10

Chapter Text

Art!!! This lovely piece was made by Sives! Thanks again for the piece. I truly appreciate it!

(Yeah, I'm not sure how to directly post a image on here, so the link will have to do!)

https://sivesart.tumblr.com/post/186509400103/original-art-for-flight-of-the-dragonfly-by

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.

They 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. 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.

One girl spoke up about how obvious the ruse was. Others were still shocked in surprise.

"However," the class held their breath for the possibility of an even greater worry, "Mineta, 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 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?"

"What! You're saying you all share a class with Bakugo!" exclaimed Manga. They all nodded.

"Dang. Sorry to hear that Izuku," Manga said.

Iida quirked an eyebrow. "Why? Does Izuku have some history 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. But, uh, I'd rather not be reminded of it. Or Bakugo, for that matter."

Uraraka laughed. "Yeah, sorry about that. Midoriya-kun it is, then!"

With that, the group of five walked off to the station. 

Notes:

A/N: And there we have chapter 10. Did you all think the Apprehension Test part was okay? Any other things you have questions for? Ask away! I'll respond.

Anyhow, stay tuned for the next chapter. Until then! Ta-ta!