Chapter 4: Indomitable
A couple of days had passed since the shocking revelation of his former friend's untimely demise. As Izuku sat on the bus heading towards U.A. High's campus, he couldn't quite grasp the reality of it all. Bakugo had always appeared unbreakable as if nothing could alter his essence or steer him from his true self. Having to confront the fact that he was gone now left Izuku questioning everything. He had shut himself off from the world, almost succumbing to the weight of the unfairness of it all. Yet, he knew he had to muster the strength to move forward. If he didn't, Katsuki's death would have no purpose. Whether he liked it or not, Izuku's quirk manifested as a result of Bakugo's torment and tragic end.
As the bus pulled up to the campus stop, the green-haired teenager stepped out, exuding an aura of calmness, gradually blossoming into his full potential as a young man. Although he still felt a hint of nervousness, it wasn't overwhelming, unlike what might have happened under different circumstances. This was the moment he had trained relentlessly for over ten months. He was prepared to face whatever challenges lay ahead. With newfound courage, he marched forward to check the examination schedule.
Approaching the notice table, his legs inexplicably tangled, causing him to stumble forward. Contrarily, the teenager might have undergone changes due to his circumstances, but the core essence of a person remains deeply rooted. A frozen expression settled on the face of the green-haired teenager, panic welling up within him as he braced for impact. Just as he expected to collide with something, he felt a hand grip his neck sleeve from behind. Izuku recognized a familiar feminine voice calling out to him as he steadied himself and turned to face the source.
"Hey! Is this becoming a pattern with you, broccoli head? Because it sure feels like it," she began, her tone playful before continuing. "And how dare you hit on a girl and then disappear in the middle of a conversation." She said, a mischievous glint in her eye. However, her expression quickly shifted as the green-haired boy transformed right before her eyes. The once-nervous and shy-looking boy was gone, replaced by a tall teenager in grey jeans and a dark black coat that hung open, revealing his collarbone and well-defined physique. Before she could look at him at nearly the same eye level but now she had to subtly look upwards.
Kyoka couldn't help but wonder what had happened to bring about such a transformation in just ten months. "What on earth happened that day, Midoriya? One moment, you looked like the world was ending, and the next, you disappeared into thin air, only to reappear on TV, sending that sludge villain packing into next Tuesday. To make things even more spectacular here you are looking like a smaller version of all might." She raised her eyebrows inquisitively before adding, "And what's this about you not having a quirk?"
Midoriya stammered in response, "I-I didn't mean to... I thought I didn't have one, but it turns out I was entirely wrong." He avoided looking her in the eye, clearly uncomfortable. The memory of their last encounter weighed on him, and he was beginning to realize that their connection ran deeper than being merely strangers now. Though he didn't go into detail about Katsuki or his quirk's uninhibited backfire, he briefly explained what had transpired that day.
When the green-haired teenager finished his explanation Kyoka could not believe her ears. It was as if she was witnessing a paragon of selflessness straight from a fairytale to the tiniest bit of detail. It gave her a familiar sense of feeling that she could not put together. Before she could explore those thoughts further Izuku's voice called her in a quizzical tone.
"By the way, what does your quirk do? Sorry for asking, but I thought your ears looked super cool. Do they have anything to do with using them as weapons, or perhaps you can create sound with them?" the green-haired boy muttered. Now fully engrossed in his thoughts, the purple-haired girl couldn't help but grin from ear to ear before tapping Izuku on the shoulder with her earjacks.
"Simply put, I can channel sound with my jacks, and if I focus really hard, I can hear sounds and vibrations when I plug them into a wall," she explained.
"So... Cool!" the green-haired teenager beamed as he began sharing some ideas about her quirk and its potential uses. Before Kyoka could respond, a gentle voice called from behind them.
A girl with neck-length auburn hair, cheeks tinged with a rosy hue, and a radiant smile that could easily turn any nearby boy blind, approached.
"Hi! Are you here for the exams too?" she asked cheerfully. The green-haired boy shifted his demeanor back to a calmness that seemed to envelop the atmosphere, nodding hesitantly as he replied, "Y-Yes, we are," Izuku replied.
"Let's give it our best shot, okay?" an auburn-haired girl cheered bubbly, her gaze shifting between Izuku and Kyoka before she took her leave. "Bye!" She waved and her steps turned into a small jog. As her form disappeared behind the entrance, the green-haired teenager was left stupefied by the interaction. This expression did not escape the notice of the slightly annoyed purple-haired girl, who now sported a mischievous grin.
"Do I detect some heat in the air, Midoriya-san?" she teased with a sly grin.
"W- What? No! She seemed nice and a-all, but I prefer shorter and darker hair on a girl," Izuku began before his face paled. He turned his gaze back to the purple-haired girl, only to see her entire face turning a shade of red before she started poking him furiously in the ribs with her ear jacks. Not before whispering something under her breath. "You..! You idiot. Broccoli head. Why did you have to go and embarrass me out of my wits?"
"Eep! Sorry!" Izuku wallowed in a comical anguish as some other examinees stared at him, amused. After a brief moment of standing in silence, both of them entered the auditorium.
- | | -
The auditorium was filled to the brim, able to host upwards of hundreds of attendees. Izuku was in awe, to put it mildly, and totally freaking out of his pants as he seated down with Kyoka next to him as he tried to find anyone familiar within the mass of attendees before his attention was captured by someone walking to the podium. A skinny-framed blonde colored spike-haired man wearing sunglasses black leather pants and a jacket stood there before thundering in a familiar tone to the green-haired boy.
It was voice hero: Present Mic someone Izuku listens to on the radio every night before going to sleep. Izuku would have perhaps lost all his marbles and started shaking and muttering uncontrollably but now he was focusing on his every word making sure not to miss anything.
"Oh yeah! It's time to get into nitty-gritty kiddos!" the hero began as he started explaining the scenario that all examinees would have to undertake. To put things simply everyone is separated into multiple different simulated city districts marked by a letter. Each of which features four different villain robots that provide scores from one to three. What intrigued Izuku was the fact that there was something the proctor neglected to mention. the zero-point robot that was the largest and most intimidating out of the four presented in handouts prompting him to ponder the reasons for it before someone else voiced the same concerns.
A tall teenager with neatly flattened dark blue hair now stood up adjusting his eyeglasses before probing a question as he wore a serious expression. "Excuse me, may I ask a question? On the handout, there are clearly four types of villains listed. Why have you neglected to mention this? Such an error would be an embarrassment for a top-tier national academy of U.A.'s caliber." He finished as Present Mic smirked. "Okay, okay! Thanks for the segway Examinee 7111. The fourth type of villain you'll encounter is worth zero points. They should be considered as arena traps." the blonde-haired hero quoted with his fingers before finishing his speech. "Remember these words well kiddos. A true hero never stops overcoming the misfortunes in life. We may suffer, and get beat down but when duty calls our name what do we do? Go plusultra!"
Those words resonated with Izuku more deeply than he had initially realized. If Bakugo's death had taught him anything, it was that the real world was a grim and complex place. In this world, there was no distinct boundary between good and evil, between heroes and villains. Instead, there were only individuals who either misused their quirks or used them to upkeep peace, sometimes for justifiable causes, other times to convey a message, and in most vile cases for their own greed.
"Huh, it seems like we're are in different examination halls," Kyoka remarked, extending her fist in an encouraging manner. "Good luck, Midoriya. Show them what's good, and don't shake in your boots, 'kay?" She followed with a grin as Izuku responded by gently pressing his knuckles against hers. "O- Okay, Jiro-chan."
- | | -
As Izuku stepped through the gigantic metallic doors with the rest of the examinees, a vast landscape of skyscrapers and streets came into view. The sheer scale of it all left him entirely speechless, and he could feel his throat going dry. Just as he was grappling with his emotions, a hand landed on his shoulder.
"Hello there, friend. Feeling the jitters already, are we?" a dark blue-haired boy pondered, thrusting his palm up in a comical manner.
"Ah, I'm fine. I just realized this is it, you know? What I've worked towards," he replied with a smile. The dark blue-haired boy nodded in understanding, and a brief moment passed. Then, a thundering scream rang in everyone's ears, "And start!"
As the words reached his ears, Izuku inhaled air deeply into his lungs before charging forward, leaving nearly everyone in the dust as they stared in shock at his blazing speed.
"Well, what are you waiting for? A welcome mattress? Move move!" Present Mic thundered into the speaker. Now prompting everyone else to start moving in unison.
Green-haired hero-to-be swiftly dispatched one robot after another, his movements were a blur of lightning-fast strikes mixed, deliberately paced as he exhaled air in between movements, leaving behind a trail of sparks and shattered metal. His green-haired form was a whirlwind of confidence amid the chaos unfolding around him. It was clear that most of the examinees were finding themselves in dire straits, struggling to fend off the relentless robotic onslaught. The sound of clashes and cries for help filled the air.
Izuku knew that the exam's safety protocols were set in place to prevent anyone from suffering fatal injuries gave him some solace. But just as he clung to this belief, a haunting echo from his past came back to haunt him, reverberating through his mind like a relentless alarm.
"Some even get hurt during examinations," the haunting voice echoed through Izuku's mind, a relentless refrain that grew louder with each repetition. It was as if the words had taken on a life of their own, reverberating through the corridors of his memory until they were all-consuming. The cadence of that ominous reminder thrummed like a drumbeat, pounding at the very core of his being until he could no longer ignore it.
'Move. Move!' Izuku screamed in his head as every fiber of him screamed, urging him to press on and help his fellow examinees avoid the impending strikes. The urgency of the situation overrode any prior intention he had to destroy the robot villains. With a shimmering glint in his eyes that now reflected anger, he abandoned that thought and sprinted across the entire city district with a speed that defied comprehension to any onlookers.
His lungs burned with every passing second, but he pushed through, ignoring the pain as he raced to intercept each menacing threat. As he reached his potentially soon-to-be comrades in distress, he executed acrobatic maneuvers delivering destructive kicks that almost defied gravity and physics.
Some examinees, initially cursed in frustration as they found themselves seemingly transported away from their intended targets, suddenly realized that their mysterious rescuer was not an adversary but a guardian angel in green. Others, who had narrowly escaped a robot's lethal strike, exhaled sighs of relief as they searched for the person who had saved them, only to be met with a fleeting gust of wind and the residual crackling of electricity as Izuku raced onward.
For a fleeting moment, Izuku paused, his body crashing to the ground, his knees absorbing the impact as he caught himself with his arms. He found himself in a crawling position, his labored breathing becoming the rhythm of his movements.
"Must keep moving," he gasped, each word strained and heavy with effort. He was almost ready to give in to the built-up exhaustion and just stay on the ground before a colossal explosion roared in the distance.
A towering metallic monstrosity, nearly 24 meters tall, loomed over the scene, crashing through buildings and sending rubble and rocks flying in all directions. Panic engulfed all the examinees, and amidst the chaos, Izuku found himself at the center of the crowd. Time seemed to slow down around him as the atmosphere shifted from urgency to despair. He was about to follow suit before his movement was halted by air piercing scream that felt as if his body was grabbed from behind by force.
Now as he turned to face the source of it. Among the escaping examinees, there was an auburn-haired girl trapped beneath the rubble, her cries for help ringing out desperately. She pleaded for anyone, someone, to lend a hand. She attempted to move rubble aside from the top of her. Her heart now racing miles a minute, with the metallic monstrosity inching closer as beads of sweat ran across her temple. She had nearly all but given up before a piercing scream echoed around the entire district now garnering the attention of everyone who was quick to escape the onslaught.
It was Izuku, now recalling Katsuki's unconscious form strapped into machines in a hospital room, who was sent into overdrive. This time however Lightning nearly exploded out of him as it crackled around him. His muscles began constricting violently as the lightning traveled to his arms and legs, causing his skin to slowly peel. With determination, the green-haired teenager launched forward, bolting in a blur. He kept a single thought in his head guiding him forward despite the unimaginable agony he was trying to ignore.
"Move. God damn it. Move...!" he thought, his body screaming in protest, the burning sensation intensifying with each passing moment.
Approaching the towering metallic robot, he braced himself and harnessed a pile of rubble as a makeshift ramp, launching himself through the air like a lightning bolt. As he wound up for a punch, he expected a bone-jarring impact, fearing his bones might crack under the tremendous pressure. But instead, he felt... nothing. Confusion washed over him, and he glanced down, only to find his arms bathed in a vibrant orange glow. His fists vibrated so rapidly that they seemed to lose any distinct form or shape. Then, with a thunderous explosion, the robot's head was sent flying off.
Nearby, a black-haired boy stood in absolute awe, his thoughts racing. "Unbelievable..! Did he grasp the true meaning of this examination? How could I have missed something so obvious?" he pondered in frustration, reflecting on what he had just witnessed. A teenager, no older than themselves, had been willing to sacrifice everything to help a girl who would have otherwise been unharmed, given the robots' programming likely prevented fatal injuries. What had driven him to such extraordinary lengths? In stark contrast, he had focused on securing villain points, believing this examination merely measured the potential of their quirks.
As Izuku soared through the air, he glanced at the robot and saw its head obliterated into bits. Below him, the brown-haired girl wore an expression of awe mixed with terror as she watched the green-haired boy falling with no way to brace himself. However before he could react to his worsening situation, he started gasping for air, a mixture of burning and thumping headaches suddenly making itself present. Struggling to maintain consciousness. With all his willpower, he tried to hold on while he locked gazes with the now stupefied brown-haired girl as he smiled at her before everything faded to black, and the last thought that crossed his mind was that at least the girl and everyone else were safe. This time he was sure of it.
That day, everyone bore witness to the birth of a true hero in the most genuine sense—an embodiment of self-sacrifice, with a heart that placed the well-being of others above oneself in the pursuit of safety. This hero was none other than Izuku Midoriya. His actions sent a powerful message that resonated with every member of the U.A. staff who had gathered in a dark room, their eyes fixed on multiple display screens showcasing the green-haired boy's heroic feats.
"The boy prioritized saving other examinees over trying to score villain points and then put it all on the line to save yet another person," one remarked in awe. Everyone else agreed with the statement wearing impressed looks before a smaller figure stepped forward holding a pondering look. "Now what shall we do with you Mr. Midoriya?". The murmurs kept going on, On the side though there was a tall blonde-haired form of Toshinori now wearing a wide smile like a proud father who saw his kid succeed in his first game of soccer.
"Good work, young Midoriya. It appears you can already inspire hope through your own merit," he mused.
- | | -
A sun shone through the curtains as the green-haired boy slowly opened his eyelids, his view illuminated by the familiar scent of sterile air that lingered on. As he sat up in the bed he would fix his eyes on his arms which were now completely healed with no visible scarring, like everything he had experienced was simply a dream that had to eventually come to an end at some point.
He could see white curtains open on both sides of the bed as he was now lying on. To his right, he could see a work desk with a monitor sitting on top of it and a row of books next to it with looked to be a stern-looking elderly woman giving out huffs and puffs as she typed onto the keyboard. Izuku now recognized the woman to be the very same person who helped nurse her back to health just ten months ago.
"Ah. Hi again?" Izuku greeted hesitantly before the woman turned his chair and jumped off to near his bedside while walking with her cane before delivering soft chops on top of his head with it.
"Young man I thoroughly hope this is not a reoccurring theme with you or I will kick you to the curb next time you cause so much worry to everyone. Poor little lass was scared out of her mind seeing you unconscious. Now go on before your ability to sleep off injuries leaves me mortified. " She beckoned before carrying a gentle smile on her.
"Is she okay? And what of everyone else?" Izuku wondered.
"Keep your pants on, will you? She is just fine barely a scratch on her. Not that she would have been hurt either way" Elderly woman smiled. As the green-haired boy now relaxed climbed out of the bed feeling out his body, arms, and legs. It seems that nothing was broken.
"What happened to me? I was sure I'd be, you know, a bit more battered upstate," Izuku inquired, his curiosity evident. While he possessed an incredible ability to recover from injuries, a fall from 30 to 40 meters was nothing to dismiss lightly.
"Young man, you ought to thank the lass who used her quirk to prevent you from turning into a puddle. I must admit, seeing you getting slapped around while unconscious had me quite concerned," the elderly woman chuckled. Izuku's expression went blank for a moment as he pondered the character of the nurse before realizing he hadn't asked for her name.
"I see thank you for taking care of me, Mrs..?"
"Chiyo Shuzenji, or Recovery Girl, depending on your mood," she answered. Izuku, for the first time since Katsuki's incident, entered into his hero geek mode. "Oh my god! I've read up on all of your achievements in the field of heroics and own an extensive profile biography," the green-haired boy stammered wildly. Chiyo opened her eyes properly, her expression shifting from sternness to a gentle gaze, much like a grandmother basking in admiration of her grandchildren.
- | | -
- In Kamino Ward, Yokohama, at the present moment -
A young man in his twenties, his hair white, pale as snow, perched on a stool, savoring the aroma of his drink before allowing it to grace his lips. His demeanor exuded a sense of indifference, his skin pallid, and his physique appeared frail, as though he had gone without a meal for weeks. An embalmed hand rested on his pale face, hiding his expression from anyone brave enough to try to look at him.
Moments passed, and then the faint hum of a purple-colored portal echoed behind him, heralding the arrival of two new figures. One was a young girl, her ash-blonde hair styled into twin ponytails, wearing a menacing grin, her cheeks tinted with a subtle shade of red. She was followed by a figure of average height for a man, composed entirely of purple mist, sporting a metal brace around his neck and gleaming yellow eyes where his head should have been.
"Have you retrieved the body?" inquired the pale white-haired man.
"Yes, Shigaraki-sama. He is being processed as we speak. Everything is proceeding as planned," responded the figure made of purple mist, before an icy, chilling laugh filled the room.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
SirBolsterous
SirBolsterous Things are starting to shape up nicely and I think I did a good job of giving you a peek into the potential of Izukus quirk which is now exhibiting new aspects that are inherited from someone else. Can you guess who it is?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone