Sussy Baka in MHA - 109

────────────────────────
[Society Without a Symbol]
────────────────────────

…

That day, a monster unknown to society—one who had lurked in the darkness for so long that most had forgotten him. A monster who had controlled society since the dawn of Quirks. An ancient entity who had spread his roots throughout all of Japan, perhaps even the world, and who had only began to lose power once someone else of similar strength rose to oppose him—died.

And despite all of that, of all the evils he had committed, of all the lives he had taken throughout his long life, of the position which he once held in the global power, that day, in the eyes of the world, he died as nothing more than a seemingly powerful individual who had managed to contend with the Symbol of Peace.

An amazing feat, without a doubt.

But in the end, he died a stranger. Just another overwhelming Quirk that spiraled out of control and had to be put down.

Someone who had once held the world in the palm of his hand became nothing more than an unmoving corpse to the eyes of everyone—one that didn’t even receive a grand or meaningful ending.

And, bafflingly, it wasn’t even the greatest hero—his destined rival, and the one who carried the legacy of many others before him to defeat him—who brought an end to him, but rather, the very student who had been kidnapped prior to the incident—the one whose rescue had united so many heroes to fight the villain in the first place.

The very objective of the rescue became the one who ended the fight.

And he did so in a way no one could have predicted.

All Might’s battle with the villain had been a clash of titans, and as more heroes joined, the conflict escalated further, tilting—at least briefly—in the heroes’ favor.

Yet, at the critical moment, when that advantage seemed to vanish after the villain resorted to desperation and took the boy hostage, everything ended abruptly.

The villain’s neck was snapped like a twig—by the hostage himself.

The footage sent shockwaves through society.

Not only because of the outcome, but because of the abilities the teenager had displayed.

He went from being restrained in the villain’s grasp to teleporting behind him, then twisting the neck of someone who had endured All Might’s punches as if he were nothing, ending him as if his life hadn’t been harder to cut away than a weak grass blade to be cut.

And then, once the villain was dead, the boy sank into the ground and vanished from the scene entirely.

For those learning about the kid for the first time, it was shocking. The person whom the heroes had been rescuing could have done that all the time?

But for those who already knew him, it was even more unsettling.

His reputation as someone with a lackluster Quirk—who compensated with sheer ferocity and technique—had already spread through his many televised appearances. From the Sports Festival, to his internships, to his involvement in the Stain incident, his confrontation with villains on live television, and even the resurfacing of his past connection to a long-forgotten kidnapping case.

For someone like that to suddenly display abilities completely unrelated to anything previously known about him was nothing short of earth-shattering.

Even more so when the most avid news watchers and bored people online began connecting the dots between various suspicious incidents tied to his name.

A breakout from a heavily guarded laboratory—supposedly caused by an unknown vigilante—, his unexplained great physical abilities, and both appearances of the giant red monster near him, soon became disturbingly revealing.

Of course, with so little concrete information, all of it remained speculation.

But one thing was clear.

That kid had never been what he appeared to be.

And with him gone, the whole matter became even more shrouded in darkness.

Still, while this revelation alone was enough to shake society, another matter overshadowed it for the most part.

The end of All Might.

After the fight, the mightiest hero’s true form was exposed to all of Japan. His sunken, frail visage—a pitiful sight compared to his once vigorous and invincible frame—sent tremors through society as a whole.

The hero they had believed to be invincible for so long, whose power seemed so overwhelming that the peace he embodied felt unbreakable, was gone.

Just like that, an era that had once seemed endless came to an abrupt end.

And it was cemented even further when the hero himself appeared on national television to declare his retirement.

Together, these events plunged Japan into unease. Without its greatest protector—and with the revelation that a former rising star had been hiding such strange abilities—the people couldn’t help but ask themselves a single question.

What would happen now?

Would Endeavor, the new number one hero, truly be up to the task—especially considering the immeasurable shadow his predecessor had cast over society?

Would Suzaku Suzuki ever make his appearance again? And when he did, what side would he be on?

No one knew for sure.

…

°

°

°

| U.A. Staff’s room |

…

The U-shaped table, filled with most teachers, amidst which were included Midnight, Cementoss, Snipe, Aizawa, Vlad King, and last but not least, All Might, was plunged into silence as they all watched the footage of the recent events in small notepads in their grasp, their expressions grave and confused.

There, on repeat, played the video of Suzaku teleporting behind All For One and snapping his neck. Sometimes in slow motion, others in normal speed. The teachers calmly assessed the video while zooming in and inspecting everything in detail. 

The tension in the room rose with each second that passed.

Then, the first to break the suffocating quiet was Vlad King. His eyes remained fixed on the screen of his notepad as he left it on the table, and his clasped hands tightened. His expression was complicated and somewhat lost.

“I don’t understand, Principal… What does this mean?”

Nezu, who was sitting at the base of the U-shaped table, appeared just as perplexed, even as his expression remained outwardly composed.

“It means,” he said calmly, though his tone carried weight, “that we never truly understood Suzuki’s real capabilities.”

-Rustle…-

Nezu reached into his clothes and pulled out a thick envelope of documents, along with a specialized projection disk. Once activated, the disk emitted a large holographic display that hovered above the table.

Instantly, every gaze was drawn to it, expressions of surprise flashing in all of them.

All of the data shown there was about Suzaku.

“After the shocking events of the other day,” Nezu continued, “I decided to investigate our student’s past more thoroughly. While I was already aware of certain… peculiarities in his history, there were several details I deliberately chose not to pursue further at the time, out of ethical and privacy concerns.”

“This is—!” someone muttered in disbelief.

Nezu nodded. “Suzaku Suzuki’s birth records.”

The hologram shifted, lines of medical data scrolling endlessly.

“As you can see, from the very beginning, his physical parameters were abnormal to a degree that borders on biological impossibility. His muscle fiber density showed extreme efficiency, with contraction ratios far exceeding normal babies of his age. His bone density displayed a resilience that seemed outright abnormal as well, with microstructures optimized to absorb and redistribute impact rather than fracture. And as he grew older, they only became stronger.”

Several teachers stiffened.

“His ocular nerves displayed accelerated signal transmission, granting reaction speeds well beyond what even trained heroes could achieve. His reflex arcs were unnaturally short, suggesting direct neural optimization rather than learned response. Even his blood composition was anomalous—high oxygen-binding efficiency, rapid coagulation, and cellular regeneration rates that defied known human baselines… Such was the contrast that it was even classified as a new type of blood.”

Nezu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“And yet, none of it was tied to a Quirk factor. No mutation markers. No latent genetic anomalies. Nothing. It was as though his body had been engineered from the ground up to be better. Not superhuman… but more like an improved subspecies that appeared out of nowhere, just like Quirks did once.”

“H-how was this never discovered?” Cementoss exclaimed, staring at the projection in disbelief.

“It was,” Nezu replied quietly. “According to testimonies from those who knew him, the doctor who conducted the original analysis intended to publish a comprehensive report and submit it to the scientific community.”

The room tensed.

“Unfortunately, not long after, he was confirmed deceased under suspicious circumstances, which the police had no choice but to classify as suicide.”

Gasps rippled through the table.

“His last recorded contact was Dr. Ujiko,” Nezu continued, his expression growing darker. “The same man we later uncovered as the one conducting illegal human experimentation beneath Jaku General Hospital…”

The hologram shifted again.

“…the very facility Suzaku Suzuki was abducted to years ago.”

Baffled silence fell over the entire room.

Nezu, however, did not stop.

“And that is the same facility in which a massacre later occurred—one that allowed Suzuki to escape unscathed… allegedly.”

“What are you implying, Principal?” Snipe asked, his tone tense.

Nezu gave him a look before interlocking his paws as his tone became more serious. “The vigilante supposedly responsible for that massacre was never properly identified. While the police have theorized that the mysterious individual who killed the villains infiltrating our facilities during the Sports Festival, and the one who rescued our students at the training camp, is the same person who freed Suzuki back then… my own conclusions lead me toward far more… unconventional possibilities.”

He then glanced at All Might, who nodded, his expression dark.

“Although it was never explicitly clarified to me,” All Might said, “All For One and his subordinates showed an unusual interest in young Suzaku. Even when he took him hostage, his focus wasn’t entirely on mocking me—it was on making Suzaku see what he believed to be the ugliness of hero society, to convincing him to join his side.”

Nezu picked up from there. “Taking that into account, it’s clear All For One saw something in Suzuki—something worth recruiting.”

“Are you saying he knew about Suzaku’s abilities and tried to recruit him because of them?” Aizawa asked.

Nezu shook his head.

“If that were the case, he would have understood the risk of taking Suzuki hostage—something that, as we all witnessed, cost him his life.”

No one smiled at that conclusion.

Their student had killed someone. Even if that someone was an irredeemable villain, it was still a burden no student should ever have to carry. If anything, it only highlighted their own failure as heroes—unable to prevent it.

All Might, in particular, felt his fist tighten in frustration.

“All For One knew more than we did. That much is certain,” Nezu continued. “But he clearly underestimated the true extent of Suzuki’s abilities. My hypothesis is that he didn’t view Suzuki as an immediate threat, but rather as someone overflowing with unrealized potential.”

“Potential?” Vlad King echoed.

Nezu nodded. “Given the repeated appearances of an unknown vigilante in incidents surrounding Suzaku, as well as the giant entity of unknown origin, I believe All For One noticed the pattern. He likely assumed that wherever this vigilante with multiple seemingly unrelated abilities, as well as the red monster with equally baffling power, had come from, Suzuki was somehow connected to them.”

He let out a humorless laugh.

“… Given their anomalous connection to Suzuki, and the fact that it wasn’t only one that was stalking Suzuki and protecting him, All For One must have thought another organization was backing Suzuki and was looking to make use of his strong body to convert him into an even stronger version of whatever these vigilante and monster were. And because of that, Suzuki’s value skyrocketed for the villain, given All For One’s connection to Nomus and their multiple Quirks.”

“Are you saying he wanted to make Suzuki into a Nomu?” Snipe muttered.

“Perhaps,” Nezu said. “Or something similar. A body capable of handling multiple Quirks would have been invaluable to him. Suzuki was likely seen as an uncut gem—untouched, ready to be shaped into a powerful asset.” His gaze flicked back to the looping footage. “Which, as we’ve seen, was a fatal miscalculation, seeing as the abilities All For One thought hadn’t been there, were in truth there all along.”

“Then, Suzuki was actually experimented on?! Someone gave him those abilities?!” Vlad King suddenly stood, outrage clear on his face.

Nezu sighed, his composed expression cracking just slightly. “It’s one possibility. But it is far from the only one.”

Everyone tilted their heads.

Nezu paused for a moment, reflecting on how much his next words weighed.

And so, he dropped the bomb. 

“Another possibility is that… the origin was always much simpler. Those abilities weren’t granted, but were always there.”

He tapped the documents, redirecting everyone’s gazes to them.

“His birth was already anomalous, and while nothing strange was further discovered, nothing says such abilities wouldn’t have been dormant at the time… Awakened only at a moment of distress… Like in his kidnapping incident.”

Everyone struggled to digest the principal’s words.

One thing was a baby being stronger than its peers… but a baby being born with multiple unrelated abilities? That was crazy.

“You mean like multiple Quirks?” Midnight asked, eyes narrowed.

Nezu shook his head. “It’s a possibility, but given no Quirk factor was found related to his enhanced physique, perhaps the same applies to these abilities he demonstrated.”

Everyone found it hard to believe. 

The only reason for the supernatural in today’s age was Quirks, and nothing else.

But as they struggled to take in the new information, Nezu continued on with his revelations.

“Which brings me to the next point… That being that, there was never a thing such as a vigilante,” he said quietly. “Or a giant monster.”

The room went still, eyes darting to each other in disbelief.

“There was only one person ever truly involved,” Nezu finished. “No secret organization backing him, no vigilante that saved him, and no monster that conveniently appeared twice to his help… that being, Suzaku Suzuki himself.”

Aizawa’s eyes narrowed as memories surfaced—Suzaku emerging from the forest during the camp incident, far too calm despite his classmates and even himself being terrified by just the monster’s presence alone.

And now, knowing Suzaku could warp through the floor… the previously contradictory point of Suzaku being too far away from the monster to be related to its appearance… was now gone.

“You’re saying…” Vlad King began slowly, “…Suzuki can shapeshift?”

The moment the words left his mouth, realization struck him—just as it did Aizawa.

Nezu smiled faintly.

“You’ve realized it,” he said. “At the camp, Suzuki claimed he could control his body to inhuman levels. Doesn’t that sound oddly like a lesser level of shapeshifting?”

Vlad King looked shaken, while Aizawa’s eyebrows furrowed in thought.

Nezu turned back to the hologram, now displaying the grotesque image of the giant monster—crimson flesh-like skin twisted and swollen, like an incarnation of chaos itself. 

“It would explain the vigilante’s repeated appearances near Suzuki, as well as the monster’s,” Nezu continued, before laughing slightly. “—as well as the consistent color scheme of light blue and red that it has with Suzuki’s red hair and his glasses.”

“This is… a stretch, Principal,” one of the teachers said. “Warping, shapeshifting, possible electromagnetic output given the blackouts that the vigilante was theorized to possess, physical enhancements… how many Quirks—no, how many abilities would that be by now?”

“You forgot his apparent capacity to kill anyone without so much as a scratch, as seen in previous corpses, and in All For One himself,” Nezu finished calmly.

“It’s unbelievable,” Cementoss muttered.

“So is his birth,” Nezu replied. “Suzuki’s body was never within the bounds of possibility, even by modern standards. If his physical existence defies logic, then the presence of multiple abilities is not much more implausible… Even if said abilities aren’t even Quirks to begin with.”

“Damn it,” Vlad King muttered, dragging a hand across his face.

Silence followed.

Then All Might spoke.

“When All For One took him hostage,” he said quietly, “Young Suzaku said he didn’t think he was fit to be a hero.”

Nezu nodded. “Given what we know now, and what that means Suzuki had to do many times in order to survive… perhaps it’s not so unbelievable our student presented such doubts.”

The implication weighed heavily on everyone.

If there had never been a vigilante, then the one who had been behind the hundreds of deaths…

Everyone’s eyes darkened at the thought.

After a moment, Nezu smiled gently and turned to Vlad King.

“Vlad, what do you think of Suzuki?”

The question took him by surprise, given the revelations that were going down here.

But soon, he began to ponder, taking his time.

“He’s… brash,” he admitted. “Rough around the edges. Almost a full-on delinquent.”

He exhaled.

“But he’s also undeniably heroic. A natural leader. He pushed his classmates forward—emotionally and physically. Whether he realized it or not, he was vital to the class.”

Nezu nodded and turned to Aizawa.

“And you?”

“At first,” Aizawa said, “I thought he lacked potential. He had a Quirk, sure, but one unfit for combat. For me, that made him no different from a Quirkless child, and throwing one into hero work felt as irrational as sending someone into war unarmed... But he proved me wrong. He has more resolve than most students I’ve taught. Even without a strong Quirk, he had the strength and skill to keep moving forward this path.”

Nezu smiled.

“I agree. He embodies exactly why this institution exists—to guide extraordinary children down the right path.” His gaze hardened slightly. “Regardless of what he’s done, or what consequences may follow, I don’t intend to abandon him just like that.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to him.

Nezu turned to All Might. “All Might, do you know where Suzuki went?”

All Might hesitated, then shook his head.

“He didn’t say. During our last moments together, he only asked me to look after his parents and his class… Though,” he added, eyes glowing in growing intensity, “he did mention settling unfinished business with… Shigaraki and the others.”

Nezu ignored it and turned to face everyone again with an amused smile.

“Then we have a lead,” he said. “Though if he truly can shapeshift, identifying him won’t be easy.”

The room was grim.

Nezu, however, remained unwavering.

“Even so,” he said, “we will do everything we can.”

He looked around the table.

“We will bring our student back—no matter where he is.”

…

°

°

°

| Suzaku’s apartment… |

…

The door to the apartment clicked open, slowly and gently letting the light spill inside.

From behind it, several figures shrouded in black emerged as the light struck their backs, stepping into the apartment at a calm, deliberate pace.

One of them reached for the light switch.

—Click—

The lights flickered on, banishing the darkness and revealing the figures for what they were—police officers.

“No one,” one of them muttered, eyes narrowing as he surveyed the room.

“Not just that… almost nothing,” another added.

And indeed, while some essentials remained—the couch, the fridge, and other large appliances—nearly every trace of personal decoration was gone.

Some officers moved to inspect the shelves and cabinets, noting the lack of dust and the faint impressions where objects had once rested. Others checked the fridge and kitchen, only to confirm that they, too, were completely empty.

It was as if a ghost had lived here.

Soon, the group moved calmly toward the bedroom, while a few officers stayed behind to properly document what little evidence remained and secure the perimeter.

Just like the rest of the apartment, the bedroom was stripped bare. Several pieces of furniture were still present, but nothing sat atop them—only marks and outlines hinting that something had once been there.

One detail, however, stood out.

“Most of the furniture’s still here…” one officer said slowly. “But the bed is gone.”

Whoever had been here before them had thoroughly cleared the place out, leaving almost nothing behind for the police to investigate. Not even the bed had been spared.

The officers could only stare, baffled by the sheer absence of usable clues.

Then another figure entered the apartment.

The dog-headed officer, Chief of Police Kenji Tsubaramae, stepped inside, his heavy gaze sweeping over the already-inspected rooms. He let out a quiet sigh.

“As expected… It’s already empty,” he said.

He had suspected what that kid might have been hiding. But until he saw it with his own eyes, he hadn’t fully believed it.

Now he had—and any lingering doubts vanished.

‘Just what kind of person did you take in as a student, Tatsuo-san?’ he sighed, staring pensively at the floor.

Though he’d harbored suspicions about Suzaku’s secrets, he hadn’t expected the boy to escape so quickly. He had barely managed to secure a warrant to search the apartment for clues to Suzaku’s whereabouts—and even then, they were too late.

Wherever Suzaku had gone, he had already passed through here one last time, taking nearly everything with him.

That meant the only clues remaining weren’t inside here, but somewhere else.

Humming thoughtfully, Kenji gave the working officers a nod before stepping out of the apartment and heading toward the neighboring one instead. He knocked calmly on the door.

A moment later, a familiar green-haired protagonist answered.

“Uhm… can I help you?”

Kenji flashed his badge. “Police. I’d like to ask you a few questions regarding your neighbor.”

“Suzuki-kun?”

“It seems you already know him.”

Midoriya stepped out slightly, glancing toward the now police-filled apartment next door.

“What happened to him?” he asked, worry filling his voice. “I saw what happened on TV, but I don’t understand why he suddenly—”

“Neither do we, kid,” Kenji cut in evenly. “That’s what we’re trying to find out. How did you know him?”

“I was a classma—well, not exactly. We’re both in the hero course.”

“I see. Did you notice anyone entering his apartment and taking items out? Furniture, belongings, anything like that?”

Midoriya frowned, glancing once more at the neighboring door. “N-no. Did someone rob him?”

“Maybe,” Kenji replied. “Or maybe he moved out.”

“... Wait. I think I remember something.”

Kenji raised an eyebrow.

“Earlier today, an elderly man was moving furniture. He said he was moving in. I offered to help, but he told me his strength Quirk kept him energetic despite his age.”

“What was he carrying?”

“Mostly decorations—photos, trophies, things like that. And… ah, he was carrying a bed at one point.”

“Which apartment was he supposedly moving into?”

Midoriya pointed toward the lower floors. “If I’m not mistaken, apartment 13. It’s been empty since the start of the year, so I didn’t think much of it…”

Kenji let out a short snort, nodded, and bid Midoriya farewell.

He made his way down the stairs and spoke with the building’s registered owner.

Not long after—

“No, apartment 13 is still unoccupied,” a middle-aged woman said, shaking her head from the doorway of her own unit. “No one has applied to rent it.”

“I see. Thank you for your time,” Kenji replied with a nod before walking away.

‘Thorough kid,’ he mused, a snort leaving his snout. ‘And seeing how eccentric he and Tatsuo were… who knows where he’ll go from now on?’

He pulled out a cigarette and took a slow drag.

Unnoticed around the corner, a blond man watched him in silence.

Then he sneered—and walked away.

“At least I managed to take my bed.”

...

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

────────────────────────

(A/N: The cat is out of the bag, and Suzaku’s true nature has become apparent to anyone willing to give it a bit of thought. Laying out the line of reasoning and dialogue during U.A.’s meeting was a little tricky, but I think it came together well, even if it ended up slightly word-heavy.

Also, seeing the reactions in WN, I see that maybe the chapters that build up to kill All For One might have been a tad frustrating for you guys. Sorry about that, I just wanted to build it up nicely before ending the arc in that one killing. But I may have gone too far. I'll try to mind the pacing a bit more.)