|Old man Tatsuo's POV:|

...

"What do you mean Suzaku is missing?"

Frowning heavily after hearing those words from my pupil's father, I couldn't help but ask him to repeat his words to make sure that I hadn't heard wrong.

"I asked you if you knew where he was! After he went to school yesterday, he never came back! My wife and I are so worried... So we thought that maybe he was with you but had forgotten to tell us"

Hearing him, I became speechless for a moment.

'The brat is missing?'

I couldn't help but feel bewildered by those words. After all, just a few days ago, he and I had been training together, and I had told him that he would have to progress his training on his own from then on.

But now, he was suddenly missing?

Widening my eyes at that, I involuntarily frowned before I began massaging my temple out of frustration and worry.

"No, sorry Mr. Suzuki... I haven't seen him since two days ago. The other day he entered a training phase where he had to figure things out on his own, and since then, I haven't seen him... Did you report this matter to the police already?"

"We did, but they say that they haven't found any clues yet..." He said while wearing a downcast expression.

Hearing him, I nodded my head while exhaling heavily from my nose.

However, I tried asking him one more thing.

"Then, when was the last time that he was seen?"

Hearing my question, the man looked surprised for a second, but soon shook his head while a sad expression settled on his face.

"As far as the police have managed to discover, he was last seen at his school in the teacher's room after he had gotten into some trouble with a new student... However, the teachers said that after their lecture Suzaku went straight home. So it seems more likely that he disappeared after leaving the school rather than when being inside it"

"..."

Listening to him, I nodded my head with a contemplative look in my eyes.

'So he disappeared after leaving school, huh?' I repeated the father's words in my mind.

With the few clues that were at my disposal, some possibilities came to my mind about what may have happened to Suzaku. However, one of them in particular stood out from the others.

'There aren't many things that would make him disappear during the traject between his school and his home... The only thing that seems more likely... is a kidnapping'

Squinting my eyes at such thoughts, I caressed my bushy beard with a slight doubt evident on my face.

'Only such a thing would cause him to disappear... Albeit unlikely... That brat, if it had been just a normal kidnapping, then he would have easily beaten up the thugs attempting to kidnap him, and he wouldn't have dissapeared. However, seeing that he is not here... Then, am I really wrong here?'

Closing my eyes in frustration as I couldn't reach a proper conclusion, I let out a long sigh, before then I looked at Suzaku's father and patted him on the shoulder. Forcing a calm smile to form on my face while I did that.

"It's alright Mr. Suzuki. Wherever Suzaku might be, I assure you that he is okay"

"...!"

Hearing my words, the man widened his eyes as he glanced at me with a questioning gaze.

"W-why do you say so?"

At his words, I crossed my arms and smiled confidently.

"Because I trained him myself. I assure you that with what he has learned, he will be able to protect himself well enough..."

I wasn't saying this only to console the poor man. No, I was sure that Suzaku could very well protect himself.

This was also why I had thought that while a kidnapping was the most possible option, it was also unlikely.

After all, with all the time I had spent with that kid, I had gotten to know his strength very well.

He alone could easily take down a few thugs on his own with the strength that he had acquired over the two years that we had been together. Even while being just eight years old.

The only situation in which I don't think he would have been able to fight back was if he had been kidnapped by some kind of dangerous individual or taken by surprise.

But I couldn't think of any way for him to attract the attention of such a person.

Aside from his unusual strength, he was a rather normal kid with normal parents and with a normal life.

I doubted very much that he would have gotten himself into trouble with some dangerous guy.

I would understand if he had been some kind of hero. However, he was just some snotty brat who lived a few streets away from my dojo.

Why would someone dangerous gain interest in him? It just didn't make any sense to me.

So, in this case, I guess it was safe to assume that he had probably been taken by surprise by whoever had kidnapped him. Otherwise, it couldn't make sense for him to have disappeared so suddenly.

However, even if that was the case, I wasn't worried.

The kid knew how to defend himself. Even if he was taken by surprise and was in problems right now, I knew that he would eventually solve everything on his own.

He was quite a clever kid... In some aspects. I had gotten to understand that through our years of training together.

So, wherever he was. I was sure that he was okay.

He was my disciple. And as such, he was destined for great things.

If he were to die just because of a little kidnapping, it would be a disgrace to my martial arts school.

I had trained him to become the best that there would be in terms of physical combat. I knew that even if he got to face some punks with good quirks, he would somehow figure something out in the end.

He had at least shown that much talent during our training, even if he didn't notice it.

"Though, if he was run over by a car, then I guess there's nothing my martial arts will help him with"

"What? A car?!"

'Huh? Did I mutter that out loud?'

Widening my eyes as I noticed that I may have muttered that last part out loud, I then glanced to where Suzaku's dad was, before I saw him looking at the floor with a lifeless look while he kept muttering "A car..." in a low voice repeatedly.

'Oh goddamnit...'

Shaking my head in resignation, I glanced at the sky and let out a long sigh.

'Suzaku brat, you better hurry up and come back. Your old man right here is about to have a stroke..'

...

°

°

°

|Back to the laboratory, 3rd person POV:|

...

"Huff... Huff..."

Panting heavily as he kneeled on the ground powerlessly, Suzaku could be seen with both of his fists sprayed on the ground, both bruised and slightly bloodied.

His back was arched, his entire body was drenched in sweat, and he seemed extremely exhausted.

The cause of his current state was evident.

Extending from his fists, a trail of blood ran all over the ground straight toward the cell bars that currently separated him from the outside. All of them with huge dents on them, and some were even slightly cracked.

However, unfortunately, none of them were broken.

After being left alone by the doctor, Suzaku did his best to free himself using the fists and legs that he had trained so much through the years with the Tatsuo Old man.

However, no matter how much he punched or kicked them, they didn't break. They received damage, sure. However, his fists and feet received as much damage as they inflicted on the bars, if not even more.

Because of it, In the end, Suzaku was forced to stop. Otherwise, the first things to break wouldn't have been the bars.

And now, lying defeated on the ground, Suzaku was doing his best to think of another way to get out of there.

However, truthfully, he was out of options.

He had nothing with him that would help him to escape. The doctor that had kidnapped him had taken away his backpack, along with most of his clothes. Right now, he was only wearing a hospital gown.

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As such, the only thing that he could use to escape was his own body.

However, his fists' bones were already on the verge of breaking. And his feet and legs weren't in a better condition either.

He was utterly hopeless at the moment.

The only thing he could do at the moment was curse to vent out his frustrations.

However, to make matters worse, he had limited time.

The creepy doctor had said that he would begin with Suzaku's "transformation" in just a few minutes.

However, since then, Suzaku had lost count of time after relentlessly hitting the iron bars with all he had.

As such, despite knowing that he had very little time, he didn't know how much "very little" was. Something that unnerved him to no end.

'I have to get up... There's no time...'

If anything, he felt that at least five minutes had passed since then. However, considering how upset he was feeling at that moment, with adrenaline aggressively pumping through his whole body, it would have been very well more than that amount of time.

Which meant that the doctor would come for him just any minute now.

"Shit... Get up... There must be a way"

Feeling anxious, Suzaku tried to get up with all his might. However, due to his relentless onslaught against the iron bars earlier, his legs were faintly injured. Which, as a result, soon caused him to fall to the floor dryly after feeling a sharp pain pass through his legs once he tried to walk.

-Thud!-

"Ugh!"

Grunting loudly after hitting dryly the floor, Suzaku panted heavily for a moment as his vision turned slightly blurry for a second.

"...Ghk"

However, not letting the dizziness of the fall affect him, Suzaku forced himself to stand up.

After that, he began walking towards the cell bars once again. Although, this time, with more carefulness in his steps

-Clang!-

Then, grabbing tightly the cold and sturdy iron bars with his hands, Suzaku closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, seemingly taking a moment to regain his energy, before he then opened them again and took a step back.

"Please..."

Then, tightening his pained fist, Suzaku glared at the iron bars with a focused expression, before he pulled his arm back while wearing an expression of anxiousness all over his face.

One that seemed to express just how desperate he was at that moment.

"... Just open!!"

Yelling with all his might those words, Suzaku jumped towards the bars using the little strength that his feet still had.

And, making use of his momentum and speed, Suzaku launched his fist toward the iron bars... One final time.

-Clang!-

However...

-Crack...-

... Unfortunately for Suzaku, what broke after the collision wasn't the bars.

"Aaaarghh...ghk...!!"

-Thud!-

Suppressing his scream as he felt something crack within his hand, Suzaku fell on his knees while he grabbed tightly his bloodied fist with his other hand. Breathing heavily as he did his best to not let out a pained yelp.

"Haaah... Haaah..."

After that, he stayed in that position for a while. Resisting the pain that his hand was going through, and waiting for it to recede slightly over time.

Fortunately, after a while, the pain calmed down. However, it quickly surfaced again if Suzaku moved his hand even a little. Which forced him to stay still in his position, unable to do anything as his doom approached with each second that passed.

Because of that, eventually, he became lost in thought.

"Why was I brought here...?" Suzaku asked no one in particular.

He wasn't talking about the laboratory. No, he was talking about the world he lived in now. A world that was once just part of a work of fiction.

A world that, somehow, had become his new reality.

'What was that Impostor thinking...? Why did he reincarnate me here? Did he not know that I would end up like this?'

Glancing at his injured hand, Suzaku frowned as his mouth trembled a little.

'Why did he make me get born in a body of such strength, if I was gonna end like this...? Did he think nothing bad would happen to me because of it?' Did he think this was a blessing?'

Laughing dryly, Suzaku glared at the dents on the iron bars and scoffed in dejection.

'What a blessing... In the end, against something so simple as iron bars, it becomes useless. Not to mention that it was because of it that I ended up in this situation...'

Putting his hand down while ignoring the pain, Suzaku then glanced towards the ceiling hanging above his head and sighed. His face wearing a despondent expression while he did so.

'I said it at those times because I was half-joking... However, if that Impostor is God... Then...'

"Please help me..."

Letting out those words as he glared emptily at the air, Suzaku stayed silent for a few seconds as if waiting for something to happen.

"..."

However, after a few seconds passed, he looked down and eventually let out a sneer while his face became adorned with a wry smile.

"To think that I would one day pray for an Impostor to save me... I don't even know how to feel about that"

Shaking his head with the wry smile still adorning his face, Suzaku suddenly paused, before he then turned his eyes to look at the door where the doctor had disappeared a while ago, and had a certain word pass through his mind.

"Heroes, huh?"

Remembering the profession from which he had started hearing about constantly after arriving in this world, Suzaku wondered if some hero was looking for him now.

They were supposed to be the ones that saved the day, after all.

Would a hero save him today? Suzaku wondered.

And as he did so, he saw the image of a hero piercing through the door of the lab. Soon running towards him, and freeing him from his cell.

An image, that while full of hope... Was nothing but illusory.

No one was coming to save him today.

-Sha!-

And, as if confirming that fact, soon the door of the lab opened. However, instead of revealing the gallant figure of a hero about to save him, what was behind the door was instead a group of several men wearing lab coats similar to that of the doctor who had come to see him earlier.

And, from what he could see, none of them looked like a Pro-hero.

Laughing dryly, Suzaku closed his eyes in discouragement before he shook his head and thought dejectedly 'I guess this is it...'. Finally giving up, and accepting what seemed to be his fate.

Soon, the men moved in unison toward him. Arriving right next to his cell shortly after.

Once they arrived, the one who seemed to be the head of the group pointed at another member with his finger, before he ordered him to anesthetize Suzaku.

Hearing his leader, the man rapidly moved towards a certain panel that was in a wall before he began pressing some buttons.

Then, once he finished, a mechanical arm suddenly emerged from one of the walls that encompassed Suzaku's cell, before it moved violently toward Suzaku and ultimately pierced his body with a needle filled with a yellow liquid.

"Kgh..."

With the last fighting spirit that he had in his body, Suzaku squirmed a bit. However, due to how injured he was, he was not able to shake the needle off.

-Thud-

And as a result, Suzaku soon fell unconscious after a few seconds passed. Causing him to plummet to the ground.

Seeing him fall, the head of the group soon spoke up. Making everyone around him start to move.

"Take him to the surgery room"

...

°

°

°

|A few minutes later...|

...

Suzaku was lying on a small bed, tied tightly to it by several iron belts that restringed his movement.

The room in which he was now, in contrast with the lab, was filled with lights all around. Leaving no room for shadows, and bathing Suzaku's unconscious body completely in light.

However, he was not alone.

Around him, the group of men from earlier were now standing by the side of his bed. All of them now wearing face masks to cover their mouths, along with latex gloves wrapping their hands.

All in all, they all looked like proper medics.

If it wasn't for the actual implications of what was about to happen, the scene would just seem like a normal surgery about to be performed by completely normal surgeons.

But unfortunately, it wasn't.

"..."

Looking at Suzaku for a second from the corner of his eyes as he walked past him, the leader of the group squinted his eyes briefly at the sight of the red-haired kid unconscious on the bed, before he then shook his head and turned around to speak aloud. Gathering the attention of everyone in the room on the process.

"Listen, everyone. Dr. Ujiko said that something urgent had come up just now. So he ordered us to perform the first part of the surgery while he was not here. After he is done with what he has to do, he will take over what comes after this... Do you all remember what the procedure is in this case, right?"

"Yes sir!" Hearing their leader, the rest of them nodded their heads as they voiced their affirmation with confidence. Making the head of the group nod his head with a pleased look in his eyes.

After this, the group rapidly dispersed and started moving across the room. With all of them soon taking their respective positions, and leaving only the head of the group to be standing right next to the bed where Suzaku rested.

After seeing everyone ready, he nodded his head and picked up what seemed to be a pen from a nearby metal table.

Then, looking at Suzaku, who was still asleep, the man leaned forward, before he began drawing a horizontal line all over Suzaku's forehead using the pen. All the while he kept speaking to the group.

"... Remember, if we make even a single mistake, Dr. Ujiko will have our heads. So no mistakes are allowed while the operation is in progress. The one that makes a mistake, I will kill him myself on the spot... And I will make sure to make his death the most painful one possible"

""Yes sir!""

"Good"

Nodding his head after hearing his companions voice their agreement while he also finished marking Suzaku's forehead, the man then gestured towards his companions to get ready. To which all of them began picking up tools from nearby and started preparing to hand them out to the man whenever it was needed.

While they did that, a cold chuckle escaped the man's lips as he retrieved a gleaming object from the ground... a circular saw.

-Vrrrrrrrr...!-

He activated the saw, feeling the raw power coursing through his grasp. However, it was also a dangerous tool that would unfold doom on them all if he failed to do a precise cut on the forehead. So once he got a hold of it, he couldn't help but feel a bead of sweat run down from his forehead.

One wrong movement and Dr. Ujiko would kill them for ruining what seemed to be his most important subject so far.

Knowing that fact, the man ordered a pair of men who were on standby to grab Suzaku.

"Get a tight hold on him!"

"Yes sir!"

-Rustle...!-

Once they heard his order, the men moved rapidly. And after a few seconds, they secured Suzaku's body to prevent any mishap during the delicate operation. Grabbing him tightly from both his shoulders and his head to immobilize him as much as possible, as well as tightening the iron belts that tied his body down to the bed so that the body wouldn't be able to move either.

Once he made sure that Suzaku was being firmly held, the man muttered "Good" before he bobbed his head at his companions as a way of signaling that he was about to begin, and approached the bed where Suzaku was resting. Soon bringing the circular saw closer to his forehead, and positioning the blade precisely over the line he had drawn earlier.

-Vrrrrrrrrrr...!-

After that, the deafening whir of the saw filled the room. Creating an eerie air around the room for the grim task that they were about to carry out.

"Heh..."

Acknowledging his situation, the man enjoyed the moment. A twisted pleasure slowly bloomed in his heart while he brought the saw closer and closer to Suzaku's forehead.

'God, how I love my job'

-Vrrrrrrrrrr...!-

Having these thoughts in mind, a sinister grin spread through his face from behind the facemask while the circular saw began brushing Suzaku's forehead. Soon creating a small cut on it, and provoking a small gush of blood to come out.

'Good'

Seeing the blood run down through Suzaku's nose bridge, the man squinted his eyes pleasedly, before he then began putting more pressure into the circular saw. Causing Suzaku's head to tremble a little in recoil at the saw's ferocious rotation.

'Time to open the— huh?'

"..."

However, just as he was about to dig the saw deeper into his head, he noticed that Suzaku's eyes were now open. And they were staring at him.

"Wha—"

When he realized that, time seemed to slow down for him, as a cold shiver suddenly ran down his spine.

"...!"

He didn't know what it was, however, the moment Suzaku's eyes locked onto him, he became unable to move the saw in his hands any further.

He tried to proceed with the surgery. However, no matter how much he pushed his body, he just remained static. His eyes seemingly stuck onto Suzaku's bright red eyes, which were now uncovered after the group had broken the glasses that covered them for more precision during the surgery.

"What—What is...?"

Feeling the abnormality of the situation, the man tried to utter a few words. Seeing if he could get the other men to help him.

However, the moment those words left his mouth, all of his bodily hair stood up, before his heart began beating with a speed it had never reached before. Creating a deafening sound that made him gulp a good chunk of saliva inside of his mouth.

He didn't know exactly why. However, every instinct in his body was begging him to stop what he was doing and get away from there.

It was as if something terrifying was watching over him. Something that had somehow activated every primal survival instinct that may have been dormant inside him during all his life.

And, feeling like that, he couldn't stop his body from eventually standing up and letting go of the circular saw in his hand.

-Thud!-

However, it didn't end there, since as soon as he did that, he turned around and tried to run from there.

Anywhere else was fine. He just wanted to get out of there.

Away from the boy with red hair.

His body was pleading for him to do so.

'I have to—'

However, unfortunately for him. He wasn't able to.

And neither were the other people in the room.

-Crash!-

Before anyone would notice it, everything went black.

And only the screams of panic and gruesome sounds filled the obscure room after that.

All, while a pair of red eyes gleamed and moved swiftly amidst the shadows.

...

-To be Continued-