Sussy Baka in MHA

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…

["Go!"]

With the round finally starting, Suzaku tightened his fists and began walking slowly toward Shinso. His expression remained indifferent as he closed the distance with deliberate steps.

"...!"

Seeing Suzaku approach, Shinso smirked mockingly, though a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. 

"For all that bragging you did earlier, you don't look that impressive!"

"..."

Suzaku didn't reply. He didn't feel the need to.

If it had been anyone else, Suzaku might have answered—he was after all quite the trash-talker. But after observing Shinso's apparent lack of combat skills beyond what he assumed was some kind of mind control, Suzaku decided he wasn't worth the effort. He planned to simply give him a good beating and then knock him out of the ring.

If Shinso wanted to try his Quirk on him, he could go ahead. Suzaku wasn't going to waste any time on this fight.

Thus, ignoring Shinso's taunts, Suzaku picked up his pace, his steady approach turning into a brisk stride.

"...!"

Seeing this, Shinso instinctively stepped back, a flicker of tension crossing his face as the distance closed.

"Tsk..." He clicked his tongue, his mocking expression faltering slightly. "What? Did I hit a sore spot? Say something!" he shouted, his voice tinged with desperation.

But once again, Suzaku remained silent.

Then, in a matter of seconds, he was in front of Shinso, and without giving the purple-haired teen a moment to react, Suzaku threw a punch.

-Bam!-

"Uck—!"

Shinso barely managed to lift his arms in an attempt to block, but Suzaku's punch shifted mid-air, landing squarely on his solar plexus. The force sent Shinso stumbling back, clutching his chest and gasping for air.

-Cough, cough!-

Suzaku paused, raising an eyebrow as he stared at Shinso's pitiful state. He glanced at his own fist with a perplexed expression.

'What's with him? Why isn't he trying to mind-control me?'

Suzaku had expected some kind of trick or counter before his attack landed, but Shinso had barely mustered an easy-to-handle guard that was rendered useless pretty quickly. The ease with which he'd struck him felt… strange.

'Is this some sort of illusion?'

The thought crossed his mind, and he briefly pinched his arm, testing for any signs of a Genjutsu-style trap. When nothing happened, Suzaku shook his head and dismissed the idea.

"If this is an illusion, I'll figure it out later," Suzaku muttered to himself. "For now, I'll just beat the guy in front of me, real or not."

So, without giving Shinso any more time to recover, Suzaku closed in again. 

-Thud!-

Without hesitation, Suzaku delivered a kick, sending Shinso sprawling before pinning him in place with a knee to the chest.

From there, Suzaku unleashed a flurry of punches.

-Smack!-

-Wack!-

-Bam!-

["What is this? Suzuki is unleashing a barrage of punches upon Shinso! Will he be able to escape before it's too late?!"]

"A-argh…"

Shinso did his best to defend himself, but Suzaku's blows connected with brutal efficiency. Blood dripped from Shinso's nose, bruises forming rapidly on his face as Suzaku's unrelenting onslaught continued.

Even the crowd winced at the brutal beatdown unfolding before them.

This was not the duel of Quirks they had anticipated, but the most basic and primal form of conflict—a fistfight.

While such clashes could be enthralling under the right circumstances, that appeal only held when the combatants were evenly matched, pouring their soul into overpowering the other.

What they were witnessing right now, however, was nothing more than a one-sided beating.

-Thunk!-

-Thwack!-

-Crack!-

"Urgh…"

"..."

After a while, Suzaku slowed, his punches losing some of their force. He frowned, noticing Shinso's increasingly pitiful state.

'This feels more like bullying than a fight,' he thought, watching Shinso's panicked expression.

So, deciding that enough was enough, Suzaku grabbed Shinso by the collar and began dragging him toward the edge of the platform. His plan was simple: toss him out of bounds and end this farce.

["W-what is this?! Participant Suzuki is dragging Shinso out of the arena, and he is unable to do anything about it!"] Present Mic exclaimed, his voice echoing through the stadium with fervent astonishment.

The crowd gasped in collective disbelief. The sight of Suzaku effortlessly dragging Shinso was like watching an adult disciplining a child.

On the Class 1-B side, Tetsutetsu grimaced. "That's the guy who took my place? This is sad to watch."

Itsuka, meanwhile, gave a wry smile. "That Suzaku, he really doesn't hold back, does he?"

As Suzaku reached the edge of the platform, Shinso finally snapped out of his daze. Panic set in as he glanced between Suzaku and the arena's boundary.

"So you're just gonna throw me out like trash?" Shinso shouted, his voice rising. "You must think you're so great, huh? Blessed since birth, looking down on everyone else!"

"..."

Suzaku remained silent, his expression unchanging, although inside he felt a bit amused by the guy's words.

Shinso's words hit closer to the truth than he realized. Suzaku had been blessed. With his Impostor abilities, he could face even monstrous opponents like the Nomus without fear. 

But Shinso didn't know that. Heck, he didn't even know Suzaku's real Quirk wasn't actually that great.

So, not feeling offended by Shinso's last taunt, Suzaku prepared to toss him out of bounds.

However, just as the redhead was about to take a step forward, Shinso took his last attempt at trying to get a response out of Suzaku.

"You're just angry I took your friend's place! What's there to be angry about?! That loud idiot didn't deserve to be here anyway!"

This time, Suzaku's scowl deepened. He tightened his grip on Shinso's shirt, the insult to his friend having gotten a bit under his skin.

"You sure don't know when to shut the—"

"Heh."

However, as soon as Suzaku opened his mouth to retort, his eyes suddenly went blank. His grip on Shinso's collar slackened, and his entire body froze in place, leaving Shinso suspended mid-air for a moment before he dropped to the ground with a thud.

"Fuuuh~ I got scared there for a minute..." Shinso muttered, clutching his stomach as he glanced over the edge of the arena. He had been mere seconds away from being tossed out. 

Relief soon flooded his face, accompanied by a wide grin as he looked at Suzaku, who now stood motionless in front of him, an empty expression plastered on his face.

["Eeeeeh?! Suzuki suddenly stopped walking and freed Shinso! Now he is unmoving, did Shinso do something?!"] Present Mic's voice boomed across the stadium, his excitement mixed with confusion as the audience erupted into chatter.

Unbothered by the commotion, Shinso brushed himself off and pointed a trembling finger—a result of the beating he had gotten earlier—toward the edge of the arena, ready to give the command that would secure his victory.

"Walk out on your—Urgh!"

But just as the words were about to leave his mouth, something strange happened.

-Gasp!-

"...!"

In an instant, Suzaku's eyes regained their clarity. His once blank expression twisted into a frown as he clutched his head, confusion evident in his movements. 

He looked between Shinso and himself repeatedly, trying to piece together what had just occurred.

["Eeeeh? Suzuki is back to moving! What in the world is happening in this fight?!"] Present Mic's exclamation boomed across the arena, capturing the bewilderment spreading through the audience after the unexpected development.

"What the heck?" Suzaku muttered to himself. The feeling of being controlled left him bewildered. It was as if he had been trapped in someone else's body, unable to do anything.

But now, he was free once again, back in control.

But why?

When he had been under Shinso's Quirk influence, he had been unable to free himself no matter what he did. But out of nowhere, he had been freed and was back on his bearings.

However, what could have caused such a fortunate thing?

"Could it be…?"

Suzaku quickly realized that the only thing capable of freeing him was Shinso himself.

"What did you—?" The next second, Suzaku looked at Shinso questioningly. However, the moment he saw Shinso's face, Suzaku's expression twitched.

Shinso was frozen in place, staring at Suzaku with wide, terrified eyes. His face had gone pale, and beads of sweat trickled down his temples as he took a shaky step back, being just a centimeter away from the arena's border.

"... You okay, man?" Suzaku asked once he saw Shinso's weird state, raising an eyebrow at the sheer panic etched on his opponent's face

But Shinso didn't respond. Instead, his gaze fell to his own trembling hands.

'I freed him from my control... Why?'

The question reverberated in Shinso's mind. He recalled the moment he tried to issue Suzaku the command to walk out of bounds. Instinctively, he had withdrawn the control he had over his mind, an overwhelming sense of dread stopping him in his tracks the moment the words were about to come out of his mouth.

Like a person reaching for what he thought was a harmless object, only to realize that it was the jaws of a hidden predator and immediately retract their hand.

When he was about to issue the command, he felt like his Quirk had been about to touch something that shouldn't be touched, and as a result, he retracted his control over Suzaku's mind without even being able to process why.

However, whatever this sensation was, Shinso knew one thing for certain: issuing a command to Suzaku was something he by no means should do.

"..."

Suzaku tilted his head, watching Shinso's mute terror with mild amusement. He thought back to the moment his body went numb. Maybe the guy's mind control required him to answer or acknowledge his words. Either way, he wasn't about to test it again.

Shrugging, he walked up to Shinso once more and grabbed him by the collar.

"Wait—!"

Before Shinso could protest further, Suzaku swung him like a sack of potatoes, the motion effortless despite Shinso's frantic struggle.

And then, with a final toss, Suzaku hurled Shinso out of the arena, sending him skidding across the grass. 

-Thud!-

The purple-haired boy landed with a heavy thump, his face still twisted in an expression of sheer disbelief.

With that, the victor was decided.

["Out! Shinso is out of bounds! The winner of this round is Suzaku Suzuki!"]

As Present Mic's voice echoed through the arena, the crowd erupted into cheers and murmurs, though many remained baffled by what had just transpired. The fight had certainly… something.

Suzaku, meanwhile, dusted off his hands, sparing Shinso one last glance as he walked away from the platform.

"Easy peasy lemon squeezy," he muttered to himself, a faint smirk playing on his lips.

Although the fight turned slightly dangerous at one point, he still managed to win. So there was no need to worry too much.

However, as Suzaku was leaving the arena, he overheard Shinso's frustrated voice.

"Damn it…!"

He turned to see Shinso lying flat on the ground, his expression calmer but still tinged with frustration.

Noticing Suzaku's gaze, Shinso shot him an annoyed look. With the blood and bruises on his face, he looked pitiful.

"What are you looking at? Do you find it funny?" he asked begrudgingly, expecting Suzaku to laugh at him.

Suzaku hesitated for a moment. He had already deduced that Shinso's brainwashing worked through speech—hence the constant taunts during their fight.

But knowing that the fight was already over, he shrugged

"I was just wondering—why is a guy like you not in the hero course? Mind control is a pretty busted ability," Suzaku asked curiously, his tone almost casual.

Shinso scoffed, a wry grin forming on his battered face. "Why? Because mind control doesn't work on robots, that's why. Unlike you, someone with a good Quirk, I never stood a chance in that stupid test."

Then, lifting his fist while still lying in the grass, Shinso stared at it regretfully.

"This was my only chance to get into the hero course. And I didn't even manage to land a single hit on you... There's no way they're letting me in now." His tone somber and dispirited as he spoke.

Suzaku observed Shinso's regretful expression in silence for a moment before letting out a quiet laugh. He looked away briefly, as if recalling something.

"You know, an old man I used to know would've told you that you're just making excuses. That if your Quirk isn't enough, you've got to make up for it with your own body."

Touching his glasses, Suzaku smiled as the lenses flickered with RGB-like colors.

"Let's just say my Quirk wasn't much help against the robots either."

Shinso blinked in surprise at the sudden revelation but soon frowned, shaking his head in disbelief.

"No, you don't get it. My Quirk is different from yours. Mind-control—everyone who finds out I have it always sees me as some kind of potential villain… Even though I want to be a hero. You've never experienced what it's like to be judged that way your entire life, so stop talking as if you understood me!" Shinso yelled, frustration accumulating with each word that escaped his mouth.

"Mate, I didn't ask for your life story," Suzaku said, his mouth twitching in annoyance at the sudden lash-out. However, he then let out a sigh and crossed his arms. "Mind-control, huh? Yeah, it's definitely got a villainous vibe. If I had it, I'd probably do some questionable stuff myself." Suzaku caressed his chin in deep thinking.

"You—!" Shinso's brow furrowed, anger flickering across his face.

But Suzaku didn't let him continue.

"Still," he added, his voice turning serious, "you've got it easy… compared to someone else I know, at least you're not beyond salvaging."

Shinso flinched under Suzaku's indifferent gaze.

"What?" Shinso asked, confused by the cryptic remark.

Suzaku didn't elaborate. Instead, he shook his head and began walking away.

As he reached the edge of the arena, he glanced back one last time.

"By the way, I wouldn't be so sure about not making it into the hero course." Suzaku then looked above, towards the stands filled with people.

"...?"

Following Suzaku's gaze, Shinso noticed several pro heroes in the stands talking animatedly about his Quirk.

Among the crowd, Shinso's classmates were also cheering loudly, praising him for his performance and how far he had come in the festival, even going up against someone as formidable as Suzaku, who had scored first place in everything until now.

Shinso's eyes widened when he saw that.

Realizing what Suzaku had implied, Shinso's fist clenched. He stared at the redhead's retreating figure, a storm of thoughts swirling in his mind.

Somehow, when talking directly to him, Suzaku didn't seem like such an asshole as he had seemed during the first part of the festival…

At least, not as much.

…

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|A few minutes later…|

…

After finishing his fight, Suzaku returned to his class's section, heading straight for his seat before collapsing into it with an exaggerated sigh.

The exhaustion wasn't physical—it was more mental than anything.

Mind control and all that.

"Oh, good job there, Suzaku!" Tetsutetsu greeted him with his usual wide smile.

Itsuka gave him a wry smile. "You sure did a number on that boy. Though it looked like he gave you some trouble near the end."

Suzaku scoffed, waving her comment away. "Trouble? I don't know what you're talking about. I barely even tried. In fact, it was so easy, I'm feeling sleepy now." He sank further into his seat lazily, his jowl showing as he slouched.

The two laughed at his antics.

"Ah, I forgot to ask earlier, but how did the previous fights go?" Suzaku suddenly asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

Itsuka tapped her chin thoughtfully before recounting the earlier matches. "Well, the girl with the gravity Quirk managed to beat the boy with the tape Quirk. It was a pretty even match for most of the fight, but she won in the end by erasing the boy's gravity and using his own tape to swing him out of bounds."

Itsuka then smiled wryly as he recalled the second fight. "... The fight between that teammate of yours from the cavalry battle and the angry guy from Class A—"

"Ah, I already know how that one went. My friend filled me in," Suzaku interrupted with a dismissive wave.

"You know him?" Itsuka asked, surprised. She'd assumed that the guy and the eccentric girl had only teamed up with Suzaku because he had the most points and would win by default if they succeeded in defending his headband.

"He's a bro from school. We agreed to team up in case a group event came up," Suzaku explained casually.

"And that girl—Mei, right? Were you friends with her too?"

"Nah, she just wanted to mooch off my points. Not that I minded, though; she was a big help during the event," Suzaku admitted with a chuckle.

Itsuka sweatdropped. Turns out, she hadn't been too far off in her assumption after all.

"... Well, leaving that fight aside, in the next round, the girl with the acid Quirk went up against the boy with the raven head. That match didn't last long. She was pushed out of bounds by his Quirk in a matter of seconds," Itsuka continued.

"That guy did look tough," Suzaku muttered thoughtfully, recalling how the shadow monster that sprouted from him had been quite the annoyance.

"And then there was the fight between the boy who can harden his skin and the one with the tail, their fight—"

"It was a manly fight!" Tetsutetsu suddenly burst out, tears of passion streaming down his face.

Suzaku couldn't help but grin at his friend's reaction. "I can imagine."

Itsuka, trying not to laugh, shook her head at Tetsutetsu's emotional outburst. "Their fight was intense. Both went back and forth for quite a while. Though, in the end, the boy with the hardening Quirk outlasted the other in endurance and resilience and won."

"Heeeh?" Suzaku raised an eyebrow as he took in the summary, his gaze shifting down to the arena. "Who's up next, then?"

Tetsutetsu scratched the back of his head, thinking. "I think it's some dude called Kaminari Denki and a girl named Yaoyorozu Momo."

"Never heard of them," Suzaku said bluntly, earning wry looks from both his friends.

…

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|A few minutes later…|

…

After a fierce fight, Yaoyorozu stood in the center of the arena, patting her chest as she heaved a long sigh of relief. She shrugged off the insulating mantle that had been draped over her shoulders during the match, letting it fall to her side. Her gaze shifted to her defeated opponent, Kaminari, who stood outside the bounds with a goofy thumbs-up aimed at the sky.

From above, Suzaku leaned on his fist, his face filled with boredom as he gazed at both contestants. "Well, that was a bit disappointing."

"I think it was pretty good," Tetsutetsu replied, raising an eyebrow at Suzaku.

"Well, it was fine… until the guy turned braindead after firing off one attack." Suzaku pointed toward Kaminari, who was still looking dazed and out of it.

Tetsutetsu sweatdropped as he glanced at Kaminari. "Now that you mention it…"

"I think they did pretty well regardless," Itsuka interjected.

"Nobody asked," Suzaku shot back, earning a fierce glare from Itsuka. 

He chuckled and waved her off. "I'm just joking."

Shifting his attention back to the arena, Suzaku's brow furrowed as he mentally counted how many matches were left until it was his turn again. Four? Maybe five? He groaned inwardly at the thought.

"Who's up next?" he asked, watching Yaoyorozu and Kaminari exit the field.

Tetsutetsu checked his phone. "It's some guy named Todoroki Shoto and another dude called Tenya Iida."

"Todoroki? Isn't that Endeavor's son?" Juzo, seated nearby, joined the conversation.

Tetsutetsu shrugged. "No idea, but I think I overheard people saying that earlier, so probably."

"Endeavor, huh?" Itsuka tilted her head, intrigued. "I wonder if he has a fire Quirk?"

Suzaku answered matter-of-factly, "He's the guy with the ice Quirk."

"Him?" Itsuka's eyebrows shot up in surprise, mirrored by the others.

Suzaku sat up straighter, his eyes narrowing as he refocused on the arena. Todoroki was one of the competitors he was most cautious about. This was his chance to see exactly what he'd be up against.

"Is he adopted?" Tetsutetsu asked, puzzled by the mismatch between father and son.

Itsuka barely managed to stifle her laughter, while Suzaku and Juzo cracked amused grins.

As the four shared a laugh, the arena quieted as Todoroki and Iida entered the field. They took their positions on opposite sides of the arena.

Present Mic's enthusiastic commentary boomed through the stadium.

["And now, the last fight of the first round of the tournament! After this, the winners of each match will move on to face one another!"]

The crowd roared, their excitement mounting as the tournament promised increasingly intense battles judging by the performances of the winners so far.

["Let's introduce our contestants! On one side, the fastest runner of his year, from Class 1-A, Tenya Iida!"]

The camera zoomed in on Iida, whose rigid posture betrayed his nervousness.

["And on the other side, a fierce competitor who's been battling for the top spot with incredible determination, also from Class 1-A, Todoroki Shoto!"]

The crowd's cheers reached a fever pitch as the announcer hyped up the clash between two elite students from prominent hero families.

Iida looked tense, his gaze darting to the roaring stands. Todoroki, however, seemed entirely unfazed, his focus locked on something else entirely.

["Alright, let's begin the eighth and final match of the preliminaries!"]

Suzaku leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he prepared to absorb every detail of what was about to unfold.

["Ready… set…"]

The entire stadium fell silent as the tension between the two competitors rose. Both waited, muscles coiled, for Present Mic's signal to begin.

…

..

.

However, what happened next was beyond anyone's expectations.

["Go!"]

The instant Present Mic's voice marked the start of the fight, Todoroki glanced at Iida with a mixture of pity and a simmering, hidden anger. Then, he calmly waved his hand.

"Sorry, Iida."

-Tssss…!!-

Iida, though fast, had no chance to react.

-BROOOM!!-

The arena rumbled violently as a wave of icy cold air burst forth.

["W—what the hell?"] Present Mic stammered, stunned by what he was witnessing.

A massive column of ice erupted from Todoroki's attack, engulfing Iida and covering nearly the entire arena. The ice stretched dangerously close to the stands, its overwhelming size silencing the crowd in awe.

The fight had ended in an instant.

Suzaku, who had been watching intently, sweatdropped, a wry smile creeping onto his face as his gaze fell on the massive ice structure that stopped mere meters from where he was sitting.

"Well… I might have to take this more seriously from now on…"

["Winner… Todoroki Shoto!!"]

…

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-To be Continued-

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(A/N: Just discovered Iida's surname was not Ida as I wrote it in previous chapters… But well, such is life, sometimes you get names wrong.

In other news, this was one shitty start to the year. An old dog of mine disappeared for three days during the new year, before reappearing injured later. We brought him to the vet to see if we could do something, I was hopeful they'd tell us that he'd be fine after some operations, but it seemed someone had run him over, so we had to put him down right there and then. He had one leg completely shattered, liquid (probably blood) in his lungs, and some other shit that we couldn't afford to pay.

Let's hope the whole year is better.

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, see you next time.)

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