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|Mustard's POV:|
…
So this is what U.A.'s students are capable of, huh? Not even a minute in, and some of them already have countermeasures against my gas.
I suppose it's as expected from such a prestigious institution.
I can feel it, someone's moving swiftly through my gas, not moving like someone in a desperate situation at all, and they're helping whoever they find along the way, which in turn also makes the helped move less desperately.
A Quirk that blocks the gas, maybe?
No, there wasn't anything like that.
A healing Quirk, then? No… I don't recall one like that on the briefing they gave us either.
Ah. Right. There was that girl—the filthy rich one.
She could create any material or object from her own body. So she's probably creating something like gas masks and distributing them to whoever is still conscious.
Haha… what lucky things they are, to have such a convenient Quirk in their arsenal.
No, no, that's just how it should be. They're from U.A., aren't they? If they couldn't even handle something like this, then what good is the reputation they love to brag about?
Still… while their response time is good and all, I can't say the same about their problem-solving skills.
I can see them through my gas, running around in panic, looking for others, helping the unconscious, or distributing more gas masks… Right now, they are looking more like a colony of ants running around in panicked chaos, rather than the supposed prodigal heroes they are.
Even after so long has passed, they still haven't tried to find a way to stop this. Even after so long, they haven't tried to find the source of all this gas.
Me.
And the fact that at the center of all of it, like the center of a storm, I stand.
Where I go, the gas will follow.
If they had realized it, then they'd have understood that no matter where they ran, as long as I followed them, the gas would come too.
So much running around, panicked, so much trying to escape… it was all useless.
Eventually, their gas masks would reach their limit, and they too would fall unconscious to my Quirk.
Hahahaha! So much for the supposed best institution of the whole country! If they can't even find out where I am, then what good is the prestige they boast about so much?!
I smirked under my mask, relishing the feeling of them trying to run away, only to realize that I was moving after them, hence my gas too.
"I wonder if that Suzuki kid will be among the ones that are already unconscious?" I muttered. It was only a matter of time before all these U.A. kids fell unconscious, hence, I couldn't help but wonder if our main objective would be amidst the batch of students currently inside my domain.
The thought made me smile. If he were, then I'd be getting paid a lot more after this.
I was already imagining getting some nice extras from Giran after this mission was over, wondering what other equipment I would buy—until I felt it.
Movement.
Something was cutting through the gas directly toward me. No, not something—someone.
My gas is like an extension of my body, hence how I was able to perceive everyone so clearly. However, if it were just that, I wouldn't have been surprised so much.
There was bound to be someone smarter than the rest.
The fact that truly shook me was that, whoever it was, they weren't rushing at me, despite the fact that they were currently surrounded by a storm of sleep-inducing gas, which only became denser as they approached me.
They were calm, steady, like this was just another evening stroll.
'Who the hell…?' My eyes squinted behind my mask.
No one should be immune to my gas, and even if they were wearing a mask, they should be at least hurrying on their way to find me. Gas masks have a limit on how much they can filter, so the faster they got to me, the less they would have to worry about their masks reaching their limit.
So who was this psycho?
My nerves prickled. I slipped a hand into my uniform and wrapped it around the grip of my gun. Feeling a bit unnerved by the calm in their walk.
"It doesn't matter," I muttered, pulling the gun out.
Whatever their Quirk, whatever tricks they had… in the end, they're still human. A bullet would even the field, no matter who my opponent was.
-Crack-
Suddenly, a branch snapped under a footstep.
Someone was here. That person was here.
Of course, I'd already felt them there. My gas was thickest around me—hence, my senses were also at their maximum. Nobody could sneak up on me on my gas-filled domain.
I turned.
And my eyes widened briefly.
"Mr. First Place." My lips curled into a sneer, unable to contain my joy. "Of course the top student of this so-called elite school would be the first to find me."
Suzaku Suzuki stood a few meters away, hands in his pockets, like this was nothing.
Amazing, our target simply presented himself to me on a silver platter. I'm crazy lucky!
Still, as I glanced at him, I felt my eyebrow twitch.
'This psycho…'
It wasn't a wonder why, despite being quite the loose mouth on the transmission of the sports festival I watched, he was unnaturally silent right now.
I had thought whoever it was that was coming to me had a gas mask. But I was wrong.
He wasn't breathing. The lunatic was holding his breath.
That meant he'd been walking calmly through my gas all along, simply holding his breath
My finger twitched against the trigger.
'While I'd love to put some sense into him, he's on the list of those we want to take away, even though Shigaraki seemed hesitant about it.'
I eyed his arms and legs, my grip on the gun tightening slightly.
'I guess I can put a bullet or two there. That way, it won't be a problem to take him away.'
Without hesitation, and seeing no point in trying to chat with someone holding his breath, nor in monologuing to him, I aimed at his legs.
And then—
"Huh?"
He disappeared.
He vanished completely.
—Wait, no, he–he was still there. I could feel him through the gas, but I couldn't see him.
Invisibility? That wasn't possible. He didn't have a Quirk like that.
Thanks to the impossibility I presencied, my aim shook, I didn't know where to shoot since I couldn't see him, only sense him, and I felt hesitant to risk killing our target.
… I should have shot, regardless of that.
-Bam!-
The next second, my head was smashed against the ground, my gasmask shattering at the impact, absorbing most of the blow and being the only reason I didn't outright blackout.
'Shit—get away!'
Panicked, I pointed my gun at him hastily, uncaring of whether he was a target or whatnot anymore.
—BANG!—
And I shot.
-Thud!-
-Crack!-
"Aaargh!"
White-hot pain exploded through my wrist as his boot pinned it down right the instant I had shot, causing the bullet to miss. Thanks to the force of the blow, something in my wrist cracked, and the gun escaped my grasp.
I tried to fight back, using my other arm to punch him or whatever worked—but I suddenly felt myself getting drowsier.
'No, no, no—ack, the gas!'
My eyes widened as realization hit. The smoke was still pouring out of me. Without a mask, I was just as vulnerable as anyone else.
Reflexively, I cut it off.
The gas dispersed quickly, as if unable to sustain itself without my influence, and as soon as it did—
"Hiss…" Suzaku Suzuki's voice slithered through the thinning air, his red eyes glaring down at me. "Good thing you stopped. I was running out of breath."
He studied me, unblinking. Using the hand currently pinning my head down to move it around, as if inspecting me.
"You're pretty young, huh? What are you—thirteen? Fourteen?"
I didn't answer. There was no way I was giving out my information, especially if I somehow managed to get out of this.
He rolled his eyes, sneering. "Well, you don't need to answer. In fact, the less I know, the better."
I frowned. What did he mean by that?
Then, I saw it.
Something sharp slid free from his wrist—a glistening blade, bone somehow made into a weapon.
My blood froze.
Where… how…? No, this wasn't in any of the intel they gave us! This wasn't supposed to be his Quirk!
"Stop, what are you gonna do with that?!"
The words tumbled out, my voice cracking with panic. He was supposed to hit me, restrain me—not whatever he was gonna use that thing for. That's not what a hero should—
"Ah, this?" He tilted the blade, smirking. "What's wrong? You thought you'd get caught and just waltz off to a nice correctional facility? Maybe a slap on the wrist?" He chuckled low, mocking. "Don't make me laugh."
His grip on my head increased, making me squeal in pain.
He continued, grabbing my gun and looking it over from closer, before tossing it away. "You even brought a gun here. You were probably expecting to receive special treatment. Because you're a minor, even if you killed one of us, you wouldn't receive that much of a backlash in case you were arrested."
My eyes widened. What was this guy saying? He was from the hero course, right?!
Why was he closing in with that knife?!
He crouched lower, eyes narrowing. "Honestly, if it were at any other moment or place, I might've played along—beat you up, leave you to the police, and let some judge decide your fate. But then you had to bring this shit where my friends are."
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, suddenly sounding weary.
"Everything was fine. Nothing out of the norm. I was finally getting time away from all this crap… And yet, you had to drag it here."
His eyes gleamed with a cold light, one that sent a shiver down my spine.
"Didn't the last time I killed fifty of you teach you a lesson? Or does that gray-haired mummy need another fucking pile of corpses to get it through his skull?"
My blood ran cold.
Fifty? He killed fifty people?
Did Shigaraki know? Why didn't he say anything?!
My spiraling thoughts were cut short by the sound of his sigh, long and weary. Like a bucket of ice-cold water falling on me.
"…Doesn't matter. You aren't gonna be the one learning anything." A chilling smile took over his face. "This time, I'm uprooting every last one of you pests. And I'll start with you."
The blade touched my neck, not yet puncturing, but pressuring enough to feel my life in his hands.
No, this can't be how I go.
This was supposed to be a simple mission. How the hell had it ended like this?!
As I felt my heart racing, cold sweat drenching me entirely, I suddenly felt him give me a gentle pat with the hand pressing down on my head, followed by his whispering in my ear.
"Don't worry. From what I know, this is pretty much instant, so you won't suffer. Though I can't say the same about what comes after. Maybe there'll be a hell waiting for you, or maybe pure void. Either way, that's for you to deal with."
I screamed my lungs out.
"Stop, please. I don't want to die! I swear I will try to change!!!"
He tilted his head faintly.
"Don't care."
What is he—
…
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| Suzaku's POV: |
…
"One down." I muttered, moving my knife away after prickling the villain kid with it.
I inspected it with a curious expression, turning it over to watch it from every angle. I squinted my eyes as a single drop of blood flowed down the blade.
"I already knew, but it's still surprising that an injury this tiny still ends up in instant death."
I had barely pressed enough so that it drew a single drop of blood, yet the kid still died without delay.
I still hadn't tried with stronger people like All Might. Who knew? They might be able to not die outright. But those kinds of people are pretty limited, so I haven't had the chance to try.
Who even knows if I'll ever have the chance to do so?
With a snort, my eyes returned to the road ahead.
My job wasn't even halfway done, after all.
I really doubted this kid was the only one who had come to cause trouble, especially considering what that guy Shigaraki said days ago.
There were probably other pests to get rid of.
And on that note—
An egg-like cocoon suddenly appeared over me, hiding me from sight completely.
-Psss…-
Seconds later, the cocoon cracked open, releasing pressured steam on release, as I stepped out.
Or rather, not me… but the businessman who had taken care of the villains at the sports festival.
For him to be passing by this mountain range, at this exact spot in the middle of nowhere, what an unfortunate coincidence for these villains.
"Hah." I laughed at my theatrics.
As for why I had not changed my appearance before killing the gas-creating brat, that was because I had been actually searching for my classmates or those from the other class to take them away. I just noticed the gas getting denser, and eventually found myself before him.
Now, though, there's no need to take the risk of getting associated with the killing spree about to unfold here, is there?
With a faint smirk, and having changed my appearance, I began moving. Being nowhere near done yet with spilling blood tonight.
I ran swiftly through the forest, looking around with squinted eyes, not wanting to miss a single detail.
The instant I saw one of them, I'd be twisting their neck in one go.
-Boom!-
That's when the sound of violent explosions coming from near the top of one of the many mountains around reached me.
The instant they did, I already knew what I had to do.
"Bingo."
I changed my legs, morphing them for more power, using a mixture of Mirko's and my colossus mode. Then, I kicked the ground, moving through the forest like a blur.
The trees around me warped into streaks of green and black as I maneuvered through them, the cold air hitting my face violently as I traversed the path that was supposed to have been for doing the test of courage.
Seconds later, I arrived at the mountain. Once there, I didn't waste a single second and began climbing, using my legs for powerful momentum and my hands to grab onto rocks. With the enhancement on my body, it didn't even take more than ten seconds for me to top.
I landed gracefully on it as I performed the last pull on the rocky wall, my eyes lifting to lock onto the new neck I'd have to crack.
However, as my eyes settled forward, my pupils shrunk.
'That's…!'
Midoriya was lying there, in a pool of his own blood at the bottom of a crater. His arm was wrecked beyond measure, probably from his own Quirk, but what was worse was his whole body.
It was in equally, if not even worse, condition than that arm.
The only difference being… it was evident the damage to his body hadn't been self-inflicted.
My eyes darted to the side, and it didn't take a beat to find the true culprit.
A few meters away stood a mass of what seemed like pure living muscle... no—it was a man, covered neck to toe in bulging, wriggling muscle tissue, giving him both a titanic frame and a grotesque appearance.
He was walking toward a kid sitting frozen on the ground, paralyzed as the man approached with a smile plastered across his face.
I quickly realized who that kid was.
Kota. Midoriya's words from a few hours ago returned to my mind.
Was this the kid he was talking about?
I glared once more at Midoriya's broken figure, squinting my eyes.
'If so, he must've dashed here the instant the villains' attack began to protect him.'
My teeth gnashed together, and I turned back to the man, who was still engrossed in reaching the kid—his hand outstretched, his grin widening wickedly.
"Hey."
I called out to him.
The instant he heard me, he froze.
"Huh?"
He blinked, scanning me from head to toe, his brows furrowing in confusion.
"Who the hell are you?"
—BANG!—
I didn't bother dignifying that with a response. I pulled out my bone pistol and shot him.
"...!"
The guy reacted surprisingly quickly for having so much mass, raising his overly bulging arm to block the bullet.
Had this been a regular pistol, maybe he'd have managed to stop it.
But it wasn't.
-Thud!-
Mere moments later, he dropped dead.
I didn't know what he had to say.
I didn't care who he was.
And most importantly, I didn't feel like giving him any more thought than this.
So with him gone, I turned back to Midoriya.
Approaching quickly, I leaned down beside him and checked his vitals.
-Sigh…-
Fortunately, he was alive. Gravely injured, sure, but alive. People in this world were unnaturally tough, so while he needed serious medical attention, I was sure he wouldn't be dying right away.
Still, it was better if I brought him to get him taken care of as soon as possible.
"Hup—!"
Without hesitation, I picked him up and slung him over my shoulder, planning on dropping him on the teachers. Surely they would have more medical knowledge than I and be able to treat him.
However, as I was beginning to walk away, I remembered I wasn't alone.
After a beat, I turned to the kid, whose vacant gaze shifted between me and the fallen villain, and offered him some quick advice.
"Kid, move your ass and get somewhere safe."
I didn't have time to console him, nor to take care of him. He barely had some scratches, so he could walk on his own.
The protagonist on my shoulder, though, was way worse. His condition was too urgent to bother following the Heroics 101 on how to treat saved victims right now.
"Huh?"
Upon hearing my words, he snapped out of his daze and stared at me with wide, confused eyes.
Then, his eyes darted worriedly over the broccoli-head over my shoulder.
"What—what are you going to do with him?"
I squinted, not quite pleased with the setback.
"I'll be bringing him to get treatment."
He took a step forward, desperation on his face.
"There are villains at the main building! Mandalay and Tiger are already fighting two of them! You can't bring him there!"
My mouth twitched.
'So that's where they are.' My eyes narrowed dangerously.
Without sparing the kid another glance, I turned my back and started walking away.
My destination: the main building.
"Hey, where are you going?! Didn't you hear me! The villains are in that direction!"
The kid called after me, yelling for me to stop.
But I didn't stop.
And I wasn't going to.
Since now, I knew exactly where the rest of them were.
It was time to stop with the hide and seek.
…
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-To be Continued…-
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(A/N: How was the violence-filled chapter? Don't worry, there's more to come.
As for Midoriya's state, the lack of challenges that has been caused by Suzaku's interference, although apparently minimal in consequences until now, finally caught up to the greenhead. This time, he wasn't able to push through his limits like in the anime and lost to Muscular.
I thought about it mostly from the experience in battle that he lacks, and the inferiority complex that might be arising, thanks to Suzaku's existence. In the show, he sometimes managed to prove himself to be somewhat worthy of One for All. Now, though, Suzaku's always ahead. Hence, he hasn't developed as much confidence in himself as his canon self, and hence wasn't able to push past his limits to launch his 1,000,000% smash.
Maybe I'll try to delve more into that in the next chapters. Actually, maybe I should have explained it here.
Well, I already wrote that, so it's staying.
As for why Muscular died so easily, just 'cause. I didn't think there was any reason for Suzaku to bother letting him live more than that. He doesn't know the guy, he had attacked a friend/acquaintance, and was about to attack a kid.
So he died without even getting to introduce himself or make an impact in Suzaku's mind.
Albeit, his influence might still live on in future chapters. Suzaku still has room for development, after all.
Now, a meme, since I'm already out of amogus images.
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