Chapter 10: Classification
Izuku awoke to familiar sound of tymbals. He rose from his laid position, rubbing his eye in a tired response to the makeshift alarm. He tapped off the machine to his right, ending the sweet, relaxing song of the cicadas.
The sound wasn't from real cicadas - not yet anyway. But he had been working on such a thing for the past few months.
Just outside his window was a rather wizened tree. It was there - or rather, in its roots - that Izuku had been cultivating a healthy population of cicada nymphs that would come about yearly during the summer months.
They were part of his collection, a collection that ranged from tall cylindrical tubes and small glass jars, to the large rectangular terrariums that now littered his room.
His collection had almost overrun his All Might memorabilia, but Izuku's mutual love for the two had led to them both sharing the space. Each aspect took up around half of his room, steadily fueling his healthy obsession of both.
After a few moments, he eyed his room to ensure everything was as it should be, connecting to the surroundings bugs to take a double check at the things his human eyes couldn't see.
Fortunately, a brief run over concluded that his collection had met little problems overnight.
Izuku then stood up, going over to open one of the terrariums. Calling upon the two collective two spiders from the tank, he placed them on his bed. He then summoned the population that he had been slowly building up within his three block range. With his control, Izuku had developed the golden orb weaver population in his area, ensuring their steady multiplication and safety. With them, he had an endless supply of materials for his prototypes.
He wished there was a faster way to gather them all - one that didn't take over an hour - but the separation was necessary if he wanted to ensure the spiders didn't maul each other over territory and food.
And so, with the rest of his spiders on the way, Izuku focused on the golden orb weavers in front of him, beginning to work again on his costume. The golden threads of the spiders had been through various versions of the suit, the creatures now going about the seventh version Izuku had thought up. The costume was nearing completion, its golden form slowly coming into existence by the work of thousands of tiny bodies.
He took another look over at the costume before he went to check out his closet for more supplies. A few quick moments revealed he had used up more than he thought he had on his past costumes. Hmm… Seems I ran out of the dye I want for this iteration of my costume. I'll need to get more later.
At that moment, Izuku sensed the first of his outside workers arriving at his windowsill. He nodded, making a mental note to get more dye later at the store, and walked over to his window to open it.
Dozens of spiders came about into his room, but the mini-swarm was just a glimpse of what would be seen as the hour ticked by.
As the remainder of his spiders began their work, Izuku's mind drifted off to musings of U.A. He'd be getting the results of the exam today, but he'd entertain himself with his costume until then. His mind still raced at the prospect of getting into U.A., both in anticipation and unease over what he would hear upon getting his letter. He just hoped that it was good news.
It was an hour or so into his progress on his costume when Izuku felt a presence beyond his bedroom door. A couple quick glimpses revealed the presence to be his mom, getting ready to open his door.
Long ago, Izuku would have panicked at the possibility of his mom barging in and finding the walls and floors covered in bugs. It scared him to wits end, making him ponder over dozens of preposterous scenarios that could have occurred.
But Izuku had eventually learned to accept his quirk and all the oddities that came with it, just as his mom did when Izuku told her.
And so, he paid little heed to the door being opened, instead continuing to concentrate on the task in front of him.
Inko Midoriya entered, yet somewhat hesitant to when she heard the chittering of insects behind the door. The chittering was accompanied by thousands of spiders, littered upon the room. Some worked on the golden costume, others on the sidelines in rest for their own turn.
Inko did her best to hide her discomfort, as she had many times before, but Izuku still saw through her facade. Izuku had long discovered that his empathy with his bugs was part of his quirk, and didn't put it against anyone who was a bit creeped out. And so, he dumbed down his quirk when his mom was around, but he never did tell her that he knew. It would just put more on her plate to worry about.
Izuku turned to face his mother. Now that she was in the room, a couple things came to Izuku's attention. He hadn't noticed it at first, but it seemed as if she was trembling. And in here hand was — His eyes widened in. A letter.
Looks like I'll have to put off finishing my costume for a later date. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it in time — if I'll even need it, anyways.
Izuku dismissed his spiders then, having them stash his costume under his bed while the rest returned to their respective homes.
"Izu… Izu… Izuku! It's here!" she exclaimed.
Izuku went to grab his letter, simply taking it and heading back to his desk. Inko seemed hesitant to leave, but knew the results were something that Izuku needed to deal with himself at first. She left, closing the door behind her. She continued to pace just outside, something that didn't go unnoticed by Izuku.
Izuku scooted over to his table, a bead of sweat streaming down the side of his head. One of his centipedes came over then, and slowly began to chip away at the envelope. After a few tense moments, a clean cut was made at the seam, exposing a refined, metallic disk.
Izuku gulped, having the centipede bring out the disk. It was then that the device abruptly activated, causing Izuku to jump in his seat.
"I am here, as a projection!" exclaimed the figure of the Number One Hero.
"Young Midoriya! It's a pleasure to see you nice and well!"
A—A— All Might? What's he doing on here? This is a letter from U.A. right? Why would—
"You wouldn't have known it for the brief time that we met, but I came to this town to work at U.A. as a teacher!" All Might laughed.
All Might!? Teaching?! At U.A.!?
"Imagine my surprise when I saw how well you were doing at the exam! It was extraordinary! Beating down those robots and the like! And those bugs of yours!"
All Might gave out another laugh. "Ah, but that's not what you're waiting to hear now, is it? You want to know the results of your exam, don't you?"
All Might cleared his throat, somewhat adopted a more subdued persona. "Well, I'd like to inform you, Midoriya, that you passed your written exam."
Okay. I thought that was the case. But what abou—
"On the other hand, you received 21 points in total during the practical exam. Now, it's nothing too impressive, but it is what it is, given you took down a good portion of the robots without your quirk. Given your 21 points, it was pretty close…"
Stop stalling, All Might!
The hero laughed again. "But that wasn't all!"
...What.
"Your actions reflected that of a true hero. Your bravery in the heart of imminent danger was inspiring!"
"Afterall, what kind of hero school would U.A. be if we rejected those who saved others and did the right thing? This is a job that requires risking one's life!"
"The exam the other day was not graded solely on villain points!" All Might gestured to a screen.
"Rescue Points! Another basic aspect we at U.A. take notice of." The hero stopped, and looked directly into the camera. "And how does this relate to you, you may ask?"
All Might spread his arms out, "Izuku Midoriya: Thirty Points! A total of fifty-one points! Placing you just behind the top ten!"
"You pass. Quite spectacularly so," the hero affirmed.
A large grin grew on the All Might's face. "Now, come, Young Midoriya! This, is your hero academia!"
Izuku grinned over the image of his idol. "Yes sir!"
Izuku stood before the door of classroom 1-A. He'd just said his farewells to Pony and Manga, who themselves were in the next class over, 1-B.
Now, he stood in wonder before the door, anxious to begin his high school journey. He examined the door, noticing its enormous height.
Guess the school really does accommodate for those with gigantification quirks.
Izuku gulped, then took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
Izuku grasped for the door knob. Wanting to surprise himself with finding who were his classmates, he hadn't peeked in before he entered.
That ended up not being the best course of action. Upon opening the door, he was faced with a rather loud cacophony on yells.
Of course. Bakugou and Engine Quirk. Just great.
His sent his bugs around the room, not wanting any further surprises.
The slight buzzing that he emitted, as well as his arrival, seemed to alert a good portion of his class to his presence. It was then that Engine Quirk boy - who he had just heard was named Tenya Iida, came in his direction.
"Hello! My name is Tenya Iida! Of Soumei Junior High!"
Best be amicable now. Even if he was a bit off-putting. "My pleasure. Izuku Midoriya."
Iida quickly nodded. "I profusely apologize! You noticed something more to exam. I had no idea. It seems I misjudged you!"
"Uh… sure," uttered Izuku. Does he mean the rescue points? Ah, might as well leave it be.
Izuku had his insects observe his classmates. There were a few he knew for sure were not present during the practical, like the kid with heterochromia. One of Endeavor's children, if he wasn't mistaken. The French kid with the belt seemed to be there too. He didn't exactly recall the others, however.
"Oh! That long hair! Midoriya-kun, it's you! We're in the same class!"
He turned around, finding Ochaco Uraraka. Ah, I never did correct her on her mistake about me using my bugs distract the zero-pointer, did I?
Izuku was about to voice his revelation, however, he faced an oddity beyond the door. It wasn't another student, given that the class was already full when glancing at the available seats and people present. No, it was a man within a yellow casing, a sleeping bag if he wasn't wrong, with hair eerily as long as his ow—
Oh. Shoot.
"Uh… Midoriya-kun?" Uraraka questioned, waving her hand in front of Izuku's face. "Something wrong?"
Izuku didn't respond. He was still getting over the fact that Eraserhead was probably his homeroom, of all people. There wasn't another reason for him being there.
"Go somewhere else if you just want to make friends."
Everyone turned towards the pro hero.
"This is the hero course." The hero removed himself from his sleeping bag. The process had Izuku imagining the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly.
"It took a total eight seconds for you all to be quiet. Time is limited. You kids aren't rational enough," came the man's deadpan voice.
"I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Nice to meet you," he continued.
Aizawa pulled out a uniform from his cocoon-esque sleeping bag. "It's kind of sudden, but put this on and go out to the field." He then began his trot towards the aforementioned field, slowly making his way through the halls.
Great, one of the few heroes who've actually seen my vigilante form themselves is my homeroom teacher.
It was going to be a stressful year.
Izuku and the rest of his class found themselves on U.A.'s field. The news that they were taking a Quirk Apprehension Test came abruptly and suddenly, confusing many of the students who had heard Aizawa speak.
From beside Izuku, Uraraka spoke up. "What about the Entrance Ceremony? Orientation?"
Aizawa scoffed, "If you're a hero, you don't have time for such leisurely events. One of U.A.'s selling points is how unrestricted school traditions are. Teachers run their class on this idea too."
He eyed the class. The silence helped to fuel the students' unease. "Bakugou."
"Yeah?" questioned the boy.
"You topped for first during the practical, didn't you? What was your best result for the softball throw at your old junior high?"
"67 Meters."
"Then, now try it with your quirk." He handed the boy the ball.
Bakugou smirked, getting into position.
"You can do whatever you want as long as you remain in the circle," added Aizawa. "Now go give it a try."
Bakugo committed himself to some stretches and launched the ball. "DIE!"
The ball blasted off into the air, the explosion propelling it in an impressive arc through the air.
Die? Izuku mused. Ah. Should I have expected anything else?
The ball landed after seconds of airtime. The display that Aizawa held up displayed the ball having gone a distance of 705.2 meters.
The gathering of students from 1-A voiced their opinions of the spectacle. One peculiar remark brought up all the fun that could come with using their quirks for the exercise. That particular comment had reached Aizawa's ears, leaving him amused.
"'It looks fun,' huh?" questioned the teacher. You have three years to become a hero. Will you have that kind of attitude the entire time?"
Nobody made a peep. Aizawa decided to continue, a smile appearing on his face.
"Alright, whoever comes in last place in all eight tests will be judged to have no potential and be punished with expulsion."
"Expulsion?!" the class yelled in unison.
"Welcome to U.A's hero course."
The first exercise consisted of a fifty meter dash. There were a few noteworthy participants, like Iida with his 3 second Engine-allotted time, or - dare he say - Bakugo with his time just over four seconds.
Meanwhile, Izuku didn't anything with his quirk for this specific task. Rather, he simply used his physique that he had gained over years of training, earning him a decent 6.15 seconds.
Next was the grip test. Everyone ending up being outshined by Mezo Shoji, who seemed to have various morphable limbs for his quirk. While he got an admirable 740 kilos, Izuku built up a well received 63 kilos.
Izuku didn't get too far with the standing long jump, unlike those who passed the pit like the French kid.
Izuku got a decent score for the repeated side steps, if only for his stamina holding up well. Not as good as the short kid with purple balls, though. Nobody got nearly as good a score as him.
Then came the ball throw. At his turn, Izuku caught the ball from Aizawa, and eyed the expanse in front of him. He decided it was time to use his quirk.
Calling upon the flying insects in the surrounding area, Izuku gathered them to his location. Dozens of hornets came to Izuku, landing on his head. The action triggered a couple gasps of panic from the crowd - not that Izuku paid any heed to such.
Izuku positioned the bugs around the ball, lifting the object into the air and flying it forward. With the average speed of giant hornets gauging around 40 km/h, a little over half a minute passed before the insects made their way to the edge of Izuku's range. Aizawa's device read a total of 255 meters.
Izuku nodded in satisfaction. It was nowhere near Uraraka's infinity, but similarly to the situation with Shoji, nobody could surpass her score.
As Izuku turned toward his class, he found that many of them had fallen into a stunned silence, some even with their mouths hanging wide open. However, the silence didn't last long.
"DEKU!" The class caught sight of Bakugo launching himself towards Izuku in a rage.
"What the hell! You better—" he was interrupted by a white strip of fabric that had wrapped itself around his body. The capture device originated from Aizawa himself, yet Bakugo still continued to struggle as he was held back.
Izuku breathed a sigh of relief. He really didn't feel like fighting Bakugo in front of his classmates. It would set off the wrong impression.
"These cloths— Are hard…" noted Bakugo.
"They're weapons for capture made of carbon fiber, woven together with metal fabric made of a special alloy," affirmed Aizawa.
"Bakugo," simply warned Aizawa. The teacher removed his hold over the boy. "And don't make me keep on using my quirk. I have dry eye," he turned uninterestedly. "Whoever's next, head on up."
Izuku glared at his former friend, walking off to join the rest of his class.
Bakugo continued to growl as he too went back into the crowd, eyeing the one he had long ago deemed worthless.
The rest of the test remained fairly uneventful from then on. For the long distance run, Izuku's stamina did most of the work. He did have his insects help pull him along, to ease the amount of force he needed to propel himself forward. It wasn't much, but it got him to be the third to last off the track.
Situps were a breeze, the exercise being a common one within Izuku's own routine. The seated toe touch proved similar, with Izuku easily surpassing the average.
Eventually, it was time for the results. Many of the class stood in anxiety over the results. It wasn't long before Aizawa revealed everyone's placement.
Izuku found his name. 11th place overall. Dang, just outside the top ten again. I'm sensing a pattern here.
The shortest kid in the class, the one with the sticky, purple balls for hair, let out a small whimper.
Hmm. Must be number twenty, then. Minoru Mineta.
"By the way," spoke Aizawa, "I was lying about the expulsion. It was a ruse." He took a glance at the purple-ball headed boy in the meantime.
One girl spoke up about how obvious the ruse was. Others were still shocked in surprise.
"Mineta," Aizawa spoke. The class held their breath for the possibility of what was to come next. The boy, on the other hand, jumped in surprise. "That doesn't mean you're off the hook. I'll be going over detention with you tomorrow." Aizawa walked away, leaving the students to their own devices. The class - except for the fidgeting Mineta - sighed in relief.
Izuku looked after the departing teacher, doubt filling his mind. He'd been studying Aizawa ever since the encounter he had with him on that night. And his research showcased Aizawa's tendency to expel students, especially his actions from last year. I don't believe that the expulsion was a ruse. Eraserhead wouldn't lie about something like that. The question is, what changed his mind?
Izuku met Manga and Pony at the school's front. Mei, having decided to stay to work on her inventions, told them to scamper off. And so, the trio began to walk off home, talking through the ins-and-outs of the day.
"You guys got to test out your quirks!?" exclaimed Manga. "Pony and I had to sit through the ceremony! We did nothing! Absolutely nothing!"
"We got to see a bunch of pro heroes, though. That was fun," added Pony.
"You did!" exclaimed Izuku.
Both Pony and Manga looked at him in amusement.
"I— I mean, I—" Izuku was interrupted by a hand placed on his shoulder. He turned, finding Tenya Iida to be the owner of the hand. "I—Iida!"
"Midoriya. I'd like to apologize to you again. I greatly misjudged you during the practical. Seeing you today on the field shows how wrong I was."
"Uh, it's no problem Iida. Bakugo does leave an impression on people. Me sitting next to him probably added to that."
"Oh? Who's this? A classmate?" asked Manga.
"Yes! I am Midoriya's classmate! Tenya Iida. Nice to meet you."
Manga nodded. "Hello, I'm—"
"Hey, Midoriya-kun! Are you going to the station? Wait up!"
The collective four turned to find Uraraka running in their direction.
"Uraraka?" questioned Izuku.
"Hi again!" she waved at Izuku. She turned to the other three. "I'm Ochaco Uraraka! Nice to meet you!"
Once everyone shared their own introductions, Uraraka once again turned to Izuku.
"By the way, why did that boy named Bakugo call you 'Deku' during the test?"
"You aren't saying that you all share a class with Bakugo, are you? asked Manga. Uraraka, Iida, and Izuku all nodded.
"Dang. Sorry to hear that Izuku," Manga said.
Iida quirked an eyebrow. "Why? What history does Midoriya have with Bakugo?"
"It's a long story..." Izuku spoke up. "To sum it up, 'Deku' is what Bakugo calls me to make fun of me. He's been doing it since we were kids."
"An insult, then?" mused Iida.
"Oh, sorry," said Uraraka. "Umm… You know, 'Deku' kind of sounds like 'You can do it!' So, I kind of like it!"
"Eh… I suppose it kind of does," admitted Izuku. "But, uh, I'd rather not be reminded of it. Or Bakugo, for that matter."
Uraraka nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I'll be sticking with Midoriya-kun, then!"
With that, the group of five walked off to the station.
Chapter 11: Teeth
"So, how's class?" came the echoed voice of Mei, her upper torso deep in one of her inventions.
"It's… alright. I suppose," Izuku responded steadily.
"Wrench." Mei asked, sticking her hand out of the contraption.
Izuku obliged, handing Mei a pipe wrench from the table.
"How so?" Mei continued.
"Well, there's this one girl. She's pretty nice, I guess. Though, that's probably an all-encompassing thing she has with everyone, if I'm going to be honest."
"Mmhmm. Flathead."
Izuku handed the screwdriver to her. "Then there's this other guy. I'm pretty sure he's related to Ingenium." Izuku refrained from expanding further than that.
Mei paused, peeking out to look at Izuku. "Hmm…" she hummed, heading back to work on her device. "That's it?"
"What do you mean?" questioned Izuku.
"What do you mean, what do I mean? You mean to say that you met a pro hero's sibling? And you neglected to question them about it?"
"Oh." Izuku gave a nervous laugh. "I guess that does seem weird, huh? Uh, well, it more has to do with Iida himself. He's kind of... off-putting. Very serious-like. I'm still kind of holding off my judgement on him for now."
"Uh-huh. Wrench. Combination, this time."
Izuku switched out the tools in Mei's outstretched hand. "But, uh, enough about that," Izuku said. "On another note, you remember that blond kid that we met in the park a couple months back?"
"That jerk that kept spouting out that you were quirkless, you mean?"
"Yeah, him. Apparently, he's in the same class as Pony and Manga. His name's Neito Monoma."
"Hah! He's going to be knocked down hard by the two of them! I feel kind of sorry for him. Almost."
"Yeah, but that's the thing. He hasn't done anything, apparently. All he's done is take a few glances at them. 'Calculatingly,' in Manga's words. Just sitting and looking. Nothing like he was in the park, acting like he wanted a fight or something."
"Hmm. Strange. I wonder if— Oh! That reminds me!" Mei exclaimed. Izuku jumped in surprise.
"You guys are probably gonna do some fighting today. The only reason Maijima-sensei left in such a hurry a while ago was because he forgot to finalize all the stuff for the Hero Course costumes."
"Wha— Really?!"
"Yes, really," replied a voice from the workshop's doorway. Izuku glanced toward the door, finding a short man surrounded by a metallic, yellow apparatus. Izukuimmediately recognized the man before him.
"P— Power Loader-sensei!" yelped Izuku.
"Midoriya," Power Loader nodded. "I hope Hatsume hasn't been overworking you too much?"
"N— No sir! I'm sort of already used to working with her, anyways, so its nothing different than how it was before."
"As I heard." Power Loader took a nice trot through the room, eyeing every nook and cranny between every desk and chair. When he was done, he nodded to himself. "Hmm. Everything seems to be in order."
"Yeah..." Midoriya replied. "Umm… you sure it's alright for me to be here? It kind of seemed like a rushed decision awhile ago, when you said yes."
Power Loader looked at Izuku, responding. "Oh, I'm sure, Midoriya. Hatsume spent all of yesterday after class whining about not having her assistant. Heck, I can already tell that you can act as a neutralizing agent if Hatsume gets too extreme. It'd probably save me from a couple headaches."
"It's a shame that she ruined the surprise for you, though. You would have been told about the Battle Trial by All Might himself."
"All Might?!"
"Ah, I said too much," Power Loader shook his head. "You know, I've had students like Hatsume before. They're the type who won't give up until they get what they want."
"You got that right! Nothing gets in between me and my babies!" exclaimed Mei.
"You see?" Power Loader laughed. "There wouldn't be a point in denying her. She wants the workshop to work on her own stuff on her own time? Sure. She wants her assistant to help? Only on non-curricular oriented projects. She wants to build a giant mecha capable of lobbing nuclear warheads? That's where I draw the line."
"You should just do what he says! Agree with what he says Izuku!" came Mei's attempt of persuasion.
"But—"
"Besides, if you truly do anything too bad, I'll just snitch on you to Aizawa. You got that?"
"Y— Yes sir!" Izuku shook his head vigorously.
"Good. Now get going. Class starts in ten minutes."
Izuku shifted his head toward the clock. "You're right! Have a nice day, Power Loader-sensei! Bye Mei!" Izuku said, running out of the classroom.
"You too Hatsume! Back to the regular classroom," berated Power Loader.
"But sensei!"
"What happened to doing as I said?"
"Bu—"
"No buts!"
The aforementioned surprise ended up being ruined for Midoriya anyway. Not because of Mei's loose lips - at least, not entirely so - but with his own bugs.
His flies had spotted a debuffed All Might emerging from what Izuku assumed was the hero's office. In a puff of smoke, the man transformed into the Symbol of Peace, donning — his Silver Age Costume! Ah! So cool!
The hero sped through the halls, stopping just outside the door to Basic Hero Training. "I am coming through the door, like a normal person!" came the booming voice of the Number One hero.
All Might lit up the classroom with his personality, instantly gaining the awe of the students. All Might went on the explain the ins-and-outs of the Hero Basic Training course, captivating the class even further with the mention of combat training.
"And now, we have these!" He gestured to the side of the room, shelves emerging seamlessly from the wall. "Your costumes were approved and/or based upon the specifications you sent in three weeks ago. After you change, we meet at Ground Beta!"
Izuku stared down at his costume. Three weeks ago he had sent in the piece for approval. Well, that, along with his quirk registration.
The registration was a bit of a problem when it came up at first. He hadn't thought of it for a long time, but the document had reminded him that he still appeared as "none" in regards to what his quirk was. He worked himself into a frenzy then, trying to come up with something to name his quirk.
[Entomopathy], like Eraserhead had said? Something gimmicky, like [Eye of the Swarm]?
He ended just going with [Bug Control]. He could change it later, afterall.
And so, here he stood at U.A., his costume ready for its first outing. He looked over his creation, the streamlined, reinforced dragline silk intricately bound together. The golden yellow was accented with a dark green, the color taken up the space where the silk covered the limbs.
The golden torso was accompanied by Izuku's trusty eskrima sticks on his back, and a few pouches that were - at the moment - filled with spider silk, woven together to make thin ropes capable of supporting his body weight.
On his head sat a pair of goggles of Mei's design. They were mostly for eye protection - even if he didn't really need it - and part of Mei's insistence. She'd designed it so it externally looked like an insect's compound eyes, thousands of photoreceptors making up a kaleidoscope look.
Izuku didn't want to admit it, but he thought that he looked somewhat like Eraserhead with his long hair and goggles. It was a rather uncanny coincidence, now that Izuku thought about it. That, or some cruel twist of faith to remind him of the danger Aizawa posed in discovering his other persona. But ah least the bright coloring of his costume prevented any other similarities with the Erasure Hero.
But that was another matter entirely. For now, he needed to worry about school. Izuku walked out into the open air amongst his peers, they themselves donning their own respective costumes. Unexpectedly, he was called out fairly quickly.
"Midoriya."
Izuku turned toward the voice. He was met with— why is her costume so revealing?!
"We haven't been properly introduced yet, have we? Momo Yaoyorozu, a pleasure to meet you."
She stretched out a hand.
Izuku shook it. "I— A pleasure."
She nodded. "I couldn't help but notice the material your costume is made of. It wouldn't happen to be spider silk, would it?"
Izuku rose an eye in surprise. "You can tell just by looking at it?"
She nodded. "It's part of my quirk. I need to know the molecular makeup of things so I can make them. I've made spider silk before, so I know how it's like. But I must admit, I never would have been able to make something quite so exquisite. The weave of this must have taken some work to create."
"Oh, yeah…" The work of spiders, at least.
"Wow! Your's looks so cool, Midoriya-kun!" Uraraka said. "Nothing like mine though."
"Well, I think it looks great." Izuku said.
"Really? Thanks!"
"All right, class!" announced All Might. The collective of students turned to face him, their conversations cutting off in favor of listening to the hero. "Now, it is time for battle training."
"Sensei!" Iida spoke. "This is the battle center from the entrance exam, so are we undergoing urban battles again?"
I wonder, how often he interjects like that with everyone. Did he think that maybe All Might was about to something about that?
"No, we are moving ahead two steps." All Might explained the statistics and facts of villains then, providing a nice little backdrop to the situation the class was about to be placed in.
"For this class, you'll be split between teams of two; heroes and villains who will fight indoor battles."
A whole load of questions erupted from the class, ranging from the way this activity was going to play out, to expulsion, to how stylish a certain purple cape was.
All Might refrained from answering any. Rather, he pulled out a little booklet, and began to explain how this class was going to play out.
A booklet? Huh. I suppose he would be a novice to teaching. Especially to high school students.
Eventually, All Might came to the part where he said we'd be teamed up by picking lots.
"They're being picked so haphazardly?!" exclaimed Iida.
"You never know who you might have to get teamed up with in the field," Izuku provided in explanation.
The class eventually picked lots, each of them getting sorted into their respective teams. Izuku found himself teamed up with the girl who wore a green costume and had a tongue that stuck out of her mouth. Izuku introduced himself, raising a hand to shake.
The girl took it in kind. "Tsuyu Asui," she ribbeted. "I often say what's on my mind."
"Good to know, Asui."
"Call me Tsu."
Izuku paused, considering her words. "Alright."
Izuku glanced at the other teams, sizing them up and forming strategies against them. He held a little laugh when he discovered that Bakugo got paired up with Mineta.
"First up, Teams A and C! Team A are the heroes, Team C the villains."
Team C turned out to be Bakugo and Mineta, who strode their way inside the designated building. Team A consisted of Aoyama and Todoroki.
The battle... didn't turn out to be much of a battle. Todoroki froze the entirety of the building, seemingly catching even Bakugo off guard. Izuku gave him props to that. Even if the resulting angry yells and curses were getting a bit annoying.
"Alright, um, Teams D and E?" All Might said hesitantly.
Team D is us. Izuku looked at All Might. Looks like he's still a bit off put by Bakugo.
"Ahem. Anyways, Team D will be heroes. Team E: villains.
"Looks like we're heroes then." Izuku said to Asui. She nodded.
"Good luck, Midoriya-kun!" yelled Uraraka.
"Likewise. Good luck," said Iida.
Izuku nodded. "Thank you, guys."
Team E consisted of Mezo Shoji - the boy with morphable limbs - as well as Hanta Sero - the boy who could shoot tape out from his arms.
Both teams walked up to the building they were to utilize, All Might leading them the whole way.
"Villain team!" exclaimed All Might. "Go on ahead and set up. In five minutes, the heroes will break in and the battle will begin." All Might then sped away back to the monitoring room.
Once they were alone, Asui spoke up. "Midoriya-chan."
Izuku quirked an eyebrow at the familiarity. "Yes?"
"Your quirk. You control bugs, yes?"
Izuku simply nodded.
"Alright. My quirk is [Frog]. Basically, I can do whatever a frog can."
"I thought so," mused Izuku. "In that case, you wouldn't mind taking on Sero, would you? I'd rather not go against someone who would have more agility than me."
"I can do that," she ribbeted. She pulled out the map of the building, ready to study its interior.
"Ah, we don't need to worry about memorizing the building's floor plan. I can guide you through."
Asui put a finger to her lips. "With your bugs, I'm guessing?"
"Mhm. I'll send in a pair of dragonflies in your heed." Izuku gathered up flying insects at the outside of the building's openings, ready to head in once permitted.
A whistle rang through the air, signifying the start of the battle. Before anything else, Izuku sent in his bugs, surveying the building's interior.
"Sero is on the second floor. Seems like he covered up the staircase and the hallways, trapped them to his advantage. He's hiding in the middle of it."
"Is there space at the top of the hallways?" Asui asked.
"Hmm. It seems so. About a foot or two."
"I can climb on the ceiling, then."
"You can—that's right. Does what a frog can. Gotcha."
The insects continued their trip through the building. "Shoji's on the third floor. Looks like he's… he has an ear to the floor. A couple others rotating in the air." Izuku tilted his head in thought. "Got it. We're good to get in."
Asui hopped onto the building, traversing its outer walls and stopping before a second floor window. She eyed the two dragonflies that appeared beside her, and immediately followed as they flew inside.
Meanwhile, Izuku eyed the third floor. He had a plan to place into motion.
"Hello, Shoji."
Shoji turned around, looking out the window. There floated a figure made of bugs and insects, squirming and crawling all over one another. A slight buzzing accompanied the bugs, the snapping of tiny jaws and the fluttering of wings filling the air. Shoji retracted all his limbs to himself, transforming the enhanced ears and eyes on their ends back into arms.
"I suggest that you surrender now," came the chittering of the bugs, bearing a voice exactly as that of Izuku Midoriya. "It would save you from a load of discomfort, if you did." The buzzing became louder, harsher, filling Shoji's ears.
The figure descended from its place in the air, entering through the window and touching the floor. It slowly made its way towards Shoji, each step collapsing upon itself - the bugs making ripple like movements on the floor - and instantly building itself back up again. It stopped a few feet from Shoji, crossing its arms and tilting its head. It stopped, almost as in wait. It didn't take long to see why.
"Hanta Sero is down! The hero team has garnered a capture," the speakers rang out.
"Your teammate is already down. You will have no backup to fall upon."
Shoji reacted to the announcement, gazing upon the swarm in front of him.
"I will not surrender, Midoriya," said Shoji. "If we are to fight, we will fight." He took a fighting stance.
The bugs gave a little laugh."If you say so."
The mass of bugs abruptly collapsed in on itself, falling onto the floor. Shoji scrunched his eyes in confusion, scanning the mass, until they opened wide in realization. The mass reformed into a wave, rolling and descending towards Shoji. Insects hidden amongst corners and crevices of the room joined the movement, all aiming to fall onto the boy. Shoji attempted to run, to escape the clutches of thousands of little feet before they were upon him. He didn't make it far. He was covered in seconds, his yells of surprise lost in the cacophony of buzzing.
The monitoring room was in complete silence. Just seconds before, everyone was commenting on the harrowing fight between Sero and Asui, and the frog girl's ensuing victory. They were especially pumped up with the way Asui's stealthy entrance via the ceiling caught Sero basically off guard, ensuring his quick defeat.
But then came the 'fight' between Shoji and Midoriya. It was a sight to behold.
Now, All Might and most of class 1-A stood in shock at the display that Midoriya had laid upon their eyes. For them, the image of the insect figure was still in their minds, as was the way it collapsed onto Shoji.
Others had looks of intrigue on their face, another was growling in fury.
Mina Ashido broke the silence. "That was… definitely something."
"Yeah..." muttered Uraraka.
"Wasn't that kind of much?" asked Iida.
"Huh," said Denki Kaminari. "You know, that display would have fit his image a lot better if he was on the villain team instead of th—Ow!" he yelped as he felt a sharp pain at his neck.
Kyoka Jiro retracted his ear jack, reprimanding her teammate. "Don't be an ass."
"Um…" All Might looked up at the monitors. "Oh! Uh… Team D has taken control of the bomb. Heroes win."
"What?!" questioned the class. They looked up at the monitors, and there stood Izuku next to the bomb, hand outstretched and touching the fake explosive device. "How did he get there?"
Previously…
Izuku circle his way to the back of the building. Turn left, his mind supplied. The mental command was directed to his two dragonflies. Asui—Tsu took the left. Another right, and then left. It wouldn't be long until she was upon Sero.
Task nearing completion, Izuku focused his attention up. The fire escape stood before him, granting him a back entrance to the building.
But there was only one problem. The metal that the staircase was made of would make too much nose if he were to climb up the steps. The ears that Shoji had listening in to his surroundings would pick up Izuku's steps long before he would even get to the second floor.
And Izuku didn't really didn't feel up to picking a physical fight with someone that had a grip strength of 540 kilos.
But he had a plan to circumvent that. Izuku began to form his bug figure - this time, in the image of himself - on the third floor.
"Hello, Shoji." he relayed.
Izuku watched through his bugs as Shoji quickly turned, morphing his limbs back into arms.
Bingo. Izuku began his slow up the steps, making as little noise as possible. He continued to talk through his bugs.
"I suggest that you surrender now. It would save you from a load of discomfort, if you did."
He rose sound of his bugs, raising the amount of insects that produced their distinct buzzing. He improved his pace just a little in company of the noise.
Eventually, he reached the top. But he stopped himself from going further, just as he did with his bug decoy. He remained outside, waiting for Tsu take down Sero. To make Shoji unsure, hesitate just a bit. He waited.
"Hanta Sero is down! The hero team has garnered a capture."
He spoke through the bugs yet again. He paused.
Izuku laughed a bit from Shoji's statement, and the laughter bleed into the speech of the bugs. He really didn't know what was coming.
Izuku enacted the next phase of his plan. The bug decoy collapsed, falling to the floor. It then rose, moving with purpose and descending on the tentacle-armed boy. His voice was drowned out by his bugs.
With Shoji neutralized, Izuku simply strolled into the room. He strode in, funding himself in front of the fake bomb. He smiled, placing his hand upon it.
"This is getting exciting. Let's continue with this, shall we?"
Chapter 12: Grue
"So, Monoma."
"Midoriya," the boy said with a smug look on his face.
"Why are we doing this again?"
It was currently lunch, Izuku flanked on both sides by Manga and Pony. Mei, on the other hand, was currently in the workshop - again - working on another one of her inventions. Across from them sat a rather smug looking Monoma. He sat seemingly calm, as if he had his entire speech planned out. But his look - his facade - didn't fool Izuku. He could feel that the boy in front of him was a full of nerves.
"Manga and Pony said that you were… sorry?" Izuku questioned, almost disbelievingly.
"I—" he paused, seemingly in an attempt to reconsider his words. His image broke a little as he faltered. "Yes," he said, almost reluctantly. "That day in the park, I misjudged you, you see. An honest mistake, if I'm to be honest," he said. His smug smile found its way onto his face. His facade was back up, as strong as ever.
"A mistake?" Izuku asked. A couple bugs rose from his hair and found their place beside his head. The hornets, a total of three, buzzed, urging Monoma to continue.
Monoma nodded. "I didn't believe you to be… so powerful. But it showed. Yesterday, during my class's battle trials. The strength of your friends - my classmates - revealed themselves to me. They are true warriors, worthy of being here at U.A. It was afterwards, after reigning in their fights, that I knew you to be the one responsible. Only someone sufficiently as strong could motivate such a group to be so successful and proficient."
Izuku took a second to take in all of the information supplied by Monoma. He takes the excuse, for now. But another question came to his mind. "And how about that little bout you had in the park? What was that about me being… quirkless?" Izuku said, warning him to choose his next words carefully. The hornets landed near Monoma, on the table space in front of him.
"Yes. Well, you see, my quirk… I can copy other peoples' quirks upon physical contact. I can copy up to three at a time, as long as I use each quirk by itself, none simultaneously." The hornets inched closer in response to the half-answer.
"What does that have to do with your… expressive vernacular?" Izuku said in a warning tone.
"That's what's strange here," Monoma admitted seamlessly. "That day in the park… I didn't feel a connection when I touched you. No 'spark' you could say, that established a connection to your quirk. Just an… empty void. A giant expanse. It was similar to how I feel when I touch other… quirkless people. But different, at the same time, in a way that I can't explain."
Izuku scrunched an eyebrow in confusion. "You say that you couldn't feel my quirk?"
Monoma shook his head. "Precisely. None that I could feel. It's why I called you… called you what I did. So I sincerely apologize for all the trouble I've caused."
"Huh."
Hmm. I suppose I can give him the benefit of the doubt. But why wouldn't he be able to feel my quirk? What's so special about it?
"Thank you for your honesty, Monoma. But if I end up finding out that you're lying, or anything of the sort…" The hornets lunged at Monoma, causing him to flinch ever so slightly. But the insects stopped before they touched him, instead buzzing dangerously close to his face.
"Yes, I — I know. You'll send your swarm upon me with the utmost wrath. I shall rue the day I dared to defy you," Monoma sarcastically remarked. His facade was back up again, making the flinch from before almost seem like it never occured.
"Good." The hornets flew back into Izuku's hair. "Glad you understa—"
A blaring siren disrupted the lunch time air. "There has been a Level 3 Security Breach. All students please evacuate outdoors promptly," announced the PA system.
Everyone was still at first, quiet aside from the screeching sound of the alarm. But then people started to panic, the rumble of feet against the ground filling everyone's ears.
"It's the security alarm system! It means that someone has trespassed on school grounds! I've never seen anything like this in my three years here!" someone explained expositionally.
Is that really what this is about?
Izuku remained seated in his seat as the masses around him began to panic. He motioned to Manga and Pony and - yes, even Monoma - to sit still. All three complied, even if the third did so reluctantly.
As Izuku connected to his swarm, he utilized the ants near the school's entrance to see what all the ruckus was about. A large amount of the ants had taken refuge underground, hidden from the hundred or so feet stomping on the ground. A little scrying revealed that the media that were crowding around the entrance from the morning had found their way through the school's barrier.
Not an actual emergency, then? Must be a fluke in the security system. He peeked with his ants again, finding Aizawa and Present Mic talking down the eager reporters.
Better calm down the masses, I suppose.
Izuku called upon his insects again, this time gathering them above the cafeteria's exit. The swarming bugs also caused another bit of panic, students screaming at the incoming mass of bugs. Izuku forgot at that second that some people weren't exactly comfortable with insects swarming past their heads and feet. But he went along with his plan anyway.
The large mass of insects found their place, forming the words 'Stop. Do Not Panic' in the air. The message seeming caught the attention of most of the students, temporarily halting the stampede. "There is no need to worry. The trespassers are merely the media folk that were crowding around the entrance this morning. Nothing to worry about. Eraserhead and Present Mic are currently taking care of the situation," the bugs said in unison.
At that, a couple students actually looked out the window, thereby confirming what Izuku's bugs had announced. The resulting discovery calmed down the students, and it wasn't long before everyone was mostly back to their normal routines. A few of the more rule-abiding students continued their march outside, but most returned to the cafeteria to resume their lunch.
As the commotion died down, Uraraka and Iida - who had seated themselves elsewhere when they saw the meeting between Izuku and Monoma - approached Izuku after departing from the crowd.
"Wow, Midoriya-kun! That was a cool way to use your bugs!" Uraraka exclaimed.
"That is, if those bugs were yours. Unless there is another student who wields some sort of bug control?" asked Iida.
"Nope, they were mine," Izuku said, sending the bugs back to the outside. He called upon a few of them back to himself, their bodies taking residence in his hair again.
"In that case, good job, Midoriya. I knew that I voted for the correct candidate for Class Representative." Iida said.
"Yeah! Nice going, Class Rep!" Uraraka exclaimed.
Oh. I forgot about that. If he were to be honest, Izuku was quite baffled by the results earlier, when his class decided upon anonymous voting to choose Class Representative and Deputy Representative. Yaoyorozu came in second place with three votes, gaining the deputy position. Meanwhile, Izuku got several more votes - six, to be exact - which secured his place as Class Rep.
It was strange, because Izuku didn't expect to get any votes at all. He personally voted for Yaoyorozu; her brief introduction convinced Izuku that she had the right mannerisms and intelligence to handle the position.
In regard to his votes, the only ones that he had confirmed had voted for him were Iida, Uraraka, and Asui — Tsu, he mentally corrected himself.
"You got voted as Class Rep?" Pony quietly asked.
"Hmm?" He turned to Pony. "Uh, yeah. I haven't been able to tell you guys yet since it just happened a while ago," Izuku responded.
"Huh, who would've known," Manga said. "Izuku voted as his class's representative."
"Well this has been nice and all," interrupted Monoma, "but I believe that I should excuse myself. If I may?" He turned to Izuku, asking for acceptance to leave.
Izuku nodded. Monoma nodded as well, then walked back to where a good portion of 1-B was seated.
Uraraka and Iida gazed at the blond boy with questioning glances, turning to Izuku. "If I may ask, what was that about, Midoriya?" Iida asked.
"Oh, it's nothing much. Just something that happened a few months back at—" Izuku abruptly stopped, becoming slightly disoriented with the output of some of his bugs.
In another part of the school, some of his bugs were engulfed into a black mist. The bugs found themselves suddenly transported into what Izuku believed was a run-down bar. But before he could further explore the place, his connection to his bugs were cut.
"Strange," Izuku muttered.
"Izuku? Something wrong bud?" Manga asked.
Izuku's thoughts rushed back to the present, taking root back to his body. He looked to Manga, who was beside him. "Uh… yeah. No, I mean. I think. Something weird with my bugs, is all. Probably just… I'm not sure, really. But it's nothing. Probably."
(・・)
"If you say so, Izuku."
"Yeah." Just another mystery to add to today's revelations.
The next day gave in to another surprise to class 1-A. Aizawa had announced that they were going to participate in an off-campus exercise to coincide with their Basic Hero Training class. It was supposed to be a practice rescue exercise, with the choice given of whether or not to wear your costume.
When the time came to head to the location, Izuku grabbed his costume and got on the bus headed to the site.
Despite Iida's best intentions, his sternness to provide order proved to be fruitless when the bus turned out to be more luxurious than it appeared. Unlike a normal school bus, the vehicle had plenty of space. While their were normal rows of seats, there were also seats on each side, having students sit face to face.
It was this setup that brought along the predicament of conversation. And, to Izuku, it wasn't hard to predict what was to be the topic of conversation, given the past few day's events.
"Midoriya," Kaminari said, "I've got to admit, your quirk's a bit of a doozy."
"Oh?" Izuku rose an eyebrow.
"Yeah. And a bit scary too." He paused. "No—No offense, of course," he added quickly.
"Mhm."
"Your quirk really is versatile, though," Tsu said. "Your dragonflies really helped to lead me to Sero," she ribbeted.
"Yeah, and it also helped you completely bury Shoji," Ashido admitted sheepishly.
"Surely it can do other stuff, no? Just think of what he can create! Imagine a swarm of butterflies. It would be magnificent!" added Aoyama.
"I can... do things like that, I suppose. I just need to find enough of one bug and command them all at once. Sort of like this." Izuku demonstrated his point by summoning the two fireflies he had hidden in his hair. The insects lit up and began to perform their own little light show.
The others around him were suddenly looking at Izuku in disbelief.
"What?" he asked, as the fireflies continued their performance.
"Oh, splendid! But I must ask, are you always so prepared?"
Izuku quirked an eye at the question.
"I think what he means to ask is: Did those fireflies really just come from your hair?!" Ashido questioned.
"Uh… yeah. I always have some bugs in supply. Just in case, you know?" Izuku said nonplussed.
"Ehh…" Ashido drew out.
"Well, I believe that you're pretty manly just for that! I don't think that I'd be able to stand being so close to so many bugs," Kirishima interjected. "How do you do it?"
"How do I do it?" Izuku paused. "I'm not entirely sure of what you mean. But, I suppose that I could say that it comes naturally to me. A 'the bugs are my friends,' sort of thing.
"Wow! Being able to brave through it all? Just like that? Man I'm kinda jealous. You could get a whole lotta popularity if you play it out right. Unlike my own quirk, [Hardening], which isn't too flashy." Kirishima went on to demonstrate his own quirk, hardening his arm in example.
"Oh, I don't know about that," Izuku said. "You can easily be a pro with your hardened skin. You'd be like a bruiser, in that regard. A melee combatant who soaks up the damage. You'd be in the eye of the media just like that, taking up hits in a fight."
"A bruiser?" Kirishima asked. "I haven't heard of that term before."
"Oh, yeah. It's, uh, actually a video game term. A friend of mine kinda likes to go on about that kind of stuff. I thought that the term fit. Seems like his hobby-talk has sorta bled into my vocabulary."
Izuku shook his head. "Nevermind that. I, on the other hand, am not a frontline combatant. I'd much rather stay in the shadows, using my bugs remotely. I wouldn't actually show up on T.V. all that much. Unless I'm doing something wrong, anyway."
"Really?" Kirishima asked.
"Mhm. Nothing all too flashy for me that the public has to see. You, however? I can see a couple Super Moves for you. Perhaps someone can launch you at an enemy, like a human bullet? Or your armor, for example. It's based on your stamina level, right? I can guarantee you that you haven't reached your limit in regards to how much armor can cover your body."
"Wow! You really hyper-analyzed me, didn't you?! You even got that part about my stamina correctly!" Kirishima exclaimed. "Thanks for the tips, Midoriya!"
Izuku nodded.
"You've thought long and hard about stuff like this, haven't you, Midoriya?" Iida mentioned. "You even have usages for Kirishima's quirk figured out."
Izuku shrugged. "I suppose. I mostly analyzed all your guys' quirks during the battle trial."
"Scary," Ashido said. "Wonder how far-in you've thought about all of us, eh?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.
"Well, I'm impressed," Iida said. "A skill like that could go pretty far."
"Pfft. You think Deku there can amount to anything?" Bakugo yelled from further away, interrupting the conversation. "All he can do is research others' quirks. He got lucky with tentacle arms the other day. But in a real fight? Against somebody like me? I'd crush him!"
"Whoa man, kind of extreme," Kirishima said. "What's your beef with Midoriya, anyways? Aizawa-sensei had to stop you the other day when you were running at Izukj the other day during the ball toss. And what's with 'Deku?" What's that mean?"
Bakugo refrained from answering, instead making a frustrated sound and looking out the window.
"Wow, such a jerk," Ashido said.
"Indeed," Tsu ribbeted. "He wouldn't get all that popular with an attitude like his."
"What'd you say, Frog-Face?!"
"Ha!" Kaminari laughed. "We barely only started socializing and already you've made it clear to us the unpleasantness of your steamed turd of a personality."
"What's with that vocabulary?! Want me to pound you in!?"
Conversation died down a bit after Bakugo's outbursts. Rather than Izuku's quirk, topics switched to more mundane things, like how school was treating everyone so far or the fact that All Might was a teacher. But excitement began to rise again as the class arrived at the exercise site.
"Wow! It's almost like Universal Studios Japan!"
The class departed from the bus, herded by their teacher through the doors of the large facility. They were greeted by someone in an almost astronaut-like suit.
Ah! It's the famous rescue hero Thirteen! Izuku thought.
"Hello everyone! Welcome to what I like to call, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. It comes with every disaster and accident you can imagine."
The various zones that Thirteen went on to mention were explored with Izuku's bugs. The different zones were indeed very intricately detailed, looking almost like the real thing. Whether it was the Landslide zone and its steeped terrain, or the Flood zone with its ocean aesthetics, the site looked a promising place to practice the class's rescue skills.
Izuku took notice of Thirteen and Aizawa talking in hushed tones away from the class. He inched his insects a bit closer to the two.
"Thirteen, where's All Might?" Aizawa asked. "Isn't he supposed to be here?"
"It seems that he reached his limit during his commute this morning," Thirteen said, raising three fingers up.
Huh. Looks like All Might used up all his time. They're lucky that I already know about it. They'd be having a problem with one curious and nosy student otherwise.
Thirteen went on to explain his own quirk, [Black Hole], as well as the potential lethality of it. Thirteen's point of his quirk - that despite being used for rescue, had the potential to kill - reminded Izuku of his own quirk. His own bugs definitely had their various uses. Some focused on neutralization, others border on lethal.
As Thirteen rambled on, Izuku's bugs noticed a black swirl slowly expanding near the center of the room. He nearly jumped in place when his bugs saw the hand-covered face peek out of the hole.
"Midoriya?" Uraraka asked. "Something wrong?"
A few of Izuku's bugs ending up getting caught up in the swirl, leaving Izuku slightly disoriented with the sudden shift. The swirl — the black mist — had transported his bugs to a rather large warehouse filled with various people. The constricting manner of the mist was all too familiar to the senses of his bugs.
It's like the black mist from yesterday. But instead of a bar, this time it's a whole group of - what I assume - are villains. That means that the media breaking through was, what, a distraction? For what? Getting info to break into here?
More and more villains poured out from the mist, leading to dozens of the criminals within the USJ.
"Thirteen and Eraserhead, is it not?" asked the black mist. "According to class schedule I received the other day, All Might was supposed to be here."
There we go, confirmation that this guy was on campus yesterday. Makes sense.
Izuku paid little attention to the speech, ignoring Eraserhead as he jumped down to defend the class. He can handle himself.
Izuku began to survey the scenario, taking note of any dangerous looking individuals that he would try to keep away from. However, he was interrupted upon the arrival of the black mist from behind — A teleporter, then. Tricky.
"Greetings," announced the shadowy figure. "We, are the League of Villains. Forgive our audacity, but we've come here, to U.A. High School, this bastion of heroism, to end the life of the Symbol of Peace, All Might."
His announcement was met with a stunned audience, the resolute, certain sounding goal to kill All Might shocking the students.
Focus. Retreat. Bugs. Izuku calmed.
"Kill All Might?" Izuku said. "That's quite the goal you guys have."
"Indeed it is." The mist said. Then he threw his arms up.
"Begone." The man's shadows exploded outwards, encapsulating most of the class.
"Writhe in torment, until you breathe your last." The threat was the last thing Izuku heard before falling into darkness.
Chapter 13: Defiant
He connected to his swarm, calling out to them. That was his first action upon becoming aware. He breathed in, and out. He was calm.
But then he noticed his bugs, unable to reach his position, dying left and right as they attempted to reach him. It wasn't long before the cause of the problem came to Izuku's senses.
He opened his eyes. The heavy downpour of water fell onto his face, the heavy winds and the sound of thunder echoing in the background. It seemed that he was in the Downpour Zone; the place best suited to suppress his quirk's usage.
He was lacking reconnaissance and an edge to his offensive power now. Without his bugs, he needed to rely on his skills alone. He would have to deal with it.
A groan from behind spurred him to turn. He found two of his classmates, then. The one with a bird's head - Tokoyami, his head supplied - slowly rose up, rubbing his head. The other - Mineta - was nervously moving his head back and forth throughout the landscape.
Izuku ignored them for now, instead calling out to his bugs again. This time, he relayed a single command.
Come inside.
The bugs would find their way into U.S.J. They'd come into through the vents, any small cracks and imperfections within the infrastructure of the building. But that would be all, and then they'd continue on with their routines: scurrying, skittering, flying, eating. That was fine; all Izuku needed was for them to be there when he was ready.
For now, he needed to focus on the situation in front of him. He needed to get out of the heavy rain and wind.
A mere 23 bugs that had been within his hair - not that they could do much in this weather - and his trusty eskrima sticks on his back were all he had to work with.
He looked back to his classmates. Mineta was a crying mess, muttering inconsistently about the villains, All Might, and the possibility of death looming around the corner.
On the contrary, Tokoyami was rather calm. He was simply eyeing the zone, until his gaze fell upon Izuku. He walked forward, his beak opening to speak.
"Midoriya, are you alright?" Tokoyami asked.
"Yeah." Izuku nodded, "I'm good. You?"
"I am fine," Tokoyami replied. He then gestured to the other, shorter boy present. "I'm not sure that I can say the same about Mineta here, though."
Both glanced back at their classmate, who was still panicking over their current situation. Izuku shook his head, and began to approach the boy.
"Hey, Mineta." No response, the boy continued muttering.
"Mineta," Izuku said, more forceful. It seemed to snap Mineta out of his trance.
"Mi— Midoriya." His eyes widened again. "Villains! We can't handle something like this! We need to wait for the real heroes to—" Izuku smacked him in the face, revving him out of his stupor.
"Look. Are you going to just stand there, being useless?" Izuku said. "Are we going to have to carry you on our backs? Or are you going to help us get out of here?"
"I— I—"
"Midoriya. We have a problem," Tokoyami interrupted.
Izuku turned his attention away from Mineta, and only then did he notice what Tokoyami meant. Various villains had converged upon their position, surrounding them from all sides, preventing escape.
"Shoot. Looks like we're gonna have to fight our way out of here. Tokoyami, surround Mineta. He isn't in a position to fight."
"Right. It is a good thing that we find ourselves in a pseudo darkness, then, within this storm. Dark Shadow!"
Izuku watched as the sentient being that was Tokoyami's quirk rose from his back. "Oh ho ho. A fight? Oh, how I do love fights," uttered the shadowy being. It's claws lengthened as its size grew. A few of the villains visibly grew uneasy, but they held their ground.
"Oi! You brats should just come with us quietly. You're outnumbered. Surrender yourselves now," exclaimed one of the villains.
"If you believe that we would just give in here, you are exactly the fools I depict to break into such a bastion for heroics," uttered Tokoyami.
The villain smiled,chuckling. "Perhaps so. But no matter, at least we'll have some fun." The others surrounding the students - Izuku estimated a little over twenty, almost thirty - readied their quirks. Izuku reached for his back, wielding his only weapons against his foes.
Then it started.
Lunging at Izuku, a villain swiftly traversed the slippery terrain, their claws splayed out in attack. Izuku quickly rose his sticks to block the oncoming swipe, his body being pushed back by the force exerted by the villain.
The villain's arm rose in for another attack, but Izuku found his footing before then, taking a low sweep at the villain's legs. The villain fell, unready for the maneuver. With a hard, steady smash over the villain's neck, they grew still.
A reflex parry blocked another incoming attack, this time two heavy fists from a four-armed opponent. Izuku shifted into a loose stance, focusing more on evasion. The villain continued his display of brute strength, his punches hitting nothing but air. Eventually, his stamina depleted, and he grew tired. This provided a simple opening for Izuku to place a hard smash over the villain's stomach, them reeling over in discomfort.
Izuku chanced a glance back at his classmates. Mineta was fine, but still on the ground scared out of his mind. Tokoyami was fending off three other villains, four already down at his feet.
Izuku swiftly turned again, continuing to defend against the onslaught of villains.
One thing Izuku hadn't tried before was engaging in close quarters with villains. Sure, there was the Sludge Villain, and that one guy he fought in an alley to save that woman, but those were all singular, individual criminals.
He hadn't fought groups before, and for good reason. He knew that he would have been overrun without the use of his bugs. And he couldn't use his bugs for vigilantism if he didn't want to get caught under his identity.
The fighting lasted quite a while, minutes passing by as villains fell. One by one they fell, but so did Izuku's strength. He was vying for alternatives to end the fight.
One option he had was using the parasites he had noticed some of the villains were carrying. It was a novel alternative, but he scrapped the idea. The tapeworms would take too long to do any immediate damage, after all. So he continued fighting on.
Despite all the damage he was doing, Izuku didn't escape completely unscathed, having taken a few hits himself. His experience - or lack thereof - of a fight within groups showed; a rather large gash was on his arm after a villain's crystalline projectiles had cut through the durable spider silk.
Though he was growing tired, his breaths coming in loud huggs, Izuku decided that the situation wasn't too bad. He was lucky that he wasn't alone here, even if the only comrade he had was Tokoyami. He would have been overrun a long time ago, otherwise. Even if these villains were surprisingly weak for members of a so called 'League of Villains.'
As Izuku finished off another enemy, this time with a double swipe to the back, he heard the distinctive sound of a sword being unsheathed.
Izuku knew that he wouldn't be able to block in time, but he still turned, readying himself for the blade. But it never came. Instead, the sword wielding villain was on the ground, groaning and covering a broken, bleeding nose. Izuku was at first confused, until he looked at the villain's feet. There lay a purple ball, pinning the villain in place.
More orbs came, pinning down all the villain's limbs. Izuku turned, finding Mineta standing off to the side, holding his balls of hair in his hands.
"I'm— I'm sorry Midoriya," Mineta said to Midoriya. "You were right. I— I signed myself up to U.A. to become a hero!" He turned his head off to the side.
"And other stuff," he muttered.
"What?"
"But that's besides the point!" Mineta yelled. "You and Tokoyami were being like true heroes! Going all Bamf! Pow! Zap! I just— I just— I saw that guy with the sword and— and—"
"I got it, Mineta. Thank you for the assist."
Mineta smiled. Than—" and then he was blasted into a wall, making a deep imprint in the concrete and steel.
"I'm okay…" Mineta muttered as he fell to the ground.
Izuku turned back to face the villain that had launched Mineta into the wall. He was big, in a very muscular sense. His horns spiraled very much like a ram's, a swirling tail branching from his hind quarters.
"You should've stayed down, punk," the villain said to the now fallen Mineta. He turned towards Midoriya. "As for you, I think that I'll— Agh!" He was cut off, Tokoyami's Dark Shadow lashing out in a barrage of fury, subduing the unsuspecting villain into unconsciousness.
"Thanks, Tokoyami."
"No problem, Midoriya."
Izuku looked around, noticing the silence; the ram villain was the last of them. He turned back to the position where Mineta had landed, wandering over to make sure the boy was okay.
After a bit of observation, Izuku found that Mineta was mostly fine, even if he wasn't in any state to move himself.
"Don't worry Midoriya, I've got him." Dark Shadow emerged from Tokoyami's cape, taking Mineta in its arms.
"Good," Izuku said. I believe that we're free to go. The exit is…" Izuku connected to the bugs outside the dome of the Downpour Zone. He focused on the bugs that he could to pinpoint the position of the exit. "That way." Izuku pointed down a street.
Tokoyami and Midoriya trudged through the heavy rain and howling winds, keeping an eye out for any stray villains.
"Tokoyami."
The bird-faced boy turned towards Izuku. "Yes, Midoriya?"
"If you don't mind keeping an extra eye out, I'm going to connect to my bugs right now, see how everyone else is faring against this 'league.'"
Tokoyami nodded. "Of course. Do you require any assistance to guide you, or…"
"No, I can walk. You can still follow me to the exit. My attention will just be split in multiple avenues, is all. I won't be all that good at spotting any villains around us"
"Alright. I'll leave it to you," Tokoyami said. They entered a companionable silence, Izuku leading the charge as a Mineta-bearing Tokoyami followed.
Within seconds, Izuku's attention was divided between the millions of bugs within his reach, and he finally gained sight of the people within the U.S.J.
Sato, Shoji, Ashido, and an injured Thirteen at the entrance, fighting off the guy with the teleporting mist.
Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and Kouda in the Mountain Zone, a swarm of birds aiding their cause.
Ojiro, Aoyama, and Hagakure - if his myriad eyes weren't deceiving him - within Conflagration.
Todoroki and Sero weremaking a bigger mess in the Landslide Zone.
And Bakugo and Kirishima were in the Ruins doing what they knew best: smashing and fighting.
Then his view shifted to the more dire situation with the entire facility. He found a defeated Eraserhead, his broken body pinned down by the large, bird shaped villain.
And then there was Tsu, Uraraka, and a dazed Kaminari in the Flood Zone, just feet away from by the villain covered in severed hands, the teleporter, and the bird with the exposed brain. The one with the hands turned his way to the three students resting on the Floo Zone's edge.
"Shoot, that doesn't look good," Izuku said.
"Hmm?" Tokoyami hummed.
"Quick!" Izuku alerted. "We need to hurry! Some of the others are in trouble!" Izuku ran off into a sprint.
"Right," Tokoyami said to the furthering behind of his classmate. They quickened their pace, risking the chance that they'd end up falling upon the slick ground.
With his bugs, Izuku began to take in the situation. Some bugs discretely gathered near the trio, with some landing on their backs in the area exposed above the water.
"—his pride as the Symbol of Peace." Izuku caught the villain saying. Then, he launched himself at the three with a burst of speed. Izuku was caught completely off guard, his bugs watching as the villain's hands went to enclose around Tsu's and Kaminari's faces.
But the hands stopped just before they reached the faces. The hand-covered villain backed away a little, turning his way back toward Eraserhead.
"You really are cool, Eraserhead." The hero's eyes shone red with his quirk, eyes obviously canceling out whatever quirk the hand villain had.
Eraserhead's hurt. Real bad. Really, really bad. Bad enough that his body was nearly broken, probably by the villain holding him done right now. Yet Aizawa-sensei still went through the effort of canceling out the other villain's quirk. He saw him as someone Tsu and Uraraka couldn't handle, despite the obvious evidence that they had taken out the other goons in the water.
The bird villain smashed Eraserhead's face into the ground, deactivating the hero's quirk.
Which means danger, a greater threat than before. And the villain stopped his advance as his quirk was canceled out, rather than continuing to just grab them. Which means — which means his quirk is based around his hands. Meaning—
Izuku acted to the revelation in earnest, rising the offensive bugs hidden on his classmates. They dashed forward, and - just as he thought - intercepted the incoming hands on the villain.
"OW! What the—"
The bugs were successful in their initial attack, stinging the vulnerable flesh of the villain's hands. The villain back off, and Izuku stationed his bugs in a defensive line tens of thousands strong, guarding his classmates from harm.
Emitter quirk, hand based disintegration, then? On contact, or when he closes his hand on the thing? The latter would make sense.
"What is this!?" the villain said, considering the ramifications of somebody being able to control such an array of insects. "A mini boss who summons minions? And bugs? I can't grab those. Unfair. Unfair, unfair. Where are you! Come out!" he yelled, fuming and frantically searching around him.
What's with all the video game terms he's tossing around? And why am I the mini boss?
…
Huh, who would've thought that Manga's video game knowledge would come to use like this?
At the same time with Tokoyami, Mineta, and Midoriya, the trio came upon a large steel door. Amd with the flick of a switch, they finally made it out.
Tokoyami and Midoriya could now see the incident with their own eyes, the Flood Zone being directly across from the Downpour Zone. They exited the dome as the hand villain spouted out the admission of a mini boss.
"Tokoyami," Izuku said, turning to the boy and gesturing to the other on his back, "get Mineta out of here. I'm going to stall for time and see what I can do with these villains."
Tokoyami gave Izuku a concerned look. "I'm not sure that is a wise decision, Midoriya. As much as I want to help out our fellow classmates, those villains over there—"
"Don't worry," Izuku said, cutting Tokoyami off. "I'm going to stay hidden over here, use my bugs."
Tokoyami tilted his head at that, considering the prospect. Eventually, he nodded his head. "Okay. I'll take your word. Though, I advise caution." With that, Tokoyami ran away from the action, and back towards the exit. Watching the boy leave, Izuku quickly positioned himself behind a bush to keep himself hidden.
"Nomu." Izuku's bugs heard the declaration. So the bird guy's name is Nomu?
However, Izuku's bugs noticed that the hand villain had ended his outburst, his head looking straight for the Downpour Zone, and directly at him.
Well, there goes the hiding part. He probably saw me as I hide behind the bush. Great. At least Tokoyami and Mineta are gone.
"Ki—"
Whatever the villain was about to say was cut off from a loud clang and explosion of metal. A cloud of dust covered the entrance of the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, a concealed figure slowly marching out from the cloud.
Out came a rather rare sight: an unsmiling All Might. He was still in his teaching attire, his tie and blazer thrown off and in his grasp. His frown shook up many of the villains present still conscious.
His voice boomed in the open air, further enforcing his presence. "It's fine now. I am here."
With that, All Might launched himself into a speed that provided a challenge for Izuku's bugs all around the facility to follow.
The blur of speed unceremoniously beat back the rest of the minor villains around the plaza. After mere seconds of battle, All Might went off the rescue the hurt Aizawa, as well as remove Tsu, Uraraka, and Kaminari from the grasp of the hand villain.
Unfortunately for Izuku, his position behind the bush seemed to have concealed his presence to All Might, leaving him stranded in the plaza as All Might brought the rest to safety.
This didn't go unnoticed by the remaining three villains within the U.S.J. The villain with the disintegration quirk opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself at the last second. He paused, as if considering his moves, then opened his mouth to relay an order. "Nomu, fetch the kid over there." He pointed straight at Izuku.
Before Izuku could blink, Nomu was in front of him, its hand wrapped around his torso. And before he could even adjust to the sudden pressure around his body, he felt severely dizzy, reeling in from vomiting. It seemed that Nomu had zoomed back to its last position with him in hand.
Fast, really fast. As fast as All Might?
At the same time, a distressed All Might came before them, obviously worried with what the villains were going to do with Izuku.
Ah. I'm a hostage. That makes sense, I suppose.
"Ah, All Might. Glad that you could join us," said the teleporter villain.
All Might, still barring his frown, retorted back. "Villains, release the boy. There's no need to harm him."
"You!" yelled the hand villain, looking at All Might. "I've been waiting for you."
This isn't good. I'm just in All Might's way. He can't fight any of them if I'm here in this guy's grasp. I need to get out of here, see what I can do. This Nomu guy is tough, though, and probably just as fast as All Might himself. I have to hurt him, make him let me go.
"Hey, stop that muttering, kid!" yelled the hand villain.
Izuku quieted himself, again berating himself for his habit of muttering.
Then, he ordered some of the bugs out of his hair; spiders, beetles, hornets and the like coming out from their hiding place and crawling onto Nomu's eyes. All at once at Izuku's command, the insects bit and stung at the fleshy orbs, rising a broken, garbled screech from Nomu.
With Nomu effectively blinded, All Might sprung into action, launching a punch at Nomu. But what All Might didn't expect was the lack of response towards the attack, Nomu instead going to scratch at one of its eyes. The clawed movement removed the bugs, but did so by removing his entire eye as well.
However, even more surprising was the instantaneous regrowth of the eye within its socket, restored to pristine condition.
"Nice try," the hand villain said, "but Nomu here was designed to kill you, Symbol of Peace. He has shock absorption and regeneration."
All Might looked at the villain in a new light, uncertainty in his eyes. Izuku grew a bit more uneasy with the position he was in.
However, the next words that came from the disintegration villain's mouth instilled a new worry into his head.
"Nomu. Kill All Might."
With that, the brain villain screeched anew, throwing Izuku out of the way and into the distance.
Izuku landed with a crack, the force of the throw knocking him nearly unconscious, with him barely able to stand.
Izuku attempted to rise from his crumpled state, but did little but move his head towards the fight. He watched on as All Might and Nomu fought, an uneasy feeling growing in his mind. He knew that All Might had reached his limit in the morning; he didn't have much time to fight the villain. And if that thing - that Nomu - had two quirks, and was supposedly made to kill All Might…
There's a chance that All Might won't make it through the fight. A shiver ran through Izuku's spine, the realization of the League's plan scaring him. They really have a chance.
As black began to fill his vision, Izuku ordered his bugs to act, however little he knew it would do to help.
Bite.
Sting.
"Kill."
Izuku fell unconscious.