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{"That'll be all for this press conference."}
{"Wait, Eraser Head, is it true the villains had some kind of bio-engineered monster amidst their ranks?!"}
{"Vlad King, how are you exactly planning on rescuing Suzaku Suzuki?"}
{"No more questions."}
On the screen, Nezu, Aizawa, and Vlad King stood up from their respective seats, gave a deep bow, and began walking away, putting an end to the press conference.
The reporters called out for more questions, but the three simply ignored them as they walked out of frame.
And with that, the transmission was cut.
"Well, that's about it," Suzaku muttered, seeing the whole shitshow finally come to an end.
It had certainly been hard to watch. The reporters had no chill and had asked whatever uncalled-for thing that came to mind, even if it wasn't even the teachers' fault. They just wanted both heroes and the principal to burn.
He'd felt especially responsible for it since the teachers had to endure going through that thanks to his unilateral decision to follow the villains, leaving them to deal with the aftermath of losing a student in an attack.
But what could he do? He was tired of this.
It had been four times now—four times where this group of villains tried to intervene and wreck his day one way or another, either intentionally or not. Four times where they'd clearly shown hostile intentions.
Five, if we count Stain and how he got saved by them.
Not to mention that they were somehow involved with the main storyline. Seeing how there was a big villain boss behind all of them, and how Shigaraki had appeared at the end of the first season, Suzaku could guess their whole organization was probably something Midoriya would have to shonen-protagonist his way through eventually.
At least in the show.
Here, nothing said he couldn't take care of them himself.
So, when they asked him to join them, it was like a gift fallen from the sky.
Was he worried about getting himself into some villains' den? Why would he need to feel worried?
The moment they let him into their home, they'd be the ones trapped with him, not the other way around.
Though, he had to admit, he felt a tad bad when he ignored his classmates as they tried to stop him—and when he smacked Tetsutetsu.
But he wasn't about to waste the opportunity to cut this whole villain organization from the root once and for all.
And what do you know? This whole trip was a lot more fruitful than expected.
The two main actors behind the scenes, and the source of all the shit that had been happening, presented themselves on a silver platter.
All For One and Garaki—or, going by their real names… None For Two and Psycho Doctor.
For once in many years, he had caught sight of the source of all his troubles.
The ones who had taken an interest in him when he was a kid and tried to have him kidnapped. The ones who had been brewing trouble for him these past few months. The ones who would probably continue causing chaos so long as they breathed.
Them.
And what's more hilarious, they'd done some mental gymnastics and came to the conclusion that he had some sort of super-organization backing him—one protecting him in order to make him into some kind of super bio-engineered weapon with infinite Quirks or something like that later on.
Which, to be honest, did make some sense from their perspective. That was what they'd been able to assume once they realized the connections between him and the two other "beings" under this "organization" born from their schizophrenia.
Sadly, the more they tried to rationalize the answer, the further away they got from it.
Who could rationalize his powers as the work of some divine being, after all?
'Probably Ibara.' Suzaku snorted at the thought.
Eitherway, thanks to that, it didn't matter that they had managed to realize the connection between himself and his transformations. They were still far from the truth.
Albeit, on second thought, those connections weren't actually something that hard to uncover. After all, Suzaku's thoroughness in keeping his powers and true nature hidden has been diminishing greatly these past few months.
He was getting sloppy to unbelievable degrees.
'Why?' Suzaku mused, staring at his reflection in the glass. Without his glasses, he could see his own red eyes directly. A rare sight, as his glasses were almost never off.
The reason was quite simple, if he really thought about it.
He was stopping to care.
And he didn't know why.
... Or well, maybe he did.
Maybe it was because his power had been growing. Be it when fighting without the intention to kill—now having the Colossus Mode to increase his power further without being overkill—or with his newly found ultimate form, which frankly turned any fight into a death sentence for the other party.
Even All Might, that invincible and authoritative figure who remained in his eyes as a potentially enormous threat if he were to ever turn on society for whatever reason, was fading into insignificance.
Suzaku was growing stronger, and the society that currently bound him seemed less and less capable of holding him back if they ever clashed with him.
The consequences of his acts, whether they would be judged as crimes or not, all seemed less and less important the more he realized how little it would matter to him, with how powerful he was now.
But maybe… all that was just secondary.
Sure, he was growing arrogant—maybe justifiably—but deep inside, he still preferred to just go with the flow of society and enjoy life without truly antagonizing it. Hence, getting discovered was still troublesome.
So why? Why was he letting himself make mistakes so easily?
Suzaku closed his eyes, recalling how he'd been behaving for months now.
First, there was the matter of using his venting ability to finish off Todoroki after his final attack.
Then, copying Mirko's physiology to gain a boost in speed, and somehow passing her questioning by simply shrugging it off as something he could always do.
Then, during the test with All Might—he'd outright thrown caution away and gone all out, utilizing his shapeshifting ability to its fullest capacity in what concerned reaching his muscle limits.
He had kept the "copying others' appearances" part hidden, but did it really make a difference? He had shown more than he should have either way.
And lastly, there was how he'd literally exposed that ability for everyone to see at the camp, casually revealing that part of his shapeshifting abilities and lazily trying to pass them off as a "talent."
Maybe he just wanted to show off. He was sure that there was a part of him that was like that, a little brat thirsty to brag about his godly abilities.
But he knew he had enough self-control that such a desire could hardly affect his behavior.
So, maybe… the real reason was not that.
Instead, perhaps the reason was that a tiny part of him was hoping it would all be discovered.
Because that way, he wouldn't need to feign being a hero anymore.
His goal of getting money was already fulfilled. So, what reason was there for him to continue in U.A.?
Mostly, it was for his classmates and parents—the life he'd built, and his place in it. He was already walking the path, and it was too late to dip.
But deep inside, he felt he shouldn't be there—he was an outcast, an impurity in a place of good, a liar.
At that, Suzaku snorted, a small, wry smile forming on his lips.
'An impostor.'
Someone whose body count was in the hundreds, whose view on life was light and uncaring, being capable of taking it away without batting an eye, and who, from the very beginning, had impure reasons to become a hero. That's who he was.
So yeah, he was, by no means, someone who should be there.
It didn't matter what good he'd done until now, or even if he didn't consider himself evil. Neither did it matter that he was most likely not the only one who had become a hero for impure reasons.
The fact remained: he felt inadequate. Like someone who wasn't supposed to be there.
His stay there until now had been just a compromise—to the life he'd built since he was a kid, the goals he'd promised others, and the relationships he'd formed.
Because without his original goal of making money, there was no reason for him to stay.
But… if his murders were ever discovered—if his true nature got revealed to the world—maybe then he'd get to stop pretending to be something he was not.
He'd be able to stop tainting a place filled with good people like his classmates.
He'd become in the eyes of everyone what he'd truly been all along.
A killer.
Suzaku scratched the back of his head, an annoyed look on his face.
'I'm getting sidetracked.'
Returning to the matter of All For One and Garaki thinking he had some powerful backing, he'd gone along with it since it lowered their guard around him.
They still thought he was just a kid with potential—but not yet a threat.
So he'd make sure to capitalize on that mistake.
As soon as they were comfortable with him, thinking he was in their complete control, he'd end this shitty organization for once and for all.
So now, all that remained was for them to leave their telematic communication and make direct contact with him.
When that happened, he'd kill them.
'And these bunch too.' Suzaku eyed the villains around him.
He hadn't killed them yet because he didn't want the big bads of all this to go into hiding once they realized that there was no organization, and that it had always been him.
But once he was done with them, nothing would stop him from eliminating the leftovers of this organization as well—namely, all these scrubs.
'But that'll have to wait until they bring me in for experiments. Until then, I'm stuck here.' He sighed with a frown, looking back at the TV and realizing there was now nothing to while away the time.
He turned to Shigaraki.
"Yo, mummy man, got anything good to pass the time here?"
Shigaraki glanced at him briefly before ignoring him altogether.
Suzaku, however, wasn't that easy to shake off.
"Hey, Mummy man."
"..."
"Mummy man."
"..."
"Mummy man."
"..."
"Mummy man."
"..."
"Mummy man."
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Shigaraki snapped.
"Anything to do here? The show's over, so I've got nothing to do. I also left my things in my bag back at the camp, so I don't have my phone, nor my snacks, nor my console."
"And why should I care about that?" Shigaraki glared at him with disdain.
Suzaku blinked in surprise, then he grabbed his chin and acted as if he was seriously thinking it over.
Ultimately, he nodded and sighed helplessly. "Hah… I suppose you're right. You're on your right to care for whatever you want."
Shigaraki rolled his eyes and went back to his own matters, huffing satisfied until—
"Hey, Mummy man."
"..."
"Yo, Mummy man."
"..."
"Oi oi oi, Mummy man."
"WHAT?!"
"Hi."
A vein sprouted on Shigaraki's forehead.
"..."
"Hey, Mummy man."
"What the fuck do you want?"
"Nothing."
"..."
"Yo, Mummy man."
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I GOT SOME GAMES, SO STOP!"
"Nice."
Shigaraki stormed off to somewhere in the back and crossed through a door. Seconds later, the sound of violent rummaging filled the place, along with curses and grumbles.
Then, a minute or so later, he came back with a console—dusty and in bad condition, though probably not because of time, but rather a profound lack of care.
Why arrive at that conclusion? Because he outright slammed the console onto the table near the TV and began connecting everything in the most brutal way possible, not worrying in the slightest about its condition.
Suzaku simply watched from the side, a mocking smile on his face.
By the time Shigaraki was done, he turned to Suzaku, narrowing his eyes.
"Alright, brat. You wanna play so much? Then let's play."
With those words, he booted up a familiar game that Suzaku knew all too well.
Street Quirkers 100.
After blinking in surprise for a moment, Suzaku stood up and walked over, rolling his shoulder smugly.
"Sure."
…
°
°
°
| Minutes later… |
…
"THIS IS SUCH BULLSHIT!"
Needless to say, Shigaraki got hundred-comboed in each of the next three games they played.
Even though it should have ended after the first one, his stubbornness forced him to try two more times.
The third one was the tipping point.
"YOU'RE CHEATING! FILTHY CHEATER!"
"It's called skill."
"IT'S CALLED CHEATS! IT'S CALLED HACKS! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS EVEN POSSIBLE! IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE! WHY WOULD ANYONE IN THEIR SANE MIND CREATE A GAME WHERE YOU CAN BE STUN-LOCKED FOR THE ENTIRE MATCH?! IT MUST BE SOME SORT OF BUG OR EXPLOIT!"
Suzaku stared at him speechlessly. "I assume you don't play with others much. That's, like, the whole pointof the game."
Off to the side, Spinner sneaked quick glances at the two.
"I hate to agree with the fake, but he's right, you know?"
"SHUT UP, YOU!" Shigaraki snapped his head around.
Immediately, Spinner lowered his head, trying to seem invisible.
"So, you up for another ass-kicking?" Suzaku asked, raising his controller and flexing his fingers mockingly. "I've got plenty of finger mobility left for some extra-long combos."
Shigaraki looked ready to scream his lungs out. "YOU—"
—but then, surprisingly, he calmed down. A more composed expression returned to that wrinkled face of his, though the anger still burned underneath.
"...No." He spat, glaring hatefully at Suzaku. "This is a fruitless endeavor."
With that, he tossed the controller aside.
Suzaku glared at him for a moment, then sneered with a shrug.
If he couldn't handle more Suzaku than that, then it was best not to provoke him further. Otherwise, he might just snap and attack—and if he did, that'd mean Suzaku would have to kill everyone here. Which, at least until he dealt with the big bads, wasn't a great idea.
'Well, whatever,' Suzaku rolled his eyes, then turned to the rest. "Anyone want to get their ass beat?"
Twice stood up right away, swaggering toward the abandoned controller.
"You're too arrogant, kid. I think it's time someone showed you the real skill of a pro."
He grabbed a stool, sat beside Suzaku, and gripped the controller, staring at the TV as if preparing for battle—
only to turn to Suzaku the next second, tilting his head.
"This is my first time playing. What am I supposed to do?"
Suzaku deadpanned.
For the next few minutes, he began instructing Twice on how to play.
The man was weirdly uncoordinated—just mashing buttons at random and hoping that would result in his win somehow—so Suzaku took on the noble task of at least teaching him how to attack with some intent.
It took them a solid half hour.
And when Twice finally got a proper grasp of the game—
{Combo x167}
{Perfect!}
{You win!}
—Suzaku made sure to give him the full Street Quirker 100 experience, just like he had done with Twice's predecessors: Shigaraki, Bakugo, Itsuka, Tetsutetsu, and Arata.
It all ended with Twice standing up and walking off with the deadest of deadpans.
"I don't like this game," he muttered, tone weirdly unbipolar.
During all of this, Spinner looked like he wanted to say something, but never did. He just kept sneaking glances at the two of them, tapping his foot nervously.
With Twice gone, Suzaku sneaked a glance at Compress, who sat quietly sipping his drink.
"You up for losing?"
Compress gave him a side glance and shook his head. "I have no interest in mundane things such as games."
"Just say you're old, grandpa."
"I'm in my thirties..."
Ignoring the old man's mutterings and sighing in annoyance, Suzaku looked toward the others.
Dabi outright ignored him.
Kurogiri quickly grabbed a glass and began cleaning it, very obviously avoiding eye contact.
Spinner… was still looking away, but his foot was tapping furiously against the floor, like he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Stain—well, he was Stain.
That only left—
"I wanna play!"
—Toga, who was now standing right beside him without him even noticing.
"When the hell did you get there?" he muttered, before handing her the controller anyway.
Just like Twice, she didn't seem to know how to play, so Suzaku spent a while teaching her the basics.
It took about twenty minutes before she finally got the hang of it.
And once she did, Suzaku decided it was time for her proper initiation as well.
One longer than usual.
{Combo x200}
{Perfect!}
{You win!}
With a smug smirk, he turned to see the fruits of his labor—only to find her smiling brightly, as always.
"That was fun."
"Tsk." Suzaku clicked his tongue.
As expected of the crazy one, not even that torture fazed her.
Without the cries of sorrow and rage, it just wasn't as fun.
"Whatever, you play with fanboy there," he said, tossing the controller to Spinner.
"Hah?!"
Spinner caught it awkwardly, looking between Suzaku and the controller with a dumbfounded expression.
Ultimately, though, seeing that he was being ignored by the redhead and the excited look on his fellow villain's face, he still accepted and went to play with Toga.
Meanwhile, Suzaku returned to the counter, receiving a glass of cola from Kurogiri without even having to ask.
'Ragebaiting is truly a challenge sometimes,' he thought, shaking his head helplessly as he proceeded to take a sip.
As he did so, however, he noticed someone staring straight at him.
No—he'd noticed it long ago, but hadn't cared enough to address it.
It made sense, though. He was the reason the guy looked like that now, after all.
"What's up, baldy? Got anything to say to me?" Suzaku sneered, shooting Stain a look.
Stain, still seated in the corner—having literally not moved an inch since sitting down—said nothing. He just kept staring, unblinking.
"You look horrendous. Wasn't not having a nose enough? Now you went and made yourself bald. And that huge scar too—what are you going for, the deformity award?"
"..."
"What, not going to say anything?"
"..."
"Ah, I see…" Suzaku nodded in mock understanding, then widened his eyes, staring back with exaggerated determination. "You're challenging me to a stare contest."
"..."
"Very well, I'll show you why they call me Suzaku the Non-Blinker."
"..."
And just like that, the two began staring into each other's eyes.
Truly, boredom forced people to extremes. Even entering a stare contest with the guy you once beat into the ground—who was currently glaring daggers filled with murderous intent—wasn't off the table if it meant passing the time.
Two minutes went by. Neither blinked. Neither flinched.
At least, until, finally, Stain did.
Suzaku let out a short victorious laugh right away.
"Easy peasy. I suppose I should start calling you Stain the Blinking Scrub—" Suzaku pointed at him, smirking arrogantly—
"Suzaku Suzuki," Stain interrupted, his eyes hardening with fury.
The smirk on Suzaku's face faded a little, a more serious look appearing instead. "What's up? Finally dignified yourself to say something?"
Stain's pupils shrank, his teeth grinding audibly. "I haven't forgotten what you did to me that day."
"What, saving a classmate from you? Sorry if that bothered you so much," Suzaku waved him off dismissively.
"You trampled over my goal. You showed me how unjust this world truly is… and for that, I have to thank you."
"Well, guess the blonde wasn't the only crazy one."
"You showed me that I was still incomplete. An unprepared vessel for the ideal I set for myself. Even if you hadn't stopped me, I'd have failed in the long run."
"You're welcome."
"But even if I'm grateful…" Stain's voice dropped, his eyes burning brighter, "The seething rage inside me hasn't cooled."
"What a surprise."
"So it doesn't matter what that brat Shigaraki says about not killing you—or about you joining this place and becoming an ally. When the time comes… I'll kill you."
"Come on, man. I'm not even a hero anymore, am I?"
"You're not."
"Then why are you still such a clingy bitch?"
"Because you're the boulder in my road. The shame in my story. If I want to resume my duty, I have to erase the one who blocked my path. You. Only then will I be worthy again."
Suzaku snorted, then shot him a cocky grin.
"Erase me? You sure overestimate yourself."
"...!"
In that instant, Stain shot up—knives in hand.
"Die, Fake."
Without hesitation, he drove them down toward Suzaku, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.
But just as they were about to hit—
—Crack!—
Suzaku hurled his glass at him, hitting him square in the face. Then, in the same motion, he shot both hands forward, seizing Stain's wrists and stopping the slashes midair.
"Come on, is that all you can do?" Suzaku remarked, smirking mockingly as the two struggled in a strength contest.
One that surprised Suzaku.
"Oof... you sure got a bit stronger... What kind of steroids did you get? You sure got a good boost in strength, and yet you're still as scrawny as when we fought."
"You…!" A vein sprouted on Stain's forehead, ready to attack again, even if it meant using his teeth like the last time.
"Stand down."
—But suddenly, Shigaraki's voice cut through the air.
"...?!"
-Clang, clang, clang-
Instantly, Stain dropped to his knees, his knives clattering to the floor.
Suzaku raised an eyebrow, watching how easily that murderous fury had been subdued.
Seconds later, Shigaraki walked up, passing Suzaku without even glancing his way, and crouched in front of Stain.
Then—
-Bam!-
"Urgh—!"
He drove a punch straight into the Hero Killer's stomach, leaning close to his ear as he spoke.
"I told you earlier not to attack him. Did you override your orders? I suppose some of that dumbass spirit is still rattling around in there, even though you're only a puppet now," Shigaraki muttered, scratching at his neck irritably. "Ah, what a pain~... that's why I told Garaki to just strip you completely of your mind like the Nomus."
Then he straightened, letting Stain slump to the floor, and turned toward Suzaku.
"I told you to behave yourself."
"Yeah?" Suzaku raised an eyebrow daringly.
The two locked eyes. Sparks flying—
Then Shigaraki chuckled, patting Suzaku's shoulder as he walked past.
"But to be honest, you gave me a reason to hit him. I'd been waiting for one for a while. For that, I'll overlook this one."
"How generous." Suzaku snorted.
Shigaraki didn't reply, simply returning to his seat.
And Suzaku did the same.
As he sat down, he sneaked a glance at the kneeling Stain—whose gaze had turned vacant once again.
'This guy… what the hell did he do to himself?' Suzaku frowned faintly, then shook his head and turned to Kurogiri. Whatever the man had done, it wasn't his business.
"Fill me another glass," Suzaku demanded, seeing Kurogiri still not serving him more Quirkcola.
"That's the second one you've broken, Suzaku Suzuki."
"My bad." Suzaku winced.
With a sigh, Kurogiri pulled another glass and poured him a drink.
Suzaku scowled. "Why the hell are you giving me water?"
"It's enough cola for one day, don't you think?"
"Tsk." Suzaku clicked his tongue—but the butler villain wasn't wrong.
"Whatever." He rolled his eyes and picked up the glass of water.
But just as he was about to take a sip—
{"Suzaku Suzuki, I hope I didn't make you wait too long."}
Garaki's voice came from the same screen as before.
Suzaku's brows perked up, and a faint smile curved his lips. "Yeah, it was a few hours… Honestly, pretty boring. Be more considerate next time."
{"Hohoho, I'll take that into mind."}
Having given his very important recommendation, Suzaku crossed his arms and frowned, staring at the empty screen with a serious gaze. "So? What now?"
{"Kurogiri will transport you to the main facility, where I'll analyze your body and prepare for the process. We're quite behind your organization in data on you, so I'd like to begin right away to collect it."}
Suzaku threw a glare at Kurogiri, who gave him a simple nod.
Suzaku spread his arms. "Alrighty, lead the way. Can't wait to get out of here."
{"Then, Kurogiri, proceed."}
"Yes, doctor."
Kurogiri waved his hand, and a dark portal began to tear open through the air. Suzaku smirked, stepping toward it, ready to cross... when suddenly—
Knock, knock.
"Ayo, the pizza's here."
A voice called from behind the bar's door.
Everyone froze.
'Pizza?' the thought hit all of them at once.
—BOOOOM!—
The wall exploded inward, bursting into chunks of debris that tore through the room and drowned it in dust.
Instantly, everyone shifted into combat readiness.
But then—every eye widened.
Through the cloud of dust, a tall, broad figure stood illuminated by the city lights streaming in from behind. The silhouette alone was enough to make their blood run cold.
"No need to fear," the voice declared.
Suzaku's eyebrow twitched. He exhaled and smiled wryly, shaking his head.
'These guys really have the worst timing.'
The dust cleared.
Blonde hair with two proud tufts standing high.
A massive, muscular frame.
A blue suit with white and red stripes.
And a smile recognized across the world.
All Might had arrived.
"For I am here!"
…
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-To be Continued…-
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(A/N: Phew, that one was complicated to write. So much stuff to do this arc, so confusing as to how it should be structured.
Still, I'm satisfied with how it ended. It should work quite well for the stuff that comes later on this arc.
Also, I've got a question, guys. What do you think of the way I write sounds or onomatopoeias?
You know, the -sound- ; —Big sound!— ; —Very Loud Sound!— ; and other variations depending on what fits.
Honestly, I don't know if it may be weird or if it fits the narrative well.
Or if I should maybe tone the onomatopoeias down and write descriptions instead.
Eitherway, that's it for this chapter. Look forward to the next one.)
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