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| U.A. staff room |
…
"Damnit." Vlad King cursed as he stared at the footage on the screen, knuckles whitening in frustration.
Aizawa wasn't in better condition; his dry eyes stayed locked on the screen, unblinking.
Even Nezu, the always-composed principal of U.A., sweatdropped uneasily as he watched the live transmission.
"Our plan has been thwarted."
Neither teacher replied. They couldn't.
They had bet their student's safety on this plan—attacking the villains' base by surprise and pretending they had yet to mobilize. With that, they'd hoped for a smooth rescue.
But in the end, it had failed. Everything had spiraled into catastrophic proportions.
And now, even All Might was at risk.
{"This is footage of the battlefield where the battle between All Might and the mysterious villain, assumed to be the ringleader of the League of Villains, is underway. As you can see, several miles of Kashimo ward have been obliterated. Several casualties are expected at this point, and All Might appears to be quite worn out."}
That level of destruction—an entire district torn apart by a clash—was beyond anything they'd expected would happen. They had never imagined the leader of the villains could overturn the situation so drastically.
Nezu's brows furrowed, watching All For One's figure with rising frustration.
He had known the general range of the villain's power, but based on All Might's and other knowledgeable heroes' reports, they had concluded the man would never risk a direct confrontation like this. All For One was known for avoiding battles unless he felt completely secure.
Yet now, everything was off the rails. Not only was he fighting the Number One Hero head-on in a battlefield where reinforcements could arrive at any moment, he also seemed to be prioritizing the escape of his subordinates over his own.
Something wasn't adding up.
The only relief, however small, was that just when the villains seemed ready to take Suzaku away yet again, the redhead had tricked them and used a distraction created by the Symbol of Peace to slip away at the last second rather than teleport with them.
Of course, that relief evaporated when considering the scale of the battle… and the fact that Suzaku was now right in the middle of the disaster.
Even worse, the footage focused solely on the All Might vs. All For One clash, leaving Suzaku's current condition completely unknown.
"I'll go there myself if I must!" Vlad King suddenly stood, pulling off his tie and looking ready to dash out the door.
Nezu turned toward him, expression unreadable. "Kashimo is quite far. By the time you get there, everything will likely be over… for better or worse."
"Doesn't matter. My student is there. Even if my help ends up unnecessary, I'll still go—in case it isn't!"
"I'll go too." Aizawa rose as well, running a hand through his hair, undoing his previously neat appearance. "It was my inability to help Suzuki that led him into the villains' hands."
"...I suppose there's no stopping you two. Very well."
…
°
°
°
| Musutafu Hospital |
…
Several students from Class 1-B entered the hospital room, some carrying flowers, others fruit. Regardless of the gifts, somber looks weighed on all of them.
Still, as they stepped inside, they did their best to lift the mood.
They approached the hospital bed where Awase lay, covered in bandages on nearly every limb, staring blankly at the TV mounted in the corner.
Itsuka, leading the group, lifted a basket full of apples. "Hey, Awase, we brought some fruit."
"Looks like you're better now, huh? You're even sitting up!" Tetsutetsu chimed in, pumping a fist.
"Recovery Girl's Quirk sure is potent," Juzo muttered from the other side.
Despite their efforts, Awase continued staring at the TV. His head did not even twitch to address his classmates' words.
"Awase?" Itsuka tilted her head in confusion, before her eyes naturally went to the TV.
The rest of Class 1-B followed her gaze.
And then their eyes widened.
The infernal battle between All Might and All For One filled the screen—an enormous portion of Kashimo reduced to dust in the process of such a clash.
The clash of titans was creating literal hurricanes; the earth cracked apart beneath them.
As soon as they saw All Might, they knew what that meant.
"And Suzaku?!" Itsuka's and everyone else's head snapped to Awase, whose worried expression mirrored their own.
This time, the youth acknowledged her, turning to her with a somber look.
"He escaped the villains… but he's still there. Somewhere in that mess," he muttered, shaking his head helplessly.
Everyone immediately turned back to the TV, scanning the devastated zone instead of the fight itself.
Suzaku was nowhere to be found. And with destruction on that level, some couldn't help imagining the worst.
"That guy… I'm sure he's fine."
A voice cut through the tension.
Everyone turned to the source of the comment—including Awase.
"That guy's been through worse, right? He's not the best out of all of us for nothing." Tetsutetsu said, smiling faintly.
"Hah, if he escaped the villains, then with how quick he is, he must have fled that hellhole by now." Sen followed up Tetsutetsu with a remark of his own, smirking.
Some snorted, others nodded.
Then, they turned back to the screen again.
Yeah… If there was someone who could survive, or even thrive, in a hellscape like that… it was definitely Suzaku.
Though some couldn't help but still worry.
Amidst her classmates' uplifting mood, Itsuka glared at the TV with concern.
…
°
°
°
| Same hospital, different room |
…
"It's good that you're okay now, Midoriya." Kirishima shot a thumbs-up toward the boy lying in the bed.
Tsuyu, standing beside him, nodded. "You looked like you were on the verge of death yesterday. Ribbit."
"Hahaha…" Midoriya laughed weakly. "Recovery Girl said I really was close. Fortunately, thanks to her Quirk, it didn't go beyond that… Though it seems I'll have to stay like this for at least a week or so."
Iida adjusted his glasses, handing over a basket filled with bananas.
"You ought to eat to recuperate, Midoriya! We brought you some food so you can get back on your feet as soon as possible."
"Thanks, Iida… but I was told to eat non-solid food for a few days, so…"
"Ah! My mistake. I'll mash them for you immediately!"
"No—that's not—" Midoriya sighed, but ultimately let the bespectacled boy get to work. He turned to the rest of his classmates, expression growing more serious. "I was already briefed a bit about what happened after I was knocked out… but is it true Suzuki-kun was taken away?"
Somber looks washed over the room. They had all witnessed it. The redhead had thrown himself forward to help their teacher and Tiger.
After a moment, they nodded. Midoriya's expression darkened to match theirs.
"Tsk, that guy, doing whatever he wants…" Bakugo growled from the back, clicking his tongue.
"You're here too, Kacchan?" Midoriya blinked.
"My old hag forced me to come. Don't get any ideas, nerd!"
"Ah… sure," Midoriya chuckled wryly.
But his smile faded quickly. He stared down at his bandaged hands, a heavy dejection settling over him.
'I failed… If that unknown man hadn't shown up, Kota-kun would've been killed. And me too.'
The thought chilled him to the bone.
Ever since All Might chose him, he had failed to meet expectations. He'd lost the Sports Festival to Suzaku, no less. During his internships, he'd barely managed to adjust to a small percentage of his power. And now, because he was too weak, he had nearly gotten both Kota and himself killed.
If he had been strong enough… that wouldn't have happened.
—If he had been strong enough, maybe he could have even prevented Suzaku from being kidnapped.
For someone meant to inherit the Symbol of Peace's mantle… he felt pathetically inadequate.
Meanwhile, Suzaku—who had stood at the top from the very start, fought villains as an equal, and sacrificed himself to save the teachers—seemed far more fitting to inherit One For All.
Had… All Might really chosen the correct successor?
"Huh?!!!"
A startled yelp broke Midoriya's spiraling thoughts, followed by the confused stares of everyone in the room.
Mineta was frozen, staring at his phone like he'd seen a ghost.
Kaminari leaned in. "What's up, Mineta?"
But the moment Kaminari saw the screen, his face paled too.
Without saying a word, he lunged for the TV remote and flicked the television on.
Instantly, the live footage of the battle between All Might and All For One filled the room, filling the entire room with a chilling air.
…
°
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°
| Mizunami's Police Station |
…
"Sir, please, remain calm." A police officer gestured for a man to settle down.
"Damnit, how long are we gonna stay here?!" the man yelled, waving his fist threateningly. "It's been a whole day already, and we still don't have a single damn update about our son!"
Before things escalated further, a woman hurried up and pulled him back. "Dear, stop it."
"But Aya, how can they expect us to remain calm when they're keeping us in the dark about everything happening to our son?!"
The officer raised his hands placatingly. "Yoshiro-san, I assure you—we have spared no expense in the rescue of your son. Honestly, I'd be more worried for the villain responsible than for him. The top heroes of the country—Mirko, Edgeshot, Endeavor, Best Jeanist, and, of course, All Might—are all on-site. And that's just the top-ranked ones. If you include every hero team deployed, plus the police forces involved, what we have out there is close to a small army."
At that, the man—Yoshiro Suzuki—took a step back, looking taken aback.
"E-even so… why keep us here?"
"That is because we're taking every possible precaution," the officer explained. "To avoid giving the villains any advantage, you're under protective custody until the raid concludes."
"I see…" Yoshiro muttered, scratching his head before looking at the officer with pleading eyes. "Even so… can't we at least stay updated? My wife and I are dying here without knowing what's happening to Suzaku."
The officer nodded. "Let me check."
He walked off to speak to a superior. After a moment, he returned with a nod and moved to switch on the TV in the corner of the room.
Soon, live footage of the raid began to play.
But instead of the smooth, victorious operation everyone had expected—both the couple and the surrounding officers—what awaited them was—
{"W-what fearsome power! Just who is this villain, to be able to contend with All Might at such a level? At this rate, the entire city will be in danger!"}
{—BOOOOM!—}
A terrifying scene unfolded: the city in devastation, All Might and All For One clashing in the background, leveling the area even further with every exchange.
And Suzaku—the one meant to be rescued—nowhere to be seen.
…
°
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| Back at the battlefield… |
…
What had once been a beautiful ward of Yokohama city had been reduced to scattered mountains of rubble and dust. Only a few buildings still stood, and even those were clinging on with the visible wounds of the conflict raging through them.
—BOOOOOOM!!!—
Aaand that was one more down. Its tall frame burst sideways as a small figure slammed into it, obliterating half the structure and sending chunks of concrete flying in a violent spray. The figure tore straight through what remained and skidded across the ground far away, raising yet another explosion of debris.
Things calmed for a heartbeat—then another shadow crashed down in the same spot, detonating the earth beneath it.
Dust cleared, revealing the two figures rushing at each other and colliding again, space bending around the shock of their blows.
"Are you losing your breath, All Might?!"
"That mask of yours is crumbling apart, All For One!"
—BOOOOOOM!!!—
—BOOOOOOM!!!—
—BOOOOOOM!!!—
—BOOOOOOM!!!—
—BOOOOOOM!!!—
Explosions rippled left and right as their bodies blurred, vanishing and reappearing across the war-torn city, jumping from one spot to another.
At the edge of it all, Suzaku walked away from the battlefield, glancing uneasily at the clash of titans behind him. On his back were several unconscious heroes: Best Jeanist, Tiger, Mount Lady (in her smaller form), Gang Orca, and Ragdoll.
"I said I had to wait… but I can't just leave these guys lying there while those two go wild, can I?" he grumbled. With a small shift to better secure the group on his back, he kept moving.
His plan of waiting patiently for his moment to strike was on hold in the meantime, as he hadn't felt good about just leaving the batch of heroes behind with the risk of being flattened in one of All Might's and All For One's exchanges.
But as soon as he found somewhere safe to drop them off, he'd return and begin camping the fight. For that was the plan that he had devised that would let him put an end to the villain's life for once and for all.
Since he couldn't get close to All For One while the battle was raging at that level—unless he went ultimate, but that risked scaring the bastard off—Suzaku had prepared two ways to finish the villain off, depending on how the fight turned.
The first one went if All Might was ultimately defeated in the fight.
If that happened, then right as All For One prepared to deliver the final blow, confident in his victory, his guard would be at its weakest. Then, Suzaku would use invisibility and end it right there.
If All Might started being on the winning side, though, then came the second option.
The man had clearly stated he wasn't going to kill the villain, so leaving him the clean up wasn't an option.
So, Suzaku planned to make All For One come to him in a moment of desperation. Basically... A hostage situation.
One where HE was the victim.
He actually smirked at the thought. 'Who knew there'd be a day I'd be glad that tactic existed? And for it to be used against me even?'
Once he became All For One's hostage, the rest would be simple.
Activate kill, and done.
Of course, he had to wait for either scenario to unfold—which, judging by the ferocity of their battle, could take a few more minutes.
So first, he'd take care of these unconscious heroes. Then he'd go finish this.
"Y-you're…?"
A weak voice came from above him, snapping him from his thoughts.
Mount Lady had woken up.
"Good morning, was your sleep comfy?" Suzaku asked mockingly.
"You're the rescue objective… why the heck are you carrying us?" she asked weakly.
"You tell me. You guys were all unconscious, and with the lack of restraint from those two, I couldn't just leave you bunch to get flattened while you slept."
Her expression shifted into confusion, but when she tilted her head back and saw the god-level fight raging behind them, she groaned.
"So that guy was the villain boss? No wonder we got knocked out in one second… Best Jeanist, he—"
"He has a gaping hole in his stomach… but he managed to seal it with his Quirk, though pretty crudely. Still, he should live."
She let out a relieved sigh, then shook her head helplessly.
"Seriously, saved by the kid we came to save… This is going to ruin my reputation."
"Better not be fodder next time, eh?" Suzaku replied.
"And you're just as obnoxious as you were in the Sports Festival, huh? This sucks…"
"It's part of my charm."
—BOOOOOOM!!!—
Suddenly, something crashed down nearby, erupting into a massive explosion that deafened Suzaku and company for a few seconds.
"They sure are going all out with using the entire environment, huh? I swore I was getting far enough…" Suzaku clicked his tongue and began running.
But explosions started ringing all around them — the two monsters had apparently decided to fight right next to them now.
"K-kid… leave us here and go with the police force. We'll be safe. Our priority is saving yo—"
"I can't hear you over the sound of me epically saving you bunch."
"—Ugh, damn brat!"
—BOOOOOOM!!!—
Another blast blew apart the building beside them. Debris rained down. Suzaku instantly activated Colossus mode and dodged with ease.
"These fuckers can't hold back even a bit, huh?" he spat, glaring at the destruction behind him.
Then his eyes widened—it seemed the pair had decided to change location, as they were now dashing far away from their current location.
Too far away.
'Shit… it'll take me a while to reach wherever they're headed if I keep babysitting these guys.' Suzaku clicked his tongue, gaze alternating between the heroes and the retreating demigods.
If he missed a crucial moment—like All Might's defeat, and his consequential death—that'd be, uh, really bad.
If All Might won, then that wouldn't be too bad, as Suzaku could still finish All For One off while he was down… but he didn't want to leave any of that up to chance.
'What to do…?' Suzaku gritted his teeth.
They were moving away. Should he just leave the heroes there and make a run for it?
The conflict seemed to be intensifying, so there was a chance it would be decided at any minute now.
Before he could muse for longer, however, something in the distance caught his eye, making him go wide-eyed.
'Well, isn't this convenient?' He thought with a slight smile.
He quickly set the heroes down, prompting a groan from Mount Lady.
"Hey, kid, what the he—huh?" She couldn't finish her words as she became speechless at what she saw.
Or what she didn't see, rather.
Because Suzaku wasn't there anymore. In one moment, he had vanished.
"Holy shit, don't tell me I was talking to the ghost of the kid this whole time…?" she whispered, horrified.
-Swoosh!-
Before she could panic further, however, two figures blurred into view and landed beside the group.
"... It seems you guys got beaten to a pulp," One of the figures said, throwing the downed heroes a teasing look.
"Come on, lass. They went against the villain's boss. Cut them some slack." A shorter figure said, shooting a wry look at the person standing at their side.
It was Mirko and Gran Torino. The fastest heroes around, except for All Might, of course.
"I'm just saying what I think. And speaking of that villain boss, where is he? I'm itching to see how strong he really is if the police warned us this much about him."
Gran Torino pointed ahead. "There he is."
"Ah?" Mirko followed the gesture and saw All Might and All For One clashing in the distance, blowing apart buildings, shockwaves bursting like thunder every second.
"Well, damn… no wonder they said he was as strong as All Might. They're actually going toe to toe," Mirko muttered, sweating in disbelief.
"You…" Mount Lady groaned.
Mirko crouched beside her. "Whoa, someone's still conscious. Hey, what happened here? Where's that Suzuki kid?"
"I—I don't know." Mount Lady managed to say through her pain and bafflement.
Mirko rolled her eyes. "I assumed as much. With how beaten up you are, you probably missed half of what happened."
"N-no."
"Hmm?"
"He, he carried us here… But from one second to another, he vanished. As if he had become air or something."
"Did you hit your head or something?"
"Yeah, but that's not it."
"What the heck?" Mirko tilted her head.
Gran Torino suddenly cut them off. "Lass, please carry them outside the battle's range. I'll go look for that kid and, if possible, assist All Might… I'm the only one besides him who knows what that bastard is capable of."
"What am I? A litter?"
"I'll leave it to you!"
In an instant, Gran Torino shot off, leaving a pissed-off Mirko standing beside the pile of unconscious heroes.
"Great. Leaving me the annoying job. Pisses me off—Hm?"
Suddenly, her ears twitched, and her head snapped toward a nearby ruin.
Something had made a sound over there.
Her eyes narrowed, scanning the wreckage for a long moment.
But in the end, nothing moved anymore.
"Must've been some unstable debris," she muttered. With a sigh crossed with a groan, she hoisted up as many heroes as she could and began sprinting in the direction she'd come from, dragging some of the group away from the battlefield, and planning to come back for the rest after that.
Once she was gone, a voice drifted from the exact spot she'd been staring at earlier.
"Talk about good hearing." Suzaku, now invisible, smirked to himself. "Wonder if I can get it without the long ass bunny ears?"
With an amused shrug, he then turned back toward the distant clash between All Might and All For One, their shockwaves still rippling across the ruined city.
"Now that my hands are free, it's time to get to work."
With a knuckle crack, he burst forward, running straight toward the epicenter of the fight—
This time, with nothing holding him back.
…
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-To be Continued…-
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(A/N: It's back, I had my break from whatever was preventing me from coming back, and now I'm back.
As a male cow once said: Well I won't back down, no, I won't back down.
I'm too far into this to drop it, so let's go. Surely I can write this into a proper end, even if it seems abstractly far at the moment.)