Receive advanced chapters while helping me to make ends meet in:
patreon.com/TheSynonym
────────────────────────
|Suzaku's POV:|
…
"One more event remains."
-Snap!-
As I let out those words, I ripped off the headband left on my neck and gave it a look.
As expected, it was the headband of the 10 million.
"I am simply too good for this world." I smiled in satisfaction the instant I saw it.
During the last minute of the competition, while the three musketeers of 1-A jumped our team, I ensured that even if they retrieved some of the headbands I had taken from them they wouldn't get their hands on the truly important one.
For that, I hid it slightly under others so they wouldn't aim for it, all while constantly paying attention to its location so that I could always dodge their attacks in ways their hands wouldn't come close it, guiding them to the less important ones instead.
Which, annoyingly, despite my efforts still almost happened during that last-second face-off with Miroriya.
However, in the end, I still managed to misguide him as he pounced on me. Making him grab onto the headband with fewer points.
It was a bit risky, but like all my master plans, it worked perfectly thanks to my unmatchable skill.
And now, after achieving first place yet again, only one event remained before I could finish all this festival thingy.
-Sigh…-
-Thud-
Glancing satisfied at this event's final results on the giant screen above us, I smirked faintly before then letting myself fall back to the grassy ground.
Turns out, being targeted by everyone constantly for 15 minutes can be a bit exhausting.
Who could have guessed?
-Wheeze…-
As I took a deep breath and let my body relax for a bit, an exhausted cry came from my side, prompting me to snort in amusement as I turned my head slightly, looking at my good friend who lay down spread on the ground, looking like he might die at any moment.
"You okay?" I asked with a sneer, something that the nerdy kid responded by looking at me venomously.
"...What…-HUFF-… do you think…?"
"I think you need more training."
"Screw...-WHEEZE-...you" He flipped me off.
I laughed at his annoyed face and turned to look at our other teammate. Unlike Arata who looked like he was dying as he lay on the grass catching his breath, Mei was using a screwdriver she had taken from who-knows-where to repair the backpack with the pipes we used for emergency escapes.
It had broken midway during our last confrontation, so she looked really engrossed in fixing it.
"Hey, Mei was it? You aren't tired, are you?" I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Hmm? I'm fine. My babies require immediate attention, so I don't have time to rest."
After hearing her nonchalant response, I gave Arata a smirk, to which he clicked his tongue and averted his gaze.
However, he still pushed himself up from the ground and began trying to look like he wasn't tired at all, scanning his items as well for any damage or issues.
'This kid.' I shook my head with a wry smile.
As my teammates got to do their own thing, I turned to look at my competitors.
More specifically, towards those with whom I would be competing in the next event.
The first to catch my gaze was Mr. Let It Go… And it seemed he was onto the same thing I was, as the next second I noticed he too was looking at me.
Unlike me, however, he was looking pretty frustrated.
But I guess that's what being in lame second place does to people. HAHAHAHAHAHA.
Ahem.
While I was trying to hold my grin from becoming a full-on laughter, Mr. Red-&-White seemed to have gotten fed up with my mocking expression, and the next second turned around and began walking away, leaving behind those of his team who were still resting.
As he was passing by Midoriya's team, however, he stopped for some reason.
He then walked up to the guy and said something to him.
What exactly? No idea, but Broccoli-man looked quite surprised after hearing it.
However, when the ice-controlling kid began walking away after speaking to Midoriya, I lost interest and directed my gaze elsewhere.
Whether those two were having some heartfelt discussion as classmates or were planning how to take me down, they were free to do as they pleased.
As for the brat with anger issues…
Huh, he had already left.
When I noticed his absence, I gave his team a funny gaze knowing the guy most likely left them because he was too frustrated.
However, ultimately, I shook my head and began looking elsewhere.
It was better this way, otherwise, I don't know if I would have been able to hold myself from laughing at him.
'Maybe I should tone down my mocking a bit...'
While I was berating my toxic self inside my mind, the teachers' commentary resumed.
["Now, let's take a look at the top four teams right away!"]
The image on the big screen suddenly changed, and after that, the camera was aimed at us.
["In first place, Team Suzuki!"]
"H-huh?"
The instant the three of us appeared on the huge screen, Arata panicked and began looking around frantically, probably not knowing what to do.
Mei, on the other hand, just gave the screen a look, before she continued fixing her backpack. It was apparent that her babies took priority over appearing on a big ass screen.
As for me? I simply put my glasses on RGB mode and crossed my arms smugly.
["In second place, Team Todoroki!"]
Next, the camera was pointed at the ice guy's team. However, since he was already gone, only his teammates appeared on the screen, who were looking quite dissatisfied with the result themselves.
The same went for the next team.
["In third place, Team Bakugo!"]
Since the explosive brat hadn't been able to handle my Suzaku style, his teammates were the only ones left on the field to appear on the screen.
The disappearances of both team leaders seemed to have caused a bit of confusion amidst the stands. However, despite the voices of bafflement, the teacher's narration went on.
["... And finally, in fourth place, Team Midoriya!"]
Lastly, the image was set on the only team of four members that remained on the field, who were looking faintly embarrassed about appearing on the screen.
Midoriya more than anyone.
Once the rankings for this event were made clear, our teacher got onto the most important part of this festival, making me crack a grin in satisfaction.
["Now, we'll take an hour's break for lunch before we start the afternoon activities, and finalize for today with the last game of this festival… See ya!"]
As he delivered those words, I stood up and began walking away.
"Time to get serious," I said as I cracked my knuckles.
My stomach wasn't gonna feed itself.
…
°
°
°
|A few minutes later, third person POV:|
…
After going back to the class 1-B waiting room to retrieve his phone and a few other things, Suzaku stepped out of the room and began walking in the cafeteria's direction, ready to eat a well-earned meal.
He could have invited Arata and Mei to join him. They had been his comrades while all the other teams were targeting them, so asking them to share a meal and chat a bit longer felt appropriate.
However, after thinking about it for a bit, Suzaku figured it was better to leave those two to chat among themselves.
He knew better than to interfere with his friend's quest for love.
-Step, step, step...-
"I wonder if they serve pizza? I could seriously eat some right now" As Suzaku walked across one of the stadium's narrow hallways, he patted his stomach and gave the ceiling a hungry look, looking forward to lunch.
However, as he walked forward, he came across a strange sight.
"...What is this guy doing?"
Some meters ahead of him, Bakugo was leaning against a wall with a serious expression, looking at nothing in particular.
Seeing him there, Suzaku's eyebrows furrowed a bit.
'He didn't come here just to pick a fight with me during lunch break, did he?'
With how volatile the kid was, Suzaku had his suspicions.
However, after a bit of thinking he discarded that possibility. After all, there was no way Bakugo could know he would be walking specifically through this hallway at this exact moment… Right?
…
Just in case, Suzaku's fist tightened as he prepared to give the brat a beating if he tried anything funny.
However, as he neared the explosive kid, his pace slowed. Amidst the hundreds of muffled voices from people all over the stadium, Suzaku began hearing a particular conversation not too far away, coming coincidentally from the direction where Bakugo was.
The voices involved sounded like Todoroki's and Midoriya's.
At first, Suzaku couldn't see them, but after approaching a bit more, he was able to notice that right next to Bakugo there was a turn on the hallway that led to the outside of the stadium. Suzaku figured the two teenagers were having some conversation of sorts there.
As for Bakugo, he seemed to be eavesdropping by hiding behind the wall.
Suzaku let out a disappointed sigh. 'Kids these days don't respect privacy…'
As he thought that, however, his ear twitched as it caught bits of the conversation, and he began slowing his pace little by little as he neared the scene, so much that even Bakugo didn't notice him creeping closer.
Then, a certain question reached his ears.
"Midoriya, are you… All Might's secret love child or something?"
'The hell did I stumble onto…?' Suzaku almost tripped upon catching that last line.
There was a bit of silence after that, interrupted only when Todoroki prompted Midoriya to answer.
"Well, are you?"
"T-that's not it…!" Midoriya answered in a hurry, before he began to stutter in nervousness "I mean, even if I was, I wouldn't admit it, so I don't think you will believe me, but anyway, that's not how it is! In the first place, why did you think that was the ca—?"
"Since you said "that's not how it is", that means there is a connection between you and All Might that you can't talk about, right?" Todoroki interrupted him, causing the green-headed young man to not talk anymore, evidently at a loss of words in front of Todoroki's logic.
Seeing Midoriya fall silent once again, Todoroki snorted faintly, before letting out a bomb of his own. "Endeavor is my old man."
'Who's endeavor again—Ah right, the second place guy'
Todoroki continued, unaware of Suzaku's thoughts. "I'm sure you already know that he's been stuck as the number two hero for forever…"
'Good work there, memory.'
"… My old man has a strong desire to rise in the world, so as a hero, he won a name for himself using his crushing power, and exactly because of that, when All Might—a wall he couldn't cross with his talent nor efforts—appeared, it became a great eyesore to him, so he moved on to his next plan." Todoroki said as his countenance turned darker.
"... What are you saying Todoroki-kun?"
Todoroki ignored Midoriya's question and continued speaking. "... Do you know about Quirk marriages? That thing that became a problem during the second and third generations after superpowers appeared, where choosing a spouse was based solely on strengthening your Quirk and passing it to your children…"
"..."
"... My old man is someone with both accomplishments and money, so he won over my mother's relatives with ease, and as a result got a hold of her Quirk, intending to raise an offspring that was to become a hero even greater than All Might… All simply because of that desire of his."
'Damn, no wonder he is in second place, the guy is a piece of shit'
After clicking his tongue, Todoroki's voice became calmer and he addressed Midoriya again. "... That's why I picked a fight with you at the beginning of this festival, as someone who seems to hold a relation of sorts with All Might, I wanted to show that piece of shit what I could do using only my mother's Quirk…"
After saying those words, Todoroki fell silent for a bit, before continuing as his voice turned raspier.
"... But I changed my mind. I'll reject him completely by winning first place using only my mother's Quirk."
-Growl…-
'Alright, I got bored'
As Todoroki's declaration echoed in the air, Suzaku's stomach rumbled, and he got out of his eavesdropping position.
Although overhearing someone else's drama was fun, his stomach wasn't gonna have whatever yapping those two had left.
He had a lunch to devour.
So, without bothering to listen more, he stepped closer to Bakugo and tapped his shoulder.
"Crazy isn't it?"
"—Argh, where the fuck did you come from?!!"
The blond teenager jumped when Suzaku suddenly appeared beside him, letting out a shout that startled both Midoriya and Todoroki, who thought no one else had been around.
Suzaku, however, didn't mind that at all and revealed his figure to the two, giving them a curt nod as he stepped into view.
"Sup."
"Suzuki-kun…?" Midoriya frowned faintly when he saw him appear from behind the wall.
Todoroki squinted his eyes. "You were overhearing our conversation?"
"Me?" Suzaku pointed at himself innocently, before grabbing Bakugo and pulling him to his side, showing him to the two 1-A teenagers. "Nah, I was just passing by and saw Mr. Explosive here hiding behind this wall and tapped his shoulder, I don't know why he screamed like that though."
"So Bakugo was listening..." Todoroki's gaze moved to the spiky-haired kid, who was looking like he wanted to take a swing at Suzaku.
"Kids these days don't even respect the privacy of others' conversations, am I right?" Suzaku suddenly said as he shook his head with a disappointed expression.
The three of class 1-A looked at him with skepticism. Although Suzaku had said he had just arrived, they had the feeling he had been hearing from the beginning just like Bakugo.
However, the redhead didn't let them accuse him of anything as he immediately began walking away.
"Anyway, I'm off to eat something. You guys try your best in the next round."
Neither of the three stopped him, they simply stared at his departing back with strange gazes, except for one of the three who was looking pretty pissed off.
Still, their gazes didn't linger on Suzaku for much, as the spiky blonde was the next subject of two of their gazes.
Todoroki crossed his arms and shook his head, while Midoriya gave Bakugo a disappointed look. "Eavesdropping on other people's conversations is impolite, Kacchan."
"Shut up!"
…
°
°
°
|An hour later…|
…
After lunch, Suzaku and Itsuka found themselves walking back to the stadium to join the others so that the next part of the festival could go on. Behind them, many students from the other classes were walking in the same direction.
"So you ate pizza… Really, Suzaku?" Itsuka looked at him wryly.
"What?" The redhead looked at her strangely.
"With this being the last round of the festival, one would think you would have tried to eat something more nutritious to be full of energy."
Suzaku looked at her with a serious face. "Pizza is the most nutritious food."
"..."
"... At least for me"
"Seriously..." In the end, Itsuka relented and simply let out a sigh.
As she did so, Suzaku nudged her with his elbow, looking around with a raised eyebrow. "By the way, did you see Tetsutetsu? I haven't seen him since the last event"
Itsuka looked around after hearing his question. "I left for the cafeteria before him, so I didn't get to see where he went after the second event… I just figured he would be with you after that, but now that you mention it…"
"That's unusual of him…" Suzaku scratched his head for a moment, before eventually shrugging. "... But who knows, maybe he was just trapped in the bathroom or something, we will probably see him once we reunite with the rest of the students"
"..." Itsuka sent him a funny gaze.
"By the way, are you okay right now?" Suzaku asked as he glanced at her.
Itsuka tilted her head confused. "What do you mean?"
"You didn't pass onto the next round, you don't seem very upset but…"
Itsuka shook her head with a wry smile. "No, I didn't have very high expectations from the beginning, so I am not that disappointed, there are others who deserve it more than me anyway."
Suzaku shook his head with a displeased expression at her response. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Itsuka, you need to be a bit more self-centered. Although I may not give off that impression, you can take me as an example to follow."
Itsuka simply rolled her eyes while keeping a small smile on her face.
"I don't know about you not giving that impression, but I'll think about it"
As she gave her answer, both finally entered the field, being greeted with the sunshine on their faces and the ovations of the spectators.
Soon, after admiring the view for a few seconds, they walked towards the center of the stadium where the rest of the students were waiting for the festival to resume and joined them in their wait.
They were like that for around 10 minutes, waiting patiently as more students joined the group and the stands were filled once again with the spectators.
Eventually, everyone was reunited, and as if he had been waiting for that, Present Mic's voice soon echoed around the stadium once again, making any participant who may have been distracted until then immediately tense up.
["Alright everyone, it seems our competitors are ready to begin with the next part of this festival! First, we will get to see the recreational games where every participant who didn't make it to the final event will get a chance to shine!"]
When Present Mic mentioned that, many among the students let out sighs of relief, having feared that after the second game, they wouldn't get more chances to show off their Quirks.
Their worries were unfounded, it seemed.
["When that's over, the top 16 participants from the previous round will duke it out tournament style one-on-one, and decide for once and for all who will be the victor of this year's Sports Festival!"]
The crowd cheered at that last announcement.
Suzaku on the other hand, simply massaged his nose while immersing in his thoughts. 'So it will be a competition of hand-throwing, huh?... Good, I was getting a bit tired of not being able to punch peopl—'
However, his thoughts were forced to come to a halt when Present Mic revealed a small piece of information that surprised everyone around.
["Before that, however, since the four teams that passed onto this round only make 15 participants in total, we will have to ask Team Shinso, who ended up in fifth place, to choose who amongst its members will take the place of the 16th participant"]
The instant that was announced, the cameras were pointed at Team Shinso.
However, surprisingly, there was not even a meeting or word between the team members before Shinso stepped up and smiled at the camera.
"I'll do it."
The instant they saw him walk up front shamelessly without asking any of his teammates' opinions on the matter, many expected there to be objections or even a fight to brew up within the team.
However, to everyone's bafflement, not a single voice of complaint from his teammates came.
"...?" Suzaku's eyes specifically set on Tetsutetsu, who was standing amidst the crowd wearing an empty expression.
'So that's where he was… Why is he not saying anything though?'
Suzaku expected Tetsutetsu to complain or do something about having the 16th place in the tournament taken away from him like that… But nothing, he just stood there quietly, even as dozens of eyes set on him.
Even Present Mic was confused.
["I-is that so?"]
However, seeing that neither Tetsutetsu nor the other guy from 1-A was saying anything about Shinso's claim, Present Mic had no other option but to relent.
["Very well, then Shinso will be the last participant of this Festival's last event."]
There were a few voices of complaint who felt like something was weird, but in the end, the event just proceeded as intended.
Soon enough, Midnight stepped onto the stage while holding a cage. "Now let's draw lots to determine the bracket of the tournament. Once this is done, we will have the recreational games, and then we will give start to the tournament!"
Her eyes then landed on all the students who had passed.
"Those who managed to pass to the last round can choose whether to participate or not in the recreation. I suppose some of you would prefer to save up your energies for later."
Upon hearing her words, Suzaku cleaned the symbolic sweat on his forehead. 'Phew…'
With the declarations done, Midnight began calling the teams and their members one by one, gradually deciding the matches that would amaze the nation during the next hours.
In the end, it all ended up looking something like this.
1st Fight: Uraraka vs Sero.
2nd Fight: Bakugo vs Arata.
3rd Fight Mina vs Tokoyami.
4th Fight: Kirishima vs Ojiro.
5fth Fight: Mei vs Midoriya
6th Fight Shinso vs Suzaku
7th Fight: Kaminari vs Yaoyorozu
8th Fight: Todoroki vs Ida.
The winner of each match would go on to face the winner of the next, continuing this way until only one final match remained to decide the champion of this year's festival.
-Sigh...-
As the order for the fight was decided, Suzaku looked at his name on the screen and let out a sigh.
'The 6th combat, huh? It will take a while before it's my turn then… Who's my opponent again?'
His eyes landed on Shinso, whom he recognized as the one who had made a ruckus earlier by one-sidedly choosing himself as the one to participate in this event.
'Right, it was that guy…' Suzaku smacked his head as the name finally clicked in. 'I guess I'll finally discover what kind of Quirk allowed him to make it this far.'
Once he learned who his opponent was gonna be and got a gist of how long he had before his turn to fight came, Suzaku began walking away since the recreational games were about to begin and he didn't plan on participating.
As he did, however, he passed by Tetsutetsu's side, tapping his shoulder to talk to him.
"Hey, Tetsutetsu."
"..."
However, to his surprise, there was no response, causing Suzaku to frown faintly.
"Hey, wake up!"
-Wack!-
So, without reservations, he retracted his hand and heavily smacked Tetsutetsu's head, almost making him fall due to the force behind that slap.
"Huh?! What the… Suzaku? What happened?!" The instant that hit landed, Tetsutetsu jumped on his spot as if he had just woken up late for school, and glanced around in confusion before setting on his friend who was looking at him with a funny gaze.
"What do you mean what happened? You just let that purple-haired guy take the 16th place in the last event."
A dumbfounded expression appeared on Tetsutetsu's face after hearing that. "Last event? Weren't we just starting the second event…?!"
Suzaku looked at him as if he was asking the obvious. "Uh, no... You teamed up with him, and ended up in fifth place, not making it onto the last game… However, there ended up being one more space in the event, and they allowed your team to choose who amongst you guys was gonna take that last spot... but since neither you nor the other guy from 1-A said anything, that purple-haired guy ended up taking it"
Tetsutetsu took a step back as if he couldn't believe what Suzaku had said, grabbing his head as a distressed expression rose on his face. "Why… Why can't I remember anything?"
Suzaku's frown deepened upon seeing Tetsutetsu's affliction.
As a result, he turned to look at Shinso, squinting his eyes when the guy returned the gaze and sent Suzaku a smirk.
'That guy… I don't like this one bit...'
The next second, the purple-haired guy looked like he was about to approach to say something to him, but Suzaku ignored him and turned around, giving Tetsutetsu one last pat on the shoulder, before walking away.
"...?" Seeing his friend leaving so suddenly, Tetsutetsu looked at him with confusion despite still wearing a bit of distress in his gaze. "Where are you going Suzaku?"
Suzaku didn't turn around and simply waved at him as he left the place "I think I'll pass on the recreational games. You try to enjoy them though, it would be a good chance to show off a bit too"
"Uh, alright" Tetsutetsu answered, giving his surroundings a confused gaze, before he looked at his friend again. "Why are you passing on them though?"
"My fight is on the 6th round, so until then I'll be taking a dump"
Tetsutetsu almost tripped when he heard Suzaku's answer. "Oh, well, good luck"
"Thanks, this one's big, I'll need it"
"..."
Turns out, eating that whole pizza might not have been a good idea.
…
°
°
°
|A few minutes later...|
…
As Suzaku was walking in search of a bathroom, his mind calmly assessed the time he had left before he would have to go back and start throwing hands with the purple guy.
Taking that quick visit to the bathroom shouldn't take that much, so he probably would be able to do his business there and go back on time.
However, after a bit of thinking, Suzaku decided to try and hurry up a bit, as Arata's fight was on the second round, and maybe if he pushed with all he had, he would be able to make it in time to see his friend get his ass handed.
As he walked, Suzaku glanced at the ceiling, picturing the image of his nerdy friend fighting that blonde with anger issues. 'So he will be fighting the explosive kid, huh? I hope the items he has yet to use will be able to do something to that guy...'
From what he remembered, Arata still had the batons, the stun grenades... And other stuff the kid didn't mention to Suzaku in case they were to fight in the mandatory 1v1 event of every year, which ended up being a tournament this time.
However, Suzaku had serious doubts about whether that would be enough to handle that volatile guy.
Although he had yet to take him in a serious fight, he had gotten a gist of the guy's level during the last event when he tried taking Suzaku's headband.
And if Arata didn't overwhelm him with his tools from the get-go, Suzaku didn't doubt the nerdy kid would have a huge problem at hand from then on.
So, Suzaku could only hope for a miracle.
'Talking about the incoming matches...'
His focus went once again to the guy who would be his opponent in just a few minutes, and therefore, to his friend Tetsutetsu, and what happened to him.
'He looked like his brain had been messed with… Could it be mind control?'
Tetsutetsu had acted like a typical mind-controlled dude after being freed from it... He even lacked a memory of what had happened during the second event... which coincidentally was when Suzaku had felt he was acting out of character by being silent.
If that was not mind control, then what was it?
However, when he considered that the purple-haired guy seemed to be in the department of general education, he felt a bit doubtful about that conjecture.
After all, what would a person with mind control be doing in that department, and not in the heroes one? Heck, there was that girl with invisibility in 1-A, Suzaku didn't have anything against her, but between invisibility and mind control... Suzaku felt one outweighed the other in utility by a lot.
It literally made zero sense for him to have been put in that department by the teacher's choice, except in the case the guy had voluntarily joined that department.
'So, it's not mind control? Then what the heck is it? Tetsutetsu even seemed to wake up thanks to the smack I gave him. Typical of Mind-control stuff to wake up after getting hit or something...'
In the end, though, Suzaku couldn't arrive at a proper conclusion. He could only speculate.
His eyes landed on his hand, and he squinted his gaze from behind his glasses. "I guess I'll have to be careful of him then... I wouldn't want to lose pathetically in my first fight, would I?"
No, of course not. Not when he was one event away from achieving first place.
That demand from the old man... He was gonna make sure it was fulfilled, even if it was in something as lame as this festival.
However, just as he was thinking like that, a muffled voice reached his ears.
"Young master, the security is at its laxest, and we have determined All Might's location, the bombs have also been placed... The only thing left for us to do is to make our move."
A raspy yet youthful voice came after that. "Good, once we make contact, you bunch will make sure to hold off the heroes, while using the crowd as hostages. With that, me and Kurokiri will make sure to give the Symbol of Peace a taste of our ultimate weapons without any minions getting in the way... We will begin moving as soon as the combats between the brats begin."
As Suzaku heard those words, a vein sprouted on his forehead, and his eyes squinted dangerously. Turning to look at the door from where those voices had come from.
"... Hah."
With that small laugh devoid of any joy escaping his mouth, Suzaku shook his head, before he let out a long sigh and looked at the ceiling with a bleak gaze.
'And here I was hoping I wouldn't need to do something like this so soon... '
The instant that thought crossed his mind, a bright red cocoon enveloped him from head to toe, and Suzaku's appearance began changing.
'Too bad I can't let them get in the way of me achieving first place.'
...
-To be Continued…-
°
(A/N: Sorry for the delay in uploading this, I was busy dealing with university stuff like always.
Anyway, what do you think? I even went my way to change the orders of the matches from the canon.
They were made completely at random, by the way, so I was pretty surprised when Suzaku ended up paired with Shinso. But well, if fate wants me to make Suzaku deal with the troublesome guy, then perfect, I had already thought of that scenario, so it works wonders for me.
In other news, Shigaraki doesn't know he is about to fight the secret boss, and while completely under-leveled and under-equipped while at it.
Also merry Christmas, though maybe it's a bit late for that.
Double also: Tomorrow there'll be another chapter, cuz I'm amazing like that)
->