Chapter Twenty-Five
A week had passed since the test.
Furthermore, (Bakugo) hadn't spoken to me again.
He seemed calmer than ever before.
Perhaps that was a kind of wonderful improvement in his personality.
And that wasnot what I had specifically hoped for.
The reason was simple: that kind of improvement would make him much stronger.
And frankly,I preferred his personality when it was weaker and suffering from psychological issues. That would create a flaw I could exploit to win against him.
Anyway, there was no use talking about that topic now.
Because at the moment,I was looking at (Mina Ashido), who was adopting a combat stance in the training field during the combat class.
The lesson called for everyone to train in sparring against a partner.
(Momo)and (Kirishima) were also standing next to each other, training in combat.
Of course,(Kirishima) wasn't using his special Hardening Quirk, as that would make the fight unfair.
I was observing their fight.
It seemed(Momo)'s movements were more fluid and graceful than (Kirishima)'s heavier, more straightforward strikes.
Clearly,the physical strength was concentrated on the red-haired boy's side.
On the other hand,the movement of (Mina) in front of me was more precise and dance-like.
She lunged.
I was on the defensive at this moment,evading her attacks as she let out little shouts that resembled the sound effects from action movies.
"Hiyah!""Ha!"
"You're too fast! But I'm gonna win!"
She said this while directing a precise kick towards my side.
I hadn't expected her to have such solid hand-to-hand skills even before coming to UA.
Perhaps I had underestimated her quite a bit.
But I wasn't easy prey either.
I was able to defend myself using some side stances from combat styles like boxing,plus some other martial arts techniques I had practiced.
I was holding my own against her.
But during this exchange,I noticed something interesting.
The physical strength inherent in her body was remarkable.
It could rival that of the boys,or even exceed normal human strength.
Not because of intensive training,but likely due to a genetic factor.
Perhaps her physical mutation—the pink skin,the yellow horns—wasn't just an adaptation to let her acid coexist with her body without harming it.
It was also a physical enhancement that raised her baseline strength.
"Take this!"
(Mina) said, her fist heading straight for my face.
I also felt the axis of her movement was just a feint,because her fist wasn't clenched tightly enough to be truly effective at deceiving me.
So,I retreated half a step backward.
This caused me to dodge her punch.
But her foot had swept in and become positioned between my right foot and the ground.
If I had moved after that half-step back,I would have tripped and fallen.
But she was surprised.
The smug smile that had formed in the moment I retreated disappeared.
That also caused her to hesitate for a split second.
"You—"
She didn't finish her word.
The fist she had raised…I had already grabbed it.
Using leverage and gravity,I lifted her body, redirected her momentum, and smoothly brought her down to the mat.
Whump.
All of that happened in a second.
She looked up at me from where she was pinned on the ground,seemingly unable to believe it.
"What was that?! How did you do that? I was sure you were going to fall! You anchored your feet!"
I told her, taking a deep breath.
I had been practicing a form of breathing,like the Demon Slayers in the anime Demon Slayer.
True,I noticed I wasn't capable of slicing giant boulders like those characters, but I benefited from the breathing technique by using it to slightly increase my physical power for a moment.
True,it wasn't as effective as the real Demon Slayer breathing, but it was useful to me.
It allowed me to concentrate my body's strength at a specific moment,which enabled me to execute that swift maneuver.
I decided to answer (Mina)'s question as I offered her a hand to help her up.
"It's nothing. Just a breathing style that lets me use my strength more efficiently."
The girl who stood up looked at me with a strange expression.
Then she smiled,as if she wouldn't let it go, but not without saying,
"That's so cool! I want you to teach me that style! It looks awesome!"
She closed the short distance between us.
While she was very close,I noticed she was looking at me with a sharp gaze.
It seemed she was planning something.
Because I instinctively felt she was aiming to take me down,I took a deep, silent breath so as not to alert her.
Her hand had grabbed my wrist in a firm grip, as if she was about to throw me over her shoulder.
But before she could do that,I had already redirected the motion of my own hand and grabbed her wrist instead.
In the next second,I had placed my foot between her legs and swept her stance.
Thud.
In the second second, once again, (Mina) was on the ground, easily showing her astonishment as she stared up at me as if she couldn't believe she'd been dropped again.
"Dammit! How do you keep reading me?! I wanted to throw you to the ground this time!"
I said to her, pretending to be calm.
Because I felt that if she had been fast enough,she might have very well succeeded in taking me down.
But knowing she was the playful type who didn't give up easily and liked to pay back a debt,I had anticipated she would try something like that.
So,I was prepared.
"You should never show your intention."
The girl looked as if she didn't understand what I said.
So,I pointed it out to her.
"You were approaching very calmly, but I noticed your eyes were fixed on my arm. So I knew you wanted to grab me at some point. I just tricked you by pretending to talk and be focused on that. But in truth, I knew you would grab my arm, so I was ready."
After I finished explaining, she seemed angry and said in my direction,
"That's not fair! I have to take you down too!"
I laughed at that.
My laugh didn't come from the heart.
Perhaps I had lost the ability to laugh genuinely a long time ago,or maybe comedy just didn't suit my personality.
So I spoke while pretending to laugh in an artificial way.
It didn't seem like she was able to detect it,so I continued.
"With training, you might be able to take me down."
But in my heart, I was thinking: Impossible. You'll never be able to take me down. I'm aiming for levels far higher than that. I just need to finish building my personal equipment, and then I won't allow anyone to defeat me in the future.
Of course,I didn't say that.
Instead,I appeared to be supportive of her.
(Mina)smiled at that and said,
"Definitely! Just wait, I'm gonna throw you to the ground with force!"
---
From the other side, a sound approached from behind.
I turned quickly.
The person who had approached…was someone I was surprised to see.
It was (Izuku Midoriya).
He was looking at me,approaching, and seemed startled that I had turned around the moment he got close.
He appeared embarrassed by my gaze and(Mina)'s, who was now getting up and also looking at (Midoriya).
But unlike me,who was calmly looking at him, she spoke with energetic, youthful cheerfulness laced with blunt honesty.
"Hey, (Midoriya)-kun! Is there something you need help with?"
Her kind tone made (Midoriya)'s face relax a little as he looked at her.
Then he looked at me and asked,his voice hesitant but determined.
"I… I wanted to talk to you a little, (Suzuki)-san. I was just wondering if we could speak for a bit."
I looked at him seriously.
I didn't know what he specifically wanted to talk to me about,especially since we didn't talk much.
True,I wanted to talk to him and build some kind of relationship, especially since he possessed One For All.
But this had come very quickly.
I wanted everything to be natural and somewhat slow-paced.
But…(This looks like a good opportunity. No need to waste it.)
"(Mina), I'm going to go talk with (Midoriya) for a bit. You can continue your training and practice some of the movement drills."
The lively girl, who found no problem with me going off with (Midoriya), smiled and went to continue her own training.
"Alright! I'll wait for you!"
(Midoriya) and I walked a short distance away from the main training area, finding a relatively quiet corner near some stacked gym mats.
The air still hummed with the sounds of combat—thuds, grunts, the smack of impacts—but it was muffled here.
He stood awkwardly, fidgeting with his fingers, his green eyes darting around before finally settling on me with an intensity that was almost painful in its sincerity.
I waited,my expression neutral, giving nothing away.
"(Suzuki)-san," he began, his voice low. "I… I've been thinking. About the match. About how you fought. And… about how you don't have a Quirk."
He paused, swallowing hard, as if the words themselves were dangerous.
"I… I used to be Quirkless too."
He said it.
The confession hung in the air between us,charged with a weight I understood all too well.
He was watching my face closely,looking for a reaction—disbelief, pity, scorn.
I gave him none.Just continued listening.
"And seeing you… the way you planned, the way you used your equipment, the way you moved… it's… it's incredible. You didn't wait for someone to give you power. You built your own path."
His words were coming faster now, tumbling out in that familiar muttering stream, though he was trying to keep it under control.
"I always wanted to be a hero. But I thought… without a Quirk, it was impossible. I just… accepted it. I never even tried to find another way. Not like you did. You analyzed everyone. You built tools. You used strategy. You… you actually fought."
He looked down at his own hands, the hands that now held a power that could level buildings and shatter his own bones.
"I got lucky. Someone gave me a chance. A power. But you… you took the chance for yourself. I can't stop thinking about it."
Finally, he looked up, his green eyes blazing with a mixture of admiration, guilt, and a desperate kind of hope.
"How… how did you start? How did you decide you could do it? When everyone else must have told you it was impossible?"
It was a genuine question. The question of someone who saw in me a reflection of his own past self, but one that had chosen a completely different, uncharted road.
This was the connection point.The vulnerability I could use.
I allowed my expression to soften, just a fraction. Not enough to be warm, but enough to seem thoughtful, open.
I looked past him for a moment,as if recalling a difficult memory.
"Everyone did say it was impossible," I said, my voice flat but not unkind. "They still do. But I never cared much for what others defined as possible. I cared about what I could calculate, what I could build, what I could prove."
I met his gaze again.
"I started by ignoring the word 'can't.' I broke down the problem: To be a hero, one needs power to save people and defeat villains. Traditional power comes from Quirks. I lacked that variable. So, I had to introduce new variables: technology, strategy, psychology, preparation. I turned the problem from a physical deficit into an engineering and tactical challenge."
I saw him hanging on every word, his mind whirring, absorbing the methodology.
"As for deciding I could do it…"I paused, crafting the lie with care. "I looked at the world and saw that the greatest heroes weren't always the ones with the strongest Quirks. They were the smartest, the most adaptable, the ones who could turn any situation to their advantage. I decided I would become that kind of hero. Not in spite of being Quirkless, but because of it. It forces a clarity of thought that those reliant on innate power often lack."
It was the perfect thing to say to him.
It reframed weakness as a potential strength.It appealed to his analytical mind. It painted a picture of heroic determination he desperately wanted to believe in.
(Midoriya)'s eyes were wide. He was nodding slowly, unconsciously.
"Clarity of thought…"he repeated softly. "Because you have to think about everything… you can't just rely on one thing…"
"Exactly," I said. "Your power… One For All… it's immense. But from my observations, it's also wild. It breaks you when you use it. That's another kind of problem. An engineering problem. Instead of just trying to muster more willpower to handle it, have you considered it might need a… structural solution? Support gear to disperse the force? A dampening system? A delivery mechanism that isn't your own fragile skeleton?"
I was planting seeds.
Suggesting that his"gifted" power was just another piece of unstable technology that needed my kind of expertise to fix.
Making myself seem like a potential ally,a consultant, even a necessity for his own survival.
He stared at me, utterly stunned.
The idea had clearly never occurred to him.His approach had been purely internal—train harder, endure more, break less.
The concept of anexternal solution was revolutionary.
"I… I never thought… could that even…" he stammered.
"We have the best support department in the country here," I said, gesturing vaguely towards the school. "And a teacher who understands the value of tools." I meant (Aizawa), but let him interpret it. "The point is, the method of victory isn't prescribed. You find it. You build it."
I let the silence hang for a moment, letting the ideas sink into his fertile, overactive brain.
Then,I offered a small, calculated smile. Not friendly, but collegial. The smile of one researcher to another.
"You asked how I started. I started by deciding the rules of the world were suggestions, not laws. And then I got to work."
(Izuku Midoriya) stood before me, a transformative awe dawning on his face.
He saw in me not just a fellow student who had beaten(Kacchan), but a philosopher of a different path to heroism.
A path that spoke directly to the lonely,Quirkless boy he used to be.
I had him.
Not as a friend,not yet. But as someone who viewed me with profound respect and saw immense value in my unique perspective.
It was a better foothold than I could have planned for in a simple sparring session.
"Thank you," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for talking to me."
"Of course," I replied, turning slightly as if to head back to training. "We're all here to learn from each other."
As I walked away, leaving him to his tumultuous thoughts, I could feel his gaze on my back.
The connection was made.
The Quirkless strategist and the vessel of the world's greatest power.
An alliance,however nascent, built on a foundation of calculated truths and strategically shared philosophies.
The pieces on the board were moving into place.
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End of Chapter.
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