on it now. At most, I can go heroing for three hours a day."
All Might sighed again. "Look kid, I can't have this being found out. The Symbol of Peace must remain a beacon of hope for all."
Izuku nodded profusely. "Of course, All Might! My lips are sealed!"
"Good! I trust you, you seem like a good kid," All Might sighed again. "Well, I might as well be going," he said, heading for the door.
"Wait!" Izuku yelled. "I still have some questions… If you don't mind," Izuku added quietly.
All Might turned back towards Izuku, mind in decision. After a few moments, he responded. "Ah, might as well. You've already seen me. So, uh… Um… I never got your name, young man."
"Oh! It's uh, Izuku. Izuku Midoriya."
"Well, all right, Midoriya. What is it that you have to ask of me?"
Izuku looked down at his feet in hesitation. Now that he actually had the chance to ask All Might, he was kind of nervous.
"Hey kid," pitched in All Might. "It's all right. Anything you've got to ask, just go ahead!"
"It's… it's about my quirk. I— I'm not sure what to do about it."
"You mean the thing that got you out of that mess of sludge? Surely a quirk like that had to be super strong to take down that villain. It would make the top ranks! What's got you so worried?"
Izuku gulped. "It's… not like you imagine. My— my quirk… I can control... bugs."
All Might sweatdropped. "Bugs?"
"Yeah, bugs. I can control them, very fine control too," Izuku demonstrated, forming a bunch of nearby bugs into a floating 'HELLO!'
"Oh, wow. That's mighty impressive. But, I still don't see what's wrong?"
"That's the problem." Izuku said. "Hypothetically, imagine that there was a villain with an emitter quirk that focused around their eyes."
All Might nodded.
"If I really wanted to, I could neutralize them completely by placing maggots in their eyes."
All Might blinked. "Uh…"
"Or someone whose quirk emitted from their hands. I could rot the tissue with spider venom and render the hands useless."
"Definitely not going off in a grudge there."
"Or with—"
"Okay, okay, okay, stop. You're looking at this the wrong way."
Izuku rose his eyes in surprise. "I am?"
All Might nodded. "Yup. You can find different uses from your quirk, from the sound of it. You could just, uh, blind villains with your swarm. Or wrap their hands in… uh… spider silk or something," All Might said, rubbing his hands at the back of his head.
Izuku's eyes widened in realization. "You're right! Why haven't I thought of that before?!"
"Damn."
"Personally," interjected All Might, "I believe it was a sense of focusing on the negatives. Bugs are viewed as scary by many, after all. Especially so to young children such as yourself. Maybe you had a scare when you were young? Something that involved insects?"
Izuku thought back. "I don't… think so. Maybe."
"Any way, young Midoriya!" All Might yelled, switching back into his muscled form. "Your quirk is very versatile. In fact, I can almost guarantee that you'd become a pro as long as you groom it right. Just remember, don't let your quirk define yourself. Let you define your quirk."
Izuku smiled brightly from the praise of his idol.
"Now, if you don't mind, I can't stretch my time in this form much longer. I really need to get this guy—" All Might stopped, patting his now empty pockets.
"Oh shoot! I must've—"
"Oh, right!" Izuku interjected. "The bottles! I almost forgot." Izuku ordered his bugs to move, a hidden mass at the corner of the roof coming forward with two sludge-filled soda bottles. All Might went to grab them, securing them in his pockets.
"I noticed them falling when we were in the air. My grip sort of slipped them out from your pockets. Sorry," Izuku admitted, rubbing his head.
"My gosh, young Midoriya! You almost gave me a heart attack! But I've got to say, nice job!" All Might said with a thumbs up.
Izuku jumped. "Bu—but, it was my fault the villain almost got lose!"
All Might laughed. "Nonsense! I should've been paying attention to this fellow. Your quick actions prove that you're hero material already, even!"
"Thank you, All Might!"
"Of course! "I'll be seeing ya!" With that, the Symbol of Peace jumped away, a bewildered Izuku watching from the rooftop.
"Dr. Nakai, sir." The doctor looked over at the nurse that had gotten his attention.
"Yes, Kanako?" he asked.
"It's about the… uh, patient that we got an hour ago," the nurse explained in a reserved manner.
The doctor rose an eyebrow. "The one that the media has deemed the 'Sludge Villain?'"
"Yes sir," she replied, nodding animatedly.
"He just came here for the routine checkup before they were going to process him, no? Did something go wrong? I thought they had heroes watching him."
"That's not it, sir. The check-up picked up on something rather, well…"
"Yes?"
"He's mostly made of sludge, given he's a mutation quirk. His eyes are the only thing that are still made of tissue. And, well, it's his eyes. They've… They're damaged. Irreparably so."
"What'd you mean?"
The nurse took out a file folder. "Here, sir. We took some pictures for record."
Nakai grabbed the folder, opening it and recoiling at what he saw. "By god! What happened?"
The nurse grimaced. "There are signs of them being stung - hundreds of times. We believe that they were from hornets, given the potency and damage. Fortunately for him, his physiology made it so there was no danger of death. Even so, a normal man would have died with the amount of venom in his system.
"...Who took him out?"
"It was All Might."
"Oh. Well, it definitely wasn't his fault." The doctor rubbed his chin in thought. "Maybe it was something in transit? Or something before All Might came along?"
"What do you think, Doctor?"
"I don't know. And I'd rather not bother All Might if we don't have to. What's done is done. We'll just mark it down in the records, leave it be unless someone questions it. Our job's done then. He's a villain, after all. Not like anyone would really care.
"Of course, Dr. Nakai. As you say so."
Chapter 8: Agreement
"Do you know why you are here, Midoriya?" came a stern voice.
Izuku remained quiet. He'd already gone through this talk with the principal multiple times before. And the outcome was rarely ever different.
"You were causing trouble in class again with Bakugou," he took a breath, as if he was tired over a repetitive task. "You claimed that he had attacked you." The principal tented his fingers. "Why do you insist on pinning such things on him?"
Izuku had learned that nothing would ever prove Bakugou to 'be in the wrong.' Everything he would do would be ignored, while Izuku would take the punishment.
"Now, I know it's the last day of your time here, before you head off to high school. So, there's not much I can really do."
He'd learned long ago the renown that came to a school when a graduating student got into U.A. He discovered how much a school's reputation boosted from such statistics, and in turn the resulting greater influx of students next year. This led to more funding, and more pockets being filled.
The sound of a hand slamming the desk came about. Of course, no actual hand was on the desk, given the principal's quirk. His hands were still tented up. Izuku did jump in his seat, however, not having been able to see the action either with his own eyes or his bugs'. "Are you even listening, Midoriya?"
"Of course, sir." Not really, though.
The principal sighed. "Do you know how difficult it is, dealing with you? Day in and day out, I have to worry about you causing trouble, or risk—"
"That's enough."
"You mean how difficult it is to ensure stuff like this doesn't get out? So that Bakugou has a chance of getting into U.A.?"
Izuku blinked. Wha—
It was no wonder that Isoshi Renjiro was so adamant on Bakugou's good behavior. Any blots on his record could risk his chances in getting into the country's top hero school.
"Now, Midoriya," the principal said in a warning tone, "such accusations are unaccounted for." A pause. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Izuku stayed silent this time.
The principal's blank face didn't relay his emotions, especially given the slight growls coming for the corners of the room. "Get out. I'm tired of dealing with you. I should just take your leaving as a blessing."
Izuku immediately complied, walking out of the office of Isoshi Renjiro for the last time.
"That old principal had you held up again?" asked Manga.
"Yeah," replied Izuku. "Had me in for disrupting class again, apparently."
"What is that, like, the fourth time this month?" asked Mei.
Another voice added, "He really does sound like a… uh…"
Izuku turned toward the voice, a more recent addition to his group of friends. He finished off her thoughts. "A jerk?"
"Yeah!" exclaimed Pony Tsunotori. "A jerk, that's the word… Or just a meanie, maybe. I, uh, I mean, he must be, right?"
"Well, I think so," said Izuku. "But it's not like it matters now. We're all out of school, after all. And I'll never have to see him again."
Manga had introduced Pony Tsunotori to the group just a few months prior. Apparently, she had come over from America due to family reasons; her parents had found a new job over here in Japan. Her having met Manga was a blessing to her, since she was still trying to learn Japanese. Manga's ability to 'pop-up' words on his face allowed him to be a great teacher on the subject. It wasn't surprising that the two became great friends.
Mei butted in. "Nevermind him. People like him are the type I ignore in favor on working on my babies! I just erase them from the memory banks and— Oh! I should try that," she pulled out her notebook, " a mind wiper. In the form of a helmet? No, too bulky. A gun?"
Izuku added in his own thoughts. "I don't think you should do that, Mei."
Mei looked up with an incredulous stare. "And why not? I can't be too hard. I just need to give the brain an electrical jolt! In fact, a simple shot of the Electro-Beam should suffice as a first experiment!"
"It's not like that Mei! You can't just mess around with someone's brain without having researched neurology!"
"But come on! Really?! It's not—"
"But the way the brain works inhi—"
Meanwhile, Manga and Pony watched the ongoing strife as their two friends debated over memory erasure inventions.
"And there they go. They're at it again," uttered Manga.
Pony looked a little uncertain. "This happens too often, I think. How long did last time last?"
"Ehh… About an hour or so," mused Manga.
They continued to look on, watching the continuous onslaught of techno-babble that neither of them could understand.
"Shouldn't you stop them?" asked Pony.
After a few seconds, Manga sighed. "Alright, fine." He walked up to the debating duo, internally dreading that he would end up getting coiled by the 'Wire Arrow' again.
He kept an eye on the contraption on Mei's waist, before shouting 'STOP' to manifest a thin wall into existence. Both Izuku and Mei abruptly stopped their bickering. Seems like Mei was being more amiable today.
"Ok. Okay. Never mind that."
"But—!" Manga stopped Mei before she could continue, placing a palm in front of her face.
Manga turned to his green-haired friend. "Izuku why did you call us out here, again? To the park?"
"Ah!" Izuku steadied himself. "It's kind of silly, really. But... I've been inspired to work harder, so we are all going to train ourselves to the limit!"
Silence.
"Train? Why would I do that?" uttered Mei.
Izuku sighed. "Alright. Not you, I suppose. You could go tinker over there." He pointed at a park bench.
"But Izuku!" Mei whined. "We still haven't finished that robot we were working on! We still need to retroactively connect all the circuitry!"
"Why did you do that, anyways?"
"Because I have you, silly! Your bugs can connect all the wires and stuff!"
"Right…"
"Guys!" shouted Manga.
Izuku cleared his throat. "Anyway, if we all want to get into U.A., we have to make sure our bodies are ready! Not just our quirks!"
"Well?" asked Izuku, garnering for their opinion.
"Well… I think it's a… a…" Pony turned to Manga whispering what she was trying to convey. On his face formed the word 'amazing.' "Yeah! Amazing!" Pony finished.
"Thank you, Pony." Izuku said. "And you, Manga?"
"Eh… I suppose. No harm in trying." (｀-´)
"I might as well follow," said Mei. "But I'll be trailing behind instead, working on my babies!"
Izuku sweatdropped. "I suppose that's the best I can wish for," he muttered. "Thank you! Now, I'd like to start with…"
He sighed. It was hard, living with a quirk like his. Sure, he liked what he was able to do with it. Sure, he was praised for it. Sure, it was powerful given the right conditions, but…
He took a seat on the bench, leaning his head back over the backrest, and leaving his arms stretched out. He closed his eyes, taking in the feeling of sunlight on his face and the melodious chirping of the birds.
It just didn't feel… right. He'd never be able to stand on his own with his quirk. He would always just be… there. On the sidelines away from the others.
He thought back to his time at school. The others always found his quirk 'cool.' And he reflected that by the way he interacted with them. But he knew the truth of his quirk.
He never stood out because of what he could do, not necessarily. He decided that his quirk was more of a burden, with what he hoped to accomplish.
He sighed again. But his resolve refused to waver.
But I have a goal. A way to prove myself. I just need to get into U.A. That was for sure. And a complete guarantee. To be a Pro, I just need to—
"Alright everyone! Just a little bit more. We'll rest up here for now though. Let Mei catch up, too."
He opened his eyes, turning his head to look over at the fountain. There he found a group of three. There was a horse-looking girl - no doubt due to her quirk - given her horns and hooves. Then there was one with a speech bubble for a head - how does that work?
Then he glanced over at the other: the obvious leader of the group. The other two were both being led by the green-headed boy, no other remarkable features otherwise.
If only I could be like that, praised for my own qualities. He shook his head, intrigued by the scene before him. I wonder what he has, that makes the others follow him so resolutely. It must be something powerful.
He looked over again, an idea coming to mind. A smirk appeared on his face. Why don't I go find out?
"Hey… Izuku," said Manga, panting from their run, "it looks like that guy is… coming our way."
Izuku glanced over at the figure at mention, who had just previously been resting on the park bench. He had blonde hair, parted to the left with his bangs hanging over his right. The boy held himself rather… contemptuously, if that was the right word. He simply walked up, hands in his pockets.
"Who are you?" asked Manga.
The boy smirked. "I'm Monoma. Neito Monoma."
It seemed as if that was all he was going to say, showing no signs to continue. Manga spoke up instead, "And... what do you want?"
"Oh, not much, my fellow peers. I was simply… rather engrossed in what was transpiring here."
Izuku rose an eyebrow, "Us training?" he asked.
"Precisely," affirmed Monoma.
"...Why?" asked Manga.
Rather than answer, Monoma simply walked up to Izuku, placing a hand on his shoulder. Then he furrowed his brow, which eventually morphed into an expression of shock and confusion.
"Is everything… okay?" Izuku asked, concerned.
Monoma looked at Izuku, then at the two behind him. He backed away a few steps. "You're… quirkless?" Monoma spoke, confused.
Izuku flinched, as if struck. "What?" he said in a deadpan tone.
Monoma shakily continued. "How could a quirkless be leading such a group of those obviously gifted with their own—"
"Whoa man, that's uncalled for," interrupted Manga. "Besides, he—"
"No, let him—"
"It… it just can't!" exclaimed Monoma, showing a bit of unease. "It doesn't work like that. You can't— when I—"
He shook his head, his expression going back to as it was before. His resolve seemed to steel, as if he was remembering something only he knew himself. "How can someone as yourself possibly teach these people anything of circumstance?"
"A powerless nobody, are we?"
Izuku's eyes shone with fury. Bugs began to congregate around his figure, buzzing and chittering. They came from all angles, from the beehives up in the trees to the taller grass that littered the floor of the park.
Surprise filled Monoma's expression. "But… that's impossible. I checked…" He backed away in fear, and the bugs that crawled on Izuku's face and hair did little to deter that fear. "You can't possibly have a quirk."
That seemed to be the wrong thing to say. The bugs sped towards him, covering his body in seconds. Izuku refrained from any lasting damage, stopping any bites or stings, simply letting his creatures scurry over the boy's body. But Monoma didn't know that.
The boy screamed, panicking and running off away from the three. He didn't stop until he reached the edge of the park, where Izuku ordered his bugs off.
Continued watching via [Bug Scry], as Izuku thought of naming it, revealed that Monoma was smart. Well, at least in the sense that he didn't seem to want to head back to where Izuku was.
Back to where the friends stood, Manga slowly walked up, putting a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Hey, buddy… What was that, just now?"
That seemed to shake Izuku out of his stupor. He blinked in realization over what had just occurred. "I… I don't know, actually." Izuku said slowly. "It just sort of… happened. It felt kind of right, you know. But I feel kind of bad now, with me covering him in bugs. That probably wasn't a nice experience."
"Well you shouldn't!" yelled Mei, who was currently screwing in a bolt to her contraption. "He was acting all pretentious and stuff. Didn't know what he was walking into."
Everyone blinked. "How long have you been there?" asked Manga.
"Eh, around the part where blondie started freaking out. He's a real jerk, by the way."
"Ooh! Ooh! Like the principal guy, right?" exclaimed Pony.
Manga chuckled. "Yes Pony, like the principal guy." He turned back to Izuku. "That was kind of weird, though. What was that all about?"
Izuku shrugged his shoulders. "No clue. He was very odd. I don't know what set him off. And what did he mean, that I was quirkless? Maybe that's his quirk? Sensing other quirks? And he saw that I didn't have mine? That's weird. I feel even worse now, I probably overrea—"
Manga came up to Izuku, grabbing his shoulders and vigorously shaking him. "Whoa dude! Snap out of it. That's too much for one mutter session."
Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. You know how I am." He shook his head. "Anyway, we've spent long enough here!" He turned to the other three behind him. "Onward! Toward U.A.!"
"Yay…" the group yelled dispassionately. However, they still followed Izuku's lead. U.A. was the goal, after all.
Izuku walked up to the large campus ahead of him. It was a Saturday, and yet here he was, taking his first steps into U.A. High. Of course, the school term didn't start for another few months, but that did little to ease his worries. He was here for an entirely different reason, actually.
He walked in through the large, imposing gates and followed the designated signs. The building he arrived at was apart from the main campus, standing off in the far corners near the edge of the fencing.
He walked in through the automatic glass doors, which were larger in size than what would be considered as normal.
Why are the doors so big? Perhaps for people with gigantification quirks? That's rather considerate of U.A.
He arrived at the reception room, which was empty and quiet. It made sense, considering why he was here. Fortunately, it wasn't too long before someone else exited from the side room, quietly cursing as they went.
His stuff probably wasn't approved. It was likely, given the rather obtrusive board that towered from his back. That broke rule three: Nothing larger than one's own person.
A disinterested sounding voice called out from beyond the door, "Next."
Izuku walked in, but at the moment he looked at the man in front of him, he froze. He recognized the man, with his black clothing and hair that was barely longer than his own. He'd only seen him up close once before - well, technically anyway - but that was enough to cement the image in his mind.
Eraserhead.
"Name?" the man asked, paying no heed to Izuku's current state.
Need to stay calm, not arouse any suspicion. Act as usual. He doesn't know. Shouldn't know.
"Ah… sorry, Eraserhead."
The man's hand froze ever slightly, before immediately continue its swipe across the paper.
Opps. Probably shouldn't have mentioned his name. I probably shouldn't even recognize him at all.
"Uh, sorry. It's just… are you not Eraserhead? I assumed you were, since you matched the few reports they have been posted up online, and you sort of look tired. It makes sense, considering your late night patrols."
Great, dig yourself into a deeper hole.
Eraserhead looked at Izuku, a rather inquisitive stare from what he could tell. But he simply repeated himself, "Name?"
"Ah… Izuku Midoriya, sir."
Eraserhead wrote it down. "Reason of visit?"
Izuku moved for his pack. "These sticks, sir," Izuku pulled them out from his backpack. "They're specialized equipment used in several fighting styles. They're esk—"
"I know what they are, kid," Aizawa interrupted.
Izuku gulped. "I—Ah, of course."
The man tilted his head in observation. "What exactly is your quirk?" he asked slowly. "Is it based around CQC? Enhanced reflexes?"
I need to be careful with this. "Um no. You see, well…"
Insects began to crawl out from under his hair, skittering over his scalp and sides of his face. Others sprouted from his bag, emerging through the open slots. Others came from the outside through a nearby open window. To say the least, it was quite the spectacle for an unready viewer. But for the man in front of him, he showed little notice other than a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Entomokinesis…" he said in thought. "And why do you need the Eskrima sticks?"
"I, uh, know how to use them. Muay Thai, too. And a little Silat, but that's more on my own time.
The man simply continued. "So you've been training your body, along with your quirk?"
Izuku grew a large smile. "Yes sir!"
Eraserhead simply stared at Izuku. Izuku began to sweat in anticipation, nervous gulps appearing at his throat.
Eraserhead grabbed a paper from under the counter. He began to write, eventually ripping a slip separately and handing it to Izuku. "These should be fine," he motioned to the sticks. "Bring this in with you on the exam date. It'll allow you entry with your equipment."
Izuku merely nodded, grabbing the slip and walking outside. He didn't notice, but he had been holding his breath, which he eventually let out once he left the building.
Great. Just great. He's definitely not suspicious of me at all. He sighed. Maybe he'll just think of it as nerves. No point in worrying about it now.
As he began to walk away, he turned around, taking in the view of U.A. Yeah, I still have a goal to reach, after all.
Chapter 9: Chevalier
"Well guys, this is it. U.A. The most prestigious school for heroics in all of Japan, if not the world," Manga motioned to the campus, hands outstretched.
Around the three - which consisted of Manga, Mei, and Pony - were people their age as well. They moved about in anticipation, just as eager and hopeful to pass the entrance exams in order to enroll into the school. The outcome of this day would decide upon their futures, and ultimately, whether or not one could become a hero.
"Be ready to fight tooth and claw for a position within its halls, and—Ow!" Manga recoiled from a smack from the girl beside him.
"Cut that out already," relayed Mei. "I have enough of that commentating when Izuku and I are working."
"Oh?" Manga laughed, "That doesn't seem to stop you from getting your inventions to the point of being able to use me as a guinea pig everytime."
"And? There's nothing wrong with that! If anything, you're the best of us for it! You can't get any head injuries, after all!"
"Doesn't mean it still doesn't sting, oh holy queen of the scrapyard," Manga mocked.
"Oi! I resent that!" whined Mei.
"She's kind of right, though. Out of us all, you're the most resilient," added Pony with a small smile.
"Gaah! Not you too!" Manga sputtered in mock agony, clutching at his heart. "Where's Izuku when you need him? I wouldn't be under such an onslaught if he were here!"
Mei scratched her head. "Yeah, where is he, anyway? Didn't we all agree to meet here?"
However, almost as if by demand, the pitter-pattering of steps resounded behind the group, revealing the lost friend in mention.
"I'm here!" exclaimed Izuku, barreling into the group and out of breath. "Sorry that...I'm late. I sorta got...sidetracked this morning."
Manga rose a fake eyebrow. He huffed in amusement. "It was that commotion up near the railways with that gigantification villain, wasn't it?"
"Yeah…" Izuku admitted with a laugh.
"Well, that's alright," Manga added. "That's just how you are. Such an extreme hero-otaku. No biggie."
"I'm not—"
"Keep denying it all you want, greenie. It's the truth," Mei said.
Izuku looked over at the only friend who still hadn't voiced her opinion. "Pony?"
She gave a small giggle. "They're not wrong. I mean, look at those notebooks of yours!"
Izuku sighed in resignation. "All right. Is there anything else we have planned for out here?"
"Hmm, nope. We still have a good seven minutes before we need to be seated, though," Manga said.
"Well, we might as well go in, right? Getting to our seats might be a bit tough if wait until the last second," mused Pony.
The friends voiced their agreement, beginning their jaunt toward the renowned U.A. That is, until Izuku stopped in place, hands out.
"Watch out for that crack," Izuku pointed out. The group of friends looked down, and spotted an indenture on the ground.
"That's… a fairly unnoticeable crack," voiced Manga. "I'm pretty sure you couldn't trip on it if you wanted. Unless you were really nervous, your foot probably couldn't even get at the angle to trip you up."
The slight depression went a centimeter or two into the ground, indeed being fairly unnoticeable and unlikely to cause someone to lose their footing.
Izuku hummed in agreement, but then he squatted down, peering at the crevice. "That's not why I pointed it out, though."
"Izuku?" questioned Pony.
The boy in questioned tilted his head towards the crack. "It actually leads down to an ant colony, just below us. Just a vast network of tunnels and rooms… It looks like it's been around for a while, too." He placed his hand down near the space, gathering a few ants up his sleeve. After a bit, Izuku shook his head, standing up. "Sorry, got caught up in the moment again. But I could use a couple of these guys later," he gestured to his new passengers.
The group began their walk toward the auditorium.
"Mhm. Still think it's weird, you being able to be so calm around insects," said Manga.
"Yeah… but they kind of were my first friends before I had you guys, you know?" A reminiscent smile adorned Izuku's face at that remark. "It feels like it was just yesterday that I had Rikai bundled in my hair. Now all I have left are his children. A good amount of them too! All those centipedes crawling and squirming in my room and my clothes, free to do as they please."
The group let out a collective shiver. Of course, they didn't let their friend take notice. They'd gotten used to his musings of insects and bugs by now... Mostly.
It wasn't long before the group came upon the expansive auditorium, already filled to the brim with prospective students. "Well, looks like this is it," said Izuku. He turned to the others, "I really do appreciate you all being my friends. I don't think I'd have gotten this far without you guys," he sniffled. "No matter what happens, you've been truly great friends."
Pony jumped to hug him. "Aww, don't be like that. We'll all get in for sure! We've been training day in and day out!"
"Mhm! Now, don't you not get in, Mister! I'll be sorely disappointed if you don't!" added in Mei. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some babies to make! To the support exam!" she exclaimed, running off.
(＾＾)ｂ
"Thanks guys." At that, they wished each other luck, and made their way to their seats.
Izuku spread out his bugs to all corners of the room - scouting out the competition, so to speak.
He noticed a few people that stood out, but that was mostly due to their mutation quirks or similar physical changes.
Nobody screamed immediate competition, and thus Izuku would just have to wait and see what everyone was capable of. Most of the really good people would have already gotten in through recommendations, after all. He's just have to see the ones who slipped through the cracks.
In the process of finding his seat near the back, Izuku made the unfortunate discovery of finding that one of the accompanying people designated beside him was Bakugou. Just great.
Izuku slowly made his way to his seat, somewhat dreading the inevitable confrontation. It had been a while since he had last seen his former friend, and he didn't know what would come of it. He wasn't doubting the hostility that would be present, however.
As he approached, Izuku saw Bakugou twitch ever so slightly. Of course, it wouldn't stop there.
"The hell are you here, Deku?" Bakugou questioned as Izuku sat. Izuku didn't respond - which went to further infuriate the fuming boy - but it wasn't long until they were interrupted by a deafening announcement.
"Hellooo everyone! Welcome to today's show! Can I get a 'hey'!" The pro hero stood, ear to the audience.
Silence. But that didn't cause the man to falter.
"What a refined response!"
Ah! It's Present Mic! So cool!
Present Mic went on to detail the upcoming exam, mentioning things like 'Goombas' and 'Thwomps' as well as the point system that accompanied them.
Meanwhile, Bakugou continued to express his agitation. Izuku ignored the taunts, but that went to infuriate Bakugou even further.
It's strange, Izuku thought, trying his best to pay attention to Present Mic. After all this time, he still doesn't know about my quirk. Or my training.
"Deku… What's with those sticks, huh? Think you can defend yourself with some flimsy wood?"
Ah, my eskrima sticks. That's right, he hasn't seen these yet either.
Again came his voice, filled with irritation, "If you think—"
"Hey! You two in the back! Stop your chit-chat! You are causing a disruption for all of us!"
Us two? But I haven't said a word!
Izuku took a glance from over where the voice came from. His bugs revealed a rather serious looking boy with dark blue hair.
Further physical examination with his bugs revealed cold metal that adorned his legs. They jutted out, almost as if in the shape of exhaust ports. A relative of Ingenium, perhaps?
"And Mr. Present Mic, Sir!" the boy continued, "It says here that—"
Izuku shook his head, resigning himself to the scorn of the others around him. He listened to the rest of the demonstration, attempting to ignore the death stare of the boy beside him.
The bus that had been tasked in transporting the participants of Site B was mostly quiet apart from the few deep breaths and scuffling of feet amongst its riders. By the time it had arrived at its destination, most of the anxious students were ready to go, standing and waiting for their next instructions.
Along the bus ride, Izuku had been gathering his bugs. Along with those he could feel in the replicated city ahead of him, they numbered in the hundreds of thousands within his immediate vicinity.
It just so happened that a small portion of those bugs sensed a familiar presence approaching Izuku from behind. He turned around, and was faced with the stern-faced boy from earlier.
"Why exactly are you here?" he asked.
"What?" Izuku felt around, connecting to the vast network of bugs that inhabited the simulated cityscape. Every sight, scent, sound, and touch from blocks around was now within his grasp.
I wasn't even talking. That was all Bakugou. Why am I suddenly a nuisance by association?
"A delinquent shouldn't think that they can get i to a school as prestigious as—"
Further investigation with his bugs prived a surprising discovery. Hmm… It seems I found the robots. They're all underground; seems they're released from several ramps hidden all over the simulation. Probably wouldn't count if I just went there and started destroying them, though.
"Hey, I'm talking to you. Do you have any—
Oh? His bugs picked up movement from a tower to his left. It's Present Mic. Wonder why he's up there… Unless—
"OKAY, START!"
The glasses-wearing boy turned at the exclamation in confusion. Izuku, however, sprang into action, retrieving his eskrima sticks from his back and bouting into the urban landscape.
"Aha! Now that's what I'm talking about! Someone here knows how things go!" Present Mic announced, looking at the rest of the students.
"Well? What are you waiting for? There aren't any countdowns in real fights! RUN! RUN! GO! The die's been cast!"
The students snapped out of their stupor, and the oncoming stampede went off running to join Izuku.
He had to give it to U.A. The simulation was complexingly realistic and finely detailed. His bugs found each building he had run past were designed room by room and with amenities. The alleys were littered with trash, and some streets showed evidence of wear and tear from weathering and usage. The rooftops even shared in the trash pileup and puddle holding. However, as much as he enjoyed exploring the detail of the mock-city, Izuku still had a task to do..
Alright, two-pointer around the next left turn into the alley, around nine yards ahead.
Turning the corner indeed revealed the robot, its legs jutting outward and robotic tail risen high above its frame. The almost scorpion shaped robot turned its way toward the movement it sensed down the alleyway.
Izuku sprinted for the creature, eyeing for potential weak points. Eyeing the head and possibly the legs, it wasn't long before Izuku was within a few feet of the metallic contraption.
"Target acquired. Commence elimination." The two-pointer lunged for Izuku, but the boy was ready. He quickly dodged to the left, barely avoiding the barreling robot as it rushed past.
The robot's speed, having not been able to predict the miss, rammed it into a nearby dumpster, temporarily stunning it. Izuku took his chance, running up onto the robot's backside and onto its head. A couple well-placed and forceful swings at the robot's fragile orb disabled it from combat. Two points.
That… wasn't that bad actually. It was surprisingly fragile for a robot. Though, I suppose that makes sense, considering they—
Izuku's eyes widened; again he took evasive action, this time moving to his right. He had sensed a three-pointer just nearby with his bugs, but was not ready for the insane speed that it had demonstrated. The robot seemed to be sturdier too, if it's bulkier form and second head were anything to go by. Strength and speed combined, then? Much harder than the two-pointer, worthy of its title.
"Eight Minutes!" yelled Present Mic.
Already? Shoot, I need to speed this up.
Izuku glanced at the three pointer, which was apparently content in waiting for Izuku to make a move. He looked at its form - his weapons might not be able to do much - and then to its head, it's red orb pinging in response to his— That's it!
Izuku reached for his bugs, gathering them in a cloud and plunging them onto the robot's red orb. The three pointer acted in kind, thrashing wildly and, as Izuku predicted, unable to see. It made it all the easier to reach its back and the space between it's heads. It wasn't long before the robot crumpled as it's circuitry became damaged. Five points.
I can do this. I really can. He gave a small laugh. But I need to hurry. Time's running down. He sprinted off in another direction.
It's a good thing I spent all that time inventing with Mei. I suppose I can ask my bugs to go a little overtime for now.
In a separate part of U.A.'s campus was a dark monitoring roomed packed to the brim with various pro heroes and staff members. They watched the myriad of students as they pummeled into the robots sent into their course, considering the nature of the gathered people, it didn't take long for some of them to take notice of certain green-haired boy.
"Hey, what's with those sticks?" asked the Blood Hero, Vlad King. "Are they part of some sort of martial art?"
"Hmm…an inquisitive observation, Sekijiro-kun," came Nezu. "That would be eskrima, if I'm not mistaken; a martial art that has since declined as quirks have become more commonplace." The principal leaned forward in his chair a little, observing the green haired boy.
"But, unless his quirk involves them, we have yet to actually see him use his quirk," Ectoplasm mentioned. "What is it listed down as?"
Present Mic obliged himself, quickly shuffling through the files they had of the various aspiring students. "Let's see… Awase… Garou… Jiro… Kuroiro… Aha! Midoriya! Let's see, it says here that he's… quirkless. Huh."
The judges showed their various reactions to the news, ranging from disbelief to intrigue. The intrigue was especially profound in the present All Might, who had recognised the boy. That's strange, he thought. He has a quirk, he showed me himself. Why does his file label him as quirkless?
Despite the commotion, Nezu was the one individual who remained focused on the boy. This came to notice to the number one hero.
"Nezu, something on your mind?" asked All Might.
The principal nodded. "A quirkless? Perhaps not. Have any of you noticed the bugs?"
"Bugs?" All Might asked. He remembered the demonstration Midoriya had shown him, but he hadn't taken notice of anything similar as far the screen displays went.
"Yes. All around the simulation, jolsted from their hidden homes. They've been moving with purpose. Some even disabling some of our robots. Yamada-kun, is there anyone listed with bug control of any kind?"
Present Mic again shifted through the files. "There is one student, with the quirk Anivoice." One of the screens focused on a student with peach colored skin and a rather rock-like appearance. The boy was getting birds to distract the robots he fought. Present Mic continued, "Basically, control over animals, as shown. But he's over at Site C. Here in Site B… nobody."
"Mhm," Nezu hummed, hands raised above his head. "And thus, our mystery is solved! The supposedly quirkless boy has a quirk after all. And a rather unique one, I find. How peculiar it all is." A feral smirk came upon the principal's face."I do hope he passes."
A pair of eskrima sticks came down upon a one-pointer robot, easily neutralizing the contraption.
"Three minutes!" resounded Present Mic.
And that's number twenty-one. Not bad if I were to say so myself. Izuku looked around at his surroundings. Various other robotic remains stained the backdrop, other participants panting in fatigue after the fight they had endured.
Despite his confidence in his score, Izuku was still a bit worried. He had heard some other scores awhile ago reaching into the forties, and that had him uneasy. Were his twenty-one points enough to pass? He surely hoped so, otherwise he'd get a beating from Mei late—
A deep rumbling shake literally shook Izuku from his thoughts.
Explosions began to litter the cityscape as a large figure arose from the smoke and ashes. Within seconds, the zero-pointer stood in all its glory, towering high above the surrounding buildings.
Well… That's kinda too big, isn't it?
The giant turned its way towards the students and began its slow advance. The various faces of Site B began to run from the beast, terrified by the seemingly unstoppable obstacle. Few seemed to notice, but the panicked boys and girls moved like a stream around a rock past the unmoving Izuku who simply stood still, staring at the robot.
"Interesting."
Wow… There's got to big some way to take this down, right? It's part of the test, so it can't be impossible to neutralize. Internal wiring, maybe? The spaces in between the circuitry have to be huge! Or, at least big enough for my bugs to fit. Maybe I can jam it? Chew through the wiring? No, that would take too long, way longer than two minutes. Perhaps I can—
A shrill cry for help broke Izuku's concentration. Through the thin layers of smoke he spied a girl pinned down under some rubble. That's the girl I saw causing some robots to float a while ago. Some sort of gravity manipulation. But it seems as if she can't move the rock on her own. Has she reached her limit?
The robot began to inch ever closer, threatening to crush the trapped situation was enough for Izuku to move forward, his legs seemingly moving by their own accord. He began to gather his insects into a giant mass, conglomerating onto his position. He sent them towards the zero-pointer. After seconds of observation, half their number seeped into the only opening found through a port on its left arm. The other half rose to its face, blocking it's orb from being able to see. Unfortunately, that did little to divert it from its current path.
Izuku eventually came upon the injured girl. "Hey, don't worry. I'll get you out. Can you move the rubble a bit?"
"Not… much… I'm nearing my limit," the girl responded.
"That's fine, I just need some assistance in getting your leg out from under there. There's no way I can move that all by myself. Can you activate your quirk on the piece of rubble on your leg on my go?"
She nodded.
"Alright!" Izuku placed his hands under the stone. "Ready, set, go!" Izuku grappled the rubble and lifted it up. His already tired muscles ached from the stress, but the girl's quirk aided in a quick and fast removal. However, the girl promptly began to vomit up rainbows. Weird. Maybe one of her parents had a rainbow quirk or something?
Izuku helped the girl to her feet, and he promptly began to move away from the encroaching zero-pointer, slowly helping the limping girl along. At the same time, Izuku furthered his bugs along until they had reached further into the robot's arm. A couple of chewed-through wires and bug-inspired short circuiting eventually were able to cause the arm to twitch. The robot stopped, and attempted to raise its arm. The limb complied, but did so while twitching at random intervals.
Shoot! It still works after all of that? At this point the robot will just continue its way towards us! We'll be crushed! The only things I've done to it so far are blind it and give it at best a shock to its arm! And— That's it!
Various insects and bugs began to stray from the robot's eye and gathered upon the twitching amassed to form a humanoid shape - but a masculine one at that, to keep Izuku's involvement in vigilantism apart. Once the zero-pointer could see again, the first thing that gained its attention was the shape on its arm. The figure promptly rose in flight and zoomed back from where the robot initially came from. The robot followed, having sought out the one responsible for its damaged arm.
Izuku sighed in relief, having prevented the robot from getting uncomfortably close to their position. A few more seconds and it would have been on them. He then looked to the girl beside him, who, too sighed.
A buzzer sounded in the distance. "Time's up!" yelled Present Mic.
Izuku set the girl down gently on some debris as he sat down next to her. He'd wait for help. He was exhausted from all of that.
"That was close, huh?" Izuku said, turning to the girl. "That robot almost got us."
The girl laughed. "Yeah if it wasn't for you and whoever that other guy was, I would've been toast!" She turned to him with an arm out. "Thanks for that, by the way! I'm Ochacho Uraraka!"
Izuku smiled, eagerly taking the offered hand. "A pleasure. Izuku Midoriya, nice to meet you."