Sussy Baka in MHA-Chapter 83: I have to fight who?

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|A week later...|

...

A week after Stain’s shocking announcement on live TV, on the morning of the practical exam, Suzaku could be seen calmly walking to school with his bag slung over his shoulder.

Quite a few things had transpired during the past week—most of them thanks to Stain’s loose mouth.

For starters, the nation went into uproar, shocked by the revelation of an actual organization made up of pure villains, and by the reappearance of the Hero Killer after he’d gone missing for a week following his arrest.

Secondly, Suzaku’s name shot back into the spotlight. Thanks to Stain’s public declaration of murder and all that jazz, it didn’t take long before some bored internet sleuths started to dig up the truth... that it hadn’t been the police or heroes who’d captured Stain like the official reports claimed, but rather it had been him.

The one and only, Suzaku Suzuki.

As a result, they soon spread the news, and his name was trending on pretty much every news site and forum from then on.

Once again, the public eye fell on him.

Police also went to his house to check on him, and the school even went as far as to offer him accommodations in their facilities so Suzaku could be under their watch.

Sadly for them, Suzaku wasn’t about to leave his king-sized bed behind, and neither was he about to go through the trouble of moving it to U.A.

In his very words: "It’s just a little hero killer, what’s there to fuss about?"

His parents also tried to convince him to move out, but with Suzaku being so stubborn, they ended up relenting. The police had assured them they’d pay close attention to Suzaku, so the matter of moving to school was more about additional safety than anything.

Seeing all his stunts so far had also assured them a bit about Suzaku’s own capabilities.

So, without his approval or his parents’, the school had to accept Suzaku staying at his own apartment, bearing the unyielding public eye by himself.

Not that it affected Suzaku much. He only cared about the clout.

The criticism and social commentary sparked by a kid doing the heroes’ job? The multiple reproaches doubting his mental faculties for jumping a serial killer while still unlicensed?

He couldn’t care less.

He wasn’t about to apologize for simply being made different.

What did matter to him, however, was that the fame he won in a single night didn’t come without consecuences. Those same bored guys that uncovered the truth about Stain’s capture didn’t stop there, they dug deeper into his personal history... and eventually caught wind of the kidnapping incident. Naturally, they spread it around like wildfire.

Turns out, Arata’s slip of the tongue a week ago hadn’t mattered much after all. The truth got out on its own not long after.

Or maybe Arata softened the blow. Suzaku wasn’t sure how his classmates would have reacted if they’d found out through some random internet forum instead.

But it definitely would’ve been a hell of a lot more awkward.

Fortunately, much like with Itsuka, Suzaku’s natural assholery eventually made the whole kidnapping matter fade into the background.

In time, things returned to normal—aside from the occasional lingering glance he’d catch when walking down the hall—but the air in the classroom was pretty much back to how it used to be, allowing him to finally focus on what truly mattered.

The written exams.

After that incident, Itsuka and Suzaku kept studying together—sometimes eating at his place, sometimes going out.

The orange-haired girl sure was getting comfortable freeloading.

They continued their study-and-dine spree until the dreaded days of written exams finally arrived.

Three hellish days of solving tests back to back. Suzaku suffered through every second.

Each day, he looked more and more drained—his expression rivaled only by the one he made when his parents told him he had to go to school.

Fortunately, on the last day, his mood took a turn for the better. By the time he stepped off school grounds, he smiled brightly at the sunset, muttering something about finally being free.

As for how he did on the exams? Well, for that, he had to thank Itsuka. For the first time in years, he didn’t feel completely lost when answering the questions.

Who knows? He might even snag first place.

...

Nah, let’s not get crazy.

Either way, with the written exams out of the way, next up was the practical exam—and compared to the written ones, Suzaku didn’t seem even a tenth as nervous.

Luckily, there were no other classes that day. The entire day was reserved for the practical, which meant Suzaku got to sleep in for once. A much-needed break to recover his drained energy.

And now?

Now he was at full power.

He sneered to himself, letting a smirk tug at his lips.

"Practical exam? More like unconventional exa—alright, that doesn’t make sense... I don’t know why I thought I had something there."

He scratched his head in annoyance as he finally stepped onto school grounds.

He really needed to practice his speeches. Wouldn’t want to blurt out something like that when facing a villain.

...Or maybe that could be his thing? Saying nonsensical crap?

Surely that would trigger someone—and he was all in for that.

And even better, it combined with his hero name.

Throwing a nod to the air, as if affirming his new path as a hero, Suzaku entered the school.

But unlike usual, he didn’t head straight to his classroom.

Instead, he headed toward the Support Department’s laboratory.

As to why?

-Click-

"I am here," Suzaku announced as he pushed the door open, striding in without even asking for permission.

A voice came from not too far away, from a nearby table full of metal scraps and electrical parts.

"I can see that."

Suzaku sneered. "Can you really?"

"What do you—" The person turned to face him, looking at Suzaku with disbelief. "Of course! You’re standing in front of me, dude!"

Suzaku raised an eyebrow. "Am I?"

"What do you—" The person paused mid-question, then deadpanned. "Ugh, you’re seriously doing this? You know what? I’m not playing along."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Yeah!!!"

"Reeeally?"

"Aaargh!"

"Aaargh?"

Suzaku caught a wrench flying his way, smirking faintly as he saw Arata glaring at him with an exasperated look.

"What’s got you so worked up, bro?"

Arata restrained himself from throwing another object at Suzaku.

"Why are you even asking when you know it’s your annoying ass?"

Suzaku feigned being hurt. "How can you say something so hurtful?"

"Shut up already." Arata waved him off and went back to working on whatever he was doing, deciding that ignoring Suzaku was the best course of action.

Of course, Suzaku had business here, so Arata had to address that before the redhead lost patience and began bothering him again.

"Your suit’s over there," Arata muttered, pointing toward a cluttered box among a chaotic pile of tools and gadgets.

Suzaku nodded and began scavenging through it in silence. Soon, he lifted a box with a smirk.

"So this is it, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Arata waved dismissively. "Just make sure to promote me a lot when you’re on TV. I’ve been pulling all-nighters since we agreed on this to make it as you asked."

Suzaku smiled, satisfied as he peeked inside the box. "Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the entire country gets sick of hearing your name."

Arata sweatdropped, turning his head slightly to give Suzaku a wary glance. "...Maybe just say it once. That’s fine too."

Suzaku looked indignant, clenching his fist like he’d just been told a great injustice. "No way! I must spread your name through heaven and earth. I assure you, man, by the time I’m a hero, there won’t be a single soul in Japan who doesn’t know your name. So prepare for big fame, my friend."

Arata sighed, already regretting asking this guy for help. "Just take it and leave, dude. Isn’t your practical exam supposed to have already started?"

Suzaku snorted with a proud smirk. "Heroes always arrive fashionably late."

"Get the heck out of here already."

Suzaku laughed, swinging the box with his suit over his shoulder along with his bag, and hurried out of the room.

He was, indeed, a few minutes late.

Soon enough, he arrived at his classroom, where all his classmates sat nervously at their desks, clearly dying to know what the practical exam would be. Vlad King stood at the front, already looking annoyed, and shot Suzaku a glare as he entered.

"Suzuki, you’re—"

"Yeah?"

"...Nevermind." Vlad King shook his head, looking done with life. "Go to your seat. We’re about to begin."

"Okay dokey."

As Suzaku took his seat, Vlad King sighed before addressing the class.

"Since we’re all here, let’s get moving. We’re taking a bus to Center Plaza. The exam will be done there."

Suzaku’s head perked up, raising an eyebrow. "But I just sat down."

Vlad King gave him a blank look. "Yeah?"

Suzaku’s smile twitched. "...Nevermind."

...

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|An hour later...|

...

And so, Class 1-B found themselves standing in front of Center Plaza—a huge facility that, from the outside, looked like a mall, but was actually equipped with various areas specifically prepared for conducting the practical exam.

However, despite its eye-catching appearance, the students’ eyes were fixed on something else entirely.

"For real?" Sen mumbled.

"For real real," Suzaku answered beside him.

"Damn," Tetsutetsu sweatdropped at the sight.

There, standing right at the entrance of the area, gathered in front of their class, were most of U.A.’s teachers.

Present Mic, Cementoss, Midnight, Snipe, Power Loader, Ectoplasm, Thirteen—and of course, Vlad King.

If most of Class 1-B claimed they hadn’t figured out by now what was coming, they’d be lying.

Itsuka, in particular, looked especially confused as to why so many teachers were there, when according to her intel, they were supposed to be dealing with robots in the exam.

And fortunately—or not—her confusion was soon cleared up.

Vlad King stepped forward, smiling slyly as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Now, we will begin the practical exam. Keep in mind that we can fail you if your performance doesn’t meet our standards. So, unless any of you want to miss the summer camp, you better give it your all!"

The students gulped in unison. The stakes couldn’t be any highe—

"Should I fail on purpose...?"

Everyone’s eyebrows twitched at the muttering of a certain redhead.

Including Vlad King’s.

"...That’s what we’d usually say to make sure you’re all motivated," Vlad replied flatly, shooting a glare at Suzaku. "But since a certain punk here might actually prefer not to go, I think it’s better if I tell you the truth—even if you fail, you’re still going to the camp. You’ll just be stuck doing remedial classes there."

"Tsk."

Hearing that all-too-familiar click of annoyance, Vlad’s grin returned.

"Anyway, back to the exam. As many of you might’ve guessed... your opponents this time will be—US." He pointed at his coworkers, who smiled sadistically as most of the class visibly tensed. "For this test, you’ll be paired with a classmate and will have to face off against one of us—"

"Excuse me, Sensei," Itsuka raised her hand, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead. "I, uh... I thought we’d be facing the robots from the entrance exam?"

"That was indeed the case," A high-pitched voice suddenly rang out above them, making everyone turn their heads. "... but due to certain circumstances, the contents of the exam have been changed!"

Their eyes instantly widened when they saw a massive figure descending from the sky.

—BOOM!—

As it landed, the concrete beneath cracked, and a small dust cloud rose, briefly hiding the figure before it dispersed—revealing the one they wanted the least to be there.

"I am here."

"All Might...?" Setsuna muttered with a dumbfounded grin.

"For real?" Sen said again, stunned.

"For real real," Suzaku repeated beside him. Though this time, even he looked a bit surprised—and wary, that too.

Then, the same high-pitched voice from earlier then spoke aloud again—coming not from All Might himself, but from over his shoulder.

"From now on, we want to focus on evaluating person-to-person combat and hero work, plus stress teaching that is closer to real combat."

As it finished speaking, a strikingly small figure—compared to the behemoth he stood on—revealed itself.

A rat? A dog? A bear?

No... it was Principal Nezu!

"Who’s the pipsqueak?" Suzaku muttered under his breath, earning an elbow jab from Itsuka beside him.

Nezu continued his speech as he jumped down from All Might’s shoulder, acting as if he hadn’t heard Suzaku’s mutter—even though he definitely had.

"So, like Vlad King was saying, in this year’s exam, you’ll form teams of two with one of your classmates and fight against one of our teachers!"

Instantly, the nervousness everyone was feeling doubled.

They had been expecting to fight dumb robots—but now they had to go up against actual teachers?

’Him too?!’

Everyone thought the same thing as they glanced at the perpetually smiling Symbol of Peace.

Suddenly, Shoda—the class vice-representative—raised his hand, looking faintly nervous.

"Nezu-sensei... will we get to choose who we team up with, or—?"

"No!" Nezu replied cheerfully, causing Shoda’s face to drop instantly.

Vlad King stepped in to explain. "The pairs and your assigned opponents have already been decided. I selected them based on various factors I’ve observed as your homeroom teacher—your fighting styles, grades, and interpersonal dynamics..."

The students exchanged glances, trying to guess who they might be paired with.

Vlad’s eyes flicked briefly toward Suzaku, his smile twitching ever so slightly.

"By the way, this was a completely objective and unbiased selection."

""...?""

A collective eyebrow raise followed that suspicious clarification.

|Small flashback...|

Vlad King slammed his fist against the conference room’s table.

"Beat up that brat good, he needs to get that attitude of his a check!"

|End of the flashback...|

Clearing his throat with feigned innocence, Vlad nodded and took a notepad from Cementoss.

"Anyway, here are the teams—so listen up!"

He began reading them out loud:

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Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Setsuna Tokage VS Principal Nezu

Togaru Kamakiri and Sen Kaibara VS Snipe

Kinoko Komori and Yosetsu Awase VS Power Loader

Juzo Honenuki and Reiko Yanagi VS Ectoplasm

Yui Kodai and Shihai Kuroiro VS Present Mic

Itsuka Kendo and Kosei Tsuburaba VS Vlad King

Ibara Shiozaki and Manga Fukidashi VS Midnight

Nirengeki Shoda and Pony Tsunotori VS Thirteen

Jurota Shishida, Kojiro Bondo, and Hiryu Rin VS Cementoss

Suzaku Suzuki and Neito Monoma VS All Might

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’Huh?’

Suzaku’s carefree smile immediately vanished the moment he heard the last line.

He slowly turned to Vlad King and pointed at himself.

Vlad nodded, clearly struggling not to grin.

Suzaku blinked, baffled, then turned toward All Might.

The man simply gave him a peace sign, paired with his signature grin.

"...Damn."

Suzaku tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

After a few moments of coming to terms with what was happening, he glanced at his soon-to-be partner.

"Tsk!"

The blonde was glaring daggers at him.

The next instant, Suzaku sneered and shook his head with an amused smile.

’Yeah... I’m failing this shit.’

With the teams established, and the students aware of their soon-to-be opponents, Nezu smiled satisfied.

"The exam will have a time limit of thirty minutes. Until then, your objective will be to put these handcuffs on the teacher." Nezu took out a pair of techy-looking handcuffs. "Or to have at least one of you escape from the testing area, whichever you feel like is the best course of action."

Nezu’s eyes settled on Suzaku for a moment, whose eyebrows furrowed a little at what the rat might be implying.

Still, he wasn’t exactly wrong.

Suzaku gave All Might a wry look.

That guy—there wasn’t much of an option but to run away from him, was there?

What else could they do? Hit them with their strongest punches?

’I bet the guy will barely feel them...’ Suzaku shook his head. ’Actually, forget about punching him. How do we even manage to not get knocked unconscious from a single punch of his?’

Suzaku had confidence in himself and his skill... but beating All Might wasn’t a matter of either.

He simply didn’t have the firepower.

’Or maybe I do... but it’s not like I’m doing such a thing for an exam... Maybe if he became evil or something like that, I’d consider it.’

He sighed.

Why hadn’t the impostor God given him firepower in between? Right now he could only struggle to survive, or go overkill. No inbetween.

He caressed his chin as a certain thought popped on his head. ’Well, technically my shapeshifting might count as such with the boost it can give me physically... But it might be hard to use with everyone watching.’

Suzaku was about to heave a sigh, seeing that there seems to be no way forward in this situation, but then, his eyes suddenly widened faintly. His gaze moving towards a certain suit he was carrying on a box.

’I asked Arata for smoke bombs, didn’t I?’

...

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|Minutes later...|

...

Both Suzaku and Monoma sat across from each other at a small table in the standby area, waiting for their turn to face All Might.

Now, Suzaku was finally wearing his new suit—minus the helmet, which he kept on the table until it was time to gear up fully.

The design had changed a bit. Unlike the old one’s heroic style, this new suit leaned more into a fighter-slash-mercenary vibe. The armored parts were far more compact without sacrificing flexibility or comfort. The material itself was resistant to both blunt force and cuts—and, per Suzaku’s request, also fire-resistant.

The incorporated backpack was bulkier than his previous one, with compartments for his staff, grenades (which Arata had thankfully added), and a grappling hook device—repurposed from the prototype used during the Sports Festival.

All in all, it was a highly equipped suit—though heavy.

Anyone else who put it on would’ve probably buckled under the sheer weight—especially from the staff stored on his back.

In fact, Suzaku’s chair already groaned every time he shifted too much while seated.

So he wasn’t moving much.

"..."

"..."

The silence between him and Monoma was thick and awkward—until Suzaku casually pulled a small box of orange-flavored Quirk Tacs from a pocket in his suit.

Without minding his teammate’s odd glance, he popped a few into his mouth and then offered the box to Monoma.

"Want some?"

Monoma eyed the little beans with suspicion. "What are they? Poison?"

Suzaku raised a brow. "I just ate some. How could they be poison?"

Monoma narrowed his eyes, smirking darkly. "Your mouth’s pretty venomous. Wouldn’t surprise me if you were immune."

Suzaku sneered. "You talk like you’re any better."

"That’s because I am."

"Whatever you say, Coocooma."

"This guy..." Monoma clenched his teeth, just about ready to throw hands.

Suzaku didn’t even flinch, tossing more Quirk Tacs into his mouth like popcorn.

"So," he said casually, "got any plans?"

Monoma scoffed. "Plans? For what? We’re getting obliterated out there. You pissed off Vlad-sensei, and now he’s getting revenge—and I’M GETTING DRAGGED INTO IT!"

Suzaku waved a hand lazily. "He said he based teams on what he’s seen, right? He probably noticed you need someone to carry your weight every time, so he generously put you with me."

"I swear—"

"No, but seriously," Suzaku cut in, "any actual ideas? Or are we just getting punched into orbit?"

Monoma let out a breath and shrugged.

"None. Best I’ve got is running and hoping we can clear the area to pass. But even with the weights Nezu-sensei said the teachers would wear, I doubt we can outrun All Might. We’d need to be supersonic or something."

Suzaku sighed too. Yeah... things were looking bleak.

He leaned back, eyes wandering around—maybe hoping inspiration would fall from the ceiling, or be hiding somewhere random in the room.

"Hmm?"

That’s when he caught sight of a figure walking past the open doorway. It was only visible for a second before continuing down the hallway.

As the figure disappeared, Suzaku sneered faintly. ’He’s here too, huh?’

Then he snorted at himself. ’Right. Of course he’d be here. Class 1-A probably had this exam earlier than us—pause.’

His eyes widened.

His breath hitched slightly.

Monoma noticed and frowned. "What’s with you now?"

Suzaku kept his gaze on the hallway for a second longer, gears clearly turning. Then he turned to Monoma.

"Hey, your Copy Quirk—what are its specifics?"

Monoma blinked, confused, but answered anyway.

"I can copy the Quirk of whoever I touch. Once I do, I can use it however I want for five minutes. But Quirks that need pre-charged resources don’t work well. I only copy the ability, not any of the buildup. Besides that, I can also store up to three Quirks, but only use one at a time."

"I see..." Suzaku nodded, thoughtfully stroking his chin like a sage mid-meditation. Then he threw another question. "How long until we’re up?"

"Two minutes," Monoma said after checking his phone. "Why?"

Suzaku casually jerked a thumb toward the open door.

"Just saw Class 1-A’s homeroom teacher walk by."

Monoma squinted. "Aizawa-sensei?"

Suzaku nodded. Silent.

"So?" Monoma asked, brow furrowed.

Suzaku said nothing, letting the silence drag.

And then—realization hit Monoma like a freight train.

"Oh. You mean—? OH!"

"Yeah."

Suzaku stood, smirking like the devil himself.

"Wait, hold on—what are you planning to do?" Monoma asked warily.

Surely, he wasn’t actually planning to—

His thought was cut off as Suzaku pulled his staff from its compartment, red eyes gleaming behind his glasses.

"How about we even the playing field?"

...

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-To be Continued...-

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(A/N: Poor hobo man, it seems he can’t catch a break.

Sadly, his Quirk was too good for Suzaku to pass on when he’s literally about to enter the most unjust fight ever.

What did you think about that development? Forced, unforced, incredibly smart, genius in a century, shut up author?

Sorry, with no exams on my back, the schizophrenia tends to strike every now and then.

By the way, I got a new keyboard, but the keys are a mess, so I can’t make an arrow like before, so you’re gonna have to stick with a slash and that’s it.)

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