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...
'What to do, what to do?' Suzaku's fingers twitched, the bones in his wrist threatening to come out now that he was finally face-to-face with the villain boss.
The urge to kill had never been higher. Not even in his ultimate form.
That one's urges were based on irrationality, on some kind of fucked up alien's instincts.
This, however, was desire backed up by his entire being. Logic and instinct being in perfect agreement on what to do.
On who to kill.
What had been a missed chance minutes ago had now become yet another chance at killing the main source of his problems since being reborn into this world.
But as the urge to kill the man became higher, Suzaku's brain instinctively jumped to control himself, the bones in his wrist calming down for a moment.
He had to think this through.
He wasn't especially near the guy at the moment, so if he dashed at him right now or shot him, there was a chance the guy would slip away. He was, after all, the villain boss—he had to be at least a few leagues above his minions.
But if Suzaku kept it cool and approached casually, step by step, then there was a chance he'd be in range to activate Kill. Then, once it triggered, not even he would be able to escape, no matter how strong or how many cards he had tucked under his sleeves.
Allegedly.
Maybe he'd be the first to resist Kill… But Suzaku doubted it.
On the other hand…
'I'm probably not that far from before.' His eyes narrowed as he scanned the surroundings. It was a different location, sure, but the skyline was familiar, and the architecture of the surrounding buildings was similar to before. That, at least, confirmed he hadn't been warped across the country and was somewhere in the same city.
The other dead giveaway…
'Heroes…'
A whole bunch of them, sprawled unconscious across the area. Injured, beaten, but alive… Hopefully. One of them, though, had a hole in his stomach, making his status much more dubious.
The thing was, there were simply too many to be a random patrol that had been beaten to the ground for wandering where they shouldn't.
Heroes tended to only move solo or in pairs at most in normal circumstances. When they moved in bigger groups, it meant they were involved in more complex and dangerous operations… Which seemed to be the case for these fallen heroes.
Judging from their numbers, the fact that they seemed to be in the same city, and taking the earlier raid to the bar into consideration, they were more likely a secondary unit from the same operation.
But why were they here?
His gaze swept to the collapsed building nearby, now reduced to ruins. Amidst it, some high-tech equipment could be seen—albeit now destroyed or smashed by the tons of debris.
Suzaku pieced it together instantly. This was the villains' other base. The heroes had known, raided it, and clearly… gotten flattened.
'Poked the hive and a goddamn dinosaur answered.' Suzaku snorted and looked back at All For One, calculating. 'Which means I'm likely not far from the bar… And seeing that the heroes know this place exists… All Might won't take long to get here.'
Suzaku clicked his tongue.
That was, ironically, not good.
If All Might's expected arrival was so soon, then he wouldn't have the time to kill every villain present and keep his abilities secret.
Sure, maybe if he moved fast and performed the mass-killing quickly enough to not be seen during the process, he could hand-wave everything onto the "vigilante" that had "saved" him before… but even he had to admit that excuse was wearing thin. People weren't stupid—police, teachers, Nezu especially.
Doing that and trying to use that excuse… practically meant revealing the truth.
His wrist twitched again, bones shifting in anticipation. Then, slowly and reluctantly, he pushed the feeling down.
On the other hand, there was the choice not to act.
If so, the fight would fall entirely on All Might and the heroes. His secret would remain safe, and the status quo intact.
'But at what cost?' Suzaku's brows furrowed.
What guaranteed things would go smoothly?
What guaranteed this wouldn't turn into a disaster?
What guaranteed the heroes wouldn't just screw up?
What even guaranteed that All Might was still strong enough?
From the little he knew, the number one hero was weakening, and the villain in front of Suzaku was the big bad boss of a villain organization he had little knowledge of.
For all Suzaku knew, the villain could be either just another scrub and stepping stone in the path of Midoriya to become the ultimate hero—maybe even the final antagonist of an arc in the middle of the story—or the literal final boss.
'But… I have the feeling it's probably the latter.' Suzaku sweatdropped as he took in All For One's appearance.
The villain wore a suit and a metal industrial mask with all sorts of tubes and a design almost resembling a skull.
All in all, the type of fit you'd see in a mastermind-type villain.
So, if All For One turned out to be a monster above All Might's current state… Then who said this wouldn't just become the worst tragedy of the century?
And it would all be because Suzaku decided not to act.
'... Because my secret had been more important.' The frown on Suzaku's face deepened.
Of course, maybe he was overthinking it. Maybe this was just another scrub villain with just a tad more importance than normal, and who, in the long run, would have been folded by Midoriya.
Unfortunately, canon had been tossed out the window a long, long time ago. Trusting fate or plot armor was idiotic now.
However, if he killed him—right here, right now—he could prevent anything that might or might not happen from spiraling out of control.
And more importantly, if he killed him here, he'd erase the source of all his problems for once and for all.
Even if, in doing so, he revealed the truth to the world.
'Whatever.' Suzaku heaved a resigned sigh, his eyes closing. 'I'm sure I'll be able to handle the aftermath somehow,'
And with that thought, Suzaku's eyes opened again—but this time, brimming with the intent to kill every single one of the people here.
But just as he was about to move—
"...!"
—Shiiiiin
He jerked back just in time, the metallic flash of a blade skimming past his throat by mere centimeters.
He rolled a few meters as he stabilized himself from that sudden evasion.
—BZZZZ!—
"...?!"
But then a crushing heaviness slammed onto him—far stronger than what his natural strength could handle.
"Kgh—!"
He dropped to one knee, and then on all fours, barely stopping himself from collapsing completely.
Even so, he was at his limit. One push was all it would take to break him. His muscles trembled violently under the pressure, his teeth grinding.
-Step, step, step-
As he fought to stay upright, he caught the sound of approaching steps.
His eyes snapped up instantly, locking onto the owner of them.
Stain.
"This scene reminds me of our previous confrontation," the villain muttered coldly as he closed in. "Though back then, I was the one in your current position."
Suzaku smirked through the strain, red eyes flashing. "Hahaha… They sure tuned you nicely. You even got yourself a pretty good Quirk now."
Stain's katana scraped across the ground with a slow, grating hiss.
"Yes. Not even you can stop my crusade now."
Suzaku kept laughing, though his gaze stayed locked on the descending blade.
'I'm in quite a pinch, aren't I?' His eyes fell to the floor, to the trembling arms barely holding him up.
If this kept up, Stain would strike him down.
Of course, he wasn't actually in any danger. He could just snap Stain's neck like a twig the moment he triggered Kill.
But doing that would blow his cover in front of All For One and every villain present. The moment they saw him kill so effortlessly, everything about him would be exposed.
And then? There was no guarantee he could reach All For One before the bastard escaped. Who knew what kind of trick up his sleeve he had? He did, after all, teleport them all here. Maybe he could just zap himself away the instant Suzaku tried to go after him.
He could, of course, switch to his colossus form to counter the gravity increase… but with his current clothes, which showed his arms clearly, the transformation would be obvious. Maybe less damning than killing Stain outright, but still enough to raise suspicions… enough to put the villains on guard.
All in all, a pretty shitty situation.
Still, he wasn't going to let himself die here.
If it came down to it, he'd transform into his ultimate form and pray he could wipe them out before they reacted. The aftermath of the heroes finding him would be ugly, and the urges to kill he'd feel while in the middle of a city weren't sounding very pleasant.
But if he had to do it, then he'd do it.
—Shrrrrk—
The scraping metal finally halted as Stain stopped right in front of him, their red eyes locking.
"Your time has come, Suzaku Suzuki."
"Yiir tiim his cim—didn't you have anything more corny than that?"
A small pause followed. Stain's grip on his katana tightened.
"Even in this situation, you remain a clown."
"Says the guy with the ugly teenage mutant ninja turtle costume."
Swish—
The sword flashed, stopping just as it touched Suzaku's neck.
"Does not even the moment of your death hold seriousness for you? You make a joke out of everything… Even the title of hero was disgraced by your trivialization." Stain's expression grew disgusted as he looked down at Suzaku, his gaze intensifying. "You truly are the one who most represents the thing I hate… A fake hero."
This time, it was Suzaku's turn to fall silent, his grin uncurling faintly.
"Fake hero this, fake hero that. I'm growing tired of that shit… What right does a psycho like you even have to decide who gets to be a hero and who does not?"
Stain's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me a disgusting faker like you actually believed himself a hero, even with your filthy intentions? If so—"
"I don't."
"...?"
"I'm just here because here's where I've ended up. Nothing more, nothing else." Suzaku spat, his red eyes locking onto Stain's. "Unlike you, I don't believe myself to be the good guy when in reality I'm just a murderous piece of shit."
This time, Stain's teeth ground together, his gaze intensifying.
"Is that so?"
-Swish-
He raised the katana high into the air, poised like an executioner.
"Then, you can have at least that clear in your conscience, fake."
Suzaku's eyes gleamed red, wrist coiling—
"Stop."
But before either of the two could deliver the finishing blow… All For One's voice cut the tension cleanly in half.
Stain reacted instantly, dropping his katana harmlessly to the side. The murderous look vanished, replaced by that same blank expression from earlier.
Suzaku's murderous glint in his eyes dimmed, and he let out a relieved breath as the gravity around him returned to normal.
He stood up, patting dust off his clothes and hands, before turning to All For One, who remained at a distance.
"Took you long enough."
All For One chuckled. "My apologies. It looked like the two of you had something to sort out. I let you chat before things turned truly hostile. I can't have members of our league turning against each other, after all."
He then turned to Shigaraki.
"Tomura, why is your new friend Stain-kun so aggressive? I told you, Suzaku here would be joining us, didn't I?"
"Sensei, that rat was only pretending! As soon as the heroes arrived, he switched on us without hesitation!"
All For One glanced at Suzaku, who shrugged with a mocking smile.
"I assumed as much. We half-forced him to join us anyway." He sighed before locking his gaze onto Suzaku, despite wearing a mask that covered his face completely. "Besides, like I said—those eyes are of someone who'll do anything for power. Switching teams depending on who the winning side is should be expected."
"But sensei—!"
"Calm down, Tomura. Suzaku-kun is a valuable asset. We only need to show him we are the winning side. Then we won't need to worry about betrayals."
Suzaku smirked, waving Shigaraki off. "Yeah, he's right, mummy-man. You guys just look so lame that my conviction to join you wavered for a moment."
"...!" Shigaraki snapped toward Suzaku, bloodshot eyes and grinding teeth.
Suzaku ignored him, turning to All For One and beginning to walk toward him.
"Now, how about a handshake of reconci—"
Sadly, he didn't get to take more than one step.
"SMAAAASH!"
—BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!—
"Argh—!"
A shockwave of pure compressed air erupted, blasting everyone away—Suzaku included.
At the center of it all, All For One clashed with another figure, hands locked around the other's fists in a violent struggle that sent both of them sliding back and forth.
"I'll have you return everything, ALL FOR ONE!"
"Came here to kill me again, ALL MIGHT?!"
The earth cracked. Stones lifted. Air spiraled like a tornado, engulfing the entire district.
Suzaku, thrown through the air, managed to grab onto a half-crumbled wall that, miraculously, had held together through the explosion.
"That guy's timing is starting to piss me off," he muttered as he stared at the two figures clashing at the center of everything.
Unfortunately for him, even though he'd gotten a hold of the wall, several figures suddenly flew through the air and caught his attention.
The defeated heroes.
"Crap."
The shockwave had launched them as well.
With a click of his tongue, Suzaku's muscles compressed and bulged, his body going full colossus mode as his gaze sharpened.
An instant later, he flashed through the air, grabbing the unconscious heroes one by one—using the stubborn chunk of debris he'd clung to as a foothold—before leaping again to catch the others.
Seconds later, the shockwave died down, and Suzaku landed on one knee. At least five people lay sprawled across his arms.
With a sigh, he set them down carefully, his enhanced muscles shrinking back to normal.
Once they were safe, he turned again toward the clash between the hero and the villain of the century, expression tightening now that the situation had finally sunk in.
Once again, his plan had been thrown off the board.
Now he had to rethink everything from scratch.
…
Back at the epicenter of the disaster, the two contenders stepped away from each other, letting the dust disperse.
All For One chuckled as he casually massaged his wrist. "It took you a whole minute to get here. You've gotten way too weak, haven't you, All Might?"
The titanic hero smiled, eyes flicking toward the mask covering All For One's face.
"What about you? That industrial mask you're wearing seems important. Aren't you overexerting yourself a bit too much?"
A deadly silence followed. For all the taunting, the raw hostility radiating from both was too intense to hide.
All Might suddenly lifted his fist, showing his knuckles to the villain threateningly. "This time, I won't make the same mistake, All For One. Young Suzaku is coming back with me. And you—along with every member of the League under your control—ARE GOING STRAIGHT TO PRISON!"
—BAM!—
The hero behemoth kicked off the ground and charged, fist raised to deliver a punch capable of leveling mountains.
All For One, however, simply raised a hand. His arm muscles swelled unnaturally the next second.
"Unfortunately for you, there's still plenty I have to do... And some new things came up recently, so I won't make it that easy."
—BOOOOOOOOOM!!!—
A colossal burst of compressed air erupted outward, shredding the buildings in front of it like dominoes while swallowing All Might whole, and hurling him backwards several miles in a single shot.
It was like a meteorite had fallen upon the city, taking along several buildings in its trail before finally stopping.
As the dust settled, All For One glanced at his hand, his tone almost playful.
"Air Cannon plus Spring-like Limbs… Kinetic Booster times four… Strength Enhancer times three… These make a rather fun combination. I wonder what'll happen if I start adding even more enhancer types? Think you'll pop like a balloon?"
Of course, All Might was too far away to hear.
With the threat momentarily gone, All For One turned to Suzaku and the rest of the villains sprawled around. His gaze lingered on Suzaku—and on the heroes lying at his feet.
"You saved them, huh? I suppose you're more of a hero than I thought…"
With those ominous words, his fingers suddenly blackened like coal, red glowing veins snaking through them like magma. A moment later, they shot forward without mercy toward the fallen Kurogiri, piercing straight through him. The villains around them reeled back in shock, convinced they'd just witnessed a murder.
But then—
"Forced Quirk Activation."
From Kurogiri's body, a portal opened—large enough for multiple people to pass through. The villains, who had frozen in horror, eased slightly at the sight.
All For One turned to Shigaraki, his voice authoritative yet disturbingly affectionate. "Tomura, take that child and the others with you. Get away from here."
Shigaraki hesitated. "Sensei, you can't, not in that state—!"
But before he could finish—
"ALL FOR ONEEEE!!!"
A figure crashed down like a meteorite toward the villain.
All For One floated to intercept.
—BOOOOOOOOOM!!!—
A shockwave rippled out moments later—gentler this time, controlled. Likely another of All For One's Quirks cushioning the impact.
Jolted by the clash, the villains scrambled toward the portal. Mr. Compress used his Quirk on all the unconscious bodies of his companions and collected them, and soon everyone stood before the gateway—everyone except two.
"Sensei…" Shigaraki stood frozen, glaring at the distant battle with frustrated eyes.
The others turned to him desperately. "Shigaraki, hurry!"
He clicked his tongue, seething.
Then he faced Suzaku—who stood calmly amid the turbulent shockwaves, hands in pockets.
They stared at each other in silence for several seconds, as if waiting for the other to speak first.
—At least until Shigaraki snapped.
"So? What's it gonna be, brat? You coming quietly, or do I have to mutilate you first?"
Suzaku rubbed his temple, thoroughly annoyed. "Chill for a bit, I have to think."
"Hah?!"
Ignoring him, Suzaku stared at the fight between All Might and All For One.
'What's up with today? Everything keeps going to shit over and over.'
Another variable, another curveball. First, All Might and the McHeroes squad had come crashing just when he'd been about to go meet the Psycho Doctor. Then, All Might arrived again, busting his chance at sneaking to All For One's side without alerting him.
And finally, now, a damn portal had opened up, which the villains wanted him to step into. Basically, making him go who knows where and leave this battlefield for good.
Nothing could go smoothly, could it?
His eyes narrowed at the portal.
If he went with them, he'd have the chance to kill them wherever it led—away from witnesses. A perfect opportunity to eliminate a few thorns without showing his cards.
…But on the other hand, All For One would stay here—out of reach.
If he went through that portal, any chance of preventing this battle from ending in disaster would vanish. And, even if it ended well, as All Might had said earlier, the villain would end up in prison instead of dead.
Suzaku couldn't allow that.
All For One was dying either today or, in the worst of cases, today.
'Though, that's easier said than done…'
He looked back at the two titans clashing—moving faster than the eye could track, destroying everything in their wake. Getting close was impossible now.
If he wanted to kill All For One, he'd need the man to come to him.
But how?
"Huh…" His gaze shifted from the portal to Shigaraki.
A brief pause fell, the calculations in his mind going at light speed.
Then a sly smile crept onto his face.
"That should work."
"You done?" Shigaraki asked, eyes narrowing.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go." Suzaku nodded and, as if nothing had happened, walked toward the portal.
Suspicion and discontent flickered in Shigaraki's gaze, but in the end, he followed.
The villains heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing that they were finally leaving, and when Suzaku and Shigaraki got close enough, they all began crossing the portal one by one.
Once most villains had gone to the other side, only Shigaraki and Suzaku remained—the gray-haired man standing behind Suzaku, blocking his way of escape.
"Can't you go first? I don't like dudes standing behind me."
"No."
"Whatever, I don't judge."
"I swear..."
But just as the two were about to cross—
"Young Suzaku, NO!!!"
All Might's voice reached them.
They turned to see the imposing figure of All Might flying toward them, fury twisting his features.
Shigaraki tensed, ready for a fight.
However, before the behemoth of a man could reach them, All For One intercepted him, striking him mid-air and blowing him back.
But that distraction was enough.
-Thud!-
"...?!"
Suddenly, a hit to the legs toppled Shigaraki.
Then, before he could recover—or even understand what had happened—something grabbed his clothes, and in the next instant, he felt himself being hurled toward the portal like a sack of potatoes.
His figure flew inside in an instant, the dark purple fog swallowing him in a matter of seconds.
Then, as his eyes too began being swallowed...
"You—!!!"
The last thing he saw was Suzaku smirking at him.
"Don't feel too lonely. After I'm done here, I'll be paying you and your friends a visit."
"I'll Ki—!!!"
Not even getting to finish, Shigaraki's figure was then swallowed completely by the portal.
And as if sensing that, it soon began to close, space bending and closing back again.
Kurogiri, who had been lying on the floor unconscious, but from whom the portal was generating, began fusing with it, his foggy figure warping and bending—until, finally, he dissapeared along with the portal for good.
Thus, only Suzaku remained, standing confidently as he stared at the spot where Shigaraki had been, an amused smirk adorning his features.
"That's a betrayal I didn't expect. Maybe I truly judged you wrong, Suzaku-kun," All For One's voice echoed.
Suzaku sneered and turned to see the source of the voice.
The villain was descending from the sky with his head tilted, emotions unreadable thanks to that faceless mask he was wearing.
So, Suzaku simply shrugged. "Sorry, man, I just can't see myself in your little team."
"Hah...~That's okay." All For One sighed almost helplessly—before raising his arm. "That doesn't mean we can't take you by force."
"SMAAASH!"
A thunderous roar interrupted All For One mid-motion—All Might had arrived yet again.
—BOOOM!—
Knocked back by the blow, All For One skidded through the wreckage until he slammed into a building, dust exploding outward.
While he was gone, All Might landed beside Suzaku.
"Young Suzaku, are you alright?"
"Never better."
The hero nodded, blue eyes blazing with determination. "I'll hold him back. You escape—"
All For One's deep amused voice cut him off. "Hmm. I suppose you'll have to wait until I'm done with him, Suzaku-kun. I'll try not to make you wait too long."
He emerged from the rubble looking only mildly dusty.
"All For One…!" All Might growled, fists clenching in fury.
"All Might…" All For One's muscles swelled, Quirks turning on.
And then, the two exploded forward, faster than any eye could perceive. Faster than even the wind following after them.
As a result, explosions thundered, shockwaves and cyclones tearing across the battlefield, earthquakes shattering and ripping the earth apart.
And Suzaku stood at the center of it all. A confident smirk plastered across his face, while his red eyes glowed with a bloodthirsty light.
"Now, I wait."
...
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-To be Continued…-
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(A/N: This one was complicated to write. So much stuff happening at once, and so many characters' roles to consider. Also, sorry for the delay, I was rewatching MHA since I was forgetting the later arcs, and felt like I was missing important information for what comes after this.
Anyway, with that done, and having stacked up chapters on my other ff, this one's schedule shouldn't be so slow anymore... I think.
Never believe me anyway.)