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|Suzaku's POV:|
…
While receiving the old man's call to go meet him at the dojo might have ruined my plans to take the rest of the day off, that still didn't stop me from making a quick stop at my apartment before heading there.
I planned to leave all my school stuff there before leaving for the dojo, as I didn't want to bother carrying it all while moving through Tokyo.
I mean, my backpack wasn't light, you know? It was pretty heavy to carry with all the books the UA gave us.
My old and frail body needed a bit of rest.
While I was at it, I also changed into more comfortable clothes before heading out, as going around with the UA uniform was bound to get too much attention from the people around.
The outfit I ended up going with was pretty simple. A red T-shirt, some black jogging pants, and a pair of black tennis with white soles.
It was nothing crazy since I didn't want to overshadow the other men when I got to the streets.
After all, being a bit humble from time to time is never a bad thing.
Anyway, once that was done, I picked up my keys and phone, and left the apartment for good, making my way to the subway before then taking the line that led me to where that Gun-something hero's agency was located.
The trip lasted no more than half an hour. However, it was still a painful half an hour that I spent squeezed in between the many people boarding the subway at that hour.
It was getting late, and people were getting off work at this hour. So yeah, it was to be expected.
'Damn old man, couldn't he call me at a better hour?'
Obviating the several times during my journey that I had the urge to just use a Vent and teleport directly to the building instead of enduring the public transport for any longer, eventually, I got to the station I needed and left the subway, making the rest of the traject on foot as it was pretty close anyway, arriving just a few minutes later.
"Let's see what he wants now"
As I stood in front of the building, I scratched the back of my head, meditating deep in my mind about what possible reason the old man would have to call me so out of the blue.
After all, we weren't training that much anymore since I had long gone past the level of being taught stuff. The only thing we did anymore was sparring against each other, although even that was only once in a while, considering that I was busy going to school now.
We also went to underground fighting clubs to earn some money sometimes. But lately, we have lowered our visits there, as that old man seems to be busy with something.
Thus, I was curious as to why he had called me now.
"It better not be something stupid, or I'll be kicking his ass" I muttered to myself before I began heading inside.
-Zoom-
And, as the automatic doors opened for a moment to give me entrance, only to then close behind me after I passed by them, I was quickly greeted by the same bustling amount of heroes walking around the building frantically, looking like they hadn't had a rest in a while, just like last time.
'I'll make sure not to choose this agency when the time for the internship arrives…' I thought, looking with pity at the bunch.
It seems like working alone as I planned wasn't that bad of an idea, huh?
"Oh, Suzaku-kun!"
"...?" Suddenly, as I was praying for the poor souls of the haggard-looking heroes, someone called out to me.
When I turned to look at who it was, I saw the Gun-something hero approaching as he waved at me.
"Hey," I greeted him with a nod.
"It's good to see you are doing well kid! What do I owe your visit to our humble agency to, Tatsuo-san stuff, or villain stuff?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips as he arrived in front of me.
"Old man stuff" I answered plainly.
"Hahaha… It seems like that old guy sure puts you to work, but well, the less villain stuff there's the better I guess"
I nodded without much thought, wondering if I was free to go already, as I was impatient to end whatever I was supposed to be doing here and go back home
Unfortunately, today didn't seem to be my lucky day.
"By the way, I heard that UA is having the sports festival soon, is that right?" The guy asked, shooting me what I assumed was an interested gaze from behind his weird-looking mask.
I nodded again. "In a week, yeah"
When he heard me, Gun-something snapped his fingers before then pointing at me stylishly. "Well, I was thinking that, if you perform well, I might consider offering you a spot for an internship in my agency when the time comes. What do you think, kid?"
I forced my mouth to form a smile.
"Nope"
"EEEEEH?! WHY?!"
Upon hearing my refusal, Gun-something yelled in a shocked tone and suddenly began grabbing my shoulders, shaking me back and forth. "This is a great opportunity! Don't you know how hard it is to receive offers for internships even if you perform fairly well in the sports festival? Why would you refuse such a—!"
"Tatsuo stuff," I said while shrugging, causing the hero to take a step back as if that answer had dissuaded him from trying anything further.
"Ugh—That damn geezer… Why is he so petty?"
As I fixed my clothes from the good wrinkle the hero had given them, he started muttering something under his breath with a dark look.
'There's no way I'm joining this place…'
Needless to say, the old man hadn't truly said anything about joining this guy's agency aside from calling this guy a sissy. I don't even think he would care about it if I did, aside from maybe clicking his tongue and saying that this guy's sissyness would stick to me.
But well, I didn't want to be exploited, so I used him as an excuse. I don't think he will mind, though.
-Grumble…-
As I was thinking that this time the conversation had ended for good, Gunsomething looked like he was about to say something else. However, before he had the chance to even open his mouth, I decided to end the conversation there.
"Ahem! Well, that old man must be becoming older by the minute, so I should hurry up"
When he heard me, he snapped out of his thoughts and nodded, before giving me a thumbs up. "Oh, yeah. Good luck with the sports festival, kid!"
"Hm," I nodded in thankfulness before I turned around and went to the elevator.
As I approached the device, I gave one last glance at the hectic place that was a hero agency.
"Agencies sure look like they are a pain in the ass… Will I really have to do my internship at a place like this eventually…?"
I shook my head to shrug off my worries, as I clicked the up button on the elevator and waited for it to open.
For a moment, I wondered if taking an internship under a solo-working hero would be possible. That would help me learn how to work solo, and it probably wouldn't be as annoying as working at a place like this.
However, eventually, I shrugged the matter off, realizing that I would just discover it tomorrow by asking my teacher.
Also, the elevator arrived, so I had no more time to entertain my curious and prodigious mind.
-Ding!-
After getting on and going up a few floors, the doors opened and I arrived at the dojo.
And sure enough, there he was, sitting on a chair with sunglasses, and enjoying a damn beer while at it.
'He sure looks like he is enjoying himself for someone who interrupts other people's days…'
"Took you long enough," The old man said as he pushed his sunglasses down and gave me an annoyed look.
I simply shrugged it off as I walked closer. "Better late than never"
"Better early than late…" The old man refuted with a prickly tone, before he then shot an odd look at my face. "What happened to your glasses this time?"
I frowned for a moment as I reached my hand to touch my face before I realized what he meant.
"Oh, this? I broke them on the face of a teacher a few hours ago"
"HAHA! Good" The old man smacked his leg as he laughed out loud.
I ignored him, and instead, went straight to the point.
"So, why am I here?"
However, he didn't outright answer my question, instead, he reached into his pocket and tossed me something. "First, take this"
"Hmm?"
After I caught it, I realized they were bandages.
I knew their purpose, so I began wrapping them around my hands without questioning why.
And while doing that, I raised an eyebrow at the old guy. "Are we sparring? Why so out of the blue?"
"Because I said so, now hurry up"
I pursed my lips in dissatisfaction at his curt answer but complied nevertheless. Finishing getting my hands wrapped in the bandages after a minute or so.
After getting done with it, I walked to the opposite side of the mat and looked at the old man, who was now jumping on his spot as if warming up.
"I'm done here," I told him, causing him to nod his head with a serious expression.
"Good, I'll be warning you though, this time I'll be going all out"
I squinted my eyes at that.
Those words would have sounded cocky or delusional if they had come from anyone else, but from the old man, I knew that it meant he was gonna use everything at his disposal to win.
Including his Quirk.
'Damn, and I just busted mine in my fight against Aizawa' I thought while clicking my tongue.
Still, I didn't despair. While it would have been good to use it as a surprise attack like I did with Aizawa, it was very unlikely that it would hit the old man.
He was as careful as he was senile.
Anyway, as the old man began taking his fighting stance, I took a deep breath and readied myself to fight seriously from the very beginning.
After all, if he said he was going all out, it meant he also wanted me to do the same.
And I wouldn't refuse such a request.
So, without hesitating, I began cracking my neck as I opened and closed my fists to loose them up.
And, the next second, I took my fighting stance.
"Ready when you are…" I said, gesturing for him to come at me with my hand.
The old man smirked at that. "Good, then—"
-Bang!-
"—Don't blink!"
And without waiting any longer, he shot straight towards me.
The instant I saw him move, I quickly dodged to the side even though he had yet to reach the distance to hit me.
-Swoosh!-
And that proved to be wise, as the next instant he disappeared from where he was, and reappeared right in front of me, throwing a punch that I managed to dodge in time thanks to my early judgment.
Though, it seemed like he had predicted that as well, as the moment he saw me move, he shifted faintly the direction he was facing, and immediately teleported to my side, swinging his elbow straight towards the side of my head after that.
"...!"
-Swish-
Fortunately, in a swift move, I leaned backward and managed to avoid his elbow by mere centimeters.
Then, using my lower position, I quickly threw an uppercut straight toward his ugly face.
"Hmph!"
Sadly, the old man simply tilted his head a bit and evaded the hit. Making my fist simply strike the empty air.
Thanks to that, I got into what I would call a precarious position.
And as a result, I didn't have the time nor was I in a position to escape from his next attack.
-Bam!-
The next instant, he interlocked his arms with mine, and in a forceful motion, sent me straight to the ground.
The collision with the floor didn't do much to me, as there was a mat below us and my body was more resistant than that of a normal person to hits. However, it did allow for the old man to immediately follow up with a quick knee strike straight towards my face.
'Shoot!'
Hurriedly, I escaped from his lock and pushed myself away from him. Dodging the attack, but not stopping him from trying to have my face stomped one way or another, causing him to send stomp after stomp, trying to catch my face with his feet.
Fortunately, I had more strength than him, so during one of his kicks, I sent one of my own from the floor, and just like with the hobo teacher, overpowered it and knocked him back. Making him immediately opt for retreat upon having his leg get knocked away, and using that small gap between us to spin on the ground, and get back onto my feet with a single push after that.
As I watched him retreat into a safe distance, however, I didn't go after him, since I knew he was not an opponent I could pursue.
His Quirk "Blink" made it necessary for me to stay alert at all moments, as rushing at him would leave gaps in my defense that he could exploit by teleporting around to disorient me.
I needed to stay in place and wait for him to teleport if I wanted to avoid getting hit stupidly.
And that proved to be the correct answer, as immediately after he got into a safe distance, he teleported again and appeared right in front of me once again. His fist shooting straight in my direction.
Or that's what it would have looked like for an amateur.
However, the truth to that attack was…
-Bang!-
-Crack!-
…That it was an elbow strike!
Knowing so, I immediately sent my elbow to clash with his, making a crude sound emerge when both met.
"Hngh!"
The old man winced at the impact between our attacks, as mine obviously contained a lot more power. However, that didn't stop him in the slightest from immediately kicking me in the chest and using the impact to propel himself backward, doing a backflip after using my body as a foothold.
However, he never touched the ground, as the moment his body reached its peak in the air, he teleported to the ceiling above him, and kicked it, shooting straight back at me with his knees pointing directly at me.
Unfortunately, the old man couldn't fool my prodigious mind.
That double knee strike was gonna turn into a double kick, that I was sure of.
So, smiling faintly, I took my stance and prepared to dodge the attack at the last second.
'Here it come—'
-Bam!-
"Oof!"
Unfortunately, it seemed like the knee strike was indeed a knee strike.
The attack hit me cleanly on the chest, making me wince a little as I took several steps back due to the force behind the impact,
Ultimately, though, I managed to regain my balance and immediately took my stance again to prepare for any further attack from the geezer.
However, when my eyes landed on his figure, I noticed that he wasn't coming at me anymore. He just stayed where he was, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"You've gotten faintly worse at reacting," He said with a sneer.
"And you've gotten uglier… Wait, my fault, your face was already that ugly" I refuted while shooting him a smirk.
The old man scowled. "You sure enjoy acting like a brat sometimes"
"Jealous of the young?"
"Like hell I would be jealous of you"
After that small bickering with each other, we both fell silent and resumed our fight.
He and I both began circling each other, like two predators preparing to pounce upon each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.
However, if there was one thing this master of mine lacked, was patience.
Eventually, he got impatient after none of us made a move, and was the first to strike.
-Swoosh!-
The next instant he teleported again and threw a quick punch towards me, but I was already prepared for it.
Or so I thought. However, it became apparent that this old guy was smarter than he looked, as the moment both of our punches made contact, his lost all strength and, like a snake, began swirling around my arm until it entangled it completely.
Then, like an anaconda, it constricted on it, attempting to break it.
'This guy…'
Unfortunately for him, if there was something I was confident in, was my strength.
The moment he tried bending my arm in the opposite direction, my muscles flexed with all their strength and overpowered his attempt at bending it to his will.
-Thud!-
-Bam-
-Plaf!-
-Smack!-
And, as both of us got entangled with each other, several punches and kicks began raining on the body of the other, some missing, others being blocked, and some actually hitting.
Unfortunately for the old man, at this moment my physical superiority shone once more, as he became the first one to relent in the exchange of hits against each other, kicking the ground and jumping away from me.
"Damn monstrous brat…" He muttered with a pained expression as he rubbed the sore spots where he had been hit.
"What's up, old man, the years catching up to you already?" I smiled as I put both of my hands behind my head in leisure.
That might have been a mistake, though.
"You talk too much"
-Swoosh!-
-Thud!-
The moment I did that, he teleported once again in front of me and made a low sweeping kick. Almost throwing me to the ground, if not for the quick reflexes that allowed me to roll backward and get back on my feet in a matter of seconds.
"Damn old man…" I clicked my tongue as I stared at him with squinted eyes.
He let out a scoff at seeing my expression.
"I believe I told you to not get overconfident during fights"
"Well, what can I do if I'm the best there is? I can't help but get a bit too confident from time to time"
"Seriously brat, where did you learn to act like that?"The old man shook his head with a disappointed expression. "I always taught you to be as humble as possible… Like me, for example"
'Seriously…' I felt my eyebrow twitch due to the sheer astonishment I was feeling after hearing his words.
Still, after a while, I shook my head and focused on the fight again. Who knew if this old guy was trying to mess with my head by saying those absurd statements earlier, after all?
"Hmm?"
However, to my surprise, no matter how much I waited, he no longer came to attack. He just stood there, with both hands behind his back.
So, confused, I raised an eyebrow and relaxed faintly my posture. "What's up, aren't you coming?"
At my question, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I believe I told you I was going all out, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah"
"Then, why are you not doing the same?"
I frowned in confusion at his words. "But I am, though?"
His eyes opened and shot me a serious look.
"No, you're not… Show me all you have"
I looked at him weirdly.
'What else is there to show? My quirk is unusable for now, and I am already beating him up with my enhanced strength…'
However, his next words surprised me.
"... Including that hypothetical 100% lethal style of yours…"
"..."
I stopped moving when I heard that.
"What are you talking about, old man? It's a hypothetical style because it won't work—"
"Cut the crap" He interrupted me.
I stared at him bewildered.
Then, he shot me an amused look, pointing at me with his finger as he took a more relaxed stance. "You killed that group of kidnappers, right?"
"..."
Immediately upon hearing that, I felt my chest tighten as the realization that I might have been discovered dawned on me.
My powers, and therefore, the connection I had to the hundreds of murders I committed in that laboratory…
"No, I—"
Out of sheer nervousness, I immediately tried to feign ignorance. However, his next words stopped me from doing so.
"Suzaku, this will be our last class together… all I want it you to show me what you're truly capable of before we end this"
"... What?" I frowned at that, this was the first time he had called me Suzaku.
And what did he mean by that this would be our last class?
Unfortunately, it seemed like he wouldn't be answering any of that for now.
The old man smirked at my perplexed expression. "If you want to know what I meant, you'll first have to finish this spar"
"..."
When I heard that, I fell silent, with my mind falling into disarray.
'What to do…?'
He was asking me to reveal the secret that I didn't want anyone to know, and that I would prefer to take with me to the grave instead of revealing.
And for what, a spar?
There's no way I was gonna humor him.
…
Still, the fact that he had said this was gonna be our last class echoed in my mind.
What did he mean by that?
Not only that, he also seemed to be aware somewhat of the fact that I had been the one behind the killing spree I committed a week ago.
And therefore, it wouldn't be stupid to assume that he could also make the connection between that incident, and the one from years ago in the laboratory.
Then, why hadn't he reported it to the police?
Although I don't know if I would be held accountable for it, considering I was a minor for the moment, and that I had done it in self-defense, wouldn't it make sense to tell something of this magnitude as soon as possible to the authorities…?
…
No, not this guy.
This old man was anything but righteous… Otherwise, he wouldn't have introduced me to the business of underground fighting in the first place.
If he hadn't reported me yet, it was for something.
Did he want something from me…?
Was he looking for something specific…?
And if so, what was it?
What would he gain from confirming that I had been the one behind that murder days ago?
…
The more I thought about it, the less it made sense.
And, as the absurdity of the situation reached a certain level, my mind began getting tired of considering this any longer.
As a result, a certain fleeting thought crossed my mind
'Should I—?'
'—No, shut the fuck up'
I dismissed it as soon as it came, however. Erasing it completely from my mind after that.
However, that left me with two options.
To continue acting like I didn't know what he was talking about.
Or to show him.
…
And eventually, I gave up choosing.
Thinking this much made my head hurt.
I was gonna get my answers once this spar was over anyway, so, there was nothing else to consider.
"... Alright"
The cat was already out of the bag, so who cares anymore?
'If he wants to see me going all out, then I'm going all out' I thought, before I cracked my knuckles, and began walking across the dojo, circling around the old man, who stood at the center with a calm expression, simply watching over me.
"What are you doing?" He asked, confused by my sudden actions.
I didn't say anything and just continued walking around him
And, once I finished making a full circle, I smiled faintly.
"You said you wanted me to go all out, right?"
"...?"
"Then let's see how your old ass can handle this"
-Bang!-
Once I let out those words, I kicked the mat below me and shot straight towards him with my fist raised in the air, aiming a punch directly at his solar plexus.
In response, he calmly rose his guard up, expecting one of the usual feints, or an actual punch.
However, his expression froze when, midway through my sprint towards him, I sunk into the ground in one swoop as if I had submerged into some kind of liquid.
—Only to then emerge from right behind him.
"...?!"
Somehow, he managed to catch onto my emergence behind him. Still, due to the abruptness of my movement, he failed to hold a proper block and received a painful kick right on his ribs.
"Ugh—!"
He didn't go down with just that though. The moment he recovered his balance, he teleported next to me and threw a punch with all his strength. Unfortunately for him, I dodged it with faint ease, and the moment his attack missed, I used my footwork to swiftly move behind him.
He quickly caught on to my plan, and turned around hurriedly… Only to find nothing.
"What…?"
Or what looked like nothing.
-Bam!-
"Uck—!"
The next moment, a punch hit him straight in the gut, causing him to take steps back in pain as he held his stomach tightly.
After delivering my blow, my invisibility vanished, causing him to widen his eyes as he caught sight of me.
"You…"
I didn't let him say anything, as I sunk into the ground once again and resurfaced again just a meter or so away from him.
This time, he reacted more swiftly to my attack and immediately raised his guard.
However, as I was about to hit him, I sunk into the ground once again.
Then, I appeared on the other side of the dojo, looking at him with a smirk.
Visibly confused, he tried to take the offensive, however, before he could even take a step forward, I vanished.
"Wha—?!" He looked around frantically, overwhelmed in confusion.
Then, I reappeared back to the spot where I had sunk earlier, ending up right in front of him, much to his shock.
-Smack!-
-Thud!-
He didn't have time to react, as I swiftly bent down and sent a kick to his legs, throwing him off balance and causing him to fall dryly to the floor.
However, being the master that he was, he quickly prepared to receive an attack. Expecting me to strike now that he was on the ground, and readying a counter for anything I would try—Except for the attack that came.
"...!"
His eyes widened like platters the moment a blade emerged from my wrist and stopped just a few centimeters away from his eye.
Thus, ending the fight.
"Satisfied?" I asked, retracting the blade.
In response, he just stared at me baffled. Evidently, not having been expecting that much.
What can I say, I'm not one to disappoint.
…
°
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|A little bit later…|
…
-Sip-
-Sip-
After the fight both of us sat next to each other on a folded mat, enjoying the beers the old man had brought.
"..."
"..."
None of us said anything, the only sound present on the dojo was the faint sipping sound that came from us from time to time.
Be it because after showing my true abilities the air became awkward, or simply because none of us had anything to say to the other, I didn't know.
Eventually, though, the old man was the first to interrupt that silence when, after glancing at the ceiling, more specifically, at a camera hanging in the opposite corner of the room, he noticed that the usual red light that indicated its functioning was… coincidentally not working.
"... Is that also your doing?" He asked, looking at me with squinted eyes from the side.
I avoided his gaze as I took a sip of my beer. "Maybe…"
At that, he felt silent, before face-palming as he said. "Of course you can also do that… No wonder there was never footage when you were involved in those incidents"
"Well, in the incident from a few days ago, it was those guys who cut off the electricity so that there wouldn't be footage…"
-Stare…-
"... Though, if they hadn't done that, I would have erased on my own anyways…"
"..."
We both fell silent again after that, looking in front of us with pensive expressions.
Eventually, though, I remembered what the old man had said earlier during our spar, and asked him about it.
"So, what did you mean by that this class was gonna be the last one?"
When he heard me, he let out a sigh and put down his beer, before leaning down on the mat and staring at the ceiling with a blank expression. "Exactly that, I'll be retiring from teaching from now on"
I raised an eyebrow at that statement.
"Why so suddenly?"
"Suddenly? I'm above 90, brat. If anything, I should have retired a long time ago"
"You're way more of a fossil than I expected…" I commented, gaining a glare from him.
Though, eventually, he shook his head and went back to staring at the ceiling. "Consider this your official graduation from being my student to becoming a master. You've earned it"
Hearing that, I scratched my cheek while staring at the floor. "Thanks"
Then, I turned to look back at him. "Though, if I'm not going to be your student any longer, what will you be doing from now on?"
His eyebrows narrowed after hearing my question.
"Why does that sound as if I don't have a life aside from being your damn master?"
"You do?"
His eyes squinted at that last comment. "You're seriously earning a beating, brat"
I simply shrugged.
Seeing me act so nonchalantly, he sighed, before turning to the ceiling again and smiling faintly.
"I think I'll be taking a good rest from all the martial arts stuff. It's something I've been doing all my life, after all"
Then, his smile widened as he looked at the boring wooden ceiling while caressing his beard with a foolish expression. "Maybe I will even visit the Caribbean for some good-earned vacations…You know, dancing the Ula-Ula with some pretty girls, eating the best food there can be, and spending my nights at 5-star hotels with all the alcohol I could ever want"
"You sure got it good, huh?" I snorted.
He shot me a cocky smirk. "Jealous brat?"
"Pff" I scoffed. "Why should I be jealous of you?"
… I feel so jealous right now.
He pushed himself up and pointed at me with a mocking expression. "HAHAHAHA, I can see your teeth grinding brat!"
"Shut it," I said as I clicked my tongue.
Sadly, despite my complaints, the old man continued laughing at me for a while.
Eventually, though, I had enough of having the life I've wanted since I was a kid get scrubbed all over my face and stood up to leave.
-Pat, Pat-
"Well, if that was all, I'll be going"
The old man nodded at my comment, not saying anything about it.
Then, as I went to pick up my phone which I had left on a nearby table so that it wouldn't be damaged during the spar from earlier, I turned to look at the old man one last time.
"..."
"Hmm?"
Sensing my gaze, the old man raised an eyebrow, before he scoffed and waved me off.
"If you're worried that I'll talk about those absurd powers of yours, then don't. I don't really care about what they are, or what you did to those men using them... In my times, that type of stuff, although unusual, was nothing crazy"
"..." I winced at that information, wondering just how horrible the lawless times in this world had been during the years that society was acclimating to Quirks.
The old man smirked at my reaction before he shrugged his shoulders as he took a sip from his beer. "Besides, I'm already 93 years old, I have no reason to be getting involved in whatever mess you cause"
I laughed faintly at that. "Fair enough"
Then, after putting my phone back into my pocket, I smiled faintly and gave the old man one last bow. "Although I don't like doing this… Thank you for all these years of being my master, old man"
Since I was bowing, I couldn't see what expression he made. However, I'm sure I heard a satisfied hum escape from his mouth.
After finishing my bow, I turned around and waved at him. "I'll be leaving now. Enjoy that retirement of yours"
Then, I began walking towards the elevator.
"Wait."
However, to my surprise, just as my hand was about to reach the button of the elevator, the old man's voice stopped me.
"...?"
When I turned to look back at him, I saw him staring at me with a serious expression.
"What—"
"Before you leave, listen closely…" He interrupted me, shooting me a deep look.
I simply nodded without saying anything, knowing that whatever he wanted to say, it wasn't time to be making jokes.
When he saw me listening attentively, he nodded in satisfaction and proceeded to speak.
"Listen, Suzaku… Hero or not, my martial arts school has given you the strength to back you up in whatever path you decide to take in the future…"
Then, squishing the beer can under the hold of his hand, he scoffed in disdain. "Good or bad… Justice or evil… Order or chaos, I don't give a damn about what you choose in the end. When you get to live as long as I've done, you understand that such concepts are often two sides of the same lame and disgusting coin"
He then proceeded to point at me, his eyes squinting in an almost threatening gaze.
"However, let me make this clear… Whatever it is you desire to become, whatever is it you desire to achieve… You better do it intending to reach the top. Neither third or second place are goals worthy of a disciple of my school…"
-Screech-
As he said that, he squished the beer can even further, making it into a small shiny ball overflowing with a bit of liquid. "If something blocks your path, you must surpass it. If someone gets in your way, you beat them up. If the darn world opposes you, then you oppose the damn world!"
He then threw the beer can away.
"I know that such a path is filled with obstacles that might seem impossible to surpass…" He squinted his eyes. "But that's exactly why you must not hesitate, ever... The moment you hesitate, it's the moment you lose. Those that stand at the top never hesitate, get that into that small brain of yours"
I nodded without saying much.
Seeing me nod, he shot me a satisfied smile.
"Good. Always remember that second place is for sissies… And I didn't train you to be a sissy, did I?"
I shook my head.
He snorted in response. "I thought as much… Now go, affront that life of yours with your head high, and punch those obstacles in the face, maybe that way, the next time you step into my dojo, you'll be a winner… Like me"
"Really humble, huh?"
"Yeah, you better be taking notes… Now get the hell out of here"
I nodded and clicked the elevator button.
Immediately after, the door opened, and I got inside, giving the old man a military salute as farewell, before the door closed and my view got cut off.
After that, I clicked the button to the first floor and waited for the elevator to do its magic.
It didn't take more than 10 seconds for it to eventually drop me where I wanted, and after walking for a bit and reaching the reception hall, I waved at the Gun-something hero who seemed a bit busy but still returned the wave, and left the building.
'King-sized bed, here I come'
Finally going back home after a long and tiresome day.
…
-To be Continued…-
°
(A/N: +6k words, definitely the longest chapter to date
Also, here's an illustration I made of Tatsuo a while ago that I didn't finish since it didn't completely convince me, as it resembled the character I took as an inspiration when designing him a bit too much. ->
I lost the original archive, so the quality it's not the best, but it's what it is...)
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