Sussy Baka in MHA - 108

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[The end of the road]
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…

Two years ago…

“You call that a finger strike? I can still see half your hand!”

“The trunk’s too damn hard, old man! How do you expect me to pierce it with just my fingers?!”

“'I’m a sissy, oh god, I’m such a sissy'—that’s what you sound like to me," Tatsuo mocked. "Now start stabbing that trunk as if it owes me money!”

“And why should I care if it owes you money?!”

“Because I’m your teacher, you damn brat. Have you ever even heard of filial piety?!”

“I’ve heard you’re senile.”

“Less talking, more stabbing!”

“Ugh…”

Standing before a robust tree, Suzaku wound up his arm, his palm extended like a blade.

Then—

-Swish!-

-Crack!-

He lunged and struck, bark exploding as his hand dug into the wood.

But despite the impressive display of raw strength—

“I can still see your hand!” Tatsuo bellowed, smacking Suzaku on the head.

“My hand won’t go any deeper, you geezer!” Suzaku gritted his teeth.

“How many times have I told you? Knuckles aligned with your fingers, and make as perfect a line as you can. Otherwise, your fingers are just going to collapse!”

Tatsuo grabbed Suzaku’s hand, jerking it out of the trunk to micro-adjust his grip and tension. “There. Now try again,” he said, releasing the annoyed teenager.

Huffing and rolling his eyes behind his glasses, Suzaku wound up his arm once more. Hand in the same position Tatsuo had left it.

And soon, he struck again.

—Swish!—

—Crrck!—

This time, his hand vanished completely into the wood.

“Shit…”

“See? Wasn’t that easy?” Tatsuo smirked.

“Shut up,” Suzaku muttered, jerking his hand free and immediately massaging his aching wrist.

Tatsuo ignored the complaining, scratching his beard in thought. “Now you just have to learn to do it without me babysitting you, and we’ll move on to whatever other move you want to copy from me.”

“How about a break first? My hand hurts from all these trees I’m impaling,” Suzaku complained, brushing sawdust from his clothes.

Tatsuo looked at him disdainfully. “Good God, it’s like the sissiness refuses to leave your body. Fine. Ten minutes.”

“Heh.”

-Tsss…-

Being granted permission, Suzaku pulled a can of Coke from who knows where and took a long swig.

“Seriously, kid? You know that stuff is literal poison, right?” Tatsuo deadpanned.

“Maybe for your old ass. I’m at the peak of human limits—a little sugar isn't going to beat me.”

Tatsuo sighed. “This generation is a lost cause.”

-Tsss…-

Then, he proceeded to pull a can of beer from who knows where and took a long swig too. 

Suzaku’s mouth twitched as the old man took a satisfied yet hypocritical gulp. 

However, not being one to get into others’ business, he simply continued enjoying his own beverage in peace.

For a long moment, the only sound in the clearing was the rhythmic, obnoxious sipping of the two, almost like they were competing to see who finished first.

Only when Suzaku finished his first did he speak again. “By the way, old man, I’ve always wondered…”

Tatsuo side-eyed him, annoyed. “What now?”

“How come you were never a hero? I know you were a vigilante back in the day, but why didn’t you ever go pro and actually get paid for it?”

“Why would I?” Tatsuo scoffed, a mocking grin spreading across his face. “I only became a vigilante because arrogant dumbasses were getting out of control. They thought they owned the whole country just because they had a bit of strength, and I felt the urge to put them in their place. Plus... I liked punching people. Becoming a hero, though? That was a bit much.”

Suzaku nodded. “Yeah, sounds like you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, brat?”

Tatsuo drained the rest of his beer in one go and whipped the empty can at Suzaku’s head. Suzaku ducked, the projectile whistling above his head into the nearby trash bin.

Suzaku immediately returned fire, tossing his own empty can at Tatsuo’s head. The old man didn't even look. He simply leaned to the side, letting the projectile sail past him and clatter perfectly into another nearby trash bin.

As they shared a competitive grin, Tatsuo’s expression softened slightly and turned uncharacteristically serious.

“What about you, brat? You’re really planning on becoming a hero?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“You’re always spouting that nonsense about justice," Tatsuo said, eyes narrowing. "But you don’t strike me as the type who actually cares about things like that.”

“Well, you clearly don’t know me well enough. I’m a deeply justice-driven individual,” Suzaku replied with mock humility. “Not even All Might can compare to my raw heroic spirit.”

“Look at you, lying through your teeth.” Tatsuo smirked.

Suzaku raised an eyebrow. “You wanna feel some of that ‘heroic spirit’ on your face, old man?”

“As if you could land a hit with how slow you are.” Tatsuo laughed out loud mockingly.

Suzaku’s eyebrow twitched. “You’re seriously asking for a beating.”

Tatsuo scoffed and looked away. “Fine, keep your reasons to yourself. But you better make it to the top spot in the future, or I’ll go kill you myself before you dishonor my school more. My disciples must settle for first place and nothing less.”

Suzaku scoffed, leaning on one of the trees he had punctured earlier. “I don’t see you holding a top spot for anything.”

Tatsuo looked at him disbelievingly. “What are you talking about, brat? I’m the greatest martial artist alive.”

“That’s not a job.” Suzaku's deadpan didn't budge even an inch.

“Who said it had to be a job, dumbass?” Tatsuo shot back, pointing at him. “Listen, brat. Our school must never settle for anything but the peak. But in this world, there are as many peaks as there are mountains. We belong at the top, but no one says which mountain you have to climb.”

Suzaku rose an eyebrow, thoroughly unimpressed. “Did you practice that in the mirror this morning?”

Tatsuo brushed his beard with a knowing look. “I’m a wise man, kid. You’d benefit a lot from listening to me.”

“Whatever you say, old man.”

“Your lack of respect is going too far nowadays." Tatsuo shook his head with a frown before smirking as he smacked his fist against his palm. "Alright, enough lounging. Let’s get back to our training with a spar. I’ll remind you exactly who your master is.”

Suzaku snorted and pushed himself off the tree. “Fine by me.”

He walked a few paces back, centering himself and finding his footing. But the moment he turned around to face Tatsuo—

“Huh?”

The old man was gone. The forest, the smell of pine, the warmth of the sun—it all vanished. In its place stood an endless dark and crimson space that seemed to ooze with malice.

But despite it, Suzaku remained unaffected. His eyes focused only on what was ahead.

Where Tatsuo had been, stood now a crowd of unknown people. Their faces were blurred, and their figures shifting like smoke.

But for some reason, he could tell it from just looking at them.

They were all smiling.

“Who are you supposed to be?” Suzaku asked, tilting his head faintly to the side. For some reason, he wasn't baffled or surprised in the slightest by this. Other than curiosity, all that was in his heart was calm.

The blurry people didn't answer, whether because they didn't want to, or couldn't, it was unknown.

But soon, as one, they leaned forward in a deep, respectful bow.

Suzaku watched them unblinkingly for a long moment, the silence of the void stretching between them.

Finally, a small, calm smirk played on his lips.

“Well... you’re welcome.”

As soon the words left his mouth, the figures stopped bowing.

Then, their figures dissolved, carried away by a sudden, cold breeze.

Leaving Suzaku all alone in that space.

At least—

“...”

—until Suzaku opened his eyes.

The once wide forest, adorned with a rundown dojo and a gentle breeze that rustled the leaves of the countless trees, was now a disaster-stricken city, shrouded in the darkness of night.

Before him stood several heroes, their shocked faces staring speechlessly at him, none able to process what had just happened.

Then his gaze drifted downward—landing on the unmoving body of the man who had once been the world’s strongest villain. Now, he was nothing more than a lifeless corpse at his feet.

Another one, among many.

Suzaku’s eyes lazily lifted to the sky.

A helicopter hovered above, its camera flashing in his direction, having clearly captured everything from start to finish.

Like that, Suzaku finally focused ahead again. The realization of his own situation finally dawned properly.

“...Welp, this is it for Suzaku Suzuki, I guess.” He snorted, smiling wryly.

With that, he kicked All For One’s corpse aside and turned around, giving the heroes his back.

“Young Suzaku… what was…?” All Might struggled to speak, his eyes darting between Suzaku and the man who had once been his greatest enemy.

“Hey—All Might,” Suzaku interrupted.

The once-greatest hero blinked, startled out of his daze by the sudden address.

Suzaku turned his head slightly, smirking.

“Take care of Class 1-B in my absence, will you? I know your successor isn’t in it, but they’re still gonna make some pretty good heroes.”

All Might’s eyes widened. “How did you…?”

Suzaku didn't let him finish, “... and if you’re feeling responsible, take care of my parents too. With Shigaraki and his band still out there, they might try something—at least until I find them myself and finish what I started here.”

“Young Suzaku… what are you going to do?” All Might managed to blurt out, still shaken by everything, but more shaken by the words that were coming out of his student's mouth.

Suzaku took a bit to answer, his smile vanishing.

“I’m leaving." He announced, making All Might and many of the other heroes flinch in surprise.

Suzaku continued, kicking the corpse faintly near his feet. "As this guy said, I’m not fit for this kind of job. And I don’t wanna deal with the trouble that’ll come after this, so I’m dipping.”

“No—young Suzaku, you..." All Might seemed to hesitate for a moment before gritting his teeth and forcing the words to come out. "You didn’t do anything wrong!”

Suzaku seemed to consider it for a moment.

But then, his smile returned, now though, wry.

“Maybe not. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences. And, honestly, I ain't feeling like dealing with them.”

With that, he turned away for good and waved without looking back.

Though, he did stop to call out All Might once last time.

“By the way, All Might... if my parents get worried, tell them that I’m pretty much invincible—so they don’t have to worry about me.”

“You think we’ll just let you walk away like that, brat?!” Mirko shouted, finally snapping out of her daze and stomping forward, as if ready to dash after him.

“No,” Suzaku replied without turning around. “But you won’t be able to stop me either.”

And before any of them could even process what that had meant, or try anything—

"What?!"

Suzaku sank into the ground as if it were liquid. His figure vanishing in an instant.

Silence befell them once more. None of them knew what to think.

It wasn’t until All Might suddenly took a step forward that they snapped out of their daze.

“All Might?” Edgeshot called out.

But the hero didn’t look back. Instead, he made his way to where Suzaku had been standing.

Once there, he knelt on one knee and, pushing through the pain of his mangled insides, placed his hand on the spot Suzaku had occupied moments earlier.

What went through his mind then was unknown, but one thing was clear.

“This rescue operation… was a failure.”

...

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°

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| Not too far away... |

...

From the wreckage, a figure emerged.

A teenager with red hair and red eyes. His clothes, a T-shirt and some simple pants, were both black.

At least, that was the case—until suddenly, a red, egg-like cocoon encased him.

Moments later, with a pressured hiss of escaping gas, the cocoon snapped open, and a new figure stepped out.

A man with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a simple white shirt and blue trousers. His gaze was dull and lifeless, bored and lazy, like that of a dead fish.

He looked around impassively for a moment before pulling out his phone.

Then, in one swift motion—

—Crkackrk!—

He crushed it in his grip.

Once the phone had been reduced to broken pieces, he tossed them aside among the debris and brushed the remnants from his hand.

With that done, he turned around and prepared to leave.

But just as he was about to take the first step forward, a few nearby voices startled him.

“Hurry up, I think I heard someone around here. It must be another person trapped under the rubble!”

“Let’s pull them out, quickly!”

The blond man smiled, amused. “They’re quite quick when it counts, huh?”

Then—his figure vanished.

Moments later, two heroes appeared from around the corner, scanning the area carefully.

Yet no matter where they looked, they found nothing—no one.

Still, they didn’t give up. They continued searching through the rubble for any sign of life. And while they focused intently on their task—

Not too far away, the same man materialized from thin air, glancing back at them with a faint smile before turning away.

“Better hurry up before the police or someone else ransacks my place.”

And so, he walked away.

Now, towards a new path.

...

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-To be Continued…-

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(A/N: And so, we reach the conclusion for this arc.

While AFO is dead, there are still a few loose ends for Suzaku to fix. So we aren't quite near that end just yet. Don't worry.

I'd say we are maybe halfway there.

I might change my mind, though, depending on what fits the way I write this from now on.

After all, it's time to stop following the canon and let Suzaku do his own thing.

Plenty of targets to kill, and plenty of messes to fix.

Anyway, see you in the next chapter—once I've planned somewhat how the next arcs should go.)