Chapter Twenty
Suzuki Saito
My heart began to beat rapidly.
Not from fear.Not from excitement.
It was the cold,calculated thrum of pure analysis emanating from the deepest recesses of my mind as I strategized a path to victory.
The reality of the situation was stark.
I had to deal with two opponents.
One:(Katsuki Bakugo), possessor of the Explosion Quirk, a mid-to-long-range powerhouse of pure destructive force.
Two:(Eijiro Kirishima), possessor of the Hardening Quirk, a close-combat specialist with monstrous durability.
One was suited for direct,overwhelming assault. The other was a literal walking fortress.
A brutal combination.
"(Suzuki)-san, do you think there is a plan we can use?"
(Momo Yaoyorozu), standing beside me, was undoubtedly intelligent.
She understood the difficulty of our position perfectly.
She knew I was Quirkless.She knew her own Creation ability, while versatile, was not an instant-win button against such physically dominant opponents. It required time and materials.
I let out a silent sigh, the air leaving my lungs in a controlled stream that made no sound.
Then,I looked at her and spoke.
"I have a plan. But it's a bit complex. We may need to predict a few key things."
I said this, and she nodded. She understood the implication.
First,we needed to know if the villain team would come to defeat us before we went to them to secure the bomb.
Without the slightest hesitation, (Momo) stated:
"It is almost certain (Bakugo)-san will come to us. He is, how should I put it... the most impatient person. He will undoubtedly come to us and leave (Kirishima)-kun to guard the bomb."
She was right. I completely agreed with that conclusion.
"Correct. It's impossible for him to stay back and guard. He'll come to us. Therefore, we must take advantage of that."
Without hesitation, I began retrieving several objects from compartments in my reinforced gauntlet.
They were small,cylindrical capsules, about the size of large pills, matte black with a single tiny LED light on one end.
(Momo)watched, her dark eyes widening a fraction in curiosity before a sharp, understanding smile touched her lips.
She already grasped the plan.
---
Several minutes later, on the other side of the monitors, Class 1-A watched the events unfold through various camera feeds.
All Might stood among them,his signature smile in place as he thought: Good! They didn't choose to rush in directly! They're taking time to build a plan first! A fine start!
Naturally, the students were also watching the hero team, who had been standing outside the building entrance for several minutes, discussing in low tones while (Suzuki) produced an array of strange equipment.
The capsules.
(Momo)'s brief smile.
Then,a clear moment of synchronized understanding.
Finally,the hero team surged into the building.
On another screen, (Katsuki Bakugo) was doing exactly what was predicted of him.
He had told(Kirishima)—who had protested with a "Hey, man! Shouldn't we stick together?"—to "Just guard the damn bomb!" before rocketing off down a corridor, using small, controlled blasts from his palms for propulsion.
Whoosh-BOOM. Whoosh-BOOM.
His eyes scanned the sterile, concrete corridors of the simulation building as he moved, already picturing the moves he'd need to crush the extras.
A savage,triumphant grin was etched on his face.
Quirkless freak and the princess. This'll be over in ten seconds.
But in the very next moment, a small, dark object, one of the capsules, arced through the air towards him from a side corridor.
His eyes,trained for combat, caught the movement in what felt like slow motion.
Fwip.
"Hah!" he barked, using a quick, sharp explosion from his left palm to propel himself backward in a fluid motion.
BAP!
The capsule struck the floor where he'd just been standing.
For a moment,nothing.
Then,with a soft PFFFT-SSSSSH, it released a massive, billowing cloud of thick, white smoke.
The cloud expanded with unnatural speed,instantly engulfing the corridor and completely obscuring (Bakugo)'s vision.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU EXTRAS?! YOU THINK THIS SMOKE CAN PROTECT YOU?!"
His voice was a roar of pure contempt from within the white-out.
He had a thought in an instant:Just blow it all away.
But before he could,he decided to simply move around it. He'd flank them.
He launched himself sideways out of the smoke cloud,his boots scraping against the concrete—Screech!—as he landed in a clear patch of hallway.
At that exact moment, another identical capsule was launched, arcing towards him from a different angle.
This time,(Batsuki) knew the 'solution.'
He raised his right hand,palm open, a wicked grin on his face.
"DIIIIEEEE!"
A terrifying roar that would make anyone imagine a villain killing people with intense rage.
Simultaneously,he unleashed a short-range, concussive blast from his palm.
KABOOM!
The force wave hit the capsule mid-air, sending it flying back down the corridor where it shattered against a wall with a pathetic crunch, its payload dispersing harmlessly.
"You're way too angry, you know."
The voice came from… where?
(Katsuki)wondered, his thoughts a silent, furious snarl, a stark contrast to his blazing red eyes that darted around, trying to pinpoint the source.
The voice was calm.Measured.
The shape appeared in the thinning edge of the smoke.
It was(Suzuki), standing there, looking at (Katsuki) with an unnerving calmness.
As if he were looking at someone who had already stepped into a trap.
"I'LL END YOU RIGHT NOW!"
(Katsuki) surged forward, using an explosion to propel himself.
His speed increased in an instant.
WHUMP-BOOM!
He was now standing directly in front of the (Suzuki) hologram—though he didn't know it was a hologram.
His fist was clenched tight,pulled back to deliver a swift, finishing punch.
"QUIRKLESS FREAK, LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US!"
He said it a millisecond before the punch connected.
Or,rather, should have connected.
(Katsuki Bakugo)'s fist passed through (Suzuki)'s torso with shocking ease.
It was like punching a cloud of mist,a phantom.
There was no impact.No grunt of pain. Just the sound of his fist cutting through empty air—Swish-CRACK—as his momentum carried him slightly forward.
His eyes flew open wide.
The explosive boy couldn't believe what was happening in front of him.
But he stopped almost instantly,his combat instincts screaming, and looked to the side.
There, another (Suzuki) stood, a few meters down the hallway, waving calmly, a faint, mocking smile on his lips.
"What's the matter? Did you hit a ghost?"
(Katsuki)'s mind worked at lightning speed.
What is going on? I was supposed to hit him. Why did my fist go through him? Why does he appear over there? Does he have a Quirk and was lying?
But he quickly dismissed that conclusion.
Why would he lie about being Quirkless and then reveal a Quirk the next moment? No. There's a trick here.
What (Katsuki) hadn't noticed—his attention perfectly monopolized by the infuriating holograms—were the small, disc-like projector units discreetly mounted on several sections of the corridor walls.
Furthermore,the chemical compounds within the initial smoke cloud were laced with light-reflective microparticles.
Together,they allowed for the rapid formation of highly realistic, movable holographic images.
This was one of the support items(Suzuki) had created with the help of (Mei Hatsume).
He had named it[Mysterio's Mirage].
Yes,the name sounded cheesy.
But in truth,it was the direct inspiration for its possibility, because it was designed based on the abilities of Spider-Man's enemy, Mysterio, from the Tom Holland films.
(Katsuki) reacted with typical fury.
He launched himself at the new hologram,a horizontal blast from his feet—BOOM!—sending him like a missile.
Another swing.Another pass-through. Swish.
Just an optical illusion.
On the other hand, the real (Suzuki) was using the cover provided by the lingering smoke and the visual distraction to move silently along the wall, a small device on his belt emitting a low-frequency hum that helped mask his thermal signature against the concrete.
"These tricks won't work for long!"
(Suzuki) knew with complete certainty that (Bakugo) wouldn't stay in this trap for long.
The sounds of explosions in front of me sounded like a dynamite-throwing contest.
KABOOM! CRACK-BOOM! FWOOMPH!
It continued for over a minute,a symphony of pure, wasted rage, as (Katsuki) blasted hologram after hologram, each one flickering out as the projectors were inevitably caught in the crossfire.
Finally, he stopped.
He was panting slightly,more from anger than exertion.
His sharp eyes caught a faint glint of reflected light from a small device on the wall near the ceiling.
"HAH! FOUND YOU!"
With a victorious snarl, he pointed a finger and let loose a pinpoint blast.
POW!
The small projector unit shattered into pieces,emitting a shower of sparks—FZZZT-POP!—before going dark.
Instantly, the remaining hologram of (Suzuki) flickered and died.
(Katsuki)smiled, a look of savage triumph on his face.
"SUCH A DUMB MOVE! USING CAMERAS TO TRY AND STOP ME?! YOU JUST PUT THESE THINGS ON THE WALLS, DON'T YOU?!"
He was pointing at the small, destroyed devices, now understanding their holographic principle.
But to(Bakugo), this whole affair seemed like a clown's move being used on him.
What infuriated him more was that he'd wasted a full minute smashing nothing but elaborate light shows.
"This is bad. He figured it out very quickly."
(Suzuki) thought this, but he didn't retreat.
In the moment(Katsuki) destroyed the last 3D projector, the real (Suzuki) had already revealed himself, stepping out from a recess in the wall.
(Katsuki)saw him immediately.
But instead of running or evading, (Suzuki) stood his ground.
He raised his hands,not in surrender, but in a combat stance, gauntlets humming with a low power charge.
Vrrrrrm.
This posture made (Katsuki)'s anger spike to new heights.
He looked at(Suzuki) with utter disgust.
"WHAT NOW?! ARE YOU GOING TO FIGHT ME FOR REAL?! WHY DON'T YOU JUST SURRENDER AND END THIS FARCE, YOU CLOWN?!"
The words were harsh, cruel by normal standards.
But to(Suzuki), they were just ordinary noise. Less than ordinary, even. He found them embarrassing.
So,he simply looked at (Katsuki) as if he were the clown and said, his voice flat and devoid of inflection:
"Are you done talking and screaming? Why don't you come closer if you're going to?"
It didn't look like (Katsuki) was going to waste another second.
The sound of explosions from his palms erupted—POP-POP-CRACKLE-SNAP!—before he shot forward.
In less than a second,he was at (Suzuki)'s side.
His fist,trailing smoke and sparks, was aimed straight for (Suzuki)'s face.
But before it could connect, without the explosive boy knowing, a small object—another capsule, but different—was launched at him from behind.
It came from a ventilation grate high on the wall.
Tink.
It burst just before reaching him, spraying him with a fine, odorless mist that coated his arms, his hands, his neck.
From the other side of the grate, (Momo Yaoyorozu), who had used the distraction to create and deploy the capsule with swift efficiency, smiled and whispered to herself:
"Well done. The operation was a success."
(Katsuki) was hit. A direct application.
The spray was a special compound(Suzuki) had formulated specifically for him, with (Momo)'s help in its rapid creation.
This substance worked by temporarily neutralizing the nitroglycerin-like sweat(Bakugo)'s Quirk produced.
For a short window,he wouldn't be able to create any sparks. Any explosions.
And just like that, it happened.
This had been the plan between(Momo) and (Suzuki) from the beginning.
(Suzuki)used the hologram device to attract and consume (Katsuki)'s attention completely, making him lose all awareness of (Momo)'s whereabouts.
In that crucial window,(Momo) used that blind spot to strike (Katsuki) from an unexpected angle with this solution, which would inhibit his Explosion Quirk for a predetermined period.
(Katsuki) skidded to a halt, his fist still outstretched but now devoid of its deadly crackle.
He stared at his own dry,inert palms.
...
Silence.
No pops.No sparks.
His primary weapon was gone.
He looked up, his crimson eyes wide with a mixture of shock, fury, and dawning, humiliating understanding.
The Quirkless extra and the Creation Princess had just disarmed the great(Katsuki Bakugo).
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End of Chapter.
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A Note from the Tactical Observation Deck:
Friends, what do you think about this chapter that I wrote, Was it good and what about the narrative I hope you will tell me your opinion in the comments
By the way, don't worry, there will be an upcoming chapter, I will write it for sure